ã€ŠPoison God&#x27;s Heritageã€‹


 Chapter 1 Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 1: Prologue</h4>

    It just happened, how easy it is, how fickle it is, and how weak it is that man¡¯s life could end so abruptly and without notice. I have no clear recollection of what went on, I had just finished a day of hard work in the office, stayingte was the usual, as I had no one to go home to. My parents have long since passed away, and I had no siblings or close family to care or bother remembering who I was, or if I had lived or died.

    My life was insignificant, yet I lived it with all I had, took opportunities when they were presented to me, and was not afraid to take shortcuts. I was not a good man, and I will not deny it. But at least what I do know is that I am honest, and that will not change.

    I was walking down the street, down a shady ally, an ally that I have went passed it uncountable times during my working life. I was a manager in an engineeringpany and was a few hard-working years away from making it to director. Life, though dull, filled with the daily banter and hassle of work still had a future to present to me. Perhaps making it to the director¡¯s position was going to change who I was. And though a faraway hope, it was hope nevertheless.

    Thest thing I remembered was the shout of a gruff sounding man, then I received a powerful blow on the head. The pain didn¡¯t register until a few moments when my cheek was ced against the ground, my eyes could only see red, then after a small jolt of pain, I felt nothing.

    A dark world received me with open eyes.

    I turned and turned, there was no denying it, there and then, I knew I was dead. And for some reason, this weing darkness was not as horrid as I had believed it would be. The abyss was by no mean cold nor hot. It was just...it. Somewhere, I was stuck unable to move, yet with ackluster will to do so. Why should I care for what is going to happen next, and this darkness was not as terrifying as I had imagined it.

    Perhaps I will be here for all eternity. Then a thought crossed my mind. God? Should I pray, ask for help? But why should I do so? This ce feels rather good.

    As I was thinking to myself, not bothering with how much time I had spent floating in this inexistent ce. My eyes red with a burning light. I was able to see, and soon I was pulled out of thefortable darkness into a world of pain.

    Had I been resuscitated? Perhaps I was taken to a hospital I thought. Yet the scorching sun and the taste of dirt in my mouth told me otherwise. I stood up, barely able to do so, my body...not my own as I clearly was a man of forty-five years old, this body was that of a child, probably twelve to fourteen.

    The clothes I wore, no, robe. Was a pale blue... dress? I have no idea what they call these, it looked like a bathrobe only it was made of silk.

    I felt something heavy on my head, touching it, it was a hair bun, I unintentionally undid it and my hair fell to my waist. Surprise overtook me at first, as I looked around. A group of kids was running away in the distance where I was on a part of a small hill overseeing a small vige. Every move I made hurt me in ways I couldn¡¯t describe. It was as if my body had nails pierced all over it, and with each move, one of these nails would dig deep and bring me more suffering.

    For some reason, such pain would have brought a man to his knees in pained gurgling cries.

    Yet I had the will to take in the pain, and suffer through it with sheer will. How was I able to tolerate a pain that would have undoubtedly made my old self fall unconscious? I did not know the answer then.

    I dragged myself toward the vige, I have no idea who I was, who this body was, but if I am not mistaken, could what I have been reading when I was young be true? Was I reincarnated? And if I was, is this a world of immortals? Stories turned to reality, my dreams of youthing true, yet as I grew up, I realized that those were nothing but fables. Yet, here and now, such fables became true.

    And only to make matters more concrete, a man, wearing a dark purple gown, and a golden hair bun over his head appeared right in front of me, I had no idea how he had done it. Two other men did the same and appeared right by his side.

    "This kid is still alive?" the man spoke.

    Yet, this was not English, I know English and his words were not it, but for some reason, I understood them. Perhaps I retained the memories of the person who had resided within this body before me.

    I tried to make a recollection of past events, yet nothing came to mind, it was as if this body hade with nothing but its vital function, its soul was dead. The man kept his eyes peeled upon me. Making me feel like I was being probed and I could hide no secrets from him.

    "Shen Bao, you still live. Worthless, you should have died then and there, better than to waste more of our vige¡¯s resources."

    ¡¯So, my name is Shen Bao, huh, but what is he talking about?¡¯

    "Lord Patriarch, he seems to be in shock, all of his meridians have shattered. He is no better than a cripple. Should we kill him and be done with it?"

    I panicked at the hearing of the term ¡¯kill¡¯.

    "No need, we do not acknowledge cripples, he is of no use to us. Remove all of his privileges, send him back to where he came from. The world of Cultivators is closed for this one. He will die, sooner orter, either by bandits, or some ruffians, or at least, by old age." The patriarch turned around and began walking, every step he took, took him ten times the distance one step a normal person can walk with. It was weird, it was strange but at the same time frightening.

    These were people with abilities, powers beyond what is scientifically believable. Ie from a world of mathematics and physics and these people just threw everything I ever worked hard for, lived for, strove, and believed in, down the drain in mere seconds.

    "Cultivation, huh, can you believe this, it¡¯s actually possible. Books and stories were not false after all." I said to myself as Iughed.

    "Come with me," said one of the two men that apanied the patriarch, and he moved first. He was not walking as fast as the Patriarch, but his steps were still too fast for the current me.

    Pain pervaded my body with every step I took, and I had to take many to get to the said city. And it was difficult to keep up with the man.

    It didn¡¯t take much time to get there, or so I thought, but once I arrived, there was a carriage waiting for me while the man I followed after was speaking to the driver and pointed at me. He then tucked his hands under his long sleeves and walked away.

    "Boy," spoke the driver, to which it took me a few seconds to understand, I haven¡¯t been called a boy in a long time.

    I answered, "Yes?"

    "Get your ass in, we¡¯re moving."

    "Right," I answered and rode along, world unknown, destination, unknown, fate unknown.

    My start in a cultivation world is definitely not like any of the other characters I have read about. It is probably not the worst, but definitely not the best. So, perhaps, as it was told in those fictions, fate always had a say in these scenarios, and probably it might be hiding something interesting for me too.

 Chapter 2 Plans to Execute

    <h4>Chapter 2: ns to Execute</h4>

    The driver dropped me off at a vige that was built around a wide river. It was undoubtedly one of thergest ones I have seen in my life. Its waters, however, were not raging, but the current was strong anyway. People were moving about in the vige, some farming, some were selling food and some were fishing or just strolling around casually. This vige looked like a ce where one could retire.

    There were a few kids ying with sticks shaped like swords, ying warrior. And on the far side of the vige was another group of slightly older kids, probably the age of 12 to 14, doing martial arts training and practices. This ce looked like a peaceful area that one could spend their time in.

    I looked around, trying to figure out what to do with my life. The current me has no family or rtion to anyone here, so I¡¯m going to have to get by, by myself.

    "What is the young Immortal doing here?" A man asked, turning around, it was an old man, of about seventy years. He looked weakened and feeble, but a gracious smile was stered on his face.

    "I¡¯ve been sent here," I replied.

    "Has the Xuan Fu Sect assigned you here for a mission? If so, I would like to help, I¡¯m the Vige Head. Anything you wish I could supply it to you, Young Immortal."

    "Immortal?" I replied.

    "Are you not, you are wearing the Xuan Fu Sect¡¯s Inner disciples clothes."

    "Oh, these" I said as I looked down, with a wry smile on my face I answered, "I¡¯ve been kicked out of it. I don¡¯t have anything else to wear."

    The Vige Head tilted his head, wondering what I was talking about. But after a few more moments of pondering, he said. "Come, follow me." And so I did, after all, I was new here and had no idea what is going on.

    The vige head took me to the back of the vige, there was arge hill overseeing the entirety of the vige and there was a small shed on top of it. Right behind the shed was arge yew tree that shaded the small house from the sun.

    "The Xuan Fu Sec was once our patrons, they have assisted us and aided us. And now, it is my duty to return some of that Karma back. You¡¯ll live here, and I will have people bringing you food." The head said.

    "Wait, aren¡¯t you being a bit too generous, I mean I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve this," I replied.

    The old man smiled and said, "Yes, I know, but Karma must be repaid, for all in this world is bound in a circle, and all that is given is taken back. One day, perhaps you shall end this Karma cycle, if not, another will."

    I had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about, but since this was a free house and free food in a foregone world, I would be too stupid to decline it.

    "Then thank you, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer." I replied to the man then I added, "But I don¡¯t even know your name."

    "My name is Wang Nil," the old man smiled and said, "You could rest and practice your martial arts here, I will head back to the vige as I have many matters to tend to."

    The old man excused himself and left me by myself.

    I looked at the shed and wondered, this ce was too dpidated, the wood was rotten in many ces, and the roof had mostly caved in, it was better than staying in the open, but not by much. However, with a few nails and wooden nks, I think I could fix it up.

    ¡¯But where can I get those? I also need tools, a saw, and a hammer at least. I should probably check if there is a cksmith in this vige.¡¯

    I traced back my footsteps until I reached the vige, and as I had feared there were no smiths in this ce. But there was a shop in the vige.

    Once I moved deeper a rancid smell assaulted my nose, a man just threw a bucket full of crap in the street from his window, if I was a step too close, I could have had shit all over my clothes.

    When I met eyes with the man, he yelped and mmed his window shut. Perhaps he was afraid of the clothes I wore.

    I walked into the shop and checked up on the stuff he had for sale. Most were grains, dried food, and some candy.

    "Hello," I said.

    "Young Immortal, how can I be of service," a man answered as he came hasting towards me from outside the shop.

    Weirdly enough the man was sweating like he was scared shitless.

    He looked like a middle-aged man, time was still grinding on his face, but he didn¡¯t look too unhealthy unlike some of the people outside. Perhaps being a shop owner was enough to supply him with proper food and nutrition.

    For a moment I hesitated, I didn¡¯t have any money or anything to pay the tools, but perhaps doing some odd jobs for the people here can award me with a few coins, so I asked on the thought that I could just loan them.

    "I¡¯m looking for some tools, a hammer, an ax, and a saw if you have them."

    "Of course I do, please wait a moment." The man walked deeper into the shop and entered through a closed door.

    The man hastily brought me the materials.

    "Do you have some nails? I could use some also."

    ??Yes," the man said and brought a box full of different sized nails. I took a handful of them and ced them on the counter.

    "These should do, as for payment..." but before I could even speak, the man waved a hand.

    "For the people of the Xuan Fu Sect I would not ask for a payment, these are not that expensive anyway. You can have them." He said.

    I raised my brows; this Xuan Fu sect thingy was quite useful.

    "Then I¡¯ll take you up on your offer," I replied and moved out.

    I headed back to the hill with a bag full of materials to work on my small shed. There was a forest nearby and a lot of trees I could use.

    Surprisingly, the pain in my joints and body became less and less apparent, perhaps I grew ustomed to it or that my brain began ignoring it. That was handy, I had a lot of things to do.

    I started by hacking at arge-sized tree, some of the kids from the vige came to see what I was doing. They were interested but were too afraid to get any closer.

    After the first hack, the ax rattled threatening to crack and break, it was not of bad quality, but somehow the strength behind my swing. This body was stronger than your average man. So, I needed to adjust the strength of each ax blow.

    It took me a couple of swings to know the exact force needed to use the ax properly and I hacked the tree down in under a minute.

    Once the tree was down, I began sawing it, which was surprisingly easy as the saw was sharp and it sliced through the wood like a hot knife through butter. It wasn¡¯t that the tools were sharp, or the tree too brittle, but once again it was I who was too strong to use the tools and risked breaking them due to carelessness.

    After having sheared off a good-sized matching nk, and what took me probably an hour or two of work I lumped them over my shoulder and headed to the shed. I needed to get it done before nightfall.

    Once I was back, I tore off a few of the rotten wood, then reced them with new nks. The hammer and the nail did a great job in securing their position, and after another hour I had a decent ce to stay the night in.

    While I was working, I didn¡¯t notice someone cing food at my doorsteps.

    I had my fill of rice and a piece of dried jerky then resumed my work. I needed to make a bed to sleep on, as the one inside the house was broken and had some things that I didn¡¯t want to touch with my bare hands.

    I cleared the rubble and cleaned the shed, then ced a newly made bed table inside then got one of the kids,- I say kids, but they are all the same age as me- to get me some hay. They immediately followed suit and got me some dry hay and a couple of old nkets.

    Night soon came, I didn¡¯t have any interaction with anyone. I had kept myself busy this morning just to evade the hard truth. I¡¯m in a ce where no one knows who I am, where technology is no longer avable. Where you can¡¯t turn on the AC if you feel hot, and your bed was made of straw instead of myfortable King Size bed.

    I died, this was true, and there is no changing it. But on the other side, I¡¯m in a cultivation world. I came here unknowing of what to do, my future is unsure, but at the same time, in this kind of world, one can make their own future, forge it by their hands. And to do that, I have to first be able to cultivate.

    I am not fully ignorant of the workings, of these types of worlds. First off, I have been too trusting to the vige head, but I was still on my guard, he didn¡¯t look like the type of person who would have a malicious intent such as any run of the mill character in those stories. Secondly, I have heard that my body had shattered meridians. And also, something about cultivation deviation. This means that whoever used this body has failed in circting the thing that is referred to as Spiritual Energy, or the World¡¯s Energy, Mana, Chakra, or whatever it is. And due to his failure, his meridians broke and are now useless.

    This is undoubtedly the reason for his death, and I had reincarnated in his body. This kid has worked his body well, it is strong, more so than a middle-aged man, probably twice or three times more. Which was a good advantage.

    But if I were to live in this world, like those characters of those stories I have read about, I need to tackle the biggest problem I have right now, the fact that I am unable to cultivate. Or circte this so-called Spiritual Energy in my body. And to do so, I need a miracle medicine or an elixir. And those cost a lot of money.

    So, the most important question is, how can I get this said money?

    I pondered and pondered, over and over again, then it hit me like a brick on the head.

    "Technology!" it¡¯s easy, it¡¯s simple and it¡¯s perfect.

    I stood up and went to the tools the shop owner had given me. They were made of rough iron and were rusty, pretty bad quality. If they were made out of steel it would have been better sharper and more durable.

    I know how to make steel, it was in one of the lessons I used to attend when I started studying to be an engineer. Even if this world had steel, I know the exact percentage, carbon to iron wise and how to make the most powerful steel.

    Secondly, the sewer system, I just saw a man throwing a bucket of shit down the street, this is no good. This will cause and spread diseases. Also, the water they gave me with the food was not clear, perhaps they drew it off the river, I had to start a fire and heat it first.

    Thirdly, the river, it¡¯s a huge power source if one could use it, building a mill there could aid in both grinding wheats, or even making a saw watermill. Even making a dam. Also, a dam, that means electricity, light, power. There is so much to do, and it¡¯s easy to do it. But the first thing I need to do is to get proper tools.

    Thankfully I have the body to use and wield those tools, I have the energy to make such buildings, and I have time and patience to do them, what else can I do?

    I soon fell asleep, tomorrow was going to be a big day, where I¡¯ll need to start renovating this area.

 Chapter 3 Bricks

    <h4>Chapter 3: Bricks</h4>

    I woke up to the smell of food, someone once again ced food near my door. I had my fill and headed to the shop owner.

    Once I was there, the man had an angry look on his face.

    "Kid, yesterday, you took those tools, I thought you belonged to the Xuan Fu temple, but apparently you have been kicked out. I won¡¯t ask you to give them back, but I won¡¯t forgive you if you try to scam me for more of my items."

    Hmm, I guess he must have learned the news from the Vige Head, but no matter, I was lucky enough to check my pockets yesterday, I had a purse I didn¡¯t even notice I had tucked inside my robes. It didn¡¯t jingle due to being covered in cotton, but it had a good deal of silver and gold coins.

    "I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to take anything from you without payment, but you offered before I could pay you. How much are those tools worth anyway?" I asked.

    "Two Bronze Jins."

    "Right," I replied and pulled out the cost and handed it to him. The man¡¯s angry expression immediately turned to friendly and he was more than happy to serve. It was true, money is god, and everyone loves worshiping it.

    "I¡¯ll be needing more things," I said.

    "Like what?" the man asked.

    "I¡¯ll need an anvil, and a more hammers, the bigger the better. Also shovels, pickaxes,"

    "I only have one of each," the man said, "As for the anvil, I don¡¯t have one, you¡¯ll not find any anvil in this area, but I do have a big b of iron you can use. Are you nning on opening a forge?"

    "For now, it¡¯s for personal use," I replied and then waited for the man to bring me the stuff.

    "Also, do you have iron ingots?"

    "Iron Ingots? What are those?" he asked.

    I shook my head, "Do you have anything that has iron in it and you don¡¯t need, even iron ore is good."

    "Well, for now, I do have some rusty broken axes, shovels, that no one will be using, as for iron ore, you¡¯ll have to wait for the City Messenger toe by, you can give him a letter and an advanced payment and he will send someone to deliver it for you."

    "Is he trustworthy?" I asked.

    "Of course, he is appointed by the City Lord. I can write your letter for you. How much do you need?"

    "At least two hundred pounds for a start,"

    "Pound? I have never heard of that young master. What is a pound?"

    I looked around and saw a quite hefty andrge potato, I weighed it in my hand and handed it to him, about this weight." I said

    "Oh, that¡¯s close to half a Kilogram, so you need about a hundred Kilograms?"

    "Uh, yes,"

    "If I remember it¡¯s one silver for fifty kilograms of iron, that¡¯ll be two silvers if you have them."

    "Here, and this is yourmission," I said and added a few bronze coins to him.

    The payment was two silvers and ten bronze Jins, five for the tools, and five for the merchant. He was rather happy. I grabbed the tools and took them back to my shed, then came back for the square iron b the man had, thankfully it was not miss proportioned as it had a few sides that looked as if they were cut by a sword.

    I grabbed the b, it was heavy, but not too heavy for me. I managed to bring all the tools back to my ce and began nning my work.

    First, to make strong tools, I¡¯ll need a furnace, and the best one for these types is a st furnace. Sadly, the st furnace will need a lot of time to construct and a lot of y. I can probably make one, I already know the method and idea behind it.

    Second, I¡¯ll need firewood, a lot of it. the forest here is enough to satisfy my need, but I¡¯ll also need to make charcoal, and for that, I need a container to burn wood and make it into charcoal, the container needs to be made of iron that¡¯s why I got the anvil.

    I looked at the tools I had, there was enough iron here to make a small barrel and there was enough y in the river to make a crucible.

    I brought a good deal of y from the river then began shaping it into pots, it wasn¡¯t the best pot one could make, as I didn¡¯t have a spinning table. But they were good enough to hold things in them. I also made five of them. The y in the river is not pure, so there is a risk of the pots bursting once they¡¯re put in high heat.

    I ced the y I took from the river on arge nk that crafted slides underneath it to make it easier to move. I didn¡¯t have the time or will to make wheels.

    Once I brought enough y near my shed, I started by shaping it into a pyramid shape. With an open hole on the top, then I left a small open spot where I can ce wood.

    I threw in some wood to heat the y furnace and after a good deal of time, it hardened and became operable with. Thankfully it didn¡¯t blow up in my face due to the heat.

    Now I have my furnace, it¡¯s not a st furnace, but it¡¯s good enough for now.

    I began cing the pots inside the furnace and added more wood.

    Time to eat, looking down, I noticed that my clothes had turned dirty, I need to get more clothes.

    Once I had my fill, I saw a young maning over toward me. He looked to be taller than me, with brownish skin. He was muscr and had a wide grin on his face.

    "Hello, my name is Wu Fan, can you tell me what you¡¯re doing here?" he asked.

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao, and I¡¯m making stuff, I said. Surprisingly my name or the name of this body came out of me as if I had been using it all my life.

    "I can clearly see that, but what kinds of stuff? This looks interesting." Wu Fan said.

    "I¡¯m making a crucible, to melt iron."

    "What? You¡¯re going to melt iron into a jar of dirt? Are you out of your mind?" the kidughed.

    I didn¡¯t deign to tell him off, he was the first person to have the courage toe and talk with me. As I have noticed most of the other kids in the vige were outright scared of me, no different than the older people.

    "You¡¯ll see," I said.

    After a few moments, the first pot blew up, then the second. But the remaining three remained strong until the process was done.

    "Good," I said.

    I then brought more y and made arge mold that I could pour steel in. I shaped it as a wide rectangle. I ced the mold into the furnace and waited for it to harden.

    The kid had no idea what I was doing yet, but he was interested enough to bring me wood. He had the goodwill to chop some of the trees down and make more firewood while I spent time bringing y back and forth to make more molds for different things, and even started making bricks.

    Night soon came and Wu Fan had to leave and go back home. I didn¡¯t feel tired or sleepy yet so I kept making bricks and throwing them in the fire.

    By morning I was soot-covered, I had to get more clothes from the shop and once I did, I took a dip in the river.

    Most of the people in the vige were treating me as a strange crazy man. I didn¡¯t¡¯ mind it, I had a n in mind.

    Once I was done, and this time I wore clothes only fit for working, made of rough wool and I wouldn¡¯t mind them getting dirty. I kept on making bricks and setting them apart, I needed to get more to make a good furnace.

    Wu Fan came once again, this time he had a good idea of what I was doing, but not the purpose of it. He helped shape bricks and threw them in the furnace to heat up. While I was busy cutting wood and making even more nks. Our small ¡¯businesses brought the attention of many other people who were interested in this ¡¯brick¡¯ novelty. They kept asking questions on how to use them and I didn¡¯t mind sharing, bricks were not a huge secret and anyone with a fart for a brain would know how to do them. It was better to be nice to these people and share in some of these ¡¯secrets¡¯ at least this might go back to meter in the future.

    Soon it was time to make the barrel, I took the Crucible, which was a ceramic pot, and ced iron inside it. Broken ax heads, some twisted nails, anything that could be melted.

    My only fear was the pot breaking before the iron could melt, usually, a good Crucible is made with a mix of y and cobalt, since I don¡¯t have thetter, I¡¯ll have to count on the low quality of this iron to melt faster as it will have a lower melting point than the y.

    Thankfully my gamble worked and the iron began pooling inside the pot after an hour. The current y furnace did not contain heat well enough, thus why I was making the bricks. They¡¯ll be used to make a proper furnace soon.

    After the iron melted, I got a wet towel and hurriedly drew out the pot then poured it on the mold. It didn¡¯t take time for the iron to cool, especially after I drenched it with water to make it bend. Soon I had a rectangr iron nk.

    I then poured the rest of the iron on the remaining mold that were a circle shape. These will be the bottom and top of the barrel after I bent the iron nk and made my barrel. It was not big, but it was enough to make charcoal.

    After I sealed the badly made barrel, I ced wood inside it and locked it close. I didn¡¯t have anything to seal it with, but y was good as it easily fit into the seams and closed the barrel. The heat from the fire under the barrel was enough to turn the wood inside into charcoal after a few hours.

    After I taught Wu Fan how to make Charcoal, I began building the real furnace. Using the bricks, I heated earlier, I ced them atop each other to make a small square room with the top open, it wasrger than the y furnace, but it will contain heat better especially after I close it.

    I paid Wu Fan a bronze coin, that he was pretty happy of taking. He thanked me a lot and left to his house. He was a happy kid.

    Night soon came and I had a good deal of charcoal ready and my furnace also ready for use.

 Chapter 4 Time Flies

    <h4>Chapter 4: Time Flies</h4>

    By morning, the Vige Head came and woke me up. He was impressed with the stuff I had made. Soon but his arrival was to announce something.

    The fact that I gave Wu Fan a coin yesterday was enough to entice the people intoing over wishing to work. Perhaps I didn¡¯t count correctly but it appears that a lot of the people in this vige are poor. The amount of money I had in my pouch was staggering to them. But if I were to pay everyone it will soon end. Especially before I could begin my real ns.

    "I¡¯ll only hire ten people, their wage will be one bronze Jin a day, are you satisfied with that?" I asked.

    "How are you going to pick us?" one of the men asked.

    "I won¡¯t, you will. Discuss it between yourselves, by noon I only want to see ten people, I don¡¯t have the time or effort to survey you all, and I don¡¯t even know your abilities, I only need the strongest of men too." I dered

    The men outside agreed, and after having debated amongst them who should work and who should not, they finally chose the ones who were the most desperate and in need of money and had enough strength to work hard. Those are my favorite people, as they will work and apply all their effort for survival, and those kinds of people are always honest I their jobs.

    I began assigning jobs, three to cut wood, three to get y out, two more to saw through the wood and make nks and logs for building. And two more to build the stuff I was about to draw for them.

    The first thing to build was a mill, right on the river. A mill will generate power enough that I could make a saw mil that will cut wood, and manning it will be easier for the workers and they will produce more wood.

    I got a sheep skin and drew on it the building diagram, the n of work. A mill was not too hard to build, and the advantages it generated were huge. After giving them the diagram, they followed it impably, one would not believe that these people were new to this, and after all they had probably built their own houses and had a good idea of what they were doing.

    Soon came the shop owner, he drew me to the side and offered me a deal.

    "I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re doing it, but you¡¯re producing a lot of material that can be sold. Do you mind if I bought them, off of you and sell them? This way we¡¯ll both make a profit."

    ¡¯CATCHING!¡¯ this is what I was waiting for.

    "Yes, but we¡¯ll have to talk to the Vige Head, I want something off of him."

    Soon the word reached the vige head and he asked me inside his home.

    Once I was inside, the old man was sitting and in front of him was a table with tea poured in.

    The man signaled both me and the shop owner to sit and once we did, he took a sip from his tea and said

    "For a young kid, you sure do have a lot of ingenious ideas, I have never seen anyoneing up with so much in so few a days."

    "It must be the teachings of the Xuan Fu sect, they have been known by their ingenious ways of cultivation." Said the shop owner trying to make small talks.

    I didn¡¯t answer but waited for the man to speak.

    "So, ites to my listening that you wish something of me."

    "Yes, I want to privatize my work, if anyone in the vige wishes to make the same things I do, you¡¯ll have to stop them."

    "Why would I, men are free to do what they want, some even started making your y furnaces, though most of them broke once they set them on fire."

    ¡¯obviously, that will happen, the base of the furnace and the heat it should contain needs to be perfect, otherwise the whole structure will be weak. But I¡¯m not gonna tell him that now am I.¡¯

    "Because I¡¯ll be paying tax, to have my work protected. Every silver I make I¡¯ll hand over 5 bronze coins to you," I said.

    ??Understandable, but five is not enough to appease the masses," he said, it was more like he said that it was not enough for his pockets.

    "Then ten, and I won¡¯t go a coin over." I said.

    "Fifteen and we have a deal, I¡¯ll even give you a good piece ofnd where you can ce your materials. It¡¯s close to the river and the forest."

    "Deal," I said.

    "As for me?" said the merchant.

    "For you, once the messenger arrives, show him the materials I have. And I¡¯ll give him ways he can use them and how he can make better, stronger buildings and more powerful tools and weapons."

    "You have all that already set up?" asked the Merchant.

    "Since day one, now, I¡¯ll be selling you the items at a fixed price and you¡¯ll sell them over to the peopleing to this ce. You¡¯ll act as a liaison and find more markets to buy from us."

    "I can do that, I have a lot of connections that could resell these." Said the man

    "Then we have a deal," I handed my hand for him to shake, but he didn¡¯t understand.

    "You shake it, like this," I grabbed his hand and shook it. it was awkward but he understood eventually.

    Once I was done, I went back to my shed and ate my fill once again.

    Life in this world is turning for the better, now I¡¯ll have a good financial stability, and after some time I should be able to afford elixirs to cure my body.

    I went back to watch over the workers.

    After a few months, the vige hadpletely changed. Most of the people were working under me. I had finished the Saw-watermill, the grinding watermill, and was able to afford even morebors.

    I got more and more materials to craft others things. I made steel, reced carriage wheels with reinforced steel wheels, made weapons and sold them to the messenger. Crafted goods, improved textile craft.

    Used the furnace to make pipes, used steel to make tools to dig the ground. Made pipelines and toilets. innovated an irrigating system that could constantly feed the crops water without having to manually do it. All thanks to the power of the mills.

    Electricity turned out to be a huge problem to deal with. There was not enough copper to make wires that could span the entirety of the vige. But I made sure to purchase wires whenever possible. The coating of the copper wires was going to be a hassle on its own, just coating them was going to be a problem. I could use tar for now, but I¡¯ll need a more permanent solutionter, since I don¡¯t have stic.

    Months upon months, the seasons turned, and I generated enough money that I was the richest man in the vige. More people had heard that there was always work in Lucid Spring vige thanks to the messenger and hade in droves. The vige turned to a city, and the wooden shakes and houses turned to stone and brick houses.

    After a couple of years, Wu Fan got married, he chose me as his best man.

    Since he was my right-handed man, he made a good fortune for himself and got himself the prettiest girl in town, not that I ever cared, but he was an honest man. So far, my view on the cruel world of cultivation began to change, the people here were the same as back on earth. The strong eat weak mentality was not ingrained into them. They helped and aided each other.

    I have been offered the daughters of many of the people in this town, but I had chosen not to get married yet. I have more and many things to do still.

    Today will be my fifth year on this new world, I am in either myte teens or my early twenties, not sure of the exact age of this body. But this would make me forty five years old counting the years I lived on earth.

    I find it strange that I am being offered girls not even half my age. But it¡¯s never been my goal to sit down and make a family, I needed to pursue the path of cultivation. Though I have been informed that theter one starts down this path in life, the lesser their achievements that didn¡¯t not stop me from pursuing it. and today is the day that a man will be arriving with an elixir that I have paid a literal fortune to order.

    He said that it was made by some powerful immortal cultivator, an elixir that could repair meridians and rejuvenate them. I waited patiently at the vige¡¯s entrance waiting for the person to arrive.

    Soon a man wearing a ck hooded robe appeared right in front of me. I didn¡¯t see him or hear him, he just materialized in front of me as if he was invisible.

    "You¡¯re Shen Bao?" he asked.

    "Yes, I nodded."

    The man looked me up and down and said, "Your meridians have been broken for a long time. This elixir might help, but I doubt it would be of any great use. Are you sure you want it? I can¡¯t promise great results."

    ¡¯At least he is honest, and I don¡¯t care, as long as there is hope. I will try it.¡¯

    "Yes, hand it over." I said.

    "Payment." The man said.

    I snapped my fingers and two men carrying arge chest came running toward me, they ced the chest in front of the robed man and backed away.

    I opened the box for the cultivator, and glittering gold assaulted his eyes.

    "Good enough," he said and waved a hand, making the whole box with its content disappear somewhere.

    He then handed me a bottle, a small vial with a red glistening liquid inside it.

    "Bath yourself in these herbs, burn incense and clear your mind before you drink this." He said and threw a small box full of strong scented herbs at me.

    The moment I picked them up, he was nowhere to be seen.

    I went back to my house, yes house now, a pretty big one, It took eight months for it to be built. And walked inside. I had a few maids, woman who offered their services to take care of the house in exchange for a few coins a month and food.

    They prepared my bath with the herbs and I did as the man said.

    Once I felt myself rxed and refreshed, I drank the potion. The material inside it melted in my body, it coiled around my stomach like a burning sun then spread all over my body. The heat it generated was enough to boil the water I was in, but surprisingly it didn¡¯t boil me with it.

    I felt my joints cracking, and deep, almost within the bones and flesh, I felt tingling, these were the same spots that pained me when I first came to this world, these were the meridians.

    They vibrated, more and more. I began breathing heavily, my body temperature rose exceptionally high, but there was hope, this elixir felt like it was the nectar of life, that energy began assaulting my body aiding in reconstructing it.

    However, it didn¡¯tst for long, as the power behind said energy dissipated, faded and was no more.

    I couldn¡¯t feel any change and the tingling faded.

    The current vige doctor was a cultivator, he arrived here due to hearing that it was a cheap and nice ce to stay, I went to him asking him to see if the elixir had worked. All I received was a shake of the head.

    "You should give up, Shen Bao, it is toote, you have a good deal of money, you can live your life free, you can live as a king, and you have a good heart and a solid mind. You don¡¯t need to go down the solitary path of cultivation," the doctor advised, but I declined to answer.

    Yet another hope crushed.

    Years had passed, and I tried more elixirs, some were so expensive one could literally buy cities over with. But it was not enough, it was never enough.

    Year after year, I was assaulted with a deep depression, I even took a spouse and had two kids. Both boys, they brightened my life a bit, and made me forget about my obsession for a while. However, old age was a constant reminder to me. That this life I am leading was finite, and the dream of cultivation was soon going to be forgotten.

    I became the next City Head, Lucid Spring had already turned to arge city by now. And with this power I was able to move more men to get even more money flowing into the city. And with it, my pockets grew heftier.

    Many of the people in the city were blessed with kids that were able to cultivate. They had lived a good life, ate good food, and were able to raise healthy children that were attuned with nature and could harness the energies of the world.

    Unlike my children who were unable to, I even spent more money on them to gain the ability to harness the Spiritual Energy but it was futile. I even heard rumors that it was my fault, and due to my shattered meridians, that my children were cripples.

    My wife, Yu Ming passed away giving birth to our third child, she was a girl, but she also didn¡¯t make it through childbirth.

    My two other kids, Lu Bao, and Xiao Bao grew up fast they didn¡¯t have the same mindset as I did. They did not pursue knowledge and didn¡¯t ask me or didn¡¯t wish to learn of what I knew; it seems that physics theory was going to die with me.

    Time passed on, and I was in my seventies. My children had children of their own, but I could feel it in their hearts that they did not enjoy mypany, perhaps because I was too engrossed in my obsession that I never gave them time. They rarely came to visit as they had parted to other cities.

    But as it happened today was the day I heard of an even better elixir, made by a nascent soul cultivator, thought I don¡¯t know what rank of cultivation that is, the doctor confirmed that the owner had an ungodly and steep cultivation level.

    After I gathered my belongings, as I knew I should be the one to go there and present him the money I have gathered, my two son¡¯s Lu Bao and Xiao Bao came along with me. I felt d that they wished to apany me this time, that they finally saw what I was attempting to do and are supporting me.

    Oh, how blind have I been, I should have seen iting.

    Lu Bao chose to lead the carriage while Xiao Bao rode inside with me. The conversation was dry, and besides telling me on how his own kids and wife were doing, he replied with nothing else.

    After ten days travel, we had to take the carriage along a steep mountain, the road was tough but it could still fit a carriage as ours. And once we were halfway through the mountain, Lu Bao stopped the carriage. They wanted to rest they said.

    I left the cabin and went to check out the scenery, the sun wasing down, and the world looked at peace. Greenery spanning distances unknown a ce where beasts roamed free and no sane man would move through. This forest has always been the bane of hunters and only those in desperate need would ever wander it.

    Unbeknownst to me, Lu Bao was behind me. He didn¡¯t speak, he only shoved me with all he could down the mountain slop.

    Surprised, shocked and unable to understand, thest I saw was the spiteful look on Lu Bao and Xiao Bai as I fell down the steep mountain, betrayed by my own children.

 Chapter 5 No Light at The end of The Tunnel

    <h4>Chapter 5: No Light at The end of The Tunnel</h4>

    It hurts. The fall, as I saw thest facial expression on the faces of my children. It hurts, it hurt more than the impact against the rocks, more than the cuts and bruises, more than the broken leg I received. And it definitely hurt me more than when I stopped rolling, and my body finally began assessing the damage and sending pain signals all over the broken areas.

    I couldn¡¯t feel my face, I didn¡¯t know if that was a blessing or a curse. But the rest of my body was in an infernal agony. I could barely breathe, my lungs wereboring to get some air in. But with every breath, a sharp pain electrified my chest. My right leg was twisted out of ce and definitely broken from the look of it. It will be a pain to set it back.

    I didn¡¯t notice at first, but the fall, was pretty high. It was so high that I couldn¡¯t even see the ledge I was thrown off form. This hill or mountain was definitely steep. And the fall I took should have killed anyone immediately. But it was all thanks to this body, though in myte seventies. I was still stronger than your average man, and definitely more resilient.

    However, my resilience will not save me from the fangs of a starved demon beast. And in this forest, these beasts were aplenty, or so has many of my Lucid Spring city had imed. A lot of its people went here to hunt, but many left their lives here in search of riches. They were powerful and experienced hunters, and I was nothing more than an old man, easy prey for any that happens to pass nearby or fall upon my scent.

    I tried to drag my body, but I failed miserably, even my arms, which I felt had suffered the least damage, had finally started broadcasting the pain in them. They were both bruised, and I probably sprained my wrist.

    Still, I tided through the agony and managed to get on one knee. I looked up at the mountain I dropped from. There was no way I could climb back. Perhaps I could trace along the mountain¡¯s base and end up back at the path it led through it. I could wait there for a few days, and a caravan could help me by then.

    This was the n I set for myself, and I was about to execute it. Yet my body didn¡¯t respond. I noticed that I was shaking, signs of an iing shock. If I fall into shock, I will definitely never wake up from it.

    I bit the tip of my tongue, it hurts, really bad, yet this jerking pain, added upon the constant pain my body was feeling woke me up and stopped the shuddering.

    ¡¯I have to get out of here,¡¯ I thought.

    I dragged myself forward, with one barely functioning arm and leg. Feeling utter exhaustion after every move. And in no more than ten steps, I fell back to the ground.

    ¡¯This is not going to work,¡¯ I said to myself, I needed a way to mend my broken body.

    Catching a twig with my hand, I thought, I could probably use this with some rope to put my foot in ce. Also, with a couple of stronger and sturdier sticks, I could make a cane.

    Iughed to myself, it has been years since Ist crafted anything. Being the city lord had pulled me away from these manual tasks, as I had assigned many people to do what I had in my mind after presenting them with the corresponding diagrams.

    But now, I¡¯m back to my starting days, and that manual crafting is probably the only thing that has supported me, was with me, and never betrayed me. Do it yourself.

    I forced my hip and twisted my leg, snapping it back to ce. The pain was enough to drop me unconscious but with another forceful bite of the tongue, I was back.

    If I do this more, I might end up biting my tongue off.

    I got more twigs and sticks, ced them around my foot then strapped them with a piece of cloth I tore from my robe.

    Then I dragged myself forward. Finding big sticks for walking in a forest wasn¡¯t hard. And I used them to pull myself up. I could now move.

    But my breathing was bing a problem, with each breath I took, the more pain I suffered and this was not good. I fear that one of my ribs if not more are broken, or it had damaged or worse, punctured my lung. Though thest option was daunting, it was not possible, I was still alive and didn¡¯t suffer lung failure, yet.

    As I moved about, I felt a powerful gust of wind blowing above me.

    Looking up, I saw a man, he was floating. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that I was not dreaming, and this man was actually floating.

    He looked like a middle-aged person, wearing cultivator clothing, ck and purple.

    The only cultivators I ever met were from the Xuan Fu sect, and others from minor sects, but even among these sects, I have never seen one able to float in the air.

    The man looked at me, with that same probing gaze that many other ¡¯doctors¡¯ have done to me.

    "You¡¯ll work," said the man and without even touching me, he grasped with his hand and I was lifted off the ground. Pain, back-breaking pain assaulted my body, it felt like an invisible titan grabbed my whole body and I had no say in the matter.

    I couldn¡¯t even speak, the pressure on my lungs was enough to shut me up.

    The man flew over the forest with a speed so amazing I thought I was on a high-speed jet. He kept moving above the forest, headed to a direction only he knew. And once again I had no say in the matter.

    I fainted somewhere along the road. And only woke up to the sound of agony. Not mine, but many, many, many others.

    I was inside a cave, more like a cavern. Its ceiling was high, and it was lit thanks to a few torches ced on the cavern¡¯s walls. A few things caught my attention. The first, a pungent purple-colored pool in the middle of the cave. The second a bronze door, filled with symbols, and words I didn¡¯t know what they meant.

    And in the middle of this bronze door was a handprint.

    Lastly were the cultivators around the room, there were five of them. Each with different clothing, different sects. They were our prisoners.

    Yes, I said our, because there was not just me. The people with me, men, women, children. Of all ages and races. Dark, white, brown, and many. They were all held down with some sort of power that I had just noticed, it caused us to remain unmoving, unable to resist.

    And why I say resist, is that one of these five people, a man also of middle age with dark long hair and a crimson-colored robe, sat in front of the pool, he grabbed the people around the cave. And pierced through their skin with his finger. Rapidly so that blood didn¡¯t even have time to sprout out.

    The man would then throw whoever he had pierced through into the pool, where they shout, cry, and scream in utterplete madness.

    If I were to guess, this pool was so painful to the touch that they had the look of a person wishing to die the moment they touched it.

    Yet whenever one of these people was thrown into the pool, this purple liquid moved as if it had a will of its own, draining them, drowning them, and ultimately killing them.

    This...liquid, viscous, with a mind of its own, it moved and went through these people¡¯s mouths, nostrils, ears, and eyes. Then ultimately dragged them down without them ever returning back up.

    More people did, and I sat there, unable to do anything to resist my approaching doom.

    Fate? I have started believing in it, when I first came here, that I will be able to change my life and do something with this life. That my body, though unable to cultivate if I use my brain well enough that I could circumvent this situation. And then be able to be a cultivator.

    Yet what is fate when one like these cultivators is able to bind your life, bend it and do whatever he wants to you without you ever having the chance or opportunity to go beyond his clutch and escape?

    What is life when one can kill you at his whim? Fairness? Fate? I call bullshit...

    These were thest thoughts that crossed my mind as it was now my turn, I haven¡¯t even noticed how many people were thrown into the pit.

    "Grab him," another man said. And the one wearing crimson grasped his hand and the same feeling enveloped my body, as I was being carried by a giant¡¯s hand and taken all the way to the man wearing crimson.

    I was unable to talk, something was preventing me from, all I could do was moan, but they didn¡¯t care about that. The man was about to pierce through my skin and throw me to my death. And I had no say in the matter. How loathsome.

    Yet before the man could even pierce my skin, the other guy, the one who brought me in said, "There is no need, his meridians are already shattered."

    The man carrying me looked back at me with that same probing gaze, and shrugged, then threw me to my demise.

    It felt bad, worse than anything I have ever suffered before. And if the falling form, a cliffside wasparable to a pat on the back, this pain was a full-scale whipping with a notched iron whip. Only this whip was made of molten steel.

    I was going to die, and I could do nothing about it.

 Chapter 6 Purple Skull

    As I suffered an agony a hundred times worse than drowning, as the vile liquid prated through my nostrils and lungs, it made me feel as if I was drowning in liquidva. With every bit and piece of my body in utter andplete agonizing pain. I wanted to scream, and when I did, I instantly regretted it as I have let the liquid that felt like a living thing ess to my body.

    The liquid, a nefarious, destructive, and painful substance enveloped me and pressed against every fiber of my body, making me wish that death woulde and im my life as fast as it could, but the reaper was too slow in his work that I wanted to curse at him. I wasn¡¯t dying any time soon. And it took a lot of time for the cultivators to notice that I am still alive and in utter pain.

    I lost sight in one of my eyes, the burning pain from my broken leg increased ten folds. And my back felt like it broke and was reconstructed but in a deformed way. I was suffering, it was as if the liquid was morphing my body, molding it like y dough to the shape it wanted.

    "He still lives. Good!" one of the cultivators said, then the same power pulled me from the pool. Like a hand that grasped on the body of a small bird, making it feel useless and unable to do anything but beg for the mercy of its captive.

    He threw me against the pool¡¯s rim, I fell on my back, gasping for air that resisted contending agaisnt the burning liquid in my lungs.

    I was unable to see well, my mind was in chaos, and my lungs were full of the disgusting liquid, I wretched and coughed out whatever I could, but I felt like there was much more left inside my lungs as they burned with every breath I took.

    "You, what¡¯s your name?" asked on of the cultivators, he was the man with the crimson robe.

    He was addressing me. I didn¡¯t want to annoy him, so I spoke through grit teeth, "Shen Bao."

    "Shen Bao, today is your lucky day, you¡¯ll be of service to an Immortal, rejoice and take pride in it." said the man earing crimson, his gaze however was filled with scorn, as if he saw me as nothing but an ant, a tool to his devises. A nonentity.

    It was humiliating, to be looked down upon, to be treated this way and to be expected to be thankful to your torturer, but for now, they hold the keys to my survival, and I could do nothing but follow their orders, perhaps I could live.

    "You¡¯ve survived the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, that is a feat not even we Immortals could do, that means you¡¯re fated to be of great use to us. Brat, move to that door, and ce your hand in it." said the man.

    ¡¯Brat... no matter how you look at it, I look much older than him. But if he is an Immortal, the same as the ones in those books, then he could be hundreds of years for all I know. So he is probably right in calling me brat.¡¯

    I looked forward from where I was lying down. There was a golden door there, filled with writings of all sorts. I didn¡¯t understand any of them, but in the middle of the writings was a palm print.

    "ce your hand on the palm print. Once you do that, that door will open, and you¡¯ll be set free. I even have your antidote; you¡¯ll be good as new once you drink this." The cultivator said.

    ¡¯brand as new?¡¯

    I finally realized what he meant as I looked at my hands, I was a healthy old aged man, I still had muscles and a good build, but after being dipped into that pool, everything changed. My skin turned pale green, pustules and odd tumorous blobs grew abnormally all over my body, this looked like a severe case of Neurofibromatosis, I¡¯ve read an article about it once. I was a monster...

    "Hurry!"

    I tried to stand up, but my right leg gave up on me, the broken bone hadn¡¯t healed yet and with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, it had undoubtedly been affected and now it¡¯s in an even worse condition.

    "MOVE!" shouted one of the cultivators, and I had no choice but to do so.

    I dragged myself forward, feeling every part of me in utter agony, every bone of my body screaming in pain as I moved forward. The pain was too much, yet I didn¡¯t faint or fall unconscious, I cursed the strong constitution of this body as it would have spared me much of this pain if I was just a weak normal human.

    Once I reached the gate, the crimson wearing cultivator said, "Press your palm there, brat. We don¡¯t have much time."

    I did as I was told, all for that antidote, if I get it, I could get rid of these disgusting features...

    Once my hand locked onto the gate, it felt like it was glued. Something pricked me in the palm, and a gust of blood surged out from the palm print and spread all over the door. I felt dizzy and anemic. But I still couldn¡¯t fall unconscious.

    I dropped to my knees huffing once the door creaked open.

    "It¡¯s open! We finally did it! Ten years of hard work finally got us here!" the Crimson robed cultivator spoke in glee.

    The door kept opening revealing the inside. The cultivators rushed toward the door. They wanted to im what was there. But something was not right.

    Right I front of me was a purple colored skull, it was too big, almost as big as the door¡¯s size, it looked like a ghost, ethereal and see through. Yet the cultivators didn¡¯t seem to notice it, or even care about it if they did.

    Soon, the purplish skull dissipated into a cloud of gas and fell to the ground, seeping like a coiling snake. It came to me, but the moment it touched me, it removed itself and went away, looking for something.

    The purple smoke also avoided the cultivators, but they still didn¡¯t seem to notice it.

    It went out probably that was the ghost of someone and it was leaving the dungeon we¡¯re in.

    The cultivators all went inside the new room but I grabbed at thest one¡¯s robe and said.

    "The antidote!"

    The cultivator smirked in my face and said, "Do you think if we had the antidote we wouldn¡¯t have dipped ourselves in the pool and open the door ourselves? Foolish mortal, now die!" he said and lifted his leg up to stomp on my face.

    Yet the earth trembled and a shaking far worse than anything I have ever felt before started.

    The scarce light that came from the exit of this dungeon was cut off. And the volume of the purple fog began increasing in the room.

    The people who were chained began falling unconscious, it was sudden, and silent. Like nothing I have ever seen before, it was like a spell to make everyone fall asleep. Yet, their bodies shriveled up and dried up right in front of my eyes.

    Not even the cultivator who wanted to stomp my head into the ground was saved from this fate, even he was turned to a skeleton, then his skeleton turned to ash. All that was left of him was his clothes and a small brown pouch.

    The cave was silent. For the first time since I got here, it was as silent as the night. No more came the sound of wailing and pained moans, not even the sound of the Cultivators who went into the room.

    I can¡¯t stay here, perhaps the purple ghost had ignored me at first was a coincidence, but I doubt it will do it again.

    There was no way out from where we got in from. There is only the cave.

 Chapter 7 The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is Brighter

    <h4>Chapter 7: The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is Brighter</h4>

    I dragged myself forward and entered the door. I expected to see arge room or a corridor spanning hundreds of meters underground, but I was met with a small room, no bigger than one of my sleeping chambers in my pce at Lucid Spring City. How I miss myfortable life.

    This is my first encounter with real cultivators, not those practitioners who barely know how to do alchemy or potion-making that imed to be cultivators. The people here had utter disregard to mortal life, they were arrogant, boisterous, and domineering. They did what they wanted, with little regard to life or morality. These were evil.

    But my fate is sealed with these people I can¡¯t do anything in my current weakened state, no, I couldn¡¯t even do anything even if I was fifty years younger.

    But I have to move forward. And I did.

    But there was no one there, not even the cultivators that entered, there didn¡¯t seem to be a way out of this room and I didn¡¯t see anyone leave. Looking around I noticed that the ground was riddled with ash, and among the ashen remains were the robes of the cultivators.

    Everyone is dead. Even those people who could crush me like an ant, they too were crushed like one.

    What madness is this? Why among all was I spared?

    My mind couldn¡¯t adapt to the current scope of things. Cultivators that were mighty as gods were destroyed and made to look like they didn¡¯t ount for a thing. They were a nonentity in the eyes of that purple ghost.

    I looked back but didn¡¯t see any signs of that floating skull. It was here no more, or probably it is hidden waiting to see what I would do.

    I calmed myself, if that skull wanted me dead, I had no ability whatsoever to defy it. So as long as I still live, perhaps I still have a chance to get out of here.

    I gathered the robes and pouches of the dead cultivators and tried to pry one open.

    None of them opened up for me. They didn¡¯t seem to budge or move. Disgruntled, I tore the red dress of the crimson wearing cultivator and made a bigger pouch that I gathered all of the pouches in.

    I looked around some more but didn¡¯t find anything of interest. Nothing was here but old broken vases withered vines and mold.

    Yet my eyes gleaned onto something, a small green book with golden engraving was on the ground almost fully covered by the ash of one of the cultivators remains.

    I went to the book and hesitated. Was this what they came here looking for?

    My curiosity outbid my sanity and I grabbed at the book. Almost instantly my mind went nk then a surge of golden writings imprinted themselves in my mind.

    "Life and Death, all handled by the hands of the mighty.

    Yet life begot Death and Death begot reincarnation.

    Life can be saved, and Death can be spared.

    For in medicine, there exist poison, and in poison there exists medicine."

    I had no idea what these writings mean but one thing was certain. Under this passage, a sentence was written that made me shudder.

    Poison God¡¯s Heritage.

    Cultivation manual.

    Almost immediately, my excitement dulled. There was no way I could use this. I was not a cultivator. Perhaps I could sell it to get a good elixir.

    I decided to flip one of the pages to see what was in the book and lo and behold. Fate has not given up on me yet.

    ***

    To cultivate the Poison God¡¯s Technique, one must first severe his meridians.

    The meridians are the base of all spiritual cultivation path. But the Poison God¡¯s Technique is a path like none other. It doesn¡¯t need Spiritual Meridian, but Poison Meridian. Seeing as you have the ability to read through this book, then you have survived the Bone and Body Grinding poison.

    Your shattered meridians are unfit to use this manual, but once the Bone and Body Grinding Poison prates through them, it will mold them, refine them, and make them into poison meridians.

    You will be able to cultivate energy unlike any other, a Spiritual Poison Energy. Consuming poisons will be your way of cultivating. Building a strong cultivation base depends on the quality of the poisons you have consumed. Seeing that you are my one and only disciple, I have left you a gift. It is the Pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    Consuming it will establish a good cultivation base, and then you can go and venture in the world to find more poisons to consume so you can increase your cultivation.

    After reaching certain stages, normal poisons will not harm you but rather benefit you. And even deadly ones that could turn a cultivator to ash will be like a fresh breeze to you.

    However, thises at a grave cost. You have to be smart about what you consume, as your body cannot sustain the top grad poison and they could still kill you if you eat them.

    Lastly, you are going to die. This is a fact, know it, live with it, and fear it. The Bone and body Grinding Poison will destroy you unless you control it and morph it int your own poison and then use it to kill your enemies. But that is not all. To learn the Poison God¡¯s Technique, you will have to live with a frightening secret.

    This Technique will help you be stronger, younger, faster, and more powerful than anyone. But you are against the clock. This manual is a curse as much as it is a blessing.

    You are urged to rise in your cultivation.

    You have one year to reach Qi Condensation. Here is the method you will used to circte your Poison Qi.

    ***

    Under that text block was a picture of a man, sitting in the lotus position and four points were marked in his body. If I remembered correctly these were one of the four points that the cultivators destroyed to those homeless-looking people then threw them in the pool.

    These are locations for meridians. And I needed to circte this Poison Qi thing exactly as the manual shows.

    There were also tons of details on how to circte energy and even a skill that can be learned once I reach the first level of Qi Condensation.

    I have looked all my life for a way to cultivate, yet I failed many times over. I cursed the fact that I was unable to cultivate, and that my meridians were shattered. Yet, even those shattered meridians came back with a gracious gift, they helped me survive death, and they also helped me start on the path of cultivation.

    I looked at the manual and sighed, this might not be the best start in a cultivation world. Where other people got a magnificent mentor, a great treasure, or a godly cultivation skill. All I have gotten was an old hunched back body filled with pustules and disgusting tumors. And a cultivation manual that will kill me if I didn¡¯t reach the next stage within one year. Not the best start, but definitely beats dying right here and there.

    I was given a chance, and I¡¯ll make sure to make the best use of it.

 Chapter 8 First Step

    <h4>Chapter 8: First Step</h4>

    Four days had passed, I have yet to fully understand how to circte the Poison Spiritual energy in my body, but I had learned a few things.

    First was, I no longer felt hungry, strange as it might be. I am satiated almost all the time. Also, I didn¡¯t go to the toilets even once. Strange as it might be. It¡¯s weird, but I could live with that. Also, the poison pool. It... tasted sweet. The poison that had killed so many people, tasted like the purest and most expensive champagne I have ever had in my life. And with every cup I downed, I felt the pain in my broken leg lessen, and the buzzing in the eye I could no longer use subside.

    Healing properties? Perhaps, but it is poison. Bone and Body Grinding poison.

    I re-read through the manual, it didn¡¯t have anything beyond the method to reach Qi condensation. And I didn¡¯t have any mentor to show me the way, and no way to leave this ce unless I be a Qi condensation stage cultivator...I hope.

    With no other objective, goal, or purpose than surviving, I sat down and continued trying to circte the energy. Trial and error, at first I had no idea on what to do, I tried to picture how the meridians should be, then... then nothing, how the hell was I supposed to circte energy I don¡¯t even sense? I was lost and had no idea how to go on about this.

    For all those main characters, circting energy was as easy as breathing, why is it this hard for me? Perhaps I never interacted with this energy and don¡¯t know what it even feels like or if it is here or not.

    Days went by, as I tried different methods, meditation, dipping myself in the pool, that one was dumb, the poison, when drank tasted amazing, but when dipped in it, it felt painful beyond belief. I regarded leaving that option forter trials and tests.

    Time kept going, and thankfully hunger and sleep were no longer on my conscious, I was fully dedicated to finding out how this cirction works. As I was moving around the cave, for the millionth time now, I stopped and looked at the pool. Something about the poison in it was rather inexplicable.

    The liquid moved, it was not sentient, but it moved. It didn¡¯t have a shape, it just changed itself into random forms that made no sense, but overall, the entirety of the poison moved in a circr way around itself.

    This was not a living thing, but it still moved. It had a rhythm that it followed. Water in a pool would not move, and would soon be rancid still water. But here, it moved without pause and following a strange rhythm.

    I sat down in front of the pool and closed my eye. The other one apparently was forever close.

    I couldn¡¯t sense the energy in me, the one that needs to be circted to be a Qi condensation cultivator, but if my hunch is right, the secret lies within this pool. The way the poison moves, could I make the energy within me move like that? That is of course a question that can only be answered I I could even feel it.

    While I was thinking up some random stuff, I felt a tingling in one of my meridians. Soon, that tingling became more and more apparent. Then it transformed into a thin line that spread and linked itself to another meridian. Then to another and finally another, then returned to origin. It made a full circle. And the energy that I have never felt before became clear and bright as day.

    A powerful surge of energy began rotating following that path and it continued, moving, circting, and rapidly elerating.

    This is it! This is how to circte energy! I thought and then immediately coughed up a pile of ck sludge.

    I kept on coughing up that disgusting sludge. It was rancid, ck as charcoal, and tasted worse than a camel¡¯s dung that¡¯s been mixed with fish guts on a hot Sunday morning.

    I sat down, thinking about this stuff, impurities? If I remember correctly, these are human impurities, the way to ascend to immortality, one must remove all that rtes him to the mortal world, starting with food and otherworldly natures and needs.

    I doubt that I became a Qi condensation immortal, this was too easy. Perhaps I just started on the path to circte the energy or poison energy as the book said in my body. I definitely have more to do and need a lot more time to be a real cultivator.

    Days went by, and it was hard and difficult to enter that state where I could link the meridians and make them circte the energy within them. But I understoodter that I needed to be in a semi-absent-minded state. As the state, you¡¯re in when you¡¯re half asleep. Just about to doze off, but still aware of what was happening. I needed to remain in that state constantly. It was hard at the beginning but became much easier as time went by.

    Energy coursed through my meridians, and for every couple thousand of circtions, I would cough up a big pile of disgusting stuff.

    After a few days of doing the same thing, I felt my head turn nk, I was about to pass out. It was the same as if I was in an extreme hunger scenario. And in that instance, that pool, looked extremely appetizing and delicious to eat from.

    I moved almost mechanically toward it and took a handful of the purple liquid. I drank it, and it went down like honey water on a hot summer day. I began consuming more and more of the poison, not even caring for the corpses that have been buried in it, and the mix of flesh with the disgustingly looking and horridly smelling poison still tasted heavenly whenever I drank from it.

    After a while, and having felt full, I continued my practice, continued rotating the energy and cultivating. The feeling of being stuck in a treadmill, unable to move forward in my cultivation soon dispersed, and I felt a slight increase in the energy rotation of my meridians.

    That slight increase soon began to umte, elerate, then as if it was a snowball effect, the rotations turned faster and faster, until I felt that I was about to explode, and not in a bad way.

    A wave of energy shot out of my body and all over the cave walls, it rebounded everywhere, shaking rocks and pebbles away from me.

    I took a deep breath, and honest to the mighty, it felt like it was the first breath I had ever really taken. The pain in my eighty-year-old joints had disappeared. The broken leg had not healed perfectly but I could only feel difort in it instead of bone piercing agony.

    I began sweating, not your regr sweat, but an oily, ck disgusting one. I¡¯ve been in this damned cave for far too long and there is no clean water source. Hell, I don¡¯t even know how I managed to survive this long without water. I suppose the poison and the cultivation have something to do with the body¡¯s needs.

    The book, the green book vibrated in my chest, I had ced It inside my robes so I wouldn¡¯t casually leave it somewhere and forget about it. I¡¯m old... it happens sometimes.

    I opened the book and there were few more lines written there that I didn¡¯t see thest time.

    ===

    Being able to read this line means that you have sessfully reached the lowest tier of Qi condensation.

    Since you¡¯re able to read this, your cultivation level has increased. As a disciple of my arts, you must not have ever been in contact with cultivation, as it needs a fresh sprout that has no meridians unlocked to learn it. So I shall impart upon you some wisdom that will aid you in your path.

    All cultivation levels are divided into nine levels. And these nine levels are also divided into three distinctyers. Bottom, Middle, and Peak.

    For the QI condensation, it isposed of the followingyer and subyers.

    Bottom Low, Bottom Medium, and Bottom Peak.

    Middle Low, Middle Medium, and Middle Peak

    High Low, High Medium, and High Peak.

    Having reached the Bottom Low Qi condensation, your lifespan has increased by two more years. You¡¯re urged to reach the Bottom Medium Qi condensation level within these two years.

    If you were a regr cultivator, you would be able to sense the world¡¯s Qi, the spiritual energy, and start absorbing some of it to circte your QI, though it is the most obvious of methods to increase your cultivation, it would take a great deal of time. Some skip this by consuming pills that can generate a good deal of Spiritual Energy and is much purer and can be rotated with ease. Yet, this method is not without fault, it will make the foundation unstable if one was to rely on pills to increase their cultivation and will create a sub-par cultivator in the future that will be stuck and unable to ascend to further heights.

    The pills made by alchemists may be good, maybe great, but they can never match the perfectness of the world¡¯s energy.

    As for you, Disciple of mine. You are treading a path only I have walked through before you. Our path is lonely and full of danger. To increase your cultivation, you¡¯ll need the energy of nts, poisons, and bugs. It is the same as consuming pills in a sense, only these ¡¯pills¡¯ are not made by man, they are made by the heavenly will and are as pure as nature¡¯s own energy.

    Here is the diagram of the only spell you¡¯ll be able to use once you stabilize your cultivation at Bottom Low Qi condensation.

    Under the text was a picture of a man, rotating his energy in the same manner that I have done while meditating, the only difference is that, instead of continuing the rotation to increase their cultivation, they channel it toward their mouth and breath out a fog.

    I sat down and began mimicking the picture of the man in the book.

    After a few rotations of energy, I willed the energy to leave through my mouth, and a substance green as a liquor bottle shot out from my mouth then transformed into a small puff of green smoke.

    The green smoke touched against a cave alga and it instantly withered.

    "Poison breath!" I eximed.

    I just learned my first new spell in a cultivation world.

    ***

    Please Support me by joining my ******* and read up to10 more chapters ahead.

    /BoucettaAmr

 Chapter 9 Deadly Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 9: Deadly Encounter</h4>

    I continued using the same spell, to understand my limits and how far I can go with it. The drawback, and the number of times I could use before I¡¯m fully exhausted. So far I understood that I could only use it three times in a row, and a fourth time after half an hour. But if I were to use it for the fifth time, I would drop unconscious. So, five is the limit. At least right now and at my current level. If I were to increase my cultivation, I would undoubtedly increase my tolerance and my ability to cast more of this spell, and perhaps even more potent grades of it. This all, on the premise I increase my cultivation and judging from the size of the pool, I guess it will be difficult.

    The pool that I had consumed poison from had its size already decreased by half. Thanks to me, drinking from it constantly for sustenance and supplementing my needs of Poison Qi.

    Days went by, and they were boring, utterly andpletely boring, nothing to do, a dark cave that had no secrets, believe me, I checked by turning every rock and stone. There was nothing left, even from the corpses of those poor people, besides a few coins, there was nothing left in the cave.

    The pool¡¯s level dropped further, with each day, I would consume arge portion of it until a month went by and the pool had nothing else to give me. I found out that I was able to ingestrger andrger amounts of the poison without it actually increasing my cultivation to a visible degree. But the totality of the pool ingested had actually increased my cultivation level by oneyer. A few days ago I had achieved Qi condensation Bottom Medium level. Yet, sadly, I found nothing of interest or new on the Poison God¡¯s book. Perhaps I need to reach a higher cultivation level to unlock something new.

    Yet without the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, there was no way for me to supplement my Poison Qi, and thus no way for me to increase my cultivation.

    It¡¯s time to leave this cave.

    I packed everything I could and found it useful. There was nothing much actually, just the bags of the people who brought me and those poor fellows here, anything else hadpletely melted by the purple poison that I haven¡¯t seen lurking around here ever since the first day in this cave.

    I walked up to the cave¡¯s caved-in entrance,rge boulders were holding off the exit. No way for me to leave but a small crack that was leaking some of the world¡¯s sunlight. Getting out from that small crack was impossible. So I needed to find a way out.

    I checked the rocks and noticed that one small rock was actually supporting the majority of the rocks around it, I was lucky. Because if I had to physically move these things, I would need to at least be forty years younger.

    I was no longer as nimble or as strong as I was before, so if I were to move that small stone out of its ce, the rest of the boulders will definitelye falling down on me. I wouldn¡¯t want that right now.

    I remembered seeing a speer somewhere around here, it probably belonged to a hunter that was brought with us to this ce. It could do well if I were to use it to move the rock from a distance.

    I went back to the corpses of the poor men, women, and children, and among them was a spear and a few old or barely functioning hunting tools. I took the spear as I had no use for the rest of the stuffying there, nor did I have the proper knowledge to use them. A bow in the hand of an amateur is as useful as a sledgehammer to a toddler.

    The spear would do perfectly.

    Once I had the weapon in hand I headed back to the entrance, then began poking, and poking, and poking at the small rock.

    Using too much strength would probably strain the spear and make it snap. So I had to be careful. And thankfully, after a long time of poking, the rock was dislodged, and the rest of the boulders followed as they rumbled down. Crushing each other and rolling on the ground. Thankfully I was far away that none of the rocks managed to hit me when the whole thing came down.

    The small crack in the formation opened up and became wide enough for me to squeeze myself in. and so I did, as I had to climb the now unsteady rocks, and get out of the cave.

    A cool breeze assaulted my face as I took note of my surrounding. A forest, the same forest that my kids had thrown me into was what met my eyes. And only then when I finally was forced to face a situation that I was hardly and intimately trying to avoid. I was betrayed by my own children.

    There was no justice in this world, cruelty, and unfilially, my sons have betrayed me. Sons that I have neglected, but still they are my sons, though I was not the best parent, I definitely was not the worst. I did not deserve what happened to me. I had given them all I could, made their lives worry-free, yet greed still managed to eat at their hearts, they threw me off to the wolves so they would im my fortune to themselves.

    Should I go back to Lucid Spring?

    A question that I immediately answered, "I have nothing left there," and turned to have the sun against my back, and headed deeper into the forest.

    There was no way for me to return there, and even if I did, what good will it bring me? I finally made it to a cultivator, I have finally achieved my dream, why should I be tied to them? Why not find how this world of cultivation works?

    With a spear in hand, and a pack made of the clothes of one of the cultivators I moved ahead. There was nothing to look for behind me, and only one way forward. So I limped forward.

    Yes, limped, the damage to my leg was still severe, the bone definitely did not heal right. My left eye is botched, and I could no longer use it, and therge and gross number of pustules on my entire body made me no different from a monster to any man¡¯s sight. I was disgusting to look at, disgusting to speak to, disgusting to even have in one¡¯s presence. But that would work perfectly for me. The more unsightly I am to people, the less likely they will bother me.

    As I walked through the forest I felt at a loss, the sun was going down, and the forest began to turn colder.

    Hunger and thirst were the least of my worries, as a beginning cultivator, I understood that my body no longer requires food and sustenance, but that is of course rather situational, I would die of hunger eventually, but I have a better tolerance to it than any normal human. The worst however was the fact that I am not in any form or shape, able to protect myself from monsters or demonic creatures if I were to face one of them.

    Parties of my Lucid Spring city have died here in the forest as they ventured to find materials here. They were strong and powerful hunters that came in groups, yet sometimes none of them were able to survive. I on the other hand am old, weak, limping, and with a spear that I mostly could only use to support myself to walk.

    Encountering one of these monsters would mean my immediate death. Yet, it shouldn¡¯t be that easy to meet up with one of them, at least from what I remember, demonic monsters are a rare sight.

    Or so I thought as I heard a loud growl behind me.

    Turning, I saw a shadow of a creature, it looked feline, and only the brimstone-colored gems of eyes it had were bright enough for me to see what it was.

    It easily moved around me without making a sound, its steps were light. moonlight shone from between the cracks between tree leaves, revealing a spotted leopard-shaped creature, only it was the size of a horse. He had two saber-toothed fangs that were barred at me, they reflected some of the moonlight and showed me how dangerous they were.

    The leopard pounced...

    ***

 Chapter 10 Realization and Objective.

    <h4>Chapter 10: Realization and Objective.</h4>

    In my current condition, never mind running, not even a simple walk was possible, with the heavy broken leg, and the oldness of this body¡¯s bones, I was nothing more than an appetizer for this creature. I had no way to escape, no way to beat it or hid from it. Death has raised its scythe and is preparing to lob off my head with it.

    Death? How many times has it been now, from the time my kids threw me to my doom, to the cultivators who drowned me in a pool of poison, to the suffering I had at the hand of that poison. Death is easy, and ites cheap, and now I was going to die, in a random spot, in a random ce, facing a random creature. Death is easy, but at the same time, only those who surrender to it would die without fighting back. I may not be the most courageous of people, nor the bravest, or the strongest, but I had a will to survive, and a goal that I have just began achieving. I¡¯m a cultivator, a weak pitiful, and dismissible cultivator in this world, yet I made it here, with my own effort and I will not forgive myself if I were to lose this life of mine due to some odd and random monster.

    The wrath and refusal to ept such a meaningless death made these old bones of mine move, the leopard lunged at me only to find emptiness in the jagged and sharp ws of his. The creature growled as it turned, to find me half sprawled on the ground. I had rolled away, only it was barely enough for me to escape from the creature¡¯s ws but not enough to save myself from hitting my wounded leg against the ground. Pain assaulted me from all over my body, but I grit my teeth against it.

    ¡¯Cryter, fight now!¡¯

    I locked my eyes to the slit pupils of the now enraged predator, it seems that it was annoyed that such an old weak prey managed to evade its initial attack.

    There was no way for me to outdo the massive strength of such arge feline. But I didn¡¯t need to rely on muscles that have long since been weakened, nor fingers that were gued with necrosis, or my body that barely had enough power to carry itself. I had a weapon, and I had to use it.

    What better way than to use that than now? It¡¯s free practice. Correction, it¡¯s a practice that if I don¡¯t seed in, I¡¯ll die.

    A grin crept up my old face, and my heart began beating, thumping loud enough that I could feel it revibrating through my entire body and bombarding my eardrums.

    Adrenalin rush!

    I¡¯m excited! It has been a while since I had ever been in such a good mood.

    "Come at me kitty!" I spoke and the creature pounced at me as I just pushed myself from the ground, aided by the spear in hand to pivot my whole body away from therge cat.

    I rotated the energy within me, creating a full circle before releasing it in a loud inhale then exhale of dark green fumes that shot out then spread like a fog in a misty forest.

    The fog assaulted the tiger¡¯s nose than the rest of its body then spread along the area.

    The tiger didn¡¯t even notice what was going on. Then came doubt.

    Poison would need to slowly interact with the leopard¡¯s bloodstream before it could actually be lethal. And that could take from minutes to hours to days, depending on this creature¡¯s resistance.

    If my poison was not strong enough to kill this thing then I¡¯m beyond doomed. Still, I couldn¡¯t wipe that childish grin off my face. Even if I had to die here, I¡¯ll die fighting, I have be a cultivator, and all cultivators will one day meet with a crisis. This is my crisis and I have to survive it.

    The leopard moved forward, yet the moment it ced its foot on the ground it wobbled, then it began sneezing.

    The creature shook and shuddered as it wretched red disgusting liquid out of its mouth, its hair began to fall and its eyes began tearing blood. The leopard shook, howled in pain, and suddenly fell to the side, motionless as more of the green smoke prated through it and ate away it its flesh.

    In seconds, the leopard husked over, his whole body drained from blood and muscle tissue as it transformed into nothing but brittle bones on skin.

    It took me a moment to fully take in what just happened. The poison breath I just used, is surprisingly powerful, so powerful that it took down such arge predator in seconds.

    This poison cultivation is not a hack, it¡¯s the real deal, to be able to handle such arge predator with such a lowly cultivation level...I can only think of one thing.

    ¡¯OP¡¯

    I began giggling, I was funny, how far I had to suffer, and it was funny how things had turned, but the most hrious was that I actually have value. And things could actually work out for me in the end. I smiled to myself as I picked up my spear and decided to continue heading deeper into the forest.

    I looked behind me where Lucid Springs was, then I scoffed, I¡¯m not going back, so why look in that direction.

    Just as I was about to move, something shiny grabbed my interest, it was a red crystal that became visible after all of the leopard¡¯s skin had shrunken and tore.

    I went toward it and grabbed the crystal, but the moment I did, green energy began evaporating from the leopard¡¯s skin and surged toward the hand grabbing the crystal.

    The energy was domineering, tyrannical, and pervasive, it bore through my arm and continued doing as it pleases in my body. It felt painful, but a small part of me believed that this, whatever it was, was not harmful to my body.

    Suddenly I felt something snapping, then the world turned white.

    I woke up,ter, hours at least as there was sunray going through the thick foliage. The time was day, and I had no idea of the exact moment, the sun was a little beyond its zenith, so it must be half an hour in the afternoon.

    Looking around there was nothing different from yesterday, the corpse of the leopard was still lying peacefully on the ground. Something happened yesterday, but I had no clue what.

    I got up.

    I got up!

    How did I get up? I thought. My leg was badly wounded, broken even, but now I¡¯m fully standing up.

    I removed the robe that was covering my right leg and noticed that the bone that was protruding from it had already mended back to its proper ce.

    Even more so, the pustules on my arm, the arm that I went to grab the crystal from within the tiger had lessened. They no longer were asrge as baseball balls. But now, they were the size of peas. Still, they were disgusting to look at.

    How did that happen? Could it be the crystal? I thought.

    I pulled out the small crystal, but it was the same as yesterday, no change had happened to it.

    ¡¯if I remember correctly, a green overbearing energy had prated my hand right after I went for the crystal. Could it be rted to the poison breath? It shouldn¡¯t be, right?¡¯

    Without anyone of expertise to ask, I decided to leave this matter to undertaketer. There was no need for me to worry about things I cannot exin, especially with my low cultivation level, and theck of knowledge on how this world works.

    All my life I wanted to be a cultivator, but I focused on that goal so much that I never thought about what to do when I be a cultivator.

    I don¡¯t know any of the monsters or demonic monsters that live in this world, I don¡¯t know the geography of this country, nor do I have any knowledge about the powers that rule this ce.

    I need to set a goal for myself and then follow through with it. And my first goal is simple.

    "I need to join a sect!"

 Chapter 11 Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 11: Encounter</h4>

    As I walked forward, without any visible objective or clearer goal than bing a member of a cultivation sect, I came to encounter several things on my journey.

    More monsters, not to say that it was as easy as before to deal with these new types. They were far smaller than the leopard and weaker. But their numbers were problematic.

    I ended up entering the territory of a lizard monarch or something of the sort as there were hundreds of said critters moving around me. ck lizards with sharp ws hissed and skittered around me. None of them dared make a move, but at the same time, they surrounded me from all over, on the ground and tree branches.

    They seemed to be expecting something, perhaps amand to attack, as they have yet to show any hostility toward me, except when I tried to move. The closest of the lizard would hiss and only calm down when I stopped.

    Soon, a lizard, far bigger than any of the rest, and probably as big as a German mastiff. Came toward me, its skin was obsidian, dark as the night, and exuded a powerful presence among its peers, they all gave way to it as it walked.

    ¡¯This must be the king or queen of these lizards,¡¯ I believed.

    Once therger of the reptiles came within an arm¡¯s reach, it slowly sniffed the air around me. Then it shook its head, it began coughing or sneezing, and this enough caused me to worry. If the same happens to it as did to the leopard and the lizard starts bleeding, the rest of itspany wille for my throat. And I¡¯ll have to deal with their massive numbers. Hopefully, my poison breath is strong enough to take them down rapidly or I¡¯ll probably be torn to pieces judging by how sharp the ws on them.

    Yet, the lizard hadn¡¯t sniffed enough poison Qi from me to be fatal to it, it reared back, hissed a few notes and the rest of its group slowly backed off and skittered off, disappearing among the thick forest foliage.

    The lizard king or Queen, I¡¯m not a biology graduate mind you, did the same soon as everyone had left.

    I sighed a breath of relief, there was no need to take a life if one didn¡¯t need to, and I had no use wasting another valuable poison breath for nothing.

    I continued my journey until I heard the sound of running water. There was a river nearby.

    I headed there to wash up, it has been a long time since Ist took a bath, and the stench and sticky sludge I have on me had apanied me for a long time now.

    Once I was on the riverbed, I removed my clothes and slowly dipped my battered and disgusting body in it. The cool water soon removed the oily sludge I had coating my body, and bit by bit, the stickiness lessened and I felt refreshed. Still, the pustules and tumorous bulges I had all over my body were a sight to behold. Disgust was the first thing anyone would think of, even me.

    Still, that was not bad on its own, first, looking like this will keep me out of trouble. No one wants to associate themselves with a creature such as myself, and second, there was a promise in the book that after reaching certain milestones, the pustules will disappear and I would probably regain my former appearance. That is of course if I reach these milestones.

    "Ah crap!" I muttered as I noticed something.

    Fish, floating on the river, dead.

    The filth all over me, or probably my existence was poisonous enough that it killed off a lot of the fish in this river. And this probably contaminated it. I hope that no humans drink from this stuff right now, that would certainly end up killing them.

    I went back, butt naked to get my filthy clothes. Most of them were torn beyond repair, but these are all I had. And I didn¡¯t dare wear one of the cultivator¡¯s clothes, in fear that I might meet someone who will recognize the outfit.

    Simple, it was a risk not worth taking, I¡¯m weak, not stupid. If I were to wear their clothes and one of their sect members meet me, how will I exin it? Or worse, what if I encounter a member of a hostile sect to these robes?

    A risk that was not worth taking for thefort of fabric.

    I washed my clothes as best as I could, removing the sludge on them, and at least had them clean enough to be worn and not look like a low-ss beggar. I looked like a beggar alright, but a clean beggar.

    Once they were dry, I gathered up my stuff and headed alongside the stream. There was no way for me to cross it, as there was no bridge and I didn¡¯t want to risk swimming across. And now that I think of it, I should have thought about that before dipping myself into the river, you never know if there is a cultivator crocodile version here in this river. Or worse.

    Later I managed to cross the river thanks to some protruding rocks I found making a small bridge. Still, without a clear destination to where to head to, I continued marching, for hours. Until the sun sat and rose back again, days went by as I moved.

    Unhampered by hunger as I didn¡¯t feel the need to eat, unhampered by fatigue as I felt refreshed even after all that walking, and never even dropped a sweat.

    Old and battered as I may be, this still is better than when I was ¡¯human.¡¯

    A cultivator¡¯s life is rather amazing.

    One day, as I was walking I encountered something that changed my way of thinking.

    There was a small purple flower on the ground, it seemed to be the only living thing in the vicinity. Decayed corpses of snakes, bugs, and birds were sprawled all around the flower, yet this thing, brimming with life and I felt it beckoning me.

    I walked up to the flower, making sure that there was no monster or demonic creature in the vicinity, I still remember from those stories, that if this thing is a ¡¯treasure¡¯ it would mean that it must have a guardian beast protecting it.

    But after straining my eyes for so long, there was nothing of the sort.

    I slowly approached the flower and went down to grab it, just as my hands touched the stem, I felt as if someone was speaking through my mind.

    ***

    Burial Purple Petaled flower.

    A poisonous flower that steals the longevity of the creatures that get too close to it. Once consumed it will greatly enhance the innate ability of the Poison Breath.

    ***

    "The heck? Who is there?!" I asked, but no one answered, I turned around, to locate the person that talked but there was no one.

    Could I have imagined it? But if so, would it be this detailed.

    I instinctively rubbed on my chest, there was the poison god¡¯s heritage, hidden behind theyers of my battered robes.

    "Perhaps it¡¯s the book. That¡¯s the only logical exnation for this illogical scenario. It could be that the book has some knowledge about these flowers and nts. A thought to think aboutter," I took a mental note of what just happened and ripped the flower along with its roots.

    ***

    the best way to digest the Burial Purple Petaled Flower is to make it into pills, but you are not an alchemist and in dire need of strength. Consume it whole, though a lot of its medical value will be lost, you will still gain a greatly.

    ***

    "Gain what?" I asked back, but nothing answered.

    This book seemed to be sentient? Perhaps. The way it spoke was too specific, perhaps it is not just stating a fact, it alsomented on my current condition and how I¡¯m unable to do this alchemy. Another thing to take note of, once I¡¯m in a secluded ce, I¡¯ll try and understand this book better.

    I drove the flower, roots, and all into my mouth and began crunching it. Scorching hot and at the same time icy liquid dripped down to my stomach. It was rather ufortable but no way as near as to what the Bone and Body Grinding poison did to me. This was rather refreshing in the sense, pain makes one feels alive. Or perhaps I have grown masochistic. Nevertheless, the benefits that this flower came with were rather surprising.

    One of thergest pustules on my right hand outright disappeared once I consumed the flower, and for the first time, I was able to see one small patch of my skin, that was not contaminated with pustules or tumors.

    "Good good good."

    Just as I was about to continue walking, I felt the meridians in my body vibrate. I immediately sat down and began cultivating. Rotating the newly consumed energy proved to be far easier than when I did with the Bone and Body grinding poison. It was simple and it was far faster and morefortable.

    The energy rotated at a rapid pace and continued doing so until I felt a sudden release of energy, I broke through!

    The peak of the lower Qi condensation.

    I hastily checked the book for any new updates, but there was nothing there for me. No news about what to do next. So I sighed and continued cultivating.

    I needed to have my foundation stabilized, gaining a new cultivation level is good, but without proper stabilizing of the foundation, it will prove a hindrance to one¡¯s future achievement. I read too many stories to know that once one breaks through, they have to meditate and cement their cultivation first.

    I closed my eyes for a while, slowly rotating the newfound energy to a new meridian that has just unlocked in my body. Now, the energy I could manipte, even if it had increased by just one meridian was at least a third more than before.

    Soon, I felt the world went out of focus, and I was immersed in cultivation. Never sensing when the world turned, and the sun had dipped. Over and over again, days had wen by and I was still in my lotus position, diligently cultivating.

    I never sensed when monsters approached me, and hastily ran off when birds thought I was an immobile stone and perched on my head, only to fall to their deaths soon after. My whole body is poison.

    This state would have probably continued for a while more as I tried diligently to break through to the next level using the remaining energy of the Burial Purple Petaled flower, but I was rudely awakened when the earth began to wildly vibrate.

    I opened my eyes and realized that the vibrations were getting stronger, and they were headed my way.

    Suddenly two people showed up, they flew using two swords under their feet, and both of them looked badly wounded.

    ************

 Chapter 12 Battle of Wits

    <h4>Chapter 12: Battle of Wits</h4>

    One of them, a handsome man, probably not older than twenty, had one of his arms iling uselessly to his side, and a gruff-looking expression on his face. Vexed. His robes were sky blue colored and were ripped in several ces. He seemed to be indigent to what just urred to him.

    The other was a girl, also probably of the same age, a young woman that even when dirt and scum had covered most of her robes and face, she exuded a beauty that no woman I have ever seen had.

    I was only able to see her for a few seconds, but it almoststed a lifetime, her eyes were bright, even in such a desperate situation she seemed to be defiant, her face had porcin white skin, and the rest of her hourss body only made one wish to greedily have this woman for themselves.

    I shook my head, perhaps this was a cultivator¡¯s charm, or perhaps this is the difference between a mortal and an immortal. Cultivators had more means to gain beauty than normal mortals and this one was, even if an unparalleled beauty,pared to many others she would look in. Still, I had no business with these two.

    "Miss Yan! Look!" spoke the man his eyes immediately changed to hostility.

    "Let¡¯s use him as a distraction," he said then threw something small and round at my feet.

    A pill?

    It immediately blew up and smoke came out of it. It stank.

    "What are you doing!" the girl shouted and stopped. The boy also stopped and shouted back "Move miss Yan! We¡¯ll die at this rate, it¡¯s our best chance, let the Boar King waste time on this abomination, we¡¯re better off escaping!"

    "You¡¯re endangering the lives of others for your escape, that¡¯s not the way of our sect!"

    "Miss Yan, a genius such as yourself cannot die in this ce. We have to leave now, we can amend our mistakester, but surviving now is our top priority!"

    "I will not let an innocent man die for my sake!" The woman shouted.

    "What innocence! Don¡¯t you see what he is?! Such abomination is the punishment of heaven, he must have been turned to such creature due to his evil deeds, this is heaven¡¯s way of using us to y the wicked!"

    "Hey, you¡¯ve been rambling your mouth for a while now, what¡¯s going on? And why¡¯d you throw a stink bomb at me?"

    "Stinkbomb? Thismoner knows not even of the monster luring pill! Miss Yan, let¡¯s go! There is no time to waste!"

    Before the girl could even speak, the trees behind me parted revealing a gigantic boar. The size of him wasrge enough that an elephant would barely make it to its knees.

    It had tusks as big as a boat¡¯s mast and its fur looked like it was made of rapiers instead of hair.

    The boar sniffed at the air and took note of me.

    "Ah, shit..." I cursed.

    "I can¡¯t allow a man to die due to our carelessness!" the girl said and put her weight on her sword. The sword flew toward me but the boar was about to attack, there was no way for me to survive this hit.

    I immediately ced two fingers under my lips and spat out "Poison Breath!"

    Green smoke shot out from my mouth shaped like an arrow then entered right throw the boar¡¯s open mouth.

    The boar¡¯s attack halted mid-strike and the creature squealed like a pig in a ughterhouse.

    The creature began jerking as I moved back and away from the enraged creature. It began bleeding from all of its orifices then fell. Spasming, shaking, and shuddering.

    The boar died in less than a heartbeat, and with it came a sobering reality.

    I was powerful enough to survive a creature that caused such damage to these cultivators, but I knew that I was not strong enough to survive an attack from them. A single sword sh or even a projectile attack from any of them would mean my death. I needed not show my weakness here.

    "Oh, it¡¯s dead already? Damn, and I even held back a little." I muttered under my breath; this was of course on purpose.

    Acting up all mysterious is the best way to make people wary of you.

    The kid seeing this immediately came to me. Stood in front of me and held both of his hands in greeting, even if one of them was broken, which was painful. He shook and shuddered as he bowed his head saying "S-Senior! Junior apologizes for his misbehavior!"

    "Aigoo, no worries," I said as I shook my hand at his face.

    "But really what are two young kids like you doing here?" I asked. I needed knowledge, and the best source of knowledge was a person in your debt.

    "If Senior wishes to know, we are disciples of the Sword Spirit Sect." the woman named Yan spoke. "I¡¯m Yan Song, daughter of Zhang Song, a great elder of the Spirit Sword Sect."

    "What about you?" I asked the kid.

    "I-I¡¯m Lu Zaifeng, I¡¯m an inner disciple of the Spirit Sword Sect, and havee with miss Yu for a mission of our sect."

    "I suppose the mission was interrupted by this little pig?" I spoke back.

    I didn¡¯t need to be a mind reader to know what the two were thinking right now as they looked at each other.

    ¡¯Little pig? That dangerous monster is just a little pig for this man? Who is he? He must be some powerful figure! But his cultivation looks so weak. Still, we can¡¯t afford to mess with him. Also, he is a poison cultivator. We need to be wary ¡¯or something of the sorts.

    "Oh, good to know."

    "Could I be so rude to ask who senior is?" Zaifeng asked.

    "Me? I¡¯m just a small-time rogue cultivator, no need to worry about me. So what do you want with this little piggy?" I further cemented my superiority with my words.

    "Yes, we were tasked to retrieve a third-order demon core. Until this wild boar king showed up. The Boar King as you must know is the fourth Order, and we can¡¯t beat this with our weak Core Formation cultivation level."

    "Huh, is that so," I replied and pulled out the core I obtained from the leopard.

    "That¡¯s a third-order core!" replied the kid.

    "You want it?"

    "No! we can¡¯t take it, we have burdened senior enough!" replied the girl.

    "Y-yes, Miss Yan is correct, we would be rude. We¡¯ll try and find one ourselves."

    "You¡¯re in no shape or form to beat a Third Order. Just take it," I said as I threw the core toward the kid.

    "Now, if you could... leave, that would be..."

    "Yes senior, junior will not forget your kindness!" the kid then drew something out of a pouch he had on the side. It looked quite simr to the pouches those other cultivators had.

    It was a token.

    I frowned as I looked at the token, this was a countermeasure for something I hoped wouldn¡¯t be true.

    The kid immediately hesitated and said, "I¡¯m sorry, I pulled out the wrong token! He then handed me another one, quite simr to the first," bowed and said, "Please, whenever you visit Our sect, just show this to anyone and I¡¯ll be informed of your presence."

    "A guest,"

    "Yes, an honored guest at our sect." the kid said and stood up.

    "Thank you senior for your benevolence!" the girl said and the two of them took to the skies.

    "Well, that went well. I said as I hid the token under my clothes. I needed a way to open those pouches I got from those cultivators at the Poison God¡¯s cave.

    I sighed and headed to the boar¡¯s carcass. There was green energy slowly eating away at the remains of the boar, and if it is the same as what happened to the leopard, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to consume it and heal a little bit.

    ***

    "What happened there?" Yan asked.

    "I have no idea, I¡¯m still trying to figure it out," replied Zaifeng.

    "That man, clearly looked far weaker than us, and he said we were disturbing his cultivation? What ame excuse."

    "You¡¯re right, this ce is barren of spiritual Qi, what could he be doing there?" she asked again.

    "I don¡¯t know, he looked like he was in Qi condensation level. But to survive in this forest and especially at the rims of the demon mountain. One would need to be at least at the upper levels of Core Formation or lesser Nascent Soul level. How is he managing if he had such a low cultivation level?"

    "I don¡¯t know, but didn¡¯t our master say that there are always higher mountain and steeper seas? He could be an Old Monster you know."

    "True, the way he spoke, how entric he was, and how carefree he looked in such a dire and dangerous situation suggests that he is an Old Monster. But we have no proof of it."

    "Why did you change the token?" she asked.

    "At first, I was cautious, I thought he could be just a sheep wearing a tiger¡¯s skin. But it appears that it was the opposite."

    "You mean the way he gazed at you?"

    "Yes, at first, I wanted to give him a token with a tracker, so I could monitor his whereabouts, but the way he looked at me gave me the creeps, I felt like if I were to hand it to him, I would insult him and nothing goodes out of that when dealing with mysterious people, there was a good chance that he was faking it too but..."

    "Yeah, on the off chance he is not, and especially of how he handled that boar, thankfully we didn¡¯t cross him."

    "Yes, this is a sobering experience, Miss Yan."

    "I¡¯ll take note of it, Brother Zaifeng." The girl replied and the two disappeared in the distance.

 Chapter 13 Benefits.

    <h4>Chapter 13: Benefits.</h4>

    Okay, that worked out perfectly," I thought to myself as I flipped the token that the kid Zaifeng gave me like a coin.

    "This shoulde in handyter, but for now, it¡¯s best I don¡¯t use it unless I need to."

    I moved to the boar king¡¯s carcass and ced my hand on it. Once again there was that green energy coursing around the carcass of the boar. It came rushing through my arm, climbing and prating deep within the skin. It bore through and made its way to my meridians, then the energy began spiraling in controlled spins, aiding my cultivation.

    Some of the soreness of my body disappeared. The pain on my leg hadpletely dispersed. And now I was able to walk with utter ease. My back no longer pained me, and for the first time in eighty years, I was able to walk in a straight manner.

    Old age gave me a slightly hunched back, but now it was gone. Still, the disgusting tumors and pustules on my body were still on, and to get rid of them I¡¯ll need to harvest more of this green energy.

    I continued walking randomly, as I thought about my next course of action.

    I can¡¯t join a sect right now even if I miraculously find a way to do so. Simply because I am not strong enough nor weak enough.

    An old man such as myself would be a strange presence in a sect, especially with my low cultivation level. Yet, if I don¡¯t join one, I will be unable to understand how this world of cultivation fully works. I¡¯ll need a method to join a sect and not draw great attention to myself.

    Secondly, I needed to open those bags, desperately. There could be great treasures there that could help boost my cultivation level or martial currency that could be exchanged for items and pills. Poison pills that is.

    So, first things first, I needed to increase my cultivation level enough to be able to open the pouches. And to do that, I need to find more resources, nts, bugs, or poisons. Which I¡¯m more than certain that I will find in abundance once I go deeper into this forest.

    Coupled with the aid of the book¡¯s internal knowledge of materials and flora, I could understand and know the value of such nts and even if I had no prior knowledge of them.

    I continued traveling, the need for sleep and food was a great bonus, as I didn¡¯t have to think about sustaining myself, the poison energy within me was enough to satiate me for an extremely long period.

    Days of travel went by, and in them, I gained a good harvest.

    I encountered a couple more leopards and another boar king. They were easy to deal with, as long as they underestimated me, thinking of me as weak prey, I could easily spew out a poison breath on them and they would die.

    I harvested the cores and the green energy which reduced a bit of the swelling on my body, but notpletely. If I had a hundred pustules, I had currently lost a couple. I still had a long way to get rid of all of these disgusting things off my skin.

    One day, as I randomly walked without any goal or objective in mind but to gain better strength, I managed to exit the forest, or so I thought.

    Right in front of me was a mountain so high that its peak was covered in clouds. And around its base was a clearing, that appeared to be separating the forest from the mountain.

    My whole body was urging me to leave this area, but a light soothing feeling came from the book inside my chest,forting me and encouraging me to keep moving.

    The Poison God¡¯s Manual was telling me that it needed me to go forward.

    I disregarded the urge to leave and against my better judgment moved toward the mountain. Danger and opportunity always walked hand in hand. If there is danger here, then there would definitely be a reward.

    I steeled my resolve and walked up the mountain.

    The steepness of this mountain made it troublesome to climb, especially with this old battered body of mine. I had to change direction several times before I found a path that I could walk up without fearing the fall to my death.

    The climb took me days, and thankfully there were no creatures or demonic beasts that threatened my life as I made my way up the mountain. My only issue was the coldness of the mountain that increased the further I went up, and the dangerous looming sense of death that increased with every step.

    It felt like a suffocating pressure that was pressing against me, urging me to go down, but the more I kept going up, the more I felt that I needed to be up there.

    At one point the pressure became too much that I lost my grip and almost fell to my death, yet with a desperate il of my hand, I managed to grab onto a small ledge and pulled my battered body up.

    I rested for a few hours, rotated some of the energy within me, and then continued climbing.

    Two dayster of the constant climb, I managed to reach the source of the danger. A cave entrance that looked like it was punched in by a giant.

    Bone piercing cold threatened to turn me into an ice sculpture. Something from within the cave was sending chilling energy that coursed my body and made my old bones rattle. If I were to move forward, I was certain I would turn into an iced corpse.

    I sat down and began rotating my cultivation base. The poison energy that spiraled within me and through my meridians began fighting against the cold. It was a strange sensation as if I had grown a tolerable fever that heated my body enough to withstand the cold.

    I stood up and took several more steps. The cold was still painful, but it was much more tolerable. but the further I went, the harder it became. Even breathing turned suffocating, as I coughed up blood. Ice had definitely materialized in my lungs and caused some internal damage.

    I walked back and sat down, rotating the energy a few times more until my condition stabilized.

    Spiraling the poison Qi helped me in gaining heat, but once I stood up and stopped cultivating, that heat soon dissipated against the cold. The only way for me to move forward was obvious. I needed to maintain a cultivation status while moving. A feat quite difficult, but it was the only option I had if I wanted to investigate the source of this cave¡¯s coldness and the beckoning of the book.

    I stood up, and entered a cultivation state, slowly my body heated up, and then I took the first step. I immediately lost focus and my cultivation stopped.

    I desperately tried again, and again, and again.

    Several hours went by with minimal progress. Rotating the poison qi within me while walking took a great deal of concentration, but with hard work and dumb stubbornness, I was able to move ten steps while I still rotated my energy.

    If I continued like this, I was bound to achieve a breakthrough as my energy seemed on the verge of reaching the Medium Lower level of Qi condensation.

    And only five steps more I did it, and the energy that my body released was enough to cause steam to burst out of my body.

    Reaching the medium lower level of Qi condensation caused my body to shudder and a new page of the Poison God¡¯s heritage book was unlocked.

    ***********

 Chapter 14 Teachings

    <h4>Chapter 14: Teachings</h4>

    You have continued your journey and reached Middle Lower Qi condensation, to which I congratte you, my disciple. But do not gain a shred of pride or arrogance, because for your current self you¡¯re nothing but a speck of dust in an endless sea of sand. You have just begun your journey and I shall be your mentor.

    In the middle Lower Qi condensation, your poison Qi will be able to course more meridians, and thus, giving you more power and a better physique. The ability to use the Poison Breath will be increased and you¡¯ll find yourself feeling less exhausted with every use.

    Here is a diagram on how to circte the poison energy into the newly unlocked meridians.

    ***

    A small diagram of a man, circting the energy, quite vivid and lifelike manifested on the book.

    The man was sat in the lotus position and began moving the energy through different pressure points on his body.

    Three more meridians were added to the former five I had already unlocked, making them eight. This would increase my power several times. Because the increase of meridians is not additive, but more like with each new meridian unlocked the base energy I could manipte and control would multiply.

    I sat down in the lotus position and rotated my Poison Qi in the same manner that the pictures depicted. And soon, I became aware of a newfound level of power that coursed through my meridians.

    Another page opened up, unveiling a new spell. The picture in the book showed a man standing in a martial stance, one handheld vertically in front of him, and the other tucked under his armpit, like a punch in wait for a release.

    The man then took a forward step, and the arm under his armpit extended forward into a forward grab, the fingers opened up then they wed at the air.

    The course of the meridians required to do such a move was simple, but it also required the usage of all of the newly unlocked meridians.

    I was highly tempted to try out this new move, which is named, Poison Tiger w.

    But, there was a great deterrent, I was no longer in the jungle where I could resupply my inner reserves of Poison Qi, by eating random bugs and poisonous nts. I was in an ice-cold cave in a high and steep mountain, a single use of any martial spell will cost me Poison Qi that I do not want to be wasted right now, especially when this ce is reeking of danger.

    I gripped my fist tight, shaking away the ecstatic feeling of a new spell, and focused on my current goal. One has to be smart about what they do, and this doesn¡¯t only ount for a cultivation world. Taking idiotic risks is nothing short of suicidal. Even if this journey itself is an idiotic risk, it promises benefits, but using a spell just for the sake of seeing how it performs, while under my circumstances and without any tools or means to supplement the Poison Qi I will be using, then wouldn¡¯t that be even more idiotic?

    I began circting the energy through my newly unlocked meridians and had managed to discover an amazing new fact. The rotation of the poison Qi within the meridians became faster than before, and the energy it released doubled up and continued rising. The cold temperature felt less and less dangerous and began to graze upon the limits of difort.

    If I continued rotating the energy this way, I would only feel a slight annoyance from the cold instead of the bone-rattling feeling I had before.

    With this newfound strength, I continued my exploration within the cave.

    If this was a regr cave the time, I would take to get to the depths of it would undoubtedly be less than an hour, but It took me hours to get to the deepest part of the cave. Mainly because of the cold, it rose on asions, and even after rotating my cultivation forcefully to help myself from falling prey to the bone-biting cold, I barely managed to survive thanks to the timepse of the cold increases. It only spiked after every ten to twenty minutes andsted for at most ten seconds. But with every step, the coldness that would asionally increase would be harder to bear.

    At the end of the cave was a wide room that you could fit a couple of basketball courts with ease in. its walls were made of ice, crystal clear ice that was reflecting the scarce source of light that came from the cave¡¯s entrance.

    That tiny source of light, reflected enough against this crystal-clear surface gave me a clear view of what was happening, and the source of this cold temperature.

    It was a monster¡¯s breath,

    Yes, a monster so huge that I found it amazing how it managed to fit itself into that cave entrance. It must havee in here when it was a baby and now it had grown into such arge creature.

    Yet how did it get its food? I failed to understand the base behind how this world works, but I didn¡¯t bother thinking about it for now. I doubted that it would be like a cultivator, not needing mortal food, but rather the rich worldly energy.

    Back to the monster, as I looked at it, it was nothing but a big ball of slowly inting and deting white fur. It had two massive arms and legs, resembled a humanoid figure frighteningly, and its face was that of an ape. Yes, this was, for theck of the proper term that the cultivators would use on this monster, a Yeti.

    I took a big gulp, there was no way in hell or heaven if I was going to survive if this bugger wakes up.

    I turned to walk away, there was nothing here to gain, and only death would await me if I were to identally wake this behemoth.

    Yet, from the reflection on one of the room¡¯s walls, I saw a glistening source of dim light. Something was reflecting a tiny bit of light somewhere around the room. I turned to check again and noticed that the yeti had his arm wrapped around something.

    It was a rose, a white and sky blue colored rose. The stem of it was made of a crystal clear substance, that looked like ice. And its petals were distinct and apart from each other, making it one of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen.

    The book in my chest vibrated. Then that old ancient voice sounded in my mind exining to me what I was seeing.

    ***

    Origin Yin Flower.

    A flower that is condensed and created from the concentration of purest forms of Yin energy.

    It is said that consuming this flower will give the user unparalleled Talent in the way of Yin. It is best used by female cultivators. Still, Yin can also be harnessed by male cultivators if they wish to pursue the Demonic or Devil cultivation paths.

    ***

    Another sentence was also suddenly spoken through my mind.

    ***

    My heritage is considered a wrongful path, in the way of other cultivators, poison is insidious, and highly frowned upon, it is a Demonic Cultivation path that scratches the rims of the Devil Path. Still in the world of cultivation, basing your decisions on rightful and wrongful will put your martial heart to the test.

    One must not bend their knees to those above him in submission but rather rise above, struggle, and strive to feel pleased about yourself.

    Disciple of mine, you may be the vilest of the people or the most benevolent, it all depends on how you see the world, but no matter if you are a saint or a devil incarnate, it shall crack against the will of the heaven if you are not pleased with yourself. Do what you want to do, challenge who you wish to challenge, and break who wishes to break you. Be overbearing, be proud, and most of all, never cower. For even if poison is the path of the cowardly as these insignificant and utterly delusional cultivators believe it to be, it means nothing if you make your own fate with your own hands.

    Disciple of mine, take every discission in your life only if you feel pleased about it. Never bow down to anyone, and always let your back be as straight as an arrow. Even against the judgment of the world, if you feel that you are doing the right thing, even if the right thing in the eyes of the world is wrong, then do it, and do it while being proud.

    Cultivation is not just about the body and soul, but also your spirit. Even if your body looks like that of a disgusting creature that has been scooped from the yellow river of the underworld, your spirit, if never contaminated could blossom into the most divine of beings.

    Disciple of mine, be courageous, not reckless, be proud, not prideful, and be honest with yourself no matter the situation. If you see a wrong then change it with your own hands. Never let yourself regret anything, and live your life, seeking to better it, and seeking to achieve your goals.

    Disciple of mine, these words I impart upon you are words that I wish I would have received when I first began my journey. If you honestly work by them, you shall witness great improvement in your cultivation, and at the same time, you shall see the world in a different light.

    ***

    After listening to that sermon, I was honestly feeling touched. The words of this speaker resounded through my soul, I felt that my cultivation rose a bit just by listening to them. And thus, I smiled.

    Whoever made this book is one of the wisest of the people I have ever known.

    I looked at the flower once again, there was a risk to taking it, and it involved doing something stupid. But if it is risky and there was a reward to be had, then baking off was not an option. This is what the book master had written, never feel regret for things you feel deserve your attention. And this rose right here, is a prime example.

 Chapter 15 Inner Battle

    <h4>Chapter 15: Inner Battle</h4>

    I crouched down, though I had no idea why I did that, it¡¯s not like if I crouched the monster will sense me less. Still, it felt like the right thing to do in such a situation. I continued crouch walking forward until I was next to the monster. Right as when he decided to breathe out.

    The extremely cold temperature dropped like an anvil being thrown in a deep ocean. Thankfully the foci of the breath were not directly on me, I was a few steps away from it and this with the fanatic cirction of the poison Qi within me helped me tide through the icy cold breath of this Yeti.

    I took a big sigh of relief when the temperature rose back to tolerable levels, then moved around the Yeti¡¯s arm, there, the rose sparkled in a glistening light as if it was its lightbulb. I wrapped my hand around its stem, and immediately I felt as if my hand had turned to a block of ice.

    I rapidly pulled the rose and felt a sudden chill running down my spine. The cave¡¯s temperature began increasing, it seems that the rose was the reason why this cave was this cold in the first ce, and it appeared that this sleeping giant Yeti was cultivating by absorbing the coldness of the rose, of course, is a theory of mine, as I still have no real grasp of how the cultivation world works, but it seemed the be the most usible cause.

    I walked back and away from the monster. There was no need for me to wait around here. And soon, the Yeti began twitching, it was about to wake up.

    I increased my paces and managed to reach the Cave¡¯s entrance, only then did the Yeti¡¯s eyes fully opened up.

    My eighty years old brain cells began pumping some juice, deducing the situation. Shit was about to go down, I¡¯m old, not fast, and he slow. If the Yeti realizes that I took his rose he wille after me and I will not survive.

    The second thing, the cave exit is smaller than the Yeti, so it will be physically impossible for him to catch me. Yet, this is a cultivation world and the Yeti could have the strength of a superman for all I know. Meaning that this obstacle might be useless in stopping him if he could tear it apart.

    Lastly, the ice Yeti breath was almost enough to turn me into an ice sculpture, so there could be a pretty good chance he has an assault-type ability that could turn me to ice if he used it on me. And in that long straight-lined cave, a single breath will turn me into a popsicle before I could reach the exit.

    Several cumbersome variables are working against me, so I needed a way to save my skin.

    I immediately spat out my Poison Breath into the Yeti¡¯s room, and as he was waking up, he breathed in a huge gulp of it.

    This was good.

    I then immediately began running away, or what any other healthier person would call, walking rapidly. C¡¯mon, I¡¯m old.

    A loud growl echoed from behind me, the Yeti had fully woken up, but it would take a few seconds to realize what should have happened so I¡¯m good so far.

    Another roar came in and the ear ringing sound of stone being turned to dust echoed from behind me. The Yeti had realized that I took the Rose and knows where I am.

    I spat another Poison Breath behind me and continued walking forward. The exit to the cave was still far away and the Yeti will have a couple of surprises waiting for him soon.

    As I remembered from before, it took me several hours to get into the Yeti¡¯s room, and I had to slow down and cultivate. Otherwise, it would have taken me less than an hour to make the trip. That is if I was slowly walking, and at my current speed, at least a quarter of an hour is all I needed to leave the area. And thanks to the reduced coldness from the rose in my hand it would be easier than before.

    Yet the looming danger of the Yeti behind me still weighed heavily on my shoulders. It seemed that the rocks were not strong enough to fully stop this creature froming after me, and they proved to be a minor annoyance to this beast.

    Suddenly I turned and saw the ape faced Yet looking at me with murder in his eyes. It opened its mouth wide, revealing a sharp row of fangs.

    I ran forward as fast as my body could, but a gusting from outside was preventing me to increase my distance, a secondter I realized that this was no gust, but the ape was trying to breathe in the air either to suck me in or to prepare for an attack.

    The poison breath I left in the path had already been fully sucked in, but since I had nothing to lose, I spat another poison breath in front of me that was instantly sucked in by the Yeti.

    The pulling force stopped and I was jerked forward. I didn¡¯t dare turn around; I had no time to waste doing so.

    I struggled to move forward and then it came to a cold Icey gust of wind that was going to spill my doom.

    The Yeti seemed unaffected by my poison and is retaliating. And I had no way to survive this beast¡¯s assault.

    My body slowly began to freeze over, yet somehow I didn¡¯t feel pain. Then soon the breath stopped, while a loud wrenching sound echoed from behind me. More disgusted vomiting came following, then a moaning mixed in with the pained squeal of a pig being ughtered.

    My body was encased in ice, green-colored ice, that soon began to melt. Mixing ice and my Poison Breath seemed to be nullifying the ice¡¯s properties. And at the same time, the rose in my hand began to absorb the liquidized green poison.

    The white petals of the rose began changing in color and turned to a poisonous pale green color.

    The ice soon melted off of me and was fully consumed by the rose. I regained the ability to move my body and turned to witness the corpse of the Yeti. His face had fully melted off leaving bare bone upon half-melted skin on its face. The fur on its body had fallen to the ground, leaving a disgusting shape of skin with rare patches of fur on top. The body looked like those cats, the Sphinx cat, that had no fur, and even that bare skin had already melted in several ces.

    "Damn, that was close," I thought to myself.

    This time, I got lucky, and luck is not a good thing. Even if it had saved my life, it showed me that I was not capable of saving my own life by my means. Even if it was by my own hands that I have killed the Yeti If it was not for the Rose, the ice would have covered me and turned me into an ice statue.

    I sat down in the lotus position and circted the scarce Poison Qi I had in me. The continues use of Poison Breath and the continued rotation of the Poison Qi to prevent the cold had dried my reserves.

    Yet, I had no way to increase my poison Qi except for the Rose. The book had mentioned that it is best consumed by a female, yet dark path cultivators, such as demonic cultivators or Devil Cultivators also use Yin. It would supplement me greatly if I were to consume it.

    I pulled out one of the rose petals and ced it in my mouth.

    On the first chew, coldforting energy rushed down my stomach and began rotating along with the poison QI I had in me. It felt soothing and bearable. Yet I noticed that the Rose began to wither from the stem. The moment I removed that petal.

    If this continues the Rose will wither and I will lose a great treasure. So, against my better judgment, I shoved the rest of the petals into my mouth, stem, and roots and began chewing. A juicy liquid filled my mouth, honestly, this felt like ice-cream. That of coursested for only a few seconds as my mouth began to dry and the liquid began to force its way into my stomach then into my meridians.

    The Yin Qi in the flower began fighting against the Poison Qi in my body, which was weaker than the Origin Yin Flower. My Meridians began to freeze over, and since I had too few of them unlocked by now, the Origin Yin Flower was going to destroy them at this rate.

    I got back to the yeti, I may have been hasty in shoving the Origin Yin Flower in my mouth, but I didn¡¯t do it without a prior assessment of the dangers. The Yeti¡¯s body was covered with that green energy, the same that every monster I kill using poison breath has. And from the thickness of it, it was by far, the thickest I have ever seen. Not even the boar kings I killedbined could match even a fraction of this energy.

    I ced my hand on the Yeti¡¯s rotten face, and the green energy coursed through it and began to fight off the Yin Origin Flower¡¯s energy.

    The two energies began a battle and the battleground was my old battered body. Not the most pleasant experience I tell you. I jerked and spasmed, writhing on the ground like a snake that has been impaled with a sharp spear.

    My lungs were emptied as if I was struck with a sledgehammer in the ground, I didn¡¯t even have the energy or breath to scream the pain I was feeling.

    Some of the pustules on me burst out from the exertion, causing even more pain, which I could express due to theck of breath. The veins on my body popped out, changing from frozen to hot searing and green infested with poison.

    The two energies fought off for what seemed to be an eternity. And in rare chances did I have the energy to take a breath that was emptied immediately by a follow-up wave of pain. The soul of me felt like it was about to leave my body, but the stubbornness of it was fighting against the invading force, pinning me and anchoring me back to this world in tormenting agony.

    Finally, the pain faded off and I was able to breathe anew. Still, I was in no way or shape capable of moving a single finger, so I justid on the ground, exhausted, until I closed my eyes.

 Chapter 16 Suspect

    <h4>Chapter 16: Suspect</h4>

    Several hourster, when the dim moonlight was all that shone from the cave entrance woke me up, a cool breeze, far warmer than the cave¡¯s earlier temperature rose me from my unconsciousness.

    I got up, surprisingly agilely for my age. The old bones on me didn¡¯t rattle as much as they used to. And the random and awkward soreness had disappeared. The pustules on me had softened up, they didn¡¯t disappear though but they became less apparent.

    Ibed my hand over my head, and there were traces of hair there. That shouldn¡¯t be possible, the poison pool had melted all of my hair off, but now I have some of it back. The green energy of the Yeti¡¯s corpse revitalized my old self and gave me a new lease on life.

    Within me was newfound energy coursing along with the poison Qi. They became harmonious and aided each other as they circted the newly unlocked meridians I achieved a Medium Middleyer of Qi condensation while I was asleep. Sadly, due to myck of focus, I must have lost a great deal of that power, so if I was cultivating that energy instead of being unconscious, I could have achieved the Peak Middle Layer of Qi condensation. Nevertheless, all progress is good, small or little.

    I moved away from the cave that I had nothing to do with anymore after picking up the Yeti¡¯s Demonic core, which was purple instead of crimson red, then I had to climb down the mountain which was much faster and easier than climbing it. I did not need to find my way back to anything because I had no ce to be right now so my only goal right now was to randomly walk the forest and see where it will take me.

    I roamed about and continued walking, indefinitely and unknowing of my destination. The journey took me several days before I encountered the first people, and they were not a funpany.

    Five men showed up in front of me, weapons drawn and they had murder in their eyes.

    "Old man, State your name and what are you doing here? This is the territory of our Purple Cloud Sect." the first of the bunch addressed me.

    He was a tall man with a long beard that reached up to his chest. His clothes were purple, probably in rtion to their sect¡¯s name. The group behind him wore the same outfit only theirs had a far lighter color tone.

    "My name is Shen Bao, I mean no trouble to your sect I¡¯m lost here and was trying to find my way out."

    "Lies! How could you survive this ce if you were merely lost? Also, you¡¯re barely at Qi condensation middleyer."

    "I guess I was lucky?" I replied.

    "Luck? Nonsense! We have reports of people from the Sword Spirit Mountaining here and causing trouble."

    ¡¯Oh, that must be the two guys I met earlier.¡¯

    "I have no rtion to this Sword Spirit Mountain you¡¯re talking about."

    "Then you have no problem with us searching you?" the man said as he pointed his sword at me.

    I took a deep breath, if I were to be searched by these men, they will discover the token that kid had given me, and honestly, that¡¯s the least of my worries. I also have several demonic cores that will raise questions if they find them. Not to mention the book.

    Fighting was out of the question, I¡¯m not capable of beating these five. And running, that¡¯s not even an option.

    Suddenly I felt energy suppressing me and pinning me where I stood. One of the men came to men he had a disgusted look at me when he saw my body but he still did as needed and patted me like a cop would frisk a suspect.

    "He has nothing on him elder brother."

    "Really? Check again, no man can travel this forest without at least some food or tools to defend themselves."

    The man did as he was told, and even got more aggressive with the patting. Surprisingly, for him and me, he didn¡¯t find anything. This was both a blessing and something to worry about. Where were all the items I harvested? The demon cores and the pouches from the cultivators and the book? Questions to be answeredter. For now, the cultivator removed the pressure and allowed me to speak.

    "Many thanks, fellow cultivator. And to answer your questions, I¡¯ve already lost my traveling bag a while ago when I was being hunted by a terrifying leopard."

    "Terrifying leopard, you¡¯re talking about the Silver w demon beast?"

    "Well, probably, but I didn¡¯t wait around to check the color of his ws, the moment I saw it, I dipped into a small hole and hid there for days. He tore my bag and got all my food. Then I moved about for a long time trying to get by, I got to eat some mushrooms along the way, to fight off the hunger."

    "Then your current appearance?" the man said.

    "Definitely one of the things I ate, I wasn¡¯t like this when I first entered the forest," I replied. (which was true by the way)

    The men looked awkwardly at each other for a few moments before the bearded leader said, "Then you¡¯lle with us, we¡¯ll need to ask you a few more questions back at our sect."

    I took another gulp, this was both good and bad, after all, in those novels I¡¯ve read, when someone says this exact sentence it usually means torture. But I¡¯m in dire need to enter a sect and know more about this world.

    "Right, I¡¯m more than willing to go with you, but I¡¯ll have to trouble you sirs, I¡¯m old and have no means to move. A few of you have swords that you could fly on, and my weak cultivation level is not enough to allow me to apany you. Wouldn¡¯t it be troublesome for you to keep pace just for my sake?"

    "No need to worry about that, Duan Lin, pick him up." The man with the beard said, and the young man who had patted me before came next to me, and pulled out a massive sword from his pouch."

    "Stand on it," he said.

    And just as I did, the sword rose, and with me above it, it was surprisingly easy to bnce myself on it, which was probably thanks to Duan Lin controlling the sword effectively to help me stand without falling.

    "Let¡¯s go!" the bearded man said and the group flew forward, me alongside them.

    The journey continued for several hours,sting almost an entire day from the fall of the sun to its rise in the next morning and long afternoon. This made me wonder, the group imed that the forest I was in was their property, so for such arge forest, and for such a long journey we crossed, the purple cloud sect is definitely a big one.

    Also, I am part thankful for the arrival of this group of people. They were not bad people, at least from what I saw, they handed me food and continuously asked if I was exhausted or tired so they could take a rest. If this is how they treat prisoners then I had a good chance of seeing some fairness in their judgment.

    Soon, Duan Lin, the man that was controlling the sword I was on spoke.

    "We arrived."

    Looking ahead, I saw a great Tori Gate in the distance with the words, Purple Cloud sect. and behind it was what seemed to be a garden that extended far beyond what the eye could see, and even farther ahead were several mountains making the sect¡¯s inner setup.

    This cloud sect is looking promising.

 Chapter 17 Interogation

    <h4>Chapter 17: Interogation</h4>

    The groupnded at the gate¡¯s entrance, and soon came a horse carriage, only the horse had six legs instead of four and the carriage seemed to be floating instead of having wheels. There was no one to drive the horse so it seemed to be able to know what it was doing.

    "Get on, Shen." Duan Lin said.

    He opened the carriage¡¯s door and sat down, there was ce for only two people and I was the second, I sat in front of him in the well-decorated, and definitely much morefortable carriage than the sword.

    "What about the others?" I asked.

    "Don¡¯t worry, they will go first and report the matter to a sect elder, then we¡¯ll arrive once the elder is ready to receive you."

    "Right, that would do well," I replied and rxed myself.

    The carriage began moving along the garden. nts and flowers, so many of them were there, most I saw in Lucid Spring, but there were other flowers and exotic roses and nts that I never saw before in my life, this one or thest one.

    The smell was wonderful, and it gave my old self a soothing sense of security and calmness.

    "I could live here for the rest of my life," I said.

    "Oh, why so?" asked Duan Lin.

    "Well, this smell, this serenity, I admire it. I should have made a garden such as this myself. Well, I guess it¡¯s toote for that."

    "You speak as if you used to be someone important, especially since seeing yourck of fear in the presence of foreign and stronger forces."

    "Son, I¡¯ve lived long enough to know when someone wants me harm, and I see that you and your sect are decent and wise people. Also, I used to be a city head before I touched upon the surface of cultivation. But it appears that I have done so when I became too old."

    "Huh, a mortal city head that became a cultivator. Still, I doubt that the way of cultivation is limited by age. Though starting young is the best due to the momentum, aspiration, and hope of youth, startingte is not so bad, wisdom is also a good factor in cultivation."

    "Thank you for your encouraging words, you sound pretty wise yourself despite your age."

    "How old do you think I am?" asked Duan Lin.

    I took a scrutinizing look at him and said, "Not a day over 20."

    Duan Linughed and said, "Thank you, but I¡¯m eighty-five years old."

    "Holy hell! I¡¯m younger than you then!"

    "Well, technically you are, that¡¯s why it felt awkward when you called me son."

    Iughed at how carefree this man was. Though he looked he young his appearance was deceiving. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. The real ordeal will start soon.

    And as I have predicted, the carriage stopped, we had already climbed one of the mountains while we were speaking and I didn¡¯t notice it one bit. The carriage worked against the inclination of the mountain and for some reason, the pull of the horse never wavered or change, it felt like we were moving in a straight line at a steady speed.

    This is an amazing application of force and gravity, I need to study this further.

    I shook my head, my engineer self was resurfacing, this was not the time or ce.

    "Let¡¯s get down, the elder is waiting for us," Duan Lin said.

    I nodded and left the carriage after him.

    Once I was down, I noticed a huge amount of kids, children even, young of age, between fourteen to eighteen approximately, all doing various chores and tasks.

    A group on my right was training all together following the movement of a man who seemed to be doing martial arts.

    Another batch of kids was hurrying, carrying logs that easily weighed several dozen times their weight as if they were made of stic foam. And thetter group of kids was either sweeping the dirt with steel brooms that looked to be as heavy as MT Tai due to the difficulty of every sweep, or cleaning the magnificent and gigantic pce in front of me from dirt and scum.

    There were dozens of kids running around all doing a different chore, and none of them were loitering or being toozy. This ce was the ce of hard work.

    In front of us, at the entrance of this pce that was designed like a Chinese castle from the forbidden city, there was a long red carpet and a chair where an old man with a white beard reached his stomach and a bald head. Even his eyebrows were quite bushy and long-reaching to his cheeks.

    "Duan Lin, is this the suspect?"

    "Junior greets elder!" Duan Lin said as he cupped his fists.

    That¡¯s the second time I saw this practice, the first time was when that kid from the sword mountain did that to me, thinking I was stronger than him.

    "Greetings," I said as I cupped my fists at the man.

    "That¡¯s a dry wee," the old man replied.

    "Yes master, but I¡¯m not from your sect, and it would be rude to call myself your junior in this case."

    "Good, at least you have a brain on that head of yours. So tell me what were you doing in our backyard forest."

    "First of all, all of that forest is your backyard? Damn! That¡¯s a huge flex!"

    "I have no knowledge of what Flex is, but from your reaction it must be something good," the old man said as he twirled his beard.

    "Yea, really good. I¡¯m impressed, this sect must be amazing."

    The old manughed and said, "Your knowledge of a cultivation world is really low. To be honest we are one of the weakest sects in the Zhou Country."

    "Zhou country? Aren¡¯t we in Longxian county"?

    "Oh, you have really low knowledge, but it is understandable if you were a mortal. The Longxian county is a small part of the Zhou Country, it is the smallest part even. And we¡¯re the sect controlling it and the county next to it, Long Yu"

    "Right, thank you for your teaching," I said as I cupped my fists again at the man.

    "Now, we are at a slight impasse here." The old man said and his humorous expression changed to that of a more serious toned one.

    "A couple of spies have entered my backyard and took something from it. I wish to know if you have any knowledge of it?"

    Now, this is difficult, if I were to answer wrongly, it will be my head that will roll. Now I could easily deny what he said, but there is always a chance of someone seeing me with those two from before, or even worse, if they were captured and admitted seeing me, which I wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to describe, an old man with ugly tumors all over his body, easiest lineup recognition of all times.

    "No sir, I have exined to the others before, excuse myck of knowledge because I can¡¯t address them as brothers due to my ipetence in the martial arts and cultivation world as it would shame them. But I have not seen anyone in the forest, and have survived there due to sheer dumb luck."

    "Well, I already know that, but we need to make sure."

    "Duan Lin, call the Punishment Hall Elder." The old man said.

    "Yes, Elder."

    I had an anxious expression on my face when I heard the name, Punishment Hall.

    "You seem rather anxious," said the elder.

    "Well, of course, you just called me a liar and asked the Punishment Hall elder toe here, I¡¯m gonna get beaten if not killed."

    "Then admit that you at least know the ones who stole from us."

    "Sir, with all due respect, on the off chance I saw them, which I didn¡¯t. Would you spare me if I said I did?" I asked.

    The elder looked a little bit perplexed and said, "No, I¡¯ll definitely execute you."

    "Then why would I even say I did see them?"

    "So you die with your body intact."

    "Sir, look at this," I said as I removed my sleeves and made the elder take a good look at me.

    "Do you think I¡¯ll care enough if my body is left intact after I die?"

    "Euh, you make a good point."

    "Yeah, and also I¡¯ll probably just get beaten up for no damn reason and unfairly, that¡¯s bad karma, sir."

    "You know karma?"

    "One doesn¡¯t need to have the Dao of Karma to know the consequences of wronging the innocent."

    "You speak of Dao as if you are a master. Enlighten me and I could probably spare you."

    "I won¡¯t dare im that I know Dao, but the scarce wisdom I knowe from the mortal world. No good deed goes unrewarded, and no wrongful one goes unpunished. The world may turn and spare you a day, but when the reckoninges, it shall smite thee with vengeance. An innocent man¡¯s cry of help is far heavier on the heavens than the death of a saint."

    "Good Words!" came the booming sound of a man that just entered the hall.

    "I have spent hundreds of years in this sect, and it is the first time I have ever seen such great wisdom in someone so new to the cultivation world."

    "Elder Lu Xin," the hall Elder nodded

    "Elder Hu Tian." the Punishment elder nodded back.

    This man looked like Conan the barbarian, at least his body, his head had a bushy beard and spiky hair, it looked like a white lion mane. His eyes were focused and serious and the number of scars on his ripped upper torso was amazing. He only wore the trousers of the sect and as for his chest, there was a crossed suspender belt with an insignia of the sect¡¯s symbol on the middle of it.

    "Elder Lu Xin, this is our suspect."

    "Ah, the man indeed! You seem to have knowledge and knowledge that I wish to extract."

    The old man said as he approached me, "Buuuut. Nope, not gonna do it."

    "What?!" came the reply of the Hall Elder Hu Tian. "Why not?"

    "From the look of it, this idiot will probably notst more than a year. He is inflicted with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison."

    The moment he spoke those words, my heart shuddered, I felt like I was about to die right there and then. How does he know of it?

    "The Bone and Body Grinding Poison? How unlucky. But, shouldn¡¯t he be dead already? I could have realized that he was inflicted with poison, but no one had ever survived and reached such a state."

    "I also don¡¯t know howe he is still alive, but believe me, torture will not work on someone who is in constant pain. The state of his body right now is so messed up that all of his nerves are fried from pain, the only thing that would feel painful to this man is a stab through the heart."

    "So..."

    "Yes, just let him walk, if he has nothing to say there is no way for us to make him talk, and you don¡¯t want to use soul search do you?"

    "Nah, I¡¯m not that merciless, also they only killed a few Level Three and level four beasts. It¡¯s not worth putting so much on my conscious for just that." The hall elder replied while shaking his head.

    "Good then, old man, what¡¯s your name?" Elder Tian addressed me.

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao."

    "So, Shen Bao, since you¡¯re pretty much dead, how about you make yourself useful to the Sect?"

    "How so?"

    "I¡¯ll give you an outer disciple¡¯s position, in the meantime, you could prove to be useful and get some merit points, this way, you¡¯ll probably be able to increase your cultivation and probably have better tolerance to the Bone and Body Grinding poison."

    "I-I¡¯d honestly like that."

    "Very good, then wee to the purple cloud sect. here," said the old man and threw me a token.

    "Take this and head down, find a deacon that will show you your lodging and give you your daily tasks. Though they¡¯ll probably be difficult for you to achieve due to your old age and current condition, you¡¯ll have to figure out how to do so yourself."

    "I¡¯ve relied on myself since I was born, I doubt I will need help."

    "Suit yourself," the old man shrugged and walked away.

    Once he left, hall elder Hu Tian sighed and said, "You got a new lease on life, but make sure you use it well. We don¡¯t exactly know if you could beat the Bone and Body Grinding poison by reaching a higher cultivation level, but it could slow down the deterioration of your body. I¡¯ll leave word with the Pavilion Elder so he could hand you a copy of the Purple Cloud movement technique."

    "Junior thanks Elder" I cupped my hand at the old man and grinned.

    "Good! Smart. Now off you go," the elder shooed me away. And I left.

    Surprisingly this ended well in my favor, thank god I remembered some of that stuff written in those stories about Dao, it ended up being helpful. Now, off to get my first manual." I said to myself as I went out of the pce.

    +++++++++++

 Chapter 18 The Purple Cloud Sect

    <h4>Chapter 18: The Purple Cloud Sect</h4>

    I walked down the stairs and toward the lower building areas of the mountain. The Hall elder Hu Tian said that I¡¯ll find a deacon here to help me settle and start cultivating and doing some tasks for the sect. That wille in handy.

    Once I was at the bottom of the staired mountain, which took a great deal of time, I found myself standing next to various and numerous tightly packed houses of students and disciples of the Purple Cloud Sect.

    One of the people moving about had a different set of clothes on him. When everyone was wearing light purple-colored robes, the man wore a dark set of robes, like a priest of the middle ages. He had a decorated fan in his hand that he constantly opened and closed as he watched over the people.

    Once his eyesnded on me, the brows above them furrowed then he snapped his fan shut in an audible click, he tucked both his arms behind him and walked toward me. His expression turning from serious annoyance to mild disgust the closer he got to me. He saw the tumors.

    He stopped a couple of steps in front of me and said, "What is the meaning of these clothes! State your name!"

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao, and I have just been admitted to the sect. As for my clothes, I don¡¯t have anything else to wear. Elder Hu Tian said that I¡¯ll need to find a deacon and present them with this." I said as I showed him the token.

    "Humpf, a new disciple. Alright, I¡¯m deacon Situ Zhan But, you¡¯re too old. Still, it¡¯s the elder¡¯s orders, follow me. And don¡¯t get too close, you stink and I fear that you could contaminate me with whatever abomination had gued you."

    "Yes, I¡¯ll keep my distance," I replied and walked behind the deacon. We walked for half an hour until we arrived at a building that towered over all of the buildings in the lodging area.

    "Wait for me here," he said and walked inside.

    The building had a tower that had four stories and arge lower floor. Disciples walked in and out of the building and they all seemed to have a book in their hands. I managed to get a glimpse of the book¡¯s title and it read Purple Cloud movement Technique. This is probably where I need to get my book.

    Soon afterward, the deacon came out. He had a set of clothes in one hand and a small pouch in the other.

    "This is your Disciple attire, it will change ording to your cultivation level and status in the sect. for now, it¡¯s the palest of the Purple color meaning that you¡¯re an outer disciple. Which is not something to brag about."

    "Thank you for your patronage," I replied.

    "Don¡¯t thank me yet, this pouch has a few pills. They Qi condensation pills, you¡¯ll get three each month. Use them sparingly. And there is a list of the chores you¡¯re required to do as an outer disciple. Do them all and you¡¯ll receive an extra pill by the end of the month, do less than required and a pill will be deducted for every chore missed."

    "Thank you, also I was asked to get a Purple Cloud movement technique from the Skill Pavilion."

    A glint of greed shed in the deacon¡¯s eyes, once I spoke the words.

    "Do you have the required token?"

    "Y-yes..."

    "Hand it over, and I¡¯ll see what I can do."

    Now here, there were two options, I could refuse, and probably end up in a bad situation with this deacon, or ept and see what is going to happen. After all, I don¡¯t need this skill, I already have the poison god¡¯s book. Oh, wait there is another issue I need to fix. I have no idea where the book went.

    I gave the Deacon the token that Elder Hu Tian gave me and he immediately tucked it under his robes, with enough speed that no one noticed what happened. It seems that he didn¡¯t want people to know that he took it from me. This is something I¡¯ll need to verifyter.

    "Here you go, now beat it," the deacon said.

    "You haven¡¯t given me my lodging."

    "Right, you¡¯re to head to the cultivation cave three thousand and four."

    "Thank you," I said and picked up my things and left.

    ¡¯Cultivation cave huh, it appears that there are not only houses but caves too."

    I checked the pouch and it opened up, this was of course not a dimensional pouch. It was a regr one with three pills and a piece of paper telling me of the chores I have to do in the following month.

    There was also a map of the whole sect on the back of the paper. It gave information on all locations of the sect and where everything is. Even the skill Pavillon which was exactly where I was before. I should have just walked inside and gotten the skill myself instead of giving the token to the deacon. Nevertheless, I¡¯ll have to manage with the stuff I have now, and I¡¯ll need to get to the cave I¡¯m supposed to cultivate in.

    I arrived at the cave in almost an hour. And it didn¡¯t take me much effort to find it. There was a barren mountain almost at the exit of the Sect¡¯s boundaries and there were a few people in it. They all looked haggard and exhausted. Unlike the ones that were closest to the sect¡¯s core. The people on the outer sect were utterly miserable. Most of them had their skin sticking to their bones, malnourished, and were weak. Their clothes were wrinkled, dirty, and cut in several ces. I¡¯m gonna fit right in.

    I walked up to my cave, number 3004. It was a small hole dug in the mountain that had a simple stone bed with a sheep¡¯s hide for minimalfort. And an oilmp.

    The cave had a boulder that closed and opened once one presented the sect¡¯s token to the entrance. Simple, efficient, and enough.

    I walked in, lit the oilmp, and used the sect¡¯s token to close the cave.

    I sat down and decided against changing my clothes. I needed to take another bath if I were to wear these. I don¡¯t smell right.

    Also, I was wondering where the book had gone, but almost as the thought crossed my mind, a bright light shone from my chest and the book materialized in front of me. It opened up and from within the pages came the pouches of the cultivators that tried to kill me in the poison god¡¯s pool.

    "Oh, so you¡¯re sentient and hid so no one discovers you. Quite nice." Iplimented the book then felt that it was cringy and awkward that I was talking to a bunch of paper. Most heroes in those books hadpanions to journey alongside them, that way the reader wouldn¡¯t be too bored with the main character¡¯s monologues, but that¡¯s not the case for me. Perhaps my story will be a boring one, full of loneliness, but who would write about someone such as myself, I¡¯m not hero material, at least not yet.

    Iughed to myself at the odd thoughts that crossed my mind, it was only by that that I could fight off the sense of loneliness and strangeness that I was so suddenly thrown into.

    I sat on the stone bed in the lotus position and began rotating the energy within me. With the amount of Yin inside my meridians, and the abundance of the green energy from the Yeti that still needed to be processed I had a few day¡¯s worths of energy to circte and cultivate.

    Time passed by, and I had to re-lit the candle three times. For every time, a full day had gone by.

    And once I felt that my extra reserves had all been safely rotated and infused into my meridians, I knew it was time for me to leave the cave. I had some chores to do.

    Looking at the piece of paper, I realized I needed to do a few things. Fill a few vats worth of water, and chop some logs and bring them down to the firewood storage. Also, pick a few herbs from a nearby mountain.

    The first two chores required a lot of physical strength, which I didn¡¯t have. As for thetter, I believe that I would enjoy that. The mountain was already inside the sect, which won¡¯t make it too difficult to get, and I have the book to show me the herbs.

    So, I decided to get the herbs first.

    ****

    Like always please don¡¯t forget to join my ******* and help me out if you could, it would mean a lot.

    Huge shoutout to Frederick, thanks for the generous tip.

 Chapter 19 Meng Hao

    <h4>Chapter 19: Meng Hao</h4>

    As I moved about, I received awkward and disgusted nces from the disciples of the sect. not that I cared, but I needed to be careful, I¡¯m currently wearing the sect¡¯s purple clothes, though I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to wash up, it¡¯s better to have them on than the other ones. Still, their disgust mostly came from what¡¯s wrong with my body, and most of the disciples decided that it was best to move out of my way.

    Getting to the herb mountain took a pretty long walk, especially with my condition, but never the less it was amazing. The whole mountain had a sweet smell to it, refreshing and soul southing. There was a good amount of spiritual Qi here, too bad I can¡¯t cultivate it as it is as useful to me as those Qi condensation pills, useless.

    I walked up the mountain where dozens of other disciples were, they all must have been searching for herbs to submit. But seeing how barren the mountain base was, it was obvious that it was picked clean with all the peopleing in here and doing their monthly chores.

    The herb scent was still strong however, only it came from the upper part of the mountain.

    "Shit, there is nothing here, I¡¯ll have to give up more of my Qi condensation pills. This is unfair!" one of the kids shouted.

    I turned to look at him, he looked to be a boy around the age of fourteen, he had unkempt hair and a few bruises on him. Yet his eyes were shining with the energy of youth. He was alone, unlike the rest who were grouped up together.

    "Then why don¡¯t you climb up? There are more herbs there," I replied.

    "Old man, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re taunting me or you¡¯re truly ignorant, but it¡¯s not easy to climb up. The more steps you take the heavier it gets; I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still able to stand even with your old bones."

    "I don¡¯t feel any of the stuff you¡¯re talking about."

    The kid was stunned and immediately came rushing toward me, though I say rushing, it was more likes struggling with every step.

    "Shhh!" He said.

    "If you have a treasure that helps you walk up the mountain don¡¯t make a scene about it, there are people here who¡¯ll do anything to get their hands on stuff you have if it proves useful to you, old man!" the kid said.

    "Oh, thank you, I didn¡¯t know that," I replied, and so it appears, thew of the jungle is back in y.

    "Now, I don¡¯t know who you are, but you must be either strong or have a powerful object to protect you, just don¡¯t show it, mention it or even act as if you have it. Old man, at least pretend that walking up here is exhausting. Your mere appearance makes people feel disgusted and not look a second time at you, but the moment you go past the three hundredth step, everyone will notice you."

    I looked up the mountain, there was still a great steep climb to get to where the herbs were, and if this kid is saying the truth, then I can¡¯t draw attention to myself.

    "Kid, tell me, when does this ce have the least activity?" I asked.

    "Usually at night, when everyone is back in their rooms. Why?"

    "Right, do you want to make a deal?" I asked him.

    "What sort of deals?"

    "I want you to do my chores for me," I stated.

    "Are you insane? I could barely finish my own, and also, I can¡¯t even get the herbs."

    "Well, I¡¯ll reward you. How about this, I¡¯ll give you one pill for gathering the logs and another pill for getting the water on my behalf, and also give you a portion of the herbs I get from this mountain."

    "It seems like a good deal, too good to be true. I¡¯m more than willing to get the logs and water filled on your behalf for the pills, but why are you offering to give me herbs?"

    "It says in the chore tasks that every herb on the mountain can be exchanged with at least one pill, I¡¯m probably able to get a few herbs every time I go up. But I don¡¯t have the strength to get the logs and water. Consider it sowing good Karma."

    The kid pondered about it for a while. "Alright, but you¡¯ll have to pay upfront, and don¡¯t even mention the fact that you could and cannot trust me. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have even bothered helping you with hiding your treasure."

    I smiled at the kid and threw him one of my pills. "Take this, once you get all of my logs,e back and I¡¯ll pay you for the water, and give you an herb so youplete your monthly quota."

    "Right, thanks, old man."

    "Call me Shen Bao."

    "I¡¯m Meng Hao."

    I was slightly stunned for a moment, his name was rather familiar and nostalgic. then I smiled, "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Meng Hao."

    The kid climbed down the mountain so fast that I thought he was going to stumble and fall on his face. Yet he didn¡¯t lose his momentum and reached the bottom in a few breaths. He then headed toward the woods, to get the logs mostly.

    I looked up to the sky, the sun was almost at dusk. I¡¯ll need to wait here for a while before I could climb up, I don¡¯t want anyone seeing how I got to the top so it¡¯s best if I take my time and be patient.

    Hours went by, and the sun came down, people started climbing down the mountain one by one, while I was sitting in the lotus position waiting for the mountain to clear up. An hour after the sun has fully set and the darkness of the night covered the whole sect, I decided that it was time for me to resume my tasks.

    I stood up and headed up. The mountain was pretty huge, and with every step I took I risked falling to my death, but thankfully, with so many people going up the mountain every day, they made a path in the mountain that eased ess to the upper parts of it.

    Soon, I was well in the clouds, and the smell was amazing, the herbs on this side of the mountain were numerous. My book vibrated in my chest, signaling me to take a few turns and twists within the mountain top.

    There was an herb hidden behind a small rock, I pulled the rock and discovered a purple flower. I didn¡¯t know what this was but I yanked it with its roots and ced it in the pouch I got from the sect.

    I continued moving about, picking herbs left and right, there were so many of them that I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes.

    Howe the sect never got up and cleaned this whole ce up? It¡¯s a wonder.

    I continued picking the herbs, and at a point, I didn¡¯t have enough space in the small pouch, so I began putting them in the book, something I discovered while I was experimenting in the cave.

    The book can actually work as a storage space, it held the pouches from the cultivators of the Poison God¡¯s cave, and now the herbs I ced in it was all sucked in. This thing is quite handy.

    Thankfully I made sure to ce all the herbs inside my robes before the book took them in, otherwise, if I had to physically pull out the book, someone might see it.

    After several hours, I climbed down, there was no need for me to keep picking up herbs. I could clean up the whole thing and that will definitely be suspicious. What¡¯s worse is, this mountain could definitely be monitored by some powerful cultivator. There is a huge risk to it also. If there was a powerful man keeping watch over this mountain, they would easily discover me and keep tabs on me, to see how I could get these herbs unhindered by the pressure that Meng Hao had told me about.

    I was down to the base of the mountain a few minutes before the first sunlight broke the darkness of the cold night. I headed back to my cave to cultivate a bit and also to learn a bit about the herbs I have gotten.

    ****

 Chapter 20 Troubles in the Horizone

    <h4>Chapter 20: Troubles in the Horizone</h4>

    (Big chapter ahead enjoy the read)

    Once I was inside my cave, and had closed it and lit the oilmp. I began by pulling out the herbs from my pouch and from inside the book.

    The book began by giving me a description of almost everything I had gotten from the mountain.

    ***

    Drowsy Inkberry, a flower that can be used to mend minor wounds, and if tempered well can be used on a quill to write charms and talismans. Grad level 9

    Joyful Weed. A sweet-smelling herb that is mainly used to rx the muscles and calm the mind, it is good for clearing thoughts but can be addictive and is highly toxic if not treated before consumption. Grade 9

    Nightmarish Sun Drop. Once exposed to daylight, it would cause illusions to anyone close enough to it. A primary ingredient to create the Night Demon Expelling pill. Grade 9

    ...

    *** The list continued on and on, every Spiritual Herb had a different purpose and had quite an amazing attribute and ability. But I was interested in a couple of the herbs mainly. The joyful Weed, and the Tri-Colored Doom flower.

    The Joyful Weed was as it said, a drug, and it served a good purpose to me. First of all, it was toxic and would help me cultivate. And the second thing was that it was rxing and could help reduce some of the pain and soreness I felt usually with my current condition.

    The second herb was even more interesting, it was the only grade 8 herb in my inventory, the Tri-Colored Doom Flower.

    ***

    Tri-Colored Doom Flower, a deadly flower that sprouts from the corpse of someone who had perished in a Yin Covered area. The flower can blossom seven times reaching its ultimate form the Severn Colored Doom Flower. It is highly poisonous, and whenever a person perishes due to the effects of the colored Doom Flower, it will wither and then sprout from his body creating a higher tiered flower. The cultivation level of every victim of the Sever Colored Doom Flower needs to be higher than the previous person for it to bloom.

    ***

    I made sure to keep those two apart, the first one, I¡¯ll be needing soon, and thankfully there were a bunch of them that I gathered. The second one, I only managed to obtain one so I¡¯ll keep it for now.

    After a couple of days, I heard knocking on my door, or the walls of the cultivation cave I was in.

    I opened it and Meng Hao was in front of me, he was sweaty, probably from the exertion of having to carry the logs and water, but he had a good bright smile.

    "I got both of your chores for you, so, pay up."

    "Right, that was our deal, here you go," I replied as I handed him two pills and one of the random spirit herbs I gathered."

    "Nice! The Moon Cecelia, this one should get me two pills, no take-backs!" replied Meng Hao.

    "No need, I have better stuff."

    "Good, still, old man, don¡¯t dump them all at the pavilion, it will be suspicious, give them one or two at best."

    "Yes, I already had the same idea. Thanks, you can leave now, and I¡¯ll be counting on you for next month." I replied.

    "As much as I¡¯d like this, you should know, that if you don¡¯t do this by yourself, you¡¯ll never learn. You need a strong body to cultivate beyond Qi condensation."

    "Oh, that¡¯s something I didn¡¯t know."

    "Man, it¡¯s all in the Movement Technique, I heard you got one."

    "The deacon said he¡¯ll procure it for me."

    "That asshole? In your dreams, he¡¯ll probably hold your token hostage and dy until you do him favors. You should have handed the token you got yourself." Meng Hao said and left.

    I thought about what the kid said for a moment then it made sense. I guess it¡¯s time I visit the deacon.

    I gathered the herbs and ced them in my book then moved toward the pavilion.

    Just as I got to its doors, the deacon came rushing towards me. "You, Shen Bao, what are you doing here?" he asked.

    Suddenly I noticed all the people walking in and out of the pavilion stopping for a moment, they wanted to witness the scene.

    "I¡¯m here to submit some herbs for my monthly quota," I replied.

    "H-herbs? Spiritual herbs, you have some? Let me see." The deacon eagerly asked.

    I frowned for a moment but still pulled out the pouch he gave me.

    The moment he saw the two nts inside the pouch, his eyes widened then immediately he feigned uninterest.

    "Those are justmon weeds, they are worthless. Let me take care of them,e back when you find real spiritual herbs.

    "Oh? Useless herbs?"

    "Yes. Verymon stuff with no spiritual energy, now move away, and just let me take care of this trash." His hand reached to my pouch.

    One of the kids muttered, "So overbearing, the deacon is trying to cheat the old man of his treasures."

    I pulled the pouch away and answered, "I beg to differ, I mean, Drowsy Inkberry is useful to make talismans, not to mention the Nightmarish Sun Drop and its uses."

    "Uh, no, you¡¯re mistaken, I told you these are justmon herbs."

    "I find it strange. Shouldn¡¯t you have at least better knowledge than a mere outer disciple who just started in this sect not even a month now?" a loud booming voice sounded from behind me.

    Turning, I saw a man, wearing the same type of clothing that senior brother Dual Lin wore. A darker shade of purple, and Inner disciple.

    "This junior dares not offend senior brother Han! But this is a matter of the outer sect." the deacon replied as he cupped his fists.

    "I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about the outer sect, all I¡¯m interested in is, how did this outer disciple know of the proper name and use of the Drowsy Inkberry. It was in a subject for the Receptariers exam. And it¡¯s a hard and difficult nt to find not to mention have knowledge about. So it piqued my interest."

    "If it¡¯s hard to find, wouldn¡¯t that suggest that it¡¯s not possible for him to have this nt, and it could only be a normal herb he foundying about?."

    "You¡¯re saying I wouldn¡¯t know of the Drowsy Inkberry? Are you questioning my intelligence?"

    The same kid that murmured before chuckled, "The deacon is in for a beating."

    "No! not at all! I¡¯m just saying that there could be a possibility of mistake..."

    "Then how about we take this to the pavilion elder? I¡¯m sure he¡¯d like to know about this."

    ¡¯Whoa, this seriously blew out of proportions. I mean, I knew in cultivation stories things tended to get ugly fast...but it¡¯s like it¡¯s ingrained in these people to make a mountain out of an ant...¡¯

    "I don¡¯t think we should bother the elder with such matters..." the deacon replied.

    "But I insist!" came the reply of the inner disciple Han.

    Then the elder disciple ced his hand on the deacon¡¯s shoulder and guided him toward the hall.

    He smiled at me and nodded for me to follow. And so, I did. Sighing along the way, kids nowadays make things really troublesome, I could have handled this myself.

    As we entered the pavilion, I had to take a moment to take everything in. The whole building was well decorated with old paintings and incense. The reception hall had an enormous shelf full of books behind it and the whole room was decorated in golden balls that hovered close to the ceiling lighting the whole thing as if it was daylight. Then came the stairs that led to the upper parts of the pavilion, to its upper levels, and probably to where better stuff was kept in storage.

    "Elder Yun!" called the inner disciple. And from behind the reception desk that I thought no one was behind, came a small man. Yes, not a man afflicted with dwarfism, he was just a small man, not bigger than a ten-year-old. But he had a white beard and a cylindrical hat over his head. Both his arms were tucked behind his back, and his eyes were almost close. His wrinkled face looked like a plot ofnd that hasn¡¯t had a drop of water in years.

    "Yes, what seems to be the problem?"

    "Wee to appraise a few herbs a fellow outer disciple had found, but the deacon insists, based on his great knowledge of Spirit Herbs that the outer disciple only has trash in his hands."

    The elder frowned, the whole matter didn¡¯t seem worth his attention, but since this was an inner disciple in front of him, he had to give him -I always hated this expression- face.

    "Let¡¯s see," replied Elder Yun.

    He took a single nce at the pouch and immediately said, "This is clearly Drowsy Inkberry, why is the deacon saying it is not?"

    The deacon¡¯s face turned white as a sheet as he started stuttering.

    Then the senior brother came in to reprimand him, "I heard that something like this keeps happening here. So I came to inspect, I never believed that the deacon the sect has ced to manage the problems of the outer sect is such a debauched and heartless person, I have several otherints against him, stealing the allocated pills, taking other cultivators tokens as a hostage, and allocating caves for whomever he likes against the sect¡¯s rule."

    "Is this true deacon?" asked Elder Yun.

    The deacon in question began stuttering unable to reply.

    "As much as I don¡¯t wish to interfere in this case. But honestly, this deacon has been acting like a dick since I got here. He also took my token, the token Elder Hu Tian gave me to get the Purple Cloud movement technique and never gave me the technique."

    "Is this true!" asked the elder, this time his voice was deeper. Wrathful even.

    "N-no! I already had his book prepared; he took it." The deacon lied.

    "Then, we can easily check the records." The elder replied.

    Soon after he checked the records his brows rose up and he spoke saying, "Howe your namees up here more than anyone else, you¡¯ve been taking many things from the pavilion, on behalf of others? Is there any Lung Hu here?" asked the elder.

    "Yes, it¡¯s me."

    "It says in the records you have taken a lower Man tier weapon. Where is it?"

    "I-I had never taken such a thing. Actually, this is the first time I entered the hall."

    "Humm, is Yue Zan here?" the elder asked.

    "Y-yes, I¡¯m here." Replied a timid-looking girl.

    "You took a lower Man tier sparring glove?"

    "No...I have not."

    "It seems that the deacon has been using the tokens of the outer disciples and exchanging them for items for his own. Look at his gloves. They are the same as the ones that were taken from the records same as the boots, and a Calming Ring. You took the Outer Disciples¡¯ contributions and made them your own." The elder said.

    ¡¯That¡¯s a big oof...¡¯

    The deacon then immediately mmed his head on the wooden floor, "I was wrong please forgive me, elder!"

    "You were wrong, you¡¯ll be corrected. You¡¯ll be stripped of all of your rights, and all items will be confiscated. As for your punishment that¡¯s not my mission though, it is the punishment hall elder."

    "No!" cried out the deacon that was escorted immediately afterward by a couple of disciples.

    "Well, there seems to be a lot of paperwork to be done here to fix up the mess of this useless trash. I¡¯ll take care of this. Anyone who has their items or tokens taken please submit a report to me. I¡¯ll take note of everything." Replied the hall elder.

    Ah well, then this situation was dealt with rather finely. I half expected to have this whole thing backfire on me, and create a sworn enemy as those Mc¡¯s do. But seems that things will be fine.

    Just as I was about to leave, the inner disciple ced his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, "Old man. I¡¯m interested in how you got the knowledge about some of these Spiritual Herbs, how about you visit me in my ce at the inner sect. just tell the guards that I sent you. We¡¯ll have a discussion over tea. This is not a request." Replied the man.

    ¡¯Aaaand here ites, I should have not jinxed myself. Shit.¡¯

    "Not a request? What does that mean?" I asked.

    "It means that you have toe!" the inner disciple said.

    "Is there any rule in the sect that says I have to follow what you say?" I asked again rather sternly.

    The man hesitated for a second, this was probably the first time he was ever told off by an outer sect disciple and it clearly shows. Amateur.

    "Now shoo away, I have no time to waste with you. I got my own stuff to deal with."

    "You!" the inner disciple scowled.

    "You? You what? Didn¡¯t your mother teach you to finish your sentences? What the hell am I supposed to understand from one single word thates out of your mouth, if you have shit to say, say it. If not get the fuck off of my face." I snapped back at him.

    The disciple shuddered, his eyeballs felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets, he raised a hand as if he was about to smack me but a simple cough from the elder behind him had the man gather his hand back and snort as he left.

    Yep, that¡¯s one sworn enemy created right there.

    "I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re foolish or brave, but what you just did was not smart. You antagonized an inner disciple in front of many people. You made him lose face." Said the elder.

    "Yeah, well I don¡¯t really care. If he needed me, he could have asked, I don¡¯t like threats."

    "It¡¯s your funeral."

    "Well, I lived long enough, death is not something, I fear. Thank you elder for your patronage; I¡¯ll be leaving to cultivate now."

    "Wait," said the elder and then handed me a purple-colored book and a few items gathered in a pouch.

    "This is the cultivation manual you were supposed to get from the deacon, and these are some pills aspensation for the troubles that he created and in exchange for the Drowsy Inkberry."

    "Thank you, that¡¯lle in handy," I replied and took off with the loot.

    A few students felt that it was necessary to follow me and they did, from a distance.

    Now I know how this is all going to unfold. Too many cultivation stories and you get the whole gist of things.

    First thing will be, these kids will follow me up to where I live, and find out my cultivation cave. Then, one brave dumbass will decide that it would be smart to assault me, break some bones, kill me, or even worse, shatter my cultivation. And if you¡¯re thinking that I have my priorities jumbled up, no I don¡¯t. I¡¯m not Hermione, in a world o cultivation, having your cultivation shattered is worse than death.

    As expected, the moment I got to my cave, a young man, probably the age of sixteen along with three others showed up at my doorsteps right as I opened my cave.

    "You! Fellow cultivator Shen Bao, I advise you to give up your belongings and kowtow ten times in apology for senior brother Han.

    "Ugh, another dumbass stepping stone wanna be. You," I pointed at the kid behind the one who just spoke. "p that guy and I¡¯ll give you a Qi condensation pill."

    The kid in question hesitated then said, "N-no."

    ¡¯Oh, I see temptation.¡¯

    I grinned as I said, "Then how about three, final offer."

    The disciple leading the group snorted and said "Of course he will not choos-" but he was abruptly stopped by a p in the face.

    He looked at the kid who smacked him and said, "Why?!"

    "That¡¯s three pills more than I get for three months¡¯ worth of hard work."

    Before the situation would escte anymore, I threw a pouch at the kid who pped the other guy and entered my cave, leaving them bickering among each other.

    As I sat down in my cave, I began to do an inventory, some of the items I have on me were useless to use as cultivation material, for me, that is. For other cultivators, this could be handy. Most of these herbs are best used in creating pills that enhance cultivation, heal wounds, and cure illnesses. None of that is of any great use to me. But I could exchange them in a venue for something better. But that will have to wait. I don¡¯t have ess to any auction houses right now.

    Another thing, I need to get my cultivation going, I have fully stabilized my cultivation but didn¡¯t improve upon it ever since I got into the sect., I need to have a higher level of cultivation if I wanted to unlock the bags of the people who got me in the poison cave, to begin with. Perhaps they have some good stuff on them.

    But without proper poisons to consume, I can¡¯t galvanize the poison Qi within me to reach the next level.

    But the joyful weed can. It¡¯s toxic in nature and I need that. But I require a pipe.

    I walked out of the cave and found the guys still fighting among each other.

    "Anyone has a smoking pipe?"

    The kid who got the pills from me, with a ck and blue face from all the beating still shed me a happy smile as he said, "Yes, I can get you one."

    "Let me guess you need another pill?"

    "That would be a little too much for just a smoking pipe. I¡¯ll get you one for free."

    "Good, I¡¯ll remember that favor. And, could you all go and fight somewhere else, you¡¯re kind of breaking my concentration."

    "Right, let¡¯s go!" the kid said and the three others followed him. For a group of people who were on each other¡¯s throats, they were pretty sensible.

    After an hour, the kid came back and knocked on the stone door. In his hand was a nicely decorated pipe. It was long with a small cup-like end, it had a small metallic to hold tabaco or whatever substance wanted to burn. And it was engraved in silver. It was quite fancy and I liked it.

    I took the pipe from him, and gave him one of the random herbs I got from the mountain as a reward, he cupped his fists at me and left happy.

    Time to test the herb. I locked myself in my cave and sat down. Then, I tore some of the petals and ced them on the pipe, then used themp to burn the petals and light the pipe.

    I took a drag and started coughing, this was pretty strong, and didn¡¯t taste right at all. Something was wrong, the whole thing didn¡¯t light up and needed a lot of fire for it to turn right.

    "Ah! I need to dry it first. Damn. That¡¯s gonna be a hassle. I mean if anyone were to find thisying around, they would undoubtedly take them."

    I left the cave and began walking toward the pavilion. The elder there would probably have a good idea on where I could dry the Joyful Weed.

    Just as I arrived, the elder perked his eyes at me and said, "You smell like weed. Were you smoking?"

    "Yes, a bad experience I can tell you that. But how did you know?"

    "A kid came to im a smoking pipe from the pavilion also you have a really strong sweet smell about you. you probably didn¡¯t even dry them, the smell on you is too strong, and by the way, the Joyful Weed is toxic."

    "I know, it¡¯s toxic, but it¡¯s helping my cultivation."

    "Really? After a few days, you¡¯ll probably start vomiting blood. But wait, with the bone and body grinding poison, I think that the effect of it will cancel out the toxic traits of the joyful weed, you¡¯ll probably get better hits and stronger effects if you don¡¯t detoxify it."

    "You seem knowledgeable."

    "We old men always keep a bit stashed away. Would you like to try some? Real stuff." The Elder said.

    "If you¡¯re offering, I won¡¯t say no," I replied.

    The man smiled and nodded to one of the disciples. "You, continue with the inventory, and handouts of the tokens to the wronged disciples. That deacon made a hell of a mess here."

    Follow me, said the elder and walked up ahead.

    The man was really small, almost all the way to my knee small, but he was he fast. I had to almost jog to keep up with his walking speed.

    We got up to the second floor of the pavilion and were met with another old man, when he saw the two of us, he frowned at me. "Elder Yun, what¡¯s the meaning of this?"

    "I¡¯m taking this disciple to the upper floor; don¡¯t worry we won¡¯t ess the library we¡¯ll just sit at the veranda."

    "Sigh, you found another smoking partner."

    "Yes," Elder Yun smiled.

    "You, what¡¯s your name?"

    "My name is Shen Bao," I cupped my face at who seemed to be the elder of the second level.

    "If he challenges you to a smoking contest, refuse immediately, you¡¯ll make aughingstock out of yourself."

    I smiled at the man and said, "Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll keep myself in check."

    "Yeah, you should mind your own business Elder Zhang, I mean not everyone has a shitty tolerance such as yourself."

    "Whatever," the floor elder Zhang shooshed us away and we left to the upper floors. There were several floors and each of them seemed to have a lot of books and manuals. Cultivation manuals.

    "These are manuals for the disciples who prove themselves to the sect, if they get a proper contribution, they cane and choose whatever manual they like from here to help them cultivate."

    "Why not make this public for all to use?" I asked.

    "Only the worthy will earn the right to learn."

    "What if there are kids talented in certain aspects that their current disposition does not show, and there is a manual here that could guide them to be stronger. Shouldn¡¯t they be considered?"

    The old man shook his head, "That¡¯s not how sects work, you only prove yourself if you ovee your weak nature. Even if one has the disposition to be a martial god, is deemed trash if they die early. We¡¯re not here to rear and raise chicken, we need strong people who will ovee their weak disposition and obtain the right to gain more power. We will not guide the weak to be strong, the weak has to guide themselves to be strong, and once they are worthy, the sect will not spare a dime to help that weak person be a great one."

    "Sounds pretty convincing, though I may have concerns, still you¡¯re the sect, and this is your rule," I replied.

    "You seem pretty estranged to the rules of sects."

    "Yeah, I am new to the cultivation world, so I have different ideologies. I hope I didn¡¯t offend you or the sect."

    "Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t rebuke your ideologies, it¡¯s rare to find someone with a different thought process, most of the people I know have rigid thinking, it¡¯s good to be able to discuss topics with another person, especially if they have different views and opinions, we can both learn from the other."

    I smiled as I walked behind the elder, I think I like this guy. He is very open and has a good heart. I gotta make friends with him.

    Soon, we reached a veranda that was overseeing the entirety of the outer sect. it was the highest floor on the pavilion and was a great spot to just rx. There was a small GO table with ck and white stones and two cushions and a small pot of tea and two cups. A simple setting for a great view.

    "Sit down and let¡¯s talk." The old man said and sat as he pulled a small pouch filled with dried Joyful Weed.

    "This batch still needs to be detoxified. Are you sure you want to smoke it? I have a batch that¡¯s pretty well treated."

    "No, I¡¯d rather get the toxic one."

    "Your funeral," the old man replied.

    I smiled as I grabbed a pinch and ced it in my pipe then started looking around like a fool for a match to light it.

    The old man in front of me smirked and snapped his fingers creating a small red me that lit up from the top of his index finger, he used the small me to light his own golden decorated pipe.

    I frowned, as I looked at him, thinking a bit, this could be the same as using Qi to use the Poison Breath skill. But instead of rotating the energy in the meridians and releasing it from the mouth, he released it out of his finger.

    I looked at my pustule-infested hand and closed my eyes, rotating the energy within my meridians and instead of sending it to my mouth, I sent it all to my hand. It slowly began to glow, I felt like my hand was about to burst as the tumors began wiggling. I then willed the energy to gather and focus at the tip of my finger where it shot out like aser beam up into the sky. A green powerfulser beam.

    "God almighty! What the heck?" shouted the old man.

    "I-I have no idea, I just mimicked you."

    "By mimicking me you created a killing move?! I¡¯m not that great of a mentor what the bloody hell? How did you do it?"

    I was still baffled at what the old man was saying and the light from my fingers dimmed enough that it shaped itself into a me.

    "I have no idea what happened, but I guess it¡¯s something to ponder about."

    "Right, well, use that me first, and we¡¯ll discuss this over a game of GO, I¡¯m really interested in this move of yours."

    "Yeah sure," I did as I lit the pipe with the green fireing out of my finger.

    *******************

 Chapter 21 Troubles and More Troubles

    <h4>Chapter 21: Troubles and More Troubles</h4>

    "Damn, I lost again," I cursed as I processed the moves. This old man was a monster. I picked up the game of Go when I used to be head of the Lucid River, and I sucked at it at first, but after a few years of ying I managed to be the best in the whole city, people actually made travels just toe and y with me, yet this guy, he really bested me several times now.

    "Yes...you lost." The man said, but his expressions weren¡¯t of someone who had just won. He looked perplexed.

    "How long have you been ying?" he asked.

    "A few years now."

    "A few years... I¡¯ve been honing my skills for hundreds of years, and I could say that among all my peers in this sect, rare are those who manage to y as long as you did against me. I¡¯m impressed with your thinking process."

    "It¡¯s just a game. Nothing to be so vexed about."

    The old man shook his head, "You¡¯re using mortal moves against me. If you were to use your cultivation, this game would turn differently."

    I frowned, "How is that even possible, to use cultivation in a game of go?"

    "It¡¯s rather simple, you see, right now, you¡¯re using your brain, your mind, your mortal mind to y. Not the cultivator¡¯s mind, you¡¯re thinking processpared to mine is probably several times slower. But if you were to use a cultivator¡¯s mindset to y, you¡¯ll start seeing moves that you have not before and discover tricks you have not thought of before."

    "I think I understand, but I have no idea on how to tap onto that thinking process."

    "It¡¯s not something that can be taught, you¡¯ll have to figure it out on your own. It¡¯s a kind of talent, and when you¡¯re able to use it, you¡¯ll be able to see the world anew."

    "Right, I¡¯ll keep it in mind. So how about another game?"

    "Right, let¡¯s go again."

    The old man began setting the small pieces and we started ying. As we went on, I thought about how he mentioned using the mindset of a cultivator. For me, right now, the proper move would be to barricade a group of his pieces and block his advance, that¡¯s the optimal move. If I were to do that, I¡¯ll still be on the defensive, unable to attack, and he will still have the upper hand...I need a move that could turn the tables.

    As Shen Bao was thinking, he never noticed a green aura suddenly beginning to ovep and coalesces against his whole body. Elder Yun was taken aback but he had a bright smile on his face. Another person came from behind Shen Bao, it was the elder of the second floor of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

    Just as he was about to speak, Elder Yun gestured for him to stop. Whatever was happening with Shen Bao was something that he didn¡¯t need to be distracted from.

    Yun decided it was time for him to make a move in retaliation to Shen Bao¡¯s seemingly reckless piece that was ced in an awkward position without any prior thought or current goal or purpose.

    Yun continued ying,ying out a perfect offense, but Shen Bao was retaliating with a weak defense, Yun knew that Shen Bao was not someone weak at the game, as he had already yed against him a few rounds before, so this weak gamey was a prep for something. Yet Yun could never see what.

    Shen Bao was still immersed in his own world, a strange feeling where whenever he moved a piece he would see almost all the corresponding moves that should follow, and whenever Yun would ce his own pieces Shen Bao would figure out what the Elder wanted to do.

    Shen Bao kept cing awkward pieces and stopping Yun¡¯s moves with defensive moves that seemed amateurish and unworthy of a good Go yer. Yet one piece remained in the table that was still unused, it was the first piece that Shen Bao had ced. Yun was still pondering on how Shen Bao was going to use that piece and began dedicating defensive structures to hold off any pieces to be built around that one.

    Since the game started, Shen Bao has been focused on the table and never lifted his head up, so when he did, Yun was shaken to his core. Shen Bao¡¯s only eye had a green lustrous light, almost like a shiny emerald in the depth of the night.

    "They say that dragons never die...It¡¯s a lie!" and he mmed a piece where Yun never expected, stopping an impressive chain of pieces and at the same time switching the whole game.

    The whole board changed and Yun¡¯s amazing offensive haspletely been broken. Reading the table Yun began tough, there was no way for him toe back from this.

    "I resign! You win."

    "That was a good game!"

    I looked at the table and smiled, the thinking process of a cultivator, it¡¯s rather addictive. If I were able to use this more often and in a specific situation I coulde up with a great many tricks to help me cultivate. I can already see the benefits this could bring me.

    Thinking at this frequency would mean that I could find the optimal way and method to circte energy, find solutions out of problems ande on top in every single encounter or dilemma.

    But there is one little inconvenience.

    My head began to hurt like a motherfucker.

    It spun as the world started turning white.

    "Drink this," said Yun as he handed me a cup of tea.

    A single sip is all I needed to clear my mind and chase the headache away.

    "What¡¯s in this?"

    "It¡¯s a mind southing recipe. Made of a special spiritual herb, it helps calm the mind and restore energy once drunk." Yun replied.

    "Many thanks," I replied.

    "No problem, tell me how was it? The first time you used your Mind¡¯s True Eye."

    "The what now?"

    "Mind¡¯s eye, Mind¡¯s True Eye, it has many names, but it mainly is a thinking process where you remove the limits imposed upon your mind to momentarily increase your intelligence."

    "Well, it was painful, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be using it often."

    "Good, I¡¯ll make you an order at the Pavilion so you can get the Mind Southing tea. You should use the Mind¡¯s Eye as often as possible, it too can be cultivated and can increase in potency and power. Some legends say that you could even see the future if your mind¡¯s eye is strong enough, but those are just myths. Now, how about another game?"

    "Cough!" I heard a cough and turned to realize that the second-floor elder had been standing here for a while.

    "Elder Zhang, why have youe here?"

    "Well, you guys have been here for a while... and I got bored."

    "Right, thene join us, you¡¯d like a drag?" elder Yun said as he handed elder Zhang his pipe.

    "Yeah, but don¡¯t dose it too much, I¡¯m not that good with the Joyful Weed."

    "Wuss," said Elder Yun jokingly and handed the old man his own pipe.

    I also used mine, thankfully I learned how to control my poison Qi and used a small me to light my own smoking pipe. The three of us continued chatting as the sun came down.

    Days have gone by, and in them, I would always find time to meet up with Elder Yun and Elder Zhang, we y a few games of Go, talk about the cultivation world and the sect, and also practice cultivation. In these times I managed to reach the Peak of the middle level of Qi condensation.

    My speed of cultivation was thankfully quite high, all thanks to the Joyful Weed¡¯s toxic nature which now I learned on how to dry. My only issue was where to put the herbs so no one would steal them, and Elder Yun offered to have my Herbs dried in his own abode.

    The Poison God¡¯s book opened up a new page for me. But this one was rather aimed for knowledge, Spiritual Herbs. And a huge list of them, all of them rank from the ninth level to the seventh. Of which I have seen a small sum at the Spiritual Herb mountain of the Purple Cloud Sect, but the vast majority was so amazingly big that it would take a person ages just to memorize them.

    But surprisingly, using the Mind¡¯s Eye proved to be extremely helpful. It took me two weeks to fully digest the knowledge on the ninth level Spiritual Herbs, their usage, origin, and method to transform them into a pill. The teachings of the Poison God is great as it shows the proper way to be an Alchemist, or as the proper name in the Poison God¡¯s book, a Receptarier.

    Yet sadly I don¡¯t have the qualification, I need to at least be in the Core Formation level and have my core shape itself into a Dantian, which is like a gigantic battery where I could keep an even bigger portion of Poison Qi hidden and ready for use.

    The best way to describe it would be that the Dantian is an elusive organ of sorts, it doesn¡¯t exist in the realm of the physical. But more on a spiritual level, it¡¯s an organ that connects all of the meridians and harnesses the energy that circtes through them and saves it inside it. Breaking through to higher levels of cultivation will require this Dantian to take several and different forms. Which I have no need to know of right now, as I still need to reach Foundation Building before I achieve Core formation.

    Once I finished with my studies, I headed out, it should be time for me to hang out with Elder Yun and Elder Zhang. But just as I came out, a heavily beaten Meng Hao was unconscious at my doorsteps.

    I crouched down and held his head from the back, "Hey, kid what¡¯s wrong?"

    Meng Hao¡¯s eyes were out of focus but they locked onto me for a moment, "Signior Disciple Han...he..."

    And immediately, the kid fell unconscious again.

    "Shit." I cursed as I picked up the kid then took him to the pavilion.

 Chapter 22 Creeping Demise

    <h4>Chapter 22: Creeping Demise</h4>

    Once I got the kid to the pavilion a couple of older disciples came to carry him, they noticed the injuries and assured me with the following words "We¡¯ll take care of him, Shen Bao, Elder Yun requests your presence."

    "I¡¯ll go check with him, please take good care of Meng Hao."

    "We will," replied the disciple and left with Meng Hao for treatment.

    As I walked up the stairs of the Pavilion uninterrupted by elder Zhang, who I became a regr and daily guest of his. I saw Elder Yun waiting at the veranda where we yed Go every day.

    "Junior Greets Elder Yun, I heard that you need me."

    "Yes, now that you¡¯ve reached the peak of the middle stage of Qi condensation, you¡¯ve earned the right to pick a weapon from the armory of the pavilion."

    "Thank you, but I¡¯d rather wait for that. I have some concerns."

    "I know, that¡¯s why I asked for you, go pick the weapon. You¡¯ll need it."

    "Why? What¡¯s going on?" I asked.

    The old man sighed and replied, "You¡¯ve made Han lose face, and with our daily encounters and talks Ie to understand that the world of cultivation is still too fresh for you. So you don¡¯t know the consequences of your actions."

    "I truly didn¡¯t, because if someone had a beef with me, why not settle it against me, only cowards would hurt weaker people and those around me."

    The elder smiled and said, "I know, but remember, where have you been spending most of your timetely?"

    "Well, with you of course."

    "Exactly, and who am I?"

    After a moment I finally understood what the elder meant, "You¡¯re an elder, and even an inner disciple wouldn¡¯t dare cross you. So that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t take revenge directly against me because I visit you every day and chose to attack someone who is unrted to you."

    "Good, now this should teach you, that in a world of cultivation, you¡¯re not only responsible for yourself. Your actions could lead to the demise of the people around you. That is why, most cultivators would choose to lead a solitary life, filled with solitude and loneliness so that no one could harm them. Friendships, families, children are all weaknesses for a cultivator, and most rid themselves from them to seek the great Dao."

    "Thank you for your lesson, senior. I¡¯ll keep it in mind."

    "Right, if you can¡¯t help but make friends, then make strong ones, who will not drag you down." Elder Yun said.

    "Or, be strong and domineering enough that when someone tries to harm your friends, they¡¯ll think twice about it."

    "Ah, that¡¯s a great way to think about it, but that path is ruthless. It could easily drive the people around you away if you wish to take it."

    "In this case. I don¡¯t dare ask an elder for help, you offered enough already. I¡¯ll deal with it myself."

    "I will not stop you, it is not in the nature of our Sect to stop the disciples from forging their own paths, although, Disciple Han is far stronger than you, he is a Core Forming Cultivator, an entire realm above yours."

    "I know, but I¡¯ve dealt with worse," I said as I grinned and went down to the reception hall.

    "I have a token from Elder Yun, I need to pick up a weapon," I said to the receptionist.

    The disciple in question asked me to show the token and once I did he gestured for another disciple to take his ce as he led me to a door at the back of the reception hall.

    Behind the door was a wide range armory of different weapons. There were war bows, swords, eastern swords, sabers, Zweihanders, clubs, shields, and many other types of weapons.

    "These are all grade nine weapons, pick one. If you choose a bow you¡¯ll get a quiver of arrows, but any subsequent arrows you wish to procure you¡¯ll have to buy using your merit points or in exchange with pills." The disciple stated.

    "Right, I¡¯ll have a look," I said as I looked at the weapons in the armory. There were so many that one would feel lost. But I had to keep my head about me here. First things first, Great swords are out of the question, so are bows. Simply because they are too damn heavy.

    For the sword part, the greatswords are pretty heavy and it¡¯s obvious why they have a lot of metal in them, duh.

    The bows, on the other hand, one should know that a simple war bow needs at least a hundred-pound worth of pulling force just to drag it fully, and that¡¯s a mortal bow, a cultivator bow would definitely need much more. Also, uracy and experience are great factors. So I¡¯d rather not use any.

    Daggers, daggers are good, because they can be dipped in poison and can deal fatal blows from cover, but let¡¯s be realistic, I¡¯m no assassin, and a dagger needs a lot of experience, like a lot, and it¡¯s one of the most difficult weapons to master. Simply put, because it has so many disadvantages in a fight to properly use one effectively one must be god tier in dagger mastery.

    That leaves me with swords. Swords are simple, I know that many would find this statement atrociously wrong, but just stab them with the pointy end. Yet the sword I must choose must be perfect for me. It can¡¯t be too heavy, and too long, a long sword has greater reach, but is easily parried against a professional, a short sword, on the other hand, is easy to wield, and easy to poke people with.

    As I was thinking about all of this, my eyesnded on a strange-looking sword, if I didn¡¯t look closely, I¡¯d mistake it for an arrow.

    Its tip was shaped like an arrow¡¯s head, a triangle, while its edge was so small and so thin one would think it was a rapier.

    I got my eyes closer to the weapon¡¯s edge and noticed that it was not a needle-like weapon, but rather a fine de, and it could cut.

    Its arm guard was simple, like a katana¡¯s. a big circr guard that felt like it could barely protect one¡¯s arm. And the handle was hamstrung with leather. The pommel of the sword was a pointed de.

    I grabbed the sword and it felt like I was carrying a feather. It was too light; one would think that it would snap in two if a strong breeze was to blow on it.

    "Ah, The Impaler," the disciple said.

    "Oh, it has such a nice name, it must be a legendary weapon," I said.

    "Yeah right, that¡¯s probably a prototype of sorts. Its only real use is to stab, but a proper sword can stab as easily as that one, and will sustain a sh against another sword of the same category. And from the look of it, that thing would snap in half if it were to challenge another sword."

    "Who made this?"

    "We don¡¯t know, one of the disciples found it while journeying, he thought it was a treasure, but once an Artificer appraised it, he deemed it to be below the ninth level of weapon ssification. Though he said that the metalwork was splendid, it didn¡¯t have any real hope of fairing well against other swords. So no one picked it."

    "I¡¯ll take it." I replied.

    "Man, whatever, I¡¯m not gonna stop you, you¡¯re just wasting your token. So don¡¯te crying to me when that weapon of yours snaps."

    "Nah I won¡¯t." I grinned as I took the sword.

    This weapon, amongst all of those in that room, it was not the best, and probably the worst one in the bunch, that is of course if one didn¡¯t have the Poison God¡¯s Heritage.

    Earlier at the moment, I noticed the weapon, the book inside my chest sent me a message.

    ***

    Creeping Demise

    A stoic and polymorphous weapon, capable of extending by the will of the user and can change form to a whip. A Xiantian weapon, wielded by saints. It can be categorized as a top fifth tier weapon almost at fourth.

    It can only show its real power in the hands of an Ascendant Cultivator, but for now, no weapon under the Fifth Tier can break it or contend with it.

    Memories of the Poison God

    I happened to have used a simr weapon earlier in my cultivation days, and they were amazing, especially since you can dip the tip of the Creeping Demise in poison, and with only one sh, you can end someone¡¯s life. Especially since this weapon has a viper-esque nature that could bypass all defenses when used right.

    *** ¡¯So, its real name is Creeping Demise. Well, I¡¯m better off using it as a standard sword. Perhaps like a rapier for now. Until I fully unlock its potential. Man having an all-knowing book sure does help knowing treasures from trash.¡¯

    I took the weapon and the sheath and ced it behind my back, tucked within my robes so no one could see it. It was about two feet long and could hide in therefortably. Also with all the tumorous bulges on me, no one would notice the hidden weapon.

    Time to pay inner disciple Han a visit.

 Chapter 23 Grand Elder

    <h4>Chapter 23: Grand Elder</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t hard to find disciple Han¡¯s house Actually, he was the only disciple of the only Receptarier elder of the Purple Cloud sect. A grand Elder named Lao Bofan. A new thing I learned. Apparently elder and grand elders are two different things. An elder is someone who is responsible for a certain activity in the sect. Like the Hall master Yun of the Cloud Pavilion, or Elder Hu Tian of the punishment hall. But for the Purple Cloud Grand Elders, there were only three.

    The Grand Elder of the Outer disciples, the Grand Elder of the Inner Disciples, and the Grand Elder of the Core disciples. And each of these elders has different responsibilities and is not less important than any other.

    Then the sect master, who leads the whole sect, and the sect¡¯s grandmaster who is the older sect leader but had to give up his role to the newer generation. The hierarchy system was not thatplicated, but let¡¯s go back to our prior point.

    Han was being mentored by a Grand Master, even if he was not a Core disciple. Even if Core disciples were the hope and future of the sect, apparently Han¡¯s martial prows were not enough to get him a position in the core disciples¡¯ spot. But his understanding of Alchemy gave him a great aptitude to be a Receptarier.

    I understood all of this from a brief conversation with elder Yun on a game of Go that we yed a few days ago before this whole ordeal happened. We were just randomly talking until he brought up the incident of me telling off the inner disciple and he then exined to me why I should be on my guard and careful of his retaliation and gave me a briefing of the sect¡¯s hierarchy.

    Now, as I stood in front of disciple Han¡¯s house, I was stuck in a dilemma. If I were to confront him, I would probably end up beaten to a pulp. But if I don¡¯t then I brought nothing but hardship on Meng Hao who was only there to help me. My actions brought misfortune to the ones around me, this is what Elder Yun said.

    So, I have to deal with this myself, but on the off chance I manage to subdue disciple Han, then his master, the Grand Elder will definitely retaliate.

    I pondered on what to do for a few moments before I sighed and decided to leave. But just as I turned, an old man, far older than me as it appeared from the white smooth beard that reached all the way to the ground.

    He wore gray robes and had a sweet smell about him. Like a perfume made of all the world¡¯s sweet herbal scents.

    "What are you doing in front of my disciple¡¯s home..." asked the man whose resting facial expression was as serious as someone who had his favorite shoe stepped on.

    At that moment, I felt that if this person wanted me dead, I had no way to deny him that ¡¯right¡¯. Yes, I say Right because, in a cultivation world, it is your Right if you wish someone dead or alive, it is your right because you are stronger. A world as a rule as this one cannot be measured with the serendipitous mindset of a man from the modern world.

    "I¡¯m here for an exnation, grand Elder Lao Bofan"

    "So, you know of me, but I know no of you, still what seems to be the matter then?" asked the old man.

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao, an outer disciple, I came here for justice against a brother of mine that has been harmed by your disciple Han."

    The old man waved at me and my whole body shuddered, "Matters of the younger generation should be handled by the younger generation. If my disciple wronged you, be better than him and get your justice back. Leave me out of your problems."

    I frowned at the old man, for two things. The first was that when he waved, I noticed that the tip of his index finger, middle finger, and thumb had an icy sheen to it, they were almost transparent as if they were made of ss. The Poison God¡¯s Heritage gave me a brief exnation of the reason of this man¡¯s ¡¯illness.¡¯

    The second thing was what he said, matters of the younger generation should be handled by the younger generation.

    "Then if I were to kill disciple Han, you won¡¯t retaliate?"

    "If you kill him while being younger and less powerful than him, I¡¯ll take you as my own disciple," the old man said. "Geniuses who die are no different than trash, remember that."

    "Right then, also, if you need help with the Five Destruction of Body Poison, I can help you get rid of the Ice Destruction guing you."

    The moment I uttered the words, the old man appeared right in front of me, he was so fast that I felt like he teleported. His expression turning even more serious than his resting serious face.

    "Brat! If you dare utter nonsense you don¡¯t know then your end would be immediate. Who told you about the five Destructions poison?!"

    I swallowed arge gulp, maybe I should keep my fucking mouth shut. Acting all smart isn¡¯t smart, it¡¯s gonna get me fucking killed.

    I made a mental note, if I know shit I should shut up about it and only bring it up when its beneficial to me. Now, I¡¯m in the gutters but I have to switch this situation around.

    "This is my personal secret and I won¡¯t discuss it with you, still I offered a solution with pure thoughts and don¡¯t know the reason why only the tip of your fingers is inflicted."

    "If you know the treatment then start talking!"

    "You should just dip your hand in a three hundred years old Orchid Nectar. It should alleviate the pain and reduce the crystallization."

    The old man removed his hand from my cor and pondered. "I never thought about it, a three hundred years old spiritual Orchid does have Yang properties, but they are subtle and they could nullify the iciness of the poison without conflicting with it. So, it should work. That¡¯s actually smart thinking, but how do you know of such an orchid or such a poison."

    "I told you, it¡¯s a secret."

    "You must havee in contact with a Receptariers manual. I¡¯m ready to purchase it from you at whatever price you wish."

    Now herees the hard part. "I¡¯ll have to decline."

    The old man¡¯s face scrunched up in an ugly frown, but still, he sighed and said, "No worries then. Still, you know what¡¯s going on with the poison in me right?"

    "Yes. You¡¯re not the primary target, you were probably trying to treat a patient who has an even worse condition."

    "Yes. Do you think you can help this patient?"

    "He is still alive?" I asked.

    "Yes."

    "Damn, if the coteral is that severe on you howe the primary afflicted be still alive. I would really like to see it for myself."

    "Then you¡¯ll have to follow me." The old man said and I followed after.

    Alright, note to self, If I evere out of this in one piece, I¡¯ll have to be careful of what I say. This is the exact same shit that makes all of those heroic characters in those stories feel like they are makingplete dumb decisions when they could have kept their mouths shut.

 Chapter 24 Sect Master I

    <h4>Chapter 24: Sect Master I</h4>

    I followed Grand Elder Lao Bofan across the habitat of the inner disciples, but seeing that my walking speed was far too slow to his liking.

    The old man took to the skies, just like that he hovered in the sky and brought me with him. I iled for a moment before I gathered my baring. This was far gentler than when that cultivator took me to the Poison God¡¯s cave.

    "You seem used to flight."

    "I had experience."

    "I could understand flight using a flying sword would give one experience, but then you had a sword under you, a measure where you could find solid ¡¯ground¡¯ safety of sorts. But now, we¡¯re flying without the support of anything, only a mad man would think they are safe. I wonder, are you a mad man?" elder Lao asked.

    "Mad, perhaps, but I have my reasons not to fear," I replied.

    "Care to exin your reasons?" asked Lao as we moved at increasing speeds.

    "First of all, if you wanted me dead, you would have killed me ten thousand times over."

    "Sounds about right, then what¡¯s the second reason."

    "You need me to treat your patient. And also, you wish to know how I would treat your patient. Even a person as old as you are, you¡¯re still fascinated with new things. Curiosity is the mother of all things. And none could escape its clutches. So, I fear not for my life."

    "I could also be leading you to a safe ce where I could use soul search on you." Said the old man.

    "True, but you wouldn¡¯t," I replied.

    "Once again, you amaze me with your confidence I wonder where do you get this."

    "Your demeanor. You¡¯re not evil. If you were, you would have forced me to give up my secrets the moment I spoke."

    "So you do realize your mistake."

    "Yes, and already regret it, but not enough to not treat a patient from dying one of the most agonizing deaths in the world."

    "HA!" the old manughed.

    "Why are youughing? I doubt that what I said was something to jest about."

    "You, is who I amughing at, you say the most agonizing deaths when the bone and body grinding poison has infected you as a gue does to a backwater town. You¡¯ve suffered fate hundreds of times worse than the Five Body destructions and say that it¡¯s one of the worst ways to die. Do you know that the Bone and Body grinding poison, though it ismon is one of the top poisons of the poison list?"

    "No, I had no such knowledge."

    "To be honest, most men would rather die than suffer your agony. I find it fascinating how you managed to survive, even if you¡¯re on the verge of death right now."

    "Also another reason for myck of fear to death, it has been mypanion. But perhaps I could find a treatment."

    "I salute your confidence and optimism, but if this was treatable, it wouldn¡¯t be on the heaven list."

    "The world of cultivation is limitless, is it not?"

    "Yes."

    "So, if there was a problem, there has to be a solution. Saying that a poison has no remedy is the same as being a frog in a well. We just haven¡¯t figured out the treatment, because we haven¡¯t exhausted all possible solutions."

    The old man went silent for a moment before he pulled something from his pocket at threw it at me.

    I grabbed at it, and it was a small ceramic vial. I shook it and it jingled with the sound of pills.

    "Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

    "It is because I learned something from you. Just because there is a problem, doesn¡¯t mean that there is not a solution, the scope of our understanding must be expanded to figure out newer methods to solve something that everyone thinks unsolvable. I found myself in a bottleneck, and I believe with your words, I can finally touch the rims ofprehension. I¡¯m not a petty man, I repay my favors."

    I cupped my hands at the Grand elder and said, "Many thanks, for your patronage."

    The old man smiled as he waved his hand, "Don¡¯t mention it. We¡¯ve arrived, lets go."

    We slowly dropped until we were in front of a pce so grand that I had trouble gauging its full size.

    I have been to India once and had seen the Taj Mahal, but in front of me, the whole Taj mahal would barely fit in one of this pce¡¯s doors. And there were eight of them, each leading to a different sector.

    "And they say that the Purple Cloud sect is a ninth level sect? I could hardly believe it seeing this pce."

    "Actually, we¡¯re originally a fourth-level sect, but due to what you¡¯re about to see, we have declined and lost a lot of power. This pce is all that remains of our former prestige."

    ¡¯this sounds rather ominous. Still, I have to see with my own eyes what caused this sect to decline to this degree.¡¯

    As we walked through the pce, I saw many old mening and going, probably elders and deacons responsible over the sect, they could even be inner and core disciples here. But none of them were too free to give us a second nce as we walked inside.

    We headed deeper into the pce and walked up a flight of stairs that led to a golden door.

    The door opened up revealing a room full of incense burners and vats of herbal liquids. Yet there was a coolness to the air that made my bones feel like they were going to freeze over. I began rotating my cultivation to fend off the coldness, and it worked like a charm. The added Yin from the Origin Yin Flower helped me subdue the cold.

    "I¡¯m amazed that you were able to subdue the side effects of the Ice destruction. You seem to be carrying a lot of secrets." The old man said, but he had not a single hint of greed on him when he spoke.

    "Lao Bofan," spoke a sweet womanly voice. It was an otherworldly beautiful woman who looked like she was made of pure crystal. Bare half of her face and one arm, the rest of her body was encased in an ice-like structure that was continuously releasing the cold air.

    "Sect Master," Lao Bofan said as he bowed to the woman.

    I gave a simr bow then rose back up.

    "It seems that the situation is much direr than I expected."

    "Who might this be?"

    "Sect master, this is an outer sect disciple, I found. He seems to be knowledgeable in regards to your condition."

    "If I wasn¡¯t in my current condition I would have pped you both to theher world. You think a mere outer disciple who is not even a transformation expert can treat me? What foolery is this? Are you tired of living Lao!" thest words she uttered with such wrath that she began a coughing fit.

    Two women, of probably the age of twenty came rushing to her side and began applying a brew made of some sort of herbal liquid. The two women¡¯s hands were also made of ice. And whenever they touched the sect master the contamination would spread.

    "You should stop that, the Seven Silk worm¡¯s extract is only numbing the pain it does nothing to the contamination."

    "You think I don¡¯t know that?" the woman said.

    "Please sect master calm down," one of the girls said.

    "But wait, how do you know this is Seven Silk Worm¡¯s extract?" the sect master asked.

    "Sect master, I told you he is knowledgeable. And I have brought him here to see if he could treat you."

    "Treat me? Such foolish notion." The woman spoke in disgust at me. "A man of such appearance is no use to even himself how could he treat me."

    "To bepletely honest, I can¡¯t treat her."

    "What?! Then why have I brought you here!" Lao¡¯s face turned to anger.

    "Wait! I haven¡¯t finished. The current me can¡¯t treat her. But I could in time. I need at least three years. But from the look of your current condition... you probably don¡¯t have more than one month left to live"

    "Fool, I have enough medicine to keep me up and running for at least a year." Said the sect master.

    "Okay, if you say so, but tell me, have you been feeling dizzytely, and having sudden loss of temper, also sometimes you feel like you¡¯re seeing nothing but white and when youe back to it, more than a day had passed?"

    The two girls around the sect master looked at each other and then back at me, "How do you know that?"

    "Because those are the final symptoms of the Ice Destruction. The Seven Worm silk extract you have been using wasn¡¯t treating her, it was only numbing the wound and giving the Sect master semnce of cure. The poison was still acting up and now it had reached her brain. Once her brain freezes, she will die."

    The sect master frowned, and I could swear that the ice around her body was about to break.

    "You¡¯re right, you proved that you know what you speak off, but that doesn¡¯t change anything. Even if I were to die in a year or in a month, you can¡¯t help. I don¡¯t have the ability to survive three years until you can take care of this illness of mine. So whatever your agenda was in meeting me was, it is now null and void." Replied the sect master.

    ¡¯Quite pessimistic.¡¯

    "I said I can only cure you in three years, but I didn¡¯t say I can¡¯t help you survive until then. Which of course I can. Also, I can help the girls around you get rid of the side effects on them."

    "Prove it."

    "Shen Bao, we don¡¯t currently possess the Spirit Orchid, it will take some time to get it."

    "Well, yeah, but there is another way, although it is faster... the oue might not be to your liking."

    "What do you mean? You have another way to get rid of the poison?"

    "Yes, but like I said, it¡¯s not preferable."

    "What does it entail?" asked the sect master, this time with a tone that had far less hostility and more curiosity.

    "Well, I can test it on your...euuuh, retainers?"

    "My core disciples." Said the sect master.

    ¡¯Man she shouldn¡¯t have exposed her disciples to such thing they must be in terrible pain.¡¯

    "Right then, can I approach?" I asked.

    "You may, but do anything strange and it¡¯s your head that will roll."

    "See, this is why I¡¯m hesitant. What I¡¯m about to do is really not something you lot would think normal. And I fear that I¡¯ll have my head rolling before I prove my point."

    Lao Bofan looked at the sect master and the two of them sighed.

    "Go ahead."

    "Right, miss, can youe over and hand me your hand."

    The woman did as I asked and gave me her hand.

    I ced one of my hands above and the other under her hand.

    "What the bloody hell are you doing! You¡¯re going to contaminate yourself and you don¡¯t even have the cultivation to suppress that poison!" Lao spoke.

    "Don¡¯t worry," I replied then I began assimting the poison. It was the same as I did whenever I sucked in the green residue from monsters that I killed with my Poison Breath.

    Only the Ice Destruction Poison was far more tyrannical and was willing to rip my veins as it coursed through them.

    "Oh my god, you¡¯re not being infected..." Lao said in surprise.

    The woman in front of me looked disgusted as I held her hand, she probably didn¡¯t think that I¡¯m fit to do so, seeing how disfigured and nasty the tumors I had on both hands.

    "Just bear with it, now is when it¡¯ll start to hurt," I spoke.

    Suddenly the woman began screaming as if I was skinning her hand.

    The second disciple immediately came to her sister¡¯s aid and ced a sword right under my neck, "Stop!" she said.

    "Wait! Look!" said the sect master.

    Even when the girl was screaming from pain, the second sister was patient enough to take a look at her sister¡¯s hand. The poison was actually being retracted, pulled out from her hand and into mine. Yet the ice from the poison destruction was unable to fend against the poison Qi within me. Even if I was just a Qi condensation cultivator, the Bone and Body poison, as spoke Grand Elder Lao, was powerful enough to fully suppress the Ice from the Body Destruction, then consume it to empower itself.

    I kept sucking in the poison, and it kept feeding my own Qi, until I had a breakthrough.

    Suddenly, I was able to rotate more Poison Qi within me and absorbed even more from the disciple. And in matters of seconds, the disciple fainted as thest bit of the poison was pulled out of the tip of her fingers.

    She fell unconscious, heaving on the ground, but there was now, redness on her cheeks that was not there before.

    I turned around and began vomiting, a ck sludge, disgusting and cold. It was far thicker and concentrated than when I had my first breakthroughs.

    "Such atrocious sight!" said the first disciple.

    "Have some respect to someone who risked their own life to save your sisters..." said the sect master. "What he threw up was the concentrated destroyed remains of the Poison. So it appears that you actually do have value in keeping you."

    After wiping my mouth I said, "Sorry for ruining your floor, I didn¡¯t expect to have a breakthrough, this is regr stuff."

    "Don¡¯t be, you saved one of my disciples from death, I should be thankful. I¡¯ll reward you ordingly, but for now,e the real question, can you treat me?"

    "I told you, I can, but you have so much poison in you that it will take at least three years. But I can alleviate the poison, take it in and discard it.

    "This is a strange way to cultivate."

    "It¡¯s my way."

    "I have scanned you, and noticed that you don¡¯t have any meridians. Howe you can control spiritual energy?" asked the master.

    ¡¯Hmm, so they can¡¯t see my poison meridians, that¡¯s good.¡¯

    "I have my ways. Now, do you wish for me to treat you?"

    "Yes. Do you have any demands?"

    "Yeah, I want to punish someone for harming a brother of mine."

    "For whoever did such, death is only the penalty!" said the sect master.

    "Wait! Wait! Child, let me take care of that for you, if Han had wronged your brother, I¡¯ll handle it, don¡¯t waste a master¡¯s favor for some pitiful grudge."

    "Oh, then I¡¯ll be in your debt."

    "You have repaid this debt when you told me of the way to get rid of the poison afflicting me."

    "Then so be it, I¡¯m in your favor, disciple. What is your name?"

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao."

    "Good, from now on, you¡¯ll be a core disciple of my sect. and my personal health care. If anyone dares to harm you, stand in your way or cross you, you only need to show him this." She said as she threw me a token with a purple cloud imprinted on it.

    "This is direct disciple¡¯s token; it makes you on an even higher pedestal than my own direct disciples. Is it enough?" asked the sect master.

    "Wait, I can¡¯t take this, it¡¯s too much for just treating an illness."

    "You fail to see the consequences of treating me. Once I¡¯m back to my former self, the whole country of Zhou shall shake at our mercy. Treat me, and I¡¯ll reward you with things you could have never dreamed of."

    "Well then, I better get starting."

    ****

    A shoutout to ck Feind for the patronage, may your darkness prevails and your corruption consume the world!

 Chapter 25 Sect Master II

    <h4>Chapter 25: Sect Master II</h4>

    "First of all, I need to know your opinion on something," I asked the sect master.

    "Speak," said the Sect master, her tone wasmandeering, and not even the ice encasing her was a match the coldness of her words. (Author¡¯s note, is this how you want the dialogues to be?)

    "Right, but this is a private matter that I wish only you to hear. If that is alright with you." I asked again rather wryly.

    "Matters that you speak in this chamber will remain in this chamber, so is the secret of you treating my injury, still if it is anyfort to your consciousness, Lao Bofan, Xian¡¯er Xue¡¯er please leave us." the Sect Master waved them off.

    The three of them bowed to the sect master and left the hall in haste. They didn¡¯t seem to be too keen on making the Master repeat herself.

    "Right, then what is it that you wish to speak that you want it to be private from my closest vassals." the woman coldly spoke. Her tone was like a god talking down to a servant of his.

    "Right, what is your opinion on poison cultivators?" I asked half expecting to be murdered with her gaze alone.

    The woman thought for a few moments before she answered, "They are a scourge upon thend, disgusting and insidious. None wish to make their acquaintance as theirpany only brings misery, disdain, and the looming threat of betrayal. Poison cultivators are like a viper, and one cannot trust a viper."

    "Oh...that¡¯s rather awkward," I said through a wry smile.

    "I could understand that from your question, you do not know poison cultivation. Or at least you have encountered methods to go through that path. I would advise you to change your direction of cultivation as you have just started and rebuild your base anew." She advised, rather gently this time.

    "Yeah, that would be impossible." I shook my head. Poison Cultivation is literally is in my bone and flesh.

    "You will not find friend orpanion along your road, not even poison cultivators trust each other." her words were definite and certain.

    "To bepletely honest, I have never needed friends. I relied on myself to do everything in my prior life, that will not be a problem." Especially since my own children betrayed me. There is no need to trust anyone else.

    "The road to cultivation is steep, long, and lonely, it could do to have a few allies. But that is your own matter. If you decide to remain on the poison cultivation road, I shall not stop you, and my advice to you has been given." The woman said.

    "Thank you very much. Now, I¡¯ll begin treating this. Hopefully, you¡¯ll bear with the pain." I spoke.

    "You may begin." She said. I could even feel her shrug through her voice as if the pain her disciples were in didn¡¯t even enter her scope.

    "Right, but this will be rather ufortable. Please bear with me." I said once again. it would be really embarrassing if she started screaming like a little girl.

    I went behind the sect master, the chair she was on had already frozen to bits.

    "Pardon me for what I¡¯m about to do," I said and ced both hands on her shoulders.

    There was a ratherrge piece of ice covering her whole body, and the moment I ced my hands on her should the ice tried to make its way through my arms.

    But I let it do as it pleased, I needed the Ice Destruction Poison to seep into my body so I can recycle it into my own energy.

    The sect master grunted, and to be honest, she should have been screaming from pain. Her disciple felt as if I was tearing her hand from its socket and she was just afflicted with a side effect of the Ice Destruction poison, while the sect master should be in more pain only grunted. It¡¯s either that her pain tolerance is absurdly high, or that her cultivation is so steep that the pain from this agonizing extraction didn¡¯t feel worth more than her grunt.

    Hours went by, and the poison lessened around her shoulders, in less than half a day, my hands had fully sucked in the poison around her and were now firmly touching the clothes on her body.

    "Sect master. I¡¯m exhausted. I need to take a break."

    "You have well earned your break," said the sect master as she huffed from exertion, not only was I exhausted, but she had been suppressing the urge to shout from pain and withstanding this cruel treatment all day long.

    "In three years I should be able to regain my mobility, this is well worth it."

    "Euh, no," I said.

    The sect master shuddered, "What do you mean?"

    "If it¡¯s just about your mobility at this rate at we need a maximum of a week for you to be able to leave this chair and have all mobility. The three-year promise is for me to fully remove the toxin from your body, heal all of the inner wounds and bring you back to your top shape."

    "Wait, so you¡¯re saying that you can also treat the damage to my meridians and Dantian?"

    "Well, of course, isn¡¯t that what we signed up for?" I tilted my head.

    "HA! And here I thought I was going to need at least a few hundred years to get rid of all of the ice Poison by myself. Brat, you brought me joy that I will reward handsomely once I am back on my feet." the woman for the first time smiled and it was... beautiful.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, I didn¡¯t do this just for you sect master." I smiled back.

    "What do you mean?" asked the sect master.

    "You must have guessed it." I grinned.

    "You¡¯re taking in the poison and using it as your cultivation Qi." she deduced immediately.

    "Spot on, I¡¯m surprised that you figured it out." I nodded to her.

    "That means that you consume poisons to cultivate," She exined further.

    "I would also like for you to keep that a secret. I cannot feel the world¡¯s Qi, but I can assimte the Qi from poisons and make it my own." I told her, after all, she already figured it out.

    "Hmm, that¡¯s the same as cultivators who use pills to raise their cultivation level. That¡¯s a fast way to cultivate yet it will not be good for your overall progress. You¡¯ll have a lot of impurities within your body..." the sect master trailed off.

    "Unless, when you vomited... you¡¯re able to expel the impurities by yourself. Such a fascinating cultivation method. I¡¯m really tempted to understand it." she divulged her curiosity.

    "As much as I would like to share it with you, the condition is rather impossible for you. You¡¯ll need to have your meridians broken and shattered, then build a mortal base upon them, than survive in a pool of Bone and Body grinding poison." I said while shrugging.

    "Shen Bao, I have a newfound respect for you. I thought that I was in immense pain when you began the treatment, yet the pain from having your meridians broken is far greater than what I suffered, not to mention the impossibility of surviving the Bone and Body grinding poison. You have suffered greatly. But still sought to cultivate against all of this pain. Still, I¡¯ll leave you with another piece of advice." The woman seriously looked at me.

    "Please do," I replied.

    "I am your sect master, and I owe you my life, this is a debt that I cannot repay no matter how I reward you. So, betraying you would break my Dao Heart and it is an impossibility for me. Thus, I say these words, I shall keep whatever you had said to me a secret that I will take to my grave, but you must promise to never divulge that you are a poison cultivator, nor the way how you cultivate. It would cause a lot of people a great deal of greed to want to know of your ways and want to take them from you. Even if it is impossible for them to use it to cultivate, they would still want to take it and build upon it their own methods of cultivation." Her words were like a cold bucket of water on a cool morning.

    "I¡¯ll keep everything I have said to you a secret, but I have some concerns," I said.

    "Speak them, and I¡¯ll see if I could help."

    "Right, so you¡¯re knowledgeable and figured out that I cultivate poison and need to consume it in order to increase my cultivation, yet the world is big and there could also be people who would figure that out. Is there a way for me to hide that fact?" I asked.

    "There are many ways that work for things such as this, but they all require the acute sense of spiritual Qi of the world," She shook her head.

    "Meaning normal cultivation," I replied, bummed out. This is rather problematic.

    "Yes, because not even poison cultivators use your method. They harness the world¡¯s energy then transform it into poison Qi, while you do something different, you take in poison Qi that has already been transformed and use it. Your way requires less time to transform the energy and is far more potent, yet you¡¯ll require a lot of resources to increase your cultivation base."

    "I would say I figured that out," I replied.

    "Yes, but fret not, I believe I have a method for you. Go to elder Yun, show him the token I gave you, and ask him to give you the Star Weaver manual." She said.

    "What¡¯s that?"

    "It¡¯s a cultivation manual that uses the powers of the stars, it doesn¡¯t require Qi sense, and it ismon, but it will help you hide your poison Qi and if any cultivators try to scan you using their Devine Sense, they¡¯ll only see the Star Weaving energy and believe you¡¯re a start cultivator." The Sect Master exined.

    "Oh, that will be handy, thank you very much, sect master," I replied.

    "Very well then, you¡¯re excused to leave," She nodded towards me as best she could.

    "Right then, I¡¯ll take my leave, but I¡¯lle back tomorrow for the second session," I said.

    "I¡¯ll be expecting you," she replied, and I believe I saw a small hopeful smile at the edges of her lips.

    I gave a courteous bow to the sect master and left the hall.

    Once I was out, Grand Elder Lao was standing at the entrance to the hall.

    "How did it go?" he asked, he almost looked like a puppy wagging his tail.

    "Well, I removed a good deal of the ice from her body, in one week she should be able to move about," I replied.

    "Good, good!" said the elder with a great smile on his face.

    "You need me to treat that?" I said as I pointed at his hand.

    "That would be handy, pun intended, with the ice in my hands I could no longer practice Alchemy, and my Receptarier status has been removed. So I would be in your debt." The old man gave me a slight bow.

    "It¡¯s gonna be painful, you sure you don¡¯t want to use the Spirit Orchid," I advised.

    "That¡¯s something I cannot obtain currently and I¡¯ll need to travel to Zhao Country¡¯s grand auction that only happens once every three years."

    "Right, auctions," I muttered, I remembered that there were a lot of auction houses for cultivators in those stories they visit them and end up with good treasures.

    "Right then, we should probably go somewhere private. We don¡¯t want people to see this." I said as I looked at all the people going in and out of the massive Purple Cloud Pce.

    "Right, follow me to my house, we¡¯ll have privacy there." Said the elder and I followed after him.

    ****

    I made this chapter based on thements of thest chapter. people thought that I wasn¡¯t putting enough effort into dialogue, I hope I improved upon it. if you like it all s will have the same style and additive dialogue and expressions, this way I¡¯ll be able to show more of a character¡¯s personality through my words.

    Alright, second author¡¯s note, HOLY CRAP! 3 new patrons in one day and one of them offered 50$ which is suuuuuuuuper huge.

    I¡¯m really d I have so many people still wishing to support me in my writing and I¡¯m d. Alright it¡¯s time to reveal our newest Dark Lords, they shall all gain a title.

    Lord of the Deep: Ignacio Garrido.

    Soul Reaver: Chris Rusian.

    Death Bringer y Anderson.

    And the Great Lord of Damnation: Tony. (Thanks for the 50!)

 Chapter 26 Elder Laos Villa

    <h4>Chapter 26: Elder Lao''s Vi</h4>

    We arrived at Grand Elder Lao¡¯s home, unexpectedly, it was not as big as I thought it would be. The whole terrain was norger than a normal vi, whichpared to some disciples was small. But it had a great smelling out of it, herbs.

    The elder took me on a tour around his vi.

    The walls around the garden of the house were short enough to allow people to take a peek at the Elder¡¯s beautifully designed garden of spiritual herbs. And the house inside it was small enough for him to live in and have a few extra rooms for study and what seemed to be alchemy.

    "So many furnaces..." I muttered.

    "And none of them is worth a fart if one cannot use alchemy. While being inflicted with this cursed poison, I could no longer handle this, every time I would touch a spiritual herb it would wither or turn to ice." The old man sighed in sadness.

    "I think this is why you took in a disciple." I deduced.

    "Right, I remembered you had a beef with my disciple." The old man pointed.

    "Yeah, but that¡¯s not the problem right now. I think he won¡¯t dare harm anyone rted to me anymore." I replied in a shrug.

    "The vengeance of a vindictive person can go beyond reason. I would be a failure of a master if I were to go against my own disciple. But the only advice I could give you is to keep your distance. Right now, even with the sect master¡¯s symbolic protection, he could still apply sneaky methods to harm you, so be careful." Elder Lao advised.

    "Thank you elder, I¡¯ll keep it in mind, and out of respect for you, I won¡¯t kill him," I replied.

    Elder Lao had a worried look on his face, he probably knows that I would be no match for his disciple who is leagues above me in terms of cultivation. Yet my poison technique doesn¡¯t really care about the cultivation gap. Or at least, the gap of cultivation I know of. Perhaps people in higher realms would outright dismiss my poison breath and would whack me before I even realize I was killed. So, it is better to keep being discreet.

    Once we were inside the Elder¡¯s abode, I asked him to hand me his hand. I used the same method of absorption and took in the poison from the elder¡¯s fingers. He too had enough will to suppress screeching from pain. Butpared to the sect master¡¯s grunt, the old man was huffing and looked to be resisting pain rather forcefully. He was definitely below the sect master¡¯s level in cultivation due to the immense amounts of sweat that came out of his forehead from the extraction.

    After a few minutes, the elder was fully healed up.

    "T-thank you," the elder said, his tone betrayed his demeanor, it was shaky and weak.

    "No worries, this is actually beneficial to me too," I replied to the old man.

    "Speaking of which, why aren¡¯t you gaining more Qi?" the Elder questioned as he rubbed his hands.

    "Oh, even you know about this now," I replied.

    "Basically, all four of us would understand now, me and the sect master and her two disciples. But fret not, none of us will speak a thing. I¡¯m bound to the sect master, and she had informed me to keep everything secret so I will, even at the cost of my life." the old man waved his hand.

    "You don¡¯t need to make it sound so serious," I replied.

    "But it is, child. You¡¯ll know in the future how grave your methods are. Anyway, if there is anything you wish me to do, I¡¯ll help you with it." he said in a kind nod.

    "Right, I was always interested in the topic of Alchemy, do you have any way for me to start on that path?" I questioned.

    "Hmm, most people who begin the road of cultivation begin by cultivating their bodies, and only when they are encountered with a bottleneck that stunts their growth, would they seek alchemy to keep moving forward in the world of cultivation, yet you wish to start by the second choice?" the old man gave advise in a question.

    "Well, I only need general information," I replied as I didn¡¯t want to expose many of my secrets.

    "I don¡¯t mind teaching you, but it will not be easy, it will cost you a lot of your time. And most of the alchemy is memorizing herbs their attribute and their reaction to one another, so you¡¯ll be wasting time that you should be using in cultivating in memorizing things." the old man tried to persuade me out of it.

    "Did you forget that I don¡¯t need to actively cultivate to increase my cultivation base?" I bragged.

    "True. And with the poison in our sect master, it would be enough to fuel you to higher cultivation levels. Still, there is one thing that still bugs me. Why are you not gaining so much? The Sect Master has so much poison Qi in her body you should be torpedoing through the early cultivation level." Elder Lao kept questioning.

    I took a moment to formte my thoughts before I replied, "I think it¡¯s a failsafe, my cultivation is not allowing me to take in more than I can handle, though it¡¯s wasting a lot of poison Qi, I¡¯m slowly building up my base. If I were to fully digest the poison Qi I¡¯m extracting from the sect master, I¡¯ll probably blow up or turn into a popsicle."

    the old man tilted his head as he spoke "Though I don¡¯t know what a popsicle is, I think it¡¯s a bad thing and you¡¯re right. Then if your case is like that, there is nothing to worry about, we should start by giving you a list of some of the Ninth level spiritual herbs, here."

    The elder said and handed me a ck tome that read, "Spiritual Garden First tome."

    "It¡¯s a book made by a great alchemist, Bei Yulong, it has nine tomes in total and it epasses the majority if not all of the spiritual herbs of the ninth grade. Once you have memorized the first tome, I¡¯ll give you thetter versions."

    "I believe I won¡¯t be needing that." I handed the book back to him.

    "Sure, I know you have an alchemist cultivator manual, I already asked to procure it from you, but I don¡¯t think that you should skimp on the basics." The old man replied in a slightly offended tone.

    He seems to be a person who doesn¡¯t like it when his gifts are returned nor a person who likes people who skip on the basics.

    "How about you quiz me then?" I asked with a wide smile.

    The elder frowned then asked, "What are the properties of the Blood Ginseng?"

    "Unlike its name, the blood Ginseng has no corrtion to blood whatsoever, it¡¯s only its color that is crimson, and once soaked in warm water, the water will turn vicious and thick as blood. The Blood Ginseng is good for treating infections and could be used in increasing one¡¯s spiritual cultivation by slightly erging the meridians of the person. Ites with a downside that is if one were to continuously use it, they¡¯ll suffer from addiction and will have withdrawal symptoms once they stop using the ginseng for a few days, mainly headaches and nausea and such," I replied in one breath.

    The old man was stunned as he looked at me as if I was a monster, "I¡¯ll be damned. That¡¯s even more than what Bei Yulong had in his book, though I can confirm the rest of your statement is correct due to tests I did myself on the Ginseng. Good, I¡¯ll ask you something else."

    The elder began mentioning more herbs.

    It was so much that he was engrossed in it more than I was, as he pulled up a note and began writing on it, he said that some of the notes I gave him were more exhaustive than what he had, and with this newfound knowledge he could increase the potency of his pills. We kept on exchanging ideas and knowledge about nts for a while until the Elder had to stop, looking at the time it was well in the night.

    "You¡¯ll need a ce to rest, you don¡¯t need to walk all the way back to your cave, I have a guest room you can use it¡¯s upstairs," the Elder kindly offered.

    "Right, but I¡¯ll need to contact Elder Yun for the cultivation manual that the sect master asked me to obtain," I replied.

    "Just tell me which cultivation manual you need and I¡¯ll have it delivered to you by morning." Elder Lao offered.

    "Right, that would be perfect, I¡¯m feeling a bit exhausted, and I¡¯ll need to be fresh enough to help the sect master in tomorrow¡¯s curing session," I thanked the old man.

    "Right, off you go Shen Bao, I¡¯ll manage the rest." Replied the elder and pointed me to where I¡¯ll be spending the night.

    Usually, cultivators don¡¯t need sleep, nor do I, but what I meant with rest was to go into meditation for the rest of the night, tomorrow was gonna be a good day, and I¡¯ll be learning the Star Weaving technique.

    ****

    Eldritch Lord: Alejandro Vsquez.

    Also, our beloved Lord of Damnation Tony, who had contributed 50$ yesterday has kindly increased his donation and has be the Damnation Deity Tony.

    All hail he who rules the Damned!

 Chapter 27 Star Technique

    <h4>Chapter 27: Star Technique</h4>

    Morning came and my cultivation session has ended, I thought it would be best if I were to see elder Lao about the Star Weaving technique manual. He had promised to go and handle that affair for me.

    Once I went down, I saw a small purple-colored book on the book stand that was not there. I approached the table and took a look at what seemed to be a cultivation manual. It read Star Weaving Technique.

    "This must be it," I thought to myself.

    I opened the book and read :

    ***

    Stars are beacons of the never-ending universe, they guide the way for lost travelers and help light the dim and dark space.

    They can be a great source of power were to harness the energy emanating from these ancient globes.

    To cultivate the energy of the stars one must follow the following diagram.

    ***

    I saw a sketch of a person sitting in the lotus position with a small rock in his hands under a starry night sky.

    He held the rock and the energy from the stars began surging into the rock and then seeped into him. They didn¡¯t need to go through his meridians but the skin of his body acted as a white sheet being inked on. It gathered the energy and empowered the character.

    This seemed to be simple enough, and I wanted to try it, but it was still morning and this technique seemed to be only applicable during the night.

    Still, this begs the question, stars are always existent, so why should we only cultivate in the night?

    I thought about this and then decided to start learning this technique. Even if it was daytime.

    But, I was still missing something, the small rock that the man was holding. Perhaps it¡¯s a stone from outer space, this is what my hunch is telling me. Is it focusing the energy of the stars though? Is it needed?

    I kept on reading through the manual, and all I had to add to my prior hunch that the star was actually a moonstone, and they are abundant. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to find it in the pavilion.

    As for all the cultivators of this type of style, they all start by cultivating the energy of the moon, then the sun then the stars of the starry night. They finally end up choosing one of the stars as their main and focal energy point, and whenever that star is aligned with the. The cultivator will be able to gain immense power.

    The distance to the said star from the world ys a vital role. The farther it is, the more powerful the energy, but at the same time, the longer it would take for the star to power up the cultivator.

    There was a lot to explore in this technique and I was hoping to learn more, but by the time I finished reading the manual, it was already noon.

    I stood up and walked towards the main pce of the Purple Cloud sect, I needed to be in time to cure the Sect Master and I don¡¯t think she would like it if I kept her waiting.

    Once I arrived at the sect master¡¯s chambers, I saw several elders waiting at her doorsteps, while none were granted ess.

    I waited patiently among the crowd until Disciple Xue, the girl I had treated yesterday spotted me and beckoned me toe over.

    I nodded and came to her in a hurry under the calctive gaze of many elders.

    "The Sect Master is waiting for you Junior Brother Shen Bao." Sister Xue said in a gleeful tone.

    It seems that having treated her, she warmed up to me nicely.

    "Let¡¯s go in then, we wouldn¡¯t want the sect master to have to wait. And frankly speaking, the rest of the elders are staring daggers at me, it feels like I did something wrong," I said in a hushed tone.

    "Well, you still have a long way to go, most elders can easily hear what you said even if you said it in a low tone, I¡¯ll teach you how to send your thoughts secretly once you reach Foundation Establishment."

    "Disciple Xue!" one of the elders shouted, "What¡¯s the meaning of this? Who is this brat and howe he gets to be heard and at the presence of the Sect master before us!"

    "Elder Jin. He was specifically asked toe over by the Sect master, if you have anyint I¡¯ll forward them to her immediately."

    The elder scrunched up his nostrils and hmphed loudly. He was dissatisfied but not enough to want to cross the sect master¡¯s order of bringing me before anyone else.

    Signior sister Xue opened the door for me, and once I was inside she pulled on the hem of my robe and said, "I don¡¯t want to be rude for asking this, but could you find some time to help my sister with her hands?"

    "I will once I¡¯m done with the sect master, don¡¯t worry. We don¡¯t want her to be jealous or feel left out."

    "Thank you so much, she was really embarrassed to ask of you directly, not after her reaction yesterday."

    "Yeah, I almost lost my head there, but it¡¯s to be expected, she really cares for you and she seems to be of a pure heart. I¡¯ll see to her right after this."

    "What are you lot talking about, Shen Bao, get your behind over here and start the treatment, I¡¯m getting restless."

    "I¡¯m on my way Sect Master," I replied and hastily went behind the sect master and ced my hands on her shoulders, and began absorbing the poison.

    Hourster I decided it was time to take a break, I was about to breakthrough and I needed to stabilize my cultivation. This method of cultivation is free of charge and amazing at the same time.

    "Why did you stop?" the sect master asked though the redness of her flushed face suggested that she also needed a break.

    "Sect master, I¡¯m about to break through, and I need to stop for a while, once I reach the peak of Qi condensation. I¡¯ll continue."

    "Go ahead then, start your breakthrough."

    I nodded and sat down. It was easy to rotate the poison Qi I just took from the sect master, and it spiraled fast enough for me to almost feel like I was about to lose control of it.

    "Breath, Shen Bao! I don¡¯t want you to go on a cultivation deviation right now. Breath in."

    I did as told and suddenly the cultivation speed slowed down to a reasonable yet fast enough speed.

    An explosion of energy immediately followed after and I found myself at the peak of the Qi condensation level.

    "Nice!"

    "Start cementing your foundation. Keep rotating the newfound energy and move it toward your newly unlocked meridians."

    I did as the sect master said, though a bit differently. The breakthrough allowed me to sense even more parts of my body and I began channeling the Qi towards them. It then began condensing into my bones and marrow.

    I started to sweat heavily, almost as if I was in a sauna. A green sheen of energy covered my body. Every fiber and every muscle tissue began vibrating, being enhanced and reinforced with the energy I just obtained. Old muscle tissue began to rejuvenate and my old weak bones felt as if they were being polished and nourished, the old bone became new and the weak body began to regain the strength of youth.

    Suddenly I spewed out a foul ck breath.

    The sect master looked at me in the eyes and said, "You seem rather different... it feels as if you be younger. Perhaps I¡¯m mistaken."

    Actually, she was not wrong, I felt that some of the wrinkles I had around my eyes had lessened, and a good deal of annoying pustules that were on my back hadpletely disappeared.

    "Thank you for thepliment, I¡¯m ready to start the second session. But sect master I have a small request."

    "Ask," she said.

    "Right, now, I¡¯ve been absorbing the poison Qi from your shoulders for the past two days, but it would be far more efficient if I were to change the position of absorption."

    "Then do as you think would be best, why ask for my opinion."

    "Because it might be awkward and I wouldn¡¯t want to embarrass sect master."

    "I¡¯m not a little girl, brat, if it¡¯s for healing, touching my breasts or thighs isn¡¯t going to get me all flustered and red like a teenager girl. Do what you must, I have far greater worries than being touched by a man."

    "Quite sensible, then, I won¡¯t be polite," I said and ced my hands between her chest. This was the central area of her body, and the moment I ced my hands I noticed a small flush on her cheeks. She might sound and act tough, but in the end, she is still a woman.

    I immediately started absorbing the poison as to not let her or my thoughts wander. The poison immediately began seeping into my body and was continuously being destroyed by the Bone and Body grinding poison, then remodeled into poison Qi that my body was able to process and use.

    I also felt that when I reached the peak of Qi condensation, I was able to absorb even more poison, and was able to process a greater amount to my benefit.

    Hours went by and by the end of the day, the sect master had no ice covering her at all. She looked perfect. Still, she was like a statue sitting on that chair of hers.

    "Now, I¡¯ve gotten rid of all of the Poison around your body, but for you to regain movement, I¡¯ll need to remove the poison inside you. It¡¯s heavily entangled with your bones muscles and joints. This will be far slower and more difficult as I¡¯ll need to be careful."

    "Do what you please, at least now, I¡¯m able to feel the warmth of the weather, instead of the coldness of that ice block I was in."

    "Right, in five days, you¡¯ll be able to move freely, please be patient," I replied.

    "You may leave." The sect master said.

    "Right, but I still need to help your other disciple. Where is she?"

    "Xian¡¯Er,e here," the sect master said and her disciple immediately walked in.

    After a few moments of screaming and pained grunts, Xian Er was finally healed up."

    "I¡¯m really exhausted and would like to rest for a while."

    "Wait, have you started practicing the Start Technique?" asked the sect master.

    "I¡¯ve just learned the basics, I¡¯ll try and find time for thatter, also I¡¯m stillcking a moonstone. I¡¯ll check out at the pavilion."

    "Don¡¯t worry about the moonstone, elder Lao will have some prepared for you. But I¡¯m afraid that the treatment of myself is taking its toll on you and consuming your time of cultivation."

    "It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m actually passively cultivating when I¡¯m here so it¡¯s not a big deal, I¡¯ll find time to cultivate the star technique once I have fully organized myself."

    "Thank you for your aid, now you may leave."

    I nodded at the sect master and left the hall, the elders were still standing at the door, and they still were not allowed entry. It was rather awkward as I walked out and disciple Xue said to the elders that the sect master was too exhausted to meet anyone.

    Some of them started shouting at the injustice of having to wait all day while some unknown ¡¯brat¡¯ was able to see the sect master.

    But I didn¡¯t give them any heeds I still have a lot to do. Mainly cultivating that star technique.

    *******

    Yo, thanks for the patronage and all the help I¡¯m receivingtely. It¡¯s helping me create better stuff and keep daily posts, I¡¯m really thankful.

 Chapter 28 Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 28: Destruction</h4>

    The days kept on going, slowly but surely, I managed to fully remove the ice from around the sect master¡¯s body.

    "Now, try and move," I asked the Sect Master as I moved a few steps back.

    And the sect master did, she first started by wiggling her fingers and then her hand. Then she slowly increased the range of motion until her whole arm was moving freely.

    "You¡¯ll probably feel slight pains over the following days, but don¡¯t worry they are normal. I¡¯ll treat the rest of the poison in the following sessions and then you¡¯ll be able to regain your full cultivation." I said as I rubbed my cold hands.

    "Thank you, Shen Bao, as I have promised before, if I were to regain my mobility, I¡¯ll award you with whatever you wish, so speak your mind¡¯s desires." The sect master replied in a smile so bright that it took me a few seconds before I could regain my bearings.

    "Ahem...Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t need anything more than what I¡¯m already given. I¡¯ll excuse myself; I still need to cultivate the start technique." I said before I¡¯d start flushing.

    "Right then, you¡¯re an honest and greedless man, your kind are really rare in this world. Xue¡¯er, take your junior disciple to his new home." Said the sect master and threw a token to the signior sister.

    The woman caught it, looked at the token and said, "But this ce..."

    "Only Shen Bao will benefit from it. It would be a good opportunity for him. Shen Bao, I¡¯ll be going out into the public right now it has been a long time since the sect had seen me, and it¡¯s a good chance to prove to them that the Purple Cloud Sect can still set foot back in its rightful ce. And that¡¯s all thanks to you," The sect master proudly stated.

    "I didn¡¯t do much, and remember, you¡¯re still not as powerful as before, you just have regained mobility," I said in warning.

    "Yes, I know, but the rest of the sect doesn¡¯t know that, and they wouldn¡¯t dare question it. Now, Xue Er, take Shen Bao to where he needs to be." The Sect master waved me away.

    "Right sect master," disciple Xue replied and nodded for me to follow.

    Once we left the sect, the disciple took to the skies and carried me with her using that same translucent force that everyone around me had been usingtely. This seems to be a part of power gained when one reaches the Nascent Soul level. It¡¯s a faraway realm for me right now as I¡¯m still stuck in the peak of Qi condensation. Apparently, the poison I¡¯ve consumed from the sect master was powerful, but not enough to cause a breakthrough. I have consumed so much of it that my body doesn¡¯t even want to digest it anymore and it¡¯s barely taking in a fraction of the poison Qi from it.

    It¡¯s like I grewpletely immune to it in a sense.

    Sister Xue took me to a small hill just beyond the sect¡¯s perimeter. It was an inconspicuous hill that didn¡¯t seem to have anything special but the fact that it was too far away from the sect. it also had a small cave entrance that was difficult to notice if one was not purposefully going toward it. This was probably the cave entrance to the home gifted to me by the sect master.

    "Wouldn¡¯t this make it too far for me to reach the sect master, It¡¯ll take ma half a day just to walk to her and begin treatment."

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯lle and get you when the sect master needs her treatment. Also, Grand Elder Lao and elder Yun have been informed of your whereabouts. They¡¯lle to keep youpany when they have time."

    Right, grand Elder Lao is helping me with Alchemy and elder Yun wants to y Go. Those are both good practices I can use to further enhance my cognitive ability and alchemy.

    "Right then," I replied as sister Xue gently dropped me at the cave¡¯s entrance.

    This token will close and open the doorway to you and only you. Go inside and check what¡¯s in there you¡¯ll be surprised." Sister Xue said and bade me farewell.

    I walked through the cave and found that it had a spiral stone set of stairs that led down.

    There were small globes that lit the way as I walked in and once I was at the base of the cave, I was weed with a nice view of a library filled with books and an alchemy study at the side. There was also a section that was held by a doorway. And the moment I set foot near it I understood why this ce was inhabited.

    There was poison in the air. So much of it that it covered the whole cave and contaminated the books, the alchemy material, and whatever that was behind the locked door.

    There was a corpse of a personying on the ground.

    The Poison God¡¯s book spoke to me.

    ***

    Braided Mourning Petal.

    It¡¯s a nt that grows in humid ces filled with Yin energy. It has parasitic properties and cantch onto anything that has a spiritual link. The Braided Mourning Petal has healing properties if processed by a high-grade alchemist, or can be used as a poisonous substance that can paralyze anyone at the nascent soul level and outright kill anyone below it.

    The primary danger of this Braided Mourning Petal is that it is hard to detect by smell or taste. It can still be noticed by the fumes its victims will start emitting once theye in contact with it.

    You as a disciple of my teachings can consume this petal without gaining greatly as it is still far too advanced for your body. Still, beware of high rates of consumption as it will slow down your reaction time. Until you gain full resistance from the Braided Mourning Petal, do not wander the world.

    ***

    Right, so it seems that my early hunch was correct. The locked door is probably keeping the braided Mourning Petal from essing the outer world. It¡¯s a parasitic nt that will probably try andtch onto a cultivator, so that¡¯s why they sealed the ce and only I, who is a poison cultivator is given ess to all of this free material.

    I began rummaging through the library, finding a lot of books with a great deal of information regarding the world, the sects, cultivation manuals, weapon craft, and more.

    The premise of these books was rather circumstantial, it didn¡¯t hold great value besides educational, and there was not a single book that was specific towards a certain upation. But it was knowledge none the less and I found myself engrossed in it.

    Time went by as I read through the book, and I didn¡¯t feel it going. I actually spent days and days inside the cave until I realized that something was amiss.

    Sister Xue Er should havee to get me days ago. But she never came, could the sect master no longer need me? I thought, but I quickly shook the idea away. There was no way she could move freely with all of that poison Qi still inside her body. I¡¯ll need to check things out.

    I walked out of the cave and looked around only to notice that the purple cloud sect has been razed to the ground, while I never even took notice.

    ****

    Surprising isn¡¯t it? Now, how many of you could even guess or anticipate things to turn out this way? I¡¯m sure no one, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re all reading Biako. Cuz no matter what happens, something alwayses up, something strange, surprising and utterly unexpected alwayses out when you least expect it.

    Say your thanks for the idental_King, because thanks to people like him, this story is free.

    also for the idental_King, you gained a new title, True King of Kings the idental_King.

 Chapter 29 Heavenly Vow

    <h4>Chapter 29: Heavenly Vow</h4>

    Nothing remained of the once glorious Cloud sect. All I could see were the smoking remains of burnt zas and buildings. Caves that were no longer upiable, and the sect master¡¯s pce that seemed to have been rooted out of its ce. And was no longer there.

    What the hell had happened in here? I fumbled to find an appropriate answer, but nothing came to me. I slowly began by walking towards the sect, only to be assaulted by the rotting stench of burnt corpses. People had died here and their bodies have already been assaulted and infested with maggots and worms. People I saw before and was familiar with, people I had contact with, and some I saw regrly whenever I went to elder Yun for a game of Go.

    The majority of the dead people were outer sect disciples because they all seemed too weak to defend themselves from whatever killed them. And what killed them wasn¡¯t gentle. Every one of the outer sect cultivators that had beenying on the ground had their bodies chopped up. As if they were sliced through with sharp swords.

    I don¡¯t have the vaguest clue on who could be responsible for this. This could be the assault of one powerful figure or another sect.

    Yet I only know of the existence of two other sects. The first being the Xuan Fu sect, which ranked eight, and this one was where the former owner of this body of mine, the kid that had died due to cultivation deviation and gave me the chance to live incarnated in this body.

    The second sect I know of was the Spirit Sword Sect, where I met two of its disciples a few months ago in the Demon Mountain forest. but even if they were hostile to each other, a massacre of this caliber shouldn¡¯t be possible. The difference is not that high in the level of the two sects. Both of them are of the ninth level, and the sect master had already told me that even if the Purple Cloud is only a ninth level sect, its true core power is equivalent to that of a level four.

    I kept racking my brain trying to find out why the whole sect had gotten eradicated overnight and for whatever reason, it happened, but always came up short, without any information I could never deduce a proper answer.

    I kept on walking through the sect, trying to see if I could find any survivors. But that was nigh impossible, for whoever came here made sure that nothing would survive. They burnt the fields and poured salt into them. There was no tree standing, no house kept whole, no life walked the sect.

    The birds were silent, mourning the passing of so many children, only the sound of birds of prey resounded over the sect.

    After hours of pointless search, I couldn¡¯t find anything. Not even the pavilion was where I left it. It seemed as if it was taken whole from its ce.

    The cultivation caves were all empty, their doorways ripped out of their hinges, and the kids inside them brutally murdered.

    "Who could do such a thing," I saidmenting.

    "It was an unknown force," said someone behind me. And immediately, I felt as if my soul was about to leave my body.

    I turned to see Meng Hao, standing, the bruises over his body were no longer visible and he looked to be in better shape than before.

    "You managed to survive."

    "Yeah, thanks to that beating actually."

    "Howe?" I asked.

    "I was sent to the infirmary for treatment, and when I heard the ruckus, I hid there. When those cultivators came, they couldn¡¯t find me and left..."

    ¡¯the kid is lying, there is no way for those cultivators to be so thorough in killing everyone and forgetting him. Hiding, I could believe that, but a divine sense could easily locate him. He probably has a treasure on him that is protecting him and keeping him under the radar. No wonder I couldn¡¯t even sense him when he came from behind me.¡¯

    "Right, good for you. Still, do you have any idea on who attacked the sect?" I asked.

    The boy shook his head and said, "The only things I heard were the cultivators that were killing our own were talking about was the fact that this sect was supposed to be much stronger than this, and that they brought a cannon to kill a fly and stuff like that. They were overestimating us so much, and from the look of it, they were right, we couldn¡¯t hold for more than an hour before everyone was brutally murdered."

    "Shit, and just when I started learning, stuff like this happens," I mumbled to myself.

    "Old man, I¡¯ll be off," said Meng Hao.

    "Where to?" I asked.

    "I have no idea, but it beats staying here in this destroyed sect. I could probably head to the Spirit Sword Sect, they¡¯ll take me in if I prove myself."

    ¡¯Oh, that¡¯s the sect where those two cultivators from the forest came from.¡¯

    "I wish you all the best then," I said to the child.

    "What about you?"

    "I still have much to learn, I¡¯m still too weak to wander the world with my Qi condensation stage, I¡¯ll be able to move once I¡¯m powerful enough, and I¡¯ll probably see you at the Spirit Sword Sect."

    "Right then," said the kid and turned to leave.

    I didn¡¯t give up the search, I kept on looking around, hoping to find someone to give me more information.

    As I continued looking around, I saw a familiar face. Elder Hu Tian, was on the ground with his back supported by a fallen building beam. He had arge gash on his chest, the sword that sliced through him was vicious as it had borne through the bones of his chest with ease.

    "Even you didn¡¯t make it," I sighed. As I was about to leave, I noticed that something was peaking out of elder Hu¡¯s hand.

    I approached the elder crouched down and with difficulty, pried his hand open, there was a piece of fabric in his hand and in that piece was a sect symbol. It was a three-legged ck raven. With a mountain behind it. I didn¡¯t know which sect this was, but I kept the fabric piece on me.

    "I¡¯m not a fan of killing, in fact since I had gotten to this world, the times I had to dirty my hands with the blood of my enemies were rare. Mostly because when I was a city lord, I had a lot of opposition and a lot of people after my neck." I stood up.

    "But, this sect gave me a lot. And never have I thought that I will find people as friendly as you in such a world. Where the jungle rules are always in y, the purple cloud sect had been a great spot for me to begin my journey. And like the Poison God had mentioned in his book, never let yourself feel regret. I¡¯ll pay you back your benevolence, with the blood of those who wronged you, and this is a vow I give." I said the dead old man and everyone in this sect.

    Suddenly, my back shuddered as I felt a strong shiver running down my spine. It seems that giving vows is not something one can back out of, but I¡¯m not going to back off. Even for a small period, this cloud sect actually was helpful to me and was akin to family. Family unlike the one that kicked me down the mountain, but a family that helps you grow, reward your effort, and punish those who wronged you. I¡¯m indebted to the Purple Cloud sect, even if it was for a short while, debts must be repaid.

    I walked away from the destroyed sect. I needed power, a lot of it, and staying here, isn¡¯t going to give me anything. Meng Hao was right, joining the Spirit Sword Sect was good for him, but I can¡¯t, especially with those two knowing me, the moment I step foot in that sect, all I¡¯ll ever bring to myself is nothing but trouble.

    I¡¯ll need to forge my own path, alone. Even if I have to remain a rogue cultivator. But first, I need to somehow pack the library gifted by the sect master, and thenpletely leave this is. I don¡¯t want to be here when one of the nearby sectses and investigates the disappearance of the Purple Cloud sect.

    ***

    Yoo! I¡¯m really d we have so many supporters. It¡¯s like everyday one new legionairs joins the ranks.

    This will help keep the story premium-free.

 Chapter 30 Gifts

    <h4>Chapter 30: Gifts</h4>

    Packing the library proved to be far easier than I thought would be. Thanks to the poison god¡¯s book having a dimensional pocket, it was able to suck in all inside it just as I thought about how I was going to start gathering the books.

    The only thing left was what was left beyond the closed door frames.

    Once I opened the doorway, which came out easier than I thought it would be. The hinges had actually rusted overdue to the passage of time, and when I used my sword, the Creeping Demise, it easily tore through them and toppled the doors inwardly, causing a lot of dust to float up in the air.

    There were a lot of withered nts inside the formerly closed chamber. These must have all been spiritual nts that have been contaminated by the Braided Mourning Petal and were now dead and no longer useful. As for the Braided Mourning Petal, it was everywhere. It was a strange-looking vine nt; it had climbed its way through all of the shelves and furniture in this small chamber and made itselffortable inside pots, crevices, the ceiling, and the floor. It looked like a deadly garden that had overpowered the creation of man and had imed its ce.

    I began by plucking the nt that looked exactly as its name suggested, it was a vein that had its leaves shaped into braids. I plucked the first nt, and almost immediately after the whole thing began to move as if it was a beast that had been rudely woken from its slumber.

    The poison god¡¯s book immediately came into action. It shone brightly from inside my chest then it came out, rattling its pages as it opened up and began absorbing the nt inside it. Fully consuming the material and leaving nothing but the chamber devoid of all life and leaving a neatly dressed skeleton inside.

    "I guess that¡¯s it," I said to no one in particr then headed out. There was nothing left for me to do here so I¡¯ll have to move to a new ce and find something new to do. I have enough materials to climb to the next stage of cultivation so there was no need for me to wait here in fear of someoneing in to investigate the decimation of the purple cloud sect.

    As I have vowed to find the perpetrators of this ploy, I needed to first know who was responsible for this incident, and the reason behind such cruelty in uprooting an entire sect. so, I needed information, and the best way to get information was to either join another sect or go to the big cities.

    I had learned quite a lot in my brief existence in the purple cloud sect, and the most important piece of information that could be regarded as useful to this incident was the fact that the imperial court had sway over the eight and ninth tier sect.

    Supposedly, the imperial court isparable to a seventh-grade sect, where the emperor is a mortal but is still supported by a powerful seventh-grade sect. The current Zho Emperor should have information. But I¡¯m but a mere Qi condensation cultivator. And would never get an audience with the Emperor.

    Therefore, I¡¯ll need one of two things, either I should strengthen up and be powerful enough that even the imperial court would have to be wary of me or manage to somehow get the king¡¯s attention. Neither seems to be a usible nor possible answer to my dilemma. As both choices are difficult.

    The first would mean that I¡¯ll need to be powerful enough topare to a seventh-grade sect, of whom the sect master is usually a Soul Formation cultivator. Which is a grade above Nascent Soul, the same grade where elder Lao the alchemist of the Purple Cloud sect.

    That would take a lot of time not to mention an incredible number of resources.

    The second option would mean that I¡¯ll need a private audience with the emperor, and the only way an emperor would heed my words, is if I had something that he would value. And for emperors, there are rare things that would sway their needs. Not to mention, if I have something he needs, he could easily take it away by force. This was a world where if you have a treasure that you can¡¯t protect, you don¡¯t deserve it.

    The only thing I could have and he would dare not risk messing with me into taking is the emperor¡¯s life. Easy as that, I¡¯ll need to put myself in a position where only I have a say if the emperor could live or die. This is the quickest of the two methods but by far the riskiest. And all of this is just to get information about the sect.

    I changed my clothes to the set of clothes that the skeleton inside the inner chamber had. I didn¡¯t need to be questioned if someone recognized the robes I have. The robes were dark ck and had a hood. Which was perfect as it would draw less attention if I was wearing more mboyant colors.

    I started walking towards the north while munching over one of the petals of the Braided Mourning Petal. I used the poisonous herb as a snack as I walked towards the general direction of the imperium.

    I began thinking about what I should be doing while rotating my meridians, there was no need for me to waste any time not cultivating, and I needed to be more powerful fast.

    More time had passed as I walked, and I grew fond of it. And it didn¡¯t take more than eight days before I managed to breakthrough and finally achieved Foundation Establishment.

    The moment I broke through I sat down, in the middle of nowhere and began rotating the poison Qi within me to achieve stability. After a few hours of concentration and a powerful vomiting fit, I stood up in front of a pile of impurities that left my body. I was able to sense even more of my meridians. Exactly fifty-four of them. All over my body and one big lump a couple of fingers below my abdomen.

    "Dantian unlocked!"

    Finally, I managed to truly step into the path of cultivation.

    The poison god¡¯s book shot out of my chest and switched pages until it stopped on a new page that I haven¡¯t seen before.

    )==)===

    Foundation Establishment.

    Disciple of mine, you have reached Foundation Establishment with a lot of time to spare before the Bone Grinding Poison could fully corrode and destroy your body. This would give you great power in your uing trials.

    The more powerful the body is when it reaches the next milestone, the greater the benefit, and I¡¯m not talking about body cultivation, but poison resilience. As the longer the Bone and Body grinding poison saps from your body before the next millstone, the weaker you¡¯ll be in the following phase.

    Now I could disclose to you when you can fully rid yourself of the Bone and Body Grinding poison and make it an asset instead of a de that is looming like a guillotine above your neck.

    The Ascendant Phase. Which many of the lower worlds would consider it godhood, here in the upper realm it is nothing but the starting point of the real journey of cultivators.

    Still being an ascendant means that you¡¯ll need to cultivate for hundreds if not thousands of years, but worry not, following this book¡¯s guidance and with a little bit of luck, bing an ascendant, unlike for the beliefs of the people in the lower world isn¡¯t a myth, but a true and honest fact.

    Now, same as the Qi condensation stage, cultivating to the next stage of the Foundation Establishment and reaching core formation will need you to cross nine stages, three lower stages, three middle stages, and three upper stages of foundation establishment.

    And as the name suggests, your foundation must be immacte, perfect, and strong if you wish to go far in the world of cultivation.

    You have now unlocked fifty-four of your meridians, which is the norm, but in the foundation establishment, you¡¯ll need to unlock the rest of them. Preferably at least a hundred meridian, but if you manage to achieve the legendary perfect meridian body and unlock all one hundred and eight of them, then your cultivation path will fully unfold in front of you, giving you ess to power never seen before.

    I have sadly never been mentored and only managed to unlock a hundred and six of them, but follow my teachings and you shall surpass me.

    First things first, I have kept a few treasures for you in this book that will aid you in your journey, and they shall present themselves to you whenever you reach a millstone. The first is this flying sword.

    ===

    And immediately a sword shot out from the book. It looked like a giant b of brittle steel, it didn¡¯t look fancy nor was it that beautiful, it was barely a piece of steel with a handle that could scratch the conceptualizations of a sword.

    This is by far not the most powerful of swords, nor is it meant forbat, however, under fourth level traveling artifact, there are no flying swords that could match its speed.

    The most special thing about this sword is that it will not work for anyone but A follower of the Poison God¡¯s teaching. Meaning only, you can operate it, as it doesn¡¯t work based on the world¡¯s Qi, but poison Qi.

    It shall be tough to use, as it consumes a lot of the user¡¯s energy to fly, but it is a tempering weapon that will aid you in cultivating.

    The book changed pages and a new page appeared.

    As of now, you should have mastered the Poisonous Tiger w, and this is the diagram of the upper technique of the same cultivation path.

    Before I could even see the technique I smacked my forehead, I hadpletely forgotten about the technique I learned in that Yeti¡¯s cave. And never practiced it. but curiosity got the better of me and I looked at what the new technique had presented.

    It was a man that stood still the disappeared appearing somewhere else nearby, but now there were two of them.

    Poison escape

    A technique that allows the user to use poison as a reflective substance to create a mirror image of themselves and then fade into a nearby position. This is an advanced technique that requires an understanding of poison emission to cast.

    It is extremely simr to teleportation, but in reality, it is a high-level movement technique, as teleportation would only be avable to cultivators who reached the nascent soul level.

    "Perfect," I said to myself, but I cannot use this now, I need to find a secure way and before even risking the attempt I need to first master the Poison Tiger w, a skill that I neglected due to ease of life and thefort of the Purple Cloud sect.

    I looked at the floating b and said, "So, I guess you can fly huh, let¡¯s try you out then, shall we?"

 Chapter 31 Skittering Problems.

    <h4>Chapter 31: Skittering Problems.</h4>

    I ced my feet on the sword and it easily carried my weight without it dipping back into the ground. At first, I stayed standing on top of the sword-like an idiot for a few moments. Mainly because I had no idea how this thing would even move.

    Yet, the moment I thought about the tree a few hundred meters in front of me, the sword shot forward, threatening to fly from under my feet and loge itself into the tree, yet there was something in y that kept my legs glued in ce, and the sword made sure not to crash into the tree.

    The moment the sword stopped I felt like if I had been doing a light jug. It seems that the sword was pervasive as it took poison Qi from my body without my consent. Still, those few hundred meters on would have been far more exhausting than using this sword.

    I nodded to myself, "With this, my travels were going to be far easier."

    The sword was big enough that I could find space to sit in the lotus position while it flew, so I did that and rotate my energy while giving the sword one simplemand. Fly north. The imperial capital is in that general direction.

    The sword easily tore through the wind while creating a small barrier around it so I wouldn¡¯t feel affected by the powerful winds. It was pretty useful as I had my cravings and lit up my pipe, smoking some of the Joyful Weed that I enjoyed asionally with elder Yun.

    The disappearance of the whole sect is no simple matter, there was a conspiracy in y. The whole Purple Cloud Sect was a low-grade sect, unworthy of any of the upper sect¡¯s attention, nor was it enough to be a threat to them. There was something that I wasn¡¯t seeing in this picture, a missing piece that could make the picture clear and why was the Purple Cloud sect destroyed.

    As I flew over trees and foliage, I continued thinking, trying to deduce any new clues on what happened, but sadly there was nothing that came to mind. I put the thoughts to rest and focused on my next mission. The emperor, or anyone of the imperial court, would have a good idea of who destroyed the purple cloud sect.

    Days of flying went by, and I only sustained myself with leaves from the Braided Mourning Petal, and the asional whiffs of the Joyful Weed, the two substances left my body inplete numbness after every use, but I was beginning to feel signs of resistance. Once I¡¯m fully capable of resisting the side effects of the Joyful Weed and the Braided Mourning Petal, I¡¯ll be fully immune to their effects and would be able to apply their effects into my poison spells. Which would be amazing.

    A little bit in the distance and far off the direction I was taking, I saw a group of people gathered up in front of what seemed to be a cave entrance.

    I gave my sword the order to move towards the cave and it did, I made sure however to keep my distance from all the ¡¯spectators¡¯ as I didn¡¯t want any troubles.

    Some of these spectators were all mortals, and a rare few were cultivators as I now could easily recognize one from the other. These cultivators however were at best, foundation establishment, as I didn¡¯t see anyone beyond it and couldn¡¯t feel the threat of a Core Formation from amongst them.

    One of the mortals looked at me and his face turned white as a paper sheet, "An immortal has descended upon us!" he said and began kowtowing like crazy.

    "Shut up," a cultivator said as he kicked the kowtowing man, and said, "He¡¯s weaker than me, don¡¯t bow to those lesser than I, fool." The man said and looked up at me, he spat in my direction and said, " Who gave you the right to rise above me,e down this instant!"

    ¡¯Seems like the edgy manners of all of those steppingstone extra characters in those stories were not made up after all,¡¯

    I ignored the brat, even if he was stronger than me, that was only by cultivation level, he was a foundation establishment of the middle tier, quite a fewyers above me, but nothing that a single poison breath can¡¯t take care of. I looked at the cave¡¯s entrance and willed the sword to go towards it.

    Fully leaving the man in contempt of his peers as I didn¡¯t even deem him worth my time or my answer.

    "You!!" said the man as he pointed his hand on my disappearing back.

    I was inside the cave and called the flying sword back into the Poison God¡¯s book, sadly there was no light. So, I used my finger to light the way, mimicking elder Yun¡¯s Finger me.

    The green me was powerful enough to reveal the path in front of me and whatys beyond the dark entrance of the cave.

    I continued walking down the cave until I reached a fork. I didn¡¯t know which path to take, so I approached the candle to the ground and noticed a footstep of one of the cultivators on the dirt on the ground.

    So, the group of cultivators outside the cave weren¡¯t the only one, perhaps they were a group that was guarding the exit, this would mean that there is a stronger group inside no wonder that guy was acting all haughty I fear that they might have a Core Formation cultivator.

    As for the mortals there, could they be the ones to have discovered this cave? Or probably they¡¯re mules to carry objects? No, that doesn¡¯t make much sense, the powerful cultivators could have holding bags. Sacrificial offering, or way makers to ensure no cultivator would find themselves in between the jaws of a trap. No matter I have a more urgent matter at hands, the fork.

    Seems that all the footsteps are headed this way, but the other way...

    I mumbled as I looked at the other side, there was no clear indication on why they didn¡¯t split up, but the fact that none or probably no more than one person took this way meant that it was dangerous, and whenever there is danger, there is opportunity.

    I took the other path and continued forward, I slowly made my way into the leftmost path, without encountering anything that seemed life-threatening. Yet at the end of the pathway, I finally understood why they didn¡¯t pick this road.

    The path I walked on ended on a perched tform that looked over a gigantic hall that extended all the way to the unknown depths. However, there was a small constraint, everything was moving, not the walls, but the critters all over it, the hundreds of thousands of them, maybe even millions of them, walked the walls, all in ununified, chaotic and totally shiver worthy manner. Spiders. Small red spiders walked all over the ce.

    "A me thrower would be pretty handy right here now wouldn¡¯t it."

    *****

 Chapter 32 Treacherous

    <h4>Chapter 32: Treacherous</h4>

    There was no way for me to cross this without being eaten alive, so I was about to walk away when I heard a wet crunching sound under my foot.

    I lifted my foot from the wet and mozzare-like remains of the spider that was stuck to the sole of my foot.

    "Shit," I cursed.

    And instantly afterward all the room¡¯s skittering stopped, then they all began hissing. If spiders couldn¡¯t hiss, well these ones weren¡¯t normal spiders, these are cultivator spiders. Nasty stuff.

    A swath of spiders came at me and an evenrger group came rushing along the walls of the tform I was on and closed the exit using their bodies.

    I sighed, if this was an RPG, I¡¯d be getting a lot of EXP for this. Man, I miss my days on earth ying games every night before going to work.

    I took a deep breath and spat out my poison breath. In a locked and enemy concentrated area such as this ce, my poison breath should be powerful enough to cause some serious damage. And so it did; the green wave of death shot forward and spread long the room like the tides of death. Whenever it went past an insect, thetter would fumble and fall dying, and once it touches the ground, it would already be dead. More spiders died as my poison breath permeated through the room. And in less than ten seconds, the whole room was only riddled with the bodies of dead spiders.

    "Good," I mumbled. Looking down, now that the spiders were all dead, I could see a small set of stairs that was leading from the tform I was on to the lower floor. I took the stairs and went down. Once I was on the ground, I made sure to survey my whereabouts before I took my next step. I needed to make sure that I didn¡¯t leave anything behind me alive.

    Assuring that there was nothing left alive, I continued walking forward, slowly, because there could be traps, traps that I didn¡¯t wish to encounter right now.

    Slowly making my way, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, the walls and floors were filled and riddled with spiders, if there were any traps, they seemed to have long been disabled. Perhaps by old age or just the number of spiders that usually moved through this area, they would have enabled the traps long ago.

    As I moved forward, I was able to see evenrger spiders dead or dying on the long corridor headed forward. there seems to be a nest forward, and the small spiders that died at the entrance were just the newborns, as for the ones in the corridors, some were as big as my thighs and others were even bigger, but they all had one thing inmon, either they were dead or dying.

    I continued moving among the dead bodies, only to see even more dead spiders. The poison breath¡¯s area of effect has vastly improved after I reached Foundation Establishment. And now with fifty-four meridians, I¡¯m able to cast the Poison Breath spell on ana rea as big as a football field.

    Which is nice.

    After half an hour of walking, I met the first spider that was still alive. This one had eight legs, and if one were to focus their sight, they would notice that this spider¡¯s legs were shaped like a curved pointed sword.

    Its mandibles wererger than a man¡¯s leg, and from the looks of it, this thing was at least five meters long.

    The spider wobbled as it moved towards me, but it made sure not to fall, it slowly hissed as it skittered forward.

    "I guess you¡¯re the best opponent to try this on then," I said to the spider, fully knowing that it will not understand me.

    Once the spider got close enough, I moved to the side, and I was right in doing so, as it had spat a white substance from its mouth that fell on the ground and spread to a sticky-looking spider web.

    "Now, that¡¯s stranger, spiders shouldn¡¯t be able to create spider webs from their mouths, quite interesting," I said to the spider as I continued sidestepping his attacks. It wasn¡¯t that I was fast enough to agilely and rapidly dodge the spells, but the spider was so slow due to the poison that a child could dodge his attacks.

    Once I was close enough, I sliced at the tiger with my hand, shaped into a tiger w. My index and middle finger curved and linked together, so was my pinky and ring finger, while my thumb was separate and on its own. The slice didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on the spider as it bounced off against his thick armored exoskeletal body.

    "Stupid me, I forgot to use poison Qi in the attack." I shook my head, having been focused on the

    form I forgot the essence. But that small mistake was going to cost me dearly.

    The spider managed to swing one of his many legs at me, to which I ducked, dodging the blow inplete luck and avoided being decapitated.

    I rose swinging, my wed hand this time fixed and poison Qi rotating all over my meridians then being focused on the tip of my attacking fingers.

    The moment my hand touched the spider, it slid through. Not across it, but inside the spider. I pulled my hand immediately afterward when I noticed that the spider had begun squirming and its body began bulging in different ces.

    "Shit it¡¯s gonna blow," I cursed and turned, hastily running away, then slid next to a nearby fallen pir that I used as cover.

    The spider blew up immediately afterward, leaving guts and remain sticking to the walls and ceiling of the passage I was in.

    I looked up from behind the fallen pir at the aftermath of the battle. There was a small core within the fluid remains of the spider. I walked up to the core and ced it above my chest. The poison god¡¯s book immediately sucked it inside it.

    The spider that just died had so much charisma that I didn¡¯t notice the big door that it came from. And whaty beyond it.

    It seems that the poison had barely entered through that door that led somewhere deeper in this cave. And if my poison breath didn¡¯t go through, then it would mean that there are enemies that are still intact.

    I got closer to the door and took a deep breath then spat out the poison to no avail, as it shot back into my face and behind me.

    The poison breath however couldn¡¯t move forward, it seemed that there was a force in y that immediately pushed it outside the door. I scoffed at the annoyance.

    "This is going to be troublesome without the poison, but all of this would be for naught if I give up now."

    I sat down near the door¡¯s entrance, I thought about eating the Braided Mourning Petal to supplement my lost Poison Qi but decided against it, that nt makes me dull, and I don¡¯t need that in this situation. The joyful weed, however, makes me more focused though overusing it will get me stoned up which is equally bad.

    I filled my pipe with the Joyful Weed and lit it up. After smoking for a while, I stood up, my mind was far sharper than before, and I had a good idea of how to deal with the remaining spiders.

    I stepped into the doorway.

    I walked through the doorway, and inside was a man-built tunnel that led further down into the deep. The tunnel wasrge enough to allow only one of the spider¡¯s passage, and if only one of themes at me I could handle it myself. The problemys in the fact that I can¡¯t use my poison breath here, mainly due to the strong winding from within the tunnel.

    This reminds me of the cool wind that the Ice Yeti had been releasing as his breath, but only here, it was far less powerful, far less cold yet, constant and continuous, this was natural made wind.

    And facing upwind, my breath skill would get swept away behind me. So, I had to get close and dirty if I¡¯m forced to fight.

    I continued walking and had nothing to help me see through the dark but a small green me, that I lit up on the tip of my index finger. After a long while, I heard the screams of people,ing from inside the cave.

    "Seems like there are others than just me."

    I continued moving through the corridor until its end, where I saw an enormous pce that had been chiseled into the walls of a cavernous hole. The pce was amazingly huge, and the fact that it was carved up in the depth of the earth was even more amazing. Yet spiders had infested it, theyid their eggs everywhere around it and all over the now destroyed garden at its front.

    I looked up and realized that through the spiderwebs covering the summit of the cavern, there was a big hole. This area seems to be like a volcano with its tip covered in cobweb.

    I turned off the small lighting from my hand, the night sky even without a moon, shining through the cobweb was enough light for me to see clearly. Not far away from where I stood, were hundreds of spiders like the one I just fought earlier, let¡¯s call them warrior spiders. And they all seemed to be surrounding one creature, which was by far thergest spider I had ever seen. It looked like it could fit ten or twenty of the warrior spiders in its stomach and that still wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    This was a Spider Queen. The warrior spiders would go toward where a group of people was battling, fight against them and kill whomever they could, then one of the spiders would impale the dead cultivator and drag it through the dirt towards the queen.

    The cultivator would get immediate processed, the warriors would rip its arms and legs, taking it for themselves, and would hand over the head to the queen. The queen then would split open the head using her mandibles and would suck in the brain.

    This whole process didn¡¯tst longer than a dozen seconds and more corpses piled up in front of the queen.

    The torsos weren¡¯t however disposed of, but they were webbed together and stockpiled forter consumption.

    I was lucky enough that all the spiders had been slowly pulled toward the fight and left me all alone here, also I came to realize that the volcano-shaped mountain I was in was the reason why there was such a powerful wind. The air woulde from the volcano¡¯s top and would thene down and exit through the tunnel, creating a wind current. Yet now that I¡¯m here, the majority of my poison breath if I were to release it would rise and mix up with the air inside the volcano¡¯s belly.

    I slowly made my way towards the pce, hiding and taking cover using all the random rocks and boulders and growths that were growing in this ce. Though this area was filled with spiders and covered in their webs, I noticed that the pce itself seemed that it had never been pried open, so while the spiders were upied with the cultivators, I could probably get inside and see what I could find.

    I have no obligation to save anyone, as these people had taken the risk to challenge this ce and still failed. So, it is of no concern to me if they live or die, nor would I feel regret over the death of people I don¡¯t know.

    Still...

    "Sigh."

    I looked back and saw that the screaming had lessened, and the people were now being covered in webs instead of outright being ughtered. The queen seemed to have probably eaten enough and now ordered her minions to keep her prey fresh by covering it in webs and keeping it alive forter consumption.

    The spiders continued covering the cultivators in spider webs and soon after they stuck them to nearby rocks.

    One of the spiders had dangerously gotten closer to me. If I were to make a sound, I¡¯ll be joining the rest of the cultivators as a mural decoration.

    I rotated my energy and released a low dose of my poison breath, this one wasn¡¯t based on the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, but rather the Braided Mourning Petal. The toxic and paralyzing effect of it.

    Small gout of purple smoke shot out of my mouth, which was far less dense than the Bone and Body Grinding poison, and far less pervasive, but at the same time it worked fast, it shot up to the spider and thetter stopped moving and flopped down to the ground.

    I had to move away from this area because the secondary effect of the Braided Mourning petal would kick in soon, and then it¡¯s going to be a problem to stay close.

    The spider that flopped to the ground started spasming while I moved away and took a roundabout way to get behind the rocks where the cultivators were stuck.

    Another spider realized that one of its own was having a nasty seizure, and when it went to check, the prime spider suddenly stopped moving, and then its body began tearing up, revealing bloodied braided petals that tore out of the spider¡¯s chitin.

    More spiders had gotten closer when the petal began releasing more toxins. And more spiders were infected.

    Themotion brought the attention of all of the spiders inside the cave, which was perfect. I took the opportunity to get behind the boulders and said in a low tone, "Hey, you still alive?"

    "Y-Yes! Help please!" the man frantically said.

    "Shhhhh! Be quiet. I¡¯ll get you out in a second."

    I touched the webs and immediately regrated it, the thing was sticky as heck and thankfully I only used one hand.

    "Damn sticky," I cursed. "I¡¯ll use my sword, be careful, and don¡¯t move," I said to the man.

    "Swords are useless there are no swords that can cut through this..." the man¡¯s words were abruptly stopped as he saw my Creeping Demise, slicing through the webs with utter ease.

    "You were saying?"

    "Nothing! Let¡¯s escape!"

    "Hey, hold it, I¡¯m here to help you all."

    "If we¡¯re a big group the spiders will chase after us! We have to save our skins!"

    This man has a nasty and wretched personality, the moment I save him he immediately tries to escape not even giving a single thought about his friends.

    "If you wish to escape, go ahead, I¡¯ll leave when everyone is safer."

    "But you don¡¯t know any of them!" The man said.

    His words caused me pause, this man... he knows too much. Dangerous, how does he know I¡¯m not friends with any of these people? So, it means that he suspects that I found my way to the pce¡¯s entrance from another area. Meaning that even if I had saved him here, once we¡¯re out and he is ¡¯safe¡¯ he could do what he wants, perhaps even me me for the death of hisrades. Though this reasoning isn¡¯t without w, in those stories, this would have been the perfect exnation.

    "It doesn¡¯t mean that I shouldn¡¯t help those who need help. Leave if you want." I shooed the man away and went to the next person stuck.

    Just a was about to remove the webbing of one of the cultivators stuck in the rock I heard a loud stomp behind me when I turned, the man I had just saved, with murder in his eyes was swinging a sword at my neck, and it was far toote to dodge...

    ****

    Hey thank you all for the patronage, this chapter is dedicated to the generous Rafael Fazio, Thank you for the little piece of happiness as you said.

    And you¡¯re hereby named Dark Laughing Lord.

 Chapter 33 Hunter Becomes Prey

    <h4>Chapter 33: Hunter Bes Prey</h4>

    Everything stopped, or everything began moving rather extremely slowly. This was my mind¡¯s eye going on full throttle. This is what Elder Yun said about my thinking abilities being increased several folds in crisis. It used to happen only rarely in our games of Go, but now, it happened in reality, when the sword of this godless cultivator who I had just saved was about to chop my head off. My mind went into overdrive and in the span of a frozen moment in time, I saw everything.

    I saw his focused eyes, the hairs and pores on his face, and the ugly scrunch they made, the sweat and soot and dirt from being imprisoned by the spiders. The clothes he wore, their fabric, and even the sword, every nick, crack and dent I saw it all.

    And then, my mind switched from external to internal works. How was I supposed to survive, the sword is far too close for me to dodge, and I would end up with either a severed head or a torn main artery, none of which were survivable oues.

    Suddenly something came to me, a figment of hope, doable, yet carries risks that far outweigh the benefits. If it works, it will mean my survival, but failure... failure is not an option, it will mean my death, and the end of everything. I have just started cultivating, I cannot die, in some random cave, by some random person. I have to seed. And I will seed!

    My meridians began pumping Poison Qi and swirling it, and with the aid of the newly unlocked Dantian, the Poison Qi I had stored inside was quickly used up, all to use one single spell, that I had far too great chance to fail and for it to backfire.

    "Poison Escape!"

    Two words and our situation immediately switched.

    The man sliced through my head, yet his sword didn¡¯t meet meat resistance, it was as if his sword had gone through smoke, and so it did.

    My real body, the physical one had appeared a few steps away from the smoke-made body that the cultivator decapitated.

    Then the smoke body exploded like a deting smoke balloon, and the smoke, liquid in sight more than gaseous, floated and began seeping and coursing through the ground until it touched the cultivator¡¯s leg. Not a momentter, the smoke sensed life, and then it all began wallowing and swooping against the cultivator. It looked like the smoke was trying an awkward dance with its prey, as the cultivator cried out, screamed, and howled, in pained agony that no one was going to save him from.

    Yet, in his agonized death throws, he brought about the attention of every spider in the room, and that was not the worst of it. I was unable to move, my body was in a state that it refused to properly function. A side effect of using a spell I didn¡¯t fully understand the base of. As I should have hadplete mastery of Poison Tiger w before trying the Poison Escape.

    More spiders skittered towards me and the dead cultivator, yet the moment they noticed me, awkwardly sprawling on the round, two of the giant spiders grabbed at me and began spewing spider silk on me. It wasn¡¯t fun. If I¡¯m caught, I¡¯ll die and there is no escape. They started by my legs, and torso, the moment they reach my head, I¡¯m done for.

    And before I could be fully submerged with the spider webs, I spat out the remains of poison qi that I had inside me. Shooting out a st of poison smog that immediately caused the spiders to shudder and shake, dying from the Bone and Body Grinding Poison that I released.

    The Queen sent out a loud high-pitched screech that caused all the approaching spiders to stop and walk back towards her. She called their retreat, quite smart and that¡¯s not good. Facing a smart enemy like this spider greatly reduces my chances of survival.

    Thankfully I still had one arm avable and wasn¡¯t covered in silk. I pulled my sword with great difficulty -Thankfully the effects of Poison Escape didn¡¯tst long- and nicked the silk, easily ripping it off of me. The spider queen was big, so big that she could fit in four elephants in her stomach. And her mandibles were sorge that I could easily fit between them.

    She bulldozed her way towards me while I was still struggling to regain full mobility. Yet she made sure to keep her distance, she opened her mouth and spat out a purple-colored substance at me.

    Her aim wasn¡¯t perfect, so most of it missed me, but the sheer volume of the purple liquid she spat didn¡¯t even need aim. A bit of the substance sshed against a nearby stone and hit my clothes, melting a piece of the fabric immediately. While the stone that was the primary target had meltedpletely.

    The spider queen waspeting with me in poison? Right then.

    I drew my sword and slid it across my arm, causing a spray of blood to shoot out and wet my sword. The spider was about to shoot another spray of acidic liquid while I threw my sword at the spide in a spinning motion.

    A cultivator has good physical strength, even if I¡¯m old, I could urately throw a sword wherever I wanted, and my aim was one of the spider¡¯s eight eyes.

    My sword immediately lodged itself into one of the spider¡¯s eyes and dug in deep. That wasn¡¯t the end. My blood, fully contaminated and submerged in my poisonous Qi had entered the spider¡¯s body, from the eye and close to her brain.

    The poison acted up immediately, as the spider¡¯s legs began shuddering and shaking, unable to carry her own massive weight. The legs fell and rose to no visible rhythm as the spider screeched from the tormenting pain that came from the lodged sword in her eye.

    The rest of the spiders didn¡¯t daree to where the queen was screeching, unlike what a herd would do when one of their members is being attacked, the spiders escaped hoping to save themselves from whatever misfortune happened to their queen.

    The queen kept screeching, unable to move in a straight line, and when she locked her eyes on me, she came at me with maddened rage.

    "Shit," I cursed. I was unable to move and running away was not an option as I can¡¯t outpace this behemoth.

    The spider lunged at me, only to fall a few feet short, wheezing as ck blood spewed out from its mouth.

    I bnced myself up, holding my bleeding arm with my other hand, "I¡¯m sorry for this. But I had no choice, you came at me." I then raised my leg and stomped on the sword that had its handle protruding from the spider¡¯s head.

    The stomp was forceful and the spider jerked onest time as the tip of the poisoned de struck deep within its brains. Killing it instantly.

    A green aura began materializing over the spider.

    "Huh, I didn¡¯t use Poison Breath on the spider."

    "Oh, so it¡¯s definitely the poison from my blood, it has the same effect as the Poison Breath."

    The green aura consumed the spider as it empowered itself and left nothing from the spider Queen but its exoskeleton and a thick purple core that I ripped out and pocketed.

    The energy coursed through me as I absorbed it, healing my wound and enabling me to regain my full mobility.

    "This was rather fortunate," I said as I looked at the pce that was now empty of all spiders. "I guess it¡¯s time to explore you now."

    //////*****//////

 Chapter 34 History

    <h4>Chapter 34: History</h4>

    I walked towards the pce¡¯s massive gate while avoiding getting trapped by the spider webs that were covering everything. Not even the ground was safe from the white nket. I had to cut my way through in some areas, where the webbing was just too much. And once I went past a certain point, I found myself at the door of the pce which was speckless.

    The pce carved into the volcano was untouched directly by the webbing. It was as if the spiders knew better than to defile the pce with their webs.

    I got up to the massive door of the pce. It was made of bronze as it seems and had a lot of carvings on it, it looked like a giant mural made into a gate. I tried to understand what was going on, or the story that the gate was trying to tell.

    Looking at it from one side to the other, I saw that there was a great battle led by demons, and on the other side of the demons was an army being led by a man and a woman standing next to each other. The war raged on with mankind taking great losses. Then an even greater demonic creature came up in front of the army. The man and woman who were leading the human army brought out a shining talisman up against the demon. It shone bright like the sun, causing a lot of the demons to shy away and escape, and even the great demon was wrathful, despising the talisman.

    He could withstand the talisman¡¯s effect, even for a little, so he threw his massive spear at the couple, where the woman pushed the man away from the spear, sacrificing her life to save him.

    The talisman then shone brighter and all the demons escaped to the depths of the earth. Leaving the humans all alone.

    The depiction, or what I understood from it was this. But I have no idea why this is rted to this ce. Or if this actually happened or just a fantasy. And another thing, the gate is too damn big, unless I¡¯m a sixty-foot giant I¡¯m definitely not gonna be able to open it.

    I tried to push the door, though I knew it would be impossible to even make it budge, the construction unlocked and opened up widely for me, causing me to trip and almost fall on my face.

    Light red up as torchs after torchs lit up leading deeper into the pce.

    The pce¡¯s floor was made of gray marble, and it looked like it was making the entirety of the pce. Even its pirs ceiling and decoration. It was all made of high-quality marble. But there didn¡¯t seem to be any furniture. Nor did this pce looked like something people had lived in it.

    There were however thousands of statues destroyed and broken all over the pce floor. They were broken by fist, sword, spear, or any other weapons. Not even the marble-made ground was safe from a battle that had urred here.

    As I moved about, I noticed that there was no second floor, and there were no other doors leading to other rooms. The whole pce was just a massive hall, full of pirs and a ceiling. And deadly-looking destroyed statues.

    As I was thinking about how lucky for me that these things were destroyed. On a nearby pile of scrapes, something moved, and I didn¡¯t like it.

    Whatever was moving underneath that pile, didn¡¯t look like it was going to be friendly.

    I carefully stepped away from the moving pile, and I¡¯m thankful I did. An automaton jumped from inside the pile of rubble and dashed past me with supersonic speeds. Just the fact that it went past me with speed far greater than I could ever match with my mere sight not to mention movement, I knew I was dead the moment this thing would stand back up.

    And when it stood up, my heart rate rose, like a drum being struck with a bat, my heartbeat to a powerful rhythm. Whatever this thing was, it was far, far, far stronger, faster, and more agile than me. The automaton moved to face me. It had no eyes, no nose, and no ears, it looked like it was wearing a bucket instead of ahead.

    One of its arms was torn out of its sockets, the tip of a sword embedded in where its heart should be, but as it seems, the sword didn¡¯t go in deep enough. I have no idea how I realized it, but I just did, then again, it could be the process of the Mind¡¯s Eye that Elder Yun always talked about, the ability to understand and deduce things far faster than what a mortal could do.

    Yet, knowing a solution to a problem and solving a problem are two different things.

    The Automaton stood still, it didn¡¯t move or budge, it was just standing there, unmoving.

    I didn¡¯t know why it stopped moving and it wasn¡¯t killing me right now, but for whatever reason that happened, I¡¯m thankful.

    I slowly went down and picked up a small pebble. I ced it against my thumb and flicked it against a nearby pir.

    The moment the pebble had struck the pir, the Automaton was a fraction of a secondter than it as it crashed into the marble pir. Breaking it with its body, then destroying whatever remained of the pir using its only functional arm. Thankfully the automaton was crazy, as it was chasing after sound, and the sound that it, itself made when breaking the pir was giving it false information that there was still an enemy there.

    The automaton kept breaking the pir, and with every noise his own hands made, he believed that there was an enemy. And I took that chance to move away. Compared to my low noised footsteps, the booming explosive strikes the Automaton was making were far louder.

    I needed to leave this hall, so I continued looking around until I noticed a seam in one of the building¡¯s walls.

    Just as I was inspecting it, the whole wall moved and pushed itself back and to the side, revealing a stair passage leading further down. I shook to my core because the moving of this door had caused the booming explosions the Automaton was making to stop. It must have heard this.

    I slowly removed my boots, it was better to walk this way as to make the least sound possible.

    The air didn¡¯t smell bad, it was fresh, so there seems to be a current further down. An exit is a good sign. I continued walking, hoping not to find anything as dangerous as that Automaton, and at the same time wary of any traps that I might set off. Because so far, two doors had opened up for me on their own, any sane man would immediately think that I¡¯m being led down the rabbit hole, or to my ¡¯untimely timely¡¯ death.

    When I reached the end of the staircase, I found myself in a newer room, but something was strangely amiss. I felt my bones ttering as if something very wrong is happening right now. As if something that shouldn¡¯t happen had happened. As if I¡¯m witnessing something that I¡¯ll never forget.

    Once I peered into the room at the end of the stairs, I saw ck and grayish smoke, almost transparent. It looked like that portion of the world was on a ck and white filter. And the smoke moved to cause that filter to move with it.

    I was unable to understand what is that thing, but I realized that it wasn¡¯t good with the number of chains, locks, talismans, and more items that were consecrated and used to suppress it. The smoke was unable to move past the round chains that were trapping it and it seems that whoever built this mechanism knew what they were doing and didn¡¯t spare a single resource.

    Suddenly, a voice so deep, so mind and soul-shaking echoed from the depth of the smoke and directly into my mind.

    "Come Closer!" I heard.

    "Closer! Closer! Closer!" the voices echoed, even louder, and deeper. They came from the smoke. And I knew it was not good.

    I looked around the room, fully ignoring whatever screamed or shouted from within that smoke. Nothing good ever came out from tampering with seals that people of old had ced. And especially seals against something this nefarious.

    The whole of the room didn¡¯t go past this point. It seemed that it was the end of this pce. It didn¡¯t look like much after all. But also, this could be a conquered pce. Or it definitely was. Judging by the number of the Automatons that were destroyed, this ce must have been visited, ransacked, and left with nothing but this. Yet why didn¡¯t they remove the seals? I mean, though it might look stupid, some people would actually not leave something like this lying about.

    Some cultivators could use this, and others could destroy this. But neither of the options was chosen. Then that leaves me with three results.

    First, no one discovered this ce yet, which could be odd. After all, people who fought those Automatons and managed to destroy so many of them would definitely be able to sense this ce. Unlike me who got lucky and saw the seam in the wall. This scenario is not that believable.

    So, this leaves two other options:

    Whatever is inside this, it¡¯s too terrorizing for any cultivator to use, so they sealed the nightmares away. The automatons could have been ced here as guards to stop people from getting their hands on this thing or just not to temper with it.

    Thest option is, it¡¯s too powerful for any cultivator to control and make proper use of nor were they able to destroy it, thus it was sealed. The second-best option.

    However, in either case, I have no ability to control or handle something such as this.

    I should leave. But before I go. I pulled out a small petal from my book. It was the Braided Mourning Petal, I dipped a few drops of my own blood on the ground and buried it a few feet away from the door where the seal was.

    The Braided Mourning Petal is a nasty little nt, and when I nt a piece of it here, it shall grow to act as a poisonous seal, that will stop anyone from getting closer to the real seal.

    Though I¡¯m not proficient enough, nor knowledgeable in the art of formations, seals, and protections. This is the least I could do with my mediocre knowledge.

    "I should probably leave," just as I spoke the words. And turned up the stairs, I was face to face, with the automaton that was a few moments away upstairs.

    //////*****//////

    Julius The Conqueror.

 Chapter 35 Puppet Maker

    <h4>Chapter 35: Puppet Maker</h4>

    The Automaton would have me killed in less than the time I could even think about activating Poison Escape. The qualitative difference between this Automaton and the cultivator that tried to cut off my head was like heaven and earth.

    However, I was still alive, and the automaton was just standing there with its hand raised in attacking action. I knew that whatever was happening in its mind was conflicting with his action. But I¡¯m not going to stand here until it made its choice. After all the two choices it could make were: kill or no kill, and I don¡¯t want to find which right now. I¡¯ll make my own choice.

    I infused poison Qi in my hand and struck with my right palm. The palm attack transformed into a wed hand attack and it was the Poison Tiger fist, the ws struck against the broken sword tip embedded into the Automaton¡¯s heart and forced the sword tip right through where it should have been in the first ce, right through the Automaton¡¯s heart, or in this case its core.

    An electric current spread through the body of the automaton as it dropped to its knees and fell to its face.

    The Poison God¡¯s book shone bright and shot out of my chest, it opened up and began consuming the automaton, sucking in the robot inside it.

    Then the book flew away from me.

    "Wait!" I shouted but the book didn¡¯t care it kept floating and moving away back through the stairs.

    I chased after it... more like ran after it as the thing was too fast and I¡¯m still old.

    Once I arrived on the top floor, I saw a strange sight. The Automatons or their parts were being sucked into the book. The whole room, every bit, piece, and bolt were consumed into the book.

    "How big is that stomach of yours?" I questioned not expecting a reply.

    An image came to view, and it was shocking. The book could literally fit in something the size of a football field¡¯s worth of stuff. And so far, it didn¡¯t have more than a fraction of its size full.

    Suddenly the book closed up after it had fully consumed the parts and shot towards me. It opened up on a new page.

    ***

    Puppet Maker.

    An upation that could entitle its owner limitless riches. It all depends on one¡¯s resources and resourcefulness.

    Here are my few notes on the topic. I was never a great Puppet Maker, but the few I made helped me greatly, from fetching my food to massacring my enemies. It can do all sorts of things. And with my little, information regarding the topic, you, my Disciple could create something that could help you in your journey.

    ***

    After reading through the lengthy notes of the Poison God, which by the way took me more than a day. I calmed down, thinking about all the possible things I could do in creating a puppet that I can fully control. This would be a great subject to test so many of my ideas.

    I smiled as I thought about creating building-sized Mechas or robotic ninja squads, but all of that can wait. Right now, I¡¯ll need to leave this area.

    It took me a long time to finally find the exit. As I had to backtrack to where Ist entered.

    Yet I heard a lot of noiseing from outside. There were people waiting outside, or perhaps another group waiting to get inside. If I encounter them, I¡¯ll be in trouble.

    I had a good idea right there and then.

    I pulled out arge batch of Joyful Weed, lit it up on my pipe, and then breathed it out using my own Poison Qi. I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone so I vastly reduced the potency of my Poison Qi and only applied its power to empower the Joyful Weed¡¯s effects.

    Bellowing gout of smoke shot from inside the cave and permeated through the camp. The people outside started moring, thinking that this was an attack, but after a while, a wideughing hysteria spread. As most of the people outside were mortals, the effects of the poison Qi and the cultivator nt on them were far too powerful.

    I didn¡¯t kill anyone thankfully, the dose I applied was just perfect. Enough to cause mortals to startughing like the mad and to draw the attention of the cultivators. This way I was able to walk through the smoke and pull out the massive flying sword from the book.

    I stepped on it and willed it to move forward.

    The sword shot through the smoke leaving the cultivators bewildered about what happened and who was behind the smoke that came out of the cave.

    I kept traveling through the forestation and open areas of thend of Zhou. The whole dammed country looked like if it was endless. Days of travel are only apanied by smoking some Joyful Weed or eating the Braided Petal and the same scenery repeating itself, forests after forests. And rivers after rivers as I continued my trek to the Empire Capital.

    The more I thought about my idea to kidnap the Emperor the more dumb and stupid it became. The man should undoubtedly have information regarding the destruction of my sect. But it¡¯s idiotic to try my hand on the Emperor without fully knowing how powerful his retainers are. He could easily have a nascent Soul cultivator, who could obliterate me.

    The travel to the imperium was a drag, a boring drag, and this gave me thought about how those cultivators of those stories supported such a lonely and awkward silence where they couldn¡¯t talk to anyone or anything, hell if I had a writer for my story, I¡¯d ask them for a smallpanion, otherwise I¡¯d be getting crazy in no time, and that¡¯s not good for the readers.

    After a lengthy boring while, I saw a group of people attacking a caravan. Mountain bandits, hiding in the mountains all day long and only attack people through the road. They assault travelers, kill the men, kidnap the women and take the loot for themselves.

    I¡¯ve had dealings with such people before, they always attacked my caravans whenever I sent them from Lucid Spring to the nearby cities to get resources and materials.

    And due to the richness of Lucid Spring, it was a new city that beckoned flies from all over the area. The bandits being the flies in this statement.

    I had to hire some guards and a powerful group of men to wait andy in ambush for the bandits, then I even disguised several carts full of soldiers instead of goods. It was to the point that only one in every five carriages had real merchandise. And I was still making a profit. Four carriages full of burly men were far less expensive than a carriage full of gold, and precious metal.

    I hated bandits with all my soul, and I was not going to stand still and watch a massacre happen right in front of me.

    I flew down with my sword and hovered above the group of bandits that were awestruck as they saw a man floating in the air.

    "So, what do we have here?" I asked.

    And all I received were wails and screams as men began shouting their lungs out like little girls finding out that there actually was a boogeyman under their bed.

    ************************************

 Chapter 36 Damsel In distress

    <h4>Chapter 36: Damsel In distress</h4>

    Two of the bandits drew their bows and shot at me, no warnings issued, they had a rather calm expression. Honed by years of constant faces with death. Fight or flight. And in a case where a cultivator is upon them, they knew that death was inevitable, so they would rather risk their lives for a lucky shot in the dark and kill the cultivator rather than try and escape from a man that can bend thews of the world.

    The two arrows were to me as slow as a snail. Apparently, my body had already improved beyond human... no that¡¯s not the correct term in this case. Beyond mortal limits. What these two men considered a shot that could be a sneak attack and would definitely fell any soldiers that weren¡¯t paying attention, nor wearing armor such as me, that attack was nothing more than a toddler trying to kill me with a single punch. Pathetic.

    I easily dodged the first arrow and plucked the second one from the air with my index and middle finger as it was a few inches away from my eye.

    "Impressive. Not the shot, the gall you had to actually try and kill me."

    The two archer bandits looked at each other and split up, each running in a different direction.

    Smart, an impressive tactic that will cause me to waver, having to think which to chase after.

    The bandit to my right vaulted over a boulder and jumped into a tree branch, then continued running as if he was sprinting across the solid ground while in fact, he was jumping from tree to tree. The other archer on the other hand had chosen a far risker way as he took to a nearby geographic descent, like the side of a cliff, and ran down with all he got.

    In that split moment, the rest of the bandits had already run away, splitting like a school of fish when a sharkes into y.

    This tactic was rather smart though heartless. It would mean that one or at least a few, the slowest, or just the unlucky ones that I would go after would die. And this is probably the reason why they have survived so long even when they were infesting the perimeters of the imperium.

    If they were ever chased after by the guards, then most of them would survive on the ount of a few unlucky ones that will get caught.

    I ignored the escaping bunch, though momentarily. There was a small problem that needed my attention.

    The carriage had its door ripped out, and two women were there, a beautiful and well-dressed woman, and a maid that looked like she was on her death bed. Still, I noticed that something was odd and I was going to address it soon.

    As I approached the caravan, the two men in it hade to greet me.

    One of the men was wearing servant clothes, and the other was a bloodied soldier or guard, he seemed to be the only one left alive. The bandit¡¯s ambush was so thorough that they had killed off the entire retinue.

    "Lord benefactor, we thank you greatly for your patronage and hope that you can forgive us for the time it took you to offer our mortal selves your benevolence."

    "Such it with the over glorification, I just offered a hand. So, what happened?" I asked the old servant.

    "We were apanying ourdy to the imperial city when we were ambushed by mountain bandits. They had predicted our route and caused us great trouble. Without your aid, we wouldn¡¯t have survived. We¡¯re greatly thankful."

    "Thank you," said the soldier as he cupped his hands toward me.

    As I nced at the battered carriage once again, I realized that the so-calleddy was in fact not thedy. It seemed odd.

    "So, why aren¡¯t you panicking?" I asked.

    "W-why should we panic?" asked the servant.

    ¡¯oh, he probably interpreted that wrong.¡¯

    "No, I don¡¯t mean you harm, but why aren¡¯t you panicking since yourdy is badly wounded."

    The two men looked at each other and looked back at me when the servant said.

    "How did you figure it out?" he asked.

    "The nails on the girl in the dress, they are polished, but there are rough around the edges, even her neckline has a light tan, she is used to going out and use her hands. While the maid¡¯s hands are as smooth as silk, a maid who uses her hands all the time would have rougher hands.

    The two men bowed to me as the servant said, "Please great immortal, we didn¡¯t wish to deceive you, it is just a precaution we did to hid the identity of ourdy."

    "Then you¡¯re as foolish as you think you are smart," I replied.

    The two looked at each other unable to understand the underlying meaning in my words.

    I sighed as I exined, "In these scenarios when you¡¯ve been hunted by the bandits, who do you think is the first to die?"

    None of them seemed to be bright enough so I answered for them, "It¡¯s the soldiers and the people of least interest," I pointed at the bloodieddy dressed as a maid, "She was believed to be a person of least interest, a useless maid. In an ambush like this, she has only two options, die, killed for her insignificance, or taken, raped then killed for her insignificance. As for the one dressed as yourdy, she would have been kidnapped, then in fear for her life she would have spilled the beans that she is not thedy, then she would end up, raped or killed or both. Dumb discissions such as these that don¡¯t take into ount all the variables would have ended up with you two in a noose."

    The two men instantly kowtowed, "Thank you for your insight!"

    "I didn¡¯t do this to receive your kowtows, stand up damn it, and next time use your heads. Still, you¡¯re not off the thicket, she is bleeding rigorously and she will die in the next hour or so unless you plug that bleeding."

    "Do you great immortal have a pill or something, we¡¯re willing to trade you for a pill that can cure her, a pce, or even a great plot ofnd, anything please, she must not die!" the woman dressed as a maid spoke.

    "It¡¯s not about money, the pills I have are not for mortals."

    The words I spoke were like an ice bucket being poured on them on a cold morning. Seeing their panicking faces I sighed, "But I do have a method."

    I went to the carriage, got inside, and said, "Leave."

    The girl was hesitant at first before the soldier gestured with his face for her to leave. Once the girl was out I overheard the soldier say "If he wanted us harm, we would be dead already, trust him."

    "But, thedy."

    "Just stay, he may not look like a monster, but to me, he is far more heroic than those filth bandits."

    I shook my head, a cultivator¡¯s hearing is far more powerful than a human¡¯s, and their whispering was like a loud ring shouting in my ears.

    I ignored them and checked the wound. The girl was shed through the face and the sword had cut through her cor bone, breaking it.

    Miraculously, it didn¡¯t cut into any major artery, but the damage was still severe and she would die of fever even if she had first aid.

    "How long until we¡¯re at the capital?" I asked.

    "It should take us half a day on the carriage."

    "So, not far. But the carriage would be bumpy. It¡¯s not good to shake a patient."

    I bandaged her face and did the best I could for her shoulder. I lit up my pipe and puffed gout of the Joyful Weed into the girl¡¯s face. I made sure to keep a separate stash, one that didn¡¯t have the toxin in it. A batch that I was going to share with Elder Yun.

    The Joyful Weed is far too potent for mortals, but I made sure to manipte my Qi and reduce its potency to the bare minimum. It was enough for the girl to have herplexity change, and her face softens up as if she had rxed.

    "I don¡¯t have the required tools to help her here, she needs mortal medicine and I need an apothecary¡¯s shop to treat her."

    "We don¡¯t have anything here."

    "I know that¡¯s why I¡¯ll be taking her."

    The men looked at me and said, "If we go back to the city without her."

    "You will be punished, or executed," Ipleted their sentence for them, "But it¡¯s far better than the alternative she dies here, you will definitely be killed."

    I bandaged the girl as best as I could and carried her into my arms. The little thing was too light. Surprisingly, she looked like she was in her mid-twenties, and didn¡¯t seem like a person who had gone out much. She had much of her life ahead of her, and she was going to lose it due to the greed of a few bandits. Such wretched creatures.

    I looked back at the general area where the bandits had run to and scrunched up, "I¡¯ll need to clear this once and for all once I¡¯m done."

    I ced my foot on my sword while I carried the girl in a princess¡¯s carry. then willed the weapon to move forward as fast as it could. The girl didn¡¯t have much time.

    The sword, surprisingly fast, had increased its speed even greater than it was.

    It seems that it is reacting to my intentions, though it¡¯s consuming my poison Qi like mad, it¡¯s giving me far greater speed.

    "If this keeps up, you¡¯ll have a chance, just hang in there," I addressed the unconscious girl as we flew forward.

    ************************************

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 Chapter 37 Among Wolves

    <h4>Chapter 37: Among Wolves</h4>

    I rode through the wind as fast as I could, flying is far faster than traveling using the bumpy slow ride of the carriage. The journey took less than an hour when I saw a prominent pce standing atop a city so wide that I couldn¡¯t think it would exist even in modern-day life.

    The city was clearly far bigger than New York. And didn¡¯t seem to be in contrast against itself, as the buildings were well organized and built like circr rows surrounding a hill where the imperial pce stood overseeing the entirety of the city.

    The city¡¯s walls were massively big, and it had three sections, the first section closest to the first great wall was made of houses that didn¡¯t look to have great prospects, most of the houses were old, yet not battered, and they all had a monotonous shape to them, squares next to squares. While the upper circle hadrger houses with different designs, yet they didn¡¯t seem to be overshadowing each other. And finally, in the top circle where there was the Imperial pce, there were only a handful of smaller mansions withrge swaths ofnd around them and above them as the imperial pce that could actually bepared to a miniature version of the Purple Cloud sect¡¯s pce which had been uprooted and disappeared overnight.

    The whole city looked like it was divided into three sections, poor, ormoners. Upperssmen, perhaps merchants and wealthy people. Then you have the section surrounding the main Pce, which looked to have people of noble origin or royalty.

    As I approached the walls of the city, I noticed a few soldiers pointing at me. I was as obvious as a sore thumb, especially when I was actually flying.

    The soldiers however didn¡¯t do anything boring such as shoot me without prior notice.

    I went past the walls of the city and above them without receiving any hostile threats or warning. But I wasn¡¯t paying any attention to that for the moment, the girl in my hand was dying. And I needed to get to an apothecary to get her the help she needs.

    Looking down, I saw a shop that was selling what seems to be vials. I willed the sword to get down, and once it was in front of the shop, I hopped off.

    The people around the shop left in a hurry. Perhaps they didn¡¯t think it would be wise to stand next to a cultivator, or perhaps because I didn¡¯t look that handsome. Still, the shop owner was definitely not going to like the fact that I chased away some of his customers. Still, not my problem.

    I walked up to the shop and saw a man as old as I was standing behind a counter.

    "Are you an apothecary?" I asked.

    "What does it look like?" the man rudely answered back, he didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of cultivators. Perhaps he had lived long enough to have some wisdom behind him. Not all people who ask the favor of an apothecary woulde with hostile intentions, and he seemed to know of this fact.

    "I¡¯ll need a few of your materials." I requested.

    The man came closer to me to check up on the girl, but his eyes widened.

    "I¡¯ll have to decline from treating this person, she will die no matter what you do. And I would appreciate it if you leave this ce, I don¡¯t wish to have one of the royalty die at my shop. It¡¯s bad for business." The old man sternly said.

    "You seem like someone who doesn¡¯t like royalty much, but I¡¯m not asking for your personal involvement, I¡¯ll just need Ginseng extract and some herbal medicine. I¡¯ll take care of the treatment."

    "If you say so then, I¡¯ll get them ready for you, just so you know, if anyonees asking, I¡¯ll put all the me on you."

    "Do as you wish, now get me the damned things."

    The old man sighed and went inside his shop. And after a few moments, he came back with a few vials in his hands.

    "You don¡¯t expect me to treat her on the street, do you?" I asked him rhetorically. Then I pushed him aside as I walked inside his shop, there was a small bed for patients that I gently ced the girl on and began the treatment against the grunting from the man who didn¡¯t want anything to do with what was going on right now.

    I immediately poured the ginseng extract on the girl¡¯s wounds where she began squirming.

    "What are you doing, she should drink it!" the old man said.

    "Quiet, drinking it would be far too slow, and I¡¯m not using the ginseng to energize her, but to clean the wound," I replied and pulled out another bottle from the folds of my robes. Or that¡¯s what the man thought.

    I actually ced my hand inside my robes right above my chest where the book was hiding, and it spat out a gourd of wine.

    I poured the wine on the wounds to increase the cleansing and asked for a wet clean cloth.

    I wiped the rest of the blood and began applying some of the herbal medicine that the man had brought me. I also fixed the broken cor bone and ced a healing salve made of the kneaded herbs.

    Once everything was in ce, I bandaged the girl as best as I could and added more herbal salve between the folds of the bandages.

    "Hmm, the scar on her cheek is going tost. She will definitely not like that." The old apothecary said.

    "I think that surviving outweighs a scar on the cheek."

    "Not for royalty, also, you have a few visitors." The apothecary pointed behind me.

    Turning I saw a few guards in golden armor and a man wearing cultivator clothes among them. The man was in his mid-thirties, he had long hair and a small mustache that doesn¡¯t quite match his face.

    "We¡¯d like to ask you some questions fellow cultivator." The man said as he cupped his fists towards me.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "We¡¯re the ones asking questions here!" one of the guards said.

    To which I only frowned and the cultivator next to him immediately back pped the man to the face causing him to fly through the street and smash right into a nearby house.

    That guard is definitely dead, and I would probably die if I were to show a single sign of weakness.

    "At least, even if you don¡¯t know how to keep your guards in line, you know how to punish them," I told the man.

    The man smiled at me and said, "I sincerely apologize for the roundness that man had spoken toward a fellow cultivator. Let me buy you a meal to apologize for what had just happened."

    ¡¯He is smart, he actually turned the situation over, and gave me ¡¯face¡¯ -I really hate that expression- now I can¡¯t turn him down.¡¯

    "I would have asked you to lead the way, but I have a patient that I need to take care of right now."

    "Oh, fellow cultivator is a medical Cultivator. I¡¯ll have to properly introduce myself then, I¡¯m Fen Zei. An upper realm core formation cultivator."

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao," I nodded at the man, a rogue cultivator."

    "Fellow cultivator," the man said as he peaked at the wounded girl and said, "seeing the ghastly mortal wound on the girl treated with simple medicine, and from the information, I had that you came to the city riding a flying sword, I say your background isn¡¯t simple. But, due to the identity of that person behind you, the sect rules are forcing my hands. I need to have a telling of what just happened, just enough to appease the sect so that they would leave you alone." Fen Zei said.

    "Which sect?"

    "Crimson Suzaku. The Imperial Sect."

    "Right, then. So, I can tell you what happened. I¡¯ll make it brief and informative."

    "That would be for the best."

    After recounting the details of what happened the man nodded and pulled out a green jade, he ced it on his forehead and threw it in the sky, the jade immediately broke through the sound barrier and disappeared in the distance.

    ¡¯A messaging tool, they seem handy. I should get one and see how it works.¡¯

    "That has been pretty informative. I¡¯ll make sure to send out a party to fully eradicate those viins."

    "I would rather you don¡¯t," I said to him.

    The man frowned but he still had the decency to ask me "Why?"

    "Because I want to kill them all myself. It is something rted to my belief and my Dao."

    "Oh, I see, I would not wish to impose upon your Dao Heart. Please do as you wish, and here." The man handed me a jade.

    "This jade is inscribed with my mark, once you have killed the bandits, I would really appreciate it if you could send me the jade. I wish to pass it to his Majesty as it would make for great evidence in his court."

    I took the jade and ced it inside my robes. I then cupped my hands and said "I¡¯ll need to finish treating thedy, and once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll make sure to take you up on your offer, I¡¯m starving."

    "Right, I¡¯ll have to go back and physically report to the sect, I¡¯ll keep a few guards here. Once thedy¡¯s House knows of her whereabouts they¡¯ll send a few of their own to apany her back to her mansion." Fen Zei replied.

    I nodded at the man and he did the same then he left leaving a few guards that were still unable to utter a single word since theirrade had died right next to them.

    ¡¯That was really dangerous, I thankfully stood my ground and didn¡¯t expose the fact that I¡¯m far weaker than him. At least with faking that I¡¯m at the same familiarity level and the same cultivation range I managed to save myself from trouble. I didn¡¯t want to get dragged out, but still, this little girl had caused me to get a lot of unwanted attention. I¡¯m a camouged sheep in a den of wolves, I¡¯ll have to eithery low...or be a big shot. Damn, I have a long way ahead of me, I better start getting some power-ups.

    ************************************

    Special title: David the Undead. (Wink Wink)

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 Chapter 38 Demon at The Door

    <h4>Chapter 38: Demon at The Door</h4>

    After an hour or so, a group of men came to the apothecary with a carriable sedan. The men entered the room as if they owned it, and one of them addressed the apothecary with a disregarding tone.

    "Where isdy Fei?"

    The apothecary didn¡¯t care to answer and only pointed to the heavily wounded woman that wasying on the bed.

    The man looked at her and gestured to the two behind him with his head for them to pick her up.

    One of the men went to pick her up by the leg and the other from the shoulders, it was as if they were picking up a corpse. That pissed me off.

    "Easy!" I called.

    One of the men, looked at me, and as if he was about to curse at me, he froze up.

    "W-who might you be, sir Cultivator?" the man said.

    "Just a rogue cultivator, but I¡¯m the one who saved yourdy from death, so if you don¡¯t want to send her to an early grave after all the troubles I went to, I would rather you pick yourdy with more grace. And if you don¡¯t even know how to. Move out of the way."

    The man didn¡¯t even hesitate to dodge away from my path as I approached the bed.

    I carried the woman with as much care as I could, not to open her wounds. Her face was already in a roughplexity, so it would be best to be as gentle as possible.

    Once I had her in my arms I walked out of the shop and gestured to the men at the sedan to step aside. I ced the girl on the sedan and made sure she wasfortable before I turned to the men and said.

    "I¡¯ll have to take care of some business first. But I¡¯lle and visit soon after. Where are you taking her? I still don¡¯t know where shees from."

    "We¡¯ll take good care of thedy, sir cultivator doesn¡¯t need to worry about it." The man at the sedan said.

    "I don¡¯t wish to repeat myself, I already said that I will being to visit." I frowned at the man.

    "Sir, just ask for the house of Lu. Everyone knows of it, once you arrive we¡¯ll take you in as our esteemed guest." The man said and bowed his head.

    "Good, I¡¯ll be sure to check up on her in the next few days." I turned pping my robe behind me and ced both of my hands inside my sleeves and behind my back.

    I willed the book to release the flying sword that shot out of my chest and ced itself in front of me. I stepped on it and it flew away from the city.

    My direction was the bandit¡¯s whereabouts. Though I don¡¯t know their exact hiding spot, I can figure out their general location.

    It took me a couple of hours to arrive where I met Fei-Er¡¯s carriage the first time. Though I didn¡¯t see them this time around, it seems that they already went through a different route than I did. After all, I was taking flight and only needed to go in a straight line to the capital, while they had to travel through routs that turned and spiraled through this fortress.

    I kept scanning the area with my eyes as best I could. But I didn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary, it was all trees, branches, and nts. I had no way to find anyone with the forest this thick.

    So, I had to get down.

    Once I was down, I began searching for signs I could track. I wasn¡¯t much of a forest tracker, yet my mind¡¯s eye, a cultivator¡¯s trait was able to understand everything in my vicinity. I saw a few broken branches in one direction, a step in the mud, and a bush that was slightly damaged.

    Tracks, tracks are easy to follow with the Mind¡¯s eye. As I kept following the abnormalities in the forest, I managed to find even more of theming altogether. It seems that the path I was following was the main path where the bandits gathered and grouped up after they scattered.

    Seeing that the night wasing down, I felt more confident. My sight never changed, be it light or day, and it gave me an edge as I could see clearly at night time.

    The tracks kept increasing and they seem to disappear right in front of a boulder formation in the middle of the forest.

    ¡¯Seems like this is the entrance to their hideout.¡¯

    I didn¡¯t rush in to enter, so far I had gotten too close to their hideout and didn¡¯t see anyone else. These are bandits, and it¡¯s obvious that they should have at least a few people guarding theirir. I kept a lookout and scanned the area as best as I could, and though I didn¡¯t see anything, I heard something. A muffled yawn, not too far away from me.

    I rotated the energy within me and spat out a puff of poisonous smoke right under me.

    The smoke got carried with the wind, and thanks to the dim light of the night the smoke wasn¡¯t visible. It spread out around the entire area and soon I began hearing light coughing and then the death throws of a man suffering from suffocation.

    They were going to die painfully, yet silently.

    I followed after the sound of the muffled suffocation until I found a person grabbing at his throat, when he saw me he stretched his arm for me to help him, but all he received was a stab with my sword to the neck.

    Creeping Demise tore through his throat, silencing him, and yet leaving him to drown in his own blood, paralyzed by poison, in the depth of the night, where no one was going to save him.

    I made sure to take good care of anyone else that was being a lookout for the bandits before I changed my focus on the people inside the cave.

    The entrance to the cave was still locked and I had no idea how to pry it open. So, I basically just waited at the door. I sat on top of a rock that was in front of what I believed to be the cave¡¯s entrance and began meditating, waiting for what is bound to happen soon.

    I could easily flush them out, but I rather not, I have no idea who could be inside that cave, there could be children women, or innocent people, kidnapped by these fiends. I would rather wait for them to open the door. And once they open the door for the demon, I wouldn¡¯t need to knock by then.

    ************************************

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 Chapter 39 Dark Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 39: Dark Thoughts</h4>

    It took less than an hour for one man to show up from behind the boulders. The system operating the boulder was pretty simr to my old cultivation cave back at the Purple Cloud Sect. The boulder moved to reveal a dark dug tunnel and when the man walked out, he didn¡¯t seem to be too cautious, he looked around and blew a whistle using his mouth.

    This was probably a signal for the other bandits that were stationed outside, and if he didn¡¯t receive the signal back, he would definitely be suspicious and could call for an alert. However, I wasn¡¯t going to let him.

    I had already moved past the man, without him even sensing me. Thanks to the darkness of the night, and my improved physical condition, I was able to sneak past him and send one single strike to the back of his neck with Creeping Demise.

    The sword bore through his spine and neck, protruding out of his throat. A single twist and the man fell down, paralyzed and choking, unable to move nor call for help.

    I then spat a bit of my poison Qi on my sword, coating it with poison. Once I made sure the sword was fully immersed in poison, I walked down the tunnel.

    There was light at the end of the tunnel, a torch where many of the bandits were staying inside. And once I was at the bottom area of the dug-in tunnel, I saw a group of banditsying on the ground. Half of them were drunk and naked. To the side, I heard the sniffles of women. And sounds of muffled pained moans.

    Some bandits were taking their frustration on poor defenseless women.

    The sight of women being raped and tortured made my heart feel as if it was being twisted from its ce. A revolting action against a defenseless person. Some of the girls were younger than flowers and they too didn¡¯t escape the greedy lustful cravings of these men, no, men is far too much of apliment for these things, and not even beasts would impose themselves upon their mates with ruthless force.

    These things were far below beasts, they were the scum of the scum, the lowest of the low, and even lower. A revolting disgusting existence that is nothing but a waste of breath upon this beautifulnd. And they deserve punishment far outweighing what sins they havemitted.

    I slowly walked towards the nearest man, he was half awake, and I needed to remove him from the equation if I wanted to fully dispose of this group of scumbags.

    The man was sitting against a rock, and in his hand was a gourd of wine. He never noticed me walking to his side as I stabbed him through the neck and ripped my sword as fast as I could, causing a spray of blood to spread around him in an arc.

    The first kill was instant, and thanks to the poison I coated my sword with, the man had died without being able to move a muscle.

    This was the first, and looking around, there were others that were still awake, but they were far too upied with raping girls to take note of the massacre happening to them.

    The group of bandits sleeping on the ground never saw their deaths. Though I wanted them to suffer, it would be problematic to have to fight all of them without using my poison breath, sadly, I¡¯m not proficient enough to control my poison and have it avoid harming the girls.

    So I kept on stabbing the men on the ground, on strike to the neck, and another immediately afterward to the heart. They never moved or uttered a single sound as I went past them, one by one.

    Once I stabbed thest man on the floor, I looked forward, there was a girl in cuffs that was looking at me directly. She had bruises far too many to count, her lips were cracked, and one of her eyes was ck and blue. Most of her hair was wrinkled and she had burn marks on her, yet, her eyes, her blue clear eyes were locked tight on mine. She didn¡¯t utter a single word, not a word. And I was sure she wasn¡¯t in shock, she knew what I was doing, and knew that if she would call for help, it would make the other bandits pay attention to what they were doing.

    She nodded at me and gestured with her head towards the men that were assaulting the other girls in a separate room.

    I nodded at the girl and slowly walked behind one man who had a girl pinned under him. The girl saw me and I gestured to her with one finger against my lips to be quiet.

    The man¡¯s head flew and fell down before he could even realize what happened to him. There were two guys a few feet next to him, and the moment they heard the sound of the man¡¯s head falling, they turned, unarmed and naked, only death awaited them. But, I had been patient for far too long.

    I stabbed one of them to the shoulder before he could even move and the second one received the tip on my sword right through his groin area.

    The moment he tried to shout I sent a jab to his throat shutting him up. The first man who I had stabbed in the shoulder tried to stand up, but a single kick to the knee popped it, breaking it backward and he fell with his leg in an awkward position.

    They began screaming, and in their scream, more bandits showed up, these, I didn¡¯t see, but they weren¡¯t numerous, just three of them, and one of the three was one of the archers that escaped from me this morning.

    The moment the archer saw me, he threw a smoke bomb, he didn¡¯t even dare fight and ran towards the cave¡¯s entrance. The other two, however, came at me with swords, yet they never stood a chance. Mortals against cultivators, you have better odds betting at an ant killing an elephant than this.

    The two died before they knew what happened to them and only the two wounded rapists had remained.

    I walked towards the girls, I didn¡¯t offer any sce, because there were no words that could be said tofort them, yet there was one thing that they could do and it would definitely release some of their pent-up frustration.

    I walked toward every girl and removed their bindings, their cuffs, or the ropes around them, I rounded the girls up then dragged the two men to the center of the cave where the dead bodies of theirradesid.

    I handed the girl with the blue eyes a sword and said three words in her ears, "Make it painful."

    I then headed out of the cave.

    Soon after, gruesome sounds of pained screams echoed as the girls took their own revenge with their hands, it will not be enough, it will not satisfy their revenge, but at least it would lessen the damage. Some of them will probably end their lives after this. But some, who can withstand this event will definitely turn out to be stronger women.

    This world is cruel, far crueler than I believed it to be, but so was the world I was in before. At least these girls have gotten some semnce of peace, a small token of revenge, but in the world, I lived before, these fiends who wear the skin of man, they had escaped the chase ofw far too many times and had gone under the radar, unnoticed by the wed eye of the justice system.

    Once I was outside, I pulled out the jade that Fen Zei had given me. I ced it against my head and I was able to immediately understand how it works. I could print memory of mine on it, and I printed the memory of the ughter and clearing of the cave.

    Once I was done, I threw the jade in the air, and it immediately took off on its own, breaking the sound barrier and disappearing in the distance.

    I swung my sword to the side, removing all the blood from it, and ced it behind my back. I was done here. And I needed to get back to the city. This much killing, though I thought would make me feel disgusted, did not. It was simple, it was easy, and frighteningly, I felt pleasure doing it. I didn¡¯t believe these men, to be men, they were less than that, even less than malicious insects, so stomping them was not heavy on my conscious, no, it was theplete opposite. I felt that what I did was just, and they deserved it.

    Law? Justice, you can preach to me all you want about that, but once you see some of these fiends do what they do,w is irrelevant. For whatw can return to these girls their chastity, for whatw can return to these girls their lives. Even the death of these men had done nothing. Justice, It¡¯s wed. Only power, absolutelyplete, and dominating power has right. And if you¡¯re weak, you¡¯d be as helpless as these girls. Then what justice would do you right?

    I kept thinking about this as I rode on my sword, I didn¡¯t want to hurry to the city as I slowly went through the night¡¯s cover and breeze.

    I thought hard and clear about what just happened. This world has no justice, and one day, I could be in the hands of someone who is far stronger than me. Thest thing I want is to feel as helpless as I felt that day in that cave. I¡¯ll never be in that position, never, ever again. And to do that, I need strength, a strength far surpassing everyone, I¡¯ll need to be strong enough to grab the reigns of my own fate, and steer it wherever I want.

    ¡¯I need power, unlimited power, even if I have to go to the dark side.¡¯ I thought as I tightly pressed at my chest, where the poison God¡¯s book resided.

    ******************

 Chapter 40 The House of Lu

    <h4>Chapter 40: The House of Lu</h4>

    I came upon the city lights in the distance, the lit torches andmps gave the whole city a serene calm, and peaceful image. A great contrast to what went on in the nearby forest.

    Once I arrived at the city gate, a man flew to meet me. He seemed to be on a greater cultivation realm as he stopped me mid-way.

    "Fellow cultivator, this city prohibits entering it using flight, I¡¯ll have to ask you toe down with me." The man said.

    I nodded and went down to the city gate where the man stood in front of me.

    "It seems that you¡¯re the person brother Fen Zei had talked about." The man said.

    "I don¡¯t know what brother Fen Zei had said about me, but I hope he only spoke true," I replied.

    "Oh, worry not, we have received your Jade. The clearing of those despicable mountain bandits will prove quite helpful to the masses. The people of the city are in your debt, however, as cultivators, you should remove yourself from mortal matters." The man replied.

    "For me, if I see injustice, be it mortal or immortal made, and I have the capabilities to change it, I will change it," I replied.

    "I will not argue your logic, just do know, we cultivators live in a realm far greater than the mortals. And if you remain bound to mortals, you¡¯ll be unable to survive your Mortality Severing stage." The man said and turned around.

    "You should head to the house of Lu, they are expecting you." The man said and threw me a jade.

    I took it and ced it against my head, it had the general map of every house in the city and the location of the Lu house was highlighted.

    I thanked the man and walked in the direction of the city, it didn¡¯t take me a lot of time to arrive at the first gate separating the two sectors. The guards immediately opened the door for me, not even asking me about identification.

    Someone had already given them a description about me, at least this way I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about having to prove who I am to the house of Lu.

    After an hour worth of walking, I arrived at the house of Lu. There was a swath of people standing at the gate with torches lit. Guards, servants, and handlers, all in wait. And once I arrived, the servants bowed to me and the guards came around me, escorting me inside.

    I entered the house of Lu, which was a mansion within arge garden of beautiful flowers and roses. There were even ponds with koi fish swimming within it.

    The servants led me towards the mansion and inside it where I saw a woman and a man standing in wait for me.

    The two of them looked to be in their mid-forties, and from the colorful and well-made and probably expensive clothes on them, they seem to be the owners of this house.

    "Sir cultivator! Wee to our humble abode." The man said while giving me a deep bow, and so did the woman.

    I looked around and replied, "If you say this is humble...I have no idea what extravagant is to you," I replied. As the whole building was made from expensive wood and decorations of silver and gold all around it.

    "How is the girl?"

    "She is rxed, the treatment you had given her had saved her life. I sent a few more apothecaries while you were away, but they couldn¡¯t do more than what you did, and some even urged us to know of how you managed to treat what seemed to be a fatal blow with simple medicine."

    I waved my hand in disregard at the man, "Secrets of the trade, I¡¯ll still need to check up on her and see if I need to change her bandages."

    "You¡¯ve done so much for us sir, we wouldn¡¯t want to impose on your time." The man said.

    "It¡¯s not like I have much to do right now, I¡¯ll have a look at the girl then leave."

    "Yes, follow me please," the man said and he moved ahead and into the upper floor.

    We entered arge room where the girl was asleep on a bed made of something far better than the best beds I slept on, and I was a city lord.

    I took a quick look at the bandages, the wounds didn¡¯t seem to be bleeding, and her bandage is rtively clean, but it will need to be changed.

    I pulled out a few of the herbs, kneaded them, and made a medical salve. I gently removed the bandage on her face, revealing a ghastly scar on the girl¡¯s right cheek.

    I wiped the dried blood away, cleaned it with ginseng and alcohol then applied the salve again on it, finally, I covered it with bandages.

    I did the same for the wound on her abdomen. And when I was done I turned to the parents who seemed to be distraught at something.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" I asked.

    "My daughter, she is to be wed to the prince next fall. With that scar on her face..." the woman trailed off.

    "Your daughter¡¯s life was in danger and all you care about is a simple scar?" I replied.

    "Sir, with all due respect, I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s easy to exin." The man replied.

    I looked at the two in the eyes and removed my hood, after all, I had my face fully covered by the hood so was the rest of my body, and the only things that were visible from me were my hands that were in gloves.

    Once I removed the hood and they took a good look at my face, the pustules on my arms and hands, the woman gasped.

    The man immediately pped her and kowtowed to me. "I¡¯m greatly ashamed of my wife¡¯s behavior oh great cultivator, she didn¡¯t know and reacted in such a way, please forgive her ignorance! She didn¡¯t mean to insult you!" the man said with enough gusto that it almost moved me.

    "I don¡¯t care about it, I¡¯ve been inflicted with this for a long time. I don¡¯t care what people think of me," I replied while I put on my gloves and covered my arms with my sleaves.

    Once I had my hood back on I said, "Physical appearance isn¡¯t more than eye candy, it will one day go away. The scar on your daughter¡¯s face isn¡¯t something that will devalue her or lessen her value. If the prince is na?ve and shallow enough to disregard your daughter due to a simple scar, then you¡¯re better off not marrying her to him." I said as I stood up.

    "Please sir cultivator, we will not speak of this, but what you just said can amount to treason against the crown. Also, it is a diplomatic move to marry into the royal family. And with the opportunity gone, other rival houses will take this chance to marry into it and will destroy us." The man replied.

    "You¡¯re using your own daughter as a chess piece. If you get destroyed, remember, it¡¯s not your daughter¡¯s fault, it¡¯s yours for being such a bad chess yer. The best diplomates will never use blood rtion to secure their position, think about it, find another way." I walked out of the room.

    "I left a bit of the salve next to the girl, change her bandage every two days, she should wake up tomorrow. And her wounds would heal in a few weeks. She¡¯ll need to rest for a month, and after that, she¡¯ll be good as new. Bar the scars. You can probably get a Receptarier to make you a mortal wound healing pill, but it will be expensive. Probably it will be worth all you own. That means that you¡¯ll be betting what you currently have, for what you could probably have, those are odds that I¡¯ll never take." I replied to the man and left.

    I didn¡¯t need to stay in that house, otherwise, I¡¯ll be dragged into a political struggle. I know of this because it would have been the same tactic I would use if I was in his stead.

    When a powerful entityes to your home, your best option as a politician is to enroll them to your side and not have them go to another. And I wasn¡¯t ready to y the sides game, at least not yet. The emperor, though I need to have a meeting with him, it¡¯s still far too early. I¡¯ll need to get a secure location for myself first, I have a few things I need to do.

    Once I was outside the house and at the gates of the House of Lu, Fen Zei had appeared in front of me. He seemed to have been waiting.

    "Brother Shen Bao!" the man smiled at me.

    "Brother Fen Zei," I cupped my hand at him.

    "I¡¯ve seen your exploit on the jade, and I dare say that was an amazing disy of cruel cold-blooded skill. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop myself from going all out and killing them all, but I learned greatly from you. Had I tried to do it my way, the bandits would have used the girls as hostages, though their deaths are not of great value, It would have slightly bogged me. Yet you! You coldly dispatched of every bandit and gave the girls a chance at redemption, such great benevolence, and such great patience is really awe-inspiring!" the man said in a couple of breaths.

    ¡¯Shit, all thesepliments, I¡¯m screwed... he needs a favor.¡¯

    "Brother Zei Fen, don¡¯t sell yourself cheap, I¡¯m sure you would have chosen a method even I would be inspired and awed from." I nodded at the man.

    "No, I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t, my dinner offer still stands, do you wish toe with me?" Zei Fen said.

    "Yes, I¡¯m willing, I have nothing else to do. Still, I¡¯d like to ask you for something." I said.

    Now, I know he wants to ask me for a favor, but if I ask him for a favor first, and a small one at that, it will make him unable to ask me for a greater favor. It would be rude, and for cultivators, favors must be repaid in kind.

    "Y-yes, anything for brother Shen Bao."

    "I¡¯ll need a ce to cultivate in, somewhere where I¡¯m not interrupted. Can you do me that favor? I¡¯ll owe you one."

    "Oh, that¡¯s simple, I have a few ces where you can cultivate without anyone bothering you... let¡¯s talk more about it over dinner."

    "Right, lead the way," I said.

    Now, with a ce to cultivate, I¡¯ll be able to work on some projects. Alchemy, and puppet crafting, also, it¡¯s long due for those pouches. The cultivators at the Poison God¡¯s cave have left me with a few pouches and I need to see what¡¯s inside them. Now that I¡¯m at the Foundation Establishment, I should be able to open them.

 Chapter 41 Drinking Night

    <h4>Chapter 41: Drinking Night</h4>

    After a few turns and twists, we arrived at arge establishment where people went in and out at a constant pace. Once the attendants at the entrance saw Fen Zei, they weed him with open arms.

    "Please follow us," the attendant said as he walked inside.

    The first floor had many tables full and bustling with people enjoying their food. They feasted on boar meat, fish, and other strange-looking dishes while enjoying wine and drinks of all sorts. The ce seemed to be reserved for the wealthy, especially since the decoration was marvelous. Not to mention the servants who were all pretty young girls that didn¡¯t seem to find any shame in flirting with the customers for an extra tip.

    The man led us to the second floor, and once we arrived, a beautiful girl led us to a private room where we went inside and sat onfortable chairs.

    "Get us the usual," Fen Zei said, and the girl nodded.

    Then she closed the room and immediately I felt my ears popping, it was as if the room was locked airtight.

    "Silent room?" I mumbled.

    "Right, anything you say here will stay here. These rooms are designed to counter eavesdropping." Fen Zei said.

    "Right, then what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

    "Right then, well, I just wish to know more about you. See, the fact that you came into the Imperial city flying where it is well known to be a flight prohibited area means that you¡¯re not from around here. Also, you didn¡¯t seem too worried about me, nor my senior disciple Xue Liu. Meaning that you clearly have a good background. I wish to make friends with such people, you never know when theye in handy." Fen Zei exined his reasons.

    Though they seemed clear and innocent, I wasn¡¯t too dumb to believe them.

    "My origin will remain mine to speak off, it¡¯s a good strategy to keep it secret as it will deter many off of my back if I were to get into trouble. Secondly, I¡¯m here for training."

    "Oh, I understand, I wouldn¡¯t want to pry further," the man said, and he clearly didn¡¯t mean what he just said. he still had questions and I know how he wants to extract them from me.

    There was a knock on the door and the girl from earlier hade with a group of servants to serve our food. It was stocked with fresh meat, whale, and fish, and all sorts of delicacies that need ten men to finish. Yet the most auspicious was the alcohol.

    The alcohol they brought was in covered pots that looked ancient. Old rice wine. It should be delicious.

    I went for the wine first, and the moment I took a gulp, I grinned.

    "This is good stuff!" I said as I swallowed what should bepared tova and not alcohol. The damned beverage was really hot but strong and delicious.

    And this confirmed my suspicion, this man wants to get me drunk enough so I can let my guard down.

    Though it¡¯s nigh impossible to get cultivators drunk on mortal wine, cultivator wine on the other hand is powerful enough to knock out the heaviest of immortal drinkers.

    Yet, that would never be the case for me, simply because...Wine is poison.

    I drank from the pot relentlessly, evenpeting with the shocked man.

    "Have another drink Fen Zei!" I said as I giggled.

    "I never thought you¡¯d have such tolerance, hell, you¡¯re a good drinking partner," the man smiled, this time it was genuine, and he actually drank a full cup in one go, challenging me to apetition.

    We talked about random things, most of all, our cultivation, which I simply decided to lie to him about.

    "I cultivate the Stars," I said.

    "Oh, a star cultivator, rather amazing, I see why you went to those bandits at night, most star cultivators are superior at night time."

    "Yes, but we can even be strong during the day, people fail to understand that the sun is also a star. And using it to power one¡¯s cultivation is the best way to ovee difficulties." I replied as I took another gulp.

    The man pondered for a while before he raised his cup in cheers, "That was rather simple yet enlightening, thank you for sharing such knowledge."

    "It shouldn¡¯t be that much, it¡¯smon knowledge don¡¯t mention it." I replied, "What about you?" I asked.

    "Ruthless Water Sword." The man said, he tapped the alcohol pot with a finger and the wine inside it jumped up in the air, creating a water sword, the sword hovered in the room, flew around for a bit then dipped back into the pot.

    I pped at the ¡¯party trick¡¯. "Amazing disy of skill, I¡¯m envious," I replied.

    The man keptughing and never forgot his primary goal of goading me to reveal more about myself, yet the more I spoke, the more confused he was. I only spoke the truth, yet always iplete truth. This way, he¡¯ll never think that I¡¯m lying to him, nor would he believe I¡¯m telling the whole truth.

    Lies are easy to figure out, yet iplete truth leaves a man with a sense of iplete understanding. He would rather not push the matter further also, because he will believe himself to be rude if he were to insist. And since I already told half-truths, he has information, iplete, yet still, information is better than nothing and that will take him off of my back.

    "Right, so you said you¡¯re a rogue cultivator, are you willing to join our sect?" the man asked.

    "I¡¯m sorry, but I decided to go through my cultivation alone. I have no need to bind myself to a single ce. I still wish to see a lot of this world." I replied.

    "I respect your discission, still here," the man handed me a token.

    Damn, I¡¯m collecting these like Pok¨¦mon now.

    "This is a guest¡¯s token, show it to the guards at the Imperial Sect and you¡¯ll be granted entry,e visit whenever you wish, also for the cultivation cave you asked for, here."

    The man handed me a jade and a key, "This is the location to a secure house I have in the city, you can get in and use it as you see fit, there is a cave underneath it with a small spiritual vein, it¡¯s not as powerful as the ones you find in sects, but it¡¯s good enough for one person to cultivate in it.

    "Oh, that a lot, I can¡¯t ept such an offer!" I replied.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, we¡¯re friends!" the man said.

    I gave the man a rueful smile, "I¡¯ll make sure to pay you back, I don¡¯t like to owe favors." I replied.

    "Do as you wish, for now, let¡¯s have more wine!" the man shouted as he pped his cup on the table.

    More wine kepting in, and we didn¡¯t leave until Fen Zei was able to see three of me at once. As for me, after the first cup I had, the moment I started to feel buzzed and light-headed, I began rotating my poison Qi, consuming the alcohol, destroying it, and converting it into poison Qi. And to be honest, the alcohol in this establishment was potent enough that I actually raised my cultivation a little.

    "I think I¡¯m done for today," Fen Zei said while gulping.

    "Yeah, I guess, more than this and we¡¯ll be knocked out cold on the floor," I humored the drunk man.

    We both walked out of the bar, or at least I walked out, Fen Zei was barely able to stand up and I had to carry him out.

    The staff never asked for payment, so it seems that because he was a regr, they wouldn¡¯t bother with following us. Thank god, as I didn¡¯t have any money on me right now.

    Xue Liue, the man that I met yesterday night came over, he looked pissed.

    "Fen Zei! What¡¯s the meaning of this, have you been drinking again!" Xue Liue shouted.

    And in a second, the drunk man next to me stoutened up, standing like a palm tree. Yet that didn¡¯t take more than a couple of seconds before he fell to the side, losing bnce.

    "Yeah, I think I did drink a bit senior brother," he said whileughing.

    Xue Liue took the man and gave me a despicable look before he left with his junior brother.

    "Well, that went well," I said as I looked around. I had already located the general area where the house Fen Zei had gifted me. And I walked toward it.

    The city was quite big, and since I couldn¡¯t use my sword to fly around it, I had to rent a ¡¯taxi¡¯.

    Which was a carriage that was dragged by a buffed man for a few silvers. And since I didn¡¯t have any silvers, I threw the man a silver ring I found on one of the bandit¡¯s bodies.

    Once I arrived at the house, which was located in the middle sector of the imperial city. It was inconspicuous and didn¡¯t seem to have any close neighbors. It would be perfect for cultivation.

    I entered using the key that Fen Zei gave me. The house was a simple two-story house, it had a couple of rooms and nothing of value. It had a trapdoor under a rug that led down to a small cultivation cave. By saying a cave, I mean a dug-in square room underground that could be closed and opened.

    Once I was inside the room, I made sure to check every corner and bit of the room. Once I was sure that there were no tools to spy on me I began by pulling the book. Yet the book didn¡¯t want to emerge.

    I understood that I didn¡¯t check enough, the book would only reveal itself when no one else was present, and from the reaction of the Poison God¡¯s book, someone was either spying on me or there was something I missed.

    Yet I had made sure to check everywhere...

    Ah, yes I checked everywhere, but at the same time, I forgot the most important ce to check... on myself.

    I tapped at my clothes and robes, nothing came to sight, but two things, the token Fen Zei had given me, and the jade. The token didn¡¯t have anything obvious about it, but the jade, on the other hand, shimmered with spiritual energy, though I couldn¡¯t sense the spiritual energy, the poison Qi in me can easily react to it. And when I tried coating the jade with Poison Qi, it seeped into the jade and broke it. Shattering the thing into tiny pieces.

    The Poison God¡¯s Book immediately shot out of my chest.

    "I guess the jade was the spying tool. I¡¯ll have to talk to Fen Zei about thister."

    "Now, let¡¯s start," I mumbled to myself as I pulled the pouches. I hope I could open them now.

    I had about seven cultivator pouches. All belonging to the cultivators that had captured and tried to kill me in the Poison God¡¯s cave.

    The first pouch I pulled belonged to the man with the crimson robes.

    And just as I was about to pry it open to see what was inside it, the Poison God¡¯s book shot right in front of me opening a page.

    ***

    Open it, and you¡¯ll die!

    ***

    "Right... I didn¡¯t see thating."

 Chapter 42 Puppet Making

    <h4>Chapter 42: Puppet Making</h4>

    I looked at the second pouch, after all, opening the first one was gonna kill me, so I¡¯m better off not to try and pry into ay traps.

    For the second pouch, there were no warnings, I actually waited and even ¡¯Asked¡¯ the book if there was any danger entailed in opening this pouch, but seeing that there was no such thing, I went ahead.

    The pouch only needed for me to infuse it with a little bit of Qi, it didn¡¯t matter if it was poison Qi or spiritual Qi, Qi is qi, and the pouch is neutral to the type. So it opened, and the moment I touched upon the rims of the pouch, it gave me a picture of everything within it.

    There were thousands of pill bottles and herbs locked in spiritual boxes o preserve them. There was also a small hill of small stones, that gave off powerful spiritual energy. Weapons of all sorts and robes, dress for the cultivator. These robes all had the same color and shape, and the same logo, it was a sect¡¯s uniform.

    There were also some tokens and the most interesting were cultivation books.

    I also found a piece of a map, I pulled it and understood that this was the map to the Poison God¡¯s cave.

    It seems that all of these cultivators had a piece of the map, they gathered up and made the map as a whole and then went to the cave once they discovered the location of the treasure.

    I ignored the rest of the content of the pouch as it didn¡¯t have anything else worth mentioning.

    I continued looking at the other pouches and found a lot of good stuff, mainly weapons and herbs of the eight to the seventh ranks.

    There was only the first pouch that I couldn¡¯t open, and it seems that it belonged to the strongest cultivator of the bunch, so I was better off keeping it for when I could open it while keeping my life.

    I began by gathering all the items that I thought are worth my time in the Poison God¡¯s book, as for some of the weaker weapons and some healing pills, those I ced in a pouch and ced it on my side.

    I needed to have a fake pouch for whenever I found myself in trouble it woulde in handy to not have all my eggs in one basket.

    Now that¡¯s done, I went back to the main thing I was after, Puppet Making.

    I started by pulling the puppet that was going to kill me back at the spider cave and ced it down.

    I had a few tools that I found from one of the cultivators who seemed to have a side interest in puppet making, and pulled them out.

    I needed to understand how this thing works, and thanks to my knowledge in the engineering domain. This puppet was going to be a great project.

    Once the puppet was out, I began by dismantling it. I needed to understand how it worked and how I can mimic it.

    The whole thing was truly difficult to untangle, every screw and bolt had a mechanism to protect it and keep it in ce that I had to pop off first before reaching the screws. I managed to unbolt them and removed the head of the torso, and once the head was out, I started by removing the right hand which was the only limb left on its upper body, and then the legs.

    Once every piece was out, I noticed that they didn¡¯t seem to have any wires connecting them, so how did the limbs receive themand to move?

    I figured I needed to dig in deeper. The head didn¡¯t look like it had anything special, supposedly it wasn¡¯t where the ¡¯brain¡¯ was located.

    I looked at the chest area, where the tip of the sword was embedded, there looked to be something that was dug in by the sword. I had to open the chest to see clearly.

    There was a small hidden te that covered the screws of the torso, once I removed the screws I was able to open the chest from the side of it, it opened like a box revealing its inside.

    There was a golden circle drawn in the chest area, and right at the middle was a broken spiritual stone, though broken and clearly old, it seemed to still have some spiritual energy within it. It would still work as a power supply.

    Once I made sure that the jeweled piece was removed from its ce, I began by studying the circle. There seemed to have several strange letters and symbols to it. They were organized in different and various shapes around the circle and the pinkish stone was powering them. Yet, with the sword dug in deep, the circle was broken and it seemed that it no longer worked. The sword had cut through a great part of it, leaving it barely readable. If I were to reverse engineer this, I¡¯ll need a reference point.

    I started by pulling the other puppets and dismantling them, which took the better period of the night, I could even know it was day by the rising temperature in the room. Still, I worked diligently, heck this was bringing me back to my roots, and it was fun. I enjoyed using my hands especially in anything that dabs in precision and details.

    Once I dismantled the majority of the puppets I began by writing the symbols on a piece of paper, going from puppet to puppet, and figured out a few things.

    Not every circle was an exact match to the other, there were a few differences, especially in the drawings. And the one that had the mostplete and detailed and perfect circle was the first puppet I dismantled, it seemed to have the best quality. As for the stones, most of the other puppets had their stones destroyed and were inoperable and unusable.

    Once Ipared the circles I managed a rough drawing of aplete one in a piece of paper. I studied it and understood some other things.

    It seems for whatever reasons these writings were like programming codes and once they are put together they will make a ¡¯brain¡¯ of sorts that can execute simplemands. Though I didn¡¯t fully understand the exact meaning of every symbol, I could get the gist of them. And with a few repetitions, I could manage to write them.

    I began by reproducing the circle on other pieces of paper, and after a long time, I managed to perfectly draw the circle and could duplicate it from memory alone.

    Now I needed to see how this drawing could revive a dead puppet. First things first, I¡¯ll need a puppet that is in operable condition, and the only one that almost matches this condition is the first puppet, though it has a deep gash in its chest and was missing a limb, I was able to rece them from other puppets.

    Now that the chest was perfect and the left limb was taken from another puppet, I put the whole thing together making the puppet. I opened its chest area and carefully wiped away the golden drawing that didn¡¯t need more than a wet cloth. As it seems the ink that was used to write this inscription wasn¡¯t permanent.

    That was a w, imagine if the puppet was in contact with water, that¡¯ll make it faulty immediately.

    And though I don¡¯t know which ink I should use to write the circle, I know of a good quality ink that can be used to write talismans. The Drowsy Inkberry. Which was a spiritual herb I got when I was in the purple Cloud Sect.

    I took the drowsy Inkberry and followed the instruction of the Poison God¡¯s book on how to process it and make it into ink. It didn¡¯t need more than a bit of dew water, and a pot which was in abundance in the cultivators¡¯ pouches.

    After batting the herb and mixing it with water then extracting the liquid that turned ck after a short while, I pulled out a brush and began drawing on the puppet¡¯s chest.

    Ipleted the circle but left only one small line of it which will serve to close the circuit. That line I wrote in regr ink that can be removed with a ssh of water, for reasons that I will exinter.

    Once the puppet was done and the circle waspleted and closed, I ced one of the spirit stones I had in my book in the center. Though this spirit stone wasn¡¯t as powerful as the pink one which was there before, it should be enough to operate the puppet at low power.

    Almost immediately the puppet turned to life and it took a slow swing at my face. I dodged it and sshed its opened chest with a cup of water I had readied before.

    The puppet immediately stopped working as the line that was written in regr ink had faded.

    "Well, I guess there is a kill on sightmand in that circle, the problem is I don¡¯t know which one..."

    "Time for some trial-and-error tests," I said and began by removing one of the symbols, the only way for me to figure out the attackmand was by the process of elimination, and only when I eliminate the appropriate symbol would the puppet actually not attack me.

    And then I began by recing symbols, removing them, changing them, rewriting them, and even writing strange gibberish instead of symbols that were already written. This process was going to take a while, and I had a lot of time...

 Chapter 43 Procuring Resources

    <h4>Chapter 43: Procuring Resources</h4>

    Several days went by as I continued to study the symbols. I even went around the city for a couple of days to clear my head off, had a few drinks, and practiced Star Cultivation, then resumed my work. I had great hopes for puppet making and I had great ideas to integrate into it so I wanted to be thorough while making the symbols.

    One day though, I happened to walk across the street and saw a man selling some goods, and among them was a specialist tool for puppet making, I asked him how he got it and his answer was simple enough that it left me baffled at how Ipletely missed it.

    "The Auction House," he said.

    Apparently, he thought he had purchased something expensive, and seeing the tool on closeup, I noticed a few signs of wear and damage. This thing wasn¡¯t worth much in the hands of an amateur, but if I could get my hands on that tool, I¡¯ll be able to upgrade my own tools to better handle the puppets.

    "You willing to sell?" I asked.

    "Two Hundred Spirit Stones!" the man said.

    "I¡¯ll give you ten," I answered.

    "Are you mad! You know how much I paid for this?" the man answered in question.

    "I don¡¯t really care, but you seem to not know how to use this, nor what is it for. This is a tool for puppet making and it¡¯s already damaged beyond repair, if anyone would like to have this tool they¡¯ll often get a new one. After all Puppet Makers are rich. And they won¡¯t settle for second-handed goods." I shrugged.

    "Hah! Nice way to try and trick me out of a deal, but if that was true then why are you trying to buy it! A hundred and fifty spirit stones." the man answered smugly.

    "Ten stones, and I¡¯ll tell you why, because I need to use that tool as a mold to make a new one, so basically I¡¯ll discard it the moment I make a mold out of it," I stated, giving him the impression that i was buying garbage.

    The man looked at me like I was crazy, he still tried to haggle some more, but after a long while, all he got from me was twenty spirit stones which I reluctantly gave. I could have stayed there haggling with him all day long but I was tempted to try the tool as soon as possible.

    I pocketed the tool and went to the nearest pavilion, the man had said that he bought the tool at an auction, but since auctions usually have a specific time, once a month, year or decade depending on the value and importance of the auction, I couldn¡¯t wait for one to appear. So, the pavilions of the capital were my best bet.

    Once I was at the Capital¡¯s pavilion, I took a pause, frowning deeply. Compared to the Purple Cloud Sect, the imperial pavilion was rubbish. It didn¡¯t look like it had anything important even with all the over-the-top decoration and paintings, it didn¡¯t have the honesty and detailed fine work of the wood, ceilings, and floor of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

    ¡¯I guess the Purple Cloud¡¯s fourth Grade sect secret identity was what made it into such a prosperous sect. And when they were attacked, even the pavilion had disappeared due to its quality. Seems like the Imperial sect can¡¯t even hold a candle to the Purple Cloud sect.¡¯

    I went into the pavilion and was greeted by a young girl, "Wee to the Imperial Pavilion, what can I do for you?" she asked.

    "I need some seventh-grade materials, and books on puppet making," I said in a disregarding manner. Most people here tend to act all haughty, and I needed to act the part, especially since I had no idea how much these items cost. Better to act like a snobbish noble, at least people will think twice before trying to inte prices, lest they ¡¯offend me¡¯.

    "Sir, Puppet Making materials and crafting materials of the Seventh Grade requires authentication by the imperial court, you¡¯ll need a VIP clearance to have them." The girl said, but there was still a hint of fear in her eyes, I guess my attitude worked.

    I frowned at the girl but immediately showed the girl the token I got from Fen Zei.

    The girl immediately bowed and said, "For an esteemed guest of the Imperial Sect, you¡¯re more than wee to get anything you wish from the seventh-grade materials and the manuals you¡¯re looking for at a twenty percent discount sir Master Craftsman!"

    Master Craftsman? The heck? I supposed she deduced it from the fact that I was trying to buy crafting materials, but I was not going to correct her, the more of a high impression I give, the better I¡¯ll be treated.

    "Good then, lead the way," I said as I followed after the girl. Thankfully Fen Zei had proved useful, this might even make me forget about his sly attempt at trying to spy on me using that jade. Probably.

    I followed the girl to the third floor of the pavilion where she showed me the door and said, "You can have your pick of the materials you want from here, once you chose everything you need, once esteemed guest is done, pleasee back to the receptionist and he will charge you for your items." She said while giving a bow.

    "You mean I get to freely pick? Aren¡¯t you afraid that someone would steal from you?" I said.

    "Sir, no one had ever dared steal from the pockets of the emperor, only a fool would dare do such things, as, for powerful people, they¡¯ll not even take a second look at this pavilion." She said in a matter of factly.

    True, there could also be a tracking mechanism on the items, so stealing would be a really dumb idea for anyone not capable.

    I went inside the room and saw several shelves stocked in materials. ck Stone, Ingreed Iron, Sleuth Wood. Frictionless Obsidian and many more rare minerals and items. These are all heavily sought after for puppet makers. Butpared to the material the puppet I had gotten were made of, everything here was worthless.

    I kept looking around until I was stopped by the book, it shone a bright light on a specific stone in the pavilion. As I looked at it, it didn¡¯t look special, it was a purple stone, a Spirit Qi Sealing Ma. It wasn¡¯t umon, but it was a useful material, it could cut the flow of Spiritual Qi when it came in contact with it. It¡¯s a pretty good item to make puppets as it could allow a puppet to preserve energy, but it shouldn¡¯t be that important due to how easy it is to find. Also, there were other rocks like it all over the shop, but the book only lit this one piece.

    I still decided to take that one piece and continue my search. After a while, I managed to procure many items I needed, tools and writing brushes, more Drowsy Inkberry fruits to make the ink, and a few parchments to make talismans, finally, I got two more books, basic knowledge of Talisman Writing, and Puppet Making.

    The Poison God¡¯s knowledge of Puppet making was not bad, even if he himself said that he didn¡¯t know much about it, his knowledge and the symbols he knew had far surpassed the Puppet I had, so they were basically useless to me in making my own puppet, especially since his own symbols required Saint Qi to use, which was a grade Higher than Spiritual Qi.

    Saint Qi can only be obtained once one had Ascended, discarding the mortal body and attained unity with the world. A true Saint, then their whole body and the quality of Qi they can harness would evolve. For me, saint Qi is so far away that I can¡¯t even fathom the full scope. A simpleparison would be that a single piece of rice worth of Saint Qi isparable to a whole mountain of Spiritual Qi. It¡¯s just not possible for me right now. So using the same Symbols as the Poison God is dumb as I don¡¯t have the energy to control it, yet using his knowledge, his symbol organization, and factoring it against the symbols of regr Qi would rtively make for powerful restrictions. Yes, the correct term I discovered was Restriction. And Restrictions have enormous ranges.

    They can be something benign as lighten up a room, to something asplex as defending an entire. A Restriction, based on the knowledge of the user can be a killing Formation or a defending Formation that can make illusions or it can even gather Spiritual Qi.

    That¡¯s a whole damned sea of knowledge I need to look into. For now, puppet making doesn¡¯t make even a slight fraction of the entirety of Restriction but I¡¯m going to try and master it, then look into the other aspects of Restriction. I want to make something unique, never before seen in this world, and I¡¯m going to do it.

    I smiled as I had great goals, and it was the first time in more than seventy years, that I had a clear goal. The first goal I had when I got to this world was to make the city of Lucid Spring prosper using my own methods, and now, I have even greater goals. And once I set my eyes on something, I¡¯ll do it, no matter what.

    **********************///////////******************

    Hey guys, I gotta admit, I¡¯m pretty amazed by how generous people can be. Especially since we¡¯re raised to see the evil side of people, we rarely take a pause to see the good they do.

    This is a heartfelt message to Daniel Mclean, thank you for your generosity, and I never though that my work would be inspiring as such. I¡¯ll also have to thank the rest of the patrons, they generously donated their hard-earned money to keep this work free, not for themselves, but for everyone else, they paid from their pockets so that the rest of the readers get to enjoy this work.

    As much evil that there is in this world, there is always good, and thanks to people like these we¡¯ll always have hope. So thank you my generous patrons for helping everyone else. Your efforts and generosity will only push me to write more and better and for everyone to enjoy.

    ¡¯Gives a bow¡¯

 Chapter 44 Master Craftsman?

    <h4>Chapter 44: Master Craftsman?</h4>

    I went to the clerk and paid my dues, it wasn¡¯t much, after all, the money ising from the pockets of those despicable cultivators that had tried to kill me. Once I was back home, I pulled out all the stuff I had gotten and began by studying the arts of puppet making. The book started by introducing the symbols and their meaning, and thankfully I had a prior attempt at deciphering the symbols of the puppet, so I had a good basic understanding of what I was doing.

    I started studying the symbols and understood the meaning behind every one of them, and how they all work together to write a code of sorts, it was like writing aputer program, nothing too difficult after a good study session. And once I understood a symbol properly I tried to apply it.

    First things first, movement symbols, I used one limb of a puppet and wrote a small circle on it, then began by painting the movement symbols on it, nothing happened, after all, there was the movementmand written on it, but the executionmand was missing.

    I then went back to the book and looked for the execution section and how to make a puppet do your work, basically, it can be used using different methods, speech, which will have me make sound reception into the puppet¡¯s limb so it could trante my speech and pick up the executionmand to apply it. So I needed to write another set of symbols alongside themand symbols.

    Then I had another idea, what if the puppet was in a situation where it couldn¡¯t hear me speak? I needed a secondary input in ce, sight? I needed to look for sight receptionmands and write them.

    I continued modifying and writing on the puppet¡¯s arm, and after days and sleepless nights, I managed to finish my work, the hand I had was packed full of writings and symbols, so many of them, soplex and tightly packed that they looked like small tattoos.

    The puppet¡¯s arm was a prototype and it took the better half of a week just to make everymand written on it function with each other and not ovep. I¡¯m surprised that whoever wrote that simple-looking circle in the middle of the puppet managed to do it.

    But once I went back to the original Restriction on the primary puppet which now I called X, I was surprised at my own advancement in the domain of Restrictions.

    The primary Restriction, now that I fully understand the symbols on it had only threemands, sight and sound reception, attack on sight, and hibernate. Nothing too fancy, except the attackmand, which had several sets ofmands that allowed the puppet to move, though, in a monotonous robotic way, it was powered with a powerful Spirit Stone that allowed the puppet to move at extraordinary speeds.

    But mymands... mymands touched upon the rims of human behavior. I had written symbols and circles all over the puppet¡¯s arm, enough of them that there were circles in between the puppet¡¯s finger joints. My symbols had focused on precision than brute function. Not only that, but the arm itself was a sentient part that once powered with a spirit stone can function on its own, it can even use the fingers to move, something that I was about to test out right now.

    I ced a small spirit stone on a small hole that I dug into the arm¡¯s joint where it would connect to the puppet¡¯s shoulder.

    The Puppet¡¯s Arm came to life as the spirit stone shone bright and lit up the symbols, soon the arm shuddered, flexed its fingers, and then clenched them in a fist.

    "Come to me," I gave amand, and the hand immediately began moving using its fingers.

    Sadly, it didn¡¯t take the hand more than few feet before the light on the symbols turned off. I panicked at first, did I write something wrong? This was a coder¡¯s worst nightmare theputer code looks fine but it doesn¡¯t work, or worse, the code looks terrible yet it somehow works. I needed to find the error.

    Just as I was about to pull out my tools, I noticed specks of dust settling behind the arm. As I picked up the arm, I noticed something daunting, the spirit stone had beenpletely sucked dry and nothing of it remained as it turned to dust.

    "I guess so many Restriction symbols need a lot of energy to function. I need more powerful spirit stones..." I sighed, but that didn¡¯t discourage me. This means that my symbols work. And I can write more of them.

    I began by picking a second arm for Puppet X and started writing on it, this time it took me five days before I was done, and after testing it by feeding it a spirit stone and making sure the arm functions perfectly, I went for the legs, then the chest, then the head.

    Three months, I spent three months working on the puppet, making it stronger, faster, more vary styled, I even ced poison coated needles inside the puppet¡¯s fingertips, the fingertips would fall down and the puppet can shoot tens of poison needles out of its fingers.

    I also ced two canisters full of my own poison breath inside the puppet¡¯s chest, where it can actually shoot poison breath simr to my own. Then I took one of the swords from the pouches of one of the cultivators and inscribed sword techniques into the puppet, though it was nothing fancy, the sword techniques should be enough to hold a Core Forming cultivator at bay.

    All of this work had me exhausted, and without actually noticing, I had already touched the rims of a breakthrough in my cultivation. Thanks to my cultivation method, where I didn¡¯t need to continuously meditate and harness the world¡¯s Qi, I only needed to consume poisonous substances, and with a bag full of toxic herbs, I managed to rise to the peak of a breakthrough of the firstyer of the Foundation Establishment, I only need a little push to get me to the second stage of Foundation Establishment.

    Sadly, however, I never managed to operate the puppet. The problem was the number of symbols I had written, they were so many of them that they actually require so much Spiritual Energy. Even after cing five spirit stones, one in each shoulder and one over every thigh, and once in the center of the puppet, I couldn¡¯t have Puppet X function for more than ten seconds.

    I kept scratching my head for answers, I needed a powerful spirit stone, at least something like that pink spirit stone that was in the puppet before. But I don¡¯t have aplete one, all I have is a broken pink spirit stone.

    I needed to get to the pavilion, hopefully, they¡¯ll have a spirit stone just like that one.

    I gathered the puppet and ced it inside my book then left the house. Just as I walked out, I saw a man sitting in front of the house, he looked exhausted and out of it.

    Once he saw me, he perked up, "Signior Shen Bao! Finally, you¡¯re out, brother Zen Fei wanted me to inform you to meet him as soon as possible, and that was a month ago," The man said.

    "Right, then why didn¡¯t you knock?" I asked.

    "I wouldn¡¯t disturb your cultivation session."

    ¡¯Ah right, most people would enter secluded cultivation and don¡¯t want to be disturbed, though I don¡¯t need to seclude myself, I don¡¯t also need to tell that man of this.¡¯

    "Right, I¡¯ll have to apologize to brother Fen Zei, I¡¯ll go meet him as soon as I¡¯m done with something," I said.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll inform him of such." The man said and hurried away.

    I sighed, I hope that Fen Zei doesn¡¯t need any favors, I still have so much on my te right now to even bother with him.

    I headed to the pavilion, and once I was there, the girl that Ist met weed me with an over-the-top greeting.

    "Greeting master craftsman!"

    I glowered at the woman, and what the heck is up with Master Craftsman, when did I get that? Perhaps she thought I was since I was buying crafting materials, but everyone could be a master craftsman following that logic? Or, perhaps it was Zen Fei. Damn, I didn¡¯t need this, and I still have a business to take care of, "I need something from the pavilion, hopefully, you can provide."

    "Anything for the Master, what is it that you wish to procure?" she asked.

    "A spirit stone, a rather powerful one, or multiple."

    "I suppose you¡¯re looking for medium-grade spirit stones? They are rather rare, but I think I can get you some, actually, this is even perfect. Please follow me."

    ¡¯What¡¯s this about now?¡¯ I wondered but followed the girl.

    The woman took me to the third floor where a few men were bickering about something.

    "No! it won¡¯t function, I told you, the symbols aren¡¯t aligned, this is a defected product!" a bald man called in an over-the-top fashion of throwing his hands.

    "I swear I saw him use it, he even flew using it!" another man, younger who looked like a homeless person spoke, he had a pleading demeanor, like amoner in front of nobility.

    Two other men were looking at what seemed to be a gourd. The first was a small old hunched back, he didn¡¯t look much different than me, with the exception of theck of pustules over his body and his thin slits for eyes that seemed almost closed. The other one was a younger dark-skinned man, probably in his mid-thirties, he looked like a buffed athlete that could get first ce in a body-buildingpetition.

    "You¡¯re bbering too much, this doesn¡¯t function." The bald man said.

    The girl next to me coughed, and everyone turned to take a look at me.

    "This is Master Craftsman Shen Bao, Cultivator Fen Zei has rmended him," she said.

    ¡¯Yep, this confirms it, damn you Fen Zei and your drunken bbers!¡¯

 Chapter 45 Making Friends

    <h4>Chapter 45: Making Friends</h4>

    "Master Craftsman Shen Bao? I never heard of that name, still, what do you think about this," the bald man said as he threw the gourd my way.

    Immediately, my eyes began processing the gourd, it felt as if it was the most natural thing to do, especially after those months of work in my study.

    "Pretty intricate, but faulty," I said.

    "You too!" the homeless man said, "I swear I saw a man flying using it, he gave it to me in exchange for a bite. I¡¯m not lying."

    "I didn¡¯t say that I can¡¯t fly, but the one who made it actually gave it to you because he knew it¡¯s faulty. Look here," I said as I tapped at the bottom of the Gourd.

    The thing immediately grew to a pony¡¯s size. Earning the gawking shocked eyes of everyone present, and it even hovered in the room.

    "The one who inscribed this failed to make proper connections of the writings, thus if someone with..." I trailed as I looked at everyone, "I don¡¯t wish to offend anyone here, but I have to speak truth." I said.

    The three looked at me while frowning unable to understand what I was talking about.

    "Right, so as I was saying, if someone inexperienced were to look at the gourd they¡¯d think it¡¯s inoperable and faulty, but this is of no fault of yours," I said to the three as I saw their expressions change, I don¡¯t even know them and I don¡¯t want to offend them, thest thing I want is to make enemies, I¡¯m not here to p faces. That stuff only works for those story heroes because they have plot armor protecting them, if I were to try my luck I¡¯m going to end up six feet under. I¡¯m not strong enough to start a face-pping contest, at least right now.

    The three looked at me, annoyed, but thanks to having informed them that it was not their fault that they were inexperienced I was able to continue my train of thought.

    "Actually, I have to correct myself, the more masterful a person is, the harder it is for them to notice this w.

    -I had to switch my tone, they seemed unimpressed when I first called them inexperienced-

    The one who inscribed this had tried to make several inscriptions work together, but due to hisck of knowledge and his constant attempt at correcting it, he managed to cover his inscription error by sheer luck. So, the gourd will actually consume more Qi from the user than needed due to these excessive and extra inscriptions. So, this thing is faulty, and the attempt at correcting that fault further ruined this Gourd."

    The bald man immediately interjected, "Ha! As brother Shen Bao had said, I told you it was faulty!" the old man started trying to curry favor with me and hide his ignorance, an attempt everyone noticed but no one spoke about it, it was a silent agreement between them all, stroking their own ego in a sense as to not appear dumb.

    "Right, like Master Shen Bao had said, the more promising an Inscriber is, the harder it is to notice this w, it is amateurish but hidden with many other restrictions that made no sense, the whole inscription would make one see so many mistakes in it that it actually covers the erroneous primary writing thatmands Qi consumption," the old hunch back inscriber added, though his statement was correct, if I didn¡¯t hint it to him, he¡¯d never get it.

    "We still have much to learn, Brother Shen Bao, a true Master Craftsman, even talented such as us should have seen that mistake, your knowledge humbles us," the younger of the three said.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m sure you could have figured it out given more time, I think I lucked out because I camete and was out of context thus, I was able to see from a perspective you haven¡¯t seen." I continued stroking their ego, after all, a little bit of praise costs nothing, and it could take you a long way if used correctly.

    "So, is this thing worth anything?" the beggar asked.

    "As it is now, no, but once the restrictions are re-written, removed, and corrected, I think it would be a good flying treasure," I said.

    "Yeah, and that will probably cost a lot, the type of money you can¡¯t afford." The bald man said, "I can buy it from you for twenty Spirit Stones. The bald monk said.

    "I¡¯d rather sell it to this man," the beggar said as he pointed at me.

    "You¡¯re putting me in a tough spot, I won¡¯t vie for something brother..." I trailed as the girl never introduced the men.

    "I¡¯m Zian Yufan," the bald man said, "And this is Master Craftsman Han Xiao, and Gang Bei," the man mentioned the other two craftsmen by name.

    "Right, as I said, I won¡¯t vie for something brother Zian has their eyes on," I replied.

    "Hah! No, actually, your interjection and saved us a lot of time, I actually wanted to buy it and gift it to brother Shen Bao for enlighting us. It is only natural!" the man said, still trying to curry favor with me.

    "Thank you, I won¡¯t be polite then," I said.

    The beggar took the twenty spirit stones and left the store and I had a gourd for my own personal experiences.

    "Would brother have some time to share a meal with us, we would like to discuss some of our concerns with you." Zian Yufan said.

    Damn, everyone wants knowledge, I have to y my hand right.

    "Sure, I would like to exchange pointers with masters of the trade. Still, I came here for something." I said.

    "What is it you wish to get?" Zian asked.

    Now, I had two options, first was to speak and show how ignorant I am "I want a pink spirit stone!" that would sound dumb as heck especially after all that work trying to make everyone think I¡¯m actually smarter than them.

    So, I took the second option, I pulled out the destroyed remains of the Pink Spirit stone and showed it to them.

    "Oh! A High-Grade Spirit stone! Those are really rare! How did you find it?"

    ¡¯Now, that was fregging close! If I were to show them the stone and say this was a medium spirit stone it would have immediately blown my cover, that attendant however was clueless and thought I needed a Medium Spirit Stone, and due to her words I almost ruined myself.¡¯

    "Yeah, I¡¯m in need of a few of them. I¡¯m ready to pay any price."

    "I have a couple, I¡¯d like to exchange them over a few pointers," the old man said.

    "I have one," the dark-skinned man said, "And I¡¯m willing to gift it to brother Shen Bao just in thanks for your enlightening session.

    "I have three, and I can gift them to you in return..." Zian Yufan said and trailed off but I finished his sentence for him.

    "I¡¯ll fix the gourd, re-inscribe it and show you the method," I smiled at the man who had a wide grin on his face.

    The gourd would need a lot of time to repair it, and he obviouslycked the experience, showing him how it was done would be a great boon to his knowledge.

    Surprisingly, these Master Craftsmen were not as talented as they give off the feeling. I only studied Inscribing Restrictions for a few months and I¡¯m league ahead of them, and they seemed to have spent ages in this domain. Could it be the Mind¡¯s Eye? After all when I was working I had the Mind¡¯s Eye on full throttle. Anyway, my offer was tempting enough and I needed those High-Grade Spirit Stones.

    "Right then, let¡¯s head to Fu Shi restaurant, it has food that can take you to heaven and back," Zian mentioned, and the two others looked as if they had hungered for centuries, the dark-skinned man even wiped some drool out of his face.

    "How did brother Zian manage tond a reservation?" the old man Han Xiao asked.

    "I managed to inscribe the Young Prince¡¯s sword a few days ago and he gave me a token to visit the Imperial Restaurant and I could take as many as I wish, so this one is on me!" the bald manughed as he walked first.

    ¡¯Well, I wasn¡¯t going to say no to free food, also I managed to obtain what I came for. So why not follow after these three, who knows I might encounter something interesting.¡¯

 Chapter 46 Restaurant Friction

    <h4>Chapter 46: Restaurant Friction</h4>

    Once we entered the Fu Shi restaurant, which by the way was an impressive ten-story tower building in the middle of the city, it looked prominent and amazingly decorated. The people within it were all high figures, the big wigs of the Empire.

    Generals, high-ranking officers, great schrs, and even imperial entourage, from young princes to princesses and their attendants to some royal guards. This whole ce stank of rich pockets and cocky attitude. I was not going to fit here if I were to open my mouth without thinking.

    Our group, even considered of the best craftsmen in the region as I came to understand from the introduction that Zian Yufan had been given once he entered, were not wroth essing the higher floors.

    It seemed that only generals and high-ranking alchemists, craftsmen, and any cultivator below the nascent Soul level were allowed ess to this floor.

    I didn¡¯t care if I was seated next to an emperor or a beggar, all I needed was to have a proper meal since I haven¡¯t eaten in long months. And to exchange a few notes with the people. Though I felt impressed with their knowledge and the way they worked their inscriptions, I was not fully convinced how they managed to attain such high social standing. I know more than them and I only read a couple of manuals.

    So, I needed to have them spill the beans.

    Yet my small talk tactics to switch the topic back to their source of knowledge had been stunted due to the presence of a rather arrogant kid.

    A boy, not even in his twenties came to us, and alongside him were a retinue of beautiful girls, some with chestsparable to melons and thighs that would make the most pious of monks have lecherous thoughts. They wore scanty clothes and strong fragrances. This was lust and sex rather than a group of girls following a young man.

    The three Craftsmen stood and bowed deeply to the boy, surprising me as I was too slow to act.

    "Why not bow?" the kid said to me, as I was busy munching on a piece of chicken thigh.

    The three men panicked as they noticed I was still eating. Shit, here ites, this guy is probably someone important and now he¡¯s going to cause a scene in this restaurant.

    "I¡¯m too old, if I were to stand up and bow, I fear I might fall on my face, perhaps ruin your appetite," I gave the most ridiculous of excuses as to why I wasn¡¯t so fast in bowing.

    But that didn¡¯t seem to impress the kid, he was about to speak when he noticed that I was actually eating with my gloves still on. Something the other inscribers have definitely noticed but didn¡¯t dare speak their minds about it, still, as he didn¡¯t know who I was, he spoke his mind.

    "Why are you wearing your gloves, you have no manners to eat in this establishment, it¡¯s reserved for royalty and people of great demeanor and interest, and looking at you, I fail to see you have any decorum." The kid spoke in one breath.

    "I don¡¯t dare show what lies under my covered self, it would make everyone here gag and I don¡¯t wish to show the sight of my ugly self while people are eating," I said.

    "Nonsense, appearances don¡¯t matter, all that matters is power, are you so afraid to show yourself that you hide behind such excuses, show your hands!" the kid ordered.

    I really hate this brat, but, it¡¯s all on him.

    "I have already said that it will cause unease in the hearts of those present here, but if you wish," I stood up, removed my gloves revealing the disgusting pustules on them while removed the hood, showing the gaping hole in my eye, and the numerous tumors growing all over my face, hands and neckline.

    Immediately, one of the girls that were behind this kid fainted and a few people who have been enjoying the food and were paying attention to our conversation started vomiting.

    The kid was struck aback, "By the gods, what atrocities have youmitted to having the heavens punish you so! Guards!" the kid shouted as guards came rushing in.

    "Apprehend this fiend!"

    A vein was about to pop in my forehead, this brat, just came in demanded respect without presenting himself, and audaciously tried to have me show something I already told him was not a good sight in this ce.

    Then asked the guards on me, I¡¯m really tempted to go all MC on his ass and to hell with the consequences. But I have to stop and think for a while.

    I held up my hands and waited for the guards to surround me.

    "You fiend, you don¡¯t even have words to defend yourself?" the kid asked.

    "If words had any value to you," I said while scowling, "You wouldn¡¯t have forced me to reveal my ill skin, so why speak words to someone who won¡¯t listen? If you wish to take me, then do it. I¡¯ll exin myself to someone who will actually listen." I reprimanded.

    "You!!! Do you know who I am? To dare speak to me like this." The boy said as he pointed at me.

    "This you¡¯s name is Shen Bao," I said. but the kid failed to understand what I meant.

    The three craftsmen next to me proved to be as useful as a band-aid trying to keep a cracked wall holding up together. They never uttered a word, and it seemed that unless they were addressed, they won¡¯t speak their minds.

    "I don¡¯t care who you are, you dared insult a high-ranking noble, you deserve to hang!" the kid said.

    My lips began shaking, I was really tempted to use a poison breath right here and then, but with the number of guards this kid has, it would be no brainer that he could have a few powerful cultivators nearby trying to protect him.

    I calmed myself and said, "I have said what I had, now do what you want. It was your own hastiness that caused this scene, not mine." I said.

    "You!!" the kid said once again and I was really getting pissed.

    A man came into the establishment, he was wearing a red cultivator robe with a dark satin belt around his middle. The man had his hands in his sleeves and walked with sure steps. His beard was long and reached all the way to his chest while his hair was wrapped in a man bun and wrapped in a golden brace. Stil a great portion of it cascaded down his back and shoulders giving him a noble presence.

    and took a look at everything happening before he said, "Yu Son, what¡¯s going on?" the man said.

    "This foul fiend has caused me to lose face!" the kid said.

    The man looked at me and frowned, "You don¡¯t seem like a person regretting what he had done." The old man said.

    "I don¡¯t regret speaking my mind, I have not offended anyone, but the child took offense after forcing my hand," I replied.

    The man didn¡¯t understand. But before I could exin the kid was about to bber some nonsense when his ¡¯uncle¡¯ stopped him with a finger, shushing the kid.

    "Speak, what truly happened," the man addressed me. I sighed before I recounted everything that happened in detail.

    The man turned to the three craftsmen next to me and asked, "Zian Yufan, is what this man spoke the truth."

    The bald man looked at me, and the kid and with a hesitant nod he said, "Yes, all that Brother Shen Bao had spoken was true, I wish not to take part in this, I have spoken only due to lord Xi Son had ordered." The old man said and extracted himself from the conversation as to not further offend the little kid.

    The uncle, Xi Son looked at the kid with a disgusted look, "Not only did you not act as a true noble, you actually barged into a table, forced a man to reveal his ws, and then condemned him to death just because he was sick? Have you no shame?!" the ¡¯uncle¡¯ pped the kid on the face and shouted.

    "Get your harlots and your sorry ass out of my sight!" the words were spoken with wrath behind them, and the kid scurried away with the girls behind his tail.

    He then turned to the rest of the guests, "I hope that none take offense of what just happened, nor should you take fellow Cultivator Shen Bao¡¯s sight to disgust, he had been poisoned, as it is apparent from his misfortune, it is of no fault of his, a brave man such as this person is able to stand while enduring the Bone and Body Grinding poison is something that one needs to be praised for, and not scuffed at."

    ¡¯Damn, everyone, knows the Bone and Body Grinding Poison.¡¯

    "I truly admire a person with such strong resolve, though you have few years to survive and I am more than certain many in your situation would rather slit their own throat than suffer the constant grinding pain of the Bone and Body Grinding poison, you seem ratherfortable and even able to move about. I say you have found peace with yourself thus finding it easier to move about with such pain." Xi Son spoke in all piousness. Yep, too good to be true, this guy is not someone I should trust, but right now I can¡¯t afford to reject his goodwill.

    "Thank you lord Xi Son, I was born with a good fortitude and mindset, I¡¯m able to block the pain, but like you said I don¡¯t have much longer to live, thus, fearing death or arrogant unjust nobility isn¡¯t in me."

    "And so should everyone, once one sees injustice one must speak against it. I¡¯ll speak to my brother to reign my nephew in ce. As for you and everyone here, due to my nephew¡¯s behavior, I¡¯ll happily take the bill for all of your tables." The man said, further gaining reputation points with everyone here in the room.

    This guy is dangerously cunning, I gotta keep watch when around him.

    The man approached us and said, "A gathering of three genius Master Craftsmen and the bold brother Shen Bao, what¡¯s the asion of it?" Xi Son said.

    "Oh, we came here to celebrate with Brother Shen Bao, he had enlightened us to some knowledge we failed to see and we wished to reward him, but it seems that we caused too much trouble for him."

    The man, Xi Son¡¯s eyes twitched, it was obvious, this guy was still trying to curry favor with me while he kept his gullet shut when I was under the scope. Pretty opportunistic, but still, even if everyone knows it, no one would speak it, everyone likes to stroke their own ego in public.

    "Right, I guess that Brother Shen Bao is also a Master Craftsman of great renown. To be able to impress these three professionals must mean that your knowledge is superior," Xi Son tried to create a little bit of strife just to see how we would react.

    Normally any man would humbly decline such a statement and still make it seem like what Xi Son said was true.

    "No, actually, I still need much to learn, the three gentlemen here could have easily discovered a w I noticed, I was merely lucky. They have shared much of their knowledge that I¡¯m still impressed and wish to learn from."

    "Not only humble, but you even included everyone with you, I say you¡¯re a good person to befriend." Xi Son said.

    "Seeing how just you are, I say it would be my greatest honor o befriend someone such as you," I said throwing the praise ¡¯ball¡¯ back at his court.

    We kept talking and exchanging small talk until Xi Son decided that it was enough time spent in pleasantries. He then said, "I managed to get my hands on a strange artifact, and seeing that the four of you are gathered here, I¡¯d like to invite you to see it. It¡¯s heavily inscribed and none of my personal inscription masters managed to discover the secret behind it. Perhaps a master craftsman can find out how this thing was built and show us a way to unlock this box." Xi Son said.

    "We¡¯d be happy to have a look," baldie Zian said.

    "Right, if you¡¯re done with your food, please follow me.

 Chapter 47 Back Dealings

    <h4>Chapter 47: Back Dealings</h4>

    The three of us stood up and Xi Son didn¡¯t let us pay for our own lunch, we followed after him until we reached the city¡¯s pavilion.

    With Xi son¡¯s identity as a high ranking noble married to an imperial consort, he has the right to ess most of the Pavilion¡¯s floor, and when we arrived on the seventh floor of the pavilion, he took us inside to a small room where there was a small metallic bronze square ced neatly on the table.

    "This is a bronze cube we found in a dungeon, we tried to refine it to no avail, and didn¡¯t manage to understand the inscriptions on it. It took me a great deal of time before I finally gave up and brought this to your eyes. Tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary."

    The three master Craftsmen all went to the cube and began inspecting it, carrying it, and picking it up.

    But I didn¡¯t move, I already had a vague idea of what this was, all thanks to the information the Poison God¡¯s book gave me.

    Seeing my inaction, Xi Son looked at me and said, "You seem rather calm, do you know what is this?"

    "Not really, but I don¡¯t wish to waste time. Presumably, you already showed this to many others before us?" I asked.

    "Yes," replied Xi Son.

    "So they definitely have notes, can I see them?" I asked.

    "Right," the man said and handed me a ledger full of notes written by other people who had looked at this cube.

    This whole book fiasco was nothing but a ruse I used, this would show that I was actually a bright move. It will show that I didn¡¯t want to waste time finding things other people had already discovered and noted in the book.

    Once I went through the ledger, I went towards the cube, the other Craftsmen had already gave up, the symbols on it were tooplex but it didn¡¯t have any seams or cracks that could be used to open it and uncover what¡¯s inside it.

    "I see," I said as I looked at the cube.

    The other craftsmen and Xi Son all paid attention to where my finger was going.

    I touched the middle part of the cube, poured a bit of Poison Qi on it, then removed my hand, I then flipped the cube and did the same, putting just small bits of Qi in separate and random spots, but these spots were all inscribed with a small Qi gathering symbol.

    Once all sides had been injected with Qi, the cube vibrated then jerked.

    "Heavens! This is the first time this thing reacted!" Xi Son was actually impressed. This caused the rest of the Craftsmen to feel dejected but they were still excited to see what this box hid.

    I rxed and sat back down, not continuing any further.

    "What¡¯s wrong brother Shen Bao?" Xi Son asked.

    "I can¡¯t open it, at least not right now, the box has a private chamber inside it that¡¯s locking the whole mechanism, it also reacts poorly to sunlight. It has too many receptors. It also needs a powerful cultivator to power up, at least someone above a Nascent Soul cultivator," I said my words, though the rest of the Craftsmen couldn¡¯t make heads or tail of what I said, Xi, Son smiled.

    He understood the meaning behind my words, if one were to carefully deduce what I just said, they¡¯ll understand that I already know how to open it and would rather do it in a ¡¯private chamber¡¯, and at night time ¡¯without any receptors¡¯ as in any of the three people around us.

    Xi Son was a cunning man and immediately understood what I mean, "Right, then I¡¯ll see what I can do, I¡¯ll inform you if the box was ever opened and I¡¯ll be sure to reward you all if we manage to find something special."

    The rest of the group understood the meaning beind Xi Son, it was time for us to leave. And when I did leave with the group, Xi Son was fast and inconspicuous in hiding a jade in one of my sleeves, he didn¡¯t mean to spy on me but rather gave it to me to contact him.

    I left the room with the three craftsmen as we discussed the cube and went down to the second floor of the pavilionn. The three asked me how I managed to unlock it, and I only mentioned that I came from a different ce and I managed to understand some of the symbols because we used them, but actually those symbols are used by cultivators beyond the ascendant realm.

    What is an ascendant treasure doing in a ce such as this? A question I couldn¡¯t answer. But no matter the secret that cube is hiding, it¡¯s far too dangerous for any one of our cultivation realms.

    Once we were in the second floor, where the craftsmen usually hanged out, I pulled out the gourd that Zian Yufan had gave me and began removing the old inscriptions.

    Once all the symbols were removed, I began by editing and re-writing the correct sequence all under the gaze of the three craftsmen. They took notes and were all nodding at every symbol I changed.

    "Amazing, to see someone with such immacte uracy in writing the restriction on the gourd leave much to be desired in our own experience." The oldest of the craftsmen Han Xiao said.

    "Right, the precision is immacte. I¡¯m really jealous of how brother Shen Bao has a steady hand, you really are a dragon among the craftsmen."

    "I only had more time in doing this," I smiled at the three while I continued writing the symbols as fast as possible, I didn¡¯t want to get dyed much.

    Once I was done, and thankfully I didn¡¯t need to add anythingplex to the gourd such as weight distribution controlmand or even a bnce and Qi regtion inscription, I only needed to add to the size growth Inscription and flight inscription which all had the basic inscription already written, I only needed to rewrite some and link everything so that it will all work.

    Unlike a puppet that uses Spirit Stones to power itself, this gourd would use the Qi from the user that is riding on it to move, so I didn¡¯t need to have a lot of details written.

    After three hours of diligent work, I managed to finish the gourd and handed it back to Zian. Who in return gave me the three Spirit Stones I needed.

    The other two had also given me their own High-Grade Spirit Stones, and now I had five, exactly the number I needed for each and every slot in my Puppet.

    Smiling happily, I left the room, thanking the group.

    "I¡¯ll need to go back home, now that I have these stones, I can finish my project," I said to the three.

    Thankfully, they were tact in not asking what I was working on, everyone had their secrets and no one was going to pry on mine.

    Once I was home, I hurried downstairs, and pulled out my puppet, it had several dozen inscriptions written on it. Instead of the boring monotonous pink color of the puppet, the inscription on it were so numerous it looked like tattooed skin.

    I had to dye the puppet, the dye will act as a coating to cover the inscription and will not hinder the inteying works.

    But before dying it, I needed to make sure this thing works.

    I ced a single High Grade Spirit Stone in the puppet¡¯s chest and the whole damned thing stood up. It didn¡¯t even need for me to add the rest of the spirit stones. Thanks to the fact that I made the whole construction inter-functional, meaning that even if the spirit Stone on the Puppet¡¯s shoulder was the only one functioning at a time, it could send energy to the rest of the puppet.

    This was great, the whole construct could work with just one High-Grade Stone, but I don¡¯ want to overtax the Spirit Stone, so I ced the rest of the spirit stones on the other spots.

    Now, two high-grade spirit stones, one in each shoulder, another two, one in each thigh, and the main one in the chest.

    The puppet was fully functional, but as it seems, the puppet started shaking, the energy from the High-Grade Spirit Stones was too much, it would probably cause the Puppet to blow up.

    I immediately tapped on the puppet¡¯s head, re-arranging a few Symbols to have the puppet dial down on power consumption, the puppet only needed ten percent of the total energy coursing through it to function at full capacity. So, there was no need to exhaust the Spirit Stones for no reason.

    "Good," I said then ordered, "X, punch that wall," I pointed. Not even a fraction of a secondter, the puppet had already torn through the wall with a punch powerful enough that it shook the whole building.

    And that was ten percent, and I could swear it was at least four times as fast as when I first saw this puppet in that cave.

    "HAHAHHAHAHAHA!" Iughed like a mad man, seeing how amazingly powerful this puppet is, made my efforts, and the months I spent not go to waste.

    Just as I was about to give it moremands, I remembered that it was midnight and I still had the jade in my pocket.

    I ced it against my forehead and imprinted in it my location, then went upstairs and threw the jade out of the window.

    It didn¡¯t take more than a few minutes before a man appeared in the front of my door.

    "Greetings Brother Shen Bao, are you ready to go?" Xi Son said.

    "Yeah, let¡¯s go," I said in a smile.

 Chapter 48 Dungeoneering

    <h4>Chapter 48: Dungeoneering</h4>

    "Do you have a flying treasure you can use?" Xi Son asked once I arrived next to him.

    "Yes, but I¡¯d rather not pull any unwanted attention, thews against flight and such..." I trailed off hinting at how this city forbade flight within it.

    "Not currently no. That treasure as you have mentioned needed the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, though I am such a cultivator, I dare not risk unlocking the content of the box in a city filled with experts lest one of them senses it and scry upon us using their Devine Sense." Xi Son exined.

    "I agree, then, where do you wish we open the box?" I asked.

    "I have a location in mind, please follow me," Xi Son stated and we both left headed to the city¡¯s gate.

    Once away from the gate and off preying eyes, Xi Son pulled out a flying sword from his pouch and hopped on it.

    I did the same, thankfully I had the decency of mind to actually think beforehand and ce the flying sword in a pouch that belonged to one of those cultivators from the Poison God¡¯s cave.

    Once I pulled the sword I stepped on it, while noticing the ogling gaze of Xi Son.

    Now, here, that was dangerous, mainly because, if what he said was true, and I doubt it would be a lie, he is a Nascent Soul Cultivator, which means he is at least two great realms stronger than me, and even a smallyer is a difference between heaven and earth among cultivators, not to mention a realm that has nineyers.

    So, any sane man should now be shaking in fright, thinking that this Nascent Cultivator had been interested in their treasure. For anyone besides me, they would have offered the sword in peace just to preserve their lives. But I, I was rather immune to such threats, even if they were probably unfounded. And I had two strong reasons that would keep me safe, the first, without me, Xi Son would never be able to unlock the box. And the second is simple enough, I just finished making a puppet that kicks ass. Though I don¡¯t know if it could fare well against a Nascent Cultivator. One punch at ten percent is strong enough to break a reinforced wall. No matter how strong that man¡¯s body, a punch from my puppet will hurt.

    "Let¡¯s go," Xi Son said after what he deemed enough time spent ogling my treasure while I didn¡¯t adhere to his gaze.

    The two of us flew south, and we continued the pace. But after a few hours of constant flight, I had to start popping ¡¯pills¡¯ before I became too suspicious. Simply put, I¡¯m a Foundation Establishment cultivator, while he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he would have greater Spiritual Qi reserves and would be able to support his flight, while my Qi reserves should diminish. If I were to showcase that I was still fully capable of matching and keeping up with his speed, then roots of greed would sprout in his spirit. And thest thing I want is to give a stronger person more reasons to want my things.

    "Junior Shen Bao," Xi Son said, "Should we slow down? I don¡¯t wish to see you exhausted before our trip reaches its end."

    "No worries, I have enough pills to keep this pace for a few days." It was a tant lie, even if my flying Sword was eating up my Poison Qi like mad, I still had enough energy to keep this pace for weeks. Apparently, the time I spent cooped up inscribing wasn¡¯t for naught, as a side effect, a positive one, I¡¯m able to make full use of my Qi using my Mind¡¯s Eye, an insight that I passively gained after days upon days of constant concentration on inscription. Now it came in handy, micromanaging the energy that I¡¯m expending, and using the minimum of it to its maximum potential in powering the sword.

    As for the pills, I was eating, they were just some weak poison Pills that I found in one of the cultivator pockets, it doesn¡¯t do me any harm to have a snack while flying.

    Yet even while popping those pills like tic-tacs, I have yet to Breakthrough the nextyer. I¡¯m surprised to have spent so much time in the firstyer of Foundation Establishment, but I can¡¯t be too rash about it, at least for my earlier progress I had the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud sect as a poison source to power me up, as for now, I¡¯ll have to settle for lesser poisons.

    Hours after hours of flight, the first light of dawn breaks before Xi Son mentioned that we arrived.

    Though I don¡¯t know why we had to get so far from the capital, I won¡¯t be judging him, at least right now I don¡¯t know the range of a Nascent Soul cultivator¡¯s Divine Sense. But at this distance, I doubt anyone from the capital would have range enough to spy on us.

    There was a small cottage built in the middle of nowhere, right under arge oak tree in what seemed to be a thinly packed forest.

    We entered the cottage and Xi Son invited me to a dusty seat.

    I wiped it as much as I could before sitting, and once I was on the chair I took a moment to survey my surrounding. The cottage was old, perhaps it belonged to Xi Son or some person that didn¡¯te here in a long time. Also seeing that it still had its wears and wasn¡¯t infringed upon by some random animal or someone seeking shelter, ites to mind that this ce had been abandoned for a long time.

    Xi Son waved his hand and the dust on the table, chair, and all the wears in this small hut was swooped out the door. Neat trick, I could learn this, at least this would help clean up the house that Zei Fen had gifted me. Back to our topic, I¡¯m getting distracted.

    Xi Son ced the cube in front of me and said, "Can you unlock it?"

    "Yes, but I¡¯ll require your aid, the bit about a Nascent Soul cultivator I said was true. Without thicker Spiritual Qi, I can¡¯t put enough energy to power this thing up." I answered.

    "Right then, what am I supposed to do." Xi Son politely asked.

    "You see this symbol here?" I pointed at the centermost symbol in the box, "You need to pour in your spiritual Qi in it and at the same time supply all other five faces of the cube the same amount of energy. Once the cube is sated, it will release its locking mechanism and disy what¡¯s inside it." I replied.

    The man nodded and began pouring his energy into the cube.

    After a few seconds of no visible change, Xi Son frowned, thinking that I lied to him and was probably trying to drain his energy to kill him, or so his expressions portrayed.

    But soon enough the cube began shuddering, proving that what I said was true and the frown on Xi Son soon turned to an expression of excitement and anticipation.

    The more the cube shuddered the more Xi Son poured his energy, and after a while and what seemed to be an exhausting amount of Spiritual Qi wasted into the unsatiated Cube, the small six-faced little ck hole opened up.

    The cube¡¯s faces fell to the side revealing nothing inside them, to the disappointment of Xi Son.

    "There is nothing inside!" he said, angered yet huffing with exertion. His exhaustion proved him a person of a prudish mind, yet I couldn¡¯t fault him, he sees himself as a weak person right now with all the expenditure, and at risk.

    "No, there is everything," I corrected. "The treasure isn¡¯t supposed to be inside the box, but the box itself." I took the six faces of the cube and ced them next to each other, making a rectangr piece.

    "Look," I said as I poured a smidgen of my Qi on the cube¡¯s faces.

    The Qi spread along seamless and invisible lines along the cube¡¯s interior faces drawing a map that shone in a dim green aura, my poison aura.

    "This... fascinating!" Xi Son said.

    I kept gazing at the map, unable to determine where this location could be, Xi Son interjected.

    "I know this mountain, it¡¯s Luo-Luo mountain, it¡¯s a few days travel west of here, this also, I believe I know this region." The man contemted as he shared his thoughts.

    "Come with me, I¡¯d like to discover this ce alongside a smart person such as you."

    That¡¯s the most tant lie I have ever heard in my life, simply put, this man deduced that if the map required such effort and ¡¯smartness¡¯ to understand, then the location that this map pointed to would require the same mental exertion. Thus, if he were to abandon me and go alone, he was bound to get stuck in some sort of trap that his brain can¡¯t figure out.

    "I¡¯d be delighted toe along," I replied, after all, I have no way to refuse him, even if I¡¯m fully capable of annihting him using X, I¡¯d rather keep X a secret, after all, it would be best to have this man exhaust himself in whatever location this map leads to than if I had to rely on myself to do all the manual work if I were to kill him here and now.

    Xi Son then pulled a pill and popped it in his mouth, it didn¡¯t take more than a second before he was full of energy. Thankfully I didn¡¯t try anything stupid, now that I know even after he had exhausted himself fully, he still had a pill that can invigorate him, if I were to stupidly attack him while he was weak, nothing less than a killing blow would be enough to save me from his retaliation.

    Xi Son pulled his sword and flew in the direction of the Luo-Luo mountain. And after days of constant exhausting travel, we arrived at the said location. It was an open ne with nothing impressive about it, and following the traces on the map, there was supposed to be an entry to a cave somewhere around this region.

    A wave of pervasive energy shot through me, it lingered for a fraction of a second before shooting off in the distance, and in that fraction of a second, I felt myself naked against the gaze of such a powerful entity.

    ¡¯So that¡¯s Devine Sense.¡¯ I construed.

    Frowning the man looked at me and said, "I can¡¯t seem to find anything here. My divine sense isn¡¯t detecting any cave entrances..." the man said. "We¡¯ll have to manually look for it, and seeing thisrge swath of ins, it¡¯s going to take a while."

    "Though I¡¯m unable to use Devine Sense, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised that you couldn¡¯t find it, otherwise others would have," I said.

    "Then what do you suggest?" he asked.

    "Well, could you use your Divine Sense once again, and instead of focusing on detecting areas to ess, try and find areas that you Divine Sense can¡¯t protrude through," I replied.

    "Smart, by locating areas where I¡¯m unable to see with my Divine Sense we can heavily reduce the areas we need to search, luckily there was only one area, there," Xi Son pointed.

    It was arge boulder among many others, that had a lot of grass growing around it, it did look like a part of this scene but so would anything be if one wanted to hide it in in sight.

    "The rocks shouldn¡¯t bounce off my Divine Sense, I should be able to see through them, but if you hadn¡¯t voiced your opinion I would have disregarded them as regr rocks. Now that I think about it, I should have at least been able to ¡¯see¡¯ at least a few meters within the rocks.

    ¡¯damn, if Divine Sense can ¡¯see¡¯ through rocks that would be the most unfair advantage in a hide and seek game, where you hide from death and the man seeks to kill you, I should really mind not pissing off someone with a divine sense, because not even hiding underground can save me. Or at least finding a way to hide from the Divine Sense."

    I added a mental note on studying Divine Sense and finding ways to avoid detection, such methods would help greatly in keeping me alive. For now, I¡¯ll have to rely on X and hope that his badass power punch is enough to make Xi Son regret turning his back on me if it ever happens.

    Well now, what am I waiting for, let¡¯s go explore a cave that was probably created by an Ascendant? How hard can it be?

 Chapter 49 Into The Cave

    <h4>Chapter 49: Into The Cave</h4>

    Once we came down, we were stopped in our tracks while we gazed at the rocks. There was no seeming entrance to the said caves, if it weren¡¯t for Xi Son¡¯s confirmation that these rocks weren¡¯t natural, no one could ever be able to convince me otherwise.

    I thought high hard and low on where the entrance to these rocks could be but came to no favorable answer.

    "Should I break them?"

    "And risk the probability of destroying the entrance? There are too many variables and things at risk, perhaps this could even be a test that we need to figure out before entering. I say we spend a little bit of time contemting, thinking about all possibilities before acting rashly then suffering consequences we don¡¯t want. After all, this is a cave made by an ascendant." I spoke.

    "I¡¯m surprised you know about the Ascendant stage of cultivation, it¡¯s rare to find people with such vast knowledge even when they¡¯re still young cultivators." Xi Son said while delivering a stab in between his words, stating that I¡¯m far weaker for my knowledge. He might as well say that I was actually tightening the noose around my neck, but better keep my paranoia in check. Now I need to focus.

    I got closer to the boulder formation and deduced that if there was going to be an entrance, there should be a gate, and most rocks here were too small to act as a gate, besides thergest one among them. I slowly climbed up and tried to understand how this boulder would act as a gate while it looked like apletely ordinary oversized tall boulder.

    Then it hit me like a train. And I grinned.

    I climbed down and took a few steps back, "I think I figured it out," I replied.

    Xi Son waited for me to answer.

    "Here, the grass, why is it this small, it should have been thick and overgrown, yet it never went past this area. Then that bird¡¯s nest, it doesn¡¯t look natural, most birds would usuallyy their nests on trees, and their nests won¡¯t be aas perfectly round as that one." I replied.

    "I don¡¯t really understand."

    "This is another form of inscription, a formation, nay, a restriction. It¡¯s a puzzle that only those who can see can unlock." I replied.

    "But I fail to see a key to said restriction." Xi Son said.

    "Because there is no key," I replied and sat down in a meditative state.

    The man frowned, unable to understand.

    "This is actually a clock, it will open on its own at a certain time, though I don¡¯t know when, therge boulder is acting as the clock¡¯s longer hand, then you have the other boulders acting as the hours of the day. I presume that when therge boulder¡¯s shadow is over the bird¡¯s nest, then something will happen."

    And that didn¡¯t seem like it would take a lot of time, as it only took a few hours before the sun moved, causing therger boulder¡¯s shadow to cover the nest, and then I felt a small vibration, almost subtle, but to Xi Son, it was loud enough that it woke him from his meditation with a wide grin on his face.

    Yet, his expression disappeared almost immediately when nothing seemed to have changed.

    I also found myself in a perplexing situation, unable to discern the right way to enter this ¡¯gate¡¯.

    Xi Son¡¯s pervasive Divine Sense swept right through the boulders with no signs of any change. But I didn¡¯t fall to despair.

    "The bronze tes, can I see them?" I asked.

    And the noble presented them almost too eagerly. Just as I grabbed the tes, trying to see if I could figure something, one of them shone brightly in my hand.

    On the boulder, there was a seam that I didn¡¯t notice before, and it probably was hidden, but the seam was a perfect square.

    I ced the square shining te on it and immediately the massive boulder shook and literally opened up like an iron maiden.

    Inside the boulder was a tunnel that led down.

    "Well, that worked," I mumbled.

    I gave the rest of the tes back to Xi Son, who eagerly pocketed them and jumped into the tunnel, not giving heed to what possible dangers an Ascendant Cultivator¡¯s cave could entail.

    I sighed as I followed after him, jumping inside the small hole within the boulder I fell down to the dark unknown. Not wanting to die ttened on the ground due to my inability to fly, I unceremoniously pulled out my flying sword and ted my feet above it mid-fall.

    The sword swooped down and carried my weight with no visible strain. In this darkness, it was a little bit hard to see where Xi Son was, but not impossible.

    I pulled my finger and used my green me, the same me I used to light my pipe with when I was smoking Joyful Weed with Elder Yun.

    The small me danced as it lit the dark cave in green light.

    The cave wasn¡¯t big, but it was deep, it was like arge well that led down. I descended, while Xi Son raced forward. He seemed interested in whatever an Ascendant¡¯s cave would entail in treasures and resources, but I was more curious on why an Ascendant would build a cave in such a remote ne area.

    Once we arrived at the bottom, I saw Xi Son standing in front of a square tform, frowning.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" I asked.

    "This, this is a long-range teleportation tform, it needs to be powered with spiritual stones to activate. Though I have, I¡¯m really reluctant to part with them..." Xi Son said.

    And he was right, Spiritual Stones, though useless for me unless I use them to power X, for a regr cultivator they can use them to cultivate. Unlike pills that restore energy, Spirit Stones can bolster one¡¯s inner Qi and help them cultivate to higher realms, there are rare pills that can do the same effect, but nothing is as Pure as Spirit Stones, after all, Spirit Stones are the condensed form of Heavenly Energy, given shape into small marble-like objects that can power a person with no side effects as would pills and their impurities that they leave in the body.

    "I wish if I could help, but the few Spirit Stones I have I already used them for my project, I only have some weak ones," I stated as I pulled out thousands of regr Spirit Stones that I got from the cultivators that tried to kill me in the Poison Cave.

    "Good, that¡¯s more than enough, Quantity is quality in itself." Xi Son said as he pulled another two thousand to my thousand Spirit Stones.

    Though it pained me to part with so many Stones, I wanted to be a ¡¯part¡¯ of this expedition, at least now, Xi Son would feel apprehensive from outright ending my life, at least, he would feel slight guilt now that I¡¯m actually helping him without regard to my wealth. Or so I believe.

    I still have X ready to go out at a moment¡¯s notice if Xi Son proved a threat, but I should stay passive for now.

    Xi Son waved his hand, carrying all the spirit stones and cing them on the tform, which instantly devoured them, turning them to dust and lit up.

    Several runes shone brightly under the tform, I was fascinated with theplexity of said runes before Xi Son gestured for me to follow while saying, "Though I respect your need for knowledge, these runes are ancient and would require a lot of time studying not to mention properly using them. It would be best not to waste time trying to figure these things lest the gate closes." Xi Son said.

    But I didn¡¯t need to study them right now, I memorized the whole tform, all thanks to my Mind¡¯s Eye, a seriously overpowered ability, though I¡¯m sure every cultivator has it, when ites to photographic memory, it proved beyond helpful when I needed to study thister on.

    I stood next to Xi Son and immediately the teleportation gate lit up, and I felt as if my body was being disintegrated molecule by molecule, and immediately my sight went dark before it was assaulted by a bright pervasive light.

    Opening my eyes, I found myself in arge swath of green fertilend. I would have sworn that we were ejected outside of the cave if not for the dense heavenly energy that was swirling about in this area.

    "My God, the Spiritual Energy in here is several folds stronger than back at the capital." Xi Son stated the obvious.

    But for me, it didn¡¯t matter if it was thick or thin, I can¡¯t cultivate spiritual energy, but that¡¯s not enough to put a damper on my mood. After all, high spiritual energy means that spiritual herbs are more prone to bloom and blossom in such areas.

    And the poison god¡¯s book had already sent me a private message, more like telepathic audio that several herbs could prove useful to me in this area.

    "We should explore the area, let¡¯s split up, and here," Xi Son said, giving me a jade.

    "If you find yourself in danger, just break this and I¡¯ll appear as soon as possible. I wouldn¡¯t want you to die on me, not before I repay your help," Xi Son said in a faithful smile though I felt it was a tant lie.

    He wanted to keep track of me, perhaps I might get lucky and find something that would interest him.

    "Thank you for your benevolence," I said as I pocketed the jade.

    After all, I also have my way of dealing with his tracking mechanism, unless he uses Divine Sense to look for me, I could easily alter this jade and send him to the wrong location. Though if I find myself in trouble, I won¡¯t hesitate in breaking it, better have him deal with any shenanigans I might encounter than me dying meaninglessly in a bloody Ascendant¡¯s cave.

    Damn, sometimes I do some stupid stuff. Still, every dangerous encounter is worth the risks, the treasures that these expeditions award are worth the risks, at least the spiritual herbs. Now, let¡¯s see, which way should I head to?

 Chapter 50 Trials and Tribulations

    <h4>Chapter 50: Trials and Tribtions</h4>

    I moved through therge swaths of grass and open fields, trees rose ever so sparingly in this enclosed area, though I have little understanding of if this whole ce was a part of this world, or from the stuff I read when I was back on earth, a separate enclosed dimension. Though unlikely, this ce could probably be on some other side of this continent instead of a secret location. But it¡¯s never wrong to be careful.

    This ce might be the resting ce of an Ascendant cultivator, and from what I understand, this could have several trials and tribtions to the people seeking the ascendant¡¯s treasures.

    But I¡¯m not too keen on getting myself killed in seeking treasures of an entity that far surpasses my level of understanding. Risks entail rewards, but the looming threat of Death is great, and it would be foolish if I were to throw myself to my death if I were to overestimate my abilities.

    The Poison God mentioned to seek danger and find reward for one¡¯s risks, but he also mentioned to be careful for there is a thin line between courage and recklessness. Only if the risks are worth the effort, and I¡¯m fully capable of surpassing them even at great effort, will I move to obtain what the Ascendant has to offer. Otherwise, if only death awaits as I take stupid risks, then I¡¯d rather leave this area than try my already nonexistent luck against insurmountable odds.

    Struck by realization, I finally began to understand better how this whole thing works, birds die for food and men die for wealth. But I¡¯m able to think pragmatically right now, clear of mind and sharp of focus, I¡¯m able to perfectly judge my current conundrum. It seems that there is something here that¡¯s calming my thoughts and making me able to perfectly ¡¯see¡¯ reason.

    As I continued moving through the grasnds, the book vibrated in my chest as my single eye was attracted to a naturally formed spiritual nt that I would have missed formon grass. The spiritual nt looked exactly like the grass next to it, along single strand green grass petal. If it were any other person, they would have not given this grass a second look, but this was the Fickle de Grass. A seventh-grade spiritual herb that can be used to reinforce medicinal pills. Receptariers would use this to increase the power of their pills, it¡¯s amonly known herb in the domain of Alchemy, however, though it is well known, it is extremely rare. And for a good reason.

    This nt looks feels and acts like normal grass, though it has a spiritual vein inside it enabling it to cultivate heavenly energy. But the real reason why this thing is so rare because once it births into the world, it will onlyst for a few days before it will wither and die. Though many didn¡¯t understand why this nt would die, from what I got off the Poison God¡¯s book, he theorized that this nt¡¯s very existence is to defy heaven.

    Weed, or grass, stomped on, chopped, cut, or burnt, will always grow back as long as its roots remain. And this very simple-looking grass is an embodiment of heaven-defying nature. Thus after a few days of its birth, heavens will not tolerate its existence and will cut off all heavenly energy from around it, insting it from the world and thus dooming its existence.

    I picked up the herb and ced it inside my bag. Rare are those who manage to obtain a stalk of this thing, but the moment I raised my head, I was surprised to see so many of it just a few feet away.

    Fickle de Grass grew in abundance in this ce. How, or why? It escaped my understanding, but if what the Poison God said was true, and judging by the dense heavenly energy in this ce I could also put a few theories of mine to work.

    First off, this ce was a sealed location, meaning that not even heaven can interfere, thus the Fickle de Grass had grown to abundance.

    Secondly, this ce is undoubtedly beyond the perception of ¡¯heaven¡¯ thus it¡¯s able to thrive in heavenly energy, although this might sound contradictive, I could guess that there is something in this ce that is supplying this small ¡¯world¡¯ with heavenly energy, though not heaven itself, perhaps a treasure, or a spirit stone?

    I don¡¯t have any evidence to validate my theories, but it¡¯s possible that something is powering this whole ce up, against heavenlyw. Thus this ce is both concealed from heaven, and at the same time has enough Heavenly Energy within it to allow a myriad of Spiritual Herbs to grow.

    Lastly, if one was able to create this ce, seal it and lock it from the eyes of heaven, how powerful could they be?

    Thest question was something I did and did not want to be answered.

    Knowing an enemy¡¯s capabilities was half the effort into finding out how to defeat them, but an ant can¡¯t kill an elephant even if it knows how strong he is, for the disparity in strength make all efforts nothing but a moot attempt at defying unshaking possibilities of doom.

    I walked ahead, while plucking all the grass I could find, for all of it is wasted if it were to remain here unattended, I could also use some of this grass into increasing the potency of a lot of my pills, especially poison pills. Though I don¡¯t have the ability to start mastering Receptarism, as the Poison God calls it, or Alchemy as the people of this lower realm call it. I can easily dilute a poison pill in a cup of water and add a few drops of extract from the Fickle de Grass to increase the poison¡¯s potency.

    I continued moving through the open field, finding even more spiritual nts and herbs. So many of them I felt that it would be a crime if I were to strip thisnd barren of so many treasures.

    Though I continued plucking without regard, as every single piece of grass and spiritual herb would only go to waste if no one took them. but I still kept my bearings about me, there was something that I should not forget due to greed. I made sure that for every ten stalks of grass I gathered into my Poison God¡¯s Book, I ced one stalk into my holding bag. For reasons that I wish would never happen, but one cannot be too careful.

    I kept gathering the herbs and continued moving until I noticed one small little detail that became as apparent as a sore thumb after a while.

    I¡¯ve spent several hours on this field, but the sun never moved an inch. Thus giving me two options, the first, I was probably trapped in a restriction that I didn¡¯t notice, an illusion where my soul is stuck in this ¡¯heaven of spiritual herbs¡¯ while my body is about to be ravaged by some odd monstrosity.

    Quite a farfetched theory but this is a cultivation world and such scenarios wouldn¡¯t be too unthinkable.

    The second was a confirmation that this ce is nothing but a created domain, a world with stagnant natural phenomenon, where the sun, the ground, and even this soulless breeze that keeps moving were all artificial and manufactured. But if all of this was fake, how could the spiritual herbs thrive? Heavenly Energy was such a wondrous thing that it would defy the natural order and make a world againstws.

    I sighed as I had no way to confirm either suggestion and continued on my merry way gathering herbsforted by the fact that the Poison God¡¯s Book never spoke of hidden dangers.

    After more tiresome hours of gathering herbs, enough hours actually until my back started to hurt from picking them up, I found myself in front of ake.

    A blue stagnateske, where not even its waters rippled. But the water in it looked as stagnant as a mirror¡¯s surface, for the life of me I was unable to understand why it didn¡¯t rot over and turn into a disgusting rancid quagmire. After all, the natural alignment should have affected the stagnant pond, or at least have some algae grow on the pond. This pond felt unnaturally natural, and it somehow irked me.

    Yet, due to its clear and crystal surface, I was able to see something inside the pond, there was a flower the size of a man¡¯s fist at the bottom of theke.

    Another spiritual herb, and just as I approached theke, the poison God¡¯s Book vibrated in my chest, sending a message directly to my mind.

    ¡¯Don¡¯t take another step lest you want your life squandered and your soul shredded, for you¡¯re in the presence of a Soul Devouring Bloom.¡¯

    "Okay, that¡¯s not ominous at all..." I said to myself. But to my dismay, even if I didn¡¯t take another step heeding the book¡¯smand, somehow, theke shuddered and ripples moved along its surface. Heck, I wasining that this thing wasn¡¯t acting as a naturalke, and now that it does, I feel he more worried. Especially since said flower shot up from within theke, though I say flower, it was sitting on top of the head of a jade serpent the size of a high-speed train. And the serpent didn¡¯t look too pleased with my ugly self.

    "I¡¯m too old for this shit..." I cursed as I saw the massive behemoth open its mouth wide, ready to swallow me whole.

    ---------------***********-----------

 Chapter 51 X

    <h4>Chapter 51: X</h4>

    The train-sized snake wasn¡¯t too keen on greetings and immediately dove at me, head first, fangs ready to gouge me whole in a best-case scenario, at least it would beat being chomped on and chewed to bits before turning to a gigantic cultivating serpent poop.

    I urged my frail old body to dodge to the side, say I urged here because against mortals like back at the bandit¡¯s cave, I was strong and all-powerful, the disparity between a cultivator and a normal human being was vast, exactly as vast as this situation between me and the snake, where I was the mortal in question and the snake was the cultivator.

    My feeble attempt at a decent dodge still awarded me with a rather lucky escape from the jaws of death, even if momentarily. As the snake had bitten through the dirt, digging several metric tons of it out of the ground in a single bite then spat it out to the side in a rumble of dust and stone that rose up to the high heavens then focused its eyes back at me ready for another attempt at my life.

    Shit.

    Now, I could be strongpared to a mortal, but if the jade-colored snake was to have me in between its jaws instead of the massive dirt pile that it just spat, I¡¯d be hard-pressed to worry abouting out of the incident with a few broken bones.

    I¡¯m in way over my head, and I know it. I have two options, the first, run, which is super dumb considering the serpent is faster, stronger, and has impressive agility, a huge contrast to its massive train-sized self.

    The second option is to fight, and even if it does sound even dumber than the first option, it¡¯s my best one. Though I know for certain that even if this snake were to sleep right in front of me for a hundred years as I hacked away at its hide I¡¯ll be satisfied if I were to break a single one of its scales during that period.

    Shit is impossible to beat and I know of it, yet, there was only one way toe on top. Using X. Now heree my concerns, I don¡¯t know if Xi Son is observing me, but if I don¡¯t act, I¡¯ll definitely end up dead. And since he didn¡¯t show himself the moment the snake had appeared, then he either doesn¡¯t care if I live or die, or he has no idea I¡¯m in great peril.

    I¡¯ll bet on the second option because the first is too grim to think about.

    I jumped back while the serpent shot at where I stood, only missing by a hair¡¯s breadth as I got assaulted by all the dust and debris that were the result of its second chomp on the ground. For the life of me, if I was just a bystander, I¡¯d think that the ground was made of Tofu instead of solid dirt dust, and rocks.

    I tapped twice on my chest as X shot forward from the Poison God¡¯s book, this was X¡¯s debut fight and I pitted him against a ¡¯demonic beast¡¯ (?) for his first battle. A great risk, a stupid one even, because I haven¡¯t fully calcted its full capabilities, side form a powerful punch against a wall, I have no idea where X¡¯s limitsy. And if that punch against the wall was impressive, snaky here made chomping on the ground look like he was taking a bite out of a cack.

    Still, X never failed to impress me, the automaton immediately took action, knowing exactly what to do without even having to tell it that I need to be protected. Not out of luck, no, I had already inscribed perception, awareness, and a deduction inscription within it, though not the mostplex, but enough for him to understand that snake equals danger, X kill danger.

    A simple equation that made great results. X didn¡¯t dodge the iing charge, as the snake was about to bite right through it. And where I saw the puppet standing in wait for the iing charge, my heart wrenched at the prospects of losing X, but the puppet surprised me as it grabbed the snake by the fang. Thanks to the massive spiritual Qi expenditure from the High-Grade Spirit Stones powering it, X¡¯s strength rose to match that of the snake and above, as it stopped the snake in its tracks like a reinforced concrete block would do to a car.

    Utterly andpletely immovable, X stood on his grounds, while the snake panicked at being pinned by the fangs. the snake coiled around itself, though it couldn¡¯t move its mouth, its tail was still able to move, and it was about to use it to swat X like an annoying fly.

    I moved several paces away, the battle between these two is not something I could join or even survive if I was in the vicinity, so I had to leave the stage for X.

    The serpent¡¯s tail came down like a god¡¯s whip about to punish a heretic servant, but the puppet released one hand from the snake¡¯s fangs, and even with one hand, X still kept the snake pinned.

    X then tucked his hand under his armpit then punched forward, meeting the snake¡¯s tail with a sound-breaking punch. A loud thundering explosion echoed as tail and fist met, and neither buckled. I was impressed with the oue, X didn¡¯t spare any Qi using his punch, though he didn¡¯t use the full power from the Spiritual Stone as it would destroy his hand from the sheer Qi within the High-Grade Spirit Stone, X used the most Qi he could use without damaging his hand from Qi overload.

    And that was about 35%, not of the total Qi inside the spirit Stone. But 35% of the Qi that the spirit stone would passively release.

    And that sh had caused the snake to feel threatened as the slits of its eyes shook in apprehension, sensing that the puppet grabbing it by the fang was strong enough to contend with its hardened tail, the snake tried its best to escape, only to be pinned down once again by X as he grabbed the second fang with his now slightly damaged fist.

    The snake raised its tail again, attempting to swat X once again, but the puppet was smarter. It had already deduced that if they were to repeat the same scenario, he will note on top, the damage to his hand was a clear indication that his durability was slightly below the snake. Not a fault of his, but the material that made X.

    So as before the serpent¡¯s tail woulde down on the puppet, but X pulled the snake towards him. Then, as if X was human, I¡¯d swear it heaved as it jerked the whole damned creature above its head then mmed it on the ground behind him, cratering the ground, while I almost lost my footing due to the reverberations from the impact.

    X had smashed the snake on its back, then stomped on its upper jaw that was now stuck in the ground, he then clutched the other jaw with two powerful grips, a single forceful twist and pull, and the snake¡¯s lower jaw was ripped out of tis socket. Leaving the snake hissing and iling inplete pained agony, while showing X in a burst of crimson blood. Not even bothered by the boiling blood that melted the grass under his feet, X unceremoniously threw the lower jaw away and grabbed at the snake¡¯s forked tongue, ripping it from its socket, causing untold pain to the snake.

    Though the snake¡¯s hide was as strong if not stronger than X¡¯s body, its internal organs weren¡¯t as durable. And X abused that fact to vicious savagery.

    One would even feel sorry for the snake if one were to see how it iled around, in agonized but unvoiced pain. X reveled in the pained throwes of the snake until he finally believed the snake to be deserving of mercy. He dove his fist right at the snake¡¯s upper jaw, and right into its brain, where the snake iled onest time before it slumped to the ground, forever unmoving.

    The moment the snake was dead, X stood up, and stood still, deeming that no danger presented itself, the puppet stood at attention waiting for further instruction.

    "Holy crap," I cursed.

    Honestly, this was a surprising oue, I never thought that X would have such power. And it was damn impressive andforting. Still, there was much to do, so much to fix. First of all, X had a lot of power, too much power in fact. Not that it was a bad thing, but his body had received a lot of damage, mostly from X¡¯s own expenditure of Qi than the damage from the battle, as the snake had failed to evennd a single blow on X.

    The damage was mostly dealt with his hands and shoulders. A few nicks and strained fingers. He was made of metal, but metal can bend and due to the power behind him, his body became oddly shaped even if slightly. He was now favoring his right leg over his left, and his torso was slightly tilted from the forced pulls, if he was made of flesh, his current predicament would be the same as a person who had pulled his muscles, only he pulled his muscles enough that they ripped.

    An automaton he was, X still suffered an ¡¯injury¡¯ and it would hinder his action if left unfixed.

    I waved my hand as I pulled X back into the Poison God¡¯s Book. So far, there was no news from Xi Son, nor did he show his face, the battle wasn¡¯t soundless, so if he had sensed the Qi expenditure, he would definitely know that I¡¯ve been fighting and woulde to investigate. So, I¡¯m better off hiding my trump card.

    As for the snake. I sat down, contemting what to do with it. It was huge, powerful even, and looking at its fangs I could say that they could prove worth a few coins.

    I thought against using my poison to consume the snake as I didn¡¯t need any poison Qi right now and it would be useless to waste such a corpse. I needed to study this snake. Even if it had died to X, it had a hide strong enough to sustain a full blow from X, that was enough for me to take interest in its skin.

    Better skin the snake and use the skin, sell it or craft something with it than waste it using the Green Poisonous Aura that would serve nothing as I¡¯m neither exhausted nor in dire need of Poison Qi.

    So, I waved my hand once again and had the Poison God¡¯s Book suck in the snake inside it. Preserving it forter along with the flower atop it and the tongue and the lower jaw that were thrown on the ground.

    I sat down, trying to calm my excited self, right now, I felt fifty years younger, I began meditating, reflecting on what just happened, and how surprisingly powerful X is.

 Chapter 52 Solitary Mountain Pagoda

    <h4>Chapter 52: Solitary Mountain Pagoda</h4>

    First things first, I¡¯m weak. This is obvious, to anyone with eyes. I¡¯m no match to the monsters and creatures of this world, and I¡¯m even surprised at my ability to retain my sanity even after I was almost eaten by that huge snake. I¡¯ll have to thank the cultivation mindset for this because if I was a regr person, I¡¯d probably shit my pants the moment that snake showed up.

    The second thing, I¡¯m way in over my head. This mere snake was the first hurdle thrown at me in this Ascendant¡¯s cave, there could be more, and definitely fiercer, stronger creature up in the distance, something that mere luck or a damaged X cannot ovee.

    And finally, I can¡¯t leave this ce without Xi Son. Simply because I didn¡¯t have the slightest idea on how to. I came to this ce thanks to the teleportation tform. But the tform didn¡¯t teleport me to another one but rather threw us in a random spot inside this small ¡¯world¡¯.

    So to leave I must find another teleportation tform and pay the hefty sum of spirit stones to get out. Also, not to mention the small bs that are in the hands of Xi Son. One of them allowed us ess to this ce, so it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to assume that one would allow us to leave, or even be the key to some of the possible areas in this small world.

    Right, let¡¯s take a step back.

    I¡¯m too weak to fight, but I won¡¯t give up and just die. I need strength to survive but it¡¯s impossible in the current situation, I can¡¯t just up and be an ascendant if I wish hard enough. The world doesn¡¯t work like that. Hard work and dedication, and suffering at the hands of the poison guing my body.

    So, that leaves me with what? Prudence, carefulness, andplete understanding of where I am, what I have to do, and where to go. I can¡¯t power my way through these hurdles with mere strength, I¡¯m so farcking in that aspect right now it would be a joke if I were to think I¡¯ll survive on my mere Foundation Establishment cultivation.

    I¡¯ll need to use my wits.

    Immediately, my mind¡¯s gears began spinning.

    I revaluated my situation and re-thought through it, no exit, no power but still intelligence and prudence will take one a long way, at least if I were to die, I¡¯ll know it won¡¯t be because I was headstrong and believed I¡¯m able to fight my way through, but because I wasn¡¯t smart enough to navigate the hidden dangers of this ce.

    X is damaged, but I have no way to fix him in this situation. My body is still perfectly fine, I received no injuries and I still have enough Qi to move about. I¡¯m not in any immediate danger but that¡¯s no reason to rx. And I need to figure out my next step, should I wait for Xi Son, or should I navigate this area all by myself.

    Though the first choice seems like the best option, I don¡¯t trust that noble. Simply because he had too much power for me to pose any real threat, the same as the traps here. I could file him as another hurdle and find a way around him, he is a hurdle that I¡¯m best off avoiding.

    So, that brings me to my current predicament, what now?

    All over me are ins that reach all the way to the horizon, the sun never moved, and the sky is slightly cloudy, there is a gentle breeze but it feels fake. More like the wind from a fan than a cold summer wind.

    Staying where I am will not change anything, and will only increase the chances of Xi Son finding me. Not that I¡¯m avoiding him, but if the jade he gave me stays in one ce for a long time he would think that I might have died, or that I¡¯m stuck, giving him reason toe find me.

    I kept looking around, there was nothing that would indicate my position, no mountains no trees, and no points of reference besides this pool next to my feet.

    Which way to go, north, south, west, east? I kept racking my brain thinking where I should go before realizing how idiotic I was.

    The winds, are static, continuous, but the wind ising from the west, it never subsided, it kept moving. And in this fake world, this wind needed a source, and this source would probably be the center of this ce. That¡¯s a start, though not the best lead to follow, if I created this ce I¡¯d probably put all the mechanism in the centermost area.

    I then pulled my sword, sat meditating on it in a lotus pose, and willed it to move forward. Not fast, but not slow either, just in between.

    I meditated, thinking about my situation and if I were to find myself in a fight against something soon and how to deal with it. Though it wasn¡¯t the best way to deal with my current situation, it beats not thinking of anything and worrying about what might be hiding in the grass.

    Hours upon hours of flight, I finally saw the first sign of change in this world. In the distance, there was at first a protrusion in the horizon. And the longer I flew forward, the more the protrusion looked like a mountain.

    Good, a mountain, it¡¯s a change in scenery. But also, it means that there could be something there, besides the mundane grass.

    I kept flying forward while gazing at the mountain taking the sight of it whole.

    The mountain stood at several kilometers tall, far higher and bigger than anything I had ever seen and it only grewrger the more I gotten closer to it.

    And right in the middle of it, the source of the wind came to view. A towering pagoda with nine stories, and each of these stories was as big and as majestic as the pce in the Purple Cloud Sect.

    And on top of it, there was a ¡¯mistake¡¯. I say mistake because something didn¡¯t seem right. There was a sphere that shouldn¡¯t belong there, it was wind, gathering rotating, and spiraling above the pagoda then blowing in one single area. East. Where I came from.

    The pagoda looked immacte and clean as if it didn¡¯t whether god knows how many eons in this ce. No snow, dirt, or dust gathered on the pagoda and it looked clean.

    It took me more hours to get to the pagoda¡¯s open gate. And looking at the doors I saw two of the bs making the box that Xi Son had, already ced on the door. Keys, this means that Xi Son had already arrived here and entered.

    I took a deep breath and took a step inside the pagoda. Only to be immediately assaulted by a mind-rending vocal message.

    "Wee to the Laughing ughterer¡¯s Abode! Rejoice for your Trials and Tribtions are yet to start! Survive and you shall earn untold might, fail and you shall be doomed to evesting mediocrity. That is if you remain alive!"

    The message was simple but it meant that so much danger lurked inside this pagoda that it would be best if I leave. Yet, man proposes, and heaven Disposes. The gates of the pagoda lurch closed locking me inside what seemed to be a gigantic pentagonal wooden tform where it seemed to have no other exit or entry. The walls around me closed and locked me while the ceiling came down locking me in a sealed enclosed space that I had no way to leave.

    And right in front of me, there was a man standing front of me. He oddly looked exactly like me. With the same robes, pustules and hunched back, only his eyes, well one of them as I was missing an eye and so was the ¡¯clone.¡¯ His eye was red, no irises, not white, just a red glowing eye and his grin was something that sent shivers down my spine if I could grin as he did I¡¯d be damn scary.

    "FIRST TRIAL! ONE AGAINST SELF! For only one¡¯s limiter is one¡¯s self, find victory against yourself to see true enlightenment!"

    //////////

    Don¡¯t forget keep the helping for the Poison God¡¯s Heritage all donations are wee to keep this work free

 Chapter 53 Battle

    <h4>Chapter 53: Battle</h4>

    I didn¡¯t move, nor did the clone.

    I didn¡¯t need to act, first of all, I need to understand what the hell is going on. I¡¯m in some Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda, perhaps his trial area where he tests the cultivation noobs forck of a better term. And the first test is a fight against one¡¯s self, so I¡¯ll need to prove that I can be better than who I currently am to proceed forward.

    Right, now, the clone is not attacking, probably waiting for me to attack first, and if I were to do it will start the battle. I¡¯m not ready yet, I¡¯ll need to stay my hand until I¡¯m sure of everything around me. By starting with the setting I found myself in.

    An octagonal room, with a locked ceiling, and closed walls, no windows or doors opened. Even the one behind me was tightly locked, and there were no stairs to the next room, so I would have to assume that once I defeat this guy I¡¯ll be able to go to the next stage.

    Right, assumptions aside, I¡¯ll need to know of one thing.

    I pulled out my sword from behind me, and so did the clone, he pulled out a simr Creeping Demise. Now that¡¯s bad. Because it means that whatever is powering this thing is capable of replicating my stuff, so using X is a big no. I don¡¯t want to face a copy of my own puppet. Nor would I risk having my own X fight against the enemy¡¯s X, in case mine gets ruined in a meaningless battle of attrition.

    So, I figured that unless I pull out something from my pockets, the enemy will not have any prior knowledge of the item I own. It would be best if I kept my cards hidden. That¡¯s an idental lesson I learned.

    So, how do I beat myself? Simple, by cutting my neck, I¡¯m physically weak. Physically weakpared to regr cultivators mind you as I can easily dispose of a few hundred mortals without breaking a sweat.

    But against myself? I¡¯m not too keen on battling this copy, simply put, because I already know how to defeat the clone. This is a test to see if one is able toe to insight in the middle of battle. As one would definitely fight until the bitter end against themselves, and only in this battle where one is equally pitted against his clone would one would understand that unless they came to a new insight, a new killing move, or a new skill, that they would be able to defeat the clone. Because only by bettering oneself would one be able to defeat their older self.

    The idea settled in my mind and I was sure of it, this was the answer to this test. But if I were to fight and note to a new insight of my battle prows, then I will be killed here by a clone.

    But what choice do I have? If I were to stay my hand, wait then nothing will change, there is no room to back down, and only one way forward. Then, prove myself better than myself is the only option left for me.

    I took a step forward and so did the clone, then another step, then the clone charged me, with far more speed than I ever believed ¡¯myself¡¯ capable off. Still, the attack was predictable, a long sword sweep that I could easily dodge if I were to jump back.

    Yet, doing so will definitely cause me to be on the backhand, defensive stance. I don¡¯t want to do that, if I were to y this battle defensively then I¡¯ll be forced on the defensive from the start, and that¡¯s a recipe for disaster.

    The sweep came close to lobbing my head off, but with a flick of my wrist, Creeping demise sprang to action. Striking against the length of the clone¡¯s sword and parrying it with ease. A good parry, I¡¯m impressed I managed it on the first try, but there was no need for me to be all giddy I¡¯m in the middle of battle.

    I followed up, reposting with another flick of the sword, this time slicing at the clone¡¯s wrist. The ripost was perfect, as I sliced the clone¡¯s wrist, then I saw something strange. The clone¡¯s wrist bled, but the blood on it was a clear healthy crimson.

    I took a step back. A terrible move in any battle when one has the advantage, but I deemed this was the best move. Simply because, I found a better way to defeating this enemy, especially since what I saw happening right in front of me proved that my action to back off was the best course of action I took.

    The wrist on the clone healed at astonishing speeds. So, unless Inded a death blow, I would have been stuck in a battle of attrition against an enemy that probably can heal itself indefinity.

    I took a deep breath and spat out my poison breath, to which, the enemy did the same, spewing a powerful gust of Poison towards me, where I greedily smiled as I opened my mouth wide, gulping back my own poison and the enemy.

    The action caused the clone to frown and instantly act, as it opened its mouth to suck in the remaining poison.

    Only for me to bawl outughing, "Dumb idiot."

    A statement that proved more than true before the clone began shuddering, shaking then outright melted in front of me in a puddle of corroded melted flesh.

    "Magnificent disy of skill!" the Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice sounded loud and clear. This simple statement was enough to indicate that this was an automated response to the victor of this stage, and wasn¡¯t an actual person watching and speaking directly to me. Otherwise, they¡¯ll be asking what the hell just happened, or at least know that it had nothing to do with skill and just luck.

    The clone was made of human flesh and powered by some sort of mechanism, also it was made in a way that it would perfectly replicate the being that it was cloning. The only difference that it didn¡¯t fully copy the enemy¡¯s internal body. Otherwise, I would be facing a creature that was really inflicted with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, instead of just the appearance of the affliction such as the pustules and the tumors.

    Arge hole opened up on the ceiling where a spiral case of stairs came spinning down, allowing me ess to the upper floor.

    Then a small pill bottle flew at me, it was fast enough that I didn¡¯t realize it was in front of me until it was.

    "Receive your reward, dress your wounds and go to the second floor, for your test has yet to end!" the voice said once again, further confirming this was just a ¡¯recording¡¯ after all I wasn¡¯t wounded to dress any wounds.

    I took the pill bottle and opened it. A strong spiritual scent assaulted my nose, it was sweet and potent. A mid-grade restorative pill, but to me, it was more like poison. Spiritual Pills were useless to me, and a restorative pill will actually try and heal my affliction which is the poison guing me, but in doing so, it will literally destroy me from within, or so I theorized, but I¡¯m better off just keeping this instead of throwing it like the useless trash it is.

    Once I was on the second floor, I saw that the floor was slightly smaller than the one I was on, but it didn¡¯t take from the majesty of the pagoda. Only, instead of the none existent decoration on the lower floor, this one had a small table with a teapot and a cup ready.

    "Might is right! But what can one do against inconceivable odds? Drink up cultivator and show me!"

    Theughing ughterer¡¯s voice sounded louder this time.

    I sat down and gulped the cup¡¯s content in one single motion. The poison god¡¯s book didn¡¯t warn me that it was dangerous, and if it had poison, then I¡¯ll benefit from it even.

    But the drink actually caused my vision to grow woozy and I found myself lost in a dreamlike state before my eyes focused, where I sat wearing leather armor. Looking at my bare arms, I saw that I had a darkened skin, for someone who had toiled under the re of the zing sun far more than anyone should. This was not my body. It was the body of some soldier as I noticed many others with the same features. Though their faces were blurred. I could see that they talked,ughed, and joked with each other, this was a scene from a battle perhaps.

    We were in a desert-like environment, where cliffs rose high above us as we were shaded by their sheer size from the ze of the scorching sun.

    Tents were pitched as far as my eye could see, but seeing from the ragged clothes and armors of many of these soldiers, even the dead and dyinging in and out of some of the nearby tents, I realized that this could only be the camp of a defeated army.

    I walked away from where I stood and took another nce at my surrounding.

    We sat cradled between two high cliffs, and outside these cliffs was sand, reaching all the way to the horizon. The cliffs around us stretched in a long line back, where many, many wounded soldiers marched, slowly funneling away from the camp. While the healthiest of the bunch remained standing where we are right now.

    Before I wondered why isn¡¯t the whole camp moving deeper between the cliffs, a man came rushing in, as he roared out a warning.

    "THE ENEMY IS UPON US! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" the rider shouted, again and again as he raced through the camp, waking everyone to a grim reality.

    Though I couldn¡¯t see anyone¡¯s face, I could feel the rising tension, despair, and outright defeatist morality of the camp.

    I was but a mere soldier in this battle, and I didn¡¯t have my sword, nor my ability to use poison Qi, as I didn¡¯t feel my meridians no matter how hard I tried to rotate my energy.

    ¡¯Huh, back to being a mortal so soon,¡¯ I grimaced at the realization.

    "Soldiers! Rank up! Form a line to hold the enemy! We¡¯ll pave way for the wounded to escape!" a man with a bristling voice called, his voice booming through the camp inmandeering everyone into action.

    A group of soldiers gathered up and lined up in front, where the two cliffs stood as natural barricades, the soldiers lined up to defend the only ess point to where we stood. A good strategy to limit the number of enemies we¡¯ll be facing.

    "Soldier!" a loud shout woke me from my stupor as the same man who had called everyone to line up was shouting at me.

    Looking back, I saw a man in slightly more ornate clothes, a round helm covering his face, and in one of his hands a spear that held a blue bloodied banner.

    "Are you too scared to move your ass! Show signs of cowards and I¡¯ll kill you myself before you taste the enemy¡¯s steel!"

    I nodded at the man and scurried forward, lining up alongside the other soldiers. So, we¡¯re supposed to hold the enemy for the rest of the camp to escape. Pretty desperate, pretty stupid, and outright suicidal.

    Most of the people around me looked rattled to their cores as the enemy was upon us. Hundreds upon hundreds of horses were charging their way toward us, and with such a flimsy-looking line of soldiers to hold the line, I was certain that we¡¯ll be overrun with the first cavalry charge.

    Now, I¡¯m pretty sure this very test was not tailored towards someone such as me. This was a test for the battle-hungry, sword-happy swinging martial artist who will use their skills in ughtering as many of the enemy soldiers as they can. This is a test of martial skills, of which I didn¡¯t have much knowledge.

    And since I didn¡¯t have any martial skills to speak of, then I¡¯m definitely screwed.

    God, I wish if I could run along with the still scurrying soldiers ¡¯unfit¡¯ to hold the line. Fighting here is outright suicide, and backing away is desertion, rewarded with instant death delivered by the captain himself.

    I¡¯m too old for this shit...

 Chapter 54 Against The Odds

    <h4>Chapter 54: Against The Odds</h4>

    "Spears at the ready!" the captain shouted at the ten tightly packed lines holding the entrance to the enclosed space.

    "Archers! Loose!" he called as the backline shot arrows that arced their way into the iing cavalry. A few of the arrows fell harmlessly on the sand, but a good portion struck rider and mount, causing the horses that were rushing at breakneck speeds to falter or outright fall.

    A horse¡¯s tumble was nothing if not catastrophic, as the whole beast would tumble forward crushing the rider above it under its weight. Not to mention, causing a good deal of the riders behind it to stumble to the same fate, crushed under the hooves of their own allies.

    But the majority of the charging horses knew how to deal with such incidents, as they nudged their horses to jump over the dead and dying bodies of their allies to continue the charge.

    "SPEARS UP! HOLD THE RANKS!" themander called and the front row raised their spears. Futile as it might be against the charge of heavy cavalry, the spears pierced through horse and rider, while many of the horses charged right through the ranks, swatting allies with vehement savagery.

    The riders were well equipped for the charge, with long spears, ives, or metallic polearms. Some even had chain-linked morning stars that they used to swing at the heads of my allies. Breaking bone and crushing skulls.

    The cavalry bore through the ranks like a hot knife through butter and there was nothing the captain could do to hold the charge, especially since a perfectly aimed spear had cut through the captain¡¯s incessantmands, as it bore through his throat.

    Another soldier hurried to grab not the captain, but the banner, if the banner falls, everyone is doomed. The same soldier shouted orders and the battle continued.

    One would think that in a battle every one would be fighting face to face, but it was far from it. Only the soldiers engaged were able to fight, as the rest of the ones behind them waited. There was no room for everyone here to fight, and there was only one thing they could do, wait for theirrades to die before they took their ce, or pull them back to rtive safety if they are too injured to battle.

    And second, after an arduous second as I waited, the battle was getting closer to me. I had a scimitar in hand, a little heavy but not difortingly so. It rested well in my hand, it was made of low-quality steel, nothingparable to cultivator weapons, but it was more than enough to slice through the enemy¡¯s leather clothes with rtive ease if one were to apply a bit of strength.

    Another spear shot through the soldier¡¯s ranks and pierced through the chest of the soldier that held the banner, only to have the banner fall towards the ground, and if it were to fall, all will end. Yet this damnable banner, as if it had a nasty will of its own was falling towards me, where I unconsciously grabbed it before it touched the floor.

    As I had the banner in my hand, a few soldiers looked at me, though their faces were a blur, I could feel their apprehension, fear, and uncertainty, but most of all, hope, hope that I could lead them out of this miserable situation into an impossible victory, or at least survival.

    "Pull the wounded!" I shouted and my voice rang, "Hold the line, and any able archer keeps shooting your arrows!" I called and many followed,forted bymands, soldiers fell in line. A weak, barely able to hold itself, but a line it was. And the arrows fell.

    The arrows managed to subdue the iing cavalry, where my infantry made quick work of the overly extended cavalry in our ranks. A cavalry ride was great for charging through infantry, but against thick lines of spears and arrows, the cavalry found little sess in making more way, now stuck in the midst of soldiers, they were killed almost instantly. A rider had the height advantage in a group of soldiers, but even if he could fend one or two, when you have half a dozen soldiers surrounding your horse, then you¡¯re bound to be impaled.

    And with the arrows still being loosed on the iing riders that desperately tried to replenish their overextended cavalry, it was all but impossible to get any closer. The tight encloser had guaranteed that every horse that had been felled by arrows was an obstacle to subsequent horses, further stopping any cavalry from replenishing their front lines. And with that, the rest of the cavalry were forced to retreat, dooming the few that had charged headfirst into the army.

    A small victory, and a well-earned rest for my soldiers the moment they made quick work of the few riders that were within their ranks. But, that¡¯s nothing to throw a celebration for. As in the distance, there was another group of marching soldiers, heavy infantry, walking right through the desert sands, hot as it was, and insufferable as it was, these soldiers still tided through the blistering heat in their armors.

    The moment they¡¯ll make it here, it will be all but defeat that will await us.

    "Retreat!" I shouted, getting a stunned reaction from everyone. But this was the best action I could think of, waiting here would mean nothing, we¡¯ll be ughtered to thest the moment the enemy was upon us.

    "Retreat!" I called once again and the soldiers finally turned tail and began running.

    "You," I called and began pointing at a few soldiers, who were well halfway in stride, they stopped looking at me, and I could even feel the helplessness in their eyes.

    "Light the camp and tents on fire, it should buy us time to escape, do it quickly and run as fast as you can," I called and moved forward, there was no way for me to take one of the enemy¡¯s horses, as I didn¡¯t know how to ride one, and even if I did, I¡¯m better off not riding a warhorse that had lost its master, lest I want a broken back and a rude spear through the chest once someone finds my body andughs at how dumb I was trying to hijack a warhorse.

    "DON¡¯T SPRINT!" I called and everyone stopped, "Keep moving, half-speed!" I called and the rest of the army moved at a brisk but not so fast speed. Almost like a jug, this was both to keep them warm, even if the weather in this desert had done they the burnt of that work, but they needed to keep their bodies ready for battle lest the sweat would cool them and cause them more exhaustion and unreadiness to battle.

    The pitched tents were thankfully packed tight, and when my soldiers lit them on fire, they caught it like a swat of dry hay under a summer sun¡¯s ze.

    Smoke rose, and fire lit through the camp, securing our back from an assault for a few moments. The ze helped scare off the horses as not even a warhorse was brave enough to charge through it, and it was hot enough for even the heavily armored soldiers to try and move through, their only option was to wait, and we weren¡¯t going to wait for them.

    We moved on foot, for long arduous hours, with no enemy behind us, as the path elongated and extended forward, thankfully this valley was wide enough to allow our army to move, but crooked and with enough obstacles to stop any of the enemy¡¯s horses to charge into a full sprint. We kept moving as my group moved at half a running pace.

    A man passed me his waterskin, and I was thankful as I was parched beyond humanly possible, I took a sip, dousing my almost brittle throat, and passed the waterskin to another person.

    We had no chance at survival against the enemy, but running away, we can make it if we¡¯re lucky enough. The only problem was, if there was an end to this valley or if it extended to eternity.

    The scout that had first rmed us to the enemy came running again, "Keep moving! We¡¯re close to the valley¡¯s end, there are friendlies in wait!"

    Hope, good, this would raise the morals, but I didn¡¯t like how it made almost all of the soldiers run even faster, "Keep your god damned pace!" I shouted, thest thing I wanted for them was to exhaust themselves before they reached the end only for the enemy to find weak exhausted prey to pick.

    The friendlies that the scout had said would have been pretty helpful here holding our back, but I immediately shook the idea out of my head. The cave was tight pack enough with my soldiers, it would be suicide to add more to this death trap.

    As if the enemy had known of the friendlies in wait, I heard the thundering sound of hooves behind us. Though still far away, it would take them less than a dozen minutes to reach us.

    How can I stop the enemy from mowing us to thest? And especially since the troops were so close to the exit.

    Rope! I need rope!

    "Rope!" I called and two soldiers came to me with it, even without being able to see their expression, I could bet that they have bewildered expressions on what I¡¯ll be doing with rope.

    I took the rope and attached it over a protruding rock then ran all the way to the other side of the valley and attached it on another protrusion, making sure it was taught and strapped tight. I continued forward, this cost me a few precious seconds, but the idea was easy to understand. The rest of the retinue immediately did the same, strapping rope whenever possible on rocks and protrusions as we continued the pace.

    A few brave soldiers even picked up their spears and ran behind us, to secure the way for the rest at the expense of their own lives.

    I couldn¡¯t stand back and help them, even if a part of me wanted to, but the bigger cowardly but pragmatic part advised otherwise, these soldiers needed someone to lead them out, and if I were to fall... I don¡¯t want to think about it.

    The sound of horses falling echoed soon behind us, this wasn¡¯t good. It meant that the enemy had been far closer than I anticipated, and they were hot on our heels. Yet thank the mighty for smiling down upon us as the exit of the valley was, I sight. This was both a relief and at the same time a proof of the soldier¡¯s indomitable will as even more decided to stand and leave the wounded to run away so they could hold the enemy.

    The friendlies were out of the valley, but we¡¯ll be mowed to thest if we exit right now. The soldiers knew it and they decided to sacrifice their lives for the rest to escape. I never knew them, never spent more than these few hours with them, but felt a sense of belonging to see peopleying their lives for the rest.

    This selfless act was enough to send shivers down my spine, I can¡¯t exin it, but it was enough to make me stand my ground. I handed the banner to one of the soldiers, "Keep them running!" I called and drew my sword.

    How stupid, how futile,ying one¡¯s life on the line for the rest to escape, but at the same time, it felt like the right thing to do. This is what the book had said, and this is what I¡¯ll abide by. It felt right! And if it feels right, then it¡¯s definitely right.

    No matter the odds. I¡¯ll fight. Even if old and frail. No, I¡¯m not old, not here not now, I¡¯m a young man, a soldier. And even if I had no sense of attachment to these soldiers, there was a sense of belonging and camaraderie that I cannot exin, and it would be wrong to abandon people who selflessly sacrifice their lives for the rest without me doing the same.

    Against my pragmatic self, against everymon sense of self-preservation, it felt right to stand here, with these few dozen heroes, it felt right to die here. Because otherwise, none would escape. And at that moment, I forgot that I was in a test, and immediately, the cloud over the faces of the soldiers next to me disappeared.

    Most of them had expressions of grim determination. None were cowards, none thought themselves heroes for doing what they¡¯re doing, they all knew, that their friends andrades relied on them to survive, and they¡¯ll be damn sure to make that happen.

    Though I wasn¡¯t here for a long time, it only felt right to say this, "It¡¯s been an honor serving with you."

    There and then, the enemy cavalry was upon us.

 Chapter 55 The Bane of Man

    <h4>Chapter 55: The Bane of Man</h4>

    The riders charged at us with ferocious impunity, if not for one final linked rope to cause a few to stumble I would have died right there and then, trampled by a warhorse.

    The horse that fell in front of me, delivered its rider to my feet, concussed obviously but still looked whole, I dove my sword right at the small opening between his helmet and chest armor, I didn¡¯t need to do more, the strike slit a major artery and he would die within minutes, nor could I afford to make a cleaner hit as more rider came at me.

    Our forces, not more than a couple of dozens that decided to stand and allow the rest to escape, were nothing more than grass in the way of a stampeding rhino, only the rhino needs to slow down due to the narrowness of the valley, the ropes stumbling the horses and the fallen animals blocking its way. If we were on open fields, we would have been mowed down to thest in less than a couple of seconds.

    But thanks to the buckle of the enemy, we managed to stop the rest by using their own numbers against them. At best, twenty of our soldiers remained to fend off hundreds.

    A wide mace threatened to cave my skull in, but thanks to my mind¡¯s eye, I was able to predict the mace¡¯s trajectory. Though I was unable to use any cultivation, my mind still worked like that of a cultivator, giving me ample time to duck under the mace then deliver a rising sh at the rider, slicing through the opening under his armpit.

    The sword connected and the rider¡¯s arm was barely attached to its socket thanks to a bloodied tendon.

    Another spear threatened to impale me where I stood, to which I dodged by the barest of margins. The spear¡¯s tip sliced through my leather pauldron causing mild difort while the shaft rubbed against my shoulderting it a hollow empty strike against the air.

    I pulled lightly at the already extended spear causing the rider who refused to abandon his weapon to fall from his horse. I sliced at the rider¡¯s back neck, as fast as I could as I noticed another spearing my way.

    My sword slid fast enough, ripping the man¡¯s neck, gushing blood, and moved in a rising sh to parry the spear, where one of myrades struck at the spear wielder with his own spear toppling him from over his horse.

    I knew that I had no martial skills to speak off, and most of the stuff I had just done was thanks to the power behind the soldier I was currently possessing, and the increased thinking process of the mind¡¯s eye. But mental exhaustion will soon down upon me, that is of course if this soldier¡¯s body I¡¯m using doesn¡¯t outright copse from physical exertion.

    The battle continued for what felt like hours as we fought on the back end. More of ourrades fell to errant sword strikes or crushed under the maces of the enemy, further dooming this already hopeless situation, but I had to fight, and I kept on fighting, even when one spear cut through my thigh, not because I couldn¡¯t dodge in time, but because the body I¡¯m using refused to dodge, it was already exhausted beyond humanly possible.

    Another soldier sliced at my left arm, rendering it barely useable. But I still fought, and fought, using every scrap of energy I could muster, every bit and every speck of power that was left in this body.

    Myrades had long since died and only I was left fighting and that had been a long time ago, or perhaps I felt like it was.

    Bloodied, battered, and exhausted. I still heaved for more breath as I sliced at the enemy. Until a time I noticed everyone standing still, none moved towards me.

    For they knew that with injuries such as the ones I have right now, it would only be a matter of time before I fell down.

    The enemy soldiers knew that if they were to attack, they¡¯ll only die. And not attacking is what they did. Standing still watching this strange man, fighting to the literalst breath. And then one of them pped a fist to his chest, as did others, and soon I understood why.

    They were saluting, an enemy, one worthy of respect for standing against odds, fighting to the brinks of death, yet still grasping straws of futile hope, they didn¡¯t see an enemy, they saw a soldier fighting for a cause and that would bring even the mightiest of foes to respect such act.

    There and then, my eyes darkened, and I fell on my knees, breathing the agonizingst breaths of this body.

    Suddenly, I woke up, where I found myself seated within the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda, in front of me was the small table with the teacup emptied out.

    Theughing ughterer¡¯s sound resounded through the hall.

    "Pitiful disy! Such is yours, for you only slew forty-three of your enemies. Many had achieved higher than you have, you¡¯re better off giving up, for the tests will only be harder."

    The voice was monotonous as always.

    But then another vocal message sounded.

    "However! Unlike any before, your battle had secured the survival of more than three hundred and neen soldiers. You are the first to have managed to help soldiers escaping the pursuit of the Crown Regime. Most would fight against the enemy, scoring as many kills as they can, while the enemy would run rampant among their lines only for them to die once outnumbered. You secured a path to retreat for the others before you returned to battle. And my verdict is..." the voice trailed.

    This time the message felt a bit more... life-like, but still it had a neutral dead tone to it.

    But the following words were like heaven and earth.

    "STUPID!" the word sounded like a thunder¡¯s echo within me.

    "For no cultivator would weigh their own self-preservation against the survival of people they do not know! Foolish! For you gave your life for ones you didn¡¯t have any rtion to. The most stupid of all, your pride blinded you to the simple truth, survive! Survive at all costs!"

    I couldn¡¯t debunk the statement, because I knew in a sense he was right, I didn¡¯t know any of them, and I should have escaped when it was possible. I do know that I stopped and fought alongside the soldiers so others would survive? But why did I do that? Did I know them? They weren¡¯t friends family or anything else, they were just soldiers. Still, it felt wrong to leave them to their demise

    "My conviction," I muttered, though I didn¡¯t think the voice would answer back, "I fought because I believed it was right."

    A loud silence echoed around, it was so baffling that I could only hear the sound of my own heartbeats and the breaths I drew, it was a still deathly silence that I never felt before. Then the Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice echoed once again.

    "So young...and you have the rudimentary understanding of the Truth...your Dao, perhaps not, perhaps egoistic beliefs, still. Idiotic, but I won¡¯t sway you against your conviction for it is not my ce. Proceed!" the words echoed and another spiraling staircase came down, this time the reward was different.

    It was a manual, a sword art. The Sanguine de, first tome.

    I took the book in hand and began flipping its pages, it was a series of sword arts dedicated to shes and stabs, with overexerted and overextended strikes. The risks entailing these sword arts were dangerous, for every attack was overbearing, but at the same time, held great risks. For every attack, would cause the enemy to falter, hesitate briefly, as did the manual exin, this art required a resolution far beyond what any man could ever hope to obtain.

    It was the epitome of a high-risk high reward. A sword art that relied on diving without regard to the enemy¡¯s blows or one¡¯s self-preservation. It was meant as a risky sword fight that made every attack be seen as a trade of life. Just the major idea behind this book would make one shake in fright, who would ever learn something as dangerous as this? But then, I remembered what happened in the dream I just had.

    This book, is a reward for the same actions I did,ck of self-preservation. This sword art is a reward for the actions I have shown. Though without any other sword art at my disposal, I believe this sword art would be good in my hands. I tucked the book inside my robes where the book on my chest sucked in the manual and I moved forward.

    Once I was on the third floor, I saw Xi Son, who looked exhausted beyond exhaustion and had several wounds all over his body. He was the first thing I noticed before I took a second look at where I was.

    This floor was also slightly smaller than the one before it, but not much, the only difference was, this floor was separated into two sections. One, where I and Xi Son stood. It was the same as before, a wooden floor with no decoration in sight and no doors or windows, while the other side of the room had vast treasure troves, weapons spiritual stones, manuals and even crafting materials.

    Yet there was a mirror-like barrier that stood tall, separating the two sections. And on the corner, there was the spiraling stair leading upwards.

    "Greed is the bane of all man, but in front of so much wealth, would you ignore it? Or risk all to obtain it?" the question the Laughing ughterer was thest of his words as I stood looking at the treasures in front of me.

    Indeed, they were mighty appealing, as I noticed many spiritual herbs that I didn¡¯t even recognize or the Space Stones on the floor that looked like the least important bits and pieces of this treasure. These Space Stones are things I need to continue cultivating my Star Technique to hide my poison cultivation. But I can¡¯t get past the barrier, this I know of, but Xi Son apparently doesn¡¯t, seeing from the look on his eyes.

    He looked at me like I was a heaven-sent gift.

    "Shen Bao! You made it here!" he said.

    "Yeah, I¡¯m also surprised to see you here." I mused.

    "How did you manage your way here? It took me a lot of effort to fight my way through the hordes of Spiritual Beasts lying about, I doubt you have the ability to fight them. But now..." apprehension was apparent on Xi Son¡¯s face, especially now that he is weakened, and thinks I was able to fight my way through numerous enemies.

    I pulled out the healing pill I got on the first floor and threw him the vial. He inspected it using his divine sense which ¡¯conicedantly¡¯ passed through me once again as he tried to see if I had anything on me.

    But right now, as long as I appear calm and collected, and not answer how I managed to defeat hordes of spiritual beasts -even though I have no idea what he is talking about, perhaps we took different routes to get here, and his was ridiculously dangerous- I should be able to instill a sense of mystery and with it, danger. Good, the less he knows, the more apprehensive he will be, and with the disregard to the value of the pill I just gave him, which by the way would definitely fetch a fortune outside, he will think I have no interest in it, making me stand on a higher mental pedestal than I deserve.

    Games within games, mind games to put one above the other, without any verbal word spoken. As long as I carefully set myself above him, I will give him one more reason not to test me, or outright turn hostile. I could have easily ignored his exhausted and wounded self, but a wounded lion is more prone to be aggressive than a healthy one. Especially since he will subconsciously feel that even if he was as hale and healthy as he is right now, he proved to be of no consequence or danger to me.

    "Thank you, fellow cultivator Shen Bao!" Xi Son said and chucked down the pill. He sat down in the lotus position and began digesting the pill.

    ¡¯Fellow cultivator¡¯ he said, and that¡¯s a sure sign that I gained his respect or his apprehensive fear. Which was better.

    "No need," I said as I got closer to the barrier, giving him an easy target as I turned my back to him.

    I looked at the barrier and smiled, then turned around and said, "let¡¯s go, there is no need to waste time here."

    "Why? I tried hard to break through this barrier, and I think it could crumble with a bit more effort." Xi Son said.

    I shook my head saying, "This barrier is designed specifically to do that, it will wane and look about to break just enough for you to exhaust all your power, then when you replenish, you¡¯ll try again and will seem about to break just as you¡¯re exhausted once again, it will do so until you¡¯re fully depleted, desperate and without any speck of power or items to replenish yourself. This is a test of your greed, and if you continue down that line, you¡¯ll fail."

    Xi Son took a moment to digest my words the said, "How do you know all of that?"

    "Simply put, this barrier is made using quasi saint Qi. No matter how strong you are, you¡¯ll never match this barrier in strength unless you¡¯re an ascendant. Even I can¡¯t decipher all of its mysteries, but I know that this thing will survive the bombardment of millions of nascent cultivators without a crack." I said in a decisive and certain tone.

    Xi Son sighed and stood up, "Damnable trick, it almost cost me my cultivation as I tried to break through it using a forbidden technique. Damn, damn!" Xi Son cursed and I felt that he was pissed enough that he was going to once again take it off on the barrier.

    "Also," I added, "Your efforts would have been for naught," I said.

    Xi Son looked at me questioningly.

    "Yeah, because those treasures are fake," I said.

    "Nonsense, I could feel their spiritual release even through the barrier." Xi Son shook his head.

    "That¡¯s the thing, this barrier is actually replicating the spiritual residue of all of the items behind it, these are nothing but fakes, but that doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re not here."

    Lookingpletely lost I interjected, "These treasures probably exist on another floor and they are only projected here to exhaust the cultivators in futile attempts to lessen their chances at retrieving the real treasures. Simple method, but undoubtedly effective. I said as I gave a knowing gaze at the now slightly ashamed Xi Son.

    "Right," Xi Son said after clearing his throat, "Let¡¯s keep moving then."

    And we took off to the upper floor.

 Chapter 56 The Primordial Dragon Serpent

    <h4>Chapter 56: The Primordial Dragon Serpent</h4>

    We arrived at a new floor, yet again a bit smaller than the one under it. But on this floor, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything of note besides the massive pir in the middle of it. It was a square pir made of an obsidian-like substance.

    Before I could consult the poison god¡¯s book, Xi Son hurried towards the stone, trying to pocket it into his pouch but was soundly denied.

    "Damn, I can¡¯t take it, nor can I refine it for my own use." Xi Son said.

    "Pardon myck of knowledge, what is this?" I asked.

    "Huh? I thought you would know; this is a Law Stone. Though this is thergest one I had ever seen. It helps cultivators understand thews of the world. But on a rudimentary level. This is more like a preparation for when they begin studying Law in order to confirm their Dao and create their Domain."

    So many new concepts that I have yet to fully understand but I believe I have the gist of it.

    "Though fellow cultivator Shen Bao¡¯s cultivation is severelycking, you can still gain glimpses of this Law Stone if you can understand something from it. And I believe this is the test of this flour. But it is highly unfavorable for you due to your cultivation level." Xi Son said, though he spoke in a none derisive manner, I could feel hints of pity in his tone. Not the good kind of pity even though pity was never good.

    I nodded at Xi Son and approached the Stone, trying to understand what secrets it held.

    There was nothing worth paying attention to, it was nothing more than a well-chiseled stone that stood in the middle of the room, but seeing Xi Son sit in a lotus position in front of it and enter meditation gave me enough hints on what I should do next.

    I sat opposed to Xi Son on the other side of the stone and closed my eyes, the stone was not meant to be seen through one¡¯s eyes, but one¡¯s mind, and using my Mind¡¯s Eye, I was able to peer through the stone into a vast expanse. No, into Thee Vast Expanse as the Poison God¡¯s book just sent the information to my head.

    ***

    This world you live in is but a minuscule spec of dust in the ever-expanding Vast Expanse, it is unlimited and forever erging, birthing new life every fraction of a second, and creating secrets, treasures, and worlds anew while bringing death destruction, and anhtion to more.

    You are but a mere spec of dust within a spec of dust in such arge world, but even a pebble can create ripples that resound through ake as you can make your name resound through the Vast Expanse.

    While the domain mankind had explored cannot be more than a fraction of a fraction of the Vast Expanse, you can be sure that more exist for you to explore, and the dangers and rewards it entails are for only the brave to discover.

    Do not feel as someone insignificant, for as long as you follow this master¡¯s teachings, your voice will be heard loud and clear throughout the Vast Expanse!

    ***

    I took the words of the Poison God¡¯s Book with a grain of salt, as I a former man from Earth know, the universe is huge, and huge isn¡¯t enough to epass the true meaning of how big the universe is. Simply put, I know that as many grains of sand there are on Earth, there are more stars in the universe. And that is true.

    I peered into the Vast Expanse that was in this stone, and all I could see were stars so numerous that it was mind bogging to keep track of them all. And then there was a star, a green one, in incessant turmoil, as green mes(?) spun and rotated, revolved, and morphed within each other, and then my eyes focused on the even further, ignoring the background and solely peering into the.

    It felt warm, not hot, not boiling, but just warm, the mes weren¡¯t mes, but rather liquid that acted like mes. And within this liquid lived monsters of proportions unimaginable. Serpents that were as long and asrge as rivers, and scorpions that furrowed into the me liquid and emerged, battling against each other in frenzied furry, never stopping never receding, and always and forever battling against each other. I saw more creatures, but there was only one thing in rtion to all of these things. The massive leaping frogs, or the snakes, nor the colorful bugs, they were all, poisonous.

    This was a that was festering with poisonous creatures and the itself was doused in poison. I have no idea what this means, how can a have an ecosystem such as this? But I was in a cultivation world and making logical exnations where I was literally spewing poison out of my own mouth just a few moments ago seemed rather illogical and a moot point to argue.

    Suddenly, something strange seemed to happen, as the waves of green mes parted, revealing two sets of eyes that definitely belonged to a reptilian creature. The eyes, from where I could see them sent shivers down my spine, as they were asrge as the moon, and glistened in gold while the abysmal slit in them looked like space was split.

    This creature¡¯s eyes were so massive that I had a hard time understanding how it could even fit inside this. Then I figured out why almost soon afterward when the damn shuddered and literally uncoiled around itself.

    A draconic serpent asrge as a was looking directly at me, where the former liquid that made the slowly rotated around its body, probably just due to how massive this creature was, it literally had its own gravitational field. Where the massive creatures I saw before, now were nothing more than specs of dust along the enormous size of the draconic serpent¡¯s frame.

    The serpent opened its mouth revealing rows of fangsrge enough to contend with mountains, and then it hissed, with enough force that space around it shuddered and vibrated, causing it to ripple and break in so many ways that I felt the destruction of the whole universe was bound to happen at any time now.

    Then with its eyes locked at me, the serpent began moving towards me.

    Only then was I forced back into where I was sitting, fear gripped at my heart, and cold sweat drenched my back.

    Xi Son was still meditating, not having sensed what just happened and only the Poison God¡¯s Book was my sce as it exined what happened and what I just realized would be my most troublesome foe, and the looming scythe of death upon my head.

    ***

    Serpent God, one of the seven Primordial Creatures. Nothing much is known about them, but I have faced it several times before and never managed against its impressive might, not even at my prime, I was not even able to scratch it. Thankfully, it was not fast, but at the same time, it was my most fearsome foe.

    For this Primordial Creature, it vied, loathed, and envied anyone using his path of cultivation. It will not still, nor stop until all that seek the Dao of Poison are consumed by it. As this Primordial Creature¡¯s goal was to go beyond his current unknown cultivation and reach above, it failed to find treasures enabling it to break through and would seek to break through by finding and consuming cultivators who use the Poison Path.

    However, what bogged my mind was the fact that although there were many, many, many sects cultivating poison, the Serpent God would only move against specific targets, and I was among them, and so would this danger befall upon you as you cultivate the same path as I did.

    Disciple of mine, take not this creature as a sign of despair and mortality but embrace it as a deadly reminder that you have to increase your cultivation before the Serpent God reaches where you are.

    Do not curse me for forcing you down this path only to be hunted to the end of life by this creature, for I too had suffered at his hands, and had known of its impeding approach only when I achieved Ascension. Then and there, I was lucky to have an artifact that propelled me on a random through the Vast Expanse, giving me ample opportunity to escape the hunt. I grew stronger while the Serpent Approached, and whenever it got closer, I would escape once again.

    I have never found a way to escape its hunt, and as you read this. Do know, that if the Serpent is after you, then it had already imed me within its jaws. Escape, run, and grow stronger, for only when you¡¯re mightier than the Serpent God, can you free yourself from your own mortality.

    ***

    I took deep and heavy breaths before images began flooding my mind, as I saw the serpent god chasing after the figure of a young man that didn¡¯t look older than his thirties. The man flew through the stars with enough speed that the stars turned to long rays of light. But the serpent god leisurely followed after it, breaking throughs as if they were made of paper, and gobbling them up along his way. The cultivator stopped, heaved raising both hands, then swiped down, with his fingers in a wing manner. This wed grip looked exactly like the Poison Tiger¡¯s w. And while I could replicate the basic move to some semnce of perfectness, what I saw made my head throb in exasperation.

    As whenpared to my w, the cultivator who I now assumed to be the Poison God, created ws waves that wererger thans, like seriouslyrger than fuckings where he himself looked no bigger than an atompared to the massive space fissures he created.

    The w marks wounded space itself, forcing it to break on contact where waves of pale green and sordid energy came down upon the snake.

    And what was mot vexing was how easily the serpent shrugged off the titanic assault with rtive ease. Causing the cultivator to sigh in hopelessness and turn tail escaping further.

    The images stopped and I was left with a sense of dested dread. How the hell can I face against something like that? And that creature was creeping towards me as I speak. How long will it take to get here? Hours? Days? Years or centuries? No matter how long, it is of the utmost frustration to know that death ising whether you want it or not.

    I focused my eyes on the stone because I needed to at least figure out how far we are. And just as I found myself in the vast expanse, I focused on my body, finding it on a random star in a random direction in the Vast Expanse. And almost instinctively, I turned to locate the serpent, who was stilling over, but, he was so far, so, so far away that it would be absurd to even believe this distance crossable in a hundred lifetimes. I had more chances of dying by a heart attack or outright getting killed by Xi Son here than the serpent to kill me. The distance was absurdly far that I had a hard time understanding why did the Poison God even feared this thing, he could just keep randomly teleporting around the universe.

    Still, it was frustrating knowing that this damn thing would always and forever be hot on my heels.

    I calmed myself and began inspecting the rest of this unfathomablyrge space, but at the same time making sure not to disturbed any ancient beings, and then I found myself lost in the beauty of this world.

    For it was so grand, sorge and so majestic that one would spend several lifetimes trying to describe it and never give it its due right.

    Space was grand and kept so many secrets and treasures and mysteries that it was extremelypelling to go and seek them, and so I found myself lost in its amazing mysteries...

 Chapter 57 Against Overwhelming Odds

    <h4>Chapter 57: Against Overwhelming Odds</h4>

    As I swam in the embrace of the universe, I came to a slight understanding of what space was. Emptiness, yet fluffiness, the Universe was empty, but at the same time, it literally had everything in it, a conflicting duality, unlike life and death, this was the existence and none existence at the same time. For even if the majority of the Universe was empty space, there literally was everything in it.

    Food for thoughts I believed, and I saw through the universe, discovering more of whaty in its embrace, I could see worlds being born, and others destroyed, space shifted, in the literal sense as it grew and shrank like the chest of a person, taking in a breath. The universe, though calm, silent, and forever grim and dark, had life in it, life in its darkness, and this life was amazing to behold.

    Suddenly, my head started hurting and I was forced out of my meditative state.

    A loud booming voice echoed within the pagoda.

    "You have not faired greatly in understanding Law, but you have been given chance to improve in the future, take your newfound knowledge and use it when you encounter true application of Law." The words of the Laughing ughterer were spoken to us as Xi Son sighed and looked at me.

    "Sadly, I couldn¡¯t understand the mysteries of the world, but fret not, for you have a low cultivation base and it was not expected of you anyway, let¡¯s move to the upper floor," Xi Son said.

    And as he spoke, the upper room opened up, where the two of us received a small square stone, simr to the stone in the room, it was aw stone, definitely smaller and weaker, but it had Law in it, and I would study itter when I have the time.

    Xi Son climbed up the stairs first, and just as I was about to follow him, I heard the Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice, unlike before when it was booming through the room, this time, it was sent directly into my head.

    "Child, you searched through the universe, unguided by any thought, and in it, you saw the birth of new worlds and the destruction of others, your cultivation level is so far below your understanding that once you attain greater heights, you¡¯ll understand how gifted you truly are for such insights you currently have. Keep your sights focused, and do know, that martial might is great at killing foes, but apleteprehensive domain can be the death of gods if one was fully capable of controlling and understanding thews that created their domain. Might is right, but Wit binds might to its beddings."

    The words the Laughing ughterer had spoken were like teachings a master would say to their disciple, though they didn¡¯t have a lot of information in them, I wholly understood what he meant, not by his words, but the underlying meaning.

    The Laughing ughterer had given me advice, precious advice, and at the same time, he didn¡¯t outright say what I should do, lest he affects my path in the pursuit of the martial road. He showed me the way but didn¡¯t guide me through it, giving me the "Choice" to do so on my own.

    Might is right, and that is thew of the cultivation worlds, only the strong are heard, but those with the ability to understand Law are able to bind the world¡¯sws to their own, and in a world where Laws are bound, what can Might do? It can also be bent ording to thews superseding the world.

    The Laughing ughterer¡¯s words were not many, but behind them,y thousands upon thousands of years¡¯ worth of wisdom, and I was amazed not by the wisdom behind the ughterer¡¯s words, nor how did I even manage to understand so much from his words, but what amazed me the most, is how he used so few words, to convey so many meanings. A great mind...and a dangerous one to boots.

    I turned and gave a nod to the empty air, it was a gesture, that I just felt would be right, thanks to a man that didn¡¯t exist here right now, but well deserving of it. There were few that would give advice freely. Even if the Laughing ughterer was not here, he was due his thanks, as it was his right.

    I walked upstairs, to the fifth floor, only to find Xi Son standing still, not moving a single muscle forward in utter andplete shock.

    "Cultivators, as this trial continues, you must know that there are always higher mountains and deeper seas, and hereys the example!" the Laughing ughterer¡¯s words came as I saw what was in front of me and I went giddy with excitement, theplete opposite of Xi Son who looked like he was about to pass out from fright.

    And he was right to do so, as in front of us were a dozen terracotta-like puppets. They were almost exactly like X, but with some subtle differences. The material making them, though I didn¡¯t know what it was it looked sturdier than the one X was made off. They had full armor to top it off, and they wielded weapons that radiated spiritual energy like the flood gates.

    "Fight your way through, if you wish to continue ascending, otherwise leave with your tail behind your backs!" The Laughing ughterer said as a door opened to the right of us.

    "I wish to surrender the purist," Xi Son said without hesitation and began walking toward the door.

    He looked back at my standing form and frowned, "Shen Bao, these are all Soul Formation level Puppets, I could barely handle one, but a dozen, I don¡¯t even dream of surviving for a half incense time. Don¡¯t do anything rash!" Xi Son said.

    "Right, Right," I said, and he was right, there was no way for me to win this battle, but damn if I was not tempted to dismantle these puppets and know the difference between X and these puppets if they werepared to Soul Formation level Cultivators, which was higher than Xi Son, then what gave them such strength? I needed to know and that greed of knowledge caused me to hesitate into leaving.

    Just as I turned away from the puppets to leave, the Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice sounded once again.

    "ONLY ONE MAY LEAVE!" and almost immediately after his words were spoken, Xi Son bolted out of the door with the speed of light, giving me not a single moment to react.

    The door closed behind Xi Son and I was trapped amongst twelve unmoving puppets.

    I was fucked, and there was no way for me to survive this ordeal. But so far the puppets didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t attack and were waiting, I could even feel their gaze through their lifeless eyes. As they stared at me.

    The Poison God¡¯s Book didn¡¯t alert me to any danger, however, and I was left stuck here.

    I had more chances for hell to freeze over than to survive a single attack from any of these Soldiers, not to mention how uselessly ipatible my skillset was against these things. Though X is strong, I don¡¯t fully know if he could fight his way through these things. So I was left with one thing to do, RUN!

    And I did, as I jumped back to the lower floor, only to have one of the Soldiers jump after me. Desperate and hopeless my situation would seem, but I grinned from ear to ear, as this situation gave me a great chance that I never thought I¡¯ll be able to do.

    The Soldier will definitely catch up to me in less than a breath¡¯s time, but I already called X out, and he shot out from the Poison God¡¯s Book like a bullet to intercept the puppet Soldier behind me.

    I already gave X a mentalmand, use all the power you can and stop or kill the enemy if possible. And thankfully only one Soldier came after me. And the most surprising was, X was more than capable of contending against a Soul Formation puppet.

    Something I¡¯ll need to pay attention toter as I kept moving away towards the lower floors. I needed to get to the Greed Floor.

    Loud explosions of wood and metal against metal echoed behind me, I wasn¡¯t even entitled to see the battle between the puppets as they shed enough times in a single second that I could only hear one constant boom of the sound of metals shing against each other.

    Once I arrived at the barrier which hid the ¡¯illusory¡¯ treasures, I pped my right hand against the barrier to which it shuddered. Then I pulled a brush from my side pouch and began drawing inscriptions on the barrier.

    My goal, simple, overwrite, overwhelm and overtax the barrier. It would have been foolish to attempt this with Xi Son behind me, but now that he is gone all the treasures are mine. Yes, all the treasures, as what I said to Xi Son before was nothing but a lie, a lie he would have immediately tore apart if he was not frustrated and exhausted from his attempts at breaking the barrier.

    Because even if the barrier could replicate the aura of weapons from another floor to this one, I would have been able to see such an inscription, but there were none and I lied at Xi Son to prove intellectual superiority against his sight.

    I kept overwriting inscriptions as fast as I could, but the barrier kept trying to defend itself, futile, as this was not an attacking Restriction, but rather a defensive one andcked lethal force. It could do nothing as I kept writingmands on top of it, smallmands that would be futile and destroyed by the barrier in no time, but the sheer amount of the smallmands I wrote was enough to keep the barrier focused on removing my inscription to keep its integrity.

    While I wrote themands and the barrier kept removing them, I added something else. It was a simple random stroke at first. Then another, while I kept writing more inscriptions. The barrier didn¡¯t deem those strokes worthy of its attention as it kept its focus on the more annoying overtaxing inscriptions I kept adding.

    This was the same thing I did to Elder Yun when I yed my first game of Go against him using my Mind¡¯s Eye, divide and conquer. And I was dividing the inscription¡¯s focus as I drew those random but subtle random brush strokes.

    But I was pressed for time, exhaustion was of no concern to me, as better be exhausted than dead, as I heard the sounds of the sh getting closer, no doubt X was being overwhelmed. Damn it, I don¡¯t want to lose X, he was the first puppet I ever made, he was MINE! And I didn¡¯t want to lose him, but I had no choice in the matter. God damn it, I was distracted for a second and the barrier was about to retake control of our little game. But I focused harder, enough that I began seeing red, as more blood vessels popped in my eyes from the sheer speed that my eyes were moving from ce to ce.

    A small pain, for greater gains, It kept me focused on an all-time high as my hand increased in speed, enough that if one were to look at my hands they¡¯d see my hands blurring as they wrote more and more inscriptions piled on top of each other. And when I was about to strike thest brush, I heard the loud thud of metal against stone.

    Turning I saw a haggard, Soldier Puppet, with various wounds, and poisoned needles stabbing through its form, even a couple of X¡¯s fingers were embedded into its eyes, but the Soldier was wholly fine and was standing with his sword drawn.

    Fear gripped my heart, and sadness, for this means that X had lost, and this puppet was now going to kill me before I finished what I was going to do.

 Chapter 58 Conscious Transfer

    <h4>Chapter 58: Conscious Transfer</h4>

    Only to have hope re-ignited as the soldier dropped on its face when X showed up behind him. His head was torn in half, and his right arm dangled uselessly against his side, where thousands of cuts littered his body, X still stood, while a Soul Formation Puppet wasying on the ground. And this was all thanks to the fact that I had X working with five brains instead of one, as even though the gaping hole in his chest that destroyed his spiritual Stone, or the destroyed right arm, X still had three other brains, one in his left shoulder and two more on his legs that acted as secondary brains and kept the puppet from failing his duty in answering mymand.

    X¡¯s multi brain functionality enabled him to fight tooth and nail to the bitter end, as for even if he lost his head, hands, or chest, there will always be amand center guiding him and he would still fight, where the Soul Formation puppet only had a single inscription on his chest which X had destroyed by giving up one of his hands.

    X moved towards me, with difficult yet confirmed steps, he struggled to move due to all of the damage he had received, but he was a source of pride and joy to me, as he managed to defeat something that made a Nascent Soul cultivator scurry away in fright.

    X was mine! And I¡¯ll be damned not to reward him for his efforts.

    I struck thest brush against the barrier, and then a formation that wouldn¡¯t have been possible to create was now in ce, all those strokes I made on the barrier had made a formation on top of this formation. A restriction that overwrites the former restriction and gave me the ability to takemand of the barrier in front of me.

    "X, bring the soldier over," I called and my puppet heeded mymand. Though painful to see, how awkward X moved, and how he couldn¡¯t even ry the damage he suffered. It pained me to see X suffering but without pain, and it only confirmed my resolve to give him the best.

    X dragged the Puppet Soldier over and I waved my hand causing a hole in the barrier to open up.

    The moment the hole in the barrier appeared I was assaulted with powerful waves of Spiritual Qi that were trapped inside the barrier. X, threw the puppet on the other side of the barrier and got inside while I followed suit and closed the barrier from within. I now have control of this barrier and everything that was behind it, all those treasures, Spirit Stones, weapons, and artifacts were now mine. And best of all, they had a lot of materials that I could use to repair X and make him better, stronger, and faster.

    Just as I was admiring the treasure trove, the Puppets from the upper floors came down, they had probably sensed the ¡¯death¡¯ of theirrades and came after me. They should have done that first, but I suppose they didn¡¯t think I¡¯m worth their efforts, and thus... Ay¡¯ There¡¯s the rub!

    I went on my knees and removed the armors that the Puppet Soldier wore. I needed to confirm something and almost immediately I sighed in thanks. The puppet didn¡¯t seem to have a self-destruction Inscription or anything that could cause it to stand back up.

    I began by removing its parts and saw through the inscriptions making it, figuring out why this thing was a Formation Level Puppet.

    The Soldier Puppet also had a single formation on its chest, but it was so exhaustive and had so many inscriptions in it that I made my head hurt trying to figure it all out. But what pulled my attention was the fact that it also had five High-Grade Spirit Stones operating it.

    Could it be that a puppet only needed more spirit stones for it to gain a higher cultivation grade? But if so, anyone could make Soul Formation Level Puppets.

    Ah no, it¡¯s the knowledge behind the setup of the inscriptions, as even if one was able to procure the spirit stones, they¡¯ll need a lot of understanding of inscriptions to write a proper formation able to channel all the spirit stones without shing against each other, something I came to understand only now, but at the same time had known before. This was simply because of my understanding of programming, though I¡¯m not the best in the field, I needed code andputer knowledge in my field of work, also the education quality back on Earth was so far higher than inscriptions were nothing more than codes for me instead of what many of the books called ¡¯Language of the Heaven,¡¯ for me they were nothing more than meremands to do a specific job, I didn¡¯t need to understand how they worked or who provided the pamphlet for them to work as they are, I only knew they worked and I used them to the best of my ability and identally created a Soul Formation level puppet.

    Now there was another factor on how to create Formation Level Puppets besides how to organize the inscriptions not to sh with each other or the spiritual stones and how to organize their wavelengths, stuff like I said before I subconsciously understood thanks to my education, and this was the material.

    Powerful material was needed to operate powerful puppets, as showed by X, he had so much power but the material making him was not strong enough to wield all of that power. Not that X was weak, no, he could tear a nascent Soul cultivator apart like he was tearing paper, but for him to show all of his might he¡¯ll need a stronger body, and it¡¯s already in front of me.

    And thus, I began dismantling the Soldier Puppet in front of his peers who looked at me with dead eyes.

    Once I dismantled the Puppet fully and removed the spirit stones, I began by deleting the inscription it had, but before I could re-write them, I was stuck in a dilemma. X...

    How can I transfer him here? I didn¡¯t want to Lose X, nor make a stronger puppet and discard my first Puppet, no, I wanted to wholly transfer X¡¯s being into this new body. But how can I do that? How can I harness the Soul of a soulless puppet?

    I looked at X and then back at the dismantled puppet in front of me. Then it struck me, overwrite, overwhelm and overtake.

    "X,e here," Imanded and X came to me, I opened his chest and wrote a new set ofmands into them. Smiling with wicked glee I continued writing until my hands felt tired but kept going, adding moremands over all of X¡¯s body.

    Then when I stood up, I felt like I was going to pass out from mental exhaustion. I pulled a few leaves from the Spiritual Tea master Yun had given me and munched on them, I didn¡¯t have the tools nor did it look alright brewing tea in front of so many hostile puppets looking at me and I had to make with the small semnce of mental relief that the leaves gave me.

    But what happened next caused me great joy, as I have just inputted a ¡¯Hijack¡¯mand on X.

    To which he used to great sess, as he dove his still functioning arm on the puppet and the inscription on his hand flooded down the Soldier Puppet¡¯s arm. The inscriptions moved like they had a purpose, and I found it amazing how mystifying this was, as solid writings turned to live words. How can one exin this? I have no idea, and like always I do not fret over things I don¡¯t fully understand nor have the ability to currently understand.

    X finished with ¡¯transferring¡¯ his consciousness. Or at least one of his consciousness, into the puppet. The one in his hand.

    The puppet¡¯s hand didn¡¯t move however as it needed the Spiritual Stone, and just as I was about to act, X shone bright, where the runes on his chest moved to his arm, the one that had all its inscriptions melted into the Soldier puppet, and these new inscriptions were nowmanding his hand instead of his chest.

    And his hand moved once again as it plucked one of the spirit stones on his body and ced it on the Soldier puppet, then he continued, transferring his conscious onto the new puppet.

    This was amazing to see, this was intelligence, God damn it, did I make an artificial intelligence? The thought disappeared the moment it came to mind, no, this was probably a reaction to the ¡¯self-preservation¡¯mand I created into X, he made sure to survive and transferred his consciousness to a better host. Parasitic, but it suited my purpose.

    Soon after X had fully transferred itself into the new Puppet Soldier, I began by adjusting the new X, editing a few runes and correcting ones then finished off by repairing some of the damage on the Soldier Puppet.

    Looking away from the Soldier Puppet on the ground, X¡¯s older puppet body was left on the ground, lifeless. And I didn¡¯t want to lose it, I ced it inside the Poison God¡¯s book, and now I was left with a good feeling.

    I was nothing more than a first-tier Foundation Establishment Cultivator. But I had a Soul Formation Puppet to guard me. And this felt damn good. But when I remembered the gigantic-eating Serpent that was inevitablying my way, my sense of security dulled. But this only ignited my ambition, I¡¯ll be stronger, even if I had to rely on X to secure my safety right now, I¡¯ll be powerful in the future that I¡¯ll no longer need protection.

    I looked at the puppets outside the barrier and sighed because before I be stronger, I¡¯ll need to actually defeat these puppets and leave.

    The barrier was protecting me, but at the same time, imprisoning me inside it. Damn it. X is strong, and now he is stronger, but sending him out is the same as dooming him to his death, and I need a way out, and I only have my little brain to use and find myself an escape.

 Chapter 59 Soul Stairs

    <h4>Chapter 59: Soul Stairs</h4>

    Thinking things through, I found myself in more of a bind than I thought could be possible. X¡¯s presence wasforting but with so many Soul Formation level puppets standing right outside the barrier, I felt like a mouse being watched by a pack of hungry cats. Not the best feeling in the world.

    Still, I gotta admit, there was a sense of security inside this barrier. And where Xi Son tried to force his way through this barrier with might, these puppets didn¡¯t even bother, why? Because they knew they couldn¡¯t.

    I only managed to break the barrier because I cheated, I created several codes to force the defensive measures to guard against my assault, while working on another inscription behind the barrier¡¯s back. This caused the whole thing to be mine, even if I felt that this was only temporary because the barrier never stopped shining, as it sentmands all over its surface. And then and there I knew that this was not a good sign.

    For if the barrier was able to overwrite themands, I wrote on it then it will no longer be mine to control, and if that happened... perhaps the barrier will allow the hungry cats to enter and I¡¯ll be no better than minced meat.

    I shook the thought out of my head, thinking about how grim my end would be will not change the fact that I¡¯m pressed for time. X is good and running, he is already flexing his metaphorical muscles, trying out his new body, though there is still a lot of damage on it, damage that I¡¯ll only be able to fully repair when I¡¯m out of this damned pagoda and back in my manor. But for now, I¡¯ll make do with what I have.

    Getting out of here is a priority, and now I have a good idea of how to do this.

    I grinned as the thought took root in my mind and didn¡¯t want to leave, and this idea was a damn good one.

    I stood up after having finally relieved some of my mental exhaustion. The next undertaking will definitely take a good measure out of my mental health, but it¡¯s the only thing I believe that will work.

    I pulled my brush and dosed it in what was left of my Drowsy Inkberry ink. Then started sshing inscriptions on the barrier, adding moreplex inscriptions atop simple ones, to do one single thing. I wasn¡¯t so arrogant to think I could make this formation into a killing formation and having it kill the puppets for me, that wouldn¡¯t work, not with my meager Qi skills, but all I needed to do was add a slight modification to the barrier, something that will not sh against its basicmand of protection.

    If I were to add an offensive trait to a defensive formation, I¡¯ll need a great deal of Qi to supply the barrier, but if I were to slightly modify the terrain the barrier was protecting, then the barrier should theoretically not fight back. While it would have denied anyone else the ability to temper with it, I already held my im over the barrier and giving it a subtle push to do what it was already doing ¡¯protecting¡¯ shouldn¡¯t contradict its reason of existence, which is to protect and preserve.

    And so, I finished the inscriptions and the barrier shook, as it began morphing, from a single sheet splitting the whole room in two, into a dome, that didn¡¯t protect me anymore but epassed the puppets.

    I just pulled a switcharoo on the puppets, now instead of me being protected by the barrier, they were trapped inside it and I was free to move about. I grinned as my action worked, and to the dumb puppets, they didn¡¯t even move, because they were definitely believing that this barrier was created by their master and they had no intention of destroying it, even if it meant that it will allow them to rip me to pieces.

    The dome around them would hold them off indefinitely, or until one of them wisen up and stat going downtown on it.

    I skipped my way around the dome and toward the stairs, while the puppets tracked me with their eyes, unable to chase after me.

    I continued going upwards until I reached the same floor where the puppets were.

    "Splendid, you managed to survive." The Laughing ughter¡¯s voice sounded through the room. And another staircase came down.

    Another manual appeared in front of me, and I was taken aback when I read the title.

    Sanguine de, Second Tome.

    This was the second tome of the Sanguine de arts. Good, this would mean that if I were to study this art I¡¯ll be able to have easier ess to a higher tier of the manual. But would this contradict my Poison Cultivation? I¡¯ll have to think things through, for if I were to chase after two different paths, I¡¯ll be like the fox who chases two rabbits only to go home hungry.

    I climbed up the stairs and instead of finding another room, what I found was a set of stairs that led upwards to the skies... yes, literal sky, there was no ceiling and no end to these stairs in sight, they just rose up indefinitely.

    "As you tread the path of cultivation, do know that your soul is part of your power, for it can be a fule to your power as it could also save you from certain death. You may use it to force your enemies to submit and you may even escape using it once your head is no longer attached to your body, and thus possess another body to reforge yours anew, the soul is a powerful weapon and these stairs will help you temper it. Climb until you can climb no more, and that¡¯s where you¡¯ll be able to challenge your limits and elevate your soul, Trials and Tribtions are the only things that a cultivator can use to be stronger." The Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice sounded through the room, and for the first time, it wasn¡¯t as oppressive.

    I took the first step on the staircase, waiting for a sudden pressure toe down against me, only to be surprised that there was no such thing.

    I continued with another step, and more, and even more, as I climbed the stairs with ease, there was no pressure until I reached the first three hundred steps, then there was pressure, only this was more like the pressure a helmet would cause upon one¡¯s head. Negligible.

    I continued walking up, and up, where that slight pressure increased, it never was powerful enough to bring me to my knees, and that was true until I reached the one thousand step. There, my whole being felt like it was about to be ripped out of its ce as I huffed, desperately gasping for breath.

    I grinned, this is how it¡¯s supposed to be, so show me your worst!

 Chapter 60 Training Montage

    A powerful downpour of heavenly energy crashed against me, it was like standing under a waterfall, the pressure was pushing me to my knees and I would have buckled down in an instant if I didn¡¯t anticipate such. As I thought, every milestone would have the pressure double up, but the thousandth step, the pressure increased exponentially, and I felt like I was about to drown.

    I took a deep breath, and grit my old teeth until I felt them about to crack, then I took a powerful step forward. The stomp was mighty enough that I left a print on the staircase, this was new. And it had given me a slight understanding of something mystical, but I couldn¡¯t put my hands on it, this step that I took, though it was simple, it hid a secret, a secret that I was going to uncover once this god damned pressure lessens a bit.

    But my prayers go unrewarded, as the pressure only increased the more I walked upwards.

    The step that crushed the staircase didn¡¯t happen again, and I didn¡¯t understand why, but no need to fret over things I can¡¯t figure out right now, I¡¯ll need to first make my way up.

    After a few more steps, I felt like my bones were about to break from the pressure, so I sat down in the lotus position, which was damn difficult, as even moving my body under this pressure felt like my limbs were made of lead.

    Once I entered my meditation state, I found myself looking at my body, and all of its Poison Meridians, they were suffering, threatening to break. This wasn¡¯t good for me. The Spiritual Energy that is assaulting my body was indeed intended to temper my soul, but that would be good only if my body was attuned to the spiritual Qi, as for me, I¡¯m made of Poison Qi.

    I tried to channel the poison Qi in my Dantian to reinforce my meridians but it was difficult to course through my spirit veins and reach the meridians, the pressure was powerful enough that it blocked my veins.

    My body began shuddering against the pressure. I need to go back, I can¡¯t move anymore. This was the only idea that was passing through my mind, I can¡¯t keep going, I must give up!

    But for some reason, this reasoning felt wrong, I instinctively felt that there was an opportunity here, that I could take, something huge that can allow me to reach greater heights, but why am I being prodded to give up, the thought is so forceful that I¡¯m almost certain it¡¯s not mine.

    Someone or something is actually trying to temper with my thoughts, so I would give up.

    I looked within my shuddering meridians and then noticed something I failed to see the first time. The meridians weren¡¯t threatening to shatter...otherwise, under this pressure, they would have broken the first time, they are actually...giddy? Anticipating something even, my whole body is actually shuddering at an iing fortuitous encounter that I¡¯m failing to even know, notice or see.

    Then it hit me like a truck, the energy, this is pure spiritual Qi, not unlike world¡¯s Qi, but more like this is a purified version of it, removed from heavenly Law. This is not true spiritual Qi, but a fake one, though even if fake, it was the best thing I could hope for. Natural Heavenly Qi is opposed to my body, and it will not work in tune with it, but this inferior version, this boundless Qi that has now inside it, would be perfect for my body if I were to add one single thing to it. Something that the spiritual Qi didn¡¯te with. Poison!

    I took a breath and forced my meridians to shudder and release all their pent up force against the torrent of the iplete Qi assaulting me, and where the veins that linked the meridians were forced shut before, they now opened up, causing the poison Qi in me to move through them with savage glee, even tearing some of the veins as they moved to cause me to spit a mouthful of blood from my mouth before I managed to gather my bearing, I need to be calm and can¡¯t have my body over exit itself to its demise.

    I willed my energy to move about in a slower manner, but strong enough to force its way against the iplete Qi pressuring me, then when they made a full cirction, I was ready, there and then I opened my mouth and shot a mouthful of my own Poison Qi against the fake QI.

    The two mixed together, and the Qi that was iplete found what was missing within my Qi. Though it wasn¡¯t as divine as heavenlyw, there was still Law in my own Qi, and it engulfed it and transformed with it. Turning a great majority of this fake Qi into true poison Qi, and lo and behold as the pressure on my body switched from that of a damn pouring against my body to me being a ck hole as I consumed all the iing energy with lustful glee.

    Breakthrough came immediately, and I felt my body shudder and shake, Foundation Establishment, second realm, then the third, then the fourth, and it kept going until I reached Foundation Establishment Lower Peak, the seventhyer of the Foundation Establishment cultivation level. My body shuddered as it took in all of that energy and didn¡¯t find a way for it to release it, the pressure lessened intently, but I had so much energy within me that needed to be released. And what other way to release this energy but to use a spell.

    I found enlightenment in the Poison God¡¯s own application of the Poison Tiger w, one w is all the Poison God¡¯s book allowed me to learn, and I used the skill as the book instructed, one w to rend the heavens, and I stood up then struck at the empty air in front of, where five cleaving marks of dense but thin rays of Poison Qi shot out in the air in front of me, they moved with speed enough to contend with Xi Son¡¯s bolting out from in front of the Soul Formation Puppets. But I knew, this strength was only temporary. So I used the w attack again, this time reigning it in.

    This was the perfect ce to train, as with every attack I did, the fake Qi would merge with my Poison Qi ande towards me to fill me up with even more Qi. Which I used to my advantage in trying these attacks and spells.

    And so, I began shooting out w attacks, Poison Escape, and even a new Skill that the Poison God¡¯s Book unlocked for me when I reached the seventhyer of Foundation Establishment. Twisted Snake. An attack that bends perception, giving the one opposing you the sense that your hands were snakes instead of arms, unable to understand where the attack woulde from only to have them lying dead at your feet the moment you strike. An insidious attack that ys against one¡¯s own sight, for if one were to use their eyes to track the user¡¯s arms, they¡¯ll die before knowing how it happened.

    And best of all, my body, no longer had the thin skin of old people, but a slightly unhealthy skin tone, and far fewer tumors and pustules than before, I could even feel my hair had fully grown back, though I believe it¡¯s still gray, it beats being half bald.

    And so I continued practicing in this unlimited Qi space. An ascendant cultivator had so many means to create something like this, for many would find this ce heaven, I believe for an ascendant cultivator this pagoda is nothing more than a discardable toy. For they can use Saint Qi, which is far superior to regr Qi, as for me, as long as I get to use this fake Qi to my advantage and practice my skills with no regard to Qi consumption, then I¡¯m more than willing to spend a few months here until I perfect all of my skills.

    It¡¯s high time I start learning how to use the powers at my disposal, as relying always on X will only cause me to growcent. And so, my training montage started.

 Chapter 61 New Skill

    <h4>Chapter 61: New Skill</h4>

    Hours upon hours, days even, or even months had gone by while I was fully immersed in a fugue state of enlightenment. It was so fascinating, to see all the variable applications of my spells and skills, and how I could improve upon them and apply them to do various things.

    Take the Poison Tiger w, for example, the Poison God had used Saint Qi to create rippling waves that were bigger than god damned to strike a creature that eatss as side dishes. Now, the sheer size is almost impossible to fully gouge, because a normal person wouldn¡¯t have a full grasp of how big a is.

    But let¡¯s take it down a notch and see if we can make aparison. Earth had a bit over seven billion people living in it. And if you take them and align them in a row of two, they will make a full circle around the Earth, now take all those seven billion people and line them up in a single file in space, that will make the circumference of Earth, now imagine one person, striking down the air and creating arcs of power that has seven billion people worth of length. How big is that? Fregging huge it is, also on a side note just to make clear how huge seven billion is, if I were to greet every single one of the seven billion people on earth, saying just hello, and go to the next one, with each greeting only taking one second, that would roughly take 288 years, 2 months, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 40 seconds to finish. That¡¯s how mind-bogglingly big the size is.

    And the Poison God was shooting spells of that magnitude like they were nothing!

    Never mind Superman, a cultivator of the caliber of the Poison God would crap on any of Earth¡¯s fictional superheroes with a sneeze. This magnitude of strength is so far beyond what humans can possibly even gouge or even imagine, and it¡¯s awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time. The power these Cultivators can amass can only be godly. And even they die and are found wanting against even greater odds. Like the Poison God facing that-eating serpent.

    While I could hope to achieve such godly strength, I am in no condition to even waver or stop, as for the primordial Serpent is after me, and my only path is to grow stronger, so while I was in my fugue state, I managed to uncover more of the Poison Tiger w attack. For it can not only be released by one¡¯s hands but also a weapon, only in a less imposing manner but rather more precise.

    Creeping Demise, a fourth Tier weapon, a powerful one and definitely holds secrets I have yet to gain the authority to understand is a great tool at making precise cuts and shes, especially when Ibined Poison Tiger w with the Sanguine de Arts.

    The first sh in the manual was an extended thrust that left every single part of the user¡¯s body exposed and overextended to retaliation, but the application of the thrust was disgustingly fast. So fast that the first time I tried it in this Qi infused area I shed forward in speed so staggering that I felt my eyes were about to be stuck to the back of my brain. My clothes ripped as I moved forward delivering a piercing blow to the empty air.

    The possibility of dodging such a fast attack was nigh impossible. And if one were to dodge it, I¡¯ll be dead as there was no way for me to retaliate, that is of course if my attack would stop then and there. The first tome of the Sanguine de focused solely on this move and said "This is the base of all of the Sanguine de art style, and without perfectprehension of the Sanguine Thrust, none of the follow-up attacks can connect leaving you with a single attack that has to connect, if not, then the user is bound to die due to the overextension."

    So, I continued reading through the first tome and it only went about the application of the first thrust attack. Nothing more nothing less, the book was so adamant on teaching the user to perfect the thrust, enough that it even mentioned the power needed to apply to one toe, yes, the book was so exhaustive that it mentioned how the toes must move, the rotation of the ankles, the knees and which height and how bent they should be, the extended arm, and even the shape of the weapon, the information was so detailed that my head hurts trying to read them, not to mention actually trying to apply every single twist, turn and move.

    The Sanguine Thrust, the base of all of the Sanguine de arts was a nightmare to apply, and within this inexhaustive Qi filled world, I had only one way to master it, practice it like there is no tomorrow, and I did, attempt after attempt, without even feeling tired or exhausted. I practiced the skill until my robes were fully torn, I practiced it until my joints and muscles tore and repaired themselves, I practiced it until I was able to fully control Creeping Demise to actually keep pointed straight as I dashed forward.

    And I still didn¡¯t feel satisfied, with every single thrust I made, though I managed to fully apply all the details within the book, I always felt that something was missing, the movement felt..cking.

    And there was no way for me to understand what was missing from the move, even after reading the second book, there were other applications of the Sanguine Thrust, but I strongly believed unless I uncovered the missing bit about the Sanguine Thrust, all the subsequent moves will have a missing element.

    The author of the manual was satisfied with his skill, but I highly believe that he ¡¯hid¡¯ or didn¡¯t wish to fully develop on the Sanguine Thrust, otherwise others will know of its secret, and will have the ability to replicate it like him. Perhaps the writer left a w in the manual lest he would face one who learned from his manual and ends up actually defeating him using his own skill. These are all spections but they are not without basis.

    I sat down and began meditating, trying to figure out what was missing from the Sanguine Thrust, but to no avail, and thus, I went back to practice again, until I dared try and mix two things in one.

    The Sanguine Thrust and the Tiger¡¯s w, to which I created a new Skill, rather than created it would be I improved upon two skills because skill creation is not as simple as mixing two already existing skills, but making something out of thin air, and that¡¯s not something someone like me is currently capable off.

    I applied the same move set of the Sanguine Thrust and rotated my poison Qi as if I was about to release the Poison Tiger w, only there was a slight misshape, the Poison Tiger w is a sh, while the Sanguine Thrust, well, it¡¯s a thrust. And how to infuse the two? Simple, a shing Pierce attack.

    And I tried it, fully believing that it will fail spectacrly until I was dumbstruck by what happened next.

    I sent Qi down my feet to initiate the lunge, knees bent, and arm ready to sh up, the moment enough energy was bottled up in my feet, I crunched forward, then kicked, dashing with the speed of sound, my sword raising from a low sh to abruptly stop when my arm was fully extended and Creeping Demise was pointed at a horizontal angle. My body stopped the moment the Dash ended, but then, an explosion of powerful poison Qi followed up almost a fraction of a second after the sword stopped.

    The Qi looked like it wasgging, but this in itself is a dangerous effect on its own, and I shuddered asprehension dawned on me, what was missing, it was so simple yet so obvious that no one would have expected it.

    The follow-up, as for the Sanguine Thrust only missed one thing, the motion that will follow it into the second spell. As the moment the Sanguine Thrust was applied, that¡¯s it, you cannot use it in abo with another attack simply put because the Sanguine Thrust was aplete singr attack, but adding the Poison Tiger w gave it a secondary side effect, the unanticipated Qi Lag would cause anyone brave enough to block the first deadly blow to stagger, giving the Sanguine Thrust user a small minuscule time window to apply a second spell in case of the first being blocked. So simple, so obvious, yet at the same time so inconspicuous that most would fail to realize it. The Sanguine Thrust would be considered as a finishing blow, but with this small addition, it could be applied as a normal setup for a follow-up attack.

    I began practicing the ¡¯improved¡¯ skill, and to my surprise, the more I practiced the more I realized how much I could control the g¡¯ behind the poison Qi. I could even cause it tog longer or shorter, enough that it would apply two blows in one exchange if I increased my Qi rotation to release the poison Qi faster, or slow down the rotation and apply ate explosive Qi burst that woulde in unexpectedly.

    This didn¡¯t seem like a great find at first until I realized a huge misconception I had. The slower my Qi would release, the more powerful ites out, and the faster it is, the more ¡¯jabby¡¯ it is, fast and precise, slow and pounding.

    It was like two different spells all in one, the faster strike along the thrust felt like a sword and a tiger struck at the enemy, causing him to receive two attacks with deadly precision, as for the second, the first Thrust, even if blocked or parried, thegged blow and slower one, would hit like a bull on steroids and fully catch the enemy off guard.

    I was so excited to actually try these skills instead of just fighting empty air, so I asked X toe out.

    "X, block my attack," I ordered and X stood in a defensive stance, there was no better practice partner than X and I was going to use him until I fully master the skill.

    **************************

 Chapter 62 Mastery And Danger

    <h4>Chapter 62: Mastery And Danger</h4>

    I applied the same move set then dashed forward with blinding speed, only to have X firmly grab Creeping Demise and then almost instinctively reacting as he rapidly raised his other free arm and protectively ced a palm in front of the tip of Creeping demise where a powerful Qi explosion blew up in front of his open Palm.

    ¡¯Hmm, you¡¯re too damn fast." I cursed, but it was good, as X was a Soul Formation level puppet, if he didn¡¯t actually fend this attack off I¡¯ll think he was faulty not that I¡¯m too strong, I don¡¯t have enough power to ovee the difference in cultivation level but this is a slight improvement.

    Still, what really surprised me was a thin long scar on X¡¯s left hand, it was so small one would ignore it, but I was actually surprised, at how sharp Creeping Demise, and how it was actually capable of damaging the puppet.

    This was good because there was no better sparring partner than X, he wouldn¡¯t outright kill me, and I can go all out without threatening to damage him. which will help hone my skill.

    And so, I began sparring with X, for long, long hours, trying different attempts at attacking Him, even spitting out Poison Qi as a cloud to cloud his vision, but he was always several steps ahead, easily blocking my thrust.

    I kept on sparring with X, until I was covered in sweat, and more, and I still fought on, without any visible signs of progress, though I knew I was slowly more capable of tuning my attacks, even at minuscule and slow progress, I was able to understand and micromanage my moves. A twist of the hip at the right time, curling the toes tounch myself at the correct order, twisting my body forward to lessen wind obstruction, using the de¡¯s swing to carve through the air, and even adding a twist of the sword at the end, which did wonders to actually focus the Qi explosion thates out after the initial thrust so instead of the Qi exploding like a grenade in all direction, the sword twist focused the Qi to blow up in a cone forward. Which did wonders to the added damage.

    I kept on ¡¯improving¡¯ the lunge, and tried more variation, with the majority failing, and the rest outright throwing me out of bnce, but I kept trying until I perfected the move, and then kept on practicing it, again and again, until I felt that X would find himself exhausted before I did.

    Days? Months, hell, I could have probably spent a year inside the Pagoda without feeling the need to sleep, eat or even defecate. The Qi here is so strong that once it was infused with my own Qi gave me enough sustenance to sustain this continuous application of skill without regard to safety, health, or exhaustion.

    Yet there was one thing that kept bugging me, I couldn¡¯t go past the Eight Stage of Foundation Establishment no matter how much Qi I consumed from this ce. I just felt bloated and my body refused to breakthrough. I first thought that I just needed time but now I¡¯m definitely sure that the missing Law from this fake Qi is essential to progression, and without consuming Spiritual Poison from outside I won¡¯t progress.

    The Law within my own spells has already helped me progress to where I am, but it was still a Formation Establishment Law, weak, and not enough to help propel me forward, otherwise I could stay here until I be an Ascendant due to how abundant the fake Qi here was.

    I needed a real-life experiment.

    And so, I decided that once I¡¯m satiated with my practice against X, I¡¯ll head out.

    After what I had assumed a couple of weeks passed in long practice sessions, I felt that I couldn¡¯t learn anymore, though X proved a sparring partner, he didn¡¯t strike me as a good mentor, he was not able to give advice, and I needed to improve and self-teach myself everything. Though it¡¯s not the worst thing in the world, experience is gained better when facing people of the same caliber, and also if sparring with someone stronger it would be best if I could receive a few hints or advice. I¡¯m not so arrogant to think I can figure everything on my own, and a mentor would prove pretty handy in these situations.

    I could have gone through the second manual of the Sanguine de and learned a few more Skills, but the moment I read through the first few pages, I knew it would be impossible for me. The first tome was about the Sanguine Thrust, and while the second tome spoke about various other skills, the main thing needed to apply all of them was the possession of a Nascent Soul, Divine Sense, and rudimentary achievement in Domain Creation, namely speaking, I could only learn the skills if I was a Soul Formation cultivator or a really, really talented Nascent Cultivator.

    I collected X and the manual and decided to tackle the stairs again, but the moment I went past the step I was blocked at thest time, I found myself standing in the pagoda again.

    A pill bottle hovered in front of me and I picked it up, opening it, a sweet powerful scent assaulted my nose, and my whole body shuddered, wanting to consume the pill.

    "Congrattions on achieving minor sess in my personal Soul Tempering Crucible. Though I don¡¯t dare it has the same tempering capabilities of the Soul n, It is my proudest achievement before going beyond ascension."

    There was no stair leading upwards and as if answering my question, the Laughing ughterer¡¯s voice sounded once again.

    "You do not have the necessary ability to go beyond this floor,e back when you¡¯re stronger. Then a smallpass appeared out of nowhere in front of me next to the pill bottle.

    Thepass was made of simple wood and brass and didn¡¯t have anything special about it, but the energy it emanated was powerful, I was tempted to open it and see how it worked but I didn¡¯t feel it in me to stay here anymore. I could better off try this when I¡¯m back in the sanctity of my house.

    Also, I don¡¯t know when those Soul Formation Puppets might be released from the barrier I ced against them, and I don¡¯t want them toe at me when I¡¯m in the middle of studying thispass.

    A door opened and it led outward, it is my time to leave. And just as I left the tower, I felt a powerful surge of energying my way.

    I squinted my eyes as I saw Xi Soning with blinding speed at the top of his sword.

    "Heavens! You still live?!" Xi Son¡¯s words were as much of a surprise to me as was his current condition.

    He looked like he aged a thousand years, his face has aged, nowhere was his youthful appearance in sight, and his hair grew white, but there was still strength in his body.

    "What happened to you?" I asked.

    "The exact opposite of you, you look younger," Xi Son said.

    And that was true, it was all thanks to the Fake Qi that rejuvenated me a bit. Though I wasn¡¯t as young as a youth or a middle-aged man, now I looked like a healthy sixty-year-old grandpa.

    "Fortuitous encounter," I replied.

    "Right, I feel that your cultivation also increased, congrattions brother Shen Bao. But there is a huge problem." Xi Son said, his eyes looking all over the ce.

    "I made a huge blunder when trying to escape this ce, and ended up facing a horde of Life Syphoning Beetles. A monster Beast of the Sixth Tier, not even I could beat them, I barely managed to escape from their chase but on the ount of losing a lot of my longevity. The worst thing is, they¡¯re guarding the only exit to this ce."

    Now, that wasn¡¯t something I needed to hear right now, a horde of Monster Beasts of the Sixth tier, that¡¯s the same level as that Yeti, and I only managed to kill it because it was groggy and just woke up from sleep and he consumed my poison Qi unguarded. While it was just one beast, these beetles are a horde and I find it nigh impossible to do better than a Nascent Soul cultivator.

    "Well, that¡¯s problematic..." I replied, "But I think I have an idea on how to go past them," I said then looked at the almost jubnt Xi Son, "Show me the way to the horde," I said and he turned and flew as I followed after him.

 Chapter 63 Soul Syphoning Beetles

    <h4>Chapter 63: Soul Syphoning Beetles</h4>

    Xi Son¡¯s current look wasn¡¯t something to envy, he no longer had that haughty presence, and was more of a meek and docile kitten instead of the confident lion presence he gave earlier. Whatever he faced didn¡¯t seem so intent on keeping Xi Son¡¯s mental integrity in mind, that and probably the taste of his flesh. He had a few bite wounds on his arms that had yet to heal as a few cuts on his robes.

    He had fought on thest leg, and somehow managed to escape unharmed, though I¡¯ll never be able to defeat the horde of the Soul Syphoning Beetles he fought, I have more than enough confidence to escape unnoticed or at least without them ever thinking to follow after me.

    I followed after Xi Son for a few minutes until we left the mountain range and into a wide-open green field. Xi Son stopped and pointed forward at a forlorn tree that stood all alone in the vast field.

    "That tree is where the exit to this ce is located at," he said then with a shuddering breath he added, "And within the inconspicuous fields are the beetles, they¡¯re green in color and hard to spot, but they¡¯ll wait until you reach all the way to the tree before they¡¯ll surround you. I had to waste several life-saving treasures to escape, but I didn¡¯t make it without suffering as you see." Xi Son said,menting his current appearance.

    "Don¡¯t worry about your current appearance, I can help you regain your youth, but the longevity you lost... unless you have a Soul Syphoning ability, I can¡¯t do anything to that. You¡¯ll have to breakthrough to the next Cultivation realm for that," I said.

    "Yes, I already believed that but I don¡¯t mind my current appearance, I¡¯ve been alive for a few hundred years. Old or young, it matters little to us, cultivators." Xi Son replied.

    "Good then, alright, let me go up first, I¡¯ll tell you when it¡¯s safe," I said as I dashed forward using the giant flying sword.

    I fully unleashed my Mind¡¯s Eye as I began taking in all the scene into memory, then flew back when I thought I approached enough.

    Once I was back to Xi Son, he had a perplexed look on his face.

    "I just needed to remember theyout of the beetles. There are a bit more than three thousand beetles in the field, and one of them is slightlyrger than the rest, I suppose that¡¯s the leader, queen, or king." I said.

    "Right, I counted and only found two thousand though, I even used my Divine Sense." Xi Son said.

    "Perhaps some of them are impervious to Divine Sense scrying, I calcted the number by sight, their camouge is useless once you know what to look for. So, here is the y. I¡¯ll lure the beetles while you escape, but once you reach the gate, make sure to guard my retreat, okay?" I said.

    "If you try to lure the beetles, you¡¯ll have to lure them all, otherwise they¡¯ll kill us both." Xi Son said. afraid of his own survival.

    "I know, but I have a way, don¡¯t worry. Just make sure you keep your end of the deal, I¡¯m trusting you here." I said fully knowing that I don¡¯t trust him one damn bit.

    "Right then," he said in a straight face.

    "Good, wait until I¡¯m far away, once I break your jade, dash forward to the gate as fast as you can," I said and flew away from Xi Son.

    Once I was a couple of miles away, I broke the jade he gave me and pulled the Soul Pill I received from the pagoda. With the beetles being Soul Devouring Beetles. The best meal for them would be the soul of a cultivator or a powerful Soul Replenishing pill, but I have something even better, a Soul Strengthening Pill. And as expected, the world shuddered as hordes of green and ck beetles rose from the ground,ing towards me as if I held the reason of their existence in the palms of my hand.

    Xi Son took the initiative and shed forward towards the tree. Once I was fully certain that all the beetles wereing my way, I ordered the sword to run away, while the beetles chased after me. Their seeped was way too high, and they¡¯ll close the gap with me and the sword in less than a minute.

    I took a roundabout turn as I moved in arge arc, drawing with me the whole horde of the beetles. Once I was facing Xi Son who was in the distance and already next to the tree, I had the whole horde behind me.

    Xi Son was standing next to what I presumed was the gate, and the closer I got, the more I was able to see his hesitant and perplexed look on his face. Then he scrunched his face in determination, whatever he decided at that moment, was set in stone, and I didn¡¯t know if either he was going to help, or was going to betray me, but I¡¯m already counting on the second and didn¡¯t hesitate when I continued rushing towards him.

    Xi Son pulled a long sword from his Pouch and raised it above him, "A thousand Sword¡¯s Will!" Xi Son shouted and a thousand light swords appeared above him, then he pointed forward, to which I thought were the swords aimed at me.

    I was about to call X out, but then I calcted the trajectory of every sword risen above Xi Son and deduced that none of them was aimed at me. Good, he has a brain over his head.

    The swords shed behind me and stuck at the closest of my chasers while I moved forward, I could even hear the hisses of a couple of beetles right above my neck.

    It took me but a fraction of a second to use two spells.

    Poison Escape, and the fusion of the Poison Tiger w with the Sanguine Thrust. I really need a new name for that fused skill.

    The first skill enabled me to dash away from harm and created a poisonous clone of myself behind me, giving the beetles a fake target that they dove at. While the second spell was aimed at Xi Son.

    Though anyone here would think that I was being aplete arrogant idiot for trying to face against a Nascent Soul cultivator, even weak as he was right now, and I would have had a better chance at using X than attacking him directly in such unfavorable odds, and if I were actually trying to attack Xi Son, then I too would be among the people thinking that was stupid.

    But my de, though it scared the living hell out of Xi Son, by the rapidity of my dash and the overextension of my body. Itnded a few inches next to his right cheek. Xi Son was still staggering, as he was definitely still reacting to the sudden change of events, he was going to retaliate but when he noticed that my de wasn¡¯t meaning him any harm, he froze in ce unable to decide what to do.

    A wet crunch sounded right next to Xi Son¡¯s ear, then an explosion of swirling poison Qi blew up.

    "Saved you on that one, you owe me a drink." I grinned as the hordes of beetles buzzed behind me.

 Chapter 64 THINK!

    <h4>Chapter 64: THINK!</h4>

    Xi Son turned to see a massive beetle that was about to prey on him, it was probably the Queen, and it had been the only one that wasn¡¯t lured by my pill, it waited for Xi Son to drop his guard to attack, but while it was attacking, it too had dropped its guard. Though I would have not been able to beat it in a frontal attack, this method was more than effective at spilling the Beetle Queen¡¯s blood.

    The poison Qi seeped through the area and I pushed Xi Son aside so that he doesn¡¯t get affected by the poison. I turned then blew a poison breath behind us and shouted, "The gate, move!"

    Xi Son dashed to the tree and walked inside it first, while I followed after him after blowing an even thicker poison breath clouding the exit and stopping any beetle from trying to follow after us.

    Once I was inside the tree, I found myself back at the same cave we walked in from. I was suffering from Qi deficiency. That I didn¡¯t ount for, for when I trained in that room, I could use my spells and skills as much as I wanted due to the abundance of Qi. But here, just after using the -Tiger Stinger, yes I decided on the name of the fused skill-, the poison escape. And a couple of poison breaths, I was already down to a tenth of my Qi reserves, quite dangerous. I now remember why the Poison God¡¯s book heavily implied for one to fullyprehend the base of Poison Tiger w before learning Poison Escape, as the first will allow the user to tune his Qi expenditure and will have enough experience on how to manipte his Qi thus enabling the user to know how to manage the Qi reserves. Qi micromanagement was the basis of most of the Poison God¡¯s skills, they all required huge amounts of Qi, but when one was proficient enough, they¡¯ll be able to use the spells without losing much of their reserves.

    But, as I was now, exhausted and weakened, I seemed like a pretty damned good target to Xi Son who held a sword up to my neck.

    "I won¡¯t kill you, but you¡¯ll have to hand over your holding pouch." His hands were already shaking and he tried his best to steady his grip.

    I sighed as I rolled my eyes over then I punched him in the face, to hell with all the swords and magic spells this guy needs a beating.

    The moment he was struck he fell to the ground, unable to understand what was going on, as I kept pummeling his face.

    "You, Stupid, idiot!" I said as I punched him a few more times then I said as I pointed at my temples with both index fingers, "THINK YOU IDIOT THINK!"

    "Do you think I managed to survive against twelve Soul Formation level puppets by luck? You think that just because I have a lower cultivation level than you, that you get to bully me?" I said then I grabbed his sorry self by the neck and made him face me.

    His bloodied face was in a sorry state, he was an old-looking man but bloodied and sniffling like the stupid coward he is.

    "If I ever wanted you dead along the whole run we had here, you¡¯d be dead a hundred time over, I gave you chance after chance, opportunity after opportunity, and now that you think you¡¯re out of danger you¡¯ll get to bully me?! NO!" I shouted as I sent another punch right into his face, "I AM DANGER!" I called again then threw him off.

    I took deep breaths as I waited for Xi Son to regain his bearings while I also needed the deep breaths to calm down, I can¡¯t afford to kill Xi Son, and at the same time, I have a problem with him escaping and telling on me. I¡¯m in a pinch right now.

    "Perhaps I should kill you right now and be done and over with this crap," I said as I pointed my sword at him.

    Xi Son shuddered as he said, "No, wait, brother Shen Bao, it won¡¯t be smart to kill me; I apologize I have eyes but failed to see Mt, Thai!"

    "No amount of apologies would save you from my hands," I said.

    "It will only bring you trouble if I were to die, please brother Shen Bao, my father knows of my departure to this ce, and he will turn heaven and earth to know how Ie to pass. Please! Wait here," Xi Son made a pinching motion on his forehead and drew a small glistening white strand.

    "This is my soul imprint, if I were to ever betray you or threaten your existence you only need to pinch it for me to die! Please, spare me!" Xi Son said.

    I made a swiping motion and grabbed the strand then said, "At least you¡¯re sensible, but I still feel irked at the fact that you tried to kill me when I saved your sorry self." I said.

    Xi Son understood immediately and handed over his own holding bag. I didn¡¯t even waste time trying to check the content as I stepped above the sword and flew up, "Don¡¯t show your face in front of me ever again, lest you want yourself dead. And out of my goodwill, after a hundred years, I¡¯ll release your soul strand, that is if you live long enough to reach it."

    These were thest words I spoke to Xi Son who was bowing at my departure.

    Damn, I could really get addicted to ying the tyrant, but some people are stupid beyond stupid. Howe he didn¡¯t even think that I could be more dangerous than I give, I literally survived the nes where he faced against hundreds of beasts, managed to climb above him in the same pagoda he escaped from and was confident in luring and tricking away the same beetles that almost killed him, yet his arrogance still blinded him to the fact that I¡¯m stronger than him, just because I was not in the same realm as he was. How frustrating to see people that lived so long have such a small quality of intelligence. I bet these cultivators grow in age and be senile instead of wise.

    Thinking about what just happened only served to further irk and annoy me, so I shook the thoughts and continued flying toward the capital. I have a lot left to do, improve upon X, and get myself to the next realm, and the only way for me to do that is by alchemy.

    I¡¯m slightly proficient in Inscriptions, though I won¡¯t dare say I¡¯m a match to the Poison God, and he himself said he wasn¡¯t great in this domain. But alchemy, should be my calling, the Poison God was a master of that craft, and with his guidance, I¡¯ll be able to craft some good pills that will help me reach higher cultivation realms.

    Right, with my goals set, I¡¯ll be off to get work done. Time to start mass-producing poison.

 Chapter 65 Alchemy Competition 1

    <h4>Chapter 65: Alchemy Competition 1</h4>

    I arrived at the imperial city soon after my departure, with the increase of my cultivation level, it took me less than half a day to return to the capital and I walked through the gates. Thest thing I¡¯d want is for people to take notice of me for once again breaking the no-flying rule.

    Once I arrived at the house gifted by Zei Fen, I walked inside and into the secluded room. I began by inspecting Xi Son¡¯s pouch. There were tons of spiritual herbs in it, far more than I had, not to mention several high-grade spirit stones and numerous medium-grade ones. Not to mention the countless low-grade ones.

    He was filthy rich, and that was only natural, he was a noble and had a chain of stores that spread all over the capital, with power and his nobility status, acquiring money was not a big deal, and now it all belonged to me.

    As for his soul strand, the Poison God¡¯s book just took it inside it and kept it there hovering in the pocket dimension. I looked through the rest of Xi Son¡¯s belongings, and most were documents for estates he owned, weapons and some ores, good quality stuff. I immediately pocketed everything of value inside the Poison God¡¯s book and pulled out a furnace that was inside his holding bag.

    After a careful inspection, I deduced that the furnace would do well enough to make some pills, nothing higher than the sixth grade though. But that wasn¡¯t a problem. I also have a huge problem right now. As much as I want to explore all the information that the poison God¡¯s Book has on herbs and spiritual nts, I cannot. Because most of the nts that are mentioned in the book only exist in exotic ces, where the spiritual Qi goes through world-shaking events. Take the Violet Poison Flower. It¡¯s the best ingredient to make a sixth-grade poison pill, which can act both as a cultivation material to increase my cultivation and at the same time act as an offensive expendable weapon.

    The poison will call down a sea of violet smoke that can assault anything alongside a mile radius, once a cultivator is in the area of effect, they¡¯ll suffer hallucinations and will enter an enraged state where their cultivation will go haywire if they didn¡¯t have a calm mind they will literally go into cultivation deviation and kill themselves. The pill made from the Violet Poison Flower is potent enough and it¡¯s a better match to me than the Ice destruction poison that the Purple Cloud Sect Sect-Master had. Though the Ice Destruction Poison was of a higher grade than the Violet Poison Flower, the differencey in this grade, because I couldn¡¯t consume the entirety of the Ice Destruction Poison and had to recycle but a fraction of it so I won¡¯t blow up while rendering the majority of the poison into useless digested Qi. As for the Violet Poison Flower, I can consume it and use it in its entirety, not just because it¡¯s less potent, but also because it will enhance my poison skills.

    Sadly, the Violet Poison Pill doesn¡¯t grow on trees, well, it does grow on a tree but not your regr one. The conditions needed for this flower to sprout are rather rare. It needs to be grown in an area full of Death Qi, a graveyard, and not for mortals.

    Mortals don¡¯t release Qi so it¡¯s impossible to have the nt grow there, nor would it be from cultivators because the bodies of cultivators turn to pure Qi soon after they die, and they only leave their skeletons, but their organs will all melt into spiritual QI and be reimed by the heavens.

    I need a monster graveyard. A graveyard where monsters go to when they know they will die of old age, and those are rare beyond rare because most monsters will instinctively think about preserving their own bodies and not die in a ce where their bodies will be desecrated.

    Finding a Monster Graveyard is almost as hard as finding a treasure. So, this is one problem I have with the Violet Poison Flower, and there are even more conditions about the rest of the poison herbs, many of them exist in ces that I currently cannot ess, ces where qi is so thick that only Soul Formation Cultivators can go to, or ces so dangerous that it would be utterly stupid to go with my current level.

    I have so much information but so little power to obtain it, thus I¡¯m going to start alchemy with the herbs I have. I pulled out the furnace and the herbs I needed for a pill, I won¡¯t start with something of high grade, because I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to seed even following the poison God¡¯s Instructions. There is something about alchemy that isn¡¯t for everyone. Timing, skill, patience, and instinct, a lot of factors thate in mind when doing alchemy, though the poison god can teach me how to make a pill, only by trial and error will I learn how to make one.

    There was a section on the Poison God¡¯s book where it taught me how to begin alchemy, or Receptarism, though that¡¯s something of a higher level and can only be done by using Saint Qi, for now, let¡¯s stick with the well-known term, Alchemy.

    ***

    Pill-making is a challenge to heaven¡¯s will. Heaven makes ingredients and we cultivators take these ingredients and change them to fit our needs, yet no matter how skilled an alchemist is, there is no way they¡¯ll be able to create something better than what heaven creates. Thus, impurities are always found within pills.

    For you disciple of mine, the existence of Impurities is of no consequence, as they will be rejected by your own body the moment a sufficient amount has gathered as you follow my cultivation method. But for the many denizens of the world, the impurities of a pill will affect its power, potency, and value.

    There are several factors to decide on the purity of a pill.

    First off, cracks, if a pill is cracked once it has been produced, then it is a failed product, even if it has spiritual Qi, it will not benefit the user, and the impurities in it far outweigh the benefits.

    Dim coloration, a Spiritual Pill is blessed by the heavens, and the brighter its colors the higher the grade. A dim-lit pill cannot be called a failure but is most definitely not a sess. However, if you are attempting a new pill and end up with a dim-lit pill, then you¡¯ll know that you¡¯re improving and take no discontent from such achievements as experience is king.

    A bright-colored pill means that the pill had reached beyond sixty percent purity. It can be considered a good pill to consume. For regr cultivators, pills of this level are considered good pills and are worth paying fortunes for.

    Pill Vein, once a pill reaches beyond eighty percent purity, it will create pill veins, making the pill give off greater spiritual Qi, there are some powerful ascendant pills that are so powerful and give off enough Saint Qi, that people can actually cultivate near them. A pill vein is rare, no matter if it is a ninth-grade pill, a first-grade pill, or even a saint pills. Any pill with pill veins is a pill that had touched upon the essence of Dao.

    Cloud Vein, a cloud vein pill is a pill that reached ny-nine percent purity, this pill is not only a treasure, one would believe consuming them to be a waste unless if it¡¯s in a most urgent situation. A Cloud Vein Pill is as closest as one coulde to fully challenge the authority of heaven, and the moment such a pill is created, the heavens will send a warning to the creator, it can also be deemed the greatest honor a cultivator could ever have if they summon the Heaven¡¯s Will to witness their creation.

    Finally, Spirit Pill, now this, I only saw one, and it was the most frightening thing I had ever seen. A Spirit Pill is a pill that has reached perfection, enabling it to not only contain the Qi of Heaven but actually dare and wrench it from it, the Spirit Pill is a quasi-sentient being and can consume Saint Qi from the world to keep itself from deteriorating, it will only grow stronger and more potent.

    The pill I saw of this level was in a sub-dimension, where thews of heavens were obscured away by a powerful cultivator, he used it as a treasure to be gained, but none of us ever managed to eveny our hands on it, I have the map to the dungeon and if it is still not imed, I have ways for you reach there and try your luck obtaining it.

    ***

    The poison God¡¯s information continued on, and how to make pills and the subtle difference in each stage, though he mentioned the major stages, each stage of them have different and subtle variances that would affect the level of each pill, blemishes, tarnishes, spotlessness and other things that could decide the value of a pill and its potency.

    I consumed the information like a sponge does to water and continued reading.

    Then I arrived at the important part, how to make a pill.

    Now, this is interesting I said as I grasped the book tightly and began reading the knowledge of the Poison God.

 Chapter 66 Alchemy Competition 2

    <h4>Chapter 66: Alchemy Competition 2</h4>

    First, one needs an adequate cauldron or furnace, this in front of me is a square cauldron with a cover. It¡¯s made of Dragon Brass and can sustain great levels of heat. But there is a problem.

    ***

    The moment you use your Poison Qi on a cauldron, it can never be used to create a Spiritual Qi pill, it will only contaminate other pills with your poison and will destroy anything else that is created besides poison pills, but at the same time, the cauldron will be attuned to make powerful poison pills.

    ***

    Now, this is problematic, because due to the Poison Qi within me, I¡¯m only able to make poison pills. That won¡¯t do. For example, I heard that there will be an alchemypetition by the alchemy guild that will be held soon in the capital, and they¡¯re required to make pills that require the use of spiritual Qi since I can¡¯t use Spiritual Qi and only Poison Qi, I¡¯ll be disqualified before I even begin.

    I put the idea aside, to think about a solutionter, for now, let me focus on Poison Alchemy and see how it will work.

    The Poison God Book began by giving me detailed information on how to start Alchemy. First off I need Hearth Fire or a powerful Qi counterpart. Cultivators of the higher realms don¡¯t use Hearth Firestones and use their own Qi to extract the essences of the herbs this is Receptarism. The Poison God exined the method clearly and I found myself surprised as this was highly rted to how I first used the small me to light my pipe.

    I pointed my finger forward and exerted my poison Qi onto my finger, a small candle-like me lit up, then I willed it to increase in potency and it raged like a me thrower. I frowned, the me I have is hot but at the same time, it¡¯s not stable.

    I clenched my hand and forced the me to equally be released from my palm. Then as if the raging fire was toned down it turned from its raging form to a calm almost liquid-like me.

    The second thing was for me to use this me and coat the herbs with it so that the mes would burn the Spiritual Herbs and extract their essence.

    I tried it with a low-grade herb and almost immediately the herb withered and turned to ash while a drop of concentrated essence remained afloat.

    I pushed my hand onto the cauldron as the essence fell inside and I did the same to a couple more essence extractions and amassed everything within the cauldron. Once the essences were inside I needed them to mix harmoniously. And this can only be done by increasing the me but keeping it at a moderate heat.

    And with only one hand it would be impossible to spread the heat all over the cauldron.

    I exerted the same energy onto my second palm and pressed both hands on the cauldron that began heating up to an adequate degree.

    A powerful spiritual smell came out of the cauldron, as the essences gathered and mixed together. But I began feeling slightly exhausted from the continuous poison Qi exertion. Suddenly I felt that something was awry, the liquid inside the cauldron began turning darker, it was burning before it reached harmonious levels. I had to lower the heat, but that didn¡¯t work perfectly, the color continued to darken but at a slower pace, and if I were to lower the mes from my hands even more it will only cause the mixture to fail at such a critical moment.

    Suddenly the whole mixture turned up in mes as the result was a failed sludge.

    I cursed at the failed attempt and went to the poison god¡¯s book to read more.

    It seems that I was too hasty in my attempt that I failed to notice a simple factor. Not every herb in existence is the same as the other. Thousand-year-old ginseng will not have the same potency as a thousand and one-year-old ginseng, and it is an alchemist¡¯s job to regte the heat depending on the ingredients he has.

    So when I lowered the heat at that moment, I needed to immediately increase it several folds again, and continue manipting the heat so that all the ingredients would harmoniously merge. It wasn¡¯t a perfect science as it relied heavily on one¡¯s understanding and skill. Though I could create a fullboratory gear and make micro-adjustment with regted tubes andboratory drippers and such, it will still end up in failure, as even the greatest scientists will take years to make a good extract from these spiritual herbs, science and spirituality are two different things and one cannot logic their way through spirituality.

    I have to be patient and try again and again until I perfect the creation process. That moment when I felt something awry while I was extracting the essence, I need to be able to sense the wrongness in my methods and act ordingly, if I¡¯m able to grasp the correct timing with trial and error, I¡¯ll be able to make any pill I want. I just need practice.

    So I started trying, trial and error, and kept going through my herb reserves, with more than eighty percent of the pills I tried to make turning to sludge.

    I tried so many times that at one point I couldn¡¯t even stand the smell of the sludge that gathered around in the basement and that was also affecting my products. The discarded scum on the ground was actually highly toxic, and though I could benefit from consuming it, it would not be useful, as I already burnt through most of the QI of the sludge, and the majority was only impurities. So, it¡¯s double the work with half the results.

    I gathered the sludge in a holding bag and cleaned the cauldron and started over. By the end of the first month of my ceaseless attempts at Alchemy, I had already created hundreds of Cracked pills, dozen of dim-lit ones, and a couple of bright pills.

    But they were all just side effects, yes, my objective was never to create a pill, as I had already figured out how to make a proper pill. I only needed to focus a bit increase the heat and regte it in different intervals, and I could have a bright-lit pill of the ninth grade. But that¡¯s not my goal, my goal was to know exactly when a pill will be lost, I want to grasp the timing when the pill will be turned into trash and how to counter it and I was almost at the cusp of sess when I heard a loud booming voice calling me.

    "Brother Shen Bao!" Zen Fei¡¯s voice sounded from outside the manor. I sighed and left the room, then walked up to the gate.

    "Greetings!" Zen Fei said as he beamed with a smile. "Here, offering from Xi Son," Zen Fei said as he gave me a pouch. I took a look at it and grinned, it seems like Xi Son has a good head.

    Looking behind me I sighed, the manor had been infected with my failed attempts at alchemy and grew several dangerous mushrooms and poisonous nts all over it. The smell was definitely annoying the neighbors, but in my secluded time, many had understood that an ¡¯alchemist¡¯ was living nearby and in this world, alchemists are feared as much as kings. Most of them are entric and rude, and no one would cross them. So, even if the neighbors were disturbed by the smell, they didn¡¯t voice theirints.

    "I¡¯ll take care of this messter on," I said to Fen Zei.

    "I can send a few servants to clean up the manor." Fen Zei said while giving me a slight nod.

    "No," I shook my head, "They¡¯ll definitely die if they inhale the smells of the manor, I¡¯ll manage this on my time. Thank you for the gift and tell Xi Son that he¡¯s on a good track to regaining my favor."

    "Right," Zei Fen nodded. "Ah, by the way, while you were cultivating alchemy, I received some news. The Imperial n is holding the next alchemy tourney within the halls of the mansion, would you like to attend? I know you¡¯re a great craftsman, but seeing how many alchemist came here andmended the efforts of your alchemical attempts, I think you¡¯ll do great joining."

    Well, that came in time, I¡¯m definitely joining. I grinned at

    "Right, I might as well try, when is thepetition starting?"

 Chapter 67 Alchemy Competition 3

    <h4>Chapter 67: Alchemy Competition 3</h4>

    "In about a couple weeks, I¡¯ll get you an invitation to participate ande get you when the time for thepetition is nigh," Zen Fei spoke in assurance.

    "Thank you, though I don¡¯t expect I can make the cut I¡¯ll try still," I replied.

    This is enough time for me to test a few tricks I¡¯ve been thinking about.

    "No worries about making the cut, it¡¯s a good experience you¡¯ll get to use a lot of herbs that you won¡¯t be paying for anyway," Zen Fei said.

    "Yeah, that will cut on my losses, here," I said as I handed Zei Fen the dozen dim poison Pills and the Bright Lit ones.

    "Poison Pills again," Zei Fen sighed.

    It was only natural, I could only make Poison Pills, though not many people bought them, they were still expensive and were exchanged for herbs so that I could create more pills. Though I felt Zei Fen was distressed and wanted a spiritual Pill, I was still not ready to tackle that venue, though I had a really good idea on how to do it.

    "Say, I need a cauldron, get me a big one, something made from Meteorite Steel,"I said, because to make something other than poison pill I¡¯ll need to try something new, something never before seen in this country, perhaps even this world.

    "That¡¯s going to be pretty expensive..." Zei Fen said with a worried look. Though we generated a good deal of money, a Meteorite Steel Cauldron was expensive.

    "No need to worry about the cost," I said as I handed Zei Fen a pouch full of spiritual stones, all thanks to Xi Son¡¯s savings.

    "Would this be enough?" I asked In a sly grin.

    Zei Fen¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at me, "More than enough, hell there is an even better Cauldron you can buy with this." he advised.

    "Just get me a Meteorite Steel Cauldron, I don¡¯t need anything else," I replied. because I specifically needed Meteorite Steel for what I have in mind even if I could afford better cauldrons.

    "Right then, I¡¯ll have it delivered to you before nightfall." Zei Fen said and left the area.

    I went back home and continued my trials, I needed to perfect this before thepetition. Thepetition will be a great boon to my endeavors in alchemy. Because I¡¯ll be able to get an Alchemist¡¯s Token, which will give me a good reduction on herbs. And when I make those into poison pills¡¯s I¡¯ll be able to increase my cultivation.

    I¡¯m unable to just sit down and harness the world¡¯s Qi, the best thing I can do with meditation is to calm my exhausted mind from overusing my Mind¡¯s Eye. It¡¯s a huge disadvantage I have, as other cultivators can simply suck in the world¡¯s energy and be stronger, I¡¯ll have to actively create, search and obtain pills to increase my cultivation. My cultivation path is only going to get harder the more I walk down this path. So, the best thing would be to follow the Poison God¡¯s footsteps and be a well-known Alchemist, so I can create pills to make me more powerful.

    Zen Fei delivered the cauldronter that same day, and I continued my attempts at alchemy, until three days past where I made a pill that had pill veins. There and then Iughed like a mad man.

    "I GOT IT! Finally, I got it! I got the trick to alchemy!" and it was so damn amazing.

    It was so simple that I couldn¡¯t even think it would be possible. But even if one were to show it, the other wouldn¡¯t learn it. Comprehension, trial, and error are a must for a person to achieve what I just did.

    Simply put, the mes I¡¯m using, not only must they be used constantly without stop, I need to carefully adjust the heat, and not form just one side of the cauldron, every hand needed to work separately, it¡¯s the same as trying to make a square and a circle with both hands, it¡¯s damn impossible at first, but once you get the hang of it you¡¯ll be able to multi-task and now I¡¯m not only able to multi-task, but I can also micro-manage heat, and channel my Poison me Qi to heat up every essence with a different degree of heat. Once I manage to fully purify all the essences I would simply let them fuse together and the result will be a pill with pill veins. Though this is only possible for a level nine pill, the same method can also work for higher-tier pills.

    But I¡¯ll need more Qi and better control as every pill tier would require more focus to separately heat every essence at the same time.

    I sat down ncing at the small pill in my hand, it had a beautiful green color and had veins running all through it, it looked like a treasure, but one would be terrified of its effects.

    I immediately ced the pill in my mouth and consumed it, sat in a lotus position, and began harnessing the pill¡¯s energy.

    The poison within the pill felt like honey being dripped down my throat, it felt sweet and rejuvenating and enabled my bottleneck to immediately loosen up. I rotated my Poison Qi faster and assaulted the bottleneck until it cracked and my body released a powerful shockwave of green energy.

    "Yes! Eighth level, Middle of the peakyer of Foundation Establishment. Poison Qi coursed through my body as more meridians were unlocked and I was now surprisingly almost close to the poison God¡¯s unlocked meridians, I¡¯m at 99 meridians unlocked, I needed a perfect unlock for my next cultivation realm. Though 99 meridians are great, many disciples have already gone past this number and reached the perfect 108. The poison God was not a person who received teaching and sadly never fully unlocked all 108 meridians, but he still made it to the top of the martial world. Dedication and hard work were enough for him topensate for hisck of meridians, and he was nice enough to give me a proper way to cultivate my own meridians.

    Once all the meridians are unlocked and the Dantian is fully fused with them, I¡¯ll be able to enter Core Formation, and then unlock my Divine Sea. A world within my mental space that will allow me to practice my skills and fight against mental assaults.

    Right, let¡¯s focus on the second task, I barely have more than ten days for thepetition to start, I need to have my secondary cauldron ready for thepetition.

    I pulled out the Meteorite Steel Cauldron and began by inscribing it with several inscriptions, yes inscriptions integrated into alchemy. It was a simple idea I had at first thought I didn¡¯t think it would ever work, the idea festered in my mind and I had to try it.

    I began writing inscriptions on the furnace and surprisingly it wasn¡¯t difficult, it was almost like making an electric oven. Inscriptions to manage heat, other inscriptions to manage the Qi. And I even created differentpartments into the cauldron using some of the material I got from the Laughing ughter¡¯s pagoda.

    It took me four days just to finish theyout of the cauldron, and make it work with several different parts, where I¡¯ll be able to ce different herbs and have them heated at different temperatures regted by the inscriptions. Then Apartment to release the waste, but there was one thing I couldn¡¯t manage... Qi infusion I only have poison Qi within my body, and can¡¯t use spiritual Qi.

    Also, I cannot use Spirit Stones to power up the oven, it will be considered cheating. I needed my own Spiritual Qi or the Hearth fire, but Heart fire is not stable and will not power my furnace properly. So, I figured a new way to do this, though it will definitely be annoying to everyone else besides me, it will work best.

    I grinned as I thought about the look on everyone who¡¯ll see how entric this new way of alchemy.

    I inscribed a good few more inscriptions on the cauldron and called it a day.

    I needed to rest and prepare for thepetition.

 Chapter 68 Alchemy Competition 4

    <h4>Chapter 68: Alchemy Competition 4</h4>

    The day of thepetition arrived faster than I expected, not that they changed the time, but because I was immersed in trying out the new Cauldron to staggering satisfying results.

    The old cauldron I had worked perfectly for poison pills, but the Meteorite Steel cauldron was amazing in creating regr pills. Not even the Poison God ventured this venue, because, he was powerful and rich enough that he didn¡¯t need to make his own Qi pills, not that he needed them, but there are some Spiritual Qi pills that can be useful to even the poison god. Mainly for trade with his peers. He would use them to exchange for favors, heal a mortally wounded cultivator, and such, as for him, he only needed Poison Pills to both cultivate and recuperate.

    Fen Zei came to my house¡¯s doors and called me. Once I was out, I noticed that he brought a few ves who carried a pnquin, "Get on, we¡¯ll bete." Fen Zei said.

    I shook my head, very is not something I ever condone, it¡¯s a disgusting act of removing one¡¯s freedom for personal use, what makes a human being believe themselves have more value than another being? Is it skin color, gender? Perhaps race, no. Nothing should make a man exploit another person¡¯s future and life. We¡¯re all born free, and none should be chained up to be a ve. Even if one is a criminal, they¡¯re aught to be trialed and judged byw or be punished for their crimes instead of forced to very.

    Though this mindset of mine is highly impacted by my Earth origins, it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s wrong.

    "I won¡¯t use another man¡¯s shoulders as a mount." I said.

    "But they¡¯re ves, it¡¯s their job to carry people around." Fen Zei frowned.

    "I don¡¯t care, I¡¯m better off walking," I said and moved towards the imperial pce.

    "We¡¯ll get in trouble." Fen Zei grumbled under his breath and dismissed the ves. They all looked worried at first, definitely thinking that they did something wrong. But Fen Zei just said, "You can leave, thank lord Shen Bao, he permitted you the day off." Fen Zei said.

    Immediately the salves kowtowed to me, thanking me then scurried away, I¡¯m not gonna lie, somehow this irked me even more. They bowed and kowtowed for just a single day off. Shit.

    My mood clearly disturbed, Zen Fei coughed and said, "We¡¯ll need to hurry a bit, lest we arrivest."

    "So? What if we¡¯rest?"

    "We¡¯ll lose face, especially since we don¡¯t have a pnquin, they¡¯ll think you a destitute, sir Shen Bao" Fen Zei said.

    "Let them think whatever they want, brother Zen Fei, it¡¯s not how a person looks, but it¡¯s how they act. Actions speak louder than words." I said.

    Fen Zei, stopped for a moment, had his hand under his chin as he thought about what I just said, he even repeated it, "Actions speak louder than words. Such wisdom, brother Shen Bao, I see you in a newer light." Zen Fei nodded and continued repeating the idiom.

    I shook my head and followed after Zen Fei.

    After an hour, I finally understood why the need for the pnquins. It seems that this is not a small event, as many sects had sent in their representatives to this alchemy event and most of them had their own carriages, ves carried pnquins, some even had ferocious red tigers leading a well-decorated carriage.

    Disciples of young ages, between sixteen and thirty years of age, were all over the ce, and they were being led by other high-level cultivators that acted as their dharma protectors.

    Me and Fen Zei were the only ones on foot, and would easily be mistaken formoners if it was not for Zen Fei¡¯s robes, which belonged to an imperial sect. once we arrived at the venue where the event will start, I took a deep breath and soaked in the sight.

    The event was held right in front of the imperial pce, which was majestically grand. It had hundreds of windows and several decorated doors. The color of gold and red were prominent, indicating joy and prosperity and they were in abundance.

    As for the venue, there were a hundred tables set up in the venue, and a stadium-like setup of chairs for the people sit on and watch the Alchemypetition.

    But, the number of participants was far greater than the number of tables set up for the Alchemists.

    One of the guards came toward me and Zen Fei, he had a disgruntled look on his face the moment heid eyes on me, and just as he was about to speak, and I could definitely feel the hateing from his expressions, he thankfully took notice of the person next to me, Zen Fei,

    "Ah, sir Zen Fei, if you¡¯re here to watch, you can go over there with the rest of the masters," the guard said pointing at the stadium chairs.

    "Oh, I will, but I¡¯m here to escort my good brother Shen Bao, he¡¯s here to participate."

    "Ah, your brother Shen Bao, hah, yes, here." The guard said as he apprehensively handed me a token, almost afraid that whatever inflicted me would be contagious.

    "Please wait until the Crier speaks to everyone and gives you the information regarding the event." The guard said and continued walking towards the rest of the pnquins and sect representatives handing them their own tokens.

    We walked up to the venue and I stood waiting alongside many disciples of various sects. I was so conspicuous that it was frightening. I was the only person who was as old as I was. The rest of the kids were barely over the age of twenty. But it didn¡¯t seem like it was bothering anyone. Most of these kids were definitely the top, the cream of the crops of their respective sects. They all had confidence in their own skills and would definitely not be scared off by an old man that carried no sect insignia. Yes, all of the kids had their sect symbol embroidered on their robes. For me, I had just purple robes and a hood. I looked out of my depth and out of my ce, but no one dared point it out. Especially since they saw Zen Fei with me.

    Looking at the audience, I was surprised to see a couple of familiar faces.

    Namely, Xi Son, who immediately nodded to me, a gesture that not many failed to see. And few had thought that it was aimed at me, as there were many kids next to me, and some of them were rted to the imperial n.

    The second face was that of a person who was shaking inplete and utter fright. Lu Zaifeng, the kid that was apanied by the little girl Yan Song, the duo that I met in the forest next to the purple cloud sect. If he is here, I turned my head and spotted another familiar face.

    "Brat, you¡¯re here," I said as I walked between theining disciples and reached all the way to one of the few good friends I had. Well, not friend, but acquaintances.

    I ced my hand firmly on the kid¡¯s shoulder and grinned, "What¡¯s up." I said.

    "Huh? Nothing is up, what do you mean? Also Shen Bao, you¡¯re disturbing thepetition." Meng Hao frowned at me.

    I didn¡¯t care, this was a rare asion and I got to meet Meng Hao, it¡¯s been a long time, or it felt like it. But looking at the kid, it is surprising to see he had improved so much, he¡¯s already at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment.

    "Still, how the heck did your cultivation level rise so fast?" Meng Hao said.

    His speed was already extraordinary by my standards, something I doubted anyone would be able to replicate if not for the help of some powerful treasure, but I didn¡¯t want to voice out my thoughts.

    "Fortuitous encounter."

    "Also, Little sister Yan Song, take good care of my brother," I said to the fidgeting girl next to Shen Bao.

    "Huh, you know Eldest Sister?" Shen Bao questioned.

    "Yes, I knew her before you, also I¡¯m impressed, your cultivation speed is faster than expected. Also, please keep my identity a secret," I said as I winked at the girl.

    "But, wouldn¡¯t it be unfair if you great master join this alchemypetition?" Yan Song said.

    I shook my head, "No, I just started alchemy a few months ago, I¡¯m still as novice as everyone else."

    Meng Hao had a disgruntled look on his face, though his aloof and lonesome demeanor was befitting of his nature, seeing slight jealousy was cute. I was too old for this girl and wasn¡¯t interested in romance, also, this would most definitely be pedophilia, I¡¯m better off with a hundred-year-old granny that still looks like a young girl than an actual sixteen-year-old girl so Meng Hao has nothing to fear from me, still, it¡¯s fun to tease him a bit though.

    I chatted a bit with Yan Song and then spoke to Meng Hao, "You seem to be injured." I said.

    "Ah, yes. A problem, nothing I can¡¯t fix." Meng Hao said but I noticed that his eye darted fast towards the audience and back.

    "No, it¡¯s a huge problem," I said as I grabbed his wrist." I closed my eyes and felt the connection within his body was being disrupted.

    "You¡¯ve been poisoned..." I spoke and immediately felt my own heart grow chillingly cold. Not because I was afraid, but because I was angry. Someone had dared harm one of the few friends I had. And that someone was going to pay.

 Chapter 69 Alchemy Competition [ ;)]

    <h4>Chapter 69: Alchemy Competition [ ;)]</h4>

    "Nothing to worry about," Meng Hao said and tried to wrench his hand free.

    "Stop!" I called, and immediately all of the arena had their attention focused on us, but I didn¡¯t care. Seems like something big was happening behind me but I didn¡¯t care, someone tried to hurt a friend of mine.

    Meng Hao gulped hard as he was looking not at me, but behind me but I didn¡¯t care.

    A man came behind me and stood tall, I could even feel his shadow behind me.

    "What¡¯s going on here?" asked the man.

    At this exact moment, I should have turned but I was too focused on the type of poison within Meng Hao¡¯s body to care and turn to talk to some stranger behind me.

    "Stop gawking, you, help me, do you have a clean de, a dagger would be best?" I asked the man who was behind me, still, I didn¡¯t turn.

    "Eumm... yes," said the man and handed me a dagger.

    The moment I took the de from the hilt and was amazed at the intricate and colorful designs of the dagger.

    "Hemm, really nice piece, it¡¯s good for what I¡¯m about to do, but you should really not rely on this for battle, I said as I ripped Meng Hao¡¯s clothes with the de.

    The audience gasped. But no one dared move, hell I¡¯m unable to understand what¡¯s going on here, I¡¯m just treating a patient.

    "What seems to be the problem, you haven¡¯t answered me."

    "Oh, yes, my friend here was poisoned, it¡¯s a slow-acting poison the purple Jade Marrow Poison. Thankfully it¡¯s still in its early stages." I said.

    The man behind me took a step back, and said, "That¡¯s an incurable poison, if you were to touch the blood you¡¯ll be infected."

    I could even feel a barrier being set up behind me.

    "Yes, incurable for the ignorant," I said and then said to Meng Hao, "Kid, you¡¯re going to die if I don¡¯t help you out, do you trust me?" I said.

    "With how big of balls you have right now, hell I¡¯d trust you with my life."

    "Big balls? What are you talking about?" I said.

    "Well..." meng Hao looked at the man behind me and said, "If you turn around you¡¯ll probably find out."

    Just as I did, I turned to see a man of full ornate clothes, wearing armor fit for a king, it had shoulders made of lion maws, a ck mane surrounding the neck, and golden chains. While he had a sword made of dark gold and his hair was wellbed and had a golden hairpin that grasped half of his hair in a majestic hair bun while the other half draped over his shoulder like a cascading waterfall.

    The man had a gentle smile on his face and was clearly missing a dagger from his outfit, the dagger was in my hand.

    "Ah, the emperor," I said.

    I could feel the metaphorical facepalms of everyone in the audience. Though they won¡¯t be rude to do it right here and then, I could still feel it.

    "Well, if you¡¯d excuse me, I¡¯d like to cure my patient," I said then turned away from the emperor, if I¡¯d kept looking him in the face I¡¯d turn beat red from embarrassment.

    "You know, if a single drop of blood from the kid even touches me, then I¡¯ll also be infected, this whole thing could be a ruse to try and assassinate me." Said the emperor.

    "Euh, but I never invited you over toe to witness this. Also, you can leave anytime you want."

    "What about my dagger, you¡¯ll infect it with the poison."

    "I¡¯ll find it really hard to believe if an emperor can¡¯t find a recement to this dagger especially with the faulty inscription on it, you can do way better than this dagger."

    "Faulty? It was made by the best craftsmen of the Zhou Empire." Said the emperor.

    "Then you should really get a refund, look," I said as I touched upon an inscription.

    The dagger elongated a bit and began vibrating.

    "This inscription extends the length of the dagger and makes it vibrate so it would increase its cutting power, but every time the inscription is used, the damage to the dagger¡¯s hilt bes greater. The inscriber only thought about making the dagger sharper and totally forgot about the hilt which will take damage he could easily counter this effect by making an inscription that can absorb the extra vibrations from the dagger and even transform them into kic energy that can also be used as an electric attack. Such wasted potential," I said then disabled the vibration.

    The emperor beganughing like a mad man then said

    "Impressive."

    "What¡¯s so impressive, this is basic stuff."

    "Not that," the emperor shook his head "The most impressive wasn¡¯t how you showed the faults of the dagger but the fact that you brute-force your way through the Imperial sigil that only allows me to use the dagger¡¯s honing ability.

    "Huh? Bruteforce? The inscription on it was so mediocre anyone with a brain could figure it out, you should really get better craftsmen."

    The emperor continuedughing like a mad man, but during this whole conversation, I was sweating buckets, well figurative buckets. Because Holy fucking shit! This is the same guy I wanted to capture and force him to tell me about what happened to the purple cloud sec, and fucking hell he is a Soul Formation cultivator!

    "You¡¯re most impressive. Still, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to cure this disease, but if he is your friend I have a few medical saints that can help alleviate his pain until his due time."

    "Sir, you seem knowledgeable about poison," I said to the emperor.

    "Sir?"

    "Ah, right, your majesty? Is that correct," I said tilting my head.

    "Em, most appropriate."

    "Right then you know what this is," I said as I showed the emperor my arm.

    The emperor took even more steps back.

    "Bone and Body Grinding Poison," the emperor said.

    "I¡¯ve had it for a long long time, and I¡¯m still alive and kicking, so I say I know what I¡¯m talking about. Anyway, may I start?" I asked.

    "Go ahead, I¡¯m really tempted to see how you¡¯ll treat this." The emperor said and the rest of the cultivators around his moved away creating a wide space.

    "Right, Meng Hao, this is going to hurt," I said. and immediately stabbed him to the kidney.

    Meng Hao keeled over, but before he would fall I gave him a pill and said, "Eat this."

    Meng Hao took the pill and just before he was about to eat it the emperor coughed.

    "That¡¯s a poison pill, isn¡¯t it, if I didn¡¯t know any better I say you really wanna kill the kid."

    I sighed and looked at Meng Hao¡¯s eyes.

    "Do you trust me?" I asked.

    "Hell no!"

    "Euh, most appropriate answer. Right, just eat that I swear I¡¯ll make you even better than before."

    Meng Hao grumbled something then ate the pill. It seems that I wasn¡¯t the one that convinced him, he sorta spaced out for a moment then his resolve was confirmed. As if someone told him to eat the pill.

    Immediately ck veins started popping all over Meng Hai and I went behind him. I pressed a palm behind his back and began redirecting the poison pill I gave him. It was a poison made from a Death Cape Spiritual mushroom. In low dosages, it could help a cultivator rx, but in a pill, it will cause hallucinations and give the consumer a heart attack in less than a minute. But there was also a secondary effect to the Death Cape Spiritual Mushroom, it is a jealous poison and will actively assault any other poisonous substance and epass it within it.

    And it worked wonders in consuming the Purple Jade Marrow Poison. Once it contained it and was about to start wrecking through Meng Hao¡¯s body, I guided the poison to the wound in his kidney. ck blood began seeping out of Meng Hao¡¯s side until clear red blood came out to wash over it.

    Meng Hao¡¯splexion turned pale and I handed him two more pills. A blood restoring pill and a healing pill.

    "Take this and take a half an hour rest, you¡¯ll feel better, and as a bonus, your marrow has been cleansed," I said to Meng Hao.

    "Most impressive!" the emperor began pping and almost all the audience followed suit. Definitely not for me but to give the emperor ¡¯face¡¯. Man, I hate this expression something fierce.

    "Not only did you treat a friend, but you also showed us all how one can use poison to counter poison, your name shall go down in the history of the Zhou continent as the discoverer of the Purple Jade Marrow¡¯s cure."

    I stood and faced the emperor saying "I won¡¯t dare im I discovered the cure, there are probably many people who figured it out, but sadly the Death Cap spiritual Mushroom can only work on weak poisons."

    "Right, I believe you would have used it against the Bone and Body Grinding Poison guing you."

    "It wouldn¡¯t work. This damn poison is really persistent and can¡¯t be removed. I¡¯ll figure something someday for now I¡¯m good as I am." I said to the emperor.

    "HA! So promising, and so humble. You¡¯ve earned yourself a seat at my table. Do you still wish to partake in this event? You seem to be qualified to be a good alchemist."

    "Yeah, I still do. I began alchemy a few months ago."

    "Just a few months ago. The disciples here have been doing alchemy for years if not decades. You think you canpete with them?" the emperor asked.

    "I¡¯ll do my best." I nodded to the emperor.

    "Well, since our friend here is wounded, we¡¯ll dy thepetition until little brother Meng Hao can stand andpete. Please forgive this dy but this emperor is fond of youths and enjoys seeing young talents." The emperor said and no one was going to object to his words.

    The emperor suddenly took off to the skies and flew all the way back to his own seat where many people surrounded him were talking vehemently to him and pointing at us. I couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying but the gentle smile on the emperor¡¯s face was significant enough that it wasn¡¯t something bad.

    I looked at Meng Hao and said, "Who poisoned you?" I asked.

    "As much as I appreciate your help, I¡¯d like to take care of my own troubles myself. I¡¯ll repay this favor. This I promise."

    "I shook my head, "Nothing is owed between friends. Sister Yan Song, take care of my little brother, also I still have your token I¡¯ll make sure to pay a visit to your sect soon enough." I said then sat down to meditate, I needed to be in perfect mental condition once the event starts, I wasn¡¯t going to waste all that time I spent making my Qi furnace and not even showing the world how it works.

 Chapter 70 Alchemy Competition 6

    <h4>Chapter 70: Alchemy Competition 6</h4>

    Half an hour or two incense sticks worth of time had passed. And in that time, I was mentally prepared for the uing event. A group of alchemists donning simr robes stood at the front of the participants. They were five of them, four old-looking men and an elderly woman that all looked wise and calm. The five of them approached us and one of them moved ahead of the rest and coughed.

    That single cough was so loud and yet at the same time felt natural. And was enough to quiet mutters of the audience. Having gained everyone¡¯s attention, the old man rubbed at his beard and said, "So many participants. Though I admire the dedication of so many disciples of the martial arts, alchemy is not for everyone. We cannot ept everyone to partake in this tournament so we will be doing an elimination round.

    Out of the five hundred and eighty participants here, only one hundred will partake in the alchemy challenge."

    More mutters sounded through the audience, and so did the participants, as worried looks on their faces was a sure tell at their ipetence, but a rare few had a confident look on their face, and among them, was Meng Hao and his little sweetheart Yan Song, though I doubt he is into her as she is into him. Matters of the heart are strange. Meng Hao¡¯s apparent first love will always be the martial path, the girl was in for a rude and arduous undertaking if she was to win his cold heart.

    As for many of the participants, the majority were worried, scared, and unknowing of what¡¯s going to happen.

    "First trial will be a test of your mental ability and general knowledge. An alchemist should know by heart a vast majority of herbs and nts. And since many of you have note from the same background, and received different teaching methods, it would be unfair topare your knowledge against each other." The man stopped and the woman of the group continued after him.

    "We cannotpare a fish¡¯s swimming ability to a monkey climbing the trees, we¡¯re fair and just and we shall do the test so no one willin. Your test will be presented before you as a series of names of herbs of a higher grade than you have seen, your test will be to memorize the herbs, their traits, and then you¡¯ll be required to present a written paper of all the herbs that you have seen. You¡¯ll have half an incense time to memories the 999 herbs of the seventh level!"

    The woman said and then pulled a pile of papers from her sorting bag and then threw them in the air. The papers flew up then all came down, each participant had their own paper but they were all nk.

    Another man took the lead in exining the rest of the test.

    "The test will begin once I show the first herb, then I¡¯ll continue with showing more of the herbs until I finish all the 999 herbs, be warned though, it will be fast." The alchemist said with a clear tone, there was no room for mercy in his voice as if this test was that of a life and death test instead of a memorization exam.

    s

    He then approached the participants and said, "All of you sit down," and we did as he raised his hand and projected a small herb with red thorny petals. The projection was beautiful uncanny and bright enough for everyone to see.

    A Flesh Severing Arcadia. That¡¯s a really rare herb. Then a description of what the herb entailed appeared above it. The Flesh Severing Arcadia is a dangerous semi-sentient spiritual herb that will attack anyone thates towards it with malicious intentions. Its extract can be used on weapons to increase their cutting power and it can also be used in a pill to create a restorative pill that can actually attach limbs once they were torn.

    Yet the description disappeared almost the same time that it appeared. I didn¡¯t have a problem with memorizing the herb, I had already seen it in the poison god¡¯s book. Another spiritual herb appeared and another description, then more. The old man kept showing holographs of the spirit herbs using his own Qi and I was more impressed with him showing the herbs than the herbs themselves. Also, there were many mistakes in this man¡¯s disy. Something I wasn¡¯t going to voice out, at least not now.

    After half an incense time, the old man reached exactly the number 999, the final herb then he said to everyone, "You¡¯ve all seen the herbs you¡¯ll be tested about. Your task is to write them all down. Forgetting a spiritual herb will count as a point deducted, miss-writing a description will be counted as a point deducted. And taking longer than four incense time to present your paper will be counted as a failure." The old man said, his tone unmoving as a mountain.

    The fourth man spoke, "I¡¯ll be here to guard against cheating, if one is caught cheating, they shall be executed!" his words, crisp clear and had no hint of hesitation whatsoever.

    Now, this was cause for worry. Looking around, I was the only one ufortable with this. Cheating is equating to losing one¡¯s head, damn, tests in a cultivation world are kinda ruthless.

    The test began almost immediately, as I pulled out my brush and began writing the same things that the old man had writing, I didn¡¯t need to adjust anything or fix anything, I only needed to pass this test, and didn¡¯t actually need to correct their mistakes.

    After two incense times, I had already written the majority of the herbs, but I was honestly feeling vexed. The fact that I was writing wrong statements didn¡¯t bod well with me. And the most annoying thing was the divine sense. At first, only one divine sense went past me, and you could feel it as hair stood up on your skin. But soon when I was halfway through my writings, more divine sense came at me scanning me and lingering far longer than it wasfortable.

    After a while, I could feel more divine senses lingering and I was seriously annoyed as I couldn¡¯t focus.

    I looked up and saw one of the exam administrators looking at me.

    "Is there a problem?" the examiner said and this made everyone halt for a moment as they waited for me to answer.

    "Yes, the divine sense, they¡¯re really annoying and pervasive, I can¡¯t focus with everyone looking at me. It makes one feel naked." I said as I shuddered.

    Almost immediately most of the examiners coughed, some even turned red-faced as they knew that they had been caught scrying. Most of all, the fact that most of them were keeping close tabs on me was divulged, it only served to make them feel ashamed like a person being caught peeping.

    "Right, I¡¯ll ask my colleagues to tone it down, we¡¯re only doing this to ensure fairness and that no one is cheating." The man tried an excuse and it seems to save some of his ¡¯face¡¯. Ugh.

    "Okay, it would be best for just one divine sense, too many of them makes one feel like a young maiden being peeped at by a little pervert, though I¡¯m no chaste maiden, I can¡¯t say the same for the rest of these little friends." I grinned as I spoke. A small joke that served to lighten the mood around me as I received a good few chuckles and some annoyed scowls as some dolts thought I spoke about them.

    The administrator nodded at his colleagues and the intensity of the scrying lessened significantly.

    I then focused back on my paper and continued writing, and the moment I finished, I sighed. I wasn¡¯t going to present this paper. It just didn¡¯t feel right.

    s

    However, once one of the administrators saw me finish he used his divine sense, thankfully this time just to check my paper, he smiled widely and came to collect the paper, only to stop halfway as I picked up my brush and started adding more sentences.

    I looked up and saw the administrator frowning, he was worried that I was going to screw myself over, for his first scrying he had already deduced that I had scored a perfect score, and changing anything would only make the paper lose points. But I don¡¯t care about that right now, all I care about is what I present is the truth about spiritual herbs.

    I continued adding, removing, and changing a few of the descriptions. Then asked for another paper, something that many students found to be needless, as they barely were able to finish the first paper.

    The moment I wrote the final sentence, the administrator spoke up, "Time is up! Please present your papers, if anyone is seen adding anything to their paper their score will be zero, and they¡¯ll be eliminated." The man said and everyone put down their brushes.

    Well, time to see how I scored.

 Chapter 71 Alchemy Competition 7

    <h4>Chapter 71: Alchemy Competition 7</h4>

    The final administrator came in to collect the papers and they gathered them over. After a while I heard the discussion between the disciples, some were arguing on some of the names of the herbs and someined that they only wrote 900 instead of the full 999, some bragged that they had most right, and some were outright crying.

    This highly reminded me of my days once after finals, we all talked about what happened, and how we did but were always surprised by the oue. As it turned out the ones who cried the most and said they did the worst always ¡¯miraculously¡¯ end up with the best results...damn hypocrites.

    In my opinion, this was a good exam, its purpose was to make sure the alchemists have a good memory, and without a good memory, no alchemist can be true to their trade.

    The group of alchemists started bickering amongst themselves as I saw the oldest man among them holding my two papers, looking at me then back at his colleagues, then continued arguing. Suddenly, the female cultivator spoke to them, and they all nodded to her words.

    The group turned and began speaking.

    "The test results are out. Any student that didn¡¯t receive this token, please exit the premise of thepetition, you have been disqualified." The old man said and threw a hundred tokens, I received mine immediately, and so did Meng Hao, and Yan Song, as did many other kids that I remembered having a confident look on their faces.

    As for the rest, they began grumbling andining.

    "Thankfully, no case of cheating had been realized, as for the lowest score in this test, it¡¯s for Zhu Yoru, of 923 correct answers. Anyone that scored below it has been disqualified."

    Zhu Yoru was a young man that looked no older than twelve, and when the rest of the group heard how high his score was, they were shocked still. Many thought that getting at least 800 would mean that they qualified, but they severely underestimated the capabilities of the participants.

    "As for the first five disciples. We have Yan Song fifth ce with 994 points."

    s

    ¡¯Not bad, she has a good memory, I didn¡¯t expect the little princes to be so capable." A few spectators from the Spirit Sword sect pped and cheered when they saw their beloved little girl greeting such high ranking.

    "Fourth ce! Laofei Sao 995 points." This was a boy with dark skin and had a savage handsomeness to his presence, bare-chested, perked pecks and muscles thumping, he would look more like a barbarian brawler than an alchemist but appearances are deceiving.

    "Third ce Ming Du, 996 points," this boy looked like a disgruntled young noble, he was tall and had a presence that matched his noble and clearly expensive robes, but the look on his face was that of a sour loser.

    "Second ce, with a remarkable score, Meng Hao, 999 points." The old man spoke.

    ¡¯Oh, little Meng Hao scored so high.

    However, the man¡¯s words didn¡¯t make the audience cheer or speak up, they were all surprised and shocked.

    ¡¯Howe he has a perfect score and is only a second-ce?¡¯ This was definitely the question running through everyone¡¯s head."

    As people¡¯s murmurs grew louder, the old alchemist held his hand up, "I know what you¡¯re all thinking but we have made many trick questions within the test hoping that the participants would catch on. Other than one person, no one managed to figure out the tricked herbs. Though we have scored everyone on their memorization ability, we made a secret rule that if anyone was to recognize the mistakes within the description they would be given additional points. And only onepetitor managed to figure out the mistakes...and most impressively, he found all of them."

    "Shen Bao, first ce 1256 points!"

    The adoration cheers and shocked looks on the people around me were only natural. But the most interesting thing was these alchemists.

    I grinned, not because I got first ce, but how these shameless alchemists just outright added a ¡¯secret rule¡¯ just to save their face for their ownck of knowledge about the very test they had given.

    "Shen Bao, who is your alchemy master?" I received a message right through my head.

    I couldn¡¯t use telepathy yet, but I wrote a line on my hand and the owner of the said voice used his divine sense to read my palm.

    "Secret," it said. and I heard a sigh in my head before the divine sense disappeared no longer bothering me.

    "The rewards for this test shall be awarded once thepetition is over. For the hundred participants that have seeded please proceed to the tables in front of you. You have proven yourself capable and can continue on to the next part."

    We approached the testing area where everyone was assigned a table that had several herbs alongside it.

    "Do you all have your cauldrons or do you wish for us to present you with one?" asked the alchemist. Though his question was not needed to even be uttered, because no one in their right mind woulde here without their own cauldrons.

    Everyone pulled out their cauldrons, and I was amazed at the quality of some of them. Some cauldrons were made of extremely rare materials, such as the one Ming Du had, it was a crystalline Purple Jade cauldron, the temperatures that material can sustain are amazing, and it would be nigh impossible to make it explode using hearth fire.

    Yan Song also brought a beautiful Omni-Boxit Cauldron, a dark-colored almost cup-looking cauldron, it was a good material that circted Qi perfectly within it and made the pill-making process less taxing. As for Meng Hao, his cauldron was the most inconspicuous, but at the same time the most mysterious.

    It was a cauldron that had a demon¡¯s head on one side and an angel¡¯s head on the other, one handle was made of thorny barbed nails and the other handle had a soft feather design on it. It looked dangerous, and if one didn¡¯t understand well about the material that made it, they¡¯d think this was just a well-decorated cauldron as it didn¡¯t give off any Qi. This was a metal of the fourth tier,parable to the metal that made my own sword Creeping Demise.

    Meng Hao had some nice treasures, a greedy thought wanted to infest into my mind but I quickly shook it away. That¡¯s his own treasure and I¡¯ll never take what doesn¡¯t belong to me especially not from my own friend.

    Suddenly all eyes were on me, as I was thest one to pull my cauldron, I was actually so amazed by the cauldrons that everyone had, that I have forgotten to pull my own.

    And when I pulled my pot like cauldron made of the not so rare and easily found Meteorite Ore, even the administrators had a look of pity on me.

    "Hah, so much for a grand alchemist, you¡¯re so destitute you can¡¯t even afford a good cauldron." Ming Du, the third-ce owner spoke.

    I grinned at the little kid, "Well, you¡¯ll need all the disadvantages you can get. After all, it¡¯s not the cauldron that makes an alchemist¡¯s skill." My words were heavy on the kid¡¯s heart as he hmphed unable to retort again.

    I received a mental message, this time from the emperor himself, "Shen Bao, I do believe now that you only started alchemy a few months ago, a meteorite cauldron is not even fit for amateur alchemists. Do you wish for me to procure a better alchemy cauldron for you?"

    I shook my head and smiled while nodding at the emperor thanking him for his gesture.

    The emperor shrugged and I ced my pot in front of me.

    "Your test starts now, your first task is to make a good quality spirit rejuvenating pill..."

    This was something simple as most of these kids will be able to make it.

    "On one condition," said the alchemist. "You can only use the herbs you have in front of you, nothing more." Said the alchemist as he smiled.

    As I looked at the herbs, I frowned, what condition? there was nothing wrong here, that¡¯s not even a test this is a simple pill-making process.

    s

    "That¡¯s impossible, without the Fickle Grass de, the pill will dissolve immediately after it¡¯s created." One of thepetitors, if I remember correctly didn¡¯t get a good score.

    ¡¯Oh, the Fickle de Grass, it¡¯s not really needed to make a simple Spirit Rejuvenating Pill. Though it can help the quenching and pill formation, it¡¯s not really needed good handling of the cauldron¡¯s mes can have the same effects and with even better results as it would mean that you¡¯ll need one less grass to use, and fewer impurities and fewer risks for a defected pill.¡¯

    But no one among the toppetitors evenined. They definitely knew how to make the pill without the Fickle de Grass.

    "You may begin now," the administrator said and the group began almost immediately, lighting the heart fire wood and starting to heat up their cauldrons as for me... well, this was going to be really annoying to everyone here and I can¡¯t help but suppress a giggle.

    It¡¯s time for it, Shock and Awe baby ! shock and awe!

 Chapter 72 Alchemy Competition 8

    <h4>Chapter 72: Alchemy Competition 8</h4>

    I began by sorting the herbs and cing them into the cauldron one by one. This only served to bring even more attention to me. No one would do what I¡¯m doing, because simply it was not the orthodox way of alchemy.

    As most of thepetitors would start with the essence extraction of one herb at a time, starting with the ones that would need the least heat, then up to the ones that would need the most heat to have their essences extracted. While I ced everything in my cauldron at the same time.

    "The hell are you doing? That¡¯s a sphemy against alchemy!" Du Ming said as he addressed me, hand pointing and face raised up while his eyes looked down one me as if he stood on a higher moral and social pedestal.

    "Little kid, this is a test of one¡¯s alchemy, not how loud you shout nonsense otherwise, I¡¯m afraid no one would be your rival," Take that double jab little bitch.

    "Ming Du, focus on your own alchemy, and please don¡¯t directly disturb your fellow alchemists." The administrator sternly admonished the kid who immediately looked back at his cauldron grumbling prophanities under his breath. But the administrator¡¯s own eyes were focused on me nheless. He was definitely thinking along the same lines as Ming Du.

    But I didn¡¯t care, there is a huge gap between this crude thing you call alchemy and the Receptarisme of the Poison God, though I still don¡¯t have the required Heart me to do Receptarisme, I¡¯ll have to make do with what I currently have.

    Once all the herbs were ced in their respectivepartments within the cauldron, I needed to start heating them up, though this would need me to light the heart fire, I wasn¡¯t going to do that and ruin some really good herbs. I¡¯ll use my own inscriptions, the ones I worked damn hard on.

    "Sorry for this," I muttered then raised my palm. Green poison Qi gathered around my palm, and when the administrator noticed my raised arm. He flinched as I struck at the side of the cauldron loud enough that a couple of focused alchemists jumped up from their ces in fright.

    A loud ng sounded through the audience, then I followed with another p at the cauldron¡¯s side.

    "You like that don¡¯t you!" I jokingly said to the cauldron then struck a third time. Some began looking at me weirdly, but I didn¡¯t really care enough to humor them.

    s

    With every strike, more alchemists would lose focus and start angrily at me and my entric ways.

    "Are you nning on winning by disturbing everyone else!" one of the random cultivators spoke up.

    The administrator came to me and said, "You¡¯re distracting the rest of the alchemist, Shen Bao. And what are you doing?" he asked looking intently at all the inscriptions on the cauldron.

    I pped the cauldron one more time and said, "Look for yourself."

    I opened the cauldron that was now steaming hot without any hearth fire being lit. The look of shock and awe on the alchemist¡¯s eyes was evident enough that I wasn¡¯t fooling around.

    He turned and called one of his colleagues and spoke. "Please create a sound barrier around Shen Bao lest the sound of his ingenious alchemy disturbs more of the participants."

    The alchemist nodded, and he seemed even happy by the fact that he¡¯s able to see a new method of alchemy. Though to be honest this is just using Inscriptions with alchemy. And making use of both.

    I continued pping the cauldron, and it heated up even more, though the sound was muffled, every time I raised my hand I could notice a few cultivators next to me flinch.

    My hands pped at the cauldron-like a professional drummer. And with every p, the cauldron¡¯s various inscriptions would lit up, and moremands would be evoked. Causing the cauldron to either heat up, or cool down, transfer the extracts, eject the useless scum and then merge the extract and coat them.

    I couldn¡¯t help but grin as I continued pping the cauldron then with a final p, three pills flew up and I gracefully caught them inside a pill bottle. I nodded at the cultivator next to me and he removed the barrier.

    "Brother Shen Bao, may I see the inside of your cauldron?" he asked.

    "Yes, I have no problem," I said and showed him the cauldron. It was already perfectly clean, as that was a simple fact of using an inscription that denied the materials sticking to the cauldron.

    Once he saw the inscriptions, I could swear he felt dizzy.

    "This is some ingenious work. Who made this cauldron?" asked the alchemist, to which I said, "I did." As I grinned.

    The old man nodded at me and said, "I wish you the best of luck." He then moved away to speak with the rest of the exam administrators.

    I sat down and pulled out a small box. This is something I created to help me in what I¡¯m about to do right now.

    I pulled out my pipe and filled it with Joyful Weed. The amount of Poison Qi I used right now was not much, but I needed to be in top shape for the next round. As for the toxic fumes, the moment I took a puff, the small box lit up and began sucking in the released smoke. Epassing it within it and not letting it out to harm any of the audience or the alchemists.

    My casual pipe smoke break brought a lot ofughs to the audience. It was obvious, I was the onlypetitor treating thispetition like a joke and having fun while the rest were vigorously fighting among themselves to secure first ce.

    After a while, Meng Hao was the first to finish, and surprisingly he never wavered never flinched when I started my entric behavior of pping cauldron. He seemed to be in his own little world, unworried about anything when he was doing alchemy, quite an impressive resolve.

    Ming Du followed suit, and so did Yan Song. And then the rest of the cultivators almost at the same time. The test ended and then the administrators began by checking the results. A few cultivators had their cauldrons explode, and some only resulted in sludge. May had cracked pills but the majority had good pills to present.

    And after an hour, fifty of the original one hundred were all disqualified.

    "You have all been qualified to the second round. You¡¯ll need to make a Soul Condensing Pill, once you make this pill, no matter if you win thepetition or make it to the top ten, you¡¯ll be rewarded a ninth-grade alchemist token provided by the guild." The leading administrator said.

    ¡¯Soul Condensing Pill, fuck... I¡¯m screwed.¡¯

    The rest of the fifty all smiled and had a happy atmosphere about them.

    "I have some grievances." Ming Du said, "Fellow alchemist Shen Bao had been the cause of many alchemists to lose focus. I say he should be stripped of the right to partake in the next alchemy test."

    This guy really has it for me, is it because I got first ce twice in a row?¡¯ I mumbled under my breath.

    "Though something like that did happen, many cultivators kept their focus and continued their alchemy, a good alchemist needs to be fully focused even if the world was being turned upside down, we can¡¯t have alchemists lose their bearings for every single little thing, this will actually teach them to have more focus on their work. Take Meng Hao for example, he was so focused on his pill-making that even when a furnace exploded right next to him, he managed to catch a shard of the furnace with his hand lest it would contaminate his own cauldron and continued working as nothing had happened. This is a testament to will and patience and focus. You should all learn from him."

    ¡¯Huh, something like that happened, man, that¡¯s so badass. Meng Hao really looks like the main character.¡¯ I jested to myself.

    Still, dejected Ming Du added, "Still, his cauldron is nothing but a meteorite steel cauldron, and it has some inscriptions on it, wouldn¡¯t it be unfair for the rest of us, this is clearly using external tools and is considered cheating."

    "I made this myself, I didn¡¯t use external aid," I replied shrugging.

    s

    "And I polished the moon and lit up the sun, we can all lie." Ming Du crossed his arms and looked at me haughtily, "You¡¯re cheating."

    "It doesn¡¯t matter," one of the alchemists spoke, this one was the one who spoke about executing any cheaters.

    "The next test isn¡¯t something that a meteorite cauldron can handle." The alchemist said.

    ¡¯And he couldn¡¯t be more right. Because the Soul Condensing Pill needs far greater heat than what the Meteorite Steel Cauldron can sustain.

    Damn, I think I¡¯m really screwd this time...

 Chapter 73 Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 73: Invitation</h4>

    Though the cauldron I got from Xi Song¡¯s holding bag was good, it was already contaminated with my poison Qi and I can¡¯t use it to create anything but poison pills.

    "How about now, do you not need me to provide you with a cauldron of your own?" the emperor said to me through a telepathic message.

    Man, I hate the fact that I can¡¯t use telepathic messaging, I¡¯ll need to be at least at Core Creating to have my own spiritual sea and ess to divine sense.

    I pulled my brush and wrote on a paper for the emperor¡¯s eyes only.

    "I could use a Dragon Brass cauldron."

    "Just that? I can get you some of the best cauldrons the empire has to offer, and you wish for a Dragon Brass cauldron? Heck if my little knowledge about alchemy could serve, that¡¯s on an even lower quality than Meteorite Steel cauldron."

    "Yes," I wrote, "But it can contain heat better, even if it has bad Qi distribution. Also, it would work wonders, I¡¯ll put on a show for you that you¡¯ll be sure to enjoy."

    "So be it," said the emperor, and a momentter a royal guard wearing red and silver armors flew towards me.

    He ced the Dragon Brass cauldron that looked nothing more than a cooking pot in front of me.

    "Please check this pot," I said to the administrator who was next to me. The man frowned but immediately understood my meaning.

    s

    Once he checked it, he spoke up for all to hear, "This is a regtion respecting cauldron, it has nothing added to it, it¡¯s purely made of Dragon Brass. Are you sure you wish to use this, Shen Bao?"

    "Yes," I replied, the man nodded and I had the cauldron in my hand.

    "Foolish, that¡¯s going to cost you dearly, no one in their right mind would ever use Dragon Brass to make a Soul Condensing Pill," Ming Du scoffed.

    "Aren¡¯t you tired of having your face being dragged through the mud the whole day? Just wait and I¡¯ll show you how foolish it is to speak before you see results." I replied at the kid who hmphed like a teenage girl once again.

    The administrators began by giving the participants the herbs they needed for the pill.

    Then the oldest of the administrators spoke, "You have up to five incense time to make a soul-cleansing pill, you¡¯ll be graded by the time, purity, and quality of your pill." The administrator spoke.

    Everyone began their extraction phase, as for I, I pulled out my Drowsy Inkberry quill and my brush and began inscribing the pot as fast as I could. To the amazement of everyone present, my hands were moving at a speed that could only be described as blurringly fast.

    I wrote as fast as I could, painting inscriptions, regtion of heat, distribution of mass, heat conversion, liquid preservation, and more inscriptions than I could count, I needed to finish this as fast as I can at least I¡¯ll have time to create the pill.

    Seeing that I won¡¯t be able to fully finish the inscriptions in time, I made a risky gambit, I ced my brush within the pot and began writing the extraction inscription on the pot. Then ced an herb inside and pped the pot while I still wrote on it. I was using alchemy and inscription making at the same time, to the amazement of myself and everyone in the audience. The whole process looked like a mad man¡¯s dream attempting to do two things at once. How can a person split their mind between alchemy and craftsmanship and do them both at the same time? I didn¡¯t know but I was doing it still and I was grinning as I inscribed and did alchemy.

    Though the pot was extremely hot, and I feared that it would actually impact the pill if I were to have bits of my burnt hand falling into the pot, I managed to write the final inscription within the pot right before my hand became a charred mess.

    Once everything was in ce, I continued pping the pot until the whole spiritual herbal extract amassed itself in the middle of the pot.

    I had a few seconds to look up, only to notice everyone looking at me. The time was almost up, and everyone had either finished or had their pot blow up. And they were all waiting for me or hoping that I won¡¯t make it before the time was up.

    I pped the cauldron onest time and three pills shot up towards a pill bottle and I grinned as I definitely had a good pill among those three.

    "Humph, you barely made it in time," Ming Du said.

    "You talk too much," Meng Hao said.

    "Little brat, do you know who I am?" Ming Du shouted.

    "Meng Hao, no need to shout at barking dogs, one would think you both dogs," I said and Meng Hao nodded and ignored the brat who now was fuming at beingpared to a dog.

    The administrators came and began collecting the pills, nodding at cultivators and shaking their heads at others. More than two-thirds of the participants had their pills rejected, either they were cracked or of low quality.

    And when the administrator took my pill bottle the administrator sighed, frustrated even.

    "Once again, Shen Bao scores first ce."

    "WHAT?!" Ming Du shouted. "How the hell is that even possible I made a perfect bright hell even this brat made a good pill," he said pointing at Meng Hao, howe Shen Bao who was thest to finish be first? Isn¡¯t this test based on time? Or are your rules so fickle that you can change them whenever you want!"

    "Such audacious ims!" the ¡¯punishment¡¯ administrator the guy who was gonna execute anyone for cheating, this is the name I decided for him as I don¡¯t know his name. "You think our rules are so haphazardly made we change them at our whims? If you can im yourself better than Shen Bao, can you make this!" the punishment cultivator pulled a pill from my pill bottle and showed it to everyone.

    The moment the pill was out in the open, a strange atmosphere began gathering around it, as the world¡¯s natural Qi began amassing itself alongside it. The pill was cultivating spiritual Qi, and I grinned.

    "P-Pill veins!" Ming Du stuttered as he looked at me.

    "And he made a pill veined Spirit Condensing Pill while multi-tasking, creating inscriptions while doing alchemy, and still suffering through the heat from his pot. Do you believe you have his focus? Hismitment and sheer power of will! Not even a thousand more years you¡¯ll need to be half of what he is if you continue with your attitude." The man said and turned.

    "Does anyone has an objection to Shen Bao taking first ce!"

    No one spoke, it was clear who the victor was.

    "Shen Bao," the administrator turned to me. "It would be but a waste of time for you to continue ying with these kids, even I don¡¯t dare say I have greater alchemical knowledge than you, you¡¯re hereby the prime winner of today¡¯s event and don¡¯t need to partake in the next challenge as you have proved that anything we throw at you would be treated as a joke. I¡¯m not degrading your achievements, but if you really did only start alchemy a few months ago, then I don¡¯t believe that the alchemy guild even has people capable of mentoring you." The punishment administrator said.

    "That¡¯s no issue," one man said as he flew down the audience.

    He was wearing golden robes and looked majestic like a man sent from heaven to witness mortal¡¯s strife. A man of grandeur and a presence that cowed everyone. Not even the emperor¡¯s cultivation was a match to this person.

    "I find Shen Bao¡¯s talents to be extraordinary, we of the Seven Mountain Peaks Sect wish to invite you as an honored guest, we will not force you to join us, but our doors are open to you if you wish to join our sect."

    I heard mutters around me and among the words I could capture, were "Isn¡¯t the Seven Mountain Peaks sect a fifth level Cultivation sect?"

    This was huge, this sect was actually only one grade lower than the Purple Cloud sect, and if I remember correctly, it has higher standing than the Imperial n. I could get better information from them on the Sect that attacked the Purple Cloud Sect.

    "I¡¯ll be honored, to be a guest within your sect, I¡¯ll make sure to pay you a visit as soon as I can."

    "The way to the Seven Mountain Peaks is far, you¡¯ll need guidance, though I¡¯ll respect your wishes if you don¡¯t want me escorting you, I¡¯ll leave you with a map to our sect and this token that you can present when you¡¯re at our gates."

    s

    The man threw the token towards me and I pocketed it right after I read, "Esteemed Guest" written on it.

    I nodded at the man who then disappeared out of sight.

    Suddenly everyone began congratting me on the opportunity I just received. And among them was even the emperor, though I felt a hint of apprehension on his face.

    "Shen Bao, that invitation. I don¡¯t think it of pure intentions,e meet me at my pce, I¡¯ll send someone over to pick you up."

    Well, that doesn¡¯t bode well...

 Chapter 74 Shady Business

    <h4>Chapter 74: Shady Business</h4>

    I took the emperor¡¯s words to heart and excused myself from the crowd. Thepetition continued and apparently with me removed from the venue, many of the alchemists felt more confident about their own ability. Theter parts of thepetition were bound to be heated up.

    An imperial guard came over and asked me to follow after him. And once I was in the presence of the emperor, he pped his hands and everyone left the area leaving me and the emperor alone.

    "Shen Bao, may I ask how old are you?" the emperor asked.

    "About eighty-four," I said.

    "Hmm, Eighty-four and still stuck at the Foundation Establishment, such waste of talent." The emperor said. "But I doubt it has anything to do with your own talent, you have prodigious talents, a genius mind, still I can¡¯t understand how you can¡¯t go beyond your current level."

    I shook my head at the emperor, "Unlike the kids you saw today, I only started cultivating less than a year ago."

    "Oh, then that exins much. Still, it¡¯s such a shame you couldn¡¯t cultivate earlier, you¡¯d have rocked waves within the continent of Zhou, I¡¯m sure of it."

    "Opportunities present themselves at different times for everyone, my time camete, but I won¡¯tin." I shrugged0

    "Good optimistic view, I admire it. Still, back to the real reason why I invited you here. The Seven Peak Mountain Sect is not what you would think." The emperor said.

    "Is it a sect that will take any possible chance to either bind me to them or force me to reveal my alchemical knowledge? Is it a sect that will try to enve me and make me bend the knee, chain my will and freedom? Or is it all of the above?" I said and waited for the emperor¡¯s reaction.

    s

    His calm steadfast yet grim expressions were all the confirmation I needed.

    "If they are such sect, then you don¡¯t need to worry, in a world of cultivation, if one is too weak to hoard their knowledge and treasures then they are undeserving of it. I won¡¯t bend my knee, even if I have to run to the depths of the earth."

    "Hah, good, I have an even greater admiration for you, Shen Bao, you don¡¯t scare against the odds."

    ¡¯If you know about the Primordial Dragon Serpent chasing after me, this Seven Mountain Peaks sect is nothing but a minor nuisance.¡¯

    "Still, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I were to allow one of my countrymen to go to foreign territory unguarded or at least without a method to save their skin." The emperors said and threw me a talisman.

    It was a red talisman filled with thousands of inscriptions.

    "This is an escape talisman, it will teleport you a hundred thousand leagues in a random direction. None under the Soul Transformation could ever hope to know where you went, and even those above it will not waste the time it will take to chase after you. Use it when you feel yourself in a bind." The emperor said.

    I took the talisman and cupped my hands at the emperor, "Many thanks, I¡¯ll make sure to repay the favor, how about I fix that dagger of yours?" I asked.

    The emperor smiled, "That talisman is worth an entire kingdom, a mere dagger is of no significant valuepared to it, this is a favor I have given, and I expect it to be paid back in the future." The emperor said.

    "Then I owe you a favor," I said and ced the talisman in my holding bag.

    "What are you nning to do now?" the emperor said.

    "Since the Seven Mountain Peaks are expecting me toe to them, I¡¯ll need to leave the country of Zhou, I can¡¯t cause you trouble."

    "Good, sensible, and responsible, thank you." The emperor replied.

    "But, before I leave, I¡¯ll need a lot of materials, I have some things to make and craft before I ready up to journey to the Seven Mountain Peaks," I replied.

    "Then be sure to visit the Imperial Pavilion, I¡¯ll leave word with them so you may procure things at reduced costs, if you have any other request mention them to the clerk there and I¡¯ll see if I have anything in my personal treasury."

    "Many thanks," I said as I cupped my hands again at the emperor and turned to leave.

    Then I remembered something, since I already have the talisman in hand, I could just ask.

    "Do you know about this?" I asked as I showed the emperor the sect sigil of one of the cultivators that attacked the purple cloud sec.

    "Three-Legged Crow. The Dark Yang Sect. Where did you get this?" The emperor asked.

    "Do you know about the Purple Cloud Sect?"

    "Yes, it¡¯s a minor sect within my country, nothing too fancy, but what do they have to do with a fifth-tier sect, this one is even grander than the one you¡¯re going to visit." The emperor said."

    "This means you don¡¯t know yet. The Purple Cloud Sect has been razed to the ground a couple of months ago. Courtesy of this exact sect. Now that I know their name I¡¯m a step closer to my agenda."

    "Shen Bao, the Dark Crow Sect isn¡¯t something a mere Foundation Establishment can challenge. The mere thought of trying to challenge them will award you with an untimely death." The emperor replied.

    "I know, I¡¯m not strong enough yet, and still don¡¯t understand the power difference between sects and their tiers. Howe you¡¯re a Soul Formation cultivator and the only lord over a country. You¡¯reparable to a seventh-tier sect. What makes other sects higher in tier?" I asked.

    "Since you already said that you just started cultivating a year ago, this information must have been hidden from you. Simply put, quality and quantity. I alone am the only Soul Formation cultivator in the entirety of Zhou, and with the alliance of a couple of sects, my country is left alone and away from strife. Though I have many sects under me, the highest cultivator among them is barely a Nascent Soul cultivator."

    "As for sixth tier sects, a Soul Formation cultivator can only be an elder, and the Sect Master is usually either at the peak of Soul Formation or had taken the first step in the Soul Transformation level. The higher you go, the more you¡¯ll need, and just to put it in perspective. An ascendant, can only lord over a fourth-tier sect, such as the Dark Crow sect. But since the we¡¯re on has barely any saint Qi, most cultivators once they ascend they leave the in search for higher nes of existence. Where they¡¯ll find Saint Qi and cultivate their Ascendant statues to be higher." The emperor replied.

    s

    "Then there are no third-tier sects on this whole?" I asked.

    The emperor shook his head, " A third-tier sect will need a Saint-level cultivator, something that the whole Qi in this cannot provide. However, there is a nearby that has the possibility to nurture Saint Qi, it¡¯s called Ji-Tian. It¡¯s farrger than this and has greater resources. That¡¯s the destination of most ascendants, none stays here as it will dy their cultivation, and the ones that stayed are acting as big fish in a little pond, bullying the weaker cultivators." The emperor exined.

    I nodded, ¡¯Right, but the Poison God mentioned of the existence of Holy Grounds, how many cultivation levels there are? And look at me I¡¯m still stuck in Foundation Establishment while there are so-so many levels up ahead. Damn, I need to step up, or else I¡¯ll be mowed down by this whole cheesy power-creep scenario.

    "Thank you for your time and exnation, I¡¯ll keep it to heart. I¡¯ll be heading off right now." I said.

    "Godspeed, child, Godspeed."

 Chapter 75 Shopping Spree

    <h4>Chapter 75: Shopping Spree</h4>

    I left the pce and headed straight to the pavilion, it¡¯s time I go crazy about shopping, I already have too much money for it to sit in my holding bag doing absolutely nothing. Not to mention I need a lot of materials for the uing venture.

    Once I was inside the pavilion, the woman who received me thest time came with a token in hand, "This was from the emperor it¡¯ll give you a 30% discount on everything you purchase and a single free pick from the whole pavilion," she said, her tone was deferential and weing as always.

    "Right, thank you," I said and asked, "Where are all your spiritual herbs?" I said as I looked around the various items on the lower floor.

    "Emm, the third floor, you have anything in mind?" she asked.

    "I just want to see what you have for sale, I¡¯ll decide when I¡¯m there," I said and she nodded and led the way.

    We climbed up the stairs of the pavilion and entered the third floor. It was a vast space full of showcasing ss cubes. Spiritual herbs were nted and well preserved within them and there were plenty.

    "I¡¯ll take everything here," I said without batting an eye.

    The girl looked at me bewilderedly and nodded, "Right, then, I¡¯ll have everything summed up and handed to you once you¡¯re prepared to leave, anything else?" she asked as she gave a courteous bow.

    "Yes, I want to take a look at the metals and crafting materials you have," I replied, "No need to treat me like some sort of nobility, I¡¯m just a customer," I added.

    "More reason to, customers are kings. she smiled then added, "We¡¯ll go to the craftsmen¡¯s workshop, please follow me."

    s

    As we were going towards another floor, something caught my eye, it was a cylindrical hollowed b of metal, and almost immediately the hair on my skin stood to no end.

    "Is that a cannon?" I asked.

    "Oh, yes, it¡¯s just a mortal weapon, some Craftsman wanted to inscribe it, and make it useable for cultivators, but he couldn¡¯t manage it. The metal was either too heavy to support the inscriptions, or the explosive material was too powerful it would destroy the cannon. Anything that could be used to kill a cultivator added to that cannon would usually destroy the material. It was only used once and it still craked. An ingenious idea, but it was met with failure." The woman said.

    ¡¯Yeah, because he is stupid! Why the hell do you even need to add explosive material? You can simply inscribe a pressure inscription, but hang on that will actually harm the barrel...¡¯ more questions began popping in my head and other theories debunked the other, and other questions appeared, size, speed, weight, material, the interaction, cannon? Why cannon, a handgun, yes that would be better, small simple, easy to carry, and could be used sneakily. But, a handgun will have the disadvantage of being light and won¡¯t carry much power. But that¡¯s if I¡¯m thinking of creating something like this cannon, a flintlock? No too much work for little effort and I won¡¯t be using gunpowder anyway.

    A revolver? Yes, it could work, actually, it¡¯s even better because this way I can inscribe the gun and the bullet, have two inscriptions thatplement each other to create something new. This way even if someone were to have a look at the gun, they¡¯ll have no way to replicate my sess, as I have the whole diagram split between two parts... still I need proper material, and...

    I kept on rambling as my mind began working on overdrive, and when the woman saw me contemting, she was polite enough not to rudely wake me from my stupor.

    And I continued thinking about all the possible things I could add to this gun. Damn, but the bullet¡¯s speed, no matter how fast will be easy to dodge for high-tier cultivators, it could even be deflected and blocked by armor. But, what if I add a pration inscription on the bullet? Or even yet, why not put a poison pill inside the bullet? This way if the bullet manages to prate through one¡¯s body, it will infuse the pill into their bloodstreams, killing them instantly. Damn, even if the person on the bullet¡¯s end was to strike away from the bullet, the pill would blow up in his face poisoning him. Damn, so many amazing possibilities and so many doors to explore.

    I grinned as I said, "Show me the material room, and your strongest yet lightest metal in possession."

    "Right then, please follow me." She said and I followed after her as we entered the workshop.

    The workshop had hundreds of different storage areas that held various metals and crafting materials. And on the other side of the metals and crafting materials was a locked door.

    "This is the item you¡¯re looking for," she said as she opened the door showing me a broken sword. This sword was easily asrge as I was, and it had already lost half of its length. It only had its handle and half of the de.

    "This sword was found in the possession of a convicted criminal, it was confiscated. Many craftsmen tried to melt it to reforge it anew, but all failed. It¡¯s a strange metal and we don¡¯t know of its origin, the only thing that¡¯s impressive about it is its weight." The girl said and went to pick up the sword that was clearly farrger than her, but she easily lifted it.

    "It¡¯s somehow extremely light even if it¡¯srge, many theorized that this metal was useless to be wasted on such arge sword as it would do wonders on a short sword, and I agree." She said.

    "Yes, but did you try to infuse it with your own Qi, use it as a part of you instead of just a weapon to stab," I said.

    The girl tilted her head then tried to infuse the sword with her own Qi, almost immediately the sword dropped to the ground and cratered the whole floor from its sheer weight.

    "Neutron Steel..." I said

    This metal is so dense that a single spoon would usually weigh tons, but the craftsman that made this sword was crazy smart. He added Helios Iron to it, the exact opposite of Neutron Steel, a metal that was so light that it was the best thing to use in crafting flying swords. Add a few other materials and the whole sword would feel immensely light, then they added a few inscriptions on the handle that once a person infuses the sword with Qi, it will temporarily stop the Helios steel from interfering with the Neutron Steel¡¯s density and weight, this is some high-level inscription stuff, even I am unable to fullyprehend it.

    "You¡¯re saying that this sword stayed here for so long that no one even thought about infusing it with their own Qi?"

    "Huh? You mean you didn¡¯t know?" the girl asked inplete shock.

    "Know what?" I asked.

    "That¡¯s it¡¯s tantamount to suicide to infuse your own Qi in another person¡¯s weapon, no one in their right mind was going to do that, heck, I only did that because I trusted in your opinion and thought you saw through something... I could have died!" the girl shuddered.

    ¡¯Ah, that reminds me, this is probably why the poison god said that I should not try and open the Crimson Robed cultivator¡¯s holding bag... damn I should be more careful.¡¯

    I coughed hiding my shame and said, "No, don¡¯t worry I already saw that the sword was ownerless." I lied.

    "Oh, right, thank you, I was scared there for a second. Anyway, do you wish to procure this? It will cost you a million spirit stones."

    "Yeah, I¡¯m not paying for that, I¡¯ll take my freebie, I already have one free item to take."

    s

    "Right, if you wish then I¡¯ll have this added to the herbs you procured. Anything else?"

    "Yes, I¡¯ll take some of these metals, I said as I pointed at the various metals in the shop, I needed them to craft a few things and further improve X, also I need armor. Or at least gear that¡¯s strong enough that will protect me once I go out and start my venture."

    *///***////***

    HEYYY everyone, hope that not all of you got he pissed when this story turned premium, still I¡¯m really appreciative of the guys that paid the previ and are now joining. Btw, I have about 20 additional chapters ready for posting, these are my stockpile, you can go to Patre0n and read them, or wait for next month when Previ is avable.

    Finally, please don¡¯t forget, use your power stones, my old legionnaires whoe from the undead legion are always the ones voting. Though I know many of you like the story, you probably just forget, your power stones really help out a great deal, so use them here if you can. Thank you all

 Chapter 76 Concaved Desert

    <h4>Chapter 76: Concaved Desert</h4>

    Once I was done with my purchasing spree, I decided against going back home. It was only a temporary ce that I used to craft stuff, and I also needed to leave the imperial city, lest the man from the Seven Mountain Peakes looking for me. Still, I needed to find a quiet ce to start working on my new projects.

    I found Zen Fei, and told him about my departure, though he felt saddened at my urgent and sudden need to leave, I left him with a few pills I had created, he was a yboy and not a hard-working cultivator, but still he was nice enough to help me whenever I needed without any back thoughts. It¡¯s a rare trait to find in any cultivator.

    I also asked him to take care of Meng Hao and his friends. I would feel a bit more rxed if Meng Hao was being taken care off by someone I knew, at least no one will try to poison him again, which also brings back the question, who dared do it?

    But I shook my head, Meng Hao isn¡¯t so simple, he ended up winning the alchemypetition when I was removed from it, though he didn¡¯t look like someone who should get first ce, he was the ¡¯underdog¡¯ the one least expected to seed, but I heard news that he also managed to create a pill with Pill Veins as the final product of thepetition, securing his first ce. The alchemy guild saw it only right for them to have him join with them. The only difference between me and him was, he actually made the pill using the orthodox way, unlike my inscribed cauldrons, he would find many a mentor to teach him how to improve upon his Dao of Alchemy, while my own Dao of alchemy was unheard of in this world, and I only have myself as a mentor.

    In a sense, I¡¯m treading the same path as the Poison God, only his path was lonely and unpaved as he forged through the Dao of Poison, mine is the Dao of Inscribed Alchemy and it is new and no one can help me but myself.

    I¡¯m a pioneer of my own Dao, and if I find sess, I¡¯ll cause new waves in the world. And I n on doing just that.

    I left the city on top of the massive flying sword gifted by the poison god¡¯s book.

    I needed to get a bit away from everyone, and the best spot would be somewhere where not many know of. For example, the Laughing ughterer¡¯s domain, though it would be a good ce to go, I would rather not venture there right now, Xi Son might send someone there to guard the entrance or just to jealously keep it from prying eyes.

    The other ce would be the cave where I killed all those bandits, but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth to stay in a ce where so many transgressions had happened.

    Unable to decide on a ce where I can sit down and cultivate and craft, I decided to follow the Seven Peaks Mountain map, at least it will allow me to get closer to the sect and enable me to find a deste ce where no one will bother me.

    s

    I spent days of travel above greennds and following the map. There were many ces on the map that suggested I should travel away from, for example, there was a Sixth Grade twin-tailed Jade Scorpion upying an area a few hundred kilometers to the east of where I was going. Approaching it will cause the scorpion to take notice of me, and I wouldn¡¯t want to deal with anything of the sixth grade, though the Yeti in the ice mountains was of the same level, it was asleep and was not fully focused when I battelled it, the scorpion will undoubtedly be awake and fully alert if I were to approach.

    I continued following the map for days until I arrived at a deste area, which was called the Concaved Desert. It was a ce for many dangerous Demonic Creatures and was also ruled by a sixth-tier beast. The Armored Lion King. A lion that would stay on the prowl in these deserts and hunt any unfortunate prey. It was powerful enough that many sects would avoid this area entirely if they could. Though the armored was ¡¯just¡¯ a sixth-tier demonic beast, it was still too tough for most of the cultivators to kill, and wouldn¡¯t bring them any benefits. As the effort that would be needed to kill it will actually waste the most precious thing about it, its own armor.

    The fact that the Armored Lion King was nigh impossible to kill without destroying its armor made it a futile hunt for the powerful cultivators, as for the weaker ones they¡¯d rather avoid him entirely.

    But this was a good thing for me, at least this ce would mean that it¡¯s going to be empty of people and I¡¯d rather be in a ce where the only danger was a monster instead of man.

    I flew over the Concaved Desert which earned its name by the strange geography it had. It had ravines and canyons as far as one can see. It was a mixture of the Great Sahara Desert back on earth and the Grand Canyon. Golden sand had invaded the towering canyons as would sea does to a city of skyscrapers.

    Sand was everywhere and you can still see the massive canyons spread all over the ce, giving shade to some small critters and creatures from the scorching sun, and within the canyon¡¯s rifts grew some herbs that one would hardly find anywhere else in the country of Zhou.

    This Concave desert was on the border of the Zhou country. Once one go past it, they¡¯ll find themselves in the Swamps of Balur, an enormous swath ofnd full of danger and would be the doom of any man unfortunate to cross it without a proper map. While the Swamps of Balur were great andrge, they served as a natural barrier for the Country of Zhou and the Country of Zhen Yi.

    The country of Zhen Yi is where I¡¯m supposed to be after my journey as it is where the Seven Mountain Peak sect resided.

    Once I traveled to deem enough and safe from any prying eyes, I dipped down with my flying sword and found a natural small cave within one of the towering canyons.

    The cave was way above the ground, and would not be a good sleeping cave for any creature in the area as it will take them effort to just climb here. But it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be cautious as I approached the cave and slowly made my way inside it as I lit my finger in a green me that reflected along the walls of the cave, giving me a view of what was within it.

    Thankfully, it was empty and didn¡¯t look like it was upied anytime soon, there was nothing unnatural within the cave, bare some small spiders that nestled themselves on the dark corners of the cave prying upon any unfortunate insects that were too dumb not to fall within their webs.

    When I was within the cave, I sat down and ate a poison pill, I entered a meditative stance to consume the poison and recycle it to Poison Qi. Once my reserves of wasted Qi through flight were replenished, I opened my eyes and waved a hand, opening the poison god¡¯s book and pouring all the things I¡¯ll be needing for my uing crafting session and alchemy sessions.

    I was far too below the power level required to contend against the most powerful of sects and secure my safety, however, using my own mind I can make gear powerful enough to stop anyone froming at me with hostile ideas.

    Even if I have to be Overgeared, I¡¯ll make sure that I¡¯m able to instill fear within anyone stupid enough to risk crossing me.

    s

    First things first though, "X, stand guard at the cave entrance, if anything dangerous approaches rm me to it."

    The Puppet, still damaged as I haven¡¯t fully repaired him yet nodded and stood guard at the cave¡¯s entrance. Then I began my crafting.

    First things first, I needed protection, because as good as an offensive power is, without proper defense I could easily be killed before I could even show any destructive powers I have.

    Armor is too heavy and unwieldy, but what if I craft something light and powerful? I have an idea already. The serpent X killed back in the Laughing ughterer¡¯s cave. Its skin was durable enough that it contended with X¡¯s punches, and that¡¯s even before it was processed and modified.

    "Right now, how about we start with making some indestructible armor?" I grinned as I pulled the snake from the poison god¡¯s book.

 Chapter 77 Fire-Power

    <h4>Chapter 77: Fire-Power</h4>

    Thankfully the cave isrge enough for me to pull the massive serpent without being crushed under it.

    Once the corpse was out, I pulled Creeping Demise and began by skinning the snake. The de in my hand worked easily as it parted the skin from the flesh. But it still took me the better part of two hours to fully skin the snake. Once I had the skin on one side and the remains of the Snake on another, I decided against discarding this flesh, it might be poisonous to any other cultivator, but for me, it would be a hearty meal.

    I kept the rest of the snake and spread the skin on the ground, after a few rounds of cleaning it and removing any excess fat I threw it into boiling water to harden it. It took me a day to wait for the snakeskin to harden enough and be ready for use. And after stretching it a bit and making sure it was in operable condition, I started cutting the skin into arge two-by-one rectangle.

    Then I folded bits of it, it until it was shaped like a robe. I wasn¡¯t too crazy to try and wear the snakeskin like this, it was still not dry enough and it smelled bad. So I had to wait for it to fully dry.

    I also still needed to have a robe needled on top of it. Otherwise, I would look like a barbarian wearing the skin of a foe he just defeated. Hardly a method that one could use to stay inconspicuous.

    Thenes the second most important part of this process. Though this snakeskin had a godly defense, it was still just snakeskin, and to make it better. I needed something added to it.

    I pulled my brush and began writing on the skin¡¯s scales, one scale at a time, the same writing on every scale. And this took an ungodly amount of time, as I was only done by the end of the seventh day. One would think that a few thousand scales was a big number but they¡¯ll be hard-pressed to understand the real truth of those words if one tried to inscribe every scale.

    Once I was done with my work, the green-colored snake was beautifully decorated in golden writing, inscriptions that were all linked to each other. Hardening, linking, power infusion, power transfer. And lightening. I needed the robe to be as light as possible so it would not be cumbersome but at the same time hard enough to defend against attacks.

    After all of the inscriptions were written, I began by writing a single circle in the center of the robe, this circle was not on the scales but on the inside of the skin, This circle will serve as a central mind of the whole robe. Almost like a puppet¡¯s mind, but this circle will serve to absorb Qi from the world and power up the scales. As much as I wanted to add a Spirit Stone to the robe, I couldn¡¯t find an appropriate way to ce a Spirit Stone within my clothes without it bulging and being obvious, also it would be a waste of Spirit Stone, I might as well use the world¡¯s natural Qi to charge the robs and have it defend me.

    The purer the world¡¯s Qi in a given area the stronger the robe¡¯s defenses be. While I still made sure to have two small circles in the snake robe¡¯s sleeves for Spirit Stones as a precautionary decision. This way, if I¡¯m in an area or a situation where the Spiritual Qi of the world is not enough orcking, I can still power it using Spirit Stones, backup energy for critical times.

    s

    Once the robe was done, I pulled a purple robe I had and began needling it on top of the snake robe, this way the whole thing became one. It looked slightly puffy, but not too puffy, this would look like a thick winter robe at worst.

    I wore the robe and was amazed by how light andfortable it was, though some parts of it were itchy as the leather wasn¡¯t too gentle on my brittle skin, I added an interioryer of thin silk to the inside. This made the whole dress feelfortable and at the same time practical.

    Right, the first part is done, now the second part. Offense. A gun, now this was going to take a huge deal of thinking, the mechanism behind a revolver wasn¡¯t that difficult and I could easily build one. The problem was, the inscriptions to power up the bullets as I won¡¯t be using gunpowder.

    So I decided to start crafting a gun with the materials I had, I needed a prototype first, something to use as a point of reference before crafting the final product. I started with using Meteorite Steel, it was a good material to inscribe with, and can sustain reverberations, and didn¡¯t need too high temperatures to melt.

    I pulled the brass cauldron I got from the emperor and ced pieces of meteorite steel inside it, after lighting hearth fire under the cauldron I began working on a mold.

    I didn¡¯t need to use Qi to heat up the Dragon Brass Cauldron as I only needed high temperature and not regted temperature as one needs for pills.

    As for the mold casting, I used heated y.

    I began by creating molds for the barrel, handle, the revolver¡¯s bullet chamber, and bullet molds. It took me the better part of a day to finish, and thanks to the precision of cultivators¡¯ hands it was far easier done than said. It feels like cheating as a cultivator can actually be more precise in creating materials than a machine of the modern world.

    Done with molds, I took note of the Dragon Brass cauldron and found that the Meteorite Steel had all meltedpletely and turned to ck tar-like liquid.

    I grabbed the cauldron and poured the content into the molds, slowly and surely the molds were full and I only needed to wait for them to cool down.

    Another day had passed and everything was ready for me to assemble. I ended up with a weird weapon, it looked like a Desert Eaglebined with a revolver¡¯s chamber. The barrel was wide andrge and the gun was heavy, and the rotating bullet chamber gave it a dangerous charm. Sweet.

    As I didn¡¯t need to add any intricate parts inside the gun, thankfully, because I only needed the rotating bullet chamber and the trigger in the gun. The rest of the mechanism will be supervised by the inscriptions.

    I then disassembled the weapon and began inscribing it, I needed to inscribe four distinct parts of the weapon.

    The first, the handle, this will be where the power source wille from. As I made sure to leave a small hole where a spirit Stone can be safely ced. This was the only gun in the world that will need two types of ammunition. The gun¡¯s handle also had a magazine inside it, it was the same you¡¯ll find in any modern handgun, a magazine but not for bullets, for spiritual Stones that will be used to power up the bullets since I wasn¡¯t going to use any gunpowder.

    I inscribed the interior of the gun with a power transfer inscription, a revebration inscription, a focus inscription, and finally a rotation inscription. Since I didn¡¯t want the weapon to explode in my face the moment the first bullet is shot, I made sure to write on the barrel, a power regtion inscription that I adjusted to 1% of the total power of the Spirit Stone that will be embedded into the back magazine.

    This will allow every spirit stone ced within the gun to fire one hundred bullets before it turns to dust.

    Now for the second part, the barrel, along with the power regtion, I added another rotation inscription, to increase bullet rotation as it traveled within the barrel and would give it additional pration power.

    Then a shock control option, as once the bullet would be shot, I needed the excess power, or what one would usually call, ¡¯Recoil¡¯ to not be so strong as to dislocate my shoulder. So the recoil will work in an upward manner to forcibly make the gun stand in ce once a bullet was shot.

    Then came the Revolving Bullet Chamber, I needed a simple inscription there, the moment the trigger is pressed, I needed the chamber to rotate for another bullet to take its ce. It wasn¡¯t difficult to create.

    Now almost everything was ready. The whole gun was capable as of right now of shooting bullets, so before I went and started inscribing the bullets I made, I wanted to test the gun¡¯s power with uninscribed bullets.

    s

    I took six bullets and ced them in the chamber. Before I took a shot I made sure everything was in ce, I had to check and double-check, and even go back on my mental notes to see if I had forgotten something, though a cultivator¡¯s mind is sharp and can keep tracks of the most minor of details, it would never hurt if one was careful.

    Finding nothing worth my worries and the gun in theoretically operational conditions, I grabbed the gun with both hands, aimed at the wall, and pressed the trigger. Results? My shoulder almost threatened to break as an explosive echo sounded when the spirit stone released but one percent of its total power into the inscriptions.

    The inscriptions worked together to create a reverberation and rotation force, a force that pushed the bullet through the barrel which also had another rotating inscription that increased the bullet¡¯s pration and velocity. The bullet, made from Meteorite Steel bore through the stone of the cave as if they were made of tofu, creating a long and deep hole inside the rock.

    "Holy mother marry," I called.

    Suddenly, X came towards me, then pointed outside, it seems that trouble hade knocking...

 Chapter 78 Purple Armored Lion

    <h4>Chapter 78: Purple Armored Lion</h4>

    As I peeked through the cave where I was crafting, I saw something moving down below, looking at it, it was a lion alright. It was definitely still trying to locate the source of the explosive sound that the gun made.

    The lion was massive in size, I¡¯ve seen lions in zoos, and thought a lion in the zoo is majestic and huge,pared to this one, the zoo lion is norger than a newborn kitten. This thing was massive, and its name was spot on.

    It had bone armor all over its body, acting like a suite of protection made of sturdy bones. It had a purple mane that adorned its head giving I a majestic bearing, as for the rest of its body, it was fully armored up to the teeth. Its own face had bone armor, and only the grim red eyes of his were visible.

    Though how I managed to see the lion¡¯s eyes who was at least a hundred meters down wasn¡¯t just due to how amazing a cultivator¡¯s sight was, no because the lion was staring me in the eye directly, it had already located me and was now on the prowl.

    It crouched down, then powered by its massive hind legs, it jumped and reached the cave in one single jump, where it slowly walked forward towards me.

    X was about to challenge the lion, but I aimed the gun directly into the lion¡¯s face. The lion didn¡¯t deem the ¡¯tool¡¯ in my hand worth the effort of being warry of it, simply because it wasn¡¯t a spirit sword nor did it give off any menacing presence. Poor kitty.

    I pressed the trigger and my shoulder once again threatened to pop out of its socket.

    The bullet shot faster than the sound of the explosion and smacked into the lion¡¯s skull. Two impressive things happened right here. The first was, the bullet couldn¡¯t prate through the lion¡¯s armored skull, and the second was the fact that the lion stuttered then fell to his side. Concussed.

    It definitely sounded like the lion was struck to the head with a heavy sledgehammer, as the lion began frothing at the mouth and shuddering, trying to move to no avail.

    I thought about using poison breath on the lion and end his misery, but decided against it. This lion was acting on instinct, and it would be a shame to just kill me for no reason. His armor is rather expensive, but I¡¯m not low on money right now. Nor do I need it, as it appears that whatever the armor-making X was, it was already far sturdier than the bone armor on the lion and I wouldn¡¯t kill the beast for armor I won¡¯t use myself.

    s

    I sat down in front of the concussed lion and waited for it to regain its bearing. After a couple of hours, the lion had long since stopped spasming.

    I sighed saying, "If you¡¯re gonna keep ying dead, I might as well kill you right now."

    Almost immediately the lion stood on all four and began backing away while growling, his ears were t on his head, afraid.

    "If I wanted you dead, you¡¯d be dead," I said, "Now sit down!" I called and the lion surprisingly understood me.

    ¡¯hmm, it seems that creatures of the sixth tier understandnguage, though they definitely can¡¯t speak they¡¯re able to discern the meaning behind my words.¡¯

    The lion looked intently at me, then around the cave, as if studying the things I had been using trying to understand how it was dealt such a blow without it being able toprehend how much power hade from such a little item.

    "You shouldn¡¯t have tried your luck against me, still I feel bad for hurting you, here," I said as I threw a pill next to the lion¡¯s paw.

    He looked worried at first, but after a sniff, the lion gently picked up the ¡¯treat¡¯ with its jaws and gulped it in.

    Soon the lion crouched and looked at me with its big red menacing eyes, trying to mimic a kitten wanting treats. Somehow this felt creepy.

    "That¡¯s the only one you¡¯ll get, now, off you go," I shooed the lion away and it turned with its tail between its legs and jumped down the cave.

    I took a deep breath and calmed myself, ¡¯Dude that was a fregging lion!¡¯

    Unable to evenprehend what just happened, I decided against trying to understand what goes on in the mind of lions, it then began the second part of my trials.

    The bullet made from Meteorite steel was good, but they weren¡¯t the best, they easily broke when in contact with tough material, for example, the lion¡¯s bones were tougher than stone and the bullet was squished t against his thick skull. But that¡¯s not bad, a metal that can bend and break is good on its own, not just for the shards that it will create when in contact with flesh, but if I hollowed the bullets, I can ce poison pills within them.

    For now, the weapon made of Meteorite Steel is rather impressive, it didn¡¯t bend, break or overheat, but I¡¯ll definitely need to upgrade it. This is but a prototype and it¡¯s already doing amazing work. But the fact that I can¡¯t use more power from the spirit stones is problematic.

    I thought about making a gun that can use the entire power of a High-Grade Spirit Stone to shoot one single bullet but then shook my head, just one percent is already taxing on my shoulder, I¡¯d rather not risk blowing my entire arm off on some crazy thought.

    Then, as my eyesnded on X, I grinned evilly. If X was capable of human emotions, I¡¯d swear he¡¯d shudder at what I have in store for him.

    "Xe over," I said and then he sat in front of me. I pulled one of his arms off and began working on it. I used Creeping demise to hollow his forearm creating a cylindrical hollow within it. Then fitted in a small Rotating Bullet Magazine inside it. I fastened it with a few pieces of metal that I welded using the heat from my own poison Qi, then installed a barrel that went from the hollow in his forearm and ended at the palm of his hands.

    Afterward, I added another part where I ced a High-Grade Spirit Stone within the chamber, linked it to the rotating bullet chamber, and had the whole arm fitted with a gun inside it.

    X¡¯s can now shoot bullets, and I made sure to keep the gun circuit separated from the ¡¯Mind¡¯ circuit of X. But linked them in a sense to have X able to use the gun within his arm whenever he wished.

    "Try it," I asked X," and he immediately pointed at a wall with his open palm, and shot six bullets in quick sessions. The bullets all prated through the same hole the first one went through, with frightening uracy.

    "Damn, DeadShot would feel proud..." I spoke as a wide grin was stered across my face.

    "You don¡¯t need no swords X, you¡¯ll be my little terminator, give me that second arm!" I said and continued working on X, modifying and changing things, adding and removing. At one point, I could have sworn I went too far.

    A month had gone by, and in this month two things happened. The first was the asional visits from the Armored Lion, yes, the little bugger kepting back pestering me about pills. Thought I would have chased him off, he came back with some really tempting things. He was smart, and I believe that when he saw the metals spread around my cave the first time I came, he went around the Concave Desert, locating metals, armors, and old weapons that he could find, most I would be from some idiotic cultivators who tried to challenge him. And he even brought holding bags, the poor kitten didn¡¯t know how to open them, and when I opened them, (after having the poison god¡¯s blessing that those pouches won¡¯t kill me) I gave the lion any pills I found there. It was his reward.

    He didn¡¯t wish to take any of the spiritual herbs and was more than content with the pills I gave him.

    The second thing was, the atmosphere, the skies above the Concave Desert became blood red. It seems that there was something happening in this desert, especially since I actually saw a couple of cultivators rushing over their own weapons a few miles away from me. Many others came after them and no one cared enough toe and check up on me.

    s

    I felt a few divine senses scanning my surrounding, and when theynded on the armored lion, the divine sense immediately disappeared. It seems that the owners of this divine sense didn¡¯t wish to bother the armored lion and the man that kept it as a ¡¯pet.¡¯

    I continued working on X, and when he was fully fitted with guns, and hidden weapons I deemed my work done. I had inscribed so much on X that it was bing cumbersome to add more inscriptions on him without having the whole thing backfire at me or cause a programming failure of epic proportions.

    My method of extensive detailed writing was good at making X more precise, but the fact that I wrote so many of the codes made a huge problem for me. I needed to update my inscription methods. Something like the barrier the Laughing ughtered had installed, it had a lot of inscriptions so many of them in fact that they wereyered one above the other, though his words were far fewer than the ones I would usually write to make the same exactmand, his were more detailed and more direct. It was as if he was writing less and meaning more. I¡¯ll need to upgrade my understanding of inscriptions soon.

    After finishing with X, and having installed guns in his arms, additional pockets to keep extra spiritual stones in case of emergencies, and a self-destruction mechanism. Yes, I needed that in case X finds himself in the wrong hands, I don¡¯t want anyone taking X away and I¡¯d rather have him blow up than have my secrets exposed. Still, I won¡¯t be losing X even if he blew himself up. Though the self-destruct mechanism was installed, I made a conscious eject mechanism. So when X decided it would be best to blow up, he¡¯ll escape with his consciousness in one of his arms that I fitted with a ¡¯flying¡¯ inscription that will run away ande to me.

    I still have many other things to explore such as explosives and more. And I didn¡¯t spare any time working on them.

 Chapter 79 Up To No Good

    <h4>Chapter 79: Up To No Good</h4>

    After another few rounds of pondering, prototyping, and a lot of brainstorming I created several hollowed bullets that ced poison pills within them and created inscribed bullets that would actually detonate a small piece of spirit stone that I fitted inside them on impact. It wasn¡¯t something huge, but if said explosion happens inside someone that has been shot, I¡¯d only shudder at the aftermath.

    I sat down and resumed my cultivation. My cultivation level was far below what I needed to travel the desert and the Swamps of Balur. Not to mention entering the Seven Mountain Peaks.

    My Qi rotated within me as I consumed more pills, and the lion deemed it wise not to stay where I cultivated due to the excessive poison Qi being released from my cultivation.

    After a couple of days, I assaulted my bottleneck. This is where everything will change, the bottleneck of the Core Formation.

    I came to an understanding of Cultivation, though I cannot say it is a great discovery but to me, it means something great.

    Cultivation is in its all epasses the search for truth. It¡¯s the reason behind why people cultivate, not to mainly defy heaven, but to look and understand the secrets of the world. But Heaven is jealous, and would never give up its secrets without making you struggle for them. Heaven is jealous yet merciful, wrathful yet always leaves a path to salvation. Pragmatic yet kind, cruel yet, gives chances no matter how small.

    For me, the search of truth isn¡¯t as simple as it could be, mainly because I know my mind is clouded with concepts from my former world. I¡¯m and always have been a man of science, and fully discarding my mental capabilities for fate, faith, and belief, is not something that I can do without asking a few questions.

    I have seen spirituality, I have seen what makes a man live for ages, though it feels miraculous it can always be exined by science, if not now, maybeter. However, what boggles my mind, is the fact that how can a man create something that is none organic yet feels as if it is a part of oneself?

    A core, creating a core is to create a container for the soul. Something ephemeral and untouchable. What is a soul? I have no idea, but it seems to be the essence of a person. Same as with herbs, it¡¯s the most important part of a person. And cultivators can not only cultivate the body, but also the Soul.

    The Soul makes a being and unmaking it dooms them. A soul is what drives a body. Strange as it may seem. If you make a body from scratch, heart liver, lungs, brain, and all the organs, no matter how perfect you make them, you¡¯ll never be able to create a living being. Without a soul, you¡¯ll have a pretty corpse even if you¡¯re able to have it breathe and have its heart pumping blood all over the body. It will never be a ¡¯being.¡¯ Without a soul, one is nothing but a corpse. And core creation allows a cultivator to harness their own souls, and in a sense trapping it in a small core to prepare it for the next step, Nascent Soul.

    s

    But one needs a container for the soul first, and I have no idea how to do it. Most cultivators would climb the next step in cultivation and their core will be naturally created, but I¡¯m struggling, not because I can¡¯t rise in rank, but because my damned mind is still fixated with a simple fact. Where is a core created, how is it created? What are the requirements to create it? And how to create it.

    And because of these small little disturbing facts, no matter how much I assaulted the Core Creation step, I always failed as my Poison Qi rejected climbing up.

    The poison God¡¯s book refused to give me any information on how to make a core, and I was frustrated to no end.

    I sighed as I stood up, there was no need for me to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results, that¡¯s no different than madness. And I¡¯m far from bing mad, at least not yet.

    I asked X to follow me, I needed to climb down the cave and see what¡¯s all the fuss is about with this red sky.

    But just as I moved, I heard loud steps behind me, turning, I saw that X¡¯s feet were digging into the ground. The number of bullets and grenades, yes grenades based on spirit stones, inside him were too much that he gained weight. It won¡¯t bother him but he¡¯s like a gold pouch jingling with every move. I¡¯ll need to adjust thister on lest it creates a bnce problem with X.

    When I was outside the cave, the lion was waiting patiently on the ground, sitting still.

    I pulled my flying sword and ced it under me, then flew down. I threw a small Soul Pill at the Lion to which he gobbled up happily.

    "I¡¯ll be going away now, take good care," I said as I patted the lion on the head. The creature understood immediately and had a sad expression on his face.

    "You can¡¯t rely on others to raise your cultivation, work hard and you¡¯ll definitely reach higher realms. Take good care little friend," I said and flew away with X hot on my heels.

    Yes, X was flying, though I had a good urge to give him jet thrusters under his legs, like a well-known iron suit-wearing superhero, it was basically impossible to bnce him. so, I gave him a flying treasure that I found on one of the pouches the little kitten had brought me. With a few adjustments to the flying sword, it was able to use X¡¯s spiritual energy and fly him after me.

    It took me a few hours to reach a gathering of cultivators. The majority were at the core formation, with scant few at the Foundation Establishment like me. While a good portion were all Nascent Soul cultivators.

    "Junior," a man with a short stub for a beard called, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator spoke to me.

    I stopped and looked at him.

    "I will excuse your contempt for remaining higher than the rest of us, bute down and identify yourself."

    "And what if I don¡¯t? I have no rtion to you or this group, why should I identify myself to you?"

    Many cultivators looked at me, some with pity even.

    "Such insolence," the man said in a bored tone. "Then as punishment, take this hit from me, survive and I¡¯ll let it go."

    The man said and didn¡¯t even wait before he swung his sword at me.

    A massive purple wave came at me, it looked like an attack that was going to consume the whole world. But X immediately flew in front of me, and with a flick of his hand, dissipated the entirety of the attack as if it was nothing.

    The cultivator was in awe of the puppet¡¯s exploit and used his divine sense to try and scan it. But almost immediately many many cultivators cried out as they rubbed their now red eyes.

    "What sorcery is this?!" shouted the cultivator.

    "That¡¯ll teach you to try and prey on my secrets." I grinned, I had already ced hundreds of anti-divine sense inscriptions. Nothing too serious, but a sample of it was the moment that once a cultivator¡¯s divine sense was to touch X, they¡¯ll receive a recoiled bacsh causing them to see a very frightening illusion. Something along the line of daggers stabbing right through their eyes, or worms eating them, their flesh burning or the agony of one being yed alive. It¡¯s easy to create illusions and since divine sense requires one to extend their own ¡¯sight¡¯ to where it doesn¡¯t belong, it¡¯s even easier to repel with the right inscriptions.

    It would only take a second, but in that second the cultivator who tried to pry on X¡¯s secrets will suffer several torturous events at once making their mind in shambles.

    "It seems that brother Lao Yan had offended someone from a prominent sect. May I ask what¡¯s your name fellow junior cultivator?" asked another slightly plump cultivator in yellow robes, his eyes were up to no good...

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao."

    "And from what Sect Does brother Shen Baoe from?" asked the same old man.

    "It would be polite to tell me your name first before I reply to any of your inquiries," I replied in a slightly agitated tone.

    "Right, I¡¯ve forgotten my manners, I¡¯m Yi Fei. A small elder of the Soaring Mountain Sect, and the person who you were talking to just now is Lao Yan, an elder of the Tian Ji Sect."

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao, as I¡¯ve said before, and I don¡¯t belong to any sect," I said waiting for the expressions that I just witnessed.

    s

    Greed, it was in and obvious on most of their faces.

    "But that¡¯s just for now," I replied.

    "What does junior brother Shen Bao mean?" asked Yi Fei.

    "I¡¯m to present myself to the Seven mountain Peaks Sect soon, and seeing this strange event happening I decided to investigate while I traveled to the sect."

    Now let¡¯s see their expressions after hearing the name of the Seve Mountain Peaks Sect.

 Chapter 80 Demon Lands

    <h4>Chapter 80: Demon Lands</h4>

    "Ah, the Seven Mountain Peaks, that¡¯s a great sect, but sadly it¡¯s very far, would Junior Brother Shen Bao like us to apany you, of course after we¡¯re done with this small venture of ours here.

    "I¡¯m good, thanks for the invitation," I shrugged.

    "I find it rather difficult to imagine that a sect such as the Seven Mountain Peak would be interested in someone from the country of Zhou," the first elder Lao Yan spoke with a venomous tone.

    "Seems that you¡¯recking in imagination then," I replied and showed them the token that the emissary from the Seven Mountain Peaks had given me.

    The token glowed in my hands and the writing on it was clear to everyone.

    "It seems that brother Shen Bao is once again right, Lao Yan, you should apologize for offending our little friend," the fat man said.

    It seems that this person is really not good, he¡¯s trying to create discord between us, it¡¯s obvious that the other cultivator¡¯s pride won¡¯t let him apologize to a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator and want me to take offense in the fact that he won¡¯t apologize. Then use the sect behind me toe at Lao Yan. So despicable.

    I waved my hand, "No worries, I didn¡¯t take offense, it¡¯s only natural for one to be on guard. After all none knows when one¡¯s enemies lie." I replied and manipted my sword to descend.

    My words were obviously not what the fat man expected and seeing the now rxed look on Lao Yan¡¯s face was enough to understand that the situation was defused.

    ¡¯Thank you for giving this old man face, if you want to venture into this dungeon, I¡¯ll make sure to aid you when I can.¡¯

    s

    These words unexpectedly came from Lao Yan who antagonized me first. But seeing that I gave him ¡¯face¡¯... he is willing to help.

    To hell with this damn expression, what the fuck is this Face?! It seems stupid, it¡¯s meaningless, and has no damn basis. It¡¯s strange and outright mind-bogglingly stupid, how can onee to terms with what action gives and loses face? Who the hell decided that a certain action gives Face and another one loses Face? And how the hell did they agree to it? Wait, I know, THEY AGREED TO GIVE FACE! Fuck!

    My inner rant was thankfully unnoticeable on my face, I didn¡¯t want Lao Yan to think that I thought little of his help, but I¡¯m mighty curious of what¡¯s going on here.

    "So what¡¯s happening here?" I asked.

    "Seems that a Demon Gate opened. It¡¯s a chance opportunity for the younger generation to enter and gain battle experience." Lao Yan said.

    "Demon gate? What¡¯s that?" I asked.

    "It is an unnatural event that urs every few thousand years, we couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact time, and it¡¯s so random. But the thing is, a gate will soon open here and it will take cultivators to and of demons. The rules will be exined once the cultivators enter. But be warned Demon Kin is not so nice and is full of deceit. I have a few disciples who will enter and you can go with them, they¡¯ll exin everything in detail. Also, I wouldn¡¯t rely on that flying sword, going into the Demon Lands means that all flight is prohibited by thews of that very world." Lao Yan exined.

    "You¡¯ve forgotten about the Lords Ranking, and other gates Lao Yan."

    "The Lords Ranking is better suited for cultivators of the Core Formation realm, seeing that Junior Cultivator Shen Bao is still in the Foundation Establishment level, it would be ill-advised to as you to participate, no matter how enticing the rewards maybe." Lao Yan shook his head.

    This Demon Land seems interesting enough, I thought to myself.

    "Experiencees with battle, but if you¡¯re too worried to make a name of yourself in the Demon Lands you can still venture in the wastnds surrounding the city, you¡¯ll perhaps chance upon a fortuitous encounter, though I highly doubt it." The fat man shrugged.

    "I would be fine, I suppose," I said as I hinted at X.

    "Sadly, the Demon Lands imposes heavy restrictions upon the assistance of puppets, or corpses. You¡¯ll find your puppet more burden than aid in the Demon Lands, don¡¯t count on it much, I wish you the best of luck though because the gate is about to manifest..." Lao Yan said as he looked in the distance.

    Like a mirage, the ground and air began to wobble and shake as if it was overheating, then a gate of magnitudes impossible to gauge with one¡¯s simple eyes manifested. It was magnificentlyrge, and was decorated with the heads of man, beast, dragons and demons. It looked like a gate to the pits of hell. The ck gate opened, revealing a purplish cyclone that slowly rotated.

    Disciples from different sects rushed inside it without regard to prudence or safety, as if they had done this thousand of times before or were sure and certain of this gate¡¯s safety.

    "Wu Di," Lao Yan called, and a young man, so handsome that his face would topple kingdoms and would make virgins cry at night if he wouldn¡¯t spare them a nce appeared in front of me.

    He wore a magnificent white robe that matched with his white hair and had a fan on one hand. He had a strange charm, he looked like a young prince, but if I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say appearances are deceptive.

    "Take good care of Shen Bao," the cultivator said.

    "I will do," the man nodded and looked at me, "Shen Bao, make sure to stick close, no one would dare offend you if you¡¯re with me." He said in aforting manner.

    "Now let¡¯s see what these Demons have in store for us shall we," he said as he covered a smile on his face with his fan.

    The groups began to funnel through the vortex until it was our turn.

    It seems that I¡¯m about to venture into a stranger world than I was in. And for some reason, I was highly anticipating this.

    The cyclone sucked us inside it, feeling my vision perturbed, and then swam. Suddenly, the light was no longer distorted and I was able to see right again. Only I was in and that was far different from where I was. The only thing that was the same was the sky, it was a bleeding red and there seemed to be no sun in the sky but it felt like it was morning.

    The world¡¯s Qi was thick, but it had unnatural evilness to it, yet I didn¡¯t feel disturbed by it, unlike the people around me.

    Wu Di cringed from the evil Qi premating the ce and sat down to meditate alongside many of the cultivators that just entered. I on the other hand was not affected by the natural world¡¯s Qi no matter how evil or benevolent it could be, I existed separately from the world¡¯s Qi as I needed nothing but my own poison Qi.

    Looking around, I saw what seemed to be a living forest that had sprout and lived for eons within this deserted ce.

    The gate behind me was still funneling in disciples from various sects that all joined their respective groups. While Wu Di¡¯s sect disciples joined around him in a protective cultivation session.

    I further inspected the surrounding; the ground was made of a mix of red sand and dirt. Jagged rocks protruded from all over the ce and among them lived some old decrypt weed that should have no business being alive. As it seemed that it was too dry to live but live it did. The weed in this ce was stubborn if nothing else as the Qi disallowed them the right to turn to spiritual nts.

    As for the forest, the trees within it were so massively great that some of them would undoubtedly contend with small mountains at scraping the skies.

    Yet the trees themselves looked evil, as somethinging from a fantasy forest, the trees were dark, and had more thorns than ck jagged leaves. Their roots protruded through the ground and would give off the feeling that the tree could easily uproot itself to move around, giving nightmares a life of their own.

    "The demonnds is within this evil forest. We¡¯ll have to make our way towards it, but brother Shen Bao, I¡¯d advise if you stay close, and once we¡¯re inside the demonnds I¡¯ll have a group of cultivators stay with you while I undertake the ranking tourney."

    "Yeah, I still have no idea what¡¯s going on here," I said.

    "Right, this is a cursednd. It is said that an old and powerful cultivator had been wronged by the race living here and he condemned them to eternal imprisonment. None of the demons here can go beyond the Nascent Soul cultivation level and they¡¯re unable to leave, however, the cultivator left them a path to salvation, the Lord¡¯s Ranking. If they y their way to the top and achieve victory over their foes they¡¯ll be able to leave and venture into the outer world."

    "I suppose they¡¯re required to kill human cultivators?" I asked.

    s

    "Yes."

    "Then why is everyone presenting themselves so happily to the butcher¡¯s block?" I asked.

    "Though your idiom is somewhat strange I understood your meaning, but no, cultivators from our world are far more powerful than these demons, it¡¯s even rare to find a demon capable of killing a cultivator of the same rank. We¡¯re actually the butchers in this scenario."

    "Seems rather horrid and unfair to me, we¡¯re actually killing prisoners for a cultivator that had probably died a long, long time ago."

    Wu Di shrugged, "It¡¯s thew of this small world, the demons aren¡¯tining anyway it¡¯s a way for them to escape." Wu Di replied.

 Chapter 81 Naked Women

    <h4>Chapter 81: Naked Women</h4>

    "You said none can go beyond the Nascent Soul cultivators right?" I asked.

    "Yes."

    "Then that means that some are already within those ranks, wouldn¡¯t they juste and kill everyone here? I mean none of us are at the Nascent Soul cultivation level."

    "They¡¯re not allowed, no one of a higher realm can attack a person of a lower realm, so we¡¯re safe as long as we don¡¯t breakthrough to the Nascent Soul cultivation level inside this cave."

    "Right, then it seems to be slightly unfair, after all, you said that the quality of the same realm is higher with the humans. Right thank you for the information, but I think I¡¯ll be fine on my own." I said shrugging.

    "Shen Bao, though thews prohibit demons from attacking us that isn¡¯t the same for the other cultivators, if you don¡¯t stay close to me I can¡¯t protect you." Wu Di replied dryly.

    "As much as I appreciate the offer, I¡¯ve always relied on myself, also I have apanion who¡¯s pretty strong," I replied as I smiled.

    "Your puppet cannot help you here," Wu Di shook his head.

    "But I¡¯m not talking about my puppet," I said as I grinned facing the gate.

    The gate shuddered and swirled once again as the Armored Lion emerged from within it. It looked around at all the cultivators with apparent disdain as many of them pulled out their weapons in shaky hands. Some yelped in fright and the rest tightened their grips on their swords in grim determination.

    s

    The lion looked around and once it spotted me it came rushing in.

    Wu Di was shocked at the sudden appearance of the lion and immediately appeared in front of me, he swung open his fan, and was readying up for a battle of death.

    The lion stopped in front of Wu Di and I smiled as I lightly ced my hand on Wu Di¡¯s shoulder.

    "Rx, he¡¯s a friend," I said and walked in front of Wu Di, I stroked the lion¡¯s mane and said, "This is a dangerous ce, but your greed knows no danger does it," I said then threw a small pill into the lion¡¯s mouth.

    The lion happily ate it and then began wagging its tail and purring, though his purrs were definitely skin-crawling growls, he was happy.

    Wu Di¡¯s shoulders rxed a bit but he still took a few steps away and asked, "You tamed an Armored Lion?" he asked unbelievingly.

    "Not tamed, it¡¯s a partnership. Right, I¡¯ll be going now, seems like you still need to meditate to manage the Evil Qi of this world, I won¡¯t dy you any longer, and perhaps we¡¯ll meet in the ranking area." I said and then audaciously hopped over the lion¡¯s back.

    The kitten was annoyed at being used as a mount but another pill was enough to satisfy his shamelessness.

    "Take me to the woods," I said and the lion bounded over, crossing hundreds of feet in single bounds at astonishing speeds.

    The woods that I thought were huge from afar were even more enormous the closer I¡¯ve gotten and the lion didn¡¯t seem the least bit disturbed by the Evil Qi nor the evil forest.

    "I think I should give you a name," I said. and the lion looked over his shoulder expectantly.

    "Hmm, I have a good name for you, how about Arn, you look like an Arn." The lion cooed, definitely liking the name.

    "Good then Arn. How fast can you go?" I asked and the lion excited at being left to release the reins shot forward with even faster speed than before, dodging the trees with feline dexterity, and moved through the forest with impressive familiarity.

    "It seems that you came here often," the lion growled in ordance.

    I thought about this for a second then immediately understood, this lion lived in the Concaved Desert for a long while, so he must have seen the gate open at least once before if not several times. He would have gone inside to explore and managed to find the exit, so as long as I¡¯m with him I¡¯ll be able to find a way out after gaining all I could from this ce.

    We continued moving through the woods aimlessly, and within the woods, I saw several creatures. Some were squirrels with three tails and jagged-looking fangs and a horn over their heads.

    I never liked squirrels they look like evil incarnate and in this domain, they seem to have embraced their true nature.

    Then came foxes, that bounded over the forest, and even boars with several tusks protruding from their jaws. The forest hosted a variety of creatures but they were all on the demonic side, they all had horns and fangs, and none seemed to be of a herbivorous nature.

    Yet all these creatures decided against challenging the armored lion and gave us a leeway into the forest. All bar one little bugger.

    A bird, not bigger than one¡¯s palm shirked at us. Its shrike caused the armored lion to stop in its track and almost jerk me over.

    I looked at the hovering bird and was surprised to have the poison God¡¯s Book speak up.

    ***

    {Flesh Diver}

    A fifth tier demonic monster, though on the small side, and doesn¡¯t look any different than any regr bird, the Flesh Diver gains its name by its act of diving into a person¡¯s flesh, burrowing from the person¡¯s eyes and into their brains where the Flesh Diver consumes the person¡¯s brain matter. It¡¯s an evil little creature and Its speed is what makes it deadly.

    It is best to leave a Flesh Diver alone when one can, as they are too fast to be predicted.

    ***

    "Seems like dangeres in all sizes and shapes, Arn why don¡¯t we take another route, I guess this little bird is protecting its nest," I said as I noticed a small nest near the Flesh Diver who hovered protectively and warned us continuously not to approach.

    The lion took a detour after giving the bird a resigned growl. It seems that even the Armored Lion didn¡¯t want to fight this little thing.

    The bird seemed rxed and went back to his nest as soon as we moved away from our earlier path, and then I asked Arn to slow down as we walked through the forest. We don¡¯t want to infringe upon a creature¡¯s territory that we can¡¯t afford to offend.

    We moved through the forest for a long time until I came upon a ruckus in the distance. I nudged Arn in the direction of the sounds and when we arrived I saw something rather breathtaking.

    There was arge pond where three women were bathing, is say woman because their breasts were plump, full, and bear as were the rest of their bodies. They had a single protruding horn over their heads, and all three of them seemed to be in their mid-twenties if not early thirties. Theyughed as they bathed ying with water in a rather innocent manner. Two of them had hair darker than the night while one had golden hair that was cut short above her shoulders. And when the girl with the golden hair turned, she screamed her life out from fright. Causing the two others to immediately turn and jump out of the water, not caring for their naked appearance as they grabbed a sword each and pointed it directly at me.

    The girl with the golden hair dipped herself inside the water as the other two approached the lion uncaring.

    "Seems like I came at the wrong time, I apologize," I said.

    The two girls looked at each other and immediately scampered away behind a nearby rock.

    "What does one want! You¡¯re no demon!" said one of the girls in ck hair.

    "I¡¯m just venturing into the forest I didn¡¯t mean to invade your privacy." I apologized and waited for the girls that hid behind a rock to wear their clothes or as much as they could to appear descent.

    "You¡¯vemitted a grave crime, youid your eyes on the bare skin of the Tartaghoul, the Demon King." One of the raven-haired girls said.

    "I didn¡¯t mean any offense by this, it was nothing but luck that I ended uping here."

    "Lies, this is a blessed and hidden ce, no man cane here without it forcing them to move away." One of the two girls came out from behind the rock, her sword still pointing at me, and for some reason, though she had worn her drabs hastily, and her cleavage was fully on disy, it looked far more enticing than when she was fully naked.

    I shook my head removing thoughts that I have not thought about in years and shrugged saying, "I don¡¯t lie, it¡¯s the truth."

    The girl vexed unable toe with a reasonable response said, "If youe here to take the princess, we¡¯ll fight you tooth and nail, even if we were to die at the hands of your Armored Lion, we¡¯ll not let you take her highness without a fight! Discard any thoughts of an easy picking, kidnapper!" the woman used.

    I shook my head and said, "You¡¯re fast jumping to conclusions, I don¡¯t even know this king of yours, nor this princess. Anyway, where¡¯s the road to the Demon Kin city?" I asked.

    "Sister," replied the second girl with the raven hair.

    "I believe he speaks true, and if he wanted us dead, he would have killed us without revealing himself and taken the princess."

    "Why do you say so? He may have tamed a Purple Lion but if we work together we can take his life before he even has time to order his lion to attack." The first girl said.

    "But did you see where he emerged from? It¡¯s the territory of the Flesh Rending Shirker. No man lives crossing that path, not even his armored lion should survive an encounter with that little devil. Especially since it¡¯s in its maternity period. This man is either lucky enough to not encounter the Shirker or strong enough to dissuade it from attacking, Lucky or Strong we shouldn¡¯t wish to do battle with either."

    "Seems your sister is rather sensible. I¡¯m Shen Bao, a cultivator."

    "I¡¯m Nan¡¯Dra." Replied the sensible girl.

    The other spoke after her "I¡¯m San¡¯Dra. Royal guard to her highness Titra-Ghoul"

    ¡¯Seems that their names are different from cultivators. Perhaps it¡¯s a demonic name.¡¯

    "Pleased to meet you, I still seek the passage to the city of the demon kin, I wish to know more about the Lord Ranking if possible."

    "Then you¡¯ll have to turn around first, we need to have the princess dressed otherwise, you don¡¯t wish to add another crime to your first!" San¡¯Dra spoke in a cold tone.

    s

    "I guess you¡¯re right then, I¡¯ll be behind that tree, call me when you¡¯re done," I said ogling a bit too far into San¡¯Dra¡¯s rack. She gave me a cold look of disgust immediately afterward. And I offered an apologetic look.

    I immediately shook my head, what the hell was going on here? My libido¡¯s been dormant for decades why is it working itself up now?

    Just as I rxed a bit behind a rock, I was called back.

    Turning I saw the girls standing fully dressed and behind them a bit more than twenty soldiers. San¡¯Dra pointed at me in a wicked grin, "That¡¯s the man who ogled."

    ¡¯Well, shit...¡¯

 Chapter 82 The Black Merchant

    ****

    Alright, this is where the story¡¯s first most important character(besides mc) shows itself, pay attention to every detail about him whenever he is mentioned...it will prove handy and brace you for any of my savage plot twists. don¡¯t say ¡¯I didn¡¯t warn you :)

    ****

    The soldiers were all wearing neatly crafted armors of steel and chains, with helmets that covered their faces and left small holes for their horns to protrude. The reddish skin of the demon kin gleaned off the sky¡¯s glow. And it gave a demonic threatening air to them.

    The soldiers funneled in front of the three women, their spears and swords in arms, and pointed at me as they approached.

    Arn growled and the soldiers immediately stopped their aggressiveness.

    "You¡¯ll have to surrender yourself for punishment!" one of the guards said.

    "Punishment? For what?"

    "For ogling at the princes." One of the guards said hesitantly, Arn was a pretty big distraction especially when it growled.

    "I mean, if she is a princess can¡¯t she afford a bathtub and bath within her own home? Pce or whatever her royal behind can afford, are you so destitute that you can¡¯t take a bath in your own home?" I replied.

    s

    To be honest, I was feeling a little bit peevish, I didn¡¯t like this scenario, I¡¯m being med because they decided it was a good ce to take a naked dip, I¡¯m not going to stand for that, it¡¯s not my fault.

    The soldiers looked around and San¡¯Dra, the colder of the two girls pointed her finger at me and called, "You!! Dare call us destitute?"

    "Am I wrong? Can¡¯t you afford a bathtub?" I spoke.

    "Foolish man, this pool is beneficial for the princess¡¯s skin and can aid her retaining her youth," San¡¯Dra said.

    I shrugged, "You could have had some soldiers fill your bath with water from this pool, you¡¯re just dirtying good drinkable water with you all bathing in it." I replied further infuriating them.

    One of the guards decided it was a good time to jump and try to take my head. His luge was immediate as he burst from the ground, his sword aimed at my face. I tightened my legs around Arn I didn¡¯t need him to act, at least not now.

    I slightly rotated myself to the side, and the man¡¯s sword dove past my ear without touching me. At the same time, I grabbed the guard¡¯s hand, twisted and the man¡¯s right arm was dislocated from its socket before he even touched the ground.

    Once he was on the floor, Arn decided the man¡¯s chest could be a goodfortable spot for him to ce his heavy armored paw on.

    "Seems that we¡¯re at an impasse, say, I¡¯ve been nothing but polite, and still I was rewarded with rude brutish attitude, I expect an exnation," I said with a venomous tone.

    The sudden change and the disparity of strength that I just showed to these soldiers was a sobering and waking call for them. They had no idea what they were facing and seeing their friend being dispatched so suddenly and so rapidly gave them a grim prospect on their own future.

    "Honorable cultivator, you must be here for the Lord Ranking tournament?!" one of the soldiers said.

    "Perhaps," I replied.

    "The path is to the north, less than a few leagues from here, you¡¯ll make it on the back of your fearsome mount in less than an incense time." The soldier replied.

    "That¡¯s not enough to pardon your rudeness, not nearly enough."

    "Here," said Nan¡¯Dra, the more sensible of the girls with the ck hair.

    An ornament flew up in front of me, it was a hairpin, a beautiful jade hairpin with dozens of inscriptions on it, and a few of them were inscriptions I¡¯ve never seen before.

    "That¡¯s a defensive treasure, it can block an attack from a nascent soul-level cultivator," Nan¡¯Dra said.

    Her sister looked at her with concern, "Nan¡¯Dra, that¡¯s a precious treasure!"

    "Not worth our lives..." Nan¡¯Dra replied.

    "These...inscriptions, they are different," I said fully ignoring their conversation.

    "Yes, they may seem different, they¡¯re from thisnd, we have proficient inscribers in our Demon Land."

    "Hmm, do you have an inscription manual? Something regarding the Demonic Language." I asked.

    "Yes, but It¡¯s only preliminary, nothing too advanced, this ismon and you can find it almost anywhere on the demonnds." She said and threw me a manual she pulled from a ring on her fingers.

    I took the manual and smiled, "This is reward enough, you¡¯re all excused, and next time, try not to be rude to strangers, they might not all be as nice as I am, especially since more than a couple of hundred cultivators have arrived with me to this world. Arn, let¡¯s go north," I said and the lion bounded with a single jump over the whole of the contingence of the soldiers.

    I could feel the sighs of relief. It was only natural, if they decided to fight, Arn alone can make quick work of them, and they¡¯d be doomed to their death without being able to retaliate or escape.

    I also gave them a piece of advice, to just back off from this ce. Though I¡¯m definitely strong, I¡¯m not the strongest of the group of cultivators, at least in terms of strength and cultivation level, there are some cultivators who are a step away from the Nascent Soul level, and I¡¯m still struggling with Foundation Establishment Cultivation level.

    I rode on Arn¡¯s back headed a bit away from the direction the soldiers had told me where the demon city would be at. I didn¡¯t have any need to be at the tourney grounds, at least not yet. I needed to venture through this wilderness and see if I could find anything of interest.

    Due to the demonic Qi of this demonnd, not many spiritual nts could grow here, and the rare few that would have an evil Qi within them, and they¡¯ll only be useful for normal cultivators when used to create demonic pills, such as temporary power-up pills. The magic word here is normal cultivator, as I a different breed of cultivators that can use the evil Qi within these herbs to create a rather new and different type of poison pills. But the problem is, finding these herbs.

    I searched high and low, and could only find a few random herbs that had spiritual Qi within them throughout the forest. All thanks to the Poison God¡¯s Book, it interfered with my vision and highlighted the spiritual herbs in the vicinity.

    The herbs I found weren¡¯t of great quality or rarity, they were normal herbs, some even were spiritual weed that had been enhanced with evil Qi, and no rare demonic spiritual herbs ever presented themselves to me.

    After almost a day of traveling around, I decided against looking any further, if there are any herbs I¡¯m chanced to stumble upon, I would have done so with the aid of the book, but now seeing nothing in sight, I decided it would be best if I try my luck inside the demon city, perhaps there could be a vendor that could sell me herbs.

    Arn raced back to the city and I found myself at its doors by night time. Night came creeping like a shadow creeping upon thend. There were no stars, no moon, and no majestic sense of space, there was nothing but a muffled and dim red hue that covered the skies.

    I arrived at the city gate that was lit by torches and demon soldiers that guarded the entrance. The door was locked.

    "Who goes there!" one of the demons at the gate shouted.

    I lit one of my fingers to show my face, "I¡¯m here for the tourney," I said.

    "You¡¯rete, and it¡¯ste, you¡¯ll only be allowed entry once it¡¯s morning."

    I sighed, then patted Arn¡¯s head, "My pet here doesn¡¯t like to sleep under the stars, he gets grouchy, and when he is grouchy, he gets hungry. I think you wouldn¡¯t want him hungry," I said.

    "Is that a threat?" the man said.

    "You can take it however you wish, Arn, remember that man, he is the one who denied you entry and a warm bed," I said and turned to leave.

    The man saw the growling and snarling lion and shuddered, "Hold! I can make an exception, just for you. Raigon, open the gate."

    "But, Torak, the rule is to close it at night time."

    "To hell with the rule, that¡¯s an armored lion if it wants it can bring down the gate with a sneeze, just open it if someonees asking, you can put the me on me."

    "Your funeral Torak," the man said and the gate swung open.

    "Thank you for beingprehensive," I replied and threw a Spirit Strengthening Pill at the man.

    The horned man caught it in his hand, took a sniff and his eyes red with excitement. "Thank you benevolent one." He replied in a bow.

    I walked into the city with Arn in tow, and no one dared stop us, talk to us or even greet us. Anyone with a single brain cell knew well enough that it would be unwise to even stand in the same hundred miles as would a Purple Armored Lion, not to mention the same street.

    And I was nning on using Arn to wicked ends.

    Seeing a couple of men who had their wears disyed on the ground and they sat waiting for people toe and procure their goods, I walked with purpose towards them, while Arn was a couple of paces behind me.

    Once I was in front of the merchant, the man struggled to keep hisposure, he looked at me with shuddering fright and waited impatiently for me to browse through his wears. Finding nothing of value I shrugged and left him. he slumped down, his hand over his chest heaving strong breaths as if he had just won his life in death and life duel.

    The same scene repeated itself a few times over, but most of the vendors at night time had nothing worth selling, as most of their wears of value would have undoubtedly be sold in the morning.

    Soon I noticed that the already scarce and rare few vendors decided that their hearts would beat longer and stronger if they didn¡¯t suffer the same fate as their rivals, and hefted their wears and left the area.

    All but one man, a man that felt rather conspicuously inconspicuous. Which said a lot, the man¡¯s whole demeanor was like a normal merchant, he wore casual drabs, nothing too horrid but nothing too fancy. His robes were ck, and he had a hood that shaded half of his face only showing a small beard that had some rare few white strands growing in it.

    The man didn¡¯t seem the least bit fazed by Arn and didn¡¯t even deem me worth lifting his chin up to look in my eyes. He neither invited me to look at what he had to sell nor did he ask me to leave after I took a long while inspecting his wears.

    His stuff was rather interesting. A few treasures one might call them, a bell that looked to be stolen from the ages, it was an old brass bell that had a sonorous jingle to it and a red strand that carried it. Its weight was far heavier than it should, and it didn¡¯t seem to have any inscriptions or anything special about it. Yet I felt it in me that this small bell was special, but at the same time... something tugged at my mind, this bell, it was not for me. I just felt it, it¡¯s like looking at a beautiful woman on the street, so beautiful in fact that you just shrug and keep moving, it¡¯s like the both of you live on two different realms. It¡¯s not for a fact that you can¡¯t woe her, but she is just beautiful, something that you can enjoy looking at, but not own.

    I kept looking at other things then saw a feather and a quill, and for some reason, this object called to me. I went to pick it up and the man grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. Suddenly, I felt that my life was in his hands and he could end me with a thought. It onlysted for a second before the feeling subsided and he said, "Apologies for startling you, this Quill is yours, free of charge." The man said.

    s

    I frowned but wasn¡¯t going to refuse a free gift, the moment I grabbed the quill and inspected it, I turned to ask the man about its origin, only to find nothing in front of me.

    "What the hell?"

    *******************

    Also, super huge thanks to Manson! this guy, this man, this amazing legend! fregging love you man. Thanks for the amazing patron donation, 100$, it¡¯s a huge sum, (Heck that¡¯s half my rent I¡¯ll be able to actually eat out for a few days now!) thanks a lot man for this donation it would help a lot. Also for everyone, you can still join patron, though I can no longer post there (Thank you webonvel for that...) I can still offer perks and rewards.

    Like new characters to be introduced to the story, names, sects monsters even if you can create something I¡¯ll work with you guys into implementing it into PGH. Thank you all and like always, Never Hunger, Never Tire, Never Fear!

 Chapter 83 Memories

    <h4>Chapter 83: Memories</h4>

    I kept looking around, suspiciously. That man was far stronger than anything I¡¯ve ever experienced. And I could even dare say, when he grabbed my hand, I felt more threatened than when I gazed upon the Primordial Dragon Serpent. Perhaps I¡¯m wrong, or perhaps the snake was just too far to cause me immediate worry, but the man in ck. He frightened me to no end. It was the same as seeing oneself under the guillotine, with no hope to ever survive. But then he had released my hand and offered me this strange item.

    I took a look at the quill and noticed that it had some ink within it, I tried to soak the feather within the quill, but the liquid was so damn heavy I almost broke my wrist trying to move the ink.

    "What the hell?" I muttered I could clearly move the liquid inside the quill as if it was normal ink, but the moment the feather touches the ink it bes viscous and he heavy.

    Not even the poison god¡¯s book gave me any description of this quill and feather. I sighed and tried to ce them inside the poison god¡¯s book, but the book adamantly refused to take in the quill and feather.

    However, when I used a regr pouch, the pouch took in the quill as if it was nothing but a normal item.

    ¡¯This is a rather peculiar item, I should try and use it while inscribing.¡¯ I thought and then continued touring the city.

    There were not many merchants selling their items at night and I decided it would be best to find an inn where I can rest for the night, meditate until it¡¯s a morning where the tourney would begin.

    I found the only open restaurant in the city, it was the only ce that had a lot of noiseing from it and decided it was a good ce to spend the night, I haven¡¯t had a drink in a while.

    "Arn, you¡¯d probably not even fit through the door and we wouldn¡¯t want to be so rude as to break the inn¡¯s doors. You can go around and explore the vicinity if you like, but try not to eat anyone. Unless they deserve eating," I said and the lion¡¯s ears flopped to the side.

    I felt sad for having to ask Arn to go away, but I can¡¯t take him with me everywhere, he¡¯s just too big.

    s

    The lion turned and cooed sadly and then moved through the city streets. I¡¯m more than certain a lot of people will have a very frightening night. But Arn won¡¯t eat anyone, I think...probably... I hope.

    I shook my head and walked into the restaurant.

    It was quite grand and had dozens ofrge tables that hosted a good deal of cultivators and demons alike. Some were boisterous, drinking and celebrating, some were quiet and calm, and among them was Wu Di, who looked rather serene in thepany of his sect disciples. Sharingughs and jokes as they enjoyed their meal.

    "SHEN BAO!" Wu Di called loud as he raised a mug of his in a toast!

    "We¡¯ve missed you on today¡¯s tourney, how fares your journey?" asked Wu Di.

    "Good."

    "Hey, we heard some rumors about a man with a purple lion got to see the Demon King¡¯s Daughter stark naked," one of Wu Di¡¯s friends said in a sly smile "I say there aren¡¯t many cultivators that can tame a purple lion, and our friend Shen Bao is the only one with balls big enough to tame on and freely ogle at a naked princess!" the man said.

    He was a young man with short stature, and had a rat-like face, he looked humorous, and of good spirit, until he spoke the following words, "TO SHEN BAO¡¯S balls of steel!" he said in a toast and the rest of the group dropped outughing like mad.

    I grinned, seems like these kids are bad, but the good kind of bad. "To my balls then, give me a mug, I could use a good drink!" I replied and sat next to them.

    Some of the demon kin had an ugly expression on their faces, especially after hearing this young man¡¯s toast, but they still knew not to cross any of the cultivators.

    "How was the princess?" the young man asked.

    "Xiao Lang, you¡¯re being rude," Wu Di said but his tone wasn¡¯t aligned with his voice, he too was a young man, and probably also wanted to know.

    "Well, like any girl, a pretty face, nice rack, and wide hips."

    "Man, you have no imagination, seems like you¡¯ve never even touched a girl for you to speak of a woman¡¯s body with such crudeness." Xiao Lang looked rather displeased by mck of description but I only smiled at him.

    "Well, I actually have two sons," I replied.

    "Oh, now that¡¯s interesting, where are they?" Wu Di asked.

    "In a remote vige in the country of Zhou," I replied mncholically.

    "To Shen Bao¡¯s sons!" Wu Di called and the group of cultivators drank another toast.

    One of the girls of the group asked, "Grandpa Bao," she said.

    And I smiled at that word, grandpa, hah!

    "Yes dear," I replied.

    "How old are your sons," she asked. The rest of the men began hooting, "Seems like Yuzehan wants to be Shen Bao¡¯s daughter inw." The rat-faced Xiao Langmented to which the girl¡¯s face turned a beat red.

    I smiled and replied, "They¡¯re both married, and they¡¯re mortals. They¡¯re not worthy of you." I said.

    "Bullshit, I say anyone with Shen Bao¡¯s genes will be a dragon among men, don¡¯t sell yourself short!" Wu Di replied boisterously.

    I smiled wryly, thinking back about my sons, and then sighed as I said, "Perhaps you¡¯re wrong. My sons...well. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯vest thought about them, they should be doing fine on their own."

    The atmosphere began to turn heavy, especially when Xiao Lang said, "Why, I think your sons would be proud to have their father as a great cultivator such as you, Shen Bao."

    "Not really. Thest time I saw them, I was still a mortal just like them, and because of being a mortal, greed and jealousy took the better of their judgment. We parted on sad terms." I said sighing.

    Suddenly one of the people from a nearby table came towards us and said, "I remember a Shen Bao from my country, the name isn¡¯t strange Ie from a vige next to Lucid Spring, and the City Lord of that vige was also called Shen Bao and had two sons, could it be you?" the cultivator asked.

    I was surprised that someone knew of my old city but I didn¡¯t wish to reply. "It could be just a coincidence in the name."

    "Ah, then, good, because the whole city was razed to the ground."

    I shuddered and stood up, grabbed the cultivator by the robes, and said "What?!"

    The man was slightly frightened but he coughed and said, "As I said, Lucid Springs was razed to the ground, it seems that a cultivator from one of the sects was promised a visit from the City Lord of Lucid Springs to craft for him an elixir to repair his broken meridians. The cultivator went through a lot of trouble to make such an elixir and when he made it, he waited long for the man toe and pay his due but he never came, so the cultivator went to lucid spring and razed it to the ground in vengeance for his wasted time."

    I shuddered and let go of the man then said, "Do you know this cultivator¡¯s name, his sect, or anything. I¡¯ll reward you handsomely." I said.

    The man shook his head, I only heard rumors, perhaps they¡¯re just lies, but the name of the cultivator was never mentioned."

    "What about the City Lord¡¯s sons, have they also died?"

    I asked the question fearing for the worst and hoping that my fears would be unfounded.

    "No one survived the cultivator¡¯s wrath as I was told, but you can never tell. Perhaps the city lord¡¯s sons were not even in that city, as I heard they usually lived in other cities away from lucid spring."

    "Right, right," I said and calmed down a bit, they could still be alive.

    I shuddered as I thought of the faith of my sons. Lu Bao and Xiao Bao. They were evil, unfilial, and outright threw me to my doom, but they were still my sons, my family. My blood. Even if they had pierced my heart with a searing dagger I¡¯d still find a reason to forgive them, blood cannot be so easily discarded and so easily ignored.

    s

    I shuddered and shook, my body was irritated and my mind was in shambles, thinking about how my own family could have been annihted and destroyed by some random cultivator. It was partially my fault; I should have treated my own sons better so that they wouldn¡¯t have turned as they did.

    My fault that my sons¡¯ fate is unknown.

    My Qi became unstable and rotated on its own, madness and rage swirled along with my Qi as I thought about all the torments I should visit upon the bastard who dared touch my family. And there and then, my Qi on its own assaulted my bottleneck. I was about to break through.

    I could barely speak a few words before the Qi¡¯s rotation turned graver.

    "EVERYONE LEAVE! I¡¯M ABOUT TO BREAKTHROUGH!"

 Chapter 84 Against Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 84: Against Heaven</h4>

    I shouted and I couldn¡¯t even add more to express the dangers of a breakthrough while so close to so many other cultivators.

    Wu Di, however, had his eyes bulging and called, "EVERYONE LEAVE THE RESTAURANT!" Wu Di said and jumped from where he sat leaving the area as fast as he could.

    A heavy sense of danger suddenly befell everyone within the room, as they noticed everyone fleeing the ground.

    Suddenly, three demons came rushing toward the restaurant while everyone was leaving, they stood around me creating a triangle between them, and raised their hands making a shimmering barriere to life.

    Poison Qi rotated ravenously within me and began wreaking havoc through my body, pustules burst and seeped their content on the ground, searing it and burning bits and pieces of the wood making the floor a gaseous substance began to emit from the wood.

    The Body and Bone Grinding Poison were nefariously ravaging through my body, enhancing it to be more attuned with poison and in the process, expelling the puss and grim from my body. Further turning my body from that of a human to that of a Poison Body.

    Pain, intolerable and unquenchable pain wrecked me from head to toe. As my gray hair turned darker, and my skin regained its firmness, the pustules and tumors grew visibly smaller and I even began seeing areas with full healthy but still pale skin on my body.

    The hole in my right eye burned but it never healed it was forever missing but in the other eye I could feel it being altered assaulted by the green aura of poison. As for my bones, they became sturdier and stronger while my muscle flesh and tendons hardened for a moment before they became in better shape.

    If I were topare my body from before this very moment, when I was still at the Foundation Establishment, I was like a sixty-year-old man, with barely enough longevity. But now I¡¯m feeling more like a person in histe forties if not early fifties. A good deal of strength had returned to me, and I could feel thest meridian that I needed finally emerging within the center of my core right above my Dantian.

    The 108thmeridian. Yet the moment the meridian was created, the Dantian within me shuddered and began to amass the Poison Qi within it, aided by the meridians in my body to create an egg-like object that I could feel but not touch right within my Dantian. The golden object rotated and with its rotation, it gathered a huge cloud of poison Qi around it, then condensed it pressing it against itself.

    s

    The cloud was as big as the world and the core was forcing this cloud to concentrate against itself.

    The cloud tightened around itself and it began to rain, filling my Dantian with a green substance that rained like there was no tomorrow.

    The floating core continued rotating within my Dantian, and further condensing the cloud until it was literally squeezed dry and turned to water.

    I could see within my Dantian an enormous green sea that was serene and calm but with a vast depth and above it was the core, shaped like an egg butrge enough that it acted like a moon to this vast sea.

    Finally, I opened my eyes to see three cultivators straining to keep the barrier around me, but before I could speak, I felt somethinging up of my throat. And I opened my mouth, where I released a ck gas that shot out from within me like all the evils of hell were being released at once.

    The ck gas shot upwards where the three demon cultivators strained to keep the gas within the barrier. Once thest bit was out, the three of them all did the same motion with their hands and the barrier copsed around the gas and then floated upwards into the vast skies.

    I was feeling disoriented for a bit, and right before I could even say my thanks to the cultivators one of them shouted, "YOU! LEAVE THE CITY AT ONCE!" he called.

    "Huh, why?" I asked.

    "Though congrattions are due to having broken through to Core Formation, you have undoubtedly brought the wrath of the Jealous Heavens with your perfect meridians. Your Heavenly Tribtion is gathering above us right now, if you suffer it inside the city nothing will be left. Leave now!" the demon said.

    "Shit," I cursed, heavenly tribtion, what the heck isn¡¯t that some advanced shit that should only happen in higher realms.

    I felt the rumble of thunder clouds above me and decided that it would be best to leave this ce now.

    "Thanks for everything!"

    "Good luck," the man said.

    I pulled my flying sword and jumped on it, then flew away. Leaving everyone looked shocked. I mean, I know it was badass the breakthrough and all, even if the reason was rage at my sons¡¯ fate, but they shouldn¡¯t be all that shocked right? Unless heavenly tribtion is really rare.

    But as I took a second nce at the people gawking at me I noticed that all of them were actually looking not at me but...my sword.

    Ah, shit, now that I think about it, shouldn¡¯t this whole ce have aw that denies cultivators the usage of flying treasures?

    Well, no time to think about this right now, as a matter of fact, red clouds are gathering right above the city and if I don¡¯t leave fast enough there will be no city left.

    The heavens rumbled as the clouds gathered above me, wrathful at my perfect breakthrough and the creation of a core powerful enough to shake the world and the vision of the cultivators. Though with how advanced the world of cultivation is, many were able to breakthrough with perfect meridians, and they all prepared adequate treasures to fight against the wrath of the heavens. And I had identally triggered the Heavenly Tribtions without readied treasures.

    Man imposes, and heaven disposes. But I¡¯m not going toy down and wait for the wrath of heavens to befall me without fighting back.

    The rumbling clouds thickened and they superimposed over the red skies, you can only see red all over the ins as I flew away as far as I could from the city. Yet, many other cultivators ran after me, they didn¡¯t mean me any harm, nor would they even dare to, as the jealous heavens punished those who defied her with ruthless impunity, but if one were to interfere in the heaven¡¯s own punishment, they¡¯ll receive their own version of punishment far crueler and far deadlier than the breaking-through cultivator.

    They all wanted to see how the heavens will call down its punishment. And I wasn¡¯t too worried about them.

    Once I judged that I had moved a distance far enough, and was in an area that had no one present to interfere I sat down in the lotus position and waited.

    The clouds rumbled and shuddered, shook and seethed with unhinged fury. It was sphemous, audacious, and outright arrogant for a man to dare and wrest perfection from the hands of heaven, the jealous heavens began to coerce its agent, the red clouds into baleful turmoil, shaking and writhing as the belly of the storm gave one loud thundering boom before a lightning bolt, redder than bloodshot down at me.

    X shot out from the poison god¡¯s book, it jumped up and attempted to block the lightning bolt, but the bolt as if guided by the utter andplete disdain of the puppet dodged X and came at me. I held my right hand upwards and literally grabbed the tip of the lightning bolt. A fraction of a second, if elt the writhing and squirming might of heaven within the grasp of my hand, but after that fraction of a second, the muscles on my hand shook, tightened then flesh and veins burst in a shower of blood. The might of that heavenly bolt was too much for my hand to sustain and I was left with bleeding and heavily damaged arm.

    Shaking, I had my right arm next to me. It was scorched, ckened from the damage of the Heavenly Tribtion Lighting but I grinned, because in that damage, I felt life. It was the same as would a field grow back to life after it is burnt to a crisp. There was destruction in that lightning, but at the same time, it held the secrets of the universe, life, creation within destruction, and heavens wielded both withplete mastery that it would bog the mind of one who dared try and understand thews within this lightning.

    s

    I immediately threw a poison pill on my mouth and used the Qi within it to rapidly repair the damage caused by the lightning. I smiled as I waited for the second lightning strike.

    The heavens, seemingly unimpressed by my attitude sent another bolt at me, this one was thicker than the first and I felt it was judging my will to live.

    And I had more will to live than any man, I cherished my life and wasn¡¯t going toy down and be smote to nothingness without a fight.

    I wielded Creeping Demise and pointed it upwards, "Come!" I called and the lighting surged at me with a vicious vengeance as it boomed through the skies, breaking the sound barrier as it came for my skin, flesh, veins, and soul, destruction entailed within its obvious disdain of those who seek perfection.

    Ah, such sight! Who wouldn¡¯t want to be me right now, facing the wrath of the jealous heavens with a grin so wide that it reaches my ears!

 Chapter 85 Battle Through The heavens!

    <h4>Chapter 85: Battle Through The heavens!</h4>

    I used the Tiger Stinger skill, a challenge to heaven¡¯s assault as I faced against the bolt with my sword and decided to break through it before it bore through me. I shed forward, both shing and thirsting my sword, hand extended and my legs taught from the jump, I came in a challenge against heaven¡¯s will, and my sword and the lightning shed at one point.

    A loud explosive sound echoed in the vicinity, enough that the many cultivators that have just arrived were forced back from the shockwave of my affront to heaven¡¯s doom.

    But in this battle, I came up short, and the lighting bolt was far more powerful than what power I could muster in my challenge. I was struck down against the ground, where my whole body was ravaged by tendrils of red lightning. Yet, the lightning didn¡¯t burn my body this time, it had to struggle against my robe, the robe made from hundreds of thousands of small inscriptions that hardened it and made it sturdier.

    I stood up from the ground I was buried under, toppling rubble and stones from above me as I grinned, my whole body was seared, and my face was covered in soot, dust, and grim, yet I smiled focused as the third lighting bolt gathered toe down upon me.

    I gathered my Qi within me and roared in challenge, heaven wanted me dead, and I would never bow down to death without a fight. Qi surged within my body, dreadfully delighted at my challenge, my own Qi was a challenge against heavenly will. My own Qi, my poison Qi was never a part of the heavenlyw, it was its ownw, it didn¡¯t follow the rules of the cultivator¡¯s Spiritual Qi meridians. And therefore the heavenly Qi decided that it didn¡¯t want a challenger to its primordial authority.

    Heavenly Qi, spiritual Qi, the very world¡¯s natural energy disdained to see another variant of itself guiding another cultivator to the top and it didn¡¯t wish for it to be rivaled so it came at me, with not one, not two, but three lighting bolts as big as my thighs as they shot at me.

    "He¡¯s dead," one of the cultivators spoke, and I was amazed at how I could still hear him though he was so far.

    Another shook his head, and even that motion I was able to perceive without having my eyes on him. Was this Divine Sense? I grinned, I have yet unlocked another ability. Right, let¡¯s focus up. If these three bolts struck me, I¡¯ll be doomed and there is no way for me to survive. That is if I were to take them head-on.

    Then inspiration dawned on me, as I remembered a step, a single step I had done within theughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda. The step I took against his stairs, the step that cracked those sturdy steps that months of me using my skills couldn¡¯t even scar. That step came to me and I felt that It was what I needed to use.

    With the same fugue and insightful sensation, I had that day, I raised my leg and struck at the ground, causing a huge boulder to raise from under me and fly up in the air. In one breath, I jumped after the boulder grabbing my brush from my pouch and then I wrote.

    s

    My hands sttered golden ink on the back of the massive boulder, with exaggerated moves as the writing had imprinted itself in masterful calligraphy.

    "INDOMITABLE!"

    The words shone brightly in gold then, in a sickly bright green as the lighting bolts shot at the boulder and found a resistance that they didn¡¯t expect to be there.

    The bolts were stopped and they crashed against the Indomitable Boulder, cracks appeared on it, but it resisted, parts of it were broken off, but the boulder still resisted. The first bolt exploded shaking the hovering boulder but it couldn¡¯t move it much, the second bolt shattered and it also failed to pierce through, finally the final bolt inted itself with the remains of the other two bolts and came down on the Indomitable boulder with so much force that it turned it to dust as it passed through it. Yet the boulder did its job, weakening the bolts as much as possible before it came in contact with me.

    The bolt was powerful still, but not enough to threaten my life.

    I was struck down once again, against the ground. My bones cracked, my chest heaved and my face was burnt halfway through. Yet I stood once again, gazing up against the turmoiled skies, there were now four more bolts, far bigger and far mightier than before.

    But I wasn¡¯t giving up, the thrill to battle heavens themselves sent new waves of energy coursing through me, my adrenalin pumped and my lips stretched into a devilish grin, "Bring it on!"

    The clouds had heavily dissipated, this was heaven¡¯s final assault, afterwards, the heavens will have finished its judgment and I would be free to live until I once again breakthrough to the nascent realm. The end goal is near, but I¡¯m near exhaustion, X is useless, my robe is damaged, my Qi is depleted yet I smiled, this was...enjoyable. This challenge was invigorating and I felt alive fighting against this impossibility. Man imposes but heaven disposes, yet I would not take heaven¡¯s disposal with meekness, I¡¯ll rise above and never bend my back to it.

    I looked up and knew that using the same trick again would not work, the hasty Inscription on the boulder was good, but there were no other massive boulders near me, not that I could feel with my divine sense. Nor do I think that Heavens will fall to the same trick again. I needed to battle thest bolts with my own power, power that was fading rapidly.

    Yet, I won¡¯t back off.

    I pulled a handful of poison pills from my pocket and took them all at once. This would undoubtedly kill me on any other day, but I needed a lot of energy to do what I¡¯m about to do, and my natural reserves were far too exhausted to rely on.

    I immediately digested the pills and power beyond what I could imagine surged through me. My body, though it was being threatened to copse from the sheer amount of Poison Qi was ecstatic, looming doom and fear were outright discarded as my mind raced to find ways out of this mess and the only solution it found for me was in an image of the Poison God¡¯s own challenge against might far greater than him.

    I raised both my hands in perfect remembrance of the Poison God¡¯s own Poison Tiger w. His power was strong enough to break a, and I for a small second felt the Poison God¡¯s avatar, his own soul possessing me.

    For a fraction of a second, I was able to see all the minute mistakes that I have made in my own attempt to replicate The Poison Tiger w and I adjusted.

    The Qi needed to course through me, the rotation of my newly birthed Core, and my bearing, even my own emotion needed to be as proud, ferocious, and as courageous as that of a tiger. Even in the face of heavenly Tribtion, I needed to brave through it, fight against it, not resist, not struggle, but to actually believe that I WILL triumph!

    And with that I swung down both my hands in a wing motion, causing the world to heave in fright as if the real Poison God as appeared once again. The earth trembled, the grass withered and the skies churned as six ws of green energy far bigger than the lighting from heaven were summoned.

    My body gave the poison Qi for the skill, all of it but a fraction to keep me alive, and this power struck down against heaven¡¯s lightning. The two energies collided and in their collision, the world threatened to crack.

    The earth shook and parted from under me, and the skies shuddered and its cloud dispersed, all that was left were the battling forces of heavenly energy and my green deadly poisonous ws.

    Then came the end, as both energies failed to bore through each other and destroy each other, they then aimed at themselves, blowing up to cause the other destruction. And in that self-implosion, the world shook as I was thrown off where I stood from the mere shockwave, tumbling and spinning like a ragdoll on the ground, unable to break my fall as I continued to rapidly crash against dirt, stone, and small bushes, where my rapid deadly tumble was stopped by a massive boulder that cracked against me as I cracked against it.

    I could feel my whole body suffering from pain and so many internal injuries that I could barely keep my eye open. My skull was definitely fractured, not to mention several ribs, my arm, and heavy damage to my liver, and a broken leg.

    Still, I grinned, I survived, as I nced up, with a blurry eye, I could see the seething skies dissipating and energy from the world began to surge.

    Whenever the Heavenly Tribtion cloudse, death, doom, and destruction are left in its wake. Heaven is cruel, yet merciful. As an apology to the destruction Heaven always creates, it blesses those who suffer its wrath and survive. And I could feel it. The residual lightning energy in the atmosphere began to mend my wounds. Though I was not attuned to the heavenly energy, though I couldn¡¯t cultivate it, my body, for some reason was still nourished by it.

    A dislocated shoulder popped back, the broken leg suddenly mended itself back, and my wounded flesh healed visibly, no even the burn on my face nor the burnt hair remained as it was reced with healthy skin, far healthier than even when I broke through to Core Formation.

    Soon, Wu Di came rushing in after me, "You crazy bastard! Are you okay?" He asked. Worry, apparent on his face.

    "More or less, but I¡¯m feeling he sore, wait, I think I¡¯m gonna throw up," I said and pushed Wu Di to the side.

    I regurgitated all the impurities from the mass of pills I just consumed and I was definitely not feeling well. Thanks to heaven¡¯spassion my body was healed and even the damage from the pills I ate was lessened but it was still there, I¡¯ll need to heal myself, a few pills and probably a couple of days of rest would bring me back to full health.

    "How is grandpa Shen Bao?" a feminine voice asked, it was Yuzehan the girl that apanied Xiao Lang and Wu Di.

    "He¡¯s doing fine, but...I don¡¯t think Grandpa Shen Bao is applicable anymore," rat-faced Xiao Lang said with a sly grin.

    "Oh, my," Yuzehan¡¯s face flushed a bit as she looked at me.

    "What¡¯s going on?" I asked frowning.

    Yuzehan immediately pulled up a mirror and handed it to me, I took it and nced at my face.

    Apparently, all the tumors on my face had disappeared and instead of the wizened old man who had years stolen from him by time, there was a middle-aged man with a stout-looking face, the man even had a goatee and was...handsome. If not for the gaping hole in that man¡¯s face I would have mistaken him for nobility with a slightly pale face due to some sickness, that very paleness though gave the man a sense of handsome evilness to his disposition.

    "The hell?" I asked and the man in the mirror also mimicked my face. "That¡¯s me?"

    s

    "Apparently, Grandpa Shen Bao became handsome uncle Shen Bao," Yuzhen said.

    Xiao Lang grinned as he said, "Seems that Yuzehan is no longer interested in the lion¡¯s cubs and wants the lion all for herself."

    The girl flushed once more and yfully smacked Xiao Lang on the head.

    To which everyone beganughing.

    And I was left with a smile on my face. I continued looking in the mirror and grinned, bar from the gaping hole for an eye, I actually...looked more human than before.

 Chapter 86 Poisonous Feast

    <h4>Chapter 86: Poisonous Feast</h4>

    I tried to stand up, tried was the magic word because everything hurt, I could even feel the growth of new muscle tissue and the soreness that followed it. I was unable to stand up unaided, and Wu Di came to my aid, he propped his shoulder under mine and helped me walk.

    "Let me take you back to the inn, you need rest Shen Bao," Wu Di said as he nced around, he had a wary look on his face as if afraid of someone attacking us.

    "Why the long face?" I asked, "You look worried," I said as I looked at the rest of Wu Di¡¯spanions, "You all look worried." I added.

    "Yes, now that you¡¯re a Core Formation Realm Cultivator, the Demon Kins are allowed to attack you on sight, you hereby entered thepetition for the Lords Ranking.

    "Oh, I believed it would be an arena-like tournament or something like that," I said.

    "The more civil of the Demon-kin and the ones with the strength to carry their own weight around rather face us on the arena. But the weaker most insidious and sinister ones usually take chances when cultivators are alone, meditating or weakened to assault them." Wu Di said.

    Xian Lang also spoke, "You present the best target, weak, wounded, and just barely entered Core Creation Realm." Xiang Lang said. "It would be best if we take you to the inn and stay with you until you¡¯re healed up."

    I shook my head, "I can¡¯t do that, I¡¯ll be imposing on your time."

    "Master had said to guard you and protect you at all costs, this Lord¡¯s Ranking is good but I doubt it¡¯s worth going against my master nor protecting a good friend," Wu Di said.

    I smiled at the man and said, "I¡¯ll make sure to repay this favor, but I really don¡¯t need any help."

    s

    Before Wu Di could interject a group of Demons came at us, they were five led by a short stature demon that had so many daggers on his person that one would mistake him for a dagger rack.

    "Leave that man and go," said the short-statured demon.

    The rest of the demon kins around him had readied their weapons.

    Wu Di frowned, "That¡¯s Chan Gui, he had already killed a few of our friends and few cultivators. He usually go after the weaker cultivators. Xiang Lang, Yuzehan ready up," Wu Di said.

    "Hold up," I said. "You mean you already fought him?" I asked.

    "News spread fast among cultivators, you came veryte today, we already faced against a lot of demons just to get inside the city, we were fighting the whole day and barely got some time to rest." Wu Di said.

    "So, you were actually resting when you were in the in from all the battles," I said as I removed my arm from over Wu Di¡¯s shoulder, "I¡¯m not so helpless to be safeguarded like a sheltered princess," I said.

    "Thank you for the help, but I won¡¯t be dragging you in my troubles, after all, it was because of me that you all had to leave the inn. It won¡¯t sit well with me to see others suffer for my own faults." I added then drew my sword.

    "Shen Bao, you¡¯ve yet to stabilize your cultivation, you just broke through, not to mention you¡¯re heavily damaged you need to heal first, let us help."

    "That old man has clearly lost his head, he thinks he can fight us with those wounds," one of the men apanying Chan Gui said in a derisive tone as he licked his sword. Man, that¡¯s just unsanitary.

    "I won¡¯t be fighting, nor will you." I said to Wu Di "Arn you cane out."

    I said then a roar that shook the earth echoed from behind the group of assants. Turning they saw the armored lion standing tall behind them, while they had no idea how it had managed to approach so close without them noticing.

    "Remember when I told you don¡¯t eat anyone," I said to Arn. "Well, you can forget that. Feast to your heart¡¯s content, I hope they don¡¯t taste bad though."

    And so the lion was let loose, as it pawed one of the cultivators, buckling his head inside his chest in a hideous crunch of bone and tearing flesh, while it jumped at another one.

    A lion can be fearsome, especially something as big as Arn, he was a massive slobbering mass of muscle and feline grace. It jumped against one of the demons. The moment Arn¡¯s paws touched the demon, he was already dead, so the crash against the ground, nor the literal ripping of his head from his torso was nothing but overkill.

    The rest of the demons ran away, everyone splitting in a different direction to distract the lion, at least this way, one will die while the rest will escape. Or so they thought.

    Arn, heavy, massive and gigantic, was still surprisingly agile, far too agile for his size, as it bounded twice and had already torn through one of the running demons, then it changed direction, licking his bloodied snout and continued chasing after the closest one.

    No matter how fast the demons ran, once Arn had his eyes focused on them, they¡¯ll be dead in seconds. Every one of them besides Chan Gui didn¡¯t escape away but came at me with a dagger in hand.

    While Arn was busy chasing after the rest of the demons Chan Gui wanted to take my life first.

    Wu Di and the rest ran towards him to try and stop him, but I was amazed at how agile the little statured demon was. He sidestepped Yuzehan¡¯s sword strike, ducked under Xiao Lang¡¯s saber, and jumped above Wu Di¡¯s fan, all in extremely dexterous and agile movements, acrobatic but moves of a great martial artist.

    Chan Gui didn¡¯t have fear in his eyes as he drew two des that had a ck liquid dripping from their tips. With crossed hands, he struck both daggers that were held in a backhanded grip at my chest.

    And I didn¡¯t dodge, I only didn¡¯t wish for the des to go directly through my heart and that was easily done with shifting my body a bit.

    One of the daggers pierced through my left lung and the other found its way to my liver. At that moment Wu Di and Xiao Lang were wrathful for letting the little man pass beyond them and attack me, while Yuzehan¡¯s face became white.

    The rest of the spectators shook their heads, some even spoke about the loss of a newly born talent.

    But I grinned, as I hand both my hands gripped tightly around Chan Gui¡¯s arms. Tightly pinning him in front of me, my only eye was opened wide, not in fright but in ecstasy.

    "YES! Delicious!" I spoke licking my bloodied mouth.

    Chan Gui shuddered, but couldn¡¯t move his hands, "Fuck! Let me go! You should be dead already that¡¯s a Dragon¡¯s Corrupted blood. Why don¡¯t you die yet!"

    I even heard a few people inhaling loudly, fear gripping them as apparently they didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near this dragon¡¯s corrupted blood. But it was so tasty I could feel the poison in my mouth even if it had pierced my liver.

    "Good poison," I said "Do you have some more?" I asked honestly and my question shook the man to the core.

    He stomped a foot on the ground and a de emerged from the sole of his boot, he then struck at my right thigh with another type of poison.

    I shuddered as my body willingly weed the new poison, "Good, more! Do you have anything else?!" I asked as I twisted my hands and broke both of Chan Gui¡¯s hands.

    The man screeched as he fell to the ground. I slowly removed the two daggers from my chest and liver, then moved to grab Chun Gui from the neck.

    "Are you okay?" Wu Di asked.

    "Never felt better," I said.

    "With all those wounds, man you¡¯re gonna bleed to death!" Xiao Lang said, his slyness no loner there and genuine worry was apparent on his face.

    "Don¡¯t worry, this is actually beneficial to me. Say little monkey, do you have more of that poison?" I asked.

    But the small demon squirmed and spat a needle right into my forehead, another type of poison, it was painful this one, it didn¡¯t taste good and was far weaker than the other poisons.

    "That¡¯s trash, give me the good stuff!" I said as I grabbed the demon¡¯s pouch.

    "What are you doing?" asked the demon "don¡¯t touch my pouch!" he cried but I forcefully opened his holding bag, even with his own mental imprint on it, it felt far easier to open it now that I have a divine sense.

    I threw Chun Gui to the ground and began pulling items from his pouch. He had so many things, most belonging to cultivators that he killed to which I threw to the side and called, "If any one of the sects present here know who these items belong to please approach and take them back. Their deceased owners would feel better with their belongings back to their sects."

    But no one came to reim the treasures. I didn¡¯t care though, I need the poisons from this guy.

    I kept rummaging through his pouch, further pulling more precious treasures that I discarded like the trash they were.

    Chan Gui squirmed and tried to fight against me, willing to pit his life against the humiliation of having his belongings searched in in sight. But a single stomp on his back was enough to force his face into the dirt.

    "Man, that¡¯s just evil..." Xiao Lang said, but he didn¡¯t have a disapproving look only a sly grin.

    "I never imed sainthood," I said then found what I was looking for, a bottle full of corrupted dragon blood.

    "Ah Such exquisite smell," I said to which many frowned.

    "Brother Shen Bao," Wu Di said, his face as white as a sheet as he had his sleeve over his nose. "I think your sense of smell has been damaged while you were under the Heavenly Tribtion."

    "You¡¯re too kind brother Wu Di, Shen Bao, that smells like shit! Literal shit, shit tones of shit man!" Xiao Lang said.

    I grinned as I took a big gulp from the bottle and said, "But it tastes like heaven!" Yuzhen immediately threw up.

    Wu Di¡¯s already pale face grew paler. But when he saw my body immediately healing, he didn¡¯tment.

    "Brother Shen Bao¡¯s cultivation is peculiar. That corrupted dragon blood cannot be used for anything good, it¡¯s not even valuable for alchemy even if it¡¯s rare as it tends to destroy ingredients, the most useful thing to use it for is poison, but you¡¯re drinking it like its some good wine." Wu Di shook his head.

    "You seem knowledgeable about alchemy," I said.

    "It would be a good topic to discuss if not for some certain...hassles," Wu Di said as he gestured with his chin at the man under my foot.

    "Oh, dead? No, ah you¡¯re faking being dead," I said as I kicked the man in the ribs to which he winced.

    "Get up, get your stuff and get out of my sight, as for the things that belong to these cultivators you¡¯re not allowed to take them with you," I said as I threw his pouch back to him.

    "You¡¯re sure you wanna let him go?" Wu Di said.

    "I¡¯m not so evil to kill someone who brought me something so useful, but if he tries anything," I said as I consciously forced my divine sense on him.

    "I will never show my face in front of you! Please let me go oh great Shen Bao." Chan Gui said pleading with tears streaming down his face.

    s

    ¡¯Bruh, you can seriouslypete for an oscar with that act.¡¯

    "Just piss off," I said and turned to Wu Di, "That drink was so good I don¡¯t even feel sore anymore, I¡¯ll still need to consolidate my cultivation, how about we go and have a bite?" I asked.

    "Yeah, we can apany you, but a bite... I doubt I¡¯ll have the stomach to eat anything today..." Xiao Lang said, and from the look of Wu Di and the disheveled Yuzhan, I suppose they were right.

    "Well, I¡¯m hungry," I said "So please lead the way."

    The group moved out and I followed after.

 Chapter 87 Fungal Greeds Torment

    <h4>Chapter 87: Fungal Greed''s Torment</h4>

    Once we entered the inn, I ordered several courses of food, for some reason I was famished beyond humanly possible, and I ate and ate, tearing through meat, fish and whatever was presented to me.

    The group with me looked at me as if I was a monster, but I didn¡¯t care, I bit through pork thighs with gravy dripping down my mouth as I gulped wine like water, and continued eating.

    "Brother Shen Bao, you should chew, otherwise you¡¯ll have stomach troubles," Xiao Lang said grinning.

    After chewing a couple of times, not thanks to his advice but in preparation for a retort I said, "I¡¯m so hungry I think that I¡¯ll be wasting time chewing. Want a bite?" I said as I handed Xiao Lang the pig¡¯s thigh, but he shook his head and raised both his hands, "I¡¯m sorry, still no stomach to eat. Especially after that disy earlier."

    I shrugged, "More for me then," and I continued eating.

    "A satiety pill should help you calm your hunger wouldn¡¯t it?" Wu Di asked.

    I shook my head, "My body, for some reason is demanding sustenance, a satiety pill can help keep hunger away but I feel that I¡¯ll copse. Use your divine sense," I said.

    Immediately, a probing wave of energy came against my body and lingered a bit over my muscles then retreated, Wu Di¡¯s expression turnedplex.

    "What¡¯s going on?" asked Xiao Lang.

    "Shen Bao is right, his body is on the verge of deterioration, it seems that the heavenly tribtion lightning had burnt so much of his muscles that when it tried to heal him back, it focused on sustaining his muscles with nutrients his body had before." Wu Di said.

    s

    "That doesn¡¯t make sense, usually the Heavenly Tribtion grants the cultivators that survive it heavenly Qi, it doesn¡¯t interfere with their bodies to force rejuvenation." Xiao Lang said.

    Only I knew the answer to that question and I wasn¡¯t going to share. Actually, the Heavenly Tribtion isn¡¯t really a dick of a super omniscient power. It¡¯s actually...nice.

    Basically, in terms that everyone could easily understand, the Tribtion caused me pain, and after surviving the punishment, I felt sorry and wanted to apologize so usually it would offer Qi to help cultivators heal back from the damage that it caused them with bonus. But, I cannot cultivate heavenly Qi, and Heavens is proud, and wouldn¡¯t want to be known as not merciful, it couldn¡¯t heal me using its own powers, so it used the second best thing, my body, and forced it to rejuvenate the wounds and damage. But the downside to the second option heaven chose, was that it was I who¡¯s going to pay the price. For whatever selfish reason, heavens thought that it did me a favor by forcing my body to heal up. It did more harm than good, but thankfully I can easily supplement the nutrients that were forced to regenerate me with food, a lot of food.

    I continued eating, vegetables for fibers, no matter how disgusting, meat for protein, fish bones even for calcium, and even fish eyes for various fats and other amino acids that were within foods that I didn¡¯t bother thinking too much before eating.

    After an hour of feasting, I had so many people watching our table with frightened looks. They couldn¡¯t believe how many tes had been presented to my table only to have been emptied immediately afterward.

    "MOAR!" I said as I struck a mug on my table, and a servant hurried to pour me drink as another took the tes from the table and ced another te full of dumplings.

    "It feels like Shen Bao is more serious against food than the Heavenly Tribtion," Xiao Lang said and Yuzehan giggled at his statement. That simple sentence caused the rest of the people in the inn to smile.

    "Brother Shen Bao, congrattions on attaining Core Formation!" one random cultivator said as he stood on my table, from his pouch he pulled a mug full of wine and ced it on my table.

    I took the mug and emptied it on one gulp, then mmed the bottom of the mug on the table in ecstatic joy, "Good wine!"

    "I¡¯m d you like it," the cultivator said and then left the area.

    More cultivators came in, some even shared some exotic foods they had in their pouches and ced them on the table.

    I was surprised by the actions the cultivators had done, and when I asked Wu Di why he said, "Simple, you stomped all over that Chan Gui, giving back face to the cultivators, though I would have killed him you let him go. But it¡¯s for the best, this way he will live with shame following him forever."

    "Ah," I said as I nodded, there it is again, Face, fuck face. I grumbled under my breath and continued eating.

    Many cultivators offered more foods until one of them came and offered me a mug full of a dark bubbling liquid, it stank of a rancid smell and didn¡¯t look edible at all. The kid who gave me the mug was actually hesitant, it was as if he didn¡¯t think this was a good idea, and from the look of everyone around him, he honestly believed that offering me this mug of bubbling sludge was a bad idea.

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll take it away!" the kid said but I grabbed his hand.

    He yelped in fright, "That¡¯s Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment!" I said.

    "Yes, it¡¯s highly poisonous." The kid said.

    "No, highly toxic!" I shook my head, "Toxic and Poisonous are two different things," I said as I grabbed the mug from his hand and downed it in one gulp, "GOOD!" I screeched as fumes came seething from my mouth.

    The Fungal Greed Torment went down my stomach like heavenly juice, the toxic substance empowered my core and reinforced it, supplementing it from the Qi it had lost in the earlier battle and began rejuvenating me. My whole demeanor began radiating as my body rxed and I no longer felt hungry anymore.

    "That¡¯s some good concentrated stuff! Do you have more?" I asked but the kid shook his head.

    "No worries, you saved me a lot of time, here," I said as I threw the kid a Soul Condensing pill. The whole room buzzed as everyone looked at each other and then a few had some greedy looks in their eyes, mostly pointed at the kid.

    I think I just caused the kid a huge blunder.

    "I can¡¯t ept this!" the kid said as he tried to give me back the pill.

    I shook my head, that¡¯s your payment, I was actually putting the kid in a bad spot but I needed to make a point clear to everyone here.

    One demon saw the pill and approached the kid, "If you don¡¯t want the Soul Condensing Pill I¡¯ll make sure to take good care of it, let me keep it safe for you."

    The demon was a stereotypical hulking mass of muscles with two horns, scuffed hair, tworge frontal fangs protruding from his lower jaw. He had a club strapped to his back and was wearing pants and had his upper torso bare for everyone to see the rippling muscles in them. A typical bully.

    "Kid, do you remember when I told you that the Fungal Greed Torment is toxic and not poison?"

    The kid was at a loss as therge man was stilling his way with a snide smile on his face and extended hand as if expecting the pill to be handed without question.

    "Y-yes."

    "Let me give you a small demonstration on the difference between poison and toxin." I snapped my fingers and the hulking mass of muscles convulsed, his eyes flipped behind his skull and fell frothing at the mouth. Dead.

    "This is a toxin," I said and immediately everyone shuddered at what just happened. Unable to understand how the hulking man died before even knowing how.

    "Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment, it¡¯s a mushroom that has a small microorganism living within it." I said as I stood up, "In a sense, the Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment, the nt itself is harmless, yet it cannot live without that small microorganism that creates toxin while it lives above the nt, and that toxin itself is what nurtures this nt. They cohabit. The Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment Is called that way because most people see it they confound it with gold ingots. As its golden color attracts the attention of many people who touch it and die immediately after it¡¯s toote."

    "But there was no gold in the mug you drank," Wu Di said.

    "Yes, because the moment the Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment is ripped from its root, it turns ck as charcoal, a final ironical sneer at the man who was blinded by greed and pulled his own doom with his won hands."

    "Still, how did this guy die?" Xiao Lang asked, "You didn¡¯t even touch him, nor did I see you attack."

    "Oh now, did you," I said as I grinned, use your divine sense, everyone should but don¡¯t focus on the people around you, but the air itself," I said.

    The moment I said that everyone in the room had their face turn pale as a sheet of paper.

    "What the hell! What is that?!" Everyone had the same question as fear gripped their hearts.

    "That¡¯s Toxin!" I said grinning. "This little kid here," I pointed "Was carrying a time bomb, the mug," I said and used my own Divine Sense to see what everyone was seeing.

    The mug on the table was constantly releasing toxin in the room so much of it that it flooded the whole room, but it was harmless.

    "The mug was what killed this man," I said.

    "But, why didn¡¯t it harm us?" Wu Di said.

    "Well, it was simple, the toxin will not affect a man that I didn¡¯t want it to affect."

    The crowd was even more bewildered.

    The toxin would only affect a person that has been in direct contact with it, and since only I was the one who drank it, I¡¯m the new host of the microorganisms, and as their host..." I grinned "I¡¯m their king and if I want someone dead, they¡¯ll be dead." I said as I waved my hand.

    Anyone with their divine sense active would notice that the micro-organisms in the air came rushing toward me and affixed themselves on my body.

    "Damn, for a second there I thought you had us all as hostages," Xiao Lang said.

    "If I wanted to take a hostage, I would have done so without the need of the Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment. I have many other poisons," I said and sat down.

    "You should take that mug and burn it, even if I had drunk most of it, there is still toxin there," I said to the kid and he immediately took the mug and threw it in a nearby firece.

    "You should always have your divine sense active, lest you die without knowing how," I advised everyone in the room and they all took it seriously. This was no joke, they just realized that death could happen to them without them knowing.

    "Divine sense expends a lot of Qi, we can¡¯t have it active all the time." Some random cultivator said.

    "Then don¡¯t spread it around you like a globe, just have it right above your skin, like a secondyer of skin, this way you¡¯ll sense if something forging was trying to invade your body," I said.

    "Many thanks!" one of the kids around me said, "Senior Shen Bao, you¡¯ve taught us a valuable lesson, I¡¯m indebted to you."

    I shrugged and waved the man off, "No worries, advice costs nothing." I said to the kid, and the rest all began sping their hands at me.

    "You¡¯re bing more and more famous Brother Shen Bao," Wu Di said.

    "It¡¯s just basic human decency, if everyone shared advice we¡¯ll be better people, but most be arrogant due to the power they obtain when they cultivate and forget their origins. We¡¯re all humans no matter how far on the path of Dao we go, we¡¯ll never change the fact that we¡¯re humans. And I¡¯m not talking about the human race I said as I looked at a few demons that were in the room, "I¡¯m talking about being a good person in a world where no one takes a second look at beggars in the street and deem anyone weaker than them nothing but trash, a kind word for the right person can flip their lives around. Demon, human, or celestial, we¡¯re all capable of emotion, and if we¡¯re able to share advice and be kind to the other we can progress far."

    "Wise words!" someone spoke and his own words caused my body to shake, it seemed that someone powerful was listening to us.

    s

    Suddenly a man apanied by the three demons who raised the barrier when I was breaking through inside this very in came.

    He had a hood over his face and was covered from head to toe with arge robe.

    "Seems that you¡¯re far wiser than I expected," the ma said as he removed his hood and I saw a demon not older than the age of forty standing in thepany of the three other ¡¯guards?¡¯

    Several demons immediately kowtowed to the man, "Hail his majesty Tarta¡¯Ghoul!"

    ¡¯Ah shit, this is the guy whose daughter I ogled at when she was naked. Well, this is gonna be interesting.

 Chapter 88 Heart Flame

    <h4>Chapter 88: Heart me</h4>

    Shit, this is going to be problematic, Tarta¡¯Ghoul, king of the demons in this region is no pushover, he seems to be on the cusp of reaching the Soul Formation stage. But he is definitely stopping his progress and chose to remain on the nascent soul stage.

    Not to mention, the three guards around him are all at the Nascent Soul, a fight here will definitely end with me dead, especially since the Laws of this world forbid me from using X at his full power. Only X¡¯s Soul formation power is enough to threaten the existence of these people. Still, so far they haven¡¯t attacked me so I¡¯m sure there is a way out of this blunder with his daughter and all.

    "Thank you for your praise," I said as I raised a mug that has been filled for me immediately. Fully ignoring the mass of demons bowing to the king.

    "Brat! You should bow to the king!" one of the demons near me said.

    "Brat?" I said as I frowned at the man then stood up from where I was sitting. "You seem to have forgotten what had just happened a few seconds ago?" I said as I made a finger-snapping gesture.

    "Please calm down fellow cultivator Shen Bao!" the king said his voice didn¡¯t have any threatening tone to it. But it was serious, as the tone of a ruler who expected to be obeyed.

    "I¡¯m not a fan of listening to others," I said, "Nor bowing to those who do not rule over me."

    "I would really appreciate if you could forgive this person, he is a patriot to the demon n and had seen disgraces in you not bowing, though I¡¯ll never force another cultivator to bow to me if I didn¡¯t lord over them, I¡¯m not your king so I do not expect your bow, this child has not understood that so please don¡¯t take it personally, he is just a good patriot."

    I waved the sniveling demon away and turned to face the king, "You¡¯re wise." I said grinning.

    "Thank you, ites with age and responsibility. How may I call you?" asked Tarta¡¯Ghoul.

    s

    I already know he knows my name but this gesture of his was a show of goodwill.

    "I¡¯m Shen Bao," I said.

    "Good name, Silver Dragon, you seem like a dragon among men. I was told of your battle against heaven¡¯s tribtion. Not even my tribtion was asparable to yours, you¡¯re a beacon to the younger generation." The kingplimented. Empty words but courtesy costs nothing.

    I sped my hands to Tarta¡¯Ghoul and said, "Many thanks for your high praise. To what do I owe the pleasure of this royal visit?" I said.

    "We¡¯ve received word that you have failed to partake in the Lord¡¯s Tourney. Seeing that you have just reached the Core Formation, it would be a waste to not have you among the participants."

    I frowned, thought this tourney sounds all good, it¡¯s all about killing the others for some stupid ranking, I¡¯m more interested in the good stuff that can be found in this small world than fighting pointless fights.

    "I¡¯m not interested in killing people just for the sake of killing."

    Tarta¡¯Ghoul nced at the body of the big bully demon that was on the floor and raised one brow at me.

    "Euh, he had iting, he shouldn¡¯t have tried to steal a gift I gifted to another person," I replied, rather embarrassed but I didn¡¯t show it.

    "Still, it¡¯s not all about the killing, it seems that the rules haven¡¯t been fully exined to you," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    "I was not eligible so I suppose no one cared to fully exin the rules to me."

    "Right then allow me to do so in their stead, In these Demonnds, the fights against other disciples are only a preparation to allow a hundred disciples to enter the Lord¡¯s Forbidden Valley. There are only one hundred tokens that can allow people entry into the Valley, and they have all been randomly thrown all over the demonnds. Many tokens have been found and their owners are hiding them, and the fights are mainly to take another person¡¯s token. If you receive a token you¡¯ll be allowed entry to the valley, which will open tomorrow."

    "Oh," I thought and then received a message directly into my head, the voice belonged to Wu Di, "Me, Xiao Lang, and Yuzehan all have tokens, I already discussed with them that if we were to find another one we¡¯ll hand it to you."

    "Right then, so now that I know the rules what benefits will I obtain from this valley?" I asked.

    "Many, actually, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s probably going to benefit the most from the valley," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    A bewildered look was clearly painted on my face as Tarta¡¯Ghoul exined. "The Lord¡¯s Forbidden Valley isn¡¯t forbidden just to emphasize its name, it actually hosts one of the most dangerous areas of these demonnds, not even the other Demon Kings can enter it freely.

    "Oh, so you¡¯re not the only king in these ins?"

    "How can I be, the demonnds expand to hundreds of millions of miles."

    ¡¯Again with the overexaggerated mge, hundreds of millions of miles is not something that can be grasped with simple measures, hell even the distance from the earth to mars is 54 million miles, and that¡¯s the minimum distance it could increase to more than 400 miles if they are on the farthest parts of their orbits. Hell, even the fastest shuttle from earth¡¯s technology would take nine months of constant travel just to get to Mars. And they are describing the mge of this small world with such huge numbers.¡¯

    The absurdity of this distance distracted me for a bit before the next words the king said brought me back to reality.

    "Every one of the four demon kings will send their own disciples, cultivators, and demons to the valley, there is where the realpetition will start."

    "Then isn¡¯t it pointless to have this mass ughter happening within your territory? Shouldn¡¯t you just personally hand over the token to the most eligible?" I asked.

    Tarta¡¯Ghoul shook his head, "It would not be fair, luck is also an aspect of one¡¯s power, luck to find the token even if one is weak, luck to escape the hunt, and luck to actually steal the treasures from the valley, I won¡¯t interfere with the destiny of the cultivators if they are lucky enough to find the tokens who am I to take it from them and hand it to one who is unworthy of fate¡¯s eyes no matter how strong they are."

    "Seems rather arbitrary, but still your kingdom your rules," I replied. "But what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

    "Right, there is something I¡¯d like for you to bring me." The king said.

    I didn¡¯t like where this was going, "It¡¯s a ck Nether Rose."

    The hell is that? I wondered but my body shuddered immediately.

    The poison god¡¯s book seemed restless the moment it heard the words.

    And I received a message in my head.

    *****

    ck Nether Rose.

    A sublime alchemical ingredient that can help a cultivator remove evil energy from their body and increase their cultivation speed.

    As a poison Cultivator, The ck Nether Rose is highly lethal to you, but if you refine it using the energy of a Yin Origin Flower that you already consumed it can switch its attributes to increase the Evil Energy within you, making your Poison Qi far more lethal and allow you to use it to better ends. I have managed to find one of these ck Nether Roses in my travels and it helped me greatly.

    As a poison cultivator, you¡¯re bound to the Demonic path, it¡¯s ruthless, sordid, and evil, you¡¯re unbound by morals, right and wrong mean nothing to you, but at the same time, you cannot go against your own heart¡¯s wish.

    You are evil, but a demonic path viin. Unlike a Devil path¡¯s viin who needs to consume the lives of people, ravage their bodies, and instill terror in the world, a Demonic Cultivator is spared from such deeds and does not need to do them.

    For example, a Devil Cultivator can cultivate a skill called, Death Sentence, it allows him to kill a man with a single thought if they were even one realm below them, and cause grievous internal injury if they were the same realm. But to cultivate this technique a Devil Path Cultivator would need to kill at least one person every day, and sacrifice a hundred unborn children every five years. If he misses one day, he will be killed by his own skill.

    These are the limitation of the Devil Path, they give amazing abilities but the costs are too weighty on one¡¯s conscious.

    The ck Nether Rose would find more use for a Devil cultivator but even as a Demon path Cultivator you¡¯ll find great opportunities to it.

    However, beware of the dangers of the ck Nether Rose. It will cause you madness and make you lose your sanity if you were to go against your own heart even once. You will fully fall from the Demonic Path and into the depraved Devil Path. Though if it is your wish, I shall never go against you. You¡¯re my disciple and your happiness and future mean more to me than what the world thinks of you, even if I truly wish not to see you fall to the Devil Cultivation path.

    ****

    I thought a lot about what the book had mentioned and immediately came to an answer, "Why do you wish to obtain such an evil thing?" I asked.

    "It¡¯s not for me," replied Tarta¡¯Ghoul, "In fact, if you find it I would rather you destroy it. Vitra¡¯Ghoul, my rival in another demonic country is actually preparing a great insurgence of people to go to the valley, he wishes to obtain it and elevate his cultivation, once he has the ck Nether Rose he wille at me and my people and raze us to the ground, he has been cultivating a devil technique that will make him unparalleled in his same realm, and if he were to obtain the ck Nether Rose, then no one will be spared from his power, he will annex the whole demonnds and will focus his attention at the world above."

    "I see, but why me? Why not everyone else, though I hardly care about this world nor if this Virta¡¯Ghoul guy assaulting the world of cultivators, it¡¯s really not my ce to interfere, I have no benefits from this and I¡¯ll only end up facing another person if I were to vie for things he wants."

    "It has to be you, especially after your disy. Because the ck Nether Rose is inside a rift filled with poisonous creatures and herbs inside the Lord¡¯s Valley. Even with innumerable treasures, we couldn¡¯t obtain the rose, but it seems that Vitra¡¯Ghoul is going to send an entire army to get the rose uncaring about the consequences, and if he throws his whole force there, and obtains it, it will be a win for him."

    I thought carefully about this, if what this man is saying is true, then I¡¯ll be going to a very beneficial ce for me and my cultivation, but there is one thing that¡¯s bothering me.

    I focused my will and divine sense and managed to link my mind to Tarta¡¯Ghoul, "You¡¯ve been speaking freely in the presence of so many people aren¡¯t you afraid that there could be a spy among them and will warn Vitra¡¯Ghoul about this? I think you¡¯re actually trying to use me as a scapegoat or a distraction, you must have another reason?" I said.

    I instantly received a divine sense reply, "Brother Shen Bao is wise, but actually this is to your own benefit."

    "Howe, all I understood is that there is nothing beneficial to me, I¡¯ll be used and won¡¯t gain a thing." Besides the poison but I won¡¯t rify that to him.

    "I have heard words that you had many pills, too many for any regr cultivator, pills you consumed when facing the heavenly tribtion, and pills you used when gifting children, I say you¡¯re an alchemist." The man said.

    "And what does that have to do with anything?" I asked, I have yet to verify this man¡¯s words for true or false.

    "Because I have a map to a treasure far too enticing for you not to go there," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said. and I waited for a reply.

    s

    "When one of my henchmen was in the Poison Rift, he was chased by a Fifth-Tier beast, a Venom Spitting Skrk," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said. "And in his escape, he managed to find a small cave where he hid and actually almost died inside that cave. He found a Heart me."

    ¡¯Oh, now this is really interesting!¡¯

    "Say, what color was that me?" I asked.

    "The best one for you... a green one." Tartha¡¯Ghoul said, his eyes confident and his posture inviting.

    My mouth twitched as a wide grin crept up my face, "Isn¡¯t that fascinating!"

 Chapter 89 Crimson Cultivators Pouch

    <h4>Chapter 89: Crimson Cultivator''s Pouch</h4>

    I shuddered with anticipation, a Heart me, here in this world? It¡¯s not something easy to find, hell even in the worlds where the Poison God traveled to, heart mes are as rare as phoenixes and dragons. And a green one at that, that¡¯s just a godsent.

    The poison Book had already mentioned heart mes in one of its passages in alchemy, but I didn¡¯t give it much thought due to the difficulty of finding one, especially in a lower world such as the one I¡¯m in, or at least the entirety of the country of Zhou, heart mes are so rare that the book mentioned that there could only be one or two in entire sr systems.

    The heart mes are a strange thing, they¡¯re the best thing that one can use to heat up their cauldrons or outright use them directly to quench, purify and extract essence to make pills. They¡¯re spirits of fire condensed and gathered after eons in secluded ces. And once they¡¯re matured, a person cane and refine them for their own use, making the heart me a part of them.

    The heart mes are divided by color but not power because every heart me is as strong as its sister in the same rank. Yes, heart mes can also be cultivated to reach higher ranks.

    Another thing, the color of the Heart me is rted to its ability to create certain pills. A blue one is the best to create cold-type pills, Yin rted, a red one is best to make Yang-type pills, heat, and fire. There are also ck heart mes though they are weaker in creating pills, but they¡¯re best when used in Dark-type attacks, curses, or ghost cultivation. As for the Green Heart me, it is the best one to create poisons. Even the Poison God managed to get a heart me, only he didn¡¯t find it, but rather bought it from an auction.

    I was not going to waste this opportunity so I nodded at the old man, "Too much risk still," I said. "You¡¯re nning on using me as bait, if this Vitra¡¯Ghoul knows I¡¯ll be after the rose, he will definitely try and get me killed, but you¡¯re trying to use me as a distraction so that Vitra¡¯Ghoul focuses on me while you do your own thing and try to get the rose for yourself."

    "I¡¯m rather impressed, though no one would dare admit it, I shall, you¡¯ve read through my thoughts."

    "Then I can expect being betrayed," I said.

    "That is if you are caught, I¡¯ve already heard that for some strange reason you managed to use a flying treasure, so you¡¯ll have a great advantage, as for me I¡¯ll also be sending a group of cultivators after you, in case you die or fail they¡¯ll do their best to destroy the rose, but I will instruct them, that if you manage to obtain it, that you shalle to no harm, also here," the demon king said ad threw me a piece of paper.

    I immediately swiped it with my hand and put it in my pouch, "This is?" I asked.

    s

    "It¡¯s the map for the Green Heart me," Tarta¡¯Ghoul replied with all seriousness.

    "Then aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll get the heart me and ignore the rose altogether."

    "You can, but you¡¯ll literally have to pass by the rose before you get the me, all I ask is for you to destroy it, it shouldn¡¯t take more than a fraction of a second of your time to have me in your favor." The king said.

    ¡¯Too many variables, too many risks, too many kings with armies after the same rose and I¡¯m alone in the middle, though I have the advantage of poison, and flight, the numerical advantage is a monster on its own. Courage cannot beat numbers, and numbers can kill a lion. Still, greed, a vicious and insidious gue in one¡¯s heart, I cannot bear to give up such an amazing treasure, a green heart me is not something that I can give up this easy, but I¡¯m not too stupid to risk my life based on the words of a man I just met.¡¯

    "You said that a man that has been to the valley had seen the heart me," I said, I wanted to make sure that this was not a trap.

    "Yes," the old man replied.

    "And he still lives, why didn¡¯t he try and refine the me?" I asked. Because this wasn¡¯t simple, a heart me is too damn hot for anyone below the Soul Formation level to survive, and thews of this small demon world forbid the rise to this cultivation level within this realm.

    "I believe you don¡¯t trust my words, but it¡¯s only natural, you can ask the man yourself," the king turned his head for a moment sending a divine sense message to a hooded man next to him.

    The hooded man removed his hood and I saw it scarred with vicious burn marks. The demon then sent me a message, "I was only at the peripherical limit of the heart me and was damaged this much when I tried to refine it. I knew I didn¡¯t have the ability to obtain the heart, and we sent even more people but none of them came back alive. If you¡¯re an alchemist, you¡¯ll probably have a better chance." The man said then covered his face.

    I sent another divine sense to the king and said, "I¡¯ve seen enough proof, the burns of Heart me is true, they cannot be healed unless one reaches above their cultivation realm or reforge their bodies. Yourpanion here is heavily damaged and I believe that only a heart me can cause such damage that it will hinder a person¡¯s progress through the cultivation path." I replied.

    "Then I believe you¡¯re satisfied." The king said.

    "More than enough, but there is one issue left," I said.

    "Which is?" the king asked his expressions bing grimmer due to my unending questioning.

    "How can I ess the valley if I didn¡¯t partake in the tourney, I don¡¯t have a token."

    "That¡¯s something easy to manage," the old man said and threw me a green circr token with a golden inscription on it. Tomb of Lords.

    I frowned for a bit after seeing the words Tomb of Lords, it seems this ce is more like a graveyard than a valley and the naming sense had changed.

    "Once you use your token to enter, it will disappear only to appear once the demon gates open once again." The king said. "Now rest, tomorrow is a grand day."

    Then Tarta¡¯Ghoul and hispany left the inn.

    "What the hell was that, you¡¯ve spoken mostly in sending, and I have no idea what was going on half the time, why does he want you to go to such a dangerous ce?" Xiao Lang asked.

    "Sometimes, it¡¯s best to be ignorant about matters, lest you¡¯re forced to reveal answers you wish not to have known," I said and Xiao Lang immediately quieted down, he understood that what I¡¯m about to do entailed something dangerous and he would rather not know things he didn¡¯t need to.

    "I¡¯ll take my leave for the night, I have something to do," I said and left.

    After whistling once, Arn came bounding and stopped in front of me, "You¡¯ve been out for a while, did you find any caves?"

    The lion nodded, "Take me to it," I said and jumped above the armored lion.

    The creature dashed forward and pounced above the city gate, not waiting for the guards to even open them, then he continued running until he reached into the forest and began changing directions. Soon we arrived at a cave that had a couple of blood wolves inside it, but a single growl from Arn had the wolves running away, whimpering and with their tails behind their backs.

    s

    I went inside and pulled out the pouches of a cultivator that I had not opened since the day I found it. The crimson-robed cultivator from the Poison God¡¯s Cave.

    That man had something on his pouch that the poison god¡¯s book denied me to open, and now, it seems that it no longer had the same danger to me as the poison god¡¯s book didn¡¯t react.

    Once I used my divine sense on the pouch, I noticed a restriction on it, it was a killing formation a small one made by a great inscriber, meant to kill anyone who didn¡¯t have the right key to open this pouch.

    I sighed, I could have actually opened this the moment I learned inscriptions, but I thought it was some sort of curse or something else that might be too dangerous to tackle at the time.

    After using my brush and a few quick strokes, I broke through the inscription on the pouch and opened it. Finding inside it massive numbers of spirit stones, jewels, gold and a lot of clothes, even random house decorations, but on one side, there were some things I didn¡¯t expect to find.

 Chapter 90 Sky Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 90: Sky Pearl</h4>

    In the pouch of the Crimson robed Cultivator were many impressive things.

    Bodhi roots, Dragon Grass extract, Fluoric Crimson Acid, a seventh-tier demonic creature horn, even some strange-looking weapons, and armors. These things looked far too high grade for that cultivator to have in his pouch. It seems that he managed to steal the treasury of an entire sect and escape with it, only to find doom at the Poison God¡¯s Cave. Even the pouch¡¯s size was massive and it had so many cultivation manuals. Most were trash, nothingparable to the Poison God¡¯s Technique nor the Laughing ughtere¡¯s Sanguine de Arts.

    But there was a single scroll that radiates golden light, it looked torn, an iplete scroll of movement art. I read through it and found it wonderous, the technique to move one¡¯s body to make a person see not one but many clones of a person.

    A golden Scripture, these things were amazing and rarer than Phonix¡¯s Feathers and Qilin horns.

    It¡¯s almost like a cloning technique, but the best thing is. This technique is not as simple as illusions of characters, but one can actually swap their location with any of the clones they create while they¡¯re using this movement technique to actually attack a person or escape from an attack.

    The technique however was missing a majority of its details, and only the part where one can create three clones and exchange positions with them was mentioned, as for even higher application of this said technique, it seems that I¡¯ll need to be lucky to find it or just forget about it. still, this movement technique is good, and if I couldbine it with my poison escape, then I can create something amazing. Clones that can attack and once attacked turn to poison smoke bombs. Pretty amazing stuff.

    I pulled the scroll to the side and continued rummaging through the person¡¯s pouch, most items inside it were good stuff for alchemy and crafting, but there wasn¡¯t anything of great value. Until I found a small blue pearl, it was as big as a baby¡¯s fist, it was inscribed with a great deal of inscriptions, a defensive treasure, but it was a low-quality defensive treasure, what interested me in the pearl was how the moment I had it in my palm, it reflected my face clearly on top of it like a clear mirror.

    I pulled up my brush and began inscribing on the pearl, removing entire rows of inscriptions and adding more. I was going to make this into a pretty damn good defensive treasure, but unlike any other treasure, this small pearl will be one of a kind.

    It took me the better part of a day toy the basicyout of the inscriptions I was going to use. Once I was done, I grabbed the pearl and did what no one would ever think of. I jammed it into my missing eye socket.

    I felt an immediate tingling in my eye, then as if struck by lighting the veins on my face pumped up then the pearl shone brightly as the inscriptions were fully fused to my body.

    s

    After such a long time, I was finally able to see, though not like anyone can. My vision was squeamish, as a matter of fact, my normal eye could see normally, but the fake one was white and ck. It was not a perfect vision, but rather a rough trantion of theyout in front of me. Anyone would think this was nothing but a waste of time as the use of one regr eye is better than this mix of ck and white atop regr colors. But in fact, the monochrome vision wasn¡¯t that bad, it enabled me to see heat signatures, and had another vast array of specialties, for example, I blinked with my fake eye and was actually able to switch the monochrome vision to a full night vision. Even if cultivators had good eyesight, night vision is not easy, most would use their divine sense to see, but what if they¡¯re in a situation where they can¡¯t expand their divine sense, in case it shed with another divine sense and have their location revealed.

    Finally, the best inscription I added was the same one I had on X¡¯s body. Nauseating, torment, and torture illusions if one were to use their divine sense on me. The eye will cause them a sudden shock and would allow me time to either escape or retaliate if in the middle of a fight. Not to mention the ability to project such illusions if I need to.

    The only downside is, I couldn¡¯t use a spirit stone to power this little pearl, and I had to adjust my inscriptions to work with my poison Qi, all thanks to the inscriptions on the Poison God¡¯s flying sword, it already had ayout of a working Poison Qi transfer array that I could use and it easily channeled my inner Qi into the fake eye.

    I still used a patch to cover my eye, it was too big and too blue, and anyone would be irritated by the disproportioned eyes I have, but with a small eye patch, I was able to have all the benefits of the eye without any hindrance to its ability. It could still see heat signatures even if covered.

    Once I was done with the eye and felt ityingfortably in my eye socket, I stood up, it was already morning and I needed to move towards the valley. I did a quick study of the map Tarta¡¯Ghoul gave me and rode on my flying sword.

    Arn whimpered as I was leaving him behind, but after a stern look, and a few words, he understood that it would only bring him harm if I were to take him with me to a poisonous valley. Also, he is pretty big and can be too conspicuous for a stealth mission.

    Now, it¡¯s time to get all stealthy, but why do I have this feeling that as much as stealthy as I wish to be, there was going to be a lot of killing happening in this venture.

    I rode on the Poison God¡¯s flying sword and sped through the terrain, following the map for the Lord¡¯s Tomb. It didn¡¯t take me much to arrive there and find a massive opened cave entrance devoid of people.

    It was only natural, it took me a long time to finish the pearl and anyone who came here had already entered using the token, still seeing a few bodies littering the ground meant that many had lost their lives and had to give up their tokens for others.

    I came down from my sword and ced it in my pouch, then walked into the cave. Just as I arrived to the entrance a barrier appeared in front of me. The barrier had a wide range of inscriptions on it, most of them had been written using the demonic inscriptionnguage. If I were to try ad open the gate by brut forcing it as I did in the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda, I¡¯d certainly die. No, that this barrier was better than an Ascendant Cultivator¡¯s barrier but because this one was a hostile barrier and will immediately kill anyone who tried to tamper with it.

    The token was the only way for me to enter and I had one on my hand.

    The moment I presented the token, the barrier opened up allowing me entry, and just as I set foot on the cave¡¯s floor, I felt a massive surge of spiritual Qi rotating within the cave.

    The cave was small and was more like a tunnel leading inside, and just as I arrived at the other side of the tunnel, I saw the skies, but unlike the demonic red-colored skies of the Demon Lands, the sky inside this Tomb was bright and blue. The whole scenery was an amazing formation of high mountains that were shaped like a massive bowl.

    s

    Though I couldn¡¯t see the whole shape of this ce from my position, looking at the map that Tarta¡¯Ghoul gave me, I could understand theyout of this ce.

    Like I had mentioned the whole ce was like a bowl made of mountains, and the reason why the sky was blue, was due to another inscription that covered this whole area like the cover of a cooking pot. Since thews of the Demonnds forbid flight, no one can fly above this ce and try to enter without the token, and even if they try to climb the steep mountains, they still can¡¯t go beyond the barrier.

    The wholend was massive, it would take months of travel to fully explore the whole Lord¡¯s Tomb. It had valleys, forests, and swamps all over the ce, and the ce where the ck Nether Rose lived was pretty far away from me.

    The map also pointed several entrances to the Lord¡¯s Tomb, four in total, and each was protected and guarded by one of the four demon kings of this Demonnd.

    Finally, there was arge pool in the middle of this ce. And in the middle of this pool was a massive square pir that had a staircase leading all the way to the top. Besides my own mission to obtain the ck Nether Rose and the Viridian Heart me. (Changed the name from Green to Veridian, because it sounds cooler :3) most came here for the Lord¡¯s Tomb, and it was at the top of this pir. There is apetitive ce where cultivators canpete for resources and materials and the rewards are great and beneficial to them. But for me, the Veridian Heart me was far too enticing for me to go and fight for resources that were going nowhere. Though sadly, the Lord¡¯s Tomb will remain open for exactly one month, I¡¯ll need to hurry up.

 Chapter 91 We can all be edge-lords!

    <h4>Chapter 91: We can all be edge-lords!</h4>

    Once I made sure no one was nearby, I summoned my flying sword again and jumped on it, then I followed the map that led to the Poison Valley.

    It took me less than two hours to meet people, a group of demons from Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s kingdom. When they saw me flying through them, they did the unthinkable, trying to use divine sense to scry and investigate me.

    But the moment their divine sense touched my body, the Sky Pearl tingled and its inscriptions were triggered, a bright light shone from behind my eyepatch and then loud screams of pain, and agonized lurching sounds echoed around me.

    I continued unperturbed, leaving a group of cultivators frightened beyond fear, shuddering in their ce.

    It¡¯s quite nasty, if anyone was prepared and knew what to expect, they¡¯ll never use their divine sense like they just did. There were two methods of using one¡¯s divine sense on another person. The first is to forcefully apply it to another person, a pervasive measure to see into the person¡¯s body, meridians, and their cultivation. But this is actually not the best method, not even the Poison God did this because it didn¡¯t just invade a person¡¯s body, but also it would allow the person to retaliate, sending your divine sense into another person¡¯s body was the same as asking for your hand to be chopped.

    The second method was less overbearing, a gentle scry, to have one¡¯s divine sense just be on top of a person¡¯s skin, it would do the same as you could have your divine sense scan the person¡¯s residual spiritual Qi and immediately gouge their strength, and if the other person tried to assault this divine sense since you haven¡¯t pervaded their body, you could easily retract yours. Though the second method was the safest, it was also the mostplicated and required a lot of experience to understand Qi waves that were emanating from another person, because some, cultivators have such deep cultivation that they could easily hide their Qi release and look like mortals. But there were always deeper seas and higher mountains, and experience can make one know the level of another person even if they make themselves look and feel like mortals.

    All of this was mentioned in a passage of the poison god¡¯s book, thankfully, the book still taught me many things, and since I unlocked the Core Formation stage, the book¡¯s instructions were heavily rted to cultivation advice instead of skills and abilities. It seems that the book was preparing me to tackle yet another venture, but it has yet to exin it, I could feel the book trying to teach me on various subjects to cement my cultivation had foundations.

    I continued flying through the forest, with my divine sense spread around me, touching just barely on the rims of objects and not trying to bore through them, I wanted to understand my surrounding before I made the same mistake as those demons just did, it would be unwise to have one¡¯s divine sense spread, inspecting everything lest it would touch upon the body of a ferocious beast that one can¡¯t afford to agitate.

    After a while of traveling, I managed to find a few spiritual nts, nothing too fancy, but still useful seventh-grade herbs. I plucked them and continued moving. I also managed to sense the presence of several Blood Wolves that were running in a pack towards something in the distance. They seemed to be agitated and were in a hurry.

    I decided to follow them but still keep my distance, wolves always choose to run against the wind so that their scent won¡¯t rm their prey, and if I moved using flight behind them they¡¯ll not be alert to me. And as a bonus, they too were going in the same direction of the Poison Valley.

    s

    As I¡¯ve gotten closer, I heard a piercing blow of a flute, it wasn¡¯t a sonorous melody, but more like the screech of one¡¯s fingernails on a ckboard. And the wolves whimpered and they increased their speed. It seems that they¡¯re chasing something.

    After moving behind the wolves for a few more minutes we arrived at a clearing, where the wolves spread out and surrounded a group of cultivators. And among them was a bloodied and wounded kid, the same kid that I gave him a spiritual pill yesterday.

    Among the wolves stood three cultivators two of them were in the middle stage of Core Creation. As for the one who seemed to be their leader seemed to be at least the seventh stage of Core Cultivation., he had an ethereal demeanor, standing tall with a hand behind his back and a smile that made him look like the most pious and noblest of nobles, yet his eyes dripped of venomous greed.

    "Hand it over, Chu, you¡¯re unworthy of that pill, it will do you no good, you don¡¯t have the talent." The leader of the assants said.

    "Be wise kid, Second Prince Wu doesn¡¯t give opportunities too frequently." One of the men next to the boss Wu as his name appears to be, said.

    "Second Prince," another one spoke after licking his face, "There are a couple of beauties with that kid, if I can get you the pill, can I..."

    "Do as you wish, I don¡¯t want to dirty my hand with hitting mud," Second Prince said.

    The bloodied kid struggled to stand up, especially with all the wounds on his body and a few of hisrades lying next to him, heavily injured.

    The kid held a sword with shaky hands and said, "I told you, I already used the pill," he said gritting his teeth.

    "You¡¯re too stupid for your own good, you were already on the cusp of reaching the second realm of Core cultivation, and if you had consumed that pill you¡¯d already broken through, I bet you still have it and wanted to use it after you breakthrough, so that way you¡¯ll jump from second to third directly." The second prince analyzed, and I was impressed, he figured out the kid immediately especially from the look of the kid¡¯s now anxious face.

    "I¡¯ll give you the pill, but you¡¯ll have to let everyone go," the kid said.

    The prince thought for a moment and said, "Okay then," hand it over."

    The kid hesitated for a second and threw the pill at the second Prince. But the moment the pill was in the prince¡¯s hand, his lips curled in a vicious smile, "Fool, you just gave up your only leverage. Kill them," the prince said dismissively and turned away."

    "You liar!" the kid said as the two cultivators approached him, a couple of girls next to the mug kid whimpered as the vicious and lustful looks of the prince¡¯s henchmen looked at them with clothe tearing gazes.

    "I never was honest in any of my deals, and even if, I never was called a liar, do you know why?"?" the prince said and his grin turned even more evil as he looked down at the kid. "Because no one lived to denounce my honesty."

    The kidughed as he raised the pill as if to consume it. But the moment he released it to have it drop down his mouth, nothing fell. I had alreadye down and swooped the pill from him.

    The second prince frowned then looked at me, I was standing right next to him.

    "Old man, what are you doing?" he asked.

    "I can ask you the same question, what are you doing?"

    The kid frowned, his face turned ugly from rage, "Kill him first!" he ordered as he pointed at me.

    "Damn old man, I was going to have some fun but you just came and ruined it," one of the two brawny kids said as he drew his sword and came at me.

    I looked at the man dismissively, with a dead expression as he approached me, sword extending in a sh aimed at my head.

    I had one hand behind my back and raised the other one to block the blow. In truth, blocking a sword blow from a cultivator at the middle stages of Core Formation while I just broke through the firstyer of Core Formation would undoubtedly end up with me being dead, but I used my sleeves to do the job for me.

    The sword struck against my sleeve and broke in two, the residual force from the exchange caused the cultivator who had wide eyes from shock in front of me to stagger and couldn¡¯t evade the tip of Creeping Demise that bore through his neck, in and out and his life was gone.

    The man fell to the ground, dead beyond dead, and not even gods can save him as the poison coating my de did quick work of his vital organs destroying them before he could even breath hisst.

    "W-what?" the second henchmen said.

    s

    "Y-You how dare you kill my underling!" said the pretty boy, but he didn¡¯t seem rash enough to try and avenge him.

    "Do you know who I am?!" he shouted.

    Ah, here ites! The ¡¯do you know who my daddy is¡¯ CRINGE!

    "I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t care, but what I do know is, how dare you take things I have given to others." I looked the man in the eyes.

    "Wait what was the sentence again, ah yes, I remembered... you must be tired of living!" If you want to be edge-lord cringy, then I can also be edge-lord cringy times a hundred.

 Chapter 92 NANI?

    <h4>Chapter 92: NANI?</h4>

    The second henchman jumped into the fray, he used a great curved saber and spun as he swung his de adding more strength to the already clear-cutting ability of the great curved de he had. The man came at me spinning like a top, shy, overbearing, and outright stupid.

    As the spinning sword was about to sh me in two, I took a single step back, then thrust my sword forward exactly when his sword had missed me, and his back was now exposed to me.

    Creeping Demise tore through the man¡¯s back muscles like a needle and stabbed into his upper torso. Luckily it hit his heart, not for me, but for him as he died instantly afterward. Because my sword was coated in poison, if it missed his heart, he¡¯ll have suffered a pain ten times worse than death.

    Thest of the three, had his face pale to the color of ash, he looked at me in fright, yet immediately he roared as if to regain his bearings and shake away his hesitation and frightend emotions.

    He then pulled an ebony flute that was decorated in gold and jade rings. He blew on it and the blood wolves surrounding us howled.

    The pack of wolves came charging at me, to which I turned and opened my mouth then spat a concentrated burst of purple-colored poison, based on the effects of the paralyzing Braided Mourning Petal, thest gift I received from the Purple Cloud Sect.

    The smoke spread out in a pervasive manner as it assaulted the sensitive noses of the enraged wolved then made them shudder and fall unable to move a muscle.

    One of the wolves seemed to have more sense than the rest and decided toe at me from the back, where the poison would take slightly more time to spread.

    As he jumped I held both my hands forward, both of them shaped like the mouth of a snake.

    "Twisted Snake!"

    s

    My hands shed blurred and struck at the dazed wolf. The sight of my hands moving from left to right in utter mesmerizing patterns was so illusionary that the wolf was unable to determine which hand was the one that was going to strike as he lunged at me. Yet no matter how powerful the wolf¡¯s eyesight is, it will only work against it, as he saw my handsing down on him from above his head, my hands had already jabbed at the wolve¡¯s throat, ripping it from its ce. Thest look of the wolf¡¯s eyes was that of confusion mixed with pain.

    The wolf dropped to the ground struggling for onest breath that will nevere, and as for the rest, no matter how strong theplement of that flute it was not as strong as death. For any wolf that wasn¡¯t afflicted with the mortal Braided Mourning Petal, they scurried away whimpering from fear, no one wants to face poison.

    The kid blew his whistle several times over but no wolf, monster or creature replied as he found himself alone, in his own indignation he howled and shouted "I¡¯m almost at the Core Formation Peak, I cannot believe you¡¯ll be my match! Even if you killed these wolves, you¡¯re nothing but a firstyer Core Cultivator!" he said and dashed at me.

    "Take my blow! Fearless Sword!" the kid shouted as he charged at me with an extended thrust.

    Not mentioning the cringiness of this kid¡¯s words his sword skill was actually impressive, it was a good sword art and was quite simr to the Laughing ughterer¡¯s own Sanguine de. But...

    I pulled Creeping demise,pared to the man¡¯s massive Liang Sword, mine was like a needle, but I had a slight advantage, I was calm. And the kid, even if he used whatever art, he had would have a hard time piercing through my clothes, clothes I inscribed and crafted using the skin of that Jade Serpent X killed in the Laughing ughterer¡¯s training grounds.

    The kid¡¯s sword tried to pierce through my chest and I grinned as I charged at the kid using the Laughing ughtere¡¯s own sword art, Sanguine Thrust.

    My sword, my motions my whole body lunged forward like an unsheathed de, disregarding any thoughts of self-preservation and charging in an attack that will be the pinnacle of trade of life.

    The kid noticed myck of regard for self-preservation as I looked like I was about to impale myself on his sword, but at the same time, if I were to seed, I will have his life as well.

    ¡¯Fearless sword you said, that¡¯s nothing but talk,¡¯ I grinned as the kid realized what was going to happen if he kept moving. Fear and the thought of losing one¡¯s life, especially someone as sheltered as this kid, someone who is a ¡¯prince¡¯ and has been doing whatever he pleased for all of his life, he would never dare risk his life against a ¡¯nobody¡¯ and the obvious result came in immediately.

    The kid faltered, and tried to forcefully stop his charge, he dodged to the side only to have me capitte on his hesitation. I was not as strong as him, nor as fast, clearly from the difference in cultivation, but all that advantage he had was lost because he hesitated for a moment. The time it took him to cancel his attack and change his direction was already more than enough for me to close the gap and actually nick the kid¡¯s left arm.

    The kid skidded to the side, huffing, his face paler than a ghost, "YOU MAD! If you want to die why the hell do you want to bring me with you!" just as he finished his words, he lurched a disgusting pile of blood.

    "W-what the fuck?" the kid said, his body was already shuddering.

    I usheathed creeping demise and walked away from the kid and toward the boy and two girls with him.

    "Where the hell do you think..." the kid¡¯s words were stopped by another fit of throwing up blood, he wiped the blood from his mouth, pointed at me with his sword and said again, "This prince hasn¡¯t allowed you to leave yet!"

    "The hell are you talking about? Omai wa mo...Shindeiru," (Sorry but I really had to XD)

    "The hell are you saying?" the kid replied, confusion and mild nausea clear on his face.

    I smiled at the prince, "You wouldn¡¯t get it." and turned away from him to the kids before the prince¡¯s face began shuddering, his limbs shaking and then he fell face forward with his eyes rolled back.

    I shook my head, not at the kid¡¯s death, but the cruelty of my own self, though I don¡¯t regret having killed him, I only regret myck of emotion at the death of three persons. Such sadness, such is this life. Life means nothing in a world of cultivation, and only the strong thrive.

    Especially, since in a world of cultivation, people and monsters are so numerous that the death of a few hundred thousand isn¡¯t even worth mentioning in some countries. Death happen all the time, and it seems that even my moralpass has been adjusted to fit into this world¡¯s view of human life.

    "Kid, you should take good care of your own possessions," I said.

    The kid looked at me with angry eyes and said, "To bepletely fair, you shoved this lot of problem down my throat, I never asked for that pill, and even if you wanted to reward me, privacy man!" the kid said and sighed.

    "Do you regret having the pill?" I asked. Though it was unfair to the kid I wanted to know his real answer.

    "No, birds die for food and man dies for wealth, this pill will help me along the martial path, and if it brings issues such as these, then I¡¯m sure it¡¯s worth the trouble. Still, you should really be careful uncle Shen Bao," the kid said.

    ¡¯uncle again, yeah, I remember my appearance changed from an old man to that of a middle old man.¡¯

    "Why is that?" I asked.

    "Well, that kid you just killed, is the second prince of King Wu, from the Futian Kingdome, it¡¯s a neighboring kingdom to the Zhou Country."

    Not fully understanding where the kid was going I gestured to him to continue exining.

    "Sigh, well, King Wu has seven children, they¡¯re all vying for his throne once he dies, though he wouldn¡¯t bat an eye if one of his sons killed each other for the throne, don¡¯t expect him to sit tight as a random person kills his son."

    "How is he to know who killed his son? I left no witnesses, unless you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll be a little tell-tale." I said as I ced my hand on the hilt of my sword."

    s

    "Hold up!" the kid said as he raised both hands in surrender "You somehow don¡¯t know this apparently, which is pretty weird, the princes and people of high regards, geniuses of sects and anyone with an interesting title, life or regard to certain factions or sect would usually have a sliver of their souls inside a jade piece, and these jade pieces would break once the life of said person has been imed. Also it allows the jade to disy onest image of the person who killed the jade owner."

    "Basically they have a mug-shot of me. Well that¡¯s not good," I frowned.

    "Technically, it¡¯s not that grave, as long as you don¡¯t ever set foot in the Wu Kingdom, you¡¯ll be mostly okay, unless the king sends hired killers and assassins after you, which I doubt would not happen." the kid replied in an infuriating shrug.

    I sighed, "Man, so much trouble for an arrogant prick," I said as I went to the three kids and took their holding bags.

    Their content was not bad, especially the prince, he already had defensive treasures on him, but sadly he never used any of them, and the most interesting was the flute.

 Chapter 93 Into the Poison Valley

    <h4>Chapter 93: Into the Poison Valley</h4>

    I inspected the flute as much as I could, besides the small grooves of jade and beautiful designs, there was nothing inside it that would exin why it could influence other animals. No inscriptions and no source of power or energy. This thing was strange.

    I kept the flute on my person as I went to check up on the kid and the two girls with him.

    "Any injuries?" I asked as I looked at the abashed group of kids.

    "A few scratches and some bruises, Han¡¯Er has a broken rib though, she can¡¯t continue forward, I think we¡¯ll stay near the exit of the Lord¡¯s Tomb until she heals." The kid said, but worry was clear on his face.

    "Here you go kid," I said as I threw him a pill bottle.

    "Damn, old man, thest pill you gave me brought with it some trouble, now a whole bottle, heck If this wasn¡¯t healing pills I say you are tempting fate to kill me." The kid said smilingly, though I understood that he meant it as a joke I failed to understand the meaning.

    "If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll take it back," I said as I showed him my hand.

    "No, no! we¡¯re really in need of these, here, Han¡¯Er, Xue¡¯er," he said and he handed the girls a pill each that they ate and sat meditating.

    "I¡¯m in your debt Shen Bao, I¡¯ll make sure to repay this favor when I can." the kid said.

    I waved my hand in dismissal, "Don¡¯t worry about it." Still, I was impressed as I looked at the group.

    s

    ¡¯Han¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, the suffix at the end mean a close person, family? Perhaps even lover If it¡¯s thetter, damn, this kid can pull.¡¯ I grinned a the kid and turned to leave.

    "Are you leaving, uncle Shen Bao?" the kid asked.

    "Yes, I still have a mission to do."

    "Right, the Rose." The kid replied.

    I frowned, "To be honest I actually understand now how privacy could help a lot, that damn Tarta¡¯Ghoul should have ryed the mission to me in private.

    "I guess it¡¯s payback for you having peeped at his daughter."

    "Heck, kid, you think I look like a creepy old peeping tom?"

    "Actually, you have an evil expression to you, so I wouldn¡¯t deny it."

    "Courting death aren¡¯t you!" I said feigning anger.

    The kid held both his hands "I apologize, I¡¯ll never do it again!" he said also feigning apology, the kid was nice and had a good air about him.

    "Hope to see youter, train well, and train hard," I said then I headed towards the Poison Valley. The map that Tarta¡¯Ghoul gave me had clear indications of where the Valley would be, and I¡¯m not that far.

    I jumped on my flying sword and had it fly forward towards the valley. If even that little kid knows where I¡¯m going, then it¡¯s definitely a certainty that those from Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s side already know it.

    Vitra¡¯Ghoul would definitely have a lot of people shoving their faces into danger to get the ck Nether Rose for him, and I¡¯m alreadyte because I was ying around with the Sky Pearl I have for an eye now. So I¡¯ll need to hurry up.

    I infused more poison Qi into my sword and my speed increased exponentially. I raced through the trees, small monsters, and even away from shocked cultivators who shouted for me to halt but I ignored them, as long as they cannot catch up to me, there was no need for me to stop and measure dick size with them.

    An hourter, the forest darkened, as it seemed that nighttime hase and imposed itself on this domed prison that¡¯s called Lord¡¯s Tomb. I removed the eyepatch on my fake eye, and the Sky Pearl shone as it began tranting the view and sending uninterrupted input into my brain that tranted it automatically into images.

    Nothing seemed to be in the vicinity, but some heat signatures of creatures hidden under the ground or within the trees gave me a sense of prudence. Many monsters have been hiding within this jungle-like area and were hard to spot with mere sight, unless one used their divine sense they wouldn¡¯t spot them.

    My sight caught the silhouette of a few cultivators that were going at a full sprint towards the valley, there were more than twenty of them and they raced to the valley as their lives depended on it.

    I urged my sword to take a roundabout way and keep moving, though I could have flown high and unimpeded by the numerous trees, I¡¯ll be an easy shot to any cultivator with a ranged spell and good aim. I¡¯d rather remain within cover and move than be a sitting duck to anyone with extra Qi.

    After a while, I noticed five of the twenty split up and head towards me, though they were sprinting, I was amazed that they could actually keep up with me if they put their minds to it.

    This was bad, they definitely noticed me and I needed to increase the gap or I¡¯ll be caught in a fight I don¡¯t want to have.

    The five that split from the group had three demons and two cultivators among them, easy to identify due to the massive heat signatures the demon horns projected in the night.

    But thankfully there were behind me and I only needed to stall them.

    I spat a gout of Joyful Smoke behind me, there was no need to use any poison too toxic for them, I don¡¯t want to kill people just because I can, there is no enmity or hostility between us yet so I¡¯ll have them enjoy a good whiff of High.

    The group behind me immediately stopped once they encountered the poisonous cloud, one of them eve used a talisman to block the gas, but another shouted at him, I could clearly hear it even as I widened the gap, that the second person told the first who used the talisman it was a waste and this was not a harmful poison.

    The group picked up their pace but I had long since gone off their divine sense range. If I continued at this rate I should arrive at the Poison Valley and have half an hour head start, but that won¡¯t be much especially if the Poison Valley was as dangerous as Tarta¡¯Ghoul had said.

    A couple of hourster I arrived at the entrance of the Poison Valley, and as its name suggested, it was a Valley of death. Skeletons of dead animals, creatures, and even humans and demons littered the ce.

    Evil Qi propagated in the ce and seeped through the dark nts and trees like a pervasive gaseous substance, it was so thick that one could even see the evil Qi with one¡¯s eye.

    This is a great area to cultivate Yin energy. Though I¡¯ll never be able to cultivate it due to my inability to cultivate the world¡¯s natural energy, it would be an amazing ce for a demonic or Devil Cultivator aside from me.

    I continued flying through the valley that had two wide cliffs acting as walls inside it. The cliffs would usually be split by a massive wall in the middle that led to two different paths and even these paths would be split again, it was like a maze, and without the map from Tarta¡¯Ghoul, I¡¯d have a hard time finding the ck Nether Rose.

    After a few twists and turns, I met my first hurdle, blood bats, so many of them in fact that trying to fight them is nothing more than suicide.

    I spat another breath of Joyful Weed at the bats and dashed in between them. I could have used a more powerful poisonous substance but it would not be beneficial to me. For two reasons, the first is I would actually kill many of the bats and that would be bad because their corpses would make it obvious for anyone who was chasing after me to know where I passed. The second thing is, why make it easier for the ones following me? If the blood bats are stoned for a few moments they¡¯ll regain their baring fast, and be ruder to the ones perusing me as I¡¯ll have already gone past them.

    Soon after my poison cloud washed over the batts, they fell gurgling and struggling some even hissed and squealed but none looked to be on the verge of death, they¡¯ll soon be able to rid themselves of the Joyful Weed effect.

    I continued flying forward and grabbed a few nts that were growing on the side of the canyon, it would be a waste not to take these nts as they were toxic and spiritual in nature and could work great in making pills and concoctions.

    As I continued forward I met several other monsters and demonic creatures, snakes that coiled around dead trees, scorpions that dove through the ground like it was mud, and toads that croaked and tried to take me out with their fast, sound barrier-breaking tongues.

    I didn¡¯t want to waste time with these creatures so I escaped whenever I had the chance and avoided battles I didn¡¯t need to take, I¡¯m not some main character in a story, and wasting time-fighting these things would only end up exhausting me. I¡¯m not too proud to think I¡¯ll be saved by some stupidly bad scripted divine plot armor, I¡¯ll need to make the best of my current situation and avoid any circumstance that proves of no value to me or my current objective.

    s

    Life is easy to lose, especially in a cultivation world, and there is a fine line between cowardice and prudence. Once I was away from the massive numbers of creatures inhabiting the valley, I found the location of the ck Nether rose. It was a cave that was carved inside one of the walls of the valley. A few trees were covering the entrance but it was obvious to anyone who can use a divine sense.

    The cave didn¡¯t seem to be hard to ess, and all the trouble Tarta¡¯Ghoul had said about getting the Rose seemed unfounded. I mean, the few creatures would be a hassle but with dedication and a few well-trained people one could easily go beyond them, so why couldn¡¯t they get the rose?

    My question was immediately answered as I noticed a creature peering from within the trees that were the cave¡¯s entrance, I was lucky enough to be behind cover and hid from the creature¡¯s sight.

    It was a massive toad, with several pustules and growing bulges of poisonous liquid that squirmed above its skin. The toad was ugly to behold, and it croaked with might strong enough that I feared my eardrums were about to burst.

    This is a Sixth-grade demonic beast! Damn you, demon king, you never said anything about a sixth Grade Demonic beast!

 Chapter 94 Blight Bearing Toad

    <h4>Chapter 94: Blight Bearing Toad</h4>

    The toad immediately hid back inside its cave. The poison god¡¯s book began shaking, almost exited. I ced my hand on my chest and received a mental note.

    ***

    Blight Bearing Toad.

    A creature that is most suitable to apany you disciple of mine. A Blight Bearing Toad is the best furnace to condense and store some of the most lethal poison in the world, in a certain sense the Blight Bearing Toad almost holds the same ability as me and you, but it has a poor battling prow. That is unless it ascends and it can be a harbinger of pestilence and doom.

    I have also raised a Blight Bearing Toad and it proved extremely useful to my ventures, sadly it had died when I faced against a fearsome foe, Ruler of the Rain Realm, Tian Yu as it gave its life in order to protect mine and inflicted several diseases and sicknesses upon my enemy.

    Though it would have been a great boon to your arsenal if you were to have a Blight Bearing Toad as apanion, it cannot be this one, as it seems to have reached the end of its natural life span and it had failed to cultivate to the next level. Though be warned, this very toad seems to have many poisons and diseases within it and I¡¯m sure some of them are more powerful than your current cultivation realm that they could outright annihte you.

    ***

    Now, this is kinda worrisome, not the fact that the Blight Bearing Toad is he powerful, but the book seems to be more and more sentient, could the Poison God really be dead? Howe the book be able to perfectly analyze and describe events that I just encountered if the owner is dead?

    But I¡¯m in a world of cultivation so nothing is far-fetched, it could be a figment of the owner¡¯s memories and analysis hidden within the book, this figment is enough to have a simpleprehensive and understanding conscious within the book. But I should be a bit wary, I don¡¯t like keeping things that could think for themselves, lest it would influence me to do things I don¡¯t want.

    I decided to pay more attention to the book¡¯s interventions from now on, though it never brought me disadvantages, I wouldn¡¯t blindly trust the book from now on, I¡¯ll at least take a careful look at the options it presents me before acting.

    s

    Now with the Blight Bearing Toad here, it would be pretty hard for me to infiltrate and steal the rose. But if I stay here I¡¯ll definitely be noticed by the cultivators behind me.

    Then I had a thought, a pretty nasty crazy thought, so crazy that it might just work. I grinned as I went into the cave, and took note of the whole area, I made sure to make light steps and not use any Qi, even my own poison Qi as it would undoubtedly notify the toad.

    Once I peered into the cave, I managed to memorize theyout. There was a rose alright, it was pretty big, as big as a human in fact, and the toad seemed to be happily resting by its side. It looked right and left every few seconds, careful of its surroundings it seemed that the toad had sensed me arriving, and instead of going out to look for me, it decided to stay right next to its ¡¯treasure¡¯ and wait for me to act first.

    The cave was vast but had several groves and rocks protruding all over it, good hiding spots. Also behind the toad, there seemed to be a passage that led deeper inside the caveyout that¡¯s where the Heart me should be as I could feel heat surging from that entrance.

    Damn smart little bugger. The toad was asrge as a damn elephant, so little was not a perfect description, and it lookedzy as it gazed at the rose, mesmerized by it.

    Thankfully due to the size of the toad, if I make it into the cave behind it, it won¡¯t be able to chase after me. But I¡¯m not gonna bet my life on that, the toad could easily break the cave and hunt me down, that¡¯s of course if it didn¡¯t want to just outright split me in half with its massive tongue.

    Back to my task, in fact, it¡¯s easy to destroy the rose, it would be pretty simple, especially with my revolver. But I need the rose, I could use it in making a few pills that will help me a lot in my cultivation. But how to get the toad out of its cave will not be easy.

    Suddenly, I heard a few booms and echoes outside the cave, it seems that the cultivators and demons sent by Vitra¡¯Ghoul are nearby.

    The toad reared up and then sat back down, it decided that it would stay and guard its treasure than try and leave. I¡¯m more than certain that the toad knows I¡¯m here and would rather remain here than be lured outside.

    Pesky little bugger. I kept hiding until I sensed a divine sense scrying around me, but the moment it came in contact with me, it recoiled as my Sky Pearl sent the user of the divine sense painful images of death and torture.

    I heard a loud yelp from outside, thankfully the yelp gave me a few seconds as the Toad warily nced at the entrance and I was able to move even deeper into the cave and hid far away from the toad.

    Suddenly, I saw a few shadows entering the cave, and then the toad angrily stood up and croaked loud enough that the whole cave shuddered.

    "This is the toad lord Vitra warned us about, ready the formation," the first man said, he looked like a cultivator that came from a prominent sect, especially with all of his white and heavily decorated sect robes."

    A few other cultivators stepped in, all of them holding small gs.

    The first cultivator added, "Don¡¯t use divine sense, the toad seems to be able to retaliate. It will break your will." He said.

    Thankfully the Sky Pearl inscription helped me there, they don¡¯t seem to have noticed my presence, and if I keep hidden I¡¯ll be able to fish in muddy waters. What¡¯s the proverb? When the m and the catfish fight, it¡¯s the fisherman who profits... or something like that.

    I kept watch on the standoff, but the toad didn¡¯t even seem bothered with the few cultivators, it simply croaked like a regr dumb toad, then when one of the cultivators nted the first g, his head flew off.

    I couldn¡¯t even see it, but the toad¡¯s tongue was so damn fast that the cultivator didn¡¯t even have time to react.

    "HURRY!" the cultivator in white said as the rest of the cultivators used defensive treasures, and dashed around the cave nting gs.

    One of the cultivators was so close to me, that if he just turned his head he¡¯ll spot me, but his fear from the frog so encroached in his mind he didn¡¯t have time to take a look at his surroundings.

    Once all the gs were ced, and three more demons and cultivators were dead, the man in white struck thest g on the ground, creating an array of sorts that began pressing against the toad¡¯s skin. Even then, the toad didn¡¯t seem too bothered.

    "This will hold the toad in ce, increase the strength of the gs, once the toad is immobile we¡¯ll retrieve the rose!" the cultivator said.

    Suddenly, a few of the pustules on the frog burst open from the pressure. Blue liquid poured from the frog¡¯s skin and dripped to the ground melting it, and from the blue liquid, a paler blue gas began emitting from it, slowly creeping on the ground and air.

    "Use the anti-poison pills!" the first cultivator said and they all chugged in a few pills.

    I didn¡¯t have any anti-poison pills, but this blue poison didn¡¯t seem that dangerous, as soon as it made contact with me, it felt as if I was being energized with a sweet-scented incense stick.

    "Damn, what a powerful poison, even with the anti-poison pills, I¡¯m still having a hard time circting my Qi," one of the cultivators said.

    "Just hold, we¡¯ll crush this toad in no time, thankfully it¡¯s an arrogant creature and rarely thinks anyone can survive its poison, its own arrogance will be its demise." The decorated cultivator said.

    And he was right, the toad didn¡¯t yet seem to be bothered with the cultivators, until another pustule burst, and an even stronger poison emitted from it.

    The poison tis time was purple in color and was far faster than the blue one, it shot out like arrows into the nostrils of a cultivator that was too focused on feeding the array with his Qi than to protect himself.

    The poison immediately seeped into his nostrils. The cultivator¡¯s eyes turned red, and he roared, his muscles grew disproportionally as if he had taken an anima-sized shot worth of steroids.

    The man screeched and roared then pointed his sword at the closest cultivator.

    But the cultivator in white immediately ate a pill and shot at the berserker, decapitating him in a second then asked another cultivator to take his ce.

    s

    The frog finally began to think that these cultivators are a threat, as it croaked loud and began assessing his situation.

    "Add more power!" the cultivator in white said and the rest of the cultivators added more qi into their array, forcing the frog toy t on its stomach.

    "We¡¯ll take it out in no time, keep it under!" the cultivator said.

    ¡¯Seems like they¡¯ve exhausted a lot of their power,¡¯ I judged, ¡¯It would be a shame if I were to intervene right now, a real shame...¡¯

    My grin was too much for me to hide as I slowly approached the closest cultivator.

 Chapter 95 Obtaining Treasures.

    <h4>Chapter 95: Obtaining Treasures.</h4>

    The cultivator never realized that I was so close to him, with a single thrust and twist of my de he fell to the ground before he even realized what hit him. And with his death, the array the rest of the cultivators were making fell apart, and the massive Blight Bearing Toad was upon them.

    The cultivator wearing white tried his best to infuse more Qi into his formation, but to no avail, he failed to sustain an array that needed a dozen people working together to hold. And thankfully, he was too distracted by the massive toad that started taking down heads with its tongue than to look for the cause of his array¡¯s malfunction.

    On any other day, I would have been spotted immediately, but thanks to my Sy Pearl for an eye, the cultivators couldn¡¯t use their divine sense in fear of being attacked by the ¡¯Toad¡¯s anti-Divine Sense as they believed it to be.

    In the imploding chaos, I managed to continue my rotation behind the Toad and reached to where no one can see me. The group of cultivators were now facing different and several waves of poisons from the toad, and they were not sparing a single treasure to use in attempt to save their lives.

    But for all its worth, they¡¯re doing a fine job distracting the toad while trying to save their lives. Still, this distraction is not enough, as if I were to steal the Rose, both the toad and the group of cultivators will find only me as a target, I don¡¯t want that right now.

    I continued watching and waiting for an opportunity to im the rose, and it came rather too readily. The toad, pissed off, decided it was no longer funny to stay arrogant and defend itself from where it stood. It jumped at the nearest cultivator and managed to crush him to a pulp as it used its tongue to rip through the chest of another cultivator.

    The white wearing cultivator decided that he was not going to die here today and pulled out a stamp from his pocket, though I have no idea how a stamp that can only be used to sign documents would fare in this situation, the moment the stamp was above the toad, it grew to massive size and fell down on the Toad suppressing it.

    In that moment, the toad was unable to move, and the cultivators had more than enough time to grab the rose, but I was far ahead in the game as I grabbed the ck Nether Rose the moment the toad was gazing at the stamp that was falling on it, and with the rose taken, I scurried away to the depth of the cave, where the Heart me should be.

    I could hear curses as the cultivators couldn¡¯t find the rose, then the sound of bones breaking, it seems that the toad managed to release itself from the seal and was now upon the cultivators, since it didn¡¯t see me steal the rose, it would definitely think that one of the cultivators that were attacking it were the ones who stole it and it will not hold back its wrath anymore.

    I headed deeper into the caves and found an exit from where the Blight Bearing Toad cave was, it was an open area that looked upon a massive amalgamation of rocks and holes. Caves within caves, but thankfully they were all memorized in the map I had.

    s

    I managed to find the first pathways leading to the Heart me, the whole cave design looked more like a maze than a naturally made cave system. With a majority of the entrances of smaller caves dispersed everywhere, and all of them leading to dead ends.

    The heat from the Heart me was strong enough that one could feel it revibrating through all of this system, and since the caves looked like hollowed honebs, anyone trying to use their divine sense will find it impossible to inspect the caves.

    But with the help of the map in hand, I¡¯ll be able to find my way to the Heart me cave, and it wasn¡¯t taking long before the first sign of sess appeared, though most will not call it a sess if they were seeing what I was seeing.

    In front of me was a massive bird-like creature, that perched atop one of the cave entrances. It had a green feathery coat, and a thin sharp beak, it looked half asleep but I wasn¡¯t going to blindly trust that. I needed to make sure that the bird was actually asleep and not faking it lest it would get a disgustingly poisonous free meal.

    After approaching for a while, I noticed the Venom Spitting Skrk budging, and the moment I took another step, it pointed its beak at me and spat out bullet-sized spittle that I blocked with my robes. Thankfully, the robe didn¡¯t melt through, but the poison was potent enough and strong enough that it would usually drop any cultivator immediately.

    "Little bird, your poison is useless against me. Do you really wish to fight?" I spoke.

    It would have been crazy to actually speak to animals back in my world, but here, most animals and creatures that reach high cultivation levels are usually sentient and can understand speech.

    The bird pped its wings in arrogant defiance and I spat back near the bird, only my spittle was far more toxic than the bird¡¯s, it was apound poison, a mix of the Mourning Burial Peta and the Fungal Greed¡¯s Torment.

    The spit hit a nearby rock and immediately dissolved it, the bird stopped it¡¯s pping and hesitantly took a step back.

    "At least you know, if I really wanted to hit you with that, I could have, now move out of the way," I said as I gestured at the bird with a shooing motion.

    The bird understood that it wouldn¡¯t be wise to cross someone with even stronger poison than he had so it decided to step aside and let me get in.

    Once I was inside, I almost wished I didn¡¯t, the heat emanating from this cave was so high I felt my bones were about to melt. I hastily retreated to the entrance.

    Looking back, I could honestly feel the Venom Spitting Skrk grinning and mocking me.

    I grumbled under my breath, the poison God¡¯s Book mentioned that it¡¯s easy to ¡¯refine¡¯ this Heart me, but I¡¯m barely at the entrance and I felt as if my whole body was going to turn to cinders. heck, I couldn¡¯t even see this dammed me.

    Though I can¡¯t refine the me right now, I believe that I can store it in the Poison God¡¯s book, I still don¡¯t have the required strength to use it, I think. I should at least be a Nascent Soul Cultivator to refine the me.

    But how can I take the me if I can¡¯t even approach it? Well, it¡¯s simple, I¡¯ll send someone who can.

    I pulled out X from the Poison God¡¯s book and gave him the book.

    "Use this to store the Green Heart me," I said and the puppet nodded, book in hand and he moved inside the cave.

    Though X can¡¯t use his full prows as he was suppressed by this small world¡¯s Laws, he still has a body made from some of the toughest materials that the Laughing ughterer had. He will not melt down to nothingness once exposed to the heart me...probably. I think...I hope.

    Soon after I sent X, I heard a loud noise behind me, it seems that the group that was following after me had an encounter with the Venom Spitting Skrk. Not my problem. Though I caused it, I won¡¯t take responsibility for their greed, they should have gone for the rose instead of trying to suppress the toad until it died.

    s

    And with the toad liberated, I¡¯m more than certain that they suffered too many casualties than they would have expected, not to mention they would be ill-fit to fight against the skrk right after an arduous fight against a sixth tiered beast.

    Time went by rather slowly, with the cultivators behind me in a life and death battle against the Skrk, and me waiting patiently for X toe out of the cave. I¡¯ve no will nor strength to go and get the me myself, it¡¯s just too damn hot even for an alchemist. My current body would turn to sizzling charcoal once I¡¯m in too close to the heart me, but X¡¯s metallic body might have more power to reap what I couldn¡¯t get.

    After about half an hour, X came back, and surprisingly, bar the red-hot discoloration of his body, he didn¡¯t melt into a puddle of liquid metal as I had feared.

    The puppet gave me the poison God¡¯s book, and I used my divine sense to inspect it, finding a gigantic pool of hot liquid green Heart me within it, coupled with a few flowers and spiritual herbs that only grow in extremely hot temperatures. Good finds.

    I ced the book against my chest and it disappeared within my Sea of Consciousness. Now with my taskplete, I need to make myself scarce, I have not been identified, and would rather not have any more people as enemies, especially since I¡¯m in such an enclosed space.

 Chapter 96 The Lords Test

    <h4>Chapter 96: The Lord''s Test</h4>

    I continued navigating within the cave-made maze and barely managed to find a path that didn¡¯t have a dead end. The fighting sounds had long since calmed down, either the Skrk had taken them all out or they escaped it, either way, It would be best if I leave, I¡¯m not too keen on staying in ces that I have no knowledge of theyout of.

    The path I followed was deserted and void of all life but some few nts and poisonous herbs, nothing spiritual, but most would make powerful concoctions or additions to already strong poisons that I can make using the harvest of Poison Spiritual Herbs I gathered when I entered the Poison Valley.

    The poison valley exit soon came to present itself as I walked out of the doom and death valley filled with evil Qi and found my way back to a massive archipgo in the middle of the pond that would beparable to a small sea.

    The archipgo had a lot of smaller inds, and a good deal of cultivators moving from ind to ind. I immediately pocketed my sword and moved behind a random group of cultivators and followed after them.

    One of the cultivators turned and noticed me, "Fellow Cultivator, why are you following us?" he asked.

    "I apologize, I intended to take this ce to reach the Lord¡¯s Tower, it¡¯s but a coincidence that we¡¯re on the same track," I replied.

    "Right, you may follow, but please don¡¯t do anything rash," the cultivator advised and I cupped my hand at him, there was absolutely no need to antagonize anyone for being careful.

    The group in front of me wasposed of three cultivators all wearing the same type of clothes, they belonged to the same sect, they didn¡¯t seem to be hostile and moved forward while having their divine sense probing around and ¡¯unintentionally¡¯ go my way.

    I didn¡¯t mind it, especially as I followed closely behind them.

    One of them definitely was annoyed at how close I was, and was about to talk when his friend shook his head, they seem like good kids, they didn¡¯t want to cause trouble or be the ones instigating it. interesting.

    s

    After a period of moving about, one of the three cultivators I was following halted and said, "There is a maritime creature here, let¡¯s wait for it to pass."

    And his words proved true, as a massive shadow went between the two inds and swam deeper into the archipgo.

    We continued hopping from ind to ind into a congregation of other cultivators.

    "Brother Shen Bao!" the voice of Lang Xiao echoed in the distance, I turned to see him with Wu Di and Yuzehan all three of them looking my way.

    "Thank you, fellow cultivators, for yourpany," I smiled at the now stunned group and walked away.

    I heard one of them whispering, "Thank god we didn¡¯t offend him, hell if I knew he was that Shen Bao I ¡¯would have tried to be more courteous."

    ¡¯It seems that my reputation precedes me. Well, that¡¯s good. That¡¯ll make people think twice before trying topare dick sizes with me.¡¯

    "You guys look like you just crawled out of hell," I said as I took a better nce at the three.

    "It was worth it, we found a Tripod Spirit Vine, and we had a pretty tough battle," Lang Xiao said.

    "If it wasn¡¯t for Wu Di, you¡¯d be dead, the least you can do is give him credit," Yuzehan said.

    "Hey, at least let me gloat a bit," Xiang Lang said, his expressions looked hurt.

    I smiled at the group, "Congrattions, the Tripod Spirit Vine will help you out greatly in your cultivation."

    "Thank you, brother Shen Bao," Wu Di replied, though his white robes and his fan were now slightly dirty he still exuded a ¡¯Young Master¡¯s look.

    "So, what¡¯s going on here?" I asked.

    "We¡¯re waiting for the Lord¡¯s Tomb to open." Wu Di said.

    "So this is what all this Demon Lands and Lord Tomb thing is about, do you know what the test is about?" I asked.

    "Well, it¡¯s a strange test, it always something different, my master told me that when he visited this ce, he had to fight through hordes of enemies night and day. And his own master only needed to walk through a bridge, while each had a different experience, so I cannot say what our test might be." Wu Di said.

    "Right, then we¡¯ll just have to wait and see," I said and sat down, as many others had done, they had all sat down meditating and replenishing their forces in wait for the tower to open.

    After what seemed to be hours of waiting, more cultivators had joined us, a few started battling even, and some demons huddled up together. A few of the cultivators from the Toad¡¯s Cave were also here, but they seemed heavily wounded, some even had a missing limb.

    I didn¡¯t need to gloat, or provoke them, they sought wealth without sufficient power, and I was the one who benefited, and since they don¡¯t know that It¡¯s me who took the flower, I won¡¯t tell them I did.

    More time passed as more people came into the tower, and right now, the number easily surpassed the couple thousand. It¡¯s scary to see so many people gathered up here and so close. The whole atmosphere felt like dynamite about to be lit and would turn to chaos at the drop of a hat.

    As many of these kids here are the geniuses of their own sects, the leading figures, and the hopes for the future, confrontation and battle are hard to suppress in the heart of the young and restless. They are barely holding on to theirposure and stopping the urge to show off their prows in front of such a great and massive crowd. But if they were the first to start they¡¯ll bebeled as the troublemaker, and would only be the target to other cultivators who will then try to put them in ce for making trouble and at the same time making a name for themselves.

    Everyone waited for the other to start, but no one dared start, thankfully the whole atmosphere was defused immediately when the tower shuddered and a massive blue portal opened up at the base.

    "Enter the Lord¡¯s Tomb and prove your value to the Lord."

    The words abruptly ended and people began funneling inside the tower. It didn¡¯t take much time before I, Wu Di, Lang Xiao, and Yuzehan entered the tower and in front of us was a celestial road made of clouds, it hovered in space over the stars and led to the depth of the unknown.

    Celestial globes, stars, suns,s, and meteors flew above and below us as we moved forward in this unending and massive celestial path.

    "Walk until you can walk no more, then face your fear, prove you can break what might break you, and you shall be awarded handsomely." The voice said and in front of us hundreds of candles lit up.

    The celestial road was thankfully wide, so wide that all the cultivators could stand shoulder to shoulder and there would still be space. As for the candles, they served as a measure to the distance one had crossed.

    Everyone began to walk and the moment I reached the first candle I found myself in a dark alley, back on earth, the same alley I died in.

    I was wearing my casual clothes, a cheap tux picked from the shelves of a brandless store, barely fitting my body, as it slightly slumped over my shoulders and was a bit shorter than my arm¡¯s length. This was my suit, and I knew it, every nook and cranny of it, every cut, bleached spot, and sweat stains on it. In my hand, was my suitcase, and it was filled with documents from work.

    I didn¡¯t lose focus, nor did I think that all my days cultivating was nothing but a dream. Nor a second-rated protagonist who lost their sense of awareness, I refuse to think that eighty years of struggle was nothing but a dream, all my suffering all of the battles I had and this path I took was nothing but a dream and I¡¯m back to reality.

    I¡¯m not such a bore.

    Looking forward, there were a couple of thugs gesturing to each other, I¡¯ve been marked. And they¡¯ll soone at me. One of them had, what the fuck? A crowbar? I was killed with a damn crowbar?

    The man with the crowbar had gone behind me, and it seems that the day I died I was actually too distressed with my day at work the day I died that I didn¡¯t notice this exact scene happening, but my subconscious had saved this for me to see once again, in this road.

    The man with the crowbar lifted it and it came against my head, only this time, I wasn¡¯t the same Larry Hudson, I¡¯m Shen Bao, a cultivator in another world that lived several decades and fought with monsters so frightening that these two wouldn¡¯t be worth a fart in my eyes.

    I held my hand against the crowbar and a wave of agony shot through my hand.

    It seems that I don¡¯t have my strength from the cultivation world, as my hand was clearly broken now. But the impact of the blow seemed more shocking not to me but the man who looked at my barely expressive face as I stared at my broken and unnaturally bent hand in amazement.

    Using my other hand I immediately yanked the crowbar from the man¡¯s hand and swung it fast, hard, and decisively at his neck, ripping his entire throat out of its ce.

    The man with his throat ripped tried to gasp for breath, and staunch the blood flow with his other hand, but his life was already imed the moment he tried to take mine.

    "W-What the fuck!" the other man said as he turned to run.

    With the crowbar in my hand, I lugged it forward and threw it with enough strength that it tore through the man¡¯s shoulder and had him drop to the ground. I slowly walked behind the man and ripped the crowbar from his back.

    He turned crying and shouting, pleading even, but I gazed at him, unceremoniously, this whole shit was nothing but an illusion, and even if it was real, they had iting. Then I used his head as if it was a golf ball, and the crowbar was a heavy golf club. End result, his head caved in and was twisted out of its ce.

    s

    Almost immediately, I felt my vision swam, and I was back on the celestial road. Looking around me, I seem to be the first one to have woken from my test. I then continued moving, and once I was at the second candle, I received another vision, the first time I was facing an assassin, a threat from my early days back at Lucid Springs, there a person hired a man to kill me as I amassed a lot of wealth and he wanted to take what was mine.

    Then another candle, another fear, and I continued moving, and with every candle, I looked back and see people dropping on their knees, in fright, scared out of their wits. And some outright vomiting.

    Why the heck are they like that, this whole shit had already happened, and it was an experience that they already went through, why do they think that reliving it would break them, they should focus more on the fact that they already survived and came on top.

    Fools.

    I continued walking, moving from candle to candle, leaving everyone in the dust. I walked so far and faced so much again and again, but nothing moved me until I stopped in front of a candle that was lit and exuded a green light. I immediately knew which fear I¡¯ll be facing here, and I was ready for it.

 Chapter 97 Lesser Celestial Realm

    <h4>Chapter 97: Lesser Celestial Realm</h4>

    Just as I stood in front of the candle, my vision turned, though I was still in space, I was in deep space, where not even the stars shone, not even their light reached this dark void and empty ce. But in front of me, there it stood, a creature that was as old as time, as big as the skies, and as unfathomable as this very endless space.

    I looked the Primordial Dragon Snake in the eyes and it did the same to me. I had no way, no will no power and no possible way or method to face this thing, I was neither strong enough to fight it, fast enough to escape it, but at least, I was brave enough to face it. Not that I would manage such a feat if this was reality, something many of the people doing this very test failed to see, this was fake, all of it. it was nothing more than a test to face one¡¯s fears, and then in facing them, their hearts would grow stronger.

    But here, though this thing frightened me, it was not a heart demon. It was not something like the many people here faced, this was not some insurmountable obstacle in my life that I¡¯ll need to work hard to overtake. This in front of me was an illusion, as the real thing, if it had stood this close to me, I would have died thousands of times over.

    What¡¯s in front of me didn¡¯t even portray a fraction of a billionth of a fraction of the real terror that was swimming the deep space and wasing towards me. The Primordial Dragon Snake was an entity that was borne with the birth of this world, or so the Poison God had said.

    I would never even dream of surviving if I were to face this creature with my current strength, and thus, I feared not, for if this illusion was my death, then I would die. But if this illusion was nothing but an illusion, then what is it to fear?

    The creature in front of me opened its mouth, and I gazed upon it unmoved. It then dove on me and I remained unfazed, unperturbed. It engulfed me whole, as darkness, cker than the depth of space submerged me, yet I didn¡¯t shudder, scream, fear or feel distress, I remained unmoving like a mountain.

    I had seen the real, so how could the unreal ever have power over my heart?

    Suddenly, I woke back up on the celestial road, and in front of me, there were no more candles.

    "You¡¯ve faced your fears, you¡¯ve faced your death, and you still stand unperturbed, I know not of a man that has no fear, for those who have no fear are only the crazed, or gods, the probability of being the first is high, yet it doesn¡¯t exclude thetter. You have a long path ahead of you, cultivator."

    In front of me a door opened up, it was made of gold and bronze, it had the depiction of fairdies, brave men, dragons and phoenixes above it. The door opened up into a massive realm, where the ground was made of mix of gold and dark substance.

    s

    This ce was broad and wide enough that I couldn¡¯t fully see its end, and what made this ce¡¯s sky was not the blue skies of the world, but rather the endless space.

    ***

    Disciple of mine, ware! For you¡¯re in the lower Celestial realm.

    This ce here is good for cultivators who wish to cultivate their Qi into saint Qi, though you do not have the capability to do so, you should know that facing a creature that has been born here will be the end of you.

    Get any treasures you can get, and escape from this ce if you can!

    ***

    The heck is going on? The moment I thought this, my body shuddered as I felt a weight far surpassing whatever I had pushing against me. My Sky Pearl almost threatened to break as it overworked itself in trying to fend of the assault, it turned extremely hot, hot enough that I felt that it would burn through my skull from the sudden pain. I forcefully shut down its defensive ability and finally was able to breath.

    "What the fuck, was this a divine sense?!" I shuddered at the thought, someone¡¯s divine sense, this wasn¡¯t even an attack but it was powerful enough that I felt like an ant caught between the thumb and index of a giant.

    Not only was my Sky Pearl unable to fend off this divine sense, it was as if this divine sense was powerful enough that all the inscriptions I had on the pearl were not nearly fractionally enough to contend nor even dare oppose it with the torturous illusions I had on it.

    Whoever used their divine sense on me, disregarded my whole existence immediately, as if I was nothing but a fly on a piece of dung, unworthy of thought. Vexing, but if he thought such of me, then it would be best as I don¡¯t want any unwanted attention.

    "Feel free to have whatever you may obtain from here. But do not be too greedy." The voice that apanied me in this trail said.

    I looked around and noticed that the whole ce I was on was epassed in a vast dome. It was barely shimmering against the golden ground of this Lower Celestial Realm.

    I used my sword to travel though this celestial realm. As I moved, I saw many tumbled down pces, buildings that should have been built using some extremely expensive materials, have all been destroyed due to time.

    Space above the shimmering dome looked heavily distorted, the space was ripped, and from within these rips in space, came a purple wind that felt like it would tear me to atoms if I were to set foot outside this shimmering dome.

    I didn¡¯t think about going out of the dome and decided that it would be best to try and inspect these ruins. Perhaps I could find something useful.

    And so I started going from pce to pce, hoping to find anything, and I did, as a matter of fact, I found silver wear, ss wear and many other stuff, most looked older than time itself, but they were made from material that was no simple. These small utensils for example, they were made with Celestial Silver. It¡¯s far more amazing and more expensive than normal silver, and it can channel Qi with great efficiency, this very spoon in my hand could be exchanged for a city in term of value.

    And there were many of them. I began sweeping the pce from the wears and continued on, from pce to pce. I even found some old rusty swords, but most of them were just used for decoration, there were no legendary swords or something amazing.

    I continued looking through the pces, and then I felt another surge of that same Divine Sense from before. Only this time it didn¡¯t focus on me and only went past me. I understood that many other disciples had entered this ce, and if I were to stay here longer I¡¯ll probably end up meeting them. Since I was here first, they¡¯ll probably assume I have found something interesting, and we¡¯ll be in a standoff that I don¡¯t want to be in.

    I decided to leave a few spoons and random materials, but anything else, I grabbed.

    I have no idea why this Lord¡¯s Tomb gave us ess to this Lower Celestial Realm, but I¡¯m damn thankful, it seems that this is the first time the Lord¡¯s Tomb allowed anyone to ess this area. And since it randomly takes the disciples to random ces, I believe this is the first time in a few thousand years that any living being had sat foot in this ce.

    I continued moving through thends until I felt that something was wrong. I have already been here a while ago. Looking back, I saw a couple cultivatorsing my way, but they didn¡¯t even look at me, nor call me out. They just walked into a nearby pce, some every directly looked my way but there was no recognition of my existence.

    Suddenly, one of them took a sudden turn and hepletely disappeared, while the rest didn¡¯t even register their friend disappearing, they too followed after him and disappeared from my sight.

    I was at a loss, what the heck was happening?

    Soon more cultivators and demons came, but they all took random twists and turns, I even saw some of them walk right into walls, and out of them.

    Something is wrong with this ce, it¡¯s like there is a w in thew of space in this exact ce.

    And immediately after I thought about this, I had an epiphany regarding this ce. This whole god dammed ce was like a maze. It¡¯spounded space, pieces of this celestial realm were actually folded atop each other.

    I sat down and began thinking about this whole ordeal, I thankfully still remember the areas I went through, and as it seems, the only way for someone toe in contact with me is if they take the same steppes I did, or be extremely lucky and find a way into the space I¡¯m currently in.

    Also, it seems that I identally happened to be in a higher special chamber, yes, I¡¯ll call them that, Spatial Chamber. And since I¡¯m in a higher Spatial Chamber I¡¯m able to see them but they¡¯re not able to see me. Then, could this mean, that whoever used their divine sense earlier is already on an even higher Spatial Chamber than I?

    s

    Well,ws of space aren¡¯t easy to understand, but so far, I have a little bit ofprehension of my current situation, though I highly feel that I¡¯m trapped in this ce.

    I tried using my divine sense, but it immediately backfired, my divine sense spread at first like a globe around me, then it began spreading in long lines that turned and twisted everywhere and all over the ce. It was like the moment I took a step there were hundreds of different paths and chambers that I would be taken to.

    It¡¯s very strange but it feels like every step is an entrance to another branching path, only this path had hundreds of different exits, and every step I took, would lead me to a different ce.

    This maze is rather amazing, and I think I¡¯ll probably die here if I don¡¯t find a way out.

    I can¡¯t take any careless steps, as I discovered the true danger of this ce it would be unwise to take careless paths, so now, which path to take, and which way to go?

 Chapter 98 Spatial Rooms

    <h4>Chapter 98: Spatial Rooms</h4>

    I took several moments to think of what I needed to do, if I were to take a random step I might enter another Spatial Chamber, lower, or higher, or maybe in between, the special chambers seem random and not organized.

    I used my divine sense to try and spot them, but it was useless, I can¡¯t see the chambers using divine sense. So I used the next best thing, my Sky Pearl eye. I have inscribed it with thermal vision and night vision, but nothing that could allow me to see through spacews, simply because I didn¡¯t have the ability to understand Space Law.

    I switched the vision of my Sky Pearl, hoping that something might change, but using thermal vision was the same as using regr sight, nothing different was apparent. I sighed as I felt frustration at being unable to see where I¡¯ll be moving next.

    So, I sat down and pulled out an item I had in my inventory, I didn¡¯t use it since I had obtained it but it seems that it¡¯s time I actually start focusing on real cultivation instead of looking for shortcuts.

    I pulled out the small Law Stone I received from the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda, and ced it in front of me. I had a fear that if I were to use this Law Stone, that the Primordial Dragon Snake would notice me like thest time ande at me. But this time I was ready for it, I had already seen it in the trial of fear, and now I can probably withstand it¡¯s humongous size and frightening appearance.

    I focused on the Law Stone and found myself once again in space, though space was right above me when I used the Law Stone I was space, I had no substance I was a part of the world and I could feel the globes and celestial orbs floating all in their own orbits, moving in the endless space as if they were pilgriming to the deep unknown.

    To try andprehend spacews from mere exposure is impossible, I needed to be able toprehend how space worked. I bet Albert Einstein would give his right arm for this very experience.

    I continued gliding through space, and saw many, many strange things, and in one part of my mind, I made sure not to approach a certain location with certain star formations. Its where the Primordial Dragon Snake lived. So I fully ignored that side of space and focused on where I was.

    Space wasrge enough that you can find many strange things all over it, like this in front of me.

    Two stars had collided, and in their collision, a massive shockwave echoed, enough that it obliterated even bigger stars that were nearby. Their explosion created an aurora effect that was colorful as special dust took different rainbow colors.

    s

    And within the explosion there was an implosion, as the ever expanding colorful dust began gathering, swept and sucked back into its origin. The center of the collision of the two stars became an unstable mass of power, the might of the explosion tore space and in this tear, space contorted and not even light was able to escape.

    It was like creating a deep hole in the depth of the ocean, and now the whole ocean was funneling into that hole trying to correct that ¡¯mistake¡¯ and close it.

    A ck hole. Unlike my experience and what I learned from earth, this ck hole wasn¡¯t just a deep and heavy dent in space that consumed everything, but actually it was like a small orb that sucked everything from every side. Unlike a tub where water would funnel from one side, this orb sucked space itself from every side. It was hard to exin and one needed to be there to experience it.

    And in that instant I had a small understanding, that space wasn¡¯t in fact like a sheet of paper as I had presumed, but billions of billions of sheets of paper that were stacked above each other, within each other, diagonally, horizontally and in between. It was like so many pieces of paper were so tightly held against each other that they created a ball with no start and no end in between, and creating a single dent in one of these ¡¯sheets¡¯ of paper would undoubtedly affect the rest.

    And how would this help me understand the special chambers? It wouldn¡¯t but it would at least show me how it worked.

    It seems that whoever created this maze, was using this very concept of ¡¯Space Paper¡¯ -damn I have so many random names for the strangest things- and with these space papers, he is actually able to separate them and fold them against each other creating a maze without walls but with space itself as the medium.

    I immediately woke from my stupor, pain assaulted my head as my nose was clearly bleeding.

    "That¡¯s what you get for trying toprehend something so far from your scope of understanding," I heard and this voice had so much might and power in it that I felt no more than a toddler in the presence of a terrifying lion.

    "Who¡¯s there?" I asked but received no answer.

    I wiped my nose and called my mind, I could be imagining things, but this feeling of fear was real, my hands were still shaking, and if this person wanted me dead, I will be dead, because it is his right, and I cannot deny him that, I have no right to do so. Fuck, this is exactly the same as back in that cave, someone with enough power to topple the world is nearby and could snuff my soul with a sneeze.

    I took a deep breath and calmed myself, there was no need for me to worry about things I cannot affect, and since he didn¡¯t kill me yet, he doesn¡¯t mean me harm, at least for now.

    s

    When my self-loathing and pity ended, I was finally able to witness a small change that I wasn¡¯t able to see before.

    There were small ripples in front of me, they were barely visible, they resembled the mirage of desert, or highway, where heat would make the road look like it was wobbling. And this small effect was everywhere.

    And it expanded into lines that spread from the ground to the high skies. In between these lines was a clear space.

    I hesitantly went between two lines, and the moment I went beyond them, I felt pressure changing. It was the same type of pressure you¡¯ll feel when you close a room, even your ears pop.

    I frowned, did I just enter another Spatial Room?

 Chapter 99 The Shackled Prince

    <h4>Chapter 99: The Shackled Prince</h4>

    Somewhere else in the Lower Celestial Realm.

    There was a man tied with so many chains and restrictions that anyone below the Ascendant Level would immediately lose their mind if they tried to use their divine sense toprehend these restrictions.

    The man was a disheveled young man, that had a devilish handsomeness to his body, his whole demeanor was that of a sickly young noble with vicious expressions, his eyes held disdain toward the world, nay, toward heavens themselves.

    This young man was imprisoned, sealed, and locked away in this forgotten ce, his whole demeanor however never changed, nor did this imprisonment bother him.

    He was locked in a room in a massive pce, if Shen Bao was here, he would have to admit that this pce was so far beyond the already astonishing pce of the Purple Cloud sect that there was no way topare them. But this very pce was nothing but a prison for this young man.

    He was sitting on a throne fit for a king, but for what king would wish to be shackled?

    Where the most impressive thing was the sword right above this man¡¯s head, it hovered dangerously close to his head and woulde down if this young man tried to unshackle himself. There was no way for the young man to leave this ce, at least that was what he believed. Until a few days ago, where a strange man hade to visit him.

    This young man had been imprisoned for so many years he lost count when it went past the first thousand years.

    But this strange man that came to visit, not only managed to arrive at this pce, he had gone past and beyond the traps that wereid out in this ce without triggering them, nor did the traps themselves were able to detect him.

    The imprisoned young man on the throne was vexed, because he had believed that he was strong, in his days, he believed that no one was his peer, he was a dragon among dragons. A mighty character of a prominent sect, that went far beyond the scope of what mortals could ever describe, yet a single mistake caused him this punishment and he vowed vengeance once he leaves, that is if he leaves.

    s

    And what vexed this man the most, what annoyed him the most was not the fact that the man wearing ck clothes didn¡¯t even offer to help him out of his predicament, no matter how many rewards the young man had offered, no, the man in ck didn¡¯t even deem this young prince worthy of help from his hands, and his exact words were, "Only the Dragon Spirit can save you, it is your fate, so it is his. Wait for the Dragon Spirit" The man said and then he left.

    Now, Dragon Spirit? What the hell is a dragon Spirit? The young man had seen many dragons, but this is the first time he heard this Dragon Spirit.

    And then out of nowhere, this manes, a sick man, full of a wretched poison, the Bone and Body Grinding poison, not that it was that difficult to take care of this vile poison, but because this very poison brought some unwanted memories for this young man.

    There was a man that was gued with this very poison, and unlike the many people who were touched by this poison, there were only two oues, either they die, or they use ungodly amounts of resources to remove this poison, all but one man, a man that used this very poison to empower himself, to make a name for himself, to be one of the mightiest pirs of the Supreme Realms, the Poison God. A man that was lost to the world one day where he went to face the Primordial Dragon Snake. Though this man¡¯s death hasn¡¯t been confirmed, at least when this young prince was out of prison, he doesn¡¯t know what could have happened in these thousands of years of prison.

    Now, there was another person with that same poison body, but the difference between the two is like a firefly to the sun. One was a god among gods and costed this young man a literal arm and a leg in their first encounter, and this thing in front of it, it was so weak, so feeble and so annoying that his very existence encroached upon this young prince¡¯s mind like that of a disgusting insect within one¡¯s home.

    Yet this young man cannot do much but see, as he witnessed his prison being invaded by forces of smaller cultivators. He knew well enough that none of them would have been able to survive this ce if The Lord of Lords hadn¡¯t ced a time ejection upon this ce that would eject anyone that cannot consciously travel this Spatial Maze, luck has nothing to do with this, all of these people will be ejected.

    Yet this man, gued with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison was just annoying, an eyesore to this young man because he dared to try andprehend thews of Space with his merger cultivation. He was what? A Core Cultivator, yes, that¡¯s the term, the young man was old, old enough that he couldn¡¯t remember when he ever was a Core realm cultivator.

    His horizon had been broadened when he arrived at the Supreme Celestial Realm. Unlike this small portion, this dirt piece of a wretched emunicated piece of lower Celestial Realm, the Supreme Celestial Realm was beyond this dimension, something these mere mortals can never hope to reach, achieve nor set foot in.

    In that realm, even the newborns are born at the Ascendant Stage, so how could these mortals fare against them, how dare this gued brat even dream of trying toprehend the Spatial Maze of the Master Rain.

    And while the young man watched, disdainfully, at the gued brat, he saw him pull a Law Stone, it was a good quality Law Stone, quite a find, though it was useless to the young master, it was a good thing for that man, how did he find such a thinging from such a backwaternd. Judging from the level of the rest of the cultivators, the air about them, and even the impurities within their bodies, they must belong to a nt with so little Qi that the existence of Saint Qi would be an impossibility.

    Howe he has something so good?

    The brat pulled thew stone and tried toprehend it, and in a matter of minutes, which is normal for someone with a monkey¡¯s brain as they would never be able to understand a thing from thew stone in such a short period, the brat¡¯s nose started bleeding.

    "That¡¯s what you get for trying toprehend something so far from your scope of understanding," the young man said, though he tried to lessen the impact of his divine sense lest he t out causes the de to pierce through his head. The whole mechanism was rigged that if he were to try anything, it would execute him. though he didn¡¯t care for the life of the brat, he cared for his own life far too much to risk death at the cost of killing some random ant.

    The brat shuddered, and tried to find who talked to him, this very action caused this young master glee, his mere words were now a terror to the brat, but the young man¡¯s expressions soon soured, somehow, the brat managed to calm himself and disregard the message, not even that, he actually showed signs of understanding? No, impossible! Such a brat is definitely unable toprehend Master Rain¡¯s ingenious achievements in thews of Space.

    Unlike the man wearing ck, whose very existence was so far away from the young master himself, this brat showed ability toprehend the Compounded Space Maze that Master Rain was praised for.

    It¡¯s impossible, it must be luck! Yes luck, nothing more, nothing less.

    The young man calmed himself with that thought only to almost cough out blood, as the brat continued navigating through the mase with purposeful steps, walking from Chamber to spatial Chamber, one or two would have been luck, but hundreds of chambers consecutively, this man knew what he was doing!

    Suddenly, the brat was in front of a wall, a massive wall in front of him, yes this will definitely be the proof this young master needed to confirm his suspicion.

    s

    In front of the gued brat was a wall, it didn¡¯t look anything else, it was a physical barrier, and within this barrier was the exit of this maze, but anyone would not be able to physically walk through a wall, unless he hadprehended thews of space, and then they¡¯ll be able to do something about it.

    The brat touched the wall, and the young master took a breath of relief, the moment the brat¡¯s mind thought that this wall was actually physical, it will turn physical and would forever close him into that maze.

    But what happened next caused the young man to literally cough pout blood.

    The brat ran head first into the wall, anyone would hesitate a fraction of a second, and shouting "Hogwarts Express Here Ie!"

    The hell does that even mean?!

 Chapter 100 Celestium of the Apes (FIRST MILSTONE WOOP WOOP!)

    <h4>Chapter 100: Celestium of the Apes (FIRST MILSTONE WOOP WOOP!)</h4>

    A fraction of a second of hesitation would have rewarded me with a very bad bruise on my forehead. But I made calctions after calctions and the only way out from this ce is through this damn wall. Unlike before, all of the Spatial Chambers were created in empty areas, so there were no physical barriers to stop me from going from one room to the other, but this wall was an exception, it was here alright, but at the same time it was not.

    When I used my divine sense, I could feel this was a physical wall, but the ripples around it clearly state that this is the exit of this maze.

    "Hogwarts Express here Ie!" I shouted and ran right through the wall and managed to exit out into an open area without feeling any sort of resistance.

    "Yes! I made it!" I fist-bumped the sky like a teenager then calmed myself after looking around, I¡¯m not that young, but it seems that the impact of rejuvenation from growing in cultivation is slightly impacting my attitude, I should keep myself in check lest I turn into some arrogant snobbish young noble.

    Looking around, I had a vague feeling that I was being watched, and that sucked. It must be the one who used the divine sense earlier and this feeling of being watching is irking me because I feel that whatever I do, I¡¯ll be exposed.

    However, since the owner of the divine sense didn¡¯t act maliciously towards me, I¡¯m feeling that so far I¡¯m not at any risk, but it¡¯s always good to be cautious.

    Also, I need to tone down my Sky Pearl, so far, it hurts like a motherfucker when a Divine Sense that powerful goes through me, but I can¡¯t disable it outright, I might end up against other cultivators and I¡¯ll need it to help me to fend off the Divine Senses.

    Looking around, the area around me didn¡¯t seem much different from where I was, actually if a normal person was here, he wouldn¡¯t see the difference between the area behind this old wall or after it. But it¡¯s a night and day¡¯s difference. Now, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m in a ce that hasn¡¯t been touched by any other cultivator for at least a long time.

    I began looking around, hoping to find anything of value, the wholendscape was still part of the Celestial realm, thought it was a strange ground, looking at the dirt, it was like dirt, but golden dirt. As for the sky, it was still a dark space, and I¡¯m still unable toprehend how the heck this ce is even receiving light.

    Sadly there were nos in sight, all of this area was just dirt. Nothing of value.

    s

    I walked forward without any specific destination because there were no points of reference where I was, there were a few hills in the distance, but besides the hills and the area where I came from, there was nothing else here.

    I pulled out my sword and hopped on it, and almost immediately I felt the same annoying Divine Sense goes against me, and heavily inspect the sword.

    Damn it... what¡¯s with this person and his nosy ass Divine Sense. But I better keep my discontent to myself, if he is strong enough to threaten my life with his mere ncing divine sense I better not piss him off.

    I flew until I reached the hills and saw what was behind them, and here I was totally,pletely, and fully astonished.

    Just behind the hills was a massive basin that had an entire city within it, yet it was all void of life.

    The whole city was locked tight with inscriptions traps and deadly formations, they shimmered so much that I immediately realized the moment I were to use my divine sense I would be killed.

    The Formations Here were so many, and sopounded that it would be impossible for anyone to walk through this ce without fullprehension of these inscriptions. The problem was, if these were normal inscriptions, I could risk going there and see if I could find something of interest in them, but this, the whole god damned ce was filled with inscriptions that were made with Saint Qi, this was impossible, no way, this was death, a guillotine sharpened to the extent that it would cut through the air itself.

    I turned away, there was no way for me to risk going there, no matter the reward, no matter what I could find in that city, it¡¯s only death that would await...fuck me.

    I stood still, in front of me was a creature that I couldn¡¯t even sense, it had approached me without me taking notice. It was like a gori, with three eyes, one of them closed and on its forehead, he had two horns and had golden fur. Its arms looked so thick and rippling with strength and muscles that I knew that I would be dead a hundred times over if this creature even grazed me.

    And it looked at me with a vicious grin, it wasughing, prepared to introduce me to a world of hurt if I were to try anything funny.

    And if that was the only problem, It would have been fine, but this very ape was not the only one, there were five more just behind it, all of them giggling andughing as they looked at me.

    Hesitate and die!

    Right in front of the apes, I split into two perfect clones, one of them took to the right and the other to the left.

    s

    It wasn¡¯t much, and against numbers like theirs, it was definitelycking, but I gotta admit, thanks to the cultivator in crimson robes from the Poison God¡¯s Cave, and his annoying pouch, the golden Scripture, the movement technique inside it, I hastily took a note of it, tried it a few times and now it¡¯s the worst time every to test it because if I were to fail I¡¯ll die.

    Immediately when the apes were distracted by me splitting into two, half of them chased after my clone and the other half went after me.

    ¡¯Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! This is bad they¡¯re way too damn fast!¡¯

    The apes wound lunge and cover hundreds of meters with a single leap, I was hard-pressed to escape them on the hills, and my only option was to go down into the den infested with deadly formations.

    Fuck!

 Chapter 101 Modern Warfare

    <h4>Chapter 101: Modern Warfare</h4>

    Why the hell did theye after me, how did they notice I was there, and why the hell didn¡¯t I notice them approach, hell if I knew this ce was this dangerous I wouldn¡¯t havee here, I¡¯d rather stay inside that maze. But It¡¯s my fault, the Poison God¡¯s book did warn me from the damn stuff inside this ce.

    I dipped into the massive bassine where the city was and unsealed my sky pearl, I needed to inspect for any formation that could be built within this ce, even the damn air would be tricky to navigate with formations all over the god damn ce.

    The apes followed after me, but the moment they went inside the basin they slowed down their pace, this is both good and extremely bad.

    I¡¯m not too headstrong to think that apes are nothing but stupid beasts, these creatures are strong, definitely at the Nascent Soul level, or even higher, each one of them is easily a sixth-tier beast. But unlike the Venom Spitting Skrk or the Blight Bearing Toad, these creatures looked far stronger and were definitely on the cusp of making it to the seventh-grade Monsters. I had no chance in battling even one of them, they were robust, fast, strong, and fregging mad! The fuckers wereughing replicating humanughter and that itself was haunting on one¡¯s mind.

    ¡¯Hold up. I¡¯m fucking stupid!" I stopped my sword, and thankfully my insight came at this moment because I had stopped right when I was a few meters away from a formation that was built in the god damn air.

    I took a deep breath, I was going to die without even noticing, this damn thing is powerful, and the shimmering writing on the air was heavy andpound. I¡¯d give anything to study these formations, but with the apes behind me, I¡¯ll have no damn way to do so.

    "X, I choose you!" I said and immediately X shot out from the poison god¡¯s book inside my chest. Once again the divine sense probed through me, this time it was rather forceful, but I felt it jerking cut like something had stopped whoever used the divine sense, it was clearly not the Poison God¡¯s Book, but whoever stopped the person that used the Divine Sense on me, had done it with a proper vengeance as a bit of that man¡¯s own divine sense was separated here with me, then it began dissipating.

    I opened my poison god¡¯s book and sucked in that bit of divine sense. Keeping it with me, it would help to study it if the poison God¡¯s book is able to preserve it.

    X immediately shot forward and crashed headlong against one of the apes, grabbing it by the horns and smashed it to the side. Another ape came at him from behind, but X didn¡¯t bother to look at the second ape and only pointed his palm at him.

    "You¡¯re not gonna like that," I grinned, as X¡¯s hand rattled three times in a row shooting three bullets with perfect precision into the ape¡¯s face.

    s

    Each bullet shot through one of the ape¡¯s eyes dropping it dead on X¡¯s feet.

    The other apes saw their friend die, and instead of running away, they started batting at their chests as if their own chests were their own enemies, they batted and hopped up and down on the ground pissed and enraged, their golden fur turned red and their third eye became bloodshot red. Steam began bursting from their bodies as they charged at X.

    X used both palms and shot several bullets at the apes that were useless, as now the apes seem to have a Qi barrier that deflected the bullets.

    I pulled my own revolver and began shooting at the apes, but to no effect but some mild pain to my shoulder. I need to work on this, something to lower the recoil, or at least get my physical body to a better condition, though I¡¯m a cultivator, I am he weak physically.

    One of the apes jumped at X and ripped one of his hands from his shoulder. Yet X¡¯s hand, which also had a mind of its own crawled right under the ape¡¯s hand and onto his back then shot another bullet at his spine at point-nk range.

    The ape fell down immediately, paralyzed. No matter what creature you are, how tough you are or how angry you get, a bullet to the spine is a one-way ticket to forever on chairnd.

    The second ape howled and the three apes that were distracted by my clone came rushing in from above the basin.

    I pulled several small cylinders from, my pouch, "MODERN WARFARE MOTHERFUCKERS!" I shouted and threw the cylinders near the apes.

    s

    The cylinders immediately shimmered as their inscriptions were activated, then exploded in heat, destruction, and me. If that was all, the apes would probably survive the explosions, but the secondary effect was the nastiest.

    The poison within the canisters began seeping on the ground, then took to the air as the apes sniffed in the nasty substance, they began choking. Though I know the correct form to create Mustard Gas, I had no way to obtain Ethynyl, nor Sulfur Dichloride, however This organic mix I made, this poison is the closest thing I could make to replicate the same blistering and choking effects.

    And it worked wonders in making these apes wish for death as they suffocated and blistered all over their bodies. This was a nasty effect of this poison, no wonder it was a war crime to use biological weapons in warfare.

    Yet, not everything was going ording to n, as a matter of fact, a new monster appeared, an ape with chrome-colored fur appeared, it was far wider, biggerrger, and more robust than all of the other apes, and it looked wrathful at the sight of his dying allies.

    "I guess the boss is here."

 Chapter 102 Lockdown

    <h4>Chapter 102: Lockdown</h4>

    "Damn, I almost died there."

    The young master imprisoned within the massive pce shuddered, the sword above him almost pierced through his head when he tried to inspect the gued Cultivator¡¯s body.

    It was a man with so many secrets, especially the puppet, well not the puppet but where it hade from. The young Master clearly saw that the puppet had emerged from the gued Cultivator¡¯s chest, and not from any pouch, there was no space distortion or anything of the like, not to mention his flying treasure that was definitely belonging to the old monster, the Poison God.

    Could the gued Cultivator really be the inheritor of the Poison God¡¯s knowledge? If so, then this child will definitely rock waves in this world. But, as a matter of fact, the moment the gued child entered the Forbidden Celestial City, he was already doomed to die.

    The inscriptions, defensive formations, and Deadly Formations were too much for even an ascendant to survive. Not to mention a weakling at the Core Formation level. Not only that, the gued Man was wise enough to turn away from the City the moment he saw the formations, but the Golden Kajang apes were too powerful for any man less than a Soul Formation level to survive. Not to mention a whole group of them.

    Yet, this cultivator showed great deceit and cunning, he used a movement technique to split in two, to distract the apes then was able to poison them using explosive materials. Even the weapon in his hand, though crude and could only shoot projectiles in straight lines, felt that it was pretty powerful if the projectile was to connect.

    Also, what the heck was up with that puppet, it was clearly in the Soul Formation Stage, pretty highpared to the owner, probably a gift from someone, but the moment the Young Master used his divine sense on the puppet to inspect it, he had the same futile resistance the gued child had, it dared to try and show the young master scenes of torture, though they were very creative, they were tortures that only mortals and those who have yet to sever their mortality would feel terrified of, or even have there will shake at their sights.

    These tortures were the same as the young master had experienced when he inspected the gued child the first time and his eye tried to fend off his divine sense, such rude behavior.

    Now, what will the gued child do? In front of a Silver Back Kajang, a much more fearsome foe than the golden ones. The Golden Kajang could be categorized as sub immortal sixth level creatures, and the Silver Back one is a true Seven Level Sub-Immortal creature, a far more dangerous foe.

    The young master was bored since he was stuck in the same ce for years, and this gued child, though weak, pitiful and his life could be snuffed with nothing more than a sneeze, is now providing this young master with entertainment.

    s

    The young master watched as the child struggled.

    ****

    "Damn, this is seriously bad!" I cursed as I turned and used as much power on my sword to escape.

    The silver ape roared as its skin color reddened and it bounded after me, appeared above me in a fraction of a second with both hands gripped in a hammer fist as he clubbed down.

    "Poison Escape!"

    My body turned to a thick illusion of poisonous smoke that the ape struck against while I managed to avoid the blow by teleporting a small distance away from him.

    Yet the ape wasn¡¯t affected by the poison, there was a shimmering barrier around him that pushed the gas away, and it jumped again at me, only to have X stand in front of it.

    X had only one hand right now, the other was still skittering forward trying to reconnect with the main body, but even with one hand, X was still my greatest creation as of yet.

    The silver ape struck at X¡¯s hand, and immediately tore it from its socket. Or so he thought, the arm had alreadytched onto the silver ape¡¯s face like the monsters from Alien. The hand gripped tightly on the ape¡¯s ugly face and straightened up. Then a secondter, six consecutive bone-rattling sts echoed against the ape¡¯s face.

    The ape staggered and fell down, then it ripped the hand sticking to his face.

    Squished bullets dropped from his thick face, they didn¡¯t do more than cause it a nose bleed, and definitely made it angrier.

    X performed a roundhouse kick at the still dazed ape, then immediately switched and struck with the next leg to the same spot.

    Explosive echoes of energy sted from the ape¡¯s face, but they still didn¡¯t seem to be doing any damage.

    The ape went for a grapple, but X jumped slightly back, causing the ape to miss his grab, then X held his bent knee forward, and it opened up revealing a loaded canister.

    The canister shone bright, rotated until all the inscriptions within it aligned with each other, and in one motion the canister shot forward right into the ape¡¯s face and it blew up.

    The ape screeched from pain as his face was now bloodied, but he didn¡¯t seem to be heavily damaged only angrier.

    "X, we¡¯re no match for it!" I called and dove forward from the jaws of the ape to the jaws of death itself as more restrictions began to re up. If I were to make a single mistake I¡¯ll be engulfed in the inscriptions that were littering the city, but thanks to my meager inscription skills I was able to deduce the least dangerous of paths.

    X followed after me, jumped and I took him into my book. There was no way we¡¯ll win a battle against this ape, I still need upgrades, but my damned inscription skills are still too low topete with something as strong as this ape.

    The ape bounded after me, disregarding the barriers that began to re to life, and outright crashing into them. The destructive powers of the formations were unable to threaten the silver back¡¯s life, and it followed after me with a wretched vengeance.

    This is really bad because right now, I¡¯m navigating through the city, going right through Formations that are still ring to life, and avoiding ones that are already standing and ready to fight back. I was thankful for the fact that these formations had been dormant for a long time, otherwise, I¡¯ll not be able to even break through them, but soon, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll meet a fully functioning formation and that will be the end of me.

    As for the ape behind me, it was just breaking through them, thanks to that, the formations are already designating it as a primary target to their assaults and I¡¯m able to escape unnoticed, at least for now.

    Not more than half a minuteter, I was stuck as in front of me, besides me, above me and now behind me were fully functioning formations, and once the ape breakthrough the ones that woke behind me, I¡¯ll be stuck in this death cube. What to do?!

    I began by gathering poison Qi within me then sted a powerful poison breath, strong and thick enough that it covered me entirely. The ape would not be stopped by this poison, it¡¯s skin was too thick to be blistered, and it already was coating itself with a QI barrier to prevent the poison to seep into its internal organs. But I only needed to deceive the ape¡¯s sight.

    Suddenly, the ape bore through the barriers, and was upon me, only to see me escaping right through the formations without activating any one of them.

    The ape roared and charged through more formations than it should, inflicting increased damage upon itself as it chased after me.

    Many formations fell to the body of the ape, and the ape suffered for each formation he broke as he closed the gap between us, I will soon be in the palm of his hands and it knew it, and it pushed itself far too much, far more than it should have, all of that to avenge his fallen kin.

    Soon, it began to slow down, there was a pretty powerful Formation standing right in front of the most central building of the City, it was the pce in the center. If I could rate every formation on the city by danger from 1 to 10. The whole city would have 9 as their formation danger level, but the pce, that¡¯s an outright 100. The formations were far tooplex and visible from too far away, even the Ape knew that once I get there it will lose me. So, he doubled up and damaged itself even more, going all out, and risking everything, until it reached me and broke my back with one swing. Or so he thought as my image faded in front of him, only for the ape to realize that it was chasing after an illusion.

    s

    The whole n was concocted the moment I used the poison smoke to cover the ape¡¯s eyes, I used the Golden Scripture to clone myself and hid the real body under the ground while the illusion was running away, not even activating the formations as it passed through. If the ape had more intelligence than it had, it would have realized that what it was chasing was no physical as the formations didn¡¯t activate, and would have thought that it was being fooled.

    Now, the ape is stuck too deep into the city, and it didn¡¯t even have the power to return, at least without rest.

    But that didn¡¯t mean that I was safe, right where I was, more and more formation started rising,ing back to life and shimmering. I would die soon if I stay here.

    I turned and thankfully, there was a beautiful house nearby, with a garden and a three-story pagoda for a house inside. It was the only house near me that didn¡¯t have its formations fully active, I jumped above the wall and into the garden then stopped, the whole house¡¯s defensive formations lit up and I was both safe and imprisoned.

    Now, I¡¯ll actually need to study for my life. Because if I don¡¯t figure out these formations, and how they work, the ape will soon regain his vitality and wille chasing after me. Talk about motivation.

 Chapter 103 Celestial Formation Comprehension

    <h4>Chapter 103: Celestial Formation Comprehension</h4>

    The young master watched with interest at how this seemingly weak cultivator used his wits to save his life. It had been a long time since he witnessed people actually using their brains, as in the realm he lived in, most were powerful enough to change fate itself, and would not think twice about escaping in favor of fighting. But this child, used his head and kept a cool leveled mindset, and managed to find the optimal solution to his problem.

    Not that he would ever admit it, the young man was impressed and found it difficult to survive in the same circumstance as that gued child, unless he uses some of his treasures, he would have definitely ended up dead there if he was in the same cultivation level of the gued child.

    The young master watched as this gued child sat down on one of the many vis of the Forbidden Celestial City, and began meditating to recuperate, then, the gued child pulled out a brush, a few tools and began repairing his puppet.

    This was yet another amazing thing to see, as the puppet, this child was repairing, he did so with finesse and dedication that cannot be seen by someone who doesn¡¯t have a full understanding of what they were doing. This man, against what the Young Master had thought, didn¡¯t receive this puppet as a gift, but it seems that he was the creature of such a puppet.

    Though this young man was tempted to inspect this puppet using his divine sense, he knew better not to use his divine sense now, since the sword seemed pretty adamant on considering a divine sense as an attempt to escape his imprisonment.

    So he had to make do with just watching as the gued child began writing new inscriptions on his own puppet, and implemented new rounds of small projectiles and cannisters full of explosive poison within his puppet. He was re-supplying the lost materials.

    Soon after that, the gued child pulled out a furnace and began doing Receptarism...

    Hang on, that¡¯s not right, the young master was fully interested now. That¡¯s true Receptarism, howe a man from a backwatered be using Receptarism? Could he have knowledge of the upper realms? But if so, he wouldn¡¯t have the necessary Qi to do Receptarism? He should only be able to do basic Alchemy.

    But this was clearly Receptarism, he was using his own Qi to quench and extract poisonous substances from within the nts in his hand and the cauldron he had was only there to contain the essences of the materials not to actually be used in anything else but a container and an impurity extraction tool.

    Though a true Receptarier wouldn¡¯t need such a tool to extract the impurities, that would only be the case if the Receptarier had a true Heart me, but apparently this child doesn¡¯t have it, if he did, he would have been able to do everything without ever needing a cauldron.

    s

    Now that the young master was thinking about it, the Poison God was also a magnificent alchemist, even the young master had to pull a lot of favors to get a few of the Poison God¡¯s pills. But he clearly remembered that even the Poison God, with all of his amazing skillfulness in the domain of Receptarism, he asionally used a cauldron.

    Too many questions began popping in the young man¡¯s head, but he had no way to answer them. He just watched, and saw what the child was going to do.

    ***

    "Alright, this should be enough."

    I pulled the pills from within the cauldron and pocketed them. These were mostly Soul invigorating pills, as I¡¯ll need a lot of them to mend my mental health once I tackle the next hurdle. So far, my cultivation level is still early Core formation, and it¡¯s really not enough to save my ass against that silver back ape. I¡¯ll need to be able to understand these Formations, and with my current mental health, I¡¯ll probably suffer a lot without these pills.

    If I was at least a Soul Formation, no, even a Nascent Soul level, I would have had better chances at tackling these Formations, but now, I¡¯ll have to drag myself up to try and understand them.

    First thing first, I categorized the formations to have three different levels.

    The lowest level of the formation was in the extremities of this city, all the formations there were rather weak, or had suffered the passage of time making them obsolete. Though they could still easily kill a cultivator below the Soul Formation level if they were triggered, it seems that it¡¯s been so long since they were functioning that just the fact of them turning fully on and functional was a miracle.

    But that miracle thankfully saved my life, both because they were slowly inactivating, and allowed me to go into the city, and because they actually activated and managed to create distance between me and the ape.

    The second type of formation was way moreplex, it had severalyers of inscriptions written atop each other, and they were all over the inner city, they were on buildings, on walls and rooftops, everywhere, heck there were even des of grass that had these formations written on them.

    This was not good, because even where I¡¯m right now if I were to take a wandering step and trigger a formation here, I¡¯ll end up dying without knowing how.

    Lastly, the most fearsome of these formations. The ones on the innermost pce, the pce was huge, and it was no problem with understanding how a pce like this would need to be protected, but the sheer number of formations was so staggering, the tools required to build them, the Spirit Stones and the massive loads upon loads of Saint Qi required to have this deadly formation active, and remain active, for eons of time was just mind-boggling.

    Unlike the rest of the city where the formations were dormant until I and that sad silverback ape barged in before they were active, the ones on the pce seemed to have been active since the beginning of time, and are still standing strong without a single hitch.

    For now, I had no will to try and understand the inscriptions on the main pce, it¡¯s like trying to teach a blind toddler quantum physics using hand signs, just impossible, at least for my current level so I won¡¯t bother. Especially since unlike the rest of the formations here that I could actually understand if I deduce and corroborate my understanding and pit it against these inscriptions, the ones on the pce were all made of Saint Qi, and I don¡¯t even have a spec of a shard of Saint Qi to base the premise of these inscriptions and the logic behind them to even begin understanding how they function.

    Let¡¯s start with the basic formations first.

    I looked around the garden until I found one de of grass with a halfpleted formation. It was apparent that whoever created this inscription here, thought of it as a failed attempt and didn¡¯t continue on it. This is a good formation to use and start working on.

    I began by writing the various inscriptions on this de and attempted to deduce every inscription and its function, I used a spirit stone and a piece of Meteorite Steel and began writing. With each new inscription I learned, I attempted to use and see how it can function in alignment with my old inscriptions.

    Days went by, though the sun never set, weeks, months even.

    I felt the silverback ape finally waking and trying to break through the formations to get to me, but that didn¡¯t bother me in the least right now, as the formations here had already been fully active and would now be far more difficult for the ape to break.

    I continued studying that de of grass until I fully understood the premise behind these inscriptions, unlike what I used to do, where I used spirit stones to power my inscriptions to create certain effects. These inscriptions here were rather...audacious to say the least.

    The inscriptions made by this mad man, the one who was dedicated enough to even inscribe the grass were so ¡¯arrogant¡¯ that theymanded thews of the world to bend.

    They didn¡¯t need to be powered by spirit stones, and actually stole energy from the heavens, they actually willed the world¡¯s energy to bend to their purpose and empower them to their objective.

    After three months of study, I barely was able to understand how these inscriptions work, but just because I understand how they work doesn¡¯t mean I could replicate them. Simply because, these inscriptions aren¡¯t just words, but the experience and dedication of a man who understood heavenly Laws. So, unless I understand Law, I cannot use these inscriptions, however, I can very well disable them or alter them.

    I was pretty lucky, but luck itself wasn¡¯t the only factor, it was days of dedicated hard work and deduction. And thanks to that iplete de of grass I understood many things, the origin of this formation, and actually the way to disable them. All of it was in that tiny piece of grass.

    These inscriptions that made the formations are based onw, and if I were to add a foreign inscription to them, it will sh with their purpose and will easily destroy the whole formation. This was what went wrong with that piece of grass, the maker actually tried to add another piece of fractural inscription, something that inherently shed with the inscription¡¯s purpose, and caused the whole thing to break,ws that shed against each other disabled each other. Simple but effective. However, there is a small issue.

    I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I took a deep breath, this was a pain in the ass.

    To actually interfere with these Formations would pretty much mean that I¡¯ll have to nt a type of Virus into its source code, it¡¯s not easy to do, and the ¡¯Virus¡¯ needs to be damn powerful to sustain the inscription¡¯s might and be able to alter itsmands, but the moment I¡¯ll try to inject the Virus, I¡¯ll be attacked by the formation.

    s

    The formation will not just watch as I try to destroy it by writing the ¡¯virus¡¯mand.

    This is damn hard, I have a solution, but don¡¯t have the ability to implement it.

    I sighed as I was inspecting the piece of grass in my hand then just ced it back on the ground to study it moreter.

    But at that moment, I was hit with a wave ofprehension and an epiphany.

    "This could actually work!" I said as I grabbed the grass de in my hand smiling like a wicked viin.

 Chapter 104 The Wrong Foot

    <h4>Chapter 104: The Wrong Foot</h4>

    I began writing some inscriptions on the grass de, though the difference in experience was great, as the maker of this formation was far beyond my current level, I¡¯m a good student, and I could put two and two together, to make a small change to the overall function of the grass de.

    Though the maker of this formation had set the rules andws of his formation, my slight change could alter the overall function of the grass de.

    Once I was done and felt satisfied with my work, I held the glowing piece of green grass de in my hand, smiled then threw it forward.

    I was sitting in the middle of the garden of this house, and everywhere were numerous formations erect to protect everything and anything, as I have said the maker of the formation was crazy enough to even inscriberge swaths of grass, but thankfully he didn¡¯t inscribe every de of grass and was satisfied with just the corners of each garden.

    And thanks to that, I had a safe spot in the middle of the garden where I could work, and now, I threw the piece of grass right into one of the four corners of the garden.

    Immediately, the formation lit up, and my heart thumped loud, I feared that my work would fail if the formation decided that the piece of grass I threw at it was hostile.

    But my fears were unfounded, the piece of grass easily went through the formation, and its task started. The masterful inscriptions of the maker of these formations began shimmering and harmonizing with my piece of grass, and soon the formation crumbled.

    "Yes! Sess!" I held a fist up, satisfied with my sess. Not only was I able to disable the formation, now I have even more material to study.

    I went toward the fallen remains of the formation and started noting all of the new inscriptions that weren¡¯t part of the herb, this reminds me of the time I was crafting X, but sadly, the inscriptions here are tooplex to be understood with trial and error, and they were just too numerous, I¡¯ll definitely need an Inscription Book of this caliber to be able to understand this, or, I¡¯ll need to spend a good deal of time to slowly figure out each and every inscription. But I doubt that monkey will allow it, nor would this small world.

    I have a slowlypelling feeling that I¡¯m in the house of someone else and I¡¯m unwanted. It¡¯s a strange feeling, it¡¯s like being invited to someone¡¯s apartment, but then you could clearly feel that his wife doesn¡¯t like the sight of you, and you just want to leave.

    s

    At first, it was slight, but now the feeling is growing with every passing moment. I¡¯m sure after a time, it will be unbearable, so I don¡¯t have the luxury to understand all the inscriptions here, and I¡¯m better off noting all of them.

    And so I did.

    I wrote every new inscription symbol, every formation, their diagram, and how they were set up. Though I was only focused on one piece of garden, I knew that all of the formations here were based on something like the grass formation here, I could even see the resemnce on the formations on the walls, streets, and even windows were quite simr to the one I was inspecting, and they all seem to have only a small change between them to change the aftereffects of the formation.

    I was tired after a while, my mental health was at risk if I were to continue studying these formations, and even with so many Soul Strengthening Pills, I was still feeling suffocated with the amount of knowledge I was stuffing down my brain.

    I needed to take a breather ande back to this, but I can¡¯t take long, the feeling of oppression from this Lower Celestial Realm is getting more and more powerful.

    Looking around, it seems that I have risked my life getting into this city without even looking for any treasures or findings. A forgotten city like this would definitely have some good stuff, but it¡¯s fully barricaded with formations that the thought of trying to pry something from this ce is absurd.

    I can¡¯t go empty-handed though, I already got some ceremonial swords, and house utensils, though they could be worth fortunes in the country of Zhou, here they were nothing more than just tools. Decorations and worthless items, not to mention the other cultivators would have obtained simr stuff.

    I looked at the three-story pagoda in front of me, its door was locked tight and it also had a formation on it, but now that I can understand a bit of these formations I won¡¯t need to destroy the formation.

    I went to the pagoda¡¯s front door, pulled my brush, and added just a couple of inscriptions. I didn¡¯t need to make the formation block me, I wanted it to admit me as the owner of this very house and just changing a few symbols shouldn¡¯t be that hard. Though for anyone who didn¡¯t get the same luck as I did with that iplete grass de, they¡¯ll never understand the secret to manipte this simple formation and will need to forcefully breakthrough it.

    The door opened and I was able to see the inside of the house, only to be bummed even more. The whole house seemed to have been cleaned out. I sighed, there was nothing here for me.

    I went to the second story and noticed the same thing, there was nothing left not even chairs or tables, the whole ce was empty, there was nothing but walls inside and out with nothing of value.

    Once I arrived at the top of the pagoda, however, I saw something different.

    The whole story was empty with the exception of the center, there was a small table that had an oilmp, with a lit wick.

    s

    The oilmp looked extraordinary, especially the purple me that looked like it had been lit from time immemorial.

    "Snuff it out!"

    I heard the word was more like amand of someone on a higher realmmanding an ant.

    This was the same person who spoke those words a few days ago and was the same person that was using his divine sense on me. He was rude, and just because he was rude...

    I turned and left the room.

 Chapter 105 Wit Against Backing

    <h4>Chapter 105: Wit Against Backing</h4>

    "Wait!" the sound came, it was heavy full of anger, but at the same time, careful, "If you snuff that candle, I¡¯ll reward you handsomely," he said.

    "What can guarantee me that?" I replied, not even trying tomunicate with divine sense but just simply talking to empty air.

    "I¡¯m Zhang Tian, son of Tu Tian, Celestial King of the Wind Realm. One of the five Celestial Realms of the Heavenly World. My words are not spoken lightly, and once I make a promise, a promise shall be kept!" the man said with all confidence, though I felt arrogance beyond arrogance in his words, and contempt to all the living in them, I had a feeling that he wasn¡¯t just boasting.

    "I still can¡¯t trust you, after all, if you truly were a Prince, why are you imprisoned here?" I asked.

    "How... did you know I was imprisoned?" the prince asked.

    "Simple, your power is too great to be someone stuck in such a small ce, also you¡¯re using Saint Qi in your Divine Sense, which makes it rather ufortable. Not to mention you easily fended off my hallucinations, and also the fact that your words were forcefully cut thest time you spoke to me, it felt like you were forced and suppressed, but all of that wasn¡¯t enough to conclude that you¡¯re actually imprisoned."

    "Then how did you figure out I was imprisoned?" the prince asked.

    "You just told me yourself," I grinned at the man.

    ¡¯...¡¯

    I didn¡¯t receive a reply, I could even guess that the prince was actually facepalming himself right now.

    s

    "I suppose this me, no, thismp is actually a part of a formation that¡¯s keeping you imprisoned," I said.

    "You¡¯re both right and wrong, it¡¯s keeping me stuck, but it¡¯s only a part of many other restrictions upon me. But, if you rid me of the Purple me Sealing Formation, I can reward you handsomely, I¡¯ll be able to use a one-hundredth of a percent of my power, enough to send a message to my father, once he received my whereabouts, he wille and rid me of my shackles, and once I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll make you one of my servants, and bless you with an endless life of happiness." The man said all confidently.

    My expressions turned ugly and sour.

    "You don¡¯t seem pleased! Many would beg to be my servants. Why not rejoice?"

    "Your words are making me even more uninterested in helping you, a servant, to you? You¡¯re mad. Why would I give up my freedom, why should I help you? Because you¡¯re a prince? Sorry, but just because you were born with a golden spoon in your gullet doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ll do you bidding, I¡¯m no ve of yours, nor will I ever be, rot in here, like the personality you have." I said and turned.

    "Wait!" the man¡¯s voice sounded through my head, this time it was slightly painful, but the owner of the voice grunted, he seemed to have suffered some bacsh.

    "What do you want?" I asked.

    "Just wait," the man huffed, "It seems that there is a misunderstanding, I told you I¡¯m a prince of a celestial king, but your origin doesn¡¯t seem to have proper knowledge of how high of a statue I am. Still, I would forgive such insolence, I don¡¯t have a choice anyway... Then if you wish, I won¡¯t have any interference with you once you free me from this formation, but I¡¯ll still be obliged to reward you for saving me."

    "What can a naked man offer, say, with all of your power, origin, background, and arrogance, what separates you from a mere ve that¡¯s working the fields? Nothing. All of your words are meaningless to me, your words have no value, as I don¡¯t trust you, nor would I trust you rewarding me with anything."

    "What is your name?" the prince asked.

    "Why do you need my name for?" I asked.

    "To prove my sincerity," he said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "You¡¯re too strange, I think giving you my name will be dangerous."

    "Indeed, it would be, if I were to really mean you harm, I could use curses and gue you with death just by using your name, but I won¡¯t, hang on, I don¡¯t even need to have your namee directly from your mouth."

    Immediately, a wave of divine sense spread along with the whole city and continued spreading, and in that divine sense, there was a picture, a picture of me.

    Just as the wave ended, "Shen Bao!" said the man.

    "What did you do?" I asked, how the hell did he know my name... that was scary.

    "Simply, I made a picture of you in my divine sense, and spread it all over this lower celestial realm, once a few cultivators are hit with this image, if one of them know you, they will speak or think of your name, and all those who spoke had spoken the same name, Shen Bao...the Dragon Spirit, could it really be a coincidence? Could the Man in ck Robes be speaking of you? Interesting."

    I didn¡¯t reply as I was still reeling from the repercussions of the dangers this person represents, such a simple yet ingenious way to figure out my name... now if he said he can get me cursed using my own name I¡¯m screwed.

    "Don¡¯t worry, if I wanted you dead, there are many other ways than vile curse magic. And unless you speak your own name, thrice to a person, they cannot use the Origin Name¡¯s Curse. So worry not, I only needed to know your name to make a heavenly vow."

    "A what?"

    "Heed my words, and let heavens be witness, I Zhang Tian pledge that I shall cause him no harm and promise the safety of mind and body to Shen Bao If he were to help me remove the Purple me Sealing Formation. This I vow as Heavens witness and let my soul be shattered if I were to renege on my words or act against my vow!"

    Almost immediately, I could feel the atmosphere change, it was as if something grave had happened and the consequences of defying it wouldn¡¯t just end with a light heavenly punishment.

    "In all my life, I had only used a heavenly vow once, and it is to never betray the Celestial Wind Kingdom. And this is my second vow. Once you help me I¡¯ll promise great benefits."

    s

    "I¡¯m still tempted to just go and leave you here," I said.

    "I knew you¡¯d probably say something like that, then how about I tell you of a little secret," the prince said.

    "What is?" I asked.

    "I have personally Met the Poison God, and I know the whereabouts of one of the caves he used to reside in..."

    ¡¯Oh, now that¡¯s some interesting stuff...¡¯

 Chapter 106 Chance Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 106: Chance Opportunity</h4>

    "His real name was a mystery to everyone, and he was only known as the Poison God. He had originated from a faraway on the western side of the Vast Expanse, though I doubt you¡¯ll even know what that is." The young master said, mockingly.

    I was irked by this guy unting his knowledge so I spoke up.

    "The culmination ofary might of all the cultivators of this dimensional side. The Vast expanse is where the real might of this universe reside, and even this Lower Celestial Realm is nothing more than a speck of dustpared to the Vast Expanse. Also, it¡¯s where the Primordial Beings reside in."

    After hearing an embarrassed cough, "You¡¯re mostly right, anyway, The Poison God was famous first for his alchemy, his abnormal methods of making some of the world¡¯s mightiest pills preceded him and as such many sects wanted him as a guest at their sects, but with a lot of fame,es many tribtions.

    The Poison God¡¯s own talent made many sects envy others for having him as a guest, and thus one day a conflict between two sects broke out, and in the process, one of the Poison God¡¯s Concubines died. The attacking sect was the cause, though the Poison God was barely at the *"*¨¦"**¨¦* Cultivation stage¡ª"

    "Hold, what was that? Say it again,"

    "Say what? I hate when I¡¯m interrupted you know."

    "You just said something about the poison God¡¯s Cultivation stage, but I didn¡¯t hear it right."

    "Ah, world prevention, you¡¯re not powerful enough nor had severed your mortality, knowledge of such stages of cultivation is actually forbidden by the Heavens, the knowledge of such high levels will be forbidden to you until you im your Domain from Heavens, don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s actually good to not know a lot right now it will only deviate you from your path. Let¡¯s just say that the Poison God was at that time had a tenth of the strength of this Prince."

    "Right, that I can probably gouge," Which was obviously a lie if this guy was imprisoned with so many of these formations and not even able to use a fraction of his power and still not this powerful... the poison God was definitely someone he strong.

    s

    "Anyway, when the Poison God received the news, he went off alone against one of the pirs of the cultivation world, with elders and disciples far surpassing his cultivation level, and a sect master that was an entire realm above him, the Poison God used one day topletely annihte the whole sect, in one day and one night, more than three billion people had died, all for having crossed a man that was not even a tenth as powerful as I am. And let me tell you the truth, if I, at my peak, and full capabilities were to face that very sect, I could probably achieve the same degree of sess, but I would have to give a literal arm and a leg not to mention risking my cultivation level drop. The Poison God¡¯s feat caused his name to spread through the Vast Expanse as one of the most dangerous people alive. Not only that, no one dared even speak his name out of fright, and he wasn¡¯t even on a high cultivation levelpared to many others. But his poison maniption was so masterful that the fear he brought with his mere presence was enough to make children grow white hair."

    "Seems like a very charismatic man."

    "Oh, charismatic he was not, that man was vile, evil and most of all a master of Demonic Cultivation, you don¡¯t get affection and niceness by association with people like that, but the good thing about him was his word. No matter how evil people think he is, no matter how cruel and atrocious his poisons had been, the Poison God was a man of his word, and if he promised someone something, he would deliver, and as such, I had the pleasure of meeting him, though I lost an arm in the process."

    "Ugh, he seemed like not such a pleasant guy to be around with, but you sound rather...fan-struck."

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I, we¡¯re in a world where strength is respected." The prince said.

    "But isn¡¯t he a master of poison, isn¡¯t it deceitful vile and not an orthodox way of cultivation?" I asked.

    "That¡¯s the belief of the weak, you should know, it doesn¡¯t matter what means you use to manifest your power, I have known of mighty characters who wielded the power of the Underworld¡¯s River, killed people by the day, but they were doting parents, loyal friends, and the bestpanions. A man¡¯s cultivation should not reflect their behavior and the Poison God was the literal embodiment of good character."

    ¡¯This guy¡¯s been Praising the Poison God so much, one would say he has a crush on him.¡¯

    "Anyway, as I have said, I know the exact location to one of the caves where the Poison God used to cultivate, it¡¯s on a that has a lot of poisonous substances and he hid there after having battled the sect that killed his concubine. And since this is under the Jurisdiction of my father, lord of the Wind Realm, it has been forbidden entry for anyone else besides the rtives of the Poison God, not even the Seven Poison Sect has the right to enter it even if it is a heaven for them. unless my father wishes it, none shall enter."

    "Right, and you said that you¡¯ll show me that ce."

    "Yes, but I¡¯ll have to warn you, lest you say I am a liar or had deceived you. You cannot ess it right now."

    "Why not?"

    "It¡¯s hard to exin, let me show you."

    Almost immediately, my eye turned white, as my vision changed and I found myself standing right on top of my Sea of Consciousness.

    The green sea of poison and the rotating golden core above it slowly gave me a sense of safety, security, and a sense of belonging this was my own Sea of Consciousness.

    "Impressive, your foundations are perfect." Spoke a man. Turning, I saw a man wearing golden and white robes, while he had a devilish handsomeness to his face.

    His whole body exuded power beyond power, and I could feel his might even though his whole aura was fully locked tight against his skin.

    The man stepped forward, and with every step he made, the calm sea of consciousness rippled.

    "You haven¡¯t been taught well though, what the hell is going on with you?"

    "What do you mean, and howe you¡¯re here?" I asked.

    "Let me answer your second question first, I¡¯m here because of two reasons, the first, simple,¡¯" the man smiled mockingly at me. "Because I¡¯m strong."

    ¡¯That exins nothing but at the same time, I think I understand what he means.

    "The second is, you have no defenses set up. You seem old enough, shouldn¡¯t you at least know the basics of Core Formation, Soul Protection, and at least be able to improve upon your cultivation. Your whole body is a mess, your foundations though are good, your skills seemcking, you¡¯re not practicing them enough. Also, what is that?"

    The young prince pointed and the Poison God¡¯s Book showed up in my sea of consciousness.

    The prince, frowned, "That¡¯s..." he then looked at me and said, "This is none of my business, but if you promise to release me from my prison, I will tell you something that will save your life."

    "I can¡¯t promise to be able to defuse the formation, but I¡¯ll try my best."

    "Good, then, that book in your hand."

    "Yes, what about it, that¡¯s the Poison God¡¯s Heritage."

    "No. it is not, that¡¯s not the same book I saw on the hands of the Poison God. It looks close to it, but. It¡¯s iplete. I would advise you to not delve too far into this cultivation path, though the Poison God was a genius, this book is definitely iplete. If you truly want to continue using this poison Path, you¡¯ll need to find the original copy."

    I thought for a moment and said, "For now, I don¡¯t have the ability to find the original copy if it even exists, so for now I¡¯ll keep using this but I¡¯ll keep your warning in mind. I don¡¯t like using iplete or faulty things, and if I find a mistake, I¡¯m more than certain I can fix it."

    "Just like you did with those barriers." The young prince said.

    "Yes, just like that."

    "Good then, I suppose you have the capabilities to fulfill your word. Then, what the heck is going on with your cultivation, you¡¯re a whole mess, you¡¯re not bnced at all. You¡¯re learning poison technique, then movement techniques, then a sword technique, but you¡¯re not proficient in any of them. You¡¯re sub-par in all of them, and without your puppet to back you up, you¡¯ll end up dying at a moment¡¯s notice, not to mention you don¡¯t even have proper defenses set up on your sea of consciousness."

    "Huh, I have that many openings?"

    "That¡¯s just the tip of the iceberg, your whole body is riddled with problems. When was thest time you used your sea of consciousness to cultivate your skills?"

    "You can actually use the Sea of consciousness like that?" I asked.

    The prince, Zhang Tian, facepalmed. "What sect have you been learning at, they can¡¯t be this ipetent."

    "Well, actually, I never had the chance to learn at a sect, the first sect I ever joined was destroyed shortly after I entered it, and from then on, I was on my own."

    "That exins a lot, Shen Bao, you¡¯re really weak, this is not an understatement, you¡¯re beyond weak, but the fact that you¡¯re mentally capable of solving many situations is your greatest power, sadly, in the world of cultivation no matter how one is smart,pared to absolute power,pared to world rending, tearing and void destroying power, smartness alone is not enough."

    The prince sighed, then he looked at me, and his eyes brightened, "How about I fix some of your shorings?"

    "Oh, but I don¡¯t know if I should ept a master," I said, worrying that the Poison God¡¯s will might be pissed.

    "No, I would never take the ce of the Poison God, even with that iplete book, which is really worrying me, you should never betray your master. I will only mentor you on things your master had not included. I¡¯m smart enough to know that the poison god only taught you the basics ofbat andpletely ignored the establishment of yourprehensive foundation and practical use of your powers."

    "Well, sounds like the school is in session," I said.

    "Yes, but we don¡¯t have a lot of time," Zhang Tian said.

    s

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Well, the Lord of Lords, a mysterious being who created the test that you entered has made a time limitation, and if you¡¯re asking how do I know this, it¡¯s easy, the rest of the cultivators that came here are a chattering bunch.

    The time limitation will kick everyone who is not purposefully making progress, unlike you who figured out how to enter through the Spatial Chambers, the other cultivators were wandering aimlessly and half of them had already been kicked out. Your turn willeter, and you must have felt it, but I suppose we have about a couple of months, in that time, I can help you grow stronger while you help me remove some of these restrictions."

    "Sounds like a good n, when do we start?"

    The young man smiled, "That¡¯s what I like to hear."

 Chapter 107 First Lesson -Understanding-

    <h4>Chapter 107: First Lesson -Understanding-</h4>

    "What are you doing?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "What do you mean? I¡¯m doing exactly as you asked, I used the same skill now this is the tenth time, and I¡¯m really low on Qi." I replied as I huffed through my exaggerated breath intake was nothing but a visual effect and had no corrtion with physical exertion, my mental health was declining.

    We were still in my own Sea of Consciousness, and the young master Zhang Tian asked me to show him one of my skills, apparently, he was unconvinced that I had mastered one of the Poison God¡¯s skills and thought it would be impossible for me to do so on my own without guidance.

    I had gained enlightenment when I fought against the Heavenly Tribtion, and I replicated the same powerful Poison Tiger w for the Zhang Tian to see, ten times over, but he didn¡¯t seem impressed by any of my attempts.

    "Like I said, what are you doing?" the man said, and I failed to understand what he means. His way of teaching was rather annoying, he was the type to make you ¡¯figure it out yourself¡¯ as showcased by my prior attempts at using the Laughing ughterer¡¯s Sanguine de. He never approved of anything and always found faults in any of my skills.

    I really wanted to berate him, but when he mentioned he was a few thousand years old, which I couldn¡¯t even begin to understand, I shut up and listed, the man had wisdom and knowledge and he would prove helpful. After all, not many can directly learn from the son of the King of the Wind Celestial Realm, though I have no idea what that is, he makes it sound like it¡¯s a big deal.

    "Look here, you¡¯re not a monkey, you¡¯re precision is immacte, your re-creation is perfect, but that¡¯s your own fault, you are a copying person, you didn¡¯t learn these skills with trial and error, you executed them with perfect memory while having no idea what many of the slight and minor adjustments are doing. Let¡¯s take your hip rotation as an example. Try to use the same Spell, the Poison Tiger w, only this time, do a half hip rotation as you swing down your ws." The young master said.

    I didn¡¯t understand where he was going with this, but I followed, even mentally exhausted, I still channeled my Qi and used the spell within my Sea of Consciousness.

    Though habit and memory wanted me to rotate my hip more as I struck down, I calmed down and did only a half rotation. And almost immediately, the ws that I swung down coursed faster, struck deeper, and traveled far longer than before.

    "What the hell?" I muttered unable to understand how a simple little hint managed to increase the power this much.

    s

    The young master flicked me in the head and said, "As I said, you¡¯re a just a copy-person, those are nothing but third rate trash that cannot use their own knowledge experience and their own effort to hone their abilities, if you had continued on this path you would have found it impossible to get rid of these habits, you¡¯re lucky I met you this early otherwise you¡¯ll have caused your own death."

    "I still don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on," I asked as I figuratively stood up. Since I was in my sea of Consciousness everything was mentally processed even my extensive over-breathing.

    "As much as I would like to tell you directly, it would be best if you can figure it out on your own." The young master said. "But I can give you a hint, you and the Poison God are two different beings. Something that works for him might not work for you, you should go and meditate on my words, I think you¡¯ll be able to understand them after a few months of meditation."

    I frowned at the man, "You¡¯re underestimating me a lot..." I said.

    "Not really, but the secrets of cultivation aren¡¯t something that easy to figure out." The young master said, "And two months is actually a fast period, another person might spend years to figure out the mistake they made."

    "Well, I already figured out the problem. Your hint was more than enough though, might as well tell me the answer directly." I said.

    "You¡¯re bluffing."

    s

    "Not really," I replied, "Body, weight, height, muscle distribution, and most importantly, the number of unlocked meridians, me and the Poison God are two different persons, and like you said copying him will result in the mediocre disy of skill. So, the hip rotation would be best for me because we don¡¯t have the same build, that would also mean if I were to change a few other habits the spell would be even more powerful. Now I understand what you mean by practice. If I were to practice this, my own body and with my ownprehension, and with constant repetition, I will be able to use this same spell but it will be more attuned to my body and my meridians than the copy I used from the poison god. Is that right?" I said as I looked at the mouth agape prince."

    "I thought you¡¯d at most be able to discern something from my hint but to actuallye up with the full analysis of your problem and the answer to it. I say yourprehension is otherworldly. I have a good feeling that you¡¯ll make a few waves in the world of cultivation if you keep your head leveled and not die. Good, but we don¡¯t have much time, you can use these hints to deal with many of your other problems. Once we remove the other Lamp, I¡¯ll help you, this time not with your skills, but your cultivation." The young prince said.

    I nodded and the prince disappeared from my Sea of Consciousness.

    I opened my eyes and was back at the same vi I was in.

    "Go northwest, the fifth house with two stories, that¡¯s where the secondmp is." The prince¡¯s words came to my mind and I left the house.

 Chapter 108 Second Lesson -Cultivation-

    <h4>Chapter 108: Second Lesson -Cultivation-</h4>

    Disabling the formations wasn¡¯t too difficult, especially after understanding how they worked, it only took half an hour to get to the house the prince mentioned.

    The silverback ape was still wreaking havoc in the city, but the barriers were fully adamant on stopping it in its ce.

    Once I arrived at the aforementioned house, I walked up to the top, once again there were no materials to harvest, so I just snuffed themp and ced it within my inventory, there was no need to leave it there, after all this is some powerful restriction that held a whole city down.

    Once again, the Prince came to my Sea of Consciousness, this time, however, his whole body was shimmering with more Qi.

    "You seem to have recovered," I said.

    "No, not nearly enough, once all themps are gone, then I¡¯ll be able to impart you with a divine message. I¡¯m just gathering my Qi and Will. Now, for your cultivation, what is cultivation to you?" the prince asked.

    "Cultivation is to cultivate the mind, body, and spirit to ascend to a higher domain."

    "Lackluster and far too general, no, that¡¯s not the answer, if you truly believe that cultivation is just this, then schrs and martial artists have already cultivated themselves to the peak."

    "I don¡¯t understand how is this going to help me," I replied.

    "It will because you¡¯re still thinking that cultivation is just about bing stronger, or reaching immortality, but believe me, strength and immortality aren¡¯t difficult. For a Necro-Cultivator can easily achieve such, as he can curse his body with Undeath, and attain immortality, and obtain strength far too much for anyone in his same realm to contend with, but these very Necro-Cultivators can never attain the peak because they sacrifice the future for the present, they give up their progress for power and longevity that holds no purpose or meaning. So, I ask again, what is cultivation?"

    s

    I thought for a moment instead of opening my mouth, then sat down. I meditated on the Young Prince¡¯s answer for a while before I smiled serenely.

    "I have already found the answer, but it seems that I wasn¡¯t sure about it before yet now I¡¯m sure," I said.

    "Cultivation, is the search of truth, the truth of the world, the truth of the body, the truth of the mind, and the truth of the spirit. In this search, one grows to higher realms, one grows to wrench perfection from the hands of heaven, and in his search of this truth, the heavens¡¯ jealous naturees down to punish them.

    Yet, this isn¡¯t all, to cultivate is to defy heaven, yet heaven itself isn¡¯t as merciless as to smite down everyone who dares defy her. Heavens wants for those who search the truth to be rewarded once they achieve a minor glimpse of Heaven¡¯s greatness."

    I opened my eyes to look at an amazed, and proud-looking Zhang Tian in front of me. And almost immediately, my core began rotating far faster than it had before, as my Qi began surging forcing itself upon my body, excited as if I had unlocked something, or had outright destroyed a fog that was blocking my insight.

    My core rotated fast enough that I felt it was about to shatter, and in this rotation, my Qi surged from my meridians and spiraled as it broke through a bottleneck that I didn¡¯t even think I was facing and managed to climb another rank in the Core Formation level. Not only one rank though, but the power of this core also continued spiraling until it broke another then another, and finally, the core began slowing down.

    I was forced out of my Sea of Consciousness as a vile liquid gathered around my throat, then I threw up bile of disgusting matter that wasposed of nothing but disgusting impurities of the body. How many do I have? Damn, that¡¯s disgusting.

    I wiped my mouth and rinsed it with water from a water skin I had on my pouch.

    I went back to my sea of Consciousness and found the young master still waiting.

    "Congrattions, I¡¯m really tempted to take you as a disciple since you showed such greatprehensive ability and great talent to cultivate the Dao. Sadly, the Poison God has beaten me to you," the young prince smiled.

    Though he seemed like aplete jerk at the beginning, his smile was genuine right now.

    "Thank you for your guidance," I replied sping my hands. One must give thanks when thanks are due.

    "No worries, now, your answer was almost perfect, but it was still iplete, however, I cannot tell you the rest as you¡¯ll need to focus on this and understand it by yourself in order to create your domain."

    "Domain, this is the third time I hear this, what does it mean?" I asked.

    "Third? I spoke of it twice, where did you hear the third?" the Prince asked.

    "I a venture to the Laughing ughterer¡¯s Pagoda."

    s

    "Hmm, I don¡¯t know of this Laughing ughterer, perhaps he is a person that came way after I was imprisoned. Still, a domain is something that you can create once you¡¯re in the Soul Formation level, but there were cases of people who created their own Domain in the Nascent Soul level, but those are rare as Qilin Horns and Phoenix¡¯s feather, even this prince had a hard time making my own Domain at the Nascent Soul." The prince said. though he was bragging, he had the right to.

    "What does a domain do? And how does it impact cultivation?" I asked.

    "I¡¯ll answer you once you remove the third Lamp. Go on," the prince said and I shrugged as I removed myself from my Sea of Consciousness.

    I needed to remove a total of Sixmps, two down, four to go, and from what the Young master is saying, he will be imparting knowledge for everymp I remove, this is some good motivation.

    I pulled out my brush and went toward the nearestmp location, knowledge begets strength, and without knowledge, strength is meaningless

 Chapter 109 Third Lesson -Domain-

    <h4>Chapter 109: Third Lesson -Domain-</h4>

    Snuffing another oilmp, the Prince of the Wind Celestial Realm came to my spiritual Sea. His entire being seemed to be exuding far more Qi than before, which was good, he was on his way to recover.

    "Seeing how you fare right now, I say you¡¯ll be able to get yourself out in no time," I said.

    "Stop fooling around, not even with my full power can I get out of here, I¡¯ll need the help of my father. Those assholes imprisoned me and had definitely not told my father where I was imprisoned." The prince said, his face was fixed in an annoyed scowl.

    "Who are they?" I asked.

    The prince shook his head, "You don¡¯t need to know, actually it would be best if you didn¡¯t know. Some people actually can sense when you even think about them, and if I were to impart you with their name, affiliation or origin you¡¯ll only bring unwanted attention to you. The only thing you need to know is, they are a terrifying force within the Vast Expanse. Forget about this, Shen Bao, now let¡¯s go about the thing you asked me before."

    "Yes, more about cultivation, and Domain?" I spoke.

    "Yes, Domain, whates to your mind when you hear the word Domain."

    "Property, area of control and subjugation, a ce where one holdsplete authority," I replied.

    "That¡¯s a good answer, and in cultivation, one can make their own domain, but they need to understandw first." The prince pondered for a moment and said.

    "It would be difficult to try and exin things to you due to your severeck of understanding of how cultivation work." Zhang Tian said.

    s

    He was right, and I wasn¡¯t going to refute him, after all, I¡¯m a transmigrator with memories of a civilized and an ¡¯apparently¡¯ ordered world with its own rules. In a sense, I have yet to fully integrate with the cultivation world, and in another sense, I actually don¡¯t want to. I would like to keep my mindset the same as I had when I was back on earth, at least a good part of it.

    "So, since it would be hard to exin it in normal terms, why don¡¯t we take it a step further. Imaginew to be the same as the Inscriptions you make to create a formation. And the Domain is the formation itself." Zhang Tian said.

    "So far I¡¯m following."

    "Good, then if you understandw, as in inscriptions, you can mold it to create an inscription that is your domain."

    "Right, that I understand but what does a domain do?"

    "Simple, it makes you god." Zhang Tian said. "But it would be best to show you, "Wisdom of the Ages."

    Almost immediately, my whole sea of consciousness was filled with rows upon rows of bookshelves that extended from the depth of hell to the height of the heavens. And from within these rows of books, scrolls, and parchments, a man stood tall within them, Zhang Tian, looked like an otherworldly schr, with an aura of a savant and the demeanor of a saint. He had no disregard nor lofty arrogance to his face, but a serene understanding of nature, yet at the same time pity for those whock knowledge.

    "This is my Domain. It takes upon the theme that is closest to you. And once you trap someone in your own domain, you can use it to break them."

    "Impressive and all," I pointed at the books, "I know the Pen is Mightier than the sword and all, but I find it really hard to understand why not go for a full sword arsenal, most these things can do is a paper cut, and since they¡¯re really old even that would be a hard task."

    "That¡¯s what many had thought before they ended up there," the prince said as he pointed behind me.

    Looking back, I saw a single shelve, which was by no means small, and underneath it were hundreds upon hundreds of corpses, of men women, old and young all littering the ce under that shelve. Where in its midst were hundreds of books.

    I used my divine sense and immediately understood what this was.

    "781 corpses, 781 books. Are these all domains?" I asked.

    "Exactly, for every domain I beat, I can wrench it from its owner and have it added to my own bookshelves, not to mention, I can even use them."

    "That¡¯s some op shit."

    "What is Op?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Oh, overpowered, never mind, damn this is some powerful stuff," I said as I gazed at the bookshelves. There were many domains and each with a different name and symbol.

    "As I said, I¡¯m really strong. But still, I¡¯m not omnipotent, I had my share of losses, and some of the most memorable losses were at the hands of beings far too strong then you can believe, and the Poison God was among them. Would you like to see our battle?"

    "Of course! I would!"

    "Then go and snuff anothermp." Zhang Tian smiled.

    "Man, you¡¯re a ve driver, alright, I¡¯m on it." I said and woke up from my sea of consciousness.

    "HOLD! HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" came the question, rather far too loud for my ears.

    "Wow, you almost ripped my eardrums. What are you talking about?" I said.

    "You just casually left a "*"¡¯@@//*- realm cultivator¡¯s Domain on your own without having a shred of powerpared to me, nor understanding of where you were. They say a newbornmb has no fear, but this is impossible."

    s

    "Euh, I just woke up, same as you do when you know you¡¯re in a lucid dream."

    "Lucid dream? Right, dreams. Yes, that¡¯s what mortals experience when they sleep. But that still doesn¡¯t exin this. You were in my world, my domain, my territory, and unless I allowed you to leave you shouldn¡¯t have left."

    "Well, I don¡¯t know, but my guess is, as long as I knew that was an illusion, it wasn¡¯t affecting me. It was good amazing and frightening, but illusions remain illusions."

    "If anyone of my level heard you calling a domain an illusion, they¡¯d throw up blood, but I¡¯ve be slightly immune to your unusualness. Domains aren¡¯t illusions, they are the hard cold truth of the world, they arews bounded and forced into one¡¯s own control and submission, and you just...ignored this fact. This is most intriguing, once I turn to my father¡¯s side I¡¯ll be sure to experience with this knowledge. Now go, snuff that candle, I still have much to teach you."

    I nodded and left the vi. The formations weren¡¯t that difficult to handle, just maniptions of inscriptions that I already had prior knowledge of.

 Chapter 110 Fourth Lesson -Battle-

    <h4>Chapter 110: Fourth Lesson -Battle-</h4>

    After a couple of hours dawdling mostly because the nextmp was just too damn far, now with the fourth down, Zhang Tian came to my Sea of Consciousness and said, "I¡¯ll show you a rey of our battle. Make sure to pay attention."

    Immediately, I found myself looking through the eyes of a young man, and just as I came to appreciate the stuffing world energy, I realized I was actually floating in space, for a split second my heart skipped a beat and threatened to stop from fright, but I regained my bearings immediately.

    The prince, Zhang Tian seemed to be standing at the forefront of so many cultivators that just counting their numbers would take days to finish. And in front of him was a heavily wounded and bloodied man, but his eyes were redder than blood, as they were bloodshot, and anger clearly disyed on his face.

    The bloodied man wore green robes and had a floating jar behind him that was continuously exuding dark smoke. In his left hand was a sword that looked surprisingly simr to my Creeping Demise. Yet it was inherently different.

    "Little brat, what do you think you¡¯re doing." The man spoke.

    "Senior Poison Lord, Ie at the behest of my father to ask you to calm down, you already ughtered the entire *@@//# Sect, is there any need for more bloodshed."

    ¡¯Poison Lord, wasn¡¯t he titled the Poison God? But from the looks of it, he was still younger than when I saw him fighting the Primordial Dragon Serpent.¡¯

    "I havee far! I have struggled much, I have fought much, and I have lived through hardship and despair, but I endured, I calmly walked my path without bothering any of the Holy Sects of the Celestial Realm, yet they dared! THEY DARED kill one of my own! I have yet to finish exacting my revenge! Walk or find yourself at the mercy of my de!" the man¡¯s words were heaven rattling, and not even the unending number of cultivators were capable of sustaining the effects of the Poison Lord¡¯s presence. Some even vomited blood as his words shed against their divine senses.

    "Haven¡¯t you sated your bloodlust? You killed billions of lives!" The Prince shouted.

    "But the one that matters escaped! Unless I kill him with my own hands! Then none of this is enough! Step aside, this shall be myst warning!"

    s

    "I am afraid I cannot, Qin Xue had owed us a favor, and I am obliged to repay it."

    "Then so be it, Second Prince of the Wind realm, today you have chosen to step in the path of the Poison Lord, let all who is here be witness to this battle!" The Poison God said.

    The young Poison God drew his sword, and from its hilt, the de elongated to a whip and it shot forward with speed so fast that I found it impossible for me to be able to see it, yet see it I was capable.

    It seems that I¡¯m experiencing the Prince of the wind Realm¡¯s experience as if I was him. Because at my current level, that speed, not to mention blocking or dodging it, It would be a miracle amongst miracles if I was only able to see a glimpse of it.

    Zhang Tian grunted and drew nine swords that hovered behind him, one of them shot forward parrying the whip-like de while the other nine-shot at the Poison Lord.

    "Tiamat, bring chaos!" the young Poison God spoke and from the hilt of his weapon, eight other whip swords shot forward to intercept the Prince¡¯s swords.

    The Prince pped both hands together into a prayer motion then howled, "Divine Law! Space Rent Asunder!"

    The veins on the prince¡¯s face popped up as his eyes turned golden, his whole body exuded immense Saint Qi that the world began to groan. Space shattered from around the Poison God as fissures appeared in space, then wind so dark, so fast, and so deadly shot from within these fissures at the Poison Lord.

    "Fool!" the Poison God said and held his hand forward, in a gripping motion that was facing up, then he twisted his hand and my vision swam, the winds that were going to attack the Poison God were now attacking the prince, their positions swapped.

    "Damn!" the prince cursed and immediately pulled a talisman from his pouch, the winds came close to tearing the prince into pieces but the talisman vibrated and turned the prince¡¯s body into a mirage. The special winds tore into the mirage harmlessly, then the special rifts closed afterward.

    "It seems that your understanding of Space Laws is as amazing as ever. It would be unwise to fight you like this. Then Poison Lord! Let¡¯s see howpetent you are in Domain! Wisdom of the Ages!"

    Immediately, the same library that I experienced earlier appeared, with all of its shelves and rows, only this time, the area where the corpsesy, there weren¡¯t as many as I saw before but barely a few hundred.

    The prince¡¯s clothes and appearance changed to that of a schrly divine saint, while the young Poison God¡¯s bloody figure was still the same, only the Poison God¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t as bloodshot as before, but he seemed to have regained just a bit of his sanity.

    "Child, yourws are based on the knowledge you have obtained from the heritage of your father, but it iscking. For a battle of Domain, this ce is too small to confine me!"

    "Let¡¯s see about that, Poison Lord, Seventh Book! Hell Eternal!"

    One of the books from the shelves shot forward then it opened up, and within the library, the shelves spread apart opening a small area where a globe of fire epassed both the young Poison God and the Prince.

    "Burn by hell¡¯s eternal mes!" Zhang Tian said and the globe of red fire surged as waves of heat assaulted the young Poison God.

    "You must be mad to try and use mes against an alchemist!" the Poison God¡¯s face turned into a wicked grin, "Sacred Heart me! Refine!"

    The Poison God held his hand forward and a verdant me much like the one I just obtained surged and shot forward, then it began eating up the domain of fire.

    "Submerged World!" Zhang Tian immediately dispersed the Hell Eternal domain and switched to a water domain.

    The whole area became epassed with water, as the pressure surged, it felt like the whole world was about to copse on the Poison God.

    "You may control water, but you cannot control poison!" the Poison God smirked as the jar that was floating next to him burst out its content, and began merging with the water of the domain, though the poison began to dilute, it tarnished the water and turned it all into poison.

    "Seventy-Eight Book! World Tree!" The prince called, and immediately a massive world tree appeared and began to absorb the poison, but the tree didn¡¯tst, as the poison seeped into its roots and dried it.

    "You¡¯re too foolish to think that a bunch of fake domains can contend against me child. Let me show you what a true domain is capable of." The Poison God said, his whole body began shuddering, as his face began to tear, his eyes grew long and his whole body turned scaly, the Poison God turned into a massive snake far too great for the small library to epass. And almost immediately, cracks began to appear in the library.

    "Forsaken Poison Abyss!" spoke the Poison God through the lipless jaws of the massive snake, as his whole body began to disappear in the dark, leaving nothing but glowing green eyes to look down upon the Prince.

    The prince coughed a mouthful of blood because his domain was forcefully broken. Even if the Poison God had already destroyed several of the other domains, those were nothing but secondary ones, not his real Domain, but once he destroyed the Wisdom of the Ages, the impact on the Prince¡¯s Soul was too severe.

    In this dark abyss, the prince could see nothing but the looming eyes of the snake in front of him. Fear gripped his heart, and he knew he was done for.

    Just as he was about to bit down on the prince, the Poison God stopped, then removed his Domain.

    Looking around, the prince was shocked, "F-father."

    In front of the prince was a man whose whole appearance I couldn¡¯t see, he was engulfed in light. This was probably from Zhang Tian¡¯s doing, he didn¡¯t want me to see his father¡¯s real appearance perhaps there was a reason but I wasn¡¯t going to pray. But in this man¡¯s hand was the decapitated head of a man.

    "Son, I¡¯m both disappointed and proud of you. Proud because you respected your vow, and fought for the honor to repay the favor you are owed, but disappointed because that favor, no matter how great is not worth your life." The man said then he threw the head toward the Poison Lord.

    "I have sealed his Origin Soul within his head, he is yours to do what you wish with, I hope you can excuse my son¡¯s behavior, Poison Lord." The man said.

    "But- Father, with you here, he can¡¯t even¡ª"

    "Silence!" the king said.

    The Poison God¡¯ bloodshot eyes turned back to normal, he thought for a moment then said, "It still doesn¡¯t sit well with me that you killed him using your own hand." He then turned to the prince and looked at him "You have crossed me, though I count your father of the few associates I deal with, it still is not enough to sate my displeasure with you daring to cross me." The Poison God said.

    The King looked at his son and then nodded.

    The Prince sighed, and held his left hand forward, then unceremoniously cut it off with his own sword. He then threw the hand to the Poison God."

    "I hope you¡¯re satisfied." The king said.

    "I shall consider this as a cease of hostilities, between me and the Wind Celestial realm. But I shall keep this hand just as an assurance, lest the Wind turns back against its course."

    "You have nothing to worry about," the king said.

    "I am not worried, you all should, today¡¯s matter has concluded, I shall take my leave." The Poison God said, and then he ripped through space opening a passage to god knows where then he stepped inside it.

    My vision turned back to me and I was standing in my sea of consciousness.

    "So that¡¯s what a high-level battle is like."

    "That was nothing more than a short bout, but I hope you learned from this."

    s

    I shuddered at the thought, and the strength gap between me, and the Poison God, and it seems that he was not even at his full potential at that point, the Poison God had yet to grow and to have the Lord removed from his name and the word God added to it.

    The prince as if he was reading through my mind said, "It took a few years before his name changed. He did something risky afterward, thus enabling him to gain the God title."

    "I guess it was something spectacr," I said.

    "Well... spectacr, that¡¯s a way to say it, it¡¯s a story for another day, now go for the fifthmp."

    "Right, on it," I said and removed myself from my sea of consciousness.

 Chapter 111 Fifth Lesson- Debate-

    <h4>Chapter 111: Fifth Lesson- Debate-</h4>

    The nextmp was not easy. Most of the oilms were not that difficult to obtain as they were hidden behind barriers that only needed a bit of effort to unlock and remove. But this one, this one was trouble. Because what separated me and the silverback ape was only a couple of barriers, and thanks to it wounding itself a lot by forcefully breaking the barriers, it looked at me with wrath in its eyes I was more than certain that the moment it recuperates enough, it will break through the barrier ande bearing its fangs upon my frail old body.

    Zhang Tian, had shown me many things, but without proper time and practice, I¡¯ll never be able to use the things he taught me, so this time, I¡¯ll need to be careful with my life.

    The ape was looking at me with angry eyes and howled consecutively, thankfully his roar¡¯s impact didn¡¯t reach me, all thanks to the formations.

    I removed my eyes from the ape and focused on the few barriers in front of me. After half an hour, and slight jump-scares because the ape thought it was strong enough to bore through the barriers, but thankfully failed. I managed to open the restriction on yet another barrier.

    Once I snuffed themp, the prince appeared once again in my sea of consciousness.

    He looked around and said, "We¡¯ve dealt with your cultivation, your understanding of Law, yourprehension of Domain, and a review of battle with your master the Poison God. You should now have a slight understanding of the world o cultivation, yet there is one small thing that we need to address before we touch the final subject of our sessions." Zhang Tian said.

    "You sound like a teacher," I said.

    "I ¡¯could be considered something close to that nature, I¡¯m the Divine Schr Afterall." Zhang Tian said.

    Apparently, big shots such as Zhang Tian have a nickname, same as the Poison God, who was known as the Poison Lord, then his name got an upgrade after he did something crazy that not even Zhang Tian is willing to share.

    "Sit down Shen Bao," Zhang Tian said, "This is a subject we¡¯ll need to be ratherfortable to speak about."

    s

    Immediately my own sea of consciousness had changed, and from the massive endless green see, the view changed to that of a garden, where we were sitting on the ground, in front of each other.

    Above us was a small cone-like structure shading us from a gentle sun. And around us was a garden of all types of beautiful flowers. The grass was green and it smelled like freshly cut grass. And between me and Zhang Tian, was a small table with a tea set brewed and ready. Zhang Tian gestured at the set with his head hinting for me to serve him tea.

    I wasn¡¯t going to object, after all, I¡¯m learning from one of the greatest figures in the world of cultivation.

    Zhang Tian took the cup like it was a holy object with both hands and took a sip then said "Well, now, our fifth subject, Mortality Severing."

    "And what is that?" I asked as I took my seat in front of him, trying not to get too distracted by the amazing garden or the gentle breeze. If I ever wanted to study, this would be the perfect ce for it.

    "The majority of cultivators, unlike me and a few people of the highest echelons are born as mortals. Bar a few people from legendary races, such as the Titan Race, or the Spirit Race, every being that has ever been created has the looming scythe of The Evesting Silence upon their necks. We¡¯re all bound to death, but at the same time, we¡¯re bound to life.

    People who seek the truths of the world can ovee their mortality, thus Cultivation."

    "Ah, the search of truth, so in a way, cultivation is a way to reach immortality, but that¡¯s not the purpose if I understand correctly?" I asked.

    "Indeed, you¡¯re quite smart. The purpose to seek the truth of the world is to know the secrets of heaven, the majority want to know the secret to immortality, as who wouldn¡¯t want to live forever. But a good deal of people seeks the knowledge of heaven they wish to understand heaven¡¯s reason for creating this world, thesews, and this disparity of strength between the people. Say, Shen Bao do you think it is unfair for people to be either weak or strong, poor or rich? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if everyone was borne equally?"

    I immediately shook my head, "If everyone was born equal, then there would be no meaning to life. For man was born to help another. Equality is impossible, if all were farmers, who would make clothes? But if all made clothes, who would feed them? one needs another to survive, but every upation is inherently different, pays different, and makes people feel superior to one another."

    "This superiority is born from man¡¯s own greed and consciousness, reining this greed wouldn¡¯t all upation be of the same value?" Zhang Tian asked. This was a trick question.

    "You¡¯re not asking if people would be equal if they rein in their greed, you¡¯re truly asking if a man can actually stop one of his most basic natures. People are greedy by nature, they cannot ovee this, no matter how pious, they cannot avoid greed." I calmly replied while sipping tea.

    "What about the monks, they seem to live life following the three Truths and the four Noble Paths?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "No man is saved from greed, I have met a few monks, even before I came to know the world of cultivation, many of them came to my city. Asking for charity and preaching Buddhism, though it was nice and all, I strongly disagree with them, refraining from eating meat, or drinking alcohol, or women, perhaps, on some level I could understand the need for them to refrain from worldly desires, but it is greed against their nature. Isn¡¯t it selfish to refrain from giving birth to children? Isn¡¯t it selfish not to sate one¡¯s basic need of sustenance? You can argue all you wish about how vegetables are all humans need to survive, but we¡¯re not born or created to be sated, but our own nature is greed."

    "You say that man cannot be sated?" Zhang Tian said. "I have seen many who are thankful for what they have and are sufficed."

    "Perhaps we have different views. I have not lived as long as you did but I know one thing, man, no matter how much gold you give him, he will not stop wanting more. For the only thing that can fill a man¡¯s throat is nothing but dirt (Death)."

    Zhang Tian pondered for a moment, "Then you truly believe man¡¯s nature is greed."

    "Yes, let me give you another example. Gift a healthy man all the women in the world, yet forbid him one, what do you think will gue that man¡¯s mind?" I asked.

    "Smart." Zhang Tianplimented, "That man, even presented with all the beauties of the world, will still think why was he denied that one woman, will still have her in his mind for a man takes what he has for granted and seeks what he has not. And this very thinking will cause his nature to turn possessive, there will be no way for that man to not have Greed for the woman he was forbidden."

    "So that¡¯s what I believe," I said.

    "Thankfully I have not been thinking as you have, otherwise my own Mortality Severing would have been impossible." Zhang Tian said.

    "What is mortality severing?" I asked.

    "It is to severe your mortality, your greed from the mortal world to ascend to a better ne of existence, to be a person that can search for the truth, this is what I wish to teach you, but your own understanding of human nature is surprising enough that I believe you¡¯ll have a hard and arduous task ahead of you to severe your mortality."

    "There is a small problem with your logic," I said.

    Zhang Tian looked at me in a surprised manner, "I have lived for long and never been called to have a faulty logic, please enlighten me... if you can."

    "Right, you just said that I will have a problem with severing my mortality if I don¡¯t get rid of my own greed of this mortal world."

    "Indeed," he said.

    "So, why haven¡¯t you Fallen?" I said.

    "Fallen? What do you mean?" he asked.

    "Don¡¯t you agree that my words were true?"

    "Yes, your earlier statement was not spoken out of logic. Hang on..."

    "You¡¯re finally catching on," I said.

    Zhang Tian stood up, sped his hands to me, and gave me a half bow, not a full bow just a half bow. But in that half-bow, I almost felt that my own existence couldn¡¯t bear the bow from this man.

    "W-what are you doing?!" I asked shuddering under the weight of his bow.

    Zhang Tian raised his head, "You have taught me something I wouldn¡¯t have ever been able to learn. I delve with the immortals, yet questions of Immortals have been answered by a mortal. You taught me what I could have never learned. So it is my duty to bow to one who taught me. Your very words, do you know their meaning? How heavy they are, and how impactful they could be to the cultivation world?"

    "What do you mean it¡¯s just a smallpse in logic that I pointed."

    "This veryps of logic, do you know how many cultivators have gone through without asking the origin of? So many cultivators severe their immortality by removing themselves from the mortal world, but you just showed that one can severe their immortality without losing their greed and possessive nature of the world. I should have ¡¯fallen¡¯ the moment I agreed with your logic, but my schrly nature forbids me from disagreeing with logical thinking, thus, your words speak true, ring true, and are true. This is something I would wish to exploreter, I must speak to my father. You¡¯re a good sapling worthy of nurturing, so would you still not wish to be under my patronage?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "I¡¯ll have to refuse once again, like I said, I don¡¯t like being restricted."

    "Your freedom will be untouched, and I¡¯ll even have people guarding you, you¡¯ll be nurtured and helped to ascend and reach our level in less than a thousand years, a feat that I¡¯ll pour my heart and soul for you to achieve."

    s

    ¡¯man is talking about a thousand years as if it¡¯s a blink of an eye, but for immortals, it probably is.¡¯

    "I¡¯ll think about it, I¡¯m not too dumb to give up free things. But we¡¯ll still need to get you out of here first."

    "Yes, this round I wanted to teach you but it seems that you¡¯re the one who taught me. I¡¯ll make sure to remember this. Now, the finalmp." Zhang Tian said.

    "Right," I replied and opened my eyes.

    Now, the most troublesomemp, the only way toward it is to go right next to the ape, and that guy will definitely not make it easy.

 Chapter 112 Final Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 112: Final Lesson</h4>

    The ape was crazy mad when he saw me a couple of barriers away from it. But I wasn¡¯t going to make it easy for him to kill me, if I opened the restrictions, he will grind me to minced meat.

    I kept a close eye on the ape, there was another way for me to get around the ape, but I¡¯ll need to unlock way too many restrictions and some of them are too close to the main pce that I fear the massive Pce Restriction might outright annihte me the moment I got closer.

    The restrictions on the city were hard and difficult to understand for any regr person, even I would have had a hell of a time trying to figure them out if it was not for that iplete piece of grass that allowed me to understand how these restrictions work. But the one on the main pce was on a whole other level. It¡¯s like these restrictions on the city were made by apprentices but the one on the pce was made by a world-renowned Formation Master.

    Also, the most pressing matter was the feeling of rejection from this ce. I¡¯m beginning to feel hostilitying from this domain, also the rich Spiritual Qi here had be scars, and cultivators are heavily reliant on Spiritual Qi, without it they¡¯ll feel like a fish on drynd. Though I¡¯m not affected, the rest of the cultivators here must be feeling suffocated.

    Seeing the ape standing still, not willing to move ore at me as I wished. I decided that I¡¯ll have to provoke him. The ape was wounded, heavily so, and it knew that if it were to break these barriers it will incur even more damage on its own body, so it waited for me toe to him, but I¡¯m not gonna do that.

    I pulled my pipe and began smoking.

    The thick Joyful Weed smoke began seeping on the ground and slowly made its way through the restrictions. The smoke was not an attack and was only smoke, so the barrier didn¡¯t block it or stop it. But that was more than I wanted. The seeping smoke made its way through the two barriers and arrived at the ape that slowly backed off.

    The silver ape immediately made a Qi barrier around it to block the ¡¯attack¡¯ but once the smoke made contact with his Qi barrier, the ape understood that it was on guard for nothing. That was his first mistake.

    The second mistake was the ape removed his Qi barrier not to expedite more of his already dwindling Qi.

    And the third mistake was the ape sniffed at the smoke to understand its nature. It only took one sniff for the ape to recoil from the stench, it knew it was not dangerous but the sensitive nose of the ape caused it to flinch away from the smoke.

    s

    I continued puffing more smoke in the direction of the ape, more of it that the whole area was filled with smoke, it was like a car smoke-box for the ape, as the smoke began to fill his vision.

    No matter how high the ape¡¯s body was, getting assaulted with this much Joyful Weed will definitely lower its inhibitions, especially since the Joyful Weed¡¯s effect rxed the muscles and calmed the mind. It was the best way to deal with a furious ape. And it only took half an hour before the ape slumped to the ground on its face with his ass pointed up.

    "Well, that worked." I grinned then began working on the formations while taking continuous puffs of the Joyful Weed and sending it to the ape. I didn¡¯t want him to wake up or feel that anything was amiss, it would be best for the ape to remain in Happy High Dreands.

    Once I took down the first barrier, I got closer to the ape and there was only one restriction separating us, I moved around waved my hands, and tried to wake the ape. I got scared for a moment when the ape pulled his face from the dirt and looked at me, but his eyes were zed over, bloodshot and his nose was leaking while his mouth was salivating.

    "Damn son, you¡¯re stoned." I said, and the ape replied, "Ahoo,"

    I grinned as I unlocked the final barrier and literally had to vault over the ape to get to the other side where the oilmp was.

    Once I was inside the house, I made it upstairs where themp was, snuffing the me was easy, and immediately I was back in my sea of Consciousness. The scenery was the same as before, a beautiful schrly garden where Zhang Tian sat patiently waiting for me.

    "Now for our final lesson." Zhang Tian said.

    "Yes, I¡¯m ready," I said as I sat in front of him.

    "This is the most basic but mostplicated question of all. And your answer will be how you¡¯ll survive your journey of cultivation." Zhang Tian said.

    I nodded waiting for this question.

    "Why do you Cultivate, Shen Bao." Zhang Tian said.

    I thought for a moment, then said, "I¡¯m gued by the Bone and Body Grinding poison, but I know from our conversation that this is not such a great deal in your realm and you can cure it."

    "So you¡¯re saying that you cultivate to survive? I know that the Bone and Body Grinding Poison is a deadly curse upon the body, and we do have a way to treat it. But once you¡¯re treated wouldn¡¯t that be the end of your path, is that how you wish to finish?" Zhang Tian said.

    I shook my head, "At first when I was gued with this curse, I thought that¡¯s was my objective. Then I was forced into a situation with the Primordial Dragon Serpent, then I thought that I needed to cultivate to survive that, but... those aren¡¯t what you want to hear. You want to know my goal and objective in cultivation right?" I asked.

    "It¡¯s always enjoyable to debate and talk to smart people, you¡¯re right Shen Bao. That is what I wish to know, what is your goal?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "At first, we started on the wrong foot, perhaps a difference in existence, me being from what you call a lower realm, a backwatered with no cultivation resource, while you belonged to a ne far higher and greater than what I¡¯m from, this difference in statue caused me to dislike you and have a bad first impression."

    "That¡¯s hurtful, but you¡¯re right."

    I held my hand, "If I were to keep a rigid mind, I would have left not caring about your existence, but I decided to help and I am thankful for everything you did to point my differences, I also understand your view and your arrogance, it is deserved especially since I saw your power. So I will not hold it against you and will not miss-trust you and I will reveal my goals to you, it is the least I could do for someone I could consider a teacher." I replied.

    "Then, why do you cultivate?" Zhang Tian said.

    "I don¡¯t cultivate to reach the peak, for I have no reason to be the mightiest, I don¡¯t cultivate to be strong enough to protect those around me, for those who were around me, stabbed me in the back, my closest kin. I don¡¯t cultivate to be a tyrant, oppress the weak, or be a saint and help the world. I cultivate for the most selfish of reasons, I cultivate for me, for myself, and I. I cultivate because I want to know what¡¯s at the end of this path, I cultivate not to make my name known to all in the Vast Expanse, not to make a legacy I cultivate because my thirst for knowledge, my insatiable sense of adventure, and my will to go through any and all challenges is my motor, it¡¯s my drive and it¡¯s my will to continue forward no matter the odds.

    I¡¯m the most selfish of all, I cultivate just because I want to cultivate."

    Zhang Tian had a wide proud smile on his face, "Such a greedy and selfish way off though, but I¡¯m impressed beyond impressed. For no one had spoken of cultivation as you have done. For many cultivate immortality, power, and dominion. But I know you didn¡¯t speak lies, for even with one eye, that eye was clear of deceit.

    Shen Bao, your goal, though you called it selfish, is the purest of forms. You do not want to be detained by this world and want to seek the end, it¡¯s a goal that I as a schr find mist impressive, and I wish if I had someone with such a mind as a friend." Zhang Tian said.

    "Friend? Aren¡¯t we friends already old man, we talked together, drank tea together, debated together and we¡¯re not trying to kill each other. I think friends, we¡¯ve been that a long time ago now." I said, smiling.

    "Hah!" the manughed then looked at me, "Then so be it, Shen Bao, you¡¯re hereby my friend, and let heaven witness this. For I shall not betray a friend no matter what."

    "Then as heaven be my witness, I Shen Bao shall never betray my friend Zhang Tian as long as he remains true." I replied, and the heavens obliged and witnessed our vow.

    "I have nothing more to teach you Shen Bao, I had hoped to findcking in your objective but you surprised me with an already firm belief, no wonder you made it here where many had failed and were sent away."

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Oh, you¡¯re the only one left in this Lesser Celestial Prison. Everyone Else was forced away.

    "But it hasn¡¯t been that much time." I said.

    "Ah, I have failed to exin something, this city, is on a different time-line. Master Rain the maker of this very city and its formations is a magnificent expert in the Laws of Time and Space, I say hisws of Space almost equate those of the Poison God in his prime. But hisws of Time are also magnificent. He made it so time flows differently, though we only spent more than a couple of days, it¡¯s been months outside this city."

    "Oh, right then. That makes a bit more sense. So, I believe with all Sixmps gone, you can entrust me with that message." I said." Yes, but before that, I hesitated at first, but I think you¡¯re more than worthy now. I¡¯ll leave you with a map to a certain building, go there, you¡¯ll find some items that you will definitely like." Zhang Tian said.

    Zhang Tian touched my forehead then the image of the entirety of the city was imprinted on my mind, with every formation, every restriction and even the massive formation of the pce.

    The details on this mental map were so extreme that even the restrictions were there, every piece of grass, but the mass of this info dump was so much on my mind that I almost copsed.

    s

    "I apologize for shoving so much in your mind while your cultivation level isn¡¯t high enough, but worry not, I sealed the majority of this information, once you reach higher cultivation level, you¡¯ll be able to see the whole city, even how the Pce formation is inscribed, you¡¯ll have a good deal of material to studyter, but the most important thing for you is to find the house I marked in that map." Zhang Tian said and this time he was the first to leave my Sea of Consciousness.

    I began by following the map on my mind, also with the already inputted information of the inscriptions, I found it far easier to navigate the city and unlock the restrictions on them. it took me half a day to arrive where Zhang Tian marked though, and I found a small hut,pared to many of the amazing buildings, vis, and small pces around the whole inscribed city, this hut was in great contrast against it. it looked so out of the picture like a sore thumb, but seeing the dpidated state of this hut, no one would even think that it hosted anything special.

    Unlike the rest of the city, this hut had no restrictions on it, and when I entered it I only found a small bed, a table, and a stool. There was a small rag underneath the stool and it¡¯s where Zhang Tian pointed.

    I removed the rag and found a trapdoor. There was an inscription on it that I did quick work on and unlocked the trapdoor revealing a long staircase leading down.

    "Let¡¯s see what awaits us here then shall we."

 Chapter 113 The Hidden Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 113: The Hidden Treasure</h4>

    I continued down the creepy and cold corridors underneath the hut. The stairs were worn and old. There were heaps of dust, as a matter of fact for every step I took, I felt my foot slightly sinking into the settling dust. One wrong move and I¡¯ll be sneezing and coughing for days toe.

    After a minute or so climbing down, I found myself in arge and open hall, it was a far crypared to the humble hut on top.

    Here, there were a couple of dozen luminescent pearls shining lighting from the ceiling and illuminating the ce. There was a massive bookshelf that was at least ten meters high to more than fifty in width covering the entire side of the room, it was sorge, big, and amazingly in perfect condition despite the passage of what seemed to be eons.

    The bookshelf had loads of manuals, books on various subjects, and a few materials that I¡¯ve never seen before.

    On the other side of this massive bookshelf were tools, parchments, talismans,pleted and iplete, loads of inscription materials, and some crafting materials that were just strewn across the ground with no regard to their value.

    For example, there were a few pieces of Spiritual Obsidian. A fourth-tier crafting material, with a valueparable to my own Creeping Demise¡¯s material. And it was just thrown on the ground as if it was a piece of trash. On the table, there were so many tools that I salivated at them.

    Crafting materials are rare, but good tools to create objects are even rarer, for example, a Crafting Scalpel, is a sharp scalpel simr to that of doctors, only this one is used to scalp metals while keeping the precision and shape of the object in mind. And there was one right in front of me. Not to mention even many more, weightless hammers, tuning valves and so many more objectsying around.

    The man who made this whole ce seemed to be interested not only in inscriptions but also in craftsmanship. And this was probably where he spent his off-time while he was making this prison.

    Master Rain, I wonder what kind of character he was?

    But why did he leave all of this stuff here? Something I¡¯ll have to answerter but for now...

    s

    I looked at the whole area with greed in my eyes and pulled out the poison God¡¯s book.

    "It would be a waste to just leave everything here."

    The poison god¡¯s book greedily sucked in everything in the room. Even in the books, nothing was spared.

    I have a lot of stuff in my poison god¡¯s book, and I still need to go over many of them, the ck Nether Rose, and the Veridian Heart me. Not to mention these high-quality ores and materials. I¡¯ll probably be able to upgrade X to an even higher level.

    After making sure that I didn¡¯t leave anything, I decided that it was time to leave, but just before I turned, I noticed something that I wouldn¡¯t have seen if I didn¡¯t take all the books from the shelf.

    There were slight signs of inscriptions on one part of the shelf. And when I got closer, I realized that this was actually a lock mechanism.

    What would a lock mechanism do here?

    I immediately answered that question, "Hidden door!"

    I removed the dust over the inscriptions and began studying them. It was nothingpared to the inscriptions on the trapdoor.

    This inscription here is on a whole other level, dare I say...on the same level as the one on the pce.

    Damn, I¡¯m really tempted to see what¡¯s behind this, but the Pce Inscription was really hard to figure out.

    I had two options, try and attempt to unlock this, or just leave.

    My sense of curiosity is preventing me from actually taking the second choice. After all, if there was a lock this tight, there had to be something important behind this.

    I sat down and began going through the inscriptions on this lock. There were a lot of symbols, but thankfully I decided to study them instead of leaving. At first nce, this lock would appear simr to the locks made by the inscriptions on the pce. But there was a huge difference. The pce was a huge piece of work, and it definitely took a long time for Master Rain to create the inscription, but this lock, was small and only served to block people from entering.

    This small lock was inherently lower quality than the pce, just because Master Rain didn¡¯t have enough space to make it even stronger. Also, this lock didn¡¯t seem to be made with defensive measures in mind, after all, he was the one responsible for imprisoning the Young Prince of the Wind Celestial Realm, who would dare steal from him ore here and put his nose where it doesn¡¯t belong.

    I studied the inscriptions on the lock for days, and in that time I was continuously stuffing my mouth with Soul Strengthening Pills. Using the Mind¡¯s Eye for such an extended period is dangerous, but I bet it¡¯s worth it.

    The first three days I spent just memorizing theyout of the lock, on the fourth day, I managed to understand how the mechanisms work and the inteying mechanism that allowed every inscription to sendmand to the other.

    Just a passing note, this man, Master Rain had such a great ingenious way of creating inscriptions that it was mind-boggling. The fact that he actually used some sort of spacew to intey two inscriptions in one and making all work together was astonishing.

    If I were to try and make the same thing I¡¯ll definitely fail because without a proper understanding of Space Law, this would be nothing but a dream to mimic. However, there was a slight problem with Master Rain¡¯s work.

    To make it simple, if I and Master Rain were told to make two lock inscriptions, mine would be a steam engine while he would be the most advanced car motor in the world.

    That was both good and bad, good because he would allow for greater malleability and far greater power, but bad because, the most advanced motor, with all of its gears and intricate designs, would fail spectacrly if a wrench was thrown in its gears.

    My mind began hurting badly on the sixth day, and the force of rejection from this world became so overbearing that I felt that my own existence was bing uncertain, I could honestly feel that my hand was slowly turning translucent.

    I don¡¯t have much time...

    Thankfully, on the sixth day, I managed to inscribe my way through the protectiveyer of the inscription, though that doesn¡¯t mean I managed to unlock it, I was able to add something to the inscription. And I only needed to add a reverse flow inscription. This would act as amand to reverse the Qi and have its course against its regr path, and if the mainmand for the Qi flow was to lock, the reverse would make the whole thing do the opposite.

    "Open Sesame!" I shouted, and the bookshelf immediately vibrated as I removed my hands.

    It rattles and screeched as it slid to the side, revealing a single room with a massive creation that would make any young kid scream with joy.

    In front of me, was an already fully made andplete puppet, only a puppet would be a severe understatement to this massive work of art.

    It stood there, like a massive behemoth of creation, a humanoid puppet geared up in samurai armor. Strange as it seems, samurais were of the Japanese culture, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a strange sight here, after all, Buddhism for example exists in a lot of eastern cultures.

    The puppet was gigantic to say the least, even if X was standing here, X¡¯s head would barely make it past this thing¡¯s knee.

    The armor on this puppet was amazing, it was beautifully created, with its skirt armor, the cascading pauldrons, and even the masked Kabuto.

    There were also four things of interest.

    The first was the massiveyers uponyers of research paper thrown everywhere. And more tools than ever in the other room, add to it, there were heaps of material that I¡¯ve never seen, heard of, or even read about, justying about.

    The second was the fact that this massive creature had four sword sheaths, but only two hands, and yes sheaths, the swords don¡¯t seem to be around here.

    The third thing, was the two ridiculously scary objects just... hovering near this damn puppet. It seems to be two pieces of a set, and taking a step back I realized what this was. It was an Oni-Mask, a demon mask that was the same size as the whole puppet and it was just casually hovering next to the puppet.

    The Oni-mask was frightening, it had four fangs, counter-protruding, and its eyes tracked me, even if the puppet seemed dead and unmoving, the hovering mask was following my movement closely.

    s

    And the final thing was the reason, why this puppet was here.

    Its stomach area was open and inside it was something that made my skin crawl as I saw it.

    There was an octagonal diamond-like object held within a ss container, and from the container, several tubes,y lines, and a lot of conductive traces of inscriptions led from the small jewel to everywhere around the puppet.

    i shuddered as the realization came to me, the value of such thing, back in what the Prince called a backwater without any Qi... this thing would make people wage wars that couldst for centuries

    "Saint Qi Spirit Stone..."

 Chapter 114 Im Rich!

    <h4>Chapter 114: I''m Rich!</h4>

    This creation was amazing. Not to mention the intricated details of every piece on it, even the small parts of the armor were handcrafted and made with details and precision in mind. Whoever made this poured his heart and soul into its creation, and didn¡¯t spare a dime. But I¡¯m still not in full understanding of how this whole thing is supposed to work.

    But with the many research papers strewn all over the ce, and details of further improvement in mind, I could probably pick up where the maker of this thing had stopped.

    I would have never even dreamed of trying to fix or finish this product if not for the massive amounts of materials that Master Rain left in this ce. He had enough materials to create an entire dozen of these puppets, so I could probably get away with trying to repair this without worrying aboutcking materials. The only problem is. How am I going to start, after all, I¡¯ll need to know the exact process that Master Rain went through and his end goal?

    This all can be der.

    I opened the Poison God¡¯s book and thetter sucked in everything in the room, including the puppet and its masks. I¡¯ll need to find a separate ce to work on thister on.

    Just as I imed the rest of Master Rain¡¯s belongings, I felt the force of the world pressing on me to leave, it was far more powerful than before, and I feared that I¡¯ll be obliterated if I didn¡¯t leave soon.

    "Shen Bao, your time hase to an end here, you should leave." Zhang Tian¡¯s words came to me.

    "You said that I needed to take a message for your father," I said.

    "Don¡¯t worry about that, do you remember the time you took a piece of my divine sense?" Zhang Tian said.

    "Ah, yes, I still have it..."

    s

    "Then release it once you¡¯re out of this Lower Celestial real. That divine sense is linked to me, and the moment you broke themp formation, I regained a bit of my power, the divine sense itself had grown stronger and now can travel from your to my father."

    "Right then. I¡¯ll release it once I¡¯m out." I replied.

    "Also, one more thing, that piece of Saint Crystal, for me personally, as a prince, I could have many of it if I so wish to, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not of value in my own realm, so beware of the danger you¡¯ll face if that piece of Saint Qi were to be seen in your world." Zhang Tian said.

    "I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯ll get hunted if I were to reveal I have something as precious as this, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep it hidden," I replied.

    "Right then, the Lord of Lords will soon kick you out, you havested the most out of everyone so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll reward you handsomely."

    "This Lord of Lords, I never knew anything about him, I mean this whole ce is a part of his test but who is he?" I asked.

    "Even this Prince knows not of that man¡¯s origin, but all I know is that he is someone that even my father has to greet personally if he were toe to our Wind Celestial Realm."

    "Oh, is that so. Anyway, thank you for the teachings, I¡¯ll make sure to practice and grow stronger. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help release you from this ce, I still don¡¯t have the strength to do so. At least right now."

    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to reward you handsomely once my fatheres for me." Zhang Tian said.

    Suddenly my vision swam and the Celestial Realm began dissipating. I found myself back at the base of the Lord¡¯s Tomb¡¯s trial grounds, but there was not a single person around me.

    "Did the test finish?" I mumbled.

    Suddenly a booming sound echoed in the area. "Cultivator, you havested for an entire year inside the Lord¡¯s Test."

    ¡¯a whole year? What the hell? It was only a few days, did I spend that much time in Master Rain¡¯s study damn!¡¯

    A massive board showed up above me, with it were names written in gold. And the first was surprising, Wu Di, followed by Xiao Lang, and there were a couple of other names I didn¡¯t notice.

    But, then my name superseded all of them and pushed the rest iming first ce.

    "You may take your pick from the treasury of the Lord of Lords. As a person who imed first ce, you may im three items."

    Immediately a door materialized in front of me and I found myself in a massive hall with hundreds of treasure items neatly on disy.

    Armors, swords, bows, manuals and even flying shuttles. There were so many things that anyone would salivate at the treasures.

    I was allowed only three items, it feels rather cumbersome. And I¡¯m at aplete loss at what to choose.

    I steadied my mind and calmly looked at the artifacts and treasures.

    Protective gear is good and all, but nothing here isparable to my robe, not that they¡¯re low quality, but these items here all require Spiritual Qi to use, and I¡¯m unable to Use Spiritual Qi. So I didn¡¯t bother looking a second time.

    Flying treasures are the same, with Saint Qi requirement they¡¯re useless. Not to mention no weapon here is good enough for me, Creeping Demise is rather adequate and perfect, also I haven¡¯t fully unlocked its potential. So there was no need for me to take any weapons.

    Sighing I felt depressed.

    "You seem hesitant," a person spoke and I almost jumped from fright. Looking back, there was a small kid behind me, he would be easily confused with a cute child that just turned ten if not for its dead eyes and the small seams making its jaw, this was a puppet.

    "Are you the treasury¡¯s spirit? Or guardian?" I asked.

    "Something like that," the puppet replied.

    "Right. Well, sadly, nothing here seems to be of interest, I mean, they¡¯re good and all, but nothing is really of value to me here."

    "I see, but I cannot allow this, as a winner of the Lord¡¯s test, you have to leave satisfied. Then how about you follow me." The puppet said.

    Another door opened up and from the door, I found myself in a small garden.

    The puppet pulled a green jade and waved it in front of him.

    Suddenly, a three-story pagoda flew down from the sky and positioned itself neatly on the ground. The pagoda¡¯s door opened up revealing its inside.

    I was amazed at how this thing was able to fly, not to mention the moment I set foot on it, I was able to understand that this thing was made using spacew. Though it looked small, it had a huge interior.

    Inside the pagoda were a few rather interesting items.

    There were many other treasures there, including an Alchemy Cauldron, a few spiritual fruits that exuded massive amounts of spiritual Qi. There were also some small trinkets, like earrings and a ne, they seem to be protective treasures. And finally, the most impressive was a piece of Saint Qi crystal. This one however was far smaller than the one inside the Samurai Puppet I had, but nevertheless, it was worth a lot for any cultivator from the I¡¯m on.

    "Would the treasures here satisfy you?" the kid said.

    I looked around and smiled, "Yes, I¡¯ll be taking some. The Spiritual Fruit and the Saint Qi crystal."

    The kid nodded and waved a hand, causing the two items to float in front of me.

    I pocketed them, then waited.

    "Then what abut thest item? Would you like the cauldron? I can sense Alchemical remains on you, so you must be a professional alchemist, would you like to take it, it¡¯s a ten Thousand Demon Cauldron, it¡¯s ranked among the best five hundred cauldrons of the world." The puppet said.

    "Oh, no, I can make better with time. I¡¯m more interested in this," I said as I pointed at the ground.

    "Euh? The wooden floor?" the puppet didn¡¯t understand.

    "No, the pagoda itself, I want it," I said grinning.

    "..."

    "..."

    "Could you take something else?"

    "Nope. I want the pagoda."

    "It¡¯s not among the treasures..."

    "You clearly said that I¡¯m the winner of this Lord¡¯s Test and I can choose three items, I choose the pagoda."

    "You¡¯re pretty greedy, I can even give you two more items, just choose something else other than the pagoda." The puppet said.

    ¡¯He is willing topromise so this actually means that I really have the right to take the pagoda, I was only testing the waters, but damn if I didn¡¯t try it I would have missed out.¡¯

    "No, I want the pagoda, and if you¡¯re not willing to give it, then I¡¯m not even taking the other treasures, this ce¡¯s owner is really stingy, I mean I spent an entire year where many couldn¡¯t and I don¡¯t even get to take this little pagoda. Such shame," I said shrugging and turning to leave, even if I had absolutely no idea how to leave.

    "Wait! The lord left me with direct instructions...I can¡¯t disobey him." the puppet became annoyed, then threw me the jade.

    I swiped the jade from the air with my grin full-on disy, I won big time.

    "So how does this work?" I said as I waved the jade-like the puppet did.

    "You¡¯re a being of flesh and blood, unlike me, you can take ownership of the pagoda the moment you drop a drop of blood on it."

    "Right, then" I bit the tip of my finger, -and that hurt like a motherfucker, how do cultivators even bite at the tip of their tongues is beyond me.-

    Then poured the slightly murky, drop of blood on the token.

    My blood had yet to be fully red, though my outer appearance was that of a middle-aged man, my blood was still infested with the Bone and Body Grinding poison, another reminder of my impending mortality at the hands of this poison.

    Once the blood drop fell on the jade, the jade shone brightly then it shattered, turning to dust.

    I immediately felt a connection with the pagoda and myself.

    "You obtained the rewards, please leave." The puppet said.

    "Euh, you haven¡¯t taken the rest of the treasures from the pagoda. I¡¯ll wait for you to empty it." I said.

    s

    "Oh, no, that¡¯s the thing, the pagoda itself was a hidden treasure, the Lord had instructed me if one were to take the pagoda, they will take all that was within it..."

    "Oh...you mean."

    "Yes, you are entitled to everything, if you had asked for the pagoda first, you would have taken the pagoda and get your pick from two more items from the earlier room."

    "Oh, it doesn¡¯t really matter," I said as I was ecstatic with joy, "Nothing there was interesting. Thanks!"

    A portal opened up and this time it led out of the Lord¡¯s Tomb and under the red skies of the Demonnds. I came out a rich man!

 Chapter 115 Trouble in Para--Hell

    <h4>Chapter 115: Trouble in Para--Hell</h4>

    Once I was out, the first to meet me was Arn, the lion came bounding and roaring as he felt my presence back into the Demon Lands.

    The lion skidded to a stop in front of me for a few head pats. It was really strange to see a feline acting like a docile littel dog.

    "You¡¯ve been waiting for a while haven¡¯t you," I said as I handed the purple armored lion a few pills, to which he gobbled up with glee.

    "You¡¯ll turn fat if you keep eating these without proper exercise," I humored the lion who seemed hurt at the word fat.

    Looking around, there was no one else besides the lion, so I shrugged and headed toward the Tarta¡¯Ghoul¡¯s kingdom. The Vast Demonic Desert was a serene and quite different change from the lower Celestial Realm

    Arn was a great mount, and a fast one to boots, especially since I didn¡¯t feel like using a flying sword anyway.

    After a few hours of travel, I soon found myself at the borders of Tarta Ghoul¡¯s city, only the city was in shambles, fires and damage to the city gate and walls were severe, and the guards on it looked wounded but they still kept watch.

    "Is that senior Shen Bao?" one of the guards shouted.

    "Oh, aren¡¯t you Torak?" I said as I remember the guard that opened the door for mest time. "But how did you know it was me?" after all, a bit more than a year had gone by.

    "No one has balls big enough to ride a purple armored lion! Open the gate!" Torak shouted and soon the gate opened up.

    s

    I walked inside and saw the shabby condition the city had turned to.

    "What the hell happened in here?" I asked.

    Torak jumped from the wall after he gave instructions to keep watch.

    "Sir Shen Bao, Vitra¡¯Ghoul had decided to attack us once the cultivators of the other world had left. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t leave with them."

    "Em, but I already took the ck Nether Rose, shouldn¡¯t Vitra¡¯Ghoul have no will or purpose in attacking this ce?" I questioned.

    But the answer didn¡¯te from the guard, but from a man that flew down towards me, "Shen Bao, you¡¯re still alive!"

    Tarta¡¯Ghoul, the king of this region of the demonnds had a slightly shocked expression on his face.

    "Hey, don¡¯t go on cursing my luck like that, when did I die?" I asked.

    "But, we waited for an entire year for you, you haven¡¯t appeared so we presumed you didn¡¯t survive the challenge of the Lords."

    "Nah, I just got sidetracked, anyway what¡¯s happening here?" I asked.

    "War, let¡¯s go to my pce we can discuss this better," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    Tarta¡¯Ghoul flew up and toward the pce and I followed after him with my sword. "Howe you can fly here? Isn¡¯t it forbidden?" I asked.

    "It¡¯s only the case when the Demon Gate is open, now that it¡¯s closed, thews of this world no longer work."

    "Hold up! Closed? Can¡¯t I get out?" I asked.

    "You can, but it¡¯s difficult, like I said, all can be discussed once we¡¯re inside the pce, I have another favor to ask," Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    Soon, we arrived at the king¡¯s pce, entry was easy especially since the king himself was next to me as every guard saluted and let us walk in with revered gazes.

    Once we were inside the king¡¯s hall, the king didn¡¯t walk up to his throne but shouted.

    "Set us a table!"

    A few servants came in, two carrying small seating pillows, another came with a table and thest one came carrying wine. They set the table in less than ten seconds and left.

    The king took a seat, and he served as host, pouring me wine.

    This whole shenanigan was a show of respect, so definitely whatever favor he was going to ask was not something small.

    "Please, enjoy," the king said.

    I took the cup and drank a mouthful.

    "Good wine!" I said and chugged the rest of the cup.

    "That¡¯s a specialty of our race, Demon Wine, it can¡¯t be made anywhere else, and it¡¯s slightly poisonous for humans they can¡¯t drink much of it, but they do enjoy the strong taste."

    "I¡¯d like a few more jugs to take," I said.

    "Then so be it, I¡¯ll prepare some for you." The king said.

    "Why not stop beating around the bush, what¡¯s the issue here?" I asked.

    "Straightforward as always. Right, so the task I asked you..." the king trailed.

    "Completed, I already took the flower from the cultivators, Vitra¡¯Ghoul shouldn¡¯t have it."

    "That¡¯s good, thankfully now I can confirm the source of his newfound powers." Tarta¡¯Ghoul looked slightly at ease.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "The ck Nether Rose is a precious treasure for Devil and Demonic Cultivators. And Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s objective was to have his hand on it, but since you took it, he would have to resort to secondary low-tiered material to boost his power. I thought he was stronger when we battled thest time, but now I¡¯m certain it wasn¡¯t the ck Nether Rose." Tarta Ghoul said.

    "I¡¯m still not following, I¡¯ve seen signes of degradation of the city, so a battle must have happened, and Vitra¡¯Ghoul had attacked. You said that without the ck Nether Rose, he is not a threat, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Also, if he got another treasure to achieve the same goal aren¡¯t you screwed anyway?" I asked.

    "Not really, the ck Nether Rose is a really powerful treasure and the only thing second to it is the Demon Blood Tinge, it¡¯s another spiritual fruit but it has a nasty side effect, the user will lose a lot of longevity and will have his cultivation destroyed if they don¡¯t consume human blood on regr basis." Tarta Ghoul said.

    "And that¡¯s good how?"

    "Because there are no humans left in the Demon World, so Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s powers will wane in time, but I¡¯m afraid that will probably not be the case soon."

    "Why not, you just said that there are no humans unless he has a way to procure humans, or he enved a few of the cultivators...wait, that doesn¡¯t make sense, even if he did enve cultivators, you said he¡¯ll need daily consumption of human blood, he¡¯ll need a lot of cultivators for that, and now, that a year had gone by...that¡¯s more than three hundred cultivators he had to go through, no way he can have enough, even if he breeds them like cattle, it will take too long...could this be rted to how I¡¯m going to leave this ce?" I asked.

    "I¡¯m in utter awe of your intelligence Shen Bao, you¡¯re a frightening existence, you already deduced by the few clues I dropped that Vitra Ghoul is indeed interested in the way to leave this ce. You¡¯re right, all you spected is true." Tarta¡¯Ghoul took a breath then added.

    "Vitra¡¯Ghool had indeed enved a few cultivators, but he waged war to try and capture more to feed himself, but we fought him off well and he didn¡¯t get any more humans. Still, he struck us a heavy blow..."

    "Let me guess," I looked around, then said, "There are no enemy warriors outside, the city looks pretty damn desperate, and I can¡¯t see your daughter even if it¡¯ste. Could it be that Vitra Somehow kidnapped your daughter and threatened you to deliver the humans you have here?"

    "By the gods... how do you do that?" Tarta¡¯Ghoul said, shocked.

    ¡¯Well, truth be told, it¡¯s pretty simple, also, the fact that I was using my Mind¡¯s Eye for so long to deduce inscriptions of otherworldly nature andplexity, stuff like this is he easy to understand.¡¯

    "Don¡¯t worry about that, so what I¡¯m supposed to do?" I asked.

    "Vitra¡¯Ghoul is currently holding my daughter captive, he won¡¯t harm her, at least not before he fully depletes his human reserves."

    "So you¡¯ll hand over the humans you have for your daughter."

    "That¡¯s the problem, if I actually had any I would have dly given them in exchange for my daughter. Don¡¯t take me as a crude tyrant, she is my blood and kin, and I¡¯m a demon through and through, so don¡¯t think less of me for thinking that my daughter of more value than humans."

    "I can slightly understand where you¡¯reing from, especially from a fatherly point of view, but that doesn¡¯t make it bad, still, since nothing happened yet, I think your situation is still salvageable, though I¡¯m in no obligation to help, I feel there is a catch somewhere here."

    "Ah yes. Vitra¡¯Ghoul has the method to leave this ce."

    "Yep, that¡¯s the rub," I said.

    "The rub?" Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    "Just an expression, anyway, so I¡¯ll need to give Vitra¡¯Ghoul a visit."

    s

    "I¡¯ll have a contingency of highly skilled warriors apany you, they¡¯ll act in secrecy-"

    I held my hand stopping the king from speaking, "They¡¯ll only slow me down, how much time do you still have before hees true with his threats?" I asked.

    "Ten days. In ten days, he¡¯lle back." Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    "Good, that¡¯s more than enough, I¡¯ll be going into secluded cultivation in these ten days, don¡¯t let anyone disturb me, once I¡¯m done, I¡¯m pretty sure I can help you out of this problem," I said.

    After all, with all the treasures I have, and the few upgrades I intend to add to X and the Samurai Puppet, I should be able to raze that Vitra guy¡¯s army to the ground. For now, let¡¯s get to studying.

 Chapter 116 A Pill With Secrets.

    <h4>Chapter 116: A Pill With Secrets.</h4>

    Once I entered a secluded cave, I locked it up with a boulder and had X stand watch, then I summoned the Flying Pagoda inside the cave. The whole pagoda was small, fit to a snuggle inside the cave. But the best part was that once I entered the pagoda, I was able to enjoy the vast size inside it modified by spacew.

    It was something simr to a storing pouch, a small object that held a gigantic dimension inside. Also, it helped a lot with what I¡¯m about to do. First thing first, I need to work on improving my personal strength.

    I pulled the cauldron that I received from the rewards of the Lord of Lords test. The cauldron had a hundred demon¡¯s faces imprinted on it, its whole bearing gave a demonic eerie feeling to it. This thing would work wonders in creating dark attributed pills. Poison pills and Demonic Cultivation pills would be created with utmost ease here.

    I opened the Poison God¡¯s book and looked for the c Nether Rose¡¯s passage.

    ***

    ck Nether Rose.

    A sublime alchemical ingredient that can help a cultivator remove evil energy from their body and increase their cultivation speed.

    As a poison Cultivator, The ck Nether Rose is highly lethal to you, but if you refine it using the energy of a Yin Origin Rose that you already consumed it can switch its attributes to increase the Evil Energy within you, making your Poison Qi far more lethal and allow you to use it to better ends. I have managed to find one of these ck Nether Roses in my travels and it helped me greatly.

    ...

    This was the same thing I sawst time I found the ck Nether Rose. So now that I¡¯m ready to refine it, I¡¯ll make sure to follow the Poison God¡¯s refining steps. Thankfully the two most important materials needed to start the refining process are already in hand.

    s

    First, the Yin Qi, from the Yin Origin Rose I had already consumed will help wondrously in calming the vtile and highly aggressive nature of the ck Nether Rose¡¯s Qi.

    And since I don¡¯t want to infect the Hundred Demon cauldron, I¡¯ll have to use inscriptions to generate Qi to heat the cauldron.

    After half a day of hard work inscribing many inscriptions and even adding more enhanced versions of them thanks to learning from Master Rain¡¯s works and Formation methods, I was able to create a Glyph that I ced on the bottom of the cauldron.

    The Glyph was an assembly of fully functioning arrays and Formations, that would work wonders in heating the cauldron. This was a temporary solution, especially since I already have a Heart me that will overtake this crude alchemy method.

    Once I¡¯m able to refine the Heart me, I¡¯ll be able to immediately start refining anything without needing inscriptions to heat cauldrons.

    Then, I began by dropping bodhi roots that I got from the Crimson Cultivator¡¯s sealed pouch. Though they were not important for the creation of the Demonic Nether Pills, they would help greatly in keeping the quality of the end product intact, also bodhi roots are so pure that when they¡¯re added to an alchemical form they only serve to increase purity and not harm the pill¡¯s quality since Bodhi Roots are the easiest Spiritual Herbs to refine and are the ones with approximately no impurities.

    Once the bodhi roots melted and their essence was extracted, I added more Spiritual de Grass, further enhancing the quality of the product, this was definitely overkill on an attempt to increase the quality, as only one of these two was enough, but that was for a master alchemist- no, Receptarier like the Poison God, he wouldn¡¯t even bother adding any of the two ingredients since he is damn proficient. But I¡¯m not at his level, and I need all the help I can get so, overkill or not, if it makes the end product better, I¡¯m more than willing to put everything I have here.

    I also added some demonic herbs I found in this Demonic world, they are needed to harmonize the ck Nether Rose with the cauldron¡¯s content.

    Then, I pulled the ck Nether Rose, from a normal person¡¯s view, this looked nothing more than a normal thorny blooming ck rose, it released no qi and no aura, it didn¡¯t even look any more special than a regr rose besides its color.

    But for demonic entities, creatures, and cultivators, could obviously see the amount of Evil Qi inside it.

    I ced it inside the cauldron, and immediately, gout of ck smoke shot up creating a tri-demon face that howled in wrathful vengeful fury, then it charged at me.

    On any other day, I would have been immediately consumed by this demonic aura and lost my mind to this cursed smoke, it would have taken over my body and controlled me. This rose had devastating parasitic abilities.

    But thanks to having consumed the Yin Qi so early in my cultivation, my spiritual roots, though I cannot use them to cultivate, I can use them send a wave of Yin Qi into the cauldron.

    I pped the cauldron immediately, sending a surge of Yin Qi into it. On any other day, this cool Qi, and its collision with the already blistering hot cauldron would have at least cracked any other cauldron, if not straight up blow it up.

    Yet, this Hundred Demon cauldron was amazingly proficient in controlling demonic energies, and since the ck Nether Rose and the Origin Yin Flower are both demonic type herbs, the collision of the two didn¡¯t damage the furnace but actually caused it to surge with more Qi.

    Of the hundred demons, the lower ten imprinted on its bottom had their eyes shine bright.

    The Tri-Demon smoke shooting from the cauldron was forced halfway back into the cauldron the moment it came in contact with the Yin Qi, then it tried to surge back again and attack me, but another p caused the second Demon Row to have their eyes shine, and the Tri-Demon was forced once again further back.

    This scenario continued three more times before the smoke no longer darede out and was patiently being refined.

    I continued pping the cauldron, but this time the demons on the side didn¡¯t shine anymore, it seems that they¡¯re there to help suppress demonic energy and not much of help in alchemy. But it¡¯s an ingenious method of craftsmanship. The maker of this cauldron was pretty entric to use demons to suppress demonic energy.

    After a few more hours, the ck Nether Rose had finally been fully refined and its essence extracted and began merging with the rest of the essences.

    Once the essences coalesced in the center of the cauldron, I pped it once and ejected a baby fist-sized pill.

    The pill didn¡¯t shine, didn¡¯t show any cracks. It had no pill veins as I hoped, but at the same time, it showed no signs of belonging to any type of pill grades.

    Suddenly, a small crack appeared on the ck shell of the pill, and I feared the worst. If the pill breaks, all will be lost.

    But the moment the crack happened, I felt a powerful surge of Demonic Qi surging from within the pill, it was far stronger than when the rose was resisting being refined. This strong powerful Qi didn¡¯te without trouble, as immediately, I felt the rumbling of the heavens.

    "Fuck, no way. Pill Clouds? At my level?!" I was shocked, though for the Poison God, creating pill clouds in pills that weren¡¯t created in a Saint Qi environment was not difficult. For me, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

    For the Poison God, if he were to make the same pill, heavens will also rumble threatening a Pill Tribtion. It¡¯s the same as a cultivator¡¯s Heavenly Tribtion, only this time, the Heavens will seek to destroy this nigh-perfect pill.

    The Poison God would easily snuff the tribtion clouds of this Spirit Pill, but if it was a Saint Spirit Pill, even he will have to fight tooth and nail against the heavenly tribtion of such a powerful Pill Tribtion.

    The pill continued to shed its exterior, revealing a golden interior that had so many intricate designs. These small symbols held the secrets of the world, and many had tried to study them, and enlightenment can be achieved if one were to witness the creation of these heavenly designs on the pill as it was shedding its exterior.

    But the majority couldn¡¯t study these secrets because the heavenly tribtion is usually above their heads.

    However, for some reason, even if I heard the rumble of heaven, and felt the crashing thunder and lightning against the mountain I was in, none of the Heavenly Tribtion energy even came close to this pagoda.

    I spread my divine sense and was able to understand the situation. It seems that this pagoda is actively hiding its presence from heaven, though the Heavenly Tribtion is constantly striking the mountain I¡¯m in, it isn¡¯t striking the same ce twice, it is just randomly raining thunder and lightning from above at the whole mountain hoping to crush the pill that it felt but it can¡¯t see.

    "Damn, this pagoda¡¯s stealth ability is top-notch." I grinned, this is a wondrous opportunity to study the pill¡¯s designs.

    As the pill continued cracking and shedding its outeryer, I was able to see the designs and began memorizing them, but I found that the moment I memorized a single design, it would be wiped from my memory.

    "What the fuck?"

    I tried again, I can¡¯t lose this opportunity. But the same happened.

    Angry, I pulled a brush and paper and began drawing the same design. But the same happened and the design was immediately wiped.

    Pissed at this ¡¯divine intervention, I held my middle finger up against whoever was trying to stop me from learning.

    "Try and wipe this bitch!"

    I pulled my brush and began re-drawing the design, only this time, I neverpleted every design, I just left a small bit of it iplete. It¡¯s like drawing a circle but stopping right when the circle was about to finish, this way, no heavenly design would beplete. And lo and behold the drawings weren¡¯t wiped.

    I had no idea what¡¯s the value of these things, but if heaven was so adamant about wiping them from my memory, then they¡¯re bound to be worth something. I¡¯ll study themter.

    I collected the pieces of paper and stored them in my Poison God¡¯s book. Then waited patiently for the pill to shed everything.

    And the moment thest piece of the outer shell fell, the golden pill¡¯s designs disappeared leaving a powerful pill in my hand.

    Now, this little pill is pretty damn important for any Devil Cultivator, though I can¡¯t say the same for me who is following the Poison cultivation, which is a branch of Demonic Cultivation, it is still pretty beneficial to one¡¯s cultivation, and especially, in my current level.

    This Pill will help me consolidate my Core, increase my mentalputing abilities, increase my divine sense, all at the cost of one little thing, well it would be costly for anyone else, but not me.

    s

    I grinned as I threw the pill down my mouth.

    This pill, no cultivator in their right mind would consume directly unless they wanted to die because, with all of its amazing bonuses, ites with one downside that makes it only useful for Devil Cultivators.

    It¡¯s a poisonous pill, and without Devilish energy to suppress the poison, any cultivator in the Core Formation level would die. But for me, this pill, it¡¯s all but benefits.

    The pill¡¯s melted down my throat, and a surging coolness began seeping through my body, and I began feeling numbness all over. This numbness is the body¡¯s response to being poisoned.

    Heh, even with me daily eating up poisons, my body is actually feeling threatened by this pill. No wonder the Poison God praised this pill so much. Now, let¡¯s cultivate!

 Chapter 117 Qi Reactor

    <h4>Chapter 117: Qi Reactor</h4>

    The moment the pill settled in my stomach, I could feel my stomach convulse. Pain assaulted my stomach as ck veins began rippling through my whole body. Shuddering at the painful experience, I almost fainted, but if I were to faint I¡¯ll probably end up dying.

    What cultivators do in these scenarios is bite at the tip of their tongues, but I¡¯m not that crazy? I pulled a small bottle of powerful smelling salts and took a strong whiff, the jolt shook me up and immediately removed the feeling of feeling faint.

    I continued circting my poison Qi, not to suppress the Demonic Nether Pill, but to help it course through my whole body, no matter how painful. Any Devil cultivator would usually use their own Devilish energy to suppress the Demonic Nether Pill and then will slowly allow it to nourish his body. This process would usually take years for the pill to fully melt and fuse with the cultivator.

    Because otherwise, the potent poison of the ck Nether Rose will immediately kill anyone below the Nascent Soul. However, for me, the poison is as important as the increase to my mental ability, or quality of divine sense that the pill will add.

    The poison coursed my body with unbridled restraints, breaking a few arteries in the process and causing mass internal bleedings. But I supplemented my body with a few nutritious pills, mostly poison pills because I can¡¯t use healing pills.

    My body consumed the additional pills and repaired my broken arteries while allowing the Demonic Nether Pill to continue running amok within my body.

    My nose, ears, and eyes began bleeding, but the blood was ck murky, more like impure blood. The Demonic Nether Pill¡¯s overbearing performance was the same as a ve driver running his ves on fumes trying to exert every bit of their power before he can discard them. If the ves die, then they¡¯re dead, but if they survive they¡¯ll be allowed rest. And the pill was considering my body as a testing ground-breaking everything before it could even award me with its powers.

    I grit my teeth and called more of my Poison Qi, I rotated it along my meridians and sent it through my veins, forcing the Demonic Nether Pill to go through my veins along with my own Poison Qi.

    Now, this is where things will get difficult, I¡¯ll need to use my Poison Qi to protect my veins and arteries while the Demonic Nether Pill continued its cirction.

    I closed my eye and used divines sense, tracking almost every artery in my body, every vein to monitor the passage of the Demonic Nether Pill and send my own poison Qi to stop the pill from further destroying my body. I was doing this very action more than thousands of times all over my body. And thankfully, the more the Demonic Nether Pill coursed my body, the more I was able to track the damage and repair it and further stop the Demonic Nether Pill from further harming me. The most ironic thing was, that the Demonic Nether Pill itself was what was powering my mental abilities and trying to destroy my body at the same time.

    s

    Hourster, thest of the Demonic Nether Pill fused with me, and I was finally done. I was too focused on managing the Demonic Nether Pill that I didn¡¯t notice that I cracked a few teeth from gritting them so hard, and had several tore muscles from sudden convulsions. Pain wreaked my body, but a few pills did the trick of restoring me back to proper form.

    But the pills only healed the body and didn¡¯t treat the exhaustion so I meditated to rest.

    Three days had passed and on the fourth day I woke up from my meditative state then used my divine sense. I could see a pale green aura spread around me at extremely high speeds. It spread outside the pagoda, and around the mountain, I was hiding in and it even touched the rim of the Demon City.

    "Damn, my Divine Sense was barely a hundred meters, now it¡¯s more than a kilometer¡¯s wide."

    Not only did the Divine Sense increase, but it also gained a Demonic Property, as I have noticed many critters and small animals also shuddered and scurried away the moment my divine sense touched them. This was quite simr to what Zhang Tian had done only his divine sense was on a whole different level than mine. Not to mention that Zhang Tian¡¯s divine sense was not only able to scan it was even able to oppress and destroy if he even wanted it.

    And finally, theputing ability. Opening my eye, I pulled out the paperwork of Master Rain and what he called the Ultimate Battle Puppet. Good god such a lousy name.

    I read through all the papers and immediately felt my head hurt, even with all of the increasedputing ability thanks to the ck Nether Rose, just trying to operate this puppet is nothing short of a mission impossible for someone at my level. Especially with the Saint Crystal inside it.

    The whole puppet had a simr workingyout to what X¡¯s former body had. A single operating system in the centerpiece supplied the whole puppet with energy and gave itmands. But unlike X who only had a small inscribed array, this puppet actually had something that made me shudder. It had a reactor. An almost functioning Saint Qi reactor.

    I studied the paper that Master Rain and his reactor n, and noticed several ingenious ways that he made to increase the Saint Qi¡¯s output. And allow the puppet to move and fight. However, he had too many additionalmands that were outright bbergasting, mainly, he had inscribed actual cultivation attacks, the puppet can actually fight like a cultivator and use a cultivator¡¯s skill.

    For Master Rain, this puppet was the perfect Soldier, and I can¡¯t believe this guy just left something this amazingying on the ground. Could Master Rain have had an unfortunate ident before he could im back the puppet?

    I didn¡¯t need to waste more time thinking about useless things. I have to understand how this reactor works. Because using these schematics, I will be able to further upgrade X, and even create some amazing things with this technology.

    First things first. I want to use this puppet but there are two problems. I cannot use the Saint Qi crystal, this energy is too pure for this world, and the moment the Saint Qi crystal is activated, it will release powerful waves that will alert every cultivator close to the Ascendant Realm, they¡¯ll break through seas of fire and mountains of swords to get their hands on this piece of Saint Qi crystal, and I have two of them.

    Second thing, this puppet is a swordsman that was missing its swords, something I¡¯ll need to recreate, but at the same time, judging from the massive two halves of hovering Oni-Mast on each of the puppet¡¯s shoulders, it is a defensive puppet.

    I wanted to transfer X¡¯s consciousness the same way to this puppet but it seems that it is impossible, Master Rain¡¯s work is tooplicated for my ¡¯primitive¡¯ inscriptions to take control over. But I can still find a way to have this sword puppet be mine.

    Thirdly, I cannot use this Reactor, it¡¯s just too powerful, all I need is the ability to move the puppet and have it use just its most basic abilities. The Saint Qi Crystal inside it will allow it to use greater power but I¡¯m too low level that I think the moment this puppet uses a single skill with 20% of its power I¡¯ll outright die in the shockwave and I¡¯m not even the enemy.

    s

    Too much power is as much risk as too little. So I¡¯ll need to modify this. At least recreate the core to function using regr Spirit Stones, though the puppet¡¯s output will be far, far less than what master rain wanted to achieve, it will be more in tune with my current level. And once I¡¯m powerful enough, I¡¯ll rece the reactor with Master Rain¡¯s reactor.

    Finally, the final hurdle and this one is the one that is least troublesome for now. Master Rain¡¯s diagram is perfectly fine, and even his Reactor should theoretically be in functional condition. Yet, somehow it¡¯s not operating, there seems to be some sort of problem with the reactor, and the best way to understand the reactor is to create one just like it, only it would be attuned to Spirit Stones instead of Saint Qi.

    Time to get to work.

    I pulled dozens of pieces of metals and materials that I got from Master Rain¡¯s chambers, then used his own scalping tools and began creating tubes, cylinders, and carve arrays and inscriptions on metals.

    I have a strong feeling that this reactor will cause great waves in the world of Cultivation, thank you Master Rain, but I¡¯ll be giarizing your work for now.

 Chapter 118 The Pagodas Facilities

    <h4>Chapter 118: The Pagoda''s Facilities</h4>

    Creating the modified version of the Reactor was no easy feat. After all, I needed to rework a lot of the Spirit Channels, tubing, and material needed to reorganize the spiritual paths of Qi. This was like recreating a whole new thing by relying on the prototype of Master Rain. Though Master Rain¡¯s own reactor was not working, mine was far easier to use.

    The difference between the two was the avability of materials. For Master Rain, he needed Purple Adamantium to create the circuits that could transfer Saint Qi, this was all in his research papers, but since he couldn¡¯t find enough, he had to rece the Purple Adamantium with lower quality materials, though the circuit waspleted, it still couldn¡¯t channel the Saint Qi efficiently, thus the Puppet couldn¡¯t use Saint Crystal to move.

    But for me, I¡¯ll only need to use regr materials, like ck Steel tes, and Meteorite Steel to create circuits that could easily transfer the Qi from Spirit Stones.

    I Still had a huge problem though, this was something that Master Rain didn¡¯t encounter. Heat.

    The reactor would melt down the Spirit Stones and use the created energy to operate the puppet, but in this process, the Reactor¡¯s Heat signature will increase to impossible levels to maintain. This wouldn¡¯t have been a problem with Master Rain¡¯s own reactor, due to the quality of his own materials, the heat from the Saint Qi stone would never cause his reactor to melt, but the quality of my own materials will make the puppet into a bomb after ten seconds of motion.

    I needed a way to transfer this heat... And there was nothing better than Dragon Brass to do this.

    I pulled the Dragon brass cauldron that the Emperor had given me and began tearing it apart. At first, I wanted to create a heat sink that could absorb the reactor¡¯s heat and then disperse it outside the puppet, but then, the heat sink will need to be ced outside the puppet, and with a reactor this hot, I¡¯ll need a gigantic heatsink, that¡¯s just absurd it will look aesthetically unpleasing, unprofessional, and bulky awkward on such a great puppet.

    So, my only option was to transfer this heat and actually use it. it would be a shame to lose so much power without actually benefiting from it. So, an ingenious idea befell me. But to do it, I¡¯ll need a massive source of heat.

    And the only thing hot enough to sessfully execute my idea was the very thing that I wanted to refinest.

    The Veridian Heart me. Unless I¡¯m a nascent Soul Cultivator, trying to ingest this me is nothing but suicide, but I don¡¯t have any choice. I can¡¯t beat Vitra¡¯Ghoul without Master Rain¡¯s puppet, and if I can¡¯t beat him, I¡¯ll be stuck here.

    s

    ¡¯Damn,¡¯ I cursed as I pulled my poison God¡¯s Book, grit my teeth, and swore, "Shit, I might really kill myself."

    The Poison God¡¯s book opened up, and with my will, the heat from the Veridian Heart me began surging outside of the book, but almost immediately a person touched my shoulder, causing me to jump up, pull my sword and point it at the invader¡¯s head.

    ¡¯Who the hell managed to find their way into the pagoda?¡¯ this was my first question, but the moment I saw the preparator, I took a sigh of relief.

    "What are you doing here?" I asked the lifeless puppet that belonged to the Lord of Lords.

    "You were going to burn the pagoda, that¡¯s a heart me I presume?" the puppet said. "Also, I¡¯m the operator of this pagoda and all of its facilities, did you think that this treasure only had one level?" the puppet asked.

    "What do you mean? I know it had three stories, but I never found the entrance to the upper floors."

    "Three? There are more than nine floors, and you¡¯re at the entrance. I should have exined more. This is the Lord of Lord¡¯s Pagoda, his house and his pce, it¡¯s one of the greatest Treasures the Lord of Lords had ever refined and you think it¡¯s a mere three-story pagoda with specialw?"

    "Well, you didn¡¯t exin anything."

    "I was feeling a bit peevish."

    "Feeling? A puppet?" I said.

    "Who says puppets can¡¯t have feelings? Anyway, do you wish to use the Heart me? It¡¯s best you do it in a ce more suitable than this, use your token and you¡¯ll understand what I mean."

    I pulled the pagoda¡¯s token and saw the number 1 on it.

    "Touch the on the front once to go to the next floor, and on the back once to go back to the lower floors." The puppet said.

    I pressed my finger on the token, and immediately, the whole room changed, and I found myself in a massive library area, there were hundreds of thousands of books all aligned and ced neatly and orderly all over the library.

    The books were of all types of literature, poetry, fiction, even world history, and mythology. "These aren¡¯t cultivation materials," I said.

    "The Lord of Lords was an avid reader and enjoyed reading here in his spare time. As for Cultivation materials, such as crafting-rted, cultivation rted and alchemy-rted books are all ced on the far end of this library, though they¡¯re not many of them, you¡¯ll find a good few that will interest you.

    The puppet said, and since I was here I might as well take a look.

    Following the puppet to the end of the library, there was one singr massive shelve at the end that held several sections, like the puppet said, Cultivation manuals were on the left side, alchemy in the middle, and craftsmanship to the side. Also, there was a small part that had Array and formation in one of the library¡¯s corners, this was the one with the least amount of books, about twenty or so.

    "All of this material is for you to use, also I would advise you to ce your own books if you have here I¡¯ll maintain them and clean them so they don¡¯t deteriorate.

    I think the puppet thinks that my Poison God¡¯s book is a regr book.

    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll shelve my own bookster. So this is the second floor, what about the other floors?" I asked.

    "The token," the puppet hinted.

    I nodded and touched the front of the token, further changing the floor.

    Immediately, I found myself in a dreand of Craftsmen. The third floor was a massive three-chamberboratory. It had a closed chamber with protective ss for trials. The second had a smelting furnace to melt metals and create tools. Thest chamber was a massive area where crafting tools and several armor parts and swords were neatly ced on the walls and stacked to the side.

    "This is The Lord of Lord¡¯s smelting area, he used to create his own swords and armors, though he was not proficient, he spent a lot of time here making new entric gimmicks. Also, this is the ce I was born from." The puppet said.

    "If you wish to use the Heart me, you should use the Furnace Area, it¡¯s the only ce that can sustain the massive heat signature and won¡¯t burn the pagoda¡¯s precious decoration."

    "Thank you," I nodded.

    "I still have two more rooms to show you," the puppet said and I pressed the token again.

    This floor was surprisingly like the Laughing ughterer¡¯s own small world. It contained a sun, rain clouds, and sky, and had a vast greennd that spread all over to the horizon. To the north were high cold mountains, to the south were mounding deserts, to the east were magmatic volcanos and finally, the east had a deep sea. While the central area was a perfect grasnd.

    "What is this?" I asked.

    "This is the five Biome treasure. The Lord of Lords had taken inspiration from the *)@#*^@$ cultivation stage and created a world here." The puppet said.

    That again, the cultivation real suppression. No matter, "Right, I guess this is a good ce to cultivate." I said, but sadly I can¡¯t use it, it has great potent Spiritual Qi, and it seems the quality of the Qi here is high enough that it will almost transform to Saint Qi. This would be a heavenly ce to cultivate for any ordinary cultivator below the ascendant realm, but I can¡¯t use it sadly.

    "Oh, no, this is actually a treasure to nt Spiritual Herbs, the Lord of Lords wasn¡¯t much of an Alchemist but he still wanted to make a ce where if he ever had an alchemist apprentice, they would have a good ce to cultivate their Spiritual Herbs." The puppet said.

    "Right, I can actually nt poisonous nts here, have them gain Spirituality, and then consume them, though it¡¯s roundabout and will take longer for the results to show, but once I harvest the nts, I¡¯ll be able to jump through my cultivation," I mumbled under my breath.

    "For thest room."

    "Last? There should be more, no?" I said.

    "There are Nine Floors, but you¡¯re currently unable to ess them, you don¡¯t have the qualification. Cultivation-wise, you¡¯ll die the moment you step there." The puppet said.

    "Right then,"

    I pressed the token and I found myself in thest room I was allowed ess to.

    There was a white void here, and it didn¡¯t seem to have an exit or entry.

    The puppet next to me said, "This is a training room for cultivators below the Ascendant Realm, you¡¯ll never find a better training ce for experience. Not only is the time dtion here thirty to one, it¡¯s also capable of sustaining blows from an Ascendant Cultivator. Also, you may choose to do battle against any number of enemies you wish, from any tier of cultivation, and here are the enemies you¡¯re allowed to do battle against that are below the ascendant stage." The puppet said and showed me a screen where I was mind blown seeing the number of enemies I could fight.

    "Though none of these are ¡¯real¡¯ entities, they¡¯re created from the memory and experience of the Lord of Lords, and they will do battle like the real thing. You should be careful though, choose an enemy too strong for you and you can probably die."

    "So there is a risk of death, damn. Hang on, you said there is a time dtion here?"

    "Yes, one month here is the same as one day outside."

    "This is a great piece of info, I should probably use this room to create the reactor, I¡¯ll have a lot of time for trial and error."

    s

    The puppet shook its head, "You don¡¯t need to, this is a ce of physical and cultivation training, the time dtion can be applied to the whole pagoda if you wish, so don¡¯t worry about it."

    "Then you should have said so earlier! I wasted four days!" I cursed, four days that¡¯s four months¡¯ worth of progress I could have done. But no worries, I still have six more days, I¡¯ll be able to finish my project by then!

    But seriously, this pagoda, it¡¯s like it was designed and tailored for me. It has all the facilities I ever dreamed of. With this, I could do alchemy, do craftsmanship, study, and cultivate without the need to even go outside. This pagoda is every introvert¡¯s dream.

    For many of the Mc¡¯s stories I read, they always used to have a certain treasure that would help them, usually, it¡¯s something omnipotent, mysterious, and can change the causality of their own faith. But the treasure I have here is worthless without effort, as long as a person isn¡¯t hard working in the domains this treasure is offering, this pagoda will have the same use to them as would a attempting to cover the sun.

    I grinned as I imagined all the possible things I could do, all the crazy inventions I can make, and all the training I could have. This is a godly treasure, and I¡¯m d I¡¯m the one who obtained it!

 Chapter 119 Finishing Touches

    <h4>Chapter 119: Finishing Touches</h4>

    I went down to the third level, where the crafting chambers were. I went inside the Smelting room and closed it. It¡¯s time to tackle the hardest endeavor, refining and consuming the Heart me. With the Heart me at my disposal, I¡¯ll be able to use greater heat and control it on even more detailed levels, and from it, I¡¯ll elevate myself from an alchemist to a true Receptarier.

    The problemys in my cultivation level, someone at my level is usually not fit to consume the heart me, as it will burn me from inside out, but thanks to the Demonic Nether Pill I consumed, and my enhanced divine sense and mental functions, I¡¯ll be able to refine the Heart me with fewer troubles, but that doesn¡¯t mean it will be safe.

    I called the Poison God¡¯s book out and began by releasing the heart me bit by bit. If I were to extract all the heart me I¡¯ll burn to death, so slow and steady wins the race.

    A single drop of the Heart me felt like I was trying to hug the core of the sun, its heat was extreme, incinerating, and devastatingly high. Just a single drop, had so much heat, I can¡¯t believe how hot the whole pond worth of Heart me could be.

    I immediately used the book to suck back in the Heart me drop.

    This is not going to work...

    My body can¡¯t tolerate the heat, and for me to refine this pond I¡¯ll need to be next to it and infuse it with my own Poison Qi, even if it¡¯spatible with the Veridian Heart me, it¡¯s nigh impossible for me to stay alive for hours trying to refine the pond due to its heat.

    So, since I can¡¯t stay there I¡¯ll make something that will enable me to stay there.

    X had gone inside the Veridian Heart meke and managed to retrieve it without melting. The metal X was made for was pretty resistant to heat, though I don¡¯t have anything simr to it, since the metal-making X came from the Laughing ughterer¡¯ Minor World, I need a substitute.

    Since I didn¡¯t have anything like X¡¯s material, I wasn¡¯t keen on using X to make armor, I¡¯m not that petty, X has been a great help in my travels, and will still help me until I overgrow his current level. So it¡¯s obviously a no-brainer that I¡¯ll dismantle something that can help me in the future for current gain.

    s

    I first need to identify the metals from Master Rain¡¯s workshop. And thankfully among his many, many research papers, there were descriptions of the purpose of some of the metals, and among them was the Cool Steel. A metal capable of resisting extreme heat, and could actually transfer heat into coldness. But the problem is, that the method to actually melt the Cool Steel needs not heat, but extreme cold. This is pretty new to me, as I never thought that something could actually melt in extreme coldness, but thankfully this was no problem.

    I took the Cool Steel Metal and headed back to the alchemy room. Where it had the five biomes. The Mountain Area at the north would be a perfect ce to cool this Cool Steel and have it turn to liquid that I can infuse with other metals.

    I used my Flying sword and headed to the peak of thergest mountain. It took me a few minutes to get there, and I was amazed at how special this ce is. The moment I left the grasnds, I was met with a wave of extreme cold. But thanks to my robes, I didn¡¯t suffer much from this coldness. But this won¡¯t be the case if I were to stay here for a long time. So I ced a small metallic basin on the top of the biggest mountain, inside it were ingots of Cool Steel that I left there and then pressed on the token to take me back to the Smelting Level of the Pagoda.

    For my next step, I opened the Poison God¡¯s book and began by pulling out the Materials from Master Rain¡¯s workshop. The metals and tools he had at his disposal all came from the Celestial Realms. Add to them the tools and swords that I obtained from the ruins of the Lower Celestial Realm. I ended up with a huge pile of metals.

    I turned to the Furnace area, there was a huge covered crucible used to melt metals. And underneath it was an array that can heat up the crucible.

    I threw in the metals I had in the crucible and turned up the heat.

    Then, I turned to the other side, there was something that looked like a st furnace, and it¡¯s great for me as I can use it to make molds for my next n.

    This reminds me of my first few daysing to this world, when I created bricks, the difference between then and now, is the technology at my disposal right now, but the feeling I still mncholic and reminiscent. I smiled as I remember my younger years, this gave me a good morale boost and I worked even more diligently creating molds for the suit that I¡¯ll be wearing.

    I didn¡¯t need to have something artistic, just a spherical helmet and a full-body suit of heat-resistant metal.

    Creating the molds didn¡¯t take much time and once I had the full suite molds created, I headed back to the alchemy area and into the North, where the cool steel was sitting inside a metallic basin. I was surprised to find the cool steel actually bubbling and boiling at the top of the mountain, it had already turned to liquid.

    I needed to work fast, since the moment I¡¯ll leave the cold area of this mountain this metal will start solidifying, I have to pour it into the blistering hot smelting furnace and have the two metals merge together, I¡¯ll end up with a lower quality product due to having to dilute the Cool Steel with other metals, but it will still work the same.

    Thankfully the moment I pressed the button on the token I was back at the smelting area, I immediately poured the boiling Cool Steel into the Hot Smelting Furnace. But there was no reaction, no explosion of hot and cold, but a perfect merging of the two. Since the Cool Steel can resist heat, in its liquid form it didn¡¯t blow up, but rather slowly fused with the rest of the metals.

    I stirred the crucible and opened a valve at the bottom, the liquid poured on the helmet mold, then I swapped to the chest and legs, then finally the arms.

    I waited for the melted metal to cool, and in the meantime, I continued peeling ling stipes from the emperor¡¯s gifted Dragon Brass cauldron, if he were to see the current state of this cauldron he¡¯ll vomit blood.

    Once I had a few hundred stripes of long Dragon Brass, I was able to start my next step.

    I began by coating the Dragon Brass, which was a Super-Heat-Conductor, with cool Steel.

    Once all of the Dragon Brass Stripes were coated with Cool Steel, I had something simr to coated wires. And these were great. This will force the excess heat from the reactor to travel through the Dragon Brass Stripes and into the arms without overheating the puppet. I then started by connecting the brass wires with the Reactor chamber, they¡¯ll absorb the heat from the reactor and funnel them through the long lines. Then finally to the hands of the puppet where I¡¯ll make use of them greatly.

    I then began by making the Puppet¡¯s Hilts. Yes Sword Hilts, not the swords, because for the de, I¡¯ll need the heat from the Veridian Heart me to use that massive Neutron-Steel broken sword I gotten from the Zhou Emperor¡¯s treasure pavilion.

    Now I¡¯ll need to wait for the molds to cool before I start making the swords. So it started by making the hilts, which wasn¡¯t difficult, I just needed to be careful about the size. The Neutron Steel is he heavy, and since I can¡¯t use it, this puppet will easily control it.

    I began by drawing a small design, the hilt¡¯s primary purpose wasn¡¯t to hold the sword, at least the hilt I¡¯m going to be making, it¡¯s primary purpose was to fully intake the heat that will be continuouslying from the puppet¡¯s reactor and transfer it into the des. So...this reminds me of a pretty famous sword...

    "Let¡¯s just call this hilt the Devil- tri.... Hold up that¡¯s copyright. Yes, Demon-Trigger! That should work. Especially since this Puppet has an Oni-Mask split in half, one on each shoulder. Oni is a word that means Ogre, or Demon. It fits, and I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be sued, I think...probably." I grinned as I made the hilt with an additional break-like grip. The moment the puppet presses on the break, it will transfer all the heat from inside the reactor to the sword, causing the sword to be blistering hot. Not only that, I can even add more modificationster.

    The hilt took me an hour to create, and two more to make three more copies. Now with Four Hilts, I need to make four swords, and I have enough Neutron Steel to do so. But before I can even make the swords and tackle the big elephant in the room that¡¯s the Veridian Heart me that without it all of this work would be for naught. I needed to actually make sure that the reactor I made is capable of reviving this seemingly dead puppet.

    I carefully removed Master Rain¡¯s reactor, along with therge Saint Crystal inside it. This whole thing is powerful enough to power up an entire or blow half a continent if I were to mess with it. And this is not a joke, the energy this Saint Crystal can generate is way too powerful that not even a hydrogen bomb canpare to a fraction of a tenth of the energy within it. With a Saint Crystal like this, if I had it back on earth, I would be more than capable of generating electricity for the entire for thousands of years. That¡¯s how powerful Saint Crystals are, and it¡¯s no wonder that cultivators would wage war against each other for something as precious and powerful as this. Because for them, without Saint Energy in their bodies, they cannot ascend. And this is the only way for a Soul Transformation stage cultivator to shed his mortal bounds and be an ascendant capable of leaving their and venture into the Vast Expanse.

    After carefully putting the reactor in a safe location even inside the Poison God¡¯s book. I went back to the puppet in front of me.

    I began screwing in my own reactor, which was far simpler than master Rain and it only had a small purpose, to create energy capable of moving the puppet without suffering any deficiency in movement. But saying that and actually doing it is not simple, because this puppet needed a Saint Qi crystal to operate, though the saint Qi crystal will enable 100% of the puppet¡¯s power, my reactor can probably pull out at most 1% of the puppet¡¯s abilities. And that¡¯s more than enough, considering this is a puppet made by a cultivator of a ream far higher than ascendant.

    s

    I also checked the puppet¡¯s own inscriptions and was surprised to find many, many great additional arrays inside the puppet. Primarily, there was an inscription that allowed the puppet to deploy a barrier-like shield. Which was pretty damn op. There were other inscriptions inside the puppet, mainly to enable it flight, and the ability to use Cultivator Skills, like sword skills. I¡¯ll be able to use all of these even with 1% of the puppet¡¯s power but the energy cost will be huge.

    I ced a single High-Grade Spiritual Stone inside the ss chamber of the reactor. The High-Grade spirit stone began emitting power, and the reactor started spinning the High-Grade crystal. Heat began surging inside the reactor but it was not enough to cause any danger, since the puppet was in idle mode.

    The eyes under the Samurai helmet turned bright red, and the whole puppet shuddered, the massive shield-like masks on its side had the eyes on them also shine bright, and then the puppet looked at me.

    "You are not my creator! Initiating self-destruction!"

    "THE FUCK?!"

 Chapter 120 Riches Cant be spent, Power cant be used.

    <h4>Chapter 120: Riches Can''t be spent, Power can''t be used.</h4>

    "Imitating Self Destruct! Missingponent, Self-Destruct cannot be enabled, Reactor ipatible. Emergency repair initiated... Repair failed, emergency power supply starting. Emergency Power Supply iplete...Error!"

    "The heck?!" I frowned as I looked at the massive puppet, it¡¯s frightening how this thing would act as a modern automaton. But, thankfully it can¡¯t destroy itself, but howe it has sentience, I already cleared and verified every nook and cranny of this puppet and couldn¡¯t find any sentience inscription on it.

    Suddenly, the puppet¡¯s eyes and the eyes on the two-meter mask hovering on the puppet¡¯s shoulders suddenly turned blue, then the whole puppet just...turned off.

    "Did you seriously just blue-screen on me?"

    I shook my head then went closer to the puppet, I began searching again, trying to pry open every seam to see where the puppet¡¯s sentience inscription was inscribed. And after several hours of continuous search, dismantling, and repairing, I finally found it.

    "Damn, that¡¯s just genius," I said.

    The puppet¡¯s sentient inscription wasn¡¯t on the puppet but was on the back of the mask hovering on the puppet¡¯s shoulders. With each half of the mask supporting half of the inscription, if one were damaged the other half would take control of the mentalmands. This was quite simr to what I did to X, this way the puppet even if it¡¯s damaged it will still retain its consciousness because the inscription is hidden behind the floating mask that anyone would think of as nothing but a flying shield or weapon and not the actual brain of the puppet.

    I pulled my brush and began editing the conscious inscription. Most of the lines inscribed were rted to the puppet¡¯s functions. The arts, and handling, the puppet¡¯s motor abilities, and power management from the reactor¡¯s output. This was good, I was thinking about putting a power regtorter, but it¡¯s already here, though it will need some adjustments because the inscriptions here are meant to control Saint Qi, and are ipatible with Spiritual Qi. So I had to edit them.

    There was a small circr inscription separate from the rest of the inscriptions, it was the one rted to security and the one that couldmand the puppet to self destruct. The moment I wanted to remove the security inscription, I had a foreboding feeling that I¡¯ll die the moment I try and touch this.

    And this was confirmed the moment the poison God¡¯s Book shot out from my chest.

    s

    ***

    There lies a sliver of Divine Sense of one too great for you to resist. Do not touch it you¡¯re not strong enough yet, disciple of mine.

    ***

    "Damn, as I thought, there was something strange about this, but if I can¡¯t remove it, how can I take control of the puppet?" I questioned myself, then I immediately found the answer to my question, having improvedputing abilities is great to assess, analyze ande up with solutions to problems. All thanks to the Demonic Nether Pill.

    I pulled my brush, and instead of trying to edit the dangerous security inscription that had an ungodly divine sense inside it, I just cut it off from the rest of the puppet¡¯s function.

    Without being linked to the rest of the puppet, that divine sense was like a fish pulled from a sea and ced in a small cup, it¡¯ll never affect the puppet.

    I pulled my brush and re-inscribed a simr inscription, then linked it instead of the older one with probably Master Rain¡¯s own divine sense. Since the puppet didn¡¯t recognize me as its master, it was definitely this piece of divine sense that enables it to identify who the owner is, and I just changed it to mine.

    Once I had everything adjusted and edited, I made a quick search around the puppet, trying to see if I missed another obvious important detail, but finding nothing worthy of note, I turned on the reactor.

    Suddenly, the puppet¡¯s eyes lit up, and it looked at me.

    "Master!" the puppet said and knelt down, causing the whole room to shake.

    "Damn, it worked!" I grinned. "Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?" I asked.

    "Yes."

    "Great, what¡¯s your name?" I asked.

    "I have no name, I haven¡¯t been bestowed one."

    "Hmm, that can¡¯t be right, I can¡¯t have you going around without a name. Your name is Y from now on."

    "I shall dly take up this name, and find honor in defending it and the one who named this one as such!" Y proudly dered.

    ¡¯Damn, this speech is really dope. I should look up the inscription and use it on X, a puppet that can speak is he useful.¡¯

    "X,e here, say hello to your newest brother," I said as I spoke through the token.

    X was guarding the pagoda outside, and when he heard my voice, he entered, and I allowed him ess to the third level.

    X looked far smaller than Y, but he was the senior brother.

    "Y greets Senior X," the massive samurai puppet sped his hands at X, and X, surprisingly, sped his hands back at the puppet.

    "Master, I wish to contend with my senior, to see who has the right to im first amongst us." Y said.

    "Wow, you have an ego? Damn, Master Rain is he crazy. This is Sk kind of shit."

    "I fail to smell anything of sorts, Master."

    "No, it¡¯...never mind, I can¡¯t have you fight, you¡¯ve been created with material that¡¯s far more advanced than X. you¡¯ll definitely win in a direct confrontation, but if I were to let you fight with the free ring, you¡¯ll lose Y."

    "Why does master question my ability?" Y said.

    "Because you¡¯re currently using Spirit Stones, you¡¯ll deplete the spirit stones inside your core before you could even catch X, you use too much energy."

    "But I had a Saint Qi crystal." Y said.

    "I know, I still have it with me, if you were to use it, its energy signature will beckon every ascendant into this ce."

    "I can easily kill ascendants." Y confidently said.

    "That I¡¯m sure you can, but if you use your saint Qi, you¡¯re more than probably capable of razing entire continents."

    "That is true, but where is the problem?"

    "I¡¯ll still be in that continent you¡¯re going to raze, I¡¯ll die just from the aftereffects. Also, I only have that Saint Qi crystal, what happens when it¡¯s depleted? How long can itst you at full capacity?" I asked. Though I lied about having only one, having two isn¡¯t much better.

    "I couldst a whole day at full capacity." Y said.

    "Then once that day is over, even if one ascendant is still alive, I¡¯ll get myself killed, though I¡¯d appreciate your power, ites with far too many problems for me to even consider. Unless I have a steady supply of Saint Crystals, and the ability to survive the aftereffects of your attacks, you¡¯ll have to use Spiritual Stones."

    "Right Master, I have not seen through the crux of the whole matter, I was shortsighted," the samurai said.

    "No worries, man it¡¯s actually interesting to have someone to talk to," I said, after all, I was getting a bit bored, aka crazy, talking to myself, but talking to puppets isn¡¯t much different is it.

    Turning, I saw X touching his neck.

    "You wish to speak too?" I asked X, and he nodded.

    "I¡¯ll try and figure something for you X, just wait on me, okay?" I said and X nodded.

    "Alright, Y, tell me, do you think that there are any problems with your current power output?" I asked.

    "In idle mode, just speaking, right now, I¡¯m using about 0.01% power, but motion, just mere moving my arms will increase the power consumption of idle mode by ten times. Battle will increase base power consumption by a hundred times. I¡¯ll be able to do battle at a level equal to a peak Soul Formation for one hundred seconds."

    "Hmm, that¡¯s actually far more than I expected."

    "That¡¯s without the use of my barriers, nor my swords, and especially not the abilities of the Hovering Oni-Mask." Y said.

    "Give me a detailed report on your abilities."

    "Yes, master. Using a Saint Qi crystal, I can output power enough to contend with a Saint Cultivation level."

    "Saint? That¡¯s higher than Ascendant?"

    "It is the next step after ascending."

    "Good, what about your abilities?" I asked.

    "My Swords, I have yet to obtain them, they¡¯re the Four Demon Sealing Swords. These are the Weapons I was made to wield, they are used to battle the @**-/.. in the Vast Expanse."

    "Damn that redacted portion sucks..."

    "Can you use other weapons?" I asked.

    "As long as they do not break, I can, but I¡¯m more attuned to the Demon Sealing Swords."

    "I get that, I¡¯ll make something that will really make you think twice about those words."

    "I do not wish to sound rude, but master, you don¡¯t have the level, or ability to make something as good as the Demon Sealing Swords." Y said.

    "Man you have no faith, I just repaired you and this is what I get, I feel hurt." But honestly, he is probably right, whatever swords those were, they made a puppet for the sole purpose of using them, the swords have to have some amazing condition to wield. Anyway, it¡¯s good to have a critic, it helps one grow.

    "Good, what about the rest of your abilities?"

    "Yes, I can use the Heavenly Iron Fist martial arts even without the swords. With the swords, I can use a higher martial art, the Sword Sealing Sutra. Also, I can shield myself using barriers and protect others, with a Saint Qi crystal I can mimic an entire Sect Defensive Formation that can easily shrug the assault of an ascendant cultivator, and can sustain a hundred cultivator¡¯s onught for a year."

    s

    "That¡¯s he dope." I grinned.

    "Finally, my Oni-Mask, it¡¯s a defensive treasure that once I assemble can create a petrifying gaze. And can also act as a shield and an offensive tool. The cost of use is far greater than any of my other abilities, and it can consume a whole Low-Grade Saint Crystal for one activation, the destructive power of the Oni-Mask is simply too much for even ascendant to survive and can heavily injure a Saint Realm Cultivator."

    This report just made me super giddy, but at the same time depressed. Y is like a teenager being gifted an inheritance of the richest man in the world, but you can¡¯t use it until you¡¯re eighteen.

    He has so much power hidden behind the Saint Qi barrier, and I can¡¯t use it lest I incur doom upon myself, I need to have the power to survive Y¡¯s own might before I could actually use him. this is so sad, but at the same time, if I¡¯m in a pinch I can use Y as a life-saving treasure. If worsees to worst, I won¡¯t mind using Saint Crystal even if it means informing every Transformation level cultivator on this that there exists a Saint Crystal here that can help them ascend.

    "Now that this is finished, the Heat-resistant suit should be done, I suppose it¡¯s time to refine the Heart me, and then start making Y¡¯s swords."

 Chapter 121 Refinement

    <h4>Chapter 121: Refinement</h4>

    I removed the suit from the mold and ended up with a product that looked like an astronaut¡¯s suit. The Cool Steel infused into the various metals made the suit feel cold at the touch, and that was the best product I could create to tackle my next objective.

    The heat-resistant suit had a lot of dirt from the molds, I cleaned it and began donning it, then I cleared the room to begin refining the Heart me.

    First thing first. Refining objects is a simple procedure, infusing one¡¯s essence into an object. Though cultivation level and the level of the object y a big role the general idea is still the same. To refine a low-level item one just needs to add their blood on it, and it will belong to them. But the higher you go, the more you need, as for this heart me, I¡¯ll need to refine it using my divine sense. And for something greater, one will need their divine sense and their essence blood. Essence blood is unlike normal blood, it¡¯s something that is specific to cultivators.

    But I¡¯m not using that, after all, for a Heart me, divine sense is enough. Especially since this Veridian Heart me, though extremely powerful, it¡¯s still not in its final stages. As it can also grow stronger if I were to feed it Heavenly Treasures, such as Spirit Fruits, or even other Heart mes. The Heart me can also be cultivated to higher levels.

    I opened the Poison God¡¯s book and began releasing the Veridian Heart me, drop by drop.

    The first drop red and shook as its heat began elevating the room¡¯s temperature. Only one drop was capable of melting steel that was a couple of meters away, thankfully I cleared all the objects that could be affected by the Heart me from the room.

    I slowly poured a bit of my divine sense into that drop of Heart me and began familiarizing myself with the heat of the Veridian Heart me. Thanks to the suit, my body wouldn¡¯t turn to cinders if I¡¯m exposed to the heart me, and I could easily infuse my divine sense into the liquid to refine it.

    The first drop of the Viridian Heart me was sessfully refined and I put it to the side. Once refined, I could easily control the drop¡¯s heat, and I made it refrain from releasing its heat.

    Then another drop, and another. I slowly refined the Heart me, drop by drop, this was a rather unorthodox way of refining, as for any cultivator, they would refine the whole thing at once, but I didn¡¯t have the space to pull out the whole pond size Heart me here, nor did I have the will to sustain thepounded and collective heat of the pond. So bit by bit, I continued refining the Heart me.

    My objective was to at least refine half of the pond, drop by drop, then refine the rest at once. But seeing how long it was going to take to refine the whole pond, drop by drop, I soon shook my idea off, this would take years to finish and I didn¡¯t have time, luxury, or patience to wait for a year to fully refine this pond. So I doubled the intake, I took two drops at a time, though this might not look like an improvement, I was only doing this to know my limit and further understand the Veridian Heart me.

    s

    Hourster, I started refining ten drops at a time, then twenty, then mug size worth of drops at once.

    I increased the amount of refined Veridian Heart me, and I realized two things. First, that the Suit though it had great heat resistance, seemed to be crumbling, and the second, the first drop I refined began shaking off the refinement. This was bad, this means that I¡¯ll need to increase the pace.

    The suit will break down and I won¡¯t be able to fully refine the Heart me, this was probably why cultivators refined the Heart me all at once.

    Yet this was not all bad, because after having refined a good portion of the Veridian Heart me, the remaining though it¡¯s dauntingly big, it¡¯s much less than the original size of the Veridian Heart me.

    So, I did something stupid, I pulled the rest of the Veridian Heart me from the Poison God¡¯s book, and coated it with my divine sense, refining the whole thing at once. The Cool Steel Suit red and began releasing steam. The cold nature of Cool Steel tried desperately to convert heat into cold, and try to cool down the rest of the metals making the suit, but it seems that the concentration of Cool Steel in the suit was far disproportionate to fully cool down the suit. I have less than a minute before the metals start melting while I¡¯m inside them.

    There was no turning back!

    I infused more of my divine sense into the liquid and refined for my life¡¯s worth. Converting and forcing the Veridian Heart me to my will. Though this was difficult, as I felt like a sweating chicken inside a sauna within these armors, this was far easier than would have happened if I didn¡¯t make the suit, or if I tried to outright refine the Viridian Heart me in its entirety.

    Just as the gloves on my suit began melting, and burning my hands, I managed to submit the Veridian Heart me to my divine sense, and the room¡¯s temperature dropped immediately. I then began condensing the Veridian Heart me, now it looks like a floating pool of green liquid, and when I started pressing it against itself with my divine sense, it began condensing into a smaller size.

    From a pool size pond, I forced my divine sense into the Heart me.

    "Condense!"

    The pool volume stretched first then it copsed on itself, shrinking to a sphere the size of a ball.

    "Condense!" I gritted as I forced more of my divine sense to press against the Veridian Heart me.

    The ball-sized Heart me resisted at first, but it was once again forced to shrink, this time to the size of a child¡¯s fist. But this was still too big. But I was near exhaustion, if I let out, and give up all my efforts would be gone to waste as thepression from divine sense will wane and the heart me will return to its original size.

    "Condense!" I shouted, forcing the rest of my divine sense to further press on the Heart me. It shook and shuddered, then startedpressing while at the same time spiking all over, it looked like a small hedgehog, but with more effort, the rest of the spikes crumbled and the result was a small pill-sized Heart me.

    Taking a breath of relief almost cost me my hard work as the pill wobbled trying to regain its former size. I focused again and removed my helmet. Now the real hard part.

    I grabbed the not-so-hot pill and threw it down my mouth, I need this to merge with my core and find its ce in my Sea of Consciousness through my Dantian. Once the pill fell into my throat, it felt like I had swallowed the sun. And I was going to be cooked from inside out.

    This is why no one under the Nascent Soul should try and refine a Heart me.

    But with the Poison Lord¡¯s notes, I should be able to do what many do not dare to.

    I released the umted Poison Qi from my Dantian and sent it coursing through my veins and into my meridians, further rippling with power as it went from one meridian to the other, nourishing it and transferring empowered Qi to the next meridian. Then I sent the Poison Qi down my throat to guide the Veridian Heart me Pill, and force it down to fuse back into my Dantian along with the Qi.

    I used the Poison Qi as a river that went and washed down the pill back to the Dantian. And soon, the pill began ¡¯melting¡¯ like a sweet candy into my Dantian as it came in contact with my Poison Qi.

    The heat from the pill lessened significantly, and soon, my Dantian was filled with the incinerating heat of the Heart me pill.

    The Veridian Heart me, even after being refined was still refusing to submit and wanted to destroy my Dantian, but with my Core rotating. It began sucking in the heat from the Veridian Heart me, as it spiraled rotating with it the heart me like a twister inside my Dantian.

    I dived into my sea of consciousness and witnessed the scene, it looked like my green sea of consciousness was in perfect artistic disy and in great contrast to the ming world of the Heart me.

    Fire reigned above the serene green poison sea surface as the rotating Golden Core began absorbing the Heart me. And after a whole, the heat subsided, the Golden Core had fully sucked in the Veridian Heart me, and it gained a greenish sheen to it.

    Waking up, I burped ck smoke then my stomach began heating up.

    I feared that I was entering cultivation deviation because whatever was happening to me was not a good sign. My whole body began heating up, I felt like if I didn¡¯t douse myself in cold water I¡¯ll self-incinerate.

    But my fears were unfounded, as a positive effect of the Veridian Heart me, which was an alchemy pill, actually began ¡¯refining¡¯ my body from impurities. My stomach was instantly filled with vile ck sludge that I threw up immediately.

    Gasping, "Good god, how many impurities do I have." I wretched again and again. But then I noticed that my arms, the tumors, and blisters that were on them began shrinking and disappearing, even the big ones had fully disappeared. I couldn¡¯t even sense a single one of these impurities left on my body.

    And the more the pustules and tumors dissipated, the more ck bile I threw up. From the first day of my cultivation, this was the thickest most disgusting, and concentrated impurities removal I had ever had.

    Not only did my disgusting features disappear, even my skin no longer had those ckish liver spots thate with age, and my skin was no longer brittle and soft, it turned rougher and healthier, but the color of it didn¡¯t return to its natural ¡¯pinkish¡¯ hue, it actually turned slightly pale. I had the skin of a sickly noble, but this skin was not sick at all, it was a side effect of poison cultivation.

    My body had finally regained its bearing and I no longer felt the heat from the Veridian Heart me.

    So I pulled a mirror, I noticed that my forty years old appearance had further been rejuvenated and I was now a healthy young man in the prime of his youth. Approximately in my mid-thirties.

    "I guess cultivation doese with its benefits." I grinned.

    Then for a test. I took a few herbs from my pouch and pulled the poison God¡¯s Book, there was a detailed method on how to create a Soul Strengthening Pill not through alchemy, but Receptarism.

    Instead of using cauldrons, one will use the Veridian Heart me as the container and the heat regtor. So I followed the Poison God¡¯s steps, snapping my fingers a small me kindled above my hand.

    s

    "This looks really cool," I smiled. I then threw the herbs into the me, and the Heart me began refining them, extracting the essence and burning the remains into ash that never touched the essence lest it would reduce their purity. This was the advantage of Receptarism, the results are always far purer than using alchemy cauldrons.

    Then I added more herbs and pressed the essences against each other to create a pill.

    The result was...a burnt to a crisp pill that wasn¡¯t useful to anyone.

    "Hah, seems that nothing is easy the first time, I guess I need to understand how to regte the Heart me¡¯s temperatures before I start using it mainly to do Receptarism."

    With that done, I turned to my other purpose, making swords for Y.

 Chapter 122 Hammer and Swords

    <h4>Chapter 122: Hammer and Swords</h4>

    I had several materials to choose from, basically, Y needs something that¡¯sparable to his strength, and surprisingly, I have something on me that was even better than all the materials that Master Rain had stacked in hisb. Though most of the materials Master Rain had umted are of the celestial realm and are extremely precious, the materials were not best suited to make swords. What I had was better.

    Neutron Steel, the Qi absorbing metal that once ites in contact with Qi, it will turn thousands of times heavier.

    I wouldn¡¯t have been able to melt that material before, but now with the Heart me, it¡¯s a whole different story, the Heart me not only does it possess superior heat to any other regr me, but it also increases the user¡¯s resistance to me. Such as when the Poison God showcased when he fought Zhang Tian.

    Even when Zhang Tian used his Hell Domain, the mes didn¡¯t cause any harm to the Poison God. And now that I¡¯m in possession of such me, I also benefit from the increased resistance to mes and heat in general.

    I pulled the broken sword from my pouch and thought about how to use it.

    This was a broad ultra-great sword, with an arm¡¯s length in width, and more than a man¡¯s height in length. Not to mention the thickness of it that was even bigger than my own thigh.

    The sword was already this big and it was broken, whoever used to wield it, must have been the same size as Y, and Y is already five meters tall.

    Sadly, this was only one sword, and Y needs four. So, I can¡¯t make swords that are gritty. The only choices I have left are Long Swords, short swords, and des. But judging from the shape of the sheaths on Y¡¯s waist. These sheaths are all katana sheaths, it¡¯s normal, after all this is a ¡¯samurai¡¯ themed puppet. It would be wrong to give it a normal sword. Though I like katanas, their shape, and their ¡¯nobility, they are not the best swords, weapons.

    Katanas are great tools to cut, but that¡¯s it, and they¡¯re not even the best at it. A dius or a scimitar can cut better than a katana, they are also good for stabbing, but a rapier is the king of stabs. Their only redeeming factor is their speed, I remember seeing a few characters using a single draw stroke to end lives. And with the katana¡¯s fluid design, its speed can be unmatched in the hands of a professional.

    I shouldn¡¯t go against the original design, after all, the puppet has martial arts inscribed in it, and some of them will be best tuned to katanas than swords or any other de weapon.

    s

    But how does one makes a katana, this is not something I can cheat my way into making, I¡¯ll need to understand the process first. And the best way to do so is to take all the research material I have avable.

    I began by looking through Master Rain¡¯s library and found several books rted to sword forging, but most of these techniques required a skillful master to learn and understand from, but I¡¯m not skilled full I¡¯m not even worthy of being called an amateur in sword forging.

    So I kept the manuals from Master Rain to the side and went to the second floor of the pagoda where there were thousands of books in the neatly organized library. Finding books on sword making wasn¡¯t difficult, they were the most numerous among all the books rted to crafting in the Lord of Lord¡¯s own library.

    I pulled the first manual, "Sword and Hammer." Pretty regr name, nothing too fancy, but that didn¡¯t mean that the manual¡¯s content was anything weak. The author slowly describes all the rted topics of sword forging, starting from the mentality and mindset of the man who is about to pick up the hammer, to the hammer¡¯s motion, and the size of it, length and how to use it, he even lengthily describes how one attitude needs to be. Heck, in a passage the man says that if a forger is midway through his craft and felt the need to relieve himself, he is better off relieving himself while he worked, lest the product bes faulty.

    Though many wouldugh at this, I found hidden insight within this passage, the meaning was that a smith cannot be disturbed and must be fully focused so not even your bowls should bother you while you work, not to mention other people. Serenity and calm are the best ways to make a proper product.

    Sadly, I felt that the author¡¯s own book had some strange sentences, they feel wrong and could have been said in better ways, they are not rted to the topic, but are somewhat right. It felt weird, it was like reading a run-on sentence, most of it was iplete. It seems that the author was not a good writer. But seeing from the book¡¯s quality, it was natural.

    I continued reading before I realized, that in the entirety of the book. The author had never once, not even once, described how can one make a sword.

    All of this book was only rted to the swordsmith¡¯s whereabout, mentality, spiritual peace, and small showcasing of how to use and choose one¡¯s hammer. Seeing this book¡¯s quality, andparing it to the rest, this book was old, wrinkled, and didn¡¯t look like it was made of good quality paper. Whoever made this, was poor. And it seems that he didn¡¯t gain a lot of recognition,pared to the well-decorated and polished books, this one was suffering a lot. But why is it in the Lord of Lord¡¯s pagoda? After all, from all I¡¯ve seen in this pagoda, the Lord of Lords only chooses the best materials and treasures to ce in his library, and this book was ced among some of the so-called ¡¯divine¡¯ smithing manuals as the tag on the shelf was.

    "This is what they call never judge a book by its cover, I mean, many would think that the materials inside this book are nothing of value, but this mere process and patience, also the great dedication the author of this book had given to make this. This is an actual treasure."

    I read the book again and again and familiarized myself with what it was speaking off, I even mimicked the hammering motion, and the meditation steps needed, I memorized everything in the book and once I was satisfied with my understanding of this book, I slowly ced it back among the top shelves.

    I then continued reading through the other books and realized how precious the first one was. All of these books immediately started on how to forge and the quality of materials and the different forging techniques. Nine thousand folds this, seven heat metal that, spinning molten technique something they were all talking about how their forging methods were unparalleled but with memorizing the first book I noticed a few ws in each and every book.

    But I wasn¡¯t toocent to call them unworthy of learning, I still memorized the techniques and continued on. I felt like a robot, as I continued reading through the various methods of forging but wasn¡¯t impressed with any of them.

    Until I found another book, "Sword and Hammer, 2"

    This book however was of far better quality than the first volume. I began reading it and I felt myself smiling, this was like finding your favorite show had a sequel that you never knew about, and I was enjoying the read. With the sole exception of my slight displeasure of the writer¡¯s quality of writing and his bad habit of doing run-on sentences that mean nothing.

    This time the book focused greatly on the forge. The way it should be organized to help ess the tools, and the specific things needed inside it, how they should be ced, and how they should be treated and maintained. Amazingly, it was pretty simr to what the Lord of Lords¡¯ own crafting chamber had.

    I continued reading and began learning about Quenching, though this should be ater stage, the book straight up jumped to quenching instead of talking about hammering the steel and heat regtion.

    But I didn¡¯t mind, I read about the quenching technique the book had and found that he was actually mixing cold and heat to quench metals, this would heavily impact the end result.

    Then grinding, sanding, and polishing, this was natural and every book had its own technique, but the one here was rather simple.

    After finishing the second book, I continued reading through the rest and found yet another volume.

    The third Hammer and Sword.

    Looking at it, this one was far morepact, it had many details about fixing swords, how to use heat to fix cracks, and maintain the sword in good shape. But after reading the whole book I was still vexed. The poor book¡¯s writing quality has once again been showcased here with run-on sentences that mean nothing.

    This author had an amazing understanding of sword-smithing, but he never ever once described how to make a sword. I was getting irritated.

    Once I finished all the books, I didn¡¯t find the fourth volume. I was pretty annoyed, though the many other techniques sounded pretty amazing, for some reason, I was pulled to this simple down-to-earth book.

    But without the final book, there was no way for me to understand how this works. This iplete work would only serve as to improve one¡¯s quality and won¡¯t help forge swords.

    Just as I was about to give up, and switch to Master Rain¡¯s collection in hope of finding a better technique, my eyes were affixed to thest sentence in Hammer and Swords.

    ***

    ...For forging Swords is like seeking the hidden words of heaven, only when one has all before them can they realize the importance of such secrets.

    ***

    This again. A run-on sentence that means absolutely nothing. But for some reason, I have a feeling that it actually is important.

    s

    I read through it time and time again until revtion finally hit me.

    "Oh my god!" I cried as I pulled the rest of the other books.

    I began writing down all the add-on sentences that didn¡¯t mean anything and finally found thest volume.

    Thest volume was actually written in separate sentences, it was hidden in in sight, among the books. And linking all the run-on sentences together...I ended up re-writing the forging technique!

    And looking at the content, I was shocked, this technique, wait what was the idiom...euh right, if it imed to be second under heaven...none would dare im first!

 Chapter 123 Blade Forging

    <h4>Chapter 123: de Forging</h4>

    I began by drawing the primary shape of the sword I had in mind, and since I¡¯m going to make four of them, I better have a good general idea first. The hilts are already processed and made, I¡¯ll only need to create the des. And following the Hammer and Swords technique, the way to proceed turned out easy.

    Once I had the primary curved shape drawn, I began by adding a few modifications. Since Meteorite Steel is pretty heavy, I won¡¯t need a lot of it, otherwise, it will ruin the weapon¡¯s bnce. And to add a bit to the mix, I¡¯m nning on having two of the swords be a little bit different than the other regr two.

    I added a few more touches on another copy of the primary de design and smiled at the end result, though this thing looks badass, I¡¯ll require a lot of inscriptions to make it work, but that¡¯s something I¡¯ll work on after I have the final product in hand.

    First things first, I turned on the heat on the crucible and threw in the remains of the Neutron Steel Sword. The sword turned bright red, but it never melted, this didn¡¯t dissuade me, but actually made me happier. This only means that the Neutron Steel¡¯s heat resistance is pretty high and will be able to handle my upgraded hilts.

    I then pressed my hands to the side of the scorching crucibles. If I had done this yesterday, my hands would have fallen off burnt to a crisp. But now, as a master of the Veridian Heart me, I was able to handle the heat on a whole other level. I wouldn¡¯t feel hot even if I dipped myself in molten magma right now.

    So with my hands close and stuck to the side of the crucible, I imbued it with the Veridian Heart me. And a result, the mes inside the crucible turned a pale sheen of green, and the molten hot Sword began dripping the first drop.

    It was still going to take a long time for the Neutron Steel to actually melt, but I had time.

    I kept imbuing the crucible with the Veridian Heart me for an entire day, and just before I reached mental exhaustion, the Neutron Steel sword had fully melted into a bubbling red liquid.

    I removed my hands and kept the crucible on max heat, though it was not enough to melt the Neutron Steel, it¡¯s enough to keep it in a liquid state for a long while.

    I sat down and had a few Soul Replenishing pills, and meditated for an hour.

    s

    I can¡¯t be hurried in this. Following the teachings of Hammer and Swords, I needed a good mental and spirited attitude, and when I woke up from my meditation I felt fresh as new.

    I poured a quarter of the crucible¡¯s content into a long de mold, though katanas are usually made using folding and hammering techniques, I didn¡¯t need to do that, because the folding only served to remove the impurities of the material. But for me, that wouldn¡¯t be needed, Neutron Steel was already as pure as it could get, and add to it the fact that it was heated using the Veridian Heart me, even the thought of it having impurities would be absurd.

    The pure Neutron Steel liquid poured gently on the mold and began cooling soon after. While I waited for the first mold to cool down, I went to prepare the next three molds. A couple of hourster, I had four des that were ready for enhancements.

    Each of the des was at least two meters tall, a bit taller than me. But these des weren¡¯t meant for humans, they were for Y.

    I pulled the first de and ced my palm on it, heating it with my Veridian Heart me to make it ready to hammer down the details.

    I began by thinning the edge which will be the de by hammering it while it was hot, following the details and guides of making katanas, but also relying on the forging technique of the Hammer and Swords. Rhythmic hammering each and every part, every blow has to have the same amount of power behind it, not a bit more not a bit less. And so on, I kept hammering while heating up the de at the same time.

    The best thing about the Veridian Heart me used in forging this sword was the fact that I never needed to stop the heating process. Most smiths would need to put the molten steel into the fire, pull it out then hammer it as fast as they can then put it back in the furnace to heat up, the fewer times the sword goes back into the furnace, the better the quality, but that¡¯s not easy as the steel usually cool very fast and will be harder to shape. But with me continuously infusing the sword with my Veridian Heart me, I don¡¯t need to worry about the sword being cooled and going back to heat up again, because that usually end up cracking the material and lowering the quality, and forcing the smith to start again by trying to either repair the crack or throw away the product.

    Blow after hammer blow, the initial shape of the de was already in my hand. It was not sharp, but it already had an edge and a tip, and it looked rather grim-filled and dark. But this was just the primary shape of the sword.

    Still, this thing in my hand can¡¯t be called a katana, it was still too straight. And the beauty of the katanas was in their curve. And how to make that curve one wonder, easy.

    I turned around to arge vat of oil behind me and dipped the sword inside it. Now is the testament of the swordsmith¡¯s integrity and his hard work, this is quenching, and once the sword is quenched in oil, it will either crack and break, or curve and shape into a beautiful sword. The number of impurities and the disparity of the hammer blows will be the judge to the final product, the less the impurities and the more bnced the hammer blows will help the quenching process to make a great weapon.

    Soon after the oil had sizzled to a stop, I pulled the de and was not surprised to see the de had curved nicely and elegantly while not a single crack appeared on it.

    "Perfect!" I grinned then removed the half-finished product. All that was left was to grind it from grim and grind the edge to sharpness, then I can polish it and I¡¯ll be done.

    I redid the same thing for the second sword, but the third and fourth, I had something else in store for them.

    Once all the des were ready, I began polishing and cleaning them, until I ended up with two katana des that had more length than me, and their width was bigger than my palm, as for the other two, instead of a sharp edge, I made a razor edge to them. The razor edge wasn¡¯t the most interesting, but the fact that it was actually attached to a small chain that would rotate inside the sword, and with it, the teeth on the sword¡¯s edge would actually spin like a chainsaw.

    I added a few inscriptions on the hilt and to the chains, and then a small spirit stone, after attaching the hilt to the sword, a single press on the ¡¯Demon-Trigger¡¯ caused the chains to spin as their life depended on it.

    I didn¡¯t have the requirement to use the full capabilities of these swords, simply because Neutron Steel bes extremely heavy once it¡¯s introduced to Spiritual Energy, and since I don¡¯t have spiritual energy I can¡¯t disy their full potential.

    Once the four swords were ready and done, I went up to the white room training area and called out Y to show up.

    The massive Samurai Puppet showed up in front of me and knelt down, "At your service, Master."

    "Here you go," I said as it presented him with the four des.

    The puppet took the regr katanas first, ced them inside his own sword sheaths, and then made a few quickdraws, upper kendo slices, and a few shes.

    "They are too light for my preference master. And what is this thing here?" The puppet said pointing at one of the sword¡¯s bike-break-like triggers (Demon Trigger).

    "Well, press it and you¡¯ll see,"

    The puppet idiotically used one hand to click the demon trigger while his other hand was already using the sword.

    "The weight is slowly increasing. This might be useful but it will be awkward to battle like this, Y said as he was still pressing with one finger on the trigger while holding it with his other hand.

    "You¡¯re supposed to use only one hand to press the trigger, like this," I said as I ced my hand on the hilt and trigger at the same time to show Y.

    "Oh," finally understanding, Y did another round of swinging tests and was more impressed "This feels better, but the weight increase is rather slow. It will take three breaths of time before the sword bes heavy enough for me to use, but the more I keep my hand pressed the heavier it gets and it will then be unbnced. There is only a short period where the weapon is perfect for my use. It takes too long to reach it, but takes too little time to go past it."

    "Good, that¡¯s all I needed to know, I¡¯m still developing this, now I¡¯ll take this into consideration. Now, try and squeeze the Demon Trigger two times rapidly." I said.

    Y, did as told and immediately the katana in his hand began vibrating and turning red.

    s

    "What is this?"

    "That¡¯s heat conversion, since I can¡¯t have you use saint Qi, I made a spirit qi reactor, but it is of lesser quality and heats up way too fast, I linked the reactor¡¯s heat into the swords, so now each time the reactor overheats, just two presses on the Demon Trigger will transfer that heat to your sword increasing your destructive power. Though this is not even a fraction of boonspared to what you can do with Saint Qi, this is all I¡¯m capable of at my current level."

    "This...is rather convenient. I was about to bring up the concerning heat increase from my core, but this is a good way to handle it. Master, you have ingenious ways. I¡¯m impressed."

    ¡¯Damn, the ego is strong with this one. How the hell did Master Rain imnt a fully functioning Ego?¡¯

    "Good, now the other swords try them."

 Chapter 124 Upgrades

    <h4>Chapter 124: Upgrades</h4>

    Y took the two chainsaw-edged swords and pressed on the elerator, the inner workings of the swords smoothly worked together to create a rotation force and the chains began spinning to an incredible degree.

    "Press the elerator again," I said. And when Y did as told, the saw teeth spun even faster causing the whole sword to vibrate.

    "The sword¡¯s bnce is off, the motion makes it slightly hard to control." Y said.

    "Good, that¡¯s all I needed to know, now give them back, I¡¯ll adjust them and give them back to you for further research," I said.

    Once Y handed down the swords, I began inscribing more stuff on them, mainly the saw teeth katanas, they needed some sort of inscription to tone down the vibrations. As for the first two swords, a few inscriptions to manage the weight increase and stagnate it at certain levels was enough to make them perfectly usable for Y.

    I gave the swords back to Y and we did several tests, and until I and him were perfectly satisfied with the swords did I finally moved to my next project.

    X needs a bit more love. He has good powers but like I¡¯ve seen back in the Celestial Realm, he had a hard time fighting against the Silver Back Ape. Since the Silver Back Ape was considered on par with a first-grade Soul Formation cultivator, and not Even X could beat it, this would mean that X is actually barely above Nascent Soul level and slightly less than Soul Formation level unlike what I first believed.

    So I¡¯ll need to fix and adjust.

    I made a copy of the same reactor that was in Y¡¯s chest and ced it inside X, though this went against my idea of separate minds, ced in each of X¡¯s limbs, this reactor will enable X to use even more power than before. His speed and attacks will increase exponentially.

    I then restocked his almost depleted explosive canisters and upgraded his arsenal. His guns were made of good material, but the bullets were made of Meteorite Steel which was far too low in quality to actually cause any real damage to anyone above the Nascent Soul also, the bullets though I hate to admit this were just too slow.

    s

    And using the reactor, I could pump in more power into the rotation and propulsion inscriptions to increase their speeds instead of using the High-Grade Spirit Stones to do everything.

    I also reinforced X¡¯s fists, knees, and elbows. Though I didn¡¯t teach X any martial arts, he was using his fists to deal most of his damage, and with sturdy reinforced fists, X¡¯s blows would carry more power.

    I also removed a lot of redundant inscriptions and reced them with Master Rain¡¯s inscriptions, as Master Rain¡¯s inscription, though they wereplex, he was able to use one single inscription to do several functions. Though I¡¯m still not on the level of creating sub-space inscriptions like Master Rain, I¡¯m able to mimic the feat to great sess and was able to release much space to add more improvementter on X.

    Once everything was done and my puppets were upgraded, I started to work on myself. First things first, my Sea of Consciousness.

    Zhang Tian had said that I needed to set up defensive measures, lest I end up with a foreigner easily essing my sea of consciousness and causing harm there.

    And since I didn¡¯t know how to do this, I headed back to the library to search for more materials regarding the Sea of consciousness and how to set up proper defenses.

    The Lord of Lord¡¯s library was full of books regarding this very problem, and I began reading through many of them.

    "de and Soul..." hmm sounds familiar.

    I opened the book and began reading.

    "... For the consciousness to gain power, one must use their mind like a honed de and cut down any who tries to desecrate their mental space..."

    Lots of words, but the meaning was obvious, it¡¯s basically imagining that you have a ¡¯guardian¡¯ inside your mind and it will protect you. Well, let¡¯s see what the other books have to say.

    I continued reading and realized that most of the books here actually spoke about the different ways they shared to do the same thing.

    For example a booking from a sword-oriented sect will have you learn how to use swords to protect your mind, while oneing from des will have you see how des can cut down your enemies inside your sea of consciousness.

    Another rted to inscription masters urges the reader to use inscriptions and formations inside their sea of consciousness to protect themselves.

    The basic idea was that one had to use one¡¯s own imagination to create something that they haveplete confidence in, then use it to break the attacks of enemies. But there was a huge problem with this method. Say a man who cultivates the sword created a sea of consciousness protected by swords, and a sword user who is on a much higher level invades them, the invader will easily fend off the defenses and be able to control the sea of consciousness.

    So one¡¯s understanding of their own ability to use certain skills needed to be top-notch and above anyone who dares invade. This will push people to polish their skills and hone them...but.

    I grinned as Iughed like a mad man.

    "If understanding is required for one to invade and break defenses, then what if I make something that no one can ever understand even if they enter?"

    I smiled and continued reading. Basically, everything in the sea of consciousness needs to be mentally created and mentally saved up, it¡¯s like splitting your mind in two, one on the outside and a portion on the inside to keep your imaginary world active and alive.

    It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, my mental strength is frighteningly high. All thanks to the tinkering I¡¯ve been doing with formations, alchemy and formation creation. These side projects had slowly built up a powerful mind and with it I¡¯m more than capable of multi-tasking. So creating a world inside my sea of consciousness shouldn¡¯t be hard. So, let¡¯s start.

    I sat down in a meditative state and began imagining.

    It felt like an author given a pen and paper, or a painter given a canvass and a brush. As I hovered over my sea of consciousness, I willed the Core to rise high until it was symbolic to a green sun.

    Then I had the green sea turn darker, as if it had an endless depth. Then I began imagining a circr tform that floated over the sea of consciousness. Along the tform, high walls made of powerful concrete rose up and surrounded the whole tform. And withing the walls, massive factories rose up.

    Then along the walls eight towers rose, and above the towers eight anti-flight rocketunchers manifested.

    The factories constantly pumped up puppets that looked just like Y and X and along the walls of the tform, submarines and ships, even massive Carriers moved about.

    And in the center of the tform rose a single tower that oversaw the whole creation. The tower had a single chamber at the top and in that chamber were dozens of screens and a single throne.

    I teleported into the throne and began overseeing the creation of the whole fortress.

    I added more and more details and began manifesting ships and fighter jets.

    Swords and des and all that crap are good and all, but if the enemy knows what he is facing, he will have an advantage, but if he is assaulted with a modern army worth of destructiveness. He will have no idea what¡¯s going on and this will cause him to be warry. An advantage I cannot let go of.

    Put a cultivator in a modern setting and you¡¯ll see him racking his brain trying to understand how rockets bullets and machine guns work. And I¡¯ve set up all of that.

    s

    But this was not enough the moment I thought about creating offensive satellites I coughed as I was forced out of my mental fortress.

    My head was going nk, it seems that I overtaxed my spirit trying to shove in more than what my Sea of consciousness can handle.

    I ate a couple of Soul Strengthening pills and went back to my Sea of Consciousness, thankfully everything was still there, but it seems that I¡¯ll be using about a third of my mental energy to keep this up. This is not bad, though it¡¯ll lower my ability in crafting and alchemy, on the long run, this will also empower my mental fortitude. This is like training.

    Waking back into reality, I began my final preparation, I¡¯ve upgraded my puppets, upgraded my mental state, and even managed to subdue the Heart me, but my cultivation level is still slightly low. As I¡¯m barely at the fourth level of Core formation, and I¡¯ll be facing Vitra¡¯Ghoul who is a nascent Soul cultivator. Since I still have about a month, I¡¯ll need to use it to create pills and eat them to increase my cultivation level.

    Now, It¡¯s time to improve myself!

 Chapter 125 Preparation Complete!

    <h4>Chapter 125: Preparation Complete!</h4>

    Taking advantage of the many resources I had, I began by making pills. Soul Strengthening and Soul revitalizing pills were the priority. I needed them to keep my Mental Fortress fully functional as I cultivate.

    The second batch of pills isposed of massive poisons.

    Half of which I¡¯ll be using for myself, and the rest I¡¯ll be needing for future upgrades that I have in mind.

    I began by concocting Pure Earth Poison pills. And Spirit Breath Sealing Pills, Then a Green Sun Pills. All these were recipes that were in the Lord of Lord¡¯s library. Though they can¡¯tpare to the Poison God¡¯s poison pills in potency, they had some pretty good effects that I¡¯ll need.

    The Pure Earth Poison Pills are good as they are perfect to paralyze the enemy if theye in contact with them, and if I consume them, they¡¯ll increase my resistance to paralysis. The Spirit Breath Stealing Pills are great to cause suffocation. Cultivators mainly have increased survivability, for example, I can spend as much time as I wish inside the depth of a pool without needing to take a single breath, as long as I had enough Poison Qi to supplement my body, I won¡¯t need breath or food. The same goes for other cultivators, as for them, as long as they have enough Qi, they can survive even in space.

    But with the Spirit Breath Sealing pills, the Qi inside their body will be hampered and won¡¯t supplement them, creating a suffocating feeling like a fish onnd. Also, consuming them I¡¯ll gain more resistance to the same type of side-effect, and won¡¯t suffer from Spirit Breath Sealing pills, or any poison or object that causes the same effect.

    Finally, the Green Sun Spirit Pills, these are just poison pills that once they receive a heavy impact they¡¯ll explode in incinerating heat. Like small suns. Pretty destructive and useful. These, well I won¡¯t be eating. Not a fan of having my innards blow up.

    After a couple of days, and thousands of pillster, I managed to separate the batches and split the rest of the time I had left, which was less than a month.

    Every eight hours, I focused on eating pills and digesting them, coursing the energy within me and slowly increasing my cultivation, the next eight hours, I focused on creating a new type of weaponry, it was a mini-gun.

    The creation of such a weapon was pretty easy,pared to the reactor, I just needed tubes that weren¡¯t that hard to make, and a few cylinders to attach them to. A rotation inscription, and a loading chamber mechanism for the bullets.

    s

    The majority of the time was lost in actually making the bullets. They weren¡¯t hard to make, but the process of making each and every bullet by hand took a lot of time. And after eight hours, I only managed to make a couple of belts of two hundred bullets each.

    With a Mini-Gun¡¯s RPM-(Rounds Per Minute)- it will eat through the four hundred bullets in less than thirty seconds. So I actually focused more time on creating bullets than more weapons.

    For the third eight hours portion. I focused on my skills, I tested all of the Poison God¡¯s skills, and began adjusting and changing, each day, I focused on a different skill. I took Zhang Tian¡¯s tips.

    Slight rotations, different points of strikes, changed the power behind each strike, and even yed around with the rigidity and flexibility of my muscles.

    I came to few results, but they were not ignorable, I found out that actually using two hands to strike down the Poison Tiger ws at the same time was less efficient than striking with one hand then following up with the other.

    The first looks imposing, but it loses a lot of power since all the Qi that is generated from the Poison Qi rotating from the Dantian into the meridians, into the hands to exit out as a skill, is actually split in two.

    But striking with my right first, then following with my right, actually gives my body enough time to do another Poison Qi cirction that shoots out after the first is already discharged.

    Though it takes two moves, the offensive power is more than two times higher than striking once with two hands.

    As for the Sanguine de arts, I found out that the more my own blood flowed, the stronger the blows. It seems that the Sanguine de arts are heavily impacted with blood. It¡¯s like an ult reaction, that when blood is present the Sanguine de Arts be stronger.

    And especially if it was my own blood. So being wounded makes the Sanguine de Arts even more vicious. Pretty dangerous, and the effects are far greater than before.

    Another aspect was my movement techniques, I improved my understanding o the Golden Doppelganger Scripture. And was actually able to control the clones that it makes to a certain extent.

    Though I wasn¡¯t able to achieve the minor sess stages which allow me to actually change ce with one of the copies, I can now control them to attack in certain patterns.

    So far I have only managed to make two copies of myself. But now that they can actually fight they will be a great help in battles.

    Then finally, defense. Though my robe was pretty good, I took a few hours a day to adjust the formation in it, increasing its defensive capabilities even if by a little bit.

    As for myst eight hours, I used them to meditate and cement my understanding andprehension of everything I did through the whole day.

    This continued for twenty days. And the results were pretty amazing. With an increased understanding of cultivation, I reached the fifth level. With the time I allotted to making the bullets I had enough to shoot for days. And with theprehension, I gained in my skills I was able to cause even more destruction with my skills.

    This was true secluded cultivation, instead of that crap where cultivators shut themselves down in caves for years and meditate, I actually did some work, hard-ass bloody work, broke my back creating new things, and improved myself actively instead of just sitting down.

    Once I was done, I went into the Five Biome area of the pagoda and took a shower in one of the rivers, I cleaned up, shaved my already stubby beard, and cut my hair.

    I wasn¡¯t a fan of that long ass cultivator hair, that¡¯s a big no, it can serve as a disadvantage in battle heck I could even use that to my advantage, grabbing a cultivator¡¯s already flowing hair is enough to stop their movement.

    So I cut my hair short and cleaned up, a shower helped me rid myself of all exhaustion, and with my new cleaned robes, I was impressed with how young and healthy I now looked.

    I donned my robes and summoned X and Y into my book. With everything ready, I pulled Creeping Demise, my only regret was my inability to actually use its true power, without a Nascent Soul guiding this sword, I can¡¯t municate¡¯ with it, and can¡¯t use its ability to elongate itself. A whip-de is like a scorpion¡¯s stinger, it can strike from an unguarded position and go beyond a cultivator¡¯s defense, and all I needed was a single cut, just enough to apply the poison on the de¡¯s edge into the enemy, and they¡¯ll be dead.

    I went outside the pagoda and used the token to reverse-summon the pagoda inside it.

    I then ced the token back into my poison god¡¯s book and left the cave.

    I jumped on the Poison God¡¯s Flying Sword and flew back to Tarta ¡¯Ghoul¡¯s city, only to find thousands upon thousands of soldiers stationed outside the city.

    Among the soldiers, there were a few war towers, and heavy cavalry, only this cavalry wasn¡¯t horses, as for the demonnds there was no such cute thing as horses. But they were a type of two-legged lizards, wait, they were more like raptors with horns, and the cavalry rode on them.

    And in the middle of the army, was a massive pnquin, carried by weak, famished, and barely dressed humans. Draped in rags. It seems that Vitra¡¯ Ghoul already had enough humans, but it seems that they won¡¯tst for much. The time it takes for the Demon Gate to open again can vary and can take a long time, longer than his hunger for human flesh, they will all die before the gate opens up, that¡¯s why he needs the humans in Tarta¡¯Ghoul¡¯s territory.

    So, it seems that he has yet to activate whatever he has that can make him leave which is a good thing. As I flew toward the city, one of the demon-kin near the pnquin noticed me, he then held a javelin and shot it at me with enough power that it broke the sound barrier.

    Yet, even if I heard the sound barrier-breaking, and saw the javelining toward my head...it was slow...way too damn slow.

    s

    I slowly tilted my head that the javelinpletely missed. But for this man¡¯s offense, I pulled my improved revolver sh desert eagle and pointed it at him, with a single click, and the man¡¯s head waspletely blown off.

    With better material, I improved the revolver and changed its structure, enabling even more rotation energy and with bullets far stronger than meteorite steel bullets, the shot was too fast for that man to even dodge.

    I scuffed at the dead man and continued moving toward the city unperturbed while the army was at a loss unknowing of what just happened.

    The pnquin¡¯s roof shattered as an aura of someone on the Nascent Soul burst out from within it.

    "YOU DARE!" he called.

 Chapter 126 Battling a Nascent Soul

    <h4>Chapter 126: Battling a Nascent Soul</h4>

    I didn¡¯t even bother answering him and continued flying toward the city.

    The man inside the pnquin shot up and followed me, with a hand in a grasping motion toward my throat.

    But before his hand could reach me, Tarta¡¯Ghoul showed up and struck at who I assumed to be Vitra ¡¯Ghoul¡¯s hand.

    "Vitra! He is my guest, and your henchmen offended him first!" Tarta¡¯ Ghoul said.

    "I don¡¯t care who he is, he will die! Or your daughter dies." The man domineeringly spoke, as if he owned the lives of whoever he saw.

    I looked around and noticed that on top of the broken pnquin was a chained and barely dressed girl there. She was the same blond girl I saw on the pond.

    "So, you took his daughter as a prisoner and you¡¯re being all arrogant and such, right?" I said. I didn¡¯t wait for an answer anyway.

    "You, core cultivator, shut up and wash your neck for me," said Vitra Ghoul as he drew a massive scimitar that far outweighed his size.

    He went by Tarta¡¯Ghoul and swung at me.

    I could see his blow, even if he was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, for some reason, having spent time with Zhang Tian, and seeing the battles of the Poison God, and even having more knowledge about the cultivation world, this man, with his Nascent Soul Cultivation, for ack of better words, looked like he was nothing more than a bugpared to them.

    s

    It was just so underwhelming and anticlimactic to watch. I summoned X from my book and he easily stopped the scimitar on Vitra¡¯s Hands.

    "Kill him," I said, and the puppet obliged.

    X closed his fingers forming a fist and struck right into Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s stomach, sending him flying right into his army, crushing many of his underlings as his body cratered aical human shape into the ground.

    Vitra Ghoul howled from inside the ground, releasing waves of energy from his body, enough to break the ground he was dug in.

    The rest of his army spread away not to incur Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s wrath as he rose back up, "You sneak attacking bastard!" he called.

    I picked my nose and flicked whatever was inside at Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s direction and said, "You attacked first and call me out for sneak attacking, shameless." I said, though the words were cringy to speak, they served well into enraging these proud self-proiming godlike entities that think with their meager power they can rule the world.

    "Tarta! I¡¯ll have you for this! Kill her!" Vitra Ghoul said, and a couple of demons went toward the chained princess.

    "No!" Tarta¡¯Ghoul shouted as he flew toward the princes.

    "X, get rid of them," I said and X immediately flew toward the pnquin to save the princess.

    "Fool! Now you have no one to save you" said the Nascent Soul cultivator as he immediately appeared behind me.

    ¡¯Teleportation? Ah, Nascent Soul cultivators can teleport short distances. This would have been bad. He¡¯s smart, after all, he used the princess to lure my puppet, if I only had X I would have been dead here.¡¯

    The Nascent Soul cultivator swung down with his scimitar, only to have his arm rippedpletely from its ce.

    He didn¡¯t even know what happened to him.

    What surprised me was that the moment his hand was ripped, he teleported again and away, this time he was close to the pnquin, but X had already killed everyone there and came back to me with the princess in his arms.

    "What, got skittish or something? Why¡¯d you run away?" I grinned.

    Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s face turned to a sour grim and growl. He looked around and grabbed one of the humans that were carrying the pnquin, crushed his windpipe then a red baleful aura began epassing the corpse of that human sucking all the blood from within him. immediately, Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s torn arm was repaired and he was back in full force.

    "That¡¯s some nasty ability you have," I said as I grabbed the princess from X¡¯s hands and handed it over to Tarta¡¯Ghoul.

    "Now, your daughter is back, what are you gonna do about this guy?" I asked.

    "I¡¯ll kill him. Now without my daughter as a hostage, I can go out with full power!" Tarta¡¯Ghoul¡¯s Qi surged as he readied for battle.

    "You¡¯ll probably just exhaust yourself, let me take care of this army," I said tauntingly as I looked at Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s ugly mug.

    "You¡¯re too arrogant, you think that with your puppet you can defeat my army, though I don¡¯t know what defensive treasure you had that severed my hand I know it only works if I got close, so I¡¯ll bombard you with my Nascent Soul cultivation from afar and you¡¯ll have nothing to do about it!"

    Vitra¡¯Ghoul began summoning his Qi preparing for an attack.

    "Bombard me? Man, such irony, such a poor choice of words. X, light them up," I said.

    X ced his hands behind his back, touched a storage pouch I had given him, and pulled out two miniguns, one in each arm with a belt of bullets extending from the mini-guns to behind him and into the pouch.

    Then the skies cried, raining blood and bullets of life-ending hell.

    Modern guns, against steel armor, spears, and swords. In a matter of seconds, X¡¯s miniguns showered the enemy with so many bullets that wherever he aimed the miniguns, only death remained.

    Under X¡¯s hovering form, empty cases of bullets fell down at an extreme pace, creating a continuous jingle of brass against rocks.

    On the other side, the enemy fell like flies. Inescapable death.

    I had given X the order to first break the enemy¡¯s army to break their morals. And when the army saw their brethren die without the possibility to even retaliate against the unending shower of bullets, they decided that escape was their only way, a full-on retreat and rout of the enemy.

    "YOU COWARD!" Vitra¡¯Ghoul shouted. "Fight like a man!" he said calling me out.

    I picked my nose again just to frustrate him then blew the dry snot toward him again, this served to piss him off greatly.

    The Qi he gathered began spiraling out of control as he threw up blood.

    But he still forcefully gathered his Qi into his hand creating a massive ball of dark smog. "Die you ursed human!" he said as he threw the globe toward me.

    "Shen Bao! Dodge it!"

    It was too fast for me to dodge, but from within the book on my chest, half of Y¡¯s figure shot out, appeared from the book. The Oni-Mast Split in two and hovering on his shoulders immediately mmed together, creating a full Oni-Mask that had its eyes shine bright.

    The moment the smog struck against the Oni-Mask, it dissipated, absorbed into the mask.

    Y¡¯s form slowly went back into the Poison God¡¯s book. Leaving me looking smugly at Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s defeated and shocked appearance.

    "X, kill him for me please," I said.

    And X¡¯s mini-guns aimed at Vitra-Ghoul then they rained down a shower of lead at him.

    Vitra-Ghoul immediately pulled two long swords from his inventory and literally began swatting away the bullets like someic hero. That was just amazing, as a matter of fact, the RPM of a minigun is more than four thousand bullets per minute, that¡¯s about 66.66 bullets a second and he is swatting them away like they were nothing. Honestly, I was impressed.

    "YOUR MERE TRINKETS CANNOT KILL ME!" Vitra Said. and he was right, seeing how fast he moved his hands, he would probably be able to swat the entire mini-gun magazine, o have it overheat before he is even exhausted.

    The sight of bullets flying away from his continuous dual sword swings is actually amazing. But...

    I pulled my revolver, removed the cylindric magazine, and reced it with a special one.

    I aimed and shot at Vitra¡¯Ghoul.

    I didn¡¯t expect the bullet that I shot to even touch him, but that was not my purpose.

    The moment my bullet entered into the mix with X¡¯s own mini-gun shower, Vitra¡¯Ghoul struck it with his sword. And that was the moment he signed his death warrant.

    The bullet I shot was a bit special, it was one of the ones that had a poison pill inside it. And when it was struck, the shell broke and the pill exploded creating a poisonous cloud around Vitra¡¯Ghoul.

    "Fool, poison won¡¯t work on cough.... Cough!" Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s words were abruptly cut as he entered a coughing fit, now even his sword swings weren¡¯t enough to block X¡¯s bullet rain as X¡¯s bullets began prating Vitra¡¯s defense.

    One bullet made it to his ribs, it didn¡¯t prate his body, but was enough to send a heavy blow. Then a second, which further disturbed his bnce, then with another coughing fit, Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s defense was broken and X¡¯s bullets all made it into his body, shredding and ripping his robes and causing heavy damage to his body.

    In less than ten seconds, Vitra¡¯Ghoul body defenses were broken and the bullets found their way into his flesh, breaking every organ and ripping his body, and riddling it with holes.

    Vitra breathed hisst, as he fell down in battle.

    While his army had long since abandoned him.

    "What a frightening battle method. What are those weapons? They don¡¯t seem to be powerful but the rate of fire on them is absurd." Tarta¡¯Ghoul said.

    "Oh, guns, don¡¯t worry about it, now let¡¯s hope his holding bag is still safe. You said he had something that can take me out of this Demon Lands, right?" I asked.

    "Yes, it should be on his person. It¡¯s a four-piece tablet that can be used as a key to open a hidden gate that the Lord of Lords created. I have the second piece of the Tablet."

    "Hold up, you have one, I suppose Vitra has one and the two other kings also have one each? Right, does that mean I¡¯ll have to go looking for the other pieces, I¡¯m really not a fan of people tricking me," I said because this wasn¡¯t in the deal.

    "No! I wouldn¡¯t dare!" the man said, although his cultivation was higher than mine, he spoke with respect, seems that power is everything in this world.

    "Right then what do you mean then?"

    "Vitra Ghoul already took the other tablets from the other kings, the two other, Sarsa¡¯Ghoul and Tinra¡¯Ghoul are cowards, and they didn¡¯t want to fight Vitra¡¯s Army."

    "Good, then you¡¯re the only one that actually kept the tablet.

    s

    "Out of spite, if he didn¡¯t kidnap my daughter, and asked for it, I could have given it to him, but he chose force first."

    "Right then," I said as I guided my flying sword to the corpse.

    The moment I arrived though, a ghostly face shot out from the skull of Tarta¡¯Ghoul and right into my head.

    "YOU STUPID MORTAL! You have so many secrets! Now that I¡¯ll possess you, all you have will be mine!" Spoke Vitra¡¯Ghoul as I immediately found myself inside my Sea of Consciousness.

    "Really now," I grinned, "I bet you didn¡¯t expect this though," I said as I stood in front of the ghostly but shocked and mouth agape form of Vitra¡¯Ghoul, as behind me was a fully functioning, fully operating defensive mental fortress with more weaponry than the best naval army could ever have.

 Chapter 127 Hunted

    <h4>Chapter 127: Hunted</h4>

    "What? You look surprised." I said grinning.

    Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s lips trembled as he tried toe up with words. "Y-you... how do you even have fortified Sea of Consciousness, you¡¯re a mere Core Cultivator, you can¡¯t have this! It¡¯s impossible!"

    "Well, you¡¯re currently here, and you¡¯re seeing this with your own eyes, now enjoy the fireworks," I said as jets and machine guns, anti-aircraft rocketunchers aimed at the ghost and then rained hell from above, incinerating his ethereal form to the embrace of the void.

    Death and destroyed beyond redemption, Vitra¡¯Ghoul¡¯s end was anticlimactic, and now all should be a done deal in the world of the demon kin.

    Leaving my sea of consciousness, I found Tarta¡¯Ghou¡¯s sword pointed at my throat.

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing?" I asked.

    "Oh, it¡¯s you, Shen Bao, it¡¯s really you? How did you survive possession?" he asked as he removed his sword.

    "Oh, that weakling, don¡¯t worry I have ways to deal with possession, so now that he¡¯s dead," I picked up his pouch and opened it. He didn¡¯t even have a safety or security measure on his pouch. Well, considering he was a king, no one would dare steal from him. Thankfully this oversight made it easy to get what he had on him.

    And lo and behold, another huge pile of Spirit Herbs and weapons. Also some treasures, defensive and life-saving ones. Pretty good, if he had used any of these in the fight he would have had a chance to at least escape. But since he underestimated me because of my cultivation level, he suffered before being able to use any of these.

    I pocketed everything and pulled the four stone tes.

    s

    "How do you use this?" I asked Tarta Ghoul.

    "We¡¯ll have to head west, can I please take my daughter for healing, she suffered greatly at the hands of that beast, then I¡¯ll take you there if you wish."

    "No need, just give me a map and I¡¯ll manage," I said I didn¡¯t want to stay in this ce anymore, and I still need to go to the Seven Mountain Peak sect.

    "Alright, but I think my daughter wishes to bid you farewell, at least allow her to thank you for your help." He said as he handed me a jade that had a map to the exit.

    I shook my head, "No need, I only saved her out of my own benefit, she owes me nothing, live well, and live long Tarta Ghoul. Arn!" I shouted and the Purple Lion bounded over from the distance.

    "We¡¯re leaving, let¡¯s go," I said and jumped on Arn¡¯s back as I ced my sword back in my pouch.

    (Reminder, Shen Bao uses his pouch to ce regr items that won¡¯t be suspicious if he pulls them, but uses the Poison God¡¯s Book to keep more interesting items there, like the Samurai Puppet Y.)

    Soon, Arn arrived at the indicated location, it was arge circr stone tform that had a single protruding rectangr stone b.

    The stone b had four faces that all needed one of the tablets I received to ce there.

    Once I ced the tablet, a small circr inscription formed on top of the square rectangle, and reading through the demonic writings it needed ten thousand spirit stones to activate the gate.

    "Damn, that¡¯s expensive, thank god I¡¯m rich." I grinned as I ced the ten thousand Spirit Stones that were instantly sucked inside the circle.

    Soon, a gate with the exact same symbols as the one that allowed me entry here appeared. It opened up revealing a spiraling red portal. I walked alongside Arn into the portal and found myself at the same point where I entered. The Concaved Desert.

    "Arn, I can¡¯t take you with me anymore," I said to the Purple Armored Lion, who whined in sadness.

    "I¡¯ll be going to a dangerous ce. I can¡¯t protect you there. But here," I said as I handed Arn a load of Soul Strengthening Pills.

    "Use this, sparingly, and increase your cultivation, if fate allows it, we¡¯ll meet again," I said.

    The lion understood my meaning, the next step is the Swamps of Balur, a pretty dangerous ce, from the map of the Seven Mountain peaks. I could get by, but Arn is too slow and will risk getting trapped by the monsters in the swamps. I can¡¯t carry him inside my Poison God¡¯s book or my pouch because he is alive. As much as I wanted to keep him with me. I just can¡¯t.

    So I have to leave him here.

    "Hold up! Wait."

    I pulled my Pagoda Token and summoned it. "Get inside," I told the lion and followed after him, then I chose the third floor, the alchemy area, and said. "You¡¯ll live here, if I need you I¡¯ll call you, I might even bring a few friends for you," I said then left the pagoda.

    With a space as big as the Alchemy area I can have a whole city built there and it won¡¯t even take a fraction of the space inside.

    Once I was out, I hid the token and used the Poison God¡¯s flying Sword, continuing west, towards the swamps.

    There were no cultivators here, it¡¯s been a whole year apparently since I entered, and all would have left.

    I wonder how Wu Di, Zhang Xiao, and Yuzehan are doing. I hope they got out and achieved some sort of progress. They¡¯re good kids.

    As I flew across the Concaved Desert, I witnessed many demonic beasts, Jade scorpions, Two-Headed Vultures, and Sand Worms. All were carnivorous creatures. And found it rather difficult to ept that a biome can survive on only predators. But with the presence of Spiritual Qi, being a herbivorous prey is nothing but a death sentence.

    Flying through the Desert took me the better part of a month before I began smelling the rancid smell of the swamps. And in front of me was a cloud of mist that spread all over the horizon.

    I continued by following the map, it appeared to lead through the least popted and less hazardous areas of the Swamps of Balur.

    From the map, I could see that there were many monsters and areas that had some poisonous nts and creatures. It would be a good opportunity to get some of these nts.

    Just as I thought about entering the fog, I felt that I was being watched, no I was being attacked.

    I immediately dove down and a wave of powerful sword energy went through the location I was on.

    I stopped the flying treasure and looked back, there was a group of cultivators, about twenty of them. all were in the Nascent Soul stage.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this?" I asked.

    And one of the twenty people didn¡¯t even wait to answer and shot another sword ray at me.

    Now that I was able to see it I immediately dodged, and pointed my gun at him, "You didn¡¯t even identify yourself, we have no enmity between us, why must you look for death?" I asked.

    "Will you look at that, this little core cultivator actually thinks he could survive this, and even threaten us with death? Just kowtow a hundred times and I¡¯ll promise you a painless death and an intact corps."

    "Brother Han, he looks in good shape, I¡¯d like to have some fun with him before you kill him," one of the men said.

    For some reason his words caused me to shudder.

    "Bro, chill on the homo vibes, also I like women," I said as I pointed my gun at him and shot.

    He easily dodged the bullet, "Fisty, I like it!" he said as he rushed at me with an open grasp.

    ¡¯This is troublesome. Who the fuck are these guys? Bandits probably, but they¡¯re too high level toe after a core cultivator, and they don¡¯t look like bandits, they¡¯re dressed well...hang on, they have the same type of dress as the guy with the flute.¡¯

    "Oh, I get it," I said as spat a poison breath in the direction of the iing creepy pervert.

    The man immediately stopped and pulled an umbre that he used to blow away the smoke.

    "Poison...I don¡¯t like this, poison cultivators taste bad, let¡¯s just kill him, brother Han."

    "You¡¯re from the Wu kingdom. I said as I shot a few more rounds at the creep.

    The man used his umbre again, to protect himself, but the bullet easily shreds through the paper umbre and tore into his shoulder. Since he didn¡¯t expect the bullet to have such power, he didn¡¯t coat his body with Qi, and the pill inside the bullet managed to enter his body.

    s

    The pull burst open and its content began spreading into the Nascent Soul cultivator.

    He turned to hisrades with a voiceless cry, as his face and whole body began melting.

    The Nascent Soul cultivator died as the rest looked with shocked expressions.

    "Kill HIM!" the leader who looked slightly stronger than the rest shouted, "And bring me that treasure. It¡¯s strong enough to Kill a Nascent Soul Cultivator in one hit." He added.

    "Well, if you have the ability,e at me!" I said.

 Chapter 128 Swamp of Balur

    <h4>Chapter 128: Swamp of Balur</h4>

    As I stood like an indomitable mountain in front of the neen Nascent Soul Cultivators, the group hesitated. For them, it was unthinkable that a Core Cultivator was able to take down a Nascent Cultivator head-on and kill him in one attack.

    But for me, though I had the tools and means to kill them, I worried about one thing. The same method that the Second Prince Wu had, when they died, an image is sent back to where the life jade slip was. And if I were to use Y, it will bring unwanted attention. X can handle a few of these Cultivators but not all, so I¡¯ll need to scare them shitless or run away.

    After gathering their wits about them, the group began moving at the same time. They must have discussed a strategy using divine sense.

    I felt a ripple behind me and ducked as a sword passed right where my neck should have been. A cultivator had teleported behind me, an annoying nascent soul ability.

    "X,e out!" I said and the puppet shot out from my book. The puppet immediately grabbed at the cultivator¡¯s sword and punched his head off of his chest.

    I didn¡¯t have the time to go andpletely wipe the Nascent Soul cultivator¡¯s soul. There were still eighteening my way.

    "Thousand Sword Formation!" one called and above me, numerous glowing swords manifested and came down.

    They weren¡¯t nning on cutting me, but they fell down locking the space around me. Creating an offensive prison barrier, that will send a sword my way if I were to move.

    "He is trapped inside my formation kill him!" the user of the sword formation said as he made a single prayer hand gesture.

    X shot forward and toward the iing cultivators as many of the glowing swords came down at him. But they all shattered the moment they touched X¡¯s body.

    s

    "Damn it, he has a Quasi Soul Formation puppet, be careful!" the user of the sword formation said, and the group spread apart avoiding X¡¯s hunt.

    I wasn¡¯t going to wait for the group, I took a deep breath and spat a gout of poisonous gas forward that blinded the eyes. But these cultivators didn¡¯t waver and forced their way through my poison as they coated their bodies with QI.

    Idiots.

    The moment my improved poison breath touched their Qi, it inflicted them with the Breath Sealing Poison, causing the Qi around them to break at an incredible rate and the poison to infect their bodies and begin a nasty case of body deterioration.

    Two of the cultivators lost their lives to the poison but the rest evacuated away and pulled several pills that they consumed, greatly slowing down the poison¡¯s effects on their bodies.

    "Curses! What kind of poison is that!" one of them shouted as he was eating pill after pill to slow down the poison inside him.

    "Be careful, he is a poison Cultivator, they¡¯re wicked and evil. We must kill him in one blow. Brothers, follow my lead." One of the cultivators said as he raised his hand and struck down in an open palm.

    A massive palm manifested in the skies above me, and soon the rest of the cultivators all followed with their own powerful abilities.

    There was no way I¡¯ll survive this if I didn¡¯t pull out Y, but at the same time, they¡¯ve forgotten one small detail. They believed that this sword formation could trap me, butpare this to even the simplest of Master Rain¡¯s formation, this was nothing other than a sandcastlepared to a forteress.

    I pulled my brush and moved out toward the swamp. The swords noticed my movement and began shooting towards me.

    "Fool, you¡¯ll suffer a fate worse than death now that you moved within my formation!" the man with the prayer gesture imed.

    I grinned as I waved my brush a few times causing the Formation to break on one side and enabling me to leave, dodging all of the massive spells that fell down on nothing but empty air.

    "Let¡¯s go, top speed, sword," I said as did a grabbing motion, calling X back to me and cing him back into the poison god¡¯s book.

    As I ran away, I used the Doppelganger Golden Scripture art. Splitting into three clones. The three of us turned above our sword and all spat a Poison Breath. Though the quality of the poison Breath from the clones was far less than mine, it was enough to add to the collective power of my poison breath.

    The vast poison cloud blinded the eyes, and caused the cultivators to hesitate. It gave me enough time to spread my clones and each went in a different direction.

    "Shit, where is the real one?!" one of the cultivators shouted as he managed to go beyond the poison cloud using expensive treasures.

    "Let¡¯s split up. Go!" the man that used the sword formation called.

    The group split. Five on each clone. Which worked perfectly with my n. Thanks to the perfect recreation of the Golden Scripture the clones cannot be told from the real unless you stab through them. And I used that fact to thin their numbers.

    As I moved about, I pulled the map, reading through it, and found the best route to take, it was next to a massive pond where a giant seventh-tier beast lived. The Swamps of Balur weren¡¯t feared for nothing, as the creatures inside are strong enough to kill Nascent Soul Cultivators with ease.

    For me, I¡¯ll be killing them using a borrowed knife. As I didn¡¯t need to hide anything from the creature in the pond if I dared attack, I could easily pull Y and kill it, but it the demonic beast kills the cultivators for me, then I¡¯ll not have my secrets revealed.

    The idea to send a final image of the preparator and killer of a person is rather annoying, I¡¯ll need to find a way to stop this, in my future.

    As I dodged through the low trees and various swamps and tall brushes of the area, I heard explosive sounds behind me. The Nascent Soul cultivator speeds were far greater than I could match, and they would easily catch up to me.

    I threw several Green Sun Pills behind me, that created explosions and coated the low-hanging trees in a green fire that emitted poisonous smoke.

    The whole swamp was going to wail in pain as I went through it, and the cultivators adamantly continued chasing me.

    The pond with the Seventh Tier Creature was near, and I won¡¯t make it if I were to slow down even for a bit.

    "X, stall for time!" I said as I zipped through the low-hanging trees.

    X came out once again and headed toward the cultivators. In less than ten seconds, loud explosive noises once again rattled the swamp, and due to this loud noise, I heard the roar of the creature I was closing in on.

    Suddenly, from within the nearby pond, a massive creature that could easily fit a whole elephant in its mouth emerged from the pond.

    The creature looked like an oversized ogre, with tons of algae growing all over his body making it a deep shade of green. It had a muscr frame, the edge of both of its elbows protruded a massive razor-sharp bone, and his fingers looked to be the most delicate of all of its features. But they weren¡¯t weak, they ended in ws that looked to match the greatest sword in sharpness.

    The creature¡¯s height was that of a giant, and it opened its massive mouth to screech, revealing three rows of sharp teeth.

    "Shit, this thing is probably as strong as that Silver Ape." I cursed, as I was about to pull Y, another ripple in space manifested as a cultivator appeared in front of me.

    I pulled Creeping Demise and used, Tiger-Stinger. The sword came at the cultivator¡¯s manifesting body, but he blocked the tip, the moment his lips were about to transform into a grin, the second redundant effect of m skill manifested, creating a dyed shock that shot into the now less cautious cultivator and blew him back.

    A powerful jet of poison Qi shot to follow up and infected the cultivator. But he wasn¡¯t going to go down without a fight.

    As he was being flung away, he thrust his palm towards me in a palm attack that struck me in the chest.

    I flew from the force of the blow and skidded atop the pond¡¯s surface until I crashed into the nearby shore.

    "Fuck!" I spat as a surge of blood poured from my mouth. Even with my robe¡¯s defenses, taking a direct hit from a Nascent Soul Cultivator wasn¡¯t easy.

    Understanding finally began to dawn on me. I¡¯m weak, way too weak, my ability and power is good and everything, but I¡¯m relying a lot on the element of surprise, once they know what¡¯s going on, I¡¯ll be dead in no time.

    My cultivation level is too low, my skills aren¡¯t as honed as theirs, and they outnumber me. The fact that I didn¡¯t use Y is stupid, I should worry about my life now instead of the risks of the future. If I die now, I won¡¯t even have the luxury of worrying about tomorrow.

    In that blow, I lost Creeping Demise, it fell into the pond, and the massive ogre-like creature was still shirking.

    The explosive echoes closed on us a lot, X was fighting at a retreat and he would soon be here. I¡¯ll need to kill this cultivator before his friends join.

    s

    Immediately, I felt my connection to one of the clones disappearing, one of them had died.

    Fuck, they wille here and reinforce the cultivator.

    Suddenly, the massive creature finished shirking and began to assess the situation around him. He looked around and realized that his territory was being invaded.

    He then did the unthinkable, he turned towards me and howled.

    Shit, it seems that everyone wants my head....

 Chapter 129 Escape

    <h4>Chapter 129: Escape</h4>

    The massive Ogre mmed its fist down towards me, where I hastily jumped to the side dodging the blow but the impact from the Qi-infused blow caused the ground under me to crack and send me flying.

    I tumbled across the ground for a while until a boulder broke my fall, and cracked while doing so. Pain rattled my body as I felt like every bone on my back was broken.

    "Not even heavens wants you alive!" the man who struck me in the chest said.

    I popped a couple of poison pills into my mouth, and cursed, there was no way for me to survive if this continues. I will have to use Y and reveal some of my secrets.

    But before I did so, I heard the loud sound of bullets shooting in the forest. Seems like X was forced to use his mini-gun.

    I immediately pulled a couple of canisters from my pouch and threw them all over the ce, creating massive explosions and rousing poisonous clouds that began eating the grass and low trees of the swamp.

    The ogre sniffed at the poison and whined in pain, the poison seemed to be affecting him as he dipped back into the pond almost immediately.

    I pulled my flying sword and rushed forward.

    "X,e back," I called and almost immediately, X¡¯s form appeared near me, as if he was summoned. He looked slightly damaged but not much that a half-hour worth of my time couldn¡¯t fix.

    X handed me two pouches.

    s

    "You killed two? Nice," I said as I grabbed the pouches and ced them in my bag.

    I took off with as much speed as I could, but the Nascent Soul Cultivators still chased after me, teleporting to close the distance and made me take different turns, further straying from the correct path.

    I had a treasure that could save me from this ordeal, my only regret is having lost Creeping Demise in that damn pond, and with that fucking ogre there, I can¡¯t go back and take it while being chased by these cultivators.

    "X, Y, I¡¯ll be using a teleportation treasure, I¡¯m not sure where it will take me but be on your guard if something happens," I said and pulled a talisman, it was a gift from the person who came to recruit me from the Seven Mountain Peaks. The Emperor of Zhou had already said that these guys are not trustworthy, and while I hesitate at using this talisman, with X and Y, I¡¯ll be able to get myself out if worsees to worst.

    I immediately tore the talisman activating it and my whole body was engulfed in bright white light, then my vision swam as the scenery around me began morphing and stretching.

    I found myself at a different location where the grass extended to the horizon.

    Looking back at the far-away horizon, I could see the swamps and the mist. This talisman just teleported me a few thousand kilometers. And I was thankful, this will give me a good head start as I believe I¡¯m already in the country of Zhan Yi.

    I zoomed through the open fields as I followed the map, the Seven Mountain Peaks should still be a distance away and I don¡¯t want to be chased and caught for dawdling here.

    As I flew forward with as much speed as my Qi and already wounded body could allow me, I ate many pills but my safety was only guaranteed for a little while, looking back and in the distance, twelve Nascent Soul Cultivators were behind me and closing the gap at an extremely fast pace.

    "X!e out!" I called and X stood behind me on the flying sword.

    "Shoot them down!" I ordered, and the puppet pulled the two mini-guns and began raining hell at the Cultivators as I flew forward.

    Many of the cultivators used defensive treasures to stop X¡¯s bullets, and the rest shot sword waves at me to which I dodged to my life¡¯s worth avoiding the brunt of the damage while keeping my pace.

    At this rate, they¡¯ll only need tond a solid blow and I¡¯ll be done for, once again I was forced to pull Y, but heaven thought that I suffered enough.

    "YOU DARE!" spoke a man with a voice loud enough that even if it was not aimed at me, I felt like my soul was about to leave my body.

    Looking at him he was the same person that gave me the escape talisman. What is he doing here? No, he should have done something to the talisman, the moment I used it, he must have been notified and came rushing towards me.

    The Nascent Soul cultivators stopped as they looked at the person with a saint-like attitude. He came down like a being from the heavens and stopped, his robes fluttering slowly as his hair was caressed by the winds. I could swear that this man was probably the most beautiful man in the world, not handsome, but beautiful, which sent a lot of various and mixed signals to my brain but I stopped them, he¡¯s here to help, I don¡¯t need to question his habits.

    "You, you¡¯re Shen Bao, right? You have the same aura, but not the same appearance." The man said.

    "Yes," I said as I took deep breaths, "I¡¯m Shen Bao, we met at the Zhou Country Alchemypetition, I used the talisman you gave me to escape the hunt from these cultivators."

    "I¡¯ll take care of them for you, you¡¯re an honored guest at our house, we¡¯ll treat you well." He said.

    Then he waved his hand and winds bowed to his will as waves of wind gathered into des and came down upon the cultivators like gales of death.

    The cultivators used defensive treasures and began attacking back with their own skills but none was able to take a second step forward.

    "You dared assault an honored guest of the Seven Mountain Peaks, you¡¯ll all die here." The man said, and the moment the group heard the name of his sect, they all split and ran away.

    "Disciples of the Seven Mountain Peaks! HUNT!" he called and hundreds upon hundreds of Disciples showed up from behind him and flew, splitting to chase after the cultivator group in groups.

    "You¡¯ve suffered greatly, but to have actually managed to survive the hunt of a dozen Nascent Soul Cultivator, I¡¯m impressed with you Shen Bao." The man said.

    "I have yet to know your name," I said.

    "I¡¯m Han Fei," he said.

    ¡¯Huh, that sounds like a girl¡¯s name, but I¡¯m not gonna question that,¡¯

    "Thank you for your aid, I¡¯ll remember this favor," I said.

    "Don¡¯t mention it, it¡¯s our own fault for asking you toe here even knowing the dangers, but to be chased by other cultivators was not in my calction. What happened to cause such enmity between you and them?" he asked.

    "I killed their prince, he was a jerk."

    "Then that matter is yours to handle, our sect will only protect you within its perimeter as long as you¡¯re a guest unless you be a member any dangers that will happen to you while you¡¯re outside are yours to take care of, consider me saving you this time repayment ofing all the way here. There will be no next." Han Fei said decisively.

    "Thank you then, I¡¯ll need some time to treat my wounds, so I¡¯ll have to trouble you," I said as I sped my hands.

    "No need to worry," Han Fei said, he flew down and summoned a carriage from his pouch.

    The carriage looked like it could host four people, quite simr to the one I used back at the Purple Cloud Sect. Wait...this is exactly the same one.

    I didn¡¯t want to reveal that I knew this carriage. And if this guy has it, then he definitely took it from the Purple Cloud Sect or at least assisted those who did. If it¡¯s the first, then I¡¯ll have to get him back for it, if it¡¯s thetter I¡¯ll need to know who was responsible for the attack on the Purple Cloud Sect.

    I walked into the carriage and sat down, even the interior was the same. As did the winged horses that moved the carriage.

    I sat down and so did Han Fei, "You seem interested in the carriage," he said as he noticed my gaze.

    I was calm as I replied, "Yes, it¡¯s really handy, and I¡¯m an old man who likes to be rxed."

    "Old man? Perhaps back in the country of Zhou, but it seems that you encountered something good. Especially considering that you rose all the way to the fourth Core Cultivation level and also managed to get rid of the disgusting appearance you had, though there is still much to be desired in your appearance you are far better than before."

    ¡¯Much to be desired? Bruh, I look forty years younger, but perhaps he is talking about the sickly looking pale skin of mine, but that¡¯s no problem for me, as long as the tumors are gone.¡¯

    "Thank you for the praise, indeed I got some good fortuitous encounter back at the Lord¡¯s Tomb."

    "Oh, so you were one among the people who entered, we only received informationte, I would have sent a few disciples to the tomb as well, what did you obtain?"

    "An age regression fruit and a good cauldron," I said as I pulled the cauldron from the pagoda.

    The man in front of me frowned, then said, "You seem too trusting of others, aren¡¯t you worried I would take this from you?" he asked.

    "If you wanted to take it, then why ask about it, you could still take it right now if you wish and I¡¯ll have no way to stop you, so why would I need to lie to you and hide what I¡¯ve obtained." Though even if he took this cauldron is not like it would really bother me, I¡¯m a Receptarier now, I no longer need cauldrons I could make pills just using the Heart me.

    "Hah! Very wise, indeed. Not bad Shen Bao, you know your position and how much power you have, and how strong is the one next to you, indeed it was a wise choice to show me what you have obtained, but because you were honest, I don¡¯t feel like taking what¡¯s yours, you¡¯re still our guest."

    ¡¯So you were actually thinking of taking it if I had lied. Damn, this world is nasty.¡¯

    "Thank you for your understanding," I said.

    "You said you needed to heal your wounds, you may do so as we fly back to the Seven mountain Peaks, I¡¯ll guard you." He said.

    "Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you," I said. I entered meditation but already notified X and Y to be ready, the moment that Han Fei was to try and harm me, they¡¯ll end his life.

    And the moment I closed my eyes, I felt a slight rippling of Divine Sense trying to inspect me, but my Eye immediately activated its inscriptions, sending thousands of torturous images down Han Fei¡¯s mind.

    s

    I heard him gasping but immediately he quieted down, he didn¡¯t bring the subject of trying to inspect me, and I didn¡¯t bring the fact that he tried to spy on me, there was a tacit agreement between us that none would speak of this to keep...fuck why do I have to use this expression... to keep Face.

    *******

    Please don¡¯t forget to vote for the story, all help is well appreciated, also does anyone know anything about this summoning pen thing? I¡¯m getting spammed with those and it¡¯s like ordering me to ve and write chapters. though I don¡¯t really mind writing for my followers, this just looks like ving. I¡¯m also a human being and need a good amount of time to think up and write a chapter. there is a difference between what I write and what many else do, I never write fillers or random crap that I could regurgitate and call a chapter. That¡¯s for people who just lie and deceive their followers. If you want content, then I¡¯ll write content for you, if you want just random crap that I can¡¯t even call a chapter then this is not the ce.

    Content takes time to make, so please have a bit of respect.

    (This message is not aimed at any of the readers who actually follow the story. it¡¯s more for the ones who only want ¡¯MORE¡¯ without care for the writer. Many of you have been with me from the start so please don¡¯t take this personally.)

 Chapter 130 [Bonus Chapter]Seven Mountain Peak Sect

    <h4>Chapter 130: [Bonus Chapter]Seven Mountain Peak Sect</h4>

    Soon, the carriage stopped and we arrived at the Seven Mountain Peak sect. looking at the entrance, it was a gigantic tori gate that was beautifully decorated and had dragons designed on it. On top of the gate, the words Seven Mountain Sect were written in gold and shined brightly for all to see.

    The road that led to the depth of the sect was cultivated with finesse as many outer disciples were carefully manning the fields, and handling the ground, and tending to the garden.

    The road was paved in stone and extended forward, and just as I pulled my eyes up, I saw seven mountains surrounding the entirety of the valley where the sect resided. A rich Qi aura permeated the ce and from the thickness of the Qi, you could tell the grade of this sect. A fifth-tier sect, far more than enough to rule a continent on its own. And they had a hand in the anhtion of the Purple Cloud Sect.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let this slide. I¡¯ll need to know what happened back at the sect before I do anything.

    "You have a rich Qi environment, the disciples of the sect must be really blessed," Imented as we walked through the sect¡¯s paved road.

    "Yes, it¡¯s the work of our Sect Master, he obtained a powerful spirit vein and nted it here, it¡¯s enriching the whole sect and enabling us to prosper." Han Fei said.

    I nodded along and continued walking, I didn¡¯t need to ask too many questions, otherwise, it¡¯ll look like I¡¯m praying into their business, so far I¡¯m still a stranger. And they won¡¯t trust me with their sect¡¯s secrets. I could get more information using better methods.

    "So, I¡¯m to be a guest here, and frankly speaking, the whole environment here looks serene and good for cultivation, do I get to cultivate here?"

    "Of course, you can use a lot of facilities, but bing a disciple here will allow you ess to more than what a guest would. I could speak to Elder Chung Yan, he is the master of the third Mountain and is a master alchemist, he could take you in, perhaps you¡¯ll even find new things to learn, that was primarily the reason for our invitation." He said.

    "Oh, then I¡¯ll take you up on it then," I replied.

    s

    "Very well, follow me then," he said and immediately rode the skies.

    I pulled my flying sword and followed after him, as he headed toward one of the seven mountains.

    Soon, we arrived at a mountain that had a strong spirit herb scent, looking from above, the mountain was carved in a way that it looked like it was made of stairs that were like fields, a rising level above a level, and on each level were hundreds of spiritual hers, and each level had a different type of herbs on it. An alchemist¡¯s heaven.

    At the top of the mountain were a small pce and several houses that should belong to the people helping in maintaining the spiritual herb fields.

    As we came down, two disciples wearing white met us, and they both bowed sping their hands at Han Fei.

    "Senior brother, wee back. Master Chung Yan is waiting for you." One of them spoke.

    Han Fei nodded and came down, I followed behind as we walked into the pce. Many disciples were whispering among each other on who the stranger that was walking next to Han Fei was, since my ck robes were in far contrast to the ones of the sect, they knew I didn¡¯t belong here.

    After we arrived at the pce, we went into arge room where six disciples were carefully refining pills. They had cauldrons that were two meters tall and they sat next to them refining the pills. And at the far end of the room was an old man who had a small cauldron in front of him.

    The old man was already focusing hard on his own work and looking from here, his skill was pretty high as he looked to be in perfect contemtion and didn¡¯t even notice us entering.

    Han Fei remained standing and didn¡¯t speak, he probably respects the elder who¡¯s is refining right now and didn¡¯t want to disturb him. And from the scent that his own cauldron was emitting, he seemed to be about to make a pretty powerful pill and it was close to fruition.

    However, if this continues, he will fail. And to no fault of his.

    One of the disciples, a woman, was pregnant and seemed to be struggling with her alchemy, and since everyone was already too focused on their own thing, they didn¡¯t notice her struggle, and due to her being in the final stages of her own refinement, if she stops, or make a mistake the consequences will be horrible. Not only that, she seemed unable to call for help, perhaps she too didn¡¯t want to disturb the elder.

    "Senior Han Fei, a problem is about to ur," I said.

    "What do you mean?" he asked.

    "That woman, her cauldron is going to blow up," I said.

    "It doesn¡¯t look like it to me, Shen Bao, are you sure?" he asked.

    ¡¯Since he wasn¡¯t an alchemist, he won¡¯t understand that the woman was actually fighting for her life. And if she fails, perhaps she¡¯ll lose her life, and at best case, the fetus inside her will die.¡¯

    "You don¡¯t trust my words, then you¡¯ll have to excuse me, the is for the best," I said as I dashed towards her cauldron, I tapped on the cauldron and immediately judged that it was no longer salvageable. Cracks appeared on the side of the cauldron, and I immediately kicked the cauldron. The whole cauldron smashed into the wooden wall and shot outside the pce to blow up immediately afterward, creating a loud explosion.

    The woman in front of me coughed out blood. She received heavy injuries due to having been forced out of her alchemy by external forces, but if she had continued she would have died.

    I pulled a few pills and gave them to her.

    She was about toin but when she saw the pills she greedily took them, she ced the pills in her mouth and sat in a meditative lotus position.

    "I¡¯ll have to apologize, I didn¡¯t see the risks."

    "It¡¯s only natural," I said "You¡¯re not an alchemist and you won¡¯t be able to feel this, this was just a cumtion of unfortunate events. Usually from what I see, the master would have taken care of this, but he was in the middle of creating a great pill, look, even with that explosion, neither he nor his disciples have even budged or moved. They were too focused to even sense danger."

    "Howe this happened?" Han Fei asked.

    "I don¡¯t know, usually alchemist should always have one person guarding them, in case they make a mistake or at least, they should be able to handle their own alchemy on their own, but since this woman was pregnant, she didn¡¯t have the power to handle the pill she was making, and it almost cost her, her life."

    "Thank you for helping one of our disciples Shen Bao, I¡¯ll make sure to have you repaid for it." he said.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, you saved my life just a while ago."

    "Then our debt is repaid, and you owe me nothing." Han Fei said.

    I nodded at the man, and we both sat down waiting for the elder to wake up from his alchemy session.

    An hourter, a couple of disciples had finished their own alchemy, they jubntly took their pills andpared them to each other, then they finally noticed the elephant in the room, me and hand Fei, and the massive hole on one of the pce walls.

    None dared to talk about it though, since they saw Han Fei, a Core Disciple as I had understood from some of the alchemist¡¯s sidements. Since he was here there wasn¡¯t a problem to be had, they didn¡¯t even try and wake the girl from her meditation since they saw blood in front of her, they knew she was rted to the hole in the wall.

    Soon, Elder Chung Yan pulled his cauldron cover and drew three pills where one of them had pill veins.

    "YES! Finally! A Star Soother Pill with pill veins!" the Elder said.

    "Congrattions on your sess elder," Han Fei said before any of the other disciples, and they all followed suit, congratting the elder.

    ¡¯What¡¯s so good about pill veins, I made Pill Clouds, but I¡¯m not gonna flex here, I might just get unwanted attention.¡¯

    "Congrattions," I said.

    "Who is this? And why is it windy here...OH MY WALL! What happened?!" the elder shouted.

    Han Fei awkwardly said, "Ah, it goes like this..."

    ...

    "So, Shen Bao, I owe you, as a fellow Alchemist, you saved my disciple and helped me remain in an enlightened state to make a pill with Pill Veins. I must thank you, here," he said and threw a vial full of healing pills.

    ¡¯Trash.¡¯ I scuffed inwardly, the old man was stingy as fuck, the value of the pill he just made was thousands of times more than what he had just given me, and I can¡¯t use healing pills, they will actually do more harm than good to me. I need poison.

    "Thank you, but there is no need for this, I already have better ones," I said as I threw him back the bottle, it was the same as pping the man in the face. Now is the only time I actually enjoyed using that expression.

    The other disciples all looked at me angrily. However, before they could speak, the pregnant woman woke up, "Sir, I thank you for your help, if you didn¡¯t, I would have died there. Also, I¡¯m sure that those Heart Revitalizing Pills and Meridian Cleansing Pills you gave me were really expensive, I¡¯ll make sure to ask my husband to reward you."

    "What? Heart Revitalizing Pills, and Meridian Cleansing Pills? Those are not easy to make, those are actually slightly higher quality than the pills that Elder Chung Yun had just made." One of the disciples stated.

    "You... you used those pills on a stranger? No, I don¡¯t think so, I¡¯m sure you knew who that woman was, otherwise no one would have easily parted with pills that were that rare." Master Chung Yan said.

    "Wow, chill old man, I just offered help, and how would I know who she is, I just got to this sect," I said.

    "Master Chung Yun, I have already warned you that I¡¯m unable to make pills in my condition, yet you promised to keep a watch on me, and when I tried to ask for help, you were already in enlightenment unable to assist me, if it was not for brother Shen Bao, I would have died. I¡¯ll have to see what my husband has to say about this." The woman said.

    "Wait, I had enlightenment I shouldn¡¯t have wasted that chance, otherwise you don¡¯t know when it will happen again."

    "You could have asked for someone to guard."

    "But..."

    "No buts...I¡¯ll be leaving now. Brother Shen Bao, if you are in need of anything pleasee to the fifth Mountain, my husband is the master of the Fifth Mountain, and will repay your kindness." She said.

    "Thank you for your generosity, I only helped because I could, there was no motive behind it, there is also no need for rewards," I said.

    "Elder Han Fei, I have done what you¡¯ve asked, I¡¯ll be going to my own Master¡¯ side. My job has finished."

    "Right right, go away now." The elder said as he waved Han Fei away.

    "Now, you brat, you cost me a lot of faces here, though you did help with my pill, you really made me look like a fool, how are you going topensate me." The old man said.

    s

    I frowned, "You seem to be slightly mistaken, first of all, I saved your pill and you rewarded me with trash, then you ask forpensation when I literally saved you from a lot of trouble with saving the girl, what if she actually died? What would you have told her husband? Also, I¡¯ve been asked toe here, crossing dangers and death only to be ridiculed. I thought this sect was different, but it seems I was mistaken. I¡¯ll be taking my leave, I have no need to stay in a ce where I¡¯m not weed and only seen as someone to be profited from."

    "Brat, you think that you can leave whenever you want, You think I brought you here so you can learn from me? No, you¡¯re highly mistaken. In this world, strength is all that is needed. Though Han Fei doesn¡¯t know it, I had you asked here so that I¡¯ll know how you made that Pill Vein even at a low cultivation level. Though I just made one it took me decades of dedication, while you didn¡¯t even spend a couple of years cultivating."

    "So, you¡¯re showing your true colors right," I said I had my hand to my side as to pull out Creeping Demise, only to remember that I lost it at the swamps.

    "Sorry child, but in this world, you shouldn¡¯t trust everyone, remember this lesson in your next life." The old man said and waved a hand summoning three draconic heads that came from within the cauldron in front of him.

    "No die, and hand over your secrets." The old man said as the draconic heads charged at me.

 Chapter 131 Picking Up The Purple Cloud Sect Trail.

    <h4>Chapter 131: Picking Up The Purple Cloud Sect Trail.</h4>

    "Old man, you¡¯re attacking a guest after inviting them, aren¡¯t you afraid of heaven¡¯s punishment?" I said as I prepared to ask Y out, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to kill this guy with X alone, but the fact that if I were to kill an elder inside their own sect was disclosed, I¡¯ll be hunted. And not to mention these guys are pretty strong, they managed to chase off a dozen Nascent Cultivators with just mere disciples.

    "You¡¯re in a world where mercy is seen as weakness, you don¡¯t have the power to protect your own secrets and you were foolish enough toe here, so why shouldn¡¯t I take your things." The old man said as the dragon heads came after me.

    I jumped back dodging the initial blow and shouted "Old man, you¡¯ll regret this!" I called then summoned X.

    The puppet came out and dashed toward the ethereal dragon heads, blowing throw them, and went for the cultivator.

    The alchemist pped his thigh and caused even more smoke to shoot out from the pot in front of him, the smoke hovered and covered X, blocking his movement as it turned to solid matter, while the two other heads came after me.

    X could easily get rid of his bindings, but it will take him some time, time I didn¡¯t have. "We had no enmity between us, but your hubris and conceited self asked for this!" I called then took a deep breath and spat as much Poison Qi as my body could allow me. Fueled with rage and wrath at this man¡¯s treatment, I didn¡¯t care for whatever he had to say. He, his disciples, and all of the herbs nted here will die.

    The Poison Breath I used right now wasposed of the most deadly poisons I¡¯ve consumed, and it shot out shaped like a demon¡¯s head, then it came down on one side of the mountain wilting the spiritual herbs and killing any living thing that dared stay in its way."

    "YOU FIEND STOP!" the alchemist said, as he just realized how frightening my poison was. Especially since a lot of his disciples were immediately contaminated by the massive loads of poison.

    X released himself and shot at the elder who was distracted with what was happening, a single blow to the sternum broke the elder¡¯s bones, then X twisted one of the elder¡¯s hands breaking it from his shoulder.

    "Child, stop this instant!" a cultivator, definitely in above the Nascent Soul spoke, and his words were heavy, not as powerful as Zhang Tian but they were strong enough to cause me to cough out blood.

    s

    "Good, good, so this is the Seven Peak Mountain, inviting guests then attacking them to steal their belonging, good," I said as rage boiled within my innards, I was feeling a suffocating sense of repression and oppression.

    "Child, you attacked an elder of our sect, my hand had to be heavy, what seems to be the problem," the man said.

    "Your elder invited me over, then attacked me to steal my belongings, and instead of investigating you attacked me with your divine sense, good."

    "We protect our own first," the voice said as a man materialized in front of me. An old man with a kind-looking face, but he didn¡¯t sound nor act kind.

    "You have caused damage to the third mountain, it was my only way to stop you." The old man said.

    "Don¡¯t bullshit me, you already knew what was happening here, but you didn¡¯t interfere until you saw that I was able to cause damage to your property, you knew how rotten this elder was and still didn¡¯t act, but when you saw that I was able to defend myself, youe here to suppress me. Very good." I said as wrath was clouding my judgment.

    "Child, you¡¯re not being reasonable, we protect our own, and I¡¯ll see to it that you¡¯repensated for your suffering, you have already caused heavy damage to Elder Chung Yan, so you should drop this matter, and I¡¯ll see to it that you are satisfied." The old man said.

    He then threw me a small carriage-like object.

    "My disciples said that you took a fancy to this carriage, take it, and forget about this matter." He said.

    I swiped the toy-like carriage into my pocket and said, "Then let it be so. I¡¯ll no longer have any rtion to the Seven Mountain Peaks." I said and took off.

    "Wait!" another person came rushing, he looked young, about thirty years of age. And seemed to havee in haste.

    "You¡¯re Shen Bao?" he asked.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "My wife had told me what happened, Master Ling Duan, this man saved my wife from certain death, and gave her a precious treasure, can I please wee him at my mountain, I¡¯ll appease his anger..." the man said and I immediately felt a wave of divine sense being sent to the old man.

    The sect master frowned looked at me and said, "So be it, once your affairs are done, Shen Bao, you¡¯ll leave, and we¡¯ll have no rtion. Do not cross us, and we won¡¯t hunt you." The Sect Master said and disappeared the same way he appeared.

    "Damn, that was close," the young man said, "I¡¯m Tu Sei, Master of the Fourth Mountain, pleasee with me, I have a few things to discuss with you." He said.

    "X,e here," I said and my puppet followed after me.

    Once we arrived at TU Sei¡¯s Mountain, I realized that he owned a massive cksmithing area, he was the smith of this ce.

    "Come,e, I and my wife wee you," he said as I entered his smith.

    The woman that was back at the Alchemist¡¯s Pce was sitting in a meditative state, cultivating.

    "Why did you ask me here?" I asked.

    "Let¡¯s sit down first," he said, he looked around as if suspicious of others listening on us then waved a hand.

    He created a rippling barrier that seemed to be blocking divine sense.

    "We can speak here without being spied on, but on the safer side use divine sense," he said.

    "I¡¯m pretty irritated right now, so whatever you want to say, make a point and make it fast," I said.

    "Calm down, now, do you know a person by the name Lao Bofan?"

    "Lao Bofan, I know him but he is probably dead, why?"

    "So you really are Shen Bao of the Purple Cloud sect." just as he spoke the words, X had his palm up and in Tu Sei¡¯s face.

    "How do you know of that? I asked."

    "Calm down, Elder Bofan asked me to do this, he is not dead, nor is the majority of the Purple Cloud sect, at least the core disciples and a few of the main Elders."

    "Howe? I saw the aftermath, not even dogs and chicken were left." I said.

    "You don¡¯t know what happened for some reason, but I and Elder Lao go way back before the sect was attacked, he sent me a jade slip, with information regarding you, I went to the Purple Cloud Sect a few dayster to look for you, in his slip he said that you¡¯ll definitely be alive as you were away from the sect. Now I heard your name but didn¡¯t think you were the same person, but when you used poison I had a hunch and you confirmed it now. I¡¯m on your side."

    "I can¡¯t easily believe that, it¡¯s too coincidental," I said.

    "Fate is no coincidence, you may believe it or not, but here is the jade slip you can hear it yourself." He said.

    After listening to the jade slip it was Lao Bofan¡¯s voice, though it could be faked I wasn¡¯t going to go into details now.

    "So what happened?" I asked.

    "Alright, it seems that the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud sect has done something she shouldn¡¯t have." He said.

    "How?"

    "Right, I¡¯ll need to go back to the beginning. But can you ask your puppet to stop pointing its palm at me?"

    "Right, X, at ease," I said and X stood next to me but still kept an eye on Tu Sei.

    "Right, now, it¡¯s been a couple of hundred years now, but the son of the Three-Legged Raven sect always fancied the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud Sect. But he wasn¡¯t powerful enough to take her by force so he resolved to trickery. On the day that the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud Sect was on the verge of breaking to the Soul Transformation Stage, Chuzi Yan the son of the Sect Master sabotaged her by using a fragment of the Destruction Ice Poison."

    ¡¯Hmm, no wonder the amount was too huge, she shouldn¡¯t have umted that much if she had only contacted it while venturing.¡¯

    "So in doing that he tried to coerce her into bing his while promising to cure her. Only to find out that the amount of Ice Destruction Poison that gued her was too much to be cured. So he gave up and left her to die."

    I was already pissed at the Sect that attacked the Purple Cloud Sect, but now, that I know that this Chuzi Yan did this, I¡¯m really engaged.

    s

    "So, he didn¡¯t care for them and gave up, and when he found out that she was healed... he came back to get her again, right?" I asked.

    "Yes, and we helped him, it was a really messed up thing."

    "I see, I already noticed a few things that belonged to the Purple Cloud Sect already in the possession of the Seven Mountain peak."

    "Yes, I had no hand in this, I actually managed to save a few disciples and sent them away, but that was all I could do without being suspected of treason. Anyway, here," he said and gave me another jade slip.

    "This is where the Purple Cloud Sect remnants are. They used their Sect Pce¡¯s formation to protect themselves but they¡¯re no better than prisoners, and the formation they have is being bombarded every day. They won¡¯t make it past the year because once Chuzi Yan is out of secluded cultivation, I¡¯ll believe it will be thest day of the Purple Cloud Sect.

 Chapter 132 Sect Trial

    <h4>Chapter 132: Sect Trial</h4>

    This was both good and bad news, I now know that the Purple Cloud Sect hasn¡¯t perished but I don¡¯t think I have the strength to take on an entire sect just to get them. After all, a sect that was able to raze the whole Purple Cloud Sect in a single night wasn¡¯t something to scoff at. Even with Y, I¡¯ll be at a disadvantage, the puppet can hold off many of the cultivators but it won¡¯t be able to protect me, and if I were to have it use the Saint Qi crystal, the damage it can cause would be too much for even me to bear. I¡¯ll need to think up a way to get them out of their mess.

    I saw through the jade slip and understood the entirety of the situation. The Pce of the Sect Master was being constantly attacked by cultivators from the Three-Legged Raven Sect, it had also been teleported to somewhere in the north of this country of Zhen Yi.

    It should take about half a month¡¯s travel time to get there, but even if, what can I do? I¡¯m still a Core realm cultivator, and the Sect Master is already a step into the Soul Transformation, while his son, is in secluded cultivation to attack the same realm. Once he seeds, they¡¯ll have two, and those realms are like gods in this world, and I can¡¯t fight against that. Not with my current strength.

    "Shen Bao, listen here, I know that look, I¡¯ve seen it many times," Tu Sei said. "Being angry or depressed is normal, it¡¯s one¡¯s sect and origin, I understand that, but you¡¯re not strong enough, not nearly enough to change the oue of what is going on right now. Even the fact that you came here and arrogantly went up against the sect master was foolish for he was far stronger than you and he could have killed you and no one would have dared speak. Don¡¯t do anything rash Shen Bao, I only told you of this so that I would have fulfilled my Karma with Lao Bofan." Tu Sei said.

    "That¡¯s just being cowardly," I said to the man, though he looked hurt for hearing the words, he didn¡¯t argue.

    I stood up, "No matter, I got what I came for." I said then left taking my flying sword and heading north.

    Many of the disciples of the Seven Mountain Peak had a not so friendly expression on their faces as I was flying away, they are probably nning something. But I can¡¯t be bothered now.

    Tu Sei knows I¡¯m heading north to the Three-Legged Raven Sect, but that¡¯s just a faint, my goal was to take a detour and head back to the swamps. I can¡¯t go on without my sword. So I¡¯ll be making a detour and if anyone follows me, I¡¯ll be able to shake their trail at the swamps.

    I opened my poison God¡¯s Book and took a look at the sliver of divine sense there. It was Zhang Tian¡¯s Divine Sense, as I was supposed to release it once I was out of the Demon Realm, a lot happened. But seeing how powerful this sliver of Divine Sense, I could use it to help meter on.

    "I¡¯m sorry Brother Zhang Tina, just wait a little bit more."

    s

    As I continued heading north then began taking turns across the low terrains and between hills andrge mountains. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m currently being followed but it¡¯s best to do some measures of security.

    Soon, I managed to sense the presence of a few disciples of the Seven Mountain Peaks behind me. I spat a couple of gouts of nauseating poison and continued heading towards the swamp. The poison smoke was sessful as I heard the retching sounds of the disciples as I flew away and into the swamps.

    It took me a few hours to get to the pond while I managed to dodge the majority of the dangerous areas in the swamps, and once I was at the Pond I stood there and had Y up, summoned next to me. I came back with vengeance this time.

    Immediately, the ogre-like creature came out from the swamp, enraged at yet another person daring to cross his territory, "Remember me, bitch?" I said.

    Though the rage in the ogre-like creature was apparent, the moment he saw Y, he calmed down.

    "Human," he spoke.

    "So you can speak," I said.

    "Yes, why have youe to bother me?"

    "Bother? You asshole tried to kill me this morning I¡¯m here to get my revenge," I said simply.

    "Am I not allowed to defend my home from invaders," he said.

    "True, but I didn¡¯t attack you, I was just passing by, wait why the hell is I even discussing this with you, you cost my weapon," I said.

    "Wait then," the ogre-like creature said and dove into the pond, soon he came out with two magnificent fourth their weapons, a curved de that had a silver dragon design on the none sharp edge, and a long Liang sword that had a golden hilt and looked sharp enough that it would cut with a graze.

    "Are these your weapons?" the Ogre asked.

    I frowned, this reminds me of a story. A poor woodcutter had lost his ax in a pond, where a great snake lived, the snake came out to him and showed him two axes, which neither was his, a silver ax and a golden ax. Then it asked him which one was his, the woodcutter spoke true and said that neither was his, as he only had an iron ax, and the snake rewarded him with both silver and gold ax for speaking truth and not sumbing to greed. But could this be the same?

    Usually, I wouldn¡¯t really follow what¡¯s in a folklore tale, but taking a second look at these weapons, I noticed a slight baleful aura around them. even if they looked of the same quality as Creeping Demise, they were not mine, nor would they fit my usage, Creeping Demise was light, sharp and like a rapier that had many other usages, even if these weapons were higher grades, I wouldn¡¯t have chosen them over my own sword, because I have yet to unlock its true potential.

    "No, none of them are mine." I shook my head.

    "Wise," the ogre said as he opened his mouth and Creeping demise was on the top of his tongue.

    He spat it out and it embedded itself next to my leg.

    "If you were driven by greed, you would have been cursed by these weapons, many had chosen wrong, and many had died." The ogre said, then he threw the two weapons towards me.

    "Now that you don¡¯t have greed within you, these weapons will serve you without harm." The ogre said.

    ¡¯It really was like the folklore tale.¡¯

    "Thanks then, I said and swiped the weapons into my bag, though they weren¡¯t good for my personal usage, I can sell them, or exchange them for things I need."

    "Y, let¡¯s go, I got what I needed," I said and Y went back into the Poison God¡¯s book.

    "Also, if you don¡¯t want to be bothered while you live here," I said as I pulled my brush and began writing inscriptions on the ground.

    After a few more minutes, I managed to write a small illusion inscription that will cause anyoneing here to unintentionally change direction.

    "This inscription will make a lot of annoying people move away from here, but it won¡¯t work on anyone above the Nascent Soul stage you¡¯ll have to beat them up for that," I said then left without waiting for thanks.

    Now with Creeping Demise back, I can focus more on how to get the Purple Cloud Sect out of their mess.

    ***

    After two weeks of unhindered travel, I arrived at the peripheries of the Three-Legged Raven Sect. And to my surprise there seemed to be an event going on.

    I slowly approached the gates of the Three-Legged Raven Sect and saw thousands of cultivators gathered around the sect gate. They all seemed to be at the Core Cultivation level, with a few even at the first step of the Nascent Soul Cultivation level.

    As I approached, a man wearing purple-colored robes and had the stigma of the Three-Legged Raven on his chest approached me, "You, where is your initiation token?"

    "Token? I don¡¯t have such," I said.

    "Then what are you doing here? Only those with the token are allowed to take the trial to join the Three-Legged Raven Sect."

    I looked around so that no one was looking and handed the man a small pill bottle, "This should be enough to allow me to partake in the trial," I said.

    s

    The man took the bottle faster than a person can blink, after taking a whiff of the pille¡¯s content he had a wide smile on his face, "I wish if everyone was as sensible as you, you¡¯re more than wee, and here," he said as he handed me a token, "This is just so you could avoid any unnecessary troubles. Also what¡¯s your name, so I can add you to the list ofpetitors." He said.

    "Xiao Meng," I said. No need to give them my name, I¡¯m only using this trial to get into the sect.

    "Right then, Xiao, wait here with everyone, the trial will begin in a few days when everyone is here, I¡¯d advise you to cultivate here and meditate so you¡¯re in a good condition. Also, consider this a tip from a benefactor as great as myself, the first trial is a test of Soul Strength, if you have something to handle that, use it," he said and left to attend to other cultivators who came to join.

    Soul Strength, I never had a problem with that, since I¡¯m a transmigrator, my soul is strong enough to sustain a lot of pressure so I won¡¯t have trouble with that. This is good, I can get some high marks on the first trial to get a better chance at joining this sect.

    I sat down meditating and waiting, once I¡¯m in the sect, I¡¯ll be able to find a way to get the Purple Cloud sect out.

 Chapter 133 Sects Trials

    <h4>Chapter 133: Sect''s Trials</h4>

    One dayter, and a lot of cultivators more, the Three-Legged Raven Sect opened its doors to the people who are here for the trials and to join their ranks.

    Just as the gates to the Three-Legged Raven sect was open, the same person who gave me my token came out and said, "All above the Core Cultivation realm are to proceed forward, you don¡¯t need to partake in these trials, you¡¯ll have your own set of challenges to do, monitored by elders of the sect. as for the rest of you, follow me." He said and our group slowly walked after that man.

    Among the many people in the sect I saw a lot that was young kids, probably of the age of sixteen to twenty, these are the geniuses of their ns and countries. They¡¯re young and already achieved great sess in cultivation, while I for example only begun cultivating when I was in my eighties.

    There were a few that we¡¯re older, probably older than I am, but I can bet my fortune that none of them started aste as I did, they must have struggled halfway. Though Core cultivation isn¡¯t that hard to achieve, for many people it takes them hundreds of years to get there.

    Age bes irrelevant though, once one cultivates to higher levels, a person¡¯s age is drastically separated from their cultivation talent, as there, fortuitous encounters are what y a role in the fate of a person¡¯s achievements. A person can be stuck for a thousand-year in a certain cultivation realm, while another could find an elixir or a divine fruit and can surpass them in a day.

    It¡¯s all about luck.

    As I was thinking about this, the monitor stopped in front of a pyramid-like structure. It was in the outskirts of the sect, even if considering the massive size of this structure, it seemed that it¡¯s only valued at being on the rims of the sect and not among the sect¡¯s main buildings.

    "This is the trial ground, this pyramid has ny-nine levels. Anyone who reaches beyond the fiftieth level will advance to the next trial. You have four hours." The man said, and the people began racing as if the pyramid didn¡¯t have enough space or was going to disappear if they didn¡¯t get in time.

    I calmly waited as I studied the horde of people racing to climb up.

    Soon a person¡¯s body literally exploded in front of everyone in viscera and blood.

    s

    This put a damper on everyone¡¯s mood.

    "What¡¯s this? Why did he die?" a person asked who was only a few levels below the man who just died.

    "Soul Strength, the higher you go, the higher the pressure, he advanced far faster than his soul can handle and he blew up in the procedure." The monitor said in a matter-of-factly, as if the death of that person wasn¡¯t worth more than the trouble of cleaning up after his remains.

    With many cultivators finally understanding what¡¯s going on, a few began pulling pills and eating them, then slowly advanced.

    I noticed that people would be forced to stop and meditate at every ten levels, and for those who didn¡¯t...

    "Another exploded, this test is ruthless." A cultivator said as he wiped the blood off of his face.

    "In a world of cultivation, one should expect death at every corner, if you think that this is difficult you have no need to continue the trial, it will only get worse." The monitor said.

    He then turned to me and the few that didn¡¯t climb up yet, "What¡¯s going on, are you afraid of climbing?" ha asked.

    "One must judge a situation fully before diving in, nose first." I replied.

    "But in the real world, you¡¯ll not have this chance to judge the situation," The monitor said.

    "True, but this is exactly why I need to see and judge first, because unlike in the real world, I have the chance to do so, and I will use it, perhaps I¡¯ll learn something that wille in handy in the real world, don¡¯t you think?" I said.

    "Hmm, you do have some truth to your words. Then so be it, move whenever you find it to your liking, just know that I won¡¯t give you more time if you dally here," the monitor said and closed his eyes to meditate.

    After carefully inspecting the situation and making sure that I understood how everything was going on, as in every ten steps the strength of the pressure would exponentially increase, I deemed it was time for me to move.

    So far, an hour had passed, and there were already a few that managed to go beyond the fiftieth level, and they still continued moving upward to challenge themselves and see where they can reach.

    I walked towards the pyramid and this brought the attention of the monitor. He keenly watched as I climbed.

    And frankly, this was really easy, the soul pressure here was none-existent almost, but I could see many cultivators still struggling with the first few levels. I walked past them and continued onwards until I reached the first milestone. Ten levels.

    Just as I stepped in, I felt a slight increase in soul pressure, but it was negligible. I continued climbing and the same happened on the third, fourth, and even fifth, this challenge was ridicule.

    However, I couldn¡¯t bring too much attention to myself, I looked up and saw that many had already reached and stopped at the sixtieth level, and they didn¡¯t dare move up. I climbed until I was next to them, then sat down meditating, the soul pressure here was far weaker than the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda and waspared to a joke against Zhang Tian¡¯s grazing divine sense.

    "Xiao Meng, you seem to still have some power in you," the monitor said, "Why not go further?" he asked in a divine sense message.

    "I do have some power, but I still have other tests to do, it would be stupid to waste energy here when there is more to the trial."

    "Hmm, this is the second time that your words had rebuked me. While many would take it as an insult, I can see that you have some wisdom in you, very well." The monitor said and closed his eyes again.

    Soon, and after a few more hours.

    "The trial had ended, anyone below the fiftieth stage, leave the sect."

    A few cultivatorsined, especially those who were only a level or two below the fiftieth stage, but a stern look from the Monitor and they scurried away with their tails tucked behind their legs.

    Apparently only a couple of hundred cultivators had remained.

    "Hmm, good numbers,e down and follow me." The Monitor said.

    We followed the monitor to another ce within the rims of the sect, and here there was a massive square arena with hundreds of stone pirs standing.

    "You proved your Soul Strength, now you¡¯ll need to prove your martial prows. Destroy these pirs using any means. You have one hour!" the monitor said.

    The cultivators moved to the pirs and began going ham on the pirs. And it didn¡¯t take much time for the first pir to break, looking at it, it was a young man of noble appearance, he had clean white robes with a pale blue bra (The cultivator¡¯s scarf-like belt is called a bra) around his waist. He had used a sword to split his pir in half.

    Then a girl about the same age as that man had already done the same, only she actually broke the pir using her fists, boring her hands into the pir until it was riddled with holes then with a single kick she turned the pir to broken stone.

    Many others soon followed as they destroyed their pirs using brute force and their martial strength, and some had slowly withered theirs down using hundreds of attacks until their pirs were destroyed.

    For me, I don¡¯t have powerful skills that have brute strength. But I can easily destroy this pir. I took a brush and wrote an inscription on the pir, which caught the attention of many cultivators. Then I pulled a mid-grade spirit stone and ced it inside the formation, I then moved away.

    "Break," I said and the pir immediately was riddled with cracks and turned to pebbles as the formation activated.

    "You, that¡¯s cheating!" one of the many who couldn¡¯t break their own pirs called.

    I looked at him and scuffed at his weak disposition, a man who can¡¯t achieve anything in life only finds joy in points the other¡¯s mistakes.

    But I didn¡¯t even have to do anything before the monitor interfered, "You there, either you focus on your own trial, or I¡¯ll kick you out. I have dered that any means can be used to destroy the pirs, he is within his right to use his own talents. Do your best or leave. We don¡¯t allow weaklings in our sect," The monitor said.

    The cultivator swallowed the words and looked menacingly at me, if looks could kill I¡¯d be dead a hundred times now.

    After an hour, many had their pirs still standing and they were all flunked.

    "Good, now for the final exam," the monitor said, but another person once again interrupted him.

    "Just one more chance please!" he begged.

    The monitor didn¡¯t get angry though and said, "If you really think that you¡¯re strong enough to continue on to the next stage, then you¡¯re wee to stay, who here thinks that he can still continue even after failing into breaking their pir?" the monitor asked.

    A lot of people that failed to break their pirs came forward, thinking they still have another chance.

    "Very well then, you¡¯re all eligible to the next trial, but you¡¯ll be the first to go. Outer Disciplese forth!" the monitor said, and a group of outer disciples was led forward.

    s

    They all had wounds and were battered, and all of them were chained.

    "What¡¯s this?" asked one of the people who asked for another chance.

    "Your next trial, these are the outer disciples whomitted crimes against the sect, they were also given a second chance, and if they kill the neers their crimes will be forgiven. As for you, if you kill them, you¡¯ll take their ce and be an outer disciple." The monitor said.

    ¡¯Ah, now I understand the purpose of the trials. It¡¯s to test the potential of the disciples, and if they¡¯re not strong enough to even clear these simple trials, they¡¯ll never manage to take the outer disciple¡¯s spot because these outer disciples must have done the same trials and seeded, not to mention they had more time to train and be stronger. This Three-Legged Raven Sect is really cruel. Because using this method, they¡¯ll never lose strength. Criminals are given a second chance, while the sect only chooses the best talents because only the best can survive.¡¯

    "Now, fight for your life, you asked for a second chance, here is your chance!" the monitor said and the chained disciples were released.

 Chapter 134 Among Them!

    <h4>Chapter 134: Among Them!</h4>

    The sniveling cultivator cried out as the disciple of the Three-Legged Raven sect charged at him the moment he was unchained, not even bothering using a sword, the cultivator looked like a caveman that was trapped underground and was now out for blood.

    Though the unwilling challenger was a Core second realm cultivator, the disciple of the three-legged raven sect was a fourth realm cultivator, and with the two realms difference, the oue was already obvious.

    The challenger turned to run away, only to have his head caught in one of the disciple¡¯s hands, and while one of his shoulders was pinned by the other. A quick and powerful pull, and the challenger¡¯s head along with his spine were wrenched from his body.

    The challenger died without even having a chance to fight.

    "Deacon Li, I should be pardoned now?" the mad, bloody-faced disciples said as he licked his lips in over viinous clich¨¦.

    The monitor who now I understood was a deacon of the outer sect and was named Li, shrugged.

    "You earned your keep and saved your spot, you won¡¯t be kicked out of the sect so you can reim your outer disciple token." The deacon said. "Keep it up," the deacon said and the rest of the disciples came at us.

    Those who didn¡¯t manage to destroy the pirs were the first to go down, while the ones that killed them, even if they had already been ¡¯pardoned for their crimes¡¯ I got to see why they were imprisoned in the first ce.

    A few of them, shamelessly grouped against one girl and tried to actively molest and harass her. Now, I¡¯m not a saint, not a pious and honest man, I¡¯m not a superhero, but when I see shit like this I get really, really angry.

    One unaware sect disciple came at me since he noticed that I was distracted, and wanted to score a quick victory.

    s

    But the moment he got close to me, his head had already rolled. A quick sh from Creeping Demise cost the man his life. Though I know I¡¯m not strong, I managed to escape the hut of twenty nascent soul cultivators, if some dumbass with a lower cultivation level than me was able to cause me harm, then all my time cultivating would have been nothing but a waste.

    I slowly walked towards the group that were harassing the girl, though she fought bravely, she was outnumbered and her clothes were bing skimpier by the moment, these pigs enjoyed torturing the weak.

    "Xiao Meng, you¡¯re already eligible to enter the sect, what are you doing?" Deacon Li told me through divine sense.

    "Those guys were already redeemed of their crimes, so why assault a weak girl?" I replied.

    "Xiao Meng, this world is not a kind ce to the weak, they now became members of our sect, while she could yet kill a single person, as long as she didn¡¯t manage that, the sect can¡¯t protect her. If she manages to kill at least one of them, I myself will step in and stop them." Deacon Li said.

    "It¡¯s obvious that they know this will happen, that¡¯s why they¡¯re ganging up on her, and not allowing her to retaliate, they¡¯re using their numbers so she can¡¯t score a killing blow, they don¡¯t want her to be a member and at the same time want to toy with her," I spoke.

    "This is the nature of man, you can¡¯t go against it, like I said, the sect has rules." The deacon said.

    "Very well," I said then pulled my pipe. "Since the sect has rules and I can¡¯t attack my sectrades," I said as I took a strong pull from my lit pipe, "Then I¡¯ll calmly sit back and watch."

    Since I have yet to know where everyone from the Purple Cloud Sect is, I can¡¯t act carelessly, I can¡¯t create enmity with the deacon, nor should I actively go against the sect¡¯s rules. But I can slightly change the situation in this girl¡¯s favor.

    I sent the girl a divine message saying, "Stop circting your Qi, don¡¯t breath and close all of your pores."

    The girl didn¡¯t believe me obviously, because if she does so, she will be killed, but I saw the hesitation on her face as her odds were already grim, she noticed that no one was looking her way and everyone was trying to act busy like they don¡¯t see such cruel acts.

    Filthy mongrels.

    I breathed out a thick puff of Joyful Weed condensed with a strong mix of Breath Sealing Poison.

    The girl, who was already notified that she should close all her pores and stop her breathing for a moment immediately understood why.

    The whiff of smoke traversed the crowds and touched one of the disciples, it was only for a second, but his Qi was disturbed, this caused the rest to back away, and gave the girl the chance to stab the man in the heart, killing him instantly.

    The rest of the group growled and looked at me angrily, one of them even came closer and said, "Old man, you fucked up right now, do you know who we are?" he asked.

    "Me? What did I do?" I replied.

    The kid¡¯s face scrunched in an ugly expression and threw a punch at me.

    I easily dodged it, grabbed his extended hand, and twisted the arm, snapping his bone and pulling his shoulder at the same time.

    The answer was an ear-splitting but strangely satisfying girlish scream.

    "Respect your elders, you little shit," I said as I kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him on his knees.

    "They say that there is gold under a man¡¯s knees, but you have none, kneel like the dog you are, because all you are is a dog in heat, unworthy of my time, and next time," I said as I looked at the rest of the disciples that were with him, "If any of you fools try ande at me, I¡¯ll break more than just a hand."

    I said and moved away, the girl immediately thanked me through divine sense and pulled newer robes to cover her torn ones.

    "Xiao Meng," deacon li said as he sighed. "Those guys belong to one of the inner disciple¡¯s faction, they actually took the me for him when a girl was assaulted and killed, if he knows what you did, not even I can help you." The deacon said.

    "I appreciate the thought, but it doesn¡¯t matter, now that I¡¯m a member of the sect, I need to know something. Do you have a Life and Death Arena?" I asked."

    "Emm, not really, we don¡¯t condone killing within the sect. However, idents do happen in duels. It¡¯s not unusual to have someone die, but if you want to do it, you¡¯ll have to either be really strong and fast, or lucky. Because elders would usuallye and save people from dying." The deacon said.

    "That¡¯s all I needed to know, as long as there is a chance, it¡¯s more than enough," I said.

    "You¡¯re rather aggressive," deacon Li said.

    "It has to be this way, if I show that I¡¯m meek and don¡¯t face these creeps, they¡¯ll keeping at me. But once they know that they shouldn¡¯t mess with me, then it¡¯s a whole other story.

    "Hatred begets hatred, Xiao Meng," he said.

    "But tolerance begets exploit, I¡¯ll never tolerate fools if they don¡¯t know that they shouldn¡¯t mess with things they can¡¯t afford to mess with," I replied.

    "Such hate, such rage you have, I say you¡¯ve had some bad experiences through your life, I won¡¯t judge." Deacon Li shook his head.

    ¡¯Man, it¡¯s such a shame that such a good person like this deacon is in this disgusting sect. Though he is a passive person, he doesn¡¯t look or act evil. But, for this sect. Their young prince, the Sect Master¡¯s own kid...that guy... won¡¯t survive, I vowed this to my Purple Cloud Sect. and I¡¯ll keep this vow.¡¯

    "Here you go," the deacon said as he gave me a ring, "There is your housing key, your sect clothes, and the sect¡¯s map, you can also go to the pavilion to im the Golden Crow Cultivation manual. The cultivation courses will be held every morning, so make sure you¡¯ll be there. Also, your monthly allowance will be one high-grade spirit stone and ten medium as long as you fulfill your hunting quota for the month by capturing spirit beasts or presenting their core. You can also get bonus pay if you do bounties." The deacon said.

    "Thank you," I said as I took the ring and followed the map inside it into my designated house.

    The system here was almost simr to all the systems in other sects, work for your keep and your sect. But the quality of the rewards was different and far higher, this is a fourth-grade sect even better than the Seven mountain peak, but considering their outer disciples are all Core Cultivators, their inner disciples are nascent souls and their core disciples are soul Formation cultivators, then it¡¯s only natural to have such a high grade of a sect.

    I went home, which was a small house with a garden to cultivate in, it even had a good Qi Gathering array to cultivate, but I can¡¯t use it, I only need Poison Qi.

    I took out the clothes, wore them, and pulled the map.

    Apparently, the outer sect is a huge circr area that was as big as a metropolitan city. It had thousands of houses, and many areas, it even had a small area where cultivators could sell and buy things, a battling area, and an area to gather herbs and nt them. While the center of this map was a slightly smaller circle reserved only for the inner disciples, it had the punishment hall, the manual pavilion, and the main sect building which was a tower of nine stories.

    There was also a forbidden area within the inner sect.

    I only needed to ask elder Li, and by asking I meant bribe, to understand that that ce is where the Purple Cloud pce is.

    The Purple Cloud Sect somehow managed to take the whole Purple Cloud pce and seal it there with all of its restrictions. They even ced bounties reserved for the inner sect disciples as rewards for those who did the greatest damage to the protective barrier of the Purple Cloud Pce.

    Since I wasn¡¯t an inner sect disciple, I had no way to get to the pce, and the moment I step into the inner sect as a none-nascent Soul cultivator, I¡¯ll be spotted and hunted down.

    "Has anyone before became an inner disciple without being a Nascent Soul cultivator?" I asked deacon li.

    s

    After pondering for a few moments, he replied, "I wasn¡¯t here when it happened, I heard that there was once a strong woman that managed to beat a nascent soul cultivator while she was in core formation, it¡¯s obviously overexaggerated rumors, but it is not really against the rules. The sect rules favor the strong, so if you could, by some ungodly miracle beat a nascent Soul cultivator, the sect will openly wee you to the inner parts as a genius." Elder li said. "You¡¯re not thinking of doing anything stupid, are you? I know you did well in the test but you can¡¯t be arrogant andcent, you¡¯ll lose your life if you go against a Nascent Soul cultivator, the difference is too high."

    "I know, I was just wondering," I said.

    "Good then, now you know, also, I heard some news, the goons that you confronted earlier, they managed to get in contact with their boss, and he is on to you, be careful Xiao Meng," he said.

    "Thank you, I appreciate your concern," I said and I really do, not many actually give a fuck about others in this world. But this person is a rare breed, though he is just a first-level Nascent Soul Cultivator, he is not arrogant and a down-to-earth person.

    But for those who want my life, I¡¯ll give them a taste of my poisons, I have many that I want to try. Since I¡¯ve only been facing Nascent Soul cultivators, I didn¡¯t want to risk using unexperimented poisons, but now that these guys are close to my own level and I¡¯ve been looking forb rats for a while now, they will do just fine.

 Chapter 135 In Prison

    <h4>Chapter 135: In Prison</h4>

    As I was making new pills, and practicing my Receptarism with the Heart me, a few disciples came to my house¡¯s doors. I sensed them using divine sense and realized that a couple of them were the same group that tried to harass the girl from earlier.

    "Xiao Meng,e out you bastard!" one of the kids, emboldened by thepany of many others spoke.

    I didn¡¯t care for these little runts, I had more important things to do, so I ignored them.

    But they didn¡¯t seem to understand that I didn¡¯t want to be bothered.

    "You ugly old bastard, get your ass over here!" said the same guy and swung his sword at the gate of the small lodging I was given by the sect. The sword strike sted the gate open and revealed me.

    I already removed the Heart me, and the look on my face was something not even a brave lion would want to face.

    Now, I¡¯m not a person that gets angry really fast, but when I do. I¡¯m not someone to be messed with.

    I stood up and slowly walked towards the kid. I could have called X and told him to break this person¡¯s legs along with the group he was with, but that wouldn¡¯t be smart. The Seven Mountain Sect has a close rtionship with the Three-Legged Raven sect. And if X appears here, they¡¯ll immediately know who I am, as the people in the Seven Mountain Sect already saw X.

    So I have to do this using my own hands.

    "So, you finally show yourself. Coward, here, you cost me a good girl, and I have been imprisoned for a while, how are you going to take responsibility?" the kid said.

    s

    Another one spoke, "I say he should pay a few thousand medium spirit stones."

    "Yeah, and also forfeit his holding bag."

    "Yes, but that¡¯s not enough, he should also beg down on his knees, and cripple his own cultivation, only then will I be satisfied," the kid said.

    "Brother Yu, is wise!" another replied.

    These kids have been talking to each other, speaking about breaking my core and crippling my cultivation, then broad daylight robbery, as if it was nothing.

    "So, you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll do all that to me? Why?" I asked.

    "Why? Because I can, because I¡¯m stronger and you have no say in it," the kid said.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid of the sect¡¯s rules?" I asked.

    "The sect won¡¯t care about crippled disciples, anyway even if they did punish me, I can buy myself out, I¡¯m a genius after all and they have to treat geniuses well."

    "So, the strong get to decide the life of others, thank you I have been enlightened." I grinned then charged the group before they could even realize what was happening.

    Splitting in three copies using the Golden Scripture, each of my copies charged at one kid, stabbing three inches above their groin area and into their dantian, then with a twist, their core was destroyed. The kid in front of me however was in for a far worse ending.

    I grabbed his head and immediately mmed it against the ground. If this was a normal human being, his head would have broken like an egg against a rock, but the skin on his face was so thick that the ground was cracked.

    "This is how you bow to your elders," I said, as I raised his bloodied shocked and still none-understanding head to face me, "But I still don¡¯t feel any serenity from your bow, do another," I said as I mmed his face again, and again, on the ground, further bleeding his forehead, until I feared that a concussion would be the least of his worries. I don¡¯t want him to die.

    Then I immediately bore my hand into the kid¡¯s abdomen, breaking his core.

    "Now, all three of you are cripples, and the sect doesn¡¯t care about cripples. Genius you said, you¡¯d only be of value if you live to achieve your potential, but you crossed someone you shouldn¡¯t have, and what you have wanted to do to others, have been done unto you. How does it feel, kid?" I said as I threw the spasming body of the cultivator back next to the other two.

    Then as I left their screaming and wailing selves in front of my doorsteps, I walked back in and resumed my work while the door of my house was still broken.

    I couldn¡¯t use Receptarism here, in case someonees in and see what I¡¯m doing, so I pulled an old cauldron and went back to regr alchemy, I needed to make more poison pills.

    A few minutester, I heard a ruckus next to my house, it seems that a few disciples had recognized the three crippled kids and had told an elder.

    "Who¡¯s responsible for this!" a man said with a resounding booming voice.

    "That door it¡¯s broke, it seems that whoever lives there has an answer," Someone else said.

    I ignored the group and continued refining my pill, soon the elder approached my house and noticed me working diligently on the pill.

    Just as he was about to speak, I raised my hand to stop him, and with the other hand swiped the pills that I made.

    Turning I said, "I wee the elder to my house, how can I be of service?" I asked politely.

    "Do you know what happened? The disciples were attacked and crippled, they¡¯re not even coherent."

    "Oh, those three, I crippled them." I bluntly said, to the amazement of the elder and the rest of the disciples that swarmed around my house.

    "Xiao Meng, right?" the elder said, he had a slightly irritated look on his face.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Who gave you the right to cripple disciples of this sect! unless you give a satisfying answer, I¡¯ll have you cripple your own cultivation... no, you managed to defeat three cultivators that are one realm above you, and since you¡¯re a genius cultivator, I won¡¯t cripple you, but you¡¯ll have to be punished for this act.

    "This was self-defense," I said.

    "Self-defense? The two there didn¡¯t even draw their weapons, not to mention the one in the middle had his skull fractured and his core ripped before he could even attack, don¡¯t lie, child."

    "I didn¡¯t lie, here," I said as I threw the man a jade. It reyed the whole event from start to finish.

    The elder took the jade skeptically and ced it against its head, it¡¯s an easy way to put a memory in the jade and I just did so and gave it to him, it looked like a vivid recording.

    After a while, the elder looked at me and said, "Though they have spoken evil things, and did what they shouldn¡¯t have your hand was still too heavy. You¡¯ll still need to be punished."

    "If it was me in their stead would elder have still said the same things?" I asked.

    "Yes, everyone must respect the sect¡¯s rules otherwise there will be chaos. Report to the punishment hall, you¡¯ll receive appropriate punishment for the crippling of three disciples but fret not, I¡¯ll make sure to send all details of this event to the punishment hall so they¡¯ll go easy on you. We don¡¯t want to lose geniuses over petty matters but discipline is a priority."

    Though this felt really vexing, I had toply, I still didn¡¯t know the whereabouts of the Purple Cloud Sect, and if I were to go against the sect as an outer disciple I¡¯d probably get kicked out or killed if they really think I¡¯m nothing but trouble. But this is not bad in a way, after all the Punishment Hall is in the inner sect. I could probably have a chance to find out some things about the Purple Cloud ce that¡¯s sealed there.

    "Then I¡¯ll present myself to the Punishment Hall," I said.

    Soon, I left toward the hall walking and ignoring the people behind me, I even heard someone saying that I looked too giddy as went to get punished and if I was some sort of masochist.

    I shook my head as I moved forward and towards the hall, but I still made sure to put all of the important things in my pouch back into my Poison God¡¯s book. If they were to confiscate my holding bag, I don¡¯t want anyone to find the pills and flying sword there.

    Just as I stood in front of the inner sect¡¯s gate, two disciples that acted as guards spoke up, "What is an outer disciple doing here? Leave!"

    "I¡¯m here to present myself to the punishment hall," I said.

    "State your name and crime," one of the two said.

    "My name is Xiao Meng, I crippled three cultivators," I said.

    "The two of them looked at each other, then he politely said, "Please follow me."

    I frowned, usually they¡¯d be a bit more aggressive towards someone who hurt three other people, but it seems that strength is respected here.

    The moment I stepped into the Inner Sect, I noticed that the quality of spiritual Qi here was vastly different than in the outer sect, and even the grass seemed greener here, the trees held more spiritual power as did the disciples. I saw many gathered around one elder sitting under the shade of a lone tree hearing a lecture, while others trained and practiced together, even if they were heavy-handed as many fought grim fights.

    Then in the far distance, I heard loud echoing and continuous sounds of bombardment, almost annoying though muffled.

    "What¡¯s that sound?" I asked.

    "What sound?" the guarding disciple asked.

    "That continuous bombardment sound, don¡¯t you hear it?" I asked.

    "Ah, that, I grew ustomed to it that I naturally block it, it¡¯s an event the sect is holding, some of the disciples are tasked with attacking a certain barrier, and the ones that deal the most damage will be rewarded." The disciple said.

    "Ah..." I replied and calmed down.

    This must be the formation that¡¯s protecting the Purple Cloud Pce, and the Three-Legged Raven sect is using it as a practice, both to break the formation and at the same time train their disciples.

    Quite vicious.

    Soon I arrived in front of a single-story house, where it said above it, Punishment Hall.

    "Doesn¡¯t seem that big to me," I said.

    "Most of the structure is underground, you¡¯ll see for yourself. This is as far as I can take you, you¡¯ll need to go in by yourself." The disciple said and waited for me to enter.

    Just as I walked inside, I felt a powerful formation activating, restricting all Qi inside the building.

    There was a desk with a mortal man manning it, he didn¡¯t have an ounce of spiritual Qi, but it would be natural, as a matter of fact, a cultivator would find this ce a hellish spot to be in, but a mortal man won¡¯t feel a thing even if I was not present, nor would I, because I don¡¯t really need spiritual Qi.

    The man looked bored, as he had an elbow on the desk and his hand on his chin, he looked at me with half-asleep eyes and said, "Name and crime."

    I said the same thing I told the kid from earlier, and the ¡¯jailor,¡¯ said, "Right, for crippling three disciples, you¡¯ll be sent to the fourth floor." He said as he wrote something on a note, "Stand there," he said as he pointed at an elevator-like structure.

    When I stood there he pressed on something on his desk and the elevator brightened up and went down fast.

    It soon stopped and I found myself at the front of a long hall that had many chambers where many cultivators sat. they all looked grim and annoyed, but when they saw the new ¡¯Fish¡¯ they got excited.

    The moment I stepped out of the elevator it rose up, leaving a massive hole that only led down. And without Qi, there was no way for anyone to climb up and the only path left was dow.

    Also, the heat from this floor was rather hot, though it didn¡¯t affect me in the least as I had the Heart FLame, the rest of the people here are probably suffocating from it. I wonder what¡¯s the punishment level is like on the lower floors.

    s

    Remembering where I was, one of the prisoners with an evil look on his eyes soon approached me, and before he could even speak. I grabbed his face and mmed it into the wall then kicked him back to where he came from.

    From all my Earth knowledge about prisons, you always take on the first dumbass thates your way, beat him up good swift and fast, and prove that you¡¯re not someone to be messed with. And since I could still use my Qi, none of these fools had any power against me.

    The results were impable as the excitement of the inmates immediately calmed down to a lull.

    I looked around and moved through the hall, it had rooms without bars, and many sat in their own rooms calmy. I walked until I found a room that was empty and sat inside it.

    Now, I¡¯ll wait, I have a feeling that something interesting was going to happen here.

 Chapter 136 The Remnants

    <h4>Chapter 136: The Remnants</h4>

    After a while sitting, which was probably about an entire day and night, somemotion began to happen. The elevator came down and with it came three individuals, but something was off about them. Unlike the rest of the inmate disciples, these three still had their Qi around them. They were wearing a bracelet of sorts that was not allowing the formation in this prison to stop their Qi from circting regrly.

    "That¡¯s him," one of the three said as he pointed at me.

    "Your luck seems pretty bad Xiao Meng, you shouldn¡¯t have crossed the young master and attacked his disciples." The leader of the three said.

    Now I think I understood what¡¯s going on. The guys from yesterday at the trial exam went crying to their master, and now that he knows I¡¯m in prison he sent three guys to kill me. Also, since I¡¯m supposedly unable to use Qi due to the prison¡¯s rules. They¡¯ll be able to do whatever they want to me here.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid of the sect, killing people isn¡¯t really tolerated here?" I said calmly.

    "Look at him, a coward hiding behind sect rules, you think we really care, or that people actually give a fuck if you live and die here in prison? As long as you¡¯re here, death is not an impossibility, so no one willin." The leader of the three said.

    "Good, but one thing bothers me in your statement, you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m a coward, while you¡¯re using numbers and the ability to use Qi here, I have no idea how you managed to bribe your way into prison..." I said as I stood up and looked him in the eyes, "But like I said before, if anyone dares cross me, their end won¡¯t be gentle."

    "Let me see how you act once I remove that smug out of your face!" the kid said as he drew a sword and dashed at me.

    If there was anyone else besides me, this would have been that person¡¯s end, after all, anyone imprisoned here is no stronger than a mortal. But, he made a grave mistake in charging headlong without worrying about his safety.

    The moment the sword was a few inches away from my chest, I dodged to the side, something a ¡¯mortal¡¯ or a person without Qi powering their movement would have been incapable of.

    s

    And before shock could even appear on the kid¡¯s face, I had already jabbed one finger down the kid¡¯s neck, stabbing into his throat.

    A hole like that would be fatal for anyone, but if he had the time to swallow a pill he could save himself. But the poison in my nails was enough to render all chances of survival abysmal.

    The kid coughed as blood burst from the hole in his neck and his mouth, he grabbed his neck but couldn¡¯t utter a word as his eyes rolled back up.

    The two other kids looked at each other and turned back, only to realize that the elevator had already risen.

    "Now, you thought you coulde here and do whatever you wanted, but now that you¡¯re trapped here with me, how does it feel?"

    "Not possible! You shouldn¡¯t be able to use Qi! What the hell?! That wasn¡¯t what brother Yu Bai had said!"

    "Oh, good thank you for telling me the name of the person who sent you," I said, and immediately the man grabbed his mouth as if he had spoken something he shouldn¡¯t have. Such aic reaction.

    The two died immediately after, it wasn¡¯t hard, especially since they were far below my own cultivation level that they didn¡¯t even pose a challenge.

    But with three bodies here and the heat from this ce, the floor would soon stink. Though I wouldn¡¯t care about getting sick from it, I¡¯m not a fan of the smell of carcasses.

    "Where is does this hole lead to?" I asked, the question was general, but the rest of the inmates knew that they had to answer.

    One of them spoke, "It goes down until the ninth level. There is a Corrupted Fire Vine there."

    "What¡¯s a corrupted Fire Vein?" I asked.

    "A corrupted Fire Vine it¡¯s not suitable for cultivation, unlike normal Fire Veins that can help Yan type cultivators to increase their Yan Qi, a corrupted one is full of destructive energy that will constantly destroy one¡¯s cultivation if ingested. So they¡¯re using it to torture people."

    "That¡¯s pretty harsh, I didn¡¯t think that the sect would resolve to such tortures against their own disciples," I said as I threw the three bodies down the hole.

    "They¡¯re not used on disciples of the sect, the worst punishment for disciples of the sect is the sixth level, any more is reserved for deserters, traitors, and captured criminals, like the ones from the Purple Cloud Sect," the man said.

    Immediately, I felt a chill running down my spine, "Oh, so you¡¯re saying that the people from the Purple Cloud Sect are down there?" I asked.

    "Only a few, many had already died, and the majority are still hiding behind the barrier." The kid said.

    "Oh, good to know," I said, "This seems interesting, I think I¡¯ll go down and have a look," I said.

    "Hey, are you mad? You know if you go down there, there is no way for you to climb back up. Unless expressed by the punishment hall elder no one is allowed to leave this prison. And if you go down, you¡¯ll die before the Punishment Hall elder can even save you."

    "Thanks for worrying about me, but the lower levels piqued my interest," I said and jumped down the hole.

    Though anyone else would have fallen to their death since they can¡¯t use their Qi. I¡¯m not like any of them.

    I pulled the poison god¡¯s flying sword and ced it under my foot as I elerated going down.

    The distance between each floor increased exponentially, and so did the heat.

    It took me twenty seconds to reach the fifth floor while not only free falling but elerating as I went down, and the time doubled for each level.

    The heat itself would be unbearable to anyone that isn¡¯t an alchemist or has a Heart me protecting them.

    If the disciples of the Purple Cloud Sect are on the lower floors, they must be suffering through literal hell.

    All of the rooms in this tower were build inside halls, and the lower one gets the hotter it goes, but after the eighth floor, I saw a bright light. It seems that the ninth level is actually the volcano itself. And the moment I got out of the deep elevator hole I was assaulted with waves of aggressive Yan energy.

    There was a massive magmatic current running under the elevator¡¯s hole. While there was a solid piece of ground in the middle of this ce, it didn¡¯t look any safer than the magma itself.

    Looking around, I saw hundreds of burnt and charred remains of people sprawled all over the ce. And among the charred remains were still a few cultivators that were suffering through this hellish ce.

    And among them was a person that I wouldn¡¯t have recognized if it was not for his stature.

    An old man, with barely any meat on his flesh, with a child-like stature.

    I dove down toward the old man, and noticed that he was barely hanging on, thanks to his small alchemical knowledge, he was able to resist the heat from this ce but it was at a great cost.

    "Elder Yun," I said to the man who didn¡¯t seem to be able to reply.

    I pulled a pill from my pouch and gave it to the man, the moment the pill fell into his mouth, I ced my palm on his back and slowly helped him circte the pill.

    Soon, the elder opened his eyes, and spoke, "Euh, thank you, benefactor," He said.

    I smiled at the old man, "Who are these?" I asked as I tilted my head to the few cultivators that were struggling through this hellish torment.

    "A few elders of our sect, all of them. It¡¯s thanks to a certain cultivation method that we managed to survive so long, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to survive. Benefactor, you shouldn¡¯t havee here."

    I shook my head at the old man and said, "It¡¯s my duty to help my sect members, is it not?"

    "Euh, were you a disciple of our sect? I can¡¯t remember seeing someone like you before, I¡¯d remember you, child."

    "Is that so," I grinned, "then maybe a game of Go will freshen your memory, but after we get out of here," I smiled at the old man.

    "Ah! Shen Bao! Howe, you look so different. And your cultivation level, in just a year, you¡¯re already fifth level Core Cultivation, that¡¯s impressive."

    "I had some good fortuitous encounters, Elder Yun,

    "That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good," the old man said with a sad smile on his face, "But you shouldn¡¯t havee here, you foolishly came to this ce, now you¡¯ll be stuck, you should have survived and grown stronger if you wanted to avenge our sect, now you¡¯ll only waste your life." Elder Yun said remorsefully.

    "Don¡¯t worry, you think I¡¯de here without a n?" I said.

    "Based on our matches, I say your strategies are always ingenious, but against absolute power, strategy isn¡¯t a useful child."

    "I¡¯ll never admit that, no matter how strong anyone is, there is always a weakness to be exploited, nothing is perfect and even the strongest man can be killed with the right means. Rotate the Qi in that pill, I¡¯ll wake the rest of the cultivators." I said and fed pills to the rest of the elders.

    Some of them were people I¡¯ve seen back at the pce but the rest I didn¡¯t know. I managed to bring back the elders to consciousness soon after. But this was just a temporary solution.

    "Though we thank you for your benevolence, this doesn¡¯t resolve our conundrum," one of the elders said.

    "I know, but this isn¡¯t the extent of my ns. I can get you out of here, but I¡¯ll need something from you." I said.

    "What does a naked man have to offer, Shen Bao, we have nothing left," Elder Yun said.

    "You still do, your dignity and trust, I need them. First off, I¡¯ll need a sliver of divine sense from all of you." I said.

    The elders looked at each other, and one of them spoke up," Shen Bao, I know you are a disciple of our sect but don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going too far, you want us to submit our lives to your whims?"

    "It is the only way for me to trust you, and it is the only way for you to leave, what I¡¯m about to do is disclose one of my secrets, and if someone untrustworthy was to know of them then I¡¯ll be ruined," I said.

    "We won¡¯t betray you, just get us out." Another said.

    "No, unless you give me a sliver of your Divine Sense, then you won¡¯t leave."

    "You could be just a traitor that defected to the Three-Legged Raven sect and wants a greater hold over us to spill secrets!" more elders began doubting me.

    But elder Yun was the first to pull a sliver of divine sense and gave it to me, "Shen Bao, if it wasn¡¯t for your arrival we would have died, I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll betray us. But I also don¡¯t want to be indebted without offering anything back for your to trust me."

    "Elder Yun! Are you mad! You¡¯ll be at the mercy of his whims!"

    "Quiet! If it wasn¡¯t for Shen Bao, how long do you think we would have survived? He said that he has a way, I trust him, and you should."

    With the elder¡¯s words, more surrendered their divine sense to me, and once thest one gave me his divine sense though reluctantly, I smiled at them, "Good! Now it¡¯s time for you to rest. I said and pulled my Pagoda Token, summoning the pagoda into this hellish ce.

    I configured the pagoda to immediately take the elders to the third floor that had the five biomes. And all of us appeared inside it.

    "What¡¯s this?" Elder Yun asked while the rest of the cultivators immediately sat down to cultivate in the rich Qi that the pagoda gave.

    "This is a small world I own now," I said.

    "No wonder you wanted our Sliver of Divine sense, with a treasure as precious as this, wars can be waged to obtain it."

    "Yes, I¡¯m also nning on taking the entirety of the Purple Cloud Sect here, but as I said withoutplete trust, I can¡¯t have anyone here."

    "I¡¯ll have to apologize to brother Shen Bao," one of the elders who was the most aggressive towards giving his divine sense said.

    "No worries, now rest up and cultivate. Arn!" I said as the purple armored Lion came bounding towards me, he cooed and rubbed his head against my hand.

    s

    "That¡¯s a sixth-tier Demonic Beast! How. No, I don¡¯t want to be surprised anymore." Elder Yun shook his head.

    "Arn these are friends don¡¯t eat any one of them," I said smiling, but this was a tacit threat to anyone who would try something stupid, like try and go to other floors or take what doesn¡¯t belong to them.

    "You can cultivate here and build lodgings if you wish, but you¡¯re not allowed to leave this ce until Ie back. So please wait for me." I said and left before I heard anyints.

    Now with the elders secured, I need a way to leave this prison, I can¡¯t just leave from the front door. But, if I manage to force the sect itself to release all the prisoners, then it will be a different story.

    I grinned as I gazed at the magmatic current.

 Chapter 137 Challenged

    <h4>Chapter 137: Challenged</h4>

    I went closer to the magmatic current, the heat was still not hot enough to harm me even if it was hot enough to literally melt stone. But I needed to cause a reaction here otherwise I won¡¯t have a chance to leave.

    I pulled a few of my pills and threw them into theva current. Now, usually, anything you¡¯d throw inva would end up melted and fused with theva. Yet Qi is different, since everything is harmonized with Qi, it can actually affect it, and poison can work.

    If I were to consider the Fire Vein as a living thing, then it too can be poisoned, and I did just so. Using a metal type poison also, for reasons that would be clearter as I¡¯m about a hundred percent sure what the result of this situation will be.

    Soon, the pills melted and began to disharmonize with theva current, making theva change color from bright red to a slight tinge of purple.

    I immediately pulled my flying sword and rose up into the elevator hole. My goal was simple, to agitate the fire vein with poison and have it erupt.

    Toxic fumes began surging up from the volcano and they rose to extreme speeds surging all the way up.

    The result should be obvious as the whole ce began trembling as I ran up, the small hole that was making the elevator entrance began shaking as rocks began falling. I arrived back at the fourth floor only to find the people there already dead. The toxic fumes had assaulted them, and since they couldn¡¯t use Qi to save themselves the result was obvious.

    I didn¡¯t mean to kill them, but this was the only way for me to leave this ce.

    I sat inside the room and pulled a few healing pills I had on my bag, I threw them near me and rested against the wall of my room.

    It took a few more minutes than I anticipated but the Qi restriction on the prison was soon eliminated.

    s

    A few cultivators immediately flew down to the bottom of the cave while I felt several waves of divine sense washing over the whole building, me included.

    One cultivator came to my floor, looked around, and sighed as he saw the dead bodies of the cultivators, but when he approached me, the first thing he noticed was the few pills scattered on the ground near me.

    He picked one up, inspected it then pulled my pouch, while I feigned being unconscious.

    He, without regard to personal property looked through the pouch, which was something I already expected him to do, besides some minor items I had on me that weren¡¯t worth taking and a few pills, the cultivator didn¡¯t find anything of value, so he ced the pouch back where it was and shook me a bit.

    "Wake up!" he said.

    I slowly opened my bloodshot eyes, which was easy to do, since I could control poison, I could easily fake being poisoned.

    "Damn, you really have a strong life force, let¡¯s go," he said.

    "Who are you? and What happened?" I asked.

    "I¡¯m a sect elder, and the prison¡¯s fire vein acted up, it¡¯s erupting, and it released poisonous fumes, you¡¯re lucky to have smuggled these pills, the others weren¡¯t as resourceful as you, though." He said.

    Looking around, I took a deep breath as if shocked, then immediately began coughing.

    "Don¡¯t breath in!" he shouted, "Regte your Qi, and take another healing pill," he said as he gave me one of my own pills, without mentioning the fact that he pocketed the rest.

    I took the pill and ced it in my mouth, usually, a healing pill would do more damage to me than anything else, I¡¯m poison and a healing pill contradicts my own nature.

    But I just had it on my mouth and faked that I was absorbing the pill. The Elder flew me up and out of the prison and went back in.

    Surprisingly, there were a few other survivors, those who were on the higher floors mainly, they weren¡¯t affected a lot by the fumes, but they were all disoriented and at a loss.

    A few more cultivators came in, and instead of letting the ones that were trapped go, we were actually forced to sit together and were held, guarded by an elder. After all we¡¯re all criminals.

    Soon, two elders came back out, with ugly expressions on their faces.

    "What happened?" asked the elder who ¡¯saved me¡¯ from the prison.

    "I thought this was an act of sabotage, but it seems I was wrong, there were residues of Metal-Based poison in the magma currents. Seems that there was a hidden poison pocket that finally broke, it mixed with the Fire Vine and caused it to erupt. It¡¯s a death zone there.

    ¡¯Good, with this, they¡¯ll never suspect that it¡¯s an unnatural cause.¡¯

    "What about the ones at the ninth floor?" the elder asked.

    "Not even their remains are left, the eruption caused theva level to rise, it consumed everything, It¡¯s hell down there, even we couldn¡¯t dive deeper to inspect more." The elder said.

    "Well, that¡¯s that. What do we do with these children then?" the elder asked.

    "They suffered a fate worse than prison, I say they should be pardoned, also we don¡¯t even have a ce to keep them in, just let them back." the elder shrugged and left.

    ¡¯Damn, sometimes I surprise myself with how smart I am,¡¯ I grinned stroking my own ego.

    "You heard the elder, heal up and go back to your dorms, you¡¯re pardoned, but if youmit more crimes, the sect won¡¯t forgive you!" the elder guarding us said.

    I remained among the kids and didn¡¯t leave until a few of them moved first, I didn¡¯t need to heal up since I wasn¡¯t injured with the fumes but I had to keep up appearance.

    Going back home, I sat down and continued working on my alchemy as if nothing had happened.

    I would still asionally feel a divine sense casually scanning the surrounding, but this was only natural, the sect wasn¡¯t fully convinced that the cause of the eruption was natural, but they couldn¡¯t refute it, still, they kept watch on everyone who survived.

    I remained under surveince but didn¡¯t do anything outside of the norms. I even attended a couple of cultivation sses that talked about the Core Creation Realm, and how one could solidify their foundation using natural Qi. Something I didn¡¯t need but had to listen to just to keep up the appearances.

    A few dayster, as I was still thinking of ways to get into the inner sect while faking the fact that I was vehemently studying, an event happened.

    I was walking from the study area and back to my lodging when an Inner Disciple entered the Outer Sect.

    He was a tall man with rippling muscles and a long mboyant mane of hair, he looked like a barbarian especially with the massive sword strapped to his back, and with the dark blue sect robs he wore that fully revealed his chest, it clearly stated him to be an inner disciple.

    This was rare, for an inner disciple to go back to the outer sect, it only meant that they needed something from the outer sect, to either recruit henchmen, or to kill someone, and based on the look on that man¡¯s face, it was clearly thetter.

    It all became perfectly clear when a few kids immediately dipped out of his way as one of them mentioned the name, Yu Bai.

    ¡¯Oh, so that¡¯ him.¡¯

    He was the one who sent those three guys at me in prison wasn¡¯t satisfied with how things happened. The fact that I survived came to his ears soon, and his henchmen¡¯s disappearance was odd to him.

    He immediately roared as his presence was known through the entirety of the outer sect.

    "XIAO MENG! SHOW YOURSELF!" he roared and with enough of a powerful st of a voice that everyone heard him.

    Immediate, the few people that were next to me dipped away leaving me all alone and against the gaze of the inner disciple, "So it¡¯s you!" he said and charged at me with enough speed that his initial dash broke the ground under him.

    The man¡¯s fist was clenched and readied to deliver a killing blow at me.

    I could deal with this man in many ways, but any of them will reveal my identity, using X or Y is not optional, and using poison will still bring a lot of attention especially since the incident at theva hadn¡¯t cleared yet. But thanks to my greed of seeking many things to learn at once... I could easily deal with this rash person.

    I stomped my foot on the ground, remembering the feeling of that one step I took facing my heavenly tribtion.

    s

    A boulder rose from underground as I pulled my brush and wrote, "INDOMITABLE!" in the most aggressive calligraphy that was imbued with restriction.

    The man¡¯s fist struck the boulder, and the boulder withstood the blow. Not only that, the sound of broken bones was clear to everyone¡¯s ears as the man¡¯s fist cracked against the boulder.

    The boulder¡¯s restriction soon dissipated as it fell down, revealing a shocked, and clearly stunned Yu Bai.

    "What the hell? Did a Core Cultivator just stop a Nascent Soul cultivator¡¯s attack?" one of the people watching spoke.

    ¡¯Shit, so much for keeping a low profile, but I can use this. A ticket to the inner sect, I guess that Yu Bai, you¡¯ll be paying for it, with your body that is...hold up, why does that sound kind of wrong?¡¯

 Chapter 138 Hard Against Soft.

    <h4>Chapter 138: Hard Against Soft.</h4>

    "What kind of treasure is that?" Yu Bai asked, though he didn¡¯t expect an answer, I answered still.

    "It¡¯s just a random rock, so why don¡¯t you chill for a bit, you seem to have a lot of anger in you," I said.

    "You lowly outer disciple think that just because I let down my guard have the right to speak down to me?" Yu Bai said as he flicked his already mangled and broken hand.

    His fists immediately snapped back in position, even though the swelling and blood were still obvious, it was nothing a healing pill couldn¡¯t make quick work of.

    ¡¯He¡¯s tough. This is going to be a hassle.¡¯

    I took a step forward as I pulled Creeping Demise.

    "Oh, what a fragile-looking sword, if ites in contact with my sword, it¡¯ll snap in two," Yu Bai said as he pulled his own massive sword out.

    "It¡¯s not about the size bro," I grinned as I moved forward.

    The few spectators looked dumbfounded, after all, I¡¯m a Core Cultivator that¡¯s going up against a Nascent Soul cultivator.

    Yu Bai¡¯s face distorted into a haughty and ugly devilishugh as he pulled his sword with one hand and was nning to split me in two as I charged at him.

    s

    His sword came down on me only to meet Creeping Demise that was angled down.

    Now, for a quick crash course on Newton¡¯sws of motion. Here, twows apply, the first is that an object that is in eleration will remain in eleration until another force is applied to it. The object in motion here is Yu Bai¡¯s sword, and the second object is mine. But if I were to directly try and block Lu Bai¡¯s sword, even if Creeping Demise wouldn¡¯t break, the force will be transferred to me, and I¡¯m far less durable than Creeping Demise. Yet, when I apply the secondw of Newton... For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

    So, if I were to use his own strength. I grinned as I further angled creeping demise and used every bit of strength in my body, not to block, but to parry.

    Yu Bai¡¯s sword made contact, but instead of stting me to the ground, the force that Yu Bai had applied to his sword was still too much for him to control and when parried, he couldn¡¯t help but be forced to follow his sword as it mmed into the ground a few feet away from me.

    The blow caused a great gash in the ground as his sword dug itself into the hard ground, and while at that moment he was stuck, I pivoted away from him and gently ced the tip of my sword at Yu Bai¡¯s neck.

    There was no end as anti-climactic as this, all of that power, all of that force, and all of that haughty attitude were beating with the application of one of the most simple and fundamentalws of physics.

    Sadly, I couldn¡¯t cut down Yu Bai, not because I couldn¡¯t or was afraid of him. But while we fought there was actually a divine sense watching us. I already won but if I were to push my luck, I¡¯ll probably end up in more trouble than crippling three outer disciples. This was an Inner Disciple and I still didn¡¯t have the ¡¯right¡¯ to kill him.

    "Admit defeat," I said to the stunned Yu Bai.

    "NEVER!" he roared as he swung his fist at me.

    I grumbled at him as I jumped back, "You really don¡¯t know when to give up do you, you¡¯ve been defeated and I¡¯ve spared you, yet you still act like this."

    "Go to hell, I? lose to a core cultivator! You must be mad!" he said and disappeared from where he stood.

    ¡¯teleporting again, damn this is getting bothersome.¡¯ I sighed as I twisted around and shed behind me.

    A loud cry sounded as a hand fell down to the ground.

    Stupid people, I swear, with the ability to teleport, why do you always attack from the back?

    Yu Bai dropped his sword and grabbed the lump on his arm as he cried, "You dare cut my hand! Do you know who I am?" he shouted.

    "You are an idiot who didn¡¯t know when to give up. Wait what was the idiom, ah, Yes, I offered you a toast, only to be forced and drink a forfeit."

    I said as I stabbed through the hand on the ground, "And now this is mine." I said as I ced his hand in my pouch.

    Yu Bai, seemingly enraged with having his ¡¯face¡¯ pped in front of so many spectators, howled until the whites of his eyes were all one could see, a dark baleful aura gathered around him as his muscles rippled with strength.

    He was diving into insanity, but an elder immediately came over and struck Yu Bai on the back of the neck, rendering him unconscious.

    "Elder! You have to get justice for brother Yu Bai!" one of the kids, and probably followers of Yu Bai said the moment he saw the elder.

    The elder looked at the kid, and in one gaze the kid immediately fell to his knees, shaking in fright.

    "Xiao Meng, I have to admit, you treated this incident well, you didn¡¯t act against an inner disciple even if he was wronging you, and you offered him to give up. You are in all your right to keep that hand of his as a reminder to not be so conceited," the elder said, "This incident here is over. Also, Xiao Meng," he said as he threw me a token, "You¡¯ve just entered the sect, but it would be a huge waste of talent to keep you in the outer sect. report to the inner sect. I¡¯ll allow you entry once you sessfully clear the inner sect trial." The elder said.

    The rest of the disciples immediately mored together, and their topic was that a core level cultivator was going to be an Inner Disciple.

    I ignored the group and hastily withdrew to my lodging.

    Though today¡¯s events ended well, I suffered slightly here. My right hand was still trembling from the impact of Yu Bai¡¯s sword, even if I had parried his sword, I still received a portion of his attack and that hurts like a motherfucker.

    Also, I don¡¯t think that the elder¡¯s invitation was honest. It might have looked like a generous promotion, but that was definitely to keep face in front of the disciples. He hade only when he saw Yu Bai was in a tough spot and didn¡¯t act when I was about to be killed.

    Either he is affiliated to Yu Bai, perhaps acquaintance or maybe a patronage rtionship, or he simply is greedy and wants to know how I managed to defeat a disciple an entire realm above me.

    But all is good, thanks to brother Zhang Tian¡¯s insights into cultivation and battle, I¡¯m, able to apply more of my strengths in battle. I can¡¯t wait to see him again, but that will probably take a long time, especially since I haven¡¯t released his divine sense yet. But I can only do that once I¡¯m in the inner sect. Otherwise, my n won¡¯t work.

    Once I was back in my lodging, I began making a few more poison pills, and while I wasn¡¯t worried about any of the disciples trying to do anything to me, since I already proved that I¡¯m more than they can handle, the elders were a whole other story.

    So I had to re-enable my Sky Pearl eye. Though Zhang Tian rendered it useless as his divine sense was so agonizing and so powerful that the use of the Sky Pearl only hurt me while it wasn¡¯t even to the level of a nuisance to him, it would be a whole different story to the elders here.

    s

    I¡¯ve had enough with the annoying scrying divine senses that have been inspecting me every now and then, it¡¯s a breach of privacy and that¡¯s just rude.

    Soon, I heard the agonized howl of a few disciples and even an elder, and immediately the divine sense disappeared.

    "Good, this should keep troublemakers away from me.3 Now, I¡¯ll need to actively increase my cultivation level.

    My strengths are hidden, and they¡¯re mostly my puppets, the Heart me, and my poison. Well, basically everything, all I could show is nothing but formation and the Sanguine de arts, in addition to the Star Cultivation technique, though it offers nobat prows, it¡¯s enough to fake my identity to the Three-Legged Crow sect. thest I want is for them to know that I¡¯m one of the very sects they¡¯re actively trying to break the formation of.

    I began by consuming a lot of pills and channeling my Qi, rotating it, and slowly increasing the speed. Once I reach the sixthyer of the Core Formation realm, I¡¯ll be able to have a better chance at clearing the inner sect challenge. Any amount of strength is useful for me right now, and I can¡¯t skimp on any upgrades I could get, no matter how small.

 Chapter 139 Inner Sect Trial

    <h4>Chapter 139: Inner Sect Trial</h4>

    As I cultivated calmly within my small dorm given by the sect, I asionally checked up on the elders of the Purple Cloud Sect.

    They seemed to have found life far better than in the depth of the tormenting volcano. After all, the Qi in this ce was enough to help them recover along with my constant supply of pills. Though some of them were still acting likeplete jerks since I was of a lower cultivation level than them. A single word from Elder Yun put them all in ce.

    I also found out more about the incident regarding the Sect Master.

    Apparently, there was a spy within the Purple Cloud sect, and the day that she walked out of her pce, was the same day that spy went and reported the situation to Chuzi Yan. The one who lusted after the sect master and when he couldn¡¯t get her or overpower her, he waited and sabotaged her ascension. Causing her to suffer one of the Five Destructions of the body, the Ice Destruction.

    The Sect Master withdrew and that was when Chuzi Yan decided to give up on her, since she was inflicted with the Ice Destruction, he couldn¡¯t dual cultivate with her lest he will be also inflicted. But when he heard she was well again, well, he stopped thinking with his head and started thinking with his lower half.

    The idiot was too stupid to understand that she wasn¡¯t actually cured, she had barely improved, and all the work I¡¯ve done for her had probably been thrown down the drains. Because I only removed the external ice and allowed her mobility, that was all I could do with my Qi Condensation stage back then.

    Still, I assume that Chuzi Yan could have a method to remove the rest of the Ice Destruction. But besides the one I used, anything else would drastically reduce the life of the person.

    After giving Elder Yun a bit of pill and ying a game of Go with him, and in which Ipletely destroyed him in it, I left.

    Back in my dorm room, I continuously refined pills using the Heart me, though the sess rate was far lower than when I used to do alchemy with cauldrons, the purity was unparalleled.

    Of the few pills I ate, my cultivation level slowly increased until it was at the bottleneck of breaking from the sixth level to the seventh. And once I¡¯m on the seventh level I¡¯ll be on the higher realm of the Core Formation. But the amount of Poison Qi I needed was astonishingly high.

    s

    It seems that the quality of poisons I have is slightly less than what I need. No wonder my cultivation level was increasing so rapidly as I¡¯ve consumed poisons that were really rare and would take other cultivators of the same path if there ever was a few, many, many years to achieve what I have done. But now, I¡¯ll be needing some potent poisons to increase my cultivation level furthermore.

    I continued eating the pills I had, and made even more, while my savings of poison dwindled I felt that my cultivation was still increasing rather slowly, though I know I can make it to the seventh level before I¡¯m out of poison spiritual herbs, I won¡¯t be able to progress further if I don¡¯t resupply.

    This method of cultivation is pretty expensive and costly. But it has its advantages since it allows me to fight others at higher realms. Poison is sinister and doesn¡¯t care for the strength of a person, for there are poisons that even a drop of, can kill a dragon.

    A few dayster, I heard some not-so-good news. It seemed that one of the inner sect disciples had made a great achievement. He managed to crack through one of the formations surrounding the Purple Cloud pce and received generous rewards from the sect. This boosted the morale of the rest of the Inner Disciples that were constantly assaulting the Purple Cloud Pce, and now the ce would seem to have even less time before it¡¯ll break open and all the people inside it, captured.

    I don¡¯t have much time. Shit.

    I cursed as I resumed eating the pills I made.

    A dayter, and on the breaking of dawn, as the day just started, energy swirled around me as I broke through, but this didn¡¯te with a feeling of tion, the pressure, and worry that the Purple Cloud Sect was going to be eradicated were too much for me to be happy about this slight and small sess.

    I immediately took the token and headed to the inner sect¡¯s gates. Presenting the token allowed me entry and I moved directly to where I¡¯ll be doing the trial. A trail that I knew would be rigged since that elder that came and saved Yu Bai was definitely waiting for me to enter it.

    And he was right in front of me, I could even see the slight sniggering and evil smile he tried to hide.

    "So you¡¯vee to take the Inner Sect trial?" the elder said.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "Good, now, the trial is simple, you¡¯ll have to do battle in a mirror world. Survive for six waves at least and you¡¯ll be given the Inner Sect clothes and be an official member of the Purple Cloud sect," he said.

    "Okay, I¡¯m down for that, where do we begin?" I asked.

    "If you wish right now, follow me," he said and flew up.

    "Wait, I can¡¯t fly yet," I replied.

    "Don¡¯t you have a flying sword, you¡¯re a core cultivation how did you travel around?" the elder asked clearly annoyed.

    "I do, but I can¡¯t use them well, I have bad bnce problems," I replied. Which was a lie obviously.

    I originally could only use the Poison God¡¯s own flying treasure, since it was the only thing that could use poison Qi to move.

    I haven¡¯t had the time to make a flying sword that can function with spirit stones, and normal flying swords are impossible for me to operate.

    "No matter," he said as he used a telekic ability to carry me alongside him.

    This reminded me of the day I was caught and sent to the Poison God¡¯s cave, though the danger is probably the same, the fact that he is not squeezing me to half suffocated death was an improvement.

    As we flew over the sect, my eyes wandered until I managed to see the massive Purple Cloud pce that had a massive formation that was riddled with cracks. There were thousands of disciples taking turns in attacking the formation, and within the formation, there were thousands more, of the Purple Cloud Sect, wounded and battered, bloodied yet still vehemently fighting back against the incessant assault.

    "What¡¯s going on there?" I asked.

    "Oh, training ground, once you¡¯re an inner sect, you¡¯ll be able to join and receive rewards." He said.

    "Right, looks interesting," I said and ignored the incident, there was no need for me to affix myself on the pce, otherwise I¡¯ll be suspicious.

    Soon we arrived on top of arge za that had a circr mirror on it. There were many disciples sitting in front of the mirror, and many of them entered healthily and left the mirror world bloodied, yellow-faced and riddled with wounds.

    The elder ced me down and said, "Xiao Meng, you¡¯ll have to prove yourself, enter and get to the sixth level, once you¡¯re out, you¡¯ll be an official inner disciple."

    Almost immediately, the group began whispering. Something along the line of Core Formation Disciple, and not being adequate or strong enough to clear something that¡¯s already difficult for Nascent Soul Cultivators.

    A few even tried to use their divine sense to scry and put their noses where it doesn¡¯t belong, but the reaction from the Sky Pearl Eye immediately rebuked them, causing them to recoin in terror, disgust, and utter hopelessness as they saw their bodies being dissected, ravaged by beasts and tortured in that mere second.

    A few were pretty angry at me, but it was their own fault.

    "Go ahead!" the elder said as he pointed at the mirror.

    I nodded and went towards the mirror, I ced my hand on it and it felt like a water surface. Then I took a step inside, finding another world within the mirror that waspletely upside down. No, I was upside down?

    It was a weird world, there were stairs going up, down sideways and from every ce and corner. Gravity seemed pretty weird here, and it only applied to the stairs. As I jumped up, my body immediately switched direction and my feet nted themselves on the other set of stairs that was above my head earlier.

    I looked around and saw a door nearby, it wasn¡¯t that far away, but it will take some twists and turns to get there.

    s

    Jumping from stair to stair, and walking on upside-down paths, I managed to find myself in front of the door. And when I ced my hand on it, I was sucked into another room.

    I was inside a massive hall that had a couple of cultivators sitting in the lotus position, they didn¡¯t seem to notice my presence. The three of them were eight-stage level Core Formation cultivators. And that was not good.

    I¡¯m slightly below any of them and there were three. This will get problematic, especially since the moment they opened their red crimson eyes, they coordinately stood up, pulled their weapons, and moved towards me.

    I pulled Creeping Demise and readied for battle, this trial so far seems slightly straightforward, and that¡¯s the catch, the more normal this thing feels, the more uneasy I get. It¡¯s like there is an ominous and foreboding fate awaiting me, and I can¡¯t sumb or waste energy here, lest I doom myself.

    What a nice start of the day

 Chapter 140 Mirror World Trails

    <h4>Chapter 140: Mirror World Trails</h4>

    (Guys this is a trial chapter, I¡¯ll be changing the POV, from the first person to the third omniscient person. I¡¯ll see how you guys react, if it¡¯s positive I¡¯m thinking of switching up to third-person permanently. Though the First person helps a lot in expressing the main character¡¯s feelings and flesh out his character more, it¡¯s really hard to involve the rest of the cultivation world. Soon, I¡¯ll be introducing a lot of main characters and First Person takes a lot of time to fully flesh them out. I know because I¡¯ve done so in a few other stories and they all ended upcking, but on the Undead Legion i was able to show the feelings of every character and had them all fleshed out to realisme.

    I don¡¯t want to do the usual tropes but if this is weed and well received by the readers, then I¡¯ll switch to third permanently. Also, this bit is added after the chapter is published so it¡¯s not something you¡¯ll pay for.)

    ******

    At the Three Legged Raven Sect.

    "Elder, isn¡¯t the level difficulty too much for that Core Cultivator?" one of the kids next to the mirror said.

    "Oh, he challenged Yu Bai and won, I say it¡¯s enough for him," the elder replied.

    While the group of cultivators was unconvinced, they didn¡¯t actually take side with Shen Bao, after all, he was still an outer disciple and was not even a Nascent Soul cultivator, they all knew that the elder wanted to punish Shen Bao and since they had nothing to gain from speaking up for Shen Bao they just quieted down and waited for the inevitable death of the Core Cultivator who had shown more potential than he should have.

    The Mirror world was divided into nine sections, for each section cleared the cultivator will prove their mettle and be rewarded by the sect. A few had even reached the sixth where Shen Bao was even allowed exit. And they all knew how difficult it was for a Nascent Soul cultivator, but for a Core Cultivator? Clearing the second floor would already be considered a blessing and a grand achievement.

    They all knew that Shen Bao would nevere out of that Mirror World, and they weren¡¯t going to speak about this, incidents like these happened all over the world, the strong rule and the weak bow their heads.

    Yet this Shen Bao had never known of this as it seemed, and now he¡¯ll learn and pay with his life for this lesson.

    s

    ***

    Back in the Mirror World, a slightly annoyed Shen Bao stood in front of the bodies of several dead bodies.

    "Damn, annoying pricks, I can¡¯t kill them with poison so I¡¯ll really need to use my sword skills. But no matter, it¡¯s a good way to train my skills on living things." Shen Bao grinned as he wiped the blood off his sword.

    In front of himy the three bodies of the mirror world-made cultivators, they had sword cuts across their bodies and necks, as it appeared that Shen Bao was not merciful in his killing.

    Within the room, there were three doors, and each door had a different color. They all led to different parts of the mirror world.

    Red, Blue, and ck. But since Shen Bao didn¡¯t know which door to choose from.

    "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if it hollers, let it go!" Shen Bao said as his finger switched from door to door along with the nursery rhyme and finally ending up on the ck door.

    "ck it is then," Shen Bao said and walked towards the door.

    The door opened up revealing a massive jungle.

    Using his Divine Sense, Shen Bao¡¯s vision expanded to cover a kilometer of distance around him, and within the jungle, he noticed that the jungle was seething with thousands of demonic creatures, and the moment his Divine Sense has spread towards them, they noticed him too.

    "Oh, I¡¯ve done something unnecessary. Shit," Shen Bao cursed, the moment he thought about pulling his flying treasure sword, he shook the idea away. In these types of scenarios, in these small trial worlds, usually, there will be objects that can monitor the cultivators, and if he were to reveal his heritage, he¡¯ll end up in an unfavorable position and probably be caught and interrogated by the Sect.

    This was actually a smart deduction on Shen Bao¡¯s behalf, as the Elder that had sent him had used the mirror itself to disy his trial for all to see.

    The disciples outside were all murmuring about how lucky he was to manage and defeat the three cultivators in the second room, but how he was doomed the moment he chose the hardest door. Though they debated that the reward was generous if he was to win, they all knew that he needed to actually clear the Mirror Trial to obtain anything, not to mention how difficult it is to actually survive the ck Door for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and since now he was only a Core Cultivator, his death had already been signed.

    Shen Bao had no knowledge of this, and even if he did, this wouldn¡¯t have changed his situation. But thanks to Shen Bao¡¯s calmness, he managed to figure out a few methods he can use to get himself away from this monster horde.

    "Since I can¡¯t fight off all of these creatures without revealing X, Or Y, I might as well not fight at all," Shen Bao muttered as he pulled a few herbs from his holding bag. He didn¡¯t have much time as his Divine Sense was constantly updating him on the impending arrival of the monster horde.

    He pulled a small cup and began kneading a variety of herbs in it, the herbs were not that precious as the Elder and the Disciples had noticed, and they allughed at his futile attempt while death was creeping ever so close upon him.

    Just as Shen Bao finished making a ve, he began applying it on his robes and body as fast as he could, and all of a sudden, the first few monsters arrived next to Shen Bao, yet, for the life of them, even if he stood right within their midst, none of the monsters even bothered approaching him, as a matter of fact as Shen Bao casually walked between the monsters and moved forward, the monsters took the initiative to move away from him as if he was the dominator of all demonic monsters.

    "What the hell is that? What did he do?" one of the disciples asked the elder. And seeing the perplexed look on the elder, the disciple knew that even he didn¡¯t know what Shen Bao had done.

    As for Shen Bao, this was nothing but the simplest application of Poison. He mixed a strongly scented mixture of poisons together, and when monsters smelled it, they knew that the person who had this scent was not worth eating, challenging or even bother killing, they knew that the moment they¡¯de in contact with Shen Bao that they¡¯ll only receive injuries for no gain. So he was left to move forward on his own.

    Though Shen Bao used poison here, this method shouldn¡¯t be too revealing of his identity as anyone could do this if they have a recipe, though he could have gotten the same effect using a poison Breath, that would immediately link the persona Xiao Meng that the Three-Legged Sect knows as their disciple, to the Shen Bao who caused a ruckus in their allied sect the Seven Mountain Peaks Sect.

    Shen Bao moved casually among the beasts and through the forest, while he regrly applied the salve again once it lost a bit of its potency. And soon, he was at the end of the forest and in front of yet another gate.

    "Damn it!" one of the kids said as he handed a few spirit stones to another person.

    "What¡¯s going on?" one of the disciples asked, "Ah we made a bet, but this is unfair, Shen Bao has no fighting ability howe he managed to clear the ck Door of the death Forest."

    "Oh, so someone is taking bets I want to bet a few Spirt Stones, anyone taking?" a kid asked and immediately the whole group of disciples was upied with scoring some free Spirit Stones. For them the life of Shen Bao was not worth anything but a bet on the side that they could get some extra Spirit Stones, they didn¡¯t care if he lived or died, they only cared if he cleared or not. And they were willing to bet against him or with him, and if he either seeded or failed, many would be angry at him. Unfair shortsightedness, but for them, someone of such a low cultivation level wasn¡¯t worth more than to be angry at, and wasn¡¯t worth more than a side bet.

    Shen Bao entered the next gate and found himself in front of a massive boulder that had thousands, spears, ymores, and many other weapons embedded in it.

    "Now, he is definitely dead," one of the disciples said. And from the look of it, many didn¡¯t think that Shen Bao will survive.

    "Yes, the Weapon Intent Mountain, as long as he has no Weapon Intent, Xiao Meng will definitely sumb here," another disciple said.

    "So, are you guys willing to make bets here?" the one who won the most from thest round said. But a rare few took his bet.

    s

    "He will die!" was the general thought, because on the Weapon Intent Mountain, it was normal to be heavily injured even if one was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, as for a Core Cultivator, death was the only escape. Because even if Shen Bao escaped thest trial, all he did was cover himself in some salve and didn¡¯t show any true martial might, for them he was nothing but a coward who used underhanded means to survive, but here, in the Weapon Intent Mountain, unless Shen Bao had some real power, he¡¯ll never make it out alive.

    Many took the bet that Shen Bao will die, and only a few took the opposite. They only worried about their Spirit Stones, but for Shen Bao, he had his life to worry about. Because the moment he stepped forward, one of the swords near the bottom of the Mountain shone bright and showed a man in his mid-thirties holding a sword pointed at Shen Bao.

    "You wish to challenge my Intent! Come forth, show me what you¡¯re made of!" the ghost-like apparition said as it charged Shen Bao.

    Shen Bao, however, didn¡¯t even bother with the ghost-like apparition, because among all of the swords in the mountain, one of them shone a green bright light, and it was a sword that pretty much was the exact copy of the one in his hand.

    "I suppose the Poison God had gone through this trial too...this is interesting, was he ever a member of this sect, or does this Mountain actually exist somewhere else..."

 Chapter 141 Sword Intent Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 141: Sword Intent Mountain</h4>

    Shen Bao looked perplexed at first because he had no idea what the Sword Intent was, since he never experiences the true capabilities of mastering sword arts he had no idea how to face someone who could literally summon sword shes by sheer will.

    The apparition-like cultivator swung his sword twice sending a cross-like sword wave at Shen Bao, thetter dodged to the side and was barely able to evade serious injury as even with his evasive maneuver, Shen Bao still received a cut on his left arm.

    Cursing, Shen Bao pulled a pill from his pouch and swallowed it, the effect was immediate as dark green smoke rose from his open wound and his arm was immediately healed.

    With being limited to not use poison, nor summon his puppets in case the Three-Legged Raven Sect were to know of his identity, Shen Bao was forced to battle this apparition using his own sword. And so he did. Charging headlong into the fray.

    "Come! Show me what you have!" the apparition spoke as it shed against Shen Bao in a shower of sparks from the contact of their swords.

    For any other cultivator, this apparition would be a good practice session, but nothing too difficult, because this trial is aimed at the Nascent Soul cultivator, and most Nascent Soul cultivators would at least have some sort of minor sess in achieving sword intent.

    Shen Bao was leagues behind the people who could challenge this trial, and even if this character in front of him was one of the weakest on this mountain, the apparition was still enough to kill Shen Bao if he wasn¡¯t careful, and that was only because he was limited.

    This situation didn¡¯t discourage Shen Bao in the least, he smiled as he fought back, he didn¡¯t think that he was weaker than the people who watched him, nor did he think little of himself, but he thought that this very incident was a source of learning and could teach him and make him adapt to situations where he could be disadvantaged and unable to use his full power.

    This was a learning practice for him, and he was going to use it to the fullest.

    Finding others to spar with him and hone his sword skills was impossible, especially with all of the stuff that was happening to Shen Bao. He was stuck in the Demon World for a long time, he was forced to learn and practice restrictions to save himself from the Sliver Back Ape, and immediately was thrown into a war against another demon king, not to mention being chased the moment he left, and then plotted against by the very alchemist that invited him to the Seventh Mountain Peak.

    s

    In all of his time, Shen Bao was running, moving from ce to ce, being led down Fate¡¯s unknown and perilous road without any choice in the matter, though this gave him many good opportunities, he knew deep down that he was progressing too fast, and this wasn¡¯t good. Unless he cemented his understandings, his knowledge, and his newfound abilities with practice, learning, and application, he would end up with an unstable foundation the moment he climbed the next stage.

    The apparition¡¯s sword shone brightly as it came down on Shen Bao, here, though the sword wasn¡¯t as heavy as Yu Bai¡¯s greatsword, Shen Bao knew that this very sword was more than capable of cutting him in half especially with that aura surrounding it.

    Shen Bao used the same deflecting method, by rapidly colliding with the downward cut and tilting his Creeping Demise sideways, this caused the iing sword to slide down and away from She Bao, who took the opportunity when the apparition was destabilized to add a repost to his parry.

    He flicked away the apparition¡¯s sword with minimal movement since it was destabilized, then followed with a thrust to the chest, immediately causing the apparition to dissipate.

    Taking a deep breath, Shen Bao felt satisfied with his progress, but not a secondter, another apparition, much clearer and more vibrant than the first manifested from an embedded broad sword on the mountain full of swords.

    This one didn¡¯t speak any words and immediately came at Shen Bao.

    She Bao had yet to rest and recuperate, but in a death and life situation, he knew that he didn¡¯t have the luxury to rest, so he charged ahead and struck using his improvised skill, Tiger Stinger, a derived sword skill from thebination of the Sanguine Thrust, and Tiger w.

    Shen Bao¡¯s sword moved forward like a spear leading a charge and came in contact with the apparition¡¯s aura sword, the sh was not favoring Shen Bao due to the difference in strength. But the second effect of Shen Bao¡¯s Tiger Stinger was the secondary side effect of the follow-up blow. Since the second blow has a controbleg, Shen Bao made sure to resist the apparition¡¯s blow with his mere strength, and when the apparition let his guard down since it easily overpowered Shen Bao, the second blow came in, staggering the apparition and sending it flying as a wave of green energy shot forward.

    Here, Shen Bao was thankful for one thing, the apparition wasn¡¯t a living thing and didn¡¯t suffer poisoning from the second effect of the blow, so even if someone was watching they¡¯ll have a hard time understanding that this is Poison Qi and not regr Qi. Unless someone is in direct contact with Shen Bao¡¯s Poison Qi, they¡¯ll have no way to analyze it, for even if it was Qi, it was not Natural World Qi, and for the onlooker, it will only look like a green aura emitted from Shen Bao¡¯s sword.

    The Apparition tried to regain its bearing but Shen Bao was already up and ahead and immediately stabbed down on the apparition¡¯s chest.

    Honor? Valor, that¡¯s meaningless, especially since this is life and death, if it were a living being, perhaps Shen Bao wouldn¡¯t have been this cruel, but he was literally fighting for his life while others were watching, he didn¡¯t need to appear like some honorable swordsman, that¡¯ll only get him killed. Decisive and cruel, that¡¯s how one should act when their lives were on the line, and She Bao was not going to act like a monkey for the people that were watching him and give them a good show. He needed to clear this test and move forward, by any means and any methods, and if anyoneins, they cane here and do this very test while limited to Core Cultivation.

    "Master Behind You!" Shen Bao heard Y¡¯s voice but it was toote to even act as he felt sword Qi that was far too close to his neck tofort.

    Yet before Shen Bao could even act, another more impressive, and more majestic sword Qi shot out and broke the sword Qi that was about to decapitate Shen Bao.

    "Damn, Y, you just revealed your presence!" She Bao berated.

    "You would have died master, but worry not, my sword swing was faster than what mere Soul Formation could even perceive. They would mostly think you had a defensive treasure."

    "Oh, good, say, you know sword arts?" She Bao asked.

    "Yes, I have the best Wind Celestial Sword Arts imprinted within my memory."

    "Oh that¡¯s good, as you can clearly see, I¡¯m really bad with swords."

    "You have never been taught swordsmanship, and this is clear, I could impart you with the Celestial Sword Arts but you can¡¯t learn them right now, you could probably learn the first level, the Man tier, as for above, you¡¯ll need stronger cultivation to manifest the Wind Celestial Sword Arts."

    "I have yet to fully understand the Sanguine de Arts." She Bao replied shaking his head, "I can¡¯t add more to my te."

    "The Celestial Sword Arts aren¡¯t battle oriented, they¡¯re designed to improve upon all other sword arts and increase the user¡¯s understanding of Sword Intent, many even use it to make their own Sword Domain, it will not conflict with any sword arts you learn, it will only improve upon them."

    "Good, then, once I¡¯m out of this ce, you¡¯ll have to teach me, but for now, it seems that we¡¯ll be facing one annoying bastard," Shen Bao said as he looked forward, on the second level of the Sword Intent Mountain stood a man with crossed arm as he looked down on Shen Bao, he didn¡¯t even deign Shen Bao worth his time as he had his eyes closed and nine swords were flying behind him.

    The attack from before was from this person and he seemed far more proficient in using his swords.

    An annoying opponent had shown up.

    "Master, this person is far stronger than you," Y tactlessly spoke.

    "I know, I¡¯ll probably need to use some sort of trick, I don¡¯t think I can win this fight."

    "You can if you can trust me on this one," Y said.

    "What do you have in mind?" Shen Bao asked.

    "Charge him as fast as you can, and swing down with your sword using as much Qi as you can." Y said.

    Looking ahead, Shen Bao knew that even all of his Qi would not even be a hindrance to this apparition, as it appeared he was a Nascent Soul of at least a sixth realm.

    "Right then, I¡¯ll trust you on this Y," Shen Bao said and charged forward towards the cultivator.

    "Foolish mortal, you dare defy my will with your meager strength!" the man said as his nine swords shone bright and came towards Shen Bao.

    s

    "Now! Slice down!" She Bao heard.

    Shen Bao immediately raised his sword and infused it with as much Qi as he could, and with this, a blinding light manifested as Shen Bao swung down.

    Almost immediately after, a loud explosion sounded in front of Shen Bao and all he could see was a massive crater that split through a section of the mountain in front of him. The cultivator looked shocked as he began slowly disappearing from in front of Shen Bao unbelieving how a Core realm cultivator could beat a Nascent Soul cultivator so easily.

    Shen Bao knew perfectly well that this was not the result of his attack, but rather it was Y. Y had asked Shen Bao to infuse his sword with as much Qi as he could and strike down, this wouldn¡¯t have even grazed the Nascent Soul cultivator, but at the same time the abundance of the Qi released managed to camouge Y, who emerged his arm from within the poison god¡¯s book and swung down in a joint attack with Shen Bao, hidden by the green light of his de, the blow cut down the enemy.

    Immediately, a new door opened to Shen Bao to proceed forward, while outside the mirror world, a greatmotion was brewing.

 Chapter 142 Law

    <h4>Chapter 142: Law</h4>

    "Howe he managed to defeat a Nascent Soul cultivator of the sixth realm with one blow?" a disciple sitting in front of the Mirror World where Shen Bao was asked.

    This was a question that many disciples had been asking, but no one knew the answer.

    "It must be a treasure," the elder who sent Shen Bao inside said with an ugly expression on his face, though he wanted to have Shen Bao Killed for harming an Inner Disciple, it seems that if Shen Bao continued like this he will be able to be an Inner Sect Disciple, not to mention he had a treasure that could instantly kill a Nascent Soul cultivator the same rank as the elder.

    The elder feared if Shen Bao wanted to retaliate and discover that he was actually being sent to a ughterhouse then he¡¯lle out and use the treasure on the elder, but at the same time, greed clouded his eyes, if the elder had the treasure Shen Bao had, he will be able to ovee many difficulties and raise his standing in the sect.

    "Pay up!" a disciple said to another.

    "No! he cheated, he used a treasure and not his own strength!"

    "I don¡¯t care, I already took your bet on the chance of Meng Xiao losing, and he was facing a Nascent Soul cultivator, I don¡¯t care if he cheated or not, he won, so pay up!" the kid said and the other one reluctantly handed him a couple of High-Grade Spirit Stones.

    "Damn Meng Xiao! You caused me a heavy loss! Once you get out I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯ll pay back in full!" the loser of the bet said. His anger was unfairly ced on Shen Bao, and that was only because he couldn¡¯t afford to fight the disciple with the same level as him, as for Shen Bao, he was but a mere Core Cultivator, only valued for the entertainment he provides.

    Within the Mirror World, Shen Bao found himself in front of yet another testing area. In front of him were nine pirs that were pretty simr to the pir inside the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda.

    These were Law Pirs, where one can sit in front of them and understand Law. And the test was clear to Shen Bao since this was designed for Nascent Soul Cultivators, and Nascent Soul cultivators need to understand Law to begin their journey to create their domain.

    Every Pir had a different symbol, as for the first that was in front of him had the symbol of a phoenix, and emitted an incinerating heat.

    Shen Bao approached it and sat down in front of the pir to meditate. To understand thew, he needed to be one with the mes of this pir, though he didn¡¯t know the first thing about phoenixes, he already had a Heart me, and this will help him greatly in understanding firew.

    The moment Shen Bao closed his eyes in front of the pir, a picture of a phoenix raged within his mind, the phoenix swam in a celestial basin of mes, diving within it and jumping up as it twirled and spread its wings, showring the world with endless mes.

    As the Pheonix spread its wings, Shen Bao saw space itself morphing in agony against the incinerating heat of the phoenix, and within these distortions, there were lines, red lines that appeared for a fraction of a second the disappeared.

    Shen Bao was immediately forced out of his meditative state. And when he closed his eyes to try and enter again he was denied entry.

    Looking at the stone, and thinking that he failed, Shen Bao was about to give up. But at that moment, and from the heating from the stone, Shen Bao saw once again the red lines, as if mesmerized by the red lines, She Bao extended his hand and touched one of the lines that spread all over the pir.

    He then pulled on one of the lines which caused the rest of them to follow suit, and as the lines followed so did a me burst from within the pir and followed Shen Bao¡¯s hand as if it was a well-trained serpent of me.

    "Huh? What¡¯s going on?" Shen Bao asked no one in particr, but still tried more, slowly ying around with the lines until he finally understood what they meant.

    "Each line is aw of me, touching, disrupting, reinforcing, or even cutting can have a different result. So this isw? These lines represent thews of fire, and any modification on these lines will cause a massive change in the overall quality of the me. But the number of these lines is in the millions, so many of them will have no effect on the me, and unless I fully understand what they do, each and every one of them, and everybination will result in a different thing. So this is a rudimentary understanding ofw."

    Shen Bao nodded as he looked at the pir. While outside the mirror world many were in utter shock of what had just happened, it wasn¡¯t that difficult for a person to understandw after they be a Nascent Soul cultivator, but for those to understand it at Core Cultivation, while their mental capabilities haven¡¯t been fully unlocked by birthing their Nascent Soul, this was impossible, and this painted every self-called genius here as an utter mockery of the world of cultivation.

    This only served to fuel the rage against Shen Bao, for no one wants to see himself bested especially by someone they think below them.

    Shen Bao on the other hand sighed, he knew that he couldn¡¯t understand more of this even if he stayed longer because the Law Stone closed itself on him, he¡¯ll only waste time. He looked around and found another stone, this one had the symbol of a white tiger.

    As he got closer to it, the stone became cooler and grew freezing cold.

    Shen Bao shuddered at the piercing cold and still sat in front of the stone, entring a different scenery where he found himself in a world of white ice were on the top of the highest mountain stood a tiger that looked down on all life.

    This was The Byako, with its sky blue eyes and white fur that was adorned with pitch-ck strips, and had two tails that swung with ease behind it, causing gales with every swing.

    The Byako roared and with its roar, hail fell from the skies and the world turned blurry and white.

    And from within the whiteness of the world, bright lines grew.

    Once again Shen Bao was woken from his meditation and was able to see the white line.

    He began by moving them around and created stctites of ice, amazed by his own understanding of Law. He smiled as he had a new idea.

    Shen Bao went between the two pirs and with one hand pulled on the firew lines, and his other hand, on the icew lines. He then forcefully merged them both, causing ice and fire to merge.

    "MASTER NO!" came the sound of Y, yet before even Y could act, the two lines collided and blew up in Shen Bao¡¯s face throwing him like a ragdoll a dozen meters away from the pirs to a tumbling carcass like state.

    Groggily, Shen Bao sat back up, thanks to his enhanced robes he didn¡¯t immediately die, but his face was bloodied, his chest ribs felt like they were broken and he couldn¡¯t feel his hands.

    Yet, there was a wide smile on Shen Bao¡¯s face as he pulled a few poison pills and ate them.

    Shen Baoughed as his pain was clearly not enough to even sway the gears in his mind from working. "This is some seriously explosive stuff...I can¡¯t wait to put Laws in a canister and see how explosive they¡¯ll be."

 Chapter 143 Trial Complete

    <h4>Chapter 143: Trial Complete</h4>

    Once I was all healed up after taking the pills, I looked around and saw that a door had actually opened for me to leave to the next stage. But why waste such a good opportunity to learn more aboutws?

    I walked up to the next pir, and the moment I closed my eyes I found myself within a lush and vast mountain range that had massive rocks and boulders protruding from everywhere.

    As I tried to find the beast of this area, thend shook slightly as a massive one-horn ck snake rose from the south, while a turtle-like head rose from the north, and they both screeched causing the whole scene to shake. There, from the rocks, gray lines shaped themselves and I was once again kicked out of the area.

    This was earth.

    "Bro, at this rate I¡¯ll be an avatar," I chided myself as I began ying around with the lines that made the Earthws.

    Stone emerged from within thew, and modifying the structure of the lines reshaped the rocks, breaking some of the lines caused the earth to turn to dust, and fusing lines back together caused the dirt to shape back into other forms of rocks.

    I continued doing the same for the rest of the pirs and figured out that I had greatpatibility with elemental Laws, but anything else was tooplex or at least I didn¡¯t know exactly how to modify it.

    For example, a pinch of cold and a pinch of heat, along with a slight adjustment to pressure and you can create lightning. But I couldn¡¯t replicate it, and most I got was almost having my hands blow up.

    Gravity also was aw that was tooplex for me to understand, spacews aren¡¯t as tangible as other elementalws, perhaps they work on a different spectrum or need a different set of rules or even conceptualization to even figure out and understand.

    So after having learned all, I could from thesew stones, I left the room and entered the fifth room.

    And this one was more to my liking, in front of me there was a cultivation manual, and it clearly read, Three-Legged Golden Crow manual, second volume.

    This was the continuation of the volume that the sect gave to all disciples of the Three-Legged Raven Sect once they entered the sect, and seeing that this was the sequel, I bet that many would want this so they can improve upon their Yang-oriented cultivation.

    For me, this wasn¡¯t useful at all, I¡¯m a Yin-oriented cultivator, poison is a dark attribute and doesn¡¯t work well with the purifying Yang attribute, even my Heart me is Yin oriented.

    Many think that Yin and Yang could be categorized into good and evil, which is a false notion. The elements have nothing to do with good or evil, it¡¯s only the user, but thepatibility of the Yan attribute is pretty bad with me as its cleansing side is strictly against my constitution.

    Yin however is pervasive and empowering and works well with my poison.

    But the book wasn¡¯t what interested me here, no it was the thing that blocked the people from simply going in and taking it.

    A restriction that was imprinted on the ground, and looking at the way it was inscribed I could figure out a few things.

    The first part and was the external part of the inscription was designed to disorient people. The second part was made of a powerful killing formation mixed with hidden sword intent. The third part was made of Law. And this immediately helped me understand the purpose of the prior chambers.

    All the other chambers were to prepare the cultivator to fight against this formation for the manual and at the same time a test to their understanding of what they had just been through. Since this test could be said to be the ¡¯final exam¡¯ of the things that the cultivators had just experience it was a good method to see if the cultivators had actually learned from their experience.

    Now, for something as powerful as this restriction, I¡¯ll need to be at least a nascent soul cultivation level to break it.

    But for my eyes, this formation was nothing more than child y.

    I pulled my brush and a small pebble that was thrown on the ground near me, after writing a few lines on the pebble and adding a few inscriptions, I casually threw the pebble towards the formation and waited for magic to happen...

    ***

    "What is he doing? Did he lose his mind when he met the formation?" a disciple asked as he was sitting and waiting in front of the mirror world.

    "I don¡¯t know, but who else wants to take a bet here? Do you think he can win? I¡¯ll book the bets for 2 to 1 in favor of Xiao Meng," the disciple said.

    "Wow, aren¡¯t you trying to go broke? I know he managed to get away from many of the other tests, but this is simply asking to have your stones taken, he clearly won by using treasures, and now that this formation is up, unless he is a nascent soul cultivator, and has the physical strength to break through it, he¡¯ll be stuck there forever." The disciple said.

    "I only book the bets, if you want to bet, go ahead, if you don¡¯t want to you can leave!" the bookie said.

    The rest of the disciples were still not too sure about what to bet on, after all, Xiao Meng had already done the impossible for what a Core Formation level disciple could do, but this test, even for them when they first passed it was very difficult, and their pride didn¡¯t allow them to admit that someone of a lesser cultivation level could actually do what they struggle to do.

    All the facts were against Xiao Meng, but not many dared bet, and the few who did so, bet only little and that was just to save face for being called out as cowards for not betting against Xiao Meng.

    The bookie was annoyed at the nonexisting profits and sat down waiting for Xiao Meng to finish doing whatever he was doing with that small pebble.

    "What in bloody tarnation is he doing? Shouldn¡¯t he start breaking the barrier? Why is he drawing on a pebble?" a disciple asked.

    The question was in the mind of many other cultivators and even someined that if Xiao Meng was this stupid to actually start doing art instead of breaking the barrier, that they should have bet more. But the bookie had already closed shop and they only had to regret not being decisive at first.

    Suddenly, Xiao Meng threw the pebble into the formation and the small pebble turned to dust the moment it touched the formation.

    A few disciplesughed at the idiotic attempt of Xiao Meng where he ¡¯tried¡¯ to act all mysterious and it all ended up in utter failure.

    Just as the people who issued the bet were about toe and collect. A sudden light shone from within the mirror world, and the barrier that took Nascent Soul level cultivators days of constant battering to break broke in a mere few seconds in front of Xiao Meng¡¯s pebble.

    The shock from such sight was too much for many to bear, as this Core Cultivation disciple had just spat on all of their efforts with a mere pebble.

    ***

    "Okay, that worked well."

    I went up toward the manual and grabbed it. I didn¡¯t bother reading it and just pocketed it and moved on. Waiting for the next door to open up.

    But instead of a door, a wide mirror suddenly showed up and the same elder that sent me inside was with me in the mirror world.

    ¡¯Y, if he tries anything, kill him.¡¯ I spoke using my divine sense to Y.

    ¡¯As youmand, master." Came Y¡¯s mental reply.

    "Xiao Meng, I¡¯m really impressed, I honestly thought you¡¯ll make it at most to the intent mountain and I¡¯ll have toe in and save you, but you proved me wrong many times now," the man said with a tone that no one would ever believe to be aplimenting tone.

    "Thank you, but I still have one more level," I said.

    "Oh, no, no need, I just received words from the higher-ups. One of the sect Grand Elders had personally decided to allow you entry to the Inner Sect, you won¡¯t need to continue the trial. You¡¯ll also receive this," the elder said as he threw me a small ring.

    I poured my divine sense on the ring and found that it also had a dimensional sub-space within it. It was far smaller than a holding bag, but what it had inside it was pretty much what one could call a fortune.

    There were tons of spirit-increasing pills, cultivation pills, healing pills, spirit stones of medium to high grade. And even a few manuals inside along with a ck robe of the Three-Legged Raven sect insignia on it. This was the same type of dress that the people who attacked the Purple Cloud sect used.

    "These rewards are for you to increase your cultivation, and the grand elder, amazed by your talents had decided to gift you with one of his Tri-Colored Nascent Fruit. An Ascension material that you can use when you¡¯re tackling the Nascent Soul stage. It will increase your chances and help hide you from the Heavenly Tribtion thates with the climb to the Nascent Soul Stage.

    ¡¯Hide from the tribtion? That¡¯s possible? But isn¡¯t that counterproductive? Though the tribtion is really powerful, the rewards of suffering it and surviving are far greater than the climb to the Nascent Soul rank. But I wasn¡¯t going to share this information since it was given by the Poison God¡¯s book itself.¡¯

    "Thank you for the generosity, I¡¯m undeserving," I replied with as cold of a tone as did the elder. He knew I didn¡¯t mean this as much as I knew he didn¡¯t mean his false sincerity.

    "No worries, about the fruit since they grow only once every fifty years, you¡¯ll have to wait for a couple more years, the ones that the Elder Have are almost ripe so work well in these years to get to the highest stage of the Core Formation."

    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind."

    "Right, but, this isn¡¯t all I came here for. The elder actually was most impressed with your understanding of Formations and wishes to speak to you about something. So follow me." The elder said and walked back through the mirror he came from.

    I can bet that the elder wants to ask about how I learned to decipher formations and if my knowledge is good enough to break through the Barrier of the Purple Cloud Sect. Guess what, that¡¯s pretty good for me, at least I¡¯ll be closer to the Purple Cloud sect, which will help greatly in managing their escape.

 Chapter 144 Top Grade

    <h4>Chapter 144: Top Grade</h4>

    I walked out of the Mirror world apanied by the elder into a group of highly agitated disciples, a lot of them had untold amounts of scorn and were gazing daggers at me for reasons I had no idea the source of.

    I ignored the bunch of kids and followed after the elder who used his ability to freely fly and carried me with him to the depth of the Inner Sect.

    Once we arrived at the center of the Inner Sect, the elder brought me down in front of a long staircase that led up into a mountain piercing through the clouds.

    The stairs were clean, and the beautiful nts that were carefully nted alongside the stairs gave the whole mountain a great sense of archaic beauty to it.

    "Walk up the stairs, you¡¯ll find a disciple that¡¯ll be waiting for you, pay your respects to the elder, and don¡¯t be rude to him."

    I nodded at the elder who scuffed at me and left. I had a strange feeling that if I wasn¡¯t summoned by this Grand Elder, this guy would have immediately acted against me.

    I should be more careful from now on, I¡¯m in uncharted territory, and I have no allies.

    I took the first step on the mountain and felt a rush of Spiritual Qi that swirled around me. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t cultivate it even if it was clear, clean, and potent, I don¡¯t have the ability to cultivate natural Qi. So, I ignored it and moved forward, taking but an incense stick worth of time to get to the top. Which is about half an hour.

    Once I arrived at the top, I found a disciple in ck robes and golden embroidery of the Three-Legged Crow on his chest calmly waiting for me. Behind him was a thick wall of fog that obscured the rest of the mountain.

    "You¡¯re Xiao Meng?" the disciple said.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Grand Elder Zhong Chuzi is waiting for you," the disciple said.

    ¡¯Chuzi, that¡¯s the same name of the guy who acted against the Purple Cloud Sect Master. A family perhaps.¡¯

    "Right," I nodded, "Please lead the way," I said and the disciple turned and moved forward into the thick fog.

    "Follow my lead, and step exactly where I step lest you lose yourself." The disciple said.

    I frowned thinking that was a threat but apparently it was not as the exnation came to me momentster.

    Walking through the fog, I noticed a few lights emitting whenever the disciple took certain steps. Realizing that this fog was not natural, I figured that this was a formation.

    It took me a few moments to understand how this formation worked and soon I was walking right next to the disciple.

    "I told you to take the same steps I did, you¡¯ll end up lost, this is not a casual walk..." but the disciple immediately swallowed his words as he noticed that not only was I taking the most optimal of steps, I was even moving faster than he was.

    And all of a sudden, I walked out of the thick fog and into a wide opening that was lit by a gentle sunray.

    There was a small house here that was built atop a pond full of small koi fish, an old man was caringly throwing food for the fish.

    Smiling the man said, "I¡¯m really impressedd, your formation knowledge is far beyond your current level," the elder said.

    "Thank you for the high praise, I merely got lucky and met a person who taught me about formations," I replied.

    "Aah, they must be a great person to have managed to teach you things that even Nascent Soul cultivators would rack their brains trying to figure out. But it¡¯s sad." The elder said, and almost immediately the disciple I left in the dust entered, he had an ashamed expression on his face and stared daggers at me, but still reigned his anger in and sat calmly waiting for the elder¡¯s orders.

    Peeling my eyes off of the disciple I turned to the elder and asked, "What is sad? Grand Elder?"

    "The fact that you¡¯re poisoned, you don¡¯t really have good health, the Body and Bone Grinding Poison is a sinister gue. Howe you still stand while being heavily poisoned is beyond me."

    His words caused the disciple to immediately take a few steps away and look at me like I was the gue itself.

    "It¡¯s not contagious unless you drink my blood, so don¡¯t worry," I said to the disciple, "I¡¯ve had good luck and bad luck, but that¡¯s no reason to stop my cultivation journey."

    "You must be in insufferable pain every day, I¡¯m amazed that you didn¡¯t kill yourself or gone mad from the agony."

    "I can deal with a little pain," I said, actually the moment I started cultivating the Poison God¡¯s manual I no longer felt the Bone and Body Grinding Poison¡¯s agonizing pain. But I wasn¡¯t going to tell him that.

    "Also, as long as there is life, there is hope, right? I¡¯m still trying to find a cure."

    "Good, that¡¯s how a cultivator¡¯s mentality should be. Now, you know why I asked you here?" the elder said.

    "I believe it has to do with my knowledge in formation," I replied.

    "Yes, but since your benefactor had given you this knowledge, it would not be fair to ask you for it for free." The elder said.

    Now, I have no idea what the hell he is talking about, but if I could make a guess, he seems to dread the person who ¡¯taught me how to do inscriptions, that¡¯s why he¡¯s not outright being hostile. After all, if I were to analyze the conversation that just happened, I woulde to the conclusion that he believes that my master is some sort of ancient monster that¡¯s capable of teaching someone so weak, me a core cultivator, methods that even Nascent Soul Cultivators would have trouble understanding never mind applying.

    "That would be most respectful to my benefactor¡¯s wishes, he had mentioned not to share his knowledge, but I can still help the elder with whatever he wishes of me...but," I trailed, I didn¡¯t want to speak up the words, but it was clear to the elder what I mean.

    "At a price, I would suppose?" The Elder said.

    "You dare!" the disciple said, "You should feel honored that the elder is even giving you time!" the disciple said, but the elder immediately raised his hand.

    "Feng, Xiao Meng hadn¡¯t spoken yet, it was me who said those words, mind your manners." The elder chided the now once again ashamed disciple who thought it would be best to shut up. Good for both of us.

    "Since I¡¯m a part of the sect, and already be an inner disciple, the sect had treated me well, so why not pay back the favors of the sect by working for you, I don¡¯t mind it, but as I said, anything even if it¡¯s a symbolic gesture would make my heart feel more at ease at using my benefactor¡¯s secrets for someone else."

    "Right, and that¡¯s how one should be, here," the elder said as he threw me an orange marble the size of my fist.

    The moment I grabbed the marble I felt a powerful surge of spiritual Qi in it.

    "This is... a Top Grade Spirit Stone," I spoke, this was actually something I desperately needed.

    Because this is the highest form of Spirit Stones that you can obtain. Anything better than this bes Saint Qi.

    "This is too much," I said.

    "No, it¡¯s only fair, especially since I saw how you weren¡¯t greedy into ¡¯stealing¡¯ the Qi of this mountain the moment you stepped foot in it, I see honesty in you and I would like to reward you adequately." The elder smiled.

    But in that smile, I felt dread. Something was happening behind the scene here. Though his gift was generous, I felt that there were some bad intentions behind it.

    "Now, that the payment is offered, I¡¯ll tell you what I need of you." The elder said.

    "Right, I¡¯m all ears."

    "We¡¯ve captured some rebels a year ago, however, they huddled up behind a massive barrier. Though we have a lot of power, I¡¯m sure that only a Formation Master could easily break the barrier surrounding their pce. Though I don¡¯t expect you to break the formation, I do expect that you¡¯ll provide great assistance in taking it down."

    "Right, I¡¯ll make sure to do all I can, but can I ask something?"

    "Yes."

    "What did the rebels do if I mind asking?"

    "Since you¡¯ve recently joined I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t know the story. Our Sect¡¯s young prince was promised a woman who was captured by the rebels. We cornered them and have them caught once the barrier breaks we¡¯ll save her. After all, the young master is soon toe out of his secluded cultivation and we don¡¯t want him throwing a fit of rage if he doesn¡¯t find his bride to be."

    "Ah right, but wouldn¡¯t the rebels just threaten you to back off with her as a hostage?" I asked, clearly I knew he was full of crap but I wanted to see his reaction.

    The elder¡¯s smile slowly disappeared, before he said, "Don¡¯t worry about that, the young prince had given his beloved a treasure that¡¯s keeping her safe from their filthy hands, now stop with the questions, Feng, take him to the Formation¡¯s location, and report to me regrly. Xiao Meng, I expect good results, don¡¯t disappoint me.

    "As you wish," I nodded and turned.

    ¡¯How ironic. You just gave me the very thing I desperately needed to doom you all without causing trouble to myself. Believe me, disappointment will be the least of your worries once I¡¯m done with this whole clusterfuck.¡¯

 Chapter 145 A Plan Like No Other

    <h4>Chapter 145: A n Like No Other</h4>

    As I was apanied by the inner Disciple of the Grand Elder many disciples gave me some weird looks. Most disciples were of the Nascent Soul Realm, and seeing someone with core cultivation walking among them caused them to feel annoyance.

    I didn¡¯t bother with them though, as I was already sending messages to Y.

    I had an issue with Y, the reactor I made for him was pretty good, yet, it consumed medium-grade spirit stones like they were water and ate up high-grade spirit stones with almost the same speed. But for a Top Grade, Spirit Stone supplemented with high-grade ones, Y will be able to operate at maximum output for his current Reactor.

    He won¡¯t reach to the ascendant Realm, but as Y just confirmed to me, no one below the Ascendant Realm would survive his onught if I were to let him go. Though he will fully consume the Top Grade Spirit Stone in less than a minute while going at Max Output for his current reactor, he¡¯ll be more than powerful enough to end anyone that could threaten my life.

    This made me feel confident in my current undertaking, and also felt a bit guilty since I¡¯m relying a lot on Y and neglected X¡¯s progress. I¡¯ll make sure to build some great powerups for X especially with using Law. Not to mention the promise of speech I gave him.

    As we walked down the mountain and towards the booming sounds ofbat, I felt the atmosphere growing more electric.

    People were agitated and werepeting against each other by sting a massive barrier that protected the Purple Cloud Pce.

    I¡¯ve always wondered how the Three-Legged Raven Sect had managed to capture the entire pce and get it here, but no one was going to answer that question for me.

    Just as I stood in front of the battleground, I saw the result of a year worth of constant bombardment.

    Hundreds of corpses littered the ground inside the barrier, they were all disciples that gave every bit of their Qi to power the formation, and many other cultivators fell as they used their Qi to reinforce the Purple Cloud Barrier.

    Elders I¡¯ve seen in the Purple Cloud Sect stood valiantly powering the Formation. They were bleeding through their orifices and suffered from the continuous onught. I would bet that any of the elders inside could beat these disciples ck and blue in a second, but to do so would cause the death of the sect, so they had to suffer through the humiliation of being ridiculed and attacked without being able to retaliate. They could only defend and look as their disciples and their sect heritage was slowly ground to nothingness.

    My heart wrenched as I saw kids, boys, and girls the age of flowers dying after trying to reinforce the barrier from an iing powerful attack.

    And the disciples of the Three-Legged Raven Sect rejoice after sessfully gaining contribution to their sect by killing some of those who defended the Purple Cloud Sect.

    My body was shaking as I looked at the scene in front of me, but I couldn¡¯t act hastily, I have a n but I need to use it perfectly otherwise I¡¯ll be caught and only Y could save me by then. Though I¡¯d really want to unleash Y on them, If I could keep some secrets I¡¯m better off not revealing the extent of my arsenal.

    "I¡¯ve done what Master Asked me off, do your thing, and don¡¯t try anything funny, if you¡¯re incapable of contributing, then I might as well just take the Top Grade Spirit Stone and save you some face," the disciple said.

    I shook my head, "Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m more than capable, this barrier is strong but I have confidence in at least cracking it or weakening it." I said.

    A few disciples from the Purple Cloud Sect noticed my arrival and winced in fear. Destroying the barrier was one thing, but using formation techniques to disable it was a whole other disaster. A few of them immediately ryed the information to the higher up.

    Immediately, a group of high-level cultivators appeared from inside the pce, among them were two that I recognized.

    A good friend, and a person who I debated alchemy the first time I was introduced to the subject, Lao Bofan, and the second, one of the Sect Master¡¯s twin-core disciples, Xian¡¯Er, or Xue¡¯er they¡¯re twins I wouldn¡¯t know.

    The moment Lao Bofan ced his eyes on me, he was stunned.

    I looked him directly in the eyes and revealed the Sky Pearl to him. Though he doesn¡¯t know the Sky Pearl, he could clearly see the one-eyed man in front of him. Secondly, the Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    The moment he realized that I had the Bone And body grinding poison on me, he began to link the clues. Finally, I pulled my pipe and began smoking. Since the people on the entrance day to the Three-Legged Raven Sect saw me use the pipe they won¡¯t think this was abnormal. But a few spoke.

    "What are you doing? Start working!" he said.

    "Hey, shut up, I need to actually think before I act, lest I make some sort of confusion. I¡¯m on your side, I¡¯ll help, so be patient." I said.

    The words, to anyone, would be simple words of a person who is busy thinking about what he is about to do in my situation and how he will destroy the barrier.

    But on the other side, and especially on Lao Bofan¡¯s side, my words meant a great deal of hope had been given to them.

    For he heard the same sentence and to him, it meant apletely different thing, "I¡¯m on your side, I¡¯m here to help." I said loud enough for the people around to hear, and especially for the people inside the barrier aswell.

    This gave Lao Bofan a great idea, "Spread around, that¡¯s but a Core Cultivator, don¡¯t be fooled by his act. Just keep powering the barrier!"

    His words were a tactic agreement to me to do whatever I was nning to do, and that no one was going to stop me.

    I¡¯m really grateful for him to have trusted me, if I were in his choose I¡¯d have second doubts, shouldn¡¯t he think that I¡¯m actually a part of the Three-Legged Raven Sect and I¡¯m here to sabotage them?

    Perhaps, with the barrier being so weak, they knew they were going to die, and if I came presenting hope, I¡¯m the same to them as a raft for a drowning man. So, cing their hopes on me was the only thing they could do, otherwise, their death is already guaranteed.

    I pulled a few talismans and began writing some symbols on them, none of it was actually useful stuff, well, useful in the term of destroying the barrier. But their real use, well, it was something that no one in the Three-Legged Raven Sect would ever understand unless they study inscriptions of the Celestial Realm.

    I then threw them and they stuck to the barrier side "BREAK!" I shouted and cracks appeared on the barrier.

    Alright, time to start my Oscar-worthy act!

 Chapter 146 Oscar Worthy

    <h4>Chapter 146: Oscar Worthy</h4>

    This caused Lao Bofan to shake, thinking that he made a mistake in trusting me. But immediately, one of the disciples that was about to fall down from exhaustion was suddenly standing back up, an attack that was about to kill him had easily been dissipated by the barrier and he didn¡¯t suffer any bacsh.

    The cracks on the barrier were only a visual illusion, unless someone was a great Inscription Master they¡¯ll never realize that I was actually repairing the barrier form outside and slightly modifying the structure.

    "Break for me!" I shouted then threw even more talismans that covered a massive portion of the barrier from my side.

    Even more cracks appeared on the barrier and the disciples of the Three Legged Raven Sect were stunned at the ¡¯damage¡¯ I was doing.

    Finally, with thest few talismans in my hand thrown, "Everyone Back off!" I called and then threw the talismans in the air.

    ¡¯Y, ready up, I¡¯m going all in.¡¯

    Once the talismans had fully covered the massive pce, "Break For Me!" I chanted and the whole barrier shone bright as cracks spread from one talisman to the other creating an intricate spider.

    Now, here, a few things happened that would make even the greatest illusionist in the world stunned.

    The moment the barrier was lit with the talismans, a blinding light shone and a sound simr to ss shattering sounded all over the ce.

    Then, a divine, magnificently powerful, soul wrenching, life rending and fate destroying divine sense spread all over the Three Legged Raven Sect, not just here, but everywhere. It was so powerful that everyone felt that they were no more than mere ants being crushed by a titan.

    It onlysted for a few seconds, but in those seconds, everyone in the Three-Legged Raven Sect was shaking in fear, terrified for their life, while many fell unconscious.

    Then momentster, the divine sense disappeared, and all that was left was an empty area where the Purple Cloud Pce used to be. Not even the corpses or the disciples were there, even the massive pce had dissipated.

    I on the other hand fell forward after purposefully bursting a few veins on my body to make it look like my eye, nose ears and mouth were bleeding excessively.

    Soon, a greatmotion happened and several disciples came to me. I wasn¡¯t the only one who ¡¯suffered¡¯ through this ordeal, so suspicion of me actually being the preparator of this issue was not fully focused on me, but what just happened was not a simple thing, it was a cause for a great deal of worry to the Three-Legged Raven Sect, and they needed a scapegoat or someone to put the me on me.

    Still, I was ready for them, the first thing I did was disable the Sky Pearl¡¯s defensive inscriptions.

    A disciple grabbed me, but the moment his handnded on me, Feng, the kid that brought me here grabbed his hand.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this Senior Brother Feng! Are you protecting this traitor!" the disciple said.

    "No, first of all, he has the Bone and Body Grinding Poison," Feng said.

    And that immediately caused everyone to back away from me.

    "Secondly," he said as he used his divine sense on my body.

    "His veins are ruptured, and I don¡¯t even feel his meridians. He just turned to a cripple... I suppose this was some sort of mechanism of the Purple Cloud Sect. They probably wanted to use this divine sense attack to kill off an elder if he tried to attack personally. This is a big cause of worry do you know why?" Feng said.

    The disciple shook his head and said, "No, please exin to me."

    "It seems that the sect was using us as bait, they probably knew that the Purple Cloud Sect had something up their sleeves and since they didn¡¯t send in any elders, the Purple Cloud Sect didn¡¯t act. But when brother Xiao Meng managed to destroy their barrier, they had no choice but to use that sudden Divine Sense attack and escape in themotion. Though I regret saying this, this person is actually a hero. If he was a Nascent Soul Cultivator I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t have suffered this much. We¡¯ll leave the decision-making for the elders of the sect. For now, just wait until the upper elderse."

    As much as I enjoyed their out-of-context spiraling telling of the story, in a sense, it was actually damn convincing. Hell, I only wanted to remove the me on me, and somehow I ended up being a hero, I¡¯ll take that.

    As I continued feigning unconsciousness, a few more elders arrived at the scene, some were angry, some were infuriated, and some were outright afraid.

    "This is a cmity, what sort of existence was that. How was it so powerful to render everyone unconscious and take the whole pce without anyone even noticing? Tell me exactly what happened!" one of the elders said, and the disciples began recounting.

    Soon, after the elders got the gist of things, I was the only one left. They approached me and among them, an elder pulled a healing pill.

    But was immediately stopped by elder Zhong Chuzi who just arrived "Don¡¯t, he has the Bone and Body Grinding poison, that will kill him, he already lost his cultivation, that will only make him worse.

    "I don¡¯t care, this will still wake him up," the elder said.

    Well, that sucks.

    Immediately, the elder ced the pill on my mouth and began circting his Qi within me to help dissolve the pill.

    Though I didn¡¯t have any ¡¯natural¡¯ meridians that could absorb his Qi, the Bone and Body Grinding Poison in me felt the intrusion of the Healing Pill and began wreaking havoc inside my body.

    At first, I was faking being a foot into the grave, but with this pill, I¡¯ll really die. So.

    I opened my eye and shouted as hard as I could in pain as blood sprayed out from my mouth, and that shout was a hundred percent how painful I felt the moment I ate up the healing pill.

    Coughing and jerking, I was barely able to take a single breath.

    "Calm down!" came the words of elder Zhong Chuzi as he infused me with more Qi. As if that would help.

    Still, I slowly coated the Pill inside me with poison and assaulted it, to suppress its effects, this allowed me to take a few breaths.

    "It¡¯s working, good, Xiao Meng, tell me what happened." The Zhong Chuzi asked.

    "What are you talking about?" I asked, then looked at where the Purple Cloud Pce was, and said, "What the hell? Where¡¯s the pce, I¡¯m sure I destroyed the barrier... and that divine sense!" I said the gripped my head in began shouting for my lung¡¯s worth.

    I would have won an Oscar there because the moment everyone saw the terrified look on my face, and how I was losing my sanity, they shook their head, in pity.

    "Damn it. DAMN IT!" one of the elders shouted in utter discontent.

    "How are we going to exin this to the young prince?" elder Zhong Chuzi said.

    "Master, since he lost his cultivation, wouldn¡¯t it be okay to take back that thing you gave him, it¡¯s no longer useful to him," Chuzi¡¯s disciple spoke out of turn and clearly on the wrong subject at the wrong time.

    The elder frowned, thankfully that idiot spoke up loudly.

    "You fool! Are you that stupid? This disciple gave his cultivation for the sect, and you want to take away something I personally gave to him?!"

    "Eh, no I just..."

    "You just what? You think we¡¯re ungrateful rats that take back our word! Go back to the mountain and reflect on your words. Xiao Meng, don¡¯t worry, you did a great contribution to the sect, though we couldn¡¯t capture the rebels, you did your job and destroyed the barrier. Though you can¡¯t cultivate anymore, the sect will hence make sure you live the rest of your life as a king. Disciples, take Xiao Meng out of the sect, make sure he is well lodged, has servants, and enough financial support for a long extravagant life as a mortal. As for the rest of you, disciples, you¡¯ll be working ten times as hard. We¡¯ll need to track the Purple Cloud Sect again, damn it, this is going to cost us! Everyone dismissed."

    Well, I¡¯ll be damned, this couldn¡¯t have gone better even if it was scripted.

 Chapter 147 Honored Guest

    <h4>Chapter 147: Honored Guest</h4>

    A day or twoter, I was escorted with a few disciples from the Three-Legged Raven Sect out of the sect and on a caravan, while among the group, was grand elder Chuzi Zhong and his disciple Feng.

    This didn¡¯t bode well, after all, if he is here, I could guess what his reason could be. He wishes to take the Top-Grade Spirit Stone away, but a few words from me immediately caused him to hesitate and think twice about doing so.

    "Though I¡¯m no longer a disciple of the Three-Legged Raven Sect, I¡¯ll tell my mentor that you treated me well," these were the words I spoke to Feng and to Chuzi Zhong¡¯s ears to hear.

    A subtle threat, that if anything were to happen to me once I leave, a very powerful, and pretty entric cultivator who taught a Core cultivator inscriptions that even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn¡¯t fullyprehend wasing back for me.

    Grand Elder Chuzi Zhong was immediately woken to reality as he said, "Don¡¯t worry about this, once your masteres back, we¡¯ll make sure to give him a proper exnation, it wasn¡¯t our intention to ruin your cultivation, and there are many secrets to this world and regaining your cultivation shouldn¡¯t be a great endeavor. Once my Tri-Colored Nascent fruit treees to fruition, I¡¯ll send one over to your master, it should help rebuild your destroyed meridians." The elder said.

    Though I knew he was full of bullshit because after doing a mental quick search in the Poison God¡¯s heritage book, I found out that the Tri-Colored Nascent Fruit cannot rebuild meridians, and its value is probably more like a bribe to my ¡¯master¡¯ so he could note at the sect demanding why his disciple was harmed.

    "Thank you kindly," I nodded, though I acted sad and mncholic about the whole situation, I still said, "I hope you find the escapee, the fact that they escaped and I was wounded isn¡¯t sitting well with me, if you ever catch them, can I be rude and ask to be present for their trial?"

    "Oh, don¡¯t worry, once they¡¯ve captured the whole world will know of it. Now go, rest well, you served greatly, though the cultivation world had closed its doors to you, the mortal life isn¡¯t so bad after a long journey in the cultivation world."

    "Thank you," I nodded then the disciples escorting the pnquin immediately moved, leaving the sect¡¯s gates.

    After traveling for almost half a day, as I contemted nature, and ¡¯tried¡¯ to enter meditation while acting frustrated for not being able to.

    The disciples felt sorry, "Brother Xiao Meng, no need to rush things, it¡¯s a good thing to be a mortal, you¡¯ll no longer suffer the arduous tribtion of cultivation." A disciple said.

    "Thank you brother, It¡¯s just not easy to get the habits off, right now, I feel hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. I thought meditation would solve it, but I cannot for the life of me enter that state again. Ah, I¡¯ll have to worry about food, and even my body odor now. Cultivation had its advantages, but no need to cry over spilled milk, right?"

    The disciple nodded and the carriage continued forward.

    And we soon found ourselves at the entrance of a majestic city that had its gate opened like a beast eating up a giant line of people.

    Many lined up and waited for permission to ess the city, while I didn¡¯t mind waiting, the disciples of the Three-Legged Raven Sect weren¡¯t nice or gentle about staying in line, so they immediate guided the carriage to the front of the line, ignoring the hostile res of the people, but the moment anyone dared speak against this tant disregard of line, the person had his legs broken.

    The Three-Legged Raven Sect was really overbearing. Though I felt sorry for the man who had his legs broken, I didn¡¯t speak, nor did I have the intention to do so, I¡¯m also just waiting for these disciples to deposit me at my new ¡¯home¡¯ and leave back to their sect.

    And this was quick, as the moment the guards noticed themotion, and the clothes on the disciples of the Three-Legged Raven Sect, they were allowed direct ess apanied with respectful bows.

    Immediately a man wearing a big ass hat and some ceremonial robes came rushing to the city gate, looking at his clothes, he must be an official, he sped his hands to the carriage and bowed to the disciples speaking loudly for all to hear.

    "What brings the honorable disciples of the Three-Legged Raven Sect to our humble city?"

    "We¡¯re here to escort a sect hero, he¡¯ll be living here, we¡¯re expecting the city lord to treat him as we would treat an honorable elder."

    "As you wish, my lords, please we¡¯ll take it over from here," the official said as he pped his hands and a group of guards came to escort the carriage after bowing to the disciples.

    Mortals and immortals, the sight of these mortals almost breaking their backs bowing is irksome.

    "Then so be it, Brother, we¡¯ll be leaving, take good care of your health." The disciples said and I sped my hand to them. Feng seemed rather pissed that he couldn¡¯t get the Top Grade Spirit stone, and just to piss him off a bit, "Brother Feng, thank you for your escort, I felt safe, even with treasures in hand with you around I knew no one would dare steal anything."

    "No problem," the kid replied. I could even feel the venomous spite from his suppressed expression, but for ¡¯Face¡¯ he couldn¡¯t do anything.

    The group soon left then took to the skies using their swords. They¡¯ll arrive at the sect in not so much time, and by then, my rtionship with the Three-Legged Raven Sect would be over.

    "Honorable Hero, how may we call you?" the official said as he bowed to the carriage¡¯s window.

    "Xiao Meng. For now, just take me to my residence, I was assured that I¡¯ll be treated well."

    "Oh, yes, of course, guards, take us to the guest pce." The official said and the group of guards escorted the carriage to the north.

    Soon after traversing the bustling streets of the city, we arrived at a massive manor that was surrounded by high walls.

    "Please sir, follow me," the official said and I walked behind him.

    As we entered the manor¡¯s garden I saw several servants working the field, cleaning up the weeds, watering the nts, and sweeping the road. The moment the official walked past them the servants bowed down.

    "This is a guest hour that¡¯s reserved only for the greatest of our guests, and since you¡¯ve been sent by the Three-Legged Raven Sect, there is no ce better for us to host you. If you ever need anything please, just ask and we shall deliver.

    "Right," I said as I looked around, "Get rid of the servants, all of them. I don¡¯t want anyone near me."

    "But how are we going to take care of your needs?" the official said stuttering and afraid that he might have offended me.

    "Worry not, I don¡¯t like thepany of people. If I need anything I¡¯ll call for you." I said.

    "Right, as you wish," the official said, and soon he chased everyone out, and I had the manor for myself.

    I walked inside the manor and sat down on one of the chairs. The whole ce was empty, and felt dreary, but now that everyone was away, I¡¯m free to do what I must. And that is to pay a visit to my people.

 Chapter 148 Meeting Old friends

    <h4>Chapter 148: Meeting Old friends</h4>

    Still, I had to wait, because some asshole was tantly using their divine sense to spy on me.

    "Keep using your divine sense and I¡¯ll make sure to break your legs once I find you," I said with all the coolness of ice.

    And almost immediately, the divine sense disappeared.

    Annoyed by the sudden intrusion, I pulled a brush and paper and began writing inscriptions. Though many know I lost my cultivation, they know that inscription can be done without the need of a cultivation base, all I needed was good ink, good paper, and spirit stones to supplement the formations and I had those in abundance.

    I wrote a few inscriptions on the talismans and threw them to stick on the interior of the manor, creating a powerful inscription that could jumble Divine Sense entirely, and make anyone that tried to spy feel like they entered the worst Acid Trip of their life.

    "Good, now that¡¯s done." I muttered then pulled my token, "Let¡¯s check out on them." I said then entered the world of the Lord¡¯s Pagoda.

    Immediately, I arrived at the third floor and saw the majestic Purple Cloud Pce sitting in the middle of the field, while many of its surviving disciples looked grim and gritty as they did something they never had the opportunity to do before.

    They were burying their dead and paying respect to them.

    As I walked forward, many disciples looked at me with estranged yet respectful looks. The sadness in their hearts was too much, for even escaping their cmity didn¡¯t seem like a victory at all.

    I sighed from the despair that gued the Purple Cloud Sect, all at the expense of one man¡¯s greed.

    Soon, I arrived at the door of the Purple Cloud Pce, a few battered disciples stopped me, "Who are you?" one of them asked, but immediately, the second guy stopped him.

    "Please! Benefactor,e this way, The sect Master is expecting you." He said.

    "Right," I said and walked forward.

    I could hear the two arguing, one of them saying that he shouldn¡¯t let me in, and the second promising hell untold if he had stopped me from entering.

    Ignoring the two, I continued forward until I arrived at a pretty familiar and chilly room were a few people that I knew were gathered there.

    "Damn, it¡¯s still pretty chilly here," I said in a humorous tone trying to liven up the mood. But my words fell on deaf ears, or at least, they weren¡¯t in the mood to be cheered.

    Lao Bofan had a rueful smile on his face, so did elder Yun, and a few elders that I saved from the Volcano, but the one who remain without expression, even after so long was the sect master.

    "Shen Bao, is that really you?" the Sect Master asked.

    "In the flesh, I¡¯m still the same person from back then," I said.

    "It is strange, howe, you look..."

    "Handsome?" I said.

    Though the eldersughed, the Sect Master coughed saying, "Different."

    "Right. Good luck, and fortuitous encounters." I replied.

    "I¡¯m pleased to see you prosper, but let me ask, why have youe back? You could have left, why did you try to save us?"

    "Try? What do you mean try? I saved you all, we¡¯re already out of the Three-Legged Raven Sect." I replied.

    "What?" the elders shouted.

    "Ah, my bad, since you aren¡¯t able to interfere with the outer world you didn¡¯t know what happened in detail, well it goes like this..." I said as I fully recounted the rest of the story.

    ...

    "Hmm, that really does sound impressive, I thought you had sent us to a sub-dimension but we were still in the hands of the Three-Legged Raven Sect, and you Lao Bofan howe you made such a discission without consulting me?" the sect master said.

    "There was no time, back then, when Shen Bao was faking the break of the formation, he actually used the cracks masterfully to write a sentence for only the people inside the barrier to reading, it was to gather everyone inside the pce and prepare for escape. Then he used themotion of that Divine Sense and swept the whole pce inside his treasure. thankfully it worked because I didn¡¯t know what to do but trust him.

    "He could have easily been a member of the Three-Legged Raven Sect," the Sect Master said.

    "Would it have changed our oue if he was or was not?" Lao Bofan said. "If he was a traitor we would have died, and if he didn¡¯t interfere we would have died still, I had to make a discussion." Lao Bofan said.

    "Though your discission was rash, it saved us all." The Sect Master said.

    "Shen Bao, you did the sect a great service, what would you wish for your reward." The Sect Master said.

    I shook my head, "I already have more than I need, and more than you can offer me." I replied.

    "You really grew, Shen Bao," Elder Yun said.

    "A bit, but I still can¡¯t beat you in a game of Go," I said.

    "Well, one day," the elderughed and this slightly livened up the mood.

    Soon, I took note of the girl next to the elder, seeing the second one missing, my eyes locked onto the sect master and she shook her head.

    "So many had died," I said, "And I know you want your revenge, heck, I can easily grant you the revenge you wish, but the risks outweigh the selfish benefits."

    "What do you mean that you can grant us the revenge we wish? Could it be rted to that Divine Sense? Do you have a powerful cultivator as a friend you can call?"

    "Not entirely true and not false. But like I said, if I were to go and bring you your revenge, the cost will be far too much for you to bear. So I suggest that you all cultivate here and grow stronger so you can avenge yourself with your own hands."

    "Shen Bao, what really happened to you?" the Sect Master asked.

    "A lot of things, but first of all, you seem to have turned for the worse, howe the Ice Destruction Poison in you is even fiercer than before?" I asked.

    The sect Master turned her face in shame, after all, I was like a dentist that was berating a kid for eating too much candy.

    "The Sect Master had to use her Qi for a while to help us erect the barrier, but it was at a huge cost. Though she didn¡¯t lose her mobility, the Ice Destruction Poison is still as potent as before." Lao Bofan said.

    "Right, well, now that I¡¯m here, I¡¯m sure I can treat it, also I know you failed your ascension to the Soul Formation Stage and were reduced to the Nascent Soul Stage, would you like me to help you with that?"

    Though the words I spoke were casual, for the Sect Master, this was an opportunity that she couldn¡¯t believe, not only that everyone on the table turned to look if I was actually speaking true or I was just bluffing.

    "So, what do you say, do you want to regain your cultivation base? though I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll get you all the way to the Soul Transformation, but Soul Formation and treating your Ice Destruction Poison is now well within my ability." I grinned at the gobsmacked Sect Master.

    "Yes, if you can, I would really like to regain my former cultivation base, Shen Bao," and for the first time I saw her smile, though itsted for a moment, it was something beautiful.

    "Then let¡¯s get started."

 Chapter 149 Tough Love?

    <h4>Chapter 149: Tough Love?</h4>

    The Sect Master looked at me, for a second, there was hope, pride, and a bit of reminiscence in her eyes for days long gone since she stood at the forefront of her peers in power, then she slowly shook her head

    "But I fear that this will cost you greatly would it not? For no power in the worldes easy, especially repairing a body as old and decrypt as mine, I¡¯m no longer as I used to be, though I might not look like I have lost my youth, my body is as old as a senile crone," the sect master said.

    Clearly, she was speaking out of her ass, for as far as I could see, I¡¯ve yet to see someone with even half of her beauty and she is calling herself an old crone.

    "Don¡¯t worry about your body¡¯s deterioration, I¡¯m slightly more capable than before, but we¡¯ll need a private venue. Please," I said nodding to the rest of the elders who were too shameless in staying while I spoke to about the sect master¡¯s health issues.

    The majority of them understood the message, while some even went to the extent of coughing and saying that they had something to do, only to beat a hasty retreat away from the awkward exchange.

    Soon as everyone was out of the room, I walked up to the Sect Master, and looked her in the eyes saying, "No wonder that Chuzi Yan acted despicably so, you really are pretty, also don¡¯t worry about deterioration, anything can be fixed and improved upon given enough resources."

    "I haven¡¯t been spoken this way too in a long time, but don¡¯t try your luck, I might not be as powerful as I used to be, but I can still break your neck if I wish to." Though with Y present that¡¯s probably close to impossible, yet the Sect Master had acted like the proud sect master to keep up appearance and ¡¯Face¡¯, but I could clearly see the slight smile that shed across her face when I mentioned her beauty.

    ¡¯Damn it feels good being young,¡¯

    "Right, now, excuse me," I said as I grabbed her hand, closing my eye I began feeling her pulse as I sent my Poison Qi probing through her body.

    Immediately, she pped my hand away, "What are you doing!" she said, fury emanating from her words.

    "I¡¯m scanning your body; I need to know the extent of the damage...why are you being so aggressive?" I asked.

    "As a man, don¡¯t you find it shameful to inspect a woman¡¯s body so rudely so?" she asked.

    "As a man, I would undoubtedly have not so good intentions, but right now, I¡¯m your caretaker, I¡¯m here to heal you, so stop whinging about decency, my goal is to know the extent of the Ice Destruction damage and treat it," I said sternly reprimanding her.

    "So, you either let me do my job, or I¡¯ll leave," I said.

    "I¡¯d rather not suffer through the humiliation of having someone besides a spouse see my body." The sect master said sternly and full of conviction.

    "What kind of backwatered mentality is that? Do you tell off a doctor if you were sick? Decency dignity I can understand but in situations where your life is on the line, things as flimsy as those concepts amount to nothing. So stop being all grumpy about this, and let me finish my job." I said.

    The Sect Master seemed rather unconvinced and shook her head, "I¡¯d rather not."

    "For crying out loud, Y,e out," I said and immediately the massive samurai stood up behind me, "Master, what do you wish me to do?" the puppet asked.

    "Now listen here, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so apprehensive about this when you weed me treating you earlier, but I¡¯m really not in a mood to argue, so you either sit down and let me treat you, or I¡¯ll make you sit down," I said, long gone were the pretenses as I¡¯m really starting to get tiered of all of this Face, dignity, and honor pile of crap.

    The sect master looked at the puppet and immediately realized the extent of power I hold over her life, she didn¡¯t try and fight back, she clearly knew she was in no condition to even do me harm with the puppet priest, so she spoke in a defeated tone that literally caused me to feel like the viin here.

    "You¡¯re no better than the rest of them, using power to get to your need, I should have not trusted you," the sect master said.

    "For crying out loud! It¡¯s just meat, flesh, you think that I¡¯ve never seen it or something? Just let me do my thing, and once I¡¯m done you¡¯ll thank me for it." though the words were already spoken I kinda felt that they sounded really wrong still, I didn¡¯t dwell on them.

    I grabbed the sect Master¡¯s wrist again, though I was met with resistance, the appearance of Y made the Sect Master reluctantly release her hand.

    I sighed before I sent a wave of Poison Qi through her body to scan it, and immediately received a reaction, the sect master¡¯s face, though stoic began reddening. I immediately shook my head and focused on my Qi.

    Though the Qi I sent was poisonous, as long as I willed it to not harm another, my Qi is no different than regr Qi. And once I made a full scan, I removed my hand, saying, "Seems that your problem is far-reaching, most of your organs, besides your heart and brain are under great strain. You suffered a lot with the Ice Destruction poison, though it¡¯s still guing you, somehow it¡¯s not as damaging as before, it¡¯s actually the very thing that¡¯s keeping you alive. It¡¯s really a rare urrence."

    The sect Master didn¡¯t speak or reply, she was still giving me the silent treatment, as a person who clearly vited her personal privacy, though a dick of a move, it was necessary to save her life.

    "Apparently, the ministration I gave you thest time with removing the bulk of the Ice Destruction Poison allowed your body to slightly adjust and be more weing to this element. Yet, the damage to your organs has been dealt, and even if your body started gaining the Ice Element attribute, it¡¯s like the body is too damaged to actually benefit from it, and can only use the Ice Destruction Poison inside you to both increase your incredibly low life span, and at the same time kill you. It¡¯s a strange contradiction. But... I have a way around it, but it¡¯s not pleasant." I said.

    The Sect Master took my words with a grain of salt and didn¡¯t speak again.

    I sighed and said, "The idea is to temper your body in an icy environment after treating the wounds all over your organs. I can do thetter, and for the first, in one of the biomes here, there exists an ice mountain with high Yin concentration that will help you recover greatly, not only that, I¡¯m sure that with enough time you¡¯ll be able to regain not only your Soul Formation cultivation base, but all the way to the same stage where you failed reaching the Soul Transformation stage."

    The Sect Master was still giving me the silent treatment, making me second guess my use of force into scanning her body and thinking of other ways I could have done, but I immediately shook those thoughts away, the milk was already spilled and there was no need to cry over it.

    I pulled my pouch and from it grabbed a few strains and spiritual herbs. I backed off from the sect master and sat down in the middle of the hall.

    I raised my palm and from it me green as emeralds shone brightly above my palm, a scene which caused the stoic and clearly angry sect master to have a change of expression ever so slightly, to that of surprise, but as if remembering she was still angry with me, she regained her cold-natured self immediately.

    Noticed her change of expression I purposefully grinned, enough that she saw it and her face redden again. Man, it¡¯s like an anime girl with all the blushing, it was...cute.

    ¡¯Stop thinking silly thing Shen Bao, get to work you have lots to do,¡¯ I told myself then set out to work.

 Chapter 150 Prospects and Hopes

    <h4>Chapter 150: Prospects and Hopes</h4>

    I then pulled the herbs and began refining them. Though the difficulty of doing Receptarism is far higher than doing regr alchemy, the pills I¡¯m making right now don¡¯t need a lot of finesse, but need extreme heat.

    Yin Invigorating Pills, and Sun Pills. Two pills of contradicting nature will cause widespread destruction inside anyone¡¯s body if they were consumed at the same time, but with a medium like the Bodhi Spiritual Pill, the sh of the two elements can be negated and have both pills work together in healing internal injuries.

    Once all the three types of pills were done, and that took a few hours, I stood up and walked to the sect master.

    "Take these," I said as I handed the pill to her.

    She didn¡¯t want to take them, but a single sigh, from me, "Please, it¡¯s for your own good."

    She hesitantly took them, and for the first time in hours that felt like days she spoke, "The pills, they¡¯re precious, this one even has pill veins, she said as she just noticed the pill veins on the Bodhi Spiritual pill."

    "Yes, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have given you this recipe, the Bodhi Spiritual Pill needs to be the stronger of the two, or the other pills will cause more damage than good once you consume them. Start with the Bodhi Pill, I¡¯ll help you digest it, but you¡¯ll have to allow me to navigate the pill¡¯s content through your body."

    "I can do it myself," she said, as she didn¡¯t want me to once again probe her body using Qi.

    "Do as you please then, I¡¯ll be here in case you¡¯re in danger," I said, then I sat back waiting.

    The sect master swallowed the pill and entered a meditative state, she slowly coursed the pill¡¯s content into her body then followed with swallowing the two other pills.

    Almost immediately, herplexion turned graver as her face paled through the pain of circting the pills.

    The pain from such an experience is pretty grave, almost on par with suffering the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, if she was still in her prime, she could have probably suffered through it with ease, but right now, with the heavy damage from the Ice Destruction, she will definitely keel over if I don¡¯t intervene, but as long as she doesn¡¯t ask for help, and as long as she keeps her pride I won¡¯t help. It¡¯s a lesson she needs to learn, I wonder how some cultivators live for so long and find asking for help to be beneath them, it¡¯s like they want to shoulder the world and wouldn¡¯t allow another to help. Such arrogance, such hubris.

    Soon, my fears came to fruition, the strong-headed Sect Master¡¯s already paleplexions turned wither than a sheet, then she coughed out a vile jet of blood from her mouth.

    Her eyes threatened to turn back to her skull from the pain, her hands shook as did her whole body and she still didn¡¯t want my help.

    "God damn it, woman!" I shouted, "Would it kill you to ask for help!" I shouted and immediately flew over behind her, ced my palms on her back, and forced my qi into her body, only to see destruction had run amok within her body.

    "Good lord what have you done, you almost killed yourself with your damn pride." I cursed as I began funneling my Qi to forcefully stop the damage.

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t fully dissipate the Bodhi Spiritual Pill, not because ofck of understanding, but because she believed that the amount she dissipated from the pill was enough, she was too rash in ingesting the two other pills before she fully consumed the first. And this caused the two Yin and Yang pills to find more ground to battle inside her body without the intervention of the Bodhi Spiritual Pill.

    I gathered my will and Qi and began by breaking down the remains of the Bodhi Spiritual Pill, I then guided the essence to the areas with the most damage, and soon the Yin and Yang Properties of the Sun Pill and Yin Invigorating Pill stopped shing and began their true purpose. Cleansing and repairing the damage caused by the Ice Destruction poison.

    And while I¡¯m at it, I slowly absorbed all the small remains of the Ice Destruction Poison that didn¡¯t fully fuse with her body, this will help greatly in elerating the process of healing and as it would lessen the amount of Ice Destruction in her body, and at the same time will increase my cultivation even if slightly so.

    A lot of stuff was happening inside the Sect Master¡¯s Body and I needed to keep track of everything. Make sure the Sun Pill and Yin Invigorating Pill don¡¯t cause problems and work together in repairing her organ. Cleanse and clean any remains of the Ice Destruction Poison, and every now and then, feed the Sect Master a couple Healing Pills and Soul Rejuvenating Pills, though I was only assisting in this, the Sect Master was doing the bulwark of the work, I guided her Qi, but she had to actively stimte her Qi into repairing her damaged organs.

    Long arduous hourster, and organ by organ, starting from the liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, to her lungs spine, and reproductive organs, where I was forced to not even go there with my Qi, thankfully she already understood well enough how to heal her organs from me guiding her Qi that as she managed that herself in that particr area.

    Soon came the turn of more secondary parts, flesh, in particr, her muscles, veins, and bones, all needed a thorough cleansing of Yin and Yang, enough to literally reset the imbnce within her body. Soon, came the rest, like her hair and some old scars that were left on her body from battle or the damage the Ice Destruction poison had done to her.

    After several hours, and once I made sure that everything was perfectly repaired I pulled my palms away from the Sect Master and waited for her to wake up.

    Almost immediately after she woke up, she turned around and threw up a disgusting pile of sludge.

    Grinning I said, "Congrattion on your newfound health, and wee to the club."

    "This is rather disgusting," the Sect Master said as she wiped her mouth.

    "Nothing a good bath and some rest can¡¯t fix, tell your attendant to take care of your needs, once you¡¯re freshened up, I¡¯ll take you to where you can cultivate and regain your strength."

    "Much obliged," the Sect Master said and that was as close as a thank you, I would ever get, she is still not that okay with holding a casual conversation with me, and I won¡¯t me her, but sometimes you have to act like an ass if it¡¯s for the best interest of that person, even if they don¡¯t see it right away.

    Soon, I left the Pce hall, exiting to the outward area of the pce and into the green biome. Many elders were waiting patiently in hope of hearing good news.

    "Don¡¯t worry guys, she should be good as new after a few days of cultivation. The sect Master is no longer gued with the Ice Destruction poison, and she will regain her power soon." I said.

    Soon, everyone cheered and congratted each other as if they had won some sort of cup, still they thanked me and I could see the sincerity in their words.

    "Elder Lao," I spoke.

    And the elder in question came to me, "Yes Shen Bao, how may I be of service," he said all so formally.

    "No need to act formal, Elder, you¡¯re my senior," I replied.

    "Strength and achievements are what imposes seniority in our world, you seem to always forget this, you proved strength that our whole sect cannote to match, and achieved what none of us thought would ever be possible, we¡¯re in your debt." Lao Bofan said as he bowed his head, and immediately the rest of the elders followed suit.

    "I think I¡¯ll return your Slivers of Divine Senses back since I can¡¯t collect everyone¡¯s divine sense here to make sure that they don¡¯t release the fact that I have such a treasure like this one."

    "Ah, you don¡¯t need to worry about that, actually, I already made sure to procure all divine sense slivers from everyone present here, besides the Sect Master¡¯s." Lao Bofan said.

    "Oh, you did something unnecessary, but I thank you a lot, this will save me a lot of trouble," I replied.

    "Yes, I know that you would probably be thinking about this, but since everyone had seen how you saved the entirety of the sect when even the elders couldn¡¯t do much, they were more than willing to trust you with their lives." Lao Bofan replied.

    "Then I¡¯m thankful, I¡¯ll make sure to release these Divine Sense Slivers once I¡¯m capable of protecting myself and this minor world treasure. Anyway, can you tell me in detail now how all of this started? What happened if you could?" I asked.

    "I¡¯ve already imparted the majority of the events to youst time, and as I said, once Chuzi Yan is out, he¡¯lle for a reckoning." Lao Bofan said.

    "I know that, but still, I¡¯m really bothered how he managed to locate the Purple Cloud Sect in the first ce, and how the whole pce was captured and ced inside their sect."

    "Ah, that would be Chuzi Yan¡¯s Father, Chuzi Dae. His father is a powerful half-step Soul Transformation cultivator, though he is avoiding the mortal world since he wishes to Sever His Mortality, he still helped his son."

    ¡¯Hmm, Severing Mortality that¡¯s what brother Zhang Tian spoke about, it seems that it¡¯s a needed step to bing a Soul Transformation Cultivator. Apparently, every major realm of cultivation has a special thing for it. A Core Cultivator gains Divine Sense, a Nascent Soul Cultivator understands Laws, a Soul Formation Gains Domain, and a Soul Transformation Sever Mortality. I wonder what the Ascendant Stage has.¡¯

    "Right then, since he is a powerful cultivator, we¡¯ll need to remain in hiding, after all, only the Sect Master at full strength canpete with Chuzi Dae in strength."

    "Yes, though Chuzi Yan is powerful, if he were to know that the Sect Master had regained her cultivation base, he would never leave his sect. Because he clearly knows that she will kill him thousand times over. But since he has his father, he is acting arrogantly."

    "More reasons to elerate the recovery of the Sect Master, I¡¯ll tend to it. For now, I¡¯ll have to leave, since I can¡¯t afford to be missing for a long period of time back in the overworld.

    "Godspeed Shen Bao, we¡¯ll keep cultivating here." Lao Bofan replied.

    "Yes, if you need any spiritual herbs just take it, but make sure to leave the roots to sprout more herbs," I said.

    "Oh, thank you, don¡¯t worry about tending to your spiritual garden, I¡¯m proficient in that regard, these herbs will help greatly in healing the disciples of our sect."

    "Right," I said as I looked at the pce.

    "The Purple Cloud Pce is the symbol of prosperity of the Purple Cloud Sect," I said as I looked back at the massive pce.

    "Oh, yes, how grand it was, this sect was one of the greatest Sects In this continent, before I was even borne, the Purple Cloud Sect, with the leadership of the first Sect Master reached highest never before seen, and managed to be a fourth tier sect. But the declining quality of disciples and the massive internal problems caused the sect to fall, though our current Sect Master was the hope to regain our former glory, with the sneak attack on her while she was ascending, all hope was lost." Lao Bofan said.

    "Right, Then, once I¡¯m back, I¡¯ll do something about that. Perhaps the glory of the Purple Cloud Sect is yet to fade." I said then teleported out.

 Chapter 151 Black Tower Pavilion

    <h4>Chapter 151: ck Tower Pavilion</h4>

    Settling within the city was good and all, especially with themendation of the Three-Legged Raven Sect, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll live here for the rest of my life. I¡¯ll be leaving this area soon, but I¡¯m still worried about one thing, the person who used their divine sense on me.

    They either were some random cultivator, or probably someone sent by the Three-Legged Raven Sect to monitor my movement, after all, I left in an all too well, too inconspicuous matter that it left people suspicious of me having done some underhanded y on the disappearance of the Purple Cloud Sect¡¯s pce.

    So instead of staying here, I might as well just take my stuff and leave for another area. Going back to the Zhou Country is counterproductive, as there is probably nothing left for me to do there, and staying here will only cause problems, I¡¯ll also need a way to settle the Purple Cloud sect as I can¡¯t have them rent-free within my Lord¡¯s Pagoda.

    However, they¡¯ll still find a home there until the Sect Master is back in power because releasing them back is the same as ordering their death.

    I currently find myself without purpose, for many of the cultivators I¡¯ve read about always had the drive to push them forward, a goal or an event that happened and caused them to seek more strength, but besides the doom looming above my head which is the Primordial Dragon Snake, I don¡¯t see any reason to seek strength, nor a way to actually achieve it.

    Joining a sect has so far proven to be nothing but a hassle, it¡¯s hard to achieve something in a sect where everyone is working double time on ruining the others. A sect¡¯s main goal should be to work on improving everyone else around a person, but this mentality of fend for yourself is rather counterproductive. I might as well make my own sect, but that¡¯s not something I¡¯m too keen on doing right now, it¡¯s a lot of hassle and I don¡¯t have the foundation to make something like a sect nor the cultivation rank, after all, even if I could easily kill off a nascent Soul as a Core Cultivator, no disciple would willingly want to be taught in a sect where the sect master is a core disciple.

    I still need to gain strength, and with my sixthyer Core Formation, I¡¯m really too weak to even think about bing an elder at a prestigious sect not to mention actually leading one.

    For now, I already have enough defensive and offensive means to protect myself, but for my personal strength, though I have the heritage of the Poison God and the vast knowledge of the Lord of Lords, I¡¯m still too weak and too incapable of using them.

    My understanding of Law allows me to learn Domain, but after a few rounds of study, I understood that making a domain is a pretty huge step for anyone wanting to move forward. And a regr elemental domain, though easy to achieve, is by far the weakest.

    The Poison God¡¯s own domain, The Forsaken Poison Abyss is an Esoteric Domain, a none elemental domain with its ownws, Poison is in a sense a mix of wind, water, earth, and metal elements, so to understand the poison domain one must master four of the five major elements in this cultivation world, being Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Metal.

    It gets even moreplex when using other types of Esoteric Domains, for example, Wisdom of the Ages, which was brother Zhang Tian¡¯s domain was a none elemental domain, and it relied heavily on his schrly nature, he understood Law in his search of Schrly Immortality, and in his search, he founded his ownw something that was far from the Elemental Law and could be said to be his own achievement as no one had probably done something like him.

    Seeking domain and learning is imperial in one¡¯s advancement in cultivation, though there are some great domains that one can learn following the footsteps of other cultivators who did the same, it¡¯s not certain that they¡¯ll achieve the same results.

    For example, even if the Poison God had left exact and detailed information on how to recreate his Forsaken Poison Abyss, it¡¯s not certain I¡¯ll achieve a hundred percent mastery even if I followed the same footsteps.

    Domain is something that is born from one¡¯s own experience in life, their understanding of their existence in this world. Domain is literally wrenching away a portion of the world from heavenlyw and making it your own, and for someone to achieve this, they¡¯ll have to have a perfect understanding of their own self and what happens around them, their own experience and what they did through their life will culminate and create a domain that only they can perfectly understand, thus enabling them to wrench control from heavens.

    If another person came and tried to mimic a said domain, they¡¯ll most likely fail because they didn¡¯t experience the same things the originator of the domain had done, and even sess will be minor or will have a drastic change to the shape and functionality of the domain.

    Understanding all this made me immediately shake away the idea of recreating something simr to the Poison God, though I have a majority of his teachings I didn¡¯t experience life the same way he did so sess is impossible.

    Sighing, I decided that before I would try and focus on a single domain idea, I¡¯m better off looking through the Law Stone I had from the Laughing ughterer. The quality of that Law Stone was pretty impressive and I could use it to learn variousws, and once I have learned enoughws, I¡¯ll be able to think something up.

    I¡¯m more inclined to learn Space Laws, after all, being able to control space is not something easy but at the same time hard work pays off greatly. As I¡¯ve seen from the Poison God¡¯s ability to manipte space, he seemed to have mastered it to an incredible degree, and that enabled him to use not Domain, but just merews to flip the battle against Zhang Tian immediately.

    Though I can¡¯t outright go and create a Space Domain because I have not a single clue on how that will work, I can still learn Space Law, and that will definitely open up a lot of options for meter on.

    Having made good progress on my future objectives, I decided that it was time to make an exit and leave this city, so far, I have no real reason to stay here, and I might as well continue venturing, there could be opportunities I could obtain to increase my cultivation level. Because so far, the poisons and treasures I have aren¡¯t enough to help me to the Nascent Soul stage.

    So, I need information, thus I had to leave my home.

    The moment I walked out of the house, I saw a man standing in front of the house, he was waiting for me toe out and the moment he saw me, his expressions perked up.

    "Master Xiao Meng! I¡¯ve been tasked to tend to your needs, if you need anything please tell me and I can get it for you." The man said.

    "That¡¯s rather convenient, I was actually going out to look for something, also what¡¯s your name?" I asked.

    "My name is Xi Bai, Master Xiao Meng!" the man said all too enthusiastically.

    "Alright Xi Bai, tell me, is there a treasury or a pavilion here in the city? An auction even?" I asked.

    "There is a Pavilion in the city center and that¡¯s actually where an auction is currently being held. The City lord actually wanted me to inform you of the Auction happening but I didn¡¯t want to disturb your rest."

    "So, an auction is already underway, lead the way I want to see if there is anything interesting there."

    "As you wish, but..."

    "What?"

    "I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but do you really wish to vie for things other cultivators wish to obtain? Since...well"

    Xi Bai didn¡¯t want to finish his sentence since it will offend me, "Don¡¯t worry about me losing my cultivation, I can more or less protect myself, and if the rival is stronger than I by a lot I¡¯ll simply give up vying for whatever he wishes to obtain," though I said that, that was a bunch of bullshit, if I really like something I¡¯m taking it no matter who wants it, after all, I have Y.

    "Good, then please follow me, I think you¡¯ll enjoy today¡¯s Auction." Xi Bai said and whistled calling a cab, which was a person who ran around with a small carriage for two.

    We got on the carriage and the man ran as his life depended on it heading to the Auction, I really enjoyed this ride so I paid the man a few silvers that he was too happy to receive.

    Once we got to the auction, a beautiful woman stood at the front waiting for us.

    "Wee To The ck Tower Pavilion, how may I be of service?" she said.

    "We¡¯re here for the auction," I replied.

    "Yes sir, but the auction is for cultivators only, I¡¯m really sorry." The woman said.

    Frowning, I said, "You mean you¡¯ll be dismissing me since I¡¯m not a cultivator?"

    "Sir, please, you¡¯ll only get hurt, even if you have valuables on you, the moment any cultivator sees them and noticed that you¡¯re a mortal you will lose your valuables and probably your life, this is for your own interest." The woman spoke, though her words were polite her tone was degrading and condescending.

    "You have some galls to speak these words to me, call your supervisor," if I¡¯m going all out, I¡¯m pulling the Karen Card and I don¡¯t give a fuck.

    The woman frowned, "Sir, I¡¯ll have to ask you to leave, you¡¯re bothering the customers behind you," she said as she pointed behind me at a person who just arrived at the pavilion.

    "Master Xiao Meng, please, we cane backter when this is done, the pavilion itself has some good stuff, not just the auction."

    "I came for the Auction, I won¡¯t leave until I enter and see it, Call the dammed supervisor! Now!" I said and thest word was spoken rather loudly, which caused many of the people around us to stand and watch themotion happening in front of the auction house.

    "Guards!" the woman said and immediately two men of a huge build, barbarian looking appeared behind her.

    "Take them out of my sight,"

    "So, this is how this ck Tower Pavilion treats its guests! Very well! You¡¯ll hear from me soon!" I replied and before the guards even came closer another person came flying down from above the top of the ck tower.

    The man came down with grace and finesse as hended silently on the ground, he had ck robes and looked like a gentle old grandpa.

    "What seems to be the problem, Yue," the old man said.

 Chapter 152 Auction

    <h4>Chapter 152: Auction</h4>

    [Before you read, an interaction between two characters will happen ahead. Please do keep in mind that this interaction is how any normal conversation between two people will happen, the over the top wuxia face p didn¡¯t seem appealing to me because though it will be funny, it¡¯s unrealistic. So I decided to go with what will happen in any everyday life. Also, this part has been added after I posted the chapter so you won¡¯t pay for it]

    "This rude person was causing problems, I was about to get rid of them." the woman said with a haughty tone.

    Looking at me, the old man frowned, "You...had your cultivation base broken, aren¡¯t you the person the Three-Legged Raven Sect sent here, the sect¡¯s hero they said."

    "Xiao Meng," I introduced myself as I cupped my hands to the man.

    "Oh, well, you did a grave misdeed Yue, this man is a VIP and you disallowed his entry," The old man said.

    The woman visibly shook, but immediately gathered her bearing and stood her ground saying, "Sir, he may be a hero or whatnot, I only did this for their own good, he is a mortal, and only death awaits him if he vies for something a cultivator wants."

    "That¡¯s my own problem, and not yours, also I didn¡¯te here just to buy things I came to sell things," I said as I threw a ring at the old man.

    The old man grabbed the ring, inspected it with his Divine Sense, and had his eyes widen up.

    "Prepare a VIP booth for brother Xiao Meng! Immediately!" the old man said.

    "As for you Yue, you¡¯ll hear from meter on! Please, Brother Xiao, follow me," he said and I entered the auction house after the elder.

    "Master Xiao Meng, I can¡¯t apany you inside, please forgive me," Xi Bai said.

    I understood why, after all, he too was an immortal and if he followed me or was recognized by other cultivators it will only bring us both trouble.

    "You¡¯re dismissed," I replied and followed after the elder.

    After entering the tower, and scuffing at the girl who stopped me entry, I followed after the elder into the third floor. Where he opened a door for me to ess an enclosed room with a closed curtain.

    As soon as I stepped inside, I found out that the room was fully inscribed with anti-Divine Sense inscriptions and sound sealing inscriptions. There was a chair a panel with numbers and a big red button near it.

    "You can sit here, and if you wish to bid on something you can press that button, you can also make a costume bid by typing it, all of your items will be procured in privacy and no one will know who you are or your origin once you use the VIP booth, as for your items, I¡¯ll also add them to the auction," the elder said.

    "Thank you for your generosity, also could I have something to drink?" I asked.

    "Yes, I¡¯ll ask a few attendants to take care of your needs, would you like to be served by women, girls, men, or boys?"

    Though it¡¯s understandable from his meaning that this Auction House pulls all the stops, it was really disgusting, "Just regr women, also no sexual favors, I¡¯m not in the mood, and wine, something good, the best you have even, I haven¡¯t had time to rx in a while."

    "As you wish," the elder said and immediately the curtains covering the front scene opened up revealing the auction.

    My booth was on the third row above all of the people sitting down on the bottom rows. There were many other VIP booths across from me and they all seemed upied.

    On the stage was a young woman who had just finished auctioning a spear that a burly rumbustious man had happily bid and won it.

    "Our next item is also a Xuan Tier item, a fifth level Bow. This bow is a craftsman Master piece and it doesn¡¯t need arrows, it can be imbued with the user¡¯s spiritual Qi and it will create its own spiritual Arrows. The starting bid is 2,000 Medium grade spirit Stones."

    ¡¯Now, this is something that any regr person would think amazing, a bow that doesn¡¯t need arrows. But for the majority of the cultivators, bow is a dishonorable weapon, it is only used to attack others from range, after all most cultivators use close-ranged weapons thus this bow though had an amazing ability started with a very low price. So, I could guess immediately what was going to happen.¡¯

    Immediately after the bow had been shown, only a few cultivators bid on it, and the final price stopped at 3,400 stones. For a Xuan Weapon that can be priced at the tens of thousands of Medium grade spirit stones, this bow was sold for cheap.

    Soon more items began showing up, and so far, all of them were weapons that I found to becking and uninteresting.

    "We¡¯ll take a break from weapons right now, after all anyone here would probably have a great weapon for their own use and those that seek upgrades would probably wait until we reached the bottom half of the list." The woman said.

    This was also a ploy by the auction, they used these weapons to milk the people who didn¡¯t have enough financial capabilities of their money, because if they showed the good weapons first, there will be a bidding war and no small spender would be able to use their funds, but by showing the weaker weapons first, the small spenders would bid against themselves and would automatically be eliminated from bidding on the good stuff that willeter.

    "Our first item from the none Weapon Category," the woman said as she had a small box in front of her, and opened it.

    The box released a powerful and potent ice qi that spread all over the audience. "A piece of True Ice Crystal, though it is small, it is by no means weak. This item has been foraged by a cultivator who sought adventure in the cold north, he had spoken of caves that were filled with True Ice but sadly he wasn¡¯t strong enough to obtain bigger pieces. Still, this Piece of True Ice can still help a Ice Oriented Cultivator to improve their understanding of Ice Law. Starting Bid, 5,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stone."

    Immediately, many of the cultivators started bidding on the True Ice Shard. And since I too was interested in it, I waited until the bids started stagnating at the 8,000 mark then pressed on the panel in front of me.

    "Oh, we have our first bid from the VIP area today, room 11, bids 10,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones. Anyone else wishing to increase the bid? Going once,

    Going twice,

    Going thrice!

    Sold for the upant of room 11!"

    Immediately the item was tucked away and kept for my own use. I was surprised that no one dared outbid me, but it came to me immediately, the people in the VIP rooms probably didn¡¯t think that the Ice Shard was something they needed and those on the bottom floor didn¡¯t dare bid against a VIP.

    Man, the VIP life is good.

    Soon, more items showed up, and I gained a good haul, a few spirit herbs that I needed, and a few crafting materials, mainly a good type of ink that I could use for my inscriptions.

    Then soon came the big deal items, where the VIP couldn¡¯t stop and just watch, right now, the real auction was about to start, and the first item showed was something I didn¡¯t expect to see here.

    The girl showed a small map, "This is one of four pieces of the location of the secretive sect Pce of the Deep."

    Immediately all the audience took great gasps, though I didn¡¯t know what this Pce of the Deep was, thankfully the girl overseeing the auction exined.

    "For any who doesn¡¯t know this, the Pce of the Deep was the only Sect to have achieved Devil yer Title, they were among the few Sects who were chosen to participate in the Devil Sealing War. And among their members was the forever famous cultivation Duo The Master of Chains and the Imperatrix of Lighting."

    On the map was a drawing of a couple and that immediately drew me to this bid, because I¡¯ve already seen these two before, in the same room I obtained the first body of X, under the Spider Queen¡¯s Pce.

    "Though only a few of the branches of the Pce of the Deep have been found, and all of them had already been sealed by the masters along with their ¡¯Otherworldly Corrosion¡¯, the location of the Main Pce of the Deep has ever been found. Until this map was discovered."

    ¡¯So apparently, the area I discovered by luck was just a branch of the sect or a ce the sect used to seal that depraved ck and white zone, and that¡¯s called the Otherworldly Corrosion.¡¯

    "For many centuries, many tried to understand the Sealing Secrets of the Pce of the Deep, but since the destruction of the Pce of The Deep no one had managed to find anything about their methods, but now, this will all change. With a piece of this map being sold on our auction, we are certain that the secrets of the Pce of the Deep will no longer be secret."

    Though this piece of map was interesting, I didn¡¯t find any interest in partaking in the bet, because all I would be asking for is trouble if I have a piece of an iplete map. After all, it serves nothing without the rest of the map.

    And this very doubt was voiced by a cultivator on the front rows.

    "Worry not, before we ced this piece of map on our auction house, we were already contacted by three cultivators of great renown that already have the other three pieces. So, in a sense the moment a cultivator is in possession of this fourth piece, all the map pieces will be present and the Pce of the Deep¡¯s location will be revealed to the four."

    This piece of information however changes things. This auction house is rather ruthless because by presenting the information like this, the auction was bound to be rowdy.

    ¡¯Starting bid is 100,000 medium-grade spirit stones!" the woman said and immediately every VIP Boot lit up with their own absurd prices.

    The woman looked both pleased and stunned as the prices started climbing, as the lowest any of the VIP rooms offered was 200,000 medium grade pieces, and the highest was in the 500,000 range.

    ¡¯Well shit, this piece of the map is going to be hard to get. Might as well make someone broke today then,¡¯ I grinned as I raised the price even higher.

 Chapter 153 Gains

    <h4>Chapter 153: Gains</h4>

    Within the vast expanse, far away from Si Xue, and among the stars flew a sliver of divine sense that was so powerful that anything that lived in the western region of the Vast Expanse gave it a wide breadth of distance as it went past. No creature, no matter how strong, how powerful, no cultivator or ancient being dared cross this sliver of divine sense¡¯s way as it crossed distances that could only be imagined and not even executed for these entities.

    This sliver of Divine Sense was Zhang Tian, Shen Bao¡¯s self-made brother, and his mentor. And right now, he was about to cross thestary barrier from the western region of the Vast Expanse, and back to the northern region of the Wind Realm.

    A few cultivators, however, greedy as they could ever be would not wish to miss this opportunity, as for them, they realized that this powerful divine sense was vigorous and full of amazing quantities of Saint Qi, if they were to capture it and refine it, they will be stronger.

    Sadly for them, they couldn¡¯t fathom the might of this mere sliver of divine sense, as the moment they surrounded it, not before a man could blink or realize the gravity of their actions, they were all killed, destroyed, andpletely absorbed by the divine sense only to fuel it to go faster.

    Though Zhang Tian¡¯s divine sense elerated, it was only by a fraction more, for even if these cultivators were legends within their worlds ands, they weren¡¯t any stronger than an ant against but a mere divine sense of Zhang Tian.

    Sometimeter, the Divine Sense stopped in front of a massive barrier that separated the domains from each other, it was the same as a border that allowed entry and exit for only those with the right qualifications. Either being allowed entry directly from one of the four Royal Families of the Vast Expanse. Or, if they have Zhang Tian¡¯s cultivation level.

    And with but a will of his mind, the barrier winced as if in pain, unable to suffer the gaze of Zhang Tian, the massive barrier that blocked oh so numerous cultivators waned and caved, afraid to offend one of the pirs of the Wind Realm.

    There and then, the barrier opened and a powerful gust of Saint Qi blew in like a gentle breeze from the wind realm into the Western Domain.

    This gout of Saint Qi was bound to attract a lot of cultivators to cultivate here, but for Zhang Tian, though this breeze was not worth a moment of his time, it was still the gentle reminder of home, a home that he had never been to in more than a thousand years.

    Shaking in anticipation, Zhang Tian set the first foot into the Wind Realm, and immediately, hell broke loose.

    For the lost Prince of the Wind Realm had returned, and with his return...many, many events and turmoil started brewing.

    ****

    "800,000 medium-grade spirit stones. Coming from the eleventh booth!" called the girl, and many people abandoned the bid.

    "Going once!"

    "1,000,000 medium-grade spirit stones!" a man spoke from a nearby booth.

    "I advise the friend in the eleventh booth to give up this trade," he said with as much smug and haughtiness as a golden spoon in mouth born arrogant noble.

    Clearly, It was his way to scare me off.

    "1,100,000" I typed, and just as the girl spoke the number.

    "1,200,000" I added again on the same bid I did before.

    People didn¡¯t understand what was going on, as I was bidding against myself, but once again before anyone even did anything, I added another hundred thousand spirit stones.

    The man next to me shouted, "What the hell are you doing!

    And kept going, adding more spirit stones.

    Suddenly, everyone gave up their bid, for no man would even dare go against a person that kept increasing the price of an item even against himself.

    This was a low blow directed toward the man in the next booth¡¯s ego, even if you have money, I have more. Though that¡¯s definitely not certain, you don¡¯t need to have a lot of money to prove that you are rich, you just have to act like a spendthrift jackass, and I did that with mastery.

    Angry and wrathful, the man next booth burst his chair as he shot forward towards my booth, Y was ready to intercept but I never had to move a muscle.

    The elder that got me into my booth immediately shot up and stopped the man from charging into my booth.

    "I would like to ask you to go back to your booth, sir Xix Yongfei," the elder said.

    "Elder Hong, this has nothing to do with you!" the man Xix Yongfei shouted back, trying to scare off the elder with his background.

    "Ah, you are wrong, we of the ck Tower Pavilion provide secrecy and perfect security to all our guests, it would be bad for our reputation if we allow incidents to happen within our pavilion. Please return to your seat," the elder said still keeping his grandpa smile.

    But I sensed something that man didn¡¯t, those words were the same as a rattlesnake shaking its tail, if Xix doesn¡¯t back off... he¡¯ll probably not make it out of here alive.

    "Do you know who I am! Do you think I care about this little pavilion!" the man named Xix Yongfei shouted.

    ssic do you know who my daddy is.

    The elder with the gentle smile was no more and in his ce was a man that looked like a volcano about to blow up, "Brat! Dare speak once more and I¡¯ll send your limbs to your father and he¡¯ll thank me for it! for even if your father, your father¡¯s father, and all your n was here, they¡¯ll be kowtowing against the might of the ck Tower Pavilion, this might be but a small branch but the might of the ck Pavilion is known through the whole of the Vast Expanse, dare and desecrate this ce and I¡¯ll turn you to grounded meat!"

    Also, this was spoken with the use of an oppressive Divine Sense that caused Xix Yongfei to recoil back in terror.

    The kid, haughty as he was, still backed off, with such a loss of Face right now, he didn¡¯t even dare speak up, lest the man actually makes his earlier threat a reality.

    And just to pour more oil into the fire.

    I added another hundred thousand spirit stones. Which made the kid cough blood from frustration.

    I¡¯m always amazed how could cultivators actually do that, I should investigate this urrence.

    Soon afterward Xix Yongfei left the perimeter of the auction house, and the rest of the audience looked more jubnt andughed, they seemed more rxed and a few would take asional nces my way thenugh with each other. It seemed like they needed some distraction and entertainment and I provided plenty.

    After a moment, the elder came to my room, entered, and sighed, "Did you really have to rile him up that much? Xiao Meng, he¡¯ll be waiting outside for you to leave, I can protect you within the pavilion, but I can¡¯t do much outside it.

    "How would he even know who I am?" I asked.

    The old man sighed, "He only has to figure the odd one out." He said, and I immediately understood what he meant.

    The VIP booths are the only booths with privacy in them, and since all the other VIP Booths were open besides mine, Xix Yongfei only needs to do a quick scan on everyone here, and he¡¯ll immediately realize who was in the VIP booth by process of elimination. If he excluded everyone in the audience and everyone on the VIP booths, the person whoes out and he didn¡¯t see in the auction will be good ol me.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, I have a way, can we continue?" I asked.

    "Right away then," the elder said and closed the door.

    Soon the auction continued.

    And more amazing items showed up, but sadly none was useful for me. Shields and Swords were good for cultivators, but for me, they were only a hassle.

    I needed materials because I can make better items for myself since only I can use Poison Qi instead of regr Qi. Any other type of weaponry and defensive treasure that requires the use of Qi to use is useless to me. Better make stuff than buy things that don¡¯t work well for me.

    Soon came another item that I was actually interested in.

    "This is an eight Petal Yellow River Lotus that¡¯s about to reachpletion. It constantly releases evil Yin Qi and can be used to make a powerful and potent poison that can kill even Nascent Soul Cultivators and heavily injure a first realm Soul Formation Cultivator once it has grown topletion. Starting bid at 50,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones."

    A few bids immediately were called, but the moment I ced a bid of 80,000 Medium Grade spirit Stones, everyone stopped bidding.

    "If the senior in the 11th booth wants this, I will happily oblige and give up this bet," a cultivator said as he sped his hands towards me.

    Soon many others did the same.

    ¡¯Oh, that¡¯s nice of them¡¯

    I took the lotus for a really cheap price, even if this was good to kill cultivators, for me, it¡¯s a really powerful tonic and can help me increase my cultivation base once it¡¯s grown. This is a good deal.

    Soon, more items showed up, and I noticed that whenever I bid on something everyone gives up, giving me ¡¯Face¡¯. And for the first time, I liked this.

    "Elder," I muttered, and immediately the old man came to my booth.

    "Yes?"

    "Is there a list of the items that are still going to be auctioned?"

    "I suppose you didn¡¯t receive it, but yes there is," the old man said and nodded to one of the girls stationed outside.

    She brought me a paper with a list of items, most had already been sold and auctioned off, and the few remaining didn¡¯t even catch my attention.

    "I think I¡¯m done, you can auction the swords, and take the payment I owe from their final value, I suppose they are worth more than what I paid for, right?" I said.

    "Yes, of course, those Xuan Tier Weapons are pretty expensive, and they¡¯ll fetch a hefty price. Once they are sold, I¡¯ll deduct what you owe and keep the rest here for you when youe back next time, will that be alright with you?"

    "Yes, that will be good," I said and stood up, I closed in on behind the massive window that blocked my appearance from the people on the auction and coughed for everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Thank you all for giving this old man this chance, I won¡¯t vie for more items lest I¡¯ll incur losses upon those who wish to obtain something for their benefit, I¡¯ll be leaving the auction now," I said to everyone in the audience.

    "Thank you senior for your generosity, we appreciate it!" one cultivator said, and the rest followed.

    If they ever knew I¡¯m just a Core Formation cultivator they¡¯d never do this. But since they saw how I spent money like water and didn¡¯t even give Face to that Xix Yoingfei guy, they must believe I¡¯m pretty amazing, especially since the elder of this tower adamantly stopped that Xix Yognfei for my sake.

    Now, that everything is done, I¡¯ll have to n my exit, so that no one follows or know who I am, though my identity is definitely going to be leaked, for now, as long as I can make it out, I¡¯m more than certain that once I¡¯m outside the city I can deal with anyoneing my way.

 Chapter 154 The Heart of Brightness

    <h4>Chapter 154: The Heart of Brightness</h4>

    I pulled a few talismans and wrote several inscriptions on them, then threw them off.

    "What are you doing?" asked the elder.

    "Oh, you¡¯ll see, also don¡¯t use your divine sense for the next few seconds, it¡¯s not gonna be nice," I said and immediately the talismans shone brightly.

    "Huh, I thought you had your cultivation base broken?" the elder asked.

    "Oh, it is, but inscriptions don¡¯t need the activation of my own Qi, I supplement it always with a spirit stone," I said as I showed the elder the dust remaining from the spirit stone that I just snapped.

    Just as I finished exining the talismans tore and the inscriptions within them came to life. They were a magnified copy of the same inscriptions I have on my Sky Pearl eye, only they were nastier as was portrayed by the loud screams of the many people outside the tower as they tried to inspect what was going on when they saw the bright lightsing out of the ck tower.

    "See youter elder," I said then dipped out among the chaos.

    I took a few twists and turns as the masses were in a hysterical panic, as more people were drawn to the chaos and used their own divine sense to inspect what was happening, only to have the talismans bacsh on them and have them panic and scream, thus creating a chain reaction that took an hour or so to settle down, while in that time I was already back to my manor sipping on a cup of tea.

    Soon afterward, a guest I was expecting soon came to my doorsteps.

    As I walked to the door and opened it, there were two hooded cultivators waiting outside.

    "Xiao Meng, we would like to buy that map piece from you," the male one of them said.

    "Sorry, I¡¯m not selling, though if you¡¯re going to the pce of the deep then I¡¯m joining in." I said in a grin.

    "H-how did you find out that we were going?" the woman asked.

    "Simple, anyone with a fart for a brain could have figured out who I was, after all, I created a hell of amotion outside the auction house, and since the woman in the auction mentioned people already having the three pieces of the map, I found it rather unlikely that the owners of the map piece would be in the auction, thus they were out, and if you were out you¡¯d have seen me making problems for that girl and you would know who I was since that elder spoke clearly inviting me to the VIP room. So you figured who I was, I still find it surprising that Xix Yongfei hasn¡¯t figured out where I live, I had a few surprises installed for him," I said..

    Now you see what just happened here, this is indirect intimidation. A man with so much wit about him had casually exined a situation that could implicate him in a death struggle against someone from a powerful n, and he didn¡¯t seem afraid or intimidated, add to the fact that he dared go against Xix Yongfei and didn¡¯t give him face, and here he stood in front of the sixth tier Nascent Soul cultivators without breaking a sweat and also making it clear for them that he had traps prepared for another person with simr strength, this made them think twice thrice and even more time about daring to cross such a man.

    Mystery is good on a person, it shrouds him with questions, and the fear of the unknown prevails against the human nature of greed. Survival and the will to self-preserve are far greater than a person¡¯s lust for power fame and gold, yet in some times it cannot work, but right now, these two clearly knew that they were outmatched and if they dared anything, then not even their lives were guaranteed.

    All of that, all of what¡¯s going on in their mind, even the subtle release of divine sense to inspect if they were already in a trap added more to the fuel of their fears, it was like they were digging the very hole that they were going to bury themselves in if they continued on with this line of thinking.

    Fear, uncertainty and the deep chasm of the unknown is a great deterrent for a person who thinks before they act, and these two, they are good thinkers.

    "Right, it seems that brother Xiao Meng is rather capable, then we would like to have you join us in our hunt, there is one more person that we¡¯re waiting for if you wish toe with us to a more..." the man trailed as he looked around, "Secure location, as you have said Xix Yongfei will soon know of your identity ande here."

    I waved my hand dismissively, "Ah don¡¯t worry about that brat," Immediately shifting his worry for my being to me saying that he shouldn¡¯t worry about himself.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m here or anywhere else, if it¡¯s mere Xix Yongfei then I can take care of him even without my cultivation base," I said.

    The two looked at each other, thinking that I must have been overestimating myself clearly, but that sense of dread from my earlier disy was still there since I didn¡¯t want to prove or disapprove of their worries and thought and wanted them to spiral into more confusing and self-created scenarios of their minds over glorifying me, I decided I was better off not speaking and let them ho haywire and at the same time trying to act tough and collected.

    It feels so good to manipte people who have a lot of pride.

    "But let¡¯s go, I grew bored sitting here," I said.

    "Right, the area is outside of the city, do you wish for us to pick you up?" the male said.

    "Oh, no, I don¡¯t need that," I replied and pulled my poison god¡¯s sword.

    "You can use a flying treasure?" the man asked.

    "You should have realized it doesn¡¯t use any Qi, I lost my cultivation base how do you think I can use a flying treasure?" I asked. Giving a man an answer that was in clear contrast with the reality he was seeing was enough to make his mind in shambles.

    As for him, the sword was clearly flying, but at the same time, it was not releasing an ounce of Qi. So how was I flying? Also, I shouldn¡¯t be able to fly since I lost my cultivation base, but this clearly disproves the thought.

    These were the questions in that man¡¯s head, and I wasn¡¯t going to answer them.

    "Let¡¯s go then," I replied, and the two nodded and flew fast and ahead of me.

    Though it was risky to show the Poison God¡¯s flying treasure since it could be identified, I¡¯m not going to stay in this city anymore, once I find the Pce of the Deep, I¡¯ll make sure to venture out to another region, as I¡¯m in desperate need of cultivation materials.

    Soon the three of us left the city in haste, though many Divine Senses came to scan us, a recreation of what happened earlier happened again as the divine senses shed against the protection of my Sky Pearl.

    Almost immediately the people who used their divine sense thought better not to.

    "Brother Xiao Meng, your mastery of inscription is amazing, themotion earlier was really...surprising"

    "In seeking Dao, cultivation is not the only way, and I do so by relying on my mind in creating inscriptions."

    "It is an honorable path that I respect," the man said.

    "Honor aside, you never mentioned your name," I said.

    "Oh, my apologies, I¡¯m Huang Liu, and this is..."

    "I¡¯m Hai Yun" the woman replied.

    "Good names," I said, "Now that we know each other, where exactly are we going?" I asked.

    "A bit in the north, the third member is waiting for us there. He has the final piece."

    "I suppose he didn¡¯t want toe here for a reason," I said.

    "Y-yes."

    That pause there meant trouble. But we¡¯ll see when we get there.

    Soon we arrived at an open field with a single cave entrance that led down.

    The moment we got down, a man in white clothes appeared from within the cave, and I recognized him immediately and so did he, though it took him a while. I winked at him and he immediately understood everything.

    "Brother Wu Di! Why did youe out!" the woman said.

    "Ah," Wu Di said as he looked at the two, "I came to check in on you, so you found the final owner of the map piece. His name is Xiao Meng," Huang Liu said.

    "Brother Wu Di, you should get back and rest, you still can¡¯t go in daylight." The woman said with concern in her voice.

    "Don¡¯t worry about me," Wu Di replied as he coughed while he covered his mouth with his white fan.

    "Emrodite gue," I spoke and the group immediately turned towards me.

    "How much do you trust these two?" I asked the man.

    "With my life." Wu Di replied.

    "Then so be it," I turned to the two and said, "My real name is not Xiao Meng. And that¡¯s all I will tell you. Also, can I have a private moment with Wu Di?" I said.

    The two immediately realized that I knew Wu Di from before and though Hai Yue wanted to object, Huang Liu stopped her. "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be outside if you need us just call."

    "Thank you, to the both of you for suffering so much for me." Wu Di said.

    "Let¡¯s get inside," I said then threw a couple of talismans at the cave¡¯s entrance blocking sound.

    "What happened to you?" I asked Wu Di.

    The man smiled, "That should be my question, we all thought you died in the Celestial Realm." Wu Di said.

    "You really think so little of me," I grinned.

    Wu Di smiled though it was painful to look at since his face was paler than his clothes, "Yuzehan didn¡¯t though. She knew you were still alive, she would be thrilled to know that you came out safely, and...well more handsome, you really have strange cultivation."

    "Ah, don¡¯t worry about the details, also, how did you get the Emrodite gue? That thing doesn¡¯t grow on trees you know...wait, it does...then why is it so rare?!" I questioned then shook my head.

    "Ah, it was a from a tree branch a disciple took from the Celestial Realm, we didn¡¯t even realize we were sick until months after we got back to the sect."

    "This gue is extremely contagious. Who else has it?" I asked.

    Wu Di sighed, "The whole of the Tian Ji Sect. We closed our gates so that the gue Doesn¡¯t propagate but I don¡¯t think the sect willst." Wu Di said with reminiscence and sadness on his face.

    "Understandable, I suppose you¡¯re seeking the Pce of the Deep as a means to treat the gue?" I asked.

    "Yes, we heard that the Duo, the Master of Chains and the Imperatrix of Lightening had once been contracted with the Emrodite gue, and they used their sect¡¯s divine Sealing Techniques to seal it, I was hoping to achieve simr results if I were to visit the same ce."

    "That¡¯s not a permanent solution. Even if you manage to seal the gue within your body, it will still be in your system, and if in one day it breaks, you¡¯ll die."

    "What choice do we have, brother Shen Bao? Our sect is doomed, and I¡¯m among the very few that are still able to move about and outside the sect for a while though sun exposure is really dangerous to me, I¡¯m my sect¡¯s only hope."

    "I have away. But it seems that your line of thought was correct still. I can treat the gue, and cure your whole sect, but I¡¯ll need an item that is as rare as the gue itself."

    Wu Di¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "What is it! tell me, whatever the cost we¡¯ll get it."

    "Oh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible, at least not for you or your sect...I can do something about it though, but it will be really, really troublesome." I sighed.

    "What do I need to do?" Wu Di asked.

    "Oh, you don¡¯t need to do anything, we do need one thing though, the heart of a newly created Albedo. The fresher the better." I said.

    Immediately Wu Di gasped. "Did you just say an Albedo? That¡¯s a third Tier Demonic Monster! How in the hell can we kill that?" Wu Di replied in shock.

    "Oh, killing it is the least of your worries...we need to find one first. But no worries, for now, let¡¯s head to the Pce of the Deep and hope to get the Sealing Technique. For now, I¡¯ll make a pill for you that can help you move around even under the sun." I replied.

    Wu Di gave me a deep bow, "I thank you on behalf of the entirety of the Tian Ji sect!"

    "Hey! What are you doing?! Didn¡¯t you just call me brother? Why are you bowing to your brother!" I berated Wu Di.

    Ashamed and red-faced, Wu Di stood back up, "You¡¯re right." He sighed.

    "Don¡¯t worry about anything, now give me a bit of space, I¡¯ll help concoct something for your that will make you feel much better," I said and then sat down to prepare for alchemy...no, Receptarism.

 Chapter 155 The Deeps

    <h4>Chapter 155: The Deeps</h4>

    It took me less than an hour to make a batch of healing pills for Wu Di, they weren¡¯t something great that could heal his gue, because that thing is a curse. The Emrodite gue is a nt-based sickness, not even poison so I can¡¯t even absorb it. But I can easily identify and beware of it.

    It has a Yang Base, and works in slowly degrading one¡¯s body and at the same time sealing and locking their meridians. If a mortal is contracted with this disease, they won¡¯t even feel it, as it cannot prate into their meridian since mortal meridians aren¡¯t activated.

    But for a cultivator, the gue goes into their meridians and nests there for a week, then it transforms into a contagious state, all while the person carrying the gue never even feels that they are sick.

    But the moment the sickness starts propagating, pain, nausea, and even a sense of loss and disorientation are easy to ur.

    What I gave Wu Di were pills to help supplement his Meridians with Qi, this will help him lower the impact of the sickness, but will not cure him. It¡¯s a temporary solution for Wu Di. I also added a Night Glow Pill. Which will help him suffer the heat from the sun.

    Due to some reason, the sun activates the Emrodite gue and causes it to go haywire in one¡¯s body causing more damage.

    "You should be good to move, this is only temporary until we reach the ce of The Deep, if we find the Sealing Technique, then you might be in luck, at least like you said, the sealing technique should help you survive until we can find an Albedo."

    "If we ever find one." Wu Di said.

    "True, they are hard to find, but it¡¯s better to hope than give up, Wu Di. The whole of the Tian Ji sect relies on you, c¡¯mon, we don¡¯t want to disappoint."

    "True, Brother Shen Bao, I forgot for a moment that, let¡¯s go."

    Nodding at Wu Di, I turned and removed the barrier then left. Huang and Hai Yun were waiting outside with worried expressions.

    Behind me, the not-so-pale Wu Di came out, he shielded his eyes from the sun and smiled.

    "Brother Wu Di! The sun, you should go back!" Hai Yun said with worry in her voice.

    "Worry not, brother... Xiao Meng here helped me, I should be good to travel," Wu Di said.

    "Are you sure you can move around?" Huang replied.

    "Yes, everyone has their map ready?" Wu Di asked.

    And the group pulled their pieces of the map, as I did to mine.

    Once the four pieces were next to each other, the map stuck to itself and the symbols on it began morphing and shaping into a holographic disy of a piece ofnd that was in the high seas.

    "Damn..." Wu Di cursed.

    "What¡¯s wrong?"

    "I know this ind... We had some doubts about the Pce of The Deep being in the Deeps, but seeing is really an eye-opener."

    "I¡¯m not understanding," I replied. "What are the Deeps, and why do you look so worried?"

    "Ah, right, well, the Deeps is a maritime area that has massive amounts of sea beasts, the weakest are the sixth level, and there were reported sightings of tier-one sea beasts. Enough to drown continents if they were enraged." Wu Di said.

    I rubbed the small stub of beard I had as I thought, "I suppose the Pce of The Deep built their sect there for a purpose, to use the beasts as a line of defense against alien invaders."

    "Yes, and it worked greatly, but it¡¯s strange because we do know that their disciples asionally visitednd, so how did they manage to go in and back to the pce without having to suffer through the dangers of the Deeps."

    "We¡¯ll have to see about that when we get there," I replied.

    "That¡¯s not the only problem," Huang added.

    Turning to him, we waited for him to finish his sentence.

    "There is something that is constantly absorbing Qi from above the sea, so using Qi to fly is impossible. We can only use a raft or a boat to cross. The worst part about the Deeps is the structure. The sea itself is as heavy as lead, so swimming through it is almost impossible, if we use a boat and it is attacked by a sea monster, the destruction of the boat is the same as the death of us."

    "Don¡¯t worry about means of transportation, I can manage that," I replied.

    "Really?" Hai Yue replied, "Do you really have a way to cross that distance?"

    "Yes, and you¡¯ve already seen it. Now, what worries me most isn¡¯t getting to the Pce of the Deep, but rather the few people that have been following us," I said.

    "Ah so you noticed them too," Huang said.

    "Yes, they¡¯ve been hiding for a while, but we don¡¯t need to caution them, let them think that we¡¯ve yet to discover them."

    Hai Yue sent us all a divine sense message, "I didn¡¯t even notice anyone, are you sure?"

    "Yes, don¡¯t use your divine sense to scan the area though, they will realize that they¡¯ve been spotted. Let¡¯s get to the seaside first, then we can handle them once we¡¯re closer to the Deeps."

    After briefing everyone, we all pulled our flying treasures and headed out without warning our pursuers that we know that they¡¯re tailing us.

    "We¡¯ll need to hurry up to get to the seaside, thankfully this country has an entry into the sea, but to get there will take us a few days of travel." Wu Di said.

    "Don¡¯t worry about Qi expenditure, I¡¯ll supplement you all with restorative pills, just keep moving as fast as you can."

    "But some of the pursuers behind us are Nascent Soul Cultivators, the moment we reach the sea we¡¯ll be exhausted while they won¡¯ even have a fraction of their Qi depleted," Hai Yue said with a fearful tone.

    "As I said, don¡¯t worry about it," I replied and we kept moving.

    "Brother, you never told me, how did you leave the Demon Lands." Wu Di asked.

    "Oh, I had a huge fight with Vitra¡¯Goul," I replied.

    "Really, that guy was a Nascent Soul Level, I wish if I was there." Wu Di replied in a grin.

    "Who is this Vitra Ghoul?" asked Huang.

    "A demon kin, one of the four demon kings of the Demon Lands, we have a huge conflict there, a lot of things happened and a war even broke but we couldn¡¯t stay inside and help allied forces, but it seemed that my brother here did what we couldn¡¯t," Wu Di replied.

    "You defeated a Nascent Soul Demon Kin? I find that hard to believe, especially since you¡¯re a core cultivator stage," Hua Yue said with skepticism.

    "You shouldn¡¯t underestimate him," Wu Di said, "After all, he was only a Foundation Establishment back when we first entered the Demon Lands, and he was already a threat to everyone who ever tried to cross him. Also, where is Arn? I haven¡¯t seen him in a while."

    "He is probably having fun right now, he is still well."

    "Good to know," Wu Di replied and we continued chatting as we moved on, the two of us didn¡¯t even seem to be worried about the pursuers unlike the other two, but a few asional reassurances made them less skittish and they focused more on the journey ahead.

 Chapter 156 The Deeps II

    <h4>Chapter 156: The Deeps II</h4>

    Two days of constant travel is what it took for us to finally reach the sea. The distance that we crossed was by no means small, butpared to the enormity of the country of Zhen Yi, the distance we crossed was not even worth mentioning.

    The size of a single country in this world is so big that it¡¯s an eye-opener, no wonder the poption numbers the millions within small cities and even billions within some great cities. Because the size of the is so huge that it can easily support the livelihood of so many people.

    Soon as we arrived at the seaside, I warned everyone, "The pursuers will soon take action, let¡¯s not give them time and head deep within the sea as soon as we can." I replied and the four of us flew right above the sea without stopping.

    It will not take much time for us to arrive at the Deeps. At least half a day¡¯s worth of travel, but for the pursuers, once we get into the Deeps it will be harder for them to catch us for whatever reason they followed us for in the first ce.

    After a couple of hours, the Nascent Soul Cultivators decided to drop their veils and show themselves as they followed after us.

    "Junior brothers and sisters, how about you stop, we just want to talk!" one of the Nascent Soul cultivators said as he followed closely behind us.

    Without turning my head, "There are four of you there, talk to each other if you just want to talk, I don¡¯t have time to waste."

    The words I spoke caused Wu Di to chuckle even under what Huang Liu and Hua Yue thought was a dire situation.

    Feeling as if his face was pped, the one that led the Nascent Soul Cultivators howled, "You dare!" and sent a palm print shockwave towards me.

    I had no way to block that, not with my cultivation level and especially if I was focused on escape more than battle, so I just pivoted my sword and easily dodged the attack.

    "That was rude," I replied. I immediately pulled my pipe, lit it, and with a strong drag, I blew a powerful gaseous substance that spread like a massive cone of poisonous smoke at the cultivators behind us.

    The cultivators covered their bodies with Qi to prevent the poison from touching them, but my poison was full of Breath Sealing Poison, which worked wonders in disrupting Qi.

    The moment it touched their barriers, the Nascent Soul cultivators slowed down considerably as they couldn¡¯t harness worldly Qi anymore. The Breath Sealing Poison is especially potent against Qi barriers as it will constantly grind them, and at the same time stop the user from harnessing any Qi to repair the barriers.

    Though it¡¯s not enough to kill anyone, it¡¯s more than enough to stop their pursuit.

    "Poison? You¡¯re a poison cultivator?" Hua Yue said in wide eyes.

    ¡¯Ah, here ites.¡¯

    The two, Huang Liu and Hua Yue immediately took some distance from me.

    "Your new friends are a little too skittish," I said to Wu Di.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, they are from Plume Blossom Sect, an orthodox sect, and the use of poison is really frowned upon by them." Wu Di exined.

    "Poison is what¡¯s saving them. Poison Doesn¡¯t kill people; People kill people. Maybe, I think I used the idiom wrong, but it doesn¡¯t matter," I added, "Because as long as you¡¯re allies, my poison will not harm you," I reassured and at the same time proved a point that if they ever tried anything funny, they¡¯ll end up in a worse state than Wu Di.

    "I heard a few rumors about a poison Cultivator that joined the Demon Realm...he also did some extraordinary feats there, namely he fought against a heavenly tribtion within the Demon Realm...is he the same person?" Huang Liu said.

    "Since you have doubts, let me confirm them, yes that was me," I replied. Since he figured it out, and I had no choice but to use poison against the pursuers, there was no need for me to hide my identity anymore.

    "Shen Bao was the name," Hua Yue said, "But I heard that he was an old ugly looking man with a disease-riddled body...you don¡¯t seem old, ugly or gued with diseases, so I have my doubts."

    "Some people like to keep secrets, it is your choice to believe or not, also, my Breath Sealing Poison isn¡¯t permanent, especially against Nascent Soul Cultivators, they¡¯lle after us, faster and stronger and readier than before, so watch out," I said then increased my Poison Qi expenditure to speed up even more.

    Not even half an hourter, the Nascent Soul Cultivators were once again behind us.

    I threw the rest of the group a pouch full of pills, "Wu Di, take those pills, split them with the rest," I said and slowed down.

    "Shen Bao! What are you doing!" Wu Di said.

    "I have to stall them; don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t die. But I can¡¯t guarantee your safety if you stay with me. Just head out first."

    I saw the hesitation on Wu Di¡¯s face, then trust and resolution.

    "Let¡¯s go, Hua Yue, Huang! Move!" Wu Di called and zed through the skies on top of his flying sword.

    "Good, right now, let¡¯s see what these guys are made of, X, it¡¯s time for you to shine," I said and immediately X came out from my poison god¡¯s book.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate before lunging forward at the first Nascent Soul cultivator.

    "You think a mere puppet can..."

    Not before he could even finish his words, X had already bore through the Nascent Soul¡¯s stomach with a powerful fist, pulled his spine out then crushed it with his palm.

    Yet there was one little problem I didn¡¯t ount for. I forgot to add a flight mechanism to X, and he immediately fell into the sea since he didn¡¯t have a footing.

    "Ah shit," I cursed.

    The other three cultivators noticed X¡¯s fall and immediately decided to capitalize on it, they would have won if I didn¡¯t have another n already waiting.

    The moment the three Nascent Soul cultivators were in front of me.

    One of them spoke, "Don¡¯t kill him, break his legs and hands and keep him alive we need to bring him back to lord Xix Yongfei."

    "Oh, so it¡¯s that brat who sent you, good to know," I replied, "Y,e out," I said and from within my chest, Y¡¯s massive form shot forward.

    Lo and behold how the three cultivators looked at the twenty-plus-foot-sized puppet in front of them, and this one could easily fly.

    Y pulled each of his two swords at the same time and shed down, immediately ending the life of two of the cultivators.

    Thest one pulled a massive shield spat blood on the shield and had it erge enough to block the iing dual sword swing from Y, only to have the shield split like it was butter against a searing hot de.

    The cultivator¡¯s life ended before he could even realize what happened, and thankfully Y killed him fast enough because in his hand was a jade that he was about to send out.

    I took the jade and broke it. If he had managed to send the jade with the information that he just saw, my secrets would have been exposed, I¡¯m also lucky that these cultivators didn¡¯t have that same mugshot thing on them, that took a picture of their killer.

    "Y, can you pull X up from the sea?" I asked. And the puppet obliged as he dove down and carried X from the depth of the sea.

    Thankfully, we were still not above the Deeps, otherwise, X would have been lost as the sea area in the Deeps is too heavy for someone to swim in, and anything lost it is forever lost.

    Y pulled X by the shoulder and flew up towards me while on his other hand were the pouches of the three Nascent Soul Cultivators which was a good added bonus. Once the two puppets were next to me, I called them back into the poison god¡¯s book then headed back toward the Deeps.

    It took me half an incense stick to reach Wu Di, and the moment I arrived the two others had a look of shock on their faces.

    "What? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost," I said.

    "How did you escape their pursue?" Hua Yue said.

    "Escape? They¡¯re dead, also trade secret," I said as I winked at her.

    "Brother Shen Bao, you¡¯re as amazing as always. It¡¯s not every day that a Core Cultivator escapes the hunt of a Nascent Soul cultivator, but you didn¡¯t only escape you killed four of them..."

    "Monster..." Huang said, though his word was rude, his tone sounded more like amazement than contempt.

    "let¡¯s keep going, I also know who sent them, and I¡¯m going to give them a reckoning once I¡¯m done," I said.

    "Let me guess, Xix Yongfei?" Huang Liu said.

    "Good guess, how did you know?" I asked.

    "He¡¯s the only one stupid enough to challenge the elder of the ck Tower Pavilion and is spoiled enough to think he is entitled to everything in the world. I had doubts at first, but now I¡¯m certain of it, he probably figured out where we were going and sent Nascent Soul cultivators to obtain the map, also I bet he sent them especially to capture you."

    "Spot on," I said, "But it doesn¡¯t matter now, he shouldn¡¯t have any means to track us now. And even if he did, he¡¯ll be digging his own grave." I said as we kept moving.

    Soon, we reached an area where the seawater was darker than usual and immediately the group stopped.

    "Brother Shen Bao. We arrived at the Deeps, from here on, we can no longer use our Flying Treasures. So how about that method of yours you said you had so we can get to the Pce of the Deep?" Wu Di asked.

    "Oh, it¡¯s simple, we¡¯ll use my flying sword," I said.

    The three looked at me bewildered as I hadn¡¯t understood what I just said.

    Then Wu Di immediately had a sh of insight! "Ah! The same as you did in the Demon Lands, you were the only one capable of using a flying treasure!"

    "Impressive memory,"

    "But there is one issue, Hua Yue said, your sword is a bit small, it¡¯s not enough."

    "Oh, my sword is not small it¡¯s a grower, not a shower."

    Almost immediately, the two men beganughing while Hua Yue¡¯s face turned as red as a tomato.

    Laughing at the dirty joke I had my poison god¡¯s sword increase in size from pouring more poison Qi in it.

    "Hop on," I said and the three got on my Flying Treasure.

    "Pce of the Deep, here wee!" I said and propelled us forward and into the space of the Deeps.

 Chapter 157 The Deeps III

    <h4>Chapter 157: The Deeps III</h4>

    The moment we entered the areal space of the Deeps, the world felt as if it had stagnated. Also, my sword was almost forced down to meet the sea, but with the sheer power of will, I took control back and guided us forward.

    "That was unexpected," I mumbled.

    "The gravitational pull here is pretty powerful, we should be more careful, this just makes falling down easier, and death far too close forfort," Wu Di spoke.

    "That scared me, I hope that doesn¡¯t happen often," Hua Yue said.

    "We¡¯re good now, just buckle up," I said but before I could elerate, Hua Yue spoke, "What does buckle up mean?"

    "Ah, it¡¯s an expression, don¡¯t mind it. Anyway, I¡¯m elerating, grab on to something," I said, but before I could enter into an argument about what to grab on since we were on a flying sword, I pumped more poison Qi into the sword and had the treasure speed forward.

    Though I said st forward it was more like a sudden throttle, and then slow sail.

    "Huh, this is really annoying," Imented, annoyance clear on my face.

    "What¡¯s going on? Cough!" Wu Di spoke and instantly coughed out a stter of blood.

    "Damn, your condition is worsening, have more," I said as I handed Wu Di a few more pills.

    Worry was clear in Huang and Hua Yue, but I couldn¡¯t do much for Wu Di right now, we¡¯re already going blind into this Pce of the Deep hoping to get their treasured Sealing Technique which was already notmon, and they could probably not have left itying around.

    But if there is hope, there is a way.

    "The gravity from the sea is constantly trying to bring me down, I can manage it to an extent, but I¡¯m unable to elerate. If the Pce of the Deep is still too far, then we¡¯ll probably be stuck at this slow speed for days." I exined.

    "Is there a way to help?"

    "Not that I can think of, using Qi here will definitely be problematic, look," I said as I pointed down at the sea.

    The moment the group looked down, their faces turned white as paper sheaths.

    A beast of a monster that we could only see the shadow of, swam casually near the surface, it dipped down further than up. Its massive size was nothing short of trouble, as it meant that it was strong enough that it survived and fattened up nicely within the sea.

    "And this is just the peripheries of the Deeps. Things like this, as big as this are pretty intelligent, and I¡¯d bet they can sense the usage of Qi, if we try something, we¡¯ll alert it and I can bet that this thing isn¡¯t even the alpha of this ce." I said.

    The group¡¯s morale dropped severely, which was normal.

    "The disciples of the Pce of the Deep crossed this distance without ever surfing at the hand of these beasts, I wonder how they did that." Wu Di said.

    "Don¡¯t speak, you¡¯ll only exhaust yourself," Hua Yue said in concern.

    "Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m feeling better after taking brother Shen Bao¡¯s pills." Wu Di replied.

    With the two in their own little world, I turned to Huang and exined, "They probably had a tool, or used some sort of item to conceal their presence. Also since they used boats, I suppose that boats can easily cross this seawater, but we can¡¯t have the same luxury as the Disciples of the Pce of the Deep, if we arrogantly move about in a boat without the secret of passing through the Deeps safely, we¡¯ll end up in one of those thing¡¯s stomach, we might as well keep going at this pace." I said and funneled as much Qi as I could.

    I sat crossed legged as I guided the flying treasure and closed my eyes.

    Because here, though it was dangerous, there was an opportunity for me to learn something. Gravitational Law.

    I slowly released my Divine Sense and made sure that it was sticking to m at first like a thin sheath of paper. Expanding the divine sense to the sea without regard to the dangers that lurk within it is no better than lighting a me in a dark jungle, it¡¯s only asking for predators toe over for a bite, and the bite would usually be you.

    As my divine sense stuck to my body, I felt the pull from the Deeps, it wasing at me at an angle, meaning that the center of this mass that was creating this gravitational field was still far away.

    And seeing that the pull was this strong while we¡¯re still so far away, I¡¯ll probably have been exhausted when I arrived there and would have gotten pulled to the deeps.

    So, it was a great idea to have tried to learn gravityw. Since with even minor understanding, I should be able to alleviate the pressure a bit.

    I then slowly spread my divine sense to a bit more than a meter around me, trying to have more area of contact with the gravity field. With a sphere of Divine Sense around me, I could feel the tendrils ofw branched like a spider web that had its centerpounded upon what I believe to be the center of the gravitational field.

    I focused my divine sense and spread it even wider but made sure that it didn¡¯t even touch the seawater.

    This gave me an even clearer image as I was able to see this spider web not only on a two-dimensional diagram, but rather it was like a spider web that spread not like a sheet but like a ser ball, with the centermost being too far away from me to even have my Divine Sense reach, but I could deduce from all of the tendrils and their angle where the center was.

    ¡¯Now, what would happen if I do this,¡¯

    I mumbled as I touched one of the tendrils ofw, then pulled it away from my sword.

    Immediately, my flying sword was propelled forward with speed enough that Hua Yue tumbled and almost fell off the flying treasure if it was not for Wu Di¡¯s incredible reaction as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back.

    "What happened?" Wu Di asked.

    "I think I fucked up..." I said. as I looked down and noticed that my actions were not best suited to this ce.

    The beast that was under us dipped then water opened up, like a massive wormhole, seawater dove into the jaws of an iing beast that was about to swallow us whole.

    "EVERYONE HOLD ON!" I shouted and immediately went back to thew lines and began forcing them away from the sword.

    This was a chain reaction of doom and death, as the moment I spread apart the lines, my sword was no longer under the effects of the gravitational pull from the center of the Deeps, but at the same time, this sudden irregrity of the gravityw caused every creature to be alerted to our position.

    The problem was since I started I couldn¡¯t stop.

    I pulled three Soul Strengthening Pills because I knew damn well I¡¯ll be needing them then swallowed them immediately.

    My hands moved like a master of the harp, plucking away the strings of gravity from our sword so it could move forward while the jaws of the beast clutched and locked at empty air behind us.

    The calm seawater was no longer calm, as it now boiled with life, creatures of all sizes and shapes came rushing toward our location, jumping to the highest of the clouds thening down with opened jaws.

    My focus had to be on max, as I easily plucked string after string, constantly and continuously to increase our speed, I even dared and plucked other strings further away from us which caused space in a certain area to have no gravity for a fraction of a moment, which caused a flying creature to be stranded in space awkwardly.

    Then I tried linking several lines together at one spot and this caused one of the creatures to have it¡¯s tail stuck in that point of space as it now became heavy enough to contend with the gravitational pull from the center. But that was only momentary, as I noticed that the lines I modified soon broke and other lines were reconstructed behind them.

    Gravity can be modified, but cannot be permanently altered unless one applies a constant force to it.

    Why the fuck am I deducingws of physics right now? Get a grip, Shen Bao!

    I kept plucking the strings away from us as we moved forward. For Wu Di and the rest, I looked like some mad man that was waving his hands haphazardly all over the ce, but the more I waved my hands the more the strange events happened around them which led them to conclude that I was doing something rted to what¡¯s going on.

    My brain felt like it was on fire. This wasn¡¯t simple, understandingw while in front of a Law b is easy, but having to fly a flying treasure carrying fore while attempting to understand a neww, and apply it while knowing that a single misstep would mean death is on a whole other level.

    Beast after beast came, and they were all repelled by graceful application of Law, stopping every creature was not as important as fleeting, but I knew well that this wasn¡¯t possible for the long run. Since we¡¯re still at the rims of the Deeps, the gravity was rtively not powerful, and there was a bit of distance between every line of thew, but the closer I got, the thicker the cobweb gets, and the faster my reaction had to be.

    As currently, I almost caused our death, there were a few lines in front of me which I failed topletely remove, and the moment the flying sword touched the remaining line, our speed was forced to a halt, which almost threw all of us.

    "Shit!" I cursed as I removed the line and sped back up, thankfully I did it fast enough that a swordfish bore through where we previously were.

    I continued on plucking the strings ofw, only this time much faster than before because urgency was of the essence.

    Yet, soon as I adjusted myself to the new convolution of the Law Lines, even thicker, wider, and morepact lines showed up. Not only that, the moment I touched one of those lines trying to pluck it, my finger snapped, breaking from how strong thew line was.

    "Well, fuck."

 Chapter 158 The Deeps IV

    <h4>Chapter 158: The Deeps IV</h4>

    Looking at the impossible grid of gravitational lines in front of me, despair fell upon our group. We can¡¯t move forward, and themotion we created earlier has pulled toward us every beast and creature that roamed the Deeps.

    "Well, since we can¡¯t move forward, we¡¯ll have to hold our grounds," I said.

    I then snapped my finger back into the proper position and stood up from my seated position.

    "Shen Bao, the weakest of these creatures isparable to a ninth-level core cultivator, we can¡¯t win this, let¡¯s try and go back," Wu Di said.

    "Oh, perhaps, for any regr person, this might seem like impossible odds, but my specialty is against groups of enemies, watch," I said as I took a deep breath and spat a powerful poisonous gas outward that shot like a bullet at first, then upon contact with water, the poison blew up, spreading into smoke that covered the atmosphere and diluted the clear waters of the Deeps as a poison began to mix with sea.

    This attack was more than enough to scare half of the creatures, as no one wanted to breathe in, or in the case of the fish-type creatures, swallow poison.

    For the most adamant of beasts though, they swallowed the poison breath and continueding towards us.

    "X,e out, ready your guns," I called and X came out of the Poison God¡¯s book with his mini guns ready.

    X immediately shot a torrent of lead at the enemies, which caused everyone besides me in the party to mp on their ears from the sudden and loud explosive sound of gunfire.

    I pulled eight small canisters from my side pouch, each canister held between two of my fingers, then threw them forward.

    The canisters made contact with water and created a massive explosive chain reactions, that sted through the sea waters, further contaminating it and increasing the potency of the poison within the air and the sea.

    "This should buy us a bit of time," I said. "Y, I¡¯ll need your help", I called and the massive puppet appeared.

    Thankfully, for some miraculous reason, Y didn¡¯t need to stand with us on the Poison God¡¯s flying Sword.

    He had already flown above us and was able to calmly retain his flight despite the gravitational pull.

    "How are you doing that?" I asked Y.

    "My lord? Doing what?" Y asked.

    "You¡¯re able of flight, against the gravitational pull," I said.

    "It is but a weak gravity domain made by an Egg of Delusions. I can ignorews that are as weak as this."

    I had a rueful smile on my face, for what Y called weak gravitationalws were more than any of us can handle or even understand.

    "Can you do something about this gravitational field?" I asked.

    "Yes, but that means I¡¯ll have to leave your side," Y said.

    I looked around, there were many other beastsing our way, but keeping Y here is pointless, there are too many for him to keep fighting and saving us, the best option would be that he should go and disable whatever that Egg of Delusion was, that¡¯ll give us a good chance to escape.

    "How long will it take you to disable that egg?"

    "Disable is not the correct term, I can obtain it and put it in a storage space, this will immediately resolve the gravitational issue, without my former core and energy supply, it will take me about an incense stick worth of time."

    ¡¯So about fifteen minutes, I think I can handle that,¡¯

    "Go, we can manage for that time,"

    "As youmand!" Y replied and then dove immediately into the seawater, sting through lead-heavy water like if it was...well...regr water.

    "What the heck was that?" Wu Di asked.

    "Oh, one of my puppets, don¡¯t worry about it, he¡¯ll handle the field. Now, we¡¯ll have to fight until hees back," I said.

    "It would have been better if he was here with us, your puppet looked strong." Hua Yue said.

    "It is strong, but keeping him here is meaningless, he can fight, but can¡¯t protect us at the same time, it would be a waste of his time. Better he handles the Egg of Delusions than for us to keep him here indefinitely fighting an unlimited number of beasts."

    Wu Di pulled his fan and waved twice, causing the wind to shape into des that shot at a nearby poisoned beast, the wind des cut through the creature¡¯s fins and caused it to flee in terror.

    Yet the attack drained Wu Di more than he expected as he fell on his knees huffing for breath.

    "You shouldn¡¯t use Qi, your meridians are heavily saturated with Emrodite gue, just rest up," I said and pulled Creeping Demise.

    Huang and Hua Yue both pulled their own weapons, a Liang sword, and a barbed steel rope respectfully.

    "We¡¯ll have to stop the beasts from swarming us," I said, "And at the same time form constantly being able to locate us," I said then pulled several talismans from my pouch, "I need a minute time to inscribe something, help me out," I said.

    Immediately the two went to work, blocking any iing fish or sea beast that charged our way with rtive difficulty. Because even if the creatures were poisoned, they were still higher level than the core cultivators protecting me.

    There was a close call where Huang and Hua Yue were upied with repelling a sea beast each, as a Sword Fish jumped up from behind us and aimed to impale Wu Di.

    But X was far morepetent than any of us gave him credit. He literally had one of his legs blow out from the joint and smash into the swordfish, the blow was enough to redirect the Sword Fish¡¯s deadly weapon away from the flying sword, and before X¡¯s leg could fall to the sea, he opened the knee cap which held several dozens of explosive canisters and caused one of them to blow, this made the amputated leg bounce up back towards the sword, and attach itself back to X.

    All that happened while I was inscribing the talismans as fast as I could. And the moment I finished I stood up and threw the talismans all around us.

    This created an impressive barrier around us that summoned fog and smoke and hid our presence.

    "This should do," I said and called X to stop his gunfire.

    "What is this?" Wu Di asked.

    "A barrier that works on constantly disrupting divine sense, it will hide us for a good while," I said as I slumped down and downed a few Soul Invigorating pills.

    "What is that?" Huang said as he pointed forward.

    As I looked at where he pointed, the sea spread open revealing a creature of nightmares.

    It had a single eye thatposed the majority of its body, and around it were flower-like petals but were made of rotten meat and sharp teeth, while its members were those of a tentacle.

    "That doesn¡¯t look too friendly," I said

    "A Demonic Kraken, what the hell is it doing here!" Hua Yue said.

    "You know about that thing?" Wu Di asked.

    "Yes, I¡¯ve read about it in our sect¡¯s library, that thing is bad news... really bad news. And worst of all, it has great immunity to poisons..." Hua Yue said with shuddering words.

    "Ah, that doesn¡¯t sound so good now does it..." I mumbled

 Chapter 159 The Deeps V

    <h4>Chapter 159: The Deeps V</h4>

    As the beast approached, terror prevailed in our group. The creature was just massive in size and had a nauseating aura surrounding it. The sea parted away revealing the creature that crept upon our group with unhurried pace. It didn¡¯t need to move fast anyway, because his aura alone was enough to terrorize and shake whatever other beast that was nearby in ce.

    "I don¡¯t think my little trick here will work, the formation can block low tiered creatures from spotting us, but if that thing tries and scan us, I doubt I¡¯ll be able to hide our presence, so might as well drive his attention elsewhere," I said as I pulled an object from my inventory.

    It was a puppet arm, one of the many spare parts I have for X, though it isn¡¯tplete, it can do basic orders.

    I pulled my brush and began inscribing a few sets of instructions, then pulled a high-grade spirit stone. Usually, X¡¯s body can work well with just medium spirit stones, and using a high-grade one on one limb will cause it to malfunction in the long run or at least degrade in quality. Yet this will work fine for me because I needed this arm to give me the best It can for the short term.

    I ced the top-grade spirit stone within the arm and threw it into the seawater.

    Immediately, the arm surged with Qi and sted forward through the thick waters of the Deeps.

    All the creatures noticed the torpedoing arm heading toward the gravitational field, but they were too preupied with the Demonic Kraken to chase after that Qi signature.

    Yet that was not the case for the Kraken, Since it feared nothing, and had finally located its prey, it dove down and followed after the arm.

    "What did you do?" Wu Di asked after the sea waters calmed down.

    "I gave it a bit to chase after, we should be fine for a while, but we can¡¯t stay here, I doubt that the Kraken will be stupid enough to not go back and check once it finds out that it was chasing a toy," I replied.

    "It¡¯s just a beast it shouldn¡¯t be that smart," Hua Yue said.

    "That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Creatures of that strength and power are usually sentient, or at least able to understand the world to an extent, it will definitely realize that it¡¯s been tricked and once it finds out, it¡¯lle back for us with vengeance."

    "But, can you really find a way for us?" Huang asked.

    "Don¡¯t worry, now I¡¯m not so pressed on time as before, I¡¯ll just need to learn how to decipher this level of spacew," I replied and turned back to the cobweb of Law Lines in front of me.

    The width, grit, and thickness of these liens were far higher in quality and density than the former lines. This was bound to get trickier the closer I got to the source, but now with an opportunity to study this, I¡¯ll not mess up.

    I closed my eyes and sat in a meditative state, then I was able to see the lines clearly by using my Divine Sense.

    I concentrated even further and understood why I couldn¡¯t break through the lines as I did before. Because instead of these lines being one single line, it was actually a group of several lines weaved within each other. A spacew that was too dense to severe without a powerful ability or greater understanding.

    I slowly touched the line and tried to separate one of the weaves from the rest. My attempt resulted in failure.

    The lines were easy to break when they were on their own, but now together it¡¯s much harder to break.

    ¡¯Apes together strong!¡¯

    I chuckled at my own bad joke and continued focusing.

    I was able to break the liens when they were singr, because they didn¡¯t pose much resistance to me, and Y¡¯s mention of these lines being ¡¯weak¡¯ means that what I consider to be powerful lines are the same to him as the basic lines I cut before. So, I just have to be far stronger than I currently am to ignore their effect.

    Still, this is not really relevant or possible, gaining enough strength to discard the effect of these lines in a short period of time is almost impossible.

    "So, what am I to do?" I questioned myself.

    After wracking my head, I had to give up, I¡¯m not some great genius that could figure out the way out of every problem, that¡¯s just not possible, sometimes a person doesn¡¯t have the tools or ways to solve a problem, I¡¯ll need time and study, perhaps I¡¯ll find some method back in the library of the Lord of Lords. But right now, I¡¯ll have to admit my shoring and give up on attempting something impossible with my low cultivation level and low understanding of space and gravitationalw.

    I woke up from my meditative stance and sighed.

    "Damn, I can¡¯t find a way out of this mess, we¡¯ll have to wait for Y. Damn it," I cursed as I rubbed the bridge of my nose, we¡¯re in trouble and I can¡¯t seem to find a way out. Shit.

    "Oh, good, thank god then," Wu Di said.

    I turned to him frowning and slightly surprised.

    "It sounds like you think this is a good thing," Huang replied with the same statement I was about to say.

    "Well, haven¡¯t you seen it yet? Shen Bao destroyed a group of Nascent Soul cultivators, soared over the Deeps where no flying treasure could break down Law lines while he is still a core cultivator, tricked a third Tier demonic beast into chasing a toy if he figured out a way to break a second grad specialw in one sitting I would think he is a monster and not a man. Have mercy on us, Shen Bao, you make all our cultivation efforts look like utter trashpared to what you just did, and this was all in one day, God only knows how many achievements you¡¯ve managed when we weren¡¯t with you."

    "You¡¯re actually right, I don¡¯t mean to disrespect you, but it was unreasonable for me to expect that much when you already did more than any person could," Huang added.

    "Brother Wu Di spoke true, Shen Bao, you¡¯re too arrogant, and I don¡¯t mean that in a bad way. I mean, you¡¯re just a person, it¡¯s okay to make a mistake once in a while, or not seed in an advent, no one expects perfection and impossible results from you. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, we¡¯re already greatly indebted to you for all of what you did for us, don¡¯t be hard on yourself, you did more than you should have."

    I smiled at Wu Di, and the rest of the group and I was thankful for their straightforwardness, I expect too much of myself, and that¡¯s not good, once you go down that line, the moment you¡¯re stuck and stumble or you¡¯re met with failure you¡¯ll be set back in life and in mentality.

    "You guys are right, I should slow down, there is no use in haste," I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

    This was the effect of Zhang Tian, he was too great, too powerful, and too otherworldly strong that I set the bar for my progress to be up to his, where I should slowly build meyself, I looked too high up I¡¯m unable to see where I¡¯m stepping, I might as well fall down.

    Don¡¯t set the bar too high, set a goal, achieve it, then set the bar slightly higher, keep doing small goals for yourself, once you achieved them all you¡¯ll find yourself at the same spot you wished yourself to be, only by progressing bit by bit, that step doesn¡¯t look too daunting anymore.

    Opening my eyes, I looked at the group and said, "Thank you, I think I achieved small insight."

    "Congrattions brother Shen Bao for finding insight," Wu Di sped his hands.

    "Right, by now the time for Y to have arrived at the Egg of Delusions should be nigh," and just as I finished my words, the world trembled and the dark sea began to boil and riot underneath us.

    The sea that looked like it was calm and heavy as lead began surging and moving, as tidal waves began surging from all over the ce.

    The pull on my flying treasure was immediately cut down, "Everyone, grab a hold onto something, we¡¯re going up!" I said and flew up with the Poison God¡¯s Flying Treasure.

    The tidal waves surged and broke away from the Deeps, and the dark waters of the deep turned to their azure blue.

    "It seems that your puppet managed to take the egg away," Huang said.

    "Yeah, and that¡¯s both good and he bad," I replied.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Thismotion will definitely get some unwanted attention, I have no reason to believe that some strong cultivators will note over to investigate, and if they notice the Deeps no longer forbid flights, they¡¯lle in strong to hoard whatever treasure is found there.

    "So, what do we do, should we risk it and go to the pce, or wait for the storm out and try and negotiate with the one who gets the Sealing Technique."

    "I might not have a cultivation level strong enough to contend with the strongest of this country, but I¡¯ll be damned if I let someone else harvest the efforts we put into this. We¡¯ll go into the pce, ransack it whole then escape without anyone being the wiser, after all we¡¯re here already, while the other cultivators still need time to figure out what happened before they make their first step." I exined.

    "Right then, brother Shen Bao, we¡¯re in your care, let¡¯s head to the Pce of the Deeps then."

    "Let¡¯s go," I said and dashed through the skies of what once was called the Deeps. Where now it became nothing but regr sea.

 Chapter 160 Into The Deep

    <h4>Chapter 160: Into The Deep</h4>

    We crossed the calm sea as fast as we could since we expectedpany soon, we didn¡¯t want to dy and stay there as easy prey for any bored cultivator who woulde and investigate the reason behind the disappearance of the Deeps.

    As we moved across the sea, Wu Di¡¯s coughing fits increased, which only further increased the stress on the group, since we were moving with nothing certain but the only hope of finding a technique that can stop the Emrodite gue.

    The grand sea didn¡¯t seem to have an end as its calm seas were the only thing one could see. However, it was still troublesome to cross no matter how empty it seemed. Because it only takes a single look at the waters to see shades of creatures farrger than fright ships swimming mindlessly through it.

    And what made us anxious the most, was the fact that there was a creature that we tricked into chasing a toy, and once he finds out about it, I¡¯m more than certain that he¡¯ll being back with vengeance.

    Soon enough, the sea parted, and for a moment my heart skipped a beat, as I didn¡¯t sense what came out of the water until it was toote, but thankfully it was only Y. And this increased our chances of survival greatly.

    "Y, did you get it?" I asked Y who flew casually near us.

    "Yes Master, it was an Egg of Delusion, hidden near the bast of a tower, it had an entrance above sea water, I suppose it is the ce where you wish to go."

    "Probably, can you lead us?" I asked through Divine Sense.

    "Yes, but I can only work on low performance, the Egg of Delusion was too powerful for the Reactor you created, it almost broke down before I could even reach it. The Gravitational force shouldn¡¯t affect me, but the reactor has been slightly damaged and it will start leaking if I use too much power." Y replied in Divine Sense.

    ¡¯shit, there goes my safety ticket, if Y can¡¯t function at full capability we will have a hard time fending off greater foes. I¡¯ll need time to repair and fix Y if I find time¡¯

    "Let¡¯s go then," I said.

    Y then took a straight line forward, and we followed after him.

    As I expected, Y was constantly pressing on the Demon Triggers I had for him, transferring the heat from the damaged reactor to the swords, and then he dipped them in the sea to cool them down.

    ¡¯Damn, I¡¯ll need to create a protectiveyer for the reactor so this won¡¯t happen again. Thankfully, Y managed to get the Egg of Delusions, otherwise, if the reactor was to break before he took the Egg of Delusions, he would have shut down in the middle of the Deeps where none of us could swim down and grab him back. I got lucky here, but I doubt I¡¯ll be lucky the next time.¡¯

    It took us a few hours before we saw the first sign ofndmass, but before we could even celebrate.

    "Demon ying Arts! Descending de!" roared Y, as he pulled both swords up, and swung down with enough force that the sea parted away, while from his swords, four draconic serpents surged out and shot down into the waters, creating tidal waves simr to the ones that were created when the Egg of Delusion was taken from its ce. (Guess the Reference!)

    I wondered why would Y even try and use such a powerful attack while his reactor was heavily damaged, this would only cause more problems and further mess up the reactor.

    But the answer came soon, as the moment the sea parted, the same creature that I lured away was actually waiting in ambush, and Y¡¯s blow was both to protect us, and scare away the creature.

    The moment the draconic snakes that Y sted out from his sword, touched the creature, it recoiled, reeling back deeper into the sea, as the sea was painted purple in alien blood.

    "What the bloody hell!" Wu Di cursed through fits of coughs.

    "Hold on," I called, as the waves shot higher and almost flipped our sword.

    This was what I feared from Y¡¯s strength, this mass of power was created from a damaged core that only worked on high grade spirit stones, I didn¡¯t even ce the Top Grade Spirit Stone I got from the Three Legged Raven Sect into Y yet, and this much power was enough to st us to smithereens.

    If Y had been using a saint crystal, I¡¯m afraid that not even the sea would remain.

    "Master, mybat abilities have decreased greatly, I can at most exhibit a tenth of the abilities the Spirit Reactor is giving me." Y said.

    "Can you still fly?" I asked, "Yes, I can take you to the tower, but I doubt I¡¯ll be able to do anything more. Also, the beast is heavily wounded but not dead."

    "That¡¯s good enough, let¡¯s get to the tower first," I said and we headed forward and crossed over the pool of blood.

    Thendmass was small, enough to be an ind and there didn¡¯t seem to be anything of importance on it.

    It had a couple of palm trees, and a few boulders, but with a quick scan of Divine Sense, I noticed an entrance under one of the rocks.

    A wail of agonized pain and promised vengeance and retaliation sounded from behind us, and what I thought would take a few moments more to recover, came at us with haste. It parted the sea as it swam forward, not even caring about approaching the coast and leaving the deep seas.

    Hua Yue screamed as the creature stood on solid ground and dirt and came at us.

    "It¡¯s fucking amphibian?! Shit, hurry! let¡¯s go," I said as we all jumped down and headed toward the entrance as fast as possible.

    Once we got in, we were met with darkness all over the ce, the smell of rot and decay pervaded the ce. It was like visiting a cemetery that had all its tombs open while the corpses were rotting and the stench was fused to the walls.

    Immediately afterward, the whole ce began rumbling as if it was being shaken by a titan.

    There was a staircase in front of us, and using divine sense I could see that it led to a circr tform with a massive round seam, probably an elevator.

    "Let¡¯s head down, there is an entry nearby," I said.

    We moved without making much sound, or at least rtive to the constant rattling of the sea beast, we were pretty damn quiet.

    But there was a sense of forebodinging from the whole ce.

    "This really is the Pce of the Deep, look," Huang Pointed at a massive engraving on one of the walls where the elevator was which literally read, ce of the Deep.

    "But how do we go down?" Hua Yue said.

    "I think this is the entrance? We could destroy it and go inside."

    "That¡¯ll be really loud, and unproductive. We don¡¯t know what might be behind this thing or if there are traps, the best way would be to fix it." I said.

    "Easier said than done, this thing is centuries old, and it¡¯s clearly broken," Huang said as he pointed at the tform under us.

    I got down on the floor and inspected the circr tform. There actually was a bit of damage on it, a few cracks that disabled the function of the formation.

    I pulled a few spirit stones, crushed them to dust. I turned and found a wet patch of ground, I grabbed a bit of y from it and mixed it with the spiritual dust.

    The group looked at me with wonder, but they didn¡¯t say anything.

    I then began filling the cracks of the circr tform with the y, and once I covered all the cracks, the whole circr tform lit up.

    "See, no need to be barbaric at times." I said, "What are you waiting for? Get on." I said and the group all got on the tform.

    Then I ced one high grade spirit stone on the center of the formation, and the whole circr tform on the ground shook and began a slow descent.

 Chapter 161 Sea Dwellers.

    <h4>Chapter 161: Sea Dwellers.</h4>

    As we went down, something unexpected happened. The dark elevator brightened up for a bit, and we realized that we were actually going down a tube like elevator where you could see the sea from within.

    The Sect of the Deeps was apparently built underwater, and that was not a good thing.

    Because I could clearly see that big monstrosity, as I was sure it was able to see us too getting down.

    "Curses! We¡¯re in a trap!" Huang said.

    "Not necessarily, didn¡¯t you notice, the sea beast didn¡¯t attack, I also sense a formation in action. Because it¡¯s not simple to keep this building from caving in on itself while the Egg of Delusions was constantly pulling the gravitational fields and exerting constant pressure here." I replied.

    "So, there is some sort of defensive formation, that¡¯s a relief." Wu Di said.

    "Master, what you said was true, but that isn¡¯t applicable to the rest of the sect, there are ces that have caved, and sea water had gotten to." Y added from behind.

    "Well, that¡¯s not good then. Do you have an idea on how to navigate the rest of the sect?"

    "I do not, I only retrieved the Egg. I have not scanned the rest of the sect, not due to it escaping my thoughts, but because I couldn¡¯t waste more energy."

    ¡¯Y is right, his core is already in shambles, I¡¯ll need to fix it soon.¡¯

    "Okay, once we get down, we¡¯ll have to split." I said to the group.

    "Why is that?"

    "I need to do some quick fix on Y, so I can¡¯t follow you. Without Y¡¯s strength we¡¯re like rats in a bucket, we¡¯ll be caught by the cultivators who wille here to investigate. Also, since there are areas that are broken and that sea water had managed to get into, we¡¯ll need him to stop any sea beast that took those areas as a nest. So, you¡¯ll move ahead of me, explore the area and I¡¯ll catch up to you as fast as I can."

    Wu Di coughed a few times, and said, "Shen Bao is right, we¡¯ll need to head out first and cover as much as we can, let¡¯s go."

    "Right, we¡¯ll need to head to the sect¡¯s Pavilion or Sect Library. There should be something on their sealing technique." Huang said.

    Hua Yue nodded to them and once everyone agreed to my proposition, the elevator stopped.

    We were in front of a darkrge room with a single closed door.

    Once the elevator¡¯s light went off, the door opened up, revealing another underwater passage that extended forward and into an underwater mountain that had dozens of ss domes all over it.

    But many of these domes were broken and had water inside them, with the exception of few that survived the passage of time, or whatever caused the cmity on this sect.

    "We¡¯ll head out first," Wu Di said.

    "Take care, and don¡¯t risk your lives. Also keep checking for formations and traps." I advised and the group nodded to me.

    Once they left and were away, I turned to Y.

    "Open up," I said and Y¡¯s chest opened revealing a reactor that I was surprised to still be functional.

    Many of the brass stripes I had on him were broken, and a few of the tubes that would transfer Qi were bent with cracks that leaked Qi like there was no tomorrow.

    The core of the reactor was thanfully still intact so I didn¡¯t need to scrap the whole thing away and start from scratch.

    I pulled my tools and began repairing. The first thing I needed to do was to stop the leakage. So instead of just plugging the tube and hope for the best, I shut down the reactor and removed the bent tube, I already made dozens of these when I first created the reactor, so I have a lot of spare.

    Recing the damaged tubes with new ones should work wonders in stopping the leakage, but the problem I have is the brass wires that transfers heat to the Demon Trigger swords. I can¡¯t rece them in any short time period, as I need more Dragon Brass and I don¡¯t have more than a few ingots of it left.

    I snaped my finger summoning my Veridian Heart me, and began refining the ingots of Dragon Brass I had.

    Five minutester, the ingot turned to liquid and I poured it on the broken stripes. This wasn¡¯t better than making full new stripes, but it was the best I can do in this situation. This will help reduce the heat, but will not bring Y to top performance. He should probably be able to exert 35% of the Qi reactor without it destroying these makeshift repairs I made.

    Once I was done with that, I added a few inscriptions to the side of the reactor¡¯s core. Shock absorption, heat and cold. I couldn¡¯t add more, because I didn¡¯t have the time nor space. I¡¯ll need to upgrade my inscription methods, because this just takes too much space.

    And I already have a good idea on how to upgrade my inscription methods. Thanks to Master Rain¡¯s amazing Spatial Rooms, and this egg of delusion, I think that by understanding thew of Space, I could create inscriptions that can ovep on top of each other without interfering, by just applying the Spatial Chambers method. Well, that¡¯s for another time, now that I¡¯m done, I need to catch up to the rest of the group.

    "How are you feeling," I asked as I turned the core back on.

    "Feel? I have no such thing, but my functionality is much better than before, still not at the top."

    "I know, but you should be able to do better," I replied to Y, "Now let¡¯s head forward, the others should be waiting for us." I said and summoned my sword.

    I took Y inside my poison god¡¯s book and jumped on the Poison God¡¯s Sword.

    Why walk when you can fly.

    As I bolted through the long underwater bridge, I was able to see the maritime life in full prosperity, schools of fish swam together as they avoided predators, weak as singr fishes, but together, well they¡¯re not stronger, but they group together so each fish will have less chances of being killed by a predator.

    It¡¯s a strange survival mentality.

    Then there were far bigger sea creatures which swam next to each other without aggression or hostility. They didn¡¯t fight, because there was no need to fight, as the abundance of food was too much to care about territory. And in the farthest side, the one-eyed kraken looked with hostility at everything, but didn¡¯t act, it just waited as would a cat wait in front of a hole where a rat had hidden.

    Once I arrived at the end of the tunnel, I saw several passages that each led to a different area. But in one of the passages was a piece of cloth from Hua Yue¡¯s robes, she must have left it here as indication on which passage they left.

    I followed after the rightmost path and continued onwards. So far, the whole area didn¡¯t seem to have any traps or the presence of any human, but it still stank of the smell of rotting flesh.

    But I was surprised to see how far the group had went, though I spent some time repairing Y, they shouldn¡¯t have made this much progress if they went on foot.

    Perhaps they also used flying treasures.

    As I was deducing and thinking of where myrades went, the hair on my neck stood up, it was a foreboding feeling of imminent danger.

    Then suddenly my Sky Pearl shone bright as it fended off a massive wave of Qi energy.

    "What in god¡¯s name?" I said as I just noticed that in front of me, andying on the ground were Huang, Wu Di and Ha Yue, all unconscious and with pale expressions.

    "Howe you didn¡¯t fall for my illusion," spoke something that hid within the shadows of this corridors.

    As I used my divine sense to better see what it was, I was surprised to see a beautiful woman that barely had any clothes on, and instead of hair, she had algae that draped over her shoulders and covered her chest.

    Then she smiled, and the beauty I had thought she had disappeared behind a shark like smile with razor teeth.

    "Still, that¡¯s no problem. A feisty meal is always the best."

 Chapter 162 Sanctuary

    <h4>Chapter 162: Sanctuary</h4>

    "Why is a Pixie like you here?" I asked the creature.

    "H-how do you know of my origin?" the pixie asked.

    "Your kind is pretty recognizable, but you¡¯re not fully grown, I¡¯d say you don¡¯t even have a full pixie linage, so you¡¯re hunting here to make your bloodline purer, I say, the blood of cultivators must really be helpful to you."

    "Since you know what I am, there is no need to keep you alive." The creature said and charged me.

    I replied to it as I dodged the clumsy attack, "True, pixies are famed for their lush and lustrous hair, which can be used for a lot of things. A lot of women would kill to have a few strands of a pixie¡¯s hair. But as I see, you¡¯re still too young."

    "Die!" cried the half-pixie as it swiped deadly talons at me.

    I grabbed her hand with ease, stopping her ws right in front of my face.

    "Sadly, without a full linage, your illusions aren¡¯t powerful enough to bring down prey stronger than you," I said.

    "You¡¯re a mere core cultivator! If it was not for that treasure, I would have had you under my spell!" the pixie replied as it squirmed to getaway.

    "True," I said then grabbed one of her fingernails with my free hand as I still had her arm pinned with the other.

    Then I snapped and plucked her fingernail out. Wrenching a scream of agonized pain from the depth of her stomach.

    "Sorry about that, but even if I had fallen under your illusion," I said as I bit at her nail, and took in the poisonous substance from within it.

    "You wouldn¡¯t have been able to harm me."

    "!"

    "Surprised? Howe I managed to directly take in a half-pixie¡¯s poison without immediately dying, right?" my words came easy, but to the pixie, who had very weakbat ability, and could only rely on illusions and her poisonous fangs to kill her prey then feed off their blood, this was a blow to both her ego and her chances of survival as she was now facing a predator and a powerful one that counters all her assets.

    "Now, I would have enjoyed harvesting some of your hair strands, but right now, as you¡¯re still young, your hair is no different than algae, it¡¯s useless," I said as I released the creature who squirmed away, falling to the ground then with fear in her eyes, as she grabbed her hand, she skidded back on her behind and pinner herself to the wall, afraid, as death had approached and was bearing its life reding scythe above her neck.

    "I¡¯m a magnanimous man, I won¡¯t outright kill you even after you had shown me hostility, still you have tow you have two choices."

    I said, then pulled a cor from my side bag.

    "Live," I said as I pulled the cor with one hand towards her, "Or die," I said as I aimed Creeping Demise at her forehead.

    The choice was simple, follow or be mowed down. I might be cruel here, but in a sort of twisted sense, this is the best thing that would happen to this creature. Because the moment the Nascent Soul cultivatorse here, she will definitely be captured and sold off or outright killed, she will be used and harvested for her hair once she evolves.

    And to make her transform from a half-pixie, most people would take the easy way, and supply her with a lot of blood. Then once she bes a fully-fledged pixie, she will be harvested for hair, day in and day out until the day she dies.

    I have simr use for her, though I only need a few strands of hair, nothing like making her bald. And if she submits, I¡¯ll make sure to treat her well, but now the choice is hers to make.

    I waited for the creature to make a choice, and I saw her hesitating between the cor and the knife because she knew that once she takes the cor her freedom is gone.

    "Kill me," she said.

    "Good choice," I replied.

    "But you¡¯re too useful to die this way, I¡¯ll tell you what, do you wish to live somewhere...safe, away from all of this, I can guarantee your safety, and also that no one will disturb you."

    "Humans lie, I wouldn¡¯t trust you, you¡¯re after my hair when I grow, you¡¯ve done this to many of my sisters."

    "I¡¯m not like the rest,"

    "I don¡¯t believe it," she said.

    I sighed, "Then done," I said as I pulled my token and opened a gate to the Lord of Lord¡¯s treasure.

    I threw her directly into the Sea biome and walked into the treasure area.

    "Arn," I called and the lion came rushing in in less than a minute.

    While I waited for the lion, the Pixie looked around in awe, she was standing on the beachside and amazement was painted on her face.

    "What is this ce?" she asked.

    "For you, it¡¯s heaven. You can cultivate here without anyone disturbing you, ah you¡¯re here," I said as Arn arrived to my feet.

    He cooed and nudged his head next to mine.

    I rubbed on his mane and said, "She is a friend, protect her, and don¡¯t let anyone try anything on her." I said, the lion immediately approached the now terror-filled and petrified-looking pixie, sniffed her twice then licked her face.

    She didn¡¯t even move from fear.

    "You¡¯ll give her a heart attack this way, she is still scared," I said.

    The lion moved a few steps back.

    "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

    "For my own greed, nothing more, I¡¯ll wait until you grow, and I¡¯ll take a few strands of hair as payment, once that is done, you¡¯ll be free to go, meanwhile you¡¯ll be safe here, isn¡¯t that so, Lao Bofan," I said.

    Immediately afterward, the Nascent Soul cultivator and right hand man of the Purple Cloud Sect Master came in.

    "Yes, I noticed your arrival and came here, I got the gist of it. A pixie, really rare, even if she is still young, she can be really useful to an alchemist."

    "Right, anyway, how is the Sect Master doing?" I asked.

    "Surprisingly well, the treatment had worked greatly and she is in the process of recovering her strength."

    "Good, here," I said as I pulled the piece of True Ice I obtained from the auction.

    "What is this?" Lao Bofan asked.

    "That¡¯s true ice, you should know it,"

    "Oh, but a piece this big, it must have cost a fortune."

    "This is just a fragment, I¡¯ll try and find bigger pieces, give this to the sect master, have her cultivate the Ice Qi inside it, it will stabilize her cultivation even better than the cold Biome and will probably unlock some of her Ice Body," I said.

    "The Sect Master has an Ice Body?" Lao Bofan said.

    "Yes, but a weak one, nothing too fancy, still it¡¯s better than no affinity to ice. Tis should help her for now. I¡¯ll head out, I still have things to tend to. See you guyster. As for you, you¡¯ll be safe here with Lao Bofan and Arn keeping you safe, live well, and if you need anything just ask for it, and don¡¯t kill any cultivators, the moment you do that, the safety of your life is forfeit."

 Chapter 163 Hunted

    <h4>Chapter 163: Hunted</h4>

    I soon left the Lord of Lords small world and was back to the tunnel within the Pce of the Deeps. Looking at the trioying on the ground, I pulled a vial of strong-smelling salts and ced it under the nose of Wu Di.

    "Cough, Cough! Bloody hell, it¡¯s like I had my nose stuck in a donkey¡¯s ass." Wu Di said as he almost gagged.

    "That¡¯s rather inappropriate," I said to the usually calm collected, and very polite Wu Di.

    "Did you ever smell that stuff?"

    "Oh, I smelled worse, but this is the only way I know how to wake you up from whatever world you were in," I said as I pointed at the two others who were also on the ground next to Wu Di.

    "What happened?" Wu Di asked.

    "You¡¯ve been attacked by a half-Pixie, I told you to be more careful," I said as I went to the other two and woke them up.

    Their reaction was pretty simr to Wu Di minus the cursing.

    "That smelled really bad..." Huangmented as he rubbed his nose.

    Hua Yue turned around and was desperately trying to stop her gags, we all acted as nothing happened afterward as we moved through the corridor.

    "Where did the Half Pixie go, though?" Wu Di asked.

    "Oh, don¡¯t worry about her," I replied "She¡¯s been taken care of," I said and I didn¡¯t lie.

    "Sad, it would have been a good source of ie, their hair is very expensive," Huang said.

    "But that means enving them, then harvesting her like she is some sort of sheep," I said.

    "Half Pixies are nothing but monsters, there is no need to feel pity for them," replied Huang.

    "They are sentient, they feel pain, and speak words, a blind man wouldn¡¯t think a pixie is a monster if she spoke to him, why should you focus on one¡¯s appearance and not care for their core?" my words hit deep as not only Huang, but even Wu Di and Hua Yue were all contemting them.

    "What do you think is the thing that separates man and beast?" I asked.

    "It¡¯s the mind, the ability to think," Wu Di replied, and almost immediately understood that it was a trick question.

    "Yes, indeed, then if a monster has a mind, then it is no longer a beast. So why must we still oust them, if they feel like us, hurt like us, feel joy and happiness, regret remorse, and have hopes and dreams? What would separate a beast from a person if in their core they are all the same?" I rhetorically asked.

    "Then, what about demons," Wu Di said.

    "You among all should know best about this, we¡¯ve been to the demonnds together, do you really think them beneath humans? They were hospitable even, treated us with respect, we traded,peted and helped each other, how is that any different than what we humans do with each other?" I replied.

    "Well, those were demon-kin, their ancestor was a true demon though, I¡¯m talking about real actually demons."

    "Oh, the ones with horns and all,"

    "Well, not all of them have horns but yes," Wu Di said.

    "My logic still applies," I said. "Let¡¯s take this path, this one is blocked," I said as I pointed at the new tunnel that led up and into the underwater mountain.

    The group followed me, and Wu Di found the chance to ask, "Howe your logic still applies I don¡¯t get it."

    "The moment someone is capable of speech and reason. It elevates it from being a beast, however, their actions can degrade them to worse than beasts. I¡¯ve seen some creatures that would call themselves human, but their acts were inhuman. They ravaged young powerlessdies. For me, though these things can speak and act, they were less than beasts. Because a beast has a mating season, they would not force themselves on another, and would always seek to gain their mate¡¯s attention and approval. While these creatures were driven by lust that knows no stop, and thus, even if they had the Mind, they were less than beasts. As for demons, it is the same, as long as they act within reason, and never cross the lines that are considered taboo. Then I wouldn¡¯t mind dining with the devil. But the moment one of these lines are crossed, then in my eyes, they fall to a stage that is less than a beast."

    The group remained silent, it was a bit to grasp because most of what I said was based on my memories and my understanding of morals from Earth. Perhaps it is a strange notion to them, but racism is bad, as long as a being is capable of conversation and thought, and the moment they gain aspiration, hope, and belief, they are no longer below human.

    "That¡¯s a deep way of thought, I will reflect on it, I find some wholesome insight within your words, Shen Bao," Wu Di said.

    "It is nothing but basic things, but do as you wish, also I think we¡¯re in a pickle," I said.

    "Pickle? The thing you eat, I never liked them," Huang said.

    "Ah, it¡¯s just an expression, anyway, we¡¯re in trouble because the next room is flooded," I said.

    "How can you tell, so far my divine sense isn¡¯t detecting any blockage."

    "Let¡¯s get a bit closer then and you¡¯ll see it," I said and we moved together. Then soon, the group used their divine sense to scan the area ahead and they also came to the same realization.

    "Amazing, your divine sense is at least twice asrge as mine." Wu Di said, "how did you do that?" he asked. Then immediately added, "Ah sorry, it must be a cultivation secret, forget I¡¯ve asked."

    "Oh, don¡¯t worry about it, I just have a good soul strength, it helps a lot with increasing the potency of my divine sense. I also am an alchemist, I make a lot of Soul Strengthening pills and eat them like they are candy, so that helps." I replied.

    "Emm, I hate to burst your bubble, but what are we going to do here, this gate is closed, but the moment we open it we¡¯ll be flooded, though I don¡¯t mind the waters of the Deeps anymore since they don¡¯t have the gravitational effect, once we are in the water, that One-Eyed Kraken will have us for lunch," Huang dropped the reality check bomb on all of us.

    "I know," I said, though Y has regained a bit of strength, I doubt he is capable of fending the One-Eyed Kraken, at most he¡¯ll be able to block a hit or two, and I¡¯m damn adamant on not using the saint Qi crystals.

    I could improve Y¡¯s abilities slightly but that will take time, and X¡¯s firepower is outright useless underwater because bullets and water are not good friends, just to add more salt on the wound, apparently, the One-Eyed Kraken is immune to most poisons.

    I had to double-check on the Poison God¡¯s book, and noticed that he has a great Poison Tolerance, and also can easily dispel most of the poisons I have.

    And just to make this day even worse.

    Behind us, explosive sounds echoed all over the ce.

    "What is that?" asked Huang.

    "That, my friends, is trouble. It seems that a cultivator has arrived, and they just walked into one of my formations."

    "When did you do that?"

    "Oh, when I was following after you, I ced a few traps behind us so to warn us if anyone hade, but I didn¡¯t expect them to arrive this early. We need to think up a n, we don¡¯t want to be caught between a rock and a hard ce here."

    "Well if it¡¯s a rock or a hard ce, we better start digging, anyone has a n?" Wu Di asked.

    "Emm, I might say I do, though it¡¯s a crazy n, but crazy enough that it just might work," I replied in a grin.

 Chapter 164 Cat and Mice

    <h4>Chapter 164: Cat and Mice</h4>

    Currently, we were at one end of a tunnel, and the middle ground was a massive semi-sphere that held inside it numerous buildings, but since the ss making the sphere had broken, the whole area was run down with water, and after ages long, it became a yground for the fish and sea beasts. This was just the sea reiming its territory. But the problem was, that we needed to cross this spherical area. It was wide andrge enough for the One-Eyed Kraken to fit inside it with more room than needed to move around.

    With a watchful gaze on us, he waited until we went into the water-flooded area of the Sect of the Deeps. Patiently.

    "How fast can you all swim to the other side?" I asked as I pointed forward.

    "Without that One-Eyed Kraken here, it should take us a bit less than an incense stick worth of time," Huang replied.

    Looking at our group, only Y would have trouble following my n, so I called him into the book.

    I nodded, then pulled a few pills from my pockets, then a few more talismans.

    I handed each one of the two, pills and a talisman "These are all I have. You can use the pill to create a smokescreen within the water, it will hide your presence, but only for a moment, you¡¯ll need to move fast if the Kraken Locks on you. And keep the talisman on your body at all times. Once you stop moving, the talisman will hide your presence. Use the pill to move and the talisman to hide."

    Huang looked back, as his face paled, "Is this your n, a few pills, and a talisman, don¡¯t you think that the Kraken will see through it?."

    "I can¡¯t guarantee he won¡¯t see through it, but this is the only way. Use the items I gave you, they¡¯ll save your life." I shook my head.

    "Shouldn¡¯t we wait? I mean who knows the cultivatorsing here could be friendly."

    "Do you honestly think that anyone risking their lives to get to the pce of the Deeps will share the spoils with others, not to mention we¡¯re all core cultivators?" I replied.

    "Wait, you do have some for your use?" Wu Di said.

    "...Yes," I replied. "Don¡¯t worry about me, now, listen carefully," I said as I began exining to them how we¡¯ll proceed.

    Just as I finished my words, the first part of my n came to action, as the n desperately needed a couple of idiots.

    Three cultivators were rushing in, flying in the narrow tunnel as they approached us. One of them had several fresh burn marks on his face.

    "They¡¯re here, and they¡¯re all Nascent Soul Cultivators. One of them was even a half step into Soul Formation.

    I pulled three talismans and threw them forward.

    "Inscription Master! That¡¯s the one who caused the burns on my face! Leave him to me, I¡¯ll grind his bones and drink his blood!"

    "That¡¯s really unsanitary," I replied, "But to do that you should catch me first! Explode!" I chanted and immediately the thrown talismans lit up then blew the tunnel, causing the water to rush in and submerge the tunnel.

    Cultivators have a far stronger constitution than mortals, a rushing tide wouldn¡¯t make a cultivator budge, but will undoubtedly kill a mortal. But I wasn¡¯t using the explosion to cause the group of cultivators to lost sight of us or to slow them down. But more to give the One-Eyed Kraken a chance at an easy prey.

    ¡¯Everyone, go ording to the n!" I said and smashed the tunnel¡¯s gate, causing even more water toe in.

    Then all four of us charged forward and spread in four different directions but all aiming to join back at the other side of the submerged dome.

    While I was the slowest of them, not because I couldn¡¯t out-speed them, but because I was making sure that we survive.

    I have several other explosive talismans that I prepared and threw all over the ce. These weren¡¯t strong enough to harm anyone here. But they will serve their purpose soon enough.

    Not a minuteter, behind me, the sounds of chaos ensued as the One-Eyed Kraken had done as I predicted.

    The moment the tunnel opened, he realized he had a shot at easy food and went for the cultivators who have yet to fully assess the situation. With the One-Eyed Kraken now upied, we have more breadth to move about.

    But sadly, not everything always goes ording to ns. Within the dome, many creatures lived, and a few of them were pretty dangerous.

    A two-headed eel shot towards me, with electric currents surging from around his body. A single touch and I¡¯ll be paralyzed here which was no different than death.

    But before the eel could even get to my side, I spat a concentrated poison bullet from my mouth, which moved with incredible speed and uracy to ssh against the eel¡¯s face. Immediately rattling his nervous system, as it spasmed in front of me like a fish outside of water.

    Then the eel stopped moving where I grabbed it and ced it inside my storage space.

    Even more, eels came my way and I had an easy and good time collecting them because I needed their ability to use electricity. I even tried to only paralyze a few and not kill them, then sent them directly into my Lord of Lord¡¯s Aquatic area.

    I continued swimming, well, it was more like torpedoing through the waters using Poison Qi which contaminated the area behind me and caused whatever touched the poison to wilt and die.

    Then came what I worried about, looking up, the One Eyed kraken had a few blood stains on its mouth, and there was even the remain of fabric and clothes. He must have had an enjoyable meal.

    This was not something to celebrate though, because if it was able to kill someone apanied by a half-step Soul Transformation cultivator, then the Kraken¡¯s power was nothing to scoff at.

    It had already made its way back into the dome and now was searching for me. But I¡¯ve already informed everyone how the n should proceed.

    Once the One Eyed Kraken was toe back, they¡¯ll have to wait for me to move first. While they all hid within the many underwater buildings.

    The watchful eye of the Kraken reminded me of a famous tower with a fiery eye. And this was exactly the same situation. Getting spotted means death.

    But for some reason, this only made me even more excited I shook with excitement. I slowly looked out from behind cover, the One Eyed Kraken was still scanning the area, which wasn¡¯t great.

    But thankfully I already predicted something like this will happen, and this was a good time to give the group the signal to move forward.

    "Explode!" I chanted and immediately, the talismans I¡¯ve thrown early on blew up causing the One-Eyed Kraken to jerk towards the explosion and shot three of his tentacles towards the area.

    This was both a distraction and a signal for the group. They immediately dashed forward through the water from their hiding ces and moved towards the exit.

    The Kraken was still upied with the continuous explosions, thinking that there was more prey there as we made great progress to reach the doorway to the other side of the dome.

    Yet while I was dashing forward, a blow-fish-type creature screeched loud enough that my eardrums threatened to burst.

    "What the flying fuckery is that!" I cursed as I was rattled, it felt like my brain was struck down with a hammer.

    Not only was I in a half daze, but the sound was also loud enough to wake the dead, and clearly more than enough to draw the One-Eyed Kraken¡¯s attention.

 Chapter 165 Persistent

    <h4>Chapter 165: Persistent</h4>

    The beast shot two of its tentacles my way, and I barely managed to dodge by exploding as much Qi as I could muster in that fraction of a second from the soles of my feet. The explosive Qi helped torpedoing me out of the trajectory of the tentacles that crashed right where I was a second ago.

    The st created massive turbulences in currents that spiraled me away from the area but in a disorienting tumble in the water.

    Thankfully a broken-down wall stopped my spiraling, though it was still painful as I crashed face in.

    I immediately shook my head and used the same Qi st to move away before the Kraken realized that among the rising dust, my corpse was nowhere to be found.

    As I flew, or more like, ¡¯floated?¡¯ in the water, I threw as many talismans as I had, and with a hand gesture, I blew them up, rising more dust, though it wouldn¡¯t do much against the Kraken¡¯s Divine Sense, I¡¯vee to realize that the One Eyed Kraken relies more on its sight than the scanning ability of Divine Sense, so it was a good visual obstruction, and that helped greatly in my escape.

    Ahead of me, Huang, Wu Di, and Hua Yue had already reached the other side of this submerged Dome, and they were currently trying to open the gate leading to the other side, and away from this watery death trap. If I were to get closer to them, the Kraken will definitely catch and kill us all off as we¡¯re stuck trying to open the gate.

    I turned, sted another Qi surge, and moved to the side.

    The sea Beast thankfully focused on me and sent another Tentacle my way.

    "Y, teach it manners!" I sent.

    Immediately, a sword Qi shot from within my chest, which was Y¡¯s sh that cut through the water and sliced off the tentacle in half.

    Yet, this didn¡¯t serve to deter the creature, only enrage it, as it screeched with enough force that I was able to see ripples inside the seawater, which was physically impossible.

    But the worst part was that the stub of the cut tentacle immediately birthed a new one, and the sea beast sent it my way again with even more force.

    Y shot another Sword Qi to slice it in half, but this time, I wasn¡¯t going to let Y¡¯s declining Qi reserves go to waste.

    The moment the tentacle was cut, I used my own Poison Qi to st myself forward and smacked an open palm into the cut limb.

    "Burn!" I called, and my Veridian Heart me Surged from my palm, creating massive heat shock as a steam explosion sted me and the Tentacle away from each other. While I wouldn¡¯t suffer much damage from heat, the steam explosion inside the water caused my bones to rattle.

    But it was still worth it.

    The Veridian m had surged and seared the open wound, causing the tentacle to not grow once again.

    Yet, though this was good news, bad news always follows.

    The Sea beast, realizing that its limb was no longer capable of regenerating screeched with even more force than the small opening it had at the top of the dome began to crack even further.

    The One-Eyed Kraken had been attacking us from outside the dome thanks to his tentacle since they were rtively thin enough to go through the broken piece of the dome, yet with cracks spreading all over the top of the dome, the sea beast will soon break through it ande at us with all of its literal might.

    Thankfully, this gave me a few more moments of rest, as the sea beast was actively breaking the dome, I had a bit of time to go back to the group.

    Once I arrived, the three of them were pale-faced and stricken with panic.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" I sent.

    "It¡¯s locked, we can¡¯t open it." Wu Di replied in a divine sense.

    I gave the gate a quick nce and scanned it with divine sense, I then immediately came to the realization of what¡¯s the underlying problem.

    "Because it¡¯s inscription protected, that¡¯s a flooding mechanism, when a flood happens the gate would close. I could break the formation but it would take some time, the time we can¡¯t afford as this sea beast is adamant about hunting us. But we can still trick the mechanism into thinking that the area is no longer flooded."

    "How are we going to do that?" Wu Di asked.

    "Give me a moment," I said then I pulled my Lord of Lords Token.

    "Get back, we¡¯ll only have a moment once the gate opens, you¡¯ll have to be fast!" I replied.

    The group took a few steps away and once I deemed them far enough, I summoned the pagoda with its gate exactly connected to the door.

    I then ordered the pagoda to open its gate, and this caused the Pce of the Deep¡¯s gate to realize that it was no longer in contact with water, then it shone bright and started slowly opening up.

    "It¡¯s working!" Hua Yue said. "We can escape!"

    "Shit, you shouldn¡¯t have said that," I replied.

    Because I knew a g when I hear it, and immediately the dome that was holding the behemoth cracked and broke, releasing the Kraken.

    The One-Eyed Kraken came at us now with all of its tentaclesing our way.

    I called back the pagoda into the token, and the Pce of The Deep¡¯s gate began closing.

    The current sucked all the four of us in as the door closed behind it, then not a fraction of a secondter, a loud bang sounded against the massive gate as it visibly bent from the force of the eight tentacles. Then came after it the shaking of the Mountain, and a vengeful and frustrated screech of wrath and indignation from the One-Eyed beast.

    As we allying supine on the ground, wet, half terrified, andpletely exhausted, as we took deep breaths, Wu Di was the first to start a fit of contagiousughter that we all followed after.

    "Can you believe it? we just escaped a thirdyer of Demonic Beasts while none of us died? Not even a group of Nascent Cultivators can escape this creature." Huang said.

    "That was a series of very fortunate events that happened. Anyway, heree closer," I said as I raised my hand forward.

    I lit up a small green fireball for all of us.

    "I¡¯ve seen you use this before, I thought it was a strange me, but when it seared the One Eyed¡¯s tentacle, I knew this was something special," Huang said.

    "That¡¯s a heart me." Wu Di said as he got closer to the me.

    The me was hot enough that it dried all of our clothes without burning any of us.

    "Heart mes are very rare. Congrattions on obtaining such a rare treasure, brother Shen Bao."

    "Thank you, I was just lucky, anyway we¡¯ll need to continue heading forward, because, you probably didn¡¯t notice it, but you¡¯re bleeding," I said as I looked at Wu Di in the face.

    Wu Di wiped his face and noticed that his white sleeves were now smeared with blood.

    "You used a lot of Qi, not even my pills can help you now, we¡¯ll need to find the Sealing technique, and from the smell of this ce...I think we¡¯re not that far away."

    "What do you mean by smell?" Huang Asked.

    "This moldy, old but still very pleasant smell, it¡¯s the smell of old books. We¡¯re probably in a library or Pavilion area, let¡¯s head forward." I said and our group moved ahead.

 Chapter 166 Expect The Best Prepare For The Worst

    <h4>Chapter 166: Expect The Best Prepare For The Worst</h4>

    We moved through the tunnel until we reached the other side. It was blocked by a restriction gate, nothing a few works of my brush couldn¡¯t deal with. And once we were inside, we were able to see treasures hidden under the dust, though they weren¡¯t treasures of gold and silver, they were treasures of knowledge of an entire sect.

    "So many books and scrolls," Hua Yue said as she gazed on the hundreds of perfectly aligned rows of bookshelves that carried hundreds of rolled scrolls, manuals, books, and more.

    "Seems like Shen Bao was right, this was the sect¡¯s pavilion, look, there is a cultivation manual here," Huang said as he pulled a book for us.

    "Red Iron fist, a physical technique that improves Qi cirction and aids the user in tapping into their body¡¯s hidden potential, seems like a body cultivator¡¯s dream," Huang said as he pocketed the manual.

    "Since this is a treasure trove, we might as well split up, look for anything that could rte to the Pce of the Deep¡¯s Secret technique," I said.

    The group nodded and we each went to a different corner of the library and started scanning the books and skimming through them.

    Hours after hours of search, and nothing seemed to be indicating the secret techniques of the sect. All I ever found to be of value is some maps to some of the Sect¡¯s excursions in the Devil Sealing War.

    From the history and past of this sect, it was a prominent one and apparently was the ruling sect of this entire Si Xue. It had great power and wasmanded by two Ascendant Cultivators, the Imperatrix of Lightning and the Master of Chains.

    However, since they ascended, the Si Xue could no longer support them or their cultivation, thus they were forced to leave after gaining a lot of contribution in the Devil Sealing War. Sadly, after a few centuries of them leaving the, their sect was attacked by some remnants from the Devil Sect.

    The battlested for a long long time, and thanks to the Egg of Delusion, the sect wasn¡¯t fully destroyed, as the Egg made it impossible for the Devil Sect to fully prate into the sect and raze it whole. Yet, the blow was heavy enough that many of the disciples of the sect left and abandoned it.

    "Hmm, things don¡¯t add up," I muttered, as I thought about everything I know about this sect, there seems to be contradictions within the given information from the different parties.

    ¡¯Since the sect was abandoned, why was it still holding so many treasures? Couldn¡¯t the disciples just leave with the treasures in hand? Also who wrote these, must have written these after the fact that the sect was destroyed. Could it be that someone remained behind?¡¯

    That¡¯s the only exnation, there could probably be a situation, where an elder or a powerful person remained while everyone left, they could have been the one taking care of the sect, even after the destruction of many of its facilities. Also, with the Egg of delusion, the chances of greedy cultivatorsing in were slim to none, and with only powerful sea beasts roaming about, it was nothing but suicide. Not to mention that the exact location of the Pce of the Deep was not known to all, and one needed to course the whole of the Deeps to get here.

    These conditions made it more than improbable for anyone to try and raid a death zone.

    Yet what was most vexing was that there was nothing indicating the existence of the Devil Sealing technique. And this was nothing but bad news, as I heard Wu Di¡¯s coughs increasing in strength and the time between them getting shorter and shorter.

    A few more hours ended in nothing but a waste of time, though the three found some good cultivation books, we found nothing that could help Wu Di or his sect.

    "Let¡¯s head deeper, the sect must have a treasury. There could be a copy of the technique there." I said.

    "You¡¯re right," Wu Di said, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. "let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t be losing hope right now can we?" Wu Di¡¯s rueful smile made my heartache.

    "Let¡¯s keep moving, there is a pathway leading to the top, we should rtively be in the center of the Sect, this library seems to be a conjunction of all other rooms and ss domes. We can head to different parts of the sect from here." I said as I pointed towards an open doorway.

    Once we got in, it was as I described, several pathways were leading to different sections of the sect, a couple of them, after a quick divine scan was flooded, so they were a hard no.

    "Let¡¯s go through the middle one, it¡¯s the only one that doesn¡¯t seem to be flooded. If we find nothing, we¡¯ll keep looking, we¡¯ll try to keep the flooded paths forst, we don¡¯t want to risk going into the waters again with that sea beast being all hostile and all-" just as I finished my words, crashing sounds echoed as the whole sect began shaking.

    I almost lost my footing from the sudden impact, and immediately used my Divine Sence to check up on what was going on.

    "Shit," I cursed.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Wu Di said through grit teeth.

    "One of the cultivators that were chasing after us didn¡¯t die. And he just noticed me using divine sense. We¡¯ve been spotted, we have to move fast."

    "Is he the reason behind the crash?" Hua Yue asked.

    I shook my head, "No, that was the One-Eyed Kraken, the cultivator just mmed it against the mountain."

    "Oh, that¡¯s not good news," Huang replied.

    "That¡¯s some very bad news because he just went towards the hole in the dome we were at earlier. The only thing blocking his way is the inscribed doorway, and since he doesn¡¯t need to fear the sea beast, he¡¯ll probably have enough time to break the gate."

    "Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s move," Wu Di said.

    "Yeah, go on ahead, I¡¯ll have to secure our backs. I¡¯ll make some inscriptions to hold the enemy back."

    The three moved ahead of me once again, but I firmly reminded them to be more careful, I don¡¯t want the same thing as before to happen again with the half Pixi.

    I thought for a moment about what to inscribe, then a daring idea came to me.

    I walked back to the three-way entry and stuck a couple of talismans on the middle entrance.

    Then I took a piece of fabric from a random dress I had in my pouch and ced it next to the entrance from the south.

    Then I inscribed a potent trap inscription on the passage on the south and finished by inscribing an illusion formation on the middle one that I¡¯ll be going through. The illusion was pretty simple, nothing too difficult and could be dispelled the moment anyone even touches it, but it was strong enough that not even divine sense could see through it and would think it was a regr wall.

    This will serve as a great fake-out. But this will only work if the cultivator is actually smart. He will probably find the fabric and think that we went through that path, and we secured our back with a formation, further increasing his certainty. And since the second inscription couldn¡¯t be detected with divine sense, he won¡¯t even hesitate to go through the trap and follow a fake trail. This will buy us a lot of valuable time.

    Once the inscription was done, I followed after the group as fast as I could.

    And while I was mid-way through the tunnel I head the gate to the library bursting open. The cultivator was pretty much one room behind us, if my small trap works, we¡¯ll buy more time if it doesn¡¯t well be screwed because he was strong enough to give the one-eyed Kraken a beating.

    Soon I arrived at another section that led to two different passages. One led up, and another led down.

    "Shit this whole damn sect is built like a maze." I used my divine sense and found the group had taken the left path.

    Thus, I ced another trap formation, but this time, on the left path. Instead of faking it like before.

    This will also y out if the cultivator is smart, otherwise, we¡¯re screwed. Because, since he would have followed my first n, and had gone through the trapped pathway and found nothing, he¡¯ll think that the pathway I just trapped was also the same as before, thus he will go through the one that has no traps in it and will once again lose time.

    I grinned as I finished my work, I would really like to see the look on the cultivator¡¯s face once he realizes he has been duped, but would really not want to face his wrath while I¡¯m underprepared.

    I pulled the poison god¡¯s sword and flew forward to meet up with my group. We don¡¯t have much time, and currently, we¡¯re still without the Sealing Technique.

    But since this pathway was leading upward, there was hope that it led to the top area of the sect where most Sect Masters usually dwelled. A Sect Master will always be near the Treasury, and there was a good chance that it was at the end of this pathway, so, we can only hope.

 Chapter 167 Rage Incarnate

    <h4>Chapter 167: Rage Incarnate</h4>

    I reached my group in less than a couple of minutes where I found them all sting through the tunnel on top of their personal flying weapons.

    "Took you long enough," Wu Di said while stifling a cough.

    "Yeah, I had to make sure we¡¯re not pursued," I replied.

    "Good, so far we¡¯ve been moving about aimlessly, hopefully, we¡¯ll find something at the end of this tunnel," Huang said.

    "I have a good feeling about the end of this area, let¡¯s just keep moving," I replied and our group made way toward the end of the rising tunnel.

    Soon enough, we arrived at the top of the mountain, where there stood a single house with one story at the top of a flight of stairs. The surrounding was a serene-looking garden and atop us was a massive dome that covered the whole area, letting nothing but the shimmering glimmer of sunlight go through.

    "This looks beautiful," Hua Yue said.

    "True, it¡¯s a peaceful ce, but we¡¯re not here to enjoy a rxing vacation, let¡¯s start ransacking the ce," I replied and headed out first.

    Just as I arrived at the door of the house, I saw a sitting skeleton on the house¡¯s porch.

    "Seems like this was the person who took care of the sect after it fell, he never left," I gave the dead man a bow and spoke, "Apologies for trespassing." Then took the first step on the house, half afraid that something might jump me.

    Seeing nothing popping out, I breathed a sigh of relief and walked inside the house.

    It was a simple house with simple decorations, there were vases with wilted flowers on them, and shelves and tables that had gathered so much dust that it created a thick crustyter over them.

    I looked around the house and didn¡¯t see anything worth taking or the sight of a treasury.

    Frowning, I walked back out, "I didn¡¯t find anything, not even Divine Sense is detecting any hidden doorways or secret passages, could there be another area where the sect keeps their treasures?" I vocalized.

    Our group looked confused before Huang Said, "I¡¯d propose we split up and-"

    His words stopped mid-way as all of us felt it, though it was far toote...

    A st of Qi surged from within the tunnel we just walked out from as a man shot forward with blinding speed.

    He didn¡¯t even bother speaking as he struck Huang powerfully in the chest, causing the man to il, spiraling in the air before tumbling on the ground for god knows how many times until he stopped still as the dead.

    The man then had already jumped for Hua Yue, grabbing her by the back of the neck.

    "WHO! AMONG YOU FILTHY FOOLS PUT THOSE TRAPS THERE!" the man roared.

    Now that he stopped, I was finally able to see his face.

    He looked no older than thirty, but had a massive burn mark on his face, courtesy of yours truly.

    His whole aura was seething in fits of rage, he looked like a dragon that had his reverse scale poked.

    In a situation like this, trying to calm this person is impossible, also there was no need to calm him as he was already determined to kill us off.

    I immediately made a hand gesture, "Kai!" I spoke, and while the man had been grabbing Hua Yue by the neck, forcing her to gasp for breath, he never understood how she ¡¯blew up in his face.

    As a massive load of poisonous substance shot from her side pouch and assaulted the cultivator¡¯s nose.

    The cultivator immediately let go the moment the poison touched his body, he covered himself in protective Qi and backed off.

    "You! Inscriber, you must have been the one, so vile, a poison cultivator, I shall rid the world of your evil ways!" the man spoke as he pulled a broad curved de.

    He dashed towards me with blinding speed as he sliced forward aiming to split me in half in one hit.

    Contending this man in strength is nothing but idiocy, so I spat poison at him.

    "It won¡¯t work fool! I protected myself with my Qi, unless your Qi is stronger than mine, you can¡¯t harm me!" the man said as he went into my poison cloud.

    ¡¯The most clich¨¦ of things, the viin¡¯s monologue before finishing off the hero, sigh,¡¯

    Immediately, the man froze up mid-way, then tapped a foot on the ground and instantly jumped away from the poison cloud.

    He began coughing and spat a mouthful of blood.

    "H-how, how can a core cultivator¡¯s Qi be strong enough to prate a half-step Soul Formation¡¯s Qi?"

    I didn¡¯t reply, why should I exin to him that my poison was mixed with Breath Sealing Poison? Which served to stop the body from properly rotating Qi?

    So, I pulled a pill from my pouch, ced it between my thumb and index then flicked it at the man.

    He immediately dodged it, fearing that it would be a trap, but since he was a smart person, it worked pretty well in my favor.

    The dodge helped me because my primary target wasn¡¯t him, but actually, Hua Yue, who wasying on the ground behind.

    The pill made contact against her body and immediately started negating the poison from the pill I gave her to use and distract the Kraken.

    It was all nned from the start, those pills were useful for them to hide their tracks from the sea beast, but if they kept them, and on the off chance they crossed me, I had rigged the pills with a mechanism that allows me to detonate them from distance.

    One has to be prepared for all situations.

    "YOU TRICKSTER! Enough, I¡¯ve been tricked enough by your schemes! Today you¡¯ll die!" the man said, pulled a blood-red brooch from his pouch and crushed it with one hand, creating a golden barrier that covered him from head to toe.

    "Dodge this!" the man said as he teleported from where he stood.

    And like always, like all the fools, all the idiots who have the most amazing ability of all, teleportation, they always attack from the same god damned obvious and most annoying spot. From the back.

    Before his sword swing could even make contact, I had already thrown a talisman behind me, where he teleported right atop, causing it to explode in a gust of fire, poison, and wind.

    The talisman¡¯s purpose wasn¡¯t to kill but to distract and cause him to fumble as he didn¡¯t expect me to expect him to be there.

    In his moment of surprise and while the smokescreen was still up, Y¡¯s hand extended from the poison god¡¯s book and swung his Demon de down.

    The impact caused the whole mountain to shake and rumble, and gave me enough time to take a jump back into the direction of Huang and check up on his state.

    I ced a finger on his neck, thanking God that he was still miraculously alive, and another touch to his wrist to understand that through his Qi circuit a lot of damage had happened to his body.

    Wu Di sent me a divine sense message, " Is he still alive?" he asked.

    "Barely, I need to finish this off fast," I replied.

    "You mean that person is still alive? Even with that powerful attack?" Wu Di asked, with worry in his voice.

    "Yes, the treasure he had was really powerful, but don¡¯t worry, he didn¡¯te out unscathed," I replied.

    "Also, so far he is not even deeming you worth his attention, so just move away from there and check up on Hua Yue, I¡¯ll keep him upied," I spoke.

    Soon enough, the dust settled, and from within the cracked ground I could see the silhouette of the man, blood all over his face, yet his expression was that of an enraged demon.

    "HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted, with strength enough to shake the whole ce."

    ¡¯Shit, he still has so much strength,¡¯

    "X,e out," I said, and immediately the puppet shot forward from my chest.

    "Oh, a puppet, and a very strong one at that, what would happen if I deny you the right to call it to this fight!!" the man pped both of his palms together in a prayer pose, then roared.

    ¡¯Deny them this fight? That doesn¡¯t sound good, not at all.¡¯

    The Qi gathering around this man was so much that the ground began cracking.

    The spiritual Qi burst from his body like a torrent of power, raging in might and power he shouted one word. "LAW!"

    And thus, the invisible lines ofw manifested all over the ce like a cobweb.

    Though I didn¡¯t know what this type of Law was, I was about to find out.

    "It is iplete But you¡¯ll suffer for forcing my hand! Be grateful, you¡¯re the first none Nascent Soul cultivator I used this on! Law, heed my call! Darkest Age!"

    Immediately, the Law Lines, changed, thickening and closed the space between them, creating a dome of total power and control, where this enraged cultivator was master, lord, and the literal god of that ce.

    Thew space manifested, creating a Domain.

    I looked around and noticed that I was in a ce where there was nothing but stones, rocks, and boulders all over the ce.

    Not even X was here.

    As I looked at myself, I noticed that I was wearing a leather loincloth and had nothing on me but a spear made from a crude stick.

    "What the actual fuck?" I said as I realized I could no longer use my Qi, nor had ess to Y, or X.

 Chapter 168 Monstrous Talent

    <h4>Chapter 168: Monstrous Talent</h4>

    "ALL HAIL THE RETURN OF THE WIND PRINCE!" Roared a voice, with enough boom that the itself shuddered.

    Joyous shouts and praises rocked the streets of the Imperial of the Wind Realm, where no one was to rest from this joyful festive event, not for a month at least. Drinks made from the finest and most expensive fruits, aged and preserved only for such asions were handed to everyone who joined the festival.

    Carriages filled with the rarest and most beneficial cultivation spiritual fruits that anyone in the lower realm would wage war for just one were given to children for free. As for older and more mature people, they were each handed bags of Saint Qi crystals that were enough to make an ascendant¡¯s blood boil.

    The streets were filled with decorations, and the whole realm was boisterous, as everyone heaved with joy at an event that happened a few weeks ago...

    The Eldest Son of the Wind Realm¡¯s King, Zhang Tian, had sent a Divine Sense avatar, and thanks to this Divine Sense Avatar, his location was discovered, after a thousand years of disappearance, most had believed that he had passed on, but the king never doubted the talent of his own son, never believed that he would die meaninglessly in some random corner of the world, thus he kept hope, and today his hope was awarded.

    Guided by the avatar, the Wind King raised an army of billions of soldiers and marched forward with might strong enough to dismay the most deadly, and most dangerous of Space Dwellers aside, not even that, but even theary Covenant had to do drastic measures as the Wind King moved such force.

    The Wind King¡¯s armies Scared the living hell out of every Elemental King on the Vast Expanse, for none of them would make such a bold and daring move to move out their entire arsenal, but the Wind King was a doting father, and he would move his entire force for his son. Thus theary Covenant had to literally move some of thes out of their orbits in case the Wind King would think they were a hindrance and outright destroy them due to slowing him down.

    The whole Vast Expanse had watched the Wind King¡¯s charge, moving about in space like a celestial meteor that bore through the fabric of space headed farther and farther away and into one of the World¡¯s Cracks.

    A Crack that led to the old and ancient Lesser Celestial Realm.

    For most Cultivators, no one dared go to the Lesser Celestial Realm, it was tooplex to navigate and too vast to fully explore not to mention that it had a giant Spatial Rift within it that sucked out every ounce of Saint Qi, so there was nothing to explore there. It was barrennd, that held nothing but death, decay and was not worth anyone¡¯s life to explore for at most pieces not even bigger than a piece of rice of saint Qi.

    Thus, the lesser Celestial Realm was considered a wastnd, not worth being looked at or explored, and this was the very reason why they never thought that the son of the Wind King would be there.

    For he had no reason to go there, but from what the reports had brought, it appeared that the Elusive Master Rain had been the reason why the Zhang Tian Son of the Wind Realm¡¯s King, was held captive.

    For what reason, however, the prince himself didn¡¯t divulge that none but his father had known of the reason why Zhang Tian was captured and imprisoned.

    The King had moved his armies through the World¡¯s Crack and then dove through the turbulent and highly aggressive wormhole that led into the ancient Lesser Celestial Realm.

    For any cultivator of this realm, doing this would mean that they were in for a deadly risk, as the World Crack¡¯s rift was powerful enough to shred any cultivator below a certain cultivation rank to shreds. Yet in this advent, the King had personally covered all of his army, that counted in the billions, with his own Qi, his whole army looked like an imposing dragon of wind coursing the hole without suffering the least.

    Seeing their king actively protecting every single one of them gave the soldiers great confidence in the loyalty of their king, so their own loyalty to him increased. They then each supplied their own Qi to the dragon, not to let the King exhaust himself, and thus, every soldier¡¯s Qi was imprinted on one of the wind dragon¡¯s scales, creating a seven-colored dragon that tore through the darkness of space.

    The soldiers shouted for their king, as their king led the charge, making it into the Celestial Realm.

    The moment the Dragon was inside the celestial realm, the golden glow of the ground shone even brighter as if it had been waiting and weed the king himself.

    "Follow me!" the king said and the whole army once again charged forward into the direction of the Forbidden City.

    With their strength, not a single creature that dwelled in the Celestial Realm dared to show its face, for they feared the strong, and the king and his army were nothing short of a god to them.

    They feared for their lives and shuddered to hide whatever bit and piece of their bodies under rocks or in holes, terrified as the army moved above them.

    It took them a month of travel before the army stopped, this just serves to exin how massive and grand this Celestial Realm is.

    "Halt!" the king shouted and in front of them, was the massive forbidden city, locked behind thousands upon thousands of formations.

    Just the sight of these formations caused the whole army to take a second to both be amazed and ready up for a deadly battle, for they knew well that these formations were going to be the death of many of them.

    The king himself pulled his spear, readying to destroy as many restrictions to save his son who was captured and held within the massive pce.

    "Father, Wait!" spoke the voice of his son as a wave of familiar divine sense washed over the army. This was not Zhang Tian¡¯s Divine Sense¡¯s aura, but the real one,ing from the pce.

    "Do not destroy this ce," spoke Zhang Tian.

    "Why, son, don¡¯t you feel oppressed by this ce, wouldn¡¯t destroying it clear your mind and heart?" replied the father.

    "No, father, my heart has never been more solid, and never wavered, for I wish to preserve this ce not for keepsake or for the thousand-yearpany, but I wish to preserve it for a friend. After all, it was thanks to that friend that I was able to send that Divine Sense Avatar."

    "A friend? My son, made a friend? Who must he be, this glorious man, who could he be a man that even my own son could call a friend, and tide through these difficult traps to help him, for if he shows himself I shall name a Sr System after his name and grant him a Pary Fiefdom and a title that would honor him and his generation for ten thousand years," the king spoke, and everyone from the army was shaken at his words, this was how the king valued his son¡¯s friend.

    "Ah, he would definitely not ept that," Zhang Tian replied in a chuckle. "For he is pretty special!"

    This both made the king and his entire army surprised, as who would refuse such honor, but at the same time, the prince hadughed? This was a first, and his own father was on the verge of tears. For who could make his own son, the stoic, schr who had no feelings to expressughter and joy.

    "Who is this magnificent man, if you are among my army show yourself!" the king said.

    No one in the army moved forward.

    "Father, he is not among your army, nor among your people," Zhang Tian said.

    "Then he must be a grand and great master of the other realm, a reclusive and powerful Saint." The king said.

    "No, for he belongs to no faction," Zhang Tian said.

    "Then a powerful Hermit who travels the world in search of the Truth!"

    "Not even that, for if you know this man, you will be shaken to your core." Zhang Tian.

    "Son, I have lived for too long to be shaken by surprises, but I know you not to speak nonsense or lies, tell us, who might this person be, so we can reward him."

    "I don¡¯t wish to reveal his name, for I fear that an enemy might go after him, but all I can say is, that he was a Core Cultivator when he came here, and he tided through all of those formations, the very formations that our entire army was thinking that they¡¯ll risk an arm and a leg to move through, he did all that with just a Core Cultivation base."

    The words sounded, and silence prevailed, for what Zhang Tian was saying was akin to impossible.

    "Son, are you not joking?" the King said, even if he knew his son to not be a liar, this was too hard to believe.

    "I joke not, you can check it yourself, travel the same path he did, you¡¯ll discover that all the formations he went through have been tampered with and are much easier to break, better bring just one or two guards lest the army cause more trouble." Zhang Tian said.

    The king then used his own divine sense and began detecting traces of Qi.

    "This Qi! The Poison God?" The Wind Realm¡¯s King sent a divine sense message to his own son; lest another person from the army would hear this.

    "No, but apparently, fate had brought me his own disciple. This is for your eyes alone, I doubt anyone from your army could recognize this Qi, so he should be safe and sound, but you must forbid anyone from scanning this area, that¡¯s why I asked you to bring only your trusted guards." The prince replied back.

    "Soldiers, you are hereby forbidden from using divine sense! Lest I approve it!"

    "YES, Your Majesty!" the whole army replied.

    "You,e with me," The King said and flew down with thepany of two of his generals.

    cing a hand on one of the barriers, he realized that what his son was speaking was true, this Qi was belonging to the Poison God, but it was too weak, not even a fraction of a fraction of the Poison God¡¯s own Qi, still, the purity was there.

    "Wind, show me the past!" the Wind King Said.

    And with that, the wind manifested and twisted, recreating the scenes when Shen Bao was flying away from the Silver Back Kajangs, anding in contact with the formation.

    The wind only showed the Shape of Shen Bao, and could barely show his expression, as it recreated Shen Bao¡¯s movement, as he worked his way through the formation, rewriting them and then moved about.

    "Crude, yet, original, this inscription technique..." Spoke the King.

    "You¡¯ll be more surprised if you follow this path," said the Prince, and sent his father the path that Shen Bao had crossed through a divine sense message.

    The king pressed his hand on the formation and it immediately broke, since Shen Bao had tampered with it, it only needed a push from someone as powerful as the Wind King to break, but if it had been the same before being tampered not even the Wind King could easily dispel it.

    The Wind King moved ording to his son¡¯s map, and with every inscription, he was more and more surprised until it turned to utter andplete shock.

    "This man! How long did he take?" Asked the king.

    "Two Months!" the prince replied.

    "In just a mere two months, a core cultivation realm cultivator had reached an understanding of inscription that was on par with Master Rain. Not that I¡¯m belittling the elusive Master Rain¡¯s inscription, but this child had made all the years Master Rain had spent be nothing but a waste. If he were here, he¡¯ll rip his hair out." The kingughed.

    "He gets even better, out of spite, I actually showed him Master Rain¡¯s hideout, he ransacked it whole, with that much material, I¡¯m sure he will be even better than Master Rain, that¡¯s if you keep what happened here a secret, I don¡¯t want Master Rain to realize that his inventory was sacked by a core cultivator."

    "I shall keep this a secret, but the moment I let you out, Master Rain will know of it."

    "Even if he does, he will think that I took those items, not the Core Cultivator, then I dare him to show his face in front of me." Zhang Tian replied.

    "True. But I truly fear for such a grand talent to be wasted, is he in our realm?"

    "I have told you, father, he doesn¡¯t belong to anyone, hees from a faraway, on the rims of the Wind Realm, within the Barren Space."

    "Curses, I would have personally gone there, but the Barren Space can¡¯t withstand our Qi, it would break and tear. We should still bring some Half Step Ascendants to protect him, at least from harm." The King replied.

    "No need, he has a powerful Puppet, also, it would be determinable to his growth, let him grow, I believe in him he is not someone who will die easily."

    "I¡¯m d you think well of your friend, lets keep going," the King Said and moved forward.

    As he traveled across the path Shen Bao had crossed, he was more and more surprised until he reached a location where the Silver Kajang wasying, desperately covering its eyes with its hands, as if it couldn¡¯t see the dangerous King, the king wouldn¡¯t see it.

    "Let me dispose of this beast for you, my king." Said one of the Generals as he pulled his sword and moved dangerously toward the shaking Kajang.

    "Keep it, it caused some trouble of my friend, but I don¡¯t wish it dead at the hands of another," the Prince replied.

    "As you wish!" the general replied and sheathed his sword.

    "Let¡¯s keep moving, my son is nearby!" the king said and the group marched forward.

 Chapter 169 The Return Of The Prince

    <h4>Chapter 169: The Return Of The Prince</h4>

    The king walked with his generals forward, tearing down the formation that Shen Bao hadn¡¯t touched since he was only able to progress to a stage that was only a couple formations close to the main pce and never moved ahead, the king started giving Shen Bao even more praise in his heart. Because the formation in front of him was actually tough enough that it required the King to use ten percent of his strength to break it.

    Though ten percent might not seem like a huge number, in rtion to Shen Bao¡¯s core cultivation level, this was an astronomically monstrous amount of Qi, not regr Qi, but pure Saint Qi that the king had used, and the moment he broke the formation, he sighed.

    "What¡¯s wrong, father?" came the voice of Zhang Tian.

    "Nothing, Son, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m more and more amazed by how your friend was able to unlock these formations with such a low cultivation level, it¡¯s a surprise I still can¡¯t tone down."

    "I know father, I still have even more news to share with you regarding him, but that will have to wait, I don¡¯t want to cause you heart demons," Zhang Tian said.

    "Heart Demons? That¡¯s a term I haven¡¯t heard in a long time, do you think that I could even have those?" the king replied.

    "Well, it¡¯s regarding the Dao and the Mortality Severing, Shen Bao gave me a pretty new and different view that would break anyone with a weak will, and will still shake one with a stronger one. He revealed truth that I didn¡¯t even think to consider, so I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll have a pretty hard time epting it, thus I will only speak them in our privacy and when you¡¯re fully meditated because his truth were pretty shocking."

    "Then I can¡¯t wait to hear them, this is entertainment I longed for, discussing Dao with my son, and discussing the Dao of someone even my son looks highly up upon."

    "Yes father, all in due time," Zhang Tian replied.

    The King, with newer will and resolve moved forward and attacked the next and final formation before the Major Pce formation.

    This one took him a few hits before he tore it down. Though Shen Bao used his wits and mastery of inscriptions to turn them off; with the King¡¯s power, he only needed brute force to tear these formations down.

    Finally, after thebyrinth city was broken through, the king stood gazing upon the massive pce in the middle of the city, where a purple formation had been erected there for ages long ago and was still standing strong.

    "This will take some time to break," the king said and pulled a sword from a jeweled ring on his fingers.

    The weapon in his hand was a massive scimitar with several rings attached to the dull side. The curvature of the Scimitar was beautiful and the weapon itself seemed to shine bright with Saint Qi as if it had a soul of its own.

    "Soul Cleaver, show me your might," the king said and raised his weapon preparing to destroy the formation.

    Yet before his weapon would evene down, an avatar showed up on the formation.

    "Wind King, Shu Tian," spoke the avatar.

    "Huh, a recorded message, this is Master Rain." King Shu Tian replied.

    The avatar, since it was a recording replied, "This ce I¡¯ve built to imprisoned fools, and your son was one since I didn¡¯t want to kill him and create a blood feud between us, I only imprisoned him here. You may reim your son, this barrier will dissipate now, and I hope he had paid enough for his foolishness against me."

    Immediately, the whole formation shone once, twice, and a third time before dissipating, revealing the pce for all to see, without a single formation acting up again.

    "That¡¯s convenient," the king said, but his words weren¡¯t that of a person who I d. They were rather filled with venom.

    "Does Master Rain think that doing this is enough to forgive his crime!" one of the two generals said.

    "Silence," the king replied, "I¡¯ll personally deal with Master Rain once I meet him again, but for now, let¡¯s get my son."

    Just as the King¡¯s words finished, the Prince, Zhang Tian appeared at the front of the Pce.

    Looking at his son, with the marks of chains on his cor, hands, and legs, red from a thousand years imprisonment was enough to fuel a rage never before seen in the eyes of the Wind King.

    "Calm down, Father," the Prince said, "I do not regret the imprisonment, though it cost me a few years of cultivation, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯m far behind my brothers, I don¡¯t think it will take me a lot of time to surpass them," the prince said.

    "I still have no idea why that fool tried to do such a thing, why did he do this to you son? I¡¯m ashamed as a father to not have found you earlier."

    "I know father, I know you did your best, but Master Rain was pretty smart about where to imprison me, within the Lower Celestial Realm inside your own realm, in in sight where no one would think to search. But it was all worth it," Zhang Tian said with a gentle smile.

    "A thousand years Son! That¡¯s a thousand years of your life wasted here!" the king said as if not believing that what his son was saying to be true.

    "But for this," the prince said and showed his father a small round pearl. It gave off a beautiful light, a mix of green red, and purple.

    "That¡¯s! Where did you get that!" the king¡¯s surprise was even bigger than when he knew about Shen Bao¡¯s achievements.

    "It¡¯s the reason Master Rain imprisoned me here, though he never thought I¡¯d hide it on my person since he saw me threw it into a world¡¯s rift."

    "You mean, that you tricked Master Rain into thinking you threw An Eternal ze into a World¡¯s Rift? How did he believe it?"

    "I used a domain I had obtained, domain of forgery, it can copy and clone anything perfectly, I just threw the copy and he was so mad he did this, now I have obtained it, you can have it father, that¡¯s thest thing you need to rise above your cultivation level, then assert dominance over the realms." Zhang Tian said.

    The king, with all his majesty, came to his son, hugged him, and wept.

    "It is not the son¡¯s duty to sacrifice for his father! It was mine! You shouldn¡¯t have given years of your life for me, I should be the one doing that! Filial son of mine, you¡¯ve done me a favor I cannot repay!" The king said with a broken voice.

    "Don¡¯t say that father," Zhang Tian said as he patted his father on the back, "You have done more to me than I am worth, it is only a small token, take it, go into seclusion ande back as the true king of all. I have enough wits about myself to grow my strength and surpass my brothers, so don¡¯t worry about my well-being." Zhang Tian¡¯s smile never left his face.

    The generals, seeing this touching scene bowed down to the prince, "Long Live the prince! Long live the king!"

    The king finally getting his bearings, wiped his tears, smiled at his son, and said, "Today is a day of joy, today is a day of festivities, I shall dere a month of festivities, for your return," the king said then used his divine sense for all to hear.

    "Heed my words! For I have been gifted the greatest gift by my son! Zhang Tian, as all here a witness you¡¯re hereby promised my throne! Son of mine, you¡¯re now the heir, and first in line to im my throne!" The king said.

    And immediately everyone cheered for the kindness of the king and what appeared to be a perfect reward for the filial son.

    Frowning, Zhang Tian sent his father a private Divine Senes message.

    "Father, I didn¡¯t do this to be your next in line, this will cause a lot of problems with my brothers."

    His words were clear, as Zhang Tian¡¯s nature wasn¡¯t one to rule andmand but that of a schr who seeks the truth.

    "I know son, I know, you can refuseter, but not here, I need to show the world how I treat those who treat me well, even if you refuse the throne, I have far better things to give you, I know this throne is nothing but trouble for a schr such as you, thus I made this scene, also this will force your brothers out of their bickering and scheming against each other.

    "Then they¡¯ll start scheming against me." Zhang Tian said.

    "I know, but unlike your brothers, you¡¯re the smartest, their schemes won¡¯t work on you, as a father I fear that if my sons kill each other, and if they were all focused on you, none will suffer."

    "Father, I feel like your punishing me instead of rewarding me," Zhang Tianughed, but he understood what his father meant. "But worry not, I¡¯ll take this responsibility with pride.

    "Thank you, son, I¡¯ll make it up to you, I promise, now let¡¯s go back home, your mother will be really happy."

    "Yes, I haven¡¯t seen her in a while I¡¯m sure she misses me."

    "Yes son, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go back home."

 Chapter 170 Fire of Knowledge

    <h4>Chapter 170: Fire of Knowledge</h4>

    Gazing upon the skies, I saw a cloudless blue sky above me, with the sun sitting at its zenith Wind blew by, hot enough to cause one¡¯s mouth to dry. All around me was a half desert, whererge rock formations rose apart each other creating a natural maze where the only wind could blow through and cross.

    The ground was a mix of dirt and sand, rocks and pebbles aplenty. Where few types of the most stubborn grass grew, not caring for the heat or the poor conditions of life in this desert.

    And far in the distance, I could see him, a man with a club over his shoulder that could easily match his own size. Wrath, rage, and undted fury emanating from him like a visible aura of danger.

    With each step the man took, he crossed distances that shouldn¡¯t be possible to cross with a single step.

    This was a reminder of the first time I came to this world, when I saw one of the cultivators for the first time, walking and folding space as they walked.

    The man stood in front of me, with his pupilless eyes. Where nothing but a red aura of rage sparked. His whole body was covered in battle scars, as he wore nothing but a skirt made from the pelt of a beast.

    His bronzed tan indicated that he had spent a long time under the sun, and his pulsing and bulged muscles gave him a barbaric sight, one that might cow the most fearsome of lions.

    "See! This is my world! My Domain!" the man said, and every word revibrated across this Domain like an echo, honoring him, paying him piety, and bowing to his will.

    "I am king! Emperor! Lord and ruler here! And you are nothing but an ant to crush!" said the man with more vigor in his voice.

    "All your puppets, tools, weapons, and tricks do not exist here, for we are in ages long before man knew knowledge, we¡¯re in a world of ignorance, where only power ruled!" the man said then pointed at me with his club.

    The scene was prettyical as the club covered my face and torso due to howrge it was, "So, beg, pray and plead for mercy!"

    I looked around before answering the man and noticed visible faults in his domain, the sky that was above me didn¡¯t have clouds because he couldn¡¯t create them and keep them functional, and that fact also led me to notice something else, the sky..gged, for a fraction of a moment, I was able to notice a slight tear in the sky that was immediately mended afterward.

    "Iplete," I said.

    The man astonished by my unexpected reply said, "Do you think that just because it is iplete that it cannot kill you? That I cannot kill you, that you will not submit?!" he roared fury raising from him like steam.

    "Exactly, your domain is iplete, thus it cannot work," I said.

    Compared to Zhang Tian¡¯s domain, or even one of the domains Zhang Tian used in battling the Poison God, which was mighty and powerful but still no match to the Poison God¡¯s domain, this thing in front of me was a forgery of a forgery, not even worth being called a domain.

    "This excuse of an understanding of Law that you call Domain is nothing but a fake third rate attempt at making a domain. No, even third rate has more value and weight, you¡¯re nothing,"

    Just as I finished my words, the man screamed and raised his club to smash it down on me.

    "I don¡¯t like standing naked in the sun," was my reply to his action, and immediately I was fully clothed, back wearing my purple snake scale threaded robes.

    The man¡¯s club faltered and he stopped it mid-way, "Impossible! How?!"

    "You don¡¯t have enough grasp over your own domain to force me back into a stone age period, also, your whole domain can be ruined with just this," I said as I picked up a stone from the ground.

    The man didn¡¯t understand what was going on and came at me with another club blow which I easily dodged.

    The domain he created was really powerful, as it strips the two of their powers and cultivation base then sends them back to a prehistorical age, no one but a body cultivator can be a match to this person, but since he cannot force me to his will within his own domain, not even Zhang Tian was able to do so, I am still able to retain my cultivation base.

    The rock I picked up was pretty hefty, but with a few swings of Creeping demise, I made a rough primal creation that was going to shatter his whole domain.

    "Do you know what this is?" I asked the man as I showed him the circr stone.

    He didn¡¯t understand where I was going so I continued, "This is mankind¡¯s first creation, the wheel. It eased their transportation, and thus nting innovation, creation, to make one¡¯s life easier, the man began to bend the world to their whims to create things that they can use and abuse to force nature under their foot!" my words sounded like the decree of a god as they came crashing against the barbaric man.

    "STOP!" he shouted and immediately against his will, the wheel became four, and two-axis linked them and a carriage was constructed above them.

    I didn¡¯t expect this result but this gave me a good idea to test.

    I snapped my finger and created a small green me, "That was man¡¯s greatest and first invention, but this, this is fire, this is man¡¯s greatest and first Discovery. Fire scares animals and beasts, thus it is safety, fire makes meat taste better and healthier and meat no longer causes pains and illnesses."

    The man¡¯s head throbbed as his nose began bleeding, he dropped his club and clutched his head with both hands, screaming as if his brain was being scrambled by a heated metal pipe.

    "STOOOOOP!" he shouted.

    "Thenes discovery and innovation," I said "When man made the two as one, they discovered iron, and used fire on iron, and created better tools, the better tools made them harvest more efficiently, craft, create clothes, make more tools to further ease their way of life. For no man would rather remain in ignorance if ease and bliss of a good life are in front of them."

    As I spoke, the desert began transforming, the ground changed and the sand turned to fertilends, grass grew and wheat fields manifested, rivers spread all over the area as to chase away the drought, and thus buildings, shacks homes, and small buildings rose up all over the ce.

    The man¡¯s teeth ttered against each other as he dug his fingers into his head, trying to stop the pain from breaking him.

    But it was no use, as I continued narrating.

    "Man can never remain ignorant, it is against our nature to remain within our dark ages, Man progresses, and your whole world is forgotten, Your Domain is no more, it is but a memory, that only the stones on this valley could remember, for the people who made these things, will never wish to go back to those ages, your world is gone, and so shall you," I spoke and with my final words.

    More buildings rose up, now skyscrapers, airnes. Satellites rose up and covered the skies, and paved roads spread.

    The man visibly shook as he saw these things, for him, he never knew they existed, as cultivators knew nothing about this type of technology. Thus from the clear surprise in his eyes, I was able to understand that this was not his doing, meaning that this scenery was actually from my memory.

    I¡¯m able to affect his domain enough that it took a path through history and evolution, not based on alchemy and cultivation where they discarded science but based on a world where Man had no ess to Qi and the best way to ease their lives was to use their minds to make the world a better ce.

    Immediately, after this person¡¯s domain was fully packed with buildings and had no more space. He fell on his back with his eyes rolled back into his skull.

    Above me, the world cracked, broke, and shattered, and I stood standing while the wrathful many on the ground, shuddering and spasming.

    Hua Yue and Wu Di looked at me in surprise.

    "How long was I out?" I said.

    "It took you a moment or two, what happened? How did you survive a Domain?"

    "His Domain was really weak," I replied shrugging.

    Then I pulled my sword and came to the man, I ced my sword against his neck and said, "Anyst words."

    Visibly shaken, with a broken mindset, the man looked at me, weakly and said, "Finish me, I lost."

    Tsk

    "So boring," I said and didn¡¯t even bother slicing his neck off. It just felt, cheap.

    I turned and walked toward Huang.

    "Wait! Please!" the man said.

    Turning, "What is it? do you really want me to kill you that bad?"

    "Please answer me this, I wouldn¡¯t mind death afterward, how did you do it? how did you break my domain when you¡¯re in core creation?"

    "I didn¡¯t break your domain, you did, your domain is based on the ignorance of man, based on an age that mankind had done everything in their power to get rid of, anything that you see in the world, any creation, any tool any piece of furniture or clothing has been specifically made to part us even a finger width apart from those ages, and by making that wheel, I gave your world the spark it needed to rid itself of its shameful past. The rest was all your doing, your own weak mind that couldn¡¯t take hold of your Domain and force it back into the dark ages." I replied.

    "Why are you exining that to him?" Wu Di asked, "That will make him understand his mistakes and he mighte back for revenge, you must kill him now!" Wu Di added.

    "No need," I shook my head, "Even if his domain bes a hundred, no, a thousand and even a hundred thousand times stronger, he cannot beat me using it," I replied.

    For not even Zhang Tian, could stop me from leaving his Wisdom of the Ages Domain. And he was a Cultivator so strong that Ascendants would bow down to and worship, the very Ascendants who are the Top Cultivation stage you can reach within this.

    The man sat in a lotus position and began cultivating.

    I wondered why is he sox and rxed in this situation, but I didn¡¯t really care.

    I walked to Huang and knelt down, I checked his pulse and noticed that took a nasty beating, though nothing life-threatening.

    I pulled a couple of healing pills from my pouch and realize that I¡¯m starting to go into my reserves, I need to create more batches, as I¡¯ve been eating them up like candy these few days.

    I gave Huang a few pills and asked Hua Yue to help him circte them.

    "Once Huang Wakes up, well¡¯ continue the search for the Sealing Technique," I said.

    And right then the barbaric man opened his eyes, "Were you looking for this?" he said as he pulled a cultivation manual from his pouch.

 Chapter 171 I am the Law!

    <h4>Chapter 171: I am the Law!</h4>

    "Now that¡¯s unexpected, how did you get that?" I asked.

    "Luck I might say, it was on the ground, on the path you tricked me into taking. I believe you need this for some sort of agenda," the man said.

    "Yes, and I believe you want something in exchange for it," I replied as I approached the man.

    "Can¡¯t we just take it, he is too weak to fight back if we just take it from him." Hua Yue said.

    "Depends on what he says, so what do you want for the book?" I asked.

    "Knowledge, on how you broke my Domain, I have yet to fullyplete it, but that was different battles of Domain, as far as I know, are done to prove one¡¯s understanding of domain against another, but you didn¡¯t even use domain, how did you manage to break mine, and almost cause me to have my cultivation destroyed."

    "Well, thanks to your iplete domain, you didn¡¯t straight up die after your domain was broken, secondly, I already exined that it was your ownck of understanding of human¡¯s need to improve and evolve that caused your domain to falter," I replied.

    "That¡¯s not enough," the man replied.

    I sighed, "What do you want me to tell you? That your domain is iplete, worthless, not even worth being called a domain? If that¡¯s what you want to hear, then I said it."

    "No, not that, I mean, how can I improve my domain, this doesn¡¯t feel right, my domain is weak," the man replied.

    I shook my head, "There is no such thing as a Domain weaker than the other, they are all paths that lead to the Dao, they are the same as Dao no Dao can be above another, not even Ying and Yang Dao, not even reincarnation, creation, destruction and rebirth Daos are above another, it all depends on the understanding of a person of each Dao, though one Dao can be more destructive than another, it doesn¡¯t mean that it is the strongest. Same for Domains, your understanding of your own domain was too weak to have it fully reveal its power, thus you lose, wait until you know more about Law before you can improve your Domain, then try again, perhaps you¡¯ll have an even morepact andplex Domain, mind you not stronger because strength is rtive." I said.

    The man felt like he was hit with a truckload worth of information, enough that he threw me the manual and immediately went into meditation.

    Though most of the stuff I said was basically me speaking out of my ass, as I have no idea if Domains are stronger or equal in strength than each other, but there was some truth in my words. Domains are in tight rtion to one¡¯s understanding of Law, and if one¡¯s understanding of Law is weak, so will their Domain.

    I picked the book and headed back to my group.

    Opening it, I realized that the Master of Chains and Imperatrix of Lightning¡¯s Sealing Technique was pretty easy to replicate, but there was a necessary condition to actually be able to use it.

    This Manual was the cumtive understanding of the Master of Chains knowledge of seals and added to it, was the Imperatrix¡¯s own Thunderw? thunder? Huh.

    The first was easy to replicate, as my understanding of formations and inscriptions is pretty damn good. The second however was problematic.

    I sighed as I looked at the group, "This will be problematic." I replied.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Wu Di said as he stifled a cough.

    "I can recreate the Inscription, but I can¡¯t implement Thunder Law in it, also why is it called Thunder? This is clearly Lightning, Thunder is the sound of high voltage electricity going through space creating sma and explosive sound, while lightning is the electric current created from the sh of clouds..."

    "Ah, that¡¯s just a writing style, many decide to write the letter for Thunder instead of lightning because it sounds more domineering," Hua Yue said, "You should know of this though."

    "That¡¯s just scientifically wrong, and it¡¯s bothering me. Anyway, I can¡¯t do this, I don¡¯t know a rat¡¯s tail about using lighting into this, but if given time I can create electricity."

    "Also what is sma, and what is electricity?" Hua Yue said.

    "sma... it¡¯s hard to exin, and electricity well, Its... like lightning, never mind, give me some time I¡¯ll try something." I said.

    I then began by pulling a lot of materials from my pouch and from the Lord of Lord¡¯s alchemyb. Thankfully I didn¡¯t need to be physically present to call an item out from theb, otherwise, it would be weird to see me disappear in and out.

    The first thing I needed was mas. Which I had a lot of rock mas. I pulled a few ingot-size mas and attacked them in a way that their prization didn¡¯t interfere with each other.

    Then I pulled a few stripes of brass I had left, sadly I didn¡¯t have pure copper on me, but the brass strips from the Dragon Brass cauldron I had had huge copper concentration so it would work well enough.

    Finally, I got a long tube, an iron pot, and a lot of metal sheets.

    Then I began constructing my first generator.

    While I was melding materials, Huang finally woke up, feeling rather sore from the beating and needed a few minutes to understand why the guy who almost killed him was peacefully cultivating.

    He finally turned to me and asked his friends what I was doing.

    "I don¡¯t know, he is weird like that, he said he will create something called electricity since he doesn¡¯t understand thunderw." Wu Di said.

    Frowning Huang joined the group and sat down to study what I was doing.

    I began by creating a hole on the side for therge iron pot, I connected the long tube to the hole and use my Heart me to seal it tight.

    Then I pulled a long and thin rod of iron and began attaching the iron sheaths on it. with a slight bend that they shaped like a fan. After making several fans along the iron shaft, I slowly inserted it into the tube and had one end of the shaft sitfortably in a small hole on the other side of the pot. Now, the des that made the fan were inside the tube, without them touching the rim of the tube.

    I gave the shaft a spin and realized that it rotated without much trouble or friction.

    "Good this part is done," I said then went to the maic side.

    After carefully spinning the brass strips on metallic support and attaching the mas to it. I attached them to the end of the iron shaft with the metallic sheets.

    Finally, some wiring was done to convert the mechanical energy from the spinning motion of the ma to electricity and I ended up with two wires attached to the turbine and those should be the output of this rather primitive steam engine.

    Now that all was done it¡¯s time to seal any areas that will allow steam to go through. Nothing too difficult with the aid of the Heart me.

    "It should be done, I¡¯ll give it a test," I said.

    "But I don¡¯t see any implementation of thew, all you did was attach metal to each other, though it looks entric, it doesn¡¯t feel really that powerful." Hua Yue said in a questioning tone.

    "Well, science is not the same as Cultivation," I said, now watch and learn!"

    I said as I poured water on the iron pot and closed the lid while sealing itpletely.

    Then I snapped my fingers and created a small hot me underneath the pot.

    I knew if I increased the temperature too much the Heart me can literally bore a hole into the metallic pot, so I kept the me on an as low temperature as I could, but it was still hot enough to cause the bottom of the pot to redden almost instantly.

    Soon, sound echoed from the motor as the water inside the pot boiled, and created steam.

    The steam rose in pressure and began slowly spinning the des, which caused the shaft to spin in ce making the mas spin also.

    The mechanic rotation of the ma began creating current, and not a secondter the two wired zapped as an electric spark shot from one end to the other.

    This caused the group to be stunned.

    "He really did it!" Wu Di said amazed at how I created ¡¯thunderw¡¯ from basic metals.

    "Well now, how about we see if this can be used on that inscription."

 Chapter 172 If It Looks Stupid but works, then It Aint Stupid

    <h4>Chapter 172: If It Looks Stupid but works, then It Ain''t Stupid</h4>

    After carefully reading through the manual, again and again, and making sure that everything was perfectly set up, in terms of inscription of course, because I knew jack shit about the other equally important half, Thunder Law.

    So we¡¯ll be using scuffed electricity supplemented from a primitive-looking steam engine. What can go wrong?

    I drew the circle on the ground and added the inscriptions to it, coupled with several of my own personal inscription tools, I masterfully recreated the same circle that the Master of Chains created.

    The inscription might look pretty strange and miraculous to anyone who sees it for the first time, especially with all the side and added inscriptions that were only there for decoration. Like the main objective of this restriction was exactly as its name suggested, Demon Sealing Technique. It¡¯s like a capture device that will allow a certain object to be entangled within the inscription itself and preserved in a ce.

    Yet this one had a lot of added things to it, mostly to hide the inner workings of the inscription.

    Finally, the Thunder Law, as it seems from reading the manual, Lightning, mind you, not thunder, Lightning has the ability to restrict and suppress, and thus it works perfectly with this formation. The formation will harness and entrap, and the thunder will seal and suppress. The terms might sound simr but they are different.

    The Master of Chains formation can harness either energy, material, or none material, depending on the power and understanding of the user of the formation. While the Thunderw will cause whatever was captured in the formation to remain in it, unable to leave.

    And for Wu Di Emrodite gue, this will not cure it, as he had said before and like I approved offter since we didn¡¯t have the heart of a newborn Albedo. This is the second-best ¡¯avable¡¯ option because there are other methods, but they are rather risky, dangerous, and not readily possible either.

    "Wu Di, can you please sit here," I said and walked to the engine.

    ¡¯I¡¯ve never tried this before so I hope this won¡¯t outright shock him to death.¡¯

    "This will hurt, but be patient, and stay strong," I said.

    "Are you sure this is going to work?" Hua Yue asked with worry in her eyes.

    "Oh, sure? I¡¯m as far from that as possible. I¡¯m basically adding a technical and mechanical additive to a spiritual equation, it¡¯s like putting apples and oranges together and expecting them to birth eggs. So, thest thing I¡¯m expecting is a sess."

    "Then why are you doing this? You might kill him," Huang said.

    "Do you have a better option?" I said and the group quieted down.

    Only to be interrupted by Wu Di "I trust brother Shen Bao!" Wu Di said.

    "I admire your words, but that¡¯s stupid, because not even I trust myself with this working, but as it is now, without this, you¡¯ll probably not make it to tomorrow."

    I said as I pointed at his chest.

    "Green Blood,st symptoms, your body is no longer capable of sustaining the Emrodite gue," I said.

    Wu di then wiped the blood on his chest that he finally realized that it had dripped from his nose without him feeling it.

    "Curses!" Huang Spoke and the group once again quieted down.

    "Alright, let¡¯s see if this works," I said as I lowered the heat on the pot, I didn¡¯t want to start off by having Wu Di electrocuted to death if this actually works so I gave him the two ends of the brass extensionsing from the engine.

    Once he grabbed on the two brass strings a few of the hairs on his head rose up.

    "How are you feeling?"

    "EEEENERGGGGETIC!" came the reply.

    ¡¯Well, I guess the engine is working all right.¡¯ I said.

    Then I began by activating the formation by putting in a few spiritual stones on it in several positions.

    The formation lit up for a fraction of a second then the medium spiritual stones burst to dust.

    "What the?"

    "What happened?" Hua Yue asked.

    I raised a finger at her to have her quiet down, as I was trying to analyze why the stones were eaten up so fast.

    "Shit, this is gonna cost a fortune..." I said.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Huang Asked.

    "This formation shouldn¡¯t be eating up this much Qi, but since I¡¯m using this stupid generator, I¡¯m not actually using Thunder Law, and thus the Formation ispensating for theck by consuming more Qi."

    "So you need more Qi?" asked Huang "I have a few high-grade spirit stones." He said.

    I shook my head, "This really requires a high-grade understanding of Thunder Law."

    "But you just said that the formation ispensating," Hua Yue said.

    "I know what I said, but that¡¯s not enough, we¡¯ll need at least a hundred high-grade Spirit Stones to cure Wu Di,"

    "A hundred... we don¡¯t have that much."

    "Not only that, that¡¯s just the first part of the problem," I said.

    Looking at each other, Huang and Hua Yue looked confused.

    "There is an entire sect afflicted with this gue, how much power do you think is required to cure them all? Without thunder Law, this will be thergest waste of resources for a sect, even I doubt that the entire Tian Ji sect¡¯s fortune will be enough to cure every one of its afflicted members."

    "But the most important problem is right now, we need to help Wu Di, he used a lot of his Qi in this venture, he is the worst off. Since most disciples and elders of the Tian Ji sect would usually be sitting down trying to waste the least of their energy, he is probably in the worst possible condition of them all." I added.

    "But we don¡¯t have enough, I barely have a dozen high-Grade Spirit stones," Huang said.

    "I have twenty," Hua Yue said.

    Wu Di threw a couple of dozen High-Grade Spirit Stones our way.

    "This makes a bit more than half what we need. I have thirty on me," I said.

    And just as I was about to round up the stones and hope for a miracle and that they work.

    The mad man threw a pouch our way.

    He had woken from his meditation finally and decided to pitch in.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "You gave me insight on something I was missing, consider this repayment. I¡¯ll be leaving, good luck curing that disease." The man said.

    "I never knew your name."

    "Ken. They call me Ken," he said then he dipped away, flying at top speed toward the exit.

    "Hmm, weird," I said and pulled open the pouch he gave us, finding in it several dozen High-Grade Spirit Stones. All I ever needed for this.

    "Good, this is enough, now, let¡¯s get to work," I said and began cing the High-Grade Spirit Stones all around the formation.

    Let¡¯s hope this works.

    The Formation immediately lit up, and it stayed alight. Then the electric current began surging and further increased the glow of the formation.

    Wu Di¡¯s strung expressions began changing to chagrin and pained ones, but as it appeared the paleness was ever so slightly dissipating.

    ¡¯This looks like it is working, scuffed cultivation for the win!¡¯

 Chapter 173 Q&A

    <h4>Chapter 173: Q&A</h4>

    The electric current rushed up and into Wu Di, his hair rose once again as he was shocked by electricity, then his body began convulsing.

    "Try and keep still," I said and Wu Di grit his teeth and calmed down.

    Seeing him stabilize, I increased the heat under the pot, causing the turbine to spiral faster and generate even more electricity. Creating an even more powerful surge that caused the inscription to manifest from the ground to the space above Wu Di.

    The symbols shot into Wu Di, one by one, and as if they had a mind of their own, they began assaulting the very gue that was killing him.

    As I was using my divine sense to check up on what was happening within Wu Di¡¯s body, I noticed the inscriptions doing magnificent work.

    The symbols became too small for regr eyes to see and then merged with his blood, then they began collecting the Emrodite gue, then surprising it with the aid of the electric current.

    Soon, the gue was forced out of every single open meridian Wu Di had, and then forced through is spiritual veins, and into his Dantian.

    The formation began gathering every piece of the gue and coiling it into a single orb that was much smaller than his core but spherical nheless.

    The symbols became like a prison to the gue and once thest bit of the Emrodite gue was gathered among the rest. The inscriptions all over Wu Di¡¯s body surged back into his Dantian and locked against the Emrodite gue like a tight prison.

    The orb of gue was now surrounded by multi pentagonal shaped barriers that were linked to each other like a sphere.

    Then came the turn of the electric current as it dove into the barrier blockade and spiraled around the Emrodite, shaping itself into a chain of lightning that constantly suppressed the gue.

    A two defensive factor formation, the electric current was constantly suppressing the gue, weakening it, and the barrier was holding it from leaving.

    This was some amazing sealing technique.

    Opening my eyes, I was surprised to see a not-so-very-healthy-looking Wu Di, especially with the massive amounts of ck blood all across from him.

    "I was too focused on his internals, what happened?" I asked.

    "He just started vomiting blood, Hua Yue almost barged in to stop the treatment though," Huang said, like a little tattle tale.

    "He looked in pain, and you weren¡¯t responsive." Hua Yue said.

    "Well, thank god Huang stopped you, Wu Di should be perfectly fine, the experiment worked, though it really needs tuning because others might not survive this," I said then pulled a red pill from my pouch.

    "Reall? He is healed?"

    "Yep, well and good as before, though it¡¯s a temporary solution, it shouldn¡¯t hinder his cultivation until we find a newborn Albedo," I said.

    Tears of joy streamed down Hua Yue¡¯s eyes but she immediately wiped them."

    "Thank you! Shen Bao, I don¡¯t know what else I can do to thank you for this."

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, Wu Di was good to me, this is only natural," I said and ced the pill into Wu Di¡¯s mouth.

    "Help him digest that Blood Pill, I¡¯m really exhausted from all of today¡¯s events I¡¯ll take a quick break," I said.

    "Yes, go and rest Shen Bao, without you I don¡¯t know what would have happened to us," Huang said.

    "Right, I¡¯m off then," I said and headed up towards the main Pce of the Deep Pagoda.

    Once I was inside the humble-looking house, I took a few steps away from the skeleton and rested next to it, entering a meditative state to regain my lost energy and focus.

    This was a good time to make a list of what I needed to do and reconfirm my goals.

    I¡¯ve traveled for quite a bit and quite far, I¡¯ve had some encounters, lucky and unlucky ones. Some I¡¯m thankful for, even if they almost caused my death, and some, fearful of and need to improve in order to survive the trials toe.

    My current strength isn¡¯tparable to the value of a drop of water in a sea.

    There are cultivators who wield might and strength that could literally shake continents, shape mountains, and topple seas. Compared to them, I¡¯m an ant.

    Though X and Y can guarantee my survival, what if some godly cultivator decides to go on a tantrum, and decides that the very I¡¯m on was not to his liking and literally went, "Fuck this in particr," and then there goes Shen Bao¡¯s adventure.

    What a morbid train of thought, though it is unlikely, if it¡¯s not 0%, it is still in the realm of the possible.

    I¡¯m strong enough to manage my own fate to an extent, strong enough to escape greater threats than my own cultivation level, but there is always room for doom, death, and chance. One cannot guarantee that their life would be led ording to a n, as fate can outy whatever hand one has.

    But even if, challenging the odds without a n is utter idiocy, because one cannot rely on chance. I¡¯m not some main character in some story, protected by some ungodly plot armor. Shit doesn¡¯t happen like that in real life. Real-life is scary, unpredictable and it always ends in death, it¡¯s just our job to prologue the inevitable as much as we can.

    So, what should my n be? Simple, find ways to survive my impending doom. The Primordial Dragon Snake. A threat strong enough to wipe entires.

    But to do so, I need power, power enough to contend with the might of the Poison God. And probably even more, because he must have died to the Primordial Dragon Snake. I need enough power to remove that dangerous threat from me.

    But how to gain more power?

    Cultivate.

    Then, there is a small problem. I cannot easily cultivate, my cultivation is pretty damn hard. I can jump levels easily if I find powerful and rare poisons, but they are rare for a reason.

    Also, not many can have the luxury to obtain such poisons nor would they even handle them since they are deadly, and I doubt that poison trade is prosperous.

    Then, how to cultivate?

    Find areas or locations that have these materials.

    What are these areas?

    A secluded valley, or dangerous area like the one in the Demon Lands.

    Understandable, but there is a catch...

    Yes, Danger zones are called like that for a reason, and it¡¯s not like you can find them by just wanting to.

    Then, how do I gain strength if that path is blocked?

    That leaves only one option, a Poison Sect. But, is that really the right way?

    Poison is considered a disgraceful, and not so orthodox path of cultivation, it is a Demonic Path that is harboring on the edge of the Devil Path.

    True, this means that the people in those sects are truly demons in human skin.

    Then, Shen Bao, you know what you have to do...

    Yes, I¡¯ll have to poke the dragon¡¯s reverse scale, though it will make it mad at me, it¡¯s the only way to get more powerful.

    Finally, your arts, discipline, and mentality, you¡¯ve neglected them for a bit.

    Yes, I¡¯m right, I need to continue improving my martial arts, poison is great, but the One-Eyed Kraken just showed me how utterly useless my most powerful weapon can be if the enemy has resistance to poison.

    Though I only know the Sanguin de Arts, with the aid of Y¡¯s own Demon Sealing Arts, as I remember, he mentioned that his own art is a general improvement on the way of swords, that can improve upon the basics of any none ethereal or mystic weapon arts.

    Meaning that anything that isn¡¯t outright godly weapon art can be improved upon by Y¡¯s martial arts.

    Finally, Law, I¡¯ve yet to fullyprehend what¡¯s all that about, I¡¯m able to see the Law lines, but I¡¯m unable to fullyprehend their full use, what are they made of, and how I can recreate them, I can modify existingws, but I cannot create ones of my own. Thus I¡¯ll need to save a part of my time for that. And I have the best item for that, the Egg of Delusion that Y got for me. It¡¯s a good study subject that I can useter on.

    Good, this sets up my ns for the future. Improve me, find a poison sect and grind my way out of the prey into a hunter.

    Yet, there is onest issue I still have. It¡¯s been bothering me since I left the Demon Lands, and I haven¡¯t had the time to think about it... no, why am I lying to myself. I was actively avoiding thinking about this...

    My sons, I need to go and see them. though I would really want to give them a piece of my mind, they are still my own. I need to see how they¡¯re doing, and if by the gods, they happen to have been harmed, injured, or...

    Then I swear, that I¡¯ll bring death, doom, and all the world¡¯s vilest torments on whoever did so to my Lucid Spring.

    Opening my eyes, with newer convictions, set goals, and ready to face what¡¯s toe, I found the group of three in front of me.

    "What¡¯s going on?" I asked.

    "You...you were glowing..." Said Wu Di who looked pretty much fully healed up.

    "Huh, I was? Well, I don¡¯t think that it was something worth worrying about, I don¡¯t feel any different."

    The three looked at each other before Huang said.

    "Is anyone going to tell him?" Huang said

    "Tell me what?" I asked.

    "You were in the middle of Insight, and you didn¡¯t even realize it?"

    "What¡¯s insight?" I asked.

    "Oh boy..." Huang said shaking his head.

    Wu Di howeverughed, "It¡¯s the first step one needs to take before stepping into the Nascent Soul, and you did that before even reaching the ninth level, you are a monstrous being."

    "I thought I needed to understand Law for that."

    "That¡¯s also a part, but without Insight, one cannot birth a soul from their core." Wu Di said.

    "I need some crash course on that Nascent Soul thing, but for now we should probably leave, I doubt that Ken was the only one toe and visit this ce, and I don¡¯t want to face anyone else."

    "You don¡¯t want to explore more?" Huang said.

    "Not worth the risk, let¡¯s move, for now, we¡¯ll need to head to the Tian Ji Sect and see how bad the situation is there."

    Which was a good thing, as the Tian Ji sect was pretty close to Zhou county, where I used to live. I might find time to visit some old friends and check up on my sons.

 Chapter 174 At The Gate

    <h4>Chapter 174: At The Gate</h4>

    We crossed through the pathways of the underwater sect, going back through the main pathway we came from, and while we were going through the tubes, I saw the One-Eyed Kraken, who was smashed against one of the domes, visibly shake and move its limbs. It appears that it will be regaining its consciousness shortly. Before that¡¯s done, we¡¯ll have to move out of the sect and away from the Pce of the Deeps area.

    As we were moving about, I threw several of my explosive talismans all over the ce.

    "What are you doing?" asked Wu Di.

    "Oh, making excavation a huge pain for anyone else. Once the Sea Beasts hear themotion here, they¡¯lle investigating making every cultivator whoes here think twice about chasing after us and more about surviving."

    "Oh, that¡¯s rather evil."

    "One has to do what they must to survive," I replied in a grin.

    Our group easily made it back to the elevator, and thankfully just in time, as the moment we went into the elevator, a group of ten Nascent Soul cultivators dove into the water.

    Then prated it with massive speed going towards the massive cracks on the domes. Also, the One-Eyed Kraken seemed to be on the verge of waking up.

    "Well, all the rats are inside the trap." I said as I grouped my index and middle finger together, "Explode." I chanted as the elevator doors closed.

    Immediately afterward, a chain explosion surged from within the pce of the deep sect, blowing up the ss making the tunnels. While at the same time, the sudden surge of pressure within the domes that we passed through caused the air inside them to expand and break the dome from the inside.

    Water surged inside the domes as the flood gates had opened, and the view using divine sense was amazing.

    Water surged inside the domes and through the tunnels, submerging the many chambers of the Pce of the Deep while the Nascent Soul cultivators were trapped and sucked into the domes due to the change of pressure.

    Then came the second reaction. Water can transmit sound far better than air, and within the waters, the talismans exploding sounded like the first hail of artillery, and every beast in the vicinity began moving like mad sharks drawn by blood to the pce of the deep.

    Once we were outside and above the small ind, we could see the shadows of the beasts surging from all over the ce, enough that even I got a little overwhelmed.

    "Wow, that¡¯s too many beasts you drew..." Huang said.

    "I know, I didn¡¯t expect this effectiveness, anyway, let¡¯s move out, I¡¯d advise we go up above the clouds anything below it might easily expose us," I said and we each hopped on our respective flying treasure.

    Soon, all four of us burst through the clouds and were far above the sea.

    "Good, now we¡¯ll need to head to the Tian Ji Sect." I said.

    "But, I don¡¯t think we have enough materials to cure everyone." Said Wu Di.

    "... I have a n," I said but I earnestly didn¡¯t want to use it.

    "What do you mean," asked Wu Di.

    "I have a good n, but I need something from you all and it¡¯s not gonna be easy," I asked.

    "Whatever brother Shen Bao askes, I¡¯m ready to give if it is in my power," Huang said.

    Seems like his aloof disposition changed after I saved him from the brink of death.

    "Here too, if it¡¯s anything within my power, I¡¯m more than certain to help." Hua Yue said.

    "You don¡¯t need to ask anything from me, Shen Bao, for even if you want my lowly life I¡¯ll dly give it up."

    Then they all swore a Heavenly Oath, that if they reveal my identity, that heaven¡¯s punishment may befall them.

    "Good then," I said as I pulled a round a faceless white mask.

    "What¡¯s that?" asked Wu Di.

    "What I¡¯m about to do, will cause a huge mess, and it¡¯s best if my identity remains unknown," I said then ced the mask on my face.

    "But a porcin mask won¡¯t be much help against divine sense." Said Huang.

    "Then try it," I replied.

    The moment Huang used his divine sense, he immediately recoiled back, fear gripped his heart as his face turned whiter than ash.

    "...What in god¡¯s name was that?"

    "Oh, it¡¯s just something from my memory, anyone who tries to use divine sense on me will have that very same image after them, I doubt anyone below Ascendant can suppress the feeling of fear and oppression," I replied.

    "Though it was terrifying I don¡¯t think that Nascent Soul cultivators will be frightened with just that..." said Huang.

    "That¡¯s because what you saw was only a fraction of the real illusion I have on this mask. If I had you face the real thing, you would have either fainted which would have been the best scenario, or outright lost your mind."

    Because having to face that thing, if one was not steady of heart, and ready for it, then I¡¯m more than certain they¡¯ll outright crumble from devastation.

    The mere appearance of the Primordial Dragon Snake is frightening, and if I added the same Aura I felt the first time I faced it, then anyone with regr Qi would outright be mentally destroyed.

    As I¡¯ve discovered from some earlier studies, it seems that the higher a being¡¯s cultivation level, the higher the suppression they cause on lesser beings. Though I had my doubts and questions on why the first sight of the Primordial Dragon Snake didn¡¯t outright kill me, it seems that being an otherworldly reincarnated being, and also having no Qi to suffer through the Qi suppression from the Primordial Dragon Snake helped me survive that encounter.

    I also deduced that the same conditions were the ones that allowed me to leave Zhang Tian¡¯s domain. As if I was something that couldn¡¯t be ruled and subjugated by the ¡¯Primordial Laws of Cultivation¡¯ as I like to name it.

    Within this world, there is a set of Worldly Laws. Not the Cultivation Laws, but more likews of physics, that affect the begins themselves.

    A longer lifespan is one of them, the presence of Qi, reincarnation, and rebirth are all things that we didn¡¯t have back on earth. But they alsoe with disadvantages, namely the Qi suppression and the subjugation and total servitude to the Heavenly Law.

    But for me, I apparently don¡¯t fall under the Heavenly Law¡¯s subjugation. Which is something I still need to study more. I didn¡¯t fully finish the books in the Lord of Lords library, but I¡¯m sure once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll have a better grasp of my identity and how I identify within this world.

    "How did you even meet something like that... its mere size was bigger than the globe we¡¯re on..."

    "It¡¯s a long story, but don¡¯t worry about it for now, anyway, let¡¯s head forward. We don¡¯t have much time," I said.

    "Right, follow me then," Wu Di said and our small group dashed through the skies back towards the county of Zhou.

    Several dayster, we were at the rims of the Concaved Desert, and at the peripheries of the Tian Ji Sect.

    We had to cross a few mountain ranges before we were above the Tian Ji sect which looked to be in disarray.

    Weed was growing all over the greennds, contesting the resources of the formerly beautiful flowers, as apparently, the wilted look of the roses and flowers at the massive entrance of the sect was a clear show that the battle over the nutrients was being won by the weeds.

    "Not even the caretakers of the fields are able to work as it seems." Wu Di said in a sight.

    As we came down and stood in front of the sect¡¯s closed gate, a disciple, who looked to be barely able to stand up on his feet looked at us with almost wilted eyes and a face as green as the very weeds he was standing on, "W-what¡¯s your business...huf...with the Tian Ji...huff...sect."

    "It seems that the situation is far worse than I expected...this is not good," I said.

    Wu Di approached the kid and said, "It¡¯s me, do you remember me, Son Fi?"

    "Ah, Ah,! Brother Wu Di! You look so well!" the kid¡¯s eyes lit up as if hope has been injected back into him granting him a second breath.

    "Yes, I¡¯m back. So tell me what happened during my absence."

    "Ah, a few sect masters came in... they tried to get the Sect Master to give up the sect... a lot happened, a few elders died due to the battle that happened a few days ago..."

    "Kid, you¡¯re being inconsistent, tell us in detail what happened."

    "He can¡¯t," said another voice.

    Looking at him I immediately remember the man. Lao Yan, the very man who asked Wu Di to help me in the demonnds.

    "Go and rest Son Fi, go back and rest..." Lao Yan said, his face looked slightly better than the kid¡¯s, but that didn¡¯t mean it was okay.

    "Seems like you found the cure." Lao Yan said.

    Wu Di shook his head, "No, I only found a temporary solution."

    Looking at the group, "Ah, I could assume that this masked gentleman is rted to such a solution?"

    "Y-yes," replied Wu Di.

    "Great Master! Please save our sect, we¡¯ll be willing to give you anything in within our power if you grace us with your aid."

    "I¡¯ve already been paid," I said, with a different pitch in my voice than the usual, it caused my group to take quick nces between each other but then they tacitly decided to not talk about it.

    Lao Yan looked at Wu Di, and thetter nodded at him.

    "Then Please follow me, we¡¯ll have a cup of tea ready for you to rest after your travel," Said the elder

    "Seeing the severity of the propagation of the Emrodite gue, I doubt it will be wise to waste time drinking tea. Round up everyone afflicted within the sect in your main hall. I¡¯ll need to start working soon because by my estimation, that kid that was guarding was probably not the worse off the bunch otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be guarding, and even that kid barely had a couple of days left in him..."

    Lao Yan grit his teeth, "Yes, many disciples are on their death beds. I¡¯ll round them up, please Wu Di, take the great master to the main hall, I¡¯ll address the sect master and notify him, then we¡¯ll start gathering the disciples." Lao Yan said and moved as fast as he could towards the main sect buildings.

 Chapter 175 Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 175: Experiment</h4>

    As our group walked through the long paved road, a bell sounded in the distance, and from Wu Di¡¯s exnation, this was a gathering Bell, that once run, everyone in the sect would have to gather in the main za, no exception.

    Then we saw disciples, sickly, almost fighting death itself to drag themselves towards the za, as fast as their bodies could. Some were helping each other to walk, even though the very kids who helped the others were too sickly to help even themselves.

    This sorry sight caused me a bit of sadness, but there was nothing one could do about this. This whole situation was just some bad luck.

    Though one of the disciples of the Tian Ji sect brought this, he couldn¡¯t be med as the Emrodite gue is really hard to discern without someone actually having prior knowledge of its existence.

    Once we arrived, I realized that the size of the group was pretty damn big. There were at least ten thousand disciples and elders in here. And this number isn¡¯t easy to amodate in a single area. Yet, thankfully, the za was pretty big, as it led to all the different sections of the sect.

    There were still few more disciplesing over, the weakest of the bunch, like water droplets streaming into a massive pond of disciples.

    ¡¯I might need to increase the strength of the steam engine if I wanted to do this in one shot.¡¯

    Soon, a couple old men came towards me, and with them was Lao Yan.

    "Great Medical Saint, how may we call you?" asked Lao Yan.

    "I don¡¯t care for names," I replied, "Call me whatever you want."

    "Then Medical Saint it is, so please tell us, what¡¯s the need to gather everyone here?" Lao Yan asked.

    "Well, I¡¯m nning on curing everyone at once. But this will bring a lot of attention to this sect. Anyway, I should be long gone before the waves of this event start. And thanks to this," I said as I tapped my mask, you won¡¯t have any problems if problemse knocking on your doorsteps."

    The elders didn¡¯t understand what I was on about, and I didn¡¯t n on exining.

    "Alright, while I draw the formation, please stand still, also, I¡¯ll be needing a few materials I hope the sect can provide," I said.

    "Whatever the Medical Saint wish for!" Lao Yan said.

    I pulled a paper and began writing down a list of materials I needed, mostly some Drowsy Inkberry, a shit tone of virgin talisman paper, a lot of metal sheaths, copper ingots, and maic rocks.

    The materials weren¡¯t rare, and for a sect, obtaining such materials wouldn¡¯t even be a problem.

    Once Lao Yan gave the sect master the paper, the sect master called in the most healthy-looking disciple and asked him to bring the materials.

    The kid ran up the sect¡¯s main building as fast as he could to get the materials I need.

    I then pulled my sword, "Everyone, make sure you¡¯re at least one step away from each other." I said.

    Soon the whole disciples slightly moved about, and surprisingly it looked like the total size of the disciples just quadrupled in size."

    Thankfully, there was enough space for me to move about.

    I then began moving, while my sword was digging through the ground. I first moved around the whole group creating a deeply grooved circle that surrounded everyone in the group, then began zigzagging between the disciples, creating separate also deeply grooved circles underneath them and linking them to each other.

    It took me an hour or so to finish drawing the primary circles. But if I was to write the detailed Devil Sealing Formation under each and every student, that would take me at least a week to finish, by that time most of them would already be dead.

    But, the groundwork for the formation has already been set, the next part is the most important.

    "Good. Now that¡¯s done, no one moves out of their circle, not even if your life depends on it, because if a single one steps out, the whole spell will not work." I spoke.

    This sobered up the rest of the students.

    "What¡¯s the reason for all of this? Couldn¡¯t you have asked the students themselves to draw the circle under them?" asked the sect Master.

    "I wouldn¡¯t trust anyone else with something only I can perfectly do." My reply came instantly and the old man quieted down.

    ¡¯there was also another reason for me personally doing this, but the sect master didn¡¯t need to know of it now.¡¯

    "Are the materials ready?" I asked.

    "Yes," the sect master said and handed me a pouch.

    I took a quick nce and inventory using my divine sense and found that there was pretty much more than what I asked for.

    It was pretty normal since these materials weren¡¯t really rare and most of them mainly metals weren¡¯t cultivation metals. Which increased their abundance.

    "Good," I said and pulled the first talisman, then quickly wrote Master of Chain¡¯s Deamon Sealing inscription on it.

    My hand moved fast enough that I finished the whole inscription in less than two seconds.

    "Damn, this is going to take too long.." I said.

    "Too long? I dabbled in Inscriptions, and That detailed inscription would have usually taken me at least an hour to make!" The Sect Master said.

    "Yeah, I¡¯ll need to write one for every disciple, it¡¯ll take me at least several hours to finish if I continue at this pace... this is not eptable," I said then pulled another pen.

    I sat down calmed my breathing, then asked Wu Di and Huang toe next to me.

    I told them what I was going to do, and added, "Can you do it? I won¡¯t tolerate tardiness." I said.

    "You can count on me, Medical Saint." Replied in confidence.

    "So will, I, I¡¯ll make sure to keep up with you." Huang said.

    "Good, then let¡¯s start," I said.

    There were tworge batches of talismans one under each pen.

    It took a deep breath, then with both hands, I inscribed at the same time on both talismans the moment I raised my hands, Wu Di and Huang swiped away the finished talisman and my pen went down to inscribe the next one.

    We did that for several dozen papers making it look like our hands were blurring, I wrote and they removed the finished talisman for me to work on the next one.

    Seeing this, the sect master was baffled, as our movement was literally making dust rise up with how fast all three of us were moving.

    "This is too slow! I¡¯m increasing my speed!" I said.

    Immediately, the whole speed of the operation doubled, and the movements of our hands began blurring to everyone seeing what was happening.

    Thousands of mini-inscriptions were written in less than a fraction of a second. The mental toll it took on me was pretty damn huge, but it worked for my advantage, working two tasks at the same time, simultaneously writing detailed inscriptions over and over again helps me in perfecting my inscription technique.

    "More speed!" I called.

    Both Huang and Wu Di were having a hard time keeping up with me as just the fact of swiping away the paper before my hands came back down became pretty daunting as I didn¡¯t even leave them time to mess about or be distracted.

    Dust rose up from the movement of our hands, and the only time I stopped was to replenish the quills back with ink, then resumed the ultra-speed writing.

    Less than half an hourter.

    Two fully exhausted Huang and Wu Di fell on their backs as I finally blew on the tip of my pens as steam was rising from them due to how fast I wrote using them.

    Well, that makes for the first half of this experiment, now the second part, and the most annoying one.

 Chapter 176 Treatment, and Consequences

    <h4>Chapter 176: Treatment, and Consequences</h4>

    "Now that¡¯s done," I said as I rose up grabbing the two batches.

    "Give one to each disciple, make sure every disciple has one on them at all times, and also make sure the circles are still intact," I said and handed them to an elder.

    While the elders were distributing the talismans, I began working on the turbine. The prototype I had was good for one person, but I needed something far bigger than the one I had. And with the materials from the sect, I¡¯m more than capable of making one more powerful than before.

    Another half an hour of work made its fruits bear a massive turbine steam engine.

    With the knowledge of creating the first engine, the second one was far simpler to make.

    And now that it was ready I called the elder, "I need as much Heart Fire rocks you have, put them under that pot, and heat it up."

    "Okay, but what are you going to do with this? And that much copper wire?"

    "You¡¯ll see soon, just get me hearth fire," I said.

    I will be using the less powerful me, instead of my Heart me, Hearth Fire is a material used for alchemy, though it produces less heat than Heart me, it¡¯s suitable for this, at least it won¡¯t outright melt the bottom of the pot.

    Then I began by kneading the copper into long wires and nted two of the wires into the ground where I made the circle using my sword.

    Once that was done, I asked the elders to fill the engraved ground with water and make sure that the water had gone through every single circle under every disciple. I also had the disciples check if the water under their personal circle had reached.

    Once I confirmed that the circle was fully functional and linked even to the separate smaller circles. I turned back to the turbine engine.

    "Medical Saint, we¡¯ve been here for a long while, and we have yet to see you do anything rted to medicine, could you please exin what¡¯s going on?" asked one of the elders who seemed pretty annoyed with me not doing any magic or healing.

    "Just watch, I¡¯m almost done," I said.

    Soon the heart fire was ready and they lit it up.

    The pot began heating up and the steam within it began slowly rotating the massive fans inside it.

    This new engine was hundreds of times more powerful than the one I used for Wu Di, but it needed a lot of momentum to reach its max rotational force.

    And after a while, the whole engine began shaking as its maic turbine began spinning and finally started generating electricity.

    "I¡¯ll have to ask a few elders to make sure the engine doesn¡¯t crash on itself or shake hard enough to break, please try and steady it while I¡¯m working on the disciples," I said.

    Then I called the disciples, "Everyone holds your talisman above your heads, and make sure not to faint, an electric current is going to shock you, try and stand strong. Elders you too, join the disciples." I said to everyone.

    ¡¯Not to burst your bubble but aren¡¯t we forgetting something important?¡¯ Wu Di sent me through divine sense.

    ¡¯Oh don¡¯t worry about that,¡¯ I said.

    "I hope you¡¯re all ready," I said then linked my index finger and middle finger and chanted, "Release!"

    Immediately, the talismans on every one of the disciple¡¯s hands shone bright and imprinted their content onto their bodies.

    "Put the wires into the water!" I called.

    And immediately, Wu Di nted one of the wires into the water circle while Huang nted the second one.

    A massive electro current shot through the water circle and around the disciples shocking every single one of them, the electricity¡¯s power was pretty impressive enough for me to admire my own work.

    But I knew fair well that this was not nearly enough, not without a proper Qi source.

    "Now this is where trouble will begin," I said as I pulled the smallest of the two Saint Qi Crystals I had.

    The moment the Saint Qi crystal came out from my pouch, the ground around me burst back to life as the dead grass regained its vitality and began growing.

    The power and potency of this Saint Qi were strong enough that the skies above us looked like they became even clearer and the sun brighter. It¡¯s as if the total quality of life in this region increased by hundreds of folds, and this was just by releasing the crystal and not even using it.

    I then ced the tip of the crystal on the water.

    And immediately, the formation brightened up and red as the kids in the circle were hit with the rejuvenating Qi from the saint Qi crystal.

    Not even a few secondster, the disciples, elders included, began coughing green blood on the ground.

    Then the formation¡¯s job has ended. And disciples began falling on the ground, the paleness and green tone of their skin visibly removed, and theirplexions were much better.

    The experiment was a sess.

    But troubles were soon toe.

    Shen Bao¡¯s sessful experiment was pretty much the cause of an uing uproar that would soon cause tides of blood to flow.

    As within several ces around the Si Xue.

    Deep within the most drakes of seas, or high above the clouds where celestial-looking pagodas were built. Within the darkest caves of the most dangerous of areas. And among some of the Si Xue¡¯s strongest sects. Elders and old Monsters, cultivators of extreme might and power have sensed the release of Saint Qi within a faraway country.

    And with such supremely rare resources, finally present within this, the very material that could take them from their half ascendant stature to a full ascendant and finally allow them to leave this dirt to explore the outer regions, no cultivator was going to stay in hiding and in secluded cultivation.

    Powers beyond what many cultivators thought was godly began moving. And their destination was the very sect where Shen Bao was on...

 Chapter 177 - It Do Be Like That Sometimes...

    <h4>Chapter 177 - It Do Be Like That Sometimes... </h4>

    "Wwwas that Sssaint Qi?" spoke the sect master, shaking in utter andplete terror at what just happened.

    "Yes," I replied, looking him straight in the eyes, "Why, you don¡¯t like the fact that it saved your sect?"

    "Medical Saint; please, don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but using saint Qi is the same as dooming my very sect!"

    "Do you know who I am?" I asked.

    Looking confused the sect master replied, "No."

    "Then it¡¯s all good, if you don¡¯t know who is your benefactor, you can easily speak your mind to anyone who tires to ask who used the Saint Qi, anyway, I¡¯ll be leaving. I have done what I have been paid for, I wish you all the best." I said then sent a divine sense message to Wu Di.

    "I couldn¡¯t help but notice, where is Yuzehan and Xiao Lang?" I asked.

    "It seems that elder Lao Yan had sent them to do something simr to what I have done." He said.

    "I hope theye back safely then, I¡¯ll be leaving you the generator I used on you, get your sect to pay up the two hundred high grade spirite stones to help Yuzehan and Xiao Lang, I¡¯ll have to leave, because I¡¯m sure that trouble wille chasing after me soon."

    "Go ahead brother, as much as I wish for you to stay longer, I know that what you just did was not something with no consequences." Wu Di replied.

    "Then good bye," I said and summoned my poison god¡¯s sword, jumping atop it, I sted off the sect and back towards the Zhou County.

    A few hourster, while I was casually riding away from the sect, I noticed an explosive Qi above me, with power strong enough that the clouds parted away in fear of what was moving through them.

    A powerful wave of Divine Sense came to scan me, rudely scanning through me and my belongings before ignoring mepletely and the owner continued moving on.

    I sighed as I increased my sword¡¯s speed then soon changed my clothes and rearranged the items on me. Then I ate up a pill that slowly released a small portion of spiritual qi form my body.

    Though this pill is utterly useless to me, it will help camouge my Qi-less body from that same cultivator who just scanned me, lest he finds out about what happened ande looking for me.

    I knew for sure that there was no way for the Ji Tian sect to divulge my identity, and even if they betray their own, and speak of what brother Wu Di said, he would easily speak that he was sworn under heaven¡¯s name to not speak my name or who I was.

    Though this might piss off the cultivator, he won¡¯t bother with Wu Di, a sworn oath to heaven cannot be broken, no matter the torture one gets, or even if they try to soul search them, the heavens will acknowledge such act as an attempt against its authority and will punish the one who wishes to divulge the secrets sworn upon its name.

    Heaven is jealous, prideful and merciless to those who trespass its authority.

    The cultivator could probably just kill Wu Di in frustration, but I doubt that will happen. Due to how precious the Saint Qi crystal I have, no cultivator would dare waste time on the sect and would ignore them ande looking for me.

    Since I doubt the sect will stay quiet about where I went, I¡¯ll soon have a few people searching for me. So might as well make it as hard as possible to identify my location.

    Soon, I arrived at the borders of Zhou County, then headed to the west towards Lucid Spring. Or whatever was left from it.

    As I remember, two years ago, when I was in the demonnds, Wu Di said that lucid Spring was wiped out by a Nascent Soul cultivator, now let¡¯s see what¡¯s left of it, and if it is as I fear, then that cultivator is in a world of pain.

    Within less than an hour flight time I was already within the Purple Cloud Sect area, and somewhere in the distance was the gate to the sect, so I had to stop, before I go to Lucid Springs, I needed to resolve a bit of Karma.

    I pulled the Lord of Lords token, "Lao Bofan, Sect Master, Elder Yun, pleasee out." I said.

    Immediately, elder Yun and Lao Bofan were the first to leave the token space ande out.

    "Yes Shen Bao, what seems to be the matter..." Lao Bofan¡¯s words trailed off as he looked at the familiar forest and the sect in the distance.

    "Ah, this brings back some memories," said elder Yun.

    "You¡¯re speaking as if you haven¡¯t seen our sect¡¯s backyard in a few thousand years." Lao Bofan replied with words he clearly didn¡¯t believe in, he too was rather mncholic.

    "Where is the Sect Master?" I asked.

    Lao Bofan and Elder Yun looked at each other, slightly embarrassed, and said, "She is a bit mad at you..."

    "Me? What the heck did I do?" I asked.

    Lao Bofan shrugged, "How the hell would I know, woman stuff, I don¡¯t know, you should probably ask her yourself."

    I sighed, "Take a look around, and be quick about it, you might never know if someone from the Three-Legged Raven Sect is here. I¡¯ll be back in a second." I said and went into the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    I teleported into the icy area of the five biome domain and went towards the coldest mountain within the mountain range.

    Within a cave high above the clouds, the sect master sat on top of an ice bed, slowly cultivating and cleansing her body from all impurities that have been caused by the Ice Destruction.

    I¡¯ve healed her and removed the negative effect of the Ice destruction leaving her with pure Yin Qi coursing her body, but the internal and microscopic injuries she suffered through the infliction have yet to fully heal.

    That¡¯s why she was here slowly cultivating and healing back up to full strength.

    I walked into the cave and coughed to get her attention.

    Slowly opening her clear blue eyes she looked at me and said, "What is it?"

    "I doubt you didn¡¯t hear my summon," I said.

    "I have, and had no intention ofing out."

    ¡¯Damn she really is pissed.

    "If you have nothing else to say, please leave, I¡¯m cultivating." She said.

    "I can clearly see that. Anyway, we¡¯re near the Purple Cloud sect¡¯s domain, do you want toe out and visit?"

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she shook her head, "No, it will bring nothing but bad memory, I have no need to see such ce right now, not when I have no ability to avenge the disciples and elders that died there, it will only bring shame," She solemnly spoke.

    "That¡¯s a bit morbid. Anyway, I¡¯m only passing through, so this is the only time I¡¯m inviting you out to the sect, I doubt I¡¯ll have the ability toe back here in the near future." I said.

    More hesitation was clear in her eyes, but she steadfastly refused after she gained her resolve.

    "Then, I¡¯ll take my leave." I said and turned around.

    "Stop," she said.

    And I did, turning, "What is it?"

    "Are you not going to apologize?" she said.

    Frowning, "I told you, I only did what I needed to do, and I have nothing to oblige me to apologize for doing my job."

    "You trespassed your limits to pear onto my body and forced me against my will to refuse."

    "Otherwise you¡¯d be dead, I¡¯ve told you before, it¡¯s just flesh, I¡¯ve seen it, nothing to be so prissy about. Anyway, if you still want to act like a teenager at your age, then I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have anything else to discuss."

    I turned and left.

    "Infuriating man!" I heard then a st of cold Qi sshed against a rock that I had just gone by turning it to a block of ice.

    "Damn, women do be crazy sometimes," I said and left the area leaving a frustrated Sect Master to her little tantrum.

    Once I was out, Lao Bofan and Elder Yun were both nowhere to be seen, but after a search using Divine Sense, I found them ahead and on the gate of the Purple Cloud sect.

 Chapter 178 - Old Meets Bold

    <h4>Chapter 178 - Old Meets Bold </h4>

    "It felt like a lifetime had passed..." Elder Yun spoke.

    "Yes, it really did, but thanks to Shen Bao we have a new lease on life. We better use it well."

    "Indeed, we owe him greatly." Elder Yun replied.

    "You owe me nothing, it is only repayment for your hospitality back at the Purple Cloud sect," I replied.

    "Ah you¡¯re here," Elder Yun said.

    "Feeling nostalgic?" I said.

    "A little bit, but I doubt we can reallocate back again." Elder Yun said.

    "Yes, it¡¯s still not time, we¡¯re not strong enough to fend off the three-legged raven sect." Lao Bofan said.

    I shook my head, "Nope, not in the least. All the disciples are pretty weak, and most of the elders aren¡¯t much of help here, might as well just cultivate for a bit before we can show our face again."

    Lao Bofan sighed, "It is a world where the strong rule and the weak either hide and cower or die."

    "But its still a world where even the weak can be a dragon, might as well work hard and achieve that, then you can get all the revenge you want," I said.

    "You¡¯re right Shen Bao, you¡¯ve always been. Though I don¡¯t have many years in me, if I work hard I can probably increase my cultivation level."

    "Then work hard, the area I¡¯ve given you has plenty of Qi, it should help increase your cultivation level," I said.

    "Yes, you¡¯re right, my wounds have all disappeared, now I can slowly regain my strength and hopefully increase my base strength to be of help to the sect." Elder Yun said.

    "Let¡¯s work hard brother Yun, we can¡¯t have our junior surpassing us in strength." Lao Bofan said.

    ¡¯I¡¯m already pretty stronger than you are right now, but might as well not tell him that, would probably hurt his Nascent Soul cultivation pride.¡¯

    "That¡¯s good motivation. Anyway, I¡¯ll be leaving for my old hometown, what will you two do?" I asked."

    "I¡¯ve been thinking of traveling for a while." Lao Bofan said.

    "You wouldn¡¯t want to stay back at the Lord of Lord¡¯s pce and cultivate?" asked Elder Yun.

    "Though the pagoda has plenty of Qi, it¡¯s not good to stay sheltered forever, I¡¯ll be adventuring on my own and try to gain more strength to be of help to the sect." Lao Bofan said, "But that is of course if junior Shen Bao allows it."

    "Oh, you can do what you want, just try and keep a low profile, you don¡¯t want to be identified by any one of the Three-Legged Raven Sect."

    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m actually thinking of paying a visit to an old friend back at Zian Xi county, it¡¯s far away and I doubt anyone from the Purple Cloud sect will have eyes there." Lao Bofan said.

    "Right then, Godspeed, and I wish you the best in your venture," I replied.

    "Thank you," said Lao Bofan, then he bowed and said, to Elder Yun, "Please tell the sect master where I went, and that I¡¯m sorry for not informing her earlier."

    "I will brother Lao Bofan, please, stay safe." Elder Yun said.

    Soon, Lao Bofan turned and flew forward into the deep east.

    Seconds of silenceter, I turned to Elder Yun and said, "So what will you be doing?"

    "I have nothing to chase, nowhere to go but my sect, I¡¯ve spent a lot of time here so I might as well remain within it. I¡¯ll take Lao Bofan¡¯s job and tend to the sect Master until she fully recovers. What about you?"

    "I¡¯ll pay a visit to my hometown," I said.

    "You¡¯ve yet to sever all rtionships with them?" asked Elder Yun.

    "Sever? No, why should I. I¡¯m not bound by thosews," I said not letting the elder continue on, I summoned the doorway to the Lord of Lord¡¯s pagoda.

    "Right then, you do what you do best, I¡¯m sure you can figure things out on your own. And if you find yourself in trouble, don¡¯t hesitate and ask for help, we might be old, but many of our elders are Nascent Soul cultivators."

    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind," I said.

    Soon, Elder Yun took the gate and went inside. Leaving alone in this vast forest.

    I took a deep breath and admired the scene for a bit, then continued on with my journey.

    Yet this time I decided against using my poison god¡¯s sword. Because it has already been identified and I can¡¯t camouge it as I did to my person.

    So I walked, though I knew this might take a bit of time to reach the city, I¡¯m sure there will be an encounter very soon and I won¡¯t be limited to walking.

    Later on, a few hours to be exact, my thoughts were confirmed, and the same powerful cultivator along with another woman of otherworldly beauty flew down towards me.

    The man was the same person who rudely inspected me using his Divine Sense. He was bald and dark of skin.

    He had a monk-like presence about him, but all but a monk¡¯s calmness. He was clearly vexed and agitated.

    The woman next to him wore thin and almost fully revealing clothes. Her face looked like it was sculpted by the hands of a god, as for her hourss body, it would easily sway any man to her whims if she wishes to.

    "You there," said the monk, with a rather vexed and irritated expression.

    "Did you happen to see a man, wearing green dark purple robes, he used a great sword-type flying sword? Something like this" said the man and raised his palm forward, creating a projection of me, before I changed my appearance and clothes.

    I shook my head, "Sorry fellow cultivators," I have not.

    "Then you don¡¯t mind me searching your inventory, because I think you¡¯re the same person, you two had the same stature." Said the old man.

    I frowned at him and said, "We have no grievances between us, why must you be so rude and ask to search another man¡¯s belongings, aren¡¯t you afraid that your arrogance might anger the Heavens?" I said.

    Though the words I spoke were full of bullshit from my own perspective, they worked rather admirably in this situation.

    "This junior cultivator is right, Dan Ryo," the woman said, "Don¡¯t worry about what this old fart said, this older sister just wants to know if you truly did see that person," she said and slightly leaned forward squeezing her cleavage, enough that her breasts were about to burst out of their garment.

    I inwardly gulped, and immediately realized that I was being ¡¯charmed¡¯.

 Chapter 179 - Why Fight When You Can Have Them Owe You Favors?

    <h4>Chapter 179 - Why Fight When You Can Have Them Owe You Favors? </h4>

    "Older sister, please, I¡¯ve nothing to hide," I said.

    Immediately, her expressions turned dour, definitely not because I said I didn¡¯t have anything, but because her charms didn¡¯t work.

    "I find it strange that you aren¡¯t moved by thisdy¡¯s charms, wouldn¡¯t you say this is suspicious?" said Dan Ryo, and he was clearly trying to instigate something.

    Hell, hath no fury as a woman scorned.

    And if I don¡¯t resolve this, this very lovely lookingdy, and clearly on the verge of bing an ascendant might burn me down along with this whole forest.

    "Oh, no, not at all... it¡¯s that, I¡¯m impotent." I said, but I really wasn¡¯t. "And if you don¡¯t believe me you can check," I said as I made the attempt to pull down my pants.

    "HOLD! Ain¡¯t no real man would call themselves impotent, you must be what you just said then."

    "Yes, my yang channels were broken. So, there is no way I can you...know..."

    "Just stop talking." The man said, clearly ufortable with me speaking so openly about my ¡¯little brother¡¯.

    ¡¯That overflowing toxic masculinity of yours is really what¡¯s saving my life, thanks for being such a primitive person.¡¯

    "Such a shame, I could have used someone like you as a ything..." the woman said.

    "As would I have liked to," I replied, "But I¡¯m unable to satisfy your needs, there are better men to do that job. I hope I didn¡¯t bother you too much, I¡¯ll be continuing my pilgrimage if that is alright with you."

    "Yes you can go," said the old man, and immediately I felt the hair on my neck stand.

    Immediately, I noticed that the whole scenery around me froze, as the world turned to monochrome color.

    I was frozen in time? Perhaps, I don¡¯t know but this is clearly Domain.

    "Why did you use your domain?" spoke the woman.

    "I really doubt that he isn¡¯t the same person. I¡¯ll have to check his inventory."

    "You really aren¡¯t afraid of heaven¡¯s punishment," said the woman.

    "Like you are afraid of it, if he is the same man who went to that third rate sect, and cured all of them, then that saint Qi crystal must still be on his person. So, are you still afraid of heaven¡¯s punishment?"

    "True, but it really is unfair to this man, I mean his luck in life is already bad, he can¡¯t even have children, why must he suffer. What will you do when he actually has nothing on him?"

    "I don¡¯t know, leave maybe." Said Dan Ryo.

    "You really are more shameless than I am, and I¡¯m a step away at bing a harlot." The woman said while sighing. "Hurry up, we don¡¯t want other cultivators toe and find us."

    "Right," said the old man and went to my side pouch.

    I felt like I could easily break this Domain, and immediately leave. But if I were to do that, I might make them wary of me. So, I left them to do whatever they wanted, unless it¡¯s a threat to my life they can search for all they want.

    The bald man pulled my pouch and began rummaging through it.

    "Shit." Said the old man.

    "What¡¯s wrong?"

    "There is nothing of value here. He has a lot of pills though, nothing of great value to us, but they are mostly medical of nature. He must be an Alchemist, but I didn¡¯t find a cauldron on him."

    "That¡¯s strange, wasn¡¯t the person who went to that sect also a medical person?" the woman said.

    "Well, they did call him medical saint, but after interrogating them, do you remember what they all said?"

    "Yes, he never used a pill, and he was an inscriber more than a healer. So, this man is definitely a different person. Ah, that pill," the woman said and snatched it from Dan Ryo¡¯s hands.

    "This is such a high purity pill, let me see that one," she said and took another, then began inspecting them one after another.

    "This is rather impressive; his alchemy skill is out of this world. Could he be some elusive master? No, that Impossible his cultivation level is too low, the qi released from his body is that of a Core Realm cultivator." The woman said while she continued inspecting the pills, then she touched one she shouldn¡¯t have.

    It was a poison pill made from the remains of the Demonic Toad I found in the demonnds. There was a poison on its skin that could cause flesh and skin to deteriorate at an extremely rapid pace, not even a half-step ascendant can suppress it unless one has the proper treatment.

    This very poison, even I didn¡¯t dare to consume, since it was far stronger than my immunity system.

    "What is this!" the woman said as her hand began ckening, she threw the pill and pulled a bottle of clear translucent and pale blue water and poured it on her hands.

    The ckness lessened, then raged once again and began moving up towards her elbow.

    "What the heck is going on?" asked Dan Ryo.

    "I have no idea, but this must be a powerful poison, I have to go back to the sect, and see if the sect master can treat it. Let¡¯s go."

    "Okay, give me a moment," the man said and ced all the pills back into my pouch, even the Dark Flesh Corrosion Pill, he used his divine sense on it to coat it with a telekic coating and ced it then put everything back to my pouch.

    He then disabled his domain and said, "We¡¯ll be leaving,"

    "Oh, right."

    And just as they were about to leave, I said, "Huh, I must be getting old, when did you interact with the Dark Flesh Corrosion?" I asked acting all surprised.

    The woman turned to me and said, "So you know what this is?"

    "Yes, but I¡¯m sure I saw your hand before and it wasn¡¯t ck. Hmm, perhaps you had it suppressed. Anyway, I can treat that if you wish." I said.

    The two masters took a moment to look at each other before they turned to me.

    ¡¯Well now, you brought this on yourself, but I¡¯ll magnanimously treat your poison, that¡¯ll incur debt, and getting a powerful cultivator owing you a favor is really good.¡¯

 Chapter 180 - Handsome Reward

    <h4>Chapter 180 - Handsome Reward </h4>

    "Oh, really? You know the cure?" she said.

    "Yes, and it should be administered right now, otherwise that hand will never be as beautiful as it was. And I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to have blood and pus oozing out of that hand once it¡¯s fully corroded" I said.

    "No, I don¡¯t! start working, I¡¯ll reward you handsomely." She said.

    "No need, I also needed some samples from this Poison, I¡¯ve obtained a pill and didn¡¯t dare to test it out, I was told that it could kill a half-step ascendant if they interact with it. So, at least now I¡¯ll have some samples to test and study, give me your hand," I said.

    My words were spoken with the intention of informing them of my prior knowledge of such poison, this way they won¡¯t disregard my advice.

    The woman handed me her hand and I grabbed it.

    "Are you mad? What kind of doctor touches that thing with their bare hands." Dan Ryo shouted.

    "Only I, senior cultivator only I," I said without sparing him a nce.

    As I admired the poison coursing through this very lovelydy, I had to will myself to not get ovee with the exuding charm her body was passively releasing, so I had to focus on the task at hand and on this very poison.

    Though consuming this poison might kill me, just touching it isn¡¯t enough to cause me harm.

    So With my other hand, I ced it in my inventory, then frowned.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" asked Dan Ryo.

    "Oh, I really think I should get myself checked, some of my items aren¡¯t where Ist left them in my spatial pouch."

    Speaking these words caused the bald man to slightly sweat.

    "No matter, anyway," I said and pulled a silver box that had a lot of hollowed silver needles.

    Then I began cing them in various spots on the woman¡¯s hands.

    This caused the darkening to stop, then began to gather around the needles.

    "Please don¡¯t use your Qi, I don¡¯t want it to interfere with my ministration," I said.

    The woman nodded.

    I then pressed with one finger on the middle of her palm and injected some of my Poison Qi into her palm.

    The poison Qi invaded her hand and began surrounding the Dark Flesh Corrosion poison, and immediately began ejecting it from the hollowed needles.

    The ckness soon left her hand and she was perfectly hale and healthy once again. I removed the needles from her hand and let go of it.

    "How did you do that without any pills?" she asked as she rubbed her hand.

    "Oh, a pill treatment for that Dark Flesh Corrosion is yet to be discovered, it¡¯s the same level of danger as the Bone and Body Grinding Poison," I said.

    The woman¡¯s face turned pale.

    ¡¯Surprisingly they have yet to discover I¡¯m inflicted with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, did something happen to me to hide that fact without my knowledge? I¡¯ll need to look into thister.¡¯

    "So if you had tried to go and find the cure, by the time you¡¯ll get to the next city or town, you¡¯ll probably be dead. But I¡¯m really surprised that you managed to suppress that poison, I mean the closest area to find something like that is in the Concaved Desert, and only a rare breed of twin Tail Scorpions develop it. though those scorpions are really strong for me, I doubt they¡¯ll be a match to you in strength, so I think you were unlucky and was probably attacked by someone who used this poison."

    "Ah, your deduction is impable, indeed, it was a low blow by an enemy, but thankfully we met you," she said, trying to hide her tant lie with a smile.

    Such a good liar.

    "Here this is a reward for treating me," she said and pulled a box.

    Reward? Noice! Of course, if they didn¡¯t go and rummage through my things, none of this would have been needed, but who says no to freebies.

    I took the box and wanted to put it back into my pouch, but the look on the woman was that of a person who had just given you a present and was waiting for your reaction.

    I sighed inwardly and opened it.

    "Oh...OH, holy..." I looked the woman in the eyes and said, "I think I¡¯m in love."

    Though it was a joke, the woman¡¯s face turned bright red.

    And Dan Ryo beganughing, "That¡¯s a first, I¡¯ve never seen you blush."

    "Shut up!" replied the woman and pped the bald man on the back of the head.

    I suppose I know who is stronger of the two, especially since the bald guy just shrugged off the p with anotherugh.

    I looked into the box¡¯s content and never was happier to have received something.

    Right in front of me, within the small box, was a Nascent Origin Root. It¡¯s a really good item to consume and can help with increasing the odds to be a Nascent Soul cultivator, but the real value of this thing is if it is properly cultivated, it can give out Nascent Origin Fruits, which are the superior forms. And not only can they increase the odds of a sessful Nascent Soul cultivation ascension. They can be used as Qi supplements.

    Though I¡¯m unable to harness world¡¯s natural Qi, these fruits are different, they have the same type of Origin Qi as does poisons. The Qi from these fruits, I can easily consume and I can easily use to raise my cultivation level.

    "I-I can¡¯t thank you enough, this is really too much." I said and meant it.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it," she said, "Now we have to leave. Dan Ryo, we should probably continue the search, we don¡¯t want to lose that Saint Qi crystal."

    "Right, let¡¯s move," Dan Ryo said and flew up.

    "I haven¡¯t asked older sister for her name," I said before the woman would leave.

    "My name... Hei Gua Fu," she said.

    "ck Widow? Huh, doesn¡¯t really suit you, you¡¯re more like a Yao Shu."

    "Oh, fairy? How ironic, and mistaken, though you can call me whatever you want. Farewell, Medical Saint."

    I nodded and the two left.

    Now, that was pretty close...though I could have gotten rid of them if they turned hostile using Y, I¡¯m pretty d I didn¡¯t. These types of people will not die easily. And if they do, I¡¯m sure they have that mugshot thing that will capture my face and presence, then send in a hunt decree after me.

    This was thankfully solved peacefully, and now I can leave for Lucid Springs.

 Chapter 181 - Hometown

    <h4>Chapter 181 - Hometown </h4>

    I took several hours of walking until the darkness of the night began shading the forest. Beasts and monsters began their nightly activities, hunting and preying. And some unfortunate and pretty foolish creatures came my way and ended up bing nourishment for my poison.

    It¡¯s been a while since Ist came here and witnessed the effect of my poison breath at work. The green aura thates from monsters consumed by my poison breath shines translucently in the night.

    Then ites my way, refilling my Poison Qi.

    This only happens when I use my Poison Breath on animals and beasts. Not on humans. Apparently, once my poison interacts with humans it takes in something from them, and then it¡¯s unable to transform into this green nourishing energy.

    But against beasts, it transforms into an empowering restorative Qi and replenishes my own Poison Qi.

    If I had to make a guess, I¡¯ll suppose that it has to do with purity, beasts, no matter how vile, they are still a part of nature¡¯sw, and their own bodies are perfect gifts given by the heavens. So once my poison interacts with their pure Qi, it transforms into this nourishing energy. As for humans, no, cultivators, it¡¯s a different story.

    Cultivators take in Qi for themselves, pills, they use Martial arts, and also other means to increase their cultivation level and their lifespan. In a sense, this is ¡¯unnatural, and is against Heaven¡¯s Will, as it wishes not for someone to contend with it, either in power, or longevity.

    Thus the Qiing from the cultivators never be this pure restorative energy, because once the Cultivator starts harnessing energy for himself, he leaves the naturalw, and bes something apart from it. Thus, he cannot be turned to this pure restorative power.

    After giving my thoughts even more thoughts, I decided that enough time had passed, and there was no way someone else was still nearby waiting for me to make a move.

    I pulled my poison god¡¯s sword and flew towards the general location of Lucid Springs.

    I¡¯ve been thinking of getting a different type of flying treasure since the Poison God¡¯s Great Flying sword is easily identified. But I might as well not bother, once I¡¯m in the Nascent Soul Stage, I should be able to teleport and able of free flight.

    So I¡¯ll just be using this for now.

    I flew through most of the night and until the first light of dawn, it was then when I had to make a stop because I was already in Lucid Springs...or whatever was left of it.

    Looking at this very familiar yet unfamiliar location brought me some old memories. I¡¯ve spent almost seventy years in this very town, and now seeing it like this created an insatiable urge to go on a mass-murdering spree.

    My veins began bulging as I tried to stop this unnatural overreaction on my part.

    ¡¯The hell is going on, I¡¯m not this agitated...I wasn¡¯t this angry when even my sons threw me off a cliff, what¡¯s happening?!¡¯

    I took a few deep breaths and barely was able to suppress this rage episode. This never happened before, and this is starting to annoy me. Am I sick? or is this something that is natural to all cultivators who have such dreary events? I don¡¯t know, but this isn¡¯t something I can just ignore, I¡¯ll have to check this upter on.

    Then I took another look at the city.

    My manor, which was the main building of this area, a three-story building, was fully demolished with not more than a couple of walls standing by the sheer power of stubbornness.

    None of the nearby houses were intact, as most of them had their walls were torn down, ckness from mes that had raged for nights and days.

    The very road I spent so much time and effort to pave had cracked so wide that the mere thought of using a carriage to pass through wasughable.

    Not a single house had its lights on, not even the houses that were still rtively not fully destroyed were upied.

    Howls of stray dogs filled the night.

    As I gazed at this rundown city, I felt pangs of pain that increased every time I saw some of the stuff I made with the help of the people of Lucid Spring destroyed.

    Looking at the river¡¯s unnaturally high level, I realized that more than a third of the city had already been washed away.

    The river had overflown, which shouldn¡¯t have been possible unless the dam I made was destroyed.

    This means that most of the buildings that relied on the river¡¯s power have been destroyed. The watermills, the sawmills, the sand extraction facilities. The stoves and st furnaces...

    My hand began shuddering as I was once again assaulted with this unnatural urge to wreak havoc wherever my eyesnded.

    I gripped my chest as my heartbeat unnaturally fast and tried to calm down. Which took a lot of time.

    Once calmed down, I used my divine sense. And realized that the city wasn¡¯t as empty as I had thought. There actually were still several people living here.

    I came down slowly and began walking down the streets of Lucid Springs.

    With each step, my lips went down slightly and my frown grew heavier. As I was constantly using divine sense, I was able to notice the few people living in these shady and barley called houses peaking through windows.

    Then I heard a voice that was very familiar to me.

    "Don¡¯t go out! He just looks like him, City Lord Shen Bao is already dead!" came the weak voice of a woman.

    "No, I¡¯m sure of it, it has to be him, it¡¯s the way he walks, there is no way it¡¯s not him!"

    "But, that person is young. The city lord was almost eighty years old when west saw him, aren¡¯t you gonna give up your search."

    "Without City Lord Shen Bao¡¯s help, we wouldn¡¯t have had this life."

    "Do you call this life? Just sit still and let that person leave, we can¡¯t afford more trouble from the Immortals."

    I smiled for a bit because as it seems, Wu Fan¡¯s wife was still as naggy as ever.

    "Come out Wu Fan, or are you going to leave this old man waiting for you longer," I said.

    And immediately, the door to the house opened up, revealing a seventy-year-old man, with a gentle smile on his face.

    "I knew it, it was you wasn¡¯t it! lord Shen Bao!"

    "Yes...it¡¯s me. I guess a lot had happened when I wasn¡¯t here," I said as I looked again at the dreary situation the city was in.

    "Ah yes, a lot had happened."

    "Are you gonna let this old man out in the cold, where are your manners, you used to invite me for a drink whenever I went past your house."

    "Right, I must have been growing senile. Come,e!" Wu Fan said and entered the house, then I followed after him, and after taking onest nce outside, I made my mind up.

    ¡¯I promise hell untold to you whoever did this. This, I vow."

    And then, heaven replied with a thunderous boom under a cloudless summer day.

 Chapter 182 - A Fathers Sorrow

    <h4>Chapter 182 - A Father''s Sorrow </h4>

    "So, tell me, what happened in here?" I asked.

    "Yes, let¡¯s have a seat, please don¡¯t mind the shabby look of this house," Wu Fan said.

    "I¡¯ve visited several times, don¡¯t you remember, still I¡¯m impressed you kept everything the same," I said as I looked at the simple vases, and few decorations Wu Fan had. He even had a hammer and a pickaxe hung on the wall, these were the first tools I created for him to help me with work.

    "Ah yes, the old taste never changes. Wife, please bring us some tea," Wu Fan said.

    "It¡¯s almost ready," replied Wu Fan¡¯s wife.

    Soon she came in with a tray and a simple teapot.

    Wu Fan took the tray from his wife¡¯s hands and poured me a cup of tea while she left the two of us in the room to speak.

    "Sir Shen Bao, I don¡¯t know what happened to you, but I say life treated you rather well in these couple of years."

    "I can¡¯t say the same to everyone here, you still haven¡¯t told me what really happened here." I calmly said as I sipped the tea.

    ¡¯Pretty good stuff, simple, no spiritual ingredients, and a good reminder of my humble origins. I like this tea.¡¯

    "Yes. So this happened after a few months of your disappearance. Your sons...they came back and imed that you passed away due to a monster¡¯s attacking your caravan, they couldn¡¯t retrieve your body and they brought a piece of clothing with blood on it, they imed it was yours."

    ¡¯The heck? Where is originality kids, it¡¯s like I¡¯m fregging Joseph, I ain¡¯t no prophet.¡¯

    I shook my head and asked, "Then what happened?"

    "Yes, once that happened, the two of them immediately began dividing your territory between them, they ransacked your treasury, increased taxes, and made living in Lucid Springs really difficult for many. A lot of people were dissatisfied and decided to leave. But that wasn¡¯t the worst of it..."

    Wu Fan took a sip of his tea and said, "Since they had no eyes for management, they didn¡¯t pay the people who worked the fields or the River Facilities. This caused people to stop making Steel, Bricks, iron, and ingots, pottery, and a lot of other primary materials that our Lucid Springs became famous for. Trade lessened, no more merchants came and soon."

    "I noticed that the water levels were too high."

    "Yes, but a while ago, the damn showed signs of breaking and tear, but sadly Xiao Bao and Lu Bao didn¡¯t think it was worth investing fortunes of their own gold into repairing it."

    "I suppose that they didn¡¯t care if people who relied on the river¡¯s facilities would be damaged. The dam must have broke and brought down every facility along the riverside with it." I said.

    "Yes, it¡¯s as if you were there to witness it." Wu Fan said and sighed. His old face looked somber remembering these things.

    "The worse was yet toe though when drought hit, and with the dam no longer functional Lucid Springs was no longer the same."

    "All of this in a mere two years."

    "A lot can happen in two years, and to be more exact it¡¯s closer to three years than two." Wu Fan said.

    "Still, this doesn¡¯t exin the heavy damage on the city," I said.

    "Ah yes, this is, well, pardon me, but I think you¡¯re the one responsible for this one."

    I never thought Wu Fan would ever dare and speak such words to me, but if he did he must have a reason.

    Frowning I looked at him, "Exin."

    Wu Fan took a deep breath, calmed his thoughts, and said, "Your search for the Immortal Elixir, the one that will allow you to be a cultivator has brought the attention of a very entric cultivator."

    ¡¯So I¡¯ve heard from the guys at the Demon Lands.¡¯

    "That cultivator was promised a lot of gold and materials, and since he didn¡¯t receive any, after your disappearance, he was mad enough that he came to the city himself. He wanted to confront you, and after I exined your disappearance and presumable death at the mountain range, he went into a frenzy and began destroying everything."

    The old man shuddered as he remembered some sad things, "Many died...including my eldest, older Brother Shen Bao, he killed children, cats, and dogs, and left the rest of us to witness the ¡¯greatness of an immortal¡¯ and how one should always make sure to respect such a person and never make empty promises."

    I gripped my fists a bit too hard, as my own nails dug into my palms drawing blood.

    "Good, good, good..." I said.

    "Older Brother Shen Bao, I¡¯ve been here for a while, and I know everyone who lives in Lucid Springs. From our generation, not even a fraction of them are left, as they didn¡¯t survive the rampage. But there are a few more children and new families that are just forming. There is still hope for this city yet, but we¡¯re desperatelycking in funds to rebuild it, and I no longer think I¡¯m capable of bringing the city back to its former glory, we need your help brother Shen Bao."

    Seeing the desperate look on Wu Fan¡¯s face I had to make a decision.

    "I cannot help you rebuild the city, as you probably guessed, I achieved my goal."

    A look of desperation came and haunted Wu Fan¡¯s face, butter a rueful smile was nted on his face, "I¡¯m really d that brother Shen Bao managed to be a Cultivator again."

    "Still, I will make sure, that nothing like this will ever happen again," I spoke.

    "How? The might of that cultivator was too much for us to sustain, and if you can¡¯t be here, how will we be saved if the same thing happens again."

    "Don¡¯t worry about that, I¡¯ll take care of that, personally. Now tell me where are those unfilial sons of mine?" I asked.

    "Ah, yes, as luck had it for them, fate or whatever divine intervention, they were invited to some noblemen¡¯s birthday a day before that hellish nightmare came to our city, and since then, after knowing what happened to Lucid Springs, they never came back, we asked them to help support the city and rebuild it several times, but our please fell to deaf ears."

    "Good, good, good..." I spoke.

    "Now, tell me which city are they in?" I asked.

    "Up the north, Tinjin, the city of Steel."

    ¡¯City of Steel my ass, I was the one providing them with all that steel, to begin with that¡¯s why they made a name for themselves.¡¯

    "Good, and do you happen to know where they live?" I asked."

    They each bought a manor in the city, they are well known you won¡¯t have a problem finding them. But what are you going to do once you find them? I doubt they have much coin to give back."

    "It¡¯s not the coin I need from them, but my duty as a father is to teach my naughty children some lessons when they make trouble isn¡¯t it," I said and then stood up.

    "Old man," I said to Wu Fan, "I¡¯ll be leaving this ce for a while, once Ie back I¡¯ll expect you to round up everyone still in Lucid Springs. Tell them that the City Lord is back and he has presents." I said then put two pills on the table for him.

    "What is this?" asked Wu Fan as he picked up the colorful pill with one hand and inspected it.

    "That is a new lease on life, eat it, you and your wife, and you¡¯ll understand," I said.

    Wu Fan took the pill and ate it, and immediately began shaking.

    The wife immediately rushed in towards her husband who fell on the ground. And began spasming like a man in seizure.

    "What did you do to him! please Wu Fan wake up! Please!" the wife, in full panic mode was trying to stop her husband¡¯s shakings.

    Then suddenly he stopped, and opened his eyes, immediately afterward, he began throwing up thergest, biggest pile of sludge and impurities I¡¯ve ever seen.

    ¡¯Damn, being a mortal sure doese with a lot of problems.¡¯

    And soon after he finished retching his life¡¯s worth of impurities, he opened his eyes and looked at his wife who was shocked to see her old fully wrinkled husband had regained forty to fifty years of his age.

    "What is that?" asked Wu Fan, with a more powerful and robust voice befitting of a man in his forties.

    "I have plenty of those, I¡¯ll give them to you, like I said I don¡¯t have the ability to stay here and rebuild, but I¡¯ll make sure to work you for it, that pill just gave you a new lease on life, it is not something godly but it will still increase your lifespan to two centuries at least. That¡¯s enough payment for having served me for so long. Now I¡¯ll be going to find my children. Take care, I¡¯lle back soon." I said then turned and left the house.

    I immediately pulled my flying sword and stood on it, then slowly headed out of the city as many looked at me leaving.

    Once again I was hit with pangs of agony and rage. Enough that I almost keeled over, but thanks to a bit of self-control I was able to recoup and suppress the urges once again. I too, a calm and collected breath and headed north, while all that went on my mind was a single sentence.

    "Unfilial sons of mine, Daddy is back, and he is going to teach you a lesson."

 Chapter 183 - Discipline

    <h4>Chapter 183 - Discipline </h4>

    As I flew carelessly across the dry fields, I saw several peddlers and many other homeless people moving about like a flock of stray sheep, all moving in one single direction towards the very city I was headed to.

    The closer I got, the more of these people I¡¯ve seen.

    ¡¯Something must have happened to have all these people moving with such desperation. Perhaps the drought¡¯s impact was too much for mortals.¡¯

    Continuing on with my flight, I arrived at the city gate in a couple of hours of time. Finding even more people at the doorway of a blocked and locked city.

    Many soldiers were threatening any of the begging peddlers and the homeless with arrows if they were to take another step forward.

    Ignoring the masses I continued with my flight and went into the city. But I never thought that there would be cultivators here.

    Soon, four Foundation Establishment cultivators came at me with their own flying swords.

    "Do you not know that it is against the rules to fly over Tinjin! Come with us calmly or we¡¯ll resolve to force!" one of the four boldly spoke.

    I looked at the man with half a nce, and it was all it took for the man to understand that he was up to his ears in shit.

    In this type of world, showing weakness is the same as asking to be preyed upon. Against stronger cultivators, I¡¯ll always use wits before strength, but against bugs, crushing them is all I need.

    And thus I used my divine sense, and powered it with my Sky Pearl, sending a far, far weaker type of offensive Divine Sense than what Brother Zhang Tian does, but for these cultivators, this Divine Sense mixed with the tormenting and self-mutting imagery was too much for them to resist.

    The four cultivators immediately shook, and grabbed their heads, screaming as sights worse than the most frightening horror stories assaulted their minds.

    Three of them were unable to keep their bnce and fell off their swords, they didn¡¯t even realize that they actually hit the ground, as they still squirmed from the sights I showed them.

    Though I knew that since they are cultivators, a drop from this height won¡¯t kill, but it will definitely break some bones.

    Thest cultivator I went toward and grabbed by the neck.

    "Where is this man who calls himself Lord of Steel? And who hired you as guards?" I asked.

    The man frothing at the mouth could barely speak from the horror he was going through. But a single spray of some smelling salt woke him up nicely, only to have him scream in fear for his life.

    "Why are you screaming? Do I look like a monster to you?" I asked.

    Shaking the man nodded up and down.

    "Funny, then you better tell the monster about what he wants to know, otherwise the monster will get angry," I said, though I coated my words with my best smile, for that man the terror of that smile made him wet his pants.

    "Disgusting," I said as I moved the man slightly away from me with one hand still gripping him by the neck.

    Sorry for anyone who received a golden shower under us. You can file yourints to whoever hired this scaredy-cat.

    "So, speak up," I said.

    "Yes, he is in the main manor, he is the city lord." The man said.

    "Oh, I could have figured that out myself, what I need to know is, why were you hired, I doubt that you as a cultivator would work for a mortal," I said.

    "We¡¯re cultivators who couldn¡¯t reach the Core Stage, so we decided to remain in the mortal world." The man spoke.

    "Seeing that you¡¯re all Foundation Establishment and just guards, I suppose you have a captain or someone who is your superior," I said.

    The man nodded, "Yes, he is a Core cultivation..." but before his words were finished I sensed somethinging at the man in my hand with explosive speed.

    I hurriedly moved my hand to the side along with the captured cultivator and with one swing drew Creeping Demise and swung up, cutting a steel bolt that had some inscriptions on it in one single swing.

    "Oh, you have some ability to be able to block my Haven Piercing Bolt!" a random man said as he approached me with a flying sword.

    "But can you block all these!" the man said and pulled eight more, one between each of the fingers on both his hands.

    Pretty generic introduction to some clich¨¦ dumbass who doesn¡¯t understand how to read the mood.

    And what the heck was that weak projectile, calling it Heaven Piercing, shameless.

    And just to make him understand the difference between me and him, I put Creeping Demise back into my Spatial Bag, drew my revolver, pointed, and pulled the trigger.

    The man never knew what happened as he was dead before he could even hear the sound of the shell sting off from the revolver.

    The man dropped like an anvil in the sea. Pointless trash mob death.

    "Who the heck was that side character?" I asked the man in front of me.

    "I CAN¡¯T HEAR YOU!" he shouted.

    ¡¯Seems that using the gun near his ear was too loud.

    I pointed at the dead man on the ground and gestured to the man with one hand ¡¯who¡¯?

    "THAT WAS THE CAPTAIN!"

    ¡¯Huh, seems that even their captain was trash.¡¯ I let go of the man and he too fell down. But since he wasn¡¯t assaulted with the illusions from my sky pearl anymore, he managed tond on his feet, but that must have been painful as I clearly heard his bones snapping the moment he touched the ground.

    Looking around, I managed to locate the Manor, it was the only one in the city, and was thergest one. So, I slowly flew towards it.

    And on my way, I saw many guards rushing towards the manor, moving with extreme haste to their lord.

    One of them even boldly took a shaky hand and nocked a bow trying to take me down. But the wise and very thoughtful smack on the head he received from the guy next to him saved his life.

    "FOOL! DON¡¯T YOU EVER DARE POINT A WEAPON AT AN IMMORTAL!" were the words of the man who dealt the smack.

    ¡¯smart man¡¯

    The purpose of these guards wasn¡¯t to actually attack, or even show resistance, as I immediately understood from what happened next.

    A fat man came out of the manor, barely dressed. He hurried and almost stumbled a few times. He went ahead of his hundred or so guards and immediately mmed his head on the dirt, "PLEASE SIR IMMORTAL SPARE US YOUR WRATH!" he said with a voice so loud I could even believe he was a cultivator and infused his voice with Qi.

    But I suppose being terrified and afraid for your life could cause miracles.

    Soon, all of the soldiers dropped their weapons and they all knelt down.

    "I didn¡¯te here to cause problems, I¡¯m here to look for my sons," I calmly spoke.

    "Great Illustrious Immortal, we would have no knowledge of the whereabouts of your sons, for if they were a fraction of your greatness they would be well known to all and worshipped."

    "Worshipped? My greatness? I¡¯d like some of that stuff you¡¯re on." I said

    But my joke fell on deaf ears, or at least they had no idea what I was talking about.

    "And no, they don¡¯t deserve to be worshiped, for they have things too vile for the heavens themselves to spare. Isn¡¯t that right, Xiao Bao, Lu Bao!" I spoke thest words were infused with divine sense so they did travel far and wide.

    And immediately, whispers began rising as many recognized the name.

    "So, you two don¡¯t wish toe out and confront your father," I said...

    No response came.

    "Then so be it, you there," I said to the fat person.

    "Yes, your greatness,"

    "I¡¯m a little pissed right now, so I¡¯ll probably cause some mild damage to some of your furniture, you can send the tab to Wu Fan back at Lucid Springs."

    "Oh, no sir, you can do whatever you want!" said the man.

    ¡¯Well don¡¯te crying to meter then.¡¯

    With my words done, I flew towards the manor. And immediately sted the front wall of it open with a single blow.

    As I stood, with a massive hole in the wall and right in the middle of the manor, Lu Bao shook in front of me, like he had seen the devil.

    "Long time no see, son," I said.

    "F-fffather! Wait! I can-"

    I ced one finger on Lu Bao¡¯s mouth before he could finish "I know son, you can exin, I know, but I¡¯m so pissed right now I really don¡¯t need exnation. I¡¯ve been toox in teaching you, so might as well do it now."

    Lu Bao¡¯s face turned white as a ghost, and then I grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him closer.

    "So, you two cursed at me for birthing you with the same alignment I had. For not being able to cultivate, right?"

    Lu Bao tried to shake his head denying it, but with his face gripped tightly, he couldn¡¯t even breathe if I didn¡¯t allow it.

    "Then how about you try the world of cultivators, for whatever brief moment you can." I pulled a pill and shoved it down his throat.

    Unable to stop the pill from going down or even gag it out, Lu Bao could do nothing but surrender to whatever I gave him.

    "That¡¯s a very special pill, it will regenerate broken bones, heal wounds, and cure illnesses and even increase lifespan. It¡¯s a drug medicine for mortals, it can make you survive even the deadliest of wounds, and its effectsst for a pretty good time." I said.

    Though Lu Bao didn¡¯t know why I would give him such a precious gift he was about to understand why.

    "let me do a showcase!" I said and then unceremoniously threw him into a wall.

    The wall broke and cracked and Lu Bao flew into the next room, throwing up blood, one of his hands was broken out of position, and he clearly had a few ribs broken. Then immediately, his wounds began healing.

    "See how useful that pill is," I said then grabbed him by one leg, and then smashed him into the bed, into a table, a closet, and a few more items. Then began hammering punch after punch.

    Whimpering and crying, I never let him let out a single word, as I didn¡¯t want to hear it.

    Lu Bao couldn¡¯t handle such beating and soon fell unconscious.

    Then I pulled him by the leg and began dragging him behind me.

    Slowly I made my way towards the basement while leaving a long trail of blood that came from Lu Bao¡¯s mangled, and on the brink of death body.

    Then I went down step by step, with my son¡¯s head bumping into every stair, not even caring. Until I arrived at a closed room.

    I kicked the door open and found Xiao Bao, along with his wife and his daughter.

    "WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE MONSTER!" said Xiao Bao.

    The little girl next to Xiao Bao began screaming as she saw her ¡¯uncle¡¯s mangled self.

    But since I didn¡¯t want to traumatize them much, I threw a pill into her mouth, causing her to swallow it, then immediately fall asleep.

    "You call me a monster, son.."

    "Father is dead! You might have tricked my brother, but I know you¡¯re nothing but a demon!"

    "Says the man who threw his own father out of a cliff just to get some spare coin. Says the man who let his people starve so he can have more gold to himself. Says the man that hides behind his wife and daughter as his own brother is beaten to death. Me? Demon, oh, then I could really be a demon. Let me show you the gates of hell, son..."

    An hourter, I walked out with the two of them, chained at the ankles and began dragging them.

    Seeing these two dragged, many had questions, but no one even dared question what an ¡¯immortal¡¯ should and should not do, so they all watched as I dragged my two sons through the city streets.

    "Unfilial bastards. It¡¯s for your own good that I¡¯m here doing heaven¡¯s work in punishing such ungrateful brats such as you," I said. "For if heaven ever gets a hold of you after what you have done, then eternal torment is the least of your worries."

    I spoke, and my words were for all to hear.

    "Unfilial sons of mine, you¡¯ve done me a great disservice, but thanks to your cruel and evil deeds, I managed to be a cultivator, but what about you? What have you gained from betraying the heavenly rtionship granted to you by the heavens? Filial Piety is not something to be ridiculed, for heavens tolerate not those who mistreat their parents."

    I added, and these words were for the parents and children of this city to hear. Not for my sons who were barely conscious.

    I continued moving towards the gate dragging the two of them until I reached the grouping masses at the gate.

    "Move," I spoke, and immediately everyone scattered away.

    And as I kept dragging the two of them, I stopped and asked a random person, "Why have youe here?"

    "Lord immortal! We¡¯vee in search of work and food. The drought hit us hard, and we lost our homes ad cattle. Then we heard that there was work in Lucid Springs, but after seeing its state..."

    I looked around, "I can give you food, I can give you homes, I can give you jobs, but you¡¯ll have to work for them."

    The man¡¯s eyes brightened "I¡¯ll break my back working for bread, my family needs it! thank you, cultivator!"

    "Then follow me, I¡¯m going back to Lucid Springs."

    The man looked awkwardly at me. "But isn¡¯t it in shambles, and there was this Immortal who destroyed it, we fear that if we settle there, he¡¯lle back."

    "I¡¯ll deal with that, follow me if you wish to survive, or stay here and starve at the gates of a city that feeds only itself."

    I said and then moved forward.

    It took a few seconds before the masses nodded to each other and began gathering their things and followed me.

    ¡¯I guess Wu Fan will be happy with this new workforce, they¡¯ll rebuild the city in no time.¡¯

 Chapter 184 - Reconstruction

    <h4>Chapter 184 - Reconstruction </h4>

    The sun¡¯s bright rays shone above all of us as we slowly moved forward. The many peddlers along the path we crossed were surprised at first to see me dragging two almost dead bodies behind me using a chain wrapped around their ankles, but soon, after asking around, and knowing the reason why, and why everyone was calmly and quietly following me, they too joined the group.

    After all, the promise ofbor and food is more than any of these people had hoped to get.

    Surprisingly, many peddlers came, and they all came from different locations, and after asking around, not all of them came from the same ce. Some came due to the drought, and the others theplete opposite, as they had their whole town flooded overnight.

    It took many hours on foot to finally arrive at Lucid Springs, and there I found Wu Fan had done what I asked and had rounded up everyone avable for work.

    "I guess you did your job well," I said to Wu Fan who was sneaking nces behind me.

    "Oh, these two, hang them by the ankles there," I said as I pointed at the only long light post remaining within the city entrance.

    Wu Fan looked back at two young men and nodded to them.

    One of the two limbed the light post and pulled the two of them all by himself while the other helped with lessening the weight a bit.

    Xiao Bao woke up from the jolts and immediately shouted, "What the hell are you doing to me you filthy bastard!" he called.

    A cough from me made Xiao Bao immediately look at me.

    Fear gripped his heart as he remembered the horror I¡¯d inflicted on him.

    "You¡¯ll be staying there, reflect on your actions, and if you dare insult, anyone, in the city, then I promise I¡¯ll no longer use my fists and I¡¯ll be using my sword," I said

    And that immediately got a nice reaction from him, he gulped down, or up in his situation and remained calm.

    "Everyone gathered here, Lucid Springs isn¡¯t a ce for ckers. Wu Fan here will be your city lord. You will hear his words, for his word is my will. Disobey him, and you disobey me."

    "We won¡¯t dare!" one of the peddlers said as he bowed down.

    The rest immediately followed, "We greet the City Lord!"

    "But father! Aren¡¯t we your sons, why give the city lord position to a stranger!" Xiao Bao, against myst advice, still decided to speak back.

    Before he could even realize it, I pulled my Creeping Demise, infused it with my Heart me, and sliced towards him. Not a momentter, his left hand was already in my own hand.

    Seeing the familiar-looking hand and with his own rings on it, he finally realized that he lost it.

    Then the pain finally reached his brain as he began to scream.

    "I told you, dare speak up and I¡¯ll use my sword. This is my will, if you don¡¯t like it, then I can end your life right here." I said

    Stifling his pain and suffering, Xiao Bao finally quieted down.

    "Anyway, stay here, you¡¯ll receive food and drinks, you¡¯ll need to rest up for the night, tomorrow you¡¯ll all be working your backs off to own a ce here," I said.

    "Wu Fan, follow me," I said and headed towards my broken-down manor.

    Once we arrived, Wu Fan who had remained calmed finally decided to speak.

    "Was it wise to be so cruel to your sons?" Wu Fan asked.

    "Wise? I doubt it, but they deserved that and more. Do you know what most cultivators do once they reach a certain stage in their cultivation? They sever their connection to mortals. Sons, wives, and hometowns, anything rted to their mortal past is discarded and thrown away as if it didn¡¯t exist. In my case, I¡¯m still attached to them, otherwise, I would have immediately ended their lives. Though I love my sons I hate to see them act so cruel to everyone. This is an opportunity for them to learn to be humble. They used my reputation and fortune to grow greedy and tyrannical, while they themselves never worked a day in their lives."

    "So you¡¯re not nning on executing them?"

    "Execute them? no, if I wanted them dead, they would be dead. I want them to learn from their mistakes, use them as ves and workforce, give them the hardest and cruelest of jobs. Make them clean sewers, remove rocks and blockades, and have them dig wells. I want them to break their backs working off the gold they ate up. Only then will they be decent human beings. Also higher people who won¡¯t pity them or be swayed by their words. Though my son¡¯s current fortune is not a fraction of what I used to have, it can still sway a few greedy people to aid them in escaping their predicaments. I know them and know how they think." I said.

    "Right, I¡¯ll make sure to do as you asked.

    "Now let¡¯s start about making some ns for this broken city," I said and then sat on one of the few chairs that were still intact.

    There was a table I used to ce several papers and documents in front of me.

    "Seeing the state of the city, it seems that everything is in desperate need of repairs. But thanks to the nearby forest, anything wood-rted can be quickly fixed. The problem is we used too much cement in rebuilding the town that repairing and reconstructing new buildings will be a hassle."

    "We still have some saved up raw materials we haven¡¯t used. I followed your ideas of creating storage space and made sure that any surpluses we got were saved up there."

    "That¡¯s smart thinking, good, bring out as much of that stuff as you can and start by repairing the streets and the buildings that are least damaged. Anything that has too much wreckage should be straight up scrapped and rebuilt." I said.

    "Some people still live in those rundown houses," Wu Fan said.

    "Ask them to huddle up together, the city should take but few months to be functional, so they can probably be able to handle a few months in tight enclosures."

    "Right, but why the city streets, that will take a lot of materials, we probably might not even be able to repair all of the lightly damaged houses if we repair the streets." Asked Wu Fan.

    "Streets mean essibility, having a functional road can aid in transportation, and in the long run, will help procure and distribute raw matter easily, it might be slow at first but the building and reconstruction will elerate in momentouslyter on."

    "Right, Lord Shen Bao is as brilliant as always." Said Wu Fan.

    "That¡¯s not brilliance Wu Fan, justmon sense. Anyway, we¡¯ll be needing to rebuild some of the river facilities. And grow crops, I can manage the crops and reflow the river, but it will take a few days."

    "You can reflow the river? Are you god?"

    "Huh? What are you talking about, that¡¯s just simple stuff a drought this severe is definitely not natural, something must have blocked the river and caused it to divert, a few peddlers had mentioned that they didn¡¯t run away from their home due to drought, but rather they were flooded. So I¡¯m sure that something happened either at the source or along the way that caused the Lucid Spring river to dry up. I¡¯ll check up on it in the morning." I said.

    "Very well, then what about this..." Wu Fan began giving me a detailed report on all that is missing and needed to rebuild the city.

    From the broken sewer system to all the buildings that needed to rebuild along the riverside, to the bridge that was not safe for mortals to cross, to even the number of cattle that we currently have.

    It took the better part of the day to finish what needed to be done, and once that was off I asked Wu Fan to leave back to his home and rest for a while.

    "Should you rest up too, you went to a different city and back and didn¡¯t even look exhausted." Wu Fan said.

    "Cultivator privileges, I¡¯ll still need to procure food for the people outside," I said.

    "That¡¯s something I was trying to avoid, even if we use up all our resources I doubt we¡¯ll be able to feed the masses." Wu Fan said.

    "Don¡¯t worry about that, I already have that figured out. Anyway, I¡¯ll see youter, rest up for now. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours with food." I said.

    Surprise was painted on Wu Fan¡¯s face, as he clearly didn¡¯t understand how I was going to feed these thousands of new mouths.

    But the forest nearby is bountiful and has a lot of food.

    Soon, I took out my flying sword and headed towards the forest, there is a pretty big hunting session I¡¯ll be needing to do.

 Chapter 185 - Tracking Evil

    <h4>Chapter 185 - Tracking Evil </h4>

    Hunger is one of the worst gues upon mankind. For food, man could do the worst of things, for a loaf of bread, man can steal, rob, and even murder. And I wasn¡¯t about to let a mass of thousands of hungry people be directed by their primal instinct. Might as well solve their problem now and have them manage the restter.

    So I moved down the forest, scanning it with my Divine Sense, and began hunting. Deer, wolves, wild cats, tigers, and anything that had meat on it.

    Though I say deer, these very animals can easily eat one of those mortals in two bites. After all demonic animals aren¡¯t regr animals, in a cultivation world, most would use cattle and rear them to be self-sufficient. Regr deer is so rare that it is only used in royal banquets.

    As for demonic creatures¡¯ meat, cultivators don¡¯t eat it, because it can slightly affect the purity of their meridians. As for regr mortals who don¡¯t have any active meridians, the demonic creature meat is a delicacy they rarely ever have.

    Because trying to hunt a creature that can shrug off a full ax blow by a twenty-year-old cksmith¡¯s mighty arms, is nothing but suicide.

    Demonic creatures aren¡¯t prey for mortals, they are predators, and since cultivators don¡¯t even bother hunting lower-ranked ones, demonic creatures thrive.

    But for now, that¡¯s something I can use. As prey was bountiful and plenty.

    I went down to the nearby forest and began hunting creatures, immediately killing and putting them in my spatial bag. Not wasting a moment as I hunted, prey after prey.

    And several hourster. I returned to Lucid Spring. Where I found many people had already started clearing the rubble.

    I then went to the middle of the town square and hovered above everyone in town who watched.

    People looked up and saw a man pulling a full-sized demonic deer from a small bag, and then throwing it down on the street.

    From hunger, a few stopped what they were doing and came running as if the deer I just dropped was going to disappear.

    "STOP!" I called, thought reflexively I used a bit of divine sense that caused the people under me some pain.

    "There is plenty of food for everyone, no need to rush like mad starved and rabid men. Continue your work. For anyone who can¡¯t do the heavy lifting and can cook a decent meal, you cane here and start cooking and making food. I¡¯ll be bringing you all food until the city is functional again. Then, you all will start working for your own keep." I said and began dropping the rest of the carcasses.

    Soon, several women and a few men gathered around the pile of corpses, then they began sorting out the meat, cutting parts that they decided should be cooked now, and begun the process of making dried meat lest the food spoils.

    The work went perfectly as the people found something to do other than clean up wrecked buildings.

    Once that was done, I left and went to find Wu Fan busy organizing another load of work and documents that he needed to manage.

    "How is work?"

    "I don¡¯t know, we literally just started a few hours ago, I¡¯m just making sure to take the names and family members of everyone new. If they are going to stay here, they¡¯ll need identifications, this was your idea back in the day." Wu Fan said.

    ¡¯Oh right, I did something like that, citizen of Lucid Springs get reduction over purchasable items that are produced in lucid springs, so they can use them and trade with outsiders, this would increase our export-import. And also give them a home to belong to. It was a small idea but it worked perfectly. Now Wu Fan is working on it again. Apparently, since everyone just started working, Wu Fan has nothing to oversee and manage not until the major buildings, he might as well just do something small like this for now.

    "Shen Bao, what are we going to do with...that hanging matter," Wu Fan spoke.

    "Oh, them, keep them there for a few days. And once they are starved and begging for help, only offer it once they start working the sewers," I said.

    "Right...I¡¯m on it then. But what will you be doing from now on? I¡¯ve seen the food you gave the people, that should be enough for a few weeks."

    "I¡¯ll leave for a moment, I need to pay someone a visit," I said.

    "Right then, have a safe trip," Wu Fan said.

    "Right, give me your hand," I said.

    Wu Fan without hesitation did so. And handed me his open hand.

    I pulled a small needle and drew a drop of blood from his thumb then ced a small wooden box under the falling drop.

    The wooden box shone brightly as many inscriptions on it activated, and then it calmed down.

    "Also keep this," I said as I handed Wu Fan the small box.

    He opened the box and found many of the small pills I had him eat, in it.

    "Give one to the ones who do the best work, who work the hardest, and who have proved their value. Also, to the severely sick or mortally wounded," I said.

    "Wouldn¡¯t this cause trouble, if people knew I have such a medical treasure, many will be blinded by greed?" Wu Fan said as he looked at me in wonder.

    I shook my head, "They can try, but the moment anyone besides you try and open that box, they¡¯ll have their hands blown off. So don¡¯t worry about it, you can even put it in the square and if someone tries anything they will receive proper punishment for it."

    "Well, that¡¯s a good deterrent for regr mortals, but what if a cultivator covets this?" Wu Fan said as he ced the box on the table.

    I shook my head again, anyone strong enough to open that box will not even care about its content. So don¡¯t worry about it." I said then left the room.

    Soon, I was out of the city riding away towards the very mountain I almost lost my life at. My goal was to get to a certain Nascent Soul cultivator who had a solution to my ¡¯predicament at the time, of not being able to cultivate due to broken meridians. And imagine, even with the Poison God¡¯s knowledge, the only ways to actually repair broken meridians would not be possible for any nascent Soul Cultivator, and the material¡¯s needed only exist in higher nes, where Saint Qi is abundant.

    So, what was that man¡¯s purpose in asking me toe over?

    Perhaps nothing good, but it¡¯s more reasons to see him and ask him about that, of course after he gives me a clear exnation of why he did what he just did.

    I increased the Qi released on my sword and sted through the skies as I moved as fast as I could.

    Remembering that it should have taken me at least a couple of months ride on the carriage to get to where the Nascent Soul cultivator lived, it should take me about a day or two to get there if I were flying, and since I had nothing better to do I might as well meditate while I¡¯m moving.

    But before doing that.

    "X,e out," I said and X shot out from the Poison God¡¯s book." He stood in front of me.

    "Give this to the Lord of Lord¡¯s automata, tell it to nt it, and take care of it," I said as I handed him the Nascent Origin Root.

    Once it¡¯s nted and cultivated it should give a good harvest of Nascent Fruits. And just to make up for the time it needs to grow, I added the small Saint Qi crystal I had on me to the root and told him to have both at the same ce.

    The Saint Qi crystal will nurture the nt and make it grow faster and more potent. Though it will cause the Saint Qi crystal to lose some of its energy, it is worth it to increase my cultivation base for now.

    X nodded and disappeared into the token.

    ¡¯Shit, I forgot to inscribe a vocal circuit for X, he¡¯s been envying Y¡¯s ability to speak... well I¡¯ll make a note of that for the next time I do the inscription. I¡¯m already running low on talismans anyway.¡¯

    I closed my eyes and began meditation. Slowly, I faded back into my Spiritual Sea, and saw the rotating core and the many buildings in it, fully functional and on alert to any mental assault that coulde at it.

    Looking up, the Golden Green Core rotated slowly above the sea fortress and the closest thing next to it was a massive tower that had a single room where hundreds of monitors were disying every corner of my spiritual sea.

    Though I didn¡¯t need the monitors I would feel more at home being able to have something like this instead of divine sense.

    I sat on the only chair, or throne in this room and began meditation, waiting until I arrived at that Nascent Soul cultivator¡¯s ce.

 Chapter 186 - Daunting Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 186 - Daunting Discovery </h4>

    A few dayster, I found myself at the edge of a prettyrge city, it was built within a vast opening of green fields, a cultivator city that had many people going in and out of it. And yet again, anyone with the ability to flight was forced toe down and walk to the gate. Waiting patiently until their turn woulde up.

    Since I didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble in a cultivator city, I calmly went down and followed the group. Slowly waiting until men and women would be asked for their reason to enter the city and pay a small ¡¯tax¡¯ to ess the facilities.

    Right before my turn woulde up, a young snobbish man came in rushing on the back of an earth dragon.

    The earth dragon looked like a raptor with less evil features and had feathers on its legs, and a beak instead of the familiar raptor snout full of razor-sharp teeth.

    "MOVE ASIDE!" the young kid said and the majority of the group on the path to the gate moved aside.

    I say the majority because I was the only one who didn¡¯t move.

    "That man is going to get crushed," one of the people next to me said as the raptor came rushing in.

    As the creature approached, the kid looked more irked seeing me unmoving, so he pulled a whip and swung it sideways in an attempt to swat me like some unsightly fly.

    ¡¯Might as well try that now,¡¯ I thought to myself as I calmly moved my finger forward then did a horizontal wave.

    If anyone was able toprehendw here, they would understand that what I did was slightly extend a gravitationalw.

    This caused the gravity in front of me to slightly change, and be heavier than normal.

    The whip, having made contact with the modified gravitational field lost all power and became an anchor to the rushing man, this he didn¡¯t know yet.

    And since I didn¡¯t want to directly collide with the raptor, I moved to the side.

    The kid scoffed at me and continued moving, not realizing that his whip was still connected to that point in space.

    And once the raptor moved enough and the kid wanted to pull back his whip. It went taut and ripped the kid off the back of his raptor and onto the ground.

    The raptor never realized that it had already lost its master and continued running towards the gate, where the guards made sure to stop it, even with brutal force.

    The kid,ying on his back, howled like a mad beast, "YOU!" he said as he stood up, "You¡¯re a dead man!" he called and once again tried to pull his whip back, but it didn¡¯t work.

    I slowly approached the kid and said, "I¡¯m, in a terribly, terribly awful mood right now." I said, "So if you want to keep your little life, don¡¯t fuck with me." I said with a smile and patted the kid on the shoulder.

    And moved away from him and towards the gate.

    While he didn¡¯t notice, I already injected a bit of my poison qi with that contact.

    "YOU DARE HUMILIATE ME LIKE THIS! Do-"

    "Do you know who I am, yada yada yada, and all that crap," I finished his sentence. "I don¡¯t care, and frankly don¡¯t give a fuck, even if you¡¯re the emperor himself, so piss off before I make you," I said and snapped my finger.

    Immediately, the poison Qi injected into his body activated and the kid fell to his knees, blood came out of his nose and mouth. As he gasped for breath.

    This was not a lethal dose I activated, but enough to make him know that I¡¯m not someone to be messed with.

    "Who is that cultivator? What did he use? I didn¡¯t even see him move." One of the passersby said.

    Another filled him in, "He must be an elusive master or an Old Monster, we don¡¯t want to mess with those, let¡¯s leave this ce for now."

    Soon, everyone made sure that they were no longer in an earshot from me and moved aside keeping distance, which worked perfectly for my sake. As I went inside the city unbothered by the guards, apparently ¡¯tax¡¯ is not applied to ¡¯old monsters¡¯. So that was good.

    Thest I knew from the door to the city was a few cultivators rushed to the kid¡¯s side and gave him some pills, though if I wanted those pills wouldn¡¯t work, but since I didn¡¯t want to kill him, I just left a hidden lethal dose of Poison Qi because as my luck would dictate, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be seeing that kid again. It¡¯s just the way this shit works, and it better to be prepared than not.

    I soon merged with the crowds of people going into the city, and once I found the opportunity I went into an ally and ate the same pill I ate before facing those two half ascendants near the Purple Cloud Sect.

    Once my face changed from the pill and I gained the aura of a low-level Core cultivator instead of my ambiguous and almost none-present poison Qi aura, I walked out into the street and towards the nearest restaurant.

    Once I was inside, many divine senses came rushing, but didn¡¯t do any heavy probing and calmly hovered around.

    I retaliated with a wave of my own divine sense that scanned all over the ce and made sure to push away the others.

    This made it clear to everyone in the inn that I wasn¡¯t someone they wanted to spy on.

    Not a secondter, all the divine senses disappeared and left me to my peace.

    I looked around and chose an empty table in one of the corners. Once I was seated a waitress came in and asked me what I¡¯d like to have. And since I have no idea what this restaurant offers.

    "Chef¡¯s choice, and a strong liquor," I said.

    The waitress nodded and went back to the kitchen as I waited.

    Though it might appear that I¡¯m doing nothing but wasting time, sitting here is pretty convenient to know what¡¯s the news and what¡¯s happening in the city, as proven by the group of cultivators sitting next to me.

    "I¡¯m sure brother Ji tai will win this year¡¯s tournament." One of four disciples wearing the same pale blue robes said.

    "Yes, he is the strongest of our sect, and will definitely mow down anypetitor with utter ease." Another said.

    "I wish if was a Nascent Soul cultivator too, otherwise there is no hope for me to even participate," another kid said.

    Thest one who probably was this Ji Tai said, "It¡¯s not a condition to be a Nascent Soul cultivator, its just that having that cultivation stage makes it easier to be seeded, instead of having to do the mock battles." The man who I presumed to be Ji Tai said.

    "Yes, man, I can¡¯t wait for tomorrow¡¯s battles. Also, did you hear about the news?" asked the first kid.

    "What¡¯s going on?" the second said.

    "Apparently, a lot of disappearances have happenedtely," said the kid.

    "We all know that, that¡¯s why I asked you all to stay together," Ji Tai said.

    "Yes, but there is an update," the kid said.

    "What update?" Ji Tai asked, and he looked intrigued.

    "One of the people who was kidnapped, a girl from the Nine Petal Lotus sect surfaced. But her whole body was gued with a very dangerous poison..." said the kid.

    ¡¯This is interesting.¡¯ I thought.

    Suddenly, the waitress came and ced my order in front of me. I ate and kept an ear peeled as to hear the rest of the conversation.

    "What poison?" asked Ji Tai.

    "It¡¯s the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. And not only that, all her meridians were broken!"

    A thunderous boom echoed within my mind as I heard the news.

    ¡¯What in the hell? Why would someone try that shit again.¡¯

    My reaction was pretty obvious, though I didn¡¯t move, I was noticed. And the guy named Ji Tai sensed me.

    And since I was exposed. I stood up, and picked up the liquor bottle, and went towards the group.

    "I¡¯m slightly interested in what you just talked about," I said and ced the bottle in front of them. "Can I hear more about this incident?" I asked.

    The leader of the group seemed slightly hesitant to answer, but the kid who was speaking earlier, with the sight of the very expensive bottle, continued speaking, "Yes, as I heard, the girl didn¡¯t make it through, and all her meridians were broken, I have no idea why someone would do such a thing, but all I heard was, that before she passed she said something that was bothering me." The kid said as he poured himself a cup.

    "Xiao Lu, you seem rather too open to a stranger, don¡¯t you think," Ji Tai said to the kid before he finished his words.

    "He could be the very same man who did that thing to that girl and you¡¯re just exposing what she said to him, wouldn¡¯t that be a possibility?" Ji Tai said.

    Xiao Lu, immediately looked at me like if I was a monster.

    "Wow! Hold up, I¡¯m no demon in disguise, I just arrived at the city this morning, and if what this brother was saying was true then whatever happened had been happening for a while now, right? So how could I be the same person? But it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t wish to share, I have no ill intentions, I was just interested. You can keep the wine," I said and turned to leave.

    "Wait," Ji Tai said.

    Turning, I waited for him to speak up.

    "You don¡¯t seem like someone with evil intentions, I was just testing your reaction. If you really were the culprit, you would have denied it with more than this flimsy excuse. Just sit with us, we can¡¯t afford to take the charity of a person without giving back, Xiao Lu, finish up what you had to say for this brother." Ji Tai said.

    I nodded to the leader and waited for the kid to finish up.

    "Yeah, anyway what I was saying was, that she said something along the lines of, ¡¯Many are still there, he is killing us, poisoning us because he can¡¯t open the book.¡¯ This means absolutely nothing, but it stuck in my head, I mean, what does poison have to do with opening a book?"

    A shiver went down my spine, as this kid¡¯s words were damn serious... because if my guess is right this would only mean one thing...

    There is another Poison God¡¯s Book.

    "Well, it¡¯s really sad, she was a beautiful girl, I had hoped she would battle brother Ji Tai." Xiao Lu said.

    "She too was apetitor?" I asked.

    "Oh, yes, well, now that you mentioned it, everyone that disappeared was supposed to partake in thepetition." Xiao Lu said.

    ¡¯Good, now I have a lead on whoever is doing this shit, though I really want to chase after that asshole who did what he did to my city, this precedes it.. another poison god¡¯s heritage isn¡¯t something to easily ignore.¡¯

 Chapter 187 - Buying Your Way In

    <h4>Chapter 187 - Buying Your Way In </h4>

    "Do you know when thepetition is being held?" I asked the group I was sitting with.

    "It¡¯s tomorrow at noon, but if you want to join I think you¡¯rete. The registrations have ended," Ji Tai said.

    "Oh, that would be a pity, but could you just show me where I can find the registration area? I could try my luck you never know," I said.

    "Just head down the main street, once you¡¯re close to the ck Tower Pavilion, you¡¯ll find any booths next to it. try your luck, you never know what might happen."

    "Thank you, brother Ji Tai," I said and left the restaurant and headed to where I was informed.

    This is some seriously big news. Because not only will this reveal more of the Poison God¡¯s Secrets, I¡¯ll be able to learn more if I were to obtain another book. Perhaps they are identical, or maybe there is a difference between them. Having two copies will make it so I can learn more about the Poison God¡¯s Heritage.

    I walked as hurriedly as I could, passing and dodging every passerby as I hurried to the booths.

    Only to find someone familiar there, screaming his lungs out at a man who looked utterly terrified of the man, he had the same look of a cashier while a customer was threatening to sue or call the manager.

    The kid constantly mmed his palm on the booth, "As I said! it was some random asshole who slowed me down at the gate, I could have been here ages ago! You can ask around!"

    "But sir Lang, the rules say..."

    "Fuck the rules! Do you think thispetition will even have any value if I¡¯m not in it? Do you know how many donations my father gives to the ck Tower, and how many annual assists he hands over to the Sword Mountain Sect? Do you?!" the kid called, and while he was at it, arge group of people stopped to watch themotion and see what was going to happen.

    Soon, an old woman came to the booths and saw the ruckus, she had a dignified look on her and seemed slightly annoyed by the behavior of the kid, yet apparently, after a few words, the man in the booth epted the kid and handed him a token.

    "Good! You should have done this in the first ce and made it easier for the both of us!" the kid humphed like an angry twelve year old girl and turned.

    "Can I also have a chance to partake in the tourney?" I asked once I was close enough to the same booth.

    "No! Time is already up, you arete." The man said.

    "But you just epted that kid," I said.

    "Don¡¯t call him that, if he hears it, no one can guarantee your life. He might be snobbish but he is the son of a very influential person." The man said.

    "Junior cultivator," the older woman said, "Though this might look unfair to you, exceptions will be made because power is king. Lang Ho¡¯s father, Lang Hua Xu, is one of the richest and most powerful people in the northern sides of Zhou County, so unless you can rival him in influence, strength or wealth, don¡¯t try and ask for the same privileges."

    ¡¯So basically what she means is, I can buy my way in if I have the capital.¡¯

    I pulled a small pill from my inventory and handed it over to the woman, "Would this be enough?"

    The woman frowned then as she was about to speak something, she stopped and snatched the pill from my hands.

    "You...you¡¯re really something, aren¡¯t you."

    "It¡¯s something I happened upon while I was traveling, I¡¯m not interested in my looks, but I think it would do wonders to someone who needs it," I said like hell was I gonna call out a woman ugly or old, especially someone who could decide if I could enter this tournament or not.

    "Wise choice of words..." the woman said.

    "Give him a token. Be here tomorrow, the tournament will take ce in a separate location." She said and happily moved away to take the pill.

    It was nothing too precious, but for a woman, that pill is a life saver. A beauty pill that can correct the passage of time on one¡¯s skin, and it was of pretty good quality.

    Soon after I took the token I headed out and away from masses who also wanted to join the tournament. But since thatdy left, they all had to try and convince the man in the booth, who will never take such a decision to ept them unless his superior was there.

    I headed out and looked for an inn to spend the rest of the day in. And also I needed some time to do some study. And since I had a time dtion function within the Lord of Lords, I can use it to work.

    The nearest inn didn¡¯t look too shabby so I walked inside and paid ten medium-grade spirit stones for one night. It was expensive but at least the room was nice.

    The moment I entered the room, however, I spread my divine sense all over it and noticed that it had a few hidden inscriptions. They were spying inscriptions.

    One was under one of the bed¡¯s feet and one under a vase that was ced on a window.

    I did a quick job of the formations by removing them, and almost a few secondster. I heard a knock on the door.

    "Sir, we¡¯ve yet to fully clean up the room, would you mind waiting for a few moments before our servants make it more appropriate for such an esteemed guest as you to stay in?"

    "No need, I already cleaned up everything that I didn¡¯t need in the room," I said hinting to him that I already know about the formations and didn¡¯t care.

    "Right then, since you¡¯vee at a special time, we¡¯ll offer you free meals if you wish, I¡¯ll have the servants bring them to you."

    "No need, I¡¯ll be cultivating and don¡¯t want to be disturbed."

    "Right sir, then have a nice stay," the man said and I heard his footsteps moving away from my room.

    I pulled a small talisman and ced it on the door and enabled it. This immediately created a barrier that will stop sound and divine sense from disturbing me.

    I then pulled the Lord of Lords token and used it to teleport inside the pagoda.

    Once inside I headed to the white room area and began by creating talismans to replenish my already diminishing talisman stockpile.

    Explosive talismans, sound disrupting talismans, stun talismans, fire, water earth, and even wind talismans.

    Finally, I made a few that had some nasty effects, ones that could stick to a person and create an electric shock. This I derived from the Lord of Chains method along with the Imperatrix of Lightning¡¯s Devil Sealing arts.

    Though this lighting current isn¡¯t sustainable and costs a lot of Qi to enable. It can prove handy in paralyzing someone.

    Then I called Y over and began by studying his vocal inscription. Butter I realized that this thing is actually tooplex to finish in one sitting and I still had more to do. So I had to dy X¡¯s speech inscription for a little while.

    Then I pulled the reactor and inspected it, finding a few dents and bends, that was easily fixed that now I wasn¡¯t as pressed for time as I was back in the Deeps.

    Then removed the brass strips that were broken and mended, and reced them with copper wires that I got from the Ji Tai sect.

    This will increase Y¡¯s functions and better transfer heat to his swords.

    Done with that, I pulled the many spiritual herbs I had on me and ordered the automaton that was managing the Lord of Lords pagoda to bring me any spiritual herbs that were ready for harvest.

    Many had grown since Ist nted them, due to the time difference and the rich Qi, so the Automaton brought a huge pile of spiritual herbs to me.

    I then began by refining pills using my Heart me.

    Poison pills, attack pills, healing pills, and soul rejuvenating pills. I burnt through the herb pile with so much speed that one would think that I set the small mountain of spiritual herbs on me.

    Once that was done. I sat down and took a few Soul Rejuvenating pills to heal back the mental stress. Then pulled the Law b I got from the Laughing ughterer pagoda. And began studying it.

    As I understood, Gravity is not a standalonew, but it is a minor part of Space Law. So trying to understand Space without having a decent understanding of Gravitational Law is pretty much shooting yourself in the foot.

    And since I had managed to get to the Small Sess Stage in Gravitational Law I could study Space Law to an extent.

    But the moment I closed my eyes and tried to gain insight into the Space Law b, I was disappointed to not be able to see the Law Lines.

    Sighing, I had to give up on trying to do things the easy way. So I was going to do something I might regret.

    I¡¯ll be using the Egg of Delusions, but I hope it won¡¯t crush me under its gravitational weight.. But the only way to find out is to try it.

 Chapter 188 - Understanding Law

    <h4>Chapter 188 - Understanding Law </h4>

    Son!" a most beautiful and most exquisite looking woman one could every their eyes on shouted, while, joy, confusion and a familiar sense of peace finally returned to her eye spoke.

    She came rushing and hugged the handsome man who was in front of her, as if she didn¡¯t believe he was really back, even after a thousand years of disappearance.

    The woman grabbed her son¡¯s face and spoke, "I knew you were still there somewhere! I knew it!"

    "Good to see you Mother," Zhang Tian said in a kind smile.

    His mother hugged him again and almost crushed his bones, but he didn¡¯tin a bit.

    "Easy on him, wife, he is still frail from all that time there."

    "Right," she said, and immediately her smile disappeared into one of the most dangerous smirks that could ever be seen in the vast expanse, "Since you¡¯re here son, it means we now know who had done this to you, please tell me, so I can pay them in full!"

    "It was Master Rain, but..." before Zhang Tian could finish.

    "Ah so, Master Rain! Husband of mine, this time you won¡¯t stop me like you did when the Poison God cut my child¡¯s hand will you?!"

    "Wife, I wouldn¡¯t dare...thest time I tried that you almost broke all my limbs. I wouldn¡¯t want that, but the Poison God wasn¡¯t someone we could afford to offend..." the king said.

    "You can¡¯t, I can easily break his bones!"

    "True, but his elusive master was too dangerous to fight without a n." The king said.

    "Mother, you probably should let go of that grudge," Zhang Tian said smiling.

    "How can you smile through that humiliation?" His mother said confused.

    "Because Karma is really strange and works in wondrous ways."

    "I fail to understand." Zhang Tian¡¯s mother said.

    "Well, basically, the Poison God¡¯s own disciple was the reason for my escape from that prison. I¡¯ll tell you all about it over tea, I feel like I haven¡¯t had one in a thousand years."

    "Oh, yes yes, of course. Let¡¯s go, Son;"

    -****-

    The moment I pulled the egg out, everything on me was forced forward, like I was turned into a pile of aquatic sludge and was going to be consumed and ttened against this purplish-blue egg.

    My clothes, my hair, and even my sky pearl eyeball were gonna pop out of its ce and be stuck against the egg.

    I hastily used my divine sense and instead of trying to stupidly break the arm thickw lines that spread out from the Egg of delusion, which would have ended with me breaking a few fingers instead of actually dispelling thew lines

    So I began by doing the same thing I did at the gate of this city. I created my ownw lines, to block the offensive and massivew lines of the Egg of Delusion.

    At first, it was weak, and the moment I create da line, it instantly broke against the power of the other massivew lines.

    But, I steadily increased my speed, and used two fingers instead of one, creating two lines at once. They managed to stay in the air and protected me slightly from the effect of the otherw lines for a moment, enough for me to create a third and fourth. And then, kept doing that, continuously creating more and morew lines.

    Andter on, in about half an hour of constant creation ofw lines, I managed to make a protective barrier of smallw lines that managed to hold its own against the pulling power of the Egg of Delusion. And not only protect me, but they were also able to self-sustain as a stand-alone barrier of gravitationalw that could easily fend off even strongerw.

    Though myw lines were smaller, there is always strength in numbers.

    Once I managed to create my own little sanctuary within the heavyw lines of the Egg of Delusion. I sat down and took a moment to breathe and rest up.

    A few momentster, and after a few more soul-rejuvenating pills, I began by studying the massivew lines.

    They were thick, and trying to break them is impossible. So first, might as well try and understand them.

    I used my divine sense to peer into the secrets of the Law Lines and immediately was surprised to notice that these Law lines were made of smaller threads ofw lines weaved into each other through someplex machinery. But this veryplex mechanism was familiar, very familiar to me as I remembered I¡¯ve actually seen this before.

    These were the same heavenly designs that I saw when I first created the Cloud Pill at the Demon Lands.

    The symbols now that I got to study them without heavens directly trying to wipe them away were far easier to understand. But I still noticed that they were iplete. They were the same as the method I used to memorize the heavenly design and left every piece of a symbol iplete.

    But why were they iplete?

    Perhaps because this egg isn¡¯t something perfect? It is creating powerful gravitationalws, but they aren¡¯t perfect.

    So, might as well study them.

    I pulled my brush and paper and began writing the samew lines again.

    Trying to write all thoseplex kneedw lines on one single piece of paper was pretty difficult. So I had to use multiple pages to write a single line.

    Once I was done, I ced the papers together and began noting the symbols.

    A cultivator¡¯s mind is like aputer, the memorization ability thates with cultivation level is so handy it¡¯s straight-up overpowered. And thanks to it, I managed to memorize all the symbols.

    Then I had my finger up, and instead of drawing a line with the intention of it bingw lines, I made slight even microscopic motions moving my finger and infused within them my poison Qi.

    I was actively trying to draw aw line and at the same time, writing the symbols. At first to create aw line with the heavenly symbol that was about a foot long, took me two minutes, since I needed a lot of details to make it.

    But once I finished it. It shone brighter than every one of the lines I had set up as a barrier to protect me. And I could even feel the strength ofwing from it was far stronger and more attuned to heaven than the rest.

    I tried to write anotherw line, doing the same method. And once again created another line, but this time it took me less time.

    I then started recing the olderw lines and drew the symbols on them.

    Hourster, I was able to write this improvedw line in less than a second, though it wasn¡¯t as thick as the ones from the egg of delusion, it wasn¡¯t any lower in quality.

    Then just to try something out, I began by linking all the improvedw lines together and tried to make a square surface made of Law.

    The square surface resembled a shield, and since I was just trying and testing things. I pulled a sword and tried to push it through this gravitationalw makeshift shield.

    The moment the sword went through thew line, it crumpled like a piece of paper and beganpressing against itself until it turned to a sold spherical marble that wasn¡¯t as big as my fist.

    "Holy shit." Surprised at the strength of this gravitationalw which pushed me to try more stuff out.

    The lines I made were able to increase the gravitational field within them by hundreds of times. What if I did the opposite, and actively sought to decrease the gravitational force. Perhaps I¡¯ll achieve free fall?

    Something to note.

    I began trying and testing various things, and took note of everything, not even thinking about the time I spent doing this.

    And in my conclusion, I understood that creatingw lines in the spur of the moment in a battle is probably going to get me killed, but at the same time, I managed one of my greatest discoveries yet.

    I could actually write the gravitationalw on an inscription talisman, and infuse it with Qi then pull it out, the advantage of this is, that using poison Qi mimics the symbols on the talisman and I can actively extract a ready-made gravitational, shield. And the talisman won¡¯t be used. And I could pull as many squarew lines my Qi reserves could allow me from one talisman.

    This made me so excited I began creating several talismans with different gravitational shapes. Simple lines. Spherical gravitational balls, squares, and even sword-shapedws.

    Though most would probably never see the day that they¡¯ll be used, it was actually fun tinkering with the world¡¯sw, no matter how sphemous that might sound.

    Soon, the automaton that oversees the Lord of Lords pagoda came to me.

    "Master Shen Bao, the time in the outside world has already reached noon, you should get going."

    "Ah right, the tournament, thank you," I said to the automaton and immediately left the area.

    If I hadn¡¯t asked him to notify me, I would have probably remained testing stuff out for days toe.

    I appeared within my room, and left the inn, my direction was the area where thepetition was going to be held, and I wasing with a lot of new toys to try.

    I¡¯ll have to apologize to the kids I¡¯ll be facing because grandpa Shen Bao isn¡¯t really worried about little Core Cultivators, the only ones who might push me to draw some of my little toys would probably be the Nascent Soul cultivators.

    And since I really wasn¡¯t interested in whatever the tournament was going to give me, and my sole interest was to draw out the guy who owns what I think would be another book of the poison god, I was going to go easy on all of them, while investigating that person.

 Chapter 189 - Martial Artist Tournament

    <h4>Chapter 189 - Martial Artist Tournament </h4>

    I followed the instructions on the back of the token and found my way to the actual main area where the tournament will be held.

    The whole event was like a festival where the majority of the people with coins joined in to watch. A massive football-like yground was set up with chairs on stair-like structures were ced for the people to sit. And on the middle area of the ¡¯arena¡¯ was an evenrger covered booth for the VIPs.

    Nobles and cultivators of a pretty high level sat inside the booth, one of them had so much Qi leaking out of him that instantly identified him as someone on a higher stage than a Nascent Soul cultivator.

    This is one of the few Soul Formation cultivators I¡¯ve seen. Besides the emperor of the Zhou county, the Sect master of the Seven Mountain Peaks, and the Grand Elder of the Three-Legged Raven sect.

    The rarity of the cultivators in higher stages increases the higher one climbs, but I know that these cultivators are more than sand grains in other areas of the world or others. It¡¯s just that this world has too low Qi to allow many cultivators to grow in rank.

    Having met the two Half Step Ascendants a couple of days ago could be something that a regr person wouldn¡¯t see even during three lifetimes.

    I took an inspecting ce all over the booth and made a self note of everyone present there. Because among them, one man was hiding his Qi so tightly around him that one would think him a mortal. But I decided against filing him with Mortals because if he truly was a Mortal he would have had achieved something monuments to be granted audience among people of such high cultivation level. Which is pretty hard, especially since he had a holding bag on his side.

    The arena itself was a massive square tform in the center. And on all of its four corners, there were four other smaller tforms.

    While on the contestants¡¯ side, there were a few hundred of us. And a good portion of them were all Nascent Soul cultivators.

    "Greetings everyone!" called a man who showed up out of nowhere.

    He was dressed in colorful robes and had a cheerful air about him, he was under the VIP booth and was probably going to be the one who will present the fighters.

    "For today¡¯s event, his great and generous majesty Lord Shima, our liege has allowed this tourney to happen as entertainment for his birthday, and thanks to his great generosity, it is not he who will receive gifts for his birthday, but the brave and courageous warriors who show entertainment to his great self."

    Cheers rose, but not high enough to be deafening, and it was obvious that this man was facing a tough crowd.

    ¡¯Not the best hyping speech though, so it was expected.¡¯

    "Calm down," the speaker said, "For the rewards, we¡¯ll grace the first three with a Nascent Soul Correction Pill!"

    ¡¯Oh, A Correction Pill? What is that?¡¯ I wondered and immediately the answer came to me from a text from the Poison God¡¯s book.

    ***

    Nascent Soul Correction Pill, a pill that can help resolve soul damage after reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

    The Soul Damage is usually something that happens after cultivators face their first Heavenly Tribtion.

    But since you already faced your first Heavenly Tribtion at the Core Cultivation stage, such pills are useless.

    ***

    ¡¯Huh, so nothing too great.¡¯ I inwardly scoffed at the reward. But I was surprised to hear the unmoved crowd howl and cheer even harder as thementator mentioned the reward.

    ¡¯Seems like this pill is a bit useful for regr cultivators, especially since even the few Core Cultivators and even Nascent Soul cultivators within thepetitors are agitated about it.¡¯

    "And this is but themon reward!" thementator said, and now the crowd was anticipating what could top something like that.

    "The Second Reward, for the second and first participant. Is the opportunity to have a weapon or defensive treasure crafted by the great cultivator himself Han Sui!" thementator said and pointed at the man with the massive leaking Qi in the VIP booth.

    My ears threatened to burst as everyone including the participants shouted with joy.

    "Who the heck is that guy?" I mumbled

    And was immediately scoffed at by a nearbypetitor.

    "You idiot, don¡¯t you know the great Han Sui! He is the best Craft smith in all of the western countries. Kings and emperorse to him and hope he crafts a weapon for them, even the Emperor of Zhou County waited seven days to get a single dagger crafted for him!"

    ¡¯Oh, so he was the one who made that crappy dagger, what the hell, the dagger that the Emperor of the Zhou County was he bad. It was unbnced and had a lot of faults it was all looks no substance.¡¯

    My bored almost derisive looks were gonna earn me a fight with this guy, so I said, "I didn¡¯t know him to thank you for telling me," I said.

    "And finally,st but not least, the final and grand prize for the winner of this fight is..."

    The man waited as if he was the only one waiting from the drop beat of a drumroll then finally spoke.

    "A Law Fruit!"

    Thankfully, before anyone would start screaming like little girls in a K-Pop fest after seeing their favorite artist I plugged both my ears and watched the entire arena go in an uproar.

    Several, long, arduous secondster. I finally removed my fingers from my ears.

    Now, I wasn¡¯t interested in this tourney at all, all I wanted to do was to spot the person behind the kidnappings and disappearance of the kids. Not to mention the main goal of finding out if there is another copy of the Poison God¡¯s book. But now, Aw fruit, it¡¯s like an easy way to get a more basic understanding of Law.

    A Law Fruit has heavenly symbols within it, and upon consumption, one¡¯s understanding of thews they had obtained will increase. Though the potency of the Law Fruit is reduced the morews a person is seeking if one only seeks onew the fruit should enhance their understanding by a great margin.

    I don¡¯t fully understand how this thing works, but myckluster and bored attitude towards the tourney changed immediately with this fruit showing up, now I¡¯ll probably have to do some effort.

    "Now, for thepetition rules, since there are a lot of participants, we¡¯ll be seeding all and every Nascent Soul Cultivators. Don¡¯t feel bad about this, even the None Seeded Tournament has its rewards, so one could potentially get the rewards from the elimination rounds, and also win the grand prize, that is if they are strong enough to snatch away the rewards of Nascent Cultivators." Thementator said.

    "Thepetition will have to go for an elimination and point system. Each Core Cultivator will face ten foes, and the ones with the most points will advance until only six are left. The final six Core Cultivators will all be allowed to join the main event! Let¡¯s hope we see a powerful Dark Horse among the Core Cultivators, it had happened before and everyone favors the Underdog!"

    ¡¯Six Dark Horses he says, bruh, this whole tourney is a farce, I mean, there are thirty Nascent Soul cultivators. Meaning that from the hundred and So Core Cultivators six will go and face ones that are far stronger than them in ability, experience, and power. Six Dark horses? More like Six entertainment matches...Wait, I¡¯m among them, so it should only be five because I¡¯m winning this all the way. The Law Fruit is the thing I¡¯d want the most out of all of this.¡¯

    "Now let the Core Cultivator tourney begins!" said thementator and soon a person started calling names out, and the first name was the least I expected.

    "MENG HAO Will be facing Han Son!"

    ¡¯Meng Hao? Could he be the same one?¡¯ I wondered.

    And was not disappointed to see the grim and serious slightly dark-skinned kid on the verge of attaining Nascent Soul stage, walking up one of the stages. In front of him was another Core Cultivator at the ninth stage of the Core Cultivator stage.

    "Begin!" the judge on the tform said.

    Not an instantter, the match was already over, as Meng Hao had shoulder bashed the other kid so fast, that he was knocked out of the stage and eliminated.

    This happened before not even the second name was called to the other arenas.

    "Meng Hao one point!" called the judge.

    "Damn, he¡¯s fast," I apuded inwardly.

    More names were called, and more battles happened. Soon came my name and I went up.

    In front of me was a young girl that looked like she was in her early twenties. She had a long rapier on her and was readying for a fight.

    Sadly for her, she never had the chance to make a move as I¡¯ve already moved so fast behind her and gave her a light hand chop to the back of the head. Normally that wouldn¡¯t work on a martial artist because they are far sturdier than regr humans, but with infused Qi, it was well done.

    I have a soft spot for young little girls, and it would be just sad to hurt her. Though this defeat will hurt her pride the most.

    I made sure not to have her fall face down on the ground and lightly grabbed her and ced her down, then the referee dered my victory and point advancement.

    Seeing that I¡¯ll be facing nine more people, this tourney was going to take a long, long time...hope they have a break soon, I¡¯m feeling slightly hungry...

 Chapter 190 - I Guess Im Not The Main Character...

    <h4>Chapter 190 - I Guess I''m Not The Main Character... </h4>

    My next fight came even sooner than I anticipated. It seems that there was no real order to who fights who, and just straight up go and finish up your battles.

    I got up and ended up facing a young kid, probably in his early fifteen. And he was already a Core Cultivator.

    He had a short sword and looked ready to fight a demon incarnate.

    The kid charged me with as much speed as he could, then thrust his weapon three times, aiming at none vital areas.

    The blows were pretty slow, as I easily dodged them with the barest of movements. Being able to study detailedws, and inscriptions give one an extremely high mental function and make the moves of someone as young as this kid rather boring to look at.

    The kid however had some fight in him and followed the missed blows with a leg sweep and a rising sword sh.

    I dodged the leg swing and parried hising sword by lightly tapping the hand that was gripping his sword as it rose up, causing him to lose bnce as he staggered back. I then took a step forward, and once again lightly pressed on his chest.

    While he was still destabilized, the light chest tap made him fall on his back.

    The kid looked at me, smiled gently, and said, "Thank you for going easy on me. I¡¯m no match to you."

    I smiled back at the kid and approached him, then gave him my hand to stand up, "Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s just a difference in battle experience. You¡¯ll be stronger in the future. Also as a small tip, try not to make your moves too obvious, your thrusts were good, but your wide moves gave you up. If I had a sword and ill intentions I could have ended you. So remember, shy moves will probably get you chicks, but one day you¡¯ll end up with a sword through you." I said.

    Though my advice sounded grim, the kid took it earnestly and thanked me for it once again then left.

    Just as I was about to leave, my name was announced once again.

    ¡¯The hell? Are they trying to ve drive me?¡¯

    So I had to stay in the arena.

    Though this might not be a great thing for a cultivator to fight several times in a row, for me this will mean that I¡¯ll end up finishing off my opponents soon, and get to take a break and grab a bite. Though I could use a fasting pill, I¡¯m craving some meat.

    A slightly older person came to face me this time, he looked to be in his early thirties, and this guy had a lot of scars all over his body. He looked like a veteran that had fought countless battles.

    The man pulled two daggers, flipped them in the air continuously while his gaze never left my eyes.

    "Begin!" said the referee.

    And the moment the man¡¯s daggers fell to his hands, he twirled them, one in each hand then mmed them together. Creating a powerful sh of light.

    I was blinded in one eye, well, it was the only one I had, but not on my Skypearl Eye. I was still able to follow his thermal signature as he dashed like a sh of lightning towards me.

    His daggers flew forward one for the heart and one for the head.

    This guy wasn¡¯t messing about.

    I immediately crossed my arms, with palms open. The first palm struck against the hand aiming the dagger for my heart, and the second palm struck the arm going for my head.

    The sudden reaction caught the dagger wielder off guard and was rewarded with a head butt as he never saw thating.

    The man fell back and rolled away several times. This time, he didn¡¯t stand, but remained low, like a praying mantis with his daggers aimed at me, as he slowly swayed from left to right.

    Not even a heartbeatter, he dashed again like a ferocious tiger aiming to gut me.

    But I¡¯ve had enough of this, the kid earlier was a nice person, who didn¡¯t want to bloody his hands, so I didn¡¯t hurt him and treated him well, but these people, when they see kindness they mistake it for weakness. I might as well prove them wrong here and now.

    Just as he approached the striking range, he shoved the daggers as fast as he could towards my stomach, but I was prepared for that and immediately swung down both my open palms right on top of his own dagger gripping hands.

    The sudden blow caused his hand to m downwards as he never expected a p from me would carry such weight.

    And while his hands were down, his face was well open to a retaliation he wouldn¡¯t expect. As my knee shoved straight into his face, definitely breaking his nose, and probably some teeth as a bonus.

    the sudden blow was unthinkably fast, and he never had the time to react so he took it head-on, literally.

    the impact caused him to fall again, though it took him slightly longer to stand up this time, he managed to do it, dizzied but still able to fight.

    His guard was up for my retaliation, but then he realized I never moved from where I stood, not even once.

    "You should give up, you lost," I stoically said.

    "I¡¯m still standing, unless I¡¯m dead, I¡¯ll never surrender," the man said with all the resolution one could speak off.

    Though his words would have been admirable if he was in a situation where he could actually have a sliver of hope of winning, the reality of things was that the moment I touched him, I already had my Poison Qi inside his body, so he already lost. But since I don¡¯t want to reveal my cultivation technique so early, I might as well go to the second trap I nted on him.

    "Mkay, then, take a look at the top of your hands," I said.

    The moment he did that he frowned.

    "Do you know what those are?" I asked.

    Though my words were low, they definitely pulled the attention of a few cultivators who weren¡¯t too interested in watching Core cultivators fight.

    The man shook his head.

    "They are something I ced on you the moment I pped your hand, and they look exactly like this thing don¡¯t they?" I said as I showed him a talisman I pulled from my inventory.

    The man looked at the talisman in wonder but didn¡¯t understand its utility.

    I threw it to the side and had locked only two fingers, my index and middle finger of a closed fist. "Kai." I said, and immediately the talisman blew up in an ear-deafening, a boom that created a big hole on the ground.

    The dust settled and I could see paleness growing on the face of mypetitor.

    "So, how about you give up, or do you want to risk having your hands blown..."

    Reluctantly, the man hesitated for long seconds before throwing his daggers, "I concede." He said.

    "Winner! Shen Bao." The referee said.

    Well, that was easy.

    Soon, I went down the arena, thankfully my name was called. And I took the opportunity to grab a bite from my side pouch and began leisurely eating, while everyone was stressing out about their opponents and things like that.

    As I was watching, my eyes caught the sight of Meng Hao as he went up the arena. His opponent was a burly-looking guy with a massive steel spiked club.

    That thing looks heavy and would bring a world of pain if one were to be hit with that.

    Just as the fight started, the burly man mocked and joked about how rtively ¡¯scrawny¡¯ Meng Hao looked. Yet from my eyes, for a kid his age, Meng Hao was well built, not too much muscle as to hinder his movement, and at the same time, he had a firm solid stance.

    Meng Hao¡¯s personality was always cold and calm, and he was a person with very few words. And all the provocative words from the big guy didn¡¯t even work as they fell on deaf ears.

    Once the referee ordered the match to begin, the audience had a grand show to watch. As immediately, the burly man swung his several thousand kilos of weight club towards Meng Hao, with enough force that wind screamed as the weapon coursed a wide and devastative arc towards Meng Hao¡¯s body.

    Yet the tan kid never moved a muscle but a single arm. Not even willing to pull his sword, Meng Hao¡¯s hand extended to the side and abruptly, unceremoniously stopped the massive club in its track, As Meng Hao¡¯s hand had dug itself into the steel club. Then with a crunching grip of his fist, the massive club broke and shattered, leaving the burly man looking in utter horror at what just happened in front of him.

    ¡¯Damn, guess that Meng Hao is a body cultivator...pretty cool," I mumbled as I was munching on a fried chicken leg.

 Chapter 191 - Shen Bao Advances

    <h4>Chapter 191 - Shen Bao Advances </h4>

    As I calmly and quietly had my meal, I took note of the few people who will be our opponents after this charade is over.

    The majority of them were in the first stages of Nascent Soul cultivators, with a few that were on the second, and third. While only three had more Qi releasing from them that gave them out as fifth to sixth stage cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm.

    But among them, only one man, a calm collected-looking youngster, definitely not beyond thirty years was sitting on a small stool and had one leg above the other, and above his leg was a pretty big-looking zither. It looked crud, old, and wouldn¡¯t catch the eye of anyone looking to collect something musical.

    Compared to how that man carried himself on that chair, and the air about him, his instrument was like something he picked up from the trash.

    Yet, even with all the ugliness of the instrument, its strings were taut, its condition was perfect, clean even if the wood was stained. It was a strange sight, but one must always know, that the oddest things are usually the scariest.

    Not to mention that this very man had his Qi wrapped so much around himself, that he matched that person on the booth. They both were able to easily hide their qi from leaking and revealing their cultivation base.

    While I was eating thest chicken leg, I was once again called out. But I didn¡¯t even have to make it to the top of the arena before my opponent gave up.

    ¡¯Seems like showing them I can blow them up with a single contact was enough to scare away those who aren¡¯t confident. Which was nice as I was now able to finish up my meal.

    I sat down back and waited for more opponents. Three of them straight up gave up, and thest one I had to fight, though winning or losing didn¡¯t matter as I already had nine points and that ced me first on the elimination rounds.

    Thest one was a young kid who seemed slightly nervous. He used a spear, and spoke, "Please let¡¯s exchange some pointers."

    I nodded at the kid.

    The referee started the match, and surprisingly the kid didn¡¯t rush forward, and calmly approached with a spear pointed forward.

    I stood still, with both hands behind my back, and waited for him to make the first move. Which he didn¡¯t hesitate to do after realizing that I was full of openings.

    His spear thrust was precise and aimed straight to my shoulder. Which gave away his good intentions to not actually try and harm me.

    I went for the dodge, only to see the kid¡¯s kind and gentle expression switch to that of a venomous snake.

    The spear that was going for the shoulder now aimed to pierce through my head. To which I had to make a backward bend to dodge. He didn¡¯t even hesitate after having missed as he sliced down with the spear to gut me. I twirled to the side dodging the blow once again and retaliated with an open palm.

    Yet the palm didn¡¯t touch anything, as once again the kid disappeared from in front of me and was now to my side with his spear aiming to bore through my ribs.

    I immediately sted as much Poison Qi from under my legs as I could, forcing myself away from the spear which nicked my robes but wouldn¡¯t have pierced through the reinforced scales ting my robes from inside.

    "You¡¯re rather ruthless..." I spoke. "And since you have a nasty personality like that, let me treat you with the same."

    I said as I lowered my stance a bit, and went into Twisted Snakes form. A hand-to-handbat art from the Poison God¡¯s book.

    It wasn¡¯t something I used a lot besides when I trained in the white room of the Laughing ughterer¡¯s pagoda, and lord of lord pagoda. Because I never needed to use empty hands and always managed to get the victory by using poisons, and my puppets.

    But now, it was a good time to try this.

    The kid moved as fast as he could, running with extreme speed that I couldn¡¯t even follow his legs as they moved.

    His spear went like a sh towards my face.

    My raised hands however remained steady until the spear was within my own personal space, then I moved, as my hands began twisting around the spear-like live snakes.

    The mere sight of my hands transforming to illusory demonic snakes made the kid¡¯s spear thrust falter. However he still kept his cool about him, realizing that he was going to have his neck gouged out by my fingers shaped like snake ws, he forced himself to stop and jumped back.

    A loud snapping sound echoed from my fingers as they snapped on empty air.

    Breathing heavily the kid unconsciously rubbed his neck.

    "Not bad, your instincts are sharp," I spoke.

    "Here Ie, defend yourself," I said and moved forward. And this was the first time I moved.

    My movements followed the footwork of the Twisted Snakes, as I zigzagged my way towards the kid with my hands slowly making full rotations.

    The illusory snake hands once again appeared as they threatened to end the lives of anyone they bite.

    The kid in his hasty retreat away from my charge tried to swat away my fingers which crunched and snapped at the spear in his hand, creatingrge gaping holes in its wooden material.

    He continued defending as I kept snapping my fingers on his spear, until the spear chipped and broke, and until he had nothing to defend himself with. I stopped when my fingers were less than an inch away from taking away his eyes.

    "Concede..." I spoke.

    The kid, his eyes, finally returned to normal causing his weird nature aggressive feral nature to switch off. He¡¯s hesitant and scared nature returned.

    He immediately bowed, "Thank you for showing mercy!" he called, then rose up, "I concede."

    The referee looked at me, slightly weirded out by my attitude apparently, then said, "Shen Bao Proceeds to the Nascent Soulpetition."

    ¡¯Nice, that was easy.¡¯

    I went down and sat back on the ground, meditating away the time as many other battles had to be done before the Nascent Soulpetition would start.

    One thing made me wonder, however. In my matches, no one really cheered or hyped up the fight. But on the other side, where Meng Hao was, everyone was screaming their lungs out.

    And from my understanding of things, it appeared that really, everyone likes an underdog.

    As every single one of Meng Hao¡¯spetitors was some monstrous-looking guy.

    And since I mostly won my battles with finesse and had all my opponents concede. No one really enjoyed them. While Meng Hao literally beat the snot of every single one of his opponents.

    The pretty bloodthirsty crowd I might say.

    Not that I was jealous I wasn¡¯t getting the attention, for real, it¡¯s good to stay low-key right now. Thest thing I want is for the Nascent Soul cultivators to actually start paying attention to me and prepare some underhanded tactics or means to fight me.

    Soon, the fights ended. And six of us were chosen topete in the real tourney.

    "Thank you all for waiting, and congrattions to the participants of the Core Stage for reaching the Main Event. Please don¡¯t feel discouraged when facing Nascent Soul cultivators, as this will be a good learning practice. Anyway, for the rules of the next fights. No killing is allowed! Anyone who breaks the rules, even on ident will be severely punished, this is a day of celebration, not funerals."

    ¡¯Good rule, this will make the Nascent Soul kids slightly feeling better when facing Nascent Soul cultivators.¡¯

    "Another thing, everyone is allowed to use any means to secure their victory. Use all you have in your arsenal to win!" thementator said.

    ¡¯Oh, now that¡¯s pretty vague, but let¡¯s see how this turns out."

    "Let the battles begin!" thementator spoke.

    And immediately the rounds started with one of the kids from the Core Cultivation stage being chosen to face a Nascent Soul cultivator, and thetter was someone I met a couple of times now

    It was the one who almost ran me over. What was his name? ah, Lang Ho.

    "Little kid, you should surrender, because even if there is no killing allowed, I¡¯ll still break your bones. Don¡¯t make me waste some energy on you," Lang Ho said.

    Of course se the other person was a Core cultivator who won many battles wouldn¡¯t coil away from this fight, and ignored the rambling brat¡¯s warning.

    Sadly, he shouldn¡¯t have. As the moment the fight has begun, Lang Ho used teleportation, grabbed the kid by the scruff of his neck as if he was a cat, then teleported him high in the skies. Then simply dropped him after snatching away his holding bag.

    Then he teleported back.

    "This is what will happen to all of you, might as well just surrender and give up, and not waste our time." Lang Ho spoke, domineeringly, towards the Core Cultivators.

    I saw a few who hesitated, but I and Meng Hao didn¡¯t even care about this guy¡¯s threat.

    Soon, the iing scream of the kid falling from the skies came as he was approaching the ground. If no one was going to help him, he will definitely stter on the ground.

    "I CONCEDE!" said the kid, and immediately the referee teleported up and grabbed the kid before he would be a hard-to-clean mess.

    Seems like Nascent Soul fights will be really annoying. But they should be fun never the less.. Especially since it was my turn now to go up on the stage.

 Chapter 192 - Heavy Metal

    <h4>Chapter 192 - Heavy Metal </h4>

    "Good luck," I heard, turning it was Meng Hao.

    "I thought you didn¡¯t even realize who I was," I replied.

    "The name reminded me, your attitude confirmed it. Your looks threw me off at first," Meng Hao said.

    "Oh, good to know, where is that little girlfriend of yours?" I asked as I didn¡¯t see the girl that used to hang around him, her name was Yan if I remember correctly.

    Rage showed in Meng Hao¡¯s eyes, and that was clear to me to know something happened.

    "Let¡¯s talk about thatter," he said, and I was surprised, the stoic, I¡¯ll do it all by myself wanted to talk about this? This must really be serious.

    "Okay then," I said and walked up to the arena.

    "Are you done talking?" asked an old man who stood on the other side of the arena.

    "Yes, apologize for making you wait," I replied.

    "Youngsters nowadays, have no respect for the elderly, you should just give up, at your cultivation level and your age, you really are too slow of a learner."

    "My age?" I said, "Hmm, to be honest, I¡¯m older than eighty," I said.

    "You think that¡¯s a good thing? I have grandchildren who are at your cultivation level." The old man said.

    "Yes, but I¡¯ve only been cultivating for three years now," I said smiling.

    "Hubris and lies, no matter, today this old man will teach you a lesson."

    "Oh, please do, I¡¯d like to learn something new-" my words barely finished before the man teleported from in front of me.

    And, like always, every, single, God damned, time, the stupidity, idiocy, and utterck ofmon sense, always make these self-supremacist Nascent Soul cultivators think that the best way to attack someone after teleporting is to appear behind them.

    Earlier, I was enjoying the hand-to-handbat with the other kids and people of the same Core Cultivation level. But here I¡¯ll start showing some secrets.

    My hand tapped on my pouch faster than the blink of an eye, and Creeping Demise materialized into my open palm. I gripped it and swung as fast as I could behind me. Eliciting a pained groan from the old man.

    Slowly turning, I realized that I cut through the old man¡¯s robes and sliced deeply into his chest, opening a wide gash.

    "You¡¯ll bleed out if you don¡¯t treat that," I casually said.

    The crowd, realizing that a Core Cultivator had actually gotten the upper hand in this battle roared with cheers and an ear-deafening uproar.

    The old man immediately pped his chest and caused the muscles on it to tighten and close the wound.

    "Just because you scored a lucky hit, don¡¯t think you¡¯re winning this!" the Nascent Soul cultivator said. "Let me show you the difference between-

    "Our skills!" I finished for him and before he could even act I was already rushing him, with a sword that aimed for his chest.

    This made everyone watching hold their breaths. Because for them, I was crazy enough to actually dare and move first against a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

    The old man tried to p away my sword, but with it shaped like both a sword and a rapier, if he were to p a sharp edge, he¡¯ll lose his hand, he immediately stopped his hand and thought to retreat back.

    I swung my sword again, to which he teleported once again. And this time, he did teleport to my side instead of my back to which I was thankful.

    "Kai!" I said as I gripped my index finger and middle finger together from a closed fist.

    Looking underneath him, the old man¡¯s face became paler, as talismans were all over the ground.

    A continuous cascade of explosions echoed within the arena as the old man was rattled to his core from all the sudden explosions, unable to understand when did I even throw them or prepare them.

    The sound and bright explosions caused many to scream in fear at first, then excitementter. Who wouldn¡¯t want to see something as shy as this?

    Bloodied and enraged, the old man pped both his hands and manifested a massive sword Qi from within them, "DIE!" he called.

    ¡¯Shit,¡¯ I cursed as the sword Qi shot straight toward me.

    As I was about to dodge away, I realized that I was actually pinned down byw lines. And they were gravityw lines.

    My divine sense washed over thew lines and with a few quick hand gestures, I was able to both disable them and hurriedly attached one of the lines to the tip of the iing sword Qi.

    The gravitationalw line worked like an anchor, it didn¡¯t stop the sword Qi, because it stretched and snapped almost instantly, but it worked perfectly for doing the job I had for it. Change the projectile¡¯s trajectory, causing the sword to charge straight towards the audience.

    ¡¯That¡¯s gonna hurt a lot of people,¡¯ I thought. Yet not a momentter, a really, really powerful cultivator appeared out of nowhere and stopped the sword Qi from ever harming a single hair on anyone, crushing the blow with a single grip.

    ¡¯Damn, that¡¯s really cool.¡¯ I had to admit.

    Back to my opponent, who was still wondering how I managed to change his attack¡¯s trajectory.

    "It¡¯s been fun," I said and pulled a weapon I didn¡¯t use at all before.

    It was one of X¡¯s own miniguns.

    "I was really afraid of using this weapon lest it would harm anyone of the audience, but seeing that there is a powerful cultivator that can protect them, I can use this with ease." I grinned.

    The old man didn¡¯t understand what I was going on about, and the moment I pped the bullet strip on the top of the minigun, he definitely felt dangering from what I held in my hand.

    "Enjoy the taste of lead, because this thing killed more people than you have met during your whole life!"

    I then pulled the trigger. Then my whole body jerked as consecutive sts of bullets broke the sound barrier, creating constant and continuous thundering booms thundered forward towards the cultivator.

    The explosiveness and suddenness of such impact caused everyone to fear for themselves as they began screaming from the loud unknown and dangerous-looking weapon that shot death to anyone who dared stand in its way.

    The Nascent Soul Cultivator panicked for a moment as he saw a thousand rounds per minute bullets alling his way. And began plucking them as fast as he could using the tips of his fingers.

    It was really amazing to look at as he plucked away every bulleting his way, and ignored those who didn¡¯t.

    And like I had thought, the stray bullets were stopped, not by one but by multiple other cultivators that shot up behind the old man and stopped the bullets from going to the crowd.

    The strain in the eyes and actions of all cultivators in front of me grew as the rounds didn¡¯t seem to stop.

    The chain of bullets that was feeding the minigun seemed endless especially since it was linked to my pouch and they didn¡¯t know how many rounds I had left.

    The crowd, realizing that they were safe, actually began enjoying such weird machinery in y.

    As my constant bullet shower continued, it became nothing but a matter of time before the first bullet would hit the old man, and once it did, it rattled him. A Nascent Soul cultivator¡¯s body is strong enough not to get pierced by a bullet, but he will still feel the impact, and it will leave the mother of all bruises tomorrow.

    And this was only one and the first bullet. This made the cultivator realize how truly dangerous that thing was. He then decided against standing still and receiving all the bullets, as he jumped high up, forcing me to aim my gun towards him.

    The bullet trajectory moved upwards as I tried to strafe and follow him as he flew around dodging like a fish in the sea as one tried to spear it.

    ¡¯This looks annoying, I should probably design bullets that actually track the enemy. Hmm, this is actually a really, really nice idea. I mean, bullets with trackers, missiles even..." I grinned as I was actually more interested in all the deadly ingenious ideas, I could do with tracker heads for weaponry than I was interested in this fight.

    While I was half thinking about the fight and half thinking about what I¡¯ll be creating once all of this is done. The old man teleported once again, behind me and tried to end me as I was preupied with shooting his afterimage in the sky.

    Just as he was about to stab me, I grinned.

    "Why is it always that Nascent Soul cultivators always teleport behind people and try to end their lives. It¡¯s so easy to predict where you¡¯ll being from," I said.

    And before the old man could even realize it, a surge of electric current so powerful shot up from underneath him shaking him and causing his teeth and bones to rattle.

    "So easy," I said as I ced the minigun back in my inventory and slowly ced an explosive talisman on the old man¡¯s forehead.

    "You should give up," else you¡¯re dead. I smiled as I backed away from the stunned and unbelieving cultivator.

    Because right now, if I wanted it, I can blow out his head with a meremand. And he knew it, but would his pride allow him to concede in front of a Core Cultivator? Well, let¡¯s find that out next time in Shen Bao¡¯s adventures!

 Chapter 193 - Are You Not Entertained?!

    <h4>Chapter 193 - Are You Not Entertained?! </h4>

    The old man in front of me shook and was about to remove the talisman, "Ah-ah-ah!" I said as I raised my finger. "I just told you, do anything besides concede, and I¡¯ll blow your head off."

    "This tournament doesn¡¯t allow deaths!" the old man said, "So I doubt you have the guts to do that," the old man said.

    He does have a point, "Well, true, but now we¡¯re in a pickle aren¡¯t we." I turned to the referee and said, "Don¡¯t you think this is a problem? I mean this will just make anyone with a sword on their necks not surrender because they can¡¯t be killed by the opponent." I spoke.

    The old man was about to rip the talisman as I was talking to the referee, but a single twist of my finger lit up the lines on the talisman, causing him to stop moving.

    "Hmm, you¡¯re indeed right, let me get back to my colleagues." The referee flew forward and grouped together with a few other referees that began discussing if they should change the rules or not.

    Leaving me all alone in front of a man who was acting like a statue, a performance worth an Oscar.

    "So... this is awkward," I spoke smiling at the man who was seething in rage."

    "For putting me in this situation, I¡¯ll make sure to break your bones and drink your blood, you little fiend!" the old man said.

    "Sorry about that, but this is apetition, and you werecking, just because you¡¯re not strong enough to beat me doesn¡¯t make it my fault. It¡¯s your own shoring that put you in this situation. And don¡¯t even try and use divine sense to dispel the talisman," I said.

    Which caused a few veins to pop up on his forehead as his sneaky attempt was exposed.

    Soon, the referee came back.

    "The judge has agreed that if the opponent, who is in a clear disadvantageous situation refuses to give up, their opponent will not be held responsible if they were to be killed." The referee spoke.

    I smiled at the old man and said, "Seems like you¡¯re out of luck. How about you give up."

    The old man roared with indignation and charged me as he ripped the talisman away from his forehead. He had a surprised expression, then his face switched to a leer.

    "You trickster! I knew you were full of shit! Now Die!"

    ¡¯Idiot,¡¯ I mumbled and linked both fingers and released the Qi charged up in the talisman he ripped.

    While he was approaching me, the talisman that he ripped and hadn¡¯t had the chance to throw away lit up and then exploded. Causing his whole body to be flung to the side like a ragdoll from within a massive pir of me and smoke.

    With his entire left side seared to a crisp and his whole arm no longer a part of him, the old man¡¯s shock was apparent before he shuddered and fell unconscious outside the arena.

    "Well, you¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t really want to ruin the day with a death. You should be thankful to the tournament host that you lost only an arm. On any other day, I¡¯d have you blown to pieces..." I turned and flung my robes behind me before I slowly stepped down from the arena, victory clearly mine.

    It took a few moments for the audience to realize that a Core cultivator had actually beaten a Nascent Soul cultivator with so much ease that it was a miracle to see.

    And then it came, the standing ovation of all of the crowd along with a massive howl and shout of praise and cheers.

    I basked in the glory for a moment then went back to my old spot, on the ground and sat down meditating and waiting for my turn.

    The rest of the Core Cultivators were all surprised and had their hopes raised as they realized that no such thing as impossible existed.

    Though I highly doubt they have the same material as I do to beat a Nascent Soul cultivator but it doesn¡¯t matter, at least they now have some courage and will do some decent fighting.

    Suddenly, my mind was assaulted with a warning, "You better give up when you¡¯re facing me otherwise I¡¯ll make you regret thinking that you¡¯re better than the lowly Core Cultivator rank that you are."

    This came from the person named Lang something, the guy that almost crashed into me.

    And since I didn¡¯t like people invading the privacy of my mental solitude

    I looked the man in the eyes and activated my Sky Pearl¡¯s inscriptions fused with my divine sense.

    Immediately, the man saw sights of himself, hanged, cut, burned to a crisp, insects crawled within his skin, his flesh skinned off his bones, nails pierced under his nails, teeth drilled through with a rusty long nail, his eyes poked out with forks, his lungs ripped out of his back and then finally skewered on a pole and that went from his anus to exit through his throat.

    These sights were projected with my divine sense and poisoned his mind with vividity too much to not believe.

    Immediately, I saw the man¡¯s face pale for a moment before he threw up and fell to his knees.

    Causing everyone around him to panic from the sudden urrence.

    The man shook and shuddered, and gave me a look that clearly identified who of us was the lion and who was the rabbit.

    And just to make matters clearer, "The next time you think you can send a Divine Sense Message to my mind like that, what you just saw, will happen to you. And you better believe it."

    He opened his mouth to speak, but immediately thought against it, he was already in an awkward position and exined that he had a sickness that sometimes acts up.

    I kept watch over the battles and understood a few of the opponents fighting styles. The most auspicious were the man with the Zither, who was pretty damn scary.

    Because I had no idea how he fought, the moment he went to the arena, he sat calmly on the same stool he had earlier, yed a few notes and the guy in front of him straight up gave up.

    The second was a fist-fighter, who blew through every sword his opponent threw at him.

    Surprisingly Meng Hao defeated his opponent in the first exchange. The teleport and try to throw a Core Cultivator in the sky no longer worked. As Meng Hao¡¯s body was apparently too heavy for the first stage Nascent Soul to take and teleport with him. giving Meng Hao the opportunity to grab and bust the ground with the Nascent Cultivator¡¯s face.

    And finally, a man who actually used puppets to battle. He had three puppets at his disposal, one of them was a massive hulking beast that was honestly bigger than Y. Though bigger doesn¡¯t mean better. It¡¯s about the function, (pun intended).

    The massive puppet stood behind him and blocked any stray attacks, while two smaller human-sized puppets charged his opponent with swords. The fight didn¡¯tst long before the opponent gave up as he didn¡¯t have the firepower to overpower the two puppets and beat the puppet master. So the battle ended with the person using the puppets not even moving.

    Sadly, none of the rest of the Core Cultivators managed to win their rounds, and they all lost.

    Eighteen opponents left out of the thirty-six.

    Which will be slightly odd after the next elimination, as nine will remain...what will they do then?

    The second round of eliminations started and It was my turn once again.

    And luckily I ended up facing the person with the puppets.

 Chapter 194 - Master Of Puppets

    <h4>Chapter 194 - Master Of Puppets </h4>

    "Kid, you¡¯re not bad, I really admire your bravery and how you beat old Shu. But you¡¯ll need a few years to be able to match me, so why not give up and spare us both some precious time?" the man said.

    "Thank you for your kind offer," I said as I sped my hands, "But I always admired people who used puppets, so this is an opportunity I wouldn¡¯t want to miss."

    "Very well then, admire all you want! Kill!" the old man said as the massive puppet once again stood behind him, and the other two with swords charged me as fast as they could.

    Instead of running away, I moved forward dashing with a wicked smirk on my face as my eyes began analyzing the puppets using divine sense.

    ¡¯No defensive measure, only offensive power, several mechanical arrays, there is a self-destruct option. But it seems that the whole mechanism is crude and can be overwritten. Good thing I had those ready!" I pped my hand on my side bag and pulled a special talisman.

    I then pped one hand on the other with the talisman in between, then extracted the imprint within it using my own Qi.

    The first puppet¡¯s sword went cleaving towards my head, to which I ducked as I twisted around myself then rose up with my hand pulling out the talisman¡¯s essence and inscription. With a single p to the puppet¡¯s face, I jumped up from the second puppet¡¯s sword, and while In the air, once again pped on the talisman¡¯s face and extracted the symbols again then pped them on the second puppet¡¯s head.

    Not stopping for a single moment I charged the puppet master who frowned at the sudden ¡¯slowness¡¯ of the response of his assault puppets.

    The massive defensive Puppet held up both of its fists and flung them down at me aiming to crush me in ce.

    "Golden Scripture, Doppelganger!" I chanted and immediately, three identical copies of me manifested. Me who was in the middle jumped back while the other two jumped away from the iing fists. Yet the moment the fists crashed into the ground, the two other copies jumped forward to the fists and they too pped the same inscriptions on the puppet¡¯s fists, while I jumped towards the puppet¡¯s forehead and pped thest inscription I had on me on its head. I jumped backward and into the middle of the arena, and then called back the copies that fused back into me.

    Leaving me all alone standing and grinning.

    "Seems like your acrobatic acts were good for the audience to watch, but don¡¯t think that those explosive inscriptions are enough to bring down my puppets." The man said.

    "Oh, who said I wanted to destroy such good material. Puppets," I said as I pointed at the man, "Beat him up."

    Not a momentter the puppets that were slow and had slow responsiveness to their master, jerked their eyes turned red, (courtesy of me, because why not, it¡¯s just a single inscription to make their eyes red, and it¡¯s scary for the user to have their own puppets turn against them, so why not increase the fear with some style).

    The master was stunned to see the massive puppet that he used to protect himself actually daring to punch at him," Stop!" he shouted.

    But the puppet didn¡¯t even care and swung its fist at the old man.

    He immediately pulled a shield token that grew into a massive wall-like shield. But the giant puppet easily uprooted the shield from the ground and mmed the shield into his former master causing him to tumble on the ground and be thrown off the arena. But sadly, he didn¡¯t touch the ground as he easily teleported up.

    The two offensive puppets¡¯ turn was now up, as I said, "Chase him down," and they flew towards their master with swords at the ready.

    ¡¯Dang, it must really suck to have your own puppets after your life, well your fault for not creating better defensive mechanisms.¡¯

    "HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO CONTROL MY OWN PUPPETS WITHOUT REFINING THEM!" the cultivator shouted as he dodged as best as he could.

    But seems like relying too much on his puppets caused his own agility and acrobatic skills to fall behind as many sword cuts were now appearing on his face.

    "Damnation! Enable Self-destruct!" the puppet master said. But the Self-Destruct mechanism never worked.

    "Oh, you can¡¯t blow them up, you lost all control. But on the other hand, I can," I said and had one of the puppets that were too close to him explode.

    The detonation of a good puppet like that pained me a little, but the pain the owner received was double that. Especially since it was both physical as the explosion was strong enough to knock him straight into the ground and disqualify him, and secondly because he lost one of his puppets.

    Ruggedly standing up, he pointed at me, and was about to say something, then sighed and had his hand rest defeatedly at his side.

    "Can I ask you how you did that?" the puppet master said.

    "Oh, easy, think about it like this, people refine the material to be their own, I take control of the very inscription that makes the puppet act. So you can own the steel, but without the thing that makes the puppet function then the puppet isn¡¯t technically yours."

    The puppet master nodded to me and said, "I admit defeat, not thebat, but in knowledge, you¡¯re a really strange man. I wish you progress swiftly."

    "Aren¡¯t you gonna take your puppets?" I said as I disabled the inscriptions and had them dissipate.

    "Thank you, though as one defeated my property should belong to you," he said.

    "Thank you kindly, but I have my own puppets." I smiled at the man who nodded back at me and absorbed his puppets back into his inventory.

    Once again, another resounding victory followed by even higher cheers.

    As I walked down, Meng Hao looked at me, with half a frown "You¡¯re really full of surprises. I can¡¯t wait to battle you.¡¯

    ¡¯With that Main Character Aura seeping out of you, I¡¯d rather we never end up fighting... I¡¯ll get murdered.¡¯

    "So do I, meng Hao, I wish you good luck in your next battle," I said and went back to my simple humble spot in the random field on the ground.

 Chapter 195 - Plot Armor Isnt Just For Me Apparently...

    <h4>Chapter 195 - Plot Armor Isn''t Just For Me Apparently... </h4>

    Meng Hao¡¯s turn soon came up, and facing him was the person who used fist fighting. And since Meng Hao was also a body cultivator, the two of them will have a beatdown and everyone here will definitely enjoy watching two people beating the snot out of each other.

    The two of them came up to the stage, and for the first time, there was no taunt, no low words aimed at the other, just a nod of acknowledgment to the other person, and the two of them went into their respective fighting stance.

    The referee had long since given themand to start the fight, but neither fighter moved, they slowly assessed each other¡¯s moves, even the slight twitches and slow change of stance was oddly satisfying to watch, as whenever one of them slightly changed his posture, the other would do so.

    To the untrained eye, these two would look like they¡¯re waiting for who will make the first move. But I could clearly see that with every stance change on either of them, the qi pressure on the different and various points of their bodies would slightly change. Qi sometimes would be focalized on the foot, for stability and waiting for an opportunity to advance, then it would switch back to the arms readying up for a defensive posture.

    The two of them kept changing their stances until they both settled for a stance that they remained in. The crowd seemed to get bored from such a disy, but the moment the two of them moved, the world turned upside down.

    The speed of bothpetitors was impressive, to say the least, as with every step they took, one could only hear the explosion of sound and the massive footprint on the stone bs that made the arena. While the two approached each other with the same speed as two high speed trains would.

    Their fists connected, and Qi burst out in powerful surges, exploding in a colorful ray of light.

    The two of them separated from each other, then jumped back forward, sending blows and kicks at each other with vehement brutality. There was no hatred however in their exchange and was more like a duel than a fight.

    At one point both thepetitors went for a roundhouse kick, where each one¡¯s kick connected to the other and they both remained there,peting in strength.

    "Impressive," was the man¡¯s words, "For a core cultivator to be able to exert such power, I¡¯m really d to have met a fellow body cultivator...however," the man said and then the muscles on his legs visibly grew, and with a twist of his torso, Meng Hao was flung from his position like a ragdoll that began rolling on the ground.

    Not to give Meng Hao a chance to recover, hispetitor teleported to where Meng Hao¡¯s location would be in a couple more tumbles, already in a punching stance, then struck down with a fist that felt like it was going to crack the itself.

    Dust rose and the wind blew, revealing the man¡¯s arm having dug all the way to the elbow into the stone b of the arena, while Meng Hao¡¯s face was an inch away from it, Meng Hao had miraculously manager to stop himself by digging his fingers into the ground and forced his tumbling to stop.

    The man, though he had an arm stuck in the ground, still managed to raise an awkward leg, and went for a leg chop at Meng Hao¡¯s chest, to which Meng Hao used every muscle in his body to pivot away from the iing leg chop, then pushed himself off the ground, into a backflip and stood with one arm behind his back and the other strained forward, with the back of his hand towards hispetitor.

    "Not bad!" the burly man said as he pulled his arm off the ground, breaking the stone b.

    "Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll deal with this! Demon n Blood Line, awaken!"

    Then a baleful red and ck qi aura began emanating from around him, as his body began shaking and his muscles throbbed at the rhythm of a beating heart.

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s skin turned redder, and his eyes no longer had whiteness in them as they turned dark. His hair grew and inted so much that it covered all his back. And his lower jaw grew two fangs. This person reminded me of a character in a game I used to y, though that character was green and can use lightning...

    "I was saving this for other contestants, but it would be a shame to not give my all for a fellow bodypetitor!" the man said while his voice sounded double, and his appearance looked like the demons from the Demon Lands, he had somehow kept full control of his sanity, unlike what I was expecting from someone using such a shady and clich¨¦ ability.

    However, the demon transformed cultivator wasn¡¯t all talk, as he teleported immediately to Meng Hao¡¯s side, not giving him a moment to move, Meng Hao¡¯s ribs were rattled with a bone breaking fist, and before his body was even at full flight, thepetitor teleported once again to where Meng Hao¡¯s body was flying and kicked him upwards.

    Though meng Hao managed to block with his arms, from the sound of the blow, even I felt pain from having to block that leg.

    Meng Hao was flung upwards at impossible speed, and the demon guy grinned, he flung his hands behind him and went down in a squat as he looked up, then he jumped up, shooting from the ground as a bullet shot from a pistol, with enough power in his legs that the whole arena ground cracked and broke.

    I could swear that his jump was strong enough and fast enough that it broke the sound barrier. And the moment he got to Meng Hao, he struck him again, further sending him up. Then he kept teleporting around Meng Hao¡¯s body, and further sent in kicks and punches.

    ¡¯Shit, this is really bad...at this rate, Meng Hao will die.¡¯ I frowned because though he wasn¡¯t the best talker or friend per se, he was someone I knew and he helped me once.

    As I stood up, I heard a divine sense message, "entric one, don¡¯t try anything, this is a fairpetition, and if you interfere, I will personally act against you."

    The words came from someone in the booth, and I could even guess who. The only one in the Soul Transformation stage.

    ¡¯Shit,¡¯ I cursed inwardly and tightened my fists.

    "Worry not, for that kid isn¡¯t as weak as you might think." Came his reassuring message, though it was probably just to get me to calm down and not try anything. I can only hope that nothing bad happens to Meng Hao. Even if I could rtively treat him from anything besides death, I wouldn¡¯t want to get there.

    Soon, Meng Hao¡¯s face managed to befortably fit within the palm of hispetitor. As he grabbed him and dove down, pointing with Meng Hao¡¯s face to the arena floor.

    "THIS. IS. GOING. TO. HURT." The Demonic faced man shouted as he rushed down the arena floor with as much speed as he could.

    Then not a secondter, a loud upheaval rose the rocks and whatever remained from the arena high up, as Meng Hao was smashed into the ground, cratering it several times over.

    The demonic man jumped up from the crash site and spat out blood, as he breathe heavily, a wide satisfied smile on his face was painted as he waited for the referee to announce his victory.

    The referee looked at Meng Hao¡¯s bloodied self and was about to announce the victor until the unthinkable happened.

    Meng Hao¡¯s hands jerked, and his eyes opened up, even though the pile of dust and muck of his own blood mixed with dirt, he opened his clear eyes and said, "Not...yet."

    The first to react was the people in the booths as they immediately sent all of their Qi around the audience and literally flew everyone away from the stage and a few miles away from it.

    The second was the demon guy, who had his eyes widen then turned and fled the scene on all fours. Followed by every Nascent Soul cultivator, who moved away as fast as they could and some even grabbed a few of the Core Cultivator kids who had absolutely no idea what was happening.

    I was left standing alone like an idiot before I realized what was going on, I turned and pulled my flying treasure, cursing at my stupidity because if I took a moment longer, I would have probably died... Because I came to a serious realization.

    It was here, kids, that I was sure, that Meng Hao was the main character...

    A single breathter, the skies above us began to darken and then began roiling around each other, in an agonized disparity between each cloud, as hatred and joy were mixed within the clouds of what is to be born right now.

    The dark clouds turned a darker color of blood then the skies wept. As a Heavenly Tribtion was about to descend on the ne, a result of a man having finished all the requirements to transcend mortality once again, and give birth to a soul that will forever be eternal.

    A Nascent Soul was about to be born, and Meng Hao was the one who brought this scene to happen.

 Chapter 196 - Second Breath

    <h4>Chapter 196 - Second Breath </h4>

    "I... shall not...fall here!" the words were spoken through the blood and muck covering Meng Hao¡¯s face as he raised a hand up, "Bring it on, Heavens!"

    And then, thunder boomed as the heavens agreed to Meng Hao¡¯s challenge andced down with a thunderbolt as thick as a tree trunk down towards Meng Hao¡¯s extended hand.

    The electric shock from the thunderbolt wasn¡¯t even worth Meng Hao¡¯s expressions to twist and sower as he took it in like if it was a summer breeze.

    With eyes clearer than the bluest of skies, Meng Hao looked up and spoke, "My Dao is to defy and rise above the rest, even you, heavens, one day I¡¯ll bring you under this very foot of mine!"

    His words, a clear sphemy against the authority of heaven caused thetter to rage and roil as its clouds began darkening to an even darker shade of red, and then three more thunderbolts even thicker than the one before shot down at Meng Hao.

    Meng Hao, defiant as ever, roared against the odds, and with all the Qi his broken body could muster, he coated his hands and sent forward a challenging fist against heaven¡¯s assault.

    Lightning and Meng Hao¡¯s fist collided, rocking Meng Hao back into the ground like if he was a ragdoll, his body seared and burnt, and damaged beyond what any human could sustain, yet his eyes never wavered, nor did he even scream once from the agonizing pain.

    "This is the first time, I¡¯ve seen a Nascent Soul tribtion as powerful as this... to be honest, this is almost as strong as a Soul Formation¡¯s Tribtion, if not slightly stronger. This kid¡¯s future will be limitless if he survives here," spoke one of the men who carried the crowd away from the tribtion.

    The rest of the Nascent Soul cultivators all watched with slight envy and fear in what is happening. They all wanted to go through the same powerful tribtion, for the stronger the tribtion, the greater the rewards, but at the same time, there was fear, for this type of tribtion can kill them, and it was not worth it if they were dead.

    "Is that all you got?!" Meng Haoughed, "NOT ENOUGH!" he shouted and suddenly runes began shimmering through all of his body.

    "NOT ENOUGH!" he called once again, and the burns on his body began receding, and his flesh began to mend back.

    "Give me all you got! For this is, far from enough to have me kneel!"

    The skies rumbled once again, and instead of the thunderbolts, the lightning transformed into red swords. Ten, twenty, a hundred, then more, and more until trying to count them was nothing but a waste of mental effort.

    The storm roiled and coiled, and the swords readied up in the skies like raindrops that were frozen in time.

    And then, as if the belly of the storm was poked with a spear, it unleashed its holding power and the swords came down with so much speed that tracking them was nigh impossible.

    In Meng Hao¡¯s hand was an item that I was surprised to see because I¡¯ve seen it before...

    It was an old brass bell with a red string. I¡¯ve seen this, in a ce where Meng Hao shouldn¡¯t have visited...it was in the Demon Realm, and this item was among the special items that the man in ck was selling on the ground...

    I obtained the quill and ink bottle from him, but couldn¡¯t take the Bell because, at that time, I felt like it wasn¡¯t mine... but apparently, that brass bell was supposed to go to Meng Hao. This is really strange.

    Meng Hao threw the bell upwards and the small thing jingled once and then grew in size then, easily shrugged off the killer assault from the Tribtion like if it was nothing.

    The swords shattered as they made contact with the bell. And for every few hundred strikes the bell would ring one and it was loud.

    The bell¡¯s jingle was strong enough that it sent a shockwave of sound that rattled the iing sword breaking them in flight.

    Heavens finding the bell¡¯s interference intolerable sent in even more powerful thunderbolts that were once again shrugged off as if they were nothing.

    Looking around, I realized that Meng Hao was unlucky in being forced to go through the Heavenly Tribtion here. Because there was Greed in the eyes of every Nascent Soul cultivator present, and even more in the eyes of the ones who were in a higher cultivation rank.

    That bell was a powerful defensive treasure, and as it appears no one here would be willing to give up the opportunity to get that item for themselves.

    Yet, what happened next was pretty impressive.

    The Heavenly tribtion¡¯s wrath seemed to coalesce in onest effort. It absorbed the rest of the swords back into the clouds and shaped the very clouds into a material godly fist, shaped like a gauntlet adorned with jewels and metal spikes.

    The gauntlet came down at the brass bell, where it sounded onest time before it cracked and broke, shattering into pieces.

    Causing the many cultivators around me to sigh in disappointment.

    However, the fist¡¯s power didn¡¯t fully dissipate after shattering the bell and struck Meng Hao down with enough power that even the already cratered ground was rocked once again causing the whole territory to shake and quack.

    Buildings all over the city began falling down, but thanks to the concentrated efforts of the many guards and cultivators who were dispatched once the heavenly tribtion happened, it seemed that not many casualties would ur.

    Soon, the heavens torment and tribtion had ended, and the red clouds dissipated, leaving destruction, but at the same time, the heavenlyw isn¡¯t all destruction. For once the heavens had shown its wrath, it gives its mercy to those who survive it. And grants the might to once again grow, and face the Heavens once again, in a never-ending cycle of destruction and creation.

    Pure worldly Qi poured down from high above and washed over thends. The greatest concentration of this pure Qi was sent directly into the massive hole where Meng Hao was, though most highly doubted if Meng Hao survived that, once they saw the Qi being sucked dry, they all knew he made it.

    And whatever remained of the worldly Qi washed over thends, causing wilted nts to grow once again. Cultivators all around me sat down, basking in heavenly mercy, and cultivated this Qi.

    Sadly, I¡¯m not able to cultivate this energy so I made better use of my time. I flew forward and into where Meng Hao was.

    He looked half-dead, but the wounds on his body were slowly recovering.

    I looked around and found the small bell that I thought was destroyedying right next to Meng Hao, I immediately hid it into Meng Hao¡¯s clothes and gave him a few pills.

    Once the pills¡¯ effect fused into Meng Hao¡¯s system, he opened his eyes and looked around looking for something.

    ¡¯I already hid it within your robes, cultivate and recuperate, I¡¯ll keep guard,¡¯ I said to Meng Hao in a divine sense message.

    He nodded at me and sat down in a lotus position.

    "Ah you should go and cultivate with the rest, Shen Bao, I¡¯ll keep guard over this child," came the words of the Soul Transformation Cultivator.

    "Thank you for your concern, but I don¡¯t need to, and Meng Hao is an old acquaintance of mine, it would only be natural for me to guard him. Also, the city is in shambles, I bet your time is more valuable used in more important matters than guarding a junior." I said.

    The old man frowned but since I spoke loudly, he had to give Face. And leave us alone. Though everyone knew well why the old man came here, because all of them wanted to do the same, ande and inspect the remains of the bell that they¡¯ll never find. Since I clearly spoke denying them the ¡¯right¡¯ toe and protect Meng Hao as he cultivated, they¡¯ll have to just wait and sit down, for Face.

    Seems like this weird-ass expression of Face is starting to grow on me, it¡¯s the best thing to use to cuck these greedy ass old people.

    Soon, the Qi from within Meng Hao¡¯s body began a powerful turmoil. It roe and twirled around him as his expressions changed to that of a person in pain, then suddenly a st of powerful Qi shot out from his body as he spoke the word, "BREAK!"

    More worldly Qi gathered around Meng Hao as his body absorbed it as fast as he could. Then pureness never before seen through him emitted as his hair grew all the way to his back, his already clear eyes became clearer and the muscles on his body deted, but not enough to give him a skinny look, but more of well bnced and chiseled physic. I could even swear that he visibly grew slightly taller.

    Then once he took a breath, and released it, a foul stench left his body, raising the purity of his entire body by several grades.

    Meng Hao slowly stood up, looked at both his arms, and clenched his fists, "Nascent Soul, achieved!" he spoke.

    I smiled saying, "Congrattions on bing a Nascent Soul cultivator."

    "Yes, perhaps now, I¡¯ll be able to beat you." He said smiling at me.

    ¡¯Damn, with the MC aura around you, I¡¯d probably lose to you even if I was an ascendant and you were a Qi cultivator,¡¯

    "That would be bullying, I¡¯m just a poor Core cultivator," I said.

    "Hah, cultivation stage isn¡¯t everything. Now, where is that guy, our fight hasn¡¯t officially ended.." Meng Hao¡¯s eyes were full of fighting spirit, and now with a second breath and a new cultivation stage, this should be plenty interesting.

 Chapter 197 - Powerful Cultivator

    <h4>Chapter 197 - Powerful Cultivator </h4>

    The Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribtion ended, and soon, the people who managed the event began regrouping the people who still wanted to watch back into the stage, and left those who wished to go back and check on their homes and families go.

    The stage became less popted but it didn¡¯t lessen the event¡¯s intensity. As many still wanted to see blood and sweat, and men beating each other to showcase who is the mightiest.

    One of the cultivators with a great mastery of Earth Law, rearrange the arena back to its former state, which was honestly an impressive feat of talent.

    If this is how Earth Law can be used, I wonder if i can manipte Gravitational Law, and obtain teleknecise. Because having Teleknecise is probably the closest thing one can be to control other elements...something to think about.

    Soon, Meng Hao and the Demon Faced cultivator were back on the stage.

    "You¡¯ve done something impressive, but sadly, you didn¡¯t have enough time to cement your cultivation base, are you sure that you still wish to battle?" the cultivator said.

    "It would be a shame to walk away after taking all that beating without giving you the same, wouldn¡¯t it?"

    "Hah! I like your guts, but still, just because you became a Nascent Soul cultivator, doesn¡¯t mean that you can still beat me!" The Demon Faced Cultivator said and rushed forward with fist readying to punch forward.

    Meng Hao immediately lowered himself a bit to prepare for impact, but then a grin was painted on his face as he disappeared from in front of the iing cultivator, only to appear above him, Meng Hao¡¯s body twisted to give his fist maximum power as he struck down on the cultivator¡¯s back, smashing him into the ground.

    ¡¯That¡¯s teleportation, damn, he did it immediately after bing a Nascent Soul...I really want to teleport, it¡¯ll be really helpful to me and will definitely increase the potency of my abilities...¡¯

    The moment the Demon Faced Cultivator was struck against the ground, Meng Hao followed with a downward kick, that was so strong it caused the cultivator to bounce, then Meng Hao followed with a roundhouse kick to his face mid bounce, and made him tumble on the ground, breaking the newly repaired arena as his tumbling heavy body was creating a small crater on the ground.

    Before the Demon Face could fall to the outer rims of the arena, he managed to dig both fists into the arena stone and slowed down his speed.

    But Meng Hao wasn¡¯t going to give him room to breathe, as he rushed the man with a shoulder bash causing his hands to rip out of the arena ground, and unceremoniously knocked him out and onto the outer arena floor.

    Unbelieving his eyes, the cultivator blinked twice and said, "Did I just lose?" he spoke in wonder, and not a secondter, the skin on his body returned to its regr color, while the whole demonic air around him dissipated and he regained his ¡¯humanity¡¯.

    "Meng Hao Advances, this fighting round is over!" he said.

    Looking around, there were nine cultivators left including me, I wonder how they were going to do this tourney with an irregr number of cultivators left.

    But it seemed that my worries were for naught, as the next fight was actually a single elimination round, three yers in one arena, and one will lose.

    This is pretty bad because I¡¯ll definitely be focused because I¡¯ll be facing two Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time, and since they¡¯ll think I¡¯m easy prey because I¡¯m a core cultivator, they¡¯ll try not to waste their Qi ande at me directly.

    Soon the referee began drawing lots, and apparently, I ended up in the same group as Meng Hao and Lang Ho. Which was pretty damn fortunate.

    "Seems that we¡¯ll be fighting sooner than expected," Meng Hao said.

    "I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that," I said.

    "Why? Do you think we should team up against that man?" Meng Hao asked.

    "We don¡¯t need to, the moment that person was going to face me, was the moment he loses, so this round, we¡¯ll both advance without breaking a sweat," I said.

    "Though I don¡¯t know where that confidence of yourses from, I¡¯ll trust you, we still have two more rounds, we might end up facing each other in the finals." Meng Hao said.

    "Yes, let¡¯s do that then," I said and smiled as we waited for the first match.

    "Meng Hao, Shen Bao, Lang Ho, move up the stage!" The referee spoke.

    "You should rest up, I¡¯ll take care of this guy, take the time to recuperate and cement your foundations as much as you can," I said to Meng Hao.

    "Are you sure? He is still a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he doesn¡¯t use puppets like thest one," Meng Hao said.

    "Don¡¯t worry, just sit down and rx," I said as I cracked my knuckles.

    "You¡¯re underestimating me way too much for a Core Cultivator, aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll be punished by the heavens for your hubris!"

    Lang Ho said with a venomous tone.

    "Yeah, yeah, whatever, just show me what you got," I said and stood still, hands behind my back full of openings, and not taking a ready stance whatsoever.

    The referee frowned as he saw myx attitude, and spoke, "Shen Bao, are you ready?"

    I nodded, to which the man shrugged as if saying, ¡¯your funeral¡¯

    Just as he spoke the words Lang Ho shot forward, "Let me teach you the difference between our..."

    Then he fell down right next to my feet.

    ¡¯Suck to be you, friend.¡¯ I mumbled under my breath.

    Everyone in the arena was in disbelief. Not understanding what went on right now. The referee came to check up on Lang Ho and realized that he lost consciousness, he inspected him over and over again but couldn¡¯t find any trace of tampering or the real cause of this man¡¯s consciousness fading.

    Well of course he wouldn¡¯t, because my poison Qi is pretty damn powerful, and regr Qi can¡¯t detect it.

    "Lang Ho, eliminated, Meng Hao, Shen Bao, advance!" the referee said.

    A hugemotion started all over the arena on how this happened, and some even called foul y and cheating.

    "What did you do, Shen Bao?" asked the Soul Transformation cultivator.

    "This is something that is rted to a personal secret of mine, I cannot reveal it, otherwise it will put me at a disadvantage further down my cultivation road." I said, simply and clearly, and in front of so many cultivators, no one dared force me to divulge such secrets, because a cultivator¡¯s secret or ability, or cultivation method is something sacred and should not be openly discussed or divulged without the consent of the owner, it is considered a huge taboo and shameful behavior to force someone to speak of their cultivation secrets. Thus, for ¡¯Face¡¯ the old man got off my back in a loud humph.

    "Worry not, I can¡¯t do this anymore today, it requires a lot of preparation, and also this man was a fool for not realizing that he has been trapped. So it¡¯s on him."

    With my words, the roiling crowd was satisfied, because ¡¯I can¡¯t do this again¡¯ and that Lang Ho could have actually not fallen in the trap, making me both escape responsibility and made Lang Ho¡¯s inability to see danger, the cause to me him for his shortsightedness.

    ¡¯I say I¡¯m a mastermind at shifting me.¡¯ I grinned as I went down, while Meng Hao looked at me like I was some monster.

    ¡¯I¡¯ve sensed something ring within him before he fell down. What was that?" Meng Hao asked through divine sense.

    ¡¯Damn sharp sense Main Character syndrome.¡¯ I chided myself then spoke through divine sense, ¡¯I already had an encounter with this man yesterday, and nted some of my Qi into his body, he didn¡¯t realize it because it was hidden, and I just had to activate it today.¡¯

    ¡¯That¡¯s nasty, cautious smart, but still underhanded and shameless.¡¯

    ¡¯Well, it worked,¡¯ I shrugged.

    Meng Hao shook his head and sighed as he walked down the arena and sat down to cultivate.

    Soon, came the turn of one of the most mysterious cultivators of the tournament so far. The man with the Zither.

    He was the first to get up on the stage, ced his stool and his Zither above his knee. Then he waited.

    The two other cultivators facing him walked up, nodded at each other, and waited for the referee to start the match.

    Just as the referee spoke the words to begin, the two cultivators looked at each other, as if understanding downed between them, they rushed the cultivator with the zither.

    He didn¡¯t even raise his head as he yed a single note on his zither, and the two cultivators fell at the same time. Unconscious.

    ¡¯Damn...this man is trying to steal my thunder,¡¯ I grinned as I watched the referee in total confusion on how to manage this oue.

 Chapter 198 - All The Toys In Play

    <h4>Chapter 198 - All The Toys In y </h4>

    The number of contestants was suddenly once again strange to make a proper tournament. With Six remaining.

    Yet, as I was thinking of ways how this tourney would progress, the three remainingpetitors climbed up the stage.

    And then, I noticed that one of them, a man with six swords, three on each of his sides, looked at the Zither user and snorted, then walked up the stage.

    It was as if there was a beef between the two that they didn¡¯t wish to discuss or share with the audience.

    A staff using cultivator walked up the stage after the six sword style cultivator, then finally came the turn of the only remaining female cultivator. A woman of slightly tall stature, and carried a thin rapier, almost simr to my own Creeping Demise with the sole exception that it didn¡¯t have the arrow-head-like sword tip. The battle began after the referee gave the order and the man with the six swords was the first to rush forward, he pped on both his sides causing the six swords to shoot out, three-headed for each of the contenders while he himself smacked both hands together and manifested two sword Qi from them.

    He first shot towards the woman with the rapier who was already having a hard time trying to parry all the swordsing towards her.

    He used the sword qi in his hand to smack her to the side and cause her to be flung towards the other man, only to follow up with teleportation and then kick the both of them outside the arena.

    The whole event didn¡¯t take more than a few seconds, and with this man¡¯s actions, the whole tournament¡¯s strange numerical distribution was now fixed, and we have four semi-finalists left.

    "With this round over, we can now proceed to thest couple rounds. We would like for all cultivators to take a slight break to prepare for the final battle area. Thest fights will no longer be a disqualification by ring out, and will have to be either a clear showcase of superior martial prows, the opponent failing to stand back up after ten breaths, or forcing the opponent to admit defeat." Thementator said.

    Then the earth weavers began fixing the broken arena and made it far bigger and cleared all the rubble from the earlier fights. Then they added a square barrier all over the arena ground, limiting flight area and evasion area and at the same time, it appeared that since they learned that audience could easily suffer from stray damage they enclosed the whole area. Which was pretty damn good for me, as now this allows me to even use more of my arsenal.

    "The lots have been drawn, Qin Chu will face against Shen Bao, Fu Zhengfei will face Meng Hao!"

    ¡¯Seems like I¡¯ll be facing zither guy already, damn.¡¯ I sighed because anyone with direct confrontational methods is easy to deal with, but this guy, with his strange instrument, will be quite the problem.

    Just as I was about to turn and check up on Meng Hao¡¯s opponent, the man with the six swords, Fu Zhengfei spoke up, "You there, Core cultivator, how about youe and fight your friend here, and let me handle that old monster. You¡¯re out of your depth against him." he said.

    "I¡¯m sure I am, but that¡¯s unfair to my friend there because he looks like he is more interested in fighting you than me," I said as I pointed at Meng Hao who was full of fighting spirit, as apparently fighting strong opponents gets him off.

    "You should have epted his agreement, you can¡¯t win," the man with the zither said in a calm voice.

    "You never know," I shrugged and walked up the stage.

    The man with the zither once again pulled his small stool, sat on it, and had his zither above his legs, his hands ready to pluck the strings the moment the referee would start the match.

    But I wasn¡¯t going to allow him to have his way, I had my revolver already pulled and ready, aimed at the cultivator, and waited.

    Qin Chu was warry at first and sent a divine sense to inspect the revolver, but with the many mind-boggling inscriptions infused within the revolver, getting an understanding of how it worked in a few breaths was almost impossible.

    The referee called the start of the match, and my gunshot before Qin Chu could even pluck the first string.

    The bullet shot forward at maximum velocity and not at the cultivator but his Zither instead.

    Seeing the approaching bullet, yes I say seeing because apparently, a bullet was far too damn slow for the eyes of a cultivator, he plucked a string and caused the bullet to split in half. Something I actually hoped for.

    The bullet¡¯s content was revealed as a green pill showed from within the middle of the now sliced bullet, the pill slowly rotated in the air before it broke open and then, spread out toxic fumes that exploded towards the Zither user.

    With the amount of rising poisonous smoke, the cultivator¡¯s eyes widened, and he immediately grabbed his stool and kicked the ground rising up and above the arena floor, giving me enough time to pull several canisters of explosive poison, smiling I hurled the canisters towards the zither user.

    He plucked more strings towards the canisters causing them to st within the air, causing even more poisonous smoke to cover and coat the arena. And thanks to the enclosed space, the poisonous smoke would soon fill the whole area.

    And just to spite the man with the zither, I pulled the minigun and began shooting a hail of bullets at him, making him use his Zither to defend against the bullets more than actually be on the offensive.

    Though I¡¯m just a Core Cultivator, and that man was a high grade Nascent Soul cultivator, if he never gets the initiative to attack, it wouldn¡¯t matter. And I¡¯m not about to give up my advantage, as this is only getting more arduous for him.

    "This is shameless, he is using poison to fight! That¡¯s not honorable!" a few people in the audience spoke up.

    Riots and disdain came my way, but if I was gonna win, I¡¯ll dly bask in it, you try and fight a Nascent Soul cultivator with a Core Cultivation stage without using any underhanded tricks, I bet you¡¯ll end up dead the moment you make the first move.

    Thementator immediately came to my side, "Please dear audience, this is not against the rules, though Poison IS considered among the unorthodox paths of cultivation, the rules clearly stated that anything can be used as long as the opponent¡¯s life isn¡¯t in danger."

    The man with the Zither kept moving around the arena while I shot as many bullets as I could towards him, and at the same time, slowed down his pace while the smoke from my canisters slowly filled the entire arena.

    The Qin Chu coated his body with as much Qi as he could, to suppress the intervention of the Poison, which worked well for him, but he soon realized that his Qi was dissipating far faster than he anticipated.

    Because within the poisons I threw in, was the Breath Sealing Poison, which worked wonders against Qi barriers, as it ate at them like if they were dinner and the poison was a very hungry beast.

    With nothing to save him from this ordeal, Qin Chu cursed and ignored the poison as he teleported, further consuming more of his Qi in order to end me once and for all...thank you for this, you just made your end that much faster.

    Qin Chu appeared in front of me, then grabbed me by the neck, "I got you now!" he said.

    And only saw me smile, as several dozen inscriptions all over my body lit up, then a massive explosion echoed as he was rattled to the core and then was sted against the barrier.

    I didn¡¯t explode per se, but that was a doppelganger I made from using the golden scripture. I had plenty of time to use it, duplicate myself, and then have it carry hundreds of explosive talismans, then when he grabbed the copy, I just activated the talisman and the explosion sted him against the wall.

    Qin Chu roared, bloodied and battered, then struck against his zither creating a loud ear-piercing and off-tuned note that threatened to break the barrier that was keeping all the poisonous smoke inside it.

    The cringe-inducing musical note pushed the smoke away from Qin Chu, which gave him a moment to breathe.

    "Your underhanded methods are cruel, but against absolute power, you¡¯re still nothing!" he said and then struck against his zither, even more, creating hundreds of wind des that shot towards me.

    "Guess it¡¯s time to use that," I said then pulled a talisman from my inventory. The talisman had so many small inscriptions on it that trying to read them would cause one to have a headache.

    I pped my palm on the top of the text in the talisman, then pulled back the Qi-infused inscriptions.

    The moment the inscription was pulled, it manifested into a green square that I ced before me.

    The square ¡¯shield¡¯ wasn¡¯t even a foot long, and looked like I was trying to block a tidal wave with a paper.

    But the moment the shield came to the world, even the space around it began to shake and shudder, the poisonous smoke itself, which I didn¡¯t ount for began gathering into the square shield.

    ¡¯This is not very good...¡¯ I mumbled to myself. As this very protective inscription was "Griefing" my own poison.

    But it still worked wonders as the wind des all were forced into the gravitational pull of the square shield and were rushed under the massive and heavy gravitationalw within it.

    I then hurled the square shield like it was a Frisby towards Qin Chu, who tried to evade using teleportation. But with the interference of the gravitationalw within the square shield I threw, his teleportation was disrupted and he was immediately forced out of it, and then was pulled against his will towards the flying square.

    The pulling power within the Square shield was too much for even a Nascent Soul cultivator to break through, as his whole body was being dragged to the square shield that was now stuck against the arena barrier.

    Seeing Qin Chu struggle to free himself from the gravitational pull only made me grin, as I pulled a small poison pill and threw it at his feet, the pill exploded then released even more Breath Sealing Poison, causing the Qi he was using to free himself to be disrupted, and then he was stuck against the square shield.

    I didn¡¯t even need to speak, because the oue was already obvious, he was stuck to a gravitationalw and he didn¡¯t have the Qi to release himself, and soon, if he doesn¡¯t give up, he¡¯ll be crushed and crumpled like a paper.

    Now I¡¯ll only have to wait, to see if his pride as a Nascent Soul cultivator is bigger than his will to live.

 Chapter 199 - Unleashed

    <h4>Chapter 199 - Unleashed </h4>

    Qin Chu struggled to get himself free, then his eyes widened, "Senseless World!" he roared and suddenly everything went quiet. And no sound came to me, nor any feeling of touch, the world turned darker and everything became dull, not even the wind blew.

    ¡¯Shit, I¡¯m being imprisoned in a domain,¡¯ I mumbled. And this wasn¡¯t normal, Domain is only for the cultivators who transcended the Nascent Soul cultivation level, and this guy is the second Nascent Soul cultivator that¡¯s using Domain after Ken, who used the Dark Age domain to get me back into a world at the stone age.

    But this Domain is nasty, if I were to lose all senses I could easily be dead before I could even know it.

    Yet, there was one little thing he didn¡¯t ount for, not the fact that I could easily break through his domain without a sweat.

    But the fact that I could easily end him whenever I wanted to.

    While I couldn¡¯t see around me, I was sure the people watching this fight were able to see me raise my hand forward then snap my fingers.

    The snap within the silence of this Domain, for me, it sounded loud as the following aftereffects of this snap showed themselves in a series of explosive bombardments. The very gravitationalw shield that was pinning Qin Chu was rigged with so many explosive inscriptions that the mere thought of him surviving upon direct contact and impact would be hard to swallow.

    Immediately, with the rocking Qin Chu received, the dark and gloom domain of his dissipated, and in front of me was the hard breathing, badly wounded, and heavily burnt and seared Qin Chu.

    A cultivator was already in front of me with his sword too close forfort, as it was directly in front of my forehead.

    A drop of blood slowly trickled down my face, as the sword vibrated trying to carve my skull in, while another cultivator was stopping the sword from going into my forehead by the tip of two of his fingers.

    "Junior Chu, you shouldn¡¯t be this agitated, this is but apetition." The Soul Transformation cultivator said to the man who was trying to open a new hole into my brain.

    "He crippled my son! I¡¯ll have to pay him back!" the man said wrath and rage clear in his eyes. This man gave off a powerful Qi, stronger than a Nascent Soul, but less so than the Soul Transformation cultivator and one who oversaw this tourney.

    "It doesn¡¯t look like it, he took damage but nothing crippling. And it was your own son¡¯s fault for not admitting defeat after being disadvantaged. Go back to your seat, old Chu, because even if we are sworn brothers, I will not tolerate someone who goes against my word. This tourney, none shall die, and you cannot interfere." The Soul Transformation cultivator said.

    Sighing in defeat, the man removed his sword from my forehead and humped, loud enough that I was pushed into the floor. He then turned and slowly walked away with his son in his hands.

    The Soul transformation cultivator frowned but didn¡¯t act on this tant aggression towards a junior cultivator.

    "Shen Bao, your hand was too heavy," the Soul Transformation cultivator said.

    I wiped my forehead, and then and there, I was no longer in the mood to be nice, because it seems that everyone thinks that when you¡¯re nice and y fair, they can step on you.

    "His fault, if I wanted him dead, he¡¯ll die in a heartbeat," I said then turned and walked towards the arena.

    "I¡¯m not done talking to you!" the Soul Transformation Cultivator said to add to it an oppressive aura of divine sense.

    "But I am done talking," then turned and ignored him because like I just mentioned I no longer was in the mood to y nice.

    I sat down and said, "X, Y,e out." And immediately two of my strongest, deadliest weapons appeared for the first time in this world.

    Though X didn¡¯t look like he was the stronger of the two, the number of inscriptions over his body was enough to prove that this puppet was made with so much delicacy and attention to detail that it was certainly a powerful puppet.

    Yet, the other puppet, the bigger one, that held two massive strange swords, and had a massive mask hovering around it, didn¡¯t look like it had an inscription on it. But at the same time, it still gave off a dangerous feeling of doom if one were toe too close.

    "Y, if anyone tries and bothers me while I¡¯m cultivating," I said as I looked into the Soul Transformation cultivator¡¯s eyes, "Kill without mercy."

    The words were audacious, but just to confirm the danger, Y released his own inner Qi, where a wave of oppressive destructive aura shot out and pressed against every cultivator around me, causing them to shake and shudder, because they all knew, if I were to ever unleash this beast, no one here will even have a sliver of hope, not even a sodding chance at survival.

    This was a tant, open threat to the Soul Transformation cultivator, a clear challenge to his authority.

    I don¡¯t give a flying fuck who you are, because unless you¡¯re a half ascendant, the moment Y is on your ass, you¡¯re dead. And next time you try and do shit like you just did before, I¡¯ll mess you up real good.

    "X, go and bring me the right arm of the man who just injured my forehead," I added.

    The Soul Formation Puppet nodded, then disappeared in a sh. Away from the crowd with speed too fast for anyone below the Soul formation could see.

    With a dreary and dour tone, I spoke.

    "I tried to y nice, but seems like no one actually is giving me...face. Seems like I have to earn it. And with me appearing to be nothing but a weak Core Cultivator, every run in the mil average Joe thinks they can push me around. But seems like I¡¯m done. The Poison God was right all along. If you think something is wrong, correct it, never bow down, and live your life without regrets, I¡¯ve been too nice, too merciful to too many people, but seems like this growing rage within me is actually my nature, I¡¯m not a paragon of virtue nor a devil incarnate, but I can be your worst nightmare once annoyed, and annoyed I am." I spoke, my words were aimed at no one, but at the same time at everyone.

    An explosive sound echoed in the distance, then a few more followed after it, as buildings crumbled and the earth shook with more explosions.

    "Seems like I always needed to prove a point," I added amidst the explosions. "Perhaps this is a point proven," I said then slightly raised my own hand up, making everyone pay attention to it.

    Then and there, an arm, cleanly cut from the shoulder dropped into my own hand, it still had the very sword that poked my forehead in it.

    Next to me was X, who stood, blood and grim covering him, but he stood tall, next to Y, as if proud for having been sent to do this task.

    Though to be honest, Y would have been far faster but more destructive, and I didn¡¯t want Y to topple the whole city on its head.

    I then, while everyone was looking at me with frightening realization, ignited my hand, causing the Veridian Heart Fire to rage forth, and consume the whole hand, turning it, along with the sword in it to cinders in an instant.

    I didn¡¯t need to speak anymore and let the silence fill the words in my ce. My point proven, and my lethality shown, a lion baring its fangs, and if anyone here thinks they are strong enough to contend against my word, they¡¯re more than wee to try and challenge me.

    Suddenly, I heard someoneughing. And this caused the whole arena to look at him.

    I wasn¡¯t in the mood for jokes, but realizing that it was Meng Haoughing, I waited to understand how he couldugh in such a mood.

    "And you really wanted to trade me to fight him? you must be mad, hell, even if I win, I¡¯m giving up on the finals. There is no way in hell I¡¯ll be able to beat that puppet of his, and it just cut off the arm of A soul formation cultivator, not to mention he has an even stronger puppet," Meng Hao said through a wide smile.

    Causing the man who was going to face him to sigh, "Yeah, thispetition is now irrelevant. Since it clearly states you can bring whatever, you own to this fight, with puppets this strong, and all those strange entric fighting methods, I¡¯m really not feeling like I want to face him either." Fu Zhengfei said.

    Seeing, the mood slightly changing for the better, the referee took the opportunity and said, "Since bothpetitors don¡¯t wish to face Shen Bao in the finals, we can already agree that Shen Bao is the winner of thepetition. You two can face off for the second and third ce if you wish to."

    The audience awkwardly cheered for the change of event, and the Soul Transformation cultivator somehow managed to find the time to teleport back into his booth.

    Seems like he didn¡¯t want to confront me anymore, and was more than satisfied with escaping the scrutiny if I were to push him a bit more.

    Also, apparently, I won. And I didn¡¯t even need to fight, if I had known I could do this, I could have probably brought X and Y from the start and stopped all this annoying clusterfuck of trouble from ever happening.

    Also, I think with X out in the world, my identity will soon be revealed... because word will soon start spreading, and the Seven Mountain Peaks will immediately link my name to the puppet I used when I visited them, then with a simple description of my face, the Three Raven Sect will find out who I was.

    A lot of trouble is going to start, but like I just mentioned. I¡¯m better off not regretting anything, and if anyonees my way, I might as well just break it.

    I mumbled within my thoughts as I once again was forced to suppress another episode of random rage that was about to start boiling within me. After a few moments of struggle, the episode ended, with me slightly out of breath.

    ¡¯I also need to find out why I¡¯m having these strange urges to go on a mass-murdering massacre...it¡¯s getting difficult to suppress, and frankly, really, really tempting...¡¯

 Chapter 200 - (No Title, CUZ ITS CHAPTER 200!!!!!)

    <h4>Chapter 200 - (No Title, CUZ IT''S CHAPTER 200!!!!!) </h4>

    To bepletely honest, I knew something like this would happen...

    "Winner! Meng Hao!" spoke the referee, "And this concludes thepetition. With the victor, as thepetitors had agreed to be the Core Cultivator, and most entric and powerful of all current cultivators, Shen Bao. With Meng Hao and Zhengfei cing second and third respectfully. Please,e and im your prizes."

    The crowd pped and cheered for the contestants as I was still trying to get my head over what just happened.

    Meng Hao¡¯s fight was a close one, and he was on the verge of losing almost three times, yet he came back constantly with stronger and newer vigor until he defeated his opponent, if this is not main character syndrome then I don¡¯t know what is. It¡¯s pretty damn ridiculous. But, I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t even have to fight him.

    Because, if we¡¯re speaking realistically, there is no way Meng Hao can manage to beat Y, nor any of my inscriptions, but since the Main Character aura around him is so thick, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, that either Y will reveal some hidden faulty system within him and no longer work, or by some ungodly luck something will reveal the world¡¯s truths to Meng Hao and give him knowledge over inscription or some cheesy shit of this sort. Plot armor is too strong with that guy that trying to go against him is the same as signing your death warrant, and I¡¯m better off showing a clear difference in strength between us, enough that he himself won¡¯te challenging me and spare me the trouble I¡¯ll have to go through to repair anything that gets broken the moment it touches his Main Character aura.

    With all that out of the way, I stood up and walked up to the booth, where the prizes were handed over to everyone, and I¡¯m d I did at that very moment.

    Because as soon as I made it to the booth I realized that one of the people sitting in the VIP area, who had a low Qi signature and was hooded, had actually been infected with the Bone And Body Grinding Poison.

    Unlike what happened to me, I¡¯m able to somehow hide the fact that I¡¯m inflicted with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison due to some reason, which happened right after I went into the Pce of the Deeps.

    But this man, the aura, though heavily muffled, was still there, the aura of rot, death, and decay, a death that was creeping upon a man, grinding away at his very bones, slowly, and painfully every single moment of every single day.

    The cultivators within the booths congratted and cheered the contestants, mainly Meng Hao and Zhengfei, but in a silent agreement between them, they all nodded my way, acknowledged my presence, and some even congratted me with a few words for the victory and hoped for a brighter future for me, but none of them dared and spent more than a few moments with me, as they all found excuses to leave soon enough.

    The gifts were handed over, and I was thest to receive mine from the Soul Transformation Cultivator.

    He was still unable to swallow the fact that I owned something that could end his life, which I had at my beck and call, and can summon at my tiniest whims. This was still a fact that he couldn¡¯t get through his head, and I could already read what¡¯s going on in his mind this instant.

    Whatever treasure I just showed him, he wanted it, or at least, wanted me to no longer have it. And since he can¡¯t take it away from me, he¡¯ll probably manage to find someone who can.

    The logic behind this man¡¯s thoughts was rigid and easy to read, but at the same time annoying, because if he tries to find someone toe for me or Y, this will only add more trouble to my already full te.

    ¡¯I¡¯ll need to handle this soon.¡¯ I thought as I shook the man¡¯s hand without even speaking.

    He handed me a ring, where I did a quick sweep of divine sense.

    ¡¯Nice, thew fruit is there.¡¯ I took it and ced it in my inventory and threw the ring back to Zhengfei.

    Who caught it with surprise in his eyes.

    He inspected the ring and said, "Shen Bao, the token for the weapon craft along with the pills are still here, you don¡¯t want them?" he asked.

    "Oh, no, I have better pills and better weapons, you can use them to upgrade your strength." I shrugged and pulled my flying treasure, not willing to waste more time here. Because I now know who is the one responsible for the disappearances that happened.

    As I was flying away, I secretly sent a divine message to Meng Hao, ¡¯Meet me at the Moonlight Inn.¡¯

    Then disappeared out of the crowd and back into the inn I first lodged in.

    The whole city looked a bit dreary since the tribtion wasn¡¯t too nice to it. But thankfully the inn was far away from the point of impact and didn¡¯t receive much damage so I was able to get in without much trouble.

    Once I sat inside my room, I pulled out the Law Fruit and inspected it. It looked like arge peach, with golden skin.

    And on this peach¡¯s skin were so many erratic writings that trying to understand them would make one lose their mind. The mere fact that looking at them got me dizzy meant that this thing was both strange and powerful beyond measure.

    The idea behind learning Law by eating this fruit was slightly a strange concept to me. This was the same as writing all the notes from a chemistry ss then after you eat the book, you¡¯ll have all the knowledge, I wish if life was easy, that¡¯ll make exams a piece of cake.

    So, I was still feeling iffy about eating this, lest I lose out on a lot of knowledge. So, I¡¯ll do what I do best, and write all of these symbols and see if I can understand anything from them first. At least to have something to go back to, if I end up eating the fruit and nothing happens.

    As I began writing on a piece of paper, I realized that the moment I wrote a single line, it would once again disappear like if it had never been written, which made me really mad.

    Whatever it was that was stopping me from learning thesews was really annoying me.

    I even tried the same method as earlier, of only writing the symbols and never finishing them, but they felt wrong, iplete, and didn¡¯t feel like they had anything rted tow, they just felt like random scribbles on paper that meant nothing, and even trying to link the words again, felt somewhatcking. As if, if I didn¡¯t finish the symbol from the beginning, it will never amount to muchter after I modify it.

    It took me a long while to understand why this specific urrence happened. This was like trying to build a skyscraper, but you don¡¯t start from the basement and you try to start from the middle. Nothing will ever work out. And unless the symbols were written in perfect session, it won¡¯t amount to much. But writing them perfectly will cause them to disappear.

    ¡¯Do I really have to eat this and give it a shot?¡¯ I questioned myself.

    But then I was reminded of something, something that I saw in today¡¯s fight. Meng Hao¡¯s bell was a treasure that defied heavenly tribtion.

    Then I pulled the ink bottle and feather Quill I got from the man wearing ck robes.

    The ink inside the bottle was as heavy as lead and trying to move the feather and mix the ink was almost impossible.

    But after trying again and again, I finally understood that the ink would only be lighter if I used my own Qi to power up the Quill and Inkbottle.

    Once I poured in my own Poison Qi, the feather turned as light as...well, a feather. And I was able to draw ink.

    I wrote the first few symbols, and continued on, copying every symbol from the peach on the paper.

    Slow and steady, until I finished the first line.

    Then, a momentter, the words shone bright, and instead of dissipating, they turned to gold and remained on the paper.

    "Holy shit, it worked!" I muttered.

    Still, without notice or warning, lightning struck straight through the building I was in, and directly against the paper I just wrote, eradicating it from existence along with the table it was on.

    I stood watching, in utter terror to what just happened.

    This was divine tribtion lighting, just one bolt though, but it was fast enough that I didn¡¯t even have a chance to dodge.

    If the paper was slightly closer to me, the lightning bolt would have ripped right through my head.

    I looked up and saw a clear blue sky through the hole in the ceiling. And as I was gazing at the skies I mumbled...

    "That wasn¡¯t nice..."

 Chapter 201 - Divide And Conquer

    <h4>Chapter 201 - Divide And Conquer </h4>

    "Seems like heaven isn¡¯t nice enough to allow me to have these types of texts written. However, since I can¡¯t write them here, I might as well use the Pagoda." I thought.

    If this is the same as when I made that Cloud Vein pill, the heavenly tribtion will sense the ¡¯wrongness¡¯ of it and will strike down, but the pagodapletely hides my presence from the heavens, and the heaven¡¯s lightning will randomly strike around the area, and give up once it can no longer find the inscription.

    As tempting as it is to do this now, two reasons stopped me from trying.

    The first, and obviously was pretty damn important, was that I¡¯m still in the city, and having random Red Tribtion lightning striking here, will pull a lot of attention. Not to mention the waves of divine sense that are already scanning my room, checking what the heck just happened.

    The second was that I had a visitor at the door.

    I walked up to the door and opened it, finding a half surprised Meng Hao, "What was that?"

    "Just a random Tribtion lightning," I said.

    "I didn¡¯t cause that, did I?" Meng Hao said.

    "Don¡¯t tter yourself,e on in," I said and walked inside.

    Meng Hao¡¯s eyes were on the table that was burnt to a crisp for a moment then he sat down on a chair.

    "Seems like you had something happening to you while you were venturing," I asked and then pulled two mugs full of strong liquor from my pouch.

    Meng Hao, though he looks like a sixteen year old youngster, downed the mug in one sip and sighed.

    "Yes, a lot of annoying trouble. I¡¯m not the kind to ask for help, but I have no real way to solve this." Meng Hao said.

    "What¡¯s wrong?"

    "Eldest Sister Yan has been kidnapped, and the leads I followed guided me to this area. She was the first chosen among the Sword Sect toe here, and since there were no answers or replies to the inquiries we sent over, they sent another group of cultivators and I was among them."

    ¡¯Seems like he really has no luck, or this is MC plot moving his actions.¡¯

    "Where are the rest of the cultivators that came with you?" I asked.

    Meng Hao shook his head, "While we wereing here, we ended up discovering a cultivation Cave of an old cultivator."

    "And let me guess, you found the bell there?" I asked.

    "Yes, I still haven¡¯t thanked you for hiding it," Meng Hao said and lightly bowed his head.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it."

    Though the words came out of my mouth, my mind was racing, because this is some serious conspiracy theory vibes, and I don¡¯t like it.

    The man in ck had the bell, and that was before Meng Hao found it. Then, Meng Hao ends up having to go and search for his girlfriend, and "identally" ends up in a cave where he¡¯ll find the same bell I saw two years ago on the cultivator in ck. Not only that, he somehow made it so that the cave they ended up in belonged to an old cultivator, and only Meng Hao survived with the loot.

    The Man in ck is starting to be an annoying presence. Though the Quill and Inkbottle I got from him were powerful enough to write thews of the world, understanding that I was actually being led to a ¡¯destiny¡¯ of sorts, or to work in an agenda of another person is really grinding my gears. And I don¡¯t like having all my efforts and hard work, be nothing but the guidance of another person.

    "Are you still with me?" Meng Hao said.

    "Oh, yes, I was just thinking of something right now, so what were you saying?"

    Meng Hao looked a bit vexed for having to repeat what he said, but the gist of it was that his little sweetheart was somewhere around here, within this city. And I could easily guess who kidnapped her. But for him, finding the location is nigh impossible.

    "So, this is the ordeal, I¡¯m unable to track or find the person who kidnapped Yan¡¯Er and was hoping that you¡¯ll have an idea or a method to track her, I really lost all leads."

    "hmm, right, then, let¡¯s go," I said and that surprised Meng Hao.

    "Go where?" he asked.

    "To get your girl, I know who took her, and the rest of the Cultivators, let¡¯s just hope he hadn¡¯t started yet," I said and stood up.

    Meng Hao didn¡¯t question my reasoning and followed me as we both walked out of the inn.

    "Where are we going?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Give me one moment," I said then closed my eyes.

    i slowly began umting my Qi then channeled a massive amount of it into a visual wave above me, then I released it all in a circr wave of Divine Sense. Not to spy on people, because this wave was like a sonar instead of constant use of divine sense that will give me visual information of everyone.

    Normally, the one who kidnapped these people would hide them somewhere and have the area locked out of divine sense, so no one can randomly scan the area and discover a bunch of people hidden somewhere.

    But, what I¡¯m looking for wasn¡¯t the people hidden, but they mean to hide these people.

    The moment the wave of divine sense dissipated, my mind was assaulted with all manner of inscriptions written all over the city, even stove inscriptions to heat teapots, some crazy man wrote inscriptions to lessen the smell of his own chamber pot, and some had inscriptions that were used to all random daily uses from lights, to heat regtion.

    With this mass of information rocking my mind, I almost keeled over from having to absorb all of this and then sort them out. It took me a long while to recover but once that was done, I opened my eyes, sighed and said, "Found them, follow me."

    I then scurried forward with Meng Hao in toe, the two of us navigated the half-busy city streets and slowly approached the centermost buildings in the city. Where the richer parts of the society lived.

    Then had to stop in front of a well-known Pavilion.

    "Shit," I cursed as I looked at the ck Tower Pavilion.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" asked Meng Hao.

    "They¡¯re inside, on the lowest floor, but I doubt we¡¯ll get an easy clearance. Emm, give me a moment to think."

    After few moments, I finally came up with a workable n, I turned around and went to the nearest ally, then ced many talismans all over the ground and walls of an already broken building from the Tribtion.

    Once I judged that enough talismans were there, I went back and met up with Meng Hao, "I got a n, let¡¯s hope it works." I said as I approached the Pavilion¡¯s entrance.

    The woman at the front and reception looked at me up and down, and once judge I was just a Core Cultivator she said, "Sir, there are no appropriate items for your cultivation level currently at the pavilion, but if you wish to partake in the next Auction, you¡¯ll have to wait until next month." She said not giving me a second nce.

    I approached her desk and pped a token on it, "You¡¯re rather rude," I said.

    She frowned when I pped my hand on the desk and was about to call the guards, but the moment my hand slid away from her desk and revealed the VIP Token I got from thest time I visited another branch of the ck Tower Pavilion, she stood up, made a back-breaking bow and profusely apologized.

    "My sincerest apologies great patron! I didn¡¯t know that a VIP was invited, usually, VIPs always give us a heads up so we can prepare their rooms. So please excuse my rudeness."

    "Whatever, I¡¯m here to look at a few items, I doubt that my cultivation level is gonna be a problem," I said.

    "Not at all, please, you¡¯re more than wee to do so. I¡¯ll have a few attendants apany you," she said.

    "Good, Meng Haoe over, let¡¯s go," I said and walked inside the tower while two overly friendly female attendants came to us.

    I sent a divine sense to Meng Hao exining what¡¯s going on because half of his attention was being used to distract himself from the overly touchy attendants.

    ¡¯Once we¡¯re inside the room, you¡¯ll have to be quick okay?¡¯ I said.

    Meng Hao nodded, and soon we entered a private room where I asked for a menu of the items that are in the pavilion right now.

    One of the girls left to bring us the catalog, and the other one remained with us.

    "Can we have something to drink?" I asked, "Something strong."

    The second attendant looked confused as one of them had to stay with us, but seeing the ¡¯VIP¡¯ token once again made her nod and hurry out to bring us our ¡¯Drinks¡¯.

    I immediately threw a couple of talismans around the room that will block divine sense and then pped both hands together creating two copies of myself, one of them I had sitting with the chair facing away from the door, so if someone enters they¡¯ll believe that someone was sitting there, and my personal copy had it standing for now.

    "Let¡¯s go, we don¡¯t have much time," I said and went outside the room and closed it.

    "What was that for?" Meng Hao asked.

    "That will buy us some time, if the attendantse over, my clone will take the drinks and catalog and close the door on her, which will confirm our presence and alibi there. We then go underground and look for the people who disappeared.

    "I suppose the talismans are there to block divine sense?"

    "Yes," now hurry I said as I went down the stairs leading down to the bottom of the ck Tower.

    It took us a few turns and twists before we arrived at the area that would lead down, and into where the Inscriptions that covered the whole basement was. but there were a couple of guards there, and bypassing them without creating a ruckus would be a problem.

    "What now?" Meng Hao sent.

    I raised my index finger and middle finger and said, "Explosion, is art!" grinning, the world outside the ck tower pavilion rocked as massive explosions sounded all over the area. Stunned and stupefied, the Two Guards immediately left their posts and hurried up towards the entrance.

    "Worked like a charm, let¡¯s go!" I said and the two of us went down the dark staircase.

 Chapter 202 - Another Cave

    <h4>Chapter 202 - Another Cave </h4>

    I hurried down along Meng Hao, running down the stairs as fast as we could. The twists and turns weren¡¯t much to deter us from reaching the area where the kids and other cultivators were being held.

    "You do know, that if we don¡¯t find anything, the whole ck Tower Sect will cklist us, and we¡¯ll be unable to do purchases in any of its branches on the whole do you?" Meng Hao said, though even if his words were mortifying his tone was that of someone who didn¡¯t really care if that actually happened.

    "I do know, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find them, also you should make sure to be alive to be ck listed, because we¡¯re basically inside their own treasury," I said as we stopped in front of a single door that had several dozen high-level inscriptions.

    "Why would the ck Tower hide the kidnapped people in this ce?" asked Meng Hao "I find it hard that they¡¯ll have use of cultivators of the core cultivation stage."

    "I know, but I have a feeling that the ck Tower Management itself doesn¡¯t know this," I said then pulled my brush.

    "Can you unlock this?" Meng Hao said.

    "This? Bro, you should have seen the restriction I had to deal with in the Lower Celestial Realm, this stuff here is child y," I said then began adding lines and removing others as fast as possible. My hands blurred as the lines were modified and changed to my own liking, and then, I pressed a hand on the middle of the inscription, twisted, and the whole restriction dissipated.

    Soon, the door opened up to a massive vault of treasures and loot that seemed to fill the whole room from side to side.

    I¡¯d say this is nothing short of a Dragon¡¯s Treasure Trove minus the dragon. Most of the stuff here was organized and ced in crates or behind ss containers, while the rest of the materials, which were ¡¯junk¡¯ such as gold bars, meteorite ingots, and some precious metals were all over the ground.

    I made sure to close the door first behind us before we walked in.

    "Why don¡¯t they just ce all these treasures in a holding bag." Meng Hao asked.

    As I walked trying to follow the middlemost path leading to the other side of the room and gestured to Meng Hao to follow me, I began exining.

    "Because no one will trust another with all this fortune in their bag, there are a lot of inscriptions on the floors, the moment one thing is taken without presenting a specific Inscription, an rm system will go off. So, this way, the cultivators supervising the trove will always be on alert if someone tried to take something from here, and at the same time won¡¯t need to have all of their eggs in one basket, in the pocket of a cultivator that might get greedy and flee with everything."

    "How would you even know that?" Meng Hao said dodging a few random ingots that could probably sound an rm if touched.

    "Because Inscriptions aren¡¯t just random things, once you understand their purpose you can get a gist of why they were made, use your head a bit, Meng Hao," I said as I tapped my index on my temple.

    The two of us walked a straight line towards the other end of the treasure room, without touching anything, then stopped near a wall that had a statue of a meditating cultivator.

    It looked like a regr statue, and there were even more of it all over the area, but since I stopped here, there had to be a reason.

    "Let me guess, behind this statue, there is a secret entrance?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Yep, there is an inscription that is blocking Divine Sense from going through.

    "But how can you be sure that the kidnapped people are inside? What if this is just another section to another treasure trove?" asked Meng Hao.

    "I already inspected the whole city, and this is the only ce with an inscription to block divine sense, but there is still a high chance that you¡¯re right, and there could be nothing here. But would you not have tried to see what¡¯s here?" I asked.

    "Well, I would have probably checked if I had the ability," Meng Hao said.

    "Still, I was sure that we¡¯re in the right ce the moment we set foot in the tower," I said.

    "How?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Because this ce, has the same smell as one dark, and dangerous memory of mine, and it smells of rot...and poison," I said then began slowly tapping at the dais the statue was sitting on until I found a section that can be pushed in.

    I pressed on it and this moved the statue and opened up a wall behind it, revealing one more door with even heavieryers of inscriptions.

    I worked on the door with almost the same speed as the earlier one, and then it utched opening up to reveal a small stone-paved tunnel that led further down.

    "Let¡¯s go," I said and closed the door behind us by locking back the inscription.

    The two of us hurried towards the other side of the tunnel and found what I feared the most.

    Hundreds of cultivators, famished, malnourished, and many dead and dying.

    A massive Pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison was ced in the middle of this room, where there was a single golden Door with a hand imprint, missing but the touch of a man that survived the Bone and Body Grinding Poison to open up.

    My eyes turned dark after seeing this sight once again, and some inexplicable emotions of attachment to this ce, and at the same time, detest, hate, rage, and senseless fear, all assaulted me as I looked at the people here, with seals on their mouths and their bodies, so they don¡¯t release Qi.

    Meng Hao¡¯s eyes darted all over the ce until theynded on the emaciated form of a girl wearing the same outfit as he did.

    "Yan¡¯er!" he shouted and hurried towards her, leaving me gazing on all of this clusterfuck once again.

 Chapter 203 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 203 - Confrontation </h4>

    Thankfully, her meridians were intact, but she seemed to have lost consciousness and was dying from the fumesing from the Bone and Body Grinding Poison pool.

    This thing, it was so wrong, and so dangerous, that just standing near it would slowly kill someone, and the man who ced them here was desperate in trying to open this door.

    "Kids," I said, addressing everyone in the room.

    Those with some light in their eyes looked up, hope returned, while many, who had realized that they¡¯ve been inflicted with the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, that, not even the gods can save them, had no will to even lookup.

    Meng Hao hurried towards his girlfriend and tried to wake her up, but she couldn¡¯t move.

    I flicked a pill towards Meng Hao, who grabbed it Mid Air, he chewed on it, and then poured its content directly through Yan¡¯s mouth. Helping her digest it and circte the Qi. Though there were other means to help someone digest a pill...I wasn¡¯t gonna be too picky about what a guy was gonna be doing with his girl.

    I looked at the rest of the pitiful group of cultivators, and said "I¡¯ll get you out of here, all of you." I said and went to the nearest person, it was a young man, barely the age of sixteen, he was nothing but skin on bones

    I touched the seal on his mouth and it unlocked, then gave him the same pill I gave Meng Hao.

    Once the pill went down his throat, I ced my hand on his chest, and the pill began reinvigorating him, and replenishing some of his lost health.

    Once his eyes were opened, he looked at me, half afraid and half hopeful to see a new face.

    "Who did this to you?" I asked.

    The kid¡¯s eyes shook and shuddered before he said pointing behind me, "He did."

    I stood up, turned, and realized that there was a man in here all along, the same person who was holding the whole tournament, a Soul Transformation Cultivator.

    "Seems like your nosiness will cost you dearly, Meng Hao." The Soul Transformation cultivator said then charged at me with speed so fast I knew that death was inevitable.

    However, before his hand could even touch me, it was swatted away, as I realized that Y¡¯s massive arm had shot from the Poison God¡¯s Book within my chest.

    This brought the attention of Meng Hao back to reality, as he realized that we¡¯ll be facing a very dangerous foe here.

    I immediately, without hesitation called upon Y, and he came out with swords read, "Master, do you wish me to end his life?" the massive puppet asked.

    "If he dares make a move...end him," I said.

    "As youmand!" Y said and then his two mask shields shot up forward and locked, creating a perfect Oni-Mask that looked with focused eyes on the Cultivator.

    My eyes tingled for a moment before I was able to see several thick Law Lines strapping the cultivator in ce.

    But still, that very cultivator didn¡¯t seem to be worried at all. And acted as if everything was still going ording to his own n.

    "You¡¯re really an annoying character, Shen Bao, though I have no idea how you managed to get here, but do you think you can escape from this ce?"

    "I doubt you¡¯ll be the one to stop me," I said.

    "Well, I wouldn¡¯t but the moment you entered here, with that weak cultivation of yours, you already doomed your life. Do you not realize why I only brought Core Cultivators here?" the Soul Transformation cultivator¡¯s face transformed into a wide grin.

    "Because they can¡¯t filter out the Bone and Body Grinding Poison! Yes, you never realized that that pool is full of Bone and Body Grinding Poison did you? How afraid are you? How terrorized are you? Tell me? Do you know that it is a poison that has no cure? That just smelling its fumes will cause you death and decay?" the Soul Transformation cultivator saidughing like a mad man.

    "Once the poison kick in, and I¡¯m sure that by now you¡¯re feeling it, look not even your friend is fully capable of cycling out the poison," he said as I looked at Meng Hao who was slightly pale.

    "I¡¯m sure that only bravado is keeping you standing right now, and once you fall unconscious, your puppet will have no master and it will be mine."

    "Master...what is this man talking about?" Y asked.

    "I don¡¯t know," I said as I pulled a mug from my side bag, "I think he is old and is going senile," I said then dipped the mug into the Bone and Body Grinding Poison pool.

    Then did a full chug of the poison.

    "NO!" Meng Hao roared crying out against what idiocy I was doing.

    But then, the other cultivator was utterly shocked.

    "What in the hell are you doing? Did desperation cause you tomit suicide like that?" the Soul Transformation said.

    "Huh? Suicide? The hell are you talking about, This poison is pretty damn tasty," I said as I burped a load of poison fume.

    "Seems that you¡¯re misunderstanding something, I¡¯m not an inscriber," I said, "Or a puppet master, nor an alchemist, as you¡¯ve seen in the arena. But I am, a fully-fledged Poison Cultivator."

    I said as my left eye, the only one remaining shone in bright poisonous green.

    "And poison Cultivators, love this kind of stuff," I said then opened my mouth then began sucking in every ounce and every molecule of poison in the air, absorbing even the poison that already gued every kid around here all in one single breath.

    I felt like I was a balloon that was about to blow but once all the poison in the air was sucked in I exhaled and looked the cultivator in the eye, "I¡¯m not trapped here with you, in fact, you¡¯re trapped here with me."

 Chapter 204 - The Plot Thickens

    <h4>Chapter 204 - The Plot Thickens </h4>

    The situation turned, and the Soul Transformation Cultivator was at aplete loss at what was happening here. But since all cards wereid out, he had nothing else to lose but go forward with a very dumb n.

    The Soul Transformation Cultivator charged forward, and Y intercepted, blocking a powerful palm strike with the side of one of his Demon Trigger Swords.

    The impact force from the blow was strong enough to cause a shockwave to shoot out, but thanks to Y¡¯s Shield that instantly appeared behind the puppet, the full brunt of the st disappeared.

    ¡¯How did he escape the Mask¡¯s rooting spell?¡¯ I wondered, then realized that the Soul Transformation Cultivator was actually still back in his ce and whatever this thing he used was nothing but a clone made of Qi that he used to try and assassinate me.

    "Powerful Puppet! It should serve a better master!" the Soul Transformation cultivator said and then threw several gs from his inventory next to Y.

    The gs formed a pentagonal formation and a bright light lit up from under Y.

    Then the cultivator pped both hands together in a prayer form and shouted, "Refine!"

    Powerful Qi energy shot up from underneath Y, but immediately, Y forcefully stomped the ground and shattered the umting energy, breaking the refinement.

    As if whatever was happening there was nothing but a side joke the Soul Transformation cultivatorughed saying. "Ah, it can even resist refinement! This is such a great gift once this old man gets a hand on it!"

    Seeing Y more than capable of controlling the situation, I turned to Meng Hao and sent a divine sense message, "I¡¯ll need you to be ready for what¡¯s toe," I said and immediately jumped back towards the other side of the pool next to the door.

    Y kept the Soul Transformation cultivator in check, and thetter didn¡¯t seem to be willing to use any powerful spells of his. Perhaps he didn¡¯t want to alert the people in the ck Tower, meaning that this whole charade was his, and his alone.

    Taking a quick note of this, I made sure to memorize this information for future use. I then turned to the golden gate and ced my palm on it.

    "Fool, do you think godly treasures will be given to the weak, insignificant, and fate-less like you, that gate didn¡¯t even open to the strongest of people, not even Ascendants could open it, what hope does a Core Cultivator have in trying..."

    His words were soon cut off as the gate shook and shuddered.

    "I mean, this is basically the typical clich¨¦ face p that you went looking for on your own, and I wasn¡¯t even the one instigating it, if you had kept quiet, you would have probably saved some face. But nooo, You had to raise that g, and now look at you, aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? Man if I were you I¡¯d dig my head in a hole and never want to show it again. So shameless." I said shaking my head.

    "Ascendant he said, my ass, you can even bring a King of the Four Domains and they¡¯ll still not be able to leave a scratch on this door."

    "H-how do you know about the Four Kings?" The Soul Transformation cultivator said.

    While I waited for the door to slowly open up, I said, "That¡¯s a secret," I said then pulled a token up forward.

    "Automaton, take all the kids in," I said, and immediately a circr gate opened up and began absorbing every kid in the room into the Lord of Lord¡¯s pagoda leaving only me, Y, and the Soul Transformation cultivator.

    "You have some very interesting treasures on you," the Soul Transformation cultivator said.

    "Well, if you want them, you should probably find a way to unroot yourself from my puppet¡¯s gaze," I said.

    "I have already seeded in that," his words finished with a thin grin.

    Suddenly I felt two shadow figures rush men, though they were far slower than the Soul Transformation cultivator, they were still far faster than me.

    But I wasn¡¯t worried.

    Because what¡¯s about toe out of that door, is not something that anyone can survive.

    As immediately, another purple skull showed up from behind the closed golden gate, and it looked down upon all creation in utter disdain and disregard of life. It gazed at the iing shadows and they immediately dissipated, then it went up and hovered in front of me.

    "W-what the hell is that!" the Soul Transformation cultivator uttered. Fear gripped his heart as he probably realized that whatever this purple skull was, it was definitely stronger than him.

    "This is an Ascendant Stage creature, it shouldn¡¯t be allowed to exist in a lower world! What have you done?!" The Soul Transformation cultivator spoke.

    "Huh, really?" I said as I rubbed the side of the skull as if it was a docile cat, "Doesn¡¯t look that dangerous to me. But perhaps because I¡¯m a fate-less weak and insignificant cultivator that¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t want me harm, but who knows," I said shrugging.

    The Soul Transformation cultivator suddenly blurred in ce but immediately was forced back to where he was.

    "Oh, yeah, Y¡¯s mask will not allow you to teleport, that must suck, doesn¡¯t it?" I said.

    "Then if I can¡¯t teleport, I might as well have you die! Ice and Fire! FREEZING HELL!" the old man spoke and immediately, a chill went down my spine as searing mes rose and surged, blue cold mes, yet hot at the same time, a weird mix ofw and domain. Interesting to witness and pretty baffling to see someone with such a strange understanding of thews of fire and ice. But at the same time, before even the first lick of me could touch me, I closed my eye and opened it and I was outside of his domain like it was nothing but a lucid dream, something that couldn¡¯t even dare to drag me inside it.

    Immediately, the Soul Transformation Cultivator¡¯s nose and mouth shot out a dose of blood, as the Soul Transformation cultivator fell to his knees, coughing blood, that constantly shot from his orifices.

    ¡¯Damn, seems like brother Zhang Tian is he strong to casually shrug off the effects of a forceful Domain Ejection, because even a Soul Transformation cultivator almost lost his whole cultivation base due to me casually exiting his domain.¡¯

    "W-hat did you do to me!" The Soul Transformation cultivator said trying to restore some of the damage that happened to him.

    "Nothing, you did that to yourself when you tried to trap me," I said then turned to the opened door and walked inside.

    "WAIT!" the man called but he had no way to follow me, with Y¡¯s mask pinning him down, and the Skull having fully focused on him, it approached him as he tried desperately to escape, but I knew well, that unless he breaks thew binds from Y¡¯s mask, he will be no more the moment that dangerous skull gets to him. And soon, thest words from a Soul Transformation Cultivators were uttered as he found his end ad the gaze of a cloud-made purple skull.

    That thing was deadly, the first time I met it, back in the first Poison God¡¯s cave was the moment I realized that there were things in this world that were so disgustingly powerful that no matter how lucky you are, you¡¯ll end up destroyed when facing them.

    That skull was capable of killing several high-level cultivators without them even uttering a peep, and this guy was no better.

    Once inside the room, I was assaulted with a strong sense of familiarity, seeing the Same copy of the poison god¡¯s book that I had owned here in front of me once again.

    I grabbed it and opened it and immediately, received a very annoying and very dangerous text into my mind.

    -----------

    Being able to read this line means that you have sessfully reached the lowest tier of Qi condensation.

    Since you¡¯re able to read this, your cultivation level has increased. As a disciple of my arts, you must not have ever been in contact with cultivation, as it needs a fresh sprout that has no meridians unlocked to learn it. So I shall impart upon you some wisdom that will aid you in your path.

    -----------

    The rest of the text was the same as I¡¯ve read the first time I grabbed the Poison God¡¯s book, and immediately, after channeling my Qi into the book I managed to ¡¯upgrade¡¯ it to the same level of the one I have on me.

    Only this time, instead of receiving another great sword Flying Treasure, I got a small cultivation furnace that was adorned with green golden dragons.

    ----------

    This furnace, unlike the many furnaces that you have seen, will have the ability to aid you in making pills that your own Poison Qi will not affect. So you can not ruin their purity and you will be able to refine them and use them as regr pills...

    ---------

    A lot of the same old stuff was written here and I had nothing but doubts seeing two of the Same Poison God¡¯s books calling me ¡¯My only Disciple¡¯

    This brought me back to the moment when brother Zhang Tian said, that the book I owned was iplete. Fake or probably had something missing from it. And seeing another one, I hoped to have another piece of the puzzle, but now I have the same pieces. This is once again another copy of the Poison God¡¯s Heritage, a perfect replica of an iplete book.

    Which only served to make me feel slightly skittish about the cultivation path I¡¯m coursing, because why would the Poison God make two heritages? And why would he call whoever took this book his sole disciple and carrier of his will?

 Chapter 205 - Caught In The Act

    <h4>Chapter 205 - Caught In The Act </h4>

    Annoyed beyond annoyance, and frankly pretty confused on the meaning of the presence of two copies of the Poison God¡¯s Heritage. Though I doubt that finding this one would mean that¡¯s the only one left, as I believe that there could also be more Poison God Books all over the world.

    But why this ce in particr? Why not in another?

    Since I had no way to figure that out, I dropped the thought and made sure that I¡¯ll be cultivating this Poison God¡¯s cultivation method carefully. One can never know when shit can go down, and I might as well make sure that I¡¯m not taking any risky and wrong steps along my cultivation path.

    As I was about to leave the chamber, I wanted to put the second Poison God¡¯s Book inside the first, but it apparently refused to do so as a light rejection force stopped me from doing so, then immediately afterwards, the second book melted into a floating globe of green liquid, that instantly shot towards the first book, increasing its volume and actually changed its forma bit.

    The green covered Poison God¡¯s book had more golden symbols on it, and looked slightly more prestigious than it already was.

    I opened the ¡¯upgraded¡¯ book, and tried to find some differences, but nothing seemed to have changed besides the aesthetic look.

    After giving up on trying to understand the mysteries happening here, and how the Poison God thinks, I decided that I would have better use of my time leaving this ce and working on figuring out the situation with Lucid Springs.

    Once I was out, I headed to the Soul Transformation Cultivator¡¯s holding bag, and realized that I hit a pretty steep jackpot.

    The holding bag had at least thousands of years worth of gathered treasures that will take several days to sort out. This is a great powerup to my arsenal, from Spirit Stones, materials, and a lot of pills and cultivation materials. Though its no match to the Lord of Lord¡¯s pagoda, this holding bag I more important because its content is highly rted to my own low level cultivation, as the materials here are more than enough to get me to climb higher cultivation stages rapidly.

    Secondly, there was something that held my attention, it was a stockpile of notes that were ced on one side along with several Yellow gs that had too many restrictions on them. the gs¡¯ purpose was clear to me the moment I inspected them deeply, and they were used to trap souls.

    I skimmed through the notes and figured out the reason behind these kidnappings, and actually found out, that this whole mess was somehow rted to the destruction of Lucid Springs.

    From what I could figure out through the notes, a Nascent Soul cultivator, who apparently seeded in reaching Soul Formation, had made contact with the man I just killed right now. He showed him a way to abuse the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, as once it is introduced to someone with broken meridians, and that person survives, their Souls can be extracted and used as nutrients to fuel one¡¯s cultivation.

    The gs were already holding several souls of cultivators that survived the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. And once their souls have been harvested in the gs, the Nascent Soul cultivator used them to increase his own level.

    With this method, the Soul Transformation cultivator, finding that raising his cultivation base was too hard using the scarce resources of this barren world, began using this Devil Cultivation method.

    The method was evil, and ugly, and extracting someone¡¯s soul is not a fun experience. It involves a lot of screaming and pain, and they did that to so many people it¡¯s close to mass genocide.

    And apparently, I was gonna be paying to have my soul extracted and used as an experiment.

    The sess rate is still low from reading the notes, and only one among a few hundred can survive, but even then, their souls are too weak to give a greater boost to one¡¯s cultivation base.

    Something is very fishy here, and I don¡¯t like it.

    From the Soul Transformation Cultivator¡¯s reaction when I opened the door, he had no idea what¡¯s behind the door, but for the cultivators who captured me and opened the door, they probably didn¡¯t have an idea about this Soul devouring method.

    The worst thing would be if one of each school of thought were to meet one another and share their discovery. This will reveal the Poison God¡¯s cultivation method, and not only that. Since I have a powerful soul, a very strong one capable of leaving a Domain at will, and not be affected with Soul pressure.

    I think I make a very, very, very tasty and delicious meal to anyone who can know these facts.

    Not to mention, the owner of this cultivation method.

    Now this is some scary train of thought to get into. If it appears that the poison god is actually not here to help me, but actually use me as a cultivation pill nothing more nothing less.

    And if I were to think about it, this is a cultivation world where all is allowed, and this won¡¯t be out of reach. Especially with finding a second book, this would undoubtedly mean that the Poison God is actually trying to get many ¡¯disciples¡¯ to grow so that he will have the chance and opportunity to consume them, and break through a bottleneck.

    This seems like the most usible oue of this discovery, and I somehow stumbled upon it, in this, in this random ce, because two people were greedy to eat up low level cultivators souls.

    This is a conspiracy theory at the finest level, revealed by the actions of small fries.

    Finding this out this early is pretty damn good, though I can¡¯t change my cultivation method, as long as I¡¯m careful and know what¡¯sing, I can prepare for it. I¡¯m like batman, just give me enough prep time, and I can beat anyone. But right now, I¡¯m better off finding a way to either remove my whole cultivation base, which will be stupid, or outright branch out from the Poison God¡¯s own cultivation method.

    Though both seem the most extreme solutions, for now, I can¡¯t afford to pursue either one of them. I¡¯ll keep the thought of me being a pill in the making in my mind, but at the same time, I¡¯ll make sure to find ways to grow stronger, without fully relying on the Poison God¡¯s teachings alone.

    I¡¯ve had my doubts that if I was spreading my attentions to various means of cultivation, pursuing Pill making, Puppet Making, craftsmanship and inscription, that I will be too stomped with work that I¡¯ll never be able to grow my own cultivation, but apparently, the fact that I pursued many things slowed me a bit from further ascending as a Poison Cultivator without this knowledge.

    Now, with this information figured out, it¡¯s time to pay the Soul Formation cultivator a visit, I already vowed a revenge like no other for destroying my city and killing my people, and now that I found out that he was actually wanting to use me as a cultivation experiment, I¡¯m even more pissed at him, and will definitely be paying him tenfold for his boldness.

    Once everything was settled, I headed out of the room and went up the stairs, but not even a momentter, hell broke loose as dozens of guards came rushing down the ck Tower Pavilion and down the stairs.

    And since I had no way to teleport, or escape, I could only watch in slight vexation how dozens of guards came down, with weapons ready and aimed at me.

    While two Soul Formation Cultivators came after them, the look on their faces was that of disgust and hell untold waiting to be unleashed on someone who tried to ¡¯steal¡¯ whatever that it was in their vaults.

    "You damn thief! You think yourself smart for luring everyone! But we¡¯re the ck Tower! We¡¯ll never be fooled with such despicable methods!" one of the guards said.

    "Quiet, don¡¯t you think that he was smart enough to fool all of you into leaving, look even the vault¡¯s door is already opened. So, tell me, cultivator, what brought you in here? If you were smart enough to unlock that door, you should have already known that moving any object from that room without the appropriate pass would have told the rm."

    "I didn¡¯t really take anything from here, to be honest," I said looking at everyone who clearly didn¡¯t believe what I was saying.

    "Yes, because we caught you before you did, but that doesn¡¯t pardon your crime!" the second Soul Formation cultivator said.

    "Now Fess up! What did you take from the ck Tower¡¯s Vault?!"

    ¡¯Ah shit, this is gonna be annoying to exin. Especially since the guy responsible for this whole mess is a puddle of ash....¡¯

 Chapter 206 - Solved

    <h4>Chapter 206 - Solved </h4>

    I held my hand and calmly said, "Nothing, there was a mess here I had to clean up, your mess in fact." I said.

    The group looked at each other with slight confusion when the Soul Formation cultivator turned to me and said, "You think something as pitiful as that of an excuse can get you off the hook, then you must think us stupid, men, grab him."

    "Let¡¯s not get too hasty here," I said and immediately called Y out to appear in front of the group.

    The appearance of Y, brought untold horror to everyone because they clearly knew who this was.

    After all, news travel fast, and the news of a powerful puppet that could easily incapacitate a Soul Formation cultivator had wreaked havoc earlier in the city and took off the arm of a Soul Formation cultivator in a heartbeat. Describing Y shouldn¡¯t be that hard for any onlooker especially with the hovering mask behind him.

    "If I wanted to do anything suspicious or dangerous, do you really think you could be able to stop me?" I said as I slowly put my hands down.

    "You have two options, you either believe me, and you can go and check on that secret room there, or don¡¯t, and I¡¯m sure Y here won¡¯t like you trying to do anything to me. He is a bit overprotective." I said grinning.

    The ego of the cultivators wouldn¡¯t let them speak meekly in front of a Core Cultivator, but seeing the terrorizing pressure that Y was letting out, one of the Soul Formation cultivators said.

    "I¡¯ll have to personally check and see if what you¡¯re saying is true, Fusen, keep an eye on him," he said and slowly made his way, and carefully made sure to not get too close to Y as he moved into the treasure room.

    The other Soul Formation cultivator gulped as he was asked to do something he clearly didn¡¯t want to. But for pride and ego of a Soul Formation cultivator, he had to show that he was still in charge in this charade, even when everyone around him knew damn well that if I let Y loose, they¡¯ll all die here.

    "Stand Still, while brother Xian inspects the room, if anything is missing you¡¯ll have to answer your actions." He said while clearly not willing to go through with those very words of his.

    In this world, it¡¯s not that no one is above thew, because there is now, in this world, the strong is thew. And if I¡¯m strong enough to scare the living hell out of these cultivators, then the punishment would only be symbolic to keep face. But if I was weaker, I¡¯m sure being tortured and made an example of would be the least of things the ck Tower would do to keep ¡¯face¡¯.

    Soon, the cultivator, Fusen used Divine Sense and inspected every corner of the treasure room using divine sense, then turned to us, frowning.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Xian asked.

    "Nothing apparently, there is nothing missing or out of ce."

    "Then it must mean that he didn¡¯t even have the chance to make anything, we caught him before he did the crime!"

    "Quite!" Fusen said, "There are traces of steps leading all the way to the back of the room, anyone would have at least gone to take something from the treasure room, but this man here ignored everything. There is also something strange, the statue at the back of the room is disced."

    "Yes, there is a secret passage there, that led to a room where the Soul Transformation Cultivator was hiding the kidnapped children," I said.

    Immediately the guards began murmuring to each other because the disappearance of the cultivators was not something secret, and everyone knew about it, not only that, they all knew how big of a deal it was, since many sects had their geniusese here, then they disappeared.

    At first, the heat of this matter was focused on the city lord, but now, the ck Tower is going to be the prime suspect, since the kids were here. And no one, not even the ck Tower wishes to have its name dragged through the mud.

    The idea spun in the head of everyone present here, and they all came to a grave realization. What if what I was saying was true, then they¡¯ll probably be asked for an exnation, not only that, the Main Branch of the ck Tower will definitely have something to say about this. And this could ultimately lead to a lot of heads rolling.

    Fusen moved to the statue and took a bit of time to find the switch to open the secret doorway. The formation was still not functional so he wasn¡¯t stopped from entering, then once he was there, he gasped.

    "So many dead..." he said, as he must have seen the remains of the disciples I couldn¡¯t save in time.

    "I wouldn¡¯t stay there longer," I said, "That pool there, that¡¯s the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, you don¡¯t want to touch that or risk having it touch you," I spoke from the other side of the room.

    Fusen hurriedly left the room and said, "Those are a lot of dead children. But, still, not all of them, several dozen are missing, still could they still be alive?" he asked.

    "They are, and I have them. They¡¯re all within a special ce recovering." I said.

    "Though I¡¯d like to believe that you¡¯re only here to help, what is it to stop me from believing that you¡¯re the mastermind behind all of this."

    I pulled a few papers from my inventory, which were the documents and messages written between the Soul Transformation Cultivator and the Soul Formation cultivator, I made sure not to bring out the ones that had any hints about the usage of the Bone and Body Grinding poison to extract souls and consume them, but the ones I had were enough to immediately clear the suspicion from me and put it all on the Soul Transformation cultivator.

    Once Fusen Read through the papers. "Damnable Zenxi, you brought us so much trouble!" he said.

    Immediately, Fusen¡¯s eyes lit up, a slightly dangerous glint lit up in his eyes, but then a momentter he realized that Y was still here, so he sighed.

    I could figure out what went out in his head immediately there.

    This whole event could have been swept under the rug if they could ¡¯shut me up¡¯ preferably permanently, but with the presence of such a dangerous and powerful puppet at my side, trying to do that is nothing but suicide.

    So, he had no other option but to do this, "We¡¯ll have to sincerely apologize to you, you figured out this whole scheme and we were too hasty in pointing fingers. We have a few things we would like you to see, and a few gifts for ¡¯helping¡¯ us keep these events privat." Fusen said.

    "I don¡¯t really mind gifts, but do know, I won¡¯t speak of this, because I have a personal vendetta against the person who caused this whole mess. But the kids I took from there might speak a few words. So you probably need to also treat them well. I doubt the ck Tower won¡¯t be able to appease a few kids?" I said.

    Which was the least I could do to the kids who suffered under the hands of such a tyrant.

    "Of course, we¡¯ll have to treat them well," Fusen said.

    "Good, once I¡¯m done treating the kids, I¡¯ll have theme over to receive their reward for valiance."

    I said and moved forward, while all the guards left me a clear path to move between them and upstairs to the main floor of the ck Tower.

    Once on the Main Floor, the maids that were supposed to keep guard were watching with expectation at how I was going to be handled, but seeing the two Soul Transformation cultivators following behind me, and fawning over how ¡¯generous¡¯ and bright-minded I was to have aided the ck Tower, the two maids could only look at each other with surprise not knowing what the heck happened.

    A divine sense message reached me, "We¡¯ll make sure all the guards will keep the whole news covered up. We¡¯ll also have to speak to the main branch, because even if nothing happened, they¡¯ll still need to be informed about things of this severity happening within the ck Tower, at least, if somethinges up, they¡¯ll be ready for it ande up with appropriate measures."

    "Good, you do whatever you think best, once the kids are well, I¡¯ll make sure to send them over to you."

    "By then, we¡¯ll have a fewpensations for your patriotic work-ready, also have this," he said as he handed me a golden insignia.

    "What¡¯s this?"

    "This is a golden token, one of the highest tokens you can get in the ck Tower, you can use it to get discounts, and can sell three of your own treasures at no fee. Not only that, you¡¯ll have VIP treatment, and a personal guest manor for your own use in any city you visit that has a ck Tower. With the addition of a fetch request. Where you can send a list of ingredients or materials you need, which will be ced in the ck Tower¡¯s main hall, and have everyone who has the item or willing to sell the item contact us, and then we can deliver it to you wherever you are."

    "That¡¯s pretty handy," I said.

    "Oh, this is nothing but the norm for helping the ck Tower, your real reward will take a few days to be prepared." He said.

    "Right, then, see youter," I said and walked out of the ck Tower.

    Now, that everything is solved, I should probably go and check on the Lucid Spring River situation, and then, see whats up with that cultivator who wanted to use me as an experiment.

    It¡¯s gonna be fun fun fun.

 Chapter 207: Plot Twist

    <h4>Chapter 207: Plot Twist</h4>

    I remained within the city for three days, and yet no news of what happened to the ck Tower ever circted, which means that they kept a tight-lipped policy that was good for them. However, the notion of the main branch being willing to intervene to solve any issues caused me some worries.

    Because, even if the guys here didn''t dare and do something to me, the main branch might think that me being there, and knowing their dirty little secret, will mean that I''m a loose end. And what usually happens to loose ends? They usually end up being cut.

    I made sure to help all the kids who were harmed by the Bone and Body Grinding Poison and had them back on their feet. All of them thankfully only suffered from inhaling too much of the fumes, and never were in direct contact with the poison, because anyone who did would probably end up dead.

    Meng Hao''s girl woke upter, and Meng Hao had a pretty hard time convincing her that I was the same old man she met back at that forest, as the first time she saw me, I was old, sickness and illness gued, and full of pustules and tumors. But now, all she saw was a handsome-looking young uncle.

    The other kids, however, thankfully didn''t remember much, either about the location that they were taken to or about who grabbed them. They only know that a person kidnapped them and ced them in a room where they had no idea how they got into, where it was, or how to leave.

    And since he was a Soul Transformation cultivator, if he needed them not to know who he was, that wasn''t a problem for him.

    Soon, after making sure that everyone who had any recollection of the events that happened spoke up, I realized that thankfully, the dead Soul Transformation Cultivator wasn''t some generic idiotic viin who just speaks out his whole plot. As none of the kids could figure out why they were having their meridians broken and dipped into the poisonous pool.

    It was all ''miraculously'' tranted as a fetish of an entric Soul Transformation cultivator with too much time on his hands.

    I then sent the kids back to the ck Tower, where they admitted them in, asked them a few questions which they didn''t need to lie to answer, and once the Tower understood that the kids knew nothing, and had no idea what was going on, they generously rewarded them for the suffering they had.

    Weapons, pills, cultivation materials, and a lot of other stuff. All of it to both appease the kids and the sects they came from.

    The idea that the ck Tower taking in the me for what happened caused a few questions, but at the same time, they came up with a pretty convincing answer.

    "We are ashamed that disciples of many sects hade here and ended up being kidnapped under our watch, so we had topensate them."

    As for who had found the kids, that remained a secret. Thank god.

    Then I received a box from the tower, which apparently was my ownpensation.

    Not to mention the huge amount of high-grade Spirit Stone inside the box, I obtained a great many treasures. A few crafting materials that were too rare to use and many many spiritual herbs which will help me make more pills.

    But since they thought that it was not enough, they asked me what I personally wanted and if they could afford bringing it.

    The first thing I thought of was the Poison pool that they had under their base. But the moment I said that I''ll be taking that, I felt like if I was actually doing them a favor. Since no one wants to get close to a Pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison anyway.

    And thus, I managed to get another choice of gifts.

    I simply asked for the Heart of an Albedo. The idea was daunting for them to execute, as the effort that it''ll take to kill an albedo is not easy. However, I was still given something that was second best to the heart. A map with a location of a recently seen Albedo. A hunting party was organized to hunt it, but they never managed it, so it is still on the loose. This is great because I need that topletely cure the Emrodite gue of the Ji Tian sect.

    With all of this done, I had to leave, waiting here will probably get me some unwanted attention from the main branch, and I''m better off not having to exin anything. So I took flight and headed to the northern side of the country, it was going to take me a few days to get to the Nascent Soul cultivator''s area, or wait, he is a Soul Formation cultivator by now.

    Days of travel went by fast as I was cultivating mid-flight. And whenever I got bored, I pulled a talisman and began recreating the same speech inscription that was on Y, because X deserves it.

    The scenery changed several times over as I moved about, I''ve witnessed many things as I traveled, from beasts and creatures to humans and mortals living their daily lives and suffering under the cruelty of the world yet still smiles remained on their faces as they didn''t seem to mind the harshness of such a cruel world.

    Man is an amazing creature. He can survive, and adapt, and manage even against the odds.

    As I was moving about I thought about making more puppets. Because when X and Y are upied with defending me and attacking, I could use another puppet for rather, delicate and specific goals.

    So I kept it in mind, since I easily get bored of staying still for days on end to assimte the pills I ate for cultivation, I might as well use the time to make something and further progress. Especially since I can no longer one hundred percent rely on poison cultivation.

    Remembering this whole thing once again gives me a headache.

    As I was moving forward several cultivators flew past me with the speed of sound. Inexplicable fear and determination in their eyes.

    Then soon, hundreds, thousands, and even more cultivators rushed forward. While I was casually flying, they were moving at speeds so fast one would their lives depended on it.

    Seeing the urgency in their haste, I increased my speed and caught up with the nearest cultivator.

    "Fellow Cultivator, what seems to be the urgency to cause all of these people to rush in that direction," I said.

    Soon, the man looked at me like if I was a madman.

    "Have you been living under a rock? You don''t know about the invasion?" he said.

    "Invasion? I have no idea what''s going on¡­ I''m not affiliated to any sects and was cruising the ins."

    "Right, that exins it, anyway, theary Covenant decree has deemed Si Xue no longer under its protection. And one of the Four Realm kings is now willing to take this as his."

    "Which King?" I asked.

    "The Fire Fing Ruler of the Southern Domain."

    "But, they shouldn''t be able to invade, I mean especially since this doesn''t allow anyone at the Ascendant Realm or above to remain within it, right?"

    "Yes, but they can send in half-Ascendants. And you better be ready for there will be many of them toe."

    ''Shit, an invasion already, what kind of fucking twist is this.'' I cursed inwardly.

    I didn''t have anything to do with all this clusterfuck but if there is one thing I know, whenever shit like this happens, the mortals, the weak, and all the people I just went past will be the first victims.

    I have no obligation to save or protect or fight anyone.

    Immediately, several divine senses powerful beyond power rushed through the whole area and field that we were in.

    "Cultivators of the Si Xue, Ie and ask for your aid. Theary covenant has given upon us, and the fire king is no merciful ruler. We know well that he had invaded and conquered many domains, and whenever a domain has been conquered, especially if it is a lower world, all of the people inside it are turned to ves and soul cultivation furnaces to further fuel the Fire King''s own might and power. We ask you, to not give up, and run away because once you turn your back on this world, you will be rendered to nothing but a ve and a soul furnace to be cultivated for the might of another. Fight Cultivators, weak, strong, genius or even less, fight, for if you don''t fight, then there will be no hope."

    The words were heavy and the sound was very familiar and full of defeatist tone. But for me, I knew all I needed to know to form this, and I''ll be damned to let some power-hungry creepe over and try and use me as his own little furnace.

    "Who spoke?" I asked.

    "That''s The Divine Monk. One of the three administrators of the."

    Then soon came the voice of a female cultivator, "Our efforts will not be in vain, we have powerful cultivators and we can handle the situation if we band together. Not only that, since this war will be under the watch of theary Covenant, the power levels will be limited. There will be no more than twenty Half Ascendants from the side of the Fire King.

    "Twenty, that doesn''t sound so bad¡­" I said. Also, this woman''s voice is he familiar. "Also who is this?"

    "This is the second half Ascendant of our, Hei Gua Fu," the man next to me said.

    ''Ah, no wonder their voices were familiar, they were the bald dude and the half harlot I met the other day. Damn, they were some big shots apparently.

    "How many Half Ascendant Cultivators do we have?" I asked.

    "Three¡­"

    Three against twenty¡­well there is no need to mention how I immediately figured out how fucked we are.

    "We believe in our own strength, and many of us had decided to not ascend so that we can keep watch and guard this. So be sure to fight your own fights, because we can handle our own." the Hei Gua Fu, said.

    ''I call bullshit, they were not on the verge of climbing to Ascendants, otherwise, they wouldn''t be searching for a Saint Crystal.''

    "Any cultivator who believes in their power is more than wee to go to any ck Tower and receive a Silver Medal. It will be used to calcte your contribution, and the ones with the highest contribution will be awarded. You will also be able to exchange any points you get from this battle to items and materials that you need directly from the ck tower!"

    ''Well, that''ll get some people slightly more interested in risking their lives.''

    "Remember, you fight for your future, so fight well!" thest words were spoken by a man who I never heard before but clearly his tone had something in it as I saw shivers running down the cultivator next to me, and his eyes turning red as if he was willing to give his life for a cause.

    ''Hmm, emotional control¡­pretty dangerous. Still, with my kit¡­I think I can get some good progress in this event, no matter how random-ass it was."

 Chapter 208: Gathering Info

    <h4>Chapter 208: Gathering Info</h4>

    "Are you headed to the next ck Tower?" I asked.

    "Yes, there is a tower in Zhao, it''s not that far, it will take us a week to arrive there." The cultivator said, "But I can''t waste more time, I''ll have to increase my speed, otherwise I''ll be waiting forever just to have a turn at taking the medal." He said and nodded.

    Almost immediately, he shot forward with more Qi than I would care to spend and moved like a shooting star.

    With my cultivation level, I could do nothing but helplessly see cultivators moving at incredible speeds. While entire sects used massive beasts to carry their disciples as they flew high above.

    ''Damn, shit is really serious.'' I mumbled.

    "Lord, do you wish to arrive at the city in haste?" spoke Y.

    "That would be pretty helpful since if I''mte just getting a token will have me wait in line for days¡­" I said. "What do you have in mind?"

    "In mind? Nothing, but I can get you to the city where these people are headed." Y said.

    "Good, then show them the meaning of haste," I said, and immediately, Y came out of the Poison God''s Book and flew next to me.

    "Would you mind sitting on my shoulder, it would be safer," Y spoke.

    "Right, let''s go," I said as I hopped off my flying treasure and onto Y''s shoulder.

    Once I was perfectly seated. I gave Y themand to go.

    And boy did he go.

    The world felt like it was stretching as Y sted through the skies, flying faster than any cultivator. He was so fast that nothing but an afterimage was left, and not even Divine Sense could reach him in time to inspect.

    And the best thing was that we were coated with a barrier that was fending off the cold and wind pressure. So I didn''t freeze over in an instant.

    Soon, Y moved up, and into the skies, where he now was contending against beasts of ridiculous proportions. Birds and wyverns, flood dragons, and there was even a flying turtle.

    Each belonging to a different sect, and a few sects among them, I knew.

    Mainly, the sect that was using a massive bird to move about. It was a dark crow, with three legs and it moved like it owned the skies.

    However, with Y''s speed, the cultivator on the massive bird could do nothing but watch as we surpassed them in speed, and left them in the dust.

    Y''s speed increased even further until it reached an extreme limit that he didn''t want to go beyond.

    "I''ll have to keep this slow pace for now, lest that it will harm your body, master."

    ''This is a slow pace¡­ damn. I really need to get my game on, I''m too low level and this event is the best ce to grind up some levels.''

    "Don''t worry about me Y, I already have all the means I need to increase my cultivation level. Once I get the medal, I''ll hurry and climb up. I can''t be wasting time as a weak Core Cultivator can I?"

    "Yes master," Y said and then soon dove down arriving to a city that looked dreary. Many high-level cultivators had already arrived, but thankfully it hadn''t reached the point where it''s crowded.

    Y came down like a meteor, with speed fast enough to cause everyone to use their divine sense and try and see if I was friend or foe. The level of alert is already too high right now, and I better not try and cause any problems right now. So I had to ask Y to slow down once we saw the ck Tower.

    Thankfully, seeing many cultivators flying through the city meant that the flight ban is lifted in cities right now and I could directly get to the tower.

    Y moved down, with rtively high speed, enough that anyone that was next to the ck Tower''s gate immediately moved aside thinking that Y will not be able to stop his descent and crash.

    But as if gravity was a subject that Y didn''t believe in. All of his speed was nullified the moment he was a few feet away from the ground and lightly stopped.

    I dropped down, and called Y back into my side pouch, then among the many people who were wondering what was happening, and a slightly angry-looking ck Tower guard. I held up the golden insignia I got from the other tower, and that immediately rewarded me with a warm wee.

    "Please,e forward, we didn''t expect a high VIP guest to arrive." The guard said and weed me in.

    "What kind of treatment is this!" shouted a cultivator, "Howe you allow a low-level cultivator to enter, while we''re at the Nascent Souls and we have to wait for our turn?" spoke a random cultivator.

    "A man who carries a Golden Insignia is more valuable to the ck tower than an Ascendant, never forget that, and the next time you question the ck Tower''s might, no one can guarantee your life," spoke another guard with a tone that meant business.

    Gulping the cultivator moved back and had his head down. Not even willing to speak again.

    No one wanted to go against the ck Tower, not only because the ck Tower''s might expand through all over theary Covenant, and has towers in almost all reaches and regions, but because, if one angers the ck Tower, then they can be banned from doing business in any of its branches, no matter the region, world or sector.

    So everyone keeps a calm and collected mindset once the ck Tower''s reputation is on the line.

    Walking inside the tower, I realized that their buildings were always built the same way. The tower has one basement and one Auction house area, and several floors for guests and training facilities. It was an all-in-one facility that could allow a person to remain within it and train for years.

    But right now, I need my medal. And to get more information on what''s going on here.

    "You must be the man who helped the ck Tower recently, I heard there was a problem in our neighboring city. How did thate to happen?" he asked.

    "You heard what you heard, keep it that way, if you''re from the ck tower, you know well that you shouldn''t be talking about what happened. Remember, the ck Tower doesn''t like bad rumors, and the less you know, the better it is." I said firmly.

    The man smiled, it was a test of sorts, "Good to know that you''re a man of your word. Good, so tell me, what is that you need from the ck Tower?" he asked.

    "I doubt that you''re allowed to hand over the medals and give information about the iing invasion," I said.

    "Because I''m a guard?" he said."

    I shrugged.

    "Worry not, at times of desperation, it''s everyone in the ck tower''s duty to help those who seek some aid. Here," he said and pulled a silver medal from his side bag.

    "You should put a drop of blood on this medal, and it will be linked to you, even if you lose it or its destroyed in battle, you can stille back and get another one that will still keep your score. Points will be given to any cultivator you eliminate or capture. The higher the cultivator''s rank, the higher the points that you''ll be rewarded."

    "What are the points like, I mean, the value of life," I said in a scuff.

    "Ah, yes, the value of life. Ironically, a core cultivator''s worth is ten points, and it increases by ten for every cultivation real he is in."

    "Oh so basically, it''s ny points for a core cultivator of the ninth realm, and a hundred I suppose for a Nascent Soul cultivator of the first stage."

    "Yes, but then, it bes a hundred point per stage, and the increase is ten times every higher cultivation realm."

    "So, a thousand for a Soul Formation and ten thousand for a Soul Transformation."

    "And a million for a Half Ascendant."

    "Oh, that''s really tempting," I said.

    "Indeed, but for you and I, a Half Ascendant would only need to sneeze for us to die, so try not to bite off more than you can chew." He said.

    "Don''t worry about me."

    "What about the rewards," I added.

    The rewards vary, and you need to exchange your points for the rewards. And since this battle is going to be taking long, the ck tower allowed the exchange of points while battling, for materials and resources. I can give you a jade of all avable rewards and you can see what you want and wish to obtain from them."

    He then gave me a piece of jade that I put next to my head and immediately sent the avable rewards a boy were there many and were they expensive.

    Not only that some were limited rewards. Like the Law Fruit I just obtained, there were only ten of them and they cost 30,000 points each.

    Then there were weapons, resources, and spiritual herbs that were extremely rare, and their value went up to the hundreds of thousands.

    "This fight is going to be a long one."

    "A deadly, long, and probably hopeless one, but we''re doing all we could to help."

    "Why is the ck Tower financing this?" I said, "I don''t see any value here."

    "The Fire King has a nasty personality, and he likes to enve entires. All the resources and materials he obtains from thoses go to his personal pocket. As for the ck Tower, since we get amission on every item sold here, in the long run, we''re rather happy with a that is not under envement because it provides a passive ie to the ck Tower. Thus, if we assist and help this in surviving the invasion, we''ll be able to recoup on the losses in a couple of thousand years."

    "Talk about long-term investment," I chuckled.

    "It is the way of the ck Tower."

    "I doubt that the Fire King is happy with this," I said.

    "Oh, believe me, he is not, but he can''t do anything, otherwise his entireary system will be banned from using our facilities. And you really don''t want that to happen if you had a domain as big as his. So he has to suck it up and try and win. We on the other hand, even if we don''t like what he is doing, cannot directly interfere, help or aid any of the cultivators. And once the battle is over, and if the Fire King is victorious, the ck towers of this will be removed and all the materials within them will be pulled and transferred into another area, then we''ll give up on the and everyone in it." he said.

    Sighing, I said, "While the titans squabble, it''s the mortals who suffer the most."

    "Indeed, wise words junior cultivator. However, if you wish extraction, we can provide something for you especially. You own one of the few Golden Insignias that have been handed over by the ck Tower, which makes the ck Tower indebted to you. But that extraction can only happen if you don''t participate in the fight."

    "Oh, no don''t worry about me, I''m not the kind who''ll die in a random ditch nor hideaway, But I''ll keep the thought in mind," I spoke.

    Not that I''m gonna give up on this fight, the stuff in that jade is too tempting to just bail out on this whole fight. Also, I''ve just rebuilt Lucid Spring, though it''s not the best city in the world, nor the greatest, it''s mine, it''s something that I made. Something that I spent time, effort sweat, and eighty years of my life in. Like hell, if I was gonna let it be ruined by some power-hungry creep.

    "Right, so when is this invasion starting?" I asked.

    "In a couple of months'' time, the forces of the Fire King will arrive to Si Xue."

    "Two months¡­ that''s more than enough prep time. Good, I''ll be heading out, I need to make a few things. Impactful, and nasty things. But I need a ce to stay, and I remember I''m allowed a stay in a manor if I have this token."

    "Yes, I''ll send one of the guards outside to show you your ce, you can stay there and cultivate in wait. Godspeed."

    "Thanks," I said and headed out.

 Chapter 209: Modern Warfare

    <h4>Chapter 209: Modern Warfare</h4>

    I walked out of the ck Tower and headed out along with one of the guards who was already informed to take me to the private manor.

    Not only was my presence surprising to many of the cultivators as they saw the treatment I was getting from the ck Tower, but my cultivation level was also the most attention-grabbing.

    Because it didn''t matter what level you were when it was rted to the ck Tower, all that mattered was achievement and contribution, and what they saw made a huge detachment between me and every cultivator.

    Because why would the tower give me so many privileges? Who was I? And how could they profit or benefit from befriending me?

    These were the simplest of questions that would usually go through one''s mind, because human nature, is always, and forever will be, greed.

    I on the other hand ignored every Divine Sense message that requested me to visit these self-entitled powerful cultivators'' time. Because for them, since I was a Core cultivator, and they were higher in cultivation base, I should ept their offer, ande ''visit'' in return they''ll provide protection or some sort of reward for their own time in exchange for my rtionship with the ck Tower so they too can benefit.

    For me, I didn''t give a flying fuck, and this made the cultivators who I ignored feel like they were pped in the face.

    Thus, I started amassing displeasure passively, without doing anything to incur it.

    Which is the life of the weak, if you have something and don''t want to share, you''ll either have it taken from you, schemed against to have it taken from you, killed to have it taken from you, or at the least, be hated for having it, and not sharing.

    Quite the arrogant and displeasing train of thought but if you consider it from a different aspect you can see this very act prominent in everyday life. Even in my past life. People were jealous of your car, home, house, wife, job, and would do anything even subtly to either share, partake or outright ruin you.

    A good friend wouldn''t hesitate to screw you over if it meant it was going to benefit him. Friendship extends to the limit of personal benefit. Though this idea might sound displeasing, and many would consider a friend orrade to be loyal and ready to give up their life for them, but I can honestly swear that no one in this world, or the world I used to live in had no price.

    It''s a somber thought dark, and gloomy, but at the same time, it is the truth, no matter how someone denies it. A man will never treat a woman he doesn''t know nicely unless he wants to screw her. No matter how well-raised he is, deep down, the first primal instinct of his is to mate, and even under the pretext of treating others respectfully, deep down there is that urge to satisfy a carnal desire.

    We don''t treat others nicely because we want to, but because we hope it returns back to us with pleasant rewards. Denying this is denying one''s nature.

    As I continued on with these somber ideas I finally found myself next to a massive manner with a lot of rooms that I wasn''t going to be using.

    "Get all servants out of here, I want a private area to work and cultivate it." I said.

    "Don''t worry, there are no servants here, and the house is usually cleaned after the one who lived in it moves out." The guard said.

    "Good, then I''ll be going in, and if possible I don''t wish to be disturbed," I said.

    "This area is belonging to the ck Tower, unless you move outside of the perimeter of the manor no one will dare and spy or intervene in your work." The guard added.

    "Okay, very well, thank you then," I said and headed into the manor.

    Theyout was nice, for guests, plenty of decoration, and stuff that I honestly didn''t care for.

    Once I got inside the manor, I went to a random room, closed it, and pulled the Lord of Lords token.

    I was about to start making a lot of stuff, and I needed as much time as I could.

    And two months is not enough, but inside the dted time of thirty to one. I have about five years'' worth of time I can improve myself in.

    Which is a huge time period.

    I went inside the Lord of Lord''s pagoda and was in the green area where the many spiritual herbs I had nted grew.

    The Saint Qi crystal I had ced next to the Nascent Soul Origin fruit tree had replenished and grown all the crops. And even the Nascent Soul Origin fruit tree was almost fully grown and will soon start giving fruit.

    Sadly, I couldn''t use the Law Fruit I have on me and try to grow it, since I didn''t know if it had any seeds inside it and didn''t want to risk tearing it to find nothing inside.

    I pulled the Soul Transformation cultivator''s bag and began nting the rest of the herbs I had on his bag, and once that was done, I was ready to move to private training.

    I looked in the direction of the snowy mountains, hesitated between going and checking up on the Sect Master but immediately shook my head. It seems like cultivators can hold a grudge and I''m I have no interest in getting any more headaches.

    I should focus on training first for now.

    I then got all the gear and materials I will be using and went into the white space where the Time Dtion happens within the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    I then instructed the Automaton to be ready when I ask him to provide me with any materials from the library or the furnace area.

    And then began working.

    First thing first. Improvement and upgrades. I pulled the golden inkpot and the feather quill I got from the mysterious ck merchant. And had Xe out. He needs to be able to speak and I already finished the inscription of speech.

    Not more than half an hourter I managed to finish the inscription.

    "Speak now," I said to X.

    "a*/"*/**//* Lord¡­"

    "Well, seems that it''s working, try again," I said and then X began speaking, and surprisingly his voice was slightly less imposing than Y even though they had almost the same speech inscription.

    I tried a few tweaks until everything seemed fine and once I was done, I had X speak again.

    "It works perfectly now, Lord," X said.

    ''Lord, that''s different from Y''s way of calling me, Master. Seems that X holds superior respect since he was the first one I made.''

    "Good, stand down no, Ye out," I said and the massive puppet showed up.

    "Open up, I''ll need to modify the reactor," I said and began tearing it apart.

    Once I had the reactor in hand, I started by adjusting a few things that I noticed weren''t working fine.

    The Qi expenditure was good, but apparently, It was too low. Even if the heat regtion was perfect, it seems that Y was still unable to unleash the full brunt of his might at sub-Saint-Qi levels.

    So, I guessed that he is actually limiting himself since there is no way for him to resupply Qi from crystals unless I open his chest and put them there myself.

    So, I found a way around that. And pulled a storage space ring that I randomly have.

    I ced the storage ring inside the reactor and began writing many, many inscriptions on it to protect it from the heat. Not that it would easily melt since it was made with material that had an even higher melting temperature than the material making the reactor.

    And then made a direct input into the reactor that will allow Y to resupply Qi whenever he wascking. Then filled the ring with as many high-grade and mid-grade Spiritual Stones as I could.

    Once that was done, I began removing the brass stripes from all over Y''s body and reced them with Dragon Steel, which could support even hotter temperatures before it melted, and transfer it far, far better than brass.

    I then began adjusting some of the inscriptions and was seriously feeling the need to learn more about gravitational and specialws because I was running out of inscription space very fast.

    I added more defensive means for the reactor, like shock absorbents, heat, cold, electric transfer, rust, acid, and more. Though Y''s own material was out of this world, and I highly doubted that it could be damaged, I didn''t really have anything to lose by being slightly more cautious.

    With the improvements done, I ced the reactor back on Y and had him turn it on.

    Tests came with even better results, as Y was now able to increase the temperatures of his Demon Trigger Swords and use them at max heat in a fraction of a second.

    "Good, that should be all I can do for you right now, you''re already beyond broken," I said.

    "Master, I fail to notice anything broken about me." Said Y.

    "Never mind that, it''s just a figure of speech, anyway, X your turn, give me all that weaponry you have, you''re about to get a total makeover," I said and began working on every part of X''s kit.

    X was sadly made of inferior material, which was rtive to Y''s own material. And since I still have the means to ess the Laughing ughterer''s pagoda, I''ll be able to obtain all the material needed to improve X from the rest of the puppets there.

    Which I''ll be doing very soon. But now, since I can''t waste time on improving material that I''ll be scrapingter, I''ll work on his offensive arsenal.

    I took the grenades and explosive poison canisters off of him then slowly began working on a tracking inscription.

    The inscription needs to be able to track the movement of an object, whether it is alive or not. So it should be able to track movement, then I''ll need a lock on. Which will be hard to achieve without some brainstorming.

    Qi signature is the best way to do this, but differentiating from friend or foe will need another inscription. Target.

    A scan of a Qi signature, and once it is memorized, the projectile should be able to use it as a reference to follow.

    This was slightly tricky to manage and it took me many days of trial and error until I figured out a way to do it, which was a simple divine sense inscription that can obtain information on a target''s qi signature.

    Thankfully even rocks have some Qi in them so they can also be used as targets if the order is given.

    Once I managed the inscription of targeted tracking. I ced it on a canister and threw it towards a random metal ingot I hadying about.

    And it resulted in aplete miss as the canister fully ignored the rock and exploded away from it.

    "Dumbass, even if the canister can track that, how will it follow¡­" I sighed and began making actually rockets.

    A long tube with an explosive head, and inside the tube was a mid-grade spiritual stone that will enable a formation at the bottom of the tube to propel the whole rocket forward.

    Then a small inscription linked to loose wings on the sides of the rocket to help steer and guide it.

    I then ced the rocket inside a mortar shooting tube, where an inscription was ced at the bottom of it to initiate the shot.

    Once I activated the inscription, the rocket shot up with extreme speed and then immediately pivoted mid-air as it had detected the random target I ced for it and thennded slightly a meter or two away from it. but it was close enough and the test was almost perfect.

    I then began by adjusting the wings and formation that could control them and even modified the inscriptions a bit to have the best effect.

    And after a few more tries, I was finally happy with how my first tracking rocket worked.

    "Well, that''s perfect, now let''s make a twelve-round incendiary rocketuncher, this will definitely surprise a lot of people. I can''t wait to see the surprise on their faces once this is done." I grinned as I could only imagine finalizing this work.

 Chapter 210: Upgrades for You, You and You!

    <h4>Chapter 210: Upgrades for You, You and You!</h4>

    Work progressed as the days went on, and rocketunchers were apparently the least impressive idea I had to date.

    As a matter of fact, I managed to create a third puppet, named Z, this one, wasn''t as big as Y, nor as lethal as the new upgraded X. But rather, small, could cozily fit in the palm of my hand but at the same time, its use was extremely helpful.

    This was all thanks to a quick visit I did to the Laughing ughter''s Pagoda. Which was far inferior to the Lord of Lords pagoda, but still in the sixth room, the Half Soul Formation puppets were still there.

    Y made quick work of every puppet there, dismantling them and disabling them.

    But sadly, I couldn''t get up to the next floors and see what the Laughing ughterer had in store.

    It seems that he ced a mechanism that will only allow Soul Formation cultivators to enter.

    And since I didn''t have a ''soul'' which would be birthed from the golden core I have right now once I be a Nascent Soul cultivator. The gates were shut in my face.

    I tried to use inscriptions to open the path, but there seems to be something stopping me, aw of sorts that I didn''t understand.

    And since the Laughing ughterer''s pagoda didn''t have the time dtion option, spending any more time here trying to open the next areas will only waste my own time where I should be seeking upgrades.

    So I had to give up and return to the Lord of Lords pagoda and continue working after I had all the material needed to do two major upgrades.

    The first was Z, he was like a small spider, with the ability to inject poison into its prey, and at the same time, its speed was extreme to the point it could break the sound barrier. This was of course all possible to achieve using a Top Grade Spirit Stone as its main power source, and at the same time, minor understanding of specialw.

    Since Z was small, having too many inscriptions written on all over its body to have it do proper function was close to impossible. So, I took a few weeks to slowly learn more about gravitationalw from the Egg of Delusions.

    And ended up with some understanding of how to use special rooms to createpact inscriptions on the very fabric of space.

    This might sound like a reallyplex thing to do, but apparently, if you consider space like a sphere made of unlimitedyers, I would just need to pick one of the many many, manyyers that ovep on top of Z''s spider body and write on it, then once I finish an inscription and have no space, I''ll use my own understanding of thew, and pick anotheryer of space and write the second bit of inscription on Z''s body which also oveps with his outeryer.

    This could be used an indefinite amount of time, and I can continuously upgrade Z or X or Y, the only problem is, for my current understanding I cannot abuse this fact for now. Because I can only use about eight to nineyers that are connected to Z''s body, instead of the unlimited amount avable to me due to myck of understanding, and secondly, it''s because the moreyers I use, the more Qi is needed to transfer themand dimensionally fromyer toyer.

    Though the inscriptions are in separate spatialyers, they still need to be connected at one point for an overall functioning and coherent inscription. But at the same time, transferringmands from dimension to dimension requires a huge amount of Qi. And for now, though a Top Grade spirit stone can easily fulfill Z''s needed Qi, I wouldn''t want to increase the dimensionalyers lest I exhaust the Top Grade spirit stone for no reason.

    A Saint Qi crystal would allow greater use of this method of spacew, but I only have one that I''m keeping saved up for Y. The other is nourishing my spiritual garden.

    Now back to my newest creation, Z is able to spy, infiltrate, and even decipher or disrupt Restrictions to a limited degree. His Qi signature is close to nonexistent, and he can easily gather around itself and shape itself into a small random rock.

    As for offensive abilities, I only gave him a poison needle and a small container full of Bone and Body Grinding Poison that was fully refined using my own Poison Qi.

    The moment Z injects someone with his needle, I''ll be able to detonate my own Qi from where I am and cause death to whoever was injected, not only that, since it was the Bone And Body Grinding Poison, it on itself is deadly enough to any cultivator.

    "Come," I said and the small spider jumped up to my palm, then skittered up to my shoulder and rested there.

    "Good," now, for another upgrade I''ll need to visit the Laughing ughter''s pagoda.

    The second upgrade was X, as I had to rece a few of his battered bits and pieces with the other puppets. Then removed the old inscriptions and supplied him with a core simr to the one that Y had. This allowed for better Qi usage.

    I even created turbine jets on the bottom of his legs which will allow him flight.

    And since I was working on this I added a few questionable weaponry on him that will definitely get me charged for giarizing a certain Tony''s work.

    But since I was in a cultivation world, if he can find me, he can sue me.

    Once I was done with X''s core makeover and full repairs, I allowed myself to inscribe two spatial inscriptions on X''s hips.

    One on each side.

    Then I pulled the two twelve chamber rectangr incendiary rocketunchers I made and ced them neatly on his hips.

    Now X has the two rocketunchers on his hips and looks like a fully armored terminator.

    "Fly," I said to X, and he immediately flew up, ejecting himself upwards without a hitch.

    "Target," I said as I pointed at a pretty big target I made for testing.

    "FIRE!" I called, and immediately the rockets shot forward as if death and doom were delivered.

    The rockets shot forward without missing a beat, and flew with enough speed to easilypete with any Nascent Soul cultivator and even faster.

    Then came the sh and loud explosions that rocked the whole Lord of Lords pagoda followed with thick gas and smoke, a poison that shot all over the white room that I was in leaving me unable to see for a moment.

    I coughed a bit, this was pretty damn dangerous, though the cost of making each and every rocket was high and time-consuming, to see this effect, it was damn worth it.

    This explosive effect was strong enough to cause fear and fright in the souls of anyone below the Soul Transformation cultivation level.

    Long live modern warfare.

    X came down and I gave him amand to lightly tap on the area where the boxes were connected to his hips.

    Immediately, the two rocketunchers disappeared into the spatial formation.

    I had only one word for what just happened.

    "Dayum"

 Chapter 211: A Certain Octopus Would be Proud.

    <h4>Chapter 211: A Certain Octopus Would be Proud.</h4>

    "Good, now I''ll just need to make a mechanism to reload the rocketunchers, or outright have many of them stockpiled inside the spatial inscription, and Y can easily swap in new rocketunchers for used ones."

    I then began creating even more rockets andunchers and this took several months for me to finally be satisfied with how many rockets I had.

    I then began upgrading the bullets I had, for more lethal, faster, and even deadlier ones. But since the workload was too much for me, I actually began thinking about making something to help me facilitate this.

    Inscribing the bullets was easy to work since I can easily just use one inscription on a talisman, and then pull it and ce a copy of it on however many bullets I have.

    The problem was making the bullets was the thing that was annoying and boring. It was mundane work, and how amazing it was since X came to me and said, "Teach me how to make those," he said.

    And lo and behold, I showed X how to make bullets from regr Meteorite steel, and how to make them hollow so I can ce poison inside them. He immediately understood and began recreating them to perfection, and far faster than even I could.

    Z was also helping, as he easily grabbed small materials and took them to X who began cutting and rounding up the bullets, then stockpiled them for me to inscribe and ce poison pills in themter.

    This was pretty damn good. Sadly Y was too massive to be of help and only sufficed with standing still and watching over how everything was going.

    More time went by, and today made the first year I spent inside the white room.

    The automaton came and reminded me of how much I had spent here, and looking at one year worth of progress I was impressed with how fast time could fly by when one is invested in this.

    The materials I owned were almost fully depleted, but the arsenal I have in my possession right now would make any old-world country think of me as a national threat.

    With my gearing almost done and finished, thest thing I needed to make was currently in front of me.

    As I slowly worked on four separate arms, that were slightly longer than any regr human arms.

    Each arm was at least my size in length, and each of them was packed full of inscriptions to the point that I was having a headache to make it all coherent.

    But since I had nothing but time, trial and error, I had to make this work.

    The arms were defensive treasures, that also had an offensive ability.

    Two of them were inscribed with Y''s own Demon ying Swords.

    The other two were inscribed with Y''s own Defensive barrier while at the same time they were hollowed as they each were able to shoot bullets from their palms.

    The strength behind each arm was enough to bore through a meteorite steel te like if it was butter.

    But having them coordinate with each other by the speed of thought was the most annoying, challenging, and at the same time hardest thing I had ever had the opportunity to tackle.

    Because these arms weren''t recements for Y, but they were for me.

    Finishing the prototype took me a long while, but at the same time, it was worth it.

    I used the same inscription that I had on X''s hips and ced one on each of the shoulders of my reinforced robe. Then the other two on the robes'' hip area.

    Once the arms were done and ready, I moved back to the other side of the room.

    "Y, your time. Lower your fighting input to slightly above Nascent Soul," I said.

    "As youmand master," Y said and then I could visibly notice the Qi flow from him receding.

    "Now,e fight me," I said.

    Y didn''t even hesitate to st forward, it was fast and sudden enough that I actually got a small fright, as I had hoped for the clich¨¦ ''are you sure master,'' or some other shit, but apparently, a directmand supersedes politeness.

    Y''s sword came down with impressive speed, I was fully capable of seeing it, but I knew damn well I wouldn''t be able to dodge it in time.

    Yet before Y could stop his sword from splitting me in two, the formation on my left shoulder lit up and a massive arm shot out with a sword in hand and parried the iing sword.

    This allowed Y to follow up with the second sword. That came low and rising.

    Another arm shot up from my right shoulder and struck down with its own sword blocking Y.

    Y followed with a kick to my chest since both of the puppet arms on me were already unable to defend me.

    The ones on my hips came out, one of them immediately pointed a palm forward creating a pentagonal barrier that blocked Y''s kick but not the power behind it as I was shot back like a rocket from a cannon.

    The arms on me, however surprisingly began creating barriers and pping the ground lightly to stop me from breaking my back on contact.

    And before Y could even follow up, I was already on my feet, grinning and smiling like a mad man.

    The two hip arms pointed at Y and began shooting hails of bullets at Y who began slicing away at them like some guy from an animated series.

    "Xe on in, join the fun!" I said and X immediately pulled out the rocketunchers.

    "FUCK! NO NOT THOSE!" I shouted, and I could feel the dissatisfaction from X.

    Bruh, you might be happy with your new toys but I really don''t wanna be the first to die with them''.

    X then came at me, and we began a sparring match thatsted for a long, long time.

 Chapter 212: The Rage of A King, And the Confidence of A Cultivator

    <h4>Chapter 212: The Rage of A King, And the Confidence of A Cultivator</h4>

    "DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" roared the voice of a man too powerful for his voice to be blocked by mere walls as they crumbled from the sudden wrathful shout.

    The Wind Pce shook and had many of its windows and walls break from the voice of a King in aplete rage.

    "Please, dear husband! I didn''t mean it like that!"

    In front of the king was his wife, and his eldest son who had the grimmest look one had ever seen on him.

    Not even a month ago, this very stoic and emotionless son, the returner from banishment had presented his father with the greatest gift a son could ever make. Had also saw joy and happiness.

    This very son was too precious for the king to anger or make worry, but the current events unfolded and things happened in a way none of them expected.

    "That''s why I shouldn''t have said anything¡­ your mere thoughtless words caused the gravest of actions, and now I have sinned to my pious son. Wife of mine, get out of my sight." The king said.

    The wife tried to speak, as she raised her hand forward to implore for forgiveness, but the sight of the boiling range in the Wind King''s face made her unable to utter a word.

    She then turned to Zhang Tian and said in a pitiful voice, "I''m sorry, I really didn''t expect things to turn this way." She said and left, weeping from what she felt was unfair.

    After a few moments, Zhang Tian sighed, "You shouldn''t really be this angry against her. It was Lin''s own design."

    "But the fault remains with me, for speaking to her about the friend you made. If I hadn''t mentioned to her that he aided you, and the fact that he came to the lesser Celestial Realm, none of this would have happened." The king said.

    "That''s just some bad luck", Zhang Tian said, "Afterall, I''m sure that my brother was the one who leaked the fact that Shen Bao came to the Lesser Celestial realm, and the fact that no regr Core Cultivator can even go there, made it easy to figure out that he was somehow teleported there. A small work of divination would certainly give anyone the idea that he came to the Lesser Celestial realm via trial, and the only trail that opens is the Lord of Lords. So figuring out where the Lord of Lords trail emerged from was easy once all the dots were linked, and any divination cultivator can easily figure out that Shen Bao came from Si Xue."

    "Yes son, I figured as much, but this is angering me to no ends. The Fire King always despised us and finding an opportunity to harm us in enving Shen Bao came too easy to him. He must have known of the fact that you gave me an Eternal ze, made him act rashly because if he were to harm the very person that saved my son, trying to break through my current realm with such guilt will be the same as asking for death." The king said.

    "I know, The Fire King is thest one who wants to see you seed in breaking through. But still, I highly doubt that Shen Bao will be caught and enved. When worsees to worst, he''ll be able to escape using the Puppet. My only fear is if the Fire King has several Ascendants waiting outside the, which will make Shen Bao''s situation pretty dire."

    "Right, I''ll send a few high-level cultivators to wait outside the edge of the barren domain. And have several half ascendants keep guards near the for any foul y, if they find the opportunity to extract Shen Bao, they''ll do it."

    "There is risk in that, we don''t know how many of them work for my brother, so unless they are cultivators who arepletely loyal to us, then I don''t want them there, they''ll expose Shen Bao, and that''s the same as signing his death warrant."

    "Ah! Such headache I''m gonna have from this¡­" the King Said.

    "Yes, I''m still thinking of a n of action, so let''s think together and see how we can solve this." Zhang Tian said. and the two of them sighed in defeat as the current situation was the worse thing possible, and the least they expected to happen.

    ****

    While all of this was happening, the unknowing cause of the imminent doom of an entire was currently sparing against his puppets in a white domain where thews of the time were heavily altered.

    ***

    "Okay, okay, stop, I''ll die at this rate," I said as I huffed barely able to catch my breath.

    Both Y and X stopped.

    "You can stop your Qi expenditure Y, also X, good job on holding your punches," I said as I fell on my back and took several deep breaths.

    "Man, it''s strange, to feel only exhausted when my mental age is that of an old man where after this practice I should feel on the verge of death."

    Iid on my back in a supine position,ughing.

    With the new toys I''m able to fight against Y while he is in Soul Formation level, and X at 60% power. This is pretty damn good. Sadly, I can''t push out more, not because the arms I just made were weak, but because my own cultivation level was too low to sustain this battle.

    This leaves me needing to upgrade my personal strength. Because as a Core cultivator, I''m still far from using all of these new upgrades I have.

    I need to go out and collect the Soul Origin fruits.

    Sighing I stood up, and teleported outside the location I was in and into the open field where the nts were, only to find someone I least expected.

    "Sect Master," I said nodding at the Sect Master.

    "What brings you here?" I asked.

    She still had the prissy look on her face, "Boredom, I don''t think I can improve anymore while in secluded cultivation. This ce is good for novice and starting cultivators, but the Qi here doesn''t feel natural."

    ''Oh, she can actually sense that, that''s not bad.''

    "Yes, the Qi here is artificial, it is bountiful and plenty, but it''s missing the natural Heavenly Law."

    "No wonder you don''t cultivate it," she said.

    ''Well, I''m not gonna correct her and say that I can''t cultivate it even if I wanted to.''

    Moments of silence passed between us, this felt like those dry dating apps conversations and I didn''t have the back to carry this whole thing.

    "So¡­" I said, which was the driest thing I could think of and use.

    "¡­, I was wondering where Lao Bofan went."

    ''Bullshit, Elder Yun must have told her where he went, she is probably just trying to have a conversation.''

    "He went to meet up with a friend, but things aren''t looking too good," I said.

    "What do you mean? Did something happen to Bofan?" she asked concern for her sect members clear in her eyes.

    "Not him per se, but the whole of Si Xue is kinda in a pickle right now," I said.

    Wonder and worry were painted on her delicate face, so she asked, "Exin."

    ''Man, politeness was definitely not in her settings.''

    "The Fire King, ruler of the southern domain decided that this was going to be his ything, and is preparing an invasion force that should arrive in a month and few days. So yeah, just basic cultivator stuff."

    The Sect master''s eyes widened, fear gripped her heart at the gravity of the words I just spoke.

    "Are you serious?" she asked.

    "As serious as a heart attack."

    She had a frown of wonder on her face for a moment because she probably didn''t understand what I meant, but still, the situation dawned on her.

    "This is grave. The Fire King isn''t someone that we can escape. I can probably pull a few strings and have one from the ck Tower aid you in escape. Then you can take the whole sect away from this doomed, but it''s a really tall order." She said as the gears in her head started grinding.

    "I''m thankful, but I already epted joining, so that''s not gonna work, also, the ck Tower is only allowing people with a golden insignia to leave. So¡­yeah,"

    The sect master looked up at the fake sky and let out a defeatedugh.

    "Such cruel fate awaits us, Shen Bao," She said.

    "Hmm, probably, but I highly doubt it, I wouldn''t have joined the fight if I didn''t know I could win, also," I said as I pulled a golden insignia from the ck tower.

    "If things get ugly," I said as I threw her the golden insignia, "You can always leave."

    She grabbed it, eyes wide in disbelief, "How do you own such a thing?"

    "Luck, I guess. Anyway, you can use that to leave if things be ugly, and you can even take your whole sect with you. They will allow it if you tell them it''s me who gave you that, and you won''t even need to hide anymore." I said.

    "This¡­I can''t take this, it is yours, you should be the one using it not me."

    "Like I said, I''m not worried for my own safety, unless they send in ascendants, I hardly doubt I''ll just die in some random ditch. Heck, this is the best event that happened currently, I''m gonna get as much contribution as I could and make a name for myself." I said shrugging.

    "Aren''t you trying to bite more than you can chew, I know you have a mysterious cultivation and a powerful puppet, but that doesn''t make you invincible."

    "It doesn''t, but it makes me damn hard to kill, like I said, you can leave right now and take your whole sect with you, start a new sect in a new under the protection of the ck Tower," I said.

    The sect master tightened her hand on the token and said, "Then I won''t be polite, don''t regret this once I use it."

    I shrugged, "Do as you wish. Like I said, it''s useless to me right now. Anyway, I''ll need to collect some of those fruits, I need to increase my cultivation level a bit, so excuse me," I said as I walked past her and began harvesting some of the Nascent Origin Soul fruits.

    I pulled a few of them that were as big as fully ripe oranges and left the rest on the tree. Then walked away.

    "Wait," she said.

    "If, by some chance, you manage to survive this ordeal¡­" words were trapped in her throat before she uttered, "Come find us. Without the Three Legged Raven sect''s oppression, and a new world, the Purple Cloud sect can prosper once again."

    "Emm. Yeah, why not. Automaton," I said and the puppet that managed the Lord of Lords pagoda appeared.

    "Allow the sect master and her sect exit if she wishes," I said.

    "Right master."

    "We''re currently in a city that has a ck Tower, and here," I said as I ced a jade next to my temple and handed it to the sect master.

    "Take this to any of the guards, and they''ll provide you means of exit," I said.

    The sect master grabbed the jade and nodded.

    Then she teleported back to her pce where she began rounding up her disciples.

    "Master, is this wise?" asked Y, through divine sense.

    "I would have fewer things to worry about, so it''s fine."

    "Do you not fear someone will let the secrets of this ce out?"

    "That''s why I have you," I spoke.

    "Indeed master. If anyonees with bad intentions, I''ll make sure to make them pay for them."

    "Good, thank you Y," I said.

    "Now, how about we attack that Nascent Soul stage¡­"

 Chapter 213: Two, Each of a Taste. Each of a Function.

    <h4>Chapter 213: Two, Each of a Taste. Each of a Function.</h4>

    With the fruits collected I headed back into the white room and sat down admiring them, they looked like overgrown peaches, with very beautiful and vivid color to them, a bright mix of orange and some red spots.

    The fruit itself had a very appealing smell and would definitely make anyone salivate for a bite.

    I began looking through the Poison God''s recopies for the Nascent Soul Fruit usages in alchemy, and if I could get more benefits from it by transforming it into a pill.

    But I found nothing but the direct usage of the actual fruit is the best use of its properties and gives the most benefit. No attempt at creating an alchemy recipe had managed to fully preserve or increase the potency of the fruit itself.

    Since the fruit had a heavenlyw within it, it would only be wasted if diluted or modified by human means and tools.

    So I bit the bullet, or in this situation, the fruit.

    Heavenly juice seeped from it as I bet, which made me feel like I have bitten through something from another world. It was tasty, sweet and immediately, made my mind feel like it had gone through a st that cleared every fog that ever tempered with it.

    That hidden wrath and rage I''ve been trying to suppress was almost immediately snuffed out. And my whole body began vibrating with undted energy that I never thought I had before.

    Qi, this is Qi, something I never ever had the ability to sense, feel or use, and now it was coursing through my meridians, as if it was the purest of water springs, cleansing and cleaning all the muck and wrongness that the Bone and Body Grinding Poison had caused me.

    However, I knew well that this Qi, was not mine and will never be mine, it was only here as an additional effect of the fruit.

    But at the same time, since this Qi was made by heavenly order, it was still able to impact and affect my own poison Qi.

    My meridians soaked up in this naturally pure QI and fused it into them, then slowly began rotating it between them, spreading the natural Qi evenly all over my spiritual system. Then it came the turn for the Dantian, as the moment all the meridians were full they sent the rest of the Qi to the Dantian for storage.

    But I didn''t need to store this, because it wouldn''t have been helpful to me anyway, so I began using this Qi to rotate my core, slowly but surely, the golden core in the middle of my Dantian began moving and rotating around itself like a small.

    And the more Qi from the fruit was sent in the faster it rotated, and the faster it moved the more power the Core began generating.

    Then, came the first breakthrough, my core''s energy reached its maximum limit, and then, since it couldn''t sustain the Qi, it began growing, inting to a bigger size to host the Qi.

    "Fifth Core stage! Done!"

    The Core however didn''t stop rotating, as this whole thing was nothing but a single bite from the whole fruit, and this was already enough to push me to the next Core Stage.

    I took another bite, and then the same thing happened again, with the Qi revolting and raging within me, unharming yet overbearing, powerful yet gentle, not aiming to harm and only aiming to create.

    Qi gathered, raged, roared, and sted outwards of my body, as I made a second breakthrough.

    "More!" I said as I finished off the rest of the fruit.

    This gave me an even greater surge of Qi, that caused me to shake.

    My meridians, since they weren''t ustomed to the natural worldly Qi became confused as they weren''t able to fully handle the Qi surging from within the remains of the consumed fruit.

    Thus I made an active attempt to move the Qi I was getting from the fruit into the Dantian, and left the golden Core to do its job, rotating around itself like a top, gathering all the Qi around it.

    The golden core broke through once again, to the seventh, then the eighthyer. But I was already running on fumes, I then took another bite from another Nascent Origin Soul Fruit and immediately noticed that the quality of the Qi I received from this fruit was far, far, far less than the first one.

    Then it hit me, perhaps this fruit is only one-time use, and secondary uses won''t help with breakthroughs but only supply Qi. Still, that wasn''t a problem. The Qi I got was still substantial, and eating more of the same fruit will aid in the following breakthrough.

    I then began eating more of the few fruits I had left and used all the Qi I generated to break through the Eight to the Ninthyer, but immediately, I felt like my whole body was husked out the moment my Golden Core inted for the ninth time.

    Because its size,pared to the massive water fortress I have inside my sea of consciousness looked like a literal sunpared to an ant.

    All the Qi that was saturating my body had immediately disappeared inside the massive sun-like golden core, and looking at it right now, it seemed that it was moving at a snail''s pace.

    And I had no way to keep it rotating and reach the next and final stage to breakthrough. Or do I?

    I pulled another item that I didn''t really want to use, but a factor I noticed in the point and contribution rewards from the uing wars made me less skimpy on using it.

    It was the Law Fruit. This thing is almost the same as a Nascent Soul Origin fruit, only this one supplies Law knowledge and understanding instead of aiding the growth of a Nascent Soul.

    But if it is also filled with heavenlyw and Qi, then, this is something that I didn''t use before, so it won''t be downgraded in Qi quality like the Origin Nascent Soul fruit.

    I then pulled up the Law Fruit, hesitation was clear on my face as I didn''t want to lose the Law Lines written on it.

    But remembering the fact that the Lord of Lords pagoda can temporarily hide my presence from heavenly eyes, I had a pretty bold idea.

    I pulled the ck Merchant''s Quill and Inkpot and began writing all thew lines on the Law Fruit on a talisman. And once I was done, I waited, for the thunderbolt toe down, but nothing happened.

    Grinning, I continued on writing the lines while I gave my body some time to rx and rest from the consecutive breakthroughs.

    Though it would be best to do several breakthroughs in one breath and in one momentum, I''m not too crazy to attempt breaking into the Nascent Soul without fully stabilizing my current cultivation.

    And thus, I gave my body time, as I wrote all the Heavenly Laws on a talisman, then began doing something that was slightly crazy. I began extracting thew liens and imprinting them on other talismans, so many other talismans that I had more than a few thousand of them once the day was done.

    This was, of course, to be usedter, as a very surprising, unorthodox method of guaranteeing my survival.

    Once I felt I was fully rested, andpletely well after eating a lot of other pills to calm my mind and restore some soul and mental energy that I lost in today''s events.

    I prepared to tackle the final advent.

    Getting to the Nascent Soul stage isn''t going to be hard. After all I saw Meng Hao doing it while he was half dead. So how hard could that be?

    Then I immediately regretted my words, because Meng Hao had the Main Character Aura seeping from him, and I just raised the biggest g of my life.

    I sighed then pulled thew fruit in front of me and said, "Be good to me," then took a bite.

    If the first fruit tasted like heaven, this one, tasted like utter shit,pletely disgusting, unmistakably corrupted, and impossibly bad.

    The taste was worse than a seven days old piece of cheese mixed with fish guts that were left inside the stomach of a dead bloated camel that spent several weeks under the desert sun.

    It was so bad I almost gaged, it was so bad my eyes teared up and my whole body shook and shuddered. But the Qi it supplied me, was tens, no even hundreds of times more than even the first bite of the Nascent Origin Fruit.

    But at the same time, I knew damn well, that I needed to finish up this whole thing, because it dawned on me, that if I don''t fully finish eating this, what I will get will be iplete. It was a feeling I had, and I tided through it.

    With snot leaving my nose, and my stomach desperately trying to push back this atrociousness and the devilish torturous thing I was giving it, but I kept on eating, as the Qi began surging to my Dantian, and the massive core, that felt like it wouldn''t move in a thousand years, budged, then slowly rotated.

    The more I ate, the more I suffered the more the Golden Core spun, and at the same time, I noticed that the golden core''s spiraling motions, were a reason to rejoice.

    The very symbols on thew fruit I was eating, were slowly painting themselves on the outer crust of the golden core. This only made me braver into going for more of this disgusting thing. And I did, and it was awful, but the rewards, as I happened to realize by the end, were damn worth eating this putrid thing.

    Even if by just a little¡­

 Chapter 214: Success

    <h4>Chapter 214: Sess</h4>

    My mind was racked by millions upon millions of random symbols, I could see them as they moved towards my brain like they wanted to impart themselves onto the outer crust of both my mind and my core. Yet, if a hundred thousand of those symbols crashed into me, I felt a connection to only a couple at most.

    The wave of Heavenly Symbols seemed endless, yet the more there were, the greater the benefit. As I was trying to grasp understanding from this phenomenon, more and more symbols that I recognized and connected with made it to me, and inherently I began to understand slightly more about space.

    Law, in its essence, is a rule of the world. But once a cultivator understands thew, in essence, they can mold, modify and adjust this very rule to their own benefit. But Law is intangible.

    Physics decrees that the increased motion of molecules in a certain area or space creates heat. But understandingw makes one able to alter this very fundamental rule of physics to their own bidding.

    This is the same thing I saw when I faced the Soul Transformation''s domain, where he used cold mes that could both sear and freeze. Trying to apply physics to Law is impossible, but the opposite can be done.

    And Law is like a type of ''magic'' that one can do, and alteration of the rules of physics and rtive normalcy in our days to do something that cannot beprehended. Though, iprehension is for mortals who seek to deduce and understand the world through physics, while immortals go a step beyond, and can apply thew to seek a new domain or dimension where regrws of physics cannot be applied, where a mortal can see someone regenerating an entire limb could be a miracle, for a mortal it''s an application of Law to regenerate a limb.

    And in front of me, on this massive charging wave ofw, I could grasp but two. Law of Gravity, and Law of Fire.

    The two are the only things I could inherentlyprehend, as their symbols were ''visible'' and clear, while the rest of thews were illegible scribbles that I didn''t waste time trying to hoard or understand lest I lose the small portions of Gravitational and Fire Laws.

    Hours went by as I was soaking in the symbols and once my Core was perfectly coated with hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of symbols, the effect of the fruit ended, and then began the Qi surge.

    That surge came at me like a stampede of frightened rhinos. The Qi was so powerful, and far, far more brutal than the Nascent Origin Soul fruit. It was as if the Law Fruit wanted to force its way into my meridians and Dantian, and if I don''t allow it, it will break everything in its path to achieve its goal.

    So I had to surrender control, and immediately, regretted it.

    My spiritual veins felt like they inted as massive loads of Qi surged through them and began funneling into my meridians, once they filled the meridian, they went into the next one.

    Spiritual Veins popped and burst, creating Qi leaks, but I managed to force the little Poison Qi I had left, not to guide, but to repair and stanch the leaks.

    My nose and mouth shot out blood as the force of the Qi were too much to control, but I had to continue repairing, because I was currently feeling like stic explosives coated with a very thinyer of foil, and the moment thatyer of foil is broken, I''ll blow up. So I had to do my best to preserve my veins lest I be an impressive stter on the ground.

    Pressure rose up in my mind and made me feel like I was going to have a hemorrhage in my brain due to how much I was trying to keep up with the rampaging Qi.

    This is the very point where I envy Meng Hao. As he broke the Nascent Soul without much difficulty, while side character me is suffering hell untold to just take the next step into the cultivation path.

    Off with the negative thoughts, I should focus up, my life is on the line.

    Once the Qi surge reached the Dantian, then came the time of the true test.

    The Qi surged inside my Dantian like biblical punishment winds. They surged, roared, and rose up high and began forcefully spinning the massive core, the very core felt like it was about to suffer and be destroyed due to the massive amount of Qi forcing its way into it. But it held on and rotated allowing the Qi ''wind'' to move it.

    Soon, the Core spiraled and spiraled some more, and instead of being spun by the wind, it became the eye of the storm as it began to call forth not only the wind but even my sea of consciousness to it.

    The Qi, natural from the Law Fruit, and my own Poison Qi, shaped into my sea of consciousness began rising up, as a massive pir of water, that looked like a reverse typhoon rose up, while the Qi winds rotated shaping into a massive storm and the core was the center of all.

    My mind threatened to break from the impact of all of what was happening, as in fact, the very foundations I built to protect my mind from any Divine Sense assault, my prized sea fortress tore, and ripped from its ce. The very ships and towers I made, the walls and buildings, even the massive rocketunchers I had were all withheld down, broken, and ripped from their ce and sucked into the storm.

    the storm raged on, rose up, and a scene like the end of the world was before me as the world spiraled and the first crack on the Core appeared.

    Then following it, more and more cracks showed up on the outer crust, then immediately, it broke, caving into itself with all the symbols pushing forward to the inside of the ''hollowed'' core.

    The natural Qi, the Poison Qi, and the broken crust of the core were sucked into a white void that slurped everything within my sea of consciousness to nothingness in an instant.

    A moment of relief, a moment where my mind became clear, then the white globe transformed into a young boy, that resembled me in my younger days.

    It sat down, with eyes closed and wore the same cultivation robes I had. The only difference was that his robes, instead of having my inscriptions, were filled with w''

    Just as I wanted to inspect this new ''creation'' I was ejected from my sea of consciousness and back into the white void of the training room.

    My stomach roiled and growled as saliva rose up and built up in my mouth.

    "Shit, it''sing," I muttered before I began hurling the most disgusting slime and sludge I ever released and I''ve seen myself ejecting some impurities that were darker than ck.

    But the impurities in this discharge were so dark, and were even moving, and massive that I had no idea I was carrying this much.

    My spine then began shaking, and I could feel the vertebrae on it snapping and shaking, then came another surge of vomiting. Then the bones on my body shuddered and my very joints crackled the sound of thunder as I closed my fists.

    My lungs expanded then I exhaled a dark disgusting ck fume and then finally fell on my knees huffing in exhaustion.

    Suddenly, long silky hair fell down next to my cheeks.

    Touching it, I realized that my hair grew all the way to my waist, and I just cut it off a few days ago because it was annoyingly long.

    Then noticed that my hand became slightly paler but far gentler looking.

    "Fuck!" I cursed, as I feared that I was once again age regressing, and with a fair hand like that, I might as well be a woman.

    I pulled a mirror from my side bag and realized that my fears were unfounded. Though I did age regress, and instead of an uncle in his thirties, I was more like a young man in his mid-twenties, exuding a youthful charm and youngness I''ve surpassed decades ago.

    I stood up, and knew damn well, that now I achieved Nascent Soul stage, so the thing I was most tempted to test was Teleportation.

    However, the moment I was fully standing, everything went white and I fell on my back¡­ darkness took me and I fell in its embrace.

 Chapter 215: War Preparations

    <h4>Chapter 215: War Preparations</h4>

    Three weeks had gone by in the outside world while Shen Bao wasatose. And a lot happened there and then.

    The skies above the city of Muyang were dark and red, and they have been like that for weeks now without anyone knowing the reason. It felt like a Divine Heavenly tribtion that was waiting to pour down hell and hail from above.

    While many cultivators went to inspect the reason and find out what, the most they could do was associate the phenomenon to someone going through a rise in their cultivation base, but at the same time either failing to seed or suppressing himself.

    Waves of divine sense washed over the city without figuring out the reason or the person responsible, and since the heavenly tribtion was just waiting, and didn''t act, the reason was soon forgotten for an even bigger issue.

    The ck tower had received some visitors who have to happen to obtain a golden insignia, yet the tower denied them exit, for that the owner of the Insignia was not with them.

    Shen Bao, who was unconscious couldn''t leave the Lord of Lord''s pagoda to confirm the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud Sect''s ''im'' of getting the insignia fairly. Not only was she denied, when she tried to present the small jade that would confirm Shen Bao allowing them to leave through the ck Tower, a man, in his ''rage'' at the unfairness of why others can leave and they couldn''t, managed tond a blow in his madness on the jade, breaking it and thus eliminating any chances of the Sect Master and her disciples leaving.

    Without the proof, and Shen Bao''s disappearance, the Sect Master was in a huge pinch, especially after she figured out that the man who acted that way was actually an elder of the Three Legged Raven Sect.

    This meant that not only was their cover and location blown, their only way of exit is exposed, and they couldn''t even get to Shen Bao to ask him for direct assistance. Since he was unresponsive, and the Purple Cloud sect couldn''t enter the Lord of Lord''s pagoda without getting to Shen Bao. And to make it worse, the ck Tower had denied the Purple Cloud Sect entry to the manor where Shen Bao was at. Which just ced them in the most dangerous position they could be in.

    Worse of all, even with the Purple Cloud Pce in the Sect Master''s hands, she couldn''t deploy it, and have it ready for the iing assault, not that it would have mattered. The purple cloud pce was already heavily weakened, and the Sect never had the opportunity to fix it or repair it, and even if it wouldn''t have mattered because all the Three-Legged Raven Sect, sect master, brother, and son. Han Chuzi, Yan Chuzi, Zhong Chuzi, were all heading towards Muyang where the events happened.

    The only thing the Sect Master could do was pull all the strings she could all her favors and get several chambers within the ck Tower for her disciples. And now, they have been trapped inside the Tower unable to leave, or move. Stuck as the Three-Legged Raven Sect had made its way into the city and now only waited for the opportunity to get their hands on the Sect Master, to appease some of their shame for having been ridiculed for having a low tier sect escape entirely from their grasp, without anyone figuring out how.

    While this was going on, in the other space, from the south was a surging powerful forceing in at maximum velocity. The army of the Fire King moved about, though they were far less in numerical and cultivation quality, they were, for the of Xi Son an iing nightmare.

    Two hundred Ascendant warriors came into the outer space of Xi Son, they all had a token on their chest signifying their allegiance to the Fire King, and this very token was suppressing more than two-thirds of their Qi allowing them to not be ejected by the suppression of the Qi quality of the barrennds.

    The barrennds, where Xi Son, the where Shen Bao was on, was a vast unimed area in the massive vast expanse. However, the moment a cultivator reaches ascendant status, they are forced to leave, otherwise, they''ll destroy the bnce of power, or be hunted by the heavens, for it wishes not to have whales swim in a pond.

    The majority of these Ascendant cultivators were carrying a pot with a single-lit incense. It gave off a rotten smell that smelled like putrid burnt flesh, but they carried it with reverence and pity as if they were carrying the holiest of things.

    The cultivators moved until they arrived at the rims of the and stopped. While the other cultivators who didn''t carry these pots had crimson bags in their hands that they opened up.

    The crimson bags then unleashed massive numbers of cultivators that shot down towards the. Twenty of them were Half Ascendants, and the rest were a mixture of Soul Transformation, Soul Formation, and many other Nascent Soul cultivators, there was a severeck of any cultivator below the Nascent Realm not because the Fire King didn''t have them, but because they were pointless in taking over a.

    The weakest were Nascent Souls, which were very powerful and had an amazing destructive ability on their own.

    The whole group came from the bags and sat looking down on the. Though they were here far earlier than anyone expected they couldn''t attack. By the decree of theary Covenant, though the Fire King''s army can approach the they cannot take residence in it until the time allowed of two months is over. Which was fast approaching its deadline.

    The three Half Ascendants that the of Xi Son had, were currently grouped up, in a pce deep in one of the highest mountain ranges of the Xi Son.

    "Damn, they''re already here," Hei Gua fu. Her lustrous and voluptuous body seemed to sigh along with her as she looked up to the skies.

    "Seems that our days are numbered, what do you think, old fools, should we give up and find a chance to join the Fire King? This is doomed." The bald monk said.

    Thest, oldest, and hooded Half Ascendant of the three scuffed as he said, "Do you think the Fire King will ept anyone of us? We''re far too weak for his army, and basically, we''re not even worth it in his eyes."

    "Old Yue, why did you decide to remain? Why not leave?" asked Hei Gua Fu.

    "I''ve spent many years here, child, I don''t wish to escape and see the world I lived in destroyed and turned to a graveyard of souls to be harvested then discarded like beast excrements after everything here is dead. I''d rather die than leave and give up my hometown, mynds, and my world."

    "Seems that you didn''t fully severe your emotions and attachment for this world, wouldn''t this be the very reason you couldn''t ascend?" asked the old monk.

    "Once you have lived the same as I did, you''ll understand." The hooded figure spoke.

    "Hah, at least your sense of humor is still good, how the heck do you think we can survive this," the old monk sighed.

    "I heard that a man with a golden insignia from the ck Tower appeared." Hei Gua Fu said.

    "Yeah, same, I heard that too, but he''ll definitely have bailed out by now." The monk said.

    "Apparently, he gave it to someone else to leave, but right now he is away and no one knows their location, he goes by the name Shen Bao if I remember." Hei Gua Fu said.

    "Hmm, someone is rather generous, even us three never got the chance to get one of those insignias. Anyway, it doesn''t matter, old man, when will theary inscription be ready?"

    "It should take two more months." The old man said.

    "Damn, they''ll already be here by then. Shit, we can use it to trap them, but can we survive for two months?"

    "Highly doubt it." the old man replied.

    "That''s cold, direct, brutally honest, and very urate. Seems like you''re as blunt as always," the old man sighed.

    "Anyway, let''s just hope for the best, there is nothing else we can do." Hei Gua Fu said and the three just sighed at the same time.

    The fate of Xi Son seemed Bleak, and they didn''t have any way out of it.

    While back in the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    More than a year had gone by while Shen Bao was unconscious. And for the first time in a long, long time, Shen Bao''s hand moved, and he shuddered as he opened his eyes.

    Taking a deep breath for what seemed to be the first time, Shen Bao''s first words were,

    "Holy shit, I need to take a piss so bad..."

 Chapter 216: Spatial Law

    <h4>Chapter 216: Spatial Law</h4>

    ''Heads up, the amount of mindfuckery and SCIFI I had to read/books and logical thinking I had to do to write this chapter is honestly something I feel proud of. But if you find something inconsistent/contradictory please tell me, though I doubt it cuz I''ve been checking and double-checking for my life''s worth to present to you, how I as a regr person, made teleportation an actually working theory... well that''s a bold im but I really really spent a good amount of time and a lot of brain cells making this, also this note was added after the chapter so you won''t be paying for it.''

    I threw away another book, and I''ve been like this for days. Piles and piles of spatialw books thrown, though my knowledge over spatialw has improved I''m still in the same situation I was in a week or so ago.

    "So, how the hell does one teleports here¡­" I thought as I was feeling more confused than ever. Thinking that teleportation is the knowledge that wille to you once you be a Nascent Soul Cultivator, when in fact it''s something you learn.

    But at the same time, how the hell did Meng Hao teleport the moment he reached Nascent Soul cultivation realm?

    I tried again, with the steps in one of the first manuals.

    Spread your divine sense, locate an area in space. And then swap¡­

    Fuck this shit, this isn''t working, what the fuck does swap even mean?

    I slumped down sighing. This is the most frustrating thing I''ve ever faced since I''ve be a cultivator. And I''ve been through some serious shit.

    But the frustrationes from the fact that I ''WANT'' to teleport, because subconsciously, and now consciously, I''m thinking that this is the closest one can get to superpower. No matter how hypocritical that sounds, since I''m practically able to use an invisible sonar called Divine Sense, and spew out toxic breaths at whims not to mention all the other shenanigans I can do. But this, To freely teleport is something that I want to have, for me.

    I took a moment to rx and began reassessing all the information I have learned. Perhaps I was missing something or overthinking something thus I''ll try again but this time slowly and see what was wrong.

    First off, to teleport, one must know what is space. And I''ve already identified space as an endless spherical globe made of endless intertwined straight sheaths of paper. Meaning that there is no up and down in space, no left and right, it''s all rtive.

    Space can be split into folds, hundreds, thousands, unlimited, and countless folds, one atop each other. But going from one ''sheet'' of space to another doesn''t mean that you changed dimension, but you''re in the same dimension only on a different frequency, a frequency that if someone isn''t in it, they cannot interfere with you, or they can but on a limited scale.

    Good, the basis is set up, now, for the more serious matters.

    A person can exist in multiple spatial sheets. Or any object. Or more like, many spatial sheets will intertwine into any single point of existence. But the presence, the actual presence of a person will always remain in the primary spatial sheet¡­let''s call it, spatial sheet Prime. The main spatial sheet is where everything we see exists.

    Now, to change an object''s mass, value, weight, or entire existence, one has to take it from the Prime Sheet and take it to a secondary sheet, this will cause it to ''disappear'' from sight. Since it is no longer in the same sheet, it will be in a different spatial sheet, thus making the object disappear, or be transparent, or translucent. It didn''t physically change location per se, but the whole space around it was transformed to another, and this made the existence of the object no longer avable in the prime spatial sheet.

    Okay, so far I''m not having any mental meltdowns because this seems rather basic and clear to all. (4th Wall warning) -Tbh as a writer my head hurts from just thinking this shit up and making it as logical as possible-

    Now, if this is the basis of spatial change and modification, applying this to a single sheet is not as easy. Because in theory, this will mean, that I''ll have to exit the Prime Spatial Sheet, enter through a secondary spatial sheet, and move a certain distance, then emerge back into the same primal sheet. This is teleportation on paper.

    Because trying to have an object physically change location from ce to ce without applying any motion force on it is incredibly against everything I''ve ever learned.

    Then, now that we have everything set up, one thing is bothering me, going to another spatial sheet and then moving, walking running flying a certain distance then appearing back in the Prime space means that it will take time. The time I didn''t have, or wouldn''t have, or shouldn''t even think about wasting in certain situations. That will be in sense teleportation, but it will be very slow, as in I would have spent the same time, flying from a point in space Prime to the second point in Space Prime, as I would have spent by going to a secondary space and then move all the way to appear back in space Prime.

    Thus, this makes it useless.

    However, if I go back to the first point I noted, where I said that all space, every bit of it, is intertwined and mixed into a supremely confusing merge of the spatial sheet, this will mean, that in a certain spatial sheet, the very point I wish to be in.

    I stood up and walked several steps back from the pile of books I was next to the had a hand under my chin as I was in deep thought.

    Now I want to teleport to the pile of books in front of me. But to do that, I must go into the ''multi space'' so leaving Space Prime.

    Let''s say I managed to do that.

    But I''ll find myself in the same point I am in right now in another space. However, what if I actively search for a space where instead of appearing in the same point I am in, I actually appear in the space where I am right on top of the books.

    That would make going back to Space Prime and appearing on top of the books look like instant teleportation, wouldn''t it?

    With the idea finding roots in my mind, I began to actively try it.

    Now with thews of space, I learned from the Law fruit, I could manage something I didn''t know I could do without actively thinking of this entric way of teleportation.

    I could actively pinpoint my location with a Law Sing, then with using divine sense¡­

    The mother of all headaches came at me with an iron bat and started batting my brains like a husband finding the man who his wife cheats on with on his bed.

    My head almost blew up from the amount of information that surged into my consciousness, and I fell down, throwing up from the dizziness.

    I apparently, tried to locate every single spatial fold around me, and this caused my mind to almost explode with useless information.

    But thankfully, this woke me up to a reality I wasn''t aware of, if I had tried to go into a different space, I might have found myself lost in a space all alone. But thanks to the Law sign I wrote, I managed to anchor myself, which seemed to be a necessary thing to do in order to change spatial sheets.

    And another thing, it''s the fact that I don''t need to search using divine sense everywhere, this will only cause my mind to blow up from trying to calcte all the spatial folds that exist through the span of my divine sense, which are a fuckload.

    So, I focused my divine sense into a straight line, which impressively could travel a disgustingly far distance, and pinpointed it on the books. Then, did the same as before.

    The headache was no more as I was able to actually find very, very, very few spatial pathways, and spatial sheaths that corresponded to my current location, and once I leave Spatial Prime, I''ll find myself in a sub-space where I''m actually standing on top of the book pile.

    And now, with the point of arrival pinpointed, and the spatial anchor positioned. Just the mere fact that I willed myself to walk, my vision swam and I found myself standing on the book pile.

    The spatial transfer was so fast, so incredibly fast, that I entered and was ejected for two different spatial sheets by the speed of thought¡­

    And thus, I made my first teleportation, based on theory, and not some stupid book that says, choose a location and swap¡­ swap my ass motherfucker!

    I MADE SCIENCE!

 Chapter 217: Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 217: Tribtion</h4>

    (Lot of sciencing happening in this chapter also, but it''s less confusing thanst one. At least this one I''m sure it will be rtable and clearer to understand because I''m using actual physicws instead of theories likest time.)

    I gotta admit, learning Teleportation was fun, actually too fun that I was honestly totally,pletely exhausted after a whole day''s worth of trying all the types of random crap I can do with teleportation.

    Though I dide across a few close calls, especially once when I miss wrote the anchoring inscription, and almost lost myself within the spacial folds, apparently, there is a sort of mechanism, that allows a person who left the current Primal spatial sheet to get back to it, it''s like it''s the default space that you will always return to if you don''t have a specific destination in mind.

    Also, I managed to upgrade a lot of my already underhanded battling techniques, to be even more underhanded. As it appeared, I could link an object, to a certain spatial sheet that was not the primal space, and keep it there, unlike myself, a living object, a none living object can exist within a different spatialyer without it being forced out of it. So, I pulled several explosives and nted them in a different spatialyer.

    They were not visible to the eye, and I even detonated one of them to see if their explosion would cause any interference within the prime space, but nothing seemed to affect the Prime space, or at least the explosive canister didn''t have enough impact to affect it.

    Still, this was a good way to hide things in subspaces and pull them whenever I wish to, it''s like using an inventory space only this one is very specific to me, and only I can open it and can peer through it. Because, of the billions upon billions of spatial folds, the chances of someone actually ending up finding my spatial sheet where I kept the bombs are extremely low, that is of course if they know how to even open a spatial sheet.

    This allows me to manifest the items I hid in the subspaces without even needing to move a muscle.

    Once I had all the fun I could, and theorized many ways I can use this newfound spatial knowledge, I began focusing on the second part of the spatialw I learned. The Gravitational Law.

    Which proved to be far, far, easier than actually teleporting.

    Gravitational Law is like trying to bnce and unbnce weights in empty space. It''s more of an equation than an actually spatial theory that I had to invent and prove.

    Gravity is simple, you want to increase gravity in a single point? Then make it heavier. Because every object has an inherent weight to it, and every weight has an inherent gravitational pull. That''s the reason whys have orbits and a gravitational pull, it''s because they are too damn big, and their size causes a pull to anything that is smaller than them, and even bigger than them.

    Gravitational pull is what''s causings to rotate and spin around each other, for example, my older sr system wasposed of nines and the sun. The sun''s size is so huge that it created a gravitational pull capable of pulling all of thes and keeping them moving around its orbit.

    As for why thes couldn''t ''leave'' the orbit of the sun, it''s because of the gravitational pull of the sun, it keeps dragging them back, while they tried to trebuchet themselves outside of its pull.

    The bnce is so perfect, that if you could somehow remove the sun in an instant, you''ll see every on that orbit shooting away from their orbits like a wrecking ball has its rope snap, it will shoot out until they are forced into another gravitational pull capable of retaining their size and manage them into its own orbit.

    This is a very crude method of exining gravitational pull, but it serves the purpose of what is Gravitational Law.

    To create a pull on something one must create weight in a certain space.

    I ced a small spirit stone on the ground and took a few steps away from it.

    I then pointed my finger at it.

    To apply a pulling power, I can make the weight of my finger heavy enough to create a pulling power capable of dragging or pulling the spirit stone towards it.

    However, to create a pulling power capable of contending with the gravitational pull of the entire I''m on, which is passively applying gravitational pull on that Spirit Stone, will mean that my finger needs to be too heavy for me to even think it would be humanly possible to carry, which immediately thwarted the idea I had into applyingw lines onto my finger unless I wanted to lose it.

    Thus, why make my finger heavy, when I can give substance to what doesn''t have substance?

    Space itself, though it is not tangible, can gain weight. Though this might sound stupid and unrealistic, the idea of ''ck Hole'' in space gives this very thought some light.

    What is a ck hole? It is not a hole per se, no it is space itself, bent, distorted, and caved in due to its own weight, creating a massive gravitational pull in space so strong and so powerful, that not even light can escape, thus the color ck.

    The visual distortion of the very ck hole from trapping light causes it to look like a hole, where in fact it is nothing of the sort. It''s more like a one-dimensional object in a three-dimensional space, it''s very hard to exin in words, but a ck hole is just a massive weight of nothingness if that makes any sense.

    So, I applied Gravitational Law, pulling all the small natural tendrils of Gravitationalw of the itself, stealing them for myself, and forcing them to connect to the tip of my finger.

    This made the spirit stone lose any gravitational attachment the was applying on it and was forced to fly towards the second best thing that was applying a gravitational force to it.

    And thus the spirit stone stuck to the tip of my finger.

    What I just did was a simple act of removing the ''Ethereal gravitational chains'' of the, and cing the spirit stone in a free-fall situation. Which caused it to move towards me.

    I could increase the speed at which the spirit stone moved by increasing the number of gravitational tendrils linked to my finger and having it move faster.

    Now, this was a small object, what about something bigger?

    The answer is, the same will apply if the condition is met.

    In theory, if I was able to remove every gravitational line of an entire mountain that attached it to the, I could actually pull it with the same ease towards me as I did to this pill.

    Because, weight is irrelevant in free fall, a bowling ball and a feather will fall at the same speed in a none gravitational free-fall situation.

    And the same would happen to the mountain, but it will not be as simple.

    The spiritual pill had only a few lines anchoring it to the. But a mountain has so many lines that the mere thought of trying to remove all of them will cause one to sigh in desperation. However, it is not impossible.

    And thus, the gravitationalw study has ended.

    It was far simpler than teleportation, but I''m more than certain it isn''t less relevant. Being able to manipte the gravity of objects, or other things in the middle of a fight is something that can save one''s life. So, all is good.

    Now with all of this managed, I should probably get out and see what''s going on. After all, I''ve been unconscious for a long while after bing a Nascent Soul cultivator, and probably need to leave this ce and have a breath of fresh natural air.

    Also, I''ll need to ask the ck Tower if they had sent the Purple Cloud pce yet.

    I then pulled the token and teleported outside of the pagoda and back into the manor.

    Where just as I sat foot, I felt a dreary air premating the ce, almost like something bad was going to happen.

    The world rumbled and the skis coiled in desperate frustration that was about to be appeased. Thunder broke rumbling the very ground I was under as I realized something very annoying was happening.

    "Shit¡­Heavenly Tribtion," I mumbled.

    The heavenly tribtion I was facing apparently was far worse than the one that Meng Hao was facing, not because I was better than him, but apparently, the more one tried to avoid it, the stronger it bes, and right now, the red clouds were covering the entire city and were threatening to bring down hails of thunder and lightning down on my head very, very soon.

    I walked out of the manor and immediately felt hundreds upon hundreds of divine sensesing towards me, I took a step forward and felt that my whole body felt so weightless that I could¡­fly.

    And I did, I jumped up and found myself torpedoing through the skies, I even used my own Qi to propel myself forward, which was a very, very bad idea, as it shot dark green smoke from the soles of my feet, which was very poisonous¡­ I hope no one inhales that. But this helped me st out and away from the city.

    Many cultivators rose up in the skies and funneled the poison away, and the expressions on their faces weren''t friendly apparently but they didn''t chase after me, because they knew who this Heavenly Tribtion was after, and they didn''t want anything to do with it.

    "Shen Bao, there is an urgent situation that needs your presence, can youe over once you are done with your heavenly Tribtion?" asked the voice of a man I recognized, it was the same guard from the ck Tower.

    "Okay, I will, is it rted to the Purple Cloud Sect?" I asked

    "Yes, they came iming that you gave them the golden insignia," the guard said.

    "Not a im, I did give it to them, shit, I can''t talk right now, once I''m back we''ll discuss this."

    "Right Godspeed then, at least now I have a way to stop the Three-Legged Raven Sect,"

    ''Hmm, seems like those guys are back and looking for trouble, I can''t deal with that now,'' I mumbled as I looked up, the Lightning was preparing to descend and I needed to be as far away from the city as possible. Because it looks like this is going to be a very annoying tribtion.

 Chapter 218: Testament

    <h4>Chapter 218: Testament</h4>

    I was far away from the city when the first lightning bolt came down, and by the gods was it big. This heavenly tribtion made the one I saw when Meng Hao was facing look like a joke. Not that I''m underestimating his tribtion, but it seems that this one overinted due to the fact that I was apparently ''hiding'' away from it.

    And now it''s pissed, and the thundering booms of lightning surged as the first bolt shot at my head, seeking vengeance for being disregarded.

    But I was not going to bow down to the heavenly tribtion.

    I flew down to the ground and thankfully didn''t break my legs as I stomped on the dirt with both my feet, though I felt like an electric shock went up to my spine as the ground cratered from the crushing impact.

    ''That was kinda dope," I mumbled then looked up, in my hands were several ck metallic rods I pulled from my inventory.

    "You may be heavenly tribtion, but you still followws of physics." I grinned as I brought up the electrodes and threw them all around me.

    The first lightning bolt swerved, forcefully so, and struck one of the rods, turning it to cinders.

    This both made me thankful I tried this, and shook from the fact that the lightning bolt was strong enough to turn an electrode into ash.

    Seeing this happening, I knew that if I didn''t prepare any protective measures I would have died in this tribtion.

    More tribtion lightning surged down and this time there were three.

    I still have more electrodes to pull the lightning bolts away from me, but I know that the moment the tribtion''s danger level increases they will be useless against it. So I might as well prepare for the second phase.

    I then pulled a talisman and pped my hand on it, extractingw lines of extremeplexity and density, then began projecting them using my own Qi into the world creating a massive protective gravitational dome.

    The second volley of the lightning tribtion came down, and disintegrated the electrodes I had, leaving me with nothing but the gravitationalw barrier I created.

    Though one could wonder, how can gravity impact electricity?

    Usually, it can''t, and won''t. But here, the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning actually had a weight behind it. And if it had weight, it can be controlled.

    The third lightning volley came down with vengeance, as it shot nine thunderbolts at me that were the thickness of oak trees.

    But the moment they came in contact with the gravitational barrier, they were stopped, forcefully crushed into themselves, and then dissipated against the incredibly dense gravitationalw within the gravitational barrier.

    This caused me to worry however because though the barrier worked, the damage from the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning to the barrier was apparent and clear. Thew Lines I had were scorched and destroyed, though they served their purpose, they won''t be able to stop another volley.

    Cultivators from all over the city came out to watch the tribtion. Most were confused on how a Nascent Soul cultivator was facing something this big, and the rest were more interested in the things I just pulled out.

    The skies rumbled indicating another increase in the power of the iing tribtion, as lightning began to dance under the belly of the storm. It moved like dragons were peeking down on the underworld then dove back into the clouds.

    Then finally, lightning manifested, this time in the shape of swords, spears, and arrows, and then shot at me.

    On each of my hands were four pills, one between each of my fingers. I looked up, grinned and threw the pills upwards as I crossed my hands.

    The eight pills flew high up, and once I judge they were high enough, I pped both my hands together in a prayer motion, "Explode!"

    And immediately the pills blew up creating a staggeringly thick and wide wall of green poison. This poison wasn''t aimed to fight the tribtion, but to act as a dampener. Because this poisonyer was entirely made of Breath Sealing Poison.

    Which ate away at the Qi making the Heavenly Tribtion whenever an arrow, a spear or sword tried to pass through the poison barrier.

    And whatever managed to bypass the smokescreen, was too weak to even cause me to care about it.

    The poison barrier held on, and soon, this volley stopped, since it couldn''t affect me in any sort of shape.

    "C''mon, I know you have something hidden there," I mocked.

    And there it was, the thing I knew was waiting for me. The heavenly tribtion clouds began condensing their size, and instead of clouds that covered hundreds of miles, it was a single blood-red cloud above me.

    Suddenly, the sound of clouds muffled down, the wind no longer blew and everything was extremely quiet.

    "This presence¡­, this isn''t right!" a cultivator said," EVERYONE BACK AWAY!" he shouted.

    The faster, and more acute of cultivators immediately disappeared from the area, while others asked the cultivator who spoke on what this was.

    "This is Heaven''s Gate, it''s something of a curse that befall any cultivator who over achieve below a certain grade. It can happen in any cultivation stage, but it means death to those who cannot resist it."

    "Then wouldn''t it be better to stay and watch, we can learn more form watching that."

    "The heaven''s gate is merciless and present the world with its secrets, sights of whatys beyond the gate is forbidden to anyone who isn''t going through the tribtion, if you were to see what it shall challenge him with, the gate will kill you!"

    "Oh, that''s convincing enough, to hell with this," the man said and moved away as fast as possible.

    Due to the people''s words, I learned that I''m in a little pickle right now.

    "Y, is this thing dangerous?" I asked.

    "If you wish my assistance I can decimate it, but I believe you can surpass this challenge," Y said.

    "Well, good to know you have faith in me, alright, let''s see how bad this is," I mumbled and pulled Creeping Demise.

    Yet the moment I pulled the sword, it shook and shuddered, the weapon itself began rattling in my hand.

    ''What the heck is going on?'' I mumbled. Then suddenly the sword began forcefully sucking my Qi.

    "Oi! What the fuck! Stop that! I need that Qi to fight this shit!" I said and tried to throw away the sword, but it was as if the sword was glued to my hand.

    "GOD DAMN IT!" I cursed let go!"

    But Creeping Demise didn''t listen and still sucked my Qi.

    Suddenly, the skies rumbled and the clouds began shaping into a massive gate that looked like it had no end to its length as it seemed to expand all the way to outer space.

    Unbeknownst to me, there were tens of thousands of cultivators outside the Si Xue, who were waiting for the time period to end before they could invade. And the moment they saw the gate, many of them felt rather ufortable.

    Agitation and talks happened along the enemy lines and troops due to the appearance of a Heaven''s Gate. And this also brought some even more annoying events that I didn''t know were linked to my own insignificance.

    The gate then suddenly opened up a crack, and Saint Qi, so much of it poured out that I was shocked at how generous this was¡­ but at the same time, I realized, that if this was Saint Qi, whatever woulde from the gate will probably have some of it¡­ and I highly doubt I can beat anything that uses Saint Qi.

    Suddenly, a soldier in golden armor who carried a heavy staff came out, he had no expressions, as in no eyes nose or lips, it looked like a puppet but didn''t feel like it.

    The man looked like it was a messenger of a divine embodiment, and behind him, was the gate, and from the small crack that slowly expanded, I could see an endless staircase, that had many of this very soldier aligned on its side, and it seems that there were even higher beings the higher one goes through the staircase.

    The soldier raised his heavy staff up, and a red thunderbolt shot at the top of his staff transforming the weapon into a Spear with a Tribtion Lightning Bolt as its tip.

    "Damn, that thing looks dangerous, I probably don''t want it touching me, but YOU STUPID ASS SWORD STOP EATING UP MY QI! I''m feeling dizzy." Damn it.

    The soldier came towards me without any warning, his spear aimed at my chest and I immediately felt the threat of death looming above me.

    I immediately teleported away only to find the spearman right in front of my face, with the spear too close forfort.

    Y''s sword swung pping the spear away and he came out from the poison god''s book.

    "Master, I shall aid you in this battle."

    Yet before Y could even finish speaking, the spearman looked at me, then all the aura, saint Qi and power in him began dissipating and returning to the gate.

    I immediately understood what happened.

    "Xe out! Go collect as much as you can from the escaping Saint Qi! Here!" I said and then X came out and took my holding bag.

    He flew up using his thrusters and cut into the flowing Qi and began absorbing it into the holding bag.

    The soldier once again deted and lost even more of its Qi when it faced me, then it moved forward

    "Y, don''t help, I got this."

    The battle was a joke after this, as the soldier was far too slow, far too weak, and far too easy to deal with than before.

    I dodged the iing spear with ease, even with my depleting Qi, I still had enough energy to evade the slow downed soldier.

    And since I had Creeping Demise in my hands, I might as well just use it.

    I went for a forward thrust using Creeping Demise, but the soldier managed to jump back avoiding it, only for both me and the soldier to be stunned at what happened immediately after.

    Creeping Demise''s length increased stupidly so and thrust into the soldier.

    I pulled back and the sword returned to its former size.

    I then tried to swing again, and the sword cut a clean arc in the air, turning into a massive whip made of a very sharp de.

    The soldier dodged, but Creeping Demise didn''t feel like missing, the tip of the sword''s head curved forcing the whole length of the sword to follow the soldier who tried to dodge the snake-like sword that kept chasing.

    The more the sword elongated, the more Qi had to give, but the second it touched the soldier, I managed to inject my own poison Qi into it which began acting immediately.

    The puppet''s face began melting and so did his clothes and armor as it had received fatal damage.

    Not a momentter, X who was still collecting the escaping Saint Qi came back, bummed out as he pointed up.

    When I looked, I realized that the gate had closed and was disappearing, and all I have left from this tribtion is the decaying carcass of this soldier.

    The moment the body fell down, its Qi surged forward towards me.

    But I knew I couldn''t use this one. So I pulled the Lord of Lord''s pagoda token and pointed it at the iing Qi which sucked it inside and began ejecting the Qi into the five biome domain where it will infuse with the unnatural Qi there, and perhaps create somewhat of a different Qi,ter on, this, of course, was nothing but a test I was nning on using.

    I looked up, and it felt like the Heavenly Tribtion has ended. This one was slightly disappointing, but I must admit, if I didn''t figure out that the Soldier calcted my own power based on everything, I hold on me, then I would have definitely died.

    "That was too close forfort. Anyway," I looked at the sword in my hand, "You look very hungry still¡­ I have a few heads that I want to see roll, how about you eat their Qi and leave mine alone for a while?" I spoke.

    Though I only jested because this was nothing but a sword. Imagine my reaction, when I heard.

    "Okay."

 Chapter 219: Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 219: Rumors</h4>

    "So¡­ you can speak," I said, stunned and feeling slightly awkward at talking to a piece of metal.

    I received a reply, which was both expected and unexpected.

    "Yes."

    "But, you''re a sword."

    "Yes.

    "How is that possible¡­" I asked.

    "I''m not just a sword, I''m a Sword Spirit. Beings like us, gain sentience after living long enough, you just weren''t strong enough to listen to my words."

    "Huh¡­ seems pretty interesting, I guess you can help in the uing fight then." I said.

    "I''ll be of use to you until I no longer am. It is my promise to the Poison God." The sword spoke.

    "So you know the poison god?" I asked.

    "I am one of many of his creations¡­"

    I thought for a moment before I said, "How is that even possible, I found you in a random hut in a long forgotten weapon storage of a prettymon sect. You weren''t that special, howe you say you belong to the Poison God."

    "Who said that it was you who found me, and not the other way around." The sword replied.

    This left me unable toe up with aeback, I mean fate and all that random crap is something I don''t wanna think about because it''ll only give me headaches that I can''t afford to try and justify or analyze using logic. So I just dropped the subject.

    "How do you function?" I asked, since it was the first time I was able to see Creeping Demise elongate.

    "I eat Qi from my user and from whoever I wound. This allows me to increase my length, I could also have multiple des at once."

    ''I remember the fight between the Poison God and Zhang Tian, the poison god used a sword that had nine heads¡­''

    "Do you have a name?" I asked

    "My name is the name you''ve given me. If you wish to know more, you can see your book. The Poison God had made sure to scribe everything of value for his next sessor."

    ''Right, I haven''t checked the poison god''s book since I became a Nascent Soul cultivator. What will it have for me this time,''

    Just as I was about to pull the book, divine sense came rushing towards me as many, many cultivators came to check up on what happened after Heaven''s Gate disappeared.

    "Shen Bao," spoke one of them.

    ''Seems like my identity was revealed. Well, no use to hide it anyway.''

    I stood up and looked at the peopleing my way.

    There were many of them, and the majority were in the Nascent Soul cultivation stage.

    The man who spoke up was someone I didn''t know, but he seems to have prior knowledge of who I am.

    "Congrattion on your ascension to the Nascent Soul stage, but can I ask you for a moment of your time," the cultivator asked.

    "Ah, I bet young brother Shen Bao is already too tired from the tribtion, I''ll have to be the one to invite him over." Another person said who seemed to be on a higher cultivation base than the first.

    More people began introducing themselves and inviting me over, and I only understood why after a divine sense message came from the ck Tower''s guard to inform me, that every single one of these cultivators wants to know what happened when the Heaven Gate opened up.

    "Hold it, fellow cultivators, I have some matters to discuss, as for what happened when the heaven''s gate opened up, I can discuss it with you all once I''ve finished up with a small problem I''m facing right now."

    "If brother Shen Bao is having a problem, then let me offer a hand of assistance." A cultivator said.

    Immediately more cultivators joined in.

    ''it seems like information regarding the Heaven''s Gate is pretty scarce, but I''ve seen enough, and I can probably use this to my advantage.

    "Yes, a sect that treated me well is currently being antagonized and I would like some of your assistance in helping them out."

    "If it''s a matter that small, I can help", a cultivator said, and immediately everyone gave way.

    It was arge-built man, with rippling muscles and a mane of hair that fell all the way to his ankles, he was wearing baggy pants and only a bra (cultivator''s belt) while the rest of the muscles on his chests shone lustrously against the receding sun rays.

    He had a club that was entirely made of stone on one of his shoulders as he carried it like it weighed nothing.

    The man''s cultivation base was pretty damn steep, as just the passive Qi he released was a match to a full outburst of a soul formation cultivator.

    Then another cultivator came in, this one looked like a small kid not older than eight. He flew down from the skies and came up, floating right up into my face, with hands crossed between each other, and said, "You have a problem with someone? Tell me, and I''ll annihte them. But I''ll need exclusive information regarding the Heaven''s Gate."

    I tilted my hand to the side and said, "That would be rude to the others, they were here before you,"

    The little kid turned and said, "Do you think it rude for me to take your turn in knowing what happened in the heavens Gate first?"

    No one dared speak besides the man with the massive club to which he pulled it from over his shoulder and pointed it at the kid saying "Old monster, I was here before you, and if you want to take my turn, we''ll have to duke it out."

    "No need to fight, why not assist me first and I''ll tell everyone," I said.

    The words that came from my mouth were enough to make everyone nod down in agreement even if they couldn''t speak in front of these two monsters when I mentioned that I''ll share with everyone they became even more excited to help.

    "My problem is with a certain sect that is currently oppressing a few friends of mine, if it''s possible I don''t wish to see any of you here hurt, I just want to oppress them a bit and allow my friends to leave this."

    "Oh, so you''re the crazed man who actually gave up his own privilege for a woman." The muscr man said.

    "That''s manly! To die for the woman one cares for!" he said in augh.

    ''Woman? I love? What the fuck? When did that happen?''

    "Yes, I also heard rumors, that the Three-legged Raven Sect actually kidnapped the whole pce of the Purple Cloud Pce, then tortured them, seems like the beauty of the sect master was too much for him to give up, so he did that. Then a man came and saved the whole sect from underneath the Three-Legged Raven Sect."

    "Yes, I also heard that he was masquerading as a young cultivator who knew nothing until he managed to sneak the whole sect in a shy act. The idiots of the Three-Legged Raven Sect didn''t even know that the very person that they treated well was the very man who tricked them and stole away their hostages." Another cultivator said.

    "Yes, I also heard that, seems like Brother Shen Bao is very capable And we all love an underdog. I''m all in for assisting a young man in love, hah!"

    More cultivators even came up with even more absurd reasons and I was astonished at the number of rumors that spread. I mean how the hell did that even happen, and how was my identity even exposed. Still, it''s good it will help in the uing confrontation.

    "Right, I''ll head out first then, I need to get to the ck Tower Pavilion." I said, please excuse me" I said and then jumped up, then turbo shot myself forward flying with impressive speed towards the city.

    "Seems like you''re a poison cultivator," said the cultivator that was probably eight years of age.

    Thankfully, I didn''t jump or shake from fright when he appeared out of thin air and began flying next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

    "How can you tell?" I asked.

    "You are releasing too much Qi from your flight, that it''s actually poisoning the atmosphere behind you. And since you''re a new Nascent Soul cultivator it seems that you''re still unable to separate your offensive Qi and your natural passive Qi. I can guide you on how to do it if you wish."

    "That would be most helpful," I said.

    The young-looking cultivator sent a divine sense wave to scan me, and then frowned.

    "This is rather¡­ interesting, you don''t have a single meridian, and your Dantian is apparently full to the brim with Qi. I don''t understand how that works, but since it''s something of yours I won''t pry, still, to help you with your flight, use your Dantian to separate the offensive Qi, which is poison, from mixing with your natural Qi. When that is done, use the refined Qi to move forward, it will even be less taxing and will help you fly faster." The boy said.

    I tried doing that but then realized, to actually have Pure Qi, as he said, I need to be able to harvest natural Qi from the world.

    "Seems like I can''t do that right now," I said.

    "Hmm, seems that your talent iscking, though it''s impressive to see you achieve such a high stage of cultivation at a young age." He said. "How long did it take you to reach Nascent Soul stage?" he asked.

    "About three years¡­ maybe four," I said.

    The muscr man immediately flew next to us and said, "Impressive! Only four years, and without a talent root? HAHA! That''s a manly way of cultivation! Who needs talent when you can brute force your way into greatness!"

    "Don''t mind that muscle brain, you''re doing well for someone without a talent root. But I''m sad to tell you that your future doesn''t look that bright with such a low and lesser talent level. Not that it matters with an invasion of this size. We''ll probably all die." The kid said. but he didn''t look upset about it.

    "Seems like this invasion is pretty terrible yet I don''t find anyone despairing about it," I asked.

    "Why should we? It is the way of the strong. The strong prey on the weak, and we are weak, it is their right, why would themb me the tiger for eating it? it has no right because it is WEAK! Still, we won''t go down without a fight, we too have horns, and we''ll use them. And enter reincarnation with a levitated spirit."

    ''Talk about cup half full, these guys are pretty damn chill about an impeding gloom and doom future of theirs.''

    "True. I said none merits pity if their will wanes in front of odds." I said.

    "Oh, that''s some pretty deep stuff, were you a schr before?" asked the muscr cultivator.

    "No, it''s a saying from where Ie. That''s the ck tower, let''s get down." I said and I flew down until Inded in front of the tower.

    Looking back at the extended arc of poisonous smoke, I opened my mouth and took a deep breath in, sucking in every single bit and gout of poison I released from my flight that was still hovering in the air.

    I didn''t want to identally kill someone. And I''ll need to find a fix for this passive poison release from my flight, perhaps I''ll find a way around it using the Poison God''s flying sword.

    Just as I was done with the poison in the air, I turned to see an old man, his attendant, and a younger person who had the most venomous re I''ve seen to date.

    "YOU!" he pointed "ARE A DEAD MAN!" he said and dove towards me.

 Chapter 220: Enraged

    <h4>Chapter 220: Enraged</h4>

    The Elder Zhong Chuzi and the younger-looking version of the same man, who I presumed to be Yan Chuzi rushed me with hatred in them never before seen.

    The young cultivator who was not even ten years of age, snorted as he immediately teleported in front of me and blocked the Zhong Chuzi''s palm strike.

    While the muscr cultivator stood in front of Yan Chuzi''s sword and blocked it with his own stone club.

    The sword strike was strong enough to cause the club wielder to take a single step back, but at the same time sent Yan Chuzi reeling from the vibration of having some of the power of his attack reflected back on him.

    "Hoho, that blow, was meant to kill. You''re not holding your punches are you," spoke the muscr cultivator.

    "Yei Man, why are you interfering?" spoke Elder Zhong.

    "Interfering? You dared and try and hurt this little brother of mine, and you think I will stand still and do nothing? That''s not manly!" the man said andughed, loud enough that he sent a shockwave of dust and debris flying from around him.

    "Seems like I''m being ignored, am I not threat enough old man," spoke the young kid.

    The moment his words were spoken, it felt as if the world turned slightly colder.

    Elder Zhong took a few steps back and said, "Old monster¡­ you rarely show your face, what brings you here in these matters," said Zhong.

    "My matters aren''t for the likes of you to discuss, but since you dared and acted so brazenly in front of me, how about I teach you some manners!" the young kid said and pulled a small bronze mirror from his robes.

    He pointed it at the old man who immediately went into a frenzied retreat.

    "We have no enmity between us! Old Monster, why must you act with a heavy hand!" the old man said as he tried to dodge the gaze of the mirror.

    Yan Chuzi looked to be pinned under the massive form of Yei Man, while I found myself looking at this scene with utter confusion.

    Everyone is so damn blood thirsty.

    And since they were all upied I might as well just get inside the ck tower and resolve this whole ordeal.

    Yet, just as I was about to take a step forward, I felt a gaze upon me, that made me feel like a rat under the stare of a hidden great serpent.

    Terrorized for a moment, then released the second after.

    This was a sort of domain that rendered someone unable to move, and if I wasn''t able to release myself from that domain that instant¡­

    A ten foot spear shot right where I was standing a moment ago and bore into the ground, creating cracks around it.

    Loud coughing sounds echoed from the skies high above as blood started dripping on the ground.

    Looking up, an old man who was barely able to hover in the skies had his hand on his mouth and nose, trying to stop his orifices from ejecting all the blood in his body.

    "Father!" called Yan Chuzi as he saw the Three Legged Raven sect''s sect master bleeding profusely without knowing why.

    Suddenly, my hand began twitching. As I just realized, that I was almost killed by a sneak attack from that old man¡­ that man, almost ended my life without me even realizing it. If I didn''t have the ability to exit domains, nor Y''s protection, I would have been dead.

    And this made me angry. Really angry.

    I couldn''t even tell what happened next, as everything turned white for a moment for me.

    Seconds, hours, maybe days, because God only knows how long was I in that lucid state. As I felt my body, for the first time, released from all the shackles that have been inhibiting it, suppressing it, and controlling it. I felt like all moral limitations that I was putting on myself had disappeared and I was let loose like a wolf in a chicken coop.

    And once I was finally awake, I felt my body heavy, grim, and covered in blood. And in my hand was what seemed to be a bloodied crushed skull that I threw away in disgust the moment I realized what it was.

    I looked down, yes, down because I was apparently hovering in the air and noticed that everyone was looking at me as if they were seeing a monster. Fear, clear in their eyes.

    I slowly hovered down and stood in between the Old Monster, and Yei Man.

    Looking around, even the two of them were slightly wary of me.

    "What happened?" I asked, innocently so.

    The two of them looked at each other and said, "You don''t remember?"

    "Not a damn thing, all I remember was everything turning white, then I had a skull in my hand, who did it belong to?" I asked.

    "It belonged to a Soul Transformation cultivator¡­ someone the both of us would have had a lot of trouble dealing with. But¡­what was that thing you used?" asked the Old Monster.

    "What thing? I don''t know, and he is dead already?"

    ''How the heck did that happen? Though to be honest, I feel slightly better. No rage episodes left.''

    "I don''t know how to exin it well, but for a moment, it was like you became apletely different person¡­ your talent rose up, and became even greater than mine. Your offensive power was on par with a Soul Transformation cultivator, and you used a sword sh that killed him while pinning him with some strangews¡­"

    ''Thest part must have been Y, but the rest I have no idea how they happened.''

    I should check thister. For now, the remaining two of the Three Raven Sect are staring daggers at me, and they don''t seem to have enough courage left in them to fight, but their pride is stopping them from taking a step back.

 Chapter 221: Recollection

    <h4>Chapter 221: Recollection</h4>

    A lot of random things happened that I didn''t know the reason for, and passively being able to defeat a Soul Transformation cultivator without me even realizing was one of these random things that I couldn''t exin yet. I''ll need to understand moreter.

    "So, what are you two going to do now?" I asked mocking the two, but at the same time feigning bravado. Because honestly, whatever happened earlier, left me, utterly,pletely, and perfectly out of any ounce of Poison Qi, I was barely standing and using every ounce of my energy to stop my hands from shaking.

    The two of them were in a situation that they never expected to happen, not that I did. Their sect master was killed before they knew it, and the reason for their aggression became far too insignificant when pitted against their lives.

    The Three-Legged Raven Sect will be doomed the moment these two make a move, this is what they believed. For them, I was capable of doing the earlier feat with ease and can replicate it and eradicate them afterward.

    "Uncle, let''s leave, this man is a monster and an abomination against the heavens, heaven will punish him for his cruel ways," Chuzi Yan said and immediately jumped up in the sky and started flying away with as much speed as he could.

    The older of the Chuzi family snorted and jumped up to follow after his nephew.

    Looking at their retreating figures seemed to once again cause my agitation to grow.

    I pressed my hand on my side bag and pulled Z, the small spider puppet I made.

    "Chase, kill," I spoke and threw it forward.

    The spider, small as it was, was so fast he''ll make a flying bullet look like a snail.

    It shot forward with so much speed it broke the sound barrier and was already next to Chuzi Yan.

    The spider''s tail struck but failed tond on Chuzi Yan because his uncle immediately intercepted the small creature.

    The needle on Z pierced into the old man''s open palm and grunted.

    Z jumped back and flew down, while the old man cursed, then immediately used his other hand to cut off the one that was poisoned.

    After all, if he had let the bone and body grinding poison travel through his system he would have been a dead man.

    The old man then immediately grabbed his nephew and started teleporting away.

    "Running away like that is not manly! Let''s follow!" Yei Man spoke with a virile voice.

    "There is no point, a lot of trouble will soon befall the whole, your Qi is best used to fight against the invaders." The old monster said.

    "But they mighte back and sneak attack, Shen Bao." Yei Man spoke what he thought to be a valid point.

    "Do you think that after what happened they''ll dare show their faces again?" the small kid said.

    "Hah! Yes, the way he beat that Soul Transformation cultivator was pretty manly, you should teach me how you used that skill."

    "What skill? I can''t remember anything," I replied.

    "Oh, really, give me a moment," the muscle mountain said as he pulled a small jade and pressed it against his head.

    Soon he gave me the jade and said, "Watch," he said.

    Then I ced it against my forehead and began rewatching what I missed.

    The scene was being yed from Yei Man''s point of view, and I could see the events starting the moment I dodged the spear throw.

    I could see myself, slowly, closing my eyes, then opening them, where one was blue as the clear skies, the other was green and enraged with a hellish me.

    I then teleported and appeared right in front of the old man, who scuffed.

    "You, dare and approach me! Even though you''re a weak nascent Soul cultivator, instead of running away, you''reing right to me!"

    "I can''t beat the shit out of you if I don''t get closer, can I?" I replied as coldly as a rattlesnake that was too rattled.

    "Thene as close as you like!" the old man said in a wide grin.

    The sect master said and struck down with an open w.

    And I teleported with ease away from it, appearing to his side where Creeping Demise was already sent his way.

    The old man struck his palms together creating a shockwave that was about to send me throttling back, but I teleported once again and further into his own space where I thrust Creeping Demise only for it to meet nothing like the old man teleported with ease.

    I followed after and teleported behind the man, then where he expected Creeping demise to cut, his expression was of shock when his parry went empty as, I sent a punch into his face, then several more into his stomach, and finally a kick forward that caused him to be sent back spiraling a few times in the air.

    "Ora ora motherfucker," I said.

    The old man then began moving forward, and teleported, once, twice several times, and hundreds of times in seconds, as he created several afterimages of himself. He then pulled a sword, and all the copies around me seem to be doing the same.

    And since he was preparing a skill... and me seeming vexed by the old man''s ability to move freely in space, I raised one hand and spread my fingers into an open palm that looked like it was about to grasp the skies.

    Law lines surged from within my palm and spread out like spiderwebs. Theynded all over us like a dome made of cobwebs.

    These were the rudimentary stages of Domain Creation. This wasn''t domain, but as close as one could get to creating it.

    "R***-**"*r''**¨¤¨¤¨¤*," I spoke an iprehensible line, and immediately the world seemed to slightly shift, it didn''t look like it changed, but somehow it felt wrong like I have stolen something, or modified something from the divine heavenly creation and rendered whatever I was in into an iplete state.

    this caused the man''s insane teleportation to be immediately cut off and he looked at a loss from both the effect of the skill and from having his skill canceled.

    I then began moving, rigidly so as I could feel, while at the same time the old man seemed to be at aplete loss of what was going on. His orientation felt wrong, his movement felt wrong, everything about him felt like he was struggling to return to the natural order, but failed every time.

    I swung my sword, and he blocked in the opposite direction, causing creeping demise to bite into his nk.

    I kicked, and he once again tried to block the kick from the front, only to receive the blow from the back.

    I then used Poison Tiger w with one hand. Creating a massive w mark in the skies, that looked like wind des made of poison that came down.

    The old man tried to block the iing blow from above him only to have it hit him from under.

    Disoriented, at a loss, andpletely unable to reverse the situation he was in.

    "Death And Decay, World of Death!" the old man spoke, yet before his domain could even take shape, he once again coughed out blood as it surged out of his nose and mouth like torrents.

    The inability to trap me in a domain is so damn powerful that I just realized, that that man''s cultivation base is so utterly useless against me that it didn''t matter.

    As long as I''m able to stop myself from being trapped in a domain, I could move as freely as I want, and I used this to my advantage.

    The three-legged raven sect, sect master was at a loss, bleeding, wounded, and poisoned, and unable to do anything. The very idea of a Nascent Soul cultivator applying so much pressure on him was uncanny, it was something he never believed would happen, something he never thought would be possible.

    Thus, he began pulling treasures from his pouch, shields to block iing attacks. But the very activation of these shields also fell under this rudimentary domain and was not able to function. Offensive treasures that failed to find me as a target as they were too, affected by the disorienting effects of this area.

    Then finally, an escape talisman disintegrated since it couldn''t locate where to teleport.

    I understood from there, that whatever it is I created was something that yed the strings of space foundation to a level where it could switch up and down, left and right. And without a proper anchoring point, everything bes rtive. Not only that they also seem to affect the applications of treasures since this rudimentary domain can tamper with inscription sequences.

    "sted son of a whore! DIE!" the old man said and began amassing so much energy that I finally realized that the difference in cultivation stage wasn''t just to be stronger and live longer.

    I was always able to defeat others who were higher cultivation stage than me, but that was because I always relied on the element of surprise and unorthodox methods of battler. The ability to control situations to my advantage using things that cultivators never thought existed. But this guy''s cultivation level, his Soul Transformation leveles with a pretty big bonus. Which is pure, raw destructive ability.

    And right now since he can''t focalize or locate my proper location he started creating a massive Qi ball and was about to blow it up.

    "DIE!" the old man said.

    To which Yei Man, spoke for the first time, "Shit, that thing is gonna cause some damage¡­ old monster, should we back away?"

    "Hold, I think that Shen Bao isn''t done yet." The kid said.

    Immediately after that, from within my chest came Y''s massive arm, holding one of the Demon Trigger weapons I made for him, fully active and then struck down, slicing both the massive Qi ball and the wielder in half.

    The Sect Master was never able to bnce himself nor block my blows, so it would be a miracle to dodge an iing strike from Y, thus the sword cut cleanly from his shoulder to his thigh. Leaving the man looking at me in utter terror.

    The Qi ball then blew up, but instead of running away, I pointed both my hands forward were from within every finger of mine camew lines, so thick and wide that they spread around the massive Qi ball, and the moment they connected behind it, the whole Qi ball disappeared.

    Then soon, a massive explosion sound echoed in the far distance as a mountain''s top was rattled and destroyed out of existence.

    I then followed after the remains of the body of the cultivator who was sliced in two and grabbed his head.

    He tried to speak, but I used all the Qi in me, coupled with my Heart me, and sent a surge of fire coursing through him, leaving nothing but a charred skull, that had some ck sludge of red blood on it.

    The Soul Transformation Cultivator was eradicated, body and soul, burnt to nothingness.

    Then, I finally woke up.

    The crystal''s recording ended and I was finally able to understand why everyone was impressed and afraid.

    Seems like for a moment I lost consciousness and a second persona took control¡­

    That person was scary¡­ he didn''t seem to have any hesitation in him, didn''t stop waiting or calcte anything, but acted, and actively moved. Always taking the offensive and initiative in the fight. Even if his cultivation level was low, unlike me, that persona, was someone who acted before he nned.

    Shit¡­I think I''m developing schizophrenia.

    I''m crazy.

    Fuck.

 Chapter 222: Table Talks

    <h4>Chapter 222: Table Talks</h4>

    "Well, I don''t know what happened, but it seems like it all worked out well," I said.

    I then looked at the guards in front of the tower and approached them.

    "So, what caused all this crap?"

    "Well, seems like a few of so proimed acquaintances of yours obtained the golden insignia that we have given you," the guard said through divine sense. He then looked around and added, "Might as well get inside, I''ll have one of the administrators exin everything in detail."

    "Right that would be best," I said and walked inside.

    The rest of the cultivators waited outside, as most of them were still waiting for their tokens, the ones that can calcte their kill count against the iing invasion.

    Once I was inside, I had to get into an elevator that took me up along with the guard all the way to one of the top floors of the ck Tower.

    The elevator stopped and opened into a wide room that had a wide table with several chairs.

    The Purple Cloud Sect Master was sitting on one of these chairs and next to her was elder Yun, as for the main seat, the one in the centermost was a young-looking man that seemed to carry himself with more grace than the noblest of nobles.

    His whole demeanor was that of someone that was born in richness, and grew with nobles, and thrived in all sorts of social asions.

    He had a well-decorated robe, and a hair bun with a single ck jade hairpin that had the symbol of the ck Tower.

    "Fellow Cultivator Shen Bao, wee to our humble amodation," he said with all the grace one could afford.

    "Thank you," I said and immediately walked up and pulled a chair.

    "Seems that you kept my people from leaving, can I ask why?" I said.

    "Oh, we had no ability to confirm that if they had obtained the golden insignia that the ck Tower had given you, through legit and honest means, so we had to keep them within the tower until you appeared to confirm it."

    ''This was the biggest and stenchiest pile of bull crap I heard this morning, but still, I guess they really didn''t want to have a golden insignia moving around freely.

    "Now, that it is confirmed that I have given it to them, what are you going to do?" I asked.

    "I can only send in one cultivator with the golden insignia. But the sect master here wants to send her whole sect, you know that will be problematic if I were to do that." The young man said.

    "Problematic doesn''t mean impossible. So, be honest with me, and stop beating around the bush, what do you want from me?" I asked.

    The young man smiled and said, "I want that puppet of yours, the massive one that flew you to the tower''s gate."

    I frowned, this guy is driving a bargain I can''t ept.

    "Don''t, Shen Bao, that puppet is your only lease of life, we''re already in debt to you for even thinking of using the golden insignia on us." The sect master said.

    ''Well, of course, I wasn''t gonna give him Y, Bruh, that''s basically signing my death warrant the moment I walk around without his protection,''

    "The sect master is right, Y is not something I can give up that easily, if you have another request then I''ll make sure to do my best to manage it, otherwise this won''t do."

    The young man began thinking or acted like he was assessing what I was speaking, while the both of us knew that his very first request was something that was impossible for me to even ept thus his second request will be more usible, it''s a bargaining technique. Request something incredibly high in value, just to proportionally make your original or primary request sound less impactful on the second request.

    ''Master,'' I heard from Y''s divine sense message.

    ''What is it?'' I replied.

    ''With that Saint Qi crystal, I''m more than capable of flight in outer space, I can also take your Lord of Lord''s token with all of the sect members and take them to a nearby, the only downside is that I will use too much energy to evade the assault and will probably not be able toe back. lest I can take you with me, then there will be no reason to stay on this.''

    "That''s actually pretty damn good to know, but for now, let''s keep that as ast resort as I said, I need to actually fight in this war, I need some of the resources that the ck tower is offering, if shit hits the fan, I''ll go around collecting all friends I care about and just leave this ce. As sad as that might sound, I''m no paragon of virtue, and I can''t save an entire on my own.''

    ''Master, you fail to realize that Cultivators do not care about anyone but themselves, one must be greedy for their own life, and if things go bad, you can always be stronger ande back for revenge. It is the way of cultivators.''

    I sighed inwardly at how ck and white Y''s vision was, but he was right, if you can''t change an oue why regret what you cannot interfere with. One of the four kings, a god among men decided that a certain was to die, who was I to tell him no? even the Poison God had to step carefully around these beings.''

    "Then I''ll have to ask for something else. You showed good fighting ability earlier, and I was impressed with it, not to mention that after a quick background check, we managed to figure out that you are well versed in inscriptions. This object right now is of high-security clearance, and the ck Tower is allowing a few select people of knowing this." The young man said and looked at the two guests next to me.

    "I''ll have to excuse myself," Said the Sect master, and then Elder Yun also nodded and stood up.

    "Shen Bao, this is a world of cultivation, don''t forget that, think about yourself first, and stop caring about others, the moment you find a mean or a method to escape, use it. don''t worry about us, it is fate of the weak to die, and none will envy you if you manage to escape cmity." The sect master''s words were cold as she spoke and suddenly she left the area alongside elder Yun who sent me a divine sense message.

    "I got some good herbs I''ve been saving for a few years, how about you join me for a game of Goter on when you have some free time?" Elder Yun sent.

    ''I''ll make sure to do so," I sent back.

    Once the two left, the young man smiled and waved a hand creating a small domain ofw as easily as breathing that stopped any and all sounds from entering or leaving.

    "Why not just use divine sense?" I said as I found it a waste to have this domain raised up.

    "Because some divine sense messages can be tranted," the young man said.

    This caused me to worry, because what if he heard what Y had just said.

    ''Do not worry Master, Unless someone is stronger than my own creator, Master Rain, the divine sense messaging between us can never be decrypted.''

    That''sforting.

    And also, this man is pretty dangerous, the moment he said his statement of divine sense trantion, he wanted to hint that he was able to hear what I and Y discussed, but now Y just confirmed that he was bluffing. Which worked well in my favor, as he wanted to disrupt me and now he cannot.

    "So, what''s the top-secret thing that you need my help with, while I''m just a Nascent Soul cultivator, while you have many, many stronger characters."

    "Stronger, probably, but not a lot, no one can kill a soul transformation cultivator that easily, not even a Half Ascendant cultivator. Though I would admit that the killing blow came from your puppet, the fact that you had him stuck in a rudimentary domain, that wasn''t evenplete, raised my view of you by a lot. Also, my request doesn''t rely on one''s personal strength," he said.

    "Then what is it? we''ve been going around the subject for a while now, and I''d like to finish this as soon as possible."

    The young manughed, "Most people would be terrified of my authority as a representative of the ck Tower, the very fact that sitting next to me can be an honor to many, while you Shen Bao, argue and urge me to speak faster. Interesting, I also enjoy a frank and direct discussion of the topic, free of the social barriers between people."

    ''Bro, you''re saying that you want to speak directly and you''re rambling on for your life''s worth, hurry up damn it.''

    Irritation was probably painted on my face, and this thankfully urged him to speak his mind.

    "An old man, who goes by the name Old Yue, has asked for your presence, I would say that it would be best if you meet him, he needs your knowledge of inscription making to help this survive. Assist him in his task, and if you seed, I can promise you that your whole sect can be allowed to leave, using the insignia." He said.

    There was a hidden message in his words.

    "I suppose you didn''t want to say this, but you clearly mean ''Only my sect'' and not be included."

    The man looked flustered for a fraction of a second then smiled, saying, "You are indeed very sharp. It is true, the golden insignia''s value is the same as your own life, only one can leave, either you or your whole sect, the choice remains with you. You can leave right now, but your sect will not, or you can do what I asked, and your sect can leave, but you shall not."

    ''Not that I wanted to leave, also, Y said that he can take me out of this if I wanted to, so his words mean nothing to me right now.''

    "I agree. Then, let''s meet this old Yue." I said.

    "I''ll have a shuttle to drive you all the way to Mount Wu. It will take you a week to get there. So you won''t have much time in fixing the formation in time, but perhaps you''ll be able to make it functional, it won''t stop the primary invasion force, but it will afford the cultivators a lot of protection after its erected to battle." the young man said.

    "How far is Mount Wu?" I asked.

    "About six hundred thousand miles away from here."

    ''Holy hell that''s fucking far, how big is this damn¡­''

    ''Master, Six Hundred Thousand Miles is not that far of a distance, I can get you there in less than an hour¡­ the only problem is that it will be a very tedious hour for you.''

    ''That''s much better than wasting a whole damn week.''

    "Do you have a map of Mount Wu''s location?" I asked.

    The young man frowned and said, "Yes, and then he handed me the map," I looked at it and then said, "I won''t need the shuttle, I can get there faster." I said then stood up.

    "Are you sure about that? This shuttle is something the ck Tower has personally given you, it is really fast for a Nascent Soul cultivator and won''t put much strain on you while traveling."

    "As I said, I have my means, tell Old Man Yue I''ll be there in a few if you can contact him. I''m off." I said and then stood up.

    "Good Luck Shen Bao," the young man said, "You''ll need it," he added.

    Which I really didn''t like.

 Chapter 223: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 223: Exposed</h4>

    I walked out of the room and met with the sect master, who looked at me and asked, "So, what did you decide?"

    "Don''t worry, I won''t go back on my word like I promised your sect will leave this graveyard soon," I said.

    "No, not that, though it''sforting to hear, are you sure that you''re willing to give up the opportunity to save your own skin for others? I mean, you were a part of the Purple Cloud Sect, but not for long, no sane person would decide against their own survivability for a sect that they didn''t spend a lot of time in," she said. And she was right.

    But at the same time, I''m not a crazy man¡­ well, if you don''t consider schizophrenia, I''m a perfectly sane person. I think.

    I already have a way to get myself out if shit hits the fan, so getting them out isn''t gonna be determinable to my goals.

    "Don''t worry," I said as I patted her shoulder walking away from her, "I''ll make sure toe and meet you up again, just focus on the Purple Cloud Sect, grow strong so I can find a ce to rest once all of this is done."

    The sect master opened her mouth to say something, then suddenly decided against it. She gave me a rueful smile and said, "Thank you for everything, Shen Bao."

    I nodded and left.

    Elder Yun was nowhere near, so the promise of ying a game of GO will have to wait for our next meeting.

    So I left the tower and walked outside where many cultivators watched with avid attention the man who defeated a Soul Transformation Cultivator.

    "You seem to be in a hurry," asked Yei Man.

    "Yes, I have something to tend to," I said.

    "Oh, would you like ourpany?" he asked.

    "No, it''s far away and will take me some time to get there. As for my promise." I said and pulled a jade and ced it against my forehead.

    I recorded everything from the Heaven Gate I saw, besides the battle, I didn''t want to expose any more of my secrets.

    Then threw it to Yei Man, "Don''t be greedy, and share with everyone here. It''s not something that valuable anyway," I said and spoke up.

    "Y,e out," I said and immediately Y showed up in front of the whole group, making many of them take several steps back from the sheer size, might, and terrifying oppressive aura he passively released.

    As a friend and ally, Y is the most reliable supporting pir, but as a foe, he is no less than the sharpened scythe of the grim reaper.

    Everyone knew this, and everyone respected it.

    "I''ll see you allter, for now, Godspeed in the uing battle," I said then jumped up and sat on Y''s shoulder.

    Y slowly rose up, and hovered until he was far away from the ground, then he turned towards the general direction of Mount Wu.

    "Master, we''re far enough, I''ll increase my speed," Y said.

    Then and there, I grabbed tight on Y''s head and said, "Go ahead."

    Just as I finished my words, I felt Y''s speed decreasing for a moment, as if he started to fall, then he turbo shot forward with enough force that the sound barrier, not only broke but exploded in an instant.

    Something even against allws of physics happened, as Y''s speed continued to increase and I heard even more explosions of sound as he continued sting forward like a missile on steroids.

    Y''s speed was so fast that I felt that my eyeballs were gonna stick to the back of my skull, and this was with the assistance of Y''s Qi barrier to block out most of the pressure.

    Once I managed and adjusted to his speed, he further increased his own speed.

    sting even faster forward, that I could see the geography under us changing so fast like I was watching a slide show of different geographical locations.

    Deserts, seas, forests, ines, and quagmires and swamps. They changed and kept changing for a long while until an hour had gone by and Y began slowing down.

    I felt like I was going to throw up, and thankfully I was strong enough not to. Y slowed down enough that once he made a full andplete stop we were in front of a small house on the top of a beautiful flying mountain.

    Yes, it was flying.

    The mountain looked like it was carved by the hands of an artist. As it had so many different trees, carefully nted to create a pathway that lead upwards.

    The path was in fact a staircase that had several tori gates, and many small furry creatures lived and scampered around the area.

    The tree''s leaves of almost every tree didn''t look the same. Some were red, some were purple, some green, and some blue. Every tree was a different type. And each and every one of them had their own fruits. And they all were spiritual fruits.

    The whole mountain was like a garden that was being tended by a masterful gardener.

    I jumped up from Y''s shoulder and had hime back to the poison god''s book.

    And since I wanted to see more of this exquisite garden, I decided to go down and start from the bottom of the stairs.

    Once Inded, I realized that it was a good thing I did so.

    There were many, many inscriptions covering the entirety of the mountain, protecting the whole garden, and the areal space of the flying mountain.

    Though Y could easily break the formations, it will damage the wildlife of this ce. Which would have been a terrible thing to happen since this ce looked like the most peaceful ce I''ve ever seen in my life, and I would hate if I was the reason for its destruction.

    So, I slowly climbed the stairs and began feeling a slight pressure on my head with every step I took.

    ''Damn, another Soul Strength test. But I''ve suffered worse,'' I thought and continued walking up.

    I even patted the head of a few friendly foxes and some felines. That came to check up on the strange person who came to visit.

    Then, I continued walking up admiring the scene.

    It took me about a quarter of an hour to reach the house I saw earlier, where I saw a man, frowning, and rubbing his beard.

    I nodded at the man, acknowledging his presence, but his words slightly threw me off.

    "What in the world are you?" The hooded old man said.

    "Me? I''m me, nothing more, nothing less." I said shrugging.

    The man smiled and said, "Such a juvenile answer, but at the same time, it has all the depth I need to know you''re no simple man. You''re you, nothing less nothing more, it may sound like you were just speaking for the sake of answering, but you clearly know yourself. Good, follow me." He said.

    ''The hell is that guy talking about?'' I frowned, but I wasn''t gonna correct him if he is already thinking highly of me.

    "Are you the one taking care of this ce?" I asked as I followed the old man.

    "Yes, do you like it here?" he said.

    "Yeah, it''s peaceful. A good ce to retire."

    "Hah! Peaceful. Do you know, that the creature you just petted, is a ninth-tier demonic beast that could have torn you to shreds at the drop of a hat?"

    "Huh? That little fox? Didn''t seem that hostile to me," I said.

    "Well, I also don''t understand why, I was ready to intervene, since you''re sent by the ck Tower, but apparently, you''re more than capable of handling yourself, even if you don''t know danger when it stares you in the eye. This little mountain is holding some of the strongest and most dangerous creatures on Si Xue, and you were petting them like they were docile cats. I don''t know if you had balls of steel or outright foolish. But it doesn''t matter, because all turned out to be well."

    The old man said and stood in front of his house, he then pressed on the doorway with an open palm, causing many inscriptions to shine and brighten up, then the doorway unlocked revealing a simple room with a single table and a couple of chairs around it.

    There was no one else in the room beside the two of us.

    "Come take a seat." The old man said and I obliged.

    Once I sat, he pulled two jugs of wine and handed me one of them.

    "I''ve lived for a long time on this. And now, something happened that is threatening the livelihood of the entire." The man said.

    "Yeah, the invasion and all that crap, kind of annoying, but honestly, can you tell me, do you think we can win?" I asked.

    "Hah, win? We don''t have a sodding chance." The old man said and took a gulp of wine.

    I joined him in his mute toast and waited for him to finish speaking.

    "Do you happen to know the reason why this happened?" the old man asked.

    I shook my head.

    "Well, I heard a rumor. A very, unusible, andpletely unbelievable rumor." The old man drank.

    "It appeared that the reason for this whole invasion was because of the jealousy of a brother, the kindness of a cultivator, and the spite of a king." The old man said smiling but he didn''t seem to be enjoying it.

    "A young cultivator, too weak, and too insignificant to be of any value, came in and saved someone far too important, and due to that, the important man''s brother was jealous for his return, thus he betrayed his own brother and spoke to the king of another nation telling him how his brother escaped. The king, finding the opportunity to embarrass his rival, sent forces to the where the young cultivator came from, enving this entirely, and by proxy, causing the saved cultivator to lose face since he could not afford to save the very weak, insignificant man who saved him." the old man finished, and I immediately connected the dots.

    ''Holy, fucking, banana nutcrackers¡­''

 Chapter 224: Outside The Box

    <h4>Chapter 224: Outside The Box</h4>

    My face, was definitely an open book, since this news, were not something I spoke of. Zhang Tian''s return was my doing, well, part of it. So, in theory, the reason why this whole shit is happening¡­is because of me.

    "Now, anyone, if they were to know the identity of the small insignificant man, would dly give him up to the Fire King, in hopes to save their skin, and the very they reside on."

    Once the old man said his words, my hand was already preparing to fight for my life. After all, this guy, right now that I realize it, doesn''t have an ounce of Qi, and to be able to maintain a mountain full of beasts strong enough to beat the living hell out of Soul Transformation cultivators, means that he was at least, at the very least, a half ascendant.

    "But. I''m not such a man, Shen Bao. You have done something that you shouldn''t be faulted for." The man said.

    "How would you even consider that I and that insignificant man are one and the same?" I asked.

    I would not have connected the dots if it wasn''t for you finding out about the hidden cave under the ck Tower.

    Many had spoken of you using an automaton to suck in some disciples into a small world. And once I was given a description of the automaton, I managed to figure it out, because I too, participated in the Lord of Lord''s test. I too visited his pagoda. And I clearly remember the administrator. Then after investigating for a bit, I realized that thest Lord of Lord''s test happened in the Concaved Desert, where after a small questioning, I knew that you were all transported to a lesser celestial world. And from the rumors in question, the imprisoned prince was apparently held hostage in a lesser celestial world. It only takes a bit of thinking to finally find out that you, and the insignificant man, are actually one and the same." The old man said in a matter-of-factly.

    The words he dropped were like bombs on my head, but I tried my best not to expose my anxiety.

    The old man drank from his jug once again, and I, did the same, battling the urge to shake in my ce.

    "Well, no need to hit around the bush, I''m that very same man. But, would giving me up solve this situation?" I said.

    "No, it will not, because the Fire King already spoke his word of conquering this, and kings do not take back their word." The old man said. "Not even if it would solve the problem, I''m not going to give you up to save my skin. After all, why fault a man for doing the right thing? It was never your fault for helping another, so why put you on the stakes." The old man shook his head.

    "I''ve lived long enough, and I''ve seen the evil in man, I have also seen some good, and we''re in desperate need of thetter." The old man said. The mood turned dreary super fast, and I didn''t want it to remain like this.

    "I''ve been sent here to help prepare a formation," I said, cutting away the old man''s train of thoughts.

    "Oh, yeah, that was nothing but a pretext to get you here, though I expected you toe in a week at least." The old man said.

    "I had my means, so there is no formation?"

    "No, there is, but it''s impossible for me to bring it to full function, I''ll need some time"

    "Can I see it?" I asked.

    The old man was about to say something, but then he stopped, no matter what it was he probably was going to tell me that I wasn''t fit to fix something even he couldn''t, but I could read through his expressions something around these lines.

    ''Probably I shouldn''t underestimate him, and see what he has, at least nothing is lost.''

    "Well, here," the old man said and tapped on the table, revealing a holographic design of the entire.

    He then pressed a few times on the holographic imagery and a massive formation appeared around the.

    I stood up, and got closer to the holographic formation.

    "Huh, this is¡­ so what''s the problem?" I asked.

    The old man tilted his head, "I knew you wouldn''t figure it out, you can just drop the matter."

    "No, I mean, besides the fact that you arecking some necessary inscription materials, and have some problems with redirecting Qi flow through a few points, I don''t see any problem with the formation, especially if we use the''s own Qi veins, to supply the formation."

    The old man frowned, he stood up, and pointed, "It''s impossible for me to subvert the evil Qi from this area, it has too much evil Qi, it''s a dead zone, and it''s eating away at the entire formation, once the formation is set up, they can break it from here and cause the whole thing to break down."

    "Yes, that''s because you''re thinking of actually covering it, why not just leave it as is. Use the wholey lines around this area to create a vacuum, where any cultivator that tries to enter will have to go through this dead zone, and you can have the cultivator set up at the perimeters. The enemy cultivators won''t be able to break through theary defenses, and since this evil Qi area will be the most vulnerable, they''ll have to funnel through it. You''ll basically force them into your own ying field instead of being attacked from all over the."

    "You mean, to actually leave the enemy a backdoor?"

    "Unless you do that, your entire is a front door," I said.

    The old man thought for a moment then said, "This will bring up more problems, even if we can manage to somehow force the enemy to Cce and gather in one area, we cant go out and fight them, also, creating a formation that actually avoids this area, in particr, will be a task that will take years toplete."

    "Not if I were the one to make it," I said.

    The old man didn''t believe my words until I brought up my brush and began writing an inscription on it.

    The speed of writing was amazing to see, especially seeing the old man''s reaction to my scribing. But still, to make an inscription capable of coating the whole will require more than the surface of a talisman, but for now, theyout should be fine.

    I finished the inscription, mmed my hand on it and extracted the inscription, then ced it against the holographic.

    The whole graph shook and shuddered then immediately the old formation was overthrown and a new one, improved and modified one came into position, easily covering all of the hologram while leaving a small area without protection, where this area was the dead Qi zone, the inscription fell down around the rims of the dead Qi zone and enclosed it like it was a hole separate from the.

    "This is¡­ most impressive. But sadly¡­ we don''t have enough time." The old man said.

    "How much do we have?" I asked.

    "About two weeks."

    "How fast can a half ascendant travel?"

    "About a two hundred thousand miles a day." He said.

    I made quick calctions and said, "I''ll need a lot of top-grade spirit stones¡­ I can pull this off before the time ends, but I''ll need three Half Ascendants to use every ounce of Qi they have in them for this."

    "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

    "I''ll correct theyout of the formation you have already set up, it''ll take some work, but since I know the key location of the formation, I can modify them once I''m on the scene. But I can''t do them all alone, I''ll need you, Hei Gua Fu, and the bald guy''s assistance. So the two of you cane out." I spoke.

    I heard a chuckle and two figures materialized from empty air.

    "I told you it was him" I heard the feminine voice of Hei Gua Fu, the bald monk came from next to her, with an angry scowl on his face.

    "You already knew." The old man said.

    "Yeah, though they hid their presence well, there is something they couldn''t hide," I said.

    "What is it?" asked Hei Gua Fu.

    "Well, for you, thest time we met, you smelled of Jasmin, though I''m sure you hid the perfume you use, you didn''t remove it from the rest of the room," I said.

    "What about me?"

    "Oh, you''re too fat," I said.

    I could swear that I was gonna get beaten ck and blue, but I immediately added.

    "The chair you were sitting on was slightly bending the ground, the wood underneath your foot is slightly bent out of shape," I said.

    "Observant, smart, and good-looking." Hei Gua Fu said licking her lips.

    "We''ll leave the interactions forter, how about we save a now?"

 Chapter 225: Beacons of Hope

    <h4>Chapter 225: Beacons of Hope</h4>

    I immediately pulled a bunch of inscription materials and began writing a prettyplex formation on one of the few talismans I had.

    "What are you doing?" asked old man Yue. Who I learned the name of after a brief interaction with Hei Gua Fu. Also, the bald guy''s name was Dan Ryo.

    "I''m making beacons," I said.

    The old man frowned, "Are you trying to overwrite theary inscription?" the old man asked.

    "More like modify, overwriting the whole thing would have been better, but we don''t have time. So, I''ll need to update it. And that''s why these beacons are so important. I said and finished the first one.

    Then began writing another, and other more.

    The beacon''s main objective was to facilitate Qi transfer from the''s Qi veins andy lines into the formation, and also facilitate the transfer of Qi so that the whole can ry and function together. The only problem is that I need a lot of these things made and they need to be positioned in Qi positions all over the.

    "Do you need my assistance?" asked old man Yue.

    "As much as I would appreciate it," I said, then slid him one of the talismans I worked on, "It will only slow us down," I said as I continued writing more inscriptions on other pieces of inscription paper.

    "What the?! This is a celestial inscription¡­ it appears that your ventures were very fruitful. I must admit defeat here, I''ve tired and sought celestial inscriptions all my life, and I could barely write a single proper line after my many years of writing. I''m very envious of your talents Shen Bao, go ahead, I dare not interfere with you, but if you need anything just ask."

    "Oh, yes, I''ll need Top Grade Spirit stones, as many of them as you can afford. At least a hundred though, anything more is good to have."

    "Why do you need Top Grade Spirit Stones?" Hei Gua Fu asked.

    "To power up the beacons, I need every one of them to have its own power-up mechanism."

    "Wouldn''t it be best to use the''s own Qi?" asked old man Yue.

    "Not really, though it is least costly to use the''s own Qi, the transfer and transformation of Qi from the to the formation will take a lot of time, dy in fact, and having a dy while cultivators concentrate their attacks on one single area will weaken the inscription. The Top Grade Spirit Stone will act as a secondary battery and cancel out the dy, so when the formation is taking Qi from the to replenish, it will be able to sustain hits thanks to the top-grade spirit stones. In essence, this will make it so that the barrier canst for as long as we can rece The Top Grade spirit stones that go bust, and as long as the has Qi, which is a damn good long time." I said, all of this while still inscribing.

    The group looked at me like I was the nerd in ss, unable to help in solving whatever major problematic I was solving, and at the same time unable to interrupt, because I was their only salvation and they needed to be quiet.

    I continued writing the inscriptions as fast as possible, and ced every talisman I finished to the side, then continued on with writing more.

    A day went by before I was done and finally was able to finish up.

    "Good, now It''s ready," I said as I popped a few Spirit-Rejuvenating pills.

    I then handed the talismans to the cultivators.

    "Each of you will take a hundred of these, and pce them in these locations. I said as I handed them each a map that I ced dots on where they needed to enable the small inscriptions.

    "You have two weeks," I said.

    "Wait¡­this, isn''t this impossible? I mean, I''ll need to be flying at full force just to get to some of these locations within a week. And you want me to visit them all?"

    "I traced the best courses for each and every one of you to take. It should rtively take you fourteen to fifteen days, but if you put in some effort, I''m sure you can make it in less. I mean, it''s only the fate of the entire hanging on your necks." I said shrugging.

    "Old Yue isn''t this kid ve-driving us. How can you even assure that these things can work in the first ce?" asked Dan Ryo.

    "They work, though my understanding of celestial inscriptions is not a match to Shen Bao''sprehension, I would know if an inscription is coherent or not, and that thing in your hand is a masterpiece." Old Yue said.

    Once his words were spoken the two Half Ascendants sighed and took the talismans from me.

    "You''ll need to ce the Top Grade Spirit Stone on the talisman and the inscription will take care of the rest," I said.

    "Wait, I don''t have a lot of those¡­ I don''t suppose I''ll be paying out of my own pockets." Dan Ryo said.

    "Just take as many as you need from the ck Tower, I''ll see if I can strike a deal with them. put it on my tab." Old Yue said.

    Hei Gua Fu and Dan Ryo looked at each other in a mischievous grin and immediately snatched away the rest of the talismans from my hand and dipped out and away from the mountain as fast as they could.

    "I guess they n on robbing you," I said

    "Let them, it''s not like I''m nning to pay back the ck Tower anytime soon, hah." The old man grinned.

    "Seems like you think that outliving this ordeal isn''t possible," I said.

    "Not for me at least, I''m at the limits of my lifespan, and if I could help the younger generation, with as much as I could, I would. I lived, for far, far too long, Shen Bao." He said.

    "Anyway, I''ll need to finish this up, I still need to make a thousand more talismans," I said.

    "Few hundreds? Who is going to take them? should I call the two back?" the old man asked.

    "No, I''ll take them myself," I replied.

    "Ah, the puppet¡­ but, flying at that speed will definitely not be good for a Nascent Soul Cultivator. Are you sure about this, I can make some defensive treasures that can make your journey less painful," he said

    "Don''t worry about me, I have my means," I said then began writing the inscriptions.

    Another day went by before I was finally done, I then bid the old man goodbye and asked him to watch over the formation on the hologram. Whenever any of the beacons I made lights up, it should appear on the hologram.

    Once all are lit up, the protective formation should be up and running.

    and with Y''s help, I should be able to travel all over the ce and nt them, but I''m probably gonna be using a lot of my own energy. And since this whole clusterfuck is basically my fault, I should at least do as much as I can to help.

 Chapter 226: Two Faced

    <h4>Chapter 226: Two Faced</h4>

    Today was thest day of the fourteen days left before the invasion, and shit didn''t look too damn nice.

    I was flying literally all over the, cing as many beacons as I could. Which was definitely not good for my mental or physical health. The skies looked grim and dark. No, it was more as if the skies were muddied and dirtied like murky waters.

    There seems to be something being prepared around the whole globe, and it didn''t look right nor felt right. I hurried to ce the final few beacons I had on me, which will finish up the full formation. Thankfully, without the beacons active, the enemy won''t be able to figure out what I was doing until it''s toote.

    Yet sadly, I''ll need a pitstop soon, I overworked Y too much, which was obviously something dumb as heck to do. And I need to do some repairs, not on his build because mere flight like this is nothing to him, but the reactor he was using had already threatened to burst in mes several times over.

    I''ve fixed it as many times as I could, but I need to properly repair it once I''m done with this shtick.

    I pulled up a small map and did my calctions, finding out that I was only missing two more spots, one in the high seas, and one at the top of a lone mountain, then my part of the job would be done andplete. The first is pretty close so I can do that right now, the second will take an hour to get to.

    I sighed as we headed to the next node.

    ''I hope the two others had finished what I gave them''.

    In fact, though I only gave them a hundred talismans each, while I took more than a thousand for myself to nt. I had Y''s help to carry me all over the ce while they need to actively move from spot to spot.

    I just hope that they don''t outright fall unconscious or unable to function after the excessive Qi expenditure of running this errand. The formation can reduce the pressure on the but we still need Half Ascendant power.

    I threw one of the two remaining beacons on the top of a pretty damn high mountain top and then headed towards the sea where the final node needed toplete the formation.

    I continued moving forward while I was making some shells and explosive canisters. I had nothing else to do before reaching the next point, so I was better off making more ammo for X, and myself.

    "Master¡­ The final node is nearby." Y said.

    "Good, get me there, and rush back to the ck Tower where we left the Purple Cloud Sect, Sect Master."

    "As youmand," Y said.

    Once I arrived at the final area and ced the node, surprisingly, this ce was pretty close to the Deeps, which made me think about Wu Di, Yuzehan, and Xiao Lang. I wonder how they''re doing.

    I shook my head and headed back, there was no time to waste reminiscing. Though I don''t dare think that they''re capable of protecting their whole sect, I hope they can protect themselves and escape if shit hits the fan.

    Y moved fast, and after a couple of hours I was already back at the ck Tower.

    The city looked crowded with cultivators. While houses were closed, locked, and had their windows barred.

    It was like everyone was preparing for a hurricane.

    The ones who''ll be harmed the most are mortals¡­ which is sad.

    Though it hurts my heart to imagine Lucid Springs suffering the aftermath of this war, I''m going to make sure that no one can easilyy their hands on MY town.

    Once I came down, I took a few deep breaths, and walked into the tower, unbothered by the guards or any of the people at the reception, even while the whole city was in a ruckus. The tower still admitted and acknowledged my presence, and I was let inside with haste.

    "Get me to the administrator," I said.

    "Administrator?" asked the guard.

    "The good-looking dude that''s responsible over this tower," I said clearly annoyed because I need to exin myself, and because I never caught the guy''s name in the first ce.

    "Ah lord Feng Han. Yes, please follow me," the guard said and headed towards the elevator which took us up.

    Once on the top floor, I found the young man, Feng Han, sitting calmly and sipping tea from a cup as if the world invasion wasn''t the least of his concerns and this whole thing was nothing but an afternoon event that he didn''t care for, to watch, attend or even partake in.

    "It''s done," I said.

    The man frowned, looked at me, and said, "What do you mean it is done?" he said.

    "Your request, you said that I needed to help fix theary formation so you can let my sect go. Now I''ve done it, allow them to leave." I said.

    The young man looked at men frowned and released a powerful divine sense, even more, powerful than any of the three half-step ascendants I met earlier.

    How? If his divine sense is as strong as an ascendant, and even more¡­ howe the world isn''t chasing him off. Howe he is still able to maintain his body in a space that doesn''t allow cultivators with Saint Qi to exist within it?

    I couldn''t answer the question, but the look on the young man''s face was pretty damn scary.

    "You¡­you really did it? damn." He said and stood up, "And here I hoped that you''ll just think of it as something impossible, and give up halfway. Now you did something really annoying," the young man said.

    "MASTER! CARE!" he said and immediately I felt swords materializing all around me, while at the same time, Y''s swords came in to block, yet two of the swords were too fast for Y''s parry.

    The swords however didn''t pierce through me as they stopped a few inches away.

    It seems that I entered some sort of domain. The world seemed to slow down, this was¡­ time?

    The passage of time felt pretty heavy, it was like the same thing that happens when I''m in the white space of the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    The young man sighed and said, "You''re pretty lucky to have such a strong puppet. Ah, the problems you caused me, Shen Bao!"

    I didn''t reply, because, I wasn''t supposed to reply especially when he thinks he has me in his domain and in his grasp.

    "Do you know that by your meddling, the Fire King will really be annoyed now, I''ve tried to give you a safe exit from this clusterfuck but you went in and made this whole even more annoying to invade."

    "You could have just epted the transport, had you done that, the fire king will intercept the vessel and this whole ce would have survived his wrath, not only would the and all of its people be saved, an annoying pest like you would have died. And I would have been rewarded with that puppet, but no, you went ahead and actually fixed an entireary formation¡­ what should I do?" the young man started his viin monologue and didn''t seem to want to stop.

    He began walking in circles, with a hand under his chin.

    "If I kill you, the ck Tower will start an investigation, I don''t want that. If I go right now and temper with the Formation, though I can destroy a few, I''ll definitely be exposed¡­ hmm."

    The young man pulled a sword from space itself and had it dangerously close to my neck, while I struggled to suppress the urge to look at him and kept my eyes focused on nothing lest he realizes I was not under his binding.

    "AHHHH! Damn it! damn it! what should I do now? I already received the payment from the fire king¡­ hold on, oh I have an idea." The man said smiling.

    He then returned back to where he was before, and waved a hand, causing the swords to disappear, my ruffled clothes to return to their former statue, and even Y''s massive arms disappeared back into the book.

    "MASTER!" shouted Y in my ears.

    "What happened? He asked.

    I replied, "We entered a domain, don''t use divine sense he can sense messaging."

    "What are you and your puppet talking about?" the young man asked.

    "He told me that he felt something strange happening. I also had a bad premonition right now," I said.

    "Oh, must be the enemy preparing their offensive. Anyway, good job on the restoration of the entireary formation, the invasion will have a hard time. I''ll send in for your sect master and rest of the sect." he said.

    "Right, I''ll wait for them then," I replied.

    "Aren''t you tired, shouldn''t you take a rest, you must have worked really hard to fix the formation," he said.

    "Yes, I am, but this might be thest time I see them, so might as well wait for a bit more," I said.

    "Good, loyal to your sect, I appreciate it," he said in a gentle smile, hiding the most venomous sneer behind it.

 Chapter 227: Plot Twist (2)

    <h4>Chapter 227: Plot Twist (2)</h4>

    "I''ll have to excuse myself, where can I meet my sect members?" I asked.

    "They''ll be waiting at the top of the ck Tower, I already prepared a shuttle to send them off, please go up and have a few words with them before you leave, I''ll have to prepare some things before the shuttle starts moving." Feng Han said.

    I nodded to him and walked out of the room where I was met with a couple of guards standing and waiting.

    "Take Shen Bao to the top floor, his sect members should be waiting for him."

    "As youmand!" one of the guards said and nodded for me to follow him.

    And so I did and arrived at the doorway of yet another elevator.

    The three of us were inside the elevator as it closed its door and rose up, it seemed to be functioning on some gravitationalw which was neat because it was very simple.

    While I was feigning interest in the design of the elevator, my mind was already racing thinking about the conversation and interaction that just happened a while ago.

    Seems like this guy, Feng Han is not only no good, he is in cahoots with the Fire King, and they wanted to send me up, then have someone to intercept the shuttle and I''ll be in the fire King''s grasp afterward.

    The elevator doors opened up into a wide room that had a single flight of stairs that led up to a doorway.

    Once the guards walked up and opened the door, I was able to see the shuttle that Feng Han spoke about.

    It was a massive obsidian tower-like structure. It looked like the pizza tower that could host a few thousand people inside it.

    "How many of these does the ck Tower have?" I asked.

    "Oh, one per every ck tower," the guard said.

    "oh really, and this can be used to travel around the?" I asked.

    "What do you mean? This thing is only able to travel through space, using it as transportation means is a huge waste¡­" the guard said to me like I was a peasant that didn''t understand basic things.

    And just to make sure, I used my divine sense on the massive shuttle and realized that it was actually true, this thing had a powerful propelling inscription, but it would show its maximum potential in an area with very little air friction and gravitational pull.

    Now, this makes things quite confusing, because the first time I was asked to go and meet with elder Yue, I was asked to take a shuttle that will use a week to get there.

    Perhaps I lucked out in saying I will go there myself. Because if I were to use this shuttle, now I understand that he was already nning to send me up from the first time we met.

    Damn.

    "How many of these will be sent out?" I asked.

    "In a situation like this one, only this one, because you used your token, otherwise the towers will wait until the ispletely defeated before they take off carrying with them the ck Tower staff and members, and then leaving the rest of the for the fire king. Since the Fire king rarely ever leaves a intact after he invades." The guard said.

    "huh, you seem knowledgeable, anyway, thank you," I spoke.

    Now that I could understand what''s going on, the tower being sent out this early is somewhat of an irregrity.

    "My sect members are inside the shuttle, right?" I asked.

    "Yes," the guard said.

    "Right then, I''ll have to go and meet with them," I said.

    Once I was next to the shuttle gate, it opened up revealing a small spiraling assortment of rooms.

    "Sect Master, Shen Bao came to visit!" a kid wearing the Purple Cloud Sect Robes said.

    Immediately the sect master came out and sent me a divine sense message.

    "You''re already back?" she asked.

    "Of course, why? Want me to go away?" I said teasing.

    My words fell on deaf ears and I could probably feel the cringe in her expressions.

    "Anyway, I came to wish you all a good trip. And hope to see youter on when all of this is over." I said.

    The sect master sighed and said "Hopefully, good luck in the uing battle." she said.

    "Thanks."

    I''m actually having some really bad premonitions about this whole deal. But this is the ck tower, I doubt that anything bad will happen. And if I were to bring up the suspiciousness without evidence I''ll probably only make the sect master worry.

    They''ll be fine.

    "Shen Bao, the shuttle will be moving soon, please step away." One of the guards said.

    "Right then everyone, have a safe trip, I''ll see you allter," I said.

    The sect master looked at me in the eyes, smiled, and said, "Till next time, Shen Bao."

    I walked out of the shuttle range and back into the door.

    "We should get down, the heat will burn us to a crisp if we stay here." The guard said.

    "Right, let''s go," he said and opened the door leading down.

    Just as we got down and the door closed, the shuttle shot forward and flew up.

    "Can I ask you guys something," I said.

    "Yes," the guard said.

    "I didn''t notice any other members of the ck Tower in the shuttle, shouldn''t they be there to take my sect members to safety?" I asked.

    The two guards looked at each other and said, "We''re sure that there are members of the ck Tower in the shuttle, it won''t guide itself, also, the ck tower''s reputation is too grand for anyone to try anything on the shuttle."

    "Oh, that''sforting to hear," I replied.

    Just as I finished speaking, the mother of all explosions echoed above us, and immediately my back went cold.

    The guards were the first to react and went upstairs, then opened the door to reveal a massive explosion in progress in the high skies.

    mes and fire burst and sted all over as Ie to the grave realization that the shuttle where all the purple sect members were on blew up to pieces.

    ***

    A few moments earlier, in the outers peace region above the Si Xue, several cultivators were waiting with pots in hands that had an incense stick lit and burning.

    Behind them were many, many other members who belonged to the Fire King''s army and were waiting for the time period needed to end before they invade.

    Suddenly, a flying object came up from within the stratosphere of the.

    "What is that?" asked one of the cultivators holding the incense.

    "It''s a ck Tower''s shuttle¡­strange, these shouldn''t be leaving this early¡­" one of them replied.

    Almost immediately, a divine message arrived at the ears of the cultivators around the.

    "This is a stolen Shuttle! A few cultivators had stolen it and are using it as means to escape! The ck Tower is willing to offer great rewards to whoever stops or destroys it!" spoke the divine message.

    Without thinking, without even waiting for a moment to even consider the authenticity of this rumor, several cultivators, powerful ones immediately went forward and used their strongest spells.

    And the result was an explosion so wide and huge aftermath of troubles that were going to be a huge pain to exin.

 Chapter 228 - Conviction

    <h4>Chapter 228 - Conviction</h4>

    For a few moments, I gazed at the night skies where thest mes of the shuttle that was supposed to take my sect members to safety slowly died out.

    Pain, it started slow, then it began roiling and coiling around and withing me, like a writhing snake.

    The sky took its darker sheet and the explosion seemed like it had never happened in the first ce.

    The pain began increasing, suffocating me enough that I tried to speak but nothing but iprehensible words came out, I felt like my whole body was going to burst from this pain, and feeling of utterplete frustration and inability to change an oue that had just happened.

    Suddenly I felt like I was numbed to the world in an instant.

    The pain was gone¡­ no, it was still there, muffled and in the background.

    The world, for me, all of it, turned gray in an instant, I felt detached, unable toprehend what just happened.

    A coldness never before felt in my life crept up on my back, it was like the hands of the grim reaper grabbing tightly on my shoulders before it leaned next to my ears and spoke.

    "Ha, Yes, now you can hear me" I heard the voice of someone who was never even there.

    I shook, not in fear but his voice sounded awfully familiar. I shook because I knew who this was.

    "See, this is what happens when you put your trust in the wrong hands¡­ for you still believe in the good in Man." The voice said.

    I remained frozen unable to move and could only listen. Detached from reality, as if I was at the bottom of a cold darkke, unable to hear anything but the sound of my own beating heart, and the terrorizing voice of the person speaking to me.

    "For you have a past that is most fascinating to see, yet, you still live in it, you still uphold your values to a past and to a world that no longer exists." The voice said.

    "Who are you?" I asked.

    "Me? I am your past, your present, and your future, I am your ego, I am your arrogance, I am your sess and I am your failure. I am what you make, and I am what you destroy. I am you, I am, Larry Hudson."

    ''Hold up, that''s my earth name¡­Huh, guess schizophrenia wasn''t the least of my problems,''

    "Jest and joke as much as you want, for it is your way to deal with pain. But do know, that if you keep your head down, bowed against the odds, your back will one daybreak. Look at what your carelessness caused? The death of so many members of the very sect that you risked our lives to save, and now, all gone, why?" the voice spoke this time the words were far colder and I felt the same shiver as before only stronger.

    "Because¡­I allowed it."

    "No, it''s because WE allowed it." the voice said.

    Unable toprehend what he meant, the voice proceeded to exin.

    "I am you," he said.

    Which immediately gave me a shback to a certain dojo with a few characters debating who is who¡­ but I shook the idea away immediately, seems that ''I'' was saying something serious. As incredible as that might sound.

    "I have told you, I am You, and your mistakes are mine, Where you see reason and opportunity, I see danger and risk, and not warning you with the risks is my own shoring." The voice said.

    "Don''t you mean our shoring?" I said half jesting.

    "Indeed Our, now what are ''We'' going to do?" the voice said.

    "I''ll need to get to the bottom of this clusterfuck first. And understand why the ck Tower''s Shuttle was assaulted, shouldn''t they have been a force so strong no one would dare touch their property?" I said

    "Ah, once again, reason and goals, objective and opportunity, you see only the positive in a situation, then react to the negative after it happened. For what I see in your request is nothing but the opposite of what you wish to see. The moment youe asking around on why the ck Tower''s shuttle was assaulted, do you not think that they will shift the me first on something else, for they do not wish to have their name tarnished, also, they could easily say that they actually did you a favor for not sending you as they saved your life since you have a token, or even have you by some mean to be the culprit."

    "Aren''t those all far-fetched scenarios," I said.

    "Do you really think that a powerhouse as big as this one will allow their names to be dragged through the mud due to a low-tier sect dying? At most they''ll find a scapegoat and me him for this, then what will you do then?" the voice said.

    He is right¡­ I mean why would they even care for what I think or what I don''t, now should I just bow down, if I can''t do anything, and if they can easily shift the me for someone else, am I not just as powerless today as I was back in that cave¡­ haven''t I promised myself to never be powerless like that day.

    "We are not powerless Shen Bao. We never were, it''s only that you never allowed yourself to fully enjoy the might of a cultivator that you feel weak."

    "I guess you know more since you were the one who beat that soul transformation cultivator.

    "There is no I here, it is us, and we have not technically beat the cultivator, it was Y. Still, what I speak of is the fact that you train the sword, yet never use it, you train your arts and never use them, you cultivate not to better yourself, but you cultivate to better the world around you, though the second option sounds far more appealing it is the opposite of what cultivation is."

    ''This is basically all that Zhang Tian said¡­only reworded,''

    "Indeed, because I cannot tell you more knowledge than you have, I can only reword it, rephrase it and give it back to you from a different point of view, I am not a parasite but I am you, only I see things like a cultivator, while you still see the world as a mortal." The voice said.

    ''Then help me see the way you see. Perhaps this pain will go away.''

    "That pain will never go away, that pain is a reminder of your hesitation, of your mistakes, and most of all, of your indecisiveness. It will always be there, as a reminder, so that the next time you wish to do something, you do it fully convinced in your own action."

    "True, perhaps you''re right because even the Poison God said that¡­ the first few lines¡­ yes, I should have been more decisive, I should have had them stay here, I knew something was wrong but didn''t speak my mind¡­ and this happened."

    "It is what it is¡­and now, what will you do?" the voice asked.

    I opened my eyes and found myself back on top of the ck Tower. The guards looked at me, unable to exin or say what''s in their minds, they knew fair well who the people in the shuttle were for me, and were waiting for my reaction.

    I turned and the two of them immediately took a step back, unconsciously so because they weren''t looking at me.

    But were looking at the poison Qi that was raging out from within my body, shaped into a five-headed snake that was hissing above me.

    I closed my eyes once, then opened them and the poison Qi aura disappeared while I returned to my calm self.

    "I''ll have a word with Feng Han¡­" I said.

    "Y-yes, give me a moment I''ll inform him.." the guard replied.

 Chapter 229 - Betrayal And Resolve

    <h4>Chapter 229 - Betrayal And Resolve</h4>

    Just as I came down the stairs along with the guards, I found Feng Han waiting for me, with a wide evil smile on his face.

    "I''m rather impressed," he said, "That you didn''t lose your cool, seems that your sect members aren''t that important to you are they?" he said.

    With his words spoken, the two guards next to me finally understood what happened.

    Feng Han was the preparator behind this incident.

    "Sir Feng Han, what is the meaning of this, Shen Bao is an honored guest of the ck Tower, a man who is favored by the Tower due to great achievement, a holder of a Golden Token." The guard said and approached menacingly against his own superior.

    "Is that so?" Feng Han said, "All I see is a traitor to the ck Tower, a person given an inch and wanted to take a yard," he said as he grinned. "Not only did he attempt to steal a shuttle from the ck tower to attempt to escape, running away from the responsibility of protecting his own, a traitor to his own people, he also killed a guard of the ck Tower in his attempt to run away from the tower. While another lost his life as he managed to valiantly stop Shen bao from escaping." Feng Han said.

    Immediately, I managed to put two and two together, and turned tail, and shot out to the top of the tower stairs.

    The two guards didn''t understand yet what happened, because the moment they turned to look at my retreating figure, Feng Han slid both his fists into their backs, ripping their spines out from their backs and killing them instantly.

    I sted as much Qi as I could flooding the path behind me with toxic poison to stop Feng Han from following me. Which proved little than helpful as he teleported right in front of me.

    But two of us can y that game.

    I used my own version of teleportation and managed to shake him off. With my divine sense spread I could feel Feng Han''s disturbed expressions changing as he spun his head around trying to scan my location with Divine Sense.

    I ced two fingers under my bottom lip and breath out a gout of thick Breath Sealing Poison, causing any Qi in the vicinity to be disturbed and at the same time hide my own Qi signature. Though I don''t have the same Qi as any other cultivator, I can still be detected by divine sense, but if I do this¡­ I''m practically invisible.

    I continued dashing away and spitting more breath-sealing poison which further hampered Feng Han from locating me, but he still knew that I was headed upwards, and just as I got to the doorway to the top of the tower.

    "Y st through!" I said and immediately Y''s massive arms shot up from within my chest and tore open the door.

    He then flew forward and gently ced me on his shoulder, then sted as much Qi as he could in an instant, causing the two of us to st through the sound wall and disappear in the distance.

    I was calm, too damn calm in fact. Because this interaction that happened right now wasn''t something I could manage or handle.

    That man isn''t someone I can defeat.

    "It was wise of you, Master," Y said.

    "What was wise," I said.

    "That you have not been emotional, that you have not gone mad with rage, and that you have not attempted to fight against someone that is far stronger than an Ascendant."

    "Oh, seems that you know what cultivation stage that man is."

    "I do, but it will make no sense to speak it, as this world''sws will remove the notion of that cultivation stage from your mind." Y said.

    "If he is that strong, why didn''t he outright kill me."

    "He wouldn''t have been able to unless he wishes to die alongside you. It is decreed, by a mystic and ancientw, that these barrennds wouldn''t allow Ascendants and above to rampage within them. Thus why the Fire King didn''t send ascendants, otherwise they would have taken over the in an instant." Y said as we flew away.

    "What would have happened if he used all of his power," I asked.

    "Besides your inescapable death, the Heavenly Law would descend and he shall pay with his life to this transgression." Y said.

    I nodded and continued moving forward, with blood colder than ice as I gazed at the world.

    Just as we were moving, a jade began shaking within my robes.

    I pulled the jade and saw old man Yue''s face manifesting like a hologram.

    "Shen Bao, what the hell happened? Why would they say that you killed a ck Tower guard?!" he asked.

    "Seems like the lies already reached you."

    "I have my doubts against the ck Tower''s management here, but you practically gave the whole a new lease on life, why would they do this?" Old Yue asked.

    "If I were to tell you, you''ll only get yourself in trouble, don''t worry about me, and just prepare for the activation of the formation. Where are Dan Ryo and Hei Gua Fu?" I asked.

    "They just got back, they finished linking their beacons but they are pretty exhausted." Elder Yue said.

    "Good, I''ll manage the rest," I said.

    "Wait, Shen Bao," old man Yue said.

    I didn''t speak and waited for him to speak his mind.

    "I''m no fool, and I''ve lived long enough to be able to figure things out, it seems that Feng Han managed to figure out your importance to the Fire King. Because he just posted a bounty with your name on it and it''s so tempting even I am eying it¡­" old man Yue said.

    "Shit¡­" I cursed.

    "The situation looks desperate, everyone is basically after you right now, Feng Han revoked your golden insignia, and is willing to give one to anyone who captures you, not only that, he promised three bs of Saint Qi to anyone who manages to catch you, andplete immunity from the iing invasion along with a promise to go and study at the Heavenly Academy." Old man Yue said

    "Hell, even I''m tempted to hand myself over, but don''t worry about me, I''m not that easy to catch," I said.

    "Good luck Shen Bao," Elder Yue said.

    "Thanks," I replied and broke the crystal.

    I needed to get off the grid. And I can''t have anything on me that can have me located.

    I then pulled the ck tower medal and pulled up my inscription pen and began modifying it.

    It had a tracking inscription that I couldn''t allow to exist. But other than that, it was a simple mechanism to capture a piece of the soul.

    The medal worked in a way that once you kill someone who isn''t from this, I will capture a sliver of their soul andpute its soul power and convert it to points.

    I can still use this medal but I can''t have it linked to my name, thus is modified the name it projected to something else.

    "Y, get down here," I said and Y came down, the both of us were now in a wide wilderness that was pretty close to the ce where the biggest ughter-fest the of Si Xue had ever witnessed.

    Once I was down, I rxed my body and began agitating the bone and body grinding poison within me, soon my body began changing, from that of a young man to that of an old-looking, bald, pustule-filled and disgusting looking old creep.

    My whole aura changed, my appearance, and with the help of a hunched back, my stature changed. Now I only needed to hide away X, and Y and I should be more than capable of fully camouging myself. Although this might work for a little while, once my weaponry is exposed I''m definitely going to be revealed to the world, but I should be able to manage by then.

    "Good," I said as I realized that the time was about to begin for the invasion.

    I pulled a small inscription paper and said, "Release."

    With the word spoken, the talisman''s inscription shone and then the world was lit, as the darkness of the night was chased away by an inscription so massive, so wide, and so bright that it turned night to day for a fraction of a second.

    The world became bright for a moment, and with this formation now active, the enemy forces have no way to enter the, but from this very small ce in front of me.. And I was ready.

 Chapter 230 - First Blood

    <h4>Chapter 230 - First Blood</h4>

    "Master Yul, I have them all here," spoke a cultivator as he approached a man who was sitting afloat in space right above the of Si Xue.

    The sitting cultivator had a pale gray face, with eyebrows that twirled up like the horns of a devil. His whole appearance was unholy, as a powerful dark aura was constantly seeping out of his body, exuding death and decay.

    The devil-like cultivator opened his eyes, revealing crimson red pupils on a cker than a ck eye, and said, "Give it."

    The first cultivator handed the devilish one a bag, and thetter opened it, he then slid his hand into the bag and grabbed a small soul from it.

    It had the appearance of a young man who desperately struggled to rid himself from the grip of this devilish-looking man.

    "Weaklings, not even fit for a snack," the devilish cultivator said as he gulped the cultivator''s soul and chewed on it like if it was food.

    "Master Yul, was that wise? Those souls are for the fire king," said the first cultivator.

    Just as the man finished his words, the devilish-looking cultivator pped him, powerfully so that w marks sliced across the cultivator''s face.

    "Don''t you ever dare question me!"

    "Yes, Sir!" the man said.

    "Keep going, you already fucked up enough with attacking the ck Tower''s shuttle, we''ve been set up, so don''t you daree at me with shit like this. Additionally, we spent too much waiting for the opportunity to invade this, now get it done, it''s already time to start." The cultivator said.

    "Right, I''ll initiate the assault." The cultivator said. He then turned and called out.

    "Servants of the fire king! For his majesty''s Glory, his strength and his longevity, bring down the reckoning upon these mongrels, and im this world for the Fire King''s Glory!" the man spoke and all the cultivators, starting from the core, and nascent soul, all the way to half ascendant cultivators all shuddered as they rushed toward the form all over it.

    Suddenly, before the first cultivator could even touch the atmosphere of the, lines so wide, so bright and so long spread from pinpoint sources.

    These sources were the beacons that Shen Bao, Hei Gua Fu, and Dan Ryo, had ced all over the, and now, they connected together like a tight that began linking with a speed far too fast for anyone to react to.

    "What is this!" was the question everyone was asking, and the reply came far too fast for them to like.

    Immediately after every line was linked a few cultivators ignored the ''light'' show and tried to go past them, only to be instantly eradicated, body, soul, and Qi, all at once.

    "What the hell is this?"

    "This is a formation¡­ why would a dirt-like like this have an offensive formation this powerful?!" a cultivator asked.

    Only to receive a reply from another cultivator behind him, "This isn''t even a powerful formation, at least for us Ascendants, but we can''t use our power here, we''ll die before we can even damage the¡­" a cultivator holding one of the incense pots said.

    "How are we going to go through this formation?" asked a cultivator, only to receive a reply saying to him, "Breakthrough, everyone attacks the formation with as much strength you can, it will break eventually!" and thus began the assault on Si Xue.

    ***

    As I sat down within the trees, hidden behind a formation that covered my presence, I began thinking about everything that just happened.

    The administrator of the ck Tower on this is someone who will die, by my hands, without question, and it will be thest thing I''ll do even if it means my own demise.

    Because there is no way in hell will I allow someone to screw me over as he just did?

    The fact that he made me promise safety to an entire sect only to have them all perish isn''t something that I can easily swallow.

    The problem is, it sucks, they are all dead, and I''m sad beyond sadness, but for some reason¡­ I''m still calm, too damn calm it''s frustrating.

    "It is nothing strange, it is nothing but a mechanism to preserve your life when facing extreme odds." Spoke the voice in my head.

    Ah yes, I''m also a bit crazy.

    But if I think about it, going all mad with rage, at that point when I saw the destruction of the shuttle would have probably cost me dearly.

    Though I don''t think the administrator would have dared break the world''sw of not using his cultivation level to straight-up kill me, I''m more than certain that he must have had a treasure or two that could preserve his life in case of danger, and would outright wipe my existence if I were to dare and act against him.

    Because he was intentionally leaving himself open for attacks when I was running away from him, If I had Y assaulted him, I''m sure I would have either died, or something worse would have happened to me.

    As apparently death isn''t the worst thing that could happen in a cultivation world.

    I shook my head because I tend to lose track of the things I think about pretty easily. Damn ADHD, hell even thinking about losing track of things makes one lose track of this, see I''m doing it right now¡­

    I shook my head once again and went back to my current situation.

    All my gut, wit and intelligence is telling me to ignore this whole clusterfuck and just hide and wait for this thing to be over. But doing so will mean that I''ll lose out on a lot of things I can obtain from the ck Tower. Not to mention, if I were to leave, a lot of my friends will die.

    Not that I can change the fate of the entire by myself, but I know my value, and I know damn well how annoying I can be. And I''m about to prove it right now.

    As I looked up, a couple of cultivators wereing down with incredible speed.

    "Damn, this area is heavily restricting Qi!" one of them said.

    "Just be careful, whoever made this formation probably didn''t realize that this area, which suppresses Qi will work against him, let''s a scout and go back to report this to the higherups." He said.

    "You sure you don''t want to go around a bit, I want to be the one who gets first blood in this battle¡­" the first cultivator said, but before he could even finish his words.

    His right eye bulged up, then blew up as a bullet shot from the back of his skull.

    The second cultivator''s reaction was impressive as he didn''t hesitate to jump back up, but he didn''t understand the full effect of this area as the moment he jumped the world dragged him back, this area is filled to the brim with Breath Sealing Poison. Not mine, but a natural one that made this whole area impossible to live in.

    Nothing besides trees and regr grass could survive here.

    And with his Qi sealed, the cultivator fell down, and one bulletter from my revolver and his life was over.

    I moved toward the bodies of the two cultivators, causing my medal to shine immediately as it absorbed a strand of their souls each.

    I then grabbed their bodies and ced them within the poison god''s book, soul, and body.

    "Good, two down, a whole army left¡­ let''s see how this goes on."

 Chapter 231 - A Friends Troubles

    <h4>Chapter 231 - A Friend''s Troubles</h4>

    The skies were colored with explosions of all types and sorts. Colors washed over the horizon as the enemy forces desperately tried to break through the formation that was protecting the. Though eventually, they can break it, it will take them an ungodly amount of effort and Qi to do so. Because as long as the was supplementing the formation with Qi, the formation was gonna stand.

    The sounds of explosions were like thunderps in a summer day, strange and umon, frightening to the mortals and animals alike, but for the cultivators, a reminder that an enemy was standing at their doors.

    And while the enemy was trying to force their way through the main door, I was standing guard on the backdoor.

    More cultivators came down this barren area, and never managed to go back.

    The whole world was coated in a powerful formation, while only this ce was not. But still, that didn''t mean that they could easily get inside to the, as even if this ce could allow cultivators toe down, they can''t get past the massive formation wall, it was like a well that they went deep down into, and they could never get back up.

    The only way to get out of this area that is full of Breath Sealing Poison is to break the massive formation wall surrounding it which rose up to the skies to link with theary formation.

    Which was as difficult as breaking the formation from outside.

    The best thing was that I can attack them from behind the barrier while they can''t do anything to me.

    And the greatest part is the fact that any Qi spell that goes into the sealed area will die out, so even if I can''t use any spells against them, they too can''t, but I have the advantage of modern weaponry.

    X was already positioned on top of one of thergest trees with a fully automated long-range rifle that he began using, taking down one cultivator at a time.

    X, was not human, making his precision immacte, every bullet shot from his rifle meant a dead cultivator. And the best part was the cultivators couldn''t react to the bullets.

    The Qi tampered with their Divine Sense and perception and also slowed down their reaction time by a lot.

    So every shot was a kill, and every kill meant an advantage to this doomed.

    I gave X orders to continue shooting, but only shoot those who made it to the ground, and if there is any cultivators that were stilling down, to hold off on the bullets lest he gets scared off.

    The idea was to snipe and kill as many cultivators as we can, without them realizing that this was actually a kill zone.

    Once X took out three more cultivators, I rushed through the prairies and began collecting their bodies. Some tried to force their souls into me to possess me, but with my powerful soul force, they were all met with a steel resolve and were ground to soul dust.

    I collected the bodies and hid back in the nearest foliage, waiting for more cultivators toe down.

    This hunting game continued on. Hour after hour, more cultivators came down. Only to never go back up.

    And soon, the first day was about to end, and the curtains of this war have yet to fully unfold.

    So far, all the cultivators that came to this area were nothing but weak cultivators of at most Nascent Soul stage. They were no match to X''s rifle uracy.

    And I could presume that these cultivators only happen to find this spot by sheer luck, and came down to explore. Since the formation will instantly kill anyone who touches it.

    This was good, let them dribble down this hole like droplets of water, where I can take them out, one by one.

    The first day went by. And apparently, Si Xue didn''t act yet. The presence of the formation is enough of assurance to them to not act for now. Preserving their powers while the enemy is actually fighting to get inside the formation.

    But that was good for me, let them power up and use the time they have now to prepare for battle, while I''m gathering contribution. Though I''m unable to go back to the ck Tower and im anything since I''m basically the number one bounty, once I clear my name, I''m sure to collect everything I am owed, with extras.

    Another cultivator came down, and another life was imed.

    The days continued on like this, slowly and surely, more kills were raked and more blood stained the prairies.

    ***

    As Shen Bao had presumed, the whole of Si Xue was ratherx, though many were preparing for the iing battle, some took the presence of the formation for granted and as if it would protect them forever. However, they were confused by one thing.

    On the ranking panel of the contribution points of the ck Tower, there was one single name ranked up as the highest of the contributors, and none other besides him.

    One-Eyed Serpent.

    No one knew who this was, or what background he came from, but everyone knew one thing, he was killing the enemy cultivators like they were flies, and apparently was still undiscovered.

    Many cultivators wondered how could someone be able to do battle against the enemy while the formation was still up, and most presumed that this cultivator is actually within the enemy ranks and is acting as a dagger in their back, lowering their numbers before the final assault.

    Many wondered about the origin of this brave person who is currently risking his life, alone, against an entire army only to give this a chance at survival.

    This man, alone on the ranking caused many to have the fires ofpetition rage within them, as they too wanted to be of help to this very they lived on.

    There was no other choice for them than a victory because defeat meant something worse than death to these cultivators.

    Actual death means that their souls can enter reincarnation, and they cane back again to life, but to be used as Soul food for the Fire Lord meant that they will lose any chance at reincarnating and will be used as supplements, food, and nourishment for someone else.

    Many a heavenly tribtion struck, and many cultivators rose in rank, while some failed. But every ascension of cultivation rank meant a powerful cultivator is born, and every failure meant that the other cultivators'' resolve would only be strengthened to face the odds.

    The''s future looked bleak, and only good fate can save it.

    ***

    Away from the Barren World. Zhang Tian was notified by what just urred outside the of Si Xue.

    Since his friend was there, he had already sent powerful cultivators to watch over the, cultivators so strong and so mighty, that the Ascendant Stage cultivators of the Fire King didn''t notice them while they hid themselves.

    These cultivators job was to keep an eye on the, and mix in with the invaders and find a way to extract Shen Bao once they locate him.

    However, they managed to get information about the Fire King''s active role in seeking this''s destruction, and willingness to go all the way from his domain to this ce, just to spite the Wind King.

    However, before they could even enter the, a shuttle was seen flying outside of the, only to have the Fire King''s own people attack and destroy it. Which, for the Wind King''s members was something strange and akin to shooting themselves in the foot. Attacking the ck Tower''s possession meant breaking all rtionships which was not something any of the four kings ever wanted.

    But it seems that this shuttle was ''stolen'' and those who stole it were killed, earning the Fire King a favor from the ck Tower.

    However, this struck everyone as something odd. The ck Tower''s Shuttles aren''t something that anyone from a weak, barren can steal.

    Yet when the destruction of the shuttle wasplete, a few cultivators came in and began collecting the souls of the people who died, harvesting them into a Soul Refining Pot.

    The whole scene was projected back to Zhang Tian who was not moved at first, but the moment one of the robes of the cultivators that just died flew across the scene he was looking at. Zhang Tian stood up¡­ this was the same type of robe that Shen Bao was wearing when he came to the Celestial Realm.

    The pce shuddered as the prince''s face twisted into the ugliest expression of wrath that ever crossed his face since his birth.

    The prince, the Thousand Year Schr, son of the Wind King, a man with power enough to call down hail, and lightning has now been enraged.

 Chapter 232 - Among Them

    <h4>Chapter 232 - Among Them</h4>

    The sun rose on another day, coating the open prairies with its golden rays that chased away the darkness of the night. Here ites another day, another day of waiting... another day where this''s fate will hang.

    "Hmm, seems like no one ising over," I spoke as this was the third day that not a single cultivator from the Fire King''s realm came in.

    At first, I thought that this was just luck, that no cultivator came down due to the fact that the is damn big, and finding this not-so formation-protected part was pretty hard.

    But on the fourth day, I realized that I was damn mistaken.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of cultivators rushed into the massive opening in the formation and came down with as much speed as they could.

    They must have realized that the other cultivators who have been here before had died. Though I don''t know how they were informed, since this is a world where everything is possible, I didn''t dare and waste time thinking about it.

    Just as the first batch of cultivatorsnded, they spread out in all directions.

    Which was damn good for me, as they say, Divide and Conquer, and they already spared me the effort of dividing them. All I have left to do is to slowly take them out.

    The prairies were not the best ce to take out the cultivators, but once they walked into the forested area of this Qi-less zone. They all became prey.

    X''s rifle was too loud, and a single shot would alert everyone here, so I had to inform him to not interfere. This was Z''s turn to shine.

    I pulled the small puppet spider from my pocket, and then had it move into the no Qi area.

    Unlike humans, or cultivators in general, who will have their Qi disrupted the moment they enter this area, since it had a breath sealing Qi poison in it. My puppets aren''t under the same influence.

    It''s not because of an inscription or anything like that, but the fact that they do not generate their own Qi, and actually use ''batteries'' where Qi is already coalesced and stored and those are Spirit Stones.

    And since he could use Spirit Stones to move around and not be affected by the atmosphere, Z was more than capable of doing his job and a tad bit more.

    Z''s speed was too fast for regr eyes to spot, and with the disruption of Divine Sense, he was nigh impossible to spot.

    Znded on the shoulder of the nearest Cultivator and jabbed a poison needle into him. Before the cultivator could even realize that he was pricked, Z had already moved to the second Cultivator, and it kept going on like that.

    A couple of cultivators stopped, as one asked another, "Something bit me." The first one said.

    "Really? Same here, hold up, why is your face so¡­blue," the second cultivator said.

    The first, not realizing that he was being talked to, took a few steps back, his eyeballs rolled back, and then he fell, spasming, and frothing at the mouth.

    The second cultivator tried to get closer to hispanion, only to fall on his knees and then his face, spasming and unable to act.

    Death, doom, and decay waited for anyone touched by Z''s needle.

    The poison in it was a nasty mix of Bone and Body Grinding Poison, Breath Sealing Poison, Braided Mourning Poison, and Soul Disrupting Poison.

    A mix capable of neutralizing the body, the soul, the mind, and the Qi. Four poisons one for each function and the effect is beyond deadly.

    The simple idea of being poisoned by this mix is frightening. Not only will their body feel intolerable pain due to the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, but the Breath Sealing Poison Will also stop them from trying to counter its effect as it will further disrupt their Qi, and moreover, the Braided Mourning Poison will paralyze their bodily function, causing them to shake shudder and spasm, while the final poison, the Soul Disrupting Poison will act in a way to lock their souls from escaping their bodies and avoid death. After all, any Nascent Soul Cultivator can have a second shot at life if their soul escapes.

    It''s not called a Nascent Soul for anything, it can be ced in a new body and be a pseudo resurrection.

    But with this poison''s effect, the end result is inescapable.

    Z continued on poisoning more and more cultivators, but I knew this wasn''t going to work all he way since the rest of the cultivators will discover or realize that theirpanions went missing.

    But as long as Z can take out a good portion of the cultivators, it will prove helpful for fending off these invaders for a few more days.

    Though I''m the only one battling right now, I''m doing all I can to stop these people from entering, but I do know that I alone am not a match for an entire army.

    But I can make it damn troublesome for them to enter.

    I took the opportunity once all nearby cultivators were taken out to collect their bodies, then, I hid back again.

    The numbers were too high for me to move around without getting spotted. So, I might as well hide in in sight.

    I pulled the robes of one of the Cultivators that I took out, and dressed myself to appear as one of the enemy forces. I then continued on with looking through their holding bags.

    I found a lot of random crap, useless to me for the most part besides some spiritual nts that didn''t exist on this''s biome, and some alchemy ingredients that were useful to me.

    Besides that, I found a few jade slips that had some information that we''re going to be very handy to me.

    I took one of the jade slips and began moving alongside the formation until I met the first group of cultivators, they were four.

    One of them had the same sect robes as I did, while the other three belonged to one sect.

    The one with the same sect robes looked at me, frowned, and said, "I''ve never seen you before, I would definitely remember someone¡­who looks like you," he said.

    Well obviously, I look like a monster right now. But that''s good.

    I looked back at him and said, "But I have seen you before, young master Xue Xiao. I''m just a guard of one of the Holy Crimson Suzaku''s worshipping ground. And my appearance was the result of a bad attempt at defying my fate. I''ve also seen you braving through the trial many times. You''re a great young hero, master Xue Xiao."

    "Defying fate? Howe? He asked."

    "I found a Relinquished Heavenly Berry, and in an attempt to consume it to upgrade my spiritual root, the opposite happened and this was the result," I said pointing at my body.

    "Ah, it is the fate of cultivators," he said "To defy and challenge, but not everyone is blessed with fortune. Such as you, you would have done better by giving a Relinquished Heavenly Berry to someone like me," he said.

    "It is greed, young master, Greed makes one blind to the dangers. But as cultivators, can we be med for our greed?" I asked.

    The man looked at hispanions, frowning unable to understand the meaning behind my simple question, and to get himself out of this tough spot he spoke

    "It seems like you have some wisdom in you, but at the same time foolish for biting more than you could chew, still I appreciate people, who take risks. For all that matters tell me since you arrived earlier than us, what did you find out at this pace? We''ve been looking around and haven''t spotted anything or anyone." Xue Lu said.

    ''Good, I managed to get him to change the subject, now I can manipte the conversation to my advantage.

    "Oh, same here," I replied, "I was with a group of cultivators earlier, we spread apart, the only thing I found out was the rim of this area. There seems to be a formation rising up that''s encircling this whole ce." I said, giving them the gist of things. Also, adding information that they will eventually discover will add more to my value and make me more trustworthy.

    "Seems that you came to the same conclusion as we did. This ce feels like a trap more than an actual forgotten entry. Not to mention many cultivators had not been able to reply back to us once they came in here." Xue Xiao said.

    Apparently, I''m sort of trust. Good, it was a nice idea to actually check up on the dead cultivator''s belonging. With a jade slip full of instruction and some basic knowledge of people from the Fire King''s background, I was able to use it to gain a footing among them. Though if I were to continue talking, I''m sure I''ll be exposed. I might as well start following orders and try to be as least suspicious as I can.

    "What''s your name by the way?" asked Xue Xiao.

    "Xiao Lu," I replied. A name that was a mix of my sons names.

    "Right little Lu, follow me from now on, you''re still a Nascent Soul cultivator at the early stages, if you want to gain some merits in this conquest, you''ll need to follow my lead and do as I say." Xue Xiao said.

    "Right sir," I said and followed behind the cultivators.. Now with a foot among the enemy, I can do whatever I want.

 Chapter 233 - One By One

    <h4>Chapter 233 - One By One</h4>

    "How are we going to proceed young master Xue," I asked as I kept a close distance from the leader of the group.

    The man looked around and said, "We''ll first head to the rim of the formation, and try and group up with the rest of the forces. Once everyone is here we''ll attack the formation together, it shouldn''t hold if we focus our fire." Xue said.

    "Oh, that''s impressive, I''ll follow suit," I replied and began formting methods on how to make his current goal as hard to get as possible.

    "I wonder, howe you can resist the Breath Sealing poison? All of us are in the Soul Formation stage, and we''re barely able to maintain proper function," one of the four people following Xue said to me.

    His tone wasn''t gentle, and he looked suspicious of me.

    After all, I''m a Nascent Soul Cultivator who can do what others of a higher cultivation rank than me can.

    I then smiled pointed at my face and said, "This gue, or whatever this ugly constitution I have, apparently blocks the Breath Sealing Poison on this area. But that doesn''t mean I can use my prows, as a matter of fact, I''m only able to preserve the Qi within me, and can''t harvest any from the outside." I said.

    "Hmm, seems like a blessing in disguise, but a blessing that is only temporary and only works in this area." The man said.

    I nodded at the man and said, "If it''s something to help our invasion, then I''ll use it to the fullest of my ability, because like master Xue said, I need to rack achievements and merit, perhaps after this war, I''ll be able to get a cure if I''m achieving enough." I said.

    The four cultivators ignored my presence after my statement.

    It was obvious since I was speaking of ''glory'' and future, hope, and actual goals that I''m seeking. For these cultivators, all I was speaking was nothing but hopeful dreams and aspirations, that someone ''like me'' will never obtain, so why bother with a dreamer.

    Soon enough we had to stop as Xue asked us all to wait. It seems that he discovered something and from the area, we''re at, I could guess what.

    "There is blood here," Xue said and went on one knee.

    He dipped his finger in the blood pool and put in his mouth, tasting it.

    That''s very unsanitary, yuk.

    "This¡­"

    "What''s the problem, young master?" I asked.

    "This is a Soul Formation Cultivator''s blood. Seems that someone came before us, and died here. Everyone be on your guard." Xue said.

    With his words spoken, several waves of divine sense were shot all over the ce to inspect the area only to have the waves return back to them, broken and shattered due to the severity of the Breath Sealing Poison.

    "Keep your divine sense close to your body, otherwise It will just exhaust your Qi reserves for no reason, and will cause you to have a slower reaction time," Xue said and visibly shrank his divine sense to be just a few feet around his body.

    The other four did the same while I only coated my body with a thinyer of Divine Sense.

    "That''s the disadvantage of having a low cultivation stage, with such low Qi output you can barely coat yourself with divine sense. If you''re attacked you''ll die before you know it," one of the four said.

    "I know the risks, but I can''t do anything to change this, unlike your vast and steep cultivation base I''m still too weak. I''ll have to rely on your guidance," I said to the cultivator.

    He snorted and said proudly, "Yes, stay close. Lest you die with no achievements."

    And so I did, as I stayed closer to the group as they approached and carefully strained themselves looking for an enemy that didn''t exist. At least not yet.

    Once we got to the rim of the area, Xue frowned and said, "It seems that we''re trapped." He said.

    "What do you mean Brother Xue?" asked one of the cultivators.

    "This whole area is surrounded by the same formation that is protecting the whole."

    "That just means that we can''t get past it anytime soon, but with the concentrated effort of the army we can breakthrough, isn''t that right master Xue," said another.

    "I think what master Xue I referring to is the fact that we''re unable to freely use Qi, while the army outside the can easily bombard it from outside¡­ We''re basically trapped here and at the mercy of whoever just killed the cultivator whose blood we saw earlier," I said exining, and at the same time pitching in the conversation.

    "Little Lu is right, this ce is a closed trap, we need to group up with everyone else here, that way we''ll have better chances at survival. Whoever was able to take out a Soul Formation cultivator without making a sound isn''t someone simple. Let''s head out," Xue said, turned, and moved away from the barrier.

    We followed suit and once we were a few feet away from the barrier, I smiled as the first shot from X''s weapon sounded like the breaking of thunder.

    I wanted to takeout Xue''s head with a single shot, but sadly he was damn careful but the others weren''t.

    Xue dodged the bullet with incredible reaction time but X had made sure to align both Xue and another cultivator who wasn''t fast enough and was taken out with a shot to the head.

    "What the hell was that?!" one of the cultivators asked.

    "Enemy, from outside the barrier, Shit, I think they can attack us while we can''t. Let''s move in between the trees!" I shouted.

    None even dared question or speak against what I said, and immediately they all bolted away.

    I had X shoot a couple of times my way, tearing a hole in my robes, but at the same time, every shot towards the other cultivators was lethal.

    Two more died before me, Xue and onest cultivator made it behind some cover. It was basically just rocks and trees but was more than enough to cover us.

    "What the hell was that!" asked thest remaining cultivator.

    While, I breathe heavily, and began checking around myself.

    My actions caused Xue to take note of the couple of holes I had in my robes.

    "By the gods, you must be loved by fate¡­" Xue said.

    I looked at him, and took a deep breath then said, "I Think, that luck had something to do with my survival along with the fact that whoever was attacking us was prioritizing stronger foes first. It seems that our lost brothers died first because they were stronger¡­I''m ashamed to say that the only reason I survived was dumb luck and the fact that I''m weaker¡­ but I doubt It will be the case longer." I said.

    "We''re trapped like chicken in a pen house, and there is a very hungry wolf inside. Master Xue, do you have any way of getting us out of this damn mess?" asked the cultivator.

    "I''m thinking!" Xue said.

    "I can probably do something," I said.

    "What can you do? What can a Nascent Soul cultivator even do in this case, where even stronger ones died!" the cultivator said. Probably more out of frustration of this situation than actual rage at me. But it doesn''t matter. It''s still good for me. As long as I''m antagonized, I''m safe.

    "Let him speak," Xue said, "We can use all the help we can get right now," Xue said.

    The other cultivator snorted and waited for me to exin myself.

    "I figured out something," I said, "Whoever is shooting those deadly projectiles at us, can only do so from a certain distance."

    "How would you know that?" the cultivator asked.

    "While we were running, at one point even while we were on the open field, no shot came our way, meaning that they probably were unable to locate us, or had issues with range. Either way, it''s good for us," that was actually bullshit, I just asked X to stop shooting otherwise it''ll be very suspicious if only me and Xue remained alive.

    "So, it coulde to reason that probably the area we''re in, the Breath Sealing Poison is stopping the assant''s detection range."

    "What if he was just having issues with replenishing his shots and attacks."

    ''Reloading? Definitely not, but you gave me a good idea.''

    "Well, that''s also one of the reasons that this might still work. I have something here," I said as I pulled several pills from my inventory.

    "These are smoke bombs, one of these can cover about a mile''s worth of distance in thick smoke. We can use these to move away from the enemy''s range."

    "Visual disruption, if he has a mean to detect us through it, we''re still dead!" the cultivator said, "I''m not going to follow the steps of a brat who still stinks of his mother''s breastmilk if you want to die, do it alone!" the cultivator said.

    I frowned at the man, showing displeasure, which also was nothing but acting.

    "I don''t really understand why you''re being so displeased with my solutions when you offered nothing, either way, brother Xue, if you also don''t believe me, I''ll show it." I then threw one of the pills and it blew up creating a thick smokeyer that spread at an extremely rapid pace.

    I then pped my hands together in a prayer motion, and ''showed'' exhaustion as I used the Golden Scripture Doppelganger arts.

    Immediately a clone of myself manifested next to me, which was barely visible and looked rugged, yet it had the silhouette of a person.

    "What in god''s name!" Spoke Xue, he then grabbed me by the scruffs "You said you were a guard to the Crimson Suzaku''s Worshipping Grounds! Why the hell do you have the Water Realm''s Sacred Scripture!"

    ''Oh, seems that this guy knows where this scripturees from¡­ but, water realm¡­shit aren''t they in opposition with the fire king.. This will suck to exin.''

 Chapter 234 - Under The Spyglass

    <h4>Chapter 234 - Under The Spyss</h4>

    "I don''t think you''ll be satisfied with whatever answer I give you right now since we''re in a hurry, but do know, that I happened to obtain from the body of a dead cultivator. And since I''m not proficient in the water arts of the water realm, you''ll notice that my doppelganger isn''t perfect," I said as I pointed at the misshaped clone.

    "But, even if it isn''t iplete," I said "within the smoke, it can act as a decoy," I added. "Now, would you please let me go, we can escape now and you''re more than wee to interrogate me as much as you want after we escape whoever is trying to kill us," I said, steadfastly and powerfully

    Xue grunted, then after acknowledging that what I said came in touch with reason, he let go and said, "Let''s get out of here first, I''ll deal with youter!" he said.

    "Right I replied and said, "Go!" I spoke and had the clone run in a certain direction, while I headed in theplete opposite one.

    Seeing me still alive and not shot, the two nodded to each other and followed after me.

    Only after a while of running within the smoke did I send X themand to shoot the clone that was already outside the smoke.

    This was of course nothing but theatrics to make it so that the clone actually served a purpose and that the shooter was still focused on us. This will make me look far likelier to be a helpful asset than a person of unknown origin and agenda.

    I''ll also need to be careful with the cultivation arts I''m showcasing, I might identally show something that a Nascent Cultivator from the Fire King''s realm shouldn''t have.

    Soon after we ''escaped'' from our hunter, we arrived at an area that had several high shrubs and tall trees, it had a fewrge boulders and there were also several cultivators already standing there.

    One of the cultivators looked at us and said, "Hail The Fire Lord And Let his mes forever Sunder.

    Immediately, both Xue and the cultivator with him replied, "Hail The Fire Lord, And Let his mes forever Sunder."

    I was a tad bit toote when I also spoke the same words.

    This wasn''t good. As mytency in replying almost had me exposed, I was thankfully saved by the new cultivator''s following words.

    "Seems that this is your first time in wars?"

    "Not wars in general, but invading wholes, first time, also," I added as I looked around, "I''m not a fan of having my already weak cultivation level suppressed even further," I said.

    "Hmm. No matter, speak your names and ranks." The man said.

    After replying to him, we figured out that he and Xue were of the same rank and we didn''t need to follow under him. But that didn''t mean that Xue was of the same thought.

    "We''ll stick around, we already lost several members to an ambush. We should remain vignt," Xue said then began exining the whole situation and what happened to us.

    "Understandable, right, then if what your saying is correct, we''re basically trapped. We might as well just stay here and wait for help instead of trying anything foolish, we''ll serve our king no purpose by dying right off the bat." The other leader said.

    Which kinda surprised me. Because I expected some arrogant snob who''ll be exclusive of this''s cultivation and think that they are all nothing but frogs in a well, weak and powerless, but he actually is using his head and decided to stand down and wait instead of rushing in as some third-rate side character viin wannabe.

    Shit, I hate smart people, they make killing them hard.

    "We''ll follow brother Yoon''smand," Xue said and this just straight up limited my mobility.

    "What''s the situation like up there?" asked Xue.

    "I wouldn''t know, we were cut off the moment we entered this area. We can''t send or receive information, but at the same time, we figured out that since this spot was not protected by theary barrier, it could be a loophole or a trap. Seems like it was thetter." Yoon said.

    "Damn."

    "Don''t worry, we already informed the higherups that we were using this ce, if they don''t hear from us, they''ll send in stronger cultivators, and I''m sure some of them will have a way for us to leave this ce, or even have a tool or method to break through the barrier."

    ''I highly doubt you''ll be able to break through a formation supplemented with an entire''s Qi unless you''re a Saint Qi user, or at least as smart as Master Rain, because I used his own inscription technique to protect this whole.''

    "We''ll be waiting for assistance and aid, for now, we''ll need to gather intel and figure out our next move. This invasion was supposed to be an easy takeover that we would have had no problems in doing whatsoever. But now, with this formation standing between us and the, we''ll have to actually wait and think up a n."

    "These monkeys are really persistent and hard to control, why don''t they just give up easily and let us take this. So much time wasted for an inevitable result." A cultivator from Yoon''s party spoke up withplete disregard for this''s inhabitants and their right to live.

    "It is the nature of the weak to struggle, you will never see a mouse giving up his life even when in the fangs of a snake, it will fight and struggle even if it knows it will die," Yoon said and then added.

    "Since brother Xue said that there is a type of sniper killing cultivators who are spread, let''s try and lure him out, and understand how he is able to attack us from outside the barrier, understanding that is the fastest way for us to get inside, and once inside we can allow the entire legion to charge forward, granting us ease of victory and conquest," Yoon spoke with enough wits and intelligence in his words that I was tempted to follow him.

    Wait¡­ why am I admiring the enemy?

    I immediately took a deep breath then realized that I was actually being ''charmed''.

    There seems to be an aura around Yoon that he passively releases those causes whoever listens to him to have a fervor for whatever he says. This is an annoying and oppressive manner to control the hearts of the people around him to do his biddings.

    I should be more careful around this man. Otherwise, I might invertedly reveal to him that I''m actually the traitor among them with a wide smile on my face and wait for his praise.

    "We can''t spread out, he can take out a soul formation cultivator without thetter ever realizing so. It will be counterintuitive to spread and be sitting ducks for him." Xue said.

    "That''s why we''ll use decoys, from what I understood earlier, our little friend here used an art that enabled you lots to escape, this means that whoever is shooting at us has a range issue, and we can abuse that to our advantage," Yoon said.

    The group began discussing a n of work, where they''ll be using smoke and decoys to try and outsmart X''s shooting which was all bullshit that will never work, still, I yed along because right now, I have no means to ess therger part of the invader army, nor can I even deal with them.

    I''ll slowly start by grinding their forces, starting from this group and whatever group thates afterward.

    As long as the barrier stands, the is safe, but for how long it can remain standing, that''s a question only time will answer.

    And by then, I pretty much have to hope that the cultivators in this world can grow stronger, strong enough to actually dare and im that they have the right to live unoppressed.

    Once Yoon gave everyone the n of work, we were told to use our own smoke bombs and spread apart.

    I handed everyone a bunch of the smoke bombs and soon they all sprinted all over the ce using the smoke bombs and trying to locate the sniper.

    Which will never happen.

    I on the other hand took one of the pills threw it and moved into the smoke.

    Yet just as I took a few steps forward I had a strange feeling. It was a faint feeling that something was not right, and as a tug on the back of my head that there was something disturbing me¡­ I was being watched.

    If I was being watched, that means I was being suspicious, so I needed to do the opposite.

    I continued moving within the smoke and soon after the smoke started thinning, I threw another pill. But just as I took a few more steps, I sent X a directmand to shoot. But not at whoever was watching me.

    But straight into my chest.. A shot that had me falling forward and the cultivator who was watching me was sent into a panic.

 Chapter 235 - Next Phase

    <h4>Chapter 235 - Next Phase</h4>

    Distance in space is absurdly great that using regr measuring means is pretty useless. And the best way to calcte great distance is light-years. And from where Zhang Tian was, to where hi subordinates were, even lightyears were not enough to calcte the distance.

    Yet, he was still able to sendmands in real-time to his subordinates, all using one single item, and it was one of the rarest treasures in the world.

    A Space Owl Breath.

    It was a single-use item, that can be used to sendmands from any part of the world to another, and can be used to send private messages, or straight up hollering words throughout the gxy for everyone to hear.

    Most didn''t use this item due to how rare it is, but Zhang Tian had several of themying next to him, uncaring if they were to break after sending a single word asking about his friend.

    "What''s the situation?" asked Zhang Tian through one of the Space Owl Breaths he owned.

    The reply came from the two cultivators that belonged to the Wind Realm.

    "Seems like the Soul Signature you gave us doesn''t belong to anyone here. They''re all of varying cultivation stages, but none of them has any poisonous soul imprint." Replied one cultivator.

    The Space Owl Command Token in Zhang Tian''s hand broke, but he used another one to send another message.

    "Can you snatch away the souls that are still hovering there?"

    "There are only a few souls that managed to survive the explosion, but they''re already in a pretty bad shape. And some have already been sucked into the Fire King''s Soul Sealing Incense pots. Also, this is thestmand token we have, please give us ourst order." The cultivator said.

    "Alright, listen, and listen carefully. This is what you''ll do¡­" Zhang Tian spoke.

    His following words, for any cultivator that wasn''t a member of the Wind Realm sounded like nothing but suicide, it was death and nothing beside it.

    But for the two cultivators who were hiding their presence among the Fire King''s forces. His words werew, and his wishes were their orders.

    "Yes sir," they replied, fully knowing that Zhang Tian had no way of hearing those words since theirst Owl Breath Command Token broke.

    The two cultivators then started their suicide mission.

    ***--***

    With blood pooling under me, and bullets flying too close forfort next to the cultivator who was following me, he decided that it was best that he would escape lest he gets taken out.

    Faking my death would allow me to leave thepany of these people. I already know all I need and now can act freely.

    But I might as well review what I know about the Fire King''s army.

    For everyone on this, they know that the Fire King for some awkward reason decided to assault this. They didn''t know that I was the reason why this was happening.

    One of the administrators of the lesser ck Towers apparently already knows this and decided to use me as a chip to get some favors from the Fire King. While in doing so, doomed the entire sect that backed me up, helped me when I first started, and the very sect that I worked hard in saving, rescuing, and nurturing back to health.

    The Purple Cloud Sect is something that I grew attached to. And this man just came and took it from me, and simply because he could do it. Because he was strong enough to take it away from me, and I was too weak to protect it.

    I couldn''t even muster an ounce of rage and madness against him, because it was a grudge that far surpassed the wrath that I had against him, thus I managed to ovee the rage and enter into a calmness that aided me in escaping his grasp.

    Now, I''m a wanted man, thus, I can''t move freely around the, I can use camouge and can hide. But that''s only temporary and I will get caught if a truly powerful cultivator like the administrator himself were toe looking for me.

    Another card I have under me is the fact that Y can freely leave this whenever I would wish. But the fate of everyone else will be death, very, and exploitation. Used as candles, for their souls to forever burn to allow the Fire King to gain even more power from cultivating an entire''s soul energy.

    If I were to be pragmatic, I can easily ditch the whole damn thing. I''ll go and grab my sons and everyone I know from Lucid Springs, the few friends I made from the Tian Ji sect, Wu Di, Yuzehan, and Xiao Lang. Then find meng hao and his girl and have them all inside the Lord of Lords Pagoda then straight up ditch this whole damn and start anew in another ce.

    The only thing stopping me from doing so were Y''s words.

    "I could leave the, and can outspeed anyone under the &*/+- Cultivation stage."

    Which was higher than ascendant but I don''t know how high. Y cannot speak anything about the stages higher than Ascendant because it''s forbidden knowledge for someone in this deste part of the vast expanse.

    Betting that no one is at the Ascendant Stage is around the is a losing bet, because just the fact that the Administrator is already beyond an ascendant and is sitting here is proof enough that cultivators can somehow manage to stay in this area with a powerful cultivation stage still.

    But they can''t use it. And are limited to Half Ascendant strength, the problem I have is not the fact that they can''t use it, but the possibility of someone being crazed, fanatic, or too damn loyal that they won''t give a fuck about the worldws and straight-up go Omega Overpowered Cultivator on my ass. He''ll probably die, but I will also follow, so leaving with Y is thest resort if this can''t manage to tip the scales of the war in its favor.

    And to do so, I''ve already offered as much assistance as I could, and now that I know that the enemy forces will soon move into this area it''s time to start notifying everyone of where the enemy forces will be from.

    Once I felt that I was no longer being watched, I pulled a corpse from the many ones I had in my side bag, and reced it with my own ''corpse''.

    Since they both had the same robes, I just added a bit of flesh-eating poison on the corpse and it turned it into a skeleton.

    If anyone wants to investigate my ''death'' all they''ll find his bones. Though this is not really worth my time, it''s good enough a distraction to not have anyone wondering where my body went, and if I was actually a spy all along.

    X continued shooting at the cultivators giving them scare after scare and allowing me to leave unnoticed.

    Once I touched the barrier that separated the two regions, the Qi Sealed region and the rest of the, it opened up for me, allowing me to enter back.

    I then took several jades and had the same message on all of them.

    Enemy location discovered, coordination¡­XXX-XXX.

    I then threw the jades in the sky and they flew like bullets shooting off in the distance in every direction.

    These jades will reach a few cultivators I know, powerful ones, and ones with influence and they can rally the information about the enemy cultivators and will mobilize a powerful force.

    I called X back to me and then took Y.

    "Where are we going master?" asked Y.

    "We''ll be doing some mass ughter. We''re going up." I said as I looked up in the skies.

    The enemy forces were too spread out, and this would be a great way to takeout many, many powerful and unwary cultivators.

 Chapter 236 - Si Xue Fights Back

    <h4>Chapter 236 - Si Xue Fights Back</h4>

    Y''s speed helped us reach the stratosphere extremely fast.

    I was a bit hesitant about this because the higher I get the less oxygen I''ll be getting. But all my worries were unfounded. Apparently, the moment you be a cultivator, you transcend physicws.

    Something like suffocating from being in outer space is not a possibility as long as you have Qi in you. Breathing is nothing but a habitual motion I was doing right now because I realized that I could easily not breathe and still remain fully functional.

    "Y, how far can your detection range get to?" I asked.

    "I can reach a few hundred miles," Y replied.

    "Can you be reverse detected?" I asked.

    "I''m meant to use Saint Qi, not regr Qi, so it is not guaranteed, that I won''t be detected if I''m trying to spy on an ascendant cultivator, anything below it however will hardly be able to notice me, especially in the chaos of war."

    "Good, can you spread your detection range forward, find any stragglers, or cultivators that are alone and close to the barrier," I asked Y.

    "Yes," Y replied and stopped, then he released his own divine sense and managed to locate a few cultivators that were too close to the''s formation for their own good.

    "One is here," Y said as he pointed.

    "take us to him," I replied¡­

    ***

    Su Xiao Long was a man that grew up in a powerful family, he enjoyed life as he grew, with all the riches his household could afford him. He managed to climb in cultivation rank rapidly yet was never a fan of battle.

    Su Xiao Long always wanted to take the easy path in life and decided that inscription study, formations and restrictions were the best way to make use of his family wealth. Not only can he be hired for a pretty big sum of money to create these formations, but he can also live an easy life.

    This was Su Xiao Long''s dream, the ability to forever live without any burdens. Once he bes a well-known inscriber.

    However, to do so, he needed Merit. Like anyone here, they alle for Merit, merit they can only get if they make themselves known in this war.

    And since formation was his fort, if he was able to break the formation surrounding this, then his name will be known all over the Fire King''s dominion.

    This was a godsent opportunity for him, not only was he going to prove his worth, he would do it in the most mboyant way ever.

    For him, this is nothing but a lesser world, where they didn''t even understand the basics of true formation and inscription. So, how hard could it be?

    For him, a man who had the ungodly luck of finding a note left by master Rain where he learned several inscription techniques. This''s inscription isn''t even worth a tenth of a percent of his mental power to break.

    "Seems like you''re struggling a bit," spoke a man behind Su Xiao.

    "I''m not!" Su Xiao shouted back, "It''s just that these barbarians'' inscription is so crud it''s hard to read. It''s like trying to understand a monkey''s handwriting!" Su Xiao said.

    "Well, seems like it''s taking you damn long enough," replied the cultivator behind him.

    "You wouldn''t understand!" Su Xiao said "Let me work in peace!" he added.

    Though the words spoken by Su Xiao meant he had everything in control, he actually was sweating inwardly.

    ''How in god''s name can a formation be thisplicated! Wasn''t this just a lower-tier? I studied formations made using Saint Qi and they were far damnplex than this one! I could even swear I can see Master Rain''s method here¡­but¡­dare I say, it''s even better? No that''s not possible, no one can outss Master Rain in inscriptions. I must be missing something that''s why this is looking so difficult! Yes, this is just a crude attempt at formation, there I no way a in this forsaken area would have such a protectiveyer, there has to be a trick to it."

    Su Xiao continued to try to understand the formation, doing all he could to try and break it. But before he could even start to understand the basics of the formation a person came into his view.

    The face was that of an old man, full of pustules and disgusting-looking tumors.

    "You''re a thousand years too young to try and break this," the man spoke, then two massive arms came clutching down on Su Xiao, and dragged him into the formation, causing his whole body to disintegrate on contact and turn to dust.

    This happened so fast that the cultivator who came to mock Su Xiao didn''t even notice him disappearing. And when he came back to check up on his progress, he didn''t find him there.

    "Huh, he must have gotten embarrassed since he couldn''t break the formation of a backwater and went away. I''ll probably leave him be. It''s no fun mocking him anymore," the cultivator said and left the area.

    Soon, many, many cultivators who attempted to break through, decipher and overwrite the formation were all killed.

    Shen Bao moved like a deadly snake moving about under the vestige of the barrier, hiding his presence and using it to ambush his prey. He just needed to be fast enough to pull them into their deaths before they could try and escape or notify someone else.

    This would slow the enemy''s progress in trying to break the barrier greatly.

    ***

    Every ck Tower on Si Xue has its own administrator, and every one of them is different and takes matters in their hands differently. But their ultimate goal is always the prosperity of the ck tower.

    In a distant city a jade came flying into the hands of a cultivator.

    He didn''t know if this jade was meant to him, but when he read its content, he was stunned, he then reyed the content of the jade for everyone to see.

    It clearly stated a location where the forces of Si Xue can converge, and kill the enemy without actually suffering any deaths or any danger to themselves.

    This was too good to be true. But once everyone saw the name signed under the jade¡­ they all had a different reaction.

    "Do you believe this?" asked a cultivator addressing one of the people of the ck Tower.

    "This is information sent to us, by the One-Eyed Snake. We might as well check it out." Said one of the ck Tower Administrators.

    And since the One-Eyed Snake was the only one who was on the board of rankers and hoarding the only contribution it was damn worth investigating.

    "Does the ck tower know of the origin of the One-Eyed Snake?" asked another cultivator.

    The administrator shook his head, "No, apparently no sect hade over iming that he is a part of them. It seems that he is an elusive cultivator of this. And seeing that he is the only one who is able to kill enemy cultivators means that he has a method to bypass the barrier, or is probably already among the enemy lines." The administrator said.

    The cultivators discussed among themselves the possibility of this being a trap, and how unbelievable this all sounded.

    But the sterner of minds made had already agreed to charge forth and head to the location in the jade. Even if it was some sort of trap, the possibility of being able to take revenge on the invaders without suffering consequences was too good to be squandered and not take advantage of it.

    Hoards and numerous cultivators flew over from all over heading towards the area where Shen Bao had pinpointed.

    The first mes of war were lit, and now the real battle was about to begin.

 Chapter 237 - Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 237 - Sacrifice</h4>

    Somewhere hidden within the clouds, in a far, far, far awaynd. There was an upside-down mountain hanging from the rims of the skies.

    The mountain and anything that lived on it was all upside down, or that would be the case for anyone not living within the mountain. Even its waterfalls didn''t fall down and went up. The gravity on that area was reversed, and to keep something like that from bending to thews of the world, you must be someone of extraordinary talents.

    There was a small pagoda at the top of the mountain where a single man always had his morning tea, listened to the chirping of birds, and worked on his endless pile of documents.

    The man was old and wore a purple gown. In each of his hands were five rings, and on each of these rings was the symbol of a beast. The man used began by shaking his index finger calling out a massive crane into existence.

    "The temperature is too hot in the lower region, adjust it slightly." The man said, and the crane nodded then headed out.

    The man continued looking through the massive pile of documents and sighed every now and then.

    After his eighth or ninth sigh, he heard a knock on his door.

    "Get in, Song," the old man said.

    "Yes, Master¡­"

    "What brings you here?" asked the old man.

    "Well, I don''t know how to exin this, but it seems that yourw of Qi Reversal and Supplement has been corrected and is now¡­functional."

    The old man stood up, grabbed the young kid by the scruff of his neck, and said, "Corrected you say? You say that someone else managed to do what I couldn''t! and CORRECTED ME?!"

    The man''s words were so loud that the very foundation of the mountain he was on began shuddering and shaking, and it threatened to fall down.

    "Who is it! Was it Zu? Was it old man Ji? Who could have done what I couldn''t?!" the old man asked.

    "Please, a moment! I don''t think it''s either of the two¡­" the young man replied.

    The old man frowned, among his peers, no, not even peers, none of them was capable of contending with his brain when it came to inscriptions¡­ then who could have managed to understand hisw of Qi Reversal and Supplement then actually find an appropriate application of it. It was a theory that was usible but impossible to execute.

    "It was actually someone from the barrennds¡­apparently, yourw is currently being used to protect a from the Fire King''s assault."

    "Huh? The barrennds?? The fire king is going to war? What''s going on in the world."

    "Master Rain¡­you''ve been secluding yourself for too long, it might be time toe back and show yourself¡­" the disciple said.

    "You''re probably right¡­ but I have a very bad feeling about going out now¡­ a certain someone might want to break a few of my bones." Master rain said as he rubbed his beard.

    "Are you talking about the Wind King?" asked the disciple.

    "Oh, no, I''m not worried about the Wind King, it''s his wife that scares me¡­ anyway let''s go and check this out, apparently, a nameless child managed to do what even I couldn''t¡­ this should be interesting."

    ***

    On top of a celestialpass, big enough to carry ten people with room to spare, a couple of cultivators with heavy wounds steered it as they moved through space.

    One of the cultivators was sitting at the front steering thepass using his divine sense, while the other was standing, and looking behind them at a massive number of cultivators chasing after them.

    "Brother Han¡­ We won''t make it like this," said the standing cultivator.

    "We will! Have some faith, Yn" The one steering said as he grunted.

    "Not with our wounds, and especially once we''re out in deep space and outside this enclosed space," Yn replied.

    The standing cultivator, Yn turned, smiled at hisrade, and said, "Tell master Zhang Tian to take good care of my family."

    "What the hell are you talking about! Brother Yn! You''ll tell master Zhang Tian this yourself! Don''t do anything stupid!" Han said as he forced thepass to twist, dodging an iing wave of sword Qi that tore through space itself causing spatial rifts to manifest in its wake.

    Yn then jumped off thepass and said, "Don''t look back and keep moving forward. For the King, and for the Wind Realm I''ll dly give my life!"

    Almost immediately, the cultivators chasing after the group stopped. Because what happened next was enough to cause an entire army to stop, as chills began running down their spines.

    A white bright light shone from Yn''s head as he began manifesting his Saint Qi. Against thews of this enclosed space.

    Thunderous booms echoed from within Yn''s own body as Saint Qi began surging through his bones and veins. Exploding with immeasurable might as it reinforced him with power never before seen in these Barren Lands.

    Thew dictates that no Saint Qi be used in worlds where Saint Qi cannot be birthed. Lest it is naturally formed, like Saint Crystals.

    And once Saint Qi is manifested in these words, the heavenlyw strikes with a heavy hand.

    Yet before the punishment is served, a desperate man can still have one shot.

    And Yn was not going to miss this opportunity.

    "By the King''s grace! AND FOR THE WIND REALM''S GLORY! Northern Wind heed the call of one of your children and bring forth rampage, rage and roar, and clear way for your children!" Yn''s words came like the decree of a god as the brightness from his own Saint Qi surged within this dark domain became like a beacon of hope in an endless dark abyss.

    The fire King''s army, not willing to face what is toe spread fled in all directions.

    And then it came, as the heavens rumbled in rage at someone daring to defy itsws, dark red clouds manifested within space. Where if Shen Bao was here, would doubt his eyes a hundred times due to how impossible this notion could be, it was true as the red tribtion clouds manifested.

    Then they darkened and became darker than ck as they shot ck lightning towards Yn.

    "Winds of the North! Pave the way to safety, and block the way to doom!" he spoke.

    Turning Yn looked at thepass in the distance and smiled as he saw his friend weeping.

    "Do not weep for me, Han, it is our duty to our king. It is the least we can do¡­" Yn''s words were sent directly to Han''s mind before the ck lightning struck down against his body.

    There was no pain, no suffering, and no sounding from Yn as the ck lightning struck down.

    Laws of the world decreed that life came to the universe through a bolt of lightning that struck against water, creating all life as we know it. And in that bolt of lightning, werews of life.

    This was not the red tribtion lightning. This was the ck Heaven''s Punishment Lightning, it is not meant to aid and grow, it is not meant to help and build. It is not meant to assess and improve. It is a lightening, void of all notion of life.

    This bolt was darker than the abyss, it was not meant to do any of this, and its sole purpose was to end, eradicate, and extinct. It was the cruelest punishment that heavens can send upon an existence for it is meant to end one''s life.

    Yet Yn didn''t care, for he knew well enough that if the prince had asked them retrieve the item in Han''s hands, it was worth it. If he could give his life for his prince, he wouldn''t hesitate a second. For he knew how kind and generous the prince could be. He knew him before he was imprisoned for a thousand years. For if the prince knows of Yn''s sacrifice, then his whole family, children, wife, his parents, and siblings would be taken care of.

    It was the ultimate sacrifice. And Yn would be more than willing to do it again.

    Just as the bolt eradicated Yn''s existence, a wind, so powerful, so grave and so vengeful at the death of the one who called for its aid came rushing through the void of space.

    If one would give an ear to listen, they''ll hear the wind cry in bloodied agony at the death of one of its children. If they would listen they will know for sure that whoever were to stop in this turbulent and raging torrent, this powerful gale of destruction that charged through the realm, nothing would ever remain.

    The wind came like a visible tidal wave, it made space itself shudder and morph, it made it wheeze as it tore through it, creating spatial rifts. Space looked like a torn cloth and this wind had two objectives.

    It went around Han, and boosted hispass far away into space and towards the rim of the Barren Lands, while for the rest of the cultivators, it shaped itself into swords, spears, arrows, and many other lethal weapons and charged ahead.

    For if the Wind couldn''t avenge the death of its son against the might of the elusive heaven, it shall take unprecedented, tyrannical, and brutally ravishing vengeance against those who caused her son to sacrifice himself.

    On this day, the of Si Xue knew no assault, no attacks, and their formation took a day of rest.. A well-earned rest that not many knew the reason of.

 Chapter 238 - When Shit Hits The Fan

    <h4>Chapter 238 - When Shit Hits The Fan</h4>

    "Seems like no other cultivator is assaulting the anymore. I wonder why they all stopped." I asked myself unable to understand the reason why the enemy forces just stopped attacking.

    Soon, a powerful explosive sound echoed in the vast space, then came a bright light that was strong enough that it illuminated the dark void.

    There was light, then there was red, then there was dark. Then wind howled, so powerfully it raged that it made me feel my insignificance against such an unnaturally natural force could cause such mighty gales within space nheless.

    Improbable and unthinkable as it was, I could see the wind moving through space at extreme speeds that it shreds the very fabric of space itself for moments.

    "Y, let''s go down, this doesn''t feel right," I said.

    The puppet replied, "Wise decision." And then began descending.

    "You seem to understand what went on," I said.

    "Yes. Someone had broken the Heavenly Law and used an Upper cultivation base in a lower realm. This is the might of Saint Qi, and the red clouds that turned Dark are the Heavenly Punishment."

    "What''s the difference between Heavenly Punishment and Heavenly Tribtion?" I asked.

    "The heavenly Tribtion is the heaven''s might descending upon a cultivator to test if they are worthy of ascending to an upper stage. The heavenly Punishment is the divine decree, a death to those who defy the natural order of things, for those who abuse power in a world that cannot defend itself." Y exined.

    I could put two and two together and understand what''s Y is trying to say.

    And from the look of the power this person had summoned, it seems that I''m far too weak topare.

    I need to get stronger.

    "We''ll need toy low; we can''t afford to be hasty. I don''t know what''s going on right now but it doesn''t seem like it''s anything good from the looks of this massive Qi explosion," I said and came down along Y.

    "Hmm, this is indeed very interesting, but it''s all too crude." I heard, and this voice, sounded like the decree of a descending god as the world began to shudder and shake.

    looking up, all I''ve been working on seemed to be disappearing as I was stunned watching the formation breaking, all too easily.

    Whoever just spoke, was loud enough that everyone on this must have heard him, and it was more than obvious to me that someone far too powerful than I could even imagine has arrived to this.

    "We''ve been located;" Spoke Y.

    And just as I registered Y''s words, an old man appeared in front of me. Looking at the man''s face I saw something I couldn''t begin to fathom.

    His blue eyes looked like they held the skies and seas. his wrinkled face and obvious look of disdain and boredom meant that he didn''t take anything he was looking at seriously.

    His clothes seemed to be made of a material that made the world look dimpared to them while his robes didn''t seem to even be letting out a single ray of light.

    The aura around him was so suffocating that I felt that taking a single breath around him would be sphemy.

    "This is my Demon ying Puppet¡­ it appears that you''re the one who took it¡­ Puppet,e." The man said.

    Y''s entire body began shaking, forced against his will to follow this man''s will.

    Yet, this mere resistance from Y was enough to make this man frown. Then a divine sense, as strong as Zhang Tian''s own Divine sense, and far more ruthless shot towards Y.

    I wasn''t even the focus of the divine sense, but my eardrums, eyes, and nose burst out fountains of blood from the aftereffect of the divine sense power.

    "Hmm. That''s an interesting inscription, but it''s too unpolished. Did you make it?" asked the man as he finally took note of me, while I was shuddering and shaking on Y''s shoulder.

    "Seems like you''re too weak to resist my presence, no wonder, you''re just a mere Third Rate Cultivator in a fallen forgotten and barrennd. I have no idea what fate, fortune, and luck did you amass in your past life to manage and take control of my own Demon ying Puppet, but that''s enough of it." he said.

    "And since you can''t speak, I might as well look at your memories." He said as he slowly floated towards me with his hand extended.

    Y immediately pped at the side of his thighs, calling two formations into existence, something I made for him personally. Which summoned the two Demon Trigger weapons I made for him.

    "Stay your hand!" Y said as he pointed both swords at the person in front of him.

    "You dare disobey me!" the man said and immediately Y began shaking. Not from fear, but his entire existence began shuddering, the inscriptions I wrote on Y began rattling and I could feel them crack. They will break soon.

    And I''m still reeling from the mental shock of this man''s divine sense.

    I spat a mouthful of blood and said, "Space Reversal!"

    Immediately hundreds of canisters manifested all over us. This caused the old man to be slightly alerted.

    "Explode!" I called and immediately the canisters I had always kept hidden in sub-space blew up releasing massive toxic gas that covered the entire area around us.

    I realized that I can''t take Y with me, so I had to leave alone.

    I managed to gain a moment that I used to immediately dive into sub-space and teleport away from in front of the old man. And next to him was Y, already entrapped within a massive spherical inscription that stopped his movement.

    Just as I appeared a few miles away from my past location, "Where do you think you''re going," said the man who seemed to already be waiting for me where I appeared.

    "X!" I called and immediately the second puppet came out.

    Not wasting a moment X pped on his thighs manifesting the twelve round rocketunchers.

    The rockets shot forward like snakes as they followed after the old man.

    "You''re getting on my nerves," the old man said and the rockets just stopped in front of him, not even blowing up.

    The old man snorted, and just his snort was enough to make the rockets crumple.

    Which wasn''t bad because unlike the toxic poison, these things were explosives.

    Loud explosions echoed around the old man which further gave me another second to try and teleport away.

    Only to find myself unable to enter sub-space again.

    "The only reason you teleported away from me the first time was that you used an unusual teleportation method, but since I''ve seen how you teleport once, you can''t do it again in front of me."

    Another wave of divine sense shot towards X. And once again I felt my bones and body rattling form the impact.

    "Too inefficient, too wasteful, not interesting whatsoever."

    The old man then pointed and X''s whole body began cracking and breaking. However, before X was fully destroyed, one of his arms fell off his body. While the rest of his body was crumpled to a small ball.

    Two of my strongest puppets are now gone and I''m looking like a fish in a barrel and this man had a cannon in his hand.

    I''m so fucking dead¡­

    Yet for some reason, I wasn''t panicking and screaming my lungs out from my pretty fucked up situation.

    The old man grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and said, "You''re an annoying little bug. But slightly interesting never the less. You seem to have gotten your hands on some of my notes, and you''re clearly using them to help protect this. But did you ever truly believe that you could do it?" the old man said and didn''t even wait for me to reply.

    "You can''t, and you couldn''t, you''re just one person, a weak and insignificant person. The fact that you think that your mere Nascent Soul cultivation could stop the decree of one of the four kings means your arrogance knows no bound. And your knowledge of the world is so meager that it''sughable. But perhaps that''s the mindset of the weak. Hopeful yet foolish."

    The old man''s hand came close to my head and I immediately felt something triggered inside me.

    From within my chest, it came, from within the Poison God''s book it came.

    It was the same purple Skull I saw the first day I entered that hole. It manifested between me and the old man, then it spoke.

    "Old Rain¡­would you mind letting your hand off. I do not wish to use this to kill you and this entire world."

    The old man immediately removed his hand. And took a few steps back.

    "¡­You''re supposed to be dead¡­"

    "Who said I live? This one is mine." The skull spoke.

    "You know you can''t kill me¡­ unless you''re here yourself."

    "Perhaps, but I can make sure you lose a lot of longevity, something you''re in desperate need of." Spoke the skull.

    The old man frowned and said, "No matter, I came here because I thought I found something interesting, but it was just a monkey replicating things far beyond his understanding. I already got what was mine. Let this world burn for all I care." The old man said and turned.

    "Do well to survive this tribtion Monkey." The old man said and then he disappeared.

    Right as his words were done, I felt hundreds of divine senses rushing down and investigating what was happening.

    The formation broke, and the enemy forces have now full ess to this. Not to mention that my only way out was Y and he was just taken from me, and the other way out was the ck tower that has already dered me a fugitive and put a bounty on my head.

    I couldn''t think that shit would get this bad, but hey, at least it can''t get any worse, right?

 Chapter 239 - Frustration

    <h4>Chapter 239 - Frustration</h4>

    Outside the of Si Xue, two men were moving slowly away from the iing hoard of cultivators that were invading the.

    One of the cultivators rushed forward and stopped in front of the two cultivators and said, "Master Rain, I don''t have enough words to thank you for unlocking that formation. It will make our job far easier. I''ll dly inform the Fire King of your contribution to his cause," the cultivator said.

    "Fire King? That dipshit? To hell with him, I didn''t do this for his ass. I did it for my own, I don''t really care what you lots do here. Also, who gave you permission to stop in my way?" Master Rain said.

    He didn''t look pleased and seemed to be angry for some reason.

    "B-but Master Rain¡­" the cultivator said but before he could finish his words, Master Rain''s retainer rushed forward and chopped off the cultivator''s arm.

    The Fire King cultivator didn''t even register the fact that his arm was cut off until he saw it in the retainer''s grasp.

    "Here, Master Rain, he apologized for stopping you," the retainer said then sent a divine sense message, "Piss off or he''ll kill you and everyone here, don''t you see he is in a bad mood?"

    The cultivator with one arm bowed down and said, "I apologize for my intrusion," then flew away as fast as he could.

    The retainer sighed and threw away the arm then went next to Master Rain. "You don''t look too pleased. What''s wrong?" asked the retained.

    "I found the one who managed to solve the Qi Reversal And Supplement theory." Master Rain said.

    "Oh, then why are you in a bad mood?" the retainer said as he followed after Master Rain.

    "Because it''s a Nascent Soul Cultivator¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Ah¡­ that''s not a high cultivation grade¡­ no wonder you''re angry," the retainer said.

    "Not high? That''s a damn ant! A stupidly weak, insignificant ant, a replicating monkey who can''t even protect itself, can''t even twist fate and fortune into its favor, an ant weak to the elements and whims of the strong, an ant managed to do what I couldn''t do! Of course, I''d be pissed!"

    "But even as insignificant as an ant¡­ I''m sure that you could have taken him and nurtured him if you wish, I mean you did more to far less talented people." The retainer said.

    "Talented? No, he isn''t talented, lucky, maybe, smart, probably, but talent, he had none," Master rain said.

    "What do you mean, Master Rain, there is no possibility for someone without talent to be able to understand inscription, smartness, and brains isn''t enough." The retainer said.

    Master rain waved his hand and a massive portal appeared in front of them, the two walked through it and they found themselves moving through a wormhole.

    "I used my divine sense on him, he had no talent root, I found it strange how he is able to gain such a rtively high cultivation grade, but the moment I saw that skull it all made sense." Master Rain said.

    "Which skull?" asked the retainer.

    "It''s one of the Poison God''s Twelve Avatar Skulls." Master Rain

    "Ah¡­those things still exist. That man even after his death still brings a lot of chaos¡­ No wonder you didn''t want to bring that Nascent Soul Cultivator"

    "Yes, that child is only a soul substitute, once that skull decides to take over, he won''t survive. And I don''t want my teachings to belong to one of the Poison God''s Avatars."

    "I''m still impressed on how he managed to learn your teachings with such a low cultivation level." The retainer said.

    Suddenly the wormhole seemed to end and the two were back to the upside-down mountain.

    "That''s not the only thing he did¡­ Master Rain said. Look," He said and waved his hand manifesting a massive puppet enclosed in a spherical inscription that froze its movement.

    "What is this?" asked the retainer.

    "When I was working on the forbidden City inscriptions, I periodically get bored. So, I decided to make a small toy. This is a Demon ying Puppet, I wanted to make the strongest puppet under the Saint Lord cultivation level. For some questionable means¡­"

    Master Rain then snapped his fingers and the formation around Y disappeared.

    The massive Puppet immediately raised its swords and sent them towards Master Rain as if he wanted to rip his head off.

    Master Rain however stopped the sword with two fingers. And tapping on the puppet''s chest fully stopping its movements.

    "Do you notice anything?" Master Rain said.

    The retainer frowned, "Well, I''m surprised that if this is your puppet it actually dared draw its sword against you. Seems like that person managed to refin¡­ wait. This thing isn''t refined at all. How is that even possible?!" the retainer said.

    "Exactly, that man isn''t talented in cultivation at all. Isn''t nearly powerful enough to wrest away my control over a puppet I made personally, no one at my cultivation level could even dream of doing so¡­ but he did, somehow he managed to make this his, and it irks me to no end."

    "This is most exquisite." The retainer said.

    "Frustratingly so. Though I really, really, hate to admit it. This is impressive." Master Rain said and spat on the ground.

    "What are these?" the retainer said as he noticed brass wires going from the chest through Y''s arms and into his hand.

    "These, they look like they were addedter. They don''t seem to mix well with the design." The retainer added.

    "I didn''t have time to inspect this, but let''s see¡­" Master Rain said and got closer to the puppet.

    Master Rain then tapped on Y''s chest and it opened up revealing a reactor that was definitely not the one he made.

    "Huh¡­ a reactor¡­ it''s based on the one I made, but this one works on Qi¡­ basic Qi. How is it even capable of powering this puppet though?" Master Y continued inspecting and began telling the retainer what he is looking at.

    "Do you see this?" Master Rain pointed and a bright inscription shone.

    "This is apparently a shock and absorption inscription, to stop the reactor from being damaged. And this, this is a heat sink of sorts, it transfers the heat from the reactor¡­to the brass wires¡­why?" Master Rain asked as he ced his hand under his chin.

    "Look here Master Rain," the retainer said. "This is a spatial inscription, it''s storing something."

    "let me see." Master Rain said and unlocked the spatial inscription.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of medium-grade spirit stones then poured out from that spatial inscription.

    "Seems like he was using quantity over quality to supply the demon-ying puppet with Qi. Instead of Saint Qi."

    "I guess he didn''t wish someone to notice the Saint Qi power signatureing out of the puppet." The retainer said.

    "Interesting, though it''s wasteful. I suppose he didn''t have a choice." Master rain replied.

    "It appears that this reactor is very primitive." The retainer added.

    "Yes, it''s so primitive that it should release unprecedented heat levels. And with the brass wires, he seems to use them to transfer the heat to the puppet''s hands? But why?" Master Rain said, then he finally realized that the sword on Y''s hands was not something he had left there.

    "This isn''t a sword I made, what is this thing?" Master Rain said as he removed the sword from Y''s hand all too easily.

    Frowning, Master rain sighed and cursed once again, "Damnation¡­"

    "What''s wrong Master rain?" asked the retainer.

    Master Rain threw the sword into the retainer''s hands.

    Thetter grabbed the sword which was way taller than himself with ease.

    The retainer began inspecting the sword and it took him some time before he said,

    "This weapon¡­ it''s pretty basic, it isn''t even worth being called a Heaven Tier weapon. This is something that even someone under the ascendant stage could easily make. This shouldn''t be used by a great Demon ying Puppet such as this."

    Master Rain shook his head, "Look again, pay attention to the entirety of the weapon, and take note of the added inscription and costume made additions to my puppet."

    Then he pressed on the trigger and the sword''s saw-teeth began spinning.

    The retained took another nce, then began linking the dots then finally said, "By the gods¡­ I would have never thought of using neutron steel this way." The retainer said.

    "He''s basically using the excess heat and unfiltered Qi to make the sword heavier and sturdier, and more lethal. This thing, the moment it''s supplemented with Qi and heat it would be far more than enough to kill even an ascendant."

    "And all that was made by a brat at the Nascent Soul Stage." Master rain once again spat on the ground.

    "I don''t know how someone without a talent root managed to do this, but don''t you think it''s a huge waste of potential to just leave him there?"

    "I told you, I can''t take someone with the Poison God''s Parasitic skull. What a damn waste!" Master rain spat once again.

    "But no worries, though I can''t pick his brains for information, I can easily figure out how he thinks, though he refined my puppet, it is still mine and I can make use of it. it should have recorded everything that happened to it since the day that brat took control of it. now let''s see." Master rain said and began moving his fingers in all directions, creating more inscriptions than Shen Bao could even dream of making in a single second.

    Soon enough, Master Rain''s already angry and solemn attitude turned even dourer.

    "What''s the problem now?" asked the retainer.

    "That monkey¡­he vexes me. I thought he was a Nascent Soul cultivator when he refined my puppet¡­ he was actually a Core Cultivator and at the first stages even when he did that. Also, seems like my puppet wasn''t refined, but had itsmands overwritten and modified. I can regain control, but that kid made sure that the moment someone else tries and take control of this puppet it will and will delete its memories before it self-destructs." Master Rain said.

    "Pretty cautious, but I doubt you won''t be able to overwrite thosemands again." The retainer said.

    "No¡­I can''t, he actually used my own method to secure my belongings. I''ll actually need to think up of a new trick to overwrite this¡­that kid actually gave me homework. Shit. I''ll actually need to use my brain for this¡­" Master Rain frustrated to no end sighed and sat down.

    "Bring me some wine, I have nothing to do, might as well start working on this.. Perhaps I''ll figure out a way on how to replicate that monkey''s way of thinking."

 Chapter 240 - Surrender

    <h4>Chapter 240 - Surrender</h4>

    ''What is this¡­'' I mumbled to myself as I fell freediving back towards the ground.

    ''What kind of unfairness is this? What kind of oppressive uncontested and indomitable strength was that? Didn''t I promise myself to never feel that weak, that exposed, and that vulnerable as I did that time in that cave?''

    Didn''t I make myself stronger? Got to a higher cultivation realm, managed to create powerful weaponry, learned how to controlw created so many things, and gained great power.

    Why would the sect I cared for be destroyed in front of me? Why would all the effort I made into making Y and X stronger go to waste by the will of a single man?

    Why was I forced down on my knees the moment I thought I gained some strength and knowledge.

    All that effort into protecting this was wasted by the motion of that man''s finger.

    And he imed that Y was his¡­ Master Rain probably.

    Huh, howughable. After all that, someone can juste and easily rend everything I made to waste.

    As I was free-falling with my back facing the far away ground, I looked up and noticed hundreds of cultivators rushing forward.

    They were the members of the Fire King''s forces.

    And from the look of their Qi, they were mostly Nascent Soul cultivators.

    I don''t know what pushed me to do what I just did right now, but thinking about it, it was probably the sense of frustration and injustice that happened to me right now.

    I opened my mouth, then breathed in as much as I could, and let go, releasing one of thergest poison breaths I have ever released and within this poison, breath was a mix of the worst poisons I have evere across.

    The sudden mass of poison breath came as a surprise to the iing cultivators, some decided to hold and see what will happen, but the majority decided to tide through it coating their bodies with Qi.

    That was a fatal mistake. And they realized it all toote.

    My poison breath was majorly mixed in with Breath Sealing Poison which served as a great disabler of Qi. And just as they came across it. they fell like flies being sprayed with pesticides.

    Most, died before they even reached the ground as the mix of poisons had them frothing at the mouth. While the rest who had a stronger will will definitely meet their ends once they meet the ground.

    "KILL THAT ONE!" a cultivator shouted and immediately teleported to where I was with a sword ready. Only for me to manifest one of the few explosive canisters I had left back into the prime space.

    The canister came out of nowhere into the face of the cultivator and immediately blew up, turning him to charred meat.

    I kept senselessly falling as more cultivators approached me, only to die unexpectedly. A few sent several sword Qi des toward me that didn''t manage toe a single step forward as I began applying gravitationalws around me.

    Swords made of Qi broke and crumpled against themselves as soon as they approached me while the many cultivators kept chase.

    I turned and dove headfirst, further propelling myself forward by sting Qi from the sole of my feet.

    The Qi I shot was also poisonous and caused anyone who followed me to get poisoned.

    I used my divine sense to scan the ground that was getting closer and closer and found what I was looking for.

    X''s arm, the only thing that remained from him was still free falling.

    I managed toe and swoop it and then teleported out and away, while many bodies of cultivators came sshing against the ground.

    Emotionless, depressed, and apathetic I looked at the iing cultivators and pulled the minigun I had left from my side bag. While at the same time manifested the four puppet arms from my shoulders and belt.

    The arms around my belt had a twelve-round rocketuncher each, while the ones on my shoulder had their own miniguns.

    The recoil from shooting everything at once was enough to break my back, but I didn''t really care as everything was let loose.

    Rockets shot forward, creating loads of dust and smoke while the guns spun calling theing of a storm of lead and death.

    From within the smoke and dust came the rockets, and they followed the cultivators that got close.

    Unable to understand what wasing towards them, most bunkered down to protect themselves only to be sted by explosives and then corroded by poisons from the rockets.

    While those who decided to stay away were hunted down with an unlimited number of bullets that shot towards them.

    "Divine Buddha Palm!" one of the cultivators shouted creating a massive palm in the skies that came down towards me.

    I didn''t speak, instead, I released one hand from the minigun and grabbed a talisman from within my inventory.

    I threw it forward and it shone brightly before it manifested thousands ofw lines in the sky.

    Thew lines were all gravitationalw lines and they began destabilizing the gravitational field all around us.

    The palm that wasing towards me visibly broke against thew lines and became a part of the pulling force that began destabilizing any cultivator who was near it, pulling them towards its core.

    Any cultivator that tried to teleport away was forced out of his teleportation and dragged towards the center of thew line.

    Many cried and wailed as they were crushed under the massive pressure of the centralw lines but a few cultivators, either able to use gravitationalw, or geared with some sort of escape methods managed to free themselves.

    I felt slightly dizzy, as I realized that I was exhausting my Qi reserves all too rapidly. So I threw in a dozen or so pills to replenish my Qi and then I began hunting.

    All this happened while I was mostly dazed, unable toprehend why I was going on a mass ughtering fest.

    But it didn''t seem that I was going to stop, or in fact, I didn''t feel like stopping. I was oppressed, forced against my ability and power to cower strength beyond my imagination, vexed, frustrated that all my hard work was rendered useless by a single man. And these cultivators right in front of me were the best thing for me to release my pent-up stress.

    I then began the assault as I flew forward, with all the arms around me shooting bullets at the remaining cultivators not letting them take a moment''s rest as I approached.

    I got to the first cultivator in grabbed him by the face, not even giving him a second to react I shot as much Qi as I could from my hand, burning his face off his body, then moved to another cultivator.

    This one was ready and shed at me, only for me to teleport to his side, dodging the sh and stabbing with Creeping Demise at his ribs.

    Another cultivator was preparing a spell, but once I pointed Creeping Demise his way, he got wary but didn''t expect my sword to stretch and pierce right through his head.

    I whipped Creeping Demise in an arc so fast that it culled the lives of two more cultivators.

    "Demon!" one of the cultivators said and immediately dipped leaving the area, where many others followed after him escaping.

    It only takes one cultivator to start a route, and they all follow suit escaping with their lives.

    Leaving me all alone in a sea of corpses.

    I slowly hovered down until I reached the ground, took a few breaths then looked around.

    My ability to end life is rather frightening, but at the same time, with all this mad killing, I still felt weak.

    Weak, because I couldn''t protect what was mine. Weak because I lost what was mine. Weak because faced with true power I''m nothing but an ant, I''m nothing more than these very ants I just killed.

    I need strength. I need power¡­

    Using tools and machines, bullets, cannons, and rockets is cool and all¡­butpared to some of these beings that can basically will a world to extinction, what is the use of these tools?

    I sighed as I looked up at the skies where many explosive sounds began to echo, as the barrier had fully dissipated, the enemy forces are now charging in with full power.

    Our''s cultivators aren''t strong enough to defeat this wave of enemy forces¡­

    We''ll be killed in no time.

    And my only way out has already been taken from me.

    What a sad fate.

    Once again, I''m unable to change my own fate, once again I feel powerless¡­

    What a shame.

    What a shame¡­

    "Do you seek true might?" spoke a voice in my head.

    ''Ah, here ites, the devil''s whisper to gain immeasurable strength.''

    "What''s the price I have to pay? I asked half-heartedly.

    "To surrender, to surrender yourself to me..." said the voice.

    And it was oh so tempting.

 Chapter 241: What lives In The Deep

    <h4>Chapter 241: What lives In The Deep</h4>

    "Let me guess, you want to take full control of my body so I could gain strength? But what strength is that if it isn''t mine? What power is that, if I cannot freely and consciously use it. Would that really be my own power?" I asked.

    "¡­"

    "I figured as much. I''m not tempted in something that won''t be mine, might as well never have asked me that question."

    "I can give you something that can be yours, but it will be something that will make you take a step into the devil''s path."

    "Devil? Demon, good, wrong, what is the difference?" I asked.

    "The difference is what you make yourself. You can behave the devil''s power but be a saint, or you can be blessed by the holiest of powers and use them for evil. It is how you use your power. But what I will give you is nothing but devilish, demonic, and vile. Do you still wish to take it?"

    "Show me first, then let me be the judge of it."

    Immediately after I spoke, the Poison God''s Book appeared in front of me.

    It began flipping its pages rapidly until it rested on an empty page. Then, liens began appearing on it.

    At first, it was a dot in the center of the book, then it spread to a circle full of various incantations and writings. It spiraled until it almost covered the whole page.

    I couldn''t understand anything from what was written there, but then some spaces began appearing between the writings and shaped into a palm print.

    I subconsciously pressed my palm on the empty space between the writings and immediately, the rest of the written words began coalescing against my hand.

    Incredible heat and pain surged through my nerves. I felt that my hand was set on fire as it began paling.

    Unprecedented pain racked my mind as I felt myself about to lose consciousness.

    I immediately grabbed the Lord of Lords token and disappeared within it and into the pagoda where my mindpletely nked out.

    With my mind feeling like it was being pounded on by a hundred hammers at once, I opened my eyes and realized that my right hand was now way paler than before. And if I were to focus I would see some symbols on it.

    These symbols were very simr to the ones I''ve seen on thatw fruit. I couldn''t begin to understand them and just ignored them for now.

    Looking around, I realized that I wasn''t in the lord of lord''s pagoda which worried me, because I was apparently in a very familiar, very far, yet very dangerous ce.

    I was once again in the depth of space, where no stars shone and no light came to existence but one.

    A very pale sickly green light of a being far too fearsome for anything to have courage against.

    Two draconic eyes looked at me with all the hatred in the world. And then it began moving even faster than it already was.

    The Primordial Dragon Snake opened its mouth to gobble me whole and I woke up with sweat drenching my back.

    "Shit, I can''t get used to that," I muttered as I found myself inside the pagoda once again.

    I wasying on my face, and when I pushed myself up, I realized that the grass under my right hand died instantly.

    And some of my lost vitality, even if it was just a little seemed to return to me.

    Next to the grass was the poison god''s book and it seemed to be opened on a new passage that wasn''t there before.

    White Touch of gue

    There is a fine line between poison and medicine. But as a Disciple of the Teaching of the Poison God, you''re allowed to y that line as you see fit.

    The White Touch of gue is a devilish spell that can suck the life of whatever it touches and turn it into Qi for your own use. However, ites with many side effects.

    It is powerful, unfair, and even devastating when the enemy is touched by it. It sucks their vitality and makes their strength your own, but it needs contact against the skin. But the most dangerous part is that it is addictive beyond means.

    If you fall to its whispers you''ll lose yourself, use it with caution because it can turn you against yourself and against those who you hold dear.

    It is the price of power and the price of what you wish for.

    The passage ended without much information regarding the spell.

    I looked at my palm for a few more seconds before the whiteness disappeared and it returned to normal.

    Just willing my hand to turn white made the lines appear back again, and willing it to turn back to normal made it return.

    But this doesn''t change the fact that I''m still stuck in this forsaken without a way to leave. I can fight and fend off the enemies, but how many can I fight against alone?

    The sense of frustration came back the moment I thought I gained more strength. It was not enough, this mere power up was not enough no matter how powerful it might look, it was only capable of taking out one enemy at a time, what good is it against an army of invaders?

    I sighed as I was once again back to where I started.

    This is going to suck.

    ***

    The skies of Si Xue rained blood as cultivators from both sides fell down to their death.

    Thousands upon thousands of cultivators rose up to the skies to battle against the iing forces of the invaders only for both sides to take major casualties.

    Though Si Xue''s cultivators had great numerical advantage, mere ants can''t kill an elephant. Since the invaders had a massive qualitative advantage over them.

    For every hundred nascent Soul cultivator Si xue had, the enemy forced had a Soul Formation cultivator which could easily take on a hundred cultivators of a lesser rank than him.

    The invaders also had the ability to call in Soul Transformation and Half Ascendant Cultivators who mowed down Si Xue''s forces like they were ants and the struggle for survival continued.

    It wasn''t a battle at this point as the majority of the Si Xue forces were oppressed and killed on the spot.

    Many sect decided to selfishly bunker down under their sect''s protective formation, only to have their sect''s barricades broken and their members killed when an errant cultivator of a great cultivation base came by.

    Many lives were lost, and the looked like it was on itsst leg.

    This wasn''t a battle anymore, but a whole sale massacre.

    ***

    Somewhere within the vast expanse, a massive ark was flying through space. This was a merchant ark. The ark''s size was so massive it looked like it could host an entire city inside it.

    It was loaded with cannons and ballista to fend off against the dangers of the creatures that lived within this dark space.

    The merchant ship was moving through the Western Domain and towards the north.

    Suddenly the ship began sounding an alert, and preparing for battle. Making everyone pay attention and prepare. Cultivators with steep cultivation level flew up and hovered with their hands behind their backs, waiting for whatever came towards them and preparing for the worst case scenario.

    "Captain, what''s going on?" asked one of the cultivators who was outside the ship.

    "We detected the presence of a creature that is moving in our general direction, everyone be warned¡­" the captain spoke.

    As he was speaking, one of the people next to the captain said, "It seems that this is a false rm."

    "Howe?" the captain asked.

    "Well, the device must be faulty, because it''s clearly showing that whatever is moving towards us is as big as a medium sized moon and as long as twenty of them¡­ which is very hard to imagine ¡­" the man handling the scanning device said.

    The captain frowned. He also spent many years in space, and knows a lot about the dangers lurking in it. And something of this size shouldn''t even be able to exist as it would copse on itself from its sheer size.

    "It could be aet. Just be read¡ª" the captain''s words were immediately cut off.

    "IMMEDIAT TURN TO STARBOARD! MAXIMUM INPUT!" The captain shouted as if his life depended on it, and it did.

    The panic in his voice was too clear for everyone. And for someone with his experience, seeing him panic was a brand new experience.

    "FULL POWER BLAST OFF!" the captain said.

    "But captain this will damage the ship if we---"

    "DON''T FUCKING ARGUE! FULL POWER!"

    The captain shouted once again, and looked like his soul was about to leave his body as he called out the orders.

    The operators began steering the ship as fast as they could and sted off the engines on it to maximum input.

    The massive size of the ship was already a deterrent for its fluidity of movement, and add to it the sudden turn and propulsion, it felt like it was about to break.

    Thankfully the ship began slowly gaining momentum as it moved away from where it was, it looked like it was moving with the speed of a snail at first, but it then began elerating and moving away.

    Before anyone could even startining about why they had to change course.

    A loud hiss sounded through space, it was so loud that the fabric of space groaned against it, breaking with every vibration as one of the most epic in size beings to ever exist manifested and sailed through space. Moving with speed so absurd that no one could believe their eyes.

    the ship was pretty huge, butpared to the massive creature that just went past them, the ship wasn''t even asrge as one of its scales.

    And the creature moved with a destination in mind.

 Chapter 242: Plan B

    <h4>Chapter 242: n B</h4>

    Far away in a distant, where fire and volcanos boiled and roiled as they covered the world in endless ash and soot. There was a pce standing in the middle of a raging infernal pool ofva.

    Alongside the massive pool were thousands of infernal creatures that fought against each other for the smallest conflict. Fully portraying the traits of the Fire Domain''s ruthless and merciless nature.

    Within the massive pce, were many disciples and servants that broke their backs working, cleaning up the whole pce from the endless falling ash and making it as proper as it should be.

    Inside this massive and apparently endlessly spreading, twisting and convolutedyout, was a man holding a spherical object in his hand.

    It looked like the skull of a small bird.

    The man looked like one of the higherups of this pce as he wore clothes far too fancy and elegant than any one of the disciples around the area.

    "Are you sure of what you have seen?"

    "Without an ounce of doubt, it was the Primordial Dragon Snake. And it seems to be headed towards the Barren Domain. I''ve had to give warning because I know that the Fire King''s army is there." The speaker said.

    "Good. I''ll make sure to tell his majesty." The man said then the skull in his hand shattered.

    He then turned to fling his robes behind him as he stepped forward. With every step, the whole ce around him would change as if he was folding the very fabric of space under his foot. And soon he arrived at a hall where a single man sat.

    Fire rose from the top of the head of the seated man as if it was a crown of mes, he was sitting with one hand supporting his head as he leaned on the side of his massive throne.

    Underneath the man''s rxed foot were several naked women who seemed to be at the epitome of euphoria, pleased to serve and obey.

    "Your grace!" spoke the man to the king. "We have a problem," the man said.

    ***

    I flew through the open terrains unable to figure out what to do. I could fight off against a dozen of Nascent Soul cultivators without trouble, anything higher than that and I might need to actually sweat. But no matter how much effort I pour, I''m just one person, I''m no ungodly hero who''ll have a way to blow through this invasion.

    I''m just a weak person, proven so by Master Rain''s intervention.

    A man, capable of tearing down a formation that protected an entire with a wave of a finger. Such aughable notion.

    But I refuse to bend over and get railed without fighting back.

    Several cultivators carrying an incinerating aura around them dove forward towards me.

    I spat a toxic breath towards them, then dove through the smokescreen and grabbed one of them who was suffering under the Breath Sealing Poison.

    My hand, already willed to turn fully white touched his skin, and in an instant, the man shriveled up. Bones, flesh, nerves, and skin, everything turned to a husk of its former self. Mummified beyond recognition, not even his soul managed to escape.

    And immediately after, the energy exhausted and sucked out from that man rushed through my hand and I could visibly feel my cultivation base slightly strengthening and raising.

    "No wonder the book warns from abusing this," I muttered because it only took a single touch to end this man''s life and turn his strength into mine.

    The other two cultivators didn''t realize what hit them as I took out the closest with a swing of Creeping Demise, and followed after the other and grabbed him by the back neck, causing him to turn to a mummified corpse in an instant.

    I kept moving without a destination in mind, because, going back to a major city will uncover me if I''m not too careful, and I have enemies on both sides.

    From the ck Tower who has a fucking mugshot of me and a bounty on my head, meaning I can''t turn back to my former appearance.

    The second was the fact that the is now invaded by so many cultivators and it''s getting uglier by the second.

    I saw a couple of fights starting in the distance, and I decided to give a hand. A few poison breathster and some sword swings and cultivators fell down.

    "Can we please ask for brother''s name?" asked a heavily wounded cultivator.

    I looked at the man, then teleported away, I didn''t need to tell him, it will only cause problems.

    I continued moving and decided that since I didn''t have any ce to go to, I might as well go back to my roots.

    My direction was back to Lucid Springs, it''s a mortal city, so there shouldn''t be anything happening to it yet. No cultivator would go around killing mortals for no reason. But still, I couldn''t help but worry about my stupid sons and the townsfolks.

    Days of uneventful travel went by as I crossed a massive distance that would have taken less than a few hours on the back of Y. And thankfully when I arrived, it seemed that the city wasn''t harassed or assaulted. And the town was build built at a steady pace.

    The mortals didn''t care much for the Immortals and didn''t probably even know what was going on. The saddest part would be if the Fire King manages to take full control of the nt, they will die and be enved and never know or understand why their simple lives turned into a living hell.

    It is the oppression of the strong and the fate of the weak.

    Looking at Lucid Spring, it feels like small heaven unaware of the hell that''s set ame around it.

    The livelihood of the people in this small town will soon be turned upside down. But I won''t allow it.

    I went to the edge of the city where there was a small worker shack.

    "Benefactor!" a mortal old man said, "Wee, please," the man said as he recognized me.

    "How is work?" I asked.

    "It''s going great, we rebuilt the roads and cleared all the debris, and now are working on rebuilding the torn down buildings. But I''m just a humble worker, you can know more by asking the current city lord." The old man said.

    "Don''t worry about that, here, I''m willing to buy your shack," I said as I handed the man a small pouch filled with silver."

    "Thank you kindly!" the man instantly swiped the pouch from my hand. If I didn''t know better I''d say this dude is too fast for an old man.

    But I didn''t care much, I still had many things to do.

    "I''ll need you to clear out for a few days."

    "No need, you can have everything in the shack, with this I can rent a room at an inn."

    I nodded at the man who happily left.

    "Good," I said as I sat down, I closed the shack and locked it with a formation to keep anyone from intruding or using Divine sense.

    Then I entered the Lord of Lords Pagoda.

    With the time dtion, I should be able to make something using the materials I got from the enemy cultivators.

    I began pulling the corpses of the cultivators I killed and sorted their pouches.

    I found a lot of random crap, weapons and armors, protective charms that could have been used to save their lives, and other materials that could be handy in what I''m going to do.

    I also found some rare ingredients and recipes of alchemy and inscriptions. But nothing I can use right now or can be used to help.

    Of all the pouches, I found three things that I thought were interesting

    The first, is a rice-sized Saint Qi crystal it was very small, but it had enough Qi in it for what I needed to make.

    The second was a smallholding bag, but this one had hundreds of thousands of insects inside it. It seems that this holding bag is able to keep live beings inside it and whoever was using it had nurtured these insects to do his bidding.

    The insects inside the bag were all the same kind, a type of flying beetle. The poison God''s Book gave a description of these things.

    "Fire Horn Beetle." These beetles are a very rare breed that if nurtured correctly can give birth to a mutated form of beetles called the Hell Horn Beetles.

    The Fire Horn Beetles are able to pierce through steel with their horns and create a sensation of a searing sword cutting through flesh. Their ability to bring death is incredible that they became amon thing in an Insectomancer bag, Their horns are very poisonous and if the person attacked by these insects isn''t dead from their horns, they''ll not survive the poison that can burn through their insides and char them ck.

    The mutated form, Hell Horn Beetle is too hard to manifest as it requires a great deal of controlled Qi in an enclosed environment to create, but a dozen of these beetles are capable of matching an Ascendant in power. The only problem is that Hell Horn Beetles need enormous amounts of Saint Qi for them to manifest, and it is not often worth nurturing them due to the cost.

    "Interesting, I''ll keep this to the side, I don''t know how to tame bugs, but I should find something in the Lord of Lords library."

    Thest thing was a tree branch that looked like it hade from a random tree, but seeing it enclosed in a crystalline jade box made me doubt that this was something normal.

    I tried to see if I could find anything interesting about it, and I almost gave up thinking this was probably a random tree branch or a final fuck you, for whoever killed that cultivator as a means to mess with whoever killed him, hoping that they have a treasure only to find a twig.

    But I was oh so wrong.

    The poison god''s book almost leaped in joy as it began flipping its pages and revealed a page that had a simr drawing of this tree branch.

    ***

    Heaven Branch

    Deviance against heaven. But a part of it nheless¡­

    ***

    "Well, the passage is starting off strong, let''s see what this branch can do¡­"

 Chapter 243: Rolling Death

    <h4>Chapter 243: Rolling Death</h4>

    Heaven Branch is an extremely rare branch that could grow on any tree. It is however the reincarnation of a piece from the original Tree of Life.

    It is hard to notice and find due to the fact that it''s impossible to identify it from a normal tree branch unless it has been cut off from it.

    The Heaven Branch is a great catalyst in creating some of the most potent revitalizing pills and a core ingredient in making the Phoenix Rebirth Pill. A pill capable of resurrecting the dead and bringing life back to what had once lost it.

    The difficulty of creating the pill is another subject but having this branch means that a lost life can be regained.

    However, one must be careful of the side effects of such a heretic pill as giving life to what heaven had taken is nothing short of a direct confrontation with the heavenlyw and is punishable by death upon sess.

    Many however have found means to circumvent the Heaven Punishment and it is the Receptariers duty to find ways around it as well.

    "Hmmm seems interesting," I mumbled, though this won''t be any use to me right now, I''ll keep it and see if I can hopefully make use of it someday.

    Now, for the second part.

    I can''t leave this, and I have a damn hard time thinking that we''ll ever win this war. Especially with the Fire Lord ''s full-frontal assault at our doorsteps, and the difference between the cultivation levels of our and their forces.

    So, for now, I''ll need to make a bunker to protect the few people I have in my city before I try and think up a n on how to leave.

    I went to the library of the Lord of Lords and began looking at means of creating more protective inscriptions.

    I found a few good books that didn''t rely on the same inscription methods of Master Rain, not that they''re better, but because they''re different.

    I don'' want another reurrence of the same stuff that happened today to happen again, at worst I''ll make twoyer defensive formation a mix of both Master Rain''s technique and some of the best inscriber''s manuals I can get my hand on.

    As I was reading through the books and manuals, I almost facepalmed when I realized that I could have done something so obvious and so stupidly simple to get my ass out of this trouble.

    I''m no god, I''m no savior, and I know damn well that I''m not strong enough to turn the tides of an entire invasion alone. Especially since we''re brutally outnumbered and outssed.

    It might be shameful, and it might be not honorable in the eyes of many. But not in my eyes, because I know, that if I were to try and hope that some sort of miracle would happen to save me from this, then I''m basically doing nothing but dooming myself waiting for something like that.

    So, I''ll have to save myself, and I have at my disposal all the tools and necessary means to do so.

    In a corner of the massive library was a very normal-looking shelf, and it had something that I didn''t consider using at first.

    I pulled the first of the several manuals that were on the shelf and pulled it out.

    "Space Travel, Dangers and Treasures in abundance, by Hwang Yn"

    I began reading through the book.

    It began by exining space, the travel routes, the massive gctic societies, and the forces within it. And then began by exining the importance of a Space Map.

    Space maps seem to be routes that are used, the safest and fastest to get to different regions, they''re usually guarded and need cultivators to pay tax to go through them. But are the safest, however, there are other ways to get to different locations, the only problem is that the risk is too high as they often coincide with hunting grounds of space creatures.

    Damn.

    I continued reading and began to gain a bigger understanding of the life that dwells in space. And also all the tradingpanies and the routes they use to transport goods.

    It took me a while before I gained a full grasp over the nature of space, then once I finished the book, I took another and continued reading.

    Apparently, space travel can be very easy if one were to use spatial wind currents, something I never thought would exist in space. And the tools to exploit and make use of these currents are spatial shuttles.

    Space Shuttles are basically a means of transport in space, it can be as big as a massive ship that could host an entire city worth of cultivators, or as small as a magic carpet that can transport one cultivator.

    The size of the Space Shuttle only matters if it were used to transport people and goods. As for the speed of this Shuttle, it can only be increased by having good quality materials.

    And the best material to make a space shuttle is apparently Space Stones. Something that I have a lot of from visiting the Laughing ughter''s Pagoda.

    I was going to use that to cultivate the Star Technique, but since I no longer need to hide the fact that I''m cultivating poison due to the hidden Qi effect thates from the Poison God''s Cultivation technique I still have a bunch of it.

    I continued reading through the manuals and found even more borate manuals on how to create simple shuttles and even some that were more advanced.

    However, I''mcking in some materials.

    Currently, I''m a Nascent Soul Cultivator, meaning that I could probably venture into the higher floors of the Laughing ughter''s Pagoda.

    Which was impossible back then. I could perhaps find even more materials there or something I could use, I also need to find more of those Puppets since I melted all the ones I had to improve upon X, which I only have one arm of him that''s left.

    I pulled the Laughing ughterer''s token and teleported to the cold region where his tower existed.

    I immediately got to the seventh floor where I stoppedst time. And waited for his rumbling voice to speak.

    "Wee again Challenger! I see you grew stronger! Are you willing to go even higher!"

    "Yeah, yeah, next challenge," I spoke.

    Immediately a staircase fell down guiding me to the upper floor.

    I walked up the stairs and found another even smaller room waiting for me.

    As it appears, this pagoda is made of nine levels and every level is slightly smaller but more dangerous than the one below it. This one however had only one single doorway in the middle that seemed to be leading to nowhere.

    I went around the door inspecting it and found out that it can only be opened from one side.

    And the only way to open it was written on the door''s front.

    "Use Law."

    As ambiguous as it seemed I believe that this door will probably give an appropriate challenge to thew presented to it.

    Once I applied the Law that I was most proficient in, which was gravitationalw, the doorway opened up revealing a massive-sized room that had a couple of dozen massive stone-made balls.

    The balls were twice my height and probably weighed in the tens of tons of weight.

    The balls were sitting firmly at the edge of the round room. The door behind me closed and disappeared while the voice of the tower spoke.

    "Gravitational Law. One of the primews of the universe, applied to everything in existence, it is due to it that everything has a preordained course and orbit. It determines the weight of matter in existence and is one of the mostplicated yet simplews. In this trial, you need to survive by applying the gravitational Law. Be prepared."

    "Hmm, this trial seems strange, there is no goal in sight. What am I supposed to do though?" I wondered

    And immediately, one of the balls on the corner of the room began moving, it was very slow. It moved at an incredibly slow pace and began slowly increasing its speed, it wasn''t much to be worried about.

    The soon another ball began moving, and then another.

    A few secondster, two balls were in direct collision and they made contact, and their contact made my heart drop.

    The contact of the two balls was explosively loud and it made each of the balls shoot away from each other like shooting bullets.

    Not only that, one of the two balls made contact with another and that one also shot away, and then it began, the mostplicated none algorithmic random collision of shooting death that I''ve ever seen in my life. As every ball began knocking into another and the two-shot away faster, and faster.

    The speed of the balls continued increasing and every collision made them go on apletely different path.

    This was so absurdly random that I didn''t understand the meaning behind the test at all.

    One of the balls seemed to be directly heading in my direction, so I dodged away only to find myself in the path of another one that was inches away from my face.

    "Fuck!" I cursed but by the grace of the lords, another ball managed to knock that one away from my face before I turned to a flesh and bone paste.

    The balls continued colliding as I looked all over unable to understand what the hell was, I supposed to do.

 Chapter 244: Big Brain

    <h4>Chapter 244: Big Brain</h4>

    Explosive collisions continued happening all around me and I could barely do anything but dodge as best as I could. Not to mention, I am no longer able to fly or teleport in this enclosed room.

    There doesn''t seem to be any exit, so this means that I need to find a solution to this problem I''m facing.

    Destroying these massive spinning pinballs of death is out of the question, the mere contact they''re making with each other is far more destructive than anything I could produce and they''re not even being nicked or cracked.

    The problem was that the longer these collisions continue the higher chances I have of messing up and turning into a meat paste.

    How can I get out of this situation?

    Looking around, nothing seemed to catch my eyes besides something on the farthest side of the circr room.

    It was a circle on the ground, and if I remember correctly each and every ball here when I came wasfortably sitting inside those circles.

    My divine sense was still spread to cover the entire room and after a moment I realized something important, whenever one of the balls makes contact against one of the walls and if they had touched the circle, it visibly slows down before it shoots back out.

    The velocity of the balling back is slower than the original but since there are many other balls moving around once the slow ball makes contact with another, it increases its speed again neutralizing the slowness.

    I then immediately figured out how to leave the room and the purpose of this trial.

    However, how can I apply this?

    Especially if trying to stop or evene in contact with these rolling balls of death would mean that I''ll make a not so good looking ground painting.

    A ball came dangerously close to me but I managed to dodge away by the skin of my teeth, a part of my reinforced robe was shredded to pieces the moment it made contact with the ball.

    Shit, everything is bing even faster and more dangerous.

    Suddenly, I noticed something, a couple of balls came too close to each other and only grazed each other, this sent them spiraling away but at a far too lower speed as if the slight soft contact made the energy within the dissipate.

    "Soft versus hard, yes! I got it!" I grinned.

    Then I spread my hands forward as my divine sense spread and focused even harder.

    I closed my eye and then began analyzing the entirety of the area from a third-person perspective.

    There were twenty-four balls. And a very tight room and I''m in the middle.

    A ball seemed to being towards me at an incredible speed, so I moved to the side and instead of just dodging it, I had gravitational Law Lines spread from my hand, I wanted to apply gravitational force in front of me to try and alter the ball''s direction.

    Yet the moment the ball touched thew lines, they broke and shattered and the ball continued its course until it collided with another and I lost track of it after several other contacts.

    Damn.

    I think I was too direct and tried to fully control the ball''s force, I might as well just try and apply pressure instead of actually forcing the ball to fully change course.

    I tried it once again, this time I had even morew liens but instead of trying to cover the ball in them, I wanted just to push the ball away from me for now.

    Once the next ball came my way, I pressured it with gravitationalw from the side, trying to replicate the same effect of grazing it.

    And the ball slightly every so slightly changed course.

    "Yes! It''s working!"

    I threw my fist up in celebration only to realize I was in the course of two iing balls. I rolled away and stood up only to jump again dodging another ball, and again to find myself too close forfort as another ball spun right next to my nose.

    Shit!

    If I lose focus once I''m gonna die.

    Alright, now I have a general gist of things.

    I then began coating my palm with gravitationalw and slightly tap on every iing ball, trying my best not to make direct contact with the ball unless I want the skin on my hand to be burnt from the power of the spinning balls.

    I only needed the gravitational force to touch the ball, not my hand.

    For now, I''m still not capable of pushing away the balls but I can slightly change their course and if I''m able to do this constantly, I can probably stop everything in this room, but there is a catch.

    I altered one of the ball''s course and it was headed straight for one of the small circles on the side of the room until another ball came out of nowhere and mmed it away neutralizing my work.

    Damn.

    However, I realized something important if the test was just about pushing the balls I don''t think it was worth being an eight-floor level test.

    There is something even bigger hidden within this test and I just realized it.

    Cause and Effect, action and reaction.

    Every ball here is affected by another ball''s presence, and just altering one of them means that Its still not enough, because I need to be able to calcte every single item moving in this room, every possible contact, and the direction of every ball, then the effect of the ball I''m going to push and how it''s going to affect the rest of the balls in the room.

    This is like ying chess with every piece as a variable and needing to make a move and know the consequences of every reaction from then on.

    To bepletely honest, this is some work that only a supeputer can do. But as a cultivator¡­

    I took a deep breath and opened both my eyes as Qi surged into my eyes.

    The world was coated in a pale green aura as I enabled my mind''s eye.

    My concentration level increased to beyond the maximum limit and I began to see everything in a far slower speed.

    It wasn''t that the world slowed down, it was that my brain''s function increased so much everything looked to be slowed. And this gave me ample time to figure out my next move.

    An iing ball was about to hit me, but behind me was one of the circles.

    However, before it would touch the circle, it would be hit by another iing ball from the right.

    I moved to the right and appliedw lines to that ball enabling the first to make contact with the circle and visibly slow down.

    But at the same time, I sent the very ball I just touched toward another circle the followed after it and stopped every ball in its wake.

    Then continued doing so to every ball, only to realize that the first ball I sent to the circle was mmed by another ball I didn''t ount for.

    Shit, this is going to take some time.

    So, I pped my palms together in a prayer motion, "Golden Scripture, Doppelganger!"

    Two exact copies of myself manifested next to me and spread to the other side of the room and now there were three of me.

    And now I have three brains working at once, and with these heads nothing is impossible.

 Chapter 245: Invasion

    <h4>Chapter 245: Invasion</h4>

    Loud explosive sounds were echoing all over the ce as I and two other copies were standing in a triangle formation across the room.

    With my divine sense spread out, I was able to locate and calcte every iing ball from every direction and began applying pressure to tamper and manipte the odds.

    This ce was not as simple as one would think, no it was far from it and I was proven so by a realization that I came across as I was trying to manipte the balls to move where I want.

    Cause and effect.

    For every action, there is a reaction, and my own actions of adjusting and changing the course of the balls made everything change.

    The fact that if I were to move one ball, by just one inch away, means that it might miss contact with another ball that it shouldn''t have missed, causing even more reactions that shouldn''t have happened.

    In a sense, it''s like an immediate butterfly effect.

    And my purpose was to be able to fully contain and manipte it.

    In a sense, I must take actions that will cause the balls to end up stopping on the starting circles.

    And doing that was far easier said than done.

    Because not only did I have to make sure that every ball I moved, I moved with a purpose in mind, I needed to actually survive long enough to see my ne to fruition.

    With my mind''s eye on max output, I began pressing against the iing balls. I pushed some away from me inpletely abnormal directions, but that was because I knew that a ball was about to go and cut the one I just sent off.

    The contact between the two sent both of them away and each of them hit one of the circles slowing them down massively.

    Just as one of the balls was about to recoil back from the circle it was on, another ball I had preemptively sent there mmed it back into the wall, and then it stoppedpletely.

    Not moving an inch.

    Yes! Got the first one.

    With my new revtion, I continued tampering with the rest of the ball''s movement. I even sent some towards my clones who sent them back to another side of the room.

    I couldn''t help but make a few miscalctions and caused a few already standing balls to be nudged and back into the ying field again.

    It only takes one mistake to make everything I''ve done go to waste, so I''m going to try and not fuck up anymore.

    Hours upon hours kept ticking away as I slowly sent ball after ball to its resting ce.

    And finally with only two balls left, hitting dangerously close to where the rest of the balls were sitting, I had to use my clones to hit the remaining two balls so they''d miss the rest of the ball then bounce back, colliding in the middle of the room then finally rolling towards their circles respectively.

    Just as every ball was sitting still the circles under them lit up and a light barrier manifested blocking the balls from moving again.

    "Congrattions! You proved your attunement to gravitationalw and understanding. You may proceed!"

    Just as the voice finished speaking, my rattled brain threatened to overheat and cook itself into mush. A doorway manifested in the middle of the room which I dly took and left.

    Looking back, my clones were barely able to manifest themselves anymore, this was the most I had ever constantly used mind''s eye and two other clones separated my mental capacity into three.

    It felt good for a moment, like an omnipresent, omnipotent being, but that was just for a bit. And now I''m paying for the aftereffects.

    The mother of all headaches came bashing at my head with a sledgehammer.

    I walked out of the door and found myself in the final room.

    Sadly, there was no reward I thest floor, but I believe that the understanding of Law I gained itself is rewarding enough. Now I have a greater knowledge about the application of gravitationalw and I also can doputing abilities to a far higher degree which was of course a good bonus.

    On the final floor of the pagoda, there was a small dais in the middle. There seemed to be some sort of gauntlet on it, it was a left-hand gauntlet.

    The gauntlet was scaly, red, and looking like it has been made from very durable material.

    It had very sharp-looking ws and looked pretty sick.

    I went to the dais and studied the glove for a bit before I did anything, finding nothing worth my worry, nor heard the voice of the tower owner. I went ahead and grabbed the glove.

    Not a momentter the glove went and grabbed it.

    Just as I did, however, the glove turned alive and squirmed in my hand then clumped on my left hand hard.

    Suddenly the glove began fusing into my hand and I felt something racking my brain.

    "FUCK!" I cursed as I was obviously under a possession attack from whatever it was in that stupid gauntlet.

    I pulled as many spirit rejuvenating pills as I could grab in one hand and chugged them all.

    The exhaustion from the earlier test was still racking my brain and a mental attack is thest thing I''d ever want under this condition.

    Immediately I found myself back inside my sea of consciousness and I was about to be raided by a fucking dragon.

    A dragon spirit so massive in size manifested inside my sea of consciousness.

    It then began stomping its way towards my fortress roaring.

    "Foolish mortal, you dare im what you have no strength to obtain!" the dragon spirit spoke.

    "Right back at you," I said "ARMS UP!" and immediately, every turret on every wall of my mental fortress turned towards the dragon then it began shooting rockets at it.

    The explosions sounded like a symphony of destruction as the dragon had no idea what was going on.

    Then came the freights that carried flying jets, which rained lead and rockets like there was no tomorrow.

    "You came to the wrong neighborhood bitch," I added then jumped into the fray.

 Chapter 246: A Craftsmans Resolve

    <h4>Chapter 246: A Craftsman''s Resolve</h4>

    The dragon didn''t understand what gued it, as it came in contact with things far too alien for it.

    The pesky rockets shooting from all over the ce seemed like small nibbles at their massive size, but an endless army of a fire ants can kill an elephant if they''re numerous enough.

    And my army is only limited by how many pills I can eat. And believe me, I have a lot.

    More of my battleships moved forward to intercept the dragon as many other jets shot at the creature endlessly.

    I also added more to my mental arsenal, as I sat on the throne of my sea of consciousness''s tower.

    There was a lever I created and pulled on it, which opened up the ceiling of the tower.

    From where I sat, the entire floor turned to a tform and rose up to the top of the tower where two massive spinning miniguns, appeared from the side of the tower, the caliber of the rounds within the miniguns was so huge they were closer to tomahawks than regr bullets and oh did it rain lead and pain upon the iing dragon as the tower shook with every bullet shot from the massive miniguns.

    The dragon couldn''t understand how it was being hammered with so much lead and pain.

    "HOW?! HOW IS IT THAT A NASCENT SOUL FORMATION HAS THIS MUCH SOUL POWER?!"

    The dragon howled in pain as its ethereal body seemed to be more and more damaged.

    "Like I''d tell you," I grinned as I pressed on another lever that appeared right under me.

    "Eat this!"

    The lever I pulled this time manifested two gigantic rods from the base of the tower, the two rods zapped as electricity sparked between them.

    More and more electricity charged up and umted as the two massive rods began vibrating and turning redder.

    "Epitome of mankind''s knowledge is here. Enjoy it, you''ll never see anything like this ever again!" I said as I pulled the lever once again.

    Causing the electric current to charge up even stronger.

    For a fraction of a second, the world turned silent.

    As the two rods released a supremely fast, incredibly destructive and inherently powerful metallic slug towards the enemy.

    This was a rail gun.

    And oh was it so beautiful as it shot. Was it so beautiful as it came in contact with the dragon, and oh was it so beautiful as it made a clean massive hole in its body, prating it without a hitch or problem and went into the far distance disappearing from sight?

    My mind was racked in excruciating pain, as I had to pay for the cost of the Rail Gun using my mental and soul force which was already heavily taxed from thest test.

    I could feel, that if I had added a bit more of my mental energy into that attack or that if it hadn''t taken down the dragon, I would have probably died.

    The dragon couldn''t speak anymore as it fell down into the massive sea and began disappearing from my world and turned into a massive soul power that slowly began funneling towards me.

    Immediately, I felt rejuvenated as my already exhausted soul and mental reserves began replenishing and I became more and more aware of my surrounding as I no longer felt the nkness'' in my mind.

    Looking above me, where there used to be a core, there was a smaller version of me, it is the nascent Soul.

    It was sitting in a meditative lotus position and now, with the dragon''s energy funneling towards it, it began absorbing it and making it a part of it.

    As I could visibly see some scales growing on the soul''s avatar and disappearing afterward.

    It doesn''t seem like it''s harmful so I left it to absorb the energy, I couldn''t use it anyway so might as well feed the nascent Soul.

    I woke up from my stupor and was back at the top of the Laughing ughterer''s tower.

    Looking around the gauntlets seemed to have disappeared. But the moment I thought about it, it appeared over my left arm.

    It was sharp, sturdy, and very very light. I couldn''t feel its weight over my hand, and could actually still feel and touch using my left hand.

    Though I have no idea what''s this.

    I need to do more research on this thing. But for now. To a more important matter.

    "Congrattions on subduing what many couldn''t. You have cleared my tower and as a gift you can use the tower to help you fight. Grasp it by the hands, andugh as you ughter your way through hoards of enemies.

    Relish and revel in the blood of your enemies!"

    Suddenly theughing ughterer''s token I had in my pouch began vibrating, I pulled it out. And noticed that there was a word written in it.

    Blood.

    I immediately understood what I needed to do.

    So, instead of doing something dumb as biting the tip of my tongue, which was a painful motherfucker. I pulled a needle and pierced my thumb, it was also painful but not as much.

    I squeezed a drop of blood on the token, and it lit in bright golden light.

    Then a door manifested on the top floor.

    I walked out of the door to find myself outside the tower and in the cold regions of the mountains where it existed.

    The massive tower began vibrating and shaking so much then it began shrinking.

    The token in my hand flew away and hovered in the air where the tower continued to shrink more and more until it was no bigger than a football.

    Then the token nted itselffortably under the tower and it wasplete.

    The tower looked like a miniature version of its former self but didn''t look any weaker. Just as I grabbed the tower, I felt that there was a dimensional pocket under the base of the small tower.

    It was like a holing bag dimensional pocket. And when I opened it. I grinned from ear to ear.

    Materials¡­ so much of it that I needed is here.

    Apparently gaining the tower grants one with all the treasures hidden within it, and theughing ughterer was nothing if not generous.

    I ced the tower in my holding bag and left theughing ughterer''s small world. There was nothing left for me there so I might as well just leave it.

    Once I was back in Lucid Springs, I began working on three projects.

    The first, reviving X, which thankfully I still had one arm of him left and that''s all I needed to transfer his consciousness back to a newer sturdier, and stronger body.

    I went inside the lord of lords pagoda and went into its workshop.

    I had several other puppets I got from the Laughing ughterer''s domain. So I could easily rece his destroyed body with a new one.

    I began cutting carving and recing, reinforcing, and remaking many, many parts.

    X had several issues and among them was his inability to fly though I fixed that he was still too heavy and too slowpared to Y.

    But now, with the knowledge, I gained from the Space manuals and the gravitationalws I understood how to manage his overall maneuverability, bnce, and weight. But to do all of this, he can''t be using the same system I had for him before of spirit stone schematics.

    I had to rebuild a new reactor, and since I thankfully ''stole'' the original reactor from Y''s body, I still have a prototype to build on, and I can also use the original reactor for another more important purpose.

    It took me a damn long time to finish up working on X and cing a reactor inside his chest.

    Not only that, I had to update him again with even more weaponry and so much more arsenal that it was outright stupid. But seeing the power of Master Rain, having X be Overgeared is never a bad thing.

    "My lord, may I help you with anything?" X asked.

    "Get out of the pagoda and keep a close watch on the city, inform me if any cultivators approach," I said.

    X nodded and moved through a spatial doorway outside.

    Once I was done with X, it was time to work on my two other projects.

    The first of them was the formation I''ll need to make to protect Lucid Springs.

    The second¡­ a spacecraft that can enable me to fly through space, powered by Y''s original Saint Qi reactor¡­

    It''s gonna be fun.

 Chapter 247: To the Workshop

    <h4>Chapter 247: To the Workshop</h4>

    I began working on the inscriptions as I needed to not worry about the town while I''m focused on other matters.

    The basis of the formation needed to be a protective one to enable people within it to not suffer at the hand of a random cruel cultivator. So I had to begin by writing the strongest defensive Qi formations I could think of.

    The idea was to use master Rain''s own inscriptions toy the foundation of the inscription. I hardly doubt anyone would be able to disable this formation if it has theyout of Master Rain''s work, however, if I''m unlucky and someone with actual knowledge of his workes by, it''ll all be for naught.

    So, I had to mix and shuffle moreplex formations into the final work. This way it will be a dozen times harder for even a disciple of Master Rain''s teachings to breakthrough.

    I began working on one of the mostplex and convoluted formations I could ever hope to create.

    From gravitational restriction to space interference, heat and cold, vibration, and even illusionary inscriptions, I added all of it to thousands of talismans that I wrote on the ground.

    After I piled a stockpile of talismans with each of them having their own function, I was finally done after six days inside the lord of lords pagoda, which barely ounted for a few hours on the real world.

    Thankfully, X never came to alert me of any iing cultivators.

    Once I was done, I left back to the real world and there didn''t seem to be any change in the livelihood of the people outside.

    However, one could still hear the faint sounds of battle in the high skies as cultivators fought for their lives.

    The mortal world rarely was ever affected by the battles of cultivators, but the fate of the immortals is tightly linked to the mortals.

    If the cultivators of Si Xue were to lose, then everyone will be enved and at the mercy of the fire lord. Mortals included.

    So, for Si Xue cultivators, they had only one option, win, or die trying.

    I walked up to the center of the town where I found my sons working. I felt a slight pang of regret for their miserable state, but it was still far from over for them, they haven''t paid enough for their sins.

    Lu Bao looked at me pitifully while Xiao Bao didn''t even dare look me in the face.

    I didn''t want to talk to them, so I ignored the two and let them remove the rubble and pave the road.

    Once I was in the middle of the town I opened my pouch and the talismans flew from within it like migration birds all spreading in a different directions.

    The kids in town enjoyed the sight of the flying talismans as their innocence andck of knowledge protected them from the dangers of what was actually happening outside.

    But some of the seniors and oldest of the people could read the moods and understood that things were about to change.

    Once all the talismans had arrived at their designated destination, they began to glow. A string of light split from every corner of every talisman to link up with the closest one to it.

    Then a dome manifested from the linking of all talismans, a dome with a single purpose, protect, defend, and kill if necessary.

    Though the energy cost of setting up something like this would usually be incredibly high, it wouldn''t matter to me much as I''m actually not using my personal expenses.

    I''ve already read through the entireary system and know how to funnel the''s own Qi into this small area and use it to reinforce the formation, which I greedily did. Since theary formation is already destroyed why waste the extra energy.

    Suddenly, a massive Qi surge spread out in the distance as the formation finally stood and was fully operational.

    This should be more than enough to stop many, many cultivators and give me a wide breadth of time to work on the next project.

    Once the formation was done, I turned to the people and said, "No one leaves the rims of this formation."

    Then I left back to where I came from and left the rest of the people wondering what was going on.

    Once I was back into the lord of Lord''s pagoda I felt a huge surge of mental exhaustion as I''ve been working non stop since god knows when.

    I took a few hours rest as I meditated regaining my energy and relieving some exhaustion, then began on my other project.

    To be able to travel through space I need one thing. A transport machine that can freely use space''s energy and move through it. And the best tool to use is a shuttle that is heavily imbued in Space Stone. A meteorite is verymon.

    I''ve been given a piece by the master of the purple cloud sect¡­

    Remembering that they had passed away sent another wave of angst and anger through me that I quickly suppressed.

    I''ll avenge you. So rest and be patient, I''ll make sure that your deaths won''t be meaningless.

    They died because they were mistaken for me. They destroyed the whole shuttle and had me med for everything.

    Good.

    Administrator, I''ll remember you.

    I gave myself the vow to see the end of this whenever I have the ability to, but for now, let''s slowly work on surviving this ordeal.

    For the shuttle to travel through space I need to have a very nice piece of Space Stone, which I had obtained from the Laughing ughter''s pagoda.

    It was the very stone I had to contemte in the pagoda before I saw that oppressively dangerous-looking Dragon Serpent.

    But just having the Space Stone doesn''t mean that you''re done, I still need to process it and use it

    I ced the stone in front of me and began by pulling carving tools from the workshop and in front of me was a manual on how to utilize space stones via craftsmanship.

    Basically, Space Stones absorb space energy to allow a ''vehicle'' to move through space with the addition of Qi.

    Not only that, the Space Stones help against the radiations and negative space energy. Otherwise, everyone would just fly through space as they would in a normal.

    However, the speed of the vehicle is tightly rted to the user''s own energy, the higher the cultivator the more speed the vehicle can output.

    As for higher-level cultivators, they need even better material to support their own qi expenditure thus there are even grades of Space Stones and grades of shuttles.

    I found another book exining in even more detail the value and size and even shape of the spatial stone and how it affects the speed of the shuttle.

    And surprisingly among the Lord of Lords pagoda''s manuals, there was a book that detailed the structure of one of the ck Tower''s shuttles.

    Looking through the manual I was surprised to find that the very stone I had, and the one that the ck tower in the manual had been of the same grade and size.

    I was slightly staggered to realize that the stone in front of me, though it was barely over three feet in length and two in width was able to move a shuttle that was as big as a ten-story tower.

    But I''m not building a tower, nor do I have the will or power to make something that big. However, if I can use the whole of this stone on one single small and really fast construct, I should be able to make something pretty damn good.

    I began by making measurements and thinking of the best design to finally finish up a perfectly futuristic and fascinating-looking design on paper.

    I settled on a ten feet length and five feet width hoverboard with two jet thrusters at the back.

    This was the primary idea I had drawn on papers.

    The hoverboard will be bulky and be host the space stone in its belly. While at the back on each side will have a jet engine thruster that will be powered by Qi, not mine because I still can''t use it, but by the very same reactor that used to belong to Y.

    The materials I''ll need to use however need to be sturdy to support the potential speed of the hoverboard and I was nning on using the materials I had obtained from Master Rain''s workshop in the celestial realm.

    The materials he didn''t use or scrapped to the side as he made Y, are pretty sturdy and very powerful pieces, I didn''t have any use for them earlier, nor could I use them for upgrading X because I thought I might need them for something else, and I''m d I didn''t.

    Now for the next part, and the hardest part, the creation of this shuttle. This is clearly not going to be easy since I''ll be dabbling in materials that are far higher than my own cultivation grade.

 Chapter 248: Finished product

    <h4>Chapter 248: Finished product</h4>

    Melting super metals from a higher cultivation realm is no joke, I''ve read that some of these pieces needed to be in the heart of a smoldering volcano for thousands of years before they could melt, which is an option I really don''t have. But the majority of the leftover pieces from the making of Y were not so annoying to manage.

    Using my Veridian Heart me and the lord of Lords forge, I was able to create several sturdy metallic boards of the size I wanted.

    I began by welding the boards on the frame for the hoverboard to take its final shape, once it was all perfectly weld together, I pulled two cylindrical frames and welded them to the sides at the back of the board.

    Now the frame and the exterior was done. All I need to do now is to ce the space stone within the hoverboard, which wasn''t difficult as I left arge area that can betched opened and closed in the middle of the hoverboard where I''ll be working on the more ''technical'' part of the work.

    After setting up the frame where I''ll be inserting the more borate stuff, I turned to the second part of this work. The jet thrusters.

    More like Qi thrusters but tomato ''tomatho''

    The idea was pretty simple, I made something like this for X, only now, the Qi released will not be just regr Qi, but saint Qi supplied from the Y''s own reactor.

    I pulled the reactor that still had arge piece of Saint Qi crystal inside it and began studying it again.

    In Master Rain''s journal, this reactor didn''t work even if everything looked to be setup properly. So where was the problem?

    I began studying the reactor once again from scratch. Though I had created something that looks like this and function as intended, it was a far too diluted copy for it to match the technical and delicate nature of this Saint Qi reactor.

    So I began by disassembling the reactor and slowly tried to understand what the inscription on every bit an piece of it was meant for.

    I could swear it had taken me days to finally figure out the problem. It was so simple, and very easy to dismiss. But at the same time detrimental in the process of function for this reactor.

    It was the very subspace inscription that Master Rain had written within the reactor that was stopping it from working.

    Though he had used the subspace inscription to stuff in as manymands as he could, a few of these subspaces ended up ovepping and harming the overall process. It was like putting a piece of sand in a Switzend watch.

    It is very hard to notice especially if someone is as masterful as Master Rain, simply because, they would never think of it this way.

    Not even the greatest masters are without ws. Though I hate to admit it, even if he is an ass and took Y away from me and ruined all my work trying to protect this god forsaken, he was damn good at his job, as vexing as it is.

    But this mistake he did was more of ack of attention. Perhaps this was made as he first began creating the reactor. If I remember correctly, not everything in the forbidden kingdom at the celestial realm was fully inscribed. Some pieces were missing a few important details and some had broken spatialws.

    Perhaps when Master Rain first started on this reactor he hadn''t fully grasped the spatial inscription technique and made a mistake that he hadn''t realized back then. Perhaps now he would instantly solve the problem, but this reactor was made when he was probably still new at this.

    For me, I dare not say I''m as capable or as smart as him, but what I do know is, if it''s regarding spacew I''m more than enough to see a mistake, because it is one of the twows I''m currently attempting to master.

    I then began by adjusting some of the already written inscriptions.

    I modified a few and carefully added a few more, then began trial and error to see if it would function. It took a few more tries before the formations began to light up and I was able to confirm that everything was in order.

    With the ''mistake'' corrected, the Qi flow began running smoothly and once I ced the Saint Qi crystal, everything lit up and the reactor began breathing life.

    "Good." I spoke.

    I carefully opened thetch and ced the reactor inside the hoverboard. I then picked up the massivew stone and ced it alongside the reactor inside the hoverboard, then began the second round of welding.

    Once the stone and the reactor were both fixed in position, I then started working on the ''electronic'' part of the assembly. Mainly, creating Qi inscription based formation that linked the reactor and thew stone.

    With the saint Qi powering thew stone, the hoverboard''s weight decreased to that of a feather and it began rising up. I had to turn everything down because I only ced the basics and haven''t even gotten to the steering and guiding part.

    With my former knowledge of making tracker rockets it was a piece of cack to make a functioning guiding system for the hoverboard that worked solely based on my own position over the hoverboard.

    Leaning forward is to elerate, back to slow down, and leaning to the sides is to turn and switch direction.

    It took more tuning to enable sharper turns and twits into the hoverboard''s movement logs but it wasn''t the hardest part of the job.

    Then came the final part, I do have two ''jet thrusters'' but now they''re empty as I needed to ''fill'' them with a new type of hardwear.

    I made a massive metallic cylinder that was like a camera shutter, it would twist to open and close a hole. And inside the shutters were two turbines I made by replicating the knowledge I gained when creating my first steam engine, only this engine is actually supplied by saint Qi.

    The function of this part was to draw saint Qi from the main reactor, and boost the hoverboard forward, and with the shutters at the end of it, the tighter the exhaust the faster the hoverboard will be.

    With everything done and finished, the flying hoverboard was done and finished, but it still feltcking something.

    I then began making spatial pockets on the sides of the hoverboard where I added incendiary rocketunchers and other pockets that carried several hundreds of explosive cannisters that I wasn''t using and only had stored.

    With the offensive function of the hoverboard setup, I needed a defensive measure.

    And thus, I began adding more inscription on the face of the board. Thanks to it being wide enough, I was able to make an inscription that would create a protective dome around the whole of the hoverboard. This should be able to stop any attack from anyone that can''t use Saint Qi. Since it''s the same formation that was around the and stopped an entire invasion force for days before Master Rain even came.

    With everything done and finished, I was tempted to paint the hoverboard as it looked rather rugged, but I didn''t have time for this, because X hade to inform me of something critical.

    "Master! Enemy up ahead!"

    I immediately left the Lord of Lords pagoda and went out back to the center of town.

    Looking up ahead, right outside where the formation I had set up several days ago at lucid springs, there came many cultivators.

    Things were about to get messy.

 Chapter 249: Decision

    <h4>Chapter 249: Decision</h4>

    "X, prepare for the interception," I gave themand, and X immediately shot forward and outside the barrier I have built around Lucid Spring.

    I followed immediately suite as I flew up and into the open air towards the cultivators.

    I could head them speaking in the distance, "Iing puppet, looks strong, be careful." One of the enemy cultivators wearing the Fire King''s emblem spoke.

    Just as their words were uttered, X sted his own Qi thrusters to maximum output and took off the head of the first cultivator without him even being able to realize it.

    I followed after, pulling Creeping Demise and began a ughter.

    I took the head of the couple few cultivators next to me and shot a few bullets that were blocked by more cultivators, yet the real threat of the bullets were the poison that exploded from inside the bullets on contact, killing a few more in the process.

    The grouped up cultivators split up and a few of them began cooking up an offensive attack formation as they all pointed their palms forward.

    It seems like some sort of group attack formation that needs the cooperation of many cultivators to function. They surrounded me and began chanting something.

    Above me a dragon''s silhouette manifested, yet before I would allow them to finish the chant, I spat poison breath all around me, causing it to speed through the air and make contact with a good portion of the chanting cultivators.

    They looked experienced as they all had already coated their bodies with Qi to protect themselves from the poison, but that only worked in my favor as the Qi sealing breath poison enjoyed eating up Qi barriers the most.

    Many cultivators had their faces turn purple from being poisoned and fell to the ground like flies.

    With a good majority of the cultivators either poisoned or out of position to continue the chant, the massive dragon silhouette immediately dissipated.

    "Care! He is a poison cultivator!" one of the cultivators shouted as if he had finally realized a big puzzle.

    But so what, unless you''re immune to poison you cannot approach me. But I can.

    I moved closer to a couple cultivators as I sted my poison Qi from the sols of my feet causing a massive poisonous st to manifest behind me as I charged forward to take out a couple more cultivators.

    Following behind me is not a possibility due to me passively releasing poison Qi from my feet, and waiting for me toe is nothing but asking to die.

    Poison cultivators relish in battles where they are outnumbered, because to kill them, one needs to get close, and getting close to them, means you''re more than likely to be poisoned.

    I continued my chase before I sensed something massiveing my way.

    Looking to my left, someone had shot forward a massive pir at me. Though I first wondered why would any sane man would have a stone pir in their holding bag, but it was clear that by using something like that, throwing it my way, it was the only way to actually harm me.

    I cannot poison stone, and if I were to try and block it, it will hurt.

    I dodged the iing pir with ease at first, but then I began to realize that I was being stalled.

    Looking around, many other cultivators had simr pirs pulled from their holding bags and they all came flying my way, dodging this many pirs would be close to impossible, so I was willing to teleport away only to realize that someone is actively tampering with spatialws.

    The world stopped as I enabled my mind''s eye increasing my focus and my reaction time.

    Trying to teleport would be a huge hassle unless I take out the one that is tampering with the spatialws. As for the iing pirs, they were so many that simply dodging them was too difficult.

    So, It is time to apply what I learned to save my life apparently.

    I charged at the first pir, and heard one of the cultivators snorting.

    "Seeking your own death!"

    And just as I was about to be crushed by the flying pr, I twisted my body and managed to spin myself while the pir continued its path only a few inches to my side.

    "You dodged one, what about the hundred others!" the cultivator said, and it was oh so easy to give him a p to the face with what I''m about to do.

    Before the pir had fully left my current location, I lightly tapped it to the side and that was all I needed to change its trajectory.

    The action happened in a fraction of a second, and the change of direction looked to be minimal at first, but the more the pir flew, that small degree I changed began to create a massive gap between the original direction the pir was about to head to, and where it was headed now. And now it was heading towards another cultivator who didn''t even realize he was hovering in the path of death.

    With some incredible reflex the cultivator managed to dodge the pir, taking a breath of relief, only for him to realize that something was glistening and floating next to him.

    Before he could even shout, an explosion happened right next to his body, sending him flopping around in the hair with many limbs missing and a body so soaked in poison that the only mercy he would have is a bullet to the head to end his misery.

    The rest of the pirs came my way and I sent them all flying all over the ce, making the cultivator''s ''only'' method at getting closer to a Poison Cultivator the very reason that they would die.

    More pirs came and more I sent away and more cultivators died.

    And soon, the realization steeled in, that if they continued this, they will all die.

    "RETREAT!" one of them spoke, but X had already took the man''s head off with a single punch, as I followed after the rest.

    Hunting them down to thest man. Because if I were to leave just one of them alive, I cant guarantee the safety of Lucid Springs.

    Cultivators are known for being petty, and if they can''t handle a situation, they''ll ask for someone who can, and I don''t want to face against someone of a higher cultivation realm than I.

    Especially with the absence of Y, I need to be more careful with taking out threats to my life, otherwise I''ll only be asking for trouble.

    Y was a good saving grace and I could waltz around the whole world without a single care, but now, I no longer have this luxury and need to actually be careful in every step I take.

    The cleanup took a while especially since they all dipped in different directions, but with me and X''s effort we managed to hunt down thest stragglers. And got the cleanup done, in no time.

    Once all cultivators were done with, we gathered all of their belongings and cremated their bodies.

    I haven''t gotten the chance to use the dragon w I just got but it didn''t really matter since everything turned up well and right, but this isn''t good.

    This batch of cultivators might be a scouting group, and with the Qi signature from Lucid Spring, it could probably lead even more parties toe here.

    I can''t keep this up, one day someone strong wille and I might not be able to take them out, then what?

    I need to finish up the final touches on the hoverboard and dip out of this ce.

    But leaving alone is cowardly, not after I promised all the people in lucid spring a safe ce to live in.

    Right, I''ll have to make a choice now, and I don''t want other people; close to me to die. Not like this.

    I can''t save the world, but I''m sure as hell I can save those I care for. Starting with two unfilial sons, and a whole town, then down to every person I have a good impression of.

    I''ll need to look for Wu Di, Yuzehan, Xiao Lang, Meng Hao, and his little sweetheart.

    I''m an old man with a soft heart, and I don''t want to see young people die, a whole sect died due to my own carelessness, I''ll be damned if I were to let more die just because I want to save my own skin.

    With a n in mind, I headed back to the lord of lords''s pagoda to finish up thest touch-ups on the hoverboard.

 Chapter 250: Tracking

    <h4>Chapter 250: Tracking</h4>

    Once I made sure that everything was tuned and thest details for the hoverboard''s flight were managed and handled with as much care as I could, I decided it was time for me to move to the next step.

    "Automaton, I want to ask you something," I said, and immediately, the Automaton that is serving the Lord of Lord''s pagoda appeared in front of me.

    "Yes, master." It replied.

    "We''ll be having a few guests, I suppose that the Pagoda can handle a few additions without feeling too full right?"

    "If you''re talking about the town. It can be managed. Should I take them in?" the automaton said.

    "Yes, sadly all their efforts in rebuilding the city will be for naught, but it''s best if they are alive to rebuild a new town."

    "That won''t be a problem, the city you''re in is still notrge enough to be a problem once added into the pagoda."

    "You mean¡­"

    "Yes, I can take in the entire city, buildings and all."

    "Well, that''s good to know. Yeah, go ahead. That''s pretty damn handy." I said as I nodded up and down.

    "Please be careful, I''ll start the integration process now¡­" the automaton said then suddenly it looked like it had shut down as it didn''t reply to my following questions.

    "Then, as if life had been breathed back into it, it lit up, "It is done," It said.

    I frowned for a moment then used the Lord of Lords token to take me to the open prairies part of the five biomes.

    And found the entirety of Lucid Springs nted into the midst of the massive open fields.

    The buildings and roads were all carefully ced into the pagoda without a single part missing.

    Just as I approached the small city, the formation opened up, revealing trembling mortals unable to understand what just happened.

    "It''s the former city lord!" one o the people said as they looked up to me.

    As I hovered above everyone, I spoke, "This is no longer the same world you used to live in." I spoke. "The of Si Xue no longer has hope. This is the only safe ce left for this world, be grateful to be alive and lucky enough to be here." I said.

    "Do not wander off too much, you may find things that will not hesitate before making you into their dinner. As long as you''re in the city you''ll be fine. For food, I''ll make sure that you''re all fed."

    Suddenly, someone, who I didn''t think would have the gals to talk to me spoke, "Father." He said as he looked up at me.

    "My wife and daughter¡­" he said.

    "What about them?" I replied.

    "They''re still outside, are they alive?" he said.

    I sighed¡­ he may be an ungrateful unfilial bastard. But his daughter didn''t do anything bad. She is also my granddaughter. I can''t allow them to die.

    "I''ll see to it," then immediately spoke, "Listen her. I will not go around collecting your rtives otherwise it will not end. If you can''t afford to ''live'' without your rtives, the ask the automaton here to let you out and go find them for yourselves, but do know, if you were to leave, I won''t take you back. And if someone thinks that I''m being unfair by taking in only my own descendants, then I am unfair. But I won''t be collecting your family, otherwise we''ll never have enough time to leave the."

    "Master Shen Bao." Spoke Wu Fan.

    "Yes, friend."

    "This city, most of the people here are already without rtives, the floods took their homes and families and the only people here are already tight and close as family, do not worry about us being greedy and wanting to take in more, because all we have left is the people already here. We thank you for your grace. We all realized that something big was happening, and we''re thankful that you even considered our mortal lives worth saving. Many would not even bother, for the Immortals, Mortals aren''t worth saving."

    I nodded and left.

    I needed to go and get Lu Bao''s wife and daughter first before I start looking for the rest of my friends.

    A much as I wanted to test the hoverboard, I decided against it, because the Saint Qi release will pull in too much unwanted attention, thus I used my own speed to go after the ones I need to find.

    Once I arrived to where my son''s wife used to live, I came down to a city so void of life that I felt slightly agitated.

    Could cultivators havee and attacked this ce?

    But the notion suddenly disappeared from my mind once I used divine sense.

    The city didn''t have any cultivator in it, and most people that lived here were nothing but mortals.

    With a quick scan using divine sense, I found Lu Bao''s family.

    I headed towards the old manor where they were and opened its door. Only to find a young woman with a young daughter behind her, the woman had a knife held in hand, trembling in fear at my sudden appearance, while her daughter whimpered behind her.

    "W-who are you!" she spoke trembling.

    I tilted my head and didn''t even speak, as I pointed my hand forward, making her jerk back in fear.

    A portal opened next to her.

    "Go in," I said.

    She clearly didn''t want to, terrified of what might be inside that gate.

    "Your husband is waiting. Don''t make me force you in." I said.

    "You didn''t kill him?"

    "Why would I kill my own son?" I replied.

    The notion finally setteled in, and hope that her husband was still alive gave her some courage.

    "Chyou''er, lets go." The woman said.

    The two of them walked into the portal and this concluded the first problematic I had.

    I looked around for a bit and grabbed some items from their house. Mainly a few toys and some memorabilia items and threw them into the portal. Then left.

    Now to find the rest of my friends¡­this won''t be easy.

    But with this I muttered as I grabbed the ck Tower pendant.

    I should be able to track them.

    I looked at the ranking and found out that Wu Di and Xiao Lang both were ranked, while Yuzehan''s name never appeared even after looking many, many times. Seeing Wu Di''s score rising, I realized that he was in a fight.

    But since I can''t locate him on my own and looking for him through the entire would be nothing but a huge waste of time. So I only had one option.

    There was a ck Tower a few hours travel from where I am, and I could get some information on the location of the battles happening. But the risk of me being discovered will be huge.

    I then reapplied my disguise and made sure it didn''t reveal anything that would link me to ''Shen Bao'' the wanted man of the ck Tower.

    And then headed out towards the nearest ck Tower city.

    Hours of flightter, I arrived to the vicinity of a city that had several dozen cultivators fighting at its gates.

    It seems that an advanced force of enemy cultivators arrived to the city.

    I can''t use poison, nor can I use my sword, or my puppets.

    ''I guess it''s time to use that dragon w, since no one knows of it and how ''One Eyed Snake'' fights.

    Sadly, since I can''t use regr flight, as it will expose me for the fact that I still can''t control the poison Qi output I passively released as I fly, I''ll have to use constant teleportation to move about, but that shouldn''t be a problem.

    I immediately teleported behind a cultivator wearing the fire King''s Emblem and struck down with my left arm as it manifested draconic ws of the beast I consumed in my sea of consciousness.

    The swing was deadly as it wed at both space and flesh alike. Slicing through the cultivator and splitting him into three pieces.

    I then immediately, teleported next to another cultivator and sliced up, cutting one of his arms off before smashing his chest with a palm that immediately turned him to a husk as I used the White gue I gained from the Poison God''s knowledge.

    I continued teleporting around the battlefield assisting thebatants which increased the courage of the rest of the ally cultivators.

    Though they were only fighting a small force, the addition of reinforcements gave them enough of a breather to fend off the assault.

    "Go assist that man!" one of the cultivators said and the ally forces rose up to help.

    The enemy force immediately dispersed and split in different directions afterward. They were probably just scouts and didn''t want to die before reporting their findings.

    I teleported back down to the front of the gate, with both hands behind my back. I looked away from the gate at the retreating figure of the enemy cultivators while many ally cultivators came and flew down next to me.

    "Brother, how may I call you?" asked one of the cultivators.

    I turned and looked at him in the eyes.

    Once he met my eyes he had a hunch, but I confirmed it saying, "I''m the One-Eyed Serpent. And I need some help."

 Chapter 251: Friends in need

    <h4>Chapter 251: Friends in need</h4>

    The group looked at me unable to fully discern the meaning behind my words but I still further exined.

    "I have a few friends battling somewhere unknown to me, and I thought I could find their location to go and assist them in the battle," I said.

    "You can ask the ck Tower, they should have more information regarding the whereabouts of cultivators, though wouldn''t it be very hard to get them, I mean you could easily be confounded to be a spy wanting to know the location of a specific person for assassination." The closest cultivator said.

    Before I could reply another answered in my stead. "Do you really think that the highest contributor to this war will be a spy? He singlehandedly killed more than our groupbined and has more points ahead of the second ce that I would be a miracle if the second ce could catch up, think before you speak!" the cultivator said.

    "We can help you find your friends if you wish," the cultivator added.

    "That won''t be necessary, I''ll just need information regarding their location. Would you do me the favor of obtaining that information for me?" I asked. "I still have a few other ces to visit."

    "Okay, I was heading to the ck tower anyway," the cultivator said.

    I then handed him a jade with the name and profile of each of the people I''m looking for and left while saying, "I''ll patrol around the area, in case more cultivators are hidden close. Just send me a jade once you have what I''m looking for," I said.

    "Will do." The cultivator said and then he went in a different direction from where I headed.

    I didn''t necessarily need to patrol, as there will most definitely not be anyone nearby since we chased off the scouting party, but I needed to leave the area in case the ck Tower finds my questions and snooping shady, I might as well not be there for questioning.

    After a couple of hours of flight, an object came flying towards me. Which I grabbed immediately.

    The object was a small jade that had the information I was looking for.

    Apparently, since I was missing for some of the fights, I didn''t realize that the had set up squads and squadrons to move about on the. And Wu Di and Xiao Lang have been assigned to a squad that was patrolling an area not so far from where I am.

    As for Meng Hao and his sweetheart, they have been assigned to a toon that has been decimated. Which is something I find hard to believe. After all Meng Hao''s MC aura is too strong for him to die out just like that.

    Nevertheless, I''ll head out for Wu Di and Xiao Lang first, they should be close and hope alive.

    It took me a few hours of flight before I arrived to barrennd, though I doubt it was this scorched a few days ago.

    The ground was turned upside down, small mountains have been wrecked and caved in, and a few more forested pieces ofnd have been set ame, charred, and coaled from the intense heat.

    A few cultivators struggled for areal domination, but the battle seemed almost over and only those with incredible stamina seemed to be able to fight.

    Looking in the distance, I noticed the blood-covered Wu Di, barely able to stand still, though wounded and blood stained most of his white robes, and even his fan was now in tatters. He still held himself as dignified as ever, against three cultivators of a higher cultivation rank than he was.

    Xiao Lang looked far worse however, he was tightly grabbing his stomach trying to stop a deadly wound from bleeding him out.

    The rest of Wu Di''s squad seemed to have ran out of luck and only a few were barely able to stop the iing assault.

    The enemy cultivators weren''t in the best shape either. The saying was true, a wounded lion is the most dangerous. And even if the Fire King''s forces were stronger, they still couldn''t risk their lives as would the cultivators from Si Xue.

    I approached the battlefield and called X out, who immediately went to the rescue of the rest of Wu Di''srades while I went for Wu Di myself.

    Two cultivators rushed Wu Di who swung his tattered fan in an attempt to create a wind gust to block their iing charge.

    The damaged relic no longer had any power and the wind released from it was far too weak to prove any help.

    Wu Di realized that this was probably going to be his end and ruefully smiled before he began agitating his Nascent Soul.

    "He''s going to self-destruct! BACK OFF!" one of the cultivators said but I came in in time and pped Wu Di on the back of the head.

    Woken up from his trance, Wu Di looked at me surprised at how he was approached without even feeling it, and wondering who is this person in front of him.

    But a single look at my Sky Pearl, and he immediately understood who I was.

    "The fuck are you doing?" I spoke.

    "A dying man''sst effort." Wu Di said.

    "Dumbass, never do that shit again," I said then rushed the iing cultivators.

    Grabbing one with the White gue hand immediately decimated the cultivator, then I followed after the two others, using sword and spells alike, they had no way to escape the massacre. Especially after beingpletely exhausted by Wu Di and his friends.

    I then turned to Wu Di, threw him a pill, and said, "Give to Xiao Lang, I''lle back soon, the rest of you, follow me!"

    I took on the job of leading the rest of Wu Di''s toon that was still able to move and chased off the rest of the cultivators.

    It took us a while before we routed the enemy but it was still more time than I needed to spend, as many cultivators sumbed to their wounds, cultivators I could have saved, but unless I chase off the others, there would have been no time to save anyone.

    I went back to Xiao Lang who seemed to be more stable, I gave him a couple more pills and handed some healing pills to the cultivators that survived.

    "Thank you for your assistance, could you please tell us who it is that saved us?" a cultivator said.

    "I didn''t save you, you saved yourselves by surviving this long. Don''t worry about who I am." I said.

    I didn''t want them to know who I was right now because I used too many skills that ''Shen Bao'' used, and if I tell them I''m the one-eyed serpent then I might as well expose myself here and now Afterall, the one-eyed serpent asked the ck tower for the location of these very people here, and it wouldn''t take a genius to connect the two.

    I need to finish up what I have to do and dip out of this. I have a feeling that shit is going to get ugly very soon.

 Chapter 252: Into Enemy Territory

    <h4>Chapter 252: Into Enemy Territory</h4>

    I headed back to where Wu Di and Xiao Lang were sitting.

    "How are you guys hanging?" I asked.

    "Barely," Xiao Lang said, grinning.

    "Seems like you''re always here to save us in a pinch, but I doubt you can do anymore with the situation right now." Wu Di said.

    "You realized it too?" I asked.

    "Realize what?" Xiao Lang asked.

    The two of us sighed at hisck of foresight.

    But Wu Di took the opportunity to exin. I''ve heard from many other cultivators that they managed to fight off against a lot of scouting parties. And apparently, the enemy forces have yet to move the bulk of their army in. Look at the devastation that a few scouting parties have done." Wu Di said, took a breath then added, "Do you know how much death and carnage is gonna happen once the full army marches forward?" Wu Di said.

    "Ah¡­"

    "Where is Yuzehan?" I asked.

    The two of them avoided looking me in the face.

    "¡­ so, I guess she didn''t make it."

    "Not that. She has been captured. A lot of this has been happeningtely, a good deal of cultivators that are seen to be of ''value'' have gotten captured and were taken away. I couldn''t get to her in time and Xiao Lang almost died trying to save her."

    "Do you know where they took her?"

    "Rumors have it that the enemy cultivators have a base up north, it shouldn''t be far away. The two of us volunteered to this position so we can get a chance to get Yuzehan back, but the scouts have been stopping us ever since." Xiao Lang said.

    "As much as I hate to admit it. There is no hope for any of us," Wu Di said.

    "Perhaps there still is."

    "We''re not like you, Shen Bao, we''re still at the early stage of Nascent Soul and even getting the Nascent Soul Stage was probably the hardest thing I''ve ever done. We''re not bound for greatness, not us, not our sect¡­ not this god-forsaken." Wu Di said, desperation wing at his resolve.

    "You think that getting to Nascent Soul was easy for me?" I scuffed. "Don''t give me this defeatist bullshit, get your shit together and lets go save your friend."

    "Then WHAT!" Wu Di shouted, "Then what?" he said again in a lower tone, "We have nowhere else to go back to. The very sect you saved had been decimated in a single night. Where are we supposed to go? Just the three of us? We were born and raised in that sect, all we have is that Sect, The Tian Ji sect, and now it''s no more¡­ what do you want us to do, Shen Bao¡­"

    Well, I didn''t see thating.

    However.

    I sent Wu Di one of the hardest ps I''ve ever given someone. It was probably enough to rattle his brain and have him looking at me in utter shock and surprise.

    "The Sect lives on. The Sect, is not a ce, it''s the people," I said as I pointed at his chest, "The Sect is here, as long as you''re alive, you can rebuild it, it won''t be the same, but it will still have the soul of the Tian Ji Sect. And if you can''t hope to build it in this ''God Forsaken'' then as your friend, I''ll help you build it somewhere where it can prosper and grow again." I said firmly.

    Xiao Lang and Wu Di looked at each other in wonder. Not understanding what I meant.

    "Do you want to rebuild your sect, or do you want to cower in fear and die here? Do you think the sect elders and the master want that?" I spoke to both Wu Di and Xiao Lang but at the same time, I was speaking to myself.

    "Then stop with this feeble attitude, get your shit together and let''s bring Yuzehan, then I''ll take all three of you out of this god-forsaken ce. Follow me!" I said as I flew in the distance.

    Soon after Wu Di and Xiao Lang caught up to me.

    "Man, can''t you do something about this poison released from you while you fly?" Xiao Lang asked.

    "I can''t, if you get poisoned tell me, I''ll give you a pill, now shut up and follow me," I said.

    The three of us zoomed through the clouds and got all the way to high northern mountains where we had to slow down as some cultivators were moving about and scanning the area with divine sense.

    I''ve already thought that something like this might happen so I prepared in advance.

    A few cloaks with spirit hiding inscriptions were more than enough to fend off against none focused divine sense.

    Which was all the cultivators nearby were using as they didn''t believe that anyone would be mad enough to attack one of the enemy bases.

    I peeked from above one of the mountain tips and got a good look at the enemy base.

    It was positioned at the basin of the mountains, making the entire mountain range surround it like a natural protective barrier.

    Many Fire King Cultivators funneled into the base with captured cultivators. Most were good-looking women and younger healthy men. I scanned the area as much as I could with mere sight instead of Divine Sense, there is no telling if a powerful cultivator is within the enemy territory and could catch up to what I was doing. So might as well y it safe.

    I came down from my spot and grouped up back with Wu Di and Xiao Lang.

    "I can''t find Yuzehan, but apparently most people captured are gathered around in one spot."

    "Why are they doing this?" Xiao Lang asked.

    "ve trade, or cultivation furnace preparation. There are a lot of nasty things you can do to war ves." Wu Di said.

    "If they touch a single hair on her head!" Xiao Lang spoke in anger. But I calmed him down by cing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "Calm down for a second, no need to get agitated you might expose our location."

    After calming down, I took the chance to speak to the two of them.

    "Guys, did you ever hear the idiom, Divide and Conquer?" I asked.

    The two of them shook their heads.

    "Well, let me show you," I said then summoned X.

    "Pull the entire base''s attention," I said, "And don''t get caught or taken down."

    "As youmand, Lord," X spoke.

    Among X''s inscriptions, he had many that could help him hide from divine sense, so he didn''t have a problem in getting around the camp while many cultivators were still wandering about.

    "Wear this," I said to the two of them as I handed them robes from the bodies of cultivators I''ve taken out at the first battle in the Dead Zone.

    The two of them wore the clothes fast and thankfully in time before the next event happened.

    Right as they were done, I saw the iing hail of rockets and ballistics as they came down upon the calm and quiet camp.

    Then soon, targeted and precise explosionsnded at the head of every tent, and grouping of cultivators and missed the spot where the captured cultivators were.

    The chaos ensuing afterward was more than enough to pull away from the attention of the cultivators that were guarding this side.

    Though I doubted they''ll move out of their position because their job was to hold this ce, the sudden explosion was more than enough chance for me and the two with me to understand the next assignment.

    I teleported right behind the nearest guard and slit his throat ending his life instantly. Xiao Lang and Wu Di didn''t disappoint as they took care of one guard each. Then the three of us teleported towards the camp.

    "Use all the energy you have to teleport don''t think about exhausting yourselves now!" I said as we teleported consecutively until we arrived at the camp. Though this might be lethal as both Wu Di and Xiao Lang looked like they were about to fall on their faces from having teleported so many times consecutively, I threw the two of them a Spirit Rejuvenating pill each and the three of us got near the prisoner''s cage among the chaos.

    "Find Yuzehan, Hurry!" I said and the three of us split up.

    We each turned to one of the prisoner''s camps and found many, many wounded cultivators in chains.

    I had my doubts on howe the cultivators couldn''t leave the cages because regr chains shouldn''t be that much of a bother, but as it seems the cage they were ced on was forcefully absorbing their Qi.

    This looked like a super downgraded version of what Zhang Tian''s own cage was. But for cultivators below the Ascendant Grade, this was more than enough topletely exhaust and deplete them.

    But this worked well in my favor.

    I pulled a talisman and wrote an inscription that took me about a few seconds.

    A cultivator watched me looking at the cages and I thought I was exposed.

    "I already did the count, why are you counting the prisoners again?" the cultivator said.

    Apparently, seeing me with a pen and paper he thought I was doing logistics.

    "The numbers didn''t add up, it seems that someone escaped. That''s probably the reason we''re being attacked, someone fucked up, and if it was you, then you better pray." I said threateningly.

    "I-I''m sure I did the count right!" he said.

    "Go and bring me your report! I''ll have to check this!" I said.

    "Right away!" he said and left.

    That was pretty damn lucky, but I can''t wait here any longer.

    I finished the inscription and threw it against the camp. A couple of captured cultivators noticed the talisman and then saw me winking at them. This was all a cultivator would need to know, and understand what to do in due time.

    And that was right in time as I heard Xiao Lang speaking, "Found her, northeast camp." Xiao Lang added through divine sense message.

    I didn''t head there first, instead, I went to the second camp and ced another talisman and made sure to have the cultivators in the cages notice me doing that. After that, word began spreading among the captured cultivators. Then finally I headed to the third camp, however, X''s bombardment had long since subsided, it seems that he is now on the run, and the cultivators that went after him will soon realize that that was probably a distraction.

    But I wasn''t about to let them take a moment''s rest.

    I snapped my fingers, causing dozens of talismans to blow up from the direction where we first came from. Stuff I had left there earlier.

    This once again threw the order of the camp to chaos and caused more people to believe that this was an actual attack and not a diversion.

    "Where is she," I asked.

    "In the middle," Xiao Lang said.

    I looked at Yuzehan''s face seemed badly bruised. Good girl, she fought back and didn''t give in.

    "Right," I said. I then threw the third talisman against the cage and enabled the three of them.

    Just as I did so, the imprisoned cultivators immediately realized what happened.

    The talisman disabled the exhausting formation, and in no longer than a few minutes they''ll be able to move freely.

    "WHO DARES CAUSE CHAOS HERE!" a powerful cultivator spoke, sending shivers down my spine.

    "Shit, that''s a strong one¡­"

 Chapter 253: Stunt

    <h4>Chapter 253: Stunt</h4>

    Soon after the domineering voice spoke up and old man in full ck robes appeared in the skies above the camp. He looked around and then sent a palm swing forward into empty air.

    The impact from that simple-looking palm strike into the empty air was soon revealed, as the entire top of a mountain got immediately decimated as a palm print attack shot through it razing it to the ground.

    The blow was so mind-bogglingly powerful that I envied it. It was a single swing, a single attack and the power behind it was more powerful than my strongest explosive weapon.

    Though to bepletely fair, this man was clearly at the half ascendant stage. So his power was to be expected.

    However, a part of me wanted something like that. Most of my skills and spells are strong, but they''re only strong against the weak, this man''s palm was enough to decimate what I personally would have had a hard time destroying.

    However, as long as he breaths¡­

    Suddenly the man gripped his chest, and spat a mouthful of blood.

    "Poison?" he wondered as he looked at the blood on his palm.

    "POISON CULTIVATOR!" the man spoke and immediately the camp went into an uproar. The cultivators suddenly began sending their divine sense everywhere to scan the area and perhaps detect the poison that I had already released in the camp.

    But that''ll only work in my favor, as immediately many cultivators began suffocating.

    I was mainly using a Breath Sealing poison, and it would work wonderfully soon¡­

    "Stop using your Qi!" the old man said.

    But it was toote for the majority of the cultivators, him included.

    The breath Sealing Poison has already invaded their bodies, and now was the time to go into the second part of the n.

    I exhaled then opened my mouth as wide as possible then sucked in the rest of the Breath Sealing Poison.

    This immediately revealed the preparator of this attack and most cultivators that noticed me doing so, went for the assault.

    However, with the breath-sealing poison already integrated into their bodies, they were no stronger than a toddler trying to take down an adult.

    A massacre began as I began cutting through the enemy with a sword, gun, and more poison.

    The cultivators trapped in the camps had already figured out everything and were actively meditating trying to gather as much Qi as possible.

    "Wu Di, Xiao! Back me up!" I called and then jumped up towards the old man.

    With the massive cultivation difference and the absence of Y, it would be nothing but suicide trying to attack a half-step ascendant.

    However, with the Breath Sealing Poison acting up, I have a slight chance, not at killing him, that''s not even close to possible. But a chance to make this whole clusterfuck of a n work.

    I headed as fast as I could towards the coughing cultivator and tried tond a palm strike at him, with the White gue hand active, a single touch will incapacitate, or outright take him out if I''m lucky.

    But I was soon proven extremely wrong.

    "YOU DARE!" the old man spoke and raised his leg up then stomped down.

    A massive ethereal foot manifested from the skies high above and was about to crush me down.

    I took another deep breath and spat even more Breath Sealing Poison, causing the already shaky looking foot to tremble and lost potency as the impact of the Breath Sealing Poison was capable of highly disrupting Qi however, the blow still connected, and I was stuck into the ground with more force to kill a man a hundred times over. As the very ground around me broke.

    However, my bones didn''t break, yet it felt like they did.

    The body of a cultivator is far sturdier than that of a mortal, and it can take a beating, however, the pain is still there, and this blow was enough to eject the breath out of my lungs for a long moment.

    The cultivator, once again coughed more blood as he realized that using Qi will further hamper his ability at using Qi.

    I stood up, popped healing¡­ more like a poison pill to replenish and then jumped up forward.

    The old man, realizing that I wasn''t easy to kill scuffed.

    "You vile poison cultivator!" he spoke then swung his hands around him as I could see the Yin Yang symbol manifesting in front of him then he spoke.

    "BE HONORED! For you shall see a domain like never before! Be honored to die at the hands of the great Yun Ougwai" he said.

    "Ying Yang! World''s Truth!"

    Suddenly the world itself turned gray, a mix of ck and white where I was trapped standing in the middle of a massive Yin Yang symbol on the ground.

    The half ascendant cultivator hovered in the skies high above and behind him three Tomoe symbols appeared rotating slowly.

    "WHAT LIVES DIES!" he spoke, and immediately I felt my soul about to be wrenched out of my body.

    The old man snorted as he looked at me, with my soul about to leave my body.

    "It is your greatest fortune in life to see this before you die, now perish for you have tried to eat more than you could chew!"

    However¡­ I''m a cheat.

    I smiled then closed my eyes, immediately, afterward I opened them and I was back in the real world.

    While the old man began coughing profurously as blood shot out from his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes like a fountain.

    A massive blow to his spiritual ability caused him to have his entire cultivation base destabilized and shuddering at the impact of me forcefully breaking out of his domain.

    The sudden, disruption caused him grave and grievous damage while it offered me an opportunity on the most expensive golden te I''ve ever seen.

    I shot forward as fast as I could andnded a clear White gue blow right into the old man''s heaving chest. Which added more to his already full te of pain and agony.

    The old man''s body began husking over, while massive loads of Qi poured into my body, it was so much that I felt that I was about to explode if I took in anymore, however, if I stop now, he''ll be able to survive this.

    So I took more in.

    My blood vessels burst, as I felt my body burning as it was taking in more Qi than it could handle.

    I forcefully absorbed the massive loads of Qi into my Nascent Soul that was sitting down meditating.

    The Qi from the old man poured into me like if I was a bucket being ced Infront of the flood gates.

    I could barely take in a fraction of such massive Qi, so, I took what I could, and reset¡­I opened my mouth and released as vomited Qi.

    And with just the fraction of Qi I was taking in, my soul began using it, cultivating it, and growing thanks to it.

    I broke through in the middle of the battle. Once, twice! THRICE! And soon I was already at the peak of Nascent Soul with just one move.

    "DAMN BRAT!" the old man finally gathered some power and swung his palm forward, striking me in in the chest with the very same n blow that caved a mountain in.

    Not gonna lie, that one, fucking hurt.

    As I was sent spiraling through the ground with so much force and speed that I was forced into boulders, stone, and rocks alike.

    This time, I definitely broke some bones.

    I retched and spat out more blood than I thought was even inside my body, however, this pain was more than worth it for the energy I stole.

    The old man began shaking, as his body was assaulted with so many poisons, he couldn''t even hover in the air anymore.

    "Wu Di, Xiao Lang, now is the time," I spoke, with extreme difficulty.

    Immediately, Xiao Lang and Wu Di disengaged with the cultivators and went towards the cages sting their doors one by one then they flew up.

    The trapped cultivators, with more qi than before, were finally able to move, and they didn''t even miss a chance to escape.

    Most flew in the skies in different directions away from the weakened cultivators and the rest who could fly were aided by those who could.

    The sudden split of the captured cultivators threw everything in chaos and the old man, wanting to capture them again made a hand grasping motion.

    A massive hand appeared from the skies attempting to grab the runaway cultivators, yet the poison I had spat out earlier was more than enough to disrupt it, not to mention with all the poison already desperately trying to infiltrate into the cultivator''s body it was close to impossible to capture them, and as the icing on the cake.

    I made a two-finger hand sign and spoke, "Explode!"

    Immediately, the cultivator realized that something was wrong when heat began surging into his chest as he finally realized that there was a talisman ced there from when I connected the White gue Palm with him.

    The explosion would have been easily managed if he was still in top shape, yet now, it was more than enough to st him off from the air.

    With the cultivators running away, Wu Di spoke, "Shen Bao! Where are you!" he called out.

    "Just leave! Don''t worry about me!" I called.

    I was still stuck in the damn mountainside and was barely able to pull myself out. And just as I went out, realizing that most of the camp had already escaped, I knew it was my turn to dip, because the breath Sealing Poison will not be working for long and the cultivators here will regain their ability soon.

    Many cultivators moved my way, though blood spilled from their orifices they still moved towards me, vengeance in their eyes.

    I on the other hand was panicking, because the repercussions of doing such a stupid stunt of trying to eat up a half step ascendant''s Qi began a nasty kickback, and my Qi reserves seem to deplete rapidly, it was like my nascent soul, for having absorbed so much in such a little time transformed from a bucket to a, and everything was now leaking.

    I couldn''t even harness the energy to escape anymore.

    "Fuck¡­" I muttered as pain from my broken ribs became more and more ring.

    "Catch him!" one of the cultivators said and the group went toward me like an angry mob with pitchfork and vengeance painted through their eyes.

    I''m fucked¡­

    ¡­

    Suddenly, loud explosions in front of me surged up, killing and decimating most of the approaching cultivators.

    "Lord!" spoke X, as he flew in.

    He grabbed me from under my shoulder and flew up releasing even more canisters that exploded in his wake.

 Chapter 254: Resolve

    <h4>Chapter 254: Resolve</h4>

    We managed to escape the camp rtively safely, as the longer, it took for the Fire King''s cultivators to catch up to us, the more the now released prisoners are able to gather their Qi and would be more able to protect themselves.

    However, things weren''t looking too good for Si Xue.

    It was a simple factor that I didn''t take into ount from the first moment this whole thing started.

    Where are the cultivators at the Formation and Transformation stages?

    I''ve barely seen any one of them, and those are apparently the bulk of this invasion force.

    The weakest I''ve seen were Nascent Souls, and the strongest was half-step ascendants, and from the rumors at the camps, every ve camp has one half-step ascendant protecting it.

    We got extremely lucky here since we managed to escape, it was all thanks to the fact that I cannot be affected by domain for some reason, if he continued using his regr spells I would have never been able to find an opportunity to get closer.

    Even after all the damage I''ve dealt with him, he didn''t die, though he looked close to it, it was far from enough to take him out.

    And that was just one.

    the whole of the Si Xue has only three half-step ascendants. While for the enemy forces the reports speak of double-digit.

    It''s impossible to survive a full-on assault, there is no ifs and perhaps, it''s clear fact. There is no way this god-forsaken can survive the uing trial.

    I popped a few pills to help regte the turbulent Qi in my body, but it was clearly not enough to get healed up in a short time.

    That cultivator did a number on me, and I''m lucky to have survived. But luck will one day run out, and I can''t have it running out on me while I''m still on this.

    Soon I arrived to the perimeters of the city we left off from.

    Many cultivators were in bad shape, they got healed up using pills and herbs.

    I looked around until I found Wu Di and Xiao Lang, both sitting behind Yuzehan pouring their Qi into her back to help her regte her own Qi.

    I waited for them to finish before I looked at the three saying, "What are you going to do from now on?" I asked.

    "Who is that?" Yuzehan asked.

    "Take a guess," Xiao Lang said.

    Yuzehan took a closer look at my monstrous-looking form and said as her eyes beamed with joy, "Uncle Shen-" but her mouth was immediately locked from finishing the sentence by Wu Di.

    "Good guess, but think before you speak someone''s name out loud¡­" Wu Di said."

    Finally, having recognized the fact that she almost exposed a ''fugitive'' from the ck Tower, she quieted down.

    "Anyway, I''ve already spoken to them about your offer. Though it feels wrong leaving everyone here, we have to do what we have to do¡­" suddenly as he finished his words.

    Something felt different, and the whole damn world felt as if it was shaking.

    Looking at the distance, the top of the ck tower had smoke rising from it then the shuttle surged up in the skies.

    Even more, shuttles began moving away from all over us.

    "Shit¡­ it already began," I said.

    The look of the cultivators around us was affixed on the shuttles before they finally began realizing what happened.

    The ck tower had decided that the fate of this is doomed and there was no need for them to stay any longer.

    The cultivators realizing what was happening all began panicking and most of the ones capable of flight surged up to the skies trying to follow after the shuttles.

    But it wasn''t that easy.

    Hundreds of thousands of cultivators began pouring down the skies like rain.

    And then a ughter began.

    "Get in," I said as I used the Lord of Lords pagoda token and warped all three of them inside.

    I can''t headfirst into the skies now, not with so many cultivatorsing down at once.

    I turned and flew away from the city, with my bones in such a bad shape I couldn''t muster much strength to fight not in this condition, I needed to dip out of here.

    Soon the first crash happened and the iing cultivator mowed the weak cultivators to the ground. All that hard work saving them went to waste when this shit happened.

    Fuck.

    I continued moving until I arrived at a crevasse that led deep into the ground.

    I dove inside it and tore into its side, then made sure to cover the entrance I made with a formation to prevent divine sense.

    I sat down and began popping pills to help elerate the healing process.

    The wounds I received weren''t only on my bones and flesh, but deep into the spiritual vines. well more like Spiritual Poison vines.

    I began by circting Qi and slowly repairing the damage to my veins, I was feeling like a bucket with a thousand little holes and I needed to fix them all one by one.

    The time it took to fix everything felt like ages, but I continued on fixing everything slowly and carefully making sure not to miss anything.

    This is what they call Grievous Injuries I suppose¡­ but before I start working on it¡­

    "Automaton, I need a favor," I said.

    "Yes sir."

    I then gave the automaton an order, to give me information on what was going on in the outside world.

    Since he was a being made by the Lord of Lords, he had abilities that far surpass a normal puppet, not only that he could keep track of what was going on outside the pagoda without him physically being out. Which is pretty helpful to what I needed to do.

    It''s tooplicated to fix with mere pills and I need to actively heal up, by repairing it bit by bit. Slowly and carefully.

    However, I can''t take too much time.

    "Master, it''s already been a month, you need to leave now," came the voice of the automaton.

    "Why what''s going on?" I asked.

    "In the month you have been recuperating, the majority of the cultivators of the Si Xue have been subdued and are now being oppressed.

    "Once the Ten Thousand Incense Formation is finished, you won''t be able to leave the your soul will be extracted and forced into the formation."

    "What is this formation?"

    "It''s a soul sealing formation to enve souls and use their power to amplify the Fire King''s might. You need to leave soon."

    I guess it''s time I leave, even if I''m not fully healed, I should be strong enough to drive the hoverboard. Hopefully.

    "Right now," the automaton said, "The Fire King''s army is too focused on creating the formation, if you manage to escape while they''re still finalizing it, they won''t have the opportunity to stop you."

    "Right, it''s time to leave then," I said as I disabled the formation blocking divine sense.

    I then flew up from the crevasse and headed into the high skies.

    I sadly couldn''t find anything about Meng Hao even when I sent people to ask about him, but I doubt he''ll die. Not with his aura.

    For now, I need to leave.

    It''s sad that I can''t do much to help here, and it feels scummy to leave everyone and escape myself, but it is the only way to survive.

    There is no way I can fight against people who are far higher in cultivation level than me. I''ve been shown how much I''mcking, and I''ve been shown how outssed I am.

    I have to work a hundred times harder to be stronger.

    Tools and trinkets are pretty powerful in stopping weak opponents, however, explosive canisters won''t do much damage to a truly powerful cultivator, like Master Rain.

    Anything I had was nothing but a jokepared to his power, unless I''m as powerful if not more, I won''t feel satisfied.

    Now, we leave this. And once I have enough power, I''ll make sure to pay a few people back, ten¡­no a hundred folds more.

    I hate being oppressed¡­

    Never again, never will I be oppressed again like in that cave, this is a vow I vow to myself not the heavens.

    I looked up at the skies and saw massive red inscriptions materializing in front of me.

    A stench like nothing I''ve ever smelled before assaulted my nose.

    It wasing from far up high in space, from pots of incense that a lot of cultivators were carrying.

    I''ve been noticed, but it''s okay, most of the cultivators were to busy chanting shit to intercept me. However, those people chanting weren''t the only ones outside as a group of cultivators noticed me and came rushing towards me.

    ''Never be oppressed, never again!" I grinned as I dashed towards them with even faster speed.

 Chapter 255: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 255: Escape</h4>

    An old man was rhythmically tapping his foot on the wooden floor of his small house. Clear annoyance on his face.

    A younger person behind him had an awkward smile because he knew damn well that he didn''t want to disturb the old man.

    "What are you grinning for¡­" the old man said without even turning.

    "Ah, nothing Master Rain¡­" the younger man said trying to suppress his smile.

    "Damn little bastard. How the fuck did he do it! AAAAAH! I''m pissed."

    "What''s wrong this time," the retailer said.

    "Give me more wine first¡­" Master Rain said and the retainer poured him a cup of wine that the master downed immediately, then ce the cup again for another serving.

    "You shouldn''t drink too much."

    "This kid''s enough to make me an alcoholic. God damn it. It took me so long to figure out a way to stop the puppet from self-destructing, and after reading through its memories, there is not a single interesting thing in this shit. Well, besides one, the fact that that kid has an annoying and deadly inscription on him. I''m actually thankful he didn''t use it."

    "An inscription that is deadly? Howe, I hardly think that anything on a Nascent Soul cultivator is enough to threaten you."

    "Not threaten more like an annoyance. We suppressed our cultivation to a fraction of its level to get to the barrennds since the Heavenly Law doesn''t allow anyone at the Ascendant stage or above to exist there. However, the kid managed to somehow write heavenlyw into an inscription, and with a single line added to them he can call forth Heavenly Tribtion lightning to destroy that inscription."

    "Heavenly Tribtion lightning shouldn''t be enough to even harm a hair on your head now. Especially with your cultivation level unless It''s a Heavenly Devastation Lightning, that shouldn''t affect you much."

    Master rain shook his head. "The tribtion lightning would have been more than enough to have my defenses response, and that will reveal my cultivation, though I can easily escape it would have been a waste of time and opportunity if he did that then. However, that''s not what''s vexing me¡­ it''s the fact that I still don''t understand this Inscription he''s written¡­"

    "Emm, that''s a new symbol, I''ve never seen it before."

    "Neither have I. It''s more like a new symbol. A kid so young able to create a new Heavenly Letter¡­ damn."

    "I thought all heavenly Letters were discovered that''s why we can use inscriptions."

    "Yes, since all letters were supposedly discovered our understanding of inscription has stagnated, but a young kid managed to create a new one, and from the context of its usage, it''s to control the flow of Qi over spatial interference, it''s a limited function, but it''s a new letter never the less, and adding one single letter to the dictionary means that hundreds, thousands and millions of new possible inscriptions could be made. Another¡­" master rain said and the retained poured him another drink.

    Once he downed his cup he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

    "This is so damn annoying. I don''t want any of that man''s disciples to know my methods¡­"

    "Wait¡­ you don''t mean¡­"

    "Yes, I think I''ll have to go back for that kid, god damn it¡­"

    "Can''t you just you know, soul search his mind and obtain all his information."

    "Are you stupid?" Master Rain looked at the retainer like he was a prehistorical man.

    The awkward smile on the retainer''s face was enough to express apology.

    "You can steal knowledge, but you cannot steal innovation. Having his knowledge doesn''t mean I could have his ability to create new things. It would be useless¡­AHHHH I hate this." Master Rain sighed.

    "I''ll have to go back to that forsaken again."

    "By now the Fire King''s Formation should be up and ready."

    "I''ll just st through it and have the kid, the fire king can fuck off if I care. I helped his army by breaking the first barrier I dare him to say anything if I break the formation."

    "Well, I don''t think he''s gonna really like it if you took the kid though." The retainer said.

    "Huh? Why is that?" Master Rain said.

    "Well, I just found out after a bit of investigation that because the kid released Zhang Tian that the Fire King actually went to that and wanted to enve it and enve him by proxy just to give the Wind King a p in the face since you know, that child went to the celestial city and released the Wind King''s son, and now the Wind King can''t help his son''s benefactor."

    "Huh, politics and shit doesn''t really interest me. If any of them want to have a beef with me I''ll make sure to pay them back in full."

    "Even the Wind King''s wife¡­"

    "We don''t talk about that damn monster of a woman¡­god damn it, what the hell does Shu Tian ever see in that woman¡­" Master Rain said as he spat on the ground.

    "Well, she is pretty."

    "Beauty is just preference, that woman was wild in battle. Not even the poison god could have survived her wrath."

    "Ah, but back then¡­his master wasn''t really someone to be messed with."

    Master Rain sighed, "It doesn''t matter, if the Fire King gets prissy I''ll send him a gift, if he refuses it, I''ll make his whole domain in chaos and flip him off. Let''s go get that kid." Master Rain said and the two of them left the hut.

    ****

    I flew forward, with the enemy heading towards me. Many of them began preparing spells to intercept me, but I was ready to do something they wouldn''t expect.

    Just as the first attacks of the Fire King''s forces were about to make contact, I teleported, disappearing from sight and causing the spells around me to miss.

    I appeared behind the wave of cultivators and moved forward with even faster speed.

    "Spatial LOCK!" one of the cultivators spoke in an attempt to hamper my advance.

    A domain manifested that attempted to stop me from teleporting again. However, never use a domain against me.

    In a blink, I overpowered the domain causing the caster to have his seven orifices spew out blood like a fountain, foaming at the mouth, and eyed flipped to the inside of his skull from pain.

    I surged forward heading faster to the closing formation.

    Before the cultivators could follow me, I reversed the spatial sheets around me and revealed canisters by numbers aplenty.

    The canisters blew up creating a massive explosive wave in space and poisonous clouds behind me.

    Many other cultivators were converging towards me, and I had only one shot to leave this trap.

    I poured as much poison Qi as I could into the sols of my feet and surged forward with sting speed creating even more deadly poison in my wake.

    The converging cultivators won''t make it in time to stop me and the ones behind me won''t be able to catch up due to the poison.

    "He''ll be trapped once he hits the barrier go around the poison!" one of the cultivators said and the rest of them split up, taking an even longer detour to catch me.

    I could only be thankful for that man''s words.

    Many cultivators carrying incense pots were chanting, they could see me approach the formation they were creating but couldn''t stop chanting as it was needed for them to finish up the Soul Sealing Formation.

    I raised my right arm forward and struck palm first into the formation that was blocking the world.

    I could have sworn that my soul was wrenched out of my body the moment I touched the inscription, my mind nked for a second and I thought that I had died from the sheer powerful impact that surged into me and tore through newly healed up injuries.

    However, I didn''t die.

    I twisted my palm rotating several inscriptions on the formation, and at the same time, I pulled the pen that I was given by the ck Merchant.

    The pen''s ability to overwrite formations was ungodly, the only bad thing about it was the monstrous amounts of Qi it eats with every stroke.

    But I was prepared because if anyone were to see how many pills I had in my mouth they''d think I was going tomit suicide.

    I bit through the pills and sent an even more deadly surge of Qi into my already damaged meridians and spiritual Poison Veins.

    Pain, indescribable and intolerable pain coursed through me, enough that the veins on my arms burst, as blood sttered into space, forming small droplets of blood that peacefully hovered next to me.

    With a single stroke of the pen, I wrote, with another, I modified, and with thest, I overwrote. A single opening, not bigger than a needle''s hole, but was all I needed in order to make a connection between the space enclosed and the space outside the formation.

    With that small link, I teleported once again and managed to find myself outside the formation.

    The cultivators with the incense pots looked disturbed, but they couldn''t move however, there were many other cultivators outside the formation and they wereing in hot on my heels.

    I was wounded, exhausted, and desperately gasping for breath in space which was a ludicrous notion as there is no air there.

    But I made it, in that moment I pulled the hoverboard from within my pouch and hopped on it. I stomped on a small tile I had on the hoverboard and the thruster engines on the side had their shutters open wide.

    Cultivators made their way towards me faster than the speed of sound and shot spells too numerous for a man to survive.

    For an agonizing long second, the Reactor trembled and began utilizing the Saint Qi. With less than a few feet from impact, the reactor sent all its power into the thrusters and for a split second, I could see the stars bend and then they transformed into long lines.

    The world swam and twisted next to me as my body began feeling supreme spatial pressure.

    My skin began ripping as I felt like my whole body was about to be torn to shreds.

    My engraved robes tore and my sky pearl eye felt like it was about to embed itself into the back of my skull.

    With all the power I could muster I pressed another time on the tile causing the defensive barrier around the hoverboard to manifest.

    The protective barrier canceled out the spatial pressure and I was finally able to take a breath only to have thepounded pain and agony ram into me like a truck without breaks.

    The pain was too much for my mind to bear that I fell on the hoverboard. I was feeling nothing but the cold embrace of the steel against my cheek.

    And then, my vision darkened as I lost consciousness¡­

 Chapter 256: Master Rains Shock

    <h4>Chapter 256: Master Rain''s Shock</h4>

    Dayster, the space above Si Xue warped out and two men came out of the distortion.

    Looking at the sight of the entire covered a blood-red formation was enough to elicit a few not-so-kind words from Master Rain''s mouth.

    "Damn despicable Fire King. Using such uncouth means to enve mortals and weak cultivators¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Well, I''m still surprised why he would mobilize all this force for just one person, the cost of deploying such a formation isn''t worth it. For the few weak souls he''ll get¡­ this looks nothing but a show of force for such a trivial matter," the attendant said.

    "Kings and their ambitions¡­" Master Rain approached the formation, but soon a couple of cultivators came his way, but the moment they realized who he was, they bowed.

    "We greet Master Rain, your presence is a blessing on this day."

    "Screw off," Master Rain said, and immediately all the cultivators dispersed from in front of him.

    The two approached the formation and walked right into it, many cultivators holding the incense burners could only watch as Master Rain pushed through the nowplete formation and tore it open from one side then came down to the.

    The whole world looked dead now. The grass had shriveled up, the waters evaporated, thend crusted and cracked and not a single sign of life remained.

    Bodies of weak menid on the ground motionless, while many else who had a bit of power in them, struggled flutily so to keep their lives.

    "Billions of lives wasted for the greed and pettiness of one man. Such a waste," Master Rain spoke and spat on the ground.

    He then sighed and closed his eyes, then the moment he opened them back, a massive divine sense wave shot through every direction and immediately covered the entirety of the.

    Not a single creature, dead, alive or in between was able to escape the gaze of Master Rain, they were all ounted for calcted and disyed in between his eyes.

    "Strange¡­" Master Rain spoke, "He''s not here¡­" Master Rain said.

    Then, he spoke a couple of words, "Shen Bao," he said, and the words were heard to everyone who was capable of thoughts in this dying world.

    Not many thought that these words meant anything, but one man, who apparently was still alive even under such dire and devastating conditions.

    "Follow me," Master Rain said and moved a step forward, only to have countries and continents sh under his own foot. While his retainer followed suit, not missing a beat, and taking the same steps that Master Rain did.

    Suddenly, the two of them stopped at the entrance of a city.

    Children wereying dead on the floor, old people, men, and women, cultivators and mortals alike, all dead. All but one man who was desperately meditating hoping to save his soul from being wrenched out of his body.

    The two cultivators stood in front of the man, "You," Master Rain spoke.

    The old man in front of him looked up, desperately so, "You''re the one¡­who spoke¡­his name." said the old man.

    "Do you know Shen Bao?" Master Rain asked.

    "Yes¡­he¡­ was a disciple¡­of my sect¡­" the old man said.

    "Hmm¡­ do you know where he is?"

    "I wouldn''t know¡­nor would I tell." The old man said.

    "You seem rather strong-headed. I can rid you of this pain you know."

    "I was in worse pain, this is nothing," the old man said.

    He was clearly lying, because no matter what, soul-wrenching, is deemed the cruelest way to torment a person, and it was the Fire King''s favorite means of extracting souls for his own cultivation.

    "Should I Soul Search him?" the attendant said.

    "No, he''ll die." Master Rain said, "I mean Shen Bao no harm, I only need to speak to him," Master Rain said.

    "I have told you, I know not where he is¡­, and if you, someone who is strong enough to use such a divine sense cannot find him¡­ then he is either dead¡­ which is something that is very improbable¡­ or he is no longer here." The old man said.

    The conversation right now almost caused him to lose his meditative state and his soul was about to be ripped out of his body, however, he managed to cling back to it, and regain hisposure.

    "How long can you remain like this? Days, months? A year? Then what, you''ll die¡­ why struggle? Why not let go?" Master Rain asked.

    "I was in a simr situation earlier¡­ I held on, for as long as I could¡­ and it was Shen Bao who came for us, I have no reason to give up¡­ giving up is no solution." The man said.

    "What is your name?" asked Master Rain.

    "Lao¡­Lao Bofan." The man said.

    Master Rain nodded.

    "Take him, he''s our only clue on Shen Bao. I''ll have to look again and see if I can get some other clues¡­"Master rain said.

    Before Lao Bofan could speak, the retainer waved a hand and Lao Bofan disappeared from where he sat.

    "What are we going to do now, Master Rain?" asked the attendant.

    "I''m working on it," Master Rain said and then closed his eyes.

    He then began moving his hands in a strange rhythmical manner¡­ then spoke.

    "World''s Origin, Reveal Your Secret!"

    The whole seemed to shudder from Master Rain''s words, and suddenly scenes from days past appeared in front of Master Rain, and in them, he traced, tracked, and followed until he found scenes of Shen Bao''sst battle.

    He fought against a half-step ascendant, even without the Demon ying Puppet, and still managed to survive, not only that, he dealt a heavy blow to him.

    A man at the Nascent Soul, able to contend with someone three stages above him, just one stage is already absurd, but three, that is close to insanity to think about it even.

    However, Shen Bao fought, won, and escaped.

    With grievous wounds, he still managed to run away and take a few friends with him.

    Hmm, he seems rather ethical and has some morals, unlike the twelve acolytes of the Poison God.

    Though Shen Bao is hosting one of the Acolyte''s souls, even unaware of it himself, he hasn''t been fully tarnished by it.

    Then, he seemed to have moved¡­ up? For what reason?

    Master Rain followed the world''s memories and tracked Shen Bao as he flew up to space.

    Without the Suttles from the ck Tower, he cannot navigate the deep space¡­

    Not to mention, the massive formation that is blocking the path.

    Did he die attempting to escape? Perhaps he perished as he tried to run away, no wonder Master Rain couldn''t find his body.

    However, tempted, Master Rain continued following the world''s memories and saw what happened.

    Desperation caused Shen Bao to use poison and further exhaust his body, using a massive amount of Qi, rupturing he barely healed up spiritual veins.

    However, it was enough to give him a moment of respite, which he took advantage of.

    "How are you going to handle the formation?" Master Rain mumbled.

    Then he saw it, an ingenious, desperate, yet incredibly impressive method.

    A formation, such as this can only be broken through with destructive power. However, in Shen Bao''s hand, was a sacred treasure¡­ The Divine Lord''s Quill and Brush. Something that has been lost from the world a long, long time ago.

    It was an item, even Master Rain in his younger days wanted to obtain, yet failed to have a clue on its whereabouts.

    Though it is no longer of any value to Master Rain, seeing that item again meant one thing.

    Shen Bao¡­ had destiny by his side. Something that not many could im to have.

    And Destiny is a great ally, but one cannot rely on it. It shall only aid you if you help yourself. Rely on it, and you''ll be doomed.

    And from Shen Bao''s action, he wasn''t relying on it whatsoever.

    With the quill, he managed to overwrite a few symbols, not to break the formation, but to create a small, insignificant gap, barely enough for an ant to pass through, yet that is all one would need if they are smart enough, and Shen Bao, proved to be a genius.

    In his action, he managed to re-link space, and he was able to teleport outside the enclosed zone. This was impressive¡­however, with all his energy exhausted and the so many cultivatorsing his way¡­

    Yet Master Rain couldn''t suppress his shocked expression from what he just saw happen.

    Shen Bao pulled an object from his inventory, it looked like a strange board of steel yet, the energy from within it, it was something that shouldn''t be too readily avable in this world.

    It wasing from a Saint Qi crystal, and that crystal once belonged to Master Rain himself.

    The world''s memories allowed master rain to inspect the object and he was once again staggered as he realized a great truth.

    Shen Bao had managed to repair the Reactor, the very reactor that caused Master Rain so many headaches with the Sub Spatial Qi conversion. Though the current Master Rain can remake the same reactor without that issue anymore, he was unable to believe how can a man, from such a backwater country, with extremely limited resources was able to repair that reactor.

    "BLASTED IDIOT!" Master rain shouted, at both the genius of Shen Bao and his incredible stupidity at what he had just done.

    A none Saint Qi user, dared and used a Saint Qi reactor. The mere kickback, if that board were to move, would be enough to eradicate Shen Bao''s flesh and bones.

    Shen Bao then pressed a pedal and the board bore through space.

    Master Rain followed the board from the world''s memories as much as he could and noticed Shen Bao''s flesh and skin tearing.

    "Shit¡­ he''s going to die¡­ perhaps he did die¡­"

    Yet suddenly, a dome manifested on the board and that was thest thing Master Rain could see as the dome was manifesting, the spatial pressure seemed to lessen, but the world''s memories couldn''t see beyond where Shen Bao had left.

    "Damn, this is going to be a pain in the ass¡­" Master Rian said.

    "What happened?" The retainer said.

    "He left the¡­ but I don''t know where he could be now, I can''t track him, he is flying blind in space, without a map, or direction, and with the constant spatial currents¡­ he could be anywhere from the depth of a burning star to the deepest darkest parts of space¡­ foolish man." Master Rain said.

    "Why do you sound impressed though?" the retainer said.

    Master Rain looked at the retainer and said, "I do?"

    "Yes, you''re smiling, and rubbing your beard as something really good happened. It''s been a long time since I''ve seen you do that." The retainer Pointed.

    Master rain grinned, "Perhaps I am¡­ let''s go, perhaps, if we''re lucky we can find him." Master Rain said.

    "As youmand!" the retainer nodded and the two disappeared from where they stood.

 Chapter 257: Awake

    <h4>Chapter 257: Awake</h4>

    Shen Bao''s flight continued on for days, weeks, months even, without him waking up. By the grace of fortune, and utter absurd luck, Shen Bao''s journey through the dark areas of space didn''t cause him any dangerous encounters.

    Besides one time, where he was spotted by a creature of the deeps that didn''t manage to catch up to him due to how fast his hoverboard moved.

    Shen Bao''s mind was still reeling from the impact of all the force he had to apply to leave the, the damage he took from a battle that no one would ever believe a Nascent Soul could ever win.

    The impact on his body was too much for his mind to bear, even with his powerful Soul Force, he was still knocked unconscious for close to a year before he moved a muscle for the first time.

    At first, it was a twitching finger, then a shudder, then finally his eyelid shook and opened up revealing a green glistening light of consciousness that had disappeared for a long time.

    Shen Bao woke up¡­

    ***

    Shuddering from the massive pain wracking my body I opened my eyes up and found myself back and running.

    I slowly pressed on the pedestal on the hoverboard and it slowed down. It was moving at incredible speed the stars themselves looked like elongated white wires, but with the hoverboard slowing down everything turned to normal.

    Confused on how long I was knocked out at first I looked around and felt a desperate and oppressive feeling of loneliness that racked away at me as I looked at the empty space surrounding me from everywhere.

    "Automaton," I spoke.

    "Yes Master," the handler of the Lord of Lords pagoda spoke.

    "How long have I been out cold?" I asked.

    "Close to a year¡­"

    "Holy shit¡­"

    "I doubt dung would be considered holy, Master¡­" the automaton said.

    "Oh, never mind that. Ahhh my head," I winced as I tried to use divine sense to explore around me.

    "You have Soul Damage, Master, you overused a lot of your Qi, and tried to take in absurd amounts of Qi into you, the damage to your Meridians is extensive."

    I flexed my fist and sighed, "I think my cultivation base dropped even¡­" I said.

    "Only by a couple ofyers, you''re still in the Nascent Soul stage, however, there is a slight problem." The automaton said.

    "What problem?" I asked.

    "As you were asleep, and due to the time dtion within the Lord of Lords pagoda a lot more than just a year had passed."

    "Oh¡­ shit," I said and then used the token to get into the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Finding the city the Automaton had ced inside much more prosperous and grand, the fields full of wheat and all kinds of crops.

    Strong and powerful children moved about in the city, they all looked well-nourished and more than ready and capable of cultivation.

    Two middle-age men came over to where I stood, they both were at the highest stages of Nascent Soul and looked like they could break through to Soul Formation any time they want.

    "Shen Bao, took you long enough," one of them said, he had a slightly rattish face and his mouth was too used to grinning.

    "Xiao Lang?" I spoke.

    "Yes,"

    "And¡­ Wu Di¡­ ah crap¡­" I said.

    "Hey, don''t curse at us we haven''t seen you in thirty years and this is how you wee us?" Xiao Lang said.

    "You don''t understand what Shen Bao is experiencing," Said Wu Di.

    "I''m sorry guys¡­ I didn''t think I''ll identally imprison you here," I said.

    Wu Di waved his hand in my face saying, "HA? These thirty years have been the best I''ve had, with abundant resources. Unlimited Cultivation materials, Extreme biomes to train and practice, and the ability to sleep safely without thinking of being backstabbed or ambushed¡­ thirty years of bliss is enough to make a man eternally grateful."

    "Oh¡­. If you say it like that¡­ wait thirty years¡­ that''s a long time for a mortal¡­" I said.

    "Emm, not with the Saint Qi crystal and the extreme natural Qi that''s flooding this ce. Even mortals will age far slowly here. And if you''re worried about your rtives¡­ Wu Di took care of them," Xiao Lang said.

    I frowned at the notion of my sons but thirty years had passed¡­

    "What do you mean by taking care of them?" I asked.

    "How about you follow me?" Wu Di said¡­ "And you can probably change back to your original appearance, you don''t want to scare little children."

    "Oh, right," I said and then slowly took a deep breath, defusing all the tumors and pustules all over my body and face.

    "Yep, you look much better this way," Xiao Lang said.

    The three of us came down from the skies and walked up to the town¡­ no, city entrance, and moved forward.

    The people greeted Wu Di and Xiao Lang like they were some grand officials, while they had a warry look and apprehensive approach towards me.

    "It''s only natural, most of the people here, are kids of the older generation, none would remember you, however, the older people will not forget what you did to them.e,e." Wu Di said.

    Soon we were standing in a massive za where there was a statue of an older man with a long beard and a book in one hand, the old man looked as wise as time itself and his robes were that of a deep purple and gold.

    The statue itself gave off a cold, aloof and domineering presence, however, there was something else¡­ safety, reliance, backing¡­no it was more like¡­ this statue was here as a reminder that as long as it stood¡­ no harm shall befall the people around it.

    Suddenly, a man came close to the statue and bowed down before continuing on his way.

    "Don''t tell me¡­" I said.

    "It wasn''t my idea¡­ apparently an old man that was gifted a lot of gold decided to repay that karma by building this statue¡­he did it all by himself a mere mortal¡­ he carved this statue from a single piece of rock¡­ he never ate or drank anything, until he finished it¡­ it took him ten years."

    "How is that even possible for a mortal?" I asked.

    "The Qi here¡­ it sates you, you don''t need to eat, and food is more like a mean to satisfy one''s stomach."

    "Where is that old man?" I asked.

    "He passed away¡­" Wu Di said, "Why are you asking?"

    "Because you probably don''t see it¡­but the statue¡­ it is full ofw."

    "Huh?" Wu Di frowned.

    He took another look and failed to realize it.

    "It''s alright. Does the old man have a name? or family?" I asked.

    "Yes. They were all taken care of by the current city lord. Wu Fan," Wu DI said.

    "Good man." I said.

    "Yeah, you knew who to choose for that role. Let''s go meet him, there are a few other faces that you might be interested in seeing," Xiao Lang said.

    "Let''s move then," I said.

    The three of us continued moving about, and the more I looked at the people in Lucid Spring and how well they were dressed the more I was conscious about my own filthy state.

    I had dried blood all over me, year old blood, my clothes were torn and ruptured everywhere, the inscriptions on the snakeskin I was wearing under my clothes were all destroyed, and I looked no more than a bum in a city of nobles.

    I smiled and ignored it for now.

    Then soon we got into the main building.

    "Where are the guards?" I asked.

    "There is no need for guards, as security was never an issue with the Automaton regting the whole of the city affairs and security, anyone would be nothing but an idiot if they even thought of doing something stupid as robbery ormitting a crime¡­ you built a utopia here." Wu Di said.

    "Huh, I didn''t build anything, it was the people themselves," I said.

    "Maybe," Xiao Lang said, "But none of it would have been possible without your own effort.

    Soon we got into the main building and into the main hall. Where I saw a face I''ve missed.

    "Wu Fan, you''re looking better than ever," I said.

    The moment the not-so-old man looked at me, a wide grin appeared on his face.

    "Shen Bao! HA!" heughed as he stood up and came towards me.

    He didn''t care how dirty I looked, or how awful I smelled, he still hugged me as if hadn''t seen me in eternity.

    "Lord Xiao Lang, Lord Wu Di, thank you for bringing such a precious friend over." Wu Fan said.

    "You seem to have been living rather well here," I said.

    "Yes, you''ll never believe it, so many, so many events had happened, and I''ll tell you all about them in detail! Over a good ss of wine!"

    "That would be good, I haven''t had wine in a while," I said.

    "Right, then today we feast!" Wu Fan saidughing to the high heavens.

    "Lord Wu Fan, I got the manual, I''ll be leaving now," spoke a woman that came from one of the doors next to the main hall.

    The moment she spoke, however, I felt something pulling me towards her voice.

    She was a young woman, very beautiful, and looked quite charming in a way that didn''t hit me as sexual a all. She felt like someone that if I were to seee to harm, I would burn the world alive for her¡­

    What the hell is this.

    I had to calm myself, I never felt something like this before.

    "You," I said as I approached her.

    "What''s your name," I asked.

    The girl looked at me a bit skittish at first then, after looking around and noticing theforting smiles on the faces of everyone around, she had the courage to speak.

    "Hwa Bao¡­"

 Chapter 258: Gifts

    <h4>Chapter 258: Gifts</h4>

    Just as I was about to speak, a middle-aged man with a missing arm came rushing into the hall and stood between me and the small girl.

    Extreme terror and fear painted his expressions as he looked at me as if I was a revenant ghost of horror.

    He then came crashing down on the ground mming his head as hard as humanly possible against the ground, begging.

    "PLEASE! She did nothing wrong! Please!" the man spoke.

    "F-father!" the girl spoke as she looked at who appeared to be her dad in a never before scene position.

    "Please! Let her be if you still wish to have my hide take it! Just don''t harm her, she did nothing wrong! Please!"

    The people around me looked attentively at the scene and didn''t dare speak up.

    The girl on the other hand came down and was trying to help her father to stand up, but he adamantly refused.

    "Please!" he begged once more.

    I was still annoyed due to all he had done before, and thus, I used my foot and pulled him back to a seating position.

    The was flung back to his ass and couldn''t make eye contact.

    "Father! Who is this man!" she asked.

    "Please be quiet," he said as he dragged her behind him as if protecting her.

    "Look at me," I said to the man.

    And he did, fear and terror growing within him with each and every passing second.

    "How does it feel to be a father?" I asked him.

    A question I knew he wouldn''t be able to answer, not in this situation.

    "Terrifying isn''t it, how much you''re willing to go for, for your children. But fret not, I won''t harm her, as you said, she did nothing wrong." I said.

    The words I spoke were enough to blow life back at his pale face, but my next words were enough to engulf him back in terror and fear.

    "But you''re still unforgiven," I said.

    "Who¡­ is this man, uncle Fan," the girl spoke.

    Wu Fan looked at me and I shrugged as I understood his intentions.

    "That''s your grandfather," He spoke.

    The girl took note and failed to understand the rtionship between us, I looked like a monster of horrors, even after regaining my older appearance, but that was because of the grim, filth and blood covering me, my torn clothes, and the shape I was in was too far fetched for me to be seen as a rtive to a well-dressed and well-spoken person like the people here.

    "I won''t do unto you, what you did to me, Lu. I''m not that cruel, for you have betrayed the holy bond between us, I still won''t kill you, because it is something unforgivable for a father to kill his own children. Nor will I impart you pain as heavy as you have done to me, because that is what it means to be a father. Though you seem to understand it slightly as you were willing to give up your own life for your daughter, you stillck the right to speak to me. Leave!" I spoke, the final word was powerful enough to shake the entire building.

    "Y-yes!" he said and was about to drag his daughter with him.

    "Only you, will leave!" I said.

    "B-but."

    "I won''t harm my own blood, so just leave," I said and he then was escorted out by Wu Fan himself.

    Hwa looked at me, confused and afraid, but Wu Diforted her with a nod.

    Once Lu left, I looked at my granddaughter and said, "Give me your arm," I asked.

    She did, hesitantly so and again only after Wu Di nodded for her toply.

    I tested her pulse and realized that she had an incredible talent hidden within her.

    "Hoo¡­ interesting, Wu Di, did you notice this?" I asked.

    "Yes, that''s the Golden Yin Body. Something of legends even. It''s pretty rare to find someone like this, but from what I understood, life here in this world was enough for the people to develop and be more attuned with heavenly energy, so seeing something like this, especially from a descendant of yours wasn''t too shocking," Wu Di exined.

    "Have you started cultivating?" I asked her.

    She shook her head.

    "Automaton," I asked and immediately the automaton that was administrating the Lord of Lords pagoda appeared in front of me.

    "Yes, Master."

    "Master?" she questioned, perhaps out of curiosity as she immediately put her hands on her mouth as if she didn''t mean to speak the words.

    "Ah, it''s because the people here understand that this is a fake world, and they think this automaton that is administrating it is basically a god. So for her to hear it calling you master is bound to be a shock."

    "And you guys didn''t exin it to them?" I asked.

    "There was no need to, I mean it was true, he managed weather, the security, and the safety of everything, if they wanted to believe it to be god, who am I to say no."

    "No matter," I replied. "Anyway, Bring me the Divine Heavens Cultivation manual. The Soul Maiden Breathing manual and the Purple Butterfly Movement Manual." I said.

    "As youmand," he replied, and soon he disappeared and appeared back with all three manuals.

    I handed them to the girl and said, "Learn these."

    "Shen Bao," asked Xiao Lang, "Are you sure you want to open the cultivation door for her? Shouldn''t she be left to live her life, as a mortal¡­ the world of cultivation is too lonely."

    "As much as I want to, I won''t be able to be with you all for a long time," I said.

    Wu Di understood immediately.

    "You''re going to do something dangerous aren''t you?" he asked.

    "Yes. I''ll have to get stronger and pay the Fire King a friendly visit. But I can''t take you with me."

    "We can he-"

    "NO!" I said as I stopped Xiao Lang from finishing his sentence.

    "You all have a purpose, maybe you''ve forgotten, but didn''t you promise to rebuild the Tian Ji Sect?" I asked.

    "I never forgot, I''m still working hard to do that." Wu Di said

    "I''ll have to continue this journey alone. It''s already incredibly difficult and I don''t want people around me that I''ll need to save help, protect and worry about."

    "Then what will happen to us," Asked Wu Di.

    "I have already thought about it, and have a clear idea of what to do. But I can''t take you with me. I''ll need to do this on my own, and alone," I said.

    The words were heavy to all of them, but they epted it.

    "Hwa''er, though I don''t have the right to be family since I''ve been away from your life for a long time, this is the least I could do. Learn those techniques, they''ll help you grow stronger, and you''ll be able to protect your father and mother and those you consider close. Take this also," I said as I handed her a holding bag.

    "In there, you''ll find all the pills and resources that you''ll ever need to be a Soul Transformation cultivator, once that is done, you''ll need to work hard on ascending, only then can you be able to protect those close to you with certainty. Work hard, and be stronger than anyone around you." I said as I turned.

    "As much as I want to leave right now, I''ll need to take a bath¡­" I said.

    "I''ll have some servants prepare a bath for you, lord." Wu Fan said.

    "Good," I said.

    Then I received a divine sense message from Wu Di.

    "Shen Bao, the resources you gave her, are you sure that''s wise?" he asked.

    "Why?" I replied.

    "First off, shouldn''t you be the one using them to be a Soul Transformation cultivator? And secondly, greed in human eyes is something vile and can bring people to do ugly things."

    "I can''t use those resources; my cultivation technique is different from you all. Secondly, I already know that, and already have a countermeasure prepared for it. worry not, I''m not doing things randomly." I spoke.

    I then left and took a bath, cleaning up.

    Refreshed and finally feeling human again I walked out to find a robe in a dresser waiting for me to use.

    It was surprisingly good quality, a purple robe with golden engravings all over the hems of it.

    It looked exactly like the one that the statue was wearing.

    I smiled as I wore the robes and tightened the belt around me.

    Moving it felt smooth and like it was perfectly tailored for me. Just as I moved I felt something strange, my whole body seemed to be pleased to the touch of this robe.

    And then my whole Qi began circting as if I was cultivating, it felt as if every pore on my body was weing the Qi released from the robe itself.

    "Strange¡­" I spoke as I walked out, finding Wu Di and Xiao Lang waiting for me.

    "Well, what do you know, it looks damn good on you. I never thought that it was even possible to wear that." Wu Di said.

    "What is this thing?" I asked.

    "Oh, it was a gift to you from someone¡­ do you remember when we were at the Deeps?" asked Wu Di?"

    "Euh, yes?"

    "So, the Pixie you saved then. They are very rare creatures and are usually hunted and enved then they have their hairs extracted and used to make one of the best fabrics that can smoothly control Qi."

    "I understand that part, but if you have harmed her¡­" I said.

    "Oh no, we didn''t, she was actually the one who offered the dress." Wu Di said.

    "Huh? How?"

    "She said, because you kept your promise, she was never harmed, never hurt, hunted or felt endangered ever since she came here. And due to the nature of this world, her hair grew and she decided to make something for you, but apparently, this can only be worn by a crazed man¡­ since¡­ well, it''s extremely poisonous and will cause anyone who touches it to die¡­" Wu Di said.

    Xiao Lang then spoke, "When she presented it to us, as a gift to you, we thought she wanted to kill you, but after a bit of exining, I thought that it would be best to give it to you then for you to decide if you would wear it or not.

    Now that they mention it, no wonder I was feeling rather refreshed, the whole dress is made from Pixi hair, though the hair usually gets treated to have the poison expelled from it, it loses a lot of its sheen and smoothness, but with the poison still in the fabric itself, the robe is far better.

    "I''ll have to thank her personally then. This was rather a nice surprise." I said.

    "Well, that''ll be good, we''ll be having a banquet in your honor, you can do that then." Wu Di said.

    "Good, I can use a good hot meal," I said and the three of us moved together.

 Chapter 259: Objective

    <h4>Chapter 259: Objective</h4>

    We headed to the main hall of the current City Lord''s manor and found a massive table where many people from all around the city, the top brass, workers, and craftsmen waited patiently for me.

    There was an empty seat at the other end of the table, which was clearly set for me. Seeing that Wu Fan had calmly taken the seat to my right and Wu Di took the one to my left.

    I walked in and sat on my chair and waited for Wu Fan to speak.

    "Thank you all for gathering here today. I''m sure you all know who this man is, but just as a reminder. Shen Bao, more than a century and a decade ago had arrived at Lucid Springs town. And in a few months turned it upside down." Wu Fan said and began retelling details of days long gone.

    "Though the disappearance of Lord Shen Bao had been too sudden, it was thanks to him that we still managed to thrive for years toe, and when we were facing cmity, Lord Shen Bao came back and helped us thirty years ago. He saved our ailing city, and carried it in its entirety to this heaven-like ce." Wu Fan spoke with pride in his eyes.

    "We have lived in peace for a long while, our bodies grew ustomed to this magnificent ce and we managed to gain longevity and power no mortal should have." Wu Fan said.

    This elected a few cheerful cheers from the people sitting here.

    "But this banquet here isn''t just to praise our lord Shen Bao. Because all good things muste to an end." Wu Fan said.

    Which made me frown, what is he talking about.

    The words that Wu Fan had spoken however elicited a few disgruntle whispering.

    "Calm down. We have lived here for a long while, we have taken advantage of a world that wasn''t ours, and what did we do in return? Nothing. As Ie to understand, Lord Shen Bao is going on a journey, and us, as guests have long since overstayed our due¡­"

    "What do you mean, city lord?" asked a man who seemed to be the most well-dressed person in the room. From head to toe, he was dressed in high-quality fabric, jewelry all over him, and wore more rings than any person should have on his fingers.

    "To bepletely blunt, it is time for us to leave." Wu Fan said.

    Hmm, this will make things simpler.

    "What do you mean leave? We have done nothing wrong to be evicted, Lord Shen Bao, if you wish I could even remunerate you for having my family stay here, if it''s a matter of ''rent'' I''m more than certain I can pay you for it!" the man dressed as a noble spoke.

    "Quiet Han Yul!" the City Lord said.

    "Do you honestly believe, that what you have to offer is of any value to the lord? All you own is from the Lord''s ownnds, riches! In fact, even the clothes and gold you''re wearing is technically the lord''s so are you that dense to think you can pay the lord with his own money?!" Wu Fan spoke, with utter dejection.

    This was enough for the man to quiet down, as he began realizing the truth about this ce.

    "Wait," I spoke.

    "It is not that I want to evict you because I want the ce back, if it was just that this wouldn''t have been a problem. I''m letting you leave because the ce I''m going¡­even I can''t guarantee my own survival. And if I were to die, or something happen to me, whoever obtains the token will take it, and what do you think a cultivator will do with a bunch of mortals?" I asked.

    "Wait, what do you mean? Where is the lord going?" asked another person.

    "I''m going to the Southern Domain," I spoke.

    The words were confusing to them. But then I exined.

    "The ck Tower had put a bounty on my head, if I were to be discovered I will be executed. Not only that, the reason why the of Si Xue was assaulted was the Fire King, a ruler among the four rulers of the Vast Expanse. Me and him¡­we have an enmity between us that can only be resolved with the death of one of us." I said.

    The words I spoke were heavy, and I was about to make them heavier.

    "The Fire King, in order to p the Face of the Wind King had decided that the whole we lived in to be enved, just because I saved the Wind King''s son''s life. For kings, the destruction of a is not worth mentioning, we''re of less value than the pebbles the king walks on." I said.

    "But¡­ why does the Lord wish to fight the Fire King? If what you spoke was true, and the Fire King is a ruler of an entire domain, doesn''t that mean that he is pretty strong? Isn''t this suicide to attempt to get your revenge on someone that can rule over a part of the gxy?!" the merchant spoke.

    I snorted.

    "So what? So what if he is a ruler? What if he is at a stage that is so absurdly high that even Ascendants have to tremble in fear and terror at the mere mention of his name? So what?" I spoke.

    "He was the reason for the destruction of my sect. The reason for the destruction of people I cared for, for people that risked their lives for me, for people who suffered indescribable torture and didn''t speak or reveal my name to anyone. You think I''ll just give them up? No. I''ll grow strong, strong enough to be a threat to a ruler. And I will bring him under my foot. However, the chances of me seeding in doing so are minuscule and close to impossible," I said.

    I then drank a toast.

    "For those who have treated me right, I drink," I spoke.

    And the rest followed me.

    But I felt that I needed to add something else.

    "And for those who have attempted to trample on my dignity, it is nothing but hell that awaits them! To Vengeance!" I spoke and downed the ss.

    "To vengeance!" spoke Wu Di, which made the rest of the people here toast to it.

    Though it was a crude, cruel, and very out of ce toast, for the people of this world. Vengeance isn''t something to be scoffed at, but to be respected. It is to take the mantle of those who were wrong, and correct it yourself, no matter the mean, or the method. It is a dedication to one''s life to make sure that those who had done them an injustice go unpunished.

    It was a philosophy, no matter how dark, it was still the way this world thinks. And I''m going to make sure not to disappoint.

    "So, where are we going to go?" asked Wu Di.

    "Before I came here, I took a nce at the stars. I think I know where we are. We''re already outside the Western Lands. Though it is incredible to think how we managed to leave the barricade while I was unconscious it still happened." I said.

    "Then where exactly are we?"

    "We''re in the Water Domain the eastern Domain. It is thankfully an area that the Fire King cannot enter. Unless he is willing to risk an all-out war. I will be more than capable of finding you a ce to stay in. We''re already pretty deep into the Eastern Territory."

    "I''ll guide the board to the nearest habitable. And once you''re there, I''ll make sure you are well situated before I leave."

    "No need for that, you can drop us off, and we''ll make sure to set up the city," Wu Di said.

    "Are you sure?" I asked.

    "Yes, we''re not weak. We only need to leave this area and wait for our tribtion. Once it is done, we''ll be able to rebuild. And me, my wife, and Xiang Lang are more than able to start a sect there."

    "Wait¡­ you''re married? Huh?" I wondered for a moment.

    "Oh, yeah, I didn''t tell you?"

    "Who''s the unlucky bride?" I asked.

    "Hah, it''s someone you know well. Yuzehan." Wu Di said.

    "Ah¡­I didn''t want to ask, but why didn''t shee over? I''m sure she knows I''m here," I asked.

    "You can be pretty dense sometimes Shen Bao," Xiao Lang spoke as he was munching over a piece of meat.

    The words he spoke, were pretty ''sphemous'' for the people around him. And it caused many shocked reactions to hear someone calling me dense.

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Well, anyone could have easily realized that Yuzehan had a thing for you, but you went away for a long time, she couldn''t wait. So¡­she settled for the next best thing." Xiao Lang said.

    "Saying it like that is pretty hurtful you know," Wu Di said jokingly.

    "Welp, it''s the truth. So, her not wanting to see you is pretty obvious, she doesn''t want to spark something that took her thirty years to snuff. Woman stuff, you know." Xiao Lang said.

    "Euh¡­ I don''t know, but still, congrattions. Wu Di. Also, this might bete, but here is a wedding gift, I said as I handed Wu Di a pouch for his eyes alone.

    There wasn''t much in it¡­ at least for me.

    But the reaction on Wu Di''s eyes after he realized the content, the pills, and the manuals inside.

    "This¡­"

    "Yeah, use that to rebuild your sect," I said and then drank another toast for Wu Di and stood up.

    "I''ll have to leave now, I''ll steer the board towards the nearest. And once we arrive, we''ll part ways once again. If fate brings us together again, we''ll celebrate once again," I said.

    The atmosphere turned drearier.

    But Wu Di stood up and said, "Godspeed Shen Bao. I''ll make sure to treat Hwa''er well. Though I wanted to take her in as a disciple, I don''t think my cultivation is suitable for her. But with the manuals you gave her, I''ll make sure to guide her properly." He said.

    "Good, I''ll leave her in your care. If I ever am able toe back, I''ll find you guys again. For now¡­ good bye." I said, then teleported away from the city and out back into space.

    Looking at the familiar scenery, and matching it to some of the spatial maps I have memorized I was able to find the direction I needed to head to. And so, I pressed the pedestal and the hoverboard bore through space with magnificent speed.

 Chapter 260: Purpose

    <h4>Chapter 260: Purpose</h4>

    Within the vast space right outside the Western Domain stood too cultivators.

    One of them was in a very awful mood.

    "So¡­what do we do now, master rain?" asked the retainer.

    "How would I know¡­ this absurd, dumb luck this one has, it''spletely iprehensible, I honestly believed that the barrier would stop him from leaving¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Well, who would have guessed that a spatial rift would open up within the western domain, the traces are still here," the retainer said.

    "No, Spatial Rifts should not be possible to naturally manifest here," Master Rain said.

    "Someone opened a rift for him, and it transported him somewhere randomly into the vast expanse. He could be in the heart of a burning star, or in the darkest corners of space for all I know¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Who do you think could do this? I mean, Shen Bao is technically just a random character," the retainer said.

    "Random? I honestly believed that too. But I''ve seen what he could do. His way of seeing things¡­ it''s not simple. Something is up with him." Master Rain said.

    "What are we gonna do now?" the retainer asked.

    "We can''t do anything, with him being teleported to god knows where we can''t track him. But, I have a feeling that he''ll cause some waves in the world of cultivation, and once that happens, I''ll be able to locate him soon. Let''s go back for now," Master Rain said.

    ****

    I flew through space, this time consciously, and began to understand something.

    Space is fucking huge.

    Absurdly so that words can''t express it. Mere glowing spots that are somon in space, stars, ands, are so absurdly far away that getting to them would take an eternity.

    It''s no joke how absurdly far they are. This also made me remember something from when I was on earth, something I''ve read long ago.

    Apparently, what we see in the skies, are not stars, no, it''s the light from them, that traveled millions of lightyears to get to us. And in fact, the sky we look at every night is fake. This might sound absurd but think about it.

    Light travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second, which is obviously very, very fast. And considering the distance between the stars and your home, it should take millions of years for that light to reach.

    Then, what you''re actually looking at, in apletely corrupted sense is actually the past¡­ the past of a star, hundreds of millions of years ago. That very star, which you see at night, in fact, could have moved, or have already perished in actual time, but since the distance is so far, you''re still looking at the very same star millions of years ago.

    It''s a twisted concept that can make a person''s head spin, we''re actually not looking at stars, but actually the location they were in millions of years ago.

    And now that I''m in space, so far deep, and away from anything I''ve known or seen ago. I''m assaulted by a strange sense of loneliness and smallness.

    I feelpletely insignificant in the presence of ungodly great entities that float in space.

    However, my own insignificance is rtive to my actions. If I were to avoid dangers and avoid confrontations to reim what is rightfully mine or punish those who took what belonged to me, then this sense of insignificance will always prevail against me.

    Yet, if I were to reim what is mine, with iron and fire, then I shall be known throughout the world.

    It isn''t easy to be recognized, but four rulers have made it so, four had managed to rule entire gxies, and control them, owning all that moved within them. They became kings and usurped the world for themselves.

    Why? How?

    Easy.

    Power.

    Absolute,plete, and disgustingly absurd power. Power enough to be able to break down entires, move sr systems, and break through the void of space, ruling with absolute monarchy over all those who lived within their domain.

    To eliminate one of them is nothing but an absurdly far away dream, however, it is still achievable with persistence, growth, and of course Power.

    How can I get this power though?

    Through tribtions. The world doesn''t give power for free, and the world of cultivation is the same as a pyramid.

    The base isrge, fat, and full of weaklings, weaklings that are there to support the ones above them. The higher you go through a pyramid, the more the concentration lessens. The ones above each stage are far less but far more powerful.

    I''ve read many stories like this, where the main characters want to get to the top, but their goals were too frivolous, they all wanted to get to the top to be the strongest. But seeking strength for strength itself is meaningless.

    I on the other hand, though I''m not a fictional character where my fate is written and decided based on the whims and will of azy writer.

    I have an actual life, an actual family, an actual goal. Simple, non-factitious, and very easy to exin.

    Revenge.

    The Fire King, a man, nothing less nothing more. A person, the same as me, decided that I, and my entire were to be destroyed, and for what reason? To embarrass the wind king.

    The lives of billions of other people, men and women, all the same as that very same fire king, sacrificed in order tond a figurative p for another ruler.

    Why should a man deem another man''s life below his?

    Just because one is stronger than another, that doesn''t mean that the other should serve andy down their life.

    The Fire King''s Rule is too tyrannical, enving people and harnessing their souls for his own. It''s nothing but tyranny, tyranny against the weak.

    I know for a fact that I''m not strong enough right now to take him on, but that''s only temporary. I''ll seek strength even if I have to make a deal with the devil, and I''ll make sure to have him pay for all of his offenses.

    Not right now though, I''m not that crazy to believe that someone at his current stage is something I can take on head-on. I almost died fighting against a half ascendant. Not to mention someone that is far, far stronger than an ascendant.

    I''ll be obliterated in an instant without ever realizing what happened.

    But I have a n. A risky one, but worth risking because that''s the only way to gain strength.

    Right now, I''mcking power. I''m too weak, but there is a ce, where people from all over the Vast Expanse go to.

    The Heavenly Academy.

    But not everyone can be epted in it, I''ll need to either be someone crazy famous, have achieved something of great value, or be rmended by someone who had already graduated from the academy.

    The only option for me is to achieve great merit for the academy, but right now, I have no idea what could that be, so I''ll have to do some research first.

    And right now, I''m close enough to what looks to be a habitable.

    Looking in the distance, there was a massive ship in front of me. It was absurdly huge, big enough to be called a city, and it was moving slowly towards a blue.

    I need to somehow mix in with them, and get the people of Lucid Spring into the.

    It should be simple.

 Chapter 261: Entry

    <h4>Chapter 261: Entry</h4>

    I managed to get as close as possible to one of the ships and then teleported into its vicinity.

    I had a fear of being teleport blocked but nothing of the sort happened. Several cultivators wearingpletely different clothes were moving about, checking cargo and repairing the damage of the ship, there didn''t seem to be anything going awry for now.

    I continued teleporting until I was at the ship''s deck and began moving about as casually as possible. Listening in on the cultivator''s talk.

    A few of them talked about random things and some seemed to be more interested in an oversized space creature that they had met a few months ago. It seems hard to understand from the context of what they were speaking about. Especially since I didn''t wish to stay too long not to expose myself.

    "The Advent will dock soon! Brace yourselves!" a domineering voice spoke up.

    Many cultivators used their Qi to ''glue'' their feet to the ship''s deck as it moved down into the''s atmosphere.

    "I guess we were lucky that the captain managed to spot that thing before it dove into us," one of the cultivators added to his former statement.

    "Yes, no wonder he was called the best captain of the Four Spaces," another replied.

    "I''ll make sure that every time I travel through space to save a spot on the Advent. Since you''re straining yourself to listen to us what do you think about that beast?" the first cultivator spoke to me, with a wide gentle smile.

    It seems that I was listening and was already discovered but I needed to make sure that I''m on good terms with them not to expose myself.

    "To bepletely honest, I''m ashamed of myself, I was too scared to actually see what happened. The pressure alone was almost enough to destabilize my cultivation. I''m just a Nascent Soul cultivator," I said.

    "Oh, a cultivator who admits weakness, interesting. right, it must have been difficult, but don''t worry, there should be a treatment and care facility once we arrive you can check up there and even receivepensation for your troubles," the cultivator said gently and continued talking to his friend. It seems that my being of such a low cultivation level was enough for him to disregard my existence.

    But I didn''t care since he was tactful about it. After all, I was a ''weak'' Nascent Soul cultivator. My opinion on a beast that made even these cultivators who I couldn''t even begin to understand their cultivation level waspletely irrelevant.

    The two of them ignored me from then onwards, and soon the ship began its descent.

    The entire ship dove into the''s atmosphere and bore through it as easily as if it was sailing through calm sea waters. And soon we were within the''s skies and came down all the way to a city that was so huge that it made the already massive ship look like a dwarf.

    Just as we arrived at the docks, several cultivators of extremely powerful cultivation base boarded the ship.

    They all had ck robes with golden decorations.

    Not before long, one of the ck-robed cultivators spoke, "Line up for inspection!" he said.

    This was bad.

    Just as I wanted to teleport out of this situation, I realized that I was unable to, the ship''s entire domain was blocked by a powerfulw that even I couldn''t begin to understand.

    Trying to bypass it will take time and time I didn''t have because the majority of the cultivators on the ship lined up and began showing a token that they had to the inspectors.

    Just as I was about to try and find a way out, a hand grabbed me from my shoulder.

    "Your token," spoke the robed man before he looked at his palms, shook them then looked me in the eyes.

    I was stunned due to two things. The first, I couldn''t even feel or sense him approaching me. The second was the fact that he so easily shook off a Pixie''s Poison from my robes as if it was nothing even worth mentioning to him.

    I opened my mouth, and spoke something that wouldn''t be epted lightly, "I lost it¡­" I said.

    "Hmm lost it you said, you''ll have toe with us."

    "Wait," spoke the same cultivator that I talked to earlier.

    "He is with me," he said.

    "With you? You know that losing a token is penalized byw, can you afford it?" he said, not to the cultivator but to me.

    "You do know how things work here, this man is just a Nascent Soul cultivator, a more powerful cultivator could have easily taken it from him, how would he even dare talk back?" the cultivator said.

    "Nascent Soul?" the guard frowned but then immediately spoke "It is none of our business, every entry needs a token, and unless you have it, or can afford to pay its value, then how are we going to do our job? Show proof of possessing the token or pay the penalty for losing it."

    "How much is the penalty," I asked.

    "Not a lot luckily for you, a hundred thousand top grade Spirit Stones," the guard said.

    The mere mention of that number of top-grade spirit stones was enough to have my figurative jaw drop.

    "You seem too shocked to speak, don''t tell me you can''t even afford that? Or are you one of those, who are sent by a backwater to attempt and get a spot on the Heavenly Academy exam using all of your resources?" the guard snorted.

    Nice, this guy is a talkative idiot thank you for giving me a way out.

    "Ironically¡­ I am. I''m our n''s hope. They gathered all their resources and their treasures to get a token so I can arrive and get a fighting chance at attending the academy."

    "I guess he is right," spoke another voice, whichpletely stunned me as I saw my pouch in his hand.

    He had managed to take my pouch from my side, inspect it, and put it back in front of me before I could even realize it.

    What an ungodly high cultivation level for him to do such a thing, and this guy is just a guard.

    "All he has been healing and poison pills, some third-grade cultivation manuals, and regr spirit stones, he probably used up all of his hometown''s resources to buy a token to board The Advent. And like you know, many disciples wouldn''t wantpetition so someone here must have stolen his. He didn''t even realize I took his pouch after all," the second guard said as he ced the token back into my hand.

    "Humph, your country''s resources are wasted on you if you got done in like this." The first guard said.

    "Can I pay it for him?" asked the man who tried to help me out at first.

    "We don''t do things like that here, but I''ll permit it¡­but you know¡­ the fees of documenting this and the hassle I''ll be in are going to be problematic," the guard said with a grin as he rubbed his hands together.

    "This should be enough to pay for your trouble and his penalty fees," he said and handed him a pouch.

    The man inspected the pouch and had a wide grin.

    "Good." The guard said and turned to me with a scowl "You may leave after your leave your name and origin at the registration office, they''ll issue you a new entry token that you can use to ess cities and enter the Heavenly Academy''s test."

    ''This was a blessing in disguise, my luck seems to be good to randomly go to a that actually has a way to enter the Heavenly Academy.''

    "Thank you," I sped my hands to the robed cultivator who went to inspect other cultivators.

    I then turned to and gave a slight nod to the cultivator who helped me, "Thank you for helping me. I don''t know how I can ever repay you, but I will definitely make sure to pay you back in full," I said.

    "No worries, a hundred thousand top grade spirit stones are basically my weekly allowance, it''s nothing too much and I make sure to help people in need whenever I can," he calmly spoke.

    I then looked at him again, from the pin on his hair to his robes to the sandals he was wearing. Everything about him was simple.

    His pockets are deep but what he wore was even more basic than the most basic of clothes.

    "Do you perhaps cultivate Karma?" I asked.

    The man''s brows rose up, "That''s¡­ an interesting point of view, but no. My cultivation is different, but why do you think I cultivate Karma?" he asked.

    "I can''t exin it, but you have a simple air about you, although you''re not simple at all."

    "Simple¡­hah, that''s a good one. What''s your name?" he asked.

    "I''m Shen Bao," I spoke. There was no need for me to lie about my name here, I was too far from home, and my name isn''t unusual at all in the world of cultivation.

    "Good to meet you Shen Bao, I''m Xiao Feng," he said.

    "Good to meet you too," I replied.

    The two of us walked out of the ship in toe, and we moved down towards the registration office where many cultivators were waiting in line.

    "What brings you to attempt the Heavenly Academy test? Don''t take it the wrong way, but I believe that you''re far too weak for it," he said.

    "I honestly just realized how big of a difference between me and the people around me. Though I was a big fish in a small pond, a frog in a well, now my eyes are opened. But that isn''t enough to bring me down, I''ll still do my best to get admitted," I said.

    "Good take, I''m honestly surprised about one thing about you, though I realize that you''re definitely not at the ascendant stage, you yourself said you''re a Nascent Soul Cultivator, you feel like a mortal, which is surprisingly hard to believe," Xiao Feng said.

    "It''s my cultivation technique, it allows me to retain a Mortal atmosphere about me, and makes it hard to gouge my cultivation level. But it seems that it''s not working properly in a ce where Nascent Soul cultivators are far too weak to be considered as cultivators," I said.

    "You don''t need to worry about your cultivation stage, the trial adjusts itself to each and every individual cultivator who has the financial ability to take it. And the Academy only epts the best of the best. You''ll find many Nascent Soul cultivators in it, students of your grade. But, be careful, they too are like you, big fishes in a small pond, they''re all-powerful, and your conception of power will change drastically once you meet people who you''d consider geniuses on your to be nothing but trash here."

    I sped my hands to Xiao Feng once again and said, "I''ll make sure to waste not the opportunity you''ve given me, I Shen Bao Promises to pay back what I am due, as soon as I can."

    "Good I respect a man of principle, then I''ll be expecting my investment in you to be repaid, not in spirit stones, but in you being admitted to the academy, you''re an interesting person, make sure to stay like that," he said. "Now if you''ll excuse me, my ride arrives, I''ll have to go. Get registered and let''s meet at the academy exam area in two weeks."

    Just as I was about to ask him what he meant about his ride, a massive winged dragon flew down from the high heavens.

    It was by far one of the most imagistic things I''ve ever seen. A sky blue colored dragon with white as cloud wings flew down harmoniously without lifting a single speck of dust, and calmly coiled around itself in a nearby open za.

    The man that was next to me took a step forward and immediately was already above the dragon''s head.

    "Till we meet again, Shen Bao," he said right into my mind, and immediately the dragon departed.

 Chapter 262: A Bet From A Shady Looking Man

    <h4>Chapter 262: A Bet From A Shady Looking Man</h4>

    I was momentarily at a loss, since I was on a new, a new area, and a new world, I needed to understand the basic stuff about this area before I could proceed any further.

    "You seem to be at a loss, need a helping hand? For a price of course," a shady-looking young man came at me, rubbing his hands together.

    "Who are you?" I asked.

    "No one important, but I know stuff, and you clearly look like a neer. Hey, I can guide you and show you around, and I promise I won''t scam you, as many others will," the man said.

    "You realize your words make you less trustworthy," I said.

    "I do, but I speak no lies. For a few top-grade spirit stones, I can help you find anything you need, how about that," he said.

    Usually, I would have refused him since he said that the price of showing me around will cost a few ''Top Grade Spirit Stones''.

    Back in Si Xue, Top Grade Spirit Stones weren''t something you find on the road, but the fact that the token to get admitted to the Heavenly Academy''s test costs hundreds of thousands of Top Grade Spirit Stones made it clear that it was the base currency for these cultivators.

    "Hmm, right, I need to know more about this ce," I said.

    "The city? I can tell you about that for free," he said.

    "No, the, as you said, I''m a neer and I like to know about the ces I''m in," I said.

    "That''s more like it then, how about you follow me now. A few faces are looking my way and I don''t like it when someone tries to poach my clients," he said.

    I followed after the young man as he began exining.

    "This city is called Chun Lun, it''s aary hub for ships that travel across space and through the vast expanse, though I''m sure you know this since you came here. As for the, it''s called Shangri, it has a great history of being one of thergest neutrals. Though it exists within the domain of the Water King, it''s not a ce where he can rule with an iron fist. Battle is forbidden here," he said.

    "Through the whole? I find that hard to believe," I said.

    "Oh, you bet it''s forbidden, though the usual fight can break every now and then, mostly nothing too serious, and if in case a death were to ur, the killer will either have to pay an exorbitantly disgusting fine or¡­" the man looked at me and crossed his thumb under his neck.

    Death.

    "Seems like a nice ce to live," I said.

    "Oh, trust me, don''t let peace fool you, many find ways to kill off people, they just need to make sure that they''re not discovered. But you don''t need to worry about that," he said as he continued moving forward.

    "There are a lot of good inns here, but I''d rmend the Golden Carp Inn, the owner is a very rude woman, but she makes the best food in town. Also," he said as he pointed at me, "You should make sure to keep your cultivation grade a secret, no matter your level, and make sure to not give the guards any reason to annoy you. They''re backed up by the Water Pce, and can be pretty cruel when they like."

    "Thank you for the advice. I would also like a map," I asked.

    "A map? That shouldn''t be too hard, nor cost much," he said as he pointed at a building in the distance.

    "See there, that''s a scam shop, anything they sell there is stupidly expensive and well decorated, the best trap for neers, the only thing they sell at a rtively decent prices are maps, you can get some from there, and don''t let them sweet talk you into buying their ''Secret'' and never before seen treasures, you''ll be the one-millionth person who had seen this never-before-seen treasure, so be careful," he said.

    "Noted," I replied.

    "Now, I can tell you a lot about the history of this, but to bepletely honest, it''s pretty irrelevant to you," he said.

    "How would you judge so?" I replied.

    "Simple, you''re here to take the Heavenly Academy exam, so I strongly doubt that you''re interested in the poption, climate, or the ten thousand dynasties that ruled over Shangri," he said.

    "Impressive," I said. "You''re right, I''m more interested in the exam," I replied.

    "Good, then how about we move somewhere more private, I feel more talkative when I''m drunk," he said grinning.

    I frowned at him, I know where this is going in but I had to stop him in his tracks.

    "I only have ten top-grade spirit stones, I can''t afford anything too expensive I must decline, I would still be more than willing to offer them to you aspensation for your help. I''ll have to apologize I can''t afford your services if they cost more than what I currently have," I said.

    The man''s face turned to shock, then pity, "Man, you''re not broke, you''re destitute, how the heck did you even afford to get a token¡­" he said.

    "A lot of savings," I said.

    The guide sighed, "I usually would never do this, but don''t worry about the cost. I''ve seen many like you, the hope of a town, city, or an entire nt even, sent here to give your all for the academy, only to fail miserably. This ce is only for people with deep pockets. You''re telling me you only have ten Top Grade Spirit Stones, that''s not gonna be enough for even a meal here," the man shook his head.

    His words made me feel pretty awful, people treating Top Grade Spirit Stones like they''re nothing here, means that destitute is an understatement to my case.

    "Thank you, I''ll see if I can figure things out my way," I said.

    "Wait¡­ you know, I''m willing to take a bet on you," he said.

    "What do you mean?" I replied.

    "You see, how many people do you thinke here for the Heavenly Exam?" he asked.

    I looked around for a while and said, "Seems like a few tens of thousands¡­a day," I said.

    "Exactly, and how many do you think can even seed in the exam?" he asked.

    "I haven''t the slightest clue," I replied shaking my head.

    "Not more than a thousand cultivators are admitted to the Heavenly Academy each year," he said.

    This made the situation even more disgusting. The price of the token, of hundreds of thousands, even millions of cultivators, funneling into the Heavenly Academy, for only a thousand to get admitted¡­ that''s rough.

    "The Heavenly Academy is beyond rich, all thanks to this, but at the same time, they more than deserve it, they created the ruling ss of the entire Vast Expanse, being admitted means that you can perhaps be a great individual in the future. So, I''m willing to take a bet on you," he said.

    "Why me? Why not someone else? Someone with a far higher cultivation base, or at least¡­ deeper pockets," I said.

    He smiled as he shook his head, "That''s where you''re misunderstanding. Cultivation base is meaningless when you''re doing the Academy''s exam, a Core Cultivator has the same chances of seeding as would an Ascendant. The other cultivators here, usually are pretty loaded, and rich, and they can afford to mess up the first time, But unlike them, you, have everything to lose. That''s why I''m willing to take a bet on you, a bet that you''ll have to honor back once you''re admitted," He said

    "Exin more," I said.

    "Not here, but over a drink," he said.

    "I told you, I can''t afford it," I replied.

    "I''ll pay for it, let''s visit Aunt Lua, today''s special dish is Fried Tenjin Crab it''s pretty good." He said.

    I took the man up on his offer and followed after him.

    We walked through the streets of the bustling city of Chun Lun until we arrived at a not so fancy, but not shabby looking In.

    It had several floors, packed tight with cultivators feasting over foods that I''d never seen before in my life.

    And once we got it, "Lang Xi! You bastard finally deciding to show up!" I heard the boisterous voice of a woman that came from all the way inside the inn''s kitchen.

    Soon a woman, burly in size, grim of clothes, and mean of eyes looked at us, she approached with steps that were powerful enough to feel my own feet vibrating under her walk.

    "Hello, aunti,"

    "Your mother is the Aunt! You little rascal, where the hell have you been," she said and looked at me, "Who''s this handsome fe, let me guess, another victim of yours?" she said.

    "Oi, aunt Lua, you''ll make him misunderstand," she said.

    "Little Kid, better not hear a word this bastard is saying, you''ll get in trouble. Also, you better pay up, I still owe two servings!" she said.

    "Ah yes, I came prepared this time," he said and pulled a pouch that he handed to Lua.

    She didn''t inspect the pouch, didn''t even count or see what was in it, she just grabbed it and ced it in a pocket on her apron.

    "What?" she said as she noticed my confusion, "Oh, must be a neer here. Don''t worry about me counting, because he knows for every missing spirit stone, I''ll break a bone, I''m not called Bone Breaker Lua forughs!" she said grinning, her smile more fearsome than a shark.

    "She is right, no one here even dares to steal or dine and dash, and those two over there are going to sorely regret it," Lang Xi said and immediately two cultivators decided to st through the inn''s door to escape.

    "Humph," Lua frowned and said, "I guess I''ve been too lenienttely," she said.

    She didn''t chase after them, didn''t even bother with them, and said, "At least a table is empty Lang, what are you having? The usual I suppose," she said.

    "Yes, same for my friend here," he said.

    "Your friend¡­ let me guess, another destitute? Still willing to take bets on them kinds? You''ll end up broke, you''re the worst information broker I''ve ever seen," she said.

    "Well, one day it''ll pay off," he said.

    "Your pockets, and his funeral," she said, then shouted loudly, "TWO FRIED TENJIN CRABS AND TWO PUNK HAZARD DRINKS!" she said, and immediately "YES CHEF!" sounded through the kitchen.

    "Quite boisterous," I said.

    "That''s the best thing about this ce," Ji Lang said.

    "Also, isn''t she forgetting something?" I said.

    "You mean the dine and dash idiots? Don''t worry about it, you''ll see for yourself soon enough," he said.

    Sooner than I thought, Lua came over with two massive tes one in each hand and four jugs of wine in between her fingers, I still don''t understand how she could even carry them, but she did so with ease.

    She ced the tes in front of us, it looked like soup, but there was a strangely colorful crab within the soup, and the drinks themselves looked strange.

    Each of us got one blue almost frozen and one red boiling drink.

    "Dig in!" he said and pulled one of the crab''s legs snapping it then chugging in the meat, and by the gods did something I didn''t think anyone would do, he began munching on the shell.

    "The shell is the best part, give it a try," he said as he continued eating like a monster starved for ages.

    I dug in and began eating, and I was immediately introduced to something my taste pallet had never had before.

    The taste was something out of this world, which was ironic. The thing wasn''t the taste alone, my cultivation base itself felt as if it was roiling and improving with every bite.

    I continued eating, feasting on a delicacy of another world, and found nothing but praise to be said on something so delicious that I could probably kill for.

    Surprisingly, Ji Lang didn''t touch the drinks, as spicy as the crab was, he didn''t really use the drink to dose down the spice.

    I on the other hand like to have my food with a sip of good wine.

    And just as I grabbed the wine, I noticed a small quiver on Ji Lang''s lips and realized that everyone in the restaurant was looking at me, anticipating what is toe.

    I guess this drink isn''t as simple as it seems...

 Chapter 263: The Hazard Drink, and The Hazardous Owner

    <h4>Chapter 263: The Hazard Drink, and The Hazardous Owner</h4>

    I''m no idiot, I''ve already realized that this drink wasn''t something simple, especially since ites with two different jugs. The fact that it has ''Hazard'' in its name means that it isn''t simple.

    Just as I grabbed the first cup, my hand went to the second, which caused Lang''s eyes to open wide.

    I then held both cups over me, opened my mouth, and poured both contents into my open mouth.

    The mix seemed like it was an inferno incarnate mixed in with an ice so cold that it could freeze one''s soul.

    I continued chugging both of the jars down until not a single drop was left.

    And right then and there, my body felt like it was about to break from the sh of the two different attributes, but with a simple breath and calmness, not even needing to rotate my cultivation base the two attributes began canceling each other out and soon, my body began exuding a sense offort, rxation andplete serenity.

    "Good stuff," I said as I ced the cups down.

    "By the Water King''s sagging tits, what the fuck¡­" Jing said.

    Immediately everyone in the room looked at me as if I was some sort of monster.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "Did you just¡­ drink them both at the same time? Do you not fear death?" Ji Lang said.

    "Why was I not?" I asked

    "OF COURSE NOT! AUNT!" Ji Lang said.

    "What''s wrong?" spoke Lua "If you say you found a cockroach in the food I''ll shove it up to your ass!"

    "No¡­ can you check up on him?" Ji Lang said.

    The woman frowned, not understanding what is Ji Lang is saying, but once she saw the two empty cups she frowned "Did you drink them both?" she asked.

    "Emm, yes, it''s rather rxing."

    "Huh, you''re only supposed to drink one, and sip the other. Everyone here knows that the Punk Hazard drink is a highly concentrated Yin and Yang extract, for those who cultivate Yin properties, drink the blue one, and sip on the red in case the cold is too much for them, and the opposite is correct. This drink is basically a prank for new customers, no one can even finish half a cup, and even Ji Lang here could barely finish a quarter of the wine. And you''re telling me you drank them both¡­"

    "I wish if it was just drinking, he chugged them both at the same time like they were water¡­" Ji Lang said.

    "Huh, guess you win," she said.

    "Win? Win what?" I asked.

    "Well¡­ this isn''t just a prank, it''s also a challenge, anyone who can finish a single ss can get a free meal, you finished both so¡­"

    "Yeah, your meal is free both of you," she said, "But I''ll probably never serve you this drink again, I don''t want to get bankrupt," she said shaking her head and turned, annoyed she sounded but at the same time I felt she was slightly happy.

    "Well that takes care of our food situation, I was honestly going to ask her to put this on my tab. It''s pretty rough nowadays and this meal is kind of expensive," he said.

    "Can I ask how much it costs?" I asked.

    "The drinks are two hundred top-grade each, the crab is ten thousand," Ji Lang said grinning.

    His words almost made me choke.

    "And you were going to pay all that for me?" I said.

    "Yes, because like I said I''m willing t take a bet on you," he said.

    "Then exin what this bet is about, I''m still not fully aware of what you mean," I said.

    "Right, now usually rich people look for strong and promising young people to join the academy."

    "Patrons?" I said.

    "Yes, patrons, they would pay for the fees, obtain information for their nominee and even try and broker deals with the people who monitor the exam, though I''m not so rich as to do thetter, I can do the former. I can get you some information on what type of exam it''s gonna be this year and I can help you prepare for it," he said.

    "Right, that much I understand, but what do I do for you in return," I said.

    "Good, I like a smart man. In return, like I said this is an investment, a bet. All I want is that if you ever get the chance to be a part of the academy, and manage to obtain at least a purple cloak, that you''ll back me up, I won''t bind your freedom, nor will you work for me. However, I''ll require you to assist me in reiming something that was mine and was lost to me," He said.

    "That seems rather too ambiguous, why would my identity as a student of the heavenly academy be of any value to help you find something you lost," I said.

    Ji Lang shook his head.

    He then showed me his forearm, there was a brand on it, he looked ashamed of it but he still spoke.

    "I''m somewhat of a famous character, fallen from grace. I was the young prince of a fallen n. Well, more like a n that has been taken over. I''ve joined the academy but was kicked out due to an incident, and someone from my own n made it out with a blue cloak, he took the patriarch position and my entire family was chased out," he said.

    Hmm, family feud.

    "I suppose, if I were to get this purple cloak, I''ll be someone capable of giving you your position back¡­ done," I said.

    Ji Lang frowned, "You''re not going to ask more? About the details, the reason why I was kicked, or who is the one who took over?" he asked.

    "Why should I, if you didn''t tell me, then you had a reason not to tell me. Also, I''m clearly not trustworthy enough, not to mention a purple or blue cloak which I have no idea what those are, even my chances of getting into the academy are not set in stone, so why trust me with information like that, at least I''ll wait until I''m a part of the academy before you should tell me more," I said.

    "I knew it, you''re really are a smart man, reliable, I''m not trying to butter you up, but you''re someone who sees the big picture. Good, then once we''re done with food, follow me, I''ll do my best to make sure you''re more than ready for the exam," he said.

    Just as he finished his words, two guards came into the inn.

    Behind them, dragged, ck and blue,pletely beaten up were the same two guys who had run away earlier.

    "Mam, here you go," one of the guards said and threw the cultivator into the middle of the dining room.

    Many other cultivators looked at the two, scuffed at their miserable state, and continued eating as nothing had even urred or happened.

    "Good, thank you for your help," she said, "I really didn''t feel like chasing after them," she said.

    "Oh, please, if anything like this happens, just let us do this job, thest time you broke too many buildings, it was a mess to solve all that," the first guard said.

    "Right, go get yourself seated I''ll get you your meal, free of charge since you helped me out today," Lua said.

    "Thank you kindly," the guard said.

    And surprisingly he was polite and very considerate of her. Even if he was wearing the Water King''s robes.

    I didn''t even need to ask who is the boss around here because it clearly looked like a big woman with serious anger issues.

    "Get these scums downstairs, I''m feeling a bit too stressed out today, I''ll need to vent a bit," she spoke to no one in particr, but immediately, two young kids came rushing from inside the kitchen and dragged the two unfortunate fools down to god knows where.

    "Well, guess that Lua is going to be having some fun today, we should probably hurry and leave, the screams of her victims are very memorable, nightmare stuff you really don''t wanna hear those." Jing said grinning.

    I didn''t want to argue and stood up to leave.

    The two of us left and just as we took the first step, a soul-wrenching scream echoed from below the inn.

    "Holy crap¡­"

    "Yep, like I said you really don''t wanna piss her off or try and scam her, anyway, let''s go get you prepped up shall we?" he said

    "After you," I replied and followed the happy-go-lucky man under the screams of two unfortunate fools who dearly regretted not paying for their food.

 Chapter 264: The First Trial

    <h4>Chapter 264: The First Trial</h4>

    "Where are we going?" I asked Xiao Feng as we moved through dark alleys, and run-down the backstreets of Chun Lun.

    "You''ll see when we get there," he said.

    Soon we arrived in front of a closed door. It belonged to a house that didn''t seem to be well maintained.

    Xiao Feng knocked on the door and soon a hand came from behind the closed door. He then handed the person a pouch, and the door opened up for us.

    We both walked in and I failed to find the person who opened the door.

    "Don''t try to find them, unless they want to be seen, you won''t see them," Xiao Feng said.

    A little bit of a bad omen came to from his words, I was feeling slightly out of my depth in this ce, but I had to give him a bit of ck, he didn''t appear to be holding any malice. And worst-case scenario, if shit goes awry, I can just flush everyone out with ungodly amounts of poison.

    The two of us went down a dark flight of stairs until we arrived at the bottom of what seemed to be the main floor of this building.

    There were no other people around besides an old woman that was hunched over in front of a small desk, writing something under the flickering light of a dying candle.

    "Grandma¡­" Xiao Feng spoke but he was silenced before he could finish.

    "This one is far too weak, are you sure about this, Xiao Lang?" the old woman said.

    "Just information, nothing more," Xiao Feng said.

    "Humpf, you grew soft, Xiao Feng. No matter, here," the old woman said and handed him a piece of paper.

    He took the piece of paper, read through it and said, "Seriously, again?" he said.

    "Well, I''m not the one who do the tests, now, leave, I''ll have more customers soon," she said.

    "Right, follow me," Xiao Feng said, and I did. This time we didn''t go back the same stairs, but went through another entrance that got us into a different street.

    A back door.

    "What''s that?" I asked.

    "People who bring information, they''re pretty expensive, but reliable. Anyway, apparently this time''s test is a bit annoying," he said.

    "What, you have an idea on what it is?" I asked.

    "Yes, it''s the same as thest couple of times. A race, a very dangerous race," He said.

    "Race¡­ that''s not very fair is it, I mean, with people of higher cultivation level wouldn''t the race be in their favor?" I asked.

    Xiao Feng shook his head.

    "This race isn''t about cultivation level, it''s more about control, and managing situations. All, cultivators will be given a shuttle that they''ll use, the objective is probably going to be the same as always. You''ll need to collect a set amount of gs, one from each city, and once you arrive to the end, you''ll be rated on your speed," he said.

    "Seems simple enough, but¡­I think it''s not going to be as simple as you said it will be," I said.

    "Care to exin your reasoning?" said Xiao Feng.

    "Well¡­ are fights allowed?" I asked.

    "Yes, killing the opponent is not though," he said.

    "Is it possible to rob someone''s gs?" I asked.

    "Now you''re thinking like a real cultivator, yes," he said.

    "Then, what''s the point in racing if for example an ascendant can just wait at the finishing line and just rob you of your gs?" I asked.

    "You''ll be given a bracelet that will limit your cultivation level to that of a soul Formation Cultivator, though it''s already too high for you, it''s far easier to escape the hunt of another Soul Formation cultivator since the shuttle moves at higher speed than a Soul Formation cultivator. Also, every cultivator is limited by the time they can spend outside their shuttle, so if someone tries to leave their pod and hunt you, you can change direction and have them decide between risking being disqualified chasing after something they can''t catch, or hop in on his own pod and chase after you," he said.

    I thought about what Xiao Feng said, and decided that it was actually not so bad. As far as the shuttle is fast enough to out speed another cultivator, I''ll just need to stay inside it, and make sure to avoid all trouble, but the test is probably meant for people who face troubles head on. Seems like an interesting trial.

    "The test is going to start in a couple days, you should be prepared. I''ll give you the run about on the shuttles if they use the same as the ones fromst time, I''ll have a manual on how to drive it and use it. It''s annoying at first but once you get used to it you should be more than capable of contending with people at higher cultivation stages." Xiao Feng said.

    "Right, that will be pretty helpful," I said, "Thank you," I said.

    "I''ll need to pull a few strings to get the manuals, for now go and rest up back at the Golden Carp, I''ll take care of your expenses. Wait for me there," he said.

    I parted ways with Xiao Feng and headed back to the inn, apparently, I didn''t even need to ask the inn owner, as Feng already told her I''ll be staying in.

    She handed me the keys to a room where I''ll be staying and pointed me to the direction.

    I went upstairs and locked the room behind me. I also made sure to check the room for any spying devices or any random thing that I could find, but after going through the room several times, I didn''t find anything.

    I made sure to have an inscription to block divine sense from spying on me before I sat cross legged and began checking up on my body.

    Truth to be told, I was dreading this.

    And the moment I saw the damage I had, I felt even more remorseful, but at the same time I was pretty thankful for the fact that I still survived the battle against a half step ascendant.

    It wasn''t easy by any means, and a lot of luck involved in it, still I survived. However the damage was too much, and two days of rest are not enough to repair this.

    However, every step to recovery starts slowly.

    I began by eating a few pills and slowly peered inside my body checking the damage and slowly guiding the poison Qi to repair the ruptured spiritual veins.

    The process was going to take an absurd amount of time, especially with just pills.

    I do have a way to heal up, but the more I think about it, the more I dread it. The Hand of the White gue. A cursed hand that can suck out the life of anything that touches and renders it into power for the owner, something dreadful from the vile spells of the Poison God. Yet the more I think about using this thing, the more I know I shouldn''t.

    Healing naturally is the best and I''ll slowly do so.

    I continued on repairing my spiritual veins, and focused on slowly filling the ''holes'' that were causing most of the Poison Qi I was gathering to seep away from me like if I was a bucket full of holes.

    I still can''t however ignore the elephant in the room. Looking even deeper into my body, my Nascent Soul looked like it was about to wither and die. I filled it up with so much foreign Qi that it almost burst apart. And now it looked like a sorry excuse of a living soul, desperately trying to grasp at life.

    Strangely so, I should be feeling excruciating pain from having my soul damaged. Yet nothing of the sorts happened. So I was thankful for that.

    Bit by bit the healing process took more time than I was expecting and two days flew by in a blink.

    I heard a knock on my door and it was Xiao Feng.

    "Shen Bao, are you ready?" he asked.

    I stood up, and undid the Divine Sense inscription, and said, "Yes."

    I opened the door to a slightly frowning Xiao Feng.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "I have to admit, though I took a bet on you since you have nothing to lose and will do all it took to get a spot in the academy¡­ I never would have thought that your achievement in the path of Inscription and Formation were this great. I''m stunned to say the least." He said.

    "Oh, the divine sense blocking formation? Yeah, that''s just some basic stuff, I don''t want people peeking on me," I said.

    "Well, anyway, let''s head out, here take a look at this," he said and handed me a couple pieces of paper.

    They were diagrams of a pod that worked on Qi. They called this a shuttle but it was more like a pod.

    This seems rather interesting I mumbled as I read through the diagram.

 Chapter 265: Faster and more furious

    <h4>Chapter 265: Faster and more furious</h4>

    The steering system however was a bit annoying, it required extreme precision in using one''s Qi to guide and steer this thing. Anyone without a diagram will have a hard time driving this thing and will need to take a while before they understand how to move this thing.

    I continued reading through the diagram and was more and more vexed at the properties of such a shuttle. It had so many unnecessary little things that just make this thing more of a chore to drive than an actual racing shuttle.

    The two of us moved forward until we arrived at a massive opening, outside the city. I couldn''t even sense the time or distance we moved as I was so absorbed in reading through the manual.

    "I would probably hide that now," Xiao Feng said.

    "Oh, right," I said and hid it away.

    "There is no need to be so wary about it, most people here have something like this, it''s not allowed but at the same time, the academy looks the other way when ites to things like this. Procuring information is also a part of this test, just don''t make it tant," Xiao Feng said.

    "Right," I said and looked around.

    In front of the city was this enormous opening where about a few thousand shuttles were all ced in it. the number of participants however was far more than the shuttles. This meant one thing, this will be a race to get to a shuttle, it''s not going to be simple.

    "I can''t go beyond this ce," Xiao Feng said.

    And looking under me there was a massive line that seemed to separate people in two.

    Xiao Feng didn''t cross it.

    "Only people with the Academy''s token can move through this line. Anyway, you''ll have to rush to the nearest shuttle if someone takes the one that you have your eyes on, don''t fight them, and go to another one you''ll have to hurry," he said.

    "Okay, I got the gist of that," I replied.

    Looking around, I saw even more people funneling into the area. Soon came a few guards and a man with an oppressive feeling surrounding him.

    He wore full purple robes and had a magnificent symbol printed on the back of his robe, it was two dragons surrounding an empty throne, braided in gold.

    "I guess this is the purple robe you''re talking about," I said.

    "Yes. Now go, it''s going to begin soon," Xiao Feng said.

    I then moved away from Xiao Feng and stood in wait along with a massive crowd.

    It took a couple of hours before the man in purple robes spoke.

    "Wee to the Heavenly Academy''s First Test!" the man said, "No need to make this any longer, get to your shuttles!" the old man said.

    There was no prep no pep talk nothing, it was just, go!

    And I took advantage of that since most people were still registering what the man had said.

    I teleported immediately, there was no need to run, and ced a hand on a shuttle.

    I was a fraction of a second faster than another cultivator who touched the shuttle right after me.

    The token inside my robes vibrated but I was too busy with something else to think about that.

    Looking into her eyes, I was momentarily stunned, there was someone as beautiful as this in this world?

    The woman scowled and huffed then turned and teleported away.

    I was a bit surprised as she didn''t even fight against me but realized why immediately after, the moment I touched the shuttle, it was bound to me, and no one else can move it or take it.

    The token I had had already registered the shuttle as mine and no one is going to bother with taking it away from me.

    The ss on the bullet-looking shuttle opened up for me to slide in, and just as I sat inside it closed back on me.

    Hundreds of shuttles took off, and hundred more followed after, while many cultivators were desperately trying to take other shuttles for themselves.

    I waved my hand to manifest the steering inscription only to realize a grave error I seem to have overlooked¡­

    I can''t move this thing¡­

    It needs Heavenly Qi¡­and I have Poison Qi.

    ¡­

    Well..

    This is going to suck.

    Looking around, the people around me seemed to be disappearing bit by bit, and some were too annoyed at the fact that I got a pod and they didn''t, and I still couldn''t move it.

    "Shit!" I cursed.

    "Shen Bao what''s wrong?!" asked Xiao Feng.

    "Issue with the vehicle," I said.

    Sooner than I thought, someone knocked on the ss of my pod.

    "You seem to be struggling. What''s the matter? Almost everyone took off, and a lot of people are not finding it enjoyable that you took a spot and can''t even drive this," the purple-robed man said.

    I looked him in the eyes and said, "Can I do modifications on the vehicle?" I said.

    "Do whatever you like, but you must use your issued vehicle to arrive at the facilities, you cannot use any external tools, or additional equipment you brought with you however, still doing modifications on the vehicle will only take a lot of your time," the man in purple said.

    "Right, how about rewriting some inscriptions and using spirit stones?" I asked.

    "Spirit stones? I don''t know what you''re trying to do, but if its only to the limit of touching on inscriptions and using spirit stones¡­ then knock yourself out, don''t add anything else, especially not saint Qi, not that the machine will even function using Saint Qi, but it is unfair to the rest," he said.

    "Okay, good enough for me," I grinned and pulled a brush from my pouch and then began by deleting everything written on the board.

    This made the purple-robed man perplexed.

    "You want to lose that badly?" he questioned.

    "I have my ways, you can watch if you like," I said.

    Then began rewriting inscriptions with a speed so fast that smoke began rising with every stroke.

    I made sure to implement gravitational and spatialw in my inscriptions to apply even moreplexmands that can be executed using simple maneuvers.

    I continued working on the machine for what seemed to be hours. Several other cultivators already gave up on me even moving from my spot, and manyined that I didn''t deserve the pod. However I continued working, and for some reason, the man in purple robes was too focused on me to even bother with the other people''s nagging and whinging.

    The people who took off before me had probably already reached their first destination. With a few more to go, while I''m still stuck on the starting line.

    Xiao Feng sent me even more desperate divine messages, to try and move the vehicle, and even asked if my pod was working or was actually damaged. Only to have the test administrators admonish him for thinking that they''ll actually present a defective machine to the contestants.

    I was actually feeling sorry for him since I couldn''t fully exin my situation to him. But it''s okay I''ll make this work.

    Soon, when the sun was about toe down, and more than six hours had gone by, I was finally done inscribing the full formation needed to have this damn coffin move.

    I then took a carving tool and stabbed a hole into the center of the steering wheel. Which looked like a barbaric thing to do after I had made a pretty schrly presentation of myself writing inscriptions like a godly being.

    "Xiao Feng, care to spare a few Top-Grade spirit stones?" I asked through divine sense.

    "Euhh, yeah¡­how much? Though I doubt that will be of any help bribing the administrators."

    "No, no brine, I just need about a hundred," I said.

    "Huh, just that, okay," he said.

    Soon a pouch came flying towards my pod from beyond the line, I was impressed with the precision of his throw.

    "What is that?" asked the purple-robed man.

    "Few spirit stones, you can check yourself," I said after I handed him the pouch.

    Once he inspected the pouch and scuffed at the lowly amount of Top Grade Spirit Stones in them, he shrugged, "What are you going to do with that?" he asked.

    "Oh, batteries," I said.

    The word was probably strange to him, but my next words were more than enough to have him shocked.

    "Move a bit to the side, the kick is gonna be strong," I said as I lowered the pod''s ss.

    I then stamped the elerator, and the whole pod roiled and groaned like a beast that has been asleep for far too long and was rudely awakened.

    "CYA AT THE FINISH LINE!" I shouted, then the whole pod sted forward like a torpedo on steroids.

    The dust it created behind it was enough to blind anyone who was close to the point of impact.

    But I won''t be taking the me for that I already notified him to back away a bit.

    The speed was incredible, though nothingparable to my hoverboard, this thing was ungodly fast.

    I broke the sound barrier in less than two seconds and was already flying at several Mach Speed.

    With this speed, I''m more than able to recoup the time difference.

    Bitches, better move aside, Shen Bao ising in hot!

 Chapter 266: The Grand Race

    <h4>Chapter 266: The Grand Race</h4>

    As I was sting forward like a shooting star, I took out a small jade that was embedded on the side of the pod.

    I ced it against my head and a map of the locations I needed to visit showed up in front of me.

    First things first, I needed to get to a nearby city called White Winds.

    The city is not that far away, and with my current speed, I should arrive in less than three hours.

    Considering the fact that I was about half a day worth ofte, I''m d that I can catch up thanks to the improvements I added on my pod. Though I''m very concerned about the durability of this flying coffin after upgrading it.

    It was made so that it can harness the cultivator''s Qi and use it to power through the terrain with the thought of limiting the Qi so that no one with an incredible cultivation base can abuse it. However, for me, I''m using Top Grade Spirit stones which will help in powering this thing disregarding its fragility.

    If I were to be hit, it''ll create a dent, and if I were to get attacked while flying at this speed, a coffin is probably the best description of this tool of death I''m flying in.

    My speed was definitely not evenparable to when I used the hoverboard, but this was still very fast.

    I continued tracking the map which I memorized and flew through the night skies.

    It was a lonely and quiet flight, minus the sound of the pod sting through the wind and clouds. But it felt a bit quiet.

    And since I didn''t have anything else to do, and I have already set the autopilot to follow a certain destination, I made sure to exploit the free time I had to its fullest.

    I began by channeling my own poison Qi, healing up the wounds that I was unable to heal back before. The few hours I have left before arriving at the first city won''t be much in healing, but at least I can fix a few veins.

    And I did just that, making sure to keep track of my location lest I fall into a trance, and at the same time I was actively healing my wounds.

    I couldn''t do much to my Nascent Soul and the damage on it, but for the rest, and especially my ruptured spiritual veins, I began by staunching the leakage.

    Starting from my arms, I slowly repaired, vein per vein as I went up from the palms of my hands, up to my wrist.

    There were a lot of spiritual veins in the hand area, mostly the veins used to emit the cultivator''s Qi. And they were the mostplicated to fix and also the ones with the most damage.

    I couldn''t even feel time as I barely was about ten percent done when my pod began slowing down.

    In the distance, a fully lit city was grad and magnificent in size, resting on the top of a massive cliff overlooking a steep ocean.

    The city itself wasn''t the most impressive, but it was a giant ring that seemed to be hosting houses and people, in the middle of it.

    I got closer and noticed a cultivator waving a red re.

    I approached the cultivator who said, "You''re pretty slow, do you wish to give up?" he asked.

    I shook my head.

    "Good, here is your g, your next destination is White Reeds across theke. You''ll get your next g there, good luck," he said.

    "How long ago was it, since another participant departed?" I asked.

    "About three hours, give or take," he said.

    Good, I''m making progress, I already cut half the time needed, but the slowest cultivator isn''t a definitive judgment of my speed.

    I took the first g, thanked him, and checked the map.

    I needed to continue moving forward. The White Reeds city is across what apparently seemed to be ake, which looked like a damn ocean.

    I sted my pod forward and shot into the depth of the night, flying low this time since it seemed that test wasn''t just a test of speed.

    There seemed to be some sort of jellyfish that can float above thiske, and thankfully at night, you can see them glowing.

    I couldn''t use maximum speed, in case I crash into one of these jellyfish, contact at high speeds will make something even as soft as a jellyfish as hard as concrete.

    Dashing, dodging, and maneuvering through the massive hoards of jellyfish was a tall order.

    They were just too many of them, and they didn''t seem to have an end, their purpose was to not only slow people down but to outright eliminate them from thepetition if one were to move too rashly into them.

    Thankfully, the concentration of these jellyfish is far too focused the higher you go above sea level, so I was right in going low and moving at just a few meters aboveke level.

    My pod sted above theke waters, splitting the water in two and creating rippling waves that parted away, creating a magnificent wave in my wake that continued on moving all over the calmke, ruining the calmness of theke.

    I continued actively dodging the few jellyfish that were in my way, but I knew for a fact that I can''t avoid everything. So a few of them made contact with my pod rattling it with every hit.

    I must slow down, but if I do, I''ll end up even more dyed.

    I grit my teeth and continued on. The damage on my pod would have been far more severe if I flew higher, so I''m thankful for that, but this doesn''t mean that this pod will survive more of this crap.

    Suddenly, something huge came out of theke, and here and then I knew that I was blessed by the gods.

    What appeared from theke was a jellyfish that would make the one-eyed Kraken look like a toddler in front of it. But I managed to somehow move right between a few of its legs.

    Looking at the massive creature, I noticed that it had a couple of dozen pods embedded into its jelly form.

    They were pods of participants that were ambushed and captured by this creature.

    I sted my pod to maximum output and flew away dodging an iing grab from the massive jellyfish and thankfully was out of danger in no time.

    From then onwards, the concentration of the jellyfish grew less and less, until none of them were in the atmosphere anymore.

    I pulled up my pod and flew higher than sea level, to gain the most of my speed.

    I soon was able to see the shore and flew past it at incredible speed.

    There was still a long distance to cross before getting to White Reeds, and I had nothing but time.

    Looking at the open prairies in front of me and theck of any creatures or monsters was a good respite. I took advantage of it and continued healing my wounds.

    After a couple of hours of flight, I noticed that my overall speed began decreasing.

    I was still far from the next city, but I knew what''s the reason for this.

    I immediately pulled the now dim-looking Top Grade Spirit Stone and ced another one instead.

    The first spirit stone had several cracks on it, and with a mere squeeze, it turned to dust.

    I still have a hundred more, and they''ll be more than enough tost me through the race, hopefully.

    Sooner than I thought, I realized that in the distance, there was something other than the stars.

    It was the thruster of another pod.

    But for some reason, it seemed far too slow.

    And the thruster on it seemed to be flickering on and out.

    As I got closer I realized what this was, it was someone who crossed theke, but received heavy damage on his way, recklessly crossing theke, causing his pod to take ungodly amounts of damage.

    Bents and cracks were all over the pod, and sludge and slime on the bodies of jellyfish painted the pod in a disgusting color.

    The cultivator seemed to be frustrated at me for overtaking him, he even opened his pod and decided to attack me with a spiritual sword wave. Only for it to die out never able to reach me.

    This pissed me off but woke me up to a very ugly reality. People will attack me if I get too close, there is no such thing as a safe race. This is a race to get admitted to the Heavenly Academy, and if you can take down thepetition by just one, you''ll have a chance at being admitted.

    I ignored the petty cultivator and continued my way forward.

    It didn''t take time before I arrived at the next city, and luckily for me. It seems that I was doing some really good progress.

 Chapter 267: Into The Gorge

    <h4>Chapter 267: Into The Gorge</h4>

    I got the second g and took note that I was about only an hour or so from thest person who left.

    Before I took off to the next city, however, I got out of the pod, and made a quick check on the state of the pod. Deeming it still in good shape, I only tweaked a few formations to decrease wind resistance then hopped back on.

    This looked strange to the person who handed me the g since I was probably the only one who checked on the state of my vehicle. The rest took their gs and sped out.

    Though I lost a few precious minutes, I felt better when I realized that I could still further push this pod.

    I then moved forward sting towards the next city, White Peaks.

    It seems that these are the first three cities we''ll need to cross, and they will be the first phase of the race. Three White Cities, Three Red Cities, and one ck city, as the final destination.

    Continuing on from White Reeds, we''ll be entering a cial area. This was slightly a problem. From the look of things, and how cold the weather was getting, this area was in a snowstorm. Snow sucks, it makes the engine cold, it makes the cultivator cold and it makes Qi expenditure a nightmare.

    Welp, not for me, I''m not using a bit of my own Qi, unlike most cultivators who''ll need to moderate the Qi they''re supplementing to their pods, and the bit they leave for themselves I only need to put in more Top Grade Spirit stones into the furnace.

    My pod moved fast through the colder region of the area until the rain, soon to be hail, then the snow began falling.

    The hail was the biggest problem, it came down at very annoying speeds and was like throwing a lot of annoying little pebbles at my pod. And I could hear every single one of them snapping against the hard metallic frame of the pod.

    The situation began turning for the worst when snow began to fall mixed in with hail, vision became zero and I had to rely on divine sense to navigate.

    Thankfully I''m able to see a pretty good distance using divine sense, though the advantage of this will be far greater for people with a higher cultivation stage, for whatever reason, my soul power is pretty OP, I can already check a dozen kilometer worth of distance in front of me. Though I cross more than a kilometer in distance every couple of seconds, I''m still able to track and trace the general area I''m in and keep in mind the now protruding rocks that came out of nowhere.

    With this I''m able to take advantage of divine sense and decide on the best course I should take.

    And within my divine sense, I spotted several pods, that crashed into hills and small rocks that looked like they came out of nowhere. I could already guess what happened.

    Most cultivators who crashed had probably a very low cultivation level. They forced themselves to elerate, but since the cold was too much for them, they split their focus between keeping themselves warm and fast, only to end up not giving their divine sense a lot of love, making them crash into rocks that they could have avoided if they focused more of their energy on divine sense.

    Gotta do everything in moderation guys, better feel a bit cold than dead.

    I continued sting my way through the cold areas and met with several other crashed pods, and even spotted a few who were far too off the track, apparently lost or maybe they decided to take a path that wasn''t on the map, not that I''ll me them, the area ahead of me began feeling far colder than I could take normally.

    But.

    I snapped my finger and the Veridian Heart me lit up from my finger melting away all the coldness.

    An alchemist is pretty advantageous in cold and hot areas.

    I didn''t stop nor waver and continued going and ended up meeting another person on my path forward, he too was dodging nicely but he seemed to be preferring safety over. Speed.

    Suddenly a divine sense message went into my head as I bypassed that man.

    "Fellow cultivator, you should slow down, it''ll only get worse from here onwards."

    Though I don''t know how ''genuine'' his warning was¡­ I still replied.

    "Thank you for your advice, but if I were you, I''d steer to the left," I said.

    It took a few seconds before another divine sense message came to my head.

    "T-thank you!" he said, "I didn''t even notice that a boulder was there," he said.

    "Good, pay attention and good luck, I''ll head out first!" I said and shed forward since I didn''t ''see'' any more obstructions in front of me.

    But soon began the worst part of this damn journey.

    From the map, I was able to realize something. There was a very, very, big mountain up ahead. There were two ways to go on about it. Either take the cave at the center of the mountain. Or go around it.

    No one but a raving mad man would dare enter the cave, since it was barely enough for a few pods to fly throughfortably, it was a death trap if one were to take a bad turn, and death inside that cave is a no brainer.

    However, taking the ''safer'' path around the mountain was bound to make people lose an hour or so worth of flight time.

    But since I was already damnte.

    I decided that I might as well be a raving crazed man.

    I moved forward and dipped down, as the entrance to the cave was at the bottom of a cliff.

    My pod''s velocity against the uprising wind from the cliff caused a loud screaming sound to echo through the area.

    I then adjusted my speed, slowed the pod, and broke my speed from a frontal nose dive into a ny-degree stop, only to st my pod''s thrusters once again and dash into the wide opening that weed me into the depths of the mountain like the mouth of a giant weing food.

    I spread my divine sense as fast as I could, and made sure to slow down, but not to aplete crawl I was still rtively fast as I moved through the cave''s tunnel.

    And lo and behold, as I see in front of me reasons to make me think that I alone was not the only raving crazed man.

    Many podsy crashed with the cultivators inside them, dead or dying, or heavily wounded, crashed up against walls they couldn''t pivot or dodge in time.

    I moved through the cave and thankfully none of the cultivators were dumb enough to assault me here.

    Since there were obviously a lot of other ''Witnesses''.

    Attacking apetitor is not against the rules, but with my speed, being attacked means my death, and killing cultivators in this is a very serious crime. They can sabotage me, but doing so here is a ticket straight to the executioner''s stage.

    I continued moving through the cave making sharp turns and twists. Thanks to the upgraded inscriptions I took six hours to input, I was masterfully maneuvering this thing even in such tight corridors.

    The cave was by no means easy to drive into, but it was thankfully wide enough to allow for quick and fast-witted adjustments to my course.

    There were other cultivators that crashed up ahead, but the further I went the less I would see. And at some point, there were no more pods crashed up.

    I spread my divine sense forward and sensed that there was a person up ahead of me, with a perfectly hale and healthy body, but a destroyed pod never the less.

    "Dare and do something, and I''ll end you!" I spoke through divine sense. It wasn''t much of a threat especially since I realized that he was a Soul Formation cultivator. But the fact that I noticed him first, contacted him first, and the fact that he couldn''t even sense my cultivation base made him speak the words.

    "Worry not fellow cultivator I''m just resting and I''ll be giving up the race soon," he spoke.

    I snorted in contempt at his words, but it was more than enough to abate any hostile thoughts he had about me.

    I sted my pod next to him and moved with incredible speed that he was left stunned at how could a person even dare and move at such speeds inside the tunnel.

    But I could see that in front of me was a straight line without any sharp turns all the way to the exit of the mountain.

    I moved up ahead and soon was out into the open air, sting my way forward from the suffocating mountain and into the open snowfields.

    I should arrive to the next city in a bit. A few hours at most, and by using this tunnel I should have already saved some time and caught up to the stragglers of the race.

    Though I might not have had the best start, after only three cities, I''m feeling that I''m already back in the race. And after three more, who knows I might even be vying for the top positions.

 Chapter 268: The Swamps

    <h4>Chapter 268: The Swamps</h4>

    (Note, sorry I missed to mention that the cities that Shen Bao will need to cross are actually ten, instead of just seven, three white, three blue, three red, and one ck.)

    My arrival at White Peaks was pretty uneventful, however, there was something interesting that I''ve seen here. There were a few dozen pods here, damaged up, and in desperate need of repairs.

    The cultivators who knew that they didn''t have a shot after their pods were damaged so heavily already gave up, but many tried their best to fix the damage and plug the holes in their pods with whatever tool they could find.

    I couldn''t waste time here, so I headed out immediately after I got the third white g, and now my next destination is to the south, where I''ll be needing to get the first blue g. In Blue Shallows.

    A city situated at the peripheric of a massive swamp area. The whole second phase of the race will be in the Great Quagmire. It was full of beasts and all manners of nasty creatures.

    The pod is supposedly capable of out speeding anything in the testing area, but being ambushed is something the cultivators will need to watch out for.

    Yet there was something very good about this area, the final city, Blue Toad City, which is the best possible area where I could make the besteback in this race.

    It''s an area full of poisonous fog, traveling through it for any other cultivator will mean consuming an ungodly amount of healing pills and using a lot of Qi to protect themselves. Speed is really useless there since the faster one goes there the more they consume of their Qi, as for me. It''s like a heaven specifically made for me.

    I moved through the cold mountain areas as fast as I could and sped up as fast as I could, I even had to rece the Top Grade Spirit Stone a couple of times over the passage. But I still had more than enough to get by.

    Soon, I crossed over the cier region and began entering the quagmire region.

    It was full of low hanging trees, still froze, since they were this close to the ice area but the atmosphere was starting the warm up the more I went into the quagmire area.

    Though I would have been able to move far faster above the trees, it was not possible. The skies above the quagmire were packed full of an incredible swarm of mosquitos. Not the annoying ones that bother you at night, no these ones were at least a few tens of feetrge. And they can literally suck a person dry. Not to mention they have an incredible sound attack that could cause distortion.

    And a sight I saw was enough to force me against any thought of going above the trees.

    As I looked up a few ''brave'' cultivators decided to go above tree level only to have several dozen mosquitos shrike at their pods, destabilizing them in the air and at the same time slowing the pods down.

    Several mosquitos rushed against the pods andnded against them with enough power, that the slim looking feet of these mosquitos made visible dents on contact. Then came the coup de grace. As the mosquitos pierced through the metallic armor of the pods with their noses like if the metal was nothing more than skin.

    The mosquito took one second, not even more, to pierce, suck and then fly away with a full belly of blood.

    The pods dropped to the ground and I could see through divine sense that nothing but bones and a dry skin was all that was left of those two cultivators.

    Any other cultivator with a peanut for a brain would realize that trying to do the same shit was dumb and they all dove down and continued navigating through the trees that were heavily covering the area.

    These low hanging trees were not low per say, they were still massive in size but their leaves were toorge and hung like drapes over the entirety of the swamp. Making crossing through them a very dangerous task as not only were the leaves thick, they were hard.

    Which I understood the moment an idiot tried to pass through them, only to have his pod crash into the leaves as if they were made of concrete.

    I decided against doing anything reckless for now, and continued navigating alongside more and more cultivators who seemed to be stuck in this swamp.

    They all moved at rtively slow speeds, while I didn''t really care much for them, I had to also slow down. Since I can''t pinpoint the exact path I needed to take for now.

    However, after using my divine sense to explore the area, one of the pods, unlike all the others, seemed to be moving at a rtively rxed pace, moving through paths that didn''t look like they would lead anywhere only to continue moving after ''conveniently'' finding passages where one shouldn''t be able to move.

    I increased my speed and followed after the pod, which caught a lot of cultivators by surprise since I was a mad man speeding through the thickets of the swamp, unaware of the dangers it held.

    My passage through the swamp continued until was close to the pod, and once I got there, the pod began increasing its speed.

    It then took a turn which I didn''t expect, and was moving right toward a massive low hanging tree branches.

    I frowned, since if it were to keep going there, the pod will crash, however against all expectations, the pod made it right through the leaves without a hitch.

    ''Oh, now I get it,'' I grinned and followed after the pod.

    Once I went through the leaves I discovered a long path forward that didn''t have a single branch or tree blocking it. and the pod I was following had already increased its speed and was going full st forward.

    "So he knows a shortcut, thank you for helping me," I grinned, and followed after making sure not to make it too obvious that I was following.

    It didn''t take much time following this path before I was already out of the swamp.

    And just as I was out, a divine sense message came to me.

    "You really are shameless," spoke the voice of a woman.

    Turning to the right, I was a bit surprised, "Oh, it''s you fromst time." I said.

    "Humph, I''m surprised you made it this far, didn''t have a very dyed start at first?" she asked.

    "Yes, a problem happened, I fixed it though. Seems like you have a map, would you mind sharing it?" I asked though I didn''t expect her to agree, it was worth taking a shot to confirm the existence of a map.

    "Huh? Why should I share it with you?" she said.

    ''Good, now I know there is a map, a map that enables you to see secret areas, paths and shortcuts.''

    "Consider it a favor that I''ll repayter," I said.

    "Humph, no," she said and then elerated.

    Well, I wasn''t expecting much, but its okay. Afterall, the next city is very close.

    I didn''t try and speed up this time, I needed to see if she would take any other paths first or will go straight towards the next city. And obviously so, she didn''t take any other strange paths and continued going forward.

    She arrived and left the city after taking her g, and so did I. However, right after leaving Blue Swamps, more shit is going to start appearing.

    Blue Dusk city, which is situated further down the swamp area. Around the middle. It''s a city full of strong cultivators and powerful people, due to one fact. Only the strong can navigate through the Great Quagmire and get there. It''s a hub for a lot of cultivators, and a good ce to find good treasures and stuff like that. It was chosen as a location of the test to make cultivators risk dangers to find treasures.

    Or so I believe.

    However, there is one little thing that I don''t like about that area.

    It''s that it''s covered with thick fog, so thick you can''t even see your hand in front of you.

    Navigation will rely heavily on a cultivator''s divine sense, however, at the same time, this isn''t the only issue. Otherwise, it would have been no different than the ice area.

    The worst thing about getting to Blue Dusk city were the ghosts.

    Yes, fucking, ghosts.

    And the best way to invite a ghost over for a chat and some tea inside your sea of consciousness is to release your divine sense.

    This part is obviously to test the mental fortitude of cultivators. As weak ones will get possessed, while strong ones will prevail.

    So, let''s see, with my damaged Nascent Soul, will I be able to navigate through this hellish area

 Chapter 269: Spooky Swamps

    <h4>Chapter 269: Spooky Swamps</h4>

    I moved rapidly before I would reach the fog area, since I''ll probably be forced to slow down for quite a bit, I might as well get there faster and win some minutes.

    The girl who moved ahead of me was nowhere to be seen, not that I could see her in this thick fog area nor will I risk spreading my divine sense too far.

    I would have been confident in my soul ability if my Nascent Soul wasn''t this heavily damaged. However, I still don''t understand the full meaning of a damaged Nascent Soul and how it will impact me if I''m under the effect of possession.

    So I might as well not take any great risks.

    I slowly retracted my divine sense to a few hundred meters in front of me and moved in rtive slowness through this area.

    The path didn''t seem to be tooplicated as before, it was still full of trees, but not much. There were many paths to go forward and it didn''t look as packed as before.

    I headed forward slowly but warily. Making sure to spread my Divine Sense and retract it the moment I sensed something out of the ordinary.

    Though most of what I sensed were creatures that lived in the swamp, I still retained my carefulness.

    Soon I began sensing the presence of more pods ahead. It seemed like it''s a group of cultivators that are working together.

    I received a divine sense message immediately.

    "Fellow Cultivator, do you mind joining us?" he asked.

    "What for?" I asked.

    "We''re going to travel up ahead, as a group, we''ll be stronger together," he said.

    "What do you mean?"

    "We devised a n to have us rotate using our divine sense in exploring the area, we''ll be led by one person at a time until we arrive at the Blue Dusk City," He said.

    To bepletely honest, his idea isn''t bad. It''s pretty smart, the fact that they can rotate divine sense means that they could easily lower the chances of them being possessed. At the same time, it will spread the danger instead of having everyone count on themselves.

    "I''ll have to refuse, sorry, I work alone," I said.

    "Ah, it''s unfortunate then," he said and soon I bypassed them, and headed forward.

    The fact that I didn''t want to join them was pretty simple. Like hell, if I would trust anyone here.

    Wouldn''t it be oh so easy for the one who is leading the group to just lead them to a trap? A cultivator with a good Divine Sense control can easily detect a group of wandering ghosts and would be more than capable of leading the whole group right into the middle of this ghost group.

    Though I might sound paranoid, I was actually convinced of something from the girl I met before. Most people here know of the trials on this test. And I wouldn''t be surprised if someone hade prepared with a tool to protect themselves from the ghosts here, and at the same time, he could lead the rest to their deaths and obtain a lot of benefits from their corpses.

    I''m not trusting anyone whoes at me with goodwill.

    Though it might sound hypocritical since I ''trusted'' Xiao Feng, I actually still am extremely wary of his reason. Though I will not decline his assistance and sponsorship of my trial. I will definitely not bepletely swayed to his cause until I''mpletely sure of his motives.

    For now, I''ll work alone, though it''s risky I''ll be responsible for my own life and actions, instead of relying on someone else.

    I increased my speed and bypassed the group of cultivators that were behind me. Not a whileter, the atmosphere''s temperature dropped massively.

    ''Here ites,'' I mumbled.

    There was nothing in my divine sense radius, and before I could even retract it.

    I saw it, something that would make any man have shivers running down their spine fromplete surprise, and fear.

    Two ghostly hands, far too beautiful, like those of a maiden, spread from behind me, and slowly crept up my own arms then a face of a woman, appeared right next to my own face, cheek to cheek.

    She didn''t speak or utter a word, but her hands grasped my hands from above and she spoke, in an oh so sweet voice, "Die for me."

    Her words, as if spoken by the mouth of a goddess would make anyone do her bidding.

    But¡­

    "Euh, how about no?" I spoke, calmly as I could.

    The beautiful maiden was no more, and the slim slick hands turned to those of a baleful crooked arm of a banshee.

    Her disposition changed from that of a fair maiden to a wretched ghost of nightmares. And then she screamed.

    So loud my ears felt like they were about to burst.

    "Fucking bitch, shut the fuck down!" I cursed as I swatted away the arms. Which, for some reason felt physical more than ethereal.

    She then spun and faced me her face close to my face, with teeth so damn sharp, twisted and rot infested.

    "You should brush your teeth more often," I said.

    She probably didn''t like the joke as she immediately dove into me.

    Yet, to both my and her surprise.

    She found herself inside my sea of consciousness, and as she looked up to the weakened Nascent Soul, grinning with satisfaction at a prey captured.

    My own Nascent Soul opened its eyes, the frail Nascent Soul that would have perished at the passing of a breeze, opened its eyes, showing two feral feline eyes¡­ no, more like serpentine eyes.

    A long, sleek tongue appeared from my Nascent Soul''s mouth, it licked its lips and the Nascent Soul disappeared.

    Appearing behind the ghost who was more than stupefied of the current scenario. My nascent Soul opened its mouth wide and sucked the baleful banshee inside it without hesitation.

    The massive damage, wounds, and cuts on my Nascent Soul seemed to be repairing, although slowly, it was still a significant improvement to its state. It looked like it was healing.

    "Hoo," surprised I gasped.

    This ce¡­isn''t a danger zone. No, this is a fucking treasure trove!

    I grinned, and against all-wise and carefulness of any cultivator here.

    I spread my divine sense explosively around me. A feast for every ghost around me, my divine sense was like a beacon, beckoning everything around me a moving prey, for everything toe and feast on. An open invitation to a body they can possess and use.

    In doing so, a couple of things happened.

    First, I managed to get a good grasp of my surrounding. The group that was behind me was also included in my divine sense, and it proved that my paranoia was right.

    Only one of the people there was alive. He had a talisman around him that blocked off the ghosts that were surrounding him while he leisurely pocketed the belonging of the dead cultivators next to him.

    The second was. The girl from before was actually far up ahead of me and seemed to be struggling against a group of ghosts that were following her.

    And finally, once my massive divine sense spread to its limit, all the ghosts, whatever the shit they were doing stopped and looked in my general direction.

    And thus, a massive turmoil appeared as the entirety of the fog around me began spinning out of control, and instead of the stable thick fog that covered the area, it looked like a cyclone was about to manifest.

    Ghosts, so many of them, of dead cultivators all funneled forward towards this blissful meal. Why wouldn''t they, it was an open invitation. And their movement was enough to cause the fog to spin alongside them.

    They came, with extremely huge numbers at me.

    ''Shit, I think I overdid it a bit,'' I frowned, since the moment I realized how much shit I pulled towards me, I might have slightly peed my pants.

    Several of the ghostsing towards me weren''t at the level of the banshee from before, oh no. There were actually souls of beasts and even a low-tier earth dragon.

    Shit.

 Chapter 270: Soul Harvest

    <h4>Chapter 270: Soul Harvest</h4>

    A moment before I could even withdraw my divine sense, I heard.

    "Idiot! Now you''ll just die!" she spoke, and then took off.

    Huh, that''s not how you should thank someone who saved your life¡­

    While I was desperately drawing my divine sense in case I would pull something even worse than the crap I already called, many ghosts had already arrived at my pod.

    One, two, ten, and hundreds, of ghosts, began funneling right into my body. As if I was a sink sucking in all the unwholesome evilness of the world to me.

    My current predicament was visible to many cultivators who passed me by, thankful for my ''idiocy'' at pulling the aggro of almost every unholy creature in this area.

    Cold sweat drenched my body as I was spasming like I was in the middle of a seizure.

    My consciousness was pulled into my sea of consciousness were the same fog from outside began manifesting within my sea of consciousness.

    What would happen would be easy to predict if this was a normal situation.

    The ghosts will infest this sea of consciousness and only the strongest will take control and possess this body. And eventually, eject or consume all the weak ghosts here.

    From what I''ve sensed due to the divine sense from earlier, I could already guess who the strongest soul was here. It would be the low tier earth dragon. However he has yet to enter here, and is still on his way.

    For someone with such a big soul power, it would be a shame to invite him here where it''s still too shabby looking. I mean a good guest needs a clean guest room, right?

    And thus, my soul, no, my Nascent Soul began work.

    A wide grin spread across my ethereal mini-me and it dove after the ghosts that wanted to eat it.

    Prey became a hunter, and the ghosts that wanted to consume the Nascent Soul were surprised by the opposite happening.

    My Nascent Soul opened its mouth wide and chomped on the closest ghost, consuming it in a single bite.

    Then it went after the second. Third and fourth.

    It didn''t take much time for the rest of the trapped ghosts to realize that they have been actually led into a trap.

    And thus, a massacre was issued with a single preparator and thousands of victims.

    There was a traditional saying I heard when I was back on earth. Entering a Public Bath isn''t the same as leaving it. It might sound corny, but it is a perfect scenario here.

    You don''t enter a situation like this and expect to leave the same. Here, in a world where I am basically god, all that enters is at my mercy, and for ghosts that want to possess me, my mercy is foundcking.

    Death, a true death happened upon anything that my Nascent Soulid eyes on. And as a bonus, the wounds on it healed up, and retrospectively, my physical and spiritual wounds were healing at an incredibly rapid pace.

    It came to me at first, that I was doing the same thing I did before with the Half Step Ascendant Cultivator, however, I realized a big difference immediately.

    Then, I tried to consume his Qi, his spiritual energy, something that I, as a vessel, a lowly Nascent Soul was incredibly unfit to consume.

    I suffered major vessel and bodily damage. My spiritual veins and Poison Meridians received incredible damage from trying to take his Qi. It was so unbearable that my Nascent Soul bloated and almost blew up.

    A Nascent Soul uses Qi to grow, however, at the end of the day, it is a ''Soul'' so the best nutrition to it isn''t Qi, but Souls themselves.

    And here, I could have a feast.

    Yet, wouldn''t I blow up the same as before from trying to take too much?

    The answer was clear as day.

    No.

    For some unknown reason, my Soul Power, somethingpletely different than Nascent Soul, was absurdly powerful.

    I don''t know why, nor do Ipletely understand the reason. But it was the same thing that enabled me to leave the Domain of Zhang Tian, the son of one of the four kings, a power beyond power, someone who can decimate entires with his mere divine sense.

    And I didn''t even struggle to leave his domain, all thanks to my stupidly overpowered Soul Power.

    Where does ite from? I have not a single clue. However, what I do know is. My Soul Power is so broken, that I''ll never be possessed, no. More like, I cannot be possessed. Perhaps it is something I gained when I transmigrated or reincarnated here in this world. But it is here with me.

    And for this very reason, my Nascent Soul was eating the souls of the ghosts and growing incredibly strong at a disgustingly fast pace.

    My body''s condition began turning for the better at every passing moment. And the souls that were entering my body couldn''t leave, whatever that came only died forever.

    And then just as the whole area was cleared out of ghosts, something powerful managed to shove itself into my body.

    A massive dragon, incrediblyrge, almostparable to the dragon that came from the gauntlets I received had manifested in my sea of consciousness.

    It looked around, clearly diforted.

    My Nascent Soul stood alone in front of the massive dragon right above the wide green sea.

    Behind my Nascent Soul was the water fortress.

    But no machinery was moving, the armada was on standby because I didn''t need them here. They''ll only cause damage to the massive dragon''s soul.

    I don''t want to eat damaged food.

    Standing in front of the Dragon, neither of the two moved.

    But the dragon muttered, "Strange¡­where are the other souls. Nevertheless, if you had taken care of them, it would be less of a hassle for me to kick them out. Be honored for this dragon is about to consume you and use your body to revive again!" the dragon spoke oh so arrogantly.

    Just as it opened its mouth, my Soul moved up and hovered in front of the dragon, grinning.

    "You! Dragonkin!" was the shocked dragon''s words before my Soul opened up its mouth and began sucking the literal life out of him.

    The dragon desperately tried to struggle as it realized that it wasn''t a fluke and that all the ghosts that entered before him were nowhere to be seen, it was because they were already consumed.

    "STOP!" the dragon shouted.

    But nothing was going to stop that Nascent Soul.

    The dragon struggled, to escape but it was already caught. It tried to fight back, but every blow it tried to deliver using its destructive-looking talons met incredible resistance once they hit the nascent soul.

    It was like trying to hit a rock with an egg.

    A prey can never harm a predator.

    And thus, the dragon struggled, shot dragon breath, tried to sh and slice and the Nascent Soul only for it to fail, and every blow delivered was became weaker and weaker. Resulting in a whimpering soul that was consumed entirely.

    The majesty of a dragon, oh, so easily broken thanks to a soul.

    Immediately after the dragon was consumed. My nascent soul seemed to writhe in pain.

    This was a bit strange, but immediately afterward I realized why it didn''t pain from consuming the souls. But evolution.

    Something that I had absolutely no idea about how it happened or why it is happening. My Nascent Soul began gaining a different attribute. At first, it was subtle, the eyes and the tongue were a clear giveaway. But now it was obvious.

    The skin on the Soul, if that is even a possible thing to have, began turning to scales.

    My Nascent Soul was transforming, and for some reason, I didn''t like it.

    The pain it was suffering was so much that even my own overpowered soul power began feeling it.

    What the fuck is going on? I panicked.

    However, I didn''t need to worry much, as immediately afterward the Nascent Soul took a deep breath and the scales on it subsided. Leaving it back to the way it was earlier.

    The Serpentinian eyes were still there, but there were no scales. And now, no more wounds. The soul floated up and went all the way to the main tower of the city, the sat on the ''throne''.

    It closed its eyes and entered meditation, to digest all the souls it has eaten.

    I opened my eye back in my pod. And anywhere I looked, was empty, not even the fog remained.

    There were no more souls around me. However, I didn''t take in all of them, in the distance away from me there was still fog. I apparently consumed all the souls that my divine sense had been able to pull in, it was however nothing but a drop in the bucket for this region. Thankfully I didn''t take in more than necessary, not for the fact that I couldn''t consume it all, but it would be very suspicious if no more souls remain here in this testing area.

    I then took my pod and dove forward.

    I apparently lost more time here than I should have. Which sucks but it''s good I gained some benefits.

    After all, my wounds havepletely healed up and I was overflowing with energy.

    I reced the almost broken Top Grade Spirit stone and flew forward.

    I needed to gain more time, and the best spot to do so is right after this region. Once I hit the Poison Swamps, I''ll be in a morefortable situation.

 Chapter 271: A Bet

    <h4>Chapter 271: A Bet</h4>

    With the path ahead clear of ghosts, and the terrain free of all obstructions, I pressed the elerator and surged forward with maximum speed. Which of course was incredibly faster than regr pods.

    With this power, I was able to cross vast distances in no time and was able to even ignore and bypass a few cultivators who seemed pretty happy about the ghosts disappearing from the area.

    Not that it was going tost for a long time. My divine sense range isn''t as great as to cover the whole ghostly region, so once the fogless area is over, they''ll be forced to slow down again.

    And it came soon.

    Once again I entered through the fog, however, for some reason not a single ghost came at me. They were terrified because they seem to know what had happened.

    I moved undisturbed, using my divine sense to scan the area, and continued moving about.

    Still, a few ghosts, thinking that they were strong enough to invade my consciousness tried to take a bite off of me. Only to end up captured and transformed into Nascent Soul food.

    A few hourster, I managed to arrive at the second city, Blue Dusk City.

    Once I arrived, I was stopped from immediately leaving.

    "Wait, take this," one of the cultivators who handed the gs gave me a small ring.

    "Use that well, good luck," he said.

    I took the ring and inspected it. It had several pills in it, all of them were poison repelling pills. For me, these were poison, and among the pills was a map.

    "Thank you," I said.

    I didn''t need this, none of it was helpful to me.

    So I just headed out fast.

    I had to rece the Top Grade Spirit stone and moved ahead. Though I checked the map for information, only to realize that if I were to follow the ''safest'' path on it, it''ll only take far longer for me to get to thest blue city, Baleful Swamps City.

    So, I went ahead and drove off into the distance.

    The baleful swamp area was a bit far ahead but you could easily ''sense'' it the closer you approach. Trees seemed to be bing scarcer and scarcer the further I moved forward, and even among the many cultivators who were moving about, I was still carefully navigating through.

    I needed to make sure of something before I would use maximum speed.

    Soon, there were no more hanging trees, and it became all swats of swamps and disgusting smelling rancid water pools. The stench was one thing, the worst was the creatures. Frogs and snakes were normal in any swamp, but not these.

    Frogs and toads the size of elephants moved about as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And before I could even notice, the wind exploded as one of the cultivators ahead had his podpletely shattered, as a massive tongue snapped around his pod, crushing it along with his body.

    The blood from the cultivator painted the pod red, as the tongue retracted into the gullet of a Toad.

    The creature leisurely croaked after it had swallowed the cultivator in an instant. This was pretty dangerous. The creature here are stupidly strong.

    The test made sure to make the pods faster than any creature in the test, but not faster than their attacks. The toads here were the first real test, and everyone needed to be wary about their fast tongues.

    I rushed ahead, making sure to have my divine sense spread out. Only to find out that another danger was soon to present itself in front of me.

    A smander came out from the bottom of a rancid pool, it too was also as big as the frogs, it opened its mouth and let loose a thick poisonous fog towards me and a few other cultivators.

    I immediately realized what type of breath this was, it was a paralyzing smoke, once inhaled or interacted with, it''ll cause the cultivator to have their body freeze up.

    A few slow cultivators immediately crashed after being in contact with the poison, only to have the smander gobble up their pods whole.

    I and a few other cultivators weren''t affected. Mainly because I was impervious to such poisons, while they had already eaten a pill from the ring handed to them.

    I continued moving, making sure to avoid the ''gaze'' of the toads. Because the smanders weren''t a problem for me, the toads were.

    I avoided a few tonguesing my way with the skin of my teeth, just because I decided to pivot away the moment I came in contact with any of the frogs'' sight.

    And my judgment was correct, my immediate reaction helped me dodge their tongues as I avoided them before they even were released.

    And I continued doing so, while many cultivators fell prey to these creatures.

    And guess what, this area was considered safe.

    Soon after my continuous dodges of death, I arrived at a point where I had to make a choice.

    Take the right path or the left.

    The left is more or less safe and safe as it''s full of these frogs and smanders. The right one is a ''dead'' zone as the map says.

    Going there is probably dead. Yet, the right side was faster as it was a direct line towards the next city.

    While the other path needed me to do a long half-circle before reaching it.

    I took the shortcut. And I wasn''t the only one who did so, many cultivators were moving ahead of me deciding to risk it all and get to the next city faster.

    I moved rapidly through the dangerous swamps and soon came to the realization of why this ce was dangerous.

    In the distance, there was a great valley that I needed to cross, and from the depth of the valley came a screech so loud that it caused the souls of any cultivator to shake when heard.

    A magnificent, majestic, and extremely huge scorpion was nestled, with all six legs imnted on the walls of the great valley.

    Any cultivator that wanted to go through the valley had to go past this scorpion.

    And it wasn''t easy.

    I could feel it, many cultivators had actually decided to stop and wait, for someone brave or stupid to go beyond the valley, but they couldn''t wait for long.

    I approached the group and stopped, noticing that among the cultivator was the same woman from before.

    "Yo," I said.

    Once she turned to look at me, she had a surprised look on her face, "How the hell did you survive that? You''re not possessed are you?" she asked with a mix of concern and astonishment.

    "Fairy Yu, do you know this man?" one of the cultivators asked.

    "No, but I have to admit his recklessness saved me, so I owe him," she said.

    "You don''t owe me anything, it was just a coincidence that what I did ended up helping you, I didn''t intend it," I said.

    I didn''t want to mix in with these people, it seems that they were from the same sect as they wore the same robes. But introducing myself to their ''beauty'' is a clich¨¦ among clich¨¦s which will only bring me trouble.

    "Nevertheless, it was thanks to you that I survived, I don''t like being owed, here," she said as she handed me a ring.

    I looked through it and realized that it had half of the anti-poison pills. If I didn''t know better I''d say she want me to die. I can''t use these.

    I smiled, "Thank you, but these are useless to me," I threw them back.

    "You! You dare rejectdy Yu''s favor! Do you want to die!" the same cultivator who was fawning over her said.

    I scoffed at his tant attempt at making me look like the bad guy and said, "I don''t like picking up and collecting trash," I said.

    "Trash?!" the man''s eyes almost popped out. "You call thedy''s favor trash! Anyone would be thankful to have more Anti-Poison pills in this god-forsakennd, she gave you some of her own pills only to call her favor trash! Do you want to die!" he said.

    I grinned at his face and decided not to answer back, the best way to deal with these people was to ignore them. make them ''mald''. (It''s a trendy term, not a real word, meaning-making someone rages almost ''malding'' from wrath)

    "You guys look like you''re stuck and can''t move," I said as I ced my hand over my hand as if trying to squeeze a look towards the scorpion.

    "You!" the man said.

    "Stop," Yu spoke.

    "What''s your name?" she asked.

    "I don''t tell my name to strangers," I said.

    She frowned at me and said, "My name is Yu Liang," she said.

    "Mine is Shen Bao, an interesting name you have, Bright Smile, good name, but you seem to be frowning more than smiling," I said.

    "There is nothing to smile about in this situation," she said.

    "True, you''re stuck and can''t move forward, and going back to take the longer path is even worse since it will only take longer to get to the end zone."

    "What would you know," the same pesky cultivator spoke, "If you want to go back no one is stopping you, leave," he said shooing me away with his hand.

    "I don''t like the sound of barking dogs who can''t do shit," I said.

    "Anyway, I''m going on ahead," I said.

    "Wait, you can''t go, that thing will kill you, it''s a Third Rank tier beast, unless you''re a half step ascendant you can''t beat it," she said.

    "Just leave him fairy Yu, he''s just talking shit," the cultivator next to her said.

    "There is no need to waste your life there, Shen Bao," she said.

    "Who said I''ll waste my life, I can easily go past it," I said.

    "Stop boasting! If you really have the ability then show us, words mean nothing," the same cultivator spoke again.

    And he was starting to get on my nerves.

    "How about we make a bet?" I asked.

 Chapter 272: A Dangerous Bet

    <h4>Chapter 272: A Dangerous Bet</h4>

    "Bet?"

    "Yes, a bet, if I manage to go past the scorpion, you''ll hand me half of your Top Grade Spirit stones," I spoke.

    "Hah, the bbering of a dead man, what would I gain from this if you die!" he said.

    "Hmm, how about this," I said as I manifested a Saint Qi crystal in my hand. It was a small one, the one I used to cultivate the nts and spiritual herbs inside the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    It wasn''t as big as it was before since a lot of the habitants of Lucid Springs were using it. But it was still a treasure trove.

    The greed in all of the cultivator''s eyes grew wide.

    And then I realized I might have fucked up a bit, I thought that Saint Qi crystals would be abundant even on this so it wouldn''t have brought that much attention but I was sorely mistaken

    This is a mistake that I shouldn''t have done.

    Should I just kill them all¡­

    The thought crossed my mind and I immediately shook it off. I''m not some mass murderer, I fucked up, that''s true so I''ll have to make sure to fix it. However, it wasn''t for no reason.

    "Here, you can hold on to it," I said.

    It was to Yu Liang, I''m not some third-rate novel character looking for a love interest in such a cheesy, way, but I needed something from this woman. So getting her favor and being on her good side is a bonus.

    "Are you sure about this?" she said.

    "Yes, I am," I said.

    She then ced it inside her holding bag and said, "Aren''t you afraid that I could just leave with this Saint Crystal, it isn''t something you find on the ground," she said.

    "You can do that, but I doubt you''ll steal it. Your Holy Water Pce Sect won''t agree to it, right?" I said.

    Of course, I could recognize her sect from the emblem on her robes, and I needed their favor, for a manual that I had obtained and now need the rest of.

    The Holy Water Pce sect is the one that created the Golden Scripture. The Doppelganger technique. She was from that sect and seemed to be of a high position in the sect. Since her robes had a darker shade of red than the other cultivators around her.

    The golden scripture art isn''t something simple, and gaining more understanding of that cultivation technique will allow me to create even more doppelgangers to aid me in fight, and even have the ability to transposition between them as if they were my own avatars. However, I''ll need the higher parts of this scripture.

    "Right, you seem to know of our sect, then it is safe in my hands until you seed or fail. Good luck," she said.

    "I''d also rmend that you follow me, I''ll create an opening that you can use to escape, it''ll only be for a moment. I won''t help you a second time," I said.

    "You seem confident," she said. "But you''re very reckless in thinking you can beat something like that," she said.

    "Who said anything about beating it," I smiled. "Also, that same reckless man saved you before," I said. "Anyway, I''ll head out first, this is thest time I''ll ask you to follow me," I said.

    Then stepped back into my pod.

    Once I was on my pod, I reced the top grade spirit stone and made sure I was ready.

    I then headed out first leaving the rest behind me arguing if I would be able to do what I promised I would do.

    Many of them decided against following a stranger to the jaws of death, but surprisingly she followed after me.

    "I guess you''re very brave, or very reckless trusting a stranger," I said.

    "There is nothing I would lose form following you, I can easily retreat if your n doesn''t work. Not to mention we''ve been stuck for a while here," she said.

    "Right then, you won''t regret this," I said.

    A few of the other fanatics or probably some of her fan club followed after her. Yet the majority remained away. Among them the guy who I made the bet with.

    Once we approached the scorpion, she spoke to me, "Are you sure about this!" she asked.

    "Don''t worry," I said and then I opened the ss from my pod.

    "Go," I said.

    And immediately, X manifested from the Lord of Lord''s pagoda and shot forward towards the scorpion.

    X was not capable of wounding the beast, but he was fast enough to do something for me.

    After sting his Qi reactor to the max, he then pulled out one of my incendiary rocketunchers and shot it forward.

    A dozen rockets flew up and then came down against the scorpion, there was no chance in hell that explosions like those would harm it, in a matter of fact it''ll only make it pissed off.

    And that''s what I was aiming for.

    The scorpion, angered by the prickling explosions screeched once again, and it was then that it realized it fucked up.

    It had released its Qi, and among the many poisons I have in my rockets was the Breath Sealing Poison.

    The Breath Sealing poison worked the best against humans but it also had an effect against beasts.

    This paralyzed the great scorpion and allowed us to pass right above it with ease.

    The look on Yu Liang was memorable, as her face was stunned and her mouth was wide open.

    She then rushed up ahead.

    Behind her, the group that trusted her followed after, while the ones that doubted were still far behind.

    "Suppress your Qi and only let the power of inertia push you forward," I warned.

    She understood and did as told, stopping her own Qi from leaving her body and only using the inertia to push her away from the scorpion and the poison''s range.

    Soon, the guys that were at the back noticing the paralyzed scorpion hurried into their pods and rushed up ahead.

    But like I said, I''ll only buy a moment, and I can''t do it again.

    The scorpion began to gain control over his body.

    The first to go through the poison and the scorpion was the same person I made a bet with, while the rest desperately tried to hurry past the scorpion.

    Many died as the scorpion''s rage made it screech releasing a powerful qi wave that repelled both cultivators and the poison away from it.

    Several cultivators managed to escape though, but a majority of the ''none believers'' just died.

    And the worse has yet toe.

    "I''d advise that we should start moving," I said.

    "Wait, mypanions!" she said as she looked back.

    The ones who were slow didn''t stop their Qi emission and were affected by my breath sealing poison.

    They started falling like flies.

    "I already warned them to not bete," I said.

    However there was one guy that I had to ''save,''.

    I left my pod, teleported towards him, and grabbed him.

    Just as I left my pod however my token began making a ticking sound.

    I can''t stay away from my pod for a long time apparently.

    I grabbed the man and teleported him away.

    Some of the cultivators next to him were smart and fast enough to use a few treasures to release the Breath Sealing poison and escape, while others struggled to even move a muscle. This guy was among the strugglers.

    Once I pulled him away, he began shouting, "MY POD! I have to return to my pod!" he said.

    "Well gotta pay me first," I said as I took his pouch.

    Surprise overwhelmed me when I realized that he had about ten thousand Top Grade Spirit Stone, I took half like I promised and left him there.

    Then teleported back to my pod, making the token shut up.

    "You''re very ruthless and greedy," Yu Liang said.

    "He preferred going back to his pod rather than escape death, his life is now depending on his luck, I only took what was mine," I said and then rushed ahead.

    For some reason, however, the fucking scorpion ignored him and came after us, stabbing his massive legs into the rocks like they were made of butter.

    "We better rush ahead," I said.

    And then I took, off.

 Chapter 273: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 273: Arrival</h4>

    We escaped as fast as we could from the iing disaster. There was no hesitation in any of the group, they knew for a fact that slowing down or making any unnecessary movements besides speeding forward would mean instant death.

    Their pods were fast, fast enough to out-speed the iing scorpion, but that only applied in open terrain. The area we were in was a slightly wide valley but it had a lot of curves and turns to it.

    And far above in the skies were great crows that would definitely find it enjoyable to feast on cultivators who tried to escape by going above the valley.

    The crows were fast, and agile, even if they weren''t as fast as the pods, if they notice any of using up, they''ll intercept, they won''t bother the scorpion in his domain but once we go to theirs, it will be even harder to flee.

    We curved to the right, I was the first to manage this sharp drift without crashing against the wall. Yu Liang slowed down first, and she noticed that one of her fellow cultivators wasn''t decreasing his speed as he tried to mimic my feat.

    "NO! SLOW DOWN!" she shouted.

    But the cultivator wasn''t too keen on listening to her, no with the great scorpion following after us.

    So he tried to drift the same only to make it slightly short, he grazed the side of his pod against a rock.

    Usually that wouldn''t have damaged the pod enough to cause any problem, but at the speed he was going with, it was enough to destabilize his pod and it went haywire shing against a wall. His life ended before he knew it.

    Yu Liang cursed and I could hear her, as she pivoted and followed after me speeding through the valley.

    The rest of her group, eight of the cultivators were desperately running away from the creature, they knew they shouldn''t increase their speed in the uing turn. If they were too fast they''ll die, if they were too slow they will die.

    "Consider this a favor," I said to her then added. "X, slow it down," I mumbled.

    The puppet that was making a steady flight next to me flew up and went back towards the turn, just as the cultivators were slowing down for the curve, and the massive scorpion was about to pounce on them.

    X stopped in mid air, pointed both arms forward where the hands dropped down, revealing his wrists.

    Inside his wrists were two rounds. One in each arm, they pointed towards the scorpion and shot forward with enough explosiveness that X himself was rattled back from it.

    The rounds on his hands weren''t simple. They weren''t explosive rounds, poisonous or even incendiary.

    They were two rounds made from meteorite steel, the same steel I used to make Y''s swords.

    Inside these rounds were a High Grade Spirite Stone each, though they would have been far better and more powerful if I had used a Top Grade spirit stone, but when I made those rounds I didn''t have top Grade Spirit Stones.

    Still, they''re more than enough, because I didn''t need to kill the scorpion.

    The rounds shot forward at zing speed.

    The scorpion, realizing that it was about to be attacked covered its face with its two massive pincers.

    The two rounds made a deafening contact sound against the Scorpion''s pincers, enough to stagger it back for a moment.

    The moment was more than precious for the cultivators to take, as they sped up and went by the curve. Escaping as fast as they could from the now wrathful scorpion.

    The two rounds were not much in destructive damage, they however had a secondary function.

    X flew back towards me, and I pulled him into the Lord of Lords pagoda for him to restock. I didn''t need him anymore. Because he already achieved his objective.

    "Thank you for your help, but I don''t think things have been solved," she said.

    Apparently, the cultivators following Yu Liang weren''t too proficient in using the pod, they didn''t manage it as exelently as Yu Liang did.

    It was also a part of the test, the pods were fast, but were only fast if one could drive them well. For people with low proficiency it was still hard to guide them properly not to mention being able to fully use their power.

    "Don''t worry about that, something interesting will happen now," I said then I snapped my fingers enabling the second part of the rounds''s purpose.

    The rounds in themselves were not powerful, they only had a very sharp ''head''.

    This head was made from meteorite steel, and it was shaped slightly differently than a normal bullet''s head.

    It had the head of a drill, and once the snap of my fingers sounded, it released the second function of the drill rounds.

    The High Grade Spirit Stone shone bright, giving their full power to the rounds, the mechanic within the round activated, fueling the meteorite steel with Qi making it heavier and sturdier.

    Then it began. A slow but steady grind, a spin, then a full sting swirl of the round''s head, causing the two bullets that were stuck against the pincers to dig in deep.

    ck blood spewed out from the scorpion''s pincers as it staggered forward, screeching in agonized pain.

    Blood sttered and sshed from the pincers, causing the scorpion to rattle in ce as it smashed at the walls of the great valley. Pain blinded the scorpion, as it started to literally bury itself alive from pain.

    The rocks from the valley continued falling down at the scorpion as it caused an earthquake.

    It didn''t take much time for it''s rattling to subside, and for the scorpion to stop moving.

    I knew for a fact that it isn''t dead. The rounds were killer rounds, but they would work wonderfully against great beings, the pain they can cause was enough to fry any creature''s nervous system.

    I should also add a poison function to those rounds. I can''t make many since I don''t have a lot of Meteorite steel left. But I should probably procure more just for this fact. The debut of the Drill Round was a perfect sess.

    I continued moving up and ahead, before I heard her speak.

    "Shen Bao, can you stop for a moment," she said.

    I did as asked, and we stopped.

    The rest of her group followed suit, and they all stopped.

    They had an antagonistic view of me when we first met, but now that I saved their lives it was different.

    I also don''t suppose they''ll be mentioning the fact that I took that guy''s top grade spirit stones. It was my right.

    "Here," she said as she handed me the Saint Qi crystal back.

    "I hereby swear to not reveal the presence of such treasure. If I break this promise may heavens punish me," she spoke an oath.

    The rest of the cultivators understood what she meant and they all swore the same oath.

    "You should take care of your treasures. Anyway, I can''t thank you enough for your help. If it weren''t for you, we''d still be stuck there, or maybe if we risked our lives we might have died."

    "No need for thanks," I said.

    Before I was about to add to my sentence, she pulled something from her bag, and said.

    "Here, you mentioned you wanted a map. This is to repay this kindness," she said.

    ''This turned out better than expected.''

    "Thank you, this will be helpful, then, you wouldn''t mind if I were to head out first," I said once I inspected the contents of the map.

    "Yes," she politely nodded.

    I stepped back into my pod, now with a map of all the secret paths and shortcuts, I should be able to shorten the distance between me and the top rankers.

    I slowly increased my speed, and just as I was far enough, I shoved another Top Grade Spirit stone, and sted my engine to maximum input.

    I didn''t really need to bother with overworking my pod now, after all the next city is a checkpoint that we needed to stay in.

    It marks the halfway of the race and almost all cultivators will have to stay there for a day.

    It was an interesting city, it was like a pit-stop, only it would record everyone''s arrival time and release them the next day in same period of arrival.

    So, people who arrived for example at the breaking of dawn will be able to rest move at the next morning at the same time period.

    So, it was imperative to arrive fast to leave even faster.

 Chapter 274: You Cant Fix This

    <h4>Chapter 274: You Can''t Fix This</h4>

    I flew through the open terrains, even through the thick poisonous fog and deadly quagmire creatures I was undefeated. I was in my element, and soon was able to see a few cultivators that had taken the longer path. I moved past them at blinding speed and made even more distance. Continuing ahead while checking the map.

    There didn''t seem to be any other shortcuts ahead until we reach the red cities.

    Looking at the map again I realized the cruelty of this race.

    There was actually one shortcut, it was very dangerous, and very deadly, and would seempletely useless to take.

    Thest three red cities, all cultivators needed to take gs from to pass, but there was a condition in the race, you only need to have all the gs, that doesn''t mean that you need to have your gs.

    So, people who were brave enough to venture through this arderous, and dangerous path, could reach the ck city in less than six hours, while it would take going through the three red cities a full day.

    They could take that path, and then ambush those who went through the cities for their g. It was a huge risk but the rewards were great. That path was for the desperate, those who couldn''t be up ahead in the race, their final chance to gain a footing. But the risk was still big.

    I didn''t need to go through that path, with my speed, I''m more than sure that I can make it to the top ces to qualify for the second test. So, I didn''t pay it much attention.

    A few hourster, I made it to the final city, Baleful Swamp City. It was situated at the rims of the swamp, once I arrived there I got my g and my token was registerd.

    "Your time is registered on the token, your pod won''t function until the next morning, at the same time period. If you try and cheat, you will be disqualified," the man that handeled me the g said.

    Meaning, that I shouldn''t touch the pod''s system.

    "My pod is damaged though, I need to fix it," I said.

    "We''ll have a few inscribers fix the pod for you, you don''t need to worry," he said.

    "Ah, that might be a problem," I said.

    The man frowned at me saying, "What do you mean a problem? You doubt the quality of our inscribers?"

    "No, I didn''t say that. But¡­"

    "Listen up here, don''t make me repeat myself, I said an inscriber will fix it, he will fix it!" the man said.

    "Can I wait here until the repairs are done, then?" I asked.

    "Do as you wish, anyway another group of arrivals will soon arrive, stand to the side, you don''t want anyone to crash into you," the man said and waved to a few of the people who wereing here.

    Just as the first arrived he looked around, scoffed when he saw me and then asked the man, "What''s my rank?" he said.

    "You''re eight hundred and seven," he said.

    The man made raised a fist! "Yes, I''m still in the top one thousand."

    "Can you repair this for me, I''ll go and rest up," the cultivator said as he deposited his pod.

    "Hump, you got here faster, but don''t ck off, tomorrow I''ll overtake you!" he said.

    I didn''t even know who this guy was though.

    Soon a man wearing a blue robe came over.

    It was the same robe of the heavenly academy.

    "Humph, you''re the person who imed I wouldn''t be able to fix your pod? Aren''t you too arrogant? This pod was made by the Heavenly academy, we know every bit, nook and cranny of it, we''re professionals. No matter the damage we can fix it, don''t look down on us too much, you don''t have the qualifications yet!" the man said.

    He was angry.

    "Right then, I''ll leave you to it," I said

    "Hah, there are many other pods here, why should I even fix yours first," the man said.

    It was obvious this guy was trying to ''put me in my ce''.

    "I''ll leave that pod forst, just to teach you a lesson," he said.

    Then ignored my pod and began working on others.

    Now this was an annoying problem, I wanted to leave for now and go and rest up, I could even see a massive inn where the cultivators who arrived would go to and rest up, while I had to stay here because this idiot is too proud to even take a look at my pod first before speaking those words.

    "Shouldn''t you go by order, I arrived before that man," I said.

    "I''ll do what I see fit! You''re not a member of the heavenly academy, you don''t get to order me around!" he said.

    This was vexing me, but I couldn''t do much, I waited and waited, for a long, long time. But that man looked like he was taking his sweet time on purpose, I was about to ignore him and start fixing my own pod before another arrival came.

    Looking to the side, it was Yu Liang.

    She frowned, "How long have you been here?" she asked.

    "I arrived just a bit earlier, you were fast," I said smiling.

    She asked about her ranking and was thankful that she made it among the first thousand.

    "You should rest, tomorrow''s journey will be very hard," she said.

    "Don''t worry about me, I''ll get there soon," I replied.

    Once she deposited her pod and her group''s pod. The old man in blue robes seemed a bit annoyed.

    He actually had to work faster now.

    He didn''t take more than a few seconds to finish up the first guy''s pod, then was about to start working on my pod, and scuffed at me.

    Then he headed to Yu Liang''s pod to fix and the rest of her cultivators.

    I was getting annoyed by this man and said, "You know what," I said.

    The man looked at me, waiting for me to ''plead and beg'' for him to fix my pod.

    "If you find it difficult to fix my pod,e and call me, okay?" I grinned then left.

    I didn''t need to bother with him, there were a few issues with my pod, mainly the body, and I needed to reapply a few inscriptions that have worn out due to the Top Grade Spirit Stone usage. It would take me roughly half an hour to fix. But I know something for a fact, this man was breaking the rules by arbitrarily fixing pods out of order, so if there is a problem I can easily report it to the higher ups for a punishment.

    "Hmph, scram out of here and let me do my work, damn rookie," he said andpletely ignored me.

    I didn''t care much, because I know for a fact, that soon someone wille begging.

    I headed towards the inn and was surprised that the size of the inn''s interior was massivelyrgepared to the outside. It had several floors and was boisterous.

    I went towards an empty table in the corner and sat down. I deserved some rest for now. Looking around, I saw many groups of cultivators sitting and having delicious-looking meals, enjoying their time, and talking about the events of the race vividly.

    Looking around, I saw several cultivators homing around Yu Liang and parsing her for arriving among the top one thousand.

    It didn''t take much for many other cultivators to arrive, they each took a different table. More people arrivedter and the inn seemed to never be crowded enough.

    A young girl came over and asked me what I wish to order, and after taking a look at the menu, I just ordered a strong drink and the chef''s rmendation.

    It didn''t take a long time before someone entered the room, and I was surprised to see him there.

    It was the same guy that I took half of his top-grade spirit stones. How the heck did he survive? I wondered.

    Then I remembered that the scorpion actually was too pissed about me to even care about this guy, and he must have managed to temporarily fix his pod ande over here, or maybe even carry it over while moving to this ce. It didn''t matter to me though.

    The man looked at my direction and was about to say something before another presence washed over the whole inn.

    A man in purple appeared right out of nowhere, it was the same person who issued the start of the race. He looked at all of us and said, "Congrattions for making it all this far. However, don''t feel too pretentious that you made it here and think you can take a spot among the first one thousand. Many upsets could happen in a race, don''t bex and do your best."

    His words were nice. And I appreciated him speaking.

    He then suddenly turned and our eyes met.

    A look of surprise was clear on his face, I mean I was half a day dyed at the start, and seeing me here was not something he expected.

    I smiled at him and lightly nodded.

    "Hmm, it seems this year''s race is going to be interesting, all of you do your best." I hope to see you all at the finish line.

    He then disappeared out of nowhere, it wasn''t teleportation, no it was as if he simply ceased to exist.

    I was a bit worried about his words since many cultivators noticed him looking at me before he spoke hisst words.

    I ignored the gaze of the cultivators in the room and continued my meal, that''s when I remembered that guy, I looked around but he was nowhere to be found.

    I ignored him for now, there was no need to look for trouble.

    Sooner thanter, a man entered the inn in a rush, he looked around fanatically until he found me. He was wearing a blue robe.

    I grinned at him.

    He then rushed ahead, forehead full of sweat, and said, "You monster! You want my hide! What the hell are you?!"

    Well, this was a bit unexpected. But this man''s words and his robes were more than enough to pull everyone''s attention back at me.

    "What, you said you can fix it," I said as I slowly drank from the jug. "Why aren''t you fixing it?" I said.

    "That! That''s clearly cheating!" he said.

    "The man in purple said it was allowed, I didn''t cheat or anything, the changes I did were within the permissions," I calmly replied.

    The man was sweating buckets.

    I could even understand what went on, he probably realized that I modified the pod too much, and the stuff he know wasn''t enough to fix it.

    And from the panicking look on his face, it seems that the man in purple, who was surprised at my arrival paid him a visit after finding me here.

    "What did the man in purple say it was cheating?" I asked.

    "N-no¡­" he said.

    "Then fix it," I said.

    "I-I can''t that''s not something I could fix," he admitted.

    "Good, now apologize, only once you apologize will I personally fix it," I spoke.

    And this was enough to make everyone in the inn''s eyes bulge.

    A rookie, nothing but a candidate was forcing a blue robe to apologize¡­

    This was going to be fun.

 Chapter 275: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 275: Ambush</h4>

    The man''s pride was too high, and I knew for a fact that he had no other option but to apologize. If the man in purple knew of what happened between us, it could probably be this guy''s head that will roll on the ground.

    Just as he was about to speak.

    "Stop," I said, "I was just joking, mistakes happen. I''ll go and fix it myself, you can tag alone if you wish," I said.

    The man''s eyes brightened up. It was of course two birds with one stone.

    The first was the fact that I showed magnanimousness and didn''t force him to apologize in front of everyone, gaining favor towards him. The second was the fact that I''m going to allow him to see how I inscribe which for most inscribers was a great boon to their knowledge.

    "Follow me," I said as I stood up.

    I didn''t need to make enemies, especially from the Heavenly Academy. It will only hamper my progress, and having allies is good, you can never know when someone might end up helping you. And it''s good to sow some good karma.

    I stood up from my table, paid my dues, and walked outside.

    The man in blue hurried after me and said, "Thank you for not making it difficult," he said.

    "No worries."

    We both walked silently towards the pods area. There didn''t seem to be many other pods left besides mine.

    I opened up the hatch and pulled a brush.

    Then began exining, "The basic Pod setting allowed it to gain maximum speed by converting the user''s Qi. However, the problem was some of the older inscriptions written there," I began exining and showing the ''faults of the system.

    "The old Qi conversion inscription is a great inscription, but it will only show great performance in the hands of cultivators with higher cultivation stages since they have a lot of abundant Qi to feed to it, as for young ones, they''ll suffer the drawback of it sucking their Qi with constant use,"

    "But what about yours, it doesn''t look any simpler?" he asked as he began showing me, "Isn''t this inscription, Spatial Fold Mitigation, a special inscription? What''s the use for it, in such a diagram?" he asked.

    "It''s this," I said as I ced my hand on the inscription, then twisted my palm.

    The spatial inscription opened up, revealing hundred more inscriptions. Which caused the cultivator''s eyes to widen.

    "There isn''t much ''space'' to write all of the inscriptions, it''s like trying to fit an elephant through a needle, so I only needed to increase the size of space to insert the elephant," I said.

    Then began exining how the intricate inscription works.

    "Can I take notes?" he asked.

    "Of course, go ahead," I said and then continued on with exining.

    The man''s eyes were bright as he took notes of what I said, and asked question after question, disregarding the fact that he is a ''blue'' robe, and looked like a student learning from a teacher.

    This wasn''t a bad feeling, I smiled.

    I enjoyed thepany of people who wish to learn more, who read more.

    So I full-heartedly exined every detail he asked about and even filled him in on things he might have missed.

    It took several hours before the ''lesson'' was over, and I left after repairing the damage to the inscription and leaving a very happy blue robe man.

    "My name is Huang Yu, if you ever join the heavenly academy, I''ll ask my master to sponsor you, and do your best in this race, sadly as much as I wasn''t to help you, it''s against the rules." He said.

    "It''s okay, you don''t need to worry about me, I''ll make sure to be among the winners," I smiled at him.

    "Right, you should rest, morning is soon toe," he said.

    I nodded and left.

    There were a few houses for cultivators that they could use to rest for the night. So, I headed out first.

    My lodging was a simple room with nothing but a bed, a stool and a table with an oilntern over it.

    I sat on the bed and meditated for the rest of the night and until morning.

    When dawn broke, I heard the engine of a few pods rumbling.

    It woke me up from my meditation. As I used my divine sense, I felt the presence of a powerful person looking right toward me.

    He was a man wearing dark robes, young of an age, about twenty years. A Soul Formation cultivator, a stage higher than mine but it seems that he is close to breaking to the Soul Transformation stage.

    There were a couple of cultivators next to him who also noticed my divine sense.

    I retracted it immediately and continued my meditation. I felt that something was strange with the way he was ''spying'' on me. But I didn''t heed it any attention.

    These people were the first of the bunch, they managed to cross vast distances and will be among the top when this race is over.

    They were fast and even with me closing the distance, my pod will only be movable after several hours from now.

    But it''s okay, with my speed, I can make it to the end among the top one thousand allowing me to get the right to participate in the second trial.

    I rested for a long while, then had my breakfast, soon the time of my departure was nearing. And I headed out.

    I found Liang Yu already waiting among the people next to the pods.

    "Good luck," she said.

    I nodded back at her.

    But looking around, I failed to see the guy from yesterday among her group, I wanted to ask her about it, but it wasn''t my ce to ask.

    So, I left.

    My departure was smooth, and the pod seemed in perfect shape. I sped out of the city and headed towards the red regions.

    It took a few hours of eventless flight before I reached the first area of the first red city.

    The Scorched Lands.

    A full swath ofnd full of nothing but canyons and magmatic currents flowing robustly underneath.

    The heat was incredible, and it was only going to rise the deeper we go.

    The pod featured heat resistance, but that doesn''t mean that we can''t feel the heat inside the pod.

    This trial was very fearsome as it not only forces the cultivator to use unholy amounts of Qi to protect themselves from the heat, they have to be very careful not driving to close to theva.

    The flight over the canyons was nothing but suicide, as it appeared from the moment I got into the canyon range there were hundreds upon hundreds of small wyverns flying around. These things, we''re fast, strong, and pretty damn powerful from what Liang Yu had pointed out on her map.

    They aren''t faster than the pods but they can keep up with its speed for a while, not to mention their talons are strong enough to rip through the pods and the cultivators inside them, with the addition of them having a fire breath attack.

    The wyvern won''t get too close to theva, however, since it also wasn''t without its dangers.

    Within theva rivers, bubbles could be seening up.

    And once I used my divine sense I realized why the wyvern won''t be dumb enough to get closer to the rivers.

    There were creatures inside theva. Very, frightening creatures.

    I continued my flight between theva and the skies, trying my best to stay away from either of the two.

    At this point, everything was progressing smoothly.

    Until something happened that was slightly outside my expectation.

    "He''s here!" spoke a familiar voice.

    My divine sense spread out immediately and realized that there was a group of cultivators waiting in the ambush they were the same cultivators as the guy from this morning.

    Among them, was the guy I took half of his top-grade spirit stones.

    Several sword waves were sent towards my pod which caused me to hastily dodge. Only for more of them to follow after.

    A domain spread out to trap me in it, but I forcefully rejected it, causing whoever used it to bleed out from their nose and mouth from the sudden domain disruption.

    "Don''t use domains! Hit his pod!" another spoke, and they fired all their spells at me.

    I dodged to the best of my ability but the area I could move around was too small.

    And then, I got hit.

    The damage wasn''t too much, but the back of my pod was shattered, forcing me to slow down.

    The cultivators then got on their pods and followed after me as fast as they could.

    I didn''t have time to think about why this was happening, but I had to move fast.

    I continued dodging and forcing my pod to speed up as much as possible. But the worse came to happen.

    Our fight pulled the attention of the creatures in theva, and they began rising up.

    A massive Serpentinian creature emerged from theva, it looked at us with its eyes as theva poured down from its skin.

    It then opened its mouth and shot a massive fireball towards us.

    "Fuck," I cursed as I desperately dodged the fireball.

    There wasn''t enough space to the sides, so I had to risk it.

    I pulled my pod up and dodged the fireball with the skin of my teeth.

    The heat from the fireball was enough to fry my pod''s bottom, and I lost even more speed as the inscription began going haywire.

    Once I was above the canyon level, I was easy prey to the wyvern, but I pivoted the pod and dove back down to the canyon where the wyvern followed after.

    The cultivators behind me didn''t leave unscathed, the fireball managed to take out two of them, but six more were still following after me.

    "That fucker!" I cursed

    I should have killed him when I had the chance.

 Chapter 276: Fight Among The Flames

    <h4>Chapter 276: Fight Among The mes</h4>

    I dove down towards the snake, with a destabilized pod, I barely was able to dodge a chomp from its massive jaws as I bypassed it.

    I increased my speed, with my pod throttling, desperately to gain distance and velocity. The cultivators behind me followed after and I was forced to get out of the path towards the next city as my pod looked like it was dying.

    I drove the pod into a nearby cliff ridge where I stopped it there then I left the pod. The small ridge was halfway through the canyon wall, it had enough space for me to ce the pod and move about a bit freely.

    My token began sending me signals that it didn''t detect me inside the pod anymore. If I were to move away from the pod or stay away from it for a long time, I''ll be eliminated from the race.

    "Fucking sons of a bitches!" I cursed.

    "X,e out," I called and he came out with weapons at the ready.

    Soon the cultivators that were chasing me came at me.

    "He''s trapped, he can''t escape! Get him!" the guy said.

    I cursed as I realized what they wanted.

    They Saint Crystal of course, he was the only one I didn''t have him swear an oath, and now my secret was revealed.

    I should have been more decisive. No wonder those main characters killed everyone they saw. It is brutal, it is savage, but at the same time efficient.

    Suddenly, a cultivator came over and noticed the stuff happeneing, but he seemed that he didn''t seem to be wanting to be a part of this, so he elerated away and left.

    I knew who this was it was the same cultivator who arrived right after me yesterday. Meaning that a few more cultivators were soon toe.

    "Hurry take him down!" the guy said.

    "You''ll never leave this ce alive!"

    "Nor will you, Xe out!" I spoke and my puppet showed up. It readied its weapons for the battle. And this made the rest of the cultivators wary.

    "Don''t worry, he can''t kill us, he''ll be executed! Destroy his pod to eliminate him," he said.

    ''Ah, so he is counting on the fact that this is a no-kill.''

    Cornered against a cliff I couldn''t move far from the pod otherwise it''ll be destroyed and I''ll lose the race, I can probably fix it, but I doubt that if it is fully destroyed that I can do much.

    Fuck.

    Suddenly, the cultivators began attacking. And I and X could only protect the pod while defending against the attack.

    I pulled several canisters and threw them forward creating explosions in the air full of poisonous substances.

    However the cultivators didn''t seem too worried, they all swallowed several pills and continued fighting.

    That fucker already informed them that I can use poison. Shit.

    I cursed

    More attacks came my way which I deflected using my own Spatial Law understanding, but the damage to the area I was in increased. With the potency of their assault I''m bound to mess up.

    "X, make I rain!" I spoke, and he pulled out two minigus.

    The minigun barrels began spinning and slugs of lead shot forward they weren''t enough to kill a high level cultivator but the bullet barrage was enough to suppress them from attacking.

    Bullets pierced through their pods damaging them, causing them to ''sweat''.

    The snake in the distance seemed to notice our presence and began approaching us.

    "Hurry!" he spoke. "We need to take his bag!"

    "We can''t, the monsters are getting closer!" another replied.

    the traitor then cursed and said, "Just destroy his pod, he won''t be able to leave this area due to the monsters, we''lle backter and take the bag from his dead body!" he said.

    Just as he finished his words. A couple pods came fast towards me.

    "What''s going on here?" spoke Liang Yu.

    "Shit¡­" the traitor spoke cursing.

    He then nodded towards her, and then cultivators immediately opened fire.

    "XUE LIU! YOU DARE!" a cultivator form Liang Yu''s party spoke up.

    And then a battle issued between the two groups.

    I looked at my pod, there was no way I can make it work, so I have to earnestly join the battle.

    However, it seems that I was too preupied with the pod to notice a presence right next to me.

    Someone had teleported right next to me and was about to stab me, I dodged by the skin of my teeth, and that was enough time for him to ce a hand on my pod. And blow half of it away.

    My wrath reached the limit as I pulled Creeping Demise and sent it towards the cultivator, who just grinned and teleported away.

    Creeping Demise wasn''t a simple weapon, however, as it curved at a ny-degree angle elongating and chasing after the escaping cultivator, he didn''t even notice when the sword had already arrived next to him and cut off his arm.

    "AHHH!" the cultivator screamed in pain as he saw his cut hand falling to theva.

    "Xue LIU you bastard dare raise your hand against members of your sect!"

    "You always treated me like I was some degenerate bastard, you all deserve to die here!" he said.

    "It is forbidden to kill, what kind of exnation are you going to give to the elders when we go back!"

    "That is if you go back!" he said and then threw something towards Liang Yu''s group.

    It was a talisman it had an inscription on it, and my eyes opened wide when I realized what it was.

    "DODGE!" I shouted as fast as I could but was toote.

    A massive formation opened up from the talisman, it looked like a giant ball that covered the entire group of Liang Yu''s group.

    This formation wasn''t that hard to unlock or disable but it would take me a lot of time to do so. His purpose was to trap them and kill them with a borrowed knife.

    The massive serpent was approaching fast.

    "Let''s go," Xue Liu said as he departed fast.

    "They''ll all die here, we can retrieve the bagter, enjoy yourst moment!" he said as his group moved forward.

    I jumped towards the skies against my better judgment of leaving this ce. I mmed my hand against the formation.

    Inside it was a panic-stricken Liang Yu who was using a treasure to try and break the formation.

    "Don''t break it!" I said, "Trust me!" I said.

    It would have been an absurd thing to say, especially since I was a stranger to them. they wouldn''t just trust someone blindly. But she knew that even with that treasure in her hands she wouldn''t be able to break the formation in time.

    The massive serpent opened its mouth and was preparing to shoot a powerful fireball spell towards the formation.

    I then pped my second hand on the formation again, not to weaken it, but to reinforce its function. This was a sealing formation, but with a couple of changes, it could be a defensive formation.

    "USE YOUR QI! PROTECT YOUR BODIES!" I shouted. Then pped my hand for the third time against the formation, reversing its function. And finally, opened my mouth and spat a powerful emerald fire around the formation.

    It now looked like a giant green fireball.

    It was my Veridian Heart me.

    The massive me coated the formation and then came the impact.

    A massive destruction force collided against the formation and the entire valley shook from the impact.

    The fire from the fireball spread out scorching the walls of the valley, melting it. Even for me as an alchemist, it was still hot.

    The Veridian heart me did its best to tone down the heat from the serpent, but I couldn''t guarantee the life of the group inside the formation.

    I increased the release of my Veridian me to consume the fireball and was about to lose this battle.

    So I spat another poison, the Breath Sealing Poison, to further dampen the effects of the fire.

    It worked and the massive heat began decreasing. However, cracks began appearing on the formation.

    "Brace for impact!" I shouted and they did.

    The cultivators inside the formation used all their power and treasures to protect themselves before the barrier broke and all of us were sent flying.

    I managed to stabilize myself first and realized that most of the cultivators were too hurt to help themselves out of this mess.

    A couple were falling towards theva, unconscious and scarred heavily by the mes.

    X didn''t need me to order him before he shot down grabbing a couple of cultivators, while I went towards Liang Yu and another cultivator.

    With all four of them saved from theva I had to get up, but the stupid snake wasn''t done with us.

    I hurriedly pulled them up and ced them next to my destroyed pod.

    Then turned toward the snake.

    You little cunt. Time to make you into a fucking purse!

 Chapter 277: Recovery

    <h4>Chapter 277: Recovery</h4>

    I spat another poison, this one wasn''t at the serpent, but theva itself. This was the same poison I used at the Three-Legged Raven sect to cause theva to overflow by destabilizing the spiritual vein.

    Since there was a spiritual vein here, the same effects should happen.

    And once my poison reached theva, it began premating it rapidly and going down.

    I would however be dead before the spiritual vein was disturbed so I spat another wave of poison at the serpent.

    I already felt nauseous from using so much Poison Qi but this was the only way.

    Once the poison reached the serpent''s noise, its eyes reddened and it began screeching.

    It was a Madness Inducing Poison.

    The serpent began shaking and rattling, smashing its head against the walls of the valley. We weren''t even visible to it anymore.

    And it was all I needed before the spiritual vein began agitating. Theva flow increased explosively and massive waves began rising.

    Before theva would reach the area I was in, "X, grab the remains of those pods!" I called and X followed themand.

    He went down towards the nearest scorched pod, and grabbed it, then he lifted it up and came towards me, cing it next to my destroyed one.

    Then he went to the second, and grabbed it.

    He pulled three more pods before theva flow increased too much and began consuming the rest of the pods and rose too high.

    A bit more and I''ll be drowned inva and we''ll all, die.

    But I had already prepared for that. I pulled my hoverboard, and then enabled its defensive formation.

    A barrier shot up and I inted it at the cost of more Saint Qi usage to cover all of us inside it alongside the pod.

    Theva began rising and once it went in contact with the Saint Qi barrier, it failed to prate it and continued rising up.

    Soon, we were submerged in a massiveva overflow. And finally there was peace.

    The group next to me was heavily wounded.

    Scorch marks, unconscious, and one even close to death.

    I began by mending their wounds and supplied them a few pills to heal up the damage. The first guy was the same one who spoke back against Xue Liu, he was at death''s door from the burning he received.

    I can''t do much for his skin, but I can help stabilize his life, I gave him a bit more pills and bandaged some of his wounds.

    It took a while before hisplexion was stabilized, then I continued helping the rest of them.

    "If you''re not nning on acting like you''re unconscious, I could use the help," I spoke as I was treating another person.

    "You knew?" she said.

    "Yes," I said.

    Looking at her, she was a bit disheveled, her face was burnt.

    "I can help with that," I said, as I pointed at her face, "But not now, there are more important things to do."

    "You don''t need to worry abut me," she said as she pulled a pill of a purity I''ve never before seen.

    It was a Cloud Engraved Pill.

    She swallowed it and all her wounds seemed to disappear as if they were never there in the first ce.

    "If you have more of those¡­" I spoke.

    She shook her head, "That''s the only one, but I have a few pills that could help treating them," she said and began pulling more pills to help.

    None of them were of the same quality as the Cloud Pill, but it was good nevertheless.

    Soon the rest of the cultivators seemed to regain their consciousness.

    Just as they woke up, they gawked at the situation.

    "We''re¡­ inside the river? Why isn''t it hot though?" one spoke.

    Then he noticed the hoverboard.

    "Ah¡­ good treasure, I guess it''s another vow huh," he said.

    "Something like that," I said.

    "Shit, that sted Xue Liu, I''ll make sure to pay him a thousand times once this is over.

    "How did he even get ahead of us, he arrivedte yesterday," one of the cultivators said.

    "I guess he cheated," I said, "Anyway¡­" I turned to the pods and said, "I can probably fix these, but I highly doubt we''ll make it to the top thousand," I said.

    "There is no point, we''re already at the top eight hundred. We won''t make it even if we fix them, it''ll take too much time," Yu Liang said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "We can actually make it¡­ but it''s going to be a bit risky, and¡­ I can only take one," I said.

    The group didn''t understand what I mean, but Liang Yu said.

    "You''re not thinking about the shortcut? That''s impossible, it''s too difficult," she said. "Not to mention we already went past the entrance to the shortcut; we''ll have to drive back and then go through it. how will you even do that, look at the pods?"

    "I can manage it. However." Like I said I can only take one person."

    The group looked at me in wonder, "I wouldn''t mind you taking senior sister Liang Yu, but¡­what''s gonna happen to us?" he asked.

    "I can ce you somewhere safe, but you won''t be able to leave it until I allow it," I said.

    The group wondered about what I meant, but seeing Liang Yu''s expression, they all agreed to it.

    "Right then, let me start working then," I said as I pulled several tools from my bag and then began tearing apart the already broken pods.

    I needed to create a new pod, but at the same time, I needed to make sure that I''m not going against the Academy''s rules.

    Then I grabbed the least damaged pods of the bunch, mine and Liang Yu''s they seemed to be the ones with the least damage, even if mine was split in two, the cut was clean and could easily repair by supplying it with a few more pieces from the other pods.

    I began tearing some of the material from the other pods and welded them using my Veridian Heart me released from the tip of my finger.

    It took an hour before the frame was finished and the pod was back to perfect shape. But I knew that even using maximum speed I won''t be able to get to the finish line in time.

    I turned to the second pod and began working on it, it took a bit of time before everything was ready.

    "How long had I spent?" I asked as I dragged one of the pods with the help of X to the second one.

    "About three hours," she said.

    "Good, decent progress," I said.

    "What do you mean? We''ll probably not make it with this dy," she said.

    "Don''t worry about it," I said.

    I then tore a few more pieces of the remaining pods and began linking the two pods together.

    Which was something even Liang Yu who didn''t know anything about what I was doing was wondering about.

    "What are you doing?" she asked.

    "I''m making them faster," I said.

    Once I was done welding the two pods together, I began by reinscribing the two of them. This time, I didn''t need to make a full inscription of regtion, I neededplete Qi discharge and extreme velocity, the inscription took less than an hour instead of six hours time. But it was more than enough.

    I then began by cing small holes all around the steering wheels, mine and hers.

    "Done," I said. As I turned to Liang Yu.

    The group of cultivators was still wondering what I was doing, but I had no will to exin everything in detail.

    "Please, Close your eyes," I said to everyone.

    Once they did.

    I pulled my token and teleported them inside it. I sent them directly into the white training chamber, where they can''t interfere with anyone nor know where they are.

    Liang Yu was the exception.

    "Should I open my eyes now?" she asked.

    "Yes, you may," I said.

    She then looked around, "Where is everyone?" she asked.

    "They''re somewhere safe, I can''t leave them here. Anyway, let''s leave," I said.

    She looked at theva overflowing the valley and said, "How?"

    "Trust me," I said and hopped on my hoverboard.

    X, grab the pods," I said and X grabbed both pods over his head and joined us on the hoverboard.

    Once all three of us were on the hoverboard, I started it and moved it.

    It slowly swam through the magma until it rose high above it.

    Looking around, many of the wyverns were still hovering in the air wondering why the river overflowed to such a degree, but once they spotted us, they came our way.

    "Hurry, get in the pod," I said as I released the hoverboard''s barrier and ced it back into my bag, then rode on the pod alongside Liang Yu.

    I ced X in my bag and then began starting the inscriptions on the pods.

    "What''s this, the settings are different, it''s not even reacting to my Qi," she said.

    "That''s because I''m the one driving, enjoy the ride, it''s gonna be epic," I said.

    And once I pressed on the elerator.

    All five Top Grade Spirit Stones, yes, five, from my side, and five, from her side, shone bright and the dual Pods shot forward like they were theets.

    "THAT''S THE WRONG WAY!" she shouted panic and fear clear in her eyes from the sudden eleration and the absurd speed.

    "Oh, believe me, I know," I said grinning.

 Chapter 278: Twist

    <h4>Chapter 278: Twist</h4>

    We shot over the flowingva-like aet, leaving a trail behind us.

    The pod I was on was designed for one thing and one thing only, Speed.

    It was fast incredibly so and was on the cusp of breaking the speed norms of Qi and reaching Saint Qi.

    But the threshold and difference between the Qi from regr crystals and Saint crystal is both a quantitative and qualitative change. The speed I gained now is probably at least three times faster than before. And we were zooming the fuck off.

    For a wyvern to think that it could reach us, was nothing but a hopeful dream. As we flew past them like lightning bolts.

    Soon we arrived to the entrance of the first red zone, far back, and I slowed down.

    "You''re seriously taking that path? It''s full of high-tier beasts, and we won''t have the gs even if we reach the end," she said.

    "Don''t worry about that, we''ll not use our own gs," I said as I twisted the pods and then stomped the elerator again.

    We flew into a separate area, a direct path to the ck City, bypassing all and every red city that we should go through.

    As we flew forward, I was surprised to see several pods of several cultivators along our path, they too were desperate, however, my speed left them all in the dust.

    It didn''t take long before we encountered the first hurdle.

    This path wasn''t a valley but was an open field with incredibly wide swaths of burningnd.

    The ground was cracked and broken, full of magmatic andva currents.

    While the skies had drakes, and these things were far stronger than wyverns.

    We were noticed, but they won''t be able to catch up to us.

    The drakes hunted after us but there was no way they''ll reach us in time. Soon, the front of our pods began reddening, from the umted heat and our speed.

    I then used my own Veridian me to cover our pods, and we looked like a flying green fireball that was shooting through space.

    "There is a pouch next to you, grab the Top Grade Spirit Stones in it and rece the cracked ones on your panel", I said.

    Liang Yu understood and began doing as asked.

    This way we won''t lose speed, but at the same time, our current consumption of Top Grade Spirit Stones was heavy, I should have enough to arrive at the final city, but I''m sure that the pod will be in catastrophic shape.

    This wasn''t the issue, however, as long as we arrive.

    Our flight continued, among the many beasts that rose up from under the ground, and the beasts that flew from the skies, but we were fast, too damn fast for them to do anything.

    My greatest worry was the explosive torrents of magma that rose up without prior notice, and I had a couple of close calls that made my own pale face paler and almost caused Liang Yu to faint from fright.

    However, we kept moving, we kept increasing our speed and decreasing our distance to the end game.

    Several creatures, of great size, scaled bats came at us, but with a spin of the steering wheel, my pod began spiraling forward dodging them acrobatically but at the same time dangerously.

    We came out unscathed thankfully.

    Soon, we arrived to a new area, it was a massive volcano area where we had to cross right through a fallingvafall.

    The path forward needed us to cross right through thevafall as it was a longrge cave inside that will allow us entry and exit from the other side of the mountain. It was pretty simr to the ice mountain area, but I decided against entering.

    I can''t control the pods as urately as I did before in the ice mountain since this pod was too fast to be able to drift around, so I took the longer route.

    Going to the side of the mountain. With my current speed, it would be irrelevant for us to go right through the mountain as we will only lose time there since we''ll have to slow down. But here in the open, I''m the king of speed.

    We sted through all and everything in our way, and with such a massive Qi signature we alerted everything to our arrival, but nothing could stop or chase after us.

    "Shen Bao, you''re a crazy man!" she said.

    "The Crazy man is getting us to the finish line, keep a watch on the stones!" I said as I maneuvered difficultly through several ridges that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

    But once we went past them, I sent my divine sense and had to gulp, those weren''t some ridges, but it was the back of a turtle that had an incredible size.

    The turtle noticed us but soon decided to ignore us, something of that size would have probably had the ability to eradicate us if it wanted to.

    Sooner than I expected, the magmatic areas seemed to be lessening more and more.

    Which caught me by surprise.

    "Can you locate our position on the map?" I asked as I kept moving forward.

    "Right, one moment," she said.

    Then soon, "Oh my god," she said.

    "What?"

    "The mountain we passed through, was the central danger zone, we''re actually at the exit of the dangerous shortcut, we should be able to arrive at the ck city in less than an incense''s time," she said.

    "Good," I grinned. "Everything is going ording to n."

    Soon enough, we reached the end of the scorched areas and were back in the open fields. Once we were in the open fields, it was a straight line toward the ck city. There are no hindrances and no problems.

    However, by doing a quick calction of time I was grinning from ear to ear.

    This turned out far better than I expected and then moved to the side.

    "Where are you going? The ck city is up ahead?" she asked.

    "We''re still not able to enter it, we need the qualifications," I said.

    It took us another incense stick of time to arrive at the destination I had in mind. And once we were there.

    "Don''t tell me¡­" Liang Yu''s eyes widened.

    "Yes," I said and I left the pod after stationing it on the ground.

    Once the two of us were down, I began writing a formation on the ground then sent X forward.

    "Make theme here," I said and he left.

    It took some time before I could hear explosions in the distance.

    Then soon three pods wereing our way at incredible speeds.

    I didn''t want to risk killing them off, but I had something else prepared.

    Just as the cultivators was approaching, I heard a loud domineering voice transmission right through my mind.

    "YOU DARE STAND IN MY WAY!" came the voice.

    "Oh believe me, I dare," I replied.

    Just as the pod owner was about to change direction, the information I had set up sprung up to action.

    A massive wall ofws shot from the ground and began wrapping around the three pods. It wasn''t meant to destroy his pod, but to do something elsepletely different.

    The speed of their pods began decreasing incredibly so it was as if their speed was irrelevant against thew lines.

    I was actually not slowing them down, but removing all friction and negating the pushing power from his pod. The first of the cultivators who shouted in my ears, cursed and then somehow managed to rip through thews I made.

    The other two, however, weren''t as lucky.

    He flew forward towards the city.

    But I didn''t care much.

    I flew towards the other trapped cultivators and busted through their pods breaking them.

    Then spat arge quantity of Breath Sealing Qi, causing their entire cultivation base to copse. They were no stronger than toddlers without their Qi and then snatched both their bags.

    I didn''t take anything but the gs and left towards my own pod.

    "You know that you''ll be putting us in a lot of trouble, do you know who that guy was?" she said.

    "I don''t really care, it was his crew that ambushed me, I''m only repaying the favor," I said, "Then how about we get to first ce?"

    "First ce? Even with your speed, I think we won''t make it, he is already almost at the end." She said.

    "Trust me on this," I said then we both entered the pod, "Brace up, this is going to be fun," I said and then pressed once, twice, and thrice on the elerator.

    This was an option I added, not only will it exhaust the crystals, it willpletely suck them dry for one single push.

    The pod rattled then sted off like a meteor, shooting forward at incredible speed my head was stuck to the back of my seat on the pod.

    The pods creaked and began tearing, rattling against the air but they still shot forward.

    Parts began ripping from the pods from the incredible speed, and a moment before the cultivator at the front was even able to go through the finish line.

    We flew past him leaving him shocked and stunned at the st of speed that surpassed him.

    We came in first!

 Chapter 279: Quantity Over Quality

    <h4>Chapter 279: Quantity Over Quality</h4>

    I couldn''t believe it, we actually came first, and it was clear from the fanfare and the explosions that happened right after.

    Not a momentter, however, the man we just bypassed got out of his pod, his eyes screaming bloody murder!

    "YOU BASTARD!" he said, but before his Qi could umte even further, a powerful divine sense washed over us and dampened his aggressiveness so much that he began shaking.

    "There will be no fights on this glorious day," a man spoke.

    He then appeared out of nowhere, it was the same person with the purple robe.

    "I cannot ept this! This bastard tried to slow me down, and what is with those pods, those clearly are modified and that goes against the race''s rules!"

    The man in purple looked at us and said, "Is that so? Huang Yu, do you agree to those words?" the man in purple spoke.

    Another person soon came and arrived at the scene.

    He looked at me, smiled, and said, "No, I don''t see any vition of the rules," he said.

    Not a momentter, many other cultivators began arriving, they were a bit disappointed by theirte arrival but were thankful that they arrived among the first ones.

    "Aren''t you being too presumptuous! How is this even in the rules! Do you know who you''re talking to blue robe?!" he said.

    This caught the attention of the rest of thete arrivals, there was drama and their eyes and ears were wide peeled for some gossip.

    "Wu Lei, son of Gu lei, I know you and know your father, but even if your father is a Purple Robe, you''re not a part of the heavenly academy, so don''t start pulling your weight around, you''re unfit to do so." The blue robe Huang Yu spoke "Anyway, I''ll exin," the man in purple said, "Could you please leave your pods," he said and the two of us left.

    "Then, let''spare the inscriptions then, the rule says any modification that is considered an ''Upgrade'' to the current inscription is considered a cheat," he said.

    "Yes, that''s clearly an upgrade, their pod is too fast for this race!" Wu Lei replied.

    "So, you failed to see what I mean, an upgrade means that the quality of the inscriptions needs to be higher than the ones already on the pod, so you''re saying that a cultivator like Shen Bao knows more than the Heavenly Academy in terms of inscription?" Huang Yu said, "Aren''t you looking down on our Heavenly Academy too much?" he said.

    "N-no, but¡­"

    "Let me put your worries to rest then, I''m sure you studied inscriptions before, right?" he said.

    "Yes, I know a bit," he said.

    "Well, if the son of one the best inscribers in the Heavenly Academy says he knows a bit, then I know nothing," the Blue Robe mocked, "Anyway, what is this?" the blue robe said as he pulled an inscription.

    Wu Lei frowned "That''s a simple Qi conversion inscription," he said.

    "What''s the Qi conversion inscription that''s on your pod?" the blue robe asked.

    "This is an advanced Qi conversion inscription, my father was the one who devised it," WU Lei spoke in pride.

    "Then, which among the two is better?" the blue robe asked.

    He trapped him.

    "O-of course my father''s!" Wu Lei said.

    "Then, isn''t your pod inscribed with better quality inscriptions? How can you say that his is an upgrade while it only has far lesser quality inscriptions? Look at these," and then he began showing more and more of the inscriptions, enough that Wu Lei couldn''t even talk back.

    "Shen Bao never used an inscription that is of a higher grade than any of the ones supplied by the academy," the Blue Robe spoke.

    "Then howe his pod is faster if it is of a lower quality!" Wu Lei spoke.

    "It''s the quantity," Wu Lei said, and then opened up the spatial formation that was hiding the real inscriptions.

    Just as the spatial inscription was opened, hundreds upon hundreds ofplex yet simple inscriptions that anyone could write were ced in front of Wu Lei.

    The most astonishing fact wasn''t the number, but the fact of how simple these inscriptions were.

    "How in the hell are all these inscriptions in harmony?!" Wu Lei spoke, clearly stunned.

    "It is not something that I''ll exin, anyway, all the parts of the inscriptions here are of a lesser quality than your pod, and don''t tell me, quantity is quality in itself, the terms of the race state that only the ''quality'' of the inscriptions cannot be higher than what is given, nothing about the number. So, Shen Bao has won, fair and square," the blue robe said.

    This almost made Wu Lei fume in rage.

    "Then what about her?!" Wu lei said.

    "She came in second," this time the purple robe said.

    "I already noticed that Shen Bao had made his pod slightly ahead of hers, thus even if they both arrived at the same time, he was first, she was second and you''re third. Anyway, enough of this, ept your loss and move on, I dislike sore losers," the man in purple spoke.

    And his word wasw.

    Wei Lei was about to speak again but the man in purple spoke first, "I also was able to see your intervention in the race, you sent your hooligans to disrupt other people''s race, I will look past it since everything turned out to be alright, but do this again, and I''ll have your hide!" the man in purple spoke and it was enough to make Wu Lei''s face pale.

    Soon, a divine sense message came to my mind, "Shen Bao! Right, we''re not done; you better watch your back!" Wu Lei said.

    "Good,e at me whenever, bitch," I replied back with all the spite I could and left him wondering about the smack talk I just gave him.

    "A race isn''t a race if there are no rewards!" the man in purple said, "Once all thepetitors arrive, we''ll hold a banquet and a reward ceremony, then we''ll prepare you all for the second test! Your token will allow you ess to one of the best lodgings on ck City, rest up, tomorrow we''ll be hosting the award ceremony and the banquet!" he said then he disappeared.

    Many cultivators, some I didn''t even know congratted me on my victory, though I didn''t expect them to be so friendly, I guess winning such a test will put me in a good position of entering the heavenly academy and they want to be friendly with me if I were to be admitted for some future benefits. Typical cultivator mindset.

    I returned the greetings and after a while, I sighed as I turned to Liang Yu who was looking at me with a confused look.

    "What?" I asked.

    "You''re a strange man, Shen Bao," she said.

    "How so?"

    "You know who that person is? This isn''t going to be easy, you made yourself his target," she said.

    "Meh, let hime at me, I''ll break him every time. Anyway, where is my thanks?" I said grinning.

    "Oh, yes, pardon me, I was too shocked by what happened, we actually came in first. I would have been satisfied with just clearing this stage," she said as a bright smile was painted over her face.

    "Thank you so much, Shen Bao," she said as she bowed. "For the race, and for saving my Sect Members," she said.

    "And I''ll make sure to punish a certain someone once hees here," she said.

    "I''ll trust you with that, for now, I''ll go and rest," I said.

    I inspected my token and found that it was disying a number. Number 1. Then it shone bright, revealing a line on the ground that I needed to follow.

    Following it, I arrived at the gate of a mansion that was disgustingly huge.

    The garden was packed full of spiritual herbs and the pure Qi that was released from the manor was enough to invigorate anyone with a mere whiff.

    However, I couldn''t even use this ce, since I couldn''t use normal Qi. I was a bit saddened by such a reward that I couldn''t even make use of.

    I entered the manor and was weed by many servants.

    The weakest of the bunch was already at the Soul Formation stage.

    Someone of a higher cultivation stage than me was actually removing the weeds from the garden.

    I shook my head and entered the manor.

    Just as I took a few steps inside I stopped and said, "You don''t really need to hide do you?" I said.

    "Oh, I''m surprised you could see me," he said and the purple-robed master appeared right in front of me.

    To bepletely honest, I almost shat my pants. I just spoke this cringy line just to see if there was actually someone, and there was.

    "Let''s call it a hunch," I said smiling and making sure I don''t look terrified.

    Don''t ever let them see you sweat.

    "So, what can I do for you?" I asked.

    "On the opposite, I came to talk to you about something," he said.

    "Yes, please," I said.

    "How did you escape the hunt of the Fire King?" he asked.

    And almost all my world seemed to be breaking in front of me.

    How did he know?

 Chapter 280: Sponsor

    <h4>Chapter 280: Sponsor</h4>

    "Don''t look too startled, it''s normal, almost all the people in the Heavenly Academy know of what happened in the Barren Lands, it''s no wonder that your name woulde up, at first I thought that you just had the same name. But, once I''ve seen your ability, I realized that the two of you were one and the same," he said.

    "So, you came here to warn me?" I asked.

    I was still trying to figure out a way to escape this clusterfuck before the man in purple said, "Don''t be too rmed, I''m not your enemy, and also I don''t like that bastard. Neither he nor the ck Tower can touch you as long as you''re apetitor of the Heavenly Academy or a member of it."

    "Is that so," I said, doubt clear in my eyes.

    "Yes, it is, anyway, I could tell from the way you operated the pod, and some hearsay that you''re unable to use regr Qi," he said.

    "How can you be sure of that?" I said.

    "The garden, anyone at your level would have greedily begun absorbing the Qi in it, but you didn''t also the fact that you used Top Grade Spirit Stones instead of your own Qi throughout the race was another convicting factor, nevertheless, how about I help you out a bit?" he said.

    "For what reason?" I asked, there is no way someone will help you in a cultivation world without something in return.

    "Let''s say, internal Heavenly Academy dispute, I have an issue with a few colleagues, and I could use you to solve them," he said.

    "Use me, so blunt," I mumbled.

    "Yes, use you, because the ''you'' right now, is weak, you''re a Nascent Soul cultivator, not much of a threat or someone to worry about, if I were to ''cooperate'' with you, then I''ll need you to be stronger. However, in order to ''use'' you, I''ll need to make you stronger," he said.

    His words weren''t something to be said and scoff at, his words were dangerous. First off he knew my cultivation stage even through my strange cultivation, and the second was the content of his words. I was but a tool at his disposal.

    "I have something for you," he said, "Take this." And he handed me a ring.

    Looking through the contents of the ring, my eyes almost bulged out from shock.

    "Use it well, and be stronger, so I''ll be able to use you to your best of abilities," he said and disappeared as if he was never here in the first ce.

    How the hell does he do that.

    Back to the ring.

    It contained an ungodly amount of Top Grade Spirit stones, and a matched amount of metals, pure hard to obtain metals where the lowest grade one was actually Neutron Steel, the same steel I needed to make the Pile Bunker Bullets for X.

    With this amount of metals, I could create more puppets, improved upon and far stronger ones.

    Then, the herbs, so many of them that the garden outside paled inparison.

    a lot of treasures, weapons, and armors, protective pieces. These I couldn''t use since they relied on internal Qi, but there were a few pieces that I could use if I were to ''reconfigure''.

    And the most important thing of all, a smallmp, in the middle of the ring, that had a raging heat to it.

    It was actually A Heart me Soul.

    If I were to consume this, I can improve my own Veridian Heart me to the next level. Which was something I desperately needed. The man in purple must have seen me use the Viridian Heart me to save Huang Yu and her sect members.

    Then finally, something I didn''t expect to see.

    The contents of the next test.

    Isn''t this¡­cheating? I wondered but then, I''m sure to take every advantage I could get.

    I went upstairs and locked my room, then entered the Lord of Lords token.

    I went first to the guys stuck in the white room and made sure that they were well and told them that they''ll be here for a little while.

    Then once I was done, I went to the smithy and began working on my next project.

    With the number of materials I have, I could easily make X far stronger than he actually is, which woulde in as a good boon to my next trials, however, from reading the contents of the next test, I cannot use X, nor any of the stuff I have on me. Which was a damn shame.

    Nor could I use the Soul me, since I''ll die, the moment I consume it.

    I''ll need to at least be at the Soul Formation level to use that. And even with the materials, I got from the ring, it''ll be a tall task to get to the Soul formation level, especially since the next test is in two days.

    Making the materials needed to raise my cultivation level isn''t a problem, the problem is that it''ll take a lot of time even with the time dtion of the Lord of Lords pagoda to make them.

    Basically what the man in Purple wanted me to do is to clear the second test with my own ability.

    Which shouldn''t be a problem with the current page in front of me.

    After reading through it, I scratched my head, this one is going to be even more problematic than the race test.

    I couldn''t rely on a lot of my ''tricks'' to go past it, but I had a tool in hand that could help greatly in this test and I was going to use it.

    The next test was a group test, in which thirty people will join.

    And it was going to be a test about the ability to judge a person''s character and ability. A group test where greed could solve all the issues while working together would make things far more difficult.

    Greedy selfish people will have the ability to clear it fast, but at the same time, they''ll be facing a huge penalty.

    It was a strange test, but once we''re there, we''ll see how it goes.

    I hid the piece of paper once I memorized everything and then began working on restocking some of my pill reserves. I''ve used a lot of them and I''m in desperate need of Soul Revitalizing pills now.

    It took me a long while before I was able to finish up with the pills, then began working on X.

    I resupplied him with more ammo and began working on improving his overallbat power.

    I began by first melting a huge portion of metals that I obtained from the man in purple. And created armor, that will be ced on X''s frame. This armor is protective and is heavy, which would have been a cumbersome thing for X.

    However, the metal I chose for X was Star Carved metal. It''s a precious metal that is very hard to work with due to how brittle it was. However, with the addition of Celestial Dew which was something easily obtainable and I had a lot of from Master Rain''s workshop. I could remove the brittleness of the Star Carved Metal and make it more resilient and flexible.

    Not only that, it was a great conductor to Qi, and Saint Qi, so I won''t need to upgrade on it once I''m able to fully transform X to a Saint Qi operational Puppet.

    I began by making shoulder pads and leg protectors for X from the Star Carved metal then made a full body armor that fits perfectly to his chest. Finally, a full helm to hide his head.

    And once I was done, X looked like a knight from the middle ages fully adorned in white Star Carved armor.

    The armor''s function was simple. It could reduce the impact of blows and convert them to Qi, with a few inscriptions added to the armor.

    I could use the converted Qi to fuel X.

    This would work perfectly in a scenario where X''s reactor is damaged. So he would continue fighting even without a reactor, the more blows X would receive the more Qi he will generate allowing him to fight longer.

    I also thought about making the same armor for myself, however, it''ll be useless to me since I couldn''t use the converted Qi anyway, so I thought against it.

    Then began working on Z, the small spire-like creature.

    I couldn''t upgrade his function as of yet, since he was serving as a spy and assassin at the same time, and the best I could do was improve his overall speed and agility by recing some of his parts with Star Carved steel, and another lighter metals that would allow him to move even faster and stealthier.

    The upgrade session took a long time, but I made sure to make it in time for the ''banquet''.

    Once the time was up, I left my room and released all of the cultivators of the Holy Water Pce outside.

    "Thank you for your benevolence," one of them said.

    "I''m sorry, you got caught up in my mess," I apologized to them since if it wasn''t for me, they wouldn''t have been in such trouble.

    "We''re actually thankful, we only needed to help escort Huang Yu to the next stage, you did that on our behalf. Please, if you need anything just tell us," he said.

    "Hmm, I have a few mortals with me, I wish to find a good ce for them, a ce where they could live, but¡­ I''ll require an oath from you," I said to the leader via sound transmission.

    "Oh, yes, that should be simple. The Holy Water Pce has a lot of Mortal Lands. I''m more than capable of cing a few mortals within our protection, and you won''t need to worry about an oath, thews of this forbids the killing or harm of mortals by cultivators. But I''ll swear an oath of safety to you, and secrecy of such act, I do not wish to see our benefactor troubled if his ''mortals'' were to be considered as hostages," he said.

    His words cleared out all my doubt, "Good, once I''m done with the next test, I''ll make sure to visit the Holy Water Pce, I''ll need to see the location where my¡­where the mortals will be staying first," I said.

    "Good, I''ll make sure to prepare a goodnd for them, I''ll be askingdy Huang Yu for this, she has a lot ofnds," he said.

    "Good to know, then, please, I''ll have to leave now for the banquet," I said.

    "Godspeed, Shen Bao, and thank you for everything," he said as he bowed.

    I sped my hands back at him and headed out to the center of the city.

 Chapter 281: Prison Break

    <h4>Chapter 281: Prison Break</h4>

    The ''banquet'' wasn''t something to write home about. It was grand of course, especially with all the hype about it, but at the same time it looked pretty simple and it looked that way for a reason.

    It was good and was probably to help socialize people, but reading the details of the next test I could understand the reason behind this.

    The people in the banquet get to know each other better, socializing and making new connections. Since a lot of the participants here are usually from all over the universe.

    The banquet was upheld in one of thergest mansions of the city, the gate itself was dozens of feet tall, not to mention the interior that looked like it could easily host an entire football field from my world.

    A lot of tables were set up and cultivators had already arrived and were seated.

    There was nomotion or the usual clich¨¦ bickering between cultivators who love these events for a dick sizepetition.

    I looked around before I found Huang Yu, who seemed to be looking for me at the same time.

    She was wearing a nice red dress, that had the same emblem of her sect. I, for instance, didn''t change my clothes and was still wearing the same rob I had on me yesterday.

    I felt a bit out of ce but didn''t really care much for ''Face'' or any of the sorts.

    I headed towards her and nodded in her direction, acknowledging her.

    She walked towards me, with all the femininity a woman in herte twenties could exude, she was obviously a center of attention to many of the cultivators in the room.

    I approached Huang Yu and asked her over to an empty table.

    The two of us sat and she asked me, "What do you think of this banquet?" she said.

    "Fishy," I said.

    "You realized that too," she said.

    Honestly, I was surprised, I had a general idea of the next test so I could obviously know the reason behind this event, but she probably didn''t and still managed to understand the underlying reason behind this banquet.

    "Not many cultivators are fond of socializing, this is clear to everyone that the next test will probably rely on our understanding and judgment of other people. Anyway, never mind that, Chu Xiang, had contacted me and told me about your predicament," she said.

    "Yes, about the mortals with me," I said.

    "Yes, if you wish I can get a few escorts to take them to my personalnd, I have a lot of weight in the Holy Water Pce," she said.

    "I would do that after the test, I need to see for myself first before I would trust my people to somewhere I don''t fully understand," I said.

    "Quite blunt, but I like it," she said exposing a ravishing smile.

    I coughed hiding some emotions that I have long since experienced and said, "I see a few eyes on us," I said.

    "Yes, don''t mind them, a few of them are from allied sects and even some rivals. I''m a Saintess, one of three of the Holy Water Pce, we''re a bit of a special¡­ thing," she said.

    The word ''Thing'' caught me by surprise, this clearly means that her position even if special, she is some sort of ''tool'', to be used. I could understand from her words that she didn''t wish to talk more about it.

    "There is no need to exin, I can guess the general gist of things," I said.

    She smiled and said, "You understand? I''m intrigued, could you please enlighten me to your understanding?" she said.

    I looked around and said, "I''m not too familiar with how your sect works, but if I were to guess, you''re probably a tool used for a bargain, perhaps your holy pce is a neutral sect, and to get the benefits and protection from other sects, they send the Saintesses they have to forge rtionships with other sects and protect their own interests," I said. "But this is just a guess, I may bepletely wrong," I said.

    Her eyes were wide open at my deration, "That''s impressive, if I didn''t know better I''d say you did some research, but from the few sentences, you said I could judge that you really didn''t know much and guessed it. You''re almost right about what you said," she added. "But don''t worry about it, because once I get a spot at the heavenly academy, they can''t pressure me into being married into another sect, no one likes their lives to be tied to something like this," she said.

    I nodded and we continued chatting.

    Music yed as many singers and artists came up, there was even a ''magic'' show where a few cultivators used their skills to create beautiful illusions, half-naked women came and danced next to the cultivators and I even had to shoo away one of them because it was awkward with thepany of Huang Yu.

    I could even see her grinning at my flustered reaction at first but she decided to keep quiet.

    It didn''t take long before the main event started.

    The man in purple appeared like always out of thin air and was immediately the center of attention.

    "Congrattions to all of you one thousand participants to have managed to make it to the second trial. Now, your real journey begins." He said

    "But before that, let me award the winners of the first trial. You have proven yourselves better than many and gained the top spot, against all odds even, a few of you managed to risk their lives and overtake their opponents securing victory from the jaws of defeat. As cultivators you all should know, that you must use all that is avable to you, to prove your value, and to gain greater heights. Do not belittle those below you, nor be too arrogant, grind your way, and your life to the peak as all cultivators should do."

    He spoke and then waved his hand

    A thousand rings appeared next to every cultivator in the hall, and wide sounds of awe were spoken when they saw the contents of the rings.

    "Everyone is a winner in this race, and the first three have a bit of a special reward for them, use it well in your uing trials," he said.

    I looked through my ring and realized what he was talking about. The rewards were clearly less than what he personally gave me yesterday, but there were a few extra things. A cultivation manual, a hundred thousand Top Grade Spirit stones, which was the exact amount needed to participate in this event. And finally, something I didn''t expect to see. A Poison Pill, that had a cloud engraving.

    This pill was so pure that I was amazed at whoever made this. If I were to consume this, my cultivation base will skyrocket and I would probably hit the sealing of the Nascent Soul and attempt my breakthrough.

    "What did you get?" Huang Yu asked me.

    "A few spirit stones, and a manual," I said.

    "Oh I got about the same, this is a manual of the Heavenly Academy''s Sacred Cultivation technique, it''s sadly locked and can only be read inside the heavenly academy," she said sighing.

    I could understand the reason for this, it was a tempting thing to own because it means that you''ll be able to use this treasure only when you''re at the academy.

    "What is this thing?" asked one of the cultivators as he showed a piece of paper that had the symbol of the Heavenly Academy on it.

    "That, you shouldn''t have exposed," the man in purple said smiling.

    "Did you get that?" I asked, "Because I didn''t," I added.

    Huang Yu shook her head, "No I didn''t get it."

    "Now, that the cat is out of the bag, let me exin, that thing is needed for the next trial, it is a simple Piece of Information." He said.

    And I immediately linked one and one together. This was in the test.

    "You''ll be divided, so choose your partner carefully," he said. Not exining things fully.

    "Want to partner up?" I asked first at Huang Yu.

    "Eh, yeah why not," she said.

    "Then stay close, like very close, the next trial is not something to take lightly," I said.

    "What do you mean by that, elder," the same person with the paper said.

    "You''ll understand the moment you enter the test, now, you should choose who you''re partnering up with," he said "You have half an incense time, so make sure to hurry, anyone without a partner will be taking the test alongside strangers, and you really don''t want that," he said.

    "Do we need to gather more people?" Huang Yu said.

    "No, let''s just stay together," I said.

    Time flew by as people were too busy trying to find someone to partner up with, and the moment the timer finished.

    Our vision swam before we were all forcibly teleported to a dark ce.

    Looking around, there were twenty people among us. Every two people were grouped up next to each other while there didn''t seem to be an exit to where we were.

    Divine Sense couldn''t probe past the walls of this ''Prison'' and I know it''s a prison from the earlier note.

    "Wee to Hell," spoke the purple-robed cultivator.

    "Now, let''s start exining the test," he said.

    "You are all inside a prison, twenty of you are ''Prisoners'' and ten of you are Guards, the guard''s objective is to capture you prisoners and extract Information from you. The prisoners cannot use any of their spells or skills against the Guards, and the guards cannot kill prisoners, so please, there are shackles on the ground use them. because unless every cultivator is shackled you won''t leave," he said.

    Once we all wore the shackles, which by the way didn''t affect me in the slightest since they block Qi while I didn''t use it.

    "Now that you''re all shackled, let me exin further. This prison is divided into three floors. The guards are all on the second and third floors. You have to exit the prison while at the same time having at least ten Pieces of Information in your possession. Any cultivator that leaves the prison with Ten Pieces of Information will allow all the prisoners alongside him to win the test. On the other hand, if the Guards manage to obtain at least 11 pieces of information, the Guars will win."

    "There is also a special condition, if a Prisoner Manages to obtain five pieces of information by themselves, they could Snitch and will be teleported randomly across the prison if the Snitch manages to reach the gate they will be released and will win by themselves. Conditionally, guards cannot harm a Snitch, but the prisoners can kill a snitch to obtain the information back. So be careful of who you give your information," he said.

    "Lastly, there are neen Information pieces through the prison, your goal is to obtain at least ten of them and exit. Good luck for all," the man in purple said.

    "Shit," I cursed.

    This caught Huang Yu by surprise at why I was cursing, and she asked "What''s wrong?" she said.

    I replied, "That!" I said pointing forward.

    There was actually a man, who I knew very well, he was in the third ce, and it seems that he already had five pieces of Information in his hand.

    "I choose to Snitch!" he said and immediately teleported away.

    "WAIT!" I called, but not a momentter another person spoke, "I choose to Snitch!" and then he teleported away immediately afterward.

    "FUCK!" I cursed as I looked at the rest of the cultivators who most had a satisfied look on their faces.

    "Wait, what just happened?!" she asked.

    "We got done in, the test didn''t even start and it looks like we''re already screwed," I grumbled.

 Chapter 282: Outside The Box

    <h4>Chapter 282: Outside The Box</h4>

    Several cultivators were still unable to understand what happened, but most knew what went on.

    "You sons of a bitches!" one of the cultivators grabbed another.

    The second raised his hands and said, "What? You have a problem with me giving my own Information Paper to young master?" he said.

    "You ruined us all!" the first cultivator said, "That''s not my problem, Young Master has promised to take good care of my family, and paid me a handsome sum, what did you give me? Please put your hands off," the cultivator said and I immediately understood what went on.

    "What''s going on Shen Bao," Huang Yu asked.

    "Well, it seems that I made a mistake, we should have been more careful at the banquet," I said.

    Another cultivator heard what I said and one of them spoke, "What do you mean?" he asked.

    I exined, "The banquet was actually an obvious tell for what is toe. The Pieces of Information was distributed before we entered the prison, it was our mistake to not realize that we should associate ourselves with people with Pieces of Information, that man, Wu Lei, had realized it and made contact with the people who had the tickets. Once they made their group they all handed him and his partner their pieces of information allowing them to have an easier way to clear the test. While we were too focused on ''Making'' Connections, he made sure to control the situation from the start¡­ he is an impressively shrewd man," I said.

    "Why are youplimenting him! We all lost! Don''t you understand?" the same cultivator said.

    "Who said we lost?" I asked.

    "In case you don''t know how to count, there are only neen tickets! And they took ten of them, how can we clear the scenario here if we can''t even get the rest?!" he said.

    "Well, why do you think there are only neen?" I asked.

    "Because¡­" the man said.

    "Yes, that is also a hint, meaning that there must be a tenth ticket, only the way to get it won''t be simple, I believe it is a hidden ticket somewhere in this prison," I said to him.

    "Then do you have an idea on how to clear this ce?" he asked.

    "I''m not sure, but I have a good hunch we''ll be able to find out more once we leave this ce," I said then turned to the other cultivators.

    "However, I hate traitorous scum," I said as I looked at the few cultivators who sold their pride and gave away their Pieces of Information.

    "You talk a big game for someone in the same situation as us, what can you do without your Qi?" one of the traitors spoke a smirk wide on his face.

    "Really? Who said I can''t use Qi?" I smiled back then I opened my mouth and spat a powerful poisonous breath that spread through the whole room.

    Since I''m capable of easily controlling poison, I made sure that none of it would touch any of the people that didn''t sell out, or in fact never even have a piece of information in the first ce.

    The rest of the cultivators shocked from what just happened tried to rotate their cultivation base only for the shackles to fully suppress them.

    "H-how!?!" one of them spoke, theirst words of course.

    None of them survived my breath and they all died paralyzed and frothing at the mouth.

    I then inhaled back all the poison and looked back at the rest of the cultivators, "Now that the troublesome ones are dead, how about we n the way out?" I said in a gentle smile.

    But my words were like cold water that poured on them.

    Unlike them, I was fully capable of using my abilities, because I didn''t cultivate normal Qi. This meant, that if any of them tried to pull some strange shit, they won''t make it past me alive especially after they realized an important thing.

    "What''s this?" one of the cultivators spoke as he saw a ck spot on his palm.

    "Oh, that''s Death Weaver''s gue," I said.

    The words that came out of my mouth were a clear threat.

    "Why did you do this to us?!" another cultivator asked.

    "Because I''m nning on using you all for the next test, and in case any one of you manages to get their hands on a piece of information and tries to ''Snitch,'' I can easily kill you off. But don''t worry, just listen to my words carefully and you''ll all be able to clear this ce," I said.

    "What kind of madness is this? Who will guarantee that you won''t just escape after you get your tickets?" he said.

    I turned to Huang Yu, "Because I need ten tickets at least, for me and her, and if I were to get at least ten tickets, I might as well clear the whole scenario," I said smiling back, "Now are you nning on helping out, or¡­" I didn''t finish but I looked at the dead corpses on the ground.

    It was clear what I meant to say and they understood rather fast.

    "W-We''ll help," one of them said, and the rest followed suit.

    "Good, now let''s move," I said as I went towards the portal that had opened a while ago once we all were shackled.

    "Shen Bao, do you think it''s wise to do this? To have everyone imprisoned to your whims, aren''t you just creating enemies?" Huang Yu spoke.

    "In life, one must make many enemies to progress, but here, being forced to follow my orders is the only way for me to clear this ce, so I''ll have to make them serve for now," I replied back through sound transmission.

    Once we were outside the room, we found ourselves in a long straight tunnel. It was made of sturdy-looking dark bricks.

    There were a few Light Pearls barely able to light the way forward.

    There were two paths we could take, left or right. "Should we split up?" one of them asked.

    "No, it''s pointless to split up, the test isn''t based on time, so we might as well stay grouped up, in case we split, one of us could get caught and the worse case would be if one of us is caught with a piece of information. So let''s stay grouped up for now," I said and told them," Let''s head from the right," I said.

    The group didn''t argue about the direction and we all moved forward for a very long time.

    The tunnel seemed to extend for almost all eternity, and I made sure to check if we were in a spatial dimensionalbyrinth, but it wasn''t the case, this prison was simply absurdly huge.

    The path we took didn''t branch out for a while until we arrived next to a room that had a bright white formation on it.

    The formation itself had a design that looked exactly like the Information Piece.

    "What''s this?" one of the cultivators asked.

    I took a closer look at the information first then, said, "This is a locked wall, we''ll be able to go past it when we use a Piece of Information against it, there should be something behind this wall," I said.

    "Damn it, but we have none of those, those fuckers took everything," the cultivator said.

    "We don''t really need it," I spoke, "As long as I''m here," I smiled then pulled a small brush.

    "What are you going to do?" asked Huang Yu.

    "You''ll see," I said and began tampering with the formation.

    The cultivators behind me began grumbling as they were speaking.

    "How is he going to even modify a formation made by the Heavenly Academy, this thing is already tooplex for a high-end inscriber. Humph, I think it was a bad decision to follow him, we might as well just give up," he spoke.

    Other cultivators had the same train of thought which I found a bit jarring. Why the heck do people underestimate me this much?

    Suddenly the formation lit up and the wall in front of us tore open and unraveled into a whole new room.

    On the other side of the room was a table with a single piece of information sitting lonely on top of it.

    The rest of the cultivators were all shocked and had their jaws wide open.

    I scoffed at them and headed in, slowly making sure that there are no traps first before I grabbed the piece of Information.

    "Good, we got one, nine more to go, let''s head out," I spoke to the group.

 Chapter 283: Between A Rock And A Hard Place

    <h4>Chapter 283: Between A Rock And A Hard ce</h4>

    It took us another hour before we arrived in front of yet another closed chamber. Acquiring the next Piece of Information gave the group a sense of achievement andradery, and also more confidence in winning this test.

    However, I knew for a fact that this wasn''t going to be easy. So far, we''re freely moving about in the lowest floor, but we''ll eventually have to move up ahead to the upper floor where the rest of the cultivators are in. And once we''re faced up against Prisoners we''ll be like sitting ducks, it''s a game of patience and opportunity. There is no time limit but that doesn''t mean we get to move aboutzily about this.

    "Let''s spread out," I said.

    "Didn''t you say that we needed to be grouped up, also what''s the point of spreading up, if we find the doors, we''ll be unable to unlock them, none of us know how to unlock these," a cultivator said.

    "You don''t need to," I said as I sat down, and pulled several talismans.

    Once the talismans were in front of me, I began writing on them, addingyers overyers of inscriptions.

    It took several minutes before I was done, and then looked up to the gawking spectators, "What?"

    "I''ve never seen someone inscribing that fast, what the heck are you?" one of them spoke.

    "Just a professional, anyway, each of you takes one of these," I said as I handed the papers to them.

    "If you find a door, use this on it, it''ll open it, get the Piece of Information and let''s group back at the entrance to the second floor," I said.

    "Entrance to the second floor? Where is that, we''ve been moving for a while and haven''te close to it," one of them said.

    ''Oh, their divine sense isn''t as big as mine. No wonder they didn''t sense it.''

    "It''s approximately a couple thousand feet in this direction," I said pointing.

    "Right then, let''s spread out," one of them said.

    "Just a warning, don''t think of doing something unnecessary," I said smiling.

    It was a clear threat to all of them.

    The group swallowed hard and nodded at me then they all spread out.

    I was left alone with Huang Yu.

    "I didn''t get a talisman-like them," she said.

    "Oh, because I''m not nning on sending you on a wild goose chase," I said.

    "Wait, you mean¡­"

    "Yes, there are no more clues left on this floor, there have always been only two, the rest are all on the second floor. I sent them away so we''ll get to explore the upper floor alone. In case any one of them goes to the second floor and gets their hands on a talisman it will be hard to take it back from him, and I don''t want to kill anymore. Also, without their skills and abilities they''re useless against the prisoners," I said.

    "But the rules clearly said that you can''t use your abilities against the Guards, so even you, you can''t use your poison," she said.

    "Yes, I can''t, but this guy can," I said as I summoned X.

    X manifested in front of us, like a white holy pdin in his new armored self.

    "Whoa, that''s a new puppet?" she wondered.

    "Nope, the same one just got a few upgrades. Anyway, X lead us up, we''ll be counting on you," I said.

    "Yes, Lord," X spoke back which sent a shiver down Huang Yu''s back.

    "¡­It can speak," she said.

    "Not it, his name is X," I said, anyway let''s go.

    X led the way and since it was pretty far to get to the entrance, I carried Huang Yu in a princess carry and the two of us bolted forward.

    She stiffened up at first and said, "I forgot that you can use your Qi," she said.

    "I can''t use Qi," I said smiling back making her wonder even more.

    "You''re pretty mysterious," she said.

    "Not really, I''m an open book", I smiled back as we increased our speed.

    Soon we arrived at the entrance to the second floor, and just as I walked up I heard someone speaking.

    "Cultivator Wei Lei has sessfully cleared the trial."

    "Damn, he already made it out, I wanted to catch him¡­" I muttered.

    "He really did get us that time," she said.

    "Don''t worry, there is still a third Test, I''ll get my payback then," I said.

    "Payback? Not revenge?" she asked.

    I ced her slowly on her feet and said, "I''m not some egocentric narcissistic snobbish son of a bitch who kills out of spite, I won''t kill for the least offense, but I''ll kill for two things, betrayal, and an attempt at my life. Still, if I''m crossed, I''ll make sure that whoever crossed me will dread the life they have, and fear the days toe," I said.

    "That''s¡­ kinda hot," she said mumbling.

    I frowned but acted as if I didn''t hear it.

    ''Shen Bao, you''re too old for this, get your act together, and get the test done, you have a reason for joining the Heavenly Academy, romance can wait,'' I sighed and moved forward.

    It''s strange to be honest. I''ve lived a long life, and seemed to have realized for a long time that being in thepany of a woman is a good thing but not something of necessity, I''ve been married, not out of love. But out of need and reason.

    My wife was the daughter of a powerful person, and I used her influence to be the City Lord of Lucid Springs.

    Now that I look back at it, it was such a banal thing to do. But it helped me in my journey.

    And after growing older, I grew too detached from romantic feelings and was hardly ever exited.

    But now, the more I cultivate, the stronger my libido is growing. And it''s getting frustrating, it''s like I''m aging backwards. I dread the day that I''ll cultivate long enough to have the libido and hormones of a teenager.

    Not to mention, due to my constitution¡­ I am poison, the mere act of kissing can poison mypanion. Shit. Why am I thinking about this, Shen Bao, get your shit together.

    I shook my head and walked up behind X to the upper floor.

    It took a long, a damn long while to get to the second floor, the stairs seemed endless. But once we got there, the scenery changed.

    The lights were brighter on this side, and I could sense more things using my divine sense.

    The walls that were thick and blocked divine sense at the bottom floor seemed thinner, and there were several¡­vacant spots through the walls.

    A surge of Divine sense rushed towards where I was standing and I immediately realized that we''ve been spotted.

    "Shit, they''reing," I said. And pulled Huang Yu by the hand towards the nearest wall.

    "What are we going to do?" she asked as we were moving after X.

    "We can''t afford to fight back now, I don''t fully understand theyout of this ce, let''s hide here," I said.

    She looked at me strangely and said, "Hide where? That''s a wall," she said.

    I began tapping the wall randomly until one of the bricks on it budged. I applied more pressure and the whole wall spun pulling us inside it. And into a long tunnel.

    The whole wall then began shuddering and the mechanism that was on it locked it shut form spinning again.

    The three of us were now inside the tunnel, and X immediately used Qi to have his eyes shine bright likemps to show us the way. Though we could easily see in the dark due to divine sense it''s best not to use it here.

    I looked down and managed to see the formation that was applied to the wall and understood how this thing functions.

    "This is a rotating wall, once enabled it''ll take you in and will lock for an incense stick worth of time. The Guards outside can''t follow us, but we can''t stay here since they''ll probably know that they can just wait and enter after us," I said.

    "Right, then let''s head out," she said as she pointed forward.

    "Wait, before we go let me do something," I said as I ced a talisman on the wall itself.

    "What''s that?" she asked.

    "It''s a warning system," I replied.

    The two of us moved hastily, while I made sure to keep a lookout for any traps or ambush of any sort. The possibility of another Guard being inside this hidden tunnel is small, but not none existent.

    We headed out for a long while until we arrived at a dead end.

    This was the other side of the tunnel and apparently, it would lead to another part of the prison that we can explore.

    "Shen Bao," Huang Yu said before I enabled the rotating wall, "Don''t, there are people on the other side," she said.

    Though the cultivators on the other side won''t be able to locate me if they used their divine sense from outside, me doing so from inside will reveal me, so how did she realize that there are people on the other side.

    She then pulled a small needle that seemed to be vibrating.

    "This is a Life Signature Needle, from the name, it''s able to scan and locate life signatures. It vibrated thrice, meaning that three cultivators are on the other side," she said.

    "It seems that we''ve been exposed then, the other cultivators have already found this secret passage and now we''re trapped inside," I muttered.

    Suddenly my head snapped to where we came from, "The talisman broke. They entered¡­" I said.

 Chapter 284: Secrets Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 284: Secrets Revealed</h4>

    I couldn''t fight now, though it would have been the best way out of this situation, theck of information I have at this stage is stopping me from doing anything stupid.

    I walked up to Liang Yu and pushed her against the wall.

    "Huh, wait, what are you doing¡­ I mean, it''s too sudden!" she said fully flustered.

    "Huh? What are you talking about? stand here," I said then pulled my brush and began writing an inscription on the wall around her.

    "Ah¡­ an inscription, yes, what else," she said smiling ruefully as if she was expecting something and was disappointed.

    I finished writing the inscription and then called X into my holding bag.

    Then I pressed myself against her and onto the wall enabling the formation to start.

    Soon, the formation lit up, and everything about us, from our scent, our sense, and even our presence was muffled.

    It took less than a minute for a few cultivators toe rushing towards where we were and immediately the wall on the other side opened up letting out a bright light shine through the tunnel.

    The two groups of cultivators met together a few feet next to us and looked dumbfounded.

    "What? Where did they go?" one of them asked.

    "I don''t know, they never came here, did you miss them on the way here?" one of them asked.

    "No, we made a full sweep as we were moving, what the hell? Did they disappear or something?" one of them asked.

    "We locked the door on the other side when we came here, so even if they hid somewhere, they should still be stuck in the tunnel."

    "This is strange, they never got here so there could have been another path inside the tunnel you must have missed them. So, they must still be somewhere in the tunnel, let''s hurry back!" a cultivator added and the group rushed back.

    One of the cultivators however made sure to lock the tunnel door before they headed to the other side and ced a couple of explosive talismans under some rocks.

    I spotted all of that of course and made sure to keep it in mind.

    Soon, they disappeared from where we stood and then I finally moved from Liang Yu.

    Who looked more red in the face than a tomato.

    "What''s wrong?" I said as I pressed my head onto her forehead.

    "Fever?" I asked.

    "No, no, nothing, don''t mind it," she said and hurriedly moved away from me.

    "Anyway, let''s leave," I said.

    "How? They locked the door," she said.

    "Why do you guys keep forgetting that I''m a master inscriber," I shook my head and then walked up to the closed gate.

    Once I got there, I made sure to remove all the explosive talismans, carefully of course, and ced them a bit further into the tunnel.

    Once that was done, I began working on the other gate. The inscription wasn''t that difficult to disable, and I made quick work of it in a few minutes.

    With the rotating door now opened we both walked outside while it closed behind us.

    "Let''s keep moving," I said as I chose one of the two avable paths we had. We moved to the left of the new pathway.

    It took us a few minutes before arriving at one of the areas with the same academy symbol. I ced my talisman against the door and enabled its opening. There was another Piece of Information there that I collected. And now we had three, we still need seven more and I knew it was going to be a pain to get them.

    The passages through the prison lookedplex andplicated to navigate through, not to mention the asional Divine Sense sweep that woulde every now and then to probe our location. But whenever they thought they found us, they never managed to find us due to my ability to fully hide our presence from Divine Sense.

    We collected many other pieces and had six in my possession, but I knew for a fact that we couldn''t get any more from this floor as I had mapped it fully along with all the secret passages within it.

    Another thing of note happened soon after. The group we left on the third floor came up after realizing that there were no more Pieces of Information. We didn''t meet them, but I knew they hade up from the person managing this prison.

    "A prisoner has been captured!" spoke the same voice.

    It was a good thing too because I knew another thing from this information.

    The person will be indicating the prisoners captured and the prisoners that have managed to escape, namely the guy who Snitched first was already out, but the second one was clearly still stuck here. So, if we get lucky, we might end up meeting him and with the five Pieces of Information he has, I would be well over the quota.

    We continued moving forward and decided that it was time to head to the first floor. But there was an issue.

    There was only one way to the first floor.

    "Shit," I cursed as I spotted a guard who was meditating on top of the stairs leading to the first floor.

    This guy must be from the guard group, usually, a single person wouldn''t be able to stop us from going up, but in a scenario where we can''t use our skills, we''re pretty fucked.

    We backed off a bit and I spoke to Liang Yu, "We need to think up of a way to get him to leave his post," I said.

    Liang Yu began thinking at first then seriously looked at me and said.

    "I''ll act as a decoy, I''ll run past the stairs and have him follow me," she said.

    I stopped her and said, "That''s pointless, you''ll be caught for no reason," I said.

    I looked past the stairs and sighed, "I didn''t want to do this, in case you think ill of me," I said.

    "What do you mean? You''ve been saving me for a long while I''m pretty sure I should be the one thanking you and hoping for you to not think ill of me as being nothing but extra baggage that is holding you down," she said.

    "Right," I said. I then began making a few hand symbols and manifested a perfect clone of myself.

    The moment I finished the spell, Liang Yu looked at me with wide eyes, "H-how do you know the secret technique of the Holy Water Pce?!" she said.

    There was a bit of anger in her voice.

    "This is why I said don''t think ill of me," I said then pulled up a golden scripture from my inventory.

    "I found this during my travels," I said as I showed her the scripture.

    She looked at it and frowned, "I''m afraid I''ll have to take this away from you¡­even if it means my life," she said.

    "Go ahead you can have it back," I said as I handed it back to her.

    She looked at me in total confusion, "You''re just going to give up a heavenly treasure, just like that?" she said.

    "Well, it''spletely useless to me right now, I already learned the technique, so what''s the point of keeping an old piece of paper," I said.

    She took the scripture then frowned, "How did you manage to even learn the Doppelganger technique from this? It''s still iplete, not to mention¡­ are you a woman?" she asked.

    I frowned at her and said, "I''m pretty sure thest time I looked, I had a big sausage between my legs, so no, I''m not a woman," I said.

    My words caused her a bit of embarrassment but she said, "Because this is a skill that only women can learn, how did you do it? a man''s meridian structure will not allow him to use this technique," she said.

    "Well, maybe because I interpreted the technique by my own standards, I managed to overwrite it and subvert the limitations for its use without me even noticing," I said.

    "Anyway, I thought that if you had the ability to use your skills you would have probably done this instead, since you''re a saint of the Holy Water Pce you should know about this," I said.

    "Yes, I do, and it''s one of the techniques given solely to the three Saintes of the Holy Water Pce. Whoever owned this was probably a Saintess of the pce. Someone from the older generation, where did you find it?" she asked.

    "It belonged to a Crimson Robed cultivator, who tried to kill me. A long time ago, in a deste cave¡­it''s a memory I don''t wish to remember," I said.

    "Crimson robed¡­ do you remember what sect he was from?" she asked.

    I frowned I actually don''t know, that man was back at Si Xue, and I doubt that he would be rted to Liang Yu but I still drew the symbol of the sect he belonged to, I still remember it.

    It was an easy symbol to draw and once I finished, her eyes widened up.

    "It was them after all!" she said.

    "Who are you talking about?" I said.

    "This," she pointed at my drawing, "It''s the Three Suns Sect, a devil worshiper sect. Our ancestor sent his daughter, one of the three Saintess to broker a peaceful rtionship with the Three Sun sect, but they never reported her safe arrival. They must have killed her and taken her inscription¡­ this is vital information, do you swear that what you just said is true!" she said.

    "Upon my Dao, I found it in his pouch and I still have it to this date," I said.

    Then showed her the pouch I got from the man in Crimson Robes.

    She grabbed the pouch and investigated it a bit and said, "Shen Bao, with this, I can act as if I hadn''t seen you use our sect''s Secret Skill, but please make sure to not reveal this to anyone else on this. It''ll cause you a great deal of trouble, consider it thanks for showing me the evidence of the passing of my older sister," I said.

    "But, the monitor of this prison is probably able to see what we''re doing?" I said.

    She shook her head, "the monitor of the prison belongs to the Heavenly Academy, they keep tight lips on these matters. So don''t worry about it, anyway, while you already used this, might as well draw that man''s attention for now," she said.

    "Right," I said then sent the clone rushing forward towards the stairs, the moment the clone and the man meditating spotted each other, my clone cursed then headed back down and ran in the opposite direction of where we were.

    The man came rushing, "Wait there you little rat!" he shouted and rushed down the stairs to our level, but before he followed the clone he made sure to look in our direction and sent a divine sense traveling a long way through the tunnel. Finding nothing he judged that it was not a distraction and followed the clone rather rapidly.

    The two of us were hiding and just as he went away, we rushed up the stairs.

    Time to head to the first floor.

 Chapter 285: Madness

    <h4>Chapter 285: Madness</h4>

    Author littel note, "Pepega moment here, been naming Liang Yu as Huang Yu, i apologize i fixed it now i''ll go back to the other chaps and rename it back."

    ***

    In the Northern Domain, argepass capable of carrying several people on top of it manifested right in front of the Wind Pce.

    Several Heavenly Wind Guards rushed up to intercept thepass, but seeing the person on it caused them to pause.

    He was holding a pot, a pot with an incense burner, this pot didn''t belong to the Wind Realm and was an item that was despised throughout the Vast Expanse. The man who held it as if he was holding a toddler looked as if he had aged a thousand years. His eyes were sunk in, his face was riddled with scars and his usually white robes had not a single spot that was not red anymore.

    "Senior brother Han!" one of the guards hurried towards the man and grabbed him before he fell unconscious.

    "Tell¡­young Prince Zhang¡­ that Ipleted¡­my mission," he said and immediately lost consciousness.

    It didn''t take long for Zhang Tian to hear the news and he immediately rushed toward where the guards took Han.

    "Where is he?!" spoke Zhang Tian only to find an unwanted person in the treatment room.

    The person that caused all of this, was Lin Tian, the one that was supposed to be the heir to the Wind Throne. He was a young man, who resembled Zhang Tian greatly, in his hand was the same pot that Han had just brought.

    "Older Broder, you seem to be in a hurry, I wonder if this is the reason for it," the younger brother, Lin Tian spoke in a wide grin.

    "Put, that, down," Zhang Tian spoke, his voice a clearmand.

    "You see brother, I don''t really like being told what to do, especially by someone of a lower cultivation base than me, I mean, you''ve been trapped for a thousand years, you should really know your ce!" the younger brother said and raised the pot high as if to break it against the ground.

    Zhang Tian, for the first time perhaps, since anyone had ever seen him, was enraged.

    "I SAID!" spoke Zhang Tian, and the mere voice, was enough to send shockwaves through the entire capita, "PUT THAT DOWN!" the voice increased in potency and was not only powerful even space itself around the capital threatened to tore open.

    Lin Tian''s face paled, "H-how?! How are you able to use the Voice of the Wind! That''s not something even I could do!" he said. And as if rage boiled against the ''unfairness'' of the talent his older brother has, Lin Tian threw the pot against the ground.

    Zhang Tian''s rage couldn''t reach any higher as he saw the pot about to be crashed, but as if the world itself slowed down, the pot seemed to freeze in time, and a gentle hand seemed to slowly go under it and pick it up before it crashed against the ground.

    The hand belonged to a person that was close to both of them.

    "Mother," Lin Tian spoke. But before he could finish his words, a resounding p shocked him back to reality.

    "You caused enough problems¡­ leave my sight," she said.

    Before Lin was about to retort, he saw the look on his mother''s face and remembered an old tale.

    Of the four heavenly kings, there was one person that was on the same pedestal and maybe a bit more than all of them, the inarguably strongest being on the Vast Expanse a woman with an incredibly cursed temper that once enraged, she wouldn''t stop before the destruction of several dozens ofs.

    Lin decided that it would be wise to leave the matter as is for now, and leave while giving Zhang Tian a spiteful nce first.

    "Zhang''Er," she spoke as she handed Zhang Tian the pot.

    "What do you want to do with this?" she asked.

    "I need to pay back the person who aided me, this is the least I could do," he said.

    She had a sorrowful look on her face as she said, "It''s all my fault, I shouldn''t have spoken back then, I should have kept my mouth closed," she said.

    "Don''t worry about it," Zhang Tian said, "You only spoke of Shen Bao due to being happy that I made a friend, right?" he asked.

    She nodded back to him.

    "Then, you clearly meant no harm, so worry not, these people here," Zhang Tian said while he showed her the pot, "They are friends of Shen Bao, his sect, I should be able to bring them back," he said.

    "Dabbling with Souls is an ugly thing," she said.

    "It''s the only way, they didn''t die yet¡­" he said.

    "But they''re not among the living," his mother replied, then she added, "Would you trust me with those souls?" she asked.

    "What do you mean, mother?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "This is something that I''ve hidden from you, and only a select few know of¡­among them, your father, and that despicable Poison God," she said.

    The words, Poison God caused Zhang Tian''s ears to perk up, it was rare when his mother talked about her past, and even rarer when she mentioned the Poison God.

    "It''s due to my research, and the help of the Poison God that we created that thing in your hand. The Poison God asked me to help him make something to extract poisons from the Baleful Mist nt for his cultivation, and in exchange, he''ll gift me the Eternal Youth pill.

    And I helped him by making that. Even if he had kept his end of the deal, that bastard made it so that the pots would extract souls instead of the mist, and I forever hated him for it, for now, the Fire King uses that same loathsome pot to harvest the souls of many innocents. My name is forever smeared by this cursed thing. However, I know best how to extract souls without harming them. I''ll only need new bodies to host them in," she said.

    "I never knew this about you," Zhang Tian said.

    "Everyone has secrets, son, even your parents," she said.

    Zhang Tian hesitantly gave up the pot for her, since he himself didn''t know much about her, but at the same time knew that if she spoke a promise, she''d never break it.

    ***

    The first Floor was pretty spacious for a prison floor, it was actually on a different levelpared to the other floors.

    Looking around, I was a bit stunned.

    What seemed to be a floor was actually an open area, in the skies.

    We were apparently inside a massive floating ind that seemed to be hanging by gravitationalws. Looking around I was able to understand a bit more about the actual purpose of the shackles and why the second prisoner wasn''t able to leave as fast as the first one did.

    Around the main floating prison were four main roads that led to different floating inds. Three of them were connected by a long bridge, and one of them was disconnected from the main floating prison.

    And I didn''t even need to use my divine sense to realize that the man that Snitched was trapped on that ind that is separated from the rest of the prison.

    He was teleported there randomly and needed to figure out a way to leave. However, I still don''t see the ''exit''.

    "Shen Bao, we need to go!" Liang Yu said.

    I turned my head to face where she was looking and in the far distance across the bridge were several cultivators that were rushing towards us.

    "Right," I said and then pulled her hand and moved to one of the long bridges leading to the other inds.

    "They''ll catch us like this they can use Qi," she said as she kept a lookout behind us at the closing cultivators.

    "Not if I were to do this," I said as I threw one of the Explosive talismans I obtained from the hidden passage.

    Liang Yu''s eyes widened as the talismannded softly on the bridge.

    "Wait if you blow that up we''ll die!" she said.

    "I''m not an idiot, don''t worry," I said as we both kept on running as fast as possible.

    Soon the other cultivator party made it to the bridge and were about toe after us.

    Yet, one of them stopped the other.

    "It worked I said as I continued running forward.

    "What happened why did they stop?" she asked.

    "Because they think that I''ll blow up the bridge the moment they step on it. They followed us on foot meaning that flight is impossible in this area. And if they were to arrogantly cross the bridge I could easily blow it up," I said.

    "But we''re still on the bridge, wouldn''t they think that we won''t dare do it?" she asked.

    "Would you trust your life against the life of a desperate person?" I said.

    "No," she said.

    "Exactly, they believe that we already lost since we have no more Pieced of Information, so it mighte to their mind that we can be petty and might bring them down with us. They only need to wait for a bit or obtain a few other prisoners to win, so why bother with us," I said.

    She nodded as if she understood and the two of us managed to reach the other side of the bridge.

    Once I was there, I looked in front of me.

    It was an old gaol (Jail) like structure. That was structured like a small dome with one single entrance.

    The gaol''s entrance was barricaded with a lot of steel bars that seemed to have seen better days.

    There was no method to open these things like an inscription, but there was something that looked like a keyhole.

    I realized that the shape of this keyhole was the same as the shape of the shackles on our hands.

    I slowly then ced my hands into the small protrusion and twisted my wrist, causing the whole structure to shudder and the bars to slowly screech and retract.

    The gaol opened up for us and we were able to go down by then.

    Just as I walked alongside Liang Yu she shuddered.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "I¡­ can use my Qi again," she said.

    And immediately the first thing she did was use Qi to purify her body and cleans away the sweat.

    "Much morefortable," she said grinning.

    I smiled back at her but was at the same time worried.

    "Can you walk back outside and tell me if you can still use your Qi?" I asked.

    She didn''t question why and did as I asked.

    And just as she stepped out of the gaol she frowned, "I can''t use it again, it seems that ce has aw that allows the use of Qi, I wonder why?" she questioned.

    I had a bad premonition about this. The test clearly exined that we can''t use Qi against cultivators, but here we''re allowed to use it, meaning that we''re expected to use it¡­

    "I think there is something downstairs, keep your guard up, we''re probably going to need to use our Qi," I said.

    And she understood that we may be asked to risk our lives soon.

    The inside of the gaol was a spiral staircase leading down. It was dark and even using divine sense wasn''t enough for us to scan the way ahead. The whole structure was made to muffle Divine Sense powers.

    I then had Xe out of the holding bag. He then used his eyes as sh lights lighting the way for us.

    The three of us progressed down smoothly without any problems of sorts, there were no traps or no obvious dangers at first, but the sense of danger for some reason kept increasing the lower we went down.

    "What is this building," Liang Yu asked. "This whole test is strange," she said.

    "I could agree to that. It bothered me from the first time we got here, this ce is a really good ce to hold prisoners, but howe there were no prisoners while we were roaming the ce," I said.

    "I don''t know, maybe it got discontinued?" she said.

    "I highly doubt that such a facility with so much invested in it would be disregarded and used only for test. Perhaps there was a reason there were no more prisoners here, and I believe that the reason might be these gaols," I said.

    Just as we arrived to the bottom of the stairs, X turned off his lights immediately the moment we heard something moving.

    Divine sense ispletely useless here. But one could still see if their eyes get used to the dark especially with my Sky Pearl I was able to see shapes.

    I immediately held Liang, stopping her from taking another step forward.

    I then sent her a sound transmission message, "We havepany, and not the good kind," I said.

    I peeked from behind the wall leading to the main room and was able to see¡­things. That shouldn''t be called humans in there.

    They were not people and didn''t look like beasts, but they were half of both. A half-human at most.

    They hadrge eyes, and an elongated jaw, they were fully humanoid but they had fur in some ces and skin in others. They seemed to be sleeping for now and on the other side of this hall, there was a simple box on the other side of the room.

    And I could bet that what would be there is nothing but the piece of information that we needed to find.

    "This is going to be problematic," I said.

    "What is?" I got an instant reply.

    "These creatures here, they''re all at the Soul Formation stage or higher," I said. "If we wake any of them up, we''ll probably end up dead," I said.

 Chapter 286: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 286: Escape</h4>

    The situation wasn''t looking good.

    How the hell are creatures this strong held up in a ce like this? The facility clearly doesn''t seem fully capable of containing them. If things like this were to be released outside, a cmity will ensue.

    However, I had to immediately eat my words, as I saw what they all had on their wrists. They all had the same shackles as we did.

    Meaning, that they were also prisoners of this ce, and if they were to leave, they''ll lose their ability. No wonder they remained here. For at least here they could defend themselves, while outside they''repletely useless.

    Our goal was ahead of us, in sight, but we couldn''t get to it easily.

    To walk between all these things, undetected would be close to a miracle.

    "How are we going to go there?" Liang Yu asked me.

    I frowned trying to think up a way to cross the room, then I almost facepalmed myself and only stopped because the sound would have woken them up.

    "Get a bit back," I sent through transmission.

    Liang Yu walked away from me and watched carefully as I crouched down as low as I could and opened my mouth.

    A faint purple-colored smoke slowly left my mouth, and it dropped to the ground as if it was liquid smoke.

    It slowly began moving forward premating the room, bit by bit, foot by foot, until it touched the first half-human.

    The moment the smoke touched the first half-human, he shook slightly but didn''t seem to care.

    Then it began spreading, slowly, but surely, it spread all across the room, making sure to make contact with every one of these things.

    My poison Qi reserves were being exhausted at an extremely rapid pace, but it was needed, this ''poison'' I was using wasn''t something simple.

    It was a mix of the Braided Mourning Petal poison, a highly toxic and paralyzing poison, along with a mix of Joyful Weed.

    The mix of these things worked wondrously in knocking out targets and then slowly paralyzing them. The concentrate of the Joyful Weed was strong enough to knock out a beast, and the best part about it was its numbing effect.

    The numbing effect worked in countering the painful effects of the Burial Mourning Petals. As thetter worked in a way that caused the muscles and nerves to freeze and be immobile, causing immense pain.

    The mixture was highly toxic, but at the same time, an unaware person hit with it will never realize when they had died.

    It took several minutes before the room was fully permeated with the poison and soon, I could hear the breathing of these creatures ceasing one after another. Unable to wake up from the trance, nor call for help, many opened their eyes, shuddering but unable to release themselves from the trap.

    It felt awful, to kill so many of these creatures without them having a chance to defend themselves, but if the administrator of the test threw this as a test for us, it was obvious that we were meant to fight for survival against them.

    Soon, the room fell to a deathly silence. As all the creatures have died, with horror painted in their wide-open eyes.

    I stood up, and said, "Don''t walk into the room, you''ll get poisoned," I said as I took the first step into the room.

    The poison within it parted away from me. This very poison that killed so many creatures far stronger than me, parted way as if afraid.

    I walked forward in between the corpses. It was a sad sight, but it had to be done.

    Once I arrived at the other side of the room, I pulled up the box.

    Just as I did, I heard something clicking, there was something underneath the box. And a loud bell sound echoed within the room.

    However, the bell toll for no one.

    It was a trap all along. A trap enticing people to risk themselves into walking right in between these creatures, to get the box, only to die a momentter when the bell woke all the creatures here.

    "What a sad joke," I scuffed at the situation, because, once again the bell tolled to no one.

    I opened the box and pulled the Piece of Information from it.

    Seven, we need three more.

    "Let''s go," I said to Liang Yu and the two of us walked away from this prison now turned tomb.

    Once arrived to the exit of the floor, we saw the cultivators on the other side of the bridge still waiting, but it was clear from their reaction that they were surprised to see us alive.

    We had no way to cross the bridge without fighting them, however.

    "What are we going to do now?" Liang Yu asked.

    Looking around, I didn''t seem to find a way to solve the situation peacefully.

    I sat down and pulled my pipe.

    Liang Yu looked at me in wonder and asked me, "I''m surprised you still find the time to smoke," she said.

    "We''re at a stalemate," I said as I filled my pipe with Joyful Weed then lit it up using the Veridian Heart me released from my finger as if it was a lighter.

    "I also need this to recoup my Qi reserves," I said as I took a strong whiff from the pipe.

    We can''t move across the bridge because they can destroy it and have us trapped, and we can''t actively hurt them or we''ll be disqualified.

    However, they can''t cross the bridge towards us, but I''m still unable to understand one thing. Why hadn''t they destroyed the bridge yet?

    If I was them, I''d destroy the bridge and keep us trapped on the other side, so why didn''t they?

    I could hardly believe that cultivators that cultivated for hundreds of years wouldn''t havee to this conclusion yet, so I strongly believe that it''s not that they didn''t want to destroy the bridge, it''s that they are unable to. Or are not permitted to.

    "I could probably do something about them, but I''ll need to attack from inside the Gaol," Liang Yu said.

    "No, if you actively hurt them, we''ll be disqualified," I said.

    "We need to figure out another way," I added after taking another puff.

    "The poison you used before," Liang Yu said.

    "That''s deadly, it will kill them not to mention, I''ll need a way to get them to inhale the poison first, and from here they''ll see iting," I said.

    "Not that one, the one you used against the scorpion," she said.

    "Oh, the Breath Sealing Poison¡­ that could work," I said. But how can I get them to inhale it, I can''t abuse my ability to ignore the shackles. So, I must use it from within the Gaol, but using a poison breath over this distance, and not to mention the powerful winds¡­ there is no shot it''ll ever reach them.

    But this gave me an idea.

    "You''re pretty smart," I said and then pulled something from my inventory.

    It was my revolver. A very reliable revolver.

    I then pulled a long tube and linked it to the muzzle increasing its length, then added another part at the back of the revolver to act as a stock. Then added a scope.

    The revolver immediately transformed into a sniper rifle.

    "That''s a strange-looking treasure, what is this thing''s function?" she asked.

    "I''ll show you," I said as I loaded the sniper with a normal bullet.

    I pulled the weapon and aimed at the group from inside the Gaol.

    They clearly saw me cocking the weapon and looked pretty worried at first.

    Suddenly, the first shot echoed and the bullet traveled at extreme speed.

    However, that speed to the eyes of a cultivator was nothing worth writing home about.

    One of the cultivators easily sliced the metallic bullet in half and snorted.

    "What a pitiful weapon you have, just surrender," he said.

    "I don''t mean to be rude," Liang Yu said, "But that is truly, a pitiful weapon," she said.

    I sighed and loaded another bullet.

    I shot again but this time the man didn''t even slice at it, because it didn''t evene close to him and flew far away.

    "HAH! You can''t even aim, your first blow was far more precise," the same man taunted.

    I ignored him and continued shooting, several of the bullets were flying all over the ce, and the few that came close to them were sliced in half.

    "This is getting on my nerves! Administrator! This man is clearly going against the rules, the prisoners shouldn''t assault the guards," the cultivator said.

    Soon a voice echoed through the prison, "No rules have been broken yet, and he is in all his right to use a tool, the condition was to not use martial arts." The voice said.

    ''Good, I was banking on this confirmation.''

    The man after hearing this was vexed, but still shrugged, "Even if, that thing is useless you won''t even be able to harm us at this rate, might as well give up." He dered proudly.

    I pulled another cartridge full of bullets, but these were different, and Liang Yu was able to spot the difference.

    "These¡­" she muttered.

    I grinned and loaded one of them and shot it, a bit far from the first cultivator but at the same time against a wall near him. The bullet nted itselffortably against the wall.

    More bullets were shot, but not a single one of them was even close toing in contact with the cultivators and onlynded a few feet away from them.

    I continued doing so, and they continued to stay vignt.

    "Don''t even try to lower our guard and hope for a clean shot, that''ll never happen especially with how slow those slugs, just give in man, we all need to get to the next test, you already lost," he said.

    I didn''t speak and continued shooting, then something unexpected happened, one of the cultivators went out of his way to jump and sh at one of the bullets.

    The moment the bullet was cut in two, a small pill fell down.

    "What? What''s this?" the cultivator spoke as he held up half of the pill in his hands.

    His head snapped towards me and he saw a wide grin on my face.

    Of course, I wasn''t missing on purpose, but I didn''t want them to see the content of the bullets.

    "Shit¡­" the cultivator spoke just in time with me snapping my fingers.

    All the bullets nted next to them exploded at the same time and they all released a powerful wave of Breath Sealing Poison that immediately invaded the nerves of the cultivators causing them to start shacking.

    They looked at their hands as if they couldn''t believe themselves.

    "My¡­my Qi!" one of them spoke.

    And that was our cue, "Let''s go!" I said as I ran as fast as I could forward with Liang Yu following after me.

 Chapter 287: The Broken Bridge

    <h4>Chapter 287: The Broken Bridge</h4>

    We rushed up ahead and across the bridge, not to waste any moment from the effect of the Breath Sealing Poison.

    The cultivator group was baffled unable to understand how they were hit this hard and why their Qi was suppressed. Right now, we were on equal footing.

    Though I knew for a fact that we were slightly disadvantaged, since they were a group of four, while we''re just two. We can''t use our Qi, nor can they but they still are martial artist masters, and if they were to use self-defense techniques I''ll end up beaten ck and blue.

    I was about to pull another dozen pills to use against them, when Liang Yu shot forward, far faster than I imagined she would, and dove knee first into the first cultivator.

    The cultivator was sent rolling on the ground, while she made a perfectnding and twisted her body masterfully towards the second cultivator, she struck with open palms on several parts of the cultivator''s chest, paralyzing him then sent a roundhouse kick to his head sending him rolling after the first cultivator.

    The other two realized that trying to use Qi-based Martial arts in such a situation was stupid. So they went on the offensive with their own martial arts, striking hard at Liang Yu who seemed to be parrying bone-breaking punches with feather-like movements of her gentle hands.

    She was so masterful of the art I was shocked at how easily she treated the group.

    I hurried after her, wanting to help, but thankfully I didn''t need to embarrass myself with my close to nonexistent knowledge in hand-to-handbat.

    She disposed of the two other cultivators as she did to the first group, with smooth movements and evasion of all of their halfhearted blows, and retaliated with a fist of steel, unlike her gentle appearance and grace.

    "Let''s go," she said. As she made a hand dusting gesture after all the cultivators were groaning on the ground.

    I was about to follow before I said, "Give me a moment," I said and grabbed a few pills, forcefully feeding them to the unconscious cultivators.

    "What are those?" she asked.

    "Those are a type of consumables, once digested they''ll seal the user''s Qi for a few days. They have no side effects, and will literally cause them to be mortals for a while. They won''t be a bother to us once we seal them," I said.

    She nodded at me, and waited for me to finish, once I was done, I asked X to round up the cultivators and then had them all tied at the same time with ropes, then grabbed the talisman I had left on the bridge earlier and ced it right between them and added a small formation.

    I pped one of the cultivators back to consciousness and told him, "Hey, you," I said.

    He looked at me with angry eyes but when I showed him the explosive talisman he gulped.

    "See, your Qi has been sealed, and this," I said as I pointed to the ground, there was a formation there, "If you try and tamper with this formation, this talisman will blow up, this isn''t a talisman I made, but it was made by one of your Guard friends. So, technically, if you die, it won''t be my fault, because I didn''t use anything to kill you off, so yeah, if your buddyes you should ask him to try and decipher the formation if they want to release you first," I said smiling at him.

    My words were clear, don''t even think of leaving the formation area unless you disable it, and something like this formation, though it took me no more than five minutes to make unless a person is a direct disciple of Master Rain, I hardly doubt they''ll be able to disable it in a short while.

    "Cya," I said and turned along with Liang Yu.

    The two of us headed to another Gaol and we found the same thing at that ce, prisons where creatures that resembled man and beast were trapped, where they rested waiting for the day of release, hoping to exit but without any hope of ever leaving.

    The situation didn''t change much, it was the same as in the first Gaol, I used the mixture of poison and paralyzing Mourning Burial Petal extract alongside the Joyful weed, only this time I increased the potency of the joyful weed, at least to lessen their death throws and make them pass away without much pain.

    the trap rung once again tolling for no one.

    One we grabbed the other two pieces of Information, there was one left, and it was on the other side of the broken bridge.

    Now, no wonder the prison had mentioned that there are only nine Pieces of Information, it''s because thest one is inessible.

    Flight is not possible within this ce, and the distance is far too long for a jump.

    A prisoner won''t have the Qi necessary to even jump a quarter of the distance, and a guard is clearly unable to go to the Gaols due to some limitations.

    Me and Liang Yu stood at the edge of the broken bridge, stuck and unable to proceed.

    "What now?" she asked.

    I thought for a while before asking , "X can you fly over this?"

    X immediately shook his head, "There is a Qi suppression field, I''ll lose power and fall down," he slowly said.

    "Right, hmmm, give me your arm," I asked X and he handed it to me.

    I opened X''s arm and began modifying it, I didn''t need to do much, nor did I have the time for a full modification, and thankfully, as a man from Earth I always reminded myself of having something important with me through my travels, and always in my holding bag.

    A rope

    A simple tool that no cultivator would ever have on them, but I would always have one on me, you never know when you can use one.

    I then pulled one of X''s Pile Bunker Bullets and linked its base to the rope, I lowered the power of the Pile Bunker bullet and once the bullet was ced back on X''s arm, I spoke.

    "Shoot at the other side of the bridge," I said.

    X cocked his arm forward, and shot the bullet. It was fast but not fast that it tore the rope as it flew.

    The bullet''s sharp edge embedded itself onto the other side of the bridge and then it began spinning further forcing its way into the foundation of the bridge.

    I then linked the other end of the rope to one of the bridge''s railing and made sure it was tight enough for us to cross over.

    "Time to do some acrobatics," I said to Liang Yu who seemed rather impressed with how simple the solution was.

    "I''ll head out first," she said and jumped on the rope, she then dashed on top of it as if didn''t phase her or if the endless looking drop even bother her in the slightest.

    Cultivators are a scary breed.

    I shook my head.

    I ced X back in my holding bag then jumped on the rope. I gulped then began moving, only to find it rather easy. A cultivator''s bnce is something of legends, with the ability to control one''s body far more than any mortal can, I could easily move above the rope without much fear.

    So, I moved rapidly across it without breaking a sweat. And once I arrived to the other side, I debated between if I should cut the rope or leave it as it is.

    "Might as well remove it," Liang Yu said, "if the cultivators inside the main prison were toe out, they''ll probably wat for us at the other end of the bridge, and I don''t think your trick from earlier will work again."

    She was right, it''s pointless to keep the rope behind us.

    I pulled Creeping Demise and sliced at the rope cutting it off.

    We then headed towards thest Gaol, only for us to find something out of the ordinary there.

    The gate was open, unlike the other gates, this one had already been used.

    I crouched to the ground and noticed a few footprints on the dust on the ground, they looked fresh.

    "No wonder," I mumbled.

    "What? Did you figure out something?" she asked.

    "Yeah, it''s the second cultivator, the second Snitch, I think," I said as I looked inside the Gaol, "I think he was teleported here, and since the bridge is broken, he couldn''t move away from this area, also," I said as I stood up, "I think he went down and never made it out," I said.

    I twirled Creeping Demise yfully as I got closer to the entrance of the final Gaol, "Get ready, this isn''t going to be as simple as thest time."

    It would seem that we''re being expected.

 Chapter 288: Clear

    <h4>Chapter 288: Clear</h4>

    We slowly made our way down, and the sound of loud breathing permeated the area. You could clearly hear the sound of ws being dragged across hard surfaces, while at the same time the asional howl, of a beast and a man at the same time.

    The sounds were not only fear-inducing, but they also made one''s skin crawl the more you listened.

    "This is really ufortable," Liang Yu said.

    "Hang in there, I''ll try and see if I can poison them," I spoke.

    We reached the bottom of the stairs and were close to the wide hall where the half-humans usually were.

    I sneaked a peek at the hall.

    There were several dead half-humans in there. Their bodies were burnt to cinders and many were cut apart. However, the majority only had some wounds on them, and they all seemed heartily feasting on something.

    From the piled-up half-humans, I could see an arm twitching, not of life, but because whoever was the owner of that arm was being torn apart and the arm was jerking as the body was being devoured.

    My divine sense also spotted several pieces of paper on the ground.

    I sent a sound transmission to Liang Yu, "I guess we found out what happened to the second snitch," I said.

    "We''re probably better off giving this up, we can''t afford to fight against these¡­ and I don''t think they''ll sit still while you poison them," she said.

    "Oh, they won''t," I said.

    "But I have my ways, get ready," I said then I pulled several canisters from my holding bag then threw them into the room.

    "Close your eyes and ears!" I said as I had my hands on my ears and closed my eyes shut.

    Liang Yu immediately followed after me, closing her eyes and shutting her ears.

    The canisters fell into the room and pulled every creature''s attention to them as they slowly rolled on the ground before a deafening sound exploded in the middle of the room.

    All the creatures screeched in pain, as the sh grenade I threw worked perfectly in such a darkened area to blind and destabilize the creatures.

    The light would be annoying for the creatures that were used to dark areas, but anyone with the ability to use divine sense could easily forgo the use of their eyes, however, the shbang had a mix of concussive explosives that would rattle anyone''s brain out from shock.

    I threw more canisters, poison ones, and Breath Sealing ones.

    And once chaos ensued in the hall, I summoned X and ran forward.

    X followed after me, and thankfully I decided to have him along because some of these creatures seemed to have managed to resist the explosives and wereing my way.

    X struck down the closest of the half-humans with a wide palm, then pointed his arm to the second one shooting the Pile Bunker bullet at max output right into its chest.

    The bullet prated through his chest and managed to catch another creature off guard pinning it to the ground before the bullet started spinning and tearing the creature apart.

    I continued moving to dodge the iling creatures that seemed to be regaining their bearings rather too fast for my taste.

    I grabbed the box and another bell rang. This time it was tolling, for our lives.

    I turned back to leave the room only to find all the creatures standing up, growling with bloodied jaws at me.

    Shit, this was going to be a pain in the ass.

    "Don''t act like if I''m not existent," Spoke Liang Yu as she made a hand gesture, and summoned several clones of herself.

    The clones were so detailed that one could hardly distinguish the real from the fake.

    "This is how you use the golden scripture," she said and she made a hand motion where she summoned an ethereal sword from her palm, all the other clones did the same and then a dozen magic swords shot forward at blinding speed towards the creatures.

    They turned towards the danger and blocked but it was almost impossible to stop Liang Yu''s advance, as she did another motion and even more swords shot forward, and more.

    It was like she was shooting off a Gatling gun worth of swords.

    But I could clearly see that this move was taxing on her Qi reserves.

    "I know I''m, good to look at, but you should probably hurry up!" she said, strain clear in her voice.

    "X," I spoke and didn''t need to add anything else, as X shot forward breaking the formation of the half-humans.

    I followed after him as I threw several other canisters.

    The creatures who were away from the canisters closed their eyes and ears immediately as if expecting it to blow once again. However, nothing of the sort happened, the canisters weren''t explosive.

    The canisters that rolled on the ground soon stopped, then they began spinning around themselves, releasing a jet of liquid all over the ce.

    This liquid didn''t seem that harmful to the half-humans as they sniffed at it, and scrunched up their noses from the smell.

    Just as I arrived to the end of the hall I snapped my fingers summoning a small Veridian me. I then threw it forward and it slowly hovered down before it reached the ground.

    "Thanks!" I said to Liang Yu as all three of us went past the stairs. "Now let''s hurry, it''s gonna get hot in here," I said.

    And just as I finished my words, the Viridian Heart me surged into the liquid from the canisters and began spreading all over the hall and on the half-humans.

    Loathsome, unholy screams echoed as the half-humans burnt alive.

    While our group rushed up at the stairs until we reached the exit.

    The half-humans hurried after us, burning and in incredible pain, raced and ran away from the fire all the way to the top of the stairs, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier.

    The heat from the viridian me began surging even higher inside the gaol, and I could do nothing but look away from the screaming pile of half-humans who did nothing wrong to us, but they died just so we don''t die.

    "What a fucked-up mess¡­" I mumbled.

    "It was us or them, Shen Bao," she said.

    I didn''t want to tell her the truth, maybe she knew it and didn''t want to say it. It wasn''t us or them, we could have easily given up this test and left the area without needing to kill scores of these half-humans that seemed to be imprisoned here for no clear reason.

    No one deserves to die like this.

    What a sad and arrogant way of life.

    I was disgusted with myself.

    But I had to shake this feeling off, we still had much to do.

    Looking ahead, on the other side of the bridge, a new group of cultivators seemed to have arrived.

    At first, I was worried that it was the other half of the guards, but after a closer look, I realized that they were the prisoners that were with us.

    A couple of them looked bloodied as if they were in a fight.

    One of the prisoners went close to the bound guards and began pounding at him with vengeance.

    "It seems that they have a story to tell," I said as I asked X to re-link the bridge again with the rope.

    He shot another Pile Bunker bullet at the other bridge attached to a rope and we crossed it.

    Once we arrived to the other side of the bridge, we were met with the other group of cultivators.

    "You weren''t caught After all," one of them said.

    "Why would you say so?" I asked.

    "One of the guards captured a couple of us," he said.

    I looked at the bloodied cultivator who seemed to be releasing his pent-up stress against the guards.

    "We''re missing one prisoner," I said to the bloodied man.

    "Yes, he was captured, it was two at first, but brother Nangong sacrificed himself to save me," he said.

    "Hmm, anyway, let''s leave this ce," I said.

    "How? We don''t have enough Pieces of Information, we looked high and low and couldn''t find a single one, we''re already screwed, I might as well cripple these bastards so that none of us could ever move forward," the bloodied man said.

    "So spiteful," I shook my head, "I already have ten tickets, let''s just leave," I said and headed back into the main prison.

    Once I was inside the prison again, I pulled the ten pieces of information from my holding bag, and they soon lit up.

    The pieces of information then rushed forward and nted themselves against one of the walls, then soon a portal manifested itself.

    "Let''s go," I said to Liang Yu and grabbed her hand and the two of us walked inside the gate first.

    We arrived to a new area and looking around, I saw several cultivators already standing by.

    "OH! A group of Prisoners actually managed to get out!" one of the people around us said.

    Looking around, everyone here didn''t seem to have their shackles.

    "What kind of guards did they have to even manage to win as prisoners, what a waste," spoke another.

    And then more.

    Several cultivators were scuffing at our victory and we didn''t seem to understand the reason why.

    Not long after however, the man in purple robes came to exin.

    "It seems that we actually have an unprecedented in this race," he said, his tone being rather joyful. Not something I expected.

 Chapter 289: Holy Water Palace

    <h4>Chapter 289: Holy Water Pce</h4>

    "What''s the meaning of this?" Liang Yu asked.

    "Think about it, do you honestly believe that this test was fair?" I told her.

    She didn''t seem to be able to pick up on what I was saying, so I had to exin it, loudly.

    "This test, is basically a test of luck, taking opportunity and wits, the cultivators who realized the essence of the test were smart enough to get other cultivators to give them their Pieces of Information just as they got into the prison, and then they snitched making sure of their own survival and victory¡­"

    "The luck part is whether you''re lucky enough to be a guard or prisoner. A guard basically had to do nothing but capture a few prisoners who couldn''t fight back, and they''ll be able to seed in clearing the test. It wouldn''t require much effort to do that, especially if the guards work together," I added.

    And finally, "Wits, which is the hardest part, is if you''re slow on taking opportunities, or unlucky to be a guard. You have to use your head to get out of this scenario, but wits, in a situation where everything is against you, is rather hard to pull off," I said.

    "But we did pull it off," Liang Yu said.

    "Well, we did, but that doesn''t mean that everyone else will," I said as I pointed, "Not a single prisoner group had seeded and only those who did were snitches," I said.

    Soon, more portals appeared and all of them without an exception were guard groups.

    The attention on our group began increasing bit by bit, and it was nothing but a matter of fact, we did something that none of them were capable of. And this is bound to bring some annoyance towards us in the near future.

    Several hourster, as we waited in the open field, thest group came out, and once again it was a group of guards.

    My eyes however were peeled for one person, the same scumbag that snitched and made our test a pain in the ass. I couldn''t find him anywhere nearby, so he probably has some brains when he decided it was best to leave the ce.

    But I don''t forget nor forgive such treacherous bastards. They think of their own selfish needs first and foremost before even doing the slightest attempt at helping out. Greedy and selfish pricks are worth not even the value of dirt.

    "With thest group here, I''m d to dere that all three hundred of you have managed to seed in the test," the man in purple said. as he, once again, appeared out of thin air.

    He seems to be enjoying this ability a tad too much.

    "Now, usually there would be a ceremony and some awards for all participants, but not this time, you''ll all get a week of rest before the start of the next and final trial to join the Heavenly Academy, rest well, and make sure you''re prepared for your worst fears," the man said and disappeared leaving an empty feeling of futile achievement after all these tests.

    "Shen Bao," spoke Liang Yu, "What are you nning on doing right now?" she asked.

    "You''re not bothered by what that man just said?" I asked her.

    "Oh, yeah, it''s always like this every Heavenly Academy trial, thest test isn''t something we should bother with worrying about, it''s going to be something new, like every time, so might as well not dwell on it. Anyway, about your¡­people," she said.

    "Oh, right, let''s leave this area for now, how about we talk over a drink?" I asked.

    "I''d like that," she said, blushing even.

    Did she think that I was inviting her on a date or something? I was just craving some alcohol.

    I shook my head, old man, you''re too old for someone like her, get your shit together and worry about the people of Lucid Springs.

    The two of us left the group and we headed back towards a city in the distance. We flew using our Qi and got to ck City in no time.

    Once we got in, the two of us headed to a small inn where they served food and alcohol.

    The taste wasn''t as good as in Chun Lun Lang Xi knew the stuff he drank, and now I wonder what that guy is doing. He basically financed this whole Heavenly Academy Entry, and he is nowhere to be seen. But I doubt he''ll make it all the way to ck City.

    The two of us sat in front of each other and had our fill, and after a few drinks, she spoke first.

    "So, can I ask, what is up with the people with you, I mean it''s not illegal to have people from outside the over, but its frowned upon, even if they''re mortals," she said.

    "I have my own reasons, but let''s just say, they no longer have a home to return to," I said.

    "Right, like I mentioned before, I have a fiefdom under me, I can have them stay there, and as long as they make no trouble no one is going to bother them, especially since they''re mortals, cultivators are forbidden from harming or interfering with their lives," she said.

    "Good to hear, so when are you heading to the Holy Water Pce?" I asked.

    "Rather sudden, if I didn''t know better I''d say you''re chasing me off," she said smiling.

    I shook my head, "I didn''t mean it like that, it''s about your signior sister, right?" I said.

    "I already sent word about that," she said.

    ''When the hell did she do that?''

    "The elders have received the remains of the Golden Scripture that you had on you, and they''re heading out to have a¡­ talk with the Three Sun Sect. A very friendly, talk," she said. Her tone was far too cold for a ''friendly'' talk.

    "Anyway, there is a teleported within ck City that can take us all the way to the Holy Water Pce, we''ll be using it to get there, and once your people are installed, I''ll invite you over to look around the sect," she said.

    "Sounds like a good n," I said and we continued eating and chatting.

    Right now I feel slightly empty, after having gone through such ordeals, I feel like I have lost touch with my goal and I''m just roaming the world without a defined objective in mind. Sure I want to fuck up the fire king for messing with me, along with that asshole from the ck Tower. But to do that, I''ll need a lot of strength, something I can''t get by just wishing for it.

    The two of us headed out. There was a major teleportation gate in the middle of the city. It was regted by the City Guards and was allowing people to leave and enter the city after paying a pretty hefty sum.

    I saw cultivators handing over pouches full of Top Grade Spirit Stones to the guards before being allowed to teleport.

    "How much does it cost to use the gate?" I asked.

    "Usually, it''s ten thousand Top Grade Spirit Stones per person, but you don''t need to worry about that with me," she said.

    Just as it was our turn, Liang Yu showed the guards her Sect Token.

    The guards bowed to her and allowed her and I ess to the gate without paying anything.

    "Benefits of being a part of a top sect," she said grinning.

    The two of us walked through the gate, finding ourselves in arge tunnel of light that seemed as if it was zooming under us.

    There were a lot ofws within this tunnel, and I could see most of them, a highlypact formation of spatialws that would allow the literal folding of space. This wasn''t physical discement or teleportation per se, but more a tunnel that linked two points in space together. We weren''t the ones that moved, but rather the space itself was folded to allow us ess to another point in it. It was an interesting concept.

    As I was amazed by thew lines all over the tunnel, the journey ended before I could grasp fully how this tunnel works and we appeared in a massive open prairie where the mere air in it was so refreshing one could feel rejuvenated by just breathing it.

    Looking around, I could see a dozen or so high white peak mountains all over the area. A calm river that seemed to slither through the terrain and a lot of fruit trees all over the ce.

    The clouds seemed to hang low and the air was slightly light. We were higher than the sea level.

    "Nice ce," I said as I looked around.

    "This is basically the front garden," Liang Yu said, "Let''s get to my ce first, I have a few matters to tend to, and we''ll get your people settled first," she said.

    "Right then," just as I was about to ask her about the means of transportation, something shrieked in the skies.

    Looking above, a giant eagle swooped by,ing towards us at incredible speed.

    I readied up for an iing fight, before Liang Yu moved forward, a wide smile on her face.

    The eagle soon came down and stopped right in front of her, it cooed as it snuggled its massive head, rubbing it against Liang Yu.

    "Xiao Xiao, how have you been," Liang Yu spoke to the animal and it seemed to understand her as it squeaked back.

    "This will be our ride," Liang Yu said, "Hop in."

    She then jumped on the back of the eagle and I followed after.

    The majestic bird swung its wings and we all flew through the clouds.

 Chapter 290: Settlement

    <h4>Chapter 290: Settlement</h4>

    The flight through the skies was enjoyable. The weather wasn''t too cold with the help of some Qi maniption and we could see the clouds blow use as we flew fast above them.

    The bird was honestly fast, not as fast as my hoverboard but fast enough to travel vast distances without having me personally steering or guiding it. It didn''t even need to take orders from Liang Yu as it already knew where it was headed.

    "We''ll arrive to my ce shortly, brace up", she said.

    And soon, the bird began its descent.

    The whole trip took less than half an hour and we were already in a new region.

    The ground below us was pretty vast open fields, there was a mountain nearby where a single manor was built on top.

    From the mountain arge waterfall fell down watering the ground richly, it was one of the many sources of water in this ce.

    The area next to the mountain was very wide and open.

    There were a few settlements far in between along the open fields.

    "Mortals?" I asked.

    "Yes, a few, servants and workers, homes of people who wish to be under an Immortal''s protection, they pay up their protection fees by working the fields and managing my estate. From gardening to cleaning. I never formally epted them, but they don''t seem to have any ill intentions, so I allowed them to live here," she said.

    "Aren''t you afraid of them overpopting the area?" I asked.

    "On the contrary, I don''t mind it, I usually sneak in and see how mortals live their daily lives every once in a while, but thisnd I have, is pretty far away from most mortal habitats, so the few thate here are mostly people who have lost their way, and decided to settle here," She said.

    "Hmm, interesting take. So is it okay if I take a piece of thisnd? I can buy it from you if you wish," I said.

    "No need to, as I said, you can have your people settle here, I mean how many could you have with you at most," she said.

    "Ah¡­ well, how about an entire city?" I said.

    As if I she thought I was joking sheughed, but once she saw my face, "Wait, you''re serious?"

    "Yes," I said.

    "Well, that''s not much of a problem, but an entire city, how are you going to transport them?"

    "Not a whole city worth of people, but a literal whole city," I said.

    Liang Yu looked at me, then at the open fields, and then said, "Is this area enough for them?" she asked.

    "Yes, more than enough, but like you mentioned I''ll have a few of them help you manage your territory, I have a few capable hands who''ll know more than I do about managing territory,nd and the people. You have an entire fiefdom under you, but you rule over no one, this might be a good opportunity for you to have something to protect," I said.

    "Not only that, this should help you with your Mortality Severing," I said.

    My words were shocking to her as I saw her reaction.

    "How did you know?" she asked.

    "I have my methods," I said smiling.

    It was actually something that most cultivators if not all have to go through, it''s something of a debate I had with brother Zhang Tian, the son of the Wind King. One of the mightiest beings on this world, he too had to go through Mortality Severing, and cut away his Mortal Greed, in order to ascend.

    And from what Liang Yu spoke earlier, the fact that she wanted to mix in with mortals and see how they lived, it was the beginning stages of Mortality Severing. Understanding of Mortality.

    Not all cultivators are born mortals.

    The vast majority, are the suns of Cultivators, and they were brought up in ns and sects that have cultivated for eons. They never mingled with mortals, and have a very low understanding of them.

    Mortals live short lives, yet at the same time, even in such a short lifetime, they can reach their conclusion and they can achieve satisfaction from their lives. While cultivators live for hundreds if not thousands of years and end up wallowing in regret and misery for not being able to achieve their goals.

    It is a sort of Karmic justice. Eternal life doesn''t mean eternal bliss.

    "So how are we going to do this? How are you going to bring an entire city here?" she asked.

    "That means you don''t mind it, right?" I asked.

    "Not at all, it is as you said for my Mortality Severing," she said.

    "Alright then, Automaton," I spoke and immediately a small child-like puppet appeared in front of me.

    "At your service, my Lord," the puppet spoke.

    "It''s time to bring Lucid Springs Out, ce it near the river there," I said pointing.

    "As youmand, Lord," spoke the automaton and silently went back to the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    Suddenly, a massive portal appeared right against the ground of the open prairies.

    The dirt was shoved down, creating hundreds upon hundreds of house foundations.

    Then the wholend began shaking and slowly houses began manifesting from within the portal.

    Many houses appeared paved streets and walkways, vis and small mansions, and finally the main city hall. All appeared at the same time.

    Liang Yu was awe-struck for a moment before she looked at me, "This is amazing, how did you do that?" she asked but then shook her head, "Please, never mind me asking, it must be a secret to you."

    That makes things easier.

    Suddenly, people began leaving their houses and looking around at the new area.

    "Wu Di, Xiao Lang, hurry up," I spoke immediately after the city had appeared.

    Two cultivators immediately shot out of the city and headed away from it.

    This looked rather suspicious to Liang Yu and she asked, "What''s the meaning of this, Shen Bao," she said.

    "Oh, don''t worry, they''re not spies or anything, in fact, they''ve suppressed their cultivation for a long time, and now that they''re under the gaze of the Heavens again, that would happen," I said as I pointed my finger up.

    Liang Yu tracked my finger and noticed something manifesting in the distance.

    The pure white clouds began darkening fast, and then they started turning red.

    Lightning began crackling as the signs of Heavenly Tribtions began appearing wide and clear for all to see.

    "Ah," she spoke and immediately thunder boomed in the distance.

    "Once their tribtion is over, they''lle here," I said. "Now how about we visit the city?" I asked her.

    "Sure," she said and the two of us went towards the city.

    The two of us entered the city from its main gate, and the many citizens there noticed us and were clearly able to sense the ''Immortal'' next to me.

    They gave way and let us go through.

    "This¡­is amazing," she spoke as she looked like a young kid in a candy store.

    "Let''s head to the city hall, I need to exin things to a friend," I said.

    The two of us walked all the way to the city hall, and I couldn''t escape the embarrassment of having to exin why there was a statue of me in the city center.

    "It''s just something these guys made," I said.

    "It isn''t just something, it has incrediblew knowledge. Who made this?" she asked.

    "Would you believe it if I told you, it was made by a mortal?" I said.

    My words caused her to stop, pausing for a while.

    Then she said, "Mortals are really amazing, whoever made this, probably didn''t know fully what he was doing. But the creation itself, far surpasses what a cultivator with a good understanding of Natural Law could aplish," she said.

    "People are amazing, their creativity is only matched by their destructiveness," I said.

    "Well spoken," I heard, and this voice didn''t belong to anyone from the city or Liang Yu.

    Turning, there was a man slowly rubbing his beard as he looked down at the entire city as if he was a god looking at his servants.

    "Sect Master!" immediately, Liang Yu bowed deeply.

    "With all due respect, my neck starts hurting when I''m forced to look up to someone, would you kindlye down?" I said.

    I knew I was asking for a lot from such a clear, disgustingly powerful person, but I hate being looked down on.

    "Oh, quite some spite you have there, no worries no worries," the old man said and slowly came down.

    I sped my hands to the old man, "Thank you for not making it difficult for this junior," I said.

    "You''re the one who sent in the clue for the murder of my granddaughter," he said.

    And he was damn blunt and to the point.

    "Yes," I said.

    "I suppose you killed the person who murdered her," he said.

    For some reason, I felt a chill running down my back, I had a vague feeling, that I was being tested, and if I were to lie¡­I couldn''t guarantee my survival.

    "No," I replied. Shacking my head.

    The man frowned but I continued my words, "He killed himself by trying something he shouldn''t have, and I was only there to reap the rewards," I said.

    The old man grinned, "Smart man," Had you lied to me there, I would have killed you, Disciple of the Poison God."

    And now it was my turn to be utterly shocked.

 Chapter 291: Opression

    <h4>Chapter 291: Opression</h4>

    "H¡­how do you know about that?" I spoke, there was no point denying it.

    Liang Yu looked at me strangely but didn''t speak as long as her Sect Master was speaking.

    "I did my investigations on the Three Sun Sect, and they really are not big fans of what happened back at Si Xue, a barrennd it might be, but they were there for a reason," the Sect Master spoke.

    "Two of the twelve Acolytes were supposedly in that, and now that it has been sealed off, they can no longer put their hands on the Poison God''s Heritage," The old man said.

    He seems to know a lot about the Poison God''s book.

    "You think you''re special?" the Sect Master grinned. "You''re not, there are technically eight more of you, every Poison God''s Acolyte has left a book, and seven of them have been discovered. All the owners of those books are prominent figures in the world of cultivation," the old man said.

    "But you," he said, "You''re weak, unaffiliated, powerless to change your own fate," he said, heavy words, but true nevertheless.

    "What is stopping me from taking your Heritage right now?" the old man said.

    I tensed up at his words.

    "Nothing actually, you wouldn''t even stand a fighting chance against me. And I could take your Heritage and partake in the Poison God''s Trial," he said.

    "S-sect master!" Liang Yu spoke.

    "Calm down child," the Sect Master replied, "Though tempted I am, I''m still bound by the Karmicws of the worlds, if I were to spit in the face of someone who brought closure to my dead grand daughter''s life, my Karmic bnce would be upturned, and I''ll receive divine punishment, thus, I''ll ignore your presence for now," the old man said and then turned to the people in the city.

    "But I do not wish to see so many foreign mortals here, they don''t deserve to live in this ce," the old man said and raised his hands.

    I don''t know what took over me, because, realistically speaking, the guy in front of me was unfathomably powerful, a mere word and I could lose my life, but the moment he raised his hand against MY city! MY people.

    I shot forward, my eyes screaming bloody murder as creeping demise shot forward with deadly precision towards the old man''s head.

    "Ho," the man smiled and grabbed the tip of my sword with two fingers.

    "Hot blooded," he spoke.

    I didn''t need to wait for his reaction as I already had several explosive canisters materializing right next to his face.

    I always hid a few in subspace, and could easily switch them back to the current space. The appearance of the canisters wasn''t much for the old man to phase. He only needed to grunt, for the canisters to crumble and break.

    Yet some of them weren''t explosive in nature, and the moment they broke, they released a poisonous cloud.

    Among the poison was the Breath Sealing Poison.

    "Oh, Breath Sealing poison, it would have been a good tool to use against other cultivators, but not for someone who uses Saint Qi," he spoke as I realized that the Breath Sealing Poison was failing miserably to prate through his Saint Qi protection.

    "X! Z!" I called and immediately the two puppets shot forward X was immediately shot back down with a backward palm while Z''s speed wasparable to a snail moving as he easily swatted him away.

    I mmed both my hands together in front of me and then blew on the tip of my fingers shooting powerful gout of purple poison.

    "Interesting, going for the big guns already," the old man said. "But the Bone and Body Grinding Poison is only capable of harming people below the Ascendant Realm, I could easily expel this as long as I don''t literally drown in a pool of it," the old man said and with a single stomp on the ground, the whole poison around him blew away like it never existed.

    "You had your fun, now it''s my turn," the old man said, a momentter, he took a step forward and pped me across the face.

    The blow was strong enough that It shot me through several buildings, breaking and crashing them then rolling on the ground like a rag doll finding an end to my endless tumbles on the ground thanks to a massive boulder.

    I broke the boulder due to how powerful the crash was and felt that my own back was broken in response.

    The old man took another step and was already next to me, he raised his leg and went for the finisher.

    My entire body, at that moment, felt the terror of death, I couldn''t change it no matter how I struggled, my tools and trinkets weren''t enough to fight against this oppressive power, and I once again felt true death.

    Yet, I wasn''t going to go down like that.

    Space shivered as two puppet arms manifested, one from my shoulder and another from my waist, they shoved me to the side helping me avoid the old man''s stomp that cratered the ground.

    I rolled back, and called all four arms, taking a strained breath after another.

    This man¡­ wasn''t trying to kill me, well, he was but wasn''t trying hard enough, I know this, he wants to see something.

    His moves were just barely enough for me to escape, or survive with a breath away from death. He was currently keeping his ''Karmic'' vow, but at the same time if I were to die, I knew that it was not because of him, but because of myck of ability.

    I was being tested, and I didn''t like it.

    "Weak," spoke the old man, "Slow," he added as he slowly walked towards me, "Unworthy," he stated, "Andpletely irrelevant," he finished.

    I pped my hands together once again this time manifesting the Veridian Heart me. This caused the old man some pause, then I pointed it forward and shot it like a torrent of me, this however made him scuff.

    "Untalented," he said as he swatted away the Veridian me as if it was nothing.

    I shot forward and raised both my arms up, making a w motion then sliced down.

    "Rash," he said as didn''t even dodge or evade the iing blow.

    The Poison Tiger w disappeared as if it was a harmless breeze against the old man''s robes.

    The old man kept moving toward me, as I was processing ways to deal with him. Nothing seemed to work.

    I then tried the Laughing ughterer''s technique. Surging forward with undeniable momentum, risking all for one blow¡­

    Only to get stuck in the chest by a palm so slow that I felt like I was being toyed with.

    "Copycat," he said as I was thrown to the side.

    I pulled a treasure from my inventory, it was the Laughing ughterer''s Pagoda.

    "SEAL!" I spoke as I threw the small tower in my hand toward the old man.

    The pagoda rose above the old man, rotated then began erging as it fell down towards him.

    However, the old man easily held his hand up, "You don''t have the qualification to seal me," he said, and just like that, he twisted his hand and the sealing broke causing the pagoda to return to its former smaller size.

    I was almost out of tricks, and he seemed to be, losing patience¡­

    "I guess there is no point in keeping you alive, I might have to pay some Karmic dues, but it''s far better than having one of the Acolytes fall at the hands of an unworthy person," he spoke and this time I knew if I didn''t do something, I''ll be a goner.

    I didn''t want to do this, but it''s probably my only shot, I then pulled several talismans.

    They looked illegible, for even the old man didn''t seem to know what these were.

    However, the skies above me knew what these were, and then the world thundered, causing even the old man to frown.

    "What is that?" the old man asked.

    "How about you find out for yourself," I said as I pulled my brush and finished the line that was missing on all of the talismans.

    The world turned dark far too fast for even the old man to fully grasp the situation.

    "How are you calling Heavenly Tribtion?" he questioned.

    "Enjoy finding out in the afterlife!" I spoke as I threw the talismans toward him.

    They shot forward as if they were seeking a target, and the moment they came in contact with the old man, the world rumbled.

    I knew for a fact that he could have easily dodged them, but he didn''t, he wanted to see how capable I was.

    Once the talismans reached the old man, the world seemed as if it was wrathful at itself, and roared as thunder boomed and red lightning shot down with murderous intentions toward the old man.

    The old man, however, grabbed one of the talismans and crumpled it within his hand hiding it from the iing lightning, and received the rest of the lightning against his body.

    He didn''t get phased, pushed, or even seemed to be feeling pain.

    The lightning kepting down against him while he yawned from boredom.

    Soon, thest lightning bolt shot down against him, and for the first time, he reacted.

    "Ah!! That''s the good stuff, I was feeling a bit sore, nothing a good heavenly tribtion can''t fix," he said.

    And soon the clouds dispersed leaving an unscathed old man all alone standing in the middle of a scorched field.

    I was a bit perturbed by what just happened right now¡­ this man, treated heavenly Tribtion lightning like they were the hand of a young maiden giving him a massage.

    He then opened the crumpled piece of talisman in his hand and began looking through it.

    "Interesting, you somehow managed to record the Heavenly Law, though iplete¡­still, not enough, not nearly good enough," he said as he threw away the talisman as if it was nothing worthy of note. Another thunderbolt came down to strike at the talisman destroying knowledge that shouldn''t be shared and sounding like the end of an anti-climactic y.

    "If this is all you''re capable of, you''re better off dead, child," he said.

    I slowed down my breathing, closed my eyes, then took a deep breath, the words that I couldn''t speak before, "Real and Fake, World of Delusion." Immediately,w lines shot from under me all over the ce and then they trapped the old man within a domain that I could control.

    The old man looked around and was, for the first time impressed.

    "A domain, at the Nascent Stage¡­"

    He spoke, and the moment he took a step forward he frowned.

    As he actually took a step back.

    He then, like a little child began trying stuff, like moving around, using hand gestures, and even spinning around himself, smiling as if he had had his fill, he then pointed his finger at me, manifesting a small beam that shot towards me, only for me to not be hit by it.

    In this world, up is down, down is up, and the front is back, but for a person to shoot directly at me, instead of the shot to be sent back, in this case, my own position was changed from in front of the old man to behind him.

    "What an interesting Domain," he said, "But, it is weak to one thing, the old man said and moved his hand in a circle around him.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of small little balls of light manifested all around him, and then they all shot in random directions.

    "You can''t dodge what you can''t escape," he said..

    Though his words could have been true, I was already prepared for something like this when I faced the Sect Master of the Three-Legged Raven sect. He chose an attack that targeted all directions.

    "Delusional Inception!" I called and immediately, within my domain, another manifested a smaller one, morepact, this one was not affecting the old man, but was affecting only me.

    Aspherical dome manifested around me, and whenever one of the beams touched it, it reversed its course and went flying away somewhere else.

    "Oh¡­ now this, is interesting," the old man spoke genuinely surprised.

    "A domain, within a domain, I''ve never seen something like this, no, it shouldn''t be even possible, a person''sputing ability shouldn''t be this high, not to mention a person like you without a talent root, yet you still managed to create two folds of the same domain without them breaking themselves apart and managing to coexist? How?" the old man asked. But he clearly didn''t wait for me to exin.

    "Ah, I could guess why, your domain is a delusion domain, a Dao that changes reality, a dangerous Dao, not many could even dare to gleam knowledge of such domain, for fear of their reality might be mixed with lies. It is a dangerous one, yet you''re still capable of retaining your sanity within delusions¡­ interesting, this could only mean that your soul power is rather monstrous," the old man rambled on.

    I had no idea what the hell he was saying though, Dao of delusion? What the heck is that, I only cultivated spatialw.

    "But, it is still not enough," he said, and then spoke, "World''s Adage, Despairing Eternity!" the old man spoke and just as his own domain was spreading.

    I grinned.

    Gotcha, motherfucker!

 Chapter 292: Pass

    <h4>Chapter 292: Pass</h4>

    I didn''t hesitate to disperse my Domain, which caused the old man to frown. I didn''t want two domains to collide against each other, and I''m better off prepared for what I''m about to do if I didn''t have my own domain active.

    The sudden dispersion didn''t make the old man stop, he probably thought I was giving up.

    The world around me began darkening once again as if nighttime had fallen and the entire world turned to pitch-ck darkness where it had no end or no beginning.

    I looked around at the endless dark where only me and the old man stood. He, in his white robes, yed the role of a deity, while I, looked like an insignificant ant in front of him.

    "Brace yourself, this will hurt," the old man said.

    "I can say the same to you too," I replied and immediately closed and opened my eyes, finding myself easily back in the real world, my hand had already turned white due to me enabling the White gue Palm and I shot forward to the now confused old man.

    He didn''t seem injured, and I almost thought that he was as strong as Zhang Tian, however, it was nothing but a pretext as the old man suddenly threw up a load of blood as his nose and mouth spat so much blood his clothes turned red.

    My palm was an inch away from touching his chest and I could cause the White gue to spread into him absorbing his power into mine. Though I knew that doing so would cause the same issue of me rupturing my veins again that I barely managed to heal, better that than dead.

    However, the old man, bloodied and stunned still managed to grab my hand before it touched him.

    "How¡­cough!" he coughed twice before he added, "How surprising¡­ You pass," he said and removed his hand from me.

    I didn''t understand what was going on at first.

    And looked at Liang Yu who was staring at me with wide eyes.

    "Congrattions Brother Shen Bao!" she said.

    "I really¡­can''t believe it, a mere nascent soul cultivator¡­this is going to be interesting," the old man''s devastating presence disappeared as if it was never there in the first ce.

    He smiled as his eyes gleamed with a bright light shaping to match his whole aura.

    "What''s the meaning of this?" I asked.

    "Here," the old man said as he handed me a badge.

    Looking at the badge, it had the symbol of the Heavenly Academy on it.

    I was so confused I didn''t understand what was going on.

    "How can I be a part of the academy if the test is still a week from now?" I asked.

    "Is that so?" the old man smiled, "Do you honestly believe, that adversity will wait for you until you''re prepared?" he said.

    And I immediately understood what was going on.

    The third test started the moment we finished the second, there was no waiting period, no grace, and no standby, it was already in progress the moment we finished.

    Everyone who had finished his second test is already being monitored and being tested, perhaps many have already failed.

    "Do you honestly believe that the Heavenly Academy will ept trash, the trash that can''t even protect itself? You fought well," he said.

    "If I''m being honest¡­ you weren''t just holding back, you never even ced me in your eyes, I know for a fact that I could have died a hundred times over if you had truly wanted to kill me, but at the same time, I know that this test¡­if it was someone else in my shoes they would have died, isn''t that right?" I asked.

    "You''re very arrogant thinking that you''re the strongest Nascent Soul cultivator¡­ but, you''re not wrong, anyone else would have died¡­To be honest, I''m vexed at you," the old man said.

    "Why? Do we have an enmity between us? It''s my first time meeting you, and I even helped one of your disciples¡­" I said.

    "It is that, your interference reduced the opportunities for Liang Yu to show herself and prove her full value, now her own final test is going to be slightly harder," he said.

    I looked at Liang Yu and opened my mouth but decided not to speak.

    "And that''s not only the reason why I personally asked the Heavenly Academy to test you personally," he said as he turned with his back towards me.

    "It''s because, as a grandfather, I couldn''t save my own skin, and you, a stranger avenged her for me, even if you didn''t do it purposefully, your actions gave me a conclusion," he said.

    "It sounds like you''re not interested in taking it out on the Three Sun Sect," I said.

    Which was very strange. In a world of cultivation or the ones I used to know, something like what happened to this old man would only end by his death or the eradication of the entire Three Sun Sect.

    "The times have changed," the old man spoke as if he was able to read my mind.

    "And it was your Master who caused this¡­ that sted son of a¡­" the old man didn''t finish his curse.

    "The death of one concubine, caused him to go mad, and eradicate an entire Holy Land, a power capable of having a voice in the Heavenly Academy''s council, all by himself. From that day onwards, all theary councils decided that personal vendetta would be solved in a different manner, the death of my granddaughter, I''ll avenge by dueling the sect master of the Three Sun Sect, but I cannot kill any of his disciples."

    ''Damn, that Poison God was making waves and making it difficult for me.''

    "And once he is dead," the old man spoke as if killing a sect Master of a powerful sect was nothing worth mentioning, "Thew states that we''ll be remunerated by the sect for their transgression, we didn''t have the evidence to back up our im, but now with the lost Scripture found, we can easily hold them to trial, and I''ll get my Trial by Battle match that I longed for," the old man said as he tightened his grip.

    The old man turned to face me and said, "Now, you can go, the people here, I''ll guarantee their wellbeing. And will also make sure that they''re formally admitted to the. You should rest because in one week all trials would be over and you''ll be officially joining the Heavenly Academy," he said.

    "Liang Yu''er," the old man said to the girl.

    "Yes, Sect Master," she said. "Have you been well?" he asked, his tone like that of a grandfather.

    "Yes, I was well," she spoke back politely.

    "Good, your trial is soon toe, make sure you''re ready," he said.

    The old man said then he turned his head to the distance, "You brought a couple of good seeds with you¡­" the old man said but then his head immediately snapped to the main hall of Lucid Springs.

    "What in god''s name!" the old man''s words were uttered with disbelief.

    I realized what he had seen and spoke, "That''s my own granddaughter," I said.

    "The Golden Yin Body, that''s a rare thing," he said.

    "I don''t want her to enter the world of cultivation," I said, "But that''s not my choice to make, I gave her the tools to grow and strengthen herself," I said.

    "That''s the problem with you," the old man said.

    "Books and tools aren''t enough for you to grasp the understanding of martial art! Your whole life, did you truly have a master?" the old man said.

    I couldn''t reply.

    The old man scuffed, "No wonder you''re foundation is rubbish, you spent your whole cultivation life reading and never truly experienced anything, do you know the saying, it is better to travel ten thousand miles than read ten thousand books? Experience, tell me, how many years have you wasted cultivating to reach where you are? A hundred? Two hundred? Maybe even more, since you don''t seem to have any master, how much would you have improved if you have had a master," he said.

    "I''m close to eighty-nine years old," I replied.

    The old man scuffed, that''s still rubbishpared to many of the geniuses in the world," he said.

    "I only cultivated for a total of five years," I said.

    The old man quieted down.

    He didn''t speak, nor say that I was lying.

    He pulled a small stone from his holding bag and threw it my way.

    Just as I grabbed it, it shone bright and began showing some numbers. They were the same numbers I spoke 89 years of age, 5 years of cultivation.

    "How¡­ when did you start cultivating? At such an old age? You shouldn''t even have been able to train or practice, not even the Poison God''s technique can allow someone at the winter of their lives to handle the pain from the Bone and Body Grinding poison? What kind of monstrous willpower do you have?" the old man''s eyes were wide.

    "I''m tempted¡­ really tempted," he said as he muttered under his breath, he was about to say something and then stopped.

    "But am I really qualified¡­ no, it''s impossible, I can''t guide him through the poison path, I know nothing of it," he said giving argument and counterargument at the same time.

    "But that would be a waste of talent, but how, how can he have talent when he has no Talent Root." The old man began circling around himself.

    However, I felt something was not quite right, why was he even speaking those words, he could have said that in his head and I wouldn''t even know. Was he trying to imply something?

    I then noticed his footprints, the way he walked, ever so subtly wasn''t¡­ normal, his foot slightly twisted before it touched the ground, and it made a deep groove on the ground.

    A footprint that was printed on the hard ground was visible for me to see and I could¡­ feel something from that footprint.

    Immediately, my Mind''s Eye activated and my focus shot up to the maximum.

    I was able to see the subtle moves and was mesmerized by them. I even noticed the old man''s subtle twitch of his lips as he noticed me staring at the way he walked.

    Soon, the old man stopped and he turned to me and said, "I''lle back at the end of this week, by then, I''ll give you my opinion," he said and then turned to Liang Yu and said, "Let''s leave, you need to be prepared," he said.

    And soon the two of them flew high up and disappeared among the clouds.

    ¡­

    A lot of things happened today, and I was still reeling from the pain of thest battle.

    I sat down on the ground and began eating a few pills as I watched the footprints on the ground.

    There was something there, I can''t understand it, nor can I fully exin it, but there was something there. And I want to figure out what it was.

 Chapter 293: Secluded Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 293: Secluded Cultivation</h4>

    I couldn''t figure it out, there was something clearly in front of me, within the footprints the old man had left, but I was still failing to grasp them.

    I then decided instead of deducing and understanding, to try and practice, and experience it firsthand.

    I ced my foot on the first of the footprint set.

    Then took a second step and immediately felt the world turning upside down.

    It wasn''t the world, it was as if I, for trying to move I that pattern hadpletely forgotten how to even move. I was like a toddler trying to move.

    "What the fuck?!" I cursed surprised by what had just urred.

    This wasn''t something normal, I just fell from trying to take a single step forward, how is that even conceivable in the realm of possibilities? An old person like me, having lost bnce just like that?

    With renewed resolve, I stood up, then tried the same thing once again, taking another step only to fall.

    I stopped, there was no reason for me to keep trying without figuring out the issue first. Doing the same thing and expecting a different oue is madness.

    I needed to understand what was going on first.

    Now, the full set of footprints looked like a person moving in a circle. However, I clearly remember the old man making specific motions before every step.

    I then stood up again, and this time, instead of just blindly trying to walk over the same footprints, I tried to move my foot, in the same manner, the old man had done before I touched the ground.

    I took a step forward and slowly twitched the sole of my foot before touching the ground.

    Once again, I fell but this time I felt that it wasn''t as awkward as before.

    I tried again, this time increasing the jerk of the foot, but the same result happened only more severely.

    "Perhaps it''s too much, let''s tone it down," I muttered and continued on.

    Adding more ''jerkin'' to my foot, or reducing it, min-maxing the motion of the foot as I stepped forward.

    It took me a damnable long time, of trying, falling, standing back again, and trying again, the motion itself needed to be incredibly urate to even hope to function.

    I tried again and again but still didn''t manage to take a single step.

    Frustrated I sat back down, took my pipe, and began smoking, as I looked at the footprints.

    I was no fool, the old man clearly left this for me. A movement technique. Something I desperately needed, my movement is too slow, and I have no methods of avoiding blows from other cultivators, my firepower inparison to cultivators at the same stage as I am is good enough, as they say a good offense is the best defense, however, against something that I can''t fight against a trap or something of the sorts, without a proper movement technique I''m a sitting duck.

    I continued smoking as I was looking at the footprints, then thought of something, why not add somew to my movements? Spatialw, to enforce my foot into the correct position.

    I stood up and began trying. I used Law to set up a ''fixed'' motion, of my foot, instead of ''manually'' moving my foot, I applied spatialw in a sequence so that my foot would move slightly to the left and then to the right before it fell down on the correct spot.

    And surprisingly it worked.

    I then took another step, and the same happened, however, the ground underneath me shivered.

    I frowned, the ground was about to break from the second footstep, and if I were to take a third, everything here will be destroyed and I''ll lose this footstep set.

    I then decided it was best to fully memorize the moves and footprints, then headed into Lucid Springs city.

    I didn''t need to inform anyone of my presence because I was about to enter secluded training.

    I went inside the main hall building unnoticed and into one of the private chambers inside it, I locked it and went inside the Lord of Lords pagoda into the white space of practice.

    I set up the time dtion to the maximum and then applied the same foot pattern of the old man on the ground by drawing it manually.

    I then began taking the same steps from the start.

    With every step, the second became heavier, and it increased its weight more and more. I don''t think this was something the old man had meant to teach me while he was showing me this movement technique, but at the same time, this byproduct discovered by chance isn''t something to look at lightly.

    Every step seemed to have a momentum to it, and every time I took another step, the power behind it doubled. And it kept doubling, increasing its destructiveness as I felt that whenever my foot fell down, the whole white space shuddered. And the best thing was, I wasn''t exhausting any of my Qi in the process, it was some sort of application that gathered momentum and released it with me being the medium and enabler but not the supplier of Qi.

    I continued exploring all the possibilities of this ''Momentum Step'' and discovered a few things.

    Once I took the seventh step, I couldn''t handle the weight anymore, though I didn''t use Qi, I could feel that my foot''s weight had increased tremendously.

    And the impact from the seventh step, and I''m not exaggerating, was enough to bust down an entire mountain top.

    Secondly, I couldn''t do it again for an entire day, it wasn''t Qi that was exhausted, but my own body, after the seventh step I could feel like I was emptied out and couldn''t even take another step forward. Finally, the fact that this momentum motion can actually be transferred.

    For example, I could take six steps, and instead of taking the seventh step, I could thrust my palm forward using the same application of spatial jittering and can transfer the momentum from my foot to my palm, causing a destructive shockwave to be released instead. The problem was the moment I transferred the momentum to my palm, I lost the ability to move my entire arm for a whole day.

    "Neat," I muttered. Something came out of that practice. But, this was a movement technique in the first ce, so I''ll need to actually solve the issue of this momentum gain and obtain the ability to transfer the momentum into movement speed.

    I tried again this time without relying on spatialw but failed nevertheless to even take a single step.

    I tried other things but I couldn''t figure out a way how to replicate the old man''s movement.

    First off, the application of thew was a good idea, but that was cheating. The old man didn''t use anyws in his movement, it was pure motion.

    However, he added something to it, and I needed to figure out what.

    I walked around trying to figure out how this whole mess can be solved. And I didn''t seem to be able to find anything.

    Perhaps, it''s true, I have no talent as the old man had said, I don''t have a talent root, nor a Qi body. I''m a parasite that hosted the body of a young kid in a different world. I never was a cultivator and all my achievements were due to me relying on my otherworldly knowledge.

    I immediately, shook my head, why the heck was I thinking such nasty thoughts.

    Shen Bao, drop the self-deprecation and self-loathing, it''s beneath you, I achieved all I have due to my own effort and hard work. Whenever I was presented with a problem, I always solved it, my way.

    So, if I can''t figure out how exactly the old man did his movement technique, then so what? I''ll try and learn another movement technique at worst. At least I learned something from that movement technique even if it was just a side effect of the main skill.

    As I was giving myself a pep talk and moving around, I stopped momentarily.

    "Wait, I''m a genius! It was obvious! Form the start!" I said and went right back to the steps.

    And then took the first step, then the second, then the third, in quick session as my lips widened up in a big smile.

    The motions I made were immactely urate, to the smallest action, even the foot jerking was included in my moves.

    And then, my speed, increased incredibly so, so much that I was honestly amazed at myself at how fast the motion and movement can be. I could swear that I was so fast I was actually catching up to my own afterimages.

    I stopped soon however as I was assaulted with a wave of exhaustion, but at the same time, I was happy to have discovered the secret of this technique.

    It was simple, a side effect. The steps the old man took, felt devoid of all Qi, however, in essence, they weren''t, no martial art is fully devoid of Qi, it was just that the old man was actually using a minuscule amount of it, at an extremely rapid pace.

    It was like sending a shockwave of Qi to his feet in bursts, and the ''side effect'' of these sudden bursts of qi was the twitching of his foot, at first I thought it was something that needed to move, but it was actually nothing but a side effect.

    I continued practicing the movement technique for several days more inside the Lord of Lords pagoda and didn''t leave until I was fully confident in my own ability to use the movement technique without messing up a step.

    Not only that I also made sure to further practice the Momentum Movement Technique that I discovered by sheer luck.

    Now that I learned the movement technique, it''s time for me to stop ignoring the giant elephant in the room.

    My personal cultivation has been stagnant for a while, and I no longer have an excuse not to push it forward.

    It''s time to hit the Soul Formation stage.

 Chapter 294: Breaking Through

    <h4>Chapter 294: Breaking Through</h4>

    I pulled the many pills I had in my possession and the herbs from the man in purple. My goal was to make a few more poison pills that will allow me to break past the limitation stopping me at the Nascent Soul and breach through to the Soul Formation Stage.

    The resource part is easy, the problem is the Soul formation Stage itself.

    It''s not something that you be just because you have a sufficient Qi to break past the Nascent Soul, it''s somethingpletely different than that.

    The stages of cultivation below the ascendant stage have a massive divider, and that is the Nascent Soul.

    Anything below it is considered a cultivator that had just begun his journey, cultivating his body mind, and soul.

    But once you hit the Soul Formation stage, a cultivator starts the journey to bing an Immortal. Their understanding of the world takes a drastic change and they be more attuned to the world around them.

    They also gain a new source of power, Soul Energy.

    A cultivator would usually die if killed while at the Nascent Soul Stage.

    However, it''s a different story once the cultivator hits the Soul Formation stage. One bes able to disce their own soul, so even if their whole body is eradicated, on the chance that their soul manages to escape, they can possess a new body, takeover, and recreate themselves anew.

    The cost of allocating one''s soul into a new body isn''t easy, at least it would cost several cultivation stages, not to mention one needs to get a goodpatible body to be able to harmonize with it, and be able to inhabit it.

    Otherwise, many powerful cultivators, before their deaths could easily incarnate into another body.

    Another thing, the possession isn''t simple, there will always be rejection, and a lot of struggles over the body, making the person who is possessing a body suffer and easy to discover.

    However, it is still better than death, so many cultivators would rather be able to get a chance at survival than die outright.

    Another great aspect of the Soul Formation level is the Divine Sense upgrade.

    My divine sense is already incredibly huge for my cultivation level, for some reason or another, but once I''ll hit the Soul Formation Stage it should be even bigger, not to mention I''ll be able to add ''Pressure'' to my Divine Sense.

    The same way that Brother Zhang Tian had done when in the celestial realm. He passively used his own divine sense and it flew all over the world flooding it with an unbearable pressure that felt as if thousand tons of weight were pressing on my body. And that wasn''t even an offensive Divine Pressure. Some Divine Senses could outright crush a person to death. Or dismay an entire army.

    But to do so, one must cultivate the soul. Mine is thankfully sturdy and looking pretty powerful after having a feast of souls in the Ghostly Swamps area.

    So, I should be more than capable of tackling the hurdle up next.

    I went to the furnace area and began by making a shitload of pills, poison pills, and some Soul Invigorating pills.

    Quality didn''t matter, as I started pumping out as many of them as I could, I needed poison in loads and in mass.

    It took me several days before I finally had a satisfying number of Pills that I could use for my breakthrough.

    With that done, I began by preparing several talismans and treasures to fight back against the Heavenly Tribtion.

    Thest tribtion I faced was so close to destroying me, I''m not going to take any more chances this time.

    I prepared a few Lightening Repelling Rods. And several talismans that can offset lightning damage, and then more defensive treasures to use.

    Once I felt that my preparations were enough, I left the Lord of Lord''s pagoda. I needed to prepare the area of the Heavenly Tribtion first before I start my breakthrough.

    Wu Di and Xiao Lang''s own tribtion had passed without issues as I realized their presence in Lucid Springs once I left the pagoda.

    So, I chose a random mountain peak that didn''t seem to have any poption around it, I made sure to scan it several times lest I hurt someone identally.

    Finding the mountain top empty of all human life forms made it easier to take on the Heavenly Tribtion. So, I went to the peak and began preparing for my Tribtion.

    I began by cing the Lightning Repelling Rods on the ground around me, then added several talismans to the formation. Additionally, I added a few more treasures that will act as dampeners in case of lightning from the heavenly tribtion manages to pass through the inscriptions and the rods.

    Finally, I brought X out, and armed him up to the teeth with weapons, and brought the Hoverboard next to me.

    X would be useless against the lightning itself, but from what happened thest time, and those soldiers that appeared from the Gates of Heaven, I''m better off prepared than sorry.

    Once I was satisfied with everything readied up, I sat down cross-legged and began eating.

    I had a holding bag full of pills, and I was nning on consuming the pills forcefully breakthrough.

    Usually, for any cultivator consuming this many pills will cause their cultivation to destabilize and shake from the Qi inside the pills, not to mention the unholy amount of impurities their bodies will gather.

    For me, however, the more the better.

    And I started chugging in pills by handfuls, crunching them, and swallowing the contents.

    Poison changed to Poison Qi and began permeating through my body, then moved rapidly through my meridians and into my Dantian where my sea of consciousness began churning.

    The world inside my sea of consciousness was greedily sucking in the Qi, and then it began funneling it towards the Nascent Soul sitting on the throne of the massive sea fortress I created.

    The Nascent Soul within my sea of consciousness began absorbing the Qi greedily, asking for more and more as it spun it around itself.

    I could already feel like I was a balloon being inted, but I needed far more Qi than what I''m currently supplying the Nascent Soul.

    So, I did what not any normal person should do, and kept shoving more pills down my throat. Feeling full was the least of my worries as I had to shove in more and more pills force-feeding myself poison to the point I was about to throw up but still swallowed back everything.

    The Qi in my body began hitting the barrier of breaking through, and I felt it in my Nascent Soul as it began shuddering and finally opened its eyes.

    The skin on the Nascent Soul began shaking and cracking, creating small Serpentinian scales that appeared and disappeared immediately afterward.

    It was going through a transformation, it was trying to absorb the draconic traits of the souls I consumed.

    If this transformation is sessful, I''ll have officially stepped into the Soul Formation stage.

    However, something didn''t feel right and I was feeling as if all the Qi I was harnessing was seeping out instead of umting and shooting me forward to the next cultivation stage.

    I was going to fail¡­

 Chapter 295: Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 295: Tribtion</h4>

    The momentum I was building was rapidly declining, and when I thought all was done and I was going to fail this Breakthrough, the eyes of my Nascent Soul opened up, and it howled like a beast enraged.

    Immediately, the dispersing Qi has forcefully gathered again, it spiraled and roiled within me, coiling back into the Nascent Soul.

    It then began gaining more details to it, the Nascent Soul that was at first closely resembling me in my younger days, became an exact copy of myself with the addition of a few Serpentinian scales that appeared and disappeared every now and then from on top of its skin.

    The Nascent Soul then shuddered, shook and like a snake shedding, the nascent soul literally pealed itself from itself.

    Leaving a husk of a body, a full skin on the ground while the creature that emerged from inside was a young man that looked no older than twenty.

    It stood up from the throne, and walked away from the shed skin, then howled once.

    In that howl, my mind reeled as my body felt like it broke apart for a moment.

    Vibrations assaulted my body as I began shaking and shuddering uncontrobly.

    I was forced awake from my sea of consciousness into the real world and could see several cracks on my own skin, it looked like it was ground that has suffered a drought for a thousand years.

    My pale glistening skin from before was nothing but cracks of crusted skin that began shedding the same as the Nascent Soul''s.

    Suddenly, a loud implosion echoed from around me, as a burst of powerful vile and foul Qi surged away from my body dying everything in the vicinity in ck toxic impurities.

    Then came the thing I hated the most about climbing another cultivation stage.

    The unhinged and unstoppable vomiting of ck sludge seemed to stink worse than open sewers.

    My skin fell off of me like it was ash revealing a newyer that looked far younger, purer, and gentler, yet at the same time was still sickly pale looking.

    It was healthy skin, but it was still pale-looking.

    My hair fell and noticing it, it seemed to have grown once again to exaggerated lengths.

    "I''ll need to cut it off again," I mumbled as I entered another fit of uncontroble vomiting.

    I kept shuddering and shaking for a while before it all stopped.

    And the moment I closed my eyes and opened them again, I felt as if I was looking at the world from apletely different perspective.

    The nature around me felt more vivid, and the skies looked bluer. The whole world had a serenity to it that was far too pleasant to believe.

    It was as if I had momentarily be one with the world.

    Yet this feeling soon came to disappear as the skies above me turned red.

    I seeded in breaking through, but now the real trial is upon me, I need to survive the iing trial.

    A familiar scene happened again. Instead of being racked and rattled, rained down upon with numerous lightning bolts, the clouds in the sky began gathering together and shaped themselves into something solid.

    A gate so high it looked like it expanded all the way to the heavens manifested itself.

    And the world seemed to rejoice at the arrival of the Heaven''s Gate.

    The gate looked as imposing as ever, a massive structure where beings of extreme might were carved on it. Armored Soldiers of yore, dragons, and phoenixes entertained, and might beyond what any single person could ever hope to fight against.

    Yet, fight one must, not in the hope to win against the Gate of Heavens, but to prove one''s courage and bravery against the odds. Only those that can challenge such might are allowed the benefits of the higher cultivation stages.

    The gate then opened a crack, like before and Saint Qi poured on the ground like never before, washing over it, bathing it in a new breath of life.

    And from the Saint Qi gathered, a soldier wearing golden armor, like thest time manifested.

    This time I didn''t have Y with me.

    Thest time the Gate Mistook Y''s power for mine and sent a powerful Golden Soldier to kill me.

    However, when I showed that Y wasn''t part of me, and was merely a puppet the Gate lowered the difficulty and sent in a far weaker Soldier.

    Now, however, it didn''t seem that will be the case.

    Thunder boomed in the skies and a single lightning bolt shot down right into the hand of the Golden Soldier, manifesting a single spear of death, a spear madepletely from Heavenly Tribtion Lightning.

    I stood up to the challenge, grim full, filthy and disgusting to look at, but my eye was bright as it looked at the thing in front of me without fear or worry.

    "Creeping Demise," I muttered as I manifested the sword in my hand, "Don''t go on absorbing my Qi like crazy, let''s work together this time around," I added and was ready for battle.

    The Golden Soldier didn''t move and seemed to be patiently waiting for me to be fully prepared.

    I wasn''t going to spit on its face, I called X up and asked him to be ready to intervene.

    I needed to study my match carefully, so I looked at him closely this time.

    He seemed to be made of energy, nothing like flesh or bones was a part of this thing. It was a perfect congration of illegible Heavenly Law that made its body.

    In a sense, this too was a puppet, only made by heavenly hands, instead of man. Something that is as close to perfection to perfection itself.

    However, something that is close to perfection wasn''t perfect, it was still wed.

    Looking up behind the puppet, I saw the insides of the gate again, the massive endless staircase that seemed to be leading to heaven itself. There were many other Golden Armored Soldiers standing on the staircase, waiting for their turn maybe.

    The moment my gaze went up to the gate though, the Golden Soldier, as if insulted for having a mortal like me try and gaze at the secrets of heaven shot forward like a loose arrow.

    The Lightning spear seemed to be aiming to take down my head in a single blow, nothing more than the application of simple spatialw wasn''t enough to deter.

    I swung creeping demise not to block but to parry, and with the addition of directional Spatialw I managed to fling away the Heavenly Soldier''s spear away from my head with the most minimalistic movements.

    The soldier went immediately for the offensive after having his attack parried he didn''t even allow me to repost as he immediately followed with a wide swing, trying to rip my head off.

    However, since he was already overextended from the first exchange I took a step forward, using the Momentum Step getting even close and personal with him, and used the Single Step One Palm move, immediately loading the momentum of a single step into my palm and sent it directly into the Golden Soldier''s chest before his wide swing could even touch my head.

    The st was caused by Single Step One Palm. Shot the golden soldier rolling through the ground.

    The Golden Soldier took advantage of the force sending him spiraling on the ground and kicking down making a full backflip thennding perfectly on his feet.

    He then took a piercing stance, and I knew that shit was about to get ugly soon.

    The Soldier thrust forward, even if he was dozens of meters away, I felt the looming threat of Death.

    So, I took a step using the old man''s movement technique I recently learned and was thankful I did as a massive shooting star seemed to have been released from the tip of his spear and eradicated the entirety of the area I was on a moment ago.

    Seeing me dodging the spear blow, the golden soldier stood back up from his Pierce Stance and unceremoniously held his spear up then sliced at his left arm, causing me to frown in wonder.

    The arm on the ground dispersed into massive Qi waves and shot back to the gate, causing the gate that was opened a crack to open further, and with that cold sweat drenched my back.

    "That''s cheating!" I cursed as three more Golden Soldiers came down.

    They didn''t hesitate to gang up on me as three of them shot forward with spears in hand.

    I took a single breath and enabled my Mind''s Eye, for a moment everything seemed to slow down and I was going to make damn use of this brief moment.

    Instead of avoiding the iing three, I walked forward, taking a step then a second, using Momentum Step, and the third came down as a shockwave that ruptured the ground forward sending a destabilizing wave of earth shooting forward. The first Golden Soldier was caught off guard mming into the earth wall the other two were far better as they pierced right through it, only for one of them to find themselves right in front of my open palm, which I shot right through his skull.

    The force behind that palm was so great that his head was pulverized into explosive bright particles.

    The second soldier turned towards me sending several jabs my way where I used the movement technique I learned to the best of my ability dodging every pierce with incredible uracy.

    I was honestly surprised at how amazing this movement technique was, it was simple fluid, and would allow the immediate reaction to every enemy action with a wide range of possible motions.

    I was honestly,pletely surprised and held a lot of respect for the old man''s technique.

    I continued dodging and whenever I found an opportunity, I used Single Step One Palm, bursting through the Golden Soldier''s body, ripping a piece of it apart.

    The fight continued on in my favor, never have I been pushed to on the back foot, however, I wasn''t too dumb to forget something.

    The first soldier that cut off his arm never joined the battle and remained on standby, the second that had crashed into the rock wall was still capable of the fight so I needed to be ready for anything.

    Thest one that was fighting me was barely holding on as It had several palm prints all over his body.

    Single Step One Palm is enough to damage him but not to take him out, however, this Soldier was too aggressive to allow m to do more than one step worth of momentum so I had to slowly grind him down.

    Suddenly the second puppet that was damaged by the rocks decided it was time to join the fray and it shot toward me like a bullet.

    I took the chance to distance myself from both the soldiers taking several steps back using the movement technique.

    And then I decided to try something, instead of moving forward when using the Momentum Movement technique, what about if I use it as I was walking backward?

    It is still momentum, and it shouldn''t matter if the step I took was in any direction.

    So as I was stepping back away from the puppets, I enabled the spatialw line under my foot, and sure as hell momentum was piling up.

    First, second, third, and fourth, I couldn''t go to the fifth because I''ll be more sluggish as I gathered more momentum, so I stopped, and as if I was a bucket full of water that was suddenly jerked to one side, the momentum I had gathered earlier seemed to want to burst out of my back, but I forced it forward on the expense of blood seeping down my mouth, and shot it from my palm into open air.

    As if the air in front of my hand was sucked in by an instantaneous void. I was able to see a visible sphere of air manifesting in front of my palm, and instantly, it popped, loud enough that even my own eardrums burst from the loud explosion.

    The force of four steps against empty air was like a massive air balloon exploding, and this balloon seemed to be holding the force of an erupting volcano, as a shockwave of pure destructiveness shot forward against the two puppets.

    What happened next was not something I expected. The two puppets, caught in the cone-like air st didn''t even shake or move from their spot, they rapidly disintegrated. The power behind the palm burst was so great that their bodies dispersed before they even felt the impact.

    Suddenly I felt a bad premonition as I snapped my head towards the first puppet and saw him raising his spear again readying up to offer another part of itself as a sacrifice to call in more reinforcement.

    I tried to move towards the soldier but was racked and rattled with indescribable pain.

    The momentum I used earlier, was not¡­natural, and it caused a lot of damage to my body, nothing too severe to be healed with a few pills, but more than enough to stall me for the soldier to do another offering.

    However, my worries were unfounded, as the moment the Golden Soldier''s spear was descending on itself, a loud explosion echoed, and a bullet the size of a human fist shot right through its head.

    X is to the rescue apparently.

 Chapter 296: Miserly

    <h4>Chapter 296: Miserly</h4>

    An enormous wave of Saint Qi shot from inside the Gates of Heaven towards me as if to fill me up.

    However, since I couldn''t use it, it calmly spun around my body and didn''t seem to be able to get through. After all, I can''t use natural Qi or natural Saint Qi.

    The Qi dispersed around me and seemed to be disappearing.

    Suddenly, the whole atmosphere began to change, the dark redness of the skies began dispersing, and the gate was about to disappear, my tribtion was over.

    I stood up as I looked at the skies, and spoke addressing no one in particr.

    "Cruel heavens," the words I spoke seemed rather sphemous, but they held meaning.

    The Saint Qi pouring from Heaven''s Gate towards me didn''t even help nourish or heal me because I couldn''t even use it. Like thest time, the best I could do was just harness it for my Lord of Lords pagoda, but since it has no people inside it anymore, it was pointless to do so.

    "You send down trials and tribtions to the people who climb and cultivate, yet you promise them rewards once they achieve victory against your trial, but what about me? Cruel heavens," I said.

    I then decided that I wasn''t going to even take the ''reward'' the heavenly tribtion was giving me, I''m not someone who''s begging for crumbs. I''ll get stronger my own way, find resources my own way, and get what I deserve my own way.

    Suddenly, as if angered the skies shuddered and shook once again, the disappearing gate was once again reconstructed and it seemed that it was about to open once again.

    "FOOL!" I heard the voice of the old man who seemed to have appeared a long time ago.

    "Why the hell did you provoke the heavens!" the old man shouted "Run!" he called.

    The gates seemed to be opening more and more, and the secrets within them were revealed to the world.

    But I knew for a fact, that no one who is not undergoing this specific tribtion could hope to gaze on what''s beyond the gate.

    "I''m not provoking, I''m stating facts. The heavens decide who to reward and punish, but why would I only get punishment and no rewards, in all my tribtions, what did this heaven ever give me?"

    The old man didn''t speak, because he knew of the Poison God, and probably knew of this unorthodox cultivation method that doesn''t rely on the world''s natural Qi.

    "None of your ancestors even dared speak the words you''re saying, you''re provoking something you can''t fight against," he said.

    "My ancestors¡­" he was probably talking about the Poison God Acolytes, "They''re all cowards. Oh, heavens, do you truly have any pride?" I spoke.

    And this caused the entire world to rumble.

    I''m betting on something very risky right now, and if I''m wrong, I''ll probably perish here. But I know something for a fact.

    Heaven is proud, the proudest of all.

    "The Ruthless yet Merciful heavens, gifts not a person who overcame its challenge. What a mockery," I spoke. "Is heaven so destitute to not find an appropriate reward for a person who triumphed over its trial? How sad," I muttered and turned my back to the gate, I was not going to take any of the Saint Qi it was offering.

    My back looked like a wall as I walked away from the Heavenly Blessing that seemed to be dissipating wastefully.

    Just as I decided to fly away and head toward the old man, the gate opened up even further, this time it was enough to reveal more of its inside.

    Clouds manifested into a massive arm that could cover the skies.

    I turned to look at the arm and was about to speak even more spite, for how the Heavens couldn''t even reward me so it looked like I was going to perish here.

    Yet against my expectations, the arm made of tribtion lightning clenched into a fist then it came down all the way to the ground.

    The arm opened up letting fall a small fruit. Then it slowly began disappearing as if it had never existed before.

    The gate followed after, and the insides of the gate began to blur.

    Soon, everything went back to normal leaving nothing but the small fruit.

    The old man immediately appeared right next to the fruit and picked it up, causing me to frown.

    "What a great treasure," he said as he looked at me.

    "Almost a waste if it was handed to you, I say," he said smiling.

    The old man was bing annoying, "That isn''t yours," I said.

    "Why? I found it," he said smirking.

    This guy¡­

    He then teleported right next to me, "Shouldn''t you at least gift it to this old man, for teaching you that movement technique?" he said.

    I was slightly in a predicament. I looked at the fruit, I didn''t know what it was, but it was obviously something of great value if even someone from above the ascendant stage was eying it.

    I sighed and spoke, "I don''t want to be owed anything, take it," I said and turned around.

    "Huh? Are you mad?" the old man saidpletely unexpecting my words.

    "I told you, he is different," spoke a feminine voice.

    Looking forward, it was Liang Yu, she looked a bit weary. It seems that she had just finished her trial.

    "¡­here," the old man said as he handed me the fruit. "You really are a strange man," he said.

    I took the fruit and said, "aren''t you a stranger? Why give it back?" I asked.

    "Because it is not mine to take, it was rewarded to you by the heavens, if I were to take it, my life would end here and now," he said. "Also," the old man said, "Do you know the true value of that fruit?" he said.

    I shook my head, not even the Poison God''s book had anything to say about such a strange-looking fruit.

    It looked like a small peach of gold and silver mixed in it.

    "It''s a Heavenly Rebirth Fruit, it can defy thew, and give life to one who had lost it, once and only once. But, nothing is for free, the price of rebirth is pretty steep, some might not even be able to pay it off," the old man said.

    "Really? Bringing, someone back to life?" I questioned.

    "Yes, but as I said¡­ you, right now, can''t afford the price, but you must eat it still, you don''t need to waste it." the old man said.

    And I could feel it, there was a thinyer of Saint Qi protecting this fruit and it was disappearing very fast. I could guess what would happen the moment the Saint Qi around it were topletely disappear.

    I sat down and took a bite from the fruit.

    It actually tasted like a peach, nothing too special, nothing too¡­ heavenly, just a normal peach, but it was sweet and good nevertheless.

    It had no seed however, I thought of nting it in my Lord of Lords pagoda, but it seems that it''s not possible.

    Once I finished, it, I flexed my arms and tried to sense if something new happened within me, but nothing of the sort happened.

    "What a strange man, you really dared and talk smack to the Heavens," the old man shook his head.

    "Well, I wasn''t going to be thankful for crumbs. If one does work, one needs to be rewarded, not even the heavens can or should skimp on someone''s hard work, don''t you agree?" I said.

    "That is a point worthy of discussion, so how about we have a few drinks first, and let''s talk about this," the old man said.

    I had no reason to refuse the old man''s invitation, especially since I know he is a member of the Heavenly Academy, and crossing him could be detrimental to my life in the Academy.

    The bird, Xiao Xiao which belonged to Liang Yu came flying down, allowing us on its back.

    The three of us headed up to Liang Yu''s pce.

 Chapter 297: Its Getting Hot In Here

    <h4>Chapter 297: It''s Getting Hot In Here</h4>

    The three of us arrived at the manor soon. The bird took flight immediately after going away leaving the three of us together.

    Liang Yu excused herself to clean up, it seems that she was too exhausted by the events of her own trial and needed to refresh.

    I also needed to do the same, my body stinks, excessively so, and I didn''t even need to mention it.

    "You would do well by removing all the grim, the servants should help prepare a bath for you, I''ll tell them to ready new clothes for you," the old man said.

    "It would be nice, but mention to them to not touch my robes, it''ll harm them," I said.

    "Worry not, most of the people hired here are powerful cultivators and they can recognize danger on sight, no one will try and directly touch your Pixy Hair-made robes," the old man said.

    He even knew the robe''s fabric, quite an eye this man has.

    Two maids hurried over once they heard the old man''s words and guided me to the nearest bathing area.

    It was a personal hot spring at the back of the manor.

    I washed first with warm water and made sure to clean up before jumping into the hot spring.

    The heat was slightly below my liking, due to my innate ability to resist heat thanks to the Veridian Heart me, and as if the pool of water itself realized it, it slowly began increasing the temperature to almost boiling levels.

    "Ah, this is a good life," I said as I had a small wet towel over my forehead and rxed with my back to the stones.

    I couldn''t tell when I dozed off, I seem to have had a lot of stress building up, and being able to rx made me drop my guard and I immediately fell into a blissful sleep.

    "Sh¡­ao"¡­ "Shen Bao."

    I heard, and immediately woke up, looking ahead, it was Liang Yu, with me in the hot springs.

    She was wearing nothing but a towel and had a worried look on her face.

    The towel seemed to be closely hugging her figure making it extenuating more of her figure.

    She was too close as she spoke, "Are you alright? Is the heat too much?" she asked as she slowly pulled back some of the strands of wet hair behind her ear.

    I might be dizzy, maybe from the heat of the hot spring, or maybe because blood was rushing somewhere else besides my brain.

    "Yes," I replied concretely, "I''m good, and what about you, are you really not that worried about being half-naked with a man here?" I said.

    "Ah, is that what''s bothering you? No, I mean, why should I be embarrassed about this?" she said. "I want it," she smiled.

    This caught mepletely off guard.

    "Huh?"

    "What huh, I mean, you''re strong and pretty good to look at, not to mention¡­" she said as she nced down, "Your package is pretty interesting," she grinned.

    ''Ah shit, I''m gonna lose control,''

    I sighed before slowly pushing her back, "As much as I would also like it, after all, I''m no saint, we can''t," I said.

    She seemed pretty disappointed and huffed as she pulled back away from me, her face was immediately turned into a scowl.

    Shit.

    I tried to say something but couldn''t and time kept going on awkwardly like that.

    Soon, she spoke up, "Do you have a wife?" she asked.

    "No, she passed away, a long time ago," I said.

    "Then¡­ am I not to your liking? Or do you not appreciate a girl who actually speaks what''s on her mind?" she asked.

    "No, on the contrary, I mean, you''re pretty much my type. Good body, full in all areas, and I mean it, you have a pretty damn good figure, and you''re beautiful, not to mention, you''re smart and able to pull your own weight in a fight," I said.

    "Then why?!" she said, "After all that, why do you refuse me?!" she said.

    "Because you''ll die," I said.

    And that was the truth.

    "To be what I am, I cannot be with another," I spoke. "I am poison, my body, my blood, my flesh, and everything about me, it''s all poison, the mere contact, even if its just skinship will cause anyone who makes direct contact with me to be poisoned. And I wouldn''t want that to happen to you," I said smiling ruefully.

    As if finally realizing it, her face turned slightly red.

    "Oh, okay, it wasn''t that you can''t after all, right, I understand," she said.

    The rest of the dip was still awkward and was lightly filled with asional talks, like the weather and some awkward stuff like that.

    The only problem was, I needed to leave the Hot Spring, but I wasn''t wearing anything, and she seemed to be realizing that and refused to leave first.

    I had to sign and ept the loss.

    "I''ll be leaving then," I said and stood up, only to receive an ogling stare and a grin on her part.

    "Don''t cut your hair," she said as I was leaving.

    "Really? Why though? It''s annoying and might get in the way of a fight," I said.

    "You look better with long hair," she said.

    "Looks can''t save a life," I replied.

    "But looks bring powerful allies, trust me, keep it long, or at least in a bun, I can help with that, I promise it''ll look good on you," she said.

    "Right, right," I replied, "Why not then," and then left the hot spring.

    Once I was out, I saw the two servants with slightly red cheeks waiting for me with clothes.

    They handed me a basket with my now cleaned clothes and asked me if they should help me dress.

    "Don''t worry about it," I replied and had them go away.

    I looked down at myself and realized, that the old frail skin I used to have was no more, my whole body seemed to have been reconstructed from scratch.

    I had chiseled ribs, and clear muscles, nothing too jacked or too buff, but just enough to show a healthy young body of a person who never neglects his gym nor skips on leg day.

    My hair was already all the way down to my back and I could feel more power in my own body.

    I dressed up and left the Hot Spring.

    A servant was waiting for me outside, "Old Master Gin is waiting for you," the servant said.

    So, the old man''s name is Gin. I always addressed him as ''Old Man''.

    I followed after the servant, outside the manor, and into an open garden, there was a small domed area in the middle of the garden where a table was set with tea that was brewed and waiting to be served.

    I sat across Old Man Gin and waited for him to speak.

    He raised his right arm folding the sleeves of his robe under them, then poured us both a drink. I, as the younger one, should have been the one to serve the tea, but considering that not even the servant dared serve it, it clearly meant that the old man wanted to serve it himself.

    One could glean a bit of understanding of the old man from this.

    He was a hospitable person but didn''t really care to get his hands dirty if needed.

    It was something to take note of for future references.

    "Have a sip," the old man said and I drank once offered.

    "You know, I envy the Poison God''s disciples," the old man said, and this caught me by surprise.

    "Why so?" I spoke.

    "Because they really don''t need to care if their food is poisoned, it can actually strengthen them," the old man joked.

    I looked at the tea once again and took another sip, there was nothing in it, and it didn''t even taste all that special either, there was no poison either as the old man awkwardly joked about.

    "So, do you understand what it is to be a part of the Heavenly Academy?" the old man asked.

    I shook my head, "If I say prestige, power, and honor is all I know, it is an incorrect statement, so I might speak the truth and say that I know not of the full implication of being a part of the Heavenly Academy."

    "Good answer, it is indeed a part, and not all. Being a member of the Heavenly Academy means that you will be possessing a grandiose amount of backing, a powerful supporter, and a lot of resources to grow stronger. However¡­" the old man trailed.

    "Nothinges without a price, and I doubt the few hundred top-grade stones are enough for the Academy to put so much effort behind a cultivator," I said.

    "Indeed, you are right," old man Gin sipped his drink and said, "Do you have what it takes to pay this price though?"

 Chapter 298: Beauty In Simplicity

    <h4>Chapter 298: Beauty In Simplicity</h4>

    "To be a part of the Academy means that, as long as you''re a member, you shall stand to neutrality in all the events thate to pass within the Vast Expanse, you will not move to save your own if it gets attacked nor will you be able to help your family or friends. It is a world that grows powerful figures, then sends them back to where they came from, any graduates of the Heavenly Academy are powerful, and are required toe to the aid of the Heavenly Academyes the day it needs to," the old man spoke.

    I frowned, "Isn''t the Heavenly Academy the most powerful force of the Vast Expanse, who would dare wage war against them? if the Heavenly Academy calls back the alumni wouldn''t it speak disaster to anyone that dare try something?" I asked.

    "It is a question that has been asked many times before, and the answer shall always be the same no matter who you ask in the Heavenly Academy," the old man said, then looked away in the distance, "Do you honestly think, that we''re alone in this world?" he said.

    Well, I traveled to others and saw several monsters, I know for a fact that we''re definitely not alone.

    "The Primordial Beings?" I asked.

    "Oh, interesting, it is a part, yes, but not all. The one that has gued your ancestor is an annoying little bugger, but it shouldn''t be a bother for the current Heavenly Academy," the old man sipped his tea.

    Now this was a surprise, the very creature, the Primordial Dragon Serpent that followed the Poison God all over the universe wasn''t something the heavenly academy needed to worry about, then, what the hell could make them worry?

    {Sorry for pulling you out of your immersion, but these words are for you too, my dear reader}

    "If you keep thinking about it, it''ll only bring you despair, don''t sweat the things that you can''t change, and live your life to the fullest, only when you''re able to change matters that would have been impossible to change before, can you begin by actually worrying," the old man''s words sounded simple, but truly they held great wisdom.

    I nodded at the old man, "Then when are we going to head to the Heavenly Academy?" I asked.

    "In due time, I already prepared the transportation, you''ll be going along with Liang Yu''er, the two of you should stick together, be friends, and work your way to the top, help each other and I''m sure you''ll graduate in less than a hundred years," the old man spoke.

    Less than a hundred years, the heck, isn''t that way too damn long.

    "s, there is a problem," the old man spoke.

    Here ites.

    "You''re too weak, you''ll probably be killed on the first day," the old man said.

    Huh?

    "Say what now?"

    "What now?" the old man replied dumbly.

    "No, I mean, what do you mean about me dying on the first day," I said.

    "Oh, yes, the heavenly academy has no rules against killing other students if it''s in a duel, or if it happens away from the sight of administrators, so you need to be careful, don''t stand out, and make sure that you hide the fact that you''re a Poison cultivator," the old man said.

    "But¡­ that''s not something easy to achieve," I said.

    "No, it isn''t, after all, several of the elders from the Heavenly Academy had suffered greatly at the hands of your ancestor and his twelve acolytes,"

    "It''s like I''m walking into a tiger''s den," I spoke shuddering and starting to rethink if I should really join the academy.

    "Don''t worry too much, I actually have a way for you to help with hiding the fact that you''re a Poison Cultivator, since I never expected you to master it, I now think that you can manage," the old man said.

    "What do you mean? Could you please exin clearly?" I asked.

    "Ah, young people nowadays have so little patience, here," the old man handed me an old rundown manual that looked like someone had picked it up from the trash.

    It was so fragile one would think a slightly powerful gust of wind could scatter it away.

    "Fist of Roaring Qi, grade¡­ Man tier," I looked at the old man giving him the ''Are you kidding me look''

    I had so many cultivation manuals that were far more impressive and dominating than this old rundown cultivation technique, it looked in, too normal, and not as fancy as the title is held.

    However, before I spoke, I knew something from back in my world.

    Never judge a book by its cover.

    I sighed, not expecting much, and thinking that the old man was doing a practical joke on me, but I still humored him enough to flip the first page.

    There was a description of the technique there, it looked old, and had a few letters if not for the context one wouldn''t even understand them, some sentences even had grammatical errors, but I still kept reading.

    The description was simple, Fist of Roaring Qi, a cultivation technique that allows a person to freely control inner Qi and use it to power one''s martial arts.

    It was a basic movement, offense, and defensive movement. It wasn''t shy, it didn''t have any over the top moves, it was pretty simple, side steps, forward steps, and backsteps for movements, palm thrust, fist thrust, and a few kicks following the schematics of the Qi traveling through the meridians for offensive, and for the defensive moves, it had some that heavily used palm strikes to not block but parry and offset blows, even knees were used to parry.

    The whole book took no longer than ten minutes for me reading it to memorize itpletely.

    It was sadly simple. Most high-tier books have entric and extremelyplex Meridian to Qi schematics that made them hard to understand and unless one were to train for several years would they be able to even mimic them, but for this book. It only took a nce thanks to my improved Soul Force and I could already replicate all of these moves.

    "Looks¡­ simple enough," I said.

    "Is that so?" the old man grinned, "Then how about a spar?" the old man grinned.

    A spar, against this old fart¡­ thest time he almost killed me.

    "I will go easy on you, don''t worry," the old man said and stood up, "I won''t break too many bones this time," he said.

    That meant that he will be breaking some bones. Shit.

    The two of us stood up in the middle of the garden, and then the old man said, "You''re not allowed to use weapons or your poison arts, the puppet and the toxins included," the old man said.

    This clearly meant that I can''t use the Poison God''s arts, the gue Palm, the Laughing ughterer''s technique, or anything from canisters pills or my own guns¡­ shit.

    He really is forcing me to use that shabby-looking art.

    "Begin!" the old man said and took a step forward, a palm thrust was already on its way to breaking my chest ribs.

    As if on autopilot, I remembered the first move of the manual I just read, then I sent a rapid palm thrust right against the old man''s forearm. The palm struck his own arm away from me helping me avoid the blow, however, the old man didn''t get destabilized even with his strange posture, and followed after his own thrown arm, moving his upper torso lightly to knock me back using a shoulder blow.

    "Fluidity of movement," the old man said, "It is how you use the Fist of Roaring Qi, you must make use of every muscle, every fiber of your being, take advantage of every position you''re in, even if overexposed, you can still use that as means to continue the assault," the old man said then followed after me.

    He sent thrusts, jabs, and kicks my way, and I could do nothing but defend, rather poorly, the problem is, he wasn''t using his cultivation and was matching my own cultivation stage, but I was still unable to take control of the fight.

    I took a step back, only to get mmed on the ground, "You can''t be on the defensive forever, you''ll mess up, and die," he said.

    Then he continued the assault.

    Suddenly, I had a thought and used his own Movement Technique, the one he himself taught me, and as if everything clicked together¡­ the battle took a different turn.

    The old man''s iing palm failed to touch me as I had already moved away and in one fluid motion threw a tight fist right into the old man''s ribs, making contact.

    The blow caused the old man to slide a bit from the sheer force of it.

    He looked at me and grinned as he rubbed his sides, "Do you now get it?"

    I looked in awe at my fist, it was steaming. The Momentum Movement technique, coupled with the old man''s own technique, then add to it, the very simple mundane looking art of Fist of Roaring Qi, allowed for abination of destructiveness never before seen.

    And I say that because the old man winced in pain even if it was for a fraction of a fraction of a second, he felt it. The sting of an ant against the skin of an elephant, but still a person clearly above the Ascendant Stage was actually slightly damaged by my fist.

    I could couple this with the Momentum Movement Technique and allow every blow I send to have the momentum of my steps into it¡­ the destructiveness itself of this ability¡­ my god¡­

 Chapter 299: Preparation For Departure

    <h4>Chapter 299: Preparation For Departure</h4>

    The fight continued, with me being on the back foot for the majority of it, if I were tond a single blow on the old man I''d take a hundred. However, dare I say it¡­

    It was inexplicably fun.

    The motions of two people dodging away from iing blows, striking on the smallest opportunity and counterattacking whenever possible, blow after blow, kicks, and knees, roundhouse kicks even, and some more.

    A battle of acrobatics never have I thought the human body could ever produce was all thanks to a simple, insignificant manual that I only nced at.

    "Fist of Roaring Qi, Wind Surge!" the incantation is spoken, and the follow up was a stomp forward that cratered the ground, then all the impact from that very stomp surged back up, I coiled and roiled the inebriating force, while gathering all the momentum I''ve been picking up from the start of the fight, and shot it forward in a single palm.

    Wind popped, and the world for a moment turned silent, before a surge of kic power shot from my open palm willing to tear the world apart.

    A visible palm print shot up forward, it was strong andrge enough that old man Gin had his eyes wide open when he saw the iing palm print.

    He twisted his own palms and then sent a simr shockwave towards the iing palm print, instantly dissipating the two of them at the cost of an eardrum rending p.

    "Not bad, not bad," he said.

    This meant that we were probably due for a break, especially since Liang Yu seemed to have already arrived and was sitting in the domed area in the garden.

    She was wearing a new set of clothes, it was a dark red robe with golden phoenixes adorning it. One wouldn''t take one look at her and turn away, it was that good on her.

    She was calmly sipping tea and watching the spar, we were basically entertainment for her.

    "Let''s sit, these old bones can''t keep up with youngsters nowadays," the old man said. That was a lie.

    Once we were all seated, Liang Yu took the lead this time to pour us tea.

    "You''ll be heading to the Heavenly Academyes the morning," spoke the old man.

    "Isn''t it a few days before the week period of the final test is over?" I asked.

    "It is, but it''s better for you to get to the Heavenly Academy before the majority of the people who clear the third trial to arrive. You''ll need to snatch a good cultivation cave first," he said.

    "I don''t fully know theyout of the Heavenly Academy, care to exin?" I asked.

    "Hmm," the old man sipped his own tea and spoke.

    "You''ll first be needing a lodging, a ce to call your own, mainly a cultivation cave. The problem is that they are limited, so you''ll be fighting for your own cave.''

    He then slowly looked me in the eyes and added,

    "Every time a new admission of cultivators begins, there are a few caves open for the new cultivators, since a lot of cultivators either die, graduate, or outright get expelled, so some caves are usually free. Your goal is to obtain one and make it your own, protect it too."

    This was serious, it meant that death wasn''t something that could be avoided, the rule that this upholds of no killing isn''t applicable to every ce in the Vast Expanse, and the Heavenly Academy was not a nice ce.

    "Once you procured your cave, and you''re ably capable of protecting it, then your official stay in the Academy can begin."

    "Are there any merits of getting a cultivation cave?" I spoke.

    "Ah, smart man," the old man said.

    "None, there are no benefits," he added smiling.

    Liang Yu however cut him mid-speech, "But master, even the smallest Cultivation Cave has an abundant Qi, it can help cultivators grow, isn''t that benefit enough?" she asked.

    "It is, for a normal cultivator, however, Shen Bao isn''t a normal cultivator," the old man said. "But that doesn''t mean that the Academy will allow you to loiter around in the open, you must find a ce to stay in," he said.

    "That''ll be an annoyance," I said.

    "Not really, you can do something, a bit unorthodox for a newly admitted student," the old man said, and calmly patiently sipped on his tea, just to make it more stressful, "You''ll need to challenge the Advent Tower of the Heavenly Academy," he said.

    "What is that?" I asked.

    "It''s something that all of the Heavenly Academy Students will one day challenge, it is mandatory for graduation, it allows people to challenge its contents for rewards and some befits."

    ''I feel like there is no originality in this cultivation world, everyone has a tower nowadays.''

    "But, it''s not as simple as it sounds. You can find some lodging in the tower, and challenging some of the floors in it can award you with cultivation materials and resources. Still, you''ll need to really work hard inside the tower, I suppose you can probably if you try hard enough, clear the first floor and obtain the right to stay within the tower to cultivate, it should be a good way for you to find a ce away from people and cultivate your arts without anyone knowing of what you can do," the old man said.

    "I also heard about the robes, do you know what''s the significance of that?" I asked.

    "You''ll get better answers from the teachers at the Academy, for now, let''s not mind that, I want to ask you something personal," the old man said.

    "Ehm, yes?" I replied.

    "I''ve been bothered about this since you''ve done it, but, how did you manage to escape my Domain? And rather fast at that too, I''ve never had that happening to me before," he asked.

    I debated between replying truthfully or lying to him.

    "I don''t actually know, I can just leave a domain whenever I want," I said.

    "Interesting, that shoulde in handy, make sure not to reveal that secret of yours, you can turn the tables against a powerful person by that ability of yours alone," the old man said and sipped his tea once again.

    "I''ll require you both to help and look after each other, the world of the Heavenly Academy is cruel, and even my own reputation and power cannot sway the people in there to aid you, make sure to help yourselves, and don''t let people walk all over you," the old man said and stood up.

    "Meet me here again tomorrow morning, we''ll be leaving by then, make sure you''re well-rested and ready.

    The old man then walked away leaving me and Liang Yu alone.

    "Tea?" she asked.

    "If you please," I replied and pulled my pipe. Tea and Joyful weed make a goodbo.

    As she was pouring tea, she asked, "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" she asked.

    "Not really, new day, new thing, I''ve been living my life like this for a long time, I''ll handle a situation as I get to it, and stressing about things that have yet toe is pointless," I said.

    "A rather pragmatic view of the world, some might not share it," she said.

    "It isn''t really my own worry for other to share my view or not, I live my life for myself not for the others," I said and took a long whiff of the smoke. "Then again, people tend to be very aggrieved when you don''t share their views, so a good pummeling is enough to straighten them up." I added.

    She smiled as she sat down and drank her own tea, "You really are interesting Shen Bao, it is a shame," she said.

    I sighed, she was talking about the ''Incident''.

    "It is, but what can one do," I said sighing.

    "I know though," she said smiling.

    "What?"

    "I actually did a bit of research before I came here, and the Poison God had a few concubines and a wife, and even had children at one point," she said smiling.

    ''What is she getting at,''

    "Is that so¡­" I said frowning.

    "Yes, it''s just that, to be able to fully manipte the poison within his body, he needed to reach the Saint Cultivation Stage." She said.

    I was immediately shook, not because of what she just said.

    "What cultivation stage? Can you repeat that again?" I asked.

    "Ah, the Heavenly Censoring, I thought that was a myth, yes the Saint Stage, it''s the first Stage after Ascendant, at that point in time the Poison God began gathering his harem. He was a very lewd man though, of all his conquests I''ve read about, he really, was a lust beast." She said.

    The wording she just said caught me off guard, the very old man that spoke words of wisdom from the Poison God''s book was a Casanova? Hum.

    "We''ll see about that then won''t we," I said.

    "Of course," she said smiling back.

 Chapter 300: First Day

    <h4>Chapter 300: First Day</h4>

    We hopped on the back of Xiao-Xiao and flew to the north, the direction was to a portal that will take us all the way to the depth of space.

    The Heavenly Academy was of course not on this, but it had its own domain where it prospered.

    It was in a neutral area of the Vast Expanse where none of the four major powers had any say.

    It took less than a day to arrive, and like Old Man Gin had said, not many would be there since we cleared our own trials faster than anyone.

    The portal structure was simple, a massive circr warp gate that would allow transport to vast distances.

    Most cultivators cannot afford to pay for the usage of such a portal, hence they use the ships to travel vast distances. However, a few entric cultivators, well able to afford the cost still chose to use the ships so they could travel the Vast Expanse and benefit from some opportunities that they can obtain along the road.

    The three of us walked up to the gate and a couple of guards stopped us.

    After they confirmed our identities and the tokens we held, they operated the gate for us.

    "From here onwards, you''re on your own, like I said, you two should watch each other''s backs, make sure to topple the opposition. Good luck, and Godspeed," the old man said.

    Liang Yu bowed and gave the old man a sincere thanks.

    And so did I, for I had no reason not to thank a person who taught me so much in so little time.

    "It is a shame that I cannot be your master," the old man Said.

    "I don''t really care about the etiquettes of Master Disciple, but what I do know is, if a man teaches me a letter I''ll owe him for life, and I owe you much to care for this," I spoke then gave a deep bow to the person in front of me.

    It was only natural.

    A teacher''s ability is showcased by his disciple, though we''re not master and disciple, he taught me, and he deserves my gratitude.

    The old man snickered and said, "Your words may make the heavens jealous, but for a man who talks back against heaven itself, it would be rude not to ept your bow, go child, go and make the world know your name," the old man said and took a step back disappearing from sight.

    Damn, how are they all able to do that¡­

    I stood back up and turned to the gate, "Let''s go," I said to Liang Yu as I held her hand and the two of us walked forward.

    The moment we stepped through the warp gate, I felt as if the world was stretching, and my whole being slowly disintegrating, not in pain, but as if I was being slowly dposed and reconstructed.

    Itsted for a long time, or probably for only a second because just as I closed and opened my eyes, I was already standing on a massive tform high above the clouds.

    The whole world felt different here. And the skies were dyed in a purple hue.

    There were three moons up above us, and the skies themselves were shining in an amalgamation of stars that would take ten thousand lifetimes to count.

    Surrounding the tform were sky-defying stone formations that seemed to rise from the depth of the earth to challenge the skies.

    These rock pirs seemed naturally made, and they had an array of nests where birds seemed to be sleeping for the night.

    The sound of water caused me to turn my head to see even bigger pirs, more like mountains rising up in the distance where waterfalls seemed to being from, falling down in cascades, and creating small rainbows all over the ce.

    Rainbows? At night, interesting.

    "What a beautiful ce," Liang Yu said.

    "It really is, but, what are we going to do now?" I asked as I looked around, there didn''t seem to be anyone here to escort us to the ''Heavenly Academy''.

    "I wouldn''t know, I don''t have information regarding the Academy itself, we''ll have to figure it out ourselves," Liang Yu said.

    I went to the edge of the tform and used my divine sense to try to locate and find if there is anyone nearby.

    All I could catch in my divine sense, which by the way became pretty huge thanks to my rise in cultivation.

    I could now approximately scan fifty kilometers of spherical distance around me.

    And I still couldn''t spot anyone.

    "This is interesting, it could also be a test to figure out the location of the heavenly academy, we should look around, and we''ll probably find something," Liang Yu said.

    "No, there is no need," I said as I retracted my divine sense.

    "They''re already here," I said as I looked up.

    Soon two cultivators appeared in front of us, they both had blue robes and slowly descended from the skies. It was a man and a woman.

    "You arrived at such an annoying hour," the man spoke as hezily cleaned his ear with his pinky finger.

    The womanughed lightly behind a small fan and said, "Don''t be like that brother Mo, they''re new recruits."

    "You," the person named Mo, spoke, "How did you figure out that we were here?" he asked.

    "Oh," I looked up, "The stars, they changed, when you two arrived, there were two more stars in the sky," I spoke.

    The man frowned, "You''re telling me, you were able to count the stars, and figure out that two were added to them afterward?" he said.

    "Something like that," that was a lie, I simply have a photographic memory, and what I did was it''s like taking two pictures of the same thing and putting one above the other, canceling everything that has already been overwritten and thus allowing the two new stars to be seen since they didn''t have a ce in the first picture.

    It sounds much harder to exin than it is, thus I spoke a little lie.

    "Interesting, follow us," the man said and they turned up, the two of them shot forward like meteors into the skies and seemed to disappear immediately afterward.

    "Let''s go," I spoke to Liang Yu and the two of us shot forward.

    I was thankful for one thing when I made it to the Soul Formation Stage. It was the ability to fully control my own Qi, and now I don''t passively release poison as I fly unless I want to.

    The two of us shot forward and as if we were in a submerged world, we broke through the illusion that was cast upon the world below and bore through the canopy of stars into a bright world.

    We shot through what seemed to be a massive well and appeared in a vast za.

    There were hundreds if not thousands of cultivators rushing all about, with books and scrolls in hand, each heading with confident fast steps almost everywhere.

    Looking back at the ce where we emerged, it was a massive well that seemed to not have water but held the ckness of the night skies and the stars that we''ve seen before.

    This is the entrance to the Heavenly Academy apparently.

    Around us, were massive buildings that seemed to be designed for different purposes.

    From the east was a building on top of a massive mountain where you could smell the scent of spiritual herbs all the way from there.

    On the west was a volcanic mountain where the torrents of smoke rose upon every asion.

    To the south was a massive open field with many other structures and facilities that could host a swath of different subjects. Stretching my divine sense as much as I could, the first structure I could see was an arena and there was already a fight there.

    And on the northern side, there was another building in the distance, it seemed like the main academic building where the majority of the people with scrolls and books were moving towards.

    This was slightly awkward however because the information I have on the heavenly academy was slightly different, where is the tower for example? And where are the caves?

    Only when I looked up did I relies what was going on.

    The entirety of this ce was not even the academy itself but more like a ce where people train and practice to be able to enter the heavenly academy.

    A giant floating ind was hovering in the distance far away from us.

    And from here I could see a tower standing tall on the ind.

    Using another wave of divine sense I could also locate the Caves, they were under us, and it seemed that the houses surrounding us were the entrances to these caves.

    Before I could even ask the two people that escorted us how to get into the houses, they already seemed to have mixed in with the group and left us.

    "I guess we''re on our own, Liang Yu, how about we head to the caves, we''ll need to get you housed up," I said.

    "Oh, I don''t think so, how about you piss off and leave that lovelydy here, you''re not fit enough to be with her anyway," I heard.

    Turning I saw a group of guys, the one that spoke was a middle-aged man with a nasty grin on his face.

    Three more disciples seemed to be following him and they all had an ugly ogling gaze pointed directly at Liang Yu.

    Seems that my first day in the Heavenly Academy was bound to be bloody.

    Nothing that I didn''t expect, time to put some people in their ce and show them who''s boss.

 Chapter 301: The Power of Looks

    <h4>Chapter 301: The Power of Looks</h4>

    The leader of the group, a middle-aged-looking man approached first, and the three behind him followed, it looked like a bunch of ruffians, unfit to be members of the Heavenly Academy, they came at us, with lust towards Liang Yu andplete disregard towards me.

    The middle-aged man nodded his head and one of the three followers tried to put his hand on me.

    If I allowed that, I would be in trouble. Because the moment he''ll touch my robes, he''ll be immediately poisoned and I don''t want to be revealed on the first day.

    I quickly intercepted his hand, and with as little as a flick, broke his wrist.

    "AHHHHH!"

    The man groaned in pain as he looked at his broken hand in a daze and at me, unbelieving how this could happen.

    The rest of the group became wearier.

    "You, a neer dare make trouble in the Heavenly Academy! You sure want to standoff, don''t you," the middle-aged man spoke, without a hint of worry or care.

    "Now, you know what happens to those who cause trouble in the Heavenly Academy?" the old man spoke with a wide grin.

    I actually, do, and an elder immediately appeared.

    An old man, wearing blue robes came fast, "What''s going on in here?" spoke the elder.

    "Elder Pong, these neers are causing problems, look at what they did to my junior disciple! They broke his wrist when he wanted to greet them," the man said, with a lot of spite in his words.

    "Is that so," the elder said as he turned towards me, "Why have you harmed a member of the heavenly academy? You, right now, are still not a member, do you wish to have the whole academy against you? A punishment is needed, indeed," the elder said.

    "So, you''re not going to ask why I broke his wrist and will proceed directly with punishment, what a good Heavenly Academy," I retorted.

    "There is no need, you''re nothing but a neer!" the old man said and sent a palm strike to my abdomen.

    The fuck is this asshole trying to do, destroy my cultivation?!

    I took a step back using Old Man Gin''s movement technique, and the elder immediately stopped his attack the moment he saw me move away.

    He frowned at first and said, "Drop this matter," to the middle-aged assant.

    "But, Elder Pong! He wronged us!" he said.

    "I said, drop this matter, you can''t afford to provoke that man," the elder said and turned then left the area. Before he sent a divine sense, "Don''t cause too much trouble, the name of Elder Gin can''t carry much weight beyond the Starting Grounds."

    The group finding their backer useless could only re at us and decided to leave.

    But, I promised myself this, I''ll never bother ore to harm someone who didn''t provoke me needlessly, however, once provoked, or caused toe to malice, I''ll make sure to avenge myself, and in the most ruthless of ways.

    "Liang Yu, let''s find you a housing area," I said and then headed to the nearest house next to us.

    I gave the door a few knocks and immediately received an answer, "Neers should head to the deacon for a ce to stay, head out to the main building up north. You''ll find the deacons there. They''ll give you your housing and caves. These houses you''re standing next to are off-limit to neers."

    The voice was feminine, and I didn''t know who it belonged to, but it gave us enough information to work. So, we left for the main building.

    Since the first incident, nothing else came to happen, we''ve been able to move smoothly and head to the main building, where we were also limited in essing most of its facilities.

    Our normal robes exposed us as neers, and we couldn''t get anyone to help us even to find the deacons.

    Thankfully, Liang Yu took charge and went up to a few cultivators who seemed too busy with their own manuscripts, and scrolls to even give me a nce, the moment they saw hering their way, they perked up like peacocks.

    She smiled and told them a few words, and it was all it took for them to point her directly where she needed to head off.

    The moment she turned my way and asked me to follow after her, I felt stares colder than ice pointing my way.

    Seriously? Are we in a teenager movie or something?

    I shook my head and moved after Liang Yu.

    After a few twists and turns inside the main building, we arrived at arge desk that was manned by a young girl in yellow robes.

    "What do you need?" she asked rather coldly.

    "The deacons, we need housing," Liang Yu said, the girl didn''t give her another look and began searching through some documents. Fully ignoring her.

    "Your turn," Liang Yu said through transmission.

    "Huh? What do you mean?"

    "She is a woman, and you''re very handsome, put one and one together, you''ll get your way," she said.

    "I don''t think the world works like that," I said.

    "You''re underestimating yourself a lot," she said smiling at me.

    "Right, here goes nothing," I replied then headed to the desk.

    "Hello," I said.

    The girl at the desk didn''t even look up at me.

    "What¡­" she replied coldly.

    "Could you please, give me directions on how to get proper housing? I''ll appreciate your help," I said.

    "And who might you be for me to care about your apprecia-" the girl finally looked at me and coughed, "I''m sorry, what was your question again? The deacon? Housing right, give me one moment," she said smiling like a young bashful girl.

    She stood up and headed to a room that wasn''t too far.

    "Seriously?"

    "Told you not to cut your hair, see, looks are very helpful," Liang Yu replied grinning.

    "Huh¡­ interesting," I said calmly.

    The girl came back fast a pace and approached us, "Here you go," she said and handed me one housing document.

    "Say¡­ what''s your name?" she asked.

    "It''s Shen Bao, why do you ask?"

    "Just formalities, you know for signing the document and stuff," she said.

    She was pretty awkward.

    I realized there was only one document for housing it seems that she didn''t want to help Liang Yu.

    But I didn''t really care, "I''ll give you this one like the old man said, I can''t use the caves,"

    "You haven''t introduced yourself," I said.

    "Ah yes I''m Hwa Chu," she said.

    "Good name, so tell me Hwa Chu, how can I head to the Advent Tower?" I asked.

    "The Advent Tower? You''ll need to get permission from one of the elders, but I can get you one, is it for visit? Or training?" she asked.

    "Training," I said.

    "Oh, is that so, it''s a bit difficult, shouldn''t you focus on studies first, like most cultivators, I can give you a good study curriculum, you''ll be having the same sses as me," she said.

    Clearly, she wants to approach me for more of my time, it''s a bother.

    "I''m a person of adventurous spirit, I would like to see the Tower First and know my limit before working on what I''mcking," I said.

    "Oh, such powerful words, and who is that?" she said finally admitting that there was an elephant in the room.

    I looked back at Liang Yu who seemed to be grinning.

    Damn.

    "Mypanion," I said, and I made sure to keep my eyes on Liang Yu to see her expression once I spoke the words, they didn''t change.

    "Apanion¡­I thought she was more like your girlfriend," Hwa said.

    "No, I''m single, anyway, enough with that, can you please help me with the Advent Tower," I said.

    "Oh yes, of course," she said, and then headed back to the same room again.

    "Take this, I''ll get you housed up first, and once that''s done I''ll head to the advent tower," I said.

    "Well of course, I mean, I''m just yourpanion why should you care if I was properly housed or if I don''t get assaulted, ah, such a young maiden, left alone in a den of wolves, my master would weep for ten days at my dead ravaged body, ah, the despair!" Liang Yu spoke exaggerating the situation.

    She''s pissed¡­ god damn it.

    As I tried to calm her down, Hwa arrived back with another document, a map, and two white robes.

    "These are for you two, wear these since you''re officially people of the Heavenly Academy, usually these robes will only be presented on the day of the admission of the rest of the neers, but I pulled some strings for Junior, Brother Shen Bao, as for you," she said to Liang Yu, "I couldn''t find another housing area, so you''ll need to figure out a way to stay inside one of the caves. It''s also forbidden to share cultivation caves, so don''t think of bothering Brother Shen Bao."

    She was clearly discriminating against Liang Yu.

    "And this is the permission needed to enter the Advent Tower, you''ll still need to pay a small sum of Spirit Stones," she said "I can''t wave that off sadly," she said.

    "No need to," I said. "But since mypanion is going to be left outside, I can''t stand it, here," I said as I handed the housing document to Liang Yu.

    "Wait, that, you can''t do that?!" she said.

    "Is there a rule saying that I can''t?" I asked.

    "But, where will you be staying, we don''t have any other housing until the day of entry, she said.

    Now, I needed to defuse the situation, because this was clearly pping her in the face after giving the cave she gave me away.

    "Are you worried about me?" I said smiling at her and approaching rather too close to her.

    "A-a bit," she said.

    "No need to, your Junior brother is very capable, I''ll be at the Advent Tower anyway, I''ll need to train so it would be a waste to leave that house uninhabited, it would be best I gave it to mypanion here, don''t you think," I said.

    The closeness caused her a bit of ''enjoyable'' difort, so she said, "You''re right, yes, it would be a waste, but¡­if you want I can¡­" she said and then sent the rest through divine sense.

    "You can crash over my ce, I have a veryrge cultivation cave," she said.

    "As much as I would like that," I said, clearly lying, "It would be against the rules, I wouldn''t want to cause such a beautiful, kind, and smart girl like you trouble, it would pain me dearly," I said.

    "Thank you," I said this time loudly, and the two of us walked away.

    "What a yer," she said.

    "Learned from the best," I said.

    "Hey, don''t say that, it makes me look sleazy," Liang Yu replied.

    I couldn''t help but grin.

    "Thank you," I said to Liang Yu.

    "What for?" she said.

    "You showed me that I had a weapon, a tool that I never used before, so a thanks are due," I said.

    "Well, you better repay it with more than words," she said and hurried ahead of me.

    I couldn''t help but grin as the two of us walked away from the main building of the Starting Area. Next stop, the Advent Tower, let''s see how that''s going to go.

 Chapter 302: Simulation

    <h4>Chapter 302: Simtion</h4>

    The first thing we did, was to make sure that Liang Yu was well housed. The documents from Hwa had a detailed map of the cave we can use. It was below a small house on the far side of the main housing area.

    It didn''t look too shabby from the inside, a small room with minimalistic decoration, a bed a study table with an oilmp on top, and a small stool. Nothing too fancy.

    But underneath this small shack-like house was a trapdoor that led further down. I could feel the natural heavenly Qiing from underneath the ground.

    "This is amazing, it''s far richer in Qi than my own Mansion," Liang Yu said.

    "I could feel a Spiritual Vine right underneath the whole city, no it''s even more than a spiritual vine, this is a Spiritual Dragon Vine," Liang Yu said.

    "What''s the difference?" I asked.

    "Thetter is far more robust, it has more¡­ vitality to it, and far purer in quality, this stuff is really hard toe across in nature. And it''s given for the new recruits to use, I can''t even start to imagine what the upperssmen get as treatment," she said.

    "Then better get going, I''ll ce some restrictions here to ward off some flies, okay?" I said.

    "Oh yes, that''ll be helpful, thank you," she said and went down the trapdoor.

    I began writing some restrictions all over the room, blocking ess to unwanted people. I tried to make sure that they weren''t deadly, and were all illusion-based, this way they''ll probably not get killed off and I get med for it.

    Once the settings were set, I sent a sound transmission to Liang Yu, "I''ll be leaving, for now, I''lle back when I''m done with the tower, okay?" I said.

    "Don''t stay for long, and be careful, I heard a few students die every year in the tower," she said.

    "Who do you think I am?" I said.

    "Well, you''re strong, but frankly speaking, everyone here at the academy is not just your everyday small fry, so still be careful," she said.

    "I''ll keep it in mind," I replied to her worries.

    It was true, there was no point in hubris and arrogance, I''ll make sure to keep my head leveled.

    The tower was at the flying ind high above, but one could still ess it without being there.

    Once I headed to the location on the map I was given, I found a teleportation gate guarded by two bored-looking disciples.

    They both wore Yellow Robes, the second-lowest robe of the Heavenly Academy.

    "What do you want?" one of the two disciples said in a bored tone.

    "I''d like to ess the tower," I said.

    "So do I, but I don''t think you have the ability, go away, you''ll only waste your life and our time," the disciple said.

    "Don''t be like that brother Lue, you, do you have the proper payment?" the second disciple said.

    "How much is it?" I asked.

    "That''ll be two hundred thousand Top Grade Spirit Stones," he said.

    His words caused the other disciple to have his eyes widen for a moment then he retained his calmness.

    "That¡­is a bit too high, don''t you think?" I said.

    "Well, that is the amount, pay it, or leave," he said.

    "Is that so¡­" I said.

    "Yes," he said smiling.

    I took a deep breath then said, "Okay then, I agree," I said and handed him a pouch full of Top Grade Spirit Stones, I was pretty wealthy, or rtively, since all those top-grade spirit stones were from the man in purple. But since I knew I was being scammed¡­

    "Just don''te to regret this," I said as I handed him the pouch.

    The disciple spoke back, "Regret what? It''s in the regtion," he said go ahead.

    "I will," I said and entered the teleportation gate leaving the two there.

    There was no need for me to make a fuss, I''ll be sure to get the Stones Back in full but not now.

    Once I entered the gate I appeared within a massive circr hall that seemed to have no ceiling, not because it didn''t exist, but because the ceiling was so high that even my divine sense couldn''t touch it.

    It must be an illusion of some sort because there is no way a building could be built that is more than fifty kilometers in height that''s just impossible¡­maybe.

    The hall itself was pretty damn wide and had all sorts of people in it.

    They varied from green, blue-red, and even some asional purple robes. Hell, there were barely any Yellow Robes here, and definitely, I was the only White Robe here.

    I was more obvious than a sore thumb and everyone took note of me once I arrived.

    But seeing the color of my robes, everyone immediately ignored me.

    Looking around, I tried to ask one of the disciples what was going on here, but I was tly ignored.

    Even yellow robes seemed to be looking down on me, since they were the bottom feeders, finding another one in a worse situation than them must have inted their nonexistent ego.

    However, against all the odds a person approached me, he was wearing red robes and had a wide smile on his face, "I knew you''d make it," he said.

    Looking at his face I smiled back, "Brother Xiao Feng," I nodded back to him and this caused everyone in the room to pay attention to our conversation.

    "I suppose I owe you this," I said and handed him a pouch full of Top Grade Spirit Stones, almost all I had on me, I kept a bit just in case.

    "Oh, there is more here than I gave you," he said.

    "Consider it interest, since I wouldn''t have made this much if it wasn''t for your generous donation back then at the border inspection," I said.

    "Hah, good man, I like people who keep their promises, so tell me, Shen Bao, how did your trial go?" he asked.

    He didn''t seem to care about the disparity between our ''Robe'' Status and spoke loudly for all to hear.

    "Well, it went like this," I said and tried to give some details on what happened back at the race while omitting a pretty good bit of it, but giving him just the facts.

    "That sounds interesting, I wish I could have seen that," he said.

    "What about you? I thought you''ll just join the Academy, you''re already a Red Robe," I said.

    "Oh this, ah it''s nothing much, to be honest, took me a week to get it though, you know because I''m talented and all," he said grinning.

    ''Wow, this guy''s ego¡­ or maybe confidence, I couldn''t tell, but he doesn''t look like a bad apple.''

    "Congrattions then, so," I said as I looked around, "How does this Tower work?" I asked.

    "I guess they skimped on the introduction for you, I can exin it, you see that," he said as I looked to where he pointed.

    There were several rooms surrounding the tower''s base, doors to small private rooms with incredibly intricate confusing, and mind-bogglinglyplicated inscriptions.

    They were almost at the level of Master Rain''s own inscriptions¡­

    "Every room there hosts an Ancient One," he said.

    He then looked at me and figured out from my dumb expression that I had no idea what he was talking about.

    "You see, a long, long, long time ago, this area used to belong to another sect before it came to be known as the Heavenly Academy. A great cmity happened upon that sect and eradicated them. Yet, their bodies were for some reason eternally preserved. Their bodies are incredibly durable and hard to destroy, and with the use of great inscriptions, the Heavenly Academy manages to use these bodies that were left behind to simte reincarnation."

    "You mean¡­" I said as I looked at the door once again, "People actually possess these bodies or something?"

    "Something like that, the cultivators need to rent a room, find a body, and live the body''s life. You''ll have a mission to do once you are sent back, and you''ll be awarded based on your performance."

    "This sounds veryplicated¡­" I said.

    "It tends to be like that, especially living inside another person''s body and living their lives¡­"

    ''Yeah, tell me about that¡­''

    "But, don''t worry, it''s an enlightening experience, everyone here will be incarnated as an inner sect disciple, your goal is simple, learn the techniques of the Ancient Ones, and survive long enough until the cmity," he said.

    "The cmity? What is that? And what do you mean by survive? It''s like I''ll die if I go there," I asked.

    "Well, so far no one knows, no one lived long enough in the simtion to see what it was or how the sect came to cease to exist. But you don''t need to worry about it, the longer you survive the more points you get," he said.

    "You still didn''t answer the most important question, what happens if you die there?" I asked.

    "Oh, a bit of mental pain, nothing too worrisome, but you''ll be sent back here after death, so don''t be too concerned," he said.

    "Who survived the longest there?" I asked.

    "That person," he said as he pointed further up," I traced his finger and saw a name on the hall''s wall.

    The name was printed in gold, and it said "Gong Yue Tiantang, The Rejoicing Heaven¡­ who is that?" I asked.

    "The founder of the Heavenly Academy," he said, "And he was the only one to survive for as long as he did¡­"

    I looked up again and saw a number next to that name.

    3650¡­

    "Are those years?" I asked.

    "Oh, no days, he survived ten years there. It''s honestly an incredible feat, look at the second one," he said.

    Looking at the name underneath it I was frankly shocked

    "Feng Weng Zhang¡­ the wind king¡­"

    "Yes, he made it to nine years and couldn''t keep going, he had to concede, however, the most impressive isn''t any of them, it is the third name," then I looked at it and couldn''t read it, I was heavily scratched like if someone wanted to remove the name from there.

    "Yes, of course, they had to scratch that name off because it was a disgrace for the Heavenly Academy, he was the only one who actually managed to make far greater progress in the simtion, not only that he threatened the first ce as he progressed far faster than anyone due to his genius, however, every genius is envied and a lot of things happened,"

    "Interesting I wonder who it could be," I asked.

    Xiao Feng smiled and said, "I can only do this for a moment, pay attention to the name," he said and then flexed his hand.

    I could feelw surging from his hand and shooting towards the name, it was very fast and almost instantaneous, but I could see it.

    Thew lines touched the writing and as if the world denied the Scratches on it, the name became visible for but a moment.

    "Du Shen¡­"

    And that was enough to have my eyes almost bulge out.

    "That''s¡­the Poison God¡­" I whispered and that caused a lot of eyes to snap toward me.

    ''Shit,''

 Chapter 303: Takeover

    <h4>Chapter 303: Takeover</h4>

    "What a shame, someone like that should never have been in the academy, what a vile man!" I added immediately afterward.

    And like jackals who realized that whatever it was in front of them was no longer worthy of being eaten, they ignored me all together and continued their talking with each other.

    "That was close, I guess Du Shen isn''t really that popr here," I spoke through sound transmission.

    "On the contrary, he is very popr, or more like infamous, he caused a lot of problems when he was alive and was like the dark period of the heavenly academy," he said.

    "I guess I need to keep a low profile, anyway," I said to Feng Tian, "How can I rent a room?" I asked.

    "Well, among the many rooms here, the best ones are all taken," he said.

    "The best? Care to exin?" I asked.

    "Well, this is a very big establishment, and the number of Bodies in it is limited, and there are a lot of students. The bodies are not your everyday person, some of them were truly powerful, and the stronger the more influential the body is the higher the price for Possessing it, there are other bodies avable, but they''re mostly Outer Sect Disciple bodies, and those don''t have enough¡­how do I exin it, not enough power to be able to take you all the way to the final days, usually the outer sect bodies kick the host out in a manner of hours, so no one wants to waste their Top Grade Spirit stones on those," he said.

    "Oh, is that so," I said, "I''ll check the prices first," I said then moved ahead.

    "If you need Spirit Stones, you can just ask by the way," he said smiling.

    "Ah don''t worry I do have some left," I said replying, and the moment arrived at the first room I had to swallow my words.

    1,000,000 Top Grade Spirit Stone to use this room¡­and it was already in use.

    And this didn''t even look like a room of a powerful disciple since many were standing in front of it waiting for their turn.

    The reason behind it was, that the more expensive the room was, the fewer people it had in front of it.

    I kept checking the prices which only kept making my heart drop.

    Some of the rooms even had Saint Grade Spirit Stone cost of entry.

    "This is bloody expensive," I muttered.

    And a couple of Disciples heard my words, "Of course, it will be, for a country bumpkin like you, if you can''t even afford this room why are you blocking the way, getaway!" he said.

    I didn''t have an argument against that, I actually couldn''t afford any of these rooms and had to walk away.

    Feng Xiao was smiling as he looked at me, "What''s wrong?" he asked.

    "You know what''s wrong, the heck was that, this shit is expensive as hell," I said.

    "Hmm, perhaps it is, if you wish I can lend you, after all you have a good credit score and you give a good interest back," he said smiling as always.

    "I''m afraid I can''t, I''ll have to dere bankruptcy at that point," I replied coldly.

    "Hmm, how about you take one of the less expensive ones, but I think the bacsh isn''t worth it, however, a few disciples asionally try them out for the experience," Feng Xiao said.

    There were actually other rooms and they had even fewer people than the others.

    I walked up to the rooms and checked the prices, some were as low as 100 top-grade spirit stones. But they were also upied and full.

    Looking around, there was only one room that was empty, and the entry price was 1 top-grade spirit stone.

    "What''s with this one?" I asked.

    "Oh, don''t bother with that, that room the moment you''ll enter you''ll die, it''s the body of a person that was in the middle of cultivation deviation, anyone incarnating in that body gets immediately rejected, the school couldn''t destroy the body still so they kept it there, it''s just a prank," he said.

    "Cultivation Deviation¡­Interesting," I said as I approached the room.

    "I know you''re an interesting person, but you shouldn''t do uninteresting things, I told you, it''s not worth it, and you''ll only be getting a severe bacsh not to mention the pain you feel there is all too real, you''ll really not like it," he said.

    "Let me guess, this is the reason why a few disciples die in the Advent Tower of the Heavenly Academy?" I asked.

    "Yes, sometimes the pain is all too real and it will get into a person''s head, you really don''t want to go in there," he said.

    "How much of my ability can I use in that ce?" I asked.

    "Well¡­ mostly anything, but you''re limited by the cultivator''s own cultivation rank," he said.

    "Right then," I said and headed into the room.

    "I won''t try and persuade you anymore, but be careful there," he said.

    "Look, he''s going in there," someone spoke.

    Other cultivators took note of me walking to the room and began watching me.

    Some even began snickering and sniggering at me.

    "Do you think he''ll do it?" one of them said.

    "Well he''s paying the fees, so he must be doing it," another said.

    "Does he know that he''ll immediately be rejected? I mean it''s only one Top Grade Spirit Stone but still, it''s a waste, not to mention the cost of treatment from the immediate rejection¡­" another added.

    Another person, the vilest most despicable, and honestly the smartest of them all spoke, "I''m opening bets on how long he''ll stay there, who''s in!" he said.

    And immediately everyone gathered around him.

    ''Smart man.''

    I ced the top-grade spirit stone on a small tray and it disappeared.

    The formation on the room''s door clicked and began twisting and reshaping itself unlocking.

    Then the room opened up on the stone body of a young kid, he looked to be in his teens

    He was sitting in a meditative pose, however, his body wasn''t made of flesh, but hard rock.

    It looked like a statue, but it felt¡­like it actually was alive.

    There was a formation behind the kid, the formation was shaped like a palm, and I figured out immediately what I needed to do to use it.

    I closed the room behind me, cutting off the ruckus of what was happening outside, and went behind the body.

    I sat down and took a deep breath then exhaled.

    Once I felt ready, I pressed my palm against the palm print inscription behind the body''s back.

    It took a moment before the inscription reacted to my presence, and I immediately felt my mind sway and go nk.

    Then suddenly, I was in some sort of forest somewhere within the high mountains.

    Before I could even take in the scenery in full, my whole body was assaulted with soul-wrenching pain.

    Every Meridian in my body was screaming in agonized pain, and for a moment, just a moment I felt something I never felt before.

    The breath of the world itself, I could sense something I had never been able to before.

    The nature of Qi, the thing that I was denied of, the thing I perused with blood, sweat, and eighty years of hard work, I felt it, for a single fleeting moment. And waspletely disappointed.

    Qi, heavenly Qi, really wasn''t something to write home about, it was just the ability to absorb Qi from the world and sense it, I could do that on a whole other level, though what I can absorb is only Poison Qi, poison Qi in itself is far purer than this qi, it''s far too full of impurities.

    Suddenly, the pain reminded me of my situation. And unlike what most people would do and try to stop the Cultivation Deviation from taking their lives¡­

    I raised my finger up and decisively began stabbing all over my body with that finger.

    Exactly, 108 times.

    The pain from the cultivation deviation was far less imposing than the pain from personally destroying my own meridians. However, there was no way for me, or anyone else to survive this catastrophe without doing exactly this.

    The Cultivation Deviation was forcefully stopped, since there were no Meridians for them to explode as I already killed every meridian personally, and now, the real trial begins.

    My mind was reeling from pain, but for some reason, I didn''t feel too pressured, it was actually refreshing, I felt like I was actually doing something that I was confident in.

    The pain continued for a long while before it began subsiding.

    I was saved from the Cultivation Deviation, but at the same time, I was currently turned into a mortal.

    Usually, what I was trying to do would not have actually worked, since what I''m doing is rebuilding my cultivation based not on the Heavenly Qi, but on the Poison Meridians. However there is one thing I need to create Poison Meridians, and that is Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    That thing doesn''t grow on trees, and I should normally, die immediately after I stabbed myself here and have no Bone and Body Grinding Poison. And since I couldn''t take any Bone and Body Grinding Poison with me, I should die shortly.

    However, this Possession is special, because of the word itself, Possession.

    My soul itself is also Poison.

    And if it''s the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, my soul is basically the embodiment of such a poison.

    Immediately, the destroyed meridians were ruptured once more, blood surged out and my Soul began filling the void that was left inside this body, the poisonous nature of my soul began supplementing the body with copious amounts of Poison Qi and reforged the ruptured meridians anew.

    My body was in shock and I felt like fainting more than once.

    The old pustules and tumors began appearing all over my body once again as it was slowly reconstructing, but then, they also began disappearing the moment they appeared.

    The ruptured meridians healed up to something new, Poison Meridians and after a while of painful shuddering and teeth crushing pain, I was finally able to breathe out.

    A foul, vile, and rancid breath shot out of my mouth, expelling all impurities from the body, and was finally able to open my eyes.

    The breath I released was potent enough that it caused the trees around me to dry and wilt.

    I stood up and looked all over my body, it was pretty scarred and looked malnourished, whatever this kid was trying to do seemed to be utterly stupid.

    There was a cultivation manual in front of him depicting a Demonic Cultivation technique, the chances of survival were slim. Especially since he was barely a foot into the Nascent Soul and was in no way or shape to survive a cultivation technique designed for Soul Transformation level which was two entire big realms above his cultivation.

    I wonder what would cause a person to go through with such a cultivation technique¡­

    Looking around, I didn''t find anything worthy of note, and once I expanded my Divine Sense I was able to see where I needed to go.

 Chapter 304: The Voice

    <h4>Chapter 304: The Voice</h4>

    Memories began flooding my mind, they weren''t many but that didn''t mean they were little.

    The kid I''m currently possessing is someone with a rather sad past. A life of humiliation due to hiscking talent, a person who is only an Outer Sect Disciple. Unlike the many, many disciples here, who most if not all had incredible talent, this person was weak, iparably so.

    He was a person who was supposed to be engaged to one of the most beautiful girls in this sect, the daughter of the Sect Master himself. Due to the friendship between his father and the sect master the engagement happened before he was even born.

    This might seem like a pretty good back story for this kid but it only gets worse.

    His talent in cultivation was not bad though, he was able to climb to the Nascent Soul by the age of sixteen, but never seemed to be able to gain ''power'' from his rise in cultivation.

    He never knew why, whenever he would wake up, he would immediately feel lethargic and exhausted as if he had walked a thousand miles.

    He would never know why, whenever he seemed to be able to gain enlightenment in something, it would happen as if suddenly his eyes were forced shut and his knowledge was taken away from him.

    Whenever he learned something, he would lose his ability to do it again and will be forced to learn anew.

    And due to this severeck of ''understanding'' of things, he was ridiculed, made fun of, and bullied into suicide even. As it was clear from what he was attempting before he died.

    He was almost beaten to death many times over, and the scars on his body are pure proof of it. He was bullied by the son of the Right Hand of the Sect Master, the one who is considered to be the heir of the sect. A person who was envious of this kid, and decided to take the woman that he was engaged to away from him just out of spite.

    The kid, with everything he ever worked hard for taken away from him, tried to change his whole cultivation in its entirety by turning it into the Demonic Path. Not that it was something new as many do switch to the Demonic Path since it offers great powers. However, the means he tried to do so were nothing if not self-murder.

    Trying to practice a cultivation technique two entire realms above yourself is not the way to go.

    His death was obvious¡­ and it seems that I''ll be dealing with the aftermath of his foolishness.

    This was probably the most boring, boorish, clich¨¦, and most used plot I have ever seen. Hell I could even make a story out of his misery, but¡­ this is not a story what this kid suffered was nothing but reality and he died trying to change his reality.

    I misjudged him for being weak because if he was weak, he''d slit his wrist. No, he tried to do the impossible, even if it is the same, trying to change for the better while risking your life is far better than outright ending it. For that, you gained a bit, just a bit of respect from me.

    The only way this kid would have gained real respect from me as if he had actually fought and found a way to gain power without this absurd nless pointless risk of one''s life. Think before you act, and don''t risk your life in things you''re not sure you can pull off.

    I headed down the mountain slowly, wounded still, so I needed to heal my body up first.

    I began by scanning the area around me as I was walking down the mountain, detecting many herbs that could be used to help me make a few pills to cure some of the wounds and stabilize this growing headache I''m having.

    I ced everything I collected within the kid''s storage bag, it was a small bag and had a few things. Some low-quality pills, a small old cauldron. A few rotten herbs and an old sword that seemed to be nicked and was a single heavy blow away from breaking to bits.

    After collecting what I deemed enough and necessary herbs for my healing, I continued my climb down the mountain, it wasn''t easy with all the wounds, but I was in a far worse situation before so this was practically refreshing.

    Once I arrived to the base of the mountain, I looked up ahead. There was a vast open field in front of me that extended for several miles before it ended at the base of a massive natural rock formation.

    The rocks were like small sharp mountains that surrounded a vast area of thend up ahead. They looked like walls that held an entire city inside them.

    And looking at the base of the two most prominent towering rocks, there was a massive sign.

    "Ancient Sect"

    The sect where this kid belonged to was right behind that sign and I headed there.

    Once I arrived to the gate, I was met with two disciples who seemed to be guarding the gate.

    "Ling Cao, why are you back? Didn''t the young master kick you out of the sect?" one of the guards said as he pointed at me with a spear.

    "He is not the sect master, nor is he an elder, he has no right to kick me off the sect, piss off," I spoke back to the disciple at the gate, and he clearly didn''t like it.

    Just as he was about toe at me with his spear, the second disciple stopped him.

    "Stop, there is no need, if the Young Master finds him, he''ll kill him himself, you''ll only dirty your hand and get in trouble for it."

    The first disciple scoffed and moved away from the gate allowing me entry.

    I could still remember the ce where this kid named Ling Cao used to live.

    By the grace of the Sect Master, he was given a good pce within the sect, however, it was also taken away from him. So he is now thrown among the outer sect disciples.

    He no longer has the ability to enter the inner sect, and can only stay in the outer sect.

    The difference between inner and outer is vast. From the memories, I could infer from this kid''s mind.

    Outer sect disciples are usually delegated to gathering materials such as logs, herbs and water, cleaning houses, and more, then they''re given a small allowance of pills and mediocre manuals of cultivation.

    Only when they prove themselves capable of learning fast, improving themselves, and able to use one of the sect''s fundamental cultivation techniques will they be allowed entry to the inner sect.

    The cultivation technique wasn''t even something difficult, hell, if I didn''t know any better I already know it.

    It was, surprisingly, the movement technique that the old man had taught me.

    Now everything seemed to fit together¡­

    I can use it right now since it''s knowledge I took with me and not something like a tool, so I could immediately use the movement technique, yet, I know something was not right before I even tried it.

    The moment I try it, I know that it will also be taken away. And like hell, if I were to allow that to happen. So, I decided against trying it out for now and headed to where the kid I''m possessing is currently living in.

    My feet led me to a few shacks all the way at the back of the mountain this was where the Outer Sect Disciples lived, and the kids was the farthest away from these shacks. The shacks didn''t look too shabby however, his was rundown and looked like it was riddled with rodents and rats. The interior was full of insects and the bed wasced with flees.

    Quite a disgusting ce.

    I walked inside the shack and closed the door. There didn''t seem to be any outer sect disciples who woulde here. No one would actually, this ce was filthy, it was so filthy that it wouldn''t even be used to shit in.

    The bugs and rodents were abundant and you could see them walking right next to you, the rats themselves didn''t seem to have fear of the person who owned this body as I could swear some of them had a mocking look on their faces as they feasted on remains of food while looking at me.

    "What a shitty sitting¡­"

    I took a breath and spat out a powerful gust of poison that prated through every nook and cranny of the shack, killing off every single critter and litter in the ce.

    "Much better," I muttered as the gust of poison kept moving around in the house.

    I then went to the bed and decided not to even sit there, it looked too filthy for that.

    "Well then, how about we start¡­" I muttered to myself and pulled the sword that was inside the bag.

    Just as I pulled the sword, I ced my left hand on the table, and raised my other hand with the sword high, "Off you go," I muttered and struck down with the sword against my hand as powerfully as I could.

    ¡­

    The sword in my right hand never was able to cut my left hand as the left hand shot up and stopped me.

    "Who are you?" spoke a cold, vicious and angry voice.

    "Funny, I was about to ask you the same," I said smiling.

 Chapter 305: Controled

    <h4>Chapter 305: Controled</h4>

    "Human, you are very prideful, and your pride will end you, dare not speak with such tone towards me! Or I''ll end you,"

    "Alright, fuck it," I muttered and went for another swing at my own hand, however, whatever the creature it was, it stopped me once again.

    "Futile! You cannot cut me off, in a matter of fact, I can!" spoke the voice and I felt my mind reeling like I was hit with a sledgehammer.

    "Fucking son of a bitch!" I cursed at the pain.

    However, what I received as a reply was something I didn''t expect.

    A soul-wrenching scream echoed within my mind as the owner of the voice was in agony from what appeared to be a bacsh of his own attempt to kick me off of this body.

    "Want to have a Soul Battle then, alright. Let''s have it!" I muttered and focused inwardly, finding myself in my own sea of Consciousness.

    Within the Sea of Consciousness, my Soul that has entered the Formation Stage was sitting calmly inside the massive tower overseeing the whole of the naval fortress.

    And in front of me, was an amalgamation of membranes, tentacles, and wretched disgusting cumuli of flesh mounds and faces that were eyeless lidless, and lipless that looked at me as if their wish to devour me was their sole reason for being.

    The creature looked like an overinted tumor of vile things and it spoke, "Where is this?!" spoke the voices, and the answer they received was lead, fire, and explosives.

    The jets fired hails of molten mes, bullets, and rockets, while the turrets on my towers added with a rain of steel that tore through the mass of disgusting membranesing towards the fortress.

    The assault continued to my favor, and it was clear that it was in my favor due to how much the being was screaming in agonized pain.

    Suddenly, the creature shrunk against itself turning smaller and smaller than in a sudden burst shot hundreds of tentacles forward towards the naval fortress. The tentacles broke the turrets ad the towers and took down hundreds of jets along their way, then even sunk the many airship carriers I had and went towards the main tower.

    "DIE!" spoke the creature as the tentacles began coiling in a rising fashion towards the top of the main tower.

    The tentacles coiled and curled against the tower and began crushing it.

    However, in a burst of light and fire, the top of the tower exploded ripping apart the tentacles that were clinging on to it.

    From within the tower, the Soul that was nestling there emerged, scales could be seen surfacing and hiding back on the soul''s skin, it was as if it was struggling to retain itself hiding the monster within under the guise of humanity.

    "MINE!" spoke the grotesque creature and shot a new surge of tentacles toward the soul. However, what happened next was clearly not to the monster''s expectation.

    It wanted to eat and consume the soul to fully take over the body, only for the soul to open its mouth and greedily consume the being, bit by bit it began absorbing it within it.

    More so, the creature who thought itself a predator became prey, and thus began screaming as if it wanted nothing to do with the thing that was currently eating it.

    "STOP! STOP! IT HURTS!" the grotesque creature spoke as it was being devoured.

    I had no power to stop the Soul that was currently eating the creature, nor will I have done so if I had the ability. And in no time, whatever that thing was it suddenly turned to food for thoughts, literally.

    My mind began reeling as more information began surging through it.

    The creature, whatever that thing was, was a creature of carnage and gluttony, it itself never knew how it came to being, but all it knew was an endless hunger. It was sealed in a cave for many, many years, and Ling Cao once happened upon this cave when he was adventuring, this was back when he was powerful ambitious, and had a lot of talent. Yet this creature managed to find its way out of the seal and nestled into Ling Cao''s body.

    It then began devouring all of what Ling Cao''s talent could allow. Whenever Ling Cao would learn something, this creature would devour that knowledge for itself. Whenever Ling Cao would grow more powerful, this beast would consume it.

    Not even food, it would take the lion''s share of it and leave Ling Cao with nothing more than enough to barely survive.

    The only thing that this creature didn''t devour of Ling Cao was his cultivation base, because if Ling Cao was nothing but a weakling at low levels of cultivation, it would offer the creature nothing of value thus, it remained inside him, taking everything and leaving barely anything.

    Ling Cao''s sudden fall from grace, the ridicule, and the looking down upon his person caused him to think irrationally.

    For what kid that was promised greatness due to an abundant talent would ever survive the world turning upside down without him ever knowing the reason why?

    Ling Cao''s decision to take the Demonic Path was hisst hope to find a new source of power for his fleeting one.

    However, it ended in total cultivation deviation and cost him his life.

    I woke up from the Sea of consciousness and took a deep breath.

    I didn''t have any of my inscription tools so I used my own finger to write a warding inscription on the door, carving it with my own fingers on the wood of the door.

    The formation lit up and was enough to block anyone from essing this house.

    I had a lot of things to work on, and I might as well start.

    This body is a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and with the power of my Poison Soul, I could easily climb back to the Soul Formation Stage. And that was what I was nning on doing in the near future. But for now, what''s most important is to get rid of all of these wounds.

    I pulled the old cauldron that Ling Cao used, it was nothing great a simple cauldron that could not even be called an alchemist''s cauldron.

    Though I could use my own Veridian Heart me, the condition I''m currently in is far from perfect and I could probably harm myself by using it right now.

    Thus, I decided to use a normal cauldron.

    And since I didn''t have the tools to make an Inscribed Cauldron since that''s the only type of cauldron I could use as a person who has no ability to sense natural Qi, I had to improvise.

    Instead of taking a pill, I''m going to make the second-best though, though far less effective, it is more than enough to help this body recover from these wounds.

    I began throwing the herbs into the cauldron and added more materials that I gathered from the mountain.

    I didn''t have any hearth me so I had to make do with mere wood.

    And this cabin had a lot of it.

    I tore apart the bed and used the wood to light up the small firece inside this shack.

    Once it was hot enough I ced the cauldron inside it and waited for it to heat up.

    The heat inside the cauldron was enough to dissolve some of the moistness of the herbs and thus I had a soup in not so long of a time.

    The cauldron continued cooking, and I knew that I can''t let it cook for long. Without a heart me that can bring forth a powerful surge of fire, or the Veridian Heart me that can immediately extract the contents of the spiritual herbs, I had to make do with this low-quality style of alchemy.

    But it was enough, enough for what I nned on doing right now.

    After an hour, and when I decided that the contents of the cauldron had enough, I pulled the cauldron from within the firece.

    After opening the lid, I saw a gooey brown liquid, it looked like shit, liquid shit, and smelled like it.

    "The things we do¡­" I muttered then gulped down the content as fast as I could.

    It was a mistake as I almost choked on how bad the mix tasted.

    I continued consuming the vile liquid and once I was done, I sat down and began rotating my Poison Qi.

    Let''s say a herb has 90% Medicinal value, and the rest are impurities.

    A pill would try and take almost all of that 90% and gather it within it, unless it''s a supremely high-quality pill, there are bound to be some impurities within it, however, the majority of the pill''s content is medicinal value.

    This porridge of shit in front of me however had barely a total of 10% medicinal value, and I was eating more impurities than the healing factor.

    However, it was more than enough, more than enough for a Poison Cultivator like me.

    Because I could easily expel the impurities and save the medicinal value even if its little. And thus a new fit of vomiting began once again as I threw back up almost all of the cauldron''s content but my body kept the good parts.

    Ten percent of almost a hundred pills worth of herbs is enough for me.

    That''s ten pills of good quality for me. And thus the wounds on my body began to visibly heal, all the holes I poked myself with, all the scaring on my body, and even the blemishes here and there.

    The body of the kid was still far too weak, far too skinny but at the same time, it was now able to properly function.

    I felt hungry, and decided that It was time to hunt for food. I need to regain muscle mass in a short time period. Because without proper muscles I cant practice the arts required for this kid to be an Inner Sect Disciples.

    Once I''m at the inner sect, I''ll be able to understand more of what''s going on in this world, and will probably catch a glimpse of the End of this world.

 Chapter 306: Training ARC

    <h4>Chapter 306: Training ARC</h4>

    I decided against staying in the sect, it was not a good choice at least for now. Because of a few reasons¡­

    First thing was, that the treatment of the Outer Disciples was horrible. They got nothing, not even food, and were required to get it themselves, and were basically a working force tasked to bring in logs and fill massive water vats. Though this is eptable and normal for most sects to build the Outer Sect Disciple''s bodies and muscles with hard work, I didn''t really need that.

    Since, I was actually exempted from it, after all, I''m the son of the Sect Master''s best friend. Or former best friend since Ling Cao''s father passed away long ago.

    So there was no point in me staying here for now.

    The second big factor was the few disciplesying on the ground in front of me, groaning in pain.

    Several of the disciples somehow knew or were affiliated with the very person that inflicted many of the injuries upon Ling Cao. They came in to curry favor with the ''Yong Master'' as they called him. But unfortunately for them, I wasn''t the same person.

    I didn''t kill any of them and made sure to have them all lightly inflicted by a hallucination-inducing poison, this way they''ll probably all have a different story to tell when they wake up.

    I didn''t want to be revealed so soon, once I''m discovered I''ll probably be targeted, and right now I can''t guarantee my safety.

    Thus, I had to leave the sect, even if momentarily.

    As I walked out of the sect''s gates, the same two disciples that guarded the sect''s entrance.

    One of them mocked as he looked at my leaving figure.

    "He probably got bullied out of the sect, again, humph."

    The other, which was surprising said, "is that so¡­he feels slightly different. Something had changed about him, I don''t really think he got bullied."

    Good observation skills¡­

    "You must be dreaming anyway, our turn is almost over, I''m hungry where are we eating today?" he said and the conversation immediately switched and became more mundane.

    Good, I didn''t want anyone to know about my current disposition so I left for the mountains.

    I needed to get more powerful and to do so, I''ll need to gain physical strength first. With the damage dealt with this body, trying to do martial arts is tantamount to suicide.

    Right now, the body I''m hosting is probably nothing more than the skin on bones right now, and heavily malnourished. So, I needed sustenance, a good deal of it, and a lot of physical training.

    I headed up to the mountains and began hunting for food. First things first, I needed to find a good hunting area. Start slow, anything from rabbits to birds to small prey is good as a start, then I''ll need to figure out a way to hunt even bigger prey and then rebuild my body.

    I spent a few days on the mountain at first, making a small shelter to retreat back into once it was night time and when it was the morning I moved around all over the mountain to check the traps I had made and if I had any prey in them.

    The result of the first day was atrocious, nothing but broken traps and no prey, I had to make sturdier traps and so I worked on that for the night.

    On the second day, I managed to get a hold of a couple of wild rabbits; they made a pretty decent meal.

    On the third day, I understood more about where the rabbits usually hang out and got even more wild prey.

    Then, day after day, I focused on nothing but eating.

    A few pills would easily sustain me from hunger for a long while, however, satiety pills are useless to build muscle. Thus meat, from hunted animals is the best source.

    However, right now what I''m doing right now was nothing more than recovering this body back to its original form, nothing more.

    After a couple of weeks of the same regime, I managed to gain a good mass and felt my steps heavier and my body in a far morefortable state.

    It wasn''t perfect, but it was ready for the second part.

    I had to leave the mountain area for now, because rabbit meat was no longer enough for me.

    To build my body even further, I''ll need to get more feral beasts, creatures that also cultivate. Since their meat is imbued with heavenly Qi, they would offer higher quality food and I could use that to bolster my muscle mass building.

    The area I headed to next was a bit far away, a forest type of area where more wild animals lived. And among them were obviously Demonic Beasts.

    The demonic beasts are annoying to hunt, they''re fast and smarter than their normal animal counterpart, far more agile, and far more ruthless and brutal.

    For the cultivators of the Ancient Sect, the hunt of Demonic Beasts was something of a normal urrence. The Sect Would task the Disciples to hunt for these beasts in return for some pills. Either to lower their poption or to obtain something from their corpses.

    As for me, I need the meat, the demonic cores are pretty useless for now, I can''t use them for anything since they''re mostly used for pills to cultivate heavenly Qi which I don''t really need.

    So I went to the forest and began a mass hunt of the monsters within it.

    Day after day, creature after creature, I could swear I had tasted every type and bit of every demonic beast in this forest.

    Normally, this food would kill any cultivator since it was not fit for eating and was highly toxic, but for me, the more toxic the better and it only increased my hunger for it the more I ate.

    At one point I feared that I might actually shoot past the weight I had decided to stop at and begin my training, but thankfully with a bit of restraint, I managed to help myself off from being a glutton.

    After a month of weight gain, I began my first day of training.

    My body was feeling more rxed now that it was not hungry and malnourished, and with the movement technique of the Old Man Gin, I began my practice.

    The first few days were slightly difficult since I needed to adjust the movement technique from scratch due to my current and older body''s difference in stature and disposition. But once I got it, I began working out like mad.

    Doing the movement technique in the morning to bolster my ability to maneuver around enemies and to train my lower body''s muscles.

    And then by the evening, I would practice the Fist of Roaring Qi to enhance my upper body strength.

    And this continued for a couple more months.

    In these months I gained a great deal of understanding in both the Fist of Roaring Qi and in the Movement Technique of Old man Gin. I''m now able to apply the movement technique while walking normally, as for the Fist of Roaring Qi, I could only see the effects as the entirety of the forest area I''m in was razed to the ground.

    However, there was one thing that was annoying me, it was a small prick I felt in the back of my head every week or so. I thought it was a mosquito at first, but it seemed to continuously happen every week, then every five days, and now this has been the third day and I''m already feeling it again.

    It wasn''t something to worry about for now, but I might as well keep it in mind, I don''t know this whole thing about possessing another body, but I''m not an idiot, and already figured out that a body that wasn''t supposed to be hosted has been hosted and for a pretty damn long period of time.

    So, this might be some side effect of this possession.

    Now that I''m confident in my ability to protect myself I judged it was time for me to head back to the sect.

    Though I didn''t need the outer sect, the inner sect should have far more opportunities, and since I didn''t have my Lord of Lords pagoda with me, I needed more materials to rebuild my arsenal and my tools.

 Chapter 307: Backstory

    <h4>Chapter 307: Backstory</h4>

    Two men in purple were fast walking towards the Advent Tower, their hasty walking made everyone that didn''t wear the same color type immediately move away from them, these two were elder status and were big shots in the Heavenly Academy.

    "I''m telling you, that''s not possible!" the first of the two spoke as he was walking forward.

    The other, a wide grin on his face spoke back, "And I''m telling you, it''s happening right now."

    This man, if Shen Bao were to see him, he''d recognize him as the same person who ''aided'' him in his growth a while ago back at the end of the race test of the Academy.

    The first was someone who Shen Bao didn''t know, but he seemed to be pretty worried about the news that the other person had ryed to him.

    "Elder Cho, I hold great respect for your status, but what you''re saying defies logic, you''ll be losing a lot of faces if it turns out to be nothing but a lie!" the first elder said.

    "And I''m telling you, that it is happening, the body that we couldn''t use, couldn''t control is currently operating! This isn''t something to be told lightly, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" the first elder shouted as two students didn''t even notice them approaching the gate of the Advent Tower.

    The two elders entered and their entrance caused a greatmotion, they immediately moved towards the location of the least used chamber of the Advent Tower, where instead of the usual sight that any cultivator that was used to the Advent Tower would see, an empty area where no one would even bother looking at twice, now, there was a huge group of people all shouting and rioting as someone was collecting copious amounts of Top Grade Spirit Stones from other cultivators that had pale ashen faces.

    Betting¡­ what a wretched sight! Especially in an establishment as prosperous and as grand as the Heavenly Academy.

    However, betting and gambling were not banned, it was in fact one of the main sources of ie for many elders even because it was the best way to secure great amounts of resources.

    The presence of the two elders came like a shock to everyone in the Advent Tower and they immediately scurried away like rats in the presence of a mighty cat.

    "This is the room," spoke the first elder.

    Elder Cho replied, "Yes, he is in there," he said.

    The first elder then got closer to the room and pped his palm against the massive formation that was sealing the chamber tight.

    The chamber opened up, and some brave cultivators in yellow robes snuck peek at the inside of the chamber.

    They saw what the elder saw, a person calmly sitting without a single hint of pain or agony as he was perfectly in sync with the body of a cultivator that should not, and would not allow anyone to possess.

    This body was a curse, it would almost always kill whoever tried to possess it, and only the few that remained alive after a desperate struggle froming back from that possession could tell what happened

    The body, for some reason, had never seen the cmity yet still was gued with the same curse as every other body that had seen this ''cmity''.

    This body was in the middle of cultivation deviation, a death sentence to any cultivator and whoever entered that body, if they weren''t fast enough to leave immediately they would nevere out alive.

    Many died. And the few that survived, they survived with grievous injuries to their cultivation base not to mention the majority of them went insane from the incredible pain.

    Yet, this man, a person with a cultivation base that not even the elder in purple could figure out, was able to calmly stay in this state unperturbed.

    "How long has he been there?" the elder asked no one in particr.

    The cultivators in the room were too terrified of the elder for having been caught gambling that none of them dared utter their voice.

    "Half a day," a person in red spoke up when no one dared reply.

    Turning, "Damn, almost half a year then¡­Xiao Feng, do you perhaps know this person?" asked the elder.

    "Elder Hu, I wouldn''t call it knowing him much, we''re more than strangers but less than acquaintances, we had a few words."

    Elder Hu scuffed at the reply that didn''t add much to his knowledge and walked into the room.

    "Brother Hu, what are you doing?" asked Elder Cho, this time this elder had a wide smile on his face.

    "I''ll wake him up, I need to understand how he managed to possess this body, it is a great treasure of the Heavenly Sect and he must share the knowledge, do you know how many other students can use this to further their understanding of the Ancient Sect?" Elder Hu said.

    "But waking him up from the possession will kill him in most cases, wouldn''t that be a disservice to the Heavenly Academy? Leave that kid alone, when he is back we''ll ask him how he had done it," Elder Cho said.

    "We need that knowledge now," Elder Hu said and he was about to strike the back of Shen Bao to forcefully eject him out of the possession.

    However, his hand was stopped by elder Cho, "I advise against it, I already informed the Great Elder about this, are you sure you want to be on the bad side of one of the Grand Elders?"

    "You fool!" spoke elder Hu this time in a hushed tone, "Do you know the gravity of an Unknown Puppet being navigated! There is a chance that he might know the ''End'' we can''t allow that!"

    "But that isn''t for you to decide, also, what if he finds out what the Cmity was, that thing had happened long ago, why are you so worried about things of the past?" asked elder Cho.

    Elder Hu seemed perturbed about how to reply and was about to fully ignore the Elder in front of him and go for the kill right there and right now.

    However¡­

    "Kids nowadays you''re all so rowdy move aside¡­"

    The voice of a man that should have been in a grave for at least a few thousand years spoke.

    Turning, there was an old bald man with plenty of liver spots all over his skin and a beard that reached all the way to his knees.

    The old man was hunched forward-leaning on an old cane and was wearing ck robes.

    "Great Elder!" the two elders in purple bowed to the old man.

    "Now, now, no need to fret, what''s going on here," the great elder spoke as he rubbed his long beard.

    "Ho¡­ interesting, a man without Qi, and he can actually attune himself this well to this corpse. Interesting, interesting," the old man spoke as he approached.

    "Elder, we haven''t fully investigated this, we''ll need to wake this child up, and analyze why this corpse is now functional," elder Hu said.

    "And why should we do that?" the grand elder calmly spoke.

    "Its¡­ he is an unknown it will not be predicted what might happen, I mean, you do remember what happened with Du Shen!" spoke elder Hu.

    "And why do you think that this disciple has what it takes to even reach the hems of Du Shen''s clothes?" spoke the Grand elder.

    "Grand Elder, it is not that I believe that this person can be as threatening as Du Shen, but, there is always a possibility¡­"

    "Threatening? Du Shen? Hah, you youngsters know not of the past and speak of a man as if he was the gue itself. Curses upon your second-handed knowledge and the poisonous thoughts that have been diluted and given to you, but I alone cannot change your knowledge of a past you were never a part of¡­ Nevertheless, do not harm or even touch this boy, he has the right to this corpse as everyone here, he paid the fees, and let him learn until he cannot anymore. After all, not many can stay there for long periods of time¡­ Elder Cho,e with me," spoke the grand elder.

    And his word was final.

    The room was closed back on Shen Bao. And everyone was dismissed leaving a fuming elder looking at the room with wrathful gazes.

    The Grand Elder walked out of the Advent Tower alongside Elder Cho.

    "You''re a venomous snake, Elder Cho¡­"

    "Oh¡­ where did thate from, Grand Elder," Elder Cho spoke.

    "You used me to bring down Elder Hu a peg, but I don''t really mind nor care, you yed your cards wisely, however, you made trouble for an unrted person for your agenda¡­sigh," the old man breath out then turned to elder Cho, "But why did you not tell me that that person is rted to the Poison God, at least you could have informed me in your hasty message to get me here."

    "Well, I didn''t want to spoil it for you, I mean, Du Shen and you were pretty close friends, weren''t you?"

    "Ah close maybe, friends? Never. And this child¡­ an acolyte at best, maybe¡­ Du Shen had strange cultivation techniques and had stranger disciples."

    "I wouldn''t be able to fully know his rtionship with Du Shen, but I know for a fact that he is a Poison User," elder Cho spoke.

    "I believe you saw that in the race, still, I''m impressed, among the many acolytes of Du Shen, none of them was able to hide their Poison Cultivation this deep, if I weren''t so close with Du Shen I wouldn''t have even guessed it. Not to mention, how did you discover that he is an acolyte?" spoke the Grand Elder.

    "I honestly I''m not sure that he even is an Acolyte, he doesn''t have their vengeful tendencies, nor does he have the madness that they usually harbor, he has a great ability to manipte poison and is actually relying on tools and trinkets more than his poisons."

    "Tools and trinkets? This is probably a conversation to be had over some drinks¡­"

    "With pleasure, I have a few bottles of good wine we can have, I''ll treat you to some good drinks and a good story," Elder Cho spoke and the two walked off in the distance.

 Chapter 308: Promotion

    <h4>Chapter 308: Promotion</h4>

    I headed up to the sect once again, I''ve spent a pretty damn long time out in the woods, and from the look of things, nothing seemed to have changed here besides the two students who were guarding the sect entrance.

    "Who are you? Identify yourself!" one of them spoke.

    I held up the sect''s token and spoke, "Ling Cao, Outer Disciple," I replied.

    The two frowned, "We''ve been stationed there for more than a week, it''s forbidden for Outer Sect Disciples to be out of the sect for more than a day! You, wait until I call an elder, if you''re a fake, we''ll execute you on the spot!" the disciple said with all the threatening his post-puberty voice could muster.

    It didn''t take long for an elder of the sect to appear at the entrance, it was a woman, old enough to be a hundred years old grandma, and clearly didn''t look too pleased being summoned here.

    "If you don''t even have the ability to judge who is from the sect and who is not, then what is the use of bringing you here? Useless trash" spoke the older woman.

    "Ling Cao, you seem to have disappeared for a long while¡­ six months, where have you been?" she asked, with a gaze that seemed to prate my soul.

    "I''ve been training, and improving myself," I said.

    "Hm¡­ I feel not the slightest hint of Qi from you, what did you do?" she asked.

    "A personal Secret," I replied.

    "Then, you''re not a mortal?" she asked.

    "Why would you presume that?" I replied.

    "Answer my question, did you lose your cultivation base ande back crawling here?" she asked.

    "No, I told you, I''m still a cultivator, and I have been improving myself," I said.

    "Is that so¡­" she said then took a step forward.

    It was like a sh of light as she disappeared from where she stood and appeared right in front of me with a palm shooting towards my chest, the blow seemed brutal but I could feel that it wasn''t meant to kill, it was however meant to break a few bones if I were to receive it head-on.

    I lightly tapped my right foot on the ground and pivoted my entire body aside from the palm swing, then like a viper sent two jabs towards the old woman''s side.

    She didn''t seem too phased by the sudden retaliation and managed to easily grab both my hands stopping my attack.

    "Impressive, but still too weak-" she spoke however, I still had a foot above the ground and then I took a step.

    The moment my foot was on the ground, I was able to use the Momentum technique and channeled only two steps worth of Momentum all the way to my arms.

    The shockwave rose like a bulldozer and shot from my ''grabbed'' arms into the old woman''s own arms.

    An explosion of force blew up from the woman''s arms and the sleeves on her robes blew up in tatters.

    "How¡­did you learn the Ancient Step?!" she spoke.

    "Oh, so that''s what it''s called¡­ well, just from practicing the Ancient Movement Technique," I said.

    "You managed to infer an offensive pattern based on a movement technique? And they said that you lost your talent root¡­ no¡­you still don''t have your talent root¡­ did you make a deal with the devil or something?" she asked as she removed her arms. Her question was rhetorical but I still answered.

    "Perhaps the devil was me all along," I said.

    "Good, impressive even, go, I''ll be personally responsible for your reallocation to the inner sect, get your belongings, and wait at the inner gate. You two, get the hell out of my sight," the older woman spoke and the two guards removed themselves from where they stood not to incur her wrath.

    Since I had no belongings to speak off in the sect, I decided to head directly towards the inner sect''s main gate.

    I arrived in less than half an hour and had to wait in front of the inner sect.

    The inner sect, almost every sect if not all of them have it, it''s the main portion where the real disciples reside in. it''s where they receive sermons, where they learn, train, and are cared for and treated well. The inner sect is usually ten to twenty percent of the total capacity of the sect in students. Since only the best can be inner sect disciples.

    I waited at the front of a massive gate that hid the inner part of the sect away from view.

    There was no one guarding this gate, and it would be foolish for anything to try and go past it. It was being watched by elders themselves, and if any unworthy disciple were to set foot there, a world of pain will await them.

    I waited, however, in front of the gate, for an hour, two, and even more, until the day ended and I was starting to feel pissed.

    If this was an attempt at demeaning me, by the old woman herself who I have gotten to think of her positively, then I''ll be very disappointed in her.

    Once it hit midnight, I decided that it was not worth waiting anymore and turned to leave.

    As I was walking away, "Is this the extent of your patience?" spoke a voice.

    Turning, it was the same woman, "Patience? My patience ended when you were an hourte, anything above that was out of respect to your person, and I decided to leave before I lose all respect I held towards you," I spoke.

    "Quite a sharp tongue you have, no matter, I didn''t mean to keep you waiting, your presence has caused a lot of problems in the inner sect thus I was held there until this dark hour. Get in, you''re approved to the inner sect, but do know, that a lot of people are dissatisfied with your presence there again," she said.

    "I can handle a few snotty brats," I said.

    "A few months ago, you couldn''t. Still, it''s not just the snotty brats this time, even some elders are dissatisfied with your presence, don''t act too arrogant. And do be careful," she spoke.

    I felt somethinging towards me at a pretty fast pace and managed to catch it before it smashed into my face.

    It was a small holding bag.

    I didn''t need any exnation to understand what this was for.

    There was a set of clothes inside it

    The gate of the inner sect cracked open, then it spread wide for me to enter. I took the first few steps and could already feel the difference between the two steps.

    The inner sect itself seemed to be coated with a formation that was carefullypacting Qi and small amounts of Saint Qi inside it, whereas the outer sect was nothing more than your everyday normalnd with natural qi.

    The inner sect had a different feeling to it. It looked far bigger than I thought, where several high mountain peaks could be seen from beyond the gate.

    One of the peaks, thergest seemed to hold a great amount of Qi by itself. And from Ling Cao''s memories, I knew that it was the Ancient Sect''s main mountain, the Ancient Mountain where the Core Disciples reside in, and where the sect elders would usually gather.

    That ce, this kid was once a part of, even if it was for but a few days, due to his incredible talent, he was a part of that mountain, yet once he lost his Talent Root, he was discarded like garbage.

    But now, I''m back, and I''m not the same as that guy. He died trying to change his life, respectable, but now I''m here, let''s see who''d dare and make trouble.

 Chapter 309: Waves

    <h4>Chapter 309: Waves</h4>

    Within an upside-down mountain on a rtively empty where nows of physics could be seen properly functioning was a man working religiously on a puppet trying his hardest to reverse engineer a simple yet most annoying formation that he had seen yet.

    The old man was nothing if not stubborn and was adamant about understanding how a young man with practically not a fraction of this master''s lifetime coulde up with such ingenious ways to use these inscriptions.

    "Well, this is news," the attendant spoke as he went inside the shack where the old man was working.

    The man jerked then spat to the side, "Damn it, don''t you know how to knock?!" the old man said.

    "The door was open, anyway, I think there is something that''s currently happening that you might be interested in."

    The old man extracted himself from the massive puppet and looked at the attendant with bored eyes, clearly telling him to hurry up because he wanted to go back to work.

    "Anyway, something had happened in the Heavenly Academy¡­" the attendant said.

    "Ah? Screw those guys, I don''t want to deal with them, I refused them ten times I''ll refuse them again, I''m not that bored to teach ignorant idiots my ways and techniques," he said and turned back to work.

    "Well, it seems that a person of the name Shen Bao is there," the attendant said.

    The old man, Master Rain, stopped working only for a moment and then returned to his work, "It''s not that umon of a name, it could be anyone," Master Rain said.

    "He just joined the heavenly academy though, like a few days ago, and he is in the middle of the Advent Tower trial," the attendant said.

    "Doesn''t mean that it''s the same person, just let it go, he is probably dead, I''ll have to figure this shit out myself," Master Rain said.

    "I thought so too, but I went and did a bit of research and found something interesting," he said.

    Master Rain stopped, ced his tools down, and said, "What did you find out?" he asked.

    "This," the attendant said as he pulled up a steering wheel.

    For any inexperienced eye who had joined the heavenly academy through the trails. They would immediately recognize this wheel as the same one that was on their pods.

    But for Master Rain, it only took a moment to know a huge difference.

    There were several holes that shouldn''t be there, and the residue of Top Grade Spirit Stone dust could still be seen visibly on them.

    There were several added circuits to the steering wheel that Master Rain was more than certain should not be there, because he was a part of this project.

    This project that would have been the dream project of many other cultivators was nothing but a side project that Master Rain took one day, because he was low on money to buy his daily need of booze, it took him less than ten minutes to make, and in the process, it was soplex to steer and was deemed worthy of being used as a trial for the new recruits of the Heavenly Academy.

    However, even if it took him ten minutes, he still remembers what he had made, and what''s on this wheel was not the same thing he submitted to the academy.

    A thought crossed Master Rain''s mind, the academy could have hired someone to add on to Master Rain''s work, it would not be far-fetched that this is an improved version of the one he had implemented, but something was fishy.

    There was a spatial inscription in there, an inscription that was made by master Rain himself, and he knew for a fact that he only learned that technique when he went to the Celestial Realm, as for the Heavenly Academy, he gave them the diagram for the pod way before that, so howe his inscription is there.

    He pressed on the inscription and it opened up revealing folds among folds of far more simple yet convolutedlyplex and intertwined inscriptions.

    "Damn, it''s him alright, no one writes so manyplex inscriptions using so many simple inscription words¡­ god damn it, pack our stuff we''re going to the Heavenly Academy," Master Rain said.

    ¡­

    ***

    ¡­

    Far away from the Water Domain, and in the deep Northern Domain of the Wind Realm stood a woman that was holding an old pot in front of her.

    The pot began crumbling and turning to ash as it had finally served its purpose.

    A few drops of sweat trinketed down this woman''s forehead before she finally was able to take a breath of rxation.

    In front of this woman were hundreds of bodies of cultivators that have long since passed away. And from the Pot came many, many small light sources.

    These light sources had varying degrees of brightness, some were small lights and some were medium, however, one of them was the brightest.

    This one, the woman took personally and slowly made sure to apply a bit of pressure as she pushed it against the body of a young woman.

    The small light epted the new corpse and fused to it without a hitch. Finding sess in the first attempt she continued manually cing these lights into the bodies on the ground, one by one until she had finally finished.

    "Great Dao of Life and Death, Reversal of truth!" the woman spoke, and immediately the whole room she was in shuddered and was covered in a dark palette of colors.

    A massive Ying and Yang Symbol manifested above the woman.

    She took another deep breath because this was the most important part of the whole attempt. Anyone would think that what she was doing was nothing but a sphemy against the heavens themselves, for no one is allowed to bring back the dead.

    However, she wasn''t bringing back the dead but giving a soul another lease on life.

    The Souls captured in the incense Pot were not technically dead, they were captured souls to be used as fuel for a Soul Eating Cultivator, food for the Fire King.

    But only she could reverse such a vile and foul cultivation technique because she and Du Shen were the ones to have made this pot.

    This woman had held some respect for the Poison God at one time, however, all of it was lost when he had made such a vile foul tool.

    He had never ever shown greed over mortal souls, and it came as a great shock when she would realize that the person she trusted had betrayed her to the Fire King''s scheme. Though they have never met since the day she figured out that this Incense Pot was not going to be used to clear the skies of Du Shen''s dead it only made her hate him more for using her like this.

    She shook off the old past and focused on what was in front of her.

    "Reverse the Truth!" She spoke, then made a loud ear ringing p.

    The massive Ying and Yang Symbol shook and seemed to have slightly tilted.

    "Reverse The World!" she called then struck both palms together causing an even louder echo.

    The wheel of Ying and Yang moved once again.

    "Reverse Life and Death!" she hollered this time, the final p was so loud the pce she was on shuddered from the impact.

    And thus, the Wheel of Life and Death Spun fully.

    The corpses in front of her shuddered and shook, then they began shining brightly as the souls within them began to fully infuse themselves within these bodies.

    What was once dead, lived.

    And with this, she undid her domain, and almost keeled over due to the extravagant and copious amounts of Saint Qi she had to exude to do this spell.

    Suddenly, among all the corpses, the first to move was the one that held the brightest of the souls.

    It was a woman in her mid-twenties, the body she hosted looked far different than her former appearance, but as if it was magic, her facial structure began changing and soon turned to be the same as the one she used before.

    The woman stood up, looked around, and realized that she was in a strange ce.

    She didn''t worry about her current status of beingpletely naked. Nor did she care about her dignity or shame, she turned to look at the corpses around her and felt that they wereing to life.

    "I¡­We¡­were dead? Who might you be, great benefactor?" the woman spoke.

    "I''m not someone important, nor am I your benefactor, I did this for my son. Anyway, you should get dressed, there are a bunch of males here it would be a shame if they were to see you like this," the woman said.

    "Yes¡­" she said and stood up then immediately was surprised, "Wait¡­the Damage from the Ice Destruction is gone¡­" she said.

    "Well, of course, it would be, this is a new body. As for the damage to your soul, I fixed that, get dressed now, we have much to talk about¡­" the woman said and threw her a pouch.

    Within the pouch were several robes she could choose from, and she didn''t waste time donning one of them then she followed the mysterious woman with the unfathomable cultivation base.

 Chapter 310: Inception

    <h4>Chapter 310: Inception</h4>

    The difference between the inner sect and the outer sect was pretty obvious, not to mention the cultivation atmosphere, but the attitude of the cultivators there too.

    It was nighttime, but many were still wandering about, some hung with female cultivators enjoying their youth under the shade of the moon, and others were vehemently practicing cultivation techniques and training their bodies day and night to better themselves.

    The inner disciples had far more freedom to do whatever they wanted since they already proved themselves to be important to the sect, important enough to nurture and take away from the outer sect.

    And with that, some took the easy way and enjoyed the privileges, and many capitalized on them to be stronger and curry more favor and greater benefits from the sect.

    It was, from what I could see a perfectly normal sect.

    Soon enough, and pretty much expected, the clich¨¦ encounter happened.

    It was so surprising, no, it was downright stupid how it happened.

    "Ling Cao?" spoke a female voice.

    I turned to see a woman I didn''t recognize, yet at the same time my body did, I felt a pang, a sharp pain shot right through my heart at the sight of that woman, and then the memories flooded in.

    This girl was Ling Cao''s girlfriend or used to be. She was the daughter of the Sect Master, she was talented, but not enough to be a Core Disciple, unlike Ling Cao''s absurd talent, she was far from him.

    And due to this, she developed an inferiorityplex. She could see it, that with every day, Ling Cao''s talent and attitude allowed him to soar high and increase his cultivation and his power by leaps and bounds.

    What took her months to achieve he did in days, and not even using a fraction of the effort.

    At first, it was the admiration of his talent and she wished him well, but soon, it began to gnaw at her when people in the sect began speaking.

    Why is he with that girl? There are far better people for him? were the questions.

    Even some said that he is only with her since her father is the sect master.

    However, no one not even her ever asked Ling Cao why he truly was with her, and the answer from his side was simple.

    Because of love.

    And because he really didn''t care if she was strong talented or not, he wanted to be with her because he loved her.

    A simple, childish yet pretty convincing and urate reason to be with someone.

    However, no one asked him, not even her. And due to that what love she had for him soon turned its face to the ugliest side. And what is uglier than love turning to hatred?

    Ling Cao couldn''t understand why his loved one began treating him coldly, not answering his summons, and no longering to visit him.

    One day, however, when he didn''t expect it, she hade to himte at night. Hoping to be heard and to be forgiven even if he didn''t know the reason why she became cold towards him. She actually didn''t show any signs of being aloof or mad.

    Ling Cao thought that all that happened before was nothing but a bad dream and ignored all the signs.

    After a night spent together, she had mentioned to him that there was something she wanted to get. It was something to help improve her cultivation a rare treasure that a few disciples had mentioned that it existed in a nearby cave. She mentioned that she was going to gather up a group of people and visit the cave. She also exined that it might be dangerous but she will do her best to get it and catch up to Ling Cao.

    The thought warmed Ling Cao''s heart because he realized that she wanted to improve herself to be closer to him. And in that, he had an idea, an idea that he wholeheartedly believed it was his own, an idea he thought that he came up with all by himself.

    He was worried for her, and he thought that if she were to go to this cave, she might be in danger, so he could go there, and get whatever she was looking for, scoring two birds with one stone. Gaining more of her affection and at the same time improving her overall power. And thus, he ventured into the cave where he almost lost his life for nothing but a fight with a most dangerous inexplicable creature.

    Ling Cao had fainted when he fought that creature at some point, but instead of finding himself in the wheel of reincarnation, he woke up again without that creature in sight. He couldn''t find the treasure and almost lost his life in the process.

    His journey was a failure to himself and to her, thus he had to go back empty-handed and report to her on the matter.

    On the first day of his return, he failed to find her. Thinking that she might be cultivating alone he didn''t wish to bother her. And thus focused on his own cultivation.

    But then, it began. The pain, the sudden loss of power. The inexplicable exhaustion and the hunger. He could no longer understand simple subjects, his mind was always nk and felt empty. He couldn''t focus for more than a few minutes at a time and was feeling weary all too often.

    Whatever Ling Cao learned he forgot.

    He couldn''t understand what was happening to him, and when he went to the sect''s doctor the doctor said that there was nothing wrong with Ling Cao.

    Ling Cao was at a loss and continued to train only to gain nothing. His body began deteriorating, his muscles slowly diminished and his whole stature began curving, he looked and felt like an old man stuck in a teenager''s malnourished body. He was suffering, yet still, he kept fighting to fix himself.

    Then out of nowhere, a person came to him, this one was Ling Cao''s friend, he was the son of the second Grand Elder, the Grand Elder was the right-hand man of the Sect Master and his son had a decent enough cultivation, yet he was not nearly as good as Ling Cao in his prime.

    And instead of a friendly handshake and casual talk. The friend turned to an enemy and pped Ling Cao''s hand away.

    "Don''t shake my hand" he said, "I challenge you to a duel, you don''t deserve the Core Disciple Status," he said.

    And with so many other disciples watching the scene, Ling Cao was forced to enter a duel he was bound to lose, and he lost, big time almost to the point that he was going to lose his life if it wasn''t for the intervention of the Sect Master himself.

    All of this is because the Sect Master was a friend of Ling Cao''s deceased father.

    But since Ling Cao was so brutally defeated, it was known to the entire sect that Ling Cao, the man with the Golden Talent Root had be trash and was no longer fit to be a part of the sect.

    In his desperation, Ling Cao desperately tried to grasp at any of the straws around him, for what a drowned man wouldn''t do? He begged and pleaded with the sect master, pointing at his father and the Sect Master''s friendship, and even his engagement to the Sect Master''s daughter. However, he came to realize a brutal truth.

    As he was pleading his case, she entered and she was tightly clutching the arm of the currently known "Young Master".

    Ling Cao finally understood that he was used, discarded, and thrown away, all because he was now not useful.

    Without talent, what is the value of a person?

    Ling Cao''s world crashed, he was kicked from the inner sect due to his inability to even perform the Ancient Movement Technique which was the basis of the basics needed to join the Inner Sect.

    He continued to beg and ask the Sect Master for help, but not a single reply ever came. Many of the young master''s sidekicks came over and assaulted Ling Cao on daily basis, bullying him to permanently quit the sect. Since no one wanted to see him around.

    In fact, it would not make them feel easy to see the person they ruined every day so it would be better for them if he didn''t live in the sect if he didn''t exist, that way they can pretend that he never was here and their sins never happened.

    The Sect Closed its doors at Ling Cao, and he was relegated to a cabin that was dirtier than public toilets. He was given nothing but a mockery in the sect and soon became the sect''s stain.

    His life turned far worseter on, and soon he had no choice but to either end his life, or risk death to change it and he failed both of those choices.

    The dive through the memoryne ended there and I was suddenly back to reality as I was looking at the woman in front of me.

    Taking a second gaze I wondered why he was even interested in this person.

    "You''re kinda ugly, fuck off," I spoke and then moved away from her.

    The words I spoke came like a lightning bolt down her mind.

    And to be honest, my words weren''t meant to mock her, but I wanted to create a scene. A pretty damn big one and I was going to seed in doing that.

    "What did you just say?!" she said her eyes bulging.

    "I never knew why I was interested in a piece of shit like you, I must have been blind and it took me years of starvation to finally understand that your face and my morning shits are pretty much the same. I guess I was under a spell, but no more, so please, fuck off, your face is enough to kill a man''s appetite."

    For whatever ungodly reason, my words were enough to cause her to cough out blood.

    ''What in the name of biology is this shit!''

 Chapter 311: Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 311: Challenge</h4>

    The words I spoke made many bystanderse forward, in fact, most of them were happy I spoke these words because they know me and they know her.

    She is the daughter of the sect master, and I''m a washed has been talent, with no power.

    "You Trash dare speak ill words of the Young Miss!" some side character spoke all haughtily as he charged me with a powerful punch aiming to lob my head off.

    But with a single step to the side a twist of my palm and a touch to his own extended arm¡­ an explosion happened and the entirety of his arm was ruptured apart shattering into a million pieces.

    The guy, unbelieving of his own eyes, and with the pain from the blow yet to be registered looked at me in stupefaction.

    "Well, if I''m trash what does that make you?" I spoke and then the blood from his arm or what''s left of it churned out like a fountain.

    "Anyone else wants to prove themselves more trash than mee at me," I said.

    "You! You dare injure disciples! Someone calls the elders here!" someone spoke.

    "It was self-defense and there is an elder here already," I said as I turned to the side.

    There was no one there, but everyone looked at me like an idiot.

    "Is he right in the head?" someone said.

    "No, he must be a crazy person, look at how vicious he is, he must have cultivated some demonic technique to be like this, and now he is strong but most likely crazy."

    "Hey, are you gonnae out, you''re making me look like a crazy person, stop hiding," I said.

    ¡­

    "I told you, he is crazy, let''s put him down from his misery¡­"

    "Man, you''re really gonna make me do this, I pulled my weapon and this caused everyone to take a step back, then I hurled it as powerfully as I could towards the empty corner.

    A powerful ng was heard and a person with a nasty and ugly dissatisfied look on his face appeared out of thin air.

    In his hand was the sword grabbed by two fingers.

    Everyone was too stunned to speak

    "How did you know I was here¡­" spoke the person, it was an elder clearly from the robes he was wearing.

    "Before that, you saw all that happened here, did I act out of malice or did I defend myself?" I spoke.

    With the elder surrounded by the disciples, giving a false verdict even if everyone here wanted to hear the false verdict, it will immediatelypromise his integrity.

    "¡­ nothing out of ce happened it was self-defense," the elder spoke and everyone seemed dissatisfied.

    "But Elder! He called me ugly?!" spoke the girl.

    "Words can''t hurt you, call himme back anyway, everyone dismisses and you," the elder spoke to the man with the torn-off arm.

    "Shut your trap, you''re the imbecile for not gaging your opponent''s strength, as for you Ling Cao, why did your hand have to be so heavy?"

    "Well, I''m a talentless trash, I just learned this technique so I''m unable to control it, thankfully I controlled it enough to not kill him on the spot," I said shrugging.

    It was like pouring salt on the wound and this made everyone around me inwardly rage.

    With everyone forced to leave the scene, I was left alone with the elder.

    "Why are you making so much trouble?" he asked.

    "It''s the way of cultivators not to bow down to anyone, they came at me first, and I retaliated," I spoke the words that many main characters would speak.

    And lo and behold, "You''re right, but next time try and not to cause so much damage, it''ll onlye back and bite you in the ass¡­ also, how did you know I was there? You shouldn''t have a divine sense capable of spotting me, are you cultivating a demonic cultivation technique?" he asked.

    "And if I was, is it against the sect''s rules?" I asked.

    "No, it is not, but do be wary, do not act upon your demonic impulses, or I''ll personally kill you."

    "Point taken, also, it wasn''t a demonic cultivation method. It''s that, I said as I pointed at the old man''s hand.

    He looked at his hand there was a ck spot there.

    "Grizzly Spider Poison must be painful," I said.

    "How does that have anything to do with how I was discovered?" he asked.

    "I could smell the stench of that poison from a mile away, and you''re not the only one bitten, there are a few others in the sect. I can help with that, for a price of course," I said.

    The old man scoffed at my remark, "What would a disciple know about this, no matter leave my sight for now," he said.

    I shrugged saying, "Well, when you start vomiting back bloode look for me, but my price will increase of course," I said then turned around and left the area, I needed to reim my old pce. Then, my revenge will begin, well not mine but Ling Cao''s revenge.

    The pce I was headed for was in the northern part of the inner sect. It was on the same mountain that hosted the main pce building. It was right under the Sect Master''s own pce.

    I headed up the mountain towards the pce, and thanks to my Inner Disciple clothes no one stopped me from moving wherever I wanted.

    Just as I stood in front of my old pce, I heard themanding tone of a guard that was stationed in front of the pce.

    "State your purpose, why did youe here, inner disciple. Don''t you know only Core Disciples can go beyond this point?"

    "Call that bastard out, I''m here to settle a debt," I spoke.

    The words were clear for everyone with history in this sect to understand what I meant.

    As a fact, the boy I''m possessing was the owner of this pce, and the original Core Disciple, however, his position was taken and I''m now I''m getting it back.

    "Piss off, it''s the middle of the night no one wants to bother with you right now!" the guard said.

    However, I shouted back, this time loudly and with Divine Sense infused into my words.

    "SO THIS IS HOW THE YOUNG MASTER ACTS LIKE A COWARD WHO CAN''T ACCEPT A CHALLENGE! WHAT A WUSS, UNBEFITTING OF A CORE DISCIPLE IF YOU CAN''T EVEN DARE AND TAKE MY CHALLENGE WHILE I''M NOT EVEN AT YOUR CULTIVATION LEVEL!"

    The words were loud, booming and thanks to the night and its calmness I was more than sure that everyone in the inner sect heard this.

    Many divine senses washed over me, most of them from elders and powerful disciples to try and investigate the cause of this ruckus.

    "You idiot, I just told you not to cause any problems!" the same elder from before spoke through divine sense.

    "And I''ve told you, that a cultivator can''t bend the knee against the odds, it is what I have to do in order to regain my honor," I spoke back and waited.

    Soon a reply came.

    "What kind of fool tries and challenges me at this dark hour?! State your name!" spoke the voice of the same person who caused Ling Cao a lot of pain.

    My body, against my own will, seemed to be shrinking against this voice.

    Though I know this body has no soul, I could still understand that after years of abuse and torture from that person it is ingrained in this body to fear this man, but I''m not the same as the owner of this body.

    ''Pull your shit together, I''m not you, I''m not afraid of him, if you''re afraid then just let go and I''ll handle this!'' I muttered.

    Suddenly, the body I was hosting seemed to be calming down.

    "WHO IS IT?!" shouted the ''Young Master''

    "Its me, Mario, now get your ass out, we''re gonna settle this once and for all," I replied.

    The frown and surprise were obvious on his face, however, his lips turned to an evil grin.

    "Well, well, well, I guess you finally grew some balls and decided to challenge me, so what? From what I see you''re able to join the inner sect, so did you learn a bit of your cultivation? Hell if you even learned everything back you''re still trash,pared to me, hah, you''re not even a step into the Nascent Soul and you still think you can beat me at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul?!"

    Well, he does talk a lot.

    "If you''re scared, run," I said as I flexed my right arm not caring for what he is saying.

    "I''m not too bored to take you up on your offer unless it''s interesting, how about a death match?" he said.

    "Death match? Are you sure about that?" I said.

    "If you''re scared, you can run!" he said back.

    "You sure you won''t regret this?" I asked.

    "I''m not the one who should be afraid! Now what do you say? It''s only a death match, otherwise don''t even dare show your face in front of me!" he said.

    "Right then, I''ll take you up on the offer, deathmatch, when?" I asked.

    "How about now, I could really use some practice! And it would be the best if I end you while training, getting rid of you is like removing the stain upon this sect!" he said.

    "Well, you sure do talk big, let''s see you act on it! Elders are you all witnessing this!" I spoke in a loud divine sense message.

    "I witness." Spoke to the old woman who admitted me to the inner sect.

    "I witness." Added the same guy who tried to sway me from causing problems.

    Then soon more elders appeared and approved of the match.

    Finally, came the voice of someone I didn''t even sense.

    Looking at him, he had a prettyrge stature and a great beard. He was slightly fat, but if I were to judge he''ll have more muscles than fat in his body, a powerlifter type person.

    Next to him was Ling Cao''s former lover and she seemed pretty happy about this turn of events.

    "I also witness this fight. But let me ask you, Ling Cao, are you sure about this? You will lose your life," he said.

    "Hey, you''re talking as if my death is set in stone, you guys should be worried about what might happen if your young master were to die," I said.

    "Hah! Like that''s gonna happen, you''ll probably not even scratch my robes. Anyway, now that all the sect elders approved of our Death Match, let''s head to the battling arena, that way we''ll have more people watching!"

 Chapter 312: Shocking Turn of Events

    <h4>Chapter 312: Shocking Turn of Events</h4>

    Even if it was the middle of the night, the arena seemed pretty full.

    It was a simple arena, arge square tform surrounded by a rising staircase-like structure where many cultivators sat and waited for the match.

    It seems that it was an event that brought many people to watch, who wouldn''t enjoy a bloodbath at the middle of the night, especially if the one expected to be killed was an old has been while the one who''ll be taking him down is no one but the ''Young Master'' of the sect, a person who is promised the seat of the Sect Master himself once he grows older.

    I was the viin here, and they''re all waiting for a good end to my story and see me bing a stepping pebble not even a stone since I''m so insignificant to them.

    An elder approached the arena as the two of us were standing a few feet apart.

    "This is a battle to the death, there will be no interference from anyone outside the arena, this is thest time I''ll ask, are you two sure about this?"

    "Of course I''m sure," the Young Master said.

    The elder looked at me, the question was obviously aimed at me.

    "I want to ask something," I said.

    "Oh, you''re getting cold feet I see, if you beg on your knees, I might consider sparing you," the Young Master admitted.

    I didn''t deem him worthy of a response as I ignored him and talked to the elder.

    "Are you sure that no one will interfere in this fight?" I spoke. There was no fucking way I was going to allow a clich¨¦ to happen in this fight.

    "No one will interfere," he said."

    "Do you swear it?!" I spoke loudly for everyone to hear.

    The crowd began muttering among each other, of course, I was sounding more and more like an idiot who was purposefully trying to ruin his life.

    "Yes, Yes, I swear upon the honor of the Ancient Sect no one will interfere, the sect master can also be a witness," the elder said.

    "Then," I said as I turned to the sect master who was sitting on the main chair.

    "I''m sure that it will be difficult, but what in the off chance Ie out victorious? Will I be prosecuted?"

    "¡­ Ling Cao¡­ do you take my sect for a joke? This is a battle to the death, if either of youes out alive, the other will not be reprimanded attacked, or harassed as long as I live. It is a trial witnessed by the heavens, so if you''re worried that your victory will also bring your doom, I''ll bet the honor of the sect that it shan''t happen," the sect master said, then added this time in a divines sense message, "That is of course if you survive, you ced yourself in a very dangerous position¡­I could have found a way to get you out of this mess, why the hell did you have to be so rash, I thought you were a smart kid but you''re as rash as your father, and look at what it got him!"

    I smiled at the Sect Master, it seems that he wasn''t as rotten as I thought and his actions and hands were tied by the sect¡­ never the less I''m relieved that I got some insurance.

    "Good, now that the Sect Master had spoken¡­ you may begin!" the elder said and jumped back from the arena.

    The Young Master didn''t move and looked at me, haughtily, "You can have the first move since you''ll be dead after that," he said grinning.

    His words riled up the crowd, of course, they would, that is great confidence he has.

    "Then, I''ll take you up on it," I said and took a step forward, then a second, then a third and I began increasing my speed.

    It took less than a fraction of a second for me to reach the sect master and in that moment two consecutive explosions sounded at the same time.

    The first explosion was my palm that had touched the chest of the young master and sted a literal giant hole through his body.

    The second was the sect master himself with his hand grabbing the back of another person''s head and mming him right into the concrete of the arena right next to us.

    The scene right now was pretty confusing for everyone but I understood immediately.

    The young master dropped dead, unbelieving his eyes as his life quickly left his body.

    While a soul-wrenching scream echoed from the man who had his face shoved into the arena''s floor. It wasn''t a scream of physical pain, but emotional.

    The sect master stood up and looked at me, "When did you learn that?" he asked.

    "Secluded cultivation," I said as I flexed my hand I was feeling a bit of pain from having used seven steps of the modified Ancient Movement Technique.

    I looked at the man who was wailing on the ground and the sect master replied to a question I didn''t ask.

    "His father¡­ he was about to interfere in the fight when he realized that his son was going to lose his life¡­" he said.

    And immediately a cold silence permeated the whole arena.

    The chosen son, the person who was going to inherit the sect was killed in a single move, and the danger from that move was enough to have one of the grand elders personally move to save him, but the sect master had to step in in order to keep his promise to me that no one will interfere.

    It downed on them like cold buckets of iced water.

    They all realized, that my words, the words I spoke earlier were not the words of a crazed man, but they were the words of a person who had already gaged the power of the person in front of him, already realized that he could kill him in one blow, and still forced the hand of the sect master to protect him in case he manages to kill the ''Young Master.''

    The person with the numb-looking arm right now was no different than a monster to everyone in the arena and they knew one thing.

    Not a single one of them had treated Ling Cao right, not a single one of them had remembered friendship after his hardship, no one ever gave him a helping hand, and in doing so, they made an enemy, and this enemy right now is far, far stronger than any of them.

    This enemy right now is dangerous, and if he were to bare his fangs upon their old transgressions, there will be no end to their misery.

    Their lives in the sect were bound to turn to the worst all because they antagonized a person they shouldn''t have. Regret had nothing to do with them. they were doomed the moment they crossed Ling Cao and today, the day of reckoning had begun.

    "YOU BASTARD! YOU DARE KILL MY SON!" the enraged elder had his eyes turning red and all his blood vessels seemed to be about to burst.

    "Damn, he''s losing his mind! Ling Cao step aside! I can''t protect you when he is this frenzied!" the sect master said as the elder shot forward towards me.

    I could see it, in the eyes of everyone here besides the sect master, even his daughter wanted the elder to take my life. Because I was a threat.

    The elder, in his madness, couldn''t even see the sect master as he focused on me, and was repelled by the sect master''s powerful palm strike.

    It was the same as the palm I just used only it was far more refined, far more subtle, and at the same time far more powerful.

    The palm strike shot down the elder but he bounced back up as if nothing had happened to him.

    "Yubin! Don''t force my hands!" the sect master called

    But the elder couldn''t even hear or see him as he was seething in adted rage.

    The elder then once again took a step forward and disappeared from sight this time he threw something from his pouch and whatever it was, it shot forward at the sect master.

    For only a second something seemed to wrap around the Sect Master and stop him from moving.

    The sect master tightened his muscles and burst apart whatever it was stopping him but it was already toote as the elder took that moment and appeared right in front of me.

    He grabbed me by the neck and said "DIE!" his hand shot towards my face aiming to st my skull open.

    "That would be my line," I spoke, and immediately the elder''s arm that was about to lob my head of shuddered then snapped back.

    The elder squealed in pain and I was dropped back to the ground.

    ck marks spread rapidly over his arm and were hastily coursing towards his face and then, the rest of his body.

    He began shuddering and shaking, as pain rattled his entire body, every bone in his body began shaking and shuddering and then breaking, he suffered a fate far worse than his own son as he was dying and was feeling every bit of it.

    All his muscles ruptured, his nervous system went to overload as it caused his massive spasms, and then ck blood began pouring from his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. It didn''t even stop at that due to how powerful the spasms were, his shoulders snapped, his knee caps broke as his legs twisted out of ce then he began shuddering as he arched his back forward until his own spine shattered from the force.

    Every bone that broke was audibly heard and then finally the man that was so full of rage gave hisst breath and then fell dead right next to the body of his own son.

    The Sect Master who had kind eyes for me earlier looked at me like I was some sort of a monster.

    "What in god''s name happened?!"

    "Oh¡­about that¡­" I said as I rubbed my neck, "I don''t like it when people grab me by the neck¡­"

 Chapter 313: Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 313: Chaos</h4>

    "Ling Cao, what did you do? How is this even possible?!" the sect master spoke, it wasn''t out of concern it was out of fear.

    "Oh, I didn''t do much, it was already his own fault for being so enraged, the poison, the Grizzly Spider Poison on him, with his whole cultivation so destabilized it was very easy to galvanize it, and it did the rest for me," I said as I cracked my neck.

    "I mean, more than half of the people here are infected, it is usually not a very dangerous nor is it a lethal poison, but it can get ugly when not treated, and since none of you care about treating such a poison, then it wasn''t my ce to tell you otherwise," I added.

    The moment my words were spoken everyone who was inflicted looked at the source of their poison.

    A great majority of the people here were already affected by it, and I was surprised to see something this grave in a sect yet not cared much to treat it.

    "It''s untreatable, and will only be removed once enough time had passed, thus no one cares enough to remove it, that should bemon knowledge," the sect master said.

    "Is that so, I must have forgotten, I had a memory loss issue a while ago so I don''t remember everything, but what I''m sure of is that the Grizzly Spider Poison can be treated, it isn''t even that difficult to treat," I said as I yawned.

    The sect master then grabbed my shoulder and said, "Do you know the treatment?!" he asked.

    "Of course," I said, "It''ll be a bit annoying though," I said.

    "Just tell us, we''ll procure whatever materials to treat this damned gue," he said.

    "Oh no, that''s not the issue at hand, the problem is, if I actually want to treat any of you," I said.

    "What do you mean!" an elder spoke as he approached the arena, "You''re a member of the Ancient Sect, when you see your fellow in trouble you muste to their aid! Why are you so selfish!" he said.

    Other elders seemed to agree with his point, but not all of them.

    "Is that so," I said as I looked at the elder in the eyes, "Then please tell me when I was in trouble when I had lost my cultivation ability when I was frail weak, and unable to even defend myself when I was bullied harassed and tortured on daily basis, where was this sect that I was part of? Where was this help that I was supposed to get since I''m a part of this sect?" I spoke with every word spite came out of my mouth, and I was sure as hell that it wasn''t mine, it was the original owner''s body retelling his pains through my voice.

    "You all acted so arrogantly, dismissing my entire presence and treating me worse than a beaten dog, and now, you want me toe to your aid when you''re fucked? Hell no, I don''t owe you anything, not to a single person in here," I said.

    "You little bastard!" the same elder said and it seemed that he wanted toe up onto the arena, however, another elder stopped him.

    "It doesn''t matter, the Grizzly Spider Poison isn''t deadly, it can easily be contained, we just have to keep calm and not rile up our cultivation, there is no need to ask help when it''s not needed," the elder said.

    It would have been a smart thing to say, but sadly, they failed to understand one thing.

    "You seem to be oblivious to something," I said smiling.

    My words sounded through the arena for everyone to hear, even the disciples on the stage had to open their ears wide because what I was going to say was pretty damn important.

    "You all considered the Grizzly Spider Poison to be harmless, that is because it usually leaves the body once enough time had gone by, but that is, in one case, in the case of a cultivator being bitten and then the same cultivator leaves the area where he was bitten for a long while. However, none of you seem to have realized why were so many of you bitten at the same time, and I''m damn sure that none of you even remembers when or where they were bitten." I said.

    Everyone here considered the Grizzly Spider Poison as a harmless thing, since it actually was harmless, however, that is only the case when there are no Grizzly Spiders nearby.

    "The entire sect is built over the cave of a Grizzly Spider Queen, she has been sending her children towards you, every night, and they feasted on your Qi without you ever realizing, when you were asleep, when you were cultivating, when you were fucking even, you were all too focused on other things to realize-" I said as I pped my shoulder.

    A crunching sound echoed through the quiet arena, then I showed a smudge on my hand. "To realize that you''re actually all been living in a den of spiders without ever noticing," I said as I threw away the ttened carcass of a Grizzly Spider that climbed up my shoulder under everyone''s gaze.

    "How? I didn''t even notice that spider?!" the sect master said.

    "Of course, you wouldn''t, it''s because you were bitten, and once you''re bitten by them, you''ll never be able to see them. They bit the higher-tier cultivators and left the weak ones because the weak ones they could easily feed on. And now, since the old man just died, and the poison was galvanized, the Queen is ready for her feast, and everyone marked here is her prey, enjoy yourst days," I said as I turned my back and started moving away.

    "What a load of bullshit, could anyone even believe the crap this kid is speaking? Such fantasy, a spider Queen, hah, let see how this thing could even fare against my cultivation if it was even a real existence!" an elder spoke.

    Of course, many disciples would cheer for the man whoforted them, since he was clearly an Ascendant Stage from all the Saint Qi radiating from him. However, the reality is often disappointing, as would the days prove.

    I left the arena among scrutiny of the many cultivators who seemed to hold great despise for me.

    And then I headed to the pce that should have been mine. With everything done and over, and Ling Cao''s revenge almostplete, I had no reason to stay with those people.

    Now, I needed to figure out this cmity that will happen to this sect.

    Whatever it is, I''m sure of one thing, it''s definitely not the Grizzly Spider Queen, though it is a difficult opponent for these cultivators, once the whole sect moves as a whole, it shouldn''t be too difficult to get rid of.

    Something is still out there, especially since the period to stay here is about ten years. That should be about ten days outside the tower. I''ll need to stay here for a while to udnerstand waht''s going on in this sect.

    Just as I got to the pce, the guard at the gate looked pale of face and shocked beyond understanding.

    What was I doing here, and where is the Young Master?

    These are probably the questions going through his mind right now, and I wouldn''t answer him just out of spite.

    "Fuck off," I said as I shoved the guard to the side.

    "You-you can''t go there! It''s not your-"

    I only needed to look at him sternly for him to shut his mouth up and move aside.

    Just as I got in I was surprised to see what was inside the pce.

    "This fucker¡­" I spat as I looked at what was inside.

    There were dozens of young women fully dried up and on the ground, dead from being used as cultivation furnaces for the old ''Young Master''s own pleasure and cultivation.

    There were servants collecting these girls for disposal.

    "The fuck is going on in here?!" I called.

    And the guard came in again, "I told you, you can''t get in there!" he said "The young master will be angry!"

    "Your young master is dead, call the elders¡­" I said.

    "But¡­"

    "I SAID CALL THE ELDERS!" I shouted with an infused voice.

    Several elders, among them the old woman who admitted me and the other guy who was helpful earlier, I don''t yet know their names.

    They arrived and were frankly shocked at the sight.

    "Good heavens, what in the name of all that is unholy is this!" spoke the old woman.

    "Devil cultivation¡­" spoke the male elder.

    "What a good Ancient Sect," I spoke as I spat once again on the ground, "So, this is your young master? You kicked me out of the sect for this garbage?" I said rubbing more salt on the wound.

    "We had no idea that something like this was happening¡­" he said.

    "That''s even worse, a sect that doesn''t even know that its disciples are being used as cultivation furnaces? Do you even check when students go missing? No wonder your whole sect is infected with Grizzly Spider Poison, you''re all cking, you''re all ipetent."

    The elders couldn''t even talk back. Because they knew my words were true.

    Demonic Cultivation is heavily frowned upon since it entitles the owner to gain great power using some very twisted arts. However, Demonic Cultivation isn''t as grave or as fucked up as Devil Cultivation.

    Demonic Cultivation is usually rted to things like Poison, Blood, and Necromancy and sometimes it could even graze the rims of Devilish cultivation when it is rted to Souls.

    However, Devil Cultivation is by far the worst, it is primarily used to gain great power with little to no risk to oneself, and the danger always befalls whoeveres in contact with a Devil cultivator, like these girls, they have been tortured, vited, then had their bodies sucked dry from Qi and cultivation for the benefit of one person.

    The more violent their death was the more power the person who tortured them would gain. And there are even wore ways for Devil Cultivators to gain power, such as absorbing souls as the Fire King does¡­

    "No wonder he gained so much power in such a short time, and no wonder his father lost his mind upon his son''s death. It was because he was also a Devil Cultivator, those are primed to lose their spirit and go into insanity at the drop of a hat. I think I did the sect a favor in getting rid of both of them¡­" I muttered.

    The elders couldn''t speak, how could they?

    This sect is in pure chaos¡­

 Chapter 314: No One Saw That Coming

    <h4>Chapter 314: No One Saw That Coming</h4>

    Two men walked through the vast expanse, literally walking through space, folding it under their legs as if they were folding paper with every step.

    The first of the two looked far more rxed as he was moving while the second didn''t seem to begging behind but had a single drop of sweating down his forehead.

    "You''ve been ratherx in your training," the older man said.

    "Master Rain, I''m far under you in cultivation level, I also find it pretty hard for anyone to be able to keep up with you in terms of spatialws," the attendant said as he followed after.

    "Don''t make excuses work hard, also that sted little bastard apparently is also decent in spatialws, so stop whinging and work harder," Master Rain said as he continued walking through space.

    "That''s the first time I''ve ever heard youpliment someone, he must be really good," the attendant said.

    "Humph, good my ass, he is still a nobody he can be snuffed out with a pinch, but it would be a waste to lose such a person without picking his brain," Master Rain said.

    "But you said that you weren''t going to do Soul Search on him," the attendant replied.

    "I said I won''t, and that was the end of it, I already told you, you can see a person''s memories and knowledge but you can''t take inspiration and the drive to create, I want to see if that kid is capable. Maybe then¡­ no, let''s just see first, there is no point in being hopeful,"

    Master Rain said as he walked forward.

    "We''re entering the Gctic Meteorite Belt of the Heavenly Academy," the attendant said.

    "I can see that, I''m old, not blind, get ready," Master Rain said as the two of them were face to face with a massive amalgamation of meteors that seemed to be moving in an orbit.

    The meteorite speed was pretty impressive and they created a natural formation that protected the Heavenly Academy from outside forces, not to mention no one in their right mind would be willing to go through this massive wall besides one person.

    Master Rain and the attendant stood at the peripheries of the giant meteorite belt and were about to walk forward.

    "Would it really have been a bad idea to inform the Heavenly Academy that we''reing? I mean we could have used their Well, to teleport inside," the attendant said.

    "Yeah? And then what, have them alling at me to curry favor? Hell no, I don'' want them to be prepared, now let''s get in," Master Rain said and took a step.

    The meteors that looked like an impregnable defense seemed to be unable to even touch Master Rain, not because he was fast not because the meteorite''s density was low but because every step master rain took, seemed to not have any meteor going through it for that moment.

    The attendant made sure to keep close to Master Rain and move when the master moved and stopped when he stopped. They even had to walk a few steps back and then move forward several times until they finally managed to get to the other side of the meteorite belt.

    In front of them was something that could only be seen in a story of fiction. A massive tform that seemed to have the size of a''s circumference was right in front of them.

    The tform had a dome covering it, creating an artificial sky and at the highest point of the dome was a floating continent. That was the real Heavenly Academy, while the tform at the bottom hosted high mountains, seas, and prairies that extended all over the tform.

    "It''s been a long time, Master Rain," said the Attendant.

    "I''m not a fan ofing back to this damn prison, it took a pretty steep toll to get out, now I''ming back for that bastard of a kid, he''d better be damn worth it. Let''s go," Master Rain said as the two of them moved forward.

    The two of them moved rapidly towards the domed area and once they were right next to the dome Master Rain touched it and it opened up wide for him, only for a loud ear-sting rm to sound throughout the entire Heavenly Academy.

    A state of alert and emergency was immediately issued and hundreds, then thousands of cultivators shot forward with speed far beyond what imagination could manifest.

    The sudden arrival of a threat didn''t cause the Heavenly Academy to panic but had them ready up immediately.

    "At least their response to threat is decent," Master Rain said.

    "Anotherpliment, you sure are in a good mood today," The attendant teased.

    That didn''t get a reply from Master Rain, however.

    Soon several cultivators with arms ready appeared in front of Master Rain and his attendant.

    One of the cultivators wearing ck Robes spoke up first, "Identify yourself, why have youe to the Heavenly Academy, and why are you trespassing, choose your words carefully, they might be yourst," the man in dark robes spoke.

    Another person then muttered, "Deep blue robes, sky blue eyes, a grim-looking face, and an attendant with eyes closed almost as if he was asleep¡­ this is¡­ Hey! Jung! APOLOGIZE IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS, THIS IS MASTER RAIN!" the second person spoke and everyone in the vicinity of master rain suddenly felt shivers running down their spine.

    If the Poison God was the first gue of the Academy, Master Rain was the second, the only difference was that the Poison God was powerful and did as he pleased, while Master Rain was smart and aided the academy in every manner, however, he also did as he pleased. Killing a few Dark Robes would probably not be much of a cost to appease him, so they knew for sure that he wasn''t someone they needed to provoke.

    The first cultivator had lived long and known when you''re in his shoes you only have one thing to do.

    He pulled up a sword and immediately cut off an arm. It didn''t even take a fraction of a second of hesitation from him to do so. Losing an arm isn''t much of a great deal for low-level cultivators, however, for cultivators above the Ascendant Stage, losing an Arm is an expense they couldn''t afford. Since to remake, a new arm one has to regrow it and then train it until it bespatible with the overall power of his body.

    Or they must have a treasure capable of growing an arm.

    The man in dark robes then offered the arm to Master Rain, "I apologize for my transgressions, I didn''t know that you havee!"

    "That''s disgusting the hell am I gonna do with that, keep it," Master Rain shooed away the arm and the owner in a dismissive gesture.

    This took everyone by surprise¡­was Master Rain really that amicable¡­ perhaps the stories of his brutality andck of empathy andplete disregard for human life were all exaggerated.

    "Anyway I''vee because I need to find a little bastard that''s been causing me some problemstely," Master Rain said.

    His words were a great shock to everyone because there was no one, not a single sane one with an ounce of a brain who would dare cause problems for Master Rain, not even the leaders of the four kingdoms¡­ besides one woman but no one dares bring her name either.

    However, that woman, she is definitely not in the academy, and the way Master Rain articted his words, who was creating trouble for him was a man¡­ so who is crazy enough to do what not even the Four Kings, and the Heavenly Academy Dean would not even dare do?

    "Please, Master Rain, just tell us their name, we''ll bring him to you an inch away from his life!" one of the men in ck said.

    "Huh? Who the heck said I wanted to kill him, anyway," Master rain closed his eyes then opened them.

    And then it came, a powerful divine sense so oppressive and so domineering that it caused everyone to shudder and shack, it wasn''t even offensive but everyone around Master Rain and in the far distance could feel it.

    They felt like the skies began to weep and heavy drops of rain began falling upon them. A rain so thick that no matter how you try and protect yourself, you will stille out wet.

    It was the reason he came to be known as Master Rain.

    "Oh, found him," Master rain said, then immediately he frowned, "The heck is he doing¡­ and how did he manage to possess that corpse, even I couldn''t¡­ interesting little fellow," Master Rain grinned then soon he took a step forward disappearing from sight.

    Everyone could understand from Master Rain''s words who he was talking about. Because, unlike Shen Bao who was still fully immersed in the Possession, everyone in the Heavenly Academy came to know of the idiotic person who had managed to possess a corpse halfway through cultivation deviation and survived.

    And not only that, he already spent an entire day within the possession, that''s already an entire year inside the Ancient Sect. it was a feat worthy of respect since only yellow robes and low-tier blue robes could do so, while the person who managed it was wearing the first basic white robe.

    And he seemed to be smooth sailing and hadn''t died yet.

    Everyone moved after Master Rain, and everyone made sure that their divine sense would not ovep nor evene close to touching Master Rain lest they incur his wrath.

    Soon a man in dark blue robes shoved open the doors of the Advent Tower causing everyone to immediately snap towards him.

    A few unknowing cultivators were about to berate the man in blue for shoving open the doors so hard like they were some big-shot.

    However, a person who will forever be remembered as a hero that saved so many lives that day managed to recognize the figure before anything happened. He was a purple-robed cultivator, his eyes opened wide from shock and immediately went down in a bow then hollered "WELCOME BACK MASTER RAIN!"

    His words were loud enough for everyone to hear and understand that it was a pretty damn big warning to not fuck up or do anything stupid in the presence of Master Rain.

    The few cultivators who had something to say about Master Rain''s entry swallowed their words and their figurative souls in the process and then went down in a bow.

    "Will you be so quiet, I''m old and I my ears hurt," Master Rain said and moved forward ignoring everyone bowing deeply to him.

    "Oh, it''s here, it''s here," Master Rain said rather jubntly.

    The attendant next to him seemed to be smiling, of course, he would it''s been so long since he had seen Master Rain so happy and in a good mood, and thankfully the people in the Heavenly Academy were nice enough not to ruin his mood.

    Today was bound to be a good day.

    Master Rain didn''t take a fraction of a second to open the locked room that would seem impossible to decipher for any other cultivator then he found the figure of Shen Bao sitting in a meditative pose with both arms against the back of the corpse he was currently possessing.

    Master Rain stood behind Shen Bao made several hand gestures then touched Shen Bao''s back eliciting a deep inhale from Shen Bao who opened his eyes to a strange scene.

    The door to his room was open and several cultivators were watching him. There was a hand touching his back.

    And when he turned to see the owner of that hand and when he recognized him.

    Shen Bao sent a firm, solid, powerful, and pretty hard punch right into Master Rain''s face.

    ¡­

    There is no need to describe the face, reaction, shock, stupefaction, or theplete absurd look and opened jaws of everyone in the room, that was a given¡­

    The only thing that needed to be described in this situation were Shen Bao''s next words.

    "You thieving fucker!"

    And the twitch on Master Rain''s brow from Shen Bao''s punch¡­

 Chapter 315: Master Rain

    <h4>Chapter 315: Master Rain</h4>

    The whole room seemed to be in an uproar as what just happened was pretty much not what anyone would have expected. Even I never expected to be forced out of my Possession and then faced up with someone I held a pretty damn deep grudge against.

    "Oh¡­we''re so fucking dead¡­" someone muttered as he saw what just happened.

    "YOU BLASTED BASTARD!" another cultivator a purple robed cultivator spoke up.

    I didn''t know who this guy was but he seemed to be pretty enraged. Also slightly afraid.

    But what he did next caused me to be on my toes, he rushed towards me with a wed hand in an attempt to crush me to bits.

    However, the man whose hand was still firmly stuck to his nose slowly grabbed my hand and looked at the iing person causing him to freeze in ce.

    "Little twerp, you dare hit me?!" Master Rain said.

    "Yes, because you''re a thief, and an asshole, if it wasn''t for you, my - everyone would still be alive," I said.

    Master rain easily threw away my arm from his face as if it was the weight of a straw and said, "You think that puny barrier could have stopped them?" he said, "And what thief, that puppet was originally mine," Master Rain said.

    I stood up face to face with the old man and then pulled something from my holding bag.

    Everyone seemed to be fretting, I looked like a criminal about to pull up a gun. Everyone came to attention besides Master Rain.

    Then I showed him an inscription, "I could have still reinforced it, I could have still made it far sturdier, but you just came in and wrecked everything, for what?"

    As I showed the talisman to the old man, he snatched it from my hand and began studying it.

    It took him a moment before his brows rose up and said, "It wouldn''t have kept them off, you made a mistake here," he said as he pointed out an inscription.

    "With Saint Qi, the power of the - formation would have not been enough to sustain a barrage of attacks, it''ll exhaust the''s power," he said.

    "Saint Qi is forbidden in that ce. So I didn''t need to ount for it," I said.

    "That''s where you''re wrong, you think just because it''s forbidden that it won''t be used, ow many fanatics and lunatics you think to exist in the Vast Expanse, there are many who would take the wrath of the heavens to achieve a goal not even for them, but for someone else¡­ it would have failed. I only elerated the inevitable," he said.

    And he was right, many cultivators could have sacrificed themselves to break through the''s barrier.

    "Even if. You denied me the chance to fight back, you denied me the chance to attempt something, you never could have expected what would have happened, nor if I could have managed toe up with something to counter their own measures, you came and destroyed all my work for what? For a puppet that you threw away fully discarding it somewhere in the world," my words hit a chord in Master Rain and he looked to be even more pissed.

    I don''t know what took over me because usually, I wouldn''t be so stupid to cross someone this strong, or aggrieve him or even provoke him, but it seems that being in the body of Ling Cao for a long while had rubbed off on me in the wrong way.

    Shit, now that I''m thinking about it, there are so many people here¡­ this is gonna be awkward.

    "You''re right," Master Rain said and this came as a surprise for me, but for everyone else it was a shocking revtion.

    Master Rain had actually admitted being wrong? Though I don''t fully know how powerful this guy is, but he is a person who dared and imprison Zhang Tian the son of the Wind King without giving a flying fuck about his statue or reputation.

    He admitted being wrong to a Soul Formation cultivator¡­ which was something new.

    "Also, pay up," I said as I had my hand forward.

    Master Rain frowned.

    "Pay up? What do you mean?" Master Rain said.

    "You pulled me out of Possession, I was doing good in the Ancient Sect, and you just voided all my progress, pay up, one Top Grade Spirit Stone," I said.

    "One?" Master Rain asked.

    Everyone around the room lookedpletely devastated with an absurd look on their face.

    "Brother if it''s one Top Grade spirit stone I''ll give you a thousand! Why the hell are you provoking Master Rain! You''re gonna get us all killed!" someone sent me a divine sense message.

    "It''s not about the cost, I don''t like wasting money, give me my Top Grade Spirit stone¡­" I said.

    Now here, everyone, without exception would think I''m pretty stupid, mad and crazy even. But from Master Rain''s antics, his habits, and his entric personality I know one thing.

    This guy doesn''t give a flying fuck about something called Face, and since I''m still alive so far, he needs something from me. And this is the best way I can think of to have a better understanding of him.

    Master Rain kept his eyes locked on mine for thrilling several seconds.

    I could even hear the deep breaths and awkward looks of the cultivators around us and outside the room. They were all unable to do something or speak and could only watch.

    Then Master Rain touched his holding bag, pulled one Top Grade Spirit Stone, and ced it in my hand.

    "Here¡­" he said.

    Suddenly, a person that I didn''t notice before right next to master rain, a man with slightly tall stature, slim figure and looked extremely handsome, his eyes looked like they were closed from how squinted they were, he just began bawling inughter.

    Uncontrobleughter from what just happened.

    "You! Hahahahaha!" "Master Rain, he really is an interesting fe."

    "If he wasn''t I wouldn''t have bothereding here. Good, kid," Master Rain said as he looked at me.

    "I really don''t like being called a kid, my name is Shen Bao," I said.

    "Shen¡­ interesting, but don''t push your luck, also about your possession, you didn''t die yet?" he asked as he looked at the corpse on the ground.

    "No¡­"

    "Then you can resume your progress when youe back here next time,e with me for now," Master Rain said as he walked out of the room.

    Everyone immediately dispersed when Master Rain was walking out, not willing to be in his way.

    I looked back at the room that was closing and saw the formation on it slowly clicking spiraling then rotating locking the room from everyone who isn''t willing to pay.

    Master Rain noticed me gazing upon the formation and said, "What do you think of that Lock?" he said.

    "Oh, overlyplicated for no reason. It could have been done better. With far less wasted inscriptions," I said.

    "Do you know who made that formation?" he asked.

    "Probably you, or at least a part of it, because it has your own style," I said.

    "You do know I had a hand in that formation and you still dare say that it''s overlyplicated?" he said.

    "Well if I''m being honest, it looks pretty nice, but it''s at best a rushed work, maybe something you didn''t even give half your attention to when making," I said.

    "You speak as if you know me well enough to give this judgment," he said.

    "I don''t know you personally, but I know your style, you put in more effort in a strand of grass than you did in here¡­" I said and my words were aimed at a certain garden in the hidden Celestial Lesser world.

    "Humph¡­" Master Rain said as he walked outside the Advent Tower and I followed after him and the attendant.

    "You''re a pretty interesting fe, keep being interesting but try not to cross any lines, it''s good to be prideful but don''t be conceited next to Master Rain," The attendant said to me in a divine sense message.

    "Did you master the Ancient Step?" asked Master Rain. This question was clearly rted to my travel to the Ancient Sect through the corpse possession.

    "I wouldn''t say mastered it, but I think I have the hang of it," I said.

    "Good, then follow us," Master Rain said as he took a step forward. In that step Master Rain seemed to cross a vast distance and I was absurdly shocked to notice that even the attendant did the same with a single step.

    It was almost the same as Old Man Gin''s step, only the surge of Qi released from Master Rain''s step was so fast, so incredibly fast and urate that he was able to nearly teleport using that step but it was only a step.

    The ancient Step could also be used like that? Damn, and I thought it was only a movement technique.

    However, how am I to replicate something like this? I don''t have the same Qi as Master Rain no Old man Gin, and clearly notparable to even his attendant.

    "Don''t worry about what Master Rain had said you can just fly and follow us," the attendant said in a divine sense.

    But for some reason, I wanted to attempt what Master Rain had done.

    I took a step forward the same way he did, using the Ancient Step, and instead of the usual small burst of Qi, I shot down to the soles of my feet about a third of my whole Qi, in an instant surge, as I took the first step I felt the world distorting for a moment and managed to cross about a hundred meters of distance in a single step. It was far from what Master Rain and the attendant had managed, they crossed miles while I crossed a few hundred yards. It was notparable.

    However, the squinted eyes of the attendant seemed to squint further, and Master Rain''s brows seemed to rise in perhaps a surprise or disappointment I wouldn''t know.

    With how much Qi I used, at most I can use this step twice then I''ll fall on my face exhausted. However, I could attempt something.

    I pulled several Poison Pills from my holding bag and made sure that no one was able to see what type of pills I had in my hands, since I didn''t want the Heavenly Academy to know I''m a poison cultivator, or worse, one of the carriers of the Poison God''s Book.

    Once I chucked down the pills I took another step this time using less Qi but on several bursts sending them to my feet. So instead of one single big leap, I could use several smaller leaps in rapid sessions.

    It was like trying to draw a square and a circle with different hands, for any normal person it would have been difficult, but I enabled my Mind''s Eye and was able to easily reproduce the same feat several times over.

    By sending several surges of Qi I was able to move faster at rapid small paces and not fully exhaust my Qi reserves, at least not deplete them before I swallowed another pill to replenish my reserves.

    Master Rain and the attendant who were up ahead of me seemed to turn away and continue moving, and I followed after them.

    I didn''t know where they were heading, and I was pretty sure that as a neer I''m not allowed to be in the higher ind, at the real Heavenly Academy, but when it was Master Rain''s own order to follow him, I had to.

    Since he could probably kill me off whenever he wants, and since the academy, itself doesn''t really want to cross him.

    For now let''s see what''s going on, then n on a way to get Y back. I missed my Puppet¡­

 Chapter 316: Shen Baos Favor

    <h4>Chapter 316: Shen Bao''s Favor</h4>

    Within the wind pce, the sect master of the Purple Cloud sect was standing inplete shock at what was going on right now.

    The woman who had saved her life, or more like revived her was apparently the wife of the Wind King himself. Not to mention that the Wind King is one of the strongest people in the whole of vast expanse, the woman that had brought her back to life seemed to be the number one uncontested powerhouse of the whole of the Wide Expanse. And these two seemed to have good will towards her.

    Whatever good karma she had sowed in a past life seemed to be paying off right now.

    The Sect Master of the Purple Cloud Sect couldn''t help but open and close her mouth unable to express herself in the presence of such powerful people.

    "W-why me? Of all the people in the Vast Expanse, I would hardly believe that my life is worth even a consideration from people such as you," she said.

    "It wasn''t for you," spoke a person who seemed to be a young looking schr, he didn''t have any airs about him, he sure was handsome, but at the same time he looked like a slightly handsome mortal, nothing more nothing less.

    The Sect Master looked at the schr and waited for his reply.

    "She did that for me, because I asked her," he said.

    "And who might this sir be?" spoke the sect master.

    "That is rude to ask for someone''s name before introducing oneself," the schr said.

    "Pardon me, I''m the Sect Master of an insignificant sect, my name is Leng Yuyu," the sect master said.

    "Good name, I go by the name Zhang, Zhang Tian and I''m a good friend to one of your sect members," he said.

    "My sect members¡­I would find it hard to believe that someone from my sect, and from all over the barren domain to be a friend of someone of your caliber, not that I''m disbelieving your words, but the chances of you two meeting is like trying to find a needle in a sea of needles¡­" she said.

    "And the needle was found," Zhang Tian said, "And thanks to him you live. You better treat him right," Zhang Tian said.

    "Of course, but might I please know the name of this person¡­wait, If I would guess correctly¡­could it be Shen Bao?" she said.

    "Right on the money, that is correct," Zhang Tian seemed to be smiling and this caused Leng Yuyu to be even more confused.

    How the heck did that small Core cultivator ever meet someone this big?

    But among all of her sect members he was the only one who seemed to be entric and always found ways to get into trouble. But thinking again, he did actually get the Lord of Lords inheritance, could that be when they had met? But how should this person, Zhang Tian, who by thest name is clearly rted to the royal wind family ever get the chance to meet Shen Bao, thetter is a Core Cultivator and Zhang Tian is so far up in cultivation stage that he might actually be close to the Imprable Wall.

    "I could see a lot of questions being drawn upon your face, feel free to ask and worry not to offend, I owe Shen Bao my life, and you being someone who is rted to him, you''re guaranteed some of the benefits from your acquaintanceship," Zhang Tian said.

    "I wouldn''t dare ask for more, I gained back a life that I have lost, what is more to ask than being revived?" she said rhetorically.

    "Shen Bao''s sect master seems like a good Sect Leader, too bad your cultivation level is so low," the strongest person in the Vast Expanse spoke.

    "Mother, you can''t be so dismissive of her cultivation level, after all, they lived their entire lives in the Barren Wastnds, there is no Qi there, and the quality of treasures and resources is so low that I''m honestly surprised to see Ascendantsing from there every now and then," Zhang Tian said.

    And this confirmed Leng Yuyu''s suspicion about his rtionship to the royal family, he wasn''t an acquaintance, but apparently, he was a son, and perhaps a possible heir to the Wind Throne.

    Shen Bao made a great friend, a powerful ally, someone that she would have never ever thought would happen. But here, a small Core Formation cultivator is actually a friend with one of the strongest forces in the Vast Expanse.

    "Zhang Tian, I also have some news," The Wind King spoke.

    "What could that be?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Apparently, your friend is in the Heavenly Academy," the king smiled.

    The words from the Wind King''s mouth had some reactions on everyone present in the room.

    Zhang Tian and his mother both smiled, while Leng Yuyu was too stunned to speak.

    "You seem surprised that one of your Sect Members is now in the Heavenly Academy," Zhang Tian said.

    "I''m genuinely surprised, I knew Shen Bao was special, but I never thought he was this special," Leng Yuyu said.

    "Not only that, he actually managed to score top grades in the tests, he achieved first rank in the Race of Chun Lun, and also managed to get full passing grade in the guards and prisonners trail as a prisoner, not to mention he apparently managed to convince old man Gin, the most stubborn examinator to give him full passing grades¡­ the number of people that died at Gin''s hands in an attempt to go to the heavenly academy is astonishing, and Shen Bao seemed to have passed the test without fully realizing how dangerous his own test was," the king said.

    "That''s some great news," Zhang Tian said smiling, "I knew Shen Bao was going to make it, though the puppet supporting him is powerful, you still need a lot of wits to utilize it," Zhang Tian said.

    "See here son," The Wind King said, "The puppet you''re talking about was already taken away by Master Rain before Shen Bao even left his," Tu Tian, the wind king spoke.

    The caused Zhang Tian''s mother to clench a fist. She despised only three people in this world.

    One of them had died, and it was the Absent Master of Shen Bao, Du Shen, the Poison God. The second was the Fire King for having used her research to create the Soul Stealing Pots.

    And thest person was Master Rain for imprisoning her son for a thousand years. Her wrath against him could only be appeased once she sees if Master Rain''s blood was truly red.

    These words had also caused Zhang Tian some difort, because without that Puppet, Shen Bao might end up in a lot of trouble, but he still seemed to be doing fine even without it.

    "And what''s even more interesting¡­ I just received news through a Space Owl message¡­ Master Rain is currently in the Heavenly Academy and he seemed to be taking a liking to Shen Bao of all things," the Wind King smiled.

    "Hah, that old fart? But if it''s Shen Bao, I could see how, that man was able to decipher master Rain''s inscriptions in less than a few days, perhaps Master Rain wants to take him as a disciple. It wouldn''t be too bad for Shen Bao," Zhang Tian.

    "Son, you make friends with people who your mother hates a lot¡­you''re going to make me have wrinkles from worry," Zhang Tian''s mother seemed to sigh.

    "I don''t suppose it''s my ce to ask, but who might this Master Rain be?" asked Leng Yuyu.

    No one seemed to be bothered by her asking such an ''Obvious'' question.

    "Since you''re from the Barren Lands of course you might not know. But let''s say that if my mother here is the strongest person in all the vast expanse, there is only one person she can''t kill, and it''s him," Zhang Tian said.

    "You better say that it''s not for ack of trying, that man is like a cockroach, he is impossible to track or take down, and if I were to move to where he is, he''ll just disappear out of sight, I gave up. But he''ll surely know not toe to the Wind Realm or I''ll make him eat his own eyeballs," Zhang Tian''s mother spoke with spite.

    "And Shen Bao is being mentored by this person¡­" her words were only to herself but she seemed to be unable to realize that she had muttered them loudly.

    "You look sad, maybe even a bit jealous," Zhang Tian''s mother said.

    "Jealous, yes, Sad, not really, I am happy for him, but I know for a fact that I don''t even deserve to be jealous, I''m not as talented as him. My emotions right now are a reflection upon my ownck of talent andck of effort, Shen Bao is a person of old age, and he has yet to truly take a foot in the world of cultivation, yet in a few years he had managed what I couldn''t do in more than five mortal lifetimes, I am ashamed to be his Sect Master, for I could not teach him anything proper, and I don''t deserve your grace," Leng Yuyu said.

    "What a humble little girl," Spoke Zhang Tian, "But worry not, if it''s about talent, you have more than Shen Bao, and that I can vouch for," Zhang Tian said.

    This caused Leng Yuyu to frown.

    "Actually, everyone I''ve met, had more talent than Shen Bao, literally everyone, he was the only one without an actual talent root, no, even mortals who had never ever cultivated would have more talent than him in cultivation, but for some reason, he''s still able to climb in cultivation rank and be far more powerful than any reasonable cultivator at his level should be," Zhang Tian said. "And that''s because of his Soul Force," Zhang Tian added.

    "What do you mean?" asked Leng Yuyu.

    "I don'' wish to speak of the secrets of another cultivator, but what I know for a fact is, Shen Bao, at the core level of cultivation has more Soul Power than my own mother," Zhang Tian said.

    And this revtion caused Zhang Tian''s mother to frown, but she didn''t ask Zhang Tian to exin as he had already mentioned that he won''t be revealing another person''s secrets.

    "And now that you''re in a new body and with an even better talent root, you should be able to advance your cultivation level higher than it is right now," Zhang Tian said.

    "Husband of mine, I think she would be a good fit for the Heavenly Academy, don''t you think?"

    "Hmm, I have no sway in the Heavenly Academy interworking, however, I can pull a few strings to get her a solo test, though you''ll be facing a lot of difficulties and it won''t be simple. Special tests mean special treatment, and special treatment isn''t affordable for most cultivators, you may lose your life, so speak up child, do you wish to partake in the Special Test of the Heavenly academy?" the Wind King himself spoke.

    And there was obviously no other answer for Leng Yuyu to say besides¡­

    "Yes."

    "Good then, but the you right now will die, Wife of mine¡­" the Wind King Spoke and the wife immediately understood.

    "I''ll assign her a few mentors, you better be ready, it''s going to be a hellish training."

 Chapter 317: One Plus One

    <h4>Chapter 317: One Plus One</h4>

    Master Rain and the retainer kept on moving, not caring the least bit about my exhaustion, but I wouldn''t ask them to slow down. I kept on chugging pills and moving after them.

    This small moving technique is pretty good to cross big distances and if I''m correct it could also be used in battle, but I''ll have to test that out when I have time.

    We were currently in the upper ind of the Heavenly Academy, though it looked small when I looked at it from below, it''s pretty damn big now that I''m on it.

    We''ve been moving for a while, crossing the skies through steps until Master Rain stopped in front of one of the very few buildings in the Heavenly Academy.

    The building in its entirety looked so vast and big I could swear it could easily host an entire city inside it.

    We looked like antspared to the building and the doorway to the inside was so vast it looked like the gates of heaven.

    The doorway was already opened as people seemed to be walking inside and outside the building each minding their own business.

    Master Rain''s arrival however notified a lot of these cultivators and you could clearly see everyone making damn sure to keep their distance from Master Rain.

    Master Rain moved up ahead and the two of us followed after him. His destination was a small teleportation circle within the insides of the main academy building.

    When we got there, Master Rain pulled something from thin air and the formation making the teleportation circle began changing.

    I couldn''t fully understand the entirety of the formation since I didn''t have enough time to study it, but from what I could glean from the change urring to it right now, its end destination was being forcefully changed.

    "Get on," Master Rain said, and both I and the Attendant got onto the formation.

    Soon, the world turned white and then darkened. Not long after, I found myself in a dusty-looking room.

    "God damn it, why didn''t they clean this up," Master Rain spoke as he spat on the ground.

    "Probably because you promised to kill anyone who enters your room without your permission?" the attendant said.

    "Oh, that''s right, well¡­ they should have cleaned it up without entering, anyway," Master Rain said then waved a hand sending a torrent of Saint Qi spiraling through the entire room that we were in gathering up all the dust, grime, and filth in onerge globe of dirt, he then clenched his hand and the dirt condensed itself into a hard solid spherical stone.

    He threw away the stone into a nearby corner where I noticed many other simr stones there.

    With the dust removed from the room, I could finally see what was in there.

    Compared to the massive room in the Lesser Celestial Realm where I found X, this room was far smaller and held far fewer materials.

    But that didn''t mean that the quality of the materials here was any less. There were tools aplenty, books about cultivation, and inscriptions ced neatly in arge shelf that covered the entirety of one wall of the room. And then a massive vat that seemed to be full of a green liquid.

    This whole ce looks like theb of a mad scientist.

    Master Rain then pulled up a chair and sat down facing me.

    "Tell me kid, who are you?" Master rain asked.

    "I''m Shen Bao, an average everyday cultivator, there is a lot of me in case you didn''t realize," I said.

    "You don''t seem to understand my question, what are you? Who are you? Why is your thought process so different from everyone else," Master Rain said.

    "How can you judge that my thinking isn''t like anyone else?" I asked back.

    "The way you inscribe, it''s convoluted, and unlike anything I''ve ever seen," Master Rain said.

    "But how does that makes me have a different thought process?" I asked.

    "It''s because you''re not using any of the styles of inscription that any of the cultivators before you have done. There are many schools of inscription, some try to look at the problem and then backtrack to solve it, some try and slowly devise a solution to an inscription problem by trial and error, and some even try and throw a wrench within the inscriptions to make them malfunction, these are the basis of the schools of inscribers, and no one cane up with something that they hadn''t thought of because they had been here for eons and many thought that should evere up to a cultivator should have already crossed these schools at least a few dozen times¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Yet you, your Style-less Style is strange. You don''t address the problem at hand, you actually cause the inscription itself to bend to your own will. In matters where a few inscriptions could be used to disable a function, you devised an entire letter of inscription to actually use the function you should be disabling to your own advantage. It''s like you''re controlling the inscription like they were normal¡­letters or even some sort of-"

    "Coding," I said.

    "Coding? What is that?" asked Master Rain.

    "It''s hard to exin¡­ especially since you probably won''t understand the jargons. But to make it as simple as possible, it''s like using mathematical forms to solve a problem. There is no such thing as one answer," I said.

    "Care to exin?" Asked Master Rain.

    "What''s one plus one?" I asked.

    "Are you mocking me?" he asked.

    "No, I''m being serious, just humor me for a bit," I said.

    "That''s two," Master Rain said clearly annoyed.

    "Then let''s say Two is the answer to your ''Formation'' problematic but is one plus one the only answer to that problematic? No, you can say that three minus one is also two, and that of course is also an answer to the same problem, if you think about it this way, there is no reason to think that there exists only one answer that will lead you to your desired result. There are many, many ways you can arrive to a definitive answer and I use that to solve inscriptions," I spoke.

    Master Rain opened his mouth to reply then quieted down, "If anyone else had said that to me I''ll mock them and call them an idiot, but I''ve seen your inscription on the Demon ying Puppet and I''m sure that you actually are using this method. Who taught you how to inscribe?" he asked.

    "Euh¡­ technically speaking it was you," I said.

    "There is no way that is possible, I''ve never shared my knowledge, besides my inscriptions and a few books I have left within the Lesser Celestial realm, even if you bring a thousand inscriber genius they''ll be unable to realize the same amount ofpound knowledge you showcased in the puppet, don''t take me for a fool, tell me who taught you?"

    "As I said, all I''ve learned the majority of it was from your inscriptions within the Lesser Celestial realm, the grass, the houses, the buildings, even the streets, you had so many inscriptions there, I only took my time learning them, replicating them, then modifying and adjusting depending on my personal needs, there is nothing more nothing less. Hell, before I entered the Lesser Celestial Realm the most I knew about inscription could only help repair a few treasures and that was because I learned Inscription letters, nothing more," I said.

    "Wait, you''re telling me all you know the inscriptions are the letters you''ve learned from my writings in the Celestial Realm?" asked Master Rain.

    "I suppose, I do know a few other letters that weren''t used in the Forbidden City, but your own letters are far more usable than the ones I used especially since the ones I knowe from the Barren Lands so the quality is bound to be different," I said.

    Once I finished my words Master Rain and the attendant both looked at each other in confusion.

    "So¡­ you don''t know how to do Imperial Inscriptions?" Master Rain said.

    "What is that?" I questioned.

    Master Rain rubbed the bridge of his nose, "This isn''t making any damn sense."

    "Master, how about we try something," the retainer said.

    "What?" asked Master Rain.

    The retainer then turned to me and said, "Do you honestly speak the truth when you said you didn''t know what an Imperial Inscription is?" asked the Retainer.

    "I really don''t know what''s that," I said.

    The retainer then pulled up arge parchment and ced it on a table next to him.

    He then began drawing using his finger, the inscriptions looked rather confusing, they were like some sorts of letters that didn''t have a definitive shape, they were squares that looked like circles, and triangles that looked like rectangles, it was the strangest thing I''ve seen so far.

    Then from all that chaotic writing there seemed to be some sense to what was being written, though I had no idea what was the purpose of such an inscription.

    The attendant kept on writing and writing some more inscriptions enough that the whole parchment was full of them, then soon he handed the inscription to me.

    "Could you tell me what this means?" asked the attendant.

    No sane man would ever say that this jumble of crap written on the parchment would mean anything but jack shit.

    "I have no idea," I said.

    "Damn, it''s hopeless," said Master Rain.

    "Well, at least you tried Master Rain," said the attendant.

    "Then there is no use keeping you alive anymore," said Master Rain.

    "Wow! Hold your horses old man, just because I don''t know something doesn''t mean I have to die," I said.

    "Well, you did punch me in the face, and I have a lot of witnesses."

    ''Well he is right about that, and I can''t say it''s because he stole Y since it was his in the first ce.''

    "At least give me some time to look at that inscription," I said.

    "Many had tried to decipher it, but no one managed to do so, not even I, nor my attendant, who do you think you are," said Master Rain.

    "Well at least let me try, but before you go ahead and kill me, tell me, did you guys find this inscription written on a wall, a stone b or something?" I asked.

    This immediately caused the two of them to be on alert, "How do you know that?" Master Rain asked.

    "Because I could tell that these inscriptions weren''t written due to understanding but due to memory these inscriptions were memorized by heart, and then written down, if this is exactly how the inscriptions were found the first time, then you see here," I said as I pointed at one of the inscriptions.

    This inscription looks unique, however, if you add this, "I said as I drew my pen and then added a few scribbles to the inscription.

    The letter that looked unique at first now became pretty simr to another one on the parchment.

    This caused Master Rain''s eyes to widen up.

    "How did you figure that out?" asked Master Rain.

    "It''s simple memory can be eroded and so can stone, if this was written on some stone treasure or some other thing, probably an ancient inscription, with time it could have been corroded, and what you''re looking at aren''t the exact same letters that have been written a long time ago, but the remains of the letters after being eroded, so if you could restore the letters then maybe you can glean a better understanding of the inscriptions as a whole then understand the reason why this formation was made or the purpose of it," I said.

    Master Rain for the first time smiled.

    "Goodd, today you earned your life," Master Rain said.

    "So¡­ now what?" I said.

    "Well, now you''ll stick here and won''te out until you figure out the meaning behind this formation," Master Rain said.

    "Wait, what? I still have to finish my visit to the Ancient Sect," I said.

    "No you don''t, sit here don''t you dare leave, that is if you can, anyway I''lle back in a week, I want you to have made at least some progress here, I''ve already figured out that this thing was eroded but I couldn''t manage to fix it, I want a new set of eyes to look at it and see if you can figure out something I couldn''t since you''re a person who likes to arrive to an answer using other means and methods. Show me your one plus one," Master Rain grinned then disappeared from sight alongside his retainer.

    "For fuck''s sake!" I cursed.

 Chapter 318: Taking A Walk

    <h4>Chapter 318: Taking A Walk</h4>

    After several long minutes of deliberation on some choice words, and speaking them in full blowout against Master Rains'' actions I decided it was time to calm down, there was no point in cursing at him when he isn''t here though it''s good to release some pent up pressure.

    I looked at the jumble of crap in front of me and decided that I might as well finish this up, otherwise, I might actually die in one week. That bastard, though I''m thankful I''m still alive, I really hate being under the mercy of another person.

    It''s much better than the poison cave, but I doubt I''ll be saying the same after a week.

    I must get this done with so first let''s see what this clusterfuck of an inscription is.

    First things first, I need to identify all the none unique inscriptions.

    So, I began by jotting down all the inscriptions that I found to be written at least twice in the exact same shape. With this done I gave each of them an arbitrary number starting from one and two and onwards.

    Once all the none unique symbols were written, I began by writing on another side the unique-looking ones, the ones that didn''t repeat in the schematic.

    The purpose of separating them is to discover the eroded inscriptions.

    After finishing up with that task and giving all the unique symbols their own arbitrary numerical value, I began by doing aparison to each and every letter.

    Soon, I managed to discover that some of the unique-looking symbols looked pretty much like the none unique ones with the exception of a line or two that has been removed.

    Once I made sure that all the symbols I have jotted down were all unique and none of them looked simr to each other, I began my testing.

    First things first, I needed to understand the rtionship between these symbols and how they could affect each other, so I pulled my brush and began inscribing these strange symbols on talismans.

    I wrote the first symbol that I gave the numerical value of ''One'' and then began to cross examining it with the rest of the symbols, I added other symbols next to it, within it, outside it, and even surrounded it with them, since the ''Imperial Inscription Method'' wasn''t really letters but more like a symbolguage I tried everything.

    And of all the symbols, only one managed to give me a reaction, which was a damn good result.

    Now I could say that these two symbols are actually correct.

    And then I continued testing out the symbols each of them crossing it with the other symbols and whenever I receive a reaction I note down which type of reaction happened and with which symbol it happened.

    The reaction in question wasn''t something great since I can''t for example create fire by making only two symbols, the reaction that happens was the clear Qi being able to move freely from one symbol to the other.

    And once I judge that the symbols are harmonic with each other I move on to the next one.

    After several hours I managed to cross off almost all of the symbols in the parchment that are now considered to be working.

    However, I was still left with a few symbols that didn''t seem to have any reaction to one another or the rest. So I began by doing even further research on these vagrant symbols.

    Since I couldn''t judge if they are correctly written or not, I needed to do something drastic like try and replicate or even modify them.

    However, after many hours of testing, I couldn''t seem to make them so I had to give up for now.

    Using my Mind''s eye for such a long time caused my head to hurt so I decided to stop and leave this for tomorrow, I needed to rest up first.

    I only have seven days but trying to bust my head against a problem I can''t figure out right now will only drag me down instead of helping me. I needed to rest and start freshter.

    I sat down away from all of those annoying letters I jotted and entered meditation, but soon I felt I was unable to calmly rx.

    I hate being enclosed like a damn prisoner and also I need to check up on Liang Yu, I don''t know what she is up to, if she is well housed or if she is being bothered by others.

    Then it hit me, why am I thinking about her at this moment? I mean I''m literally someone who is going to die if I were not to solve the shit I have in front of me. This is frankly unfair since even Master Rain himself couldn''t solve it. And here I am worried about another woman who I''m barely acquainted with.

    Shit¡­ am I really crushing on her?

    No, no, no Shen Bao, you''re an old man, having crushes or liking someone isn''t something an old guy like you should be doing nor do you have the time to think about romantic things. Get your head together and figure this shit out now.

    I pped my cheeks with both palms twice to wake myself up from thinking stupid things, but that didn''t seem to be working.

    "God damn it," I cursed, "I don''t think I''m gonna be able to focus up with these thoughts running rampant in my head."

    I stood up and went to the door.

    There was a formation that seemed stupidly impossible to solve against the door.

    "God damn it, Master Rain," I cursed as I looked at the formation. This formation seemed to be pretty deadly, a Restriction more like, there is a killing formation inside this thing and if I were to tamper with it I might really die.

    "Wait¡­ why do I need to unlock the formation¡­" I muttered then sent out my divine sense.

    I managed to easily bypass the walls of the room I was in and managed to get an understanding of where I was.

    I was inside a small tower at one of the corners of the upper Heavenly Academy Ind.

    This is probably a research tower for Master Rain, so instead of actually unlocking the door.

    I removed my Divine Sense and looked at one of the random walls of the room.

    "Might as well try that," I said then took six steps towards the wall.

    He first three steps didn''t seem to do much, but theter three shook the ground then the tower from impact, and upon the seventh step, I gathered all the momentum and made it surge through my right palm that was now in contact with the wall.

    The wall shuddered, cracked then exploded outward in a sting shockwave of destructiveness.

    The explosion seemed to echo out like a firework at night. I grabbed all the papers I was working on alongside the parchment I got from the attendant and then jumped down from the tower.

    I walked forward through the empty skies using the movement technique I learned from mimicking Master Rain''s own movement and walked away from the tower.

    Soon as I was moving away someone seemed to appear right next to me, "What are you doing?"

    Turning I saw a man in ck Robes speaking with me.

    I don''t know who this person is, but from the color of his robes, this guy was a Grand Elder, someone of pretty damn big importance in the Heavenly Academy.

    "I''m going to visit a friend," I said.

    The man turned to look at the massive hole in the tower and his face paled, "Why in god''s name did you destroy Master Rain''s tower?" he asked.

    "Oh, about that¡­ I was slightly ustrophobic¡­ so I needed a breather¡­"

    "How did you even get in there?" the man in ck Robes asked.

    "Master Rain himself took me there then forgot to leave the door open, he had something to take care of¡­"

    "Is that so," he asked.

    "Cross my heart and hope to die!" I said which was a lie.

    "Either way, when Master Raines back he''ll be angry at what happened to his tower¡­"

    "I''ll take responsibility," I said.

    "Can you really do that? Do you think you can suffer the wrath of Master Rain?"

    "His wrath? Definitely not, but he needs me for something so I''ll probably be fine, also that''s just stone, it can be fixed, so can I please go visit a friend?"

    The man wearing back seemed at a loss of words, probably because I really don''t care much for what Master Rain does, since I probably might be able to solve this damn thing if I were to work somewhere I didn''t feel trapped inside.

    "I''ll be keeping an eye on you, and if Master Rain were toe back and causes trouble, you''ll be the first one I''lle for."

    "I can agree to that," I said. "So can I leave?" I asked.

    He didn''t reply and in fact just disappeared from sight, which was probably the okay I needed.

    So, I continued space walking down towards the housing area for neers.

 Chapter 319: Tea Time

    <h4>Chapter 319: Tea Time</h4>

    I continued walking down until I arrived at the lower level where the neers were at. Thankfully there were no repercussions for me traveling to and back from the lower area to the upper celestial or back.

    I headed towards the housing areas where the cave I was given was located at and didn''t seem to bring any unwanted attention to myself as I arrived there. Apparently, the people in the lower area have yet to know of what happened high above about the presence of Master Rain and himing to look for me directly.

    With that in mind, I headed to the cave area where the neers were stationed. The cave-in question was the same one that I was given by the girl at the deacon''s office, Liang Yu should be cultivating there and the least I could do is check up on her.

    Perhaps those bastards from before had harassed her while she was cultivating. Or maybe even the deacon girl made trouble for her in her stay out of spite and jealousy.

    I couldn''t help but think negative thoughts about what would have happened to Liang Yu while I wasn''t there and that made me walk faster.

    I arrived to the house where she was and knocked. Receiving no answer I unlocked it wit my own key and entered.

    Once I arrived at the trapdoor leading down to the cultivation cave, I stopped. There didn''t seem to be any tampering with the formation of the trapdoor. So if she is still inside she should still be safe.

    I used my divine sense to scan the underground and once it came in contact with her, I took a breath of relief.

    "That''s a bit rude, don''t you think," I heard.

    "Oh, sorry, I was just worried that something might have happened to you while I was away," I said.

    "Oh, worried about little old me, I mean if you really were you wouldn''t just disappear without leaving a message, I thought you''d at leaste back in a day, and look it''s been three days and I haven''t heard a single word from you," she said.

    She''s mad.

    "I''ll make it up to you, anyway, are you alright, no one came and harassed you or something like that?" I asked.

    "No, not that I know of, I''ve been cultivating since you left, and I still am¡­so," she said.

    "Right, right, my apologies I''ll be leaving," I said.

    "N-no, you can stay, I''ll be out soon," she said.

    Then soon she came out of the cultivation cave, "You''d like some tea?" she asked as soon as she came out.

    "That would be nice," I replied.

    The house she was in was small but not small enough to be suffocating, more on the cozy side. It was small with some futons and a small stove where Liang Yu was making tea. I sat down waiting for her to serve it which she did happily.

    "How did you find the Advent Tower?" she asked.

    "It was not that bad, though the possession was annoying at first," I replied.

    "Oh, so you''re doing the Possession Advent, you want your name on the wall? I''m sure you can do it," she said.

    "Wait, you know about the possession trial?" I asked.

    "Well, of course, I would, did you forget who my sect master is?" she said.

    "Oh right, Old Man Gin was a part of the Heavenly Academy so he should have probably told you what''s going on in here. Anyway, I''m interested in what you know about the Advent Tower," I asked.

    "Well, the simplest and easiest trial of the Advent Tower is the Possession trial, you get to travel back in an instanced window of time, visit a world that is pretty much dead and you can live there, learn from the sect ande back once the cmity hits," she said.

    "I know most about that, but do you have any idea what this cmity is?" I asked.

    Liang Yu shook her head, "I don''t really, not even my master does, and even the highest-ranked cultivator doesn''t, it seems that all the cultivators who experience the cmity die, and they have their memories wiped from such event,"

    "Then how do they know there is a cmity if their memories are wiped?" I asked.

    "Its something that I asked my master about too, and he said that when enough time had passed in that world the cmity will hit and cultivators will experience it, however, once they die they''ll be sent back here with fear in their eyes from something enormous that had happened and they couldn''t even manage it. Some cultivators seem to die on the first day of the cmity, and some seem to manage and hide long enough or fight long enough to survive for a year even. However, it seems that no one is capable of surviving it since even the sect master himself was sent back," she said.

    Interesting, so it seems that you can experience the cmity in that world but your memories will be wiped once you die. The cultivators of the Advent Tower''s purpose is to survive long enough to see the end and perhapse back with full memories of what happened to exin the disappearance of the Ancient Sect.

    "I don''t know why is the Heavenly Academy so obsessed with this cmity didn''t this happen in the past, why bother?" I asked.

    "Well, many seem to think that the Heavenly Academy would like to know answers about this mystery but I heard from my master something else, apparently it was prophesized that the cmity will hit once again, and this is making everyone lose their marbles, especially since we''re in the Ancient Sect''s territory right now. This wholend you''re seeing was unimed after the disappearance of the Ancient Sect, and now the Heavenly Academy is upying it, wouldn''t you be worried if someone told you that you have an explosive talisman hidden somewhere within your house?" she said.

    ''I could understand where she ising from, this actually would be worrying. It seems that I''ll need to check out what actually happened in the Ancient Sect for real. But for now, I''ll need to figure out that shit with Master Rain''s inscription.''

    After finishing my tea, "I''ll head out now," I said.

    "Wait, it''s already night where will you be going?" Liang Yu asked.

    "Euh¡­" I was about to say the Advent Tower but I actually used all my top-grade spirit stones to enter once now I can''t go back there again¡­ shit.

    "See, just stay the night here, don''t worry I won''t bite," she said smirking.

    "Ah¡­well, I''ll take you up on your offer,"

 Chapter 320: Tea Time

    `\n

    We chatted for almost all of the night asking about various things, Liang Yu even asked about my deceased wife and children.

    Though she didn''t seem to be too pleased about how I treated my sons.

    "You think I was too harsh on them?" I asked.

    "No, in fact, if I were you I would have probably killed them, you''re too nice for your own good. It''ll get you in trouble Shen Bao," she said.

    "I don''t really think its easy to do what you''re saying, one''s own children are not something that you can easily kill, you would probably know more once you have your own children," I said.

    "I would probably remain with the same opinion if that happens to me, I would not forgive anyone who would harm my own kin, however, if my own kin wishes or attempts to kill me, then I''ll kill them with my own hands, after all I still have the tool to make more," she said.

    Though a rather grim opinion, in her own head it made sense. A pragmatic person. For a cultivator who can live thousands if not more worth of years, a single child isn''t much, if they''re a good kid then they nurture them, if they''re a bad kid they ignore them, and if they''re scumbags like mine they just off them.

    The more a cultivator spends living the less he cares about mortal matters such as children. In a world where everyone is chasing the peak of cultivation, having children that could threaten your own pursuit is nothing but roadblocks, and cultivators love breaking through them.

    "Don''t think of me as a cruel person, but it is the Dao of heavens, and they crossed it first, filial piety is sacred, and if a child dares harm the one who brought him to this world, then he is despised by heavens till the end of time." Liang Yu said as she drank from her cup.

    "Dao¡­ what is Dao?" I asked

    Liang Yu silently ced back the cup in her hand and looked at me in the eyes and said, "Are you asking this seriously?"

    "Of course, why would I joke about it," I said.

    "Well¡­" she said as her eyes trailed through the room.

    "Dao, or the Path, is nothing tangible, but it is everything that must be obtained. It is knowledge, it is faith, it is belief, it is the idea of progress. Dao is the act of searching for Dao itself. Dao isn''t something definitive, Dao can be everything one wishes for, and can also be nothing¡­ Dao is you, Dao is me, Dao is everyone, and at the same time Dao is no one¡­"

    "You lost me at path¡­" I said.

    Liang Yu looked frustrated as she said, "Well, those are the words of my master, I thought I might y a prank on you and see how you''ll react, to be honest I have not a damn clue what Dao is, and when I asked my master about it those were the words that he left with me. Though I call bullshit," she said.

    ''Oh, she''s cursing, I guess we''re bonding very well.''

    "I also find it strange, a brother of mine had mentioned that Dao is seeking the truth of the world. Though I find the world having plenty of secrets, what is the truth we''re trying to seek in our venture of understanding Dao?" I asked.

    "I suppose the source of Immortality?" she said.

    "It would be a far too meager and lowly objective if the end goal of all those who cultivate was to be immortal. Immortality isn''t something that is enjoyable," I said.

    "You speak as if you lived for eons," she said.

    "One doesn''t need to live forever to understand how lonely it could be, think about it. If you were to be immortal, your friends, family, lovers, sons and daughters, you''ll see them all, slowly grow and age, then die, while you are forever stuck in time never to progress forward. The meaning of friendship will be vain, for having a friend will be pointless, that friend will live his whole life with you, but you''ll outlived them, and then once again be lonely, then you''ll find new acquaintances, new friends and the same will happen again. You will be living in a different spectrum of time where for you time never goes by, and hundreds and even thousands of years will beparable to a fleeting moment. In your endless lifespan. Immortality is far crueler than the most gruesome of tortures, because it never ends. Not to mention, if you are immortal, you may witness the dawn of the universe, its end and then you''ll be left all alone, in a world of darkness where there is no living soul but you¡­can you handle that?"

    Liang Yu couldn''t answer and remained silent.

    "Immortality is overrated, death is a mercy that too many people fear. There cannot be life without Death, and that is one of the world''s truths. Though I''m sure that this isn''t something that cultivators seek, the truth they''re seeking is different, and perhaps, it is a truth only to them," I said.

    Suddenly someone spoke

    "That''s debatable."

    "BLOODY FUCKING HELL!" I jumped from my spot.

    I looked around and didn''t seem to find anyone around.

    "What''s wrong?" asked Liang Yu.

    "You didn''t hear that?" I asked her.

    She looked around then looked at me, "I''m sure we''re along, but did you hear something?"

    "Yes, someone is spying on us," I said.

    "I''m not spying, don''t bad mouth me like that you damn brat," I heard, this time loud and clear and right next to me.

    It took all I had no to jump from my ce and even more not to punch whoever just caused my heart to drop from fright.

    Turning, it was an old man in blue robes.

    "Ah¡­shit, Master Rain," I said.

    "Don''t couple my name with shit, you damn imbecile," he said.

    "Oh, sorry about that," I said.

    "You''re talking about Dao as if you know about it, and you''re talking about truth as if you had seen it, with the way you speak even your seniors could be swayed to the words you uttered, but there are many things you don''t understand. I''ll tell you what, tomorrow I''ll be holding a Dao sermon, be there," Master Rain said.

    That was an order, not a request¡­

    "Also, you don''t have much time left, and you seem to be enjoying yourself here¡­ you," spoke Master Rain to the girl, "Don''t let him put his hands on you, you''ll die, this man is pure poison," Master Rain said smirking.

    Way to cockblock someone, fucking geezer.

    "I know that, and that''s not really your business, Blue Hood," she said.

    Master Rain raised a frown, "Ah, you''re Old Gin''s grad daughter¡­no wonder you''re so confident. Also don''t call me that, you haven''t earned the right to call me by that title, kid, you got any progress done on that work or are you too busy unting your meager Dao knowledge to sound smart and getid¡­"

    I didn''t answer him because he managed to somehow interrupt himself while speaking, "Though I doubt you''ll have any progress done, it takes the greatest inscribers many years to decipher a single letter. It would be a miracle if you managed to understand one," Master Rain said.

    "Funny thing to say¡­" I said.

    "What do you mean?" he asked.

    "I actually have only three letters left to decipher, I already managed to fully decipher the rest of the parchment," I said.

    ¡­

    "Are you speaking the truth?" he asked, "But maybe you''ve made a mistake, it''s not easy to decipher those letters, maybe you took what you understood to heart without verifying and thought it was true, I would still want to see it anyway," he said. "I might gleam something from your mistakes and¡­"

    I didn''t want him to keep yapping so I showed him the results of my work.

    Master Ran had a grouchy look on his face, like a teacher about to grade the worst student in ss and already knows that the mere fact of looking at that paper will be a waste of time.

    Master Rain''s nonchnt look at the paper I handed to him soon began to change. Then soon his high risen brows began to knit together, and the more he read the closer his brows got to each other and the more he closed up on the paper.

    "What in god''s name is this?" Master Rain spoke.

    "What are these symbols?" he said as he pointed at the numerical values I had written.

    "Oh¡­ yeah, those¡­ those are numbers, that''s math," I said.

    "The why don''t you use normal numbers?" he said.

    "For me those are normal, anyway that''s irrelevant, I''m sure you''ll understand what they mean if you keep reading¡­" I said.

    Soon and surprisingly very fast¡­ master rain began saying, "Oh, so this symbol is One, and this is two¡­ this is three¡­ interesting, this is an interesting way of using numbers. Anyway, this still doesn''t make sense, why did you give these letters these numerical values?" he asked.

    "That''s something I came up with, it''s basically to give every one of the Imperial Symbols a value so that when I cross examine them I know which symbol did which reaction based on the result of the numbers in question. So for example if this symbol numbered as 2 made a reaction with this symbol numbered as 8. I could then write down 16, then try all otherbinations with the end result of 16 and see if they actually have the same result. For example, I tried to cause a reaction with the symbol numbered four, against itself, and the end result was the same reaction as the first operation. This helped me understand that these Imperial Letters are actually not your regr inscriptions but are more like a mathematical equation. I was very confused at first since I ended up with a lot of different results but after re-numbering many of the symbols, I managed to find the appropriate Number-to-symbol and ended up with this result¡­ however I''m still stuck on thesest three¡­" I spoke.

    "Wait so you''re telling me¡­ that after all that time I- I mean, the inscribers spent looking at this and trying to figure it out¡­ this was nothing but a numerical Inscription?"

    "Basically, yes¡­ but those three symbols are a pain," I said as I pointed at the three symbols, I didn''t seem to find the appropriate number for.

    "They seem to be the reason why the parchment isn''t working, perhaps a typo? Or maybe they represent something other than numbers, perhaps there is even another slew of Imperial Symbols that haven''t been discovered and this is part of them, I can''t solve this since I don''t have the original alphabet," I said.

    "Interesting, very interesting¡­ right, I suppose you live to see another day, anyway,e tomorrow, you''ll know when and where, and bring her with you. I''ll have to see this with my attendant for now¡­ interesting," Master Rain kept muttering interesting as he was looking at the paper, I handed him and began walking in circles inside the room.

    It was a bit awkward because he seems to have forgotten himself in the house of a man and a woman who were having some time off¡­

    God damn geezer can you leave?!\n`

 Chapter 321 Sermon

    Chapter 321 Sermon

    It took several hours before the old man finally realized that he never left the room, or probably he did that on purpose. You can never know.

    His leaving gave me a few more moments with Liang Yu but she soon decided it would be best if she were to meditate until morning since Master Rain had said he''ll be holding a Dao discussion sermon, and she wanted to be a part of it.

    I had to take the hint and chill, meditating till morning in one of the rooms while she went down the cave to stay alone.

    I honestly started considering cursing the fact that I was unable to¡­ well, more like that I was poisonous to the touch, but I couldn''t help it for now. So I had to calm my little brother down and wait for morning.

    A good session of meditation is better than any sleep, and once I was finished I opened my eyes to morning light. I headed out first before Liang Yu just out of respect to her privacy and so that no nosey idiot would talk about a female cultivator having another male cultivator in the same room.

    It''ll only be judgement where no crime had beenmitted. So, it wasn''t worth the gossip.

    As I came out, I was surprised to see dozens of cultivators rushing up ahead as if a fire was lit up their assess, holding their scrolls and their documents in hand and rushing forward like some college students who werete to their finals.

    "Hurry up! Or we''ll not get a seat at the sermon!" one of the cultivators spoke to another.

    ''I guess news of his sermon had already spread, might as well go and see what''s the deal with all of this.''

    I slowly followed the rushing crowd and it seemed that many were stilling.

    "Oh look who it is, the aggressive neer," someone spoke.

    Turning, I saw the douche trio, and one of them still had his arm in a cast. Bruh shouldn''t you eat a pill to heal that?

    I didn''t even bother looking at them as I moved up ahead.

    "Let''s go, he isn''t worth our breath, he is arrogantly walking slow as if he is some big shot, when he''s there he''ll be so far back in the sermon avenue he''ll not be able to hear a word from Master Rain, not like the likes of him should even look in the direction of the great Master Rain, humph!" the older ugliest one of the three-spoke.

    ''My God, these cultivators, I swear, it''s like they''re asking for getting their faces pped.''

    "With his walking speed, and the fact that the Heavenly Academy forbids flight and teleportation within it, he''ll never arrive there," one of hisckeys said.

    There was no need to pay attention to what a frog at the bottom of a well had to say about the reality we live in, so might as well ignore him.

    But thinking about what that guy said I guess I was lucky when I flew down from the upper ind and didn''t get in trouble, even after that man in ck robes hade to check up on the one who blew up Master Rain''s tower.

    But it seems that they don''t really want to deal with anything rted to Master Rain and I was off the hook.

    I continued walking while everyone seemed to be in a huge rush to run up ahead. It was good for me since I didn''t know where this Sermon Avenue was, so might as well follow the crowd.

    After half an hour''s walk, I arrived at an extensively vast open area that held a small stage and was surrounded by cultivators as if they were pilgrimsing to visit a holy ce ofmunion.

    Cultivators were sitting around the stage like a massive donut of different colors.

    The cultivators were organized by color. And this sounds very, very wrong to say. But they were organized by the colors of their robes. The white robes were seated on the edge of the avenue, and they were the majority of the students. They probably made about seventy percent of the Heavenly Academy poption.

    They were the yellow robes who sat slightly closer, then came the blue, red and purple.

    Finally, there was a very thin line of ck-robed cultivators close to the main stage surrounding it like a circle.

    I stayed at the back of the circle far away from everyone else. And looking around my eyes crossed to the person who just talked shit earlier, he seemed to have a haughty look on his face as he snorted then turned his head paying me no attention.

    Apparently, since he was a few rows closer to the yellow robes he felt superior.

    That''s just fucked up thinking.

    I ignored the crowd and began my meditation to pass the time. I''m pretty sure that Master Rain''s sermon will take a while before it starts, especially since he seemed to be too engrossed in what I gave him yesterday. So might as well catch up on more rest.

    Some time passed before I got a sound transmission, "Shen Bao, you saved a spot for me, right?" spoke Liang Yu.

    "Well, I wouldn''t call it saving a spot since we''re at the edge of the sermon, but yeah,e sit next to me," I said back.

    Soon, Liang Yu arrived in her white robe and sat right next to me.

    I was surprised that she was already wearing a white Robe before the neers had arrived since we''re still a few days before the official start of our year in the Heavenly Academy. It seems that she pulled some strings to get her white robe.

    "Not the best ce to hear the sermon, but definitely a good ce never the less," she said as she cozily sat next to me.

    Several cultivators had noticed her arrival and were fuming with jealousy at how close she was to me.

    "Woman, you gonna be the end of me," I said jokingly.

    "Gotta make you pay for ditching me and going by yourself," she replied jokingly.

    It made my heart flutter, but made many of the onlookers even more pissed.

    ''Seriously, I''m starting to think I''m in some rom novel.''

    Later on, silence permeated the whole avenue, and looking up ahead Master Rain seemed to have arrived.

    And was standing on the stage.

    He was however standing on the opposite side of us so his back was against us which will make it even harder for us to hear him.

    Suddenly, Master Rain began turning his head all over the ce, then a shocking visible wave spread out from his body and wasing our way fast.

    Everyone who was touched by that wave seemed like they were doused in cold icy waters as everyone inhaled hard and deep from the pressure of the iing wave.

    Then soon it washed over us, prickling my skin as if it was a sudden drizzle that came out of nowhere.

    Master Rain then turned his head towards us and said, "Shen Bao, what are you doing all the way there, I had this whole shtick set up just for you, get your ass over here," he spoke.

    The words were aimed at me, and so was his gaze, and the aftermath of Master Rain calling me out like that was something I didn''t expect.

    Hundreds of thousands of collective divine senses shot towards me from all over the avenue, from people in ck robes, purple robes, blue and yellow, and even many of the white robes. They all seemed to want to know the person who Master Rain called by name and made this whole event just for.

    What I forgot was to disable my Sky Pearl.

    The inscriptions on the Sky pearl immediately lit up sending back the most gruesome tortures and agonizing deaths back to every cultivator who didn''t seem to be above the Soul Transformation Realm. Shacking them to the core as mass hysteria began permeating the whole avenue.

    Every foolish cultivator who tired to forcefully spy on me with their divine sense got the nastiest of nightmares sent directly back to their minds.

    However, it didn''t take much time before one of the cultivators in ck snickered and spoke "Calm The Heart, Refresh The Soul, Domain of Piety!"

    Immediately a wave of golden aura shot up from the person in ck and soon the wailing cultivators seemed to calm down, however sweat still trickled down their spines as they realized what just happened.

    I on the other hand was feeling pretty annoyed. The sky pearl is a recement to my eye, and right now since it countered thousands of divine senses it almost burnt its way into my brain. It was damn painful, but still, it served a good purpose, unless you''re strong enough you don''t have the right to use divine sense on me.

    It was also satisfying to see the mortified look on the three dick heads from before. serves your right, dumb frogs.

    "Stop ying around and get over here, and bring thatss with you, you two seem to be together everywhere might as well sit here close," Master Rain said.

    Just as I was about teleport I remembered that it was actually forbidden to fly or to teleport, not to mention the fact that I''ll need to bring Liang Yu with me.

    Though no one will say anything since it''s Master Rain asking, I had the feeling that if I were to Teleport I''ll either put myself or Master Rain in¡­ well, trouble for me, pain in the ass for him, because clearly he wouldn''t give a flying fuck.

    However, the cultivators were so tightly packed that moving between them was bound to get one of them screaming bloody murder for stepping on his robes or some bullshit like that.

    Seeing the attendant next to Master Rain smiling made me understand that this was once again a test.

    Many cultivators seemed to realize the predicament I was in, and some began snickering thinking that I was going to make a fool out of myself.

    Ah. I think I got it.

    I stood up and said to Liang Yu, "Come with me."

    She didn''t seem to understand how we were going to walk all the way to the stage but didn''t hesitate to stand next to me.

    I grabbed her by the waist and then took a step forward.

    It was only a step but I was already right in front of Master Rain at the foot of the stage.

    I could honestly feel Liang Yu''s surprise but she did her best to keep herself from showing it.

    It was almostical when I saw the reaction of even the ck Robes as their brows were raised and some even had their eyes bulge for a moment before they regained their nonchnt dignity as if it was normal.

    As a matter of fact, this was one of the farthest Ancient Steps I had ever taken and I probably used close to eighty percent of my Qi to make such a massive step, but with a bit of acting, I managed to make it so that it was normal.

    "What, are you gonna be standing, sit down and listen, I took a lot of trouble setting this up, so don''t you dare yawn or not pay attention," Master Rain said.

    And the two of us sat down.

    "Anyway, today I gathered all of you here to talk about the Dao¡­ so, what is Dao?"

    ??ng b¨¬nh lu?n ??u ti¨ºn c?a b?n!

    Immediately a wave of golden aura shot up from the person in ck and soon the wailing cultivators seemed to calm down, however sweat still trickled down their spines as they realized what just cozily sat next to me.

    Several cultivators had noticed her arrival and were fuming with jealousy at how close she was to since I didn''t know where this Sermon Avenue was, so might as well follow the crowd.

    After half an hour''s walk, I arrived at an extensively vast open area that held a small stage and was

 Chapter 322: Sermon

    <h4>Chapter 322: Sermon</h4>

    It took several hours before the old man finally realized that he never left the room, or probably he did that on purpose. You can never know.

    His leaving gave me a few more moments with Liang Yu but she soon decided it would be best if she were to meditate until morning since Master Rain had said he''ll be holding a Dao discussion sermon, and she wanted to be a part of it.

    I had to take the hint and chill, meditating till morning in one of the rooms while she went down the cave to stay alone.

    I honestly started considering cursing the fact that I was unable to¡­ well, more like that I was poisonous to the touch, but I couldn''t help it for now. So I had to calm my little brother down and wait for morning.

    A good session of meditation is better than any sleep, and once I was finished I opened my eyes to morning light. I headed out first before Liang Yu just out of respect to her privacy and so that no nosey idiot would talk about a female cultivator having another male cultivator in the same room.

    It''ll only be judgement where no crime had beenmitted. So, it wasn''t worth the gossip.

    As I came out, I was surprised to see dozens of cultivators rushing up ahead as if a fire was lit up their assess, holding their scrolls and their documents in hand and rushing forward like some college students who werete to their finals.

    "Hurry up! Or we''ll not get a seat at the sermon!" one of the cultivators spoke to another.

    ''I guess news of his sermon had already spread, might as well go and see what''s the deal with all of this.''

    I slowly followed the rushing crowd and it seemed that many were stilling.

    "Oh look who it is, the aggressive neer," someone spoke.

    Turning, I saw the douche trio, and one of them still had his arm in a cast. Bruh shouldn''t you eat a pill to heal that?

    I didn''t even bother looking at them as I moved up ahead.

    "Let''s go, he isn''t worth our breath, he is arrogantly walking slow as if he is some big shot, when he''s there he''ll be so far back in the sermon avenue he''ll not be able to hear a word from Master Rain, not like the likes of him should even look in the direction of the great Master Rain, humph!" the older ugliest one of the three-spoke.

    ''My God, these cultivators, I swear, it''s like they''re asking for getting their faces pped.''

    "With his walking speed, and the fact that the Heavenly Academy forbids flight and teleportation within it, he''ll never arrive there," one of hisckeys said.

    There was no need to pay attention to what a frog at the bottom of a well had to say about the reality we live in, so might as well ignore him.

    But thinking about what that guy said I guess I was lucky when I flew down from the upper ind and didn''t get in trouble, even after that man in ck robes hade to check up on the one who blew up Master Rain''s tower.

    But it seems that they don''t really want to deal with anything rted to Master Rain and I was off the hook.

    I continued walking while everyone seemed to be in a huge rush to run up ahead. It was good for me since I didn''t know where this Sermon Avenue was, so might as well follow the crowd.

    After half an hour''s walk, I arrived at an extensively vast open area that held a small stage and was surrounded by cultivators as if they were pilgrimsing to visit a holy ce ofmunion.

    Cultivators were sitting around the stage like a massive donut of different colors.

    The cultivators were organized by color. And this sounds very, very wrong to say. But they were organized by the colors of their robes. The white robes were seated on the edge of the avenue, and they were the majority of the students. They probably made about seventy percent of the Heavenly Academy poption.

    They were the yellow robes who sat slightly closer, then came the blue, red and purple.

    Finally, there was a very thin line of ck-robed cultivators close to the main stage surrounding it like a circle.

    I stayed at the back of the circle far away from everyone else. And looking around my eyes crossed to the person who just talked shit earlier, he seemed to have a haughty look on his face as he snorted then turned his head paying me no attention.

    Apparently, since he was a few rows closer to the yellow robes he felt superior.

    That''s just fucked up thinking.

    I ignored the crowd and began my meditation to pass the time. I''m pretty sure that Master Rain''s sermon will take a while before it starts, especially since he seemed to be too engrossed in what I gave him yesterday. So might as well catch up on more rest.

    Some time passed before I got a sound transmission, "Shen Bao, you saved a spot for me, right?" spoke Liang Yu.

    "Well, I wouldn''t call it saving a spot since we''re at the edge of the sermon, but yeah,e sit next to me," I said back.

    Soon, Liang Yu arrived in her white robe and sat right next to me.

    I was surprised that she was already wearing a white Robe before the neers had arrived since we''re still a few days before the official start of our year in the Heavenly Academy. It seems that she pulled some strings to get her white robe.

    "Not the best ce to hear the sermon, but definitely a good ce never the less," she said as she cozily sat next to me.

    Several cultivators had noticed her arrival and were fuming with jealousy at how close she was to me.

    "Woman, you gonna be the end of me," I said jokingly.

    "Gotta make you pay for ditching me and going by yourself," she replied jokingly.

    It made my heart flutter, but made many of the onlookers even more pissed.

    ''Seriously, I''m starting to think I''m in some rom novel.''

    Later on, silence permeated the whole avenue, and looking up ahead Master Rain seemed to have arrived.

    And was standing on the stage.

    He was however standing on the opposite side of us so his back was against us which will make it even harder for us to hear him.

    Suddenly, Master Rain began turning his head all over the ce, then a shocking visible wave spread out from his body and wasing our way fast.

    Everyone who was touched by that wave seemed like they were doused in cold icy waters as everyone inhaled hard and deep from the pressure of the iing wave.

    Then soon it washed over us, prickling my skin as if it was a sudden drizzle that came out of nowhere.

    Master Rain then turned his head towards us and said, "Shen Bao, what are you doing all the way there, I had this whole shtick set up just for you, get your ass over here," he spoke.

    The words were aimed at me, and so was his gaze, and the aftermath of Master Rain calling me out like that was something I didn''t expect.

    Hundreds of thousands of collective divine senses shot towards me from all over the avenue, from people in ck robes, purple robes, blue and yellow, and even many of the white robes. They all seemed to want to know the person who Master Rain called by name and made this whole event just for.

    What I forgot was to disable my Sky Pearl.

    The inscriptions on the Sky pearl immediately lit up sending back the most gruesome tortures and agonizing deaths back to every cultivator who didn''t seem to be above the Soul Transformation Realm. Shacking them to the core as mass hysteria began permeating the whole avenue.

    Every foolish cultivator who tired to forcefully spy on me with their divine sense got the nastiest of nightmares sent directly back to their minds.

    However, it didn''t take much time before one of the cultivators in ck snickered and spoke "Calm The Heart, Refresh The Soul, Domain of Piety!"

    Immediately a wave of golden aura shot up from the person in ck and soon the wailing cultivators seemed to calm down, however sweat still trickled down their spines as they realized what just happened.

    I on the other hand was feeling pretty annoyed. The sky pearl is a recement to my eye, and right now since it countered thousands of divine senses it almost burnt its way into my brain. It was damn painful, but still, it served a good purpose, unless you''re strong enough you don''t have the right to use divine sense on me.

    It was also satisfying to see the mortified look on the three dick heads from before. serves your right, dumb frogs.

    "Stop ying around and get over here, and bring thatss with you, you two seem to be together everywhere might as well sit here close," Master Rain said.

    Just as I was about teleport I remembered that it was actually forbidden to fly or to teleport, not to mention the fact that I''ll need to bring Liang Yu with me.

    Though no one will say anything since it''s Master Rain asking, I had the feeling that if I were to Teleport I''ll either put myself or Master Rain in¡­ well, trouble for me, pain in the ass for him, because clearly he wouldn''t give a flying fuck.

    However, the cultivators were so tightly packed that moving between them was bound to get one of them screaming bloody murder for stepping on his robes or some bullshit like that.

    Seeing the attendant next to Master Rain smiling made me understand that this was once again a test.

    Many cultivators seemed to realize the predicament I was in, and some began snickering thinking that I was going to make a fool out of myself.

    Ah. I think I got it.

    I stood up and said to Liang Yu, "Come with me."

    She didn''t seem to understand how we were going to walk all the way to the stage but didn''t hesitate to stand next to me.

    I grabbed her by the waist and then took a step forward.

    It was only a step but I was already right in front of Master Rain at the foot of the stage.

    I could honestly feel Liang Yu''s surprise but she did her best to keep herself from showing it.

    It was almostical when I saw the reaction of even the ck Robes as their brows were raised and some even had their eyes bulge for a moment before they regained their nonchnt dignity as if it was normal.

    As a matter of fact, this was one of the farthest Ancient Steps I had ever taken and I probably used close to eighty percent of my Qi to make such a massive step, but with a bit of acting, I managed to make it so that it was normal.

    "What, are you gonna be standing, sit down and listen, I took a lot of trouble setting this up, so don''t you dare yawn or not pay attention," Master Rain said.

    And the two of us sat down.

    "Anyway, today I gathered all of you here to talk about the Dao¡­ so, what is Dao?"

 Chapter 323: Greed

    <h4>Chapter 323: Greed</h4>

    "To most of us, Dao is what we cultivate, it is what defines us as we try to define in, but in the end, rare are those who had been able to glean an understanding of such abstract notion as Dao. To be able to obtain something one must understand, for having something without understanding it is the same as not having it. Many of us sitting here, even if they hadn''t realized it yet had already arrived and achieved their own Dao and they have yet to know of it.

    We seek knowledge of the heavens to reflect it upon ourselves. We seek perfection while we''re imperfect, it is this very search and this very pursuit that will one day open our eyes to the real truth behind Dao." Master Rain gave his introduction rather calmly before he took another breath and waited for the cultivators around him to grasp the meaning of his words.

    For me, however, all I heard was utter bullshit, he didn''t say a single meaningful thing and everyone around us is acting as if they heard the words of heaven themselves.

    I was so obviously unconvinced by what Master Rain had said that I was the only one that wasn''t nodding their heads up and down like a chicken pecking for crumbs.

    "You seem to be unable to understand what I''ve just said, Shen Bao, if you have a question ask before I move on," Master Rain said.

    "Right, so you said that Dao is what defines us, as we''re trying to define it, doesn''t that mean that anyone can choose their own Dao and seek it? What is Dao if it''s not a goal or objective, many would tend to seek immortality as their own Dao but is Immortality the true purpose of Immortals? We''re called Immortals since we live forever, but that is achievable without needing to be at the peak of Cultivation. Seeking Dao? Does that mean to seek the truth? The truth of the world, and if so, if seeking Dao is seeking the world''s truth, then to what end? Why should we as cultivators seek the truth of this world if there is any?" I asked.

    Master Rain didn''t interrupt me even once, and apparently, from the snickers of the cultivators around me, I asked some idiotic questions.

    "Why do you cultivate, Shen Bao?" Master Rain said.

    "Why? Well, simply because I can," I said.

    My reply caused a pretty interesting chain of reactions from all cultivators around me.

    "What? Is that wrong? You all probably cultivate to grow stronger, to overtake your peers, to rule over dominions andnds, and perhaps to even wrest away the control of heavens upon your mortal bodies, you all have your own goals, goals that you defined as ''Holy'' and sacred, goals that you yourselves had made, they shouldn''t reflect upon me if you''re seeking your own Dao through your own convictions and goals, why should I be like you?" I said back to all the snickering people.

    My reply was simple, I wasn''t like you, I didn''t seek your own goals, so don''t judge me based on your own goals.

    "Then your Dao is simple," spoke someone next to me.

    He was wearing ck robes and seemed to have a long beard, when he spoke everyone seemed to be paying attention, even Master Rain.

    "You seek selfishness and Greed, it isn''t such a bad thing as the name implies, you seek your own vanity and self-satisfaction. You''re greedy, and you''ll probably fail your Mortality Severing, Master Rain, is this the disciple you gathered us all for? He is rather weak-willed," spoke the old man.

    Master Rain didn''t reply and looked at me waiting for an answer.

    "I''ve talked and discussed this fact to someone about this, and you''re wrong," I said.

    The fact that I told the elder he was wrong was probably enough to have my head fly off, but thanks to Master Rain''s grunt, the people who rose up had to get down.

    "Then care to exin, junior, exin to this old man how he is wrong, and you better be convincing. For who can you talk to and who can you discuss with that will have greater knowledge of the Mortality Severing than this council?"

    "He is a schr," I said.

    Master Rain isn''t stupid and he immediately realized who I was talking about, after all, who is the ''Schr'' that I would know and is able to discuss Dao of this level, no one but Zhang Tian, of course, the Son of the Wind King and one of the strongest people in the Vast Expanse.

    "A schr, hah, so you really are a foolish person, mortal schrs aren''t capable of giving facts over Dao matters, you may glean some understanding of Dao but you will not be able to fully understand the Mortality Severing without experiencing it," the old man in ck spoke.

    I looked around and said, "Of the people here, how many have gone through their Mortality Severing?" I asked as I looked at the massive group of cultivators around us.

    "Perhaps everyone with a blue robe and a good portion of the yellow, but definitely none of the white," I said.

    "Then," I turned to master rain and said, "Is it possible to cut off the sound from the yellow robes and below, what I''m about to say may bring down their whole belief in cultivation to shatter," I said.

    "Who do you think you are to speak words as heavy as those? Do you honestly believe that cultivators have no right to hear your words, or do you think that the measly words of some mortal schr are enough to shack the belief of cultivators who peruse the Dao their whole lives?!" the old man in ck said.

    "Shen Bao," Master Rain said, "Were those his words?" he said.

    And only I knew who master rain was talking about, "The words I spoke to him were mine, and his reply was that whatever I told him was enough to make everyone''s ability to cross the divider of Mortal Severing an impossible feat, so it is only for the ears to those who have already crossed safely," I said.

    "So you''re telling me, that the words you''re so confident in speaking are not even those of a schr but yours? How much value and weight do you think I''ll give to the words of someone who is yet to severe his mortality? Master Rain, this has been a disappointing waste of time!" the old man said.

    Master Rain didn''t even bother with replying to the old man as he raised his arm and the world seemed to turn blue. A massive curtain of divine sense spread around the whole of the avenue and carefully selected people from all over the avenue.

    Many of the yellow robes were excluded and surprisingly a few white robes were included.

    It seems that some of them already made it through the Mortality Severing.

    "Speak," Master Rain said.

    "Liang Yu, could you cover your ears, this might harm your cultivation," I said.

    She didn''t argue and I could feel her using her Qi to cover her ears.

    I then collected my thoughts and spoke.

    "Man''s nature is greed, it is undeniable. It is a fact ingrained in us, we are people who are born due to greed, live in greed, and will die to greed. We are born from the greed of a man wanting to obtain kin, or perhaps from the greed of a man and a woman to have intercourse and satisfy their own desires. We live in greed, seeking fortune and welfare, to gain wealth and to rule, either in a household, a town, or even an empire, we live to satisfy our basic desire to obtain more of what we have or more of what we don''t have. We''re creatures that adore hoarding goods. We die to greed as we die wanting to live more, wanting to see more wanting to experience more, we die unable to take our eyes away from life." I said.

    "It is only natural, thus we severe our mortality, Greed is nothing but a mortal wish," the old man said.

    I turned to him and looked him in the eyes, "You speak as if you''re void of greed," I said.

    "All those who have escaped the mortal life are void of greed, we proved it by severing our link to the mortal world."

    "That''s pretty contradicting don''t you think," I said.

    "How so?"

    "What would you give to obtain the seat of one of the four kings?" I said.

    "I have no will or wish to obtain such a thing," the old man said.

    "Perhaps you don''t, but the people next to you might not have the same idea, your greed may not be the same as others, but it is there, you do not wish to be a king and rule over the vast expanse, but don''t you wish to live forever?" I asked

    "Immortality is overrated," the old man said.

    "I can agree to that, then tell me, how old are you?" I asked.

    The old man frowned and said, "Ten thousand and three hundred years old," he said.

    "Then why are you still alive? Why don''t you just die?" I asked.

    "You damn bastard!" the old man said as he stood up, "Are you cursing me?!"

 Chapter 324: Mortality Severing

    <h4>Chapter 324: Mortality Severing</h4>

    "You damn bastard!" the old man said as he stood up, "Are you cursing me?!"

    "No, don''t take it the wrong way, what I meant is, what is the reason for you to live so many lives, you basically lived more than a hundred mortal lifetimes, do you have any reason to live so long if you don''t wish to obtain at least the seat of one of the kings?" I asked.

    "No. I lived this long seeking the truths of the heavens!" the old man said.

    Eliciting a few nods from the people around him.

    "Then I''ll say the same thing I said to that schr. Why haven''t you fallen yet?" I asked.

    My question seemed to be ambiguous but if they thought about it for a moment they''ll figure it out.

    Suddenly someone muttered.

    "My god¡­"

    "What in the¡­"

    And more seemed to being to the same realization.

    Just to make everything clear again, I spoke the same words I told Zhang Tian that day.

    "What is mortality severing?" I asked but I didn''t wait for a reply I spoke the reply myself.

    "It is to severe your mortality, your greed from the mortal world to ascend to a better ne of existence, to be a person that can search for the truth."

    You all seek to severe your mortality to cut away the greed of the mortal lives, while in fact you still bring it with you to the upper ne of existence, you all seem to think that your greed for mortal possession such as gold, spouses'' children is all you need to severe, while in fact many of you made families, hoard Spirit Stones, and have descendants and dynasties of your own. You all seem to think that mortal greed and Immortal greed are different, perhaps you inherently believe that immortal greed is far more superior or perhaps even not greed in itself. However, if you take all matters to their truest form, you only cut your ties with the mortal world to escape your mortality severing, instead of actually cutting away your greed by its entirety."

    The words I spoke would seem far tooplicated for a mortal, but for these people who lived their whole lives believing in a lie what I am speaking is against their entire existence.

    "You speak as if you had seen the de of immortality severing! Though your words make logical sense, they cannot be applied, they may sound convolutedly right, but they are still false because you cannot be given the right to Ascend without cutting away your immortality and your greed!" spoke the elder.

    "Then do you agree that I am a man of greed?" I asked.

    "Of course, you have yet to severe it, unless you swear upon the descending des of immortality severing that you''ll cut away from your ties with the mortal words, all you''re speaking is nothing but theories, all you''re speaking is nothing that can be achieved, the immortality severing de will split you in half," The old man said.

    "Then if I survive the Immortality Severing de, do you think that my words will be true?" I asked.

    "That is not possible, people with even a grain of greed to their mortal lives have died instantly upon the descent of that de what makes you different?" he said, "And also, you need to be at the cusp of Soul Transformation to be able to even call down the Immortality Severing de otherwise you''ll instantly die, so your words cannot be confirmed to be true, thus they''re false, you can argue all you want but unless you prove it with action, your whole theory is nothing but the ravings of an old crazed man," the old man said.

    "Funny thing you''re saying, then," I said as I looked up at the skies, opened my arms in a T-pose, and weed the heavens as I spoke.

    "Mortal de of Heavens,e forth and severe my mortal ties."

    The old man''s eyes widened up as if he just saw the dumbest shit in the universe.

    "YOU BLASTED BASTARD?!"

    "You really are crazy," Master Rain''s eyes looked up at the skies.

    The world in its entirety seemed to be split in half, the skies split apart as the dark atmosphere of deep space seemed to be manifesting within the clear blue skies.

    A curved object seemed to be manifesting from the high heavens as the skies began to rumble and rattle.

    "You''re risking your life, no not even risking you''re not even at the Soul Transformation stage, you''re literally killing yourself to try and prove a dumb stupid theory, are you fucking insane?!" spoke the old man.

    The curved ethereal shape slowly came down.

    "Well, theories are unproven facts, might as well prove them now," I said grinning as the massive curved object seemed to be descending at an increasing pace.

    "Why is there an Immortality severing de here? Who is severing their mortality in such a crowded area? This is gonna kill us all!" someone spoke loudly from the yellow lines.

    Taking a look at the man I realized he was an excluded person from master rain''s sound-preventing curtain. He probably didn''t realize that Mortality Severing des won''t harm anyone but the person that summoned it.

    The white robes were panicking but after an elder reconfirmed my words through a mass divine sense everyone sat back down though they clearly looked ufortable when they were seeing a de the size of a massive inding down upon the stage.

    "Now you''ve done it, I never saw someone as stupid or as foolish as you, beckoning heaven''s wrath upon yourself in order to attempt and prove a theory full of falsehood, do you think yourself better than all the Immortals that went through the Immortality severing de? Do you think that you alone are some sort of chosen being? No, you will die here, and I''m willing to bet my life upon it, such a foolish man you are," the old elder spoke.

    "I wouldn''t risk my life upon something I don''t know anything about," I said.

    "BUT YOU DON''T KNOW ANYTHING?!"

    "Oh, I wasn''t talking about myself, I was talking about you, you''re betting your life upon my survival of this Immortality Severing de without knowing me fully, don''t you think you''re the foolish one," I grinned as the de continued descending.

    "Barks and no bite, you can speak all you want for as long as the de is descending, but once you''re dead I''ll make sure tough at your corpse, enjoy yourst few moments," the old man said then folded his arms and waited for the de to descend.

    The sword seemed rather slow as it came down.

    "Hey, you gonna speed this up a bit or no? I''m kinda in a hurry," I spoke inplete mockery to the descending de.

    My words couldn''t seem to be any less thanplete sphemy against the heavens as it made everyone around us gawk inplete stupefaction at the absurdity of what I was saying.

    Not only was I someone below the Soul Transformation Realm, but I was actively provoking the heavens to send down its mortality-culling de to cut me in half.

    If not a crazed man, then what am I?

    Even master Rain couldn''t help but cough at my words and seemed to slightly step aside from my side, perhaps he didn''t really like being seen in the same ''picture'' as someone who was being sphemous towards the Heavens, or maybe it was simply because he would honestly believe that heavens might strike me with a lightning bolt and he was too close forfort.

    The massive sword seemed to vibrate as it elerated its descent and thus it was far faster than before as it came down towards me at neck-breaking speeds.

    "The heavens wish to ask what I want to severe, is it my family? My greed for the mortal world? My greed for wishing to gain more and obtain more, my fear of death or my pursuit of worldly desires," I spoke.

    "But, I wish to severe Non! I am a man of greed, and I''ll keep my greed with me, and take it with me, why severe what I cannot be without, I am my own greed, severing it is severing myself, and thus, I wish not to be severed, I will continue on the path of cultivation, as greedily as I can, taking what I want, learning what I can, and getting what I need thanks to my own greed, I severe non, I keep all, Mortality Severing de, now that you know this, what can you severe?!" I uttered and immediately the de seemed to be roiling as it further increased its speed shooting down like a meteor about to break the entire Heavenly Academy.

    "Here your life ends," the old man spoke as the massive de was inches away from my forehead.

    "Here your whole knowledge of cultivation will shake!" I spoke back and immediately the sword went right through me not stopping in the slightest as it crashed into the ground into a massive gust of dust and harmless vapor that spread all over the avenue.

    The vapor dissipated almost as fast as it appeared revealing the stage. Safe from harm as well as me, standing in a T pose still.

    Everyone was waiting, to see how this will unfold.

    The de though massive would have been more than capable of splitting me in half without me even noticing it, this was the way this de works, if a cultivator fails to severe what he wishes to, they will be cut in half and only will realize that they died when their bodies are split after the de had descended and disappeared.

    And now, the de had descended.

    And now, the de had disappeared.

    However. I still stand.

    I looked at the crowd, then flexed my limbs, "Yep, seems like everything is perfectly fine," I grinned.

    "So," I turned to the old man with the gawking eyes and said, "You bet your life on my failure, it would be a shame if you were to go back on your word now, wouldn''t it?"

 Chapter 325: Worth Fighting For

    <h4>Chapter 325: Worth Fighting For</h4>

    The old man opened and closed his mouth unable to reply to what just happened.

    "I guess you don''t have the courage or the ability to do what you speak, so tell me, old man, you''ve seen it with your own eyes," I said as I folded my hands into my own sleeves and walked down from the stage to stand in front of him.

    "How does it feel, when you see things that you believed in your whole life crumble in front of you? How does it feel now that you know that there is another way to Sever Mortality?" I spoke.

    The old man''s gawking mouth finally closed as he began to actually ''listen'' instead of speaking.

    I took the hint not to aggravate him much since he was in the process of processing everything that his life has been through.

    "Of the many people here, how many would of you would feel regret for having to discard your mortal lives now? You gave up your worldly life for what? You gave up your mortal spouses and children, you gave up your mortal belongings, and you gave up your mortal goals and beliefs for the chance to survive the Mortality Severing de. But for what end?" I spoke.

    "You never severed your mortality when you called upon the heavenly sword," I spoke, "What you severed was a part of you, the part that was wishing to remain mortal, you cut away a piece of your own self not to go through the tribtion of Mortality Severing, but to escape death, you all were nothing more than a lizard cutting away its tail to escape death. Where in fact the answer was oh so simple and in front of you," I spoke.

    "you¡­" the old man spoke in a light tone, devoid of all anger he and hostility he harbored towards me earlier, "You know of a way to go through the mortality severing without having to relinquish one''s mortal origin?" he asked.

    "Yes, and it is the easiest way," I spoke.

    Before I could even add more words, master rain waved his hand, and the entire area around the avenue of the Heavenly Academy was freed from his sound barrier. Allowing everyone to hear my words.

    This was a clear indication from master rain to me, to tell the world of this news.

    "To confront the mortality severing de, one must not have mortal links," I said.

    "Then how is it possible to not have mortal links without severing them?" the old man asked.

    "Simply put, why severe your mortal links?" I asked.

    The question seemed ambiguous, but a very smart few managed to understand the meaning behind my words, and Master Rain was the first to speak.

    "Ah, by not serving them, but actually embracing them, you, Shen Bao did not wish to ''change'' yourself by cutting away your mortal links, but instead you chose to amass them within you. Wishing to ascend along with your own Mortality, A Mortal Immortal. Seeking the end of the cultivation path without discarding what made you who you are¡­an impressive, brave, and pretty nonconventional way to face the Mortality Severing de," Master Rain said.

    I turned to master rain and gave him a light bow, "No wonder Master Rain is one of the smartest people on the Vast Expanse," I said inting Master Rain''s pride. I mean ttery costs nothing.

    "It is as Master Rain had said, by not relinquishing my own mortality and embracing it as a part of me, I have nothing to sever thus I am not someone that needs to fear the de," I spoke.

    "I ascend with my own Mortality to Immortality, and gain the ability to im Ascension without being forced to have a fractured Dao, a Dao forced to be cracked and broken due to fear of death, thus why I cultivate, thus why I seek the end of the cultivation path, not because I wish to see the peak for what point is there to see this peak if I cannot see it with those who traveled this journey with me, for what point is it to be an immortal if you cannot share it with others? For what point is to be at the top when all the people who you knew, your family that brought you to this world, your elders that taught you, your teachers that showed you the way, your mentors that guided you, and your master that brought you up were not there to see it. It is utterly andpletely pointless to see the end of this path when you''re all alone. Thus, though Immortals don''t live long, I''ll not severe them from my heart, even if they''re dead, I''ll take them with me, in heart and in the soul, in memory and in remembrance I''ll take them with me, to the end, for there is no point to sit in a throne where you rule over nothing¡­" I spoke.

    And these words seemed to hit hard, so hard that many of the cultivators closed their eyes and were already in a meditative state, I couldn''t understand why, but it seems that Master Rain''s smile was proof that this Sermon was a great sess.

    Master Rain called me via Divine Sense and said, "Good job showing these geezers that they''re wrong." He said.

    "Yeah, but why do I have the feeling that I made a lot of enemies," I said.

    "On the contrary, these old fools might be powerful and destructive, and they know they can end you in a single flick of a finger, but they are at the same time teachers and schrs of the Heavenly Academy, Besting them in words is far more lethal than besting them in battle, and once they are defeated, they''ll acknowledge your existence, your stay in the Heavenly Academy is bound to be exemry and interesting," Master Rain smiled.

    "Right, but what''s going on, why is everyone meditating?" I asked.

    "You really don''t get it, do you?" he said.

    "Not really," I said.

    "Sometimes you can be smarter than a sly fox, and other times your dumber than a bag of rocks, your words, the implications of them, you literally shattered the belief that has been ingrained in every one of these cultivators since the day they have been born, the belief that to ascend with mortal ties is death, and now they are either thinking of how to ascend using your method, or regretting having cut ties with their mortal lives, you gave them a lot to think about so this meditation is probably going tost for a while until theye to the term of what had happened and what they should do. So sit tight, for now, this whole sermon was a great sess and a good achievement in your favor, even I didn''t expect it to go this well," He said

    I sat back down next to Liang Yu who also seemed to be thinking hard about what I just said and waited until everyone seemed to be regaining their disposition, many looked my way and sped their hands my way and this caused the others to do the same.

    The old man in ck stood up and looked my way and then sped his hands saying, "I have been proven wrong by a junior, it isn''t something that happens often and this proves that I have yet more to learn, this has broadened my own perspective, and now I can honestly have my passion to cultivate ignited again since I''m able to question beliefs that have been ingrained within us since the dawn of time. I have been stuck and unable to cultivate to the next realm due to how hard-headed and my inability to think outside of the box, yet with junior Shen Bao''s logic, I believe that now I have the ability to break through my current Realm, I cannot thank you enough!" he said.

    "Your words are thanks enough, I''ll also apologize foring at you in such a rude manner, it is unbefitting of a student to talk so haughtily at a teacher but it was needed to prove a point, I hope you ept my apology," I said as I sped my hands back to him.

    The old man waved his hands, "Words don''t hurt, it was thanks to you that I may be able to reignite my passion, Master Rain, I''ll be entering Secluded Cultivation, I wish to capitalize on the new thoughts I have just gained, would you excuse this old man?" he asked.

    "Of course, one must not let inspiration escape, go old Man Lou." Master Rain replied.

    "Oh, before I leave, Junior," the old man said toward me.

    "Yes?"

    "Who was the schr you spoke to, he seemed to be a good person to have in our academy, even as a mortal," he said.

    "Oh, he isn''t a mortal, he is actually a cultivator¡­ and a pretty strong one, I wish not to invoke his name, it''ll only cause trouble," I said.

    The old man thought for a moment then his eyes opened up wide, "Wait¡­you''re telling me, that you had a seat with that person? And not only that, you were the one who taught him this?!" he said then looked at master rain in disbelief.

    "Stranger things happened in life," Master Rain grinned.

    Of course, Old Man Lou would know which schr it was, especially since Master Rain confirmed it by speaking, After all, there was only One Immortal Schr in the Vast Expanse that is rted to Master Rain¡­ and it was the same person who Master Rain imprisoned for a thousand years.

    "My god¡­ I best go lest I''m too shocked to even remember my inspiration," Old Man Lou disappeared from the avenue.

    "Master Rain," another person in ck robes too asked politely to excuse himself to meditate then more followed suit.

    Suddenly, one man in ck robes rose up and said, "Shen Bao, I''m Yang Fei Song, I''m one of the Grand Elders of the Heavenly Academy, and I wish to install you within one of my sses, do you wish to study under me?" he asked.

    "Wait, you old snake, he should study under me, I''m proficient in Dao study, and his presence in my ss would be great for his future development!" Another man in ck robes interjected.

    "Stop squabbling didn''t the two of you already retire, Shen Baoe under my wing I''ll teach you the best cultivation techniques, and I''ll have you obtain the greatest benefits the Heavenly Academy has to offer!" another man in ck robes added and I was starting to feel suffocated.

    Even the Purple Robes jumped in, and one of them was the same person who offered me aid in the race, "I''m sorry grand elders, but aren''t you all bullying us like this, students will think lightly of us if they see you scampering over a white robe, after all, your position is too high to teach a neer," he said.

    "Aw shut up, you just want him for yourself," another man in purple said.

    "Guess I''ll have an even harder time trying to get you for myself with all thispetition," Liang Yu spoke through divine sense and I could even feel the snickering in her words.

    "God damn it¡­"

 Chapter 326: Back To The Tower

    <h4>Chapter 326: Back To The Tower</h4>

    Themotion didn''t seem to be winding down as many other Elders began presenting themselves and the subjects they were teaching. This is getting pretty out of hand.

    "Emm, do I really have to choose right now?" I asked.

    "Yes!" was the unanimous reply of all the elders.

    "I''d rather not," I answered back. This caused a lot of elders to be dissatisfied but my next words helped clear the atmosphere.

    "It''s not that I think that your teachings are subpar nor do I believe I''m far beyond what you could teach me, I''m not that arrogant, but epting a teacher means refusing another, and I do not wish to have teachers being dissatisfied with me since I didn''t choose them. So how about this," I asked as I gave a preposition.

    "I wouldn''t mind studying under a teacher who teaches a unique subject, however, if two teachers share the same subject I will only choose one who shows that they are better than the other at teaching it, either by test, or trial," I said.

    "Humph, smartd, this way the teacher who loses can''tin or be hostile against you since they''ll only reveal how petty they are after having lost to a better teacher, you''re actually forcing teachers to confront each other so the heat won''t be focused on you," Master Rain immediately exposed my ploy and I couldn''t help but let out a sigh.

    "But," he added, "He is right, why should such a bright student be taught under an ipetent teacher, unless you prove yourself the best you probably should refrain from teaching such a budding talent, so, what do you say, elders and grand elders?" asked Master Rain.

    "We ept," spoke a few and immediately everyone nodded.

    "Well, I guess you''ll have a lot of sses to go through, Shen Bao," Master Rain said.

    "Yeah, I guess so, but until the tests are over, I''ll head back to the Advent Tower, I still need to finish up what I started there," I said.

    "Right, you already helped me out with my task, once you''re done I''ll need you toe with me for a small trip, Let''s go," spoke Master Rain to his attendant as he turned and was about to take a step forward then he stopped.

    "Shen Bao," Master Rain said as he turned back to me, "I guess I have no need of this anymore, I wanted to glean some knowledge from your unorthodox way to understand better the inscription I''ve handed to you, but now, there is no need to, here," Master Rain said and threw me a small ring.

    I grabbed the ring and scanned it using Divine Sense, and immediately my lips curled.

    "Wee back home, Y," I clenched my hand tightly on the ring and nodded at Master Rain who disappeared from the stage.

    The rest of the cultivators seemed too busy talking about the Elders taking tests so I took the opportunity to leave the area.

    A few steps forward using the Ancient Step and I was already away from the Avenue and already in front of the teleportation gate leading to the Advent Tower.

    The two guys from before were still there and the moment they recognized me their eyes bulged out.

    "Uh, Ah¡­ Junior brother Shen Bao, you''re going back to the tower so soon, I heard about the Sermon, how did it go?" one of them asked all politely.

    "Pretty casual, nothing much happened," I said as I cracked yawned.

    "Ah, yes, we made a small mistake in calcting the cost of operation of the teleportation gate, and we''d like to refund you the difference, I hope you can look past that incident, you know, no one is perfect and mistakes happen," he added then pulled a pouch full of top grade spirit stones, exactly one hundred thousand, the same pay I gave them thest time.

    "Is that so," I said as I weighed the pouch in my hand, "It feels kinda light you know," I said.

    The second who was probably not the smartest of the two, "It''s exactly the same as you gave!"

    But he received an elbow to the side, "Of course, I think we also made a mistake in filling the pouch, here this should make it as hefty as it should," he said and added about fifty thousand Top Grade spirit stones.

    "Ah, right, this is the right weight, good stuff," I said "How about you operate that gate for me, I want to go up again," I said.

    "Of course," the smarter of the two said while the other one pouted.

    The gate opened up and I used it to go up to the upper ind.

    I guess cultivators can be sensible sometimes, and a few of them can actually recognize when they fuck up and how to fix their mistakes.

    I made a good buck and got Y back, and now I''m the talk of the Heavenly Academy, this feels kinda nice.

    I moved towards the tower and entered, this time I wasn''t ignored like before but many of the eyes kept a close watch on me.

    Even if the majority of the people here, if not all didn''t see the Sermon, the Academy had the ability to broadcast it to everyone so they definitely saw everything that happened there, I grew famous in a very short time and this is bound to cause some problems.

    Someone seemed to be pretty annoyed with my disy earlier and came to the conclusion of being childish was enough to put me down a peg. He was argely built cultivator and seemed to be walking towards me while fully ignoring my presence, then he tried to elbow shove me aside. I noticed the iing shoulder and took one single light step back using the Ancient Step, took just half a step worth of momentum, and charged it up towards my shoulder.

    The impact between us was immediately nullified since two forces of the same power and nature seemed to collide against each other at the same time.

    The iing cultivator was slightly surprised at how ''sturdy'' my posture remained after he tried to shove me away but his mouth wasn''t as surprised.

    "Damn white robe, just because you can speak a few words doesn''t make you some big shot, get your nose off of your own ass, you''re nothing here, only the strong rule," he said and scuffed as he left the area.

    "Talking a lot of smack for someone your size," I said, but apparently he didn''t take the bait.

    Therge built cultivator continued walking until he was outside of the tower, and I kept my divine sense close to him.

    Suddenly the man when thought he was away from all eyes groaned as he seemed to have actually been injured, he tightly grabbed at his shoulder as he walked forward and seemed to be cursing.

    "Well, that''s what you get," I mumbled and then moved on towards the closed room where apparently someone was actually using.

    As I stood in front of the room where I possessed the body of the Ling Cao, cultivators seemed to realize who I was and one of them spoke.

    "Ah, Brother Shen Bao, you want to use the room I suppose," he said.

    "Yes, someone is in there?" I asked.

    "Oh, yes, a few cultivators actually went in after you came out, but it seems that none of them were able to replicate the same feat as you did. They were all ejected and a few of them were on the verge of death even," he said.

    "Is that so, how long did the person who just got in stay?" I asked.

    "About half a minute, he just walked inside," He said.

    I then decided it was good to wait here since he only entered it shouldn''t take time for us to see if he would be able to reverse the Cultivation Deviation or get ejected.

    Not a momentter, a soul-wrenching scream echoed from within the room and its doors sted open revealing a manying on his back, spasming so hard he would soon break his own spine, blue veins were bulging out of all of his body and he seemed to be frothing at the mouth while his eyes were rolled over dangerously..

    "God damn it why does everyone think they''re special throwing away their lives like this! Call the medical staff!" one of the cultivators said.

    A few cultivators ran out to get help while the rest watched pitifully at the man who was rapidly losing his life.

    "Step aside please," I said as I walked inside the room.

    The disciples next to me kept a close eye on what I was doing, so I let them watch.

    I pulled my finger up and then rapidly struck the convulsing man with the tip of my fingers into various pressure points.

    The rapid stabs caused his convulsion to stop immediately then I shoved a pill down his throat then hastily got him seated then pped his back as fast as I could.

    The strike causes his whole system to momentarily ''Stop'' as if I had rebooted the man, he closed his eyes then opened them.

    No longer screaming or in pain, "Where am I?" he asked as he looked dumbly at everyone.

    "Luckily not heaven or hell, but next time don''t try and possess this body, you''ll really die," I said to the man who just realized or seemed to remember how stupid he was trying to possess a body that so many people died to.

 Chapter 327: Secrets of Untold Past

    <h4>Chapter 327: Secrets of Untold Past</h4>

    The medical team came over and carried the man away for further treatment, not that he''ll need any but it''s good to be on the cautious side. A few questions from the medical team were not easy to avoid since apparently what I did was considered a pretty big deal.

    Being able to forcefully stop someone from literally losing his mind and life inplete agonized pain was not something heard of.

    But it was nothing more than shutting his entire system down and then rebooting it. It was close to an instant one-second death that he experienced where his brain heart and all of his organs stopped, thus canceling the bacsh from being forced out of a cultivation deviation body.

    It isn''t that his real body was in pain, but his brain was still thinking it was going through Cultivation Deviation so I had to turn it on and off.

    Exining that however took more than the time I liked especially since everyone was looking at me like I was some idiot for suggesting to literally kill him for one second and then bring him back.

    More exnation was bound to be told after that deration but all went well eventually¡­I think.

    Once the ordeal of that person was over I shooed everyone away and was once again alone in that small walled dark room with the petrified body of a child that had died thousands of years ago.

    I pressed my palms on his back and had thought before I went back inside. Hopefully, it won''t hurt as much again when I''ll have to suffer the cultivation deviation again.

    But once I dove in and opened my eyes, looking in front of me was the Ancient Sect, Sect Master, who had a bewildered look on his face.

    "Lin Cao, you look a bit off, is everything all right," he said.

    "Oh," I said as I turned to look around me, I was inside the same small pce where the dead bodies of the girls who were used as cultivation furnaces were strewn across the ground.

    Damn, back to this shit hole again but it beats redoing everything from scratch.

    "Yes, don''t worry about me," I said, "But what are you going to do with this? Your ancient sect is looking like a pest-infested ce. And I''m not talking about the Grizzly Spider nest under your sect, but the people here, you got a few that are probably in cahoots with the dead elder and your precious Young Master," I said.

    "Ah, we''ll take care of this immediately, I''ll have the elders organize a full sweep of the entire sect so we can take care of the matters at hand," he said.

    "Right, then, what am I supposed to do now?" I asked.

    The sect master himself looked a bit confused, after all, I showed a great deal of power and more than enough ability to ce myselffortably at the top of the current younger generation of the Ancient Sect.

    "As an aplished person, I think the sect is indebted to you for your mistreatment, I''ll allow you to enter the sect''s own treasury and pick whatever you want from it," he said.

    "But Sect Master!" some random elder spoke and was immediately shut down.

    "It''s my decision and it''s final, he had proved his value, came back from being at the lowest of lows to regain his rightful ce, our sect didn''t see value in his ability and we discarded him if he were to turn to another sect and grow stronger do you think you can face him with such attitude?" the sect master said.

    The elder didn''t dare to speak back, since, for them, these cultivators know that cultivators can really hold a grudge, and it isn''t that far-fetched when a reject finds a treasure andes back for vengeance. Which is why the elder had to shut up and let the Sect Master Spoil me rotten.

    Though there is one thing I''m not a fan of, getting anything from a treasury of this sect is meaningless if I can''t take it with me, especially physical treasures, so if I were to take something, I''ll take something I can easily bring back to the real world. And that is Knowledge.

    "Elder Wong, please take Ling Cao to the treasury, as for the rest of you,e with me, we need to prove to our youngsters that we''re not some old has-beens, it''s due time to get this sect cleaned up. I''ve been sitting on my ass for a long time now," he said.

    And immediately the Sect Master and the elders with him took flight, to god knows where.

    What surprised me the most, was the fact that they all seemed to fly in sync in a specific direction, it was on another mountain of the Inner Sect, and the moment they arrived you could feel the tremors of a battle that seemed to ensue the moment theynded.

    "I guess they knew about this whole thing didn''t they?" I muttered.

    "Yes, everyone knew, there was a faction that was supporting the second elder, but with you¡­ apparently killing him, which not even the sect master was capable of, they are no more than a snake without a head. Tonight is going to be bloody, and a lot of people will wake up the next morning with dead or deceased rtives, the only one that might wake up happy is probably going to be you," spoke the elder.

    This was the same guy that hid from my sight thest time.

    "And why is that?" I asked.

    "Well, you''ll be getting some really good stuff, follow me to the main Pce, the sect treasury is there," the elder said and then he took a step forward.

    He began walking through literal air, like Master Rain, and it seemed that his steps were dare I say slightly more refined than Master Rain''s own steps.

    But the quality was different, it was clear from this man''s steps that he was using far more Qi than Master Rain, but his steps were more refined. While Master Rain''s steps though they looked close to perfect, slightly failed to mimic this man''s own Ancient Steps.

    I walked after the man then he stopped mid-way and said.

    "Your step looks¡­ diluted," he said "Take a few steps for me," he said and I followed his request.

    "Hmm, it seems that you didn''t learn the original Ancient Step, but some sort of replica maybe, a really good one though. I could give you pointers on how to fix it, but it seems that your own Ancient Step has its own merits, you can use Qi bursts to cover small but fast distances, whereas I userger Qi surges to cover greater distances." He said.

    "Yes, because this one can be used forbat," I said.

    "Interesting, a very innovative way to use the Ancient Step, however, it''scking, once we get to the Treasury I have something for you that you can look at." He said.

    I nodded at the elder and that prompted him to continue his ''walking''.

    We soon arrived to the main pce and it was damn huge,parable to one of the Heavenly Academy''s own major buildings.

    "Here," he said as we stepped on a pretty familiar-looking teleportation gate.

    Once I stood on the teleportation gate, things began to click in.

    The structure looks different but it is basically the same in terms of shape and size, not to mention the teleportation gate on the ground, as it operated. It looks lessplex, but at the same time, it had simr functions and inscriptions to the one I saw on the Heavenly Academy''s main building.

    This Ancient Sect isn''t just some random ce where this trial is held, no, it''s probably the same location as the current Heavenly Academy, which was builtter on top of the Ancient Sect''s remains. And most definitely after the so-called cmity had hit.

    So, what is this cmity, how does it affect the Heavenly Academy, why are they looking for its source, and what could the implication of this cmity be or the repercussions of not fully understanding it. Not to mention, the oracle that said the same cmity will hit again.

    Things started to get interesting apparently.

    For now let''s see what kinds of stuff is being held in the treasurey.

 Chapter 328: Bookworm

    <h4>Chapter 328: Bookworm</h4>

    Once we arrived at the treasury, which didn''t seem to be well hidden for some reason. It was a room behind arge door that was right behind the chair of the Sect Master.

    There didn''t seem to be any traps or any mechanisms to stop any thieves who would find it interesting to have a few hands in this jar of honey.

    However, Elder Wong''s words soon exined the situation.

    "The same question that runs and ran through everyone who ever got to see the treasury is clearly painted on your face," he said.

    "And what is that question?" I replied back.

    "Simple, you''re questioning why is the sect''s treasures are ced in such an obvious ce. To answer that, it''s the sect master, of all the sects currently here there is none stronger than the Ancient Sect. So who in their right mind will daree and steal something," Elder Wong said pridefully.

    However, his prideful look soon switched to a frown when he saw the ''Are you serious'' look on my face.

    "What, you don''t believe me?" he asked.

    "Hell no, what do you mean to believe you, and strongest sect my ass, you said the Sect Master couldn''t even discipline one of the elders because he was too strong for him and that was the same elder that died at my hands, the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator, hell if this is the strongest person then I fear for my future in this sect," I said.

    "Calm down Ling Cao, I''m also still unable to understand how you managed to overpower someone at the Transcendent Stage. But the Sect Master is at the Saint Stage and even he couldn''t, it wasn''t about power, butpatibility," Elder Wong said.

    "For me, it looked clear when the Sect Master crashed the elder''s face into the concrete he was plenty capable of beating him up," I said.

    "Not when he isn''t using his demonic arts, once a Demonic Cultivator starts calling upon the power of his evil cultivation everything gets thrown out of the window logic included. However, you managed to suppress him while being, stupidly and iparably weakerpared to him which is still hurting me in the head trying to figure out how you did it," he said.

    "Do you honestly want to know?" I asked.

    "Yes, I would be pleased to know how you managed what even I could never hope to do," he said.

    I pointed at the elder''s arm, and he immediately looked at the spot, it was the same ck spot I pointed out when we first met.

    "I told you that thing is stinky," I said then twisted my pointing finger, causing the ck spot on his arm to spread only an inch, this elicited an unwholesome grunt from the elder.

    "Bloody hell, what the hell is this? How are you able to control this disease," he asked.

    "Not a disease it''s poison, a great portion of the people in this sect have been bitten, I can even remove it if I want," I said "But like I told youst time, I won''t do it for free. Anyway, what''s behind the door, I''m getting impatient."

    The elder rubbed his hand and said, "Okay let''s go, you''ll probably find some good things there, we''ll talk about treatmentter," he said.

    He arrived in front of the door and simply opened it, there wasn''t even a key needed.

    "I really think the sect elder is being stupid for not even having this ce protected," I said.

    "Many tried to talk him out of leaving it open, but he is very stubborn, and as I said, he really is strong. Anyway,e,e, this is what I wanted you to see," he said.

    Looking within the treasury I was honestly surprised. There were so many pieces of armor on disy, set side by side inrge ss cubes. Of these armors, some were made of ancient dragon scales, some were made entirely of Obsidian Metal, and a few were made of material even I couldn''t recognize.

    Then came the weapons, these were actually hovering over us. From staffs to swords and axes, to maces and even bows. Many weapons were on disy and they all seemed to give off a great pressure.

    If any of these things were to be discovered in recent times they''ll probably be enough to wage war over.

    I always thought the Ancient Sect was nothing but some weak ass sect, but looking at their treasury and the stuff they have in it, this is bound to change a person''s opinion. It''s not because they have powerful weapons that they''re powerful.

    It''s because they have weapons that anyone would wage war over, and they''re still safe is the reason why they are strong. Because they know that no one will daree for these things lest they want a one way ticket to hell.

    "What do you think," the elder gloated.

    "Pretty trinkets, I can''t use any of them," I said.

    "Why not, you can pick one now, and then growter to be able to use it," he said.

    "The growing part is the issue," I said, since even if these things were world destroying items, they''re nothing but a memory of the past, I can''t take them with me. "What I want is not something that I''ll only be able to use after god knows how long, if I ever survive long enough to use it. A bird in hand is better than ten on a tree, I don''t really care about any of these weapons," I said.

    "Then how about an armor that can protect you and you can use now and will still be usable untilter," the elder said.

    "Same issue, if I am a person who''ll need an armor as a crutch to save myself from death then it''s pointless to have it," that was clearly a lie, armor is by far the best thing a newbie like me could get, however, same thing, I can''t take it with me to the real world so might as well make ame excuse.

    "What I want is what you talked about earlier, the cultivation manual for the ancient step," I said.

    "Yes, we have that, but thates with a condition," he said.

    "What is the condition," I asked.

    "I only wanted to show it to you not let you take it with you since the condition is to be an elder of the sect and pledge eternal servitude, I wanted you to see it to make you have a goal to aim for," he said.

    "That''s good and all but that''s not my problem," I said.

    "What do you mean?" the elder questioned.

    "The sect master clearly said that I get to pick whatever I want from the treasury so this voids whatever condition you have, if you have an issue with me taking the book, then you can tell the sect master," I said.

    Finding himself between a rock and a hard ce the elder began pondering about what to do.

    This gave me a moment to nce away from him and into the shelves that were behind him.

    "Huh, what''s that?" I asked as I got closer to the shelve.

    "That''s the Ancient Palm, it''s also a core cultivation technique of the Ancient Sect, but didn''t you ask for the Ancient Step?" he said.

    "I did, but I''m now interested in this too,"

    The elder thought for a moment and said, "I''ll tell you what, instead of letting you take the manuals with you outside, which is forbidden by the sect, I''ll give you half an hour to read through these manuals, once you''re done you''ll have to leave."

    "Aren''t you afraid that I could just copy them by hand?" I said.

    "Hah, you can try but they''re soplex that trying to copy them by hand will take you days. What do you say?"

    "You''ll give me half an hour?" I said.

    "Yes."

    "Make it one hour, and I can remove that mark from your hand," I said.

    The elder looked at his arm then at the shelve and said. "Deal,"

    Then he left the room.

    I had a smile bigger than a devil as I looked at the shelves.

    "One hour, right, let''s start then," I said as I pulled two cultivation manuals at the same time and began flipping through their pages as fast as I could with my Mind''s Eye on full st.

 Chapter 329: Speed Learning

    <h4>Chapter 329: Speed Learning</h4>

    My eyes were scanning through the manuals like a photography machine, I didn''t even need to know what''s in them, I just needed to take a ''Picture'' of the manual page then flip it to the other page, my goal was to store these ''Images'' in my mind then organize themter as books and manuals that I can use.

    Most of these manuals werepletely useless to me, however, they were of such great quality that in the current time they could be considered sect foundation manuals that a whole sect can be built upon. These manuals are incredible treasures that only the Ancient Sect has possession of.

    These secrets must have been lost due to the passage of time, but now I''m able to im them as my own and then when the timees I can use them as bargaining chips whenever I need to.

    I continued scanning through the books and seemed to be running out of time, at my speed I might be able to finish the whole shelve with a minute or two above the agreed upon time. But it wasn''t something that I needed to worry about.

    The time kept ticking and my eyes were still zooming through the pages until I arrived to one book that made me reel back in shock.

    "Imperial Algorithm," the book read and the writing wasn''t your regr letters but the same imperial letters that Master Rain had tasked me with decrypting.

    I shook as I was reading through the pages of the book then immediately went back to memorizing it, this was as I had thought a mathematical inscription book. But sadly I didn''t have enough time to enjoy it, so I went full scan mode and memorized it all before I went to another book.

    The discovery of an original book of the Imperial Algorithm will help greatly in fully decrypting the parchment that Master Rain was carrying.

    It didn''t take much before I arrived to thest book, and as I was in the middle of flipping through its pages, the elder came back in.

    "Ling Cao, time is up," he said.

    "Just two more minutes, I''m almost done," I said.

    The elder didn''t seem to like my answer, "We had a deal, one hour, is one hour," he said as he was approaching me, while at the same time I was rapidly flipping the pages.

    "I''ll add to the deal, I''ll extract the poison painlessly," I said.

    This gave the elder a pause, he pondered about my proposition, and before he could answer I added some words just to pressure him.

    "Just one minute!" I said and then continued to flip the pages.

    "Alright, hurry up, the Sect Master is waiting for you," he said then walked out of the door.

    One minute passed in the blink of an eye and I was a satisfied person. Having copied everything in the books I was now able to slowly digest them whenever I had the time.

    Soon I came out of the treasury, and looked at the elder in an awkward and slightly embarrassed expression.

    "Sigh, let''s just go, we wasted a bit of time, I don''t like to make the sect master wait, it justes back and bite me in the asster, always." He said.

    I thought the sect master would be waiting at the main hall but apparently the elder guided us to the entrance of the pce through a teleportation gate where I found a sight to behold.

    At the feet of the sect master were countless heads of cultivators, so many dead ones, and most of them had red bloodshot eyes.

    "This should do it, the sect is properly cleaned up now," the sect master said. "This couldn''t have been done without your help," the sect master said as he looked at me in the eyes.

    "That''s a bit¡­ unbelievable, I say," I replied.

    "Why is that?" he added.

    "I still can''t fully understand, if you''re this strong why did you leave these people infest your sect," I bluntly spoke.

    These words were more than enough to make everyone cringe at how rude and blunt I was, however the sect master didn''t care for ''Face''. A man after my own little heart.

    "The fact that the Grand Elder was also a Devil Cultivator was protecting them, I couldn''t advance without risking the death of a sensible force of my own sect. killing him would have costed a literal leg and arm. Not to mention the risk of my own death and the copse of the sect," he said.

    "Then, how long did it take you to discover that he was a Devil Cultivator?" I asked.

    "It took far too long, so long that it was already toote to do anything about it, and we could only mitigate damage waiting for an opportunity to uproot the devil within, until you Ling Cao provided us with it," he said.

    "Huh, interesting, and now, what are you going to do? Though I expect that your sect didn''t suffer much since you killed off all the Devil Cultivators, they were still part of your sect, part of the force driving it, they were elders here, and with them dead, you undoubtedly grew weaker as a sect, am I right?" I said.

    Some elder next to the sect master spoke, "You''re being rude talking so formally to the sect master, know your ce Ling Cao, just because you got lucky into taking down an elder, that doesn''t mean you get to take to your elder as if they were your peers," he said.

    I looked at the elder for a fraction of a second then ignored him, as I went back to the sect master, "You need to figure out a way to be more powerful, or at least fake it so that no one will know that you grew weak, your only options are to either recruit more elders, which is risky by itself since you could recruit a spy, or close up shop, and have the sect go under seclusion for a period of time until you grow your own disciples to elder seats. Either of the two options will reveal that the Ancient Sect is facing trouble, and what will you do then?" I asked.

    "You''re awfully blunt, Ling Cao," the sect master said.

    "Let met guess, just like my father," I said.

    "Exactly, anyway, I doubt that anyone will think of us as growing weaker, but we''ll still be entering seclusion," he said.

    "But, Sect Master?! If we enter Sect Seclusion, ournds, our profitable markets and many of our property will be taken over by outside forces," an elder spoke.

    "There is nothing else we can do, entering Sect Seclusion will allow us to grow faster, not to mention we can always take back those once we''re back. For now, I''ll dere the sect as having entered seclusion. Call back all the disciples and all the elders, close all our shops and withdraw from all of our front positions, there is no need to worry about things that will be lost sooner orter since weck the manpower to protect them, severing the toe to save the foot is our only option now. Ling Cao, I need to talk to you, privately," the sect master said.

    "As you wish," I said and then immediately a sound barrier appeared between me and the sect master.

    "What do you think, of being an Elder of the Sect," he said.

    "Are you crazy? An elder, at my age, I''ll be eaten alive, if you want me dead just say it bluntly."

    "Why would you think that promoting you to an elder will be the death of you?" he asked.

    "I''m no fool, being an elderes with a lot of responsibility, not to mention there are a lot of people who really hate my guts and want me dead, do you even know the amount of trouble they''ll be causing just to see me suffer, not to mention other elders will not have it as me being an elder, they''ll have my hide for it, because I''m ''Weak'', below cultivation level, and clearly out of their leagues. Sorry but I like life far more than more responsibility for no obvious gain and more work," I said.

    "Fair enough, but I must award you something, just taking a treasure isn''t enough," he said.

    "I got awarded plenty, just have everyone leave me alone, and allow me to have my own garden to cultivate spiritual herbs, this is all I''m asking, nothing less nothing more, if you truly wish to award me," I said.

    "Then consider it done," he said.

    The sound barrier was immediately removed and the Sect Master announced what I just asked for to everyone.

    "Of all the things you could ask for, a garden and some peace and quiet, what a foolish littled," the same elder I ignore before said.

    "That''s pretty much none of your business, but you can say whatever makes you sleep better at night. I couldn''t care less or give even less of a fuck for a person who''ll die in three days," I said then turned my back on the old man.

    "Are you cursing me with death you damn brat!" he shouted.

    "Oh no, I''m stating facts, the Grizzly Poison had seeped far too much into your body, and you''ll be vomiting ck blood by morning, and get bed ridden by the evening, then you''ll fall in aa and never wake up, this is what will happen to you, and there is nothing, you or anyone here can do to save you, so why should I care about what you think about me, or my own choices?" I gave the man some smack then turned towards where my old pce was.

    The old elder couldn''t help but open and close his mouth unable toe up with a reply besides, "DAMN BASTARD!"

    Which I seemed to be getting so used to it became music to my ears.

    Now with a lot of knowledge of old cultivation manuals, a fuck ton of free time, I have the ability to learn cultivation techniques, improve upon my mastery of the Ancient Step, the learn the Ancient Palm technique, and finally a lot ofnd to make my own poison garden to improve my cultivation technique and my own Poison Arts.

 Chapter 330: Manuals

    <h4>Chapter 330: Manuals</h4>

    Once the pce was secured, cleaned up from the dead bodies, and everyone who worked there was fired, I had it all for myself. From Cao Ling''s memories, I tried to find anyone fit to work here for the pce, but I was sorely disappointed, almost everyone avoided him if they were not straight-up hostile to him. He didn''t have any friends or any people he bonded with, and the only one he ever cared for turned out to be a venomous little bitch.

    Not that I care, in fact, its much better this way, having the whole pce to myself with no one to disturb me was by far the best thing that happened here.

    Especially with everyone being called back in. The sect''s dwindling cultivator numbers rapidly inted as more disciples that were working shops or were on missions were called back.

    A good portion of them had their heads chopped off the moment they walked into the sect since they too were of the Devil Cultivator faction. The sect''s members however still seemed to be bing more and more and one could actually now see that this was actually an okay sect, unlike the barren look it gave when I was here first.

    It seems that the ancient sect has sent a lot of its main force out to gain real experience but now that it''s been called back in, they look like a bulwark against any force that may threaten them.

    And thankfully, none of these new people tried to even bother me ore check out the newbie that overtook the pce and reimed his seat. Good, more peaceful days I hope.

    I began working on therge garden that I secured and started nting many of the herbs I got from the surrounding mountain, this would be a good opportunity to grow more poisonous herbs, however, the herbs I have were okay, but not great, I needed more, rarer and stronger poisons to build this body.

    And the best way to get those is from the neers that just arrived.

    The elder I promised to treat arrived soon, and I had toe to greet him personally.

    "Where are the servants, don''t tell me the Sect Master gave you an entire pce without a single person to take care of your personal needs," he said.

    "Not that he didn''t give me, I fired everyone, I like working alone, anyway, give me your hand," I said.

    The elder then handed me his arm, and from the look of it the mark didn''t seem to have spread a lot so this should be easy.

    I pulled a few acupuncture needles and began stabbing them carefully around the mark, then handed the old man a pill.

    "Eat this," I said.

    The elder didn''t seem to know what the pill was but he didn''t argue and so he took the pill and bit on it.

    "Bloody hell this is sour," he said as his whole mouth scrunched up from how sour the pill was.

    "We''re done," I said back.

    This took the elder by surprise and when he looked at his hand he realized that the ck mark was no more, and the other side of the needles was expelling ck matter outside of his body, then soon it became red normal blood.

    By then I removed the needles and was looked at like some sort of weird creature by the elder.

    "What?"

    "How did you do that? I mean, I expected a bit of pain, but¡­ there was nothing," he said.

    "Do you want the painful method, I can do that," I said.

    "Oh no god forbid, but I''m really curious," he said.

    "It''s like giving a baby a shot, you have to distract them so they don''t feel it, the sour candy did its job," I said.

    "Wait, that wasn''t a medicinal pill?" he asked.

    "Of course not, anyway, that is that, but I wanted to ask for a favor if you could," I told the old man.

    "Yes, of course," he said as he rubbed his hand.

    "I need to get some materials, poisonous herbs and nts, as many and as deadly as possible, how can I get those?" I asked.

    "Well, we do have a few in our own alchemy pavilion, and they should be easy to ess and obtain," he said.

    "That''s a given, but what I need is something that isn''t in there, I want the herbs and poisons that the new kids have brought along with them. How about this, I want you to rmend me to your peers, you''ve been treated right?" I asked.

    "Yes?" he said as his brow rose up.

    "Then, you can go and gloat to your friends and pals on how you got rid of your Grizzly Spider Poison, this way I''ll get more clients, and at the same time I''ll be able to get a good deal out of treating the other elders, I''ll give you a cut of course," I said.

    "But if you''re only after poisonous herbs, I don''t want a cut from that¡­" he said.

    "I won''t just be taking poisonous herbs, many of the people won''t even have any on them, and they''ll have to pay in spirit stones or in treasures, so what do you say?" I said.

    "Right, I''ll see what I can do, it''s always good to make some extra dough, I''ll go right now," he said.

    He turned then took a step leaving the area.

    I went back inside and began working on the garden slowly and carefully digging through the garden, nting the herbs I obtained, and at the same time making sure to carefully separate the nts from each other as they could harm each other by simply existing.

    Once I was done with the batch of poison nts I had on me, I dug even more in preparation for other herbs that shoulde soon.

    The day passed by and soon was nighttime. I headed back inside and went into the library inside the pce. It was a small area with a few regr cultivation books. Nothing too fancy.

    Or perhaps I was spoiled with all the high-tier cultivation books I obtained from the treasury.

    I then pulled up a pen and paper and began remembering the contents of the Ancient Step.

    I wrote everything I remembered and that was basically the entire content of the book down to thema and period. Nothing escaped my memory now and I utilized it to the fullest extent.

    With the Ancient Step Manual copied in front of me, I began by writing the second one, the Ancient Palm manual. It didn''t take much time to finish it, but once it was done, I then decided it was time to start actually reading them.

    For the Ancient Step, it was interestingly funny how close it was to my own Momentum Step.

    The only difference between my own step and the Ancient Step is the application of Gravitational and Spatialw to take a step forward. Here however it utilizes a type of martial arts. To apply the ancient Step one must actually, and this isn''t a joke not skip leg day.

    Training one''s leg is the basis of this manual, it''s only when one is capable of training their feet to the extent that a mere step will have enough impact that one could actually hear the joint crack like a thunderbolt upon taking a step.

    I debated how awkward that would be when someone was simply walking and every step sounded like a gunshot, however, this wasn''t something that will appear whenever someone takes a step but only when someone achieves mastery over the Ancient Step.

    With enough physical practice and training, one could actually replicate this sound and will then be able to apply the same pressure I''m able to release on my seventh step in only one step without even using gravitationalw.

    Anyone else would have thought that my hard work in applyingw to my own Momentum step would have been a waste of time since there is this martial art that can do the same without adding so much hassle. However, I thought differently, what would actually happen if I''m able to achieve the Ancient Step and at the same time add the effects of gravitationalw to it?

    That should be something interesting to look at and figure out.

    I moved the book to the side and pulled the second one I wrote.

    This one is the Ancient Palm.

    Surprisingly this thing pairs well with the ancient step, and it basically never skip forearms and shoulder day.

    This thing requires the user to carry an absurd around their arms and then train in weight lifting to build up muscles. Once the user is able to once again release sound capable of mimicking the loudness of thunder as they flex their arm could they apply this to theirbat abilities, releasing powerful force with every palm capable of tearing down mountains and bending steel with a single palm.

    The two arts can bebined together in one move which I already seemed to have identally discovered.

    One Step One Palm.

    However, if I were to learn this, I could use the Momentum step and the Ancient Step, then my own Palm Momentum release coupled with the Ancient Palm. I could only imagine the kind of kic force that could be released from such abo.

    My palm was already capable of tearing a hole with ease through the chest of a high-level nascent soul cultivator that was empowered with Devil Arts, but now it should be far more powerful with this addition.

    After finishing the manuals and memorizing their contents once again I had a visitor.

    Someone was knocking on my door.

    For a moment I thought it could be that girl who Ling Cao was in love with, after all, her nature is like a snake, going along with whoever is stronger and betraying the people that trusted her, and I had a few choice words prepared, especially since it waste at night.

    However, disappointingly and unlike the clich¨¦ I thought would happen, it was none other than the elder I sent this morning.

    He had an awkward look on his face.

    "Let me guess, no one wanted anything to do with me," I said.

    The elder opened and closed his mouth trying to find an answer.

    "Don''t worry, I expected as much, in fact, this is even better, this will give me a bit more leeway into getting whatever I want oncee morning," I said.

    "Why do you have a n?" he asked.

    "n? My n had been active the moment I realized this sect was infected, don''t worry just wait until tomorrow, you''ll be filthy rich," I said grinning.

 Chapter 331: Misdirection

    <h4>Chapter 331: Misdirection</h4>

    I spent the night trying out the Ancient Step as taught by the book. However, trying to cheat my way into mimicking it caused me to fall on my face several times.

    This reminded me of the time I was trying to replicate old man Gin''s own movement step.

    So, I decided against trying any further and went to do something I didn''t want to.

    I grabbed a couple of metallic cuffs I foundying around in this pce. They were plenty of them to cuff the young girls here, which was a bit disgusting.

    I then began inscribing the metallic cuffs with gravitationalws. This gave them a simple function. I could increase their weight as much as I would like and this can serve as training.

    I strapped two in each arm, one above each of my wrists and one on each of my biceps.

    Then I grabbed two more cuffs and cors, the cors I strapped to my thighs and the cuffs right above my feet.

    I looked like a criminal, but when I donned my robes everything looked normal again.

    Then, I activated the formation on the cuffs and almost regretted it. The Weight was slightly too much for me to bear and I had to tone it down. Seeing that the rigidity of this method would hinder my work, I decided to apply a new function to the cuffs.

    A function that will ever so slowly increase the total weights of the cuffs. In a matter my body wouldn''t ''sense'' but the weights should increase over time and my body should get used to it.

    This idea is not bad actually and I could honestly use it back in the real world, so I decided to apply this once I''m back out.

    With the weights applied and their function updated I decided that it was time for me to rest for the day. And that was a whole session of meditation to get through the night and up fully refreshed in the morning from the day''s work.

    But what woke me from my meditation wasn''t the sound of chirping birds or your asional rooster. No, it was the sound of hasty banging on the pce door.

    I got up from my meditative trance and headed to the door.

    Just a I opened the door.

    "Open up god damn it, what the hell do you think you''re doing keeping me waiting here!" an elder spoke.

    However, just as he saw me.

    "Oh, it''s junior Ling Cao, why are you opening the door? Where are the servants?"

    "I should be the one asking questions, why are you banging on my door, and who do you think you are to have me personally open the door for you," I replied. Heck I''m enjoying ying the evil guy, because I know exactly why he is here.

    "I''ll have to apologize for this I thought one of your servants was beingzy, they should be punished," he said.

    "I have no servants here, and that means that I''mzy and I should be punished for not opening the door, right?" I said.

    "¡­ Oh, no god forbid, no, if you have no servants I can send a few outer disciples your way,"

    "No need, I fired them all, they were a nuisance, anyway why are you here?" I asked.

    "Its¡­ it''s elder Hong, he is sick," he said.

    "Oh, let me guess, ck blood and fever, coupled with some hair loss, right?" I said.

    "Y-yes, how did you know," he said.

    "Well, you were there yesterday when I warned him that that will happen, so you tell me how did I know," I smirked at the old man. "However, I already told him to dig his own grave, he''ll be dead by tomorrow, I got nothing to do with that," I said as I was about to close the door.

    "Wait, please," he said, "I heard you needed a few herbs, I came with a few," he added.

    I tried my best not to show a smile or a reaction, "What kind of herbs do you have?" I asked.

    "These," he said and began showing me a few pretty damn interesting herbs. Morning Blood Blossom, Innards'' Crimson Fire Lotus, Blight Beckoning Tulip, and a few other highly poisonous herbs that I only read about in the Poison God''s book and never personally handled.

    "Interesting haul, so you want to use this as payment for me to help Elder Hong?" I asked.

    "Euh, no, these are for me, I''m also sick I got bitten and I''d like to be treated," he said.

    "Good, that''s the kind of cultivators I like, those who look after themselves," I said "Come on inside," I added.

    The elder entered the pce and sat inside waiting for me to help him out.

    "Before we start please put this on," I said as I handed him a blindfold.

    The elder frowned, "Why so?" he asked.

    "Well, I can guess who you are from the delicacy of your hands, the type of herbs you provided me and the smell on your robes, you''re a person who is usually surrounded by medicinal herbs, and not to mention you have a small blood stain on your sleeve. That could easily mean that you''re either an alchemist or a medicinal doctor, either of the two would probably understand immediately after seeing how I treat patients and would be able to replicate my own feats and outsell my offer to the other elders, I''m not a person who''ll easily share his secrets, so are you going to wear this blindfold or not?" I smiled at the elder.

    The elder looked at me, frowned then said, "You''re pretty smart for a person so young. Dangerously so," he said.

    "It''s both a blessing and a curse," I smiled back at the elder.

    He the ced the blindfold around his eyes and sat down.

    Since I know a mere blindfold isn''t enough to trick a cultivator especially a medicinal cultivator, I had more tricks up my sleeves.

    "This is going to hurt slightly," I said.

    "Wait, but Elder Wei said that you didn''t cause him any pain," he said.

    "Oh, everyone''s body is different, you''re slightly weaker physically than Elder Wei, so it''ll hurt," that was a lie.

    "Right then," he said.

    I then began cing the acupuncture needles, and even added a few more useless needles just to throw away his judgment, then pointed at the mark and twisted my finger causing it to spread a bit.

    This elicited a sudden painful outburst that was immediately muffled, as the elder tried to calm himself down and have a ''feel'' on how I would treat him.

    "We''re done,'' I said.

    "Huh?" he muttered, then he removed his blindfold only to see the acupuncture needles seeping the ck slime out of his body and into the ground while he waspletely confused.

    I kept a smiling face as I was looking at the bewildered elder.

    He tried to understand how I treated patients so he could do the same and steal away my soon-to-be fortune, only to realize he had been treated so fast he never understood how. The trick is misdirection, and if I did that to Elder Wei with sour candy, I did it to the medical cultivator with pain.

    ssic.

    The elder had a defeated look on his face when he handed over his herb pouch and left the pce with hunched shoulders.

 Chapter 332: Medical Fate

    <h4>Chapter 332: Medical Fate</h4>

    Not even an hourter, my door was packed full of cultivators waiting for their own turns.

    It appears that the elders n to get a doctor to get my ''secret'' on how to treat them failed and now they all came here with their tails between their legs asking to get cured.

    So I''m going to use this to my advantage.

    "I decided to change the price of treatment a bit," I spoke to the cultivators outside.

    And they didn''t seem to like it, a few of them even started to argue on how I was so cruel to the members of my own sect.

    "Really now, members of my own sect, where were you all when I was being treated like shit, this is my final offer, bring me at least ten thousand top-grade spirit stones and three different poison herbs of the eighth tier or above or you can dream about being cured, I don''t really care if you all live or die, my effort requires payment, and since I''m the only one that can help you, you better pay up," I said.

    "You''re being unreasonable! Not everyone can afford that, the elders may be but what about us disciples?!" one of the disciples said.

    "Well, that''s really not my problem is it? We live in a capitalistic world, so either bring the cash or piss off, I''m not going to feel sorry for you when you''re rotting from inside out, so¡­" I shooed the man away, "Don''te back unless you have the fees." I said.

    Also, there is no way none of them have enough, I''ve seen how well off these disciples are, they''re being treated pretty well by the sect and are given at least a thousand top-grade spirit stones as a monthly allowance not to mention they get to keep a huge portion of whatever they earn in the sect''s own shops, they''re just miserly little bastards who want to get everything for free.

    As a man from the twenty-first century, I gotta adhere to my nature of being a capitalistic bastard. After all who doesn''t love the smell of Benjamins in the morning, though in this case its spirit stones.

    The elders who were able to pay the fees gave their pouches to elder Wei who collected them with a gleeful smile on his face, he too heard a few not-so-nice words, but he didn''t seem to really care especially since his pockets were being filled whenever a new patientes in.

    I discharged the elders as soon as they got in, and this made them pissed even more, since I was making bank in seconds, and taking away what probably should take disciples months to gather in less than ten seconds. And the worst part, they don''t know how I even did it.

    I kept doing this for almost all day long, and I got pretty damn wealthy. Especially in poisonous herbs.

    Soon though, something came up, a couple of disciples came rushing in alongside the Medical Elder I treated first.

    The two disciples were carrying a young girl, approximately Ling Cao''s own age.

    She was unconscious and had several ck veins spreading through her body, ckening it with sickly Grizzly Spider poison.

    I was shocked to see a case of Grizzly Spider Poison this severe.

    "What the hell happened to her?!" I asked as I hurried outside.

    The two disciples were also girls and one of them was bawling her eyes out while the other looked at me and then back at the medical elder with an angry scowl.

    "He promised to treat us free of charge since we couldn''t afford your fees, but this is what happened when he used his acupuncture needles," she said.

    Taking a closer look I noticed there was a red mark on her neck. It looked like someone had grabbed her by the neck forcefully. Not to mention there were bruising and light blood marks from being scrapped, it was fresh even on the hands of the girl who was currently suffering.

    I stood up and grabbed the Medical Elder by the scruff of the neck and yelled at his face.

    "You fucking idiot!" I shouted with enough wrath my divine sense seemed to have identally released.

    Though I was a cultivator of the Nascent Soul, my own personal Soul was that of a Soul Formation cultivator and my divine sense wasn''t ''Nerfed'' by the fact I''m possessing another body.

    The powerful aura of my divine sense seemed toe out with a wrathful hatred and a pale sickly and green hue that momentarily painted the world around me with the color of poison.

    The Medical Doctor''s eyes bulged out for a moment in shock, but then before he could even say something the Sect Master Himself and a few elders I didn''t see before seemed to have arrived to the scene.

    "What is going on here?" asked the sect master, "And why are you grabbing an elder by the neck, you do know thatying your hands on your elder is bound to get you punished." He added.

    "He is no elder, this man is a crook, and a damn fake doctor, he almost killed someone! You don''t deserve to even treat people!" I spoke.

    "Wait, what''s going on here?" the sect master asked.

    "Get your hands off me! Before you even speak, who are you to say these words, you''re taxing people more than they could afford and call me a crook, you have no shame, sect master I only did this to try and help the kids who can''t afford treatment!" the doctor said.

    "Can''t afford treatment? And does that make you have the right to do human experiences on them? Are you even human?"

    "That''s riching from someone who is asking so much from people who don''t have." He said.

    "No fucking way in hell is anyone here unable to pay for my fees, not to mention I didn''t ask for anything exorbitant. The sect provides more than enough to cover their fees, and I also allowed them to give promissory notes instead of instant payment if they can''t afford it. While you are experimenting on people who clearly can''t say no to you!"

    "W-what do you mean?! I didn''t force anyone, tell them, girls, did I force you to do anything?" the elder said as he looked at the girls his eyes screaming bloody murder if they were to speak.

    "No need to terrify the girls you twisted fuck," I said as I cursed at the elder again.

    "Ling Cao you''re being unreasonable, we known elder Hue for a long time he doesn''t fit the description of a person who''ll forcefully apply for medicine on people, not to mention he''s been with the sect for more than a couple of decades now," the sect master said.

    "Is that so," I said "Then how do you exin the bruising on the girl''s neck,"

    "I don''t know it could be anything," the doctor said.

    "Right, and what about the cuff marks, on the other girl''s hands," I added. "Or the scratches under your right arm, or the fact that the girl who you grabbed by the neck still has some of your skin tissue under her own nails from trying to fight back?!"

    The words I spoke immediately brought the attention of everyone to the details and it didn''t take a smart person to put two and two together.

    "It was for the greater good of the sect! I needed to understand how one can cure this disease! And you weren''t sharing your method! I did what I needed to do!" the doctor said admitting it.

    "So you just admit the fact that you forced the girls to undergo human experiments!"

    "Call it whatever you want, I did it for the sect, if you didn''t hide how one can treat them none of this would have happened," he said.

    "Funny how you''re now making this my fault, so if I didn''t hide my own secret it''s my fault, then how about you show the world how you work, how about you show the world how you use the Divine Medical Finger, how about you tell everyone the way of the Swift Acupuncture Needle," I said.

    "How- how do you know my medical-style?!" the elder looked at me as if I was a monster.

    The first was easy, I already guessed that when I met him this morning, it was a book in the treasury, and to use it one needed a specific type of medicinal herbs and he had the herbs smell on him this morning.

    The second was a bit harder to guess but wasn''t too difficult after taking a closer look at the girl who wasatose. Her hand still had needle punctures and they were shaped in a way that only the Swift acupuncture Needle medical method can be used at.

    "Those are personal secrets I cannot give to others! Those are my trade manuals who would share something as a personal cultivation method that''s sphemy against cultivators, don''t lump me in with you," he said.

    "Ah, funny thing, so I must share my secrets and you shouldn''t? you''re nothing but a hoax, a con artist, a quack doc, not even fit to hold the scalp and should never touch another cultivator when they ask for treatment," I spoke this time slowly and made sure to articte every derisive word I spoke to him.

    "You bastard!" he said as he tried to lunge at me.

    I honestly wanted to end him right here and now as I took a step forward preparing to shortcut my way into using the Ancient Palm even if I didn''t have enough muscle mass, I''d rather tear my own right arm than allow someone like him to ever practice medicine again.

    However, the sect master''s hand was swifter than mine and all I could see was the doctor''s head flying and rolling on the ground.

    The sect master swung his own hand on the ground sttering the blood on it.

    I couldn''t even see him move. How strong is this dude¡­

    Everyone seemed a bit mortified at what happened. But then the sect master spoke.

    "You all know that we have some devil cultivators among us," he said.

    Everyone knew that, and probably everyone knew that the doctor was definitely not a devil cultivator.

    "He held girls of our own sect, our own disciples hostage, threatened them, harmed them, and imprisoned them, even if he isn''t a devil cultivator even if he says he acted at the behest of our own sect, the methods he used were no better than those cultivators, thus death. Anyone found doing simr deeds will be met with the same fate, now Ling Cao, that girl looks to be in agony, can you treat her, or should I send her to the wheel of reincarnation," he said.

    "I can probably fix her, it''ll be hard though¡­" I said, and it was going to be hard, that damn bastard seemed to have somehow elerated the propagation rate of the Grizzly Spider Poison.

    "Then treat her, and treat every disciple who cannot afford treatment, send their bills to me, I''ll take care of it, if I can''t help my own sect members to afford treatment then I don''t deserve to be a sect master," he then turned around and took a step forward disappearing from sight.

 Chapter 333: Death Defying Hands

    <h4>Chapter 333: Death Defying Hands</h4>

    "Youe with me!" I said to one of the girls that were with the patient.

    She nodded and followed after I grabbed the girl and rushed inside the pce.

    Unlike the other afflicted elders and disciples, the regions of damage on the girl''s body included every inch of her skin, so it wasn''t just painful, it was mortifyingly so. She would probably die from shock in a bit if I don''t reduce the damage her brain is currently receiving from all the pain signals being sent to it from all over her body.

    I swiped away everything on the table and ced the girl on it.

    I scanned her body using divine sense and located all the major concentrations of Grizzly Spider Poison, then began by tearing her clothes off.

    The action Imitted seemed strange to the girl next to me and before she even spoke.

    "You got some alcohol on you?" I asked.

    "Euh, yes,"

    "Give," I said.

    She did and I popped the bottle took a sip, and found out it was pretty strong, "Good," I said then opened the patient''s mouth and poured some inside her mouth then poured the rest on her bare chest.

    "What are you doing?" she asked

    "Infection prevention," I said then pulled a scalpel, "Hold her tight," I said then just as she did I slid the scalpel across her chest from up to down all the way to her stomach, the cut wasn''t deep enough to have her innards spill out, but was fine enough for me to do the next thing.

    I pulled dozens of acupuncture needles and began stabbing them all over her body forcing the majority of the ck throbbing veins across her body to shudder and stop even if for just a moment.

    Then I pointed my finger to the open scalpel wound and began controlling the Grizzly Spider Poison.

    "Are you holding her good?" I asked.

    "Yes," she replied in full panic.

    "Then get ready," I said as I used my own Poison Qi to beckon the Grizzly Spider Poison toe to me.

    The ck flow immediately reacted. And since the acupunctures were used to force the poison to only go through one way, all of the poison in her body began rushing towards the open wound area.

    A pile of ck slime a mix of foul blood and loads of poison began surging out from the open wound.

    With another wave of my own Poison Qi, I controlled it to gather up in a small orb above her chest, calling in the poison from within her.

    Then soon she began regaining consciousness and started screaming for the gods above to help her from such pain she was suffering.

    "Just a bit more!" I muttered as sweat began trickling down my forehead.

    It may not have seemed hard enough to cause a cultivator to sweat, but I was literally trying to force poison to reverse its flow and at the same time keep the girl''s own blood flow constant lest she gets a heart attack from theck of blood pressure.

    Sooner thanter almost all of the poison from her body was gathered up in a ball of disgusting-looking and smelling poison.

    Just as I gathered it up and was about to throw it away, something seemed to surface and hide within my divine sense as I was applying it to the girl from the get-go.

    This caught me by surprise, what the heck was that? Was I dreaming? I questioned myself. But then, the girl''s screams woke me back and I had to work on fixing her up for now.

    Several more momentster once I removed the poison and sewed back the open wound on her chest the girl''splexions seemed to slightly change, not that they became perfect, but there was less strain on her face.

    I wiped the sweat off my forehead and took a few steps back. my hands were full of blood but it seems that the girl will survive.

    "You have a healing pill on you?" I asked.

    "Yes, but aren''t you a doctor you should have better ones than I do," she said.

    "I''m not a doctor, I''m a disciple just like you, I just need one, it doesn''t matter the quality," I said.

    She pulled a good healing pill from her pouch and handed it to me.

    I grabbed it and pulled a nt from the bounty I got from all the cultivators outside.

    I grabbed the petal and began chewing on it.

    "Wait, that''s a ck Lily, aren''t those highly toxic?"

    I spat the chewed remains of the petal on my palm and said, "Poisonous, not toxic, know the difference, anyway, all poisons can be medicine using the right dose and the proper application," I said then I broke the healing pill using my thumb and index finger turning it to fine powder that I mixed along the chewed ck Lili Petal.

    Then I grabbed a bit of it and dragged it across the open sewed wound on her chest and in between her breasts.

    "The ck Lili Petals are poisonous when ingested because they cause they stimte a person''s cells to reproduce at a rapid rate creating deformities and tumors. But coupled with a healing pill''s factor the reproduction is extremely controlled and reduced that they can be great in healing skin, they''re not for internal use. This way, she''ll not have a scar after her wound heals," I said, then applied gauze on her open wound.

    "Get her dressed up, I''ll ask a few cultivators to carry her to where you two live. Maker her rest for a week in bed. She should be good as new, if anythinges up however contact me," I said.

    The girl looked at me thankfully and bowed deeply, "Thank you, senior brother, Lin Cao, I-I''m really sorry, for everything," she said.

    "What are you sorry for," I said as I wiped my hands from the blood.

    "For standing by, when I saw how¡­everyone treated you, that makes me no better than the people who hurt you. Sister Luan said that we needed to at least help a sect brother¡­ but I told her not to get involved¡­" she said.

    I turned to the girl on the table and said, "She''s Luan?" I asked.

    "Yes,"

    "Water under the bridge, anyway, I still have more patients and a lot of cleaning, so¡­"

    "Yes, I''ll get a few disciples to help me carry her no need to bother with you going personally," she said and immediately dipped out.

    Half an hourter, more cultivators came forward, this time more than willing to give the payment I asked for.

    It seems that the fact that they saw what could and would happen to them if they didn''t pay up was pretty convincing that it wasn''t worth skimping on a few Top Grade Spirit stones. Not only that, they also realized that even at death''s doors, I can bring them back.

    And thus the day continued without a hitch, and I ended up with pockets rich, a garden full of herbs, and gained a new title.

    "Death Defying Hands¡­ what an interesting title," muttered elder Wei as he was collecting his share of the profits.

    "Its ugly, and sounds very suspicious," I said as I scrunched up my nose at the strange title.

    "It means that your hands are able to snatch away the dead from the hands of the reaper, take it and take pride in it," elder Wei said.

    "Ugh, I know what it means, it just sounds¡­edgy," I said.

    "Edgy? What is that? Must be young ones terms I hear a lot of ng these kids say¡­ well, anyway, a title is a way for you to gain more fame, keep it up and it might be one of your sources of power," he said.

    Suddenly, I remembered the thing I sensed on the girl from this morning, Luen¡­

    "Elder Wei, is there¡­ something strange going on in this sect?" I asked.

    "Stranger than Devil Cultivators roaming the damn sect? definitely not, why are you asking, do you have any suspicions that something is awry?" he asked.

    "Hmm, nothing, just consider it curiosity," I said.

    "It''s good to be curious, but always remember¡­"

    "Yeah, curiosity is what usually kills the cat, but that somehow sounds like a threat, you know," I said.

    "Yes, I didn''t want you to interpret it like that or think that I have anything to do with what you believe might be going on in this sect, for all I know nothing besides this damn spider that you said is living among us is taking up any of my mental space to think of."

    "Right, we need to kill this¡­"I couldn''t finish my words because I fell face forward to the ground.

    Thest thing I saw was elder Wei rushing towards me as his face looked paler than a white sheet from fright.

    "Hey, what''s wrong! Ling Cao! LING CAO! WAKE UP! LING CAO!"

 Chapter 334: Plan

    <h4>Chapter 334: n</h4>

    I woke up a bitter on my bed, with the mother of all headaches deciding to pay me a friendly visit.

    My head felt like it was a half-boiled egg, and whenever I moved my head or even rotate my eyes I''d feel racking pain.

    I sat down with great difficulty and found elder Wei sitting on the stool next to my bed.

    "Had me scared there for a second," he said.

    "What happened," I said as I was holding the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger trying to massage it.

    "You suddenly fell, I didn''t know what to do, nor did anyone after all the only doctor we had¡­" the elder didn''t finish his words, of course, he didn''t need to, I was the cause of that man''s death.

    I sent a divine sense to scan myself and found the problem immediately.

    "I seem to have over-tapped on my personal Qi reserves without realizing it," I said.

    "That''s¡­ not possible, I mean, I never saw or felt you using Qi at all," he said.

    I pointed at my head with my finger, "Here, I was using a cultivation method that increases my concentration level at the expense of my Qi, and after treating all those elders and carefully managing the blood flow of every blood vessel of that girl, I was bound to burnout," I said.

    But that wasn''t'' the whole truth, there was something else, I knew for a fact that I''ve used more focus and used my Mind''s Eye for far longer and more exhausting times in other ventures than today.

    I think the fact that I overtaxed my mind was not the only factor, especially since the old tingling sensation I used to feel at the back of my head transformed today to sledgehammer blows that went right into my mushy brain.

    I should slow down on using mentally exhausting tasks lest I end up dead not from being killed but outright frying my brain.

    I stood up from my bed and had a few pills to help with the headache then I walked out of the pce only to find it already dark.

    "Damn¡­" I cursed as I saw many cultivators waiting in line.

    No one understood why I was cursing right now.

    "Is he dead?" I asked and immediately received a reply from Elder Wei who walked out of the door.

    "Yes, he died a few hours ago, one of his sons brought him here for treatment but you weren''t avable," Elder Wei said.

    "Damn, I wanted to bring him down a peg, I didn''t expect to copse, I should talk to his son," I said.

    "No need," spoke someone from in front of the crowd, looking at him he had blood covering all of his sleeves and had red eyes from crying probably.

    "He brought it up on himself, it is the way of cultivators¡­" he said, and he clearly didn''t believe those words, it''s not easy to see one''s parents die especially in front of you.

    "It wasn''t my intention to leave him to the wolves, I wanted to make him at least feel threatened and acknowledge my existence, his death was thest thing I wanted," I said.

    "I understand that, I''ll be leaving¡­" he said.

    "Come back tomorrow, I''ll take care of your own treatment, free of charge¡­" I said.

    The man stood nodded then continued walking forward.

    "You can''t save everyone Ling Cao," Elder Wei said.

    "I can''t, but I shouldn''t have overtaxed myself to fall unconscious¡­" I spoke.

    "Stop ming yourself, you wouldn''t have anticipated that, in a sense, it''s the Medical Doctor''s own fault for causing the girls to suffer so, thus making you overdraw on your Qi to help them and ended up unconscious, just let it go, deaths happen far too often in cultivation worlds, there is o point beating yourself up about it," Elder Wei added.

    I nodded and asked the rest of the people in front of the pce to disperse, I wasn''t able to help anyone in my current condition anyway.

    "I''ll open up shop tomorrow, I''ll see you then," I said then went back in to meditate.

    Treating the entire sect took more than a month worth of trouble, not to mention that several of the people I treated I had to treat again because they kept getting bitten.

    "This can''t keep going on like this I''ll be spent before the year ends," I cursed as I threw away a random wine bottle from my table.

    "The Sect Master had personally searched the entire sect and didn''t find anything, we don''t know where the nest is," he said.

    "That''s not an excuse, if we can''t find the nest, we might as well reallocate¡­" I grumbled back.

    "Yeah, I don''t think the sect master or anyone will ever agree to that," Elder Wei replied as he drank from his own mug.

    "At this point in time, I''m actually considering it," someone spoke and it was the Sect Master who seemed to have arrived at the entrance of the pce.

    "Sect Master," Elder Wei sped his hands to the man in charge.

    I sped my hands as well but my eyes were too exhausted to even care and give proper etiquettes.

    "You look exhausted¡­" the sect master said.

    "Yeah, try and overdraw on your own mental reserves for one month straight without rest. And this damn constant headache is killing me¡­"

    The Sect Master looked at me funny, but Elder Wei spoke up, "Don''t mind him, Sect Master, he became easily irritable after a couple of weeks of headaches and inability to meditate away, treating an entire task by one single person is no easy task, especially when he is studying cultivation at night and cultivate his spiritual herb garden whenever he has a small window of free time," Elder Wei said.

    "I could understand that," the Sect Master said then turned giving us his back, "I don''t know however how to solve this, we can''t find the Grizzly Spider, it''s not even that dangerous of a monster, but it ability to hid under the eyes of everyone is limiting our options," he said.

    "It''s because you''re not trying hard enough," I spoke.

    "What do you want us to do, Ling Cao, I turned every stone in every house, I even found a few Devil Cultivators that hid well just by ident as I was looking for that damn spider, I''m really not trying to say this, but are you really sure there is a nest here, and they''re not just wandering from outside," he said.

    "Not from outside that''s impossible, there is a nest here, I''m sure of it¡­ I can force them out, but it''ll create amotion, a very big one¡­" I said as I rubbed on my temples.

    "Wait, you had a way to pull them out and didn''t tell us?" the sect master said.

    "Yes, I didn''t tell you because it''s a very dangerous way," I said.

    "What is this way?" asked the sect master.

    I sighed before I said, "Well¡­ the Queen is currently feeding, she is using her brood to feast upon your cultivators, and they''re taking the Qi to her, once she grows she''ll personallye out, and then she''ll be a very dangerous opponent, I personally don''t want to be next to a Saint ss monster when ites out," I said.

    "Wait, but Grizzly Spiders aren''t even Ascendant Level creatures¡­" the Sect Master said.

    "Yes, that''s because they''re still Grizzly Spiders, but once she evolves she''ll be A Grizzly Brood Mother and that''s a different beast altogether. Can you take on one of them?" I asked.

    "One-on-one, yes, but it''ll be annoying, not difficult¡­" the Sect Master looked around, "There will be a lot of destruction though¡­" he said.

    I sighed and said, "I can bring her out, probably at half the power of a Saint Cultivator, with a bit of coordination the elders can help you limit the damage, the problem is I don''t know where she is approximately is hiding, otherwise I could have taken care of it all by myself. We''ll have to pull her out then improvise¡­" I said.

    "Wait, you can take on a Grizzly Brood Mother?" Elder Wei said.

    "With enough preparation, yes, but as I said, I need to know her general location¡­ Elder Wei, can you survive against a brood mother for at least an hour?" I asked.

    "With a bit of difficulty yes, I can probably survive enough for an hour," he said.

    "How about the other elders, how many can replicate your feat?" I asked.

    "Elder Lou, elder Feng, and elder Fu-Tian," these three only are on par with my own power level but Elder Lou is dead¡­you killed his son and him¡­" Elder Wei said.

    "Oh¡­ well two is good enough for me. Sect Master," I said as I addressed the head of the sect.

    "Yes," he said.

    "I''ll need three days, of rest, and preparation, after that I''ll devise a n that will probably cause a few casualties in the process, and since you''re the one who is capable of fighting toe to toe with the Grizzly Brood Mother you''ll have a very important task," I said.

    "It''s the first time I''ve seen a disciple giving a sect master orders," elder Wei mumbled.

    "Hey, don''t say it like that, it''ll give people ideas, anyway this is the only n I can think up and that can work to pull out the Grizzly Brood Mother, and it goes like this¡­" I began exining.

    Soon after my exnation finished both Elder Wei and the Sect Master were scratching their heads.

    "If I didn''t know any better¡­I''d say you''re trying to get me killed Junior Ling Cao," Elder Wei said.

    "That''s the only way, what do you say?" I asked.

    Elder Wei sighed and said, "Yeah, I''ll do my best."

    "Just don''t die," I said.

    "I feel like a babysitter¡­" the sect master said.

    "That''s because there is no one better than you for the job," I said.

    "It''s okay, when do we start then," he asked.

    "In three days, I really need the rest once three days are over, we''ll start," I said.

    The three of us agreed on the date, and thus the n began.

 Chapter 335: I Did Not See That Coming...

    <h4>Chapter 335: I Did Not See That Coming...</h4>

    After three days, I woke up reluctantly from my meditation.

    You can never have enough rest in the face of an important day, especially if shit hits the fan, you could end up dead.

    I shook my head and stood up, heading to the door where the Sect Master and Elder Wei, and elder Fu-Tian, were waiting.

    This new elder, I never had a full interaction with him. He was not as old as elder Wei and looked slightly bulky even under the robes of the sect. He had a full beard and was bald with arge gash of a scar going from one side of his face to the other.

    It gave him a feral look and seemed rather too ''Masculine'' for him to treat it, it actually gave him an edgy good look.

    "Elders," I nodded to the people outside.

    "This is the brat that you said will help take down a half Saint Creature? Are you sure Sect Master," Elder Fu Tian said?

    Before the sect master could reply, "Oh, hell no, I''m not helping with that, I still want to live, I''ll only lure her out, you all will be the ones taking care of the ''Killing'' her part. Once my job is done, I''ll head to where the Sect Master is," I said.

    "I didn''t expect you to speak like a coward¡­" the elder said.

    "There is a difference between being a coward and being a dumb idiot, I''m not nning on killing myself, anyway, do you all get the gist of the n?" I asked.

    Elder Wei nodded and so did the Sect Master.

    "And we''re supposed to believe that you, whatever your cultivation level is¡­ is it, Nascent Soul?"

    "Yes," I said.

    "Ugh, a Nascent Soul cultivator, you said, is capable of pulling out a Saint ss beast," he said.

    "Half Saint, if she fully transforms, I don''t even want to pull her out," I said.

    "Anyway, you seem confident, what if she doesn''te out?" asked Elder Fu Tian.

    "Then, nothing changes and I''ll keep treating the people here," I said.

    "And you agree with this brat?" the irritating elder asked the Sect Master.

    "His n sounds solid, though I don''t understand how he is capable of pulling the spider out, we''ll have to trust him," the Sect Master said.

    "I hope for your sake that there is a spider, otherwise if you''re just wasting our time¡­"

    "Well, I actually hope that there is no spider, but we can''t all have what we hope for, that threat is real, and believe me you''ll experience it firsthand. Anyway, Sect Master, did you gather the kids?" I asked.

    "They''re all at my own pce," he said.

    I looked up, the distance between the Sect Master''s Pce at the main Mountain Peak and my own small pce was pretty great, however, he could easily cover the distance in no time. I''ve seen his speed firsthand in the arena.

    The reason why I tasked the Sect Master with staying with the kids, was for the fact that he is the only one capable of fighting against the spider one-on-one, and in case her nest is underneath the pce or near the kids he can stall her out and provide time for the disciples to escape.

    As for the elders they''ll be separated to guard the northern and southern parts of the sect. The west and east parts of the sect are pretty much empty and if the spider is anywhere around that area it''ll be the best-case scenario because the elders and the sect master can both converge towards those areas and clear out the spiders.

    "Right, I''ll begin shortly, I hope we''re all ready," I said.

    Elder Wei nodded to me, turned, and shot forward to the northern part of the sect.

    The second elder took a moment, looked me up and down then scuffed before he turned and headed to the south.

    The sect master took a couple of steps and I could already feel his presence over the main pce in the distance.

    Good, there are a few other elders on standby in case shit goes ugly, though they can''t fight the Spider Queen, they can help with evacuating, and even staling her.

    Now, my job to start this charade.

    I pulled a small talisman with a small hole in the middle of it and hundreds upon hundreds of inscriptions surrounding it.

    I ced it in front of my mouth, took a massive breath, then pointed the talisman up.

    Then, I released the pent-up breath through the talisman creating a massive cloud of poison that shot up forward like a sted torrent.

    The cloud and the poison shot up like it had been ejected from the depths of hell and soon began coiling above the sect and under the dome.

    I took another breath then released a second poison breath that followed after then a third and fourth.

    Soon I received a divine sense message.

    "Ling Cao, what are you doing?" asked the sect master as he realized that the poison cloud was bing more and more dangerous the more I blew poison into it.

    I took a couple of breaths and chugged down a couple of pills I made thanks to the many herbs I now have.

    "I''m evacuating the spider," I said.

    "This looks like poison, wouldn''t this harm the students?" he asked.

    "It''s harmless to humans and nts. But it has a different effect on other creatures¡­ and it''s the reason I didn''t want to use it," I said.

    I then blew another gout of poison cloud and soon, the poison became thick enough that it started raining.

    It rained pale green droplets above the entire sect and soon everyone who was watching what was happening seemed to realize that something wasn''t right.

    Looking around, the small animals and critters that would usually loiter around the sect, the birds and frogs seemed to go insane.

    The small creatures began fighting against each other as if they had seen their mortal enemy, kin killed kin, and prey killed predator. The carnage that began on the sect was nothingpared to a full-on war, but for some reason, seeing a flock of pigeons pecking a small eagle to death, and rats biting their way through the flesh and bone of cats made everyone look at the world as if it had lost all of its logic.

    The carnage began and seemed wrong, it looked wrong, and was wrong. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I was the one who instigated it. However, this was all for one reason.

    "What is this Ling Cao?" asked the Sect Master, there was confusion worry, and utter shock in his voice.

    "It''s a toxin that affects a part of the brain. The Amygdaloids, or the Amygd of the brain¡­" I said

    "And what is this amygda- that thing you just said¡­"

    "Oh, that''s the part that is responsible for decision making, anxiety, fear, and aggression, I modified this toxin to not affect only one type of Amygdaloids and those are human amygdaloids, anything else, it''ll send them to a frenzy like never before, they''ll fear nothing, worry about nothing and their rationality will be struck against the wall, they''ll fight and kill as if it is thest thing they''ll do, they won''t fear fang or w and will keep fighting as long as there is a breath left in them¡­"

    "And how is that going to help us get the spider out? Won''t that just make it angry?" the sect master asked.

    "Yes, it''ll make it angry, very so, angry enough that she won''t even bother feeding anymore and wille out to kill anything in its way, exposing itsir, like I said, I''m not a fan of this n, but this is the only way to pull that creature out¡­" I said.

    "Right, but I still can''t locate it, I''m using my divine sense everywhere¡­" the sect master said.

    "Don''t worry, rain is all-prating, it''ll soon find its way into one of the spider''s own tunnels, nest or hiding, once a single dropes in contact with the creature, or the toxin in the water infiltrates the air of their, we''ll know where the spider is," I said with confidence.

    Suddenly, the Sect Master Spoke, "I felt a tremor under me!" he then sent a shocking wave of divine sense and soon spoke up, "Damnation! You''re actually right, it''s here but it was hidden too deep! It''sing up!"

    "Sect master¡­" spoke Wei, his voice was slightly trembling, "I also just felt a tremor¡­I think there is another spider here it''s big, and it''sing up."

    "Shit¡­" spoke Fu Tian, I didn''t need to hear what he had to say because I could already guess it.

    Not only I could guess that he too felt a tremor, but I at the same time felt the vibrations of the ground underneath me.

    "What in god''s name is happening in this sect!" I cursed as I took several ancient steps back from where I stood only to be stunned at what came out from where I was standing a few seconds ago.

    Two massive hairy membranes shot up from under the ground. They had a thin but sturdy-looking structure and seemed to be bendable.

    The two membranes looked like scissors and soon spread apart, then pinned themselves to the ground. With force, they heaved and pulled whatever that was attached to them to the overground.

    In front of me was a creature that had Eight Eyes that were as big as elephants. And those were only its eyes¡­

    And from the looks of things, there were three more, each underneath one of the elders, and two more that emerged from the east and west and wereing here.

    "Well¡­shit."

 Chapter 336: Impossible Opponent

    <h4>Chapter 336: Impossible Opponent</h4>

    I didn''t have time to worry about the fact that there was not just one grizzly spider queen, but about five within the sect because the bastard in front of me was adamant about taking me down.

    The moment it jerked one of its many ugly hairy legs I didn''t even have to think, I acted.

    I struck down with a back step forcing myself into a reverse Ancient Step, thankfully I did because I didn''t even see the lege down and where I was just a moment ago was nothing but rising dust and dirt along with a massive hole on the ground.

    "Fuck!" I cursed as I took another step away from the spider spamming bursts of Qi into my feet to push me away from the danger.

    As a Soul Formation cultivator, there was no bloody chance in hell or heaven that I would even fare a long, sodding chance or shot at even harming something at the Ascendant Stage, not to mention an almost fully evolved Saint ss creature. I''ll be dead, deader than dead, and more if I were to arrogantly try and even face it.

    So, I ran, I ran like there was literal hell up my ass. And believe me, even that was not enough.

    The hairs on my back stood up immediately, this was something that a lot of cultivators have, and it reminds me of a certain spider guy, which is pretty damn ironic considering the situation I''m in.

    I forced myself into sudden teleportation away from where I was and soon after I arrived to a new destination, I was immediately blown away by a powerful shockwave that sent me rolling on the dirt.

    Looking to the source of the impact my mouth almost dropped from where it was.

    A section shaped like a pizza slice was eradicated by the spider as it had blown what seemed to be ¡­ fire from its mouth.

    "Are you fucking kidding me!" my eyes bulged at the absurdity of the situation, not to mention that the fire was purple and it seemed to be melting everything that it touched even stone.

    If this thing was out to feed, then there was no way it''ll use an attack such as this because it could melt off the very food that it was trying to eat, the poison I used was probably too much for it and now it''s only thinking about mass murdering whatever I moved within its peripherical vision. And with that many eyes, this thing is gonna kill anything in its vicinity.

    "Ling Cao! Are you alright?" came the strained voice of the sect master.

    "Worry about yourself and the disciples first!" I shouted back.

    "Goodd!" he said feeling a bit offort from hearing that I was still alive but I on the other hand was not sure how long I could keep that up.

    Fighting this thing is stupid, absurd, and akin tomitting suicide by getting strangled and drowned in a magma river.

    Escaping on the other hand is my only shot but I know for a fact that I can''t outrun this thing if it seriously tries and chase after me.

    However, I have another smaller advantage. I literally don''t care if I die, in the worst case I''ll get kicked out of this trial. So what should I do?

    Do I keep running away and hope to live? Or do I try the dumbest shit no sane person will ever even consider.

    Of course, it''s option two for me.

    I turned and pulled several talismans, though I didn''t have the same tools as I do in the real world, I managed to make a lot of good stuff.

    I already had a contingency n in case the n to pull the spider out went to shit, and this is one of them. Though this n heavily relied on having other elders help me or at least distract the spider. Now I''ll have to do it all by myself.

    I finished one single line on all of the talismans in my hand and shot forward to the spider.

    The world began darkening as clouds gathered above the Ancient Sect. The dark clouds turned red immediately and soon came the lightning.

    I teleported several times in session right above the spider as I threw the talismans in the air in a sense that when the Tribtion Lightning strikes down, it''ll go through the talismans and into the spider.

    The n worked wonderfully as I flew forward throwing away the talismans like a bomber airne, however the effects were far from what I had hoped.

    The lightning struck through the talismans and into the spider in the process, however, all the lightning could do was singe the spider''s tough skin.

    No wonder, for such a creature to be harmed by tribtion, the tribtion must be Saint Qi induced and not regr Qi induced.

    But that was more than enough for me.

    I shot down back as the spider was fully focused on the iing lightning unable to understand why the Heavens were sending tribtion lightning at it.

    I had to risk a bit here so I surged forward with all the speed I could and pped a few talismans against the spider''s leg.

    The moment I touched the spider it was immediately notified of my presence and seemed to ignore the tribtion clouds.

    I took another step right under the spider''s belly where I pped another talisman and thankfully I risked doing that because the damn creature had mmed down with its leg on where I was a moment ago.

    I continued pping more and more talismans against the spider''s belly to which it seemed pretty annoyed and tried to crush me by sitting on me.

    It wouldn''t have been a bad thing if the spider was a fair maiden, but this damn thing is heavier than a mountain and I''ll be turned to paste. Also why the hell am I thinking of being sat on, fucking hell man.

    I stepped forward again and away from the m, however just the mere contact of the spider''s belly to the ground was enough to echo a shotgun-like explosion of sound and a wave of pushing force that sent me rolling away.

    I tumbled on the ground a dozen too many times before I found a solid rock that seemed to break my tumbling and felt like it broke a few bones in the process.

    I looked forward to seeing the spider opening its mouth, I didn''t need to guess to know it was going to shoot out the same cone attack that it did before.

    And thus I snapped my finger causing one of the talismans to blow up, it was the first one I nted and it exploded with a loud bang and a great effect.

    The explosion caused the spider''s hind leg to topple down, not broken or heavily damaged but damaged nevertheless, and at the same time, the fact that it destabilized the spider caused it to shoot out its cone attack at a different angle, that small change in the spider''s position thankfully helped me survive being melted alive.

    The shock and power from the outgoing pour of its breath pinned me to the rock and I was thankful that it was solid enough that I and the rock didn''t get blown up from just the attack''s shockwave.

    However, the impact and the fire that surged out from the spider''s attack was enough to damage and have a bit of my skin burning.

    I almost face palmed due to my own stupidity, how can I forget about my Veridian Heart me while I''ve been using it to refine pills for thest few days.

    I called upon my Nascent Soul and surged forth my own Veridian Heart me to coat my body from the heat, the unbearable heat immediately turned to a cool refreshing sensation of calmness, and with that, I shot myself not against the spider but into the giant fire that it caused.

    I realized a few things after seeing Spider''s Breath directly.

    The first thing was that it wasn''t pure fire, but it was a liquid that shot forward. And the moment ites into contact with air it wouldbust and turn into mes. However, arge portion of it doesn''t immediately burn and is sent out along the breath. That''s what''s causing whatever it touches to melt and burn and from just the smell I could easily understand what that was.

    It was poison.

    Though anyone would think that an Acidic Poison would probably not be a great thing to ''Consume'' as a cultivator of the arts of the Poison God, all poisons no matter what they were are nothing but nutrients for us. So with such a great feast of incredibly rare poison, why should I fear anything?

    I licked my lips and I greedily dove into the purple burning liquid.

 Chapter 337: Fist of Roaring Ki

    <h4>Chapter 337: Fist of Roaring Ki</h4>

    The creature that just arrived was pretty much what I can call the worst-case scenario times ten.

    After dumbly and stupidly pitting my life against one, and almost dying in the process, I now have to deal with another.

    But I don''t have the mind power to even stand up let alone fight.

    The spider on the other hand seemed a bit more interested in its fellow that was currently being cooked alive than good-ol me who was pretty much a sitting duck.

    It ignored me fully, and for a split second I thought that the Breath Sealing Poison was a factor in canceling out my presence, however, if seven of the eight eyes on the new spider were looking at its dyingrade, the eighth eye was looking at me and me alone.

    I was already in the spider''s detection range, and the creature already decided that I was not a threat to its wellbeing andpletely ignored me because it had something else in mind.

    The spider walked, more like bulldozed its way towards the burning spider, and without hesitation raised two of its front legs and stabbed them right through the burning spider''s skull, killing it in an instant.

    The scene didn''t end there, it took a few squirms and spasms for the first spider to die but while it was still in its death throes and jerking, the fully healed-up spider shoved its fangs right into the dying spider''s belly and began consuming it.

    Even if the mes from the first spider seemed to transfer slowly to the other one, it didn''t care, it wanted to feast and feed and it was going to do that even if it would burn for it.

    To what end? I have no clue, but if it was daring to risk its own life to eat, then there must be a damn good reason, and that is, by itself is reason enough for me to fuck the hell off.

    I stumbled forward as I desperately tried to stand up and move, and it took everything from me not to fall unconscious.

    The biting of the tip of my tongue was not a nice experience and I''m sure as hell I''m not doing that again. But I needed to keep myself awake, sadly I don''t have any of my smelling salts on me or this would have been a far less painful event.

    I moved to dread the fact that I was dozing in and out of consciousness. I had to get to safety, for now, the survival of the sect is the least of my worries, I don''t want to lose out on the opportunity to obtain more information from the Ancient Sect so I must hold on.

    But my will and my body had two different opinions, and without a body, will is nothing.

    I fell t on my face, tasting dirt mixed in with the metallic taste of my own blood.

    I grasped at the ground like a drawn man grasping at straws, unable to move an inch forward.

    And soon, I realized that the ground under me was slightly trembling, not from another spider, but the one that was eating had apparently finished and was nowing for dessert.

    "Sh---it."

    Just as the spider''s form shaded me from the sun, and me fully realized that I was a goner, something seemed to crash into the spider sending it rumbling and tumbling like a wrecking ball.

    Looking to the side, with difficulty of course, I saw the sect master. Half of his body was naked, from the torso and up and he was fully covered in blood. His mouth was opened in a wide grin and underneath those robes that he usually wore was what I could now say to be a perfectly sculpted set of muscles that any man would kill to have.

    Nothing too inted to make him look like a powerlifter, but not too skinny to look like a shredded martial artist. Just a perfectbination of both well-defined muscles and enough meat on him to not look too skinny but not too bulky.

    "FIST OF ROARING KI! Ancient Stomp!" the sect master shouted and this sent a shiver down my spine.

    This was the same art that old man Gin had given me.

    immediately the sect master raised one foot up and struck down. There didn''t seem to be a reaction other than his own loud shout but just as the spider rose back up

    to its feet, the entire area around it was folded in two, as if an ethereal giant foot from the high heavens hade down uninvited and caused the mother of all earthquakes right on top of the spider''s head.

    I was literally shot up from where I wasying just from the impact that happened a couple of hundred meters away. But the sect master used a bit of his qi to stop me from mming back to the ground.

    He then tilted his body forward and took one step, causing the sound barrier to break as he disappeared from where he stood and appeared right next to the spider with a back fist rapidly striking against one of the spider''s legs.

    The back-fist shot energy like a loose cannon causing the entire creature to literally flip from where it stood and spin right above the sect master.

    The sect master didn''t want to waste the opportunity and ducked then shot forward clutching the spider with both fists and shot along with the massive creature as if it weighed nothing but a bag of feathers.

    The sect master as he was rising up managed to somehow add a spin to his ascend. Even I would have to feel sorry for how dizzy the spider would now be feeling from all the spins he was going through.

    After enough distance in the skies, the sect master managed to get off of the spider mid-air and then began free falling alone while the spider was still going up.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki, God''s Eternal Fists!" the sect master tucked both of his arms under him and I could see Qi manifesting around his arms like two gigantic gauntlets made of pure gold.

    He then released both fists forward with the mother of all roars, and the two giant fists shot right into the flying spider and continued sending it further and further up.

    The sect master slowed down his descent to a halt and lightly stood on the ground.

    And just as I was about to ask him why he sent the spider to take flight lessons, two explosions echoed in the sky creating two globes of Qi and energy that for a minute seemed to create two suns in the sky.

    The sight of such a thing came first, then after that came the sound and I could swear that my ears were close to bleeding from the sound alone.

    A wave of Qi covered me from the sect master who was still gazing up at the skies. And then it came the shockwaves of both explosions. Powerful enough to literally force anything nearby to be ttened against the ground. Not even dust dared rise up against such impact.

    "Holy shit, you''re actually strong," I said.

    "Oh, when did I give off the feeling that I wasn''t?" asked the sect master.

    "Oh¡­ never mind that, anyway, what are we going to do about the other ones?" I asked.

    "We, are going to do nothing, you need to rest. I''m surprised that you even managed to take one out yourself, that made the rest of the elders in a very tight and tough spot you see," spoke the sect master.

    "How so," I spoke fighting dizziness.

    "Oh, they already saw a junior fully capable of defeating a Saint ss beast, so they''re really salty about not being able to do the same, I was told off by both of them when I asked to help them," he said.

    "We still have one spider on the loose though," I said.

    "Don''t worry about that one, it wasn''t just Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian. But even the other elders of the sect, once they realized that you alone managed to survive and fight back, banded together and are now fighting off thest spider. Our job here is done, as for you, you seem to be exhausted, rest up child," spoke the sect master.

    And as if only the worry about the sect was the reason I was still up, hearing the sect master''s words gave me permission to let go and fall into blissful unconsciousness.

    I woke upter on finding myself in my own room.

    I sent a divine sense through the pce and found out that there were many people nearby.

    Getting up was a bit difficult as I felt slightly groggy. However something felt

    different, It was as if the ground was slightly¡­further away than it used to be for some reason.

    Before I could even understand what went on, the door to my room sted open as Elder Wei who seemed slightly different than I remember shot into the room.

    "You woke up!" spoke Elder Wei.

    "Yeah, man my head hurts¡­ how long have I been out?" I asked.

    "How long? You don''t remember?" he asked.

    "Remember? Yeah, I remember fighting the damn spiders¡­"

    "That¡­happened three years ago."

    "Say what now?"

    "¡­What now?"

 Chapter 338 Destination And Calamity

    Within the confines of a tower that had a patched-up wall, were two people standing around arge piece of paper where several others were strewn all over the ground.

    Anyone unrted to the subject will find it hard to understand the scribbles and random shapes on the parchment and the strange symbols that it represented.

    "That little bastard, I never thought he''ll solve it, this actually makes far more sense," Master Rain spoke to his attendant.

    "I still can''t figure out how he managed to realize that this was a mathematical inscription," the attendant said.

    "I don''t understand too, he said something about Algorithm, and when I asked him what that was, he said it was a jargon he uses. Basically, it''s some sort of cumtive and finite session of predefined course of operations that will permit one to resolve a problem." Master rain said.

    "And what is that?" asked the attendant.

    "I have not a single clue what the hell he was talking about, but he seemed sure of it, so I took it with a grain of salt. Anyway, he managed to solve this, so what do you think this is?" asked Master Rain.

    "Well considering the result of this parchment ended up in a session of numbers it''s pretty obvious that this some sort of Coordinates to a location, the problem is, it''s not one set but several sets of them," said the attendant.

    "I had the same idea, but I don''t think it''s possible for them to be sets of coordination, this is all one single location," replied master rain as he took another look at the parchment.

    "How would you judge it to be so?" asked the attendant.

    "Usually normal coordination will have specific degrees north or west for example, but here we have even Depth and incline, it seems that this isn''t a location on a, but more like coordination for a none fixed ce," spoke Master Rain.

    "How can you put fixed coordination for a none fixed location?" the attendant asked.

    "You can only do that...if you''re in a ce where there is no sense of direction..." Master Rain said.

    "You''re not talking about that ce? Thest time we went..." the attendant couldn''t finish his words.

    "Yes, but that time we weren''t prepared. And now we have some sort of direction, so we''ll have to go there..." Master rain said.

    He then pulled a pen and paper and began jotting something down.

    "What''s that?" asked the attendant.

    "I''m leaving Shen Bao a message," he said as he handed the attendant the paper.

    "Give this to the Dean, and tell him to give it to Shen Bao, make sure to be quick, we''ll leave in a couple of hours, I need to call a few...friends," said Master Rain.

    The look on his face was grim.

    If anyone were to look at Master Rain, they''ll clearly know that he himself didn''t want to go there.

    ***

    "I meant, what do you mean by three years ago, at most I probably lost consciousness for a day or two, I do not feel that...old," I said.

    "Nor should you, you''re a cultivator not a mortal, anyway, the Grizzly Spider assault happened three years ago and some change the aftermath was pretty ugly, we lost a good deal of elders, and that caused our sect to dy the re-opening of our sect," Elder Wei said.

    "This is all too sudden," I spoke feeling another headache creeping up.

    "Wei, you can leave I''ll finish your report," spoke someone.

    Turning to face the direction of the voice, I saw the sect master. Standing tall like a mountain.<sub> </sub>

    "Sect Master," Elder Wei bowed then left the room.

    "Ling Cao, how are you feeling?" asked the Sect Master.

    "Slightly lethargic and very confused," I replied.

    "Right, well, it seems that you have some sort of...mental problem," the sect master said.

    "Hey, don''t call me an idiot, I know I might not be conventional, but I''m not crazy," I replied.

    "No, I didn''t word that correctly. You appear to have something that is making your mind reel whenever you overuse your Qi. I called upon many doctors and the best answer was that your soul seemed to have evolved and is feeling suffocated in such a tiny sea of consciousness. It''s as if you are possessing your own body," the sect master spoke.

    He wasn''t wrong, and I was feeling slightly worried because possession is the act of Devil Cultivators and we all know the Ancient Sect''s stance against that.

    "At first, I considered killing you," said the sect master.

    Blunt but honest.

    "Ah... and why is that? Is it because you belie that I''m possessing my own body?" I asked.

    "Yes, and I had plenty of reason supporting that theory, the fact that you were able to be uncanny, strong beyond belief, and pretty much, hosted experience that no one your age should have... as you has shown when battling against a half Saint ss creature while you were nothing but a Nascent Soul cultivator," he said.

    "It was more like cheap-shoting it to death, but your point?" I asked full of confidence.

    "My point is if you actually were possessing this body, for whatever reason, and you really are not Ling Cao, then, there is actually no point. You didn''t show hostility to the sect nor to your peers even after they treated you badly, you didn''t harm anyone and actively sought to protect the sect by helping the sick members and devising a n to retaliate against the Spiders," He said.

    "I could still be a bad guy acting good," I said.

    "Hey, I''m defending you here, stop incriminating yourself... anyway," he said.

    "The doctor took more days inspecting you and it seems that the earlier diagnostic was half true," he said.

    "Which half?" I asked.

    "The possession half, so you''re in the clear. More diagnostics revealed that you had probablye in contact with something that overly inted your soul force. You have so much soul force it''s absurd. Not even my own soul force can hold a candle to yours which is not realistic. Whatever you consumed is actually working against you right now, it''s killing you... your body is far too weak to contain such abundant and absurd soul force, thus whenever you use your Qi, your whole being will start feeling like it is going to rip apart," the sect master said.

    "It''s just a headache..." I mumbled.

    "A headache that will kill you if you don''t rise up in cultivation level. Anyway, all of this isn''t important for the time being," he said.

    "Well, I''ll find it pretty hard to think that there is something more important than me dying, but yeah, go ahead what''s more important?" I asked.

    "Ugh, your sarcasm is still the same." The sect master turned his head away and said, "We''re probably going to die. All of us," he said.

    "That''s a given no one can live forever," I said.

    "No, there seems to be something wrong with the world itself...it''s a premonition I have... there seems to be a cmity brewing and I have no idea how to solve the uing trial." The sect master said, and this caused the hairs on my back to stand up.

    Finally, a real clue about the cmity.

 Chapter 339 Honorary Elder

    "What is this cmity you''re talking about?" I asked.

    "It seems that what happened to you three years ago is happening again, only on arger scale this time," the Sect Master said.

    "Huh? What do you mean? The power loss?" I asked.

    "Yes, many of the elders have contracted this disease and many young disciples had also sumbed to it, we don''t know its source, or how to treat it, but it had gued us and now it seems that this issue is propagating through the whole of the damn ne we are on," the sect master said.

    "I don''t know the source of this thing but I do know what causes it," I said.

    The sect master''s head snapped to me immediately, "Really? How so, exin it would be greatly appreciated if we could figure out this damn sickness," the Sect Master stated.

    "Right, I don''t know how to describe it so it would be best if you were to see it yourself¡­but don''t ask questions about what you see in my sea of consciousness, alright?" I said.

    "Right," the sect master nodded.

    I then grabbed a small jade from my holding bag and ced it against my forehead. I then transferred all the scenes from memory to the jade and handed it back to the sect master.

    Once he took the jade and ced it against his head, he began reading through it, only for hisplexions to change drastically.

    "Goodness gracious, what in god''s name is that thing!" the sect master said as he removed the jade from his forehead immediately.

    "That''s whatever that''s causing the sickness," I said.

    "Oh, I''m not talking about that amalgamation of the disgusting membranes, no, that thing, whatever it is that you have as your Nascent Soul, how is that even possible? Howe you have a soul of a dragon in the body of a human?!"

    "Euh, dragon? I don''t know maybe because I ate the soul of one once, anyway, that thing, is what eats up memories and experience from the people ittches itself to, they just need to figure out where it hides and consumes it¡­" I said, "But now that I think about it, I really don''t think that''s possible."

    "Howe?" the sect master asked.

    "It''s because only I can do that, and maybe a few other entric cultivators, I really don''t think anyone at the Nascent Soul can fully control or confine whatever that thing is¡­ so we''re in the same pickle again," I said.

    "Not necessarily," the sect master said as he had one hand supporting his chin. "I have invited a friend over, and sealing things is the best he is at. So we''ll see if this information can help him figure out a way to deal with this damnation," he said.

    "Meet me at the Sect Master''s Hall, we''ll be holding an Elder''s meeting," he said.

    "Right then, I''ll be there," I replied.

    "Not with those robes you won''t," the sect master said.

    I looked down, I was wearing the same clothes from probably three years ago, but cultivators don''t usually get dirty, and if we do we can cleanse ourselves. My robes, however, we''re definitely still clean.

    "What''s wrong with these robes?" I asked.

    "They''re for inner disciples," the Sect Master said.

    "Your point?" I questioned.

    "You''re not an Inner Sect Disciple anymore, so it would not be good to have you wearing that still," the sect master said.

    "I must have missed some memo, I mean of course I recently joined the Inner Sect disciples but I find it pretty hard to believe that I did anything to warrant me to get kicked out¡­" I said feeling slightly annoyed.<sub> </sub>

    "Oh, no, not kicked out, we''d be mad if we did so, especially since you were capable enough to contend with a Grizzly Spider all by yourself, at the Nascent Soul stage," the sect master said.

    "I''m getting more and more confused¡­" I replied.

    "It''s because you did what many elders couldn''t and only Elder Fu Tian and Elder Wei could, and me included that you have been given the title of Honorary Elder, you''re considered an Elder of the sect, though your age and cultivation aren''t yet to pare, your contribution had been great enough that it warranted us to grant you such a title. Though you wereatose when the decree of such a title almost turned to a slugfest¡­" the sect master said.

    "Oh, let me guess a few elders didn''t really like me getting such a title?" I said.

    "You don''t feel too happy about it, and yes, a few were adamant on you not bing an elder, but Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian were the first to back you up," the Sect Master said.

    "Wait, Elder Wei, I could understand, but wasn''t Elder Fu Tian really prissy about my ability to handle the spider¡­ he even said that I''ll only be slowing them down, and he''s backing me up now?" I said.

    "Yes, after all, you both fought the spider, he received a few injuries and came to aid you in battle only to find you have already finished off your spider and that garnered a great deal of respect to you on his behalf. Elder Fu Tian is a very old ill mannered cultivator and never is impressed with words, only actions. So that is why he backed you up," the Sect Master said.

    "That''s interesting," I said frowning.

    "Like I said before you don''t feel too happy about this, even a smile would be good you know, you''re making this old man feel awkward," he said.

    "I mean I don''t know anything about bing an elder heck for me personally I feel like I became an Inner Sect Disciple yesterday," I said.

    "Don''t worry about it, you''ll basically be called upon to solve some basic issues between disciples or assist in some inner tournaments and trials when the time calls for it. You''re not required to do anything like External Missions or risk your life, like we said the Elder title is honorary, it''s only the benefits without the dangers that entitle.

    "Now that you say it like that, you''re right it does feel good. Anyway, you said we needed to meet this friend of yours," I asked.

    "Yes, I''ll head out first," the Sect Master said, and just as he was about to take a step.

    "Wait, can you tell me something first," I asked.

    "Yes, what do you wish to know?" he asked.

    "The Fist of Roaring Ki, did you make that?" I asked.

    "Oh that art, yes, it''s not something great to be honest, it''s just a basic fighting technique, why? do you wish to learn it?" he asked.

    "There was not a damn simple or basic thing about that, you tore a spider into splinters with that art¡­" I said.

    The Sect Master scratched the stub under his chin awkwardly and said, "Well, to be honest, it''s an art I created out of boredom just to see how far I can go in the physical body cultivation, and I have to say I didn''t think it would be that powerful. Anyone who sees the art would think that it''s nothing but a simple set of moves and attacks and would not even consider practicing it, but after spending time mastering this art and more time perfecting it, you end up with what I have shown you, and at the same time the very reason I''m known as the Golden Titan," the Sect Master smiled.

    Though I didn''t understand what was the value of such a clearly over-the-top title I knew for a fact that if this person was capable of single-handedly protecting the Ancient Sect from all the forces of the Vast Expanse and able to hold off anyone from vying for his treasures¡­ his Title isn''t just for decoration.

    "I would like to learn, but if this is a personal achievement and personal discovery of a martial arts I wouldn''t dare," I said.

    "Oh no, to be honest not many actually¡­well no one really asked me about my art, they all think its too brutish and fit for hooligans, so if you wish to learn I can teach you, but those skinny arms of yours will not do the trick," he said.

    "Right," I said as I looked at my body, I had removed the chains and cors on me when I was preparing to fight the grizzly spider, thankfully, if I had kept them on after three years I''d probably be dead from their weight. But now I''ll need to bulk up to learn this man''s arts.

    "I''ll head out first, we''ll meet this friend of ours, and I''ll give you a session to learn the Fist of Roaring Ki" he said.

    Though I already had learned it by heart from elder Gin, this time I''ll be able to better understand that art from the source itself. This should be fun.

 Chapter 340 Imperial And None-Imperial

    I took a few hours to manage myself since I was apparently slightly ufortable with my body at the time. Three years without using your body can be a little bit difficult to recover from since I had been used to a smaller body.

    And since Ling Cao was an adolescent when I first hosted his body, he now had a growth spurt and his proportions changed. Making it slightly strange to movefortably until I managed to fully adjust to my new self.

    I walked out of the pce I was in and found my garden in pretty damn good shape.

    Since I had not been keeping it proper someone had managed on my behalf.

    "Death Defying Hands, you''re up," spoke a friendly female voice.

    I cringed as I heard that title once again, turning it was the same brte of that day that helped me when I was treating her friend. Luan if I remember was the name of the sick girl, but I never got the name of the brte.

    "Call me Ling Cao, it sounds less edgy," I said.

    "But..."

    "Just call me by my name, also I never got yours," I said.

    "It''s Yan Ryong,"

    "Okay Yan, were you the one taking care of the garden?" I asked.

    "Yes, me and sister Luan, she is over there hiding behind the Grazer Pale Leif," she said.

    I was surprised at first because, how did she know what''s the name of that nt? That''s not somethingmon, and secondly, how the heck did these girls manage a garden full of poisonous nts, anything here can kill a man ten times over upon contact.

    My surprise was clearly apparent.

    "Let me guess, you''re wondering why we''re not dead yet," she said.

    "Of course," I replied to Yan then turned my head to the other girl and spoke up, "Alsoe over and stop hiding."

    "Y-yes I''ming," she said as she slowly and carefully made her way through the nts.

    "How did you guys manage this garden?" I asked.

    "I''m sorry I knew we should have asked for permission first!" the bashful and slightly embarrassed Luan said.

    "How can you ask for permission when I wasatose for years. Anyway, you did good but how did you learn about these?" I asked as I pointed at the nts.

    "We asked Elder Wei to give us permission to study Toxicology, and he gave us plenty of materials to study, after having learned all of the properties of the nts in your garden by heart, we started tending to them. We did have a few close calls but with preparation, we managed to subvert any... inconveniences," Luan said.

    "You''re a lousy liar," I said.

    My words came as a surprise to both of them, "Subvert my ass, the two of you are stocked up on poisonous remains you''re not even noticing it. Just wearing protection from these poisons doesn''t mean that you''ll be immune to them," I sighed.

    I then approached the two of them and ced my palm on each of their foreheads.

    I sent in a divine sense and called upon all the poisonous remains within their bodies, they were small in quantity but if not dealt with, they''ll cause them to slowly start dying.

    Waves of Poison Qi shot up through them and then began beckoning the poisons towards where I wanted them to go.

    Soon, the two girls'' faces turned pale and they both each turned to a different location and began barfing theirst week''s meals.

    "That should do the trick, wash your mouths well and you''ll be good to go, thank you for taking care of the garden, but I''ll be doing that from now on," I said then before they could talk I took a step forward and began stepping through the skies using the Ancient Step.

    My footwork was sloppy but wasn''t bad enough to embarrass me in front of the people watching. My destination was the Sect Master''s Main pce where he said he''ll be meeting a friend.

    Arriving there, I knew exactly where to go, after all, the Sect Master''s balls were so big that he actually had signs indicating the direction and location of the treasury.<sub> </sub>

    It''s more like a taunt to anyone who''d daree to his sect. The treasures are there, take them if you can.

    Not a single elder stopped me from making my way, thankfully, they knew who I was and didn''t seem like people who would want to cause a scene for nothing. Some sort of meeting had already been going on when I got there.

    "Ah speak of the devil!" spoke the sect Master as if he had been expecting me toe at this exact moment.

    "This? This is your honorary elder? Are you mad, Golden Titan? Or did you grow senile that you''re now making elders out of kids who have not a single hair on their balls?!"

    Of all the people in the room, only the person who had spoken was someone I''d never seen in the sect before.

    He wore a set of dark robes, and his face was covered in what seemed to be an expressionless mask.

    The only defining characteristic of his whole person was the strange symbol on his chest. And I knew that symbol and what it meant.

    "Ingrained Wisdom, The Creedless," I muttered.

    Immediately the man who seemed to disregard my presence snapped his head towards me surprise clear on his face even if his face was an expressionless porcin mask.

    "How? No, Golden Titan must have told you," he said.

    "Tell me what?" I questioned.

    "I don''t wish to y these games..." the man in the mask said.

    "I didn''t tell him anything, to be honest, I''m surprised he could even read that...after all, I only know your title, not your Position..." the sect master said.

    "Then you''re telling me that this brat managed to decipher the Imperial Codex?" the man in the mask said.

    "I would not know, what if you ask him yourself?" asked the sect master.

    The man in the mask looked at me and then waved his hand drawing with Qi several dozen symbols in the air then heplied them into one single symbol.

    I didn''t even need to wait for him to speak, as I channeled my own Poison Qi in my finger and began drawing simr symbols to him thenpacted them on top of his own symbol causing the two to collide then copse disappearing from the air.

    "When did you nurture such a monster..." the man in the mask said.

    "Would you believe me if I told you I never did?" the Sect Master grinned.

    "This is extremely strange, howe someone who isn''t of Imperial Blood able to write Imperial Letters, understand them and thenpose nullifiers to them? were you taught by an imperial? No, teaching Imperial Letters without having Imperial Blood is impossible, the connotations and calctions of Imperial Codex are tooplex for none imperial blood are tooplex to calcte...what kind of monster are you, kid?" asked the man in a mask.

    "I''m just a person who enjoys arithmetic," I shrugged.

    "Well, now that the introductions are over, do you think him unfit to join us?" asked the Sect Master.

    "His cultivation level is far too low," the man in mask replied.

    "Where we''ll be going doesn''t really care about a person''s cultivation level, and you know that best," the Sect Master said.

    "Yes, but the path there is far too dangerous..." the masked man said.

    "I''ll personally protect him if the needes," the sect Master smiled.

    "Hmm... then so be it, I needed another brain to help me contain that monstrosity anyway. All help is appreciated, however!" the man in the mask said as he turned to me, "You will have to do exactly as I say, follow my orders to the letter, I don''t really care if you even have to perish for it, your and my life are of no value to what our goal is, I expectplete obedience!" the man in mask said.

    This caused me slight annoyance but seeing the Sect Master''s pleading look to just go along had me calm down on the flurry of insults I was gracefully picking through my head.

    After all the Sect Master promised to teach me the true Fist of Roaring Ki, so I had to bear with this masked person.

 Chapter 341 Under-Void

    "The n will go as this," spoke the man in the mask.

    "Me, Golden Titan, Demon Host Wei, Crouching Tiger Fu Tian, Blood de Que, and finally the kid, will all go together, not a single person more," spoke the man in a mask.

    "That''s it? you''re saying just a few of us are enough to take a hold of that thing?" asked the sect master.

    "It''s not about numbers, it''s about me applying the proper formation, the rest of us there is just to handle the hurdles at hand, as you know Cultivation Power is irrelevant in there," spoke the man in a mask.

    "Right, so basically we''re bodyguards," bald Fu Tian said.

    "And you should be honored to, serving the Imperial n is an honor that not many can have in their lifetimes," the Man in mask spoke.

    "Sounds pretty pretentious from the same people we expect caused this whole clusterfuck," spoke Elder Wei.

    The man in the mask''s head snapped to Wei immediately, "I hold a lot of respect to your title, but dare speak words of sphemy against the Imperial n and you will not live long enough to regret your words."

    Wei didn''t seem to be fazed by the man''s words and just slumped back in his spot with hands crossed.

    I still don''t understand what''s going on, but if I had to guess, this masked guy, or whatever he is affiliated with happened to either know the source of the thing that tried to eat my knowledge and now is propagating through the sect, or are probably the cause to such a thing to appear."

    "Your goal will be to escort me and the kid to the heart of the Under-Void. Once we''re there, we''ll be able to seal the creature responsible over this damned situation," the man in the mask said.

    "How do you even know its in there, and how does sealing something that is in a different ce have any effects on the people already harmed or currently affected by those disgusting things," I asked.

    I felt as if I was a kid giving an opinion at a grownup table. About to be shut down.

    However, the man in the mask sighed and said, "I would forgive this interference once, and once only, since you don''t know any better, open your ears and listen. The creature you''re talking about is a parasite of soul, its origin is¡­ unknown," he said.

    ''Unknown my ass the simple twitch in your tone of voice clearly means you''re lying.''

    "However, they work in a specific manner. You must have seen or been present at the Grizzly Spider invasion, must you not?" the man in the mask asked.

    This told me a thing, he didn''t know I had a hand in taking them out.

    "I heard a few things about that incident," I said.

    "Right, you only heard. Never mind that, since you''re just a brat I doubt that you would have been of any help if you had directly interfered but still. The Grizzly Spider is a Matriarch type beast, once it dies, all of its colony will die alongside it. The same is true for the Soul Parasite."

    "Then why are we trying to seal it instead of killing it?" I asked.

    "DO NOT. INTERRUPT ME!" the man in the mask spoke shooting out a divine sense capable of crushing mountains.

    However, the Sect Master''s own divine sense shot up and protected me from any harm.

    "Calm down, Creedless," spoke the Sect Master.

    "Don''t call me by my position, Golden Titan! Brat, what the Imperial Sect Decides to do is not of any concern to you, but just to make your heartfortable, sealing using the Imperial Scripture is the same as killing that beast. If you do well, we might even invite you over to learn more of the Imperial Scripture, under a ve Contract, of course, we don''t want to have our knowledge spread," the man in mask said.

    ''Yeah right, and while you''re at it, cover the sun with a thread, little piece of shit,'' I didn''t say those words out, but I''m sure my facial expression was clear.

    The man in the mask decided to ignore me on that and finish his words. "Once its sealed the Imperial n will take care of everything afterward and you''ll all be sent off with appropriatepensation for your efforts."

    Just as I was about to ask something else, the Sect Master spoke up, clearly intending to cut me off. "So when are we heading out?" he said.

    "In one week, I''ll need to prepare plenty of treasures for this advent, I''ve pulled some strings to obtain a Thunder Carriage."

    "Oh my, a Thunder Carriage, how did you even get permission to take that out of the Imperial Pce?"

    "That is my business and my business alone, I''ll head out. And kid, make sure not to slow us down, your help mighte in handy but it is not necessary," the man in the mask spoke. Then he stood up and began walking away disappearing from sight visibly with every step.<sub> </sub>

    "Huh, Void Walking¡­ what a show-off," Elder Wei grunted.

    "Oh what''s that?" I asked.

    "It¡­something like our own Ancient Step, only it allows a person to fuse with a space that isn''t our space, making them cross distances like teleporting but without actively being present. It''s hard to exin," spoke Wei.

    "You mean¡­ like this," I said as I took a step and teleported to another part of the room.

    Everyone in the room collectively stood up, shock clear in their eyes.

    "H-how in the hell did you learn that?!" asked the sect master.

    "What do you mean, that''s how I usually teleport, I just walk into a different sub-space and appear out into the active sub-space we''re in, it''s easier than normal teleportation¡­though I don''t understand how someone can normally teleport because whoever tried to exin that to me was aplete idiot," I said.

    "Ling Cao¡­I don''t know what or how you managed to learn this, but whatever you do, Do not! Under any circumstance unless its immediate life-threatening use this in the presence of the Creedless!" the sect master said.

    "Why? It''s just normal teleportation," I said.

    "It''s not! That''s the basis of the Imperial Cultivation, that''s not something anyone besides the imperial Linage is allowed to learn!"

    "Wait, so the guy in the mask¡­"

    "Yes, he is an imperial, a real one, born from the blood of the Heavenly Emperor," the Sect Master said.

    "Well, whatever, anyway, back to the real topic, I don''t really like where this is going¡­it feels scummy," I said.

    "Anything those bastards do is scummy, they treat us like their damn ves," elder Fu Tian said.

    "It''s because they''re strong. Thankfully, they back off when ites to our sect, because they know this idiot here can really be a pain in the ass," Elder Wei said pointing at the sect master.

    ''Did my ears lie to me, or did Wei just call the sect master an idiot?''

    "We''ll do as they say, this will give us enough leeway to have them off of our backs for a long while. Now, head out and prepare I''ll have a few words with Ling Cao," the sect master said.

    The elders nodded to the sect master and left leaving me alone with the sect master.

    "Alright, I''ll have to tell you a couple things," the sect master said.

    "Let me guess, it''s about the fact that I will probably, most likely die. No, it''s more than certain that I will die in this venture or at least never to be seen again," I said.

    This caught the Sect Master by surprise. "How would you¡­ no, why would you say that?" the Sect Master said.

    "Hey, I might look young, but I''m not stupid. This guy right now was like you said, Imperial Blood, and I, non-imperial blood was able to match him in his knowledge regarding Imperial Inscription. I really doubt a snobbish golden spoon-fed little bastard like that would like it, I''ll probably either be snuffed out, or enved for the purpose of the Imperial n," I said.

    "¡­ your very words are scary, scary for me and I''m not even in your position, however, I''ll not allow anyone or anything to harm you, for this you have my word," the sect master said.

    "I appreciate it, but you don''t really need to worry about me," I said.

    "How Come?" asked the Sect Master.

    "Oh, simple, because didn''t you say that wherever we''re going, cultivation base is irrelevant?" I asked.

    "Yes, but, he still has more experience, and is able to bring powerful treasures," the sect master said.

    I shook my hand, "Nah, don''t worry about that, I can handle myself when the ying field is equal, after all, when ites to a location without ess to heavenly Qi or Saint Qi. I am basically a god there," I grinned.

 Chapter 342 Titan Skin

    "Well, I admire your confidence, but do remember, an Imperial like the Creedless isn''t someone you can take on with tricks, even if the ying field is equalized," The sect master warned.

    "That''s why I''ll rely on your assistance if shit hits the fan," I replied.

    "And you shall have it, but first, let''s get you in shape, you said that you were interested in the Fist of Roaring Qi," the sect master said.

    "Yes, I am," I replied.

    "Then let me help you train," he said grinning.

    "That would be greatly appreciated, but¡­" I said as I looked at my arms, "I don''t think I have the proper build for it," I said.

    "You mean your muscles? Indeed, you do look a bit skinny," he said.

    I was clearly not skinny butpared to how bulked up he is, I might as well be.

    "That''s not something I can manage in such short notice and window of time. Seven days is not enough to build a proper body mass," I said.

    "Hah! Not when I''m responsible,e with me, I''ll take you to a secret ce," the sect master said and began walking out of the pce.

    I followed after him and soon he took flight.

    The two of us moved through the skies and away from the Ancient Sect for a pretty long while, it took more than eight hours of constant flight before we arrived at a barren location that seemed slightly out of ce.

    Around us was nothing but open fields where natural grass grew, the density of Qi was low, it wouldn''t be considered out of ce but at the same time, it looked like apletely natural and inconspicuous terrain.

    We came down and the sect master began looking around before he walked up to a simple stone on the ground.

    It was the size of a child''s fist and didn''t seem that important, but once the sect master grabbed it, my eyes lit up as a disgustingly massive formation brightened up the entirety of the open terrain.

    It was only for a second, but I could see the formation in that second and realized how utterly andpletelyplex it was.

    "Wow, who made this formation?" I questioned.

    "I have no idea, I stumbled upon this ce by sheer luck when I was deciding to build my sect, at first, I thought of this as a good spot, but when I found this formation, I decided otherwise. I built my sect away from here for two reasons. First, not to draw attention to this area, and secondly, if my sect is built nearby no idiot wille looking around. I make sure that all the missions I send my disciples on avoiding this areapletely just to keep it safe. And the simplicity of such a hidden in in sight formation is great at protecting what''s underneath," he said in one single breath.

    Soon what hid beneath was unraveled to be a small hole on the ground. Moss grew around it and it looked like it could only fit one single person at a time.

    If one were to realize that such a great formation was hiding nothing but a small hole where they''ll clearly be surprised.

    The sect master dove into the hole first and disappeared from sight. I followed after him.

    The bottom of the hole wasn''t that far and just as I got down I tried using my divine sense. However, I couldn''t detect jack shit.

    "As long as the formation is active, you cannot use divine sense on this area. If you use your divine sense from outside the formation will alter your sight and make you see nothing but dirt. While if you use it from inside you''ll bepletely blind," the sect master said and raised his hand creating a small light of pure Saint Qi.

    The light gave us our sight back and we were able to see whatys around us.

    It was a small tunnel that one would need to slowly walk through due to how narrow it is.

    There didn''t seem to be anything special about this ce, but I knew if such a spot was hidden by such an incredibly dense andplex formation, there had to be a reason.

    The two of us moved forward for a pretty long while until we arrived at what seemed to be the end of the tunnel.

    There was some lighting from there and there was this incredibly sweet smelling from the end.

    The sect master moved himself to the side and revealed the end of the tunnel to be a small circr room with a single stctite protruding from the center of the room.

    Underneath the stctite was a naturally shaped caving that looked like a bowl.

    And within the bowl made caving was white liquid, there wasn''t much most likely nothing more than enough to fill a simple cup worth of the white liquid.

    The sect master smiled, "Good, there was enough harvest this century, this should be enough."

    He then moved his hand and the entirety of the liquid gathered in a small spherical globe.

    He pulled outa gourd and filled it with the liquid and handed it to me.

    "Sit down, and drink this," he said.

    My modern mind had me thinking of all sorts of unsanitary things¡­ don''t drink the stuff from the ground, especially if they''re a hundred years old. But the sect master seemed to cherish this thing.

    I sat down and did as I was told. And my god was this thing delicious.<sub> </sub>

    I emptied the gourd the moment it touched my mouth and I wanted more.

    "What is this?"

    "That''s Stone Aged Milk," the sect master said smiling.

    My mind went reeling as I heard the name of such a thing.

    It came in brief passing through one of the Poison God''s book''s mentions of ungodly powerful solutions. There exist a few natural treasures that can make ns and sects wage eternal wars over. And this thing was one of them, because not only is it stupidly rare. But because it can cure almost all illnesses, rejuvenate the body, increase life span, restore youth, and could outright bring anyone from the brink of death to the peak of health.

    "This¡­" I said shuddering as my hand was shaking on the bottle, what I drank was pretty much more expensive than an entire.

    "How do you like the taste," the sect master grinned.

    "This¡­ is too much, not even for me, old man, are you crazy, there is a limit to generosity, this is absurdly too much!" I said.

    "Hah, it''s not enough to repay your father''s kindness, but I hope it is a bit in the path of doing so. Ling Cao, I still have many things to give you, so this is but a start."

    My heart felt like it was wrenched out of its ce. Because, this man, the sect master was this kind, to the kid who owned this body, and I was nothing but a parasite possessing it. Even if all of this is fake¡­this sucks.

    I sped my hands and said, "Thank you, I hope I can repay this in the future," I said.

    The sect master shook his head, "No need to thank me, Ling Cao, just live well, and improve yourself more, I want to see you reach the peak, just like your father tried to. Anyway, you should be feeling the effects of the Elixir soon enough," he said.

    And just as he finished his words, I began feeling my body heating up.

    Sweat began trickling down my forehead as I began feeling slightly suffocated.

    "What''s going on?"

    "Your body, it''s being rebuilt. You said you didn''t have enough muscles, this is a cheat way to have you obtain the perfect body for Body Cultivation while at the same time not affecting your Poison Cultivation," he said.

    "How¡­ do you¡­ know¡­ I¡­ cultivate¡­ poison," I said as I was breathing harder and harder.

    My mind was reeling as I couldn''t even begin to think how painful this was since I was in so much pain I couldn''t even feel pain.

    "I''m not an idiot Ling Cao, I could see how you handled the Grizzly Spider''s poison and judged that the way you managed to recover from the effects of those disgusting things was because you switched your entire cultivation to poison, I deemed that by doing so, you managed to kill off the parasite that was eating up your knowledge due to that poison," he said.

    ''Though that''s not what happened, it does sound logical''

    The sect master started pacing back and forth while I was inplete agony, on the ground.

    "I thought of actually switching my whole sect to a poison sect when these things started attacking us, but when the Imperial n intervened I decided not to and go on with their n to seal the main source of these things," he said.

    He then stopped and looked at me, "You''re pretty strong Ling Cao, the first time I drank that I was wracked in so much pain I kept going in and out of consciousness, but you seem capable enough to sustain it. You do not disappoint Ling Cao, I''m proud of you," he said smiling.

    ''Yeah, proud, my ass, I''m in so much pain it''s taking literally everything I got just to keep conscious, if I were to lose consciousness here, I don''t even dare think how many years I''ll end upatose for.''

    Suddenly, the skin on my body began warping, and then tearing then repairing itself. Every muscle fiber I had on my body tore in half, then three grew from the stem, then these new three tore and three more grew from each. My muscle mass was abnormally growing and at this rate, I''ll end up bing a disgusting mass of muscles. But the fibers stopped breaking at one point and then began reinforcing themselves with even smaller morepact muscle fibers, my muscle mass didn''t grow in size anymore but in density.

    If I were to look even further using my divine sense, I''d see that my bones actually were also affected, they felt like they were being sheered and then reinforced back again.

    Every joint I had broke, and repaired itself back reinforced with far more power than before.

    This happened all over and soon, the pain began receding and receding eve moe.

    Until I felt no pain.

    I took one breath and then began a fit of vomiting far worse than any I''ve ever had, and I had plenty of those.

    The sludge and scum that came out of my mouth were so foul even the sect master had to cover his nose.

    "By the gods that smells¡­" he spoke as I was still vomiting.

    And soon I stopped, and groggily stood up.

    The simple fact of closing my fist caused a sound as loud as thunder to echo.

    "Ah, perfect," he said. "Now you''re ready," the sect master smiled as he looked at me.

 Chapter 343 One Punch Cultivator

    "Ready for what?" I asked.

    "To learn the Fist of Roaring Ki, for now, lets get out of here and we can find an appropriate ce to train you," he said.

    I nodded at the old man and followed him out of the small cave.

    Once we were out, the Sect Master made sure to ce the small insignificant rock back where it belonged, causing the entire formation to brighten up once again, then fully hide everything from sight.

    We then took flight and headed to a random far away mountain peak. Arriving there, the sect master handed me a small manual.

    Looking through the manual caused me to frown. This was almost the same as the book that Elder Gin had given me, the manual about the Fist of Roaring Ki, however, the writing style was different. And it had slightly more about it than the other book.

    It was just a slight difference in forms to take, and patterns of attacks but it made a lot of the already simple move sets much simpler to practice.

    I then had to judge that the book that elder Gin had on him wasn''t the original but a replication from observation. Not to mention that the Fist of Roaring Ki that elder Gin had given me was missing a huge portion that this book had.

    "God''s Eternal Fists, and Ancient Titan''s Stomp..." I muttered.

    "Those are more advanced techniques, you should start with the basics you''ll be able to learn the Titan''s Martial Artter on once you master the basics first," the sect master said.

    I nodded to him and re-read through the whole book again making sure to not miss anything this time.

    I mentally adjusted all I knew about the Fist of Roaring Ki and all the ways to maneuver and move by applying the original move-set. It wasn''t that difficult since they were too simr, it was only a bit of adjustment that I managed to understand in practically no time.

    "Right, I think I understand the gist of it," I said as I nodded to the sect master.

    "I''m surprised," the Sect Master said.

    "Why so? Perhaps because I learned it fast?" I asked.

    "No, that''s not it, actually learning it fast was never the issue since this is a very simple martial art, the thing is, everyone who ever saw this always thought this was nothing but a brutish cultivation art that was too simple and not worth their time," the sect master said.

    "Simplicity is perfection, aplex martial art might be powerful but ites with great disadvantages such as cultivation level, Qi needed, or even the need to rotate Qi in specific rotation through one''s meridians, a simple art doesn''t make it weak, and aplex art doesn''t make it strong," I replied.

    These were basically reiterations of what Old Man Gin had spoken.

    "Spoken like a true sage, good, now that you understand how about a practice session?" he asked.

    "Oh, why am I not surprised," I said as I stood up.

    "Oh not against me," the sect master said, "I''m afraid that I might end up killing you if I were to get too excited," he said then he struck the ground with a step forcing a pir of dirt to manifest.

    Then he ced his palm on the pr, molding it and reshaping it into the shape of a human.

    The sect master rose up high and then like if he was some sort of puppet master threw his hands forward causing tendrils of concentrated Qi to shoot from each of his fingers and attach themselves to the dirt puppet.

    "You''ll be fighting that," he said "Show me what you have Ling Cao," he said and then flicked a finger, sending a jolt of Qi into the puppet.

    The puppet shot forward like a loose arrow with an extended fist aiming to tear my chest open.

    Anyone would think of dodging a surging blow like this, but if I were to do that Master Gin would be disappointed.

    I took a step forward and with all the power I could muster swung my right arm to the sidepletely parrying the puppet''s blow and before the Sect Master could even react, the other arm which I had tucked under my armpit shot forward like a bullet train, sting a massive hole into the dirt puppet, sending dirt flying all over the ce.

    "Oh my, impressive reaction time. Let''s see what you can do about this," the sect master flicked more of his fingers, causing the puppet to reconstruct and then shoot forward this time slightly slower but more prudent and ready.

    A slugfest started as I parried and dodged the puppet, but I waspletely in control. I was extremely surprised, this improved body was not just working perfectly, it was doing something beyond that, I was able to easily see every move the puppet made and was more than capable of contending with it in speed and power. I continuedly to force the puppet back and broke it on every turn or chance I had.

    "You''re more experienced in close quarterbat than I had assumed, alright let''s increase the difficulty a bit," he said as he shot more Qi into the puppet.

    The puppet that I was able to easily track became much harder to keep under sight, it moved faster and more subtly, and attacked from positions that should be possible, however, it was not much damage dealt even after I messed up and took a straight punch to the ribs, the puppet could barely harm me and the damage was minimal at best.

    "Good, your body had been constructed beautifully, nothing but a good weapon can pierce your skin now, good, keep up with the puppet, however," he said.

    The puppet began gathering more power in its legs and arms then moved in a most erratic way, side to side then front to back mixing in them all sorts of jabs, blows, and kicks.<sub> </sub>

    I instantly went on the defensive as the flurry of attacks gave me no breath to take or a chance to move.

    "Don''t stay on the defensive for too long," the sect master patiently advised.

    And I sure as hell wasn''t.

    I took a step forward causing the sect master to frown because I was in direct contact with an iing blow.

    Taking full advantage of the new body''s durability, I took the blow to the face and head on, literally.

    My nose immediately fractured but in that frontal step, I was able to gather one full momentum of a step.

    I had my palm forward upon trading the blow, and it shot forth power beyond what the dirt puppet could take.

    A conical st of charged-up Qi shot up from within the puppet''s chest, separating its torso from the rest of its body, by separate, I meantpletely evaporate it.

    The puppet''s limbs fell to the ground helplessly as the sect master was finding it amusing how he could no longer control the puppet to move anymore without a torso.

    "You traded your nose for a kill, admirable, but you should know that this might not fly facing another opponent," he said.

    I snapped my nose back to position and held back uncontroble tears.

    "I know, if someone else had more power in that punch I would probably lose my head, I took the risk based on the first blow I received from the puppet, it was tough but I knew I could take it, that''s why I risked my nose for the kill," I replied.

    "As you should, you took note of weakness and exploited it, it is the way of martial artists. Now, I saw something interesting, however," the sect master said as he came down.

    ? "What was it?" I asked.

    "You''ve been holding back," he said.

    "Not really," I replied.

    "I''m not talking about the martial arts, I saw that you tried your best to contend with the puppet, but I believe that you wanted to do something...more," he said.

    "To be honest, I was, but didn''t find the opportunity to, nor do I think I have the ability right now, I had to take this fight as a serious one, not a practice that''s why I didn''t try and use...'' That''" I said.

    "Then try it, right now, let me see how far you can go, or do you need to read the manual again?" he asked.

    I shook my head, "Photographic memory, I don''t forget something I''ve read once."

    I then tucked both my arms under my armpits, aiming at nothing in particr.

    The Qi within my Dantian began roiling and coiling then it shot out flooding out of me as if I was a living torch of green mes.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki!" I chanted, and immediately all the Qi that was raging around me seemed to be sucked into both my fists almost immediately. "Fists of the Eternal God!"

    The orbs of Qi that manifested around my fists raged on and shaped themselves intorge gauntlets of green fire and light around my arms. There was something like jet thrusters shooting out from the Green and Golden Gauntlets.

    The sect master smiled and then stomped on the ground, causing a massive pir to appear in front of me.

    "Punch it," he said with all the excitement he could muster.

    I took a step aiming to punch the pir, but the gauntlets took the initiative and the jet thruster behind them ignited even further shooting me up like a rocket.

    The pir in question had as much of a chance at blocking my fist as would a piece of paper against a burning great sword.

    Echoes of explosions that seemed to rattle space itself shot from the point of impact. And a spherical shockwave seemed to surge out from the crash, the shockwave was powerful enough that it dented the ground under me and seemed to visibly distort space around us for a brief moment.

    Then came the final release as all the Qi from the creation of the gauntlet seemed to shoot forward from the knuckles into a st of green fire and light that seemed to cover a gigantic distance up front and burnt every de of grass and every unfortunate tree in its wake.

    "My god..." I muttered as I realized the destruction brought out by this art.

    "Finally," the sect master smiled, "Finally someone else able to learn the Fist of The Eternal God."

 Chapter 344 Golden Titan

    "This is pretty destructive," I said as I gazed at my fists that had steam rising from them.

    "Yes, but ites at an annoying cost," the sect master said.

    I had a feeling that I was about to either suffer terrible exhaustion or some sort of painful experience.

    I took a few moments, and then tilted my head, "What cost?" I asked.

    "Wait, you''re not feeling it?" the sect master asked.

    "Feel what?" I dumbly asked back.

    The sect master hurried up and grabbed my wrist, sending divine sense through my meridians.

    "By the gods, what is this Soul Power," the sect master immediately released his hand.

    "I saw that dragon thest time, but this soul power is far too much, not even the imperial regime has something of this sort...Ling Cao, what in the world had you turned to?" he spoke a question, mostly rhetorical.

    "I have no idea, but from your words, I suppose this art uses Soul Power," I asked.

    "Yes, instead of Qi, it heavily absorbs a person''s Soul power, usually after three of those moves, even I start feeling mild headache. But you, with this reserve of soul power... I can''t see the limit to your potential!" the Sect Master jubntly spoke.

    "Let''s keep going, I have many other things to show you, start with the Titan''s Stomp, it goes like this," he said and began showing me how to use the additional arts of the Fist of Roaring Ki.

    "Most of the basic moves of the Fist of Roaring Ki can be considered pure martial arts. As for these, they''re what I call the Esoteric Skills, they''re extreme skills that channel the full potential of the Fist of Roaring Ki, the God''s Eternal Fist and the Titan''s Stomp are two of them. There is also another, which is my favorite of the five skills," he said.

    The sect master took a few steps back and then hunched down. A surge of Saint Qi manifested around him.

    The Qi then was absorbed back into the Sect Master''s tucked fist then he shot a punch forward.

    The face of a giant tiger of fire and light shot forward like a bullet train that seemed to rip through the ground as if it was a hot knife through butter. And that wasn''t it, the sect master sent a right jab, then a left, and more tiger faces manifested from every one of his thrown punches, causing more tiger faces to surge forward arcing their way and following the first tiger. The faster the sect master punched the more tigers would emerge and surge forward every one of these tigers would roaring to the high heavens.

    The constant punches of the sect master were so fast that his hands began to blur, but the wide smile on his face never disappeared as more and more tiger faces shot forward.

    Then soon the first of the tigers seemed to have reached its destination, while hundreds upon hundreds of other tigers were following after it.

    Explosion after an ungodly loud explosion seemed to echo out from the point of impact. The power of the explosions was so great that the ground shook and shook continuously that I had to grab onto something to bnce me from the sheer power.

    "Fist of the Roaring Tiger!" the sect master sent in his final shout and final punch, calling thest tiger face who was easily ten times the size of the other ones, this one shot like a cannonball, roaring and raging through its passing as it razed the ground from dirt stone and trees alike as if they weren''t even fit to stub or slow it down.

    Once the final tiger arrived to its destination, it seemed as if it had dipped, then it blew upwards into a rising tiger that seemed to want to consume the heavens themselves.

    The sect master''s smile was so wide that he couldn''t help but turnughing as sweat slowly dribbled down his forehead "What do you think!"

    "You''re a monster..." I said.

    "Thank you for thepliment," he smiled back.

    "How much Qi do you need to have to do something like this..." I asked as I looked at the result of such destruction. Myriads of mountains and high hills were all turned to dust from one skill, and the sect master looked tired but notpletely exhausted.

    "Well, I have about enough to do all of the Esoteric Skills... well, not the fifth one, that one, even I don''t like using it," He said.

    "I suppose the fifth one is some sort of taboo skill?" I asked.

    "More like, if I were to use it, then I will die. It''s more of a vengeance skill than something to rely on in a fight, nothing good wille from teaching you that skill," he said.

    "Fair enough," I said.

    "Right, now that you can use the skills, the most important part is how and when to use them, we''ll start by polishing your fighting experience," he said.

    "Didn''t we do that, with the puppets," I asked.

    "Yes, but that was before I realized that you were actually capable of using the full power of the Fist of Roaring Ki, now," he said as he removed his robes, revealing a set of well-chiseled muscles.

    He took a stance, and said, "You''re up against the real deal, you''ll be surprised how many people would die to get a chance to do a one-on-one sparring session against me, don''t disappoint me, kid," he said as his smile grew wide.

    "Am I allowed to only use the Fist of Roaring Ki?" I asked.

    "Of course not, this is a spar where I''ll be holding back a lot, but that shouldn''t be the case for you," he said.

    "Right then," I said then took a step forward, enabling the ancient step. And immediately appeared in front of the sect master, "Domain of Delusions, Fake and Real!" I muttered and tendrils ofw shot up trapping us both in a darker than ck sphere.

    "A domain already, impressive!" spoke the sect master and as I was sending a right hook his way, he tried to block it, only for his left hand to rise up and block nothing.<sub> </sub>

    My fist dug into the sect master''s jaw and sent him sprawling all over the ce. Unable to understand what was happening.

    I shot forward before he would realize the truth of my domain and sent a barrage of attacks where the majoritynder besides the few where he decided to dodge instinctively.

    The ability for me to move freely while having the opponentpletely lose the ability to recognize general direction was impable in a close-quarters fight. I was able to let loose while the opponent was confused about how to deal with blows that didn''t seem toe from the ''correct'' positions.

    The sect master sent a shocking amount of divine sense around him, hoping to disperse the ''illusion'' I made.

    However, it wouldn''t work, because it is not an illusion, it is a fact, a domain that forcibly switches all locations and without the ability to immediately adapt...

    My fists struck right into the sect master''s lower abdomen causing him to slide back.

    "Interesting domain, this would give you the edge over anyone in the same realm as you, however!" he said as he roared.

    "Gigantomachia! World of Titans and Giants!" the sect master spoke asw lines seemed to surge out from within him trying to eat up my own domain in the process.

    As soon as the first tendril of his domain touched me, I saw a world where I looked like nothing but a small ant, while the sect master looked like a giant of epic proportions.

    "Checkmate," I muttered.

    The sect master seemed to have heard that and smiled.

    "But it''s not for me," I grinned and immediately closed and opened my eyes, causing the sect master''s whole body to jerk back to reality, the reality being him back into my own domain of Delusion. And before the surprise on his face could even finish taking ce.

    The sect master''s nose and mouth shot forward huge amounts of blood from the sudden bacsh of having his own domain forced out of existence.

    I didn''t want to give the sect master any time to recuperate as I dove my open palm into his chest, "White Palm of gues!"

    The impact of my palm print on his chest wasn''t something to write home about, however, the deathly aura that began surging into the sect master was enough to cause a grown man''s hair to turn white.

    ck fog shot into the sect master as his literal longevity was being burnt.

    However I couldn''t keep this up for long, as I was constantly sucking away his own lifespan, and that would be harmful to him in the long term, and at the same time, absorbing his own Qi into myself.

    I pulled my hand immediately before I could have my veins rupture from the copious amount of Qi I was absorbing.

    And before I was to self implode, I channeled the stolen Qi, in this case, Saint Qi, before I could even digest it, and shot it out my own mouth with a mix of my own Poison Qi, the Veridian Heart me, and the Grizzly Spider poison.

    The mix was enough to have the sect master''s eyes widen before he dodged to the right,pletely forgetting that he was still in my domain of Delusion, and only ended up with him getting doused in the mix.

    I didn''t have the slightest intention of letting him take a single second to think or breathe, as I followed after the sect master''s flung body to try and upkeep the tempo.

    But, old age and battle experience seemed to be on his side.

    As he was flying back, he seemed to do a backflip and imploded a destructive wave of Qi that surged outwards.

    "Delusional Inception!" I chanted and the two of us were forcibly sub-surfaced to a second level of the same domain.

    The assault that the sect master had created didn''t seem to have a single effect on our new subspace as we were in a domain within a domain.

    "How... how are you able to make a second domain within the first, this is unheard off," the sect master''s surprise was clear on his face.

    "It''s not possible normally," I said. "But I could make it possible since we''re in a world of Delusions," I smirked. The whole aura of the sect master seemed to disperse.

    "I never thought I''d be bested by a youngling, it seems that I''ll have to y a little rough," he said.

    Suddenly, the sect master''s body began glowing in a golden light, and he began to expand.

    "Oh..." were the only words I could speak as the sect master''s size began growing to absurd levels, this wasn''t a domain where he could y as a titan, no, his body was literally transforming to a titan.

    And my domain, though it''s pretty big, seemed to bepletely unable to suppress the sect master as his sudden growth seemed to reach my domain''s ceiling and with a single push, the sect master fractured then shattered the domain like a chick leaving its egg.

    The domain''s foundation broke and shattered as thews that were making it were forcibly torn.

    Something warm seemed to touch my lips and as I touched my mouth I found my hand bloody.

    It seems that even if I have incredible soul power, I still suffer damage from having my own domain broken, though it''s not nearly to the extent of the damage I cause other cultivators when I forcibly shatter their domain by simply willing myself to exist outside it.

    Now that I stand here, looking at the sect master whose size seemed to dwarf mountains.

    I pointed my finger at the giant and said, "Oi, that''s cheating."

 Chapter 345 Under-Void

    "I give, I give!" I said as I held my hands up, there was no way I''m gonna beat this, and he doesn''t even look serious.

    "Ah, given up already," he said.

    "No way I''m beating you, especially like this, I need more prep time," I said.

    The sect master deted and soon returned to his original size, leaving massive holes in the ground which were made by the sheer weight of his giant form.

    <o>,m I had several questions on how the heck did he just remove all that mass and weight and is now as light as a normal human, but in a world of cultivation asking about thews of physics will only cause me more headaches, so I decided to not go down that rabbit hole.</o>

    "You could have at least tried," he said.

    "I could, but do you think there was a chance for me to win?" I asked.

    "No¡­"

    "Then why waste all that energy," I replied shrugging.

    "Interesting fellow," the sect master grinned. "Anyway, I don''t think our power level is fair to have a proper spar, nor do I think anyone in the sect could be able to fight you, though Wei might be able to, the fact that you''re able topletely neutralize domain might harm him internally before our advent soon to the Under-Void," the sect master said.

    "You already realized what was that," I spoke.

    "Oh, yes, your ability topletely disregard domain is rather fascinating, I don''t know how you did it, but I have a hunch, correct me if I''m wrong," he said.

    "Please, share," I said.

    "You somehow managed to convince yourself that thews or Domain does not affect you, as if you''re not part of its world, as if you have never admitted that such things exist, it''s a very interesting method. Especially since you too can use domain. You''re able to reject other people''s domains but apply yours. And if I were to take another guess, I would think that it''s all due to the very nature of your personal domain," he said.

    "Meaning?"

    "Meaning, that your domain itself, the Domain of Delusions, is so powerful that you delude yourself into thinking that such an enemy''s domain has no hold or power against you, and thus it breaks, am I right?"

    This sect master is something else, though he is wrong, he isn''tpletely wrong. I could reject the notion of domains before I made my own domain so he is wrong about the Delusion part.

    But the fact that I do not admit an enemy''s domain to exist is something he is right about, it is because I''m not from this world, and never encountered such a notion as a domain back in my world, thus I am able to ''wake'' up from it by willing myself to not exist within it.

    "It''s not correct, but not right either," I replied.

    "No need to exin to me your secrets, each and every cultivator has a hidden card, keep yours well hidden, because it is powerful, in either case, I don''t have much to teach you to be honest, besides giving you pointers on how to further improve your own battling stances," the sect master said.

    He then began showing me simple fighting stances and moves and asked me to follow after.

    I did as asked and replicated the sect master''s moves, they were slow,forting, and very rxing moves, almost like a good session of Tai Chi, however, only the savant would know that Tai Chi isn''t for rxing, it is a martial art, a slowed down martial art that has been made for one single purpose. Killing.

    Every move I made was also of the same nature, when they were slowed down they felt simple and normal and rather rxing. However, in my mind, I elerated the sequence of these moves and I was able to realize the danger within them.

    The sect master finished the sequence and said, "Can you replicate the full sequence without mistakes?" he asked.

    "I can, I don''t forget something I''ve seen," I replied.

    "Good, then do it at least ten thousand times, I''ll be leaving back to the sect, I have matters to tend to. Once I''m done, I''lle to pick you up." The sect master said.

    "Wait!" I muttered but the sect master had already taken a step back and disappeared from sight.

    "How the hell do you guys do that," I frowned.<sub> </sub>

    Then I went back to my practice. Slow and steady.

    ***

    A loud whine echoed in the depth of a dark space in a location where no direction could be told.

    There was nothing here but several massive pirs of brittle stone, spaced against each other by a distance too far for a normal person to jump past.

    On one of these rising pirs, there were two men. One looked younger than the other, and was wearing white robes that seemed to be dyed red in blood.

    The other was an older man who had a gruff and annoyed expression on his face. He seemed bored and at the same time annoyed, he had not a single drop of blood on him, however.

    Around the two were piles and pools of blood and viscera that clearly didn''t belong to them and was a part of something that was alive before it met them.

    From the side of the tform, arge slob of putrid-smelling and burnt meat seemed to slide down and fall into the deep dark abyss between the pirs.

    "That''s finally dead," spoke a man who had his eyes squinted enough that a person would think they were closed.

    If Shen Bao was here, he''d recognize them as Master Rain and his attendant.

    "What a pain in the ass," Master Rain

    "Do you know what those are, Master Rain?" asked the attendant.

    "No, this damn ce has been locked up for such a long time that it seemed to have grown a new species of creatures never before seen in the outer world. They''re blind and deaf, but they can sense anything that moves¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Should we take one of them with us outside?" asked the attendant.

    "To what extent? I''m too old to try and experiment on something like this," Master Rain said.

    "We don''t need to experiment on it, we can sell it, your funds are dropping by the way. And I''m sure a few of your geezer friends would like to put their hands on something this¡­interesting," the attendant said, "Especially since it seems like its immortal¡­"

    Just as the attendant finished his words, the blood pooling around the two of them surged forth down as if it had a life of its own and the slobs of burnt meat seemed to follow after.

    Bits and tendrils of flesh seemed to coalesce together and create what looked like a mole rat that had the body of a serpent.

    The naked hairless ugly creature hissed at the two and tightened the rest of its body around the pir causing it to fracture.

    "Don''t let it break it, we need a way back," Master Rain said just as he finished his words.

    The attendant pulled up a light fan, swung it thrice, and immediately after that, the mole rat looking creature was split in three finely cut pieces.

    Master Rain didn''t waste the opportunity and jumped forward, taking a powerful step on the iling body of the dying creature and jumping all the way to the next pir.

    The attendant followed suit immediately and the two made it safely to the next safe spot.

    "Keep moving, there are more of that thinging our way," Master Rain said and the two of them kept moving, waiting for the creatures toe at them, and then the two used the beasts as stepping stones to move forward.

    "I hate areas where I can''t fly," the sect master said.

    "Can''t you overwrite thisw?" the attendant asked.

    "Not when the source of thew is in the depth of this chasm. I''m not too keen on adventuring there yet," said the sect master.

 Chapter 346 Thunderbull

    Thinking about doing a move ten thousand times might sound like something hard, but actually doing it is close to being unrealistic.

    And that''s only one move, not to mention a full sequence of them which I''ve been repeating for an ungodly long amount of time.

    Six days so far, without stop or rest, I never thought it would take this much, and I feel cheated and I still have more to go.

    I''m close to nine thousand tries. And still, one thousand more repetitions to go. I''ve hadn''t had a moment''s rest yet and have been working my ass off redoing moves that I''ve memorized by heart and making sure not a single one of them is any different from the other.

    The new body I have in this world is so incredible that I felt no fatigue, hunger, or thirst even after constantly practicing for six days. Not only that, I was able to see a change to my whole build.

    The body I had after drinking the Stone Aged Milk was already the peak of human evolution, however, now it was just absurd, the muscles on me became even leaner and more shredded, while every move I made following the sequence of arts I was given helped chisel the muscles I was using to the next level of perfection.

    While I was still slowly moving around practicing, the sky above me seemed to rumble so loud that I felt the world was about to end.

    It was as if thunder hade with the wrath of the world itself in a bright day sky.

    I looked up and saw nothing different, the sky was blue and clear, and there didn''t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

    Yet the sound of thunder boomed once again.

    This time something was in the sky. I used my divine sense to scan it and all the hairs on my body seemed to rise up. It wasing my way at an incredible speed.

    A bull, not any bull though it was easily the size of an elephant, it had silver fur and horns and looked like its eyes were made from lightning itself as it charged with the speed of a freight train towards me.

    It rumbled like a storm in full rage as it stomped its way through the open skies and came charging forward.

    I subconsciously took a few steps back, because just the saint Qi that it was releasing as it was moving was enough to supercharge the entire sky.

    It then¡­ roared, if bulls can''t roar, this one can and my ears seemed to really not like it.

    The bull then began slowing down its charge and stopped a few hundred yards from me.

    It didn''t take a second nce in my direction after it had stopped giving me ample time to look at it and what it had behind it.

    The bull was carrying a carriage, like the roman carriages that were used in wars. Only this one was pretty big, enough for many people to standfortably on without any awkwardness of personal space being invaded.

    And on the carriage were four people.

    The Sect Master, Elder Wei, Elder Fu-Tian, and the Masked Imperial.

    "Let''s go," ordered the imperial. His tone was a directmand unwilling to be disobeyed.

    I slowly approached the carriage and made sure to keep my eye on the bull. I noticed several things at first.

    The entirety of the carriage was inscribed in Imperial Inscription. A shit tone of them. They were written on the carriage and then imprinted on the bull too. But what''s the point of branding the bull with inscriptions?

    And then I realized something, this bull was not a living being¡­ it was actually a part of the carriage. Some sort of¡­bio-engineered creature, a mix of machine and meat. It wasn''t alive and I was most likely not dead, but in between. Allowing whoever inscribed it to use this bull as a weapon, a tool instead of a living thing.

    "Stop gazing at the damn carriage and get on," said the man in the mask.

    I rode on the back as fast as I could and with a flick of the whips the Masked Man had on him, the bull roared once again and took to the skies.

    It was fast, so absurdly fast that we broke through the atmosphere to outer space in seconds.

    And the bull kept moving through empty space as if it was running on a paved floor.<sub> </sub>

    "Wisdom," spoke the sect master.

    "What?"

    "Are you sure about the presence of those creatures in the Under-Void?" asked the sect master.

    "I told you before, we personally locked its main body in there so it doesn''t escape, but now it managed to send out a few of its avatars, once the main body is sealed, all the people affected will be released from its curse, but we''ll need to get there first," the masked man said.

    The sect master wasn''t convinced that this was all there was to the matter, nor should he.

    This dude is he suspicious, I mean if you guys managed to lock it up in the first ce howe the creature sent out its avatars? Why didn''t it leave by itself? Also, from what I know, Ling Cao, the owner of the body was invaded several years ago, and the imperial n only moved now when the situation turned to shit.

    Something is rotten here, and I don''t know what it is.

    The trip to this Under Void, or whatever it was seemed endless. We''ve been on the ride for more than a month now, and I''m surprised that this bull was fully capable of riding on with full power and not a single moment of rest. It was fast, and also scary.

    Scary as in, when we were moving something in the deep space moved.

    When I sent out my divine sense to inspect what was the source of the movement. I immediately regretted it.

    Something like a catfish with the tail of a scorpion and the arms of an octopus seemed toe in contact with my divine sense and it immediately took charge of our carriage.

    "Idiot," spoke the Masked man, it was clearly aimed at me, and for some reason, the Masked Man didn''t seem too disturbed with this monster of a creature that was chasing after us. And I was pretty sure it wasn''t because the bull was fast, due to the fact that the catfish creature was way faster and it arrived at our tail in no time.

    However, the bull seemingly annoyed with that thing chasing us roared once, and a st of powerful electricity shot outward from the carriage.

    It expanded and expanded like a sonic wave and just as it touched the monster behind us, the creature seemed to stop in its ce and began shaking and shuddering as if a billion volts of electricity were going through it.

    The creature didn''t have any hopes of living after that attack and the bull seemed to not even care as it continued movingfortably through space.

    "There exist many monsters in the dark, thus why we took the carriage, of all the imperial treasures, the Thunderbull Carriage is the strongest and fastest of their treasures, they''re only given to special people, for special missions," the sect master said exining.

    "Titan, you speak too much," the Masked Man grumbled.

    The trip continued on for a few more days until we saw something strange.

    Space seemed to be¡­wrong, here.

    It felt like space was being grabbed by invisible hands, and pulled together in one single ce. It felt like the very fabric of space was being forcefully converged into one ce.

    "We''re here," said the Masked Man. "Titan, you''ll take care of the kid, the rest of you, you better not die crossing," he said.

    "Ling Cao," spoke the sect master to me via sound transmission, "No matter what you see, and what you hear, do not listen to it, to not crave it, do not want it. It is a prison of mind and soul, I''ll protect your body, but you have to protect your mind." The sect master said.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, "At least exin to me what''s going on," I replied back.

    "I can''t do that, if I were to exin what''s going on, you''ll have even a harder time getting over it, just trust me, and once we cross, do not trust anyone, not even yourself.

    ''This doesn''t sound too good¡­''

    Those were my thoughts as we were slowly approaching the special folds.

 Chapter 347 Bronze Gate

    The Thunder Bull prated through the fused spatial folds and immediately I felt as if the world was crashing on top of me. A pressure like no other seemed to wash over us, it was enough to cause the carriage to rattle for a bit.

    Waves of saint Qi shot up from the carriage and the sect master covered us and forcefully pushed back the pressure of entering through this tight spatial opening.

    Suddenly, my mind seemed to reel as if it was being forced to¡­ sleep.

    But, it felt so simr to being dragged into a domain that it only took me a moment to close and open my eyes to get rid of this pulling effect.

    My head hurt for a bit, but it seemed to disappear soon after. However, something I didn''t expect seemed to have happened.

    Looking around, we were no longer in deep space, but apparently, we were now standing on a gigantic tform.

    I sent my divine sense outward and seemed to notice a few things.

    The entrance to this ce was from the spatial folds, and looking behind me I could see the folds in space. Locked together.

    The area we were on was like the face of a cliff that didn''t seem to have a visible height or length. It was absurdly massive in size.

    In front of me was a gate that seemed to be made of bronze. There were symbols on it, Imperial ones, and this could easily mean that the Imperial n had something to do with the creation of this gate.

    Andstly, everyone but me and the bull seemed knocked out cold.

    The Sect Master, Elder Wei, Elder Fu Tian, and even the masked man were all knocked out, unable to move.

    Their vital signs were good, and they didn''t seem to be in any risk of death or in danger. But they were out cold still.

    I jumped out of the carriage to inspect the area around me first and seemed to find a good chance and opportunity to study the bull for now. At least the owner isn''t here to bother me.

    As I got closer to the bull, it also turned to look at me. Strangely, I could swear I felt surprised by the bull. And I don''t know if it was surprised that I was awake, or surprised that I was stupid enough to walk so close to a creature that could annihte Saint ss space monsters with a simple roar.

    "Easy buddy, I don''t mean no harm," I said.

    The probability of the bull understanding me was close to nil, but it''s never bad to be cautious.

    I began inspecting the inscriptions around the bull and on the carriage and seemed to realize a few things.

    The inscriptions in question are all here for one purpose, and it is topletely lock and seal the soul of this beast into this carriage, never to let it rest, and never to let it go free.

    If I were to give a close description, it would be the same as using red hot iron rods and impaling them into the body of a human through every joint, bone, and muscle and expecting him to run and ride.

    The pain this creature must be feeling is iparable.

    And sadly I can''t lessen it, to do that will mean to tamper with this inscription, and It''ll be immediately revealed once the man in the mask wakes up.

    "I''m sorry buddy, I wish I could lessen your pain," I sighed as I turned away and headed to the bronze gate.

    I took a look at the massive gate and didn''t seem to understand how something sealed to this extent can allow the creatures that gued the Ancient Sect to leave.

    The gate had inscriptions all over it, most of them were Imperial Inscription, but there were still others of more¡­normal, origin mixed in there. So, how did these creatures even leave in the first ce?

    Perhaps there is another gate, another exit?

    Sadly I don''t fully understand how this ce works so I''ll have to wait for the Man in Mask to wake up.

    Suddenly I felt the jerking of the man in mask through my divine sense. His Saint Qi signature seemed to grow at a rapid pace, he is going to wake up.

    I hurried back to the carriage and sat down in a meditative state.

    With my ownck of Qi signature, faking being unconscious is a piece of cake.

    So I closed my eyes and waited for the man''s actions.

    The man in the mask didn''t even turn as he groggily stood up from his seated position.

    I could hear him turn then a divine sense wave washed over us, then sighed and something metallic seemed to gently hit the wooden surface of the carriage.

    The Man in mask slowly walked between us, stood next to me for a moment, then continued his walking until he came down from the carriage.

    By now, I could hear him walking forward and away from the carriage, allowing me to take a peak with one eye.<sub> </sub>

    The mask he used to wear was ced on the carriage and he was walking to the gate slowly and confidently.

    He pulled something from his sleeves and ced it against the bronze gate, and soon the gate''s inscriptions began changing and transforming.

    There was actually anotheryer of inscriptions here. Interesting.

    Suddenly, the massive gate that seemed to be the real entrance seemed to fade away and disappear and soon a smaller one popped out from the side.

    The masked man then turned and thankfully I was able to close my eye before he took note of me being awake.

    He then approached the bull and dragged him by the reins.

    The bull moved forward pulling us all into the new entrance instead of the massive one and soon we were in a different locationpletely. I didn''t even need to open my eyes to know that because the temperature seemed to drop to below-freezing points the moment we walked into this new area.

    The man in the mask, well currently maskless walked up back to the carriage and took a seated position.

    It took close to an hour before the Sect Master woke up, and just as he did, he cursed "Shit, I should have slept for a bit more," he said.

    "You''rete," the man in the mask spoke in a gruff sounding annoyed tone.

    "Hey, you can''t really tell me that it isn''t worth staying there for a bit more," the sect master smiled.

    "It''s all fake," he said. "Anyway, are you sure about that kid, he seems to have no life signature, is he really alive?" the man in the mask said, clearly about me.

    "Oh, don''t worry about him, he has a unique cultivation technique," he said.

    "You mean, that he could be awake?" the man in the mask said "And I just didn''t notice it?"

    ''Oh, shit.''

    Silent moments went by before the man in mask said, "Like that''s a possibility, not if he''s just a little Soul Formation disciple, but¡­ it never hurts to do a bit of soul searching, perhaps I''ll figure out how he knows about our secrets" he said as I felt his hand slowly approaching me.

    "Creedless!!" spoke the sect master

    But before the man in the mask''s hand could even touch me, a bright formation lit up from my clothes, it was a protective formation I created, it was no way near enough to even dare bother someone above the Ascendant stage of cultivation. But right now, it served a good purpose.

    The formation will not physically stop the man in the mask, but it will make him stop.

    "Hmm, self-defensive formation, he really is asleep, if he wasn''t he''d have physically reacted instead of his formation. Never mind my actions Titan," the man in the mask said as he withdrew his hand.

    Soon another couple of hourster both Wei and Elder Fu Tian woke up.

    "God damn it, that was terrorizing," spoke Elder Wei. While Elder Fu tian''s words were too few to give an urate description of what he saw when he was knocked out.

    "What now?" asked Elder Wei.

    "We wait for the sleeping beauty to wake up, we can''t proceed with one of us still in that dream world," the man in the mask said.

    "It could take him a few days though," Elder Fu Tian said, "It wasn''t easy for me to wake up but it was thanks to my own experience and old age that I was able to discern fake and real that I woke up," he said.

    "I''m sure that if it is something rted to illusions Ling Cao will wake up soon, don''t worry about it," the sect master said.

    And as if on cue, I slowly began releasing my own Qi signature revealing that I was waking up.

    Slowly after opening my eyes, I saw all of the four men watching me carefully.

    "How did you manage to wake up so early?" asked the man in the mask, "I''ve brought Saint ss cultivators here and they took days before they woke up, how is it possible that a weak Soul Formation cultivator is able to wake up so fast?" the Man in Mask said.

    "I don''t really understand what''s going on," I said as groggily as I could, "But, it was fake¡­ and I can discern fake, all of it was fake¡­ because they''re dead you see¡­my parents," I said.

    Though all of it was bullshit, the Sect Master can actually vouch for me on this.

    "Ah¡­ your father died for the Empire he was a good man," the man in the mask said, though his words sounded benevolent the feeling from them was not.

    "Anyway enough with the chit-chat, let''s move forward¡­"

 Chapter 348 Dark Beast

    We were now behind the massive wall-like cliff. Looking back, there was no small gate anymore, and nothing but rocks.

    It seems that the giant gate was a misdirection and the smaller one allowed us to be teleported behind the wall into here.

    Up front was emptiness all around, but a few pirs extending to the unknown. Between each pir was arge bridge that would allow safe passage.

    "Don''t make a peep or sound, this is a dangerous area where flight is forbidden" the Man in the Mask said.

    He didn''t even need to exin that flight was forbidden here, I could already see spatialw lines here, they''re tooplex to work around if one wasn''t at the origin of thesew lines. And by tracing the source of thesew lines they all seemed to being from down below. No thank you. I''d rather walk.

    Our group nodded and we rode on the carriage that slowly walked forward.

    As we were crossing the chasm I took a peak and couldn''t see anything but emptiness, I didn''t dare extend my divine sense to inspect what was going on in there, because as the saying goes if you stare long enough into the abyss, it might stare back.

    No one spoke as we rode on, not even the bull made a single sound as it was moving. The carriage for all its rumbling and thunder booms that it released as it moved outside, was as silent as the dead as it now moved in this dark ce.

    The Sect Master seemed alerted so did the other three, they know that something was in here and they never wanted to have the ill-fated luck of meeting it.

    I sent a divine sense message to the sect master asking, "Why are we moving slowly?"

    "There is something here, that the Imperial ced, a warden of sorts, we don''t want to deal with it. If we keep quiet it won''t notice us," the Sect Master said.

    I nodded my head and kept my eyes peeled. Though it''s hard to see anything in this darkness, at least it would give me a better shot at reacting if something ever doese up.

    We crossed several pirs without anything going awry until we were able to see the other side of the chasm.

    there was another door far away, which we were not able to see before but after crossing arge distance, we were able to spot it thanks to two braziers that seemed to be lit there.

    Just as our destination was confirmed and the sight of ''safety'' from the unknown below seemed close, the bull stepped on a pir that seemed too brittle for some reason.

    Suddenly arge portion of the pir cracked and fell to the deep.

    Everyone on the carriage looked at each other in sudden stupefaction, before the Masked man howled with all he got, "MOVE!"

    The bull didn''t dare hesitate as it shot forward at extreme speed.

    The slow pacing of before was a joke to how fast the bull was moving as it crossed pir after pir in seconds.

    But it was toote as some sort of creature seemed to emerge from in front of us.

    It was something that I''d never seen before, the creature was feline-like, only its torso was so far bigger than the rest of its body that it looked like a 20-year worth of bodybuilding only the upper half of the body.

    However, that was only rtive to the rest of its own body, not that its lower back was skinny it was still scary to look at.

    The creature was as dark as the abyss from where it came from, and we were only able to see it as it stood at the other side of ''safety'' due to the braziers lighting some of its features.

    It had eyes redder than hot coal and not only two but three sets of them, two on its head and the other four,rger ones on the side of its massive neck.

    The creature opened its mouth revealing razor-sharp fangs and it hissed, loud enough that the area we were in seemed to shake as if it was afraid.

    The sect master shot forward, and dropped to the ground, "I''ll slow it down! don''t stop moving head to safety!"

    He then started a full sprint causing the killer instinct of the feline creature to perk up and then charge the Sect Master.

    The sect master''s body began growing rapidly enough to match the beast, and just as the sect master''s transformation seemed to finish, the two collided in the middle with bone-rattling echoes as they started a wrestling match of sorts.

    The Masked Man whipped the bull hard taking the opportunity to escape to safety while the sect master and the beast were upied.

    However, the creature didn''t seem too worried about us escaping.

    The side of its neck opened what seemed to be gills. They vibrated so rapidly that they made a loud distinct clicking noise.

    Theis was enough to cause the blood on both Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian''s faces to drain.

    This wasn''t an attack, but apparently a call for assistance.

    Two more creatures of the same size jumped up from the depth of the chasm and lunged at the carriage.

    There was no time for me to react as I saw the ws of these beasts approaching me rapidly.

    ''Fuck,'' I cursed.<sub> </sub>

    But the Masked Man seemed to be a cold decisive man.

    He wrenched up the reins and forced the Thunderbull to rise up on its hind legs.

    The two hunters seemed to be easily lured by the size of the ''prey'' as they dug their ws into the beast and pushed it over the edge with us included.

    However, the Masked Man''s gambit had paid off.

    Since the two beasts'' ws were firmly dug into the bull, Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian both understood what they had to do.

    While we were falling, it was Elder Wei who jumped out of the carriage first and stuck like a gecko against the pir.

    The second Was Elder Fu Tian, who grabbed me from the bag of my robes and threw me towards elder Wei who grabbed me with one hand.

    The two, Elder Fu Tian and the Masked Man both jumped out of the carriage and stuck close to the pir.

    "Go up! Hurry!" Elder Wei said.

    I didn''t hesitate to climb up, there was no need for me to check if there was a good hand grab, since my body was empowered with the Stone Aged Milk, I literally punched into the pir to climb up as fast and as rapidly as I could.

    Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian seemed proficient and they followed after us.

    We arrived to the top of the pir in seconds and looking back the sect master had its arms clenched tight in a chokehold around the neck of the creature. Plenty of scars were visible on the Sect Master as his foe didn''t seem too simple.

    I turned to the brasiers and ran as fast as I could across the few remaining pirs and bridges that were left.

    The elders followed after me soon after and so did the man in the mask.

    Just as we arrived at the other side the Masked Man pulled up a key and mmed it against the doorway in front of us. Causing the area to shake once again.

    "Don''t kill it, Titan!" The man in the Mask said, which was surprising, why not?

    The creature squirmed under the chokehold of the sect master and realized it was unable to free itself so it began by vibrating its gills again.

    "Not this time!" said the sect master and forcefully mmed the creature''s head against the pir.

    There didn''t seem to be any damage on the beast from the impact as it continued to rattle its gills.

    "Damn it," the sect master cursed then literally kicked the creature as if it was a football across the whole area.

    The beast that was flung could do nothing but whine in pain as it was being flung.

    "Come! Fast!" the Man in the Mask said and the sect master obliged.

    He ran as fast as he could but it seems that it was toote as the two beasts that went down with the bull were back up on the pirs. Or perhaps these were newer beasts.

    The sect master began channeling Saint Qi into his arms, he was readying up to use the Fists of the Eternal God, but the Man In mask seemed too worried about the oue so he moved first.

    He pulled an umbre from his holding bag and opened it.

    This caused a st of powerful wind gales to shoot outwards, mming into the two creatures causing them to stumble away from the tform and allowing the Sect Master a breather to escape.

    He rushed up ahead until he arrived to our side and it was in that moment that the gate behind us opened.

    We all rushed inside as the Man in the mask removed the key for the gate to close up.

    The creatures on the other side all rushed up and came towards us while the gate was closing. But they couldn''t do much than m against the now closed door.

    "God damn, that was scary," Elder Wei said.

    But not before long, we all seemed to have a strong sensation of danger washing all over us.

    Constant slow-paced and highly pitched rattling seemed to echo from within the new area that we were now inside.

    Slowly turning, I was literally, face to fang with one of the very same creatures that we just escaped.

    And it was drooling.

 Chapter 349 Doors

    "Good Job Yuyu, you''re proving to be a capable martial artist," spoke a woman of excellent beauty as she was sittingfortably on a throne of pure crystal ice.

    The way Yu-Yu''s chest heaved was so alluring that any man would forget to breathe for a moment at the sight. However, the rest of her would make them a bit wary.

    Yu-Yu, the Former Sect Master of the Purple Cloud sect, lungs were gasping for air, the look on her face was far from someone who was being praised and more of a person who just escaped a near-death experience.

    "T-thank you, Master..." she said through difficult breaths.

    "Good, good, now that the warmup is over, let''s get serious," she said.

    "..."

    The beautiful person couldn''t help but crack a smile, "I''m kidding, you did well, you may rest," she said.

    "Thank you, Master," she said and turned.

    With disheveled hair, and sweat dripping down her forehead she still managed to maintain a straight posture as she walked out of the ice room they were in.

    Just as she walked outside of the room, her legs shook threatening to betray her. But due to the presence of a certain Schr, she managed to maintain the rest of her dignity and sped her hands to the schr.

    "Great Lord, how may this lowly one assist you," she said.

    "Don''t do that here, I''m no lord, and you''re not a lowly person, you''re a friend of my friend, so it is okay to speak to me casually," he said.

    "I would not dare," she said.

    The schr sighed, "No wonder I enjoyed Shen Bao''spany, he didn''t give a rat''s ass to all this protocol. He spoke his mind as if we were equals before he knew who I was, and kept the same way of speech after he knew who I was, anyway," he said as he looked up and down at Yu-Yu.

    "You look like you''re progressing rapidly," Zhang Tian said.

    "It is no of my own effort, but thanks to the guidance of my master," she said.

    "Oh, Yul-Ha can be pretty severe, but keep it up, her method might be... dangerous, but they work," he said.

    "Dangerous..." she said as she looked back, "Yeah, I would agree on that part," she said. "But effective still, I never thought I would be able to improve so much when I was on the verge of death for the majority of the day," She said.

    "Just keep it up, Yul-Ha might not be the easiest of teachers, but she is effective, do well by listening to her advice. I shall be heading out soon, I came to see you to inform you that your appointment with the Heavenly Academy''s Examiner had been approved," Zhang Tian said.

    Yu-Yu''s eyes lit up for a moment as she bowed deeply, "I''ll make sure to not disappoint," she said.

    "It''s not me who you''ll disappoint if you fail, it is my mother who spent a lot of effort for you and my friend who thinks you died, so make sure to pass, because if you fail the exam, you will die, and my mother will most likely bring you back once again just to kill you herself, so don''t fail," Zhang Tian smiled at Yu-Yu and turned walking away while whistling a joyful tone.

    Yu-Yu was left looking dumbly at the retreating man. What sin did shemit in a past life to be treated like this? But she was truly brought back to life, so was it good or bad karma that she sowed?

    ****

    There was no time to react, not if I were even prepared, I was literally staring death in the face and it smelled fucking awful.

    "Don''t move, it won''t attack," spoke the Man in mask rather calmly.

    I would like to see him try not to move if we switched positions.

    The Masked Man then approached and simply pped the nose of the massive beast, not roughly but enough to cause the beast to slightly flinch and move away from us.

    Every step it took caused vibrations to go through the ground further making me more worried.

    "As long as you crossed, the ones here won''t harm you," said the Masked Man.

    "Ones?" I asked.

    "Yes, ones, use your divine sense," he replied.

    And I did, and immediately wished if I hadn''t.<sub> </sub>

    In this new room, there was only one single path and it extended for a long distance forward, and next to this path on the walls wererge holes, caves of sorts. And they were packed full of these creatures, loitering around in dazed boredom.

    "What in god''s name is this," Spoke Elder Wei.

    "They''re wardens, their job is to keep things from going out or going in. But here, in the middle room, it is safe, they won''t attack anything unless provoked. So keep your hands to yourselves, and please don''t try and take any of their cubs," the Masked Man said.

    Though I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to even try that, I heard an audible sigh of disappointment from the Sect Master behind us.

    He really was thinking of taking one...

    Our group moved across the path, carefully watching our steps and making sure that we didn''t disturb any of the beasts.

    "What are these things?" I asked.

    "Dark Beasts," the sect master was the first to reply, "A very ferocious force of nature, these are creatures that can only survive in the dark, their worst enemy is sunlight. Though there are some exceptions to this rule, it is very rare," the sect master added.

    As we continued moving, the sect master added, "They are practically useless outside of guard duty, they could be reared to do one job, and they excel at it, making sure nothing goes past them or through their territory." The sect Master added.

    "Some people tried using them to wage war, though they are powerful, strong light can easily neutralize and even kill them, so they don''t really do well in lit areas. So they were more a liability than help, but in dark areas like these they''re kings, especially since they''re born as saint ss beasts from the start and can only grow up stronger," the Sect Master added.

    "Also, the penalty of trying to rear them is death by the four directions," said the Masked Man. "They are imperial property," he added.

    No one asked your opinion, your highness, dumbass.

    Our walk continued for a while until we arrived at the end of the path, which thankfully wasn''t too far away.

    "Kid, from here onwards, you''re on your own, make sure to make it out alive," the Masked Man said.

    I didn''t understand what was going on, but a divine sense message from the Sect Master immediately exined the situation.

    "We''ll be crossing an area where only one person can be at a time. You''ll have to navigate through the dangers in there, be sure to stay calm and collected," He added.

    "Once you go through here, under no circumstance should you take the ck door, do you all understand!" spoke the Masked Man.

    "Wait, I don''t really understand, you guys didn''t exin anything," I said.

    After a sigh of ridicule, the Man in the mask said, "Once you cross this door you''ll be in a small chamber that has four doors, unless you want to instantly die, do not take the ck door. The others all have some danger to them, but the ck one will spell your doom the moment you move through it due to yourck of... cultivation base," the Man in the Mask exined.

    "That''s much more like it, so which one is the easiest?" I asked.

    "The white one," spoke the Masked Man.

    I nodded as if I had fully understood and then waited for them to move.

    The first to head inside was the Masked Man, then the Sect Master and Wei followed by Fu Tian, I was thest in the room.

    And was only edged on to move due to a few clicking noises I heard behind me.

    I didn''t dare turn so I hastily moved forward.

    Once inside it was almost like the Masked Man had said.

    There really was one room, and there really was a ck door.

    But... there was only one door.

    Turning to see the way I came from helped with nothing but to further bring me back to reality, the way in had disappeared.

    "You gotta be kidding me, right?" I muttered

 Chapter 350 Behind The Black Door

    If this was some sort of joke, then it''s a sick one. There were no other doors, and there was no other way for me to go beside the ck door.

    Forced between a rock and a hard ce I opened the ck door.

    There was nothing inside but a fog ofplete darkness and just as I stepped in, my vision changed and I was on a new ne.

    Looking around me, the ground was made of ck dirt that extended all over the ce.

    High above was the dim light of a half moon shining upon this darknd enough light to see how much despair it was in.

    Somewhere in the far distance there seemed to be something like a pyramid that was of such a great height that it could easily be confused with a mountain.

    And at the peak of the pyramid was a bright glowing light.

    It seemed like it was some sort of teleportation gate.

    ''That must be the way out.''

    There didn''t seem to be any dangerous things or creatures loitering around which made me question the ''danger'' of the ck door, however, it was too early to judge.

    I spread my divine sense and immediately noticed something I didn''t see with mere sight.

    Not too far away there seemed to be a wall so high up that one couldn''t see the end.

    Flight was as always forbidden, so there was no hope of going past the wall nor any reason to if the exit was on the other side.

    But what made me go and check on the wall where the people there, yes people, hundreds upon hundred, and even more of them were right next to the wall.

    They were all chained up to the wall unable to move away.

    I slowly approached them, even if my instinct was telling me not to.

    Once I got closer a few of them perked up, but soon they dismissed my presence, while a fair few of them kept their eyes forward, looking at the pyramid piously.

    The men and women were sitting close to the walls, their hands had chains that seemed to lock them to the walls.

    Once I was at a certain distance from the imprisoned people, one fairly beautiful woman, even though the grim and dirt covering her, she spoke in a most desperate voice, "Please kind person, please help us," she asked.

    The whole situation is fishy, but I needed answers.

    "What''s going on here?" I asked.

    "As you can see," another person spoke, and the moment he spoke the woman gave him the strongest death re I''ve ever seen.

    "We''ve been captured by the Imperial family, but I swear I didn''t do anything bad, could you please find a way to release us?"

    "I asked first!" the woman said "Please kind man, help me, and I''ll give you whatever I can, I''ll never forget this favor," she said as she pressed her chest forward.

    I found it strange but I wasn''t ready to make a decision so early, I slowly approached the wall but stopped a few feet away from the woman.

    I noticed two things, her lips slightly quivering as I got within a certain range, and the inscription written on her chains.

    The inscription was a timer, and it seemed that the timer was about to be released in a few more moments. As for her lips quivering, her actions seemed to reveal her intentions immediately.

    She shot forward with an extended hand aiming to grab my neck but I simply took a single step forward.

    Her hand couldn''t grab me as the chain came taut stopping her.

    Her face had turned from that of a beautiful woman to an ugly looking creature of nightmares. Fangs the size of daggers showed from her jaws while her eyes became like those of a demonic cat.

    She hissed and screeched as she was unable to get a hold of me.

    I calmly looked at the rest of the captured people, they didn''t look too perturbed by the sight in front of them, and I soon came to the realization that they were probably all the same thing.

    I turned to the pyramid and finally understood what was going on.

    "Shit," I said then started a sprint towards the pyramid.

    This was a test, and an ugly one at that, these trapped things are trapped based on a timer, and they''ll all be released, and I could bet my life on the fact that they''ll all run toward the pyramid for a chance at leaving this ce.

    It didn''t take much time before my hunch came true. As I was sprinting, I could hear the sound of hundreds of thousands of chains rattling.<sub> </sub>

    I spread my Divine Sense and realized that all the captured people were now surging forward in a full rush towards the center of this ce.

    "Damn I lost too much time!" I cursed as I continued to sprint forward.

    I even tried to use the Ancient Step but it didn''t work, not even teleportation worked and what''s worse was the fact that I was slower than the creatures running towards the pyramid.

    Shit!

    I cursed and cursed as I sprinted forward unable to think of anything but the worst-case scenario of me being captured here.

    A couple of the sprinter creatures managed to actually reach me, but then, theypletely ignored my presence as they rushed up ahead, they were really fast.

    ? They ran using their legs and arms leaping farther than a deer being chased by a lion.

    And I was actually thankful that they went ahead of me.

    Because the moment a couple of the creatures made it halfway towards the pyramid, two Stone Soldiers seemed to fall down from the sky, with spears in hand, impaling the creatures into the ground.

    That was a killing blow and nothing would say otherwise, however, the creatures instead of dying immediately, the two cuffs in their hands seemed to materialize the very chains that they were strapped with earlier, and suddenly the chains seemed to snap and pull the creatures away from the front with such a force and speed that I had to bend back to avoid being pulled alongside the creatures.

    As I was bent back I saw the two creatures being flung back and dragging dozens of other creatures with them.

    And soon more of these creatures went past the middle line and more soldiers came from the sky crashing down with their spears.

    Yet the few soldiers that dropped were not enough to stop the mass of rushing creatures, and with the soldiers only able to kill off one or two, the majority of the creatures that made it to the halfway point managed to bypass the soldiers and move up ahead.

    There was no time to waste.

    I followed after and made sure to keep my divine sense around me and thankfully I did.

    A hand attempted to grab me, it was that of the same monstrous creature of before, the one that was disguised as a beautiful woman.

    "You''re mine!" she spoke, but a sudden side parry of my arm followed by a burst of Qi that I channeled into my other arm and unleashed on her face in a miniature disy of God''s Eternal Fist sent the creature plowing through the other creatures and immediately caused her chains to manifest and pull her back amidst her screams and shouts.

    ''Killing blows forcefully pulls these creatures back, good to know,'' I noted and then proceeded to move forward.

    Many of the soldiers continued dropping and taking out any of the creatures close enough.

    Though it is safe to stay behind and wait for the petition'' to be thinned out since I won''t suffer at their hands, if on the chance one of them actually makes it to the pyramid I might lose my chance to leave this ce. Who knows how many can leave at once and I could pretty much presume that it will only allow one person out.

    I continued running until my divine sense detected a spearing my way.

    I didn''t even try and dodge but I struck as powerfully as I could with my palm to the side, forcefully changing the spear''s trajectory away from my head and letting it continue its path behind me.

    The pain from forcefully parrying the spear sent jolts up to the back of my head.

    I almost broke my palm in the process.

    Damn that spear is heavy.

    The soldiers didn''t seem to move from their spots and were happy culling any creature next to them.

    Up ahead, the creatures were still able to use their numbers to their advantage, but that won''tst for long because for every creature that managed to make it past the soldiers, ten didn''t.

    I kept on rushing ahead dodging anything I could and making sure to stay a distance away from any of these prisoners, I didn''t want to get grabbed or slowed down by one of them.

    As I was running, I noticed that one of the creatures seemed to have made it to the pyramid structure and was leaping block by block to the top.

    Just as my anxiety about not making it began to rise up, another feeling seemed to overtake it.

    One of the pyramid blocks that the creature just stood on seemed to turn to goo and wrapped up around the creature, gobbling it within.

    Then soon it spat it out as bones and viscera.

    Two chains manifested on the bones of the corpse and wrenched it back.

    While it was being dragged I could see the corpse rapidly reconstructing flesh and blood and reviving the creature, pulling it as it screamed and wed the ground hoping for another chance.

    Apparently, the soldiers aren''t the only thing I have to worry about.

 Chapter 351 Youre Not Supposed To Be Here

    The Pyramid blocks were not all made of stone, and not only that, more soldiers seemed to appear on the blocks, and from the looks of things, the only safe blocks are the ones the soldiers were standing on.

    In other words, if I want to climb, I''ll have to fight my way up. And these bastards aren''t easy opponents.

    I continued sprinting forward but at the same time made sure to have a few of these beasts up ahead of me, I didn''t want to lose the race, but at the same time didn''t want to lose my head going first against the soldiers.

    One of the creatures took a giant leap of faith, jumping several blocks a once only to have one of the soldiers swing his spear so powerfully, that the creature''s head was lobbed off.

    Chains snapped manifesting against the creature''s arms, and soon his torn head was sewed back to his body as he was being forced back to the wall, amidst the screams and wails.

    I followed the front group that was being culled faster than a group of vigers facing an advanced army.

    Two of the creatures made way up giving me an opportunity as the soldier was busy killing them, to jump above him and take the lead.

    One soldier noticed me going up the pyramid, he didn''t move from his spot but was waiting patiently for me to rise up to his level. Just as I jumped up to his block, he struck down with the spear in a crushing blow, to which I took a breath, then shot my left arm up with a slight diagonal incline.

    This caused the spear to strike against my arm, rattling my bones, but due to the inclined angle, it was a perfect parry to the spear.

    The weapon shot down away from my body, slightly destabilizing the soldier.

    I twisted my body thanks to the force of the impact and sent a kick to the back of the soldier flinging him to where the monsters were.

    The creatures leaped away from the soldier, fear of death clear in their eyes.

    I expected them to jump the soldier but I was disappointed.

    Ignoring the crowd was the only thing I had to do to continue the climb.

    Looking up, I had to face many more soldiers, I hope my bones can take the beating.

    ***

    "God damn Imperials And I thought the Fire King was disgusting," Spoke A man in sky blue robes.

    "Isn''t he Fire King a descendant of the Imperials?" spoke a man in full white, with eyes so squinted one would think them closed.

    "Yes, he is, but by the gods this is awful," spoke Master Rain.

    In the retainer''s hands was a cuff and chain that seemed to extend a lengthy way.

    "Can we use this though?" asked the Retainer.

    "I''d rather not tamper with things that have been used in Devil Cultivation. You''re better off not touching that," Master Rain said.

    The retainer threw away the chains and moved forward.

    "Do you suppose these bones belong to people who were imprisoned here?" the retainer asked.

    "People, no, these aren''t people," spoke master rain as he moved forward.

    "These are ves of the dark, they used to be humans, but after disobeying the Imperials they were transformed to creatures that cannot die. And were sent here for the pleasure and pleasing of the Imperials," spoke Master Rain.

    "But... they look dead to me," said the Retainer.

    "They were bound by death to their owner, and with the death of the owner, their immortal lives were finally over. It is a sad fate," spoke Master Rain.

    "I know that you know many things, but how did you figure all this by just a nce?" asked the Retainer.<sub> </sub>

    "Oh, it was Shen Bao''s decipher of the Imperial Language, I could figure out the punishment from what was written on the chains, and with a bit of prior knowledge of some devil arts, I could understand what went on here, though I could be wrong, if I am, I''m sure I''m not too far off the mark. Let''s keep going, that decrypt pyramid must be the exit," Master Rain said.

    The two of them continued their march until they arrived at the pyramid.

    "Let''s split up and meet on the other side, even if you find an entrance," Master Rain said.

    The two then split up and made a full round around the pyramid until they met.

    Shaking his head, master Rain understood that neither of them found an entrance.

    "Perhaps up top?" spoke the Retainer.

    Master Rain raised his head, then he released a powerful divine sense that seemed to flood the very world, dousing it in cold as ice divine sense.

    "There is a faint trace of Saint Qi up above, let''s head there, also, avoid all the blocks that have no wear and tear on them, they''re traps, and only walk up the blocks that have those statuesque remains," said Master Rain.

    The two climbed up, rather rapidly.

    And after a while, the retainer stopped, "Master Rain, these statues... though old and destroyed, they have some Qi in them."

    "Yes, these must be the wardens, and up above must be the exit, while the monsters were definitely the prisoners, I could probably guess that the monsters were released to find a way out of this ce by climbing the pyramid, only to be ughtered and forced back to life to try again. A vicious circle of life and pointless death."

    The two continued their climb until they arrived at the top of the pyramid, sure enough, there was a golden slightly glowing formation on top of the pyramid, however, it was almost impossible to use since so much time had gone by, however, since it was master rain, something like this was nothing but a joke.

    After a quick work and some patching, the formation lit up revealing an exit to a new ce.

    The two walked inside the teleportation gate and appeared in a dark deep space that didn''t seem to have a start or an end.

    After sending a wave of divine sense and receiving nothing back, the two cultivators were confused.

    Yet, before they could even speak a voice so low, and so grave spoke.

    "It has been, many, many years since I''vest seen someone... and I have been starved for an eternity..."

    The two cultivators didn''t seem too worried, especially since Master Rain was among the finest cultivators of the Vast expanse.

    That is a fact, however, that Master Rain was one of the strongest, in the current Vast Expanse, and looking at the creature that just spoke made even the master hesitate.

    He was as massive as a titan and glowed in gold.

    He looked like a man, besides the ck eyes, and he didn''t seem to be wearing anything above his belt flexing muscles that seemed to be sculpted by a deity.

    Master Rain''s forehead seemed to drip sweat from the sight of this person.

    "What''s wrong Master Rain?" asked the Retainer.

    "This thing... is what''s wrong, he shouldn''t be alive..." spoke Master Rain.

    The retainer took another look at the giant, and spoke, "Do you know this person?" the retainer asked.

    "I know the skin... not what''s inside, since you never went into the Heavenly Academy''s Advent Tower, you probably don''t know this person...this is... the Golden Titan, The sect Master of the Ancient Sect... or at least... the shell of him, Prepare to fight, I can''t guarantee our survival,"

    Master rain flexed his arms and summoned two iron needles.

    Through this journey, this moment was the most terrifying the Retainer had seen, because, the only time Master Rain had ever pulled up his needles was when he was serious, and he only be serious against the wife of the Wind King.

 Chapter 352 Betrayal

    Three broken ribs, onepletely shattered left arm, a massive gash on my right cheek, and one right arm that I''m still honestly surprised that it''s still able to function. This was the result of forcing my way through the pyramid and all the way to the top.

    The top of the pyramid had a glowing teleportation circle that I threw myself into, leaving the area and finding myself in a deep dark void that didn''t seem to have an end.

    My divine sense spread out as much as I could, and I managed to detect three people.

    However, they were wounded.

    Soon, something seemed toe surging my way.

    "LING CAO RUN!" came the voice of the sect master, the urgency in that voice wasn''t something to take lightly, but where the hell can I run?

    What came my way was the man in the mask, although half of it waspletely shattered, I could see the scowl of his lips from underneath the mask.

    "Damn brat, how did you survive that!" he spoke as his hand wasing straight for my neck.

    With my current condition, It was impossible for me to fight.

    I took a step back, and used teleportation, which probably was not something very wise.

    The teleportation caused the man in the mask to halt, "Void Walk! You know too many secrets of the Imperial Family. I cannot let you survive!" he then followed after me like a leech.

    Suddenly a glowing light came surging forward, it was the sect master.

    Half of his body seemed to be corroded by something.

    But he was surging fast towards us.

    "Stand down Titan! You''ll elerate your demise this way," spoke the masked man in a mocking tone.

    The Sect Master didn''t hesitate however or stop as he shot forward towards us.

    The man in the mask managed to close the gap between us all too rapidly.

    ''The hell is all that talk about a ce where we can''t use Qi, he''s using his full cultivation alright!'' I cursed as I realized what was going on.

    It only took a nce at the current form of the sect master to fully understand the story.

    The sect master, known to be the Golden Titan, master of the Ancient Sect, and probably one of the strongest vessels of the Imperial family.

    His sect was attacked by some sort of creatures that have gued his disciples and are now weak. Then the Imperial Family sends in one of their own, to help the sect like they needed to go out of their way and care about this matter.

    They asked for the Sect Master specifically, and the strongest elders of his sect toe to this journey, and then me. Why?

    Simple, to get rid of all of us.

    The sect master''s arm is currently exposed to the same vile thing that had beentched on to me when I first came to this world and the same thing that''s assaulting his sect.

    Only this one is far more potent as the vile and evil Qi being emitted from it was not like anything I''ve seen before.

    The wounds I''ve seen on Elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian were both from the back, meaning that they''ve been ambushed.

    The wounds on the sect master were frontal, meaning that he confronted the Masked man.

    The masked man was leading us all to a trap.

    Just as the sect master arrived to where I and the masked man were, thetter aimed his arm at the sect master, causing a green jade circle around his arm to shine bright.

    The moment that jade circlet shone, the sect master released an unholy scream of pain and agony.

    "You can''t fight back, Titan, no, you are no longer the Golden Titan, since that knowledge had been eaten away from you," the masked man smirked.

    "You lowly¡­ bastard," spoke the Sect Master through tight breaths.

    "It is your fate, it has always been Titan, you''re a servant to the throne, and the throne demands your service," he said and immediately arrived to my front.

    I tried to teleport away but his arm released a powerful wave ofw lines that forbade teleportation.

    The man in the mask grabbed me by the throat and said, "You know, if you had agreed to give me this child, I would have taken him to the imperial family, though he might be a ve he''ll be an imperial ve, that is far higher statue than even yours Titan."

    I didn''t want to speak, because you should never stop a viin while he is monologuing it''ll always give you an opportunity to flip the tables.

    "Why¡­ are you doing this!" spoke the sect master.

    "As you can see, the pet, that his Majesty had been taking care of seemed a bit hungry, and the host it used to reside within hadpletely perished, and that''s why we need you," he said.

    "If you wanted a host to that vile thing, there could have been better ways to get one, instead of infecting my whole sect! aren''t we servants to the throne! What have we done wrong against the emperor!"

    "Your existence Titan, you''re far too powerful, too strong for your own good, you are too strong and your potential to grow seems limitless, thus, you must be taken care of in case you be a throne in the imperial path. Now, you''ll serve the throne, though as nothing more than a host for the Emperor''s pet," the Masked Man said.

    The creature that wastching on to the Sect Master seemed to merge further and further with him, rapidly exhausting the sect master every second.

    "And you, you could have given up in the pyramid, I had made sure to have you trapped there, enved for the purpose of the Empire, but you somehow managed to survive, which is more reason to think of you as a dangerous being, thus you too will be eliminated." Spoke the Masked Man to me.<sub> </sub>

    "Let¡­ the kid go, he did nothing wrong," the sect master said, "Don''t you just need a host, I''m here," he said.

    "That is a fact, but I don''t need your permission, Titan, I already have you captured," the masked man said.

    "Then I might as well self detonate and take you down with me!" he said and immediately the sect master''s Qi began roiling within him.

    "I cannot allow you to do that," the Masked Man said and pointed his bracelet once again at the sect master.

    And this is why you should never interrupt viins.

    As I was being grabbed by the neck, ''looking''pletely harmless to the man in the mask, I was ignored.

    I opened my palm and pped something against the extended arm of the Masked Man.

    The masked man''s eyes widened as he saw an explosive talisman stuck to his arm.

    It would probably not harm him much, but that can''t be said for the brittle-looking jade circlet.

    The man in the mask immediately released me and was about to remove the talisman.

    "Domain of Delusions! Fake and Real!" I spoke calling my own domain out.

    The moment it touched the Man in the Mask, was the moment where his hand which was going to release the talisman seemed to go in the opposite direction.

    "NO!!!" spoke the Masked Man and immediately the talisman blew up, shattering the jade circlet along with it.

    "YOU DAMN FOOL!" spoke the man in the mask, and immediately unlike what I expected, what was sticking to the sect master shook and rattled as if on ecstatic joy.

    It began bulging and growing to iparable size as it shot out tentacles in every direction grabbing everyone.

    "You FOOL! You killed us all!" he said.

    "Speak for yourself," I replied as I easily moved away from the tentacles.

    They didn''t grab me, because my Domain was affecting my very presence.

    The tentacles seemed to have grabbed everyone but me, and I decided to start working on releasing mypanions.

    Yet, suddenly, my domain began shaking.

    The man in the mask was forcing his own domain to exist within mine.

    "Dynastic Regime! Ruler of the Land!" he spoke and suddenly golden lights seemed to shine from the skies high above.

    And my own domain didn''t seem able to contend with a far more powerful domain. The problem was, this domain wasn''t trapping me within it, so I couldn''t just deny my existence within this domain and leave, it was actually a domain that manifested within the world, and didn''t take a part of the world and im it it''s own.

    "Shit," I cursed as the domain''s power started breaking my own domain all too easily.

    "No one can defy the Empire!" shouted the masked man, however, those were hisst words.

    Elder Wei and Elder Fu-Tian who I thought had no power to move seemed to have manifested behind him, they had their arms shoved right through his back to his front chest.

    The masked man couldn''t do anything but cough blood as the two cultivators seemed to channel the remaining of their cultivation base into onest desperate effort of ending their own lives alongside the man that brought them to this trap.

    They were self-detonating.

    "You did well, Ling Cao!" spoke the sect master.

    Thest I saw was his hand pointing at me, "Leave and don''t turn back! I''ll do my best to keep this thing trapped here, if it ever goes out it''ll be a cmity upon the world! Run and never trust the imperials Ling Cao!"

    A crack behind me seemed to manifest and I was pushed out of it.

    Thest I saw was the amalgamation of that disgusting creature consuming everything as it grew, while the crack in space seemed to close releasing me outside of that prison.

    Just as I got my bearings, I noticed that my arms seemed to be disintegrating alongside everything that caught my eyes.

    The whole world seemed to be slowly dispersing into nothingness and soon I opened my eyes back into a small dark stone room.

    My hands were on the back of a corpse that seemed to be made of stone, and the moment I removed my hands, the corpse started turning to dust and disappeared.

    I didn''t understand what went on or what was going on, and after a few moments, amotion like no other began echoing.

    As I stood up to check up on themotion, I noticed a small letter in front of me.

    I grabbed it and walked out, to find the majority of the rooms of the Advent Tower open, and there were no more corpses there.

    People werepletely confused about what just happened.

    And from the looks of it, it wasn''t just my corpse that disintegrated, but all of them.

    ''What in the world is going on?''

 Chapter 353 Revelations

    Elders in ck robes flocked the Advent Tower, confusion clear on their faces as they were unable to determine the cause of the disintegration of every corpse from the Ancient Sect at once.

    Every disciple was pulled out of their rooms to wait outside while the elders were investigating. And once one of the elders came into my room, he immediately excused himself, "Shen Bao, I am sorry but please leave this room, we need to investigate the source of this problem," he said politely.

    I don''t know who this elder was but I remember seeing him at Master Rain''s sermon.

    "Of course," I said as I left the room entirely.

    "Wait, do you perhaps have any idea why this happened?"

    I shook my head, though I have some doubts I don''t wish to speak about them in case I get in trouble.

    "You may leave then, we''ll ask the disciples a few questions before we can excuse them out of the tower," he said.

    No one was allowed to leave the tower from the people who were in, and soon after, the elders came out of the rooms shaking their heads, unable to find anything worthy of note in any of the chambers.

    A few elders then began asking questions to the disciples, such as, what do you remember, and what were you doing in the Ancient Sect at the moment of being pulled out?

    No one could remember anything, and I was d I didn''t speak a word because I appear to be the only one who clearly remembers what I was doing and my earlier doubts were now closer to reality.

    When it was my turn to be asked what I remembered I simply shook my head, "I can''t remember anything I was doing."

    The elders sighed and soon we were let off with the condition of reporting anything in case we remember something in the future.

    It was already dark when I left the advent tower, alongside several thousand students I was jolted back in my ce as I saw something I shouldn''t be seeing.

    The disciples, not many but a fair few of them had somethingtching on to them, something that looked ethereal, intangible and from the nonchnt of the many disciples here, they didn''t seem to notice it.

    I frowned and as I was about to approach someone to ask them, an elder in purple robes suddenly appeared right next to me.

    "Shen Bao," he said, turning, I saw the elder and remembered seeing him back when Master Rain woke me up the first time from the Ancient Sect''s memoryne.

    I remembered being told by Xiao Feng, the patron who gave me funds to enter the Heavenly Academy, that this person was bad news, and he almost killed me without me knowing.

    "I would like to have a word with you in private, it''s something regarding Master Rain," he said.

    "No, I''m busy," I replied instantly.

    This caused the man to look aback in slight surprise.

    I would have probably thought twice before straight out refusing him, that is if there wasn''t a monstrous-looking creature peaking at me from behind this man''s back.

    This thing was the same as that ugly muck of a creature that was inside Cao Ling, and the same thing that was inside the Under-Void, it was also arger form of the same creaturetched to many of the disciples.

    And I would definitely not trust a person who tried to kill me while unconscious, nor would I even dare and go in private with him especially with that creature looking pretty terrifying and drooling ethereal invisible saliva.

    I did my best not to act as if I was able to see it.

    "Why do you refuse? It is only a discussion, or do I look like a monster to you or something?" the elder spoke, and the moment he spoke those words, the little monstrous fuck behind his back jumped me.

    By some ungodly will, I managed to not flinch or move a muscle as the creature''s mouth clumped up on my body, dealing no damage or anything to me.

    This caused the elder to frown.

    "No matter, you can leave," he said waving me away.

    Perhaps this man had some doubts that I was able to see those things. I don''t fully understand why he is acting like this, perhaps he is in cahoots with that creature, or maybe being controlled by it. No matter, I need to leave this damn ce.

    After the elder left, the first thing I did was open the letter I was left with from Master Rain, which immediately made my face turn white from its content.

    "God damn it, you old geezer!"

    The old man has left for the Under Void alongside his attendant, and from the looks of things, it seems that what happened in the Ancient Sect, and what''s currently going on right now is somewhat of a repetition of the past.

    I remembered that there was a rumor about the cmity hitting this damn Heavenly Academy soon, and this is probably what''s happening right now.

    I managed to leave the Ancient Sect''s memoryne not because I was ejected by the Sect Master, no, it was because my actions in the Memory Lane had somehow affected the cmity. My action caused the masked man to die, and since I wasn''t present in the past, he probably survived and caused the cmity to happen.

    And now, Master Rain is going there, and he doesn''t know this. Though I trust his ability, I don''t think he''ll be able to handle what''s in there. Not that I can even help, but he needs to be warned, messing with the remains of the Imperial Sect is a damn death sentence, and from the looks of things currently happening in the Heavenly Academy, the cmity had started once again.

    First things first, I''ll need to head to Liang Yu, she''s probably unaware of the current situation. Those things consume the host''s ability to cultivate and steal their knowledge and slowly suck the life out of them, if she is infected I''ll need to manage it quickly. But mostly I need to do it in a way that won''t expose me. I just hope that she is safe.

    I headed out through the gate and back to the lower areas where the Disciples resided.

    Liang Yu should be in her cultivation cave right now. So I hurried to get there.<sub> </sub>

    On my way, I noticed that many students were afflicted with the same creature, which caused me more worry.

    How long has this thing been here, god damn it, and why is no one able to see it?

    Arriving at her house I knocked and waited for her to open up. Which took moments but for me felt like an eternity.

    God damn it, Shen Bao, why are you acting up, just calm down, nothing probably happened you''re just overthinking.

    Suddenly the door opened and I was face to face with the smiling Liang Yu who seemed far too lightly covered, "What a pleasant surprise, but aren''t you afraid of rumors, I mean visiting a girl in the middle of the night is not really something anyone with good intentions does," she spoke teasing.

    I was too focused on looking around her to actually hear what she said, which caused her to pout a bit.

    "Oh, sorry, I came to check up on you, something ugly is happening right now," I said.

    She frowned and asked, "What''s going on, you''re scaring me." She said.

    I looked around and then entered her home.

    I set up a small formation around us to block divine sense and sound then spoke, "The cmity is hitting the heavenly sect, as we''re speaking," I said.

    This caused her eyes to widen in shock.

    "And I think I have a way to stop it¡­"

    "Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean the cmity, as in the same thing the disciples'' experience in the tower?" she asked.

    I nodded up and down then began exining.

    My words seemed to confuse her more and more I spoke, but she didn''t stop me even once.

    And after telling her the whole tale of the Ancient Sect, she remained quiet for a long time and then said, "If it was someone else I wouldn''t have believed him, and to be honest I would still have some doubts about you even if the words spoken came out of your mouth, however, you dropped a name that had me believe you," she said.

    "What name?" I asked.

    "The Sect Master of the ancient sect, his title, the Golden Titan, that isn''t something known to everyone, especially since everyone forgets whatever they learn from the tower, that name came in very few passages, and I was told that name by my teacher since he himself was an avid fan of the Golden Titan," she said.

    Her words are probably true, since her master, Old man Gin was the one who gave me a copy of the Fist of Roaring Ki, which was art made by the Golden Titan himself.

    "So with that, I''m sure you''re speaking true, but the problem is, and I''m not doubting your ability, what can you really do when you go to the under void considering you even have the ability to go there?"

    "I can stop whatever is in there, I''ve seen the seals on the Jade Circlet of the Creedless," I said.

    "Don''t speak that name! ever!" she said

    "Why, do you know him?" I asked.

    "It''s not one person, the Creedless is a title given to the worst of the Imperial n''s executioners, they''re nothing but mad butchers, don''t speak that name unless you want to die," she said.

    "I''m not sure about what you''re saying, but isn''t the imperial sect, like, long since dead?" I asked.

    "They perished, but they still have many acolytes and followers that wish to revive the Imperial n, and you have a grudge against one of their acolytes," she said.

    "Me a grudge?" I thought for a moment then said, "Ah¡­ the Fire King."

    "Yes, not many know this, but he too is an Imperial, though diluted of blood, he is the descendant of a bastard child of the old imperial n, but he still has imperial blood in him. and one of the Creedless is currently serving him," she said.

    "God damn it, this is gettingplicated, anyway, I can''t have Master Rain opening the gate to that thing, because if even a small portion of what I have seen had truly did happen, then the Golden Titan is currently trapped inside the Under Void''s prison, I don''t know if he is alive or dead, but what I do know is, since those creatures are currently here, that means their Broodmother, or their queen or king, or whatever that disgusting thing that''s been trapped there is definitely still alive. And I can take it out," I said.

    "Let me join you," she said.

    I adamantly shook my head, "No, you''ll have to sit this one out, I only have one way to go there, and it''s a single-person ride," I said. "It''s not that I don''t trust your ability, but I''ll never forgive myself if something were to happen to you since even I am not sure of my own survival," I said.

    "You''re being arrogant thinking that you can handle the Golden Titan," she said. she was pissed.

    "I know I can''t, and there is a good possibility that the Golden Titan is dead, but the creature is alive that''s for sure, and I can manage it," I said.

    She couldn''t reply, for some reason, she felt left out and was angry.

    "Go, do whatever you want, just don''t die," she said then turned to leave.

    I sighed and said, "Don''t leave this house and don''t let anyone in," I said I walked out of the sound formation and to the door.

    "I won''t die, so don''t worry," I said then took a step forward, crossing a vast distance in a single Ancient Step.

 Chapter 354 Forgotten Treasure

    I needed to first make sure of something before I head to the Under Void, it was simple and brilliant at the same time. When I was in that world, I was able toe back with my memories intact, meaning that I was fully capable of using that knowledge to my advantage and I have a pretty damnpelling reason to head to where I''m heading right now instead of going out to the outer space.

    It was to get a resource that was so precious that it could cause an endless war to burst.

    The Stone Aged Milk.

    Though it should be close to impossible to find it still there since so much time had passed before the Ancient Sect perished, if by some stroke of good fortune, that ce was still there, and untouched, there could still be some of that Stone Aged Milk.

    Even a couple of drops would be more than beneficial to me.

    My speed kept increasing as I crossed vast distances with every step, though I could use my hoverboard to get there faster, the Saint Qi signature it would release would probably get me exposed if someone was close.

    My own Qi however was different and wasn''t easy to detect, so I would be slower but safer.

    After half a day of travel, I finally arrived at the same open area that the Ancient-Sect sect Master had shown me. And it was pretty different than I remembered.

    Some of the mountains that were once there no longer existed and some new hills had grown out. But the open field was still there, simple and in, full of casual and normal weed, and didn''t give off any aura of specialness to cause anyone to even bother looking twice at this boring-looking ce.

    I scanned it thoroughly with my divine sense as soon as I got down and in a matter of moments I found what I was looking for, it was a small unturned stone that was too ne to even be considered of any value.

    It was a simple rock, that I picked up, and to my pleasure, the formation that was covering the entirety of this ce lit up like fireworks in a dark night.

    The opening to the cave inside was soon revealed and I was able to enter it without a hitch.

    My heart raced with every step I took, hoping that even a single drop was still there.

    And once I arrived to the depth of the cave and where the stctite that dripped the Stone Aged Milk was, I waspletely and utterly shocked.

    There wasn''t a drop there, no, the whole damn hole was full to the brim with that rich-looking milky substance.

    There was enough here to have a literal dip inside it.

    Since only the Sect Master knew of this ce, and after his passing or capture in the Under Void, no one else hade here to collect the Stone Aged Milk, and it gathered here into a small pool.

    I pulled out a small gourd and filled it with the substance, then I called the Automaton from my Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The puppet showed up in front of me and bowed.

    "Get all of this stone-aged milk into the pagoda, ce it within the garden," I said.

    The puppet nodded and opened a small portal that sucked in the entirety of the liquid.

    The puppet went back into the pagoda and I followed after.<sub> </sub>

    Since there was time dtion here, drinking the Stone Aged Milk will not take much of my time if I were to fall unconscious.

    And thus I went into the main pagoda building and took off my clothes, then drank the substance.

    The removal of clothes was for a very good reason.

    The liquid went down my throat as if it was the nectar of gods, and suddenly heat began surging from inside me and into every limb and fiber of my body.

    The pain of having all of my muscle mass and bones destroyed and reconstructed was all too familiar so I didn''t faint but it was still painful as hell.

    Yet what I didn''t expect was the fact that the hole I had in my right eye seemed to also be affected by the milk, and with it able to reconstruct the whole body, my sky pearl was immediately ejected out as a new eyeball was being rebuilt from scratch, and my god was that painful.

    Blood poured out of that opening as it was used as a conduit to rebuild a literal eyeball from scratch causing so much difort and agony that I regretted even drinking this damn thing.

    Thankfully, it didn''tst for a long while and my body began regaining itsposure.

    An hour or soter, my body was fully rebuilt, and I ken what was going to happen soon.

    My stomach rumbled as a surging tide of vomit came out of my mouth painting half of the room I was in dark slimy scum and sludge that was too smelly that even a sewage dweller would have to close their nose from the stench.

    The impurities from all the poison eating I had done with my real body were far more concentrated than in the body of Ling Cao, so the stench and the volume were on a whole other level.

    And soon after the vomiting fit was over, I ordered the automaton to clean up while I dipped myself in cold water and washed up.

    I wore my clothes once again, thankfully I didn''t have them on when I drank the liquid, they were a tight fit, and the sudden growth of muscles from the Stone Aged milk would have destroyed the clothes, but now that my muscles returned to their former size, although slightly more inted and more chiseled I was able to wear my robes without wearing them, and they looked far better now that they''re tightly hugging my body.

    My skin''s pale color didn''t seem to change, but it looked slightly better, more glistening, though it had a sickly pale look, the sheen from the Stone Aged Milk somewhat gave me a look of nobility if that even made any sense.

    And looking at a mirror I was surprised to see that each of my eyes had a different color.

    One of them was the color of the Poison God''s Book, a mboyant green, while the other was the color of the sky, a blue crystal clear color, almost the same as the sky pearl, only far more... beautiful for theck of any other term.

    Clenching my fist caused me to smile, as the sound of thunder seemed toe out of my joints. This meant that this body had reached the peak of what is humanly possible and is more than capable of Body Cultivation, though I''m not a fan of muscle building or bing bulked up. The greatest weakness of Poison Cultivators is their own body, since usually, they are all very weak inbat prows, but extremely deadly when ites to using poison.

    I on the other hand am able to use poison cultivation, and the power of the Golden Titan''s manual, the Fist of Roaring Ki to its utmost ability for my current cultivation level.

    I seem to have also reached the bottleneck of Soul Formation and I''m at the cusp of climbing to the next rank. But it would be too risky to attempt and galvanize my cultivation right now to climb since I still have a long journey to take. I wouldn''t want to go to the Under Void after going through a Heavenly Tribtion.

    I headed to the third level of the pagoda, where the white room was, and began amassing massive amounts of ammo and weaponry. Since nice I have Y back, I''ll need to do some maintenance on him and arm up for the uing venture.

 Chapter 355 Travel

    "This must be a bad joke," spoke a man in bright red clothes.

    But if one were to look closer they would realize that within the red color of his robes were rare and few patches of white.

    This was Master Rain''s retainer, and he looked far too bloody for a living person.

    "No one had ever said that about him," spat a man wearing blue.

    The spit this time bloody.

    Master Rain, the proud genius, considered the second strongest under the Vast Expanse, a devious vicious and very cunning man who was now on the back foot.

    Of the tworge needle-like spike weapons in his hands, only one was in usable condition, the other had already been snapped in half.

    "A skin capable of withstanding the full blow of a cultivator in the Sovereign Cultivation level is not something to call a joke¡­" Master Rain threw away both needles from his hands.

    With one of his needles destroyed, the other bes useless.

    And the person in front of them looked far too rxed and without a blemish on his golden skin.

    "How does something like this even die¡­" spoke the retainer his squinted eyes seemed more closed this time.

    "Usually, you don''t try and kill it you run, but there is no running from here¡­" Master Rain who was used to being chased around by the Wind King''s wife, was pretty much screwed in this situation since he couldn''t leave at all.

    "I guess we''ll have to use that," spoke the retainer.

    "That? What the hell does ''That'' mean speak real words god damn it," Master Rain cursed.

    "Ah, I was talking about the Perpetual Motion Prison," the retainer said.

    Master Rain thought for a moment before he said, "We''ll have to give it a try. I''ll cover for you while I enable it, don''t die," Master Rain said.

    The Retainer nodded, even as bloodied and wounded as he was he still shot forward with fan in hand and ready to give his life for master Rain''s order.

    ***

    I pulled out the ring that Master Rain had given me after his sermon and pulled out the giant puppet from within.

    The giant puppet, easily twenty feet tall, stood looking at me grimly. It had a massive floating shield behind it, that looked like an Oni Mask, and had four arms and sheath belts with four swords strapped to its side. The puppet had the same face as the mask behind it, and it had a mane of hair that seemed to extend all the way to the back of its knees.

    "Good to see you again Y," I spoke.

    "Lord, it is good to be back," he replied.<sub> </sub>

    "Did Master Rain modify you in any way?" I asked though I doubt the puppet would speak the truth if Master Rain really did modify it.

    "Not to my knowledge, I still retain all knowledge of our encounters, and still know who my loyalty lies with," he said.

    "Good to know, you wouldn''t mind me doing some quick checkups?" I asked as I slowly approached the puppet. I was still not fully trusting of Master Rain, but since Y didn''t move or do anything too sudden, I rxed a bit.

    Y''s chest opened up for me, revealing a new Saint Qi reactor because the other one I had already taken out. This one was not the same low-grade regr Heavenly Qi reactor I had on him, but a fully functioning new Saint Qi reactor with an even bigger Saint Crystal.

    The brass wiring I had on Y had been removed and changed to a new type of metallic wiring. It seems that Master Rain had actually realized what the brass wires were for, and instead of disregarding the ideapletely he upgraded them and made them a core part of Y''s build.

    The new wires were directly connected to the reactor and would supply the four swords with enough thermal energy and rapidly enough that the demon trigger would instantly turn the swords bright hot and sharp.

    The excess heat was no longer a side effect but now a full function.

    I then went to check on Y''s memory and mind inscription. Basically what had given Y a personality, his own soul if that is permittable to say.

    The formation looked as I had left it, it didn''t have anything of it changed or modified.

    So that means that Master Rain had only been studying Y, and never had any intention on reiming him back, though I doubt that he would have had trouble with that, since Y is technically still Master Rain''s possession. I only did a work around the fact that Master Rain had refined Y to be his, while I reprogrammed Y to think of me as his real master. Y already knows that Master Rain had created him, but his loyalty is with me.

    Now, after verifying all of Y''s circuits, I decided to use the newfound knowledge of Imperial Inscription method, I can probably further upgrade Y''s own basic matrix of inscriptions for a far more stable Qi expenditure.

    But I don''t have the time for that now, I need to head to the Under Void as fast as possible, in case Master Rain and the Retainer have yet to wake that thing in there, I could do with stopping them, and if they already did, I''ll have to do something risky to stop that thing.

    I am not owed anything to anyone to actually go and risk myself like this, but I have a few debts to pay. The debt is for three people.

    The first is Master Gin for teaching me the Fist of Roaring Qi and easing my ess to the heavenly academy before the actual date of entry begins.

    The second is to Master Rain, though I''m a bit perplexed at this, though he caused my to have its end sooner thanter, he did give me Y who saved my life many times. He pushed me to learn Imperial Inscription which will be a great help down the line of cultivation, and finally, I owe him a debt for the sermon and how he pushed me up to be treated as the most wanted student of the whole Heavenly Academy and all the benefits that it will entail.

    Though he is an asshole and a jackass, I still owe him enough to aid him that is of course if he needs it.

    Andstly, my greatest debt is to a person who treated me like a son, a person who helped build me, and my body protected me and gave his life for me. Even if it was just a dream, thest debt I owe to the Golden Titan. The sect master of the Ancient Sect.

    I pulled my hoverboard and rode on it. The destination was far away, but I can make it in a couple of weeks. The location was unknown to me earlier on, but after spending some time in the Ancient Sect, and having read the Imperial Inscription codex and understanding all the letters and numbers in it, I now fully know the location and meaning behind that parchment that Master Rain had asked me to decipher.

    Though I had visited the Under Void once, its location was not possible for me to know by simply moving across space, but with a clear directional guide from the parchment, I can head there with ease now.

    I enabled the barrier around the hoverboard and then shot forward into space.

 Chapter 356 Treasure Hunt

    The journey through the dark unknown was rather uneventful. I''ve had nothing to stare at, nothing to look at, but the dark emptiness of endless space.

    It was pretty at first, rather delightful to look at all the stars and strange constetions. But after a while, you just get bored of it, as it bes the same monotonous scene that you''ve been watching for thest five days.

    The current hoverboard speed was far faster than the speed of the Thunderbull we used within the Ancient Sect''s Dream.

    And thinking about the Thunderbull, there is a good chance that its remains are still within the Under Void prison. I could probably scavenge them back from there.

    I didn''t manually interfere with the destruction of the Thunderbull and his arrival to the Under Void prison was predestined such as was its destruction. The problem is those damn felines, they don''t look like anything I''d want to mess with, but if I were to use Y or some of my poisons, I might be able to bypass their security and head down where the bull was located.

    I still have a bit more time of travel before I arrive at the Under Void prison. My only concern is the creatures that dwell within this dark empty space. With the Bull''s presencest time, we had it easy as it was able to decimate all creatures that lived in space with a single roar. But now, I''m on my own with a hoverboard and a lot of lead, hopefully, I wouldn''t have to use any.

    As I had finished that thought, something seemed to ripple in space up ahead. I didn''t like that one bit.

    I pressed on the pedestals of the hoverboard as hard as I could, steering away from the ripples.

    "Y, get ready," I warned.

    The Puppet seemed too eager to break out as it had been unable to let out any of its tremendous powers while he was within the hands of master Rain.

    Y''s reactor thundered as it roiled and coiled so much Saint Qi I thought he was going to blow up right here and there. But all the excess Qi was funneled into Y''s arms and towards his swords. Enabled his Demon Trigger Swords to burn bright red hot as he pressed their triggers.

    Dozens of small creatures emerged from within the ripples. They were rtively smallpared to a human, butpared to their bug counterpart, they were massive.

    Fucking space hos. And a lot of them.

    These damn hos seemed to be out for blood, they had blood-red eyes and seemed to have sword-sized fangs.

    They made so much noise as they moved that I felt my skin vibrating from the impact.

    "Let me at them, Master," spoke Y.

    "Go on ahead, I''ll support you," I replied.

    The massive puppet shot forward, sting through space causing it to ripple in the process. His swords are thirsty for blood, alien or not. It came down with fires of wrath and hellfire, upon the creatures that dared block his master''s way.

    The Demon Trigger swords burnt bright red as they struck right through the hos splitting them in half and causing their parted remains to turn to cinder from the heat of the weapons.

    I pulled the minigun and started sting.

    I tried my best not to hit Y in the process of shooting a weapon capable of releasing more than seven hundred rounds a minute. But I didn''t need to worry, though Y was fast and seemed to be moving all over the ce, he was still able to dodge a stray bullet, or twist itself around the trajectory of the minigun''s rain of bullets.

    The creatures didn''t fare any odds at defeating us and soon the rest of their hoard dispersed after realizing how futile their ambush was. Perhaps if it was another prey, bigger and slower these things would have had a feast, but Y was no pushover. And I''m d he is on my side.

    After having gone past the ambush area we didn''t seem to encounter any other creatures for the rest of the day.

    A couple more days went by like that and I started to feel like we were getting closer to the Under Void prison. I made sure to keep tabs on our current location by using the Imperial parchment and the notes written on it. And it didn''t take long before I saw the entrance to the Under Void.

    It was the same asst time, a bunch of jumbled-up ''errors'' in space. Folds of it, kneaded and pinched against each other looking pretty much like a spatial anus for theck of any other more fitting description.

    And down the hole, we go.

    The feeling was much more different than when I first went in. It wasn''t as suffocating and I didn''t feel like someone was trying to pry my brain with a crowbar.

    It seems that whatever the mental affliction that usually happened to the people who arrived here was downgraded several times over due to the passage of time.

    Which didn''t really matter as even when the forces of the Imperial n were at their peak, this failed to drag me into their dream world and I managed to go through it then without a hitch.

    This was even moreughable as I went right into the inner part of the Under Void Prison and found myself staring at two gates. One so massive in size that one couldn''t see any end to it, and another one, was far smaller and far less decorated.

    I suppose that Master Rain had alreadye here since the small gate is currently being projected forcefully by hundreds of inscriptions making it manifest.

    I had a small issue with this gate at first, since the Creedless had used a tool to open it, but now that Master Rain is here, the door is open for me.

    I walked inside the small gate and found myself in the same area where the massive tforms of old were standing still. Though standing seemed to be an overstatement.<sub> </sub>

    Age had done its job by making these tforms far more brittle than it should be safe to cross. Also, I fail to remember these things being so¡­red.

    Approaching, I seem to have realized that this wasn''t a discoloration of the tform but actual blood of something that seemed to have died here or spilled copious amounts of blood on the tforms.

    The first thing that came to mind were those hunting creatures of the dark¡­ The Dark Beasts.

    Just the thought of one of them still alive here caused me to immediately regreting here. But thefort of Y''s prows made me take a step forward.

    The bridge that used to link the tforms was no longer avable for use, dpidated and broken, it had long since fallen. And thus the only way for me to cross was to use X.

    X came out and looked at Y.

    "He is back," spoke X.

    "Yes, we got him back, anyway I need you to link these tforms," I said.

    X nodded and pointed one of his arms.

    A rope extended from a spatial formation I made for X to store items, and it linked itself to the Drill Bullet that was inside X''s arm.

    The bullet spun and spun then was released with enough power to prate the stone tform but not enough topletely shatter it on impact.

    "Y, be ready for any ambush, I don''t think we''ll be crossing without a hitch," I said.

    Y then immediately readied his Demon Triggers, warming up the weapons for any unpredicted apparition.

    I stepped on the rope and rapidly ran across to the other tform. The gravitational pull from the depth of this area was forcefully disrupting spatialws, making teleportation impossible. And unless I''m all the way down, I can''t stop it.

    Thus we had to walk across the tforms on foot.

    I would usually have no purpose in even thinking of going down this deep dark chasm, but if my theory is correct, there should be a prize waiting for me down there.

    My time print didn''t seem to be too great in regards to changing Creedless''s decision-making. Since I arrived to this ce with him, my contact with the Creedless was minimal at best. And I didn''t have any effects on causing him to change the choices he made.

    So, if what happened back then in the dream world, and the fact that the Stone Aged Milk actually existed, that would mean that the Thunderbull remains should also be down there somewhere.

    The Thunderbull was a captured soul trapped into a caravan, it shouldn''t be anything worth eating for the Dark Beasts, thus if I''m lucky I should find its broken remains still there.

    Me, X, and Y made it through several tforms before I asked them to stop.

    It was this very tform where the two dark beasts jumped on the Thunder Bull chariot, so it should be down below.

    "Z," I spoke and the small spider-like puppet came out of my Poison God''s book.

    "Go down the pir, check for any carriage remains," I said.

    I then ced the small spider puppet down, and it zoomed down like a bullet running down the pir.

    I waited and waited, still carefully watching my back, while X and Y were both upied with guarding any threats toe.

    Suddenly, Z came up and he seemed to be carrying something. It was a golden nail.

    My lips curved into a wide smile. This nail is definitely a part of the chariot, since it also had an imperial inscription on it.

    Just as I approached Z to grab the nail and further study it.

    Something the size of a train surged up from the dark and was facing me.

    It had the face of a wrinkled mole rat. the lips of a catfish and the jaws of a predator. The rest of its body looked like that of a sickly vermin and it hissed at me with enough force that I felt like I was going to be blown away.

    "Your breath stinks," I muttered, "Take him out," I added and hell broke loose in the depth of the dark.

 Chapter 357 Loot

    Y''s move was so fast I only saw its after image. He struck with his sword edge up right into the disgusting creature, then swung up slicing the beast in two halves that slowly parted ways revealing the monster''s innards.

    "Moree, care..." spoke Y as he was readying to fight.

    I took a few steps back as many more of the same mole rat creature rose up like a hydra around us.

    They dove into our midst, but Y twisted around himself with his extended swords, slicing them apart and away.

    The creatures squirmed and squealed as they were thrown and culled away from the tform.

    "They live still!" spoke Y, and I was surprised to hear him say something against what I was seeing. They were all mortally wounded, live still is a correct statement, but that''s only momentary.

    Until I was proven wrong when I saw the first creature that we split in half slowly mending its body back.

    And not only that one, but the others that have been cut apart by Y also seemed to mend back onto themselves and areing back for more.

    "Ah," having finally understood Y''s words I started acting.

    I pulled a talisman from my pouch and blew into it. A reinforced poison breath is affected by the inscription on the talisman.

    A powerful gust of green poison shot forward and collided with the creature.

    The beast at first didn''t understand the gravity of the situation it was in as it was being assaulted by copious amounts of poison, and only when the talisman in my hand turned to ash did it finally realize what was happening to it.

    Its body began melting from the outside and the poison was rapidly spreading into its vital organs.

    "Burn," I muttered in a low voice and the acidic poison surged in a green hellfire, turning the beast into a living torch that was feeding its own mes by the beast''s flesh and bones.

    The creature squirmed and squealed, as it was being roasted alive, it brunt brighter the more it struggled and burnt stronger every time it tried to snuff the mes using its own Qi.

    This poisonbo was something I devised after the encounter with the Grizzly Spider Poison. The incendiary nature of the poison was hard to replicate since I was not in contact with that poison in real life. However, after adding the incendiary inscription to the poison I used, it was easy to turn it into mes. The only thing added to the acidic poison was my own Heart me and the Breath Sealing Poison.

    The inscription worked in a way to allow the poison to take up in mes while the Breath Sealing Poison would absorb the enemy''s own Qi to further fuel the fires surrounding it.

    This was in some sense, Greek Fire, only worse.

    The creature''s body started melting, and the beasts around it seemed to realize that their immortality against des was ratherughable when they can be burnt to a crisp.

    A couple of the creatures wanted to test out their luck as they charged me, only to be struck down as Y sliced into one of them, and then grabbed the other and shoved one of his swords into its head and against its monster ally. He then shoved the sword with the two creature''s heads impaled on it, into the ground.

    I turned to the two creatures, raised up a new talisman and blew another gout of poison at them.

    Once the poisontched onto the two creatures, Y pulled back his sword and kicked the two creatures away.

    "Burn!" I spoke and the two creatures rose up in me and so did Y''s sword.

    However, since Y''s sword was made of Neutron Steel metal, the acidic nature of my poison had no effects on it, and he seemed to be enjoying the sight of a sword burning bright green.

    Y then shot forward at one of the creatures severing its head from the torso, and the beast immediately died. The green heart me seemed capable of immediately searing and cauterizing the wound, not allowing the beasts to regenerate.

    "X, bring the me thrower!" I spoke and my second puppet came out, though I didn''t have any me throwers installed on X, he seemed to understand what I wanted him to do.

    X pped on the side of his hips, summoning two rocketunchers, after taking note of all the targets around us, he shot the rockets that went up, then all came down, twenty-four separate rockets came like a rainfall towards the creatures around us.

    I pulled my hoverboard immediately and stepped on its defensive barrier right before the rockets would fall.

    And just as the barrier rose up, mes, light and explosions capable of tearing down a small city blew up against the tform we were on.

    The Qi protective barrier would allow us survival, but I would probably not be betting my life on the tform I''m standing on.

    And immediately I began feeling the tform breaking.

    "Y, we''re going down," I said. Because my goal was to go down anyway.

    As soon as the tform fully broke, I pocketed the hoverboard, Z, and called back X into my poison god''s book.

    Y managed to grab a hold of me and easily ce me on his shoulder as we were falling down. Though Y seemed to be more thanfortable while free falling than I would give anyone without wings credit for.<sub> </sub>

    Y didn''t seem too worried as he stepped on a falling rock, and jumped to the next one. Allws of physics going through my mind right now are screaming at how illogical this was, but remembering that I''m sitting on the back of a puppet that has an inscription for brain made me forget about logic and enjoy the fantastical feeling.

    Y jumped from rock to rock and made it back to the pir that was holding the tform we just broke. He then twisted his body, where his face was now facing the far, far away, and very dark looking deep chasm, and began literally running down the pir.

    "Why are you running?!" I asked, "We can''t see how far the ground is, we''ll smash face first!" I shouted.

    "No lord, I have already estimated how far the distance is, and if we are slower than the falling rocks, they will destroy whatever you sent Z to look for."

    Y''s words immediately made sense. Z was fast, so fucking fast that even it took a lot of time to go all the way down and up, that means that the distance was pretty damn far. So there was no need to worry about crashing, the problem was that our act earlier might destroy the remains of the Thunderbull.

    "Alright, keep on moving then," I said as we approached the dark.

    It didn''t take much longer for Y to start slowing down his full sprint.

    "Master Hold on tight," he said and just as I did, he twisted his body to now face the pir and pulled two of his swords then stabbed them right into the pir.

    The des were sharp, sharp enough that they weren''t able to immediately halt our fall even if we seemed to be far slower, we were still sliding down.

    Seeing the two des unable to halt our descent, Y pulled two more swords with his other hands and stabbed them, causing even more sparks to fly as we were jerked and skidded down further.

    He then used his feet and the speed of our fall came to a slow then abrupt halt.

    What was amazing wasn''t Y''s actions to stop us, what was amazing was the fact that our stop was not even a meter away from the ground as exposed by the Y''s mask, as his mask''s demonic eyes were bright blue and seemed to light up the ground.

    "Master, the falling tform will arrive in a few seconds, we better hurry," he said.

    "Noted, if pushes to shove, turn the debris to dust," I said.

    "As youmand," he said then his face shot up gazing upon the falling rocks soon toe.

    I snapped my fingers summoning a small heart me orb that lit not more than a few meters around me.

    On the ground, it was musky, dark, and stinky. Perhaps the years that these creatures spent here, their feces, and whatever else they digested and ate were all over this ce, no wonder it''s so moist and disgusting.

    The light from the Heart me gave me slight visibility and my own divine sensepleted the visual. There was a lot of human remains here and some bones that seemed to be too big to be of any natural animal.

    There were full skeletons of Dark Beasts all over the ce. I wonder what happened to them, and where did these ugly ass creaturese from.

    As I was wondering, my divine sense seemed to have caught on to something shiny.

    I approached the source of the object and my lips seemed to widen until it became a full-blown grin.

    "Found it!" I yelped as I was able to locate the chariot that was left behind by the Creedless ages and ages ago.

    It was also not fully destroyed, it had some damage on it, and the soul signature from the Thunderbull seemed to be far too weak, but not dead. It was still salvageable.

    Suddenly, the sound of explosions echoed, fearing the worst I was readying to fight, only to realize that the sounds wereing from above me.

    shes and sparks lit up the ce to reveal Y slicing apart the falling debris into bits and pieces that he flung far away from us.

    "I''m lucky to have gotten Y back. Well now..."

    "Automaton," I spoke and a small child-like puppet came out of a manifested portal.

    The administrator of the lord of lords pagoda came over.

    "Can you grab the remains of this Thunderbull?" I asked.

    "Yes, of course," he spoke and immediately the whole area around the bull seemed to slowly disappear.

    I know that the automaton is fully capable of Spatial Law, but his mastery over thisw is impressive, not only is he capable of opening spatial portals at will, but he is capable of taking in and out entire cities at will.

    I''ll need to ask him more about Spatial Laws in hope of improving my own understanding.

 Chapter 358 Treasures

    I did several scans using my divine sense and managed to pick up a few more little pieces that the Automaton failed to take to the Lord of Lords pagoda in his mass haul.

    After a couple more scans and realizing that there was nothing else left to take, I turned to Y who was standing watch over me.

    "Let''s go back up," I said.

    "Good decision, we''re being surrounded as we speak," he said.

    I frowned as I was sure that my divine sense was far and wide but I didn''t realize that we were being surrounded at all, even now, I don''t see anything.

    Y ced me slowly on his shoulder, and before I even asked, he replied, "It is the difference between Saint Qi and Heavenly Qi, though you, my lord have a unique Qi signature it is still born from Heavenly Qi. Once you Ascend, you will retain your unique signature and will have the ability to use the same variant only in Saint Qi," He said.

    I seem to have understood a bit, it is as if Heavenly Qi and Saint Qi work on two different wavelengths, thus why I cannot detect whatever it is that is surrounding us. Thankfully I have Y with me, otherwise, I would have no hope of defeating a Saint Qi ss prowling creature.

    Y jumped up on the nearest pir and began crab crawling upwards, rather rapidly.

    "Do you know what type of creatures were surrounding us?" I asked.

    "Yes, it is something simr to what we faced above, only these ones are far stronger. It appears that the strong live down below, while the weak are chased upwards," he said.

    Makes sense, though I fail to understand how such creatures were able to survive this long without any food or sustenance besides the very few and rare dumb cultivators who end uping here. Me included.

    Y''s crawl came to a stop as we reached the top of the pir and onto a new tform. We continued going from one tform to another thanks to Y''s Drill Head Bullets and ropes and arrived at the gate that separated this area and the next.

    We arrived to the area where two broken and long-since snuffed braziers were. There were no mes to light the dark and there didn''t seem to be anything to stop us from entering.

    The gate that was separating the tforms and the Dark Beast habitat had already been broken, either by time or by something else.

    We walked inside, making sure to scan everywhere and anywhere.

    This ce was almost the same as before. A long massive bridge, and many, many small caves on the side walls along the bridge. While arge distance separating the bridge and walls led to a dark chasm below.

    This ce was a den to one of the most dangerous things I''veid eyes on, yet with so much time has went by, I do not think that any of them still lives.

    "Lord, those parasites are here also, be careful," Y spoke and soon two of the said mole rat faced creatures came at us.

    After several swings of Y''s sword and a powerful poison breath and ignition, they turned to burn flesh and soon to ash.

    "Those things look too big to be parasites," I said.

    "Indeed, but their Qi structure is very fragile, they seem to be unable to produce Qi or absorb it naturally, all of the ones we faced are in extremely weakened conditions. They must have ate and consumed everything that lived here, and now are all slowly dying," Y exined.

    As we walked, I seemed to have realized that something sad happened here. Every Dark Beast that used to live here had long since been killed, and none of them remain. Perhaps they went extinct. Since only the Imperial Family had the right to raise them, and now with thisst haven of Dark Beast infested with these parasites, they are probably no more in the world.

    Our walk continued until I stopped. I picked up something with my divine sense that not even Y seemed to pick up.

    "Y, do you see that?" I pointed.

    Y looked around and failed to realize the meaning behind my words.

    I had a wide grin on my face, "Do you know that being too used to using Saint Qi can make you partially blind," I said.

    "I fail to understand the corrtion with using Saint Qi and losing sight," he said.

    "No, not like that, you''re too used to using Saint Qi, that you missed something that didn''t have Saint Qi," I smiled.<sub> </sub>

    "Take me there," I pointed at one of the caves in the walls that the Dark Beasts used as nests.

    Y made it all the way to the cave with a single jump.

    Once wended into the cave, I slowly made my way through a lot of bones and into the back of the cave.

    It looked as if this small cave had a cave-in and the back side had fell down. But, that was actually camouge.

    Looking at the bones inside this cave, they belonged to two Dark beasts that seemed to have died facing the entrance of the cave. They had many broken bones. They seem to have died facing something. Or, protecting something.

    I began by unraveling the rocks, bit by bit until I touched something that seemed as sturdy as a rock but felt far too smooth to be rock.

    Once unraveled I picked it up, it was arge oval shaped object. And it was probably half my size and several times my weight.

    I didn''t even feel the weight thanks to the new body I obtained and once I turned to Y, he spoke, "Is that an egg?" he said.

    "Yep, seems like it, and it still has Qi inside it, I don''t know if this thing can still be hatched. But if it has Qi, it is still alive."

    "Indeed, now that you speak of it, this creature has a lot of normal Heavenly Qi, and not a single hint of Saint Qi, it is perhaps on the cusp of evolving yet it was missing the final push. Perhaps it needed its parents to supplement it with Qi in order to be hatched, but since they have died, it never had the ability to hatch and forever remained frozen in that state between life and death. Unable to do either."

    "It''s a stroke of good luck, Automaton take this," I said.

    Suddenly a small teleportation gate opened up where I ced the egg inside then it disappeared.

    "Do you n on raising it?" Y asked.

    "Of course I am," I replied.

    "Do you know how to raise it?" he asked.

    "It''s a big cat, what else besides food can it ever need, but as a dark beast it can''t survive under light, Automaton make sure to ce it somewhere dark we''ll take care of itter." I said

    The puppet nodded and left.

    "Good stuff good stuff!" I grinned as I walked back to the cave''s exit.

    Y took us back to the bridge and we continued walking forward.

    I whistled as I was moving up ahead.

    "You seem content, my Lord," he said.

    "Of course I am. I got Some Stone Aged Milk, and a Thunder Bull chariot that was the symbol of the Imperial Family, and now I have a Dark Beast. Thankfully the Imperial Family went extinct otherwise I''d be too worried to take these things out in the real world, but now, I have the ability to do so," I said.

    "But lord, there are heavens above heavens, and mountains above mountains, though this imperial family you speak of is dead, wouldn''t another, more powerful cultivator vie for your treasures?" he asked.

    "Well, that''s why I have you, and that''s why I''m here trying to save Master Rain, so he''ll owe me one, and no one will bother me after I save his life," I said.

    "That is¡­very brilliant," Y said.

    "When was I never brilliant," I grinned as we walked to the chamber of doors.

 Chapter 359 Confrontation

    The chamber of doors was once againprised of only one door, the ck one. But unlike thest time when there was no sign of other doors, I was actually able to see the remains of two more doors that I''d never seen before.

    One more thing was, the ck door was being forced into materialization byw lines and a mass of inscriptions. The style was obvious, it was Master Rain''s.

    He must have gone through this ce and stopped this door from closing or dematerializing after he goes through it.

    Pretty smart.

    I walked through the door and found myself once again in that massive opening with a rundown pyramid in the center.

    The giant circr wall that used to host and trap tens of thousands of those human-like things was still standing and so were the chains. But the people, there was nothing of them left but bones.

    They have finally died, away from that torturous trial that they would have probably never been able to escape from.

    I kept on walking through the open fields, at first worried about the soldiers that fell down from the skies to kill anything that would approach the pyramid. However, after a short walk I saw their remains, the stone soldiers were nothing but brittle dust and y, long past their expiration date.

    The whole ce was full of the aura of death, there was nothing here. Not a de of grass even. It was all as cold and as silent as death itself.

    I arrived at the foot of the pyramid rather rapidly, since there was nothing hunting me and no soldiers trying to kill me. And from the look of the blocks on the pyramid, even a dumb person can realize where the traps are.

    So much time had gone by that all the stones of the pyramid had been corroded and eroded by time, all but a few blocks far and between, which were still looking spotless even after so much time had gone by.

    These blocks are the ones that once you step on, they''ll swallow you and vomit out your bones shortly after.

    I walked up the pyramid avoiding those blocks and reached the top where a fully functional and modified teleportation gate was sitting.

    It was also modified by Master Rain.

    "I guess they are already in. X, be ready," I said.

    But I received an immediate divine sense message from Y, "Master, though I consider X as a younger brother, I should be the one to apany you, to guarantee your safety," he said.

    I shook my head, "We''ll be going to an area that suppresses Saint Qi almostpletely, you won''t be of much help. X on the other hand can still function using Heavenly Qi," I said.

    X was actually still using the older version of Y''s reactor, the one that functioned on Heavenly Qi. While the original Saint Qi reactor that came with Y is being used to move my hoverboard. And the current Reactor inside Y was made by Master Rain from scratch.

    "As youmand," he said and went silent.

    X followed close by as the two of us stepped into the teleportation circle.

    My vision swam and suddenly focused onplete darkness. Without Divine Sense one wouldn''t be able to see the way ahead or back. Thus, I released my own divine sense and soon came to discover a few things.

    "Master Rain!" I said.

    Two men, one in blue robes, and another in almostpletely crimson robes were both sitting still inside a giant sphere.

    Right in front of them was a hulking giant of a size far too great to be considered anything but a deity.

    Master Rain opened his eyes and they almost bulged out "Bloody kid what the hell are you doing here! RUN!" he spoke but it was toote.

    "Don''t worry about me, what is that?!"

    "Perpetual Motion! I stopped time and space around us so he can''t get to us while I figure out a way to get out of this mess! You though, why did youe here? Leave while it''s still not paying you any attention!"

    "Toote for that," I said.

    And it was. Because the giant began turning and I immediately recognized him.

    It was the sect master of the Ancient Sect.

    He, however, did not know who I was, since we never really met.

    The giant''s hand moved towards me with far more speed than I could ever hope to match or escape.

    "Don''t move," I said to X as the hand mped on us.

    I felt as if I was going to be suffocated and crushed like an ant, but I knew this thing.<sub> </sub>

    "Though weak of body and cultivation, you would do well as a snack," spoke the avatar with a voice that was clearly not the Sect Master.

    Tendrils of flesh and sinew manifested from the sect master''s palm and stuck against my body.

    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," I muttered.

    And almost immediately the tendrils seemed to wilt and fall upon contact with me.

    The titan as if stabbed in the hand threw me away.

    "Poison¡­so much of it¡­but it shan''t stop me from eating!" he said.

    "I suppose it wouldn''t," I said "But what about the Golden Titan himself," I said.

    Immediately I funneled all my Qi outwards into a sudden burst.

    "Fists of Roaring Ki!" I called and all the Qi around me raged on as if a me from hell set aze in the world of man. "God''s Eternal Fists!" suddenly all the Ki surged back into my fists, shaping into two massive ethereal gauntlets.

    "What do you suppose that weak spell of yours can do to this body," spoke the titan.

    "Not the body, I never had any hopes of damaging that body, since it was never yours to begin with," I grinned, "It is the mind, you foul thing!"

    I swung a fist forward, to which the Titan snorted as he blocked my fist with one of his fingers.

    Though I expected as much, the parasite inside the Golden Titan didn''t expect what is toe right after.

    the contact of both Qi, mine and his allowed me to do something slightly risky in any other situation but this.

    I opened up my sea of consciousness and the creature, with such a parasitic nature, immediately dove in.

    He found himself right inside my own sea of consciousness standing tall like a god peering upon a rtively small naval fortress.

    "Such a good feast!" it spoke and was about to dive in until it stopped.

    "This¡­ why do I sense the remains of one of my own kin here¡­" it spoke and turned around.

    "Thank you for visiting, I''ll make sure you have a nice, permanent stay here," I smiled back as I slowly hovered towards the massive titan.

    "You imbecile!" spoke the titan, do you think you can stop me? With that puny cultivation base."

    "The golden titan, at his peak, probably not, you, definitely. You''re nothing but a parasite," I said.

    "Then Die by this parasite''s hand and make yourself as useful sustenance!"

    He spoke and mmed down with his massive hand nning to squash me and the fortress at the same time.

    "It''s so funny, just because you''re big, don''t underestimate me for being small. After all, Size doesn''t matter," I smiled as the giant hand was falling down like a world-ending meteor.

    From the top of the tower on my Naval Fortress came something surging like a meteor.

    It was a perfect replica of me, only with far crueler-looking features. It had no expression but it still gave a grave and deadly presence to itself.

    The Nascent Soul of before is currently in the Soul Formation stage. Meaning that It was a few steps away from bing a perfect Soul. And one of the best things to nurture souls, are souls themselves. Though that is the path of Devil Cultivators, when ites to such a tainted, and ugly soul like this parasite, I''m more than d to consume it.

    The Soul shot up and raised its hand up, to make aparison between the two hands'' sizes was topare the sun''s brightness to the light of a firefly. However, the parasite that had taken over the body of the Golden Titan was soon proven devastatingly wrong.

    His hand which looked like it would be capable ofpletely shattering my sea of consciousness was forced to a sudden stop. It was as if it had hit an immovable mountain.

    The impact however was so powerful that I felt as if space itself was having an earthquake¡­ or spacequake?

    "H-how is this possible!" spoke the parasite.

    "You seem surprised? But you should. After all, not even the Golden Titan had enough Soul Power to contend against mine. And now that you''re in my sea of consciousness that you walked into with your own bare feet, I''ll say it once again, I hope you enjoy your stay because it will be permanent! Eat him!"

 Chapter 360 Resolution

    The draconic soul''s hand tightened and then as if the giant titan''s entire skin was like a table cloth being removed by one hand. His outer skin was immediately peeled away from the rest of his body. Sucked into the hand of the Soul.

    What was left behind was the same mass however it no longer looked human, it was a mass of disgustingly intertwined flesh. Membrane and eyes, putrid looking sinus that made the mass of the giant.

    The true appearance of that parasitic creature was revealed.

    "Damn you''re ugly," I said.

    The creature howled in agonized pain as every eye on its body vibrated and shuddered, then they all stopped and snapped towards me all at once.

    "DIE!" came the word from literally everywhere.

    An oppressive shockwave of mental power shot towards me, aiming to crush me where I stand.

    "Not in my world you won''t," I spoke as the wave washed over me like a gentle breeze.

    "Here, I rule!" I said and from the sea under two arms, where even the titan couldn''t hope to match in size surged up.

    They then mped down on the titan forcing it into the sea.

    More arms surged up to crush him and drown him down. Though he can''t be ''drowned,'' he can be harmed. And since I can literally make anything I wish within my own sea of consciousness.

    "Burn!" I spoke.

    And the massive sea turnedpletely in nature, to a sea of molten magma, burning with the heat of the sun.

    The mes were green same as my own Veridian Heart me that fueled this surge of fire. And it would only keep getting hotter.

    The creature, forced down into the stone melting heat, couldn''t do much but struggle and send useless wave after wave of mental attacks that served to do nothing but weaken and exhaust him.

    "I WILL NOT ALLOW A LESSER CULTIVATOR TO KILL ME!" it roared this time surprisingly and powerfully so that everything around it was shot outward creating a tidal wave of magma and fire that spread everywhere.

    Yet, it was still forced against its will and into the ground by the arms.

    "Is that so," I said as I raised my hand.

    "You know, one of my favorite scenes in a novel I read when I was young, was the execution of an evil man. Let''s see if I can replicate it," I smiled as I opened my raised hand.

    One sword manifested itself above my hand, it looked rather simple in appearance as it hovered slowly above my hand.

    That sword was not made of metal, but of pure mental power, or Soul Power, since nothing can hurt a soul being but soul power itself.

    The sword rose up and up until it reached a height I deemed sufficient.

    Then, the world turned dark by my will.

    The sword, looked lonely in the high skies as it shined in green light. And so, it had to havepany.

    The lone sword split in two, and those two then split up again. And it continued on splitting until all around us, shaped like a dome was swords pointing forward all aiming at the creature.

    The sight was amazing. Every sword shone like a small star, and the dark lone night was no more, as the bright friendly green of the swords was fighting the darkness of the night.

    "Starless Night¡­" I spoke and then came the first of the swords rushing towards the creature.

    It tore into its flesh rather too easily, and that elicited a scream from the monster. Only for another scream to follow as the second sword came down. And the third and fourth. As more swords came down one after another, impaling and prating the body of the foul creature as it screamed and screamed.

    The swords continued going down as more were being duplicated, so many of them had fallen that there was no longer any more space left for any sword tond on the body of the giant creature.

    Though I have a lot of soul power, I was also feeling a bit of exhaustion from the sudden release of so many soul attacks at once.

    The creature could do nothing but wheeze and whine as it was being firmly pinned like a pincushion with more pins than cushion.

    I looked up, and like earlier, there were no more swords but one.

    It slowly fell down towards the remaining swords and once it touched them.

    The whole area surged up in a green hellfire that seemed to rage on like a pir of mes that rose all the way to the high heavens.

    The green mes surged and raged on while the creature''s voice had long since been extinguished.

    The fire continued as I watched it brightly burning, until it began to die down and until it disappearedpletely, leaving nothing but the giant arms, and a glistening pool of pure blue liquid.

    The soul I harbored immediately shot towards the pool and dove into it.

    Causing the whole thing to funnel right into it.

    Once the pool waspletely absorbed I was forced out of my own sea of consciousness.

    And back into the dark deep space of the Under Void.

    Looking to my right there was Master Rain''s dumbfounded expression as he saw the giant, the real body this time slowly dissipating to ash.

    "What the hell did you do?" spoke Master Rain.

    "Master Rain, look," spoke the retainer who looked too exhausted to even stand up straight.

    There were three skeletons floating around where the giant tian was.

    And within the three skeletons were three orbs of light.

    The orbs removed themselves from the skeletons and came towards me.

    Thinking that I will be possessed I readied up my mental barriers, though I was too exhausted to fight off anything like the giant I just duked it out with. The orbs stopped right in front of me and soon began to take a human shape.

    Once they were fully formed, "Oh, Sect Master, Elder Wei, Elder Fu Tian," I spoke as I sped my hands to the three souls.

    The brightest of the three-spoke, "You seem to know us¡­ but I do not know you."

    "Yes, it could be said that we have met in a past life¡­" I said.<sub> </sub>

    "You know my Fist of Roaring Ki, I felt that punch, also your body¡­you drank the Stone Aged milk," he said.

    "You taught me yourself, and you showed me the whereabouts of the Stone Aged milk," I said with my head still bowed.

    "I do not have any recollection of such events," he said, "But to have learned my brutish arts means that you have trained hard, and to have known of where I kept the Stone Aged milk where I shared the location with no one means you may be speaking true. You have also freed us from that monstrous thing¡­" he then turned and said, "But that damnable imperial¡­"

    "The Creedless is dead," I said. "Well, at least the one that brought you here, more than tens of thousands of years ago¡­" I said.

    "Such a long time had gone by¡­" the sect master said.

    "I''m afraid so,"

    "My sect¡­"

    "Long since perished¡­ so did the imperials," I said.

    The sect master sighed.

    "I saw you fight, you have a good aptitude for the Ancient Movement Technique," spoke another person.

    "It is because you, elder Wei, you have taught me how to improve myself," I said.

    "You even know me," he said.

    "You have been a friend and mentor. I am sorry I couldn''te any sooner," I said.

    "Elder Fu Tian," I said turning to the third one. "Though I have not learned anything directly from you, you helped me once before, and for that I am thankful," I said.

    "You havee to clear your Karma with us," the sect master said.

    "I know nothing about karma, but all I know is you aided me once and I just happened to have managed to aid you back," I said.

    "It is still Karma, the wheels of fate spin and they will always pay back what is due. Sadly, we do not remember you, and we have very little to offer," the sect master said.

    "You have given me enough," I replied, "I wouldn''t dare to ask for more," I said.

    "The Sect Master may, but I have yet to do so," spoke Elder Wei,

    "Your friendship was reward enough," I said.

    "The three of us will soon perish, I cannot go without repaying this debt," he said and soon a bright little globe of light came towards me, it looked gentle and friendly and soon made contact with my body and faded within.

    "It is some knowledge that I used to possess, it shall aid you when the time is right," Elder Wei said.

    "Thank you," I replied.

    "As for me, You''ll head to the Sect of the Crimson Dragon, and tell the Sect Master to repay the Debt of Madness. You shall be rewarded." Spoke Elder Fu Tian.

    "Thank you," I said.

    The sect master then approached me and touched my forehead with a single finger. "This is the final verse of the Fist of Roaring Ki, you cannot use it for now, but once you grow stronger¡­ you''ll reign over the world as I did once before¡­ thank you for releasing us," he said.

    "Can''t you stay," I said, "You are all three powerful people could you not like possess someone?" I said.

    The sect Master shook his head, "Our souls have been contaminated and damaged beyond repair, it is only thanks to our high cultivation level and this special ce that we''re not under the direct gaze of the heavens. Once more time goes by, The Heavens will locate us and we''ll be sent back to the wheel of samsara. Back to life and death. We may meet again in another life, under a different name, but I trust that our Karma will be resolved and I will one day repay this debt," he said.

    "Ah, looks like we ran out of time," said Elder Wei.

    And just as he spoke, the world above us, the dark void split up as a red giant eye with a dark feline shape pupil looked at us, peering like a creep from beyond a peephole.

    The moment it locked onto the three souls, they began shuddering and disintegrating.

    "Until we meet again¡­ Shen Bao¡­" the sect master said, and soon the three of them dissipated.

    Though I was a bit concerned with how the Sect Master knew my name, the more frightening thing was that eye, it didn''t leave after it had taken those three but eerily kept its gaze upon me for too many too long seconds that I felt naked under its gaze.

    Soon, the void began shaking and the eye disappeared.

    "Shen Bao! You little!" Master Rain said as the sphere around them dissipated.

    He flew towards me and said, "Do you wish to die?! Because if you want I can make that happen right now! Why the hell are you peering back at the messenger of The Heavens for?!"

    "Oh, so that was a messenger¡­ interesting,"

    "My god, what were they teaching you to not know not to look! Also, what were you telling those three souls, do you know who they are? Their skeletons disappeared once the messenger came to check up on things."

    "They thanked me for saving them," I said.

    "Damn, what a waste of time, we barely got anything useful on this venture, and I lost my damn treasures. Anyway," he said "Why are you here?" Master Rain said.

    "Well didn''t you leave me a message saying you''ll being here," I said.

    "Yes, but I didn''t tell you toe after me," he said.

    "Well, if I didn''t," I said as I looked at the bloodied retainer. I didn''t need to finish my words.

    "I would have found a way regardless, you could have died doing stupid stunts like this!" he said. "You don''t even know what is here, or how risky it would be toe here," he said.

    "In a matter of fact I actually do, I already came here before, inside the Advent Tower," I said.

    "That''s impossible, you shouldn''t be able to remember anything past the first few days of the Advent Tower," he said.

    "Well, I''m alive, isn''t that proof enough, also, we should probably leave, I don''t think that''s good," I said as I pointed outwards.

    There was arge crack in the very fabric of space. And the crack seemed to widen, and many more began appearing all over.

    "Damn with the prisoner killed, the prison has no purpose, it is self-destructing, let''s go," Master Rain urged.

 Chapter 361 Sharing Is Caring

    Master Rain flew forward and I had to move towards the retainer, grabbing him from under the shoulder and flying both of us after him.

    "T-thank you, Shen Bao," he said with a heavy voice.

    "You''re in pretty rough shape," I said.

    "Yeah, but it was worth it for having a duke out with the Golden Titan, though, I don''t feel it right now¡­" he said coughing blood.

    "You might want to stay quiet, talking will only harm you, Master Rain!" I said.

    "What?" he said as he continued on forward moving past the spatial rifts.

    "How can you navigate this ce, it has no directions," I said.

    "The Space Here has no directions, but I made a spatial anchor outside, I''m guiding us towards it, just keep following me," he said.

    And just as he mentioned, a ck door seemed to appear out of nowhere, it was his anchor.

    He went through it and I followed after immediately.

    The three of us appeared outside of the entirety of the Under Void where the spatial folds were gathered up.

    A few momentster, the spatial folds seemed to fuse with themselves and corrected the spatial anomaly returning a physical space deformity into normal nothingness in space.

    "Damn, we got lucky to get out on time," I said.

    "There was nothing to do with luck there, it was all calctions. Anyway," he said as he turned to me.

    "How did you kill the Golden Titan?" he asked.

    "Euh, soul power, I had more than he had," I answered honestly.

    "Hmmm, I''ll ept that answer, for now, we''ll need to head back to the heavenly academy, I have a feeling that what has been happening here had some aftermath over there. I''ve sensed the same feeling from the creature we fought back at the academy," he said.

    "There is no need to rush," I said.

    "Why? Do you know something," Master Rain asked.

    "Yes," I said as I summoned out the hoverboard.

    I slowly ced the retainer on top of the hoverboard and was about to hand him some pills. But he stopped me.

    "Don''t waste your precious pills, I can manage with my own," he said and pulled a pure white pill from his holding bag.

    The pill didn''t seem to have an ounce of Qi in it, it felt like a sugar candy, in and natural to the sight.

    He popped it in his mouth, and soon, all the wounds on his body seemed to disappear, not to mention even the blood on his clothes had disappeared.

    "What the hell is that pill?" I questioned, "I''ve never seen something like that."

    "It''s a Perpetuality Defying Pill," he said as he sat back on the hoverboard. "It didn''t heal me, it eliminated the cause of my injuries, fully rejecting them, thus affecting the effect of me being wounded," He said.

    It took me a moment to realize the power behind this absurd pill and I could only mutter, "Op."

    "What is op?" asked the retainer.

    "Oh, I meant Overpowered, what the hell, how can you reject a cause that had already happened," I said.

    "It''s not something anyone can do, only a person proficient in the Dao of Cause and Effect can manage it. And even I have a limit to how much I can alter or reject. Wounds that aren''t deadly are easy to treat, however when ites to soul damage or even death, nothing can save you from that," He said.

    "Enough with the chit-chat, tell me, Shen Bao, what do you mean about not worrying about the academy?" he said.

    "Well, that thing that just died. It''s a matriarch-type creature, it creates clones and copies of itself and sends them out to feast in preparation for its timely arrival. Something like this happened back then at the Ancient Sect. And the Golden Titan failed to stop it. The Imperial n had been containing that thing for a long time, but since the first host had reached the expiration date, they needed someone strong to rece him, thus they tricked the Ancient Titan intoing here and meeting his end."

    "But, if the Golden Titan was used as a host, howe his Ancient Sect had perished?" Master Rain asked.

    "It is because the Imperial n didn''t kill the main body of this parasite, but only sealed it," I said.

    "And how does that affect the death of the Ancient Sect nor us not worrying about the Heavenly Academy?" asked the retainer this time.

    "It is because Shen Bao actually Killed the main body, and didn''t just seal it like what the Imperial n did, thus the clones should all die when the main body dies. Good, let''s head back, it is such a sad thing we didn''t get any valuable treasures from this adventure," Master Said sighing.

    "I wouldn''t be too sure about that," I smiled.

    "What, you got something good?" Master Rain asked.

    "Yes, three things in fact, and I wouldn''t have shared them with you if you didn''t show me genuine concern back then," I said.

    "Concern? When the hell did I show concern about a brat like you," Master Rain denied.<sub> </sub>

    But he knew what I was talking about, the moment I showed up in the under void, he urged me to run away and leave them. If he didn''t really care he wouldn''t have spoken those words.

    "I have three things, do you like to know what they are?" I asked.

    "I don''t think you can value a good treasure even if it hit you on the head but speak, let''s see what treasures you have," Master Rain said.

    I sighed and threw them a small vial each.

    They both took the vials and their eyes widened like saucers. And it was the first time I saw the eyes of the retainer, they were sky blue eyes and it was pretty funny to see his expressions now.

    "By the heavens! This is Stone-Aged Milk! And so much of it! brat how did you get this!"

    "I told you I found good things, and this isn''t even the best of them," I said.

    "What else do you have?" asked Master Rain.

    "Do you know how the Imperials Used to Travel back in the day?" I asked.

    "All I remember is a verse from an old text, The Imperials Reigned the Heavens and Earth, riding the sound of thunder, and the roars of the world."

    I suppose you found something rted to that verse?"

    "Well, yes, I have one of their means of transportation, though it is in terrible shape, I have a Thunder Bull Carriage. With its soul, the only problem is that I know nothing about fixing damaged souls," I said.

    "¡­"

    "¡­"

    "What''s with the silence," I asked.

    "Well¡­ I don''t know about a thunder bull carriage, but¡­I know someone who can help with soul damage. Though, I don''t really want to talk to them," Master Rain said.

    <o>,m "Why? If you know someone you should just ask them," I said.</o>

    "Nah, it''s better not, also this thunder bull carriage, I think it would be better for your own¡­euh, advancement, to learn how to fix it yourself," said Master Rain rather awkwardly which was strange.

    "Okay¡­stly, any of you know how to hatch a Saint Beast?" I asked.

    "I have some experience with wildlife, I''m the one taking care of Master Rain''s beasts on his," the retainer said.

    "Oh, that would be pretty good, I have something for you to hatch then," I said as I pulled the egg I got earlier.

    The moment the retainer saw the egg, he took a step back and so did Master Rain.

    "Where did you get that," they both asked.

    "What do you mean? It''s a Dark Beast egg, I got it from the prison," I said.

    "Euh¡­ that''s not a Dark Beast Egg, they went extinct. And the color is different," Master Rain said.

    "I don''t know about any color, but this is definitely a Dark Beast Egg," I said.

    "How can you be so sure?" Master Rain said, "Dark Beasts went extinct more than ten thousand years ago, and that prison that we were in, it had nothing but the bones of that race, also the Qi signature is not there," Master Rain said.

    "That''s because you''re trying to scan it using Saint Qi, this thing hadn''t hatched yet, thest burst of Saint Qi that it needed from its parents had never been supplied to it, thus it never hatched and now it''s in a situation stuck between life and death. I don''t have Saint Qi, so I cannot hatch it myself, that''s why I asked you guys for help," I said.

    "Nope, I''m not touching that, especially if it''s a Dark Beast," Master Rain said.

    "Neither will I, I don''t want that thing to imprint on me," said the retainer.

    "Bunch of useless old men," I grumbled as I ced the egg back in my Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    "Don''t say that, Dark Beasts aren''t something you find every day on the street, especially since they went extinct! Also, they''re hard to tame, hard to nurture, hard to raise, and they are loud as a volcano. They are useless inbat since they can''t fight in the day, and can only serve as wardens, and if they''re hungry, especially at night, they won''t mind using their master as a snack, these things are only good as watchdogs¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Also did I mentions that they are highly aggressive," he added.

    "Yeah, I experienced that first hand, The Golden Titan had a rough time with one of them," I said.

    "Oh¡­ well yeah you didn''t forget what happened at the Ancient Sect, damn, lucky you. Anyway, let''s head back to the Heavenly Academy, I need to report a few matters, also keep the Thunder Bull Carriage a secret, because if it is actually something the imperials used, a lot of people will pay attention to you, and some might evene to ''Buy'' it from you if you know what I mean," Master Rain said.

    "Hey, I thought you''d have my back," I said.

    "I would, but I can''t babysit you every damn minute of the day, also you need real-life experience, if some powerful cultivatores to vie for your treasures, I''ll beat them ck and blue, but if you lose it to someone of your cultivation level, you only have yourself and your ability to me," Master Rain said.

    "¡­Fair Enough," I replied.

    "Alright, let''s go then," Master Rain said and the three of us moved forward.

 Chapter 362 Black Robed Woman

    The three of us were sitting slightly awkwardly on the back of my hoverboard. It was arge hoverboard but the three people on it made it seem like a clown fiesta.

    "What are you doing?" I asked Master Rain as he was trying to figure out how the Reactor for the Hoverboard was functioning, while we were using it¡­

    "Checking on things¡­hmm, you changed this, why?" he asked.

    "Tooplicated costs a lot of resources to apply the samemand as I would ask of it if I were to use fewer inscriptions and more direct Qi transfermands," I replied as I realized what he was talking about.

    "You would have the same effect with my own inscription, though it will exhaust more power it will at the same time force more power from the Saint Qi stone," he said.

    "Of course, that would be the best option to use yours, but I don''t have a storage of Saint Qi, all I have are three pieces. I don''t want to waste them, I''d rather lose a day of travel time than a Saint Qi crystal," I replied.

    "Being poor is an Inscriber''s worst enemy," Master Rain said and closed the reactor''s hatch.

    "But this is too slow for my liking," Master Rain said.

    The retainer then got up from his sitting position and began making hand gestures. Suddenly, we seemed to have split into eight different directions and eight copies of us all went to a different way.

    I didn''t understand what was going on until even our copies split, and their copies split as they moved each took to a different direction and kept on spreading and spreading.

    "This should be enough," Master Rain said.

    Then suddenly all the copies stopped then disappeared.

    Just as they left our ne of existence, the space around us immediately switched from the darkness of deep space to a slightly brighter area but still in space.

    Looking up ahead, there were millions of small asteroids floating around creating a formation of rocks that looked to be imprable.

    "What the hell just happened?" I asked.

    "Compact Discement," Master Rain said as if that was enough to exin what just happened.

    He then hopped off the hoverboard and moved towards the asteroid belt.

    "The Compact Discement is a movement technique, pretty useless in any situation besides spatial travel, though it is very costly in Qi, as you see the results are impressive, behind this asteroid belt is the Heavenly Academy," the retainer said.

    "But¡­how?"

    "it''s like addition, every copy moved a certain distance, and every copy of those copies moved a certain distance, so if I were to Capture the movement the copies did, and repurpose their effect but keep their cause, I would have applied the distanced traveled by all copies to us, thus pushing us the collective distance all the copies had made in a single line," he said.

    My head seemed to be on the verge of a headache but I probably understood what he meant. Basically, all the distance the copies had traveled was added to us without us needing to move an inch.

    Thinking about it, it''s like the rice and the chessboard anecdote¡­ pretty interesting.

    "Let''s follow Master Rain," the retainer said.

    The two of us followed close as Master Rain calmly waited for a meteor to pass by.

    Soon, Master Rain took the first step and though I had a feeling that he was about to lose his face since an asteroid seemed to being his way, the asteroid seemed to be slowly spiraling around itself and managed to pass by Master Rain harmlessly.

    Master Rain then took another step forward and we followed him.

    I took note of the iing asteroids and kept a close watch, checking what Master Rain was seeing and how he judged when to move and when to stop.

    The full asteroid belt was like a multi-level mathematical form that you needed to ount for all variables. This reminds me of the upper tower of the Laughing ughterer''s pagoda.

    "Shen Bao," Master Rain said. "Why don''t you take the lead," he said and took a few steps back pushing me up front.

    Finding myself in an unenviable situation I sighed as I looked around seeing the iing asteroids moving without an appropriate pattern in sight.

    Some moved from left to right and some from right to left while others went up and down, and all of the asteroids seemed to be able to move past each other without even grazing one another.

    I expanded my divine sense as far as I could and began detecting the asteroidsing in and out of my divine sense sphere.

    They were just too many to keep track of each one of them.

    "What would happen if I were to forcefully change one of the asteroid''s trajectory?"

    "Chaos," Master Rain said.

    "No, everything is in order, causing a collide could seem like chaos but if on purpose¡­" I said as my mind shed with a new idea.

    I moved a step further which had Master Rain shouting, "Brat you''ll die if you move now!"

    Just as he finished his words an asteroid came rushing towards me.

    And I didn''t dodge it, in fact, I funneled Qi into my right arm and sent a powerful punch forward.

    Causing a shockwave to shoot out and graze the iing asteroid.

    Which caused it to slightly veer off of its current path ande in contact with another asteroid. Creating a chain reaction upon a great level.

    "Damn, you ruined it," spoke Master Rain as many asteroids seemed to collide with each other and the small openings that Master Rain was using before had all disappeared.

    "Nah, it''s working, give it a moment," I said.

    As I kept track with my divine sense, many of the asteroids affected by my initial discing began to change trajectory and at one single point something that even Master Rain''s eyebrows had to raise for.

    A wide opening in the asteroid belt opened up, wide andrge enough for us to move through and all the way to the other side where the Heavenly Academy was.

    I didn''t wait as I dashed forward Ancient Stepping my way forward until I made it out of the asteroid belt.

    The opening seemed to close but Master Rain and his retainer only took one step to cross the divide.

    "That''s some impressive calction prows," Master Rain muttered.

    "What was that?" I asked.

    "Nothing, let''s keep going, I need to meet the elders," he said.

    The three of us moved down towards the Heavenly Academy and as soon as we arrived several elders came to us. Their eyes shook inplete fear.

    "What''s going on?" asked Master Rain.

    "Trouble, please follow us, Master Rain," the elders said.

    Just as I was about to follow, "Not you Shen Bao, you can go, it''s something regarding Master Rain''s personal wellbeing. You may leave," said one of the elders.

    I frowned at the sudden exclusion.

    "You can go, boy, I don''t know what these guys are afraid off, but I sure as hell don''t care. Anyway, let''s see what this trouble is," Master Rain said.<sub> </sub>

    Finding myself once again alone, I looked around and sighed.

    "Guess I''ll just head back home," I said as I turned in the direction of Liang Yu''s house.

    ''Wait why am I calling it home?'' I muttered to myself as I was moving forward.

    Perhaps I''m someone looking for a ce to call home, but home is Lucid Springs¡­

    No, that isn''t home. It never felt like it. It was a city, my city something that belonged to me, but not something where I belonged.

    Home¡­

    I smiled and shook my head, there was no need to keep thinking of stuff like this.

    Soon I arrived to the student area and came down right in front of Liang Yu''s house.

    I knocked and received no answer, and then knocked again.

    After a long wait, no one answered so I broke into the house.

    More like disabled the formation locking the house and walking inside.

    "Liang Yu," I called but there was no reply.

    The house was pretty clean and there didn''t seem to be any signs of trouble here. I thought that something might have happened when I had left but all is peaceful, she might even just be studying.

    I went down to check up on if she was in her cultivation cave, but there was nothing.

    Feeling bored, I wanted to do something with my time. As I was about to go into the Lord of Lords'' pagoda to check up on the egg and the Thunder Bull chariot, I decided against it. What if she were toe home and not find me?

    "Automaton, can you bring out the Thunder-Bull carriage," I asked.

    "Yes, lord." That was the answer.

    And suddenly a portal appeared right into the cultivation cave and spat out the Thunder Bull carriage.

    The cave was pretty big, and thankfully with the Thunder-Bull''s physical presence not avable as it was nothing but a wisp of soul right now, all I had in front of me were the remains of the broken carriage.

    I started by fixing the carriage and repairing the broken parts. The carriage itself was made of sturdy material, so its main frame was not broken, however, the hinges and bolts fixing it in ce and together had long since been destroyed since they weren''t made of the same material.

    So, I began by recing and recreating the broken or missing parts.

    Time went by as I worked, a lot of it as I had to fully patch up the carriage until it was standing on its legs¡­

    Well, wheels.

    The carriage was made of a golden sturdy material that even the Dark Beasts weren''t able to break, not to mention the ck rods that were on the carriage''s main handles.

    The two handles that used totch onto the Thunder Bull had ck rods with dark and despicable Qi constantly being released from them.

    It was something that I didn''t want to touch unless I had to.

    These two rods were what caused pain to the Thunder Bull and were now what was keeping the small firefly-sized wisp of soul in the ce, refusing to let it pass on.

    They were a curse and a blessing. A curse as they constantly kept the bull in a state of pain, and a blessing as they didn''t allow it to die. Though that might sound wrong, if I were able to re-empower the Thunder Bull''s soul and remove the rods, it might live again without pain.

    "Just hang in there buddy, I''ll see if I can remove those painful rods," I muttered as I went to the rods and began studying them closely.

    They seemed to be made of a strange material, there is nothing in the Poison God''s manual about something like this. So I had no idea what I was dealing with.

    I kept on scratching my head for answers and realized that I''ll go bald before I''ll know anything.

    With nothing but my guts, I extended my arm towards the rod and was about to grab it, when a fair hand, whiter than porcin and gentler than a breeze of spring grabbed me and pinned me whole from moving.

    My literal flesh felt like it had made a conscious of its own and wanted to peel itself from me and run away from pure fright.

    Whoever that fair-looking arm belonged to, was powerful, so powerful that even the soul inside my sea of consciousness seemed to not want it to find it as it dove deep down into the naval fortress and closed it up.

    Her words spoke, "Do not touch that, you will die," they were words that were direct, and to the point, and there was not a hint of dishonesty from them.

    "And¡­ who might you be?" I asked as I turned.

    There was the figure of a woman well hidden behind a veil and dark robes that didn''t extenuate anything more of this person other than she was a female.

    "A friend of a friend," she said.

    "Why are you here? Do you have any idea where Liang Yu is? Did you harm her?" I asked trying to gather my bearings.

    I couldn''t tell why, but I had a feeling that this person was very dangerous.

    "I wouldn''t know who this person might be," she said.

    There were no lies to her words.

    "Did youe to im the Thunder Bull," I asked?

    "I would have done that if I had a reason to make me think of you the same as the imperials," she said.

    I didn''t want to ask why she would think that I might have the same ideology as the imperials so I kept quiet.

    "You seem to be a person who cares about others," she said.

    "How did youe to that conclusion?" I asked.

    "You are worried about your friend," she said, "And you even cared for a beast, not many see a Thunder Bull Carriage and the first thing they think of is if the imprisoned Soul is in pain, all they see is an over-glorified ride," she said.

    I turned to look at the wisp of soul remaining imprisoned between the two rods.

    "I want to help it, it had been in pain for many years¡­" I said.

    "Then, how about I lend a hand," she asked.

    "I would appreciate the help of a more experienced person," I said.

    "Good, then watch carefully," she said then waved both her hands.

    A single gesture and my mind seemed to be reeling as colors of the rainbow seemed to dye the world in different shades and for a small moment, I saw the size of this person''s Qi.

    "You''re¡­"

 Chapter 363 Trapped Souls And Saved Soul

    Somewhere in the vast expanse. There existed a that had a fire for a sea, and volcanos for the ground. This was unfit for mortal survival, however, it thrived with cultivators. There exist all sorts of them here and they all seemed to not even be bothered by the overall heat of this.

    This''s infernal atmosphere would have been lethal to anyone if not for one reason. The Elemental fire Qi that was being released from the depth of the was so pure, that this ce was considered a boon to anyone with fire-rted cultivation.

    The Yang Qi on this was so great that it would allow a person with even minor or small achievements in Yang Qi to be a genius cultivator in no time.

    This was the home of the Fire King.

    Right now, a massive group of cultivators had arrived on this said and were all stationed outside beside a small group.

    This small group all had something in their hands, arge pot of dirt with a single incense burner seeming to burn so slowly that it didn''t feel like it would extinguish anytime soon.

    The group of cultivators holding the incense burner all came down and ced the pots gently in front of the gates of a pce that seemed to pierce the red clouded skies.

    When all of the incense burners were ced. A powerful suction force seemed to wash over them, immediately forcing the incense to re and burn so rapidly and so fast that they were all exhausted and extinguished turning to ash in seconds.

    "This is not fit for an appetizer, what a waste of manpower and effort for such a measly meal..." spoke a very dissatisfied voice.

    The people who had brought the incense, hearing that voice seemed to want to earth to swallow them than to face the person who seemed rather too bored with what had just urred.

    "You have captured ves?" spoke the same voice.

    One of the cultivators of the group moved up and spoke, "Yes Eternal Fire Lord, we have. Three million capable cultivators who have a good talent root. Would you wish for us to prepare them for consumption?"

    "Fool, what would kill the goose thatys golden eggs serve us? They are all still far too young, far too weak for us to consume. Throw them into the mines, have them work and fatten up," spoke the Fire King.

    "As youmand," spoke the same person.

    "Also, where is the person that we sent that raid for?"

    "That person had perished within the attack, no one lived to tell the tale of Si Xue," spoke the representative.

    "What about the person who broke through your barricade?" spoke the voice of the Fire King.

    "That is Master Rain, he went into the. There were none alive when he came so he couldn''t take anything from there," spoke the representative.

    "Is that so... go on then," spoke the Fire King and silence permeated the area.

    Feeling thankful that nothing ugly happened the representative turned and motioned to his group to move towards the deepest part of the.

    In every person of the group''s hands was a glowing cube that seemed to host small figures, so small that they looked like ants.

    And if one were to take a closer look they''ll see that those weren''t ants, but actual people there.

    The destination of this group was the depth of the Fire King''s, to the mines. Where these captured people will be forced into hardbor, then consumedter on as food for the gluttonous Fire King.

    ***

    "Not a person of any great importance," she said. "Now pay attention, this is how you do Soul Weaving," she said.

    The colors of the rainbow seemed to transform from their bright mboyant light rays to smaller more condensed fibers, every fiber had a different color and they were all masterfully weaved into braids that shot towards the small flickering wisp of a soul.

    "I''ll be doing the frame of the work, you''ll have to supplement the Thunder Bull with your own Soul Power. Do you think you have what it takes to reverse Soul Damage of this caliber?" she asked.

    "I wouldn''t know if I didn''t try, but I''m confident in my soul power, I was praised many times for it," I replied.

    "Then good, hand me your hand," she said.

    Though I felt a bit skeptical, for some reason, this person didn''t seem to harbor any ill intent, not that I would have had a chance to take a second breath if she were to really want to kill me.

    This person''s power is far beyond anything I''ve seen, I would dare say even more than the Golden Titan. But I never saw the Golden Titan go all out so I cannotpare.

    I handed her my hand and she took seven of the fibers and ced them on my hand.

    "Hold on tight, it will feel as if you''re being drained," she said "So make sure to be steady, and if you feel that the pull is too much for you, let go."

    I nodded affirming.

    She then took a step back and began chanting something, and as if my being was recondensed, I felt it all slipping right through my arm.

    My mind for a moment seemed to nk, and exhaustion like never before seemed to wash over me.<sub> </sub>

    Suddenly, my body recovered almost instantly as I saw a powerful green surge of energy rushing out from my arm into the braids.

    The power of this energy seemed endless as it shot out with more and more ecstasy as if she had opened a giant hole in a deep dark endless sea.

    the amount of energy flowing out was so much that even the woman spoke of it in surprise, "My son was right, you really do have more Soul Power than even I, very interesting Shen Bao, keep at it, at this rate we''ll be able to heal the Thunder Bull.

    ''She knows my name. And she spoke of her son, maybe someone I know.''

    My train of thought was cut immediately as the wisp of the Thunder Bull''s soul seemed to wiggle ever so slightly at first and then began inting.

    The Thunder Bull''s form began taking shape and soon enough it was already as big as the Thunder Bull I had seen in the Dream World of the Ancient Sect.

    The woman waved her hands rapidly this time not to weave souls but to create a barrier.

    And I immediately realized what the barrier was for.

    The revival of the Thunder Bull hade and with it, it roared so powerfully that I felt my being was about to be ripped off into splinters.

    "Hang in there, it won''t take much longer," she said.

    Just then, she approached the carriage, and with her own two bare hands grabbed the two ck rods that re-impaled themselves into the Thunder Bull, and simply, snapped them in half.

    ? The rods that were meant to imprison the soul of the Thunder Bull eternally were destroyed with a single motion, these rods that would have immediately killed me didn''t even seem to cause this woman any difort.

    The rods, or whatever remained of them, being snapped in half soon turned to dust that disappeared into nothingness.

    The Thunder Bull, back in full form roared once again, this time it didn''t feel painful at all and it seemed rather...fortable,pared to thest time I saw it.

    The colorful braids in my hand seemed to disappear cutting off the flow of Soul Power. I felt slightly nauseous but nothing a good couple of deep breaths won''t take care of.

    "Good job Shen Bao, you worked hard," she said. "Come," she added and moved in front of the bull.

    I followed her and stood right next to her.

    "This person had supplied you with his own Soul Power, would you serve?" she asked the bull.

    I was a bit confused, because when would beasts understand a person''s words?

    The bull, however, against all I expected nodded.

    "Good, you two are bound by soul, Shen Bao had given you a part of his own being to revive you and helped remove the Soul Shackling Rods from you. You will no longer feel pain. Your eternal life of suffering is over, but you are now bound to the life of Shen Bao, serve him well, because if he were to die, you will too," she spoke.

    And I could understand from her words, that she wasn''t just talking to the bull, but she was also exining to me what went on.

    "I''ll have to ask, I don''t think I have done anything to deserve such great help from a person as powerful as you," I said.

    "Oh, believe me, you did more than help, though I hate to see you being mentored by that wretched man, you have given my son back to me, and it is a favor I cannot repay. You may speak my name thrice in your lifetime, and I shall aid you thrice. No matter where you are, I shalle," she said.

    Immediately, however, she disappeared before I could even ask her, her name.

    Feeling slightly scammed and aggrieved, I looked back at the bull and it spoke, the bull actually spoke.

    "Heian Yongheng,"

    The words ingrained themselves in my mind instantly. That was the woman''s name. And I felt that I couldn''t speak it right now.

    After a moment of daze, I looked at the bull and said, "Do you have a name?"

    The bull didn''t move, speak back or even react.

    "I guess not," I grumbled, "Let''s call you little Cabbage."

    The bull''s eyes seemed to roll for a moment but it didn''t say anything.

    "Well, if you don''t like it speak," I said trying to make the bull utter a word.

    It didn''t.

    "Well then little cabbage, how about you go into the Lord of Lords pagoda, there is some good stuff there you can enjoy," I said and the automaton immediately came over and opened a portal for the bull.

 Chapter 364 In Hell

    Within the infernal heat of dark mines were many enved cultivators, most were at the Nascent Soul stage, basically at the beginning of their cultivation journey. They were chained up, locked up like sheep and were led forward by wardens that seemed to have no mercy or will to ease on the whip they used to force the ves intobor.

    The mines were rich in Yang Qi, however, its purity was too much for many of the cultivators. This mine was both a boon and a curse since it gave so much Pure Yang for anyone working here, it would propel their cultivation, but too much of it...

    "Another is turning! Help!" shouted one of the ves, his voice breaking form the heat, his cracked lips were bleeding yet he still shouted for help.

    Two wardens came rushing in, to see what was going on.

    One cultivator who didn''t seem too conspicuous. A man at the early stages of adulthood, yet now he began to change to something other than a human.

    The purity of the Yang Qi was so much it reformed the body of this person into something that wasn''t human anymore.

    The man''s body was covered in dark pulsating veins that seemed to swell with every heartbeat. His eyes turned bright red and his face began peeling over.

    Skin turned to stone and his forehead grew horns, the man''s hair fell, and his fingers grew talons and ws, while his jaws erged to amodate fangs of razor-sharp edges.

    The man now turned to this demonic entity roared with the power of a beast and then wrenched away the chains that were cuffing him.

    "Such weak willed people, no wonder the quality of ves from the barrennds was so mediocre," one of the wardens spoke, as if this nightmarish sight didn''t faze him the least.

    The chained cultivators next to the now rampaging creature tried their best to run away, only for an unlucky person to stumble right into one of the guards.

    The man didn''t even know when his end hade as the warden grabbed his head and smashed it against the nearest wall, shattering it like an egg against a rock.

    "Filthy ve, don''t touch me," spoke the warden to a dead body.

    The ves were at an impasse, run to the guards and die, stay with the beast and die.

    The demonic creature howled and roared then charged at the cultivators while the wardens watched with smiles on their face.

    Yet, before this creature could even touch one of the ves, a young man, with brownish looking skin pushed his arm forward, grabbing the demon''s ws with his bare hands.

    The demon''s ws were hot to the touch, easy to see from the sizzling of the boy''s hands on contact. However, the boy didn''t seem to be feeling the pain.

    The boy had a sad look in his eye, for the demon perhaps, or for the person that was once human before him. Or maybe, just maybe, the boy''s sadness was imparting of his own.

    The demon, with one hand pinned, unable to wrench it away, tried to strike down at the boy with his other hand.

    Only for the demon''s vision to spin, and finally, it found itselfnding on the ground with a loud thud sound.

    Unable to understand why it was looking at the standing headless body of what used to be his own.

    The demon tried to shout, but he couldn''t bring any air to his lungs, and it was only then did it realize that it had been decapitated in one fast move.<sub> </sub>

    The demon''s final throws were silent, and soon the demon turned to ash.

    "Hah, see, you can fend for yourselves if you put your heart to it, now back to work!" spoke one of the wardens as he cracked a whip right next to the boy''s legs.

    The boy didn''t speak, not act, he turned and went to the nearest wall, grabbed a pickaxe and began digging once again as if nothing had happened.

    The wardens all left the mines and left the cultivators to their own, working day and night, with not enough food to sustain themselves, not water to staunch the dreadful thirst.

    One cultivator, the bravest of the bunch as it had seemed at the time, approached the boy.

    Fear in his eyes, for the chains that everyone was strapped in, had limited the ves'' power by an incredible margin to stop them from revolting or attempting to escape. Yet this boy disyed power beyond what a child his age should be able to show, not to mention he was chained.

    "Kid. Why did you save us?" spoke the man, "No one here will thank you, and they will all fear you. Was it wise to disy your strength where you could have just stayed still and waited until the guards killed the transformed?" spoke the brave man.

    The kid, while mining, still took a moment to think before he spoke, "By then, how many cultivators would die? Before the guards even act? Do you think that they will mourn or even care about us?" the child spoke.

    "Even if, you disyed power that can be threatening to them," spoke the man.

    The boy shook his head, "Not at all, in case you didn''t notice, those guards are ascendant level, do you think my puny power is enough to even cause them to think twice of me as a threat? We''re weak, all of us. And they know it, so why should the lion care for the strength of an ant?"

    The boy''s words stung the cultivator''s pride.

    But the cultivator knew it was true, there was no way the wardens would even care even if everyone here were to die. In fact, the majority will die before they even became appropriate appetizers.

    This cultivator had known from the guards that everyone here is being forced to work just to be fattened up for the King''s meal.

    They will ve their lives here, and be forcefully infused with the Yang Qi from thesends, against their will. If they fail to subdue it, they''ll turn demonic and lose all reason, if they manage to subdue the Yang Qi, then they''ll be a good side dish for the fire king.

    There was no winning condition here. Death, or Death, no option was better than the next.

    "It feels that our lives have long since been forfeit. Perhaps, I should take matters in my own hands, and go on my own terms," the man spoke in a solemn voice.

    The kid, for the first time, stopped mining and then turned to that man, "If you want to go, go ahead, I''m not nning on spending the rest of my days here. Nor am I a defeatist who will look for the easy way out. Work, live, and struggle, until you find an opportunity, no matter how sodding, how hard, or how impossible, a chance will reveal itself. For the heavens try you, but always leaves a way out, you only have to look," spoke the boy.

    These words weren''t his, but they were the words of a friend, a friend as slippery as a viper, and as venomous, but a good friend nevertheless.

    The man, nodded, then spoke, "What''s your name kid?"

    "Meng, I''m Meng Hao."

 Chapter 365 Crossfire

    I continued working hard on the Thunderbull carriage. It was still far fromplete as I had only finished the main framework of the carriage, but have yet to finish repairing the destroyed parts. I''ll need to rece most of this using materials I don''t currently have in my possession.

    Before long though, someone seemed to have entered the house I was in, as I was notified by the automaton.

    Thinking that it could be Heian Yongheng back again, but once I got out I was surprised to see someone I never thought I''ll ever have the chance to see again.

    Since¡­they were dead.

    "S-sect master," I spoke my words came out while even I couldn''t believe myself speaking them.

    The woman in front of me, colder than an ice shard, and as beautiful as a porcin sculpture made by the hands of the divine looked at me, in a slight head tilt.

    "Shen Bao¡­" she spoke.

    I nodded, "I never thought I''d get to see you again, since¡­well, you know," I said.

    "Since the bastards from the ck Pavilion killed me and the rest of my sect members, yes, so did I, I never thought I''d live after death. But the world of cultivation is wide and strange," she said.

    I was still feeling slight shock, because, even if I could admit that the world of cultivation can have miracles happen, bringing back the dead is not something that anyone can pull off.

    "How did you survive?" I asked as I got closer.

    "I didn''t survive, like I said, her grace saved me, more like repaired my soul and fused it into this new body," she said.

    "New body?" I frowned, she looked exactly the same, but after a wave of divine sense which the sect master immediately blocked off.

    "I have yet to forgive you for thest offense, and you go and try it again!" she said anger clear in her eyes.

    "It really is you then," I smiled.

    Yet before I could add another thing, a divine sense far more powerful than the Sect Master I remembered washed over me, trying to spy into my body''s secrets.

    Not that I had anything to hide, the sect master immediately retracted her Divine Sense.

    "You have no shame! Why didn''t you stop my divine sense? Why did I have to see that!" she said a slight blush on her cheeks showing.

    "Hey, I didn''t force you to inspect me, nor do I have anything to be ashamed of, anyway, I am really Shen Bao," I said.

    She shook her head, "Shen Bao was an old man, callous of skin, bald of head, and had one eye. You may share his cultivation method, as you both reek of the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, but there is no way Shen Bao could have a body as chiseled and as¡­" she took a pause before she added, "As firm as this," she said.

    "Hey, don''t you say those words while looking at my crotch," I said jesting.

    "Who''s looking at your crotch!" she replied in anger but it was more of embarrassment.

    Damn, it''s so easy to tease these stuck-up women and so fun.

    "Let''s call it harvesting good Karma," I said.

    She then sighed and immediately bowed, a bow so deep I thought her head was about to hit the floor.

    "What are you doing," I got close to her and tried to raise her back up, but she was as heavy as a mountain. Also, I should never say that to a woman.

    "Stand back up, why are you bowing!" I spoke.

    "It is because I took some of your Karma, I stole it, without will or say, but it was yours," she said.

    "What the hell are you talking about woman, for the love of Christ stand up," I said.

    She stood up, reluctantly so, and looked me in the eyes, she was on the verge of tears, "Who is Christ?" she asked.

    "Don''t mind that, why are you crying now?!" I asked.

    "It''s your Karma, the Karma you sowed by saving the Heavenly Son of the Wind King, Lord Zhang Tian. Your grace has been converged to favor and the Queen had taken that grace and used it on me, since we''re acquaintances, your efforts into saving the Heavenly Son have been transferred to me, and now I have wasted your great Karma," she said.<sub> </sub>

    "The hell are you talking about, what I did with Zhang Tian was between me and you. And if his mother brought you back to life it has nothing to do with me. Even if you say it is my Karma, I don''t care. As long as it served a purpose, it is not a waste. So stop saying stuff like that again Sect Master," I said looking at the sect master in the eyes.

    After an unbefitting snivel the sect master spoke, "Leng Yu-Yu," she said.

    "What now?"

    "My name, stop calling me sect master, I no longer have a sect," she said.

    "Oh, okay, Yu-yu, then. Imperial Jade-Ice¡­ beautiful name," I said smiling, "As for your sect, I still have the building."

    "And I still have one of your members," spoke a voice that almost had me jumping from my ce.

    The sect master, no Yu-Yu yelped, not from the voice but from my hands squeezing tightly on her.

    Also, when did I grab her hands? And also, why is she with him?

    "Interesting, grabbing another woman''s hands, in the sanctity of my own house. What will I ever do with you Shen Bao," she said.

    And slowly turning my head, I saw Liang Yu''s cold as dead expressions piercing deadly nces my way.

    Yu-Yu immediately let go of my hands and took a few steps back.

    "Is she gone?" spoke Master Rain, his face was full of sweat.

    "Who?" I asked.

    "That crazy woman, sted fiend, had toe all the way here. God damn it, she almost caused my heart to stop, and I didn''t have any weapons or tools on me thanks to that damnable golden titan, ah, I almost lost my head twice in one day, I''m really shaving whatever days I have left of this life¡­" Master Rain went on a ramble before the retainer came and began exining the situation.

    "The Queen, as you know, has a very unfavorable opinion about Master Rain," the retainer said.

    I looked at master Rain and found it really hard to have someone actually liking him. I would be really surprised if his own retainer didn''t think once or twice about offing him himself.

    "Oh, I would guess it''s because he trapped young Master Zhang," I said.

    "Yeah, something like that, but their enmity goes way before that, all the way back to when Du Shen was still alive," he said. "And after what you saw happening today, he didn''t have the will to face her. Thankfully the Heavenly Academy notified us as soon as we arrived otherwise things would have gotten awfully out of hands if they had met," the retainer said exining.

    Master Rain on the other hand was still rambling on about random stuff and how annoying this whole day was for him. While Yu-Yu and Liang Yu were both staring daggers at each other.

    Soon, Liang Yu came to me and grabbed me by the arm, emphasizing how soft the touch of her breasts was against my shoulders as she squeezed them enough to almost have them pop out of her dress when she spoke, "Say, dearest, who is this woman," she said.

    "Emm¡­she is my former sect master."

    "Oh, so she is nothing but a sect master, I thought you were cheating on dearest me," she said.

    "We''re not an item for me to be cheating on you or anything though," I spoke and immediately felt like I should not have said those words. The gentle-ol boob squeeze for some reason became painful now.

    "If you are not his wife, fianc¨¦, or girlfriend should you not have some shame into squeezing yourself like a harlot to a single man," Yu-yu''s dagger-sharp like mouth spoke words that would make a wasp''s sting feel like the brush of a feather.

    "What I do with my man has nothing to do with you, also why are you in my home, leave this ce at once, no one invited you," Liang Yu said.

    ''I''m gonna have a headache. Everyone thinks that having two women fighting over them would be a blessing, but not if I got caught in the damn crossfire.''

    "Shen Bao, tell this cow to leave this house!" Liang Yu said.

    Yep, crossfire¡­

    "Shen Bao, have to get that whore to remove her sagging tits from you, you''ll catch an incurable disease like that!"

    "Ayoo, it feels good to be young," spoke Master Rain in a wide grin as his ravings and ramblings seemed to have miraculously stopped as a good show was presenting itself in front of him.

    For fuck sake man¡­

 Chapter 366 The Poisons Past

    While the two women were ring daggers at each other, Master Rain came forward and stood in between everyone in the room.

    "Anyway, enough with the jokes. I need to talk to Shen Bao in private, you should all leave," Master Rain said then turned to the retainer, "You included," he said.

    This caused the retainer to frown since he has always been a part of Master Rain''s every step. It was confusing to him to be excluded from a conversation.

    Soon everyone left the house, and I was thankful that I no longer remained under that pressure.

    "Shen Bao," Master Rain said as he started pacing forth and back.

    "To be honest, I wanted to kill you the first day I saw you," he said.

    "Likewise," I replied.

    "Enough with theedy, I''m being serious," he said.

    "And why did you want to kill me?" I asked this time seriously.

    "For this," he said as he pointed at my chest.

    I knew what he meant.

    "The Heritage?" I asked

    "One part of it, and apparently, the strongest," Master Rain said.

    "What do you mean by that?" I frowned.

    "You think you have the full Poison God''s heritage?" Master Rain said.

    It took me a moment to understand what he meant, "No, I''m sure I don''t, because I found a second copy," I said.

    "Yes, for whatever sted Reason, Du Shen decided to nt two of his books in the same, which was very strange to me before I realized the reason why," Master Rain said.

    "Could you share the reason?" I asked. I needed to know more about Du Shen, as much as I could.

    "It is because of the weak. Du Shen hated and despised the oppression of the strong, he may not have been the most benevolent, but he was just. Before his passing, I''m sure, he had realized he couldn''t be elected. Or perhaps, he found a way to go to the Beyond without needing to be elected. Which is more probable because that man was a genius, even if I hate to admit it, he was far smarter than I," Master Rain said.

    "What is this Beyond you''re talking about?" I asked.

    "You''re still far too inexperienced and unworthy to know, I will tell you however when the timees," Master Rain t-out exined.

    "Anyway, I wish to tell you about the reason why Du Shen had split his own legacy and gave it to the world to seek. Even if they were unworthy, everyone had a shot at bing the next Du Shen, even the weak, from a so far away, so feeble and so full of nobodies, he gave them twice the chance to be great. Unlike the others, where he spread his books all over the Vast Expanse," Master Rain said.

    "You mean that there are other people with a copy of the Poison God''s Heritage?" I asked.

    "Yes, and no," Master Rain said.

    "I''m confused," I said.

    "There are other Acolytes, or acolyte servants with other books simr to yours, not exact copies. I''ve seen them, seen many of them, and they all had a different style of the Poison Path. Yours, is the most intriguing, you rarely rely on your poison, and use it more as a tool to aid in your fights, unlike them, who use it mainly as their main power, you apply it to other things, such as those explosive devices for example," Master Rain said.

    "And what''s wrong with that, it''s been working so far," I said.

    "It''s been working, rather too well, if I may say so," Master Rain said. "You never had any evil thoughts? Any vile thoughts of killing, murdering, viting, and ravaging people and thend?" Master Rain said.

    "Nope, not even once, I could get angry, but not to that extent, why?" I asked.<sub> </sub>

    "It''s because those books are poison themselves, they''re poison to the soul. They are poison to the mind, they taint the person''s mind with vile feats and actions, to make them do evil. The more evil theymit the more the Acolyte within the books can take control, while for some reason, I can''t feel this acolyte within you anymore. I''ve faced it before, but it no longer dwells within you for some reason," Master Rain said.

    ''What is he talking about? What acolyte?''

    As if he had heard my question, "The Purple Skull, that is one of the twelve acolytes of the Poison God," said Master Rain.

    "I''ve met two, one in the cave, and the second under the ck Pavilion. You mean those things lived when Du Shen lived?" I asked.

    "Yes, they were all his followers, but they all met their end at the hands of Du Shen himself. His teachings and techniques are one of the fastest ways to reach great power for little to no cost if, and only if one disregards the sanity and sanctity of their own mind. A person with the power of the Poison God would be corrupted all too easily, devouring people and creatures alike, to be stronger and stronger. But they will tend to lose themselves in the process, the same as those acolytes did. And thus, had been killed and refined into protective ghosts to serve the holders of the Poison God''s book. Yet, something happened that was not expected," Master Rain said.

    "Let me take a wild guess," I said. "Somehow, the captured Acolytes managed to possess the holders of the book, and then take over, and now they are trying to reunite all the books in the same ce?" I asked.

    "How did youe to that conclusion?" Master Rain asked.

    "I can put one and one together, also I remembered that Old Man Gin had mentioned something about the Poison God''s trial," I said.

    "Yes, that was the reason I wanted to talk to you in private," Master Rain said.

    "There exist in this world many prime elements, and you know them," Master Rain said.

    "Yes, I do. Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Metal."

    "Good, Then there exist primordial ones," he said.

    "Light and Dark, Yin and Yang," I said.

    "Good, and then there are the Auxiliary ones, like thunder for example. It is a powerful element, made of fire and wind, but it usually fails topare to the original element of fire or the original element of the Wind," Master Rain said.

    "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

    "It is because, Du Shen, was the only person capable of proving that an Auxiliary element can be as strong, if not stronger than a prime one," Master Rain said.

    "You mean poison?" I asked.

    "Yes, Poison, the Auxiliary element of Metal and Earth, Du Shen was able to reign terror in the heart of everyone by only possessing the power of an auxiliary element. And he had the power to do so with ease, And now, he had given this power for those who are worthy, or those who are capable even if unworthy. You have been chosen, like it or not, you''re a part of his Acolytes and you must be present for the day all the books are gathered. And I fear that that day is soon toe," Master Rain said.

    "How can you be so certain?" I asked.

    "Because I just heard from the Heavenly Academy that one of the acolytes had managed to kill three others, and take their books all under one week. He is gathering them, and you''ll soon be his target, that person is collecting the books to enter the trial grounds."

    "This is too much to take in, what does that have to do with me? I mean not many people know I have the Poison God''s heritage," I said.

    "The Acolytes can sense each other, though you can be more than safe to assume he''ll not reach you in the heart of the Heavenly Academy, you cannot stay here forever. You must grow strong, strong enough to be able to fend for yourself, or at least, head to the Trial Grounds of the Poison God''s Heritage where you can im your full heritage, and be able to defend it," Master Rain said.

    "And, do you have an idea where the Trial Ground of the Poison God''s heritage is?" I asked.

    "Yes I do, but you cannot go right now, it''s a ce that can only be essed by Ascendant Cultivators, and you''re still unable to rid yourself of your mortal shell, be an ascendant first, then I''ll see how you can go into the Trial Grounds," Master Rain said.

    "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" I asked.

    "Consider it, repaying a favor," Master Rain said as he took a step forward disappearing but leaving me with one more message.

    "The teachers that have won your custody battle have been named, you can attend their courses, and learn as much as you can, for you''ll need it gravely in the days toe¡­"

 Chapter 367 Another Step

    It was pretty dark right now, and I honestly didn''t feel like exining to both Liang Yu and YuYu what had happened earlier, not that I had done anything wrong, but try and exin to a woman that you''re not wrong and you''ll be the one saying sorry by the end.

    I''ve decided to take my leave and go on a lonely walk to calm my mind.

    I took several Ancient Steps and was away from the Heavenly Academy''s housing area in almost no time.

    Under the gaze of the moon, the fresh calm breeze of a summer night. I was able to calm myself and slowly think of what went on.

    I''ve thankfully managed to obtain some good treasures from the venture I just went through, though it wasn''t all too easy. I learned many things, such as the full Ancient Martial art, the Fist of Roaring Ki, and then gained this new body that is far firmer, stronger, and faster by all means and it can only grow in power.

    All thanks to the hidden treasure of the Ancient Sect, sect master, The Golden Titan, one of the few great powers of the Vast Expanse.

    He had taught me himself, and I gained knowledge and ability far beyond what anyone has the right to. I''m blessed and I acknowledge it. Not to mention I''ve gained one of the very few and rare mounts that belonged to one of the superpowers that used to rule the vast expanse in ancient times. Though It''s in terrible condition, nothing short of a few weeks of work can''t fix.

    The Dark Beast is also a good addition, though I''ll probably have a hard time making it survive in light, I''ll try and find a good use for it. Now, this is all good and fine, but I''m still worried about many things.

    I moved until I found a small rock standing alone atop a low hill.

    I sat crosse legged and resumed my thoughts.

    With the Heavenly Academy backing me, I''m sure I''ll be able to propel my knowledge and prows to higher levels in half the time and effort it would take anyone else. Not to mention the fact that I''ll be taught by the academy''s best teachers. Siphoning knowledge and understanding of people of age and wisdom is a great way to increase my own knowledge.

    The issue remains, however, of the danger of the very thing that brought me all the way here.

    The book of the poison god, The Poison God''s Heritage.

    A book, a curse disguised in a blessing. Which became more obvious now.

    There harbored the remains of two of the Poison God''s own followers, people who followed a man that was once considered a genius, a mad man, a killer, and oftentimes, a just person if that is even possible.

    The words of the Poison God''s Heritage, all of them have yet to speak of a man of a crazed nature. All the teachings and knowledge within this book lead the person to believe that the Poison God is a benevolent master and teacher. But the terror he left in the world before his passing and the carnage and chaos he left whenever he went through is a clear indicator that either whoever wrote the book and the poison god are two different people. Or that everyone in the world has a clear misconception of the Poison God''s antics.

    I am not such a petty person to take the Poison God''s knowledge, power, and his grace upon me, saving me from the pits of death and leading me all the way to where I am, then call him a vile foul person.

    I would be nothing but an ungrateful bastard, the same as my own children.

    I have benefited a lot, to which I am thankful, but I will not be corrupted or corroded by the Acolytes living in this book.

    For whatever reason, my soul power is far greater than anyone I''ve ever met, and perhaps, it is the reason why these vile Skulls, these acolytes never managed to corrupt me. But, even a rock can be broken with a drop of water, if pressed on long enough.

    I cannot just blindly trust my own will and believe that I will forever remain master of my own thoughts, thus, I need to grow stronger and find a way to either rid myself of these skulls, or make sure, that they are no longer a problem to me.

    The Poison God''s trial is something I need to challenge in the near future. It should hold the secret to the Poison God''splete Heritage, and the remains of a man who once terrorized the vast expanse. With all of his secrets unfolded in front of me, I should be able to capitalize on his knowledge, and either make use of his acolytes or outright remove them if they proved to be a threat to my wellbeing.

    With my convictions set, I took a breath, there was something I needed to do earlier but never had the ability to do so in the depth of the Under-Void.<sub> </sub>

    I began galvanizing my cultivation, agitating it and roiling it to bursting levels. And soon a shocking powerful wave of energy sted from around me. Dering to the world that I took another step towards the peak.

    And with this step, a few changes happened to me.

    The first was the soul. My Nascent Soul, which turned into a true Soul after I had reached the Soul Formation level, is now what we can call aplete soul since I had finally set foot in the Soul Transformation level.

    The small scales that used to randomly grow on my Soul, seemed to take a definite shape this time. They grew like a reptile''s scale all over the soul''s skin, then once they took their defined and final shape, they sunk inside, hiding away and leaving nothing but pure human skin.

    The soul''s eyes, however, had changed from normal green eyes to those with draconic slits, sharp of sight, and cold as ice.

    The Soul''s form didn''t change much, but I could see that it became far more condensed, far more...physical for theck of any other world.

    Then came the body, my already improved body thanks to the Stone Aged Milk seemed to be on the verge of breaking, only for even purer looking skin to appear from underneath the old broken shell.

    The skin''s pale tone was still there, yet for some reason, it seemed to be glistening under the light of the moon. While the well-chiseled muscles of this old body of mine seemed to define themselves far more.

    My stature and posture seemed to get corrected as the bones on my body felt as if they bent and snapped to take a firmer sturdier shape. While every tendon and muscle fiber on me felt as if it had been reconstructed anew.

    My hair for whatever reason seemed to grow longer as did my stature, and I didn''t know if it was only the posture being corrected or if I had visibly grown slightly taller.

    The asional suffocating feeling within the back of my mind seemed to slowly disperse and along with it went the headache that I was feeling throughout the day.

    As if I was born anew, I felt that the world for a moment fully epted me.

    Only for a moment though...

    The world around me seemed to change. The cool night breeze stopped, and the grass that was slowly swaying seemed to be frozen in time.

    The darkness of the night that was only lit by the moonlight seemed to be stronger.

    And the white light reflected upon the moon''s surface soon turned pink, then blood red before the world waspletely covered in darkness.

    Thunder roared in the high heavens as the skies were once again ordered to gather. Channeling the might of the Heavens and summoning once again, a gate as great as the world to appear in such a small ce where I sat still.

    A gate of gold, where the sculptures of warriors and dragons were but the decoration on it, seemed tond in front of me.

    The gate''s presence was enough to wake every soul in the Heavenly Academy, as it hade with a loud thundering boom that would rip a mortal''s eardrums in a single beat. And it roared and roared, unable to ept the presence of a person so ready to face against the Heavenly Will.

    The heavens were ready to smite those who defy it, with fire and lighting. And it was adamant about making everyone watch how the fate of those who defy would end.

    That is of course if I were to cower and hide away, not if I were to raise my head in the challenge..

    "It''s time,e," I spoke as my whole cultivation base seemed to surge in power, sting away in every direction.

 Chapter 368 Outside View

    High above the housing grounds of the Heavenly Academy, was the Giant Floating Ind. This is where the main lecture halls and all the ck Robe and Purple Robe elders lived.

    It was a ce of knowledge and academic research, history, and great source of information and power. Here lived only the best of the teachers and only the great.

    However, their night was disturbed as the sound of booming thunder, and blinding lightning woke people from their sleep to a noise akin to the world breaking upon itself.

    "Who the hell is breaking through to the Ascendant Stage at this damn hour!" one of the elders of the heavenly academy grunted as he came out of his chambers.

    Anger and annoyance clear on his face, "Damn younglings, too eager to cross the mortal divider they actually dared and challenge it here, in this damn ce, how can this old man have a good night''s sleep!" the elder grunted cussing more and more as he grabbed a long staff and walked out of his room.

    Many servants came to his presence, donning his robes and slippers to walk forward and see who was this idiot trying to break the ascendant stage at such a dark hour of the night.

    The elder flew up, wearing his ck Robes, and after locating the source of the thundering booms he approached it slightly to look at it from far away.

    The elder, however, seemed to have been a bit too slow. As he looked up, he seemed to have realized that he wasn''t the first outside the Heavenly Academy to witness what was going on.

    "Grand Elder, you seem to be interested in what''s going on," spoke a man wearing Purple Robes.

    "Elder Cho... what brings you here in this dark hour?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "The same thing that pulled you out of your rest, Grand Elder," Elder Cho spoke while giving a light bow.

    "Who is breaking the Ascendant Stage? Is it one of the young ones? A Blue robe?" asked The Grand Elder.

    Elder Cho shook his head, "No, and to my surprise, it is someone we both know, and this isn''t the Ascendant Stage, I too thought the same until I noticed something different," Elder Cho said.

    The Grand Elder squinted his eyes, then said, "Ah... Not enough Saint Qi, but what kind of a mad man would call upon themselves a Heavenly Tribtion this great, before they even reached the Ascendant Stage. A sphemous soul indeed," spoke the Grand Elder.

    "Perhaps not, perhaps it is a blessed child," Elder Cho said.

    "You''re known for many things, Elder Cho, but being wise isn''t one of them, speak your mind and stop with the riddles. My Divine Sense is too powerful, if I were to send it there to take a peak, I might disrupt the young person''s trial," the Grand Elder spoke.

    "Yes Grand Elder, this is one of the disciples of one of your oldest friends," spoke Elder Cho.

    "I told you to stop speaking with riddles, none of my friends is still alive to have a disciple...wait... is this Du Shen''s disciple? The Acolyte?" spoke the Grand Elder, his eyes squinting even further as if he was able to see Shen Bao from such a great distance.

    "Yes, it''s Shen Bao, the kid that came in and made all the teachers vie for teaching him as if he himself was a heavenly treasure. The child who harbors two acolytes yet serves nor bow down to any. The kid who even Master Rain didn''t punish when he was rude and even punched him. The very child who went all the way to the Under Void and aided Master Rain in his venture. A child who the Wife of the Wind King came personally to see," spoke Elder Cho.

    The Grand Elder snorted, "You''re praising him so highly as if he was your own son," spoke the Grand Elder.<sub> </sub>

    "I wish if I had a son with a fraction of that child''s talent and will. I''ve seen him facing Master Rain''s ire without flinching and felling the words and beliefs of the whole cultivation world when he challenged the Mortal Reminder of heavens, the de That Severs Mortality, without even reaching the appropriate cultivation level. Who wouldn''t want such a talent to be their own? Especially when everyone knows that that child has no talent root. A Talentless Talent."

    "Even a blind rat can find cheese one day, it is only good fortune and luck that he managed to get all the way to where he is today. I''ve seen many talented people in my time, and many of them had even far more talent and power than even I did, but what do you think happened to all of them? why are they all dead, while I still live? Talent is irrelevant. Today, however, I''ll have to admit one thing," spoke the Grand Elder.

    "Please do share," spoke Elder Cho as red lightning crackled in the distance brightening the world in a blood-red color.

    "The trial this kid is about to challenge... is not something a Soul Transformation cultivator should face. It is something close to what Ascendants should face. The Heavenly Qi''s coidentity is so high in the Tribtion Clouds that one would easily confuse them for Saint Qi. This kid is probably going to perish today, though I wonder, why is such a powerful Tribtioning for this kid?" spoke the Grand Elder frowning.

    "Hasn''t this been the case for all of Du Shen''s followers?" asked Elder Cho.

    The Grand Elder Shook his head.

    "The followers, those filthy acolytes, they were nothing but fakes. They grasped the outer teachings of Du Shen''s Poison Path and used it to destroy and murder. They were corrupted all too easily, yet their power would wane with the passage of time. They didn''t have real growth and might, they were using the power of the Poison Path to break through the blockades of Heaven, mighty as the power might be, it is nothing in the outer teachings. Du Shen himself spoke of the vanity of his own followers," Said the Grand Elder.

    Elder Cho, having not heard this tale of Du Shen listened attentively.

    "Du Shen realized that his followers didn''t follow his belief, his calling. They never believed that his Auxiliary Path would allow him to reach The Beyond, but they still craved the power it gave for so little effort it took. And thus they only took the teachings that made them stronger in body, not in mind. While this child...as much as I hate to admit it, I''ve seen how his mind works. He is as still as a mountain, and as brave as a lion. He admitted fault against his teachers, and he also fought for his beliefs. As much as I hate to say it... he is the closest to Du Shen''s character of all of the acolytes."

    "Is that the reason why his Trial is so difficult?" asked Elder Cho.

    The Grand Elder shook his head, "No, even Du Shen didn''t suffer tribtion as grave and as heavy as this one while in Soul Transformation."

    "You were there when Du Shen was in Soul Transformation," asked Elder Cho.

    "Yes, we were rivals at that time. He, however, was far better than me. Yet... not to this extent. This is absurdly too much for a Soul Transformation cultivator, and I could even honestly say, that a few weak Ascendants would not be able to tide through this tribtion without harm if they''re lucky enough not to die."

    These words made Elder Cho a bit worried.

    "If it''s that dangerous shouldn''t we assist Shen Bao, even if it brings the ire of the Heavens, we can appease it with a few sacrifices," spoke Elder Cho.

    The Grand Elder shook his head, "Do not interfere, that man, will either live or die. They will die and be forgotten. Or they will live and break new waves in the world of cultivation. Let him find his own way, your only duty right now is to witness how this child fares through this ordeal..."

    The Grand Elder closed his eyes and began using his Divine Sense to look at the situation, making absolutely sure not to reach too far into the Tribtion''s range.

    "Good luckd..." Elder Cho spoke as he also closed his eyes waiting for the thunder to calm down, before the beginning of the real trial.

 Chapter 369 The Peak

    The Heavenly Gate. The gate of testament and trial. When it opens to a cultivator, it is a good sign of luck. Because this gate only appears for those that have great talent.

    Yet, I have no talent to speak of. I''m simply lucky.

    The Poison God''s heritage isn''t aplex cultivation method. And it is easy to understand and easier to rise in rank thanks to eating poison.

    Though it requires a lot of luck, not to practice, but to actually be epted by the book, acolyte within it or not.

    As for inscriptions, my knowledge from a past life had allowed me to easily understand, deduce and simplify what many in the world of cultivation believe to be the hardest of Cultivation Styles to learn.

    I have no talent root, or so I was told by many seniors. I''ve seen what a talent root is like. It''s the aptitude for a certain type of cultivation. Some are attuned with Ice, like Yu-Yu, some more so with Fire, like Meng Hao. And some have other attunements with other elements. As for me, I have no such thing.

    I was told I was so untalented that it was a miracle that I was even able to climb in cultivation. I was told that my talent was so poor that even a mortal would have better luck in climbing to the peak than I would.

    I was told that I am not much, an old senile man, looking for the secrets of youth and cultivation at the expense of his livelihood and the welfare of his family and household.

    "But here, even the heavens, present the gate to me, as a testament to my ability. I may not be talented in the eyes of the people, but even the Heavens have to open their gates to me," I spoke as I stood up facing the gate, for the third time.

    "What do you have for me to challenge this time, oh great gate of the heavens?" I chuckled.

    There was no answer, as the door opened up, there were no soldiers there anymore.

    The Saint Qi that would usually seep out and bring life to a soldier of the heavens decided to remain within the gate.

    There was nothing but a staircase that seemed to lead into beyond the gate.

    Wind roared when it was still and it howled as it coursed through the gate. It felt as if the gate was a whale that opened its mouth, letting in water.

    And then the wind was spewed back, from the gate, releasing a sound so close to a voice that it actually sounded this word.

    "Enter."

    This was the wind¡­and it spoke words of wee to me.

    I took a step forward, then the next, prudent but calm and collected. I took a step into the opened gate, and on the first step of this endless staircase.

    Within the gate, there didn''t seem to be an end to the stairs. And unlike the dark night of the outside world, it was a clear blue sky with endless purple clouds all over.

    I then took another step. Then another, and I kept walking forward and forward.

    There didn''t seem to be an end to this staircase, but I had no need to stop or go back since I was invited, I will oblige.

    Yet things seemed to change after taking a few hundred more steps.

    I wiped my forehead and realized I was sweating, which shouldn''t be possible. It was only a few steps, and as a cultivator, I shouldn''t be this tired.

    Another thing caught my sight, my arm, it was just moments ago, glistening, bright and healthy.

    But now, it looks paler than normal and slightly shrunken.

    I didn''t pay it any mind as I continued to move forward. Yet soon, I began feeling¡­ exhaustion.

    My breaths seemed to be heavier, and my legs started to cramp.

    I looked back to see how far I had walked, only to realize that the Heavenly gate was not even a step away from me.

    I had barely taken a step forward even when I took several hundred.

    "What kind of Tribtion is this," I muttered.

    But for some reason, I felt that I shouldn''t step back, otherwise I would have given up something, as if I were to have given up a part of me.

    This trial is interesting.

    I looked up, and took another step, then another.

    And kept on moving. While at the same time inspecting myself every now and then.

    My robes seemed to be slowly deteriorating. My body seemed to be slowly shrinking and dwindling.

    My hair began to fall and my sight slowly and surely decreased.

    Yet, I kept on taking a step after the other, unrelenting and unstopping, even when I tripped and fell on my face, breaking a tooth.<sub> </sub>

    I grinned, and climbed up the stairs, with old-looking fingers, full of wrinkles and rheumatoid. I still kept moving forward. I didn''t dare look back, because I knew, I would see myself having taken nothing but a single step. And if I were to do that, I''ll find myself in despair.

    So, I kept moving.

    I moved until I started wheezing, then spat some of my teeth out, rotten, yellowish, and old.

    I moved until I could no longer see as sight had left my eyes.

    I kept moving, using Divine Sense which didn''t seem to have dwindled any bit.

    And I kept moving forward.

    At one point, my right buckled and broke, copsing on itself, causing me to fall on my arms, against the sharp stairs.

    With whatever will I had, I managed to grab tight in case I were to fall down or back.

    Even against the soul-wrenching pain of my leg, I still tided through it with the sheer power of will.

    I tore some of my dpidated clothes and made a makeshift bandage. I slowly touched the part where the break was, it had splintered and the bone was protruding out of the skin¡­ the blooding out was barely warm.

    ''What a sad sight¡­'' I said, not mocking or feeling pity for myself. With great difficulty and a lot of grunting, I managed to snap the bone back in ce, then wrapped the cloth around it.

    Thankfully I didn''t fall unconscious from shock. It seems that my body had returned to its mortal nature, however, my soul had never dwindled, never felt weaker.

    Breath, after heavy breath, I collected whatever remained of myself, and this time, began climbing the stairs, with hands and a leg, trying my best not to further destroy whatever remained of this dying body.

    Slowly moving up, bleeding all over the stairs, I kept climbing, even if every step of the way felt like the climb of an entire mountain, I kept moving.

    Until I couldn''t move anymore. Not for theck of will¡­ but because the mortal shell could no longer follow.

    I was forcefully extracted outside of my own body, and as I looked at the sight I sighed.

    Where I was, was nothing but a skeleton wearing old rotten, and dpidated clothes.

    The skeleton was lying on the ground, its hand grasping for the next step. While dried blood seemed to have made a trail behind it.

    And looking up, I saw that the staircase still had no foreseeable end.

    "I guess I understand what this trial means¡­Many people crave to reach the peak of cultivation, while they think they crossed a great distance, they''ve not even taken the first step towards the end. This trial is meant to humble the Cultivators who foolishly think that they can reach the peak," I muttered.

    "However, death is inevitable," I spoke as I looked at the top of the endless staircase.

    "And even if it took the climb of a thousand lifetimes, I''ll still move forward, even without a body. I will reach the peak, no matter how far it is. No matter how difficult, even if I had to drag my dying body towards, it. So heavens, your ruse, and trial into dismaying me from reaching for the peak only increased my conviction to seek it further. I should thank you for that."

    As I finished my words, the entire world around me seemed to darken and I found myself sitting back at the same boulder I was on earlier.

    In front of me was the heavenly gate with its doorpletely closed. While the thundering skies seemed to slowly fade away.

    The redness of the dark night skies slowly changed until the bright moon was all that was shining upon the world.

    The Heaven''s Gate disappeared without a trail.

    Divine Senses from all over the Heavenly Academy seemed to rush forward towards me inspecting what was going on the moment the gate disappeared.

    And the first to arrive was Master Rain.

    "You''re a lucky kid you know," Spoke Master Rain.

    "Why?" I asked back.

    "You''ve been rewarded handsomely," Master Rain said.

    I looked around, there was no reward likest time, no fruit, no Saint Qi, nothing.

    "I don''t see any reward," I said.

    "You''ve been exempted from the Ascendant Tribtion because you passed it as a Soul Transformation Cultivator," Spoke Master Rain.

    "Euh¡­say what now?"

    "What now?"

 Chapter 370 Pseudo Ascendant

    "I mean, what do you mean when you said, I passed the Ascendant Tribtion, I''m not even an Ascendant Stage," I questioned.

    "You saw the Endless Stairs?" spoke Master Rain.

    "How did you know that?" I asked, "Because I''m sure the Heavenly Gate allows no one to peer within it, besides the one doing its trial," I said.

    "It is because, the moment your trial started, you sat in front of the gate, and didn''t move. That''s a sign of the Heavenly Staircase appearing. You do not challenge it with your body, but with your soul and mind, you are given the task to Ascend from your mortal Shell to the upper realm, you have done that, without even being ready for your body to ascend, you ascended with this," spoke Master Rain as he pointed at my head.

    I frowned, "I don''t feel any different."

    "Nor should you, it is a spiritual Ascension, only when your body follows will you be able to detect the Saint Qi, now many people wille to congratte you for your pseudo ascension, make sure to befriend as many as you can, you''ll need their assistance in the days toe," Master Rain''s words remained while he disappeared from the area.

    Soon, as Master Rain had said, many, many elders havee to the small hill I was on.

    They came from the upper floating ind, and some even from the housing districts.

    "Shen Bao, congrattions on your Pseudo Ascension," spoke a man wearing purple robes.

    Looking at him, he was the same person who gave me many gifts after the Race of the Heavenly Academy.

    Another person followed, and also congratted me. Then others, and others. Many elders, some even ck Robes, and some presented themselves as the people who will be teaching me some of the subjects toe.

    "You did well Shen Bao, you did well." Some elders said.

    "We''re proud of having such a great talent in our humble academy. We''ll see to it that you''ll climb the ranks of cultivation with as much ease as you can," another elder said.

    "That''s no way to raise a talent, he needs experience and trials, we''ll need to give our all for Shen Bao," another added.

    I kept nodding up and down at their suggestions out of respect, almost enough that I felt like I was a chicken.

    "I''m greatly honored to have all of youe to congratte me, but I am still not at the ascendant stage, I still have so much more to learn, and I''ll be honored to learn from you all whatever I can," I said as I sped my hands.

    "Such a well-mannered kid," someone in the background spoke.

    "Shen Bao had just gone through an Ascension Trial, we''ll need to let him rest for now. Tomorrow, you should head to the upper Ind and take a look at the curriculum," Elder Cho spoke.

    To which many nodded, even some ck robes.

    "Thank you all," I said as excused myself to leave.

    "Wait Shen Bao, let me escort you, I have a few things I want to talk to you about," Elder Cho said.

    This man was strange, he was kind and at the same time opportunistic, he gave me gifts and at the same time ultimatums. He aided me in essing the Heavenly Academy, but to his own agenda, he even caused problems for another elder who tried to kill me in the Advent Tower. This man has a strange agenda and I need to figure out if he is trustworthy or not.

    "Yes, it would be my honor," I said as the two of us took several steps into the air heading toward the housing areas.

    After several moments of silence, Elder Cho spoke, "Did you enjoy the stay in the heavenly academy?" he asked.

    "To be honest, I haven''t been in the heavenly academy for much, most of the time I spent here was inside the tower, and the rest I spent traveling to the Under Void," I said.

    "I know, since then, many things happened, we had some issues with some students and elders who fell ill, but thankfully their illness was resolved almost at the same time and no one was the wiser, it also coincided strangely with your departure to the Under Void," Elder Cho said.

    His words were quite obvious, he seem to know what was going on here.

    "I guess, coincidence," I said.

    "Yes, perhaps. Also, your departure and assistance to Master Rain proved to be pivotal to my own progress, I''ve made some good advancement in my career here thanks to you, so I should consider our dept resolved," he said.

    He is talking about the assistance he gave me in herbs manuals and many metals back at the race. But what did he gain from my departure?

    "You don''t need to worry about what happened just know that you owe me nothing anymore," Elder Cho said then soon added, "Also, since you left something else happened which I think no one told you about."

    "What happened?" I asked.

    "The Entrance Ceremony, while you were away, new students have joined the academy, and of them, some you know, some you don''t. And with what happened here today, you should be careful from now on, jealousy is a deadly poison, far deadlier than you can imagine," Elder Cho said.

    With these words, we arrived at the housing area, and he nodded to me and took up to the skies.

    "What does he mean by that," I asked no one in particr.

    Looking behind me, I found myself back next to Liang Yu''s house.

    "Damn I still need to solve this," I sighed as I walked into the house.<sub> </sub>

    Only to find Liang Yu alone there.

    She had a pout and her eyes were frowned down.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "Oh, nothing is wrong," she said "Everything is fine," she added then turned around.

    ''Shit...''

    "C''mon what''s wrong? Are you still angry about earlier? She is my sect master, and was literally dead..." I said.

    "I don''t care," she said.

    I sighed.

    I held my hand forward and a small portal opened up. I pulled a small vial from within the portal and walked toward Liang Yu.

    "Here," I said as I handed her the small bottle.

    She half turned her face, opened one eye to look at the bottle then said, snorting, "You think whatever is in there is gonna make me forgive you?" she said.

    ''It''s not that I did anything to ask forgiveness for, but... women. Sigh,''

    "Just take it," I said.

    She snorted once again and grabbed the vial.

    "Now excuse me I''ll be leaving," I said as I turned to leave, I didn''t feel like I should stay here any longer. She is in a super prissy mood and it would be best to give her some time alone.

    Also, why the hell am I in the wrong here? God damn it.

    "So you think that giving me whatever is this and leaving is enough for me to forgive you!" she said as she was opening the bottle.

    "If that''s all you think I''m worth then I better just..." she said as she was about to spill the contents of the vial on the ground.

    Yet the powerful sweet smell of the content''s insides immediately permeated the room causing her eyes to widen.

    "You might wanna drink that fast," I said as I was about to close the door and leave.

    She immediately locked the vial back and sprinted towards me stopping me.

    "What in god''s name is this! Are you mad?! I can''t take this! This is too much I was just messing around with you earlier, are you crazy? Do you know the value of this thing!" she said all in one breath.

    "Calm down woman, just drink it, I don''t need it, you can have it," I said.

    "Are you crazy, what do you mean drink it?!" she said, "This is too damn expensive! You can literally buy a whole with this amount!"

    "Just drink it, and go down to cultivate. It should help you climb in cultivation fast and catch up to me," I said. "I''ll be leaving," I said.

    "Where are you going?" she asked as she pocketed the vial.

    I opened my mouth, then closed it, I was about to lie to her but decided to tell her the truth.

    "I''m going to meet Yu Yu, we have many things to talk about," I said.

    Liang Yu''s expression turned slightly somber, but she sighed and said, "She is right, I''ve no im over you. You can do whatever you want," she said.

    "It''s not out of passion, she was the person who picked me up when I needed help the most, she provided for me a home, and a shelter, until I became the cultivator I am today, don''t you think I owe this person a bit of my time?"

    Liang Yu didn''t reply as she meekly lowered her head.

    I found her antics quite pitiful but in a cute way, I couldn''t help but kiss her on the head.

    "I''ll just have a talk with her, I''ll see you tomorrow," I said.

    "Okay..." she said.

    Smiling I turned and left the housing areas.

 Chapter 371 The Beyond

    I didn''t know where to look, where to head now. Yu Yu had left and I didn''t have a single clue on where she is right now.

    I closed my eyes and spread my divine sense.

    I should have probably not done that though. My divine sense seemed to have evolved beyond my own understanding as it shot out in a powerful surge of green visible aura that spread like a massive dome around me in all directions.

    The powerful wave seemed like it would quell lives it would touch but thankfully no harm seemed to happen to anything it passed through besides the mild difort I felt from the people who seemed to have been in contact with the divine sense wave.

    Just as I sent out my own divine sense, many others came my way trying to locate, understand, and see who is this rude person spreading such a powerful divine sense at thiste hour of the night.

    Yet, they all withdrew their own Divine Senses as soon as itnded on me.

    However, I on the other hand didn''t find where Yu Yu was so far. She was not in the housing district and seemed to have moved somewhere else.

    I canceled my divine sense and sighed, unable to find out where she had gone I was going to give up.

    Perhaps she left after Zhang Tian''s mother.

    "She went to the east," I heard.

    Looking down, it was Liang Yu, she hade out of her house probably after noticing my Divine Sense wave.

    I nodded to her and turned my direction to the east then began stepping through empty air towards it.

    After many Ancient Steps, and several Divine Sense bursts to scan the area I found an ice structure built at the top of a mountain.

    I headed towards the lone mountain and stepped in front of the ice structure.

    It looked like a pagoda madepletely of ice.

    Just as I took a step into the ice Pagoda, Yu Yu showed up. She had a fridged air about her. Her breath shot arrow-like steam as she walked toward me. Her eyes were blue as the skies and looked to shine in contrast to the moonlight.

    "Yu Yu," I said.

    And immediately, the brightness of her eyes and the cold atmosphere around her seemed to disappear as if it was never there.

    "Oh, Shen Bao, I hope you didn''t see something unpleasinge on in," she said.

    I nodded and then followed her into the pagoda.

    It was a small house with nothing but a block of ice for a bed and an ice table with ice-made chairs.

    "Take a seat, you came looking for me I suppose," she said.

    I pulled one of the chairs and sat down, it was damn cold but I wasn''t going toin.

    "Yes, I wanted to ask you about¡­how¡­"

    "How I''m alive?" she said.

    "Well, you said something about karma and stuff I didn''t really understand the gist of it," I said.

    She sat in front of me and took a deep breath before she said.

    "When you had us ride on the ck Tower''s Shuttle, we all thought that we''ll be saved, but it seems that the fire king''s forces didn''t really care much and took out the shuttle without any worry. Also after asking herdyship to investigate. It seemed that someone from the ck Tower had given the order to the fire King Troops to take out one of the ck Tower''s own ships," she said.

    "They destroyed one of their own Shuttles?" I asked.

    "Yes, if the Fire King''s forces had acted on their own, the ck Tower would have retaliated and denied them trade. But since the demand came from the ck Tower itself, there were no fallouts. The issue was, why would the ck Tower destroy their own shuttle."

    "To try and take me out? But I wasn''t even there," I said.

    "The traitor of the ck Tower didn''t really care much for capturing you alive¡­" she said.

    "You knew they were looking for me?" I asked.<sub> </sub>

    She nodded, "I understood from lord Zhang Tian''s words and his mother''s hints. Your assistance to Lord Zhang Tian and his escape caused the Fire King to be irritated since his rival had recovered one of his strongest Heirs, and to cause a mental blow to the Wind King, he decided to kill the helper, which is you, and make the Wind King feel guilt causing him to dy his ascension to the next realm. And at the same time maintaining the status quo of power," she said.

    I leaned back and smiled, "Kings of Entire Domains, were moving powers, armies, and forces beyond anything any could even dream to face against, just for a chance to kill me, and cause a mental blow to the other person. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill¡­"

    "Your actions were pretty grand," she said.

    "Not that I would have changed anything if I had gotten the same choice. But the fire King Killed you¡­ and he owes me a debt of blood," I said.

    "You don''t need to fight or hold a grudge against the fire King, you can''t contend with a power like that, he isn''t a normal human, being," she said.

    "That may be true¡­ But he killed you," I said.

    "I''m alive aren''t I, not that I even think your grudge is justified, it indeed is terrible what he had done, but everything turned out for the better," she said.

    I stood up, "You really think that?" I said I was slightly angry, not at her though.

    "What''s wrong Shen Bao?" she asked.

    "He killed many people, innocent people, lives that shouldn''t have been taken, he killed my friends, he killed mypanions, he enved people. He isn''t something that should be permitted to live. I don''t understand why the forces of this damn Vast Expanse don''t just outright kill him!" I said.

    "It''s not that they can''t," she said then sighed¡­ "It''s because they shouldn''t," Yu Yu said.

    "You seem knowledgeable about things I don''t know¡­" I said.

    Yu Yu looked around, then raised her hand, causing the pagoda''s door to close then a powerful wave of divine sense surrounded us.

    I then heard her sending a divine message directly to my mind, "I don''t think that we''ll be safe even with a sound barrier so let''s talk with divine sense¡­"

    "This is serious stuff then," I said.

    "Very," she said.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "The Beyond is opening very soon, and it''s going to be ugly¡­" she said.

    "I heard Master Rain talking about the Beyond what is that?" I asked.

    "It''s something I don''t know the full details about but it''s like a new world something far bigger than even the Vast Expanse¡­" she said.

    I frowned, "But isn''t the vast expanse¡­like literally the whole universe," I said.

    "You underestimate the size of the universe if you think the four corners of this prison is all of it. No there exists something far greater however we need keys to go to the other side¡­"

    "And let me guess, the fire King has one of these keys?" I said.

    She shook her head, "No, the fire king IS one of the keys," she said.

    This caught me off guard, how can a person be a key?

    "So is the Wind King, so is the Earth and Water Kings¡­ They are all blessed by the elements, the prime ones. And thus are able to open the Beyond. The problem with the Fire King is, no one can guarantee the existence of another Fire Key, so killing the Fire King is not an option, not to mention, the Fire King''s power is far beyond something that can be easily killed. He had been wary of the other Kings uprooting him, so he started consuming souls to grow in strength¡­ making him a pretty powerful entity, where the only one who can contend against him in a one-on-one, is no one but her highness¡­"

    I leaned back on my chair again, thinking about this.

    The fire king, someone able to contend with Zhang Tian''s mother in strength, is someone I want to take out¡­ that''s a tall order, pretty damn tall in fact¡­but¡­

    "Does he bleed," I asked?

    "Of course, why are you asking,"

    "Then if it bleeds¡­it dies."

 Chapter 372 An Old Acquaintance

    The sound of pickaxes hitting rock echoed through the dark, hot caves.

    Meng Hao looked around, clearly displeased at the endless difort and risk this environment offered. He had been brought here with many cultivators, and most had died. Not even ten percent of them were left now... The majority had died to exhaustion, and the unlucky few transformed into strange fire demons that had to be killed shortly afterward by their own colleagues.

    His body felt heavy. But Meng Hao still tided through the exhaustion and kept breaking the Blood Rocks.

    Day in and day out, they were forced to mine and gather blood rocks. Then ce it in mining carts, that would carry it outside. The idea of trying to escape never crossed the minds of any of the cultivators here - since the whole mine was guarded by Ascendant Cultivators. The mere thought of trying to escape them was tantamount to contemting suicide.

    Today, Meng Hao was tasked with mining in one of the deepest parts of the cave. It was a job only he had been tasked with. Not because he could do it, but because of all the people here, Meng Hao seemed the most resistant to the baleful Fire Qi permeating the area.

    As he was mining all alone, someone coughed, and that caught Meng Hao by surprise.

    ? He turned saw a man in full length ck robes.

    "On it''s you¡­" Meng Hao said.

    "You still remember this old man!", the man spoke rather jubntly.

    "I knew you were a strange one from the day we first met. What are you doing here? Or rather, how did you even manage toe all the way down here, without being detected," Meng Hao asked.

    "Well, you could say that I have something special," the man in ck robes said.

    This caused Meng Hao to instinctively rub a spot on his chest. Covered underneath his robes was a small bell that not even the guards deemed worthy of confiscating.

    "You still have that, very good, keep it with you, it shoulde in handy pretty soon," the man in ck robes suggested.

    "Who are you?" asked Meng Hao.

    "You don''t need to know that right now. Also, I would advise you to start mining there, for now. You never know when one can find blessing within a curse," the man in ck winked. While Meng Hao was looking straight at him, he could see the ck-robed man slowly starting to disappear from sight. As if the world itself was denying his very existence¡­

    Meng Hao turned to where the man in a ck robe had pointed. There didn''t seem to be any Blood Stones there, it was a simple-looking block of rock. Having nothing better to do, Meng Hao decided to give it a go, and struck down with his pickaxe¡­

    ***

    "Still, this is very confusing. When only the powerful entities of the Prime Elements are able to go to the beyond¡­why was Du Shen trying to go there when he himself didn''t have the right," I asked.

    "Du Shen¡­ She spoke of him a few times¡­" Yu Yu said.

    "Really? Do you know anything about him?" I asked.

    "If she finds out I revealed this to you, she''ll have our hide for it¡­", Yu Yu sighed.

    "You seem to have some juicy gossip," I grinned.

    "Yes, very¡­ Deadly gossip even, so promise me you''ll keep this to yourself!", she said.

    "Right, will do, just tell me¡­", I said eager to discover something, anything, that could help me with the uing Poison God trials.

    "Okay, so before her highness met her current husband¡­ She actually had a thing for Du Shen. Since he was one of the greatest minds of his time, a powerful cultivator, rich beyond belief, and had great influence and ability throughout the Vast Expanse. They worked on many matters together. He used her ability to mend and control Soul power to make many ingenious trinkets. And she gave him everything. But he betrayed her one day," she said.

    I frowned, "Howe? Though I can''t deny the fact that the Poison God is not benevolent, he hardly strikes me as the ''traitor'' type," I said.

    "Well, I wouldn''t know about that, but do you remember the Incense Pot the Fire King''s army had?" She asked.

    "Yes"

    "Right, it traps souls inside it for refinement and consumption, pretty nasty stuff. That project was actually something Du Shen asked her highness to make, though he said that he wanted to use it to harness the poisonous energies from his home, but it ended up being used to harness souls after he got the pot from her," she said.<sub> </sub>

    "That potter appeared in the hands of the Fire King, and you know what he''s used it for. This caused her Highness to feel extreme hatred for Du Shen, for all the damage that those pots had done to the Vast Expanse," she said.

    I frowned, "Du Shen abhors Devil Cultivation, and based on that I really don''t think that he would do such things. But honestly, I wouldn''t know. Things that happened far in the past are naturally veiled by the passage of time. No one can ascertain what is real from what is not."

    Yu Yu shrugged, "I think he should have at leaste clean about it, and apologized. I believe that would have sufficed. But he disappeared immediately after taking those pots. He then appeared muchter, only when something happened to his concubine. By then, the Wind King had taken her Highness''s hand in marriage and they had their current children. By that time, Du Shen had changed, he was not as she remembered. He had be vengeful, distrusting, full of malice and madness. He didn''t even try to exin to her why he betrayed her. I felt that she might still have feelings for him¡­ even after she got married."

    "Oh, no wonder you said not to say this to anyone, yes, she''ll probably not like hearing that. Nor would her current husband. Either way, it''s not my ce to gossip about people aloud. And it''s good that I know a bit more about the Poison God. Yet this still doesn''t exin why he wanted to go to the beyond," I said.

    "I suppose that something about his lifelong goal of proving that all Dao, even Auxiliary ones should be considered Key to the beyond. Since he was a Poison Cultivator, and even if poison cultivation is considered to be something of a shortcut to power with no substance, he wholeheartedly believed that in its essence it can contend with the prime Dao. And as you are aware, the Poison God''s power is well known. And well feared in the Vast Expanse. But since his disappearance or likely death, we can''t find anything about him anymore¡­ Except for you, and the Acolytes," she said.

    I rubbed the bridge of my nose for a moment, this was a lot to take in. The Poison God had many secrets and many enemies. Death wouldn''t have been far-fetched, but on the off chance he is still alive, what is he doing? If he is still active, how can I find his traces?

    "Enough with this talk. Tell me you didn''te here just to speak about ancient myths?", Yu Yu said, waking me from my reverie.

    "Oh right, I wanted to ask you something, howe you came here?" I asked.

    "It was her Highness'' request. She didn''t want to spoil me further and said that if I wanted to grow, I needed to do it without help from the Wind Realm. She already gave me more than I could ever ask for and I couldn''t be leeching off on her kindness. I asked if I could join the Heavenly Academy, and here we are."

    "The Heavenly Academy only epts a few cultivators every now and then," I said.

    She shook her head, "If you''re implying I used the Wind Realm as a backdoor, I didn''t, I actually had to go through the Heavenly Academy''s special entry program, it was not fun¡­" she said.

    "Oh, I guess special admissions require special tests," I said.

    "Yes, I honestly thought that I grew a lot, but I almost died¡­"

    "Yeah, I know that feeling, Old Man Gin almost killed me with his exam, but it was worth it. So, we''ll be attending some sses together I suppose," I said.

    "Hopefully, we''ll see about that tomorrow. I want to ask, what happened to the Purple Cloud Pce?"

    "It''s safe and sound with me," I said, "If you want it, I can give it back to you right now," I said.

    She shook her head, "I don''t feel like I deserve it yet. I''ll receive it from youter. Also, I''ve heard that you already reached Pseudo Ascendant,"

    "Something like that, but I don''t feel any different," I said as I stood up, "I''ve been wanting to give you something that will help with your cultivation."

    I picked out a small vial from my holding bag and handed it to her.

    She took it, and opened the bottle revealing a sweet scent. And she had the reaction I was expecting.

    "Just take it, I have more. Hopefully, this will help you in your cultivation. I''ll be heading off,"

    "You''re a very kind man Shen Bao," she said.

    "Am I now¡­" I grinned, "It''s still not enough to repay your kindness in taking me into the Purple Cloud."

    "You already repaid that debt with interest, so I''m really thankful," she said.

    "I''m d you liked it, anyway, I should be heading out to rest, tomorrow should be interesting," I said.

    "You can rest here if you wish, I won''t disturb you," she said.

    I thought about it for a moment then shook my head, "I''ll have to go, see you again soon," I said and she removed the ice from the pagoda''s door.

    As I left, I marveled at the effulgence of the moonlight permeating the ice pagoda, a most memorable scene indeed.

 Chapter 373 Start Of Class

    "Du Shen¡­." I muttered as I was moving under the dim light of the rising sun. I had spent a lot of time loitering around throughout the night that I never actually got any sleep.

    Many thoughts were crossing my mind, most of them, about the greatness and power that all the ancient cultivators used to hold.

    Would I ever be on par with those cultivators?

    Du Shen¡­ A person trying to prove to the whole world of cultivation that all elements, and all Dao is equal.

    Many would consider each Dao to be weaker or stronger than another, but through Du Shen''s actions and beliefs, one could infer that he thought otherwise.

    Since actual teaching lessons will start tomorrow¡­ or probably in a few hours, I''ll see what I can get from the teachers there.

    Morning soon came and with it the start of my ''first'' school day. It''s been so long since I ever went to ss, I wonder how it''ll feel.

    I headed towards the teleportation gate that would lead to the upper hovering ind.

    Many students were slowly moving towards the gate being teleported upwards, but all of them without exception were in yellow robes.

    I was the only White Robe among the crew.

    "Who is this guy?" someone spoke.

    "I don''t know, must be a neer, he doesn''t know he shouldn''t be here¡­"

    "Just leave him be, he''ll get kicked out or yelled at by the teleportation guards," another added.

    More students added to their derisive words, and I felt slightly annoyed at how they could judge and condemn me based on looks alone without any prior knowledge of who I am or what I''m capable of.

    I swear, these cultivators are begging to get their¡­face pped. God, I hate that expression.

    As I was ignoring the group of yellow robes, one of the people at the teleportation gate spotted me. After all, I was as conspicuous as a sore thumb.

    "You there, Shen Bao, right?" he asked among the group of yellow robes.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "Pleasee forward, the teachers are asking for your presence, they''re dying their sses until you arrive,"

    This caused the group to gawk at me and move away from front of me. The speed at which they gave way was slightly frightening because it made me feel like a gue person in a crowded ce.

    I had both hands behind my back as I moved forward.

    Murmurs and gossip echoed around me as I headed forward, but I decided to ignore everything.

    "Where should I head when I get up?" I asked.

    "Don''t worry about that, you''ll find a carriage that will take you to one of the teachers, he''ll exin the curriculum that has been chosen for you, and give you the name of all the teachers that will be teaching you this semester," he said.

    "Good, that''ll make things easier," I replied.

    "Good luck," the guard said and allowed me entry.

    And just like he said, the moment I appeared on the upper ind, a man in blue robes came rushing toward me, and I knew who this person was.

    "Brother Huang, how have you been," I spoke.

    "Oh, I''m surprised that junior brother Shen Bao still remembers me," he said.

    "You helped me a lot in the race, it would be a disservice to forget such assistance," I replied sping my hands at him.

    "Don''t mention it," he said smiling, "Let me take you to senior Gu Lei, he is waiting for your arrival," Huang Yu said.

    "Right then, please lead the way," I said.

    "We''ll be taking the carriage, it''s morefortable," he said and walked up to a carriage on standby.

    It had two horses with six legs each. The horses looked far bigger than any normal horse I''ve ever seen and the carriage itself seemed to be specially made for prestigious guests¡­it was adorned with gold and green pure jade sculptures.

    "Wow, that''s pretty extravagant," I said.

    "The academy gives great value to its students with bright futures ahead of them, this is nothing," he said as he walked inside the carriage.

    I entered after him and was surprised to see that the interior was far bigger than the outside.

    I looked around and smiled, "Great application of spatialw, this is interesting." I said.<sub> </sub>

    "Yes, this is actually a carriage made by elder Gu Lei, he is a master in Spatial Law inscription," said Huang Yu.

    "Good, but why does that name strike me as a familiar name¡­" I frowned as I spoke.

    "Ah¡­it''s because you had a small issue with his son, back in the race¡­ Wei Lei, if you remember," Huang Yu said.

    "Oh¡­yeah, now that I recall, you said that his father''s name was Gu Lei. Well, I hope he wouldn''t be the kind to hold a grudge," I said.

    "You''ll have to meet him and see that for yourself," Huang Yu said.

    The carriage had apparently started moving without me even feeling it, and when I asked how. Huang Yu exined it to be also the work of the spatial inscriptions within the carriage.

    I thought about it for a moment and realized that I did something simr to this back when I was fixing Y''s Heavenly Qi reactor. It was not as great as his original Saint Qi reactor and was susceptible to damage, so I made a vibration nullifying inscription to protect it from shock. This is perhaps something simr, I''ll need to check this one out.

    Soon, the carriage stopped and we hopped off.

    Looking up, there was a massive lean tower just a few steps away from us.

    Its door was wide open and many students were walking their way to the tower with scrolls, quills, and many writing tools in hand.

    "We''ll wait here until the Elderes, he should be here any minute now," Huang Yu said.

    I leaned against the carriage and waited¡­and waited.

    After a bit, I got bored and took a second look at the carriage, I was curious to how the spatial formation allowed the insertion of arger space into a smaller one, and also how it all worked.

    I spread my divine sense around the carriage and realized that the bulk of the inscription was written under the carriage.

    I leaned under and scooched to be just under the inscriptions. Then I began scanning through it. Opening it up so it would unfold its secrets.

    The inscription was masterfully made, and it opened up like a book before me. All golden written with many inscriptions constantly on the move like gears.

    I began moving a few of the inscriptions that were not essential to the overall function of the spatial diagram and seemed to uncover more of the secrets of this precise work.

    "What do you think?" I heard a voice right next to my ear.

    I was so shocked I stood up and bumped my head against the carriage.

    "God damn!" I looked next to me as I rubbed my head. It was an old man grinning and he looked to be enjoying what he was seeing.

    He wore purple robes.

    "Elder Gu Lei I suppose," I said.

    "In the flesh, I heard from little Huang that you took interest in my work, you seemed too focused to even realize that I was next to you, so tell me what do you think about my work," he said.

    "Honestly speaking, it''s really good. Comparable to Master Rain in terms of precision," I said.

    "I can hear the ''but'' in your words, might as well say it now," he said.

    "Yes. But, it seems that the quality of the work leaves something to be desired, not that I''m belittling this work, it''s actually far better than what I can make. But being with Master Rain for a long while seemed to have increased my expectations of inscriptions a lot." I said

    "Good to know that young people are still honest, you''re right, this word is very subpar, it''s shy, and looks precise but I''ve made this when I was far younger, it''s not something I take pride in." he said.

    I reverted all the changes I did to the inscriptions and closed it back. Then moved from under the carriage.

    The old man did the same.

    "I''ve heard about you, Shen Bao, from many people here," the old man said.

    "You even had some issues with my son I heard," he said.

    Just as I opened my mouth to exin, he stopped me, "You don''t need to exin yourself, Elder Cho had already given me the full rapport of what happened, and I''d like to apologize on behalf of my son, I never raised him to be a person of such a low attitude¡­but being the son of a purple robe can make a person feel superior even without they themselves having any hand in it," the old man said.

    "Thank you for understanding," I said.

    "Another thing, I have my pride as a teacher in this university, so don''t think that my work of the days of yore is the same as my ability right now. I made that carriage more than a few centuries ago, I''m far more honed, and I''m sure I have a few things to teach you," he said.

    "I never implied or said otherwise, I''m here to learn not to brag about my insignificant knowledge of the art of inscriptions," I said.

    "That''s a good humbled for you, good, good, follow me, Shen Bao, our ss will start soon," he said.

 Chapter 374 First Class

    The ssroom or in this case the open area on top of the tower was where the ss was being held. Many cultivators sat on the artificially made ground that looked like a garden and was facing a small lecture podium.

    Elder Gu Lei walked up to the podium and waited for me to take a seat.

    I looked around and noticed a couple of familiar faces sitting among therge group of cultivators. They were all sitting with writing scrolls and pens at the ready waiting for the elder to speak so they would note everything down.

    I find it pretty interesting that so many cultivators with great mental powers and memory needed writing tools, but I wasn''t going to question it.

    Of everyone sitting, there was Wei Lei, who seemed pretty annoyed by my presence here, and had the most hostile gaze looking my way. A couple of yellow robes that I had seen in Master Rain''s sermon, and then finally Yu Yu who seemed to have taken a good spot in dead center.

    Everyone seemed to want to sit next to her, simply because she was the most beautiful woman of the whole ss. However, her icy personality and aura refrained anyone from sitting too close so there was still room.

    "Take a seat Shen Bao," spoke elder Gu Lei gently.

    I walked up among the students and sat right next to Yu Yu.

    "What is that idiot doing? He dares sit next to the ss Fairy!"

    "Fool, he''ll be embarrassed once she orders him to sit away from her, not even Wei Lei could sit next to her, who does he think himself?"

    And morements down this same line continued.

    Everyone seemed surprised at first and thought that I was probably going to get ridiculed.

    ''Bruh, these cultivators I swear, could you not keep those thoughts to yourself, do you really all just want to... -god damn this expression- have your face pped?''

    "Good morning Shen Bao," she spoke.

    "Morning Yu-Yu, did you rest well?"

    "Yes, I rested as soon as you left, let''s pay attention now, the teacher has been waiting for you," she said.

    "Right," I said then focused my eyes on the elder.

    The rest of the ss were too stunned to speak, since not only was I weed and addressed warmly I also had ''small talk'' with their idol.

    Bunch of centuries old highschoolers... old in body but not in mind.

    "Good, now that everyone is here, we''ll need to go back on a few matters that we''ve discussed in the past month, Junior Shen Bao hadn''t been here so we should at least give him a speed recap," Elder Gu Lei said.

    "Fath - I mean, Elder Gu Lei, it is unfair to the rest of the ss that we''ll have to waste time recapping everything we did for a whole month, it is not the ss''s fault to bear the mistakes of this person, why should we go over matters that we already went through once, also the exams are soon and we need to move on..."

    ''This dude really hates me,''

    Elder Gu Lei seemed annoyed with his own son''s statement, and wanting to interject, he seemed to have noticed that everyone in the ss was of the same opinion. Mostly because I was sitting next to Yu Yu...

    "I don''t mind that. You may move on to your next subject, I''ll just have to ask Yu Yu for her notes for the past monthter tonight," I said grinning.

    My words implied many things, and this seemed to have caused the angry jealous peeps in the ss to fume even more with anger.

    Serves you all right, you''re asking for it.

    "Then that is well, we''ll be resuming our topic of Conductive Qi Circuits, who here can give me an example of simple oneyer Conductive Qi Circuit?" the elder said.

    The first to jump was his own son, trying his hardest to impress everyone.

    He then began moving his finger writing a few inscriptions in dazzling golden writing.

    It was...mboyant, and frankly pretty neat.

    "Ah...good, that''s an example we can work with. You can sit down," Gu Lei said.

    The elder then began exining how to apply this inscription and its limitations.

    A few students asked questions about how to use this inscription and where and the teacher seemed vehement about giving detailed borderline boring exnations of every aspect the inscription can be used on.

    "Why are you listening to this old fart? You know better than this...I thought the heavenly academy was going to teach you matters of higher importance..."<sub> </sub>

    The rudest words to speak in a ss are this kind, to belittle the teacher in front of his students, calling him simple and an old fart...

    However, the one who spoke them, and was sitting right next to me, which honestly freaked the ever living fuck out of my soul since I never realized when he had arrived...

    This man, was the only person in the world who had the right to speak these words and not be considered an idiot.

    Turning slightly, my brows seemed to go down in a frown, "Master Rain, what are you doing here?" I asked.

    This caused the rest of the ssroom to be in immediate shock.

    Many know of the deeds of Master Rain, his power, intellect, entricity and certainly his cruelty. So, them panicking was a given.

    "Shut your yaps and sit down, I''m only here as on observer," Master Rain addressed the whole ss.

    Which caused them to shut up immediately.

    "Master Rain, I''m humbled and honored to have a person such as youe to my ss," the elder said giving a light bow.

    "Whatever, just tell me, why are you teaching something so basic..."

    "If I may," I spoke. "This is actually the first time I ever took a lesson about inscriptions," I said.

    "But you know more than this, far more than this, shouldn''t you seek knowledge in Saint Qi inscriptions? Your style and knowledge of Qi based inscriptions...dare I say is almost on par with mine, why do you waste time here," Master Rain said.

    This made everyone look at me dumbly, the new guy actually knows almost enough to beparable to master Rain what nonsense is this?

    "I wouldn''t dare say I know as much as you do, I still have a long way ahead of me, but I''ve never been personally taught, this is a good learning experience, also, its always good to go back to the basics. I have information and knowledge, but that doesn''t immediately trante to wisdom and application. I know many words and letters, but I never personally saw how another cultivator, or inscriber work their way with inscriptions. I made my own style but never saw the mon style'' so is it no worth learning?" I asked Master Rain.

    This gave Elder GU Lei a lot of...Face, and it was clear from his happy expression, and at the same time I gave Master Rain ''Face'' by saying I was not as knowledgeable as him.

    I was immediately in a good position between the two.

    "Well spoken Shen Bao, as you see Master Rain, I may not be as proficient as you in the grand scheme of inscription making, but I''m confident in my knowledge of the basics. I could hone this ss and this child to make better use of their current knowledge," he said.

    "Then proceed, I won''t interrupt you anymore, however, I''ll be staying here, watching," Master Rain said and closed his eyes.

    The ss seemed a bit too stuffy with Master Rain''s presence, but Gu Lei didn''t seem to be phased by this monster, and continued his lecture.

    And honestly, I was impressed, this guy, thought he said he isn''t as knowledgeable as master Rain, he managed to bring up a slew of options and methods to use that simple inscription. And some of these techniques, I only saw in Master Rain''s own inscription methods...

    The old man continued the ss, and no one not even Master Rain interrupted him again.

    Honestly speaking, the Heavenly Academy''s teachers, or at least this one, I grew fond off. No wonder this establishment is considered the best environment to learn and grow stronger throughout the vast expanse. The teachers in it are incredibly good.

    I didn''t feel the passage of time before the sun had risen to its zenith.

    There was a protective barrier around the room so we didn''t feel the heat nor were we bothered by the reflective sun rays.

    "This concludes our session, next time we''ll be talking about the applications of Qi Converting Formations, I hope you can practice some forms of formation making within the week. The reason is, I''ll be teaching you how to make Killer Formations," Elder Gu Lei said.

    This made everyone a bit too happy, they all began mumbling among each other on how to make use of these so called Killer Formations...

    "You there, cold girl, what''s your name?" asked Master Rain.

    Yu Yu gave a slight bow to master Rain, "This Junior''s name is Leng Yu-Yu," she said.

    "Right then, where is that old hag?" Master Rain asked, "She isn''t still loitering around?"

    "If you''re talking about her highness, she had left yesterday for the Wind Realm," Yu-Yu said.

    "Good good, I can finally rx now, damn she was such a pain to deal with. Anyway,d what do you think of this session?" asked Master Rain.

    "Exhaustive is all I can say,"

    Good, Exhaustive is good. Keep learning, and I''ll keep a watch on you," Master Rain said, he stood up and then left the area.

 Chapter 375 Cocky

    As I walked out of the tower, I found brother Huang waiting for me.

    "Hello Shen Bao, how was the ss?" he asked.

    "Interesting to say the least," I replied.

    "Wei Lei didn''t cause you any troubles did he?" he asked.

    "Not much really, his father seemed pretty stern and subjective, he treated everyone the same, and exined the whole lesson equally without bias. Pretty cool dude," I said.

    "What is a dude?" asked Huang.

    "Oh, never mind that, it''s just an expression, anyway, why are you here? Waiting for me?" I asked.

    "Yes, the curriculum has been made, I''m here to give it to you, these are the sses that have been assigned to you, make sure to be present to every one of them. They''re time adjusted to work in a way you can''t have two sses going at the same time," he said.

    He handed me a piece of parchment where I read the content.

    "Inscription ss, Alchemy and Receptarism, Practical Combat ss, Weapon and Treasure ss, And Body and Soul Cultivation ss," I muttered.

    "Yes, these are all the sses you''ll be attending. Also for the Body and Soul Cultivation ss you have an interesting Teacher," Huang said smirking.

    I looked at the name but didn''t recognize it.

    "Who is this Mu Yoon?" I asked.

    "That''s one of the Great Elders a ck robe is actually teaching this ss. And you probably met him, he was the one that came to your Pseudo Ascension", Said Huang.

    "Oh, interesting that should be fun," I said.

    "Well, I wouldn''t be too sure about that, he hadn''t taught anything in the Heavenly Academy for over a thousand years, he just took the mantel of a teacher recently. And from the rumors he is a very strict one, but I hope you can learn as much as you can, it''s a chance not many can have," he said.

    "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

    "The ss the Grand Elder I hosting is reserved for Red and Purple Robes only, not anyone else, you''re the only exception, not even that girl," he said as he pointed with his chin.

    I looked back and saw Yu-Yu standing there.

    "Not even her, who was admitted through the request of the Wind Realm can attend his ss, only you. And you alone, so make sure to learn as much as you can. Anyway, I think it''s time for your Alchemy and Receptarism ss, it should be held until the midnight, you should head out," he said.

    Behind the scroll he handed me was a map of all the ssrooms and the Alchemy and Receptarism ss was not that far away from here.

    "Yu Yu, what ss do you have right now?" I asked.

    "Mental Cultivation," she replied.

    ''Hmm, we don''t have the same sses,''

    "If you''re wondering why you didn''t have the Mental ss, it''s because Master Rain said that you don''t need it. Though I find it hard to understand, it seemed that Master Rain was pretty vehement and insisting that no one tries to probe around your brain,"

    ''Oh, perhaps of my soul power, or the thing that''s currently acting as my soul. Master Rain wanted to keep it hidden.''

    "I''ll have to trust Master Rain on that then, I''ll be heading out, Yu-Yu see youter," I said.

    She nodded my way and I left toward the Alchemy and Receptarism ss direction.

    After a few minutes I arrived to a different tower, this one smelled of herbs and medicine. It also had massive amounts of smoke and vapor rising from every floor.

    Students walked up the tower and headed up to their respective ssrooms while I followed the letter''s direction and ended up arriving once again at the top of the tower where this time it wasn''t an open area but an enclosed one with a single hatch of an opening.

    The room I was in was pretty spacious, it had more than two dozenrge cauldron sittingfortably on respectfully the same number of daises.

    One seat however was higher than all of the other seats and the cauldron on it was dark instead of the bright gold of all of the cauldrons in the room.

    There were many students here, people I''ve never met before they were all sitting in a lotus position next to their cauldrons waiting.

    I looked around and found that only one cauldron was not upied, it seemed that I was thest to arrive.

    And when I headed to the cauldron I realized why no one took it.

    It had a wide crack going through it.

    Just as I was about to ask about the fracture on the cauldron, a Purple Robed Elder walked in. It was a woman of a fairly young looking age. One would think she was in her early thirties orte twenties. She was wearing a velvet red dress and seemed to be exuding a charming aura that would cause anyone to immediately fall under her spell.

    She looked around and I could swear that most male students had heart-shaped eyes now...but I rubbed my eyes and realized that it was probably just my imagination.

    The woman however, knew she was beautiful and made sure to make it known, she fanned herself slowly and grinned behind her fan when she saw that everyone was ''salivating'' at her.

    "Good to see you all here today," she said. "Well continue our ss fromst time..." she said then came to realize that the unupied cauldron was now upied.

    "You must be Shen Bao," she said to me.

    I nodded.

    "Good, that cauldron has some damage on it, we''ll ask the academy to get a new one, you can still use it for this ss, and you don''t need to worry about the result, none will be ounted for due to the furnace''s damage if you fail to make today''s pill," she said.<sub> </sub>

    Pretty attentive.

    I sped my hands towards her, but I could almost see a sh of dissatisfaction on her face that disappeared the moment it appeared.

    ''What''s wrong with this woman?''

    "Good now, let''s start,st time we worked on Soul Pills, I trust you all now know how to make ones with at least seventy percent purity?"

    "Miss Ryoon, Miss Ryoon!" someone spoke.

    Looking at the person speaking, he almost looked like a puppy wiggling its tail for his master, "I made this!" he said proudly.

    Looking at the pill it was a Soul Pill.

    The Elder walked up to him, took the pill and inspected it.

    "Eighty Percent Purity, not bad, not bad," she said to the guy. "I''ll have to reward you for your perseverance now," she said smiling at the man.

    The other guy almost fainted, "No need your kind words are reward enough!" he said.

    I almost facepalmed, good god man, get your shit together...it''s just a pill.

    Almost immediately she snapped towards me.

    She saw my derisive expression at the absurdity of the situation right now.

    "Shen Bao," she said.

    "Yes?" I said.

    "You seem to be conflicted about something, why don''t you share your opinion, you almost feel like you''re not respectful to your ssmate''s result," she said.

    "I mean...is that soul pill something to take pride in even?" I said.

    This caused everyone in the room to look at me with hate I''ve never seen before.

    "Shen...Bao," she said. "You talk big, do you have what it takes to make something of simr quality? If not better," she said.

    I didn''t even need to make them, I pulled my holding bag and ced a bottle of pills right in front of me.

    The woman approached and opened the pill bottle, she then poured some of them in her palm.

    Her eyes widened for a moment, "Pill Veins...they all have Pill veins...how?" she said as she turned to me.

    This caused everyone in the room to gasp. Pill Veins were not something you can see every day, and I had a bottle of Soul Pills full of Pill Veins...

    "Those are not his!" one of the students said! "He must have bought them and he is here to show off his wealth not his skill."

    "That can also be true, are these yours Shen Bao," she said.

    "Well, they are in my holding bag so they are mine, but if you''re asking did, I make them, yes I did," I said.

    "You''re talking a big game, Shen Bao, as a teacher here, I''ll need to see you prove your words. Make a pill, you don''t even need to make a Pill Vein Soul Pill, just anything above eighty percent quality and I''ll believe you, but if I find out that you''re a liar, I''ll have you kicked out of my ss!" she said.

    "Why do I have to prove myself, what do I have to gain?" I said.

    The woman frowned, "You gain the right to stay here in this ss!" she said.

    "Huh...and what do I gain from that, from what I just saw I fail to see how you''re any better nor even at the level of my master," I said.

    This caused the woman''s face to change into an ugly scowl.

    "You''re saying that your master knows more than me in matters of Alchemy! Such a great boast,"

    "It''s not a boast, it''s reality. How about this, what''s the hardest Pill you can make?" I asked.

    She frowned "I''m a Saint Cultivator, I make Pills that have the power to topple worlds, you think you can make something like that?" she asked.

    "That would be bullying wouldn''t it, I can''t harness Saint Qi yet, how about what''s the best Pill you can make under the saint stage, if you make one better than me, then I''ll drop on my knees and beg you for forgiveness, if I make a pill that''s better than yours, then you''ll have to drop on your knees and ask my master for forgiveness," I said.

    "Impudent little twerp!" she said, "Just because you look a little bit handsome, and have deep pockets doesn''t mean you get to disregard a Purple Robe!" she said.

    "You didn''t answer my question, would you take the bet or no?" I asked.

    "Right I''ll take it, and I''ll make you eat your words!" she said and immediately a surge of crimson fire rose up from around her.

    "Oh, the new student is so dead, he probably doesn''t even know that that''s a Heart me she is using..."one of the students said.

    "Ah he put himself in such an unenviable situation just for some attention, what a fool," others said.

    I smiled "Oh, Heart me, pretty ironic," I said then immediately a surge of baleful green mes rose from around me. "I have one of those too," I said in a grin.

 Chapter 376 Duel

    "Hah! Now I know you''re lying!" she said.

    "Why say so?" I asked frowning.

    "You have a Veridian Heart me, and itspatibility with healing and Soul pills is the worst of all the Heart mes!"

    "Is that a proven fact?" I questioned.

    "It''s undeniable!" she said.

    "Now I know you know nothing about alchemy," I said scoffing at her words.

    "You''re being awfully rude Shen Bao! Even if it''s Master Rain he wouldn''t speak those words lightly to me!" she said.

    "Do you happen to know every Cultivator that had ever used the Veridian Heart me?" I asked.

    "I know most of them, and they all were only proficient in Poison and in Destructive Pill creation. The Veridian Heart me''spatibility with healing pills and rejuvenating pill is the worst of all the Heart mes, no cultivator who ever had a Viridian Heart me had ever been able to cleanly create a healing or rejuvenating type of pill!"

    "Are you sure about your statement? Because I know for a fact that a few Veridian Heart me users are more than capable of creating Soul Pills and Healing Pill with pill veins," I said.

    The teacher frowned, thought for a bit thenughed, "Hah! You dare think that you''re at the Level of the Poison God? Are you mad, Du Shen was exceptional, the greatest alchemist to exist, but that doesn''t make you Du Shen now does it!" she said.

    "The Exception Proves the Rule, you said no one could make one if they Have the Veridian Heart me, but then you contradict yourself immediately afterward," I shrugged.

    "That''s Du Shen, you''re not at his level nor will you ever be, even if the Exception Proves the Rule that doesn''t mean anyone can do it!"

    "We''ll have to see about that then," I said as I pulled a batch of herbs from my pouch, "These are the required herbs to make a soul pill are they not?"

    "Fickle Grass des, Soul Wrenching Lotus, Mud Toad Skin and a hundred year old Ginseng¡­ yes those are the materials needed to make a soul pill, I''ll supply my own," she said and ced the same type and quality of herbs in front of her.

    "Show me how you can surpass me in Alchemy, you little frog in a well," she said smirking.

    The crimson mes around her surged up as they epassed the Alchemic materials then the mes began refining them, squeezing out the extract and ripping off the impurities.

    "Such a wonderful overbearing technique!" one of the students said.

    "I got to see how Fairy Ryoon do alchemy! I can die in peace!" another added.

    More studentsplimented and fawned over her use of the Heart me.

    The Crimson Heart me is the hottest of all the Heart mes, which makes it highly sought after as it was the best in creating pills. However, it was very hard to control at the same time, since it can surge past incredible heat levels.

    I was honestly impressed by this person''s ability to control the heat to such fine levels. However, this was nothing but a Heavenly Qi pill, when ites to Saint Qi the me control will be incrementally more difficult the higher the pill level.

    Once all the essence was extracted, she waved her hand and it went immediately into her cauldron, then she covered it, ced both hands on the cauldron, and a surge of incredible heat that sent out a burst wave outwards rose up.

    She increased the heat so suddenly and so fast to cause the pill to form almost immediately.

    Right then, she opened the cauldron and snatched the pills from inside.

    Shen took a look at the pill, smiled then showed them to me.

    Three pills, and one of them had Pill Veins.

    "Impressive," I said smiling.<sub> </sub>

    She then frowned, "You seem unsatisfied with the result, I don''t expect you to make a Pill Vein pill, just make anything at eighty percent quality and I can forget about all of this," she said grinning, thinking of her condition as a tall task for me. Especially since I seem to have the leastpatible me for this task.

    "Then I shouldn''t disappoint," I said and instead of doing an overbearing show of mes. I summoned my Veridian Heart me and then called it towards my palms.

    The Veridian Heart me was the calmest of all the Heart mes, it looked so inconspicuous, so small and didn''t shine nor waver and shake brightly. It looked like my hands were covered with a bubble of green water than mes.

    "That looks rather weak," someone said.

    "All that talk and he can''t even make a good fire, what a waste of a Heart me¡­"

    However, only the teacher was silent, her smug expression soon changed to that of slight confusion, curiosity and a bit of worry.

    I picked up the herbs with my hands, then slowly crushed them within my palms.

    This made the alchemists in the room frown, because who the hell crushes herbs with their palms, that wouldn''t be a good ''Quench'' nor would it extract all the materials. However, the essence that came out from my palm was proof enough that my strange technique worked.

    "The essence he extracted looks grim¡­" someone said.

    "Yes, it''s full of scum, it has too many impurities, I would be surprised if it could even go past ten percent purity¡­" another added.

    I ignored theirments and continued extracting all the essence into the cauldron in front of me.

    "I think I know what he is trying to do!" someone said.

    "What?"

    "He is purposefully using that fractured Cauldron, if his attempt fails, he''ll me it on the cauldron to get away from this situation, he never intended to win in the first ce!"

    "Oh? You''re right, what a sleazy person!"

    I had to sigh at their words, who the heck do you guys think I am, and what''s the point to talk all that big only to purposefully fail, bunch of idiots.

    I shook my head then continued my refining.

    Once all the herb essence had fallen into the cauldron, I covered it then went to the cracked section at the top of the cauldron.

    I pulled a small talisman from my holding bag, and wrote an inscription on it, then pped it against the crack.

    This should help stop anything from leaking for a while.

    I then funneled the heat of my Veridian Heart me into the cauldron.

    Unlike her, who made a surge of fire to rapidly extract all the impurities from the pill then form the pill, I applied low heat over the entirety of the cauldron and began increasing the heat slowly.

    "Is he an idiot?" someone said.

    "Soul pills need a surge of fire so they form rapidly, if he slowly increases the heat, the content of the pill will burn before it can be formed, he''ll have nothing but a disgusting smelling sludge at the end!" another said.

    More students kept talking about their methods of Alchemy thinking that there was only one way to make Soul Pills.

    Such wasted potential, thinking so rigidly like that. It''s because of people like you, that you never realized that the Mortal Divider of the Mortality Severing de can easily be ignored. It''s the reason why your rigid thinking stopped your progress in all matters of cultivation, alchemy and inscription.

    Knowledge is power, and I''m about to show you the difference between us!

 Chapter 377 Perfection

    You all think too highly of the people who came before you, you all think that their knowledge is the best there is. But none of you thinks of using their knowledge to learn and create something new¡­you all are just a bunch of monkeys¡­ Monkey see, monkey do.

    The heat kept rising and the smell of burnt material kept rising, it smelled like something was overcooked then overburnt, and everyone thought I had failed.

    Especially since the Cauldron began shaking and ck fume rose from within it.

    "Why are you doing this Shen Bao, you have already lost, don''t you realize that your alchemy had failed?" she said mocking.

    "That''s not for you to decided, until I open the cauldron, everything is still undecided," I said.

    "We''ll see about that attitude of yours once the cauldron is open and there is nothing but ash there," she said.

    I smiled then continued applying heat.

    Soon, the cauldron seemed to turn red as more and more fumes came out, and everyone began backing away.

    "That thing is going to blow up!" someone said.

    And he was right, if I kept this up a bit more, the cauldron, especially cracked will blow, but I was already done.

    So out of nowhere, I smacked the side of the cauldron as powerfully as I could.

    The sound resounding from the smack caused everyone to wince.

    Then I opened the cauldron''s cover.

    The teacher approached, took a look at the content of the cauldron and scoffed at me.

    "What did I tell you, nothing but grim and ash there," she said.

    "Is that so," I smiled as I scooped up something from the cauldron.

    In my hand was a sludge that seemed to have something mixed within it. it was a pill, a brown looking pill that seemed too charred to be of use.

    "Hah! This is the first time I ever saw a pill that charred, is that even considered a pill I can''t even smell the medicine in it, it only smells of scum and burnt grass," a kid said.

    I blew on the pill removing some of the ash on it, and it was true, the look of this pill was pretty simr to a ball of coal that has been put in fire and charred to extreme levels.

    "Are you ready to go down on your knees now, Shen Bao," she said, "You have already lost!"

    "Lost? Who said I lost?" I frowned.

    "Are you mocking me, or are you acting stupid? Do you think that thing in your hand can qualify to be a pill?!"

    "Well, if even you can''t see it, then I don''t think you yourself qualify to be a Receptarier," I said.

    "Those are big words Shen Bao," she said.

    "That''s confidence," I said as I lightly tapped the pill in my hand.

    The tap was all it took to cause a fracture to appear on the pill. Then like a chick hatching, the pill broke and a powerful surge of Qi, so dense and so potent shot outward from my hand.

    The medicinal smell of the pill was so powerful that it chased away all the fumes all the grim and became the only smell empowering and overbearing over the whole ss.<sub> </sub>

    "P-p-pill¡­ Pill Cloud!" one of the students said as he was pointing at my hand.

    And it was true, this is the next and maximum level any pill can ever reach.

    Pill Clouds, the symbol of clouds on a pill preserve the pill to forever retain its purity until the end of times, it is by thew of heavens that this pill is preserved, and unless the heavens fall it won''t lose any of its medicinal value.

    "That can''t be!" someone said "There is no way someone below the Ascendant Stage can make a Pill Cloud! We all saw how he failed! He must have bought it before, and now he took his chance here and reced that disgusting sludge with that pill cloud!" some student said.

    The teacher''s eyes however never wavered never looked at the other people in the room and they were fully fixed and focused on my hand and the pill on it.

    "Miss Ryoon! You can''t believe him!"

    "Shut up," she said.

    She then, looked up. And seemed to be waiting something.

    "You''re smart," I said to the teacher.

    She ignored me and kept her eyes on the opened hatch on the roof of the room.

    The reason why I called her smart was simple, pill clouds are not something that is easy to see in the world. And when they are birthed, they are a sign of defiance. Defiance over the perfection of Heaven. And when one defies heaven¡­

    The world began shuddering as the skies rumbled. And the heavens seemed to gaze at this room.

    Red clouds began forming above our ss and then finally the teacher looked down.

    She sighed and looked at me, then slowly went on her knees.

    Everyone seemed too shocked and stunned to speak.

    I hurred towards the teacher before she prostrated herself, and stopped her.

    "The hell are you doing?!" I said.

    "I lost the bet!"

    "It was a joke! Are you seriously thinking that I would care for someone prostrating themselves, get up, I was just messing around with you," I said as I pulled her up.

    "Teacher! Why did you do that! He must have cheated!" someone said.

    "Shut up, he didn''t¡­the heavens were Shen Bao''s witness, if that Pill was something he had bought before, they wouldn''t have called Pill Tribtion. This is a newly birthed Pill, and the heavens approve it¡­Shen Bao¡­" she said as she looked at me.

    "I was wrong, and I admit my shorings, but this shouldn''t be possible, who is your master? I would like to meet them, though you forbade me kneeling down, I must apologize to a master who taught you to such degree." She said.

    "No need, he passed away a long time ago," I said shrugging. "It''s that I just don''t like it when people underestimate me, so I did this, I''ll have to apologize for my earlier behavior too," I said.

    "No need, those with power and knowledge can boast it, it''s not arrogance then, it is confidence," she said, "I''m not feeling too well however, ss dismissed," she said and left the room.

    Well, that turned out better than expected. I can go back home early!

 378 Chapter 374

    Meng Hao''s axe kept digging into the hard rock, swing after swing, he seemed adamant about breaking this incredibly strong and sturdy rock.

    The man in ck had asked Meng Hao to dig there, and for a while, after he dug and dug, Meng Hao felt that he was being pranked, since he didn''t find anything of use after a long time of digging.

    Not to mention by digging here, he didn''t get any Blood Stones to fill his quota of the day. If one of the guards were toe and check up on Meng Hao they''ll find him missing a huge portion of his quota and he will be punished.

    He wasn''t a fan of the punishment, but he didn''t want the guards to take him away from this spot. Even if it was hotter and more dangerous and so far deep in the mines, it was still away from people, and he could take some time to practice and cultivate after he is done mining.

    But now, with his cart almost half full, he was feeling pressured to stop and finish gathering some of the Blood Stones from other areas than digging into this rock pointlessly.

    That was what Meng Hao had thought until the final axe swing that caused a massive crack to spread through the rock he was digging through.

    The crack fractured the whole rock and turned it into brittle pieces of stone and pebbles that copsed and crumbled in front of him.

    The whole cave seemed to shudder and shake from that rock falling. The shaking was enough to cause even the sturdy and steady-hearted Meng Hao to worry. If a cave-in happens he''ll be buried alive.

    Just as he was about to turn and leave, the area that was leading to the exit copsed in front of him fully trapping Meng Hao.

    The cave kept shaking and more small rocks kept falling on Meng Hao, this was the start of another cave in that will undoubtedly burry him if he were to stay here.

    Meng Hao was out of options, the way out was closed and the cave was about to fall on his head, yet the area he broke through earlier, seemed to release a far more powerful surge of Fire Qi than before.

    It was only then that Meng Hao had turned to realize that that rock was actually blocking something incredible.

    Meng Hao rushed forward and dove into the opening without batting an eye, and was tankful to his decisiveness. Because if he was a secondte, the cave that he was in just a moment ago, had fully copsed and he would have turned to an unsavory paste of blood and bones.

    Yet that was not the end of Meng Hao''s troubles, because the area he dove in, wasn''t that nice either.

    He had managed to find himself standing on a rock that was oh so precariously floating in a massive pool ofva. The mere fact that hended on the rock almost caused it to dip into theva for a second.

    There were many other rocks all over the ce that seemed to be stepping stones. Just as Meng Hao was looking at how he''ll find a way out of thisva pool, something seemed to move underneath him.

    In incredible haste, Meng Hao leapt from the rock he was standing on and managed tond on another rock that was decently far away.

    The rock he was on earlier seemed to shatter as a massive fish with bull like horns seemed to rise up from underneath theva.

    The fish''s size was so incredible that Meng Hao was sure it could have eaten him whole in a single bite.

    The fish dove back in causing arge ssh ofva to flow everywhere and immediately destabilizing all the floating rocks.

    With incredible agility, Meng Hao jumped away, from rock to another and kept moving forward, while not one, not two, but three Fish Rose up and dove into the rock he was on. Many other fish jumped up and came upon Meng Hao who had to constantly be on the move and make sure that he didn''t fall into the Lava, nor get destabilized by all the waves created by these Lava Fish.

    Thanks to the fish chasing Meng Hao, he saw that there was actually another cave entrance on the other side of the pool.

    The cave had two pirs carved into the shape of a Phoenix that seemed to make an entrance made by the hands of man.

    This cave was artificial and that meant that it could have something inside it, and considering what the man in ck Robes had said, it could probably be a treasure room, and probably have another exit.

    Hope lit up in Meng Hao''s eyes as he used his body perfectly, moving from rock to rock, jumping, and doing front flips over charging fish, he even jumped and kicked against one of the fish that wasing at him, using it as a boost to dive into the small tform right in front of the cave entrance.

    Meng Hao rushed inside the cave before one of the fish decided that it was not aquatic, or magmatic in this situation and charged after him only to be stuck at the entrance of the cave.<sub> </sub>

    Meng Hao took a deep breath of relief having escaped those creatures and turned his head to the depth of the new cave.

    He moved about slowly in the dark cave. Sadly it was not as lit as the Lava Pool, and he didn''t have the ability to use Divine Sense because of the shackles around his ankles, neck and wrists.

    Meng Hao slowly moved, making sure to not take steps but slide his foot forward and have a hand on the wall at all times.

    It was the safest way to proceed in the dark, it would also help him not to trigger any traps since he''s only sliding his foot. In case there was a tile trap or anything of the sort.

    The hand on the wall was to make sure that there are no small arrow holes and to keep him pacing forward.

    The cave''s length seemed endless as Meng Hao walked and walked without arriving to an end. Though there were no traps so far, he was still feeling restless.

    Suddenly, Meng Hao heard the ringing of a bell. Surprised by it, Meng Hao looked at his chest and realized that it was actually shining.

    The bell that Meng Hao had bought for a dirt cheap price from the Man in ck robes seemed to shine bright as it rung a melody.

    And with every ring, something seemed to light up in the far distance.

    Another ring then more lights seemed to surge forward until Meng Hao realized that there were torches through the cave.

    The mes of the torches helped Meng Hao see what was in front of him, and it was a wall that had the carving of a Phoenix on it.

    Meng Hao approached the wall that seemed to be the end of this cave and realized that it was a dead end.

    Depressive thoughts passed through Meng Hao''s mind. He was now trapped here, with dangerous monsters outside blocking the way, and no food or water to save him.

    Yet, the bell rung once again, and something on the wall caught Meng Hao''s attention.

    It was a small cavity right under the neck of the Phoenix that was oddly shaped like the bell in meng hao''s hands.

    Meng Hao took the bell and ced it in that small cavity and it fit perfectly.

    Suddenly, the wall in front of him cracked right in the middle and opened up to him, revealing a new room.

    A powerful surge of Fire Qi flooded through Meng Hao from inside the Cave, yet this wave of Qi was not harmful, baleful or even Evil. It was pure. So pure that all the exhaustion from Meng Hao''s suffering and malnourished body from all the ving he was going through seemed to have melted into nothing.

    The power of such a Qi was enough to bring a man from the pits of despair to the peaks of hope.

    Meng Hao walked inside the room to see the source of such a powerful Qi and was dumbstruck at the sight.

    Treasures, Saint Qi crystals, weapons, armor, and even spiritual herbs and pills were all on disy in front of him. It''s as if Meng Hao had happened upon the treasure of an ancient warlord.

    And among all of these treasures was one thing that seemed to be flooding the area with this benevolent and powerful Qi.

    A single red feather was sittingfortably on a velvet pillow in the center of the room.

    Even among all these treasures and Saint Qi crystals, this crimson-looking feather seemed to be the center of attention, the crown piece of all of the Ancient Warlord''s treasures.

    And thus Meng Hao approached.

 Chapter 379 Venture

    Monthster¡­

    "Right, I think we all know how we''re expected to function within a dungeon, now." spoke a teacher in Purple Robes.

    "I''d have to argue that most cultivator caves and dungeons are different. But although we gained great knowledge from this ss, it still can''t save our lives if we were to walk into something new and unknown", Wei Lei replied to the teacher.

    I looked at the idiot trying to show off and scoffed. What an ass! The teacher had provided excellent guidance, offered great remarks and gave many valid opinions on how to navigate unknown ces, the depth of insight surprised even me. And this guy is invalidating all of that hard work with such a dumb statement.

    The teacher opened his mouth to retort, but then noticed my peeved expression aimed at the idiot who was talking right now.

    "Shen Bao, you seem to have something to say," he said.

    I took a moment to think before I spoke, "I''d argue the opposite. If there''s a situation where wee across a dangerous ¨C and perhaps deadly ¨C Cultivator''s Cave, what we learned can save our lives. Or at least decrease the risks. That is why one must keep their wit handy, as itpensates for theck of knowledge in any given terrain. Rare are the cultivators who leave their treasured legacies behind impossible-to-solve puzzles¡­ Simply because everyone wants to be remembered after their death! If a person were to die trying to vie for these legacies, it just means that he wasn''t prepared enough. Or perhaps -this took a while for me to say because it''s so damn cringe- because it was ''not fated'' to be."

    "Great exnation Shen Bao," the teacher said, "One must always look around them, learn and find ways to solve any and all issues. Cultivators at the end of their lifespan do not generally wish to harm others for things they cannot take with them to their next lives. Thus, if they leave treasures, they want only the best to have them. Now since we''re on the subject¡­", the teacher smiled ominously at all of us.

    I don''t like this¡­

    "There has recently been a new discovery, the Cave of one whom we presume to be a Saint Level Cultivator. We received this information from the ck Tower," the teacher said.

    This made everyone''s eyes light up for a moment but the shine faded promptly as they realized what the ck Tower''s involvement meant ¨C the information was publicly avable!

    "But teacher, if it is discovered then wouldn''t it already have been explored by the Academy? Or one of the other forces of the Vast Expanse? The ck Tower will never leave such a discovery for free. Nor are we stupid enough to think that it means anything to us below ascendant stage cultivators," spouted Wei Lei, yet again proving his established skill as a Pessimistic Pussy.

    "Not this time, it has yet to be explored! We will be departing for the cave tomorrow, and the exploration will be done by all of you!", teacher announced, "It is in fact true that the Heavenly Academy does not have exclusive monopoly over this cave, but we havee to an agreement with all the four Realms of the Vast Expanse. There will be ten disciples of each organization going into this cave, and it is only for cultivators below the Ascendant Stage to enter. But you''ll have to fight for any and all treasures in it! This is your graduation test. Return safely and you''ll have finished this course with perfect scores, return with trophies and you may even be rewarded for bringing honor upon the Heavenly Academy,"

    "And what if we don''t return," spoke the hardline Pessimist.

    "Then it was not fated," I replied this time, tongue firmly in cheek, watching Wei Lei''s expression turn sour and everyone else chuckle to themselves.

    Wei Lei gave me a look of disgust then huffed as he sat back down.

    "Very good, that''s all settled then", spoke the teacher with a wide smile on his face as he approached, "The selection of disciples joining this exploration has already beenpleted, now I''ll name the cultivators assigned", he finished.

    "Wait, what? How!? We didn''t even enter apetition nor fight for the right to enter the cave! This is not right!!" spoke Wei Lei.

    "If you think strength is all it takes to enter a Saint ss Cultivator''s cave then perhaps I should remove your name from the list. You are certainly not the strongest person of the selection!", teacher answered.

    This made Wei Lei immediately shut up. Since he now knew that he was selected, it was better for him to not create any reasons to get kicked out.<sub> </sub>

    The names were announced, and I was naturally among them. Surprisingly so were YuYu and Liang Yu, proving that they''d been keeping themselves a-breast of matters. A few other names cropped up, names I was somewhat familiar with. But not necessarily friendly with¡­

    "You have all been selected by rmendation from the academy''s teachers. Wei Lei, you''ve been rmended as a second choice by your father based on your understanding of inscriptions. YuYu, you''ve been rmended as the second choice by Master Lu, basis your aplishments in thebat and cultivation ss. Liang Yu, you''ve been rmended as the second choice by the master of Mental and Soul ss¡­"

    Teacher went on and on, giving the names of the students selected and the mentors who had nominated them. And soon he stopped. My name wasn''t called even after he assured me I''d made the list.

    "Let me guess, Master Rain''s pet must have been nominated by Master Rain himself," snickered Wei Lei.

    "In fact, no, Master Rain was against the idea of sending Shen Bao to this ce¡­ Shen Bao. He said that we need to keep him at the Heavenly Academy until he reaches ascendant status. We still don''t know the reason for his refusal. But thanks to the constant confirmations from the rest of the teachers Master Rain had to give in. Also, Shen Bao has been the First Choice for all of his mentors, for each and every ss he has been in", smiled the teacher, "And even my ss, I''ve personally nominated Shen Bao as the First Choice."

    "Thank you for the high praise, I''ll make sure to prove that your trust in me is well ced." I politely sped my hands to the teacher.

    Something it bothered me, why did Master Rain refuse me to go out? As I pondered over it, the the answer appeared almost immediately¡­ The Acolyte Hunter!

    Master Rain had spoken about a person killing Acolytes and if I were to leave the Heavenly Academy, I''d be at risk.

    Pretty dangerous stuff, however, I have a few aces up my sleeve so it shouldn''t be too much of a problem. I may prepare a few more though. If YuYu and Liang Yu are there they may try to use them as hostages so I should take some precautions there as well¡­

    Teacher continued, waking me from my reverie, "For now, all of you head out and get your belongings. Gather anything you think will help you survive in this venture. One can never be too careful! Might as well stock up on pills, protective treasures and even spare food and water if you can. There are no second chances! Make sure you''re fully set for the trip, and if you wish to volunteer to help you cane to me for further instructions. ss dismissed!!"

    Soon the ss was empty and as I was about to walk out, the teacher called me.

    "Yes?" I answered.

    "I''ve had concerns about why Master Rain was adamant on denying you the right to exit the Academy & partake in this mission¡­"

    But I interrupted him before he could finish, "It''s okay, he''s just a bit overprotective. Please don''t worry about me, I will manage. I have been managing rather well, since the day I first became a cultivator," I said.

    "Ah, then¡­ Godspeed child," he said.

    "Thank you," I said as I nodded and then left the room.

    Hopefully, everything will turn out alright. I''ll prepare everything as well as I can.

    And now it''s time for Adventure!

 Chapter 380 Departure

    "Shen Bao, you''ve crossed me too many times now! And you remained safe just because you are backed by Master Rain¡­ But once we''re in the dungeon, you better watch your back!" came the words of Wei Lei as he rushed briskly past me.

    I ignored his shenanigans, firstly because I was too preupied with discovering more about the mystery of this new Cave. And secondly, because I knew I could squish the pretentious little twit with rtive ease.

    Okay, so it seems someone from the ck Tower had found the entrance to a Cultivator''s Cave. Usually, these are ces filled with intrigue, various dangers, and even death traps! But ¨C and there is always a very big But ¨C they are always intended to find a sessor for the former Owner, and hence well sought out by other cultivators. It will help them gain phenomenal knowledge, and even a smidgen of the treasures found there would make them truly wealthy.

    The document in my hand was one of the copies handed out to all participants. It detailed the discovery of the cave, which, unsurprisingly, turned out to be pure dumb luck.

    Someone from the ck Tower wasmissioned to locate a special submarine herb, that only grows on a specific. Yes, an herb from the depths of the oceans, if you can imagine that. And when he went about exploring, there was an earthquake and it co-incidentally caused an underwater mountain to shatter. Thus, exposing the entrance to this cave.

    The cultivator in question headed in, to check, probably hoping to find good loot. But since he was at the Ascendant Stage, he was denied entry into the cave.

    It was a limited-ess cave that only the younger generation can enter. Anyone at the Ascendant Stage or above will not be able to pass through the entrance. And even if anyone far above the Saint ss could break through the barrier, they would not bother seeking the treasures of someone beneath their own stage.

    More details about the cave appeared in smaller paragraphs. This illustrated the location and apparently, the name of the cultivator who designed the cave.

    "Roushi Zhe¡­ Meat Philosophy? Cannibal? Such a strange name, perhaps he''s someone who just earned a strange title. No further information about this person came from the ck Tower though. He seems to be a rogue cultivator who lived and died alone without having any achievements recorded.

    Strange¡­

    No matter, I''ll bring Y with me, and let''s see how this goes. One can never be too careful so I might as well bring along as much firepower as I can!

    I decided against heading to Liang Yu''s ce for now. She''s probably still dealing with all that stuff that happened back then. And having both her and Yu-Yu apanying me will be awkward as well.

    I sighed as I realized that I don''t have many ces to go to.

    "What''s going on brother Shen Bao?", asked someone.

    I turned to find Huang looking at me.

    "Ah, brother Huang, can I crash at your ce for the night, I need to prepare some stuff," I said.

    "Oh, sure I''m a bit upied for the night, I''ll need to head to a Blue Robe meeting. But you are wee to drop by my house. Here," he said as he handed me a pentagonal wooden token.

    "The map to my house is inside this token, and you can use this to open the door, I''ll have to apologize for not being able to host you well today, I''ll make sure to make up for itter." he said, surprising me with his level of trust.

    "No need, this is helpful enough. Thank you," I said as I took the token.

    He soon headed out on a carriage that seemed to be waiting for him.

    I scanned through the Token, and easily found the way to his house. It was not very far in fact, and he was living on the Upper Ind.

    It took me a few minutes to get there. It was nothing too fancy, a simple two-storied house with a small garden surrounding it. It had no servants and no maids, and the door only needed a token to open it.

    I scanned it with my divine sense and didn''t find anything strange so I proceeded to take a room and begin my preparations.

    First things first, I need to restock on Pills. So, I made X watch the house while I was inside the Lord of Lords Pagoda.

    I began by making pills, soul pills, poison pills, and healing and regenerative pills. These were not for me, but for mypanions in case of an injury or incident.

    Once that was done, I made many more explosive tools and arge amount of ammo. It took quite a long time.

    ''I should probably make a puppet that can create more poison bullets and explosives for me¡­'', I thought. I made a note of the idea, and I''ll do itter when I have the time.

    Several hourster, I finished everything I needed to and decided to take a rest.

    After a good meditation session, I opened my eyes.

    "It''s time," I mumbled as I stood up, then walked out of Huang''s house.

    Outside the House someone was already waiting for me, it was Master Rain.

    "Brat," he started.

    "Yes?"

    "Don''t get cocky! Be careful at all times, you may be smart but you''re not experienced. You may be strong, but you are still prone to making mistakes! I don''t like this needlessly early exposure to the outside world. Learn what you can but at all times be Careful," he said and then immediately disappeared from view.<sub> </sub>

    ''What was that all about¡­''

    It''s really strange to hear Master Rain actually being worried about someone. But it''s sound advice, and the least I could do is take heed... I''m not God, and I can still slip up, I need to keep my eyes open at all times.

    "Brother Shen Bao, what are you doing? You''ll bete!", spoke someone.

    Looking up it was Brother Huang inside the same carriage from yesterday.

    "Why are you here?" I asked.

    "Because I''m tasked to take you to the teleporter that will bring you to Dulou," he said.

    "Dulou? Ah right, that''s the name of the that cave is located on," I said.

    "Yes, now get in, quickly!", he said. I moved to the carriage and climbed on.

    The ride was short and we quickly found ourselves in the midst of a substantial crowd.

    "You''rete!", Liang Yu chided.

    Looking at her I smiled, she was wearing a long ankle-length crimson robe of phoenixes and dragons it looked pretty good on her.

    "Don''t you think that a dress will make you trip and fall? It''ll hardly be useful in case we need to run," I said.

    "Ahem,"

    I turned to see YuYu also in a dress, this one was turquoise colored, with vivid ice dragons and flowers all over it.

    ''Bruh, they looked dressed for a date more than a dangerous dungeon exploration¡­''

    "You too, both of you look good," I said smiling.

    But the atmosphere between the two of them seemed rather¡­electrifying.

    So, I decided not to make it any more awkward and shut up.

    "And, now with everyone here," spoke the ss teacher, "We''ll begin teleportation. I hope all of you are ready! Once you arrive in Dalou, you must rely only upon yourselves, you are forbidden to fight anyone from the other teams, and everyone must make sure toe back alive. Discovering treasures and loot is good, but survivales first! The world''s treasures are worthless once you''re dead." he dered.

    With that said, the ground around us shone brightly. A formation that I didn''t realize was present, had already been activated. Rapidly, the world changed around us as we were scooped into a ginormous teleportation array.

    Instead of the instantaneous teleportation that I''ve experienced, this one was different.

    A huge tunnel of the spatial matter seemed to manifest like a twister. And all ten of us were propelled forward like bullets. ''Is this a wormhole?'' I wondered.

    Clothes, skin, flesh ¨C everything seemed to expand, stretch and elongate painfully, and the experience rattled us.

    I tried to speak words offort to the two girls next to me, but the tunnel disappeared before I could even open my mouth.

    "AHHHHH!", shouts and cries of agony and pain came from the cultivators all around. As they finally seemed to return to their normal forms, the shock of what happened started to sink in.

    "God damn, I don''t ever want to experience that again!", someone in the group said

    "BleearrrghhHH!!"

    Turning, I saw a few familiar faces throwing up from the nauseating experience.

    Which frankly was freaky¡­ Having to see yourself ''stretched thin'' until you resemble a wire, and then immediately snap back to your original form¡­ That''s not something I want to experience again either if I didn''t have to. Will the trip back be equally as difficult?

    "The Heavenly Academy is finally here, ah, surprisingly only two threw up, that''s a record! You''re the group with the least people throwing up. No wonder the Heavenly Academy is so sought out," spoke a man with a voice powerful enough that it boomed through the area we were standing in.

    Which brings me to my next thought¡­ Exactly where the hell are we!?

    This does not look like an ''underwater'' cave¡­ Frankly speaking. This ce feels way too hot to be an underwater cave¡­ Especially with all these mes rising from all over¡­

 Chapter 381 In A Strange World

    Several voices filled with shock and surprise resounded,

    "It''s too damn hot in here¡­!"

    "How''s this an underwater cave? Shouldn''t it feel cold & wet underwater?"

    "Where are we, where is the water!?"

    "Why are rocks on fire¡­!"

    Asking the same question that I had in mind. The voices echoed dully, but no answer came.

    Looking around, we seemed to be on a solid rock surface¡­ Strange rocks with a weird glow, and some even stranger-looking crystals all over the ce. But for some reason, it feels like we''d arrived at our destination.

    One of the guys who seemed familiar with this spoke ¨C confirming my thoughts, "We''re in Dalou. We''ve arrived at our destination"

    I looked at him, realizing that he was one of the members of the ck Tower.

    "The reason this area is strangely hot is due to a volcano that erupted in the aftermath of the tectonic activity. You already know that an earthquake revealed the cultivator''s cave ¨C this is connected to that. There should be negligible damage to the cave though," he said.

    I find that hard to believe, a volcano explosion capable of literally vaporizing an ocean didn''t damage a Cultivator''s cave? That''s too much of a stretch even for my fertile imaginations.

    "The Saint ss Cultivator seems to have ced many protective formations around his cave. Unless arge chunk of the blows up, the cave will remain safe. Now, before we begin, I need to be sure that everyone is here", the ck Tower administrator said.

    He then sent out a Divine Sense scanning through everyone.

    His eyes however fixated on someone at some distance from us.

    Looking in the general direction, I realized that he was looking at a group of cultivators all wearing Blue Robes.

    "Why are there only nine of you?" asked the Administrator. No one answered.

    "I said, where is the tenth person!" the Administrator spoke with more aggressiveness.

    "He couldn''t make it," one of the blue-robed cultivators spoke.

    "And who are you?" asked the Administrator.

    "I''m Shen Ci," he said. "I''m the person leading the Water Pce''s cultivators," he said.

    I frowned, someone with the same surname as me¡­ Well, it''s not an umon name, but that''s a first given we''re from entirely differents.

    "Right, if they didn''t make it then there is nothing to worry about. It will, however, reduce your chances of obtaining better loot. You haven''t even started and the Water Pce is already at a disadvantage. Tsk.", He clicked his tongue, then turned and looked at another group. These hooded cultivators were wearing ck and red. He warned them, "If anyone of you kills another cultivator, I''ll personally hunt you down and kill you myself!"

    There was no need for him to even exin why. If one looked at the group of hooded cultivators, they''d easily sense considerable Death Energy exuding from them. They were clearly from the Fire Pce.

    On the other side was the Wind Pce, and all their members, pretty-looking members appeared to be gentle-hearted, totally out of ce given the intense nature of our surroundings. They looked far too serene¡­ Unless of course, you remember that the Wind Pce is among the four top powers of the Vast Expanse, not for their beauty, but for their Might.

    Lastly, Earth Pce, was a mix of Demi-humans, yes, actual cat girls¡­

    My eyes were fixated on one of them specifically, the one up front. She had dark, waist-length hair. Her cat ears were propped up and attentive. And her tail slowly swayed from left to right. She was tall, and wore dark-colored robes that further entuated her beauty.

    Our eyes met for a second and I felt as if my breath was sucked¡­ I was more than a bit surprised by seeing something like a cat girl. No scratch that, I was he surprised¡­ A cat girl! Holy shit, she looks cute!

    I suddenly shook my head; it appears I''d actually been charmed¡­! It only took one look, but then, the moment she realized I shook off her charm spell, she grinned at me.

    ''I feel like I''m gonna be in trouble¡­''

    "Alright, let''s move to the entrance!", the ck Tower administrator said

    The group of fifty people walked forward. I had YuYu and Liang Yu each on one of my sides as we moved ahead silently.

    The entrance to this cave was basically a massive hole in the ground. It should have melted or deformed due to the explosion of the underwater volcano ¨C however, lo and behold! There was a golden barrier that seemed to have preserved the entrance and everything around & within it.

    And I think I might actually know this formation. Isn''t this the formation that was protecting the Stone Aged Milk?

    If something of such value is hidden here¡­ It will probably cause more problems than it''s worth. ''Once I find something, I should ensure I conceal it well, I thought to myself.

    "This formation will allow entry to everyone below the Ascendant Stage. Go on in!" the Administrator announced.

    "See you at the end," spoke Wei Lei as he dove in face first.

    ''Dumb idiot, would it hurt if you wait for others to go first? What if that was a trap? And after all that shit you talked about how useless the teacher''s advice about cave hunting is, you dive in face first into the unknown!''

    I shook my head at the idiocy of this fe. But soon we all heard him speak, "It''s safe here." he said.

    The rest of the cultivators nodded at each other and they began diving into the formation one after one.

    "Let''s go," I said to both YuYu and Liang Yu.

    Just as the three of us jumped, my eyes caught the eyes of the cat girl who seemed to have a smile wide enough that it could reach her ears. She then rushed forward and dove into the hole.<sub> </sub>

    The moment we went past the barrier I felt the power of Spatialws manifesting, fully grounding me and disabling the ability to teleport and fly.

    "Shit!", I cursed as we fell rapidly into the unknown darkness. Were Wei Lei''s words a lie? Perhaps he jumped in to trick us and managed to stick himself to one of the walls of this deep hole?

    I opened my eyes wide and they shone in a bright emerald color as a wave of Divine Sense spread out of me like a sonic boom.

    My Divine Sense spread so fast that it managed to reach all the way to the end of the hole in seconds and I was thankful to see what was at the end.

    I retracted my Divine sense and spoke, "No need to worry, there is a cushioning formation at the end".

    And soon, the three of usnded slowly on the formation.

    Yet one thing caught me by surprise since I was using my divine sense, I had true 360 degree vision. And I was able to see something really interesting.

    The cat girl from earlier had jumped into the hole and dove into one of the walls, then using her legs and arms she was sprinting in a spiral around the hole going down.

    She managed to move in a circr way across the walls of the hole all the way until she reached the bottom andnded on her feet¡­ Well, technically she is a cat, so that should be expected.

    What was impressive was the fact that she had immediately resorted to a solution that will keep her safe from sttering on the ground in case there was no formation to cushion our fall.

    She stood up, looked at me and smiled again.

    ''What''s wrong with this girl¡­''

    "Hey, Shen Bao, what are you waiting for, we need to go, we have to get the treasures first," Wei Lei said.

    "You dumb idiot, why did you have to say my name," I said to him through a divine sense message.

    "Who cares who you are, just let''s get going," he said as he pointed at a door up front.

    ''Damn idiot, there is a ck Tower Administrator above us and this fuck face is exposing me¡­ I might actually have to get rid of him and make it look like an ident.''

    Hold on, why am I thinking so somberly¡­

    I shook my head and moved forward to the gate he pointed at.

    The gate was made of stone and seemed to react to us, and soon it opened up revealing¡­ a White Wall. Oh, the irony.

    "The fuck is this!?" asked Wei Lei.

    I approached it, used my divine sense but it didn''t seem like my Divine Sense was able to prate through this wall.

    I grabbed a small pebble on the ground and threw it at the wall.

    The pebble stuck itself into the white wall then slowly ''drowned'' in it.

    "What is that? It looks interesting," spoke the voice of a woman.

    Turning, it was the cat girl, she had an attentive look on her. Her feline eyes were fixated on the wall.

    "It looks like viscous matter, perhaps a screen for cultivators to pass through¡­"

    "Move back," I said as I slowly shoved my hand forward.

    "What are you doing, what if that thing is poisonous," Wei Lei said.

    ''That would be awesome. If it''s poison, I''ll actually be beneficial to me.''

    My hand touched the wall and it soon seemed to get sucked in. I pulled my hand back, and it was normal, nothing was sticking to it.

    "Seems safe, I felt no resistance after going through the wall for a bit. It looks like this is some sort of barrier. I''ll go in first, YuYu, Liang Yu, after me," I said.

    "Like hell you are, the treasures are mine," spoke Wei Lei and shoved me to the side and moved in forward, diving face first into the viscous wall.

    ''Dumb idiot, as if anyone would put treasures in the first room.''

    I shook my head and walked after him.

    Just as I walked in, I felt a mind-numbing pain going through my head.

    My vision darkened, and soon I opened my eyes, to find myself on the groundying supine.

    "What the hell was that," I muttered as my eyes seemed to be blinded by the bright rays of sunshine and my nose filled with the smell of grass, two things that have no way of being in a cave¡­ I''ve been transported to another area, and from spreading my divine sense around me I realized¡­ That there''s not a soul in sight. Well, there were two tigers ¨C the size of elephants ¨Cing my way.

    And I waspletely paralyzed.

    ''Shit¡­''

 Chapter 382 The Cat Girl

    I took a breath, a deep one. Fortunately, my lungs still worked as usual.

    I released a poisonous gout of fumes, that spread in every direction. It was not deadly, but it was certainly harmful to any living being. Even more so to those that could breathe.

    The poison cloud spread out rapidly around me, causing the grass to turn brown and wither. Anything it touched wilted, decayed, and turned to dust in mere seconds. As it came in contact with the two tigers, they snarled and began sneezing. Their eyes watered as numbness and pain from the poison exposure took over their senses. They shook their heads trying to clear the abnormal condition and growled as they backed away slowly.

    I scanned myself again and didn''t seem to find anything wrong with me. No paralyzing poison, no suppressive force, and nothing stopping me from moving. This was awkward, why can''t I move?

    Slowly, however, I was able to move my fingers, then my arms. Then soon was able to sit up.

    It was slightly awkward as if I had forgotten how to move.

    "The hell is happening to me right now," I cursed as I stood up with difficulty.

    I looked around. There was arge, dark forest right in front of me. I was on an open prairie just at the outskirts of the forest with nothing else nearby.

    There were some animals in the distance, some of them farrger than what I was used to - but they were clearly just animals.

    From the forest up ahead, I heard the rustle of leaves in the wind, and the calls of small critters and animals.

    I let my bright divine sense spread out in all directions, as my eyes glowed a brilliant green.

    The aura of my Divine Sense had a pale green color that was now visible to the naked eye. It spread swiftly around me, in the shape of a dome. Giving me information about every worm, every rabbit, every predator and every cat girl in sight.

    Wait, cat girl?

    I focused my divine sense in a spot and the woman fromst time turned towards me then a wide smile on her face was stered.

    She went on all four and shot forward like a speeding bullet train toward me.

    This was dangerous!

    I retracted my divine sense and was about to turn to leave when the bushes in front of me parted open for her graceful figure as she jumped right on top of me mming me into the ground.

    I was ready to st her away with my poison breath before she nudged closer took a sniff from my face and said, "You smell different. Even I smell different here..."

    I frowned at her statement. I thought that she was aggressive, but there was not a hint of such intent or deceit in her.

    "How are you able to move that fast?" I asked.

    She tilted her head and her ears perked up, "What do you mean? It''s how I always move," she said then she stood up from on top of me.

    She then locked her fingers and held her hands up, stretching, "Ahhh! Such a good day," she spoke all casually as if the situation we were in was of no concern to her.

    I stood up, with great difficulty as my body was barely responding to me, perhaps I''m in some sort of shock after being transported here.

    "Where are the rest of yourpanions?" I asked.

    "I don''t know," she replied casually, "But they should be fine on their own," she added.

    She then turned to me, with her eyes scanning all around me, "But where are yourpanions?" she asked.

    "Same here I don''t know, but let me find out," I said as I ced my hand to my side to take something out of my holding bag.

    Only to realize, with great distress, that my holding bag was gone.

    "Oh, same happened to me, someone stole my bag," she said, "It''s not here, see," she said pointing at her very boisterous and full chest.

    I shook my head, "Stop trying to charm me, I don''t like it, also this isn''t good if someone had taken our bags, or maybe you took it when you jumped me," I said.

    She frowned awfully cute though, "I don''t steal, also why would I want your smelly bag, I have all I need in mine," she said and turned to the forest.

    "I smell something," she said.

    "What are you, a dog?" I blurted.

    "Don''t look down on a cat''s sense of smell, someone with the same smell as us is far deep in the forest and they''re not having a good time," she said, "I also smell blood."

    "Shit, let''s go then," I said as I took a step forward, "God damn it what''s wrong with my body!" I cursed as I took strained step after step.

    "We''ll arrive there by the time they are dead at this pace, let me go get them," she said.

    And suddenly she bolted forward.

    After a few seconds, I heard the sound of trees crashing and falling down.

    Cursing, I summoned the Poison God''s book. Though my holding bag was stolen, I didn''t mind it much, since the more valuable things I possess are within the Poison God''s book.

    However, even the book didn''t manifest.

    "What the fuck is going on in here?!"

    Feeling helpless andpletely vulnerable I started thinking dark thoughts.

    I''m fully incapacitated, unable to move or fight back if attacked. I don''t have ess to the Poison God''s book, meaning I can''t call Y, X, or Z, nor can I use the hoverboard.

    "Automaton!" I called

    But nothing showed up, not even the Lord of Lord''s pagoda is avable right now.

    I cursed at how feeble I felt right now. Then I focused up, I pped my sides and for a second I thought I was done for. But then the giant metallic arms came up from my sides.

    "Nice at least I have these," I said.

    The four arms were long enough that they were able to carry me and function as my legs.

    I used them to move forward, two arms to move and the other two to beat down and break any tree boulder or bush in my way.<sub> </sub>

    I was like a moving bulldozer as I moved forward.

    Soon I came upon the body of one of the cultivators from the Fire Pce.

    His face was fully charred and crushed along with the rest of his body.

    In the distance was something that looked like a turtle, it was red and massive in size and seemed to have a miniature volcano carried on its back.

    The turtle was looking up at one of the trees. I followed its gaze and saw the cat girl from before, holding on her shoulder the fainted Liang Yu.

    "It''s a dangerous turtle," spoke the cat girl, "Also those arms look interesting, can you show them to meter?" she said with a smilepletely ignoring the Saint ss Beast in front of her.

    "RUN!", I spoke.

    The turtle opened its mouth and shot a fireball at the tree where the cat girl was on.

    The cat girl wasn''t even phased by the st and waited until the tree almost hit the ground before she jumped with Liang Yu on her back and then rushed forward past me.

    "You better run too, it''s angry," she said in a wide smile.

    And I wasn''t going to argue with that, because the turtle seemed to be gathering energy this time in its small volcano like back.

    I turned and used all four arms to run forward breaking past trees and rocks alike.

    A loud explosion echoed out and it wasing my way.

    "This way!" I heard, and when I turned, I saw the cat girl diving into a hole under a gigantic oak tree.

    I moved towards the hole and dove into it.

    The explosion echoed out and rattled the very ground we were under. But thanks to the thick and powerful roots of the tree, we were safe. Although very shaken up.

    The ground kept rumbling, but it seemed that the turtle was moving away a€¡° which meant we were somewhat safe.

    "Damn that was close," I said as I took a wide breath and then walked out of the tight hole, we were in.

    Looking around, there didn''t seem to be any forest fires, even after that ming explosion happened. Not a single branch was singed nor was a single tree set aze.

    This ce is strange...

    "That was a fun-looking turtle," she said all smiles.

    "You''re a bit whack," I said.

    Tilting her head she said, "What is a whack? Is it something interesting? Like those arms?" she asked as she pointed at me, ears all perked up and eyes wide.

    "Ah... This will need some exining, who are you though?" I asked then moved one of the arms on me to check up on Liang Yu.

    "I''m Lin De, one of the daughters of De Huang," She said.

    "Oh...the Earth King...and you''re a Princess, interesting..." I said.

    "Not a princess, the princess is already chosen, I''m just a daughter, anyway what are those arms?" she asked.

    "Sub-Dimensional Bionic Arms," I replied.

    She tilted her head the other side with one ear flopped and the other perked up, "What does that mean?"

    "Spare arms that I can hide in a different dimensional space. I can''t move for some reason, so I''m using these to walk and move about. Anyway, let me check up on Liang Yu," I said as I ced Liang Yu carefully on the ground.

    "Are you a physician?" she asked.

    "Not quite right I''m more like a doctor..."

    "Doctor? Doctor Who?"

    "That''s Copyrighted! No, Doctor isn''t my name it''s a title, I''m... never mind, you can call me Shen."

    "Okay Shen, interesting Shen, what do you do? Can you cure her?" she asked.

    I sent a Divine Sense wave around Liang Yu and said, "No, I can''t," I replied.

    "Then are you a ''Doctor'' if you can''t cure a person?"

    "I can''t cure her, because she is fine and awake. Hey, stop pretending to be asleep!" I said and tapped Liang Yu on the forehead with my knuckles.

    "Ow, that hurt!" she said as she rubbed on her forehead.

    "Why were you ying Dead? The monster is already gone," Lin De said to Liang Yu.

    "I was just making sure that mister here was not nning on adding more women to his harem," she said.

    "Harem? You have a harem, just like my dad?" she asked me.

    "No, and no!", I said to both of them. Man, this feels like the beginning of another headache.

    "Also, howe you can move easily?" I asked Liang Yu.

    "What do you mean?"

    "I''m still fully paralyzed since I woke up, I can only breathe, but I can hardly move my body. I have nothing physically wrong with me, but I still can''t move. Also, do you have your holding bag on you?" I asked Liang Yu.

    She looked to her side and said, "Apparently not..."

    "God damn it... I really don''t like this cave..."

 Chapter 383 Unexpected

    I was almost fully paralyzed. The Poison God''s Book was not essible to me. My holding bag was gone¡­ And this was the case with everyone I''d met so far. Not to mention I felt like every muscle and fiber of my being was in agonizing pain.

    ''Strange'', is the least possible word one could use to describe our bizarre circumstances.

    We were in a seemingly sunny environment, probably teleported to another dimensional ne. Or perhaps we were still in the cave and it has some sort of inexplicable working ecosystem that includes a sky and a sun all of its own.

    Since I couldn''t fly, I wasn''t able to check whether that sun was real. I suspect it was indeed an artificial light source. My Divine Sense didn''t reach all the way up, so that option was out, too.

    The area around us was full of green vibrant life. And some Saint ss Beasts that don''t seem too friendly.

    The rest of my group was spread out, all over the ce.

    "We need a n! First things first. We need to meet up with the rest of the cultivators," I announced.

    "How are we going to do that?", Lin asked.

    "I don''t know for now, but we can''t make a bigmotion. It may draw in Saint ss beasts, or worse," I said.

    "What could be worse than drawing a Saint ss Beast!?", Liang Yu said, obviously unaware of the old adage ''There''s always someone stronger''.

    "For example, unwanted attention from the Fire Pce¡­?" I borated.

    And ¨C as if it fate was awaiting my words ¨C a loud explosion echoed in the distance.

    Looking between the leaves of these tall trees, I saw a long column of smoke and fire rising up all the way to the skies. And then it exploded into a gigantic re that pulled unwanted attention from all around.

    "Well, that''s not good. We have to move!", I said.

    "Where to? Didn''t you say it will drag the attention of the Fire Pce?" asked Liang Yu

    "It may, but it may also draw the attention of the other Pces. Let''s head there. If we make it, we''ll be around people from the other Pces. There''s safety in numbers, so the Fire Pce can''t do anything! We need to get to the location of that re," I finished.

    "Then why were you so against us shooting something like that re," said Liang Yu as she readied up to move.

    "Because if we did that, we may encounter unwanted visitors and need to defend ourselves. However right now, whoever fired that re needs to defend themselves ¨C and we simply need to go there to check, rescue or ignore," I exined.

    "Most logical. Self-preservation is the key! I like how you think Shen," Linmented

    Her cat ears were perked up as she spoke¡­ It was a bit too cute, but I decided to not speak of it next to Liang Yu.

    "Let''s go then," I urged. My four arms picked me up, and we continued to move forward.

    Dr Octopus would be proud! My arms broke through any obstruction, and helped move my nearly paralyzed body freely.

    Impressively Lin and Liang Yu were both easily able to keep up with me. Lin dashed forward on all fours, while Liang Yu moved by taking wide strides, which made it seem as if she were riding the wind.

    The three of us raced through the forest, heading toward the re.

    At some point, we heard a beast hollering.

    A Red Ape the size of a huge tree was roaring at us. In one of his hands was a boulder the size of a house that he tossed at us.

    Before the rock covered half the distance, something shed forward, sliced the boulder in two and zoomed past the ape.

    The oversized monkey screeched in anger at the iing person. And was about to tten him under its palm! A massive blow came down at the neer, like the decree of an enraged God.

    However, this person, wearing a set of full white robes didn''t even hesitate to face the giant palm with his own tiny palm.

    The sound of the two hands shing echoed a st of power, and a shockwave rattled the vicinity. Every tree in the area shook, to its roots. Yet the young man was unmoved. He resembled a mountain, effortlessly stalling a hurricane. Unfazed, undaunted and above all standing strong.

    In the young man''s hand was a small wooden stick. It looked puny and weak, yet the words the young man uttered left everyone wide-eyed, "Blessed Wind of the North, heed my call, and bring forth the reckoning upon those who defy me!"

    An instantaneous whirlwind manifested, condensed around the stick and rapidly shaped itself into a sword of pure wind. The young man focused, and swung upwards.

    A raging gale shot from the wind sword in his hand, and sted the ape back.

    "Keep moving! It''s a Saint ss beast ¨C I can''t kill it, but this should dy it enough!" he announced.<sub> </sub>

    He then turned and shot toward to the source of the re. The three of us were bewildered but we still followed after him.

    "Who is that? And why did he help us?" Liang Yu asked.

    "I saw him before among the Wind Pce cultivators," I said.

    "He is strong," spoke Lin, her eyes and ears perked up and focused on the back of the person who was moving forward.

    "Didn''t they say that this ce is only essible to people below the Ascendant Realm, how could a person even fight against a Saint ss beast when they''re not even Ascendant, he even used Saint Qi!" Liang Yu said.

    "No, that wasn''t his power," I said as we moved ahead.

    "Howe?" spoke Liang Yu.

    "That''s the power of the Wind Pce, the Northern Wind, the guardian of the Northern Domain.", I answered, "This disciple is apparently able to summon a fraction of the Northern Wind''s power. Otherwise, his hand would have been destroyed when he tried to stop the Ape with his palm. He would have turned into blood and bone paste if he simply relied upon his own cultivation¡­ Keep moving!!"

    Our group headed forward and as we approached the re, I thought about the reason behind this person''s assistance.

    He probably wants us to owe him a favor, so he can bank on itter. I don''t like owing people favors especially in a situation where I could have managed by myself. Nevertheless, let''s see how this pans out.

    Soon we came upon more cultivators, all rushing toward the re just as we were. Many of them were from the various Pces. Some were from the Heavenly Academy, too.

    They approached us as we ran, and followed our group.

    Three people from the Fire Pce ran next to us, and I could feel the Baleful aura of the Infernal me seeping out of them. Every step they took seemed to sear the ground¡­ But almost immediately, the grass would grow verdant again as if it has never been harmed.

    This world is sure strange.

    The three people from the Fire Pce slowly but surely seemed to approach us while moving towards the re Location.

    But suddenly, another person shot up from behind us. He had several injuries all over his body and I was surprised to see him even moving. The ring puncture wounds he sported didn''t even seem to bother him.

    He looked at me, his eyes green as mine, but his jaw full of razor-sharp teeth!

    "Found you!" he smirked

    "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" I shouted to my group and they all split apart.

    Almost immediately, the man with the green eyes mmed his palm down on the ground next to himself. And a gigantic w made of poison emerged, like a reckoning of the Gods.

    "Shit!" I cursed as I saw the Poison Tiger wing right at me.

    "Imperial Ice Formation!"

    Out of nowhere, a giant pyramid of Ice materialized around me, encasing me in a protective formation. Albeit strong, the ice pyramid almost caved in under the power of the Poison Tiger w.

    The two forces dissipated each other, and I emerged safe from underneath the melting ice. The Poison Tiger w disappearedpletely, leaving nothing but poisonous fumes.

    "Oh, how cute, someone protected your filthy corpse! But no matter!" spoke the man with the green eyes, "Your time hase!" he said and then stabbed his shoulder with a finger that seemed to be ring with poison energy.

    The man''s whole body seemed to be bolstered by that finger stab as more Qi gathered around him in a torrent.

    "Shit! I cursed as I backed away.

    "Shen Bao!" I heard the words of Yu-Yu. She was the one who created the Ice pyramid around me.

    "Stay hidden, this is a poison cultivator! Same as me! Only, more dangerous!" I said as I continued backing away using the robotic arms.

    "You''re unfit to hold the Heritage, I''ll take yours and I''ll have better odds against the Hunter! GIVE ME YOURS!", the madman spoke as he ran forward, poison energy ring out from him, wilting everything in range.

    He wants the Heritage... He''s an Acolyte!

    ''Well, this exins why Master Rain was so against me going out this early¡­ Shit!!''

 Chapter 384 Face Off

    The enraged man seemed to not notice a surge of ice icicles rising up from underneath him as they went through his body like knives through butter.

    He didn''t even seem phased by the pain or the damage, and all he did was grin, looked toward the source of the ice attack, and spat a drop of concentrated ck poison in that direction.

    "TAKE COVER!" I shouted to Yuyu who did as told hiding behind a massive-sized tree.

    Only for the drop of poison to immediately set the tree aze in purple and ck mes upon contact.

    Yuyu dove forward before the poisonous fumes or fire would touch her, but she was not as fast as she expected.

    Some of the poisonous matter touched upon the rims of her dress and began ring up.

    She immediately tore it and threw it away while backing from the poison that was setting the ground ame.

    The cultivator didn''t care more for Yuyu as he kept charging towards me while I backed away using the spatial arms around me to keep my distance.

    "Why struggle! You''re nothing but a weak being, a discarded! Unfit to hold the heritage! Give it to your betters and I''ll promise you a painless death!" he said.

    His face didn''t seem like the one who keeps promises.

    I used one of the arms to dig into the ground and hurled arge boulder at the iing madman.

    He didn''t even dodge as he pushed his hand forward and immediately turned the rock into a liquid upon contact.

    The liquid touched the ground and began eating through it far more powerfully than any acid I''ve ever seen.

    "Then a painful agonizing death for you! Fake Poison Cultivator!" he said as he stabbed his abdomen using his fingers.

    Another powerful surge of Poison Energy coursed through him and then was concentrated back, propelling him toward me like a rocket.

    I used two of the arms on me to grab tight on the ground. The sudden jerk caused me to snap on my back against the ground and allowed me to easily dodge the human projectile at the cost of a lot of bruising to my back and having my lungs emptied out of air.

    "You foul thing! Who dares cause strife!" spoke the sound of a person who would be confused to be a holy man from how deep his voice was.

    Looking at the source of the voice, it was the same person wearing white from before. Under his arm was a girl of young age, she was wearing the same robes.

    Probably the source of the re.

    He pointed his stick at the man that was fuming and leaking poison everywhere as his body was now generating toxic gas and fumes from every pore and hole he caused himself.

    "ves of the Wind Pce, you think your kind can stop me?!" spoke the poison cultivator.

    "I''m the promised child! I''m the one who''ll gather them all, I''m going to reign this world with the power of a god! And you, little ve, think you can stop me!" the mad man then stabbed his upper chest, inhaled, and then spat a powerful torrent of poison that looked like a horizontal tornado.

    "Wind of the North! Heed my call and disperse this foul mimicry!"

    My eyes widened up as I realized that this wind guy just fucked up big time!

    "NOOO!" I shouted with all I got.

    The Wind Pce kid was surprised at my shout, but then when he saw the grin on the Poison Cultivator''s face he realized that something was awry.

    The Northern Wind came, and it immediately collided with the poisonous tornado. Only for the poison to wee the wind and explode dispersing in every direction with even more power and force.

    The poison that was concentrated and focused in one single attack had now blown in size and out of proportion thanks to the Northern Wind and it was now epassing the entirety of the forest or at least as much as my Divine Sense can see of this forest.

    "Get your defenses ready! There will be a Poison Fall!" I shouted.

    And soon, the poison that hovered in the air seemed to concentrate once again then it started falling like drops of rain.

    And wherever itnded, wherever it hit, it would eat away, corrode, wilt, and then dissolve anything it touched.

    The high green trees turned to yellowish sickly sticks without a single leaf on them. The grassy ground soon cracked and opened up, dying from the inside out, and any creature in my divine sense''s range, that wasn''t Saint ss seemed to die outright from the poison falling on them.<sub> </sub>

    "Ah thank you for helping me thus!" the poison cultivator said.

    "COME!" he shouted and immediately a massive surge of the poison energy that had eaten away at the lives of so many creatures, surged toward him.

    I remember this green energy, it was the same energy I used to consume when I first started cultivating. It eats away at the lives of anything that lives, leaving nothing but pure green regenerative energy that would refill a Poison God''s Cultivator''s stomach and recharge them. Healing their pains, and supplementing their Qi.

    The cultivator that was bleeding all over himself with more holes in his body than any living man should ever have, seemed to be amassing all of this green energy into him.

    He bloated at first, like the carcass of a rotten pig in a river. Then soon, he shrunk back to his normal form.

    Eyes focused, body chiseled and Poison Qi aplenty.

    He looked at his hand and said, "That''s much more like it, I can almost feel like I regained my original body again, now..." he said as he turned to the man in white.

    "I''ll have to properly thank you for helping me spread my poison! DIE!" he said as he made a grasping motion.

    A humanoid w rose up from underneath the cultivator in white. It was a Poison Tiger w attack.

    The man unable to move as the w was closing up on him, used all of his strength to throw the young woman in his arms away towards me while the poison w clutched tight on him.

    Crushing him into a pulp of blood and bones in an instant.

    "SHEN!" shouted the cat girl, I turned to see my group, alongside a huge portion of the kids who came for the cave, from all over and from every faction gathered up.

    Most of them had ck spots on them, their eyes bloodied and shut. ck veins spread all over their bodies, and they were all dying.

    The cat girl was the one with the least symptoms but her pupils were opened wide. And her hair seemed spiked. She was worried for their safety.

    "What a nice cave! I gotta admit I''ve never thought I''ll have such a feast! The youth from every faction are all ready to be gobbled up, so much talent, so much potential, and all of it will be MINE!" the poison cultivator said as he turned towards me.

    And I could see it, for a fraction of a second, the Purple Skull suddenly materialized over his face and then disappeared.

    "Get everyone to safety I''ll hold him off," I said in a low tone.

    "But you can''t even move! What do you expect you can do!" The cat girl said.

    "JUST LEAD THEM AWAY!" I said shouting.

    Lin nodded and picked up Liang Yu and Yu Yu who seemed to be unable to move.

    Some of the other cultivators who had protected themselves from the poison and were able to move also grabbed their closest friends andrades and dispersed from the area.

    The man in front of me smiled, saying, "You, a poison cultivator, a disciple of the poison god actually think of saving others? Such hypocrisy, WE DO NOT SAVE! WE DEVOUR!" he called as he raised his hand causing another Poison Tiger w to manifest from around me.

    "I can''t move my body, but I still have my mind! Domain of Delusions! FAKE AND REAL!" I spoke and immediatelyw began manifesting around me.

    The manifestation of the domain, caused the Tiger w to disperse immediately.

    ''Now you''ll never escape!''

    "Fool," said the man in front of me. "Laws of Space are prohibited here!" he grinned and almost immediately my domain began crumbling.

    Searing pain surged up my mind as blood began trickling down my nose and eyes.

    "HAH! What a fool, even if you''re able to use a domain, how would you even think of overpowering me? You, nothing but a sub-ascendant not even fit to live while I breathe, think yourself able to overpower me with a weak spatial domain? Let me show you the power of a real domain! Consider it your parting gift! Forsaken Poison Abyss!" the man said.

    A powerful domain expanded from underneath me, fitting me into a globe of darkness and apathy that no man could escape from. Two massive eyes opened up in front of me, they were serpentine and seemed to be ready to eat the world itself

    "Now who is the real fool," I spoke grinning.

 Chapter 385 Underground

    "That''s an interesting domain you have there," I spoke all casually and felt far better than before.

    "You seem too rxed for someone about to die!"

    "Well, that''s because I''m not going to die, not here at least," I grinned.

    "You know not of the fear that many cultivators had suffered under the Forsaken Poison Abyss! You shall know despair, you shall forsake all hope: and you shall die a death full of agony and despair," he said.

    "Well, that might have been the case if not for two reasons," I said.

    My words gave the man who was currently shaped as a world-devouring snake pause.

    "The first," I said as I pointed down, "This is fake, I''ve seen the real one, you''re just a hack," I said.

    "You speak lies! Words to increase your lifespan nothing less nothing more!" he said.

    "You can think about it like that," I shrugged, "Du Shen''s domain was far more... convincing," I said.

    The giant snake stopped at the mention of the Poison God.

    "What can a fledgling even know of the God of Poisons! Your end is nigh, prepare to meet your maker!" he said as he lunged forward.

    "I didn''t say the second reason yet," I said as he was rushing towards me.

    "Domains don''t work on me," I said and closed then opened my eyes.

    I was back in the real world, and in front of me was the poison cultivator, eyes wide and in full shock.

    "In three, two...one," I said.

    And then suddenly the cultivator''s mind seemed to reel as if it was hit by a sledgehammer, a loud shout of agony, pain and excruciating ache seemed to rush through his whole body like a bolt of divine lightning.

    His whole body began to seize as if he was being rattled by the hands of god himself as he shook and shuddered.

    His eyes began bleeding, so did his ears nose, and mouth.

    Pain beyond what anyone can handle once their own domain had been broken and to be honest, this person among all that I have escaped their Domains, seemed to be suffering the most.

    He was suffering so much that his face seemed to expand, as the purple skull that inhibited his body seemed to want to extract itself from the agony but was pulled back by some unknown force.

    "Well, I guess it''s time for me to dip," I said as I turned and used my arms to run past this man.

    I could try to kill him here and then, but I know for a fact that this pain won''tst long enough for me to kill that person, especially with all of my abilities sealed and locked.

    However, I''ve had some things to note after this encounter.

    This person was also a Poison Cultivator, to be more specific, a Poison God cultivator. Like me. He seemed to be able to move unlike me, but that was under one condition. He was injecting himself with variable neural poisons to agitate his muscles and body to act.

    Unlike me who is still paralyzed.

    No one else had this affliction but me and him, and I could deduce that it was due to our cultivation method.

    Why can''t we operate and function properly? Also, there is a matter when Lin said that I smelled different.

    Did something happen to my body? Well of course it did, I''m not functioning properly.

    A loud shout cut my train of thought, it seems that the poison cultivator is regaining his mind.

    That man is strong, I can admit that he showcased a powerful application of the Poison God''s skills. However, he seemed to be too reliant on poison and far too...reckless with all the pain he was inflicting on his body.

    A man, made of flesh and bones can only suffer so much before his body copses. And I''m sure what I did to him elerated that process a fair bit.

    His constant injection of poisons into his body to operate must have been too toll taxing on his body, no wonder he suffered way more than anyone else when I broke his domain. And for him, it''s only gonna get worse. Not that it''s a good thing, because from the looks of it, and his words, he is apparently an Ascendant or above it, who managed to sneak into this ce.

    Meaning, even if wounded and heavily damaged he can still kill me or everyone else in this ce.

    I have to get my holding bag back and my Poison God''s book. I need Y''s assistance and my belongings.

    "Shen! Here!" I heard.

    Turning to the left I saw Lin calling me with her hand iling about.

    I turned in her direction and noticed that they found a cave in the depth of the forest.

    "What''s this?" I asked as I stopped.

    "It''s a man-made cave, it also blocks divine sense, he can''t sense us when we''re here," she said.

    Pretty damn convenient, but I have no other options.

    We got inside and I saw what she meant by manmade.

    There was a massive open area paved with hard stone that seemed to spread all under the forest.

    Beams and pirs of enormous size were supporting the ceiling, which in this case was the whole forest from crumbing on this area.

    And in the middle of all of this was a building, a single building made to look like a giant pce.

    "I guess we found the rest of the cave," I said.

    "Yes, but what are we going to do to these people?" she asked.

    I looked around and finally seemed to notice the people on the ground, they were ced neatly like some sort of Triage area.

    I tried to use my Divine Sense to scan them, but itpletely and immediately shut down.

    It couldn''t go even a meter beyond me before it fully dispersed.

    "It''s the ground," spoke Lin, "these stones are made of some strange material that is heavily blocking Divine sense.

    I guess I could understand why, it''s to protect this ce. Good, this should buy us enough time before that madman could get here.<sub> </sub>

    I got to my knees and looked at the first of the patients, it was Liang Yu who seemed to have ck spores and tumors growing on her face and body.

    I subconsciously went to my holding bag only to realize I didn''t have it.

    I ced my hand on Liang Yu''s forehead and spread my divine sense as far as I could, even one meter was enough for me to realize what was happening to her.

    "Shit," I cursed.

    "What''s wrong?" asked Lin.

    I turned to her and noticed that she too had some ck spots on her face.

    "ck Flesh Eating gue, Corrosive Soul Poison, Fulmarus Albedo, Teracotic Negredo, and more. Poisons, so many deadly poisons, you all are afflicted with them, their purpose isn''t to kill immediately, but to cause pain so agonizing one would wish that they were dead sooner..." I said

    Lin''s face turned paler at the mention of the first poison, not to mention the rest. "Can we even cure this?" she said.

    "No, that''s not possible, not without my kit and tools..." I said as I looked at YuYu who also seemed to be suffering, but she had the great idea of using some of her Ice to seal some of the damage.

    She stood up grunted then looked at me, her face half-ck due to the poison.

    "Is there a way to deal with this?" she spoke.

    "What sort of willpower do you have to be able to move about when you''re the most infected person in the group," spoke Lin, shock clear on her face.

    "I''ve been through worse," she said as she grunted once again.

    ''Technically, she is right, the Ice Destruction Poison is really, really painful, and she had been struggling against it for a long while. So no wonder she has great pain tolerance. But.''

    "You can''t overtax your body, you can block the pain, but your body still is harmed. Move less, talk less, and only do the necessary," I said to her then aimed my eyes toward the pce.

    "We''ll need to get there, hopefully we''ll find something that can help us stop this, it''s our only shot," I said.

    "Shouldn''t we go look around in the forest?" asked Lin.

    "The moment one of us goes out of this cave, we''ll be open to divine sense, if that man finds us in this case we''re all dead, not to mention we''ll probably not find anything of use in this forest, I''ve been scanning it ever since I got here for any unnatural or spiritual herbs, there was not a single one there," I said.

    "Many of us can''t even function," I heard the voice of a girl who seemed to be fighting against the pain.

    She was the same person that the guy in white saved, the one who dispersed the poison tornado...and died for it.

    "Howe you''re unharmed, we''re all in agonizing pain, and you don''t seem to be affected, you must have an antidote, name your price I''ll give you all you want and more," she said.

    "I don''t have an antidote," I said.

    "Listen here, I know what you are, it''s all over you, from your face, from the way you''re dressed, and from the way you move, act and speak, you may be a disciple of the Heavenly Academy, but you are clearly someone of low birth, I can give you treasures and gifts that will let you live a life of eternal luxury, just give me the damnable antidote!"

    Everyone in the room looked at me at once.

    Shit, I''m not affected because I consumed the poison! Not because I have an antidote, I''m a poison cultivator, but if I tell them that, they''ll pair me up with that same asshole.

    Choices, choices!

    Wait, I consumed the poison.

    "Right, I have a way to lessen the damage and the affliction on you, but I''ll need an oath of heaven that you''ll not expose my secrets," I said

    In their current case, everyone from every faction seemed far too eager to swear upon the heavens.

    All, even the Fire Pce, all besides one group.

    Looking at them they all seemed as dull and as emotionless as they first came here.

    I approached one of them, they were from the Water Domain, the same group as the poison cultivator.

    "Hello, you there, are you not going to swear an oath?" I asked.

    The person in front of me seemed to have the dullest eyes I''ve ever seen, a frozen fish would have more expressive eyes.

    And just as I touched him. he turned to dust.

    "What the fuck?!" I cursed as I took a step back.

    The rest of the Water group the remaining seven of them turned to dust afterward.

    "What''s going on?" asked Lin.

    "It seems that they were all dead before we even entered here... that man must have killed them, we can''t stay here," I said.

    "The antidote!" spoke the girl from the wind pce.

    I came toward her, pped my hand on her forehead, and almost immediately all the dark spots from her body disappeared.

    "That''s your antidote," I said.

    She shook and shuddered then stood up, checking upon herself using Divine Sense, though I doubt that would work.

    "Good...actually good, I feel better...what''s your name?" she asked.

    "Call me Shen, now I have more patients, please step aside," I said as Ipletely ignored her and went ''healing'' the rest of the groups here.

    I took a few moments hesitating between helping or not helping the Fire Pce since some of them attacked us before.

    "Save them sill," said Lin as she approached me.

    "At least they can be used as live bait for what''s waiting for us there," she said as she pointed at the pce.

    "Good thinking," I grinned and then mmed my palm on the forehead of the closest Fire Pce Disciple.

 Chapter 386 A True Cultivator

    "What do you have against us? Against the Fire Pce to treat us this way!" one of the Fire Pce disciples spoke after I ''treated'' them.

    "What do you mean by that? I''m saving your lives am I not?" I said.

    "Only to throw us to the fire next, it is nothing but extortion, you''re not saving our lives we''re a byproduct for your own survival, we''re tools to be used so you can guarantee your life," he said.

    "And what''s wrong with that," I said to him all smiles. "At least you''ll have a chance, hell if there are no traps there you might juste out fine," I said.

    "I don''t agree," he said, then added "Because you''re a fool for thinking that you''ll use us as your tools," he said.

    "You''ll go against your oath! Are you not afraid of the heavens?" spoke Liang Yu addressing the Fire Pce Disciple.

    "Oh, of course, I am, but that doesn''t mean I''ll be going against my oath, I swore not to reveal your secrets not to follow you. And you were foolish enough to treat us before we swore to help you, hah, what an idiot," he said.

    The rest of the Fire Disciples all seemed tough in sync as they mocked and ridiculed my assistance to them.

    The girl in the white Dress also added, "They are right no one here will follow the words of a low birth,e with me I''ll find a way around this pce, I''m one of the best cultivators in the younger generation," she said.

    Many seemed to turn their faces toward the girl andpletely disregard me.

    "She is right, I know her," spoke Wei Lei, "She is Xuan Su Tian, not of the royal family but as close as one can get, she has a lot of power and is supported by the might of the Wind Realm, the man who gave his life for her was her guard, he was one of the strongest and gave his life for her survival. If we were to have any chance at surviving we must follow them," he said and took a step forward.

    "Such unfaithful dogs!" spoke Lin.

    "Dogs are the opposite of that," I said, "They are loyal and good followers andpanions, these however are nothing but ungrateful brats," I said as I watched them all move away.

    "However," I spoke, this time loud enough, "Who permitted any of you to leave?" I spoke.

    My words seemed to cause some confusion between the group of people moving forward.

    "Shen B-" Wei Lei didn''t dare speak my full name so he stopped and said, "Don''t make this difficult we can survive with them, we can''t follow you, they have more experience and more power you''re barely at the Soul Transformation Stage, most of these people are at the cusp of Ascension," he said, "Don''t make this difficult, you can''t win."

    "You all seem to be mistaking something," I said. "You think I cured you? How did that ever happen?" I said.

    They frowned and Xuan Su spoke, "What do you mean by that, we''re all healed up, it was your mistake by doing so, are you trying to imply that we''re still sick? I''ve already scanned myself there is no trace of poison left in me," she said.

    "Is that what you think," I grinned, "Then look again," I said. "This time, deeper, between your veins, within your cells, within the fat in your body. Look close," I spoke.

    Soon, she did and her face turned whiter than a sheet of paper.

    So did everyone else''s.

    "You finally get it now, you were never cured, the poisons have only been halted, trapped, and imprisoned within the cells of fat in your body. It was pretty difficult since you''re all are cultivators and trying to stockpile poison in your nearly inexistent fat was a hard task, but it''s still there. Only trapped, momentarily so, until you start exerting yourself and burning it, it will alle back to your bloodstreams and you''ll be back to the same agony you''ve been here before. I never cured any of you, I gave you a chance at survival, and this is how you treat me? You show your fangs? very well then."

    I said as I had both hands behind my back, "I had given you life, and I can take it," I said and one step forward.

    Everyone seemed to buckle as nausea and dizziness seemed to rattle them.

    "I''ve released a fraction of the trapped poison in all your body back to your bloodstreams, now, you''re on the clock. Every Hour spent will mean more poison will be released into your bloodstreams, so, go on ahead, venture and explore for me, because once you''re all done and dead, I''ll know which path to take." I said.

    Fear and the terrorizing realization of death seemed to slowly hover over their faces.

    One could almost see it, the scythe of the grim reaper tightening close around their necks, waiting, for a moment to cull their lives.

    Ah, the joy of it, when they finally die in agony, unable to¡­

    I pped myself and that was awkward because the group in front of me didn''t understand why would a person would p themselves out of nowhere.

    But I did that because¡­my mind was being tampered with.

    ''I guess, it''s the influence of another Purple Skull. The two that I used to harbor have either died, or been digested thanks to the Draconic Soul, but the presence of another Purple Skull is bringing me a lot of unwanted vile ideas¡­I want to terrorize them, but not kill them unless they deserve it. However, the Purple Skull is an insidious suggester.''

    "Never mind that," I said smiling, "So, tell me, are you gonna follow like docile sheep, or are you going to all die?" I spoke.

    "You can only control the poison if you are alive," spoke one of the Fire Pce disciples, "So Die!" he said as he shot towards me with blinding speed.

    The palm of his hand was burning bright as he shot it toward my chest.

    Only for me to look at him dumbly, as he stopped a couple of steps in front of me.

    ck veins sprouted all over him and began surging as his body started shuddering, his veins began pulsating and then rupturing as ck blood seemed to seep out of his bloodshot eyes, mouth, and ears.

    He couldn''t speak a word as his body began spasming and then soon, his own spine broke from how powerful the spasms became.

    And a secondter, he was no more.

    "Well, that was not wise," I said.

    "You-You killed him!" spoke one of the Fire Disciples.

    I turned to the kid and said, "Technically speaking, I didn''t kill him, it was the poison inside him, and that was because of that asshole outside. Secondly, I already told him not to exert himself, remember, the poison is stored in fat, and if you use your Qi, some of the fat is burnt because you''re using a lot of energy. Thus the poison was released into his body, and finally, he tried to kill me first, so I was in all my right to kill him, if I wanted to of course," I said and then approached the corpse of the dead man.

    "You might want to cover your eyes for this part," I said.

    Mypanions did, but the rest didn''t.

    "Well, I hope you have a strong stomach then," I said as I opened my mouth and called upon the poisons and gues that were within the corpse.

    Like a torrent, the poisons seemed to surge up into my mouth and went directly to my Dantian.

    My body suddenly jerked as ck veins spread around my face and body, then they soon calmed down as I had consumed and learned these new poisons.

    "Pretty powerful," I muttered as I stood back up, to see the people around me look at me inplete horror.

    Some even began to throw up.

    "Devil! You''re a Devil! A devil cultivator!" someone spoke.

    "Euh, no, I''m a Demonic cultivator, know the difference," I said, "Now, tell me, are you all still going to act like little kids? Or are you going to move? Because you''re on a timer and it''s ticking," I said.

    That was enough to have everyone scampering forward to the pce.

    "What did you do to them?" asked Lin using Divine Sense. "I''ve seen you. Eat that person? But I fail to understand how is that enough to cause them to worry."

    "Oh, you''re interesting you don''t find that weird or strange?" I said to her.

    "No? You defeated your enemy, and then you consume him for his power, that is a normal thing in our race." She said.

    "Well, you might want to keep what happened a secret from those two," I said as I gestured with my head. "Humans aren''t very fans of this practice," I said.

    Did I just consider myself not human? Well, I only consumed the poisons within that person''s body, it''s good poison, and shouldn''t go to waste.

    "Liang Yu, Yuyu, let''s go," I said.

    The two of them opened their eyes, and so did the rest of the Heavenly Academy Students.

    "They seem in a hurry," spoke Wei Lei.

    "That''s because they saw something ugly," I said as I turned to him, face to face, "You wouldn''t want to see something ugly, do you?"

    "¡­no, I would rather not," he said.

    "Then start moving!" I said as I ushered him to go ahead.

    Me, Lin, Liang Yu, Yuyu, and the rest of the Heavenly Academy Students followed after the group ahead.

    And I could see from the asional res I was getting from the girl in white, from the White Pce that she had some unsavory words to say about me, but she was too afraid to speak them out loud.

    "This is the first time," spoke Yuyu.

    "The first time? Of what?" I asked.

    "This is the first time I''ve ever seen you act as a True cultivator¡­ since the day you came to my pce, and many yearster. This has been the first time," she said.

    ''Is it now. Cruelty, deviousness, and cunning. Perhaps, that is the way of cultivators. And I gotta say¡­It''s not that bad."

    Once they reached the pce gate, it opened up for them, rather eerily.

    "Well, I guess we''ll be able to find out what is this ce, and the reason we were brought here, very soon," I said.

    ***

    "Get a move on it, find them!" spoke a man with so many wounds on his body one would think he should have been dead a long time ago.

    Yet a vile pulsating poison energy was coursing through his body supplementing him and stopping the bleeding.

    Next to him were several people...Or what used to be people.

    They were the corpses of already dead cultivators, cultivators that Shen Bao had seen die right in front of him.

    And one of these cultivators, broken of body flesh and bones was holding a stick.

    he managed to point his stick forward, and with his decaying dead broken body, he still uttered, "Northern Wind....Seek!"

    A torrent of cold wind manifested on his stick and shot forward pointing the way.

    "Good! GOOD!" the man of many wounds spoke as he gripped tightly on a green book.

    "Poison God Heritage has many secrets...And raising the dead with poison! HA, I never knew it to be possible! at least not without using Devil Cultivation!"

 Chapter 387 The Sound Of Life

    Our group walked ahead inside the pce, only to find it a massive room. Empty of course without an entrance or exit.

    Since the way, we came from suddenly shut down.

    The massive door behind us was locked tight causing everyone to flinch from the sudden realization that we were trapped.

    "What the hell is going on?!" spoke Wei Lei, "We''re trapped!" he added.

    "I can see that," I said as I touched the door. There was something, some sort of energy around it.

    It wasn''t an inscription, no this was more like Qi, Saint Qi,pletely shutting this whole pce down.

    "I don''t like this," Spoke Lin, her ears were perked up and her hair was slightly ruffled.

    Her instincts were screaming at her and I can see it from how the irises of her eyes were wide. This usually happens when cats are anxious, their pupils dte taking in more light to increase their vision and awareness of the situation.

    "Move aside," spoke one of the Fire Pce Disciples.

    "I''ll break through it," he said.

    "Stop that," I said, "You''ll die," I added.

    "What? I''m trying to help here and you''re threatening me?!" he said.

    "You''re an idiot, if you use your Qi, you''ll burn the stored fat, and you''ll die from poison before you can even break the wall, also it''s Saint Qi, I don''t suppose you have the ability to break through it, none of us has, even if we were perfectly healthy and worked together we wouldn''t be able to cause a dent in this thing," I said.

    "Then what? Should we just die?" the Fire Pce disciple said.

    "No, if whatever trapped us here wanted us dead, we''d be dead already, they want us to find something¡­" I said

    "But there is nothing here," someone else said, from Lin''s race a male person with a strange-looking nose and a hood over his head.

    Two protrusions from the side clearly indicated that he had some sort of long ears¡­a dog maybe?

    "I can see that there is nothing here, but that can''t be all it is to it to this ce. Keep looking, look at the tiles, look at the ceiling, there must be something here," I said.

    The group then understood their task and began moving about, looking for any clues.

    I focused my eyes on the ground trying to see if there was any small gap between the tiles or if one of them was fake or an entrance to another area.

    "Shen," turning it was Yuyu, she looked a bit fatigued.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "Do you have a way out of this? I feel like I''m at the end of my wit, in a strange ce, hunted by a Poison Cultivator, a strong and devious one, and fully wounded without ess to any of my belongings." She said.

    "Yeah, I know that feeling, I''m having it too, but don''t worry we''ll find a way," I said then looked around.

    "Hold on¡­ where is Liang Yu," I said.

    This caused everyone to pause, they looked around then another person spoke, "Where isdy Xuan?"

    "Did anyone touch anything?" I asked around.

    No one answered as they all shook their heads.

    Suddenly, someone pointed behind me, "LOOK!" he said.

    We all turned and saw¡­ nothing, turning back to him, he too was not there.

    "What the fuck is going on?!" spoke Wei Lei, "They are disappearing one by one!"

    "Check carefully check under where that person had disappeared there must be something here!" I said.

    Just as I moved about, "Shen!" I heard, but just as I turned Yuyu was nowhere to be seen.

    "Fuck!" I cursed, rage began filling my mind. We were being toyed with.

    And I can''t even use my divine sense to scan around the area, mine is far too weak for any usable detection.

    Suddenly, more seemed to have disappeared from the room, whenever I looked away or my focus was on something else someone would disappear.

    "LIN!" I said to the cat girl who seemed to be frightened by what was going on and her eyes were darting all around us.

    She snapped to me, eyes full of wonder and questions.

    "Focus your eyes on me!" I said, "Whatever is happening, it''s taking people who aren''t being looked at directly. God damn it." I said as I kept my eyes on Lin. And so did the rest of the people they all focused their eyes on the people in front of them, and everyone kept a lookout on the other.

    "Anyone gone?" I asked after a few minutes.

    "No, I''m still looking at the same person," someone said, "Same here¡­" others replied.

    "Good, my guess was correct, whatever, and whoever was taking them, needed to be unnoticed while doing-"

    Suddenly, darkness flooded the room.

    Utterplete darkness.

    My heart felt like it had stopped for a moment, and soon light came back.

    "H- he is gone!" someone said.

    "Here too, she is gone!"

    This kept happening until Lin disappeared from my sight and I was thest one in the room. Panic and worry filled me as I didn''t know what to do.

    Then before we could even think up another n, the darkness seemed to flood the room once again, and this time I felt it, like my legs were pulled from under me. It was my turn.

    Before I was pulled to god knows where I spat in front of me managing tond it on some sort of solid space before I was forced to go down below.

    I felt like I was falling, for an awfully long amount of time, before suddenly something cushioned my fall and I was able to stand up.

    I checked myself, and nothing seemed to be broken. Whatever had stopped me from falling was the same thing that was at the entrance of this ce.

    Gravity is still under strictws. But the divine sense is restored.

    I used mine like the floodgates had opened when it shot everywhere, angry and finally free from being confined all around me. My divine sense spread out everywhere scanning detecting and giving me all sorts of information. It was free.

    "People!" I said as I detected a group of cultivators not too far away from me.

    I hurried towards the people only to find them all sitting in front of a monolith of sorts. An obsidian dark stone that had the shape of an octagonal prism with two octagonal pyramids on each end. It was erected in the middle of a hall and seemed to be hovering without any supporting powers¡­

    The whole hall had several arched doorways leading everywhere. But every pathway seemed to be close off beside the one that I just came from.

    "Hello," I said.

    Suddenly everyone turned to me.

    They were all here, all safe.

    "Finally you show up," spoke Liang Yu, "We''ve been waiting for you for ages," she said.

    "Ages? How long have I been away? It couldn''t be more than a minute," I said.

    "It''s been thirty days," spoke Liang Yu.

    "For me, it''s been twenty days," spoke Yuyu.

    "Forty days here I thought I''d die before I would see anyone else¡­" spoke another person.

    "Time dtion," I said as I looked at therge stone in the middle of the hall.

    "What do you mean?" asked Yuyu.

    "Time goes faster here, unlike up above¡­ also, why did you stay here for so long?" I said as I looked around.

    "We couldn''t go anywhere," said Lin who seemed to have droopy ears. "It''s locked tight, and we can''t use the way we came from to go up."

    Suddenly, the monolith in the middle of the room began moving.

    "Oh, that''s a first," spoke one of the Fire Pce disciples.

    "It didn''t do that before?" I asked.

    "No, this is the first time that thing moved, we thought it was just a rock, a very sturdy one¡­" he said.

    "Hold on a minute," I said.

    "Why are you all alive?" I said.

    "You bastard, why are you cursing us with death?"

    "No, he is right. No one seemed to question it before until you brought it up Shen¡­ why are we still alive," said Wei Lei, "We should be dead, if not from thirst and hunger at least from the poison, are we cured?" he asked.

    I frowned then moved to Ling Yu, "Give me your hand please," I said as I grasped her hand and did a quick scan.

    "No¡­the poison is still there, but something isn''t right¡­do you not hear it," I said.

    "Hear? Hear what?" asked one of them.

    "You don''t hear it? something that has been with you, all your lives, something that should be with you until the day you die, the sound of life¡­ the sound of your heartbeats¡­" I said.

    The sudden realization downed on everyone¡­and once they checked they all seem toe to the conclusion.

    "We''re¡­dead?"

 Chapter 388 The Monolith

    "Don''t be absurd," I said as I answered back.

    "I know when I''m dead, and I know when I''m alive, right now¡­ I feel like I''m neither," I said as I pressed two of my fingers on my wrist. Trying to make sure that it wasn''t just some visual thing.

    But no, no pulse, nothing.

    This ce is getting more and more annoying and confusing. I can''t seem to think up a way to solve this stupid riddle we''re in.

    Why is everything¡­ dead. No, not everything, the prism, the monolith, it''s now rotating slowly. It''s not releasing any energy, nor does it seem to be applying anyws.

    "What are you thinking?" Lin said.

    "A way out," I said.

    "No way out, we searched and looked, been doing that for a month now, it''s not like you came and things will change, we''re trapped here, and from the sound of our heartbeats, we''re dead." Someone spoke.

    I didn''t really care to remember the names of these people but I took note of everyone who said something smart, and this person has not.

    "What am I missing," I said as I was pacing back and forward looking for any sort of clue or indicator that could get us out of this mess.

    "You think the monolith has something to do with this?" spoke the girl in white. "It looks like it''s activated after you havee in. Was it waiting for you, or was it waiting for something specific," She said.

    "Good, an idea we can work with. You guys said that this thing hasn''t moved at all since you all came here. Perhaps it was waiting for us actually," I said as a figment of an idea seemed to cross my head. "It only activated when everyone up above was transported here, and not a second before, a test? Did anyone inspect it before?" I asked.

    "Nothing, just a in shiny rock, I couldn''t recognize the material, but it doesn''t seem that special." Someone said.

    "Just because we don''t understand something, we can''t call it simple or not special. This thing is probably a clue or a way out of this mess," I said as I approached it.

    I pressed my palm on the prism and was ejected as though I was shot with a point-nk shotgun.

    "Fucking hell!" I cursed as I had somehow managed to crash against some other unfortunate person.

    "Sorry about that," I said as I stood up.

    I looked at my hand, there was no injury. Nor did I seem to have been harmed by whatever attacked me.

    "What was that?" Liang Yu asked.

    "I don''t know, but it doesn''t like me," I said.

    "We have even more questions than answers now," Yuyu said.

    "Let me try," said Wei Lei.

    "What are you doing? Do you also want to get zapped?" asked Xuan, the girl in white from the Wind Pce.

    "No, but I think I have an idea," he said.

    He pressed his hand and immediately was shot back, only there was some difference.

    "Ouch¡­" he said as he struggled a bit to stand up.

    "You''re pretty smart, I always thought of you as an idiot," I said to him as I understood what he wanted to do.

    "Yeah, I get that a lot, just because you have two brains doesn''t mean that mine is rotten, anyway, I think this thing works on order, firste first serve, anyone who touches it out of order gets zapped," said Wei Lei.

    "And how did you figure that out?" spoke Xuan. "Because I got repelled only in a far less in potency than Shen¡­ there, he got a whole lot more hurt than I did, so it should by logic not attack the first person who came here if they were to touch it," he said.

    "Who was the first to arrive here," I asked.

    A hand rose up, it was a person from the Fire Pce, "I came here first," he said.

    He then approached the prism and with hesitant steps, he stood in front of it and took two breaths.

    He then touched it and it didn''t send him flying back.

    The man''s hand seemed to grip tight against the monolith and soon it tightened. I could see the veins on his arm pulsating. Not from the beating of a heart, but some sort of energy was flooding into him, and rushing immediately into his mind.

    The man''s eyes opened up as light came from them, he had a wide smile on his face and spoke, "MINE! ALL OF IT MINE! THE WORLD! THE VAST EXPANSE! MINE!" he said and immediately most of his body began surging in Qi.

    I didn''t hesitate when I tackled him away from the monolith and disconnected his hand from it.

    "What happened? Why am I here, No", he said as he struggled to get away from me, "Mine! My kingdom! MY PALACE! ALL MINE! NO!" he said as he grasped the monolith as if he wanted to get back to it.

    "What the hell is going on here? What happened to him!" a person from the Fire Pce spoke.

    "I don''t know, and in case you didn''t notice I''m trying to stop him from touching that thing again! IF YOU DON''T MIND! COME HELP!" I said.

    His buddies soon came and stopped him, and only then when his veins seemed to return to their normal nature.

    Suddenly the room shook and behind us, one of the many archways seemed to shudder as a small crack not longer than a finger opened up in one of the massive doors.

    "I guess we figured out a way to get out of this ce¡­ only it''s slightly annoying," I said as I looked at the rest of the people.

    "What do you mean? Do we also have to touch that thing? Look what it did to him, he is delusional!" said one of the people from Lin''s race, this was the same ''dog'' from earlier.

    "If you have another idea please do share," I said. "Anyway, let me check up on him," I said as I approached the Fire Pce disciple.

    "Get away! You only caused us trouble!" said one of the Fire Disciples protecting his buddy.

    "I appreciate the solidarity, but if we don''t get information on what he saw we''re all gonna be stuck here forever, and that my friend, is a long fucking time!" I said.

    "I''m not your friend!" he said.

    "Neither am I, it''s a figure of speech you dipshit, now get the fuck off," I said.

    And immediately stopped.

    I''m being riled up, this is not good. The purple skull effect¡­

    "They are close," I said as I looked up at the ceiling.

    "What do you mean by close," asked Yuyu.

    "Before I got here, I left a trace¡­ up above, and it has been removed. The Poison cultivator is above us, and he ising. We need to open this shit fast, we don''t have time!"

    With my words, everyone seemed to realize that they were still being hunted. And that person the crazy guy with far too much power than anyone should have in this ce ising for all of us.

    "Look, his eyes, they returned to normal," one of the Fire Disciples said.

    I took a closer look and said, "What did you see in there?" I asked.

    "I-I saw¡­ what I saw is a sphemy, if I speak of it I''ll die!" he said.

    "You have to tell us!" said Xuan, "It''s the only way to find out how to leave this ce!" she said.

    "Then why don''t you do it yourself! If I speak of what I saw I will die!" He said.

    I frowned, "Hold on, will you die due to the monolith, or due to speaking of the things you saw?" I asked.

    "Not the monolith, but if I speak of what I saw, mypanions will kill me," he said and removed his hands from them.

    The four of them looked at him in confusion, "Why would we kill you if you saw things that aren''t real," they said.

    "Because they felt real, they were real, to me, they were true, and it was a lifetime," he said and almost for a moment, I saw that his eyes seemed to swing back to the time he was back in the monolith.

    "Oh¡­OH! I get it," I said.

    "You," I pointed at him, "You were the Fire King!" I said

    And immediately the four people next to him all pointed their palms at him as if it was an execution squad.

    "You just killed me!" the Fire Pce disciple looked at me with shock in his eyes.

 Chapter 389 Desires

    "What the fuck are you doing you, idiots!" I said to the group of four.

    "sphemous fiend! Die!" he said

    Just before any fireworks lit up the room, I clenched my hand and all four Fire Disciples seemed to lose all focus and their Qi dispersed.

    "YOU! What is the matter with you? This is something rted to our Fire Pce! Treacherous bastards must die!" he said.

    "No one is nning any treachery against your Fire King you idiots," I said, "It was the monolith, it showed him a dream, or a reality, or something he wanted or wished for, the monolith will shows a person what they desire I believe," I said.

    "That means that he desires to take the ce of the Fire King," they said, and that is enough to execute him for!"

    "No, you idiots, do you think any of you will be able to have another dream? Your world, your Fire Pce has ingrained in you the pursuit of power and might, it has bread you for hate and fire, to take life and feed it to the Fire King, so the Monolith Showed you the world where all of that is fed into you, and you can''t escape it, if another one of you, any of you were to touch that monolith, you too will see what he saw, only you will be the ones on the throne," I said.

    "It''s not that he is a traitor, it''s the world you lived in that is making you see everything as he did. Now do you dare tell me that if you were to touch that prism, you won''t have the same dream?" I asked.

    None of them answered.

    "So put your gun- hands down, and let''s think of a way to get out of here, there is a powerful enemy getting closer and closer to us, and we can''t afford to waste more time," I said.

    "Who was the second person to arrive here?" I asked.

    Another person raised his hand, he was from the Heavenly Academy, "Do I have to do this, Shen? If I were to see myself as the Fire King¡­"

    "No, for you it should be something else it should be something you desire,"

    "Okay, I''ll try, please make sure that once the door opens you get me out of that Monolith," he said.

    "Sure thing," I said.

    The man stood up, walked up to the monolith, and ced his palm on it.

    The light soon began seeping into his hand, and arm and rose all the way to his mind.

    His eyes opened up and shone a bright light as he smiled.

    "I-I missed you both¡­ so much¡­" he said.

    His voice was serene and didn''t have the same hatred as the Fire Pce cultivator had.

    And before I could even remove him from the monolith, he said.

    "But this has to end, it is not real¡­nor should it be," he said and soon he removed his hand on his own.

    He grasped his own hand and looked at the monolith as the light from his eyes soon died out before he said, "It was a nice experience," he said.

    "What did you see," Wei Lei said.

    "I saw my sister, and my mother and father. They¡­ died to a raid, a long time ago. They promised me eternal happiness if I were to stay with them, but I knew it was fake, it was obvious because I''ve seen them die, tortured, and mutted in front of my eyes, so what was before me was nothing but a sweet lie. Nothing more," he said

    ''What a powerful mind. Normally a person seeing the people he loves, longing for them, for such a long time would do their best to ignore all the singes of fakery in a world of lies. They will try to convince themselves that it was a reality. But this person immediately revoked that and returned to realty.''

    Suddenly, the room shook, and the door opened up, only this time it opened up far more than a finger''s width. One could almost pass their whole arm into the opening.

    I turned to the Heavenly Academy Disciple.

    "How long did you spend there?'' I asked.

    "Five minutes," he said.

    "And you?" I said as I turned to the Fire Disciple, "A lifetime¡­" he said embarrassed.

    "I suppose that the less time you spend within the monolith, the wider the door opens. Who is next?" I asked.

    Xuan stood up, "Its me," she said. But she looked hesitant.

    "What''s the matter?" asked Lin, "Are you afraid that your desires would be revealed?"

    "Shut up low birth, I''m a proud woman of the Wind Realm, I won''t fall to deceit, I''ll be out of there in no time," she said and pressed her hand against the monolith.

    Almost immediately, the light surged up her arm and into her head, the shining of her eyes was far stronger than anyone as she was salivating from how wide her mouth was open.

    "Ah my love! Finally, you admit it!" she said as her head was shivering in ecstasy.

    She moaned as she was grasping the monolith. It was very weird to see a woman in ecstatic euphoria like that, void of all pretenses as she showed what hid deep within her.

    And for some reason¡­ I seem to have forgotten about removing her from the monolith. I mean, she was doing a show for us¡­ all handsy and stuff.

    She even began ripping some of her clothes as she was enjoying¡­something.

    "Did she just¡­" a fire disciple said as he noticed something.

    "No way she just¡­"

    "Yeah, I''m a woman and I know when that happens, she really just did, what in god''s name is she fantasizing about?" Spoke Lin.

    "My lord! My husband, together, we''ll rule the realm and-"

    "Enough of this whore," spoke Liang Yu as she pushed her away from the monolith.

    "You all are incorrigible," spoke Liang Yu to all of us, well technically to the males.

    "NO! MY LORD! My husband my Zhang Tian! NOOO!" she said as she was grasping for the monolith but was being held down Liang Yu.

    ''Really, Zhang Tian¡­ bruh,''

    Soon, the light faded from her eyes and a surging wave of embarrassment seemed to wash over her.

    "Well, that''s awkward," I said.

    "If anyone of you speaks of this! I''ll end you and your entire families!" she said in rage.

    Suddenly the door seemed to open up but it was only a fraction. It seems that she spent too much time in the dream world we didn''t get to open it much.

    "Well, anyway, who is next," I askedpletely ignoring the degenerate.

    "My turn," spoke Liang Yu, she didn''t seem to be too hesitant, "Stop me if you see anything¡­ like that, or don''t if it''s you," she said to me via divine sense.

    I shook my head as tempting as it is, I don''t want everyone else to watch that.

    Liang Yu touched the prism and soon the same thing happened again.

    Only this time it was fast, really fast.

    Almost immediately as the light shone from her eyes, it died down.

    She removed her hands and smiled, "Well I suppose that''s fair," She said.

    "What''s going on? What happened, did you see something?" I asked.

    "Yes, I did, but it wasn''t worth it," she said to me.

    ''Pretty mysterious, I''m tempted to know more of her past¡­ but not right now, we still have too much shit going on to be asking about stuff like that.

    Soon, the doorway seemed to open wide, wide enough that we needed only one more person to enter through it.

    "Who is next?" I asked.

    "Me, Yuyu," said as she stood up, she approached the monolith and touched it.

 Chapter 390 Lucid

    The light from the monolith lit up for a moment. It rose from Yuyu''s hands all the way to her head and then shone brightly through her eyes.

    It glowed bright and soon we could see that her face began to flush.

    "Not worthy," she spoke and soon removed her hand on her own.

    The door immediately opened up enough to allow people to pass through and everyone rushed toward it. Because they knew that the Poison Cultivator was following close behind them.

    "What did you see," Liang Yu asked.

    Yuyu blinked a couple of times before she looked back at her and said, "Nothing important," she said.

    Her eyes seemed tond on my own and she immediately broke contact as if... embarrassed.

    ''Strange.''

    "Let''s keep moving, we don''t know what''s waiting for us at the next area. We can''t dally any longer," I said and ushered the rest to move forward.

    The group up ahead seemed to be moving at a fast pace, not even making sure that there are no dangers or traps.

    "Slow down," I said to everyone, but they weren''t listening.

    "I said slow- cough..."

    I began a coughing fit that seemed toe out of nowhere, my eyes blurred, and my whole body seemed to shiver. I felt that I was losing my bnce.

    The robotic arms I was using to move me forward managed to hold me from falling on my face.

    "Shen, what''s wrong?" asked Liang Yu.

    I continued coughing, and felt like I was choking, something seemed to appear in front of my eyes... something bright, reflective almost then it soon disappeared.

    I regained my bearings soon after and was as confused as the people around me.

    "What''s going on? What happened?" asked Lin.

    "I don''t know, he just started a coughing fit out of nowhere..." said Liang Yu.

    "Give... give me a moment," I said as I took a few long breaths then I scanned myself. Trying to see what was wrong with me.

    A cough for a cultivator is something serious, something is seriously wrong with my body. And that''s not just the coughs.

    My scan didn''t give me anything of value, however.

    I was fully functional, my muscles, nerves, and every cell and vein in my body seemed healthy hale, and will. But I was still unable to function or move.

    ''What the hell is happening to me?''

    "Come over here fast!" someone spoke.

    It was one of the people who were up ahead of us.

    We followed them and realized that they had entered a new area. It was a library of sorts. Only it was so massive andrge in size that one couldn''t see its bottom or its ceiling.

    We were standing on a bridge that ended in a circr tform that was in the middle of this cylindrical library.

    "What the hell is this?" someone from the Fire Pce spoke.

    "I have no idea," I said as I looked around, "Looks like a library," I muttered.

    "We can see that, but what''s the point of it being here? There is no exit nor a way forward unless you want to take a dive to the unknown..." said the girl in white robes.

    "And how is that my problem?" I said "Look around there might be a clue somewhere," I said.

    "Filthy low birth," spoke the girl in white and I was getting pretty irritated by this scandalous pervert, but I''ll keep that to myself. I''m in no condition to start a fight even if I could kill her right now by releasing her sealed poisons.

    Also, why am I talking about killing and murdering people right now, the Purple Skull should be days away from me, literally days.

    I shook my head and almost regretted doing so. My mind seemed to reel as if it was a spoiled egg.

    "Ugh..." I cursed as I grabbed my head.

    "What''s going on with you today? You''re scaring me," spoke Liang Yu.

    "I don''t know, I''m not feeling well... something isn''t right, it hasn''t been right since forever..."

    "What are you talking about low birth?" spoke Xuan.

    I sighed and took a deep breath debating whether I should let the Purple Skull''s thoughts be a reality or not.

    "I figured out something from earlier... you remember when we all didn''t have a heartbeat," I said.

    "Yeah, some idiot here said we''re dead, which is of course not possible, my Pendant is still bright," she said as she showed us a Life Pendant. These will break when a person loses their life and will inform another person who has a twin of this pendant of the death.

    That was a silent threat from Xuan, meaning that she is being ''protected'' right now.

    "What did you see?" asked Yuyu these were her first words after the monolith.

    "I had taken a scan on myself when I realized that we''ve been without a pulse. And now after I took a second nce, I noticed something new," I said.

    Everyone seemed confused and some even started using divine sense scan themselves.

    "Nothing had changed, what are you on about?" spoke Xuan.

    "Something did change, my heart... it a millimeter more inted than before."

    "Huh? How is that a change? Can you even call that a change?" Xuan said.

    "That''s a huge change, that means that our heart is still beating... only, it''s beating extremely slowly. We''re not dead... we''re in Hyper Time. We''re moving hundreds if not thousands of times faster than normal. Not to mention our mental process is also as fast, however, time for us, is still rtively slow," I said and almost felt as if I was going to faint.

    My head is killing me right now.

    I rubbed the bridge of my nose and said, "We''re in hypertime, this ce moves faster than up above, which is a blessing since it will take a long time for the Poison Cultivator toe and get us. The problem is we''re still stuck here, without a way to leave. And this Library makes no sense, why is this here, and what''s the point of the earlier puzzle if not all of us went past it," I questioned.

    My questions weren''t aimed at anyone, they were aimed at me, to try and figure out what the hell was going on here.

    Think, think, think!

    What''s the point of us being here, we were brought here to look for a treasure and explore a Saint ss Cultivator, but so far we haven''t seen anything that is remotely close to a treasure. We''ve been running around in circles all day long. As if we were being...misdirected.

    Could it be it?

    Just as the thought crossed my mind, my brain felt as if it was on fire, another coughing fit seemed to shake me from the core as I began retching and coughing some sort of liquid out of my nose and mouth.

    Yuyu and Liang Yu''s faces seemed to pale as they saw my current condition, they tried to help me but they couldn''t do much.

    ''You...are...''

    Someone spoke, it was as if the voice had been spoken inside my brain.

    "Did you hear that?" I said as I stopped coughing for a moment.

    "Hear what?" Lin asked her cat ears were perked trying to listen in on anything

    ''You... are....''

    It said again.

    "I am? I am what?!" I shouted through the coughs.

    I must have looked like a fool that had lost his mind as everyone apparently didn''t hear that.

    ''Dying''

    This one I heard loud and clear.

    I shuddered as the realization soon began to settle in.

    "No wonder," I said as I stood up.

    I went down to the liquid that seemed to havee out of my mouth, and just as I touched it, it disappeared and evaporated to nothingness.

    I looked around trying to confirm that what I just realized was nothing but an ugly and poorly nned prank.

    "We can''t reach any of the books," I said.

    "I can,'' Lin spoke, "You only want one?" she said.

    "I could use a bundle," I asked.

    She looked at the edges of the library and mmed her foot on the ground.

    Something seemed to surge from within the library, a powerful pushing force struck through the books from the library''s walls and shot a massive pile of them toward us.

    Many of the books fell to the unknown but a big pile of them seemed to fall right into where we were standing.

    "Cultivation manuals," someone spoke.

    My eyes seemed to wince for a moment before I noticed the books on the ground were all cultivation manuals.

    ''He did that without knowing...''

    "Hold, don''t touch them," I said before any of the people around me touched any of the books.

    "Why are they dangerous?" asked Liang Yu.

    "No, but, I want to test a theory," I said.

    "These books are all the same," I said.

    "No they are not, are you an idiot, they lookpletely different, even the names of the book..." she said and soon stopped speaking.

    Because they all read the same, they all had the same name, some random spirit cultivation manual.

    I frowned, it seems that I might probably be right.

    My head began hurting more and more.

    "That''s not possible!" Xuan said as she grabbed one of the books, and began flipping through the pages.

    "This doesn''t make any sense, I''ve never seen a cultivation manual like this, it''s messed up, nothing in it makes any sense..." she said.

    I slowly went down and grabbed another then began reading through it. It was a struggle, it felt as if the words were being evasive. But not in a clear protective way as if the book was trying to hide its content, more like, it was randomized words that meant nothing and were absolutely pointless.

    I took another look at the books and said, "All of these covers are the same. Same shape same title same books," I said.

    Everyone who grabbed a book before checked and that was true, they all were a copy of the same book.

    "Why is a library as big as this only has one book?" asked Yuyu.

    "Because," I said as I looked around, "This isn''t a library, and these aren''t books..." I said.

    "Did you eat something bad this morning?" spoke one of the Fire Pce, "This is clearly a library, even a cultivation pavilion, why are you saying it''s not."

    ''Hmm, it didn''t work this time. Suggestive ideas have a limit, and since they all wholeheartedly believe this is a library, I can''t change that. But this is also good.''

    "I think we''re not here," I said.

    Now everyone was looking at me weirdly.

    "No, I mean it, I think we''re...dreaming, we''ve been dreaming since a while ago, I can''t remember when it started but we have," I said

    "Low birth," spoke Xuan, "You seem to be a bit stupid, how about you stop speaking and let me lead this, you''ve lost your mind and in no condition to give orders any more. We humored you enough because you could contain the poison, but now, you''re just being radicicolous," she said.

    ''I''m starting to lose my patience

    "Open the books in your hand, and everyone goes to page number forty," I said.

    "What, why should we do that?" she asked.

    "You said you humored me earlier, just humor me once more, go to page forty and read the first word on that page," I asked.

    Everyone looked at each other before Liang Yu opened up the book. She found the page and said.

    "Bone," she said.

    Yuyu spoke, "Figment," she said.

    Lin opened her book and said, "Milk. Oh, yum," she said licking her lips.

    Soon the rest did the same and they all realized that they were reading different things.

    Xuan immediately mmed her book shut, "So what, this means nothing, it''s a book with a spell on it to randomize the words," she said.

    "Okay, go to the next page, the first word should be Idiot," I said while I was looking at Xuan.

    This made everyone frown, but they humored me once again.

    And they all began speaking, "Idiot."

    "Idiot..."

    Idiot...

    And whenever someone said the word Idiot, it seemed that Xuan was taking it personally. Which of course was just me being petty.

    "What is going on, how is this possible?" asked Liang Yu.

    "It''s suggestive ideas, you can''t read books in a dream. I suggested to you that all of these books were the same. And you all subconsciously believed it. So it happened."

    "But you also said that this isn''t a library and these aren''t books," Xuan Said, "Doesn''t that shut down your theory,'' she said smugly as if she had won a battle of wits.

    Idiot.

    "No, because you, all of you already wholeheartedly believe that this is a library and those are books no amount of suggestive ideas is going to change that fact. I gave the suggestion that you will all find a random word on a random page, then you all did find random words, however when I said you will find the word Idiot on the page after you all did. The books aren''t random, but they are figments of your thoughts and subconscious. Try reading a book when you''re dreaming, it''s impossible. Same here, we''re stuck in a dream status," I said as I looked around.

    p...p...p.

    The pping was insidious and very, very slow.

    Turning, slowly there was a man there and alongside him three...not so human people.

    "You actually figured it out, paint me surprised... I thought I was smart to have found out about this using oh so many methods and you realized it by reading books, HAH! Quite the brains you got there..."

    Looking at the person speaking, who should clearly not be here. Not after ten days at least.

    He was standing with a chilling air about him. Two finger wounds were now on the side of his temple, and next to him were three people, that should have been dead.

    But now they clearly are...well, they are dead because they are zombies.

 Chapter 391 Awake

    "Buyong!" Xuan spoke as she saw the decrypted state one of the zombies was.

    A couple I didn''t recognize because they were charred beyond recognition, they were some of the people that died due to the turtle when we were in the forest.

    But this man I recognized, not because of his robes since they were no longer white but were full of blood and grim. But because he held a stick, there was a powerful gale swirling around it.

    They have been ''revived?'' zombified? I don''t know what''s this but this poison cultivator is able to bring back the dead. Although they don''t look like they are fully back.

    No human or any living organism can stand after being charred to that degree until the bones on their bodies are already turned to ash. And no human can survive having so many bones broken, half their skull crushed and most of their intestines hanging out of their belly.

    "What did you do to him?!" spoke Xuan, "I''ll have your hide for this!"

    "Little girl, you''ll be joining him soon, after I''m done with this one," he said as he gazed at me.

    "What''s the point of killing us here," I spoke. "We all know that this is nothing but a dream, and once we die we''ll wake up," probably, I wasn''t sure that things might be like this but now I''m even more confused.

    Everything that has been happening seems to happen for absolutely no reason.

    "Then I''ll have the joy of killing you twice," he said grinning, "Not to mention, if this was a dream, wouldn''t one of the people that have already died before, wake up in reality, ande save you, or at least wake you up," he said.

    Now that he mentioned it¡­

    "Those who die in here will also die in real life," he said.

    "Then won''t it be better to not kill us," someone from the fire pce spoke.

    "Why should I spare any of you?" the poison cultivator spoke grinning wide.

    "Because we can help figure this out, and how to leave¡­" he said.

    "Exactly, but that doesn''t mean you have to be alive to help," he said as he pointed his hand forward.

    Almost immediately, all the poisons I had stored in that person''s fat, saving him an agonizing death seemed to roil and broil with wanton abandon within his body.

    A surge of deadly poisons was immediately let loose within his body, causing every vein they passed to, rip and tear, then they spread into his muscles, paralyzing some, and then eating away at some.

    Agony beyond what any shout could express seemed to surge from within that man as the pain he was in was iparable.

    "Stop that!" I said as I tried my hardest to counter his poison influence. But having to hold the poison on more than a dozen people at once was my limit, spreading any focus to help one would cause someone to die.

    "You''re too weak, no wonder you were fated to die here. For a follower of Du Shen, you''re far too weak," he said as he clenched his fist and the man who was in devastating agony seemed to burst form within.

    "You held so much power in that book, but I can''t even feel the Acolyte within you, which is a blessing since they are a pain in the ass to subdue, you somehow killed the acolyte inside you, by not feeding it well," he said as his smile grew wider.

    "I''ll actually get my hand on a clean book, and at the same time won''t have to deal with that annoyance, I have to thank you for that, I''ll make your death the least painful of them all," he said as he pointed his hand at me.

    Just as he pointed his hand at me, he began coughing. And grabbed at his neck as if he was choking.

    This time it wasn''t just me, but this man also was choking. Why? He is coughing, and looks like¡­he is drowning.

    How can a person be drowning? And also why is this man coughing too? Wait, there is only one connection between me and him. The Poison God''s heritage, but how is this affecting us?

    This man is currently spitting liquids out of his mouth that is disappearing the moment it touches the ground as if it''s not real but the fact that he is coughing liquids means that his body is tranting it into this dream.

    The reflection from before¡­ liquid, choking. And our sudden appearance here¡­

    ''I think I figured it out, but I can''t be too sure, I need more time¡­''

    I rushed the man while he was suffering what seemed to be an agonizing death experience.

    ''Yuyu, Liang Yu, if you see me do something stupid don''t stop me!'' I said through divine sense.

    ''What''s more stupid than charging someone who is leagues above our cultivation stage!'' I heard the reply of Yuyu who seemed concerned and worried sick.

    ''You''ll see soon,'' I said.

    I swung both mechanical arms trying to m the Poison Cultivator''s face in.

    But a powerful wind st stopped me in my tracks.

    Buyong was apparently working as a bodyguard even when the master was suffocating.

    I forced some of my Divine Sense to manifest around me, for no reason but to cause myself mental exhaustion.

    Which wille in handy soon.

    "Let''s help him, or we''ll all die! Take this chance to fight back!" spoke someone.

    And the group immediately came to aid.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Without treasures, weapons, or ess to anything but their basic cultivation techniques, taking out a man who can harness the power of poison to bring back the dead was not something easy.

    Especially with that person''s cough seemed to be lessening by the second.

    "Cough! Att- Cough! KILL THEM ALL!" he spoke as he began another nasty coughing pit, spitting more and more liquid.

    The three undead grunts charged our group, while I made sure to close the distance between me and them me to take on their leader.

    He was kneeling coughing like mad and once he saw me approach him, he stabbed his neck shooting a powerful poison surge, shutting his entire throat down, and immediately recovering.

    He released a silent roar since his throat was destroyed, but that was enough to release my hold on the poisons of everyone''s bodies.

    My mind felt as if it was hit by a sledgehammer as I lost control over everyone''s poisons. But that was actually what I needed.

    Because.

    "COUGH!"

    I began coughing while standing right in front of the poison cultivator.

    The man smiled, stood up, and then spoke to everyone using Divine Sense, "Look how the tables have turned. Now you''re the one dying."

    I grinned as I replied, "Remember when I said I was going to do something stupid," I said.

    Yuyu and Liang Yu''s eyes widened.

    Not from my words, but my actions, as I forced the mechanical arms to lift me up, then throw me into the chasm.

    "SHEN BAO!" shouted Liang Yu.

    Her face was white from despair as I dropped into the darkness.

    As I was falling down, my divine sense was still locked onto him so I could see and hear what was going on.

    That was probably not something anyone was expecting, especially not the poison cultivator.

    "Given up already, but don''t worry, I''ll drag you back even if I have to find your body---"

    He said then immediately his head snapped towards me, "BASTARD!" he shouted.

    And immediately his neck began spewing out the liquid.

    ''Damn he is smart," I muttered, but I needed to focus.

    I looked down into the darkness as the coughing began to increase more and more, then soon, I saw that reflection.

    Shades of darkness began covering my eyes and suddenly my eyes opened.

    No air to breathe, liquid filling my eyes, nose, and lungs. It was heavy and felt like molten lead that was pervasive as it went everywhere.

    I was inside a cylindrical vat, and from the looks of it, I was still wearing my clothes and had everything on me this time.

    The poison god''s book manifested itself immediately in front of me, as a massive arm shot from within it and broke the vat.

    I was immediately sent sprawling to the ground as the contents of the vat spilled out everywhere.

    I coughed the shit that was inside my lungs and blinked several times to finally realize where I was.

    Around me were many of the same vats where every one of the cultivators that were with me. Seemed to be imprisoned.

    But something was different, the liquid in their vats was a clear crystal blue. While the one I was in was murky green.

    ''Oh¡­now I get it, I''m poison, and being in contact with that liquid for so much caused it to destabilize. The same must have happened to that man. No wonder we couldn''t use our abilities, well I couldn''t since my literal presence inside that vat was disabling its properties. As for that man, he was bypassing the process by injecting himself with poisons. The mental toll on him must have been great, in fact, it''s good that way.''

    I looked around trying to find his vat, and once I did, "Y, kill him,'' I said.

    Y immediately shot from the Poison God''s book, lunging right into the vat where that fucker was trapped in.

    Only Y was a second too slow.

    The vat broke as the man inside it seemed to regain hisposure far faster than I did. He immediately jumped back and like a gecko stuck himself to the ceiling of the room.

    A powerful ripple of Saint Qi shot out from around him and almost made the entire room copse on us.

    "TODAY YOU DIE!" he shouted.

    ''Shit¡­an Ascendant.''

 Chapter 392 Stuck Between A Corpse And A Necromancer

    "Lord! Let me handle him!" Y spoke as he swung his swords forward charging the poison cultivator stuck to the ceiling.

    I backed out, fully capable of utilizing my abilities once again I pulled out Creeping Demise.

    "It''s been a while old friend," I said.

    "Likewise," the sword talking back almost had me jump from fright.

    ''Ipletely forgot this thing can speak, man so much shit going on with my life!'' I cursed inwardly.

    I pointed the sword to the nearest vat, making sure that it was containing one of the Fire Pce Disciples first.

    The ss broke, and the content spilled out pouring everywhere on the ground.

    Right then, the Fire Disciple fell forward into the ground and soon began coughing as he woke up.

    "What the hell is happening, I was in the library a moment ago," he said as he was looking around.

    The loud explosions around us however immediately alerted him to what was going on.

    "YOU BASTARD THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME WITH A PUPPET!" the poison cultivator spoke.

    While Y on the other hand was constantly pushing him back, breaking pirs and shelves left and right.

    "What the hell is this!" spoke the Fire ce cultivator.

    "Get your shit together, release the others," I said.

    The ma looked at me then he seemed to realize something, "So it''s true, it was just a dream," he said as a wide smile appeared on his face, "That means that you no longer have any hold over us with that poison," he said.

    "That means that I no longer need to follow your orders, and that also means I can kill them all here!" he said as he looked at the rest of the vats.

    Well, technically, he was right.

    Was being the trick word here.

    "I wouldn''t be too confident about that," I said as I took a step forward.

    The man''s mind seemed to reel as he almost keeled over.

    Blood dripped from his nose, and when he wiped it he uttered, "No! I wasn''t poisoned! I can''t be! It was just fakery!" he said.

    ''Well, I''m not going to exin to him how he is still standing in a pool of poison, the pool was actually from my own vat. When I was inside it, my body, my Poison Body had contaminated it so much, no wonder I was ''Malfunctioning'' in the dream world. Same for that cultivator. And now that the poisonous contents spilled on the ground, I can easily use them to make this idiot do my bidding.

    "I said, release them! break the vats get everyone out or we''ll die!" I said.

    The man looked up, and frowned, "But your puppet is pushing him back..." he said.

    ''It''s true, but I have a very nasty feeling about this ce... it wasn''t the poison cultivator that I''m afraid of... something else is here,''

    "DO AS I SAY!" I shouted.

    And the man immediately jumped into action. Breaking every vat in the vicinity and releasing the rest of the disciples.

    Something to note, however, is there were missing people...

    Lin, Liang Yu, and Yuyu soon came out of the vats, they immediately grouped up around me.

    "Where are the rest of the Heavenly Academy Disciples?" asked Liang Yu.

    "Here," Wei Lei said as they came out from another room, the Fire Pce disciple had found them there.

    "What''s going on?" they asked.

    Through the dark corners of the area we were in, we could only hear Y''s destructive blows breaking the walls and pirs as he was chasing after the Poison Cultivator.

    "We need to leave this ce," I said.

    "NO!" shouted Xuan, as she looked at me, "Not until I have my revenge on that bastard!" she said.

    "What revenge! Don''t you feel the Saint Qi spewing out of that person, even that strong puppet can''t finish him off this fast," said Lin.

    "He killed one of my people!" she said then pulled her Life Pendant.

    And then crushed it.

    I frowned for a moment, isn''t that stupid? Why did she do that, whoever is on the receiving end will think that she died.

    Before I could even think up of what to do. The sounds of battle seemed to suddenly die down.

    Y''s metallic body shot forward as he crashed right next to me.

    This caught me by surprise, this shouldn''t be happening, what the fuck?!

    "Y! what happened!" I shouted.

    "Lord...this ce... is a trap," he spoke, his words cut.

    My mind felt dread as a nasty realization came to be.

    Y is as powerful as a Saint Level Cultivator. That''s higher than an Ascendant, and even if that Poison Cultivator was an Ascendant, he can''t easily take down Y, not even with tricks.

    So, how did Y get damaged this hard?

    Suddenly, something flew next to me sprawling on the ground like a rag.

    Looking at him, it was the same poison cultivator...

    He was...dead.

    Fear gripped my heart as a powerful Qi wave surged forward immediately forcing everyone to their knees.

    "Long...how long has it been..."

    I heard the voice of something speaking, and I wished that it wasn''t real.

    Up front, a person moved forward, his face was half dposed, and one of his eyeballs had been eaten out by worms while the other one was barely hanging on.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Most of his body was devoid of skin and only had a tissue.

    An undead?

    Suddenly the Fire Disciple I sent looking for the people came out from a side room.

    He was looking at us as he spoke, "There are no more people in the vats, also I found the remains of those who died back in that dream. They all were melted and only their clothes remained in the vat... why are you all looking at me as if you had seen a ghost?" he asked.

    And we didn''t need to speak, well, one of us pointed.

    And the Fire Disciple turned to see that abomination of a man behind him.

    The dead... undead, the man grabbed the fire disciple by the neck, the move was too fast I couldn''t even see it.

    Once that man''s hand grasped the fire cultivator''s neck, he spoke, "So young... so full of life!"

    The creature, since he no longer was a man, opened its jaw wide and sucked...

    Sucked the life out of the Fire Disciple, starting with his soul that was visibly forced out of the disciple''s body, then soon, flesh, blood, and everything else besides bone that he threw as a skeleton on the ground.

    "Not bad, enough for an appetizer," he said "And now for the main dish," he said as he licked his lips.

    "RUN!" I shouted.

    "Oh, you can''t do that," the creature spoke. And with one word, everyone was force don their knees.

    "No one is getting out of here alive!" he said.

    Gasp!

    Suddenly, the ragged corpse of the poison cultivator next to me seemed to shake and shudder as he snapped back.

    His broken and mangled body seemed to immediately snap back in position as he stood up like a taut stick.

    "Son of a bitch! You killed me!" the poison cultivator said.

    ''Euh... I never thought that I would hear that sentence in my life...''

    "You still live? Filthy remnant of the Poison God, and two of you at the same time," the corpse spoke as he looked at me.

    ''Well, there goes my identity, shit,''

    "Why don''t you just die, you taste like filth," the walking corpse spoke.

    "Protection of the Poison God, we cannot be consumed by anyone else but the Poison God Himself," the Poison God disciple said, "And if you can''t consume me, you can''t kill me!" he said.

    "I wonder about that," the corpse said as he flung his hand forward.

    Invisible lines spread from his fingers, which I could only see thanks to divine sense, and grabbed onto the limbs of the poison cultivator.

    The corpse spread its fingers apart and this made every limb on the Poison Cultivator to rip apart form his body, immediately killing him.

    "Fool, powerless fool," the corpse said.

    As the five limbs fell down, the corpse looked at us, "Now where were we?!" he said as he pointed his hand at me.

    ''Shit, I need to dodge!''

    "RGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I heard and I almost jumped from my spot.

    The five limbs suddenly snapped back together as the poison cultivator stood up again.

    This made the corpse frown, which was very disturbing.

    ''What the fuck is going on!

    "YOU KILLED ME AGAIN!" he shouted, "Screw this! You''re a cropse," said the poison cultivator.

    "I won''t be when I''m done with all of you," he said.

    "Yes, but now you''re a corpse!"

    The Poison God cultivator mmed both hands together in a prayer position, veins appeared on his face as his eyes seemed to shine in a dark green color.

    "Poison God Style! Death Heritage! Bind The BODY!" the cultivator shouted and immediately several dozen threads of ck energy shot from within the cultivator''s sped hands toward the corpse.

    They spread around the corpse''s body and spun around every limb then soon manifested themselves like some sort of formation made of poison.

    "You think you can bind me!" the corpse shouted as he was struggling to release himself.

    The power difference was obvious, since one is an Ascendant and the other was easily able to shut down Y.

    The bindings on him shuddered and shook threatening to break.

    "Death Heritage! BIND THE HEART!" the poison cultivator said, more veins appeared on his face as he grit his teeth.

    another wave of lines appeared and shot toward the corpse, they immediately shot toward the heart and caused the corpse to stop shaking.

    If only for a moment, the corpse began moving again.

    Blood spurted from the poison cultivator''s nose, but he had a big smile on his face.

    "A powerful corpse such as this! Once I have it! I''ll make everyone Kneel! Including that Person!"

    "DEATH HERITAGE! BIND THE MIND! BIND THE WILL! BIND THE SOUL! REFINE!" he shouted and with every word more Qi seemed to shoot out from around him and he finally mmed both hands on the ground.

    Causing a new wave of dark deathly energy to surge forward, encasing the corpse in a powerful binding that seemed as if it was going to squeeze the corpse into copsing on itself.

    "REFINE!" he shouted once again and more lines surged up.

    ''Shit, if this keeps up, he''ll actually be able to control that thing and make it do his bidding!''

    I looked around and realized that everyone was thinking the same.

    Both of these things are vile and want us dead, if either of them lives, we die. SHIT!

 Chapter 393 Trapped

    Ungodly amounts of Saint Qi gathered around us as the Corpse was forced onto its knees.

    One could clearly see the indignation, disbelief andplete madness in the eyes of the Corpse as it was being refined by someone far below his cultivation level.

    As for the Poison God Cultivator, -The other one, not me- madness was clear on his eyes as he was enjoying what was happening.

    ''I have one shot at this, I can''t act now,'' I muttered to myself as I was looking at what was happening.

    One of the cultivators presents though thought otherwise. It was one of the beast people, he seemed to have some sort of ability to stand under this immense pressure that was forcing everyone to their knees and swung a sword as fast as possible towards the Poison God cultivator.

    It happened in a sh, the sword that was going to pierce the cultivator was caught using two fingers and then swung back, pinned into the head of the beast n member.

    Yet, the repercussions of such an act were not good.

    Stopping, or even hindering someone in the middle of refining has catastrophic consequences. Consequences for us in this case.

    The corpse that was slowly being refined found an opportunity to fight back in that slight distraction and was fighting back.

    "REFINE!" spoke the cultivator, this time with even more power, so much of it that the cave shook.

    And thanks to that, I was able to feel a breeze, it was slight, and small, but it was there.

    I turned around, "Automaton! Grab them all! To the white chamber!" I ordered.

    And in less than a second, everyone in the room, including Y was dragged to the Lord of Lords Pagoda.

    I turned and legged it.

    There was no way for me to fight against that person. I had thought of trying to kill him the moment he finishes refining that puppet. But that beastman''s action proved how awfully wrong that would have been.

    I''ve fought many people who were higher in cultivation than me. But a Saint Qi ss cultivator is a different story. Going at him with my current ability is nothing short of suicide, I have to leave this ce.

    Through the cave I moved, as fast as I could, using every ounce of energy I had, dashing using the Ancient Step.

    The tunnels were spread like a maze, and the moment we went through that white wall everything here became new to me. But I was following the breeze, it was right up ahead, not far away. I can make it to the exit.

    I kept on dashing and moving as fast as I could until I arrived to what seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Only this light was so small, a finger width worth of a hole where the breeze hade from.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki!" I called as I channeled as much Qi in my hand and shot it into the small hole where the light wasing from.

    The explosion shattered the wall as rocks blew forward, revealing an endlessly deep cliff where I was now looking down.

    Suddenly a great rush of energy seemed to fill me as I felt that Spatial Law is no longer be disturbed.

    I took a step forward and began climbing to the skies.

    "Release everyone," I said, and immediately the automaton released all the people that I grabbed with me.

    Shouts and screams soon filled the ce as everyone almost fell to their deaths.

    I forgot that I was in midair, but thankfully they all got their bearings and hovered in the skies after realizing that they weren''t suppressed by Space Law anymore.

    "You bastard almost got us killed!" one of the Fire Disciples spoke

    Only to have another one ask the real question, "Where is that cultivator? Did we escape?" he asked.

    "I''ve got you all as far as I could from him, better contact your respective Pces. This treasure hunt is over," I said.

    "And who might their respective Pces be?" I heard.

    I slowly turned as I looked up ahead.

    There were more than a few hundred cultivators, all flying above us.

    In the hands of a few of them were round objects. One couldn''t see them from afar.

    But then the cultivators threw the objects toward us.

    Mid-air, as the objects came closer and closer, more features could be seen. Hair, ears, nose... they were heads. Heads of the people who brought us here...

    Panic seemed to find its way far too easily on the faces of everyone present.

    "That''s a fine treasure you have there, to be able to hide so many people inside it at once. How about you hand it over, and I''ll make your death pain-free," he spoke as he licked some blood that was on a w weapon he had on his hand.

    Several people were surrounding us, we didn''t even notice them, and they were all, without exception at the Ascendant Stage.

    Fear seemed to grip at the heart of everyone as we werepletely suppressed here, without a way to escape.

    Just to make matters worse, the cliff beneath us seemed to break as someone came out of there, bloodied and with many of his clothes torn, he still grinned as he rushed forward.

    It was the Poison God cultivator.

    "Master Shi Situ!" spoke the person who was threatening me earlier, with hands sped.

    Everyone around him did the same gesture and it was clear that they were his friends.

    "Spread out!" spoke the Poison God Cultivator, Shi Situ.

    Looking behind him there was the corpse following after him, it seemed that the refinement was a failure, or perhaps a partial failure.

    Situ charged past me, and looked me straight in the eyes, saying, "I wouldn''t be staying here if I were you," he said as he shot forward.

    "Prepare the Soul Chaser Formation!" Situ said.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Immediately his followers spread out and began doing hand gestures.

    Saint Qi gathered around in incredible amounts as bright and dark lights seemed to manifest from around the cultivator spreading from one to one in lines creating something that was shaped like a sphere of wires.

    All of the members who came for the treasure hunt were trapped inside this formation, and among us was the corpse that seemed to have lost all reason.

    The corpse ignored all of us and continued chasing after the poison cultivator, but the moment it touched the border of the Soul Chaser Formation it was pushed back.

    The corpse screeched and began assaulting the formation trying to break it. Which didn''t seem like it would be possible due to how resilient this formation looks.

    "Master, should we let them live?" asked one of the cultivators.

    "Live? None of them will survive, that''s a King ss Corpse, currently it''s degraded to Saint ss, but once it eats enough, it should gain more power, by then I can refine it to have a better puppet to use," Situ Said.

    "That person had a good treasure on him," the man with the ws spoke.

    "He also has a part of the Heritage, that''s the reason I personally moved," just as Situ Spoke, everyone around him seemed to have a glint of greed passing through their eyes.

    "Don''t you even dream of taking it, it''s mine, and if anyone tries anything shady, I''ll make you into a Jiangshi," he said.

    This was a threat strong enough to make everyone stop the greed that crossed their hearts.

    "You''re one of them!" spoke Xuan.

    I turned to her and frowned, "The hell are you talking about?" I asked.

    "They want something you have, and I''ve seen you control poison like that person, you''re also one of them! why don''t you just give him what he wants at least he''ll let us go!" she said.

    "Let you go?" Situ spoke, "In what world did you even dream of that being a possibility? And you, after all of what I have seen you do, to think that you''ve hidden the fact that you''re a follower of the Poison God, what a shady person you are," He said.

    Just as the words were spoken, everyone, including many of the cultivators from the Heavenly Academy backed away from me.

    "You-you!" spoke Wei Lei, "You''re a follower of that disgusting being!" he said.

    "You''re members of the Heavenly Academy and didn''t even realize that you were harboring a devil person among you!" spoke Xuan.

    "We...I didn''t know!" spoke Wei Lei, "I would have never associated myself with him if I knew that!" he said.

    He then began gathering his Qi.

    ''Fuck.''

    "Are you are fucking retarded? How many times did Shen Bao help you, and you think that he''s a follower of that person?" Liang Yu said.

    "You''re probably being controlled by that man, get away from him!"

    Yuyu also took my side, "You all seem to be mistaking something."

    Her words caused everyone to stop, "You think fighting among us here will solve the issue at hand?" she said as she pointed up, "Once that thing realizes that it can''t break through, it''lle for us. We''re nothing but food for it. So better get a hold of your dumb grudge and focus on how we can get away from this situation," she said.

    Her words held a lot of reason and logic. And this caused the situation to slowly diffuse

    "This is boring," spoke Situ.

    "You there, whoever brings me that man''s head, I''ll allow them to walk free," he said smiling.

    "Don''t he just wants us to exhaust ourselves!" spoke Yuyu.

    One of the Fire Pce disciples seemed to disagree with her and charged forward, "I''ll dly give them your head if it means I get to live!" he said.

    Suddenly however before he made it half way, his entire body was snapped in two mid air, he didn''t even realize how, nor did we.

    The man died before he even realized it and below him, was the corpse, and in its mouth was the fire pce disciple''s hand.

    He tore the flesh out of the hand slowly ate it.

    "It finally realized that it needed more power to break free, good, this way it''ll end faster, and it should be a sight to enjoy," spoke Situ.

    ''Fuck, this is getting worse and worse, how can I get away from this situation!''

    ''Perhaps if I call her name, if shees this situation will be instantly diffused... but, is it worth it. Do I have to rely on another person to save my ass. What would happen if its another situation, also how can she make it to this ce if she''s in the Wind Pce. All the way in the northern domain, so far away from here. Will she even make it in time to save us, or will I be long dead before she arrives...''

    Think, Think, THINK!

    ''I can''t be relying on other people to help me every time. How can I ever grow if I were to ask for help every time I''m in a pinch.''

    The corpse looked at us, me in particr, and shot forward.

    "FIST OF ROARING KI!" I called as I gathered qi in my fist, so much of it that the area and space around me seemed to shudder.

    Qi gathered around my arms like jet turbines shooting out mes from my elbows.

    "FIST OF THE ETERNAL GOD!" I called as I struck down at the corpse with the strongest ability I can use.

    An explosion of sound Qi and energy surged out from everywhere around us.

    "Huh? Is it dead?" someone spoke.

    And I almost cursed inwardly, because even if I didn''t need to look, I knew that the moment someone spoke those words, it will never be dead.

    Smoke seemed to dissipate as the silhouette of the corpse appeared slowly in front of me, and my hand was firmly gripped in its own grasp.

 Chapter 394 Insane

    With one hand stuck, I could do nothing but watch as the corpse in front of me was preparing to strike at me with the other hand.

    However, something strange happened. The bindings on the corpse seemed to suddenly shake upon my contact with the corpse.

    They wiggled even if it was only for a second. I felt it, and the corpse felt it too.

    I sent as much Qi to my arm as I could.

    "STOP THAT!" roared Situ.

    And I could do nothing but grin.

    "You there, corpse. How about I help you get rid of those bindings," I said.

    The corpse was clearly still being partially controlled by Situ, but that didn''t mean I can''t break this binding even if it could cost my life.

    It was the same as trying to remove a thorn from a tiger''s mouth. You don''t know what the end result will be, will the tiger thank you? Or will it eat you afterward.

    I''m heavily inclined toward the second option in this case since both the corpse and that man really won''t want to leave any of us alive after this. But I only have one chance of getting out of here alive.

    I sent another surge of Qi into the corpse''s hand, this time aiming to destabilize as much as I can from the Poison God''s binding of Death.

    Wait, how do I know what that thing''s name is?

    Strange.

    The bindings shuddered again and I could ''hear'' a snap. One of them broke.

    And almost immediately several other snaps happened afterward.

    Whoever was controlling this skill to bind the corpse was rubbish at it. The refinement was poorly made, maybe because he was disturbed when he was trying to seal and refine the corpse.

    This is good, it can work for me.

    "You¡­brat," spoke the corpse.

    It seems that it had regained something.

    "You helped break the binding of the Mind, but the rest of the bindings aren''t as easy to break¡­" he said.

    ''Of course, they wouldn''t be since they were done perfectly, only the binding of the Mind was destabilized thanks to an unfortunate fool.''

    "But you seem to be mistaking something, do you think that if you break my bindings I''ll help you?"

    ''Shit¡­ it''s the tiger''s second option then,'' I curse as I twisted my body, "Roaring Qi! Ancient Stomp!"

    It wasn''t a stomp, it was more of a kick to the corpse''s face which was also immediately stopped.

    "Your puny strength isn''t enough to stop this corpse," spoke the corpse itself.

    I knew from his words that he too was unable to control the corpse even with the seal on the ''Mind'' unlocked, he was like a trapped person in his own body.

    The corpse opened its mouth and was about to bite my head off, only for Y''s fist to shoot right from within my own Poison God''s Book into the corpse''s face.

    Y suddenly emerged, he was damaged, heavily so but it was a bit better than earlier.

    Y taking this much of a beating shouldn''t have been doable if the opponent was at the Saint ss. But this corpse is apparently a stage above it. A King ss but it had degraded.

    The problem is, it degraded in Saint Qi quality, but the body, although it looks like that of a corpse, was still the body of a King ss cultivator. And one more thing¡­ it was no longer bound by the limitation of flesh.

    An undead body, a corpse does not feel pain, nor would it care about the limitations of a body and it can go beyond it.

    That is why it was able to take on Y, and break him to such a degree.

    "Master¡­ I repaired myself enough, I can help suppress the corpse to an extent, but¡­"

    I know, he can''t get us out of this situation.

    "X,e out," I said as both Y and X came out.

    I still have a few aces up my sleeve, but I need to reveal them only as ast resort. I don''t want people going around spreading my secrets now, do I?

    "X, blind them," I said and turned to the rest of the cultivators. "Get down to the cliff, you''ll lose your ability to fly soon," I said.

    I then threw something at Wei Lei. Who grabbed it, looked at it, and was confused for a moment. He didn''t talk but followed along with that group of people.

    "What do you mean, you think you can take him on, that puppet of yours is too damaged to do anything!" Xuan said.

    "JUST GET DOWN!" I shouted.

    "Filthy low birth," she said as she went down.

    ''This is strange, why is she of all the people here doesn''t feel threatened or in danger, as if she had a surefire way to leave this situation unscathed¡­''

    "Make sure you don''t move a single step after my signal," I said to the people down. They probably didn''t care for my words, but soon they''ll know the gravity of this advice.

    With her going down even if my request was strange to the people around me, they still went down following her. But two didn''t want to leave my side. It was Yuyu and Liang Yu.

    Also, Lin, the cat girl seemed toe to my side.

    "You should all go down to safety, that corpse is going to move soon¡­"

    "You know we can''t do that," spoke Yuyu as she pulled out a long thin sword.

    It seemed to exude a coldness to itparable to the peaks of mountains.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Liang Yu on the other hand pulled out her fan and slowly fanned it releasing fire butterflies all around us. "We''re in this together Shen."

    Lin, however, didn''t speak but took action, her hands seemed to grow sharp ws while some of her hair seemed to grow abnormally long.

    A powerful dark aura gathered around her while her irises shone in a golden bright light.

    ''Well I guess dying in thepany of three beautiful women isn''t such a bad thing¡­ but I''m not nning on dying,''

    "X, now!" I said.

    Suddenly X aimed his arms at the people outside the barrier we were in.

    "What does that greenhorn think he can achieve with a puppet of such a low level? You can''t even break this barrier even if you bring a thousand of those things," one of the people outside the barrier spoke.

    "What is this?" asked Yuyu, as she swallowed a pill I handed to her.

    "A lifesaving treasure," I said. Lin and Liang Yu both ate the same pill. But for the other people standing on the cliff¡­ well, it''s gonna be a very annoying day for them.

    Two holes were in X''s palms, he aimed them up, and then unleashed a lead rain.

    Dozens of small bead-like bullets shot up crashing against the barrier.

    Every bead that struck the barrier broke releasing its content.

    Breath Sealing Poison. So much of it was released that it would be an impossibility for anything to use Qi inside this barrier.

    Usually, that would be a very bad thing for mypanions. But that won''t be the case for them when I''m here.

    "Breath Sealing Poison?" spoke Situ, what do you n on doing with that, we have Saint Qi, do you think that you can blind me with that? I can see past it with ease." He said.

    I know you can. But not if I do this.

    I opened my mouth and spat a gout of poison, this poison wasn''t something that was easy to find in any part of the world¡­ well, the current world.

    A dark smoke shot forward, and suddenly the Breath Sealing Poison reacted to it, and it began consuming it. Yet at the same time, the very Breath Sealing Poison began having a change.

    ''This is a poison made from the Dark Beast''s fangs And from the Grizzly Spider''s ming Poison. Both poisons are things that are no longer a part of this world. Well, unless you personally traveled to the UnderVoid, or have been alive for more than ten thousand years ago when thest of the Grizzly Spiders roamed the world¡­ I doubt you''ll ever know what this is.

    The Breath Sealing Poison was suddenly agitated and it began to exude a strange color. A dark purple cloud seemed to epass the inside of the barrier.

    In less than a few moments the whole barrier we were stuck inside was like a smokehouse. Where vision waspletely impaired and the trapped poison inside it was so reactive to Qi and Saint Qi that it began eroding at anything that was rted to energy.

    "Lord Situ¡­the barrier¡­"

    Said one of the people outside.

    "What''s this?!"

    "It''s being eroded, this smoke, this poison is eating away at a Saint Qi barrier! How is that possible, from cultivation not even at the Ascendant Stage!"

    "Don''t worry about that! If it''s capable of eroding the barrier, there is no way he can survive the corrosive effects of his own poison, not even the Poison God''s Arts can save a person from using such deadly poison," Situ spoke.

    "What a powerful poison," spoke the corpse. "But this is a corpse, do you think you can defeat it with poison? Mere corrosive matter ispletely useless. And this corpse has far more Saint Qi than this poison of yours can eat away¡­ not to mention the barrier that is suppressing you all¡­ your struggle is futile."

    "Is that so," I grinned as I snapped my finger. A small me seemed to manifest from my fingers, it was a green me.

    "Heart me? What do you suppose you can do with that?" spoke the corpse.

    "Well¡­interesting thing to say here. Let me share some things with you," I said.

    "That man up above has something that is called A Poison God''s Heritage. It''s a part of a twelve-book series. And I''ve obtained two of them. While he has three. Though I still don''t fully know the details, what I know is that man wants my books. Which will be pretty annoying for me¡­"

    "What are you bbering about, I''m holding this corpse from ripping you to shreds by great effort. That''s only because you seem to be someone who holds a great secret¡­"

    "Well, I''m sharing that secret with you, so how about you wait for a moment as I exin further," I said smiling.

    The corpse didn''t reply, which was good for me to buy more time, because what I''m about to do is probably very synonymous with insanity¡­ maybe worse.

    ''Funny thing is, what I''m talking about. I''m practically a Viin monologing my n to another person. Usually, that is very bad, since it would end up buying the other person enough time toe up with a n, or some intervention will happen. However, that only works in books and stories. And the reason why I''m bbering and telling this man my n is simple. Because once it''s in action... there is no way anyone can stop it.''

    "So, from what I understand, the Poison God''s heritage has six books of battle and six books of understanding. That man has at least one of Battle¡­and the one he has is obviously, rted to Death," I said.

    "And what''s the one you have?" he asked.

    "I didn''t know what it was before I met this person," I said as I pulled out my original Poison God book.

    Underneath its name, there was a new word written in gold.

    "Poison God''s Heritage. Alchemy!"

    Suddenly, everything seemed to click for the Corpse.

    "You¡­ YOU MADMAN!" he said as he charged me.

    "Burn¡­" I spoke.

    And immediately the ck smoke inside the barrier surged in the most ungodly sight I''ve ever seen before.

    It was as if a sun had manifested into this world. And we were all inside it.

    I opened my hands wide and spoke "Wee to Hell!"

 Chapter 395 Never Before Seen Alchemy

    From outside the Soul Sealing Formation. The group following Shi Situ was all confused about the situation.

    They had perfectly sealed the corpse into the formation, cornering it, and were waiting for it to feed on the people inside. Once it had its fill, it would be powerful enough and worthy enough for Situ to fully Refine and make it his puppet.

    However, things had changed.

    With them making a perfectly sealed barrier inside, the other Disciple of the Poison God''s path had blinded them from seeing what was going inside.

    "Should we break the barrier?" asked one of Shi Situ''s followers.

    "No, are you an idiot," another replied. "If we break the barrier that thing wille out."

    "But we can''t see anything, whatever that man used is able to block even our Saint Qi divine sense.

    "It''s nothing but petty tricks," spoke Situ.

    "I''ve seen many poisons throughout my life, and I recognized the Breath Sealing Poison easily. But it shouldn''t be the thing that''s blocking our sight, it''s the other poison he released¡­" he spoke.

    "Then why aren''t we just breaking through the formation? We can take them all out and suppress the corpse," Said another.

    "That''s not possible, I''ve suffered great injuries and I''ve already lost two of my lives¡­" spoke Situ.

    This caused everyone to be slightly worried. They followed Shi Situ for a long while, and many have known him to have multiple lives to be nothing but a legend. But still, Situ made sure to not offend any great powers when he moved, so they never got the chance to see him ''Die''. But now he personally admitted that he lost two of his lives. Meaning that the corpse inside the formation isn''t something simple they can deal with.

    "We can''t move carelessly, not to mention, that damn brat managed to break my Mind Seal. Though the corpse is still moving aimlessly, it will undoubtedly break the remaining seals if we wait for long¡­" spoke Situ.

    "Then why do you refuse to break the formation, we can kill the kids and take out the corpse, we''re too many for it to handle us¡­" another follower said.

    Situ red at him with such murderous intent that the man almost buckled down in fright.

    "I said we can''t open it! Do you even understand how dangerous a Saint Qi-ss corpse?! Its quality is that of a King ss even degraded it''s more than capable of killing all of us. As long as it''s trapped inside the formation, it will not leave, once it kills and eats, and once this smoke is dissipated, I''ll personally lock the formation on the corpse and finish the sealing process. We need to be patient¡­" spoke Shi Situ.

    "The problem isn''t us being patient, it''s the fact that we''re using up a lot of Saint Qi to upkeep this barrier. Whatever that man used, it''s slowly eroding the Soul Sealing Formation. We have to constantly supply it with Qi¡­" a follower spoke.

    "Then keep fueling it, we have more than enough Saint Qi, enough that the corpse would have killed the kids ten times over before we''re exhausted¡­ keep sealing them in," spoke Situ.

    ¡­

    Suddenly a change happened to the scenery. The massive orb-like barrier that was filled with dark smoke inside it, seemed to have a change. A very sudden change.

    "What in heaven''s name is going on!" Situ spoke, with eyes wide and full of shock.

    ***

    "What''s going on in here?" We Lei spoke, his eyes full of terrifying fear as what resembles the sun was literally burning on top of his head.

    Fire beyond his wildest dreams converged and swirled right above him.

    In any other circumstance, he should be roasted alive, alongside the group next to him who all seemed to be more than terrified of what was going on.

    But there was a small golden barrier protecting him, and every other person within twenty feet of him. Completely shielding them from the incinerating mes.

    "What''s happening?" spoke Xuan fear clear in her eyes.

    "I don''t know, this must be She Bao''s doing¡­." Wei Lei said.

    "That low-birth madman, what is he intending on doing with this fire, we''re going to die here!" she spoke.

    "That low-birth madman you speak of is the reason we''re alive!" Wei Lei shouted, and he just then realized that he shouted at a high-ranking person rted to the Wind Pce.

    He still grit his teeth, the Heavenly Academy doesn''t sway to the influence of others.

    If Shen Bao was here he''ll probably not feel proud of Wei Lei since he had a rotten personality, but at least he might give him a nod of praise.

    Wei Lei said as he held his hand up, there was a small golden marble in his hand.

    "What is that?" asked one of the people around Wei Lei.

    "This is what Shen Bao had given me, as long as we''re within the range of this marble''s effect this fire won''t eat us up¡­"

    "How can a marble do this? Is it a treasure?" spoke Xuan.

    "No, it''s hand made¡­ I know this craftsmanship¡­Shen Bao made this," spoke Wei Lei as he held the marble up.

    It had hundreds upon hundreds of small inscriptions written inside it, so many in fact that an inscriber''s mind would reel if they were to try and take in every inscription at once into their mind.

    "I''m confused," spoke one of the Beastmen. "How did he make something like this? It''s as if he expected this oue," he said.

    "No," said Wei Lei, "He didn''t, this marble here, isn''t only supposed to stop the fire. It can also suppress wind, Earth, Water, and even metal¡­ why did you make something like this Shen Bao¡­" Wei Lei mumbled.

    High above them, where the mes were surging high, the sound of battle could be heard¡­

    ***

    "Oi, oi, not so fast," I said as a surge of fire came down upon the corpse pushing it down.

    "YOU DARE!" shouted the corpse. Or at least the ''Mind'' portion.

    "You can''t do anything in that state now, just be obedient and let me refine you," I said smiling.

    "REFINE!? HOW IS THIS REFINEMENT? YOU''RE A MADMAN YOU WANT TO MAKE ME INTO A PILL?!" the corpse shouted.

    "Oh, you catch on quick," I said then another surge of mes washed over the corpse.

    "Lin, your turn," I said.

    The cat girl shot forward, her ws struck down at the corpse sending it crashing into the barrier and immediately bouncing forward.

    "Yuyu, cool him down, about five seconds," I said.

    Yuyu moved fast and struck the corpse with a palm. A powerful ice sphere gathered around the corpse, and at the same time I purposefully controlled the mes to back away from the corpse<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Liang Yu, on my signal, increase the heat," I said as I pulled several items from my inventory

    A thousand-Year-old Blood Ginseng, Spiritual de Grass. And a Yin Braided Flower.

    The fire inside the sphere gathered around the materials, incinerating them and perfectly extracting the essences.

    "Yuyu, you cane back, Liang Yu, your turn," I said.

    Yuyu immediately backed off and went back to my side. While Yuyu swung her fan, creating a gust of fiery winds that surged around the corpse.

    "I can''t control the mes as you do! You have to hurry!" she said.

    "Don''t worry, you''re doing just fine," I said as I gathered the extracted essence into my hands. Liang Yu used her own butterfly mes to suppress the corpse. In any other circumstance her mes wouldn''t have caused the corpse to even care about them, but with how long I''ve been pping the corpse around using my own mes, and the fact that the corpse was literally a walking corpse without will or purpose. She was more than capable of stopping it from moving as it pleases.

    Lin was also doing a great job at stopping the corpse if it ever bypassed Liang Yu''s fire control.

    And now my turn.

    I gathered the extracted essence in front of me into a glistening liquid globule. Then began controlling all the mes inside the Soul Sealing formation.

    Well, ny percent of the mes, because I still needed the remaining ten percent to act as a curtain to block the sight of the people outside. I can''t have them know what I''m doing right now.

    The mes converged around my hands like a twister that began increasing the temperature of the globule of the essence.

    The fire increased more and more and the heat rose to such a high degree that anyone without a Heart me would turn to cinder due to how close I was to the core of this powerful fire.

    "SHEN BAO!" shouted Liang Yu.

    I lifted my eyes up from my looking at my hands and saw the corpse had broken through from Liang Yu''s fire twister. It was normal since the majority of the mes inside this ''cauldron'' was now in my hand.

    Lin tried to stop the corpse but was swatted away. Yet, I wasn''t worried, the corpse had been damaged enough that it is nowhere as powerful to heavily injure Lin.

    "I''ll CONSUME YOU WHOLE THIS I SWEAR!" shouted the corpse as it opened its mouth wide towards me.

    "If you want to eat that badly," I called as the corpse''s mouth was closing in on me. "Then enjoy this!" I said as I shoved the culminated twister of the mes and the essence into the corpse''s mouth.

    The power released inside the corpse''s mouth was so great that mes seemed to shoot out of its eyes, nose ears, and even into the rest of its body.

    The corpse shook and shuddered as it backed away.

    Slowly it backed as fire seemed to surge everywhere from around it.

    Then soon, the corpse stopped and looked at me, one could almost see the corpse grinning. As if skulls could grin, but this one did.

    "Fool, you gave me so much to eat, I should thank you for it!" he said.

    "Oh, did I now?" I said

    Not a momentter, the binding of the heart broke.

    Then soon, the binding of the body broke. And then the binding of the soul and the corpse as if fully recovered began releasing a powerful Saint Qi.

    "You fool, after all of this talk," the corpse spoke, this time fully freed from the reins of Shi Situ "You gave me back my freedom!"

    Yuyu and Liang Yu immediately came to my side.

    Looking down, Lin was bleeding heavily but she was still able to see what was going on.

    "You sure this is gonna work?" spoke Liang Yu. Exhaustion was clear on her face.

    "When did I ever disappoint?" I said as I pointed at the corpse.

    "Now then, let''s finish up," I said.

    "You talk too much for a dead man," spoke the corpse.

    "And you talk too much for a pill," I said.

    The corpse frowned, then soon came to realize something grave.

    "Why is my power¡­ growing? No, I''m recovered but I shouldn''t be this recovered," He said, soon he looked up.

    "Breath Sealing poison¡­ to seal the sight, This other poison¡­I know it¡­ it''s been extinct, it''s the Dark Beast Poison, to corrode the Qi¡­ he then looked at me and said, "But it''s pointless, you cannot corrode my Qi with this.

    "Well, I can''t, I never intended to, I corroded their Qi. Also, I''m surprised you know of the Dark Beast poison, you must be a very old corpse. Also, that''s not the only property of the Dark Beast Poison, it can also convert Qi. And another poison you didn''t know, the Grizzly Spider Poison is highly mmable and has one very nice property. It''s the best poison to melt matter." I said. Suddenly the corpse seemed to realize something grave.

    It had consumed a great deal of that burning poison, and its body which had fully recovered began to feel the effects of the poisons.

    "The Breath Sealing Poison is weak against Saint Qi, but it isn''t ineffective, it can hinder and stop divine sense, mixed with the Dark Beast Poison, it can corrode and steal the Qi. You consumed it all by yourself and spread it around your body by yourself. And thanks to the Breath Sealing Poison, you never realized that you couldn''t feel your body deteriorating," I said.

    Suddenly the corpse looked at its fingers and then found a small crack on the bone. The crack spread all over the corpse''s body as a purple light began to shine from the cracks.

    "And thanks to your own idiocy, you actually helped me do this," I said as I snapped my fingers.

    The purple glow between the cracks in the bone began boiling as the corpse shuddered and shook. Rapidly creating a surging purple me that epassed the corpse entirely.

    I was waiting for a shout of indignation, a scream of rage. Or a simple "NO!" but nothing of that happened.

    The poison had already prated far too deep into the corpse''s body that he couldn''t even realize that he was dead and immediately turned to ''essence''.

    The rest of the material I shoved inside him earlier began their work as they spread along the purple me.

    And with a simple clench of my fist. The purple fire crumbled against itself. Rapidly coalescing into a ball that shrunk rapidly.

    Then finally a small ck pill was all that remained.

    There was something like a ck me on the pill, and looking closely. I saw a pattern, and thus I smiled¡­

 Chapter 396 Catch Me If You Can

    Shi Situ spat arge pile of blood as he backed away from the formation "Cursed bastard, did the corpse break free from the bindings, damn it''s going to be hard to shackle it again," he said.

    "Lord, what''s going on," one of the cultivators said.

    Situ looked at the man and then noticed he was looking high above.

    The skies began turning red¡­

    "What the hell is happening here, a Pill Tribtion? And not a simple one, what the hell is this!" Situ spoke as the Heavens began gathering their might to strike down.

    "What is happening? Why is a Pill Tribtion happening?" one of the followers spoke.

    "It''s aiming at the barrier, we can''t let it break the barrier," another said.

    "Shit! This is a Saint Qi Pill Tribtion, it''s going to be troublesome to block it but we have to, if it destroys the barrier the corpse will escape!" Situ spoke.

    ***

    "Well, this is nice," I said as I had the pill in hand.

    "What did you do Shen Bao?" Yuyu asked.

    "I did alchemy," I said as I showed her the dark pill.

    "What is that?" asked Liang Yu.

    "That''s a pretty strong pill, made from the bones and body of a Saint ss corpse. It''s a Corpse Pill, very nefarious and dangerous, and can help a person gain great powers but the cost is that the body will be infused with deadly amounts of Death Poison Energy¡­" I said.

    "So, instead of beating that corpse, you made it into a pill", Lin said.

    "Yeah, he was one of the ingredients and inside this massive cauldron I could do anything, I have to thank the idiots outside for helping keep the fire contained. Let''s go down, the guys there will be wondering what happened," I said as we all went down.

    Once we arrived in thepany of the rest of the pce disciples, "Can I have that back," I said to Wei Lei.

    He threw the marble back at me which I pocketed back.

    "Well, you managed to kill the corpse, but we''re still in the same situation," said Wei Lei.

    They probably didn''t see fully what happened but since the corpse is gone, they''re at least a bit rxed. But he is right, the cultivators outside are still posing a pretty damn big problem for us.

    "They have their own problems to deal with for now. But we still need to find a way to leave this damn ce," I said.

    "Can''t you take us to that white space again?" Wei Lei said.

    ''I can''t reveal my secrets,''

    "That was a one-time use treasure, I used it to help you escape, I can''t use it again anymore.'' I said shaking my head.

    "But for now, we have some time," I said.

    "What do you mean by time?" asked Xuan, she also seemed a bit anxious.

    "The cultivators outside the barrier are having problems of their own right now, and they can''t break the barrier. We''ll just have to think up a way to-"

    Before I could even finish my words, the dome above us that was serving as protection seemed to rattle.

    ''Damn idiots, do your job correctly,'' I cursed inwardly.

    The cultivators outside didn''t let the barrier down due to the fear of the corpse escaping. They don''t know why there is a pill tribtion, but never in a million years would they realize that the corpse they were trying to trap had already been turned to a pill.

    But another quake happened, as the barrier was shaken with even more strength.

    "Finally he is here," spoke Xuan, and for a moment I felt some sort of dread creeping up my back.

    Something isn''t right.

    The barrier that was protecting the whole area cracked and dispersed. The thin mes which were acting as a veil spread from between the cracks and the whole formation broke like shattered ss.

    I immediately ced the ck pill into the lord of lords pagoda.

    This helped hide it away from the heavens, but that didn''t mean that the Pill Tribtion is over.

    Several injured cultivators, dead and dying were all over the ce. Where a single man was standing with his hands crossed. He was facing Situ who seemed to be in an incredibly roughened-up state.

    The man who was standing alone had a long beard, he wore a set of pure white robes, and had a most terrifying cultivation.

    A wave of divine sense spread all over the ce like, it felt as heavy as lead as it washed over us, forcing everyone on their knees.

    Some of the pce disciples even spat blood from the pure pressure, all beside one person.

    "Servant Mao, you arrivedte! I''ll have your hide for this!" spoke Xuan as she slowly rose up.

    "Mydy, please hold, this person is still alive, I''ve killed him five times already," spoke the man named Mao.

    Situ, the poison god disciple was rendered to this state, and from the looks of things¡­ I don''t think he has more ''revives'' left.

    "You''re one of the acolytes. So, how many deaths do you have left? One? Two? Or are you already done?" Mao spoke. Every word was infused with divine sense and they felt as if he was speaking the words of the creator from how heavy his words were.

    "I can''t understand why a senior of the King ss is bullying a lowly ascendant like me," spoke Situ with blood dripping off his mouth.

    "You''re an acolyte of the Poison God, I''ve no interest in moral or seniority, you and your kind are a gue upon this world, REND!" spoke the old man and several spatial rifts appeared around Situ, he didn''t even have a moment to act before the spatial rifts closed.

    He was immediately decapitated, amputated, and split into several bits and pieces.

    His bits and remains fell down and gathered back, although hardly and in a very slow manner. He barely managed tobine himself back before the old man followed after him and with a single kick mmed him right next to us.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Every bone on Situ''s body was broken and shattered along with most of his blood veins rupturing.

    The old man slowly walked down the skies as if he was walking down a flight of stairs and with every step, the pressure from his divine sense was pushing everyone down.

    I was barely able to stand still, but I still sped my hands speaking, "Senior Mao, we''re of the younger generation, we can''t afford to live if you don''t lift your pressure," I spoke hardly at that.

    The old man looked at me as if he was looking at garbage and said, "You''re another of the acolytes, two at the same day, today is a good harvest," he said.

    ''shit,''

    "It''s him, Servant Mao, that''s also a holder of the heritage, but don''t kill him yet, he has many treasures," Xuan said.

    "Wait! You can''t kill him," spoke Wei Lei.

    The old man looked at Wei Lei and said, "Why not, who are you to stop me from killing whoever I wish?"

    "Not me Senior Mao, but this person is rted to Master Rain, his life isn''t worth the trouble,"

    ''Although I appreciate you trying to help me, you should have kept your mouth shut you, damn idiot!''

    "Master Rain¡­ it would indeed be problematic, of course, that is, if he ever knew," Mao spoke as he raised his hand up.

    ''Shit, he''s going to kill everyone here to get rid of witnesses.''

    "You want me dead, and you want to kill everyone, I guess there is no helping it, Death Curse!" spoke Situ as he was somehow still alive.

    The old man, the moment he heard the words jumped back as fast as he could.

    A ghostly skull shot up from the chest of Situ and shot toward the elder who was moving back and making several hand gestures.

    Just then I saw something interesting, a purple skull slowly seeped underneath the ground, trying to escape the body.

    And at the same time, the Poison God''s book was revealed as it manifested on top of the corpse that remained of Situ.

    ''I guess he escaped using the Purple Skull. But since the purple Skull can''t take the Poison God''s heritage with it as it needs a host,'' I immediately went for the book.

    Just as I grabbed the book.

    "DISPERSE!" shouted the elder.

    Immediately a powerful golden glow washed over him and the ck skull dissipated into nothingness.

    I grabbed the book, "Automaton, take them inside again, leave that bitch though," I said

    And the automaton immediately grabbed everyone and took them to the white space.

    The old man noticed the situation and rushed forward, just as he arrived. I had already stabbed her in the neck with my finger.

    "YOU FIEND!" shouted the old man.

    "Better hold your fucking horses!" I said. "She isn''t dead, but if you take another step, she will be!" I said.

    "Do you think you''re fast enough? I can kill you a thousand times before you even blink!" spoke the old man.

    "Oh, believe me, I trust you can, but not when she is poisoned," I said.

    "Let me go!" spoke Xuan.

    "Shut the fuck up," I spoke as I stabbed my finger even deeper. ck veins spread all over her body.

    "I''ve injected her with Soul Sharing Poison, you should know what that is," I said.

    The old man''s face crumpled into the ugliest smirks, "You think that we don''t have the cure for such a thing!" he said.

    "I know you do, but you definitely don''t have it on you, if you try to harm me, she will suffer the same pain as I, if you kill me she will die. If you try and capture me, I''ll just kill myself by self-detonating and she will die too! Now old man, do you think you can afford to have your Young Lady die such a dog''s death?!"

    The old man hesitated for a second, and just as Xuan squirmed, I passed my finger even deeper, "Of course if she tries anything stupid, I can''t guarantee her life so you better back the fuck off and you should stop gathering your Qi or I''ll break your cultivation, my poison had already reached your Dantian, don''t fucking do anything stupid."

    "You little bastard," spoke the old man, "Once I capture you, I''ll tear your flesh, grind your bones. I will ce your head on a pike on the highest mountain for all to realize how foolish it is toy a hand on a heavenly daughter."

    "Yeah, yeah, what fucking ever, now fuck off, or she dies," I said.

    "What guarantee you have that you won''t harm thedy!"

    "Because her alive means I live, her dead means I die, don''t worry she won''t die, but if you dare follow me, she''ll never live! Stay there!" I said.

    Then I slowly rose up to the skies.

    The old man was feeling rather dejected but he knew that the moment he harms me, or try and snatch her away she''ll die.

    He was thinking up of a n to save his mistress, but I''m not going to allow him to think.

    I called forth the pill from earlier.

    This immediately galvanized the Pill tribtion.

    Just as the Pill tribtion was about to send a thunderbolt to fry both of us, I threw Xuan forward.

    The old man was about to chase after me, but he realized that she was not able to fly so he had to save her, not only that, the first thunderbolt that wasing toward me had locked onto Xuan for some reason that the old man didn''t understand.

    The old man immediately went against the thunderbolt to protect the girl while I called something that was probably not seen in this world in a long time.

    "Come little cabbage, it''s time you show me how fast you are!"

 Chapter 397 The Twelve Paths

    The Thunderbull carriage rode the skies with speed far surpassing anything I''d seen. It is still far from the speed it used to have when I first rode on it back at the Ancient Sect Memory trial. But this speed is far superior to even my own hoverboard.

    The Thunderbull rode on the skies and into space away from the tribtion that was slowly dissipating and away from that nasty old man.

    I''ve gotten my hand on one of the Poison God''s Heritage books, and it seems that this one already had consumed another book.

    Shi Situ, the Poison Cultivator had already killed anotherpetitor and now I own four of the twelve books.

    My own book, the Poison God''s Heritage of Alchemy, immediately consumed the Poison God''s Heritage of Death and another one that was included inside it.

    The one included was the Poison God''s Heritage of Law.

    The moment my own book consumed the other, a new text revealed itself to me.

    ***

    Dear Disciple of Mine.

    You have managed to gather four of my tomes. This is the minimum required to know more about the secrets of my Heritage.

    As you may have realized, you are not the only one in pursuit of my knowledge. You are but one of many. Though I treat all those who had taken my book as my disciples, only the one who''ll gather all twelve shall be my truest heir.

    By now, you have known of the existence of the acolytes, might you be one of them is of no concern to me or to my heritage. Only the strong have the right to im this knowledge.

    Might you be someone other than my Acolytes then do know that they will not stop until all of the books are gathered and only one shall rule.

    As for the Heritage, it is as you may have realized divided into two sections.

    Section of Battle, where the following books and the wisdom in them is included.

    The Heritage of Death, where you can survive death if you''re willing to give up a piece of your soul and cultivation. You may raise the dead by controlling the poisons in their bodies and souls. They may do your bidding as you wish and will.

    The Heritage of Carnage, where you may ughter your way through hordes of enemies, gathering blood lust as heavy and as weighty as the sea. The ughter Path is a vile, and lonely path, it is not righteous nor it is Evil, it is a path that will follow you the moment you y a life.

    The Heritage of the Sword. A sword''s poorpany for a long journey, however, the sword is mighty in the hands of the powerful and nothing but a tool in the hand of the weak. It can save as it can kill, only with enough power can its heavy weight be burdened.

    The Heritage of Devouring: My most loathsome teaching. The power to consume and abate an enemy''s prows. One can speak nothing but ill of such a path. It is as strong as it is as dangerous of a path. This path can give you the power to consume the world, yet grow greedy and it may consume you.

    The Heritage of the Body: Of all the paths of Battle, this is the most unorthodox in my teachings, yet it falls not in the league of the rest. A strong body is also a great tool in your journey to the peak, the power to crush a mountain with one''s bear fists is not a dream when you follow this path.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The Path of Poison. My first teaching, and my pride and joy. Though the entirety of my teachings start with knowledge of poisons, it is still a mysterious path that even I have not reached its end. Knowing one''s poison is the same as knowing one''s own death. As poison can kill as easily as it can save.

    These are the most powerful of my teachings ofbat, none of them fall behind the other. Yet with the power of battle alone, I couldn''t have been called Du Shen.

    Knowledge and understanding of the world are also imperative to my teachings, thus I made the secondary six paths of knowledge.

    The Path of Alchemy: With poisons, abundant one can create means and tools to control such poisons into whatever they wish. This path will bring riches abundant and enemies aplenty however, it is by far the greatest path in terms of establishing one''s foundations and growing stronger.

    The Path of Inscriptions, though I haven''t been the greatest inscriber, this path leads one to the mysteries of Inscriptions, Restrictions, and Formation Making, creating powerful tools to aid you in your journey, traps to kill one''s enemies or make powerful treasures all the same.

    The Path of Mind, this path is nothing short of a miraculous understanding of the power of one''s mind. With it, your Divine Sense can spread to cover the world itself, and your pressure upon your opponent can bring them to their knees.

    The Path of the Soul, this path is what makes one understand the power of the Soul, with it, you can grow strong even if you have no body. You may possess another and you may force another to your bidding if your Soul Strength is capable enough. The reaches of one''s cultivation level heavily depends on one''s Soul Strength.

    The Path of Law; One''s understanding of Law is the same as one''s understanding of the world. In this path, my teachings will allow you to approachw in a new view away from what many consider the norm. it may sh heavily with the knowledge of the cultivation world but it is not without merit.

    The path of Dao. Dao is nothing if not mysterious, he who ims to know Dao knows nothing. It is a path that has no start, nor end, it is the understanding of everything yet nothing. It is a Path as Deep as it is as wide, you may start journeying to understand the Dao, but you may fail to know a fraction of it even if you live a thousand lifetimes. Here, all of my understanding isposed, and if you follow it, no matter the power of he who you face, with knowledge of Dao, you may bring them to kneel.

    These twelve books are my pride, I have separated them since I didn''t want those who are unworthy to have ess to such rich knowledge, only the one to gather them all may have the true Heritage. And if you are fated to such a feat, then it is yours to do with as you please.

    ***

    "Damn, that''s a mouthful," I said as I finished the text that appeared in my book.

    I checked on the Poison God''s book index and saw that it had four chapters in it.

    The first, which I already had, was Alchemy, and the second was Inscription, which is the one I obtained from the cave under the ck Tower ages ago.

    The other two were the Death Heritage and the Heritage of Law. Shi Situ had two and he was pretty strong since one of them was of Battle.

    The thunder carriage kept on moving through the stars and I didn''t have any intentions of slowing down. A person as strong as that old man would probably have many treasures and means to catch up to me if I were to slow down, so I might as well create as much distance between us as I can.

    Now while I was moving away I started thinking of all the stuff that Shi Situ had spoken about. He was in a great rush to get my book and seemed to be afraid of someone else. I could easily guess who, another one who is looking for the books. And probably the same person who already owns five of Poison God''s books. While I have four, meaning that three other books are still roaming free. I can''t sit back and rx while this hunt is going on, and my best bet right now is to grow strong enough topete with these people for the books.

    The Poison God''s Trial will open soon, and if I were to vie for the knowledge and power behind it, I''ll need to be an ascendant first. A true one.

    For now, I''ll need to head back to the heavenly academy.

 Chapter 398 Crisis And Escape

    The thunder bull moved through space at incredible speed. Thankfully, that old man didn''t seem to be inclined on following me. For now that is.

    That bitch actually had the fucking gal to have that old fuckere after my neck. I shouldn''t have tolerated her the moment she spoke up.

    The longer I spend in this cultivation world, the more cruel it seems. And people who tend to forget and forgive are usually the ones who end up six feet under.

    If I didn''t have the Thunder Bull, if I didn''t ''trick'' the heavenly tribtion into chasing after that bitch, I would have probably met my end there.

    Though I know I can call the name of the strongest person in the known universe for help. I would probably be in a situation where I''ll die before I could even utter her name. I need strength, personal strength, relying on others isn''t much of a help. Because one day, I''ll end up in a situation where I can''t ask for help.

    And I''ve never asked for help from anyone before so why start now.

    It''s good to know you have a backer, but that doesn''t mean you can always rely on them.

    With new convictions to further improve my personal strength, I focused my eyes forward. I was still in a rtively unknown part of space. I don''t recognize the constetions here, and I''m feeling like I''m wandering aimlessly for now.

    Still, I can''t afford to stop, that man could still be chasing after me, and if I were to stop I might get myself killed before I know it.

    As I was thinking of how I can figure out my way, I took note of Little Cabbage''s steps.

    Something about them seemed familiar.

    As he was moving it seemed as the world was being bent to the will of its hooves. Interesting, and familiar at the same time.

    It''s as if I had seen something like this before.

    Thinking more closely about it, I almost facepalmed when I realized what this was.

    This was actually the Ancient Step, yet... on a more profound level. No, not profound, more like instinctive.

    The Ancient Step is a technique that has been developed to cross vast distances using one''s steps to fold space. Though it sound grand, it basically means that you take one big ass step that helps you cross a great distance. But this bull... it seems that he is actually bending space itself with every step.

    In a sense he isn''t moving from his ce... he is making the world move for him.

    Shit, this is basically like that joke from earth... Chuck Norris doesn''t walk, he makes the spin under his foot.

    Imagine being in a cultivation world and still think up of stuff like that. But at the same time this is interesting.

    Thinking about it a bit further, it would be neigh impossible for any being no matter how powerful to make the entire universe move under its feet, well, I wouldn''t say impossible since the cultivation peak is far and mysterious, but with all due respect to the power of Little Cabbage, he isn''t anywhere near that level of power.

    What I can deduce from his motions is that he actually takes a loan. A loan from space, he takes a portion of it, and bends it for his own. Then he appears on the other side of this portion of space and returns the loan back to where it belonged.

    Just as I finished that train of thought, I felt that my mind was struck with a lightning bolt.

    The steps of the Thunder Bull lookedpletely different from before. And I could see it, I could actually see how it moved. How it folded space like if it was a rag and it moved forward. With every step huge portion of space bent to Little Cabbage''s will.

    ''Perhaps this is what they call Enlightenment?''

    "Little cabbage," I spoke and the Thunder Bull neighed, or roared, or whatever a thunder bull does. Well, it sounded loud.

    "Do you know the way to the Heavenly Academy?" I asked.

    The bull turned its face towards me while it was still moving, and I almost felt like I was being called an idiot.

    And I actually was

    "Do you know the way to the Ancient Sect?" I asked once again and this time the bull slightly changed his direction.

    "Good, I''ll be taking a small meditation break,"

    Just as I finished my words. The thunder bull roared as a powerful surge of lightning shot out from everywhere around him.

    At that point of time, something like death itself seemed to whisper in my ears.

    This is what they call a life or death situation that a cultivator experiences.

    I''m going to die right now.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    With all I had I lunged aside from where I was sitting, and a hand appeared right where I was gripping at nothing. The hand then turned toward me and shot forward.

    Time seemed to slow down to incredible degrees...

    And I felt death looming by.

    I can''t dodge it, space has beenpletely sealed as I can''t teleport not that even teleporting can save me from this.

    That had is going to catch me no matter what I do.

    ''Automaton, take them all to the academy!''

    Were thest words I could speak.

    Immediately afterwards, the world turned ck.

    ***

    Fire, incredibly pure blue mes surged from the body of a young man sitting in the lotus position.

    Where there used to be treasures aplenty was nothing but a room that was surging in pure blue mes that seemed to want to engulf the world itself.

    The man''s hair was flying around swaying among the mes, as if they were dancing, while the rest of the clothes on his body had long since turned to ash and scattered away.

    Fire that would burn stone rose from within him and around him, yet he was not in pain.

    He was more like a sword that was being forged in the mes of a star.

    A young man who had found a fortuitous encounter that would make anyone salivate at the mere mention of it.

    A young man with no origin of renown. An orphan from a far awaynd, without family ties, without a sect toe back to, without friends, and without apanion.

    A child that has been rejected by the world itself, was now once again embraced by it.

    The feather in this young man''s hand soon disappeared and with its disappearance so did the blue mes around him.

    He opened his eyes, and a change was clear in them, from the brown eyes of amoner to bright crimson embers.

    They soon however died down and the color of his eyes was back to normal. However, his brownish skin that made him look like a farmer in thepany of nobles was no more. He now had a healthier looking skin. His height was below average, yet now it seemed that he had a growth sprout, and he had grown a couple feet in a matter of days.

    The young man''s body was riddled with scars, but now they were no more. His body that was powerful enough to break a mountain, is now even stronger. And this young man who hadn''t even been able to nourish his body due to the difficulty of his personal special cultivation method, seemed to have crossed several dividers and now has be an Ascendant.

    An Ascendant in less than a few days, something like this would be an impossibility in the known world, yet what this young man had found was a treasure capable of making something like this.

    The Origin Feather of a Crimson Phoenix.

    Myths speak of Phoenixes as creatures that are immortal, and as long as their ash remains they will forevere back to life after they perish. However, that Myth is slightly incorrect.

    After a phoenix dies, it coalesces its essence and its power into one feather. And if that feather is preserved in a heated environment it can be nourishment to the next generation of Phoenixes.

    Once another phoenix finds this feather, they will consume it and take on the appearance and the power of the owner of the Origin Feather. Thus people mistake the phoenix for being immortal. As it only transfers its power, not regain life.

    Nothing can nor should escape the wheel of life and death.

    The young man stood up. Looked around the room he was in then looked at his body.

    The chains that were sealing his power had already melted off his body, and now he was a free man. Yet he knew he was still trapped inside the prison of the home of the most vile end evil of men.

    How can this person escape?

    Yet before he could even try and think up of a n. He heard the sound of a bell. A bell that had apanied him since he was nothing but a country bumpkin, sold by a mysterious man at a cheap price in his home town, that man was the same person he met earlier, and that man should have no business being on a different in apletely different spatial region.

    The young man was not stupid, he knew full well that that man in ck was using him for his own agenda. Yet, he had given him a treasure as powerful as this? No matter what, this man, no, Meng Hao always remembers to reward favors twice the value, and offence ten times the value.

    The bell rang, and from where it came, space seemed to fracture, inviting Meng Hao to travel through a way that shouldn''t be possible for any man to travel through.

 Chapter 399 Alone

    [Disimer. This chapter is graphic, caution is advised. I tried my best to tone it down as much as I could. If you have a weak stomach... just be careful although, for most of my readers who read so far, this shouldn''t be much.]

    "Now then, he should wake up soon."

    I heard the voice of someone speaking, looking around, well, I couldn''t, everything was pitch ck.

    My divine sense¡­ I can''t feel it.

    What''s going on?

    Suddenly my mind felt as if a white light struck through it.

    "ARGHH!!"

    "That''s a nice scream," someone spoke.

    Pain, so much of it I couldn''t believe how a person can be alive after suffering such agony, especially since I was the one feeling it.

    I tried to move, but my limbs were pinned by something, I couldn''t see nor use my divine sense. Nor could I feel anything with my body.

    "So, you''re another of the acolytes, pretty interesting physic you all have," spoke the same man, and another agonizing surge of pain shot through my being.

    Suddenly whatever that was over my eyes was lifted, and I saw where I was, although hazily.

    I was in a room, and I was pinned to a wall.

    Tworge nails were shoved into my palms, another two right through the bones of my femurs, and two more right through my feet to the ground.

    Two more nails were shoved into my shoulders.

    The person in front of me was the same old man from before.

    How did he catch up to me?

    "You seem to have had the protection of a higher being, it''s pretty powerful, even I couldn''t dispel it," he said.

    Just as he spoke the words, it reminded me of her.

    The Queen, the strongest person in the Vast Expanse promised me aid thrice.

    As I tried to speak her name, the nails on me surged with so much power that I felt like I was thrown into the heart of a burning star.

    So much pain was coursing through my body and flesh, every nerve was fried from the surge of extreme heat and agitation. My brain felt like it was boiling.

    "Don''t try, no matter who that person is protecting you, you''ll die before you can utter their name. Not to mention, they''ll never find you, and even if they did, I doubt that anyone is strong enough toe here, now, let''s see, you dare put your hand on the youngdy, that deserves some punishment," the old man spoke.

    My pinned right arm suddenly caught fire, not any fire, a ck merciless one that seemed to surge from the Nail that was pinning it.

    If the pain of speaking that person''s name was unbearable, it was nothingpared to what was happening to my right arm right now.

    If my screams could reach the heavens, they already did. But these walls, even with my Qi sealed, I could feel that they are stopping sound Qi, and vibrations all form leaking.

    "Why¡­ are you¡­ doing this?"

    "Oh, you can still speak, great pain tolerance, you won''t break easily then, good," he said as he stabbed a dagger right between two of my ribs, and the fucker twisted it.

    The pain from the weapon would have been enough, but it wasced with Saint Qi that seemed to have simr properties to the nails that were pinning me.

    My screams were so loud that my vocal cords ruptured. As blood sttered from my mouth.

    "Don''t even think of touching me with that foul blood of yours," spoke the old man as he burn the spray of blood using his own Qi.

    "Yo who is an acolyte to that disgusting being, will not live to see the sun ever again, I''ll make sure of it, as I had done to so many before you," he added.

    Fucking psychotic bastard.

    But his words mean that he already captured and killed other Poison God cultivators.

    Looking around, I realized that the room we were in had more ''people'', or actually just skeletons now on the walls, they all had nails exactly the same as the ones I have on me.

    This is also another intimidation tactic. This fucker¡­

    The old man wiped his knife, though for some reason it didn''t have any blood on it. But still, he wiped the knife, it was so normal for him it looked like a bartender cleaning a ss. This clearly means that this fucker was too used to this shit.

    "You all act tough, but after a couple of days, you all start begging for mercy or a swift death, but you''ll never get it, none of you will ever get it. And none of you will ever reach the Poison God''s Trial," he said.

    He then stabbed the knife once again into my stomach.

    More pain surged through me and I was barely able to scream this time due to my ruptured vocal cords.

    "Don''t even think of dying from blood loss," he said smiling, "because this dagger doesn''t harm the physical body," he added.

    And it was true since even when he stabbed me in the side, no blood came out, nor do I see any blood seeping from my palms or anywhere where the nails had dug through.

    "This is pain inflicted on your spiritual body, and you seem to have somewhat of a strong one, so you''llst longer," he said grinning.

    I tried to speak, and when he saw me moving my mouth he came closer

    "Fuck¡­you," was somewhat of a smartass rey I thought of.

    The pain I suffered afterward almost had me regret saying, almost.

    "Those eyes, you think you still have hope? Do you think that someone will save you? Do you think that you will be able to leave this ce? Oh, how wrong you are, because I''ve seen those eyes many, many times, and it is my greatest pleasure to see those eyes so bright with hope, slowly but surely dim as you will all eventually realize that this is your eternal tomb."

    A couple of torturous painful hours went by before the fucker spoke again.

    "Interesting," he said, "Of all those that have been here, you''re the only one who hasn''t revealed your true nature, you really don''t care if your host dies do you?" he said.

    His words were clearly not meant for me, and I could guess what he wanted.

    The problem is I was in too much anguish that I can''t even think properly, son of a bitch¡­

    "You still wish to hide behind this weak host, or have you already assimted him?" he asked.

    And when he didn''t receive a reply, the pain came.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    "Good, you''re a tough nut to break, so I''ll take my sweet time," he said. "But I can''t be wasting my time with you, lets''s see, how long can your mindst," he said as he walked away, pressed on something on the wall and a door opened up.

    He then proceeded to walk through it and leave me alone.

    ''fuck¡­ there is no need to even try and guess what that man is trying to do. Shit, being smart is actually a curse.''

    It was actually simple. He will leave me here, and give me hope, hope that he won''te back, but soon he will and the pain will resume, and he will do it again. This bastard isn''t even torturing me for information, he is doing it out of pure pleasure.

    If I had the information he wanted, at least I would have some time, time to think ore up with something. Time can actually buy my life if I was smart about it. Killing someone who has the information you need is idiotic so most people who work in this shady line usually do their best to keep their victim alive but at the same time close to death.

    But if he is only doing this for his own psychotically perverted pleasure, I''m fucked.

    I can''t call her name, because the moment I even try and do that, I''ll burn due to these nails. I can''t use my Qi. But what about the rest of my utilities?

    "Automaton," I muttered, but no one came out.

    Shit.

    "Book!"

    Nothing.

    Fuck¡­

    I even tried calling the robotic arms on my side and nothing happened.

    What the fuck did that bastard do to me?

    He seems to know too much about Poison God cultivators, he made sure not to draw blood. Because he knew it was poisonous and would be a pain in the ass for him to handle it.

    He said that all the pain he inflicted was in the spiritual sense. Meaning he wasn''t assaulting my physical body, but more my mind and soul.

    Shit. This is the worst because I literally can''t die to something like that. My mental power and soul power are so damn powerful I''ll actually be the best target for him to practice his torturing arts.

    Fuck, fuck, fuck!

    I''m actually going to die here. I''m actually going to perish in a ce where no one would ever think of finding me. Somewhere far from everyone.

    Is this the end of my journey? Have Ie all this way for some psychotic bastard to take interest in me and just start torturing me for his own fucking pleasure.

    I felt as if the world was suddenly bing dimmer, hope as much as I want to cling to it. seems to be fading. If we think about it rationally, me getting out of here¡­ is not even possible¡­

    I''m going to die here¡­ alone.

    ¡­

    No! No stop thinking like that!

    I can''t dive into despair, not here not now. It''s what he wants.

    Fucking hell, it''s not even easy. This hurts so much, and I can''t even escape. All my tools have been disabled.

    Perhaps those kids will arrive at the Heavenly academy?

    No, he could have already caught them¡­ shit, even if they arrived at the Heavenly Academy what can they do? Even if they reached Master Rain, what can he do, he has no way to locate me. Shit.

    I can''t rely on anyone, in this shit situation, I have to get out by myself.

    But how?"

    Meditate, I need to enter my sea of consciousness. That''s the only way.

    I closed my eyes and immediately found myself within my sea of consciousness or what seems to have been left of it.

    Nine massive spikes seemed to have pierced through it. They looked exactly the same as the ones that were piercing my body. And they were exuding a powerful energy that was breaking everything apart.

    The massive calm sea that surrounded my sea of consciousness seemed to rage.

    The fortress in the middle was also heavily damaged, the weaponry and tools I made to protect my mind, and the armies I created to protect me had all turned to cinders. Nothing but the tower in the middle remained, but even the tower had one of the nine Nails piercing right through it.

    I closed in on the tower and saw the Soul that was administrating everything.

    It had the nail piercing from its shoulder and right through its body. The soul was breaking and damaged, but its eyes were the eyes of something that isn''t giving up.

    I have no right to give up if my soul didn''t.

    I approached the nail but the soul stopped me.

    I immediately realized why.

    This was the same type of magic that was on the Thunder Bull. Soul Sealing Stake.

    If I were to touch this without proper means, I''ll instantly turn to ash.

    How can I remove this?

    I approached the stake and saw something on it, something I didn''t see when I was outside my sea of consciousness.

    They were words¡­ letters and inscriptions.

    This thing, is actually a Restriction, a type of formation that is designed topletely seal and pin down a creature it touches.

    And looking at its size that seemed to reach the highest point of my Divine Sea, the size and number of inscriptions in it should be unimaginable.

    But¡­as long as it''s an inscription. I can decipher it.

    Suddenly, hope that seemed to have waned ignited back again.

    Just wait, you old fucker.

 Chapter 400 Time Skip

    Somewhere within the vast expanse, a spatial rift seemed to form.

    Rifts in space are not an unusual urrence. And cultivators usually make sure to steer clear of them. Space itself is already dangerous to travel, but spatial rifts also hold another space inside them. A world where Qi, is nonexistent and where nothing can survive. Or so many would think.

    The spatial rift opened up and from within it, apletely naked man came out.

    This person''s body was impable in every sense. A divine body made for cultivation. And the Yang Qi it exuded was far purer than anything that has ever been seen before. It was actually so pure that it brought the attention of several cultivators who were treading along this lonely path in space.

    Four cultivators moved toward the source of this pure Yang Qi thinking that a treasure had manifested itself. And what they saw was a person whose entire body was exuding a rich pure Qi from it.

    Greed was obvious in the eyes of one of these cultivators, and since this man who appeared seemed to be unconscious.

    "Brothers, I''m willing to hand over every treasure in my possession for the chance of obtaining that body!" he said.

    The other three thought carefully about this proposition because the man who spoke was extremely rich. And powerful that if they were to fight him, at least a couple of them will die before they turn victorious.

    They all knew that fighting among themselves for this body will end up in their loss, and if they didn''t act quickly, another group of cultivators mighte here.

    "We agree," spoke the other three.

    Just then, the greediest of the bunch approached the body in order to obtain it, thinking it was nothing but a corpse. But the moment that man touched the body of this person, he was immediately turned to cinders.

    The other three were dumbfounded, howe a body has such pure Yang Qi, enough to actually turn an Ascendant to cinders the moment it touched it?

    This power, this body holds many secrets, and it clearly holds a lot of power¡­ it would be a shame to give it up.

    Another of the remaining three approached the body and began using sealing formation to stop the Yang Qi from the body. Yet whatever formation he tried was turned to cinders.

    The other two came to help, and they even tried to refine this body using their own refining treasures. Yet, nothing survived the burning Qi from this body. It was absurd to an unimaginable degree.

    But suddenly, due to so many disturbances, one of the body''s fingers twitched.

    "Hold up, I think¡­ it''s still alive!" one of them said.

    "Are you stupid, didn''t you notice the remains of Rift Energy, that thing was spat out from a spatial rift, there is no way anything can live inside a spatial rift, or are you just saying that to scare us away for you to get the body yourself?"

    "No, I swear, I saw its finger twitch," he said.

    "That''s a corpse, it has no signs of vitality nor can I sense its soul, it''s a treasure imbued with yang Qi, it could probably be a postmortem twitch."

    The three then proceeded to ignore that simple twitch of a finger. And resumed their refining.

    As they gathered their Qi to fully refine the corpse, the twitch from earlier became more apparent. Even if they had all noticed it this time, they were already halfway through their refining and couldn''t stop.

    The twitch became a jerk, and suddenly the brows of the corpse moved up and down before its eyes opened up.

    Eyes as bright as an ignited coal opened up wide and then a breath was taken.

    In that breath, it wasn''t air that was absorbed because there is no air in space. But it was Qi, spatial Qi, pure inundated chaotic Qi.

    The three cultivators had realized that they had probably messed up big time with an attempt at refining a living creature, especially if it was so powerful while it was only unconscious, but now that it had awoken. They will all die if they don''t flee.

    Yet before they could even think of fleeing. The world around them turned red.

    "What in Heavens''s name is this!" one of the three cultivators spoke as he shuddered at the sight.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was bright red, and it was cloudy, how could clouds be in space? There was only one way for that to happen.

    "H-heavenly Tribtion!" the three hade to the realization that this body had just crossed the boundaries of mortality and now had achieved Ascension.

    Not only that, there was something else within the clouds.

    "B-brothers! That''s the Mortal Severing de! This person hadn''t even crossed the mortal divider!"

    This meant one thing, that this person in front of them had jumped so many stages of cultivation without even crossing the Mortal Divider. And now all of them wereing at him at once. Not only that, since these three were in the vicinity, they too will suffer the Heavenly Tribtion of this person.

    And so the skies roared.

    ***

    Within one of thergest pces on the main Wind Realms was a woman who was humming a cheerful tune as she was looking at a mirror.

    "Servant Mao," spoke a woman in white robes.

    "Yes, youngdy," the man who had been inflicting untold torture upon Shen Bao had arrived to his mistress''s demand.

    "How do I look?" she asked as she twirled around him, she had worn one of her most expensive robes made from the hair of a Pixi Queen and the leather of an ancient Imoogi.

    The old man pped with joy, "Like a princess, youngdy," he said.

    "Good, good, this should at least pique Lord Zhang''s interest. Well at least if our present fails to do so," she said.

    "Oh worry not, I know for a fact that the Heavenly Wind Realm despises the Poison God, your idea of presenting that person to Zhang Tian as a gift is something, not even this old man had thought of!" he said.

    "Yes, I know that''s why I''m the heir to my house. Anyway, has there been any change?" she asked.

    He shook his head, "It''s been five years. And he is still as stubborn as the first day. None of the other cultivators had managed to survive beyond a couple of months, to think a monster with such willpower can exist. I''m truly impressed," he said.

    "You get impressed by the simplest things, are you sure you weren''t going easy on him, afraid of breaking your toy?" she sneered.

    "Hah, on the contrary, his eyes were so defiant that it made me even go beyond my normal means, it will be a bit saddening to hand over such a precious¡­toy, to lord Zhang, but, if it''s for my mistress''s happiness, I''m willing to give my life if it is of any worth," he said.

    "You''re such a loyal servant, to think that you''d actually give up fifty years of your lifespan just to catch that person for me," she said.

    "My life is all in the hand of mydy, though I wanted to capture his mount for you, it was just too fast," he said.

    "That indeed was a fast mount, I''ve never seen anything like it, it would have also been a good present to Lord Zhang," she said.

    "I wish I could have captured it for you, but whatever that person had summoned had blocked my spatial interference to grab it, I could only bring that wretched man. Still, the rest of those children are unable to do much, even if they go back to their respective territories, they can''t do much, since no one is foolish enough to side with one of Du Shen''s Acolytes." He said.

    "True, and giving Lord Zhang one of his acolytes as a reward is a great merit. I would have been gleeful to hand over the others that you had captured before but they all broke too soon, but this one thankfully survived long enough to the day of Lord Zhang''s Royal Procession. I''m sure he''ll im the hems of lordship after today," she said.

    "Yes, we all believe to, especially since even the Queen had been on bad terms with the second price, if we cling to the first prince we can surely rise to the level of the heavens," he said.

    "Don''t worry about that, it is my duty to woo the lord, and I''m more than confident in my beauty and in my present, It''ll be impable, not a single person would expect such a grand gift for the lord, I would be the only one to receive his attention tomorrow," she said.

    The old man pped, "Indeed mydy, then, I''ll go ahead and check up on our present," he said.

    "Go, and make sure that all preparations are ready," the youngdy said as she was finished powdering her face in preparation for the ''grand day''

 Chapter 401 The Calm Before The Storm

    "How long are we going to be stuck here," Wei Lei spoke with an annoyed tone as he was gazing upon the starry skies.

    "We''re already back into a familiar gctic system. These stars, I know them," Liang Yu spoke.

    "Really? I can''t seem to locate where we are still," Lin replied questioning.

    "I''ve traveled with my master for a long while, so I know this region, we should arrive to the Heavenly Academy shortly," spoke Liang Yu.

    "What a pain in the ass man, we were stranded for god knows how much in deep space," spoke Wei Lei.

    "Five years and three months," replied Yuyu who seemed to have opened her eyes for the first time in a long while.

    "You''ve been keeping count," Wei Lei spoke surprised.

    "Yes, I never stopped counting, since that moment," she said, as coldness spewed out of her body.

    "Hold you Qi god damn it, it''s already cold in space. Anyway, at least we''re here," said Wei Lei as he finally saw the Heavenly Academy''s massive formation. "But isn''t this bull moving a bit too straightforward¡­" he said before he realized that the bull was not going to stop its stampede.

    "Oh shit! Oi you stupid ox stop! We''re going to crash!" Wei Lei shouted but the bull heeded him no mind.

    It continued moving and just as everyone thought that after all that time of being stranded in space that they would die in such a stupid fashion, something inexplicable happened.

    The bull had never stopped its movement and while it seemed like it was going to crash into the constantly moving rock formation, the formation itself seemed to naturally move in a way that it allowed a small openingrge enough for the bull to pass through.

    And from that the Thunderbull rushed down towards the upper ind of the Heavenly Academy.

    "STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of the ck-robed elders rushed up to stop the ''intruder'' only for the bull topletely ignore it and continue its march heading towards the massive pce in the middle of the flying ind.

    "We''re under attack! Sound the rm!" spoke the elder.

    But his words were immediately disregarded when another person with far superior divine sense spoke.

    "Let them in you dumb idiot."

    Those words were the words of the only person who holds no regard or esteem for anyone who is living here in the Heavenly Academy.

    Master Rain''s voice sounded and everyone who was ready to put their lives on the line to stop the ''intruder'' stopped in their steps.

    The bull decelerated and softly stopped its march as it stood in front of the Heavenly Academy''s main building.

    Master Rain arrived from the highest tower of the academy andnded softly.

    "Ah what am I going to do with you when bao, you idiot why did you have to show this damn mount of yours here," Master Rain berated as he approached the carriage.

    But then he stopped, as he noticed that something wasn''t right.

    There were four people in the carriage, and one of them was a beastkin.

    Master Rain looked at them again and said, "You, cold-hearted wench, where is that bastard?" asked Master Rain.

    No one seemed to be willing to answer.

    "He is dead," Wei Lei however spoke.

    "Are you fucking stupid?" spoke Master Rain. "How can he die while his Soul Mount is still alive, what the fuck did you do?!" Master Rain''s patience was pretty slim, and with just words, pressure the size of a mountain seemed to fall upon the head of Wei Lei.

    "He didn''t die," Liang Yu spoke, "At least we hope so¡­" she added.

    "You''ve all been gone for a while, what the hell have you all been doing?" Master Rain asked.

    "Why not let them rest, they don''t seem to be mentally stable right now," spoke one of the elders, and just as Master Rain was about to st out all kinds of insults on whoever spoke.

    When he turned and saw it was the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Academy, he held it in, "Old man, my patience is thinner than a cicada''s wing, don''t push it. I''ve onlye here to aid Shen Bao,"

    "Calm Down old Rain. Don''t you see it in their eyes? They seem to have seen the truth of the world for the first time. Give them a moment to rest," the elder spoke.

    Master rain flung his sleeves and crossed his hands behind him then walked away.

    "Come with me, children," the elder said.

    The group of four followed the grand elder to the main building.

    "Get me some servants, help these disciples give them baths and Spirit Empowering pills. And ask all the elders toe to the meeting chamber. It seems that people have forgotten our existence or think they can push us however they want," the grand elder said.

    An hourter, at the top floor of the Heavenly Academy was a room that was seldom used.

    And now that it has been opened everyone knew that things had be serious.

    The elders of the Heavenly Academy and most ck robes had already taken a seat in the hall. The Grand Elder had taken the only seat that was only a step higher than the rest. Even if there was another seat behind him that was three steps higher, no one dared take it.

    "Good to have seen you all gathered here," the grand elder spoke.

    "What''s the reason for gathering us all here grand elder?" Elder Cho spoke.

    "In due time, we''ll wait for the kids to arrive," the Grand Elder said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Soon, the door opened and the four ''kids'' entered the room, they looked a bit more refreshed but there was still a solemn look on their faces.

    "Good to see that some had actually survived that day, so can you tell me what happened?" asked the grand elder.

    Wei Lei moved to speak first, but Master Rain appeared right in front of him, "Not you, you," spoke master Rain as he pointed at Yuyu.

    "Yes, that day¡­when we went to seek treasure and experience. It didn''t go as expected,"

    ? Yuyu began exining everything in detail, from the moment they arrived at the cultivation cave. And the appearance of another Poison God cultivator. The fact that Shen Bao was incapacitated inside that world, and still managed to save everyone, and the fact that he faced off against a corpse at the King Level of cultivation. Not only that she even exined how he used the power of all of the Saint Qi cultivators that were surrounding them to use it and refine a King ss cultivator.

    Everything was going well until that wretched person had her servante to personally handle the matter.

    How he chased after them, and how Shen Bao released everyone and gave them his only means of escape while sacrificing himself to face that old monster.

    With her words, many of the elders in the room were already at the boiling point, but the only one who had the calmest expression was the one that no one expected to be calm at all.

    "Master Rain, it seems that you know who that person is," the grand elder said.

    "Yes. I know him all too well, he is Servant Mao, a pretty powerful person, however, he has a twisted personality. He is a perverted bastard who finds joy in torturing and humiliating people, and the ones who have the greatest hatred for him are the disciples of the Poison God. He had killed many poison god disciples in the past. But he always allows the parasitic Acolyte to escape."

    "Why would he do that?" asked another elder.

    "Simple, so that the Acolyte can possess another person, and for him to track, chase and capture another victim, but this fool dared go for Shen Bao. Even if the wills of the heavens wish to save him from my hand, I''ll tear through it and bring him under my foot. A thousand deaths are not enough for me to appease my anger," Master Rain''s words were expressed with the literal shaking of the entire structure they were in.

    "Calm your anger Master Rain, you had mentioned that the mount outside was a Soul Bounded Mount, so he should still be alive," the grand elder said.

    "Alive in body, but probably not in spirit, no one can survive that man''s methods for such a long time without going mad. I''m afraid even if we find Shen Bao, he wouldn''t be the same¡­"

    The words Master Rain spoke were a reality that everyone had realized, and from the silent tears on Yuyu and Liang Yu''s eyes it was already clear that they had lost all hope of finding Shen Bao sane and sound.

    "I''ll need to make a personal visit to that fool''s house," spoke Master Rain.

    "Wait, are you insane, do you know that that house is in the capital of the Wind Realm, you''re willing to step foot at the territory of the person who despises you the most for a person who is probably nothing more than a madman?!" an elder spoke this one was the same person who tried to finish Shen Bao off in the Advent Tower when he was in the Ancient Sect simtion.

    Before Master Rain could even act, Grand Elder waved his hand and the elder who spoke was immediately forced to prostrate on the ground, "Speak another word and I''ll end your life with my own hands." The Grand Elder said.

    "Master Rain, I suppose you''re going to go to the Wind Realm. Do you need my assistance, it will be a tough battle," spoke the Grand Elder.

    "No, I''m not going there to fight," spoke Master Rain, "I''m going there to save Servant Mao''s life," Master Rain said.

    His words were obviously pretty confusing to everyone in the room, why is he trying to save the person who tortured Shen Bao?

    "Because the moment that woman knows what that fool had done, he''ll die, and death is far too easy of a punishment for him. What many of you don''t know, is that Shen Bao had received the favor of that woman, because he saved her son from my own formation. He had liberated Zhang Tian from a thousand year prison, and for that, she had sworn to protect Shen Bao thrice," spoke Master Rain.

    "Then couldn''t it have been that she had already realized what had happened ande to save Shen Bao? He may still be well?" the words of the Grand Elder seemed to bring some hope to the people around them.

    Master Rain shook his head, "That man, I know him well, he uses the Soul Sealing Stakes to pin his victims, if Shen Bao had uttered that person''s name, he''ll die. And since Shen Bao is still alive, he never spoke her name, and she never realized he was trapped," Master Rain spoke, his words colder than arctic waters.

    The smidgen of hope that was ignited had been snuffed causing everyone to fall into deeper despair.

    "In a couple of days, Zhang Tian''s eleventh-century birthday. Many people with gather for that day. There will be a grand festival and reception at the Wind Realm''s capital. Servant Mao will be there along with the family he serves. I can go then, and I''ll make sure to settle this matter," Spoke Master Rain.

    "Then¡­can you take me with you?" spoke Liang Yu.

    "Me too, can I go with you?" added Yuyu.

    "You have just arrived from a travel through space you should rest and cultivate to recuperate your energy, spatial travel is dangerous and unless you stabilize your condition you may harm your bodies," spoke the Grand Elder.

    Yuyu shook her head, "The Thunderbull carriage was effective against the spatial drain, we didn''t suffer anything, and cultivators who chased after us were never able to catch up to how fast the bull was. We''re still in prime condition, so please Master Rain," Yuyu spoke as she deeply bowed, "Please take us with you," she added.

    "Very well then," Master Rain said, "Those who are willing toe with me cane, but I can''t guarantee your survival once that woman gets angry, hell I can''t even guarantee the lives of the people around her. Servant Mao, you did something unnecessary. Gather your belongings, we''ll be leaving in an hour," Master Rain said.

    Yuyu, and Liang Yu headed out leaving Lin alone.

    "And you child, who are you?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "I''m someone who is indebted to Shen Bao, I''d like to assist however I can," she said.

    "How can you assist?" spoke Master Rain.

    "Well, I might not have much power but I can ask my father to be a witness," she said.

    Master Rain tilted his head a bit, and said, "Golden eyes, ck hair, ears that resemble those of a cat, you''re that leopard bastard''s daughter aren''t you," Master Rain spoke.

    She smiled as she said, "My father was right, he always said that you''re the only person who''ll ever insult him, in his presence or his absence without a care, yes, I''m that bastard''s daughter, Lord of the Earth Realm, Can I have a Spatial Owlmunication device?" she asked.

    "Sure thing, now let''s settle this matter," The grand elder said, "Master Rain, you have the backing of the whole of the Heavenly Academy, even if you flip the wind realm upside down, we''ll assist you in it. Go wreak havoc," the Grand Elder said.

    "I was going to do that, with or without your permission," Master Rain said as he turned to leave the room.

    ''Shen Bao, you better be alive when I get there!''

 Chapter 402 Nascent Demonic Soul

    ''How long has it been,'' I grumbled as I was standing at the top of thest nail in my sea of consciousness.

    All nine Stakes have now been fully disabled. And looking at my palms there was a symbol on them. It looks like the symbol of a small ck me. But only I know the reality behind this thing.

    Considering everything I''ve been learning from these spikes.

    These Soul Sealing Stakes are actually not meant to be used like this. These are all fakes. The real thing is far nastier than this. Well... whatever this is, it was still a good opportunity to learn more.

    I''ve been stuck with that twisted fucker for god knows how long. I''ve already given up on getting rescued a couple of years back, years, yeah, it felt like years had gone by. But I didn''t really care.

    Because evading that bastard had been pretty simple after a couple of months of torture.

    Well, more likepletely ignoring him and faking pain that is. No person woulde out sane, psychologically if they were to be introduced to unbearable pain for years.

    But I was able to thanks to these Stakes.

    And thanks to my venture into the Ancient Sect. I learned a bit about Imperial Inscription.

    And these stakes are all written in Imperial Inscription. Their main purpose ispletely different from their name.

    These aren''t Soul Sealing Stakes, but they are Soul Preserving Nails. Their original goal was to pin a soul into a body forcefully to help achieve perfect possession. Since normal possession is usually hard when there is an ipatibility with the host, the person who created these wanted to ovee thepatibility issue.

    Yet, someone else had managed to change some of the inscriptions to have these stakes cause pain to the souls. Or probably some idiotic copycat tried to replicate these stakes and came out short.

    Both the fake and the original stakes are fucking absurd items that shouldn''t exist. Tampering with Souls is the path of Devil cultivation. But it''s not much of an issue for me.

    For some reason, my soul power is stupidly high. I''ve yet to understand why but I have a reason to believe that it was thanks to my transmigration.

    Something happened to my soul when I transmigrated, it became huge for some reason. And thanks to that I was able to split a portion of my almost unlimited soul power to fake my ''pain''

    Whenever that fuckeres, I release that small portion of myself so it can receive his ''gentle care'' while I remain inside my sea of consciousness to work this shit out.

    It''s still not without consequences to split one''s soul. But to me, giving up a small portion of me had rewarded me with something pretty interesting.

    Looking at the tower, now there exist two souls.

    One of them was that of a Draconic Soul, a powerful mighty creature that I have yet to fully learn everything about it. I had already managed to relieve it from the pain of the stake, though it took most of my time to understand the stake''s function. But I still managed to relieve it from it and set it free, it had been cultivating to repair itself ever since and had already achieved full recovery and even became stronger.

    The second soul sat on a chair right next to it.

    This one however was special...

    It was a whimpering ck soul, it looked like a man, it looked like me. But not in my current form, it looked like the old man that was suffering unimaginable pain back at the cave.

    It looked weak, it looked feeble, and it looked like it was in unimaginable despair.

    It was disgusting to look at.

    No, I felt disgusted to look at it, not because it was weak and feeble. Nor because it was whimpering like a dog that had been struck. No, it was because this was also me.

    I was not too fond of this sight.

    This was the person that hase out from all those pains, and I always sent it out whenever that bastard came just for it to receive more pain.

    Thinking about it, aren''t I an asshole? It''s like I''m escaping responsibility and sending another one to receive punishment.

    Just as I had these thoughts, I pointed my palm at the wretched soul and dark smoke came out of me and infused itself into it.

    He soul whimpered even more.

    This was what I learned from being here.

    I could actually separate my emotions, and send the ugly, nasty, and despicable ones toward that being.

    Why am I making this one might ask because this soul is Evil.

    Well, Evil is a bit of a radical word. But this soul is perfect to practice a special art.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Demonic Cultivation.

    Yes. Demonic Cultivation. And I''m pretty damn adamant about using this to the fullest once I leave this ce. Because I''ll never have to suffer something like this again once I''m a fully-fledged Demonic Cultivator.

    I''ve been too tame. I''ve been too generous, and I''ve been too forgiving. I''ve given chances to people who shouldn''t have gotten them, I''ve forgiven when I shouldn''t and I''ve been indecisive when I shouldn''t.

    I tried to uphold my modern world morals in a world of cultivation. And look at what it had gotten me into.

    I''ve tried to save that bitch, and this was my reward.

    Just as the thoughts continued to perfoliate into my mind. I repeatedly pointed my hand at the soul and sent all those vile emotions toward it.

    There exist two doctrines of cultivation. Nothing More, Nothing Less.

    Worshipping the Heavens.

    And Trampling the Heavens.

    The Heaven Worshiping path is simple, it''s to achieve Dao by following thews of heaven, by ascending the stairway to the heavens under the teachings of Dao, and taking what the heavens give as a reward.

    The Heaven Trampling Path is the second one.

    It''s where cultivators TAKE what they want, DO what they want, and RULE over the heavens, it is a path to wrest away Heaven''s gifts. And in this path exist two ways.

    The Devil Cultivation where one uses the souls of the dead, and the vileness of the world to improve upon their own power. A path that is incredibly easy to find sess in. Because those who tread it need not improve upon their own power, but take from the power of others.

    Devil cultivators are nothing but wicked people who achieve their goals by ughtering others, bending their wills, and taking them away from them. Simply put, the Devil Path is using others to improve oneself.

    The Demonic Path is close to this doctrine however it is slightly different. The Demonic Path takes not from others but only takes from oneself.

    It may sound simple but it isn''t, not many dare tread the demonic path. Because it is agonizing and difficult.

    For example, if a Devil Cultivator wishes to climb a cultivation rank, he would need to ughter and sacrifice a thousand souls. But if a Demonic Path cultivator wishes to cross the same path, he will need to have within himself the emotion of suffering a thousand deaths.

    It may sound absurd, how one can suffer a thousand deaths.

    But it isn''t that hard, losing one''s parents for example is far more painful than losing one''s life. That is emotion, and that can also be used as Demonic fuel to increase one''s cultivation.

    Rage, anger, wrath, the pain of loss, solitude, abandonment and the evilness of the world all aimed at you can be transformed into power.

    And with that, one can be a Demon in a world where even the gods have abandoned.

    "You''re awake," I heard.

    I immediately sent the whimpering Soul outside.

    The soul was fearful yet couldn''t plead or beg, I removed that ability from it, though I kept only one thing, the eyes, they weren''t eyes that plead. Even if the whole body looked like it was submitting, the eyes will never submit, and it was always enjoyable to see that fucker beingpletely confused about how I managed to have unyielding eyes even if the body looked to be begging for mercy.

    "This again..." the old man said as he pulled out that annoying dagger of his.

    "Oh no matter, we don''t have time. Today, we''ll be taking a trip," he said.

    ''Oh, now that''s interesting, I could find a way to escape since I already disabled all of those Stakes. Though sadly even after disabling the stakes that fucker had somehow managed topletely block my will to speak that woman''s name. But it doesn''t matter, I just need a moment once I remove these stakes to speak her name, just one moment,''

    "For now, sleep, this will be the only bliss you''ll ever have for entertaining me for thest five years."

    ''Five years huh...I wonder how the rest are doing... it doesn''t matter now.''

    Suddenly darkness permeated the eyes of my body as I remained within my sea of consciousness.

    "Well, it doesn''t matter I just need to finish this, and once I''m done, it should beplete"

    I clenched my fist tightly around the ck me symbol

 Chapter 403 Gifts

    Today was a great day.

    It was the eleventh hundredth year of Lord Zhang Tian, also known as the Immortal Schr''s birthday.

    He had been missing for a while, due to the actions of a person who was considered the enemy of the wind realm. Master Rain.

    But even after being released from such prison, Lord Zhang Tian didn''t chase after Master Rain to seek revenge but rather chose humility and forgiveness.

    Many thought he was a pushover for doing so, but considering the might behind his current growth, many hade to realize that he cared little to nothing about the matters with Master Rain. Not only that, the people havee to realize that Lord Zhang Tian had risked Master Rain''s ire to help his father to reach a stage higher than the current realm he was in.

    Filial pity, and a great forgiving heart. There are close to none who wish this young schrly and well-behaved man any harm or ill will.

    On the main of the Wind Realm. Today was a day of festivities. Many had gathered around the Wind Pce which was built atop one of the highest mountains in the. Yet, this mountain though high had an abundance of Saint Qi. The mere thought of visiting it was a tremendous reward for everyone who cultivates. But today, it was open to the public.

    People gathered ass masses flocking to the Wind Pce. Yet not everyone has the right to climb stairs. Still, that didn''t mean that the people who havee here to congratte the prince''s birthday were mistreated.

    ? Caravans full of food, and red envelopes were moved up and down the mountain, handing over small gifts to everyone who hade to this joyous day.

    Themoners and low-level cultivators had all been standing next to the main road that led to the Wind Pce. The sides of the main road were packed full of people enjoying street food, performing street arts, and many other activities to lift the mood even more.

    One could see joy and happiness on the eyes of everyone. Not only that, battle, fight, and skirmishes were strictly forbidden.

    Enough so that a few Saint Qi-level warriors and cultivators were all spread among the masses. Today not even a cultivator was above a mortal.

    Everyone was equal toe and enjoy the festive mood.

    "HERE COMES THE PRINCE! LONG LIVE THE PRINCE OF THE WIND REALM!" shouted a person of cultivation so high that his words had spread for thousands of miles.

    The words were imbued with enough Qi to cross vast distances, but they were not loud enough to harm even a mortal.

    And just to amodate the mortals that havee to witness such a sight. A couple Hundred thousand floating projectiles were spread around the main. To every city for the people who couldn''t make the trip.

    The sight of the Immortal Schr has taken a step outside the pce to wee the masses.

    To his right was the Heavenly King, the Wind King, lord of all. And to his right was the Queen of Might. Arguably the strongest person to have walked the world. Right behind them was Lin Tian, the heir of the wind throne. Or so many had thought before the return of the Immortal Schr. Many had presumed that once lord Zhang Tian who albite currently being in a lower cultivation realm than his younger brother Lin Tian, was the crowned prince to be. But the Immortal Schr had refused the mantle of kingship and decided to continue his pursuit of Dao.

    This family was powerful beyond measure and was kind as well to everyone, even mortals.

    As the prince walked forward, he opened his arms and spoke.

    "THE PRINCE SHALL SPEAK!" the same person with the long-reaching voice spoke, and everyone retained silence.

    "Thank you all foring all the way here," he said.

    Simple words, yet for the people they were worth gold. Especially for the mortals since when did a cultivator ever thank them for anything, but now it''s the prince of the Wind Realm, one of the greatest people of the world thanking them just for being there.

    "I wish to speak a few words, please bear with me for a moment," Zhang Tian said.

    "I have lived a life seeking knowledge of the people of old. I have learned and taught myself many things. Enough that I felt conceited and arrogant to a fault," the Wind Prince was berating himself and for many presents, they all thought that he was not the sort.

    The Immortal Schr is known to have attained a great understanding of the Dao enough to rival the heavens! So why is he saying such words?

    "Yet, I''vee to understand that I have actually not even begun to scratch the surface of Dao. All thanks to a single person. A friend," Zhang Tian spoke.

    The thought of many around the wind realm was all over the ce. Who in the world is worthy to be called a friend to the Heavenly Prince, to the Wind Prince? And to actually have taught him something, this friend must be of a great and prominent background.

    "I know what you all think, but no, this friend of mine, when I met him he was barely at the Core formation," Zhang Tian spoke and his words caused an echo in everyone present.

    "This friend hade from a foreign background to all of you, some may not even know this ce exists, but he taught me, a simple Core formation cultivator had taught me that I have yet to learn anything and I''ve barely even begun to learn. This friend is my savior and as of this day I im him my sworn brother," Zhang Tian spoke.

    "Who might this friend of yours be lord Zhang Tian, if he is among the people present, we would do well by learning of their name and origin, we should reward them for giving you enlightenment," one of the people close to the pce spoke. He was a reigning lord over a nearby and was close to the royal family.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It is too early to speak this friend''s name because I have a feeling that I''ll be meeting them soon. I wish them to see the world of cultivation first before theye and find me. And once he does, we''ll both drink! So leave this friend of mine at peace. As I''m sure he is someone who wishes not fame and glory," spoke Zhang Tian.

    "A wise and honorable friend he is, I wish to bestow upon him great fortune and honor just for being able to have guided a person as great as lord Zhang" spoke a girl from near the pce gate.

    Looking at her, she was a woman wearing full white, and next to her was a man well known in the Wind Realm, he was but a mere servant. But his power was far beyond any normal cultivator at his King Realm level.

    "Lady Xuan Su, please do not interrupt the prince!" one of the guards spoke.

    But Lord Zhang Tian held his hand up, "No worries, as a matter of fact, I should believe that my friend is currently in the same generation asdy Xuan Su, if it were up to me, I could have you two befriend each other," Lord Zhang Tian spoke.

    His words had a hidden meaning behind them which is something that Xuan Su realized, he never considered her a person worthy of being with him. It was a jab at her honor since many knew how she is high over heels for lord Zhang Tian. But even still, the woman known as Xuan Su didn''t despair because she had brought the prince a gift that would make him change his opinion of her¡­ for the best.

    "Now enough about that, I believe that I can''t be keeping you all out, for the people with personal invitations pleasee inside, as for the people who havee all this way to see us, we have prepared adequate banquets for you all," Lord Zhang Tian spoke and soon. Many cultivators hade with enormous tables from high above.

    The people made their way to the tables and saw the food and drinks that they couldn''t have ever hoped or dreamed of seeing not to mention eating.

    Even a mortal would start cultivating after having a bite of such a grandiose meal. And everyone was invited to the feast.

    Tens of thousands of tables and more so in seats had arrived to serve the people outside the pce further increasing the adoration of the prince to his people.

    As for the heads of the most prominent families, the lords ofs are under the control of the wind realm. And several envoys of other prominent factions and even envoys from the Water Realm, Fire Realm Earth Realm, and people from the Gctic Societies havee.

    Inside the main reception hall were several tables full of food. And many seats for the invitees.

    As for the royal family. The lord of the Wind Realm, his queen, and their second son sat on a high pedestal above all else.

    While only Zhang Tian sat in a table next to them, on the same level as everyone else.

    Many who didn''t know Lord Zhang Tian would think that this is inadequate as the price he should be sitting higher. But the people of knowledge know that a Schr would not heed to the power that height and position give. And will always consider themselves a schr first, a cultivator second, then a prince third.

    As the people sat, and no one else seemed to being inside, the banquet started. People began feasting and waiting for the first person to act.

    One of the cultivators nodded at one of the guards.

    And the guard spoke, "Lord Zi Qin, Sect Master of the Seven Sword Pces, wishes to approach!" Lord Zhang Tian nodded at the old man who moved forward with a couple of servants.

    The old man sat in front of lord Zhang Tian.

    Zhang Tian then grabbed the liquor bottle next to him and poured both him and the old man a drink.

    They both drank it and then the old man nodded at one of his servants.

    The servant approached and ced a small box in front of lord Zhang Tian.

    "I know that Lord Zhang Tian does not like worldly possession, for what prince needs anything, but I''m sure this should catch your eyes still," the old man spoke.

    The old man opened the box revealing a small jade.

    "Oh, where did you find this," Lord Zhang Tian smiled.

    "It was found by a disciple of my sect, this contains the stored notes of the Lord of Lords. The disciple who found it seemed to have tried to read the notes, but finding this knowledge too much for him he decided to gift it to me. And for me, such researches on the Dao are too steep, if I were to delve into them I might harm my cultivation. But for a Dao Seeker such as yourself, I believe they are at least worth something," the old man spoke.

    "Worth something? This knowledge cannot be purchased with gold, lord Zi Qin, you gifted me something precious, thank you," Zhang Tian said.

    "This old man will take his leave and congrattions," the old man said and stood up.

    Everyone in the room seemed to realize that the first person to approach the prince had given them a pretty expensive and valuable treasure. They had already set the bar extremely high. And the arrogant people in this room, couldn''t resist having their treasures looked down upon. But even if the first present was precious, they were all confident in the value of their presents. Especially for a young woman in white who seemed to be smiling confidently on the side.

    Because she knew that her present was the greatest surprise Zhang Tian would ever receive. She couldn''t wait to see his reaction.

 Chapter 404 Cube Of Worries

    Many treasures and gifts have been handed to Zhang Tian, some able to make people go to war for them even.

    Some gifts were treasures that no one had seen or heard of before, pills made by world renowned alchemists, or armor and weapons thaat could break worlds apart. Even treasure maps for ancient cultivator caves. All were gifts for lord Zhang Tian.

    And soon came the turn for the princess in white. One of the supporting families to the current Wind King. A great and ancient family of the Wind Realm.

    The Xuan n has been quite supportive of the rulers of the current King.

    "Lady Xuan Su of the Xuan n, advance to greet his majesty the Little Sun of the Wind Realm Lord Zhang Tian!" the guard spoke.

    Thedy in question approached the table and pped her hands. Soon, four people along with her own servant heading them moved forward.

    They were dragging arge square-shaped block that seemed to be three meters in length and height.

    "A block of Divine Steel, it seems that whatever is inside it, it''s something that you don''t wish for others to see," Zhang Tian spoke.

    "Oh yes, though I know that if it is you, or any of the venerable present here, it wouldn''t be much of problem for them to see through it, thankfully all of the people here have garnered us respect and didn''t pry on our gift to his lordship," Xuan Spoke as she gave a light bow.

    It was true, many here were powerful enough to easily see through that block of Divine Steel even if it had the ability to block Divine Sense it wouldn''t have been much of an issue for the people here to see through it. Yet it was a tactic agreement from everyone here to not prey on gifts that were meant to be revealed as a surprise.

    "What have you brought us?" spoke Lord Zhang Tian, "Because for some reason I''m feeling uneasy," he said.

    "Believe me, your Lordship, I would understand your unease, because what I have here is probably a good cause to have some uneasiness, yet, it is well captured and restrained."

    "You speak as if you had caught an animal or a divine beast," Zhang Tian said.

    "It is indeed a beast, however, it is something that I''m sure you will be happy to see," she spoke.

    "Your words mean that you know my preferences and dislikes, that is a im not many can make," he said.

    "But I''m sure that you would appreciate it," she said as she turned to the rest of the people in the hall.

    "As you all may know, there was a vile enemy of his majesty the King of the Wind Realm, a person who was regarded as the most evil in this world. The lord of all poisons deemed a ''God'' where he deserves not the title," she said.

    Everyone immediately understood what she meant, she was talking about Du Shen a gue upon the Vast Expanse, or so many had thought.

    Lord Zhang Tian frowned, how is this rted to what''s in the box? Could she have discovered a secret of the Poison God?

    "And you all know that my dear Servant has been handling the matter of the Poison God''s acolytes since a long time ago, though that vile fiend had disappeared he still left his dregs and followers to roam the world. Today however Ie to present the lord with a gift that no one could ever dream of gifting," she said.

    But before she could even finish her words Lord Zhang Tian stood up.

    Looking at his hands, it was visibly trembling.

    "Lord, you don''t need to be in a rush, I''ll open your gift for you right now," she said.

    Just as she approached the giant block, the Queen herself arrived in front of the box and was about to open it.

    "Oh, seems like I was almostte," the voice of a man that no one could ever expect rose from the other side of the giant hall.

    Looking over the entrance, there was an old man standing there, the most defining feature of this old man was the robes he was wearing, they were a set of Blue Robes that not any sane man in this world would ever dare to wear in order to not be confused with this old man.

    Alongside him was a person well-known to the Queen and Zhang Tian and most of the Imperial Family.

    "Master Rain, have you decided that your long life needs to end so you barged in on the Birthday of the very person you imprisoned for a thousand years?" one of the people in the hall spoke.<novelnext></novelnext>

    And immediately everyone seemed to have their doubts confirmed.

    The madman Master Rain, the greatest inscriber of the Vast Expanse and one of the mightiest powerhouses to ever exist. A person, not even the Queen was ever able to kill. Not because of ack of power, but because he was unkible like a roach.

    Master Rain seemed to have no care for the royal family as he was shuddering and seemed to be holding back a lot of wraths.

    "What brings you here?" spoke the King of the Wind Realm.

    Master Rain looked at the king and spoke, "I''m here to stop a murder," Master Rain said.

    Immediately afterward he raised his hand up and pped once.

    This caused the whole pce to be covered with a giant barrier that seemed toe out of nowhere.

    Everyone present stood up, Master Rain''s action seemed like a deration of war, yet the King raised his hand up, "Stand Down, this isn''t a trapping formation... it''s a formation that stops tremors." The King said.

    Why did Master Rain erect a formation like this? Most questioned. Yet something seemed awry in this scene.

    Master Rain would under no circumstance ever show his face to the Queen, and it would be madness for him to even approach the Wind Realm, yet he arrived all the way to the Wind Realm Main pce, against the King and Queen of the realm and the mightiest and most powerful supporters of the Wind Realm, anyone would think that this is nothing short of suicide.

    But something still felt awry. Master Rain isn''t some madman who thinks he can take on the entire power behind the Wind Realm so why show himself here?

    "Old hag," Master Rain said to the Queen.

    The king''s grasp on the chair he was sitting on seemed to crush the handrest in a second.

    "I would advise you to not open that, if you do a mass ughter will start," Master Rain said.

    His words were poorly chosen, this was clearly a deration of war, yet those who knew Master Rain knew well that he wasn''t talking about himself.

    As a matter of fact, a few eximed derision at Master Rain, and more eximed that he was a madman to dare and dere war in the sanctity of the Wind Realm''s main pce. Yet the oldest and most wise of the people in the hall knew well that something wasn''t right.

    "Master Rain, what do you mean by a massacre will start when this box opens, do you even know what''s in here?" Xuan Su spoke.

    "It seems that your foolishness knows no bounds, you''ve been cooped up inside your pce walls for too long to seek the world and know of the people roaming about," Master Rain said then turned to the Queen and said.

    "Listen, here old woman," Master Rain said, "If you open that... you''ll regret it."

    But the Queen knew that for some reason she had to open it.

    "Mother," Zhang Tian said as he stepped forward. "It seems that our guest here wishes not for you to open this yourself could you back down, I''ll do it myself," Zhang Tian said.

    Master Rain looked at the king and said "You. Be ready."

    Everyone knew that Master Rain''s rudeness knew no bounds, but with his words, it felt as if the atmosphere that seemed to be charged up was about to explode.

    The servant seemed to realize that something was going awfully bad. Why is no one moving to hunt down Master Rain and they''re all waiting for the box to open? Could it be that that man inside the box is rted to Master Rain in a sense? Even if he was rted to him it wouldn''t be wise for Master Rain toe all the way here risking his own life, he wouldn''t even do that for his own attendant that has been with him for god knows how long, not to mention the person there is nothing but a dumb weak acolyte of the Poison God, the enemy of the Wind Realm and even Master Rain.

    The Poison King had cost the Wind Realm greatly, a literal Arm, and deaths beyond the scope of a cmity. Yet, why does it feel like the moment that box is opened death would be sweeping its scythe on Servant Mao''s head?

    Something wasn''t right, Servant Mao knew that the moment that box is opened something terrible was about to happen, yet he has yet to understand what it was.

 Chapter 405 Opening Pandoras Box

    "It seems that this box has brought trouble to this honored hall, thendy should we just retract it from here, we already have another gift for his lordship," Servant Mao said.

    He clearly knew that opening the box was no good, even if he didn''t know why, he felt that it would cause problems so might as well just remove it entirely and then offer something else. He could then make a full background check on the prisoner and understand better who that person is.

    Usually, these acolytes always work alone and at best they''ll have a few followers of their own, they never join any of the forces of the Vast Expanse since they are all despised by all of the forces.

    Du Shen had caused too much grief for any of the forces of the Vast Expanse to ever want to deal with his descendants or followers.

    "They say you can''t look a gift horse in the mouth," Zhang Tian said, "Open it," he said.

    "Lord!" the servant said as he tried to intervene, but the woman in white seemed to be annoyed.

    "Just open it, Lord Zhang Tian said so, why are you hesitating?!" she said.

    In Servant Mao''s head, he thought of pping the princess in the face not out of anger but out of fear for her life and how her mouth was actually causing agitation. Zhang Tian''s shivering hand seemed to shudder now. It was clear at the point of erupting. And it was now clear as day that the opening of this box will cause cmity.

    Yet there was no way out of this situation. Everyone was staring at them, and they were in a rough spot.

    Servant Mao approached the box and dragged open the frontal wall of the cube.

    It revealed a person that was pinned by eight Soul Sealing Stakes. An overkill of a tool to subdue someone that was below the Ascendant Realm.

    The Soul Sealing Stakes were tools that could even harm a King ss cultivator, and using nine of them on a sub-ascendant cultivator was nothing but a mind-crippling device.

    It was clear from the dead eyes of this person, this was no longer a person it was nothing but a mindless living body.

    From the look of the emaciated and weakened person. The injuries that healed over and over again, and the innumerable scars on his body. And how weak he looked. This person seemed to have been caught and tortured for a long period of time. It wasn''t even enough with the Soul Sealing Stakes they even tortured him brutally. What could he havemitted to having suffered such a fate?

    Yet, how is this a gift for the prince of the wind realm? This is nothing but a revolting and stomach-turning appetion. Not even Devil Cultivators deserve this much agony.

    Master Rain was not looking at anyone but the king and thus he nodded. His nod was only understood by the king himself as he immediately arrived at his wife''s side and lightly pressed the back of her neck.

    No one seemed to understand why the King would cause his own wife to faint.

    Lord Zhang Tian seemed to have not a single trace of emotion on his face.

    Seeing no one speaking Xuan Su spoke up to exin the situation with all gleefulness.

    "Though this might be a shocking sight, my Servant had done a great job," she said.

    "Lady! Please don''t!" the servant said pleading with her to shut up, but she didn''t take the hint.

    "This is an acolyte of the Poison God that vile creature, I hade to meet him when I was journeying the world, I arrived at an ancient cave along apany of my people, and he was there alongside another vile one of these acolytes, he was a horrible person he caused many griefs to everyone in that raid and we almost died to his hands and his vile methods. But thanks to my wit in calling my Servant to my aid, I managed to survive, though many of the disciples of the other realms have probably perished. So I had my servant capture him and have him tortured for five consecutive years. And now I present to you a disciple of your most hated enemy the Poison God," she said.

    Her words ended in a light bow as if she was waiting for apliment from Zhang Tian, but seeing that nothing of the sort hade, she felt that something was wrong, did she not exin enough?

    "Lies." The words were spoken when everyone in the room was far too focused and quiet so they resounded everywhere.

    Xuan Su immediately snapped to the person who spoke.

    It was one of the girls that arrived alongside Master Rain, no one had paid her any attention, since all eyes were focused on Master Rain, yet the moment Xuan Su saw that girl she clicked her tongue.

    The woman was Yuyu, some of the people in the Wind Realm knew her since she was here several times in the past. She had been mentored by one of the Queen''s personal maids and now she seemed to havee back with Master Rain.

    The woman then threw a jade in the air, the jade shone bright and revealed a memory disy of everything that had happened back in the Cave of Roshi Zhe at the Dalou.

    Everyone saw a person who seemed to be having trouble even moving doing their best to assist everyone, he even took control of the situation and aided the disciples to escape from a poison cultivator that seemed to have infiltrated the cave.

    He led them, saved them and even helped them escape the poison cultivator and the corpse that seemed to be a degraded King ss cultivator. Not only that even after escaping, they were surrounded by the Poison Cultivator''s followers, and he still managed to turn the situation around using the abilities of the Ascendant Cultivators that trapped them in a formation, then at the same time applied a powerful poison and mes that he then used to refine that very corpse into a pill.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A young man that seemed to be clearly below the Ascendant Realm had managed to subdue a King ss corpse. If anyone were to hear of such an exploit they''ll think of it as nothing but the ramblings of some crazed man, yet they saw it clearly with their eyes. Not only that, he also managed to escape the hunt of servant Mao, even if he was captured at the end he aided the rest in escaping.

    Xuan Su was annoyed by the woman who revealed her ''white lie'' yet everyone present seemed to realize that that person trapped in that box was the same person who had aided many of the heirs and disciples of all of the four pces in escaping certain death from that corpse.

    Still¡­

    "So what? He is still a follower of the Poison God, no matter how skilled he is," Xuan Su said.

    "Indeed," Zhang Tian said.

    And these were his first words since a long while, "Indeed you''re right, he is the follower of the Poison God," he said.

    Only then did Xuan Su realize that something was wrong.

    Why would anyone care about a follower of the Poison God? Why would Master Rain evene here, something was wrong.

    Lord Zhang Tian then approached Xuan Su his hand gently rose up toward her cheek.

    She seemed to be at the epitome of ecstasy as Lord Zhang Tian''s blessed hand was about to touch her.

    Yet his hand went closer and closer to her neck until he grabbed her.

    "Of all the people in the world," he said as his hand was slowly tightening on her neck.

    "You had to capture, and torture, the only person," he said.

    "L-lord¡­ it hurts," she said as she struggled.

    "Who aided me in my time of need, who enlightened me to knowledge unknown, who helped redefine my Dao!," he said as his hand seemed to squeeze harder.

    The woman then seemed to realize her blunder.

    As soon as Lord Zhang Tian spoke those words a pressure akin to a dam bursting open shot down upon everyone in the room.

    "YOU DARE! HARM MY SWORN BROTHER!" he spoke.

    These words were enough to cause the entire pce to tremble and shake, even copse if it wasn''t for Master Rain''s barrier everyone from cultivator to mortal that was below the ascendant stage would have perished.

    "Zhang¡­"

    The words were spoken from the voice of a person who no one seemed to even believe to be alive.

    Zhang Tian''s hand loosened on the neck of the nearly dead woman as his eyes snapped to the box.

    Looking at the man, there was a light grin on his face. The empty dead eyes of the almost corpse-like person were no more and the eyes of a man that didn''t seem to have lost a shred of hope nor had fallen to madness were there.

    "Seems like you still care about ol me," that man spoke. He then, as if t was nothing shook, and all the Soul Sealing Stakes seemed to fall down from him, one by one.

    "I-impossible, how can a cultivator below the Ascendant Realm even remove those?!" someone spoke.

    Walking forward, the man with so many injuries took a breath.

    "That was fucking annoying," he said, he then turned to Servant Mao and the woman who seemed to have seen a ghost.

    The man looked down on both the servant and the woman who was shuddering and shaking from utter fright. His green luminous eyes were present for all to see, that this man had never lost an ounce of his sanity. Along with a wide grin that seemed to deride the world itself.

    "Now, you didn''t expect this plot twist, did you?"

 Chapter 406 Beyond The Limit

    "Now then," I spoke as I looked around the hall.

    The people present here were of backgrounds that I didn''t even need to guess were powerful because none of them seemed to have the slightest shred of weakness nor meekness exuding from them.

    I was among the best of the best, and the strongest people in the vast expanse. So, might as well go all out.

    I checked my clothes, they were all torn beyond repair. It was sad to have the pixy-made robes shredded and torn to this degree. Quite the annoyance.

    And since everyone already knows that I''m the Poison God''s follower.

    I waved my hand summoning the Poison God''s book.

    "See lord Zhang! He is a follower of the Poison God!" Xuan Su spoke as if her words were going to change the situation.

    No one however paid her any heed or warning, they were all focused on me.

    "This is far too unpleasant of a look in the presence of so many powerful figures," I spoke then called upon a set of ck robes that I donned immediately.

    However, the scars and disfigurations on my body were too much to just cover with a robe.

    "Would his majesty please excuse my rudeness," I said as I sped my hands to Zhang Tian and the king.

    In my hand was a ck pill that seemed to exude Qi far too nefarious for anyone below the Ascendant Realm could ever dare to be present next to.

    Yet not many here were below the Ascendant Realm so it wouldn''t have been much of an issue.

    Yet there was something on this pill that caused many people to stand up from their seats.

    In my hand was the pill I made from refining the King Rank cultivator, it was something that wasn''t easy toe with not because it''s a pill made from a corpse. But because it had Cloud symbols on it.

    A pill at the peak of pill making, a perfect pill that would call upon the wrath of the heavens for merely existing.

    "Child, are you willing to sell that pill!" one of the oldest-looking people in the room spoke.

    I looked at him and said, "It almost cost me my life and five years of intolerable pain for obtaining something like this, it has no price in my eyes than my own life, and I appraise my own life to be far too expensive," I said to the man with all the politeness of a fuck you, I''m not selling, I could ever say.

    The old man''s nose crumpled but he had to stand down, especially since Lord Zhang Tian was still not talking and was watching what was going on.

    I then simply popped the pill in my mouth.

    "FOOL!" another old man spoke.

    I looked at him while I was swallowing the pill.

    "Why did you do that? Are you mad?! That is a Saint ss Pill it will immediately kill you upon consumption, did you survive all that long just to kill yourself like this!" he said.

    "Honestly," I said to the old man as I swallowed, "I didn''t think it would taste like strawberries, especially since it came from a corpse," I said.

    My words were clear disregarding what the old man was saying.

    The pill melted into my body and began surging its content through my body.

    Zhang Tian took a step toward me, worry clear in his eyes because he too believed that I was foolishly throwing my life away.

    Yet, with one hand raised up, Zhang Tian stopped, and soon the pill''s content instilled itself into my Dantian.

    Qi, so much of it that it seemed like I was going to bust apart seemed to surge from within the pill, it rode through my veins and meridians, through every nook and cranny of my body.

    Every cell seemed to be fully fused with it enough that they were charged up and were about to burst from the power of such energy.

    Yet, nothing of the sort was going to happen. Because I used all of that energy into bolstering my own cultivation to break through.

    "Is he seriously breaking through right here, right now? In the presence of so many people?" someone muttered, and the rest agreed, wouldn''t it be safer for him to breakthrough somewhere safe away from the eyes of other people, not to mention he is breaking into the ascendant cultivation realm, that''s not something you can do lightly.

    But then, they seemed to realize that he was doing this explicitly because there were too many people who could easily fend off the Heavenly Tribtion for him.

    A sly and cunning man they thought.

    Suddenly, the energy rotating within my core charged up like a roiling dragon that wanted to flood out the world with energy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A vast wave of Evil Qi surged from within me, this was of course only natural, a Corpse Based Pill is nothing benevolent or good, it is made from the hatred of a cultivator that lived for eons, and within that pill even if there was a lot of Qi, it was packed full with Evil Qi.

    In this world, though it might be seen as Evil Qi, it is at the same time power. It matters not the source of this power, benevolent or vile, as long as it is power, it is respected. So no one questioned the ck Qi that was exuding from me, and at best people used small gestures to block the vile Qi from reaching them since they disliked the ''scent'' of it.

    But for me, It mattered not what any of them thought.

    ''Time for you to pay your rent,'' I muttered to myself.

    The proud-looking and confident eyes of my own persona disappeared where the dead-looking eyes of a corpse seemed topse back instead.

    Immediately, all the ck Qi that was leaving my body seemed to have found a willing host, they turned back and fused back into my body as if they never wanted to leave.

    More of the pill''s power exuded but not a bit of it came out of my body. it then began affecting my skeleton, bit by bit it was solidified and then reinforced once more. Enough that the wooden tiles under my foot seemed to groan as if I had gained several tons of weight.

    My nerves came second, and with the Qi funneling their way into them they felt as if they were being fried, yet my body didn''t move an inch nor did it shudder, because I had removed the ability to control the body from the being that was currently eating all the vile Qi.

    Soon then, the nerves seemed to turn more stic yet sturdier, I was able to feel everything within my body to the point I could even feel my own blood flow with every beat.

    Then came the most important part. The blood veins that seemed to have taken a lot of damage from the constant torture. They moved through the body like tunnels, and with the Qi reinforcing them now, they became reinforced tunnels as they turned far sturdier.

    Every blood vessel that was going through my body had gone through a change that made them far stronger than before. To the point that I could feel Qi itself coating every vein.

    More of the blood veins that went through my brain seemed to have undergone a new metamorphosis. They seemed to have be more capable of absorbing Qi and thus my own thinking process at the same time seemed to jump several folds. Enough that I felt that time was slowing down as I underwent a tremendous bodily change.

    Soon came the flesh that seemed to be reinforced even more than when I drank the Stone-Aged Milk. Not in a quality change, since my body had already reached perfection below the Ascendant Stage. But the current change, it was an additive change that further enhanced my body overall.

    I could feel my entire build changing, to the point that I felt that I was slightly taller. Increasing my mass and adding more bone mass affected my outward look.

    The skin that was full of wounds and damage was no more and the weak emaciated body was no more.

    Yet, not a single impurity seemed to want to expunge itself from within me, simply because, there were none.

    With everything happening within my body I needed the final push. After all of the vile Qi had been fully absorbed, it was time for me to take control back of my body. And with a simple order, the being that was taking control was forced back into the tower of my Sea of Consciousness and I was back.

    I took a small breath and exhaled.

    Immediately after that, I felt the world''s Qi, a different Qi this time, not the meek heavenly one, but the Saint Qi that seemed to overflow this world.

    Yet, it onlysted a moment then it disappeared. As I was once again disconnected from the heavenly flow.

    "Tsk"

    I clicked my tongue dissatisfied but at the same time not that worried. I''ve been disconnected from Qi throughout my cultivation life. It''s not much.

    Suddenly, the world up above us seemed to roil and coil as red clouds gathered above us.

    "I like this kid," one of the oldest-looking people in the hall said. "Not only did he remove the Soul Shackling Stakes on his own, he even broke through the ascendant stage unassisted, using a pill that would kill even a fully-fledged ascendant in a second. Hah, no wonder Prince Zhang Tian holds him in high regard. For this, I''ll help you fend off this heavenly tribtion, even if it''s going to cost me a bit," he said as he stood up.

    "No need," I said to the old man.

    He frowned, clearly thinking that I was refusing a gift that not many would ever refuse.

    I looked up and spoke, "Fuck off."

    Not anyone in the room ever expected those words, since when had anyone ever dared speak so rudely to the Heavens themselves? With these words, heavenly tribtion will be heavenly punishment and that cannot be escaped. How much of a madman one has to be to throw their lives away not once with that pill, but now twice with daring to speak such vileness to the heaven?!

    Yet, against everyone present''s judgment. The roiling clouds that seemed to almost cover half of the country seemed to dissipate as if they have been told off.

    A heartyugh echoed from the other side of the room while everyone was still in the process of trying to understand what was going on.

    Looking back, I saw Master Rainughing like a madman with tears in his eyes from how amused he was.

    And next to him was the cold Sect Master who seemed to have a rueful smile that spoke of pain and sorrow.

    "I''m back," I said I turned to the two people who caused me a lot of pain.

    "Now, you can''t be thinking that I''ve forgotten about you now?" I spoke.

 Chapter 407 Broken Promise

    Panic struck the heart of Servant Mao like thunder. How is this happening he thought?

    The man he was sure was nothing but a random unfortunate acolyte who had a background that was steeper than Mount Tai.

    Not only was he rted to Master Rain enough for that lone and estranged entric person toe all the way to the base of his most hated foe to save him. Even the Prince of the Wind Realm was enraged by the mere fact that such a stupid and lowlife acolyte was hurt.

    Herdyship called him a Low-Birth, and it was obvious, he didn''t have any talent root. And was nothing but a walking sac of poison. After all, no one knows of this man''s body better than Servant Mao since he spent years testing and probing his body with all kinds of tools.

    He did have an interesting body construction, his muscles and veins were pretty sturdy for someone below the ascendant realm, but it was nothing too impressive. After all, only when the body reaches the Ascendant Stage can it fully elevate itself from the shackles of mortality.

    As for the Poison arts on him, they were scarce. Nothing too useful even, many of the acolytes that Servant Mao had hunted had various tattoos or spells cast on their bodies to protect them in case of capture, it was a pain to deal with, but this person had none, even to the point that Servant Mao thought him to be nothing but a novice at the art of the Poison God.

    Still, what the hell is going on?

    Howe a man is able to consume a King ss cultivation pill when he was not even an ascendant, not to mention being a Saint ss cultivator?

    That is nothing but pure madness, the willpower it takes to absorb such Qi is nothing short of godly. Not to mention how much damage his soul should take if anyone were to ingest such evil Qi.

    Yet, for some reason, he never seemed to care or worry about the potency or vileness of such a Corpse Pill.

    No, in fact for a moment it seemed that the eyes of this filthy Poison God follower had changed, they changed from the confident and arrogant eyes of a cultivator to those of a meek weakling for a moment, then soon changed back.

    Howe this is possible? No in a sense, how is he even sane? After five years of constant pain and torture, even the Soul Sealing Stakes didn''t do their job in restricting his soul. He was still moving about as if nothing had happened to him.

    Still, he couldn''t be a sane man, because who in their mind would ever dare utter the words ''Fuck Off to the heavens and not even care or break a sweat. Someone not even afraid of Heavenly Punishment it is.

    For a second Servant, Mao had hope that this stupid idiotic man had ended all of his worries because cursing the heavens it is nothing but sealing a person''s fate to eternal suffering

    Heavens are proud and they give as much as they take. They never forget or forgive. So he will die here and now since he cursed the Heavens.

    Yet. Against servant Mao''s hope, the thundering skies seemed to calm then recede as if they truly were not interested in sending down divine punishment against such a sphemer.

    Not only that even Master Rain seemed tough heartily as if he had expected such an oue. What is this person?

    What kind of secrets is this man holding?

    Yet, that''s not the most important thing here, the most important thing is for them to escape.

    Even if he had to die, Servant Mao had to helpdy Xuan Su escape, even at the cost of his own life. Though her family is supportive to the Wind Realm, the fact that their actions had harmed the friendship between lord Zhang Tian and this ursed person will have catastrophic repercussions.

    It wouldn''t have mattered if it was even a powerful person with great connections, the problem was that this man, unknown and without any solid background was able to assist Lord Zhang Tian once, and that was enough to cause this man to go in an enraged mood, the man who wouldn''t bat an eye if the Heavens and Earth were to switch positions, is now in a mood that could spill nothing but doom.

    They needed to escape, now that everyone is still confused. They''ll have to escape to the Xuan n''s main. Erect the protective formation then pay a tribute to defuse the situation. Though it will cause enormous damage to the Xuan n, it is better than having him and the daughter of the Xuan n die here due to an enraged prince.

    Just as the thought of escaping crossed Servant Mao''s head.

    That wretched person spoke.

    "Now, you can''t be thinking that I''ve forgotten about you now?"

    ***

    Just as I finished my words, Servant Mao''s energy seemed to bolster up to incredible heights.

    "Oh, burning his Blood Essence," Master Rain saidzily.

    I tilted my head, is this man stupid enough to actually try something like attacking me?

    Yet against my expectations, he didn''t burn his blood essence in order to attack, but he immediately teleported toward that whore on the ground, grabbed her, and flew like a lightning bolt toward the pce exit.

    In his way was Master Rain who seemed to stretch his hand in an attempt to grab him, yet I saw something interesting Master Rain grinned and then removed his hand allowing the man to escape.

    Even Servant Mao was surprised but he didn''t have time to be surprised. He even burnt more of his own Blood Essence to increase his speed in escaping.

    I cracked my neck, "Man being in the same position for years is bad for one''s bones," I said as I turned to the rest of the people in the hall.

    "Seems like I intruded on an important event," I said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zhang Tian, the man who seemed to have power capable of turning -Literally- a world upside down. Approached me and grabbed my shoulders.

    His body trembling as he spoke, "I''ve been a negligent older brother," he said.

    Well, this is awkward¡­

    "With all of this power and might, status and riches, I was still unable to do anything for the person who saved my life and changed my mindset. I''m undeserving of having you as a brother," he said.

    "Don''t sweat the small stuff," I said then turned my head to the side, "Seems that a lot of people are here, what''s going on? They''re wearing different attires¡­" I said.

    "Ah, it''s my birthday," he said.

    "Oh, then happy birthday," I said then began rummaging through my Poison Book''s internal storage.

    I grabbed a bottle and handed it to the prince, "What is this?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "It''s a small birthday gift," I said.

    Then I heard someone speaking in the room, "Hah, with all due respect to Lord Zhang Tian''s friendship, how could a low-birth have anything that could have anything of value to the eyes of the Royal Family, whatever you present the lord would be nothing but an embarrassment and awkwardness towards him because he''ll have to ept a lowly gift from a lowly person."

    Looking at the man who spoke, he seemed to be confident in his words, since he was adorned in treasures of metal I''d never seen or heard of before. Not to mention that his mere servants were of a cultivation ss that I couldn''t even see through.

    "Oh, you''re giving him that," Master Rain said as he rubbed his beard. "I thought you said you didn''t have more," he grinned.

    "Well, that''s thest of it, honestly it really is thest of it," I said shrugging.

    Zhang Tian grabbed the bottle and was about to ce it inside his pouch. But Master Rain grinned once more, "Kid, you better be thankful to your younger sworn brother," he said, "I can promise you that what he had given you is far more valuable than anything you''ve been given," he said.

    Everyone in the room was now interested because even the elusive Master Rain spoke highly of it. Not even Zhang Tian who wanted to hide away the gift fearing it will cause ridicule to Shen Bao could do anything but open it.

    And just as he opened it, a heavenly scent permeated the area.

    The scent was not something many knew, but for the people who were able to recognize it, most of them stood up in shock.

    "H-how?! How can you even have something like that!" one spoke.

    Even Zhang Tian was shocked at the treasure in his hand and said, "I cannot ept this, it''s too much of a good gift to take, shouldn''t you take it? it should help you."

    I shook my head, "I already took a bath in it, enough that my body is saturated, the rest of it I handed it over to close ones. That''s thest of it. Also if you all think greedy thoughts as to try and extract information from where I have gotten it, you better forget about that," I said "It''s already gone," I said.

    Zhang Tian tightened his hand on the bottle and since my words were spoken he seemed to have remembered the fact that Servant Mao had escaped.

    "By the way Master Rain, I''ve yet to settle the grudge between us," Zhang Tian said, "Not only did you imprison me for a thousand years, you even let that bastard who harmed my sworn brother to escape," he said.

    "Oh, the first usation was your own doing, you took from me something you shouldn''t have, as for the second one if I were to grab him, I''ll probably have to deal with that old hag because it''s her prey," he said.

    Zhang Tian frowned, does Master Rain knows no fear, calling the Queen an old hag? But what does he mean by her prey?

    "Since you''re all wondering, a few years ago, for helping you escape, that old woman gave this brat her true name, calling upon it thrice to help. Yet that stupid servant, instead of verifying the Name Vow and who the owner of it was, sealed Shen Bao''s words and soul with the Soul Sealing Stakes. So how do you think your dear mother will feel when she had given her words to assist someone, but she couldn''t?" Master Rain shrugged and then said, "Oh, should be about time," then he ced his hands on his ears.

    The moment he did that, I immediately pped both hands on my ears and used all my divine sense to block anything from piercing through my ears.

    I took a nce at master rain and saw him grinning gleefully at the fact that I acted immediately.

    Then a sound of a scream, more like the roar of a dragon that shouted right next to my ears sounded through the pce.

    It had enough force that many of the people around us fainted frothing at the mouth. Then the ground of the pce began shaking and shuddering even against Master Rain''s protective formation it still shook.

    I feared for the innocent people outside since such a loud scream was bound to indiscriminately harm everyone mortals and immortals included. Yet thanks to the formation that seemed to stop vibration which includes sound, nothing of the sort happened.

    Suddenly, the wall in front of me broke as a person slid through the ground cratering it all the way until that person reached Master Rain''s foot.

    Master rain got his face closer to that person, who seemed to be the Wind King, he then said, "Is it that time of the month for her?" Master Rain said.

    "Thankfully it''s not, otherwise I''d be dead," The Wind King said. "She is angry, I suggest we all step away from her path," he said.

 Chapter 408 Old Beast

    An explosion echoed through the pce, it was not an attack but someone breaking the sound barrier as they prated through the roof of the pce and shot forward.

    "I hope she doesn''t kill him," Master Rain said as he helped the Wind King to his feet.

    "I feel like an ipetent king for suffering at the hands of my wife," the Wind King said in a sigh.

    "You''re the one who wanted to marry a dragon, you have to take responsibility for it, anyway, she should being back shortly," Master Rain said.

    ''Coming back soon? It didn''t take her more than a few seconds to leave the pce while Servant Mao who was fast enough to catch up to my Thunder Bull had left more than an incense stick worth of time ago.''

    My thoughts however were soon proven to be very wrong.

    Another explosive sound echoed again, and the Queen appeared right in the middle of the hall.

    She was standing while in her right hand was the cor of Servant Mao

    He was bloodied to a pulp, almost half dead. She then dropped him t on the ground. On her other hand was a fear-stricken, almost blue-faced Xuan Su she couldn''t do anything but stutter and shake as she had already wet herself from utter fright.

    Everyone in the room however didn''t seem to be bothered by such a sight, some were still unconscious from the prior scream, but the rest who resisted the screech were simply sipping at wine and feasting on their food as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

    "That was slightly faster than I expected," Master Rain uttered.

    Before anyone could speak though, came the voice of a new person who just entered through the main hall.

    "That''s because of this great lord here!" the words were robustious and full of vigor.

    "Oh, even De Haung is here," Master Rain said.

    "Old Blue, you''re still alive aftering all the way here!" the man at the door spoke in a grin.

    Looking at him, I found it pretty hard to think that this person is a normal person.

    He was wearing nothing but a pelt around him, his chest muscles, six pack and all of the muscles on his body looked like living beings. They were so packed full that one would think this person was overdosing on steroids.

    Yet, his muscles didn''t look deformed or out of shape. The scars on his body were numerous, and one of them was like a giant gash crossing from his left shoulder to the right side of his naval.

    His head was crowned by the head of a tiger that had three eyes. While on his back was a giant de, more like a b of steel than a de.

    "Hello," spoke a feminine voice.

    Looking behind the new person was Lin, the cat girl.

    "Daughter, is this your mate?" spoke the old man.

    ''Mate?'' I tilted my head.

    The girl nodded up and down like a chicken pecking on grain.

    ''The hell are they talking about?''

    The old man then stomped forward, with every step the pressure in the hall increased.

    Looking at him it seemed that he had a feral pressure about him, a pressure like that of a mountain tiger descending upon mortals.

    His slit golden eyes were gazing upon me up and down until he reached all the way to my side.

    This dude was a giant of a man, simply put he was at least eight feet in height. Shit, I look like a damn dwarf and I really don''t like being looked down on.

    Once we were face to face, I felt like I was facing a beast instead of a person. Yet for some reason, there was no bloodlust. It was simply like a creature trying to assert dominance.

    Yet, everyone in the hall seemed to be worried they had their hands on the pummels of their weapons waiting.

    This guy is strong.

    One of his crossed arms rose up to his chin, then he smiled as his eyes approached all the way to meet mine.

    "I like your gaze, good! GOOD! THIS IS HOW A MAN SHOULD BE HAH!"

    ''This dude is kinda whack¡­''

    He then patted me on the shoulder, but even if it was a simple pat, I could feel that my bones were about to break from it.

    "Fucking hell man!" I cursed.

    Everyone gasped at the reaction.

    "Oi Old Beast, he just ascended, that pat of yours is enough to cause person internal injuries control you damn strength," Master Rain said as he nodded to the ''Elephant in the room.''

    "Wait, wait," the ''Old Beast'' turned to Master Rain and then to me and said, "Ascendant? This guy? No way, how can an ascendant even resist my pressure? He is at least a King ss!" spoke the old man.

    "No father, he really was just a Soul Transformation cultivator when west met," spoke Lin.

    Apparently, this person is her father.

    "Oh, this is even more interesting now, not even a King ss but an ascendant, and able to survive a pat from this old man, now I''m even more interested in this brat. How about it, I''ll permit you my daughter''s hand if youe under the Earth Realm!" the old king said in a heartyugh.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Huh?" I tilted my head, "Why should I?" I replied.

    De Huang frowned, "What do you mean why should you? Do you not know who I am?" he said.

    "You''re the Earth King, but what does me being permitted your hand''s daughter or whatever you say is binding me to you or your realm? Youe all the way here, apply your pressure on me as to test me, then almost break my shoulder from a pat? You didn''t even gauge the other person''s abilities or level before you acted, you''re strong indeed but I think a bag of rocks has more chances of bing a schr than you if you think your actions are going to make me have a favorable impression of you," my words spoken and to everyone in the hall who seemed to have already been stressed out, I probably just signed my death warrant.

    The hands that were simply on the pummels of their weapons were now gripping tightly on them.

    Master Rain''s brow rose then a broad grin rose up his lips.

    Another heartyugh rose from the Old Beast''s lips "GOOD GOOD! This is how one should act! Don''t ever bow down to power, even if one is stronger, many would think of this as foolish courage or stupidity, but those are nothing but spineless fools! GOOD! You really shoulde to my Realm!" The Old beastughed heartily.

    ''This dude has bipr disorder I''m sure of it''.

    At the same time, the Wind King who was a bystander for a moment now seemed to approach us.

    Just as he was about to speak, the woman who was standing still all this time in the hall seemed to take a breath, she then turned and said, "Old beast, he is my protegee,y your hands off," she said.

    He looked at her and then said, "Your protegee? From what my daughter said, and from what I concluded, this person was captured, humiliated, and tortured for five years, and you didn''t do anything? Howe you''re his protector when you weren''t able to even help him in his time of need?"

    ''Alright, if he concluded all of that from just seeing what''s going on and words from his daughter then he probably is smarter than a bag of rocks. I take my words back,''

    The words he spoke however were heavy, especially for the Queen.

    And surprisingly the ''Old Beast'' didn''t even care for the words I spoke to him as he pointed at me saying, "A man with such caliber, to even dare and call me dumber than a bag of rocks, how many here can even dare and think those words? Not only that, he resisted my Feral Pressure without breaking a sweat, and you didn''t even consider putting a guard next to him? protegee you say? You make me sick," the old beast said.

    "Watch your words Old Beast!" one of the people in the hall said as he stood up sword in hand, "You''re in the Wind Realm, even if you''re strong don''t think you''ll go unpunished for speaking words like those to our Queen!"

    The veins on the Earth King seemed to rattle like snakes, he was getting pissed.

    "Hold on now," the Wind King said, "Why are we even fighting, don''t we have more important things to take care of?" the Wind King said as he pointed at the two in the middle of the room.

    "Shen Bao," the Queen said.

    Turning to her, I was surprised to see her bowing down.

    With her action, however, everyone in the room stood up.

    "Your Majesty! Why are you bowing to such a low- such a person!" people began shouting words of disbelief at the sight they were seeing.

    More began trying to dissuade the Queen from bowing but she didn''t care as she had her head bowed to me.

    Usually, I hated the fact that people bowed down to me, but this time I didn''t act, because it wasn''t right for me to deny her apology.

    "I''ve failed to fulfill my promise to the person who brought my son back,"

    Everyone in the room however seemed to have eyes screaming bloody murder as they were looking at me.

    "Raise your head," I said to the Queen.

    "To be honest, I have no qualms or problems with your inability to aid me in such a situation," I said.

    "But!" the Queen interjected.

    "No butts, really, don''t worry about it, I''m not such a pushover to get scared by these people here, or their words that I''m saying this, I really don''t care. As a matter of fact," I said as I approached the Soul Sealing Stakes that were thrown on the floor.

    "I could have called your name whenever I wanted, But I didn''t, do you know why," I said as I grabbed the stakes by hand, which immediately caused everyone to gasp.

    Looking at the reaction of the people around us I said, "What? Y''all seem too surprised?"

    "H-how are you able to hold those bear handed?" someone spoke.

    And it was soon obvious that I was fully capable of controlling the Stakes, meaning that I had the ability to go beyond the Name Bind and call the Queen''s Name Vow for her to appear to my aid whenever I wanted, but why didn''t I is what everyone is thinking.

    If I was able to control the Soul Sealing Stakes, why suffer such pain for so long?

    Looking at the Earth King even he had a disgusted look on his face when looking at the Stakes in my hand.

    ''Interesting, even that guy doesn''t like these toys.''

    "Oh, these?" I replied to the question from the audience, "Simple, I just understood them," I said. I then pressed the tip of one of the stakes on my palm, causing it topletely disappear into the small cloud-like symbol that appeared on them.

    After doing that for all nine of them I approached the two on the ground, "You did a number on these two," I said to the Queen. "But it''s far from paying their debt, how about we have some fun then," I said as I grabbed Servant Mao''s hand.

    Several hundreds of thousands of symbols spread from my palm all over Servant Mao''s body then soon interlocked themselves together.

    He looked like he was a sheet of paper full of writings right now. I then held my palm up and one of the stakes emerged from them.

    "Time to pay back in full, bitch," then I stabbed the stake right through his abdomen.

    A soul-wrenching scream echoed from the old man''s mouth, enough to wake him from his unconscious state.

    "Well then, shall we begin."

 Chapter 409 A Moment Worth A Thousand Years.

    Just as I finished my words, I pulled out Creeping Demise. A sword that I haven''t used in a long while.

    And then I slowly pierced through the old servant''s heart with the tip of the sword.

    For everyone in the room, I must have been an idiot.

    And the first to point that out was Old Beast.

    "Why did you kill him? shouldn''t you have tortured him the same as he did to you? Or did you feel mercy for that man?" he asked.

    I stood up and wiped the blood on my sword saying, "Mercy? Nah, he didn''t go that easy believe me," I said.

    "You''re pretty cruel, Shen Bao," spoke Master Rain as he moved forward, "But that''s what those who should cross you must suffer," he added.

    It was obvious from everyone in the room''s reaction that they were missing something. Cruel? How they must have thought.

    Since I repaid five years of agony with a sword thrust to the heart, a death that was far too swift and ''Merciful'' for a man who crossed me.

    The words and inscriptions written all over the servant soon disappeared into nothingness as his body almost instantly shriveled up and dposed at such an incredible rate. Enough for his clothes and flesh to rot over and soon turn to dust along with his bones in the process.

    One of the eldest people in the room stood up, and came close to the remains of Servant Mao.

    He crouched down, touched the dust on the ground with a finger then licked it.

    He looked at me and then at the girl on the ground who was shaking in her ce unable to utter a word from the sight that just urred.

    "A thousand years... a thousand years had passed for this body, how did you do it?" asked the old man as he stood up to face me.

    "You''re pretty preceptive," I said "It was the Soul Sealing Stake''s effect. I said, the moment he was sealed, his boy and soul were frozen in time," I replied.

    "It must have felt awful, to see the sword that you pulled up, going ever so slowly towards his heart, for a thousand years, the sword moved until it finally pierced his heart, that is what Servant Mao felt before he died. He spent a thousand years waiting for inevitable death," Master Rain said.

    "This doesn''t make any sense, it didn''t even take a moment for him to pierce his heart, what do you mean a thousand years?" asked one of the people in the hall. "Not to mention, a thousand years isn''t enough to cause a body to rot and decay to this extent, especially not a King ss cultivator since they can easily live that life span and more."

    "It isn''t that hard to understand," Master Rain said "Think of it as he was sealed away from his Immortality, the Soul Sealing Stake denied his body his Qi, while his brain was functioning at a thousand-year speed per second. He was living inside his mind, at a rate that was so fast for his body to catch up to, and when his heart was pierced, he died. But his body that couldn''t die with him had to follow suit. It is the same as when you receive a burn inside a hallucination formation. Even if there was no fire, if you believe that you''ve burnt, you''lle out of the formation with burns on your body. Only this time..." Master Rain looked at the remains of Servant Mao and said, "It was not just a burn, but a thousand years, a thousand years for a body that was denied Qi, a thousand years for a mortal body. And the body followed as soon as the mind died. Thus turning to dust."

    The realization finally hit everyone in the room, I received some nasty res. One would think that I''ve done that to them.

    Among the remains of Servant Mao was his holding bag, which I didn''t hesitate into grabbing and cing it within my Poison God''s book.

    I then turned to the girl who was still shaking in fright. As I had my sword brandished, she felt terrified as she began crawling back.

    "P-please, please! Don''t kill me!"

    "Why do they always beg for their lives? Scum of the scum," I said as I kept moving towards her.

    "How many cultivators did you and your servant capture and harm in that dark hole? How many have begged as you kept them there, tortured them, ying their skin and grinding their bones? Pain upon pain, their screams served as fuel to satisfy your perverted hobby didn''t they?" I said as I finally caught up to her.

    I raised my foot and unceremoniously stepped on her face mming the back of her head into the floor.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I then pointed my palm at her and the writings of the Soul Sealing Stakes seeped into her body as she began screaming from terror as the words began imprinting themselves on her. She knew that the moment the words were to connect, she will end up the same as Servant Mao.

    "P-please! Show mercy! Please!" she begged with tears and snot.

    But they didn''t deserve an ounce of sympathy.

    "That is enough," another person spoke the direction was once again the door of the pce.

    Looking at the personing in, and the sight of hope once again kindled in her eyes. It seems that that person is probably rted to her.

    The man who just entered was a middle-aged-looking man, though I''m sure he lived several millennia.

    He too was wearing white, the same as this girl, he had gold and next to him were two guards that seemed to be too arrogant to hold off their bloodlust, especially after they saw my foot nted on the face of their ''young princess''.

    "I have received notice that you have been offended by my daughter''s actions, I''m here to amend this misunderstanding," He said.

    My brow rose, not in anger but in perplexity, because who the fuck would ever consider being held captive for years, without sleep or rest, constantly in soul-wrenching and agonizing pain to be a simple ''Offense and Misunderstanding''.

    But clearly, this man thought so because I could see it in his arrogant eyes, he didn''t think of me as anything but a lowly person. And didn''t even deem me worthy of an apology, not that I would have epted it.

    "You said, a misunderstanding?" I asked as I removed my foot from her face.

    "Yes, you must excuse her behavior, in return I''ll offer you something for what inconvenienced you," he said.

    He then threw me a small box which I grabbed mid-air.

    Opening it, I couldn''t help but smirk.

    Everyone knew what was inside the box the moment I opened it. It was a talent root. A golden talent root non less.

    Ingesting this will immediately make someone who couldn''t even cultivate into a world-ss cultivator.

    Something this precious would cause anyone to fight a bloody war for. For the leaders and lords of these prominent sects and ns, having a talent root that can be transnted into their descendants or given as a gift to their most precious disciples would mean the world to them.

    "I''m sure that that reward is enough, now Xuan''er,e here," he said.

    Master Rain, the Old Beast, and not even the Queen or Zhang Tian spoke as they saw me holding the Talent Root. Because they all knew, that it was something that would be helpful for someone who didn''t have it.

    The girl stood up, still full of fright but with such a ''grand'' reward, even if I had been tortured a hundred years, I should still be satisfied, because one can''t just obtain a talent root if they wish for it. Because they think that I as a person who has no talent would do anything to get such an object.

    "It is indeed something that would be helpful," I muttered, "But I refuse," I said as I swung my sword.

    The arrogant eyes of Xuan''s father opened wide as he saw my sword cutting cleanly through her head.

    Before the decapitated head could even fall to the ground. Her entire body turned to dust.

    I then threw the box back at him, "You can''t buy my fury," I said. "Now, what are you going to do?"

 Chapter 410 A Drink

    Xuan Su''s father screamed as he saw his daughter turning to dust right in front of his eyes. Madness and agony clearly stered across his face.

    "I''ll fucking kill you!" he shouted as he lunged at me.

    I didn''t even move, because to be frank, I was still too exhausted from the shit that''s been happening to me for the past half-decade. But I didn''t need to move either way.

    The King of the Earth Realm, the Old beast only needed to grab the old man''s shoulder topletely stop his movement. While Master Rain made a hand gesture that caused hundreds of thousands of small inscriptions totch themselves against the old manpletely sealing his Qi.

    Realizing he was not going to move anywhere the old man tears dripping from his eyes screamed "WHY? Have I not given you reward enough? Was it not ample enough! Why to take my daughter''s life!" he shouted.

    "Because the likes of you don''t understand unless they are oppressed. How many had cried under you the same way you are doing right now? You think that just because you were born in a ce of wealth you''re better than everyone else and that gives you the right to treat the rest as ''Low-Birth''. Now you know how these low birth feel. In the end, you both feel the pain of loss," I said as I sighed.

    "I''ve been humiliated, abused, and had my freedom stolen from me. And you think a miserly talent root is enough to have me forget and forgive? You must be stupid, because no man would ever forget such humiliation, not to mention you forgot the most important part," I said as I held my hands forward.

    "Do you think that I need a talent root? Did it never ur to you that a man without a talent root had made it to the Ascendant Realm? You had forgotten the most important part, and you tried to make a deal with me with something that I didn''t need nor ever cared for. As for your daughter and your servant, they crossed me, and now they are dead. Our debt has been repaid. And if you think that I owe you something," I smiled at him.

    "Thene at me. But do know that you''ll be making the entire Wind Realm your enemy, in case your memory was too disturbed by the death of your daughter, I''m Zhang Tian''s Sworn Brother, and herdyship''s Prot??g??e. And apparently, the man that''s pinning you by the shoulder wants to make his daughter my wife, not to mention I''m the disciple of Master Rain and one of the inheritors of the Poison God''s path. So, do you think you have enough backing to go after me?"

    My words weren''t aimed at this fucker alone, but at everyone in the room. They understood that the man who came out of that small box was not an ordinary person.

    They had literally opened Pandora''s Box and now they need to deal with whatever came out.

    The people here are all well-connected, but if it''s about connections, I wasn''t going to lose. With the people here who had my back, I wouldn''t lose in a backing Dick-Measuring contest against anyone, and if this fucker ever thinks toe at me, I won''t think twice about pping him a couple of times with a massive-sized shlong.

    I took a couple of breaths since my thoughts were bing a bit more disturbed, I expelled the negative and emotional thoughts from my spirit and sent them toward the ckened soul.

    With a clearer mind, I looked at the man and said, "So, what do you want to do? Do you think you can take me on? Foolishly throw away your life, or do you think that you should live today to have your revenge another day?" I asked.

    The person in question shook for a bit then stopped, he took a breath, and with his bloodlust dispelled he turned "Excuse my actions, I shall retreat to my abode for now," he said then walked away.

    The two guards that were with him were still giving me the eye, but with their leader gone, they followed after him.

    Suddenly Master Rain appeared right next to me.

    His hands were on my shoulders and his eyes were fixated on the Queen, "What a good birthday, now then Shen Bao, your old master is exhausted and wishes to go back, how about you walk me out," he said.

    My brows rose, but then I understood what was going on. Master Rain was not on the friendliest of terms with the Wind Realm, especially the Queen who seemed to be seething at the sight of this man, but since he was so close to me she didn''t do anything.

    The fucker was using me as a meat shield.

    "You can walk on your own, why not leave Shen Bao here, he is too injured to travel," she said.

    "Damn she is pissed," Master Rain said as his hands gripped tightly on my shoulders.

    "Haha, no I know thisd he can take a hit or two, you don''t need to worry about him, now Shen Bao, let''s go," he urged.

    "Wait," this time it was Zhang Tian who spoke.

    "I don''t wish to see any more blood spilled today," he said. "It''s my birthday," he said.

    "Technically, no blood had been spilled, since he turned them to dust," Master Rain said.

    I cringed at his words, but he was right.

    "True, then, today is a day of festivities, so we will have no grudges between us nor should we have any hostilities. Master Rain, Shen Bao, please," Zhang Tian said as he pointed at the centermost table.

    With everyone watching, we had no choice but to follow his request.

    We both sat next to Zhang Tian and were soon apanied by the massive Old Beast.

    The four of us sat awkwardly. Master Rain''s awkwardness came from the Queen''s gaze feeling like it was going to pierce a hole into his head. I wouldn''t be surprised if she could.

    As for the old beast, his size was enough to dwarf all of us and the table but he still managed to sit down. I was the youngest and least aplished person in the whole room but at the same time, all eyes were on me. While Zhang Tian was barely able to control the awkward situation by trying to appease everyone.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Drinks?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Please, I could use something strong," Master Rain said.

    "Someone bring me a jar of Dragon Bone Liquor," he then turned to people in the room and asked, "Anyone has the Seven Destruction Poison?"

    The mere mention of this poison caused everyone to look at each other. And I knew why because it was mentioned in one of the passages of the Poison God''s Deadliest Poisons. It was somethingparable to the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. A poison among the top one hundred deadliest poisons in heaven''s list.

    One of the cultivators stood up, "I have a pill, but is it wise to bring it up?"

    Everyone understood the meaning behind his words. We were surrounded by royalty and bringing such a deadly poison here would only mean that someone had evil thoughts.

    "No worries, give me the poison, and you may take anything you wish from the Wind Pce Earth-Treasure room as a reward," said Zhang Tian.

    The man happily pulled a ck bottle from his holding bag, and soon a servant came towards him grabbed the bottle and came towards us presenting it to lord Zhang Tian.

    Just as he ced the bottle on the table, the Dragon Bone Liquor arrived.

    He then began pouring for everyone on the table leaving me forst.

    "I promised you that we would drink one day, and I never thought the day woulde so soon," he said.

    "Neither have I, but tell me what do you intend to do with this poison?" I asked.

    "That''s for you, a tonic," Zhang Tian said.

    I smiled at the man''s gesture. He seemed to know about the Poison God''s cultivators bodies enough to understand that after breaking through, we suffer a great deficiency in Qi.

    And without an appropriate Poison Qi replenishment, it would take a lot of trouble to stabilize one''s foundations.

    "Then I would have to thank you for such a grand gift," I said to Zhang Tian then opened the bottle.

    "Are you sure you should be drinking something as ominous as that?" asked Old Beast.

    He was right, because the inside of the bottle was a liquid as ck as tar, and bubbled like a witch''s cauldron.

    But to me...

    I gulped down the contents of the bottle as everyone was watching.

    It burned, at first, it burned hotter than pure alcohol but at the same time a coldness never before had I felt rushed through my body, replenishing me, and coursing through every meridian, vein and muscle.

    Poison Qi, no, Poison Saint Qi! It was strong enough to invigorate me and immediately expel every bit of exhaustion I had.

    But then again, I couldn''t fully consume the poison, since it was too potent for my Ascendant Stage cultivation. And I couldn''t use this Qi to climb in cultivation rank since I''ve yet to establish my foundation and stabilize it, so I managed to guide the remaining poison to my Dantian for storage.

    It fused with the remains of the Corpse Pill that I couldn''t fully digest and remained like a lump inside my Dantian.

    I mmed the bottom of the bottle against the table, "That''s some good stuff!"

    "Yep, definitely a screw loose," said the Old Beast.

    Looking around, I frowned, "What?" I asked.

    "I think you misunderstood my intentions, I wanted you to have the poison since you can probably study it, or apply it bit by bit to improve your cultivation... I never thought you''ll drink it right away..." Zhang Tian said.

    "Oh...well it worked out in the end, now how about a ss of that Dragon Bone Liquor I can''t resist the heavenly smell," I said smiling.

    "Of course brother!" Zhang Tian said as he poured me a ss.

 Chapter 411 Dao Discussion

    After downing the drink I couldn''t help but let go of a long sigh.

    "What is wrong, junior brother?" asked Zhang Tian as he poured me another ss.

    I thought for a moment before I spoke, "One can endure the hardships of Time, and the pain of the body for a long time. But still cannot let go of the pleasure of a good drink or the pleasure of the flesh. We live only to please ourselves even if we suffer hardships in the process¡­"

    My words would seem like the ramblings of an old man but the people here, all understood it or I hoped they did.

    "It has been a while since west discussed Dao, junior brother, have youe to some enlightenment of your own in the time we had parted?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Not to intrude," the oldest person in the room spoke as he approached us. "I''ve heard your conversation and it seemed interesting, for the Immortal Schr to ask about Dao from a person who just bes an Ascendant," the old man spoke.

    He was bald and had a long but thin beard that seemed to reach all the way to his knees, however even though he looked like an old man he would keel over at the smallest breeze. He gave off a sharp aura, like a sheathed sword.

    "Lord Zi Qin, you''re more than wee to join in on the conversation," Zhang Tian said.

    With this invitation everyone in the room had their eyes focused on us.

    "So, young one, you said that you could speak words of the Dao, but before you speak, can I know how long have you been cultivating?" he asked.

    "Is that necessary? Is age something that can define one''s understanding of Dao?" I asked.

    "It is not, but it is a good indicator of one''s wisdom," he said.

    "Subtracting the five years I''ve been imprisoned and unable to cultivate myself, this should be my twelfth," I said.

    "Hmm, twelve hundred years, it qualifies a person to speak about Dao," he said.

    "I think you''re mistaking something," I said.

    Zi Qin tilted his head, "If I am, please enlighten me."

    "It''s only my twelfth-year cultivating," I said.

    My words were enough to cause everyone tough as if it was a joke. But the old man didn''tugh.

    "Your words¡­ seem to hold no lies in them, yet I find it hard to believe, howe a man is able to cultivate to the Ascendant Realm in only twelve years? Not to mention your body''s age is older than a century," he said.

    "Oh, you can see my age?"

    "Bone age, it is obvious for eyes such as mine, so, howe? Did you start cultivating in your eighties? You would have been an old man, with a body riddled with sickness and old of age, a mortal cannot cultivate at such an old age," he said.

    "You are right, a normal mortal wouldn''t be able to cultivate at such an old age, since their meridians and body would have deteriorated, not to mention that a man that old would have already far bypassed the age of cultivation which is basically in one''s teenage years. But as you can see for yourself, I''m not lying," I replied to the old man.

    "I can vouch for Shen Bao''s words," said Zhang Tian.

    "It wasn''t longer than ten years ago since Ist met him, and he was only a Core cultivator at the beginning of his journey. If Shen Bao wishes I can share his appearance," said Zhang Tian.

    I shrugged.

    Zhang Tian then pulled a small jade marble and pressed it against his temple. Then soon ced it on the table in front of us.

    The marble shone bright and began disying a sight of an old man wearing dpidated clothes. He was riddled with tumors and pustules all over his body, but he was focused on something.

    The old man was gazing at a de of grass so intently that everything around him from the formations of the city that seemed to be forgotten in time seemed irrelevant.

    In the eyes of that old man, that de of grass contained knowledge that he had never seen before and was intently gazing upon it to know of its secrets.

    Between that old man, and the young man in front of them the only thing that was simr between them were the eyes, well, one eye at this point in time.

    That old man studied the grass, then studied the trees, then the doors all the way to understanding the contents of such ambiguous formations. Then that old man began deciphering the formation and gained knowledge, enough to fully break through them and further move forward.

    The marble stopped shining and the sight of the old man disappeared.

    "That is Shen Bao when I first met him," Zhang Tian spoke.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I see," Zi Qin said as he looked at me once again. "However, this is more problematic."

    "Why do you think so?" I asked.

    "Because if you only cultivated for twelve years, your knowledge of the world would be too shallow to speak of Dao," he said.

    "Let me ask you something. You must be older than brother Zhang Tian, but do you have the confidence to say that you know more about Dao than he does?" I asked.

    The old man shook his head, "I understand my own Dao, the Dao of Swords, but I wouldn''t dare say I know more about general Dao than the Immortal Schr, unlike me, I devoted my life to the sword, while he devoted his life to knowledge," he said.

    "That still means that age is irrelevant in the understanding of Dao," I said

    "Age is wisdom," he said.

    "Age is also routine, one can be stale at an older age, especially if they reach a power level that they cannot grow past. As for the young, the inexperienced see things differently and tread paths differently. We may be young, and we may make mistakes but the paths that we tread are our own and are different, the way we view the world is different from the way you see the world," I said.

    "I would not disagree with that, but it still doesn''t prove that you have enough understanding of the world to speak about Dao," he said.

    "Then let''s go back to the basics, what is Dao?" I asked.

    Everyone in the room seemed to pay even more attention to us.

    "That question isn''t something that anyone here can answer, all we can do is get as close to the source of the answer as we can," he said.

    I shook my head, "That is because you all think of Dao as something that cannot be attained, you all think that Dao is the end of all things," I said.

    "But it is. If one ims to know what is Dao then they have reached the end of their cultivation."

    I shook my head, "That''s where you are wrong because I know what is Dao." I said.

    The old man frowned, "Those are big words, brat, you''re disrespecting the great Dao by speaking such words. You a child who is still wet behind the ears think that you know more than what an eternal world of cultivation is still trying to figure out," he said.

    ''did I strike a chord, he is pissed.''

    I sighed, "I said I know what is Dao, not that I understand it," I said.

    "Then what is the difference?" said the old man.

    "There is a saying," I said. "Do you know that intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit," I said.

    "Huh? What do you mean by that? How can a tomato be fruit?" he asked.

    "Because a tomato is a berry, and all berries are fruit, but do you know what wisdom is? Wisdom is not putting a tomato in a fruit basket."

    Though I''m sure I botched that idiom back from the earth, but I''m sure that it made the message clear to these old people.

    "You all try and find Dao in things that are mystical and far-fetched but you never thought to look at the world next to you," I said.

    "There is Dao in everything, in the motion of the wind, in the fall of the rain, in the heavenly order of the world."

    "That is a good analogy, but it doesn''t exin much," said Zi Qin.

    "It is because you see the tree for the tree itself," I said. "How did the treee to be?" I asked.

    "From a seed," the old man said.

    "Then, how did the seed be a tree?" I asked.

    "It''s¡­ because a seed bes a tree?" the old man spoke in a question.

    "What I''m about to tell you might be a bit hard to digest. So open your ears and forget about age for a moment. I''ll be telling you of Dao."

 Chapter 412 Dao In Simplicity

    "Why would the seed be a tree? Howe that happened, why did it create roots that sought water and nutrition from the earth, and how did it grow into a sapling, then into a trunk and branches? Why would it make leaves, than flowers? Why would the permanent shade of the tree cause weeds around it to die? Why would the bee fertilize the flowers? And why would the flower make fruit? And why is there a seed in the fruit?"

    The old man remained silent.

    "You all must be thinking that it is because of a greater will that this happened, but it is because of Dao. The Dao of the world, the Dao of life, and the Dao of death. Everything happens for a reason and for a purpose, everything that has a beginning must have an end. And in this cycle, the cycle of seed came the beginning, and once the end which is the fruit that the tree produced came, another beginning starts which is the seed in that very fruit.

    Life progresses forward, forever, like an endless cycle. In it we live, and in it we will certainly die. But our life will bring upon many opportunities to others, the same as the flower brought the opportunity to the bee, and at the same time, our lives will bring many ends, the same as the tree brought an end to the weeds around it.

    And in the end, we shall return to the ground. Our bodies turn to dust, which will nourish another seed. We live to live, and we live only to die, but in our life, we bring life and death, and in our death we also bring life. The world is in a perfect bnce but we fail to see. We seek knowledge in the grand and the mystic but fail to see the majesty of the mundane... thus I know what is Dao because it is all around us, but I still don''t understand it, because I have yet to understand how can seed be a tree."

    The old man didn''t speak, and remained calm and collected many thoughts coursed through his mind as his eyes seemed to no longer be focused, he was no longer with us.

    Zhang Tian waved his hand and a visible barrier seemed to epass the old man.

    "I''m always impressed by how you see things, Shen Bao," said Zhang Tian.

    "What''s this?" I asked.

    "You don''t know?" Master Rain spoke.

    "It looks like a protective sound barrier, and his eyes look like the same eyes of the old man from the heavenly academy when I crossed the Mortal Reminder. Enlightenment? At such an old age?"

    "How envious," said Old Beast who seemed to be sighing.

    "Interesting, I didn''t think that those simple words would have such an effect, but I''m still confused about one thing," I said as I looked around.

    "I know what you''re about to ask, but you shouldn''t bother," Master Rain said.

    "Why?" I dumbly asked.

    "You''re thinking, howe this old man gained enlightenment when no one else did?"

    "Yes, that''s exactly what I was thinking," I said.

    "It is for the same reason why your own words didn''t enlighten even you, that old man needed those words. Personally, his pursuit of Dao was narrowing his view of Dao. Your words resonated with him deeply, but not with us because our Dao is different. I do not seek Dao to enlighten myself nor do I peruse the end of cultivation, thus your words had no effect on me. As for Old Beast, your words cannot move him since he is of the beast tribe which is highly attuned to nature, the Dao you speak of, he needs not understand it, because he lives it. As for the rest of the people around us, their understanding is still not at the level to fully grasp the meaning behind these words. I even think that even you do not know the full value of the words you spoke. For you, Dao is something that is visible but not easy to understand, for them Dao is invisible but can be grasped. Your point of view differs thus they couldn''t understand it. Unlike Old man Zi Qin who had sought all points of view and failed to realize his Dao, you came in with a different approach that no one else had, and this caused him to gain enlightenment."

    "Do you have any words for this old man? I''ve been stuck trying to understand the Dao of Life and Death," said Old Beast.

    I shook my head, "How can I know of the Dao of life and death?" I questioned.

    "My apologies, I thought I could also gain some enlightenment," he said as he sighed.

    "I''m not a walking Dao encyclopedia, but you can''t be asking me something like that, because I''m not qualified to answer," I said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I don''t think so, you spoke words far wiser than your age, but you are right, perhaps I was too rash," Old Beast said.

    I shook my head, "It has nothing to do about rashness, I''m just not qualified to speak about the Dao of Life and Death for a simple reason," I said.

    "What is this reason?" asked Old Beast.

    "Well, it''s simple. I have yet to fully experience life to speak of the Dao of Life, and I have yet to experience Death to speak of the Dao of death." I shrugged.

    The Old Beast as if a thunderbolt had struck through his head stuttered and then suddenly sat down in a lotus position.

    His eyes werepletely out of focus.

    ''Are you serious?''

    Zhang Tian waved his hand and another protective barrier immediately went over the Old Beast.

    Then he beganughing, heughed andughed as I looked dumbly at the two around me.

    "Never in my life had I ever thought to see something like this. A cultivator not even in his second decade of cultivation was able to enlighten two of the oldest beings in the world of cultivation, may your deeds spread all over the vast expanse Shen Bao!" Zhang Tian held his ss of wine and drank a toast.

    Old Rain looked at me worriedly for a moment and then shook his head, "You better watch out from now on," he said through Divine Sense.

    "Why? What did I do?" I asked.

    "Your actions right now, giving enlightenment to two of the most ancient powers of the Vast Expanse, everyone will think of you as a walking Dao connoisseur, they''ll bother you with questions on how to achieve their own Dao, it''s going to be annoying for you from now on..."

    And just as he finished his words, a dam worth of divine sense messages came to me at the same time. Everyone in the room as they began asking about their Dao and how much they would reward me for enlightenment.

    It was enough for me to wince. Yet with a single cough from Zhang Tian, all the Divine Senses stopped.

    "I will not permit this to happen again, I will never allow you to bully my younger brother into enlightening your Dao, if anyone repeats this, then by the power behind me, they shall be an enemy of the Wind Realm!"

    With Zhang Tian''s words, everyone seemed to calm down. Yet their pleading eyes were like a puppy asking for a snack.

    I shook my head. These couple of enlightenments weren''t something I was aiming for. It happened just by coincidence. If I were to im that I''m able to guide people into achieving their Dao, then I''ll be nothing but a hack. Still, this should give me a good standing with the people here. Having connections is good. And I can use thister since I''ll be needing to head to a dangerous ce soon.

    "My younger brother is probably exhausted from the Dao debate. Shen Bao, I''ll have a few of my servants personally apany you to one of my amodations. Once I''m done here I''ll join you shortly. Master Rain, you may apany Shen Bao."

    "Right, I should," Master Rain said, his eyes went up and met the Queen''s eyes, and immediately shied away. He was probably thankful that Zhang Tian asked him to apany me since it would create distance between those two.

    As for me, it was good to get away from this ce. I needed to meditate for a bit to cement my new cultivation realm.

 Chapter 413 A New Destination

    Both me and Master Rain were sitting inside a massive room. The size of the room alone isparable to a noble person''s pce. But this was nothing but a room in the giant Wind Pce.

    "Where is Yuyu?" I asked master Rain.

    "You don''t need to worry about her. She had already been here before, and will not lose her way inside the pce. If she didn''te here, then that means she had somewhere else to be. Anyway¡­"

    Master Rain trailed before he said, "We should head back as soon as possible," he said.

    "You''re right, we should," I replied.

    Master Rain frowned, "I didn''t expect you to be so agreeable."

    "Well, why not, there is no point in staying here," I said shrugging.

    "Are you dense? Zhang Tian, the prince of the Wind Realm publicly proimed you as his sworn brother, which means that you have power and influence right now, if you wish to live a life ofvishness and richness you''d only need to ask, why do you want to go back to the academy?" he asked.

    "Because whatever I obtain here, it won''t be thanks to my efforts, and I don''t like that. I''m not that shameless to ask for treasures and materials to improve my cultivation." I replied.

    "It has nothing to do with shamelessness, you earned the right to ask for whatever you wish from the Wind Realm,"

    "Even so," I said as I crossed my hands behind my head and rxed back on the chair I was sitting on. "It just doesn''t feel right. It''s as if my cultivation journey will lose all purpose once I ask Zhang Tian for help in procuring materials. Not to mention, I still have something to do," I said.

    "What thing? Master Rain asked.

    "I need to fully im Du Shen''s heritage. And you know that we don''t have much time left," I said.

    "It''s too early for you," Master Rain said.

    "I know, that''s why I''ll need to improve myself. I''ll need to head out and find my own opportunities."

    "That will not be easy, if you''re saying it like this, that means that you wish to venture out into the world. Aren''t you worried that you''ll be chased and hunted by other Poison God cultivators?" Master Rain said.

    "I''ll need to be careful," I said "But it''s something I must do, if I were to stay cuddled up in safety then what is the point of cultivating?"

    Master Rain rubbed the bridge of his nose as if to calm down a headache, "I''ll need to improve the Demon ying Puppet if you wish to travel alone," he said.

    "No need, I figured out a few things and a method to improve both Y, and X. So don''t worry old man, I won''t just die in a random ditch," I said.

    "People who say that are usually the ones that die in random ditches. Well, I can''t stop you if you want to gain experience. The least I can do is guide you into your advent. So far, you''ve been cultivating the Path of Poison. There exists a that''s in the wind realm, it''s a poison where everything that exists there is pure poison. It used to be the hideout of Du Shen when things didn''t go his way. Right now, it''s inhabited by the Neutral Poison Sect. this sect rarely ventures out in the world and would keep to themselves and confined within their sect. I had a few dealings with them some time ago, and earned this," Master Rain said as he handed me a wooden token.

    It had the word Poison engraved on it.

    "Wouldn''t they be interested in my Poison God''s heritage?" I asked.

    "About that, yes, they will, so try and keep it a secret, at least until you are strong enough to openly proim your position as one of the Inheritors of the Poison God."

    "Seems like an interesting ce, I might head there and see what I can find. I''ve been thinking of further improving my poisons. The problem is, with what happened today, I''m too well known. I''ll have to make adjustments," I said.

    "You''ll need a face mask, I can get you one," said Master Rain.

    But as he was speaking, I was already poking around my face with my fingers.

    "What are you doing?" asked Master Rain.

    "You''ll see in a minute," I said.

    Then soon, the bones on my face began to slightly change, fully reforming my facial bone structure. This caused me to have apletely different face than before. Then I closed my eyes and opened them, I didn''t even need to see to know that the green color of my eyes had already changed to a in brown color.

    "Interesting, you used your poisons to affect your own biological structure, impressive," he said.

    "Good, this should be enough to help me hide my identity," I said.

    "That will only hide your physical appearance, your Qi signature is still too distinguished," Master Rain shook his head.

    "I already have a method to deal with that," I said.

    I went inside my sea of consciousness and drew upon the ck soul that was sitting in chains next to the dragon soul. Just as I manifested a portion of it, Master Rain spoke.

    "Interesting, I had a hunch that it was something like this. You cultivated the second persona of sorts¡­ with Demonic essence. Still, do be careful, walking down the Demonic Path is not something that can be done haphazardly."

    "I know what I''m doing," I replied.

    Soon I heard a knock on the door.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Brother Shen Bao."

    "Pleasee in brother Zhang Tian," I said.

    Once the immortal schr entered he took a deep breath, "Sigh, that was very bothersome." He said.

    "Not a fan of birthdays?" I replied.

    "Yes, too much socializing and faking amicability can corrupt one''s soul, still, it was a good day to have finally met you brother Shen Bao. Also, what''s with that face?" he asked.

    I pressed my fingers on my face and reverted the changes. "I was testing things out, so how have you been?" I asked.

    "So and so, a lot of things happened, and I had to deal with many matters in the Wind Realm. Not to mention that my interference when your home was being invaded was little, I have to apologize for that. I didn''t think that the Fire King will y such a dirty hand," he said.

    "That''s of no concern, for now, still you seem different from thest time we spoke," I said.

    "Different how?" he asked.

    "You look more at peace," I said.

    "You noticed?" he smiled.

    "Yeah, I guess a thousand years of imprisonment can make a person grouchy," I said.

    Master Rain coughed.

    "Well, that''s a matter between you and Master Rain to discuss, for me, I''ll need to head out. I have many matters to attend to," I said.

    "Shouldn''t you at least stay for a bit, I''ll make sure to make your stay worth the while, at least let me help you out," Zhang Tian said.

    "When did you ever think of me as a leech? I''ll obtain my own opportunities, and I already have a destination in mind," I said.

    "Still, It will never sit well with me to send off my junior brother without at least a small present," he said.

    He then handed me a ring. I checked the content of the ring and my heart almost dropped.

    "I can''t ept that," I said.

    "You have to, it''s the least I can do, or do you think that the life of this Lord isn''t worth anything?"

    "But that''s a lot. I mean who the hell keeps that much Saint Qi around, don''t you need it to cultivate?" I asked.

    He shook his head, "I already went past the stage where I need Saint Qi, my cultivation requires the enlightenment of Dao and Law, Qi is not that much of an issue to obtain especially ins like this one. As for you, you''ll probably need it, even if not to cultivate with it personally, but for your tools and trinkets, do you not?" he asked.

    "You''re right about that. Still¡­"

    "I already realized that you wouldn''t ept any form of treasure or materials, but you cannot deny Saint Qi. Because it isn''t going to directly empower you or give you a shortcut to cultivating since you can''t use it directly. Consider this as a small gift between brothers. You had already given me something far more precious," he said.

    He must be talking about the Stone-Aged Milk.

    "That was a birthday Gift," I said.

    "Then this is your bted birthday gift from me, you cannot refuse it," he said.

    I sighed, "Thank you then, I''ll make good use of it."

    "I know you will. I''ll also prepare a method for you to leave the. Since many eyes will be focused on you, for the time being, I''m sure you''ll want to go unnoticed in your venture," he said.

    "That is much appreciated," I said nodding.

    "Then so be it, as for you Master Rain, we have some matters to discuss," he said.

    "I have nothing to speak to you about," Master Rain shrugged.

    "I''m asking this because my dear mother is impatiently waiting for a chance to also have a discussion with you, I might as well take the first turn and perhaps you might find an opportunity where I''m not paying attention to skips,"

    "Then I''ll take you up on your offer, I really don''t want to deal with that woman," Master Rain spoke in a shiver.

    ''Damn, only god knows what the Queen did to Master Rain to make him act like this.''

    Looking ahead, the future is seemingly turbulent. But I can only move forward.

 Chapter 414 Lingering Regrets

    Trees of abnormal sizes and shapes were sprawled all over the ce. Some were taller than buildings and others were as big as towers. Their leaves were thick andpact enough to cover the skies. Causing the atmosphere under these trees to look like it was dark all year long.

    The animals that lived in this ce were used to such an environment. Enough that the majority of them didn''t rely on their sight when they were hunting.

    They developed a keen sense of hearing and smell, and also divine sense.

    The animals and demonic beasts that roamed this ce were strong enough to make even ascendants have second thoughts about aimlessly wandering around in this forest.

    Yet despite these dangers, a young man who seemed to have far too many bruises and wounds on him seemed to be rushing through the forest''s thick foliage. Running for dear life.

    He was wearing emerald-colored robes that had a symbol on them. it looked like a coiling snake.

    The young man''s body was riddled with cuts, and some of these wounds were bleeding ck blood. He knew he didn''t have a long time to live. Especially with what was hunting him.

    "He went this way!" someone shouted far behind the young man.

    And with that alerting shout, the young man winced and then increased his speed, further inflicting more harm on his already dying body.

    A group of five cultivators was rushing behind this young man, they had blood on their swords and looked as if they were possessed when they were hunting this person.

    The young man''s heart felt as if it was about toe out of his throat, from the exhaustion, fear, and betrayal he felting from those five people that were chasing him.

    Yet, he knew he had no power to confront them, and his only hope is to escape, for now, thene backter for vengeance, no matter how thin and small that hope is, he had to run away. There was no way he would allow them to obtain the secrets of his family. After all it was his own mistake for causing all of this, for revealing something of his, that any lover or friend would turncoat and stab them for it.

    The young man ran, crossing vast distances through the forest but no matter how he ran, the forest seemed endless, and he knew that sooner orter he will meet his end, at the hands of the people following him, or in the presence of a demonic beast that coulde out of the thickets.

    Exhaustion hadpletely overtaken him, the young disciple decided that his only option was to hide for now. And hope that he wouldn''t be discovered. Although these cultivators were powerful, they aren''t stupid enough to use Divine Sense to scan the area around them. unless they wish to trigger the ire of the dwellers of this forest.

    Once he found a suitable batch of bushes, he dove inside them after making sure that no blood or any of his clothes had spilled on the bushes.

    Soon the group of cultivators chasing after him came. They all stopped in the vicinity of his hiding ce.

    There were five of them, two females and three males.

    One of them, who seemed to exude a tyrannical presence yet at the same time had a handsome appearance to him seemed to be leading the group, he stopped and looked around, making sure to scan the area before they proceeded to move forward.

    "The tracks stop here," another spoke, he seemed to be the second inmand of this group and the one with the best tracking abilities.

    He got down on the ground and ced his ears on the dirt.

    He then stood up and shook his head, "The forest is too lively to detect him efficiently."

    "He could be hiding somewhere here," one of the female disciples said, she had a scar on her face, it appeared to be recent from the way the wound seemed to have barely healed.

    "That bastard, we must find him, he scarred me so! I''ll never forgive him!" she said.

    The other female disciple scuffed at her, mockingly, "That was your mistake, your job was to fake friendship, then be his lover, but how can you fail to even seduce such an ugly duck like Shen Mo?"

    "What do you know! If it wasn''t for brother Yul''s request I would have never associated myself with him, that bastard, I swear once I find him, I''ll cut him up limb from limb!" she said.

    "No need to bicker," spoke the leader of the group, that wound can be healed, and all the grievances we have with Shen Mo will be resolved once we find him. For now, keep looking," he said.

    And almost instantly, he threw a dagger toward one of the bushes, eliciting an animal squeal.

    "Hmm, it''s just a wild boar, there are no signs of Qi being used he could have used a method to hide his presence, we should split up," The man named Yul said.

    "Spread out, and don''t use your divine sense, it might sound like a good idea to catch him, but the moment this forest is introduced to Divine Sense, every beast and monster in hiding wille for us. Make sure to only use your eyes and senses. He is wounded and will die soon, so don''t rush it, and don''t get yourselves killed. We must obtain that manual!"

    "Understood!" the group said and they all spread out in different directions.

    After a while. A sigh from a stressed person came out from right next to where the dagger struck.

    Shen Mo, the runaway child had dodged death by the skin of his teeth, as a matter of fact, it was nothing but a divine intervention that saved him. The unlucky boar had been wandering about next to the bush, and sensing Shen Mo hiding in the bush caused him curiosity, but the fact that the boar came to check the bush, was the reason for the boar''s death, and Shen Mo''s survival.

    Yet, the situation hadn''t changed. Shen Mo was wounded, mortally so, and he was poisoned enough that his cultivation base had beenpletely ruined. Nothing short of an elixir can save his life.

    So, the child stood up from the bush and began moving towards a location where none of the disciples had moved toward.

    And after a few hours of travel, exhaustion had finally gotten the best of him and hey next to a tree.

    He no longer had any power in his body to stop it from bleeding to death and was about to give up. But, he couldn''t go to the next world while the secret of the manual was still on him. He had to destroy it first. It would be petty revenge on those who betrayed him, but at the same time, they''ll never get the book.

    Sighing as he pulled the book from his holding bag, Shen Mo snapped a finger, releasing a green emerald color me.

    A pure Heart me, a Veridian Heart me it was so pure that its mes which are normally green seemed to have a mixture of gold in them. An extraordinary me.

    Just as he was about to burn the book, a sword shot right across his arm, wounding him and forcefully stopping the fire.

    Shen Mo grunted in pain as he was ambushed.

    But he had no power to even stand up.

    One of the people of the group that was hunting him came up.

    It was not the leader no the tracker, but a snake-like fellow, with a vile nature. He was a thin man that seemed to have a bad habit of licking his lips. A clich?? viin.

    "How did you find me?" Shen Mo asked. Already given up on any hope of surviving this ordeal.

    "Simple, the tracks had disappeared. At the spot you were in, those idiots thought you had used a treasure to hide your tracks, but none of them thought that if you had that treasure you could have used it earlier to escape. So I guessed that you had hidden there, and I just had to fake going in a different direction and waited you out." He said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Then why not strike me down the moment I revealed myself, and hunt me all the way here?" She Mo asked.

    "Simple, it is because I wanted you to be fully exhausted and at your final breath, that way it would be easier to kill you," he said.

    The vile-looking person came closer with a dagger in hand that he was yfully twirling around him. "If you had any energy left, I had feared that in your desperation you would exert it in releasing Divine Sense, which will cause demonic beasts toe and make this more annoying, but now, your cultivation base is fully ruined, your body too wounded and your soul damaged, you can do nothing but draw your final breaths. Even your Veridian Heart me has already been exhausted. And now, you die."

    Just as that man finished his words.

    A Divine Sense powerful enough to cause the trees to wane and shudder washed over this area of the forest.

    This caused the two who were facing each other to look at one another with terrified expressions.

    "You still had the energy to call upon such a Divine Sense!"

    "If I had that much energy I''d have killed you a long time ago!"

    "No matter, just die!" the vile person said and he swung his sword at the child''s neck.

    Yet, before the sword could even touch the child, a person''s fingers seemed to firmly grasp the tip of the sword.

    This man was young, in his early thirties, he looked extremely handsome and had pale green skin.

    He wore a set of purple robes with golden hems. The man seemed to be a person not of this ce. He didn''t wear the Sect''s clothing and seemed to be a person of a strong background. Especially since his cultivation base was too steep to be denounced.

    The vile-looking person weighed his options so fast that it was absurd to even believe a person could make a discussion in such a short time. He immediately let go of his sword turned and used blood escape sacrificing a great deal of his vital blood Qi to run away as fast as possible.

    "Huh? Why are you running? I just wanted to ask for directions?" the neer said.

    He then grabbed the sword in his hands scanned it, then threw it away like it was trash.

    Then the strange man looked at the boy who seemed to be losing the battle against the grim reaper.

    "Damn, they did a number on you, they also seemed to be wearing the same clothes as yourself. Sect members? Rivalry? Or perhaps you own something they wanted?" the man said.

    The strange man''s eyes turned to the book right next to the disciple who seemed to be wanting to say something but couldn''t.

    He grabbed the book, and that almost caused a reaction from the boy, but he was too weak to speak.

    "Huh, Corpse Sect? you''re a member of the corpse sect?"

    The kid, wanted to speak but couldn''t feel pitiful.

    "I can''t save you," the strange man said, "Your body is too wounded, the damage is too great, and even medicine would be a waste on you. Your cultivation base is shattered and your soul is too damaged to extract it into a new body. You will die here," the strange man said.

    The boy fully knew that, and there was nothing he could do to change that fact.

    "But you seem to be too unwilling to go, perhaps you have some resentment or unsolved request. I''ll hear you out, and if I''m able to I''ll help you out, but I won''t go out of my way if it''s too bothersome." The neer said.

    Then he stabbed his fingers into various ces around the kid''s body.

    It was for only a moment but the pain and exhaustion were fully dissipated.

    "You have five minutes, after that, you will die, if you have any request for me," the strange man said.

    "Run!" the boy said.

    "Why?"

    "Divine Sense, you were the one who used it, it called upon all the beasts and hidden cmities in this forest, they''ll be hunting you! Run!"

    "I''m touched, I thought that you''d ask me to resolve some of your resentment but you actually care about old me. Don''t worry about the beasts and tell me what I can do to help you," I said.

    "You seem too adamant on wanting to fulfill my request, if I didn''t know any better I''d say you want something from me," the kid said.

    "I want your body," the neer said.

    "I don''t swing that way, and even if I did, I''ll probably be dead in a minute, also it''s pretty sacrilegious to do something like that to a dead body!"

    The neer lightly smacked the boy''s head, "You idiot, I meant your literal body, I read through your corpse sect book, I need a persona since I''m not from this, I need a way to mix myself into the sect, but perhaps your attachment to the sect is too great to allow me, a foreigner to infiltrate your sect," the neer said.

    "I don''t really think that way, the poison sect isn''t a traditional sect, it only cares for strength and achievements. Even a toad can rule the sect if they''re powerful enough, but I couldn''t do that, not like this, it''s frustrating, to be betrayed like this! I wish if I had another opportunity t to at least have my revenge!" he said.

    The neer scratched his chin and said, "Revenge... I can do that," the neer said. "But it will cost you," he added.

    "With my impending death, do you think I care? I don''t wish to go while having lingering regrets," he said.

    "Then, your revenge, I''ll fulfill it for you, and you''ll see it with your own eyes, but after that, you will disappear." The neer said.

    "I agree, even if I have to be denied reincarnation, for this frustration of mine, I want to see them suffer!" he said.

    "Good, then tell me young one, what is your name?"

    "Shen... Shen Mo!" he said.

    "Oh, that''s pretty interesting, my name is quite simr, mine is Shen Bao! Now let''s go have your revenge shall we!"

 Chapter 415 Strange Planet

    A few months ago.

    "Are you leaving again?"

    Turning, I saw Yuyu standing at the entrance to my room.

    We were at the Wind Pce, and words of me leaving the main had already spread among the royal family. With Yuyu being an acquaintance of theirs from thest time being here. It was only a matter of time before she knew of my departure.

    "Yes, I have some matters to attend to," I said.

    "Why? Why not stay at the academy, where it''s safe, where not many people, crazy like that bastard of a servant are, why are you pushing yourself to the unknown?" she said.

    "Because I have to," I said.

    "That''s bullshit!" she said.

    And that was the first time I heard her curse.

    I frowned, why is she that angry.

    "You''re only doing whatever you want, you don''t even care about the feelings of the people around you. How far do you wish to climb in cultivation? To what end? Why are you tiding through so many dangers?!" she asked.

    Questions I couldn''t reply to these at once. Gotta hand it to a woman, if she wants to make you flustered she can do so with ease.

    "I don''t know what you mean, isn''t the goal of cultivators to reach the peak?" I replied

    "It is, but no one is urging you to rush there! You''re already an ascendant! Do you know how far of a goal that is to the majority of cultivators? Not I, nor Liang Yu could have even dreamt of reaching the Ascendant stage in our lifetimes, I would have been satisfied to have died at the Soul Transformation stage, but now youe and push the bar so high, how are we supposed to feel?!" she asked.

    I was about to say, ''What does that have to do with me,'' but I knew for a fact that if were to speak those words, something terrible was going to happen.

    "How are we supposed to catch up, you''re going faster than us, you''re climbing higher than any of us. While we''re struggling, I fear if I were to close my eyes, you''ll reach a level so high I''ll have no will to ever follow after you, slow down Shen Bao, it''s not healthy¡­" she said.

    I looked down at my hands and realized that she wasn''t speaking out of jealousy or envy, but pure concern.

    It was true, it only took me twelve years of cultivation to reach the Ascendant Stage, which is probably unheard of. I haven''t stabilized my cultivation at all. I''ve been moving constantly without stopping. It would almost feel like shallow cultivation in the eyes of the inexperienced.

    Though I trust my knowledge and understanding of what I''m doing. It isn''t good to keep rushing things. Not to mention, I wasn''t nning on aiming for the Saint Cultivator rank anytime soon.

    "I''ve been also thinking that my progress was too fast," I said.

    "Too fast is an understatement, your progress is dangerously reckless," she said.

    "True, and I''m nning on slowing down. My next venture has a specific goal, and I''m not nning on increasing my cultivation rank. So don''t worry about it," I said.

    "That''s not the issue at hand, if you were to go out of the Wind Realm, the people you made an enemy of will know of it, and they will hunt you down. I''m not just talking about the Su family whose daughter and servant you killed right in front of their Patriarch, but the other cultivators, those with enmity toward the Poison God. The acolytes who want your book, the ck Tower whose dealings with the Fire King had been revealed. And the Fire King himself who must know by now that you escaped death at Si Xue. You have too many an enemy, and too few an ally, the Wind Kingdome can only protect you while you''re inside its territory, and the Heavenly Academy is too far to support you in times of need," she said.

    I approached Yuyu and rubbed her head, "You worry too much. I can hide my appearance and Qi, I can easily fool people around me. My Qi signature is unique enough that I can be mistaken as a mortal. So don''t worry about that, As for other matters and other rulers, they can''t touch me, since they don''t know where I''ll be heading. They can put up a bounty," I said as I waved a hand over my face.

    "But they''ll never find me if I don''t wish to be found," I replied.

    She looked at me and frowned, "Since when were you able to change your face?" she asked.

    "Poison injection, by applying paralyzing poison on specific junctions of my face, I can reshape it to look different. Small changes in facial structure canpletely change one''s appearance." I said

    I then linked my forehead to hers and said, "So, don''t worry, I''lle backter."

    She looked me in the eyes and said, "You''ve been missing, for five years. Five agonizing long years. I couldn''t help but feel helpless, as I couldn''t do anything to assist or help. You gave up on escaping to help us run away. Do you know how frustrating it was for us to just run away while you were captured¡­" her eyes began wallowing as tears began gathering around them.

    "Ah, tears¡­ I haven''t cried in a while¡­" she said as she hastily rubbed her eyes and backed away from me.

    "Just¡­ don''t die, Shen Bao," she said and turned to leave.

    "Such an awful man you are," I heard.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Turning, it was Master Rain.

    "How the hell do you do that? You always appear out of nowhere," I asked.

    "I didn''t appear out of nowhere, I was always here, you just didn''t see me. Anyway, are you sure you want to leave things like this, for you, it must have been five years of torment and agony, but for her, it was five years of decaying hope, slowly killing her? She was traveling a ridiculously long journey hoping to find assistance and aid toe and help you. Think how awful it must have felt for someone to have their hopes grounded down every single passing moment thinking that they should have tried something to help you, and debating either to turn back and try and find you, or go get distant help which will probably be toote," he said.

    "Everything turned out alright," I shrugged.

    "Oh, believe me, it didn''t, you may not realize it now, but you''re doing the very thing that you denied back at the fall of the Mortal Divider."

    I frowned unable to understand Master Rain''s words. He wouldn''t speak words randomly, meaning that his words had some subtle hints for me to grasp on.

    "Don''t worry about it now, when the timees you''ll understand, anyway. You should be heading out soon, once the Ceremony is over, a lot of vessels will be departing this, take the opportunity to leave among the chaos. Zhang Tian already prepared a method for you to leave. So ready up," Master Rain said as he left the room.

    There was a letter on the table sealed by the Wind Realm Royal seal. I opened it and followed its instructions.

    ***

    Back to the current time.

    "What a weird," I muttered as I was descending through this''s hostile atmosphere.

    I''ve had a smooth sail through my pathing across space. Though I didn''t have the Thunder Bull with me, I had the second-best thing. My own hoverboard. And thanks to Zhang Tian''s radicicolous gift of Saint Qi crystals. I was able to improve upon the hoverboard and make it go faster, and sturdier. Still, I almost died going to this damn forsaken ce.

    Through my venture, I happened upon a spatial rift remain that seemed to have recently opened. I was pulled toward it because it had interesting fire energying from it. Something mystical it felt, a me so pure that one would do anything to get their hands on it.

    Yet when I arrived all I saw were the corpses of cultivators that were turned to cinders with barely any bones remaining. They didn''t have any holding bags on them, so whoever attacked them was probably the owner of that me, and they must have been ''human'' for stealing the holding bag.

    If the source of the me was a beast it wouldn''t have cared for the material possessions of cultivators.

    The problem was that the fire Qi in the corpses hadn''t fully dissipated, and when I was investigating it, a portion of that Qi red up and struck me in the chest.

    I would have died if I didn''t react fast enough, but my Hoverboard was slightly damaged. So my trip was going to be postponed.

    Whoever is able to control a Qi that pure is probably a monster among monsters, and I''m better off not meeting them. Being greedy I the way of cultivators, but I''m not stupid enough to be blinded by greed and die in the process. There is a limit to how one can be greedy and I know my limitations.

    I fixed the hoverboard as much as I could and headed to this stupid ass which was by no means friendly.

    The atmosphere was thick, enough that the contact with it was so rough it was constantly exhausting my hoverboard''s Saint Qi barrier. It almost caused it to crack.

    Not to mention, the moment I got out of the atmosphere and into the air space of the, I was assaulted by winged creatures, Moths the size of airnes, and then birds that seemed to be preying on these moths.

    The Qi in these creatures reminded me of the Grizzly Spider back at the Ancient Sect. They were Saint ss beasts. Something I can''t afford to fight and should only focus on escaping from.

    Looking down at a way to escape, I saw a giant forest that seemed to extend infinitely. It was so strange that one would think the world''s sea turned into a forest. and the tree sizes were absurdly huge, so they should work wonderfully as a means to hide.

    I dove down away from the Arial monsters and arrived in the forest. But just as I was about to scan the area around me, I felt the calling of something that was familiar.

    My own Veridian me surged out as if it was pushing me to go in a certain direction.

    Not knowing the fullyout of the area I''m in, I used my Divine Sense to scan the region. Only to immediately regret it.

    My Divine Sense which was far stronger than before as I reached the Ascendant Stage seemed to weigh down upon the world. It was by no means as strong as Zhang Tian''s Divine Sense nor as dense as Master Rain''s Falling Rain''s Divine Sense. But it was powerful enough to cause an uproar in the forest.

    Many beasts have known of my existence as I have known of theirs. But that wasn''t the most important thing right now, the Veridian Heart me which belonged to me homed in on something in the distance and with my Divine Sense still spread, I realized what it was.

    There was a child on the verge of death, no. That child should already be dead even from afar I know he''ll not be able to survive. But he had the Veridian Heart me, a version of it that was far stronger than mine. And he was about to be killed by another person.

    So, I rushed forward. I needed information, and the best way to gain information is to get it from someone who had nothing else to lose. Especially if the person is about to die. I might as welle in and assist him. Worst case scenario I gain nothing, but if I''m lucky, I might gain something good.

 Chapter 416 It Speaks

    I flew forward, heading in the direction where the skinny cultivator who tried to kill Shen Mo headed.

    By now, Shen Mo would have died, after all, I only sealed his soul in his body, not cured his mortal wound. That wasn''t something I could fix. The damage to his soul and body was too severe, and unless I had a heavenly treasure I couldn''t help him. Not that I would have handed something that powerful to a person I didn''t know even if I had the item.

    So, the least I could do is grant him his wish, and at the same time, use him to my advantage.

    Scanning the area for the skinny cultivator wasn''t something feasible. Especially since I realized that using Divine Sense in this forest was actually a terrible idea.

    Saint ss beasts were roaming the area, hiding among the trees and within the earth. Risking exposing oneself to them is the same as asking to have one''s neck chopped.

    I don''t have the ability to fight the creatures that live in this forest. Although I have the ability to escape from or make them afraid of me, but not to fight ande out victorious. So, I''ll be using them to my agenda.

    I used a smidgen of my Divine Sense and made sure that it stuck close to my body, extending only a bit ahead of me for one reason.

    To scan Blood Qi. From the skinny cultivator''s blood escape. He ran away so fast that he probably didn''t think twice about hiding his own Blood Qi. After all, he must be thinking that no one is foolish enough to use Divine Sense in this forest.

    After picking up on the skinny cultivator''s trace, I moved after him, rapidly crossing vast distances and making sure to hide my presence whenever I came in contact with any beasts.

    And there were many.

    My first release of Divine Sense was like a beacon to every creature in the area, fully signaling them to where I originally was. The weak hid away, but the strong must have considered my tant release of Divine Sense as a challenge to their authority and a danger to their territory.

    Some of the beasts had moved up to find the source of the nuisance. Thankfully my Divine Sense was released when I was high above the forest and they wouldn''t be able to easily pin the original location, making Shen Mo''s body slightly safer. Since I''ll be needing itter.

    The blood Qi traces became more and more apparent the more I followed after them. And soon, I heard the growl of a beast.

    I jumped up to one of the trees in front of me. It was a prettyrge tree and one of its branches wasrge enough and long enough for me tofortably stand on top of and even keep myself hidden from sight. This gave me a vantage view of what was going on.

    A pitch-ck tiger with twin tails and two dark raven-like wings on its back was circling the skinny cultivator.

    I''ve never seen a creature like this, the tiger in itself wasn''t your usual sized one either, this thing on its legs was already six feet tall the size of a tall human.

    The skinny cultivator was trembling as he was carrying a shaky sword to the tiger''s face.

    Seems like he had an extra sword and even this one is more trash than the one he gave up when facing me.

    The skinny cultivator stupidly tried to wound the tiger in the eyes, which tended to be quite the anticlimactic end.

    The sword seemed to break upon contact with the tiger''s face, not even scratching or wounding the tiger even when the sword struck right against the tiger''s eyes.

    And with an annoyed expression, the tiger''s front paw twitched and that was all I saw. As a matter of fact, even I had my heart suddenly dip as the upper torso of the skinny cultivator immediately disappeared.

    I had thought that the tiger was some sort of exotic and strange creature. But I''ve never thought that it would be a King ss beast.

    Shit.

    I cursed inwardly as Iid low. I can''t afford to be detected by that thing.

    The tiger took a couple of sniffs at the corpse but didn''t even deem it worthy of feasting on, so he just turned, with both tails yfully swaying, and entered the nearest bush, disappearing from sight.

    I took a breath of relief. The tiger was thankfully too rxed to keep looking for other prey.

    "There you are little rat¡­"

    The words spoken weren''t human, they sounded closer to those of a demon than anything that can be spoken by a person''s vocals.

    And the worst part, I heard them right behind me.

    My body was too terrified to even jump from my current ce.

    Slowly turning, I saw two golden irises with long pitch-ck slits staring at me.

    On top of the fucking tree. On the branch, I was standing on, and right next to me, was the very same tiger from before.

    How the fuck did it sneak up on me without me even realizing it.

    "You¡­ can speak?" I asked, which was probably the least important question I could ever ask.

    "Why do you suppose that only you, bipedal creature, are able of thought or speech?" he said.

    "To be frank¡­ I''ve seen my fair share of strange things, so I was just surprised, after all, you''re intelligent enough to sneak up on me unnoticed, you showed disdain for that cultivator''s actions and meager strength, and also managed to distract me to sneak up on me, speech is probably thest thing I should be concern about," I replied.

    "You bipedal beings have a way with your tongue, but still, why do you show no fear?" it asked.

    "Fear? Oh believe me I''m still too surprised to register fear, but I can at least say this," I spoke.

    I needed a way out of this fucking mess. Thankfully, it''s a feline creature, and all feline creatures have one nasty trait. They are curious.

    "Say what, bipedal creature," it asked.

    "My name is Shen Bao," I said, "And what I wanted to say is simple, I''m not that tasty," I said.

    "You''re a strange being, he who is named Shen Bao," it growled, "You think I''ll soil my tongue with the blood of a lesser being? That itself is an insult to this great one, I can just kill you and let your rot in here, the same as I did to that one," it said.

    I only took a nce at the corpse there and stared back at the tiger, "If you wanted to do so, nothing could have stopped you, although you probably guessed it, my body isn''t normal," I said.

    "Indeed, it is not. It is pungent and poisonous, once you die, your body will ruin thend and cause the poisons within you to spread far and wide. It will kill a portion of this forest, and this portion is mine," it said. "But I can still subdue you, and kill you elsewhere," it said.

    "Though petty, I can easily kill myself inside your territory," I replied.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You dare threaten me!" it growled this time it was really pissed.

    "Not threaten, I''m just stating a fact, we humans are really petty and hard-headed, you saw it earlier, that guy actually tried and fight you back knowing he will die. Even a cornered rat can bite back, and since you didn''t kill me or even knocked me out when you had the jump on me, I can probably guess that you need something of me," I replied.

    "You talk a big game, he who is named Shen Bao, you speak as if you know what I have in mind, those are big wors," it said.

    "I can make a cultured guess," I said.

    "Then speak it, and if you are wrong, do know that my ws will rip through your chest faster than you can blink," it said.

    I actually didn''t need to think hard or long about my answer, it was simple.

    "The four idiots that came to your territory, caused a lot of mess, and are probably the reason why a lot of the creatures are restless, and you can''t afford to deal with those idiots since you''re in a territorial war right now¡­ with a¡­ hedgehog? No, probably a scorpion," I said.

    The tiger''s limb twitched and for a fraction of a second, I thought I was a goner, why? I''m sure I guessed it right, from everything I''ve seen from the current state of the tiger and the reason why all of the creatures were avoiding this ce. Did I guess wrong about the type of monster it was fighting?

    Many ideas crossed my mind but then, I didn''t feel like I had died.

    Looking to my right, the tiger''s paw, no, the ws were extended and right next to my face.

    "How did you know?" it asked. "And it is indeed a scorpion."

    Curiosity, nice!

    "When you were moving away from the cultivator you just ended earlier, I saw that you had a minor limp on your left side hind leg. I couldn''t scan it using divine sense then, but now that you''re next to me, I can smell the wound," I said.

    "But how did you judge that the wound was caused by a Scorpion, or how did you assume it was even a hedgehog, I fail to see the rtionship between the two," it said.

    "At first I thought it was a type of sharp and thin weapon, the idea of it being a Serpentinian fang crossed my mind first, but the wound is too small, nor do I believe that a snake that''s capable of wounding you will only leave you with a small invisible wound. Then I thought it could be a hedgehog''s needle since it''s sharp and small enough, if it''s a creature that''s able to cause damage to you but not significant enough for you to care, then it could only be a creature that relied on defending itself. Yet, when you came closer I was more certain it was a scorpion''s tail," I said

    "Your reasoning is all over the ce, but how did you conclude it to be a scorpion the wound is too small for you to see from such a distance, nor can you see it now since my body is covering it, do you dare say that you used Divine Sense when even I didn''t sense you using it?" the tiger said.

    "No, I''m not that stupid to use Divine Sense to scan you right now, but about my thinking it''s simple, since we humans don''t think in a straightforward way I managed to think up many reasons why you were wounded and deduced that a scorpion would be the closest to the mark. Since it hosts defensive abilities thanks to its exoskeleton, it''s also able to deal a thin sharp wound thanks to its tail. Though I doubt that it was able to win, it fought you to a stalemate," I said.

    "So, you''re saying that I am weak?" the tiger said.

    Man, why is this dude so hard to talk to?

    I shook my head, "No, not at all, it is that the scorpion was cowardly, it hides behind its defenses and strikes using its tail. We humans since we''re weak use the same tactics, a spear, and a shield," I said.

    That was total bullshit, but this guy will probably not understand.

    "I''ve seen humans use spears, and I''ve seen humans use shields, and I''ve also seen humans use both. Indeed, you are right, you humans are as cowardly as that scorpion," the tiger gloated.

    I don''t care if I were to call out the entire human race if it means I survive right now so screw it.

    "But it is still too far-fetched to guess that it was a scorpion," the tiger said.

    "Not until I smelled it, the poison that is still coursing through you," I said.

    "It isn''t that big of a deal, nothing short of a few years rest can''t fix," it said.

    "True, but with the four people moving about in your forest and in your region, it will be annoying to find some shut eyes," I said.

    "Indeed, so, what do you suggest, he who is named Shen Bao," it said.

    The way he is calling me is frustrating.

    "Just call me Shen Bao, anyway, I can help you with all three of your issues," I said.

    "You? Help me?" the tigerughed, yes, it fuckingughed and it sounded like saws cutting through steel tes.

    "You said so yourself we humans are cowardly, but cowards are resourceful, that''s why they survive. I have a way to remove the poison from your body, which will make it so that you wouldn''t need to rest, also I have a way to neutralize the poison that you''re inflicted with, so if you fight the scorpion again you won''t need to even care about his stinger, and finally, I''m also nning on taking care of all four of those humans which will make your nuisances disappear," I said.

    "Tempting offer, but, I suppose if you''re capable of doing all this, you want something? Other than your life of course," it said.

    "Yes," I said.

    "What is it human, what do you wish for me to give?" it asked.

    "A tree," I said.

    "A tree?" the tiger frowned.

    "Yes, a tree, from your forest, I want one tree, this one actually, I want it to be mine," I said.

    "Peculiar human, inside this forest, exist many treasures, treasures in the belongings of the people that have died here, yet all you want is a tree?" it asked.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Then you must have had one parent who is a beast," the creature said.

    "Howe?"

    The tiger backed away, fully mixing itself with the darkness of the forest, and only when his eyes were the only thing visible from him it spoke, "Because only beasts ask for territory, disregarding everything else. Fine, a tree it is, I shall grant you your request only when you fulfill your end of the barging, so get working, Shen Bao!"

 Chapter 417 Map

    Tracking the group of cultivators that escaped through the forest wouldn''t have been something difficult if I had the ability to use Divine Sense. But this damn forest is too troublesome. Although I doubt any other creature would dare venture into the ck Tiger''s territory, outside of it, many other beasts would be reigning there, and if I were to offend them by using Divine Sense, I might die without knowing.

    I was lucky that the ck Tiger is smart and was able to speak, having made contact with it made it so that I wouldn''t have to give up my life. But for other creatures, they''d probably just kill me.

    Since the ck Tiger was able to sneak up on me with ease, I need to be warier of other beasts.

    But first things first.

    I jumped from the tree and went to the corpse on the ground. What remained of the cultivator was half of his body, the other half had turned to mush the moment it came in contact with the ck tiger''s paw.

    But this lower torso had a holding bag hanging on the belt.

    I pulled it up and opened it. Though there was a security formation on the bag, nothing short of a few strokes that my brush couldn''t handle it.

    The contents of the holding bag were decent. Several good treasures, though nothing of use to me, they can be sold for some materials. The best part was the abundance of medicinal and poisonous herbs.

    I grabbed all I needed from his holding bag until I was left with onest piece of the map.

    From the content of this map, it seems that these cultivators were searching for something in this forest. I can''t figure out what it is with only one part of the map.

    Thinking things through, I was reminded of the corpse of Shen Mo.

    So, I turned and headed towards the corpse.

    And I was thankful I did because one of the cultivators had already arrived to the corpse''s side and was searching his holding bag.

    I jumped the cultivatornding my palm squarely on his back.

    The cultivator grunted, but soon realize that he couldn''t move. He was under the effects of my Soul Shackling inscription which I derived from the Soul Sealing Stake.

    I''ve seen this person before, he was the one who was using his ears to listen to Shen Mo''s movements.

    Cultivators are arrogant, and arrogance makes them careless. This one, if I were to fight him head-on, he would have probably put up a fight. But since he was too careless in this forest. Especially after finding out about the body of Shen Mo, it was easy to subdue him. The effects of the Soul Shackling inscription were very good in neutralizing a person''s ability to use Qi, or even galvanize their soul to escape the body.

    With his soul stuck to his body, I drove my sword into his head ending his life.

    Having taken out the group''s tracker, they will be at a loss in this forest. And this will give me more freedom to move.

    I grabbed the man''s holding bag. Same thing here, clothes treasures, some poison and medicine herbs, and pills. Bits of saint Qi crystals and a piece of the map.

    Ibined the two pieces but still couldn''t figure out the purpose of this map.

    Once I grabbed Shen Mo''s bag though, I understood everything.

    In it was a memo that described what happened to him. He was a disciple of the Poison Sect. The ruling Sect of this Poison. And from what his note tells, he was able to gain the inheritance of a High Ranking Corpse Cultivator. One that controls cadavers like they are puppets. They can use them to fight, and can even inhibit them in case their original body was destroyed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If the soul is powerful enough the one who masters this art can technically live eternally by jumping from one body to another like a parasite.

    I already have the manual, it was the same thing Shen Mo was trying to destroy using his own Veridian Heart me.

    "Automaton, keep this body preserved," I spoke.

    A small portal opened up under Shen Mo''s body and was swallowed inside.

    From the rest of the memo, it seems that Shen Mo''s understanding of Poisons was verycking. Which made him lose his status in the Poison Sect. Even with a pure Viridian Heart me, he was unable to make good quality pills.

    It says here, that he was often ridiculed for being called names and even had elders saying to him that the Veridian Heart me was a waste on him the same as a gold ring on a pig''s snout.

    This made him the target of many disciples who wanted his Viridian Heart me. Yet thanks to his understanding of the Corpse Sect''s secret manual, he was able to raise a few corpses to assist him and fend off the people who wereing after him.

    Yet, he had disclosed the weakness of such a technique to the person who he thought is his lover.

    I shook my head "Typical clich¨¦ idiot who thinks using his crouch instead of his head. You really have no excuse for thinking that you have been wronged. You should keep your secrets to yourself you dumbass."

    I sighed as I continued reading but there wasn''t much left in the memo. All I found was him mentioning where he obtained the manual, and he already pinpointed it on a map.

    The map was found by his ex, but he managed to tear a crucial piece from it when he escaped.

    as for why the rest of the map was cut between the disciples I could figure that out without Shen Mo needing to note it down.

    It''s to avoid being betrayed. The five of them found the map, and they cut it into equal pieces so no one would betray the other when they go hunting for the heritage of the Corpse Master.

    But they were stillcking the most important piece which was on Shen Mo''s holding bag.

    With this piece and the other two, I can probably figure out the general location of the cave.

    And thinking about this in a broader sense. I can easily deduce that the other cultivators had already figured out where the general location of the cave is. Since they had the whole map minus one part, they only needed to findndmarks belonging to the map and then head and search the mission portion of the map.

    I don''t understand why they wasted time hunting Shen Mo, but it could be because they wanted to shut him up, or take away his Veridian Heart me along with the Manual in his possession. Hell, it might be all three reasons.

    This is like hitting ten birds with half a stone. Since I''ll bepleting the tiger''s request. Have Shen Mo''s revenge, and obtain the inheritance of the Corpse Master.

    I''ve been thinking of using the second part of the Poison God''s manual, the Death Heritage, but since I wasn''t too familiar with Corpse Mastery, with this manual and the Poison God''s heritage, I should be able to make good progress in my cultivation and understanding of Death Qi.

    I took another nce at the torn map and figured out the direction I needed to go to find the rest of the cultivators.

    I then lit up the Sealed Corpse using my own Veridian Heart me and headed toward the location of the cave.

 Chapter 418 Blinded By Greed

    As I moved through the forest, making sure to keep track for anything out of the ordinary. Cut down bushes, or uprooted trees that didn''t seem to have been naturally made.

    I managed to find the tracks of one of the remaining cultivators.

    It took me some time before I managed to reach them. There were three of them now. And they all seemed to be grouped up together.

    I, once again hid on top of one of the branches of the giant trees. I was making sure to keep myself hidden while taking note of everything that was happening.

    At first, I thought that they were only stopping to rest before they were to move but looking at them intently investigating the surroundings, and taking several nces at a piece of paper that was in the hand of the person I assumed to be the leader of this little group. I came to the realization that they already arrived to the cave''s location.

    Only there was no cave here. Perhaps it was hidden by some formation. But I can''t spread my divine sense to locate it. Thus I had to stand still and wait for the group to find the entrance.

    Which was honestly extremely boring. Not only did they take far too damn long to find the entrance, but night had also already fallen and the atmosphere of the forest changed drastically.

    The somber, slightly calm, and quiet forest changed overnight, literally. The howls and growls of beasts could now spread far and wide. Making one shiver simply by thinking of the sorts of monsters that could live in such darkness.

    Not even I would dare feign courage when King ss beasts moved about.

    Thankfully, by the fall of the night, a light golden glow was visible from underneath an inconspicuous stone.

    With the stone revealed, discerning and unlocking the formation was easy even for this group of cultivators.

    Arge square hole opened up in the middle of the clearing the moment they touched the stone. And this revealed the entrance to the cave.

    The group jubntly entered the cave, without even making sure that their surrounding was clear. Nor did they close the opening behind them.

    I jumped down from the tree and followed them.

    The entrance had a long flight of stairs that went down seemingly indefinitely. Whoever made this cave had a lot of time on their hands.

    The group up front moved about in silence at first. But perhaps due to the darkness which they fought against using as little light as they could, they began talking.

    Which is pretty dumb, especially in such a secluded and seemingly dangerous area. One doesn''t know what lives in the abyss, so why speak and make it take note of you?

    But, it was a blessing for me, because I understood many things about them and the sect.

    "Once we''re done here and im whatever treasures we find, we''ll notify the elders of this ce to get more rewards. Just make sure that if you take something, you don''t leave any traces. We don''t want the elders to search us," the leader spoke.

    "We''ll do as brother says," one of the two girls spoke fawning over him.

    "I''m still not sure if we should have entered before the otherse," the second girl said. This one was the person who Shen Mo had foolishly fallen for.

    "They know the ce, once they arrive here they''lle down. If not, it''s their own misfortune that they lost upon such an inheritance location," the male spoke.

    "I knew I could rely on you, if I had let that Shen Mo be with the knowledge of this cave and the manual he had on him, it would be a waste, but you senior brother sure can make use of it and be a dragon among men," she said.

    "You did good, I''ll make sure to reward you handsomely."

    "It''s pretty strange though, why did Shen Mo only take a manual, from what sister says, he mentioned that there was a huge treasure trove down there, but he only took a single manual," she said.

    "It''s because of his cultivation, he said that there is a testing area down, and once a person clears it, they will obtain one reward. What Shen Mo did was take what he thought to be the best reward among the treasures, but he wasn''t strong enough to take the rest of the loot, so he had to go back, train thene back when he was stronger to take more,"

    "That''s a weak person''s mentality. If it were me I wouldn''t leave until I have everything inside this cave," he said.

    The group continued talking until they arrived at the bottom of the stairs. From then on, it was a tunnel they had to go through before they arrived at arge domed opening that had one pir supporting it.

    On the walls of the dome, even from my hiding ce, I could see many treasures ced behind a ss wall.

    The treasures felt like they were for grabs by anyone, but there was one sentence written on the pir.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Each May take one, only if you have the strength for it,".

    "This isn''t what Shen Mo mentioned¡­ that damnable liar!" the ex said.

    "No, he isn''t wrong, because if his current strength was enough for him to take one, I''m sure he wanted toe back when he can overpower the limitation imposed upon this ce and take everythingter, never mind that, if that weak Shen Mo could only take one, I''m sure I can break this thing and take everything."

    The test was pretty obvious. Strike the pir, and you''ll receive a reward of your choosing. Be greedy and something bad will happen, and I think I can understand the thoughts of whoever created this trial ground.

    This pir is probably only capable of taking so many hits, and if it breaks, it will cause the whole structure to fall down. A very obvious limitation to people who want to be greedy.

    Yet this group of three didn''t seem to realize that.

    I need to act because it would be a waste to lose so many good materials. Not to mention, if they fuck up, I''ll be buried alongside them.

    I opened my mouth and let loose a fume so thick that it felt as if it was water that moved slowly toward the ground.

    The poison smog I released slowly seeped forward, without any of the three ever taking note of it since they were too focused on the pir.

    "Let me try first," said the male cultivator.

    He pulled out his sword and swung at the pir with as much power as he could muster.

    The pir shook but nothing seemed to happen.

    "This is strange, I struck this damn thing with all of my power. But where is my reward?" he asked.

    "Perhaps it isn''t about brute strength, otherwise Shen Mo would never have gotten anything,"

    "Look here."

    "That''s a palm print and this¡­ Ah, no wonder¡­ damn it!" the leader cursed.

    "What''s wrong?"

    "It''s no wonder he was able to receive a reward, it''s because he didn''t use his own strength, he used his Veridian Heart me. The power of a Heart me is limitless, thus he managed to cheat his way into a good reward. We''ll need to find Shen Mo''s body, extract his heart me and use it to unlock the reward¡­ cough!"

    The male leader began coughing blood.

    "What''s wrong?!"

    And soon the other two began coughing, and all three of them, fell on the ground, ck veins spreading through their limbs and towards their heart.

    The leader fanatically pped his holding bag to get something out, a pill that he swallowed only for the effects of the poison to spread and re even more.

    With bloodshot eyes and indignation, he tried to speak and open his mouth but nothing came out.

    Death soon came and took what it was owed without any of them having any chance to escape.

    "I could really make a killing if I were to switch profession to an assassin¡­make a killing, you get it?"

    I sighed, no one was alive to hear my fantastic pun.

    I walked forward among the poison cloud which parted for me until I stood with hands crossed behind my back in front of the pir.

    "Hmm, seems like a simple test. And you say I can only take one thing, watch me take everything," I grinned.

 Chapter 419 Kyu

    I ced my palm on the pir and surged forward as much of my Veridian Heart me and Poison Qi as I could.

    The pir looked as if it had taken on fire as it med on in a raging ze.

    Soon, a treasure appeared in front of me. It was arge piece of cloth.

    "Good, that''s all I needed," I smiled.

    I tried to use the same method to get another treasure but there didn''t seem to be any reaction from the pir.

    The rule of taking only one item per person was to make sure not one man can hoard everything here.

    Not that I cared about such a rule because I realized the way to solve that issue.

    When I partook a bit of my Qi and Veridian Heart me, the pir absorbed it, took a Qi signature copy, and made sure that the same signature cannot trigger the reward. But, what if I''m able to manipte the Qi signature the pir took?

    I then pulled my brush and began changing the inscription on the pir that rewarded cultivators.

    Soon after I was done. I pressed my hand on the pir and once again injected it with my Qi.

    Reward after reward began pouring in front of me, and with every one of them, the pir seemed to crack and fracture.

    At this rate, the moment thest treasure is out, this pir will break down, and the whole dome will fall on my head.

    I''m not a fan of being buried alive, and being too greedy is never good.

    So, as soon as only a couple of meaningless treasures were left, I decided to loot everything and get out of the cave.

    I took everything from the holding bags of the three dead disciples and headed up to the exit.

    And once I was out I was met with two glowing golden eyes.

    "It seems that you have impablypleted your task," the tiger spoke.

    "Well, it was basically, do or die, wasn''t it," I replied.

    "Indeed, now my request required you to kill off the intruders, but you stated that you have a method for me to regain my full power without needing to wait for several years to heal," the tiger said.

    "Yes, if you wish, we can begin now," I replied.

    "You speak of certainty and confidence, but I do not trust your bipedal kind. You are a man of poison, and though it would be nigh impossible, you could harbor ill will towards this great one, hiding poison as a cure," the tiger said.

    "I don''t really understand, I have no intention of harming you, nor do we have any enmity, I''m actually in need of you surviving if I were to have that promised tree, though I''m more than willing to take the same medicine as I''ll give you, I doubt that you''ll trust me enough with just that, so how about another condition," I said.

    "Do speak, for this one''s ears are open," it said.

    "I''ll teach you how to make the antidote, it''s really not that difficult even a monkey can make it. It requires Spirit Grass, the stem of two wild turnips, and the horn of a Silver Horned Beetle, these ingredients all exist in this forest, and the method to make the antidote is to simply grind all ingredients together and consume them. There is no need to make a pill out of the materials," I said.

    The tiger''s whiskers shook and it said, "I lived in this forest for a thousand years, and I havee in contact with these ingredients in my long life. They are not rare, nor are they precious, and you say that they can cure a poison as powerful as that damnable scorpion,"

    "The simple things hold the most mystery, I can also make a guarantee for you," I said.

    "Howe?" it asked.

    "Do you still have one of those needles?" I asked.

    "They are all over the ce where we fought," the tiger said.

    "Let''s go there then, I''ll follow you," I said.

    The tiger turned and moved forward, slowly increasing its speed as I followed after.

    Frankly, the tiger was clearly not going as fast as it could, but even with the use of Ancient Step, I was barely able to follow after him.

    On the way, I found a small wild rabbit which I grabbed as the two of us continued moving. Just as we arrived at the location of the battle, the tiger stopped and nodded forward.

    On the ground, and in the trees, hundreds upon hundreds of sharp needles were embedded all over the ce.

    For a moment the scorpion I had in my mind looked as if it had used its stinger as a minigun.

    "Good," I said as I grabbed one of the stinger needles.

    I pulled a mortar and pestle and threw in the stem of wild turnips which I had from the inventory of Shen Mo, along with spirit grass and the horn of a silver beetle, all of these ingredients were everywhere and the disciples of the Poison Sect will undoubtedly have them in abundance.

    I then began grinding everything until it turned to mush. I rolled half of it into a small ball and pulled out the rabbit.

    The rabbit was terrified as its eyes locked gaze with the tiger. And it immediately fainted.

    "Oh¡­ I forgot about how scared these things can be," I muttered.

    "What do you n on doing?" the tiger asked.

    "Proof that I mean you no harm, this isn''t a spiritual animal, so the poison in this needle will probably kill it in less than a minute."

    I then ced the small mushy ball inside the rabbit''s mouth then slightly poked it with the needle.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ck veins surged from the location of the poke to the point that the rabbit began squealing in pain.

    You could visibly see the area where I poked it turn hairless as the flesh in it began festering.

    Yet soon, the damage stopped and the flesh that was going bad began healing visibly.

    "Proof enough?" I said.

    The tiger looked at the mortar and pestle and grabbed the remaining ball of mush. It then swallowed it and sat down.

    Soon, a spurt of blood seemed to exert itself from the wound on its hind leg. The ck blood fell on the ground and sizzled as it came in contact with the grass.

    "What a quick-acting antidote¡­ and I don''t even think I''ll need human hands to make something like this in case I need itter, tell me, Shen Bao, is this an antidote to all poison?" it asked.

    I shook my head, "This is an antidote that only works on venoms that are weak to fire Qi. The silver horn has a substance that can stop Yin-based Qi poison, and the wild turnips have fire Qi in them that is very strong against scorpion poison, as for the spirit grass it acts as a catalyst that will make sure that both the silver horn and the turnip Qi do not sh against each other and work in harmony to exile the harmful substances."

    "Hmm, today I have learned," spoke the tiger.

    ''Well, I guess it''s something to brag about, teaching a tiger how to make antidotes¡­''

    "You may leave, the promised region you had asked for is yours, and yours alone. I wish not to see other humans in it, you may stay in it for as long as you wish and you maye back whenever you wish, now, leave," it said. Just as it was about to leave it turned and said.

    "You have an egg in your possession, I could feel it yearning to leave its shell," the tiger said.

    "Oh¡­ I don''t think I can hatch it here, it''s too risky, it might die," I said.

    "Do not worry, for what you believe is inside the egg is no longer the same, let it leave, and let it live, if ites to be I can aid it in hunting and growing. I do not wish to see one of my ancestors imprisoned," it said.

    This came as a shock¡­

    "You mean you''re a descendant of a Dark Beast?"

    "Indeed a very, very distant descendant, but we share some blood. Though we Heavenly Dark Tigers evolved to live under the sun, we do not have the same ferocity," it said.

    "You seem ferocious enough," I said.

    "That is because I am the king of my race, as for the Dark Beasts even a cub can release fury and murderous intent enough to cover the skies. Let it out," the tiger said.

    "Shouldn''t I wait until it''s darker, I can see some bits of light here," I said.

    "I have told you, it is not what you think it is, it is different," the tiger said.

    I sighed, there was no escaping this.

    Once I pulled the egg out, I was stuck watching it there, unmoving.

    "Give it your blood," the tiger said.

    I cut my finger and a few drops of blood poured on the egg.

    The tiger then released its breath, calling upon a pure surge of Qi that enveloped the egg and was sucked inside.

    And there and then, I heard a heartbeat, as if the two of us, me and the egg were suddenly connected.

    The egg''s crust cracked and shattered, turning to dust and revealing a¡­ fur ball?

    White as snow, and fuzzy as a furball. And literally looked like a fur ball with wide eyes, a small mouth, and a long swaying tail. It jumped into my palm immediately and snuggled into it seeking warmth.

    "Euh¡­"

    My confusion did not match the look on the Heavenly Dark Tiger.

    "As I have guessed, it has evolved into something new¡­ something fearsome."

    I looked at the small furball and back at the tiger, "Fearsome? This?"

    The small fur ball jumped up andnded on my head finding itfortable and probably because it has feline ancestry it liked highest.

    "Indeed, do not be deceived by its looks, not even I would dare look down upon it when I fully grow. For now, name it, and leave it with me. I can promise you that I will take good care of it, as my ancestor, I owe it respect," the tiger said.

    "Then how about Kyu," I said.

    "Kyuu?!" the white Dark Beast -as confusing as that sounds- replied then soon shuddered saying "Kyu! Kyu!"

    "It seems to like the name¡­ though I have no idea what it means," the tiger said.

    "Well if it likes it, then Kyu it is, now, I''ll need to work on something a bit, you said you wanted to take It with you," I said.

    "Not now, it needs to fully imprint on you, once it fully recognizes you as a family I shalle and take it to hunt and train, for now, go do what you wish, and wait for my arrival, I have a score to settle with that damnable scorpion."

    The tiger then turned its tail and moved into the bushes.

 Chapter 420 Soul, Corpse, And Possession

    I went back to the designated tree that both I and the tiger agreed would be my ''territory''

    I didn''t need a lot of space, especially with the Lord of Lord''s pagoda that I''m able to use. But I still needed a safe location where I can enter and exit the pagoda at will.

    I infused my Qi into the ground parting some of the dirt from under the tree''s giant roots. I made sure not to remove too much in fear of the tree copsing, but my worries were for naught. Trees this big, had roots that spread far and wide, and the space between the roots alone can be a cave by itself.

    Once I opened a hole and dove in, I closed it and asked the Automaton to take me into the lord''s pagoda.

    I moved to the third floor, where the white space existed. This was my personalb where I did all sorts of weird and strange things, like what I''m about to do.

    "Can you bring me the corpse from earlier," I asked the automaton and he obliged?

    Soon, I had Shen Mo''s body on top of the operating table of my device.

    The body was still warm, and with me having sealed his dying soul inside his body, it should allow for better preservation.

    I then opened both the Poison God''s Book and the Corpse Master''s Manual that I obtained from Shen Mo''s holding bag.

    After reading through the Poison God''s book, the Death Heritage part, and then supplementing thecking information from the Corpse Master''s Manual. I came to a conclusion.

    "Death is inevitable."

    I sighed.

    When I saw the former owner of the Death Heritage resurrecting over and over after dying at the hands of the King Corpse. I thought that he had achieved some sort of immortality. But from reading through the Poison God''s Death Heritage I understood what was actually going on.

    It was a trade, a trade of equivalent exchange. The firstw of Pure Alchemy. The alchemy here is not the making of pills, but the creation of matter by transforming matter.

    The Poison Cultivator was actually trading his own death with the death of souls he was saving inside the Poison God''s book. It sounds like a great method to live eternally but once one knows the required method to achieve mastery of this fake resurrection, one would probably have second thoughts.

    It is called the Soul Exchange, and it''s more like a deal with the devil. One is required to ughter a thousand innocent souls, meaning, children. Since they are without sin. Every year. One thousand sacrifices must be made before the person can even take the first step into this Soul Exchange path.

    Once nine years have gone by, one must kill nine hundred allies in nine months. Then ny rtives. And then nine loyal friends.

    And finally, kill off the first offspring on the ninth day of its birth.

    The number nine is recurring, symbolizing nigh perfection. After all these conditions have been fulfilled, the person who was able to fulfill this tedious task will be able to harness and exchange the souls of the people he had killed for his own whenever his life is on the line. The drawback, however, is for every soul that is exchanged for your own, meaning your death, you will lose longevity. The body''s longevity, in a sense one can probably never go through all ten thousand souls they have amassed.

    Not to mention there is even another condition, the cost of every exchange will be doubled. Meaning one death is one soul, two deaths are two souls, three deaths are six souls, and so on. At one point a person will not have enough harnessed souls to exchange and then they will pay with their own.

    It''s a very limited and dangerous way of achieving semi-immortality. Not to mention pretty disgusting.

    Yet, the poison god''s book didn''t only speak of the Soul Exchange, it also mentioned corpses, and this was the part I was primarily interested in.

    The soul can be considered where the memories and feelings of a person are hosted. Basically, it is the person itself, but it is not the whole person. The body is also a part of a person, so is the heart and the mind. The Corpse Cultivation the Poison God was speaking of was that where one can take advantage of a body and make it do one''s bidding as if it was a puppet.

    Yet what I found surprising was the fact that the poison God had mentioned some matters in less detail than I found in the Corpse Master''s manual.

    For example, the Poison God had given a method on how to seal a soul into a body and how to refine it to function into a battle puppet.

    The Corpse Master manual, it detailed the degree of putridness the corpse needed to be at before starting, the time to perform the operation of Corpse Making. The freshness of the body, the quality of the body, and even the wounds on it. It spoke in length about how ''clean'' the body should be from the inside out, and how to apply the Corpse Technique to control it. Not only that it even spoke about a method on how to Possess the soul, a risky and dangerous method on how to make one use the very corpse they refined as a second avatar.<novelnext></novelnext>

    From the way the Poison God speaks about the Death Heritage, I could understand that it was like a generalist doctor, while the Corpse Master''s Manual was more of a specialist in the field.

    The Poison God gave details about all that is rted to Death in his Death Heritage, as for the Corpse Master it spoke in detail about corpses and corpses alone. Which made me nod in respect to a person who took pride in their work and the details they made into creating a perfect technique.

    Caring if the Corpse Mastery and desecration of corpses was immoral is nothing but hubris. In a world of cultivation, only the strong have the right to set the moral bar.

    After realizing all I needed from both books I decided to start working on the next part. The Corpse Creation part.

    I removed Shen Mo''s clothes and began cleaning his wounds as per the manual. I even made sure that all of his bowls were cleaned, and that was not a fun experience.

    There was no need for me to remove any of his vital organs because they will all be needed, especially after what I''m about to do.

    Then I began by applying the required methods of creating seals on the body. Nothing that my brush can''t replicate.

    Once I followed after the manual''s ''recipe'' I cut my finger and poured blood on the corpse''s forehead.

    With this, the refining process will start, yet I cannot refine this, not with my poison Qi, at least not when It''s not a part of me.

    The two books clearly state that for a corpse to be a corpse it cannot have a soul otherwise it is a living being. A corpse that had lost its soul will not ept another. Unless it is a direct possession and that can only ur when the possessing soul is stronger than the host. Still, possession is not perfect and the body will always try and reject the foreign soul.

    I''ll have to disagree with a part of this statement because I''m also a soul that shouldn''t belong to this body, I possessed it but never found it hard to stay in it. But cultivation is wide and the secrets of cultivation and soul have not all been uncovered.

    I pressed my hand on the corpse''s forehead and entered my Sea of Consciousness.

    Once I was at the tower, I was in the presence of the Dragon Soul and the whimpering soul.

    Which still creeps me out now. This dark abomination of a soul, is full of negative energy.

    A turmoil of dissatisfaction, pain, agony, depression, and murderous intent, yet at the same time, self-deprecation, disdain towards oneself, and loneliness. It reminded me of myself when I was younger. Not even in this world, full of negativity and without vigor to face life.

    "What a sorry sight you are," I spoke. "But I''ll give you a chance, a chance to rid yourself of the ugly part of you, and embrace the worst in you."

    I then grabbed the whimpering soul and took it from my own sea of consciousness.

    Once I opened my eyes, I felt as if the soul I had grabbed was in the palm of my own hand, and with a press, I forced it into the corps'' forehead.

    "I never thought I''ll be using this thing like this, I have to admit, one should thank one''s enemies. Servant Mao, you gave me a good gift!"

    With my other palm, I mmed it on the corpse''s chest, creating a surge of writing that spread all over the corpse.

    The corpse shook and shuddered as the Soul Sealing Shackles roped and coiled themselves around the corpse, sealing the dark soul inside it.

    Though a soul cannot remain inside a body that it does not belong to, I can seal it inside it. Forcing it there.

    Then the corpse opened its eyes. Eyes as ck as the night stared at me, fear and worry in them as they gazed upon my own.

    "Now then, you''ve been freeloading in my Sea of Consciousness for a while, how about you start earning your keep!"

 Chapter 421 A New Destination

    The dark soul squirmed and wiggled as it was being forced into the new body. But with the addition of the soul-sealing shackles. I was able to firmly bind it to the new body. For now, it was a soul with nothing but memories of pain and agony, and the desire to curse the world for the injustice it had befallen it.

    Yet, it had no ego, no will of its own. It''s perfect for me this way. Because I can influence the body and soul without worrying about its ego if it had ever created it.

    With the corpse finished. I began the second part of the n.

    I got out alongside the corpse to the small cave under my territory, which was basically a tree.

    I then sat the corpse in the lotus position and ced my hand on its back. Linking my consciousness to the corpse by following the Corpse Master''s manual. It wasn''t difficult, it was basically cutting a portion of your soul and infusing it into the corpse. Normally, the book states that this will incur a great deal of pain for the one who is trying to split his soul.

    But since my soul energy is absurdly huge, it didn''t feel like a prick.

    Soon, I was able to see it twice. Feel twice, hear twice.

    It was as if both the senses of my original body and this corpse were being mixed together. It was a nauseating feeling.

    But with a bit of meditation and calming of my senses, I was able to exclude my senses from my original body and fully focus on this new body.

    When I opened my eyes, my new ones. I began seeing the world differently.

    There were many small golden specks of light floating around. The world felt vivid and pretty... open.

    My breath felt more rxed and my body felt like a spunge that naturally harnessed energy, the energy that I didn''t need to obtain by consuming hundreds of pills.

    This was heavenly energy and this body, and Shen Mo''s body was absorbing it like crazy.

    "Damn, he even has a Golden Body. This is a great body for cultivation. Not to mention, he is able to use the Veridian Heart me, a version much stronger and purer than my own.

    The only bad thing about this kid is his judgment and his luck. Luck cannot be influenced, but judgment is easy. Shen Mo, rest well, you''ve gotten your revenge, and all those who wronged you are dead. Now you''ll have no qualms with me taking your body and using it for my own interest.

    Yet, I felt a dejection and powerful rejection the moment I thought that it was so powerful as if the resentment of the owner was still within the body refusing to let go.

    "God damn it! you''re already dead! What else do you want!" I cursed.

    Suddenly a surge of emotions and memories went through my mind. And I saw the life of Shen Mo. The one before arriving at the sect, how ridiculed he was, for being a weakling, unable to cultivate. He was bullied by his cousins. He however found good forter in life and managed to gain the Golden Body. His cultivation is at the Nascent Soul. Which is quite weak.

    He has many heart demons, and even after gaining good fortune with his Golden Body and the Veridian Heart me, he was still iparable to his cousin. Whose gains in the path of cultivation were iparable to anyone in the Mo family. His cousin proving to be a stronger and more domineering character managed to obtain the position of the next heir to the Mo n. While Shen Mo and his father were kicked out.

    Shen Mo''s father passed away from injuries suffered in the rebellion, and Shen Mo was left alone, weak, powerless, and discouraged. So since he couldn''t beat his cousin and reim the family head through his own efforts, he sought a different route and decided to join the poison sect since it promises great power for no effort. Which is nothing but lies. The poison path isn''t easy, and it never was. Toote for Shen Mo to learn that truth.

    Yet Shen Mo didn''t learn and lost sight of his objective of besting his cousin and earning back the family head position. And was too short-sighted, focused on a woman who was only using him, and wasted years of cultivation. Now, Shen Mo is once again the lowest of lows in the Poison Sect it was only thanks to a Corpse he refined that he managed to survive so long, but once the corpse was destroyed by a ploy of his ex, he ran away, only to die here.

    Now, Shen Mo has a few regrets. The family head position that he never obtained and will probably never obtain since his cousin is currently trying to break to the Ascendant Stage. While he is still at the Nascent Soul. Nor are his achievements in the Poison Sect worthy of note, since he is unable to refine poisons even when he has the Veridian Heart me.

    With all of his baggage thrown at me, I needed to resolve it if I want to fully obtain this body. For now, your biggest hurdle is the Poison Sect, since you can''t go back home without having gained something of value here, nor with such a weak cultivation base.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''ll solve your matters, so don''t bother me or this body, I can easily obtain another body if I wanted," my words were aimed at the will of Shen Mo which seemed to have remained even after his death. And sensing no dejection from my words, I obtained permission.

    "Now then, I cannot use the Poison God''s cultivation on this body, it will die and rot before it can be converted since this body is too used to Heavenly Qi. I''ll have to cultivate normally with this body. Which is a first," I sighed.

    "For now, let''s leave this ce."

    I walked out of the cave and was immediately met with two golden eyes.

    "Euh, I thought you were going to reim some of your territories."

    "You smell different, but your way of speech is the same. Is this why you asked for territory? So I can protect your original body?"

    "Well, a bit, yeah," I said.

    "Humph, no matter, if you wish to leave I won''t stop you, but I will not protect this weak body from this forest, you are on your own, to live or to die," the tiger said and soon disappeared.

    I sighed, at least it didn''t attack me. Since I''m using a different body. But his words were true, I needed to be careful when moving around with this body. Or that is what anyone else would think.

    Since I was the same person, in the soul of course, I still had ess to the Lord of Lords pagoda. And the Poison God''s book is something that''s linked to my soul, so with a body other than mine, as long as a piece of my soul is there, I can summon it.

    "Y, take me out of this forest, head north," I said.

    "As the Lord demands," I heard Y''s reply.

    Y came out from the Poison God''s book and aided me into sitting on his shoulders

    "Don''t overuse Saint Qi, there are many eyes here that can sense it," I said.

    He then moved forward with rtively decent speed.

    Shen Mo had been running for days and nights away from his pursuers, so it would have taken me days with this body to go back, but with Y''s help, I should make it out of this forest in a few hours. Even if it is nighttime. Y''s power isn''t something that can be underestimated. Especially after Master Rain had ced some improvements on him.

    We flew through the forest rather rapidly without any disturbances and arrived at the exit before dawn.

    Once I was outside the forest, I looked up ahead, there was a single mountain in the distance surrounded by great open ins with grass as tall as one''s ankles.

    Y would be far too conspicuous in such an open terrain so I had him hide. And I moved ahead along a small pathway between the long grass.

    The location of the Poison Sect is at the top of the mountain over there, but the path towards it isn''t easy even if it looks like ins, it''s full of poisonous creatures that one must be wary of.

    So, I began my trek, making sure to keep my eyes peeled. Once I''m back to the Poison Sect, I''ll need to topple it head over heels, and with The Poison God''s knowledge, it shouldn''t be that difficult.

 Chapter 422 Interrogation

    I trod down the ttened path that went through therge swaths of tall grass with care. I made sure to keep my eyes peeled and my divine sense spread.

    Thankfully, since Divine Sense is rted to Soul Power, mine was not affected even when I was in a body that was sub-Ascendant Level. A Nascent Soul body is pretty weak, so I have to cultivate it from this point all the way to Ascendant if I want to fully use all of the abilities my original body can. Though I won''t go down the same Poison God path, I will make sure to use all the information and knowledge I''ve earned so far to makerge strides in cultivation.

    Hour after long hour I continued moving forward without any incidents, perhaps it was thanks to my oppressive Divine Sense that no bug, creeper, or rodent dared to ambush me. But as long as my return to the Poison Sect was without trouble, I won''t beining.

    Half a dayter I was at the bottom of a valley that led to the poison sect.

    The valley was not wide, and had a giant gate at the front of it, allowing only one-way ess to whaty beyond the valley.

    An enormous stone stair seemed to go up all the way to the top of the valley, and at the front of the gate was one man sitting in the lotus position on a nearby boulder.

    He was cultivating, but at the same time guarding the gate.

    He looked to be in his early thirties and seemed to not care about my presence. All I got from him was a single nce, and he went back to his meditation.

    I didn''t speak to the man and walked up the stairs. Seeing him not reacting, he must have recognized that this body, or I, currently Shen Mo was someone familiar in the sect.

    I began walking up the stairs and headed all the way to the top where I was met with an even more amazing sight.

    The top of the rift was like a giant tform that spread long and wide, and at its center was a single mountain that seemed to be hiding its peak among the clouds. There were buildings for cultivators and disciples all around the mountain base and many holes were dug in and some closed around the mountain for cultivation.

    The tform itself was a treasure trove of spiritual herbs, poison herbs, and medicinal herbs. They were grown and taken care of by disciples who were wearing light yellow robes. It was the same robe that Shen Mo was wearing when I met him the first time.

    As I walked forward, one of the disciples noticed me, and immediately gasped.

    "He''s still alive?!" he said.

    The rest of the disciples saw me and were also surprised by my presence.

    It didn''t take long for themotion to die down, not because of theck of interest, but because an older person wearing blue robes seemed to have arrived in haste toward me.

    I readied up for battle, I thought that Shen Mo, although weak was not someone who would make enemies left and right. I wanted to take advantage of the Poison Sect to gain more resources but it seems that will be very hard to achieve.

    "Shen Mo! Where is my Disciple!" the elder shouted.

    "I have no idea what you''re talking about," I replied.

    "You!" he said as he approached rather menacingly with a pretty powerful killing intent aimed at me.

    "What''s going on here Elder Situ?" another person wearing the same blue robes spoke.

    "Elder Xian, you have no business here!" the person named Situ spoke.

    "You are mistaken, five disciples have left the sect without permission, as the elder of the Disciplinary Hall, it is my business to find out what happened, so, don''t go on lecturing me on what is or what is not my business Elder Situ, because after all, you too are under the Sect''s Rules!" Elder Xian said.

    "Now, child, where have you been," the elder asked.

    "I''ve been in the forest," I replied while sping my hands.

    "What was the reason for you to leave the sect without asking for permission of the elders?" he asked.

    "I was fearing for my life, I had to escape," I replied.

    "That is interesting, why not report such matters?"

    "Junior admits his wrongdoings, I feared that if I were to go and report the danger to my life that I will be apprehended inside the sect, after all, one cannot know where one''s enemiesy in ambush," I spoke while ogling elder Situ.

    My gaze was a clear provocation at him and this caused him to re in anger as he tried to swat me down like I was a fly.

    "YOU DARE SLANDER ME!" the elder said as his hand was raised up to kill me.

    Yet a single nce from Elder Xian caused him to freeze on the spot.

    "Elder Situ, this will be thest time," the disciplinary hall elder spoke in a firm voice.

    "Since there are too many eyes watching, follow me to the Disciplinary Hall, we''ll need to confirm your words, our own way," the elder said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I followed elder Xian while Situ followed after us, seemingly begrudgingly.

    Once we arrived to the main mountain base, Elder Xian took a turn and went to one of thergest buildings at the mountain base.

    The name of the building was obviously, The Disciplinary Hall.

    It was a simple three story building, but it was pretty damnrge.

    Once we entered the building I was guided to the second floor, then, I was asked to walk inside a chamber that seemed to have no windows and only one door.

    Inside the chamber was a long table and two chairs.

    I was asked to sit on one side while elder Xian sat on the other side.

    "Now, could you tell me the details of what happened," he said.

    Just as I was about to speak, I heard a knock on the door.

    Another Elder seemed to arrive, it was a woman of a fairly young age, herte twenties at most.

    "Elder Xian, why are you performing an interrogation without the appropriate tools?" she asked.

    "This young boy had just returned from the Demon Infested Forest, it would be dangerous to have him ingest a Truth Seeking Pill, I wanted to gather all the details I could from him, have him rest, then retell me everything using the pillter," he said.

    "The rules state that everyone who enters an interrogation chamber MUST ingest a Truth Seeking Pill, or do you not wish to respect our rules, Elder Xian," she said.

    "Sigh, kid, don''t me me if you die," he said as he pulled a yellowish pill from his holding bag.

    "Eat this, it will cause you pain if you were to lie, a great deal of it. So make sure to keep your words honest and true, looking at the injuries on your body, I''m sure that you''re in a heavily weakened state. But you must endure," he said.

    This guy doesn''t look like he means ill will. I''ll trust him on this.

    I grabbed the pill and immediately swallowed it.

    "For someone who said that he was afraid of enemies among the elders, you sure did swallow that fast, were you not afraid that it might be poison?" asked elder Xian.

    "If Elder Xian wished my death, he wouldn''t need to go through all of this," I replied.

    "Smart kid," he said.

    "Now, let''s start with the basics, What is your name?" he asked.

    "Shen Mo," I replied.

    For a moment, I felt a surging headache, but it didn''tst for less than a fraction of a second. It was small enough that they didn''t notice the change of my expressions.

    "Good, Shen Mo, tell me, why were you fearful of your life?" he asked.

    "They wanted this," I replied as I snapped my fingers and called upon the Veridian Heart me.

    The Elder''s eyes widened, "What a beautiful Heart me, a Veridian one too, it''s perfect for cultivating poison, no wonder some people would want it. I can see the motive, then tell me, what happened in the forest?" he asked.

    "I was escaping the hunt from them, and when I was surrounded and was about to be killed, something intervened¡­" I said.

    It was half true, half lie, the pain I felt form this lie didn''t register on my face. Thankfully, it''s Soul rted pain, and with this cheat like Soul Power I haven it was like a mosquito prick.

    "What intervened?" asked Xian.

    "It was a tiger, a ck tiger with wings," I said.

    My words seemed to resound through the room like a pin drop in an empty hall. The two elders looked at each other and back at me.

    "Tell us more!"

    They seem interested

 Chapter 423 Interrogation II

    "How in god''s name did you escape the tiger?" they asked at the same time.

    "What I''m about to say might sound like I''m lying," I said.

    "You''re under the Truth Seeking Pill, unless you''re an ascendant you cannot lie and live to tell the tale afterwards when under the pill," he said.

    "Okay," I sighed, "The tiger killed one, while the rest escaped, I was left alone against the ck tiger, but it mocked me. It spoke," I said.

    "The ck Tiger spoke?!" they said.

    "Yes, it''s pretty sentient, it said that his name was the A Heavenly Dark Tiger, and it gave me a task,pleting it will allow me to live, failing it will get me killed," I said.

    "Interesting, what was the task it gave you?"

    "To kill the intruders," I said.

    "So, you turned on your own sect members in favor of saving your cowardly life?" spoke the second elder in the room.

    "Madam," I said.

    "It''s miss, and it''s Elder Yun Fei for you!" she said her eyes dejected.

    "Right, Elder Yun Fei, I was being chased, and they wanted my life, was I supposed to let them kill me? What would Elder Yun Fei do in my situation? Would you give up your life?"

    My question was pretty simple, would you give your life to your sect members or would you give your life to the tiger? Both meant death and your only way of escape is to kill or be killed.

    "I would have knocked them unconscious and brought them back for investigation!" she said.

    "But that is you, Elder Yun Fei, I''m a weak Nascent Soul cultivators, and all of them were higher in cultivation stage than me, how was I supposed to survive? Please don''t project your power against me," I said.

    "You insolent little..."

    "Please, Yun Fei, the kid is right, you cannotpare yourself to him, also if it was me and the other elders chasing after you, could you say that you could knock us out unconscious and bring us to the hall?" he said.

    This elder is taking my side, good. I can use this.

    "Then how did you manage to overpower cultivators that were higher than you in cultivation base?" he asked.

    "Poison," I said.

    The elder smiled.

    "Poison, if I didn''t know any better, I''d say that this is your first lie, but seeing that you didn''t feel an ounce of pain, I''m pretty surprise and wish to know more, what kind of poison, and how? Since I know everyone in the sect, and clearly remember you, Shen Mo, the disciple with the worst talent in regards to Poison Refining," he said.

    "I can show you a demonstration of the poisons I used," I said.

    "Please do show," he said.

    I then pulled a few herbs and pills from my holding bag. I made sure that the pills I pulled out were of mediocre to decently good quality.

    "What''s this? It''s an interesting pill," Elder Xian said.

    "That''s an original pill, it made from a mix of Breath Sealing poison, Flesh Melting Sap and the evaporating poison of a Swamp Feasting Frog." I said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Interestingbination, what does it do? I can understand what each poison does separately, but mixing poisons like this can reduce their potency," he said.

    "Indeed it can, but if mixed properly you can amplify their power exponentially so. The secret is Spirit Grass," I said.

    The elder shook his head, "Spirit Grass should have no effect on a pill of this mixture," he said.

    "It wouldn''t if it was simply added to it. But if spirit grass essence was to be used as a catalyst for the pill, instead of using to refine the pill, the effects would increase. This pill isn''t solid, it is made hollow on the inside. And once the pill is made and hardens, I ingest the essence of Spirit Grass inside the pill. Upon contact with the ground or any solid matter, the pill breaks, and the Spirit Grass essence is released, the contents of the pill then begin reacting to the Spirit Grass Essence and create a heavy smoke, and highly potent of all three poisons. A poison that Seals the Qi, denying detection or escape, a Poison that Melts flesh, and the Swap Frog Feasting Poison that increases the density of such a poison to further spread in all direction. This pill alone is able to spread to hundreds of meters in diameter worth of range." I said.

    "Shen Mo..." the elder said

    "Yes."

    "Are you the one who devised such a poison?" he asked.

    "Well, yes," I said. it was actually my own creation.

    The elder thought for a moment and said, "That is such a novel way of using Spirit Grass... this simple implementation can dictates how many other poisons can be used. Impressive. Would you be willing to share this discovery with the Poison Pavilion? We here, under the Disciplinary hall are under oaths not to divulge our Sect Members secrets. But if you wish to share this discovery your punishment will be far less than it should," he said.

    "I don''t really mind, after all it''s just a simple application, that''s nothingpared to what I can do..." I said

    The elders looked at each other and then at me then said, "Tell us more!"

    I raised my hands forward, "I doubt that this is under the ''Investigation''" I said.

    "Ah, you are right, but tell me howe you, with such a knowledge for poison are deemed to be so terribly bad at poison making?" he asked.

    "It''s simple," I said "It was because I had heart demons," I said.

    "How so?" asked elder Xian.

    "My cousin," I said and began telling the sad story of Shen Mo.

    After finishing, the elder said, "Then you''re telling me you have gotten rid of this heart demon of yours? How did you?" he asked.

    "Fear," I said.

    "I fail to understand how this rtes, in fact fear would actually make even more heart demons," he said.

    "Not the fear of my cousin, no, the fear the heavenly tiger had ingrained in me, it just made all of what I went through to seem so... meaningless, pointless and without any value. What caused me to pursue the Poison Sect was me seeking an easy way to surpass my cousin, I thought it was something easy to do, yet I was met with failure after failure in my pursuit of original recipes. Failing to make easy pills was because I always lose focus when I was making them, thinking of my situation, and how I can close the gap between me and my cousin, yet the Heavenly Dark Tiger scared the fear of my cousin out of me and imnted the fear of the tiger instead. My cousin looks like a fireflypared to the tiger. And thanks to that fear, I managed to refine pills inside the forest, and used them to save myself," I said.

    The elder nodded as if I had spoken of an experience that was valued in gold. Most of what I said were lies but it didn''t mean that they didn''t have any truth to them. The best lies are told when there is truth in it.

    The elder nodded and then began asking some random questions. After a while, he handed me another pill.

    "What is this?" I asked.

    "The interrogation is over, this pill will negate the Truth Seeking Pill, this should make it so you can have your freedom of word back again, we will be having a meeting with the elders to decide upon your punishment for leaving the sect, as for the matter of killing other disciples, I''m sure that elder Yun Fei would agree that it was in self-defense," he said.

    The other elder just shrugged and the two of them stood and left the room, leaving me alone in the dark.

    Well, this worked out fine, now, I''ll just have to wait for what''s going to happen to me in this sect.

 Chapter 424 New Beginning

    Within one of thergest open squares of the outer sect, the person who was interrogating me was holding a mass gathering to tell of the events that happened earlier.

    "As the sect had decreed, for the crime of leaving the sect without permission, Shen Mo will be whipped a hundredshes," he spoke, "This is the punishment for disobeying the sect rules." He said.

    Many of the disciples were gathered in front of the teacher who was speaking and they seemed to nod at the severity of the punishment.

    "However!" he said. "Due to Shen Mo''s meritorious deed, of discovering a new use of the Spirit Grass which radically opened up an enormous swath of possibilities for our Poison Sect refining methods, the Sect Master personally waved off the punishment and decided to reward him by giving him a Nascent Soul refining Pill. A thousand Medium Grade spirit stones and a weapon of his choosing from the sect''s treasury." The elder said.

    This immediately caused everyone to start murmuring.

    "What is the meaning of this?!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

    "Do you have any objections to the Sect Master''s orders?" elder Xian spoke.

    The disciple who talked backed down, but another one, with more spine, or probably more spite, since I remembered his face.

    More like, from the memories of Shen Mo I remembered his face. This person was acky of one of those who were hunting Shen Mo.

    "This man killed my fellow disciples! And even disregarded the sect''s rules! Why is he being rewarded? We need an exnation! Even if it is the sect master, where is the justice for my dead friends?!" he said.

    He is actually pointing out a good point. Since if the sect didn''t side with him, they''ll be considered heartless and without justice, who would stay in a sect where murder is disregarded and the murderer is rewarded?

    "We didn''t wish to reveal this, but after a careful investigation from the Disciplinary Hall. We have discovered that the following cultivators have been deemed to be traitors to the sect," elder Xian began mentioning five names, all of which Shen Mo remembers. They were the names of his pursuers.

    "They have been sending detailed information to the Seven Sword Mountain Sect. We discovered remains of messages between the disciples and the Mountain Sect. Shen Mo had ended up with one of the documents as proof to this and was hunted down to be ridden off. Now, if you''re defending the traitors this hard, we''ll be asking you to follow us for detailed interrogation," elder Xian said.

    All of the above wasplete bullshit and lies. Yet, it worked wonderfully.

    "N-no! I have no rtion I didn''t know anything of the sort!" the disciple said.

    "Then you wouldn''t mind following after Elder Yun Fei to the interrogation room. Once your innocence from treason is proven you will be released," Elder Xian said.

    He then added, "Is there anyone who objects to the sect''s decree!" he shouted.

    No one spoke.

    "Good, Shen Mo, sadly your cultivation base is too low to allow you ess to the inner sect, so you must cultivate until you reach the minimum required to enter the inner sect, now, you will be following Deacon Yi''s orders until your cultivation level rises up, once that is done, and you go through the yearly test, you will be able to enjoy more of the sect''s resources, Everyone Dismissed!"

    The area cleared up pretty quickly, and I was left all alone in the open field. Now with ''rewards,'' and a purpose I needed to work quickly to rising my cultivation level. Sadly I cannot use Poison Pills to boost this body''s cultivation, however, unlike my original body, I can use Heavenly Energy and Spirit Stones.

    I headed toward one of the cultivation caves that were carved into the main mountain of the sect.

    The base of the mountain was carved aplenty, in small caves for cultivators, there were thousands of caves. But the majority of them were closed.

    And the only person that can allow me the use of one of the caves was the Deacon.

    I headed to the deacon''s office which was under the cave area.

    Once I arrived I was warmly weed by a man of short stature and a gruff-looking scowl on his face that seemed to have been imprinted upon him from constant frowning.

    Yet, once he saw me, he hand both hands rubbing against each other, "Disciple Shen Mo! I always knew you were special," he said.

    Almost reflectively I was about to throw up, but I held it in. This man was one of Shen Mo''s nightmares, always skimming on Shen Mo''s resources and keeping them for himself.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He took his spirit stones and his allocated alchemy resources. Not only did he steal from him, he gave Shen Mo''s resources to other cultivators at the pretext of Shen Mo''s inability to cultivate Poison Pills or refine them.

    The body I was hosted in was trying its best to punch this foul man, but I reined it in. There was no need to take revenge on such a petty person.

    "Good that you know I''m special, a special person deserves special treatment," I said my eyes fixed on the deacon.

    "O-of course, do you remember all the spirit stones I had asked of you for safekeeping, I knew that one day you''ll grow strong enough to use them, that way you wouldn''t waste them. But now that you''re capable I have them right here, with some additional ones," he said as he handed me a holding bag.

    Looking at its content I was actually surprised, there were a few thousand spirit stones here and several dozen batches of medicinal herbs and spiritual herbs.

    "Good, with this I can resume my learning. I''m d I had ''kept'' these in your care. Now, if I remember I lost my cave token somewhere and was wondering how I can get one."

    "Ah, there is no need to worry or fret, here," he said as he handed me a ck token. "This token opens the door to one of the best caves in the outer sect, there is actually a small spirit vein that passes underneath that cave, if you were to cultivate there you''ll reap double the rewards with half the effort!"

    "Thank you, deacon, I''ll make sure to remember this favor," I said.

    "No need!" he said sweating "No need, all is good for a special and gifted young cultivator like you, now I still have many matters to attend to regarding the other disciples I hope you find your new stayfortable," he said and then scurried away.

    "I guess the Sect Master''s words mean a lot, but I don''t think that''s the only reason why I''m treated this well. Anyway, that doesn''t matter, now we can cultivate in peace."

    I infused the token with Qi and an image of the location and direction of the cave appeared in my head.

    I followed the map and arrived at the closed entrance of a cave that seemed to have no neighboring caves. It was alone on one side of the mountain. Perhaps since the spirit vein passes through here, it''s more rewarding to gift it to one cultivator who achieves good results than split it between many.

    I ced the token in a groove on the side of the cave. The wall at the front of the cave shuddered and slid down, revealing arge room inside that was paved with wood and had a bed, a couple chairs, and a table.

    There was also an area for a cauldron to do alchemy, as well as a smoke release chamber to allow venttion.

    Once I was inside the wall rose back up closing the room inplete darkness. Yet a momentter, a luminous orb that was on the ceiling of the cave lit up. Bringing light to the whole room.

    I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes. This is my first time ever meditating while feeling actual Qi.

    Once my eyes were closed, I was able to ''see'' small specks of light that seemed to glow and float all around me.

    However, underneath me, there seemed to be some sort of crystalized root-like object that was releasing these golden specks like a torrent.

    "So this is Qi, it looks pretty interesting, now, how do I harness it?"

    Meditating helped in absorbing the Qi, yet it was by no means fast or worth the effort.

    I just realized that I have never actually ''absorbed'' Qi, and to do that¡­ I needed a cultivation method.

    Of the ones I know, there is the Poison God''s Technique, but that''s only if I have the Poison God''s Body. The Laughing ughterer''s technique, but that technique doesn''t absorb Qi but uses internal Qi that has already been absorbed to release it into murderous and double-edged attacks.

    The Star Technique gifted to me by Yuyu when I first joined her sect only absorbed star energy. And was nowhere good enough for the current me.

    So, how am I going to cultivate this Qi without a breathing technique?

    The answer is simple. The Fist of Roaring Ki. Though I was able to use that technique even when I had the Poison God''s body, it was created by a cultivator who uses Qi and Saint Qi. Meaning that it can absorb the energy of heaven and earth.

    The only problem is, I don''t currently have any Stone-Aged milk. If I had known I''ll be using another body to cultivate, I would have saved at least a bottle. But no matter, I can still cultivate it even with this body, the only problem is, I''ll be needing to enhance this body''s disposition enough until it bes sturdy and strong to support the torrents of power that the Fist of Roaring Ki holds.

 Chapter 425 From Scratch

    "Three god dammed fucking months!" I cursed as I smacked away a wooden bowl that had some leftover food.

    My fury was pretty damn justified. Not only was I unable to cultivate the Fist of Roaring Ki, I couldn''t even increase my cultivation by a smidgen. It was the most worthless three months of my existence, utterly andpletely useless. I was oh so rottenly furious that I wanted to give up on this bodypletely.

    But being cooped up here in this cave, unable to obtain any of the benefits of this Qi root made me lose focus.

    I need to take a break, doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of madness.

    I opened the cave and was met with a bright white nket that covered the entirety of the sect.

    It was snowing.

    And it seemed to have been snowing for a while now.

    The weather was chilly, but nothing a few rotations of the Heart me couldn''t fix.

    There were no cultivators wandering the sect at this time. Most would have been either cultivating in seclusion or hiding away from the snow in the sanctity of their abodes or caves.

    I walked through the snow, moving aimlessly and without a goal. To be honest, I was never stumped this hard in finding an answer to any question I have. But this was absurd. I couldn''t cultivate anything. I even tried different cultivation manuals from the Lord of Lords pagoda, but nothing worked.

    As I was walking, I found myself at the top of the stairs leading down to the exit of the sect.

    Using my divine sense, I detected a person at the bottom of the stairs. And was surprised to see him sitting there, in the lotus position, the same as I first saw him. He was the person who was guarding the gate, the person who didn''t care when I entered.

    I walked down the staircase all the way to the gate, since he was sitting on a boulder outside the sect, I didn''t step out in case it would be considered ''leaving the sect without permission.''

    "Aren''t you feeling cold?" I asked the man.

    He opened one eye and took a look at me, then he said. "Cold or heat are nothing for a cultivator, why to ask why I am cold when you yourself are rotating your own Qi to fend off the chill," he said.

    "True, I have been blind," I replied.

    "Not only blind, ignorant too," he said.

    Now you''re being an asshole.

    "Howe a person like you, given one of the best cultivation spots in the outer sect, not only not gain any advancement in your cultivation, but to even degrade your Qi to such an extent? If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you are purposefully trying to destroy your cultivation," he said shaking his head.

    He must have remembered my Qi levels when I first went past him. And since he knows that I got the ''special'' cave, rumors must have spread.

    "I''m having difficulties cultivating, that''s it," I spoke, I didn''t want anyone shoving their nose in my business.

    "You''re surprisingly ignorant for someone at the Nascent Soul, why are you cultivating yang techniques with that awful dark Qi you''re emitting?" he said. His question was rhetorical since he immediately closed his eyes back and went back to cultivating.

    Ah¡­

    I really am an idiot.

    I beganughing hysterically, indeed, why was I trying to cultivate the Fist of Roaring Ki when the soul in this body is ipatible. No wonder it felt like I was suffocating every time I tried to absorb heavenly Qi using a Yang-based technique.

    I immediately headed back to the cave, enlightenmentes and goes, and hints cane from the strangest ces.

    Once I was inside the cave, having locked its gate. I entered the lord of lord pagoda.

    And headed immediately to the library, the Demonic Section.

    This is a demonic soul, and it needs a Demonic Cultivation technique.

    In the Demonic Section of the Lord of Lords pagoda, there weren''t many books, only a few a dozen, which made looking through them rather simple.

    Of the books I found, none were worth looking through besides one. Underworld''s Death Finger.

    It sounds like a simple technique. But it actually is a brutal Demonic Cultivation. It uses the power of the Underworld, opening a gate to the unknown and releasing the Death Qi as an assault.

    The premise sounds usible and powerful, yet there is a drawback, as all-powerful techniques, they cannot exist without a side effect.

    The Underworld''s Death Finger is powerful, yet ites at the cost of a person''s soul.

    Every time one draws from the Underworld''s river using this cultivation technique, it inflicts a powerful bacsh upon the user, in regard to their Soul Power, it draws upon the user''s soul to inflict damage.

    "Basically, every time I use this skill, I''ll have to sacrifice a bit of my own soul in the process as payment. This would have been a good skill to use since I have a pretty powerful soul. Yet my soul is finite. And I cannot spam this." I shook my head as I was about to disregard the skill, but then my hand immediately grasped the book.

    The hand in question though was mine, it hand scales on it, they only appeared for a moment. But this was a clear indication to what this means. The dragon soul, the one capable of absorbing other souls is interested in this technique.

    "Oh, so you''re meaning that you can offset the negative effects by absorbing Souls."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Thinking about it, I nodded.

    "Then let''s do it," I said and pulled the book with me back to the cave.

    I sat down and began reading the manual.

    It started without introduction and immediately went to how one should move their Qi through their meridians to start this cultivation technique.

    The Meridians in Question were pretty dangerous, they were in the heart, brain, groin, and the liver.

    The breathing technique to absorb the Qi was also nothing gentle. Instead of calmly breathing in and out, it was more like siphoning the air and stealing away Qi from around me.

    Yet, there was a problem. I couldn''t cultivate this technique with this body.

    This body had opened many meridians and already stepped into the path of cultivation. It is already in the Nascent Soul.

    "Damn, I''ll have to dissipate this body''s cultivation. Without breaking my meridians or my Dantian¡­"

    This is going to hurt¡­

    I took a few breaths and began releasing my cultivation. It felt like I was creating a hole in my Dantian where all my Qi and energy was pouring out.

    Nascent Soul''s first stage became Core Cultivation''s ninth stage. Then it dropped all the way to the first stage, releasing so much Qi that it was barely held off inside this small chamber.

    Then it turned to Foundation Establishment, then it dropped even more.

    "Shen MO!" I heard a shout.

    Gasping for breath from the agony of releasing my cultivation, I answered, "Yes? What is it deacon?"

    "Are you alright? It feels as if you had an ident cultivating. You''re releasing all your Qi, do you need medical assistance?" he asked.

    "No¡­need. I''m fine," I replied.

    The deacon didn''t answer but I heard his steps moving aside.

    I guess this stunt brought attention to me.

    Enough that divine sense was scanning me, left and right. It was damn annoying.

    "You''re being rude, stop with the act of voyeurism," I said to whoever used their divine sense on me.

    It didn''t take much for the Divine Sense to dissipate and leave me alone.

    Good, I then continued on, fully dissipating the Qi in my body until I was fully turned into a mortal.

    And god did I hate that.

    My body felt heavy, enough that my bones felt like they were about to break.

    It was the atmosphere, this world is not friendly to cultivators.

    I felt the roughness of my clothes and felt blisters starting to grow on my feet just from sitting in the lotus position.

    Yet, all of this was needed.

    I sighed after having released all of my Qi and went back to being a mortal. This reminded me of my days back as Shen Bao the city lord.

    But, the me now, and the me then are different.

    I grabbed a low grade spirit stone in my hand and then began absorbing its Qi, using the exact pathing in the manual. Coursing it from the meridian in the heart, which felt like I was stabbing myself with a hot searing knife.

    Then to the mind, which felt like my brain was being struck by a sledgehammer.

    The pain was enough to have me bleed from the nose.

    Then I coursed it down to my groin, it was so awfully painful that I had a feeling that both my eggs had been crushed with a spiked mace. And then to my liver, giving me the urge to throw up as if my side was pierced with a searing hot rod.

    This cultivation technique is not fun.

    And I needed to rotate this Qi a few hundred times before I reach Qi Condensation.

    Then, all I need to do, is suffer this pain a few hundred times, not a big deal.

 Chapter 426 Cultivation And Loneliness

    Huffing and puffing, blood seeping from my nose and mouth, I breathed atst. My first true Heavenly Qi breath.

    "F-finally¡­ first stage of Qi condensation," I slumped back supine. Chest heaving up and down from the excruciating agony of the past few days.

    This cultivation method is truly¡­demonic.

    It inflicts so much pain onto oneself that one could consider it true self-torture. No wonder most demonic cultivators have a screw loose.

    But, it helped me see Qi even better than before.

    Now that I''m able to breathe in the natural Qi, I can absorb it with ease.

    I stood back up, and pulled a couple of pills from my Poison God''s book, these were ones I had from when I was making pills as Shen Bao.

    And began eating them up.

    Consuming Pills like this for a normal cultivator is rather dangerous because, unlike my original body, this new body cannot expel impurities, so I must consume the best pills to reduce the impurities gathered in this body. Not to mention, this weakling Shen Mo''s cultivation was so trash, that his own body was already clogged up with impurities.

    Coursing Qi into this body was the same as trying to filter clean water from sewage.

    But with these Cleansing Pills, I can remove a portion of impurities from this body.

    I swallowed one Cleansing Pill and began rotating my own Qi until an oh-so-familiar feeling came to me.

    Nauseating and revolting, my stomach churned as I threw up bile and ck sludge that seemed to stink more than a rotten camel dung under the sun.

    After cleaning up the mess and wiping myself. I began cultivating. Which was frankly, stupidly easy.

    Heavenly Qi, is the power thates in, lives, and makes live the world itself. Was actually actively trying to enter my body. All I needed to do was open the way.

    A breath in, to take in the Qi, and a rotation of my cultivation to apply it to my body.

    Simple, monotone, and routinized rinse and repeat.

    Qi gathered inside my body, bursting through one clogged meridian after another. Revitalizing the shriveled-up meridians that have been emptied out when I dissipated my cultivation. And soon, the shriveled meridians began inting. Gaining back their former form.

    The second stage of Qi condensation!

    Another hundred rotations and more Qi gathered inside my body, imnting itself into my bones, flesh, and arteries.

    My heart rate increased, and my heartbeats became stronger. Blood pumped with renowned vigor as it aided in circting Qi.

    I swallowed another cleansing Pill, and further increased the rotation of Qi ingestion and application.

    My next few days were like this, eat a pill, cultivate, vomit impurities, clean up, cultivate, breakthrough, and eat another pill.

    Until I broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

    I had to stop for now. This body is unlike my original, it cannot support consecutive breakthroughs without stabilizing my cultivation. And since I''m at the Foundation Establishment, I need to slowly unlock every Meridian in this body, lest it bes subpar for cultivation.

    And the best way to cement one''s cultivation isbat.

    I entered the Lord of Lords pagoda and asked X out.

    "Limit your power output to the first level of Core cultivation," I gave themand.

    "As Master Commands!" the white armored X spoke in a bow.

    He then visibly reduced the output of his Saint Qi crystal reactor.

    "Come at me with the intent to kill," I said.

    And almost immediately, X''s sword swung at my neck. If I didn''t react fast enough he would have undoubtedly lobbed my head off.

    "Good! Keep the aggression!" I ordered and began using the first moves of the underworld''s Death Finger.

    "Five Finger Death Punch!" I called, rotating my low Qi reserves into my fist, and then sent a full st of Qi forward.

    A red ethereal punch seemed to surge out of my right fist, but even for an ethereal-looking punch, the size and sheer power behind it had X block using both arms and still was flung back rolling on the ground several times before he stopped.

    "Hmm, no wonder Demonic Cultivators are able to fight a full big Realm above their own cultivation realm. The cost of such a skill is stupidly high, but the effects are worth it. It is basically cheating, using the power of a Core cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. Yet the cost, being a piece of my own soul for every execution is not something that I can permanently pay. I need to use this Demonic Technique only in dangerous situations¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Keeping!" I ordered and X charged me with one de drawn, but on his other hand, his palm was aimed at me.

    Gunshots echoed as bullets flew forward.

    "Demon''s Star Pluck!"

    Following the manual''s teachings, I took a stance that was simr to a praying mantises stance.

    Both hands look like the opened jaws of a snake. Then I thrusted them.

    Ephemeral red faces appeared around me with every swing of my arms. These faces were those of horned demons that charged at the bullets and X at the same time.

    Every face gobbled up a bullet that wasing toward me, while the rest charged X to draw him in numbers.

    "Demonic Dharma''s Palms," I called as I struck both palms together. Two giant palms appeared right next to X and then shed against each other with X in the middle.

    Yet a surge of Qi from X copsed both palms.

    "Damn, my understanding is too low for this," I said and wiped my nose.

    Because I already overexerted this body, using too many skills that were higher than its cultivation level.

    "Four Finger Death Pierce!"

    With one finger away, the fist became a chop, and my hand struck forward. Rending the air, and vibrating it enough that a loud sonic boom echoed around me.

    Another arm fully materialized came to superimpose upon my own extended arm, only the Four Finger Death Pierce was hundreds of times bigger and more prominent than my own and it came at X like a bulldozing dragon.

    X kicked to the side, dodging the iing blow, but didn''t ount for the sonic and wind st after it.

    The mere pressure was enough to throw him aside.

    "That''s enough," I said as I sat down to meditate.

    "My current limit is four fingers¡­ I can''t go any lower until I reach higher cultivation levels," I sighed.

    I left the Lord of Lord pagoda and went back to cultivate.

    ***

    The skies roars had ended once again. And the man who seemed to have nopanion or friend sighed as he gazed at the retreating skies.

    How many tribtions had he been through?

    This makes the seventh in five years. Seven Heavenly Tribtion and still only at the Ascendant Stage. Anyone would think it madness or something unbelievable, for the heavens do not punish this severely unless one is sphemous against it. And if they were to be punished, it wouldn''t be the merciful Heavenly Tribtion that gives rewards. But the deadly Heavenly Punishment ends only when the receiver''s soul perishes.

    Yet this man was being hunted by Heavenly Tribtion, again and time again.

    Only in this world where nothing else lived was he able to go through these tribtions without causing harm to others. In a world where nothing but mes and fire surged.

    A world where fiery spirits and demons lived. A constantly burning that could be confused easily for a small sun or star.

    In this world, there were no cultivation materials or resources, there was nothing but fire, pure fire.

    Yet for this cultivator, this fire was all he needed. He needed not food, nor water, all he needed was the Fiery Qi, the pure Yang Qi that seemed to infinitely be generated from the heart of this star.

    Today marks the fifth year he was outside of that spatial rift, and the tenth year since he escaped the prison of the Fire King.

    He, however, was full of regrets, sorrow and loneliness were clear in his eyes, one would think this young man was a century old foggy if all they see from him were his eyes.

    A young man who med himself for the tragedy that happened to his home. He med himself for being weak, for falling to capture, and for the death of his beloved.

    Though he managed to save her soul, without a body she would soon perish. It was only thanks to the Phoenix''s feather''s energy that he was able to preserve her soul from further decay, yet if he doesn''t find a proper body soon, she will perish and he will have to go find her through the wheel of reincarnation, no matter how many years it would take. Perhaps she won''t even remember him, but he, will never forget her.

    This man sighed, and in that sigh, the world seemed to sigh alongside him.

    Sorrow and loneliness seemed to be his onlypanion, no matter how grim and poor apanion it was.

    This man''s name was Meng Hao.

 Chapter 427 Secluded Cultivation

    In this world of fire and me, Meng Hao decided it was time for him to move out. He had fought many of its creatures, and prevailed in most battles, bar a few dwellers of the deepest part of this fiery star, where even Meng Hao decided that it would be wiser to not provoke such creatures, he could be considered one of the strongest among the creatures here.

    ? But, without any materials, resources, or anything to quell the empty feeling in his heart, he decided to venture out to worlds where humanity existed.

    Though nothing can fill the emptiness that is filling him, he can at least offset it with some wine, it''s been a while since hest dark.

    Meng Hao took to the skies, his destination unknown.

    ***

    Today marks the third year of my Secluded Cultivation. In three years, I managed toplete the first set of the Underworld Death Finger.

    I can now use all of the demonic skill moves. All the way from the Five Finger Death Punch to the One Finger Heaven Suppression.

    Though the name sounds grand and majestic, as a mere Nascent Soul formation cultivator, the effects are ratherckluster. Not to undermine the ability''s power, since it''s strong enough to rend a cultivator higher than my own realmpletely useless.

    It still leaves much to be desired. In terms of power of course.

    I''ve been jaded to power, since I''ve been an Ascendant ss cultivator for a while and seen true might. The abilities of a Nascent Soul are rather¡­ weak.

    Comining about things won''t make them better. Also, I shouldn''t be too hasty. Demonic Cultivation''s power increases exponentially alongside the cultivator.

    Also, there was one pretty damn surprising and amazing thing I discovered.

    Demonic Qi is actually able to be fused alongside the Golden Titan battling mode.

    Meaning that I can actually use the Fist of Roaring Ki, only it will be using Demonic Energy. Perhaps the Fist of Demonic Ki is a better name for it after I transform it to my own style.

    The reason it didn''t work the first time was simple.

    Shen Mo''s body was trash. Really, terrible at cultivating Physical cultivation methods.

    Frankly speaking, my original body is the same, but I had the opportunity to drink the Stone Aged Milk using my original body which helped me surpass the weakness of the flesh.

    Yet, Shen Mo had no opportunity like I did.

    Secondly, it was the Qi quality. When I tried harnessing the Qi in my body to use the Fist of Roaring Ki, it was constantly being rejected since Shen Mo''s body was full of impurities and his Qi levels were abysmally small.

    In three years, however, I made sure to fix that.

    I''vee to the realization that a puppet or a corpse such as Shen Mo''s body had no limitation.

    Unlike a normal living human body, it isn''t easy to surpass one''s limitations. Take this for example, it takes the exact amount of pressure to snap a carrot using one''s teeth as it would take to bite a finger off. (Pls don''t try it)

    The reason why we can''t do it ourselves is that our brain forcefully stops us from harming ourselves. Thus limitations.

    But here, Shen Mo''s body is technically dead. Meaning, it has no limits in the terms of body. And if I wanted to exert a hundred percent of the body''s power, I can do so with ease.

    The problem however is the damage.

    The limitations on the body aren''t there just to stop you from using all of your power. But it is there to protect you from the damage afterward. A woman can easily lift a vehicle if her child is stuck under it. But the muscle tearing and pain from the exertion will onlye a few minutes after.

    Constantly surpassing one''s limitationses with the cost of great deterioration to one''s muscles.

    But, that''s under normal circumstances. As for me, a pretty damn good alchemist. Muscle tear is solvable with a pill, and Muscle Tearing for a body-enhancing cultivator is actually a good thing. Since whenever one muscle fiber tears, three grow to take its ce. Further strengthening the muscle. And for me, I can just overexert the muscles, pop a pill, and over-exert them again.

    With this masochistic method of training, I was constantly and brutally overexerting Shen Mo''s body, enough that I have torn every muscle fiber on this body a dozen times over and reinforced them back.

    With this method, over three years, the scrawny-looking Shen Mo changed to that of a mediumly buffed and well-chiseled body. Able to exert power far beyond anything a Nascent Soul cultivator could ever dream of.

    I achieved the muscle mass and power of the Stone-Aged Milk using this method.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, that was only for the muscles. Otherwise, if things were this easy, the Stone Aged Milk wouldn''t be among the greatest treasures of the cultivation world.

    Since the Stone-Aged-Milk is able to enhance not only the muscles but the bones, internal organs, nerves, and even blood vessels.

    Sadly, I cannot improve those. Although I gained some advancement in the blood cirction department since the constant training and exertion improved my blood flow. It was not enough to enhance the rest.

    But, that wouldn''t stop me.

    Of my belongings, and the many holding bags I obtained through my ventures, one of them stood out the most. It was the holding bag of Servant Mao. He had a great number of pills, cultivation materials, spiritual herbs, and many treasures.

    And a good majority of them were obtained from other Poison God cultivators, meaning that they are of pretty damn good value and use to me.

    Skipping the treasures, the herbs in this holding bag were enough to help me refine many pills.

    Marrow Cleansing Pills, Bone Enhancing Pills. Blood Pill. And even Qi Refining Pills.

    With the swath of pills I created, I consumed and enhanced the overall function and ability of this body to the point I was actually able to use the Fist of Demonic Ki.

    Though I could feel the slight pain in some areas of my body with the use of the Fist of Demonic Ki, it was tolerable. it was understandable, after all, even with so many pills it was still not as good as the Stone Aged Milk.

    However, this had given me a great method to fight and cultivate my Qi.

    Now, sitting atop the spirit vein, I was able to rotate my Qi using both the Demonic cultivation method, and the Fist of Roaring Ki method, which further enhanced my cirction.

    An explosion of force echoed as I smiled.

    "Finally, Soul Formation," I sighed as I was able to feel the power in this body increasing several folds.

    It was good enough, I cannot push myself anymore, not for theck of trying, but because I needed to cement my foundation.

    This was never an issue with my original body. It only took me a few days to have a full grasp over my body. But that was because I wasn''t using Heavenly Qi, but my own Poison Qi which was attuned to my body to perfection.

    But for a normal cultivator, must stabilize their cultivation by harmonizing themselves with the increased volume of Qi they can now absorb.

    To rise in rank in cultivation isn''t simply a gain in power. But it''s like having more pores in your body unclogged enabling you to ''breath'' better.

    And this makes it so that you''ll always need to adjust the amount of Qi you absorb or use for all of your abilities.

    If a Nascent Soul cultivator needs a set amount of Qi to use a single ability. A soul Formation cultivator will need less Qi to produce equivalent power. But at the same time, with the rise of the cultivation level, they gain the ability to produce more power from the same ability, thus they need to stabilize their foundations to know the limits and abilities they had gained.

    I went back to the pagoda and had several bouts against X. I was only satisfied with my progress after a month had passed. With my abilities fully adjusted to my body, I decided that it was time for me to leave.

    I walked out of the cave. Thest time I was out, it was heavily snowing, but years and months after, now the weather was rather warm with an asional breeze that would cool one''s head.

    Looking around, I saw many disciples staring at me strangely.

    "He finally came out, it was about damn time," one of them said.

    "What is going on?" I asked.

    "Elder Xian had ordered us to stay stationed here until your secluded cultivation is over. What were you doing there for three years?" one of them asked.

    "What does that have to do with you? Also, what does elder Xian needs of me?" I asked.

    "I don''t know, it seems that you''rete for your yearly assessment. By three years¡­" he said.

    "You can''t rush cultivation," I said "Lead the way, let''s see what Elder Xian needs of me."

    The disciple nodded and headed out, while I followed closely behind him.

 Chapter 428 Test

    "You finally arrived," spoke elder Xian. He gave me half a nce before he went back to work.

    He was working on some documents on a long desk, he seemed to have more work than anyone would ever want to handle, but he was diligent enough to not let it bother him.

    We were now at the Disciplinary Hall.

    "I was asked toe and meet with you once I was done. But apparently, I''mte," I replied.

    "A couple of yearste, not that I expected you to remain enclosed in there for so long, but the readings of your growing Qi were assurance that you were actually being diligent, I suppose you have forsaken your entire cultivation and you''re now climbing back again, why?" he asked.

    "Sometimes, it''s better to scrap everything and start anew. I waszy in my cultivation, which caused many issues with my body. By redoing everything from scratch, I was able to gain new insights, also Nascent Soul stage isn''t something that anyone should worry about in the path of cultivation, after all, it''s a long journey."

    "Good, you have learned something then, I also can see that your Qi is far purer, Demonic Cultivation?" he asked.

    "Yes," I nodded.

    "Hmm, take good care of yourself, Demonic cultivationes with great power, but greater setbacks." He said.

    "I understand," I nodded.

    "Anyway, I didn''t call you here just to chat, I already gathered a couple of elders who will be overseeing your examination, and the right to be an inner disciple of the sect. Would you like to take the test now? I advise you to say yes," he said.

    "I wouldn''t refuse either way,"

    "Then follow us," I heard.

    Behind me, and at the gate were two elders wearing the same robes as elder Xian. They were both old of age, but they didn''t seem too interested, and were practically bored, hell one of them was even yawning and the other was grumbling about what a waste of time it was to do a test for a single cultivator.

    I followed after the elders, hearing many jab insults. Calling me someone who is using a backdoor and is even not worth the time and effort of two elders to personallye and look for me for this.

    I calmed myself and followed after them, there was no reason to cause any ruckus here.

    Soon, we arrived at one of the outer sect''s biggest buildings. It was the hospital area.

    "Are we going to do the test here?" I asked.

    "Yes, the first part of it, don''t even dream of taking the second part if you don''t seed here," one of the elders spoke.

    "Right then," I said as I followed them inside the hospital.

    You could hear the groans and agonized moans of pain from the patients inside the hospital.

    "Your task is to cure a patient from an affliction," he said. He then pointed at a bed that had a cultivatorying in it.

    The cultivator had almost all of his body covered in mold. Yes, mold, green and ck mold for some reason. He seemed to be more of a corpse than a person.

    If I didn''t know any better, the old man here is practically wanting me to fail the test.

    Especially since I noticed the frown on the second elder''s face.

    I approached the patient and took a better look at him.

    The mold was growing rather viciously, you could even see it growing with the naked eye.

    And from the blood all around the cultivator and the many scrapped-off pieces of this mold, this has been going on for a while.

    Sadly, I''m not in my original body, so getting in direct contact with this mold might be dangerous.

    I rummaged through my holding bag and pulled out a scarf.

    I ced the scarf around my mouth and nose like a makeshift mask and pulled a small scalpel from my holding bag.

    I peeled off a small piece of the mold and grabbed it using tongs I hadying around.

    "What are you doing?" asked one of the elders.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Biopsy," I said then split the piece into several smaller ones, and ced every piece in a different tube I had on me. I then began pouring small amounts of distilled and different types of poison inside each tube.

    "Biopsy? What is that? What are you talking about? And what are you doing even," he asked.

    "I''m trying to determine what type of mold is this. It could help in figuring out the type of mold and the way to treat it. Since this is a test, I doubt that you will tell me what kind of fungi is this, so I might as well understand its properties myself," I said.

    The two elders looked at each other and then one of them the one who didn''t really seem against me so much but only a bit bored spoke.

    "Young man, to be honest, the test is only to understand what kind of disease is this, there is no reason to try and cure it since this specific disease is incurable," he said.

    So, I was right, the other elder was trying to fail me.

    "No, I already found the way to treat this," I said as I handed them one of the clear vials.

    "What does this do?" he asked.

    "It''s Ammonia, pretty easy to make, you basically just need dead biomatter. I usually have this on me to sanitize. The reason why this kid is dying is that he''s been infected with powerfully contagious fungi, I don''t know the source of but all fungi are weak to Ammonia. The problem is, this much of it is lethal to the human body," I said.

    "Then he can''t drink it anyway," the elder said "How is that a cure?" he said.

    "Drinking this will immediately kill him, but it can still be used to stop the spread," I said and then began spraying the liquid around his body. I made sure to add several otherponents to the liquid to make sure the spray doesn''t outright kill this patient due to how potent pure ammonia is.

    After a while, the growing mold seemed to start drying. Then soon it began shriveling up revealing pure skin that was heavily scarred.

    "This solves the problem of the mold growing outside the body, but to treat the ones growing inside I''ll need something else."

    Seeing the visible change in the body of the cultivator both the elders approached and asked. "Whatever you need! This damn ck Fungus has been killing too many disciplestely, if you have any idea how to stop it we''ll be more than willing to give you any resources you need."

    "Good, I''ll need Golden Garlic, a few hundred seeds of grape seeds. If there are any spiritual grape seeds it would be better. And cabbage," I said.

    "Euh, that''s it? those aremon materials, I thought you''d need something more¡­ powerful," he said.

    "No, that''s all you need," I said.

    The elders then asked one of the disciples to go around and gather as many of the materials I asked for as they can.

    Soon enough, the hospital room was packed full, both with people watching what was happening and loads of cabbage golden garlic, and grape seeds.

    I then started grounding the seeds and the Golden Garlic into a paste and then crushed the cabbage then squeezed it until it became liquid.

    I mixed everything and then used a filter to have a pure concentrated liquid of the contents.

    It smelled bad.

    But that''s medicine, it always smells and tastes like crap.

    Once I poured the content into a ss I helped the cultivator drink it.

    He was about to gag but a single poke to a pressure point above his stomach stopped the gag reflex.

    Once he downed the contents I stood back and began making more.

    "He doesn''t seem to be improving," said the elder.

    "That''s because this isn''t a miracle drug. The contents of thosemon materials have a lot of natural antibiotics, they are perfect to help deal with the rot and the mold inside his body, but it will take time for them to work. By tomorrow, however, he''ll shit and piss every impurity in his body and should be able to move about in a couple of weeks. I can''t help with the scarring for now since I''ll affect the healing process," I said.

    "Then why are you making more?"

    "He needs to drink this several times in theing days topletely neutralize all the mold in his body. I''m also showing the people who are watching us from over there how to make the cure so they can help in the making process. Because I don''t think I alone is enough to help so many patients." I said.

    The two elders looked at each other, then me, and said, "Pass!"

 Chapter 429 Inner Sect

    "Sadly, though your ability is impressive, we cannot go against the Poison Sect''s rules. You must go through the battle test, and I hope you can seed in getting past it. It isn''t difficult by any means, but it can be frustrating sometimes." Said one of the elders.

    "No worries, if it''s battle I''m confident in my ability," I replied nodding.

    The two elders finished up the matter inside the hospital and asked me to follow them to the next ce.

    From the monotone, bored and annoyed expressions when they guided me the first time. This time they were jubnt and were asking many questions about how I created such a ''revolutionary'' medicine.

    "That''s not really medicine," I said. "That''s more of a poison than medicine, but it''s potent enough to destroy fungi. As for antibiotics, those exist in most foods. Though with smaller concentration thus I needed a lot of materials to have a decent dose." I said.

    The two elders nodded and seemed to take notes of my words, not interrupting me as I exined more about antibiotics.

    I don''t have great knowledge in regard to medical experience, but this is more basic knowledge.

    We continued talking until we arrived at an open arena that seemed to have almost no audience.

    A few cultivators were sparring in the arena under the watch of a couple of other elders and once we arrived, the spar was paused.

    "Disciple Shen Mo is here to take his Inner Disciple''s test. Please clear the arena," one of the two elders spoke.

    With the request given, the sparring disciples came down from the arena with grumbles, but the elders didn''t mind them any heeds.

    "Go up, you''ll be facing the elder over there."

    I looked up to the arena, it was the same person who was acting as a judge for the earlier spar.

    "Come up," he said.

    I got onto the arena and sped my hands.

    "Please give me some pointers," I said then took a fighting stance.

    The elder frowned, "A poison cultivator using hand-to-handbat?" he tilted his head.

    "I''m confident," I said.

    "Good," he said and then he pointed his hand at me, "Break his legs."

    I didn''t understand at first, but it didn''t take time for me to realize the meaning of his words.

    Two puppets shot from the ground, they seemed to have been hidden in there.

    Wooden puppets at that.

    They had a sword for the right arm and a mace for the other. And they came at me with great vigor.

    If it was any other cultivator at the same cultivation rank as me, they''ll probably be disturbed. Fighting two Soul Formation puppets at the same time isn''t easy.

    But for me, it''s pretty advantageous.

    Instead of backing away, I moved forward.

    The two puppets struck down with the mace in their hand. But I only needed to do a frontal flip to avoid the blow.

    Just as I was falling to my feet, the two puppets twisted around themselves and were about to lob my legs off.

    Yet my reaction was far faster than the two puppets as I spread my legs open, mid-air causing their swing to miss.

    My palms then struck the back of their heads, sending a surge of demonic Qi into them.

    Any other cultivator would think that my action was pretty foolish since I had a good opportunity to deal a great blow instead of sending some Qi into them.

    But once Inded on my feet I sped my hands to the elder.

    "Thank you for your guidance," I said.

    The elder, frowning on how I was ''dering'' my victory before his two puppets had even been disposed of was about to speak.

    Yet his puppets suddenly started to shudder and shake, then immediately fell down,pletely disabled enough for him to turn the frown into a smile.

    "Hah, you seem to have some mastery over puppeteering," he said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "A little bit," I replied.

    "That was a little bit? You sent a perfectly tuned Qi surge into their formation,pletely disabling it and disrupting it, they''re nothing but scraps now. Ah, good, it''s good to see decent disciples in the poison sect. How about this, would you be willing to learn the art of puppet mastery under me?" he asked.

    "With all due respect, I wish to refuse your offer, since I already have a master, I cannot go against his will," I said

    "Ah, then it cannot be helped. I dere Shen Mo fully able to enter the inner sect," said the elder.

    "Good, congrattions Shen Mo, now you''re officially a true member of the Poison Sect. Follow me, we need to get you a Bound," he said.

    "A bound?" I asked.

    "Yes, a battling beast," he said.

    "Euh? I''m confused, I''m sure we''re the Poison Sect, what does having a bound mean to a poison sect?" I asked.

    "Ah... it seems little Mo here doesn''t fully know how our sect functions. For outsiders, we''re all poison fanatics that use poison to defeat our foes and bring gue and chaos, but the truth is, a Poison Cultivator''s martial and battle prows are slightly inferior to a cultivator of the same rank."

    "You meanbat?" I said

    "Yes, inrge-scale battles Poison Cultivator can be pretty fearsome, but our ability to defend ourselves is rathercking when ites to hand-to-handbat or sword fights. If a Poison Cultivatores across a well-prepared cultivator of the same rank, the result will be obvious. Since a lot of our poisons can easily be neutralized with Heavenly Medicine and antidotes we find ourselves in a difficult spot when facing a single opponent. Thus our Ancestor had ordered all Inner Sect Disciples to obtain a Bound spirit, training it until it grows strong and formidable to fight alongside you in battle. We have a few Bound spirits in the sect possession, you can choose one of them, or if you''re feeling brave. You can venture the Dark Forest to obtain your own," he said.

    "Hmm... if it''s a Bound creature for battle, I think I can manage myself," I said.

    After all, this is pretty convenient for me, since I wanted to bring the Dark Beast cub out. Now I have a perfectly good reason.

    Not to mention that this Dark Beast is mutated, even if someone were to know of the Dark Beast''s existence, they wouldn''t be able to understand that the small fur ball I have is one of them.

    "Very good then," the elder said, "Follow us, you''ll have a set of new robes to wear now that you''re an Inner Disciple. After entering the inner sect, you''ll learn more about the Poison Sect."

    I followed the elders to the inner sect''s gate. It was at the base of the main mountain where the Poison Sect was built around.

    At the gate, two disciples wearing ck robes sped their hands to the elders and opened the door for us.

    Another set of stairs revealed itself behind the opened door.

    "You''ll climb this stair alone, once you''re at the top, you''ll have to be careful. The inner sect isn''t as peaceful as the outer one. It is forbidden to kill anyone there, no matter the reason. All grudges are solved in the Death arena, as for injuring or maiming your opponent, providing enough contribution to the sect can alleviate the punishment. Make sure to make allies who will help you in your time of need. As for your cultivation resources, only your ability will allow you growth. Good luck Shen Mo," he said.

    ''Damn, I thought this sect would be rather calm and peaceful, I guess I was wrong.''

    I nodded at the elders and began climbing.

    Before I reached the end of the stairs I had already worn the ck robes of the inner sect. And just as I arrived at the entrance, an arrow went flying towards my face.

    I tilted my head dodging it and took note of the shooter. It was a young male who seemed to be in thepany of three other cultivators.

    "His resources are mine! Hands off!" the archer said.

    "Tian Hu, take him down!" he said.

    A powerful and loud growl echoed to my right, and a tiger that seemed to have been eating pretty damn well jumped me.

    "Hah he is frozen in fear!" said the archer while the rest of hispany were smiling.

    Yet the moment the tiger met my eyes.

    Or to be franker, the eyes of Kyuu who was hiding under my robes.

    It froze in fear. The tiger''s ears drooped and it cowered in front of me shaking in utter fear.

    It then turned on its back revealing its belly.

    This was an obvious submission from the feline creature. Revealing its belly meaning that it''s revealing its weakest part as if it had no intention of fighting and had surrendered.

    I took another look at the four disciples who didn''t even hesitate to spread in four different directions.

    "What a warm wee," I said and moved forward into the inner sect.

 Chapter 430 Petty

    "It''s kinda shameful to leave your beast here and run away with your tail behind your legs," I shook my head as I looked at the sorry state this mighty-looking tiger turned to.

    From the king of a mountain to a scaredy cat.

    But the most interesting thing was Kyuu. This fur ball was able to scare the living hell out of a fully-grown tiger.

    I guess ancestry does y a role. Though Kyuu had been deprived of the wheel of time for many eons, once he emerged back in the world, the heritage of the ck Beast seemed pretty potent. Enough that it scared this tiger.

    I petted the small Dark Beast on my shoulder and moved forward.

    The inner sect wasn''t that amazing, a first nce that is. The quality of Qi was slightly higher than at the base of the mountain, but it was still decent enough to cultivate.

    The higher one goes though, the more the concentration of Qi can be felt.

    I looked up at the mountain top, which had its summit hidden among the clouds.

    To cultivate at the top of the mountain would mean to be in the presence of the densest part of this Qi gathering formation.

    "But I doubt anyone is allowed to go all the way up there¡­"

    "You''re right," someone said.

    Looking to my right, it was an old man that seemed to be swept away at the dirt that was gathering at the top of the stairs.

    I didn''t even sense this old man. Nor did I even hear his sweeping. How is he doing this?

    "You must be new here," he said as he continued sweeping, quietly.

    "Yes I am," I said as I sped my hands to the old man. "Who might you be, kind sir," I said.

    "Ah, those are words I don''t deserve, I''m just a cleaning person, you don''t need to regard me with such respect," he said.

    "It would be foolish to disregard a person based on his clothing and upation, your ''mere'' sweeping is clearly nothing ordinary, for no person can move dust and dirt without even making a sound," I said.

    "Good eye, youngd, I''ve been here for a long time, and it''s rare when I get spotted." He said as he approached me.

    He then came close, one hand under his chin, and began sniffing around me.

    "Very interesting body you have, your Demonic cultivation doesn''t seem to affect your mind. You also seem to be raising a unique creature," he said.

    ''He didn''t notice the Soul Sealing Inscription. Good."

    "It''s a beast I happened upon in my ventures," I said.

    "Will you be willing to sell it to me?" he asked.

    "I would have to refuse, I grew fond and attached to it," I said.

    The old man shrugged, "Well, I can''t force you. Anyway, if you wish to climb up the mountain, you''ll need to have merit. And merit can be gained, and can be stolen." He said.

    "How so?" I asked.

    "They really didn''t teach you anything did they," the old man sighed.

    "The Poison Sect rewards effort and battle prows. If youplete missions given by the sect you''ll obtain merit points, and those points can be exchanged for all sorts of resources and materials from the sect''s treasury. At the same time, they can be robbed and stolen by other cultivators. You will have to go to the Merit office to get your Merit Badge. Obtaining Merit Points isn''t hard, but keeping them is the hardest since there will be a table that keeps track of everyone''s merit score. Once you have enough to move the greed of a few cultivators you may expect an ambush. Murder and destroying a cultivator''s cultivation base is strictly forbidden, but idents can happen, so be careful out theird." The old man said and continued sweeping away.

    I moved toward the Merit Office the old man pointed me to and soon arrived at its entrance.

    Surprisingly it had many students gathered there. On one side of the office was a massive board that had hundreds of papers pinned to it. You could see cultivators debating, discussing, and taking the papers from the wall.

    On the other side of the wall, was arge desk that hosted several elders who seemed to be busy taking care of students'' orders.

    I was at a loss on where to head but was soon shoved to the side by some ruffian.

    "Move aside! Sister Ai Li is walking in," he said shouting his lungs out.

    I turned to see this sister Ai Li and was honestly surprised. A really beautiful girl who seemed to be in her early twenties walked through the door. She was wearing the inner sect ck robes that seemed to extenuate her hourss body-like shape.

    She had a small mole under her lower lip. The only imperfection in a perfect body, but it was an imperfection that gave her more charm.

    Her long ck hair that reached all the way to her back swayed as she walked among her peers.

    "You didn''t hear me! I said get the fuck off the way!" the same idiot talked again but this time he tried to grab me.

    The result was obvious since I''m someone who really doesn''t like being grabbed out of the blue.

    My hand had mped tight on his wrist with enough force that one could hear a snap.

    "Oh¡­ sorry about that, it''s a bad habit of mine," I said to the now screaming young man.

    "You there! What are you doing? It''s forbidden to have fights here!" one of the booth''s elders shouted.

    "Fight, what fight?" I said as I shoved a pill down the young man''s throat.

    "He is perfectly fine, aren''t you," I said to the cultivator who seemed to finally realize that his broken arm was not broken anymore.

    "Euh?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah, anyway, since I have your attention, and I really don''t like to stand in line, where can I get a Merit Badge," I said.

    "You must have recently gotten to the inner sect," the elder said. "But here, one must follow rules! Wait in line And wait for your turn no cutting in line!" he said.

    I sighed, since I couldn''t do anything, I had to wait in line with the ruffian and the girl who seemed to be too busy to wait.

    I was honestly annoyed at having to wait just to get a dumb badge. But there was nothing I could do to help.

    "Sister Ai Li, you can take my spot," some cultivator ahead of me said.

    Just as she was about to move forward, "No cutting in line, I''m not permitting it," I said.

    Everyone turned to me, inplete shock.

    I was too annoyed to care, "What does that have to do with you, I''m giving her my spot," he said.

    "I don''t really care, she came after me, and I won''t ept it unless she goes after me. The Poison Sect has rules right, respect the rules," I said. As I pointed at a text above the booth.

    "No cutting in line."

    "What kind of pickup attempt is this, if you want to impress Sister Ai Li, you should be more tact, instead of rude," the same disciple who tried to give his spot said.

    "That has nothing to do with her, nor do I really care¡­" I said as I turned my head to look at the woman behind me, "Being pretty isn''t something that gives you the right to be above others. Your looks are something the heavens had given you, you didn''t earn them, not to mention, I''ve seen far prettier women, and you''re not enough to move me," I said grinning.

    Though I wouldn''t say that they were ''far'' prettier, they were at least above this girl in terms of looks. Perhaps it''s the difference in cultivation that improves a woman''s outer appearance.

    My words however sounded pretty rude and demeaning to the girl behind me.

    The girl''s face seemed to redden with rage, but since she wanted to keep up appearances she held in her words.

    Yet the unconscious constant tapping of her foot made everyone in the room feel second-handed embarrassment and at the same time anxiety.

    "I''m feeling a bit sick, I''ll be leaving the line," someone said.

    Then soon another spoke giving anotherme excuse.

    And just like that, the line in front of me was empty.

    Feels good to use someone else to clear the line.

    I grinned as I moved up to the booth.

    In front of me was a scowling elder who seemed annoyed at what just urred. He was still stealing nces at the girl behind me but he still had to take my ''request'' first.

    "What do you need," he said.

    "You already know, I''m here for a Merit Badge," I said.

    The elder picked up a round white badge that didn''t have anything on it.

    "What''s your name?" he asked.

    "Shen Mo," I said.

    "Shen Mo¡­ Shen Mo¡­" he said as he was skimming through some documents.

    "Oh found you, you just entered the Inner Sect. hmm, Huh???"

    The elder seemed confused as he was inspecting the paper again and again.

    "Elder Huan! Is this correct?!" he said to the elder next to him.

    The elder took note of what was on the paper and then back at me. "I heard rumors¡­ it was this boy then¡­ this year should be interesting¡­" he said.

    The first elder sighed as he handed me my badge with a number on it this time.

    60,000

    Someone on the line next to use saw the number and called, "S-sixty thousand?! Didn''t he just enter the inner sect?!"

    "What''s this fuss all about?" I asked.

    "You don''t know?" the elder said.

    "No idea what''s going on," I said shrugging.

    "Well, you''ll understandter, now take your badge and leave." He said.

    "What aboutmissions, can I take one?" I asked.

    "Yes, go ahead the wall is over there, once youplete a mission, you cane here and report it, and I''ll add more merit points to your badge¡­ but do be careful, someone with that many merit points can be an appetizer for some of the monsters in this sect," the elder said slyly.

    "Well, then, that also can be fun," at least by then they''ll know the meaning of a tiger wearing a pig''s skin.

 Chapter 431 Comission

    I walked to themission board and looked around. There were many missions to take and each gave a different amount of points.

    This frankly reminded me of those ''guild'' requests in fantasy world stories.

    Especially with the condition under each and every request.

    Some start with needing only the cultivation level of Soul Formation. And some rose all the way to needing to have an Ascendant level or having a different color of a badge or even a specific number of points in one''s badge before they take the request.

    From the looks of it, the badge I have, which is white, is the lowest level. And it changes the level like a rank-up, allowing me to take more difficult requests.

    "I need to know how I can upgrade my badge''s color," I sighed.

    "You don''t even know that?" some busybodyughed next to me.

    "And I suppose you do?" I asked.

    "It''smon knowledge. You have to pay ten thousand Contribution Points to rank up silver. And a hundred thousand for gold, then a million pointster for tinum. Most cultivators stay in the silver rank, and only those who overwork themselves to death can be gold rank. As for the tinum rank, there are only three cultivators who have that badge." He said.

    "Besides taking higher-level missions, what''s the advantage of having a higher badge rank?" I asked.

    "Resources. The Sect rewards merit and effort. The higher your badge, the more resources you''re allowed to take from the sect. Basically, those who have a tinum rank can take whatever they need from the sect''s treasury free of charge. As for the rest, you''ll receive a discount based on your own badge rank."

    "tinum, huh," I said.

    "Don''t even dream about that, the three cultivators who have the tinum badge are the sect''s Direct Disciples, and are the ones who''ll be leading the sect in the future. Not to mention theirbat prows and talent, they''re unrivaled in the sect. Just the fact that they obtained a million contribution points should be enough for your to understand how much work they put into gaining such a position," the guy shrugged.

    "Well, thank you for your time, I learned a lot," I said as I took one of themissions on the wall.

    "Hey, are you insane, I know you''re new to the inner sect, but why are you taking a request like that?" the busybody said.

    "What, it''s just collecting some Poison Herbs, shouldn''t be that difficult," I said.

    "Did you not see the difficulty? Although all white badges can take it, this is the hardest of the Whitemissions! You''ll have to venture into the Dark Heavenly Tiger''s territory, no onees back out alive once they''re there! Take something else, start slow unless you want to die!" he said.

    "Oh¡­ this is in the territory of the Dark Heavenly Tiger¡­" I mumbled.

    "Yes, it had killed many disciples, the only reason the Sect didn''t act out and got revenge is that the Dark Heavenly Tiger''s territory is closest to the sect, the tiger alone acts as a barricade against all the monsters and creatures inside the Demonic Forest. you''ll be wasting your¡­ what the hell are you doing!" he shouted.

    In my hand were several more mission papers, and once the guy looked at the destination and location of these missions he facepalmed.

    "You really don''t fear death, do you, no matter I advised you the best I can, it''s your life," he said shrugging.

    "Thank you for worrying," I said and walked out towards the door.

    I heard the same foot tapping on the floor. I didn''t need to turn to know who that foot belonged to. But that also helped me realize something.

    Many cultivators here had ced a marker on me. It was obvious from their ill will aimed at me. No, more like aimed at my badge.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sixty thousand points, that''s a huge chunk, enough for someone with decent enough achievements and enough points to climb all the way to the gold rank.

    I stood at the door''s entrance, smiled at the crowd, and pulled out two different pills from my holding bag.

    The first I chugged down.

    And the second I threw at the entrance.

    A massive smoke screen came surging out from the spilled pill content. It spread in purple smoke covering a massive area.

    "CATCH HIM! DON''T LET HIM ESCAPE!" someone shouted.

    Several cultivators chased after me, moving through the smoke. That was their first mistake.

    I had already retreated far enough to be at the entrance of the inner sect before the cultivators could even fully emerge from the Merit Hall.

    And soon enough, those who were the fastest of the bunch arrived right next to me.

    "You''re not going anywhere, the moment you step-"

    The young man''s words suddenly became jumbled up, his eyes rolled and he fell on his ass.

    I smiled as I ignored him and continued my walk down the stairs.

    It didn''t take long for me to arrive to the inner sect''s exit.

    Thankfully, as an Inner Sect member, I don''t need to show any sort of reason or permission to leave the sect grounds. Since all Inner Sect members leave the sect for missions, my ck inner sect robes were indicative enough of my status.

    So I ran past the inner sect guards and rushed my way to the outer sect gate.

    "You''ve grown," I heard.

    Turning to the gate, the same man was sitting on the boulder at the sect''s entrance.

    "It was all thanks to the senior''s guidance," I said sping my hands.

    "Go then, you have many trials up ahead of you child," he said and closed his eyes.

    With the vast open space in front of me and many disciples who will soon be chasing after me, there was no reason for me to keep some of my cards hidden.

    I pulled out my hoverboard and hopped on it.

    The man at the gate''s entrance opened one eye and looked at the hoverboard in interest, but soon closed his eye and went back to his cultivation.

    I sted the hoverboard''s engines and shot forward to the forest.

 Chapter 432 Deal

    It took me less than half an hour to reach the borders of the forest and another hour after that on the hoverboard to reach the location in the firstmission I received.

    In front of me was arge pond. It seemed too calm to be this clear. Usually, still, water gathers moss and algae. But the water in this pond was abnormally clear for a still-water pond. It was clean and motionless.

    In the middle of the pond was a small boulder that protruded from the water''s surface. And on top of that boulder were three stalks of Blood Dawn Flowers.

    ''Well, at least I confirmed the location, but since the flower petals are still closed, I need to leave this ce for now.''

    Having located the firstmission I turned to the north and headed deeper into the ck tiger''s forest.

    I found it interesting that the sect had mentioned the exact location of the Blood Dawn Flower in thismission, with a map to boot. Yet still, it hasn''t been imed by any of the sect members.

    Perhaps the Dark Heavenly Tiger is the reason why no one dares to take resources from this ce. Or perhaps there was another reason for that flower to still be there.

    The secondmission was slightly harder. Not in terms of difficulty, it was actually finding a specific type of moss that only grew on the bark of thunder trees.

    Thunder Trees are nothing unusual, I''ve seen many in this forest. The problem was the chances of Thunder Moss growing on Thunder trees are rare.

    Though they call it thunder, the correct name should be lightning, since these trees attract lightning. The Moss would then grow on the burnt bark after a while. But the condition to create this moss isn''t easy. Since it needs a specific humidity and a dark atmosphere.

    The dampness isn''t an issue since this is basically a forest, nor is the darkness since all of this forest is dark. Thunder Trees are not asrge as these skyscraper-sized trees that seemed to cover the skies themselves. They are rtively shorter. And to have lightning strike down, between all of these massive trees and hit the thunder tree, then hope for it to birth the moss was really something like a stroke of luck.

    It took me several hours of searching, left and right, only to find perfectly hale and healthy thunder trees that didn''t seem to have ever been struck by lightning.

    I kept searching and searching to no avail.

    Sadly, I''m limited on the use of my Divine Sense, since it would annoy the hell out of the Dark Heavenly Tiger, and would attract several unwanted creatures into his territory.

    So, I had to do this the old-fashioned way. To actually look for them.

    I resumed my search after a break, making sure to keep my eyes peeled on anything I would needter on.

    In my search, I managed to find a lot of good stuff. Spirit Stalks, Spirit de, Mooring Grass and some other medicinal and poisonous herbs.

    All of these herbs are actually onmissions back at the Merit Hall, so I can just take them now, and then im the merit points after I return to the sect and tear off theirmissions.

    Yet, I''m still unable to find any Thunder Moss.

    I moved about randomly in the forest, surprised at the fact that the Dark Heavenly Tiger didn''te to me. But thinking about it, even if he was next to me I wouldn''t notice him.

    I sighed, "I mean, you already know that your stealth is too powerful for me to notice you, but I can still feel those piercing gazes almost boring a hole in the back of my head." I said.

    Hearing no response I was about to continue my thing.

    "Your instincts are sharp," I heard.

    I felt my balls climb back and hid in my body. The Dark Heavenly Tiger was actually here.

    But thankfully, I didn''t shake or yelp, I was actually too damn frightened to even react.

    "Well, instinct, maybe," I turned and sighed.

    "I guess I''ll need your help," I said.

    "And why should I help you?" he said.

    "I have a feeling that you need me for something," I said.

    "Hmm, interesting, how did youe to that conclusion?" he asked.

    "Well, you wouldn''t be here if you didn''t need me, also I know you''re curious, but you''re not that curious to follow me while I''m picking up grass," I said.

    "Very well, it wasn''t as convincing of a reason as I had hoped you would make, but it is good enough, indeed I''m not that curious to follow you around or as bored. But I need you to do something for me," the tiger said.

    "Yes, but let''s make it a fair trade shall we?" I said.

    "You dare barter with me?" he said.

    "Give and take, it''s the basics of all friendships," I said.

    "Friendship? With a bipedal?" the tiger scoffed, "But it does sound interesting."

    ''Man, curious cats are cute,''

    "So I''ve been looking for Thunder Moss, I can''t seem to find it," I said.

    "You''re looking in the wrong ce, I know where you can find Thunder Moss, as a matter of fact the area you''ll be heading to is why I came for you," the tiger said.

    "Good, let me hear it then," I said.

    "There is a saint ss toad that lives near a fully grown Thunder Tree, the toad is poisonous and very powerful, the problem is, he lives on the banks of a rivulet that streams down my territory. The poison it passively releases is deadly to nature here, kill the toad." The tiger said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I looked down at my body and said, "I''ll need to go back to my original body for that, I don''t think this body can survive the toad."

    "No, that would be boring, otherwise I''d have done it myself. Kill it using this body," the tiger said, "Show me something interesting," It grinned.

    ''Sonovab¡­''

    I sighed inwardly. Why the hell do you have to put me up to something like this, killing a Saint ss beast would already be incredibly hard for my original body, and now he wants me to kill it using a Soul Formation cultivator''s prows¡­

    God damn it.

    "Well, just show me the way, and I''ll think up of a n," I said.

    "Follow me then," the tiger said.

    The tiger flew forward, not flying mind you, his wings didn''t even spread, but the mere steps he was making caused him to look as if he was flying.

    Yet what interested me the most was how stealthy, soundless and how fast he moved.

    His aura didn''t leak, nor did his Qi, he was moving without even shaking a single stalk of grass.

    "How do you move like that?" I asked.

    "Instinct," the tiger replied.

    I was interested in the way he moved and took more note of how he stepped and walked.

    Every time the Dark Heavenly Tiger spread his legs, you could see Qi swirling around his paws in a way that stops even the air itself from breaking.

    It was incredible, it was the same as trying to step into a pond, but not having it cause any ripples.

    Strange, but not hard to understand. It was as if was giving and taking the exact same force he applies with every step.

    I tried to do the same while I was moving, using my own Qi to stop the wind from breaking too much upon contact with my own motion, but it didn''t seem to work, and felt that I was actually exposing myself even more than I was being stealthy.

    "Your breathing is wrong, your breathing needs to match your movement otherwise you''re a walking Qi torch," the tiger said not even turning his head.

    I nodded and continued following the tiger, trying to calm my breathing and synchronize it with my moves.

    It was almost impossible to mimic, but I could see myself seeding if I were to diligently try.

    "You bipedal are not attuned to nature, it would be hard to perfectly mimic the Traceless Step. But you seem to have some understanding of it at least. Do not rush your understanding," it said.

    I nodded and continued following the tiger.

    He was clearly going easy on me on our trek, otherwise, I''m sure with his cultivation the tiger would have already arrived at the location where the toad is.

    After a couple of hours, we finally arrived at a clearing, an actual clearing where there were no trees.

    In front of us was arge opening with a single tree in the middle.

    The tree looked torched ck but had many green leaves on it. There were even fruits on this tree.

    The tree was surrounded by arge pond that had a rivulet streaming water into it.

    "Do you see that filthy thing?" the tiger asked.

    My eyes wandered until theynded on the toad the tiger was talking about. But this wasn''t a small toad, this damn thing was bigger than a damn elephant.

    It waszily rxing half its body inside the pond while croaking every once in a while.

    It was as the tiger said. The toad''s body had many pores that were leaking poison into drinkable water.

    "When did this toade here? I doubt it had been long since it was here since not a lot of wildlife had been affected."

    "It came here a few days ago, I was about to finish it off, but you came at a good time. It is most definitely a stupid creature since it hadn''t realized it was in my territory. But I don''t want to deal with poisonous filth. So you think you can do it? killing it I mean," the tiger said.

    I looked at the toad, then at the area around it once again then smiled, "Piece of cake. But it might take me a bit of time, I hope you''re not too pressured for time," I said.

    "I''ll give you one month," he said.

    "Oh, not that much, I was thinking one day," I said.

    "One day? You''re telling me you can kill a Saint ss beast, using this body, in one day?" the tiger asked.

    "Yes, I should be able to," I said.

    "Very well, show me then, that sounds interesting. And you''re making me curious," the tiger said.

 Chapter 433 Traceless

    "The thing is, I can kill the toad in one day, but the preparations are going to take a bit more time, so a week at most."

    "A week is still an incredibly short time for someone at your cultivation level. It is peculiar how you bipedal creatures find ways to adapt. Yet, if you disappoint me¡­"

    The tiger didn''t need to finish his words. It wanted to see a show, and a show I''ll show it.

    But for now, I need time.

    I headed out of the toad''s range and back into the forest, there was a small clearing that didn''t seem to have any creatures roaming nearby.

    I took a deep breath and began mimicking the tiger''s footwork.

    The Heavenly Dark Tiger called it, the Traceless steps, and indeed, it is quite traceless. It''s affecting thews of the world with every move. It is actually abusing thew of every action has an equal reaction. The fact that I''m moving should apply pressure even wind pressure on where I''ll be, but the traceless steps work in a way that the very action I take are to be neutralized and no reaction happens because of them. Making every step, soundless and without a feel.

    I moved and moved around the clearing, trying to step next to the grass that was growing, making sure that y steps didn''t cause it to move.

    But it was not easy, though I tried to increase my focus using my Mind''s Eye, I still was not fully able to calcte the required counterforce to apply for every move of my body. And this was me moving slowly step by step, while the Heavenly Tiger was sprinting fully and dodging trees and branches without making any of them even tremble.

    It took me three full days of trial and failure before I made my first sessful step. In it, I managed to step into a pile of rising grass without any of them even moving a bit.

    "Yes!" I said hyped at my sess.

    "You''re doing it wrong, you''re focusing on your feet but forgetting the rest of your body," I heard.

    Looking up, the tiger wasyingzily on top of a massive tree branch.

    Frankly speaking, it''s absurd to realize that the tiger was probably here for days and I didn''t notice him until he spoke.

    "Not only your feet, your clothes, their scent, your hair, your upper body, your motions, and even emotions, they must all be tuned in with the nature around you, if you truly wish to improve, your only option is to try and walk underwater without causing a current. Not even a slight one. Once you''re able to sprint underwater without causing currents, then you can say that you learned the first part of the Traceless Steps," the tiger spoke while its tails swayed left to right.

    I thought for a moment and realized he was right. I''m unable to fully suppress the ''air'' around me to move and take back its original ce unperturbed. Since I cannot fully see it, but if it''s water, I''s denser and more tangible.

    "Right, I''ll be back," I said and spoke, "Automaton, open a gate."

    The tiger looked with intrigue at the gate that opened up it revealed arge swath ofnd inside that was linked to four different biomes.

    "What an interesting pocket dimension you own,"

    "You want to visit? You''re more than wee," I said.

    The tiger jumped down, its inquisitive and curious nature took the better of him.

    "Just don''t kill anyone inside, there are a few creatures that live here of which I promised sanctum."

    "Do I look like some mass-murdering monster to you?"

    "¡­"

    "I retract my question, anyway I won''t kill anything, I just wish to see," it said.

    The tiger stepped inside and was surprised at the size of the inside of the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What an interesting world. It feels slightly limited but this whole area is fertile, another area is on fire, another is full of water and another is an icy region. Do you use this ce to train?" the tiger said.

    "I was using this ce as a refuge for my people," I said.

    "I don''t sense any of them though, it feels as if a whole city was ced here, but now it''s gone¡­"

    "Yeah, I had to move the city back, I actually haven''t visited in a while, I have two children and a granddaughter that I haven''t seen for a long time now."

    "Hmm," the tiger turned to the west and growled, "A measly weakling like this dares mark its territory? You think you''re a predator?!" the tiger spoke.

    I immediately realized who he was talking about.

    "Hey, don''t scare him, he''s just a kittenpared to you," I berated the tiger. "Come here," I said.

    Soon, from the west, bulldozing trudges of a giant could be heard, step after step, the Armored Lion King appeared in front of us.

    ''Holy hell, how the heck did it grow to this size!''

    Literally, the lion was the size of a small mountain, what the hell do you eat to grow this big?!

    "Even with that size¡­" I said as I looked at the pitiful expressions and the droopy ears of the Purple Armored Lion when it saw the Heavenly Dark Tiger.

    The difference in bloodline, cultivation level, and even Existence is so great that the Purple Armored Lion knew even with its massive size, it wouldn''t survive a single paw swing from the Heavenly Dark Tiger.

    "hmm, I think I have a good idea on how I can use you, anyway, there is another of my protegee here, she''s a pixie that lives in the seas to the south, I''ll be heading there to train. As for you guys, y nice."

    I said to the two and knew fully well that if they decide to not y nice, I''ll be at a loss.

    I headed to the sea and dove down inside.

    It didn''t take long before the pixie that used to live heree over.

    "Lord, you have returned," she said.

    "Hey, oh, yourplexion looks much better than thest time I saw you," I said and it was true, her hair had grown to be several dozen meters long, and it looked like a silk curtain under the seawater. While the rest of her body was that of a mermaid.

    "Yes, the food and the rich Qi environment is to be envied. If only more of my people knew of such a ce."

    "It must have been boring," I said.

    "Not much, the Lion kept mepany, as for the rest of my time I spent it cultivating or hunting small sea creatures." She said smiling, but I could still feel that theck of interaction with people of her own race weighed on her. At one point, she is happy she is no longer being hunted, but at the same time, she is probably feeling like a caged bird.

    "I''ll see what I can do to fix this. Anyway, I''ll be training for a bit here,"

    "I''ll make sure not to disturb," she said and soon bolted under the water.

    Surprisingly, her moving under the water didn''t seem to cause a lot of the water current to move. Though a bit of it did¡­

    ''Attuned with nature huh, well guess I''ll have to figure that out in less than three days¡­''

 Chapter 434 Cooking On Low Heat

    Two days underwater, and hundreds of thousands of attemptster, I finally was able to move a couple of steps without creating any current.

    The idea was simple, apply the same force you''re creating, to negate the impact of your own motion.

    It''s extensively draining in Qi however because not only your calction of the applied force and the counterforce must be exact, but you must also apply this to every bit of your body.

    The idea was thankfully not that hard to understand thanks to my origining from a more scientific world. But applying it, in reality, is not like theory. Still, with enough practice, I was able to move about without creating even a swirl around me.

    Everything had to be monitored, from the strength behind my step to my weight to the very movement of every muscle, they must all be taken note of, and the force and power they release, then I must exude a Qi that negates all of those. It''s like my body movement creates a Positive, but my Qi must create a countering Negative to have the result of my ''moving'' be a zero.

    Making every step I make, and every move I make a perfectly stealthy action.

    I left the Sea Biome in the wake of thest day, now that I''m at the rudimentary stages of mastering the Traceless Step. I think I can go with my original n of killing a Saint ss beast while I''m still a Nascent Soul cultivator.

    Once I returned to my Spiritual Herb garden in the middle Biome, I found the Heavenly Dark Tiger pacing around Kyu.

    "It is still unable to exert any of its abilities, besides the power of its Blood, it''s as weak as a toddler. You must teach it to hunt," the tiger said.

    "Isn''t he too young for that?" I asked.

    The tiger shook its head, "It is well within the age where it needs to apany its parents to see them hunt, it also requires a ymate to learn how to hone its predatory instincts. Think of how you can solve this."

    "I''ll give it some thought, also I think I''m done here," I said.

    "Good, I was growing bored, after traveling all over this ce, I didn''t find much life form, it''s a dead world no matter how vivid it looks," the tiger said.

    "I''m not keen on having people know of my secrets, but I''ll think about inviting a few life forms over. Perhaps it''ll be livelier," I said then asked the Automaton to open a gate back.

    The three of us left, with Kyu on my shoulder and the Dark Tiger towering over us.

    "I don''t know why you decided to waste six days learning the traceless step, since even if you can approach the Toad, I don''t know if you can kill it, but I won''t ask, since I want to see, lest it spoils the fun," the tiger said.

    Don''t worry, I''ll need to do something first though. I said, then ran towards one of the creek''s ends.

    It was distant enough that the Toad won''t see us. This part of the creek was what funneled the excess water from the pond where the Toad was sleeping.

    I made a dam to stop the water from moving. I needed to hurry though because if the pond were to overflow it would make all of my work pointless.

    I then made a roundabout way to go around the pond, as far away from the toad to not be noticed, and went up all the way to the source of the creek.

    And thankfully it wasn''t mountain water, but an underground water source that was pouring its content creating the small creak.

    So I only needed to dig for a couple of hours and redirected the source to flood away from the main creek, this stopped the water flow and made the pond where the Toad was sleeping a sourceless pond.

    No water wasing in or out of it. It was basically a giant water bucket.

    Which served my purpose perfectly.

    Nowes the time for the traceless step.

    I went down the creek and began walking using the Traceless Steps, hiding my entire presence from the world by merely making sure that every move I made was negated. Not a de of grass moved, not even the wind itself was able to detect me.

    I walked slowly and surely, exuding as much Qi as needed to make sure that I''m ''invisible'' to the world.

    And soon, I arrived to the pond where the Toad was sleeping. It has yet to notice that the pond has been tampered with and is no longer being supplied water.

    I then slowly dove into the water making sure to keep my presence hidden.

    The water was poisonous, but it wasn''t something that I needed to worry about. I already had several antidotes ready and swallowed them, so this distilled poison won''t affect me much.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Once I was at the bottom of theke, I held one hand forward and ignited the Veridian Heart me.

    I didn''t dare make a great fire lest it would disturb the surrounding, but it was a small me that won''t be detected if I were to carefully apply my understanding of the Traceless Step on it.

    The small me raged but didn''t create any disturbance in the water, no bubbles rose and no waves were created.

    But the me still raged on.

    Now what I was trying to do was simple. I was actually recreating an experiment I read about back on earth. A scientist had ced two frogs, one in boiling hot water, and the other in lukewarm water.

    The first frog immediately jumped out of the boiling water, while the other remained inside the lukewarm water unphased.

    Yet the Toad didn''t realize that the water it was in was slowly being heated. The temperature was rising slowly while it was inside.

    Frogs have a natural ability to mitigate and recalibrate their body temperature. So since the water was heating up, the frog was cooling its body to negate the heat. Yet, after a while, the water became too hot for the frog''s internal cooling mechanism to cope, and when the frog decided to jump out and save its skin, the frog realized that it had overused all of its internal energy to mitigate the increased heat, finding no power in its legs, the frog iled weakly and died afterward unable to leave.

    And now, with the Veridian heart me having heated the water of theke. The same experience could be seen, only on a wider scale.

    At first, I thought that this would fail since a normal frog and a Saint ss Toad were two different begins.

    But it didn''t take long for me to see the Saint Toad''s body being covered in a thinyer of ice underwater.

    I smiled there and then. They may be in a different ss. But they are still in the end, frogs.

    Now, I just had to wait¡­

    ***

    The Dark Heavenly Tiger had no idea what the human was trying to do. Shutting down the streams of the pond would serve absolutely no purpose in killing the Toad. So Why did this human do that? The tiger questioned every move the human did but couldn''te to a realization.

    Then, the tiger failing to understand what was happening decided to perch on top of a tree that overlooked the pond and watch what was going on.

    The human had redirected the flow of the water source and it no longer poured into the pond. Even the Toad realize that but since there was plenty of water it didn''t want to leave the pond, after all, there was a great treasure that even the human didn''t know of right inside the Thunder Tree that the Toad was guarding.

    This Toad was greedy, it wanted to eat the fruit of the Thunder Tree to be a Thunder Toad, although the chances of that happening were infinitesimal it was still an opportunity for the Toad.

    So it decided to stay in the still water pond not caring why the source of the water was cut off.

    Then the human came down the mountain, it was almost a miracle too, since even the tiger didn''t notice himing down. How did this human manage to learn the Traceless Step? No that was not the Traceless Step even, the Traceless Step requires a great understanding of nature and attunement to it. What this Shen Bao was doing was actually the opposite. Instead ofmunicating with Nature to hide one''s presence, he was using his own energy to hide his presence, he was self-sufficient in his own Traceless Step unwilling to take aid or assistance from the world around him.

    A rather forceful and greedy way of denying the nature around oneself. Selfish even and disregarding. Befitting of a human the tiger thought.

    Yet it seemed to work on an entirely different level from the Traceless Step. If this human was able to hone this new ability of his, he would be able to walk among his peers without them even noticing he was between them. Quite frightening and interesting.

    Soon, the human dove into the waters, though the Tiger was intrigued, he didn''t use his divine sense to scan what Shen Bao was doing lest it would alert the Toad.

    So, the tiger kept watch on the still waters of theke. For an hour, two, then half a day. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then the tiger noticed something, slight amounts of water vapor wereing out of the pond as a light fog was being created. The fog was always present in the Dark Forest, but it wasn''t too cold for it to form. No, there were even signs of heating from the pond.

    However, this light increase in heat wouldn''t do anything to the Saint ss Toad.

    When the tiger looked at the Toad, it was already lightly coating itself with Yin Qi, preventing any heat froming close to it.

    Whatever the human was nning was bound to fail, since it cannot even harm the Saint ss Toad.

    The tiger shook its head and sighed as it waited for the morning.

 Chapter 435 Mission Complete

    Morning came, and all the tiger could see was the fully evaporatedke, and the bloated, cooked, and fully dead carcass of the toad.

    A saint Beast that would have been slightly annoying for the Heavenly Dark Tiger was managed and killed by a cultivator not even in the ascendant realm.

    A feat not many could make if any at all. The power difference wasn''t just the quantity of Qi that the Toad possesses, but also the quality. After all, using regr heavenly Qi to kill a Saint Qi beast is unheard of. But here, it was obvious to the tiger''s eyes that the young man who wasying on his back, taking deep breaths from the morning''s cold breeze was not someone ordinary.

    After all this person asked to be a ''friend'' for a beast.

    The tiger walked down to the dryke, and all the way to Shen Bao''s side and spoke, "You managed a feat that I thought would be impossible for the current you, I was curious and now I''m surprised, but tell me what happened? Why didn''t the toad jump when it was too hot?" the tiger asked.

    "Arrogance," I said.

    "Arrogance?"

    "Yes, the toad, for a while when theke was heating up, thought that it wouldn''t bother him much, since the heat was far too low to even cause him any injuries, not only that he didn''t even care since he was able to coat himself with chilling Qi to suppress the fire."

    Yet he only coated himself with a small amount of Qi that seemed negligible at first. So the more I increased the heat the more the Qi the toad was using was being consumed."

    "Interesting, but why haven''t the toad realized that it was being cooked alive?"

    Shen Bao shook his head, "It did, but it did so when it was far toote. It only realized that it was dying when the majority of the Qi in his body had already been dispersed. After all, I didn''t just heat up theke I added a special poison to it." he said.

    "What kind of poison?"

    "Breath Sealing Poison, it''s not something umon, and it helps disperse Qi, the more Qi you use, the more it eats away from you, but I used it in small Quantities. A saint ss creature would not even care about a sup Saint level poison, thus the effects were multiplied when the Toad continued to try and disperse the heat. At one point when there was only half the water left in the pond, the toad decided that it couldn''t stay in any longer, and when it tried to jump away, the physiology of his body refused. Using so much energy to try and regte heat and convert Qi into chilling Qi had incredibly weakened the Toad''s body. It weakened it so much that it could do nothing but boil on low heat and die unable to even move or budge."

    "A cruel way to kill a creature," the tiger said.

    "It indeed is, but I had no other way or choice in the matter, facing something this strong head-on is nothing short ofmitting suicide, and I still value my life."

    "Aren''t you using nothing but a spare body?" the tiger said.

    "It''s an asset, and I''m a greedy person who does not like waste," he said.

    The human stood up, dusted himself up, and looked in the direction of the Thunder Tree.

    "You can have it," the tiger said.

    ***

    I replied, "Thank you," while smiling.

    "I''m still unsure about one thing," the tiger spoke.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "Howe, you who are far less powerful were able to sustain yourself under the increasing heat of theke, while the toad died, any other human would have died," the tiger stated.

    "Simple," I replied as I held my hand forward.

    A small me rose on top of my hand, it was green and roared in a beautiful light yet terrifying heat at the same time.

    "This body was able to obtain a Veridian Heart me, making it almost immune to heat. Sustaining this type of heat is nothing but a piece of cake," I said.

    "Though I don''t understand how cake has anything to do with this, this me is indeed powerful, and good, you may have whatever you wish of from the trees there, and more if you like, I''ll have to ask you to revert the damage you did to the pond, it is a source of water of a good portion of the forest thaty ahead." The tiger said.

    "Sure, I''ll make sure to fix it," I said then headed toward the trees.

    Two Thunder Trees were rising on top of the middle ind in the now dry pond.

    The thunder trees were charred ck, yet their leaves were green and healthy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    And on their bark was ck mold that seemed to grow in abundance.

    The mold itself was conducting electricity as you watch it, sparks of lightning danced from the tree bark yfully.

    I hunched down and began collecting the mold making sure to leave a bit for it to grow back on the bark.

    And while I was collecting the mold something caught my eye.

    It was a small crystalline marble that was embedded in the ground. It didn''t seem like it was man-made.

    As I grabbed the crystal marble, a surge of electric shock coursed my body enough that I felt I was about to be fried alive.

    I hastily let go of the marble that sparked on the ground as if it was containing a furious storm.

    "Oh, interesting thing there,"

    I made sure to use an instor and threw the marble in my holding bag. I''ll have to look this upter.

    Since it was still Dawn, it is the perfect time for me to head to the other location.

    I looked around, trying to thank the tiger for the opportunity but he didn''t seem to be anywhere here.

    "Y, go up to main stream and revert the water flow to what it was before, also make sure to remove the makeshift dam I made so the flow of water continues, I have somewhere to go." I said.

    With one of my missionspleted I needed to finish the other one. So I headed to the location of the Blood Dawn Flowers.

    It didn''t take me much time to arrive and once I was there, the flowers lookedpletely different than before.

    Their petals were open as if they were absorbing the energy of theing sun. But I didn''t have much time since the sun was about to rise. And the best time to harvest these flowers is right now.

    So as I was about to move to take the stalks, I noticed something moving under theke water.

    "Oh, no wonder the location was revealed but no one took the stalks. A monstrous being lives in this pond..."

    I couldn''t fully gauge the power of the creature living in the pond, but I still didn''t have enough time. So it was time to apply what I learned before.

    I took a calm breath and focused inwardly making sure that every action I ever took and think about taking was to be nullified using the exact same counterforce.

    Traceless Step.

    I took a step on top of the pond water, without causing a single ripple, then another. And another.

    And soon I was on top of the middle ind and right next to the stalks.

    Though I can fully suppress my presence, once I rip the stalks out, their energy fluctuation will notify whatever that is living in the pond to my existence.

    I pulled a small pill from my pouch, smiled then threw it behind me.

    Before the pill even made contact with the water, I ripped the stalks from the ground andunched myself as fast as possible across the water.

    A giant geyser of water burst behind me.

    An eel-like creature, with a sizeparable to a giant whale, surged from the bottom of theke, and in its mouth, the bait I threw for it.

    A powerful poison pill that''s capable of paralyzing a dozen elephants in a second.

    The creature didn''t even have time to look for the thief as a surge of debilitating poison Qi coursed through its body. While I was running away as fast as I could with the stalks in hand.

 Chapter 436 Bet

    It took me some time to get to the front of the Poison Sect. I walked up the stairs and all the way to the Merit Hall with everyone there looking at me with annoyed and very jealous eyes.

    After all, I gave the entire hall here the slip when I took my first mission.

    "You''re back," spoke the elder who was seeming without any people standing in a queue.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "Do you know that there is a penalty for failing a mission? Since you''re back this early, you must have failed a couple. Tsk Tsk, young kids know no patience, if only you took note of all of¡­"

    Before the elder could finish his words, I ced all the spiritual herbs I was required to grab, the Blood Dawn Flower, and even the Thunder Mold. Six requests, and sixpleted missions all ced in front of the elder.

    The elder''s mouth kept opening and closing.

    "One would think that a fly is about to go in your mouth if you keep it open that wide, now, how many points is this?" I asked.

    Being rude to an elder is a big no, but this is what he deserves for talking down to me.

    "Damn brat, let me see," he said as he took inventory of the materials, he was making sure that they were all not damaged and paid extra attention to see if they were of bad quality. Annoyed and angry for finding no fault with the brought materials.

    "Forty-seven thousand Merit¡­" the elder said annoyed beyond annoyance.

    "Oh, can I upgrade my rank then?" I asked.

    "You can only go to the silver rank, if you want gold you''re still missing three thousand points," the elder said smiling.

    This was a hint to the rest of the cultivators. Since I still need points to go up in rank further, I''m still a walking bounty for them.

    "Now, do you want to be a silver badge owner? Or are you going to wait until you have what it takes to be a gold badge holder?" asked the elder.

    "Hmm¡­ give me a moment," I said.

    "I don''t have all day make your choice fast," he said.

    "Just hold on," I said as I went to the board.

    Sadly most of the materials requested by the sect were pretty rare, even my own stash of materials was not a match of what the sect was requesting.

    But then, one request caught my eye.

    "I''ll take this request," I said.

    "Huh? That''s not something the likes of you can take, leave this ce if you don''t have what it takes to be a golden badge holder," the elder shooed me away with his hand.

    "What''s the problem here?" spoke someone who came down from the upper floor of the Merit Hall.

    "It''s just a kid, trying to bite more than he could swallow, don''t give it any heeds," spoke the elder on the booth.

    The newly arriving elder looked at me and the poster I was pointing at, then said. "Can you make that? I''ve heard good things about you from elder Xian but that''s not easy to make," he said.

    "Just give me the ingredients and I''ll make it," I said.

    "You know the cost of failing a request like that is not cheap," he said.

    "I''ll pay in point the same value of the materials, just allow me to make it," I said.

    "We''ll provide a furnace and the materials,mon up if you wish to take that request," the elder said.

    I grabbed the piece of paper and went to the elder to authenticate me taking the request.

    It was actually simple. Making a Pill. Though most people here are poison cultivators, making this pill will not be easy for any of them.

    But for me, that''s a different story.

    The elder stamped themission with my name on it and said, "You''ll regret taking something higher than your ability, whatever, it doesn''t matter to me, at least this will humble you. There exist mountains above mountains and seas deeper than seas, you''re but a frog in a well, but at least now you''ll learn how grand the world is." The elder spoke on and on.

    While I was just waiting for the moment he lets go of the paper so I can move up and ignore his ramblings.

    Soon most of the students seemed to part way.

    Turning, I saw the same girl fromst time, the one that tapped on the floor constantly with her foot.

    "What''s going on here?" she asked one of the disciples. And they immediately replied to her.

    "The new kid is attempting to make ''That'' pill."

    She looked at me and scuffed. "Even elder brother Xu Tian failed, I doubt this country bumpkin could ever, anyway I''m here to report my mission," she said and walked up to the booth.

    I sighed, these little kids, no, it''s actually this entire cultivator world, why do they Beg to have their faces pped? I mean, would it have hurt you to keep quiet? No one would think you a mute of you don''t speak. But talk and you''ll only have your pride hurt.

    Sigh, I''m too old for this shit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I ignored the group and walked up, while hearing words like, "He doesn''t even have the ability to make a reply oreback, what a weak-willed person," and so on¡­

    Just keep inting your ego and blowing your own horns. At the end of the day, the results are what matters.

    Once I was upstairs, I found myself in arge hall that had several opened windows.

    There was a giant furnace in the middle of the hall and several elders and cultivators wearing dark clothes all upied by refining their own pills.

    "Inner Disciple Shen Mo, you have requested to make the Soul Wrenching Pill. The materials to make the pill will be provided by the sect, as for the cost of the materials it''s 50,000 points that you have to pay as an insurance payment." The elder spoke. It was the one who asked me to go up.

    When he mentioned the Soul Wrenching Pill, every alchemist who was working on their own furnace seemed to have lost focus and was looking at me.

    "The reward of sess is far lower than the cost of failure," I said.

    "Indeed, you''ll only obtain ten thousand points. But that is so that cultivators who are not confident in their skills do not waste the Sect''s materials. Now, are you sure you wish to take on this pill making? You do know that only a purity of sixty percent is what qualifies as having seeded in making the pill," the elder said.

    "I know and acknowledge the terms, now can I begin?" I asked.

    "Yes, you may, you may use any furnace besides the Heaven Confining Furnace," the elder said.

    I didn''t need to look to understand that the ''Heaven Confining Furnace is the giant one in the middle of the hall. But I didn''t need something that big.

    "Alright," I said as I went around the hall looking for an appropriate furnace.

    There was a whole wall of furnaces on one side of the room. Many have been taken and a few of them remained. Some were well polished and some had burn marks and cracks on them. Choosing an appropriate furnace to make this pill is imperative for sess.

    It didn''t take a long while before I found one that seemed to have been neglected for far too long.

    It was barely a foot long and wide. Compared to the massive furnaces next to it, this one looked like a dwarf, an ugly one at it too.

    It was full of burns and its cover was cracked. The base seemed to have remains of whatever wasstly made in it.

    It was dirty, needs cleaning and from a single look, one would think that this belongs to the trash.

    Yet, what caught my eyes was the material it was made of, although not much of it was made from Cold Steel.

    Cold steel is the worst conductor of heat of all metals. But, that is only if one were to use normal heat.

    I grabbed the furnace and walked to one corner.

    "Disciple Shen Mo," the elder said. "From your choice of the Furnace I already deduced your inability to make this pill, please return all the materials you have and return themission we will not deduce any points for you since you haven''t attempted it yet," he said.

    "Did I fail?" I asked.

    "No, but going on from here, you are certain to fail, you didn''t even understand what that furnace is made from, nor do you know how to use it clearly, it is obvious that you will not seed and might as well not try." He said.

    "I paid the merit points, I deserve to give it a shot," I said.

    "But you will fail," he said.

    "And what if I don''t?" I asked, "Would you care to make a bet?" I asked.

    The elder sighed, "It is nothing but a waste of time."

    "I''ll bet you the remaining fifty thousand points I have that I will seed," I said.

    The elder sighed, "Go ahead then, if you seed I''ll add another fifty thousand points to your bnce. I wish you good luck then," the elder said as he shook his head.

    Thinking that it was a shame that the resources of the sect will be lost, but I''m sure that at least gaining twice the value of the resources is worth it now.

    I ced the furnace in front of me and created a small circle around the area I was going to be working in.

    The circle was theyout of a sound-dissipating formation. Once I finished the circle I began writing a formation around me that nullifies sound and vibrations.

    It took me a few seconds to finish and once I looked up, the elder''s eyes were locked and focused on me.

    I smiled and sat down on the small mat provided to me.

    I ced the herbs needed to make the pill next to the furnace and began.

    Now this furnace has already been ''seasoned'' yet it still has some gunk inside it that I need to get rid of. So I held my palm up and smacked the ever-living hell out of the furnace''s side.

    The sound would have been strong enough to cause a mortal to lose his hearing. But with the formation around me, nothing of sound or vibration came out. But the gunk inside the furnace was immediately extracted.

    I then ced both of my hands next to the furnace and began applying heat, well, Veridian heat.

    "Now, let''s get cooking!"

 Chapter 437 Success

    "What is that new disciple doing?" one of the people in the room asked. They were upied with their own alchemy but seeing the strangeness of Shen Bao''s actions they were all wondering what this new guy was doing.

    Instead of cleaning the old cracked and clearly dpidated furnace, he was actually smacking it. Which could probably cause it to fracture even further.

    Yet after a while, all the gunk inside the furnace seemed to be ejected due to the force of the ps it took.

    What a pitiful furnace they thought.

    Then, without further ado, instead of refining the ingredients, the new disciple started by heating the furnace. Not using the Heartfire that was supplied by the sect under each alchemy position. But using his own internal Qi.

    It wasn''t that strange, since many cultivators opt to use their own Qi to heat up furnaces, but that isn''t easy. It requires incredible focus to keep the Qi flowing constantly not to perturb the temperatures. And also requires great Qi reserves. Only Soul Transformation alchemists dare to try something like that, and even with their vast Qi reserves, it barely makes the cut to refine a pill using their internal Qi.

    As for someone who is just at the Soul Formation, attempting such a technique is bound to fully exhaust his reserves before the pot could even heat up properly.

    Yet, unlike what most of the observants thought, the pot seemed to slowly heat up and gain a redder sheen. Which was even more absurd. Since that pot was made from Cold Steel, it should reject Heat to a great degree. It''s not a pot that is used to make Yang Based Pills. And even if someone were to try and use it to refine Yin-based Qi, unless they have the Cold Qi properties of Yin, they''ll never be able to use it.

    That cauldron is only used to make cold pills and only uses coldness as a way to make pills. While this new kid is using heat instead.

    Failure wasn''t even a possibility, it was a fact if he were to continue doing this.

    Yet, he still continued heating up the cauldron.

    After a while, the cauldron looked smoking hot, but it didn''t have anything inside it.

    Now, this was an amateurish mistake. The moment the new disciple tries and put one of the herbs inside the cauldron, the herb would burn and turn to ash. Alchemy isn''t something to be trifled with and thisd is just randomly doing things now.

    But against what many expected Shen Bao to do. He didn''t throw any herb inside the cauldron. But took one of the herbs and crushed it using the strength of his palms. Extracting liquid essence with sheer pressure.

    He used his own Qi to hold the liquid essence of the herbs held in stasis above the smoldering cauldron. And then crushed the second herb and third.

    Several globules of liquid hovered above the cauldron as if they were floating. And then, Shen Bao pushed the essences into each other, mixing them above the cauldron. Not only that, he even pulled a herb that was not a part of the recipe.

    It was a Thousand-Faced Ice Flower. An extremely cold-based herb that would freeze a person''s arm if touched directly.

    What Shen Bao did was crush it again, using his own unprotected palms to extract the cold essence from it. He then used the cold essence to coat the former mix of essences creating a cold barrier.

    Once the orb of essence was finished, he slowly pushed it down into the smoldering cauldron.

    And not only did he push it down, but he also increased the heat in the cauldron to incredible degrees.

    Green mes stronger than the mes of hell itself surged from the insides of the cauldron.

    "Cover that damn thing!" shouted the elder.

    But Shen Bao only looked at the elder and smiled. He didn''t even cover the cauldron.

    With Qi so strong, and a fire so abundant and powerful, it was nothing but a question of when will the cauldron break. And cause an explosion.

    And visibly so, from the cracks that began appearing around the cauldron, the cauldron would blow in no time.

    Many disciples began removing themselves from Shen Bao, preparing for the inevitable explosion. But nothing seemed to happen even when Shen Bao further increased the heat. In fact, it seemed that the more heat he poured, the colder the temperature gets.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The confusion began to surface and appear on the face of everyone present.

    What sort of alchemy is this?!

    ***

    ''Okay, this should do it, now with the Essence of the Thousand Face Ice Flower fully depleted, the internal essence to make the Soul Wrenching Pill should start fusing together. The heat is strong enough to start the process, and now all I need to do is cut the flow of the Heart me.''

    With the cauldron having reached maximum heat, now the Cold Steel part should start working.

    I removed my hands to cut off the flow of Qi, and the Cauldron began to rapidly cool. Which was imperative in forming this type of pill.

    Soul Pills are hard to make because they need to be heated to a specific degree and immediately removed from the cauldron to cool down. Sadly heat is always preserved inside the pill which results in lowering the quality of Soul Pills. It''s almost impossible to make perfect Soul Pills due to this issue. But the poison god had already figured out a way to solve this. It was by simply overheating the pill and then rapidly cooling it down. The temperature change will be the needed Quench for the pill to form and fuse before it starts losing its quality due to the excessive heat that usually remains inside it after pill making.

    Having the Cold Steel cauldron helped me greatly here since I don''t need to personally cool down the pills as I used to do. But the cauldron itself will be the one to do this.

    When I was using my original body, I had to bypass this process by making cooling inscriptions inside the furnace. But using Shen Mo''s body, I could only use this furnace to bypass this issue. Which seemed to be working perfectly.

    It didn''t take long before the cauldron had fully cooled down, and once that was done, I pulled six pills from inside the cauldron.

    I smiled as I gazed at the pills.

    Because the moment the pills in my hand were presented to the world, the heavens high above rumbled.

    "Nice, another Cloud Patterned Pill," I said.

    "What?!" the elder shouted as he rushed towards me, "Let me see!" he said.

    I disliked his forceful attitude.

    "You don''t need to see, can''t you hear it? the heavens are my witnesses for this," I said as I pointed up.

    He only needed to spread his Divine Sense a bit to realize that it was actually a Pill Tribtion.

    "What in the world?!"

    I ced the Cloud Patterned Pill in my holding back and this caused the Tribtion to calm down. And then handed over one of the other pills which actually had Pill Veins.

    "What are you doing? Hand over the Cloud Patterned pill to the sect, I''ll give you your points," he said.

    "Why should I? the request was clearly to make a pill, not a Cloud Patterned pill, and I have already given you what is required from me," I said.

    "Are you trying to steal from the sect?!" the elder said.

    "There is no need to start throwing usations, if you wish, we can ask the Disciplinary Hall to give judgment over this matter," I said shrugging.

    "Do you think that the disciplinary hall will side with you?" the elder said smirking.

    "Well, I already proven you wrong once, who says I can''t do it again?" I smiled back at him.

 Chapter 438 Book Worm

    "No," spoke elder Xian.

    While I grinned on the side.

    The alchemy elder seemed to be fuming at the current situation, after all, he just lost the chance to get his hands on a Cloud Pill.

    "This was done by the efforts of disciple Shen Mo, the request clearly states that the sect only requires the taker of the request to provide one pill. As long as a disciple is able to make several he is in all his rights to keep whichever he want. Themission also requires that a disciple has to hand over a pill of at least sixty percent purity, and what Shen Mo had given the sect was clearly a pill of an even higher purity. So why are you here bothering me?" asked Elder Xian.

    The elder snorted and moved away from the disciplinary hall fuming with rage.

    Elder Xian sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You really are something, Shen Mo, tell me what do you n on using that Cloud Pill for?" he asked.

    ''I don''t really need it.''

    "I was thinking of keeping it saved in case I''ll use it some day," I said.

    "It''s a pill with a very high concentration of Qi, though I have topliment your aplishments in the path of Alchemy, I cannot think that you''ll be able to fully use the power of such a pill. Are you willing to sell it to the sect? I''m willing to put in a good word for the Sect Master, and consider the pill as a great achievement for you."

    I thought for a moment. Though the pill is good, it is in factpletely useless to me, not Shen Mo''s body, but my original body, I need far more poisonous and potent pills to consume. Although this is a good pill, it is far below my standards.

    And if I were to get some merit points from selling this pill, then there is no harm done.

    "Okay, I''m willing to give it to the sect then," I said.

    "Great, great, now, since it''s a newly birthed pill, we''ll have to be careful in transporting it. Give me a moment," he said.

    The elder walked out of the office he was in and went somewhere. After some time he came back with a green jade box in hand.

    It seemed to be radiating a great deal of Qi.

    "Please ce it here, and do it fast, we don''t want the tribtion to trigger again, it''s a pain to deal with it." he said.

    I ced the pill inside the box, and before the clouds even gathered, the elder closed the lid and the skies cleared again.

    "Good, I''ll inform you of your updated Merit Points once I have a word with the sect master. For now, you may rest or take on more tasks. Whichever you wish," said the elder.

    "I''m actually interested in the Beast Taming." I said.

    "Oh, I assume you obtained your own beast," he said.

    "Yes," I said as I pulled Kyu from my hood.

    It looked like a small snuggly fur ball, not intimidating by any means. But to the eyes of elder Xian he frowned.

    "Seems like a Feline type. Perhaps a rare breed. This is interesting, though I can''t rmend a method to raise it, I''m sure the elder at the Beast Hall would have some materials on how to raise and empower such a creature, you should go there, and tell him that you were sent by me." He said.

    "Thank you," I replied.

    After being done with the disciplinary hall, I headed out and toward the Beast Hall. It was actually in the Inner Sect unlike the Disciplinary Hall so I had to climb all the way up again.

    Just as I entered the Inner Sect, I saw the girl who loved tapping her shoe on the ground, she seemed to be annoyed and clearly irritated.

    Just as our eyes met, she spoke first, "Don''t feel too proud of yourself, it was clearly just luck that you managed to make such a pill where even brother Xu Tian failed. Humph," she said as she walked away.

    I shook my head at her childish behavior and moved away from the front of the inner sect Entrance.

    After some time walking I found myself in front of the Beast Hall.

    The loud sound of creatures growling, howling and even shirking was making this ce sound like a zoo.

    Once I was inside, I saw many disciples in, either treating their pets or feeding them. The first floor was like a keep for all the animals. As for more ''administrative'' purposes I had to go up.

    Once I was upstairs I found an old man dozing off in front of a desk.

    I lightly dragged my feet as I walked to inform him of my presence.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Ahem, ahem," he coughed faking being awake. "Yes, what do you require?" he asked.

    "I''ve been sent by Elder Xian, he said that I could check the books regarding beast taming," I said.

    "Is that so... I find that hard to believe," the elder said. "But, it doesn''t matter, it''s not like there is a limitation on the books you can read about beast taming, enter, you can ess all the library content, but you must not take any books out with you, do you understand? If I find anything missing, I will not tolerate it," he said.

    "I''ll make sure to keep my hands to myself, I just wish to browse some of the books," I said.

    "Good, then go in," he said.

    He then muttered something along the lines, ''it''s rare to even see disciples interested in books regarding the beasts, most just feed them and train them like ves. I hope this child is different,''

    One I walked in, I was surprised to see a giant-sized library that seemed to reach all the way to the ceiling and extend several dozen meters in all directions. It was a giant library.

    "Damn," I said and my words revibrated through the library.

    "Quiet!" I heard, someone was already inside.

    "Sorry," I said in a lower tone.

    I then began looking around the library, headed first towards the Feline section.

    It hosted several rows of books. Starting from Tigers to lions, leopards and more. The library was divided into books that talked about normal and mortal felines, Demonic Felines, Mystic Felines, and even mythical ones.

    I ignored the normal and mortal ones and began browsing the books that addressed feline creatures that could cultivate.

    The first type was Demonic Felines, and on the first page of the first book I saw a tiger. And this brought me back to my first encounter with a demonic beast in that dark forest. It was just after I came out of the Poison God''s cave as a weakling Qi Condensation cultivator.

    I read about the creature and all of its habits, food diet and even its prows. It wasn''t that strong but it was dangerous for a beginning cultivator. I''m still surprised I managed to survive that encounter, but it was all thanks to Poison God''s Heritage.

    Then I began looking for more, finding more about demonic felines, in one I even found the Purple Armored Lion and many other creatures I saw in my travels. However, there was nothing regarding the beast I have.

    So I kept searching, and searching, from Demonic to mystic, and all the way to the Mythical.

    In the mythical, I found the Dark Heavenly Tiger, the very tiger that''s inhabiting the part of the forest closest to the sect.

    The entrycked a great deal of detail about him. The only thing it described as its shape, a rtive and very vague depiction of its power. Yet nothing about the characteristics of the Dark Heavenly Tiger.

    There was nothing about its greed for the new, nor for its ceaseless curiosity.

    I kept looking through the book, finding more information about other creatures that I''ve never seen, some were Kilins some about a lion that resembled a Manticore, and even a Zheng.

    Yet none of these were informative for me. Though I did note and memorize their details in case I ever met such a creature in the future. I still kept looking.

    Yet sadly I didn''t find anything regarding what I was looking for.

    Deciding to give up, I walked by a row of books that seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart with a mere touch.

    This shelf seemed to host ancient books. And on the top of the shelve was something written on it.

    Extinct Beasts

    "Bingo!"

    "Quiet!" I heard again.

    "Sorry..."

    I grabbed the closest book and opened it, and my eyes immediately opened wide.

    Dark Beast!

 Chapter 439 Well Thats Awkward...

    The book began with an exnation of the Dark Beasts.

    A great deal of the books was damaged but it was not hard toprehend.

    "Dark Beast, the Night Terror, and the Mighty Jaguar of the Dark. It had many names and was mainly the property of an ancient family..."

    Hmm the part about the Imperial Family of the Vast Expanse seemed to be redacted. Whoever wrote the book made sure to only tell of its origin without exposing the owner. I guess the influence of the Imperial Family was too great at the time for an author to be afraid of even mentioning the name.

    The book continued.

    "They were an extremely powerful beast that could only be tamed by the owner''s family, they were almost impossible to raise anywhere else due to a great weakness the Dark Beasts had. Their inability to live where there is light. Making thempletely useless in a region where sunlight could shine. Though they can resist the lights from fire and no natural light sources, once their skin is exposed to Sunlight they burn to ash in seconds."

    I know that part.

    "Yet, what made them fearsome was not their battle prows, but their ability to blend in with the shadows, and their ability to work and function as deadly guards to that family''s treasure room. Dark Beasts when raised right can recognize one owner for life, and will give their lives for the owner. Once given amand they will take it to the limit of their ability or the extent of their lives. They are forever loyal, and extremely smart. Their bodies can grow almost infinitely strong by consumption of powerful heavenly treasures. Yet their ring weakness remains as creatures that cannot sustain sunlight. If only they were not weak to this element, they would have been a force to be reckoned with in battles.

    The owning family had tried to conscript its Dark Beasts many times in battle, though they emerged victorious in many a fight, the moment the sun element is introduced, the wars would turn upside down. Thus the owning familypletely removed them from battle. And on the chance that someone might find a way to fix such a weakness, they had the ability to impose a full ban on the raising of Dark Beasts.

    At one point the owning family did a full scale search and retrieval of every Dark Beast in the Vast Expanse, to the point that the dark beasts no longer existed anywhere but in the domain of the owner family.

    Rumors state that all the retrieved Dark Beasts have been ced in a separate domain where they are to never leave. Though it may be just a rumor, many cultivators searched long and wide for this hidden domain where the Dark Beasts were kept to no avail. And with many thousands of years since the disappearance of that family, there is no hope to ever finding a surviving lineage of the Dark Beasts.

    The Dark Beasts also share an inheriting link to the Heavenly Dark Tigers. Though thetter are rare to see in the world, they have been confirmed to be the descendant of the Dark Beasts. Thoughparably the Dark Beast is far stronger than the Heavenly Dark Tiger. The Heavenly Dark Tiger does not suffer from the same weakness to light. On the other hand, the Heavenly Dark Tiger has a great curiosity that caused many of them to perish in their younger years. Only the stronger and luckier species of the Heavenly Dark Tiger could survive long enough to sprout wings and rule over a domain.

    ''Wow, this book actually has more information on the Heavenly Dark Tiger than the others I''ve read,''

    I kept reading and learning more about the Dark Beasts and realized why Kyu was not growing up.

    "It''s their Diet. The Dark Beasts feast on the flesh of demonic creatures and enjoy Heavenly Fruits. But those are rare to find. Demonic Creatures aren''t an issue to find though. So I think I should take Kyu to hunt soon," I nodded to myself and continued reading. Understanding more about the Dark Beasts'' favorite habitats, their nature and their way of life.

    Sadly a Dark Beast needs a spouse to further improve its ability, and with the extinction of Dark Beasts, it will be hard to have Kyu surpass its limitations.

    For now, I cannot solve this issue, since it needs to Dual Cultivate with another of its race. Even if there was a Dark Beast alive I doubt Kyu would even be a perfect match since they are both different even if they were the same lineage.

    Ah this is going to be cumbersome.

    I closed the book and ced it back, then left the library. Surprised still at not having seen the person who kept asking me to remain quiet despite going through every corner of the library.

    "You took your sweet time," said the elder at the door.

    "Why, is there an issue?" I asked.

    "Not really, but you''ve been summoned, you should go and meet the sect master, he is asking for your presence," the elder said.

    I frowned at the statement, what does the Sect Master even want with me? But I can''t ignore this summon.

    I sped my hands at the elder "Thank you for your time and understanding, I''ll be off."

    "Good luckd," he said and went back to dozing off.

    I walked out of the Beast Hall and up towards the main road that led to the top of the mountain. The sect Master''s hall was at the top of the mountain from what I understand.

    Surprisingly there were not many disciples going this way. It was actually empty. Not even guards asked about my identity when I stopped in front of a modest-looking shed.

    "C''mon in," I heard.

    I opened the door to the shed and found a simple-looking room inside. It had a desk, a bed, and a table with two chairs.

    On the table was a pot of tea and two cups, and the jade box that elder Xian brought earlier.

    There was a young-looking man inside, he looked barely above the age of twenty, but his attire was not the same as that of the rest of the sect members. His was actually a full ck robe with gilded hems. He had arge belt around his waist that was disying the symbol of the Poison Sect. A giant Serpent devouring its own tail.

    "Ouroboros..." I muttered.

    "Oh, what is that?" asked the person who I presume to be the sect master.

    "Oh...It''s a mythical creature, it''s a snake so great that it represents the infinite. It is biting on it''s own tail to represent a full circle without beginning or end." I said.

    "It sounds interesting, where did you hear that?" asked the sect master.

    "An old man told me the tale of it. It is but the myths of mortals," I said.

    "Mortals have their own wisdom, they see the world differently than we do, but it does not mean that what they see is wrong, it is a different perspective."

    "I wouldn''t deny that," I said.

    "Good, have a seat," the sect master said.

    I sat in front of him and he poured me tea.

    "Thank you for your generosity," I said as I held the cup forward and then took a sip.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The taste was... heavenly, I could feel a great surge of southing Qi going down my throat, it felt like I was a man that spent years in a desert only to find a cold throat southing oasis."

    "This is... a great tea," I said.

    "It should be, the leaves of this tea take a hundred years to process," he said.

    "Oh... why would the Sect Master give me such a great gift?" I asked.

    The sect master smiled, perhaps because I guessed his identity immediately, but it wasn''t that hard to be honest. After all, his clothes didn''t particrly hide it.

    "This is not enough to repay your gift to the sect. I''ve also requested that the sect will award you with enough merit points for the Soul Wrenching Poison Pill," he said.

    "All of that, for that kind of pill?" I said.

    "You speak as if the Soul Wrenching Poison pill wasn''t even that hard to make," he said as he took a sip from his tea.

    "Not to blow my own horn, but it really isn''t," I said.

    "Oh, I like a confident person. However, do you have the confidence to back up your ims?" he asked.

    "If it''s pill making, I''m sure I can do a great job making anything below the King ss Realm," I said.

    The Sect Master frowned, "You don''t seem to be lying, which is rather peculiar. Since you don''t even have the ability to process Saint Qi, how can you make something far above your cultivation stage?" he asked.

    "Alchemy and cultivation are two different things, I can bypass the limitation of Saint Qi by knowledge of alchemy," I said.

    This is basically bullshitting, if I were tasked to make a Saint Qi pill I''ll have my original body make it, there is no way Shen Mo can support the pressure of Saint Qi materials.

    "Good, then perhaps you can figure out what I want you to make," he said as he ced a small pouch full of herbs in front of me.

    I looked at the materials and frowned.

    "Demon Visage Pill. This is... not something easy..." I said.

    The sect master''s eyes widened. "You actually figured out the pill just from the materials, I''m even more impressed now, but why do you say it''s not easy, I thought you were confident," he said.

    "Oh, not for me, I can make it, but it won''t work for you," I said.

    The Sect Master frowned, "Why do you say so?" he asked.

    "Because you in your current condition, if you were to consume the Demon Visage Pill, you will undoubtedly die," I said.

    The sect master stood up and faced away from me.

    "In all my years cultivating, It''s the first time I''ve seen someone speak this way. You, who haven''t been a cultivator for even a fraction of my lifespan, speak of things like this so casually, one would think you''re an old foggy who possessed the body of one of my sect members," he said.

    ''Oh shit...''

    "But, that''s not possible, your soul though dark and sinister looking is still yours, as I see that it has not been tampered with," he said.

    ''Well, thank god for the Soul Shackling Seal. No way anyone who isn''t proficient in Imperial Inscription could understand how I''m possessing this body,''

    "But you seem to have knowledge far beyond your age. Indeed, I had the feeling that the Demon Visage Pill will probably kill me the moment I consume it, but," he said as he pulled the sleeve on one of his arms.

    He revealed a demonic-looking imprint, it looked like a burn mark.

    "If I don''t get rid of this, forget death, even my soul won''t survive," he said.

    "Yeah, I know," I said.

    "So you understand why I have to risk my life and take the Demon Visage Pill, even if the sess chance is low, it is better than death," he said.

    "Nope, I still don''t get it, why risk your life like that when you can get rid of that Demon Brand in an even easier and less painful manner," I shrugged.

    The Sect Master frowned, "Child, I humored your antics enough since you have done a great deed for the sect, don''t push your luck, what many experts couldn''t figure out, through your knowledge I doubt you can provide an ''Easy'' fix, don''t grow toocent the world isn''t as good as one might think," the elder said clearly pissed at my nonchnt attitude.

    I sighed then stood up, "Give me your arm," I said.

    "What do you intend to do," he said as he handed me his arm, "Many doctors have tried many things and failed I doubt that you can even fully unders- "

    "Done, now you''re all cured up," I said.

    "..."

    The sect master looked at his arm, there was nothing there anymore, then he looked at me.

    "What?"

 Chapter 440 If You Cant Solve It With Violence... Use More Violence.

    "H-how did you do that?" asked the sect master, sock and awe clear in his eyes, he was still unbelieving of the situation happening even after clearly seeing with his own eyes.

    "What do you mean how? It''s just that easy," I shrugged.

    "You can''t be telling me it''s that easy and be done with! The curse of the Demon Visage is something that the greatest physicians of the Poison Sect and the Medicine Sect couldn''t even figure out, and you cured it in less than a breath''s time?!"

    "Well, that''s because you all been looking at it as a Curse, when it was not," I said.

    "What do you mean? The more you speak the more confused I be," the Sect Master shook his head.

    "It''s a disease, more than it is a curse, that demonic-looking face on your arm was basically a rash, as for the disease, it was causing the troubled fluctuations of your inner Qi. So by administering a specific poison, you can immediately reverse the effects," I said.

    "A poison? When did that happen?" he asked.

    "When I grabbed your hand, I applied a bit of Poison Qi, it was based on a diluted version of the Breath Sealing Poison and a Berserk Blood Poison. Both these poisonsbined can help your body''s Qi fluctuation to stagnate, and increase your blood flow, this stopped the Demon Visage disease from spreading and at the same time helped your own body get rid of the sickness because the only thing that was stopping your body was the rampaging Qi fluctuations," I shrugged.

    The sect master scratched his head and said, "This is bing even more cumbersome, I was going to reward you handsomely for the Soul Wrenching Pill, but now that I''m cured, I don''t even know how to reward you," the sect master sighed.

    "Nothing much really," I said.

    "Ah, you really don''t understand the feat you just did, do you know who is our mortal enemy?" he asked.

    I shook my head.

    "Right, you''re a new inner sect member so you probably don''t know. Though this entire is ruled by the poison sect, that''s basically a lie, it''s actually shared between two ns. Ours and the Demon n. They inhibit the other part of the." He said.

    "I suppose you suffered this injury at the hands of one of these demons?" I asked.

    "Not anyone, but their own sect master, we''ve been at war with them since time immemorial. Without any of us having the upper hand, yet, with this, we can fight back again." He said.

    I frowned, "Why are we fighting the Demon n again?" I asked.

    The sect master looked at me then stared at me for a moment, and said... "I-I don''t know..."

    "Right... I''m sure that you wouldn''t," I said jokingly.

    "No... wait, you''re absolutely right. Why are we fighting? The poison sect, our ancestors, and their ancestors have been fighting the Demon n since the foundation of the Poison n, but we only inherited their hatred and their grudge... without ever knowing the reason why," he said.

    "Ah... the monkey and thedder..." I said.

    "Is that supposed to be a joke? Because calling us or our ancestors monkeys is enough to have your head," he said.

    "Sadly it''s not a joke. It''s reality," I said.

    "How?" he asked.

    "A wise man once caught five monkeys and had them ced in a room, he then ced adder in the middle of this room and some fruits at the top of thedder."

    "Where is this going?" asked the sect master.

    "Wait until I finish," I replied.

    "Go on ahead then," the Sect Master said as he poured more tea for the both of us.

    "The old man then got a bucket of water and waited for the first monkey to go up thedder to eat the fruits. He then poured water on the other four. And whenever one of the monkeys go up thedder, he would douse the other four with water. It was so frustrating for the monkeys that they would start beating up any of the monkeys that go up thedder so they don''t get wet," I said then drank some tea to catch my breath.

    "After a while, none of the monkeys dared to go up thedder for fear of being beaten or doused with water. Then the old man reced one of the monkeys with a new one. Of course, the new monkey had no idea what was going on, and when he saw the fruit on top of thedder he tried to go up and eat. But the moment it ced its hands on thedder, the other monkeys began beating it up. So, after several attempts, the new monkey understood that going up thedder means to get a beating. Then the old man reced another older monkey with a new one. What happened was interesting, when this new monkey tried to go up and eat the fruits all the other monkeys went to beat it up, along with the monkey that was reced before this one." I said.

    I tried to see if the Sect Master could figure out where I was going, but then just had to finish the story for him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The old man then continued recing all the monkeys until none of the first-generation monkeys were there," I said.

    "Ah, I think I understand what you mean," the sect master said.

    I nodded for him to give his take.

    "Since they were all reced, none of the new monkeys actually know why they shouldn''t go up thedder, which was the water dousing. And all they know is to beat whoever goes up thedder, without actually knowing why they were doing so. So you''re saying that we''re the new generation of monkeys, fighting against the demon n without actually having a valid reason or purpose to our grudge and vendetta," he said.

    "Something along those lines," I said.

    The Sect Master smiled, "Indeed, Monkeys and Ladder. We''re indeed monkeys who have no idea what happened before but still do the same as what our ancestors did." He then sighed, "But just because we know this, wouldn''t mean that the situation would change, I understand that you''re hinting at something along the lines of Truce," he said.

    ''Truce? Why the hell would I think that?'' as I was about to disagree.

    "Great, that''s actually a great idea, I''m sure that even the current Demon n Sect Master knows not of the reason for our grudge, we might as well use this opportunity to burry the hatchet, this war had gone on for so long for no obvious reason," he said as he stood up.

    "ELDERS OF THE POISON SECT! COME FORTH!" the sect master spoke in a voice so domineering and powerful it spread through the entirety of the sect.

    It didn''t take more than a few seconds for a dozen or so elders to immediately appear in front of the sect master.

    "WE GREET THE SECT MASTER!" they all said, elders, old or young, woman or man, they all sped their hands.

    "I''ve listened to what Shen Mo had suggested, and his idea is brilliant," he said.

    ''Euh, I didn''t say shit! Stop putting words in my mouth!'' I was about to blurt that out when the sect master patted my shoulder and said, "And since you''re the one who came up with this idea I''ll have a great role for you for what is toe!" he said.

    "I really don''t think I''m that crucial to whatever n you''re cooking!" I said trying to get away from this responsibility.

    "No, you must be there, it''s a great honor and a great merit to the sect, once youplete the mission I''m about to give you, you''ll be awarded with the highest merit badge of the sect, granted a meritorious achievement, and will have the full support of the Poison Sect behind you!" he said.

    ''I mean this is good and all, but can you figure out a way that isn''t involving me in these matters? this isn''t even funny, this sect master is taking things into his own hands and including me in his own misunderstandings! I have to fix this!''

    "What is this n you''re talking about," asked one of the people present, unlike everyone he didn''t seem too ''polite'' when talking to the sect master.

    This man was the same person I always saw on the entrance of the Poison Sect.

    "Shen Mo had proposed a truce with the Demon n," the Sect Master said.

    ''Oh believe me I didn''t!''

    "Did you grow senile? Why would we lower ourselves to ask for a truce, not to mention to have a truce we need to be in a position of power, with you already injured... wait, why is your Qi flow back to normal?" asked the same man.

    "Sect Guardian, Because it was thanks to Shen Mo that I was cured, now do you think we don''t have enough leverage?" the Sect Master said.

    Oh so this guy is the sect guardian. So he must be the strongest person here, no wonder he speaks informally to the Sect Master.

    "Interesting," the guardian said.

    "So, I already thought up a n," he said.

    "And what is this n?" asked the guardian.

    "Of course, there is no better way to solve issues like a grudge than a martial arts tournament!" he said.

    ''Really? Solving violence with more violence? Holy shit, these cultivators! Man!''

 Chapter 441 Demon Sect And A Party

    On the other side of the, there existed the Demon Sect.

    It was by no means a vile looking, nor was it a diabolical-looking sect. On the contrary, it was a beautiful-looking sect, with towering and magnificent pagodas spread all over the seven mountains that were making the Demon Sect. The pagodas were housing the disciples of the Demon Sect and its elders.

    While in the skies roamed great and magnificent beasts, guarding and slowly flying around the sect.

    It felt more attuned to the nature of this world than the Poison Sect. However, the happenings inside the Demon Sect weren''t as peaceful as what the outer appearance of the sect portrayed.

    "SECT MASTER! WE CANNOT ACCEPT THIS!" one of the elders, a woman of old age seemed to fume in rage as she was holding a transmission jade.

    The sect Master in question was also a woman, only far younger looking and exuded extreme beauty and charm. Yet, the frown on her brows made her sulking and clearly worried look even more charming.

    To note, none of the Demon Sect members were human, after all, they''re descendants of the Demon Race which was one of the mightiest races of the Vast Expanse, sadly they had declined greatly since their prime, and were now upying few, far and betweens, their current forces aren''t even a tenth of the original, yet, that didn''t mean that the remaining forces were by any means weak or feeble.

    As for the Sect Master, she sighed as she leaned her head back on her chair. Her pink hair draped over her shoulders and behind the chair, she was on as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her buxom chest heaved as she took a deep breath after another.

    "Sect master, are you alright," asked the elder who was fuming just a moment ago.

    "No need to worry, it''s just a small migraine," said the Sect Master and took another breath.

    "Any way we cannot say no to this," she said.

    "But sect master! Those humans are a treacherous bunch, this im is nothing but a provocation at us, they must want us to lower our guard in this so-calledpetition to further inflict damage upon us. We''ve yet to fully recover from thest war!" she said.

    "That was a hundred years ago, things can change," she said.

    "But human nature cannot! They are greedy, and wanton with destruction and rage, just because we''re not of the same race they discriminate against us, nay, they discriminate even amongst themselves!" she said.

    "That has nothing to do with us, we''ve bled and shed too much blood in this futile war, if what the informant is saying is true, then we must be amply prepared. After all, we only have this news from our spy, they still need to deliver the news to us by hand, before we even consider joining. In the meantime, have our disciples double down on training, we need the strongest of the current generation to present the Demon n, a good show of power is all we need to have the humans either respect or fear us. The truce is good for everyone, no matter how small of a timeframe it can be, it still is a time of peace, and we have to fight for it, even if it were but a sodding chance against human greed," she said.

    The elder sighed, "You took your father''s wisdom, and your mother''s beauty, I hope that your affliction can be lifted, it would be a shame to have such a talent go to waste." The elder sighed as she walked away.

    The sect master couldn''t help but smile a rueful and sad smile. "With this cursed blood, nothing less than divine intervention can help it. My time is getting near to its end, and if I can guarantee my sect even a few years of peace before I''m gone from this world, then I''m willing to bet the rest of my days on this chance. Let''s proceed with prudence," the Sect Master said to the elder who seemed to have exited the inner hall of the main building of the Demon Sect.

    Soon after the elder walked out, several other elders were waiting for her news.

    "So, what did the Sect Master say?" asked one of the elders.

    "She will proceed with the truce but with caution, make sure to have the talents of the sect prepare themselves for the uing trial. We need to have our forces ready," she said.

    "This is madness! Why are we trusting the words of humans?! They''re too fickle it could also be a ploy to misinform us." Another elder said.

    "The sect Master had pointed out that unless these humanse to our sect to present the terms of the truce, our sect will act as if nothing had been going on. Keep the scouts on high alert, act in ordance to the White g, as long as the humans enter our territory holding a white g we must not aggravate them until they deliver their message." The elder said.

    "What if they cause problems?" asked one of the elders.

    "Then we can send back their heads to the Poison Sect, we''re not benevolent enough to forgive unruliness in ournd. So, proceed with caution and only act once you''ve been attacked or aggrieved."

    "As the grand eldermands!" several of the elders answered but many others didn''t deem to respond. After all, this was a great time and opportunity for them.

    The Demon Sect has always been at war with the humans on this. And with the approaching death of the Sect Master, the sect will need a new leader to guide it. And one of the best ways to earn the Sect Master''s seat is to achieve great merit towards the sect, a merit powerful enough to earn the full respect of every sect member.

    And of course, there was only one merit that could make such a thing happen. The execution of the Poison Sect, Sect Master. After all, he is already injured with the Demon Visage curse, making his situation as worse if not the same as the current head of the Demon Sect.

    Two sects with two headmasters on the verge of death, once the old generation is gone, the new leaders will begin a new age.

    Or so, most of the faction against the current Sect Master believes.

    The grand elder already knows and realizes the severity of the uing trial. As for how they were going to solve such issues, only god knows, for she thinks that nothing but a person of miracle can hope to fix this sordid-looking situation.

    ***<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Damn itchy ass ear!" I cursed as my ears itched so damn hard I was tempted to tear it out.

    "What''s going on?" asked one of the guys that were apanying me.

    "Itchy ear, don''t worry, anyway are you sure this is the right way?" I asked as we walked past the same spot from earlier.

    "I-I''m sure it''s the right way," he said.

    I sighed. "Can you show me the map you''re using," I asked.

    The person in question hesitated for a bit, but after being nudged by our only femalepanion heplied.

    "You believe you can read maps better than our disciple?" she said.

    As I pulled the map in front of me, I sighed, "I believe I can, because this idiot has been taking us in circles for the past three hours, I mean for god''s sake man, we''re here!" I said as I pointed at a fork in the road.

    The girl frowned as she looked at my pointing finger, then looked around us. "How? We were walking in a straight line," she said.

    I sighed as I rubbed my temples, "I''m feeling a headache, this guy here apparently mistook the fork road we took, and kept driving us in circles, are you really a guide? How dumb can you be to do such an amateurish mistake?" I asked.

    "I-I apologize, I guess I mistook the pathing, but now that everything is clear let''s keep going, okay?"

    This group of idiots with me, is the "Olive Branch" which was supposed to present the terms of the Truce between the two races, and the news of a Tournament to appease the blood between the two sects, yet one of them is a haughty woman who loves to tap her foot on the ground to show displeasure, a guide that seems to have no idea how to read a map. A beast tamer who for some fucked up reason lost his own beast in this very forest on our first day. And me, the idiot who agreed to this damn mission.

    "AGGGHHHHH" I yelled as hard as I could, releasing the pent-up stress and annoyance.

    "Calm the hell down! You''ll cause beasts toe to find us!" Ai Li spoke.

    "With this much hassle I would rather theye. But don''t start wetting your panties yet, this area is still in the territory of the Heavenly Dark Tiger, no monster will bother us as long as we''re still here." I sighed.

    "Then what if the Dark Heavenly Tiger itself hears you andes to find us?!" she said.

    "What do you mean? Did you guys not notice it yet? the Dark Heavenly Tiger had been walking next to us for the past six hours you idiots!" I said.

    The three frowned. After all, there was nothing next to us, or that is what they thought, before realizing that a giant shadow was standing right next to them. two golden eyes were staring into them as if they were looking into their souls.

    "What futilepanions you have," spoke the Dark Heavenly Tiger.

    The trio shook in their boots, unable to mutter a word.

    "Yeah, you see what sort of shit I have to deal with, anyway, we''ll be leaving your region soon, thank you for keeping the beasts away, I''ll make sure to repay your favorter," I said.

    "Do not die, human, the path ahead of you is beyond my rule, it is full of beasts far mightier than what you can handle, proceed with prudence and stealth, lest you die and I lose one of my interests," it said.

    "Don''t worry, I''lle back in one piece, I hope, now you three, let''s go, we wasted enough time already," I said.

    The Tiger soon dissipated into nothingness leaving the area, and as if a weight had been lifted from the shoulders of the trio, they slumped down on the ground, terrorized.

    "Y-you knew¡­ from the start, that it was walking next to us?! And you didn''t inform us!" Ai Li said.

    "And what would informing you, even do? You think you can take it on?" I said.

    "N-no but," she tried to interject but the obvious fear in her stopped her from saying any more.

    "But what? You are all nothing but baggage, I really don''t understand why the Sect Master had asked you all toe with me. Bunch of useless baggage, ah this is going to annoy the ever living shit out of me, let''s go god damn it, we still have a shit tone of distance to cross," I said as I walked forward disappearing between the thick foliage.

    "W-wait up!" one of them said and soon they followed after me.

 Chapter 442 Dark Hour

    "What a shame that such a great treasure is in your hands," Ai Li said as she pulled her hair back.

    I sighed as I was steering the hovering board.

    All four of us were now riding on the hovering board, cruising through vast distances in little to no time. Sadly, I''ve yet to finish fixing this damn thing since the moment I stepped into this, so our speed was pretty damn slowpared to the hoverboard''s speed. Yet this is far better than trekking half the damn on foot.

    The trip would have taken us years if we were to keep moving on foot. But we didn''t have a choice at first since the first part next to the academy was literally a giant forest that extended to the high heavens and had monsters and beasts that could fly and pick us apart if we were to use this slow ass board.

    Still, currently, in the open fields there weren''t many beasts that roamed about, so it was far safer and faster to move on the hoverboard.

    But, god damn these annoying kids.

    "It should be an honor to havedy Ai Lipliment your treasure, you should probably gift it to her," the guide said.

    "I would appreciate if you kept your mouth shut, as a guide I''d be embarrassed to even speak after what you did earlier. Also, I''m not gifting shit," I said.

    "It''s not like I''m going to take it, I''ll give you adequate reward, Ie from a noble n, we''re not petty thieves," she said.

    "And I said, I''m not selling, not for gold not for anything, so just keep quiet, we still have some ways to go." I sighed as we kept moving and heard nothing but the mumbling of the three behind me.

    ''Why the hell am I stuck with these idiots, if it wasn''t for the sect master''s request to have them apany me for ''safety'' I''d have gone alone. AHHH. I''m too old for this shit,'' I sighed once again as we continued our journey.

    A couple of weekster, we arrived in a new region, the whole area seemed to be brimming with Qi. The terrain had changed from open fields andkes to a lush green mountain range that seemed to extend forever.

    You could see beasts and creatures roaming about without a care in the world while many smaller animals ran away as we zoomed past them.

    "Let''s slow down, we''re at the demon territory," the guide said.

    And for the first time in a while, I agreed with him, from here onwards, it''s enemy territory, and we''ll be needing to abide by the rules that the sect master had mentioned.

    "Wrap the white scarf over your arms, we''ll be moving on foot soon," I said.

    It didn''t take a long while before we entered a red forest that seemed to have nothing but trees with red leaves.

    It looked ominous yet serene, and not before I could even alert everyone, I shocking sound wave burst out, rippling through space like liquid water,ing toward us with incredible speed.

    I stomped on the hoverboard''s defensive paddle that shot up a giant barrier which nullified the soundwave but not the shock.

    The st destabilized the board and we were going down at neck breaking speed.

    "HOLD ON!" I called as I tried to steer the hoverboard as much as I could, while the trio, surprisingly didn''t shout, scream or yelp, as they braced themselves for impact.

    Steering the hoverboard was almost impossible, and if not for my full understanding of the tool I made, we''d have crashed face first, breaking a few bones would be the least of our worries.

    I pressed on the gas further elerating the hoverboard, and thankfully before it went into full throttle, I managed to bnce it and had it skid a bit above ground level before it stopped after the enginepletely shut down.

    The three disciples could not brace themselves fully and were ejected out from the hoverboard tumbling several feet on the ground while I barely managed to keep my foot steady.

    "Ouch," groaned Ai Li who fell on her behind while the other two seemed to have had a great encounter with the dirt, face first of course.

    "Can''t you drive any more carefully? You almost killed us," she said.

    "And you will definitely kill us if you keep talking, we''re in foreign territory, and we were attacked by a powerful beast, if I were you, I''ll keep my mouth closed. I said as I inspected the hoverboard.

    I opened the hatch that protected the engine and cursed. The entire circuit was fried, with too much damage, and to fix this, I''ll need several days, not to mention the damage it took from earlier. This is no longer usable for now.

    "We''ll move on foot, our transport method is unusable," I said as I sighed once more. I ced the hoverboard back in my holding bag and looked around.

    I didn''t dare use my Divine Sense, beasts in these areas are sensitive to it, and I wouldn''t want to be found first.

    "Keep a close watch of your surroundings, you, the guide, do you know where we are?" I asked.

    "Yes, we''re at the entrance of the Blood Forest, the Demon Sect is just behind it," he said.

    "I suppose you can navigate us through this forest?" I said.

    The guide hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, I can."

    I frowned. This is strange, how would he be able to navigate us through a forest that he came to for the first time? Unless¡­ no, I''m overthinking, it takes a great deal of time and effort just to get here, and there is no way the sect would allow a disciple to travel this far. No matter, he probably has a map of this area.

    "Do you have a map I suppose?" I asked.

    "Yes, here," he said and presented me with a small map that seemed to have been a few centuries old.

    I looked at the map and at my surroundings and took me a decent time before I managed to pinpoint a fewndmarks in the distance and give an urate positioning to our location, but even after fully knowing where we were, I gave the map back, "I can''t make heads or tails of it, you''ll be our guide then," I said.

    "Then why ask for the map if you can''t even read it, are you trying to look smart?" Ai Li said.

    "¡­"

    Thankfully I managed to hold back a spree of not-so-nice words by sheer will.

    "R-right, I''ll see what I can find," the guide said and looked at the map rather half-assedly.

    I didn''t miss that though.

    "We''ll move from here," he pointed in a general direction.

    "I''ll lead the way, " the guy who lost his own beast said, "After all, I''m good at scouting¡­" he said.

    "Right then," I sighed "Lead the way then." And then we followed.

    Several hourster, darkness began falling and we needed to find shelter. Since we couldn''t move in an unknown forest at night we had toy low.

    Fortunately, not before the carpet of the nightpletely fell, the scout came back, "I spotted arge cave not too far from here, we can rest inside it." he said.

    At least you''re useful. As for the rest of them, they''re nothing more than heavy baggage.

    Sometimeter we were inside the cave, it was prettyrge for a random cave in a forest, and wasn''t that bad for a resting point.

    "I''ll keep a watch out, you three should meditate for the rest of the night and recover," I said to the group since they looked out of it. We haven''t had a good rest in weeks and today seemed like a good day to have some time off.

    After all we don''t know what is hiding in this forest, since the moment we walked in, there were no critters, and no creatures moving about. But just as the moon hung low, and the night was in its darkest hour. The sound of the beasts began echoing through the forest. Mighty, strong, and frightening beasts.

    They''re out to hunt, and it would not be wise, to make oneself a prey at this dark hour.

 Chapter 443 Encounter

    As I was staying guard, the weather seemed to change. Fog as red as blood began gathering on the dirt. It was so thick one would think it was liquid red water.

    "Interesting phenomenon," I mumbled, and just as I spoke, I felt a shiver running down my spine. Something out there is watching me.

    "Everyone, ready up for battle!" I said. But nothing came back, no reply, and no words were spoken.

    I turned to the cave and went inside, everyone was dead asleep.

    The fog had prated into the cave and seemed to have caused them to doze off, I couldn''t even wake them up.

    "Shit," I cursed then pulled out several talismans I had on me. I sttered them across the ground and they erected a protective barrier that stopped the fog froming in.

    "Y, protect them."

    Y came out of my Poison God''s Book and stood tall at the front of the barrier.

    "Lord, are you venturing out this night? It seems to be dangerous," Y spoke.

    "Yes, it seems that something is out there, and as long as we''re here, we''re nothing but sitting ducks. I''ll take X with me, don''t worry, before we be prey, we''ll be the one hunting tonight," I said and walked out.

    The feeling of being watched continued to pressure me as I looked left and right, but there didn''t seem to be anything in the vicinity of the cave. Not that I could see it if it was, the atmosphere was just that dark.

    "X, follow me closely," I said then moved forward. Weapon in hand, and several explosive pills in the other.

    ***

    "Are you sure you want to head out tonight? I have a bad feeling," said the Grand Elder.

    "It''s not like I have a choice, A red Night happens once every ten years. I cannot miss the opportunity. This should help calm the pain for some time. I cannot afford to miss the opportunity."

    "Let me at least put a couple of guards to go with you," said the Grand Elder.

    "No, I''m not sure of anyone''s loyalty right now, no matter who. I must do this in secret, and you cannot allow any of the sect members to know. This is a night when all of my cultivation will have to be sealed. And I cannot trust anyone right now," she said.

    "As you wish Sect Master," the Grand Elder said. "I''ll prepare all you need for your journey, the dome should be fully risen by now, you must make haste."

    Soon, the Sect Master took the holding bag prepared by the Grand Elder and headed out in the darkness of the night, unbeknownst to any of her sect members, she headed deep into the red forest.

    After an hour of flight, she arrived to a massive blood dome that seemed to emerge only once every ten years, by the effects of the Red Night.

    This Dome is in fact the barrier protecting a small miraculous pond, it is what the Sect Master needed to reduce some of the pain from her chronic affliction.

    Once she arrived to the Dome, she used a special red candle, that she lit up. The candle''s light tore apart a portion of the barrier, revealing a blue pond that seemed to be exuding a slight amount of heat.

    The sect master then removed her clothes and dipped inside the pond, starting meditation.

    This is where the pond''s effects began as they eroded her Qi causing immense pain, but at the same time, they eroded the vile Qi inside her body that was causing her constant agony with every breath she ever took.

    A long night awaited the sect master.

    ***

    "God fucking damn it!" I cursed as I swiped my sword for the millionth time as it felt.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of palm sized moths were following after me, and they were after blood. Literally, my blood.

    Each of these moths weren''t powerful on their own, but the sheer number of these pesky little fuckers following me made it a pain in the ass to stop and deal with them. Not to mention this stupid sticky fog, none of my poison skills are working, I threw several poison pills but the blood fog was simply too thick for the poison to spread and the moment my poison came in contact with the fog, it would cause it to drop down to the ground.

    The only thing that remotely worked were my explosive pills, but I''m already out, so what I needed to do was simple.

    Leg it. and leg it I was.

    I ran high and low, sliding under giant tree roots and jumping over high bushes. I sent my Divine Sense scanning the area around me in hope of finding somewhere to run to.

    I still regret not going back to the cave where Y was, as for X, he sadly was very inadequate in fighting small sized enemies since he was fully decked out in bullets and weaponry.

    Shooting this endless sea of Blood Moths was nothing but a waste of bullets as all the bullets that I have on me and on Xbined wouldn''t make a dent in the number of these creatures.

    I needed somewhere to hide.

    As my Divine Sense was extended, I came to find an interesting area. It seemed that itpletely blocked divine sense from prating it, and felt like a giant Dome.

    I headed there as fast as I could, if it could block Divine Sense, it could definitely hide me if I''m near or inside this dome.

    Rushing in, I arrived to the dome, and for a moment I regretted it. This was not a building as I had hoped, but a literal giant dome of blood. It looked like a cocoon that was about to birth a vile creature.

    I had no time to waste though, so I pressed my hand on the dome trying to gage its inner size, and my hand was immediately repelled.

    "Formation?" I muttered, this whole thing is a formation, how did ite to be? It also looks like a natural made formation.

    With little time on my hand before the horde of Mothse my way, I pulled my Divine Brush and began writing inscriptions redirecting and changing themand of this natural looking formation. It took me less than a breath to finish writing, since this was a natural made formation, thews it was using were simple, a denial of entry for anyone who isn''t in the possession of some special item.

    I just needed to deduce the item''s effect, then fake the fact that I don''t have it, into a fact that I have a simr item.

    Immediately, the dome opened up for me and I got inside, then it closed as soon as I was inside but one of those stupid moths managed to get inside.

    I grabbed it by hand then crushed it, "Damn fucking pest," I sighed as I looked around

    What pulled my attention weren''t the ungodly amount of spiritual herbs that were growing inside the dome, nor was it the warm glistening pond. But a woman who seemed to have had her face turn blue from sheer terror as she gazed upon me.

    She was naked, but I''m sure no one would be as terrorized or blue faced when seeing someone even if they were naked.

    Not to mention, she wasn''t human, since no human would ever look as beautiful as that, especially if you add two horns on her head.

    ''A demon race?''

    "Hello," I said.

    But didn''t receive a reply, the woman however immediately went to a holding bag that was right next to her, but she couldn''t open it.

    Terrorized she muttered, "Don''te any closer!"

    I held both my hands up, "Rx, I''m not here to harm you, I''m just hiding from the moths outside." I said.

    "Like I would believe a human!"

    ''Ah this damn mentality again. But I wouldn''t me her, humans are ass,''

    I sighed.

    "Here," I said as I ced down my sword far away from me and so I did to my holding bag.

    Usually I would never do this, especially since someone this hostile, but it was clear form one look that she waspletely mortal.

    Which came as a surprise, since Demon Race are born as cultivators, but she didn''t have an ounce of Qi on her, not a single bit.

    I looked around at all the herbs and didn''t see a single stalk missing, she wasn''t here for the herbs, and looking at her inside the pond seemed to be the reason for hering here. Why would a mortal ever cross such a distance in this dangerous forest to take a dip in this water? Well the answer is simple, this water is special.

    "I guess you''re ill?" I asked.

    "¡­"

    She didn''t reply. And I found it rather rude to use my Divine Sense to scan another woman, I''ve learned my lesson from Yuyu, she did not like it.

    "Leave this ce!" she said.

    "Like hell I would, it''s a fucking nightmare out there," I said.

    She grumbled for a bit before saying, "Then stay there, don''t move, the monsters will all leave by morning, don''t even take a step or I''ll end my own life," she said.

    "Wow, wow, chill who do you think I am?" I asked.

    "A human!" she said as if it was an insult.

    "Oh¡­right, we do tend to have a very bad reputation, but don''t judge all of us by the actions of one, hell I didn''t even do anything to you and we''re talking like civilized people aren''t we?"

    "That''s because you don''t know what I''m capable of!" she said.

    "Like hell I don''t, you''repletely mortal right now, hell you don''t even have enough Qi to open your holding bag. And if I had any ill will toward you, you think you would kill yourself faster than I could take action?" I said.

    My words caused despair to fully submerge this woman.

    "Anyway, I''m Shen Mo," I said.

    "Yao Hua," she said.

    "Nice to meet you," I said sping my hands.

    "Now, if I were to take an educated guess, you''re ill," I said as I sat down.

    "¡­"

    "I''m a bit proficient with medicine, so no need to be too wary, and I''m also bored and have no one to talk with, also this could help pass the time till morning and I will leave you be," I said.

    "Yes¡­ I''m sick, but it''s not something you can manage," she said "Not even the divine doctor was able to fix this, and the only thing that could stop some of the pain is this pool." She said.

    "Is that so¡­" I said, "Would you mind me taking a look?" I asked.

    "Yes I would, I don''t trust you!" she said.

    "Then what if I give a heavenly Vow that I will not harm you or bring any ill will towards you," I said.

    "You will just waste your time, no one can fix this Destruction," she said.

    "Wait, you said Destruction? Are you suffering from a Poison Destruction?" I asked.

    "Yes¡­"

    "This is intriguing, I''ve never seen a Destruction this calm," I said.

    "Calm? What do you mean calm, do you know how much agony I suffer every day?!" she said.

    "Just calm down, what I''m talking about is, your body ispletely fine, I''ve treated an Ice Destruction Poison once, but from you I can''t feel any of the effects," I said.

    "It''s not an Elemental Destruction, it''s a Poisoned Soul Destruction," she said and sighed.

    "Oh, this is rather interesting, but would you believe me if I said, I can fix that?" I said.

    The person in front of me looked dubious of my words, "I wouldn''t believe the words of a human," she said.

    "Sigh, well I guess I can''t help it then," I said I shrugged and sat down meditating waiting for morning.

 Chapter 444 Unexpected Development

    The hours seemed long, and the night felt like it was still winning the battle against the rising day. The howls of the forest beasts grew with the passing minute. While I and the naked and submerged woman in front of me stayed silently waiting.

    Yet, the long boring silence was soon interrupted.

    A shiver run down Yao Hua''s body, and soon she began shuddering, and then her eyes rolled back.

    She then slid into the water, unconscious.

    I sighed then went toward her, pulling her out from the water and cing her on the ground. Her breathing was thankfully unperturbed but she was still shaking like a leaf in the howling winds.

    I pressed my hand on her wrist, sending a divine sense wave to scan her body. She was suffering from a seizure.

    The treatment of seizures isn''t something mortals can do, but with enough Qi injected into proper Qi passages, I was able to relieve the stress on her brain and she stopped shaking.

    She took a deep breath as if she had been holding one for eternity and opened her eyes.

    "W-what are you doing!" she said although weakly one could see her fearful gaze.

    "You were seizing, in case you didn''t notice," I said.

    "..." she didn''t reply.

    I sighed, "I''m offering free medical care, why are you so adamant about refusing it?" I said.

    "Because you''re a human! And humans all lie," she said.

    "That''s not just humans though, anyway if I actually wanted you to harm I could have just left you to die under the water," I said.

    She then finally realized what happened. And hung her head down.

    "Can you treat it?" she said after a while.

    "I should be able to, no I''m more confident in treating a Soul Rted sickness better than a physical one," I said.

    "No medic would ever say that, since Soul injuries are fare more serious," she said.

    "Not for me, now will you mind?" I said.

    She looked down and realized that she waspletely naked, but seeing that I wasn''t that interested she didn''t feel too embarrassed, well at least she was embarrassed enough to ask for clothes that she hadying around.

    I gave her the robes she hadying next to her, and she donned one to cover herself.

    "Now sit in the lotus position, let me see," I said.

    She did so and took a rxed pose.

    "Breath in normally," I said and pressed both my palms on her back.

    "Now let me ess your Sea of Consciousness," I said.

    For any other cultivator, this is nothing but asking to be at the mercy of the requester. But since she is ill, and also has no power to defy or stop me if I wanted to do anything, she allowed me in.

    Soon a surge of my divine sense coursed through her and around her body epassing her being alongside her soul. My Divine Sense was powered by the strength of my own Soul, and since my Soul is pretty damn busted, the reaction that happened from her was to be expected.

    She yelped in fear as she realized the density of my Divine Sense.

    In her own Sea of Consciousness, I was able to see a massive world, a green forest of mountains and trees, of all the colors of nature, surrounding a lonely abode that looked to be the only building in this tranquil-looking piece of mental heaven.

    Her soul looked exactly like her in reality, the only difference was that she had blemishes, ck ones that seemed to spread around her soul, they looked like cancerous ailments that seemed foreign to her body.

    As for me, I looked like a giantpared to her. Yet there was one small issue. I''m right now using Shen Mo''s Soul. Which was not something good to look at. Especially with all the vile, ckness of this demonic soul.

    Mine looked like an amalgamation of malice, evil, and wretchedness all shaped into a human form.

    Yao Hua''s face seemed to turn even paler as her heart sank, her breathing became irregr as she saw what she invited into her own sea of consciousness. A viinous-looking soul, that seemed to have not an ounce of goodwill. This ck soul was a clear indication of a vile despicable and evil being and she had weed it with open arms.

    "W-what the hell are you?!" She said and tried to raise her sea of consciousness''s defenses but she just realized that she had no Qi, and couldn''t even do that.

    She slumped on the ground, "Ha, guess this is how it ends for me," she said.

    "What are you talking about?" I asked,.

    "You tricked me into opening up my Sea of Consciousness, and I trusted you as a fool, I shouldn''t have trusted a human, no you''re not even human. Even the vilest of humans wouldn''t have a soul as wretched as yours, now who sent you? Was it one of the elders?" she said.

    "I have no idea what the hell you''re talking about, anyway, let me help with this," I said as I moved my hand toward her.

    She cowered in fear as both her hands were over her head, "Please be gentle," she said.

    ''The hell is this woman saying, shit can be misinterpreted!''

    I shook my head as I grasped her within my palm, "This will sting," I said and began absorbing the ck marks on her soul figure.

    It didn''t take long for the absorption to finish, actually it was almost instantaneous and this surprised me. Since usually that kind of illness would resist being extracted, but this time instead of resisting it actually willingly left her body to fuse into mine. As if vileness was to seek vileness.

    "Hmm, this seemed rather easier than I thought, you should be fine now," I said.

    The shaking and shuddering woman then opened her eyes and looked up, "Euh? I''m not dead?" she said.

    "Why would you?"

    "Where are the soul blemishes? Huh? What''s happening here?" she asked.

    "?"

    "Weren''t you going to consume my soul?" she said.

    "Who the hell is gonna consume your soul? I told you I''ll heal you up, anyway, you should be fine for now," I said and ced her back.

    I then withdrew my soul back from her sea of consciousness and back into my body.

    I opened my eyes and removed my hands from her back.

    She soon woke up, and almost immediately, a powerful surge of Qi began gathering around her body, pulsing in ravenous hunger as the Qi that was forced to dissipate wasing back, she absorbed Qi from the world around us as if she was a bottomless pit.

    The Qi was so powerful and thick that it was visible as it surged back into her body.

    I had to cover my face since so much shit was flying around from the mere pressure.

    Soon her body began floating as she was absorbing more and more of the Qi, enough that the blood dome that was protecting us began breaking.

    "Ah, shit..."

    And it didn''t take much before the entire barrier broke and thus came the howls and there came the beasts. The amount of Qi gathered here was an indicator that a heavenly phenomenon was happening, and for the many beasts here, this would mean something like a heavenly treasure that if they were to consume, I will increase their cultivation.

    "Ah double shit..."

    I said as I looked around, the skies were dark but now they seemed darker as moths grouped up together shaped like clouds wereing towards us.

    The ground began shaking and trees in the distance were being toppled over as beasts ran towards us.

    "Triple shit... we''re fucked," I said as I looked at Yao Hua''s changes. Her pink hair turned redder and gained a greater sheen, and her two horns protruding from her forehead were small at first, but now, they became redder and curved back crowning her head.

    Her opened eyes gained a redder glow and for her fingers, they grew nails as sharp as des. Her already plump chest seemed to grow even bigger and firmer, while her waist became thinner and her ass seemed to grow.

    Her whole body turned from an already beautiful woman to a lust-exuding creature that would charm the world itself if it wanted.

    It didn''t take long before her transformation finished and she stood back on the ground. A single gaze is all it took to stop everything moving in the forest in its track. Not even the wind moved when she spoke, "Halt."

    And immediately the forest which was teaming with beasts calmed down. "Begone," she said.

    A single word and the entire forest seemed to rumble as if a pressure of a mountain was falling upon it.

    The creatures that were eagerly running toward her seemed to run in the opposite direction with double the vigor.

    It didn''t take a lot of time before everything calmed down.

    Then soon I had to address the elephant in the room. Looking at her, she was a couple of heads taller than me now, it seems her physical transformation wasn''t just her outer appearance, even her body size changed, and the quality of her Qi seemed to improve. She had also managed to climb a stage higher in her own Ascendant Stage cultivation.

    "Euh... why are you looking at me like that," I said.

    "Becaaaause," she said, while one of her hands was slowly sliding down from her mouth to her lower abdomen. "You look like a treat right now... and I''m hungry..."

    Her eyes were pink as cherry blossom now and the air around her changed from deadly to...well, dangerous because I know this development.

    "Euh... can I say no?" I said as I backed away.

    "Say it if you caaaan," she said as she pushed me down.

    ''Mommy!''

 Chapter 445 Warmth

    Well, whoever said living a lonely and single life was good. I''d like to meet them, and punch them in the face.

    It''s been years since Ist felt the warmth of a woman, and having finally been with a younger, ''vigorous'' and slightly freaky woman made the taste of life return back to me.

    The woman who suddenly turned from a meek mortal to an insatiable subus filled every need I had and didn''t even know I had in one night. Now sheys naked, covered with nothing but a robe, on top of my chest, slowly breathing in and out. As I could see her figure rising slowly on top of my chest.

    Her hair smelled like jasmine, and the smell of sweat from thest night tainted the floury smell but in a good way.

    I had to admit though, Shen Mo''s body, a young body was pretty damn impressive. Not that my original reformed and rebuilt body was any less adequate, but a vigorous young man''s body can give more than my fossil-like original body. Well, not that I have tried, since my Original Body is still ''Poison'' I couldn''t even touch a woman in fear of killing her.

    But this body is that of a normal cultivator and is more than able to fulfill any need.

    Suddenly, as the dark forest was coated in sunlight, and became much rowdier and more noisy thanks to the chirping of birds and the motion of the small critters, Yao Hua opened her eyes and slowly yawned as she stretched in front of me.

    Her chest hung in front of me, plump firm, and at the same time jelly-like.

    Her hair draped over one side of her chest while the rest of it hung behind her back. She took a few seconds to realize that she was with a man, and as her eyes traced me, redness began flooding her cheeks.

    "Ah!" she yelped as she grabbed whatever she could to cover her face, only to realize that the only cover we had was the one she pulled over her body, leaving me butt naked in the forest.

    "It''s a bit cold," I said.

    "Y-you! What did you do?!" she asked. Flustered and incredibly embarrassed.

    "I find it surprising that the vixen, aggressive woman of yesterday turned to a meek bashful woman the very next day, don''t tell me you don''t remember?"

    "What would I remember? All I remember is¡­" she said then her face began reddening even more.

    "Ah, I guess you do remember," she said.

    "You bastard, you knew I wasn''t in my right mind, why didn''t you stop me!" she said.

    "How the hell can I even stop you, don''t put the me on me, that was basically rap* what you did," I shrugged.

    "You seemed to be enjoying it if it was that!" she said.

    "Well, I won''tin, it was pretty damn nice," I smiled back.

    She sighed. "Don''t speak of this to anyone!" she said.

    "We''re just two grown adults who had a one-night stand, don''t think too much of it," I said as I stood up and went to wear my clothes.

    She sat there on her knees, hugging the robes against her chest and thinking deeply as I was wearing my clothes.

    Once I finished wearing everything and was looking at her, she said, "Turn around, I want to get dressed," she said.

    "It''s not like I have anything else more to see¡­ but as you wish," I said and turned.

    Soon she came to me and said, after much deliberation, "If it was any other circumstance, I would have ended you," she said. Her words didn''t sound like a joke.

    I frowned as I looked at the intimidating but pretty damn hot-looking woman.

    "But¡­" she added. "Since you saved my life, and treated my Destruction, I''ll let it go¡­ may we never meet again, think of it as your fortune to have spent a night with me," she said and suddenly took to the skies, leaving to the north.

    I shrugged and turned back, the forest at night was pretty damn dangerous, and I hope the rest of my group is still alive. Though with Y''s presence, they shouldn''t be in danger. But I still need to meet back up with them.

    Just as I was leaving, I remembered that I had forgotten to wear the white cloth around my arm. Since it would identify me as a non-hostile human in case, I met with another of the Demon Race.

    I wrapped the cloth around my arm and then headed back to where I came from.

    The forest was far calmer and friendlier in the morning, and meeting another beast or anything ''dangerous'' was close to impossible during the day. Since everything was in hiding. Though I''m still not too fond of the creature that caused my hoverboard to break the moment we got close to the red forest, as long as I don''t meet that thing, I should be fine.

    There was no trace of the moths anywhere, nor were there any moving beasts so my trip back to the cave was far faster than I expected.

    Just as I arrived, I found the three cultivators looking around the cave prudently.

    "What''s going on?" I asked, which elicited a yelp from Ai Lei.

    "Where did youe from? We''ve been looking for you through the night!" she said.

    "Stop lying, you all were dead asleep, anyway, we need to move out soon," I said.

    "Humph, if you know that why did you leave? Did you want us to die?" she said.

    "I left insurance with you," I said hinting at Y, but since they didn''t understand, it seemed that Y protected them while hiding his presence.

    Good, I didn''t need to exin why I have an Ascendant Puppet with me.

    "Let''s move," I said.

    "I''ll guide us, I know the way," the guide said.

    Just as he finished his words I grabbed him by the neck and had Creeping Demise pointed at one of his eyes.

    "What are you doing Shen Mo!" Ai Li said.

    "You don''t get it yet, do you?" I said. "This guy is a spy," I said.

    "W-what are you saying?!" the beast tamer said. "He''s been a member of the Poison Sect long before even I joined in," he said.

    "More reasons to doubt him, a member of the Poison Sect who lost his way when we were at the Dark Forest, but fully knows how to navigate us in the Red Forest of the Demon n I highly doubt this man''s genuineness," I said.

    The ''guide'' sighed "It''s alright, I am a spy, but I mean you no harm. I actually talked to the sect master of the Poison Sect, with me alongside you, you won''t be attacked by the Demon Race people." He said.

    I let go of the man, if he were to deny being a spy I would have probably pulled one of his eyes out, I don''t like backstabbing assholes. But since he came clean, he already realized that there was no point in fighting.

    The young man who was a guide shuddered and soon two horns emerged from his forehead, "Ah finally able to take my original form. Anyway, I apologize for deceiving you, but the Poison Sect sect master already knows of me. So you don''t need to worry, and in case I was found he asked me to give you this," he said.

    The guide gave me a small piece of jade, it was a recorded message. Once I ced it on my forehead the message inside it yed for me.

    It was the sect master speaking.

    "I''m rather surprised you discovered his identity, well, in case you did and no troubles happened, Yun Shi here will guide you all the way to the Demon Sect''s doorsteps, you should have any issues with proving your identity as a member of the Poison Sect and at the same time share the details of your mission with the other camp. Once you have ryed your mission details, return from your venture back to the Poison Sect. This message will be destroyed after it has yed once."

    I threw the jade away and it soon turned to smoke.

    "Hmm, this makes things simpler. Let''s head out, also you''ll be our guide and you''ll be ahead of us all the way to the Demon n.

    "As you wish," he said and soon began walking forward.

    The rest of us followed behind while the beast tamer was wary and Ai Li looked confused, I kept myself alerted to everything around us.

    "You smell¡­" said Ai Li.

    "Oh," I said as I sniffed my clothes, I''m sure my clothes are clean, hell I even took a dip to wash the sweat.

    "Not of sweat¡­ you smell of a woman. What were you doing yesterday night?" she asked.

    Holy shit woman, are you a hell hound what kind of nose do you have¡­

    I slightly stuttered and said, "Just looking around don''t worry about it," and then tried to change the subject "How far?" I asked.

    "At least a day''s walk," he said.

    "Then why not just fly there?" asked the beast master.

    "The moment you take to the skies you''ll be hunted down by the Sect Guardians. Approaching the sect on foot is the safest way. Let''s keep moving," he said.

    Thankfully the subject was changed, but the suspicious looks from Ai Li felt like they were about to bore a hole in my head.

    Women and their intuition¡­ damn scary.

 Chapter 446 Encounter

    "Yao''er¡­ something is different about you," said the Grand Elder to the sect master who seemed to be pacing around in her own room.

    "What do you mean?" asked the Sect Master.

    "You look¡­ different," the Grand Elder said, looking attentively at the slightly red faced Sect Master.

    "Ah, don''t worry about it, it''s just that the¡­ euh, the Blood Night was good, I don''t have the Soul Destruction poison anymore," she said.

    The news, now that the Grand Elder heard should have been something to celebrate and to be joyed about, however, from the looks of the deliberating, pondering, and constantly out of tune Sect Master, it seems that the news of her ''revival'', from a Destruction Poison that would have ended with nothing but her corpse, seemed trivial.

    "Yao''er, you''re worrying me, are you alright?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "Yes, I am, don''t worry, it''s just something I''m thinking about," she said.

    "Something that''s more important than your survival of a destined death¡­ howe?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "It''s nothing really, anyway," the Sect Master Tried to change the subject, "When do we expect the humans to arrive at our borders?" asked the Sect Master.

    "It should take half a year for them to travel across all that vast distance. Why are you asking," said the grand elder.

    With the news of the human envoys needing to take half a year, the sect master sighed.

    "Thankfully, he is just some random person, it would have been really awkward otherwise," Mumbled the Sect Master.

    "What are you talking about?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "Oh, nothing, nothing," the Sect Master said.

    Suddenly, someone at the door to the Sect Master''s pce spoke.

    "Yourdyship! The envoys of the Poison Sect had arrived!"

    As if her heart sank, the sect master''s eyes widened realizing that her moment of rxation was about to turn upside down.

    ***

    "Oh, this ce looks nice, but it would be nicer if we weren''t tied like this," I mumbled as we were escorted by apany of a couple of dozen Demon Race nsmen.

    "It''s for your own protection," our guide now transformed into a half demon spoke.

    "Right, but I kinda feel that if you wanted us dead, with these cuffs on our hands, it would be pretty easy wouldn''t it," I said.

    "If we wanted you dead, none of you would have taken a step here." The guide said

    "Fair enough, but where are we going now?" I asked.

    "We''ll need to meet with the Sect Master, only she knows of your mission, she is right up ahead." Said the demon nsman.

    We moved past dozens of beautifully designed homes, they looked like small domed huts of brick built into the mountain range that made the Demonic sect. The paved way and the grand trees seemed to give the entire range a spiritual heavenly feel to it.

    As for the main pce, it was built atop the highest mountain, and only by walking up a steep and high set of stairs can one reach it.

    Once we were at the top, we arrived on top of a tform that seemed like the entire mountain tip was shaved off, allowing a t surface where the main sect pce was built. And in front of the pce, we stood all three of us. Waiting.

    Several elders were outside the pce, they were all gazing at us with clear disdain in their eyes, more like murderous intent.

    Ai Li seemed to shy away from the gazes of the elders as it was too strong for her cultivation level. Well technically speaking the pressure they were emitting was just enough to make us shudder, but not enough to cause any injuries, it was to assert dominance. It would have worked on me, if my soul wasn''t already far stronger than the elders though.

    "Enough!" spoke an elderly woman who came out of the main pce.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® I assumed she was the sect master, since her words were enough to disperse all the ''rude'' divine sense pressure of the other elders.

    "Children of the human race, you came bearing the white g. We shall treat you as guests in the house of the Demon Sect, make sure to behave as guests would, however." She said.

    It was a clear warning, don''t fuck up, or you''ll die. And I respect that.

    I sped my hands at the olddy and said, "We''vee here to present this," I said as I held a scroll forward.

    One of the elders on the side approached and grabbed the scroll from my hand, he then handed it to the older woman.

    Before she opened the scroll, the woman looked at our former guide and asked. "Howe you arrived this fast?"

    "It was Shen Mo. He has a mechanical board that could travel vast distances in a short time. If we didn''t have an ident we would have arrived even earlier," he said.

    I didn''t expect him to not reveal my secrets since he was a member of the demon n, but damn man, at least wait to tell her that in private now everyone is interested in this ''tool''.

    "Very well, now," she said and opened the scroll.

    Reading through the scroll, her eyes widened then squinted to a puzzled look.

    "This¡­ we need to discuss the details of this with the Sect Master," the grand elder said. Come in, the three of you," she said and with one wave of her hand, she managed to break all our handcuffs.

    I flexed my hands which finally were rxed and followed after the woman.

    Hearing that she isn''t the Sect Master made it clear that even someone with her power had someone stronger ruling over them. I wonder how powerful the sect master is.

    Just as we walked inside the main pce. Ai Li sniffed at the air and frowned.

    "What''s wrong?" I said in a low tone.

    "This smell¡­ it smells just like the one you had on you from yesterday," she said.

    "Huh? What are you talking about?" I wondered.

    "Please remain quiet, the Sect Master will be here with you soon.

    And just like that the elder left us in an emptyrge hall where only one seat was presented, ced high above a dais, higher than the entire room.

    A woman with pink hair and horns that crowned her head walked in.

    Just as our eyes met, hers widened and so did mine. Yet the mouth that spoke made things far more awkward than they should have.

    "Ah, I knew it, she has that scent, you were fooling around with women yesterday instead of staying on guard!" Ai Li spoke. And I wished she hadn''t. Because her words could be misinterpreted. Well, actually, she wasn''t wrong but sister did you really have to go and expose us like this?

    The Sect Master who is the woman who just sat on the chair coughed as if she didn''t hear Ai Li blurting out some scandalous things.

    "We have received your message. And a truce is not something that can be decided in a day or two. We shall deliberate the content of this request with our Elders and present you with a reasonable answer in due time. For now, you will be ced under watch, to move about in the Demonic Sect, but do note, that your behavior here will have to be in ordance to a weed guest." She said.

    I sped my hands and nodded "As you wish, Sect Master," I said.

    The two idiots with me took in the queue and did the same.

    Just as we were leaving, "You there, stay, the other two, you may leave, there will be someone to escort you to the guest house."

    ''Ah shit¡­''

 Chapter 447 Negotiation

    Several awkward minutes of silence passed as the Sect Master was slowly tapping her sharp nailed index finger on the wooden handrest of her chair.

    The silence was loud, enough that you could hear a pin drop, and every time she tapped her finger, it reverberated through the room making some sort of invisible pressure. She was trying to assert her position.

    Before I could say anything to break the silence, she spoke, "You, have you told anyone anything of¡­what happened, yesterday?" she asked.

    "Not really," I said shrugging.

    She then took a breath and rxed, "Then, it would all remain a mystery if you were to disappear." She said.

    Her words were a clear threat, and I''m not good with threats. Especially from someone weaker than me, not my current body, but weaker than my original body.

    As I was about to retort in a very rude and frankly very justified manner she sighed and said.

    "Don''t worry, I''m not going to do anything to you, like I said you saved my life, and we can just consider that as payment," she said.

    "Hold on," I said as I approached, "You seem to be mistaken something," I said as I was close to her.

    She didn''t think I was much of a threat so she didn''t even lift her guard up as I approached, in fact the power difference between her and the body I''m using was enough to have her at ease. But not for long.

    "You think I came on to you? It was you who did that, don''t paint me as the bad guy when your lust took the better of you, you''re the one who sumbed to her own desires and I was a victim of your desires, and now you''re telling me that the debt between us has been paid, don''t fucking tter yourself that much," I said.

    Probably, since the day she was born, this was the first time she had heard words this direct and rude toward her, especially from the shocked realization, shame, and anger she showed in one expression.

    "Objectively speaking, I helped you, treated you, saved you from death twice, and you did whatever you wanted, and you want me to be thankful? Fuck off!" I said.

    Her hand crushed the rest on the chair she was on as she stood up, Qi gathered around her as a baleful gale threatened to rip apart the entire building we were on, but that didn''t phase me one bit.

    "Brave, are you," she said, "Don''t you think this bravery of yours, is more like you being an idiotic suicidal man? You want to aggravate me that much? Why? With the clear disparity of our strength, you think you can escape my wrath?" she said.

    "I''m a man who never fights a fight he cannot win, but here, I don''t see how I can lose, especially to you," I said.

    Her mind seemed to reel, in fact, for her, I was nothing but a Soul Formation cultivator, while she was already at the Ascendant Stage. How can a man who can only wield Heavenly Qi even bare his fangs at a person who can control Saint Qi. A question she couldn''t answer at the moment, but the confidence in my actions, my eyes were a clear indicator that I was not bluffing.

    She sighed once more and sat back down, all the wrath and anger that was roiling seemed to dissipate as if had not been there.

    "I''ll agree to the terms of the Poison Sect," she said.

    "I don''t give a flying fuck," I said.

    She frowned, "Shouldn''t you be overjoyed, to have the content of your request delivered without a single change? Wouldn''t that be a great merit for your sect?" she asked.

    "I have no attachment to the Poison Sect nor do I care much of what happens within it, the only thing I care about is my, and my own personal benefit, if you think that I''ll lick your feet in thanks for agreeing to the Poison Sect''s terms, then you''re out of your mind, for what you incurred upon me in loss, you must appease to me, not to my sect," I said.

    "Your way with words is rude, very displeasing but at the same time¡­it leaves one without a way to talk back, very well, I know that you of the Poison Sect like to tame a beast to fight for you, then, how about this," she said and threw me a small pouch she grabbed from her holding bag.

    As I grabbed the pouch and opened it, I found inside it several pellets.

    "What is this?" I asked.

    "Beast Blood Pellets, they can help grow the Qi and the bodies of beasts, it elerates their growth and power without any side effects." She said.

    "This¡­ if it''s as you say, shouldn''t be something easy to obtain."

    "It is not, be grateful," she said.

    "Not enough," I said as I looked at her. "Do you honestly believe that your life is worth but this? Nor do I think that my dignity is worth this much," I said.

    "Dignity? You were enjoying yourself!" she said.

    "So were you," I shrugged.

    "Arrghh!" she took another breath and threw me a scroll.

    I grabbed it and my eyes opened in wonder.

    "Demonic Restitution¡­ what is this?" I asked.

    "Your Qi, it''s demonic, I felt it the moment we met. But you, for some reason have very little control over your Demonic Prows. Though you can use it, you are not tuned to it. This manual will allow you further understanding of Demonic Qi and its application. But I doubt you can fully understand or use it," she said.

    "You''re underestimating me a lot," I said.

    "It has nothing to do with understanding, the application of this manual will incur great pain upon your body, it will forcefully change your built-in Qi to that of Demonic Qi unless you''re able to tolerate the modification and change of every vessel, bone, and muscle, you''re not going to have a perfect grasp over it. That is why, this is only good until a certain level, otherwise unless you''re of the demonic race who are born already with bodies inplete harmony with the Demonic Restitution method, you''ll suffer for no gains."

    I smirked as I heard her exnation, so I only needed to modify and change my body structure. It shouldn''t be that hard to do, especially since this isn''t my body.

    "I''ll take it still," I said.

    "Good, we can consider the debt between us as resolved," I added then turned to leave.

    "You''ll have people escorting you outside to your temporary residence, as for the final verdict it will be announced in a few days," she said.

    Once I left the pce, two gruff and annoyed looking Demonic-Members urged me to follow them, they seemed to not want to be seen with me.

    Once I arrived at a rtively decent-looking house at the farthest corner of the Demonic Sect, one of them said, "Yourpanions are inside, food will be given to you every day. Do not leave this area, and do not speak to other of our sect members unless spoken to first," they said and left.

    "Feels more like a prison than a guest stay," I sighed and walked into therge house.

    The two idiots were inside, Ai Li for some reason seemed to be annoyed at the sight of me, as for the other guy why I never bothered to know his name he sighed of relief once he saw me.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® "What have you been doing for so long?" she asked.

    "I''m not sure what that has to do with you," I said.

    "IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH US! We''ve been sent on a mission and you''re going to screw it up because of the thing between your legs!" she said.

    "Woah, jealous much?" I teased.

    But her red face and even angrier expression made her look even more tease-worthy.

    "Anyway, I managed to have the Sect Master agree to allow all the terms through, also it was thanks to the guy between my legs so you should be thankful for it," I said smiling and walked upstairs leaving her fuming.

    For now, I''ll need to learn more about this Demonic Restitution method. It seems that it will allow me further and more control over the Demonic Qi I''ve been amassing.

 Chapter 448 Repair

    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ESCAPED? HOW CAN FOOD ESCAPE!" a roaring echo of an overlord boomed through the red skies of the Red Pce. The Fire Lord, ruler of an entire dominion of the vast expanse exuded power beyond what any mortal could hope to ever see. A pressure is so domineering that it made the skies themselves tremble and the far mountains copse.

    The Fire Lord had just received more enraging news. Not only did the brat who he mobilized a good amount of his army to subdue, escape. He even appeared at the Wind Pce. His small n to thwart the ascension of his rival the Wind King was blown away.

    Not only that, he was also the prot??g?? of that whore of a Queen. Although killing her could be done, she would not go down without costing the Fire Realm an arm and a leg in the process. And the reason he didn''t try and take her out of the ying field was because of the issue that will ur immediately after. The moment the Fire King weakens, many hyenas wille to im his Key.

    Three Keys have already been discovered. One is his, and the second belongs to that woman. The third is in the hands of an elusive master, but that wouldn''t be an issue if the Fire Lord decides to hunt him down. Two more keys remain, but before their appearance, the Fire Lord cannot move.

    The Fire Lord''s fear only grew when he realized that. In case the other realms were to discover another Key, his position will be endangered. So he needed to quell thepetition.

    This was his n, to take down the strongest of the four realms, then rule over the remaining forces. Subdue them all to his ruling, then escape this prison called the Vast Expanse to the grandiose world of the Celestials.

    Yet, to arrive there, they must find Keys to this prison, and with so many not willing to break this world open for the chance to see the real world. He is bound to his pce, waiting.

    But, if that was all, the Fire King wouldn''t be this angry, the reason of his insatiable wrath was the fact that his ''food'' escaped.

    A prisoner that had been captured a few years ago should have been primed and ready for consumption, it should have been the time for it to ripen. A fire-attuned cultivator of dark skin, though the Fire Lord wanted to eat him immediately after he had been discovered, the Fire Lord decided it would be best if that food were to further grow, to be stronger, and by proxy, tastier. So, he had that young man work in the deepest part of his caves. Mining endlessly in the Blood Stone mines, growing day and night, due to the pervasive nature of the evil Yang Qi. Though the young man was bound to lose all rational from the heat and the vile Qi, he would invertedly be growing. And be worthy of eating.

    Yet, when the time hade, and the Fire Lord ordered for the retrieval of that young man. The people who went to the deeper parts of the cave couldn''t find any trace of him, it was as if he had disappeared. Not even his chains remained. And he seemed to havepletely left the.

    Rage beyond what anyone could ever support transformed into visible waves of dominating pressure that constantly rushed out of the Fire Lord.

    "FIND HIM! FIND HIM NOW!" the Fire Lord roared and his strongest and most loyal rushed out of the in all directions to find the one that escaped.

    ---

    Far away from the infernal domain of the Fire Lord, and in a most remote location of the Northern Domain, was a that was half a forest and half ins with little seas in between. This was where Shen Bao was currently, spending his days in peace... after all, he was as far away from the troubles of the Vast Expanse as anyone could... or so he thought.

    ***

    As I was chilling inside the guest house, for the third day having surprisingly easilypleted the full set of the Demonic Restitution manual, someone came to inform us of the decision of the Demonic Sect.

    The person in question was our former guide, he came in with a wide smile on his face.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "Oh, the Demon Sect had decided to agree to the terms of the truce, and thepetition too. We''ll be hosting it in a neutral area just so everyone can befortable. As for you, you''re all free to go afterpleting your mission," he said.

    "Hmm, good then, I should start preparing to leave." I said.

    The guide left after having given us all the information we needed. With the truce between the two warring sects, this whole coulde to an age of prosperity. Which isn''t that bad. Now I''ll have more time to focus on myself.

    "We should leave soon," said Ai Li, "I don''t like it here," she added.

    "And how do you suppose we can leave?" I said as I went outside the house and began pulling some tools from my holding bag.

    "What do you mean? We''ll just walk out," she added.

    "I''m really surprised that you can be this dumb," I replied to her as I pulled out the hoverboard.

    "You do realize it will take several months of travel if we were to return on foot. Wait until I fix the hoverboard then we can arrive to the poison sect in close to no time," I said.

    Yet the moment Ai Li looked at thepletely fried, damaged and almost unrecognizable Hoverboard she said, "With damage like this, wouldn''t it be better to scrap this off and buy a new one?" she said.

    "You think this thing can be bought? Hah," Iughed as I began dismantling the damaged parts.

    "Aren''t you just trying to impress us with trying to fix something like this? I know a bit of inscription, and from the looks of the inscription damage there, it would be more time efficient to buy a new one or get another type of transportation method, it''s good to know when to give up you know," she said.

    "Those words are for people with little patience and too much money on their hands, as for me, as long as it hasn''tpletely turned to dust, I can fix it." I said and began by opening the reactor.

    A surge of Saint Qi pulsated from inside the damaged reactor and it was enough to have several elders of the Demon Sect to notice and immediatelye investigate.

    "What the hell are you doing?! Do you n on getting us killed!" said Ai Li as several Elders arrived with swords drawn.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "Put, that damn thing down child! Do you wish to incur our wrath!" said one of the elders.

    "Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" I said as I tilted my head."

    "That thing in your hand, it looks dangerous, with Saint Qi that powerful, it could raze the entire Demon Sect to the ground, was that your n from the start humans? Even after agreeing to your terms! You still want to harm this sect!" he said.

    "Just chill man, I''m just repairing my ride," I said.

    "Do you think us fools! How can you a mere Soul Formation cultivator even tune Saint Qi!" he said.

    Just as his words left his mouth he came charging at me, I didn''t feel any murderous intent, and that came in handy. For him that is.

    "Y," I spoke. And immediately a massive puppet, three times my height appeared behind me, it stood tall with energy and power equivalent to an Ascendant at his zenith of power. Four great swords in hands, and a massive mask-like shield hovering eerily behind it.

    "Lord, do you want me to end them?" asked Y.

    "No, you''re just here so that no one makes a stupid move," I said "As for you elder, if you''re that worried about me blowing up your sect, if I wanted you harm, you think I''ll waste a Saint Qi crystal on you? Y alone can raze this whole ce, so please, just sit back, rx, and watch, you might even learn something," I said as I waved my hand over the reactor.

    The moment I did, a great golden holographic inscription showed up. I then pulled my brush and began re-aligning and adjusting the damaged inscription, rewrote the older and updated them.

    The brush in my hand was moving at a speed that even the elders were mesmerized while they were looking at it.

    "X,e out," I added and another puppet showed up, "I need you to cut and solder some of the parts," I said and began giving X detailed information on how to help me.

    This was nothing but a show of power, not for the elders, no, but for the Sect Master of the Demonic n. Simply put, this was to show her, that if she had tried anything against me that day, this would have been her end.

    X began by cutting apart the pieces and bits that were too damaged of the hoverboard to be repaired, and reced the broken parts by other parts I had in spare inside my Lord of Lords pagoda. And after six hours of constant work, I ced the reactor back inside the Hoverboard. And then turned it on.

    The board exuded a powerful Saint Qi wave and hovered over the ground.

    "Good, it''s done," I said, "Now let''s go back I said to the other two, who seemed to still be too stunned to speak after seeing how I managed inscriptions.

    "Well then, see you all in a bit, we''ll arrive back to the Poison Sect in one day, maybe a bit less, so, how about we start thispetition you talked about in a month time," I said.

    "Shouldn''t you consult with your sect first?" asked one of the elders.

    "No need, the faster we bring peace the better, now, what do you say, Sect Master," I said to no one in particr.

    The elders turned around, confused seeing me talk to a Sect Master that didn''t seem to be among them, but just as they were about to speak, a pink gust of wind formed in front of us, and the Sect Master appeared.

    "Then so be it, we''ll meet in a month''s time, we''ll mobilize only the talented of our sect, based on the contents of the letter we received from the poison Sect. Along with five elders each for protection and keeping security, and the sect masters themselves will be present." She said.

    "Good then, d we''re on the same page, alright you two, let''s go," I said.

    The two hopped on the hoverboard and I started it and began elevating, "See you all in a month," I said and then turned it toward the direction of the poison sect.

    "Hmm, are you sure we can even make it back to the poison sect, inform them and have them mobilize in less than a month? Though your board is indeed fast, it took us three weeks of flight just to arrive here, and now you said you can get back to the Poison Sect in less than a month, how?" Ai Li asked.

    "Simple, it''s because I wasn''t using this board''s full speed that time, buckle up," I said.

    "With what?" she asked.

    "Well, anything, just grab onto the handles of the board," I said.

    And just as they did, I pressed on a pedal to erect the protective barrier of the board, then pressed the gas.

    The world seemed to elongate as the board shot forward with speeds several times faster than sound. Leaving the two who rode with me on the boardpletely bbergasted at the speeds we were moving.

    After all, when I carried them to the Demon Sect, the board was heavily damaged, and now that''s repaired, I might as well flex a bit of speed.

 Chapter 449 Trouble In The Horizon

    In less than half a day, we were already at the Poison Sect''s gates, and next to me were the two idiots, who seemed to have never flown at these speeds.

    Ai Li''s elegant, usually charming, and head-held high disposition turned to that of a ragged-looking, puffed hair, and nauseated appearance. The moment they stepped on solid ground, our beast tamer clenched the dirt hard, he felt as if his body arrived before his soul and remained there for a while, while she on the other hand seemed to be vomiting stuff she ate at least a month ago.

    I grinned as I stepped down from the hoverboard and headed to the inner sect.

    Once I arrived to the Sect Master''s humble hut, I was met with a surprised-faced Sect Master.

    "What is wrong? Did you forget something? Or did you encounter troubles as you were heading to the Demonic Sect?" asked the sect master.

    "No, we''re already back, and the mission details have been approved. The truce will be held and the tournament to appease the ancestors will be in one month at a region they called neutral, its here," I said as I pointed at an ind in a faraway region of the.

    "That''s¡­ impressive, unbelievable but impressive, how did you manage to cross such a great distance back and forth in less than ten days? I assumed it would take you at least a year''s worth of travel time just toe back," the Sect Master asked.

    "It''s thanks to a ride I own. Anyway, with this missionplete, I could assume that I''ll be left alone?" I said.

    "Of course, we''ll need to have a banquet first! Since peace hasn''t been something we ever thought possible, and you made thousands of years of warring end in ten days, it''s a day to be joyous about! Not only that, you will also obtain the full support of the poison sect, from pills poisons to anything you wish! This is a grand day! HEAR YE!" shouted the sect master.

    And his voice revibrated through the entire Poison Sect.

    "Shen Mo had done great merit to the Poison Sect, we can now hope for peace with the Demonic n! Yet we will not show weakness or be tame! The strongest of the sect, the inner cultivators and outer cultivators! Make sure you battle amongst each other! Prove your worth and value, and prove to me that you''re among those worthy to represent our sect in the uingpetition!" he said.

    I took a few steps back because I knew where he was going with these words.

    "As for you Shen Mo, since you have done such a great deed for the sect, you need not even bother with showing your strength, you''lle with me, and be one of mine. Among the elders to watch the tournament," he said.

    "Can I like¡­refuse, I have a lot of stuff to do," I said.

    "No need to be humble! I know you feel like you have earned the right to attend this event without deserving it, but believe me, no one had done any deed greater than yours, and if someone dares and says otherwise, they''ll have me to answer! Go Shen Mo, rest up, eat well, and train using all of the sect''s resources that you can use. You''re worth at least that much!" he said smiling.

    ''Damn, after an offer like that I can''t say no,'' I sighed.

    "I''ll take you up on your offer," I said and then I was heading out.

    "Hold on, you don''t have a home of your own, you may use this hut, no one will bother you in your training," he said.

    "Huh? What about you?" I asked.

    "I have many other pces, I only use this ce to meet with disciples of the sect, now it is yours," he said.

    "Right then, I''d appreciate that," I said since I needed a ce to stay anyway.

    The sect master left and just as he did I called Kyuu out, he was feeling bored clearly inside the lord of lords pagoda, and just I called him out he began hopping over the furniture and jumping as he was exploring new areas.

    "Come here," I said as I pulled out one of the Beast Blood Peletts.

    The moment Kyuu saw one, he jumped at it like a sh of lightning, chewed and swallowed it before he evennded on the ground.

    "Damn, you must have been hungry, want another?" I asked as I threw another in the air, Kyuu immediately jumped gobbling it up.

    I yed with Kyuu for a while, and soon, he seemed to be toozy to move. He curled up and went to sleep.

    I smiled and went out of the hut, I had many things to prepare. And among them were to restock on my firepower. Not that I need it, but you never know when shit can go down, and it''s always good to be prepared.

    ---

    After twenty days, many things had happened.

    I spent a great deal of time inside the Lord of Lord''s pagoda, and thanks to its time dtion, I was able to make a lot of upgrades and restocked on many of my explosives and poison pills. The fact that I was able to use time to my advantage helped me greatly.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    I also increased my cultivation level by a small realm, and was at the sixth level of the Soul Formation, three more and I could climb up to the Soul Transformation level and be a powerhouse in the Poison Sect.

    Since only elders are at the Soul Transformation level, and only the sect master is at the early stages of the Ascendant Level.

    As for thepetition between the sect members, it already finished. And I was surprised to see the lineup. Ai Li was actually among the ten members that will bepeting. And another man who seemed to be hiding his face with a cowl. He had a mysterious look to him, and with two giant des behind his back, and the energy he was exuding, you can already tell that he is at the cusp of bing a Soul Transformation cultivator.

    There were eight other cultivators who seemed to be pretty powerful, and these are the pride of the Poison Sect. They all had their own beasts apanying them too.

    "Good, we''ll be heading out now," the sect master said. then he pped his hands.

    Suddenly a loud screech echoed from behind the Poison Sect.

    Looking behind us, a giant bird¡­ closer to a phoenix than one could believe appeared.

    It had three eyes on each side of its face, a beak that seemed to have enough teeth that a shark would be jealous, and wings that spanned a hundred meters at least.

    The bird flew down and we didn''t even feel the heat from its burning body.

    It then coyly rubbed its head against the Sect Master''s hands.

    "This will be our ride, it should take us ten days to arrive to the designated location, everyone get on board!" the sect master said.

    Half of the sect elders and all thepetitors rode on top of the massive bird. I followed suit and jumped up on the bird.

    "Why aren''t you using your board?" asked Ai Li the moment I sat down on the bird''s soft back.

    "What''s the point of arriving earlier than everyone and then having to wait ten days for you to arrive?" I shrugged.

    There was no need for me to use the hoverboard actually, I already brought Y with me, hidden inside the Poison God Book''s storage. The board, however, I kept hidden inside the hut.

    In case I ever needed my original body, I won''t have to wait for it toe flying since it will take much more time than using the board''s full speed.

    Once the bird took a p of its wings, we were already hundreds of meters above the ground, it screeched and then shot forward with rtively decent speed.

    ***

    Within the vast expanse at the northern side of the starry skies was a lone cultivator who had heavy wounds on his body.

    The cultivator was flying at full speed forward without a destination in sight and cursing.

    "Damn vagrants, this is going to slow me down too much I need rest," he sighed.

    This cultivator had red and dark robes, he was a member of the elite forces of the Fire Lord. A few years ago, the Fire Lord, enraged at the disappearance of one of his ''foods'' he ordered the majority of his forces to go and look for him all over the vast expanse.

    The majority of the elite cultivators have spread all over the vast expanse, heading to the Earth, Water, and even the Fire domains, but they didn''t dare go into the realm of the Wind King since his wife had absolute power within this domain.

    Yet only this cultivator decided to go here, since though it''s a farfetched location due to how far the Fire and wind realms are from each other, if he were to find traces of the escaped person, he''ll be heavily rewarded. Not only that, he also had a great treasure that couldpletely hide his presence from the most powerful of divine senses. So even if he were to infiltrate into the Wind Realm, he''ll never be caught if he was careful.

    As he was traveling, he found traces of Divine Fire Qi. It was so pure that it felt like it was nothing but the birth of a heavenly treasure, yet the moment he arrived to the location where the traces of this Qi was, a huge battle had urred. Many cultivators had discovered this ce, and since no one wanted to relinquish their right to investigate a fight was bound to happen.

    The Fire Realm cultivator however was powerful and managed to break and kill many of these vagrants. But it still cost him damage to his body, the worst part was, that the traces were a bit old, and no treasure was to be found beside the remains of some fractures in space that seemed to have mended over time.

    Thinking about it for a while the cultivator came to the conclusion that the treasure was probably so powerful it opened a rift in space and was sucked into the space between space itself. That was nothing but a death sentence if he were to open it and go inside to search since it waspletely empty.

    So the cultivator had to take the loss and leave and found onerge that seemed to have more forest andnd than it had sea.

    The cultivator decided that it would be a good idea to go down and heal up before he would continue his search¡­

 Chapter 450 Invader

    Arriving on the deserted ind took exactly ten days, which made us arrive on the same day as the Demon Sect.

    The two sects each had massive beasts they rode on, ours was this phoenix-like creature, who I learned during our travel was actually a sub-species of the Suzaku, a distant rtive to the almighty phoenix. While the Demon Sect rode on a giant winged gray whale.

    Yes, a whale with eighteen wings. The two massive creatures were adamant on facing each other the moment they were face to face. But with each of the sect masters applying a great deal of submissive pressure, the two beasts decided it was better that they don''t fight.

    The two creatures were ordered to go down, on each side of the ind, then soon both of the Sect Masters, and the elders were to meet in the middle of the ind to prepare for the ''friendly''petition that will be the reason to bury the hatchet and put a stop to this wheel of vengeance and pointless deaths.

    "Greetings," spoke the Poison Sect''s master first as he sped his hands to the Demon Sect.

    Yao Hua, the Sect Master of the Demon n did the same as she sped her hands towards him.

    Then without realizing she nced my way and frowned.

    "Ah, you must be wondering why I brought a disciple alongside the elders," said the Poison Sect Master.

    "No," Yao Hua shook her head, "I know this person, and his ability, it''s not a wonder that he''d be apanying the elders of our sect. Anyway, since our sect is more attuned with nature, we''ll be responsible over reconstructing this area, give us a day, and we''ll make it fit for apetition," She said.

    "Then we''ll leave you to it, if you need any help or working power we''ll provide all and any help. As for now, we''ll keep to ourselves on the other side of the ind not to bother you," said the Sect Master.

    "Good then, we''ll proceed with building the arena," Yao Hua said and pped her hands.

    Soon, several disciples began moving, using their Qi to manipte the ground, dirt and stone to shape it into tforms and pirs.

    They were working hard, and since no issues happened, we''re better off going back.

    As we were heading off, one of the elders spoke to the sect master, "We shouldn''t have acted so meekly in front of them," he said.

    "And then what?" replied the Sect Master, "This isn''t an event that we can afford to be haughty or arrogant, it''s a bloody war that we''re bringing an end to, if anyone dares and disrespect or cause any issues with the Demon Sect, they''ll have me to answer for, this isn''t something we can ruin by being petty or prideful, mind your words and manners," the Sect Master spoke.

    And I agree with him, there is no point in making a fuss or being annoyed or even trying to act as the top dog when all everyone wants is just peace.

    After we headed back, we found that the disciples already set up camp. Some were practicing and some were meditating, tomorrow''s event was going to be a great opportunity to prove one''s prows and gain ''Face'' for their sect. So everyone was excited and anxious at the same time.

    I went to rest and made some final checks on my ''toys''.

    ***

    The next morning the two sects met together in the middle of the ind. The Demon Sect had proven their ability by having reformed the open empty lot of yesterday into a giant arena that could host thousands of spectators. A massive squared tform in the middle of the round arena where thebatant will face off. And two honorary booths to seat the sect masters one on each side of the stadium.

    The squared tform also had a giant barrier to protect spectators and hold off any sort of ability from harming the spectators.

    The arena was almostpletely empty since only twenty people on each side had arrived. The arena was built in hopes of having morepetitions in the future where the future generations of the Demon Sect and the Poison Sect could challenge each other here without needing to spill blood in a useless war.

    Just as the few members of each sect sat in their respective seats. One of each sect''s elders approached the arena. They greeted each other and asked one of each of their sects toe forward.

    The first fight was bound to be the most exciting since the first toe up from the poison sect was the man named Xu Tian, the man that Ai Li was considering her older brother and the strongest of the current generation.

    As for the one he was facing, it was surprisingly none other than our former guide Yun Shi.

    "Filthy traitor," spoke Xu Tian. Not the best icebreaker when we''re trying to establish a truce.

    As for Yun Shi, he just shrugged and pulled out a dagger, "You can''t call me a traitor, I was a demon n member all along, now let''s see how the infamous Xu Tian fights," he said as the two of them were ready for battle.

    "There will be no killing here, any intentional harming or brutalizing of the opponents will immediately disqualify the assant. Fight, but do not im your opponent''s life nor destroy their cultivation base! You may begin!" one of the elders said and the two of them stepped away from the arena, eyes peeled and ready to intervene at the drop of a hat.

    The two disciples began by slowly moving in circles around each other.

    "Who do you think might win?" asked the sect master, and since I was also in the booth next to him, I replied, "It''s probably Xu Tian''s loss, even considering his strength is higher than Yun Shi," I said.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    The elders of the Poison Sect frowned, "Are you rooting for the enemy?!"

    "As long as you keep considering the Demon n an enemy I don''t think this whole truce thing will ever work out," I sighed.

    "Shen Mo is right, we can''t be seeing the Demon Sect as our enemy. As for your thoughts about the match can you exin a bit more?" he asked.

    "Simple, one is a spy, and the other is not," I shrugged.

    "How is that an exnation?" the same grumpy elder form before asked.

    "Think about it, how long was Yun Shi a spy in the Poison Sect? don''t you think he knows a thing or two about the "pride" of the poison sect? He must have already known his strengths and weaknesses, this fight will be about Xu Tian fighting an unknown foe, while the other person is able to read him like an open book. Unless Xu Tian''s talent is out of this world, I can''t see a world where he can win against someone who already knows all of his tricks. At least I wouldn''t lose to someone like that," I said.

    "Big words, but we''ll see if your wordse true," the elder folded his arms and rested back on his chair.

    The two opponents shot forward against each other at blinding speeds.

    Xu Tian''s swords seemed to disappear from his back and appear in his hands as he swung both of them in a cross-like shape which sent two giant waves of Qi toward Yun Shi. Thetter didn''t dodge, but on the other hand, he stabbed his dagger forward, striking at the exact point where the two energy waves met, and broke the flow of the abilitypletely. Not only that he stomped on the ground causing bits of it to go up and grasp onto Xu Tian''s ankles.

    The sudden disruption of Xu Tian''s movement gave Yun Shi enough time tond a blow on the stunned man''s chest.

    The strike wasn''t that deep, since there was no need to kill the opponent.

    "Match is over, the winner is Yun Shi," said the elder from the Poison Sect.

    "What do you mean! I''m still standing!" shouted Xu Tian. He couldn''t ept having lost so fast. "And he cheated! This terrain was modified by the Demon Sect something is wrong here!" he said.

    "Shut up, if the blow was any deeper you''d be a corpse by now, Go back to your position and don''t embarrass us any further!" the elder said.

    Reluctantly, Xu Tian cursed as he left the arena with his tail behind his back. As for Yun Shi, since he won his first match he could still stay on the arena.

    Another challenger needed to go up and take him down.

    "Lucky guess," spoke the elder behind me.

    "I would have actually let it go if you didn''t talk, but I told you so," I said grinning.

    "This next match is going to be even worse," I added.

    The opponent this time was Ai Li who looked to be fuming, with rage at the loss of her ''precious'' older brother, she is bound to make mistakes and act rashly especially since I know how she behaves.

    But just as she took the first step on the tform I sprang up, "X Y COME OUT! EVERYONE PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" my voice echoed like the booming of thunder.

    It took a second for everyone in the arena to look at me weirdly, and another second before the Sect Masters of both sects stood up, sweat dripping on their foreheads.

    A meteor-like projectile seemed to head directly toward the arena and just as it was close to impact, Y was already up to face it, with his massive Shield Mask at the ready.

    An explosive impact shook the very space above the arena as echoes of sound and vibrations rattled the ground we stood on and rose dust for hundreds of miles outside of the ind causing the very sea around the ind to shudder and move away.

    A man wearing ck and red, the attire identifying him clearly to everyone who saw him. A member of the Fire Pce. And a high-ranking one at that too.

    Not only that, this man, though looked wounded, exuded Qi that was far too oppressive for anyone here. This man was a Saint ss cultivator¡­ No, he was a King ss that had his cultivation base drop due to injuries. But that doesn''t make him any less dangerous.

    Y''s entire body was run into the ground, cratering it, though he didn''t receive any damage on his mask or his body, he was out of order for a few seconds for sure.

    All of that power came from a single finger that this cultivator used to stop Y.

    "Shit¡­" I cursed. This is not going to end well.

 Chapter 451 Battle

    The two Sect Masters shot up forward to block the iing Fire Cultivator.

    "NO!" I shouted, and it didn''t take more than a snort for the two sect masters to be shot back down to the ground.

    "I find it interesting when flies try and fight back, die," the fire cultivator said as he pulled up his hand forward, it looked charred ck and from it an incinerating wave shot out to burn the entire arena.

    I raised both my hands forward and shot up every ounce of Qi I had in my body, not to stop or block, because trying to do so and trying to suppress a King ss cultivator was nothing short of suicide. But to take control and subvert the iing wave of fire.

    My Veridian Heart me was fueled by my Soul energy, and I wouldn''t lose to a King ss when it''s rted to me control even with a weaker cultivation base.

    The iing raging wave of hellfire seemed to morph and distort as it came in contact with my own Veridian Heart me, fully to be consumed ande under my rule.

    Yet, that wouldn''t save us from what is toe next, the ability to control fire isn''t the only thing a King ss cultivator has, and since he realized that his mes were of no use, he shot toward me with blinding speed.

    Yet before his hand could even grasp my neck, Y''s sword swung down aiming to chop it down. The cultivator snorted once again and took a step back.

    "What are you?! Who are you and why have youe here!" the Poison Sect Master shouted out as he pulled a cudgel that radiated purple poisonous energy.

    "I''m your doom, be grateful that you''ll die by the hands of one of the Spears of the Fire king!" he said.

    The moment the words, Spear of the Fire King were uttered, I felt the hearts of everyone including the Poison Sect master and the Demon Sect master drop.

    "What is one of the eight spears doing here?!" asked the Demon Sect master, "We have no enmity with the Fire King!" she said. Not to mention that this was the Wind Realm. The fact that a Fire Spear came here should be news that would rock many waves in the Vast Expanse. The peace between the four factions was very precarious and this guy came out of nowhere to ruin it.

    "Dead Men tell no tales! Die!" he said and snapped his finger, causing a small spark to ignite in front of the Demon Sect master, the spark morphed into a sphere then it exploded creating a giant crater that rocked the entire ind we were on.

    I stood watching in shock. Is this the power of a King ss cultivator? I even fought one, the corpse, but it wasn''t this strong!

    No, thinking about it, the corpse though was not strong, it was sealed and controlled, and it had just woken up, extremely weakened and not using its full power. Not that it matters, because even if this person in front of me was not using his full power since he was clearly wounded, he was still a power to be reckoned with.

    "Oh, impressive, you survived that," said the Fire cultivator in a mocking tone.

    Looking at the damage done, and the giant fuming crater, I couldn''t even begin to fathom how can someone survive that, but the personing out of the crater, though bloodied and wounded, she looked pretty much fine.

    She had transformed into that subus form to block the damage. But from what I can see, although she could stand up, it was obvious to anyone that she took in more damage than she is showing.

    I sent a divine sense message to both sect masters, "I don''t know what he is trying to do, or why he is here, but buy me some time, an hour! If you buy me an hour I can get us out of this mess!"

    "Fool! How can we even survive for an hour!?" the demon sect master replied.

    "Oh, strategizing between yourselves, quite interesting, I would love to see how mere sheep cane up with a n, especially if you are all DEAD!" he shouted and chased after one of the disciples who were too slow to realize that the cultivator wasing for him.

    The fire cultivator grabbed the disciples by the neck, and unceremoniously ripped his head, spine included, out of his body.

    The disciple''s eyes couldn''t believe what happened as he struggled to get words out of his mouth. The Fire Cultivator opened his mouth and sucked in the very soul of the dead cultivator, absorbing it and visibly healing some of the damage.

    The young cultivators realized it immediately, this man was out to get them. Those who thought themselves the smarter of the bunch immediately dispersed in different directions, there was no need for them to die here, but with several finger flicks, ethereal skulls shot out of the fire cultivator''s hands toward them eating the disciples and leaving nothing but ash.

    "No one is going anywhere! I''m hungry and I hate it when my food tries to run away!" he said as he licked his lips.

    The two sect masters and the elders realized that if they don''t put up a fight here and fight with everything they have on the line, only death awaits them and so they did, but it was almost futile.

    The elder''s shy attacks found no target as many began falling down like flies as the Fire Cultivator was killing them left and right.

    Y''s swords came down toward the Fire Cultivator at wind-cracking speed. But the fire cultivator was ready as he easily deflected the swords with a wave of his hands, "That won''t work twice on me!"

    "I know," I said as he was rattled by something that struck him on the side. Before he could even realize what it was an explosion echoed.

    The speed of the projectile was faster than the explosion it created.

    A small former-sphere-like object fell down, it was now nothing more than a crushed ck disc on the ground.

    "That one stung," he said as he turned to see X with a giant rifle aimed at him. there was another bullet like that in the chamber. X, locked and loaded, shot the remaining bullet toward the cultivator who easily held his hand forward and grabbed the iing projectile.

    "You''d think I''ll be hit with something this slow?" he grinned.

    "Of course not, I was not intending tond it on you anyway," I said.

    Before he could even figure out the meaning of my words, the projectile he grabbed in his hand cracked. After all, this was not a normal steel bullet.

    A pungent and potent poison blew up from it, but unluckily the cultivator jumped away from the explosion range and looked at his own arm in disgust.

    "Not bad," he said and without an ounce of hesitation, chopped his left arm off.

    ''Shit, if only he was greedy,'' I cursed inwardly. This person is smart, he already realized that if he allowed that poison in, he''ll die without knowing why, and he opted to remove his arm than lose his life.

    "It''s been a while, since someone forced me to cut my own arm, for you, I''ll prepare a special ce! IN HELL!" he roared and charged me, while I was looking, his torn arm visibly grew back, a new one too.

    "Are you a fucking squid!" I cursed as I jumped back throwing several pills on the ground that blew up creating a powerful gust of poisonous gas.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Any of these poisons could knock a Saint ss cultivator out, but this man didn''t even care, as the moment he stomped on the ground, all the poisons dispersed into the air, and with the second step he was already next to me.

    The Poison Sect master interfered thankfully as he swung his cudgel down making the Fire Cultivator opt to block than carry on with his attack. "Wait for your turn!" the Fire Cultivator said as he sent the Poison Sect master flying with a roundhouse clean kick.

    The impact on the sect master''s chest was no smaller than the impact on his back when he was mmed into a nearby pir. Blood burst out of his mouth and eyes unable to understand ow strong that blow was or how it happened even.

    "An hour, you must be mad Shen Mo, if we survive for more than ten minutes we''ll be more than lucky!" said the Sect Master.

    "How certain are you of this n of yours?" asked one of the elders from the Demon Sect.

    "I just need an hour, and he will die! Just one hour!" I said.

    "Alright then," one of the elders of the demon sect said and shot forward.

    "Weaklings," The fire cultivator said, "Stop your meaningless struggle, and you may die painlessly!" he said as he went to grasp for another running cultivator.

    But his hand grabbed onto the neck of an older person, it was a Demon n elder.

    "Already resigned your life I see!" the Fire Cultivator said.

    "Not so fast," the elder said, and immediately ck tattoos appeared all over his body.

    The moment the Fire Cultivator thrust his hand into the Demonic Elder''s chest ripping out his still beating heart. The tattoos on the elder disappeared as he went down on the ground as nothing but a motionless corpse.

    "Huh, and I thought he had something up his sleeves," the Fire Cultivator snorted as he turned. But, he didn''t see it, on his current face, there were the same tattoos that were on the now-dead elder.

    He then took a step forward and wobbled. "Huh?" the Fire cultivator was confused and was unable to understand what was going on, but that took only a moment.

    "Ah a death curse, but that''s not enough to stop me," he said as his eyes burned bright red. He was going to burn the curse out.

    ''Good!" I said and pped both my palms together in a prayerful motion.

    "LAW!" I called and opened my eyes to manifest thousands ofw lines that spread all over the arena to stop the cultivator in ce.

    "Law? HAH a mere Soul Formation cultivator trying to trap me in a Law formation, howughable!" he said as he stomped his foot down to break thew lines.

    But what happened to him came as a surprise, as the moment he stepped on the ground, it sunk down.

    The tform was made thanks to the demon sect, and they could control it, the fact that he stumbled canceled his crushing stomp and allowed myw to form.

    "Domain of Delusion! Fake and Real!" I said and with this the enterw lines formed into a massive dome and the dome turned to a ck half sphere that allowed no light toe in or out.

    With a wrathful cry, the cultivator burnt the remaining seals and tattoos on his skin and sent out a powerful shockwave inside the Domain sphere. But nothing seemed to cross a distance as the mes he shot out bounced off randomly invisible and at the same time inexistent objects.

    The mes surged erratically, without a proper destination in sight.

    This caused the Cultivator to frown and think for a moment.

    He raised his hands up, hardily, and tried to move, but everything seemed strange for him.

    "Ah, what an interesting Domain, you''re able to flip understandingpletely. Up is down, down is up, back is forward, and left is right, for a cultivator with lower understanding and talent, they''ll easily be confused, but you''re facing the worst opponent. Spear!" he said and held his hand forward with difficulty.

    A me spear manifested in his hand, and all he did was let go.

    "Though yourw affects the physical body, it cannot affect my skill, and this spear wille to find you, no matter the distance, no matter the time. Aim for his heart!" he said and as he told the spear shot forward unperturbed by thews that flipped the rules of space to my advantage.

    If I were to take this spear head-on, I will die. Since it''s far stronger than anything I can block or stop, yet, he made a small mistake.

    I grinned as the spear approached me with terrifying speed.

    "I apud your courage, not many cultivators have the same clearness of mind to do what you did, and trap me in their domain, but you are far too weak to even touch my robes." He said.

    "You''re right, I can''t harm you, but you know who can," I smirked as the spear was no more than a few inches away from my heart.

    "Only you can hurt yourself," I said and immediately both our positions were switched.

    Since I ruled over this domain, my control of space is absolute.

    The sudden realization of both our locations had swapped made the fire cultivator stagger as he desperately grasped the ming spear with both hands, the tip of it already embedded into his chest, but it was not deep enough to reach his heart.

    ''Shit, I thought with thews inverted, the moment he''d try to raise his hands to grab the spear they''ll go down, especially if it was as a reaction but the fucker actually controlled his own reaction and lower his arms so they can go up and grabbed the spear.''

    "What a scary young man! I like you!" he said.

    "Sorry, not judging but I like chicks!" I said then called upon the darkness of the space of my domain to hid my presence.

    ''I only need to buy time, if I were to fight him I''ll die, so let him remain here, confused and unable to leave.''

 Chapter 452 Arrival

    You could see the veins on the Fire Cultivator''s forehead pulsating from the utter rage at being trapped in this domain without being able to do anything.

    But surprisingly the rage and wrath were no more when he took a single breath out and seemed to fully cool down.

    "Ha, HA HAHAHAHAHAH!" he beganughing like a third-rate viin immediately after.

    "I have to admit, you yed your cards pretty well, if it was any other, you might have had them in the palms of your hands," he said.

    I''m not going to indulge him with an answer, let him speak, the more he monologues the more time I gain.

    "But, you made one fatal mistake," he said as his face snapped to my location.

    Shivers ran down my spine, how the hell did he know where I was, everything from his perspective should bepletely dark and ck.

    I was even using the Traceless Steps to make sure that my entire body is hidden along with my Qi.

    "Your Soul! I can smell the stench, it''s putrid, like the soul of those who suffered thousands of years of torture, it stinks of indignation, discrimination, pain, and agony, your soul darker than coal is as bright as amp in the pitch of the darkest night," he said.

    ''The fuck, are you a dog!''

    "But, that isn''t enough to break me out of this ce, just knowing where you are, you could still escape." He said as he looked around, "That is of course if this was ''Your'' Domain," he grinned.

    "Domain! COFFIN OF THE IRON MOUNTAIN!"

    ''Shit! He is bruit forcing his own domain!''

    Immediately after he uttered his words, the temperature inside of my own Domain of Delusions grew exponentially so.

    "You know full well that fire won''t work on me," I said.

    "Yes, I do know, since you''re an owner of a Heart me. But, can your meager understanding of Law stop my mes?!" he said and more mes surged out, consuming the darkness itself.

    ''Shit!'' I cursed, not at the heat but I finally understood what he was trying to do. He wasn''t attacking me, he was attacking the domain, trying to overload it.

    "You finally get it fake one," he said.

    ''Fake one?''

    "You''re not the owner of this body, your ipatible, your own understanding of Spatial Law is weak and flimsy, what, did you die and decide to possess this boy? Sloppy work! For those who possess another body cannot use their original domain, if you had learned a Demonic Domain I might not have had this opportunity!" he said "BURN!" he roared as he raised his hands up, and magma-like the floods shot out from everywhere around him, going up as if it was a tidal wave that wanted to consume the whole world.

    Crack!

    Looking up, a massive fissure appeared on my Domain of Delusions. He was right, this body cannot fully express the Domain of Delusions as can my original body. It isn''t attuned to it, it cannot fully use it. No, not the body, the Soul itself since the understanding of Domains is saved within the soul, only my original body with my original soul can.

    This body has a part of my soul that allowed me to even manifest the Domain of Delusions, but it was not the original soul, it''s a twisted, damaged and fully murky, and corrupted Soul, it cannot use the Domain of Delusions to perfection, and because of that¡­

    Crack!

    The domain shattered as I was overtaken by the Fire Cultivator''s domain. The tables were turned¡­

    "Now, wee to hell!" he said as his domain fully consumed mine.

    "Fall to despair, knowing that you although halted my advance for but a few minutes, still failed, Die in the pits of hell, courtesy of the Fire Lord!" he said as he pointed his finger forward causing the waves of magma created from his domain to surge towards me.

    I sighed, "Damn I didn''t think I''ll have to do this now," I said as I closed my eyes.

    "Already given up I see, then farewell!'' he spoke.

    But all I needed was open my eyes once again and I was already outside of his domain.

    I immediately shot forward while the fire cultivator''s eyes were still adjusting back to reality, unable to understand how his own domain was shattered without an ounce of resistance.

    "Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki! Devil''s Impact!" my right fist, seared and smoldering in a surcharge of Demonic Qi, manifested a gauntlet of force that had a reddish jet-like thruster of Qi to further enhance and empower the blow.

    My Fist connected to the Fire Cultivator''s chest fully andpletely, and then I heard a crunch.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The fire Cultivator''s eyes opened then he looked down, seeing my fistnding against his chest.

    He then smiled, and I wailed in pain. The crunch was my fist breaking like a twig.

    "Fooli-"

    Before the swords could leave his mouth, his nose, eyes, and mouth sprayed blood.

    "GHAAAA!" I roared as I funneled the remaining energy from the Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki into him, even at the cost of fully mangling my fist.

    And like a cannon shooting a target at point-nk range, the two of us were sted away.

    I rolled on the ground, feeling every bone in my body bending to the point of cracking, and was only stopped when I mmed into a couple of pirs.

    I coughed out a spray of blood in front of me, so much of it I thought that I had no more blood in me. And when I looked forward, I saw the fire cultivator struggling to stand up.

    "How! HOW CAN A MERE SOUL FORMATION BASTARD INFLICT DAMAGE UPON THIS GREAT ONE!" he looked at me with eyes redder than blood, biting down hard on a part of his lower lip that blood was seeping, while his expression turned from ugly, to an enraged asura.

    As he was on all fours, he looked at me as if he was a beast and I was prey, then he sted forward.

    I can''t move an inch, this body took so much damage from one exchange that I think It''s going to die right here.

    Just as he was about to break me in half with his extended hand, he was met with four swords, all courtesy of Y who smashed the cultivator away as if he was a baseball. Yet there was clearly not much damage from that blow since the cultivator recovered immediately.

    "We''ll help!" said the Poison Sect master and the Demon Sect Master.

    The two of them joined the fray to stop the enraged cultivator.

    "MERE FLIES DARE?!" the Fire Cultivator heaved as he took in a breath so big you could see his chest, neck, and cheeks swell up. Then he let go of the breath he held, fused in it a guided twister of mes that threatened to obliterate and end all life that woulde in contact with it.

    But before the tornado coulde crashing down. I smiled. "Good, just in time," I said.

    Suddenly from far away a sting, sound-breaking, and wind-tearing projectile arrived.

    Just as the tornado was about to eradicate everyone in the arena. The projectile blocked its way and manifested a giant dome that covered the entire area. Causing the tornado to sear the ground and burn against the raging sea. Steam blew up as cold and hot met and created a fog that hid the view of the sun itself.

    A dark shade hung upon the ind as the only two things hovering in the skies were the fire cultivator and a person, the person was sitting in the lotus position with eyes closed on top of a steel board.

    "Who¡­ is this man?" asked the Poison Sect master.

    Everyone looked up, they didn''t understand who this person was.

    "Man, I barely made it, one hour was really hard to steal," I smiled.

    "One hour?" the Fire Cultivator spoke, looking warily at the motionless sitting corps. "It hasn''t been more than an incense stick''s worth of time since I came here," he said but then looked up and frowned.

    "The sun had moved¡­" he then looked at me and realize I was smirking. "You¡­you not only controlled space, but you also controlled time? In that domain? What frightening talent¡­ I cannot allow something like you to live!" he said.

    "I didn''t control the time that''s in the domain of deity, I only controlled your perception of it. In my domain, I control senses, and making you think that time hadn''t passed was as easy as turning my palm," I coughed again.

    "But then what, I can feel that this corpse you called is not even stronger than the other two saint ss cultivators, you think that just adding another person that you''ll live," he smiled.

    "Well, how about we see if you''re right about that?" I closed my eyes. And Shen Mo was out of service.

    I took a breath, this time my point of view was far higher than the almost corpse-like shape of Shen Mo, well he is technically a corpse. But with damage that severe¡­ damn, it''s gonna take some time to fix it.

    My emerald eyes met the Fire Cultivator''s eyes.

    "A Poison God Acolyte!" the Fire Cultivator''s skin shuddered.

    "Oh, so you know, then, Let''s y!" and then I pped both palms together.

    "Now now, it''s been a few years since Ist moved in this body, let''s see if it''s still works the same!"

 Chapter 453 Roaring

    "Let me show you the difference between us!" the fire cultivator said as he dashed forward in the air aiming to once again grab me by the neck.

    I allowed him this time.

    The moment his handtched onto my neck, he grinned, "All of that talk and you still were caught oh so easily," he said.

    "Who said I tried to dodge in the first ce," I smiled.

    Just then, he realized that he couldn''t feel his hand.

    I am poison.

    The most devastating, most excruciating, wildest, and rare of poisons seeped into the palms of his hands and were traveling through them.

    Once again, with a clear mind and perfect judgment he sliced away at his arm before the poison could spread even further.

    I grabbed the hanging arm and said, "Well, that''s the second arm you lost today, I wonder how many times can you regenerate."

    With that I dropped his arm down, and it turned to dust before it touched the ground from the potency of the poisons.

    I then took a massive breath and spat out toxins and poisons so dense and condensed, that the moment they were in contact with the air, they spread in all directions.

    The Fire cultivator erected a barrier to protect himself from the poisons and began summoning his mes to snuff them out.

    "Your avatar may have had the ability to control mes! BUT NOT YOU!" he said as he pointed his palms forward "BURN EVERYTHING!"

    His palms shot two geysers of mes that merged together like two coiling dragons and shot towards me.

    In the same moment I pped my hands forward, and manifested two small spheres of fire, Heart Fire, Veridian of course.

    The sight of the Heart Fire caused great confusion to the Fire Cultivator, since it was already rare to see someone with an Emerald Heart Fire, but now me, and my avatar both had it, it was not something he expected.

    With the two spheres, I easily separated the two mes then caused them to pass harmlessly behind me.

    I then shot forward.

    The fire cultivator, enraged and clearly pissed off did the same. The two of us were on an impact course.

    I pressed my palm forward to block his, and before contact I knew for sure that I would lose in term of power, thus I cheated.

    Instead of shing, I allowed his palm through while I slid mine under his, a simple touch to the bottom part of his arm caused more poison to spread out.

    Yet this time he was ready, and instead of cutting away his second arm, he ignited it burning the poison on contact.

    But that was all I needed, I didn''t want him to fight me head on and be wary of me, so I pressed the assault.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Divine Impact!" immediately, energy surged out from my body like an erupting volcano, my palm which had parried the Fire Cultivator''s fist now was directly against his chest. And with the application of Saint Qi to the Fist of Roaring Ki, I saw a new upgrade to my palm blow.

    A massive titan like golden palm emerged from my own palm, and smashed down the cultivator into the ground, so hard and so deep that the ind itself seemed to sink a bit.

    I then shot down, "Fist of Roaring Ki! Fists of Eternal Gold!" both my fists materialized gauntlets of pure golden aura and mmed into the fire Cultivaotr''s chest who was already pinned to the ground.

    His meger Qi barrier shattered upon contact as blow after blow rammed his chest, head, legs and every part of his body that I could strike.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "INSOLENT-"

    His words didn''t finish as another fist smashed his face into the ground further.

    "Let''s end this shall we, White Palm of gues!"

    My hand turned to a whiter tint, instead of its pale sickly color, it became whiter than a dove''s feather. It made contact with the cultivator''s chest, and immediately poisons, gues, and toxins of the most excruciating kind surged into his body, while I ripped and stripped his vitality for myself.

    The usage of the White Palm of gue was not something that I should ever rely on, but facing someone of a higher cultivator base is bound to get me to use this.

    But, unlike thest time where I tried to use the energy for myself, I made sure to expel every bit of Sain Qi I absorb out.

    Instead of bloating myself up, or forcefully raise my cultivation base which I was purposefully slowing down. I exerted the Qi outward for everyone around the arena to use. Pure unrefined Qi that can be cultivated.

    The cultivator grabbed my arm trying to get me off of him, he struggled well at first, but soon, the absorption was too much for him to handle and he shriveled up to a husk and then became nothing more than a dead mummified skeleton.

    His death however was not easy, because the moment he died, something from his heart burst out and was about to rip into my forehead. Too stunned to dodge, I saw death.

    Yet, a gentle, slender and pale hand appeared out of nowhere and plucked the spear head that came out of the Fire Cultivator''s heart from the air. The hand then tightened around the spear and crushed it. It then disappeared before saying, "That''s one."

    "I guess I have two more¡­ but if you knew he was in your territory why not handle him yourself, damn, I feel used," I sighed as I stood up from the pit.

    I didn''t forget to grab onto the cultivator''s holding bag before I emerged out of the hole I was in.

    And just as I rose up, I saw several cultivators looking warily at me.

    Thankfully, the younger generation of the Poison Sect and the Demonic Sect didn''t lose too many members.

    The two sect masters approached me warily.

    "Who might you be?" the Yao Hua asked.

    "I''m Shen Bao," I said.

    She frowned, "Are you his father? Shen Mo I mean," she said.

    "Oh, no, Shen Mo is dead," I said as I yawned.

    My words dropped like an anvil upon their heads, I could feel the desperation and agony over the loss of Shen Mo.

    "Ah, just kidding, he is well and healing, once he is cured I''ll send him back. Now since you all were doing a tournament here do you still wish to proceed?" I asked.

    The two looked at each other, "Not with the casualties we suffered," sighed the Poison Sect master. "But, it doesn''t matter, we''ve faced a stronger foe and fought together, this ordeal showed us that our struggles for the past thousands of years were for naught. If we had learned from each other and grown together we wouldn''t have suffered this much. If it was not for Shen Mo, and you good sir we would have probably perished, for that, I thank you with all my being," he said as he bowed to me.

    The Demon sect master also bowed.

    "Good, just make sure to treat little Mo right, anyway, I''ll be leaving soon," I said and took the hoverboard and left.

    Thankfully they didn''t realize that both I and Shen Mo are one and the same. And I could already know what their train of thought is.

    Since they knew that Shen Mo''s ability was already great, power, alchemy, and cultivation, they must have suspected him to have a mentor or a dharma protector, and with my original body appearing, they must have confirmed it. Which works well for me. Now, I''ll need to treat Shen Mo''s body since he took too much damage in this battle.

 Chapter 454 Movement

    Leaving the two Sects to deal with the aftermath of the battle, I headed to the Dark Forest where the Heavenly Dark Tiger lives. Once I arrived I went into my allowed space right under my territory given by the tiger. A tree.

    Once underneath it, I called upon the Lord of Lords pagoda and headed inside it, the third floor, the white space.

    I ced Shen Mo''s wounded body on a table and began applying treatments.

    Using the Divine Sense I could see all the damage done to this body, and frankly speaking, I was impressed that it didn''t die¡­ again.

    The corps had a few broken bones, some damaged internal organs and several ruptured arteries, and heavy bruising. And to my surprise, the majority of the damage was not from the Fire Cultivator, but actually from forcing the Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki out. It caused many meridians to take damage. A bit more and Shen Mo''s cultivation base would have dropped.

    But, since I was proficient in treatment methods, it took me but a little bit of effort to fix him up. Starting with making bone-strengthening pills, and applying some herbal mix to his wounds, then making the corpse drink an extract of several herbs that elerated the reconstruction of muscles and fibers.

    The bruising would go away in a few days but the majority of the damage would be healed up in at least a few months.

    With the first aid and all the necessary medications given, I left my original body and possessed Shen Mo''s body once again. Almost regretting it.

    The pain from the battle shocked my nerves as I just gained feeling in this body, it was not a fun experience.

    I got up and moved out of the lord of lords pagoda. Once I was out, I looked around and spoke, "Guess you''re here again," my words brought out darkness from within the darkness and two golden eyes appeared right before me.

    "It is mynd, I am everywhere," the Dark Tiger said.

    "I suppose, thank you for giving me this ce. I needed it," I said.

    "You earned it, use it as you, please. Hmm, I sense that the Dark Beast had grown greatly since thest time I''ve seen it," he said.

    "I don''t feel like it changed much," I said as I pulled out the small furball. Kyuu immediately jumped from my hand to stand atop the Heavenly Dark Tiger''s head.

    "Hmm, she grew, I can sense it, she needs some more time she''ll evolve. What have you done to her to grow this fast? Usually, it would take hundreds of years.

    "These," I said as I pulled the pouch of Beast Blood Pellets."

    The Tiger scrunched up its nose and said, "You two-legged walkers are cruel," he said.

    "What? Why, what did I do?" I asked, concerned.

    "You don''t see the agony and pain of the beasts in your hands? Or perhaps you do not know the origin of these things, you didn''t strike me as a person without a heart¡­" he said.

    "No, I have no idea where these came from, I got them as a gift, are they bad?" I asked.

    "In honesty, they are not, they are great as nutrients for this child, but the way to make them is not by any means great," he said.

    "You can only make one of these once you ughter and condense the blood of a hundred Demonic Beasts. They give far less value than if your own pet were to hunt these hundred beasts itself, but it is easier and faster to improve its cultivation base. I''d rmend you stop giving it to her for the time being, because she will grow, but will grow without having honed her instincts. Now that she is still a beast without sentience, give them to her as a reward when she earns it, otherwise refrain from feeding it to her, or you''ll end up with a fangless wless cat instead of a mighty Dark Beast," the tiger said.

    "Noted," I said "I''ll keep it in mind," then I hid the pellets back in my pouch.

    "Do you have any idea where I can train her?" I asked.

    "She may hunt here, I have no objections to it, but do know that you must not help aid, or assist her in her hunts."

    "So basically leave her to fend for herself?" I asked.

    "Yes, if it''s a life-endangering situation, I''ll middle in, but if she were to lose her life¡­ then so be it, this is the wild, and only the mighty can survive it," he said.

    I sighed then ced Kyuu on the ground, "You heard him, how about you go and hunt for yourself, I know you''ve been wanting to use those tiny ws of yours for a while now," I said to Kyuu.

    And just as I finished my words, Kyuu turned and shot forward into the forest disappearing from sight.

    "Damn she is fast," I said.

    "That is the bare minimum," the Tiger said.

    "I''ll be leaving, I still need some time to recuperate," I said.

    "Come again when there is anything interesting, especially like the fight you just went through, it was fun to watch," he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I frowned, "How did you see the fight? It was really far away," I said.

    "I have my ways."

    I nodded and left the forest on the back of the hoverboard, heading directly to the hut in the Poison Sect.

    I went inside and rested, I needed to meditate and cultivate, though I felt a bit of worry for Kyuu, since the Dark Heavenly Tiger said he''ll intervene, I''m sure everything will be fine. For now, I need to meditate and fix an issue I have with this body.

    My original body was easily able to understand and apply the Domain of Delusions, but this one had been struggling. And I already know the reason why. It''s the fact that this body is using a Demonic Soul, and the only way to go beyond the limitations of using a fake Domain is that I need to make another domain, a Demonic one.

    ***

    A man with slightly dark tan skin was flying freely in the depth of space. But he didn''t look too well. Not in body, or mind, but in expression. His face was dark, and his eyes looked solemn.

    In one of his hands was the head of another cultivator, the cultivator in question had a big hole in his forehead as if something had burst through from inside his brain. As for the man with dark skin, he had a small wound on his chest that seemed to be healing finely over time.

    In his other hand however was a ck object, it looked sharp at first and if one were to look closer one could see that it was the head of a spear.

    "Damn Fire Lord, you and your cronies. Just wait, once I obtain the power I need, I''ll make sure to take your Key away and make it mine! If you wish to rule this vast expanse by oppression, I''ll make it so you rule nothing but the souls of the dead in the yellow river."

    The man who was moving through space, angrily vocalizing his thoughts was none other than Meng Hao. Who seemed to have been fighting with one of the Spears of the Fire King.

    ***

    Far away from the Wind Realm and at the highest peak of the Fire Realm''s main spoke a person to a group of cultivators kowtowing to him.

    "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? TWO SPEARS IN COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LOCATIONS?! HOW?!"

    The man shouting at the top of his lungs, enraged and almost shuddering with wrath spat, "You fools, do you know the consequences of such a failure? Do you think his lordship will ept your kowtows?! GET ON YOUR ASSESS AND FIND OUT WHO KILLED YOUR BROTHERS!"

    The general was incensed, but he couldn''t do anything right now. Though he was takingmand of the current affair, the moment the Fire Lordes out of his secluded cultivation they''ll have hell to deal with. They must capture the one who escaped, and they must know who is stupid and foolish enough to face the Spears of the Fire Lord.

    Though he was certain that no one other than the rulers and most seclusive and secluded of cultivators would even dare to do such a thing, it was almost impossible for the Spears to fall to them. Since the one worry in the Wind Realm was the Queen, they sent Youzu who was proficient in espionage and stealth, he wouldn''t be caught even if he were to infiltrate the royal pce of the Wind Realm, but he was in and killed.

    As for the other spear that Died, it was none other than the third strongest Spear, and only the mightiest of the Water Realm could ever cause him a problem, but he died without even being able to ry a message or warning. As for the Water Realm royalty, all of their members were located and were far away from the general location where the Spear died. So it must have been an entric cultivator that did this.

    More and more problems were piling up without many being solved. Hopefully, the general thought, is that everything will be figured out before the Fire Lordes out.

    ***

    On another, darker than the ckness of the night, where even if the sun was to shine upon it, no light would be able to pierce its dark clouds. A young man not older than a teenager seemed to be humming a joyful tune as he was sitting on the ground.

    The child looked carefree as he sat down several books before them.

    If Shen Bao was here he''ll be immensely shocked to see the books. There were five of them in front of him. They were all of different colors but they all shared one thing in ament that was written in bold gold.

    Poison God''s Heritage.

    "Good, with this I only have a few more to get when I''m done," he said as he looked up at the ck skies.

    "I really like this poison, seems that poisoning an entire isn''t that hard after all. With this," he said as he raised his hand up, "Come,"

    A small twister manifested over his open palm and then began growing, and growing. Slowly at first, then it became a raging tempest that could be seen from outside the. Every dark cloud seemed to merge with the rising hurricane that was roiling atop this child''s hand.

    And then soon the clouds were sucked in. and if one were to look closely at the clouds they''d see that they were not really clouds, but actually Souls, Souls dammed to eternal agony and pain, poisoned souls that had no choice but to merge together and be infused into the cultivator.

    "Ah, how I love this specific Heritage. The Heritage of Devouring. I wonder why Du Shen didn''t use this often, with such power one can Devour the whole of the universe!" the child said as he stood up watching as the dark skies disappear into him and thus the which was pitch ck finally had some light upon it.

    But, as if to mock the world, one would think it would have been better if the skies of this sordid and pitiful were still ck. Because once the youngster had finished consuming everything, nothing but the death remained. The rivers had dried, and the seas were no more than stagnate waters. The creatures of thend air and sea had perished, and all life form was nothing but ash and death. A beautiful bountiful and splendid was turned into nothing but a spawn of death and misery.

    "What a powerful Heritage. Now, with five in my hand, I don''t need to wait for the Opening of the Trial now do I," the youngster said as he held his head to the northern part of the sky.

    "I''ll have to brute force my way in, this should call all the users of the Poison God''s heritage, and once they''re all there, I''ll consume them too!" the youngster spoke in a gleeful childish-like tone, smiling andughing as if he had nothing to worry or care about in the world. After all, only he has this many books in hand and only he can be the true Heir.

 Chapter 455 Heir

    Ten days passed, and during these days all I did was try and recuperate as much as I could.

    The beast that belonged to the Poison Sect arrived screeching and howling its presence to all the sect members to appear.

    And just as it stood on the upper mountain right outside my hut, everyone from the sect''s inner sanctum arrived.

    The disciples and the elders that have been left at the sect approached the beast and they all sped their hands at the Sect Master.

    "We wee your safe arrival!" they said.

    But soon, one of the elders noticed that something was off.

    "Sect Master, a couple of disciples seemed to not have returned, did the Demon Sect act out in hostility?" they asked.

    The Sect Master went down and said, "No, an unforeseen incident happened," he looked at the rest of the worried disciples and said.

    "The truce has been established with the Demon Sect, we''ll also be holding seasonalpetition and friendly spar sessions along with friendly rtions with the Demonic Sect. I must emphasize that all and any issue one has with the Demonic Sect to be discussed and handled in an appropriate manner, if the dispute is worthy of a battle to the death or about honor one must uphold the new rules that have been established," the sect master said and then in an even more overbearing and revibrating voice he spoke.

    "From this day on, all hostilities with the Demonic Sect shall be stopped. If any of my sect members is found to be of fault with one of the Demonic Sect members and ruled to be the aggressor then they will be judged and condemned based on the severity of their infraction!"

    "So, we''ll just be friends with them? after all, they did to us?" the person who spoke these words was probably not the sharpest tool in the shed, since in the presence of all of these cultivators even a hushed and toned-down remark like that is as loud as his yelling it.

    The Sect Master looked at the disciple in question and said, "You, do you even know the reason why we''re fighting with the Demonic Sect?"

    The disciple stuttered before he said, "Because they infringed upon our ancestor''snd." He said.

    "But this was their, to begin with, we''re the invaders, so do you think that it was right of us to invade, kill enve them, and then expect that they do not retaliate?" he asked.

    The disciple quieted down.

    "Our ancestors didn''t know any better, but we''re not them, we''re here to forge new rtions and new friendships. Anyway, From now on I expect every member of my sect to abide by the rules, if you find yourself at a disadvantage however, you may ask for an elder of any of the sects to mediate. All the elders'' rulings will be forwarded to both sect masters to judge upon them. For now you are all dismissed," said the Sect Master.

    Soon, the disciples dispersed but a few elders remained.

    "Sect Master, what happened there? Your Qi seems destabilized," he asked.

    The Sect Master sighed, "We were attacked," he said.

    "By the Demonic Sect?" another elder asked.

    The Sect Master Shook his head, "No, it was a foreign enemy, a Spear of the Fire Lord." He said.

    The Elders looked confused, "Are you sure? The Spears of the Fire King are all King Level cultivators¡­you should be dead if they were to assault you," an elder said.

    "That was the supposed oue, but we were aided by a Poison God''s Disciple," he said and sighed.

    The elders looked at each other in confusion, "Where is he? If a Poison God cultivator was to arrive to our sect he''ll be our most honored guest, after all our sect''s Dharma is the Poison God''s Teachings,"

    The Sect Master shook his head, "I''d be ashamed to show the Poison God''s disciple this shabby sect. We don''t have the knowledge, ideology or even the ability to serve as their servants. Our poison knowledge is far too littlepared to that person and he was only an Ascendant cultivator, but he still managed to defeat and kill a King ss cultivator with ease."

    "Damn, it would have been great to forge a good rtionship with them," the elder said.

    "No worries, because I believe we already have, isn''t that right, Shen Mo?" the Sect Master asked me.

    I shrugged, "Not that I know of, I mean he isn''t a bad guy."

    The elders looked at me then rushed me, "Do you know him? can you have hime over, we''d love to see the Poison God''s Cultivator up close," they said.

    "I don''t know, he''s really entric and really does not like crowded ces, if I get the chance to meet him again I''ll let him know," I said.

    "How do you know that person?" an elder asked.

    "He aided me once, and I''m learning a few things from him," I said.

    "Ah, no wonder your understanding of poison and alchemy had grown so much in the past few years, having a Poison God''s cultivator as a teacher is a great blessing, but¡­"

    "But?" I asked."

    "Be careful, most if not all of them aren''t really good here," he said as he tapped his head with his finger.

    "You mean they''re whack and crazy?" I asked.

    "That''s an understatement," said the Sect Master. "Poison God cultivators, or what the people call them The Acolytes of the Poison God are usually deranged people, since the books they hold to cultivate the way of the Poison God always end up consuming their hosts. Just make sure you learn as much as you can and disappear the moment you notice your master is losing his sanity or started to behave strangely."

    "I''ll make sure to keep that in mind," I said.

    ''He is not wrong though, I''ve already met one of these cultivators and they really were fucked up in the head. The purple skulls that possess the books are ancient cultivators of an era long gone, and since these skulls want toe back to life, the best way is to deceive and control the owners of the book and then be ''alive'' by possessing their deranged bodies. Servant Mao had spoken a lot of these cultivators¡­''

    "I heard that something happened in the Wind Realm a few years ago, it was the birthday of the Wind Realm''s prince, and he had befriended a Poison God cultivator. The fact that that man was the Prince''s friend tells a great deal of how powerful he is, if I remember his name was Shen Bao," said one of the elders.

    "Really? It was the same name as the person who assisted us," said the Sect Master, "So our benefactor is a friend of the royal family, this is good news, we must treat them with the utmost care if we were to meet them."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You really are lucky to have such a person as a mentor, I also heard that he was the least troublesome of the known Poison Cultivators," the elder said.

    "Really, do you know any others?" I asked.

    "Not really it''s mostly hearsay but the one who knows the most is elder Xian of the Disciplinary hall, he is responsible for gathering information, if you wish to learn more you can ask him," he said.

    "That would be something good, I suppose Shen Bao will appreciate that information," I said.

    "It''s rude to call your mentor by his name dryly like that, call him with honorifics," the Sect Master sternly warned.

    "Oh, right, Master Shen Bao, my bad," I said as I sped my hand feeling a bit weird having to call myself ''Master''

    I headed down to the disciplinary hall and found Elder Xian busy with paperwork, so much of it he looked like he was about to lose it.

    "Need something?" he said as he was writing something.

    "I''m here to ask about the Poison God cultivators," I said.

    He looked at me, with a frown and said, "The topic is too much for you, just drop it, it''s not something that will benefit you in any way," he said.

    "My Master is Shen Bao," I said.

    The moment my words entered his ears, he dropped the paper in his hand and looked me straight in the eyes, "Boy, don''t you dare start lying to me right now," he said.

    "Since you are responsible for information gathering," I said as I pulled out Creeping Demise "You must know what this is," I said.

    The moment the Elder saw the sword he stood up, "How do you have that?" he asked.

    "He gave it to me, said he didn''t need it anymore, anyway, you believe me now?" I asked.

    "It''s true that Shen Bao used to have a sword that resembled that¡­ but what do you gain from knowing more about the Poison God Cultivators?" Elder Xian asked.

    I shrugged, "I thought I might tell Master Shen Bao, since he is a bit out of touch with the world he could use information like this," I said.

    "Take a seat, this isn''t going to be a short talk," he said.

    Once I was seated Elder Xian sighed and said, "How many Poison God cultivators do you know?" he asked.

    "I only know of Shen Bao and the one he fought Shi Situ," I said.

    "Right, then¡­ Let''s talk about Shi Situ then, of the information I have gathered, that person is unkible¡­" he said.

    "But he died, that''s what master said," I said.

    "Did he now¡­" Elder Xian''s words caused a shiver to run down my spine.

    "My Master has his Book, isn''t that enough?" I replied.

    "If you think Poison God cultivators are that easy to kill then you''re greatly mistaken. They are like cockroaches, killing their host isn''t the same as killing the Acolyte, hell I even know that Servant Mao had killed a dozen Poison God cultivators, but why do they still appear?" he said.

    "¡­"

    "Because the only way to truly kill the acolytes is toplete the Poison God''s trial, which shouldn''t open any time soon, So, do you really believe that Shi Situ is dead?" he asked.

    ''Well, that came out of nowhere¡­''

    "I guess not," I said.

    "Good, anyway, he possessed the Book of Death, one of the most annoying books of the Poison God, it allowed him to return to life at a cost, and I''m sure he isn''t someone who''ll just die that easily. But to tell you the truth, he is but the weakest of all the current Poison God cultivators, even with the Power of Rebirth. Since the rest have a far greater and more dangerous ability," he said.

    "Then, how do you ssify Shen, I mean Master Shen Bao?" I asked.

    "Eleventh in terms of power. Though he only gets to be the Eleventh because he defeated Shi Situ, otherwise he''d be deadst. The other Poison God cultivators have been around for a while, and only recently did the Poison God''s Heritage of Alchemy appeared in the world."

    ''Damn they already know what type of Book I have¡­ this is bing more dangerous,''

    "Then what about the strongest?" I asked.

    Elder Xian took a breath and said, "Not much is known about him¡­ all that we know is, that he has the ability to consume an entire, and is supposed to have the most dangerous Tome of the Poison God''s heritage¡­ The Book of Devouring. He is dangerous enough that he never leaves anything alive wherever he goes." He said.

    "Then how did rumors about him spread if nothing is left alive wherever he goes?" I asked frowning.

    "Because though he leaves nothing alive, he leaves death behind, an entire was recently found to have lost all vitality, even the''s soul was absorbed and it''s core had cooled down. That is the power of the strongest Poison God cultivator¡­"

    "What''s his name?" I asked.

    "Dao Shen¡­ and is supposed to be one of the descendants of the Poison God, a true heir¡­"

 Chapter 456 Ratatatata

    "Do you happen to know anything about his cultivation level?" I asked.

    Elder Xian shook his head, "Hisst appearance, he was a Saint ss cultivator, and that was several centuries ago, he should be higher by now, especially since it''s easier for Poison God cultivators to rise up in cultivation rank. But he isn''t the one you need to worry the most about," he said.

    "Really?" I asked.

    "Yes, though the owners of these books have all died, there are other books that are as dangerous as the Book of Devouring, namely the Book of Swords, and the Book of Souls. Though thetter has yet to appear, thest time it did it caused a huge ruckus in the world," he said.

    ''Damn, the four I have are the Book of alchemy, the book of inscription, the book of Death and the Book ofw. Most of my books are unrted to battle, and only the Book of Death is considered a battle book, but I''m not nning on learning that loathsome revival technique.''

    "Seeing How Shen Bao''s ability to create great pills meant that he has the Book of Alchemy, but it fails inparison to the other books of battle, he will be obliterated the moment he faces another Battle Book owner, thus tell your master to not show up if the Heritage of the Poison God does open, it will be a massacre," he said.

    "There should still be several dozen years before the Heritage opens," I said.

    "How would you know that?" he asked.

    "I heard my master say so one day, he isn''t nning on rushing things until it opens, and for now he is training secretly," I shrugged.

    "No, that''s not the case, that''s proof that your Master is still new to this path, the Heritage can be opened the moment one presents five books to the Poison Gate, and with Dao Shen''s greed and ability, he should already have five of the books. If he ever wanted he could open the gate and proceed with the trial whenever he wants," he said.

    "..."

    "Well, it''s not like he''ll do it alone, of the information we gathered, the Poison Gate''s Heritage isn''t something anyone can do alone. At least at the start, there have been many attempts at clearing it, but every cultivator or every Acolyte that ever tried to go through the trial died and were pushed out, their books dispersing to random locations in the Vast Expanse for a new generation to look for them and attempt it again," he said.

    "The trial''s content is sadly unknown and the worst part is that once it opens many could enter including none Poison God cultivators, but rare are those who greedily attempt it, since no one survives to ever tell the tale afterward." He said.

    ''I think I know why the Poison god allowed others to venture through his trial, he isn''t the kind who''ll leave the options for someone other than his heirs to take the heritage, but many of his books require the presence of another cultivator besides the Poison God cultivators. Like the Book of Devouring, it needs other cultivators to devour, thus allowing more cultivators, only fools who think they can ''steal'' the heritage would wander into the heritage like that.''

    "Anyway, this is most of what I know about the Poison God, you can tell your master of the contents of this conversation, but just make sure that he does not venture into the trial, it''s not worth it, since his book is weak," he said.

    "I''ll make sure to tell him that," I said as I left the room.

    "X, Y, prepare for a long trip," I mumbled as I was walking outside.

    My questions weren''t without purpose, of course, since I asked about the Trial. It wasn''t just to be informed no, it was because of this damned update.

    Opening the Poison God''s book I read a single line.

    "The Path To the Poison God''s Trial had opened. Come, my Disciples, and prove your ability to inherit my teachings. You have one year to prepare before the full opening of the trial grounds."

    I sighed, apparently, Dao Shen had opened the Poison God''s trial. And with news like this, the Vast Expanse will be in an uproar.

    I need to prepare well for this.

    I headed to the hut at the top of the Poison Sect and began by asking the Sect, One year, might not be a lot, but for me, who is able to use the Lord of Lords pagoda, I can extend that year several dozens of times. I need to power up, and power up I shall.

    ***

    Back at the Heavenly Academy, a man of old age and a long beard wearing a ck robe sipped his tea calmly as he looked in the eyes of the person in front of him.

    The man in front of him had an awfully bored and rxed expression, he didn''t even drink but just kept the old manpany for the sake of acquaintance. Otherwise, this person would have already gone to exercise his entric antics somewhere else.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Did you hear the news?" asked the man in ck.

    "What news?" replied the other person.

    "Master Rain, for someone of your status to not even know this, have you finally be senile like me?" the older personughed.

    "What does that have to do with anything, you''ve always been a senile old man, hell I''m sure the day you were born you were born with that beard and that ugly mug of yours," Master Rain replied as annoyingly and provocatively as he could. Befitting of his status.

    "Your jokes are hurtful," the man in ck said.

    "Stop the bullshit, and tell me, what''s going on?" Master Rain asked.

    "Well, it''s rted to your disciple," he said.

    "Did something happen to Shen Bao?" Master Rain got a bit more serious.

    "No, not yet that is, but I heard rumors, the Poison Gate has been triggered, it should open soon, and you know what happens when it opens," the grand elder said.

    Master Rain sighed. "It''s going to be another massacre," he said.

    "Aren''t you worried about your disciple?" asked the grand elder.

    "Why should I, he isn''t stupid enough to challenge the Poison Gate, Not only is he barely at the Ascendant Stage, he''ll never be able to even travel to that region. The death traps and monsters moving about in that dark area of the Vast Expanse are enough to make anyone think twice about even trying to travel through it. Not to mention, it''s the habitat of that stupid snake." Said, Master Rain.

    "I heard that the Serpent God had moved from that location several years ago, he seemed to have settled in next to the Gctic Alliance headquarters." Said the Grand Elder.

    "Well, good, I never like those idiots, thinking that they are able to upholdw in the Vast Expanse where they can''t even protect their own. But what does that have to do with anything, the moment the Poison Gate opens, the Primordial Serpent god will awaken. Thest time that thing moved even the Poison God couldn''t fight it and had to escape," Master rain shook his head, "Shen Bao isn''t stupid I know him, he''ll probably think about the oue of such a trial. How many Acolytes he''ll have to face even if he is stupid enough to think that he can survive the Acolytes, he sure isn''t stupid enough to think he''ll be able to escape the Primordial Serpent God that should be awaiting right outside the Poison Gate to eat anyone who seeded in the trial." Master Rain said.

    "You sure do trust that kid," said the grand elder.

    "I don''t trust him, I trust his judgment." Master rain nodded as he drank a cup of tea.

    ***

    "Man my ear''s been itching for a while, anyway, this should be a good starting point," I said as I looked forward.

    In the white space of the Lord of Lords pagoda, I had a hundred puppets that looked exactly like X, and thanks to the generous holding bag from that Spear of the Fire Lord, I was able to deck them out in Saint Qi reactors.

    "Good, this should do for a small army, now let''s gear you all up. First things first, follow my lead," I said to the puppets and they all grabbed a piece of metal.

    I then began carving, molding modifying and changing, as did the other puppets.

    Gotta love a good working force like this.

    We were making guns! A lot of them. Once I''m done I should have all of my units fully armed up to the teeth. This should be a great way to showcase some firepower And I got loads of it, hot searing and destructive. If I can''t beat other poison cultivators with my Alchemy Heritage, then I can probably tear them to bits with artillery.

    Because poison does not work on steel. And steel is pretty damn good at breaking and tearing flesh.

    Gotta love the taste of Freedom.

 Chapter 457 Poison Gate

    Years went past inside the Lord of Lords pagoda, and in these years I managed to finish the many Puppets, gear, and weaponry that I thought would need. Not only that, I even made several dozen spares of gear, equipment, and parts for the hundred puppet army.

    Thest thing I would want iscking pieces or parts to repair a puppet that could be used to aid in my survival. After all you can never be too prepared.

    I''m not that arrogant to think I''ll be able to face off against far stronger, more powerful and far more experienced cultivators, so preparing and preparing some more is the best I can do.

    I improved not only my weapons but also my tools, had made sure to have several thousands of talismans, even some that are simple as Sound Muffling talismans, or some as powerful as the Soul Shackling Stake inscription.

    Once I deemed myself ready and fully prepared, I got out of the lord of lords pagoda. I''ve spent at least ten years inside preparing everything I needed and apparently not more than ten months had passed in real time.

    With two months remaining for the opening of the Poison Gate I decided to head out.

    Once I walked out of the hut, I realized that something was happening in the Poison Sect.

    "What''s up?" I asked one of the disciples who were running about near the hut. Which actually surprised me since this ce was sealed off to all the Disciples of the sect.

    "Ah Shen Mo, the Demon Sect has sent some envoys apparently they''re preparing for the Poison Gate opening," he said.

    I frowned.

    "What do you mean? What does the Poison Gate opening has to do with the Demon Sect?" I asked.

    "No, its more like the Poison Sect that''s going to be participating to honor the Heirs of the Poison God, and the Demon Sect is helping us with some gifts and offerings," he said.

    "Right," I said frowning, am I missing something? Isn''t the Poison Trial only for the Poison God disciples?

    I headed down the sect and saw a festival like atmosphere in the Poison Sect. There was arge bonfire in the middle of the sect where several Disciples were praying and worshipping.

    Looking to my right, Elder Xian was there.

    "You''ve been away for a while," he said.

    "Oh, yeah, a bit," I replied, the only difference is for him I''ve been away for ten months, while I haven''t seen them in close to ten years. "So, what''s going on?" I asked.

    "We''re preparing offerings and gifts for your master," he said.

    Frowning I replied, "Did he contact you?" of course he didn''t because me and Shen Bao are one and the same.

    He shook his head, "No, but we hope he can see our efforts, it''s the least we can do to our benefactor, these pills and weapons are gifts to him to assist him in the trial, the sess rate is already low enough and we hope he can ept them to aid him in his ventures. If you can contact him it would be great," he said.

    Looking at the bonfire again, you could see arge table that had several dozens of different poison pills, elixirs and weapons and armors.

    Though the quality is far lower than what I could use, some can still be of use. "I''ll make sure to tell him that then," I said.

    And just like that I left the area, and headed back to the top of the mountain.

    Once I was there, I swapped my conscious and went back to Shen Bao.

    Finding myself in the dark forest, I stood up and removed some of the dust that gathered around my shoulders and head.

    In the darkness of the forest, I heightened my senses and snapped my head to the side, "I see you," I said.

    "Your alertness has improved, but you''re easy to deceive," the tiger said as he nudged me from behind.

    I almost yelped in fright, but soon realized what happened.

    "You applied your own Traceless Step outside your body, moving Qi far away in your shape and presence and approached me from behind, pretty neat. I never thought to use it like this," I said.

    "This only works when you''re hunting, since it gives the prey false information on your location, you can even use this to push the prey into your direction," the tiger said.

    "Thank you, today I learned something new," I sped my hands.

    "So, you''ll be leaving," he said.

    "How did you know?" I asked

    "Instinct," the tiger said, "The Trial approaches," he said.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "You feel confident?" the tiger asked.

    "No, not at all, I''m a bit scared even," I replied honestly.

    "Good, that''s how it should be, overconfidence only leads to bad discussion making, being prudent and calctive is far more rewarding." He said.

    "Says the overly curious big cat," I said jokingly.

    "Curiosity and blind confidence are two different things, though curious I know my strength and know when it is wise or not to seek thrill. Keep that in mind and make sure to think twice before you take any action, you only live once," he said "Good luck Shen Bao, may you prevail." He said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "In case..."

    "Don''t worry, I''ll treat her as my own, be on your way then, the gates would open soon," he said.

    "Thank you once again, friend, hope to see you again soon," I said and headed out to the Poison Sect.

    It didn''t take much to arrive to the Poison Sect, and just as I did, many cultivators sped their hands towards me.

    "Benefactor!" the Sect Master said, "Thank you foring I hope our little offerings here can be of use to you, many cultivators and sect members worked hard into procuring whatever we thought could assist you in your next venture," he said sping his hands.

    "I can''t take without giving back," I said and then threw the Sect Master a pouch.

    It was filled to the brim with healing pills, of all grades; some had pill veins on them.

    The moment the Sect Master saw the contents of the pouch his eyes widened. "This, this is too much of a gift to receive, and all of these are recovery and healing pills, shouldn''t you be using them and needing them in the next venture?" he asked.

    "I still have many more, consider this as a gift for taking care of my disciple, as for the Demon Sect I''ll gift them this," I said as I threw another pouch for the Demon Sect.

    They were a pouch full of Soul Rejuvenating pills, and Soul Cleansing Pills. "These should help tone down the demonic impulses and disperse the baleful Demonic Qi once a Demon cultivator transforms to their true form," I said.

    The envoys of the Demon Sect bowed deeply, "Thank you for your kind gifts," he said.

    "No worries," I said as I waved my hand taking all of the items next to the bonfire, "Where is my disciple?" I asked.

    "He is at the top of the mountain, let me escort you to him," the sect master said.

    "No need, I''ll be taking him with me, it''s good for him to see and experience the real world, it''s too peaceful and nice on this, once I''m done with the Poison God''s trial I''lle back," I said and headed to the top of the mountain.

    I grabbed Shen Mo''s body and ced him in a seated lotus position atop the hoverboard, then climbed atop the hoverboard.

    Soon I flew above the sect and headed to outer space I made sure that everyone saw me take Shen Mo with me before I left.

    The hoverboard having been cooped up for so long was finally allowed to use its full speed. Though it''s still notparable to the Thunder Bull Carriage, it was still damn fast. And my direction was the Dark Part of the Vast Expanse.

    Once I ced Shen Mo inside the Lord of Lords pagoda, I was free to elerate and further increase the hoverboard''s speed.

    With the Hoverboard''s current speed, I should arrive exactly in two months, that is of course if I don''t encounter any troubles.

    Stars went past me like elongated rays of light as I zoomed through the fabric of space boring through it like a hot knife through butter.

    ***

    In an inn somewhere in a very far and distant a young man of dark skin was drinking from arge mug.

    "Poison God trial you say? Only madmen would even think of going there." A man half drunk spoke as he leaned on the counter of a bar.

    The person who he was speaking to was on the other side of the counter and replied, "Yes, but if they were to even seed, you do know what sort of waves it''ll cause?"

    "Why should we even care, I mean it''s a trial designed for the cultivators of the Poison Path." He said.

    "Yes, but if someone were to seed they''ll be the true heir of the Poison God, and just that title alone is enough to cause havoc in the Vast Expanse. Many sects have an incredibly hostile rtionship with Du Shen and if they were to take vengeance even on his disciple they''ll make sure to do it. Being the Heir of the Poison God makes it a permanent target on your back," he said.

    "Then why do they even bother?" asked the first cultivator.

    "Because being the Heir of the Poison God means great power and influence, if they were to hide and grow their power in a secret and discrete location once they obtain the Heritage, they''ll be a force to be reckoned with, simr to one of the Four Lords, or even to the Ruler of the Gctic Union, that means that one would be a one man army,"

    "What still confuses me is why other cultivators even care about the Poison Gate, I mean it''s designed for the Poison God disciples, why other cultivators risk their lives to im the Heritage when they''re not even part of his disciples," asked the drunk cultivator.

    "Because of greed, most cultivators think that the moment all the Poison God disciples gather in one ce, they could go in and im their heritages away from them. After all the Poison Gate isn''t limiting itself to the Poison God cultivators, anyone with the ability to take one of the Books can enter it," the bartender sighed.

    "Why are you dissatisfied though?" asked the first cultivator.

    "Because the Poison Gate is pretty damn close, and it''s going to open up in a few days. You already know how many cultivators have gathered here in this ce. And when a lot of cultivators gather, it''s always trouble, and I hate it when some idiot start destroying shit, I''ve been working so hard on this Inn, but I''m sure it''s going to turn to ash the moment some random cultivator provokes someone who he shouldn''t"

    "Ah don''t worry owner, I''ll protect your in, I''m pretty strong you know," the drunkard said.

    "Yes, yes, just remember when shit hits the fan, you need to run away as far as possible," the Inn Owner said. "You can rebuild an Inn but you can''t revive the dead. Now pay up, you still have an unpaid tab!" the bar owner said.

    "Ah c''mon man, just pour me another drink, I promise I''ll pay you back," the drunkard said.

    "That''s what you''ve always been saying since the day you got here Men Hao," said the bartender.

    "Yes, I know, but I swear I''ll pay you back just give me another drink!" the ember eyed cultivator said.

    For some reason, the bartender knew that this young man was telling the truth he didn''t know why, but he believed him.

 Chapter 458 First Trial

    "God damn," I said as I saw the number of people in the empty space in front of me.

    It took me two months of travel to arrive here, and what I saw was pretty damn interesting.

    I thought for sure that there should be barely anyone besides the Poison God Cultivators and some idiots thinking they can do away with their Heritages. But no, there were hundreds of thousands of people if not more here in the empty space. Each minding their own business for sure but they all seemed hostile to anyone who got too close to them.

    The tension and stress is visible enough that you could feel the air electrifying with it.

    My arrival waste, but I wasn''t thest, many other cultivators were heading to this gathering still.

    Once I arrived, I looked around and realized that a lot of Sects were actually grouped up together, they were protective of each other and had their own little ''section'' where they didn''t allow anyone else to enter if they didn''t wear the same type of robes.

    As for the vagrant and loose cultivators, they each held their own position, hoping to end up with some form of fortuitous encounter inside the Poison God''s Trial, or at least take out one of theirpetitors before the trial begins and loot their belonging.

    It''s awless Zone, and I could do nothing but sit and watch in a far away part. There was no reason for me to go in right now.

    "Brother, if you''re that far away, you''ll probably not get the chance to get inside the gate once it opens," some random cultivator said as he went past me and headed toward the gathering of the people up ahead.

    "He is right you know," another one said, "The number of people who can enter is limited to ten thousand, many here will be fighting for the chance to enter so you should get closer," some other cultivator also said.

    Though I know that''s the case, it shouldn''t apply to me, since I have one of the Poison God''s heritages, if I were to approach early and end up in a disadvantaged situation this early on, it''ll only be beneficial to some chump who''ll think he can get the drop on me while I''m in the middle of battle. Not to mention I should also not give off the feel that I own one of the Poison God''s Heritages.

    That''s why I made sure to change my facial structure. Many people know me, and the worst thing I want right now is if someone were to realize that I''m Shen Bao, I have a few too many enemies that I don''t want to know where I am, mainly those guys¡­

    Looking up ahead at the front of the entire gathering was a group of people, they were five, and only five, but everyone was giving them arge breath of distance since no one wanted to face any of them or cause any problems with them.

    They all wore ck robes with red hems and a symbol of a Phoenix on their back.

    "Fire Pce Spears¡­" I sighed. The Fire Lord is actually that delusional giving up five of his spears to this trial.

    Though no one can predict what could happen during the Trial, using Five King ss Cultivators is basically telling everyone that he''s interested in this trial and wants it for himself.

    But no worries, I''m here for the endgame, not just this. So we wait.

    Hours passed as more cultivators came and the number of people waiting for the Poison Gate to appear and open is bing more and more absurd.

    Soon, the space in front of the many, many cultivators began changing. A doorway the size of a giant city appeared out of the open.

    The gate was a dark obsidian color that had a giant serpent carved in ti that looked like it woulde to life any moment.

    Once the gate fully materialized, a pressure akin to the gates of the flood opening pushed on all the present cultivators. And that was just the start.

    The giant serpent on the door shuddered and moved, slithering on the door, licking at the air for seconds before retracting its tongue.

    Then the head that was embedded in the door looked up at the cultivators and the serpent''s eyes opened up.

    The pressure from earlier that caused a lot of cultivators to wince seemed like a jokepared to this one.

    Just the snake''s eyes, those veridian green eyes seemed to push down against every cultivator''s soul, body and mind as if they were being pinned down by a star.

    Weak cultivators that didn''t know any better immediately exploded. As for others who were barely able to support the sudden increase of pressure, one could see them slowly breaking, their skin melting off their bones as their body soon turned to ash against the pressure with their soulspletely destroyed and their Soul Energy funneled towards the snake.

    ''Offerings," I mumbled.

    "Cough!"

    I looked to my right and saw a young man who seemed to be bleeding from his ears and nose, barely able to support himself against the oppressive pressure.

    He looked at me, and shuddered to utter the words, "How¡­are¡­you fine¡­after this¡­pressure?!" he asked unable to understand why a cultivator who looked to be barely at the Ascendant Stage able to easily shrug off this oppressive pressure.

    "Skill issues," I said.

    To which I was surprised to see the man cough out blood as he lost focus and was immediately squashed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Yikes," I eximed.

    The pressure continued on for several minutes until it weeded out all the inadequate and the powerless, those who remained standing were about eighty percent of the people present. More than twenty thousand souls were killed and consumed just by that serpent''s eyes opening.

    This is enough of a deration for the people here, if you don''t have the balls to go through this trial don''t do it.

    The snake''s eyes soon closed and it returned back to its position on the door.

    Several cultivators who received heavy injuries decided that it was wise to just leave, if they couldn''t even face the gate''s initial pressure they didn''t have any business taking the trial.

    Those were the smartest people here though not numerous.

    Because a great majority of cultivators decided to stay, call it Ego, or a cultivator''s arrogance, but for many of the people who remained and clearly knew they were not able to take on this trial, this was nothing but stupidity.

    With the gate calming down everyone waited for what was going to happen next. And from some research, I did about this trail I know what''s about to go down, so as probably everyone here.

    A battle royal will happen soon.

    And it did, the gate absorbed the souls of the cultivators and began transforming them, it was a form of alchemy only a bit higher level than normal alchemy. It was Soul Alchemy.

    Half of the consumed Souls were transformed into small marbles. About ten thousand Souls. And you could see them in front of the gate.

    One cultivator clearly with patience issues jumped the gun and went for one of the marbles.

    The moment he grabbed the formed marble, however, the snake on the gate snapped towards him, it didn''t even take a fraction of a fraction of a second for everyone to realize what just happened.

    The man who greedily grabbed a marble had nothing of him left but a foot. The rest of his body, all you could see from it was the blood on the jaw of the snake that already went back to the gate.

    This was a clear warning for everyone. Wait your fucking turn.

    After a few seconds when the marbles were fully formed. The snake shuddered once again and slithered against the gate, fully fusing inside it and disappearing. But instead of the snake something else reced it.

    It was an hourss.

    This hourss didn''t have sand in it, but it had marbles in it, the remaining ten thousand souls.

    Suddenly, the ten thousand flying marbles in front of the gate shot in every direction randomly and each one of them appeared in front of a random cultivator.

    And the moment that happened, you could see the hourss at the gate flipping. And the ten thousand other marbles began falling.

    Looking at the speed of the falling marbles, we have on hour.

    And just as the first cultivator grabbed the closest marble. Another ripped his head off.

    It was a battle for position, and it was clear to everyone. Only those who have the marbles can be allowed to enter the Poison God''s trial.

    As for me, who was far away from this battle, it should have been a disadvantage for me to be so far away from where everyone was fighting over the marbles. But apparently, luck was on my side because a marble happened to appear right in front of me.

    Just as I went to grab it, another cultivator shed past me andid his hand on it.

    "You''re too slow old man!" the kid said as heughed running away from the cultivators.

    Looking at the scene again, it was the wisest thing to do. Get a marble, and run the fuck away.

    But¡­ A Poison God''s trial can never be that easy. And that was clear from what happened to the kid who stole my marble. Just as he arrived at a certain distance away from the gate. The marble he had on him exploded.

    Several explosions happened back to back, making it clear to everyone that if you try to leave the invisible arena borders, only death awaits. Not only that, but from the remains of the explosion, a new marble manifested, and then it also teleported randomly back inside the invisible arena for more people to fight over it.

    "Well, this is going to be interesting," I muttered as I began channeling my Qi, I should join in on the fun now.

 Chapter 459 Open Sesame

    I dashed forward using my hoverboard, there was a Marble hovering in the middle of an area where more than a dozen cultivators were fighting each other for.

    Just as I was about to grab it, some random shmuck managed tond his hand on it first.

    "I got it!" he said eximed as if he had won the lottery.

    Bad move kid.

    Because once you try and steal from several predators, you be their main prey.

    The guy who took the piece didn''t even live to rejoice as two different spears from different cultivators pierced through him while a sword cut his head clean off from his body.

    His hand rxed as the marble fell off and another cultivator went for it.

    It kept on going like that, whoever went for the grab would get immediately killed off by the others.

    I pulled a pill from my inventory and flicked it with two fingers.

    The pill flew like a bullet and came in contact with one of the cultivators.

    "Who dares?!" shouted the cultivator as he turned to face me.

    But before he could lock eyes with me, he realized that the pill that made contact with him had begun turning to smoke.

    He waved the smoke away hastily increasing it''s spread and this began spreading to other cultivators.

    The rest of the cultivators didn''t realize the danger of the green smoke until the first cultivator''s hand began rotting.

    "POISON!" shouted the first cultivator as he backed away and gobbled up several healing pills.

    The other cultivators, realizing the danger of a poison capable of making an Ascendant Cultivator''s arm to rot in an instant all backed away. As for me, I didn''t hesitate to go into the smoke and grabbed the floating marble.

    "KILL HIM!" shouted the first cultivator as he desperately tried to suppress the poison''s spread.

    The others as if they were not enemies before and became allies followed his order toe to hunt me down. Yet they didn''t dare proceed further.

    The smoke was spreading more and more.

    "He''s a fool, even if he has a powerful poison he''ll die from it, let''s just wait it out!" one of the cultivators who weren''t too keen on being inflicted with the same poison as the first one said.

    Yet, this only worked in my favor, as I was never affected by this poison. After all, I made it.

    Several breaths of time passed without me moving from my spot before the idea of me being immune to this poison began circling their minds.

    "He probably has an antidote! Use long-distance attacks!" the smartest of the bunch said.

    And the rest followed suit, throwing away spears of Qi or swords of it toward me.

    Though the firework looked pretty, the damage was abysmal, since I already deployed the Hoverboard''s barrier.

    Not only that, I even threw several other pills outward.

    The cultivators saw the pills had their faces pale. And the smartest of the bunch immediately dipped away from the pills before they exploded too and covered the area in poison.

    As for the unlucky or the slowest of the cultivators they were inflicted with a poison so potent that no amount of pills can save them from.

    For several moments, I had a giant region around me that was full of poisonous smog that no cultivator thought it would be wise to fight me inside it. This poison serves as both a sword and a shield and no one in their right mind will daree inside.

    "Shit, forget about him," one of the cultivators said as he turned his head to another direction, he saw another marble a few miles away and decided to head toward it. And when the other cultivators saw the same they also went to that direction.

    Soon I was at peace inside a cloud of poison.

    I didn''t need to do anything but wait.

    Time passed and a few cultivators who were clearly not strong enough topete with other stronger and more vicious cultivators thought that it was a good idea to attack the guy sitting in a cloud of poison.

    But their thinking soon proved to be wrong, as they approached the cloud and realized that it contained not jut poison, but the carcasses and melted bodies of several dozen other cultivators that hade before them.

    I had constantly supplied the poison cloud with more and more poison, just to keep it functional and in a working form. I didn''t increase its size since I would just draw unwanted attention to myself.

    Soon though something came up. A man began walking inside the Poison Cloud, without a care in the world, he took a step after step as he got closer and closer to me.

    While I was sitting in the lotus position on my hoverboard, he had already arrived to face me.

    ''Shit... this guy... is strong, absurdly so...''

    "You, you''re an Heir," he said.

    ''Shit...''

    "Ah you don''t need to be so wary of me,'' he said.

    ''No fucking shot I shouldn''t...''

    "What do you want?" I asked him.

    "To test you, this trial is a bit boring he said, and you look a bit strong, well not as strong as me, but I want to see if you qualify to even take this trial," he said.

    The man''s face was hidden thanks to the poison but when he took another step and was right in front of the hoverboard barrier, I could fully see him.

    He had a gentle-looking and handsome face. Almost too beautiful to be called a man, but he was clearly not as gentle as his face.

    He raised his index finger up and that got me on guard, and with one motion he cut through the protective Saint Qi barrier as if it was made of paper.

    "I told you, this trial is too easy, now, entertain me!" he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Do I look like a circus monkey to you?" I questioned.

    "Oh, we have one with some spit here, good, then, here is the deal. You must block one of my hits, if you do I''ll allow you to enter the trial, if you can''t, then you were never cut out for this." He said.

    "And why should I approve of such an unfair trial, aren''t we all here to take the Poison God''s trial, you''re a book owner yourself, you should know." I said.

    "Because you''re the only one with four books here, everyone else has only one. They''re boring, you look interesting and I want to see how you managed to get all four books, if it was chance or true ability," he said.

    I stood up, looked the man in the eyes, and said, "Dao Shen."

    The man smiled, his grin reaching all the way to his ears, "Ah to have other people know of this humble person, I guess my reputation of leaving no one alive is now wed," he said.

    "Nah, it''s not about that," I replied, "It''s because you said that everyone else has only one book, you already hinted the fact that you have more than one, and with that alone, I deduced your name. Not to mention that," I said as I pointed to his shoulder.

    Dao Shen looked to his shoulder and then smiled some more if that was even possible.

    "You''re very bright," he said.

    "The Book of Devouring, otherwise you shouldn''t have been able to walk through this poison mist without taking damage. So you said you wanted to test me, and I feel it would be a little too unfair, how about this since you''re clearly the strongest of the both of us. How about if Ind a blow on you, you''ll forget this manner." I said.

    "That''s an interesting thought, but you clearly know the difference between us, how can you ever hope even to touch my robes with such weak cultivation?" he asked.

    "You''ll be surprised," I said.

    "Then go ahead, try, but if you fail to impress me, you''ll die," he said nonchntly.

    "Right, when do we begin?" I asked.

    "Whenever you like," he said.

    "Right...aaaand done, I won," I said.

    Dao Shen frowned "You think this is a joke?" he said, his Divine Sense began seeping out exposing his true power. And for a second I almost took a step back. His pressure was undeniablyparable to the serpent head at the poison god''s gate.

    "No," I replied, "Not a joke," I said.

    "I find it interesting that you managed to survive my pressure without sweating, with that alone I could have considered that you have passed my test, but I don''t like being joked around with, what do you mean you won, you didn''t move an inch, nor did your Qi change, how did you think that you won this fight?" he asked.

    "Because you lost the moment you took a step in, look at your shoulder again," I said.

    Dao Shen looked to his shoulder and his eyes widened.

    "Since when?" he asked.

    "Since the moment you took your first step here, the poison around me isn''t so simple that the Book of Devouring will consume it, while you were eating away at the poison, the poison was also eating away at your Qi, and that''s why your robe is now damaged and you have a small blemish on your shoulder. Though I might die in a frontal sh, If I have time to prepare I''m not someone that''ll easily go down," I said.

    The young man beganughing hysterically. And it went on for hours, his bursts ofughter without even him fully realizing were destroying my poison cloud. And soon only the two of us were visible to everyone around us.

    "Very good, what is your name?" he asked.

    "Well, I guess you already know it," I said trying to dodge the question.

    "Shen Bao," he said.

    ''Fuck...''

    The moment my name was spoken everyone far and near turned to me.

    "The youngest Heir, you''re considered a genius in many regions, and a lot of Poison God inheritors want your book. Let''s see, how are you going to get away from this, you proved your ability with your special poison, but now you have to survive being discovered. Good luck," he said.

    He then took a step forward and began flying away.

    The cultivators a few miles from me all realized who I was, and they knew for sure that if they were to kill me, they''ll have my book and have better odds at the trial.

    "Damn... well, I guess I''m gonna have to do this then," I said as I turned to the gate''s direction.

    "Encircle him, he''s trying to get to the gate," someone said.

    And they were right. Because the gate was opening up.

    A giant swath of cultivators moved toward the giant gate that seemed like a portal to theherworld. And many who didn''t have the marble on them perished as they shed with the gate trying to break into it.

    Only those who had the pearls managed to get in safely.

    Seeing this, other cultivators began swarming the gate not to enter, but to stop other pearl owners from entering and stealing their pearls away. It was a massacre at the gate.

    "Unfortunately for you, you''re a thousand years too slow to stop me," I said and took one step forward.

    With that step, I folded space and teleported forward right in the middle of all of those cultivators.

    They didn''t understand what happened nor did they realize I was among them. Simply because, I was using the Traceless Steps where not only is my Qi, presence, and body is hidden, my whole being is concealed from the world.

    And I continued walking and walking.

    Only for one person to smirk in my direction... he sent me a divine sense message, "It''s been a while, Shen Bao."

    Looking in the direction of that person, I saw a young man with ember-like eyes and tanned skin, his body exuded youth and power and his infernal and fiery spirit seemed to rage when he noticed me.

    Fighting spirit andpetitiveness was ignited in this young man''s eyes.

    "Meng Hao..." I muttered back.

 Chapter 460 In A Box

    The young man, no, more like an adult now, came forward and stood in front of me. For everyone else, if they had paid attention to Meng Hao they''ll only see him standing in front of emptiness.

    "I thought you died," I said.

    "And I was sure you survived, how have you been?" he asked.

    I looked at myself and looked at him and said, "Good, actually been good. And I see the same for you too, you''ve improved a lot, and now you''re awfully strong," I said.

    "Strong¡­" Meng Hao trailed.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "Let''s go to the gate now, we''ll discuss thister," he said.

    And he was right, but the only issue was the number of people swarming the gate and killing or fighting anyone who tried to pass.

    They didn''t know who had and who didn''t have the marble, so everyone was killing each other.

    "That''s not gonna be easy," I said as I had my eyes focused on the gate.

    "Not really, there is no need to fight our way through, we can scare our way through though", Meng Hao said.

    "I''m d you thought of that," I said "So what do you have in mind?" I asked.

    "Something¡­mboyant," he said and began channeling Qi inside his body, enough of it that he was slowly transforming into a miniature sun.

    "That''s a lot of Fire Qi," I said.

    "Yes, I hope you can resist it enough for us to make our way through," he said.

    "Don''t worry about me and let loose, I''m pretty resistant to fire," I said and I almost regretted it.

    Meng Hao increased the output of his Fire Qi so much that even my Veridian Heart me was barely able to suppress and protect me from burning to ash.

    "Good, this should do the trick, let''s go now!" he said and began moving toward the gate like a meteor.

    I followed after him closely as he zoomed forward, and thankfully no one dared stand in his way. The fire Qi he was exuding was enough to harm a King ss cultivator if taken head on, as for the rest, they''ll turn to cinders the moment theye in contact with it.

    I was rotating my Veridian Heart me to manage the heat, as for anyone else who tried to either block him or was too slow to escape the iing meteor of fiery death¡­ well their ashes will be a nice decoration to the vastness of space.

    Not even the King ss cultivators tried to stop Meng Hao since it will do them no good. Since most King ss have already obtained a marble if not all of them, going out of their way to block him will serve them no good and will only make them vulnerable to being backstabbed.

    We arrived rapidly at the gate and entered at the same time to find ourselves in a massive open field. There was a giant sun above us that lit the way andnd as for the ground¡­ No more like a floor, it was made of massive square tiles of marble.

    Several other cultivators came into the open field, these were the people from outside.

    "What''s this?" someone asked, "Shouldn''t this be a trial?" he added.

    Other people began questioning the same and wondering what was going on. This didn''t look like anything yet. But I''m sure that there is a trialing, it''s only waiting for all ten thousand people to get in.

    "Meng Hao, where have you been for the past couple of decades?" I asked.

    "Around," he replied all mysterious and MC like.

    God, I don''t like that.

    I sighed, "I asked you earlier about how you became this strong, you avoided the matter, do you not wish to discuss it?" I asked.

    "It''s not something that I''m nning to hide," he said. "I got lucky, though it came at a great cost," he said.

    God damn these cultivators and their way to illusively dodging questions.

    "Be clear with me, you sound and look like shit, no offense, did something bad happen? Also, where is Yan Song?" I asked.

    The moments the words left my mouth, the air around Meng Hao turned to a chilling, cold-blooded and murderous air. It felt like a wounded lion that was about to pounce on a mortal enemy.

    And this feeling wasn''t even directed at me.

    Something must have happened, and it definitely was not something simple. To produce this much wrath and rage... he''s closer to my second Demonic Soul than I could ever belive. And I cultivated that soul with hatred and agony artificially, while this looks to be a pure unadulterated rage.

    "She¡­ she''s¡­" he couldn''t finish his words.

    I sighed "My condolences," I said.

    "No, she isn''t dead¡­" he said.

    I frowned, "Then where is she?" I asked.

    "With me¡­" he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I frowned some more. "Why can''t I see her then?" I asked.

    "Her soul, she lost it, I only have her corpse¡­"

    ''Isn''t that the same as she is dead?''

    "How can a soul be lost? What happened exin it in details Meng Hao!" I said.

    "You wouldn''t understand! No one can!" he said.

    ''This is frankly pissing me off.''

    "I''m your friend, not some random someone, tell me what happened and let me see if we can figure things out," I said.

    Meng Hao sighed.

    "When the Fire Lord attacked our home. He used Soul Sealing pots, and her soul was grabbed. I on the other hand was captured. I''m still trying to find her Soul." He said.

    I frowned, if her soul has been captured in those pots¡­ then it''s already toote. The same happened to Yuyu, but she had the good luck of ending up at the Wind Realm Queen''s hands and managed to be revived. But now that assault happened a decade and some more. The chances of her being alive¡­ are close to nul.

    " I know what you''re thinking, She isn''t dead, he soul wasn''t consumed," he said.

    "How do you know that?" I asked.

    "I JUST KNOW!" he said, his words were heavy and loud, enough that it made a lot of people turn towards us to see what was going on.

    "Oh, if it isn''t Shen Bao, the famous Eleventh Poison Acolyte." The man approached me and was about to grab me, his intentions were murderous.

    But before his handnded on me, a golden wall appeared around me and blocked the man''s hand.

    A small skull appeared on the man''s robes.

    The man frowned as he realized that something was not right. He looked at me again and at the sign on his shoulder and just as he was about to speak a loud booming sound echoed through the open field.

    "Wee younglings, you''vee to prove your mettle in the challenges this old man has prepared. And before anyone of you ask of anything, this is just a recorded message.

    Now, you''ll all be facing several challenges, and do know, Heir or not, all have the same chances of bing the next Du Shen if they wish, if not you can enjoy my treasures and gifts for all I care."

    The voice then quieted down before the entire floor began shaking.

    Several waist size square pirs emerged from the ground. Ten thousand of them to be precise.

    "You will all be challenging each other, in many subjects, mental, martial and understanding. I only approve of the best. There will be times where you may request to leave, and before those timese, you cannot leave. So, for everyone who wishes to exit right now, you may crush your marble and it will take you away from this trial."

    ''Of course, no one would leave.'' I thought

    "Of course, no one would leave," said the voice too.

    "Good, now, to move forward you must clear a simple trial. Trust and Betrayal. Very simple in fact." The voice said. "You will each have one Box in front of you, you may not touch, tamper, move, directly or indirectly, assisted or not, using any tools. The box must remain where it is at all times. Failing to respect the rules will cost you one of your three chances. Once a cultivator loses all of their three chances, they will die." The voice said.

    Chances? What does he mean?

    "Everyone here has three lives, and every death will have a small skull symbol imprinted on them, if you have three, you will be eliminated. Fighting is prohibited during trials. Killing, harming, threatening are forbidden, mental assaults against another opponent''s Sea of Consciousness is also forbidden."

    "You may also wash off one ''Death'' in exchange with one Marble. You only need to ce the marble on the skull you obtained to nullify both."

    "Now that the skeleton of the rules have been imposed let''s start the trial. The first trial is simple, you may choose one person to challenge of all the ten thousand among you. Your goal is simple, you will each bet your marbles cing them in the box will suffice. The boxes have the ability to randomly teleport the marbles between them. One of the two challengers will be chosen at random. The chosen cultivator will be the only one allowed to open the box in front of them. As for the other cultivator, they''ll have the right to either change or keep their box. The rule is simple, once the timer ends the cultivator who has no marbles in their box will lose. And the one with the marbles will win and proceed to the next round."

    ''Okay, so simple, it''s a game of lies and truths that''s pretty much my fort.''

    "As for the losing side, they still have another shot, you may sacrifice one of your three lives to obtain one more marble but do know, that if you were to lose all three lives you''ll be eliminated. Now, good luck." The voice said.

    It didn''t take a genius to figure out the rules or the way to y, the only issue is to find someone to challenge.

    "You!" said the guy that tried to grab me before, "I''ll challenge you, you already cost me one life, I''m nning on getting it back, Shen Bao!" he said.

    Meng Hao looked at me and back at the other guy, "You''re taking him on, right?" he asked.

    "Of course, I''ll make quick work of him, give me a moment, once I''m done we''ll resume our talk about that matter," I said as I approached the closest pir and ced a marble on top of it.

    A small wooden box materialized around the marble and closed shut.

    The other cultivator smirked as he ced his own marble, "I''ll bleed you dry!" he said.

    We''ll let''s see you try.

 Chapter 461 Mind Games

    The two boxes shook some more and writing appeared between the two of us.

    "Only the box that glows and the person next to it can be opened. You may proceed after deciding what to do."

    "Simple," I mumbled, "The ball is in your court, and the box on your side is glowing," I said.

    "I know," he said smugly and opened the box, it was for a second barely, he grinned and closed it.

    "So," I said, "Do you have the marbles in that box?" I asked.

    "Of course I do," he said.

    "Are you lying to me?" I asked.

    "No," he replied confidently.

    "Are you sure about that," I asked again.

    "Yes, I''mpletely sure."

    "What''s your name?" I asked him again.

    "What does that have to do with this? The timer is going down, are you sure you want to askme pointless questions and waste your time like this?" he asked.

    "Of course, as long as I get the option to ask questions, I can ask everything, now just answer me," I said.

    "My name is Xifan Liu," he said.

    "Nice to meet you Xifan Liu," I said.

    "Nice to meet you too," he said.

    I then smiled, "You just lied," I said.

    He frowned, "What do you mean?"

    "You lied about it being nice to meet me, it wasn''t," I said.

    "How is that even relevant," he asked.

    "It''s pretty relevant, because I got your tell," I said then mmed my hand on my box. "I''ll pick this box, I won''t switch."

    Xifan Liu''s face red in anger, "HOW! HOW DID YOU KNOW!" he was enraged.

    "I could tell you," I said smiling, "But what''s in it for me," I asked again as I opened the box in front of me, and true, I had the marbles in my box.

    Rage was clear on his face. He still didn''t understand how I figured him out.

    "Let''s y again then," he said.

    "Are you sure about that? I mean, you''re already down to yourst two lives," I said "Are you going to bet them?" I asked.

    He didn''t dare reply.

    "Tell you what, if you bet both lives you have left, I''ll tell you your tell before we start the next round," I said.

    Tempting offer indeed.

    He hesitated for a moment, but out of the pride of being a cultivator, and honestly being aplete idiot. He agreed.

    "Right then, it was simple, usually, when someone lies, their pupil widens, their heartbeat changes rhythm, and usually they have a change in their facial structure. Or look away. It''s pretty simple." I said.

    "But I didn''t do any of that!" he said.

    "I know you didn''t, and because of that I won." I shrugged. "You actually didn''t allow yourself any change in expression, motion or breathing, you controlled your own heart rate and your pupil, so much of it that it was too convincing actually. Until you said the words, Nice to meet you too, which was obviously a lie no matter how subconscious it was, you didn''t appreciate ''meeting me'' thus it was a lie, but you didn''t even flinch. You actually kept up that Poker face too much it exposed you." I smiled.

    Xifan''s face turned to beat red, ashamed and embarrassed at how he was exposed oh so easily.

    "Still, now that you offered to y again, I''ll beat you, now that I know how I was figured out, it''s easy to cope around it and fix it," he said.

    "True," I said as I ced two marbles this time instead of one in my box.

    And just as he ced hisst two I spoke again. "But that''s only one of the tells you have, you actually have another tell," I smiled.

    The boxes shook, and with them so did Xifan as he felt he was being cornered.

    "That doesn''t mean I lost, you could end up with the glowing box, and I''ll be the one who asks questions!" he said.

    "You want to y Mind Games with me, you''ll regret it," I said.

    The box on my side shined.

    With that, Xifan took a breath of relief, "Now it''s my turn to put you under the light," he said.

    "Is it now?" I tilted my head, "I choose not to open the box," I said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What?!"

    "You heard me, I''m not opening my box," I said.

    "That''s not possible! You must open the box! Otherwise, how is the game going to proceed!" he said.

    "There were no rules stating that the box must be opened, it only said after deciding the game will proceed, so, I choose not to open my box, and now no matter what you ask, it won''t mean shit, because you''ll still need to choose one of the boxes. I mean it''s a Fifty-Fifty," I said shrugging.

    You could feel the ruggedness of Xifan''s breath as he was trying toe up with a n.

    He hesitated as he held his hand, trying to pick one of the boxes, and as soon as his hand was close to touching the box next to him, my upper lip twitched.

    He didn''t miss that.

    "You, you know which box has which marbles don''t you! You cheated!" he said.

    "Do you have any proof?" I asked "And you can''t do that you know, it''s impossible to inspect the box with divine sense." I said.

    "You could have ced a mark on the marbles!" he said.

    "I''m sure you already know that is not possible since you tried that in the earlier round and it didn''t work for you," I said.

    "H-how did you figure that out?!" he asked.

    "I have my ways, now choose," I said.

    The man hesitated some more before saying, "I¡­I''ll choose your box!" he said.

    "Are you sure about that?" I asked.

    "Yes,pletely sure. You definitely have a way to figure out which box has which marbles, all that shit in the first round you spoke was probably bullshit to throw me off. And that smirk, I know you did that on purpose for me to catch on to it. You wanted to bait me, you wanted me to see that smirk, so I would think that the box in front of me has nothing but the one in front of you has the marbles, but it was obvious enough that I would think it''s not the case and choose to retain my box instead. So I''m doing the opposite, I''m choosing the box next to you!"

    "Very well then," I said.

    The boxes changed, and once he opened his, Xifan fell to his knees.

    Shock and despair hung upon him like the scythe of the grim reaper. "N-no! I was sure of it! YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED!" he shouted.

    "You can''t prove it," I smiled and opened the box in front of me. Lo and behold, there were four marbles in it.

    Two skulls lit up on Xifan''s chest, and with that, he had three red skulls.

    He didn''t even have the time to speak before his entire body turned to dust.

    Once I was done with that guy I looked around to find Meng Hao, only to realize that half of the people in this giant open area had already perished.

    A bit of fear struck me as I looked for Meng Hao, and when I found him juggling several marbles casually I approached him.

    "Yo," I said.

    "Yo? What is that," Meng Hao said.

    "Just an expression, so how did it go?" I asked.

    "I won," he said.

    "Oh, interesting, my match was a bit of a brain teaser," I said.

    "How did it go?" he asked me.

    "Oh, well, it went like this," I said and began telling him of my earlier match.

    ¡­

    "Oh, I never knew you could mark the box," he said.

    "Well, most people think that you can only mark the marbles since the box is pretty sophisticated but I was able to modify it thanks to my understanding of inscriptions. As for the mind games I needed to rile him up well, it was not easy," I said.

    Almost everything I told Xifan was true, and it wasn''t easy toe up with bullshit to further authenticate my words. It was actually a good brain teaser.

    "So how did you win against your opponent?" I asked Meng Hao.

    "Oh me? I just took my chances, I mean it was fifty-fifty anyway, I just needed to ignore everything my opponent said and just picked the one my heart felt like picking¡­ why is your face scrunched up like that? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

    "Damn MC plot armor¡­" I cursed inwardly, sighing after that.

    "What is an MC, And what''s Plot Armor? Is that a treasure?" he asked?

    I patted Meng Hao on the back and said, "Don''t mind it, buddy, just keep doing whatever you''re doing, we''ll be here for a bit before we go to the next round, so tell me about Yan Song," I asked.

    "Right, Yan''er¡­"

 Chapter 462 Maze

    "So tell me, what went on?" I asked.

    Meng Hao sighed before he said, "Her soul is like I said, captured within one of the Fire Lord''s incense pots. It hasn''t been used or emptied, usually, they spend a long time on some random shelf waiting for the day that the Fire Lord needs sustenance, or that''s what I''ve been told. And since he''s currently in Secluded Cultivation, I''m desperately needing to grow my strength to get her back," he said.

    "Why? If he''s in secluded cultivation, that should give you a good time to work on yourself, why are you rushing?" I asked.

    "Because he usually absorbs the Pots after he''s done cultivating to cement his foundations, and I fear that she does not have a lot of time left," He said.

    "Right, listen," I said, "After this trial is over I''ll head out with you to rescue her. But we can''t just barge in on the Fire Lord''s domain like that, we''ll be needing to n for this, it''s not going to be easy," I said.

    "¡­Why are you helping me? You do know that the Fire Lord isn''t someone who''ll be forgiving if anyone were to cross him," he said.

    "First off, I''m helping a friend, not a stranger, second thing, I also have a bone to pick with that fucker. Damn bastard had to fuck over an entire just for the sake of sticking it up to the Wind Lord. I don''t like shit like that, especially if I''m in that said," I stated.

    "It''s not going to be easy," Meng Hao said.

    "When did anything worth it ever was easy, don''t worry we''ll figure things out, but I have to warn you about something," I said.

    "What is it?" he asked.

    "The Poison God''s trials aren''t fair you know," I said.

    "Yes, I do know, I''m not stupid or foolish enough to take on a trial that I know has no chance of survival, I''m here to hone my abilities and newfound strength, and it''s the best spot since a lot of people here are strong, and I could leave with little to no witnesses," he said.

    "I''m d you realize that, when you''re satisfied you should probably leave," I said.

    "What about you? This is only for Poison God Cultivators, you''re not nning onpeting with them, I mean I do acknowledge your knowledge of alchemy butpared to¡­ wait¡­"

    "Finally you figured it out?" I smirked.

    "Since when?" he asked.

    "Since before we first met," I said

    "Damn, no wonder you looked like a disfigured old monkey," he said.

    "That''s rude," I said.

    "But it''s true, damn, you looked really bad."

    "Yeah, effects of the Poison God''s cultivation path, not easy," I said.

    Suddenly the entire room began shaking.

    "Congrattions on passing the first round, that was most easy and simple I suppose. Now then, how about we turn up the challenge a notch." The voice that spoke was the one from before. And with that, the entire city-wide tform began shaking and you could feel it moving upward like a lift.

    It rose and rose and kept rising until it finally stopped.

    "Your next challenge is simple, however, there are limited spots. Only two thousand cultivators can survive it, not a single cultivator more. And the rules of none aggression remain the same, any direct attack aimed to take the life, harm or disable another cultivator will be considered an infraction. And three infractions are an instant elimination."

    "In this trial, you''ll be entering a maze, and your objective is simple, you do not even need to find an exit, because it does not exist. Your goal is to simply survive long enough for only two thousand cultivators to remain alive."

    ''Sounds simple¡­ but at the same time, too simple.''

    "But!" the voice said bombastically.

    ''Here ites

    "If a cultivator remains in the same spot for a certain amount of time, their location will be revealed to everyone around them."

    "Is that really important?" muttered a guy next to me, "So what if their location is revealed no one is going to attack them, what''s the point of this maze?"

    That would have been a good question if not for one simple variable. The first round. Now I understand the objective behind the first round. It wasn''t just to simply eliminate the other cultivators, but actually to obtain more marbles. And though the rules are clear that one shouldn''t harm another, it doesn''t mean not to do it. Because if you have enough marbles, you can pay off your infractions¡­ what a cruel and cunning test,''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "And just to make things more fun, I''ve released a few Steel Jaw Wolves in the maze, and a couple simr Demonic Beasts in." He said.

    "Hah, Steel Jaw Wolves? That''s not that terrifying, this challenge should be easy, I mean anyone here could easily kill a few hundred of those, even ascendant cultivators can take on a horde of them with their hands tied behind their backs," the same cultivator from before stated.

    ''No, it can''t be that simple. Though Steel Jaw Wolves are at the level of Soul Transformation, they have a nasty ability that defines them from other creatures. Their ability to sniff out someone from thousands of miles away. You literally cannot hide away from them. As for the cultivation bit, even if it was true, I''m sure something is going to change it."

    "Now with the rules exined. If anyone wishes to leave now you may break one of your marbles right now and you''ll be taken outside of the trial grounds."

    Of course, the arrogance and pride of cultivators prevent them from using their heads, so no one will use the marbles to leave.

    And I was right, no one left.

    "Good, now that everyone is ready, prepare to go to the maze."

    Suddenly, the ground under me began to slowly sink, it was a square around me that sunk down like an elevator.

    "Good luck Shen Bao," Meng Hao.

    "You too," I replied.

    Soon, the floor above me closed and the speed at which the tile I was standing on increased as it went down.

    "Disciple of Mine," I heard inside my head.

    "You''vee to prove your worth and power, but with your ability to neutralize poison, you''ve been given an unfair advantage. Thus, I must seal your prows until this trial ends."

    "No need," I muttered before I pulled Shen Mo''s body out and ced it next to me.

    I immediately possessed him and sent my original body back into the lord of lords pagoda.

    Thankfully I did so just before the light of the Maze came to view because the very fabric of space seemed to shudder and shake.

    I heard a divine sense messageing from the Automaton inside the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    "Master, something is wrong, the space you''re currently in ispletely blocking my interference, not even the Lord of Lord pagoda can be properly operated. I cannote to your assistance.

    "No worries, I already prepared in case something like this were to happen I said as I stood up and flexed Shen Mo''s muscles.

    I opened my Holding Bag and was thankful that it was operational, the dimensional space from the holding bags was not affected.

    And just like that, I saw the maze. It was freaking huge.

    Not only that, I looked up and realized that the maze was yet to fully lock on.

    We were inside a gigantic square that seemed to host hundreds of millions of walls that were slowly extending and linking together making a maze that could be walked upwards downwards and sideways.

    A three-dimensional maze.

    Soon the walls to the maze locked together and all I could see were walls.

    Turning around I didn''t know which way to go. And just as I was about to take a step, a powerful purple gas spread through the maze, fully blocking the view.

    The moment I inhaled it I thought I was going to perish, yet, nothing happened. The poison clearly seeped into my body andtched onto my meridians and Dantian, but it didn''t affect me in the least, it just stayed there.

    Before long, a howl of a wolf spread through the maze.

    And then the screams and cries of cultivators dying left and right revibrated through the maze¡­

    "What the fuck is going on?"

 Chapter 463 Hunter And Prey

    The ground under me shook, heavily so, enough that one would think it was an earthquake.

    Something wasing and it wasing fast.

    The problem is, I have no idea where it wasing from. But standing still is meaningless. I randomly picked a direction and legged it.

    As I was running away, I pulled up a batch of talismans, explosive ones that blow up the moment they''re stepped on. I threw several of them behind me as I ran forward taking any turn left or right as I moved.

    Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed behind me, the talismans were triggered. They were obvious for any cultivator meaning that anyone would have jumped or dodged away from them, but not for beasts, because beasts have no idea what those are, and thus they blew up.

    The problem is, more explosions echoed even after the first one, meaning that not only one wolf, but an entire pack wasing after me.

    Shit.

    I continued moving forward until I was met with another cultivator who seemed to be running toward me.

    As we passed each other, "I wouldn''t go that way," I said.

    "NEITHER WILL I!" he said back.

    The two of us stopped and realized that both paths we came from had wolves in them.

    "Temporary truce?" I asked.

    "Yes, let''s head here," he said as he pointed at the only path we could go and didn''t have any wolvesing at our form.

    The two of us nodded at each other then we ran up the new path.

    "Damn, you got nerfed even harder than I did," said the other cultivator.

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "The poison that seals Qi, it dropped my cultivation all the way to the Soul Transformation peak, you on the other hand seemed to have dropped to the Middle rank of Soul Transformation."

    ''That was actually the normal cultivation level of Shen Mo, but I wasn''t going to correct him. Also, this is great, I now understand what the poison hiding in my Dantian and meridians is.''

    "It doesn''t matter, let''s keep running," I said as we continued moving and the three of us had to stop. Because another cultivator wasing toward us.

    "No fucking way!" said the cultivator next to me.

    The third iing cultivator was panting as he was desperately trying to run away.

    Just as he approached us, "Help me!" he said. But the moment the words came out of his mouth, his entire body was ripped into three parts. The look of shock was still clear in his eyes as he didn''t even know how he died.

    Blood sprayed all over the walls as it revealed a bloodied w. The owner of this w was invisible on the other hand.

    The guy next to me began sweating bullets, "I thought there were only Steel Fang Wolves here¡­ what the hell is a Nargacougar doing here!"

    "Nargacougar? What is that?" I asked.

    "It''s a hybrid between a Demonic Night Prowling Cougar and the Seamless Giant Bat. This creature is basically a Feline with wings that can be invisible¡­ We''re fucked¡­" he said.

    "Wait, you said bat?" I asked.

    "Yes, why are you asking about the bat portion? I''d be more afraid of the Cougar part¡­" he asked.

    "Because a bat part is the more terrifying for us, Bats can locate their prey using hypersonic soundwaves. Like a sonar," I said.

    "What is a sonar?" he asked.

    "Never mind that, I have a way to get us out of here, but I''ll need you to act as bait," I said.

    The cultivator thought for a moment before he said, "I don''t think I have a choice in the matter do I, the wolves are approaching and this thing ahead of us is not going to stop moving. What is it doing?" asked the cultivator.

    "It''s clearly licking the blood off his ws, if it does that it''ll turn to be fully invisible again, we can''t have that. Anyway, grab this," I said as I gave him a couple of pills.

    "What''s this?" he asked.

    "Paint Pills, throw them at the Nargacougar on my mark," I said.

    "What is that going to do for us thought?" he asked.

    "You''ll see," I said as I pulled a couple of canisters and ced them in front of me and then pulled out two revolvers one in each hand.

    "Now, throw them," I said.

    The cultivator threw both pills with incredible speed and uracy, they looked dangerous enough to be threatening so the Nargacougar swiped at them.

    Upon contact the pills blew up and painted the Nargacougar, revealing its face and a few its wings and body. It looked fucking terrifying.

    Realizing that its stealth has been revealed the creature screeched so loud I felt that my ears were about to bleed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Well, we managed to make it more pissed¡­" the cultivator said.

    I ced two pieces of wax against my ears and spoke "That''s the idea. Close your ears, protect your organs using Qi, and be ready up to run," I said.

    The creature ced both ws on the ground, hissed one more then lunged forward.

    I kicked the canister next to my feet forward and with both revolvers shot dozens of bullets at the iing creature and the canister in the air.

    One of the bullets urately hit the canister enabling its inner mechanism.

    The canister blew up almost right next to the Nargacougar''s ear. And that was fucking beautiful.

    The canister was actually a stun grenade, that detonates creating a massive sound and shockwave.

    The shockwave was powerful enough that you can see the walls of the maze bend slightly. As for the Nargacougar, since it blew up right next to its most sensitive organ which is its ears, it screeched out as blood sprayed out of its ears and eyes. It began spasming on the ground and shaking, slicing at the walls with its massive ws,pletely disoriented dazed, and frightened.

    "RUN!" I said as the two of us headed out fast leaping above the Nargacougar, which was thankfully a good option because the two packs of Steel Fang wolves that were chasing us had arrived.

    Thankfully instead of resuming their hunt, they all lunged at the disabled Nargacougar, tearing it limb from limb as it tried to desperately fight for its life.

    "Keep running," I said.

    "I''m not gonna argue that, but tell me something," he asked.

    "What?" I replied.

    "Why did you pull two of those canisters when you used only one," he asked.

    "Who said I only used one?" I grinned.

    And almost immediately, the second canister blew up, paralyzing the packpletely and rendering them unable to move from the sudden and close shock.

    With this, the Nargacougar who already seemed to have lost its hearing from the first canister was able to ''survive'' the second, and with the tables turned, the Nargacougar was back on its feet, wounded and bloodied, but ready to fight for its life against a stunned and shocked pack of predators.

    A fight started and once it''s over one side will win, and that''s one less variable to fuck us over in this maze.

    "Those are some interesting trinkets you have," said the cultivator.

    "Yes they are," I said as I threw several pills through every corridor we didn''t decide to go through.

    "What are you doing?" he asked.

    "Bread crumbs, if we face a dead end, we can backtrack. Those pills will act as a sign and at the same time a trap if we end up needing to fight another pack of monsters."

    Soon the two of us managed to enter a slightlyrge room that had only one exit. But the room itself had several bodies on the ground, with two cultivators in the middle. The both of them had bloodied swords and were talking to each other.

    Once they locked eyes with us, I felt murderous intent.

    "Seems like we entered a hunter''s area¡­ this is going to be annoying," I said.

    "What do you mean? A hunter?" asked the cultivator next to me.

    "Yes, these two, are killers, they''re killing the opposition, you can see from the traces of the battle. Ready up," I said.

    "Why would they even fight here, isn''t it forbidden, the rules state you can''t fight," said the cultivator.

    "Don''t be na?ve, the rules didn''t forbid fighting, you only get an infraction if you kill someone, and once you kill one you pay off the infraction using a marble. And since thy killed other cultivators, they can simply take their marbles and wipe their infraction while having even more marbles. They''reing," I said as I flexed both my hands.

    Between each of my fingers was a pill.

    And just before the first enemy cultivator got to me, the second one grabbed him by the shoulder.

    "You''re not turning on me are you?"

    "No you fool, look at the pills he has, those are poison pills, in this locked and small ce, the moment one of those pills detonate we''re doomed. We can''t fight them here, let''s back off."

    "What a smart person," I said smiling but I wasn''t buying it.

    I sent a divine sense message to the guy next to me, "They''re going to attack us, don''t believe the shit they''re saying." I said.

    "How do you know that, they just realized they can''t fight your poison."

    "That would have been true if the two of them were normal cultivators, but the one in the back, poison does not work on him.

    "How do you know that?"

    "Because he is a Poison God Cultivator!"

 Chapter 464 Box Inside A Box

    The room was filled with a thick, noxious fog as the Poison God Cultivator began channeling his Qi. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my instincts telling me that danger was imminent. Without a moment''s hesitation, I reached into my pocket and withdrew ten small pills, each one packed with a lethal dose of poison. As I flicked them between my fingers, they detonated in a shower of colors, filling the air with corrosive fumes that spread rapidly throughout the room.

    My heart pounding, I turned to my temporary ally and handed him a small, white pill. "Eat this if you want to live," I said, swallowing one myself. As the fumes closed in around us, I could see the fear in his eyes. "What''s happening?" he asked, his voice choked with panic.

    "This is a smoke curtain," I exined, watching as the fog swirled and coalesced around us. "It should stop them from making any big moves. And if they do..." I trailed off as a blinding light lit up from within the fog, followed by the sound of coughing and screams of pain.

    "He''s preparing an attack," my ally warned, but I shook my head. "Nope, he''s fucked," I said with a grim smile. Momentster, the light flickered and died, leaving behind only the sounds of suffering and death.

    A small skull mark appeared on my chest, signifying that I had sessfully killed a cultivator. I felt a sense of grim satisfaction, but I knew that there was still danger lurking in the shadows. "Not bad, but there is no need for me to fight you here when I''m at a disadvantage," the Poison God Cultivator taunted. "Once I regain my cultivation base, I''ll be seeking you out. Be ready!"

    I watched as he disappeared into the shadows, my hand instinctively reaching for my revolver. "You actually scared them off," my ally said in disbelief. I shook my head. "You can''t count on a cultivator''s words. He might still be here, hiding. Be ready for anything."

    As the fumes began to dissipate, we waited in tense silence, our eyes scanning the room for any sign of movement. When the smoke cleared, we were relieved to see that the Poison God Cultivator had indeed fled. "Good, he left," I said with a sense of relief.

    But just as my ally let out a breath of relief, I pulled out my revolver and fired a shot right next to his ear. The st was so loud and sudden that he froze, unable to move or speak. "Shit," I heard from behind us. "How did you know..."

    "It''s a skill difference," I said calmly, turning to face the Poison God Cultivator. "You never left. No Poison God Cultivator worth his salt would ever shy away from poison. I knew you''d still be here. Not only that, I also know what book you own."

    The Poison God Cultivator grinned as his wounds healed before my eyes, the bullet popping out of his skull and ttering to the ground. "And what book is that?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement.

    "It''s the Body Heritage," I said, my voice tinged with apprehension. "There''s no way we can harm him or damage him. The fact that he survived the poison and being shot in the head is proof enough of that. Let''s get out of here."

    Without another word, I threw more pills and canisters behind us as we ran for the exit. As we emerged into the corridor, my heart

    As we walked down the seemingly endless corridor, my heart was pounding with anticipation. However, once we arrived at the end of the hallway, my heart sank as I gazed into the vast emptiness before me. Looking up, I couldn''t believe my eyes. Something strange was happening in thebyrinth. The rooms were shifting and changing before my very eyes. The walls were rising and falling, and the tiles on the floor were transforming into new shapes. Everywhere I looked, cultivators were darting from one room to another, leaping from tform to tform, all while being pursued by terrifying monsters and creatures that howled like banshees.

    At that moment, the other cultivator turned to me and spoke, "I guess this is where we part ways."

    With a heavy heart, I replied, "I guess so."

    it was clear that my presence brought nothing but trouble to mypanion. With the body cultivator now fixated on me, I couldn''t me him for thinking that he would have better odds going alone.

    "What''s your name?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern.

    "I''m Shen Mo."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Good to meet you, Shen Mo. Good luck in the trial," he said, offering me a reassuring smile before leaping down into the empty air. I watched in awe as he effortlesslynded on a tform that had moved into the perfect angle, and then jumped to another one, disappearing from sight.

    Inspired by his disy of agility, I too jumped up and grabbed onto the edge of an iing tform. The explosions from the room we had just left behind reverberated through the air as I pulled myself up. When I looked back, I was stunned to see that the entire room was splitting into parts and fusing together, creating moreplex rooms and structures.

    Determined to stay ahead of the Body Cultivator, I forged ahead, constantly changing directions - up, down, back, and even sideways - in a bid to lose him.

    As I moved through the maze, I noticed that other cultivators were quick to notice the skull on my chest. Their reactions were all the same - they avoided me like the gue. "Good," I thought, "this is enough to scare off the small fries."

    But my confidence was short-lived. I soon found myself on the edge of a newly forming room. As the wall slid down, I barely managed to dodge the Steel Fanged wolf thaty in wait behind it. The wolfnded behind me, but I was quick to react. With a swift kick to the chest, I flung it off my tform and jumped into the newly opened room.

    I moved forward, but the wall behind me closed, trapping me inside one of thergest rooms of the entire maze. It was like a squared city with hundreds of doors leading inside. I watched as more cultivators entered through the doors, and each time one did, the door behind them closed.

    Panic set in as I realized that I was trapped inside with all these cultivators, none of whom I recognized. I knew that everyone was a potential enemy. Several cultivators started preparing for battle, understanding that this was a trap - but I sensed that it was something worse.

    And then it happened.

    As the walls shook and slid down, the sound of scraping stone filled the chamber. Suddenly, a small chamber was revealed, and the air was filled with a musky scent. Inside, the chamber were Demonic Beasts. Their eyes glowed with a fierce red light, and their razor-sharp teeth glistened in the dim light. The first toe out was a group of three Steel Fanged Wolves.

    They wererge and muscr, with thick fur covering their bodies. The wolves immediately lunged at a lone cultivator who tried his best to fight back. But the wolves were too strong, and the cultivator was quickly overwhelmed.

    Seeing him struggling and dying, no other cultivator helped him. That was a mistake. More doors opened, and more silver-fanged wolves came out. They then began picking cultivators off one by one, their teeth tearing flesh and cracking bones. Only then did one of the cultivators speak, "We have to fight back! We''ll be hunted down one by one like this!" he said, his voice quivering with fear.

    As the cultivators grouped together, they began to move with purpose, their eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger. Some held weapons tightly in their hands, ready to strike at a moment''s notice. Others had their backs to the wall, their expressions tense with fear. The wolves were everywhere, their snarls and growls echoing off the walls. It was clear that cooperation was necessary if they wanted to survive this deadly trial.

    But even as they worked together, there was an underlying tension in the air. No one wanted to be the first to let down their guard and risk their life for a stranger. And so, when one of their own was about to be killed, the cultivators did the bare minimum required to count as ''helping''. They killed some of the wolves, but only when it was safe to do so.

    I, for one, decided to remain neutral, avoiding the gaze of the wolves and keeping a low profile. I wasn''t alone, as many other cultivators also chose to stay out of the fray. But this peace was short-lived, as more walls opened up, revealingrger chambers than before. And it wasn''t long before a group of ten Nargacougars emerged from the darkness.

    These beasts which I''ve encountered before were nothing to scoff at individually, but now as a pack, the situation became much worse. These ck half cougar half-bat with Leathery wings that spanned several dozen feet long were out for blood.

    Their ws were sharp enough to rip steel like butter, and their first step was enough to strike fear into the heart of even the bravest cultivator in this ce. The Nargacougars had the ability to turn invisible, making them almost impossible to detect which made everyone who thought they had a chance before having their heart sink.

    They began screeching with voices so loud that it felt like my eardrums were about to burst. It was clear that they were using sound to locate their prey, just like bats did. And with a single screech, they could pinpoint the exact location of every cultivator in the room. The hunt had begun, and there was nowhere to hide.

 Chapter 465 Carnage

    The scene was a gruesome sight, the metallic smell of blood and the reek of fear lingering in the air. The bodies of the cultivators scattered around, their twisted limbs and frozen expressions a testament to the horror they had experienced. The Nargacougars moved with deadly grace, leaving deep gouges in the stone floor with their sharp ws. The survivors, their eyes darting nervously, cowered together, hoping to avoid the attention of the predators.

    As I navigated through the chaos, every sense on high alert, I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. I whirled around, ready for anything. I was sure it was not a Nargacougar, since those creatures move with such fearsome and terrifying stealthy grace, they would be undetectable until they strike.

    There was someone behind me, hidden by a mask and the shadows cast by the hovering tforms littering the space inside this giant cube we''re in. I braced myself for whatever was toe.

    "What do you want?" I snarled, my voice low and menacing.

    The figure stepped closer, their movements measured and deliberate. "Let''s pair up," they said, their voice muffled by the mask.

    I studied them with narrowed eyes. They were looking for safety in numbers, hoping that we could protect each other from the Nargacougars. But I knew better than to fall for such a desperate ploy. Pairing up would only make us easier targets.

    "No need," I said coldly, my voice final. "I prefer to operate alone."

    I turned on my heel and strode away, alert for any sign of danger. Survival was all about calcted risks and strategic moves. With luck and a well-executed n, I would make it out of this alive.

    I assessed the situation with a cold and calcting gaze, taking in every detail of my surroundings. The room was vast, with towering walls that seemed to stretch up to the sky. I knew that I couldn''t waste any time if I wanted to survive. With Nargacougars and other cultivators lurking around, I had to be quick and efficient.

    I jumped from one hovering tform to another, my movements fluid and precise. I scanned the area for any signs of danger. I already pulled my hand gun, ready for anything, and it was there when I sensed it. A Nargacougar was nearby. No it was actually on this very tform I''m on, I didn''t hesitate to take action.

    I fired my gun, the sound echoing through the room with a deafening roar. The Nargacougar recoiled in pain, its invisibility stripped away for a moment. I took advantage of the opportunity and threw a specially designed pill that contained a potent nerve poison. The creature howled in agony, its nerves on fire from the poison.

    It stumbled back and fell to the far away ground, wounded and vulnerable. But I wasn''t the only one who had noticed. The Steel Fanged Wolves, fierce predators in their own right, howled in response and rushed towards their fallen prey. I watched the scene with detached interest, studying the wolves as they tore into the wounded Nargacougar with savage efficiency.

    They tore its flesh as it screamed in agonized pain, bit by bit, starting from the Nargacougar''s thin leathery wings, to its ears, and once it made the mistake of falling on its back, the Nargacougar''s belly was up for grabs for the first wolf to sink their fangs in. A single jerk was all it took to spill the insides of the creature, steaming intestines littered the ground.

    It was a brutal disy, but it was also a reminder of the harsh reality of this world. In a ce like this, it was kill or be killed. And I was determined to be the one left standing at the end.

    The Nargacougar''s screeches filled the air as it was torn apart by the savage teeth and ws of the creatures attacking it. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, creating a gruesome scene that would haunt anyone who witnessed it.

    But amidst the chaos, I remained focused on my goal. With a quick motion, I summoned four robotic arms that I had created for Shen Bao''s main body. These arms were specially designed to help me navigate difficult terrain and assist me inbat, and I knew they woulde in handy now.

    Using these arms, I leaped up to the ceiling and clung to it with two of the arms while the other two held two powerful miniguns. I was determined to be ready for anything, especially since I couldn''t figure out where the Nargacougars might be hiding. But with my weapons at the ready, I knew I could defend myself if they came at me.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    To ensure that I had a clear line of sight, I scattered pills around the ceiling wall, painting it with a viscous, poisonous liquid. I was confident that this would deter any Nargacougars from trying to w their way towards me from above. However, I knew that some of the creatures might try to attack me from the air, which is why I pulled out another pill. This time, I opted for a smoke screen rather than a poison pill. I didn''t want to risk harming other cultivators with my powers, so I had to be careful.

    I thought about the rules and restrictions of this trial. It was clear that the Poison God valued control and discipline over blind power, and that was a valuable lesson for any cultivator. It was also a testament to the fairness of the trial, as it ensured that every participant had an equal chance to seed without resorting to underhanded tactics.

    Otherwise, I could have easily eliminated all mypetition with my poisonous abilities, I respected the rules and didn''t resort to such extreme measures otherwise I''d have too many Skull Marks on my chest if some unlucky cultivator was to inhale any Poison I randomly threw.

    The pill in my hand served the same purpose as a screen, but this one had no poison. It was a smoke screen that would do nothing but cause intense itchiness to whoever came in contact with it, enough to drive them to madness. This is far from harming or killing anyone, but the effect it would have on the Nargacougars was exactly what I needed.

    Though I couldn''t count on it to make the creatures feel itchiness in mid-air, the fact that this pill, when it detonates, creates a half-visible cloud of white smoke was good for my purpose. Once the pill blew up, a massive cloud appeared around me, thick and potent enough to make my eyes water. It didn''t take long before one of the Nargacougars came rushing at me, its movements erratic as it tried to shake off the effects of the smoke.

    You couldn''t see the creature itself, but you could easily see the discement of the cloud it went through, a disturbance in the smoke that signaled its presence. The two-armed arms locked onto the Nargacougar and began shooting, the deafening sound of the minigun echoing through the air. The bullets themselves weren''t enough to break through the tough skin of the Nargacougar, but the impact of each shot was enough to cause the creature to wince, its sensitive hearing picking up every single shot. And that''s all I needed before I used my own handgun, a weapon far more powerful than the minigun.

    The handgun was using prative shells with poison pills inside them, a lethalbination that could take down even the toughest of beasts. The idea wasn''t to put a hole into the creature, but to allow the poison to seep into the creature''s body once the bullet goes in, slowly but surely taking down the beast from the inside. A single shot to the area under the Nargacougar''s wing, where the skin was thin and the muscles and bones were scarce, was enough to have the bullet bite deep into the beast, causing it to roar in pain.

    The moment the creature felt the searing heat of the bullet, it changed trajectory and mmed into a nearby wall, its ws ripping at the wall as it tried to stabilize itself, its eyes glowing with fury and hatred as they gazed at me.

    That onlysted for a few seconds before the poison from the bullet inside its body began acting, the lethal toxins spreading through its bloodstream like wildfire. The creature began spasming on the wall, its body wracked with pain, shuddering and shaking, screeching as if it was being torn apart from the inside. Then it began mming its forehead into the wall, once, twice, and thrice, before blood began painting the wall, a final testament to the creature''sst moments of agony.

    The scene was one of utter chaos and confusion, as the once fearsome Nargacougary convulsing on the ground, its body writhing with pain. The sight of the giant fungi emerging from its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears was both grotesque and mesmerizing, and the cultivators watched in awe as the creature suffered its final, horrifying moments.

    But their fascination was short-lived, as a pack of hungry wolves descended upon the fallen beast, eager to take advantage of the opportunity for an easy meal. The wolves charged forward, their teeth bared and their eyes fixed on their prey, but as they drew closer, they seemed to sense that something was amiss.

    With cautious curiosity, the first wolf approached the Nargacougar, sniffing tentatively at its strange, fungal-covered body. And then, without warning, the wolf sneezed violently, shaking its head and revealing bloodshot eyes and foaming jaws. It was clear that something was very wrong with the creature, and the other wolves hesitated, unsure of what to do.

    But as the first wolf turned on its own packmate, biting and snarling in a frenzy of madness, the other wolves quickly followed suit. In an instant, the once-proud pack had turned on itself, each animal consumed by the same uncontroble rage and bloodlust that had infected their fallen prey.

    It was a harrowing sight to behold, as the wolves tore into each other with abandon, their once-proud pack reduced to a writhing mass of snarling, biting bodies. And as the chaos and violence escted, it became clear that there would be no survivors in this brutal, unforgiving battle for dominance over nothing¡­

    The Nargacougars saw what happened to theirpanions and wisely decided not to attack me again. They didn''t want to suffer the same fate as their fellow beast who went mad and hurt itself against the wall. They knew it wasn''t worth the risk to go after someone who was already difficult to reach, and they opted for easier prey instead. They also avoided the rabid wolves, as they weren''t appetizing and not worth the trouble to hunt.

    The once-calm screams of the cultivators were now drowned out by the sounds of more pain and distress in the room.

 Chapter 466 The Game

    The noises inside the room died down to the point where you can hear a pin dropping. Not even the Nargacougars moved, they were either too stuffed with filling themselves with the flesh and bones of cultivators or were toozy to even move. They had their fill, they hunted and now they''re exhausted and opted for a good well earned rest.

    As I approached the opened door, the walls began shaking violently, causing me to lose my bnce. It felt like an earthquake was happening. The Nargacougars were undisturbed, but the rest of us were getting thrown around like rag dolls. I could see the terror in the eyes of some of the other cultivators as they struggled to remain upright.

    Suddenly, the walls stopped shaking and many exits opened up. The Nargacougars still didn''t move, not even when the walls opened. It was as if they knew something that we didn''t.

    I took a few moments looking around and searching for anything amiss, finding nothing of worth, I detached the ws from the ceiling and went down toward the opened door.

    The cube was now floating over an ever-changing maze of walls that went up and down and sideways. The sheer size of the maze was mind-boggling, and it seemed to go on forever.

    Even the giant cube that was in the middle of the maze began detaching and breaking off, pieces of it linking to the rest of the maze creating an even moreplex pathway of confusion. It was as if the maze was alive and changing every second.

    I took a random hall that manifested in front of me and began walking. The walls around me were made of a strange material that felt cold and metallic to the touch. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

    It didn''t take long before I heard the voice of the same person who was giving us our tasks. "Congrattions, two thousand cultivators have survived to challenge the next trial. Now that you''ve survived this maze you should be ready. You have been given the chance to learn stealth and the ability to confront fears and dangers stronger than your own."

    With that said, the maze began changing once again, and all the risen walls began folding down. Cultivators dodged for all their worth to not be squashed underneath the folding walls, and soon the massive cube was so condensed when it was fully folded it was nothing more than a single te tform that seemed to extend in every direction.

    The cultivators looked at each other, some with angry and annoyed expressions, some with colder and cooler minds, and some were outright bawling, either throwing up or thanking the mercy of the heavens for having survived.

    "Please enter the next trial area. If you wish to surrender and give up your right to challenge the next trial you may break one marble."

    Unlike before, several marbles broke this time. And you could see many cultivators disappearing from the area. These were mostly the heavily wounded, those who knew they couldn''t keep going, or those who were outright terrified of this trial.

    Once we entered the gate in the middle of the tform, we were able to see our area of arrival. And boy was I too stunned to speak. I was standing along with a few hundred other cultivators at the base of a mountain.

    Looking around me, there was nothing but massive sized mountain that seemed to pierce the skies, their peaks so high one would think they were about to grasp the very moon hanging up above.

    It was night time and the area felt cold, far colder than it should. This wasn''t the coldness of the weather since it wasn''t snowy or anything, but the coldness of death. It sent shivers down my spine.

    The mountains weren''t just any ordinary mountains. They stood tall and imposing, towering over the surrounding area like walls. But whaty beyond them was even more intriguing. In the heart of the mountain range was an old, forgotten city. The sight of run-down houses, pces, and temples scattered all around the area made the terrain look like aplex maze with countless entry and exit points.

    The city was built on a massive square boulder, surrounded by an endless chasm that looked like a portal to another world. As I stared into the darkness, I couldn''t shake the feeling that something ominous was lurking in the shadows.

    There were four paths leading to the city, each one starting from the location we were teleported to. As it seems there were only a few hundred cultivators with me, so I assume that the rest are spread between the four bridge entrances that started from the mountain range and ended at one of the city''s four gates.

    The voice announcing the trial rules spoke once again

    "Once you arrive to the gate''s door you''ll be given a set of robes a mask and a number tag. Do not remove any of them, you''ll receive the rest of the trial''s details at the gate."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It didn''t take long for me to realize the nature of this trial. It was a killing trial.

    The tension in the air was palpable, and the atmosphere was thick with the smell of danger.

    Staying here was meaningless so a few brave...or rather idiotic, cultivators decided to take the first step, slowly crossing the long wooden bridge leading to the first gate. Seeing them arriving without a hitch brought a sense of mild and fleetingfort to everyone at the bridge''s end.

    Following their lead, I too made my way across the bridge, keeping a sharp eye out for any hidden dangers. As I approached the gate, I saw two metal puppets waiting for us. One held a small square item inside a bag, while the other had a small circr te and a sealed scroll. These puppets were no joke. No these things were nasty strong, you could feel it, they weren''t asplex as Y, but a couple or three of them would give him a run for his money.

    Each cultivator was handed the two items and directed to enter a small house located right next to the gate. I quickly grabbed my items and made my way to the house. Once inside, I looked around and saw no one else there. I waited for a while, but the door behind me remained shut.

    I began to examine the door more closely, and that''s when I noticed the spatial inscriptions on it. It seemed that every cultivator who entered the house was randomly teleported to a different location within the city. With a sense of anticipation, I opened the bag and found the ck robes and leather shoes that were provided for stealthy movement.

    As I got ready to face whatever challengesy ahead, I opened the sealed scroll and read its contents, which revealed the purpose of this trial.

    "You are tasked with eliminating three targets. Target number 69, target number 420 and target number 666, You have three days toplete the task.

    You must assassinate them without being seen by any of your targets.

    If you were spotted by another cultivator, you must eliminate them before they report your location to the Hunter Guards stationed all over the forbidden city or you may choose to cooperate.

    If the spotter decides to reveal your location, your number and location have been confirmed, the guards in the area will hunt you down until you move outside the area.

    There are three different types of Hunter Guards you must learn their abilities and weakness to have an edge. Do know that you cannot harm, damage or alter in any way a Guard.

    If you happen to be spotted by your target, your location will be permanently revealed to them until you or they perish.

    You will also be issued a number of your own you must keep it on your chest at all times.

    To reveal the general location of your first target you mustplete a task.

    Your first task is to Eliminate the Giant ck Mamba at the Serpent Worshipper''s Temple. Once you have seeded you''ll be given a reward that will aid you in your first assassination attempt.

    Make sure to move cautiously and prudently, and deciding to trust or betray another is all up to you, but the direct killing of a target that isn''t yours will reveal your location temporarily to all the guards and cultivators in the area.

    If one of your targets loses their life before you reach them, you will be issued a new target. But the time to hunt them will not be reset. So be quick, fast and precise.

    Once you kill a cultivator that has been revealed, the killer will be given immunity from Guards and if they were revealed earlier their marker will be removed.

    Now that you''ve read so far, you may start hunting. Do know that it''s not only the Cultivators that you must be wary of in this city, it is forbidden, and for a reason."

    ''Well... this sounds like fun,''

 Chapter 467 Sniper Elite

    "So, basically we''re ying search and destroy, only the difficulty is cranked up to the max. I can''t go around wandering otherwise I''ll be spotted, and if spotted I''ll be revealed. I can''t allow my target to recognize or find me before I find them and terminate them. I also cannot allow myself to be revealed and the worst part is, I cannot fight the guards. This is pretty tough," I mumbled to myself.

    I got closer to a small crack in the wall of this run-down house I was teleported to, I took a peak at the outside and was able to see a good portion of this giant city. You could see some form of patrol moving around the streets, but no humans, only the Puppets.

    There was a group of three puppets, two looked slender and lean, while the one in the middle of them was pretty much a bulldozer build. Pretty massive with a giant iron ball strapped in one of its arms.

    The lean guards were looking around making sure to keep watch while the giant in the middle followed after them. You could notice that their movement was imbnced, as, the two guards had to stop every time they took a couple of steps waiting for the massive-sized one to catch up.

    "Slow and fast. Hmm, I need to note that," I mumbled to myself as I traced other areas of the City that I could see using the small hole in the wall.

    Finding nothing of note, I decided to take the higher ground, because there was a temple nearby, it seemed abandoned from the first view, so I had to make sure that it was empty.

    I headed out stealthily, opening the door to the house, and immediately dove into the shadows of the alleyway. The ck robes were pretty efficient in hiding one in the shadows and using them I was able to move as stealthily as I could. But since I was not fully trusting of my stealth skills, I started using the Traceless Steps.

    This allowed me to fully negate my Qi imprint upon the area, and fully conceal myself from sight and senses.

    I couldn''tst more than a couple minutes in the Traceless Steps state since it exhausts a lot of mental and physical strength, so I had to act fast.

    I headed rapidly toward the temple I saw at first because it had an amazing vantage point I can use.

    I took a few twists and turns and was even able to move past a cultivator who thought he was fully hidden, the only issue with his hiding spot was the fact he forgot to pull the rest of his robes with him into the shadow, a bit of it was hidden in in sight.

    That man is a dead man.

    Once I went past him my eyes darted to the location of the tag on his chest, the number read 755.

    It wasn''t my target. Not that I was expecting anything, but finding one of my targets this early on could be nothing but the purest form of luck, and I don''t rely on that.

    I arrived to the abandoned temple in time before my Traceless Steps state was over. And it was good I managed it in time.

    Because just as I went inside the temple, a group of guards showed up on the street. These were not the same as before, instead, they were four guards with a build that was muscr and lean, their arms were holding swords and their eyes were red. They were looking for prey.

    I went inside the temple and didn''t see anything but dust, broken down altars, and a lot of fractured and broken ancient furniture that could easily go for antics.

    Those weren''t of any importance to me. Because what I needed was the vantage point. This altar had a tower.

    Before I headed up the tower though, I wrote a couple of inscriptions on the floor, nothing tooplex, it was just a motion detection inscription, something that once triggered it will notify me of the presence of an unknown.

    Along with a couple of Nerve Pills that would paralyze any preparators or unwanted guests.

    With the traps set up, I headed up the tower.

    It had a spiraling staircase that seemed to have broken in several ces. But it was still steady and sturdy enough for me to climb, and with a bit of effort, I was able to climb all he way to the top of the tower.

    There should have been a bell at the top somewhere since the top of the tower was like that of ancient churches from my old world. But nothing like a bell was anywhere to be seen here, still, it was good, this way I''ll be able to move more freely without something as noisy or big as a bell restraining my movements.

    Now that I was at the tower''s top, I was able to have a far better view at the terrain under me.

    The Temple wasn''t the highest or tallest structure of the city by any means, but it still gave me a good view of almost half of the city from where I was.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And that was all I needed for now.

    I pulled up one of my favorite weapons. A rifle. And not any rifle, this thing was a beast of its own.

    The entire barrel was decorated in inscriptions, so many of them that it''s mind-boggling.

    The idea of this rifle came to me when after my fight with one of the Fire Lord''s spears and after being admonished for trying to fix my hoverboard inside the Demonic Sect.

    Fire Arms had a lot of power behind their skills, and seeing that bullet lost their effects against cultivators the higher the cultivation stage went up, brought me to think outside the box.

    All the weapons I had were powered by Spirit Stones, but those are useless. I thought many times on how I could use Saint Qi to power my bullets but failed miserably to make something. That is until I had a great breakthrough.

    The Rifle''s stock was actually not a normal Rifle Stock, in fact, it was a reactor. The same Saint Qi reactor that was inside Y. Though this one is more purposed. It isn''t generating functional energy, but generating explosive energy on an extremely small scale.

    Though I wouldn''t call it nuclear fission, something that was close... No, not close, but more like in a different league altogether.

    Instead of splitting atoms to create energy, I split Saint Qi which was energy in itself. The idea was pretty absurd at first until I tried it using a simple inscription.

    I had written an inscription that would exert energy from a Saint Qi crystal and another inscription that will constantlypile andpound Saint Qi in a specially made chamber. This chamber is made of the same material as Y''s Sword and is currently the strongest metal in my possession.

    Thepounding of this energy will result in a supercharged chamber that will need a trigger. And this trigger is something I never expected to work in the first ce. It was actually Heavenly Energy.

    It was the same as adding a drop of water to a super-heated pot of oil. And this will double, triple, quadruple, and even more, many more times the energy inside the chamber. And once the trigger is released, I''ll be able to shoot down a projectile that moves so fast, and with enough energy that it''ll obliterate even an Ascendant without them sensing it.

    The trials for this were conducted by my puppets, and in the process of trying it, I lost more than sixty of those puppets. But now I''m sure the rifle works perfectly fine.

    The stock had the Saint Qi reactor in it, and the Fission chamber was embedded at the bottom of the barrel. As for the ammo I had a magazine that could hold only three Bullets since three bullets is the maximum amount of bullets this rifle could shoot before the chamber fractures. Shooting anymore will result in my face melting off.

    The rifle''s interior barrel was carved in an ungodly amount of inscriptions which all had three purposes. The first and most important inscription was the cooling inscription, this will trigger immediately after the bullet had left the chamber, the heat generated is enough to melt steel, so I needed to keep the barrel cool. The second inscription is to reduce friction inside the chamber, so when the bullet is shot, it wouldn''t damage the inside of the barrel. As for thest inscription, it was an inscription of rotation which would add prative properties to every shot. Air, metal or flesh all will be torn whenever the bullet flies.

    Now, this is all fine and perfect, but the bullet itself is the most difficult. As most bullets I shot turned to dust a mere fraction of a second as they left the barrel due to the power behind the st.

    Until I designed special bullets for this rifle. I didn''t even have many of them, barely a dozen.

    These bullets wereposed of several Parts. The first part was the exterior shell, which served to protect the inner bullet from the initial impact. This frame usually shatters the moment the bullet flies. The second part was the bullet itself which would travel a great distance that it had survived the first impact. And thest part was a small pill embedded at the bottom of the bullet. This pill is usually in a solid state before release, and with the power of the st, it immediately heats up and theponents inside it melt as if they were in a furnace.

    Consider them as half-finished pills. These hold a toxin that will be highly active the moment it heats up, and upon contact, the poison should spread in bloodstream. And on the chance that the bullet misses, the liquid inside the bullet once ites in contact with a solid matter or when the chamber of the bullet ispromised or fractured, it transforms into a vtile state and creates a concentrated poison cloud.

    I went down on my stomach and pulled the rifle up, my right eye looked through the magnifying oculus and I began adjusting the sight.

    The night vision was a great addition to the optic, but I went up a level beyond. I Implemented an inscription on the optic that allowed it topletely ignore anything that is below a certain temperature. Meaning that I created a Thermal vision.

    With my eyes locked onto the optic, I smiled as I was able to see people moving behind walls and entire buildings.

    "Good, now, lets see, where is my first target..."

 Chapter 468 Boom Headshot!

    I kept moving my scope from one cultivator to another, making sure to check up on their build stature and height. That''s the only way for me to determine the difference between the thermal silhouettes.

    And when one of the cultivators was out of the shade or was in clear sight, I switched to normal view and was able to zoom all the way to their chests, once I realized that their tag isn''t one of my targets I changed targets. The detail in my scope was impressive, allowing me to see the intricate details of their clothing and essories. It was as if I was right there with them.

    "Not my target," I sighed as I crossed off one more cultivator from the list of potential targets. It was as if I was getting farther away from my goal.

    I''ve been doing this for the past six hours, and funny thing is, my target changed three times in thisst hour. It was frustrating, to say the least. I had nned and prepared for weeks, only to have my n thrown off course by someone else''s actions.

    Apparently, someone had killed my target, and the one I was assigned after that. It was a setback, but I refused to let it deter me.

    I''ve seen several cultivators walking near the area I was in, some tried to get into the Temple I was hiding in too, but the moment they saw one of my puppets standing inside the temple, they all decided to backtrack quietly before they are spotted. It was a simple act of misdirection, the fact that this puppet I ced under is unknown to all the cultivators, anyone who sees it would think it is a guard of the Forbidden City. Thus they move away without inspecting further.

    I had the thought of going down and looking for the Serpent Temple since it would allow me a hint about my next target as the Scroll had mentioned, but I decided against it. The number of cultivators still alive was pretty damn high, a fight in this darkness is bound to get me or my location exposed. So I was better off waiting at least until thest moments. Instead, I leaned back against the cold stone wall and closed my eyes, trying to rx my mind and body.

    So, as any sniper worth their salt, I waited patiently, and made sure to keep vignce and my eyes peeled. So peeled that I smiled when I said, "You know, you really need a shower," I said. It was a habit of mine to talk to myself when I was alone, it helped me keep focused and alert.

    "Ohoo, you actually realized I was here," someone spoke. I almost jumped at the sudden voice, but thankfully I didn''t. I slowly turned my head and immediately recognized who it was. It was obvious even with the mask and robes.

    "Dao Shen," I said, acknowledging his presence.

    "Funny, you''re the second person to recognize me," he said with a smirk.

    "Nope, still the same person," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

    The man tilted his head and said, "Interesting, and they say I''m the Devourer. Possession?" he asked.

    "No, something different, it''s more like forcefully implementing a Soul in another body," I said.

    "That''s possession," he said.

    "Not when it''s only a part of my soul, not the whole thing," I said.

    "And how do you even manage that? A soul cannot be split, it has to be whole, otherwise, this body would have its own sentience," he said.

    "That''s why I said forcefully implementing a soul, it''s like I''m using this body as an extension of my main body," I said.

    "Very interesting," he said. "Did you find your target yet?" he asked.

    "Nope, still haven''t found any of them," I replied sighing.

    "Is that so, who are you looking for?" he asked, "I hope it''s not me," he said sarcastically.

    "I''m looking for number 69," I said. "And if it was you, I''d probably find a way to give up, you''re not someone I can kill at this current stage," I replied calmly.

    "Most cultivators are arrogant, thinking they can get the drop on another even if they are stronger. But you, you gauge and understand your opponent before you act, I like that, as for your target, he is there," he said as he pointed with his finger.

    I traced his finger and used the thermal scope, I found a man hidden behind a wall, he was inside a house he didn''t seem to be wanting to move. He looked to be about a couple hundred meters away. Pretty good distance but not far from my reach.

    "How did you know, even from here, I cannot read his tag, I say you just chose a person in random," I said.

    He then pulled three tes, "I already killed my targets, it''s up to you to trust my words or not," he said.

    "Why are you helping me?" I asked "If what you''re saying is true," I said.

    "Because you''re interesting, I''ve already met the rest of the Poison God cultivators, they''re all trash, but you, you don''t even have a Battling Book, and you still managed to injure me. That'' talent," he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I do have a battling book, it''s just that I don''t like using it, as for my talent I''ve been told that I have no talent root," I said.

    "Talent Root is for regr cultivators, we''re Poison God cultivators, we don''t need that," he said.

    "Are those your words or the Purple Skull''s words," I said.

    "I already killed my Purple Skull, same as you did," he smiled.

    I sighed and said, "You really don''t want to help me, but you want to see how this thing works, right?" I asked as I looked at the rifle in my hand.

    "Indeed, it''s a tool I never saw anything like before, show me how it works, you''ve been looking at the scope of that thing for the past hour, and I''m now intrigued. The craftsmanship looks like a work of art," he said.

    "I would have refused to show you how this works, but since you said it''s a work of art, I''ll show you how it works, but make sure to ready up, because this thing is loud," I said.

    "Show me then," he said.

    Just as he finished his words, I locked on my target and called upon the four robotic arms.

    The arms were a surprise to Dao Shen because he didn''t expect them toe out.

    Two of the arms grabbed tightly at the ground in front of me. And the other two grabbed at the gun.

    One arm at the barrel, and the other to support the stock from nuking my own shoulder to kingdome.

    I peeked onest time at the scope, making sure that the rifle waspletely stable.

    And then I squeezed the trigger.

    Qi, so much of it gathered at the chamber at the bottom of the barrel, it was so pure and concentrated that you could see the cultivators while in thermal vision all snap their faces towards my location.

    And almost a fraction of a secondter, the world turned blinding white.

    A ray of light shot from the mouth of the rifle, and went at a speed so far higher than the speed of sound that it already reached, its target before the explosion of the bullet was even heard.

    The explosion of the barrel alone was enough to rip apart the top of the tower I was on, that was only the wind impact. As for the point of impact, it had ripped into the cultivator so hard that it went through and out of the cultivator and then mmed into the ground.

    A muffled explosion happened, where the very house the cultivator was in seemed to roil and coil upon itself, imploding as if a miniature ck hole materialized inside the house. Then an explosion of epic proportions echoed afterward as the houses around the target were ripped out of their base, turning to dust in seconds.

    "Oh my...that''s... deadly," said the cultivator next to me.

    "I don''t think this is enough to take you out though," I spoke sarcastically as I stood up and turned to leave.

    "Where are you going?" he asked.

    "My location has been revealed, gotta change location," I said as I jumped from the top of the tower.

    Seeing that nothing like a skull appeared on my chest after taking that person out, I suppose that he was my target.

    Dao Shen''s tip was true, I still don''t understand how he did it though, but I guess he has his ways. Now with one target down, I need to go and find the second target.

    Just as I fell to the ground, I dove into the shadows and began walking using the Traceless Steps, moving away from the location where I was in and entering a different part of the city altogether.

    ''I need toy off for the day, there is no point in going for the second target right now, everyone must have realized what happened, and if I were to take another shot soon, I''ll be revealed and they''ll be ready.''

 Chapter 469 Main Character

    I arrived at an empty house and walked inside it, then removed my Traceless Steps.

    Just as I removed them, I sighed, "How did you find me?" I asked.

    "I didn''t," he said.

    It was Dao Shen again, "You being here means that you did find me," he said.

    "No, I was unable to find you for a few seconds, it was as if your existence was removed from the world.

    "How did you locate me still?" I asked.

    "Your Soul, I have a thing for souls, remember, I''m an owner of multiple Poison God books, and one of them is the Soul book. Your soul is ck as the night, it disappeared for a second, but once it was apparent I was able to see it again and came to you," he said.

    "I don''t suppose you''re here to show me my second target?" I asked.

    "No, I want to see how you''ll find your second target, you don''t mind me tagging along?" he asked.

    "Do as you like, just don''t stab me in the back," I said.

    "When did a cultivator ever respect a promise?" he asked smiling.

    "That''s the reason I didn''t ask you to promise me that, after all, if you were to kill me, you''ll only kill this spare body," he said.

    "True, I''m still unable to locate your main body, it''s as if it had disappeared from the world, funny tricks you have Shen Bao," he said.

    "Thanks, I said and sat down and began dismantling the rifle.

    Dao Shen sat right next to me, and tilted his head, "What are you doing?" he asked.

    Man, this guy acts like a teenager asking all random things.

    "I''m doing maintenance, a single shot of this weapon is enough to cause it heavy damage, I need to keep maintaining it, otherwise it might blow up in my face one day," I exined.

    "Dedicated, I admire that," he said.

    "Thanks," I said as I pulled apart the barrel and began inspecting it, it didn''t look like it was damaged, I then checked the Qi chamber and thankfully the first blow didn''t damage it either.

    The reactor at the stock was cooling down, it was also in mint condition. After wiping some of the dirt off I assembled the rifle back and ced it in my inventory. I then began inspecting the rest of my weapons. Which further caught the interest of Dao Shen.

    "You seem like a person who is made for assassination," he said.

    "Not really, I''m just doing the minimum. As for you, I''m still surprised how you managed to locate all of your targets in the first ce. You''re the real monster," I said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Its not really that hard, it''s all rted to their Souls, I''m able to constantly locate and find anyone here, I can see their souls and if I see their souls I can see their number, I just needed to approach and take them out before they notice me.

    I frowned, I didn''t understand how seeing the soul of a person allowed him to see their tag.

    "I know what you''re thinking," he said. "A soul is a reflection of a person, the moment they wore the robes and the tag, they subconsciously gear their souls with the same thing, one look at their souls from far away enables me to know what tag they''re wearing." He said.

    "That''s pretty handy, especially here," I said.

    "Of course, it''s convenient, and that is the purpose of this trial, the Poison God is a selfish person, he''s not the kind who''ll allow others to take his heritage, his heritage is only for his truest disciples. That''s why this whole trial is unfair for everyone but us. So, find your fort, and use it. I''ll be leaving, something is interesting happening nearby," he said.

    "Let me guess," I said as I looked at the man.

    "Be my guest, and if you guess what''s happening I might give you a hint on your next target. Trust me, you''ll need it." he said.

    "You''re seeing a Fiery Soul, and it''s about to fight someone far stronger than himself," I said.

    The man in front of me, without me even needing to look at his expression was surprised.

    "How did you know?" he asked.

    "Tricks of the trade, you''re not the only one with a few tricks up their sleeves, right?" I said.

    "That is damn surprising, You''re right, there is a person who I kept my eyes on since the moment I stepped into this trial. He is strong, and seems like the world''s fate is helping him. I don''t know why. This fight should be interesting, I suppose you''d also want to watch," he said.

    "No, I already know how the fight will end," I sighed.

    "Would you mind telling me? Because the person with the fiery soul is already at the receiving end."

    "What will happen will go like this, the person with the fiery soul will get the every living shit beat out of him, and on the brink of death he''ll either escape or reveal a trumpcard. No strike that, he''ll definitely escape to fight another day. And the second time this person finds his opponent, the Fiery Soul man will beat him ck and blue revealing newfound powers. And this should all happen in the span of three days." I said.

    "That is a very farfetched scenario, I don''t think things will happen as you say, but I''ll take it with a pinch of salt. As for my part of the deal, your target is someone who''ll not die with that weapon. And you already fought him once, good luck. And make sure to not aim for the head." He said smiling

    I frowned for a second but realized instantly what he meant. It was a Poison God cultivator, an definitely the man with the Body Cultivation Heritage. This is going to be a hassle.

    "I hope you can win, I''ll see you in the next round," he said.

    "See you soon," I said nodding and soon, Dao Shen walked out of the hose and disappeared in the darkness.

    As for the person with the Fiery Soul, I don''t even need to worry. That man, is blessed, and losing is not an option, even I would never want to have him as an enemy. A person with that much Main Character aura, fighting him is basically asking to get killed or used as a stepping stone.

    Good luck Meng Hao, even if you don''t need it, you damn Plot Armored bastard.

 Chapter 470 Map

    The sound of explosions echoed through the streets of the Forbidden City.

    Meng Hao''s fight was obviously ongoing and it was as far from an assassination as it should. This would clearly draw the attention of most if not all cultivators in the city.

    Instead of waiting some more, I stood up, and walked outside the house. Looking around, I headed up north, I still remember from my perch at the temple from before where the Serpent Temple is. It''s a bit far, I''ll have to cross several streets, but that isn''t an issue right now.

    I dismantled the sniper scope I created and ced it in front of my eye, seeing no cultivators moving about ahead of me, I began moving through the shadows of the street.

    The sun was going to rise pretty soon, so I needed to work fast if I wanted to get what I need from the temple.

    The destination wasn''t far, but being prudent and careful made it far longer than it should, but that was actually worth it. As a matter of fact, I realized that my Thermal Scope had a big issue. It was unable to fully detect everyone, proven by the fact that a man was walking leisurely in front of me.

    He moved without much care in the world as he walked right past a group of guards who couldn''t even detect him.

    The scope I used on him didn''t reveal shit. And then it hit me. Yin Qi user. They are like the dead, and they could easily hide their heat signature from my sight. As for the puppets, he must be using something to hide himself away from them.

    If I rushed out I''d probably have bumped into him or might havepletely missed him, and if either happened I would be oblivious to this information. Which could be crucial to my survival.

    With this idea noted, I moved to the temple''s direction, it wasn''t far from where I was. And as long as the battling noise was still going, I''d be able to do what I need to in the temple.

    In less than half an incense stick worth of time, I was already at the gate of the Serpent Temple. The door was decorated with many snakes that seemed like they woulde out of the walls at the merest move. The whole building was designed to look like a dome made from a snake coiling around itself.

    I lightly pressed on the door and it opened in an eerie squeak. Inside the temple were several litmps. And at the farthest wall from the door was an altar that had a small ck snake sleepingfortably on.

    Once I stepped inside the temple, the doors closed behind me and the small snake woke up.

    It looked at me and I felt the hairs on my back standing up. Still, I didn''t move. The snake ahead is strong, but not strong enough to warrant my attention. It''s a Soul Formation level snake, nothing to difficult to handle. But its obvious from where I was, that this isn''t the goal of my hunt.

    I looked around, and thankfully I did. The walls which I thought were nothing but mere walls were alive.

    The walls shuddered and shook, and soon changed color from that of stone, to a ck scaled body of a snake.

    A creature began uncoiling from the walls to stand¡­ well, if snakes couldn''t stand this one kinda did.

    It was actually amia, a woman with a snake''s body.

    It hissed at me as it has gotten closer.

    "Human, what brought you to your death?" it said.

    "Who said I''ll be the one dying here," I asked as I pulled a couple of pills in one hand and a hand cannon in the other.

    "Because many before you hade, and I still live," she spoke smugly as she got even closer.

    "I''m not like everyone else," I said as I pointed at her with my weapon and then squeezed it.

    She dodged the bullet the moment she felt the release.

    Then she smiled, "You''re like everyone else, you are all too slow," she said.

    "Is that so?" I grinned. Suddenly a thump was heard and she turned her head to realize that the small snake on the altar had its head blown off of its socket.

    She turned her head back to me, her face transformed to a monstrous and wrathful sight, "YOU DARE!" she screeched as she lunged at me with both arms forward.

    Two shots followed after to which she dodged, exactly where I wanted her to as I had already thrown a pill to the location she''ll be moving.

    Her big body didn''t realize when she crushed the pill underneath her.

    "Gotcha," I said smiling.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    With my words uttered, she stopped, moved a bit of her snake body and saw a sludgetching onto her.

    She sniffed the air and said, "Poison? Weak, I''m immune to most poisons!" she said.

    "I know that part because you''re in the Poison God''s domain, but that doesn''t mean you''re immune to all poisons," I said as I took a few steps back.

    She ignored my words since the pill apparently didn''t do anything to her. And continued her chase of me.

    Her tail swiped at my head at blinding speed, but thankfully I was able to duck under. The swipe was strong enough it carved a great gash into the wall behind me.

    And as I was getting my bnce back I threw even more pills to which she just crushed as she was bulldozing her way toward me

    "Come put, pin her down," I spoke. Not to X, or Y, but the Expendables.

    These are puppets I made in the image of X, they weren''t as strong or as powerful, but they had something to them, numbers.

    And numbers beat courage any time of the day.

    A couple dozen puppets came out of my holding bag and they all grabbed at the snake. Stopping her movement and locking her down.

    She struggled to move at first, and soon was slowly able to smash one of the puppets away from her, then the second, and third.

    "Weaklings, you cannot stop me!" she said.

    As I backed away I said, "I know, but that''s the idea," I said as I threw even more pills.

    "These won''t work! You''re far too weak!" she said as she wrenched herself away from the puppets, losing some scales in the process.

    And just as she approached me, she stopped, her eyes going in and out of focus. She tried moving again but couldn''t do anything but fall on her face into the ground.

    Unable to move or function, she couldn''t do much but watch in a stunned face as I slowly approached her, "I told you, you''re not immune to all poisons," I said as I ced my revolver in between her eyes.

    It took one shot before her blood began pooling on the ground.

    Suddenly, the altar at the back opened in half. It revealed a scroll.

    I got closer to the altar making sure that there weren''t other enemies hiding in ambush.

    And when I grabbed the scroll and opened it, I grinned.

    "This is pretty nice."

    It was a map, a map of the upper part and lower parts of the Forbidden City. Apparently, this ce extends all the way to the underground.

    The map had a pair of footsteps that were in red color, they were approaching¡­ this very location.

    I hastily moved out of the building after throwing a couple more incendiary pills.

    I then used the Traceless Steps and walked toward the two red footsteps.

    Once the fire began engulfing the dome. The red footsteps on the map hastened up, and a man appeared at the crossroad in front of me.

    This build, I recognized. And just as the man went past me, he stopped, turned his head to my location, then turned his head to the fire in the dome and continued moving towards it.

    On his chest was the number 666.

    Gotcha

 Chapter 471 Main Character II

    I had no urge to chase after him though, he is strong, unbelievably so. And hunting him down will waste a lot of my time. I''m better off clearing the otherpetition first.

    I looked at the map once more and found the location of my other target, he seemed to be underneath the Forbidden City. The problem is, the map isn''t giving me full details on how to get down to the lower part, so I''ll have to search and find a way to go down.

    I headed to a nearby house, which I scanned before entering, making sure that there wasn''t another person inside.

    Once inside, I began sorting out my ns for the next couple days.

    Hunting the underground cultivator is going to be a pain, I could wait for him to go up, but I had no guarantee that he would. He might have already cleared his goals and now is just waiting in hiding, or might have probably given up and is trying to take down another person with him.

    Since if I don''t catch him in time, I''ll also be eliminated.

    So, how can I catch a rat?

    Easy, by flushing him out. The problem is, if I were to do that, and use poison to draw out everyone out, I''ll probably be revealed by the guards. I need a way to solve that issue then.

    I went through the rules once more and found an interesting loophole I can use.

    But the problem is to try that I''ll need to find a way to the lower part of the city.

    Thinking about this from another point of view I smiled as I realized that I didn''t need to do a lot to get the cultivator out.

    I walked out of the house and began using the Traceless Steps, I moved through several blocks of the Forbidden City. In less than half an hour of moving and heading to my target''s location, the sun had risen and I knew for sure that my hunting needed to stop.

    I got into another house and was thankful to having done that.

    The streets at night only had a couple of guards moving about in every street, but once morning came, hundreds of them were roaming about, some even were perched atop the very house I was on.

    Guards of all sizes and shapes, ready to take down anyone foolish to try and assassinate another while it was morning.

    I calmly remained put, and used the map regrly to scan the people around me. My target was a couple houses away from me, but was several dozen meters underground. There was a sewer system I could use but right now, I had no way to move during daylight.

    And to prove me even more right, some foolish cultivator actually walked out, just across the street, he tried his best to hide in the shade that was made by some of the broken crates, but he was revealed all too easily and fast when two guard puppets surrounded him.

    A massive red light like beacon shone from his te, and rose all the way to the skies. And during that time, hundreds of Puppets came rushing toward him, weapons at the ready.

    The cultivator tried to run only to find more puppets blocking his way, flight and teleportation were sealed off so he needed to actually use his legs to run away. Which was a poor disy of his acrobatic and athletic skills.

    The cultivator tried to jump to a nearby house and was immediately shut down by a well aimed kick to the chest that crashed him right next to the house I was in.

    "Fuck, if you want to reveal yourself go die somewhere else!" I cursed as the cultivator tried to desperately open the door to the house I was in. Thankfully I had it locked in a formation, and with the guards closing in, and surrounding him, all you could hear was hisst death throws as he sumbed to the mother of all beatings.

    One guard, one curious and annoying guard actually snapped his face toward my location, our eyes almost met as I was cautiously peering from a crack in a wall at what was happening, but thankfully, he didn''t act upon his suspicion. A puppet isn''t as sentient as a cultivator so it didn''t go and check which brought me some smallfort.

    I remained seated and waited as time slowly trickled down.

    ***

    Somewhere in the Forbidden City, a young man groaned as he moved his battered body through an underground alleyway.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Blood seeped out of his mouth and nose, he didn''t look too well.

    "Curses, I thought I grew stronger, but I''m far from it. If a single spear was able to do this much damage, how much can the Fire Lord do¡­ Even the Spear I fought before was not as strong as this one. Granted, I''m unable to use my Phoenix mes here, due to that damn poison, but still, am I that weak?"

    The young man continued cursing as he traced the dark alleys with one palm as the other palm was desperately trying to stop one of his broken and splintered ribs from bleeding.

    He sat down against a wall, and took another breath, huffing and gasping for air.

    He then pulled a couple pills form his holding bag. These pills were something Shen Bao had given him before, to use in case he was wounded. Meng Hao had taken them out of courtesy to his friend, never expecting he''ll ever need something like this. But now, they came in pretty handy.

    This made Meng Hao further increase his respect to this friend of his.

    A man who looked like a monster the first day they met. But this man, his perseverance in climbing the Mountain that would usually crush a cultivator''s soul back in the Purple Cloud Sect was the first thing to impress him.

    Then, that very man was able to beat even Meng Hao in alchemy where he thought he was a master, only for Shen Bao to show him with grace who is the truest alchemist.

    Not only that, Shen Bao was able to fully suppress enemies in a tournament and came out as the prime victor, showcasing the ability to control another man''s own puppet as if he was flipping his palm over.

    Shen Bao went for that and was able to singlehandedly shut down the advance of the entire Fire Lord Fleet, for months even. By enabling a formation that epassed the entire. And not only that he even managed to escape the inescapable of the Fire Lord''s army. He went to the vast expanse and only rumors of him were heard. That he beat the greatest engineers of the Heavenly Academy, and he managed to join the Heavenly Academy and have all of the teachers there fight for a chance to teach him.

    Not only that, he even managed to subdue the illusive, illustrious, and most powerful Inscriber of the Vast Expanse, Master Rain himself who no one would ever dare to face him head-on and expect to return in one piece. He managed to make that very man his master, and from the rumors, people say that Master Rain actually dots on Shen Bao as if he was his son. He even crossed distances so great toe to the domain of his worst enemy, The Queen of the Wind Realm, the person considered the mightiest and strongest of the Vast Expanse, Master Rain had paid her a personal visit to berate her, for not having kept her word to protect him when she promised that.

    Speaking of the Wind Realm, not even Meng Hao had known of the friendship and oath of Brotherhood that was between him and Zhang Tian, though Shen Bao had sworn brotherhood to Meng Hao, and Meng Hao is the younger brother, now he found out that his oldest Sworn Brother is actually Zhang Tian. Which was a blessing and a shock.

    For that, Meng Hao had sworn to do his very best to get to the level of expectation that Shen Bao wants him to meet.

    Meng Hao knows very well that he is not a fraction of the power, influence or charisma of Shen Bao, and for that he has continuously journeyed and tested himself to be of help to Shen Bao if he ever needed him.

    He knew for a fact that Shen Bao is at the level of a hero, a hero in the very books that his mother used to read him when he was young. He was weak, and grew strong, made allies and was fighting against injustice. Even if Meng Hao was desperately fighting for justice himself, his justice was in saving his beloved, while he knew Shen Bao''s justice was to get back at the Fire Lord himself for having destroyed their.

    Their end goal may be the same, but the reasons, for Shen Bao, were far more majestic.

    "I can''t be like this," Meng Hao said as he bit on the pills, which to his surprise seemed to work instantaneously.

    "If my sworn brother is able to do this much, I need to do more, otherwise I''ll not deserve to be his brother."

    Meng Hao stood up, sighed, and looked at the skies. Technically was the ceiling of the underground.

    "I''ll prove to the world, that I''m worth being your brother, and no one can tell me otherwise! I''ll make sure that if I can''t surpass you, I''ll at least be worth walking the same path as you, as a peer, not baggage!"

    Those very words, the moment they came out of Meng Hao''s body, it was as if his heart had spiritually shuddered. Something inside Meng Hao began changing.

    And like a phoenix that has passed away, Meng Hao''s body began glowing, the feather upon his forehead glowed brighter as his energy began swirling inside him.

    The poison, made by the Poison God himself to suppress the cultivators to below ascendant seemed to burn with this newfound power. And just like that, Meng Hao''s limitations were lifted, and his body began gaining even more strength.

 Chapter 472 Hunter And Prey

    Night time hade, and now the monsters are bound to roam. Though this litter bastard didn''t move an inch since he went underground, the map was pretty damn urate for tracking everyone, but this bastard didn''t move at all.

    I thought that he might have tricked the system somehow, perhaps he had a way to trick the map. And perhaps he is somewhere else while I''m hunting a fake. But I had to act ording to the information I have either way.

    So, I began my n, and would act upon it the moment I see things going off rails.

    I went out after making sure that the streets were clear. I kept my eyes peeled for any cultivator, or guard moving about, and once everything seemedpletely clear, I headed to the nearest sewer system.

    The idea was simple, since there is an underground, the sewer system is bound to be connected to it at some point.

    "Z,e out," I said and a small spider puppet emerged from my holding bag.

    It skittered its way up to my palm, and I handed him a couple pills.

    "Go down, find a way or path that leads to the deepest point of the underground and break these pills there. Retreat afterward," I said.

    The small spider raised one of its legs in salute and grabbed the pills and jumped into the sewers.

    I headed back to house where I hid and waited. Since I had no way to actually track Z''s pathing, something I need to work on, perhaps I''ll set up a camera, using the Memory Jade, like a two way disy.

    Hmm, food for thoughts, this way I''ll be able to see what my puppets see. I should work on something like that.

    Once I noted that passing thought I pulled up the map.

    The movements of the cultivators underground were rtively mild. But I''m sure that it will change once Z reaches them.

    And in less than an incense stick worth of time, the movements of every cultivator became erratic. You could clearly see them moving about all in different direction away from one location.

    They spread out systematically. This was clear, Z had already reached the designated area and was able to chase away the cultivators. Yet, what pissed me off was the fact that the cultivator I''m hunting was the only one who didn''t move.

    "The fuck is happening," I cursed.

    Why isn''t he moving?

    I couldn''t act, so I waited for Z toe back.

    An he did in less than the time it took him to get down.

    "What happened?" I asked Z. And he began writing on the ground using his small legs.

    The poison spread and everyone ran away form its effect, a lot of battles happened after due to cultivators meeting others as they were running away.

    "This cultivator," I said as I pointed to Z in the map, "Didn''t move, go back down, ande back tell me why he isn''t moving," I ordered.

    The puppet didn''t hesitate to dash into the sewers again and went down. Some timeter, he came back, and began writing.

    The man you''re talking about has all of his bones broken and he was smashed into a wall. Unconscious.

    "Damn, I should have sent Z with a lethal poison, no. Perhaps not, if it was a lethal poison it will probably kill off other cultivators. But why is that man only hurt and not killed. Trap? Perhaps...

    "Z, go down, finish him off, make sure to not be spotted." I said.

    Z went back down, and in no time the target was taken down, and the scroll that gave me my targets was lowered by one. I have one left.

    Yet, suddenly the ground began shaking, and Z immediately came back up rushing toward me and wrote one word.

    "Danger!"

    I didn''t even hesitate to jump out of the nearest window, before the house I was in blew up to smithereens. It was no explosion of fire, but of force.

    "Shit," I cursed as I ducked and dodged as I went through alleyways and inside empty houses. Making sure to scan every ce before I went in.

    Someone was hunting me and the moment I saw the map, I saw two red footsteps.

    "No fucking shot!" I cursed.

    I realized it toote, the same person I was hunting, they were also hunting me!

    what kind of bullshit is this, why would the Poison God even make something like this?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    No, actually, this is usible, since most poison god cultivators wont be hunting each other if they could, but this trial is to have one Poison God cultivator reign.

    There can only be one; and the one I''m hunting is the Body Cultivator.

    What a shitpatibility.

    Thankfully, the ruckus he was causing was bound to draw the attention of some guards.

    Or that''s what I thought, when I saw two guards moving about as if nothing was going on while the Body Cultivator was breaking the town left and right looking for me.

    ''what the hell is happening?''

    As I was thinking that, I pulled the instruction scroll to see if the rules had changed without me realizing, but nothing seemed to be different besides two line.

    "You have killed one of your targets, you should head to the Temple of the Night, kill its guardian and receive a tool that will help you in your next hunt."

    "You have killed one of your targets, you should head to the Temple of the Bat, kill its guardian and receive a tool that will help you in your next hunt."

    "Fuck! Now I get it, He must have hunted his prey, and went to the temples, he received help or tools that helped him both hide from me on the map whenever he was far away, and the other probably gave him immunity to the Guards. He must also have the same map as I do, that is the only way for him to locate me."

    I should have done the side quests!

    I cursed as I moved as far away as I could knowing that I cannot hide from that man. I needed to take him out, somehow.

    Suddenly the breakage of the city calmed down, and before long, a massive pir of red light appeared on top of my head.

    "FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" I cursed as I kept moving.

    I realized what happened immediately, he, with the immunity from the guards must have told them of my existence and location, and since he has a way to confirm it, the guards issued a kill order on me. Now everyone in the city can see me.

    Shit shit shit!

    I cursed as several waves of energy seemed to being toward me.

    Some other random cultivator locate me.

    I ducked and dodged to the side and pulled out my revolver, squeezing the trigger twice sent two rounds that crashed right next to the cultivator''s location.

    The poison flushed him out immediately and a red pir appeared over his head afterward.

    I grinned, fortunees in the worst times.

    I headed toward that person who had a pir of light above his head.

    What happened was simple he jumped out of his hiding and was spotted by a guard. And when he was spotted, a pir of light appeared above his head. And now, thanks to that I have a way to buy myself some time.

    I jumped up into the nearest building top and saw the cultivator running from shade to shade above the rooftops.

    I immediately pulled my sniper and pulled the action bolt, lodging in a new bullet.

    The running cultivator was trying his best to hide as more cultivators located him and started assaulting him, he was a free immunity from guards card and everyone wanted that.

    "Not on my watch," I said as I hastily ced the sniper on the gorund called upon the four arms to support me, then gazed upon the reticle, once his body was locked into the crosshair of my scope, I squeezed the trigger.

    He couldn''t even jump to the next roof before the bullet went right though his chest, sting him and the wall a few hundred meters behind him to dust.

    The pir above my head immediately disappeared, while more pirs in the distance began manifesting, these were all the cultivators who were chasing the man that just died. Some began reporting the other and hell ensued in a second.

    Guards began moving in droves toward the lit pirs as more turned on and more turned off. Cultivator killed cultivator, and guard killed cultivator. While I immediately removed the rifle form the roof packed in and jumped down to the shade.

    The body cultivator''s rage was apparent as more buildings turned to dust.

    I lost him, for now that is. Now after being a prey, I need to switch our order. I hate being hunted.

    Tonight, we hunt!

 Chapter 473 Thinking Outside Of The Planet.

    Gaining time and distance was imperative in taking down my enemy. But that isn''t all. I actually need toe up with a n.

    First things first. Know yourself and know your enemy.

    My strength is limitedpared to the Body Cultivator. He has the ability to sustain most injuries and tank through them like a bull. He is strong, he is powerful, he is like a massive meat block that isn''t easy to chop.

    I can''t undermine that, and also he is immune to most of my poisons. Besides the most lethal ones I hope, but I can''t rely on information that isn''t urate.

    Other than that, I can use my original body to do some deception, but I doubt that will work in the face of true power. I needed to think outside of the box.

    Taking down someone specialized in taking a beating is not something that can be achieved by wishful thinking I need a true and actual n that can work. My ability to confuse and confound enemies is my strongest fort, and I need to use that to the maximum extent.

    Because taking him down isn''t just a victory and a clear of this trial, it''s also the elimination of another Poison God cultivator and an addition to a new book to my collection.

    The body cultivation book is bound to help me further improve and cover most of my basis. I need the ability to take a hit and not outright die. I can''t afford to use the Queen''s help here since I doubt her reach can assist me in the Poison God''s trial no matter how powerful she is.

    After all Du Shen was a monster of his own level, he wasn''t someone that would allow some third party to ruin his trial.

    With that noted, I need a new way to take him on. Dao Shen had mentioned that my rifle is not enough to kill him, but he didn''t say it wasn''t enough to wound him. The problem is, I''m sure he isn''t stupid enough to be shot down with a rifle like that, especially since I''ve shot it twice. And the moment he''d feel the energy and Qi from my rifle gathering, hell notice the location and will be well withing his ability to duck dodge or outright prepare defenses to stop it.

    The rifle is out of the window, it''s not something I can use.

    My specialty is poison and explosives. Which are pretty weak when against something like the Body Cultivator.

    But, just in case I ever ended up fighting something that I couldn''t take out directly, I had prepared something in advance. This was something I was ying and fooling around with. Sadly I never got the opportunity to test it outside of the Lord of Lords pagoda. Which even there in such an enclosed space the destruction was pretty significant and impressive. It was far stronger than the Rifle, but sadly to prepare it, it would take a lot of effort.

    I went into my inventory and pulled up a rod. A steel rod that was two meters tall, it looked like a bullet head on both sides. Inside this rod was a saint Qi reactor.

    And the build of this rod was pretty simr to the sniper bullets I had, only this thing cannot be shot by a rifle. It is fueled by the world''s own gravity.

    I thought about this thing back in the Poison Sect as I was making some trinkets. And it''s time to use it.

    I pulled the massive rod, which by no means was light, it was easily a ton worth of weight.

    I then, rotated its bottom side and it hovered in the air like a rocket.

    I pressed on its middle section opening it up and it slid a disk out for me. The disk had some inscriptions written on it.

    I then began writing some coordination on it.

    The structure of this metal rod, or what I called it a Tungsten Bullet. Wasprised of several spinning cylinders, these cylinders had small openings to the side that would aid it in adjusting its angle once it was moving. Not only that they could also help and assist in elerating the Tungsten Bullet while it was falling down. Further increasing its eleration.

    The object once it received the information given to it, pierced through the rooftop and flew like a rocket to the high skies.

    "Good, this should get in orbit in about an incense stick worth of time or so."

    Once my n was set up, I needed to start by setting up the second part.

    I called upon my puppets and had theme out and spread through the entirety of the city.

    They each held in their hands a small triangr metallic object. It looked like a pyramid and wherever the puppets threw this pyramid like object it would fix itself on the ground and face with one pointed edge upward.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    These werendmarks that will serve in pinpointing the tungsten bullet. Since I cannot uratelynd the bullet anywhere, I need these small beacons to do the job for me.

    Several minutester the puppets began retreating. Thankfully the fact that they''re not from the Forbidden City wasn''t revealed gave me a great way to move my puppets about without having cultivators destroy them.

    That of course didn''tst for long until one of my puppets was destroyed.

    "Shit, I guess I got found out, everyone retreat!" I called and all the puppets came back to me.

    I began moving away from the location I was in since the mass of puppets would expose me, but I was able to hide before the Body Cultivator was able to locate my position.

    The object should be in orbit by now and my weapon is primed and ready, but tond the blow I need a way to temporarily stop that man in his tracks.

    Thanks to the inscriptions I written on the Tungsten Bullet, it can free fall without being affected by things such as friction, so it will being at free fall speed. And that means that it will constantly and continuously elerate until it reaches the point of impact.

    My calctions were simple math, and I arrived to the deduction that the object will fall at a speed so incredible it would be able to reach the surface of the earth in less than ten minutes seconds Most of that time will be spent while the object gaining its initial velocity and eleration.

    But I need to buy myself ten minutes. And it shouldn''t be that hard, I believe, but the problem is, the cultivators in the zone of impact are going to be an issue.

    But not for me.

    I pulled a square metallic object out of my inventory, I twisted it and it revealed a holographic image of the location of all the small pyramids ced around the city by my puppets.

    I then inputted a simplemand. Which was the only thing besides pinpointing that these pyramids can do.

    They all twisted open and their top was elevated revealing their hollowed inside and what was inside them.

    They all had a poison pill inside them, and these pills once introduced to air would vaporize.

    A giant cloud of poison began propagating through the city. And the smoke was thick and heavy.

    It didn''t take time before cultivators realized that it was poison, and they all began ditching their location, escaping away from the clouds.

    The poison was lethal but it wouldn''t affect anyone in the time being it could be treated in time and it was a poison that wasn''t that hard to treat either. Still, it was poison and no one would willingly stay in a poison-infested cloud of their own will.

    With that, all if not most cultivators escaped. All besides one.

    I sat down, and used my Golden Scripture arts, it''s been a while since Ist used it. And thankfully it wasn''t hard to use with the body of Shen Mo.

    Once I created a second copy of myself, I sent it outside and it headed toward the tallest building in the area.

    "Do you think that this smoke screen is enough to scare me away?" a man walking in the middle of the poison cloud without a single care in the world spoke.

    He looked buffed and smug as he breathed in the poison and out.

    "This is actually improving my cultivation even if by a bit. This is why no other Poison God cultivator could ever match up to me, since all you have is poison, but I eat and consume it, wash your neck for me little brat, you''re dying here." He said with all the smugness he could muster as his chest muscles flexed.

    "Well, then, let''s see about that," I said and the fight began.

    He needed to kill me and finish me off, while I needed to dodge and avoid his blows to gain more time. Because This isn''t my original body, and I needed to buy time.

 Chapter 474 I Am...Atomic!

    I ducked under a punch that was aimed at my head from the Body Cultivator, he was pretty much a dozen or more meters away but I wasn''t about to take any chances even if he struck empty air.

    And I was right in doing so, the blow he struck which seemed to be like he was throwing an empty punch, ruptured the air itself and struck a shockwave that went rippling through space itself.

    "Good reflexes, most wouldn''t even bother dodging," he said.

    "I suppose that most who don''t dodge, die," I said.

    "And even those who do, die," he said as he threw another one, then another, then as if his fist were Gatling Guns, he threw in so many more that everything in the vicinity was obliterated.

    My Golden Scripture clone barely was able to dive under some rubble and roll away from the impact of the punches, if I was hit even indirectly this clone would be blown apart and that would be a problem on its own.

    I still need a few more minutes to hold him here, but I don''t think I''m capable of doing that on my own. I physically cannot fight him, I''ll be obliterated otherwise.

    Unless¡­

    "Domain of Delusions!" I called and a massive spiderweb-like of threads spread from under my feet.

    Now, there is no way in hell or heaven I''ll be able to stop this guy with this domain.

    For several reasons, I''ll be telling you soon.

    The threads epassed all the area around us and then formed into a massive dome that covered the whole section of our battle, along with the buildings and the rummage all over the ce.

    The threads once linked began spreading into a massive ck carpet that blocked any light that wanted toe inside.

    We were in a ck dome.

    "Interesting domain," said the Body Cultivator. "But, it feels¡­ wrong," he said as he raised his head whichpletely caught me off, guard.

    "Feels like I''m trying to move in a direction but my body is urging me to go the other way, this is¡­ iplete, no¡­ Not iplete, but just wrong¡­ you''re not the real body are you?" he said.

    Shit, my n backfired exactly for this reason.

    My original body, which is able to fully disy the Domain of Delusions is in the lord of lord pagoda. And the body of Shen Mo that''s barely able to disy the Domain but hardly due to the fact that it has a Demonic Soul, is away, and now I''m using a third party which is a clone of an avatar to use this domain, the issues with the domain are bound to be exposed.

    "But even in this weakened and desperate state, it''s still impressive, but you cannot control me, since I have full control of my body, unlike others. He said as he approached me. So, where is the real body?" he asked.

    "And why are you trying to stall me here?" he asked. "I''m sure you know that we''re both hunting each other, stalling me is pointless, no, even if you tried to stall me, there was no need for you to chase away the other cultivators with that mass of poison." He said hitting the nail on the head.

    "Ah, I figured it out," he spoke all confidently, "You''re preparing something, something big, something that will probably cause a lot of damage to the surrounding that''s why you chased everyone away and the fact that you sent an avatar means that you, yourself are unable to fully control that thing. Am I right?" he asked grinning.

    I hate smart cultivators, I hate them more than stupid idiotic ones that act out of pride.

    "I guess you got me figured out then," I said, "But you still need to leave the domain, and I''m not letting you out," I said.

    "I don''t need to, I''ll just break it apart," he said and mmed both fists on the ground.

    The power seemed incredible, enough to shake the entirety of the Forbidden city, and the ripples alone were enough topletely shatter my domain.

    We were back in the real world almost too fast for me to realize, but it was enough. Thankfully, I managed to lock him down, even if it was for a few seconds, it was more than enough for me to manipte his Time Perception.

    The man frowned as he looked around, "Something is still wrong," he said as he looked at me.

    "What? You realized something I suppose?" I asked.

    "Yes, the dust, it had settled, the blow I released against your domain should have caused the entire city to rising up in dust, but once I''m out, there isn''t a single speck in the air¡­ Time, you somehow managed to influence time¡­ that''s in the domain of the Heavens¡­" His words were more solemn and cold. He was re-evaluating my strength.

    "Ah, nothing like that, I''m not a god, I cannot control time, but I can easily confuse your senses to its passing," I said.

    "And I believe you achieved your goal of distracting me long enough for whatever your n is," he asked.

    "Something like that," I smiled back as we were face to face.

    "But then what, I spread my divine sense around the city, I cannot even locate any energy source, and you can''t fool me, since my body is on the ground even if you use something that barely releases any Qi, I should be able to feel the vibrations. So, what is your n," he said as his handtched onto the neck of the Golden Scripture Copy.

    "Well, it wouldn''t be fun to tell you now would it," I smiled.

    My words were all it took for him to snap the copy''s neck and I was back in my original body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I was smiling like a madman when I got out of the house I was in.

    From the small cube in my hand, I could easily locate the cultivator, since all the pyramids were spread all over the city a few of them were bound to be next to him, and he actually picked one up, I could see in in the hologram in my hand.

    Things couldn''t have been more perfect even if I wanted.

    As I looked up, a star in the skies seemed to grow brighter and brighter.

    And the moment the body cultivator realized that something was very wrong, as the whole city seemed to feel as if it was being pressured down, he looked up. And so did I.

    My eyes were gazing at the projectileing at a speed so fast that it would be nigh impossible to evade, but in that second it was as if time stopped while a thought crossed my mind.

    If my calctions were correct, the projectile shoulde down at an incredible speed and cause some pretty decent damageparable to a tenth of the kic energy released from one of the most dangerous bombs thatnded upon mankind back in my world. Only a tenth of Little Boy''s power. Though that in itself is destructive enough, it should be strong enough to take out a cultivator. That is of course if my calctions were based on Earth''s gravitational pull.

    But here, this ce is different, and I forgot to factor in the gravitational pull of this city which is far, far, far higher than Earth. Meaning that this fucker is probably going to kill off every single thing in the city, me included...

    "Oh shit¡­"

    The projectile fell and a light so bright seemed to emerge from the point of impact, it was blinding and deafening. No sounds were heard as the object came in contact with the cultivator.

    For a second I thought I was going to be obliterated alongside everyone in this trial.

    but the shockwave that should follow after the explosion didn''t go horizontally. But surged outward in an explosion of sound and power that blew up a quarter of the Forbidden Citypletely off the map.

    The giant pir thatprised the city''s pir and base was fractured like a tree struck by lightning. The whole of the city''s buildings was ripped from their base as the aftermath was followed by a rattling earthquake that far surpassed anything seen by man.

    I pulled my hoverboard and stomped on the barrier button enacting the protective barrier to surround me and the hoverboard while sting the living hell out of the Saint Qi reactor''s output.

    The dust would take days to settle. And I think I just killed myself.

    I looked at my chest and didn''t see a single red skull mark.

    "What the hell happened?" I thought to myself before I realized that I probably didn''t kill anyone. Which was in fact surprising. Because damage of this magnitude is bound to at least take out a few hundred cultivators.

    Suddenly, before I could even think of going out to check what was happening, Dao Shen appeared right next to me.

    "That was frankly¡­ disturbing," he said. "What is that?" he asked.

    "Kic Explosion. It''s basically throwing a heavy object towards a location and waiting for impact." I said.

    "That''s too simple to describe what happened. There is no way a power of this magnitude coulde from a simple object being thrown, how did you do it," he asked.

    "I removed friction, that''s all it took, but I''m surprised though, what''s that golden writing around you?" I asked.

    "Oh, this is protection, it was given to everyone in the city. I suppose Du Shen''s way to protect everyone in case someone like you were to show up, he wants his trial to be run fairly, or as fairly as possible he said."

    "Shit, there goes all my nning." I sighed.

    "Not really, this protection was given to everyone besides your target," said Dao Shen.

    This brought some hope to my eyes.

    "But he isn''t dead yet, I have to admit, the Body Cultivation book is outright broken," he said.

    "Says the one who can consume entires," I replied.

    Dao Shen shrugged, "I can eat entires, but I most certainly cannot survive a hit like that one." He said.

    "You sure you want to tell me your weaknesses?" I asked.

    "It is a weakness if I didn''t have ways to avoid it, but I can easily avoid something like that, still, you better get going, otherwise you''ll lose this golden opportunity," Dao Shen said.

    I understood immediately what he meant, the body cultivator must have suffered grave injuries, I cannot waste time here.

    I moved out of the house and through the smoke went toward the location of the Body Cultivator, I needed to finish what I started.

 Chapter 475 Za Warldo

    My confidence in beating a Body Cultivator in hand-to-handbat is close to nil. But a wounded one, especially with enough kic energy to match a nuclear explosion, I doubt he''ll be in any shape or form to fight back. And I can''t allow such an opportunity to pass me by.

    I arrived to the area of the explosion finding nothing but dematerialized bricks and dust.

    The body cultivator, however, instead of finding a fully wounded, bloodied and half-alive person, was perfectly andpletely fine.

    "What the fuck?!" the words came out of my mouth without even me realizing it.

    "Surprised I suppose? Do you honestly think that something like that can even wound me?" the body cultivator smiled as he approached me.

    I would honestly, think that something of that caliber will and would definitely at least harm him, something isn''t right.

    And there and then, when he took another step I noticed it, his right foot didn''t step too ''hard'' on the ground.

    He usually would take steps that would cause small tremors whenever he moved. But here, he didn''t.

    He was faking it.

    I pulled out my handgun and shot three rounds, which all bounced away from him.

    "Hah, I told you, it wouldn''t work," he smiled.

    This further confirmed my suspicion.

    He was wounded, because thest time I shot him, he didn''t raise his defenses, he actually took in the bullets as if they were nothing.

    "Right, I hope you can survive this then," I said as I pulled the explosive rocketunchers on me. Sending twelve rounds of explosive freedom his way.

    The damage to the surroundings further increased, but he on the other hand seemed unfettered and unhurt.

    Keep acting, I smiled as I jumped in forward.

    "Ho ho, you''re approaching me?! Instead of running away, you''reing right at me?! Even though you know of my advantage in close-quarterbat?!"

    Oh my¡­ he actually said the line?! I cannot disappoint!

    "I can''t beat the shit out of you without getting closer!" I spoke as I approached with my head held high, I was actually feeling giddy.

    "Thene as close as you like!" he said as he approached.

    The two of us were face to face and he immediately went for a swing.

    "The World¡­ Breaking Fist!"

    "Fist of Roaring Ki, Fists of Eternal Gold!" both our hands struck at each other, and I was the one blown away.

    "Weak!" he called as he followed up with a roundhouse kick.

    My blow was weak, but I did that on purpose, I wanted to gauge his power, and I wasn''t impressed. Since I used an art that wasn''t fit for this body, I knew it wouldn''t hurt him.

    "I know, I mentioned as I raised my left arm to block the blow, which stopped in its track.

    "So is your kick; Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki, Palm of the Yellow River!" my palm opened and swung forward at the body cultivator''s chest.

    The body cultivator immediately raised his hand to block the blow, only to realize that my palm didn''t have the power to break hi guard, but actually to siphon away power and strength.

    The moment my palm and his arms met, he removed the contact and took several steps back.

    "Demonic Arts, filthy¡­" he said.

    "Only the victor has the right to say shit like that, I''ming at you," I said as I surged forward.

    Before I even swung my fists though, he struck the ground with a powerful stomp, forcing a massive block of earth to go up.

    The block of earth stopped me from seeing what he was nning, and I immediately ducked to the side. A smart decision as if I was a second toote, the shattering of the block that happened right after would have bored holes in my body.

    The body cultivator used his fist to shatter the entirety of the block.

    "

    "Five Finger Death Punch!" my right fist turned crimson red as I struck forward sending a blow of demonic Qi toward the body cultivator.

    He dodged it with ease, smiling at how slow my attack was.

    "You''re not too proficient in martial arts, you''re just swinging fancy moves and hoping that theynd."

    "You''re right, I''m not used to this art, in this body. I said as I jumped back.

    Shen Mo''s body was immediately absorbed into a gate that seemed to appear out of nowhere, where another body, rtively older, wearing full purple robes donned in golden embroidered hems showed up.

    The man had a pale looking face, and eyes as green as emeralds.

    "This should be much more interesting," I said as I was back into Shen Bao''s body.

    I moved my hand back and pulled a mask and a small badge from the same portal that Shen Mo was wearing.

    Once I ced them on me, I resumed my fight.

    "A Poison God cultivator, I knew something was not right with all the poison you were throwing my way, so this is your original body. What a waste, splitting your soul like that you''ll never attain power," he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Fists of Roaring Ki," I said.

    "That again, it won''t work," he said smiling.

    "Fists of the Eternal Gold." I said as I surged forward.

    My fists glowed in golden light as they manifested gauntlets over my hands with jet thrusters at the elbow.

    This was obviously much more different than when I was using my secondary body, and the Body Cultivator realized it.

    He immediately went into the defensive, both hands in a w like motion. I knew what he was trying to do. To deflect a blow and counter.

    But, I''ve been trained by the Golden Titan himself.

    My fist swung in an arc, to which he smiled as he swung his w fist to parry it. but, with the power of the Qi thruster instantly going to maximum, my fist struck a clean blow into his chest.

    The blow sent him flying, and I wasn''t going to let him go.

    "Golden Scripture arts!" I called and summoned a clone, the two of us sted forward at the cultivator who barely managed to stop himself in mid-air, only to receive a second blow to the face from me.

    The blow sent him toward the ground to which he managed to n both feet to stop the impact, only to see the clone from the golden scripture already waiting up front, and struck him cleanly in the chin.

    The blow erected him from the ground into the air in a second where I was waiting.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Stomp of Eternal Gold!" I called as my foot struck down in a golden armored boot that smashed the cultivator down to the ground.

    "THAT TICKLES!" he said as he stood up, my clone which was close to continuing thebo was eradicated as he smashed it with a backhanded blow, then he came at me.

    "Now it''s my turn," he said as he shot toward me.

    "Nope, I''m not done yet," I said as I snapped a finger.

    Right there and then, the body cultivator noticed that his side was generating Qi, not his Qi, when he looked at his side he saw a small talisman that was nted there.

    He must have realized that I nted that on him while I was beating him.

    The explosion knocked him aside mid-airpletely stopping him from finishing his attack and that allowed me to go back in, with a knee to his face.

    The blow connected with a satisfying crunch. And I followed after with a palm strike to the chest.

    "White Palm of gue!" I called.

    "Poison Does not work on me!" he said.

    He would have been correct if he was not wounded.

    I could immediately feel his vitality seeping away from him and into me.

    And this caused him to forcefully break the connection and retreat back. Huffing in desperation, he looked around and then shot away escaping.

    "Really?!" I grinned.

    "But that works perfectly in my case," I said as I pulled the Rifle.

    Though I know for a fact that killing him with this would be close to impossible since he could easily notice the Qi gathering and would be able to dodge. I had to try since I have a trick up my sleeve.

    I loaded in a bullet and aimed at his back.

    "You know he''ll just dodge that, why did you leave him to escape?" I heard behind me.

    As I was locking on the Body Cultivator''s body with the scope''s crosshair I said, "You and a certain tiger have this annoying habit of showing up out of nowhere, also, I already know that. But just watch," I said.

    Once the reactor started and the chamber was full of Qi, I could notice the body cultivator turning his head, smiled and began zigzagging to dodge my bullet.

    "See, you''ll never get him like that," Dao Shen said.

    "Just watch," I said as I was waiting for the perfect moment.

    His zigzagging was pretty impressive, he didn''t take the same path twice. And went up, down left right every time, he changed his zigzag. But I didn''t really care much, because at one point, where my aim was pointed which was pretty much a dozen or so meters away from him, was where I decided to pull the trigger.

    Though he changed his zigzagging position randomly, he didn''t change the distance to which he switched from one direction to the other.

    And once he was moving toward the direction of my crosshair.

    I snapped my finger.

    This caused another talisman that was on his back to blow up, destabilizing him for a fraction of a second.

    And in that fraction of a second, he stopped.

    And when he stopped. A bullet went right through his head.

    Target Eliminated.

 Chapter 476 Front Seat

    "That was cruel, in an interestingly good way. You gave him hope that he would be able to escape by using that Rifle, when he managed to dodge away, you exploded the talisman to destabilize him and make him a sitting duck for your next hit."

    "Yep, that''s the gist of it," I said as I reassembled my rifle and headed to the body''s location.

    Once I arrived at the location I was honestly surprised at the sight.

    "The fuck is this, are you Wolverine?" I spoke in a disgusted tone and expression.

    The man, who should have had his head pulverized was slowly, recovering. The base of his skull waspletely gone, and nothing but liquid and mush brain matter remained, but it was still recovering.

    "What an interesting specimen," I said as I ced my hand on the body cultivator''s chest and used the White Hand of gues.

    His regeneration was immediately siphoned away and he was finally and truly dead.

    With his te in my hand, and his body that became a mummy, the Poison God''s Heritage finally revealed itself.

    As I was about to grab it, Dao Shen scooped in and took it in his hands.

    I looked at him, without any expressions, of anger or frustration.

    "What is the meaning of this?" I asked.

    "I just want to see your reaction, what will you do if I were toe in and take your possession?" he asked.

    I thought for a moment, then shrugged, "You can have it, if you think you need it to fight me, after all you saw the level I''m at."

    "But that''s not enough to take me out," he said.

    "If that''s what you think is all I have, then please take it, after all, I haven''t shown even half of my cards. You might need the body cultivation book, you mentioned it before, even that dead guy is a nuisance to you, you might need the book to survive meing after you," I said.

    "You really are no fun," he said smirking then threw the book towards me.

    "It wont be of use to you either, since to use this book, you''ll need a body that is close to perfection, and the only way to do that is to obtain one of the Vast Expanse''s rarest treasures. Even after consuming dozens ofs, I have yet toy my hands on it," he said.

    Once the book was in my hand, the purple skull inside it came out.

    I immediately grabbed it before it escaped, opened my mouth and consumed it whole.

    "¡­"

    "What?" I asked.

    "You eat those?" Dao Shen said in a frown.

    "Yeah, best way to kill them," I said, "What is this treasure you''re talking about?" I asked.

    "Oh, it wouldn''t matter for you to know it, you can''t obtain it," he said.

    "Well if you''re being stingy then this is where we part ways," I said.

    "Just wait," Dao Shen said sighing, "It''s the Stone Aged Milk." He said.

    "I guess you''re really not up to date," I smiled as I pocketed the book.

    "What do you mean?" he asked.

    "Ask about me, you''ll probably be a bit surprised. You may know of my name because I''m a Poison God cultivator, but you don''t know who I truly am. Well, now how about we head out, I remember I told you about a young kid," I said.

    "Right, things turned out almost the same as you said, he was almost killed, several times too, and was saved thanks to the light of day going up. I haven''t picked up his trace yet, I sensed something strange though, he seemed to have gained more insight upon his own existence. It''s as if the world that wishes for him to advance and improve, is once again confirming it. He managed to gain greater energy, but at the same time, he was able to fully hide his soul from me, I cannot even locate him anymore," Dao Shen sighed.

    "Do you know the location of the person he fought?" I asked.

    "Yes, he isn''t far away from here," Dao Shen said.

    "Then let''s go to him, if fate ys its hand correctly, they''ll be meeting again, and we''ll have front row seats." I said.

    "You do realize that after this round we''ll be enemies," Dao Shen said.

    "Yeah, so what''s the point in fighting right now when we can easily fightter. Lets enjoy the show," I said.

    "Follow me then, Shen Bao," Dao Shen said as he zoomed forward.

    I followed closely after him and soon we were at a section of the city that didn''t seem to have been fully eradicated.

    The Tungsten Bullet did a pretty damn good number on the city, and with this much destruction from one bullet, I fear to find out the amount of damage that a bunch of them would.

    The two of us arrived to the top of the only standing tower in the vicinity of the city. An once we sat at the top, a couple cultivators noticed us.

    "This might be annoying if they call the guards," I said.

    "No, I tested it before, if you had cleared your mission, the guards willpletely ignore you and any report that has been given against you, so just rx."

    I sat down next to Dao Shen and swallowed a couple pills.

    "Poison Pills?" he aske.

    "Yeah, want some?" I asked.

    "I could use a snack," I said as I handed him a small batch of different poison pills.

    He swallowed a couple and smiled, "Tasty, I really envy the fact that you have the Alchemy Book, this is good Poison," he said.

    "Yeah, it helps with the Quality, but no one can be satisfied, other Poison God cultivators have more powerful battling abilities, while I can only make pills," I shrugged.

    "If only you had some Stone Aged Milk, you''d be able to fight on par with the other Poison God cultivators. I rmend you withdraw on the next round, the fights will get fiercer."

    "And give up all the fun and rewards to you? No thank you," I smiled.

    "Good, no Poison God cultivator worth their salt would shy away from an opportunity to grow more powerful," he said.

    "No one should, but at the same time, when one realizes that they''re way deep in shit, they should have the tact to withdraw, run today to fight tomorrow."

    "Wise words, oh, there is movement," Dao Shen said.

    And suddenly a man came out from inside one of the rundown houses.

    He had a massive spear strapped behind his back, and looked to be in deep thoughts.

    His eyes moved around and locked onto us.

    Dao Shenically waved his fingers at the man.

    The person with the fire spear didn''t seem like someone who is fun at parties, because he just grabbed his spear and swung it at us.

    Dao Shen''s facial expressions turned sour as he raised his hand and stopped the bullet speed spear by the tip using two fingers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That''s rude," he said, his tone was unwavering.

    Dao Shen grabbed the spear and immediately sent it back. It flew far faster, stronger and incredibly more urate, enough that it went right under the cultivator''s ear, and slit his earlobe.

    "Don''t fucking do that again," Dao Shen said.

    The words, the actions, the confidence he exuded were far beyond what a Saint ss cultivator could ever express against a King ss cultivator.

    The King ss cultivator in question was the man with the spear, his robes already expressed his allegiance, he was a Spear of the Fire King.

    And with this one move, the man with the spear, bowed and sped his hands.

    "I apologize for offending someone as great as you," he said, "I thought you were waiting in ambush," he said.

    "If I was waiting in ambush you''d be dead, we''re here to watch a fight, don''t disturb us," said Dao Shen as he sat back down.

    The man with the spear must have been confused, what fight was Dao Shen talking about?

    The answer came far too fast for him to realize actually.

    A man with brown hands came from the darkness, he showed up exuding a great amount of confidence.

    "Ah, this fight, I''m afraid that you''ll be disappointed good sir, this brat was saved thest time thanks to the light, but now, he has no way to escape. His death is all but uncertain." The Spear of the Fire lord said.

    "Let''s see you try," the man with the brown skin said.

    His voice was pretty familiar to me, it was Meng Hao, and the exuding fiery spirit he was giving off was a dead giveaway to his current power level.

    He improved by leaps and bounds in one night.

    "Hah, you grew stronger, but that''s not enough!" he said as he dashed forward with spear in hand.

    Meng Hao''s hands rose up like a praying mantis, and just as the spear was about to gouge out one of his eyes, his palm struck down discing the spear while he pushed the cultivator using a shoulder bash.

    The two began a fight where sparks started flying everywhere, their hands blurring in incredible speeds as everything around them was turned to dust.

    Dao Shen whistled, "What did that kid eat to grow this strong in a day,"

    "Plot armor," I sighed.

    "Is that a treasure?" Dao Shen asked.

    "Yeah, it kinda is, the worst kind if you''re his enemy, this treasure is so potent that even if you''re guaranteed to win, you''ll end up losing the moment you face him. That''s what''s going to happened.

    "How did he find this treasure?" asked Dao Shen.

    ''Man exining sarcasm is hard,''

    "Think of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity given to one person. He was chosen, and no one else will ever have that treasure until his death. But like I said, if you try and take him out, you''re more than certain to die. So might as well not try and take it away," I replied.

    "Seems too powerful, he must have paid a hefty price for it," Dao Shen said.

    "You''re not wrong, the price he paid was his rtives and the people close to him, it''s not worth it." I said.

    "Indeed, some cultivators can live withoutpany, but the path of cultivation is lonely and full of solitude, going about it alone is really boring and depressing."

    "Says the guy who leaves no one alive after he visits a," I said.

    "Thos are exaggerated rumors, after all, if I left no one alive, how would people know of me," he said.

    "That''s the same argument I gave when I first heard that, anyway, who do you think is going to win?" I asked.

    "Well, if I didn''t hear about this ''plot armor'' treasure, I would be more than certain to say that the kid with the Fiery Soul is bound to lose, but now I''m not so sure."

    "Yeah, same here, but my money on Meng Hao." I said.

    "Good then," Dao Shen looked down and spotted one cultivator, "One moment," he said.

    And immediately went down, grabbed the cultivator and another one then brought them to us at the top of the tower.

    The two cultivators were like scared cats being grabbed by the scruff of their necks.

    "What do you want good sir!" he said.

    "Me and my brother here were betting, and we want someone to bet against us, who do you two think will win that fight?" Dao Shen asked.

    The two confused cultivators looked at the battle between the Fire Lord Spear and the unknown Meng Hao and immediately said.

    "I probably have the same opinion as you, I believe that the Spear of the Fire Lord will be the victor,"

    "What about you?" Dao Shen asked the other cultivator.

    "I think the same," he said. A bit of fear in his voice.

    "You''re scaring them Dao Shen." I said.

    The moment they heard the name, the fear that was in their voice turned to terror.

    They began stuttering and shuddering at the mere mention of his name.

    "You actually scared them even more by mentioning my name," Dao Shen sighed. "Anyway, we''ll take the bet, me and my junior here think that the Spear will lose," said Dao Shen.

    "Will you spare us, if the results are not what you like?" asked one of the cultivators.

    Just as he finished his words, Meng Hao was mmed into several walls back to back.

    "Don''t worry, we have no n on harming you, we''re just killing the time," I said.

    "Right then, what would you like to bet? We don''t have much," they said.

    "Just a spirit stone is enough," I said as I popped a new poison pill in my mouth.

    Dao Shen did the same and this further caused the two cultivators to shudder.

    They were so afraid that if they were to hug each other and scream in fear it wouldn''t even be rude or weird.

    I mean, who in their right mind uses Poison Pills as snacks?

    "Right, we agree!" they said.

    "Good, now sit down and let''s watch." Dao Shen said as the four of us sat down waiting for what''s going to happen next.

 Chapter 477 Dance Of Flame

    The spear user thrust forward, with enough power that the entire avenue was blown aside, Meng Hao flung himself to the side avoiding the initial blow, then picked himself up back into the fight.

    It was a battle for the one who took the initiative and the aggressiveness first. Once one of them has the upper hand, the other will be in deep shit. And so far, Meng Hao is looking to be the one on the receiving end.

    The Fire Spear followed with a couple spear thrusts that sent several snake like projectiles to home on Meng Hao. Thetter blocked using his arms.

    The blow connected perfectly against his arms, and from the clear redness and smoke rising from Meng Hao''s arms, he felt the blow all too damn well.

    But he didn''t allow the damage to stop his thinking process as he charged forward.

    The best ce to be against a spear user is to be inside and right against their face, so that the spear will lose most if not all of its power.

    "You have some more?" I heard as Dao Shen seemed to have finished all of his ''snacks''.

    "I do," I replied as I gave him another batch of poison pills.

    "Tasty," he said as he crunched more and more pills.

    The two cultivators next to us werepletely stunned and stupefied ad what was going on.

    We were casually watching a death battle while eating snacks, poison pills in their eyes. And we didn''t seem to be giving a single fuck to how we appeared to everyone else.

    "Want some?" Dao Shen said to one of the cultivators, who was too bbergasted to even reply.

    "Stop fooling around, if he eats that he''ll die before he can even swallow it, that''ll only give me a red skull," I said to Dao Shen saving the poord.

    "I just wanted to see his reaction, these two are quite boring don''t you think," he said.

    "You were the one who brought them," I replied.

    "Sirs, with all due respect, some of the pills you made have pill veins, just finding one of them can set a cultivator for life, and you two are eating them, boring is actually apliment for us. It''s you two who are strange," he said.

    "Oh, he can actually speak his mind, I''ll have to withdraw my statement then," said Dao Shen, "You''re at least not boring. So, do you still believe that the Fire Spear will win?" he asked.

    "I''ve yet to find anything worthy of note from the man who is using his fists to fight. He is agile I can give him that, and powerful enough to survive a direct blow, but his offensive power iscking, and he missed several opportunities to retaliate," he said.

    I shook my head, "If you were to take any of those opportunities you''d be dead. Meng Hao already noticed that those were feints and fake openings, if he were to take them, he''ll have a spear lodged into his head, the fight isn''t about whonds the most blows, this fight is about whost remains standing. Look again at their stature," I said.

    And once the two cultivators took a deeper look they noticed something they didn''t see at first.

    Meng Hao, who looked on the losing end, had his breathing perfectly andpletely stable. While the Fire Spear was taking deeper breaths and slightly unorganized ones at it too.

    "Exhaustion? Strange, the fight just began," said the cultivator.

    "No, this is the second round, this fight started yesterday, and now is their second fight, granted, Meng Hao retreated yesterday due to injuries, and recovered, while the Fire Spear, considering his original power at the King Realm didn''t do much in terms of recovery before fighting again, the exhaustion from yesterday''s fight is finally catching up to him, and now he''ll start using wider and broader moves to end this fight rapidly," I said.

    As if I was seeing the future, the Fire Spear whirled his spear above his head, calling upon incredible amounts of mes.

    "Devour!" he called.

    Just as he mentioned the words, I noticed Dao Shen''s expressions souring.

    "Jealous?" I asked.

    "He''s using a word he isn''tprehending," Dao Shen said.

    The fire above the cultivator''s spear emerged into a dragon of me that surged at Meng Hao''s face.

    And Meng Hao, as if mocking him, spread his arms wide and said, "Devour!"

    Dao Shen''s expression grimed even further as he saw what was happening.

    "At least this kid is using it correctly," he said.

    And just like that, the dragon made of fire seemed to converge wanting to eat Meng Hao only to end up bing fuel for Meng Hao''s dissipated energy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    mes surged and twirled around his body as they were consumed inwardly, further boosting him and rejuvenating him.

    Meng Hao emerged from the mes as a newborn phoenix as his eyes seemed to shine in an emerald and gold behind his mask. His hands looked as if they were bathing in a blue me as for his forehead, even behind the mask it ignited in a blue me that felt as if he grew hair made of mes.

    Meng Hao flew forward in great speeds, enough that the road behind him surged in mes, admitting his power and mastery of fire against his enemy.

    The Fire Spear didn''t despair even after his ability was consumed and used to energize his foe, a testament of his experience in battling enemies that were mighty and strong, and took a defensive stance preparing for impact.

    Meng Hao''s fist turned to a w and he swiped sideways, the Fire Cultivator raised his spear to block, only to have his back seared in an infernal me.

    Meng Hao''s fire w didn''t attack directly but manifested behind the Fire Cultivator and brazed his back.

    A grunt was all that Meng Hao could elicit from the cultivator, but the fact that he destabilized him proved great in the follow-up.

    Meng Hao stomped on the ground, causing a surge of mes to st into the cultivator''s face and body. then he followed up with a palm to his chest, sting him far away.

    Not one to miss an opportunity Meng Hao flew behind the cultivator at neck-breaking speed and struck him on the side in a mid-air roundhouse kick.

    The blow was enough to cause the cultivator to lose his grasp on his spear, to which Meng Hao grabbed.

    "Fool!" said the Spear Cultivator as hended on his feet, "That is my spear, you cannot use it! Burn him to cinders!" said the Fire Cultivator as the spear wanted to resist being used by another that wasn''t its owner.

    "Obey!" Meng Hao said as he struck the bottom of the spear on the ground while it tried its best to burn his hand off.

    "OBEY!" called Meng Hao once again, and even then the spear increased its mes.

    "OBEY!" came Meng Hao''s final shout, and as if a father telling his son to submit, the spear calmed down to Meng Hao''s bidding.

    The stunned look on the Fire Cultivator''s face couldn''t be described with words. How did Meng Hao manage to force a treasure to submit to him without even refining?

    The answer is simple. Meng Hao showed the spear who is most worthy.

    With that, Meng Hao twirled the spear and grasped it with both hands, a single thrust is all he needed to force a phoenix made out of blue mes toe out and hunt down the Fire Spear.

    The Fire Spear mmed both hands together in a prayer motion! "Call of the Infernal Lord! Domain!"

    Immediately an incredible heat wave spread all over the area and epassed a giant portion of the city, us included of course.

    Dao Shen whistled. "This is a pretty big domain, oh look at that, he said.

    Around us were hundreds of pyres standing tall where the bodies of cultivators seemed to be fueling.

    The skies turned dark red as smog and soothe was all we could see and breathe. As for Meng Hao, he was standing still in the mes unbothered by the disgusting domain.

    I looked to the side and realized that the two cultivators next to us were suffocating.

    I called my hoverboard and used its protective barrier to stop the domain from affecting us.

    The two of them finally coughed and took a deep breath.

    "Why did you help us?" one of them asked.

    "Who''s going to pay me my one spirit stone when I win the bet, it''ll be a shame if you were to die," I said shrugging.

    Dao Shen couldn''t help but snicker.

    "You do know that the use of this barrier consumes thousands of times more spirit stones than you can even get from them," he said.

    "Yes, but a bet is a bet," I replied.

    "You two still believe he''ll win, though I couldn''t help but admire how he stole the spear, he is still stuck in a King ss cultivator''s domain." One of the cultivators said.

    "That does not mean he''ll lose by any means," I said "Just watch, a main character will only shine brighter when he is in deep shit. And you''re about to see a star being born."

 Chapter 478 Price Of Power

    The Fire Spear''s Domain looked immovable and indestructible, he managed to surpass Meng Hao even after he lost his spear to him. The power of a King ss cultivator''s domain was nothing to scoff at, but at the same time so was the power of the one I considered the ''Main Character''.

    With a wrathful howl, Meng Hao surged up in mes as if he was a sun in the making. He pointed the spear and threw it, propelling it like a meteor with a burning trail on its wake.

    The spear grazed the Fire Spear but didn''t seem to cause any damage. Still, Meng Hao didn''t hesitate to lunge forward in preparation for another sh.

    Though fighting inside the Domain of another cultivator is nothing short of suicide, it seemed that the mes here weren''t affecting Meng Hao much, and the Fire Spear realized that all toote.

    He should have taken note of Meng Hao''s ability to consume and use mes for himself, and now that he ced him in a rejuvenatingke of fire, he understood that he royally fucked up.

    The graze from the spear earlier ignited at the Fire Spear''s face, burning half of it in an instant, and at that moment when he was too shocked to react, Meng Hao''s fistnded firmly on his chest.

    Not a man to give up the advantage, Meng Hao followed with his other hand mming the face of the Fire Spear into the ground, "BURN!" Meng Hao called.

    And the mes around him surged once more, turning from bright blue to blinding white.

    The Fire Spear screamed as his entire body was rattled and assaulted with white pure mes that seemed to have no end to them.

    "Burn for your sins! Burn for the people you''ve killed, and Burn for serving the foulest of lords! BURN!" Meng Hao''s words seemed to stem from the depth of his heart and agony.

    His words were aimed to both the Fire Spear and at himself for being too weak, a catharsis of sorts, for the failure to save his beloved.

    "BURN!" Meng Hao called once again, and his time not even the Fire Spear could struggle or squirm, as his flesh was seared off and melted, as his bleached bones turned dark and began crumbling, as his blood boiled and evaporated. As every bit of the Fire Spear seemed to turn toplete Ash.

    A single metallic object was all that remained from the Fire Spear, and just as the death of the Fire Spear, body, and soul was confirmed, the small metallic spear head shot toward Meng Hao''s forehead in ast attempt to take down the foe that killed the Fire Spear.

    Yet, the metallic object had no hope of reaching Meng Hao as it melted from the sheer heat that came out of Meng Hao''s body.

    "Interesting mes, I say this is as pure as a Heart me¡­" Dao Shen said as he swallowed thest pill in his hands.

    Meng Hao sat back down, and you could see the domain slowly dissipating into nothingness.

    The two cultivators next to us were stunned at what just urred.

    "He just killed a King ss cultivator," one of them said.

    "I mean, the King ss cultivator''s cultivation was already pretty nerfed¡­."

    "Still, he was a King ss cultivator, the knowledge and experience he has in fighting shouldn''t be small. It''s already a miracle that this boy Meng Hao managed to fight him on par. But to actually defeat him, his name is bound to spread through the vast expanse¡­"

    "If he manages to survive that is, look, he is dying¡­" said the first cultivator.

    I took a look at Meng Hao and realized that they were right.

    The pure white mes were too much for even Meng Hao to fully control.

    "What are you going to do?" asked Dao Shen.

    "What a friend must," I said and dropped down.

    I walked toward Meng Hao who was on his back, struggling to suppress the white mes surging from his body.

    "Get, away¡­" Meng Hao said as he realized I wasing over.

    "Just shut up," I said sighing. The heat was incredible, enough that these robes began burning just as I got closer.

    I snapped my finger and called the Veridian Heart me to my right.

    I then used it to coat myself and protect myself from the White mes of Meng Hao. Just as I approached closer, I could see something in the fire. It looked like a bird, an angry bird.

    "That''s not enough to protect you, Shen Bao!" Meng Hao said he knew fully that I wasn''t capable of stopping this white me.

    I sighed, "Just watch," I said as I waved my other hand and called upon Shen Mo''s body.

    It came out and was almost functioning on autopilot. Since I cannot actively control both bodies at the same time, I must turn one off to use the other.

    Yet, the body understood my intentions, after all, it had a part of my own soul in it.

    Shen Mo waved his hand and called his own Veridian Heart me.

    He ced it on my other hand and now I had two.

    With abination of two Veridian Heart mes, even these white mes that seemed to be the essence of a Phoenix were nothing but child''s y for me to force to submit.

    I pressed both Veridian Heart mes together. If they were of a different nature they''d have blown up immediately, but now, they merged and created a temporarily more powerful Veridian Heart me.

    "Bind the Mind, Bind the Will, Bind the Soul!" I called.

    A chant I never wanted to use, "Death Heritage, Refinement of The Grave!" I called.

    Though I refused to learn the Death Heritage''s Resurrection method. I was not too arrogant to give up the whole book.

    And why was I using the Corpse Refinement method on a me?

    Because this me belongs to a Phoenix, and that Phoenix is trying to resurrect at the expense of Meng Hao''s life essence, meaning, that it too was a corpse.

    Hundreds of magic symbols appeared around the mes, and empowered by the Veridian Heart me they became seals against the White me itself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The bird inside the me tried desperately to struggle against this art, but something that was made topletely suppress the Dead, no dead creature should have the ability to fight back.

    The seals locked on, one after the other, andpletely shut down the mes around Meng Hao.

    They thentched onto Meng Hao''s body like chains.

    I snapped both my fingers, dissipating the Heart me, and called Shen Mo back into the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    I then approached Meng Hao who seemed to be too injured to even move.

    I ced a pill in his mouth and sat down next to him.

    "Good fight kid," I said trying to sound as proud as possible. In fact even I had some doubts at first.

    "Thank you¡­" he said he looked a bit disappointed.

    "What''s the matter?" I asked.

    "Weak," he said, with tears welling in his eyes.

    I snorted, "If fighting and winning against a King ss cultivator is weak for you, I really don''t want to see what you mean by strong." I said.

    "No, the Fire Lord is far stronger than this, and just his minion was able to do so much damage to me, I don''t think I''ll ever have the ability to save her before he consumes her soul."

    Meng Hao had his arm over his eyes covering his tears.

    I sighed, "You wouldn''t, and you can''t," I said. cruel words I know. "Not with your current strength." I added.

    Dao Shen immediately appeared next to us and said, "Are you sure those are the words you want to say to a friend?" he asked.

    "Yes, he needs to wake up to reality, the word hero is fake. You can''t go on about challenging the world and hope that it will work in your favor. You can''t be throwing away your life against the odds and hop that things will work out somehow. That''s why¡­"

    I said to Meng Hao, "That''s why you have friends, friends to pick up your ck, to help you in your time of need. And when the dayes that you want to take on the Fire Lord, ask for me, and I''ll be there. No matter the time, reason or purpose, just ask and I''ll be there. Stop trying to do everything yourself, you''re not a god." I said as I stood up.

    "Seems like your fight has ended in time."

    The skies were turning brighter signaling the end of thest day of this battle.

    Our bodies began shining bright as we were forcefully teleported, every one of us back to the open tform that seemed to have no end to is.

    "Congrattions on passing the Forbidden City trial. This proved that you were all able to move in stealth and take out your enemies. Now the next trial will soon start. It will test your ability to understand and apply what you have been throughtely. If you wish to leave, you may break one of the marbles in your possession, do know that this is thest and final chance you have to leave if you decide to leave."

    The moment the words were spoken, several bright lights shone, as many cultivators left the tform. Looking around, from the thousand or so cultivators not even half remained.

    Meng Hao looked at me, and sighed, "I can''t go on." He said.

    Though I felt he wanted to keep going, he seemed to be in need of some time to think.

    "Go, I''ll meet you once I''m done with this trial," I said to Meng Hao.

    Meng Hao then snapped his marble and was out.

    Leaving a bunch of cultivators here in the tform.

    Before the speaker spoke again of the details of the trial, someone came towards me.

    "I finally found you," he said, an ugly and vicious smile on his face. He looked like a corpse, no he was a corpse. Half of his body was rotten, and one of his eyes had worms in it. His grin was filthy and showed rotten teeth behind it.

    "Shi Situ, you live still," I muttered.

    "It is I who should be surprised, you actually survived Servant Mao and ended up killing him instead. I wonder, how did you manage to survive his torture for so long?" he aske.

    "That''s a question you''ll have to figure out yourself," I replied.

    "Who is this?" asked Dao Shen as he came closer.

    The moment Shi Situ saw Dao Shen he took a couple of steps back.

    "This is the guy who used to have the Death Heritage, apparently when I used the incantation to seal the mes, he sensed his book in action¡­" I said.

    "I''m surprised, it''s not everyday that you see an Acolyte surviving this long with a host that isn''t a Poison God''s heritor. What a fascinating art¡­" Dao Shen said.

    "It''s clear he is just being a parasite, the Death Heritage has many secrets, and the ability to control and possess the corpses is one of them. He must be here for his book I presume." I said.

    "You''re right, sadly, I cannot take it from you right now, but in the next trial, I''ll do so, so be ready," Shi Situ said as he backed away.

    "You have a lot of enemies, Shen Bao," Dao Shen said.

    "That''s the price of fame, while you have a lot of people terrified of you," I said.

    "That''s the Price of power," he replied with all confidence.

    ''Damn, this good looking bastard is actually right¡­ if I was as strong as him, I wouldn''t have to bother with small fries¡­ well, let''s see what this next trial is about then.''

 Chapter 479 Mei Ling

    "Now that we have all of the remaining contenders left, we will begin the final rounds of this trial."

    The voice spoke and soon another voice was heard, this one, was all too familiar to me.

    "I, Du Shen had only one regret in my life. I have never left words in my heart untold, I have never allowed another to oppress or suppress me. I have never allowed myself humiliation, and I have only bowed my head to my parents for giving me my life, and the heavens for allowing it. I have lived with my heart held high, using a path that many thought vile. I have never unjustly killed, and I have never unjustly wronged someone. My life had been going as I wished and willed, as I paced and wanted. But even then, I have one thing I regretted deeply."

    Du Shen''s words trailed, it was clearly a recording, but it felt full of emotions, unlike what I''ve ever heard of such a person.

    "I have owned up to all my mistakes, but I''ve yet to correct one, and I do not think I could ever correct it. Because no man can rewind time nor change the facts of the world. I have sinned once, against myself by allowing a person whom I considered most dear, enough that I would have dly given my life to, she was my everything, the only woman who truly understood me. Understood my vision, and knew well that I wasn''t someone who would sumb to the unfairness of this Prison we live in. She was the only one who believed in my ability to break through this prison without needing a Key of my own. As I am Poison, I am not owed nor worthy to wield one of the world''s Keys, but she knew, deep down, that I would be able to manage it. Though to this day I have yet to seed, she still believed in me.

    Today''s trial, you will all go through the same ordeal I have went through, you will all see what I have seen, and your goal is simple. It is to partake in this event, and live to its end. No cultivator will fight another, your goal is merely to see and act upon what you see. But do know, I''ve done this trial tens of thousands of times, I went through this memoryne more than most of you have even lived, there is no answer, so do not try and find one, just look, watch and learn. Lest you make the same mistake I made¡­"

    The words from Du Shen were cut, and the same earlier voice that gave us our tasks spoke once again.

    "You will now be entering the Poison Mist Valley. In it you will be apanied by Mei Ling, Du Shen''s first wife, and his deepest regret. Your goal is to reach the end of the Mist Valley, but do know that you are being hunted and pursued, you will have to face many monsters as you trudge along this wretched path while making sure to keep ahead of yourpetition. Good luck," spoke the voice.

    Soon a massive snake emerged from the center of the tform and coiled in a circle, creating a portal using its own body.

    Everyone knew well to go through the portal for the next trial.

    I walked up to the portal and saw the corpse cultivator smirking at me, he muttered in a divine sense message, "Make sure to survive this, because we''ll be meeting in the next round."

    I didn''t really care enough to reply as I walked into the portal.

    My vision swam as everything seemed to change within me, even physically I felt. And once my vision was back I opened them to see a concerned looking woman right next to me.

    Her eyes were emerald green, the same as mine and in her hand was a small dagger that looked doused in poison.

    My head felt wracked with pain and agony as information was forcefully imbedded in it.

    "You are currently in the body of Du Shen, your cultivation level is at the Nascent Soul peak, as for Mei Ling she is a stage above yours at the Soul Formation level. You two are being chased by the remnants of the Imperial Family, having stolen one of their treasures, you will be executed on the spot.

    You must not inform Mei Ling that you''re not Du Shen, act in a way and sense that makes her know well that you''re the Poison God, having your identity revealed will break the trial and you will lose.

    You must sessfully escape the Poison Mist Valley, you must guarantee your survival above all else, the death of Mei Ling is inevitable but you must make use of it as much as you can.

    Your hunters are all at the Soul Transformation Level with the addition of one cultivator at the Ascendant Level, fighting them head on is not advised.

    All of your Poison God abilities have beenpletely sealed, since during this time the Poison God has yet to write his books or have full understanding of his own abilities.

    All the items you had on you are sealed away from you.

    Good luck."

    "Well shit," I said.

    "That''s really not a nice thing to say to a maiden you know!" Mei Ling puffed her cheeks.

    "Sorry, I wasn''t talking about you," I stood up and looked around, "Where exactly are we?" I asked.

    "The Poison Mist Valley, Duh, you brought us here, you said you know the way around this ce and you can navigate it like the back of your hands. I suppose that was a lie," she said.

    I didn''t try an sound persuasive, "No, not all of it, I know bit of it, but this ce we''re in, I can''t figure out where exactly it is."

    "That''s really unreliable," she sighed. "I suppose we can keep heading north. I feel a thicker and heavier Qi there, we can hid there." She said.

    Looking at the north, indeed there was a lot of Qi gathering there, it looked like this whole valley was begging you to go deeper to find more ''treasures''.

    "No, if we do that, the people hunting us will do the same," I said as I looked around.

    "Come with me," I said as I noticed a small cave in one of the massive cliffs of the valley.

    The two of us got there and walked into the cave, it looked like it was here for a long time.

    "Make sure to step lightly, we don''t want our footprints to reveal our locations," I said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Why are we going into uncharted territory?" she asked.

    "Because I need something from this cave, and if we''re lucky, we''ll find it soon," I said as we got even deeper.

    Soon, we stopped at a branch inside the dark cave.

    I smiled, "This way," I said as I picked a location.

    "I can''t feel the wind blowing from that ce, it looks like a closed up room, why are we going there? We don''t have much time you know, they should be here in a few hours," she said.

    "Just trust me," I said as the two of us got into the enclosed room.

    Once we were there, she gasped at what she saw.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of poison herbs were nted there, they found a rich dark and humid environment to grow in and they grew beautifully in it.

    "You''re like a dog, your nose is pretty potent when ites to sniffing out poison herbs," she said.

    "I''ll take that as apliment, thank you," I said as I began pulling the herbs one by one.

    "We''ll be here all day, let me help you," she said as she got closer to one of the herbs and was about to grab it by the stem.

    "Stop! Are you stupid!" I said.

    My words were a surprise to her as she backed away, "What, what''s going on with you, you''re acting strange," she said.

    Her whole appearance seemed to fade in and out for a second.

    I guess Du Shen wasn''t acting too ''direct'' with thepany of his crush.

    "That''s a Purple Dragon Lily, if you touch it with your bare hand, no matter how strong you think you are, you''ll die in three breaths worth of time," I said as I gracefully wrapped my hand in a cloth and pulled the lily out.

    "ce this in your holding bag," I said as I continued removing the herbs.

    "Why are you wasting time here? We really need to get going, if we were to waste more time on herbs they''ll catch us," she said.

    "Trust me, no one will ever find us once I''m done, I didn''t think we''ll find this many herbs here, but we''re actually in luck," I said as I pulled even more herbs.

    Half an hourter, and a lot of nagging from Mei ling, I was finally done.

    "Now can we go?" she asked.

    "No, we just started, get me a cauldron," I said.

    My words seemed to almost fall on deaf ears as she got her dagger right up to my neck.

    "Who are you?!" her words were firm and there didn''t seem to be the slightest hint of amodation or forgiveness.

    I sighed, "Just because I didn''t show you what I''m capable of, does not mean I''m trash. Listen to me, what I''m doing right now will save us both from these pesky trackers. Just trust me, just this once."

    Her eyes didn''t seem to waver as she pulled the dagger away from me. "You really have changed, something happened when you were at the Imperial Ruins..."

    ''Imperial Ruins? interesting I didn''t know that there was actually something remaining from the Imperial Family. Something to investigate afterward.

    "It''s something like that, but for now, trust me on this," I said as i snapped my finger and called my Veridian Heart me out.

    "It''s still is impressive to see you fully capable of controlling the Veridian Heart FLame at such a low cultivation level," she said.

    ''thankfully the Poison God too had the Veridian Heart me. otherwise, it would have been awkward to try and exin this.''

    "Now watch," I said as I began doing alchemy.

 Chapter 480 Infiltration

    "You really find awkward times to ask awkward moments, I don''t need to confirm my identity to you, either way, you''ve already seemed to be set in your mind to think of me as who I am not, so I won''t humor this childish behavior," I said.

    "Me? You''re calling me childish, you''re barely at the nascent soul stage, you haven''t lived half of my own lifetime, and you call me childish," she asked.

    "Because if wisdomes with age, but yours seemed to have skipped you, now drop this stupid weapon, and let''s focus on how to escape from here, in case you didn''t notice my Heart me is already working, so don''t disturb me," I berated.

    Mei Ling backed away, annoyed, and sat down without speaking another word.

    I sighed as I resumed my work, the idea was simple, I needed pills, a lot of them, sadly with this limited supply I cannot make a full arsenalparable to what I own, but I can still make enough pills to help us navigate through the Poison Mist Valley.

    I began by making the most essential and most important pill I know and perfect.

    The Breath Sealing Poison pill.

    I made about ten in the span of five minutes, which was a decent amount, then I made a couple antidote pills and began making more offensive poison pills.

    An hour in the making, I''ve already finished preparing most of the pills I needed. And now was the time for the second part of this session.

    "Are you done now? I don''t know why you''re making pills," she said and I mmed my hand on her mouth.

    "Quiet!" I said, "They''re in the cave¡­" I added.

    I grabbed a piece of ck Inkstone and squashed it, I then hurriedly began writing on the ground.

    A set of full inscriptions with one purpose. Camouge.

    It took me less than ten seconds to finish, and I was thankful for my skill in inscription writing.

    Because the moment I was done and the inscription lit up, two men appeared at the entrance of the room we were in.

    The two were wearing full red and ck robes, simr to the Fire Pce robes, but a bit different, they had a symbol of a dragon on their back instead of a Phoenix.

    "Hmm, I''m sure I heard somethinging from this room," one of them said as he took another step inside.

    "It seems that I was mistaken, it must have been the wind," he said.

    "There is an air current in the other pathway, let''s move, they must have left from that side." The second cultivator said.

    "Right, let''s head out," he said and the two of them moved away.

    Just as I felt Mei Ling''s body rxing, I grabbed her mouth even tighter and shook my head.

    I then spoke wordlessly for her to read my lips, "They are still in hiding, they never left, don''t talk."

    For several more awkward and long minutes, nothing seemed to happen. But once again, one of the cultivators came back into the room.

    "I''m really confused, there is nothing in this room but why do I feel that people are here," he said.

    "You must be getting old, let''s just move, it''s not like they''re inside the walls, can''t you see that the whole room is undisturbed, not even dust has been moved.

    "Right, let''s go then, we need to hurry up and meet with the captain, if lord Byunges down before we find them, we''ll be in deep shit."

    The two of them finally left, this time for real and I slumped down.

    "We bought enough time," I said.

    "How did you know they didn''t leave?" she asked.

    "Footsteps, their footsteps changed, they were moving away, but suddenly the sound waspletely cut, they didn''t walk far away from us to not hear their footsteps but they levitated and came back, so I knew they were still near, now we need to hurry and leave," I said.

    "Why should we leave?" she asked, "We''re safe here, they won''te checking again," she said.

    "They won''t, but they will probably inform the others who''lle here. I don''t want to deal with that, not to mention if this guy Byunges down, we''re doomed. My inscriptions can hide us from a sub-Ascendant cultivator, but once an Ascendant is involved, we''re dead. Let''s head out," I said.

    "You mentioned that once we are at the other side of the Poison Mist Valley, we''ll find someone to help us escape, are you sure about that? Do you know someone strong enough to take on an Ascendant?" she asked.

    Honestly, I don''t know, all I know is that Du Shen survived after he reached the other side of the Mist Valley, but if we were to stay here we''re both going to die.

    "Let''s just say, if we make it out, we won''t be dying, I said.

    "Then what are we waiting for, we need to leave now," she said worry clear in her voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I shook my head, "We''ll be discovered the moment we leave the perimeters of this inscription, turn around," I said.

    "You''re being a bit too brave aren''t you," she said.

    "God damn it woman, you think we have time for that, show me your back," I told her.

    "Your words and actions aren''t matching," she said frowning.

    She turned and revealed her back to me, to which I grabbed a smudge of the ink and began writing something on her back. it took a few minutes for me to finish and once I was done, an inscription was formed on her back.

    "Make sure that you don''t wet it," I said.

    "What''s that?" she asked.

    "A confusion inscription, it will trante divine sense to objects near you, unless you''re visually spotted, Divine Sense will not detect you," I said.

    "Then what about you?" she asked as she put back her clothes on.

    I swallowed one of the pills I made and said "I''m good, let''s go," I said and the two of us headed out of the room.

    The two of us backtracked to the cave entrance and I made sure to peak and look around, lest some other cultivator is waiting at the other side of the cave entrance. Seeing no one there, the two of us headed out.

    We made sure to stay close to the cliff''s edges and only move when we were sure that our next position was safe.

    Sooner than expected, a wave of divine sense washed all over us, thankfully the owner wasn''t powerful enough to detect us, and was foolish enough to cause the entire valley to erupt in roars and howls.

    "Good, this gives us good coverage," I said to Mei Ling, "We''ll now head to the forest," I suggested.

    "But the remnants are there," she said.

    "And so are all the monsters, our best ce to hide is in in sight, we cannot be escaping to the wide open fields, and among the monsters and demonic beasts no cultivator would dare use their Divine Sense to track us lest they reveal their location to the dwellers of the forest, we have to act decisively," I said.

    "I''ll trust you on this, Du Shen, let''s go," she said as she pulled her dagger closer to her.

    The two of us then moved out and toward the howling forest, ready for the worst.

    ***

    Outside the Poison God''s Trial ground. A massive gate was closed for all.

    Many cultivators hade to check up on the trial, and most of them were actually predators in wait.

    A few cultivators emerged outside the gate and looked awkwardly at the situation. This group of cultivators was all confused about what was going on or what they were even doing there.

    Among them was a man who was wounded, he looked exhausted, with his ember eyes looking as if they were about to fade.

    A man in blue robes approached the person with the ember eyes and asked. "You''re Meng Hao?" said the man in blue.

    "Depends on who''s asking," said Meng Hao ready for a fight.

    "Calm down, I''m Rain, I know you''re a friend of my disciple, so do you know what''s going on inside?" asked Master Rain.

    Meng Hao hesitated to answer, and Master Rain sighed, "I guess you too had your memory altered, no matter let''s go," said Master Rain.

    "Memory altered?" questioned Meng Hao.

    Master Rain frowned, "You didn''t?" he asked.

    "Yeah, I still rem-," Before Meng Hao could finish, Master Rain had already moved his hand to create a protective sound barrier around them.

    "Speak through divine sense, shit will go down if people know that your memory is intact, what happened?" asked Master Rain.

    Meng Hao then began telling him the stories of the Poison God''s trial.

    And through all of Meng Hao''s telling, Master Rain was confused about two things, the first, was, why Meng Hao among everyone here was the only one to have his memory remain intact. And the second one was, why the fuck was that stupid disciple of his even in this dumb trial in the first ce!

    Once Shen Baoes out, he''ll have a nasty berating waiting for him¡­if hees out.

 Chapter 481 The Mist

    "Who the hell is talking about me this much," I cursed as I scratched my ears to the point I felt it was going to bleed.

    "What''s wrong?" asked Mei Ling.

    "Nothing, let''s keep going, the Valley''s entrance is near, it''s going to be the hardest point for us to cross."

    "Howe?" she asked.

    "Because I have a feeling that someone will be there waiting, in case we foolishly enter," I exined.

    She nodded and put her guard up, surveying the scenery.

    Ahead of us was the entrance to the Mist Valley, and right next to it was a man who clearly seemed to have lost his life recently.

    The man was wearing the same robes of the cultivators from before, and he appeared to have his face melted off.

    "I guess my theory was right, look there," I said as I pointed ahead.

    In front of the two of us, and just beyond the corpse where my hand pointed was the entrance to the Mist Valley.

    The sight was more than eerie and close to foreboding, right before the ''entrance, the skies were clear and vibrant, and the surrounding though looked half naked of fauna it still had some asional flowers and herbs that gave it a serene atmosphere, yet just beyond the archway that separated the cliff valley and the Poison Mist Valley, it was as if two worlds hade together refusing to fuse.

    The air became heavy with a greenish tint to it, the mist. The mist curls and moves as if it had a life of its own, coiling around the archway entrance like a sinister serpent.

    The entrance in question was a massive archway of ck stone and spiraling veins. It was adorned with half-revealed green runes that even I couldn''t make head or tail of. It was a writing that I''d never seen before.

    Even the overgrown veins that twisted around the archway looked as if they too were alive, as you could visibly see them shudder as if they had their own heartbeat.

    And this was just the entrance.

    The mist hung low, thick in the air. It obscured the view of the distance ahead besides a few peaks of mountains in the far away distance. The mist had a pungent stench to it that you could smell from a distance away. It was sickly sweet as if was beckoning one to enter. Hoping they''lle forward, only to be entrapped in the embrace of the mist.

    As we got closer, I got on my knees and checked up on the dead man''s corpse.

    He didn''t have any clear wounds on his body besides two small holes at the nap of his neck.

    Bitten by a snake probably.

    I took a sniff of the air and coughed in my sleeves.

    "The mist is full of poison, nasty ones too. Eat this," I said as I handed her a pill.

    The two of us swallowed the same pill each and we both had sudden dizziness and nausea affecting us.

    "What''s this pill?" asked Mei Ling.

    "It''s poison," I said.

    "I don''t think that fighting Poison with Poison is the right way, I feel like crap," she said.

    "All medicine is poison, only in different dosages, the pill you ate has a poison that thrives on consuming other poisons, it will massively reduce the impact of the poisons in the mist valley without us using our Qi to suppress it and reveal our location at the same time, the side effects are the dizziness and nausea, and death if not treated in time." I said.

    "How long?" she asked.

    "One day, we must eat this pill in a day''s time," I said as I handed her another pill.

    "Lets head inside, keep a close eye on anything around you, there are creatures that are far deadlier than the mist itself here."

    She nodded and headed inside, while I stripped the corpse of its robes and holding bag. Anything there could be of use.

    The two of us walked under the archway and we were officially inside the Poison Mist Valley.

    You could barely see anything inside, the thick and greenish mist was doing a great job of hiding the details of the terrain.

    All I could see were the faint outlines of twisted trees, and I could feel the jagged rocks as you took every step, navigating through this area is going to be difficult.

    Some of the cliffs could be seen in the distance since they were high and mighty big. But they were irrelevant, going up the cliffs was basically telling the world where we were, and staying inside the poisonous mist is our safest bet.

    The silence was eerie, especially since I know we werepletely surrounded by beasts and demonic creatures alike. They knew we were here, but none wanted to make the first move. They kept low, and kept watching.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Grab this," I said to Mei Ling as I handed her a rope.

    "What''s this?" she asked.

    "Insurance, keep it around your hand and tug on it in case of a problem. Visibility will grow worse and worse, and we need to stay close. Don''t use Divine Sense, it will reveal us to everything us here.

    As the two of us continued walking, I felt somethingnd on my shoulder, it wasn''t anything heavy or to be wary of, not a creature, but it was wet.

    I took a closer look and wiped my hand on it, realizing that it was nothing but the condensation of the mist itself on the tree leaves, gathered and pooled into a droplet of pure poison.

    This poison was pervasive and incredibly potent. My finger felt numb upon contact and if it wasn''t for the effect of the poison pill I consumed earlier, I had a feeling that I would have immediately lost consciousness upon contact with this condensed poison drop.

    "Poison condensation, keep close of me and away from the trees," I said.

    We continued heading north.

    "Do you know the way, or are you just moving upon instinct? Because I feel that we''ve been going in circles," she said.

    "Don''t worry, the terrain is somehow designed to make you feel like we''re going in circles, but we aren''t, I''ve tagged every tree we moved past and we have yet toe across the same tree twice," I exined as we continued heading forward.

    Soon the weather turned grimmer and darker.

    Nighttime was about toe upon us, and in a valley as dark, deep, and dangerous as this, this was not going to be a fun time.

    "Let''s hurry up, we need to find shelter, once the beastse out to hunt, we''ll be the first prey for them," I spoke.

    The two of us hurried as fast as possible in the limited visibility provided by the mist valley.

    In about an hour of trudging the difficult path we arrived at a small rupture in the cliff wall. It looked like a small cave that we could use.

    Mei Ling was about to enter when I pulled on the rope stopping her. And thankfully I did.

    Something came out of the cave, growling at us. It looked feline but it had pretty damn huge ears. And its fur was a mix of white and green, making it really hard to pinpoint its location.

    "Slowly back away," I mentioned.

    "We can take it on," she said.

    "That''s a cub, its mother must be near, let''s change locations, we don''t want to fight this," I said.

    "How do you know it''s a cub?" she asked.

    "While it growled, its teeth were too white for a grown adult, it was a newborn that hadn''t hunted for long. And in case it''s in danger its mother wille to help it, or she may even be here already, we don''t want to take this fight. Best case scenario we survive but the fight will bring unwanted attention, let''s just leave," I said.

    The two of us moved away and looked for another ce to stay the night. But sadly finding another cave wasn''t going to be easy.

    I thought about digging for the night, but the ground itself seemed too saturated with the toxic mist that staying inside it will probably fuck us up.

    "Let''s go up a tree," I said.

    "Isn''t that dangerous, it has too many leaves, we''ll get the poison dripping on us all night, and what if there are snakes there," she asked, valid questions.

    "I have a solution for that," I said.

    I picked a rtively tall-looking tree and the two of us climbed up on it while we had the asional poison dripping on us.

    Once we arrived halfway up the tree I climbed on one of its massive branches, I pulled a spare set of robes from my holding bag and ced it under us. I then grabbed another set of robes and hung it above us, then began mixing some ink and wrote a couple of inscriptions on both robes.

    Inscription of hardening, to make the robes as hard as steel. This made both he robe under me and above me like a sheet of steel protecting us from he drips. Then I added an inscription to stop the robes from being saturated by the mist, by simply adding a spatial inscription that would stop the poison from sticking to the robes.

    Finally, I wrote a confusion and warding inscription on the bottom robe.

    "Sit next to me," I asked Mei Ling.

    "We should be safe for the night unless one of the cultivators decides to climb up this specific tree. For now, let''s rest, tomorrow we''ll continue moving," I exined as I looked in the misty distance.

    It''s going to be a long night.

 Chapter 482 Meeting

    As we were waiting for the day toe up, a couple of things happened. First of, was the mother of the cub we met earlier. She hade close, too close forfort towards us, enough that we were able to see her details even under the looming darkness of the mist and the forest.

    The beast itself sniffed in our direction and turned its head, it was easily three meters in height with more than that in length.

    She had probably realized that we were above the tree but found no need toe after us. Since in between her jaws was the neck of a giant one-horned boar that seemed to have mutated by the toxic environment. With prey in the mouth, it wouldn''t risk losing it, or fighting someone else. But I knew one thing, we were spotted, and we were spotted in the territory of this creature.

    The beast moved away, and we need to move away soon because I have a strong feeling that she wille back once she delivers the food to her cub to either chase us out or kill us.

    After urging Mei Ling to move, even despite her reluctant eptance of my request, saying that I was overthinking and was risking even more by moving through the forest at night. She still came with me grumbling under her breath.

    And just after half an hour''s worth of walking, we literally stumbled upon a cultivator who grunted.

    "Good heavens! Can''t you see in front of you¡­ oh wait, you can''t. Just move carefully Xiao Lue," The cultivator said.

    My heart felt as if it was going to stop, I need to finish this guy off immediately.

    And just as I was about to stab him in the back, a blood-curdling scream echoed not even a few dozen meters in the direction we came from.

    "Help me!! Myung! HELP ME!" screamed the voice, but suddenly a growl and a loud crunch followed and no more voices came in our direction.

    "X-Xiao¡­Lue," the man stuttered, realizing that hispanion was the one who was assaulted, and the person next to him was most definitely not hispanion.

    Mei Ling didn''t hesitate, she grabbed the cultivator by the shoulder and ripped out his throat, then sent her sleek dagger into his ear. Ending his life instantly.

    "What the hell was that?" she asked worry in her voice clear for me to hear.

    "That would have been us if we didn''t leave the territory, let''s keep moving thismotion will probably have more of the Imperial Remnantsing after us. Let''s keep moving," I said as we headed out.

    We couldn''t afford to stay close to that beast''s territory, and even if it meant delving deeper into the unknown ground, it was better than staying close to a hunter.

    Among the darkness of the night and the asional howls and screeches, we trudged and moved through the rough jagged terrain.

    I heard a low growl nearby and had to pull the rope to inform Mei Ling, we were surrounded.

    "I sense beasts, three of them," she said.

    "Wolves, I added, make sure to keep close, they won''t attack unless we give them an explicit reason to. Keep calm and keep moving, now that we''re on their radar they''ll not give up the chase," I said.

    It wasn''t the worst thing actually, this is good, wolves hunt in packs, which is known, and for these three alone to be here, it must be a new pack. Now that they''re hunting us, it serves as a good protective measure.

    "As long as they''re close, they''ll be our alert system, if they attack you, try not to inflict grave injuries on them, just push them back and have them rethink of a new attack method. We need to keep them with us for as long as we can," I said.

    "You''re nning on using wolves as your own watchdogs?" she questioned.

    "They have better hearing, and smelling sense and are more than capable of navigating this terrain, the moment they leave us or run away, that means we''re in deep shit but it''s better to be informed that we''re in deep shit than to be in it without us knowing. Keep pace," I said as we moved on ahead.

    This isn''t a simple trial, Du Shen must have gone through this same shit with Mei Ling, but how would he be able to navigate and move through this poison valley?

    I''m sure of it, this current body I''m using is using heavenly Qi, it''s not a body fit for the Poison God cultivation. It has all its meridians opened. As for the arts that he knows, this body is far too weak to be able to safely navigate this area.

    Looking at Mei Ling, however, things are different, she is stronger, more capable, and has a higher cultivation base.

    I''m sure of what happened in the past, Du Shen must have relied on Mei Ling to help him cross the Valley, and that is probably his regret. With him relying on her, she took the mantle of protecting him. And that was probably the reason for her death.

    He must have med himself ever since for that and has saved this memory on the chance he''ll save her.

    Though for now, it isn''t hard for a Nascent Soul cultivator to survive. But I''m sure things will change soon.

    Du Shen mentioned that nothing he did even in this memory was enough to save her from certain death. And the only thing I could consider certain death is the only variable that I cannot put under my control.

    The Ascendant cultivator.

    He should be more than capable of turning this whole Mist Valley upside down, and if pushes to shove, and he appears here, we''ll probably die.

    So, knowing fully that this trial will end the moment that guy shows up means I need to make something out of nothing.

    The trial clearly mentioned that there was no way to save Mei Ling, even Du Shen who must have taken this trail several times over was probably unable to go beyond the difference in cultivation level.

    But I''m not Du Shen, my thinking process ispletely different.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Du Shen must have tried to overpower the ascendant, and tried to hide from him or run away from him, which probably all failed once he came down.

    I on the other hand have my own way.

    "What are you doing?" Mei Ling asked as she saw me asionally drop to the ground and write something.

    "Markings, don''t worry about it," I said as the two of us continued heading forward.

    One of the two wolves decided to jump me the moment I went down, and thanks to a swift and powerful kick from Mei Ling the wolf was struck down, whining from the sudden blow.

    "Keep your guard up," she said.

    "I am," I said as I wrote something else.

    If I can''t hide, fight or escape, the only thing left for me to do, is to confuse.

    And when ites to confusion, I''m pretty damn good at it!

    Hourster, after constant hunting and blocking the creatures, they suddenly stopped, and one of them even whined. The three wolves immediately legged it leaving us alone.

    "What''s going on?" asked Mei Ling.

    "I don''t really know," I said and suddenly something hit my face.

    It was a tree branch.

    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel The poison concentration up ahead was far lower and less than the whole of the Poison Mist Valley, enough that you could actually see even when there was barely any light.

    I scooched under the low-hanging branches and was able to enter a new area.

    Mei Ling followed me and her eyes widened.

    "We need to leave! NOW!" she said.

    I would have agreed because what was in front of me was pretty damn surprising.

    We were staring at a massive dome made of tree roots and vines. They twirled and spiraled around themselves creating a cocoon of sorts. And in the middle of this secluded ce was a small pool, a pool of pure putrid and most foul of poisons.

    A pool of Body and Bone Grinding Poison.

    "I guess¡­ it happens here¡­" I mumbled.

    "You arrived rather fast," spoke someone, and looking at them, I was a bit skeptical. He looked familiar¡­

    It was a man with two eyes that looked like those of a demon. His whole body exuded an aura of oppressive might. His red hair swam as if he was underwater without the interference of wind.

    He wore ck armor with gold patterns. He had a symbol of a Phoenix on his breastte.

    ''The Fire Lord?''

    I recognized him immediately. It was the current fire lord though he is just at the Ascendant Level Right now, he''ll grow stronger and mightier soon. But what is he doing here?

    The Fire Lord moved towards us, while Mei Ling stood between us.

    "What do you want?" she asked.

    "Me? The world is what I want, do you have it?" he asked sarcastically.

    "Don''t answer," I said as I pulled her back.

    "I guess your minions were too inadequate in catching us you had to move in yourself," I stated.

    "Yes, they took too long, I was tempted to blow the whole up but I need that which you stole," the fire lord said his tone wasn''t epting a no for an answer.

    Just as he finished his words, Mei Ling pulled a book out of her holding bag and said, "If you want it, then go after it," she said and threw the golden book into the pool of poison.

    ''Ah shit¡­ I guess I know what''s gonna happen next,''

 Chapter 483 Dodge Ball Ice Edition

    The Fire Lord, rage, incredible amounts of it was portrayed in his ugly expression. He was not having it, and I''m sure as hell we''ll pay for what just happened.

    "I guess you don''t have the balls to go after that book," Mei Ling said taunting.

    Figuring out that we were caught and had no way out of this mess, she thought by throwing away that golden book, it would be the best ''fuck you'' she can give to the fire lord before he would finish us.

    Stupid.

    Just as he started gathering Qi to retaliate, I snapped my fingers. And suddenly the world turned dark.

    "What is this?" asked the Fire Lord as he looked at the darkness surrounding us unable to understand what is going on.

    "Domain? Thisplex, from a Nascent Soul cultivator?" he questioned, intrigued.

    "Yes, just something I prepared in case something like this happens," I said.

    "Where is she though?" he asked.

    "Pretty far away, probably outside of this forest too," I said.

    "Lies, the whole area is sealed from teleportation, there is no way outside of this forest, it shall be your graves the both of you," he said as he tried to approach me only to end up taking a step back.

    Flustered, and unable to understand what''s going on, I smiled at him.

    I already realized what''s going to happen and acted ordingly. The poison god was wrong, Du Shen shouldn''t have tried to fight this guy, he''ll never win.

    As for the golden book, that is the original tome, the omnibus of the poison god, only that it had something written on it before it dropped into the pool.

    "Imperial Corium", it must be an art for the Imperial Family, and from its name, it''s probably the only heritage left of that family. This man as a person who is going toter be the fire lord needed this book to grow strong, and with Mei Ling throwing it into the poison pool she basically cut away one of his paths.

    And I could figure out what happened just from this. Du Shen and Mei Ling must have encountered the Fire Lord here, he overpowered them, killed Mei Ling, and did something to Du Shen that caused him to be what he is.

    I already assured the survival of Mei Ling, the inscription I''ve written along the way had one purpose. To extend the effects of my Domain of Delusions to cover her, and at the same time to guide her out of the Poison Mist Valley.

    She will be untouched by the beasts, though she won''t understand why, she will also be invisible to the cultivators since this domain will be creating illusions and delusions surrounding her. And finally, apass inscription will guide her to the exit at the far north.

    I need time, about half an hour here at most. And I''m going to buy it.

    "You like this domain?" I asked.

    "Neat trick, but it''s worthless, Domain of the Infernal Iron Mountain!" he called.

    And surges of me came out as if it was a tectonic wave ofva willing to consume the world itself.

    "Domain of Delusions, Illusion within Illusion! World Reversal!" I pped both hands together, and immediately, physics went out of the window.

    The hot and searingva wave turned colder than the bit of frost.

    The wave shaped like liquid became harder than stone and at the same time, itpacted upon itself into globules of ice.

    Some floated up, some went sideways and some hovered without a direction in mind.

    "What in heaven''s name is this," the Fire Lord asked,pletely shocked at what just happened to him.

    "Looks like your domain is pretty weak," I said.

    "How is it that a Nascent Soul cultivator is able to use a domain this powerful! Who are you?!" he asked as he tried to approach once again, only to have his body forcefully move back away from me.

    "You haven''t figured it out yet? your senses are messed up, you can no longer tell direction, and this should affect everything, including this," I said as I threw a pill toward him.

    He tried to swing his arm to split it away, only to have his arm swing behind him, to the point it felt like it was about to break.

    The pillnded squarely on his forehead exploding in a gust of poison.

    The Fire Lord stumbled unable to remove the smoke away.

    "BURN!" he called.

    "Fool," I replied smiling.

    This proved my point immediately afterward, the Fire Lord didn''t ''burn'' anything, because he didn''t realize that not only do Ipletely switch senses, it also affects his cultivation.

    To use Qi, and to create his cultivator fire, he needs to have his Qi move in order, from a specific meridian to another, in order to create a diagram to release a certain spell. But with his senses confused, he did the opposite and started where he should have begun.

    Blood sprayed out of his mouth like a geyser.

    Coughing, and struggling to wipe his mouth as the blood and poison was mixed in them. He smirked, "Funny, I''ve never seen something so vexing. You''re able to control my senses, my feeling of touch, and even my understanding of space itself. You''re good with spatial awareness maniption, BUT THAT''S ALL YOU HAVE! BURN!" he said.

    And there and then, I understood how a genius works. And this guy was.

    He immediately used the same skill from before only he purposefully reverted the cirction of his meridian, which, in this reversed domain caused it to function normally, and a st of fire Qi came hunting at me.

    But¡­ that was all there is to it, and geniuses, I''ve met many. They''re nothing special.

    The fire wave though came at me with wanton abandon willing to eradicate me, still fell to the effect of World Reversal.

    It stopped a few meters in front of me, coiled into hardened ice globes, and began floating all over the ce.

    I smiled as I looked at the floating ice balls, and then I got closer to one of them and began writing something on it.

    The fire lord, confused by my nonchnt attitude tried to call upon another spell of his, only to realize that I was done.

    "You know, I always thought you were some big shot, indeed you are, but right now, you''re still a brat. So, take this as an opportunity to learn about spatial discement," I said as I punched the ball slightly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The ball flew at a rather peaceful pace until it touched another ball. Then the second ball was imprinted with the same inscription and flew at twice the original ball''s speed.

    Then it went into another ball, and then another.

    And soon, every ball in the room began moving at absurdly high speeds mming into each other and into the walls of my own domain.

    "Now, usually you''ll be able to dodge these, in your normal stance, but can you do that with your whole body functioning against your own will?" I asked mocking.

    My words were a taunt to the ''esteemed'' Ascendant, and the moment one of the balls struck at him, he snickered.

    "These feel like being brushed with a feather, if you think this would even harm me, I don''t even need to move." He said as he tried his best to regain the full function of his body and adapt to the twisted sensation.

    "True, but you know the saying, even a drop of water can break the stone, so how long can you stand there?"

    Many of the ice balls continued shing with each other, with the asional one going right at him.

    He easily tanked the first dozen, then the first hundred, then by the thousand hits, you could see visible signs of stress on him.

    The ice crystals had three inscriptions, one of hardness, one of speed, and one of imprint.

    And whenever they touched another ball, they''ll reinforce the basic inscription, making them stronger and faster. As for me, I didn''t even need to move or dodge since I''m the ruler of this spatial domain, I could easily create a spot where no ball would evere toward me even on purpose.

    I feel like the viin here.

    About the ten thousand or so blow, the fire lord dodged the first ball.

    Then he dodged the second, gaining even more confidence, he got hit by one but still managed to dodge the one after, then the one after and he continued doing so until he was fully able to dodge every one of the projectilesing at him.

    He thenughed, "If you hadn''t done this, I would still be struggling, if I were you I would have attacked while my opponent was unable to use his body, but you gave me time to learn of your domain and understand it, and now you''re certain to die." He spoke as he took one confident step after the other.

    Indeed, it would have been the case, if it was actually something I didn''t ount for.

    That''s why I said geniuses aren''t something special.

    Just as he got closer and right up to my face, I disabled the Domain of Delusions.

    For a second, the Fire Lord looked confused, and just as he tried to strike at me, the dagger that belonged to Mei Ling had already made its way into his neck.

    "Guess what?" I said to the wide-eyed Fire Lord, "You should have seen thising a long way, I actually made you learn how to function in reverse." I said as I twisted the dagger.

    "Since if I didn''t and approached you inside my domain, you could have done something to fight back. But now that you''re mentally tuned to function in reverse, once we''re back in the real world it will take you time to get back to your original function, and that time is all I need to have the perfect opportunity to kill you," I said as I ripped the dagger away.

    The Fire Lord, unbelieving of what happened took several steps back, he tried his best to stop the bleeding, but no Qi woulde out.

    "The poison pill I hit you with when you were inside my Domain had the ability to seal your Qi. And since your brain is currently fighting the urge of functioning normally or to function in reverse, you cannot use it. You''re currently a mortal," I said as I pressed forward and went up to the Fire Lord''s face.

    "Listen here, and listen well, though you''re nothing but a figment¡­ let''s not go there, I wish if you truly had perished here, but life isn''t fair, and you''ll live to wreak even more havoc soon. So, though it is pointless to say there, git fucking good."

    I swung the dagger once again decapitating the man.

    I thought the challenge would end right there, but something was off.

    Nothing happened even with the death of the Ascendant.

    Just as I got closer to investigate the Fire Lord''s body, some sort of wrathful and vengeful Soul surged out of his body.

    A screech of agony and indignation came out of the vengeful soul and it wanted to charge at me.

    But the moment it took a look at my own soul which for some reason I felt. I saw the small vengeful soul screech in incredulous fear as it flew away at blinding speed burning its own essence to escape.

    "Damn, I wanted to eat that," I sighed.

    I guess even killing the Ascendant won''t end the challenge.

    Du Shen must have been able to kill him at least once, he isn''t anything special. Though it''s very hard for a Nascent Soul cultivator to kill an Ascendant, in the tens of thousands of attempts Du Shen took for this very trial, considering his genius, he must have been able to take vengeance at least once.

    But many factorse in to stop that, first things first he didn''t have my Domain of Delusions which is almost cheat-like. And even if he did kill the Ascendant, I doubt he survive the vengeful soul.

    Andstly, even if he did win the fight, beat the ascendant, and did survive the soul, he never saved Mei Ling. She was supposed to die the moment she threw away the book into the poison pool, only I, who was able to temporarily disce her thanks to my understanding of space was able to save her from certain death.

    But, I realized two things.

    The time I spent inside the Domain of Delusions was no shorter than half an hour, but at the same time, while applying temporal maniption, the time that passed in the world outside the Domain of Delusions must have been a day at least.

    So, Mei Ling should be more than capable of having escaped the forest which is an objective that not even the Poison God had set for us.

    The second thing is this pool and the book.

    So, I''m sure that this is my way out. And I could already tell how it was supposed to go.

    The Fire Lord must have killed Mei Ling and then destroyed Du Shen''s cultivation base along with all of his meridians, in his rage, he threw Du Shen into the pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    With the conditions met, Du Shen must have had a change and be the Poison God.

    But what does the book factor in on this?

    I then decided that it was time for me to check it out, and doing that requires me destroying all my meridians and jumping into that pool, another¡­fucking¡­time.

    This is gonna hurt.

 Chapter 484 !

    Pain like I never wanted to experience again began wreaking my body as I purposefully destroyed each and every meridian in my body. Slowly and surely, only after having destroyed all one hundred and eight meridians, and blood flowed from my mouth nose, and ears was I done.

    I took an exasperated breath after another, from the agony and nerve-wracking, mind-boggling and soul-wrenching pain.

    But that was only halfway through the ordeal, and that was just the easiest half.

    After having finished, I slowly stepped into the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, feeling it creeping up my body and taking hasty shelter in my destroyed meridians.

    My flesh felt like it was rapidly melting as if it was on incinerating fire. While my bones felt more brittle than a shard of hardened sand.

    Pain was my closestpanion right now, this pain brought me back to my days at the cave, feeling the helplessness of a mortal at the hands of an immortal.

    The agony which reminded me of the unfilial seed I had. The treason of bloodline, the unworthiness of myself, and the weakness of the human flesh.

    Dark thoughts began invading my head, making this assimtion far more gruesome and painful than it should.

    But I knew one thing for a fact, and that was the only thing keeping me sane. I''ve been here, and I survived, I survived as an old man, weak of will and denied of choice.

    I survived as an old man with a foot in the grave. I survived as an old man that had nothing left to lose. And I still survived.

    Right now, I''m not that same weak old mortal.

    I am Shen Bao!

    The poison god''s disciple.

    The cultivator broke all precedents. The cultivator that challenged the divine and the demonic. A cultivator that trudged his path among enmity, jealousy, betrayal, and oppression.

    The cultivator who broke the norms of cultivation, came up with knowledge and ideas that no one else could havee up with.

    The cultivator is the disciple of the most illusive and mightiest of the vast expanse.

    The cultivator who is most esteemed in the greatest establishment of the vast expanse and their dearest student!

    The cultivator does not know what retreat is.

    The cultivator who stopped an invasion from the Fire Lord himself all alone.

    The cultivator is the sworn brother of Zhang Tian, the heavenly child of the Wind Realm, the Immortal Schr.

    I¡­Am¡­Shen Bao!

    These words I spoke while poison dared find its way through my mouth, and as if they were words to establish myself into this world as part of it, and no longer the ''regressor'' the world itself agreed.

    The poison which used to be nothing but destructive pain became sweeter than the nectar of gods.

    The pain subsided and instead of the agonizing feeling of my limbs feeling as if they were on fire, my skin began hardening and my flesh began reforming.

    My brittle bones were reconstructed, stronger, and mightier than before. And my whole body felt as if it was being invigorated for every second I spent in the pool.

    Not more than half an incense stick''s worth of time, I could see that every bit and drop of the poison from the pool began dissipating.

    No, it wasn''t dissipating, it was being absorbed by every pore in my body. Bing a part of me, bing me.

    I¡­Am¡­Poison!

    Suddenly, as if every toxic, poisonous, venomous, and lethal substance in the Poison Mist Valley began recognizing me.

    The valley shuddered at the arrival of its new ruler.

    And thus I opened my eyes.

    Greener than the purest of emeralds, and skin paler than death itself.

    Looking around, I was stark naked with nothing to my name. My cultivation base at its lowest, as a Qi condensation level.

    Yet, I felt power like never before, the power to rule over poison itself even in my weak state.

    Something caught my attention. A book that looked as if it had its cover melted just enough to have the former "Imperial Corium" removed from it.

    I grabbed the golden book and opened it, finding nothing inside it as all it had had fully disappeared from the Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    I smiled as I sat down with the book open in front of me.

    I bit the tip of my finger and did what I ''Felt'' I should be doing.

    I began writing. I wrote the first line I ever remembered seeing in the first true cultivation book I''ve ever handled.

    Poison God''s Heritage

    Cultivation Manual

    To cultivate the Poison God''s Technique, one must first severe his meridians¡­

    I smiled as I wrote from memory, memory as clear as the day I''ve seen these words. A memory that I never would forget, nor will I ever allow myself to forget. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A memory where my own fate changed, from the death of Shen Bao, the mortal city lord. To the revival of Shen Bao, the one who went against fate and stepped into the lonely path of cultivation, the most abhorred path, the path of Poison.

    I wrote and wrote, and wrote all I could remember. From the spells to the skills, to the meridians needed to open.

    I wrote until I was satisfied, then stood up and grabbed the book with me under my arm.

    As I walked out of the area I was in I was surprised to be able to ''see''.

    The atmosphere was still the same, thick in poisonous mist, but I was still able to see.

    I took a breath, a deep one, and felt my body invigorated by this poison. And then I opened my mouth and became greedy.

    As greedy as a snake eating more than it should, but I wasn''t about to stop.

    I consumed and consumed and absorbed and gobbled, poison, so much of it that it would be madness for anyone else to even think of doing. But, I never stopped. Not even when I felt bloated and on the point of exploding, I continued consuming as greedily as I could.

    And then and there, my cultivation base began rotating, spiraling to amodate my consumption, and began my first breakthrough, then my second, and third. And thus it went on, rapidly at first, and even fasterter. My climb in cultivation was unprecedented, and I was already at the Nascent Soul before I could even realize it, and my cultivation didn''t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

    And if you were here you''d see it. The very mist that enshrouded this valley became thinner and thinner, to the point that normal vision was all u needed to see far up ahead. And far up ahead I saw them, three cultivators that noticed me at the same time.

    They looked at each other and at me, then when they saw the book on me they charged me with all they could,ing in faster than the speed of a loose arrow.

    "Die!" one of them said as he wielded his sword masterfully, his swing was a clean arc that was about to rip my head in two.

    And all I did was exhale a bit of what I was absorbing.

    A thin arrow-like projectile of poison shot at the cultivator andnded on his chest squarely. It wasn''t enough to stop his momentum and he believed that his sword would reach me before he''ll have to deal with the aftermath of the poison on him.

    Boy was he wrong.

    The poison was so incredibly potent, that before he could even reach me with his sword, his entire body turned to sludge at my feet. While the sword flew away aimlessly.

    "So much power¡­" I muttered, "UNLIMITED POWER!" I called and moved both my hands forward calling upon the very poison of this valley to serve and serve it did, loyally so.

    The poison from the mist shaped itself into two massive palms that mmed against each other with the remaining cultivator in between.

    Nothing remained of him.

    With a quick area scan I looked around and realized that Mei Ling was actually at the other end of the valley, the poison notified me.

    So I followed after her, grabbing one of the cultivators'' robes while I moved and wore it.

    She was at the other side and I needed to get to her.

    Perhaps in this attempt, she will survive.

    And perhaps I''ll be the one who will fulfill Du Shen''s only regret.

    So I moved with as much speed as I could until I arrived at the other end of the valley, only to find Mei Ling lying on the ground, purple blemishes on her neck, and her whole body was affected.

    She was poisoned, but this poison isn''t something I''ve ever seen before. It is nothing I''ve seen in my whole life as a cultivator, it is a poison that didn''t exist in the Poison God''s manual nor was it in the Lord of the Lord''s library.

    She was breathing heavily, steps away from the exit of the Poison Mist valley. Only then did I realize what Du Shen meant by that she cannot be saved?

    It was because she was infected with this poison long before she entered the Poison Mist Valley. She hid it from him, and no matter what he tried, even on the off chance that he defeated the Fire Lord and managed to save her from his hands, she would still die to this poison.

    That was Du Shen''s regret. His inability to save his beloved even with this much power that I currently wield.

    "But¡­ that only applies to you Du Shen, you were too distraught to ever think of a proper solution, that''s the difference between me and you. You tried your all to cure her, and the answer was simple," I said as I flexed my right fist and manifested a small ck star.

    "If you can''t cure poison, then buy time for your patient to save themter." I pressed my palm on her chest and immediately, hundreds upon hundreds of inscriptions began surrounding her body. Inscriptions were written in the Imperial Language.

    Soul Shackling Inscription.

    I have to thank Meng Hao for this idea. Since he stopped his girlfriend''s body from decaying by putting her in a sort of temporal seal. I now have the same method. And by sealing her body, mind, soul, and will, she will live although she is dead. She will be hanging in eternal sleep until I find the solution to solve this issue.

    You gave up too early Du Shen.

    I''m disappointed.

    And just right then, the entire world turned brighter, and I heard a voice.

    "Congrattions¡­ you have achieved what not even I could¡­" The words sounded too close and too ''real'' to be a recording.

    And just as I opened my eyes, I saw a young man looking at me, his hair darker than the night. One of his eyes was greener than jade and the other was of pure gold.

    He wore sleeveless robes and you could see the tattoo of a snake spiraling around his arms.

    "Who are you?" I asked.

    "You should have guessed it by now¡­ I am¡­Du Shen."

 Chapter 485 Discussion

    I looked at the man keenly, his whole demeanor demanded respect. It brought a primordial fear for anyone who is tond their eyes on him toe forth. This man was mighty as might could be. Strong beyond belief, nothing even the Queen of the Wind Realm could ever hope to achieve.

    This man''s power was beyond the scope of anything I''ve seen ever before, and all that¡­ he was not even here.

    "Projection?" I questioned.

    "Something simr, call it¡­ a will," he said.

    "I suppose everyone who clears this trial ends up meeting you," I asked.

    Du Shen shook his head, "No, I ced a condition for this will to appear, and it only appears when one manages to do what even I couldn''t," he said.

    "To save Mei Ling," I said.

    "Exactly," he replied a smirk on his face.

    "So, why are you here?" I asked. "I don''t suppose you''re here to dere me as your true and only heir," I said.

    "Not so fast, only the one who gains my acknowledgment gets to own the omnibus," He said

    "Then why are you here? There is more to this trial I suppose," I said.

    "Yes, I''m here to say that you should give up, you won''t obtain the inheritance," he said.

    "That does not sound pretty convincing of an argument for me to give up," I said.

    "Then you''ll die," he said.

    "I''vee here expecting that oue, only the weak perish," I said.

    "You''re not even from this world, your whole existence is unregistered in this world. You''re not part of the vast expanse, you will not survive," he said.

    "You talk a big game for someone who couldn''t even save his girl, Du Shen," I replied.

    A smidgen of annoyance was clear on his face, but he sighed. "Then so be it, I warned you, and you failed to see my warning," he said.

    "Then you shouldn''t havee here in the first ce, I''m not someone who is easily persuaded, and you''re nothing but a ghost, you have no influence over this world, or how it works, a relic of the past, you died and your heritage is all that is left, let the younger generation im it and make a name for themselves. You who failed in a task so easy shouldn''t have the right to talk so much shit."

    Du Shen trailed for a moment before he said, "Though I failed in saving her, I made this whole thing for that purpose, I couldn''t lock her soul out of the wheel of reincarnation, but I did the second-best thing. I locked figments of her will in all of the copies all of you are facing, and I only needed one person to save her, thus I waited, even after my own death, I waited, and now you''ll see why," he said.

    "The hell are you talking about?" I questioned.

    "You shall know soon Shen Bao, for now, since you saved she who is my most beloved, I must reward you lest my Dao Heart shatters for being treacherous. You may take that book with you, for as long as you can hold on to it, for I shalle for it," the words spoken and the world itself shone brightly as I found myself alone in the massive tform that allowed us to enter the next trial.

    In my hand was the golden book I got from the trial, so I packed it inside my holding bag.

    Not more than a few minutester a female cultivator appeared right next to me, she looked a bit confused, and before she could even talk her entire body began shaking and shuddering, her whole being seemed to be convulsing, her veins began rippling and her face began disfiguring.

    "H-HELP ME!" she screamed as her entire body was remodeled¡­ remodeled in the shape of someone I knew.

    "Mei Ling?" I muttered and suddenly the person who now had the appearance of Mei Ling took a deep breath, sighed then looked at me.

    She tilted her head and asked, "Who are you? What is this ce?" she asked.

    Not before I could even put one and one together, a ghostly apparition, far too simr to DU Shen''s own appearance came to us.

    "Finally my love, we meet," he spoke.

    And before Mei Ling could even reply, the ghostly apparition waved its hand and the two of them disappeared, before the ghost gave me a sly grin.

    "The fuck is happening here¡­"

    Some timeter, Dao Shen was the first to appear, he smiled as he looked around, "That was thrilling," he said as he looked at me.

    "Oh, you''re actually faster than me, how did your trial go?" he asked.

    "Oh, pretty annoying to be honest, wait, why are you looking all giddy up and happy? Something good happened?" I asked him.

    "Yes, I had my fill of fighting stronger opponents, it''s been a while since I fought someone while I''m at a disadvantage," he said grinning ear to ear.

    "You fought the Fire Lord?" I asked.

    "Who?" he questioned.

    "The ascendant," I replied.

    "Oh, no wonder he was familiar, I only know the fire lord from verbal description. But yes," he said.

    "You''re alive¡­" I questioned.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "So are you," he said, "Since you mentioned the fire lord you must have faced him too, so how long did you survive for?" he asked.

    "Survive? I killed him," I replied.

    Du Shen frowned looked at me and somewhat seemed to look beyond me.

    "You''re not telling lies I can see¡­ how did you manage that?"

    "Like I said I have my tricks, but it wasn''t easy. Anyway for you, you said you survived, meaning that you ended up being dunked into the poison pool," I said.

    Dao Shen shuddered, "Yes, I really hate the fact that I got put into that pool again. One is one time more than anyone should ever have to be in that pool." He said.

    "Yeah, what about Mei Ling?" I asked.

    "Oh, I killed her, that bitch was very annoying, she talked way too much," he said.

    I didn''t have a reply for that¡­

    "More people areing out," he said.

    Many cultivators came forward, fear andplete distraught clear on their face.

    I suppose having their meridians destroyed and then forcefully being dunked into the Poison Pool did a number on them.

    Not a long whileter it seemed that no more cultivators wereing out. From the two thousand and some cultivator no more than five hundred made it. And we seem to still have more ways to go about this trial.

    Looking around, I was surprised to not see a certain cultivator.

    "You''re looking for Shi Situ?" asked Dao Shen hitting the nail on the head.

    "Yes, can''t find that slimy ass anywhere, and here he was bragging about killing me," I said.

    "Look no further," Dao Shen said as he was looking at a scared looking cultivator.

    When my eyended on the cultivator, something happened. As if a ck snake seemed to emerge from his neck, twisted around it and then snapped it.

    The man fell to the ground immediately, and suddenly his whole body began eroding and corroding, turning from a healthy young looking man to an old corpse that barely had any sings of life in it.

    Maggots grew from inside the corpse''s body and began eating it as the corpse that was half a skeleton and half rotten meat stood up.

    It snapped its head back in position and looked around.

    "Damn, that''s nasty¡­"

    "He had an insurance n, impressive though cowardly," said Dao Shen.

    "What do you mean by an insurance n?" I asked.

    "He tagged several cultivators before he entered the trial, and he left an imprint of his soul on them. So I guess he failed in the trial, and used his backup, emerging here again¡­"

    "I guess even without the Poison God''s Heritage of Death he still has many tricks up his sleeves," I said.

    "Yes, that''s why we, the Poison God cultivators are not that easy to kill, though he is a special case, since he isn''t a cultivator, but a rogue Acolyte," Dao Shen said.

    "I should have consumed him when I had the chance, sadly that bastard Mao caught me off guard. I guess I''ll have to find another way around that tricky cultivation method of his," I said.

    "You''re the only one who talks about eating Acolytes like they''re snacks," Dao Shen said.

    "Better than eating entires you damn glutton," I jested.

    Dao Shen smiled at my joke and the two of us immediately snapped our heads to the north.

    Something was happening on the other side of the tform.

    The whole world seemed to rumble as what appeared to be hordes of creatures were making their way toward us.

    "Something ising," Dao Shen said.

    And the first of the running group was a pack of Steel Fanged wolves, they wereing at breakneck speeds.

    Looking at their expressions, their tails behind their legs as they ran and their floppy ears¡­ they were running away from something.

    "Something ising alright, and it''s fearsome enough to scare those pups, we''re in trouble," I said as I pulled out my sword.

    "I guess you''re right," Dao Shen said as he stood with his arms behind his back, waiting for what is toe.

 Chapter 486 Plot Twist

    The iing horde of beasts couldn''t havee at a perfect time even if it wanted.

    This was obviously the idea of Du Shen topletely irradicate the stragglers and the unwanted cultivators, the weak-willed and those who have awful stamina. But why? I wondered.

    Why is he willing to kill these many cultivators with this much oppressiveness?

    Is he looking for something? I questioned as I looked around.

    There didn''t seem to be anything worthy of note here, most cultivators if not all were incredibly exhausted from the agony of having been dipped in a pool full of poison. Though I haven''t had the slightest issue with that, besides reliving some sort of trauma. Which was frankly nothing new.

    "You, the man with the n, you figured anything out?" Dao Shen asked.

    "Nothing but to kill every beast in sight, shit is not looking too good though," I said as I pulled a couple of miniguns.

    "What are those?" Dao Shen asked, intrigued.

    "Heavy artillery, I said as I pressed the trigger, and the barrels began spinning.

    Then the echo of sweet ''freedom'' began sounding through therge tform. Hundreds of bullets shot forward at blinding speed, they looked like rays of death, killing and culling anything in their path. The wolves were the first of the runners, and were the first to fall, whinging and screeching from bullets and bullet holes that rendered some of them immobile and some, outright looked like Swiss cheese.

    "That''s pretty interesting and all," Dao Shen said as he raised both hands up, "But beat this," he smiled as he mmed both hands down on the tform.

    Ungodly amounts of Qi manifested in a form of a rising tide made purely of smoke.

    The smoke tide surged forward, shaping itself into the jaws and shapes of beasts from all sorts of biomes.

    The iing monsters were so terrified of what was behind them they didn''t really care if they were running toward their deaths as they charged the iing wave.

    The wave washed off against the howls and screaming of the beasts only for silence to prevail shortly afterward.

    The wake of the wave appeared after the smoke subside, revealing carcasses and half-melted bodies of the wolves that could barely twitch or shudder, breathing theirst, and forcefully exhaling their final breaths.

    "What do you think?" Dao Shen taunted.

    "Pretty nice, but to be honest, for the creatures to stille charging at your spell like that means that whatever was behind them was scary enough for them to choose death over being caught," I said.

    "Indeed, I still can''t find the soul imprint of whatever that was chasing them, it seems far away, but still, something else ising our way," Dao Shen said.

    The sound came before I could see it, this infamous screech, a mix of a tiger''s roar and a high-pitched scream, it washed over every one of us and we immediately recognized what it was.

    "Nargacougars, they''reing," I said.

    "You suppose your little toys can handle them?" Dao Shen asked.

    "Not really," I shook my head.

    "Then we better figure something, out because what I just used seemed to have exhausted me more than it should¡­ the poison from the former rounds is acting," he said as he coughed.

    I couldn''t feel it, since the poison didn''t affect me, but was affecting Shen Mo.

    The rest of the cultivators, most of them decided to run.

    Where are they running to though? This whole area is as t as a board, and there is no hiding spot nor do I think there is a way out. The iing beasts are something we have to deal with on our own.

    Only a group of a hundred or more cultivators who seemed to be slightly more mentally adequate to take the fight and have realized that if we don''t help each other we''ll be picked off one by one.

    "Shit, I didn''t think I''ll be using them right now, Come out, an army of a hundred," I said and immediately a hundred copies of X showed up, loaded up and armed up to the teeth.

    The hundred puppets showed up and stood in a one file line, their right arms were all miniguns and their left opened revealing a single rocketuncher each.

    "So many intricate toys, you made these?" asked Dao Shen.

    "Yes, of course." I said as I pulled a cannister out and kicked it in the sky.

    The cannister flew high up and once it reached a satisfying level, I pointed my handgun and shot at it.

    The resulting contact caused a powerful explosion of sound that caused every Nargacougar in the air to immediately flinch, disabling their invisibility for a moment.

    "Let it RIP!" I called and immediately thousands upon thousands of bullets flew up, with might and power enough to eradicate the skies themselves.

    The Nargacougars were shot down like flies as their blood and viscera littered the ground.

    The lucky ones decided to go up and avoid the confrontation, the lightly wounded decided that they wanted to take revenge for what happened to them. Bad decision.

    The second arm of the puppets aimed and then shot, a single round of incendiary explosives. The closest thing to napalm I could make was a mix of a highly mmable poison made from replicating the saint beast Grizzly Spider. And a highly potent corrosive poison that is extremely vtile.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The explosions echoed in the distance, killing and disabling every Nargacougar that decided toe down and fight, while the result of the explosion caused more poison to spread in the air, making it heavier and fully saturated with a corrosive poison.

    "Thankfully there is no wind, otherwise this would have been really bad," I said as I looked at the stun-faced cultivators next to me, they had no idea what was going on, but seeing the beasts falling down to their deaths they realized that they were actually winning this fight.

    They then decided to fully join in on the fight, using their techniques and martial arts, sending destructiveness upon the iing Nargacougars.

    More beasts showed up, waves upon waves, and they were all culled and executed before they could even breach the puppet''s perimeter.

    More and more beasts showed up, but with thebined effort of all the cultivators present, the creatures were eliminatedpletely.

    But something was still bugging me. Even after the dust settled and the monsters no longer came at us, we still couldn''t figure out why they were running.

    The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly rose up, I snapped back and saw Shi Situ slitting the throat of an unaware cultivator. He then pressed his arm right into the cultivator''s back and pulled back what seemed to be a book.

    "Got one," Shi Situ spoke as he pulled a Poison God''s book.

    Dao Shen looked keenly at Shi Situ and said, "I guess we only need to find one more," he said.

    I thought for a moment before I asked, "I have Five books, Death, Body, Inscription, Alchemy, and Law¡­ which are the ones you have?" I asked Dao Shen.

    "Devouring, Carnage, Soul, Dao and Cultivation¡­"

    "So, the only two left are Sword and Poison¡­" Dao Shen said

    I shook my head, "No, the only one left is Sword."

    "How would you know, I couldn''t see the title it was covered in blood¡­" Dao Shen said.

    "Because no self-respecting sword cultivator would ever have his neck slit without them fighting back."

    "The book of Poison is one of the strongest though, Shi Situ is going to be a pain to deal with," Dao Shen said.

    "Perhaps, but it shouldn''t be too difficult for us," I replied.

    Just as the two of us were about toe down on Shi Situ and eliminate him from this trial, a hiss echoed behind us.

    The world itself felt as if it had lost all color, and in the distant darkness, two red Serpentinian eyes appeared. The distance between the eyes was at least a kilometer in length, and that was all we could see from the creature in the distance.

    The world itself seemed to wane at its presence, as it slowly crept its way toward us, revealing its appearance to us, a serpent of a size so great that it could be confused with a world-eating serpent.

    The cultivators next to us seemed to lose all will and hope seeing the creatureing slowly and surely towards us, they dropped their swords, and some went outright mad withughter.

    "How are we supposed to fight this?"

    "The Primordial Serpent God? Are you kidding me?!" another said.

    I frowned; I''d seen the Primordial Serpent God¡­ this was not it. Not by a long shot, the Primordial Serpent God was wayrger than this, enough that I think this snake through massive wouldn''t even berger than its tongue.

    Dao Shen''s expressions weren''t friendly.

    "We''re in trouble," he said.

    "You think? Tell me something I don''t know," I said.

    "Well the least of our troubles is this fake serpent god¡­" he said.

    "Well, that''s something I didn''t know. What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Look between its eyes¡­ focus well, I only was able to see it since I am able to see Souls¡­"

    Since the distance was pretty damn far, I pulled out the scope from my rifle and took a peek.

    Almost regretting it instantly.

    What I saw was something that shouldn''t be happening.

    Mei Ling was sitting calmly on the head of the serpent, while on its nose was a man standing confidently at the tip. In his arms were golden chains that were linked to the serpent behind it.

    And that man, I just saw earlier¡­

    "Du Shen¡­"

 Chapter 487 Confrontation

    The cultivators around us who seemed to have had some semnce of bravery earlier all seemed to fall to their knees, despair wing at their hearts from the iing monsters.

    And from Dao Shen''s words, the real monster isn''t the giant serpent, but the man standing on its forehead withplete control over its movement.

    The cultivators all dispersed in different directions, a futile effort in the hopes of extending their lives.

    But what is the point in running away? The whole ce we''re in is nothing but a trap, and we can''t move out of it or leave it.

    "We''re like rats trapped in with a tiger¡­" Dao Shen spoke, but his words betrayed his actions as he took a martial artist pose, both his ws fuming a ck smoke ready for a fight to the death.

    "I guess so," I said as I raised my hand.

    Several Tungsten Bullets flew up in the air and continued their climb.

    "Oh those toys again, you think they will be of help?" Dao Shen asked.

    "I highly doubt it, but we need all we can get," I said as we were readying up.

    The massive snake seemed to cross the vast distance between us rather too rapidly for us to think up of anything, and almost too soon, Du Shen was right in front of us, as he lowered one of his hands, causing the chains linked to the serpent''s snout to rx.

    This made the serpent stop in front of us, and gaze at us menacingly.

    "You still wish to fight?" Du Shen spoke, his words revibrated through the entire area as if he was the very lord of this ce.

    "I''m not about toy down and die now will I," I spoke, I needed to buy time, time for the Tungsten Bullets to reach their height in orbit then to start their descent, I have to buy time for us to fight this person.

    "You should, since you all belong to me," said Du Shen.

    "I''m not an object to belong to someone," I replied as I pulled up my revolver and pointed it at Du Shen.

    "You seem to be mistaken something, you don''t have a right to say anything, I made you, built you, created you, and gave you your current form. If it wasn''t for me you''d be long dead in a ditch somewhere," he said.

    His words rung some truth to them, but I knew he didn''t know of my circumstances.

    "Those words mean nothing to me, I built myself, struggled against the odds and created the very man standing right here, I won''t deny that the Poison God''s Heritage had a hand in it, but it was me who strove, learned and fought against illness and death to be who I am."

    If there was no Poison God''s Book, there wouldn''t be a me here, but at the same time, if there was no Poison God''s book, there wouldn''t have been those cultivators in the cave, and I would have found another way to be a cultivator. Fate may y a hand in who I am to be, but it is I who must take the steps to be who I wish to be.

    "Words, words, words, in the end, all that matters is he who stands at the end, and I see no way for me to fall," he said.

    "Then you must be blind," I said "X, Y,e out!" I called and my two puppets emerged from the book.

    They immediately rushed Du Shen, Y aiming to decapitate him instantly while X shot several rockets toward the serpent''s eyes.

    The serpent closed its eyes as the explosives blew up, not rattling him in the slightest, as for Y''s sword, it was easily stopped by two fingers from Du Shen''s hand.

    "Out of your depth, league and level, you''re far too weak to pose a challenge to me, give up your book," he said.

    I sent a Divine Sense message immediately to Dao Shen, "Shit, he isn''t Du Shen," I said.

    "How do you know that?" he said questioning me, it was obvious to all of us who had owned the Poison God''s book that Du Shen appeared to us once, and we saw him, this man indeed looked like him, but deep down, I knew he wasn''t.

    "Why would Du Shen ever need the books back? something isn''t right," I told Dao Shen.

    "That doesn''t help though, even if it isn''t him, what do we gain by knowing this information?" he asked as he waved both hands in a w motion causing a wave of ck smoke to surge up forward like a spear, aiming to impale the imposter.

    "He asked me to give up the heritage, Du Shen doesn''t need it since he made it, this is an imposter, but his goal is to get our books," I said

    "Then let''s not give it to him," Dao Shen said as he backed away when he saw that his smoke spear was immediately dispersed the moment the serpent opened its eyes.

    "I yed with you enough," he said "Freeze them," Du Shen said and instantly the serpent''s gaze focused on us.

    Dao Shen was frozen in ce while I felt an annoying pressure upon me.

    Soul Pressure?

    I didn''t move though, I made sure to mimic Dao Shen''s frozen figure and waited to see what was going to happen.

    Du Shen jumped immediately from on top of the serpent and approached me, and just as he was about to grab me by the neck, a man with a dagger appeared behind him and stabbed him in the neck.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Easy! Oh so easy it is to kill you, and you call yourself the Poison God, such unworthiness!" the man spoke as he crept up from behind the imposter.

    It was a half dead half alive corpse, with several maggots creeping up its face, the hand grabbing the dagger had bare bones and skin on it.

    Shi Situ joined the fight as it appears.

    He then twisted the dagger causing a fountain of blood to seep out of the imposter''s neck.

    "It''s good that you froze them for me, this will make it that I can get all of the books without moving a finger," he said as he looked at me.

    "Now then," he said as he let Du Shen''s body drop to the ground and approached.

    "You''ve been talking a big game earlier, how does it feel to see your own death approach?" he said.

    But before he could even take another step, someone was already grabbing him by the neck, Du Shen had never fallen and what fell to the ground was nothing but an illusion.

    "Something this weak is actually a disciple of mine? Such waste," he said and simply snapped his neck.

    "Though you may have learned the Death Heritage and you''re able to revive after dying, you can''t escape this," he said as he gripped tighter on Shi Situ''s neck.

    Looking closely at the imposter''s hand, you could see ck smoke surging up from Shi Situ''s body and into Du Shen''s hand.

    ''Devouring?'' I thought for a moment, it was the same ability of Dao Shen. He was able to absorb the very life essence of what he touched.

    The frozen Dao Shen sent me a divine sense message immediately.

    "You¡­ are¡­ right¡­" he spoke in terribly stressed and strained words, "He¡­ isn''t Du Shen¡­ his devouring is¡­ wrong," he said.

    Suddenly Shi Situ''s body was turned to dust and on book fell to the ground from his remains.

    The fake Du Shen went down and grabbed the book, he then looked at me and said, "Now it''s time to take yours, I hope you kept the golden book with you," and grabbed my neck.

    I immediately felt terrible pressure on my neck enough to suffocate a man''s very soul and breath.

    A powerful divine sense forced its way into my mind trying to pry open my sea of consciousness.

    He wishes to devour me?

    To devour my soul?

    Funny thing is¡­ that''s not possible.

    I opened my defenses and allowed him to enter my sea of consciousness only to see somethingpletely different of what I expected.

    Instead of the Soul of Du Shen what I saw was a glowing sword that looked slightly confused.

    It turned around and around, trying to figure out what was going on in this strange sea of consciousness.

    Where he found a massive sea with high tides and massive waves, there was a single fortress in the middle of it with a rising tower in its midst. The tower overlooked the entirety of the sea, and was surrounded by high walls that were manned with puppets of all kinds.

    The puppets were controlling turrets and cannons waiting for the sword to make a move.

    and on the top of the tower was a soul, a white soul that looked like me.

    The sword having located my ''soul'' shot forward like a bullet, easily surpassing the speed of the very bullets and shells shot at it, its aim was simple, to impale the very soul that was housed in the tall tower, and immediately break my will.

    But before the sword could even reach the tower. A hand as big as the very serpent Du Shen was riding on appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the sword tightly inside it.

    It didn''t allow it to move an inch.

    That was my real soul''s hand, and in my own sea of consciousness, I''m the lord.

    For a second when both my hand and the sword met, I was able to see something¡­

    A memory¡­ a very old memory.

 Chapter 488 Origins

    It was a piece of ore, drifting aimlessly in the vast expanse of space, surrounded by countless stars that twinkled like diamonds. This small, unassuming piece of ore had borne witness to the birth of many a star and the death of countless others. For hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of years, it had floated through space, free of every fetter that the world wanted to chain it with.

    Until one day, as fate would have it, a wounded cultivator was frantically running ahead of his pursuers when he noticed the ore. Despite the danger he was in, the cultivator couldn''t help but be drawn to the piece of ore, its surface glistening with otherworldly energy that hinted at its potential to be a heavenly treasure. The cultivator made a split-second decision and snatched the ore, his life ending in that very moment as another cultivator caught up to him. The second cultivator was bewildered - why would someone give up their life just to grab a piece of rock?

    As the second cultivator caught the ore, another came along, drawn to the glistening sparkles of energy emanating from inside it. The two cultivators began to argue, then fight, then kill each other over the ore, drenching it in their blood. Themotion attracted more cultivators, who joined in the fray, all vying to possess the coveted rock. Before long, the space around the ore was littered with blood, viscera, and organs, and it eventually ended up in the hands of a man who was barely clinging to life. He hid the ore in his robes and escaped with all he could, only to die soon after on a nearby.

    The ore continued to exist on this new, watching as the mountains rose and fell and the seas ebbed and flowed, gradually bing covered inyers of dirt and dust. One day, a mortal fisherman caught the ore in the snare of his fishing hook, thinking he had caught a good fish for his family''s dinner. He soon realized, however, that what he had reeled in was not a fish, but a rock. Just as he was about to toss it back into the water, the glistening of the ore inside it caught his attention.

    The fisherman wrapped the ore in cloth and hurried to the nearest auction to sell it off. In his haste, he bumped into a cultivator, causing the ore to fall to the ground and reveal itself. The man was terrified and kowtowed to the cultivator, begging for his life. But to his surprise, the cultivator offered him gold in exchange for the rock. Overjoyed, the man epted the gold and thought he had struck it rich. Little did he know that he had caught the attention of a group of bandits, and he would never make it home again.

    As for the cultivator, he flew to his sect and presented the ore to his master, proud of his find. The beauty of the rock was unparalleled, and the sect master debated whether to make it into jewelry for his beloved or to craft a weapon to y his enemies. After much consideration, the sect master decided that a weapon would be far more valuable and called upon the best cksmith in thend. The cksmith trudged great lengths to see the mystical ore, but when he finallyid eyes on it, he recoiled in terror and dropped the rock.

    "I will not touch that! No man should ever do so!" the cksmith cried out, running away in a frenzy, as if he had seen a monster manifested. The cultivators of the sect tried desperately to stop him, but to no avail. Only for the cksmith to die at the doors of the sect, inexplicably so.

    "Cursed Stone!" it was called. A terrifying piece of rock that brought misfortune and agony to whomever touched it.

    The sect master decided to seal the stone to never see the sunlight ever again. Since it would bring nothing but harm to his sect. The stone was sealed deep within the sect''s treasury, and it became nothing but a myth as thousands of years had passed.

    Yet the days woulde where this sect would soon find its demise, as all things start, all things must end. And in this end, the sect fought an invader to extinction, only for the invading sect to ransack and steal all of its belonging, the stone included.

    With the newfound fortune, the new sect decided to start imposing themselves into the new world, and they needed something to make them stand apart from the other sects in the region.

    The rock was then proposed, the myth of the cursed stone, they said. The new sect never was a believer in myths and decided that they should work on this stone and make the most powerful weapon to ever grace the world of cultivation.

    They then called upon dozens of cksmiths of great renown and skill to work on this stone.

    Unfortunately for them, they didn''t have the same view of the old cksmith that refused to work on this cursed stone. Since they were bought in with gold, they decided to work against their better judgement to not touch this cursed stone.

    And work they did, sting furnaces and heating the ore, creating a weapon, a slim sword, since all the ore was capable of making was that. It took them years of slowly heating, beating, curing and quenching the metal.

    And in these years, one after another, the cksmiths fell ill, died, had idents and many more. The myth of the curse was once again brought up, but the sect, to stop the myth and rumors from spreading even more promised that the final cksmiths to ''finish this crafting will receive the same reward as all the other cksmithsbined.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Greed over gold and worldly obsessions quickly overshadowed the fear of one''s life.

    And so, the sword making session continued. An the result was a slim sword with only one edge and the head of an arrow.

    A sword capable of creating death by a single swing. A sword capable of eradicating life itself if brought to its full potential.

    This sword was given then to the sect master by thest remaining cksmith, only for the smith to have their heart pierced with the same sword they made.

    The sect didn''t want their treasure revealed for the outside world, and thus they slew and killed everyone that ever partook in the making of this sword. Along with their families and children down to the fifth generation.

    A great massacre wasmitted, and the sword witnessed it all. It stood tall, gleaming in the blood of the innocent and the unjust alike. Its hilt was cold to the touch, but its de was warm from the heat of battle.

    This weapon was not just any ordinary sword, but a weapon that was created in blood, brought to blood, made with blood, and ended in blood. Its very existence was death and carnage, and it had seen more battles and wars than any mortal could count.

    The sect master wielding this weapon invaded the nearby sects, eradicating them to thest one of them then took control over their properties and stole theirnd and possession. He was a ruthless conqueror who had never known mercy orpassion.

    Despite his brutal reputation, the sect master was not invincible. One day, a cultivator arrived on this blood-soaked. This cultivator was a young man, yet his eyes could tell stories of a thousand year. His gaze was sharp and focused, as if he had seen the horrors of the world and emerged unscathed.

    This cultivator had strange tattoos on his arms and had a green and a golden eye. He was easy to spot, and looked like an imposing character of a mighty background from a single look. His appearance was striking, with his chiseled features and muscr build.

    This man was handsome to boot, enough to sway to most stubborn of beauties with a single smile. And it was rare when this man ever smiled. His demeanor was calm and collected, and he exuded an aura of power and authority.

    He came down for a rest on this unknown for him and ended up meeting a woman who looked to be in distress. She was a stunning beauty with long flowing hair and piercing blue eyes. Her dress was torn and stained with blood, a testament to the violence that had urred.

    She proposed that he should help her and she will repay him however he wished, and upon agreeing, she told him of the secret of the sword. Intrigued, the man listened intently as she revealed the sword''s true nature.

    He learned that this woman was one of the current lord''s concubines, and if he were to take the sword, he would rule this world. As all bow to the sword. The man took her up on the offer, and fought the sect master to a standstill.

    The Sect Master was more than capable of ruling this, the young man confirmed, and since fighting ''fairly'' was not going to win him this treasure, he decided to use his newly designed art. The Poison God''s Arts he called them

 Chapter 489 Sword Spirit

    And in a matter of hours, the entire region where the two fought was turned into a deste, disastrous, and cmitous region of death and decay. Poison rose up to the high heavens and seeped into the ground, forever making it infertile and corrupt. More Poison then rose to the high skies, mixed in with pure clouds, and changed them to heralds of death as they rained ruin and destruction upon the soil.

    The final victor of the battle was the young man, only he had lost too much energy and blood in this fight. Bloodied, battered, and on the brink of death, still the young man won, even after the fight hadsted for months. The biggest issue for the young man was the realization that the arts of the Poison God were too potent and they imposed a great strain upon the body and mind of the man judged.

    He was in a weakened state and needed to rest before he would begin to even understand the sword he fought so hard to obtain. But one thing remained in his mind, the true price of power. Though the sword was mighty and powerful, the young man still emerged victorious, though the enemy was strong, the young man still prevailed, a great testament to his newly created art, and a confirmation of his newfound strength. But there was a price to pay for having so much power. It is one''s own arrogance and hubris if one were to think they may rule to the world with such power.

    Thus he thought he needed to separate his art into doctrines instead of using everything at once. The doctrines will split his knowledge into equal parts, each part will be dedicated to a specific branch of his arts. And each branch will be mighty and strong on its own. This way he will be able to leave his heritage if he were to die, not for one to gain all the power, but for many to learn from it, and understand the need to not be greedy in this world.

    While he was thinking about all of this, in the middle of an almost deste and dead ne of this, the woman who asked him to take the sword arrived, faking concern and worry, for her to approach the critically wounded young man, with words sweeter than honey she spoke to him in order to lower his guard, and soon after he looked away, she stabbed the man in the back.

    Surprised at the betrayal, the young man looked in a stunned stupor as the woman greedily took the sword, her eyes glistening in victory and conquest as she raised it up high and dered herself the new ruler of this world.

    Since the only one who was ever capable of killing the former lord was the young man, and now that the young man is breathing hisst, she will have no one to stop her. Long are gone the days where she was nothing but a concubine at the mercy of her master, and now she promises to deliver untold pain and misery upon those who had wronged her, taking vengeance for her aggrieved self and at the same time, ruling the world with a fist of steel.

    Yet, what she never knew was that the man with the Poison God''s Heritage wasn''t someone who would die with a mere stab. This further confirmed the young man''s ideas and understanding, too much power corrupts, not only for the woman who betrayed to obtain power but even for him when he used the Arts of Death, a mere branch of his ingenious Poison Arts, the young man''s flesh was instantly healed back as he revivedpletely fine right next to the still dreaming woman, who was too absorbed in the glory and glow of the sword to even notice when the young man''s hand had already grabbed and twisted her neck to the side. He ended her life while her eyes still looked to the future that would nevere.

    This whole world was brought to its ruin by a mere sword the man thought, this was the price of power he thought. And my arts were strong enough to contend with this sword.

    Too much power is bound to corrupt, and thus he confirmed the other time. He needed to separate his knowledge in different doctrines and make sure that no one besides the unworthy was to ever obtain such knowledge of death and destruction.

    The man left the and headed out back to the vast expanse. Rumors of his possession of a mighty sword began spreading, and soon many a foe and ally came to him, some seeking protection, and some seeking triumph, the young man armed with his mighty arts and the mighty sword was a force to be reckoned with. He earned the respect and the fear of everyone around him, some from afar as the lords of the vast expanse themselves, and some close to be friends and who he had thought to be family. Yet the young man continued to strive to reach his ideals. To give too much power to one person is unfair. And will lead to much destruction.

    The experienced many setbacks and even more confrontations and challenges, but with his arts and with the sword as hispanion he brought many to their knees and made himself known through the vast expanse as the worst gue to ever impact it.

    Du Shen, The Poison God. That was his name, and that was the name he''ll ever be remembered with. The man who made the entire Vast Expanse shake at the mere mention of his name. The man who could contend with the Primordial Beast, the man who annihted an entire cultivation for a woman. The man who had the Wind King cut off one of his arms just to appease him.

    Years down the line, the Poison God realized that his life will end long before he could obtain all the keys of the Vast Expanse. And thus, his heritage must survive. If he couldn''t do it, one of his own must. Because when he dies and without this great power of his, there is no way for them to survive the Real World outside the Vast Expanse.

    Once the gate opens, they need a bastion of hope, a mighty figure to lead, protect and confront those who jailed them in this small world.

    And thus he roamed the Vast Expanse, finding elven disciples. Each with a talent of their own and fitting to this man''s doctrines.. He taught them, raised them and aided their growth and prospects, he had them learn and understand the path of poison, and made them into the greatest force of youths, the mightiest followers, The Poison God''s apostles.

    He called them his apostles, but the world called them his Acolytes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Each of them had a title of their own and each of them had great might in the vast expanse.

    Yet these elven children soon became corrupt with power, the very arts they learned brought them closer to the path of evil, they deviated from the teachings of the Poison God, each trying to consume the other to gain more might and power.

    The Poison God watched in arid horror as his disciples, even with a fraction of his full teachings were straying away from his ideals.

    Each fought one another for their books, because only when having all the books can one be as mighty as Du Shen. They all wanted to be what they couldn''t, they all wanted to have what they didn''t. They all sought the books and in ordance, the lives of their fellow students.

    The Poison God watched as his disciples were killing one another and, in his rage at the idiocy, foolishness and vileness of his own disciples, he chased, hunted and ended each and every one of them. He then ripped their souls, sealed each in a book and forced them to be teachers for the next generation of cultivators.

    For them to never be incarnated again, for them to be wardens and prisoners of the very books they used to hold, for them to forever be trapped as nothing but tools for other more worthy disciples to wield the different paths of poison.

    Du Shen then hid these books all over the world, and made sure that whenever one of the books was revealed and their owner were to die, that the books will always find a way back to their original caves.

    And thus, for all eleven disciples they each became guardians of the books.

    Yet only one book remained without a guardian.

    And it was the book of swords. Du Shen never found one worthy enough to carry the sword. And thus he looked and looked.

    Even the most auspicious of talents fell far too short of the required level that Du Shen wanted.

    They were all subpar, either in martial arts, talent, or attitude. None checked all three boxes for Du Shen. Afraid that an unworthy person was going to obtain this sword after his passing, Du Shen decided to seal this very sword inside the twelfth book, for no one to ever grab or obtain it, sealed away for one purpose, that even if by some chance someone manages to obtain all the other eleven books, they''ll never obtain the twelfth.

    And from then on, all of his twelve books, only eleven were discovered, and the twelfth remained hidden in a faraway ce for a long time.

    Ages went by, years, centuries then eons. Before a man came out of an inconspicuous cave somewhere far away in the depth of the vast expanse, this man had in his hand a book.

    The man''s entire appearance was glistening and glowing, the same as that ore. And when this man looked at a mirror, he saw a sword at first, a slim sword with one edge and the tip of an arrow. And soon, the appearance of the sword changed to mimic that of Du Shen.

 Chapter 490 Ego

    The feeling of me seeing the life of this piece of ore as if it was a movie was suddenly interrupted as I felt incredible pain in my hand.

    Back in my sea of consciousness, the sword that I had gripped tightly had managed to slice its way out of my hand and free itself.

    It pointed at the Dragon Soul, greedier than before, and shot toward it. But I wasn''t going to allow it to do as it pleased, especially in my own domain.

    I reached my hand forward to grasp the glowing sword once again, trying to stop it, but the weapon dodged again, and again arriving even faster at the tower as it bore through its walls and went right for the heart of the dragon''s soul.

    Yet, against the sword''s expectation of finding a meek soul that it could destroy, the soul opened its eyes and held its hand up, stopping the sword in ce.

    Then the soul stood up and approached the frozen sword, grabbed it by the hilt, and swung it once.

    A massive section of the tower was split and it cleanly slid off into the bottom of the sea of consciousness.

    Yet, as if annoyed, the dragon soul realized that the sword in its hand was not being ''tame'' so it unceremoniously threw it away, as if it was disregarding itpletely.

    The sword shuddered as if it had feelings of its own, a feeling of indignation and humiliation, it shuddered and shuddered, and then its de split into eight perfect copies extending all from the sword''s hilt.

    The sword began growing and transforming into a massive hydra that nted its four feet into the deep sea and had all of its horned serpent head roar in anger against the dragon''s soul.

    The dragon soul didn''t like that as it seems, but instead of acting it went back to its throne and sat down,pletely disregarding the hydra.

    "You''re telling me it''s my problem to deal with," I sighed as I looked at the massive hydra.

    This was something I''d seen before, back when the Poison God was angry at the Wind Realm''s prince. He used his sword this way, it transformed into a multi-headed hydra that attacked his enemies with relentlessness.

    "Well then," I said as I pped both of my hands together, "let''s see if you can handle this," I said as I spread my hands apart, manifesting tens of thousands of inscriptions. Imperial Inscriptions.

    I then mmed both my hands against the hydra, with my epic proportioned size in my own sea of consciousness, it was like swatting a fly.

    The creature was by no means weak, as it managed to ''survive'' the two palm blows as if they were nothing but giant feathers. On the other hand though, instead of physical pain, the hydra squealed like a stabbed pig as it realized what the purpose of the inscriptions was.

    "Soul Sealing Shackles," I muttered as the inscriptions began harmonizing with each other, causing even more pain to the creature.

    The massive hydra began swaying, feet, body and all of its heads spewing poison and toxic breaths all over my sea of consciousness, trying its best to stop the agonizing pain it was feeling, but to no clear avail.

    The seals began their work, as they were the perfect tools to stop and seal a soul under my personal influence, they were a great weapon to use against souls, ghosts, and spiritual beings.

    In this painful process, the beast realized that it had been trapped inside my Sea of Consciousness, and if it can''t figure out a way out, it will be sealed and killed.

    Suddenly, the hydra, as if was suddenly frozen in time, had all of its body harden and turn to stone, every bit of it becamepletely petrified.

    Frowning at this strange interaction, I used my Divine Sense to see through he stone and understand what was going on, yet before I fully dove into the Serpent I was pulled back into the real world.

    "Stop dozing off!" Dao Shen shouted as the massive serpent came charging at us.

    "Domain!" I called and summoned my domain, even partially.

    A massive dome erected itself around us and momentarily stopped the serpent. My domain was by no means strong enough to stop this oversized noodle, so I did my best to just stop its momentum, even for a fraction of a second due to the effects of Delusions of my domain which are able to deny physical discement.

    The sudden stop of the serpent caused it to feel as if it had struck a massive wall while going at full speed.

    The payment for such an action was me spewing out a pile of blood all over the floor in front of me.

    "That was amazing," Dao Shen said, but he didn''t feel too happy about it nheless.

    "I have some bad news, and some even worse news," Dao Shen said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Start with the bad news," I said as I wiped my face.

    "That guy, after he went into your sea of consciousness, for a moment I thought you caught him, but he is back," he said.

    "What that''s not possible, I had him trapped inside¡­" I said.

    "That''s what I thought, I noticed that his soul which I couldn''t sense before was now active, and it''s wounded¡­ and you''re right, he isn''t Du Shen this thing is a Sword Spirit." Dao Shen said.

    "Yes," I said as I looked ahead, on the head of the serpent the Sword Spirit was incensed as it looked at me.

    "What''s the worse news?" I asked him.

    "The Poison¡­ that we suffered at thebyrinth stage is acting up. I''m losing Qi to a stupid degree, my body is basically emptying out as we speak, I have a minute at most before I be as weak as a mortal¡­" he said.

    Due to me having swapped bodies with Shen Mo, I wasn''t affected by the poison, so I wasn''t feeling these symptoms.

    "Can you devour?" I asked him.

    "I already did that, it doesn''t work, all my abilities are being sealed one after the other," he said as he huffed.

    "This wanna-be fucker¡­" I cursed.

    "What do you mean by that?" asked Dao Shen.

    "This Sword Spirit isn''t Du Shen, it wants to be him. It spent all of its existence in blood and carnage, and when it apanied Du Shen, it learned and witnessed from him, then decided to be him after he passed. Since no one was able to wield that cursed sword, it grew its own ego and decided that it shall have no master but itself¡­" I said.

    "That''s pretty interesting," Dao Shen said.

    "It really isn''t the time to be impressed, what that means is that it will have to collect all the books if it wanted to be Du Shen. Meaning, while right now it has the upper hand, we''re really fucked¡­"

    Dao Shen looked around and cursed, "Bunch of useless baggage," as he spoke at the cultivators who looked too mortified to even function.

    "You there," Dao Shen said addressing Du Shen, "You know that you''ll never be Du Shen, you''re nothing but a Sword Spirit, an object to be used, a tool, you''ll never be human."

    "Is it really wise to taunt it like that," I said.

    "It definitely isn''t, but this will rile it up, when things are riled up, they''re bound to make mistakes," he said.

    Suddenly, as if realizing and half admitting what Dao Shen had spoken as true, the sword spirit shot forward.

    "See," Dao Shen said as he prepared something behind his back. I saw a glistening talisman behind Dao Shen''s back, I couldn''t understand the meaning of it, but it was something close to a sealing object.

    Just as the sword was about to pierce Dao Shen''s chest, and while Dao Shen smiled as his ''stunt'' worked the sword disappeared, causing both me and Dao Shen to be stupefied for one second, the sword then appeared only this time, it had pierced through Dao Shen''s arm, the talisman, and his back, appearing on the other side of his chest.

    The sword then slowly retreated away from Dao Shen''s body, and manifested into Du Shen''s appearance, "You know that I''m nothing but an object, so why did you even think that I would be riled up with your words? Foolish human, your emotions drive you. And it''s because you thought I was human, that you will perish," Du Shen said as he ced his hand on Dao Shen''s neck, and just like that, the sword Spirit looked at me, with a taunting gaze it said. "Only you are left," he said, and instead of absorbing Dao Shen, the opposite happened.

    The sword entered willingly into Dao Shen''s body and into his sea of consciousness.

    It couldn''t have been more than a second before Dao Shen''s eyes closed and opened once again, lifeless for a moment, then brimming with a glistening silver glow that I''ve only witnessed in that memory.

    "Perfect," the sword spirit said, "Much easier to possess than yours," he said.

    "Not only that," the sword spirit said as he flexed his hands, "It feels more¡­ real, more attuned¡­" It then touched its own head and as if thinking for a moment it smiled and said, "No wonder¡­ this one is actually a descendant of Du Shen¡­ Well now, it possesses five books, and I obtained two earlier from that scum¡­all left is the five books you own, and I shall be whole!"

 Chapter 491 Creation And Destruction

    Not good, really, really not good. I never expected Dao Shen to drop as fast as that, but I can''t me him, with the poison designed to exhaust and weaken the Poison God cultivators, he couldn''t muster any strength to fight back, and now I''m all that stands between this Sword Spirit and it obtaining all of the Poison God''s books.

    "Make it rain!" I called. And instantly, all of the hundred puppets of mine aimed and shot at the sword spirit.

    Thousands of bullets fell upon the cultivator like a flooding rain. It brought me a second for me to act while he was slicing away at the bullets even faster than they came at him.

    The instant I earned was enough for me to jump back, "Automaton," I called and a portal opened behind me sucking me inside the lord of lords pagoda.

    In this ce, I don''t need to worry about fighting the Sword Spirit, but I have a big issue, I only bought myself time.

    "Lord¡­" the automaton said "What is happening?" he asked.

    "Big bad guy wants to kill me, I''m taking some time off to think," I said.

    "He''s trying to break through," the automaton said.

    "Wait, what? How the Lord of Lords pagoda is hidden within space itself," I eximed.

    "Yes, but in this world, you''re in, it''s pretty visible," the automaton said.

    "How long does he have to break through?" I asked.

    "At this rate¡­" the automaton thought for a moment before he said, "A year¡­ the space we''re in isn''t strong enough to sustain the assault for more than that," the automaton said.

    "A year?" I frowned, "That''s plenty of time," I grinned, "More than enough time for me. Set up the white room, get the time dtion to the maximum," I said.

    "Understood," the automaton said.

    "You wanna y hardball, then I''ll show you what I''m capable of in thirty years worth of secluded cultivation," I then walked into the elevator taking me to the white room.

    First things first, I pulled up the golden book I obtained from the dream world. I needed to see what was on it, I hoped it had the full Poison God''s heritage in it, but sadly all of the papers in this book were empty.

    I didn''t have much hope of finding anything in the first ce, this golden book is basically just the cover for the Poison God''s teachings. It has nothing of substance in it.

    So I went to do the second-best thing.

    I only know of one person who can contend with the current sword spirit, I''m not talking about someone with an acute and entric set of skills like Master Rain, or someone as powerful and illusive as the Queen of the Wind Realm, no, I''m talking about someone who had taught me many things. And taught me how to grow stronger.

    A mentor that I''ve never had the chance to meet in the real world. A man who gave his life willingly for the world itself.

    The Golden Titan.

    Though I couldn''t practice his arts since I didn''t have the body for it, with this book though, things might be different.

    I pulled out the Poison God''s book, the new one that I just added to my arsenal. The Body Cultivation book.

    I couldn''t learn the teachings of the Death Heritage, since they were far too vile to use, the fact that it required the sacrifice of innocent lives young and old drive me away from using it. Though I learned its Sealing Arts which were pretty potent.

    But this book, it''s pretty damnpatible with the current me. Since my body has been improved by the Stone Aged Milk, it''s more than able to use this book, and with that I can use the Golden Titan''s arts.

    There is onest verse that I can''t seem to use, it is the final part of the Golden Titan Arts. The reason why I can''t use it is simple, my body though empowered and powerful it is far from enough to support the massive stress of the Golden Titan Arts. So I need to improve it one step further.

    The Stone Aged Milk optimized my body to suit body cultivation, but I didn''t have anybody cultivation technique that can improve upon it.

    The Fist of Roaring Ki was a fighting technique and not a body cultivation technique. And if I wanted to have the body to use the Golden Titan Arts, I''ll need to improve my body to incredible levels.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Thirty years should be enough for me.

    I then opened the Poison God''s Book of Body.

    It started by simply exining the human body, the function of each and every part of it, and then how it works and interacts with each other. Then it began diving deeper into the hidden potential of every bit and part of it and sooner than I could realize I had already finished reading the book.

    Too stunned to realize the simplicity and incredibleness of this art.

    But practicing this art is not going to be easy, it''s closer to torture than it is to training. Simply growing muscles isn''t enough to be able to use this art, no, I actually need to improve upon my entire existence.

    Basically, I''ll need to break down every bit, part, and section of my body, time and time again, then heal up with poisons.

    It follows the simplest of methods of growing power. For example, to grow muscle one must tear muscle, each muscle fiber will then grow within the day, thrice as strong, and instead of one muscle fiber, you''ll grow three.

    The only issue is that this will cause the body to over-inte, making a person look like the Hulk. But that method of training is limited and will cause the human body to hit a teau that it cannot break past.

    Yet, what the Poison God suggests is something radical, closer to changing the entire structure of the body.

    So for every fiber, instead of growing one, I must grow ten, intertwined within each other like a well-wrapped rope, each tendril of muscle must grow in that shape, making them ten times stronger without having them take too much space. And the only way to do that is to apply poison to the muscle.

    An easily obtainable poison, for us Poison God cultivators especially. It''s the very poison that defined us.

    I must erode and reconstruct my bones and muscles using the Bone and Body Grinding Poison itself.

    Slowly shaping every bit of my body to perfection, every single bit of it¡­ fuck.

    And that wasn''t even the hardest part. That was basically just the start, when I''m finally able to perfectly recreate my body, I then need to train and practice in a way that my body will always, whenever I tear a muscle fiber, regrow it in the same shape and form of thepounded fiber.

    This is just the muscles, as for the bones, I must destroy each and every bit of them, then regenerate them only to destroy them again, this will increase their density, strength, and weight. Then fibers, nerves, and the rest of my organs, from my liver to kidneys, to even my eyes.

    And finally, the brain, which is always left forst. Reconstructing the brain is basically suicide. It''s where even the Poison God had almost lost his sanity from the agonizing pain he felt.

    The notes he left highly advise against doing so, but if Du Shen did it, why can''t I?

    So, I sat down and began by sensing my body, starting with the muscles on my biceps, they were the easiest to break.

    I forcefully squeezed my arm, enough that I felt my biceps about to break, and then I used my divine sense to scan the damage.

    There were several microtears in the fiber, and one waspletely snapped in two, the extended cord of muscle had retractedpletely. Then slowly I could see the torn muscle regrowing from the base of both ends and slowly linking back only three more instead of just one. This happened within the span of an hour. Which was a pretty normal time for a cultivator.

    Now, what I needed to do was imbue the growing fiber with the Body and Bone Grinding Poison, dismantling it, and forcing it to grow in the way I desire.

    And so I began by applying poison, causing my entire arm to feel as if it was being set aze as the muscles refused to grow in the presence of poison, agony, and pain and this was just one fiber.

    Slowly but surely, over several days'' worth of trial and failure, I finally managed to grow one muscle fiber that had three fibers intertwined with each other instead of simply stretched.

    Small steps, though I need to have at least ten intertwined fibers instead of three, this is a good start.

    And so the time continued as I followed the instructions of the Poison God''s Book. Slowly I reced bit by bit, every existing piece of muscle in my right arm, and then went to the left, then worked on my feet, feeling agonizing pain that almost made me want to stop and take my chances against the sword spirit.

    But I decided against it every time. If the Body Cultivator I fought had done this, and if the Poison God himself had done this, I''ll be too ashamed to give up in the first steps.

    I''m going all the way with this one.

 Chapter 492 Perfection

    Pain, immense amounts of it, wreaked through my body as I was slowly destroying my very bones, bit by bit.

    I have to admit, the Bone and Body Grinding Poison earned its name not for its lethality, but for the ability to grind the body and bones to such an efficient extent that one would feel like they were being put into a sanding machine.

    It was unbearably painful, immensely exhausting, and mentally destructive as I had to feel every bit of my skeleton slowly being eroded and rebuilt only to be eroded again.

    I had the na?ve idea that the pain I suffered from having to rebuild every muscle of my body was the most I could take, but grinding bones, was on apletely another level.

    It was likeparing a prick of a needle to a searing hot twisted rod going right through your gut.

    And this was just the start. Rebuilding my muscles took me two years, and having my body attuned and epting the idea of rebuilding every muscle fiber into the intertwined reinforced fiber was the worst of it. But now, grinding my very bones feels like outright being dragged through a mountain of swords and shards of ss.

    But I had to tide through it, and even when I took a moment to breathe and rx, it onlysted for a moment as I knew I still needed to keep going.

    The hardest bones to rebuild were my pelvis bones, my skull bones, and the bones on my hands, those were frighteningly painful to improve upon since they were extremely fragile and sensitive.

    But I kept going, eroding the bones of my body by using copious amounts of Poison Qipounded and based on the Bone and Body Grinding Poison.

    My skin became cracked and brittle after this renovation, it suffered greatly from all of the modifications but I had to keep going, I can easily rebuild skin, even if cracked and bleeding, it''s the easiest part¡­ I hope.

    Two more years it took, two more years of agony, they felt the same as when I was stuck with servant Mao, but the only difference is I was doing this to myself willingly, instead of unwillingly suffering pain and agony, so I didn''t generate any feelings or emotions of hate to feed my Dark Soul.

    Finally, after two years and a couple months, I had finished rebuilding my skeleton and was done with that, now the nerves.

    And honestly, I''m terrified of the thought of even touching the nerves, but I had no way out but to do so.

    The Sword Spirit was still trying to break into the Lord of Lords pagoda, though I have a lot of time to work with, I cannot ck off on this.

    So after taking a week or so worth of rest, I decided to take up the challenge of rebuilding my nervous system.

    And honestly, at the first hour, I was already regretting it.

    Nerves are the most delicate and sensitive parts of the human body, and damaging them is bound to cause irreparable issues. But I had to rebuild them using the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. And thus I started by slowly imbuing them with poison, weakening them then letting my body slowly heal them.

    Every day I felt like I was set aze as every nervous circuit was in agonized pain, but I still had to tide through it, then rest for two days for it to fully be repaired, then do it all over again.

    The Poison God manual suggested rebuilding the nerves this way on the span of a whole year. Taking two days break for each breakdown. and after the first six months, I''ll be needing to take a long break for my body to adjust to the new nerves. Then resume after eighty four days. Making the total days of rebuilding the nerves up to ny-nine days.

    It was ny-nine days of agony that I had to suffer and some days in between where I hated my very own existence and the fact that I got caught up in this bullshit situation.

    But I can''t rely on anyone toe save me. I had to do everything myself.

    And so I tided through it, every single day of it, of the pain and torture, the agony and suffering, until I was finally able to finish thest day feeling like a total mess.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    With the nerves improved, the bones, muscles, and my blood vessels, I could feel the drastic change in my body.

    My steps became much heavier, the simple fact of closing my fist caused the sound of thunder. As for throwing a simple fist, you could feel the very wind break apart as a shockwave emerged outward.

    My body had reached such an advanced state of optimality that I was extremely surprised at how it had be.

    This reminded me of a quote that a famous philosopher from my old world had said. "It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."

    And it was true, body cultivation though arduous and painful, it is extremely rewarding. My muscles have be far more defined, and my body had no rigidness to it and was extremely supple and agile. Not to mention, powerful beyond belief.

    This isn''t the power an Ascendant should have, no wonder the body cultivator took a full blow to the face using the Tungsten Bullet and still survived to fight again. With power capable of taking hits of that degree I should be able to survive most blows from cultivators of the same cultivation level as mine.

    I then began the final improvement part, it was reinforcing my own internal organs. I have the body to survive the blows, but an internal blow can easily destroy my inner organs, I need to improve upon them, and that was thest step and the deadliest of this cultivation method.

    And thus I began another painful journey of rebuilding and reconstructing this body.

    A couple years went by before I was done, blood had been seeping out of my eyes, ears and nose as I uttered.

    "F-inally¡­" and dropped to the ground.

    I woke up some timeter, regretting and thanking my luck for managing to survive reinforcing my own brain which was thest step before I could even start the real cultivation method.

    The pain had been extreme and had brought me to my knees and on the verge of giving up many times. But I had to do it no matter what, I couldn''t give up at the end and almost lost my sanity in the process.

    At this point in time, about six years had gone by from the moment I entered the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The automaton informed me that the Sword Spirit had stopped its aggression on the Lord of Lords pagoda to hunt down the rest of the cultivators that were escaping, while at the same time leaving the serpent to keep guard. This should buy me some more time in theory which was good.

    I gobbled hundreds of poison pills, using their Qi to heal my body from the abusive damage it received.

    Reconstructing my whole body didn''t mean that once I''m done it will be in perfect shape, no, it was cracked, brittle, and felt like I had just been released from under hydraulic pressure. I needed some time to heal up and it took several months for me to have full control of my body.

    At that point in time I sat down and opened the Poison God''s book, hoping to find about the methods to further improve the strength of this body but I found nothing, there was no training method, no cultivation method and clearly no way for me to use this body properly. The poison god only created the ''perfect body'' he didn''t give the method to use this body.

    Which was frankly something I expected, the Poison God''s goal was to improve the body itself, and by doing this ''operation'' I was able to have a godly body, but I need the skillset and cultivation method to use it better.

    And thus it came to me in the form of a memory, back when I was in the Under Void alongside Master Rain and his retainer. The meeting with the Golden Titan, elder Wei and Elder Fu Tian. I have yet to go to the sect of the Crimson Dragon and obtain the Debt of Madness, which was something Elder Fu Tian had said I will obtain from the Sect Master of the Crimson Dragon sect.

    Elder Wei had given me some sort of protective charm that I have no idea when or how to use. As for the Sect Master himself, the Golden Titan had given me the final verse of the Golden Titan cultivation method.

    I couldn''t make head or tail of the verse at that point in time, but now, it is as bright and clear as day. As I watched my own memories I saw it, and saw how I can use this extreme cultivation method.

 Chapter 493 World Stirring Events

    "Something isn''t right," Master Rain spoke, his face was solemn and serious and his words were all that could be heard in the room.

    They were back at the Heavenly Academy''s main hall. Meng Hao was sitting among them, fully healed up from the prior events, but vexation and defeat was clear in his eyes at what happened.

    "What''s gonna happen to Shen Bao?" Liang Yu asked. Yuyu who was right next to her sighed as she thought for a moment on what would happen if they were to lose Shen Bao. He had be a great impact and influence on their lives, and without the certainty of his return everyone was worried.

    "I believe he''ll make it," Meng Hao spoke, though a man of rare words, he still spoke his mind when needed to.

    "Three of the Fire Lord''s Spears had returned after giving up the challenge, they''re being interrogated and soul searched as we speak for any intel on what happened inside the Poison God''s trial, as for the Fire Lord himself," Master Rain spoke as he looked at Meng Hao, "He has yet to leave seclusion," he said.

    These words gave Meng Hao some form of relief, with the Fire Lord still in cultivation he had more time to save his beloved. But without Shen Bao, it won''t be easy.

    No one else would bother with his wishes and only Shen Bao promised him aid in his time of need.

    Though he didn''t want to rely on anyone else, he couldn''t help but rely and fear for Shen Bao.

    "It still bothers me though," Master Rain said, "All of the books besides one are there, this means that if this trial ends with one of the contenders of the Poison God''s heritage owning the book, it will cause a great deal of strife and struggle in the Vast Expanse." Master Rain said.

    "All for a book?" asked one of the elders of the Heavenly Academy.

    Everyone besides the younger generation looked at the elder as if he was a mad man.

    "Pardon my words, but I can''t help but think it absurd, the Vast Expanse has a great deal of powerful cultivators, why should we be bothered by the heritage of a has been, I''ve heard of Du Shen and his exploits, but I''m sure that he wouldn''t be able to hold a candle to any of the current lords of the realms. Why should we even care if one of the younger generation was to obtain his treasure, it would be meaningless, the same as giving a toddler an axe," he said.

    Master Rain sighed and said, "I hate idiocy the most, and you seem to be holding enough of it to drown us all. Do you truly not understand the implications of the Poison God''s Heritage appearing fully back in the world?" Master Rain asked.

    "Excuse me, could I exin it in your stead Master Rain," a fine looking gentleman with a feather fan spoke.

    He was wearing full white robes and had a long schr hat over his head. The man was known as the heavenly prince of the wind realm, the uncrowned heir and the Immortal Schr Zhang Tian.

    "Ugh, might as well, I don''t wish to amodate or entertain idiocy anymore," Master Rain said.

    Zhang Tian smiled and looked at the elder, "You sir, how old are you?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Eight hundred and sixty this year," said the elder.

    "Good, you''re a fairly young cultivator, and I admire people who achieve the grade of elder below the thousand years in the heavenly academy. Still you must not have been there when Du Shen was alive. I was barely a couple hundred years old back then, and I witnessed his greatness. He wasn''t someone who would bow down to anyone, not even my father in his prime. He was someone who did what he wanted whenever he wanted and acted upon his convictions." Zhang Tian said.

    "Thank you for the high praise," said the elder interrupting Zhang Tian, "But that was Du Shen, he was already a powerful cultivator, what is the point if another were to have his heritage, even if it was Dao Shen, the one who devourss, our grand elder, or even Master Rain himself could easily take them on," the elder said.

    "That is where you are mistaken," said Zhang Tian, "The Heritage of the Poison God isn''t something that improves upon one''s strength, but it improves upon their understanding of their own strength, there is a famous saying, know yourself and know your enemy. With the full heritage, one would be able to use the most of their current strength, and believe me, even when my father was at the peak of the King ss, he still had to give a literal arm for Du Shen who was only at the beginning of the Saint ss, just to appease him. Du Shen''s understanding of himself, his limitations and potential was all because of his life''s work, the Poison Arts which are now known as the Poison God''s Heritage. By applying them, knowing and understanding them, and then understanding oneself, one''s limitations are to an extentpletely lifted."

    Zhang Tian took a breath before he added, "Du Shen''s influence over the world was enough to sway the lords of a domain themselves from interfering with him. If he were to visit a certain domain, not even the tyrannical Fire Lord dared bother him. All because of those arts. Now if arts that powerful were toe back to the world what do you think will happen?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Total chaos," Spoke Meng Hao.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Indeed junior brother,plete and utter chaos, for everyone would give everything to have the Poison Arts, because using them, and seeking the truths of oneself and one''s existence using them, understanding of one''s soul, Dao, Cultivation, and Body will be enough to improve upon one''s own understanding of their existence and role within the Heavens own ns. Then you have the other paths of the Poison Arts which improve upon every aspect a cultivator needs, frombat, to alchemy, to Law, these will further increase one''s own understanding of the world around them. What the Poison God''s art give isn''t power, but knowledge, and if you don''t believe me even if I am known as the Immortal Schr, you must believe the saying, Knowledge is Power."

    Master Rain finally hit the nail home when he said, "With the full Poison God''s arts revealed, whoever obtains them will be allowed ess to knowledge that is so pure and vast that will allow them to twist the very world to do their bedding. Du Shen had been doing that for a while, he had turned the entire Vast Expanse over using his arts. Death and destruction were the least of our worries when it came to Du Shen, it was the ability topletely thwart the ns of whomever was unwise to face him or antagonize him. In terms of purebat ability, Du Shen with his trusty sword is more than enough to cripple any of the current lords even at the Saint ss."

    "But Du Shen is dead," the elder said, still not fully convinced.

    Yuyu then spoke, "I believe what master Rain is trying to say is that if by some chance the Poison Arts fall into the hands of someone as strong or as influential as the Fire Lord, the whole Vast Expanse will suffer for it, even if Du Shen had perished his knowledge lives on. And if that knowledge fall in the wrong hand, everyone will suffer for it," she said.

    "I do agree with some points but something isn''t making sense to me," the elder said.

    Everyone waited for him to finish his words.

    "What does it matter if the books doe out, we''ve known of the acolytes for a while now, and we''ve never had much issue with the asional Poison God cultivator. They were strong indeed, but that was it, they were still susceptible to death. As you have known Servant Mao was proficient in killing the Poison God''s inheritors, he had probably killed over seventy of them. So why should we care if theye out, I''m sure that no Lord bothered enough about the books before why should they care right now?"

    "You ask a valid question, but you''re missing one small detail," Master Rain as calmly as his temper could ever hope to appear he added, "There was never a point in time when all of the books were in one ce at one time since the disappearance of Du Shen."

    "Does it really matter?" asked the elder.

    "It does, and a lot, all of Du Shen''s books were iplete. They were parts of a whole, and even if you gathered all twelve books, and that''s not possible by the way since one of the books never appeared, the Book of Swords, you will still not have the full original book", Master Rain said.

    The elder frowned, "I''m sure that there were only twelve books," said the elder.

    Master Rain shook his head, "There was never twelve books, there was only one book. A golden stolen book from the treasury of the Imperial Family, my knowledge is pretty scarce on the subject but what I could gather from old rumors was that some Remnants of the Imperial Family had lost an important book and that book ended up in the hands of a young Du Shen. The book was damaged by something as it appeared and had lost all of its content, and due to some incident Du Shen had lost his ability to cultivate, and then created a method to cultivate that was unique to him and him alone, finding nowhere else to write it on, he wrote it on that Imperial Book. And that is the Original Poison God''s heritage. The divided copies are nothing but parts of that book, and without the original book the Poison God''s heritage can never beplete. Only when all of the books along with the original book are together can one truly have the real heritage, the very Book that Du Shen was using. That annoying golden book¡­"

    The elder calmed down and thought a bit about what was going on, he was finally understanding the severity of the Poison God''s Heritageing back in the world.

    It was true, they could easily manage one or two books, even the whole lot of them when they were separated, but once they are all in one ce, and in the hand of one person, it will bepletely different, the only saving grace was the fact that the Book of Swords and the original book are nowhere to be found.

    "I think I understand," Meng Hao''s eyes opened up.

    Everyone turned to listen to him waiting for his words.

    "The Trial, it was never meant to show who is the ''best'' poison god cultivator, it didn''t have any reward for anything, how can a trial not have a reward? The answer is simple, the final reward for the trial must be the golden book!" he said.

    "We thought about that possibility, and we denied it for many years, since we had no idea what was inside the trial ground, but with your memory intact, and inferring from the various challenges there must be an end goal for the trial, and now I wouldn''t be surprised if your words are true¡­ no matter what, we must be prepared to either cease the heritage once someone manages to take it, or if by some ungodly luck Shen Bao manages to win the trial, protect him at all costs," Master Rain said.

    "I''m more than willing to help in that matter, but there is one thing you must all know right now¡­" Zhang Tian said.

    "What is it?" asked Master Rain.

    "We just received information that the Primordial Serpent is headed to the trial grounds¡­ the Trial will be ending soon¡­" Zhang Tian said in all seriousness.

 Chapter 494 End Of A Training Arc

    Deep under the sea of the Lord of Lords pagoda, and several hundred miles away from the Pixie''s home I was sitting inplete darkness.

    The pressure of the sea itself was like the hands of god pressing down on me forcing every ounce of my body to feel an incredible amount of pressure and weight.

    Yet, I remained calm and collected.

    This was the first method to train thest verse of the Golden Titan scripture.

    To go under and resist the pressure of the entire sea as it felt like it was copsing its full weight on you. And thanks to this reinforced body, I was able to do it, not with the same ease as I thought I would. The pressure alone was enough to cause a man to burst, but I strode through it with sheer willpower and body.

    I had to go under without using Qi to protect myself and going all the way to this depth to further enhance and refine this body once again, it was like an act of quenching a de to perfect it.

    It took me several years to reach this point in depth but once I was there and was fully capable of sustaining all the weight it was time to go on to the next step.

    Now it was training the Golden Titan''s moves under this pressure. And I started by practicing the first move of the Golden Titan''s arts, the Fist of Roaring Ki, God''s Eternal Fist!" and I swung forward.

    My hand though didn''t move as fast as I wanted and looked like it was in slow motion. Strain and pain, agony and suffering were all I got from trying to do that move.

    But this was the right way, so, I swung again, and again, and again.

    Hours, days, weeks then months, and finally a year had passed, only by then was I able to send the entire torrents of salted water shaking and rippling. Causing the sea to split and reveal the skies.

    This was all without using an Ounce of Saint Qi, otherwise, I''d have been able to vaporize the whole sea from the first blow.

    The idea isn''t to improve Qi but to improve my body''s eternal force and power purely from inner strength.

    The entire sea splitting apart from the force of one swing was a clear sign of intermediate mastery over God''s Eternal Fist. Then I took another year practicing the Fist of Eternal Gold.

    Then the Ancient Stomp which impacted greatly on the biome I even felt sad for some of the unfortunate fish.

    A yearter, I continued practicing the rest of the move sets, wreakingplete havoc inside the water biome and changing its structurepletely, the sea became even deeper at the expense of my practice.

    Comes the final part of the Golden Titan scripture is the hardest bit. The body modification.

    This wouldn''t have been possible for me, because of a simple fact. Gics.

    The Golden Titan wasn''t a human. He was the decedent of a race of giants, and he could easily switch off from one to another, however, I on the other hand I am a pure-blooded human without that gic ability, that is of course before I was given the scripture.

    The scripture as I had believed was nothing but a set of instructions but what I only came to realize after finishing the full scripture was that it was actually a memory imprint of blood Essence. Pure Golden Blood that shaped itself like a scripture. And once I understood it, it transformed into a golden blood drop that cozily fused itself with my body.

    The thinness of that Blood Essence was absurdly high, and in any normal circumstance, it wouldn''t have had any effects on me.

    But with the addition of the body modified by the Stone Aged Milk, it took in that drop of blood and infused it with me, giving me a fraction of the abilities of the Giant Race.

    Which was by the way, fucking amazing!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I rose up from the depths of the sea and into the open ins then began applying my Qi following the instructions of the Golden Titan scripture.

    Suddenly steam so much of it began surging out of me as my body began gaining an absurd amount of mass in a matter of seconds. It wouldn''t have been anywhere near possible to have something like this happen even by getting that blood essence for anyone else besides me. Simply because of having learned the Poison God''s Body arts. Which allows me to rapidly create and grow muscle and bones by converting Saint Qi.

    The Giant Race had their own way of transforming into giants, but I''m using a cheat by relying on the Poison God''s arts to further increase my size. This was simr to what the Body Cultivator did when I fought him, even when his body was broken he was still regenerating, only I was generating more¡­meat.

    Suddenly my size began increasing to disgustingly epic proportions, as I was able to see mountain peaks not from below but from above them. Stunned at the size increase and my not-so-surprisingly naked self, I calmed down and began withdrawing my Qi, causing my body to return back to normal.

    I didn''t dare try out any moves using a body this big but a learned a few things.

    The first thing is, I need stretchy clothes, it''s awkward enough to be moving around naked not to mention fighting with a shlong swaying everywhere. Also, it''s fucking cold.

    Secondly transforming like this is absurdly taxing on my inner Qi, I basically bled half my reserves by transforming once. I don''t even think I''ll be able to fight a long fight in this state.

    And finally, this wasn''t the only transformation the Scripture had, there was another one, but the warnings about it were too severe even to try and attempt it, it was the very thing that the Golden Titan warned me about.

    Golden Titan''s Madness¡­

    Basically, it overtaxes the body''s inherent ability, exerting so much Qi and power by an absurdly high amount and potency, the consumption of Qi is barely enough for me to remain in that state for a minute, and the consequences of such a move isplete immobility after the usage and maybe even death if performed incorrectly. Not to mention the increase in loss of rational thinking the more you remain in that state. It wasn''t called a Madness skill for anything.

    The pros of this ability however could somewhat outweigh its cons, since you''ll be able to use a hundred percent of your body''s ability. Meaning the full force of every blow, the full speed of one''s movement, and the full capabilities of one''s body.

    A trump card to use on one''sst foot¡­ useful.

    But I''m not that tempted to try it out right now, I like to keep a calm head.

    I spent sometimeter designing a set of robes that would be able to support the Titan form and just as I was done I had a visitor.

    "Lord," spoke the automaton.

    "What?" I asked.

    "The barrier protecting the pagoda doesn''t have much longer¡­he''ll break through soon¡­"

    "Well, good enough for me, how long was I here?" I asked.

    "Twenty-two years," said the Automaton.

    "Damn, he breached in faster than I thought," I said.

    "It''s because he consumed every cultivator on the tform and grew stronger," said the Automaton.

    "I guess I wasn''t the only one who got a power-up, but I had more time, so it''s time to test things out," I said.

 Chapter 495 Attack On Serpent

    "I guess I''m ready," I said to myself as I decided that it was time for me to go out.

    The automaton opened a portal for me which allowed me to exit the Lord of Lords pagoda and enter the Poison God''s trial grounds once again.

    I looked around and saw the massive serpent gazing at me in the distance, while Dao Shen, well, the person possessing his body was nowhere to be found.

    As if I was electrocuted, every hair on my body stood up, something wasing.

    "You''re finally out! Damn rat!" he said as he charged at me sword pulled out ready to rip me apart in a single swing.

    But, something was strange, the movement of Dao Shen''s body was too slow as I was easily able to trace the sword with my eyes and was easily able to dodge to the side.

    Confusion was stered on his face as he looked at me and the sword again, he then sent a divine sense to probe me and spoke, "Lucky dodge, you''re still at the Ascendant stage, Die!" he said as he swung again.

    The blow was slightly faster than before, a testament of his newfound prudence and warry of my ability to dodge his first strike, but it was still not much that I couldn''t easily evade.

    More swings followed to which I simply evaded and dodged like they were nothing.

    "And here I thought you got stronger," I taunted.

    Enraged Dao Shen''s body began surcharging in Qi as he suddenly disappeared from my vision and appeared behind me, his sword ready to rip my head off my shoulders, but all I had to do was move two fingers to immediately stop the sword from moving.

    "You''re the owner of the Dao of Swords, but why are you so weak?" I asked. A genuine question, since many more cultivators who used swords were far stronger than this guy, faster and more powerful when ites to the sword.

    But this guy moved in a mechanical almost textbook type of swordmastery.

    "Ah," I said as I let go of his sword, "That''s why you''ll never be human, no matter how much you train and practice," I said as I backed away.

    The enraged sword spirit charged at me once again swinging the de with wanton abandon, but at the same time with clear and easy-to-deduce patterns.

    I ducked and dodged and then Roundhouse kicked him in the chest sending him tumbling on the ground several times over.

    "Dao Shen already mentioned to me, that one of the most annoying and hardest Paths to Deal with is Body cultivation, since poison doesn''t work on either of us, I have a far stronger advantage than you, though I''m sure Dao Shen can easily take me out, you on the other hand, will never be able to, you''re too mechanical, you''re not a human, you can''t invent and innovate, you can''t lix and mash or create, you can only replicate what you know and all you know are the patterns of the Sword Martial Path that are in the Poison God''s book," I mentioned as I began channeling Qi in my body.

    "Though it is unwise to tell you your shorings, I''ll still do it," I said as I looked at him, "Since it wouldn''t matter even if you know where you''recking, you gave me more time than I should have, and I''m far more powerful than I used to be," I said as I shed forward with incredible speed.

    I''ve never had the opportunity to go all out in the Lord of Lords pagoda lest I break something inside it, but here, unfettered by the incrediblyrge area I can go all out.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki, Fist of Eternal Gold!" I swung forward a blow so heavy and so destructive, the blinding golden light that appeared was all the sword spirit could see.

    A massive gauntlet of pure gold shot forward from my fist, threatening to break everything in its path as if it were an extinction-level meteor.

    Blocking a blow of this magnitude was nothing short of suicide, and he knew it. So he dodged to the side, my blow was pretty slowpared to his move, and thus he spoke, "You''ll never hit me with that," he said.

    "I know," I replied as a massive impact immediately followed.

    Looking back, the Sword Spirit finally realized my true aim.

    "MEI LEING!!!" he shouted as he realized that the blow had struck at the massive serpent.

    My goal was never to kill the serpent but to test his defensive capabilities. And from the screech it ripped after being struck by the Fist of Eternal Gold, I see an opportunity to kill it.

    "YOU!" He shouted.

    "You what? You can''t just say You and expect me to understand, English motherfucker do you speak it?" I taunted even more as I moved forward.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Fists of Roaring Ki, Ancient Titan''s Stomp!" my foot struck down at the ground, cratering the entirety of the tforms around me, as for the force of impact it was so sudden and powerful it caused the sword spirit to be flung up.

    I followed after and swung my fist forward which he tried to block using the sword.

    "Fist of Eternal Gold! Spiral!" adding a twist to my fist, the impact it created caused a powerful cone of pressurized air to burst out like the muzzle of a cannon. Creating a current so powerful it flung the cultivator spinning further upward.

    I kicked up in the air flying even faster and more powerfully as I reached the confused sword spirit, before he could retaliate and swing his sword, I had alreadyunched another Fist of Eternal Gold to his ribs, I felt the breaking on impact as he was sent flying like a ragdoll. Not to allow a good opportunity to pass me by, I flew after him as he was desperately trying to stabilize himself.

    "Ancient Stomp!"

    I nted both my feet into his chest, causing the impact to st him right into the ground with enough power you could see the entire solid rock around him morph and ripple as if it was a pond of water.

    Bumping both my fists together, "Fist of Roaring Ki, Eternal Gold''s Wrath!"

    Two gauntlets of pure golden Qi materialized around my fists and then I struck forward, causing a cone of pressurized air to blow and flow forward as if it was a cannon shot.

    The blow was enough to press him against the ground further, and before he could even take a breath, another blow followed after, then another and another.

    I continuously struck down with every ounce of energy I could use as impact after explosive impact echoed.

    Blood sprayed out of his nostrils and eyes as he desperately tried to block any of the blows.

    Yet sadly before I could even finish him off, I felt shivers running down my spine again.

    Instinctively I raised both my hands forward like a boxer to protect my head, which I was thankful for as the tail of the giant serpent had somehow reached me like the swing of a whip, crackling the air itself into creating a lightning and thunder blow that smashed me into the ground.

    I couldn''t feel my arms for a moment and realized they were both broken from the impact, I was already on my back from that blow.

    "You brutish fool!" he said, "If it''s power, then I have more! Show him his ce!" the sword spirit said as the serpent swung its tail once again at me.

    I kicked the ground as fast as I could, and thankfully I was able to avoid the chopping tail swing that broke every piece of the tform I was right on.

    I flexed both my hands aside and they were instantly straightened and healed.

    With both my hands and feet on the ground in a tiger''s pounce, I surcharged my feet with Qi and kicked forward.

    My body shot like a bullet as I dodged a second tail swing.

    My objective was to take out the sword spirit as I charged him, but he instantly dissipated and appeared on top of the serpent''s head.

    "Blow!" he said and the serpent opened its mouth shooting a massive poison spray at me.

    I wasn''t too confident in facing a poison spray I didn''t know so I dodged aside like a cat on the run, from side to side as I approached the serpent as fast as I could.

    And just as I was close I kicked the ground flying right in front of the serpent''s face.

    For style points, I bit on the flesh of my thumb, "Let''s Rumble!"

    Electrifying Qi surged as my size increased to incredible proportions, enough that it caused even the serpent to be stunned as my sheer new size was enough to cause it to back away from fright.

    I roared as if I had a thousand years of frustration, with enough power that the serpent''s entire body shuddered and the tform stones shook shuddered, and broke.

    Time for the Titan to attack!

 Chapter 496 Battle To The Death

    I pushed both hands against the serpent''s opening jaw, locking it shut as it tried to breathe out its poison.

    The sword spirit desperately tried to control the serpent to get away from me while at the same time protecting Mei Ling''s unconscious form.

    He pulled out a sword and attempted to slice my fingers off, but the pure grit and strength of my fingers were too much for the sword to freely cut through.

    With a forceful heave, I pulled on the serpent''s locked jaws raising half its body from the ground then swung it to the side, throwing the whole thing tumbling on the paved and cracked floor of this area.

    I followed suit as every step rumbled the ground around it, breaking it as I moved, "Fist of Eternal Gold! Titan''s Wrath!" I swung down a fist powerful enough that even after the serpent managed to dodge by the skin of its teeth, the impact of the punch on the ground caused the area around it to morph as if it was water, creating a tide of stone and rocks that broke apart after the echo of an explosion from the impact of the punch thundered through the area.

    The sword spirt sent several sword swings at me, "You just became a bigger target!" he called.

    I raised both arms forward blocking the sword blows which healed almost instantly as my flesh sizzled and linked back.

    I jumped up high then came down like a wrecking-ball, knee aiming to instantly destroy the serpent''s spine.

    The sword spirit pulled on the chains on the serpent''s head causing it to wince and instantly retract its body from being crushed underneath my knees.

    "You''re too damn slippery," I cursed as I didn''t have a way to lock the serpent in ce. It was acting as a bastion for the sword spirit to freely send in attacks.

    "Then," I said as I pointed one palm forward, my stance was a forward stance with the front foot bent and the other holding my bnce in a diagonal stretch. My other hand was under my shoulder sped in a fist.

    "Let''s get serious!" I said. I rotated my Qi with enough velocity that it began revving the air around me changing its very color to that of a green surging tornado. The Qi then began surging toward my right fist, so much of it pebbles and small stones began rising up in the air.

    "Like I''d allow you to do that!" realizing the gravity of the situation the sword spirit swung several sword Qi waves in my direction attempting to disrupt me. My forwardly extended fist wasn''t just for show, no it was also serving a purpose.

    I was applying my own Domain of Delusions to hide the effects of what was going on right in front of my open palm.

    Gravitational Discement.

    My forward palm was acting as a shield, and the moment the sword swings wereing at it, they began morphing and changing shape and direction randomly, some even flew back where they came as others went up or down or inpletely different directions.

    Realizing that his sword swings had no way to stop me, he shouted, "Block it!" he said to the serpent which spiraled around itself and hardened as if it was made of stone.

    I smiled, "This couldn''t have gone better even if I had nned for it!" my words sounded like the delusions of a madman.

    But what he didn''t realize was the fact that this wasn''t the only thing I was preparing for him.

    Suddenly several stars high up in the sky began shining brightly and before the sword spirit could even realize it, the Tungsten bullets I sent to the high skies more than a year ago began falling.

    One after the other, in sound rending, vision impairing and body quaking explosions echoed one after the other, as the serpent''s armored body was struck by one after another of these bullets, breaking its reinforced armor part by part and piece by piece while the kic explosions of every blow seemed to be reinforced by other bullets.

    The sts were so powerful that the area around the serpent had turned to dust in a matter of seconds while even more bullets continued to fall, one after the other, and all you could hear among the echoing explosions was the muffled wailing of the serpent.

    Not one to give up a golden opportunity, the Qi I had gathered in my fist was finally ready.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Serious Punch," I grinned as struck forward with a fist so powerful the space around it tore as it moved creating fissures in the fabric of space that split it apart revealing the unknown of the eternal void.

    The Qi emerging from such a punch wasn''t something I believed I could ever release without having learned the body cultivation, since it not only relies on my internal Qi, but it is also empowered by the strength of my very own flesh.

    The energy wave tore through the floor like a gigantic meteor erecting a mountain out of stone as it pushed the very fabric of space itself aside to allow itself to move.

    The serpent''s silhouette tried to move away from the iing death but since it had gotten impaled by the bullets it could do nothing but watch as energy enough to eradicate its very existence approached it with relentless,vish, and wanton brutality of death.

    Impact¡­

    Suddenly my ears rang as I felt the world sway as I felt every ounce of energy of my body leaving me, my massive size began shrinking as I saw the aftermath of the explosion.

    The energy washed over the serpent, and ''cleaned'' it out of the world as does water to filth. Along with everything in its path. Nothing but a giant crater remained from this blow.

    My body''s energy was rapidly dissipating as I had overtaxed it and was no longer capable of sustaining the Titan''s form, so I was forced to shrink all the way back to my original form.

    The dust wasn''t settling anytime soon, nor was the pain all over my body, but something felt amiss.

    I spread whatever Qi I had to try and scan the distance to see something terrifying.

    "You gotta be fucking kidding me¡­" I cursed as I saw the form of a half-skeleton standing, slowly regenerating and rising back into the form of Dao Shen.

    Bloodied, wounded, and barely able to take a form it strode forward, with a sword in hand, it was limping as it moved, slowly regenerating lost flesh and broken bones, then vocal cords as it spoke.

    "I¡­will¡­end¡­you!" It said.

    "fucking Death Heritage¡­ Shi Situ is being a pain in the ass even after his death," I muttered as I grabbed a bunch of pills from my holding bag and crunched on them, absorbing as much Qi as I could before the second round would start.

    It was obvious what happened, he died, but with the knowledge from the Death Heritage he obtained from absorbing Shi Situ he was able toe back, though the serpent and the body of the fake Mei Ling were nowhere to be found, this fucker was still alive.

    "After so much effort and time to bring her back!" it said, "You took her away from me!" he cursed.

    "You''re really on a high trip, did you truly believe that you''re Du Shen, wake the fuck up, you''re nothing but a sword," I said as I called my puppets, "Take him out!" I said and they obliged.

    Hundreds of bullets shot forward only to be struck away oh so easily with swings of his sword.

    My goal was to buy time, time enough for me to generate some of my lost Qi, I was already in a huge pinch by now since I''m exhausted as fuck, but I can''t allow this opportunity to pass by.

    "I AM DU SHEN!" he shouted back as he dashed forward after having regained most of his muscles and flesh.

    Poison doesn''t work on him, the bullets don''t work on him, I have no more tungsten bullets in the sky anymore, and my body is on the brink of breaking down. I have no more than a tenth of my Qi left and that''s a stretch, that form exhausted me too much¡­ there is only one thing left for me to do¡­

    "Right then, you leave me no choice, Golden Titan''s Madness¡­"

 Chapter 497 Poison Gods Heritage

    Muscles, nerves, bones, skin, and my blood itself seemed to reach the boing of breaking and melting as they roiled in incredibly forbidden and wanton power. The strength behind the blood of the Golden Titan revealed itself in a madness that impacted not the mind but the body itself.

    Completely removing any and every fetter and limitation the body imposed upon itself to save it from breaking and causing every pore to open, and every cell to be imbued with all and every bit of Qi I had within me.

    Steaming fumes of poison and Qi shot out from my body as the veins on my arms and skin began throbbing pumping blood at incredible speeds throughout my body to further increase the load of energy being consumed to be in this state.

    For a moment I was able to see what was going on as the world seemed to slow down, but that moment seemed to pass as I felt like I lost control over my body.

    I shot forward, roaring against the heavens themselves as I came in contact with the sword spirit''s iing sword swing.

    Duck or dodge was out of the question as my body acted on its own, moving a fist to connect against the iing sword of the sword spirit.

    The sword easily cut right into my fist, but I didn''t feel pain, no, something incredible happened. Instead of having my fist torn in two, it fused back just as it was cut, locking the sword inside the bone of my arm while my fist continued its primary object of sending a deafening punch that smashed the cultivator in the face with enough force that he was sent flying.

    Unwilling to let go of his sword, the force of the punch ripped the sword out of my arm.

    I then jumped back and came down with my knees and the bottom of my closed fists into the location of the Sword Spirit''s body.

    He managed to roll to the side as I came crashing against the ground with enough power that the explosion alone was enough to crater and blow him away several hundred meters in the air.

    My kneecaps snapped broken, and so did the bones on my hand and arm, yet the madness within me was so powerful that it didn''t register the pain and flexed the arms and leg correcting and repairing them instantly then jumped toward the cultivator who seemed to no longer be wanting to fight.

    "Running on fumes," he said as he spat blood, "Then all I need to do is wait you out!" he said.

    Smart, since I probably didn''t have much time left in this state, and if he focuses on running he''ll be able to survive long enough for me to fully exhaust myself.

    Yet, even with a smidgen of control on my part of my body, I was able to do something about that.

    As I was chasing after the sword spirit who decided to take to the skies and fly away, I willed the mad body with everything I had to use the Domain of Delusions.

    It wasn''t anything tooplex, I only needed to apply the domain around the sword spirit even for a fraction of a second.

    Desperately straining my mind against both the ravaging insanity of the Golden Titan''s Madness, and applying theplicated Domain of Delusions not around me but in a distance from me, I was able to create a bubble of Delusion that was barely enough to trap the Sword Spirit''s body for a fraction of a second.

    The application of the Domain had one purpose, to deny inertia. And once that happened, he stopped, only for a fraction of a second, and that was all I was capable of doing as my mind was nking out of consciousness.

    In that fraction of a second, the sword spirit was suspended in the air, having his momentumpletely stopped and interrupted, I managed to reach him and grab him by the neck.

    mming him in the ground was the first thing the body did as he grasped tightly against his neck. The other fist then began pummeling on his face, each and every blow vibrated through the entire terrain we were in. One after the other, explosion after explosion as the first few blows mashed his face into the ground, then the following fist blows broke his skull and his brain matter.

    The madness however refused to stop even after confirming the death of the sword spirit''s body and continued blowing into his face again and again, until the bones of his skull turned to dust, roaring with every hit and blow the mad body continued on and on and on, until it could move its fist no more.

    Suddenly the Madness was gone before itpletely consumed me, thanks to exhaustion otherwise it would have continued to sap my Qi and then my vitality.

    Unable to move or function I was losing consciousness.

    "Automaton¡­" I muttered," Shen¡­Mo," I said.

    The automaton instantly obliged opening a portal and releasing Shen Mo''s body, allowing my consciousness to wake up in the second body while my main body shut downpletely unable to function.

    Shen Mo''s body was far weaker than my original body, but seeing the dead body of the sword spirit I had nothing to fear.

    Suddenly, the chest of the headless sword spirit shuddered.

    Fearing the worst, I backed away, I had no way to beat this guy using Shen Mo''s body, it didn''t have the required Qi nor the power to contest and contend against it.

    Yet what appeared was something I didn''t expect, the chest of the sword spirit spat out six simr-looking books.

    "Poison Books¡­" I muttered as I grabbed them, confirming the obtention of all twelve books of the Poison God''s heritage.

    "My lord, the books inside your main body are reacting, should I allow them to exit?" he asked.

    "Yes, let them leave," I said.

    And then I saw the rest of the books all appearing in front of me with the addition of the empty golden book.

    Thirteen books and one of themrger than the rest. Finding each other in one ce they began fusing into the golden book that absorbed each and every book into itself.

    The main book of the Poison God''s heritage was in front of me. Looking at it, it was far more majestic than the other books, the golden writing of the words Poison God''s heritage were written in such a way that they felt as if they woulde to life. The golden jade around the book was a testament to the preciousness of such a book.

    It then entered my body and suddenly the entire world around me began shaking and shuddering.

    "s¡­ one who had earned the right to own all the books had appeared," someone spoke.

    "Indeed, he who holds what we couldn''t"

    "He who carries the weight of such knowledge," another spoke.

    "He who will carry the will of the master!"

    "He who shall be hated and despised by the world."

    "He who will not have a day of rest."

    "He who holds the most power¡­"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "He who will carry the weight of Poison,"

    "He who will hold the path to knowledge¡­"

    "He who shall be branded as the Devil,"

    "He who might be the Savior,"

    "He who has the Poison God''s Heritage¡­"

    Looking around me, the silhouette of twelve people appeared men and women, all who had a most dignified look and presence to them. They all looked at me with pity,passion, envy, and expectations.

    "The Acolytes¡­ the first Disciples," I said.

    None answered.

    A louder voice boomed through the entire area and I recognized this voice.

    "You have obtained what many wished to use, I plead that you know that the path you have chosen is a path that only I have crossed, but even I have never managed to reach its end. Use my knowledge, use my will, and use my Heritage to forge the path you wish to seek yourself. Vile, or Benevolent it matters not, here I end my teachings to you dearest disciple, with the full heritage I have left behind you need no mentor. Learn for yourself, and add more to these teachings, and when you''re able to cross and escape this prison, you may spread these teachings or keep them to yourself, but do know that the price of power is steep¡­"

    Suddenly the entire arena began disintegrating and breaking apart as a portal appeared right next to me.

    Looking back at the area and the destruction I''ve left here, I couldn''t help but sigh.

    "Wish if I could have had you as a friend Dao Shen, you''ve been goodpany, as a rival and apanion," I spoke to the corpse of Dao Shen that was possessed by the sword spirit.

    "Don''t talk as if I was dead," I heard and that made me yelp.

    Turning around I couldn''t find the reason or the person who spoke.

    "Here, here!" I heard and turned to the corpse, "Yes the corpse, mind giving me a pill, poison one," the corpse said.

    "I''m really confused¡­" I replied.

    "And I really don''t have much time if you keep bbering, give me a pill," he said.

    I pulled out several poison pills and asked, "Which?"

    "All of them," he said.

    "You have no mouth to swallow them though," I said.

    "Just throw them at me," he said. and I obliged.

    Suddenly the pills that fell on his body began fusing inside him and the mush and broken parts of Dao Shen''s skull were slowly regenerating and repairing themselves.

    "What in the world is happening¡­"

    Slowly Dao Shen''s body was fully repaired, and he stood up, cracking his neck and then sighing, "Damn, I thought you were going to lose for sure," he said.

    "How¡­are you still alive?" I asked.

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, the sword spirit possessed you."

    "It momentarily possessed me, not because I was weak, but because I allowed it to, I mean, I''m the Devourer, I could easily take my body back, but decided against acting in case I would fail and the Sword Spirit bes wary of me. If it had seeded in obtaining all the books then I would havee out to consume it and reim my body," he said.

    "Then howe you managed to¡­ do that, I mean your skull was¡­mush," I said.

    "I devoured the Sword Spirit''s ability to regenerate, somehow when you used that punch of yours, even as it turned to nothing but a skeleton it still managed to repair its body, I guess it has to do with the nature of its soul. So, I consumed the remains of its soul when you were pummeling on it and learned that technique then repaired my body using some of the pills as nutrients¡­" he said.

    "That¡­actually is pretty damn smart¡­" I said.

    "Yep," he replied nonchntly.

    "So¡­"

    "So¡­"

    "You want to go at it for the books?" I asked.

    "Nope," he said holding both hands up. "I give up, not that I can''t beat you, after all if I really wanted to I can immediately dispose of you," he said.

    "Then why don''t you want the Poison God''s heritage," I asked genuinely confused and concerned.

    "Because I discovered the path of Devouring. The teachings of the Poison God only touch upon it from the surface, and when I was consuming that Sword Spirit and learned many of its secrets, it was like an epiphany for me, many paths have opened for me to further understand the Dao of Devouring, and if I keep seeking it through the Poison Path, I''ll be lost. So I''m giving up on the heritage, but that doesn''t mean I''ll no longer be able to use the Poison Arts," he said smiling.

    "Best of both worlds¡­" I said.

    "Indeed, now, how about we leave, it looks like this whole ce is going to disappear soon," he said.

    "Yeah, let''s leave," I replied and went into the portal followed by aughing Dao Shen.

 Chapter 498 Escape

    Deep in the region where the Poison God''s Heritage Trial was happening several thousand cultivators were running in every direction, panic clear in their faces as they were informed of a distraught piece of news that would make anyone''s hair turn white.

    "RUN!" one random cultivator said as he used every ounce of his Qi and power to move in a random direction away from the trial area.

    "What''s going on in here," said a cultivator of a brown skin tone, he was apanied by several other cultivators. A man wearing a full set of Blue Robes, another man in a full set of white robes, and a schr''s hat. And two female cultivators, these were thepanions and friends of Shen Bao.

    One cultivator of the several hundreds stopped near them, "Are you all insane, why are you still here, have you not heard the news?!" he asked.

    "What news?" Meng Hao asked, confused and interested.

    "The Primordial Serpent ising! Run for your lives, it''s not worth waiting here to steal the winner''s loot if you die!" he said and then zoomed past them.

    "So, this is the reason they''re all here? They wanted to take away the winner''s heritage. Quite shameless," Yuyu said.

    "Can you me them," Master Rain said, "It''s a lot of power for one man," he added.

    "We''ll have to wait though, look, some aren''t as afraid of the serpent as the rest," Liang Yu added.

    It was as she said, several cultivators were actually waiting, some had clear signs of anxiousness on them, but they still waited for the portal to open again.

    "How did they even know that the trial was going to end with a clear?" asked Yuyu "Several times this trial had been done and no one cleared it before," she said.

    "It''s the serpent, every time you have a few cultivators that stay waiting outside, but since the serpent never moved, they always deduced that the trial had ended in failure, and now that the serpent is moving, they knew that it was a sess, but seeing that the gate has yet to open and the serpent is too close forfort, most of them decided to leave," Zhang Tian said.

    "I hope that Shen Bao clears it¡­ this isn''t going to be difficult, but if anyone I know could clear something like this, it gotta be him," Meng Hao said.

    "You have a lot of trust in Shen Bao junior brother," Zhang Tian said.

    "Thank you kindly for the words, but I trust him and would trust him with my life even, he is a good man," Meng Hao said.

    "Indeed he is, let''s just wait then," Zhang Tian said.

    Suddenly, something in the distance seemed to move, at first it looked like two massive stars approaching, only for the cultivators to understand that it was nothing but the eyes of the Primordial Serpent.

    "Are you ready Master Rain?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Yes, this should be interesting," he said as he flexed his hands.

    "Wait, what are you doing?" asked Meng Hao.

    "What do you think, we''re going to stop this ugly worm," Master Rain said confidently.

    Meng Hao looked at the iing serpent, one of its eyes was easily the size of a moon, and its body was easily able to consume a whole and the more it approaches the bigger it looked.

    How are they going to stop something like that?

    Master Rain then raised his hands, calling upon, tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands of inscriptions that floated in the air.

    Zhang Tian on the other hand waved his fan summoning an equal number of golden butterflies that linked themselves one to each of the symbols. Then he waved it again, making the butterflies fly forward toward the serpent.

    Master Rain continued producing the symbols as Zhang Tian fused and sent them forward, millions upon millions of butterflies flew forward enough that every cultivator present had to momentarily stop, either to watch, or to be amazed at the sight, but they didn''t trust that those small butterflies could even hope to cause any halt or damage to the iing creature.

    "This should be enough," Master Rain said as he wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead.

    "How long can we stop that thing for?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Since it has been asleep for a while, we should be able to stop it for an hour at most, let''s just hope Shen Bao makes it out, oh, speak of the devil," Master Rain said as he noticed the Portal opening in the depth of space.

    Suddenly two men came out of the portal.

    And just as the group''s expressions of joy appeared on their faces, it was quickly changed to that of confusion, then realization, then denial.

    "NOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Yuyu as for Liang Yu, her face turned pale as sheet of paper.

    "What''s wrong?" Meng Hao asked as he saw the despair on the faces of everyone.

    "He¡­didn''t make it¡­" Zhang Tian said, slightly shivering.

    "What are you talking about? Shen Bao cleared the trial, are you all blind or something?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Child, keep fooling around and I''ll make sure you never live the day to regret your words," Master Rain''s solemn words spoke deeply into Meng Hao''s mind that he felt his soul about to break.

    "W-wait¡­ I understand, that boy there, that''s Shen Bao''s avatar¡­" he said.

    "Wait, really?" asked Zhang Tian.

    The words from Meng Hao''s mouth gave hope back to everyone.

    "What do you mean an avatar?" he asked.

    "I guess he never told you, it''s something he made, he''s been switching between his main body and that, now please release your pressure, you''re going to kill me, Master Rain¡­"

    "Right, well, if the boy is right, we should be moving soon," Master Rain said.

    Looking at the two that just came out of the portal and the several dozen cultivators rushing toward them with malicious intent was a clear sign that a fight was about to happen.

    A soul-rending roar echoed in the distance, with enough power that the fabric of space began tearing echoed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Looking forward the giant serpent was approaching fast.

    "I''ll take control of this, Zhang Tian, go assist Shen Bao," he said.

    Just as Zhang Tian was about to move, he frowned, "Wait, do I really need to move¡­" he said as he looked at the situation from afar, the man next to Shen Bao''s avatar was someone pretty famous.

    And just as the dozen or so cultivators approached enough to realize who it was, most of them turned tail and left, while a few brave, and pretty foolish ones continued on.

    "You dare?" the man spoke, "Then be consumed!"

    With those words, the ma raised his hand causing a surge of Qi never before seen from a King ss cultivator to surge outward in a torrent of ck smoke that manifested into the jaws of beasts of old and monsters of nightmares.

    The smoke surged forward like a tidal wave, making those who decided to keep the charge immediately hesitate half of them turning tail to escape and the rest too indecisive on what to do.

    Yet once the smoke reached them, none lived to tell the tail as not even bones skin or flesh remained as they werepletely devoured.

    The man didn''t even bother with the people that escaped as he was more worried about something else, "Well, that''s a big issue," he said.

    Shen Bao''s avatar turned to see the massive serpent approaching at a speed so great that it would make it nigh impossible to escape or run away from it.

    "Fuck¡­" he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

    "We better run," he added.

    "I will not disagree with you on that," the devourer spoke and the two of them flew forward.

    "SHEN BAO!" shouted Meng Hao, grabbing the attention of the two cultivators.

    Shen Bao nudged the man next to him and the two of them moved toward the source of the call.

    Several other cultivators hesitated between chasing after them or running away.

    But the presence of the Devourer was too much for them to risk anything. Not even the Spears of the Fire lord dared go against him without the presence of someone of a higher caliber like a general of the Fire Lord army who is probably the only one that can go toe to toe against him.

    "What are we doing here?" asked Shen Bao.

    "It''s you, Shen Bao, right?" asked Liang Yu first, the worry on her face was clear, and she needed confirmation.

    "Of course, it''s me, what do you think," Shen Bao replied.

    "Your voice and looks are different, but that sassiness is the same. What happened in there," said Master Rain.

    "I''d be more than happy to answer, but I think we should be leaving for now," he said.

    "And go where, since you cleared the trial, we really can''t go anywhere that thing will start following you until the end of the universe," said Master Rain.

    "Wait really, persistence ass¡­ I don''t like having a stalker, what the hell did I ever do to it," Shen Bao replied.

    "it''s not what you did, it''s what Du Shen did, and now it hates all those who are of the poison path and devours them," Master Rain said.

    "So, are we nning on stopping it?" Shen Bao asked.

    "Well, for now, yes, but I don''t think it will be enough to just stop it, we need to actually make it think twice about chasing after you," Master Rain said.

    "And how are we going to do that?" asked Shen Bao.

    "I have a n," Master Rain said and soon the serpent arrived in contact with the butterflies.

    The golden butterflies began fusing into the serpent, one after the other. And soon, the entire body of the serpent was painted gold with those butterflies but its speed didn''t go down one bit.

    "Master Rain¡­ I don''t feel like it''s slowing down¡­" She Bao said.

    "Your turn, Zhang Tian," Master Rain said.

    "Right then," Zhang Tian raised his fan high up and said, "Wisdom of the Ages! Dimensional Discement, World Reversal!"

    Instantly every butterfly on the serpent''s body shone bright and the entirety of the massive serpent disappeared from sight as if it was never there.

    "Alright, this should do the trick," Zhang Tian said as he wiped some of the blood on his nose.

    "Wait what happened?" spoke the Devourer, this was the first thing he said since he joined the group.

    Shen Bao''s brows rose up then said, "Hey! That''s giarism that''s my technique!" he said jokingly.

    Everyone besides Master Rain Zhang Tian and Shen Bao knew what happened, so the rest were utterly confused.

    "Wait, what did he do, I don''t understand, did you teleport the snake somewhere?" asked Meng Hao.

    "No," Shen Bao shook his head, "He actually severed the serpent''s connection to the dimension we''re in, basically he trapped it inside a dimension that''s adjacent to us. But I highly doubt this will be permanent," he said.

    "Nope, at most it should stop him for one hour," said Zhang Tian.

    "One hour isn''t enough to run anywhere though," Meng Hao said.

    "No, but it''s enough for me to make it so when the serpent is out, he''ll never find me," Shen Bao said smiling and then pulled out a couple of talismans and began inscribing on them while everyone lookedpletely confused at what was going on.

 Chapter 499 Epilogue And Prologue

    "So, did you get the heritage?" asked Master Rain just as I finished inscribing the remaining seals and ced them against Shen Mo''s body.

    "Yep, right now I ced it along my original body, this one can''t protect it," I said.

    "Then, where is your original body?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Oh, it''s in the pagoda," I replied since Zhang Tian knows and was the one who lead me to it in the first ce.

    "Now this is done, we shouldn''t be in any hurry, sadly Meng Hao I''ll have to take a couple of years for my original body to heal before I can venture out with you to retrieve your fianc¨¦e''s soul," I said.

    Meng Hao nodded in understanding as he realized that with the current body I possess which was far from even bing an ascendant, our chances in retrieving her were close to nil, so we had no choice but to wait for my original body to heal from all the damage it received when fighting the Sword Spirit.

    "Wait, what are you talking about?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Oh, you didn''t tell him, I mean he is by proxy also your senior brother, I told Meng Hao,"

    "No I didn''t wish to impose," he said.

    "That''s not how it works, if you have a problem youe to me," Zhang Tian berated, "For what else do I have all this influence if it isn''t to help those close, so speak your mind and say what gues it, this schr might have a way," he said.

    "Its regarding the attack on Xi Son, our home," he said.

    "Oh, it was a tragic event, was your fianc¨¦e one of the captured souls?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "Yes, she fell to the hands of one of the Fire Lord''s generals, they caught her soul in one of those Incense Burning Pots.

    "I suppose I could lend a hand, it shouldn''t be that difficult since the Fire Lord himself is still in cultivation," Zhang Tian said.

    Just as I was d that things turned out this way, suddenly the Automaton spoke to me in a loud ear rending shout.

    "MY LORD PULL OUT THE MAIN BODY!" he said.

    But before I could even act or understand what went on, a holographic appearance of the giant serpent appeared around us, opening its jaws wide, no one, not even Master Rain or Zhang Tian could react as the jaws of the holographic and ethereal serpent closed on us.

    ***

    A moment ago, Senior Brother Shen Bao just requested his great lordship Zhang Tian to assist us in retrieving Yan''er soul. As happy as Meng Hao was, he was also disappointed when he realized that he was this weak that he required and needed the assistance of a princely and godly like being like his Lordship Zhang Tian to help him.

    This further confirmed hisck of ''talent'' and ability, unlike his older brother Shen Bao who was a great cultivator, able to climb peaks upon peaks in the cultivation world and forge mighty strong connections.

    His only satisfaction and constion was the fact that instead of him being the one making connections to other great people of the Vast Expanse, Meng Hao had forged a brotherhood with Shen Bao, so by proxy, Shen Bao''s connections are his connections, and now though with this mighty connection to lord Zhang Tian as a senior brother by proxy, he can finally retrieve her soul, since this man wearing full white is one of the greats of the Vast Expanse.

    With the Immortal Schr''s abilities, it should give them a greater chance to make it out safely after going deep into the territory of the Fire Lord

    Just as Meng Hao was thinking of thanking his lordship for this great assistance, something strange happened.

    The hair on his body stood to no end as he felt this feeling once before, it was the same feeling he had when the entire of Xi Son was being taken over. And this time, it was far stronger, mightier, and frightening.

    The space itself began morphing as his eyes opened wide to what appeared to be the Eternal and Primordial God Serpent manifesting.

    How did this happen, his mind asked as it was acting far faster than his body in this situation.

    The serpent was manifesting itself, even after Master Rain and lord Zhang Tian coborated together to banish it to another dimension.

    The jaws of this serpent opened so wide and were closing in around them, as if twos were about to copse on them, forget running away, there is no time to cross the distance from between this creature''s jaws even if one was faster than the speed of lightning itself.

    The jaws of the mighty creature locked against each other and the entire group.

    For a second Meng Hao thought he had perished and died, he didn''t even have the luxury or time to even have his life sh in front of his eyes as his ''death'' was too sudden and fast for him to even react.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Yet, opening his eyes, he noticed that the serpent had disappeared and it was no longer around him. He checked his body, making sure that everything was in ce, enough that he even pinched his cheeks to make sure he wasn''t asleep or dreaming.

    Feeling the pain in his cheeks, he realized he still lived, but what was that he asked himself?

    "Bloody fucking hell was that!" muttered the ever-rude and arrogant Master Rain.

    "I have no idea, I''m sure we locked it inside a different dimension how did it manifest itself¡­ well more like manifest its spirit," Zhang Tian said then turned to Shen Bao and asked.

    "Shen Bao, your views of the Spatial Laws are far different than mine, do you know what happened?" he asked him.

    Yet Shen Bao did not reply, in fact, something was strangely happening to Shen Bao''s body.

    This avatar he was using was exuding a ck smoke as if it was the vilest and most disgusting being to ever exist, it was a foul and dark aura that was seeping out of his body.

    "Shen Bao!" Lord Zhang Tian called, then soon Shen Bao''s femalepanions realized that something was wrong and they called him out, but no response ever came out.

    Master Rain grabbed him then by the shoulder turning him to face him, only to back away stunned.

    Looking at the eyes of this avatar they were pitch ck without the whiteness of the eyes.

    "A demonic spirit? But how?!" Master Rain questioned as he saw something he never expected

    "Foul being you dare possess Shen Bao''s body!" the Immortal Schr called out as he was about to strike down his fan.

    "No!" Meng Hao shouted, "It''s Shen Bao, but¡­ not him at the same time, he wasn''t possessed¡­" Meng Hao said.

    Thinking for a second wasn''t an option because the body full of evil aura began channeling its Qi preparing to attack.

    "What the hell is happening?" Yuyu asked as worry was clear in her eyes.

    Master Rain''s brain seemed to function at a speed far faster than anyone present when he finally deduced the problem.

    "Curses¡­curses! CURSES UPON YOU DAMN SERPENT! ETERNAL CURSES UPON YOU!" Master Rain''s roar against the unfairness of the world emerged in a shout so loud and full of indignation.

    "W-what''s going on, please exin?! Shen Bao is alright right!?" Liang Yu asked who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

    Zhang Tian who seemed to lower his fan finally realized what had happened, "s¡­this serpent was actually smart enough to not go after this fake body. Trapped inside another dimension, instead of materializing itself toe here¡­ it actually went into the dimension where Shen Bao''s Pagoda was hiding¡­"

    "What does that mean?" Meng Hao asked, "How does that affect Shen Bao to be like this? a mindless husk that can''t even control itself?" it was clear to him that he was not something sentient, it was as if emotions of hatred and pain, agony and injustice were moving this body instead of a soul.

    "Because the serpent consumed the entire pagoda, the link between Shen Bao''s main body and this avatar was severed¡­ Shen Bao is currently residing inside that serpent''s stomach¡­and since he is in a banished dimension, we can''t even go help him if we wanted to¡­"

    "No¡­not like this!" Yuyu said, the grabbed Zhang Tian by the robes, "You sent the serpent to another dimension, pull it out! Or at least send me in there!" she asked.

    Zhang Tian shook his head, "I cannot do that, not to mention it nigh impossible to even find the dimension the serpent is currently in, since it was able to locate the pagoda, it means that it could easily travel between the different folds of space as it wishes, and even by some miracle, we end up finding it¡­we have no way to defeat that thing, it was not meant to be defeated, it was never meant to be in¡­ I''m afraid that Shen Bao is no-"

    "Don''t say it!" Liang Yu shouted, "Don''t you dare say it! he''lle out, I know him, he''lle back out and say it was easy! He''s not someone who''ll die just like that! So don''t you dare say it!" her words left lord Zhang Tian feeling apologetic and unable to speak because he too knew that the possibility of returning from the stomach of that thing was not even possible to calcte.

    Never mind the strength of Shen Bao, once that serpent consumes something it is considered dead, no wonder it lived in the vast expanse for as long as the vast expanse itself existed.

    The primordial serpent it was called, one of twelve, but the remaining eleven were nowhere to be seen or found. Perhaps it was just a myth that more of this type of being existed in the vast expanse, but one thing is for sure, it has never been defeated, harmed, or killed¡­ it had lived as long as the world itself was alive, and it will continue to do so¡­ this thing wasn''t meant to be killed and that means that Shen Bao''s chances of returning alive¡­ are none existing¡­

    Just like that, as Meng Hao was watching, as simple as that, even after such a grandiose battle and achievement of retrieving the full heritage of the poison god, after so much battle and effort, he was consumed just like that¡­

    What a cruel world.

 Chapter 500 Key

    The group remained there, with nothing to apany them but the rambling of the Evil Spirit that''s currently possessing Shen Bao''s body. Unable to coordinate or utter a single bit of concrete words and reasoning, it was nothing but a soulless body.

    Though it had a soul, it was severed from the main body, a soul with only its existence, without its memories or experiences, without anything but the feelings of pain, agony, frustration, disrespect, condone, and more vile and evil feelings.

    Shen Bao had been exerting and extracting all of the vile emotions inside him and stuffing them inside this puppet to save his sanity from being corroded while he was trapped by servant Mao.

    And this thing was the result, while Shen Bao was present, it was still linked to him, and he could easily possess and control it. But now, unfettered and unable to think for itself, it acts only upon the vileness that ha happened to it, and thus it went for Master Rain''s throat.

    Master Rain then unceremoniously grabbed the body as if it was a toddler trying fight a grown up.

    "What are we going to do¡­" Asked Yuyu. "We have to figure out a way to save him, we can''t just give up on him, not like this," she said.

    No one replied.

    She looked at everyone''s face and tried desperately to think of a solution, but deep down she knew. That no one here could do anything. They couldn''t seek the serpent since it had dove between the endless sheets of space.

    Even if by some miracle they could, how were they supposed to fight a creature that eatss for breakfast.

    Denial.

    It is the first of the seven emotions of grief, and she was experiencing them hard.

    The others however also felt remorse, sadness and great deal of anguish to the loss of Shen Bao, and also the futility and cruelty of fate itself.

    Suddenly, space itself seemed to warp as a woman appeared from inside it.

    Wearing a full set of ck robes, the woman looked around. Then back at Zhang Tian the immortal schr.

    "Mother¡­" Zhang Tian spoke.

    "I couldn''t do anything¡­ once again. He was taken without me being able to do anything¡­" her words sounded as if they weighed the weight of the world itself. Her sadness was so clear that the stars themselves seemed to dim alongside her.

    "You can bring him back, like you did for me!" Yuyu said as she got closer to the woman.

    The queen shook her head, "I cannot, your soul was whole¡­ but that," she said as she pointed at the Shen Mo''s body, "That is not a soul. It is a culmination of pain and agony that is fitted and needled together to function as a Soul. It has nothing to do with Shen Bao. It is a dead soul¡­"

    "Then track Shen Bao''s Soul! That''s something you can do! You could track him through your domain, he is still in your domain!" Yuyu shouted back.

    "I lost connection to him, he¡­ is no longer with us¡­" the words she spoke were as clear as a confirmation of certain death.

    Inescapable death that couldn''t be thwarted or ovee.

    With the queen''s words, it finally downed on them.

    Realization.

    "Shen Bao¡­ is dead¡­" Liang Yu spoke.

    She looked up, wiped her eyes and said, "I''ll head back, to the Academy," as stoically as possible.

    Yuyu on the other hand, enraged shouted back, "That''s it! this is how you''ll treat him, after all he did for you?! You''ll just go back?!"

    Liang Yu''s fiery nature was about to burst out, but she calmed down and said, "We''re cultivators, in case you forgot. Death apanies us, we defy the heavens by merely existing. Death is a final inevitable part of this cycle, immortality is not omnipotence, we seek it to live longer and experience longer, but all we do, is seek immortality, never achieve it¡­ Shen Bao is lucky, his journey had ended¡­ and he deserves to rest¡­"

    Yuyu couldn''t ept those words, "You never loved him, you only apanied him because he was there and helped you. Only out of need, never out of love."

    "Don''t speak what you don''t know, you''ve been blessed with thepany of a man who went against the Fire Lord''s army to save you, yet still you acted as cold as ice when he was around. You''re the one who does not deserve to even feel sad for him, since you never treated him as someone who will one day be gone. You always took him for granted¡­and never acted upon the fact that one day he too will be gone¡­ Don''t you dare judge my feelings since you yourself never realized how selfish yours were!" Liang Yu replied in a colder tone than ice itself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her words were harsh, but for Yuyu they felt true, making her feel like she was about to breakdown.

    "Let''s calm down for now¡­ everyone treats grief differently, Mother, I wanted to head back home, but I have something I need to do¡­"

    "What do you wish for?" she asked.

    "I''ll be heading to the Fire Lord''s domain¡­" he said.

    The Queen was about to argue, but then Zhang Tian added.

    "There is something that Shen Bao was going to do there, and since he pass-¡­ this happened. I need to take care of it personally, since he is my sworn brother¡­"

    "If it''s about Saving Yan''er, I''ll figure something out, there is no need for you to help," Meng Hao stated, his face darker than ck just from the mere fact of mentioning going in to face the Fire Lord.

    "I have given Shen Bao my word, and it''s the least I could do for him, don''t worry¡­" Zhang Tian said.

    "Then, I''ll prepare somethings to help you in your journey," the queen said.

    "I''ll also be going," Master Rain said as he was still grabbing the fidgeting body of Shen Mo.

    "But what are we going to do with this?" he added.

    Zhang Tian looked at it and said,"Seal it somewhere, there is no reason to kill it, and dispose of it. it''s weak, and useless, but perhaps we''ll figure a way to use this¡­ maybe, I can''t figure a way right now, but if by some chance there is a way to either cleanse or repair this thing¡­ maybe we can bring him back¡­" the final sentence was spoken lightly for no one to hear.

    ***

    The group soon split up, the two women left for the heavenly academy as Master Rain pulled out the Thunder Bull Chariot for them. As for Master Rain and Meng Hao they went to a nearby, to rest up, waiting for Zhang Tian toe back so they can finish up on rescuing Yan Er.

    "Where is this?" asked Master Rain.

    "It''s an inn I used to go to while waiting for the trial to open, they serve good drinks," Meng Hao said.

    "Interesting," Master Rain said, "Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I''d find you here," said Master Rain.

    Meng Hao, confused tracked Master Rain''s eyes and saw him looking at the old bartender.

    This bartender was the same person who was apanying Meng Hao while he drank and waited for the opening of the Trial.

    "Old Blue¡­ never have I thought I''d meet you either¡­ I suppose that if we live long enough we''re bound to meet¡­" he said.

    "Old Blue? what''s that, you know him?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Yes, that''s the title I used to go by, back in the day... also why wouldn''t I know him, especially since he''s the one who took my Key away¡­"

    The bartender smiled, "You lost it to someone better," he shrugged, "Not my problem," the bartender replied.

    "Want to go at it again? Thest time you cheated," said Master Rain.

    "Nope, I''m the kind of guy who''ll leave the betting table when he is up in winnings, you can cry all about it if you want, but you''re not getting your Water Key back." the bartender grinned.

    ''Water Key? Does this bartender possess the water Key? how? when did that happen, also he took it from Master Rain. the infamous, and one of the strongest of this Vast Expanse... a bartender took it from him?'' Meng Hao couldn''t believe his ears..

    "Damn cowardly bastard, pour us a drink! I really need one¡­" Master Rain said as he sat down.

 Chapter 501 Reminiscence

    "So, how did you lose your key, I suppose the water key, right?" Meng Hao asked.

    Master Rain groaned as he began recollecting things of a time long gone.

    "It was the four of us, Me, Lu right here, Du Shen, and the past lord of the Water Domain. All four of us were chasing after the Key as it appeared in a distant deep down within a cave," Master Rain began exining.

    "Du Shen was the fastest of us all," Master Rain said, "He managed to reach deep within the cave while the rest of us were still struggling to fight off some of the underground dwellers, his fighting abilities were absurdly high and he left us in the dust," Master Rain said.

    "Well, if you weren''t too preupied with trying to decipher every bit and word written on the walls of that cave, we probably could have made it faster than he did," the bartender Lu said.

    "Hey, that was some undiscovered ancientnguage, you never know when it coulde in handy," Master Rain sighed, "But you''re right, maybe I would have gotten faster to the Key, but in the end, it didn''t matter anyway," Master Rain said.

    "Howe?" Asked Meng Hao as he drank from his jug.

    "The Key is the one that chooses its owner, and that was one of the reasons why Du Shen became more and more aggressive the more he progressed in life," Master Rain said.

    "I have no idea what the keys are, what do they look like?" asked Meng Hao.

    Lu looked at Meng Hao and said, "It is said that the origin of all things is the Five Elements, Fire, Wind, Metal, Earth, and Water. The keys present the four primordial elements to exist in this universe and have created it. Our goal is to find them, gather them, and use them to open up the path to the Beyond," he said.

    "What is the Beyond?" asked Meng Hao.

    "It is the true world, or so the legends say, I don''t really believe them much but the key I had spoke of a world that exists beyond this small area we call the Vast Expanse, it is really not vast at all. Though you sees and gxies as far as the eye could see and more, it is still a small ce as a whole. We''re in a prison," Lu said.

    "You spoke of the key in the past tense, do you no longer own it?" Meng Hao asked.

    Lu shook his head, "If I still had it we''d probably be out by now, but no. The Keys do not remain in the same ce for a long while, especially if the owner is incapable such as I, it had left me one day," Lu said.

    "You shouldn''t have scammed me out of it then," Master Rain grumbled.

    "You''re the one who decided to bet it for a drink," Lu said.

    Master Rain didn''t reply and slowly drank more of his Jug.

    "What was I saying? Ah right, Du Shen''s inability to own the Key was pretty vexing for him, since he really needed to leave the Vast Expanse," Lu said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Why so? If you said the Vast Expanse holdss and worlds that would take several lifetimes to visit, why did Du Shen want to leave? He could achieve a lot here even, and he did," Meng Hao said.

    "As an Immortal, how would you feel like when you are promised immortality only to have the looming scythe of the grim Reaper forever close to your neck," Lu said.

    Meng Hao clearly didn''t understand so Lu had to exin.

    "The thing you saw this morning, it harbored inexplicable hatred toward Du Shen, following him everywhere, ruining worlds ands he visited, and ying and killing many people. The mere fact that Du Shen existed caused that thing to forever pursue him, and soon, the people began rejecting Du Shen, refusing hispany or assisting him for fear of bringing that abomination, the Primordial Serpent God is an infamous and grudgeful creature. Du Shen wanted to find all the keys and open the path to the outside world since he tried and tried many times to fight off the serpent only to lose time after the other," he said.

    "Not even the Poison God was able to escape death¡­" Meng Hao said.

    "Well, we don''t know we honestly have no idea if Du Shen truly did die, he just disappeared one day, no one knew saw, or had any idea where he went. And after a thousand years, he was presumed dead. Still, with the heritage out, we assumed that he passed away and left it for the next generation¡­"

    "Du Shen''s line''s been cut," said Master Rain breaking the story, "That snake just went up and ate him. I couldn''t do much," Master Rain sighed, sadness clear in his eyes.

    "You must have known him," said Lu as he poured Master Rain another cup.

    "Yes, my disciple, a bright one, fisty and arrogant to boots, but he knows what he speaks of, and speaks what he knows. He was a person who wasn''t afraid of power, he even punched me in the face the second time we met, and tried to fight me the first time. Hah," Master Rainughed as he remembered.

    "Do you know how many people in the vast expanse could teach me something new?" asked Master Rain.

    "You old foggy lived for so long and read so much I''d find it a miracle for you to learn something new, especially from the newer generation," Lu said.

    "That''s what I believed," Master Rain said, "But, it was not the case with Shen Bao, he viewed the world¡­ not from his eyes, it was more like his very presence was adjacent to the world we''re in, he was the person who''d ask you to prove that 2+2=4 and then when you do it, he''ll show you an easier way to do it. It took me hundreds of years trying to decipher a text, whereas Shen Bao took no less than half a day, just by simply thinking outside the box. A genius of a brave and powerful man with resourcefulness I''ve never seen before in a hundredbined men¡­"

    Lu sighed, "Reminds you of him, doesn''t he," Lu said.

    "Of Du Shen, no, theplete opposite, Du Shen was strong, frighteningly so, if he couldn''t solve a problem with violence, he used more violence. He was smart, I have to admit since he was one of the few who could take several paths in Dao and remain sane. But, he was a bully. He would destroy a just because it blocked his view of another star. I''ve seen him do worse. Shen Bao on the other hand is far gentler, far gentler than most cultivators¡­ yet when the need be, he is as cruel as any of us. He would always try and solve an issue using his head before his fists. And I like an intellectual man¡­still, he couldn''t save himself from that, no one could¡­"

    ***

    "It''s dark in here¡­and why does my ear itch so much¡­ someone must be talking about me¡­ anyway, what am I gonna do now. This does not look too good¡­"

 Chapter 502 Inside The Beast

    "Automaton, what happened? Also, everything hurts holy shit," I grumbled as I tried to figure out what was going on. Everything was too dark and too quiet.

    "L¡­ord¡­"

    The words came broken and stuttering as if a mechanical error had happened.

    I traced around the dark area around me only to find the Automaton sprawled on the ground unable to move or function.

    I got closer and tried to wake him up.

    "What''s wrong? C''mon, buddy, wake up," I said.

    Some Qi, figments, and bits of it sparked inside the automaton''s ss eyes and it said, "Critical energy failure, cannot self sustain¡­"

    I immediately pulled out a Saint Qi crystal that I had on me and ced it against the automaton''s chest.

    The automaton absorbed the Qi from the crystal but almost immediately stopped himself.

    "Lord, don''t waste this precious resource on me, you will need it to self-sustain," he said.

    "What''s going on, it''s just a piece of Saint Qi, I have plenty more," I replied.

    "Good, that means, you''ll live a bit longer than I anticipated¡­"

    "That sounds he ominous, I can''t remember what happened, what''s going on in here, the sound of wind has died, the whole world feels lifeless for some reason, and why is the pagoda without any light? Wasn''t there an artificial sun right here?" I asked.

    The automaton began booting more of its functions as it said, "We''re inside the serpent. The offensive that the sword spirit hadunched exhausted a lot of the Lord''s Pagoda, and now that we''re inside the serpent''s stomach¡­our future looks bleak, it isn''t allowing any energy in, so we cannot function."

    "Wait hold up, inside what thing''s stomach?"

    "The Primordial Dragon Serpent, it had eaten the Lord of Lords Pagoda. And us inside it."

    "And I suppose we can''t teleport out?" I asked.

    "No, the serpent''s size is enough to mess up everything regarding spatial discement, not to mention it''s constantly seeping every inch and ounce of Qi the pagoda produces. I''ve shut down all of its functions, but we won''tst at this rate."

    "Damn," I said as I thought about how to deal with this issue.

    "Can we see what''s outside? Or even go outside the pagoda," I asked.

    "Yes, it shouldn''t be enough energy release for the serpent to notice us, it must had thought that we had died once we were inside it," the Automaton said, "But if you were to cause it to notice that you live still, it may act in ordance to get rid of us."

    "Good, show me then," I said.

    The Automaton then disyed a holographic screen that showed nothing but darkness at first, until the ''light'' began adjusting and I was too stunned to speak.

    We were technically inside the stomach of this serpent, but here¡­ it didn''t look like a stomach whatsoever.

    Entire continents were ''swimming'' in stomach fluids. There was even a starry sky.

    How is this even possible?

    But soon I came to realize something, this creature''s size is immense to a disgustingly preposterous size. Seeing a few continent-sized pieces of dirt wasn''t that strange, but the strangest thing was¡­ they held life. Yes, actual human life¡­

    As the pagoda zoomed further in, I was able to see people, cultivators, markets even and some going on their daily lives as if living inside the stomach of this creature wasn''t that worth mentioning.

    "The hell is going on in there?" I mumbled.

    "The Primordial Serpent God consumess for sustenance. And if any cultivator survive the feast, it remained inside, with so much material that a possesses, it is no wonder that a civilization was created."

    "This is actually insane," I muttered, "A world within a body¡­ an actual living, breathing world."

    "Are you nning on visiting it?" asked the Automaton.

    "Do we have any other choice?" I asked, "Those are continents, and those are people, that means that there are materials and herbs. And I need a lot of spiritual herbs. Thest fight had its toll on me, My Dantian is cracked, and several of my meridians are fractured. My body is no longer able to regenerate as fast as it could," I said "Not to mention that my skin itself feels as brittle as sand after drying¡­ my body is damaged critically so, and I don''t have the means to repair it right now," I said.

    "Then if the Lord wishes, you may leave to visit, if by some chance you find aary core, bring it to me," said the Automaton.

    "What is that?" I asked.

    "It is the heart of a, it is as small as a human''s fist, but it radiates energy so great it can give birth to a itself. Theary Core that was sustaining the Lord of Lord''s pagoda is in is throwing itst, and will notst longer than a couple of years at best. Once the core dies down, the entire facility of the pagoda will emerge to the world and suffer its effects," the automaton said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But how can we even find something like that here," I mumbled.

    "Actually this may be the best ce to find one, this serpent eatss, so by some chance we might find an intactary Core."

    "Damn, I''ll see what I can do," I said.

    "Don''t see, you have to find one, otherwise we''ll be stranded here until the end of times¡­"

    "No pressure¡­" I grumbled as I left the pagoda.

    Just as I emerged outside, and was high above the continent-sized pieces of half-digesteds, I was pulled down by a gravitational force so great that I felt I was about to be squashed on impact.

    But just as I rapidly approached the ground of a giant forest, the gravitational pull began receding faster and faster, to the point I was able to use my own qi to push myself afloat.

    Then soon, I slowed down to a halt and arrived safely to the ground.

    The whole area was full of long strange looking trees, it was hard to see using one''s own eyes so I spread my divine sense around me.

    There was a putrid smell to this area, like the smell of vomit, but I suppose that it was normal since I''m literally in the stomach of a creature.

    Yet, the grass grew, the wind blew and birds flew all over.

    This dead-to-be-expected ce seemed to have more life than I thought. But thinking about it, how long would it take for this creature to finish digesting an entire, it should be tens of thousands of years. So no wonder a civilization exists.

    Just as I was thinking about where to go, a couple of cultivators arrived at my side almost immediately swords at the ready and pointed at my neck.

    "Who are you? Where did youe from?" one of them asked, the bigger-sized one of the two, he had an ugly scowl on his face, and the massive scare cutting from the corner of his forehead all the way to the side of his chin wasn''t something that would make me say this man was good looking. Not to mention that it was hard to see any part of his skin that didn''t have a tribal tattoo on it.

    The other wasn''t much of a looker either, he had several scars all over his tattoo-covered body, and one of his eyes was missing, still, he carried a rusty-looking sword as if it was his most prized possession.

    "Dang Ho, let''s just kill him. Look at what he''s wearing, he must be from a wealthy ind," the second guy said.

    "We killter, we know who he is now!" the first man said. "Of which tribe youe from, foreigner!" he said.

    "No tribe," I said.

    The two looked at each other in confusion and then asked me, "You lie!"

    "I''m not, I don''t belong here, I was just roaming the vast expanse until the serpent ate me," I said.

    "Serpent? Vast expanse?" the man named Dong Ho muttered and then nodded, "I understand," he said.

    "What do you understand brother Dong Ho?" asked hispanion.

    "This man¡­ is crazy," he said.

    ¡­

    I kept opening my mouth and shutting it trying to say something about how incredibly stupid these two people are, but then I thought for a second and asked.

    "What is this ce?" I asked them.

    "See I told you he is crazy, he must have hit his head while sneaking in on our Tiger Warrior Lands¡­"

    "Okay, so I guess this ce is called the Tiger Warrior."

    The smaller of the two bonked Dong Ho on the head, "Now he knows what this ce is! You idiot, why did you tell him!"

    The other man named Dong Ho apologized and said, "Now you know where this is, we must kill you so you don''t tell the others!" he said.

    I facepalmed from the sheer idiocy of the two and asked, "Do you know that you''re all inside the stomach of a serpent?" I asked.

    The two of them looked at each other in utter confusion.

    "You probably don''t, I can''t me you, you were probably born and raised here, with all of this around you being the only thing you knew, so you took it for granted as the real world. Frogs in a well¡­ I suppose that is the closest analogy," I sighed.

    "We''re not Frogs! Frogs live on the other ind! We''re Tiger Warriors!" the big guy Dong Ho eximed proudly.

    ''I''m gonna have a headache¡­''

 Chapter 503 The Great Flood

    "Let''s kill him!" Dong Ho said.

    "You made this awkward enough, shut up," the smaller man said, "You, what''s your name?" he asked in amanding tone.

    "It is out of politeness that when asking someone''s name, one must give theirs first," I replied.

    The two looked at each other and then the one I didn''t know his name said.

    "I''m Dong Cho," he said.

    "Brothers?" I asked.

    The smaller man''s brows furrowed, "How did you know? We don''t even look alike!"

    "Your name¡­ Anyway, so what''s going on here, are you hunters? Warriors? Or scavengers?" I asked.

    "Warriors!"

    "Hunters!"

    Each of them replied at the same time. Then the confusion got them, and then they started bickering between themselves.

    "Warriors I say! We''re the Tiger Warrior Tribe! We have Warrior in our name!" Dong Ho said.

    "But we''re not the warriors of the vige you fool! We''re the hunters, we''re tasked to get food!"

    "But we''re warriors at heart!" Dong Ho said.

    "Yes, Warriors at heart, but hunters as upation, don''t confuse them!" Dong Cho said.

    "¡­"

    "And what about you? Are you a warrior?" Dong Cho, the one with one more brain cell than hispanion said.

    "Yes and no, I''m more like a doctor," I said.

    "What is a doctor?" asked Dong Cho.

    "Oh, A healer of sorts¡­" I said.

    "That''s not a warrior upation, a weak man! Yes!" he said "So we can kill him."

    "How did you even get to that conclusion," I shook my head.

    "Wait, we can''t kill him, Grandma Meng has been feeling sick ever since she ate the ck Bell Mushroom. Can you cure her?" asked Dong Cho.

    "I suppose I can take a look," I said.

    "Then follow us," they said as they guided me forward, spears against my neck.

    Though awkward as it may seems, I didn''t really care enough to ask them to remove the spears off my neck. I needed to get information and making the fortable'' is the best way to guarantee their cooperation.

    It took about an hour before we arrived to the front of a massive sized vige that was built on the side of a cliff.

    Houses were built in an entric and intricate way, though most of them were made from wood, they were interlinked by bridges and ropes that allowed ess from one house to another. Looking at the people moving about even crossing through the homes of other people just to get to their destination was frankly an eye opener.

    They didn''t have many boundaries between each other, it feels as if this vige is pretty close.

    "Grandma Meng is at the top, so head forward," Dong Cho said.

    we took a wooden lift that we stood on, Dong Cho called out, "Lift us up!"

    and soon, a man, a pretty bulky one, began pulling on a rope that lifted all three of us.

    I made sure to reduce my own weight by lightly elevating myself from the wooden floor. If I didn''t do that, my weight thanks to the Poison God''s Body Cultivation would be too heavy for even the wood itself to carry it, not to mention a man and a rope.

    Soon we arrived at the top and then began moving between the homes of people through the small bridges linking them.

    After a while of navigating this maze-like vige, we arrived at a small hut-like home at the very top of this vige.

    It stank.

    Really stank, so hard that even the smell emanating from the atmosphere due to the serpent constantly being in a digestive mode was not enough to cover it.

    The two men didn''t seem to flinch or react to the smell, they must have gotten used to it.

    "Grandma Meng, we brought a Quack!" one of them said.

    "Quack?" I frowned.

    "Oh, yes, because everyone who said they could treat Grandma Meng failed to do so. And she always calls them Quacks, so we can''t tell her you''re a healer, she probably does not know what that is!" he said confidently.

    "You two fools," I heard, a low clearly old, and jarring voiceing from inside the tent.

    "If you know it''s a quack why bring it," she added, she sounded clearly disappointed but at the same time expecting it. These two aren''t the sharpest tools in the shed, and i could understand her frustration.

    "Madam," I said, "I''m a healer, would you mind me taking a look at what''s ailing you?" I asked.

    "Oh¡­you don''t sound like these fools. Come on in," she said.

    Once I entered, I saw nothing but a bed, a pot chamber, and a small rundown looking table.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The bed had several hanging sheets covering all four of its corners, making it impossible to see who is inside it.

    I felt a surge of divine senseing from the woman, and realized that she was a cultivator too.

    These two are also cultivators, but they don''t seem to realize it, they''re cultivating their bodies but not their brains.

    "You''re not from thesends are you," she said.

    "No, I''m from outside," I said.

    "Outside? As in another ind?" she asked.

    "No, outside the serpent," I said.

    "There he goes again, this madman, he thinks that we live inside a snake, what a crazy man!" Dong Cho said.

    Dong Ho then hit him on the head, "Shut up you idiot, why did you say that, if grandma Meng Knows he is a crazy man she''ll yell at us!" the other guy said trying to sound as quietly as possible.

    "Pardon these idiots, how is the outside? The Vast Expanse¡­" she said.

    "It''s the same, do you wish to know of it?" I asked.

    "Yes, please do tell this old woman of what happens outside, I''ve been here since I could remember, and all I know of the vast expanse is from the stories of the people who spoke of a world outside this world¡­"

    "Then let me check up on you first as I tell you all about it," I said.

    She then removed the drapes for just a bit allowing her hand out.

    Her hand was ck as if charred, and you could barely see her blood veins, they were pulsing ever so slowly one would find it strange that she still lived.

    I lightly pressed both my index and middle fingers on her wrist and began inserting miniscule amounts of Qi to try and understand her situation.

    "Currently," I said, "The four corners of the Vast Expanse are in a bit of a turmoil," I said.

    Then began exining what was going on between the four, and how the events that led up to the increased aggression between the Fire Domain and the Wind Domain started, and how everything in the Vast Expanse feels as if it''s a ticking time bomb.

    Words after words came out as I exined more and more about it, and she never interrupted me and just calmly listed.

    I hinted at the two to bring me a few tools as I was extracting a bit of blood from her hand and began concocting a cure.

    She had eaten a ck Bell Mushroom, those aren''t umon, and their cure is pretty simple, only this one was clearly a mutated species since it caused this much damage to her body, but it''s just skin destruction, easily repaired with a few tonics and invigorating pills along with the cure to the mushroom.

    Not a long time after, I had given her a small bowl with a mix of mashed herbs turned to a broth.

    "Eat this slowly, you should see improvement in your condition by night, and aplete recovery in a month''s time," I said.

    "Oh, thank you, I was so engrossed in your story I didn''t even realize you had finished¡­but this story feels like it''scking something," she said.

    "What could it becking?" I asked.

    "What''s your role in the story? I mean, howe you came here, you said that the Poison God''s event happened, and the serpent came. But you never gave any details on how you ended up in the stomach of the serpent,"

    "Every Story has a hero, and I''m not the hero of this story, there was no point in telling the point of view of an irrelevant person," I shrugged.

    "Those who speaks words as humble as this are bound to greatness¡­So you have told your story, I''m sure you wish to hear ours," she said.

    "Of course, I wish to understand what happened here, and how you all ended up being trapped in this ce.

    "I haven''t been born before our was consumed, I believe it was close to a thousand years now¡­" she said. "Whenever the serpent eats, it is rare, extremely rare for anything to live, but life somehow finds a way, and the few people who survived the consumption banned together and createdmunities. Some prospered and many failed and perished¡­and it was always due to the Day of The Great Flood¡­"

    The two brothers shuddered at the mention of this name and this brought me some interest to the topic.

    "The Day of the Great Flood?" I questioned.

    "Yes, it is the day when most of us perish¡­ I''ve been through one of them, and survived due to a miracle¡­ but I suppose we''re not going to make it this time¡­" she said.

    I frowned, what is she talking about.

    "The seas rise, and when they do, they begin eating away at thend itself, corroding and eroding it until nothing of it remains. And even if a few peaks remain afloat, the fumes and poisonous smoke that results from thend being consumed is enough to suffocate everyone.

    I and a few other cultivators were able to survive thest flood simply because one of the mountain peaks stood strong and long enough for the flood to retract back. And in the five hundred years that followed, another was consumed and these are their offspring''s and the survivors."

    "Interesting," I think I understand what''s going on, it''s simply the serpent''s digestive acids. "How do the animals survive though? I''ve seen cattle on my way up here," I asked.

    "That happened only because one of our former leaders had a tool that he could use to store animals and living creatures, it was then stolen since it was considered an arc that could be used to save others from certain death, and we''ve yet to uncover its whereabouts," she said.

    So we''re basically stuck inside the stomach of the serpent and living on borrowed time.

    "How long did thest Flood happen?" I asked.

    "Five hundred years¡­"

    "Oh that means¡­"

    "Yes, it should happen again during this year¡­"

    "Shit¡­"

 Chapter 504 Planning

    The atmosphere at the bar was dry and dull, the death of apanion and a great friend like Shen Bao had affected everyone heavily, even the bartender Lu felt it and all he could do was hand more wine to help the two drown their sorrows and loss.

    Not a while longer, a man wearing a full set of white robes and a fan arrived to the bar along with another slightly raggedy, long haired yet handsome to boots young man.

    "Finally decided to join us, Zhang Tian," spoke Master Rain.

    "I''ve finished my preparations," he said.

    "I suppose you''re also interested ining along," Master Rain addressed the young man next to the Immortal Schr.

    "Indeed, I''ve only had the pleasure of being in thepany of Shen Bao for a few days, and I''m sure that you have had a far longer period of time acquainting yourselves with him, thus, if it is alright with you I wish to apany you on this journey,"

    "I''d never say no to one of the younger generation trying to follow and learn new things, you''re more than wee Devourer," spoke Master Rain to Dao Shen.

    "I''ve seen you before sitting next to Shen Bao," Meng Hao said.

    "Yes, he spoke greatly of you, and your ''treasure''," Dao Shen said.

    The word treasure brought the attention of everyone to Meng Hao, who clearly looked confused.

    "I don''t understand, I don''t have anything that would peak Shen Bao''s interest enough for him to call it a treasure," Meng Hao replied.

    "I know, the treasure he spoke of is something intangible, the protection of fate itself, as it appeared clear as day to me when I saw you fight out of your weight ss and still achieve victory in the most grim of odds, so, I wish to see more of this thus why I decided to follow and join in on this venture," Dao Shen said.

    "The more the merrier," Lu said smiling, "Sit down I''ll have more drinks ready up in a second."

    The table was almost packed with different kinds of wine and foods the group ate as they were discussing how to handle the uing venture.

    "First things first," the Zhang Tian said. "We need to locate the exact location where the Pots are held, we can''t go about the whole of the Southern Domain searching for them," Zhang Tian said.

    "I know where they are," Meng Hao replied immediately, "I''ve been there too," he said.

    "Howe?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "I was captured by the Fire Lord''s forces too," he said.

    "And you lived to tell the tale? Hell, how did you even escape?" Bartender Lu said.

    "You seem to know some things about where he was held," asked Master Rain.

    "Yes, it''s like concentration camps, I hear rumors here and there, after all, a bar is a great ce to loosen people''s lips. The Fire Lord captures young cultivators and ces the ones he deems worthy of nurturing inside his cave system, constantly injecting them with the baleful Qi from his caves. They work them to the bones mining Blood Stones, and once they are either close to decay or close to fruition depending on their bodies rate of consumption of the baleful fire Qi, he consumes them or destroys the ones who are inadequate. The chances of survival from there has always been zero¡­ until now I suppose," he said.

    "How did you escape? We can use the same way back inside without being caught I believe," Zhang Tian said.

    "I don''t think it will work," said Meng Hao.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The group frowned waiting for him to exin more.

    "I''ve found the cave of an immortal hidden deep within the cave system of the fire lord. As of today I still don''t understand how something I bought by sheer luck back in my home was actually the key to this ce, and once I was inside I found some materials that help me reach the Ascendant Stage. Then I was teleported through a rift in space that led me all the way here. The rift closed by the way and I don''t think we can use it," he said.

    "Rift travel is almost impossible using one''s own body, not to mention below the Saint Stage, even King ss cultivators have a rough time traveling through it without suffering greatly and hurting their vitality. You must have been blessed to survive such journey with a low cultivation level. Sadly, we can''t rely on luck to backtrack from the exit, not to mention traveling the rift there is no guarantee that even if we enter from the same exit it will lead us back to the cave you spoke about," Zhang Tian said.

    "Indeed, I''ve tried many times traveling through spatial rifts, but thews of space and time are soplexly convoluted there, your body could be torn the moment you enter if its an unstable rift. We''ll have to find another way in," he said.

    "Well, I think I know of a way," Dao Shen said.

    The group attentively listened, "I heard one of the fire lord generals is currently waging an envement war on a. We can infiltrate the and get captured, that way we''ll have easier ess to his main where we can proceed with saving the woman," he said.

    Absurd, and unthinkable, yet at the same time a very interesting idea, that was what everyone was thinking.

    Going directly to the main of the Fire Lord is bound to cause a lot of unwanted attention. But, if camouged into ves, they could easily fit in.

    "We''ll need to work on our appearances," Master Rain said.

    "I could change the appearances of everyone here, but our Qi signature is far too strong¡­" Zhang Tian said.

    "Then I can devour it," said Zhang Tian.

    "Howe?" asked Master Rain.

    "I can consume and devour bits of your Qi, reforming it and changing it from what it is currently at, this way you''ll only need to stop your Qi from regenerating back to the normal form, you''ll all look like mortals to the most discerning of eyes, not to mention I''ve been using the Book of Souls so I have my way around changing the Soul Imprints," Dao Shen said.

    "Well, that''s handy and all, but how can I trust that you won''t just consume me whole, to allow you ess to my Divine Sense and adjusting it is basically throwing myself at your mercy," said Master Rain.

    Dao Shen shook his head, "I have no way or method to prove that I am not lying, this is all I can do to assist," he said.

    "I''ll take the offer," said Meng Hao.

    "You trust a stranger with your life?" said Master Rain.

    "It will work out, even if he decides to betray us, and I can''t afford to be skeptical right now, she doesn''t have much time."

    The rest of the group looked at Meng Hao and realized his sincerity and urgency, so Zhang Tian spoke, "I''ll be the first, and please, if you believe you''re able to devour me, then you''re my guest, I would find it interesting to have not one, but two people able to surpass my mental prows," Zhang Tian stated confidently.

    "You must be talking about Shen Bao," Dao Shen said.

    "Yes, he was the only one who easily suppressed my Divine Sense and Domain as if it was nothing, I still haven''t figured out how he did so, and if you could consume my Divine Sense I wouldn''t even be mad," he smiled.

    "I''m not risking the wrath of the entire Wind Domain, so don''t worry," Dao Shen said and approached Zhang Tian, "Here I begin,"

 Chapter 505 Library

    "And I suppose you''re prepared for what is toe?" I asked.

    She shook her head, "We lost the ability to survive centuries ago, the older generation is keeping things quiet, but we all know that this might possibly be ourst year here. There are no mountains high enough to stop what''sing, nor can we survive long enough for the fumes to die down," she said.

    "What are you talking about?" asked Dong Ho.

    "Nothing you need to worry about, also howe you''re back from hunting this early? Are you already done?" she asked.

    The two looked at each other and immediately dipped out of the hut.

    "They listen well," I said.

    "They''re in my eyes still children, they listen to their elders, not to mention even in my state, I''m pretty powerfulpared to them, they were never given the chance to cultivate, not many materials or knowledge can survive the destruction of a full you know," she said.

    "I see."

    "I feel your anxiety, and I pity your luck, you''ve been consumed at the worst point in time, if only it was a few yearster, or even earlier you could have survived and lived a bit more¡­" she said.

    "You''re talking as if this is an issue for me," I said.

    "You don''t fear death?" she asked.

    "There is no one in the world who does not fear death, death is the unknown and all fear what they do not know, not even the most pious fears no death. But what I mean is, I have a way to solve this issue, the problem is¡­who''s going to join in on it, it''s not an easy task," I said.

    "I feel that you carry a great deal of knowledge, but I doubt that they will listen. Most don''t know that they live within the belly of the beast, meaning that they won''t care for what you speak, and those who know are too old to care and have already given up, giving them hope now is going to bring more harm than good," she said.

    "Then you expect me to justy down and die? I can''t do that," I said.

    "If you could save yourself, then do it alone, no need to bother the people," she said.

    "But I need the people, in fact, the only way for me to leave this ce is if everyone here helps me find an object," I said.

    "What sort of object?" she asked.

    "A''s heart," I said.

    "I''ve never seen those, or know of what that is," she said.

    "Neither have I, but I need it, it''s our only way out," I said.

    "As much as I am thankful for your help in treating this old woman, I fear that I have no power to aid you in this," she replied.

    "¡­ I''ll figure something out," I replied and then walked out of the hut.

    Many of the people in the vige were looking up at me, it seems that the two hunters didn''t keep their mouths shut about the ''quack''

    "You''re the healer?" one of the people asked.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "My child is sick, would you be willing to help?" he asked.

    "Lead the way," I said to him and followed.

    This is good, helping the vigers means that I could have a better reputation among the people here, which will help in mustering more force to look for a''s Heart.

    I arrived at a small house and found a small kid with red spots all over his body.

    Chicken Pox, is pretty simple.

    It didn''t take me more than an incense stick''s worth of time to make a salve out of some herbs I had on me.

    "Apply it on the blemishes, and don''t let the kid scratch them, the red spots will be gone in a day," I said.

    The man thanked me and as soon as I got out, many others were waiting outside to check if I was actually able to heal and treat.

    Then soon, request after request came, which I agreed upon and followed through. Curing helping, healing and repairing many things.

    Several dayster, the vige''s whole atmosphere seemed to have changed for the better.

    "Doctor!" one man asked me as I was done washing my hands from treating some of the cattle.

    "My wife had made some food and wishes to invite you over, would you be willing?" he asked.

    "I''m sorry, I don''t have time right now, I need to look for something," I told the man.

    Interested in the matter the man asked, "What do you wish to find, I''ll help you if I can," he said.

    ''Good, got one,''

    "It''s a red stone, the size of a fist, it emanates heat but is harmless to people," I said.

    The man was confused for a moment and said, "I don''t know about anything that looks like that, but there is an old man who might know, would you give me some time, I''ll be back soon," he said.

    "Alright hopefully good news," I said.

    Half a dayter, the same man came back.

    "Does it look like this?" he said as he handed me a paper.

    I looked at the paper and saw a drawing of a rough-looking stone, only this one was imnted on the top of a staff.

    "Lord, that is a''s Heart!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Indeed it does, where did you find this drawing?" I asked.

    "It''s something one of the vige elders had with him, apparently this belong to the shaman of the Boar Vige, they had raided ournd several decades ago and their leader was carrying this object, it was giving his own troops a good boost of morale, we won the battle since we had more numbers, but we lost too many people, the Boar Tribe retreated after and we haven''t heard of them since," he said.

    "Where does the Boar Tribe reside?" I asked.

    "They used to be neighbors to us, but thend split and the sea tore through it, now they live across the burning seas."

    ''Burning Seas? Well, I suppose since it''s basically stomach acid.''

    "Right then, do you have a map?" I asked.

    "I do not but the elder might," he said.

    "Take me to the elder," I said.

    If the Boar Tribe has theary Heart, I''ll be able to activate the Lord of Lords pagoda again, hopefully, escape the serpent too. Good news, good news!''

    I followed the young man all the way to the bottom of the vige where there was a small house built inside the cliff.

    The moment I stepped foot through the entrance, the smell of books jolted me. And the sight I saw was incredible to behold.

    Hundreds of thousands of rows of books all ced neatly on top of each other, organized and filed with great care and attention.

    In the middle of this massive room that seemed to extend halfway across the cliffs inside was one single desk. And an old man wearing a monocle was reading carefully through a book while slowly tracing the words with his finger.

    Just as the young man was about to speak and interrupt the old man I held him by the shoulder and shook my head. "Let him be done, he''s immersed," I said.

    The young man confused still agreed and waited next to me, a minute, two, then an hour, enough that the young man''s patience was exhausted so he coughed, this made the old man finally raise his head up.

    "My apologies, I didn''t notice you there," he said.

    "No need to worry," I said slightly disappointed by theck of patience of the man next to me.

    "A good book?" I asked.

    "A great one," he said as he closed the book gently and ced it on the desk.

    It was written in a strangenguage, something from a different culture, but seeing the old man able to read it gives off how much he knows of literature.

    "You must be the one looking for theary Heart, my apologies, it took too long to find it, I''m too old and this ce is too big to look for one item," he said.

    "Not at all, I''m actually d you had a clue," I said.

    "So, what brought you here? I suppose more information on the''s Heart?" he asked.

    "No, I need a map," I said.

    "A map, those I have, but why?" he asked, "They won''t serve much, thendscape had changed too much," he said.

    "It would still give me some details on where I wish to go," I said.

    "And where might that be if I may ask?"

    "Thend of the Boar Tribe," I said.

    "You wish to retrieve the item," he said.

    "Yes, it could help escape this ce," I said.

    This piqued the old man''s interest as he raised one brow up, "And how is that possible? Many had tried, but none survived," he said.

    "I have my ways, and if you help me, I could take you with me," I said.

    The old man smiled and said, "I have no attachment to this life young child, I can still help you, but I need nothing from you," he said.

    "No attachments?" I questioned.

    "If you live as long as I do, you''ll tend to find many things¡­ dull," he said.

    "What about this library?" I asked.

    "What about it? books and papers, the knowledge that not many seek or want, it is unwanted thus it is nothing but trash," the old man said sighing.

    "If it''s trash, can I take it?" I asked.

    "Hah, take as much as you want, it''s not like it would even make a dent in this library, this is the culminated knowledge of generations upon generations of people, from different worlds too, it is sad to see it all go to waste¡­" the old man said.

    "I have a way to preserve all of this, but I need the''s Heart for that," I said.

    The old man''s interest was peaked even further for the chance of having his pile of ''trash'' survive the Great Flood.

    "How so, care to exin?" he asked.

    "It isn''t worth a fart without the Heart, only when I have it can I show what I can do, so, map?" I asked.

    "Fair enough, give me a moment," he said and stood up to look for the map.

    With the map, and hopefully the''s core, I''ll be able to revive the Lord of Lord''s pagoda, it''s currently held in stasis. And its function is at its lowest ever, I can only hope that this Heart has enough power left in it to boot up the pagoda.

 Chapter 506 Exodus

    The old man came back after a while with a rag like map in hand, it looked old, rotten even and clearly wasn''t taken care of. But once it was in my hands I was able to piece together the map and understand the currentyout of the area.

    The that these people lived on had been broken and torn apart in the belly of the serpent. But some chunks ofnd were still pieced together and I was able to understand where I need to go to find the Boar Tribe.

    "Thank you," I said to the old man and headed out.

    "Are you leaving?" the young man asked me.

    "I should be backter," I replied and flew up.

    Everyone in the vige was surprised at the fact that I was able to fly and were all in awe gawking at me.

    Seems that cultivation is pretty rare here for them to think that the mere fact of flying was this surprising, but I didn''t have much time to care for this.

    So I shot forward at blinding speed, cruising through the atmosphere, and blowing holes in clouds as I moved past them.

    The smell of the rotten sea increased the closer I gotten to it, and it kept increasing until it was almost unbearable, and that was before I even reached the sea itself.

    In the distance, a gigantic liquid surface was visible that seemed to be fuming, slowly so. Adding fumes and gasses to the atmosphere. Nothing healthy that''s for sure, but it was just stomach acid. And from the size of it, the serpent hadn''t even started digesting.

    Hopefully it won''t start doing so until I get the core.

    Soon I was flying over the sea, and surprisingly I noticed a shadow in it.

    How can anything survive inside the stomach acid of a devouring serpent I asked myself, and then I understood why immediately.

    It was a type of worm, no, more like a parasite, that was hundreds of miles long, it swam without care in the world for the stomach acids and moved about uncaringly as it fed of whatever nutrients were melted in the acid.

    I rose up a bit higher to avoid being spotted, that parasite was pretty damn big, and I wouldn''t be surprised if it decided to have a flying prey.

    An hour or so worth of flight I was able to see the first marks ofnd. It was pretty far away still it wasnd, so I approached it with even more vigor.

    Before arriving though, I noticed something, thend that was supposed to be the area where the Boar Tribe lived in was almost gone. To the point that there was not more than a mountain range left. Iparable to the Tiger Tribend which had a great deal ofnd, mountains and grasnd. This one here was almost eroded to extinction.

    I hurried up, since this means that thisnd was about to disappear from existing if it corrodes even further.

    As I arrived I saw that the situation was even worse than I expected, the mountain range had been shattered and ripped to pieces, causing rivers of acid to flow between the mountain peaks, separating its peaks.

    Hundreds of people were actively moving about as if they were in a pilgrim, they had their tools and weapons on them, along with whatever they could carry on their backpacks of food and water.

    The mountain range had some snow left on its peaks, but it was clearly unusable, since it was slightly green, from the acid fumes that have probably evaporated then fell down on its peaks.

    I got closer and one of the people there noticed me.

    He pointed at me, and the rest of the tribesmen next to him aimed their weapons at me as I approached.

    Terrified of the flying man, they didn''t hesitate to throw their weapons at me.

    To which I just swatted away as I got down toward them.

    "Ie in peace," I replied.

    "Lies! You''re a cultivator!" one of them said.

    "And what''s wrong with that?" I asked.

    "Cultivators are evil, they''re the devil worshippers! The Tribe lord warned us from you! Leave this ce! You caused this apocalypse all of you did!"

    I frowned at the man''s wording, how did I cause any of this?

    Suddenly, the mountain peak that these tribesmen were climbing began cracking and a massive piece of rock fell and began rolling towards them.

    Panic struck as the people began running away in all direction, afraid of being crushed by the iing rock.

    I sighed and flew forward. This caught the people by surprise but when they saw me standing up ahead in front of the rock''s path, their surprised turned to astonishment. Because to them, I was actively seeking death.

    Since I can''t fully utilize my body as it is still heavily injured, I can use a little bit of my power.

    I stomped my foot on the ground, then heaved forward as I pushed both of my open palms toward the iing rock.

    The moment the rock came in contact, I bent both my knees and hurled it up.

    The strength behind the throw was enough to have the massive rock fly high up and fall far away from any of the panic-stricken tribesmen.

    The problem wasn''t the rock, it was the snow and avnche that was following afterward. You could see iting a mile away form the mountain peak.

    "Everyone, if you want to live! Group together here!" I called then pulled my hoverboard.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Some were hesitant, but seeing those who believed in the man who threw away a massive rock to save them from death moving together, they did the same.

    The group of a hundred or so tribesmen were shaking as they grouped up next to the hoverboard.

    When everyone was close and panicking as the snow and rocks were getting closer and closer, I stepped on the hoverboard''s protective pedestal, shooting up a Qi barrier that created a massive dome around us.

    The snow came crashing down on the barrier, causing many to scream in panic thinking that they were goners, but seeing the rocks and snow crash harmlessly against the barrier and bounce away, then slide behind them gave them a breath of relief.

    Soon the avnche stopped and the snow no longer moved. But it was still thick and heavy covering the dome, I can get rid of it, but I need information first.

    "So, someone exin to me what''s happening here?" I asked.

    "Exodus," one man said.

    "Thend?" I asked.

    "Yes, it''s being eaten away by the sea. The vige elder asked us to head for the mountains it''s the only way we survive¡­"

    "I see, where is the elder?" I asked.

    "He headed out first with his warriors, he said he''ll make a shelter at the top of the mountain and now we''re following them¡­

    ''So he ran away first, understandable,''

    "And what''s that about the elder saying that cultivators are devil worshippers?" I asked.

    "Well¡­ the Elder hates the cultivators since they covet his staff," a man said but was immediately elbowed to shut up.

    "I see¡­"

    "Why have youe here?" asked one of the people. "You''re a cultivator you can survive the Great Flood can''t you?" he asked.

    "I suppose¡­" I replied.

    "Then why have youe here?" he asked.

    "I actually need the staff your elder has," I replied.

    "You see, I told you all cultivator covet it!" someone spoke.

    "listen, that staff, or more like the rock he has on it, it''s important to me, and I can use it to probably save you all," I said.

    "That''s what another cultivator said when he tried to steal it and run away!" he said.

    I sighed, "Would I have cared for you to live and die if I only wanted to that that thing and leave?" I asked. "Think about it, what if your elder has that staff would he be able to save any of you from your impeding doom? He can''t, because he can''t even save himself, lead me to the elder and I''ll talk to him," I said.

    The tribesmen looked at each other confused for a moment, but not willing to be the one to tell me and snitch on their elder.

    "Fine, I''ll do it myself," I sighed then spread my divine sense.

    Suddenly I almost regretted doing so. One of the parasites was swimming across a river between the cracks of the very mountain we were on, and the moment it sensed my divine sense it stopped moving.

    I retracted my Divine Sense fast.

    "We need to move," I said, "Right now!" I said.

    "Why?"

    "Because a monster ising up this second! Hurry up MOVE!"

    "But we can''t, the dome it''s closing on us.

    "Just head forward," I said as I guided the hoverboard forward, as it moved the snow began falling off the domed barrier and away until the front of the barrier was clear, once all the snow was unraveled I removed the barrier to preserve the Saint Qi crystal then had everyone moved forward.

    The fall of the snow and ice was thick enough that made the people move at a snail''s pace. And I could feel the trembling of the mountain as the parasite was moving upward.

    "Shit, X, Y, Get out!" I said and the two puppets got out, surprising everyone.

    "Iing threat, dy and distract it," I said.

    "As youmand!" the two puppets said and rushed out.

    While the sound of explosions echoed in the area of the mountain, I led the people up. I needed to meet this elder and understand his hatred for cultivators, then find a way to take the Heart. With force if need be.

 Chapter 507 Planet Core

    The giant parasite looked like an albino fangless snake, it wriggled and writhed as it charged its head towards us, screeching in a loud deafening noise.

    X and Y flew forward, heading to the serpent, their weapons ready. Y''s swords were primed and hot as the spinning sawtooth on them whirred awaiting carnage.

    Since Y was of a higher grade, and more sophistically built, he was far faster and arrived at the head of the parasite first.

    The two-kilometer-long parasite opened its mouth showing a circr jaw of sharp teeth that aimed to consume Y whole. Only he moved one of his legs to the side, and exploded the thruster on the sole of his foot to the max, pushing him aside in a spiraling motion, dodging the chomp.

    He then pulled all four of his swords and began spiraling around the parasite as if he was a Beyde, spinning around the parasite several times from head to tail, leaving a stter of gushing blood exploding out from its tender flesh.

    X on the other hand didn''t hesitate to pull out his grenadeuncher, aiming it at the mouth of the squaling parasite and sending several rounds of explosives into its mouth.

    The explosion ensuing after ripped the creature from the inside, tearing its head from its body.

    And ending it instantly.

    Suddenly, more of the parasites showed up.

    My body was still too weak to use the Titan''s transformation, so I pulled the rifle I had designed.

    With the massive sized rifle ced on the ground, I aimed, locked and loaded. Then sent a single bullet into the head of one of the other parasites. Nuking it, as the bullet pierced from head to tail, erupting a wave of explosions throughout its body.

    Then a second round and a third. Taking out more and more parasites.

    I couldn''t use the rifle anymore since five rounds was the most it could shoot before it''ll be dangerous, so I ordered a couple of my hundred puppet army to escort the rest of the Tribesmen upward the mountain.

    "Follow the puppet''s they''ll clear the path and lead you up to safety," I ordered then pulled other firearms to battle the other iing parasites.

    Our presence was known to them, and they sure as hell weren''t going to miss out on a good meal. Still I wasn''t going to allow that. I needed to ''buy'' the trust of these tribesmen, and their lives is a good price for it.

    More and more parasites appeared, but they weren''t too much of a threat to X and Y''s incredible firepower, so the battle continued on, for a couple hours before the entire mountain range''s base was covered in blood and viscera, enough that other parasites decided it was no longer worth it for such small bits of meat.

    Though I''ve used up a lot of ammo, it was still worth it. "Gather back up" I called and then headed toward the peak.

    At the top of the mountain, the group of tribesmen were waiting for us, this time there were more of them.

    One of the people I didn''t see before was walking around shouting at the people who just came.

    "What do you mean helped by a Devil Worshipper! Don''t you know they''ll eat your Soul after giving you a favor! They are evil! You brought nothing but problems and death to us! You should die for your actions!" the man said as he was threatening a couple of men who looked bloodied and battered.

    In the man''s hand was a long ck wooden staff that had its branches holding a red stone.

    The size of the stone was slightly smaller than I expected for a''s heart, so I had my worries at first.

    "It is the Heart my lord, only it had lost a lot of its power. Still, it''s usable," the automaton of the Lord of Lords pagoda exined.

    I flew down an stood between the old man holding the staff and the two men who were beaten.

    "Why are you harming the people I saved?" I asked in a calm manner.

    But for the surprised man, my words sounded like a death threat.

    "You¡­ DEVIL WORSHIPPER! KILL HIM!" he called and several of his guards ran up to me.

    It took a single gaze from me empowered with Divine Sense to have the charging guards kneel down, their heads mmed into the ice.

    "You dare?"

    The old man, terrified pointed his staff at my head.

    "Burn!" he called.

    By instinct, I tilted my head, and thankfully I did.

    A powerful ray of concentrated mes shot from the tip of the staff at incredible speed. It was strong enough and powerful enough that I knew if I had taken it head on I''d probably lose my head.

    Annoyed and angry at an ant trying to kill me, I swung my hand with enough speed that the p was enough to rip his head from his shoulder.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    His head fell on he ice, mangled and destroyed before his body even hit the ground.

    "I guess there is no reason to negotiate," I mumbled as I grabbed the staff from the old man''s body.

    Just then, something happened that I didn''t expect.

    The whole world began shuddering and shaking.

    "What the hell is going on?" I mumbled.

    Though the mountain range was pretty weakened, it was still not at the point where it should start crumbling.

    But the entierety of the world was moving and shaking.

    "My Lord, the ray that was shot before harmed the inside of the serpent, it felt it and is now reacting¡­"

    "Harmed? That ray?" I questioned.

    "Yes, though weak, it is still the core of an entire, it takes a lot of time to create it and it contains great energy. Though it had weakened by not being properly maintained, it still would have felt like a needle prick to the serpent''s stomach¡­ and that''s not the worst part¡­" he said.

    "There is more?"

    "Yes, the serpent is now defending itself, the Great Flood that they called. It had started."

    Suddenly, the sea around the mountain range began raging, and you could see it slowly, every so slowly rising up.

    "Shit, it''s started!" I cursed as I realized that I didn''t have enough time.

    "But lord, that core¡­ it''s not enough to boot the pagoda. We need another one of at least simr power. This core alone will not help us survive more than half the duration of the great flood, then the pagoda will break."

    "Damn¡­You!" I said to one of the people who were beating ck and blue.

    "Y-Yes," he replied instantly fear clear in his eyes.

    "Is there another one of these? Does your elder have another stone?" I asked.

    "N-no¡­that''s the only one our tribe has."

    "You mean¡­that other tribes have simr ones?" I asked.

    "Yes, since our tribe was the first to find the fire stone, other tribes looked high and low for them, the Frog tribe had one, but they were consumed by the copse of their ind. The only other tribe that has one simr is probably the Lion tribe, but they''re very far away."

    "Do you know where their ind is?" I asked.

    "Deep in the north, the path had been cut though, and since theirnds are slightly more elevated than ours, they could probably still be alive¡­" he said.

    "Automaton, take them inside, I have to hurry," I said.

    The automaton instantly responded by opening a barely functional gate.

    "Enter here if you want to survive, otherwise the sea level will rise up all the way here and I guarantee you''re not going to live it," I said.

    The group hesitated at first, but the first people who I helped were the ones that got inside without much hesitation.

    Followed by the rest of the tribesmen leaving the guardsst.

    "What, you don''t wish to live?" I asked.

    "But¡­we offended thee," the guard said.

    "Not your fault for following a stupid leader, get inside, I don''t have much time," I said.

    The guards then got inside and once the pagoda''s portal was closed, I hurried forward on the back of the hoverboard. I needed to preserve some energy in case I find stronger people in the Lion tribe, though I doubt it, it''s better to be safe than sorry.

 Chapter 508 Return

    Chapter 508 Return

    The skies wept.

    Or better described as liquid acid falling from above as heavy rain. This was bad, the acid rain itself was pretty potent, after all, it was supposed to melt downs. And it was grinding away at the protective barrier around my hoverboard.

    This is really, really bad. A single drop of this acid rain is enough to kill a cultivator, not to mention these weak frail mortals or people who barely know how to use the first stages of cultivation.

    I needed to hurry, I didn''t have any time to loiter around, the Lion Tribe might get eradicated by the time I arrive just due to this rain.

    Half an hourter I arrived to a newnd, only thisnd was burning from the acid. The wholendscape turned to swamps of melted dirt and stones everywhere, no de of grass survived this apocalyptic rain as it fell and bore through the ground and stone as if it was butter.

    This made me worry for the Tiger Tribe that I left unattended. They''ll probably all be dead by the time Ie back due to the fumes and the rain.

    But I had to hurry up.

    My Divine Sense spread outwardly like a wave, washing over the entirety of this ind.

    I could see nothing but the carcasses of animals all over the nes, melting carcasses.

    I moved as fast as I could, and whenever I spotted a foal, a goat or a survivingmb, I picked it up along the way. Throwing them inside the lord of lords pagoda. Though they clearly looked confused at being grabbed, they must be thankful to being extracted from inescapable death.

    I hurried forward until I noticed a group of people gathered inside a cave at a far away mountain. They were huddled up and terrified.

    I flew forward as fast as I could and managed to arrive to the cave''s entrance which was blocked by arge boulder that looked halfway melted.

    The people behind the boulder were unable to realize or notice me here, but I had to take action.

    I grabbed the boulder and slid it aside, revealing terrified looking people.

    "Who are you?" asked someone as he pointed a spear at me.

    "The one who''ll save you from death," I said.

    Confused, the people looked at each other unable to figure out what was going on.

    "Young man, get inside fast, the rain will burn you to death if you stay under it," an older woman spoke.

    Looking at her, I saw her carrying another Heart, this one was farrger than the one I obtained from the Boar Tribe,"

    "This is good heart my lord," I heard from the automaton, "It shouldst us enough for hundreds of years," he added.

    "You know if you stay here, you''ll all die," I said.

    Hearing my words, the children and women inside the cave, broke and started weeping, they knew it all too well.

    "Young man, your words are too hurtful!" the old woman said.

    "It doesn''t matter, it''s the truth, if you wish to live, hand that over, I''ll take you somewhere safe," I said.

    "There is no ce that is safe young man, we''ll perish here, and this rock is useless, it can''t protect us from the rain, nor can it protect you," she said.

    "That''s where you''re wrong, hand it over," I said.

    "You seem strong enough that if you wanted it, you can take it by force," she said.

    "I don''t wish to see more deaths, here take it, and leave," she said as she threw the heart towards me.

    I grabbed it and replied, "I wasn''t lying when I said I can save you,e here," I said.

    The Automaton opened another gate, this one was more stable, probably because of the first heart we obtained.

    "What is that?" she asked.

    "It''s a passage to a safe ce, it''s safe from the rain and the flood. So, are you going inside or no?" I asked.

    Worry clear in their eyes still, and uncertainty, they still had no choice as they saw the very cave they were in starting to slowly drop dirt and rocks. The whole mountain was crumbling and melting away.

    The eldest woman, and clearly the leader of the tribe walked inside first, then soon the rest followed after her.

    They thankfully had some cattle inside with them in the cave.

    "This is all your people?" I asked thest person walking inside.

    "Yes¡­ the rest all¡­"

    He didn''t finish his words; it was obvious what happened to them.

    Good, with this, I have all I need to survive the uing flood, now I need to head back to the Tiger Tribe, hopefully they made it.

    I flew back on the hoverboard, flying across the skies as I saw entire continents being swallowed by the acid.

    The trip back felt far more worrisome and lonely as I watched the death of innumerable creatures. Thends that was full of life in this ce were beings slowly dposed and disposed off. Along with the grass and the lifeforms, everything turned to mush and was dissolved for this serpent.

    Suddenly, waves as high as mountains began erupting, some big enough that they almost reached me.

    "Shit, I need to hurry!"

    I sted the thruster on the hoverboard as fast as I could, sending it flying at incredible speeds.

    This damn serpent is so huge it''s absurd that the distance from one side of its stomach to the other isparable to the distance betweens in an orbit. So the trip took some time before arrived to thend of the Tiger Tribe.

    Just this morning, this whole area was full of life, but now it was rotten and dposing at incredible pace, thend was tearing and breaking apart as pieces of it fell into the acid sea, the waves crashed against the shore an mowed down the ground melting itpletely as would hot water do to ice.

    Thankfully, I could see the high cliff area where the Tiger Tribe resided in.

    Their homes built on the face of the cliffs had already beenpletely dposed due to the rain. And most people were hiding inside the library of the old man as I could see through Divine Sense.

    I hurried into the library only to find its gate closed and acid covering it.

    I flew up a bit and bore a hole into the face of the cliff, entering the library.

    I looked inside and saw that the whole ground was covered by acid, the people were hanging to dear life on the book shelves.

    Surprised to see me entring at first, some began shouting for me to close the hole I made.

    "You returned," I heard from the old man, he too was clinging on the shelves.

    "Yes."

    "At least these books served to something of use¡­ funny thing that the only thing keeping us alive are these things," he said.

    "Anyway, you don''t need to worry about that anymore, I got what I wanted." I said.

    "Oh, good for you, is it of any help," he asked."

    "Yes, Automaton, can you take it all inside?" I asked.

    "Yes, I have enough energy to do so now," he said.

    Suddenly, the whole area began shaking and shuddering, enough that many books began falling.

    Then soon, the whole building shook levitated then fell down. Some people fell from the shelves they were clinging on but I managed to lift them up using my Qi before they fell into the acid on the floor.

    I pulled up my gun and shot at the library''s door, bursting it open for the acid that was inside the library to pool out.

    "What''s happening?" asked the old man.

    "You''re all safe, Automaton, bring them all out safely," I said.

    "As the lordmands."

    ''Well, that''s done¡­ now we wait I suppose¡­''

 Chapter 509 Departure

    "What''s happening outside?" I asked the automaton.

    "¡­"

    The reply didn''te after the first time I asked so I asked again.

    "Death. Too much of it, thends copsed and the ground turned to nothingness meltedpletely within the stomach of the serpent. All has turned to nothing but nutrition for this giant creature. And it should continue on for a while." The automaton replied.

    "Sigh," I couldn''t do much about this situation anyway, thanks to the Lord of Lords pagoda we''re able to survive, but it seems that it''s going to take a while before we can even leave.

    "What about teleporting out of its stomach," I said.

    The automaton immediately replied, "Impossible right now, the amount of acid, metals and base materials that are being digested is affecting spatialws. If we were to try and teleport, the whole pagoda might be shredded. The reason is we need a lot of energy from the two cores jus to protect it, and then we need even more energy to teleport beyond the limitation of spatial shackles the serpent is applying within its stomach," it said.

    "So, our only choice is to wait," I replied.

    "Yes, we have to wait here, for as long as this ''Flood'' Lasts then we can maybe attempt to get out when the serpent is exhausted from consuming so much sustenance," the automaton said.

    "How long do you suppose this digestion willst?" I asked.

    "With how much material being consumed and devoured¡­ at least a couple decades worth of time."

    ''Damn, that''s a lot of time stuck here¡­''

    I wonder how everyone is doing¡­

    I couldn''t help but sigh at what the others are thinking, they probably believe that I perished and had no way to return. But what can you do, it''s the life of a cultivator things like this happen always.

    All I can do is train myself, improve and then see a way to break out of this ce.

    "Lord, there is trouble!" one of the two brothers came rushing at me.

    "What trouble?" I asked.

    "The tribes, they''re fighting among each other," he said.

    ''Sigh, now I have to act as a mediator¡­''

    And since I didn''t have any time or actual energy and will to deal with them.

    I released my Qi, powerfully enough that it shot out in a wave of undiscriminating oppression.

    The wave of Qi was strong enough to not kill, but enough to apply an immense amount of pressure on everyone around.

    The tribesmen fell to their knees, fear and terror stered upon their faces.

    "Who dares sow chaos in my world!" I spoke, a low threatening tone enough to make a man''s face turn white.

    Everyone immediately calmed down, "Behave or perish. I wish not to see discord among the people, no death shall be tolerated, no harm upon one another shall be tolerated. Do not steal, cheat or sow discord. Those who do, shall be killed, no excuses, no exceptions, no mercy!"

    My words werew here. And everyone knew it, there was nothing they could do to stop me from speaking them. nor could they even argue, since nothing but a gaze from me could kill them.

    Suddenly, I felt something welling down my Dantian.

    Like a small tingling sensation that appeared and disappeared almost immediately.

    I tried to scan myself inwardly to see the reason for this, but nothing appeared or revealed itself t me.

    ''What was that?'' I thought.

    Before I could answer my own question.

    "Greatest lord! Please mercy! We can''t take it anymore!" someone the bravest of the tribesmen apparently spoke.

    Thus I released my Pressure, and everyone fell exhausted gasping for breath.

    "I''ve given you life,nd, and peace, and this is how you repay it? by sowing discord?!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We were wrong! Please forgive us!" several of the tribesmen kowtowed immediately in front of me, and the rest followed after seeing that.

    The same tingling sensation happened again and this time it was far stronger. Yet before I could grasp it, it disappeared.

    "From today onward, there will be no tribes. No boar, tiger or lion tribe. You are all one, live, learn, understand about the world, and progress and prosper. Do not ughter cattle, raise it, and use its milk to feed. The sea is bountiful with treasures and food. The mountains have minerals and metals you can forge and use. And the volcanic area can be used to quench yourselves in adversary and improve upon yourselves,"

    I waved my hand, and hundreds of cultivation manuals appeared in front of me. "Cultivate, improve, learn and climb in the path of cultivation. Pick a cultivation manual each, learn it, and improve upon yourselves. Thisnd is bountiful in Qi, so you''ll have no worry about cultivation materials. Seek knowledge and strength, so you can protect yourselves. But do know, the moment you unjustly harm one another, I will personally end you, in ways worse than your wildest imaginations!" I spoke.

    With my words spoken, the people began picking up the manuals, looking through them, some didn''t even understand a word, since apparently they were mostly illiterate.

    But the few who understood began reading and teaching those who didn''t understand.

    Some even went to the old man''s library and began learning words and letters.

    Slowly, some took the mantle of a teacher and began teaching everyone, groups of people began separating, creating amunity¡­

    ''This should be enough for them to build a civilization.''

    The feeling became stronger and stronger, but it was still not enough for me to grasp it or understand it¡­

    So I had to let it go, if its something important it''ll reveal itselfter on.

    As for me personally.

    I pulled out the Poison God''s heritage.

    ''Since I have nothing else to do for the decades toe¡­ I might as well finalize my understanding of the Poison God''s Heritage.

    Thus, I sat down under the shade of a tree, and began reading all the Volumes I never had the chance to read.

    ¡­

    "I believe that this should be good enough," Dao Shen said.

    Zhang Tian was surprised as he saw himself in a mirror, "Impressive, unless I focus hard enough, even I won''t be able to tell if this is a fake or real face. Not to mention, even my Qi signature ispletely different, it''s as if I''m a different person, nice abilities you have Dao Shen."

    "The younger generation truly is marvelous, this isn''t something I ever thought possible," the bartender Lu spoke.

    "Ah, you should have seen what that kid could do, anyways, hurry up and finish your work,, we need to hurry up," Master Rain said.

    Dao Shen finished working on the faces of everyone present,pletely hiding their presences and appearances, readying up for an infiltration like never before.

    Soon after everyone was done, Lu spoke, "The you''re going to is called Suso, it''s near the western rim of the vast expanse, right outside the borders of the Fire Lord territory."

    "How is it that he''s attacking a there isn''t he afraid of the Gctic Society Alliance?" Meng Hao asked.

    "The Society is nothing but a name, they''re a group of alliances that are weak, they think they uphold the peace of the world but they''re nothing but goons to the strong and are easily bribed. The Fire Lord is strong enough to threaten their existence by himself, and when he decided to attack the Suso, the Society must have consider the not worth saving. Or at least were paid to turn a blind eye."

    "¡­ it''s the same for my home which is now nothing but a death zone. They didn''te to help us saying that we''re from the barrennds, unworthy of assistance, but that was just because they didn''t see any value in saving a sub ascendant¡­" Meng Hao said.

    "Wealth Move the world, and the Gctic Society Alliance doesn''t move if its not profitable, they impose taxes but do not even do the minimum to protect those who are under them, they''re nothing but greedy pigs," Master Rain said.

    "How are we heading to Suso, it''s pretty far away from here," asked Zhang Tian, "And most long range teleportation gates aremanded by the Society. Taking one of them will probably expose us as outsiders of the Suso once we are caught."

    "We''ll use Shen Bao''s mount, it''s fast enough that we can reach the within a month," said Master Rain.

    "You brought the Thunder Bull carriage here?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "You know of it?" Master Rain asked.

    "Yes, mother told me about it, it was wounded, and damaged. But isn''t it dangerous for that carriage to approach the Fire Lord''s domain after all, it belonged to his predecessors, the Imperial Family," Zhang Tian said.

    "No worries, I have my ways, now let''s go," Master Rain said and the group immediately left the tavern.

 Chapter 510 The Second Step

    The group of cultivators went up and flew outside the, where suddenly the sound of booming thunder echoed in space itself as the Thunder Bull carriage arrived to meet them.

    A bull of golden fur arrived to them, its horns were wider than a giant eagle''s wingspans and his whole build was sturdy and powerful looking. The bull snorted in derision as it struck its hooves several times on empty space causing ripples to spread as thunderous booms echoed with every step.

    The carriage it carried behind it was mighty big indeed, decorated in all sorts of sculptured decorations of dragons and phoenixes, reminiscing of the golden age of the Imperial Family.

    "A mighty beast," Spoke Zhang Tian.

    "Indeed, and it seems that it hadn''t reached full adulthood yet, it''s still not able to exert its full potential," Master Rain replied.

    "What about Lu, is he noting?" Meng Hao asked.

    "I suppose he isn''t, it''s too much of a risk for a man who washed his hands in a golden basin. For now it''s just the four of us. Let''s get on," Master Rain said as he rode on the carriage behind the bull.

    Once seated, the rest of the group got in the carriage.

    It was an open-roof carriage, where people can ride and still be able to watch the vast expanse and its beautiful stars. This Thunder Bull carriage was never meant to walk thend, only space.

    "little Cabbage," said Master Rain as he was the only one who knew of the Bull''s name. "Take us to the rim of the Fire Domain, near the western zone, there is a dead broken there that we wish to go to," Master Rain said.

    The bull snorted loudly and then began moving.

    "I suppose it knows the way if it understood you," said Dao Shen.

    "This bull had traveled the gxy long before any of us was born. It knows its way around the Vast Expanse more than anyone," said Master Rain.

    "But I suppose at this speed, it''ll take us years," Dao Shen sighed.

    "I wouldn''t say that if I were you," Zhang Tian smiled.

    And it was true, the bull''s ego was hurt after hearing those words. With another loud snort, and a couple more stomps on space itself, the bull began increasing its speed.

    Sooner than five minutes, the Bull was already outside the sr system of the they were in, and it began increasing its speed more and more.

    Thunder boomed with every step the bull took, and the stars looked like rays of light instead of massive globes of fire.

    "I guess I''m wrong, I bruised his ego," Dao Shenughed as he realized how fast the Thunder Bull really was.

    "But isn''t this speed and this loudness of the bull going to pull some unwanted attention, even I try and cross the Vast Expanse as calmly as I could," Dao Shen said.

    "It was said, that the Thunder Bull was the ruler of the skies, it wasn''t an exaggeration, these creatures are mighty and they''re born and raised to rule and reign over space itself. Its mighty and strong, and if a creature believes themselves strong enough to corner them, they''ll be met with the wrath of thunder and lightning falling upon them. Though this guy is just a Silver Horn Thunder Bull, he is still strong enough to cause a primordial fear in all the dwellers of space besides a few rare creatures," said Master Rain.

    "Like the Primordial Serpent God?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Yes, that thing is just absurd¡­"

    "Howe its here?" asked Meng Hao.

    "We don''t really know, it was here before the birth of the stars themselves, though many had theorized it isn''t actually a creature of this world." Master Rain said.

    "Howe?" asked Dao Shen.

    "Because it lives in a realm that''s higher than ours, technically, it is the strongest cultivator of the Vast Expanse. It far bypassed the Emperor Rank, and I believe it took the Second Step¡­"

    "I wish to learn more, care to exin?" asked Meng Hao.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Indeed. You''re a Saint ss, which is just a step higher than an Ascendant, Ascending, means to elevate oneself from the limits of heavenly Qi, and im the heavens of a higher grade of energy to cultivate, the Saint Qi. But ascending doesn''t mean that your body only has Saint Qi in it, it evolved but hasn''t fully removed the shackles of Mortality. But once you''re a Saint ss, you cut yourself from the weaker version of Qi, then begin fully imbuing your body with Saint Qi.

    The King ss is an upper version of this. As you''re able to use far greater amounts of Saint Qi to more destructive and creative purposes on a long range, that''s where Dao Shen and Zhang Tian are in," Master Rain said.

    "What about you, Master Rain," asked Meng Hao.

    "I''m a step above, I''m an Emperor ss, meaning that the usage of Saint Qi to mees as naturally as breathing, I can sense it, control it,mand it, and abuse it. It does what I wish and what I tell, it is bound by my will, not by my strength. It''s not an easy stage to achieve because this stage isn''t obtainable by just cultivating, otherwise the Vast Expanse would have more than the current ten or so Emperor ss cultivators."

    "Ten? I suppose the Kings of the Four Domains and the Queen, that makes six if we add you, who are the other Four?" asked Meng Hao.

    "There exists a few loose cultivators, who do not belong to anyone. One of them holds the Metal Key, but it''s been a long since west heard of him, he''s an old man with an incredible obsession with books. It''s sad that I''ve never met him, I would have had a good discussion about Dao with that man. The other is the current Ruler of the Gctic Alliance Society, he''s their only Bastion against the other regions froming at them. And then there is that old money-grubber foggy Bailu¡­"

    "Who might that be?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Oh, you might not know her, but she''s the owner of the ck Tower. An entity that''s made to trade, the biggest merchantpany of the Vast Expanse, do you ever wonder why no one can ever go against the ck Tower? It''s because of her. She''s frightening, not because of her strength, but the power of gold. She can moves and cause wars with a single request. Thus no one wants to even be on her bad side¡­"

    "Who''s thest?" asked Meng Hao, "That makes only nine."

    "Du Shen," Master Rain said.

    "That makes no sense, isn''t he dead?" asked Meng Hao.

    "No, his death has never been confirmed. So we really don''t know if he had passed away or is just in hiding. Maybe he even left, but we can''t know for sure. He just disappeared one day, and we have yet to understand where he went."

    The group thought for a while about the mighty people existing in the vast expanse, and this made them think even harder about how far and high this step is.

    "So, if the Emperor realm is that high, howe the serpent is above it?" asked Meng Hao.

    "We don''t know, but what we do know is that it has an energy within it that''s not like anything we''ve seen before, it''s far purer and more powerful than Saint Qi, but its not Saint Qi. We made some deductions on it being a type of energy that''s born outside the Vast Expanse, or even a higher tier of cultivation. But we couldn''t replicate it, we also believed that since the Vast Expanse itself does not have this type of energy, the serpent will be hard-pressed to survive without it, and thus lose its power, but it never lost an ounce of it, hell it even grew slightly stronger over the years. So we had the idea that serpent is sustaining its energy with the power of thes themselves." Master Rain said.

    "¡­"

    Zhang Tian then interjected, "The schrs and savants thought that the source of the serpent''s powerys in he''s hearts. They are a culmination of concentrated energy, highly condensed Saint Qi if you will, but at the same time its still Saint Qi. The problem is, it''s still saint Qi in the end, so what we believed was that the serpent was actually modifying the Heart''s structure, and creating a new type of energy, the only issue is, to confirm this¡­" Zhang Tian looked away and sighed.

    "We basically need to be inside the serpent to see how it changes the structure of saint Qi to whatever energy it''s currently functioning on, right?" asked Dao Shen.

    "Exactly, it''s not easy, so we kept trying, but nothing seemed to work, it''s frustrating to be honest," he said

    "I heard your father is close to reaching the peak of the Emperor Realm," Master Rain said

    Zhang Tian smiled ruefully and said, "All thanks to your Eternal ze."

    "Don''t remind me, I had to go to hell and back for that," Master Rain grumbled several times over then sighed and said, "It didn''t really matter anyway, I already improved upon my cultivation without it," said Master Rain.

    "Wait, really?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Of course, I thought that the Eternal ze was what I needed to further understand the Dao of the world, but thanks to a sidement form Shen Bao, I was able to achieve enlightenment and reach the eight grade of the Emperor Realm," Master Rain said.

    Zhang Tian frowned, "That''s basically the same as mother¡­"

    "No, though we''re of the same cultivation rank, she''d still kick my ass. Anyway, I believe it''s time we tell you all, the younger generation how hard it is and why is it so hard to reach the Emperor''s rank. Perhaps our experience will give you some insights on how to reach it. So listen, and listen well¡­"

 Chapter 511 Power Balance

    "For most cultivation ranks below the Emperor Rank, all you need is an improvement in the quality of Qi and the vessel that is your Dantian, for it to be able to evolve further to host even grander amounts of Saint Qi. The Emperor Rank however is different," Master Rain exined.

    "If you consider cultivation as a shape it would be a reverse Pyramid standing on its tip. The start is easy, and the higher the cultivation the wider the size bes. That''s why even if your start in the world of cultivation is easy, we always try and teach the younger generation to have strong foundations. That way it can carry the weight of this pyramid."

    Master Rain gazed at the stars, remembering his first days cultivating and all the beatings and lectures he received from long since gone people of this world.

    After a sigh, he resumed. "Every stage going forward bes incrementally bigger and harder to cultivate. All the way to the Emperor Rank, it''s when you no longer build-up, but you build sideways. The Pyramid will take its final Shape at the Emperor Rank, meaning that the base, in this case, the bottom of the pyramid that''s facing up needs something other than just increasing its size. It''s the density." Master Rain said.

    Meng Hao nodded understanding what Master Rain was saying was simple for a genius of his caliber, as for Dao Shen he didn''t even entertain the ideology, because he knew all of this beforehand.

    "The reason why there are only ten Emperor Ranks in the current Vast Expanse is because of theck of Dao."

    "Dao?" asked Meng Hao.

    "Yes, Dao, the beginning, the end, the middle and all between, the roots of this world, its trunk and its branches and leaves. Thews that make everything and anything. To reach the emperor rank, the Qi your body harbors is irrelevant. There exist some monsters who have even more Saint Qi than I do, but they''re still stuck in the King Realm. One example is sitting right next to you," said Master Rain.

    Meng Hao turned to Dao Shen who just shrugged.

    "Dao isw, and Law is Dao, to understand Dao, one must understand themselves and all that is around them. I cannot tell you of my own understanding since it will not help you in any way shape or form, since my understanding of Dao stems from my own experience. As for you, you must understand your own Dao. Your own belief and you goal in this life by your own," Master Rain said.

    "My goal¡­" Meng Hao trailed.

    "I can give you a hint," said Master Rain, "Your current goal right now is to defeat the Fire Lord and take back your person. But, do you consider that your lifelong goal?" Master Rain said.

    "I''m willing to give up my life for it," Meng Hao said.

    "And that is why, you won''t understand Dao right now," Master Rain shook his head, he knew one thing for sure, Shen Bao''s answer would have beenpletely different.

    "Think about it this way, imagine that you went to the fire realm, found the fire lord, defeated him and took back your person¡­then what?" asked Master Rain.

    This question seemed to rock Meng Hao to his core.

    "Indeed¡­ then what¡­"

    "Same thing for you Dao Shen, what is it that you truly desire? If it''s something achievable in the near future, but afterward it yields nothing then it isn''t truly seeking your goal in this life. Find your Dao, seek it, and then understand yourself. Once you do understand yourself, then you''ll have taken the first step toward reaching the Emperor Realm," said Master Rain.

    "Lord Zhang Tian, you don''t seem impressed with these words, or do you not care for reaching the Emperor Realm," Dao Shen asked.

    "Oh, not really, I can step into the Emperor Realm whenever I want," said Zhang Tian.

    This caused Master Rain to frown.

    "Then why have you not done so? I believe by doing so, you''ll be able to surpass your brother who''s been struggling at the peak for centuries now," Master Rain asked.

    "It''s because I refused," Zhang Tian replied.

    "This is something worth discussing, care to exin?" Master Rain asked.

    "A thousand years, I sat in the Celestial City, I achieved enlightenment as I took that time to go through the knowledge of the Evesting Knowledge within my Wisdom of Ages domain. I saw worlds be born and torn and the lives of many crumble and emerge. I believed it, that my Dao was to understand Dao, it was my goal and my purpose, and because of it I was able to step into the Emperor Realm. However¡­ I declined," he said.

    "May I know why? Your goal is grand and far too heavy to achieve, but to understand its heaviness is understanding it, and understanding oneself and the effort needed to seek it, it is a fine goal and by my understanding is more than enough for someone with your ability to step into the Emperor Realm. Thus I am confused about why you refused," Master Rain asked.

    "It''s because of Shen Bao. He showed me the way, a different way, a new path. We all believed that enlightenmentes from following the teachings of the heavens. But he pointed out something to me that stuck with me to this day¡­why have we not fallen after the Severing," Zhang Tian asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Oh, he mentioned that in a lecture in the Heavenly Academy, I''d rather not talk about it much since it might destabilize the younglings'' cultivation, but I believe that shouldn''t affect you, now should it?" Master Rain said.

    "It doesn''t, but it left a bad taste in my mouth, since if I were to seek the Emperor Realm without answering that question, I''ll feel¡­ iplete," he said.

    "Fair enough, then you seek a more elevated and perfect understanding of your own Dao, it may be even harder to answer than to answer the evesting question, what is Dao. It is a hard-to-answer question, without an actual reply¡­ and you still wish to seek it. I find thatmendable," Master Rain sighed.

    "This brings me to the question, how did you achieve your Dao, Master Rain?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Oh, I have yet to do so, because I seek not the Dao, I seek its teachings, and my goal is to understand life and death, and the reversal of causality itself. Why does the rain fall, and why does it go down to thend, drench the dirt and grass, then goes to the sea to be rain again? The circle of life was my pursuit, the endless circle, and after figuring out some glimpses of this truth, I was able to advance further. And thus my emperor realm. So I didn''t achieve my Dao by pursuing it but rather decided to understand the underlying meaning of Dao. Which was the same, apparently," Master Rain shrugged.

    "The Emperor Realm seems too fickle¡­" Meng Hao asked.

    "It is not," Dao Shen replied.

    "The methods may be different, from what Master Rain and Lord Zhang Tian experienced, but the result is always the same, it is to understand oneself before trying to understand the world. Try not to peruse a goal to give meaning to your life, but give yourself a goal that the mere pursuit of it, gives your life meaning.

    Just as Dao Shen finished these words his whole body began shuddering, the hair on his head stood to no end and blinding light emerged from his eyes.

    ck Clouds materialized in space itself, without any hint or source, as suddenly as the approach of death itself.

    "Oh¡­now that''s unexpected¡­" Master Rain mumbled.

    ***

    All over the vast expanse, throughout the realms and the vast domains of mankind. All the leaders of the four forces, the mightiest of beings in the current vast expanse, the leader of the ck Tower, and the ruler of the Gctic Society Alliance all looked at one point in space.

    A new powerhouse was joining the field.

    The birth of the eleventh Emperor Rank.

    ***

    Somewhere Far away from all of what was happening, in a calm-looking field of grass. Hundreds of people were slowly working the fields, feeding cattle, and growing crops. Some built houses and huts to live in, and some were practicing diligently.

    One man sat underneath the shade of a tree, immersed in the study of a golden inscribed book that seemed to have words of no meaning to anyone but himself.

    The young man''s gaze suddenly looked to the north, something seemed to pull at his attention as if a change was urring in the world itself.

    As the young man spread his divine sense, thinking that whatever was happening was within his domain, he realized one thing. No one else noticed this feeling, no one but one man.

    An inconspicuous librarian, who clearly looked no more than a mortal too busy taking care of old books that no one wished to read.

    Only this old man was looking in the same direction, a frown clear on his face.

    Before the young man under the tree could even put one and one together, the old man turned his face towards him and said, "Come to me¡­we need to talk." The voice was no longer that of an old man that had been conquered by age.

    No, it was the voice of a man that had been through cmitous events and survived innumerable destructions. It was the voice of a veteran warrior of old.

    "Emperor Rank¡­"

 Chapter 512 Faith

    I approached the library slowly and found the old man tinkering with a small ragged and old book.

    He didn''t speak at first, and only sighed, as if remembering things of a time long since gone.

    "Sit," he said after a while.

    And I obliged.

    "You must have questions for this old man," he asked.

    "Yes. Why are you here?" I asked him, "Someone of your ability should not be stuck in this rut."

    The old man looked up for a while before speaking and said, "The world knows nothing but greed, greed over the material and the immaterial. Greed for power and wealth, greed for life itself and for death too." The old man then pulled up the old book in his hand and said, "Do you know what this is?" he asked.

    I shook my head, "Looks like a normal book," I said.

    "Indeed it does," he said then he used some of his Qi, setting it aze.

    The book''s material burnt to ash and revealed something I didn''t expect to see.

    A pentagonal aqua-colored jewel.

    "The Water Key," I replied, I didn''t even know what the Keys look like, but its as if something inside me knew it immediately and replied in my stead.

    "Indeed, it is something that one day appeared in my possession. I didn''t seek it, look for it, or want it. But it still just came and presented itself to me," he said.

    "I believe it brought more harm than good," I said.

    "Indeed it did, I even tried getting rid of it, but it stuck to me like glue. I threw it in the deepest volcanos and it still found its way back to me. I donated it, tried to break and destroy it, and even sealed it under a mountain range and it still came back, haunting me. It cost me my family, my kin, my n, my sect, and everything I ever held dear, and it never allowed me to even die¡­" the old man said.

    He hated the thing in his possession and it was clear from the sorrow of his eyes.

    "It still brought me opportunities, many of them, so many that I found myself at the Emperor real without even putting up half the work needed. But that only brought more misery and agony to this old man. The Fire Lord sent out a full scout, search and destroy order for my existence. I had nowhere to hide, no family or friends to trust, and everyone I ever turned my head to, either betrayed me, or died trying to help me. This is nothing but a cursed item¡­long have I tried and hard have I tried to get rid of it, but to no avail¡­"

    I took a moment to think then said, "Then you decided that if you can''t get rid of it, nor if you can end your own existence, to hide it alongside you in the only ce no one would ever think of looking in."

    The old man smirked.

    "Inside the belly of the primordial serpent god. I see," I said. "And how has that been working?" I asked.

    "Not so good, though I had peaceful centuries of life to live¡­ I still can''t perish¡­ this thing refuses to allow me to do so. Not even this serpent can take my life as long as this thing here isn''t allowing it," he said.

    "Do you wish to have it?" the old man asked after a thought.

    "I find no use for it, though I believe Master Rain can find a way to open the door to the Beyond using it. I highly doubt that the Key would willingly jump into my hand," I said.

    "Indeed, it had refused to go to another person''s hands ever since it came to me, I don''t¡­"

    The old man''s words were suddenly cut as the small jewel simply jumped andnded on myp.

    Both my brows rose up.

    "¡­"

    "¡­"

    I grabbed the small jewel with both hands and gave it back to the old man, but it simply just jumped back onto myp.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The old man looked at me then the jewel and a couple of teardrops began falling from his eyes.

    "Finally¡­at longst¡­I can let go¡­"

    "Oi, old man!" just as I finished my words the old man in front of me began decaying, slowly perishing turning to dust as his entire body crumbled as if tens of thousands of years had gone by in a second.

    Not even his soul remained nor did the robes he wore. His entire being, which seemed to have been frozen in time for a long period seemed to have finally caught up.

    ''I suppose I''m your new owner now¡­ but what are you?'' I questioned not expecting a reply.

    Yet suddenly a vision manifested within my mind.

    A vision of a great vast and endless darkness. So vast and so wide that nothing seemed to shine within it, an endlessly expansive darkness.

    A golden door opened up within this darkness, a door so great and so vast one would think that it could epass the entirety of the vast expanse itself. On the surface of this door were five massive orbs of different colors.

    The door then dissipated, never opening leaving the five orbs in the darkness.

    An infernal red that burned with the passion to burn the seas and mountains.

    A cool blue hue that moved to coil around itself, calm at first as the surface of ake, but then roiling with unfettered rage as the depth of an enraged sea.

    A brown glow that had the warmth and stability of the earth for a moment, then it trembled and rumbled as if the world was being turned upside down.

    A silver hue that yfully moved about, then suddenly turned to a raging endless storm that would threaten to extinct life itself.

    Then finally thest color. Gold. It was just a piece of gold, it looked simple at first, but soon it morphed into shapes and structures, into weapons and tools changing its form, shape and material itself, it turned to iron, then brass then other metals as it changed.

    Thes five elements were the first to exist in this darkness. And due to the disappearance of the door, they looked to be so far away from each other, one in every corner of this vast darkness. But soon, they began moving.

    They moved faster and faster, toward each other, all to meet in the center of this endless darkness.

    They moved for eons, increasing their speed further and further, they moved incredibly fast and powerfully so until the moment of their sh.

    The explosion of this crash was so vast and so grand that it sent rumbling echoes that traversed space itself. Breaking into hundreds of billions upon billions of particles.

    These particles then were suddenly drawn together creating astral cores.

    Some had more fire energy creating stars. Some had more earth energy creating moons, and some had a bnce between all creatings that can be lived in.

    But that wasn''t all, in every corner of this vast space one of the elements resided, staying there and creating the four corners of the world we know as the Vast Expanse.

    And thus these small keys. The origin of this very world and the creators of it.

    Small utterly simple-looking, yet holding knowledge and a history unbeknownst to most.

    Life found it''s way thanks to these five elements, yet the question remains, who ced them here, and for what reason?

    I opened my eyes to find the key still staying calmly in my hand, and from within it, an energy that I''d felt before emanated.

    Only it was much purer and clearer than what I felt.

    "Faith?"

 Chapter 513 Story Of A Civilization

    "What is faith? What is belief? Is it tangible? Or is it intangible? If not, how can I sense it, if so, why can''t I see or grasp it? where does ite from? Why do I sense it? What are the conditions of gaining faith, and what does it entail, what are its cons and pros?" Many questions bombarded my mind as I tried to understand the reason behind this sensation.

    Yet I was once again drawn into the key, as it showcased another vision of the past.

    The Water Key had separated itself from the rest and plunged into a dark deep sea that seemed to be endless and bottomless. The sea raged on, its surface trembling as waves the size of mountains rose and copsed. While in its deep darkness, no life could be grasped.

    The Key sat at the bottom of this dark sea for ages upon ages, soon, the sea''s waters subsided, and what seemed to be an endless sea at one point,pletely evaporated. Leaving rich soil and dirt for savages to cultivate.

    These people plowed the newnds and made barricades and straw-made homes.

    Soon, one of the savages discovered this key. Mesmerized by its beauty, he took it and made it into a pendant around his neck. The Key epted him. And gave him a bountiful long life. He was able to make water to water hisnds and was able to grow in the vige all thanks to the key.

    Greed then appeared, and soon many people wanted to obtain the Key as it represented immortality and longevity.

    The people of the vige tried to kill the owner, but all their attempts were met with failure. The key protected its owner.

    Once the owner realized the power of this key, he appointed himself a leader, then soon all began bowing at his feet thanks to the miracles he could make. The key''s power was able to bring rain and give birth to life. Making the vige prosper into a city, then into a metropolis where life gathered from all over.

    The city was built around a massive mountain, where the peak was where the owner of the key rested. For hundreds of years, he used the Key to bring miracles and y his foes. And thus he was worshiped.

    Worshiped as a deity, unbefitting his status. Yet, the Key rejoiced in this worship as energy seemed to be fueled into it.

    The Key was the one that was giving the man all of this power, yet they worshipped the owner.

    But the Key had no will of its own, it only attached itself to this person¡­ for now.

    One day, the man woke up, and the first thing he did was to check upon the ne on his chest. Finding nothing there, he panicked.

    "My treasure!" The king shouted, looking high and low for it, not finding any trace of the key.

    In his rage at losing what was nothing but the path to immortality, the king went insane.

    He called upon massacres after massacres, to y those who he doubted, those who were close and those who he believed stole his key.

    The mountain was washed in blood in a single day. And due to this transgression against life itself, the Heavens themselves moved.

    The receding sea roiled once more, as the ground that was dry and fertile broke apart revealing endless natural made water fountains.

    The water was full of salt, and the moment it touched thend it killed it.

    The water rose, and rose, and then rose some more.

    Waves began moving and crashing against the high mountain, bringing homes and houses to the depth along each crash.

    People knew the heavens were angered. And they knew that the preparator was the king and thus they sought to kill him to appease the heavens.

    And without the Key''s protection, he was in in a matter of a day.

    But, the heavens'' wrath didn''t end there.

    As the sea kept rising, and rising.

    iming more of the mountain until nothing remained afloat.

    The whole civilization was consumed and destroyed in a couple nights. As for the key, itid without an owner at the depth of the mountain far from human greed, for ages upon ages. Unperturbed.

    Until one day, the submerged mountain range shuddered and shook, as three cultivators entered it.

    They key sensed the three, and awoken from its slumber.

    One cultivator managed to reach all the way to the bottom of the drowned mountain to find the key.

    Yet the key sensed something from this man, endless carnage and destruction, endless death and suffering. Agony, pain and suffering is all that awaits if the key was to bound itself to this man. Thus, it didn''t choose him.

    Angry, the man cursed as he tried to control the key without avail.

    But soon, two more cultivators came over. One calm as the rain itself, and the other sage and peaceful. The two were a good match to the key, but it could only pick one. Thus it picked the first to approach it.

    A man wearing a full set of blue robes, young in appearance but wisdom shines clear from his sky blue eyes.

    "Old Blue, it seems it had chosen you," the first man spoke.

    "I thought it was firste first serve, Du Shen¡­ after all, it''s still calmly sitting in your hand."

    "The Keys choose their owners, it may sit on Du Shen''s hand, but that doesn''t mean it had given him its approval. At most it''s using Du Shen as a tool to reach its true owner," the third man said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You know a lot about this Lu," Old Blue spoke.

    "I''ve had the luxury of seeing one of them in action. Try touching it, it may bind itself to you," Lu spoke.

    Old Blue hesitated, "How about a bet," he said.

    "What sort of bet?" Lu asked.

    "I''ve been eyeing your Dragon Breath Liquor for a while. And since you mentioned that I''m the reason we''re slow in reaching the bottom, we''ll race, the first to leave this mountain gets to keep the key and the liquor?" Master Rain said.

    Lu thought for a moment and said, "Fair enough."

    "Are you joining Du Shen?" asked Old Blue.

    "I have no reason to, the liquor is pointless to me, so is this thing," Du Shen spoke in disgust.

    "Well, then be the judge," Master Rain said. "Let''s go!" he said and the two of them flew up as fast as possible.

    Bypassing tunnels andbyrinths of obstacles.

    Lu was moving using almost all of his energy knowing that if he were to mess up once, he''ll be overtaken.

    And Old Blue was closely following after him.

    At the end of the tunnel however, a massive crack in the mountain wall happened causing a boulder to fall on top of Old Blue.

    He didn''t use much energy to break it, but that was enough for Lu to overtake him and reach the exit first.

    Du Shen, the person still holding the jewel spoke, "Why did you lose on purpose?" he asked.

    "Oh. You figured that out," Old Blue said.

    "Yes, your domain is water, and we''re underwater, if you wanted you could have left this mountain in the blink of an eye.

    "Yeah, that''s why knowledge is important," Master Rain said. "The history of this civilization is written on the walls of this tunnel, and the problems caused by them all stem from that thing in your hand. I don''t want to own it, only to use it. Owning a Key with that much power can do nothing but bring endless misery to its owner¡­" Old Blue said as the two of them left the area.

    "I suppose it''s my win," said Lu.

    "I suppose it is," Old Blue said.

    Du Shen then threw the key to Lu and it immediately stuck itself to Lu''s palm, shining brightly for a second then a powerful feeling of connection and link was made between them.

    Soon, the Key began telling stories of its ventures with Lu, and how the stagnation of Lu''s cultivation once again caused the Key to leave him.

    My vision returned to me as I finally was able to understand the purpose of the key.

    First things first, I''m like Du Shen, I never became the owner of this key, it will leave me the moment it finds someone worthy.

    It only left the librarian because he stagnated.

    And stagnant water is pungent and stale. Dead.

    The key''s currently using me as I''m not in stagnation, and still moving, it wants me to take it away from this ce, and once I do that. It will find another person who is more worthy.

    "So I''m just a ride in your journey," I sighed as I looked at the key.

    "Not that I''m against it, you''re nothing but problems. But the fact that you''re one of the keys to the Beyond is reason enough for many to seek you, though I have no intention of obtaining immortality from you, if I have the chance to use you to open the Beyond, I''ll do it."

    I stood up and clenched my fist around the Key.

    The pagoda remains standing despite theplete submerging of the inside of the serpent in acids. Though I don''t know how long this will remain, I have to make use of the time I''m here.

    The Key showed me how it was able to harvest the power of faith from the civilization that perished.

    They worshiped the owner as if he was their lord, and that energy seemed to help the Key obtain something within it.

    It is a type of energy like no other, I''ve never seen it before. It''s something on a level that''s a realm higher than Saint Qi itself. Yet, I cannot cultivate it.

    Even if I self proim myself lord over these people, the power of their faith is negligible, and even if it was of value, I have no idea how to use it.

    "Faith¡­ interesting. But, it''s meaningless. I need to climb, climb higher in the path of cultivation. Though my resources here are limited, if I can''t climb through the ranks of cultivation, I''ll learn all that the Poison God''s heritage has to offer. I''ll learn itsws and its teachings, I''ll learn its alchemy and its inscriptions, even its paths of carnage, devouring death and the sword. I need to grow stronger, much stronger, only then can I escape, and only then can I have the right to hold my head high¡­a world of cultivation isn''t too gentle after all¡­the strong prey on the weak, and the weak prey on the weaker¡­thew of the jungle, the truest most honestw¡­"

 Chapter 514 Captured

    "We''re finally here," Master Rain spoke as the group arrived in the sr system where Suso was in.

    Looking at it from afar, several vessels were leaving thes, and among them was the ck Tower.

    "I guess we''re right in time, the Fire Lord''s army has yet to arrive, so most cultivators who have the ability are leaving right now," Zhang Tian said.

    "As for the weak, the mortals, and those who cannot do anything but watch, only death awaits¡­" Meng Hao said, reminiscing about what happened to his home, and how it turned into nothing but a wastnd.

    s contain a great deal of energy, mind you, not habitable ones, even remote and barrens still contain an immense amount of untapped energy, what the Fire Lord is doing is about the same as I use to do, only I only ate barrens that didn''t host lives. This is slightly more revolting," Dao Shen said.

    "We''ll have to hurry down, little cabbage you can go back to the academy for now," Master Rain said as everyone dismounted.

    The bull soon trotted through space, heading to the academy, without the same haste and speed it would take it a couple months, but it was in no rush.

    "That destroyed moon, we can use the floating debris to hide ourselves from being spotted, the Fire Lord''s army should arrive within this week. And only when the path is clear can we enter the. For now, many vessels are leaving, we might get spotted and reported," Zhang Tian said.

    "No need to worry about that," Master Rain replied as he waved a hand creating a spherical formation around the group.

    "This formation will keep our presence hidden unless the Fire Lord himselfes, no one can see through it, let''s move," he said.

    Soon, the group of four flew toward the, among the ships and vessels that were abandoning it, hundreds of thousands of ships moved carrying millions of lives. Butpared to the many that were still on the, those who left were no more than a drop in a bucket.

    Soon, the group entered the. And unlike Si Xue, this didn''t have a single one protecting it, no cultivator tried to save it and defend it. All ran away with their tails behind their backs, afraid of the Fire Lord.

    The rulers of the were the first to leave, followed by the higher cultivators, no one but those at the weaker cultivation levels, or those of mortal origins remained.

    Yet, though the group moved through the''s atmosphere, they saw viges and cities, full of mortals going on about their day, unknowing of what is toe.

    Mortals had no idea of what was about to happen.

    "No matter what, you cannot allow your emotions to get the best of you," Master Rain said.

    "What do you mean?" asked Meng Hao as he realized that the advice was pointed at him.

    "What you''re going to see is nothing short of a mass massacre, many will die and perish, and more will be captured and tortured, you can do nothing but watch and follow the orders of those who capture you. If you try and save anyone, it will reveal us and our goal, so you must not try and help even if you can," Master Rain spoke solemnly and drearily.

    "I''ll keep it in mind," Meng Haomitted himself to do what must be done.

    The group of fournded on a faraway mountain, away from mortal cities and viges.

    "Why are we so far away?" asked Dao Shen, "Don''t we need to be captured fast?" he asked.

    "We do, but if we''re captured too fast, some of the Fire Lord cultivators might have some awful ideas of having fun, you don''t want to be their ything. And if you fight back, we''ll be revealed." He said.

    The group then waited on the mountain, calmly waiting, day after day, as they watched the skies slowly drying off ships.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    No more ships left the on the fifth day, and that meant that everyone who was able to leave had done so.

    "They''re here," Master Rain said.

    And just as his words ended, the skies above began reddening. The-epassing formation was being erected. And hundreds of thousands of cultivators wereing down, mowing down the cultivators that tried to protect themselves and fight back, and capturing those that submitted or were too weak to fight.

    The world''s atmosphere began darkening as the power of death Qi began suffocating the entire.

    It took five days to discover the location of the group.

    "Here are some rats!" a cultivator spoke.

    And just as he said that master rain nodded, and the group dispersed everyone running to a different location.

    "Fucking runners! Capture them!" the man in red robes spoke.

    Soon enough, a bruised and bloodied Zhang Tian, Master Rain, Meng Hao, and Dao Shen who had a sword cut on his thigh were grouped up and gathered.

    "Dam bastard had us following them all over the mountain, did you honestly think that you could escape!" the man in red said as he pped Zhang Tian on the face.

    "I apologize great lord! Please spare me!" Zhang Tian said pleading.

    It was so convincing that even Master Rain was shocked.

    ''The Immortal Schr, with the power to eradicate this entire fleet was begging, hah¡­''

    "You old man, you''re pretty fast for a fossil, I''d have killed you on the spot, but you seem to have some energy, you might be useful to the lord. Grab all of them, they''re cultivators they can be sent to the mines," the leader spoke.

    With that, all four were handcuffed with Qi sealing shackles and were sent to the camps where many other cultivators and mortals were hosted.

    The mortals were dying just because of the deadly atmosphere created by the formation and the fumesing from the Soul Burning Incense. As for cultivators they used whatever meager Qi they had to protect themselves.

    In captivity, the four were grouped up in one cage. And they saw atrocities too vile for the mind to speak of or think of.

    "Meng Hao¡­reign in your killing intent," Master Rain spoke as he noticed Meng Hao''s eyes were about to burst from fury.

    "I apologize," he said and calmed down.

    What was happening in front of them was just too horrid to describe, but they could do nothing but watch.

    "It makes one think, is the life of one person worth it, how many could we have saved if we acted now¡­ but my greed and selfishness is stopping me from taking revenge on the people being abused here and killed, just for the sake of saving her¡­ Shen Bao would have done better¡­" Meng Hao spoke.

    "You and Shen Bao are different. Don''t judge yourself based on others, he isn''t you, and he isn''t someone who had his beloved captured, just hold it in. Our goal isn''t to simply save one life, our goal is to prove that the Fire Lord isn''t infallible. Once we break through his enclosure, and save the people, his weakness will be revealed to the world. Once that is done, many would fear him less, and that is a victory in the grand scheme of things, just be patient¡­" Zhang Tian advised.

 Chapter 515 Fire Lords Planet

    Chapter 515 Fire Lord''s

    Several more weeks went by in captivity within the. The group looked weakened, almost skin sticking to bones as they were deprived of Qi, water, and food. Many had died in these conditions but the four remained among several others.

    "They''re resilient, good, the general would like this livestock," one of the people supervising the camp spoke.

    "Well, at least the general will be pleased this time, I heard the Fire Lord was really angry because of thest upation," another replied.

    "The walls have ears you idiot, don''t mention the lord, otherwise you don''t know what might happen to you, also that wasn''t our fault, to begin with, it was the third army''s mistake. I mean howe they even failed to fully close the formation and struggled too long against a in the barren domain," the first supervisor said.

    "Beats me, they underestimated those rats, even a cornered rat can bite a cat, they should have hit them hard at first. But it doesn''t matter, we''re doing great here anyway, the whole has already been detained and captured for now, we''re just awaiting retrieval orders so we can go." The second guard shrugged

    Turning his face he noticed Meng Hao looking at him.

    "Look at that kid, what? Do you feel wronged, do you feel angry? Do you want to take a bite out of my flesh?" the guard mocked. "You''re weak, pitiful, and unworthy, you''re nothing but ves, you only have to me your own weakness andck of ability, otherwise you could have left like those cowards did before we arrived,"

    ''Meng Hao, drop your eyes down, your gaze would kill a man at this point,'' Master Rain spoke in a hushed tone.

    Seeing Meng Hao drop his gaze the guards scuffed at him, "I thought he had some backbone apparently he''s just a wuss," the supervisor said.

    Suddenly a man came rushing in, "We''re leaving. Ready up," he said.

    "Finally, I''m tired of staying on this rotten, let''s group the prisoners up, and make sure to double-check their restraints, we don''t want any funny business happening here."

    The guards made sure that everyone that was still alive was firmly shackled and sealed from using anything that could help them escape. Once that was done they were led to a clearing where a ship was waiting for them.

    They were then shoved inside the ship, one after another like a pack of canned sardines. The stench of the unclean dirty and half-dead people was unbearable to many, but they could do nothing about it.

    The entire camp was packed inside the ship''s hull, without them having any space to even rest as they had to stay standing due to how packed it was.

    They weren''t even allowed to move or utter aint as one guard was among them.

    "If you disturb my sleep I''ll kill you," he said.

    That was all he needed to say before he closed his eyes and leaned on the wall of the ship. No one dared to utter a peep as the ship soon began moving.

    Days upon days went by, and the group of four remained together, fully concealed and waiting.

    "Once we arrive, we''ll be led to the mines, the security might be tight on the first few days since the guards will make sure that everyone knows who''s boss. After that, it will be more rxed as they''ll use us as their ything to pass the time. Once that happens we can act," Meng Hao spoke.

    The four nodded. Since Meng Hao was the only one who had a better knowledge of theyout of the mines.

    "What about the location of the incense pots?" Dao Shen asked.

    "That''s the hardest part¡­ it''s inside the Fire Lord''s pce, I heard that from one of the guards who were once tasked with taking the pots, and since he failed in doing some task he was ordered to, he was demoted to guard the mines," Meng Hao said.

    "Hmm, good enough, I have a n then, but we''ll need to be inside the mines for that n, let''s just wait for now," Master Rain said.

    More time passed as the ship got closer and closer to the main of the Fire Domain.

    Just before they entered the Fire Lord, however, the ship stopped.

    There was some ruckus upstairs on the ship and soon a man came down.

    From his robes and the symbol on them, this was a Fire Spear, and due to his annoyed looks, it was clear that he was not happy with the current task he was given.

    "Fucking bastards, What are you looking at!" spoke the man who just entered.

    "You''re the reason I''m here, filthy ves, if it wasn''t for the fact that the Fire Lord is about to leave seclusion, I wouldn''t be here to check up if any of you is tiger-wearing sheep skin. But screw it, I also need to vent anyway!" the man said and grabbed the closest person next to him by the neck.

    "P-please, sir!"

    "No," the man said smiling vilely as he pressed his palm on the head of the cultivator.

    ''Soul Search¡­but what''s the point?'' Meng Hao thought.

    This was a problem because if this man were to Soul Search everyone it will probably end up killing everyone and if by some luck itnds on one of the four it will be a huge problem.

    Soul Search in most if not all cases will end in death, and upon survival, it ruins a person''s mind making them nothing but a shell of themselves, an empty shell that can''t be called a person.

    The man screamed as if his brain was being scrambled by the Fire Spear. Soon the Fire Spear scuffed and spat at the man''s face. "Useless waste," he said as he threw him on the ground, foaming and frothing at the mouth, then died a secondter.

    He then went to another person, then another, and they all died.

    ''What do we do?'' asked Dao Shen.

    The gears in Master Rain''s mind began turning, he was thinking of ways to manage this current situation, should they reveal their power here? They haven''t even entered the, and if they do so, the security will be extremely high until they''re caught.

    "We already checked these people back at the of origin. They''re all weak cultivators."

    But before he approached the group, another person came down, "We already checked these people back at the of origin. They''re all weak cultivators."

    The Fire Spear looked at everyone, seeing them shaking and afraid, he scuffed, "Doesn''t matter anyway, this is just a waste of time, the General is paranoid anyway. Also, I wanted to see if anyone would shake or act if they thought I was going to soul-search everyone, I guess there is nothing but cattle here. I''m heading to the next Ship, proceed forward, there is a final inspection at the arrival station, make sure to scrutinize well, and if you see anything out of the ordinary no matter how little report it," the Fire Spear said.

    "As youmand!"

    After the Fire Lord left the ship started moving down and entered the atmosphere of the Fire Lord''s.

    They arrived at a massive square where several other ships were already docked.

    Then they were led down, one after another all chained in a line to stand on top of a massive square tform.

    One Fire Spear was standing while the Fire Lord guards were inspecting the prisoners making sure their cuffs and their shackles were tight. Then soon the tform under them shone brightly as a formation manifested itself beneath everyone.

    There didn''t seem to be any reaction, but the Fire Spear started moving.

    He moved toward Meng Hao, pushed aside a few of the prisoners and as he was looking at Meng Hao he said.

    "You little rat, did you think you could escape the Soul Revealing Formation?"

    Meng Hao was at a point where he was going to break his chains and retaliate, but the hand of the Fire Spear moved not in his direction but behind him, grabbing a sniveling man.

    The Fire Spear''s hand tightened around the man''s neck and suddenly his true appearance was revealed. It was a Beastman from the Earth Domain.

    The fire spear struck the man in the abdomen destroying his Dantian in a single hit.

    "Take him to the interrogation room, the rest can head to the mines."

    Meng Hao took a sigh of relief which he didn''t even notice.

    However, the Fire Spear noticed that and then turned to Meng Hao.

    "What? Do you think that you survived death right now? Do you have anything to hide? Why did you sigh like that?" the Fire Spear''s suspicion began growing.

    "I¡­I''m sorry great Fire Spear lord!" Meng Hao immediately bowed. "I''ll work hard to appease your anger, please! I only want to survive even if little oh great merciful lord!" Meng Hao said.

    "Hah, seeing you praising me like that, the Fire Lord himself would get jealous, but you''re right, I''m merciful, So, I won''t kill you, but that doesn''t mean you get to sigh in my presence!" he said and pped Meng Hao on the face.

    The p was enough to not kill, but at the same time threw Meng Hao and the people chained with him on the ground.

    "T-thank you¡­ for¡­your mercy¡­" Meng Hao said begrudgingly.

    "Hah, thanking me for beating you, I like this kid¡­ Unfortunately for you, me liking you doesn''t change your fate, send this garbage to work, another ship is docking," The Fire Spear said.

    ''Good job holding it in Meng Hao.'' Master Rain said as he pulled Meng Hao up.

    ''Yeah, it was hard¡­''

    ''I know, a cultivator''s pride is very dangerous, so never act upon it.''

    ''Yes I know, it was something I learned from Shen Bao, what''s the point of Pride if it kills you¡­ run today to fight tomorrow, but I''ll make sure to get my due vengeance,'' he said.

    ''I know, just hold your killing intent for now, and once our mission is done, I''ll present you that fire spear on a te of gold.'' Master Rain said.

 Chapter 516 The Mines

    Chapter 516 The Mines

    The group was led like they were cattle to the depths of the Fire Lord''s dominion, down under a steep mountain, and further down its burrows. Through a cave system that looked soplex that it wouldn''t be wrong to call it a maze.

    The baleful Qi spread all over the cave system, invasive and devastating to anyone who is exposed to it for prolonged periods of time. It slowly eats away at one''s vitality in exchange for filling them with bloating amounts of Baleful Qi.

    The process was simple, it was like force-feeding the cultivators. Since they''re shackled and restrained, they can''t rotate their own Qi to battle against the Baleful Qi, and all they could do was take it in and suffer for it.

    Once the Qi reaches lethal amounts, one of two things will happen, mostly the cultivators turn demonic as the pervasive Qi ruins their foundations and rebuilds their bodies forcefully and painfully into that of a demon.

    For those who are more unfortunate, it makes them stronger and regenerates their bodies to handle the baleful Qi. Though why are they unfortunate if that happens?

    It is because they be food for the Fire Lord.

    People who are able to suppress the Baleful Qi are able to purify it in their bodies and will be food for the Fire Lord nothing more than supplements for his endless greed and desire.

    The group was led to a deep underground cave, and along their path, they saw many old, wrinkled and skin-to-bone cultivators mindlessly carving through the stones.

    They had arge bag behind their backs where they ced any Blood Stones they obtained from mining.

    And on the groundy the dead and dying cultivators. No one took care of their bodies for a simple reason.

    After a while, their bodies will be consumed by the very cave and then ground down to be more bloodstones.

    This cave was full of death energy it was so suffocating that anyone who didn''t have a good talent in cultivation usually dies within the first few days.

    As for those who are slightly capable they live to suffer for a while longer.

    One would almost envy the dead.

    No, here, everyone envies the dead. And they can''t even take their own lives since the shackles prevent them from doing so.

    The sound of a whip resounded through the cave, and it was at that point that the group arrived to the source of the sound.

    A cultivator was on the ground with his back almost split open by the whip that he was struck with.

    "You think you canze around here?" the guard spoke, "Then how about I give you an eternal rest!" he said and struck him on the back once again, rending flesh and spraying blood all around the man who couldn''t even scream due to how weak and exhausted he was.

    Meng Hao had been here before, and he knew the suffering these people were going through, and he could do nothing but grit his teeth.

    "Neers? Hah, wee to hell!" the guard with the whip said as he struck it right next to Meng Hao''s feet.

    "Get to fucking work!" he said as he pointed at the pickaxes and baskets.

    Withoutints, Meng Hao moved first and grabbed the pickaxe. He pped the basket behind his bag and began digging.

    This caught the guard by surprise.

    "You almost seem like you''ve been here before, strange?" he said.

    Meng Hao didn''t reply, and due to that the Guard smiled, "Good, you know better than to talk back to your superiors, keep up the good work, you might actually not be beaten half to death on your first day, Everyone else!" he said as he struck the dying man ending his life, "Get to fucking work!"

    The remaining people then began grabbing pickaxes and started mimicking Meng Hao and what he was doing.

    Most didn''t even know how to mine. Some were normal cultivators who never did something like this, and some were even famous sons of ns and sects in their country never had never before worked in their lives.

    Comints and begging didn''t work against the guards.

    In fact, if anyone even tried it, they''ll be punished severely.

    Money, status, power, nothing is of value here in the mines. Only the Fire Lord''s rules apply, and if anyone disobeys them, they''ll suffer a fate worse than death.

    The guards had some slight interest in Meng Hao since he looked like he respected their rules without them even telling him any. Usually, they make sure not to tell the neers anything, and then punish them whenever they made a mistake, but seeing Men Hao following untold orders gave them a sense of disappointment, but at the same time it lessened the amount of ''care'' they had to give and waste time doing so.

    Having to tell the neers the same thing over and over again was bound to be annoying.

    The guards kept their eyes on Meng Hao at first, thinking he was slightly suspicious, but seeing him bagging almost half the basket before half the day was over was enough to prove his servitude. This person was probably from a miner family so he knew what he was doing.

    A few hourster, Meng Hao''s basket was already full, so he hoisted it up and ced it neatly next to the extraction point, and then he grabbed another empty basket and ced it behind his back then went back to work.

    The guard then approached Meng Hao and grabbed him by the shoulder.

    "You¡­how did you know?" he asked.

    Meng Hao didn''t reply.

    This made the guard angry, but then he asked "You''re permitted to talk, speak, how did you know?"

    "Know what sir?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Are you feigning ignorance?!"

    "No sir, I have no idea what you mean, are you talking about the basket and taking another once I was done?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Yes, we only asked you to bring one full basket a day, you''re going you didn''t order me to rest, I work," Meng Hao replied.

    Those were just lies, but for the guard, it seemed awfully for the second now, so how did you know?" he asked.

    "Great sir, Ie from a ve family, we worked the mines for our lord, our job is never over unless the lord himself says so, and since you didn''t order me to rest, I work," Meng Hao replied.

    Those were just lies, but for the guard, it seemed awfully convenient.

    "But how did you realize where to ce the baskets? No new basket is ced there, did you not think that it''s the wrong spot and you''ll be punished for it?" he asked.

    "With respect to you good sir, the ground there had several indentations there, meaning that heavy objects were ced there, the indentations look like the bottom of the basket. So I didn''t wish to bother you with asking questions when I could figure it out on my own," Meng Hao said.

    The guard smiled and lightly pped Meng Hao on the face, "Good, it''s good to use your brain¡­hmm, this kid is awfully useful, keep it up, you might even have a chance of leaving this ce in the next ten years," the guard said and ignored Meng Hao.

    "Xiao Lai, what''s going on?" another guard asked as he saw the interaction.

    "Nothing really, I just found an interesting kid, that''s all," the first guard spoke.

    "Interesting? The interesting thing is you not shouting and ripping these neers apart¡­"

    "Yes, they''re following the orders rather diligently, its less pain in the ass for me, so I don''t mind it, what about your batch?"

    "Oh, I already killed four of them¡­ I''m envious though, how about you trade me the new kid if he''s that useful?"

    "Nah, with this kid leading these bastards, I''ll fill my quota better than you, why would I give you a golden goose, after all the reward for filling the quota is better than what you could trade me."

    "Damn greedy bastard," the second guardughed, "But still I could use some help send him my way if you''re done with him."

    "I''ll see what I can do," the guard said then turned seeing a person that just dropped his axe.

    "Well, I have to deal with that first," the guard said as a vicious smile stered his face¡­

    For now, Meng Hao''s group can''t do anything yet. But the gears in Master Rain''s mind have already been moving since the moment they got into the mines.

    A n to leave this area and retrieve the incense burner has already been created. All he needs to do, was wait for the right time.

 Chapter 517 Preparation

    Chapter 517 Preparation

    Within the Heavenly Academy''s Records, where most of the Vast Expanse''s rarest and most illustrious books and records existed, the Heavenly Library was a woman who seemed to be looking for something.

    "You''ve been here for days now, are you sure you can find what you''re looking for?" another young woman spoke, this one had a rather sad look on her face, but she still she had to tide through the despair and agony that happened upon them.

    The one looking all over for the records was Shen Bao''s old sect master, Yuyu, who seemed to be fanatically looking all over the ce for some sort of hope.

    On the other hand, the other person was Liang Yu, another of Shen Bao''spanions.

    "There must be something we can do, I don''t believe he''s dead," Yuyu said confidently. Though one could see the wavering in her voice. She wasn''t confident, no, she was hopeful, and that''s a far crueler fate.

    Liang Yu sighed and was about to leave, before a person wearing a full ck robe with golden symbols all over arrived at the library.

    He looked old as his white beard reached all the way to his waist, and his brows were so thick one would wonder how he could even see.

    Yet this old man wasn''t some random person, he was the most influential person in the Heavenly Academy.

    "Great Elder," Liang Yu bowed as she gave her greetings.

    So did Yuyu before she returned to search for more clues on how to solve the problem at hands.

    "Child, what are you so vehemently looking for, ignoring food and your personal training for?" asked the elder.

    Yuyu stopped, looked at the elder and said, "Hope¡­" she said.

    "I see¡­" the elder spoke as he noticed the book in her hand.

    "History of the Sacred Beasts,"

    "Hmm, I suppose you''re looking for something rted to the Primordial Serpent God?" he asked.

    "Yes, anything, a weakness or a clue on how to save Shen Bao," she said.

    "You speak as if he lives still, I heard the news¡­" the grand elder said.

    "He''s still alive! I know he is!" she replied sharply almost forgetting the status difference between them.

    But the elder didn''t get angry, "I see. Intuition, a cultivator''s intuition shouldn''t be ignored. If you still wish to know more about the Primordial Serpent God, you won''t find anything here," said the elder.

    His words felt as if her hopes were being crushed and as if the world was turning darker.

    "I have a few books in my personal collection that rted to it though, follow me, both of you," the elder said.

    With these words, the almost fading hope was ignited back again, though it still looked bleak.

    The two followed the Grand Elder to the main tower of the Heavenly Academy, where they rode on an elevator that took them all the way to the highest floor.

    Opening the only door on this floor, the elder revealed a modest house with minimalistic furniture. A bed, a table, a couple of stools, and a tray with tea prepared in it.

    "Sit down, have some tea, I''ll bring you the books," he said.

    The elder then turned to a wall and ced his hand on it, the entire wall came down revealing several rows of books neatly stacked together.

    Some looked so old a breath would turn them to dust.

    He grabbed a couple of the books and ced them on the table.

    "Most records about the Serpent God are nothing but myths and made-up stories of people who were too fearful to ever approach it. These books however hold some truth to what''s written in them, one of them was made by Du Shen himself, and the other was made by the Imperial Scribe of the Imperial n," the elder said.

    "Thank you!" said Yuyu as she opened the first book by the Imperial n. Since they were the oldest generation of cultivators in the Vast Expanse they should have a greater width of knowledge about the Primordial Serpent God.

    But the disappointment of finding anything of use was great.

    The Imperial Scribe gave a detailed description of the Serpent God, its usual habitat and its habits. And also described more of its unusual behaviors and how it would chase and feast upon Poison Cultivators and consume entires.

    But all these details and this information were useless, it gave no peak on a way or a method how to defeat, weaken or destroy it even.

    The second book was made by Du Shen, the person who was the Primordial Serpent God''s main enemy.

    By reading the book, Yuyu understood far more about the serpent god. How it usually hibernates for five centuries exactly before it starts moving again, and whenever it moves it seeks the Poison God Cultivators, for a reason unknown even to Du Shen, yet he still described one peculiar thing.

    The Primordial Serpent God will not feast more than five times in the five hundred years. And whenever it enters hibernation, it will not move act or attack even if attacked. Mainly because it does not consider anything to be a threat to it.

    The Primordial Serpent God is basically in apletely different level of cultivation of all the people of the Vast Expanse. It lives in a higher dimension.

    Whatever is consumed by the Primordial Serpent God does not leave, not even as excrement. This would mean itpletely absorbs whatever it eats into itself and bes stronger the more it feasts.

    But for some reason, it refuses to eat more than five times every hibernation, perhaps to conserve its source of food.

    Time means nothing to the Primordial Serpent God, and no matter how numerous the stars ands in the vast expanse, if it lives an eternal immortal life, one day the serpent will have consumed everything.

    And among all the times the Primordial Serpent God and Du Shen had fought, there was only one time when he managed tond a direct blow that drew blood. Only once, but it cost half of Du Shen''s Vitality and Life Force. It was a simple blow, and for the primordial Serpent God it couldn''t even be considered as needle prick, but it was still a blow that made it retreat for the first time.

    If one were to take a closer look they''ll see a small scar on the upper lip of the Primordial Serpent God, that''s where Du Shennded his attack. But that was all he could ever do to it.

    The book continued on describing a bit more about The Serpent''s habit of consumption.

    A couple hourster, Yuyu ced the book back on the table.

    "Did you find anything of use?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "Yes¡­" she said, though she didn''t look too confident she said, "It was wounded once," she said.

    "So?" the Grand Elder asked.

    "If it bleeds¡­ it dies. And if I have to, I''ll rip it apart and pull Shen Bao from inside its guts," she said.

    The grand elder smiled, "Good, but it''s a tall task, are you up to it? Even I can''t guarantee myself to wound it and I''m at the Emperor Rank," he said.

    "Then I just have to be as strong as Du Shen if not stronger in his prime," she said.

    "There is no need to do that," spoke a woman that entered the room.

    "Indeed," said the Grand Elder.

    "Your Highness," Yuyu bowed.

    "No need to bow to me, child. I''ve done wrong by Shen Bao twice now, I have to make up for it, Elder I''m going to head for the Primordial Serpent" she said.

    "I do believe in your strength, but we still need more than just you for this assault," the Grand Elder said.

    "My husband is willing to join, so does Old Beast and a few of the Wind Noble houses, mainly the Sword Mountain Lord as he received enlightenment from the words of Shen Bao and decided he needed to repay it." the queen spoke.

    "That''s a strong lineup, we may be able to figure out more of the beast''s abilities and maybe, just maybe, y it¡­ yet we still need Master Rain with us," said the Grand Elder.

    "Where is Master Rain?" asked Liang Yu.

    "He went with Meng Hao to retrieve his fianc¨¦e, they should be back soon. Once that happens, we''ll make our move," said the Grand Elder.

 Chapter 518 Forming The Plan

    Chapter 518 Forming The n

    "Dig deeper you damned bastards, do you want to spend the night in hunger?!" the shouts of the second captain came from the other tunnels, he was infuriated with howcking his own miners were.

    On the side where Meng Hao was however, the Miners were exhausting themselves digging religiously, making sure to follow every step that Meng Hao was doing, they dug, cleaned, and ced all their tools and baskets neatly, they didn''t show any signs of exhaustion even though they felt unbearable pain.

    Because the pain of exhaustion is far more merciful than the barbed whip the guard had.

    Seeing the workers being productive and having gone beyond the quota the guard spoke, "Stop, for now, rest up," he said.

    This was the first time he ever asked the miners to rest, usually, they''d work them to the bone and more. But now they''re asking them to rest? This must be a ploy, that is what everyone thought.

    However, Meng Hao knew best what this meant and immediately ced his tools down and sat down.

    Seeing him sitting first and not being yelled at to work some more the workers slowly and fearfully followed suit.

    "Why did he ask us to rest, I thought he''d work us more," Dao Shen said to Meng Hao.

    "Because being too good at something isn''t actually good at times," Meng Hao said.

    "I don''t understand," Dao Shen sighed.

    "What brother Meng Hao means is, if we were working and providing too much of the Bloodstones the higherups will start expecting this amount as the norm, and we''ll have to do this every day, the guard here isn''t dumb, he knows that if we overwork ourselves like this every day we''ll all copse and he''ll never reach his daily quotas from them. He''s not greedy to burn us out immediately," Zhang Tian said.

    "You," spoke the guard to Meng Hao who snapped standing.

    "Yes lord," Meng Hao said.

    "Don''t call me lord when we''re outside the mines, follow me," he said.

    Feeling worry for Meng Hao Dao Shen was about to intervene, but a hidden gesture from Meng Hao told him to sit down and not to act.

    This was obviously in Meng Hao''s predictions.

    Meng Hao followed the guard making sure to stay several steps away from him with his head low, not looking right or left.

    "You''re pretty good at your work, you said you were the ve of a mine owner," he said.

    "Yes sir," Meng Hao said.

    "I guess he didn''t see your talent, and since everyone there follows you so well, how about I promote you to head Miner, you''ll oversee them and make sure they keep the quota of the day," the guard said.

    "Anything that will make your day easier and without worry is an honor for me to do, sir," Meng Hao said.

    The guard smiled, "You understand then, that I hate being there, even with these armors that prevent the Balful Qi, its suffocating just being here, I''ll tell you what, keep up the good work, enough for me to never have to go down there, and I''ll give you a piece of armor that''ll protect your body from the Baleful Qi," he said.

    "As you wish, sir, but if I may be permitted to speak¡­" Meng Hao said.

    "Yes, what do you want to ask?"

    "I would dly do the work for you, but I believe the other guard will be jealous, seeing that you get to rest while he stays in the mines, wouldn''t his jealousy make him report you?" Meng Hao said.

    Thinking about it for a moment, the guard''s expression turned sour, "You''re right¡­ he could do that¡­ but don''t worry, I have a way to make him not do that," the guard said.

    The two of them were out of the mines, and looking up at the massive hole they were in, Meng Hao was once again reminded of the time he spent there. This entire mine was nothing more than a pit in the depth of hell itself. Surrounded by mes and engulfed in it. The Baleful Qi was so powerful you could see it shape itself into the faces of demons at times.

    And it constantly ate away at the lives of those captured and enved.

    Soon the two of them arrived at a three-story building.

    Meng Hao''s heart began racing as he knew this building all too well.

    "Do you know what this ce is?" the guard asked.

    Meng Hao shook his head, "I have no idea, sir."

    "This is a ce where those who can retire, you see the people guarding the door," asked the guard.

    "Yes," Meng Hao replied.

    "Those are Small Spears, they''re not the same as the Fire Spears, but they get almost the same treatment, they get to stay guards to that mansion, and rest inside it once their shift is done, no one in the history of this has ever sat foot near that ce, so their work is basically standing doing nothing. And they get paid handsomely for it. But do you know what their jobs were before they were promoted to Small Spears?" the guard asked.

    Meng Hao shook his head.

    "When I talk to you, you answer, don''t shake your head at me!" the guard spoke angrily.

    "Apologies, sir, no sir, I don''t know,"

    "They were Supervisors like me. One month from now, the new batch of Small Spears will be selected. And I''ve been doing a great job at maintaining my quota, though I had some issues a few months ago, all is good now, but I need to outshine everyone in thisst month, so I can be promoted."

    "This is where I belong, this is where I want to stay. This is my promotion! But I can''t do it if our workers aren''t able to satisfy the quotas, I''ve been trying to get promoted so I stay here. Do you know, the guards that stay here get to feast day in and day out, with glorious foods and some could even take a bite from the pots there, though they''re reserved for the lord¡­"

    The guard felt that he was speaking too much, "Pretend you didn''t hear that," the guard said.

    "Hear what, sir?"

    "Goodd, so what I want is for you to keep up the good work, make sure that I keep my quota up for a month, only then can I be promoted, and when that''s done, I''ll make sure no one will ever bother you, you''re my ticket out of those mines, but if you dare ruin, it for me, you know what awaits you?" the guard said.

    "I''ll personally present my head on a te for you, sir," Meng Hao replied.

    "Good, I''m d we understand each other, here," the guard said as he pulled a thick chicken thigh for Meng Hao.

    "Feast up, you haven''t had anything decent to eat for a while, this should be incentive enough for you to work?" the guard said.

    Meng Hao gobbled up the chicken thigh almost instantly and nodded like a chicken pecking on grain.

    The guard frowned, "You''re disgusting," he said.

    "I apologize my lord, but I haven''t had anything better than this chicken thigh in my life," Meng Hao said.

    The guard frowned, how is that possible? Then he realized, "Ah, I forgot that you were a miner ve, you probably had nothing but sludge all your life, I guess even in hell, you found a better life standard than what you used to have, good, now make sure you do better, so you''ll eat even better food," the guard said as he patted Meng Hao on the back.

    "Go back first, and tell the workers to fake themselves working, I don''t want the other guards to notice that you''re already done," he said as he stood watching the Incense Burner Pce with wanting eyes, hands behind his back as if he was a person about to achieve a far away dream.

    Meng Hao retreated first and went back to the caves, he told the workers to fake mining so that their break wouldn''t be taken away, and everyone began doing so.

    "What happened outside?" asked Master Rain.

    Meng Hao told him in detail, and this made the gears in Master Rain''s brain churn for a moment, smiling he said.

    "I guess our n will have to be adjusted," he said.

    "How so? I thought we''ll just overpower the guards and head to the Incense Burner House," Dao Shen said.

    "Yes, but that involves a bit of risk, but now I believe we canpletely remove the risk factor,e close, listen to what I have to say¡­"

    Master Rain then began exining.

 Chapter 519 Takeover

    Chapter 519 Takeover

    After a month, the workers at the mines, apanying Meng Hao had begun to break down.

    Even with moderating their work and following Meng Hao''s methods of mining, some still sumbed to the Baleful Qi.

    The guard for Meng Hao''s group cleanly disposed of those who transformed, not allowing anything to ruin his path to promotion. And those who seemed weak for now were given some slight ck on the expense of the others overworking themselves.

    The guard didn''t want his month to be blemished with ack of Bloodstones, so he made sure to get fresh blood to supply the dead miners.

    Though it took the neers a couple of days to understand how the work is done, Meng Hao and hispanions were enough to support thecking manpower.

    The guard noticed how all four of them were not easily exhausted and were able to support the rest of the group when there was ack, instead of forcing them to do more, he gave them food and attention, the attention they didn''t want, but the food they needed to sustain themselves better.

    The guard didn''t care to find out why the four were able to sustain the Baleful Qi, though he inspected their bodies and found bits of it, it wasn''t to the point of it being suspicious, they probably had special bodies and he was just lucky enough to have four of them in his sector.

    The constant production of Bloodstone from his sector however was bound to get some attention from the other guards, seeing that one of them was going to be promoted, they demanded that he would give them at least one of his workers since they themselves hadck

    The guard however refused and made sure to not give up any of his people, lest his production rate drop and he''ll fail to be promoted.

    One day, one of the guards even dared to kill one of the workers, by killing him and saying that he was disrespected he''ll easily avoid the me of the higher-ups and at the same time make sure that Meng Hao''s guard wouldn''t be promoted.

    Yet, the moment the enemy guard was about to kill off Meng Hao, the guard arrived and stopped it, "What are you doing?" he asked.

    Stunned for a moment, he then replied, "Ah Xiao Lai, this bastard stepped on my foot, I''m teaching him a lesson."

    "Stop fooling around, I was here and I didn''t see that, if you want to satisfy your perverted obsessions do it in your own group, go away, or I''ll report you for disruption," Xiao Lai said.

    "You''re going to do that, for a mere miner?" the guard asked, annoyed and angry.

    "Of course, I can''t have you ruining my production, I know what you''re all nning, and I''m going to stay here, until the final day," he said.

    Angry at his inability to act, the guard grunted and spat at Meng Hao, "Do you think that when he''s promoted he''ll protect you? Once that happens I''ll make sure to teach you all a lesson," he said.

    "Don''t mind what he said, keep up the work," Xiao Lai said, in all honestly, he didn''t really care about the fate of the miners after he was done. It wouldn''t have mattered to him anyway if they were all killed on the day he is promoted, all he needed was he himself to leave this hellhole.

    As for the ves, they were bound to die anyway. Though it''s a pity to lose those four workers, he wasn''t going to risk his promotion for mere ves.

    "Even when I''m promoted, I''ll still have a say to what happens here, so none of you will be harmed," the guard saidforting the miners, but it was clear to the four that those were words full of lies.

    The final batch of Bloodstones was collected and taken outside.

    "Rest up, you did a good job," said the guard as he sat down, intense anxiety clear on his face.

    "Don''t worry lord, we did a good job, you''ll definitely get your promotion," Meng Hao said.

    This caused everyone to be stunned, to actually speak when not spoken to, it was close to asking to be killed.

    But the guard only smiled, "We can only hope," he said and continued pondering.

    A couple of hourster, another guard came to the area. This one had the same armor that the Minor Spears had, this caused Xiao Lai''s eyes to widen.

    "Xiao Lai, by order of the General, your work these past few years has been exemry, though the board has refused your promotion¡­"

    The words felt like an anvil dropping on Xiao Lai as all of his hopes were crushed.

    "The General spoke on your behalf, seeing the majority of the board refusing caused him to be more interested and once he had taken interest and saw your exemry work, he made an internal investigation, resulting in the discovery of corruption. The Fire General had then decided to promote you against the board''s orders, congrattions on bing a Minor Spear. Please proceed to the Infernal Mansion to receive your crest," the guard then looked at the rest of the workers who looked happy for some reason.

    "Interesting, it seems that your work area is stable, for that your workers will receive three days rest and will be appointed a new guard for their next session," the Minor Spear said and turned away leaving.

    Xiao Lai''s fists clenched in happiness as finally he''ll be able to leave this ce, though it will be sad to give up the workers, he couldn''t wait to go.

    "Good Job!" said Xiao Lai, "Good damn job! Now I''ll get to leave this hellhole!" he said.

    "But sadly," he said, "I can''t allow another person to use you," he said.

    This meant trouble¡­

    "I honestly thought about leaving you here and going away but thinking about it now, you can be used by the next guard, and forced to work and then they''ll also get a promotion like me, I can''t allow that," he said as he pulled his sword, "You worked hard, let me send you off peacefully," he said.

    Hearing his words, the miners outside of Meng Hao''s group were terrified and began running away.

    "Filthy bastards!" Xiao Lai then ran after them culling them one after the other, even as they dispersed in different directions of the tunnel.

    But the group remained together.

    Once Xiao Lai returned, with his sword bloodied, he was surprised to find the four still waiting.

    "What? Do you think that I''ll let you live? Only you four can survive this ce''s Qi, you think begging me, or not running away like those idiots is enough for me to let you live?" he spoke.

    "No," Meng Hao said.

    "We didn''t run away because we''re afraid of death," said Meng Hao.

    The guard approached him, "Ah because you''re miners, you''re supposed to only obey orders," The guard nodded remembering Meng Hao''s past.

    "I was never a miner," Meng Hao replied. And before the expressions of Xiao Lai could even turn, his head already flew off of his body.

    Falling in disbelief on the ground.

    Dao Shen twisted his wrists and snapped the chains off, then approached the head of the dead cultivator.

    "Soul Search!"

    One of the vilest and most abhorred techniques of the world of cultivation, is the power to forcefully look through one''s memories tearing their soul in the process.

    While the body was decapitated the soul was still there, and with Dao Shen''s master over Soul magic, he was able to obtain all the information he needed for the next part of Master Rain''s n.

    "What''s going on here?!" one of the guards spoke, and just as he entered the room, seeing the fallen corpse, his first instinct was to call for help, but his voice never left his body.

    Another guard was killed.

    This was the neighboring guard.

    "We''re in luck, he actually came over faster than expected, I''ll take his appearance, Dao Shen, you know what to do," said Master Rain.

    "I can''t go through," Dao Shen said.

    "Why not?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Because I don''t know which pot is the mistress, we''re looking for is in, only Meng Hao knows, so I''ll give you all the information I''ve gotten from the Soul Search, and I''ll also change your Qi and appearance to that of the guard, are you up for it?" he asked.

    "Yes,"

    "Good then,e closer," Dao Shen said and began modifying Meng Hao''s facial features and Qi imprint once again.

    ***

    "Lord, it has been a hundred years now¡­" I heard.

    Opening my eyes, I saw the Automaton in front of me.

    "How much energy do we still have?" I asked.

    "Enough, but the smaller''s core is about to turn to dust. The other one is still supporting the pagoda.

    "A hundred years¡­ that means that three years had passed outside¡­" I spoke as I stood up.

    "Indeed, my lord, the acid levels had receded greatly, we can leave the serpent whenever you wish to," spoke the Automaton.

    "Right, we can leave¡­ but I think I need to do something first¡­"

 Chapter 520 Tigers Den

    Chapter 520 Tiger''s Den

    Three Years ago

    "I must hurry!" Meng Hao spoke to himself as he left the mines area. He made sure to memorize everything that Dao Shen had shared when he soul-searched the dead guard Xiao Lai.

    With ess to Xiao Lai''s memories, he''s able topletely impersonate him to the extent he won''t be revealed in the short term. On that end, Meng Hao arrived at the mansion of the Minor Spears.

    "You came rather fast," one of the Minor Spears spoke.

    "I guess he really wants his promotion, get inside, a Fire Spear is waiting for you to promote you, make sure you don''t scream," the second guardughed.

    Meng Hao nodded at the two and walked inside the Mansion. Looking around it looked like a gigantic overly luxurious abode from the inside.

    Starting from the dragon leather carpet that furnished the ground, all the way to the golden chandelier, to the marble pirs coated in gold symbols of the fire dragon, the symbol of the Fire Lord himself.

    The whole mansion felt full of Qi, yet admits this pure Qi which was far more purer than the baleful Qi outside, there was a stench of death.

    One man was sitting with a hand under his chin, leaningfortably on a throne at the end of the hall.

    It was a Fire Spear. The same person that intercepted them when they first arrived to the on the ship.

    The fire spear''s eyes looked bored, "Hmm, you have a lot of Baleful Qi," the Fire Spear spoke.

    This caught Meng Hao by surprise. Stunned at how he was discovered he almost went on the defensive.

    "But that''s to be expected, it''s still not to the extent it''ll harm you, anyway, do you know why the general himself epted your promotion, even though many had been against it?" the Fire Spear spoke.

    Meng Hao still kneeling spoke, "No good lord, I have no idea why I was bestowed such honor," he said.

    "Because he was petty," said the Fire Spear.

    "If it wasn''t for the lobbyists and the elders who are supporting the Fire Lord''s second heir, he wouldn''t have even given a shit about you, but since you did good work, he made sure to promote you against their refusal, after all, if they refused it that much, they must have had a gain in promoting another one instead, and thus with you being promoted it dealt a blow to them, still, do you understand what this means?" the Spear spoke.

    "No sir, please enlighten this ignorant," Meng Hao replied.

    "It means you officially entered the battle of session, we the Fire Spears are all neutrals when ites to session, we''re spears to the Fire Lord and the fire lord alone, while you, the minor spears are all somewhat usable tools that the two Infernal Princes can use, so make sure to know which prince you serve, if you wish to keep your life," the Fire Spear spoke.

    "I''ll keep it in mind, sir," Meng Hao replied.

    "Now, for the ve Brand," The Fire Spear spoke as he pulled a stamp from his holding bag.

    Meng Hao began panicking inside, this was not something he knew of, a ve Brand, this means he''ll immediately be a ve to the Fire Throne, rendering any attempts at disobeying them futile, he might evene forward and start confessing.

    "Hmm," The fire Spear frowned, "Not even a reaction," he added.

    "Why would I react, sir, if the lord wants me to be a ve, then it is my honor to die for him as one," Meng Hao spoke while preparing mentally to release Dao Shen''s soul seals and fight for his life.

    "Hmm, foolish, but loyal, you didn''t even understand what I mean from all my speech earlier," the Fire Spear sighed. "Don''t ever allow anyone to make you their ves but the Fire Lord, what if I''m under one of the Elders''s orders and brand you to serve them, won''t you just betray the general who promoted you? Think more, foolish spear. This was a test you failed, but you still must have learned something," The Fire Spear spoke.

    Meng Hao''s head touched the ground once again, "Yes greatest lord, I''ve understood your intentions, I''ll keep your teaching in my heart."

    "Good, now take this, and pledge the oath of the spear, Swear the Infernal Oath, and then you''ll be one of the minor spears," said the Fire Spear.

    In front of Meng Hao, a dagger that looked like it had its de made from burningva was in front of him.

    The Infernal Oath is swearing fealty to the Fire Lord, it was simr to the ve Brand only this one was more specific to serve the Fire Lord alone, and not anyone else.

    All those who follow the Fire Lord have already sworn it, but now it''s a confirmation to be a spear of the fire lord.

    The process involves making a star upon one''s forehead as they swear the oath, and using this dagger the pain will be multiplied several times, then those whoplete it will receive a Spear Edge that will forever be embedded within their skull. To be used as a revenge mechanism upon death, or kill the owner upon betrayal.

    Meng Hao was sure of his ability to escape the Oath''s Restraints since he''ll swear it by using Xiao Lai''s name, and it won''t affect him.

    However, just as he ced the dagger upon his forehead, feeling the incredible heat of the de, a divine sense message echoed through the entirety of the Fire.

    "HIS GRACE AND GREATNESS, THE INFERNAL FLAME, LORD OF ALL! FLAME OF ORIGIN AND RULER OF RULERS! THE FIRE LORD HAS EMERGED FROM SECLUDED CULTIVATION! BOW TO YOUR LORD!"

    Without a second to spare, the Fire Spear immediately went on all fours kowtowing in the direction of the Fire Lord''s pce.

    Meng Hao did the same, lest he would be exposed.

    But inside his mind, a lot of terrible scenarios were crossing his mind.

    The infernal aura of the Fire Lord spread through the entirety of the Fire, revealing to all that the Fire Lord had emerged from secluded cultivation, far stronger than before, the monster became even more of a monster.

    "Hmmm¡­I left for but a few years, and I smell rats in mynd¡­how had thise to be?" the Fire Lord''s words were low in tone and volume, but they still resounded through the entire.

    Meng Hao''s heart began beating hard, but he suppressed it instantly, lest he''d be exposed by the Fire Spear kneeling next to him.

    Suddenly the skies shook and shuddered as several cultivators began screaming as if their souls were being wrenched out of their bodies.

    "Hmm, they''re still useless anyway, Spears, report to me¡­also bring me some food, I''m hungry," the Fire Lord spoke.

    The Fire Spear next to Meng Hao stood up, he looked at Meng Hao and said, "Well, since you''re technically a Minor Spear, follow me, the oath will take a day to finish, and we can''t let the lord wait that long," he said.

    And thus Meng Hao followed the Fire Spear.

    They entered through a door and arrived at a massive-sized chamber that had hundreds of thousands of incense pots in it. this was the origin of the smell.

    "Pick a few for the lord, make sure you pick the ones with the most souls in them," the fire spear said.

    Looking at this opportunity, Meng Hao made sure to scan the entire area for the soul of his beloved, and once he happened to notice which one she was in, the Fire Spear grabbed it.

    "Hmm, you''ve been focusing a lot on this one. Let me see, oh it has some decent souls in it," the Fire Spear said.

    "Wait," Meng Hao blurted.

    This caused the Fire Spear''s expression to turn sour immediately.

    "You dare, order, me?!"

    "No sir, I would never," Meng Hao immediately bowed.

    "Then exin yourself, how dare you utter those words, if your exnation isn''t convincing, your head will roll!"

    "Our Lord had just exited Seclusion, and I have to admit I have a mediocre sense when ites to soul quality, but I believe the quality of the souls in that pot is very low, they''re probably from the barrennds, giving something that distasteful to our Lord as soon as hees out will only incur his wrath, but that one," Meng Hao pointed with his finger without raising his eyes to meet the Fire Spear, "That one feels more pure and nutritious, though I believe it has nothing but the souls of beasts, they''re of an incredibly high quality that even this lowly one can sense, the fire lord will probably enjoy a hearty meal better than a poor quality one," Meng Hao spoke.

    The Fire Spear''s lips rose.

    "Clever¡­ indeed, you''re actually right, I was too focused on following the Lord''s Order that I forgot that he had a peculiar taste¡­ here, take this," The Fire Spear said as he threw the incense pot to Meng Hao.

    To which he waspletely dazed and confused at receiving the pot rather¡­too easily.

    "Eat that one up, since it probably tastes bad, we don''t want to have our lord be angry, for you thought it''s a good treasure," the Fire Spear said.

    "Yes, thank you for your generosity," said Meng Hao.

    "Now let''s head to the Fire Lord''s pce, he must be waiting for us, and since I like you, you''lle with me. I''ve yet to have a personal servant, you seem smart enough to fit the role,e," he said.

    Meng Hao couldn''t do anything but ept.

    Meeting with the Fire Lord right now, he could only hope, that Dao Shen''s Soul Changing art is enough to deceive one of the strongest in the current world of cultivation.

 Chapter 521 Gift

    Chapter 521 Gift

    Meng Hao was carried along using Divine Sense as the Fire Spear Flew toward the main Infernal Pce.

    Arriving at the pce, they saw hundreds of thousands of cultivators, most of them minor spears kowtowing to the Infernal Pce''s entrance. It looked like hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had arrived to their holynds.

    Several Fire Spears have already entered the pce, and thete arrival of Meng Hao along with his Fire Spear was clearly noticed by all.

    The Fire Lord sat in a throne of pure obsidian gold, carved in on it were the shapes of dragons and mystic beasts, while he rested, wearing a set of ck robes made of the best fabric, a small crown over his head, and eyes that looked like the heart of a burning star looked at the world as if it was beneath him.

    His symbolic hair looked like a zing me.

    Hundreds of the world''s most beautiful women were ying instruments and dancing to celebrate the emergence of the Fire Lord.

    As for the Fire Spears they were all kneeling on one knee, their heads looking at the ground in front of the Fire Lord.

    Only one man was allowed to stand. A robust-looking man with a sharp-edged chin and a single scar crossed his face diagonally, but it only added more to his feral nature. The Spear General and the second inmand.

    The Fire Spear that apanied Meng Hao came down with him. Immediately The Fire Spear Knelt in front of the Fire Lord, Meng Hao made sure to bow even further down.

    The Fire Lord noticed thete arrival but didn''t heed it for the moment as he talked to the general.

    "¡­Thus the failure of the trial. I hold full responsibility over it," the general said as he presented his right hand and swung his sword with incredible force, aiming to amputate himself.

    The Fire Lord sighed and grabbed the General''s sword by the tip of his fingers, stopping the man.

    "It matters not," the Fire Lord said, "As long as that damn worm ate him, no one is getting that heritage. And since it''s gone from the world, it''s fewer issues to deal with, I wanted to destroy it upon obtention anyway, so in a sense, the mission had seeded. Good, but I''m really not liking the fact THAT MY SPEARS LOST!" the Fire Lord''sst words were spoken with so much rage the entire pce shook.

    The dancing women didn''t dare utter a peep and continued their performance.

    The rest of the Fire Spears drooped their heads even further.

    "You there,e," spoke the Fire Lord to the spear that was with Meng Hao.

    As he approached, he knelt down and presented the pot to the Fire Lord.

    The Fire Lord sniffed it, and said, "Good quality, though it only has beasts in it¡­" The Fire Lord raised one brow at the Fire Spear who seemed to fear for his life.

    "I suppose you understand that after my exit from seclusion I needed to feast on something pure, and there is nothing purer than beasts, humans have a lot of filth in them. Good Job," the Fire Lord smiled and opened his mouth, immediately absorbing the souls of the beasts inside the pot within himself.

    It took only seconds for him to consume hundreds of thousands of souls, he then wiped his mouth and looked at Meng Hao, he smirked and said, "But I''m still hungry, you there, bring me the pot you''re hiding," said the Fire Lord.

    This caused Meng Hao to feel like a thunderbolt had struck his mind.

    The pot he was given by the Spear, the one where Yan''er was. How did he sense it?

    "You dare steal from the Incense Pce!" the general pulled out his sword and approached Meng Hao.

    At this moment Meng Hao was resigned to his imminent death. He was in front of the Fire Lord, though his objective in getting the pot waspleted, he had no way of escaping, to try and outrun the Fire Spears here, and the General, and the Fire Lord himself, within his territory? Not even a deity could do that.

    But, he''d rather die than allow them to consume her soul, if she were to be released now maybe she''ll enter the cycle of reincarnation, Meng Hao then pulled out the pot and was about to shatter it.

    "Your lordship," Spoke the Fire Spear apanying Meng Hao earlier.

    "Hmm?"

    "I was the one who had given him that pot, as a reward," spoke the Fire Spear.

    "And who do you think you are to gift someone, your lord''s food?" spoke the General, "Do you wish your head to roll, alongside his? Though a Fire Spear you are, you''re receable," the General said.

    The Fire Lord raised his hand, "Let''s hear your reason for giving this child my food."

    "Yes, he was the one who suggested to me to give you the Beast Pot to assist your full recovery, the pot I had given him was nothing but a pot full of souls from the Barren Lands, he said that it would be distasteful and rude to give you something this tasteless after a long exhausting period of cultivation," the Fire Spear spoke.

    "Hmm, so it was your idea, I see," the Fire Lord said as he stood up toward the kneeling Meng Hao.

    "You don''t even have the emblem of a minor spear, I suppose he''s one of our subjects," spoke the Fire Lord.

    "Yes, your greatness, he''s someone who was just promoted today to a Minor Spear, before he started his ritual, you have exited, thus I deemed saluting and weing you far more imperative than finishing his ritual today, I hope I didn''t overstep," said the Spear.

    "No worries, at least someone uses their brains here, and just a minor spear," said the Fire Lord as he patted Meng Hao on the head, "Good, good, I wanted to take the pot from you, but since you earned it, keep it, it''s yours, let it be known that the Fire Lord is merciful and just," The Fire Lord scuffed at his own sentenceter and then opened his hands wide "Now that I havee out, I''ll make sure to bend this world to its knees! Starting with that bitch!" The Fire Lord then turned, "Where is she?"

    "Still at the Northern Domain, she wasst seen when the Primordial Serpent God had left the dimension," spoke the General.

    "Hmm, she''s still hiding in that domain, our forces have slightly weakened," He then looked at Meng Hao and said, "We need more Spears. As much as I appreciate having more spears with a brain, most are too weak¡­ How goes the Bloodstone mining operations?" asked the Fire Lord.

    "We have had a good yield, we can probably convert three more Fire Spears with how much we obtained so far," said the General.

    "Good," he then looked at Meng Hao and said, "Did you hear that, three spots, make sure you im one, I expect great things from you," he said and then headed outside the pce.

    "Zhangfei!" the general shouted.

    The Spear that apanied Meng Hao snapped forward in a salute, "Yes!"

    "What the hell were you thinking? Bringing an unmarked one to his lordship! He doesn''t even have the minor spear''s brand! Are you insane?!" spoke the general.

    "Urgency forced by our lordship''s return, I didn''t have much choice nor time, so I brought him," the Fire Spear exined.

    The general sighed as he added "You could have brought someone else besides him, an actual spear!"

    "No need to be angry genral," another Fire Spear spoke, "You''ve seen what happened yourself, even the Fire Lord enjoyed it, it''s been a while since west saw the Fire Lord not angry or pissed. It''s part of this one''s fate and blessing to see the Fire Lord and receive a reward for it, let it go, you''ll lose more hair like this," the spear said.

    The General sighed and turned to Meng Hao, "What are you looking at? Leave my sight! Just because the Fire Lord gave you that, doesn''t mean you''re under his protection, your only protection is your own hard work! Now leave!" the General said.

    "As youmand," spoke Meng Hao who was about to leave.

    Frowning, "About that pot," said the General¡­

    Meng Hao''s heart had raced so much today he felt it was about to stop on him.

    "Enjoy it well, make sure you don''t let a single one out, it''s rare when it''s given as a gift, and don''t let anyone take it from you, you gained it with your ability, and you must protect it with your ability too¡­ now leave," said the General.

    "Yes, sir," Meng Hao replied and left, his heart beating so much at how absurdly lucky, or unlucky everything had gone.

    Though it hurt his pride to have to bow to the Fire Lord, it was all an act he needed to do to save his beloved. Had he listened to his cultivator pride, he''d have disappointed two people. First, he''d have disappointed his beloved, since he will die immediately, and second, he''d have disappointed Shen Bao, who taught him that pride is good, but not when it will cost you your life for no benefit, pride is without value if you''re dead.

    With the pot in hand, he quickly hurried to the mines, the objective was sessful, now all they need to do is to leave this. Which is probably the hardest part.

 Chapter 522 Escape

    Chapter 522 Escape

    "How long do we have to stay here," Zhang Tian Grumbled, "This Baelful Qi is eating away at my sanity, I hate it here," he added as he dug away.

    "It shouldn''t take more," Master Rain said, "We''re d the Fire Lord had taken a liking to Meng Hao, otherwise everything would have taken a turn for the worst, for now, we''ll wait until he returns from his dailymissions, and we should be able to leave, I heard that there will be a ship leaving the Main soon, we can hijack it," Just as Master Rain finished his words, loud footsteps came from outside their cave.

    "Right here," they heard as three minor spears came.

    "Are you sure you''re not taking them just because you were their captain?" asked another spear to Meng Hao disguised as Xiao Lai.

    Meng Hao shook his head, "No, some of them used to work for me, and for Zhengfei, we were caverades, so we can take him. Meng Hao turned to Dao Shen disguised as Zhangfei and asked him, "How''s the mining conditions?"

    "Not great, I''m keeping up with the quota, but I''mcking miners, are we getting any new supplies soon?" Dao Shen did his best impression acting.

    "Yeah, that''s why I''m here, you all of you,e with us, we''ll be taking a trip, consider it a blessing from me. I''ve been asked to get more workers, and we want servants to help us out with our daily errands," Meng Hao said.

    "dly," Zhang Tian said as he ced his pickaxe down.

    "This one seems too happy, how about we leave him here," said one of the minor spears, taunting.

    "You''re really cruel aren''t you, no don''t worry, among the miners I used to train, he''s one of the best, and very useful, c''mon, pack up, we''ll be leaving for a few weeks, consider it a vacation, not that you''ll ever have another one," Meng Hao said.

    The group then followed after him, while Dao Shen made sure to keep the others in line by shouting orders and cursing at them asionally."

    "He''s pretty excited," one of the minor spears apanying Meng Hao said.

    "Yeah, he probably wants to leave a good impression on you for his next promotion," Meng Hao said.

    "Well, he''s doing a good job keeping the ves in line, I like firm people, I''ll consider vouching for him in the next evaluation, anyway, let''s pick up the pace," said the minor spear.

    After several hours they arrived to the shipyard where they''ll be leaving.

    There were a few more ves around, carrying cargo to the ship, and the moment Meng Hao saw them, he ordered the group, "Go help them out, we want to leave fast," Meng Hao said.

    Zhang Tian and Master Rain nodded then hurried to help the others, carrying the boxes and what seemed to be shackles and chains.

    "You never asked me where we''re going by the way," the minor spear asked.

    "Does it matter, if it''s a mission, we''ll do it anyway," replied Meng Hao.

    Suddenly a hand rested on his shoulder, "That''s how one should act, ask not where to go, but ask what to do and how to serve."

    Turning, Meng Hao saw a Fire Spear next to him. it was the same fire spear that humiliated him on his day of arrival.

    "Hmm, this group, I remember it, where is the fisty kid that was with them?" asked the Fire Spear.

    "He died due to demonic impulses," Meng Hao replied instantly.

    "What a shame," The fire spear, his words contradicting his mocking expression, "The weak die, and the strong prevails, it is such a world. Now hurry, we need toe back here by the end of the week," said the Fire Spear.

    Soon, the ship was already packed and full of its cargo, and it seemed that it was to deliver this to a nearby that was under themand of the Fire Lord, the cargo was nothing but purified and processed BloodStones. These were probably to make another Fire Spear.

    After everyone boarded the ship, something unexpected happened.

    "HALT!" one of the minor spears shouted outside.

    "What''s going on?" the Fire Spear asked.

    "The General wishes to apany this shipment," said the Minor Spear. "He''ll arrive soon."

    This was bad.

    Meng Hao, Dao Shen, and Zhang Tian realized that things were going to get really awkward, since if it was just one Fire Spear, they could handle him, but the General is strong enough to be among the Emperor ranks. Which is the same as Master Rain''s level.

    The issue wasn''t that they couldn''t win, the issue was, if they were to fight, would they be able to win in time before reinforcements arrive.

    Their n was to takeover the ship and head to the area where the Thunder Bull was waiting for them. But now it seems that this n will have to be adjusted.

    The General entered the ship, didn''t even bother with the ves or the minor spears and headed to the navigation room, Meng Hao was waiting calmly on the side next to the fire spear, listening to what''s going on.

    "I''ll be heading with you, the lord isn''t happy with the Quality of the Fire Spears, we have some candidates, but I want to see their ability first," the general then turned to Meng Hao.

    "You again," he said, "I can''t see any improvements from thest time. I thought you wanted to be the next Fire Spear," The General said.

    "My apologies, I have shamed myself with my weakness," Meng Hao replied.

    "We do not tolerate weakness here, the next time I see you, if you''re the same level as now, I''ll make sure to personally execute you," the General then scuffed and looked away.

    "I''ll be takingmand of the ship, let''s depart."

    "As youmand," the Fire Spear said and the ship soon took off.

    The general discussed logistics with the Fire Spear and how the event of promoting the new Fire Spear will happen, all in all, Meng Hao was still processing a method to takeover the Ship with the General still on it.

    "Go check up on the ves, they''re awfully quiet," the Fire Spear gave Meng Hao and the minor spear an order.

    "As youmand," Meng Hao said and the three left the room.

    "You''re in big trouble," said one of the Minor Spears to Meng Hao.

    "I know, I have to improve fast," Meng Hao said, not really lying, he was thinking of needing to improve himself for real, after facing the Fire Lord, he realized how truly weak he was.

    Once they arrived to the areas where the ves were kept, they noticed that all of them were doing nothing but sit down, quietly.

    "I guess nothing was happening after all, let me report it," said the Minor Spear as he headed up.

    "Man, this is really boring," said the second minor spear as he looked through the window peering on the outer space.

    "It''s time off the, what do you mean boring?" asked Meng Hao, making sure to keep up the small-talk since he noticed Master Rain''s hands doing gestures.

    "It takes a couple hours to reach our destination, and there is nothing to see on the way besides a belt of meteorites, then we''ll spend days there waiting for a ceremony that takes a full week toplete. While we''re not allowed to not even move. I wish if I had just stayed back," he said.

    "Indeed, it will be boring,"

    "I wish something was to happen, I mean, we''ve been cooped up near the mines for a long while. Still, for some reason I''m feeling uneasy," he said.

    "Is that so,"Meng Hao said as he slowly brandished his sword.

    "Yeah, it''s like a dark feeling I have, you know, like something bad might happen, you know what I mean?" the spear turned to Meng Hao who had his sword raised.

    Master Rain immediately finished his spell and locked the entire body of the dead minor spear in a formation along with the mouths "I know," Meng Hao said and ripped the man''s head off.

    Master Rain immediately finished his spell and locked the entire body of the dead minor spear in a formation along with the mouths of every ve in the ship.

    He locked their movement and words.

    "Is it time already?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Yes, I already finished preparations," Master Rain said

    "You can release our disguise," said Master Rain to Dao Shen.

    Dao Shen then immediately removed their disguises and restored their Qi signatures.

    "We''re not afraid of the General finding out that were here?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "No, I made precautions," Master Rain said.

    Suddenly, the Ship began shaking.

    "What''s that?" asked Dao Shen.

    "That''s the precaution I made," Master Rain grinned.

    "Everyone buckle up!" he added.

    And almost immediately, the hull of the ship burst apart, as the Thunder Bull made its grand entrance breaking into the ship.

    Zhang Tian, Meng Hao, Dao Shen, and Master Rain all jumped on the carriage portion, and the bull shot forward breaking the other side of the ship rendering it useless.

    "Well, I hope that the Thunder Bull is fast enough," said Dao Shen as he noticed an incredible amount of Qi gathering inside the Ship Wreck.

    The General shot forward from the ship toward the bull.

    But suddenly the General was zapped with what seemed to be a trap formation.

    He got stalled for a second, and that second is all it took for Zhang Tian to use one of his own spells, the same one that sealed the Primordial Serpent God.

    "Got him!" Zhang Tian said.

    "Let''s hurry then, he''ll probably exit the seal in no time we can''t dy, alright little cabbage, time to show them the meaning of haste!" Master Rain said and the thunder bull, true to its name roared in bursting lightning as he zoomed forward with incredible speed.

    "How did you apply a trap formation on the general," Dao Shenughed as he watched them get away.

    "The first formation, I didn''t apply it directly, I ced it on the Minor spear that went to report the ve''s calm behavior. The second one is Zhang Tian''s work, he''s pretty decent when ites to seals¡­"

    "Well, I learned from your prison, I had a thousand years to learn anyway," Zhang Tianughed.

    "Don''t bring that up, it was your fault," Master Rian said.

    "Emm, is it just me, or are we not heading outside the Fire Domain?"

    "No, we''re not heading out, that''s a ticket to the afterlife if we do that. Our escape had already been reported, and if we proceed to leave the Fire Domain using the shortest rout, a lot of cultivators will be waiting for us, we''ll take a roundabout way to leave, don''t worry about it, and just trust little cabbage," said Master Rain as the bull continued to rumble forward.

 Chapter 523 The Peak

    523 The Peak

    "How long do we have to keep this up!" Dao Shen cursed under his breath, he was bleeding all over as he channeled the remaining of his Qi to fend off the pursuers.

    "Just a bit more, we''re almost out!" Master Rain shouted as he swung his arms creating seals and inscriptions that mmed against several cultivators.

    Right now, at the edge of the Fire Lord''s domain, the Thunder Bull carriage was stampeding through hordes of Fire Lord troops as they tried to make a break for it.

    Three Years of the chase, it has been, and in these three years, the group almost lost their lives countless times. But they still prevailed against all odds, thanks to their strength, and the power of the Emperor Ranked Master Rain.

    In these three years, the group managed to kill off three Fire Spears, and heavily wound the Infernal General, that being said, the group itself suffered greatly. Meng Hao is currently unconscious as he had used up a great deal of his Qi, revealing to the world his ability to use the Undying mes, the mes of the Primordial Phoenix of legends.

    A mythical being, a being that has no root or origin or even had ever been revealed to exist in the world of the Vast Expanse if only in stores and myths. Yet, it was something that wasparable to the Primordial Serpent God.

    The Primordial Phoenix, a mythical creature that seemed to have stemmed from the minds of poets and deduced to have existed by the intelligence of schrs, deduced from the existence of the Fire Bird the Suzaku but has never been proven to have existed in the realm of the Vast Expanse. Yet, with Meng Hao''s ability to reveal the Undying mes, and showcasing the infernal might of the Pheonix, it was proof enough for the entire world that an existence as powerful as the Primordial Serpent God actually exists.

    However, where could such a mighty creature be? The Vast Expanse might be grand and seem limitless, but it still shouldn''t be enough to hide the presence of something as mighty andparable to the Primordial Serpent God.

    This posed a lot of questions, if it isn''t here, where is it? and if it truly isn''t here, then could it be elsewhere, away from the Vast Expanse, in an entierely different ce, maybe a different realm?

    Maybe, it is in the true world, some had thought, in the Beyond, sealed from the Vast Expanse by a door that needs five keys.

    And if it is beyond the door, then howe its presence is here, and if its presence is here in the Vast Expanse, how did ite to be?

    Question upon question, that only led to one conclusion, somehow, somewhere, and somewhen, the Primordial Phoenix had descended upon the Vast Expanse and left a trace, and if it had done so, it had done it without the need of the keys, perhaps since it''s a primordial it had the ability to enter and leave the Vast Expanse at will, but why does the Primordial Serpent God not leave?

    These questions seemed endless and would result in a person''s mind to only be more and more confused.

    And thus Master Rain decided not to entertain these questions furthermore, since he didn''t trust himself able to contain the endless onught of the Fire Troops that wereing at them.

    The General having lost one Arm was a great achievement, but the cost was heavy, Zhang Tian''s mind was currently battling a Fire Curse that was applied by the General Himself, halfling hisbat power, but he was still able to support Master Rain in fending off the aggressors.

    The Thunder Bull was also suffering, as many of the enemies were attacking it directly to halt it, or stop it, but for some unknown reason to the group, they never attacked the bull with lethal force. Which was a clear indicator, that the carriage was to be confiscated by the Fire Lord.

    This gave the group a good breath since many of the enemies couldn''t use more lethal moves, while the carriage was escaping.

    In these three years, the group hid everywhere and was discovered many times due to the incessant pursuit of the Fire Lord''s army, but today marks the day when they could actually escape his clutch as they were almost at the exit of his territory.

    Thousands of corpses floated in the vast expanse belonging to the Fire Lord''s troops, but more of them charged at the carriage heedless of worry and fear for their lives, throwing themselves like moths to a me in order to snuff it out.

    But Master Rain''s ability was proven to the world once more as he fended the entire battalion by himself with his endlessly confusing and everchanging seals and inscriptions.

    Suddenly, as the group approached the end of the borders of the Infernal Region, what looked like a shooting star seemed to head directly toward them.

    For a moment, Master Rain''s face turned pale.

    "Is that the fire lord?" Dao Shen spoke as he saw Master Rain''s face turning white for a second.

    "No, it''s worse," Master Rain said.

    This caused Dao Shen to feel a greater sense of danger, readying to fight for his life in this endeavor, Zhang Tian thenughed, "Mother, it took you long enough to get here."

    The words confused Dao Shen at first and immediately the shooting star stopped in front of them, The Queen of the Northern Domain, the mightiest Emperor Realm cultivator looked at the battlefield with eyes filled with nothing but pity.

    "Perish," she spoke.

    And as if her word was spoken by the heavens, the cultivators around the carriage, attacking the carriage, and some who were smart enough to turn tail all began falling, dying with but a word.

    "YOU WRETCHED WOMAN!" the words spoken, by someone whom everyone thought wouldn''t even entertain the thought of being here, turning, and looking in between the dying troops was a man with a mane of hair that looked to be an evesting me.

    With a single p, he managed to stop the invisible wave of death pursuing his troops.

    "Youe to mynd! And kill my people! And steal what is mine!" the Fire Lord spoke, incensed at the arrival of the Queen.

    "Then what are you going to do about it?" the queen spoke as if she was a bully.

    "Everyone, leave, I''ll take care of this," the Fire Lord spoke and charged ahead.

    The queen then sent Master Rain a divine sense message.

    "Take the kids away, we''ll have a discussion about thister¡­"

    ''Shit,'' Master Rain couldn''t help but curse inwardly before he ordered the Bull to rush out of the Fire Lord''s border.

    As they were moving away, world-destroying sts began echoing behind them, the might of the impacts was enough to rattle space itself, tearing it to bits and pieces.

    "Holy shit¡­" Dao Shen said.

    "That''s the power of two beings, half a step into the next realm¡­ the impossible realm," Master Rain said as they rushed out.

    *************

    "What are you doing, Lord?" the Automaton asked.

    "Hmm, I''ve been thinking," I replied to the automaton.

    "About?" it asked.

    "We could leave whenever we want," I said.

    "Yes," the automaton replied.

    "But, do you think we can escape?" I asked him.

    The automaton thought for a moment and said, "By my calctions, we''ll have about a three percent chance to escape if we teleport while the serpent is asleep, by the time it realizes, chases, and hunts us, we''ll be far away from it."

    "That still does not mean that we''ll be away from its clutches anyway," I said.

    "Indeed, it shall still chase after us, since it has your scent nowhere in the world is safe¡­"

    "Well, this ce is safe," I said.

    "Meaning?"

    "Inside the serpent, it can''t attack us," I said as I looked up and then down.

    "Indeed, but if you''re nning on attacking it, I believe with your current strength, it will probably be no more than a prick, an ufortable one, but not enough for it to ever need to worry," the Automaton said.

    "And that''s what I want," I said.

    "I fail to understand your goal, lord," the automaton added.

    "Yes, so would the serpent," I''ll be leaving the pagoda. Did the acid levels decrease?"

    "Not yet, the stomach is still full.

    "I should be able to survive the acid levels I believe," I said.

    "Indeed you could, the current you can, but it would probably be for only a few hours at most," said the automaton.

    "That''s more than enough," I replied as I pulled out Creeping Demise.

    "I have spent a hundred years understanding the Poison God''s full legacy, and now, it is within my grasp, two hours, I can do it in two hours, I can reach it¡­"

    "Reach what?" the automaton asked.

    "The Primordial Serpent god''s Heart¡­"

    Eid Mubarak everyone, just got back from holydays now back to writing, hope u liked today''s chap.

 Chapter 524 He Who Devours a God

    524 He Who Devours a God

    "It''s strange¡­" Dao Shen spoke, muttering to himself, but loud enough for the rest to hear him.

    "What is strange?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "The fact that the Fire Lord was able to stop herdyship''s Soul Speech¡­ that''s not something even I can do, and I specialize in Soul Dao, just like herdyship¡­"

    "Nothing is strange about that," Meng Hao''s eyes opened up as he spoke. His cultivation was damaged, and his entire body seemed riddled with cracks from the mes of the Phoenix.

    "What do you mean, Meng Hao," Dao Shen replied.

    "He knew, from the start, he knew everything¡­" Meng Hao said, frustration clear in his eyes.

    "I had my doubts, but this confirms it, the Fire Lord saw through our disguise and didn''t even act, he didn''t care that I wasn''t the real Minor Spear, he didn''t care, that I took the incense bowl, he didn''t care that we escaped or harmed his general¡­ he only acted, when she showed up," Meng Hao said.

    "You mean, we were already exposed¡­" Dao Shen said.

    "Yes," Zhang Tian was the one who replied here, "Probably since the moment we set foot on his territory, we were already revealed and exposed," He added

    "But why didn''t he act?" asked Dao Shen.

    "Because it didn''t profit him in any way, only now will it do so," Master Rain said.

    "I don''t follow," Dao Shen said shaking his head.

    "It''s a trap, a trap to lure the Queen¡­" Zhang Tian said. "He wanted to lure Mother out if he had taken me hostage, he probably feared that I might try and end my life to stop her froming over, or maybe that we have some form of treasure to escape, so he orchestrated this chase, these three years chase to corner us and have a word of our escape spread through the Vast Expanse and reach her ears, only then will shee forward, since we''ll seem to have a chance to escape if she arrives," Zhang Tian said.

    "She must have realized it too," Master Rain said, "She probably knows it''s a trap and she still came over¡­"

    "Shouldn''t we help her then?" asked Dao Shen.

    "How can mere ants intervene in the fight of giants, we''ll be nothing but a burden, even Master Rain can''t intervene now, if you remember, the Fire General paid an arm to weaken him," Zhang Tian said.

    "We''ll have to trust in her power, that she''ll escape after securing our rout of retreat¡­" Master Rain said.

    ***

    "Pests," I spoke as I cut through the seventh or eighth parasite that was rushing at me.

    These things are surprisingly weak¡­ no, it''s not just that, I grew disgustingly stronger¡­ Though I''m still at the peak of the Ascendant Stage¡­ I''m more than capable of fighting off against a mid-rank King ss. But, even though I grew stronger, I''m still weak in terms of cultivation level.

    My body had fully healed up, and I understand far more about the Path of Poison than I ever did before.

    Dare I say that my understanding of the twelve books is the same as Du Shen''s when he finished writing them?

    Dao, cultivation, sword, death, poison, alchemy, soul, carnage, devouring, Body, Law, and inscription.

    Dare I say, I''ve learned all there is in this hundred years, enough to say that it would normally take a dozen lifetimes of cultivation, I learned the path of poison. But, I cannot use even a fraction of it, not because of myck of understanding.

    But because Ick the power needed to fully disy them.

    My body, which had stopped growing for a hundred years as I satiated my mind with knowledge. Now, it''s the time to grow and there is one way to do it.

    This giant creature, which consumes worlds themselves, is too overbearing of a monster to ever fight head-on.

    Yet, it has one weakness, a fatal one.

    It never considered fortifying its insides. Since it forever considered whatever it consumed to be dead.

    I''ll make sure to make it regret ever eating me.

    As I dove, faster and faster into the incredibly potent-melting acid, more of the parasites came toward me, which I took down with utter ease.

    They looked slower than snailspared to me and were easily subduable. I only needed to reach the meaty part of the serpent.

    The pressure kept increasing the further I dove, I felt as if I was fighting against the pressure of hundreds ofbined seas at once, but it was bearable thanks to the Body Cultivation technique, which improved my core hundreds of times over in the past century of secluded cultivation.

    After almost two hours of deep diving, I reached the end of this ck acid sea.

    The surface of the serpent''s stomach extended far beyond the scope of my divine sense, yet I could still hear it, even from here.

    The loud, ear ripping beating of its heart, from just beyond this fleshly membrane.

    I pulled Creeping Demise, coated it with my Qi, then swung down.

    A single slice was all I needed to cut open a slice in the fabric of the Serpent God''s stomach. And the reaction that followed was as if the world itself was about to crumble down. The stomach began hardening, and I didn''t have time to waste.

    I shoved my fists into the quickly closing tear of the flesh and began grabbing at the meat and pulling my body forward, deeper and deeper into the flesh of its internal stomach.

    Like a small parasite, I began boring through the beast''s inner organs, with it unable to do anything about me.

    I continue moving deeper and deeper until how many days?

    The space inside its stomach was rtively empty or was only full of acid fluids, traversing it was simple, but beyond the stomach, it was nothing butpact organs that I had to dig using my own hands through.

    The wounds I left on the serpent were enough to cause it to shudder and asionally scream in agonized pain.

    I lost my ear drums several hours ago and gave up on trying to repair them since they''ll break once again the moment I do. The sound from its heart alone was enough to shatter my ears so what''s the point of repairing them only for them to break again?

    The problem however wasn''t the sound.

    But the vibration, its heart was basically the size of a small moon, and the vibration it did, whenever it bat, was loud enough to rattle through every bone in my body.

    But, It didn''t phase me, though it bat, it was slow and was only once every hour. So, whenever the heart was about to beat, I coated my body with Qi to suppress the vibration and it worked at first, but that didn''tst.

    Since the closer I got to the heart, the louder it became, and the more powerful the vibrations became.

    And at one point, I was close enough that the heart had beaten once more, and several bones on my body broke at once.

    The pain was enough for a person to faint, but I bit through the pain and trusted my regenerative prows.

    Reinforced and repaired bones immediately reced the shattered ones and I continued digging my way through.

    Another day went by, then another, and finally, I was able to see it.

    The heart of the beast. Between me and the heart, was some space, enough for me to float. Looking back at the area I came from, the wound had already healed.

    This damn thing''s regenerative power was absurdly high.

    The next beat was going to happen soon. And with me floating here, I''ll probably break several bones.

    But, I had an idea I wanted to try.

    Just before the next blow was to happen, I gathered my Qi around my fists. My muscles bulged and my veins felt as if they were about to burst as the blood flow rose up.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! IMPACT!" I sent a surge of pure Qi forward the moment the heart batted.

    Two sonic-like waves echoed inside the heart chamber, mine clearly weaker, since I didn''t intend to harm the heart¡­ for now.

    But it was enough to break through the heart''s vibrations, giving me some respite.

    I bought an hour, and I''ll need to do this afterward.

    I hurried toward the heart and sat down in the lotus position.

    My goal was pretty simple.

    "You wanted to eat me and get rid of me¡­now it''s my turn,"

    Not a secondter, my body began turning hot, as I started using the art of Devouring.

 Chapter 525 Against The Odds

    525 Against The Odds

    I sank into the heart of the Serpent God as a hot knife would sink into butter. Deeper and deeper I went until I reached the center, then began absorbing. Absorbing EVERYTHING!

    From Qi to blood. But enough not to harm the heart, for now, that is.

    The Serpent God was a beast of epic proportions, with a size that was big enough to consume entires, and if I, a single man were to absorb from it, It would be like trying to drink the sea with a spoon.

    However, thanks to the Poison God''s full art of devouring, I discovered¡­ more like realized something.

    The physical can be moved into the none physical. Which might sound absurd at first, but I could do it. In no way will I ever be able to fully consume the serpent as I physically cannot, since the sheer size difference. But, I can put the serpent somewhere then eat it, slowly.

    Though to do that I need to weaken the serpent first.

    Currently, I''m absorbing the serpent''s blood, but not any blood, the heart blood, or what we could also call, The Blood Essence of the Poison Serpent god.

    Compared to the trillions upon trillions of liters of normal blood that''s running through the Poison Serpent God, the Blood Essence is no more than ten liters or so, and it''s all in its heart. And I''m about to consume it whole, and it can''t do anything to stop me.

    The blood essence of the Poison God is golden in color, unlike the normal red. And inside it''s heart, it surrounded me and thus I began consuming it not letting a single drop escape.

    The serpent god immediately realized the danger it was in, and began wailing in desperate agony as it felt its Blood Essence being consumed without it being able to get rid of me. I was like a parasite that was deep within its heart, and it had no way to remove me or harm me.

    Or so I thought at first. Until I realized that the temperature of the heart began rising rapidly.

    "You want to cook me alive with your body heat, too bad for you," I grinned as I called upon my Heart me, pushing back against the heat of the heart, and further refining the golden blood.

    I absorbed and absorbed some more, enough that my body was saturated but I still consumed more.

    My veins began bulging as the searing hot blood of the Serpent God began premating through my body, trying to destroy it from within.

    This would have been an absolute certainty of death for me, if I didn''t learn more about the path of the Body. as the more of the golden blood mixed with my own blood, my body began repairing the damage and forcing the golden blood to submission.

    Bit by agonizing bit, I fused the golden blood into my marrow, and bones and used it to feed my veins.

    Gaining a more enhanced body, at the expense of destroying every cell in it then rebuilding it using the new blood.

    The Serpent God''s blood was saturated with qi and bountiful in nutrients to make the perfect body. And not only did it not interfere with my Poison Meridians as I had feared, on the opposite, it enhanced them to do their job even better. The meridians swelled and gained more strength and robustness as my white bleached bones began to turn gold from the blood.

    My own blood seemed to disappear as the Serpent God''s bloodpletely took over.

    At one point, the pain and agony were so much, feeling as if my entire body was being disintegrated bit by bit, I almost lost consciousness and focus, and in that moment I notice scales growing on my arms.

    I bit my tongue, adding pain upon pain to wake myself up and resume my focus, in case I was to lose it here, I''ll transform into a snake.

    The scales were immediately shredded off, and I resumed my agonizing consumption.

    The serpent''s heart boomed louder and louder, further breaking my body, but with the power of the Blood Essence, I was able to repair it in a heartbeat.

    The echoes of the heart were loud, but after an hour, two, and then a dozen more, they began to lessen.

    Losing its blood essence, the Serpent God couldn''t do anything but weaken as it realized that it was in probably the deepest and most dangerous situation it had ever encountered since it had seen light for the first time.

    My tendons became far stronger and more stic, my veins felt as if they were made of diamond but with the sticity of flesh. And my muscles burned with unbridled power, enough that the mere fact of moving my arm caused the sound of thunder to echo, and I wasn''t even halfway done.

    More of the blood seeped into my body, further reinforcing me, feeding me, and nurturing my physic to that of a being far superior to a human.

    The agony continued for a few days, the agony that felt as if I was being slowly roasted on the mes of hell itself, but still, it was agony worth suffering, for the reward was unbelievably worth it.

    But all thingse to an end. Though my cultivation base didn''t move up a single ounce, even with the monstrous amounts of Qi I consumed, my body felt as if had reached the realms of godhood.

    But, for some reason, I couldn''t make that Qi my own, it was strange, it was as if I had absorbed Saint Qi, but it had a different code that wasn''tpatible with my body.

    Could it be a higher level of Qi? Something as different as the Heavenly Qi, to Saint Qi.

    Perhaps, but if that was the case, that would mean that the Serpent God''s cultivation is in a higher realm than that of the people of the vast expanse, even the Queen of the wind realm, the strongest of the Vast Expanse uses saint Qi.

    Perhaps this is the reason why this serpent managed to overpower whoever tried to hunt it down. Simply because the two were inpletely different realms of cultivation.

    But, though the Qi in this blood is of a higher grade, I won''t let it go to waste, Ipressed it, secured it, and ced it within my Dantian, in my Sea of Consciousness. Though I can''t use it now, a day shalle when I''ll be able to do so.

    Opening my eyes on the seventh day, the heart I was in looked shriveled up, and the golden blood was no more than a few specs and drops, too few for me to even bother seeking and consuming.

    The effects of the Blood had died down, and I couldn''t use it anymore as I had reached the peak of body evolution.

    But this wasn''t my goal. My goal was the serpent god itself. I absorbed its blood essence, but that was just the beginning.

    Weakened and exhausted from having its Blood Essence stolen, the Serpent God could do nothing but send soul-wrenching wails of agony through the vast expanse.

    Now for the next and most dangerous step¡­

    I began releasing my divine sense, and I felt it more robust and more powerful than before, my reach was so great I thought I could scan an entire with my Divine Sense alone.

    And there I felt it, an oppressive, devastating, and most shocking Divine Sense, that of the Serpent God itself.

    shing heads against this divine sense is nothing short of suicide, and I didn''t need to sh against it, I beckoned it to me. Into my Sea of Consciousness, open for all to enter, and without any defenses to protect my mind. All to lure it in, to lure the physical into the nonphysical¡­

    ***

    Within the rims of the northern domain, where the Poison God''s Trial door had opened before. Awless empty space folded, revealing the silhouette of a being so massive that evens would break upon contact with it.

    It was the squirming body of the Poison Serpent God, it was in pain, so much pain that it wailed in a sound so bleak and so strong, the fabric of space itself began to rip and tear apart revealing hundreds of spatial tears that let in the winds of the void.

    Cultivators from afar witnessed this event and realized that something ominous was going to happen.

    Oracles and seers predicted the end of the world since the ruler of the vast expanse was experiencing agony predicting its own death. And some thought that it would be the greatest fortuitous encounter of their lives if they were able to witness the death of a being so great and then loot from its corpse whatever they could.

    But, many theorized and no one acted.

    ***

    Far away, in the Heavenly Academy, Master Rain, Dao Shen, Zhang Tian, Meng Hao, and a seriously injured Queen of the Wind Realm were resting in the tower.

    The Queen''s right arm waspletely gone, and her body had burns that seemed unwilling to heal no matter the treatment.

    The dark face of Zhang Tian spoke of his worry aplenty, but none could have predicted the growth of the Fire Lord, being able topete with the Queen and injuring her to this extent only at the cost of a few internal injuries that he could probably heal in little time.

    No one spoke of the events that had passed. Not even Meng Hao dared ask the wounded Queen to revive his beloved, Soul Revival requires a great deal of focus, and with the baleful fire Qi rampaging within the queen, bringing her back had more risks than benefits, not only would the queen further weaken, there was a risk of failure.

    Yuyu entered the room of the four, her face looking awfully exhausted.

    "Something is happening to Shen Bao''s avatar," she said.

    Frowning, Master Rain spoke, "What do you mean? Wasn''t it just a mindless soulless husk?" he asked.

    "It was, but¡­ it seemed that it''s starting to regain itsposure, it not longer rampages in the prison cell, it''s calm and¡­ it''s cultivating," Yuyu said.

    Master Rain found the notion of a soulless body cultivating absurd, and since he was interested in the strange and absurd, he asked her to lead the way.

    Dao Shen followed suit, and so did Meng Hao, leaving Zhang Tian to tend to his mother.

    Arriving at the cell, the group noticed the body which had already torn several pieces of reinforced bricks and stones from its madness thatsted three years, calmly sitting in the lotus position.

    "How is this possible?" Master Rain muttered as he entered the prison cell.

    The body opened its eyes, they no longer were unfocused but seemed to have some semnce of light to them, yet it was weak, so very weak.

    "Could¡­" Yuyu muttered.

    "No," Dao Shen immediately shut down the thought, he knew what she was about to say.

    "It''s still without a soul," Dao Shen added. "But, it seemed that the body received amand of sorts¡­"

    "What do you mean?" Master Rain asked.

    Dao Shen approached the corpse and ced his hand on it.

    Soon, he snickered, then beganughing like a hysterical madman.

    Confused everyone kept wondering what happened and Dao Shen''s answer came soon enough.

    "That bloody bastard¡­he lives still,"

 Chapter 526 Felled

    Chapter 526 Felled

    For a moment, I felt my Divine Sense reach far beyond where I currently am, beyond the belly of the beast, far in between the stars, all the way to the heavenly academy. It was for but a moment, but in that moment, I was able to send one order to my avatar.

    Stay put, and cultivate, I''ming soon.

    Before my mind returned to where I currently am. Within my Sea of Consciousnesses. Atop an endless sea that spread as far as the eye could see, it''s depth limited by nothing but the ability of my mind and its reach expanding equivalently to the strength of my own Qi.

    Within this endlessly looking sea, a fortress that has no business to be a setting in a world of cultivation was afloat. And in its midst were hundreds of thousands of puppets that had only one job, to defend it with all they had.

    A single tower supervise the entire fortress. At the top of the tower, my Nascent Soul. Sitting on a throne of gold and bone. It looked closer to human than it ever did before, yet, you could see feral might from its draconic eyes. Waiting, for what is toe.

    For even if this soul was originally that of a ghost dragon, it is still a dragon. And its bloodline far surpasses that of what is to arrive soon upon my own domain.

    Soon, the blood colored skies of my sea of consciousness opened up, and though the size was far smaller than the original, the Primordial Serpent God''s snout was enough to cover the skies itself. And thus it came down upon my mind like a wrecking ball would do to a wall.

    Incredible, destructive and mind boggling pain echoed through my mind and soul, but it was for a mere moment as my Soul, unlike any I''ve seen before was far mightier and stronger than the average one.

    Strong enough to easily contend with the Queen''s own Soul, no, to surpass it even. After all, my soul was able to transcend and transmigrate, regress and refuse itself into a new body.

    I had my doubts at first, but this confirms it, because even the mightiest of the Vast Expanse, even the Primordial Serpent God''s soul looked like the mes of a candlepared to the brightness of my own soul that would put even the Sun''s light to shame.

    The Serpent God immediately realized that it was way out of its league by daring to tread upon my Sea of Consciousness, thinking that it was mighty enough to rule space itself, it would easily crumble and oppress my weak mind, only for it to find a wall so great, and unsurmountable, that the mere thought of breaking it was nothing short of humorous.

    As for me, since I invited a guest in, I had no will to let them leave. Both my hands rose up, and with that, ethereal hands the size of which was enough to grasp upon the very face of the Serpent God with ease.

    "I hate to be looked down upon," I spoke as I wrenched both my hands down, pulling the entirety of the serpent god down to my level.

    The sea tore apart as waves the size of mountains rose up in ordance to the weight of the serpent, tidal waves that would easily submerge continents rose and threatened to swallow my mental fortress.

    However, here, I rule. And with nothing but the will of my mind the entire waves froze over, creating a cascade of ice that surrounded my fortress on all sides, further protecting it from what is toe.

    The serpent tried to wriggle its way out of my grasp, only for more hands to reach out and begintching onto it, further pinning it down.

    More and more hands emerged, grasping upon the serpent''s body and dragging it down deep into the endless sea.

    This was nothing but the mind of the serpent, as its actual body was still outside my reach, however, if I were to consume its mindpletely as I did to its blood essence, I should have no problem with taking its corpse for my use.

    Unlike the many cultivators before me who tried to fight it head on, only I decided to entre through he serpent''s own mouth, and into its heart to fight it form inside.

    Cowardly? You can say whatever you want, if it works, and if it kills off the mightiest of the Vast Expanse, then I''m more than happy to do it a dozen times over.

    The reward alone is far more than any treasure that could be found in this prison of a world.

    The serpent struggled and struggled, its screams and screeches were loud enough to rip the sea apart with every shout. But the waves kept copsing back upon the serpent as more arms fueled by my own Soul Energy reached out to pin it down some more.

    "Domain, Delusions, Fake and Real!"

    I applied my full understanding of thews of causality, reversing the real and the fake, and twisted the concept of strength for the serpent. Though I can''t reverse reality itself, I can make the other think I did. And thus, the serpent, affected by my domain believed, truly that it was nothing but a grass snake, being chassed by a farmer with arge cleaver in hand.

    The fear in the Serpent God''s eyes was as real as the fear a man would have upon seeing the god of death.

    And when the fear struck it, the Draconic Soul jumped in, flying like a bolt of lighting form the top of the tower and shooting into the sea.

    The explosion of power from the impact of the Draconic Soul upon the surface of the sea was great enough to cause more waves to st away, as the soul approached the dragon withvish, wanton abandon. Aiming to consume it whole.

    However, the Primordial Serpent God wasn''t willing to go down that easily, as I noticed my Domain cracking almost immediately.

    Though my Soul Power is great, I''m using a massive portion of it to suppress the serpent, while the remaining to power the Domain of Delusion, even within my own mind, where I hold absolute authority and power, I am still not capable ofpletely suppressing the serpent.

    The Draconic Soul was immediately repelled upon contact from consuming the primordial serpent god. But, I didn''t have much of an issue with that, since I already had expected this oue.

    I immediately moved forward, reaching the serpent in a heartbeat and pressed my palm against its forehead.

    A ck cloud symbol manifested on the center of my palm, and from it, glyphs and inscriptions began spreading all over the serpent''s body. The symbols were illegible for any who didn''t understand the Imperial Inscription, but from those who do, they''ll soone to realize the bleakness they hold.

    The lines and symbols began surging out, fueled by my own Qi to surround the serpent, rapidly, oppressively and overwhelmingly fast, epassing it whole before it could have the chance to retaliate.

    The serpent realizing it was being trapped, decided to risk it all in onest ditch of effort.

    It began galvanizing its own internal Qi to overpower the inscriptions, and it was mighty enough that hundreds upon hundreds of them tore and broke. Yet, all I needed was to distract it, for even a second, and in that, I have seeded.

    The Draconic Soul, which was previously repelled took the initiative to sink its ws deep into the serpent''s body, tearing it apart with ease.

    Attacked and assaulted from two sides, the serpent was unable to decide on which front it should defend itself. Fortunately for me, its confusion proved valuable as I was able to finish linking up the inscriptions on its body.

    The moment the Soul Sealing Shackles were connected, it felt as if the light of a candle was snuffed out as the serpent immediately shut down. Its Qi signature disappeared and its entire soul body froze.

    The soul then dove inside it and began consuming it, slow at first, then the speed of absorption began increasing incredibly.

    As if a hole in the depth of the sea was opened, the entirety of the Primordial Serpent God was rapidly dissolving into the Draconic Soul''s mouth.

    I opened my eyes, leaving my Sea of Consciousness and was back to where I started, within the slow beating heart of the Primordial Serpent God.

    Not even Du Shen managed to beat it, and it had lived thousands upon thousands of years.

    The word Primordial isn''t just for show, the serpent predates the verys of the Vast Expanse, and it is only second in seniority to the five elemental keys.

    But today, this beating heart was going to beat itsst.

 Chapter 527 Divine Tribulation

    527 Divine Tribtion

    "Automaton, can you fit this thing inside?" I asked.

    "It is possible, but it will only fit on the fifth floor," said the Automaton.

    "Fifth?"

    "Yes, in case you forgot, the Lord of Lords pagoda has nine floors in total, you only had ess to four of them since your cultivation level was too low, now, I can open up to the sixth floor for you," the Automaton asked.

    "Interesting, I suppose the rest of the floors need a higher cultivation level then," I asked.

    "Not only higher cultivation level, they''ll need a great amount of Origin Qi to open," said the Automaton.

    "Origin Qi?" I asked.

    "Yes, I suppose the limitation on the information needed for you to know more has been lifted if you could understand the words I speak. Since you already obtained a good amount of purified Origin Qi from the Primordial Serpent God,"

    "So that''s what it was, I suppose it''s a higher form of Saint Qi," I asked.

    "Yes, it''s a type of Qi thates form the beyond, from where the pagoda''s lord came from," the automaton said.

    "Wait wait, you said the Lord of Lords, came from the Beyond?"

    "It is what is called in this lower realm, but the **/*@@@¡ã¡ã¡ã Is a far vaster world, far greater than you can ever imagine¡­ hmm, I suppose the restriction are still there for you, you''ll need to grow stronger to know more, but so far I can exin a bit without the restrictions interfering."

    "Then allow me to ask, who is the Lord of Lords?"

    "Since I can''t give detailed information about him due to the limitations, all I can say, can you imagine the strongest being, the mightiest you could ever imagine?" the automaton asked.

    Nothing in mind came but the Primordial Serpent God, though I cheated in the way of taking over it, it is still mighty and strong¡­

    "Before you answer," the Automaton added "Now imagine someone who can beat that being ck and blue by andslide," the automaton said.

    I shook my head, " I can''t even phantom the might of the second being then, The power of the Lord of Lords is that strong," I sighed.

    "No, the Lord of Lords can beat the second guy ck and blue by and slide, that''s how strong he is¡­"

    "The power level seemed to jump a bit too much¡­I was a frog in a well I suppose," I said.

    "I wouldn''t me you, you''ve been introduced to cultivation in a very barren and lowly area, yet you still managed to obtain great opportunities to grow, though with your current ability, you''ll not even be able to stand your ground against the weakest of the cultivators in the Beyond since both your starting points are different, if you get the opportunity to go there, I believe with your wit you may be able to topple the power levels¡­ but that requires leaving this prison."

    "So you''re saying that even the weakest cultivator from the beyond can easily take down the Primordial Serpent God?" what kind of power do they have this is in the realms of deity.

    "No, I never said that, even in the Beyond, The Primordial Serpent God is a feared being. But what you fought right now, is a creature that hadn''t had Origin Qi in its body for billions of years, it was hungered, weak and exhausted, and was slowly consumings to generate miniscule amounts of Origin Qi to sustain its life, waiting for the day it could return, if this thing is unleashed back in the Beyond, even the mightiest of the lords there will have trouble dealing with it. This is a great opportunity, for now, let me store it inside. Also, you know what will happen once you''re outside the Serpent?" the Automaton asked.

    "I guess it''s time for that, right," I said.

    "Yes, you''ve been suppressing your cultivation base for far too long, the moment you allow a fraction of the energy from the Golden Blood, the Blood Essence of the Primordial God out in the Vast Expanse, the Heavens will notice it, and wille down upon you with storms of lightning enough to eradicates¡­"

    "Hold up now, the Heavenly Tribtion shouldn''t be this serious?" I asked.

    "No, it should be even more," said the Automaton, "Currently, what resides in you, is the Blood of a Being that its very existence is higher than the entire Vast Expanse, you''re considered a creature that is elevated above the level of the Vast Expanse, so you must be struck down, however, the Heavens are Fair, and will never give you more than you can handle even if you feel they did."

    Alright, might as well be ready for it since I can''t escape it.

    "Lord, are you ready?" asked the Automaton0

    "Yes, go on ahead, consume the serpent," I said.

    Suddenly, the entire Primordial Serpent God''s body which was clearly nothing more than a husk as I had sealed its soul and gave it to my Draconic. Which meant it is nothing more than resources.

    The entire body began shuddering and rumbling as it was about topletely teleport the whole thing.

    A small teleportation gate appeared in front of me. "Get inside my Lord, I''m beginning the transposition," the Automaton said.

    Once I was inside the Pagoda, the Automaton teleported it outside the Serpent''s Belly and right next to it, then soon the energy fluctuations of the Core inside the pagoda seemed to go off the charts as the automaton was using every ounce of its power topletely lock off the serpent in a different subspace inside the pagoda itself.

    "Do we have enough energy?" I asked.

    "We have enough energy to take the Serpent Inside, and once it''s inside, I''ll harvest some of blood of the Primordial Serpent God to fuel the Pagoda, and only when we obtain another Core can we use full function again.

    "Good to know, also I suppose I should leave soon," I said as I felt the calling of the Heavenly Tribtion growing stronger and stronger.

    "It would be wise, since we''re exhausting a lot of energy I can''t hide you from the eyes of the heavens, it might strike the Pagoda down to hunt you, Godspeed Lord¡­"

    "Right," I said as I left the pagoda and appeared in the Vast Expanse once more for what felt like a hundred years¡­

    ***

    "Do you see that?" a cultivator who was waiting to see what was wrong with the Primordial Serpent god asked.

    "Feels like it''s giving birth or something, its energy weakened a lot," the other cultivator said.

    "Are you stupid? How can it ever give birth, it''s been here for billions of years, and its only one, how could it even mate?" he asked.

    "I don''t understand still, how is it losing its Qi this fast? Something isn''t right," the first cultivator said.

    Another soon came in and asked, "Guys, are you also waiting for its death? I have a group of cultivators here with me, we''re nning on harvesting the Primordial Serpent God once it dies, as much as possible before the big Foure¡­"

    Hearing the name of the Big Four meant one thing, this event is already known to most of the Four kings of the Vast expanse, and if a battle were to happen for the corpse of the serpent, there will be a lot of deaths¡­"

    "Working together seems like a good idea, we can split the work and im pieces and bits, before the Big Foure we should have harvested enough to live off several lifetimes, so yes we''ll work with you, how many of your group are there?"

    As the group were discussing how to divide their loot, not realizing they were counting their chicken before they''re hatched. The entire body of the Primordial Serpent God suddenly disappeared.

    And instead, the body of a man which wasparable to a grain of sand to the serpent appeared instead.

    The group of cultivators didn''t understand what happened, or how could the serpent just disappear, and thus their only realization was that it had to do with the person that appeared next to it. So they moved fast to question him before he would escape with probably the entire serpent.

    But just as they made it a fraction of the way, space itself seemed darker than usual. Which was an absurd notion, if not for the fact that actual clouds were manifesting within space itself.

    An absurd notion, but in this world it was real all too real and only idiots would not recognize this phenomenon.

    "H-heavenly Tribtion?! No, this is something more¡­" the cultivator said as he stopped.

    The clouds, instead of their crimson blood color, were pitch ck, so ck that no light was able to reflect against them, they looked like the emptiness of the abyss itself.

    Not many knew of this type of tribtion, since it was so rare only one case was ever recorded, and those who knew it are far in and between.

    Since this tribtion only happened once when a being too powerful descended upon the Vast Expanse. His origin unknown, his goal unknown and his presence was for but a minute¡­

    Only few know of this person, and it was the Lord of Lords¡­ but that''s a story for another time¡­

    The tribtion that came with him was recorded in legends as the end of the world itself due to the strength it came with.

    And now it appeared once more.

    A Divine Tribtion.

 Chapter 528 Battle Through The Heavens

    Chapter 528 Battle Through The Heavens

    The Heavens rumbled.

    It was loud, loud enough that any who were near it would instantly lose their hearing, and it was strong and mighty. With enough power to obliterate entires.

    The thundering booms of the Divine Tribtion were too powerful,paring them to the Thunderps of the Heavenly Tribtion is nothing short of a joke.

    If the Heavenly Tribtion is meant to test a cultivator''s worthiness to reach the next realm. The Divine Tribtion is meant to stop a cultivator from staying in the current realm.

    The power difference is significantly iparable. Since the first is meant to aid and assist, while the second is meant to destroy.

    But for Shen Bao, this whole ordeal, looked nothing more than another day in his usual life.

    ***

    Looking above me, the whole area turned dark, I couldn''t even see the stars of the nearest gxies, it was nothing but darkness, with the asional spark here and there of thunder.

    As loud as they may be, they were still not as loud as the beating heart of the Primordial Serpent God.

    Still it was annoying, so the moment my eardrums burst, I didn''t care enough to heal them.

    At the edge of my vision I saw a group of cultivators who were rushing toward me, but the appearance of the Divine Tribtion was enough to chase them away.

    But this thing up here isn''t looking too friendly.

    I''ve faced many tribtions but this one is actually giving me the heebie-jeebies.

    Still¡­

    The first thunderbolt manifested and struck down with enough force to tear apart the very fabric of space itself. Dodging was out of the question this thing would just curve ande at me, and that''s even worse.

    Since it will take time for it to reach me, another bolt wille toward me by the time I dodge.

    So, I did what every sane cultivator would do. And took the bolt head on.

    I raised my palm up, and the bolt ripped through it like a sword through flesh, sending endless torrents of electric might surging through my body, bursting veins and burning flesh as it crossed.

    I almost died with the first bolt, and many more were soon toe. But¡­

    I sped my burnt fist and the scorched skill simply flew off in space as if it was nothing but dust in the wind. New flesh had already grown from underneath the damaged skin.

    More bolts came down, and more pain followed, but with nothing but the regeneration of the Poison God''s Path of the Body, I was easily able to repair everything that was harmed.

    As if provoked, since I didn''t seem to feel any of the bolts nor worry about the impacts of the iing lightning strikes, the heavens made sure to make its stance known, by coiling three bolts of lightning together to send in a more powerful and more prative This one might hurt¡­ but not me.

    I galvanized my Qi to prepare for impact. Both my fists surged in a bolt towards me.

    This one might hurt¡­ but not me.

    I galvanized my Qi to prepare for impact. Both my fists surged in a seemingly endless amounts of Qi creating a gauntlet of pure energy.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki, Fists of Eternal Gold!"

    The veins on my neck burst in eternal fury, showing the surge of blood and Qi that was happening in my body, as both my fists clenched tighter and tighter as more Qi was rotating within them.

    Just before the bolt made it halfway to me, I sent two hooks forward, throwing the gathered Qi forward, and sending the Qi gauntlet as if it was a freight train forward, booming with the sound of destruction as it crossed space toe in contact with the reinforced thunderbolt.

    The thunderbolt and the gauntlet of gold connected midway, creating an explosionrge enough to echo through this part of space, and a st of light and sound that resembles the destruction of a neb.

    Before the energy would even start to dissipate, the second gauntlet reached and reinforced the first, shattering the entirety of the thunderbolt as the two fists surged up toward the clouds.

    Not one to wait, I galvanized even more Qi, and sent another couple fists forward, then four more, then eight and so on, sending blow after blow forward, destroying the bolts as they were being formed.

    For a moment, I felt as if both my arms were like the muzzles of a minigun as they were sending impact upon impact of pure Qi fueled by the Qi of the Poison God''s Path and the energy from the Blood of the Primordial Serpent God.

    The clouds which seemed to be the harbingers of the end were being eradicated bit by bit as the light from the Eternal Gold Fists were breaking them apart.

    This Tribtion offers no awards, its only purpose is to destroy, so why must I suffer it, I''ll just destroy it.

    As more of the fists of the Eternal Gold bore through the clouds, reducing their volume.

    But as if it gotten enraged at my retaliation, more clouds began gathering out of nowhere.

    "I suppose I''ll have to up the damage, since you''re so considerate to powerup yourself."

    My Qi began spiraling as it gave more vigor to every part and bit of my body. Surging above and beyond the human limits to form and reform my body growing to a massive size.

    The Titan form helped me grow in size, and gave me ess to far superior abilities on the expense of my Qi, but, coupled with the energy generated from the Golden Blood of the serpent god, I was easily able to bypass that issue to make the Qi waste negligible.

    More and more fists of Qi surged forward, in far more destructive power and might as now with each gauntlet the echoes and sts would rip the clouds apart revealing bits and pieces of the space beyond them.

    For now it felt as I was overpowering the Divine Tribtion, but I knew for sure, that it wouldn''t be this easy.

    And it never is.

    Soon the ck clouds began thinning, but not in disappearing, but in condensing, it seems that phase two is about to start¡­

 Chapter 529 Turmoil

    Chapter 529 Turmoil

    "What in tarnation is happening here?!" one of the scavenging cultivators uttered,pletely stupefied by the fact that someone was actually fighting the Heavens.

    "This is absurd, itspletely unbelievable, how can a man fight the heavens? Should he just quietly take the Tribtion and wait for its passing?" his question was rhetorical in sense. But it was still a question that was worthy of an answer.

    A cultivator next to him replied, "That''s what the norm is, but, do you think, that what we''re seeing is normal? Do you think that you can survive one thunderbolt from that Tribtion?"

    "Only if I have ten lives, and even then, I don''t think I''ll make it," he replied.

    "That''s what''s probably going on in the mind of that cultivator fighting the Tribtion, if he were to cower and droop his head, his life will be taken, so he''s fighting against it, to prove that he deserves to survive¡­"

    Unbeknownst to the cultivators who were watching, far away on the other side of the Vast Expanse something sinister was brewing.

    "It finally revealed itself!" the Fire Lord spoke his words rumbled through his entire domain with unprecipitated glee.

    "Move the army!" the Fire Lord spoke.

    This was a broad order, so the general foolishly asked, "Which regiments, Master of the me?"

    "What do you mean, by that, General, I ordered you to move the army, in all its entirety!"

    The General''s eyes widened at the sudden realization, to move the whole of the Fire Lord''s army meant only one thing. A war that will be written down in the history of the Vast Expanse is about to unfold, and he''ll be part of it.

    "As the lordmands!" the general saluted and hurried out to shout orders.

    The Fire Lord clenched his fist, "Finally, thest Key had appeared, with it, all of them will be mine, and once they''re all in my hand, the path to the Beyond Shall open!" the Fire Lord looked towards the north.

    "With the Queen injured, and the Wind Realm in a state of chaos, none can stop my march. And as soon as I get rid of the pests along the way, I''ll im the Vast Expanse as my own, unification of the entire world will happen in my generation! Do you see it forefathers! Your Bastard Son! The one who you yourselves said to be nothing but the son of a servant! The illegitimate son of a whore! Now will achieved what all of you had failed to do in your prime!"

    The Fire Lord''s energy seemed to burst forward as he convinced himself with the inevitable fall of the Vast Expanse to his order and rule. Since he already owned two keys and knows the location of the rest.

    The first Key he owns himself, is the Fire Key, and it had been with him for eons, allowing him to rule over the mes. The second Key was the Metal Key, though he personally doesn''t have it, it is owned by the current puppet king of the Water Domain who serves none but the Fire King. The Earth King Old Beast is the one currently owning the Earth Key, but he is nothing but a brutish barbarian, luring him out of his, as to remove him from the Earth where the key is most powerful, then killing him is the easiest way for the Fire Lord to obtain the Earth Key. And finally, the Wind Key, owned by the Wind King, who would easily perish since his protector, the Queen of the North is currently heavily injured.

    As for the Water Key, it is currently sending singles from a region close to the borders of the Wind and Earth realms, meaning that it just revealed itself, and it will cause a huge havoc as many cultivators will try to im it for themselves, in that chaos the movement of the Fire King''s army will undoubtedly not be noticed until it''s toote.

    And thus the Fire Lord''s Army began moving.

    ***

    "What are you both doing?" asked Master Rain, frowning when he saw both Yuyu and Liang Yu fully packed up and ready to travel.

    "I don''t suppose you''re going to stop us from seeing Shen Bao?" they asked.

    Master Rain sighed, "Since I met that brat, so many of you have been treating me like an old foggy not worth respect, listen up kids," spoke Master Rain as his aura seemed to suppress the world itself, "There is a good chance that what Dao Shen felt was a mistake, I don''t want to deal with you all crying if he ends up dead or not out yet!"

    "We won''t be a bother!" they both said.

    Master Rain sighed, the girls were adamant on following him, "And you? Why are youing?" he asked Dao Shen.

    more about Soul Magic¡­"

    Master Rain sighed but he had to agree, the Heavenly Academy''s "Because I''m bored, there is nothing to do here, I mean going to the Fire Lord domain was fun and all, but I really don''t like the oldies here, they''re all treating me like a test subject wanting to learn more about Soul Magic¡­"

    Master Rain sighed but he had to agree, the Heavenly Academy''s professors are pretty keen and adamant when ites to Soul Magic since it''s the area theyck in the most, and anyone who can remotely know about it will be asked, no, more like interrogated on how it is used.

    "I suppose Zhang Tian will remain here," Master Rain said as he noticed his absence, after all, his mother was heavily injured when fighting the Fire Lord. Not even Master Rain could assist her since he had been fighting for three years constantly and had lost a great deal of his Qi on the run. But no matter, she should heal up in a few years and be good as new.

    "Alright Little Cabbage, we''ve been working you to the bone for the past years, don''t hate me for this, but your master is probably back how about we go meet him," Master Rain said as he petted the Thunder Bull''s face.

    The bull didn''t seem to mind as he nodded and the group rode on the carriage, heading toward the location of Shen Bao.

    ***

    The Divine Tribtion was not holding back any punches. More reinforced Thunderbolts came down toward me with desperate abandon. As if the two of us could never exist under the same sky, they came down with rumbling fury and wrath, only to be shattered apart as my fists ripped the very essence of the thunderbolts.

    More and more came at me only to be struck down and punched away.

    The power of the Golden Titan was absurdly oppressive in this giant form, but for me, it was on an entirely new level. Though my cultivation level is still far below the Golden Titan, the power level I''m sure I''ve surpassed him a long time ago.

    And now freed from the need to suppress my Qi I let it roil and coil as it spiraled almost out of control within my Dantian, surging and surging as it was pushing my cultivation base forward to what it needs to be.

    Right now, the Qi I''m using is far, far, far more than my body could ever handle, and thanks to the Divine Tribtion, I''m able to use the excess of it, which was an absurd amount to fight against the Tribtion. While the rest of it, is currently throbbing through my cultivation base pushing it forward, and forward.

    "Break!" I called as I sent two fists forward with a disgusting amount of energy to break apart the iing bolts, the reason for this surge of Qi was because I reached the peak of my Saint cultivation base already and needed a few seconds to breakthrough.

    And the breakthrough came with utter ease, and not before my body could even start adjusting to the King Realm of cultivation, it surged even more as it broke through three more minoryers in session, then all the way to the peak of the middleyers.

    Sixyers in a fraction of a second, and I still had more Qi left to push myself even more toward the peak of the King Realm.

    The Heavenly Tribtion, enraged at being distracted and deceived with my former blow as it allowed me to break through, manifested two fists that would look like they could pluck the very stars from the world.

    The two fists opened into palms and then pped while I was in the middle.

    The p fucking hurt. I felt like a mosquito being squished as the two palms that were made of cloud felt heavier than the blow of iron, and that wasn''t the end as the electric st from the powered up and charged up cloud palms wreaked an endless stream of electric might through my body.

    The p broke my body and the electricity fried it.

    But. Against the regenerative prows of the Titan''s Body and the Essence Blood of a Primordial, tis but a scratch.

    I instantly regenerated my broken limbs and my burnt body to peak state as more of my Qi surged forward breaking through the next threeyers in session.

    And as if I had hit a wall, my cultivation was immediately forced to a halt.

    Frowning, I couldn''t understand why, I clearly had more than enough energy to reach past and beyond the realm of Kings into the Realm of Emperors, but¡­

    It was as if I wascking a condition.

    The distraction almost cost me my life as another hand was preparing to blow me to mush, and looking at the state of the clouds, they were about to dissipate, this was itsst assault.

    "COME!" I called as I gathered all my energy to block this iing strike.

    "I''ll take this one head on!"

 Chapter 530 Laugh

    Chapter 530 Laugh

    Surge after surge of energy shot toward me as I fought tooth skin, flesh, bone and nail to fend off the iing destruction. With every ounce of power I had, I fought back against the bolts of destructive lightning and sent blows of my own.

    It was a dance, a tragic one, full of fury, anger and wrath, but at the same time, struggle and resistance themed it with a dark tone of hope.

    It was a fight that I was forced in, and had to take, since I''ve gained more than what any should ever do, and I was supposed to pay for this encounter with my life if found wanting or inadequate, and inadequate I am not.

    Thus I threw in the full force of my body.

    "LAW!" I called upon the teachings of the poison path, cemented by a century of study and practice.

    A massive surge of energy unfolded around me, part of the world, yet detached from it at the same time, liens of the veryws that made this world, from the most basic of its essence, from the very molecules of the world itself, from its teachings and its origin spread around me in a cascading that surrounded the entirety of the ck cloud.

    "Domain of Delusions! Fake and Real!"

    Uncanny, and foolish it may be to try and use Law and Domain against the Tribtion, it is not without merit.

    The Heavens are cruel, yet merciful, they do not tolerate going against them, but encourages those who have the guts to try it, and if they seed the heavens reward them.

    And who here had ever thought to use Law against the very essence ofw?

    Only I have, since I''m the only bastard who dares curse the very heavens themselves for being stingy am I not?

    Then why not further cement the fact that I''m the only crazy cultivator who dares use Law that was understood for merely a hundred years, against the essence and origin ofw, against the Primordial Knowledge of the world itself.

    Only a fool will try it, and a fool I may be, but at least a fool with guts!

    The heavens immediately roared with wanton rage as it saw my attempt at sealing it using myw, the dissipating clouds strengthened themselves more, but I felt something was awry, it was as if the clouds above me were straining themselves to remain and punish me.

    As if they had a time limitation on their existence here.

    ''Ah I finally understand,'' I grinned as my eyes shone in a brighter light.

    I sped my hands together finishing the link of thew lines and fully erecting my domain.

    Trapping the clouds in my own domain where I ruled.

    For but a mere couple seconds, I was able to trap the clouds. But in those two seconds my nostrils bled golden so did my eyes and ears.

    The very attempt at trying to trap the heavens almost cost me my sanity, as a pain akin to the blow of a hammer against my brain bombarded my mind.

    Yet I struggled and struggled to trap it for even but a couple seconds.

    And in the end all I could do was two seconds. But it was more than enough.

    Just before I lost consciousness from the soul wrenching pain, my Domain of Delusions shattered into a million pieces. As for the Divine Tribtion, perhaps with its pride hurt at being captured and trapped for even two seconds, it came at me with its full power.

    It changed its clouds to spears and swords made of ck matter that seemed to sap the very light of the world itself, and it all came upon me, falling toward me like the snow and rock from the highest peak of a mountain, an avnche of death that was about to crush me whole.

    Yet, for all to see, I grinned as I saw the iing assault, approaching further and further.

    There was no need for me to defend or dodge¡­ after all in those two seconds where I trapped the heavens themselves¡­ I gained something.

    ***

    Not too far away, the rumbling of hooves echoed and heralded the approach of a cmitous being.

    Many cultivators who were watching the battle between the giant cultivator and the heavens were too stunned to react to the iing charging bull that seemed to be made of lightening incarnate.

    "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY FOOL!"

    A cultivator said to his friend who was in the path of the movement arts to push both of them away of their path.

    "MOTHERFUC** who the fuck was tha-" before the man who was stampeding bull.

    By the skin of his teeth was he saved as his friend used his movement arts to push both of them away of their path.

    "MOTHERFUC** who the fuck was tha-" before the man who was about to be paste finished his words, his savior sped his hand tightly on his mouth shutting him down.

    "You bastard, do you want to kill us both, I saved your life once, I''m not doing it again, do you know who the hell that was you cursed at?"

    Angry and disturbed still, the first cultivator looked at the bull that moved away and saw the man who was driving it.

    Old of age, blue of dress, and with a qi that feel suffocating to just be next to, enough to make a person drown.

    "Bloody hell, that''s Master Rain? What''s he doing here?" he asked.

    "I guess he''s also interested in the disappearance of the Primordial Serpent God, damn we were toote, I suppose Master Rain will im the loot for himself¡­"

    "I wouldn''t be that certain," the first cultivator said

    Hearing his friends words, he was about to interject, but he noticed that his friend wasn''t looking in the direction of Master Rain, but the path he came from.

    Hundreds of thousands, no even more, maybe in the millions, of cultivators were rushing forward, and this seemed to be but the first wave¡­

    "What the hell did we put ourselves into¡­"

    "I''m not going to stay here to find out, with this many people here, a fight is bound to happen, I don''t have the courage to stay here, nor the will to fight for the serpent anymore,"

    The scavengers realized that if they don''t move from here soon, they''ll be crushed between a rock and a bigger rock.

    Meaning that staying between the cultivators and that Divine tribtion meant nothing short of asking to meet Yama of the Underworld.

    ***

    "SHEN BAO!"

    Master Rain''s ears almost bled from the loud screaming from next to him.

    Yuyu''s voice was full of panic and fear as she was seeing what was happening, though d Shen Bao lives still, the fact that hundreds of thousands of weapons with might capable of destroying a wereing down upon him.

    Even Master Rain was about to call out to Shen Bao to evade but she was faster so for the sake of dignity he decided to not shot, and that was only confirmed when he saw the wide, vile and repulsing yet very familiar grin stered upon Shen Bao''s face when the weapons of heaven wereing at him.

    "That bastard probably has a way out," Dao Shen said snickering.

    "Indeed," Master Rain replied. "That smile of his brings shiver down my spine¡­"

    Though confused, the two women, Yuyu and Liang Yu could do nothing but home that the words of Master Rain were true.

    Because they couldn''t even fathom a way to escape the iing destruction befalling Shen Bao.

    And just as the first weapon was about to hit him, it turned to fog once more dissipating upon contact not leaving a single scratch on him.

    The rest of the weapons began disintegrating one by one, and that could be heard

    Was the echoing and constant soul shuddering evilughing from the mouth of Shen Bao.

    The only one, crazy enough tough at the face of heavens itself¡­

 Chapter 531 Poison God

    Chapter 531 Poison God

    The clouds dissipated, dispersing before me, unable to maintain their form anymore.

    Why?

    Simple, because I used my Domain to trick the Divine Tribtion, spending two seconds with me inside the Domain of Delusions had sapped hours upon hours from the Tribtion''s limited time that it could present itself here in this world to punish me.

    And due to that, the Tribtion had failed in its goal, to eradicate my existence, which was as I understood a higher level than this entire world.

    I''m not one to look down upon others due to race or origin of birth, but by consuming the blood essence of the Primordial Serpent God, I was able to recreate my body and rebuild it to that of an existence that is unfit for this world. Thus it brought the Tribtion upon me.

    And now that I''m freed from the Tribtion''s pursuit, I''m free to do what pleases me.

    Turning, I saw many faces I recognized, it''s been a hundred years for me, but for them, it wasn''t a fraction of the time I spent.

    Just as I was about to take my first step toward them, something hit my chest. Looking down, it was Yuyu''s crying face along with Liang Yu who appeared right next to us, a bright wide smile on her face.

    "Guess you missed me," I smiled.

    "Idiot!" Yuyu said lightly hitting me, "Why did you have to go and get yourself gobbled up like that, do you know how worried I was?!" she spoke.

    ''That''s cute,'' I smiled.

    "Sorry to have worried you all," I said as I grabbed Liang Yu in a hug along with Yuyu, she resisted at first but immediately let go, taking in my embrace.

    However, this small respite didn''tst long, as I frowned at what was happening before me.

    Two cultivators of the King ss wereing toward me, their intentions were painted on their faces, and they didn''t look friendly.

    "Little brother, I would like to ask you some questions," one of the King ss cultivators asked.

    "What do you want?" I asked back.

    "You see, we came here to investigate the Primordial Serpent Disappearance, you wouldn''t mind following us for some¡­

    exnation," he said.

    "And who might you be? And what authority do you have to ask me of such?" I asked him.

    "I''m one of the generals of the Water Lord Sui Tian, you see our lord asked us to investigate and we came here in a rush, and you''re the only one who knows what happened," he said.

    His words might seem friendly, but his intentions weren''t, a general he said, that means he''s a man of power and ability, and that was a tant threat to me.

    "I''m not in the mood to entertain such, go on your way, you''ll obtain nothing from trying to intimidate me, also, I''m not subject to your lord, nor does his power or position matters to me," I replied.

    The man, red-faced for beingpletely ignored him and his statue seemed to want tosh out as he was about to draw the sword on his waist.

    "The moment that sword leaves its sheath, your life will end," I said.

    "You dare threaten me?!"

    "In case you''re an idiot, I didn''t dare, I threatened you already, so try it," I said.

    "You pathetic fool! I tried giving you face in regard to your fight against the Divine Tribtion, your Qi is alreadypletely depleted and you''re barely running on fumes, and you still have the gales to speak to me like this! Fine! Then so be it, today you die!" he said as he drew his curved sword and charged me.

    I didn''t move an inch as the sword shed toward my neck, all I did was lightly push down both Yuyu and Liang Yu who were still hugging me while the swordnded cleanly on my neck.

    Only for the sword to shatter to hundreds of pieces upon contact.

    "Is that all?" I asked the frozen-looking man, shocked andpletely stunned. Unable to understand how his sword shattered.

    "In case you didn''t understand yet, my body was able to fight against the thunder of heavens, what makes you think that your flimsy sword can ever prate it. And as promised thus you drew your sword, you shall lose your life," I said.

    My words were no longer the ramblings of a fool that the general of the water domain thought them to be, they were clear and loud and sounded like the words of the grim reaper.

    "You''re not chasing after him?" Liang Yu asked.

    "There was never a need to do so," I replied.

    He turned an dashed away moving while burning his own blood essence to use blood escape, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles in seconds.

    "You''re not chasing after him?" Liang Yu asked.

    "There was never a need to do so," I replied.

    And as they all watched, the man who was running away suddenly stopped, though far away with the abilities of cultivators they were still able to see the man shuddering and shaking, then soon his body began melting turning to goo and scum, he lost his life before ever realizing how.

    I opened my palm forward, and soon, the man''s belongings including his holding bag all came toward me of their own volition.

    I pocketed everything.

    After all, I used most if not all of my resources during the hundred years inside the Lord of Lords pagoda. It was time for me to replenish.

    The look of the cultivators near us was obvious to the most clueless of begins. The man holding the two women wasn''t someone who should be messed with.

    The serpent? Screw that, if anyone dared fight against that man, they''ll end up dead.

    No one ever saw how the general died, he wasn''t even hit, wasn''t even blocked or parried, he just ran away and died.

    "I suppose, you understood the Poison Path?" I heard.

    These words were clear for all to hear, they were the words spoken by Dao Shen, the Devourer who all knew who he was.

    And seeing him speaking to me meant that I wasn''t some background character.

    "Indeed I did, I still found it slightlycking," I replied, "It could be improved upon," I said.

    "That is how it was made, the Poison God never meant to give everything to his disciples on a silver tter, but wanted them to seek his knowledge and understand it, then perfect it after him."

    Suddenly, Dao Shen went down on one knee and sped both hands together forward.

    "For the New Poison God! Shen Bao! I Dao Shen the Devourer Greet your return! ALL HAIL THE NEW POISON GOD!"

    There was no crowd to follow after Dao Shen''s words, and his might have sounded solitary and lonely in this vast space.

    But for everyone around, this gave them an incredible chill down their spines.

    The former Poison God, Du Shen had passed. His corpse location was never discovered but his disappearance meant his death. No one ever dared take the mantle of the Poison God, and now, a new Poison God had been given birth.

    The waves it will make in the vast expanse are enough to shake the very foundation of power.

    Since obtaining the Title of Poison God meant one thing¡­power levels be damned.

    When the Poison God appears, even Emperors kneel.

    "I don''t think I deserve such a title yet," I said as I clenched my fist in front of me.

    "After all, I''m just at the peak of the King Realm, I''ve yet to reach the emperor realm. You should know that you''re currently in a higher realm than I am, so why bow to me when you''re stronger," I said, though it wasn''t a question that needed to be answered, but Dao Shen answered it still.

    "Once the Poison God understands the path of poison, even at the King Realm, the Emperor realms would still bow to him. I just breached the threshold to the Emperor Realm, and I can clearly see it," he said as his eyes were shining bright.

    "The power of your soul, dare I say, is far mightier than even the Queen of the Wind Realm, and thus I know, that if you wish it, you can eradicate the entirety of the Vast Expanse," he said.

    "Now you''re just overexaggerating, I''m not that capable, but if it''s just one or two low-tier Emperor Ranks," I said as I looked at the rest of the cultivators "They''re not much."

    "Brat!" I heard.

    Turning, it was Master Rain who wasing forward toward me.

    I sped my hands to Master Rain and lightly bowed my head.

    "You sted bastard, do you know how much shit we went through, why didn''t you notify us when you got out?" Master Rain said.

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "We all thought you were dead!" he said.

    I frowned, "How did you ever think I''ll be dead? I mean, you literally have a clear indicator that I never died," I said.

    Yuyu and Liang Yu both were confused so was Master Rain.

    "What are you bbering about, you got gobbled up by the Primordial Serpent God, which I don''t sense anymore, how do you expect us to realize you''re alive?"

    "Did the Queen not tell you?" I asked.

    Everyone was more confused.

    I sighed, "Little Cabbage, I shared a part of my soul with him, if I were to die, he too will die, how could you have missed that?" I asked.

    Suddenly, everyone around me had their mouth open up and close slightly.

    "Sometimes¡­ I wonder what''s inside the thing above your shoulders, HAH! Me? Die to a snake," I shook my head, "It doesn''t matter, it''s all good and well," I said.

    "I''m not so sure about that," said Dao Shen.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "Death¡­ so much death," he said as he faced the far south.

    I spread my divine sense as much as I could, though gigantic it had be it wasn''t able to go beyond the wind realm and into the other realms. But I could feel it even from here.

    "The Fire Lord¡­" I said.

    "Yes, he initiated an attack¡­"

    Master Rain frowned, "Who''s the unfortunate fool that''s being attacked,"

    "¡­The whole of the Vast Expanse¡­" Dao Shen replied¡­

    c71241599ffa2342522e9fa0e93245a9b77279a7b89d8342071b2e9f762bbf397fcadb1e95b93081912288cfc68382b532a72bb52e89ba6abf446a66f0e4d

 Chapter 532 Who Am I?

    532 Who Am I?

    "What in god''s name is urging that crazy ass to do this," I spoke wondering what would ever cause him to make such a big move.

    Making the entirety of the vast expanse your enemy could mean one thing and one thing only.

    He''s nning on dominating it, anyone with even half a functioning braincell can guess that, but why now? Why did he act now? What changed?

    "The Queen is hurt," said Master Rain to me.

    As if that was an answer to the question painted on my face.

    "How did that happen?" I asked.

    "Well, me and the kids," Master Rain said, "Decided to take on your goal of going and assisting Meng Hao in retrieving his wife''s soul. And the Fire Lord managed to awaken out of his cultivation and chase after us when we were escaping the Fire Domain with the soul, the Queen came over to assist us, since her son was with us, and in a confrontation with the Fire Lord she suffered injuries," said Master Rain.

    "How grave?" I asked.

    "Grave enough to shake the power level, she''s currently bedridden and without the ability to use one of her arms, her soul has also been damaged and that caused her to lose a great deal of her ability, the Fire Lord seemed to have used something that interfered with her Soul Magic and this cost her dearly¡­"

    "I need to take a look at her, but still," I said.

    ¡­

    "That''s not enough to cause the Fire Lord to go on an all out assault, if the Wind Realm wished, they could easily fortify and defend their territory long enough for the queen to recoup from the damage, not to mention the Fire Lord isn''t only attacking the Wind Realm, he''s taking out any opposition that''sing his way, including the other domains¡­"

    "So you''re saying that there must be another reason why he''s attacking," Yuyu asked.

    I rubbed her head and said, "Yes, and I believe I know what it is," I said.

    "I doubt that the reason could be the disappearance of the Primordial Serpent God, though it usually rests in the Wind Realm domain, it rarely interacts with the people, besides the followers of the Poison God''s path of course. So it must be something else," Master Rain said.

    "Sharp as always, yes, the Primordial Serpent God wouldn''t have moved an inch even if the Vast Expanse was lit ame, but the Fire Lord ising here, because something that was lost long ago was once again revealed," I said as I pulled it form my holding bag.

    Just as I pulled out the pentagonal jewel.

    The world itself seemed to gain a new color to it as it shone bright releasing its essence into the world, revealing that it had once again appeared.

    Master Rain''s eyes opened wide as he said, "Hide that damn thing! There are too many eyes watching,"

    "I did it on purpose," I said.

    "What''s that?" asked Yuyu.

    "Oh this is the Water Key, one of the original elements of the Vast Expanse, and a key to unlock the Door to the Beyond," I said.

    She didn''t understand what I meant and before I could interject, the key simply jumped from my hand andnded between her breasts.

    "huh¡­"

    "Well¡­ that''s not good," Master Rain said.

    "What do you mean?" yuyu asked as she removed the key from her chest and grabbed it in her hand.

    "The key chose you apparently, which is strange, I thought it would take Master Rain as owner," I said.

    "Why would you think that? Also howe it followed you without attaching itself to you?" asked Master Rain.

    "Because I''m its ride out of the belly of the beast, otherwise it''ll still be stuck in the stomach of the Primordial Serpent God.

    Yuyu''s eyes turned white as she began experiencing the same thing I did.

    Soon enough she opened her eyes and took a gasp after another, "This thing is dangerous!" she said.

    "It really is, and the Fire Lord ising for it, well, this make things a bit more annoying," I sighed.

    "Let''s move out of here, we need to head back to the Heavenly Academy, as for you Shen Bao we need to talk," he said.

    We rode the Thunder Bull and left the area while cultivators could do nothing but watch, after all, they just saw a King Realm cultivator beingpletely destroyed in seconds, how can they even stop us or even think of doing so. Not to mention the power I showed, Master Rian himself was with us, and only a fool would daree at one of the strongest unprepared.

    As we rode on, Master Rain took a while before asking, "Howe you''re stuck?" he asked.

    I immediately understood his question and the meaning behind it.

    "I''ve yet to understand the reason why, I''m still pondering on it," I replied.

    "Stuck? What does that mean?" Liang Yu asked.

    It wasn''t Master Rain who answered but it was Dao Shen, "Shen Bao''s current prows rivals that of a low ranked Emperor Rank, I strongly believe I can''t take him on in a fight, but still he''s unable to cross the boundary of the Emperor rank, I believe he''s stuck at the Understanding part," Dao Shen said.

    "Whiches to me as a surprise, since you always woulde up with most intricate and absurd ways to see the world, your understanding of it should be several levels higher than someone at the peak of the King Realm, hell even more than people at the Emperor real¡­"

    "I guess I know what you mean, it isn''t that I do not understand the world around me, I understand it enough to say that I understand nothing, which in itself is Dao, however, what I believe myselfcking isn''t the understanding of the external, but the internal¡­" I said

    "The more I hear the more confused I get, Liang Yu said.

    "To understand the Dao one must know themselves first, and what''s around them. For me, I believe I have ample understanding of the surrounding, but I know nothing about myself," I said.

    "Which is even more absurd, how can one not know about themselves?" she asked.

    I thought for a second and said, "I''m not who I am," I said. I didn''t really feel like telling them I''m transmigrated it''ll only bring more questions. "Take for example my Soul, why is it that powerful? I never ate any treasures or got a heavenly opportunity to give me a soulparable if not stronger to the Queen herself, since I can''t even see the limitations of my Soul''s energy. Why did that happen? I asked.

    Which was reasonable enough a question to everyone hearing, since I honestly don''t understand yet why my soul is that strong.

    And that in itself, is ack of understanding of one''s self.

    Who am I? am I Shen Bao, the Poison God Cultivator, or am I that man who spent long nightly endless hours programing for a low tierpany.

    Was my past just a dream? Was it a second life? Is this reality, or am I still dreaming? Have I truly died that day in that dark alley? Am I currently in aa and everything here is merely fabricated? Or is this my true self, and the fact that I lived in another dimension and another called Earth is the dream?

    Perhaps I was always a cultivator, and due to my deviation while I was starting my cultivation path I wasatose and dreamt about an entire world. Only to wake up having forgotten who I truly am and only remembered the dream.

    They''re many questions and they''re not easy to rebuke or prove, nor answer.

    "I''ve yet to understand who I am, to know what I must do, to have a goal and reach beyond my current realm, it may take me a month to know, a year or even eons, I may even never arrive to an answer and forever be stuck here until myst breath. To understand oneself isn''t a question that can be inferred from the experience of others, since everyone lived a different life. So, I must keep pondering until I arrive to a satisfying answer, only then can I step into the next realm."

    "I would rather we stop talking about this topic," Master Rian said. "It will sway and divert the understanding of the younger ones, you may find an answer to your question in due time, but if the others who hear this were to take your words for it, they may lose understanding of their own selves," Master Rain advised.

    I nodded at his approach, since I didn''t want to confuse anyone.

    Only I can answer my own question of Who Am I.

    "Anyway, tell us what was inside the snake," Dao Shen said.

    "I don''t think anyone will believe me if I tell," I smiled.

    "You can trust us to believe," Yuyu said.

    "Alright, so it goes like this¡­"

 Chapter 533 Lord of Lords

    Chapter 533 Lord of Lords

    High above the heavens, far beyond the stars, and billions of light years away from all what is know to those who live in the Vast Expanse.

    From here, the Vast Expanse in its entirety looks no bigger than a speck of dust, the divider between the two realms would take eternity after an eternity to cross. And only by doing that will one be able to see whatys in the beyond.

    The Beyond that many thinks of as nothing but a myth, a fake realm that was created to give hope to those who knows nothing of the world and wish to seek more of its knowledge. A wild goose chase that will yield nothing.

    Since reaching it is impossible in several lifetimes if one were to move in a straight line from the Vast Expanse to the Beyond.

    Thus, it was believed to be nothing but the ravings of those who hope that there is more than what they have to see.

    Still, if it was only a journey of a few lifetimes, some would have dedicated generation after generation just to travel the vast expanse to prove it, no, in fact if that was possible why did Primordial Serpent God stay stuck in the Vast Expanse for almost all of the duration of its existence?

    It was due to the prison that was made to epass and enclose the entirety of the Vast Expanse. Locked behind a gate that can only be opened by the five keys. The Primordial Keys. Those of which have already chosen their masters, and dove separately among the stars. Creating their own domains, and waiting, patiently for the day to gather once more to reveal the Golden Gate.

    Thus, from this realm, so far up high and above, where each and every being in it is of a higher existential realm of all the people of the Vast Expanse.

    That which those of the Vast Expanse call the beyond is here. And so wide and so great, that it had no visible rims or borders to tell off.

    Its sky was bright, and its clouds scarce. Its sun rose and stayed for years before it fell down for years some more.

    Itsnd was vast and of great greenery, of deserts and of seas, expanding eternal distances.

    Its mountains rose high, adorned with silver peaks, full of bright snow, and its valleys and rivers seemed to extend as far as one''s eyes could see.

    Beasts of all kinds moved above the ground, of predators and of prey, some mighty enough to threaten nations, and some tame and peaceful they wish not to harm even a de of grass.

    A world that would seem to be heavens hidden from the sight of man, yet, man lived on it still.

    In one of the mountain ranges, in one of the reaches of the Beyond, was one single mountain that seemed to have a peak that could touch the sun of this world itself. Its height was visible from nearly anywhere on thisnd of the beyond. And it was the home of one of the most influential, powerful of course, and mightiest of the Beyond.

    That man, if he so chose to be called a man, sat atop a simple wooden chair.

    His robes were all white, and his beard seemed to reach to his knees. In one of his hands he had a pipe with a dragon''s head. And in the other a cup of tea he would asionally sip from as he watched the pond in front of his legs.

    Behind this lone looking man was one attendant who didn''t dare utter a word as he watched what was happening in front of him.

    And behind this attendant, extended a row of people kneeling toward the man on the chair.

    The row extended along the entirety of the mountain, spiraling around it like a coiling dragon all the way to its base.

    And from then on, more and more and more people were here, kowtowing to the man above, sitting on a chair, and watching a small puddle of water in front of him.

    None moved, none spoke, and none uttered a word. They were quiet, so quiet that the only thing one could hear was the sound of their breathing, and the sound of the beasts and critters of the ground moving about.

    Suddenly, the man on the chair smirked, he then smiled, and let out a smallugh, a hearty one after and pped his knee as he watched the pond.

    The mere echo of thisugh, though simple, and innocent. Reverberated through the silentnds as all could hear the old man''s heartyugh.

    And as if it was a contagious blessing, among all those who came here, those who had heart demons felt the knot in their hearts release. Those who had worry, felt their worries melt, those who had joy, felt even more, and those with a wicked and vile heart, if seen, the look on their faces would make one think of them as saints.

    All because of the smile andugh of one man.

    "Lord of Lords," spoke the attendant, "Share with those who worship you some of your joy," he said.

    The old man smiled and said, "None needs to know what happens in the well. But all must know it is good. Those trapped in an evesting prison may have found hope to leave it. And once they do, meet, protect, and care for them. For they were part of us once before. And part of us shall they be once more¡­"

    The words sounded ambiguous to the retainer, but he didn''t dare ask for exnation, he knew fully that those words had meaning, only that he didn''t have the knowledge to understand them, and if the Lord of Lords spoke of another world, then it must only mean thend of the exiled¡­

    Have they found the key? After so many eons, they found a way out?

    Still, the Law of that ce prevent any from crossing the divider, they may have found the boat, but they are not strong enough to carry them through that distance.

    Still, if the Lord of Lords spoke of them highly then he must have seen something that amused him.

    Perhaps it was a talent like no one else, a talent never before seen in this vastnd of the Beyond.

    Yet, what would it matter to him, after all, a dead talent is no talent what so ever, and crossing that divider is nothing short of suicide. The distance alone is enough to have several generations live and die before they make it halfway through. Thus he cared not, because if they decide to move, by the time their offspring arrive here, if they do arrive here, he, the retainer, and even he, the Lord of Lords should be gone from this world and turned to the very dust and dirt that feeds it.

    So, he didn''t care enough to fully decipher the words of the Lord, but only to take them in, and memorize them.

    The retained backed away, and went to the first kowtowing man of the row and asked him, "What brings you on this pilgrim?"

    "To see the Lord, and to ask him of a favor," he said.

    "And what makes you think that the Lord would give you this favor?" asked the retainer.

    "Because I bring news, news of a new rising Sun! the sixth Sun!" he said.

    Interested in his words, the retained called the man forward to meet with the Lord of Lords.

    "Sit, do not speak if not spoken to, to not talk if not asked to, and do not question what the lord speaks," the retainer advised.

    The man sat down behind the Lord of Lords and waited, patiently for what felt like ages, though the sun of this world takes years to set, for him, sitting next to the calm looking Lord of Lords without uttering a single word felt like decades of his life went by as he waited.

    Finally, at longst the Lord of Lords asked.

    "Speak your mind child," said the Lord of Lords without turning his head away from the pond.

    "I have a wife¡­she is ill, and in need of aid, I looked high and low and couldn''t find anything to help, thus I sought your presence, for the Lord of Lords aids those whoe to him with a clean heart," he said.

    "Yet yours is unclean," spoke the Lord of Lords, "Still, even those with darkness have some light in them," the Lord of Lords added.

    The man tilted his head down, ashamed, as he knew he was caught in a lie, but since the Lord of Lords still tolerate his presence he spoke.

    "I bring news, news of a sixth Sun,ing from the west. It speaks of danger and destruction, vilest of beings, a disciple of the Darkest Sun."

    "I know of that," spoke the Lord of Lords. "I know of it all too well," he said.

    The man''s eyes turned solemn, afraid that the news he brought had no value, still, the old man smiled.

    "But, I have news even you do not have." The lord of lords said as he stood up from his chair.

    "I see a new Sun, a different one, unlike those you all know, one that is as beautiful as emerald, yet as venomous as a viper. It shines in a ce where it belongs not, and it shalle to brighten theing darkness, I wish to see this sun bloom and rise as I still draw breath, for it feels for me as family even though unrted by blood. As I''ve seen this one grow from a firefly to a world brightening light of hope¡­"

    The kneeling man didn''t understand what the Lord of Lord was speaking of, nor shall he do so.

    "As for you who came in here, with a muddled heart, I still would see the brightness in it before the dark. Go back to your home, underneath its tiles you shall find what ails you and your wife, remove it, and her pains will be washed away by the first rain¡­"

    The man was about to ask a question that was so obviously painted on his face.

    He was about to ask how was he sick? As only his wife was, but the look on the retainer''s face, and the advice he gave him before to not talk when not talked to and not question the words of the Lord of Lords were enough to disway him from speaking.

    Thus the man''s goal attained, he retreaded away, not turning his back on the Lord, while another person approached with their own worries and their own problems.

    The file of people around the mountain looked endless, yet for the Lord of Lords, it seemed nothing much. No matter how long it takes, it is nothing but a moment in his nearly endless lifespan¡­

 Chapter 534 Galactic Turmoil

    534 Gctic Turmoil

    "FEND IT OFF!" shouted one of generals as an iing explosion of mes and power was threatening to eradicate the entire.

    Hundreds of thousands of cultivators all bonded together, fusing their Qi then raised their hands, manifesting a protective Qi barrier that was powered by an ungodly amount of Qi.

    The iing st struck against the barrier, killing tens of thousands of the cultivators fueling it in an instant, and then the st killed several more.

    But the survived the first st, only for the cultivators to realize even more sts wereing their way.

    "Shit¡­ this is done for¡­" the general said as the iing sts instantly vaporized the lives of anyone that was on the.

    This happened throughout the Vast Expanse.

    In less than a week, more than a dozens were destroyed along with anyone that was living within them. Mortals, cultivators, and even the animals, all lost.

    Ten thousand of the Fire Lord''s armada. Ships of mass destruction.

    Nine of them were led by the Fire Lord''s Spears, and the main one had the Generalmandeering over it along with the Fire Lord sitting at the front of the ship, on top of a thrown, drinking blood wine as he watched the whole of the vast expanse turn up in me.

    "Burn all those who defy, and enve all those who submit. I stayed still long enough, and now it''s time to take the world by storm!" the fire lord said as he downed the entirety of the wine, dripping a chunk of it on himself, not even staining his clothes as the heat form his body was enough to burn the liquid instantly.

    The Armada moved with one objective in mind,plete and total subjugation and domination.

    The Fire Lord couldn''t have chosen a better time if he wanted to. Since most of the big ns were too scared to even move, and most of those who would be a challenge to the Armada have been taken out.

    The Water Realm immediately dered subservience and alliance to the Fire Lord, which came as a surprise to everyone.

    The powers of the Water Realm facilitated the ess to the Fire Lord toward the Earth Realm, and with two fronts fighting against the Earth Realm''s defenses, the result was more than obvious.

    In ten Days, the losses that the Fire Lord had incurred were not even worth mentioning. At most a hundred ship had been destroyed, while he took down billions of lives.

    His ships were all harnessing the power and energy of death into the incense burners and consumed them all. Fueling himself and his army with the power of the souls that were captured.

    The death energy in the Vast Expanse seemed to blow out of proportions. As it further corrupted space itself the more deaths happened.

    The army of the Fire Lord proved to be greatly destructive, as more and more powerful cultivators on his side emerged to make names for themselves heading down tos and taking out their leaders and masters.

    And as for the two neutral forces of the Vast Expanse¡­ things weren''t looking too good.

    Atop a gigantic floating meteoriteys the main base of the ck Tower.

    The ck Tower which is considered the center of trade, which wouldn''t mind trading with the devil himself were currently in a great predicament.

    The leader of the ck Tower, madam Qin Zha was biting on her nails.

    Of all the Emperor ranks she is probably the weakest, but in terms of influence and the power she possessed she couldn''t be someone to trifle with. Yet right now, she looked as if her worst nightmares were bing a reality.

    "Fucking psychopathic mass murdering sted fucking maniac!" those were pretty tame wordspared to what she usually says.

    And the reason she wasn''t using even foulernguage was because of the people in front of her, sitting on a table, all with grim and even grimmer looks on their faces as they were trying to find a way out of this sted mess.

    "Who the fuck does he think he is! To tell me TO SURRENDER OR DIE! Do I look like a joke to him! I''ll fuckin**** **** ****"

    "Madam Zha, please, not now," one of the people around the table tried to calm her down, but the more she looked at the letter in front of her the more enraged she became.

    Her face started cracking up revealing the old decrypted original look she had. No matter how much wealth she had, she still couldn''t defy thew of heavens, and age was creeping up on her like a mortal reminder.

    Realizing that her skin started to crack she calmed down and applied some sort of liquid on it, and if Shen Bao was here, he''ll realize what liquid it was.

    She was using the Stone Aged Milk, a solution that would cause wars to happen for a drop of it, on her face to fix her wrinkles. A waste some may say, but one with so much wealth as he can do what they want.

    After calming down, or seemingly looking calmed down, she asked.

    "Tower Masters, what do you think we should do?" she asked.

    The looks on their faces told her all, no one liked the current situation.

    War brings more wealth, that''s for sure, and merchants of death easily be richer and richer in times of war. But the problem is, it only happens when a fight happen, between equal or slightly imbnce forces.

    However, the Fire Lord broke everyw of war and is taking on the entirety of the Vast Expanse. Not caring to the lives of any he crossed. Destroyings which are the source of so much wealth as if they were toys.

    He was killing his opposition without ever giving them hope to retaliate, nor even give them the chance to ''buy'' tools to fight back, causing more loss to the ck Tower.

    And that wasn''t all, the sted son of a firefly dared to threaten the ck Tower.

    And unlike anyone else, with the might of his Armada he was someone who could threaten the ck tower.

    Though she can buy an army, no army is willing to die for gold.

    And challenging the Fire Lord is nothing short of suicide.

    What a mockery.

    What is the Vast Expanse doing, allowing such a monster to draw breath still.

    But what can she do? She''s too weak to fend off against his assault by herself, if the Fire Lord decided to take on the Tower, she won''t have the chance to even ask for help before he obliterates it entirely.

    Though it seems that he was giving them a way out, it was basically very, the moment the ck Tower surrenders, it''s no longer neutral and will fall to the Fire Lord''s hands.

    "I say we surrender," one of the Masters Said.

    The rest looked at him as if he was a traitor, they were all waiting for the first one to speak, and then take a stance against it.

    And just as the room began bing rowdier as more tower masters were disagreeing with his statement, the man said, "Then who of you is willing to fight the Fire Lord? Do you think we have time to build an army to fight against him? Or even survive his onught if he decides toe here?"

    "Then we can request help from the Gctic Society! They''ve been taxing us and it''s time for them to pay up for all that bullshit of protecting the peace of the Vast Expanse!"

    "You really think those bunch of cowards will even move? How manys under their rule had they gave up to the Fire Lord. Those are nothing but leeches, strong against the weak and weak against the strong, the moment the Fire Lord passes by them they''ll open their gates wide and wee him in, and I wouldn''t be surprised if they crown him lord of the Societies¡­"

    "Then least we can request help from the Wind Realm, they''re mighty indeed and have a powerful Queen! And also have a bad history with the Fire Lord,"

    "You must have been living under a rock for the past years, the Queen had already lost to the Fire Lord!"

    "Wait? When the hell did that happen?"

    The conversation continued on and on and no one seemed to have any valid argument to give on what to do, causing the meeting that would decide the future of the ck Tower to extend even longer¡­

    On the other side of the vast expanse was the second neutral force.

    One old man was looking at a piece of paper in his hands that read, "Surrender or Die,"

    The old man was wearing a set of full ck robs with golden embroidery on it. He looked old as time itself, and had a barely readable expression on his face.

    Around him were several other cultivators wearing simr ck robes, only theirs didn''t have the golden embroidery.

    "Grand Elder, what''s in that letter that had us all gather here?" asked one elder.

    The old man looked at the letter and at the people around him, no one here was stupid enough not to realize the content of the letter, since it was from the Fire Lord.

    "Nothing but the tantrum of a kid," the old man said and set the letter aze.

    "Anyway, how goes the curriculum for the kids?" asked the Grand Elder.

    Seeing how nonchnt the Grand Elder was about the threat of the Fire Lord, the elders around him couldn''t help but grin andugh.

    The Heavenly Academy wasn''t something driven by personal wealth, and everyone knew it. It was a heritage of power and might, knowledge and understanding, and if it was easily swayed by power and threats, it wouldn''t be what it is today.

    Thus, the meeting continued, where they discussed the future of the Heavenly Academy to an almost nonchnt extent, and gave no second thoughts to the threats of the Fire Lord.

    Arrogance some may think, but only the strong are allowed to be arrogant.

    And for a society that had lived tens of thousands of years teaching generation after generation, their arrogance was justified.

 Chapter 535 Revenge

    Chapter 535 Revenge

    "I didn''t expect all of that to happen to you inside the stomach of a snake¡­" Dao Shen said

    "So where did the Primordial Serpent God''s corpse go?" Yuyu asked.

    "I hid it somewhere safe," I replied, "It''s too precious to just leave around, and can be used to get a lot of resources. But right now, we don''t have the time to do that, how much longer before we arrive?" I asked.

    "Should be in a few hours," Master Rain said, "I''m still surprised you beckoned the Divine Tribtion, that''s not something usually seen here," Master Rain said.

    "I guess this proves that the Primordial Serpent God is in fact not form the Vast Expanse," I said.

    "Howe?" asked Liang Yu.

    "The blood, and the Qi it had in it, it was different, it wasn''t something that can be made or achieved here since we don''t have the ''ingredients''. So I guessed that the primordial Serpent God either came here with its own volition, or was trapped by someone else¡­"

    "It could also be a warden for the people here, you never know," Master Rain said.

    "We''ll have to see about that, once we get to the Heavenly Academy, we should gain more information on what''s happening in the Vast Expanse, the Fire Lord''s movement is too strange," I said.

    "Indeed," Liang Yu said, "He''s strong enough to contend with any of the forces, but to take on the entire Vast Expanse, unless he has a trick up his sleeves, it''s a really tall order, even for him," she said.

    "While we wereing here, I received news from my retainer," Master Rain said.

    ''Oh, that''s the guy who always followed Master Rain''

    "What did the news say?" I asked.

    "The Water Domain allied itself with the Fire Domain, and so did the ck Tower and the Gctic Societies¡­"

    "¡­"

    "What''s on your mind?" Yuyu asked.

    "I have some score to settle with the ck Tower, in case you forgot¡­" I said.

    Of course, she can''t forget, they were the reason for her death. Greedy pigs that only think of profit and retreat at the first sign of danger.

    Yuyu''s eyes soured and she said, "I also remember, how can I forget¡­"

    "Stop nning genocides now and let''s wait until we arrive to the Heavenly Academy, I''m sure we''ll understand much more about the situation," Master Rain said.

    A few hourster, the Thunder Bull Carriage arrived at the Heavenly Academy.

    Everyone was expecting a chaotic situation where everyone was confused and worried about the eminent war. However, what they saw was totally the opposite, students moved around carrying their scrolls and books, more worried about beingte to ss than about the turmoil happening outside.

    I couldn''t help butugh at the situation, where the entire Vast Expanse was turned upside down, the Heavenly Academy was still the same.

    The backing they have behind them is beyond incredible, even if the factions of the Fire Lord and the Water Lord were to refuse support in the uing battle, they didn''t even care enough. Nor did they care when the ck Tower or the Gctic Societies went to the Fire Lord''s side, after all, many a disciple came from all over the Vast Expanse, even from the Fire Domain. And with the ability of the teachers of the Heavenly Academy, an uing war isn''t something that will warrant worry or a sense of crisis.

    A couple ck robed elders came to greet Master Rain''s arrival.

    Starting with a greeting at first, and asked him, "How was your journey?"

    The elder wearing ck robes frowned for a second when he noticed the new addition. Good ol me.

    "Wait, you''re alive?" he questioned.

    "That''s not a good way to greet someone," I replied.

    "Ah pardon me Shen Bao, I honestly didn''t think anyone would survive being eaten by the Primordial Serpent God¡­"

    "Oh, then how will you believe that I killed it?" I grinned then the carriage moved forward. Leaving the man''s jaw open unable to evene up with a retort.

    Soon we were at the top of the heavenly Academy''s tower, Master Rain led the group until we entered the main hall of reception where all the elders gather for meetings.

    Apparently they were still in a meeting as we entered.

    Master Rain went and sat down in an empty chair and nodded to me to sit right next to him. To which I followed.

    "Who''s this brat sitting among the elders?!"

    One of the ck Robed elders spoke.

    Master Rain gave him the eye, and the Grand Elder at the head of the table coughed.

    "I wee your return Shen Bao, how was the belly of the beast?" he asked.

    "Stinky," I replied, "But it''s dead now," I said.

    "Oh¡­" the grand elder, for the first-time revealed change to his expression it was shock mixed in with a mncholic sadness.

    "I guess the new generation is different, Du Shen would have been proud," the Grand Elder said.

    "Who''s this kid?" asked the same elder from before who couldn''t read the room.

    "If you paid more attention to worldly affairs you''d know," the grand elder said and didn''t even entertain the thought of exining more.

    "So, about the war," I said.

    The same elder, ignored twice, and now enraged, "How dare you interfere and speak in an audience of elders!"

    Now this is getting a bit annoying.

    "Know your ce," I spoke and released some of my cultivation.

    It was clearly not at the level of Emperor, since the only two here were Master Rain and the Grand Elder. But it was far from enough to cause everyone in the room to feel a suffocating feeling of terror and fear, death and devastation beyond any scope of hope.

    And they weren''t even the focus of it, as for the elder who I spoke to, his face paled and his throat felt as if it was burning on fire as froth began forming on his mouth.

    "Shen Bao, that''s enough¡­" Master Rain said.

    I immediately released my pressure and asked again, "What about the war?"

    "We''re waiting to see what''s happening," the Grand Elder said.

    "I''d like to request an expedition," I said.

    "Oh, you want to take the initiative?" the Grand Elder asked.

    "Yes, since I''m implicated in this war," I said.

    "How so?" the Grand Elder asked.

    "Show them," I said to Yuyu who pulled her hand up, and manifested the pentagonal jewl.

    "Ah¡­ now I understand, I thought that he just went crazy, but it was for this reason¡­"

    "What is that?" one of the elders asked.

    "That¡­ is one of the five keys, and the only one that''s been missing for thousands of years, I suppose it was inside the Primordial Serpent God," the Grand Elder said.

    And by dropping that bombshell everyone understood what the Grand Elder meant when he said the Belly Of the Beast¡­

    "Yes, it was bound to a cultivator inside the Primordial Serpent God, and since he couldn''t leave, the Key stuck with him, until I was swallowed that is¡­"

    "Hmm¡­ I believe the Serpent to be dead now?" the Grand Elder asked.

    "Yep,"

    "Tell me, child, what sort ofmission are you looking for?" the Grand Elder asked.

    "I''d like to go and pay the ck Tower a visit," I said.

    "Isn''t that a bit too early? Your cultivation base is indeed powerful, but can you contend against an Emperor Level?" he asked.

    "I can vouch for his strength, enough that I can say, even you, Old ck if you were to fight him seriously, you''ll probably lose a limb or two¡­" Master Rain said.

    "Hmm¡­ then you''re free to do as you wish, however, we''re a neutral force," the Grand Elder said.

    "Don''t worry, this is personal, and I won''t bring the Heavenly Academy''s name with me, nor am I asking for reinforcements," I said.

    "No child, what I meant is the Heavenly Academy always has your back, just find us a good reason to help you, and I promise you, the ck Tower won''tst a day." The Elder said.

    "I appreciate the help," I said "But for now I need to test my own strength, in case I''m troubled I''ll ask for assistance," I said.

    "Good, you''re free to do as you please child, as for the rest of you," he said as he looked at the group behind me, "Besides the Devourer, you are too weak¡­ Elder Tian," said the Grand Elder.

    An old woman nodded and stood up, "Girls,e with me," and led the two away.

    "I''m not nning on taking them with me," I said.

    "Nor was I suggesting it, however, after you''re done with your personal mission, I''ll be sending a group of cultivators for the Gctic Societies, we need to¡­ fix them if you understand."

    I nodded.

    "Now for this year''s program, I suggest we add Warfare to the curriculum, who here agrees?"

    The elder switched topics as if they were nothing and everyone seemed to be on the same wavelength.

    We were just talking aboutmitting mass genocide and it seems that murder and learning are actually just topics of discussion for these old fogies. Apparently when you live long enough you just be desensitized to a lot of things in life¡­

 Chapter 536 Coming For You

    Chapter 536 Coming For You

    "When are you departing?" Master Rain asked.

    "Tomorrow morning, I''ll take my leave," I said.

    "Good, how''s the puppet?" Master Rain asked.

    "Sadly, I overgrew it, it helped me a lot, but now, it''s more of a tool than a shield. Do you want it back?" I asked.

    "No, it is yours. Just treat it right," Master Rain said. "As for the kids¡­ they''re still not strong enough for what''sing next. It feels like you grew far faster than anyone else, and you''re already at the level of us old-timers." Master Rain said.

    "I had no option but to grow stronger, in case you forgot, it was either that or death," I said.

    "I see, but take note of one thing," Master Rain said.

    "What is it?"

    "You changed¡­" he said.

    "Did I now?"

    "Yes, you became colder¡­as if you truly and finally became a cultivator, I''ve seen you grow, seen your progress on the path of cultivation, but all in all, you never changed this drastically, I don''t know if it''s a good thing or a bad thing, but somehow it feels like right now, you''re more¡­yourself than you used to," he said.

    ''¡­ was that a hint? Perhaps, these cultivators never say shit directly, perhaps it''s a hint on how to understand myself more, to finally grow into a true Emperor-ranked cultivator¡­"

    I can''t be overthinking these things, it will only lead to more confusion. Understanding of one''s self can''t be forced, it''s mostly done by ident or a revtion, and seeking it and pursuing it will only drive one to cross uncharted territory that has more chances of confusing them than enlightening them.

    I nodded to Master Rain and moved away.

    Did I change? Sure

    I spent a hundred years enclosed in a space with only a few other cultivators with far less mental and cultivation prows than even the people of the Barren Lands. It was not worth discussing Dao with them, not that I underestimate their own understanding of life, since all see life differently, but because I''ve been in that situation, lived through that experience, and cannot gain anything from it.

    I sought to understand myself by myself, alone, since when alone all one has is themselves.

    Looking back at my journey of cultivation, I spent more than two hundred years in this world, the majority of which was inside the Lord of Lords pagoda. But the bits I lived outside were far more interesting and vivid.

    Solitary confinement and cultivation help one focus on nothing but to improve, and I''ve done that in the loneliest ce in the Vast Expanse, I grew strong, disgustingly so.

    But, it is still not enough to contend with the heavyweights of the Vast Expanse.

    Master Rain said so, if I were to fight against the Grand Elder, the elder would lose an arm at least, but what was implied was, that I would still end up dead.

    And when considering the Fire Lord''s might, if I were to fight him, I have no chance of winning whatsoever. That is of course, if I''m still in my current realm.

    Of the Primordial Serpent God''s essence, all I''m currently using is nothing but a fraction of the totality of its blood.

    I cannot fully use it since my realm is lower than an Emperor, and the funny thing is, even at the Peak of the Emperor Level, I''d still not be able to fully use all of the powers of the blood.

    Only when I''m one step above, only when I''m at the same level of existence as the Primordial Serpent God.

    The level that no one even from the Vast Expanse had ever reached, the level that the Fire Lord and the Wind Realm Queen are perusing since they''re the closest.

    Only then will I unfold all of the secrets of that blood?

    The Dragon Soul inside me seemed to have fallen into an incredibly deep slumber as it consumed the essence of the Primordial Serpent God''s Soul.

    As for my body, it''s overly saturated with the Golden Blood Essence of the Primordial Serpent God. I can only galvanize a bit of it, and that''s enough to take on a low-ranked Emperor realm cultivator. Which is my current objective.

    I found myself in front of a familiar home, it was the same house that I''d handed to Liang Yu.

    I entered and went into the chamber deep inside and began cultivating, calming my mind before the uing venture.

    Later that evening, Liang Yu arrived home, she lookedpletely disheveled and exhausted, and not realizing I was already inside the house she began changing her clothes.

    "Thank you for the view," I spoke before she began removing her undergarments.

    Freaked out at first, then turned to notice it was me, surprise then a devilish smile crept up on her face.

    "What?" I asked.

    "You''re currently above the Saint Realm," she said.

    "Yes, and?" I asked.

    "You remember your promise from back then?" she grinned.

    "¡­"

    "Take ''em off!" she said.

    "Hold on!"

    "I said TAKE THEM OFF!"

    ***

    Waking up in the morning, in my arms was a snuggled-up Liang Yu, fully nude and seemed to want to squeeze in even more as a cool breeze was yfully blowing through the crack of the window.

    I extracted myself from her arm as slowly and gently as I could not to disturb her sleep.

    All to no avail.

    "You''re leaving, aren''t you," she said, I could hear the sadness in her voice without me needing to turn.

    "I''ll be back, I alwayse back," I said.

    "Take me with you," she said.

    I didn''t reply.

    She knew why I can''t take her with me.

    I didn''t dare look back because if I do, I''ll see her crying face, and I might have to stay.

    "I''lle back, don''t worry¡­"

    "You have to. Because if you don''t, Yuyu will be sad," she said.

    "Yuyu?"

    "Unless you''re aplete idiot, that woman truly loves you," she said.

    I sighed.

    "I''ll see to that, once I''m back," I said.

    This is even more confusing to me¡­ but I can''t afford to talk romance right now. The whole Vast Expanse is moving, and I only have so much time to deliver a decisive blow to the uing events.

    I left the house and called little cabbage over.

    The Thunderbull appeared the moment I called for it, and then said to it, "Take us to the ck Tower''s main headquarter."

    ***

    A couple of dayster, in an area that seemed to have nothing but gigantic meteorites floating about in space. One especiallyrge meteorite had a nine-floor tower on top of it.

    The whole tower was obsidian ck and had several windows overseeing the outer space.

    "What in god''s name is going on?! Who the hell is doing this? It''s the fifth King Realm that died now!" one of the tower masters spoke shouting profanities at what was happening."

    "Do they not fear the wrath of the Fire Lord?! We already are in alliance with him who in their right mind is doing this?!" another said.

    "It must be some rogue cultivator who is tired of living!"

    "No sane person dares attack the ck Tower like this! Someone find out their identity!" the owner of the ck Tower Madam Qin Zha began shouting orders as she was furiously biting on the nail of her thumb.

    A messenger suddenly appeared at the entrance of the upper tower, "Madam! I brought news!" he said.

    "Fucking hurry and spill it!" she cursed.

    "Yes, the iing person was identified, he''s riding a Thunder Bull Carriage, a real on. The same one that Master Rain was using when escaping the Fire Lord''s domain.

    "Master Rain? Is the Heavenly Academy attacking us then!?" she cursed, if the heavenly academy decided to assault the ck Tower it would mean that today was theirst on this ne.

    "No, he came alone, and he isn''t wearing the attire of the Heavenly Academy," the messenger said.

    "What kind of psychopath is he to do that?! Without affiliation, he darese here?!"

    "We managed to identify him, madam, he''s called Shen Bao," the messenger said.

    "Shen Bao? Isn''t he the rising cultivator that''s been making waves in the Vast Expanse?" One of the elders said.

    "You know who it is?" Madam Qin Zha said.

    "I thought he died, he was the one who emerged from the Poison God''s trial, but immediately after he was swallowed by the serpent, this happened a few years ago. But, how did he escape the Primordial Serpent God?" the elder said.

    "Our informationwork stated that the Primordial Serpent God had disappeared a few days ago, and Shen Bao appeared then," the Messenger said.

    "Why is he doing this? What enmity we have against him to tear down several of our spatial bases, and him daring toe towards us means that the enmity is enough to risk his life for this¡­" Madam Qin Zha said.

    "I¡­" the messenger hesitated before Madam Zha shouted once again.

    "SPEAK OR I''LL RIP YOUR TONGUE OUT!"

    "The investigation resulted in exposing some shady behavior from one of our lower branches in the barrennds, Feng Han is his name. He happened to have an enmity with Shen Bao¡­"

    "Details! DETAILS!" she said.

    "Yes!" the messenger said as he pulled a small ledger and began scrolling through it.

    "Shen Bao earned the favor of the ck Tower earning him a ck Tower Golden Toke. But Feng Han happened to manipte some facts and took away his token, not only that he promised the safety of Shen Bao''s people by sending a shuttle out to save them, but his true goal was to blow it up and kill all of Shen Bao''s rtives. He seeded in doing that. Not only that, we discovered traces of trade between him and the Fire Lord. He happened to be the instigator of the assault on the Si Xue, as he informed the forces of the Fire Lord that Shen Bao, the person who saved the young lord of the Wind Realm Zhang Tian from imprisonment was on that. The Fire Lord decided to eradicate the entire with Shen Bao on it just tond a low blow to the morale of the Wind Realm who couldn''t save their benefactor¡­"

    "Where is that fucker?" asked Qin Zha.

    "Which one, Madam?"

    "THE FUCKING IDIOT WHO CAUSED THIS MESS!"

    "Oh¡­ he died¡­"

    Qin Zha''s eyes shook, a monstrous genius capable of escaping the Primordial Serpent God wasing their way, and the only thing to appease him was to offer him the head of the person who wronged him was not possible since he died in some ditch.

    "Ready for battle¡­ this is going to be ugly."

 Chapter 537 Battle

    537 Battle

    ''Pathetic''

    Is all I could say about what I was seeing.

    King ss? They''re all trash. None of them is up to standard, weak pitiful and incredibly boring to fight. None is able to withstand even a bit of poison.

    And to think the cultivators at the King ss stage could rule entires, and fold armies to their every will and whim. But what I see, is disappointing.

    Five towers, five King ss cultivators, and all it took me is five hours to get rid of them all.

    Most of that time was spent getting rid of the minions since they were so numerous. As for the owners of the subsidiary ck Towers, they''re all garbage.

    Up ahead in front of me, was a massive row of cultivators, all ready to fight.

    I say ready to fight, but the expressions on their faces, the fear in their eyes, and their shaky resolution were obvious to see from hundreds of miles away.

    They knew death was approaching.

    And behind this shaky line, was the tower. Thest tower, the one I needed to answer to me.

    I moved up ahead riding the Thunder Bull carriage. The Golden Bull stampeded its way forward, with every step, rippling space itself, and rumbling in fury as the sound of bombarding thunder echoed with every stomp of its hooves.

    The echoes of the bull''s thunder were enough to suppress the fighting spirit of the enemies up ahead, and the endless wave of smog, fume, and poisonous vapor that I was passively releasing. The bull was rushing up ahead, and my poisons were spilling endless disaster and untold amounts of pain that can lead to nothing but certain death once any cultivatores in contact with it.

    "Take him down!" one brave cultivator spoke as he pointed with his shaky sword.

    Thatmanding order was enough to bring the fearful and wavering cultivators back to reality. They released their spells, sword waves and many others.

    "Delusion" I muttered.

    From within me, a dark spherical wave of energy shot outward, engulfing the spells that were charging at me.

    I didn''t bother dodging, blocking, parrying or even intercepting. All I did was consume distort and change.

    The spells shattered and the qi transformed, all the iing attacks that came in contact with my Domain of Delusions were affected and were bound to my will, to change in essence, all of it to floating cherry blossoms that exploded in fanfares around me, then suddenly came in contact with my poison only to wither instantly after.

    "A demon!" one of the cultivators said as the bull was still charging their way.

    The fear of what happened caused half of them to freeze, a great number to flee, and the rest could do nothing but clench their hands tighter on their weapons readying for eminent death.

    "SHEN BAO!" I heard from the top of the ck Tower.

    The words came from the mouth of a woman who was floating up in front of the tower, her eyes looked bloodshot from rage.

    "Cease your actions! Do you not know whose territory you''re trespassing on?!"

    Calmly I looked up at her and replied, "Would I be here if I didn''t? Madam Zha."

    "Then you must know, your actions will cost you your head,"

    "I''m not so sure about that one though," my hand moved forward, pointing at the rows of cultivators protecting the tower.

    The smog surged forward, cruising toward the cultivators like a tidal wave about to crush down a sand castle. The whole row of cultivator fell to utter despair, or whatever remained standing of them.

    "INSOLENT!" Madam Zha shouted as she waved her hands calling upon thousands of talismans that shot forward to protect her forces.

    "You fool! Do you know who''s backing the Tower? And you still dare attack us!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

    Caring wasn''t something I usually do, and dropping the name of the Fire Lord wasn''t going to change that. I came here to stir shit up, and I''m not going to back down if she pulls out that guy''s name, I''m going after him too, sooner orter.

    The talismans rose up like a gigantic wall glistening in surges of Qi that belonged to an Emperor Rank cultivator.

    The quality, quantity and sheer amount was iparable to that of a King ss. And the might is obvious from a single nce. But¡­

    The poisonous fumes dove into the wall, bending it at first then propagating up and down and everywhere around surging like a gigantic jawed maw made form poison that was about to engulf the wall and the people behind it.

    Visibly shuddering from beingpletely ignored Madam Zha screamed like a banshee, releasing a sonic boom to try and ripple through the smog.

    A valiant attempt. But it''s not going to work.

    The soundwave failed to cause a flicker in the poisonous cloud. After all, everything in front of me was within my Domain of Delusion, as long as I have Qi, nothing against my will can happen. But it doesn''t mean that my Qi is endless. The tax to suppress the sound wave and cause it to harmlessly pass through the smog was heavy enough that I felt a dent in my Qi reserves.

    Furious at her inability to save the frightened cultivators, "Qing Bai! Time to deliver your part of the deal!"

    "Ah I hate having to work," I heard.

    The sound was low, but audible enough to hear even among the cries and panic of the cultivators.

    A man flew forward on a small white cloud, a wide smile on his face, he looked like a man in his twenties, joyful and yful of appearance as he shot toward me with a staff in hand.

    "Qing Bai arrives!" he shouted as he revealed the biggest smile I''ve seen on anyone.

    ''Emperor rank? Where did this guye from?'' I frowned as I looked at the man ahead.

    "That''s not good you know," he said as he pointed with his thumb behind his back at the cultivators.

    "Let me get rid of that," he added as he spun his staff.

    The staff''s speed increased to an incredulous velocity. He pointed it at the fumes and I realized he was trying to suck out the poison.

    I didn''t care much as I was still controlling the smoke and it was still under my Domain.

    But what happened next confused me greatly. The entirety of the fog slowly began twisting and spinning and then move toward the staff.

    Soon enough the whole poison cloud was gathered in front of him and all it took was a swing to st it to inexistence.

    "Ouuf," he said as he wiped a metaphorical sweat from his forehead.

    "You''re a good sport, you didn''t interrupt me when I was showing my skill, you know what, you can power up, I''ll respect thew of not attacking while powering up!" he said as he looked at me nodding up and down.

    "¡­"

    "What? You don''t want to?" he said tilting his head, "Well then, time for me to do so then!" he said and immediately a disgusting surge of energy emanated from his body.

    Lo and behold, the fucker''s hair turned yellow.

    "No fucking way¡­"

    apologies for the dyed and sporadic releases. I''m having some massive writer block instances, i''m failing to make everything fit perfectly, it takes me days to write a single chapter now instead of the usual one day. i''m building up to a great revtion but i''m trying not to fk up anything. Hope you guys can understand i''m really sorry.

    Biako

 Chapter 538 Battle II

    538 Battle II

    "This is how one powers up!" Qin Bai said, a smile bigger than a shark''s on his face.

    "Here Ie!" he shouted and moved forward like a shooting arrow.

    His staff was twirling as he was moving forward, and for some reason, my eyes were constantly drawn to it.

    I backed off.

    This caused the cultivators to start cheering almost immediately, after all the man who was destroying the ck Tower''s property was pushed back with the first move.

    Since it would look like I already lost the initiative.

    But the sour expression on Qin Bai''s face was obvious to me that I made the right decision.

    Almost instantly the entire area I was a second ago in, seemed to fold upon itself as if space itself decided topress within that area.

    "Spatial Law, hmm¡­"

    I said as I kept moving back while Qin Bai was following me swinging his staff erratically from the first impression, only to realize every swing had a purpose.

    I felt the skin on the back of my neck suddenly rise up.

    Suddenly two of my four robotic arms surged up from their spatial pocket and crossed together behind me.

    A powerful impact sted behind me, at first, I didn''t understand where it came from, but seeing half of the staff on Qin Bai''s hands missing, and the other half being blocked by my robotic arms gave me a clear indicator on what was his ability.

    "Whoa, what are those? Is that some sort of defensive treasure?" Qin Bai said as his golden hair weaved as if caressed by an invisible wind.

    "¡­"

    "You''re a man of little words I see," he said.

    "It''s you who talks a lot," I replied and made my first step forward.

    This caused the man to smile in anticipation for a fight.

    "I hope you can entertain me!" he said.

    And just like that I pulled up a sword. Short of length, thin of de, and had an arrow like tip, it looked like a needle with a strange-looking tip.

    "What''s that fragile-looking thing?" he asked tilting his head, "My Staff is made from Godsteel, one hit and it''ll shatter that tiny sword of yours, are you mocking me?" he said.

    "I''d watch my mouth if I were you, after all," I said as I took a fencing stance, "This is Du Shen''s prized weapon,"

    "Qin Bai! Don''t let him use it!" Madam Zha shouted as she seemed to have realized the nature of the treasure in my hand.

    "What could that thing even do, also he''s not even Emperor Rank, you all suffered against this guy, tsk, tsk," Qin Bai shook his head as he prepared to fight back.

    "I''ll show you how I''ll break your tiny sword! Here Ie!" he said and charged forward.

    "Tiamat¡­" I muttered.

    In that second as Qin Bai was charging he suddenly stopped. Because he felt something was wrong.

    "Feast," I said as I cut my palm with my sword.

    Not a single drop of blood seeped out since the sword instantly ate it.

    It was only a couple of drops, but they weren''t normal blood drops, but golden Primordial Serpent God''s blood.

    The atmosphere changed almost instantly as if the world was introduced to another terror once again.

    "You finally called upon me, master¡­" the sword spoke as creepily as ever.

    "Time to get to work," I said.

    Qin Bai frowned, "I thought you were a poison cultivator, but you can use swords too," he said. "Still it will not change the fact that mine is better!" he said as he braved his sense of danger and came to face me.

    I pointed Tiamat and the de surged forward, at first it only elongated and went for a direct stab, but it was easily dodged, a grin spread across Qin Bai''s face as he came toward me.

    Then a second de emerged from the hilt, this one was faster, this caused Qin Bai''s eyes to widen but he still managed to dexterously dodge it, only to realize that a third, fourth, and fifth des were also growing from the hilt of the de.

    "<nullb>RUN AWAY YOU FOOL!" Madam Zha shouted as she probably knew the weapon I had in my hand.

    Qin Bai''s flustered face was unable to cope with the ever-changing sword in my hand as he desperately tried to dodge away,pletely forgetting about attacking me and focusing fully on evading the iing des.

    Finally, he managed to avoid all nine des that were released from the hilt of my sword looked like a nine-ded sword, with each one as long as a hundred-meter sword.

    "That was quite frightening, unfortunately for you, it didn''t work," Qin Bai said, "Also Madam Zha when I''m fighting please refrain from shouting too much, this weapon might have a hidden function, but now that I saw it, I won''t fall for it again," He said as he pped the staff on his nape.

    "Fool¡­" Madam Zha said as she knew that this wasn''t all that was to Tiamat.

    "Tiamat¡­" I said, "Hunt."

    The sense of danger seemed to grow vividly in Qin Bai. Something wasn''t right, and he knew it.

    The stiff long des began shuddering, then growing, each turning to a gigantic serpent of metal, then they twisted and forsaken their stiff rigid form. Now each one of the des looked like a miniature primordial serpent god and they all looked at Qin Bai with deprived starvation.

    The des shot forward elongating even more, nine Serpentinian metallic snakes moved with the speed of sound as they surged coiling among each other to further confuse their prey.

    Qin Bai was overwhelmed instantly, having to dodge, block, and parry the iing massive serpents.

    Parrying one of them almost cost him an arm, not to mention the rest that wereing at him. The serpents didn''t change form and lost substance, no it was the opposite, they were very real. And that gigantic body was made of pure metal.

    And it hunted, seeking blood and Qi like nothing else, More of the heads followed after him as he struggled to avoid the blows and then Madam Zha despite having to protect her troops from the poison cloud that was resurging once again had toe in and help.

    I nced at Madam Zha and said, "Stay away."

    With that, one of the nine heads that were constantly chasing after Qin Bai turned its face toward her, opened its mouth, and shot a surge of thick poison. It was as if the floodgates had opened

    Terrified of what wasing toward her, Madam Zha abandoned the thought of assisting Qin Bai and retreated hastily away from the flooding poison.

    Qin Bai on the other hand had another surprise for him. Six serpents of the nine-headed toward him while the remaining two opened their maws wide and shot a surge of poison, and the other a surge of verdant mes like torrents of death.

    Panic-stricken at first, and clearly confused on how he''s being outdone by someone with far less cultivation base than him, Qin Bai roared against the heavens, his golden hair grew bigger and turned a darker shade of red. Along with his muscles that inted.

    "<nullb>REND!" he called as he struck down with his staff at the iing serpents.

    The staff was shortpared to the length of the serpents, but the moment he swung it, even on empty space, a massive pressure manifested from high above, creating the silhouette of a gigantic staff that fell down upon the serpents all at once stopping them along with the explosive wave of poison and fire.

    Huffing and puffing, Qin Bai retreated back, his Qi reserve seemed to have taken a huge dip when he used that thing right now, as for Tiamat, I withdrew it for now.

    "Not many had seen this form of mine, and I promise you, none of those who had seen it lived to tell the tale," Qin Bai said as he pointed his staff at me.

    "Die!" he said and suddenly the world around me felt heavier and everywhere around me, a massive staff like the one that struck Tiamat appeared. More than a hundred of them, all pointed at me.

    And then he pushed his staff forward causing every other one toe toward me in an attempt to crush me.

    "Okay, if you want to see a transformation so bad, let me show you one¡­"

 Chapter 539 Only Man

    Chapter 539 Only Man

    "<nullb>DIE, DIE, DIE!" Qin Bai shouted at the top of his lungs as the hundreds of staff wereing at me. Only for them all to m into something that felt harder than Godsteel.

    From his surprised point of view, he saw me, only tens of thousands of times bigger, easily blocking away the staffs with my body, not even caring enough to block, and had them strike helplessly against the body of a titan.

    Before his expression could even change from surprise to that of a person feeling the looming presence of death, I had already extended my hand and grabbed him in the process.

    He groaned and groaned from being griped, it was like a helpless chick in the hand of an unknowing toddler.

    "Release me this instant!" he shouted.

    "Do you think I would?" I tilted my head.

    And unceremoniously just tightened my grip. There was no need to describe what happened afterward. All I had to do was wipe my hand on my robes to get rid of the gore grime and blood.

    I looked at Madam Zha who waspletely petrified.

    "What in god''s name did you do to obtain this power¡­"

    "You can me yourself for this, if it wasn''t for your rotten corporation, I wouldn''t have had the opportunity to grow to who I am today, I may be this strong thanks to your oppression, but due to your oppression I felt despair worse than the depth of hell, so a payback is a must," I said as I moved, more like walked on space itself toward Madam Zha.

    "The man responsible for your misfortune had already perished! And aren''t you satisfied with how much death you caused? Why must you go so far!"

    "Someone has to pay," I said, "And I''m even more enraged that the fucker who did that died before I got to him, so you tell me, how can I appease my wrath?!"

    Her lips rose and fell, trembling at the thought of a madman standing in front of her house, threatening to destroy a legacy that was thousands of years old.

    "They were nothing but mere mortals from the barrennds! If you want I''d give you a full of ves and beauties for your satisfaction, why must you do this for those of lowly birth!"

    I stopped for a second¡­

    And in that second, I saw a rxed expression on her face, did she think that the dumb shit she just uttered now was supposed to make me forget and forgive?

    "Yes, as you know I''m the richest person in the Vast Expanse, name it and you''ll have it, no matter the price!"

    "Can you bring back the dead?" I asked.

    "What?"

    "Can your riches bribe the Death God, can your riches bring back the souls of the people you gave up on? Can you do it?"

    "What kind of foolish question is that?"

    "It is in the same league of the idiocy of your thinking, when you decided that the lives of those who had perished are not worth anything when you gave value to a soul, that''s when foolishness started. You weigh the worth of a person in gold, while I weigh the worth of a person by the same worth of existence itself. A soul no matter how small, weak, and insignificant in your eyes, is something that you can never truly obtain or make. It matters not if you own the entirety of the vast expanse¡­

    I stepped closer toward her and added.

    "The weight of a in gold can''te even to a fractional cost of the soul of a bird. Yet you give value to people in terms of worth, you believe yourself higher than the very heavens that birthed you?"

    Madam Zha backed away.

    "You got no right to speak about what Heaves had to say! Weren''t you an enemy of the Heavens! They sent a Divine Tribtion to take you down! You''re an enemy of the heavens why muse you speak words in its stead!"

    "Enemy of the Heavens? When did that ever happen?" I tilted my head, "I never was an enemy of heaven, I disagree with it, strive and cultivate against it, and climb my path, my own path of cultivation that does not follow it, but I never considered heavens my enemy, it gifted me the very life I''m living, the very experience I''m receiving, and the rtions I''m having, it would be nothing short of being unfilial if I were to be an enemy of heavens, I''m part of it, as it is part of me, and it is a fact that will never change.

    We can disagree, but that never meant we''re enemies, so tell me, do you truly think I''m an enemy of heaven?"

    "Words, all you speak is nothing but empty words. Otherwise, why would the heavens that you say consider all lives as equal would bestow some with power, some with wealth, and some with destitution and sickness!"

    "I didn''t think I''d be speaking of Dao here, but it matters not, since once I''m done you''d be dead. Let''s talk Dao," I said as I sat down in the lotus position, keeping my giant form.

    While Madam Zha and the people behind her were petrified at my appearance they had a glimpse of hope when I spoke those words.

    "You wish to speak of Dao? Against me who clearly outlived your entire existence hundreds of times over?"

    "It''s never a bad time to learn, even from someone such as you," I replied.

    ***

    Madam Zha was terrified at the power of the cultivator in front of her, after all, he was strong beyond belief, and he outright crushed one of the Fire Lord''s spears to nothing in a single move.

    She was in the worst possible situation she''s been in after having received the letter from the Fire Lord.

    But, there was hope, the fact that he killed one of the Spears meant that this incident will immediately reach the ears of the Fire Lord, and that meant reinforcements will soon arrive.

    But¡­

    She needed to buy time, how can she do that against this person, he''s too strong, and most King ss cultivators by her side are unable to even put a scratch on him.

    Howe a King ss Cultivator, this Shen Bao, has a body this strong? Have sword knowledge and understanding to use Du Shen''s most prized possession, Tiamat, the nine-headed sword.

    Though it is not fully unsealed, it still showed its first form, the Nine Heads of Hell.

    But, this foolish being, this man who clearly isn''t even over the age of one thousand, no, not even five hundred years of age, dared battle her in Dao?

    This is a present that''s so valuable it couldn''t even be presented in a te of True Gold.

    A youngling tries to duel her in a battle of Dao, where she lived longer than him? She only needed to show the mistakes in his understanding since he''s bound to have much and many as he is so young, that is enough to break anyone''s Dao Heart, and the cracks on it will immediately drop his cultivation level, throw him in confusion and could even cause deviation.

    "You say Heaven is unjust?" he asked.

    "Yes, if it was just it wouldn''t have rewarded some and neglected some!" she said, "Aren''t you the prime example of that, Shen Bao? You grew disgustingly strong, from a of weaklings, the Barren Lands, and look at you, while many tried and tried and never even gotten to a fraction of your power, do, you think heavens is just?"

    She didn''t have full information on him, after all, the first time he came in contact with the ck tower he was in the Core Formation.

    She could already see the confusion in his eyes and was just waiting for him to speak so she can rebuke his reasoning.

    "Are an idiot?" he said.

    This confused Madam Zha even more. Wasn''t he supposed to have tribtion in his heart after hearing the truth.

    "Do you think I got to where I am with just luck? Do you know when did I start cultivating?" he asked her.

    She didn''t have full information on him, after all, the first time he came in contact with the ck tower he was in the Core Formation.

    "I dipped my toes in cultivation when I was eighty years of age, I had no talent for normal cultivation, and had to sacrifice blood and bones to reach where I am. Had to tide through eternal suffering and hell to be what I am, you think I got to where I am with luck, you must be insane. Heavens are just, I was weak, but strived and worked hard and was rewarded.

    People can be born blessed with wealth, and some can be born cursed with destitution, but how many a man can grow poor from wealth, and how many a man can grow rich from poverty? All it takes is effort or sloth. One must not me the heavens for their starting point, one must me nothing but their own inability to not use what they had to make up for what they don''t have."

    "You speak of wealth and opportunities as if everyone was given the same. You''re wrong Shen Bao, no one is given the same opportunities, yes, it is exemry and great that you made the best out of your situation, but can you say the same for everyone else? Those who were born in even worse situations than yours and died before they could achieve anything, do you think they worked less hard than you did?" she said.

    Confusion once again appeared on his face, this time she struck a nerve, she was sure of it.

    "You really are stupid, I think discussing Dao with you is pointless¡­ Why speak of people''s inability to procure opportunities as if it is a given that everyone was going to receive the same opportunities? Do you think if the entire world was fated to be wealthy and rich that it will be beneficial?"

    Now it was Madam Zha''s face that became confused.

    "If everyone was fated to be a General, then who will be the soldier? If everyone was to be a baker, then who will be the farmer that will bring the grain? If everyone was a tailor, then who will be the one to harvest the silk?

    You speak of opportunities as if there is nothing but one, while I speak of them as fate that is different from one to another without any of them being below another. A woman serving her husband, providing food for him, and worrying and working in her home is as noble of a job as a man tiding the bloodiness of war.

    If you think that one of them is more noble then that is where yourck of understanding stems from. She may look like she''s doing nothing but menial jobs, while at the same time, isn''t she worried sick about her husband fighting against the invaders?

    Or yet again, a farmer who is breaking his back toiling the ground, to send his child to learn, is it less noble than the job of a minister ruling the country? Only man gives value to their work, only man gives value to their blessings, and only man is arrogant enough to give value to other humans. Heaven had always been fair, only you fail to see it¡­"

    Madam Zha''s mouth opened and then closed, her eyes widening as she was finally beginning to realize, that if she were to fight him head-on¡­she probably would have had better chances of winning than fighting this man in Dao, because as it appears¡­she was already losing.

 Chapter 540 Intruder

    Chapter 540 Intruder

    "What I see from you is nothing but ack of understanding of the world itself, it surprises me how you managed to reach the rank of Emperor when your knowledge of what''s around you is so subpar. No, perhaps it was not subpar for you," I said as I looked her in the eyes.

    The difference in stature between us, my sheer current size, and her minuscule human like size were a great contrast, this was also good to apply psychological pressure.

    "It was subpar but for you, it wasn''t simply because, the understanding you reached, was all that you had, it was mediocre, faulty and without any wisdom behind it, but for your peanut-sized brain, it was probably the truth, and you deluded yourself into believing what you reached was the world''s truth, thus you ascended, you ascended on nothing but a lie you told yourself¡­"

    "Shut up!" Madam Zha shouted cracks started appearing on her face.

    But there was no reason for me to shut up, the seed of doubt is a nasty thing, especially when nted in a strong heart because the stronger the heart, the more brittle it bes, and that seed will soon start tearing it apart to grow into more and more doubt.

    "You dare say the heavens are unjust, the mere thought of that is absurd, the heavens never give one more than they can take, and if one fails in the challenges of the heavens, it wasn''t because the heaven was too merciless, but it was because the person was too weak-willed. me not the heavens that birthed you into existence, that had given you a reason to be when you were nothing. me not the very heavens that created an entity in you, a soul, then a living breathing body. If you say the heavens are unjust, then how about you? What did you ever do to receive such a blessing of being born into the world."

    Madam Zha''s expression tightened and then she said, "Then what about the children born in times of war and strife! Misery and famine! If the heavens were just why would it birth them in such pains!"

    "You still foolishly use the heavens of what you yourself had done. Who made wars? Was it the heavens? It was nothing but the greed of man itself that brought existence to war, man''s greed and jealousy, their will and wish to obtain more of what they have or some of what they don''t have brought existence to war, and thus those who were born during a war have not the heavens to me, but only those who caused the war itself. All are free of will, and all are free to either fight or not, but they still choose to fight, thus why me heavens for the mistakes of oneself?"

    More cracks began appearing on her face and soon on her body, she shuddered and shook and began recoiling, trying toe up with words to rebuke me but clearly failed in doing so.

    "This tells me one thing, not only do youck understanding of what''s around you, you don''t even understand yourself. However, you were gifted with riches and knowledge, power to rule over the Vast Expanse''s wealth, you still don''t understand the little things, then let''s talk about you shall we, Madam Zha? Birthed from wealth into wealth, you never had to wish or work for anything as you grew up, all you needed to do was ask, and you obtained it. And now thousands of yearster you''re sitting on the throne of wealth and power, only subdued by the Fire Lord himself, yet your greed for earthly desires is so great that you wish to usurp the Fire Lord. So tell me, being gifted with so many things, given so many things, why seek more? Are you not satisfied with what you currently have?"

    "Irrelevant!" she shouted

    "But it is relevant since you were given birth, you never sought to understand what it is to be destitute. You never had to feel the coldness of the night, where all you could use to heat yourself is your ever-so-cooling breath as you blow on your frozen fingers. Where you''re covered with nothing but a torn rag that smells of dog''s piss. Where you feast on nothing but the trash and chewed-away food of others. Where you don''t know if you''ll wake up the next day, or be brutally abused that very night as you sleep, you know not the worry and pain of the poor, yet you speak of their injustice? All you''re doing Madam Zha is talking, all you ever said were just words, empty without true meaning, since the only meaning to the words you spoke cane from experience, and you never experience that, thus what you speak of is invalid."

    More cracks appeared on her face and it started falling off like brittle porcin.

    "Your greed toward life is so absurd I cannot seem to fathom it. You have all one could ever hope for and more, yet you''re not even putting in the effort," I said.

    With those words, her eyes sparkled as if she had found a great "I would not deny that, but even if you had failed into achieving the seat of the lord of the ck Tower, you''d still be better off than the timing to counter.

    "You don''t know how much effort I made! You think obtaining all of this was easy! I had to fight against hundreds of siblings for the throne of the ck Tower, my effort, wits, and genius were all efforts and hard work!"

    "I would not deny that, but even if you had failed into achieving the seat of the lord of the ck Tower, you''d still be better off than the absolute majority of the people in the vast expanse. What I''m talking about isn''t your worldly achievements, but that," I said as I pointed at her face.

    She covered her face with both hands "Don''t look at me!"

    "I''m all too familiar with that, your wealth and splurging are absurd since you''re using the Stone-Aged Milk to keep your skin from turning to dust, instead of actually putting in true effort in cultivation. None of your muscles have an ounce of effort in them, but still, they''re brimming with Saint Qi. Why is that?" my question was rhetorical.

    "Elixirs, divine pills, Receptarism, and heavenly treasures of all kinds, you''re using those to substitute for effort, you never, sought to improve yourself, though your cultivation had risen your body is so fargged behind it''s nothing more than the body of a prettied-up corpse. And instead of ingesting the Stone Aged Milk, you''re covering the fractures of that corpse-like body of yours with it."

    "What would you ever know about the Stone Aged Milk, it''s nothing a human can consume, it''s a treasure of the world but can only be used by a few races," she said

    "But I do know," I replied, "I know all too well since I literally swam in it and drank more of it than you''d ever see in a lifetime. I know all too well of the pains, after all, aren''t I a poison God''s Disciple?" I said

    Instantly her eyes widened.

    "Yes, you finally understand, every Poison God''s disciple has to break their meridians, all of them, then dive into a pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison, only when they survive can they begin their journey, and you speak of the pain of ingesting the Stone Aged Milk? That''s nothing but child''s y. After all, when you consume the Stone Aged Milk it helps your body grow, but when you''re inside a pool of the Bone and Body Grinding Poison, all you have is destruction, deconstruction, and death¡­ so tell me, do I not know pain?"

    More cracks appeared on her face and body, more than she could cover even with her hands.

    "With all that, with all these riches, you never put any effort, and you were still rewarded with a life greater than many, and what did you offer the heavens in return? Nothing. Nothing that you can buy with gold will ever equate to a life. And your existence itself, though disgusting to look at, is still a treasure of the heavens, now tell me, who is truly unjust? Is it you woins about the heavens or the heavens that had given you without you even asking."

    "But if it had given me, why not giveth others!"

    "In case you forgot, it had given you the same as others, only others received dirt, and you got gold, to you gold has more value, but to the heaven''s eyes, both are dirt, since only man gives value to what they have and what they don''t. So where is the injustice?"

    Shaken and about to lose her cultivation base.

    "If you know so much, howe you''re still stuck at the King''s Realm, there must be something wrong with your logic! Yes! It must be otherwise you''d be at the Emperor Realm, so all you spoke was nothing but lies! Yes!" she said as a deranged person trying to find any way or reason to justify their ignorance.

    "It is clearly not myck of understanding of what''s around me that''s holding me back, because I know enough to say I know nothing¡­" I spoke as I sighed.

    "What is holding him back is himself¡­" I heard from behind me.

    The words were calm and confident and brimmed with power

    Without turning back, I said, "Indeed, what is holding me is nothing but myself, since I know not who I am, isn''t that right¡­ Fire Lord."

 Chapter 541 First Contact

    Chapter 541 First Contact

    "I lived long enough, seen far too much, and had few people to ever take interest in, and somehow, you, a man from a farawaynd, too destitute to ever call it worth even sending a single soldier to conquer, came out. You brought a lot of annoyance to my ns and got me interested in you and your growth," he spoke, his words calm as the sea, but his might and power as equally treacherous.

    Soon the Fire lord appeared between me and Madam Zha, or what looks like him.

    It wasn''t a human, but more like an apparition. It hovered in between us, and the moment he looked at madam zha, she immediately kowtowed in front of him.

    "Fire Lord, what brings you here, I was taking care of business here,"

    "Never mind me," he said, "I came here after one of my spears died, I find it quite absurd how a fire spear that I spent so many bloodstones on just dies without even releasing his Vengeance Spear, what''s more when I arrived I see you, a man not even fully aware of who he is and not even in the Emperor Realm capable of taking him down. It seems that you have obtained many heavenly gifts."

    ''shit¡­ I''m not confident in Dao when against him.''

    "What do you want?" I asked him.

    "That''s a broad question," he replied.

    ''Shit, he really is trying to make it a Dao battle.''

    "I mean what did youe here for, perhaps to protect her?" I questioned trying to change the discussion, though if I had kept pressing against Madam Zha she''d crumble and lose all her cultivation, but I have to satisfy myself with her losing her purpose and be filled with doubt, that is also pain like no ever for a cultivator.

    "I came to see you, little disturbance, you caused me plenty an annoyance, though I permitted most of it," he said.

    His words had meaning in them. And the meaning was for me to understand.

    "I suppose you knew who he was the moment he stepped into your hall," I said.

    No one present here would understand what I meant, no one besides the Fire Lord.

    "Yes, I''m no fool, I recognized all of them in fact, after all, I''m very proficient in soul magic right now," he said.

    "I suppose you are, since you defeated the Queen, you must have had the ability to see through them, yet you still allowed it?" I asked.

    "Yes," he replied.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "Because it''s interesting, it''s interesting to see ants struggle and wriggle,rva that''s stuck under the ground, that could do nothing but wriggle and wriggle, not knowing that the space it''s stuck in is not even a fraction of the greater world. Let them struggle, and despair, and have hope, then finally end it all, and show them that they were all dancing on the palm of one''s hands."

    "You believe yourself to be a god?"

    "No," he said.

    I frowned, anyone who''s this arrogant, will undoubtedly have the curse of grandeur, but he isn''t?

    "But that doesn''t mean I''m not as close to it as possible," he smirked.

    ''Never mind that he''s also a psychopath,''

    I sighed, "You treat others as if they''re nothing but dirt, I assume you have the strength, knowledge, power, and ability to do so, but that still doesn''t make you any close to that," I said.

    "I''m well aware, but after all, who can stop me," he said.

    ''I need to stop this conversation from going back to Dao.''

    "Now you found the one who killed your spear, tell me, Fire Lord, what are you going to do?" I asked.

    "I''ll kill you," he said.

    "With just this apparition, do you believe you have the ability to do so?" I asked.

    "Right now, perhaps not, but I can still deal heavy damage," he said.

    "Then hit me with your best shot," I said confidently, "But if you aren''t able to kill me, the next time we meet, you will perish," I said.

    "Hahahahaha¡­"

    The fire lord beganughing like a maniac, "Of all those who faced me, since the ruination of the Imperial Family, only you dared threaten me, fine I approve your courage. And before I end you, let me give you an offer," he said.

    "Offer?" I questioned.

    "Yes, you''re mighty, you''re strong, and have the heritage of one of my old¡­friends," he said.

    I didn''t like where this was going.

    "Join me,e under my banner, and I''ll rule the vast expanse and make you king, the spears on my side are too¡­brittle, and I want the Poison God''s Heritage under me to further firm my grasp over the Vast Expanse."

    "You''re not even hiding the fact that you want to enve me," I said.

    "It''s a far better option than dying, don''t you think," he said.

    "I won''t disagree with that, if there is hope there is a way,"

    The Fire lord smiled.

    "However." This instantly removed the smirk of his face.

    "Only if you had the ability to kill me," I said as I minimized my size and returned to my original size.

    In my hand was my railgun rifle.

    I held it with one arm to a specific direction, and pressed the trigger.

    The explosive might of the shot was enough to rattle the fabric of space itself and send shockwaves across

    The apparition of the fire lord frowned, "What is that supposed to do?" he asked.

    "You''ll find out in a bit."

    "I''m not interested in tricks and trinkets, that tool in your hand looks mighty indeed, probably capable of killing an unaware king-ss cultivator, but that''s not enough to threaten me," he said.

    "I know¡­" I said ignoring his statement.

    "Then this means you refuse subservience and servitude to those better than you, I have no need for such entities, nor am I that bored to put effort into breaking you and making you a ve. So, die," he said as he waved his hand.

    I smiled as I saw what happened next. Dozens of fireballs the size of meteorites manifested around me. Each and every one of them had so much qi and power in them that the mere heat was melting the cultivators standing behind Madam Zha''s barrier.

    Even Madam Zha could do nothing but tremble at the sight in front of her, as she began using her Qi not to help her troops but to protect herself, as she knew, even as she wasn''t the target of such a spell, it was going to greatly harm her.

    But what made this funny for me, enough to smile, was that I already was in this situation before.

    "This brings back memories," I smiled.

    The Fire Lord''s apparition frowned, "Madman, just die." He said and waved his hand toward me as the dozens of small sun like orbs came at me blocking my path of retreat.

    I pped both hands together, "I''ve beaten it once! I''LL DO IT AGAIN! Domain Of Delusions, Illusion within Illusion! World Reversal!"

    Immediately a massive exploding sphere of ck light spread outward from within me, consuming the globes, the apparition of the fire lord, the troops, and even the ck tower.

    "Be turned!" I said

    And immediately all the globes around me froze up and turned to ice.

    The apparition was perplexed, "What is this¡­"

    I then rushed toward one of the orbs smiling as I mmed my palm into it, imprinting it with three inscriptions. Fortitude, speed, and replication.

    This was the same method I used to defeat the Fire Lord back in the Poison God''s memory trial. Though the Fire Lord back then was far, far weaker, this should be a distraction enough.

    The ice ball flew toward another, then toward the next each mming into another as they began bouncing and gaining speed.

    The apparition moved its hand up, only for it to have its hand move down.

    "Interesting domain? It reverses the senses," he said and immediately lifted his head toward me.

    ''Oh, I suppose the time between now, and when he was a simple ascendant was enough to give him experience. Thousands of years he lived, and it only took him a second to realize that he only needed to reverse his actions to do what he wanted to do. Frightening. Anyone else would have taken several hours or at least, the very least an hour to understand about my domain, but he understood it instantly.

    The ice balls then rushed toward him.

    "Burn!" he said.

    Thest time I called him a fool because I expected him to channel his Qi normally, and then receive bacsh as it will flow in reverse, I''m not as arrogant to expect the same to happen this time.

    I pped my hands and shouted, "Release!"

    Instantly my domain was released, and with that, the Fire Lord was already casting his Burn, only it was in reverse and I had already removed my domain.

    The Fire Lord forcefully stopped his skill from releasing, allowing the ice balls to strike at him.

    But only I know that in this exchange, he didn''t lose as much as I had hoped.

    "Interesting, the apparition said.

    "I suppose you''re not easy to kill, no wonder you have such a good grasp of cultivation and the world around you¡­ it seems that killing you with just an apparition isn''t enough, good, I''ll personallye," he said.

    "Well, if you want to do that, you better make it quick," I smiled, "You''re in danger right now," I said.

    The fire lord didn''t fully understand, but then his eyes seemed to notice something.

    "The stars moved¡­"

    ''How the fuck can you even notice something like that? It was only an hour¡­''

    "Ha, now I understand why you fired that shot¡­ interesting, very interesting," he said and suddenly the apparition disappeared.

    ***

    Far away in the vast expanse, on the head of one of the mightiest and biggest ships of the Fire Lord''s army, a man was sitting at the front of the ship, in a lotus position, his body was giving an incredible heat as his fire made hair was blowing like an eternal torch in the darkness of space.

    The man''s lips had a drop of blood on them, and an annoyed grimace.

    Many cultivators noticed and realized that something bad was going to happen. How did the Fire Lord even get injured? Was that the aftermath of the fight with the Queen?

    Suddenly, the fire lord took a deep breath, an audible one as he opened his eyes and looked forward.

    In front of him was nothing but stars, or so anyone would think, but one of the star''s lights was different.

    "What an absurd weapon¡­" the Fire Lord said as he held his palm forward.

    The thing that people thought was a star was actually moving, only at an incredibly vast speed.

    And instantly it crashed into the palm of the fire lord, creating an explosion of force and might that blew up around the ship like a cone of destruction me, and fire.

    Everyone on the ship was terrified, and the rest of the armada all went on high alert. The main ship was attacked and no one saw where the attack came from.

    After the mes and the explosions went away, the fire lord''s palm was trembling, it was bruised up pretty badly and all he did was smile.

    In his hand were the remains of a mushed-up metallic object, he didn''t understand what it was.

    ''If that brat didn''t speak, this would have been painful¡­ but to have the uracy to hit me from so far away¡­frightening, indeed.''

    The fire lord looked at his ships and realized one thing, if Shen Bao had more of those weapons, he could take out the entire armada without even needing to move from his ce¡­

    "This is getting more and more interesting," the fire lord smiled as blood dripped from his clenched fist.

 Chapter 542 Making A Name For Oneself

    Chapter 542 Making A Name For Oneself

    "Then now," I said as I turned to the frozen stiff Madam Zha, "I guess this is enough to showcase that I''m entitled to an exnation," I spoke with as much arrogance as a cultivator at the peak could demand.

    Biting her tongue, and realizing that she was in deep shit, Madam Zha spoke, "Whatever you need, whatever you want, the ck Tower will offer it." She said.

    "Good, then, first things first, find out where that fucker died, how he died, and who was responsible for his death," I said.

    "As youmand," she said as more of her skin was still cracking and falling.

    Indignation was clear on her face, but she knew she was between a rock and a hard ce, and had no way to solve it. The Fire Lord was breathing on her neck, forcing her to do whatever he wishes. And now this brat ordering her around, a woman who made her ce known to the vast world of cultivation since ages ago, now has to work and find out about some random reason from years ago, on why a mongrel dared offend such a man.

    "You have ten days, to contact the Heavenly Academy," I said then waved my hand consuming back all the poison and revealing nothing but a tenth of the forces of Madam Zha left. Most of them were killed by the Fire Lord''s skill and hadn''t anything to do with me. I''m not taking the me for that.

    I then looked to the north and headed there.

    "Where are you going young master?!" she shouted.

    That was clearly not the heavenly academy''s direction.

    "I''m paying a visit to some old fogies, should be fun," I said as I called the thunder bull chariot (This will be changed to Thunder Bull Chariot from now on) and headed forward leaving her perplexed.

    But for anyone at her level, she only needed to do small calctions to realize my direction and where I was heading.

    ***

    Above a massive half-spherical construct that flew across space was an entire city. Protected by a crystal dome that had few entryways to the city.

    The whole structure hosted a city that seemed to be built in the most intricate and exquisite of ways. Fortune and splurge were clearly portrayed in the construction of this city. Every building looked morous and tiled with gold and expensive-looking metals and materials. The roads and pathways seemed full of people who were wearing nothing but the most expensive of robes and clothes.

    As for the center of the city, there was a pce that almost reached the upper part of the dome in size. It was gigantic in length and width and seemed a level above every building in terms of construction splurge.

    If the other buildings were tiled with gold this one had ck gold as material. And inside this building sat a man on a throne fit for an emperor of a divine dynasty.

    He was overweight, to an incredible degree, but he exuded incredible energy from his body, it was an Emperor Level.

    Surrounded the man were many half-naked women barely clothed, and some of them didn''t even look to be mature enough to call a woman. They all served him, begrudgingly or willingly. Serving him wine and grapes, food and drinks, massaging his body, and toiling at his every need.

    In front of this man who seemed to be living a heavenly life, was another person, kneeling as he was addressing the emperor rank.

    "Your majesty, a man iming to be part of the Heavenly Academy is outside,"

    The king of this city frowned, "What distasteful news, what does he want?"

    "He said that the Heavenly Academy is demanding subservience. It had given you what you have now, and is demanding you to return the favor," the man said.

    "Hahahahaa!" the kingughed, "Are they stupid? Why would I serve the heavenly academy? I only studied there for a few years, I don''t really care about that ce, send him away, tell him I''m refusing his audience, he can cry to the academy all he wants," the king said.

    Heughed and continued enjoying himself as the servant left to inform the man outside.

    Some timeter, loud explosions echoed outside the city, loud enough that they rattled one of the servants that she spilled the wine on the king''s robes.

    Enraged and about to kill the petrified servant, another explosion rattled even him and caused many of the furniture and blocks of the building to start falling.

    Terrified the servants screamed as they ran away in all directions.

    "What the fuck is going on!" therge man shouted as he stood up and walked outside to see what was happening.

    Just as he got out wearing nothing but a towel, he looked up, his eyes widened as he saw the destruction that happened to his city.

    The golden beautiful buildings were all run and torn down, the dome cracked and broke apart and his pce was hit hard enough a massive portion of it had already disappeared.

    People were nowhere to be seen, did they all die?

    But another nce was enough for him to understand that everyone actually just ran away from the city using their own means of transport. Leaving no one behind but servants.

    The cause of this destruction was one man, he was riding a chariot of sorts with a golden bull in front of it.

    And around the man were hundreds of dead corpses and thousands of terrified soldiers and guards.

    "You finally show yourself," the man said.

    "Who the fuck are you?!" the king roared with enough Qi to rival the previous shockwaves.

    "Come up and find out, you fat fuck," the man taunted.

    The king''s eyes were bloodshot at being insulted, never in his life did anyone even dare look at him funny, not to mention insult him to his face.

    The king flew forward with incredible speed, far disproportionate to his size, and was about to st the man in the chariot with a single palm.

    The man pointed a thin sword at him, the sword didn''t even look like it would be enough to pick the food between his teeth, but something was irking the king. It was a premonition of danger and death,ing from that tiny sword.

    Deciding against his better judgment, the fat man still shot forward, only to realize that the small toothpick-like sword instantly grew nine heads that came at him.

    "sted fiend!" the king said as he parried and blocked as much as he could, to no avail, the first head struck him head-on, mming him into the ground, while the remaining ones took turns striking the king one after another.

    Two of the heads then opened their mouths and shot a torrent of green liquid and another of green mes that emerged together creating a cyclone of liquid mes.

    "Guardian!" the king shouted and instantly a man that seemed to have no eyes, nose, ears or mouth appeared, he was skinny and wearing nothing but a ck rag. He appeared out of nowhere and pointed his palms forward against the torrent.

    The torrent instantly shed with the man''s palms but failed to proceed any further.

    The guardian then twisted his palm against the torrent''s rotation, and instantly exploded it, spreading it all over the city.

    Relieved at first from surviving the ordeal, then enraged at how he was struck down, the king held his hand up, revealing a ring that was on it. From the ring, a full set of golden armor emerged and covered him from head to toe, he still looked fat, only now he was armored up fat.

    The ring then manifested a massive two-handed battle axe from within it, "You terroristic fiend dare!" he said as he flew forward to fight again.

    "I wouldn''t be too hasty if I were you," the man in the chariot said.

    Suddenly as the king was halfway he felt a bit dizzy.

    "Poison? You coward¡­" he shouted as he chugged a couple of pills, "But that doesn''t work against my ten thousand poison immunity pill!"

    He then swung his axe against one of the metallic serpent heads, sting it away as another serpent head came at him. he kept fighting them and rapidly gaining distance until he was in front of the man in the chariot.

    "Finally I got you!" he said.

    "Is that so¡­" the man on the chariot said with all coldness and carelessness in the world.

    "I don''t know which fucking idiot sent you, but you''ll have to pay for this!"

    "And what if I don''t want to?"

    "Then you''ll die!" he said as he carried his axe above his head and was about to swing it down.

    Only for his nostrils to shoot out a massive surge of blood, stopping him in his track.

    "H-how?!"

    The man in the chariot didn''t even try to exin as he struck down with a palm on the top of the king''s head, crushing his helmet and sending him back to the ground, mming with enough force that the entire city rattled once again.

    Looking around him, he realized that the entire city was now burning due to the torrent stter from before, and the guardian the blocked it had all of his body turning to mush.

    The king cursed inwardly as he ripped the broken helmet off of his face and took another look at the man in the chariot.

    "There is only one way the Ten Thousand Immunity Pill didn''t work¡­ you''re the Poison God''s Disciple!"

    "d we made that clear," the man said. "Now, let''s talk business."

 Chapter 543 Secrets

    543 Secrets

    "Talk business, with a brat still wet behind the ears?! Do you know who''s backing me?!" the king of the Gctic Societies shouted.

    I sighed before I slowly went down towards him, fear was clear in his eyes, after all he can''t understand how a King ss cultivator was able to beat him ck and blue, and destroy that ''guardian'' of his. In one hit.

    Not to mention destroy this city''s barrier and render half if not most of his forces useless in less than half a day.

    "I just met the Fire Lord a while ago, and trust me when I tell you, he isn''ting to help you, no one is," I said.

    "Why are you doing this?!"

    "Because you owe a debt to the Heavenly Academy, it brought you to this status, it gave you strength, power and knowledge that you used to be who you are today, you must pay it back, but instead you turned your back on the hand that fed you, and now you''re trying to bite it. Calling you a dog would be an insult to all dogs, since they''re loyal," I said as I stood in front of him.

    "FILTHY LOW BIRTH!" the king shouted as he tried to swing his fist toward me.

    I easily caught it, and twisted.

    SNAP

    The King watched in horror as his arm was snapped in half, he looked at it in a daze before the pain even registered, the surge of pain was enough to cause him to stumble and fall on his back.

    He then began yelling, "Help me!" as he backed away on his ass.

    "No one is going to help you," I said as I slowly followed the king.

    "You decided to betray those who helped you. And now, you''ll be reaping what you sowed," I said as I got closer and closer.

    The king then aimed his ring at me, "KILL!" he said

    A mass of ck souls emerged from the ring, howling and screeching at me, trying to consume me whole.

    Instead of backing out, or defending, like any other sane cultivator would do. I opened my mouth and consumed them all. And just to add salt to injury, I burped afterward.

    "Thanks for the meal, got any more?" I said as I tilted my head.

    Imagine being afraid of souls when you have a soul that feeds on them.

    Terrified at what he was looking at, the king''s face turned pale, "Devil, you''re a devil! The heavens will not allow you to exist!"

    "I''m surprised they allowed you, unfilial one to even breath this very air, but still, the academy asked me to convince you, so let me do some convincing," I said as I flexed my palm sideways manifesting a jet-ck stake from the center of my palm.

    "You shall know Pain."

    I instantly stabbed it into his foot, and a surge of agony, pain and ungodly amounts of screams surged out of his mouth.

    Before he could even take a second breath, another stake was already stabbed through his other foot, then the rest of his hands. Staking him to the ground.

    He screeched and screamed, then spurred a flurry of insults that would make a sailor blush.

    He then began weeping from the agony and pain, then began begging for me to spare him, then finally begged to be killed.

    After all, no sane man could ever survive the Soul Shackling Stake with their mind intact.

    The Pain was emitted directly to the soul and it far surpasses any bodily pain.

    "I guess that''s enough," I said as I called back the stakes.

    Breathing heavily, the king said, "Please, no more¡­ I was wrong."

    ''Of course you''re not, it''s clear as day from your eyes. You''re just waiting for a chance to back stab me.''

    "Good to hear," I said "Then I pressed my palm on his forehead applying the Soul Shackling Seal on it.

    "What did you do?" he asked.

    "An insurance, for you, and for me. Now, where are the rest of your forces? I can''t believe that with just this much you''re able to extort so manys, you must have more?"

    "They¡­ they''re at the Fire Lord''s disposal."

    I frowned, I guess he already supplied the Fire Lord with members.

    "I see¡­"

    I already know the Fire Lord''s exact location, the heat and power he''s emitting is strong enough to be felt from all the corners of the Vast Expanse.

    "The Fire Lord''s assault on the Earth Realm is in full force, I suppose the Earth Realm will soon fall¡­"

    "It already fell," said the King.

    "What? I''m sure that if the Earth King wants he can fortify his basepletely. I''ve personally witnessed his ability, though not as strong as the Fire Lord he isn''t someone to be taken lightly."

    "That''s if he''s on the solid earth, he was baited, his daughter was kidnapped and he was forced to leave his to fight back¡­ The Earth Lord is probably dead by now,"

    ''I''ve had a good impression of Lin De, the daughter of Huange De the Earth King. And I don''t want to hear that she''s in the hands of the Fire Lord, I''ll need to investigate further. I''m still not strong enough to contend with the Fire Lord, I know that for a fact, if I were to meet him physically, I''ll need a hundred lives to survive him.''

    "Call back your forces, or die," I said then headed toward the thunder bull who was looking at the group of cultivators menacingly holding all of them back.

    Once I rode and headed out of the Gctic Societies I moved to the Heavenly Academy, I can''t take on the Fire Lord, I needed assistance to defuse this situation.

    The Fire Lord is currently looking for the keys. Since he already controls the Water Realm''s lord, he has the Metal Key, and now he took down the Earth Lord, that means he has the Earth Key, all he has left is the Water and Wind Key.

    Since his hardest trial is the Wind Realm, he''ll leave it forst. So, Yuyu is in grave danger, I need to hurry.

    ***

    In the Heavenly Academy, the Queen finally woke up from heratose state.

    Looking around she saw Meng Hao and Zhang Tian both sitting in meditative pose. Her moving was 14:43

    enough to cause them to wake up and notice her.

    "Mother!" Zhang Tian said as he stood up and approached his mother''s bed.

    "What happened?" she asked.

    "Oh, after the fight with the Fire lord, we retreated back, and now we''re here, we had no deaths, only you were injured," Zhang Tian said.

    "Not that, why am I sensing Shen Bao again?" she asked.

    "Oh, you were in aa when he woke up, I see. He managed to survive the Primordial Serpent God, and is now heading to the ck Tower," Zhang Tian said.

    "ck Tower?" she said as she stared at the wall, "He''s already leaving the Gctic Societies though¡­"

    "Wait, that was his second destination, did he already finish his dealings with the ck Tower?"

    "I see the mes of the Fire Lord in the ck tower, and Madam Zha''s distorted spirit¡­"

    The queen then pulled a ck pill from her holding bag and ate it, instantly regenerating her missing limb.

    She flexed it a bit and sighed, "This will need many years to be useful. Anyway, Old Blue, why didn''t you tell the child," the Queen said.

    Master Rain then opened the door to the room and entered saying, "I didn''t think he should know," he said.

    "But that''s a part of his destiny, why hide it?"

    "It will only confuse him more," Master Rain said.

    "With a mind like his, and a soul like his, it will bring him certainty, not confusion, you really underestimate him too much," she said.

    "I didn''t want to act before you woke up, after all, I''m not the only one with a say in this, you dealt with him the same¡­"

    The Queen sighed and pulled a jet-ck jade. She ced it on her forehead and then threw it.

    "Is that A Space Owl Jade?" Meng Hao asked.

    "Oh, you know what that is," Zhang Tian said.

    "Yes, it''s supposed to be the fastest tool to send a message in the Vast Expanse, but¡­ isn''t that too expensive," Meng Hao said.

    "Not for this matter," the Queen said¡­

    "Don''t you think it''s too early?"

    "I can''t win against the Fire Lord¡­ we need him," she said.

    Zhang Tian was confused, "I admire Shen Bao''s spirit, but why rely on his strength, I know of how powerful he is, but I doubt he''s strong enough to fight the Fire Lord."

    "For now, he isn''t, but once he arrives to that ce¡­ all should be revealed," the Queen said.

 Chapter 544 Poison Planet

    544 Poison

    As I was heading back to the Heavenly Academy, something came at me with a blinding speed. I thought it was an attack, but the feeling I got from the iing projectile didn''t host any hostility in it.

    Suddenly it stopped in front of me, wondering what it was at first then realizing that it was a piece of jade. A ck one.

    I grabbed the jade and ced it against my forehead.

    "I hope you forgive this ipetent woman. I promised to assist you and failed to do so once again, I have no excuses, so I hope you ept my apologies.

    In this jade, you''ll find a map of a destination that I wish you can go to. You''ll find what you''re looking for there, hopefully, it will help you in the uing strife.

    I will remain in the Heavenly Academy for the time being, in case the Fire Lord bares his fangs to this ce, I''ll assist in defending it. I should be able to buy you enough time to learn the truth, ande back."

    I didn''t fully understand what the Queen meant by this, but looking at the map, the destination is a in the Wind Realm, a faraway that looked far too small to be called a and just a bit bigger than a moon.

    I had no reason to not go since the Queen had woken up, the Fire Lord won''t be able to hit the Heavenly Academy at least for now.

    I believe that although the Fire Lord is stronger than the Queen, he''s not foolish to engage in a fight with the Heavenly Academy and the Queen at the same time.

    So, she''ll have bought enough time for me. But I''m still debating going to the Earth Realm¡­ But what will I do when I''m there, I''m outnumbered and outssed?

    Going there gung-ho will just get me killed.

    So, what is this that the Queen is talking about? Something that will help me, I suppose.

    I fail to see what she would have in store for me. But, for someone who lived as long as she did, she must have her reasons to send me a message this detailed.

    "Little cabbage, let''s go, to the wind realm," I spoke to the Thunder Bull, and it neighed and rumbled agreeing as it rode on.

    The Thunder Bull Chariot rumbled through the vast expanse as it headed to the Wind Realm.

    ***

    "He''s being an annoyance¡­ what are the rest of the spears doing?" the Fire Lord asked.

    "Most of the spears are already deployed, all that remains are the Left Spear and Right Spear. The General spoke.

    "Send them both, find him, kill or capture him," the Fire Lord said.

    "As your gracemands," the General replied and rallied the orders.

    Two shooting stars flew from the main ship and headed to the wind realm, both of them were the strongest Spears under the Fire Lord, and once they were deployed only death will remain.

    In the Fire Lord''s hand was a brown pentagonal jewel. He looked at the man being forced to kneel in front of him and said, "You didn''t have to fight that hard, after all, you''re still weak," he said.

    "Coward, using my own daughter as a hostage," Old Beast spoke as he was chained.

    "That''s your mistake for having too poor of a security over your own entourage. Still, I won''t just kill you," he said.

    "Then how are you going to use the Key if I live still?" Old Beast muttered.

    The Fire Lord''s lips rose in a smile, "Who said I''ll need to personally use it. Do it," The Fire Lord said.

    Suddenly an old man wearing purple robes came from out of nowhere, in his hand was a small maggot, he shoved it in the ear of the Earth Lord and it dove into his brain.

    Pain like nothing before wracked the mind of the Earth Lord causing him to m his head forcefully against the wooden floor of the ship.

    Yet the ship''s floor didn''t even crack. After all the Earth Lord was chained using the same tool that was once used against Shen Bao. The Soul Sealing Shackles. Depriving him from Qi and rendering him temporarily mortal.

    "With that in your head, I don''t even need to act, now another is under my ruling," the Fire Lord said, "All that''s left is the Wind King and a child who has yet to even reach the Saint Qi realm. Good, good, everything is progressing nicely."

    ***

    In the Wind Realm, seated atop his throne the Wind King was talking in matters of the uing war with his council.

    Suddenly the door to the room was opened wide, revealing a panic-stricken guard.

    "How dare you interrupt this council! off with his head!" the second prince shouted at the rash guard.

    The guard was gasping for breath, and the moment he heard his head was going to roll he turned pale.

    The Wind King raised his hand, "Hold, what brings you here at this haste?"

    "Your Grace, someone is approaching the Forbidden!"

    "What? Who?" the Prince ordered.

    "We don''t know,"

    "Then why are you here? Find out!"

    "All we know is that he''s riding a chariot," said the guard.

    "Is the chariot led by a golden bull?" asked the King.

    "Yes, it''s a golden bull that is rumbling thunder as it walks."

    "It must be Shen Bao¡­ I suppose my wife had already decided then. So be it, send guards to protect the, allow him entry, and do not deny nor disturb him.

    "Father, wasn''t that shut down for even the royal family to approach, who does he think he is to go in there?" the prince frowned.

    "We were only guarding that, it was never ours, to begin with¡­"

    The prince grimaced at that statement, why would a low-birth be given ess to a that even the prince was never allowed to? He must get down to the end of this matter. There must be something there that even his father didn''t want him to have.

    Perhaps something that will allow him to grow further than his current self. No wonder his father didn''t permit him, since if it''s a powerful treasure, it may give him a firmer grasp of the throne.

    ***

    A weekter.

    Looking in front of me, I was surprised to witness this sight. A, or something that looked like it.

    Its sky was red, it rained acid, its mountains were made from lead and iron, its rivers from mercury, its grass from poisonous and deadly nts, and its creatures were the most toxic and venomous of anything I''ve seen. This whole is nothing but a death trap.

    Not even normal poison cultivators can survive here.

    "Was I to cultivate here? No, I don''t think this environment is even good for cultivation, the Qi in this is of mediocre quality, and even the poisons here, although deadly, don''t harbor good quality Qi in them, so even for a Poison God Cultivator, this ce is worthless but for some rare poisons that one can obtain here.

    "I''ll go down alone," I told the Thunderbull, as this ce was probably dangerous for him.

    Just as I arrived at the surface, my head was rocked with a wave of dizziness.

    "Come!"

    I heard, the voice echoing from everywhere at first.

    Then I heard it again.

    "Come, to me."

    This time it was more direct and came from the northern part of the.

    I spread my divine sense everywhere, causing every creature toe in contact with it, to spread away and run stampeding their way in fear and terror.

    I didn''t even release an aggressive Divine Sense, but for some reason, every creature in here felt as if their lives were about to end if they remained within my Divine Sense.

    Perplexed and confused at first, I decided to ignore that and move forward.

    Soon I arrived at the destination of the voice and it finally calmed down. I was surprised to see what I''m looking at right now.

    Surrounded the tall mountains, and on a simple looking hill rising above a pond of mercury was a small house. It was a one-story house, that looked to be handmade from wood and nails. Nothing tooplex, a simple house, in a barrennd that didn''t seem to host anyone.

    I walked up to the door and opened it, only to find a bed, a chair, and a couple of books on a small table. There were remains of a body in here too. A corpse.

    The corpse had nothing but bones and dried-up skin on it. Yet there was something interesting on the surprisingly well-preserved skin of the corpse.

    ''Serpent Tattoo¡­''

 Chapter 545 Origin

    545 Origin

    "So, you ended up dying in this ditch¡­" I muttered as was looking at the corpse in front of me. I could recognize this corpse anywhere, it belonged to one and only one man.

    The Poison God, Du Shen.

    "But why did the Queen ask me toe here?"

    I approached the corpse and took note of it. The bones on it were as pure and glistening as crystals. They were like refined diamonds.

    His robes looked dusty but with one wipe of my hands, they were clean and brand new.

    I thought about taking his robes, but it''s better to leave the dead to rest.

    ''I don''t fully understand why I was asked toe here, yes, Du Shen''s corpse is here, and it''s obvious that the queen knew he was dead, but why did she want me toe here? There isn''t an ounce of qi anywhere around him or in this shack, there is no treasure or anything worth my time here, I just wasted a full trip to get here.''

    I was about to be really annoyed at the queen for wasting my time to get all the way here before the Poison God''s Heritage began shuddering and emerged from my chest.

    As if weeping, the book slowly moved its pages in front of the corpse, and suddenly a line materialized in one of the book''s empty pages.

    "Finally, you have arrived. Was it anyone else, their trip would have been close to fruitless. But for you, all should reveal itself once you touch the corpse."

    I frowned, I wasn''t a huge fan of this. Having a corpse asking you to touch it is one of the fastest ways to get oneself possessed. Especially if it belongs to an entity like Du Shen.

    Du Shen spent his life in strife and battle, ruled over domains, and fought against forces like no one else. He imed many lives and respected a few. He was a terror and an enemy to most of the Vast Expanse, but his strength allowed him to be the tyrant he was.

    He was not cruel or malevolent, but he was not benevolent either. A cultivator that ruled by an iron fist. And now he is asking me to touch his corpse?

    I would rather not, no matter how tempting his skeletal structure is, it is nothing but a risk with no obvious rewards.

    Suddenly another line wrote itself on the book.

    "Good, a wise man wouldn''t do what is told without incentive." The book wrote. And before I even finished reading the sentence, the corpse had already stood up and its boney hands were already pressing against my forehead.

    I didn''t notice it, didn''t feel it, and didn''t even realize when that happened.

    But his hand was already on my forehead and was already toote to do anything.

    The palm of the corpse pushed itself against my forehead, and I felt as if my soul was ejected out of my body.

    "Let go," the corpse said.

    I didn''t even have a choice; my mind was reeled into the corpses and was able to see its memories.

    We were in this very same, the itself was the same as it is today, poison-filled but brimmed with much more Qi than it has today.

    Du Shen. Wounded, bloodied and breathing heavily, his whole appearance looked¡­ exhausted. The wounds on him however weren''t from weapons or blows. They were self-inflicted.

    Madness was clear in his eyes, "WHY CAN''T I DO IT! BLASTED HEAVENS! WHY TORMENT ME SO!" Du Shen shouted to the high heavens.

    "Why imprison me here?! Why trap me here? I reached the highest of cultivation! I made it all the way to the peak of the emperor realm, what do Ick? What am I missing? Why torment me so!" he called once again.

    "I ruled! I conquered! I understood! I studied and learned! I followed your teachings and you disallowed! I went against your teachings and you disallowed! I mimicked your teachings and yet you still disallowed me! What am Icking?! I see the world through your very eyes! You robbed me my beloved! AND I STILL WORSHIPPED YOU STILL! You robbed me of my power! And I worshipped you still! You gave me pain upon pain, eternal solitude, and misery! YET I STILL WORSHIPPED! And in the end, all I get is refusal!"

    Du Shen scratched the side of his face with his fingers enough to draw blood.

    "My understanding of heavens is useless, my thousand years of cultivation are all useless, trapped within this prison, unable to leave, limited by a ceiling that will never allow me to grow. I care not for this prison for I know there is a higher realm, but why show me the skies above the skies when you refuse me entry!" Du Shen shouted once again.

    "So be it! SO BE IT! If the heavens refuse me to leave, then I shall go above and beyond!"

    Du Shen levitated in the air and bit his tongue, "All of it! All of my cultivation and the knowledge I''ve gained! Pitiful as it may be against the great wisdom of the heavens! IT IS MINE! And I shall use it!" he then spat his blood essence against his palm and then pointed it on the hill where his small shack was at.

    cultivation.

    15:13

    "You wish to stop me, and take everything from me, but I treaded the path of cultivation long enough Rays of inscriptions and arrays spread from his palm and painted themselves in the ground.

    He then began using more and more of his blood essence, forcibly dropping his cultivation as he fused it all in this array.

    The more I look at it the more I shudder.

    What is this? I''ve seen these writings before¡­ This is Heavenly Dao. These are the same inscriptions that were on the Law Fruit I consumed when I was still a beginner cultivator.

    How is he able toprehend it?

    Suddenly the skies began thundering.

    "YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!" Du Shen roared as he pped both hands together and erected a massive barrier that was imbued by his very soul energy.

    The thunderous skies rumbled in rage as they saw a human defiling their knowledge and using them for whatever reason Du Shen was doing.

    Red lightning briskly crossed the skies, heralding a heavenly tribtion like no other.

    But Du Shen ignored it and continued writing on the ground.

    Finally, with thest inscription written, the skies howled as the thunder began falling on the barrier he was using.

    He scuffed at the heavens as he looked up, "Here I''ve given all of my cultivation for this, you refused to ept me, so I shall take all!"

    He then descended and was back to his Qi condensation stage, with barely any Qi to even survive this atmosphere of this.

    His body shriveled up, and his hair fell, he returned to look like an old man as his body lost all cultivation.

    "You wish to stop me, and take everything from me, but I treaded the path of cultivation long enough to never allow it. And here I''d rather give it up all," he said as he entered the house and sat in the very ce I saw the corpse in.

    The thunder crashed down against the barrier heavily so, threatening to shatter it.

    And slowly as would an old man too jaded by the vicissitudes of life he pulled out the Poison God''s heritage in his hand and said, "You know what you must do old friend¡­"

    The book in his hands suddenly split into twelve copies and shot out of the house and into the distance.

    "With this, I have no attachments to this world anymore, nor do I owe you anything gracious heavens, all I had I''m giving back, and the next time I''m back. I''m taking it all, and more!"

    Du Shen then spat the remaining Qi he had in him against his palm then mmed it on the ground. Causing the entire formation array around the house to shine bright.

    The heavenly thunder, as if offended smacked down against the barrier even harder with even more power, but it was not able to break it before the formation was finished.

    "If I can''t see the beyond, then I''ll send my soul to it, if I remain trapped in here I''ll lose my mind, I would rather begin anew! Forbidden Art¡­ Immortal Transmigration!"

 Chapter 546 Who Am I?

    Chapter 546 Who Am I?

    <nullb><nulli>"To Doubt is to question, but to Understand, it is to agonize over the reason of the world'' existence. So, one should question forever, and agonize forever. Only then one would know who they are, in where they exist¡­"

    <nullb> As if a zing inferno was lit within my mind, a shock with enough force to reel me to the doors of death and back erupted inside my skull.

    Pain like nothing I''ve suffered before, as if the hands of a deity was splitting my brain apart and forcefully unlocking something.

    My brain felt like it was being boiled as my eyes saw nothing but red. Then memories, memories I''ve never thought I had began flooding out of the deepest part of my mind.

    Blood surged like a torrent from my nose and ears as the memories surged in and out, revealing themselves to me, and to who I was, who I truly am.

    With my bloodnding on the ground, the formation I saw Du Shen making lit up once again, it was hidden under the dust and dirt of thousands of years from before, and now that they once again began shining once more.

    The corpse holding my dissipated into nothingness as the symbols began shining brighter and brighter and funneled their energy into me further increasing my pain but at the same time developing and further unfolding the rest of the memories.

    The entire then began morphing, changing and reshaping itself following thews written into the inscription around this small shack.

    The dead winds picked up, and the dark clouds merged together creating even thicker clouds. The skies seemed deste heralding the end of times itself. And the earth critters began running away in total fear.

    The seas boiled, and the rivers dried up, the mountains shook and shuddered then began crumbling, while the earth turned and revolted all over.

    The whole was in agony and pain, as it was being crushed for all the Qi and Poison it had in it, all being funneled toward the formation, which kept on operating at faster and faster pace bringing me nothing but incredible mind splitting pain.

    This would have killed anyone, but there was no killing intention in this formation it wasn''t forcing its way into my mind but making what was there resurface.

    And suddenly all the pain stopped as if it never was there in the first ce.

    The memories that I couldn''t get anything from nor understand them began clearing in my mind and thus I saw what was needed of me to see.

    Du Shen, I''m in his point of view. Crossing through the river of time and space. Without an anchor, without a beacon, and without purpose or goal, crossing it while his soul was being dismantled in the process.

    Yet, even though his soul was being dismantled I noticed something, the writings that were on the ground from before are now on his soul, and the more damage his soul umte the more the writings intensified around him, as if they were shedding off the useless bits of his soul if that''s even possible, and keeping nothing but the pure and most usable.

    At one point, Du Shen''s soul became nothing more than the size of a pebble that bore through the passage of time and space, detached itself from it, and then headed to a blue, the soul moved faster and faster until it saw the dying body of a young child.

    My vision swam and came back to me once again, this time, I was looking at the world with my own eyes, I was staring at the skies. Laying supine. My body hurts, ufortable. I can also hear some noise, people were shouting everywhere.

    I remember this¡­

    Looking around me, this is my home town, back on earth¡­

    And this¡­ I remember this

    Looking around me, it was the time when I was hit by a reckless driver. I remember this clearly because of one thing. I was hurt, but surprisingly got up faster than I normally should. My broken joints and limbs easily snapped back to ce and that left everyone in utter shock.

    People called it a miracle. But now that I think about it¡­ the pebble, the soul pebble went into my body at this exact time.

    Ah I see¡­

    Now I understand.

    I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself back in the poison, the final resting ce of Du Shen.

    Or, my resting ce, in myst life¡­

    I see.

    Everything makes sense.

    I was never Shen Bao.

    I have always been Du Shen¡­

    I failed to cross the Divider to the Beyond. The heavens refused me so, since I had no key, and had no ability to hold the keys.

    I searched high and low for a way and a method to obtain the keys or have them acknowledge me but failed and failed again.

    So because I was unable to cross to the beyond, I gambled and threw my soul through the wheel of reincarnation. Then ejected myself using the Heavenly Law from being reincarnated into the Vast Expanse.

    My goal was to reincarnate into the Beyond, but it seemed that I failed and was reincarnated into Earth, a world without an ounce of Qi in it, somewhere within the folds of space in a dimension so far away not even a thousand lifetimes is enough to even reach it.

    My life and death there proved worthwhile. Since it gave me a view like no one else here. And thus after my death, my soul had toe back to its original ce.

    I prepared the Poison God''s Heritage just in case I was to fail, but never thought that fate would have it that I will pick up on my own created book. On my own cultivation, and restart it all over again.

    What a fickle and strange thing fate is.

    The formation around the house began dying down and slowly dissipating as more and more memories began flooding my mind, reminding me of all of my ventures in the world of cultivation as Du Shen.

    Ah, now I see why My Soul Power has always been absurdly high. It wasn''t because I was special, but it was because it had always been the Soul of an Emperor Rank cultivator, one above all, one above even the Queen, and thanks to being thrown into the wheel of Reincarnation, instead of weakening, it only got stronger, denser, and more powerful.

    No wonder I was able to learn things a hundred times faster than anyone, because I experienced it all before. No wonder My Poison Cultivation needed little to no stabilization to grow, because if I don''t remember, my soul remembers.

    As for the trinkets, tools and methods I created along my current path, they were all to help me grow to who I used to be, to who I am today, and to who I shall be in the future.

    The entire began rumbling and crumbling upon itself, as if it had achieved its goal it started self-imploding, and was about to detonate.

    ''I need to leave,'' I muttered as I slowly hovered up and began flying away.

    I reached little Cabbage who seemed a bit wary of me. He backed off and stomped his feet twice to warn me.

    "Don''t worry, I''m still me¡­" I told him as if I understood what he meant.

    "But even if I''m still me¡­ who am I?"

    Am I the past life, Du Shen he who ruled yet failed. Or am I the current one, Shen Bao he who struggled and achieved. Or am I a culmination of both?

    Am I the Mortal who lived, or the Cultivator who died?

    Am I?

    I¡­AM

    I¡­

 Chapter 547 Purple Cloud

    Chapter 547 Purple Cloud

    ***

    "Your Grace, must we go to that tainted world?" asked the retainer.

    "Ho ho, it''ll be for a brief moment," the man in white robes spoke as he began stepping down from the mountain.

    The retainer followed calmly after, as the two bypassed the millions of prostrating people around the mountain.

    "I want to see that child with my own eyes, it''s been a while since I''ve witnessed the birth of a new Sun, so I wish to see how he''ll achieve it."

    "If we leave now, aren''t we at risk of having the Darkest Sun attack?"

    "If he dares, he could, but I''m sure no one would think that I''m too old to even teach those punks a lesson,e,e, we can only stay in that world for a brief moment," the old man said and the two suddenly disappeared from sight.

    ***

    But if I''m Du Shen, who is Shen Bao?

    Am I the past me, or the present me? Or am I the result of both lives?

    The more I question, the more at a loss I find myself.

    This could be the key to realize who I truly am, to breach the limits of a King and attain the seat of an Emperor, but¡­ it is a question without an urate answer.

    If I am one, what makes me not be the other?

    My mind began reeling as I was failing to grasp my own identity, trying to im hold of one is limiting my grasp of the other. If I''m Du Shen, then I''m mighty, I''m strong and easily able to rule over the vast expanse.

    09:20

    But Du Shen failed in ascension in its truest form, failed to reach the beyond and remained stuck, this if I im that identity then I will be forever stuck in the same spot I was in thousands of years ago.

    And if I im Shen Bao as who I am, then I am weak without full knowledge of the uing path, and unable to grasp my true identity even though Du Shen''s future is limitless.

    Do I satisfy myself with current power and might, or do I risk it all on unlimited potential?

    A question that many will find easy to answer, but for me, who is in the cat''s boots, I''m perplexed.

    Those on the sidelines can easily judge a situation since it is not directly affecting them, they can weigh the pros and cons rather pragmatically and deliver their opinion.

    It''s a simple dilemma. It is the same as a spectator watching a man given two choices. One choice leads to death and the other to evesting wealth, the spectator will choose one of the choices regardless of the oue since it isn''t affecting him directly, but the man who has to choose must weigh in everything, since his life and death are linked to those choices.

    Now I must choose, do I give up on Shen Bao, do I give up on Du Shen?

    But then again, I''m once again reminded of a simple truth, a very primordial and very basic truth.

    Human Nature.

    Human''s throat can only be stuffed with dirt, human''s greed is endless. So why must I choose one?

    "I am Shen Bao, and I am Du Shen, I''m me of the past, and me of the present, and the same one from in between, I strived to gain strength, and when I failed I struggled and strived again, so why must I forsake a part of me?" I questioned.

    Then I was once again thankfully reminded of one thing.

    The Mortal Divider

    "Ah I see, no wonder Du Shen failed¡­"

    In Du Shen''s memories, he had forsaken his family, friends and n, and ascended by using the Mortal Divider. As for Shen Bao, he was greedy and chose to take all, refusing to give up on his Mortal Link to the mortal realm, and chose to take it all with him as he ascended.

    "I''ve no need to forsake who I was, and I''ll take it all, with the good and the bad, with the wrong and the right, I''m imperfect, thus I chose my own nature. I do not renounce any of my identities, because both my Identities make me who I am. I am neither Du Shen, nor Shen Bao," I looked up to the heavens.

    "I''m, the Poison God!"

    The fog that was clouding my mind seemed to disperse as if it was never there, and a flood of Qi so powerful seemed to galvanize itself from within me, roiling at blistering speeds as it funneled itself from the deepest part of my Dantian.

    The globe of saturated Qi that was being suppressed and held deep within my Sea of Consciousness began seeping some of its content into my Dantian, further spiraling the energy of the Primordial Serpent God in me.

    The bottleneck I was stuck at seemed to loosen and as if it was never there, it shattered allowing me ess to the next realm of cultivation.

    I''m not who I was before, nor am I who I am now, I am what I chose to be, and I am who I am with each passing second.

    I''m me, and I''ll be me tomorrow, and I''ll be me after that.

    I needn''t understand the world to know who I am, all I needed to know is believe I am what I am, and the world only has to acknowledge it. And if it doesn''t, then I''ll make it acknowledge me with might if need be.

    Once again I speak it.

    I am the Poison God!

    The heavens rumbled as if it was also in ord of my words, and suddenly the skies bloomed in a purple hue, creating for a brief second a purple cloud above me. Itsted for but a second then it disappeared¡­

    I knew not the reason for that happening, but a purple cloud is a sign of good fortune.

    I sat down on the back of the chariot, "Little Cabbage, take us home," I said as I closed my eyes and resumed cultivation, stabilizing my understanding of myself.

    ***

    "Ho, Ho," the old manughed as he watched the carriage moving away.

    "What do you think, Lord of Lords," said the retainer.

    "A true gem, an unpolished and beautiful emerald gem, I''ve seen it before and now I look at it, it''s much more refined."

    "But lord, many, stronger, and with more talent than he is exist in the Beyond, why are you fixated on someone from here?" he asked.

    "Because none of those from the Beyond had his start, nor his finish, none of them had so little resource to grow to what he is today. Tell me, do you know any from the Beyond at his level can fight a Zodiac and live to tell the tale?" the old manughed.

    "None that I know of, the Zodiac Beasts are powerful, though not as powerful to warrant someone above the Second Step to care for it¡­ for someone from the first step, it really is an incredible achievement, but I think some children from the renowned families can also replicate it," said the retainer.

    The Lord of Lord shook his head and said, "You said it yourself, children of the renowned families, those were born in wealth, fed elixirs instead of breastmilk, were born in the purest and most refined environments to create powerful cultivators, they were not pure talents, they were fabricated ones, but this child, he struggled among the muck and grime, to achieve what he is today, you think those children could evenpare?"

    The retainer remained quiet.

    "Everyone''s starting point is different, and this child started so far behind his peers and still managed to reach where they are¡­ I wish to see where he''ll reach in the future," the Lord of Lord said.

    "Your Grace, look," said the retainer as the old man held his head up and smiled.

    "The Vast Expanse is expressing its respect to you with the Purple Cloud of Kings," said the retainer.

    "Hah, no, that''s not possible, not for me," said the Lord of Lords.

    The retainer frowned, "What do you mean, no one here is more worthy to receive the wee of the Purple Cloud," said the Retainer.

    "It can''t be me," said the Lord of Lords, "Because I already received my wee, this cloud isn''t meant for me," the Lord of Lord looked at the chariot that was moving away and smiled, "Even the Heavens see something in him, let''s head back we stayed more than we should¡­"

 Chapter 548 Expectations

    ?

    Throughout the vast expanse, all the cultivators worthy of note, those at the peak of the King ss, those who were stuck in that stage, unable to understand the reason behind their limitation, behind their inability to advance forward, for thousands of years, stuck on a treadmill moving in ce, and worried about the looming approach of deathing to im their lives.

    They struggled and struggled some more, to wriggle into the next step, the Emperor''s Rank. However, of those in that rank not more than a dozen exist to this day and most of them are key figures of the vast expanse.

    An Emperor Rank even if a low-ranked one can gain enough recognition to be treated as a king wherever in the Vast Expanse they go.

    Because those of the Emperor Rank are all leaders and powerful kings.

    Every King ss Cultivator wishes to achieve this rank, not only for the prestige it brings, but also for the extension of one''s mortal life.

    Most cultivators, the geniuses of an era, and the ones with the greatest fortunes among their peers managed to reach the King stage, but they were all stuck at the same point, allowing those of even lesser talent to reach up and stand next to them, just due to the fact that the Emperor Wall was that steep, high and mighty.

    And now so many are here, unable to progress, waiting for that opportunity that will present itself to one of them.

    And thetest arrival to this steep wall, a man that deals with poison, a quite unique person. He was treated as an extra, a newbie to the King ss when he entered, as many cultivators realized that a new kid joined them. His cultivation age wasn''t even a fraction of some of the cultivators stuck at this ce. And this child greedily wanted to reach beyond the Realm of a King.

    After all, even if they didn''t see it, they sensed his rapid progress and attempted to ram himself into the wall of Emperors. He climbed ranks so fast it destabilized the very fabric of the Vast Expanse when he was breaking through rank after rank in the King ss.

    But he immediately came to a screeching halt when he was faced with the Emperor''s Wall. Many cultivators through the vast expanse spoke of this, over drinks, at bars and taverns. They talked about how this new kid wanted to sneak past all of the cultivators without even putting in effort, andughed as they saw him stuck unable to progress like the rest of them.

    Deep down they felt at ease because they couldn''t ept how a young cultivator was able to achieve what none of them could, and how fast he progressed through the King Realm.

    "He must have eaten a cultivation-increasing drug," or, "He drew upon histent Potential destroying his future for immediate cultivation rank increase!"

    And many other negativements all to help them feel better about themselves.

    Yet, today something different happened. The Talent that everyone thought was destroying itself for a small and temporary gain in power managed to shatter the wall of the Emperor, breaking through and achieving the Emperor''s Rank.

    The vibrations created by the birth of a new Emperor Rank shook the Vast Expanse. It was like nothing else, not even the recently ranked up Emperor Dao Shen had this amount of vibration when he achieved the Emperor Rank. It was as if the Vast Expanse itself was weing it, wholeheartedly so.

    Not only did he break into the rank of an Emperor he also climbed up several ranks in it too at the same time.

    The disdain and mockery died in their eyes, leaving nothing but terrified looks of self-loathing and envy, unable to achieve in thousands of years what a child achieved in no time.

    "Do you think the Fire Lord will allow him to exist?"

    "I doubt it, he''s a factor that could cause chaos, I think he''ll get rid of him soon."

    "But what if¡­"

    "Don''t even think about that, if the Fire Lord wasn''t as strong as he is, you think anyone else wouldn''t have tried to abdicate him."

    "The Fire Lord isn''t Strong because he is a Ruler, he is a Ruler because he is strong, There is a difference. Thinking that a new fledgling would affect his nning is nothing but sphemy against the Fire Lord, Don''t let any of his followers hear it, or you and nine generations of your family will be sent to the Blood Mines."

    The people at the bar quieted down after that discussion.

    At another side of the bar, Four cultivators were sitting, sighing as they looked at each other.

    "He really made it," the first spoke, the whole air about him was that of danger and menace, thanks to him, no one tried anything against the group of four, even when two of them were beauties that would make kings and rulerse running.

    The other cultivator had a grin on his face, "Brother Shen Bao really did grow too strong," he said as he clenched his fist, "I need to reach higher heights," he added.

    "Now that you have no fetters, I don''t see how you can''t," one of the two women spoke, she had fiery red hair, and a bloody butterfly brooch over her head that added to her otherworldly beauty.

    The other girl next to her was the calmest and most quiet of the group, as cold as a piece of Ice Jade and as equally beautiful.

    "He really made us all worried for years, then hees back and climb above all of us¡­ I fear that if I were to blink, he''ll im the Vast Expanse under his foot," Dao Shen jokingly said.

    "You think he''ll be satisfied with the Vast Expanse?" YuYu answered calmly, though Dao Shen''s words were nothing but a joke, once she asked that question, they all thought about it once again.

    Shen Bao never seemed satisfied with anything given to him, his greed is not for power, but for knowledge, he seeks to see things outside his spectrum, it was as if he was being led by fate itself to seek into something far beyond the reach of any Immortal.

    "The Beyond, I heard him speak of it once," Liang Yu said, "He wanted to visit¡­ but, I don''t know if that''s feasible, even for Shen Bao. No one had ever made it, no one had ever broken through the Vast Expanse. But for some reason¡­ I feel like if Shen Bao wanted¡­ he''ll find a way, he always does."

 Chapter 549 Invasion

    Chapter 549 Invasion

    "But why did they have us move away from the Heavenly Academy?" Liang Yu asked.

    "Because of her," Dao Shen said as he looked at Yuyu.

    Yuyu was flustered from having all eyes look at her but could only sigh as she realized they were right.

    "With Dao Shen''s ability to hide soul imprint, we''re able to hide the imprint of Yuyu and the fact that she''s holding one of the keys. And since the Fire Lord is adamant about getting rid of the Heavenly Academy first, he''ll send in all his forces there first. So, we''re safe for as long as the Heavenly Academy stands,"

    We could have been there to help," she said.

    "And do what? Most of the heavyweights are leagues above us in cultivation rank, if we go there we''ll be nothing but extras who need to be coddled and protected Liang Yu said.

    "It''s fine, I trust the Heavenly Academy''s power, during my reign of terror they were among the forces I didn''t want to deal with," Dao Shen said.

    "I heard you were pretty¡­ evil," said Meng Hao

    "Evil is a strong word, I was free rather. I didn''t belong to any force and didn''t really like to be told what to do, and asionally ate a or two, so¡­"

    Meng Hao''s brows rose and fell down then he sighed, "I feel like I''m making the least progress of us all¡­"

    "Are you insane?" said Dao Shen

    "Why?"

    "Of all of us, who do you think is the youngest?" he added.

    "¡­"

    "Exactly, you''re barely thirty of age, and you''re already at the peak of the Saint Realm. Do you think it''s reasonable to think that you''re slow? I''m at least three hundred years of age, and for the two over there," said Dao Shen, and the moment his eyes locked on to their angry eyes he knew better not to speak the age of a woman..

    "Let''s just say they can be your older sisters¡­ so why do you think you''re slow and weak?" he asked.

    "Because¡­"

    "Because of Shen Bao? He is far older than you in case you didn''t realize," said Dao Shen.

    "I''m sure of it, I''ve known him since he was a Qi condensation cultivator, at that time he was almost at his first century of age, but still he managed to surpass me in cultivation in no time and reach far ahead, he''s at the Emperor Rank now, I just felt it," said Meng Hao.

    "So? Currently, he''s at the beginning of his third century. So why are youparing yourself to someone who has lived for ten times your age? Just cultivate diligently you''re already doing great," Dao Shen said.

    Meng Hao swallowed his pride and nodded, "I was toocent I apologize. I''ll need to cultivate more diligently,"

    "How goes the resurrection?" asked Yuyu.

    "The Queen said it shouldn''t be too difficult. Since Yan Er''s soul wasn''t damaged in the incense Burner, the queen was able to extract her, she''s trying to find a body for her that can host the soul and will be able to bring her back."

    "Good then, now that you achieved your goal, you must work toward not having to repeat the same tragedy again, Reviving the dead is against the Heavens so it will take a toll on the queen, We must do our best to repay her favor," said Dao Shen.

    "I''ll keep your words in mind," Meng Hao nodded.

    ***

    Back at the Heavenly Academy, the Grand Elder and leader of the Heavenly Academy was sighing every now and then.

    "What?" Master Rain frowned he was getting more and more annoyed by the asional sighs of the Grand Elder.

    "It''s those brats, They really think that just because they got some power, they get to do whatever they want to the peace of the Vast Expanse, I''m really getting more and more annoyed by the second from having to deal with all of their quibblings."

    "I''m still surprised you still call him a brat, he''s already stronger than you," said Master Rain.

    "Just because he''s stronger doesn''t mean he''s wiser, I mean, look at this," said the Grand Elder as he was looking ahead from the main floating ind of the heavenly academy.

    They were on the top of the main tower gazing upon the starfield in front of them beyond the thick protective barrier of the meteorites surrounding the heavenly academy.

    A massive armada of hundreds of thousands of ships surrounded the Heavenly Academy.

    "Any other day, anyone would think that the mere thought of going against the Heavenly is suicide, now This brat really is going all out.

    "Well, he''s in for a rude awakening," said Master Rain, "After all thest time I fought, we fought under his territory and under his term, he had home advantage, now," Master Rain opened his arms wide.

    "It''s my yground!"

    The massive belt of meteorite seemed to stop for a second, and then hundreds of the massive rocks flew out and moved toward the flying ships at incredible speeds.

    The Ships realizing that they were in for impact prepared their cannons and began sting the iing rocks.

    Several ships blew up in the crossfire as the boulders were shattered creating even more debris.

    As for the shots that managed to go past and beyond the belt of meteors, they fell helplessly against the thick barrier of remaining meteors protecting the Heavenly Academy disappearing harmlessly into the massive sea of rocks.

    The frustration of the Fire Lord could be felt from all the way to the Heavenly Academy, since it''s been days that he''s been trying to bore through the defenses of the Heavenly Academy to no avail.

    The students of the Heavenly Academy were worried in the first couple of days, but seeing the invaders not even progressing a single inch forward caused them to have a more rxed attitude, now All they saw during the day was the asional spark of a ship blowing up and during the night the skies lit up as if it was blowing fireworks. As more Ships were destroyed in the process.

    "Where is Tsu?" asked the Grand Elder.

    "My retainer''s been busytely, I sent him on a mission, you don''t have to worry about it," said Master Rain.

    "It''s a wonder that he''s not with you, no matter. At this rate it looks like a frontal confrontation is unavoidable," he added.

    "We have the manpower to handle the Fire Lord, most of his Fire Spears are barely at the King Level, besides his top three, and those we can handle between me you, the Queen, and the second Elder," Said Master Rain.

    "We should have the upper hand you''re right, but something isn''t right," said the Grand Elder.

    "What is it?" asked Master Rain.

    "I don''t quite know, since the Fire Lord knows for a fact that he can''t take us on with his current power, especially since we outnumber him when ites to Emperor cultivators, not even Madam Zha or the King of the Gctic societies is joining him right now, so he''s in a pinch, and he can''t afford to move the Water King since it''s currently being pinned by the Wind King. So call it the hunch of an old man, but something isn''t right, I feel it," he said.

    "MOVE!" the voice of the queen echoed loud enough for all the Heavenly Academy to hear. The voice was pointed at the two of them.

    Master Rain and the Grand Elder both had their eyes lit up for a second as if thunder struck through them, Without even speaking they both pivoted toward each other and raised their legs forward then kicked, using both their feet as a point of pressure, and shot aside crossing a dozen mile in a fraction of a second before a ray of concentrated power shot through the top of the Heavenly Academy''s tower,pletely evaporating it from existence. Leaving the tower with nothing but half of it standing.

    The power of the ray was strong enough that it cut and dug into the ind ripping a massive gap in it.

    Both Master Rain and the Grand Elder looked up and frowned, what was that?

    ***

    "It missed¡­" The Fire Lord said, "I think I''m missing power, How did that brat manage to get so much power in that thing¡­" the Fire Lord thought as he was gazing at his finger that was releasing smoke.

    "Your Lordship, I congratte you on creating a new Emperor Level Spell," said the General.

    "Create? Hmm, I''m not that arrogant to im this as mine, it''s a replica of something I saw¡­ and it''s weak, looking at the distance, this will dissipate in a few hundred of millions of miles, while that brat''s metal bullet managed to cross tens of billions of times that distance without losing power, no, it actually was gaining even more momentum¡­"

    "We''re still trying to locate him your lordship,"

    "Doesn''t matter, he''ll being over soon," the Fire Lord sighed and said, "But I''m really getting bored waiting for him¡­ bring them out, it''s time to finish this."

    "As your majestymands."

    Soon, three Fire Spears came up to the deck of the ship each carrying a coffin on their backs.

    "Go down, and let them loose, you sacrifice will be remembered," the Fire Lord said.

    "All for the Fire Lord!" the three of them said and jumped off the ship with the coffins on their backs.

    They skillfully dodged the massive boulders and sted through the remaining ones that blocked their way.

    And soon they managed to reach the main protective formation of the heavenly academy.

    "We offer our blood to the Fire Lord!" the three of them said and they all drew their spears shing away at their own necks.

    The moment the blood sprayed out of their necks, it stopped mid air and the remaining blood in their body began surging out of their necks, causing the three spears to turn into husks in a second. Then the blood moved as if it was alive and seeped into the coffins.

    The three coffins then soon opened up, revealing three corpses.

    Two of the corpses were donning the same robe, a red robe with golden dragon symbol.

    And both of them had a crown made of pure Red Gold.

    As for thest one, who seemed to be of a lower statue, but definitely not any less imposing, he had a distinct mask on his face.

    This one had a symbol on his chest that was different from the two.

    The corpses then soon began to take note of what was in front of them, their Qi surged and moved then it began rushing out revealing their cultivation ranks.

    All three corpses were Emperor Ranks.

    And all three of them were Peak Emperors.

 Chapter 550 Imperial Battle

    <h4>Chapter 550 Imperial Battle</h4>

    "What is this?" one of the three Emperor Rank corpses spoke as he was looking toward the Heavenly Academy.

    The second crowned cultivator took note of more things, "We''re corpses? Interesting, who dared turn us this way?

    The final one didn''t speak but went to grab something on the back of his neck "Despicable! To dare enve us using our very own Soul Shackling Stakes!"

    "Wait, you''re the Creedless? Howe you are dead?" the first crowned person spoke.

    The Creedless, turning to him had his eyes opened wide, "I greet his majesty the Imperial Firstborn!"

    "Father?" spoke the second crowned cultivator.

    "Who here dares enve the Imperial Family! Did we decline so much to have people dare and do such to our bodies! Preventing us from even reaching nirvana and going through the Cycle of Death and Rebirth! SPEAK!" the First Born shouted, his voice alone caused the entire heavenly academy to shudder and shake.

    "It was I, grandfather¡­" the words came from high above, and beyond the belt of meteors.

    Looking up, the First Born frowned, "I know not who you may be, identify yourself!"

    "How about you ask your son over there, he should know, but wait, he had so many of an offspring that he probably would not recognize who I am!" the fire lord spoke in mockery.

    The man presumed to be the Fire Lord''s father squinted his eyes, then snorted, "I have no sons such as you!" he said.

    "Funny you say that, since blood cannot lie, is that not true, Creedless!"

    The two kings looked at the Creedless trying to understand what was going on but even he had no clue.

    "You probably don''t recognize me too, but fear not, let me refresh your memory!" the Fire Lord said and soon something came flying down toward the creedless which he easily grabbed.

    "I kept it as a token, probably you remember me now," The Fire Lord said.

    In the hand of the Creedless was a crooked rusty old dagger, anyone would think of it as nothing more than trash, but the imperial symbol on the bottom of the dagger was all the Creedless needed to understand.

    "You''re one of the discarded¡­"

    "Yes! The Discarded Bastards of the Imperial Family, the ones you went hunting down, to the veryst, that dagger, if it was not for my defective birth, and not for my heart being on the other side, I would have died that day, where you ripped my mother''s throat and stabbed me in the heart with that dagger! All hail the imperial family, killing their own! And Enving the others! HOW MUST IT FEEL! To be on the receiving end, Creedless?!"

    "You must not fear the wrath of heavens to dare do such! Bringing back the dead!"

    "I learned from the best!" The Fire Lord said, "If you had feared the heavens, you wouldn''t have in an entire generation of newborns just to guarantee the purety of your bloodline! But guess what, ONLY I REMAIN! All of your family, including distant rtives! Your sisters, mothers, brothers and sons are all DEAD! Your imperial Family had been eradicated and destroyed all by yours truly! How does it feel? FATHER! HOW DOES IT FEEL GRANDFATHER! How does it feel! Hound of the Imperials! To see the very discarded worthless bastard eradicate all that you worked your entire lives to make, and thene up with better?!"

    "Kill him¡­" the Grandfather spoke, and the Creedless shot forward.

    "Get, the fuck, down!" The Fire Lord spoke, and instantly the spike on the Creedless''s nap red and a pain akin to the shredding of one''s own soul rushed through him paralyzing him in his tracks.

    "How¡­ is that possible!" the Creedless groaned.

    "Just because the Imperial Family made the Soul Sealing Shackles doesn''t mean I can''t improve upon them and use them far better than you did. You have no will, no power, and definitely no objective but what I ordain! So, kings and monarchs you have been, ves and tools you shall be! Heed my order! Eradicate the Heavenly Academy!"

    "You think I''ll listen to you, I''d rather perish!" the Grandfather spoke.

    "But you have no power to even perish! ORDER! ERRADICATE THE HEAVENLY ACADEMY!"

    The Fire Lord''s words echoed and as if a trigger snapped in the minds of the three cultivators, they all lost focus in their eyes and turned like if they were puppets and began gathering their Qi.

    ***

    "We''re fucked¡­" Master Rain spoke as he was looking at what was happening in front of him.

    "You picked up bad habits from that disciple of yours, but indeed, it looks like we''re fucked¡­" the Grand Elder said.

    "You two aren''t going to give up on me here, are you?" the Queen said as she moved next to Master Rain and the Grand Elder.

    "Nope, let''s just get this over with then," Master Rain pped both hands together, and on the edges of the floating ind, two empty inconspicuous portions ofnd shook and opened up, revealing the mouth of a cylinder on each side.

    "What''s that?" asked the Queen,? "It''s what I sent my retainer to nt, I didn''t expect we''ll be using it this early!" he then pushed both hands forward, "FIRE!"

    Suddenly the entire heavenly academy shook as two massive rays of light blew out from the cylinders, shooting toward the cultivators that were gathering their Qi.

    Noticing the uing assault, the Creedless stopped his gathering and pressed with a palm forward, sending down a gigantic palm print of energy blocking the rays, if only for a second that is, as the rays destroyed the palm print and continued on their way to attack the cultivators.

    Seeing how his palm print was easily suppressed, the Creedless decided against fighting the rays head on, and rotated his arm, causing his sleeve to create an energy vortex that consumed the rays and dispersed them all over behind the entire group.

    The dispersed ray lost power and speed, but it still moved forward going beyond the rims of the heavenly academy''s barrier, and destroyed hundreds of meteors and the spray shed into some of the Fire Lord''s armada destroying hundreds of ships.

    "Well, that was not as useful as I expected¡­"

    "That''s good enough, Rain, my turn now," The Grand Elder said and closed his eyes, "Eternal Night."

    Suddenly, as if there was no sun or light in the world, the entirety of the Heavenly Academy was painted ck and nothing was visible anymore.

    "What is this?" The Creedless muttered. Confused about what was happening or the use of such a Domain.

    Suddenly the Creedless felt the hair on his back standing up, and immediately summoned all of his power to create a protective coating around him.

    A second salvo of the cannons shot right into him destroying the barrier and threatening to end him there and then.

    "You did well, Creedless," spoke the Fire Lord''s father as he moved his hand forward, causing the very fabric of space along the darkness that was epassing the Heavenly Academy to warp and disintegrate.

    Blood seeped out of the nose of the Grand Elder, as he coughed, having his domain being forcibly broken.

    "Did you make it?" asked Master Rain.

    "Yes, although it took a toll on me, it''s done¡­" the Grand Elder spoke, not caring for the damage his soul took nor was he worried about the power that the two Emperor Ranks just disyed.

    Looking around, the Creedless frowned, "Where did they go?" he asked.

    "Who?" asked the Grandfather.

    "The people, there were millions of people here on this ind, now there are barely a hundred¡­"

    "So, the darkness he epassed us in wasn''t to blind us from the fight but to protect the people, admirable, But¡­ it matters not, kill the foolish, Finger of the Mad God!" spoke the Emperor and pressed his index finger forward.

    Suddenly, as if the skies were ripping apart, a finger quite simr to the Grandfather King came down, it was made entirely of mes and Qi but still, it held a weight so great that it destabilized the very gravitational forces of the Heavenly Academy.

    "This will be a pain to stop¡­" Master Rain said as he was looking at the iing finger.

    "You better act fast then, the second Emperor is acting..." the Queen said as she was redying up to join the fray.

 Chapter 551 Poison Supremacy

    Chapter 551 Poison Supremacy

    "I guess I''m a bitte," I muttered as I looked up ahead. From far away, thousands upon thousands of ships carrying an innumerable number of cultivators were surrounding the Heavenly Academy. Just getting to the academy will be a pain in the ass. For a normal cultivator that is.

    "Deploy," I muttered, and instantly from behind me a portal manifested, linked from the Lord of Lords pagoda to the space behind me.

    A hundred puppet wielding a hundred of my specially anti-matter rifles.

    "Take down as many ships as you can," I said. Then I made the Thunderbull march forward.

    It rumbled as it moved forward, breaking the barrier of sound with every step, sting loud booms of thunderous steps as it marched forward.

    Lightning sparked as it moved, creating a disruptive and attention-grabbing echo for all the cultivators on the side of the Fire King''s armada.

    "YOU FINALLY COME!" shouted the Fire King from so far away.

    Looking at the Fire King for a second then I looked away, as the rifles of the puppets behind me all were locked and loaded, then they sted their shells.

    A hundred bullet flew forward, and in a second, hundreds of ships were sted to fractional smithereens, as the explosions of the shells warped the fabric of space itself creating miniature ck holes thatsted for a few seconds, warping the remains of the ships into them then breaking apart closer ships.

    Ipletely ignored the Fire Lord as I moved fast toward the meteorite formation that was protecting the Heavenly Academy and marched down.

    I entered the academy''s atmosphere as fast as I could to notice a massive finger made of infernal Qi pressing down against the protective formation of the Heavenly Academy, breaking it as it pushed down.

    Form the looks of things, the Heavenly Academy wasn''t fairing well, which came as a surprise to me, the power of Master Rain, the Grand Elder, and the Queen was barely enough to stop the finger that was pushing down on them.

    Looking at the whole scene I noticed the presence of three people who were above the Emperor Rank.

    One I immediately recognize from his mask, the others, I could deduce from their robes and the crown on their heads.

    I didn''t hesitate in diving face forward toward the three of them. The younger looking of the two kings, gave me half a nce and ignored my existence as he was focused on channeling his Qi to break the Formation.

    The older looked at me an snorted. The snort alone was enough to rupture my eardrums from the sheer power behind it, but it wasn''t something that would stop me as I continued moving forward.

    "Kill it," spoke the older king.

    The order was clearly given to the one with the least authority of the three, the one I know the most.

    The masked man looked at me and charged forward his hand stretched as if he wanted to grab my own soul out. But I''m not the same person fromst time.

    The moment his hand was about to grab me, I pressed my own palm against his, sting him away as if he was a used rag.

    The power behind my palm wasn''t the same as before, it wasn''t that of an Ascendant, but of a fully fledged Emperor Rank cultivator using the full ability of the Book of Body form the Poison God''s Heritage.

    The Creedless, my old acquaintance, had his whole arm shatter, bone and flesh snapped and turned to mush from the mere impact as he was thrown away. I continued moving forward toward the cultivator who was assaulting the Heavenly Academy.

    "Must I do all by myself," spoke the older king and came down to meet me.

    Only I didn''t bother with him as I continued heading forward, because he was about to receive a rude awakening.

    The older king raised his hand, summoning what looked like a sword made of pure white me, the heat was strong enough that it caused the whole of the Heavenly Academy''s temperature to abruptly rise.

    His aim was to slice at me and whatever was behind me, which included the heavenly academy that was already under pressure.

    But instead of him swinging down, his expressions changed as he pivoted his entire body and swung behind him in an arc, creating a wave of infernal mes that shot upward.

    Good call I say, because in that second that he switched target, fifty of my Puppets had already swapped target form the ships to the old man, and the sword swing he threw was to stop the iing salvo.

    An explosion of fire and sound rumbled above the Heavenly Academy, creating a cascade of bright red colors and fumes that covered the skies in a dark cloud for a second.

    In that time, I threw several cannisters behind me and switched my direction to that of the older of the two kings, heading toward him as fast as possible while he was still recovering from the overextension of his swing.

    "Foolish brat!" shouted the king, but his words fell on deaf ears, quite literally since I was still recovering from the impact of his earlier snort.

    My hand had Creeping Demise in it and I flexed it forward, calling upon the heads of the hidden hydra.

    The heads emerged with fire and poison in their wide open maws, to which the king pped both hands together manifesting a powerful sound explosion that parted the heads away from him, making each head spill the contents of its mouth away from the emperor.

    I didn''t back down as my left hand was already ready, in between my fingers were five pills that I threw at him.

    His eyes shed to each of the pills and for once, a person was smart enough not to swat them away by to dodge them as if they were the gue, and in fact they were.

    The pills flew away from the king and blew up in a curtain of poisonous clouds.

    "Poison Cultivator, such filth!" spoke the king.

    "Let me assist you my lord!" shouted the Creedless who was rushing towards us, but before he could make it half way, the cannisters I threw earlier finally reached their designated position, and with a snap of my fingers, all five of them blew up right in front of the Creedless.

    Unable to understand what happened, the Creedless decided against the better judgement of any cultivator to not jump face first in a cloud of unknown substance and dove right into it, causing the clothes he was wearing to decay, and soon his flesh and bones began rotting even more than they already were.

    Coughing and desperately trying to get away from the cloud of poison, the Creedless blew up a chunk of his Qi to swat the poison away, only for it to have theplete opposite reaction.

    The poison I had in the cannisters was not only able to decay and rot organic matter, it was also incredibly vtile when ites to Qi. Once introduced to it, not only will ittch on to Qi, it will consume, transform and reform it into more poison. Creating a thicker cloud in seconds which further drowned the Creedless in more Poison.

    As for the Older of the kings, just because he dodged the pills and their explosions didn''t mean I had no ability to control it, for I am Poison.

    With a grasping motion, the poison behind the older king morphed into the shape of a spear, and then shot toward him, following him with vehement obsession.

    "Infernal Prison!" muttered the older king as he pped both palms together creating a cube using his hands.

    The energy from his chant manifested a cubic prison of pure me that tried to trap the iing spear in it, only for the spear to explode inside the cube. Thinking that he trapped and destroyed the spear, the king let his guard down, only for him to notice that the fire cube was actually eroding away, as the poison inside was not only growing stronger, it was eating away at the qi, and the very foundation of the cube he made.

    "What in tarnation is this?!" cursed the king as he noticed that all of his spells were easily consumed by my own.

    Feeling that he will lose in term of Qi control, the king pulled out a spear that looked more ancient than the world itself, and charged me.

    "Must I do all by myself!" he said as he charged forward.

    Yet once again, before he could even reach me, he was forced to stop and swat away behind him.

    A dozen or so bullets had already been shot and were about to pierce through him but he managed to block them once again.

    "YOU FOOL! IF YOU WISH THE DEATH OF THESE BUGS MUST YOU NOT AT LEAST COVER THE SKIES?!" the king spoke.

    "I don''t think he has the luxury to do so, oh imperial king." I said.

    Frowning, the king projected his Divine Sense and looked far above and beyond, only to realize why the Fire King was unable to stop the rain of bullets.

    The hundreds of thousands of ships that came to assist in this battle werepletely devastated, and that wasn''t because of the puppets. But because I had throw a Tungsten Bullet, the very same weapon I used in the Poison God''s Trial to almost destroy an entire city, only not just one, but more than a dozen had fell upon the army of the Fire King creating nothing but death and chaos and also allowing my squad of a hundred puppet to rain bullets freely at the older king disabling whatever big move he was trying to make.

    "Good job Shen Bao, we got it from here," I heard.

    Looking at the protective formation that was breaking down earlier, the Queen and Master Rain managed to repair and reinforce it in time, fully stopping the younger king from destroying it.

    "I guess this levels the ying field, now, how about we start the second round?"

 Chapter 552 The Keys

    Chapter 552 The Keys

    "I would feel a bit less Lonely if I were not ignored so!" I heard and looked up, the Fire Lord was rushing down two spears, one in each hand, and was aiming to rip me apart.

    I backed off blocking the first swing then the second, and spat a green gout of poison forward to which the Fire Lord spat his own version but in mes and fire.

    The two came in contact with each other andbusted creating an explosion of poisonous gas, to which any ounce or fraction of that reached the Fire Lord would simply evaporate. As for my side, I just willed and controlled to fuse into the poison cloud that was stopping the Creedless from acting.

    "Why must you help these fools? I''ve seen what you''re capable of, your weapons, trinkets, and tools as many call them, those are not just objects, but they hold the key to death and destruction like no other. I lived long enough to see many an ancient object cause devastation, but never seen something so simple so minimalistic, and so powerful able to easilypete with the most incredulous of ancient treasures. Join me, and I''ll give you riches beyond your wildest dreams, women of which you may choose and discard, and power that you can never hope to exhaust,e and follow me under my banner, and ignore these foolish cultivators who have no sight or vision," the Fire Lord extended his hand.

    "I told you before, I don''t wanna, also all you just offered, I can obtain by myself, so why must I follow you?" I replied.

    "Indeed with the Poison God''s Heritage, your mind, and the way you use your tools, I can see that, but that would have happened only if I were to not exist, after all, I AM THE FIRE LORD!" he roared and the mes making his hair roared and inted in size and heat.

    He swirled both spears, creating a vortex of fire and mes that he swung forward like a massive whip.

    I mmed both hands together creating a praying motion then, blew forward a poisonous cloud that was so great that it was able to match the size of the two whips.

    I jerked my hip to the side causing Creeping Demise to jump out, and suddenly it spread its de into nine hydra heads that all opened their respective mouths together and shot more mes and poison to contest against the Fire Lord''s blowout.

    The contact of the two spells made the whole of the Heavenly Academy feel as if it was about to be doused in infernal poison to be an eternal hell.

    Clicking his mouth, the younger of the kings bit the tip of his finger and then blew on it, manifesting tens of thousands of ghost faces that shot toward me. The Older of the kings pped both hands together loud enough that it felt as if the world was about to end, then he pulled his hands apart manifesting another sword, this one was made of pure white mes.

    He then struck forward toward me sending a crescent-shaped wave of me at me.

    I being pinned down by the Fire Lord''s mes was unable to react, I was thinking of calling upon Y to cover for me, but he would instantly melt upon contact, yet Master Rain came rushing, as he pulled out his weapon, a massive needle and hammer that he smacked into the fabric of space itself, the reverberations caused the air to shudder.

    "Remember, you''re not fighting alone!" he said, and suddenly as if an explosion of light happened right in front of us, the ce where Master Ran ruptured released an endless looking wave of Inscriptions that shaped themselves into butterflies, the same ones he used to try and seal the Primordial Serpent God.

    "Darkness Asunder!" I heard.

    My divine sense was able to catch the source of this chant, and it was the Grand Elder who summoned a whip of dark matter that was rushing toward the endless hoard of ethereal ghosts.

    The Creedless who was trapped in my poison cloud seemed enraged and against the sanity of the living, he bore through it corroding his body to almost inexistence, but it paid off for him as he was released and was able to almost instantly regenerate his dposing body. At the same time, he was funneling more and more Qi into a dagger he wielded.

    "Death Mark!" he called and stabbed himself in the abdomen with the dagger.

    "Soul Link!" he said once again as he held two fingers up and then twisted his hand. I instantly felt my mind turn white for a second. Just as I regained consciousness I went to look at myself using my Divine Sense I noticed that I had a ck X mark on top of my heart.

    "STOP HIM!" shouted Master Rain. His words were aimed at the Queen, who immediately rushed forward.

    I didn''t know what this Death Mark entailed but looking at the Creedless pulling his ck Dagger and going to pierce his own heart, I could figure out instantly what it meant.

    "Soul Extraction!" The Queen called and instantly you could see the Creedless''s own Soul exit his body stopping him from finishing the ritual.

    But, the Fire Lord''s mouth grew into a creepy smile as he pointed at the Creedless''s body with one finger then swung his finger to the side.

    The body, controlled by the Soul Sealing Shackles didn''t need the soul of the Creedless to function, and that finger swing caused the Creedless''s puppeteer body to finish the ritual stabbing itself in the chest.

    ck blood spattered out of my mouth as everything turned dark

    ¡­

    Or as it should have.

    Suddenly the endless stream of ck ghost faces seemed to disintegrate.

    And the face of the younger king began distorting, shaking for a bit then morphing to be shaped into my own face. As for my body, it was transformed fully to that of the younger of the kings.

    Unable to understand what happened, everyone waspletely caught off guard, the one that was supposed to die was me, but why is the younger king perishing?

    "Domain of Delusions, release!" I called and suddenly the world seemed to respond in a different hue of colors.

    The thunder bull that didn''t seem to exist is now calmly sitting next to me who was right next to the protective dome of the heavenly academy, the Queen was right next to the unresponsive Creedless, as for the Fire lord, he hastily raised his defenses up to block the iing sword swing from his own grandfather.

    "Illusions? How? I didn''t sense anything. You! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" called the grandfather as he desperately tried to stop the sword swing, but since he failed to do so, and was considered to have attacked his own master, the Soul Sealing Shackles red up causing his body to suddenly contort in incredible amounts of pain.

    "Now Master Rain!"

    "Don''t need to ask me twice!" Master Rain flew forward as fast as he could with an extended hand, not aiming to attack, kill, or harm the Older King but to Grab the soul-sealing shackle.

    "Fool!" groaned the older King as he realized that the moment someone unqualified was to touch the Soul Sealing Shackles, that they would also fall under its influence.

    However, Master Rain easily grabbed it and ripped it out of the king''s nap, giving him temporary control over his own body.

    "Automaton! Now!" I called out and suddenly the Automaton pulled Master Rain into a portal that it manifested while the older king swatted at Master Rain''s face missing him by a hair''s breadth.

    The Automaton opened another gate next to me and released Master Rain.

    "You knew he was going to attack even after we released him? So why did you ask me to release him," asked Master Rain.

    "To cause chaos, now the older king is probably considering reiming his old power, but at the same time he isn''t willing to be ruled by the Fire Lord, nor will he think twice before killing those who fought against him, the arrogance of kings has no bounds."

    The Queen mmed down her palm on the Creedless''s body sealing it instantly and stopping his soul from returning to it, the corpse was useless andpletely immovable.

    "You killed my father, sealed my Servant, and unleashed my grandfather, thinking that I could have won against the Heavenly Academy with the corpses of Imperials was truly me being arrogant, still, it matters not, as long as I have these in my possession!"

    The Fire Lord then pulled out three jewels. Which caused me to frown¡­

    The Fire Key, The Earth Key, and the Metal Key, he had all three of them in hand¡­ Did he kill the Earth Lord? I would have known, but I still sense his life signature high above the heavenly Academy, he is sealed and locked up¡­ but how is he able to use these keys? Shouldn''t he be chosen by them first? Or did I miss something?

    "Grand Child, you have the Keys? Hand them over to me, and I shall forgive all transgressions!" The Grandfather spoke.

    And in response, the Fire Lord pointed the Fire Key at him and said, "Disintegrate."

    And that was all it took, for a ray of pure concentrated fire to shoot out of the key and instantly evaporate an emperor-level cultivator¡­

    "Well¡­ this turned south way too damn fast¡­" I muttered.

 Chapter 553 Battle of Kings

    Chapter 553 Battle of Kings

    "I offered you peace, but you refused it, I offered you a wing under me and you chose to go against it, I''ve given you chances many more than any before you and you still denied, thus, you chose to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit," the Fire Lord spoke with all the disdain he could muster as he spat the words.

    He then pointed the fire jewel at me and said, "Thus one should know their ce, young Emperor, you''ve yet to see the true world, and you dare defy me with your measly cultivation! Perish!" he said.

    "Dodge!" shouted the Queen as she shouted, rupturing space itself with a soul-shattering scream, the fabric of space seemed to crumble at her loud voice as it came rushing toward the fire Lord.

    "I also learned Soul Magic!" he called as a reverberating wave of soul energy shot out from within him, confronting the Queen''s own shout and rendering both neutral. While the jewel in his hand was fully charged and shot its ray toward me.

    "Damn it!" cursed the grand elder as he appeared right next to me and pushed me away while he pointed his right arm forward, a ckness like the darkness of the night epassed it, shrouding his arm in darkness like never before he then pushed it forward to confront the jewel''s ray, only for his entire left side to be evaporated unable topete or contend.

    I twisted my hand and called upon all the poison in the air to transform into spears, sword axes, and all sorts of weapons, courtesy of the Poison God''s teachings, and shot them forward to stagger and buy some time from the Fire Lord. Only for the Fire Lord to prop up the second jewel, the Metal Key, and manifest a barrier of inexplicably condensed metal to shrug off the poison.

    My corrosive poison couldn''t even make a dent into that barrier.

    The Fire Lord then called with his free arm and pushed down, morphing the barrier into a fist of a god that came down upon us threatening to destroy all.

    Blocking this moon sized fist would be nothing but idiocy so we all chose to move in different ways only for him to call upon the third jewel, propping up the entire ind and contorting its sides to grow and create a wall around the ind, the floating ind for a moment became like a jar, and the first was its lid, and we were trapped inside it.

    "How can someone control the elements this freely without cost!" I cursed inwardly as I saw the fisting down.

    "Take them All in automaton!" I called.

    "I cannot my lord! The Keys are interfering with my specialw!"

    Seeing deathing in close, my mind kept roiling trying to find a way or clue on how to solve this only for it to fail time and time again. I have no ability to fight against the keys, nor do I have any protective treasures to stop it, my poison is rendered useless and my power is meager.

    True despair began creeping up my heart as I found myself in a situation where I can''t help but despair.

    Suddenly, a surge of energy like never before came from underneath us.

    The ground that was our prison tore apart and broke, cracking and fissuring, sending endless surges of water from underneath, like a tidal wave it surged out, harmless as it passed through us yet forceful and destructive as it came in contact with the fist and the walls trapping us.

    "Yuyu?!" I called and looked down, she was already there. I already scanned the entire Heavenly Academy and didn''t see her before, did she just arrive? But why? She''s far weaker than anyone here.

    "Even I can help! Move forth and bend Ice Age!" she muttered, and the key to her words was willed and transformed the endless surging water to ice. Sparing no one but us cultivators, and hitting hard against the iing metallic fist, it bore and tore against the walls and surged like spears of death as it ripped apart the metal fist and shot toward the Fire Lord.

    "Weak!" he called and pointed his Fire Jewel, having greater and more refined control over it, the Fire Jewel came down with a reckoning like never before, congrating the mes of hell itself as it sent them down with wanton abandon to destroy and eradicate all life.

    The mes surged and merged with ice, creating vapor explosions that shot all, around the heavenly academy with force enough to disintegrate the very meteors that were surrounding the whole area.

    Destruction like never before was threatening to befall the Heavenly Academy, as the surge of explosive vapor was going to burn and boil anything that lived.

    "Winds of the North! ROAR!" the words came down like the reckoning of a deity, as a surge of endlessly cold and brutal wind came down upon, the entirety of the heavenly academy blowing away the vapor to disperse in the Vast Expanse and revealing the situation of the Heavenly Academy.

    Looking at it from where I stood, the entire upper ind of the Heavenly Academy was eradicated, with nothing but the barren ind remaining, a gigantic cone of ice remained on top of it, seemingly trying to grasp the heavens, while the metallic fist was shattered to bits and pieces. The mes were no more, but the heat from the Fire Lord was still rising and a few miles from him was the new entry to this battle of kings.

    The Wind King arrived.

    "Husband of mine, what took you so long?" she asked.

    "I had issues handling he Water King, though where is Old Beast¡­ I see his key but I fail to notice his presence, did he perish?"

    "Youe in here, ruining my fun, Old North,"

    "Of course, if we let you be, you''ll ruin everything Old me¡­"

    "Do you think you can win though? Your Wind Key isn''t strong enough to contend, nor is your Water Key, since it''s being hosted by a weak being."

    "Weak of cultivation isn''t being weak of heart, thus you shall learn today, Wind of The North,e forth!"

    The Wind King spoke, and like the Old King, he too manifested a sword made of pure wind that seemed to vibrate and breathe as if it was alive.

    "Let''s finish this, once and for all!" he said.

    "Show me if you have what it takes!"

    The two instantly went into a sh of power.

    This was a good chance to assist the wind king, but before I could even think up of a way to help, once again, my mind went nk.

    My heart was affected by the same spell from before, looking at the originator of the spell, who should have been sealed.

    He was back in his body and with full control.

    "No one can save you from it this time! DIE!" the Creedless shouted as he tried to once again stab himself.

    "Shen Bao! That''s a Demonic Technic use your Avatar!" spoke Master Rain.

    I immediately understood what he meant.

    "Come out!" I called and from within my Book came my avatar, he who was full of malice and darkness, Shen Mo''s body instantly harvested the Death Mark onto himself, and once the Creedless finished the Ritual, Shen Mo''s heart burst causing it to die¡­ or what seemed to be the case as he instantly rejuvenated the shattered heart.

    The Demonic Qi from the Death Mark acted as a fuel to Shen Mo''s cultivation propelling it forward into crossing the Ascendant Stage.

    The Heavens roiled threatening to call upon a heavenly Tribtion, suddenly dimmed down and calmed down.

    Thinking about why the tribtion of ascension didn''t happen took me a second, me and Shen Mo share the same soul, and I was already promised to not be punished for ascending, thus it was denied. And with Shen Mo ascending.

    The ascendant Shen Mo rushed toward the Emperor Ranked Creedless.

    "I don''t know how it survived but you can''t hope to beat me with this weak cultivation level!" the creedless called as he prepared to intercept

    "Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki! Devil''s Impact!" the avatar shouted as it manifested a gauntlet made of devilish energy, pure darkness, and a w of pure putridness and hatred.

    I followed after him not missing a beat. "Fist of Roaring Ki! Golden Titan''s impact!"

    Hearing the name of the Golden Titan instantly caused the Creedless to immediately react.

    "How¡­"

    His words were cut short as the fist of the avatar struck home then it was soon followed by mine.

    Rattled and unable to understand, I wasn''t willing to give him the chance.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Fist of Eternal Gold!" I followed with a second punch to his abdomen, that seemed to rattle his very existence.

    "HOW DO YOU KNOW SUCH ART!"

    "I know even more! Golden Titan''s Madness! RUMBLE!"

    Suddenly electric waves of energy shot out from within me washing the world in a color of gold as my size began growing to incredible proportions, manifesting power like never before.

    This caught everyone by surprise.

    "That¡­ that should have been a lost art! How do you know the Golden Titan?!" the Creedless shouted.

    But he spoke to deaf ears, since I was already in the Golden Titan''s madness, my sanity was quickly seeping out and all I could see was gold and red. And all I could feel was an insatiable urge to destroy.

 Chapter 554 Madness

    Chapter 554 Madness

    "What is this¡­" Master Rain''s eyes gleaned as he noticed Shen Bao''s gigantic form, this form was strangely simr to the titan they met in the Under-Void. But it looks more¡­ powerful, how? Wasn''t the Golden Titan far mightier than a low tier emperor? Not only that, he had devised that art, he created it to fight against the Imperials, and now Shen Bao happened to have improved upon it, yet, there is an insanity, a madness in those eyes.

    Did Shen Bao only focus on increasing the power output while disregarding sanity? This would prove to be a problem to every party in this war, an insane weapon of mass destruction is on the loose, and it will not stop until its eitherpletely exhausted or dead.

    "Pull back everyone back away from Shen Bao!"

    Just as Master Rain''s words finished registering into everyone''s ears, the massive body of Shen Bao disappeared from sight only to appear behind the Creedless, both palms one above and one below sped down as if squashing a bug.

    And the end result was an explosion of Qi that left the body of an Emperor level cultivator far too faster than it could recognize.

    "BACK AWAY NOW! OLD NORTH!" Master Rain shouted with all his might as Shen Bao''s eyes locked to the closest target who was the Northern King.

    Realizing the iing disaster, the Wind King kicked back, using the full force of the Northern Wind to push him away from the iing Shen Bao who immediately switched targets to the closest one, who was the Fire Lord.

    "COME! I ALWAYS WANTED TO SLAY A GIANT!" shouted the Fire Lord as he puled up a spear that looked to have been forged in the blood of gods and smelted in the fires of hell.

    It was a spear that had a jagged and slightly curved de, it looked more like a tooth on a staff, and the staff itself was made of pure ck metal that seemed to have no reason being in this world, for those who know their metal they would understand that this piece of metal was not supposed to belong to the Vast Expanse.

    The spear howled as it was brought out to the world, and with a swing came down a force of dragons, mes surged from the spear''s tip and came down upon Shen Bao''s body, searing and burning his face, neck and chest in one swing and blowing him back miles away.

    "TOO WEAK!" called the Fire Lord as he chased after Shen Bao.

    Thetter''s face had beenpletely burnt off enough that the golden skull of his head was revealed. And two fully seared off eyes suddenly regenerated, red in color bloodshot and wrathful, the titan''s burnt body steamed hot and bright as it instantly regenerated, and with a world shattering roar Shen Bao shot forward, green steam empowered by pure corrosive poison shot out of every pore of his body. The cultivators who knew Shen Bao realized that the fumes were bound to be lethal on contact, so all pushed back and away moving as far away as possible form this moving disaster. As for the Fire Lord, he fully trusted the mes surrounding him to burn and sear away any and all poisons and thus the sh continued.

    Shen Bao''s power was mighty indeed, it was fueled by the Golden Titan''s Madness, and art that is used to save one''s life, but the cost is one''s sanity.

    It would remove any and all limiters on one''s ability, giving them full control of thetent power of their body, and coupled with the readjustment and gic recalibration of the Poison God''s Body art which pushes the human''s muscle structure to its utmost limit, the Golden Titan''s Madness was able to pull out an incredible amount of power and might from Shen Bao''s body.

    His regeneration was fueled by the blood of the Primordial Serpent God, his body was powered by the Poison God''s Body Modification, and his power was galvanized by the Golden Titan''s Art. A weapon of mass destruction, but unfortunately, with all that power, without his sanity, Shen Bao failed tond a single hit or blow at the Fire Lord.

    Every swing was parried, never mind the sheer size difference, the power behind the urate and immactely experienced swats of the Fire Lord''s spears not only parried Shen Bao''s giant fists, they alsopletely threw away his bnce, allowing the Fire Lord to send in jab after infernal jab of his spear, boring holes in Shen Bao''s body that seemed to regenerate as fast as they appeared.

    "He can''t win like this," The Queen said.

    "He isn''t suppose to, we are, we''re the leaders of the generation, we can''t rely on the younger generation to fix the corruption we ourselves created!" the Grand Elder said as he moved forward, though the man had lost his left arm he was still biting through the pain and willing to fight.

    "We created the Fire Lord, we, our own ipetence made this fiend, he is nothing but a brat having a tantrum when nothing goes his way, and we can''t let Shen Bao take care of the mess we created, Old Blue, help me out," said the Grand Elder.

    The Grand Elder was channeling the remaining of his Qi to bring out thest of his power and fight to the death.

    "Wait!" shouted Yuyu as she rushed ahead, "I don''t think Shen Bao jumped into this fray knowing that he''ll lose, he was never a person to use brute force when he fights, look closely at the back of Shen Bao''s neck," she said.

    With that statement everyone looked up and noticed that there was something there, grasping tightly.

    It was his avatar Shen Mo, but why?

    Suddenly all came clear as the spear of the Fire Lord swung down against Shen Bao''s fist only for the fist to stop an inch away causing the Fire Lord''s swing topletely miss, in that fraction of a second, the fist then continuednding squarely on the Fire Lord''s entire body.

    "Finally I''m back, man that took a while!"

 Chapter 555 Reinforcement

    Chapter 555 Reinforcement

    Searing, white, and incredibly dizzying pain racked my body from head to toe, feeling nothing but pulverizing pain racking through every organ and member and fiber of my being was not a pleasant experience.

    The Golden Titan''s Madness wasn''t without faults, mainly the fact that youpletely fall into madness unable to recognize friend from foe, but that''s on purpose, the purpose of falling in madness and denying all and any existence in front of you was mainly to stop this body destroying the sense of anguish that happens when the Titan''s body emerges.

    The cells on one''s body are forced to split and multiply consuming incredible amounts of Qi to do their job, and thates with the feeling that every bit of your body is getting torn by the passing second.

    The madness helps in numbing that pain by focusing it into power and aiming it at anything in front of you. For any other sane man, this pain would instantly kill them or make them go truly insane.

    But¡­

    I''m a poison god cultivator, my existence came with pain, brought by pain, and will be led by pain.

    The first step in the path of cultivation I took was to be doused in a pool of bone and body-grinding poison, so this pain, although destructive, it was something I was used to.

    I pped my side, and although the sheer size and difference were too incredible to evenpare, the side bag on me opened up and revealed a pill that I chomped on. Compared to me, the pill was so small that it wouldn''t even fit in the crack between my teeth, but it was potent enough that its effect is instantly felt once I consumed it.

    A wave of cool and refreshing energy washed over me, I knew for a fact that this wasn''t stopping the pain, no, that was a concentrated and potent numbing drug. It was a type of poison that would numb the body''s senses, and would dull the reaction time, but since I was in this form, I had no worries about bing duller, and I needed the pain reduction to be able to think properly.

    The Fire Lord scrunched up his nose, "Better this way, at least I won''t be killing a mindless beast! Come!" he shouted.

    "How about¡­ no," I said and retreated back, I''m not foolish enough not to see an obvious trap when it''s staring me in the eyes, the Fire Lord was preparing something behind his back using the Keys, I was unable to see it since it was behind him, but the several dozen sniper wielding puppets outside the had their lenses aimed at him and the situation was reported to me by Y who was apanying them.

    The Queen and Master Rain rushed in, "He is right, this isn''t a fight where we''ll have to rely on the younger generation! Your time hase to an end Old me!" the queen shouted and pped both hands together "Rend the Soul!"

    "I also know soul magic! Mend the Soul!" he shouted back and made half a praying motion using only one palm.

    The two soul waves collided and dispersed before several dozen fire butterflies surged forward trying to hamper the Fire Lord''s vision.

    That was not smart.

    "Fool, who dare use me Arts in my presence! BURN!" the fire lord''s words were amand, and the butterflies blew up one after another in rapid session and from far below I heard a soul-wrenching wail.

    My divine sense flew ahead to realize that Liang Yu wanted to help, and due to the difference in understanding of the Fire Laws, the Fire Lord was able to revert and explode back thews against her costing her both her eyes and a massive burn on her face and hands at the same time.

    Yuyu rushed toward her and used ice energy to stop the burning from spreading, but like a me that sought to destroy and never be snuffed, more damage was piling up on Liang Yu''s body. I was about to get down and help, before Master Rain shouted, "Watch Out!" he said.

    "You dare be distracted in my presence!" I heard the words and didn''t see the action, because it was toote.

    Two massive spears of metal bore right into me one from each of my shoulders pushing me back, while the Fire Lord shot forward with his spear in hand aiming to pierce my heart.

    I was in a rough spot, but not too rough to cause me to panic, the Fire Lord''s charge instantly ended as he stopped, turned, and swatted several dozen times ahead, "Damn those things are still running rampant!"

    It was the puppets, providing cover fire.

    That second was enough for me to pull out the massive metal spears that pierced my shoulder, and as I was gazing and trying to understand the properties of this strange metal, it just melted and disappeared from my hand.

    The Key¡­

    The Fire Lord didn''t hesitate in using the second key immediately afterward, pointing it at me aiming to st me to nothingness.

    Master Rain then interjected, striking one of his nails on the back with a hammer, sending a reverberation of qi and a surge of sealing inscriptions toward the Fire Lord.

    The Fire Lord once again denied using his key to protect himself.

    We had the upper hand, we were numerous, bur we''re failing tond any damage on the Fire Lord while he''s able to freely retaliate using the power of the Keys.

    Before I could even think of what to do next, a surge of redness seemed to being from the high heavens, looking up I frowned.

    "What are they doing here? How did they get past the army of the Fire Lord?

    These were people whose cultivation wasn''t that high, but still, they lived in a dangerous world and survived it.

    And seeing them here made me surprised, and honestly quite intrigued.

    The Demon Race and the Poison Sect are followers of the Poison God''s teachings. They both arrived on their massive mounts and behind them was a cloud of red moths.

    I hated those moths, but seeing them right now is a sign of good fortune.

    "Go forth! Glory to the Poison God!" shouted the Poison Sect''s sect master.

    And with that cultivators and beasts of all kinds came down upon the Fire Lord.

    The end result would be obvious to the most oblivious, their attempt at proving their loyalty to the Poison God was respectable, but at the same time, it was no better than bashing an egg against a mountain and expecting a reaction.

    I pumped my chest, heaving a massive breath then spat it forward at the fire Lord, this gave me a second to shout.

    "Fools! MOVE AWAY!"

    The poison gout shot forward and the Fire Lord thought it wise to just burn it to a crisp.

    The moment the fire came against the poison it further increased in size and turned to a hot ming surge of fire that covered the Fire Lord.

    "You think I fear the mes?!"

    "No, but this isn''t normal fire," I muttered back as the purple-colored mes of the Grizzly Spider took on the heat of the Fire Lord''s breath, and the properties of my poison, making itself more potent as it consumed the mes to fuel the poison.

    Looking at his high-quality grade armor starting to melt, the Fire Lord realized that he was not in a good spot.

    Just as he was about to move aside and leave the Poison Cloud, something mmed right into his back, five massive scars ripped through the Fire Lord''s armor, clear and visible to all, these were the scars of a beast.

    And not any beast.

    "I guess you''re here," I muttered.

    "Indeed, you seem to be facing a mighty foe," it said.

    Right next to me, was the ck Winged Tiger from the Poison.

    "Yeah, he isn''t easy, with all emperors here, we''re still unable to take him down."

    "He''s able to contend with all of you here, by himself, impressive for a human," said the Tiger.

    "I doubt he''s human, his ability to control the elements is out of this world, still, I''m not giving up, also where is Kyuu?"

    "You''ll see, she grew up nicely," said the ck Winged Tiger.

    Just as the Fire Lord recovered from the blow, and realized what struck him, and how it was already right next to me, something light and small and fuzzy as a furball appeared right on his shoulder.

    He took note of it, and flicked it with a finger, "Disgusting." He said.

    Yet, the flick didn''t make it budge, in fact, it made it angrier.

    The small fur ball seemed to growl, and then before he could even react, his whole body was bent to the side as if suddenly struck by a giant sledgehammer.

    Spitting blood, the Fire Lord jumped away trying to analyze what happened.

    Yet just as he stopped moving, he looked to his shoulder and the same creature from before was there again.

    "This ought to be interesting," spoke the ck Winged Tiger.

 Chapter 556 The Last Stand

    Chapter 556 The Last Stand

    "What kind of creature is this," The Fire Lord groaned, the damage he took was too much even for him.

    I was surprised, honestly.

    "What the hell were you feeding her?" I questioned the ck Tiger.

    "The real question, what didn''t she eat¡­ I was afraid she''d send the entire Dark Forest to an extinction frenzy, but thankfully she calmed down after ascending," said the ck Winged Tiger.

    "ENOUGH!"

    The Fire Lord roared, and with that, even Kyuu, didn''t dare stay on his shoulder for long, she immediately jumped off, appeared, and disappeared several times across space and nestled on top of my head.

    She has the ability to teleport now... impressive.

    The Fire Lord''s body temperature kept rising and rising, and soon his infernal red hair became blistering blue and hotter.

    The red jewel in his right arm shone brighter and brighter as he said, "All the keys are here, I would have spent time to go and look for them, say, you wanted the keys to open the path to the Beyond, but I cannot allow that," the Fire Lord finished his sentence by mming the Red jewel on his chest, surge after surge of red energy seemed to seep through him.

    "The Beyond is too much for the likes of you, and this may seem like a prison, but it also serves as protection," he added, then grabbed another Jewel, it was the Metal Key.

    He mmed it right next to the Fire Key and groaned from the incredible surge of energy coursing through him.

    "YOU ALL WANT FREEDOM WHEN YOU ARE SEEKING DEATH!" the words he said were full of pain, but there was madness in that agony he was suffering from the power of the keys.

    "It is not your decision, it never was, people were born free to do what they want, and if it is death that waits for them then it''s their own fate," Master Rain said.

    "Wise one, you lived your entire life weighing pros and cons, what made your mind stop working in this situation," the Fire lord then pulled out the Earth Key and mmed it right next to the other two, spitting a huge chunk of blood in the process as his body''s energy was fueled up even more.

    "Because it''s better for the people to risk it against the unknown than die to the known, you only promise oppression. Anyone under you will be bound to eternal servitude and domination, they will have no will or word of their own, only to follow you, I''d rather die than live in a world where you''re the ruler, after all, you never struck me as just or merciful," Master Rain said as he prepared his nail and hammer, shit was going to turn ugly real fast and everyone knew it.

    "You said you''d rather die," the Fire Lord huffed and puffed, "Then die you shall, there will be no world where I do not rule!" his words were followed by a resonating shockwave of fire.

    Suddenly the Fire Lord seemed to disappear from sight and appeared right next to Master Rain, his hand already ripped through Master Rain''s chest and pierced to the other side. His entire arm looked to be made of metal, "Then your wish has been fulfilled!" he said, and suddenly his hand which was halfway out of Master Rain''s chest roared and blew up a cone of mes.

    Thinking the worst, as no one would survive something like that, I tried to shout for Master Rain.

    Yet Master Rain''s body turned to butterflies and dissipated causing confusion in the eyes of the Fire Lord.

    Master Rain reappeared fully hale and healthy, but the Qi around him seemed a bit perturbed.

    "He''s gotten way faster, be careful everyone," Master Rain sent in a divine sense message to everyone fighting.

    Taking him on in his current state is a suicide, but we can''t run away, it''s ourst bastion, how are we going to neutralize him?

    My poison is not that great in fighting him since he can just burn it all away, and I doubt my Grizzly Spider Poison will have any effects now. The fire around him is a notch higher than the Grizzly Spider Poison, it''s on par with a Heart me''s fire, and my own Heart me can''tpare to his.

    Mine is designed to cultivate pills, his is designed to burn cultivators¡­

    Several bullets shot right into the Fire Lord''s back, this time he didn''t even bother blocking or parrying, as the bullets simply blew up when they came in contact with a massive rock wall that manifested out of nothingness

    The effect of the earth key.

    The Fire Key is enhancing his fire power, and the Metal Key is boosting his body''s durability, and the Earth Key is protecting him from outside threats, the power of those three keysbined together is dangerous.

    Suddenly the Wind King appeared right in front of the Fire Lord his whole body in mid-swing as he struck with the Wind de on his hand against the Fire Lord''s neck.

    A massive explosion of force echoed out almost sting the Fire Lord away in the process yet he grunted and tanked it down as if it was nothing but the breeze of a chilly summer night.

    "The proud Wind King resorting to sneak attacks! Howughable!" the Fire Lord''s words were followed by a fist that swung at the Wind King who immediately used the Wind''s power to extract himself from the blow, another cone of condensed mes surged out from the Fire Lord''s fist.

    The two beasts of the Demon Tribe and the Poison n arrived to the fight, but before the Whale or the Suzaku could even attempt to attack, the Fire Lord opened his mouth wide and sent a surge of concentrated blue and white mes towards them.

    The two ancient beasts immediately switched to the defensive using the majority of their Qi to block the iing attack, little to no avail. The surge of fire was so much more powerful than their qi barrier that it instantly broke it, shattering it and then wounding the two beasts to mortal degrees.

    I rushed forward, this was a good chance tond a decent blow on the Fire Lord, and with that, I struck him on the side with as much might as my fists could muster, only for me to feel as if I had struck a wall with a hand made of eggshells.

    My fist shattered in the process and a wave of pain immediately surged up my arm.

    "Weak!" he said and with an impressive disy of acrobatics, the fucker roundhouse kicked me in the face.

    I lost consciousness for a second only to be woken up when my back mmed into the heavenly academy''s upper ind.

    My current size was big and heavy enough that it caused the upper floating ind to tilt and go down a bit.

    As if I was an inted balloon that was pierced, I started deting soon after, the Golden Titan''s Madness was ending and I was in for a world of hurt afterward.

    Once the Madness is over, my body will be unusable for a bit, and right now the Fire Lord ispletely powered up... this looks ugly

 Chapter 557 If You Cant Win...Dont Lose

    Chapter 557 If You Can''t Win...Don''t Lose

    "We can''t win."

    I grumbled as I stood up, Lian Yu and Yuyu alongside Dao Shen were right next to me, I can''t remember when Dao Shen arrived but he was there helping heal Liang Yu''s eyes. She was burnt. The Fire Lord''s control over fire is way too powerful to vie for it with ack of understanding.

    Liang Yu''s knowledge of Fire is amazing, I''ve seen it firsthand, and although she has a medium level of power, her control is second to none of any I''ve seen at her level. But the problem was facing the Fire Lord who is undoubtedly the strongest fire user.

    Yuyu''s ice key is helping with mitigating the mes of the Fire Lord so I suppose with some pills and some recovery she can regain her sight.

    Now, looking at the situation from a broader perspective.

    We''re fucked.

    Royally so.

    We''re so fucked it''s not even funny.

    The Fire Lord is currently using three keys, somehow, I don''t know how he''s still able to fully control all three of them.

    While on our side, we have two keys, the Wind King is using his well, but Yuyu just obtained it not even a month ago, so I''m sure as hell she is unable to use it fully.

    We have five people, me included. Master Rain, the Wind King, the Queen, the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Academy, they are all at the top of the Emperor rank, and me, though I''m not near the peak of the Emperor rank, I''m pretty powered up thanks to the blood of the Primordial Serpent God.

    And we still can''t even deal a dent in his defenses let alone win.

    Not adding the fact that there is an issue with me. I''m currently paralyzed. My body is in a state ofplete exhaustion and unending pain because every muscle fiber on my body has been strained and torn.

    So, the chances of us winning, are close to none, if not nil.

    so¡­ how are we winning this you say?

    We don''t.

    "Shen Bao, can you move?!" the queen asked.

    "Not a finger¡­"

    "I''ll protect you, you need to recover for now, we''ll hold him down."

    "No need," I said.

    "Why? You have an idea?" she asked.

    "Nope,"

    "¡­"

    "Yeah, we can''t win," I said, my words were however spread in a divine sense to everyone fighting.

    They all subconsciously knew it. But they didn''t want to believe it until I told them.

    The words were heavy, but the words were true. They all knew, deep down, we were in the shitter.

    This world created a monster. A monster of pride and power, that''s not willing to let anyone live if they themselves didn''t rule over them.

    The Fire Lord was able to use his heritage of the Imperials to cement his position as one of the rulers of the Vast Expanse, and now with him spearheading this revolution against the Vast Expanse, his goal of obtaining full control over it is bearing fruits.

    Thest stand, I guess. Since the Heavenly Academy is thest bulwark for anyone who''s fighting for their freedom from the Fire Lord''s oppression.

    But this resistance is looking pretty grim.

    The odds of winning are turning unfavorable to us pretty damn fast.

    "You never speak words for the sake of speaking them, what do you mean by, we can''t win," the Queen said.

    I smiled, and she caught on.

    "We really can''t win," I confirmed once more, "But that doesn''t mean that the Fire Lord will win," I said and closed my eyes.

    Suddenly I was in full control of my avatar.

    Shen Mo''s body was weak, incredibly so, I single sneeze from the Fire Lord and it would pretty much perish, but at least it can move.

    "Look at the Fire Lords, he''s not in the best condition right now," I said.

    Everyone took note of my words and their gazes focused on the Fire Lord who was fighting and looked to be having the upper hand against the Wind King.

    But at the same time, his veins seemed to be disturbed, and the Qi around him wasn''t stable.

    "The Keys¡­" the Queen muttered.

    "Yes, the Keys, they''re giving him power, but there is no such thing as power without a price. I don''t know how he''s able to control all three of them, but it''s clear to the eyes, that he can''t keep doing it for long."

    "So instead of beating him in a match of power¡­"

    "We have to defeat him in a match of attrition¡­" I finished her sentence.

    She looked a bit worried though, because I knew for a fact that my suggestion, although reasonable, it was not great. Because, even right now, we can''t afford to fight a battle of attrition. The Fire Lord is already too damn strong.

    "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" the Fire Lord''s power kept spiking as the mes around him turned brighter and brighter.

    The heat from the Fire Jewel seemed hot enough to slightly distort space around the Fire Lord and was affecting the Wind King to a certain degree.

    His wind de started distorting whenever it came with the Fire Lord''s spear, causing every impact to recoil badly against the Wind King.

    "Wind of the North! Roar!"

    "That again!" the fire Lord pointed with his free arm and manifested a massive spike of stone that tore apart the iing wind, he then stabbed his me spear into the base of the earth spike, shattering it and turning the fragments into sharp metal projectiles that caught on fire and flew forward.

    The Wind Lord groaned as he parried every fragment as fast as he could, showing incredible dexterity and control over his de shing and swatting away thousands of fragments in mere moments.

    But the fragments were heavy, and hot so every impact and parry caused him to be rocked back a bit and then the Fire Lord followed for a heavy swing that for a second was too much for the wind de to block, it broke instantly and the spear''s shaft struck the Wind Lord in the chest.

    The sound of bones breaking could be heard all the way from there and the impact was strong enough to send the wind king flying as he was leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

    The Wind King was losing¡­

    The Queen tried to assist, flying forward and striking with a fist mightier than a mountain''s descent upon the back of the Fire Lord. But the blow only had sound in it, as the impact was immediately absorbed by a shield of stone and metal that materialized out of nowhere.

    The Fire Lord wasn''t keen on letting easy opportunities to retaliate go, so he kicked the Queen in the stomach instantly and swung his spear up, manifesting a de of fire that chased after the Queen.

    Master Rain arrived instantly with his hammer and nail and struck at space itself, forcing it to reverberate and dissipate the iing de of fire.

    The Grand Elder joined the fray, though with only one arm remaining he was still able to use his darkness attribute, creating ghosts and shadows that went to stall and halt the Fire Lord.

    As for the Poison n and Demonic n, as much as I appreciate their arrival, they werepletely out of their depth in this fight.

    The blood moths, although a dangerous foe would simply be moths drawn to a me if they were toe closer to the fire lord, they''d burn and die.

    The rest of the beasts were unable to fight, for the mere fact that the energy the emperor-level cultivators were releasing was more than they could ever hope to contend with.

    We were out of options¡­

    "There is a way¡­" I heard.

    Looking behind me, someone I didn''t expect showed up, and I grinned at this.

    "You''re not strong enough," I said.

    "I know," he replied.

    "Nor fast enough," I added.

    "I know¡­" he replied.

    "More reasons for this to work I suppose," I said.

    "Indeed¡­"

    "You will die¡­" The Queen, having withdrawn enough to hear our conversation interjected as she understood what he meant¡­

    "He will not," I smiled confidently.

    "I don''t know where you get that confidence, but he''s barely at the peak of the saint ss¡­ "He''ll burn to a crisp before he even reaches the Fire Lord."

    And she was right, the Fire Lord''s body temperature wasparable to a small star. If not for an Emperor''s Divine Sense protecting one''s body, approaching him meant instant death.

    "Let''s assist him then," I said.

    Yuyu clenched her hands tightly and said, "Godspeed, it should help you get closer," she said as she handed him something.

    "We only have one shot! Make it work Meng Hao!" I said as I flew forward.

    Meng Hao nodded and followed after me, the two of us flew forward like loose arrows.

    We were too weak, too powerless to join the fight of Emperors. But we had an idea¡­ an idea too crazy, that it might just work.

 Chapter 558 Sore Loser

    Chapter 558 Sore Loser

    The two of us, me and Meng Hao flew forward toward the fray, I informed the Wind King of our n, though a worried and slightly disapproving look was painted on his face, he grunted his teeth and shot forward toward the Fire Lord.

    "GOOD COME!" the Fire Lord said as he saw the resolve of the Wind King growing again. He wanted to fight, he wanted to fight a tedious and hard battle so when he wins and takes over the Vast Expanse no one would dare speak of his might and ability.

    The pride of cultivators, to prove that they''re stronger than everyone, and that they stand at the peak, they want to make sure that everyone respects their power.

    However, a kingdom made my force, can only be taken down by stronger force.

    And power and might are not eternal.

    The Wind King shed swords once again with the Fire Lord keeping his attention as the two of us approached closer and closer.

    The heat from The Fire Lord was oppressive enough that my face began melting the closer I got, but I couldn''t stop here, we were too far deep in this shit to back down.

    However, I knew my body would turn to cinders if I gotten even closer, looking at Meng Hao, he was resisting the heat pretty damn easily.

    I was surprised at first, but I realized that his fire attribute was helping him greatly in negating the effects of the Fire Lord''s mes.

    "I can''t go on anymore," I said to Meng Hao.

    "Then I''ll move ahead!"

    "Let me give you a boost," I said as I backed off and flew next to Meng Hao, grabbed him by the cor¡­

    "Fist of Demonic Roaring Ki!"

    With that, the energy of the Roaring Ki art, coupled with the Demonic aspect of Shen Mo''s soul brought a furious might to my arm, and with a single swing, I sent Meng Hao flying forward far faster than his normal speed could allow.

    The Wind King noticed the iing human projectile and was about to ready up his part of the ''deal''.

    He parried one of the Fire Lord''s swings and instantly pushed the sword toward the Fire Lord''s chest giving up on defending.

    The Fire Lord was surprised for a second as he realized something was wrong. The Wind King overextended too much, and with such a broad and open swing, the Fire Lord can easily punish it, he didn''t even need to block the iing wind sword as the protection from the Metal and Earth Keys were enough to block it.

    The Fire Lord didn''t fully understand how this ''trap'' and easily noticeable feint would even work, so he swung his spear at the Wind King, trading blows.

    The spear had greater reach so it dug first into the Wind King''s side causing a spray of blood to erupt along with the Wind King''s mouth spitting a mouthful of it.

    While the Wind Sword didn''t even reach the Fire Lord''s protective defenses because it wasn''t there anymore.

    For a fraction of a second, the Fire Lord''s own surprised and perplexed expression changed to that of worry, as the hair on his back stood to no end.

    The disappearance of the Wind Sword meant one thing, the Wind King never meant to sacrifice or trade deadly blows with the Fire Lord.

    He had another objective, and looking at the still extended arm of the Wind King and what he had on his palm, a thundering realization struck the Fire Lord.

    The Wind King shoved his palm with the Wind Key in it into the Fire Lord''s chest. Forcefully imbuing the already unstable Fire Lord with one more Key.

    "What''s the meaning of this?!" the Fire Lord muttered before he sensed even more dangering his was.

    He turned and was met with Meng Hao''s torpedoing body mming right into him, with another Key.

    The Water Key from Yuyu.

    The words couldn''t even leave the Fire Lord''s mouth before he red in a sundering and blistering heat that immediately turned Meng Hao''s entire body to cinders and pushed the Wind King with zing scars of mes and fire away.

    The scene took no longer than a couple seconds to happen. And in that second a life had perished, and one of the mightier beings of the Vast Expanse lost almost all of his power in that exchange. All for one goal and one goal only.

    "N-no!" the Fire Lord groaned.

    "NO!"

    He roared once more before the world itself began rumbling.

    The Keys that have been separated for almost all existence had once again beenbined. And no matter who one thinks they are, they cannot survive the power of the five keys that brought this very world to existence.

    The gate that had once been the link to the Beyond, the gate that once opened upon this barren and empty plot of space to create what we now know as the Vast Expanse once again began materializing.

    "I cannot allow it!" the Fire Lord roared trying to suppress the energy of thebined keys.

    The gate was materializing faster and faster, and the moment it came to exist will mean the release of this prison.

    But the Fire Lord was a big fish in a small pond. He would never allow such a thing to happen. If the Beyond opens up, that means that mightier, stronger and more powerful beings will have ess to the Vast Expanse. Where he was once a fish in a big pond, the pond will start hosting whales is what he believes.

    And he would be damned to let someone else take his toy.

    The Fire Lord''s body was unable to resist the power from the keys, and began breaking apart. Cracking like a pot of y, with fissures appearing all over him.

    We couldn''t win. There was no way for us to win.

    In terms of power, he was stronger than all of usbined. In terms of Qi, he had far greater ability than all of us. In terms of understanding and cultivation he was above everyone here.

    Not even Soul Magic was his weakness as he learned it.

    Winning was out of the question, there was no hope for us from the beginning.

    Fighting an arduous, bloodletting, and deadly battle to the death with the viin who outsses us in all aspects would make for a great bed time story.

    But in the end, that''s all it is, a bed time story.

    The real world is different, if you''re facing someone with that much ability, a heavyweight that outsses you in every aspect, you have very few options, winning is not one of them. Running away is top of the list though, so is weaseling your way out of the situation.

    But with the Fire Lord, who wants control over the whole Vast Expanse, not even running away is an answer.

    So, if you can''t win, what can you do?

    You simply have to make sure you don''t lose.

    And the way to do that is definitely not butting heads with someone stronger than you, although anticlimactic, and might even be called cowardly, I can''t pull out plot armor out of my ass and grow stronger by gaining some absurd understanding of some mysticw.

    Shit does not work like that in the real world.

    So, instead of hoping for something that is absurdly stupid to even think or rely on, all we needed to do was oversaturate the Fire Lord.

    He was unable to beat us without the keys, and when he used the keys he powered up, and none of us could power up topete, so, instead of trying to find a way to beat his newly empowered self¡­ the most natural and simple way to defeat him was to simply give him more power.

    A balloon can only hold so much air in it, and a cultivator can only hold so much Qi in them, and I was sure as hell, if he was barely able to control three of the keys, he would definitely not be able to control all five of them.

    The appearance of the gate was a good bonus, but the whole purpose of this risky move was to simply overwhelm the Fire Lord.

    And that was working pretty damn well.

    Until now¡­

    Shaking and shuddering, "You yed it well. Hah! REALLY WELL!" the Fire lord''s face began cracking up and more light began releasing from within him.

    "Damn roach, can you just die¡­"

    "This will undoubtedly kill me, Hah!" heughed.

    ''I was getting worried, because if someone was about to die, they shouldn''t be more¡­maniacal at least.''

    "I can''t stop the keys, they''re overwhelming me, I can''t make them stop, and I can''t get them off of me. You yed it well," the Fire Lord was more sane than ever in this statement.

    And that got me more and more worried.

    "But if I can''t have it all! NO ONE SHALL!" his words were mixed in with a madness that only those who had nothing left to lose could have.

    And thus he struck his chest forcing the keys to an overdrive.

    "The son of a bitch wants to blow us all up!"

 Chapter 559 Eminent Death

    Chapter 559 Eminent Death

    "ALL OF YOU! DIE WITH ME!" the Fire Lord Roared as the keys began shuddering.

    He was using the keys, to blow up the keys themselves.

    The Wind King picked up on the stunt instantly and rushed forward, he wasn''t letting him get away with this. So, although bloodied, wounded, and incredibly exhausted he still rushed forward.

    He already dropped a couple of cultivation levels from the earlier fight and was in no condition to continue on, but he still moved with the pride of kings, risking his life for the safety of others.

    I shouldn''t be able to help, the moment I move anywhere near the Fire Lord I''d melt, but I couldn''t just die¡­ the moment the Fire Lord seeds in blowing up the Keys, we''re all dead, this is nuclear level damage only if the nuke is the size of a, and there are five of them.

    The energy the keys were releasing was enough to flood the entire vast expanse with power since they created the vast expanse, and the moment they blow up¡­ well, I don''t even need to exin what will happen.

    I''ve had something I''ve been wanting to try out since I was using Shen Bao''s body, I had no use for it, due to the fact that Shen Bao''s body is obviously obscenely strong and sturdy, but now, I can don it.

    I pulled up a puppet from my holding bag, it looked simr to X, the only difference, it was hollow.

    And so, I went inside the armor, and flew forward.

    The armor was far sturdier than my skin that''s for sure, and it was good at insting and preventing the heat from the Fire Lord to cook me through. But it wasn''t going tost for long, as a matter of fact it already started melting when I was halfway toward the Fire Lord''s imploding form.

    The Wind King reached him first, though he too was weakened, the Fire Lord was struggling to even move from the pain incurred upon him by the five keys.

    The Wind Lord pushed one of the Fire Lord''s extended hands away and grabbed the Wind Key, and just as he ripped it out, the Fire Lord retaliated with a stab to the Wind King''s knee, it was weak, but it was enough to push the Wind King away.

    The turbulence of the keys, instead of calming down roared and raged even further, causing the keys to go on an even greater rampage.

    The Fire Lord''s pain seemed to reach newer heights as his body began radiating even more heat. The stability of the keys was absurdly low and we''re in trouble if they were to blow.

    The gate behind the Fire Lord was entering it''s final phase of materializing and was about to be fully tangible.

    And so the Fire Lord turned to me who was right next to him, "Burn!" he said as he pointed his palm at me.

    "Too bad, that won''t be happening," the Fire Lord heard behind him, and it was an extended arm that reached from behind him and over his shoulder into his chest.

    The arm was bronze of color, a brownish skin tone that I was too familiar with, and behind the infernal heat of the fire lord, was something, no someone that seemed to not even be bothered by the heating out of the Fire Lord.

    "Meng Hao?" I questioned as I saw the man who should have been dead.

    No, why the fuck should he?

    After all, he is the main character is he not?

    On Meng Hao''s forehead was a drop shaped blood drop, it looked like it was smoldering and burning eternally as his ember eyes were bright and ming.

    Meng Hao seemed to not even be bothered by the heat as his hand reached out to the Red Jewel on the Fire Lord''s chest and grabbed it.

    Before the Fire Lord could even react, my hand reached for the rest of the keys, and I could only yank out one of them.

    The Fire Lord had two of the keys with him left, in my hand was Yuyu''s Key, it was the only one I could snatch, the Wind Key returned to the Wind Lord and the Fire Key, the one that belonged to the Fire Lord seemed to jump in joy as itnded in Meng Hao''s hand.

    The Fire Lord''s face turned grim, cracks seemed to spread all over his face and he began aging rapidly the Keys were draining whatever energy he had in him.

    The Keys were on overdrive, and were about to blow up, we dropped the explosion by three folds, but two of the keys exploding was enough to level an entire region of the vast expanse leaving nothing behind, and the impact alone was bound to damage the rest of the regions.

    I couldn''t think of any way to get past this problem, my mind reeled as I tried desperately to think up a n, even pulling everyone into the Lord of Lords pagoda wasn''t going to help.

    The explosion was bound to shatter the very fabric of space destroying the pagoda itself even if its hidden within the folds of space.

    ***

    "This is getting dangerous¡­ they will all perish."

    "Have some faith, steward. The Emerald Sun has yet to be snuffed. Perhaps he''ll figure a way out," spoke the Lord of Lords as they both looked at the pond.

    From their point of view, everyone on the Heavenly Academy looked terrified and worried, they were all facing a dangerous and seemingly unsolvable and unsalvageable problem.

    The Keys exploding was bound to take out all life in that region of the Vast Expanse, and no one is fast enough to escape it, at least not at their level of cultivation.

    Death was looming close, enough that the signs of the wheel of reincarnation was already manifesting above them.

    "Their fate is sealed, Lord of Lords. The power they possess is nowhere near enough to stop the keys, and even if a miracle were to happen, the keys will be destroyed, and the Gate will remain closed¡­"

    "That is what most would think, but there is no reason for the Keys to explode," spoke the Lord of Lords.

    "What do you mean? With that much energy in them, and the keys going on overdrive, they had to let the energy go, and wouldn''t that just mean that they''ll blow up?" asked the steward.

    "That would have been the case if the Keys were in fact not made by the White Sun. He made sure that in case something like this was to happen, that the reason to create life wasn''t the same reason to destroy it, but you''re right in one part. If they keys were to be destroyed¡­" The Lord of Lords didn''t need to finish his words.

    The steward already knew, if the keys were gone, they''d be stuck there, and the Lord of Lords said that the Emerald Sun was to travel to the Beyond. Is there another way out? Thought the Steward but no answers came to mind.

    He could only watch, and wait for everything to unfold.

 Chapter 560 Guest

    Chapter 560 Guest

    The Fire Lord''s body began turning to dust, and soon all that was left of him was nothing but the two keys, who didn''t seem keen on remaining stagnant anymore.

    The soul of the Fire Lord seemed to try and run away but right before the Wind King tried to grasp it, something like a fissure in space opened up and a hand that seemed to shine like glistening gold emerged from the gate, it simply grabbed the soul and pulled it towards the fissure, disappearingpletely.

    The skies above us rumbled, well I say skies, but we''re in outer space, there was no sky, but the manifestation of ck clouds was indicative enough of one thing.

    What just happened right now, was against the heavenly Dao. And the skies manifested the Divine Tribtion. This tribtion is unlike the Heavenly Tribtion, the Divine Tribtion only happens if a being outside the Vast Expanse was to appear here.

    I didn''t want to voice my thoughts on this.

    This is the same clich¨¦ that happens whenever the bad guy is about to die, something or an even worse bad guyes in and help them in a pinch, the same could be said for the main character.

    Deus Ex Machina, or divine intervention stupid, dumb and utterly boring script to save the baddy or the goodie two shoes main character from certain death, only to face themter on when they powered up.

    I hate this development, especially since that fucker basically escaped scot free, and we''re here trapped with these two damn keys about to blow up in our face.

    Yet, unlike what I expected the keys didn''t blow up, no, the just stopped. Then cracked and shattered as if they were made of ss.

    "NO!" I heard

    Turning I saw the face of the Queen turning pale, as the Wind King and most of the cultivators here could do nothing but sigh.

    Something seemed different.

    As if the world itself lost something, as if the link to the heavens had been cut.

    Looking at the cultivators around me they all had an eerie air about them.

    "It is for the best¡­" muttered the Grand Elder.

    "What a waste¡­" said Master Rain.

    Then the Wind Lord interjected, "All is good, at least we got rid of the Fire Lord¡­"

    "That was damn anticlimactic don''t you think?" spoke Dao Shen who appeared next to me.

    "I say, it was a fitting end, but you''re right¡­ it feels too unreal¡­" I replied to him.

    Meng Hao approached us, he was butt naked. "I guess this is how it ends for the Fire Lord¡­"

    "Wear this, I don''t like seeing butt naked men, especially when they''re rocking something as big as that¡­" I said to Meng Hao.

    "Oh, excuse me," he said and grabbed the spare set of robes I gave him.

    "What now?" he asked.

    I looked around, "Recovery, reconstruction, and thinking of what to do next," I said to them.

    "Shen Bao," spoke the Queen.

    "Yes?"

    "You seem too rxed; do you know what just happened?" she asked.

    "Yes, the path to the Beyond is cut," I replied.

    "Then howe you''re so nonchnt about it? We''ll forever be imprisoned here!"

    "Then what do you want me to do about it? I''m not a god. Also, why do you want to go to the beyond?" I asked her.

    "What do you mean why? To achieve Dao, to reach the peak, we can''t do it here, in this prison. We''ve been stuck at our stage for an eternity, you just reached here, do you not know the fear of Death? Ever so creeping, approaching anding our way? No, you must know more than any of us, you already experienced it, twice at that! Is that not so, Du Shen!" she said.

    This bought the attention of everyone around us to me.

    "What do you mean by that?" Dao Shen said.

    "In case you all didn''t know, he isn''t Du Shen''s disciple, he isn''t the Poison God''s follower, but he is the Poison God Du Shen, he cheated the heavens and found a way toe back to life under the name of a mortal."

    "Don''t call me that," I said, "Du Shen died, he failed to break past his limits and died. I have his knowledge, his memory, and his life, but I''m not him, and he is not me. I may be the Poison God, since I surpassed him, but I am not Du Shen, I am Shen Bao, and Shen Bao shall I be, as for this gate¡­" I said as I looked at it. "It''s missing two keys, so¡­ why not just make copies?" I said.

    Everyone looked at me as if I was needing to get checked up.

    "What do you mean?" Master Rain spoke

    He was the only one who didn''t think of me as an idiot and was to ask before judge.

    "What I mean is, these things, they''re not natural," I said.

    Everyone kept looking at me.

    "So, if they were not natural, then that means they were made, created, and crafted by another¡­ So, what is it that''s stopping anyone from making them again?" I asked.

    Master Rain sighed.

    "They were made usingws that are far more advanced than our understanding, we couldn''t even hope to glean any form ofprehension no matter how long we deduced and tried to understand theplexity of the Keys," he said.

    I went to the shattered key bits and collected all of them.

    "That applies to you guys, not me. You all see things as what is given to you. I''m different," I said.

    "Spoken like a true cultivator, so are you sure you''re that different," said Master Rain.

    "Yes, because cultivators speak from Pride and Confidence, I speak from understanding and knowledge. There is a difference, because when I say I''ll do something, I already know I''m fully capable of doing it. If someone else had done it, I have no reason not to be able to do it also, especially given enough time," I said as I gazed upon the remains of the keys.

    "Give me your keys," I said to the group around me.

    The Wind Lord was hesitant a bit, but still handed his key to me, and Meng Hao didn''t even, think twice before giving me his, I had Yuyu''s key in my hand already, to which I turned my head and noticed her nodding at me.

    "I''ll be entering secluded cultivation, unless another Fire Lord shows up, don''t bother me. The gate here looks stable enough, it shouldn''t be going anywhere¡­"

    "Are you really nning on deducing the Keys?" asked Master Rain.

    "Yes, I''m not leaving until I make it, you all want to leave this prison so badly, I can''t just sit down and watch, but I hope that you all don''te to regret this decision. Remember, big fish in a small pond, or small fish in an ocean¡­ it is your own choice to make¡­"

    "Automaton, let me in, everyone else, tend to your own things. You still have a fire nation to subdue, and a shit ton of political issues to deal with, after all, there is one less Lord in the Vast Expanse, that much power and domain is bound to be fraught with debate and fighting for who to im. Who today was an ally might be an enemy tomorrow."

    My words were clear, with one powerhouse down, it created a void that needed to be filled rapidly and the Wind Realm, Earth Realm and Water Realm will be vying for it, granted the Water Domain was ruled by a puppet, but it also has advisors and managers that would want to take power in their hands¡­ it''s not going to be an easy time for the Vast Expanse and I don''t want to be pulled into a political debate.

    Once I was inside the Lord of Lords pagoda, I immediately entered the white space.

    I sat in front of a table that I use to work on, there was a mug of tea in front of me ready and hot. I then ced the bits and pieces of the two destroyed keys on the table and the remaining functioning keys, I needed to understand how the key came to exist, how it was created, and how the intangiblew became tangible and physical, manifested into a key.

    "Automaton, increase the time difference to the maximum, we''re going to be here for a while, also hand me some paper and inkstone, I''ll need a lot," I said

    Almost instantly the papers and the inkstone were ced on my table.

    Although focused on the key, I was still a bit surprised, because I''m sure as hell that the automaton didn''t have an arm and a hand made of flesh.

    I looked at the owner of the hand and frowned.

    "How did you get here¡­ ck Merchant¡­"

    All I could see was a grin from under the shade of his cowl.

 Chapter 561 Beckoned

    Chapter 561 Beckoned

    "You still remember," spoke the ck Merchant.

    "Of course, no one would give a treasure like that brush for so little money, then disappear as if they had fulfilled their goal. You struck me as someone of interest, but I never would have figured out that you''d be someone from the Beyond," I said.

    "Oh, how did youe to that conclusion?" he asked

    "Your Qi, orck of it," I said.

    "I could be hiding it," he said.

    "That would have been a good argument if I wasn''t at the Emperor Level, and if you''re able to hide it from me while I''m at the Emperor Rank, you''re higher level than me. And thus you shouldn''t be here¡­"

    "I could be using a treasure, after all, I''ve given you a heavenly treasure before," he said.

    "More reasons to think you''re otherworldly, since the brush you''ve given me, the materials it''s made of, I''ve yet to even encounter them," I said as I continued assembling the shattered fragments of the Keys.

    "Your logic is wed," he said.

    "Am I wrong?" I asked.

    "You are not¡­ but you came to the conclusion using clues that weren''t certain," he said.

    "That''s where you''re wrong, I didn''t use only the clues, the clues helped, it''s intuition, the moment I saw you, your aura struck me as¡­ different, from anyone I''ve seen," I said as I finished separating the fragments of each of the keys.

    "How so?" he asked as he came to face me from the other side of the table.

    "You''re¡­ stagnant, you never improved, or decayed, your Qi remained the same level as that of a mortal where you shouldn''t be a mortal, unmoving, unwavering, never degrading like that of a mortal as they degrade the more they age, never improving like that of a cultivator as they improve as they age. You couldn''t cultivate the Qi of the world, and there was one reason for that," I said.

    "And what is that reason?" he asked.

    "Theck of resources to cultivate, or the inexistence thereof," I said.

    "Interesting, but the vast expanse is full of Qi and saint Qi," he said.

    "But it has nothing of the upper form of Qi, the very Qi that the Primordial Serpent Snake was consuming by destroyings," I said.

    "If the serpent was able to do so, why couldn''t I?" said the Merchant.

    "Because the Serpent was eating entires for a wisp of that Qi, I can''t imagine you going around destroyings for it, otherwise with two of you here, the Vast Expanse would have perished a long time ago," I said.

    "I don''t wish to y this game anymore, you''re no fun," he said smiling.

    "So, tell me, why did youe, uninvited," I asked.

    "But I was invited," he said.

    "By who?" I asked.

    "By the owner of this pagoda," he said.

    For the first time, I raised my head and looked him in the eyes. Well, where his eyes should have been because I could only see his chin from the darkness covering him due to his cowl.

    "The Lord of Lords," I said.

    "Yes, the Wise Sun asked me to help guide some of the kids¡­ to the right direction, and I did as told," he said.

    "For what reason?" I asked.

    "His wisdom exceeds mine, I have no knowledge of the intricacy of the Wisest Sun''s mind, but he said that there were a few seedlings that needed proper fostering, at first I thought I''d be scouring thend you call the Beyond for talents, but then he asked me to visit the Vast Expanse which caught me by surprise," he said.

    "How long have you been scouring?" I asked.

    "For ten thousand years," he said.

    "That''s a pretty damn long time," I said.

    "Indeed it is, but as you might have noticed¡­"

    "You are not¡­you," I said.

    "Indeed, it is but an avatar, sent to this realm to achieve a goal, and I have seeded in it," he said.

    I snorted at hisment.

    "What? You think I didn''t help enough?" he asked.

    "Not a matter of you helping enough or not, but if you were tasked to assist, was all the assistant required, to hand me a brush?" I asked.

    "That was just your side, I also made many contributions that were unseen to your eyes," he said.

    "Is that so¡­ so what does he need from me?" I asked.

    "I have no knowledge of the needs of the Wisest Sun, but he wanted you to leave this world, and go and meet him, only then will you understand his wisdom," he said.

    "My goal here is done, as for you I believe you''ll reach a good result with the keys, enough that even the White Sun will be surprised. Once you''re in the Beyond, I''lle pick you up," he said.

    "It would be helpful if you assist me in figuring this out, from the way you speak, you seem to be more knowledgeable about these keys," I said.

    "I wouldn''t want to intrude upon your opportunity, sure I can help, but you''ll be the one to lose out, I''d advise you to keep trying, once you seed you''ll understand my reasoning," he said then took several steps away, "Now, until we meet again," he said and slowly started dematerializing in front of me, as if he was bing nothingness itself.

    A strange phenomenon, but not something I''d delve into right now, I''m too busy trying to figure things out.

    As for the fact of him saying that this was a good opportunity for me, I didn''t doubt it in the slightest.

    The way this key is made, honestly is a masterpiece. I can see how many didn''t understand how it was made since this was purew.

    It wasn''t physical although it looked physical.

    It was strange but at the same time very intricate.

    Every fragment, though looked like crystalized matter was in fact made ofw, andw is intangible.

    However, how did ite to be physically present?

    I can''t see thews in these fragments, I can sense them, but can''t see them. So¡­

    "Domain of Delusions!" I called upon my own domain and manifested the massive ck dome that covered the entirety of the white space of the Pagoda.

    The domain I was in was pitch ck and was what could allow me to act as a god in this small space.

    I raised my hand up, picking up only the fragments of the Metal Key, they were gray in color, they looked dead and pale, but there was something like the semnce of a heartbeat from within the fragments that gave them an asional sheen every now and then.

    Thews although destroyed, still were partially functional, but due to the fact that they were detached from each other, the key lost its function, but this is good.

    "Erge!" I said.

    And instantly the small fragments in my hand became the size of buildings.

    That was thanks to my Domain, I used delusions to thwart spatial conception and made what was small, gigantic.

    This was just so I could see better, although I could have used divine sense, I''d like to see things from this perspective.

    The building-sized fragments seemed much more intricate now. This was awfully intricate. Everyw line was so intricately fused with another that they made a wire. And every wire was bound and attached to another making a rope-like structure ofw. And these ropes were intertwined with each other so convolutedly that they made a physical piece.

    And these pieces are the ones that I''m seeing. The pieces of the Key.

    Thews in them were simple, but they were incrediblyplicatedly fused together that one couldn''t make head or tail of where is the start and where is the end.

    "If I wanted to repair the key, I need to understand how it works first¡­ and that means¡­ah no wonder this will be helpful hah!" Iughed as I looked at the overall construct.

    "This is coding¡­ on an incredible degree¡­" I grinned.

    I''ve done this before, although my cultivation level was barely at the Core Cultivation level, I did this when I deduced and understood Master Rain''s intricate forbidden city formations.

    This though, it''s on apletely different level, but I wasn''t the same person from before.

    Now I have the mind of an Emperor cultivator, so let''s see how hard this challenge will be.

 Chapter 562 Understanding

    Chapter 562 Understanding

    Ten yearster.

    "How''s the situation looking?" Dao Shen asked Meng Hao.

    The two of them were at the forefront of an army that seemed to blot out the sun as they were descending upon the Fire Lord''s final bastion, thest where his remnants were still holed up in.

    "Not too bad, the Main of the Fire Domain is currently without allies, all the cultivators that supported the Fire Lord immediately turned their back on his remnants once he died," Meng Hao said.

    "There should still be a couple of Spears Left," said Dao Shen.

    "They shouldn''t be a problem for us, Do you wish to take the lead for the charge?" asked Dao Shen.

    "Sure, I''d be honored," Meng Hao replied and stood at the forefront of the army of cultivators.

    "FOLLOW ME TO RID OUR WORLD OF THE FIRE LORD''S FILTH!"

    The army shouted in unison as they trusted Meng Hao with their hearts in souls. After all, it has been two years, and this army of cultivators is now forged in blood and battle, they got to know Meng Hao and his ability, although not even at the Emperor Stage.

    Although he was close to the hero of thest war, Shen Bao, he didn''t take the title arrogantly, no, Meng Hao decided to start from the bottom as he joined the army. He started out as a soldier and managed to get achievements and ughter and liberate manys that were under the rule of the Fire Lord, ranking up from a soldier to a captain, and soon a leader of a division to a general, all in the short time of ten years.

    Meng Hao''s ability and sacrifice as him leading every charge fighting against cultivators who were higher than him in terms of cultivation, and never ever backed down, earned him the respect of the army he is now leading.

    The bulk of the army was mainlyposed of people who belonged to the Wind Realm. The rest are students and schrs of the Heavenly Academy who were responsible for destroying or creating formations and restrictions.

    As for the people from the Earth Realm, not many decided to join, after the fall of the Earth Realm in thest battle and the disappearance of Old Beast, the Earth Realm decided to close up on itself in order to heal from the wounds.

    As for the Water Domain, anyone who had been serving the Fire Lord had been captured, interrogated then enved. The result ended in entire dynasties beingpelled to serve.

    It was ironic since these dynasties had also enved many innocent a man, Master Rain decided for the Water Realm, since it was his home, that those who were once ves shall be today''s masters, and reverted the order, giving families that had no hope for a future kingdoms and riches, and families that served by iron and fire, nothing but endless misery and servitude.

    The King of the Water Realm was found dead after the disappearance of the Fire Lord. And so retaking the control of the Water Realm wasn''t that difficult. Many had pushed for Master Rain to rule, but a man of his nature despises the scheming nature of political influencers and those who also wish to have a bit of power form the seat of a Lord of a Realm, thus Master Rain decided to change the ruling system of the Water Realm to be that of an elected ruler that has to be changed every hundred years. The next ruler must not be remotely close either in family tie or acquaintance, this should give the people something to look forward whenever a new kinges to rule the water realm.

    The system was something that he himself didn''t devise, but he heard Shen Bao speak of it once, an election system that should stop corruption and self service, where the people have the right to abdicate a king whenever they want or feel them undeserving. The people would always have power, and the King is a servant instead of a ruler of the people.

    It was something that no one would think of, as who would think of giving up a seat of power to someone else. But at the same time, many would vie for that seat, because even limited power, is still power. And in those hundred years they can manage to obtain influence and power beyond what many could ever hope to achieve during their lifetime.

    The army was asserting dominance over the vast expanse, making sure that another Fire King wasn''t going to appear again. And once the whole of the vast expanse is purged, the army is to be disbanded and all its members returned to their homes, none to have this power to cause anymore incidents.

    A peaceful era was bound to wash over the vast expanse where many would live in a world that knows not the pains of war.

    And it was all thanks to a man that didn''t even stay to receive his well-earned recognition and wee among the heroes who fought the Fire Lord to his final breath.

    But that man didn''t even stay or wait. He just left, nowhere to be found but for the very close few who knew of him.

    An unsung hero he was called. But many knew of his achievements. As he was the only one among the group of Emperor who actually put up a fight against the Fire Lord and lived to tell the tale. He was younger than all of them and far weaker in terms of cultivation, yet he still managed to subdue and disable the Fire Lord''s puppets and most of his abilities, he then proceeded to battle the Fire Lord head on, and then managed to devise a n that disabled the Fire Lord''s ability and made him self implode leaving nothing but ash behind.

    But then, he just disappeared. It''s been ten years, and no sight of him, glimpse or even rumor of him appearing anywhere circled, it was as if he had turned to a ghost.

    ***

    "FINALLY! God damn! That took a long while!" I cursed, ecstatic and happy with all the knowledge I''ve earned from this advent.

    Who would have thought thatw can work like this, it''s in the realms of making something from nothing, although that''s not possible but it is as close as it can get.

    I looked around me, the massive shattered key was no more, instead it was pieces of crystal that were linked with small lines ofw.

    The first key, was the metal key, it was gray in color along with all of its parts, and from within each part, whichpared to me looked like small hills. But now, these hills weren''t floating aimlessly.

    They were attached with a line of my own knowledge, yes, my own understanding of Elemental Law.

    I managed to understand a lot from these Keys. Many thought of them as mysterious keys that were just ''there'' and created the world. For me, someone who seeks to understand the very basic of everything couldn''t just stop at that. I had to understand how the creator of these keys made them.

    At first I went about it the wrong way, thinking that to understand thew of metal, one should have knowledge of every metal to exist in the universe, and that in itself is absurd.

    The number of metal elements is infinite, and if one wants to learn all about them, it would take an eternity and that in itself is impossible, yet, how did the keye to exist?

    The keys were the source of all creation of the Vast Expanse. So howe they were made, they had the metalw in them right?

    So, I continued searching, line per line, to understand the source and how the key came to be, and after a couple years of scrutiny and constant search I finally found it.

    Thew of metal isn''t what makes metal, it is but a galvanizer.

    It just struck me one day, as the vast expanse was empty, it had nothing but the five keys, so howe ''things'' came out of ''nothing''.

    Granted, there was elementalw in the keys, but thew alone is not enough to create matter.

    Then I realized it must have been affected by something to create matter.

    So what is that something when in the void there is nothing.

    I kept racking my head for years trying to figure it out, perhaps I was wrong I thought and kept looking through the endless streams of line ofw. Until I figured it out.

    Who said space had nothing, space had something, though invisible intangible it had it. It was non-matter, it exists all around us, fractured and dismantled to incredible degrees, but it exists there.

    And the genius of these keys was actually in its ability to reshape this ''non-matter'' to be elements.

    The metal key shapes it into all forms of metals thanks to thews in the key. And so does the fire key, no wonder the Fire Lord was making stone, metal and fire out of nowhere. It was because the keys were affected by this nonmatter. And so after studying a bit, I was able to understand more aboutw, and recreated the destroyed parts of the keys, I only needed to supplement the missingws with my own understanding ofw from basically learning from the shattered parts of the key itself.

    And that was the easiest part, it only was tedious and took time.

    "NOW MERGE!" I called

    And immediately the small lines that were attached to every bit, piece and part of the keys began tugging at each end of the massive crystals, slowly but surely aligning the jagged and fractured parts of the key and dragging them together, pulling them until they were fully attached. And thus, one of the destroyed keys was whole once again!

 Chapter 563 Well Deserved Break

    Chapter 563 Well Deserved Break

    Somewhere, far away.

    It was so far that the distance itself was absurd to even speak of, it was so far that the mere fact of speaking such distance would take years to finish.

    All high above, and so far, away, and that seemed endless, and limitless hovered in an even greater space.

    There was an abode that seemed to be flying aimlessly above thesends, it was there since ages before, and it is presumed to remain for ages toe.

    In this white abode, which was domed with a marbled roof was a man who seemed to be of an age that would equate him to the oldness of the very stars.

    He wore a set of pure white robes that perfectly matched his white beard, brows, and hair.

    In front of him was a simr man, who also wore pure white. The two looked to be of the same dignity, yet there was a distinction between the two.

    The oldest of the two had a symbol of yin and yang on a symbolic hat he was wearing. The other person was attended by a servant who stayed with him for as far as the world itself remembers.

    Between these two men was a table for a game, a simple game that''s been known to be the true trial of mind.

    A game of Go

    From the looks of the board, the oldest of the two seemed to be gaining control over the situation, after all, he was known as the Wisest Sun.

    "So," spoke the Wisest Sun of the two, "How fares your trove?"

    "He''s doing fine, my retainer here was with him a decade or so ago, it seems that he''s on the right track to solve the issue he was gued with," he said.

    "Lord of Lords, you should know well, that my Keys aren''t simple, especially for people of the Vast Expanse, they''re too far away from the true Dao, that understanding the origin of the world, and the source of all things is not even something that their mind would even question, they''re far too young," he said.

    "Indeed, as it may be, young and foolish, but ambitious still, you must not think of them as unworthy or incapable, I''ve seen what the younger ones could do, and I can promise you one thing¡­ you should never take things for granted!" he said and moved one of his pieces fully encircling the Whitest Sun.

    The Wisest Sun smiled, he expected the Lord of Lords to move as such and was already prepared for it as he retaliated with another piece cing it in such a strategic position that the board seemed to be back in his control.

    "You have yed with me for many years, and this is the seventh millionth two hundred thousandth and fifty-fifth time you attempted this same move, you do know that your loss is inevitable," spoke the Wisest Sun.

    "Indeed I may have yed this very move millions of times, but I learned something form watching that child," said the Lord of Lords.

    "You? Learned? From someone far younger that even if he lived hundreds of times his age he wouldn''t equate to the time you spent ying this game with me, tell me, what have you learned?" he asked.

    "I learned that, if all the paths are blocked," spoke the Lord of Lords as he ced a new piece in a worthless position.

    This caught the Wisest Sun by surprise, that move meansplete and utter defeat for the Lord of Lords because as soon as his turnes he''ll ce hisst piece and the game will be over.

    If the Lord of Lords ced a normal piece in a normal spot he may have struggled a bit more, and may have attempted something new but from what the Wisest Sun knows, nothing would ever allow the Lord of Lords to win. So why go for a suicidal move that gave no benefits and only hastened his loss?

    "That child taught me, that if the game is unfavorable for you, and if all your odds are forfeit, if you''re facing defeat and loss, then why y the game still?"

    The Wisest Sun frowned, he didn''t understand what the Lord of Lords meant.

    Then the Lord of Lords added, "You should have seen it, when that child was faced withplete and utter devastation, inescapable death, and a foe that he knew well that he could defeat, do you know what he said?" spoke the Lord of Lords pride filling his eyes.

    "What did the child say?"

    "If you cannot win, then just don''t lose," he said as he pressed on his piece, causing the entire board to shatter.

    This was something that the Wisest Sun didn''t expect.

    "With the game destroyed, there is no winner, and there is no loser, you could have won, and I denied it, and I could have lost, but I denied it."

    "Then it is a draw?" he said.

    "Is it really a draw? For me, a Draw is a victory, for you a Draw is a defeat, you could have achieved all and you were denied it, I could have lost all and I have kept it, it is a victory hidden under the guise of a Draw, the child sees not how we see things ancient one,"

    The Wisest Sun raised his head up, and spoke the words again as if confirming them, "If you cannot win, then do not lose¡­"

    Then as if a lightning strike went through the Wisest Sun''s mind his head snapped down.

    This caught the Lord of Lords by surprise, as he never saw his old friend react like this.

    A wide smile appeared on the Wisest Sun''s face.

    "Incredible¡­ truly, incredible, marvelous in fact, howe, this child, who never even reached the realm of the true cultivation, was able to understandws and the heavenly design. I have had several bright disciples, many of them who have hand taught and are considered to be geniuses of their ages, I taught them instructed them, and pushed their mental prows to be far above their peers, yet none of them was able to understand the Keys¡­ but this child, who didn''t have my guidance and teachings, didn''t have my knowledge and the basis of understanding, managed to solve the riddle within the Key? How?! I must see the child!"

    "You cannot Wisest One, thews forbid us from interfering with the Vast Expanse, your mere presence will shatter itpletely."

    "You''ve been there before! Take me!"

    "And I almost broke it, I could only send a figment of my essence to watch and oversee, it cannot touch or move anything there. So you''ll be able to see but not touch," said the Lord of Lords.

    "It would be enough!"

    "Then follow me," said the Lord of Lords.

    ***

    Within the Lord of Lords pagoda, and in the white space, was a dark domain that was produced by the child standing in the middle of this room.

    The Lord of Lords and the Wisest Sun were both looking at him as he worked.

    He moved his hands briskly and retracted his domain, immediately he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

    "That was damn difficult," he sighed as the first Key was repaired.

    It was in his hand, brimming once again with life, and just as he ced it on the table to work on the second key it jumped back again into his hand.

    "I know you''re grateful, but let me work, I need to fix the other one too," he said.

    "Hmm¡­" muttered the child, "Why are y''all moving¡­" he said as he noticed the keys suddenly shaking as if they wanted to jump.

    "Wisest Sun, your keys sense your presence, it will ruin his mindset," said the Lord of Lord.

    "My fault!" The Wisest Sun said and then waved his hand immediately calming the keys down.

    Shen Bao frowned as he noticed that the keys were calm now, "Strange¡­ were they happy that one of their brothers was turned back to life? I guess, I doubt it¡­ but I can''t bother thinking why that happened, as I still have so much work to do," he said and slumped down on a chair as he began drinking form a random jug of wine.

    "What is he doing? Wasn''t he supposed to be working?" said the Wisest Sun.

    "It seems there is a first for everything, today''s the first time I saw you surprised, and the first time I saw you impatient. But worry not, I presume that after solving that Key of yours and fixing it, the young man earned his break, and I''ve seen him do things like this before, he''ll be up and running by no time working on the second key, just be patient,"

 Chapter 564 Fixed

    Chapter 564 Fixed

    After resting for a couple of days, it was time to fix the second Key, I''m sure it wouldn''t take as long as the first one, since I''ve already understood the underlying mechanics andws that made and created the first key, I just need to trante them, from metal to Earth.

    And since I''m a poison cultivator, I''m able to do so with ease.

    Or so I''vee to understand from the Keys.

    The reason why Du Shen failed was simple.

    And why taking such a path to cross was never going to end up being sessful.

    After all, whoever created the keys was not a divinity. Close to it, but never shall he achieve it, since he was nothing but a mortal.

    Yet their understanding was absurdly incredible. He didn''t need to ''Create'' thews to make the Vast Expanse.

    Since he''ll need thew of creation, which is something that only the heavens have.

    He created a mechanic, a mechanic that is simple. With one rule in it.

    Adapt.

    It''s the equivalent of Ai back in my world. He couldn''t fully understand every singew of every metal or earth or any of the five primary elements, he had good knowledge about them, but not exhaustivelyplete knowledge. No one can.

    So, what he did was, he built a system, an intelligentw system that works with the five elements. And then he had this system randomize and create, at first chaotically, then soon byw and purpose.

    The system took a long time to create its first creation, perhaps stardust to make gxies. Then it began to reshape these particles and soon was able to create life as we know it. It''s also one of the reasons there are several billion civilizations all over the Vast Expanse.

    The system that created life did so all over the ce. Life survived on somes and was annihted in some.

    "So whoever created the Vast Expanse should be billions of years old," I thought. "That''s a damn long time¡­," I said as I looked up, but then, "Hmm, time difference could also be ying a factor." I shook my head, I had a lot of things to fix and then figured out who made these and how old are they.

    I raised my hand up and snapped my finger, "Domain of Delusions, Rise!"

    And with those words, the area around me turned dark and pitch ck, covering every bit of the room I was in.

    Suddenly I felt as if someone or more, were with me in the room. My head snapped back, and my Domain seemed to have touched upon something, it was very minimal and disappeared almost instantly, but I felt it I was sure of it.

    I then approached the general area and looked and looked some more, moved my hand to try and see if someone was invisible there, but nothing.

    I focused my domain even more

    ¡­ still nothing.

    Was I mistaken?

    "I''m being paranoid," I sighed.

    No matter what, I wasn''t going to drop my guard, after all, this is a world of cultivation.

    And to note, whoever it was, if they were there, and wanted me harm, they could have done it whenever, but that''s not reason enough for me to let my guard down.

    I continued working, "Erge!"

    I spoke and increased the size of the fragments. Though in reality nothing was increased but my Delusion allowed me to see it increased.

    My domain is simple.

    It is a fake domain.

    It has now in it but one

    Deception, deception of oneself, and deception of the world. But it is a deception so true it makes the fake real and the real fake.

    Thus I''m able to act however I wish here.

    I can make ice into fire, and wind into dirt, I can revert time and expand upon it. I can lie here however I wish and the world must believe it.

    It is how I managed to defeat many of my foes. And if I wanted to see these crystals big, they''d be big.

    The only thing I can''t do is fix them using my Domain. Because after all, they are still a delusion and are stuck in this domain with me. I can ''fix'' them if I will it to, but it will only be limited to the domain and that''s not a proper ''fixing,'' so I have to do it the right way.

    I then began studying the Earth Key, and to my surprise, it was fairly simr to the Metal Key with the exception of a fewws that had been changed here and there.

    Thews of Metal are now Laws of Earth, and the binding that allowed the key to turn from a none physicalw to a physical item and key were the exact same.

    So I began recreating the portions that were missing after studying more about the Laws of Earth from this very key.

    Speaking of thews of earth and metal, the reason why Du Shen was unable to cross was simple.

    He had no ability to wield the keys, the keys refused him, not because hecked talent, since he was one of the very few Emperors back in his day.

    But because of his origin and Dao.

    His Dao was of Arrogance, or should I say, My Dao was of arrogance. It was tyranny and oppression unbridled and amuck.

    He ruled with power and dominance, rightfully so in this world especially, this world was that of a dog eat dog world and only those who have power have influence. And those he sought to im the gates to the Beyond, even whenhe was refused by the keys, by his own means.

    Something that I respect, in fact it was something that I would have personally done myself since I also walk on that same path.

    I''m a person who if they cannot figure out an answer, I''d make one that fits.

    If a gate is locked in front of me, most people would try and find the key to the gate, or outright destroy it.

    The second option was not possible for any of us in the Vast Expanse, since if power was enough to cross many would have already done so, but whoever made this Vast Expanse made sure no one would grow to a certain level of power allowing them to cross without the keys.

    So, how can I, a person who has no ability to destroy the gate, nor has the key cross it?

    Du Shen decided to break the Gate, using his knowledge and power, but he failed as the heavens came down upon him with vengeance.

    But he failed, his Poison Path was not enough.

    Though respectable, and that is how a cultivator should act.

    I won''t agree with it although I respect it.

    This is an equation that only has one answer and that answer is already given, and thus you cannot answer with a different answer.

    But the Fire Lord destroyed the answer, and thus allowed me to answer again.

    I had not talent, I am still without a talent. All I have is my own mind, forged in understanding andprehension of Law. I cannot move fire as well as the Fire Lord or Meng Hao can. I cannot understand Soul as the Queen does, nor can I mold the wind and water like Yuyu or the Wind King can. I do not have the ability to shape the earth like Old Beast.

    All I have is my own mind.

    But using this mind I climbed all the way to where I am, and thus I now have the knowledge ofw from these keys.

    The veryws that allowed those far above me in terms of talent to excel, now are in my hand.

    Screw talent if it only facilitates the use of an element of Dao. Because here in my hand I have those very Daos, and once I fully understood them, I do not even need talent to replicate, nay, to even surpass those with great talent.

    My hands mmed together as the lines between the fragments were formed.

    "Merge!"

    And thus, the Earth Key was once again reformed, full of vitality and brimming with power once again.

    The path to the Beyond is only a step away.

 Chapter 565 Tale Older Than Time

    Chapter 565 Tale Older Than Time

    Chapter 564

    "He actually fixed them¡­" muttered the Wisest Sun.

    "Didn''t I tell you, I found a good gem," replied the Lord of Lords proudly.

    "Say, you wouldn''t mind if I snatch him¡­" The Wisest Sun said.

    "Of course I will," replied the Lord of Lords.

    They then began bickering among each other.

    "I can teach him so many things, though his understanding is amazing, he''ll need a mentor, do you know how much Law still lies undiscovered, with his mind he''ll be able to grasp things faster than anyone and wille to understand the great Dao!" the Wisest Sun said.

    "Cut the crap," replied the Lord of Lords, "You know well that the path you''re treading isn''t meant for everyone, even if he follows you, do you think he''ll like to be cooped up in a hut in a random ce grinding away to learn the world truth where instead with me he could reach the peak of cultivation, he can stand at the peak!"

    "That''s even a bolder and loftier goal than mine, are you sure you''re not turning senile old lord!"

    Their bickering continued on for a while until it was interrupted when Shen Bao decided to leave the Pagoda.

    Ten years he stayed in front of the closed Gate. Ten years he toiled andbored to repair the keys destroyed by the Fire Lord, and now he emerged wiser, and with the tools to conquer what many had thought to be nothing but a faraway dream.

    Yet the first thing he didn''t wasn''t to jubntly use the keys to open the gate, but looked around and whistled, loud enough that it reverberated through the Vast Expanse.

    He then sat down and meditated to fix his perturbed spirit and exhaustion of so many years cooped up alone.

    A few hourster, a thunderous boom echoed from far away, it looked as if a thunderous cloud wasing towards him. Hooves struck space itself, replicating the sound of a murderous stampede that wanted to crush and trample the heavens underneath them.

    It came toward Shen Bao with haste never before seen and stopped right in front of him, a bull, golden in color and mighty in presence stood and nuzzled its face against Shen Bao.

    "Good to see you again little cabbage," Shen Bao said.

    "That''s a Thunder Bull!" the wisest sun said.

    "Indeed," replied the Lord of Lords.

    "How is a Thunderbull here? In thisnd? I''m pretty sure I didn''t even put anything that should allow such an existence to be birthed here in my keys"

    "You didn''t" said the Lord of Lords.

    "Then how is it here?"

    "Is that the only thing you noticed that shouldn''t be here? Look at Shen Bao closely," said the Lord of Lords.

    The Wisest Sun did so, and then his brows rose.

    "That''s a Primordial Serpent''s blood¡­" he then turned to the Lord of Lords and said, "What have you been doing here?"

    "I didn''t do anything," the Lord of Lords shrugged.

    "I find it hard to understand how some of the beasts of the Beyond are here, in thisnd¡­ the bull¡­ is strange enough, but it has yet to fully awaken its bloodline so it isn''t out of the realm of possibilities to have been created here. Only the chances would be infinitesimally small. But the Primordial Serpent, that is aplete impossibility. Because there exist only one. And that one disappeared tens of thousands of years ago¡­ but¡­ how did it survive long enough? There is no Origin Qi here, its only Saint Qi¡­ it couldn''t have lived longer than a few dozen millennia before it perished¡­ but the anciency of the blood in that child''s veins is more than millions of years old. Granted the time difference is enormous between here and the Beyond but the quality of Qi is limited it shouldn''t allow anything to surpass the Emperor stage¡­"

    "You know you start rambling on by yourself whenever you encounter something interesting, and that annoys me," the Lord of Lords said.

    "I apologize but this is unfathomable!"

    "It isn''t" replied the Lord of Lords.

    "Howe?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "Thirteen thousand years ago, in the Fallen Lands, there was a celestial n that lived there¡­"

    "I remember the incident, the entire n was eradicated, I believe it was the work of the Darkest Sun," he said.

    "Yes, someone from that n, which was a branch n of the main family offended a member of the main family. And thus the entire side n was eradicated. Some had escaped and ran away to farawaynds away from the oppression of the Darkest Sun, but because the main n didn''t wish for the side n to even exist anymore, they decided topletely eradicate their roots. They took over theirnd and exiled the entirety of the region to the Vast Expanse."

    "They did that under your nose, and you didn''t even notice it," said the Lord of Lords.

    "I had already given up on the Vast Expanse, my goal was to see if life woulde to exist if all elements were present. But I failed. Beasts and monsters born of Qi were easy to make once the terrain was avable, but creating sentient life forms was not possible,"

    "Indeed, the source of humanity in this Vast Expanse is basically whoever was alive from when the Celestialnd was exiled." The Lord of Lords said.

    "I believed it to be something simr but had no proof,"

    "Yes, though the main n had exiled a gigantic portion of that n''snds. The people who came to the Vast Expanse weren''t all n members. Those of the same n gathered up and grouped up, then created the Imperial Family that ruled over the vast expanse ages and ages ago. As for the rest of the stragglers, ves, and many people who worked and served the branch family and were also dragged into this mess, they spread out in the Vast Expanse and created their own culture and civilization, some perished and some lived to create offspring thatsted until today."

    "How can you be sure that thatnd came here?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "Gaze upon the northern side, far beyond the rifts of the void, and in between the cracks of space, there exists and, that is made entirely from the dirt of the beyond."

    The Wisest Sun focused his eyes, and it was as if he moved billions of miles in a second, his eyes pierced through the fabric of space itself and he was able to see it.

    An entire city, where beasts and creatures roamed, thend was impably kept. It''s ground brown gold and the buildings were very familiar to the Wisest Sun. The only interesting thing was that the whole city was coated with formations and inscriptions, someone had spent a good deal of time working their way into covering even the des of grass with protective formations.

    Although parts of it were destroyed¡­

    The eyes of the Wisest Sun returned and then he said, "It actually is there¡­ how did you know?"

    "I ced my Pagoda there, and that child imed it. As for life to exist here from just the keys," the Lord of Lords shook his head, "I believe the kid mistook the keys for the creators of life," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Indeed, though smart he stillcks many things, his understanding is unfathomable, but he forgot one thing about the keys. They only provided the environment where life can begin, but they didn''t start it, it''s impossible if I was able to do so wouldn''t I be in the realm of the Heavens?"

    "The Soul?"

    "Indeed¡­"

    The two sighed, they still needed to understand more about life itself, and now looking at Shen Bao, they had hope, that someone would be able to give them a new perspective. The wisest sun wants to see the Dao by understanding it, and the Lord of Lords, wants to understand Dao by standing at the peak, they are both paths that lead to the same goal, and Shen Bao is one who is able to walk both.

    They could only watch as they saw Shen Bao leaving for the Heavenly Academy. He hadn''t seen his friends in a while, and now with the keys repaired, they would be interested in seeing whaty beyond this prison.

 Chapter 566 Trouble in Paradise

    Chapter 566 Trouble in Paradise

    "Are we to keep following him?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "Do you have anything else to do¡­" the Lord of Lords replied.

    "No, but this makes us look like creeps¡­" The Wisest Sun said.

    Shaking his head, the Lord of Lords just ushered for the Wise Sun to follow him, "We''ll be following the child until he leaves for the Beyond, after all, even using the door, the distance and the trip aren''t easy to cross. It isn''t without danger," he said.

    "I know, but the doorway is stable. There shouldn''t be any problems¡­ I hope," said the Wisest Sun.

    The Lord of Lords just shook his head and said, "No matter, the child seems to be clearing up the rest of his business. He is at what they call The Heavenly Academy," said the Lord of Lords.

    "That''s a grand name¡­" replied the Wisest Sun.

    "I wouldn''t fault them," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Neither would I, they spent their entire lives in this prison, frogs in a well, and the only sky they see is their heaven, thus calling this institution the Heavenly Academy isn''t too overreaching after all it is what they know," sighed the Wisest Sun.

    ***

    ''This is really annoying,'' I sighed.

    I''ve been having this feeling that I was being watched for days now, and no matter how far or hard I tried, I couldn''t find or sense who was looking at me or tracking me.

    I could understand if it was someone from the Fire Lord faction wanting my skin, but so far no one made a move, nor was the feeling that of danger or aggression. It was simply observing.

    But I couldn''t even figure out who it was or where they were. Annoying!

    Since they meant no harm for now, I''ll just keep my guard up and move about my day. For now, I need to figure out what''s going on in the Vast Expanse, I''ve been away for a long while.

    The Thunderbull rushed toward the Heavenly Academy, making sure to announce its presence with its rumbling hooves.

    Thest time I was in the Heavenly Academy, the whole damn ce was destroyed, and now that I arrive once again, I''m surprised to see the entire upper ind fully rebuilt as if never been harmed in the slightest.

    Several cultivators noticed my bull, most of them in ck robes of the Heavenly Academy, none intercepted or demanded me to stop and be inspected, they all courteously bowed as I went down toward the main tower of the Heavenly Academy.

    The sses were conducted in the area around the tower and in many of the tower ssrooms, many peaked from the windows and those who were focused on doing outside training all stopped to watch the iing bull.

    All eyes were on me, which felt a bit awkward, but I didn''t let anything show. I just moved forward to the main tower.

    As I headed up, more people were looking at me, but none had the courage toe forward with whatever they needed to say or do.

    More confusion¡­ but I ignored it still.

    As I reached the top of the tower, I entered into the main conference hall, from what my Divine Sense had told me, most of the high-ranking cultivators were already at the top.

    Opening the door, I saw Master Rain, alongside his retainer, the Grand Elder, owner of the Heavenly Academy with a prosthetic arm, since he lost his in thest war.

    And many of the high figures of the Heavenly Academy and the rest of the Vast Expanse. Including the Queen, the Wind King, Zhang Tian, Dao Shen, Yuyu, Liang Yu, and Dao Shen.

    "I guess you were waiting for me," I said.

    "We received a report that you left the Pagoda," said Master Rain as he approached me.

    "Did you finish it?" he asked.

    "Yes," I replied.

    Master Rain smiled, "Great job," he said.

    And before he could turn I handed him a jade.

    "What is this?" he asked.

    "I''m sure you''re also interested in the Keys, so I made a copy of all the advancement I made through the study of thew, I saved it for you, you know if you want to know how it was made,"

    Master Rain''s eyes lit up

    "This is present like no other, knowledge that shouldn''t be shared," Master Rain turned to the rest of the cultivators and said, "I''m sure that you won''t feel jealous and greedy for this old man''s possession, after all, it''s a gift from my own disciple," he said taunting everyone.

    "You know all too well Master Rain that the gift you received is of invaluable weight, it is priceless, but since it was gifted to you, no one will seek to take it from you," the Wind King said.

    "So tell us," The Grand Elder said, "Can you open the path?"

    "I don''t really know, I only fixed the keys, and since they''re not jumping back to their former owners, I believe they grew attached to me," I replied.

    "They were catalysts and amplifiers to our own abilities not the source of it, we don''t need them as much as people would think," the Wind King said.

    "So what are you nning now?" asked the Master Rain.

    "I''m nning on visiting the Beyond," I said.

    "No!" I heard

    Not from one, but two people at the same time.

    It was Liang Yu and Yuyu.

    My brow rose, "Is there a problem? I asked.

    "It''s dangerous, we don''t know what''s out there, why do you have to go, you just got back here," she said.

    I sighed, it was going to be a hassle to exin.

    "A cultivator who has unlocked the path to grow and move forward cannot be held down, Shen Bao, if you wish to leave, then Godspeed," Master Rain said.

    "I thought you''d jump in on the first opportunity to leave with your disciple," The Grand Elder said.

    "I would, but with this in my hand," Master Rain showed the jade, "I need a bit of time to learn it, and then head out. As for the rest of you, you all have too much of a responsibility to your people, the Wind Lord and Queen to their domain, you to the Heavenly Academy, and many more. Those who wish to Visit the Beyond need to be unfettered from the shackles of this world."

    "I go wherever Shen Bao goes," Said YuYu.

    "Same here, and don''t try and say it''s dangerous if you go, we''re also going," she said.

    "I also wish to go," said Zhang Tian.

    "Son¡­"

    "Father, I seek knowledge of the World and have no use for ruling or power, if you want to handover the crown, I never sought it, or wanted it, my younger brother can have it," Zhang Tian said, "After all, he almost caused a war for the crown," Zhang Tian snorted.

    "I also have little to nothing left to do here, if there is a way, I wish to visit the Beyond too," these were Dao Shen''s words.

    "Good then, we''ll head out tomorrow," I said, "But where is Meng Hao?" I asked.

    "I gave himmand over the army of the Heavenly Academy, he''s cleaning up the remnants of the Fire Lord faction," said Dao Shen.

    "I wanted to greet him before I left, but make sure to tell him that I went ahead of him," I said.

    "I will notify him using the gctic space owl transmitter," the Queen said.

    "Thank you," I nodded to her.

    "Now I''ll be heading back to my quarters, I need some rest, it''s been years since Ist had a good night''s rest," I said.

    I left the room and headed out to Liang Yu''s house was, in the lower city where all the schrs and students of the Heavenly Academy lived. I made sure to hide my presence and entered the only house I had ess to in the heavenly academy.

    It was given to me and Liang Yu on our first day here, and she kept it the same as it was from the day we got it first.

    Once I sat down and began resting, I felt the presence of two people outside.

    "What are you doing here!" spoke the first

    "I came to see Shen Bao!"

    "It''s my home! You can''t just barge in!"

    "It''s not, it was given to Shen Bao, you''re just using it when he''s not there!"

    The two of them continued fighting and I sighed, "Just get in, both of you, you''re causing amotion," I said.

    The two of them entered, not even looking at each other.

    "Is this someic relief? What''s going on," I said.

    "I haven''t seen you in ages, I just wanted to catch up," said Yuyu.

    "And you owe me a night! Remember our promise?!" Liang Yu said smirking at Yuyu.

    Yuyu looked at me then back at her, "A night?"

    "Oh¡­ that promise!"

    "Don''t you dare try and get away from it! Pants off Shen Bao!" she then threw Yuyu a dirty look, "You can watch or you can join your choice!" she then lunged at me.

 Chapter 567 Gate

    <h4>Chapter 567 Gate</h4>

    Exhausted was one of the words I could describe my current self.

    But never the less, I never would have expected that two against one would be this¡­ pleasurable.

    After all, they both wanted to one another and I ended up gaining the most.

    Waking up with twodies, one in each arm is something to brag about that''s for sure. But we have more important things to do.

    "We need to get moving," I said.

    The two of them seemed to oppose the idea at first, wanting to snuggle even more, but we really had to go.

    "People are waiting for us to leave," I reminded them.

    Dao Shen and Zhang Tian are probably both anxiously waiting for our arrival, all of us need to leave at the same time to the gate of the beyond.

    Soon, the two got up and dressed, which to my eyes was a feast and joy to enjoy.

    I wanted to stay a bit longer contradicting my very own words, but we really had to go.

    Soon we got out, and just as I went outside more eyes looked at us, some were respectful some were outright envious, those I could understand since I had the two academy''s beauties all to myself.

    Little Cabbage was waiting outsidefortably seated and enjoying a variety of spiritual ingredients that he was eating.

    I suppose the heavenly academy spared no expenses when it came to feeding the Thunder Bull, some of the ingredients would make for potent and powerful pills, and the bull was casually munching on them as if they were carrots.

    Using my Divine Sense, I found the location of Dao Shen and Zhang Tian both high above the Heavenly Academy.

    "let''s go," I said to Yuyu and Liang Yu.

    The two of them rode behind me on the Thunder Bull chariot and we lifted off.

    I noticed many eyes on us, among them eyes from the top of the tower. Master Rain, the Queen, and the king of the wind realm, are all looking at us, bidding us farewell.

    As we arrived to meet the group I found a couple more people with them. Lin De, the daughter of the Earth King, and Yao Hua, the Demon Sect''s sect leader. Yet those weren''t the only people that came. A bit far away and probably out of respect to the two mighty cultivators such as Dao Shen and Zhang Tian a group of cultivators were sitting waiting for the opening of the Beyond.

    I assumed that since it''s a new world, with new opportunities a lot of people would want to venture out into it. But I didn''t care enough so I ignored them and turned to mypanions.

    "What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

    "I''m here on behalf of my father," said Lin De, he told me to thank you for your assistance in the fight against the Fire Lord. He couldn''te personally because he is still recovering from his wounds.

    "You don''t need to worry about that, I hope your father is doing well," then I turned to Yao Hua, "And you? What brings you so far?"

    "Is that all you have to say to me, we haven''t seen each other in ages¡­"

    "¡­"

    I couldn''t answer, not because I didn''t want to, or didn''t find the words, but because of the scalding stares I was feeling on the back of my head.

    "I should be thinking you for assisting us in the fight against the Fire Lord, sadly I had to go and manage some problems with the keys and didn''t have the opportunity to talk with you more," I said as I tried to dodge the issue as much as I could.

    "Who is this?" Liang Yu asked.

    Before I could even answer, Yao Hua replied in my stead, "I''m his mistress," she said smugly.

    ''How can you even say those words without an ounce of shame! Woman you''re gonna be the end of me!''

    "I heard that you''ll be going to the Beyond, I also want to join in," she said.

    "There isn''t enough space!" said Liang Yu.

    Yuyu then added, "Yes, there isn''t enough to share," she said.

    "Who said anything about sharing?" Liang Yu said.

    Zhang Tian and Dao Shen were holding theirughter as much as they could as they saw the three of them bickering among each other for possession of my poor ol self.

    "ANYWAYS!" I said interrupting the conversation before things got more awkward.

    "The gate! We need to go," I said as I pointed up.

    The gate had manifested near the Heavenly Academy, it was absurdly huge, and one could barely see its end.

    "Do you know how to open it?" asked Zhang Tian.

    "I have no idea," I said and thanked Zhang Tian inwardly for switching the subject.

    "But let''s get closer and see," I said and our group headed toward the gate minus Lin who only came to ry her father''s words.

    Once we arrived at the gate I pulled out the five keys, trying to figure out how to use them, but the keys instantly reacted and flew out of my hand. Spreading into five directions each seemed to fly forward and grow in size.

    At one point each key turned to the size of a gigantic mountain and imnted itself on the gate.

    The gate seemed to split in the middle opening like a double door slowly and surely revealing its inside.

    The inside of the gate was a swirling mass of darkness that seemed to be willing to consume any and all that woulde even close to it, yet none of that darkness seeped outwardly.

    And soon, two stone-made puppets came out, they were big enough that their size reached half the length of the gate. And they each had a spear in hand.

    The power they emanated was beyond belief, and I could feel it, it was nearlyparable to the Primordial Serpent God, no it was probably more.

    These two puppets, if they wanted could destroy the entirety of the vast expanse and no one could stop them.

    One of the puppets moved and stood at one side of the gate while the other looked at us and approached us.

    "Who opened the gate?" asked the Puppet.

    Since there was no hostility in their words, I replied, "I did."

    "Do you wish to cross?" he asked.

    "Yes." ''Is there a condition to cross?''

    His eyes then shone bright and scanned me from head to toe.

    "Bone age two hundred and eighty. Cultivation Level, the third stage of Emperor Rank. Possibility of death crossing¡­ thirty percent, admission¡­possible. You may proceed," he said.

    "I also wish to cross," said Dao Shen.

    The Puppet looked at Dao Shen, scanned him, and said, "Bone Age two thousand and three hundred years, Cultivation Level, second stage of the Emperor Rank, possibility of Death Crossing forty percent¡­ Admission, is questionable, You may proceed on your own risk¡­"

    The two of us were admitted, then Zhang Tian''s turn came.

    "Bone age, three thousand five hundred years, cultivation level, Sixth Stage of the Emperor Rank, Possibility of Death Crossing, 10%, Admission¡­mendable, you may proceed," he said.

    "Wait so that means that we can''t go? If even emperor ranks have such low odds and dangerous survival rate¡­" Liang Yu said.

    I sighed and was about to speak before Yuyu said, "Don''t¡­ I''m almost at the King Rank, you should go¡­ I''ll grow stronger and follow after you," she said.

    Liang Yu sighed as she realized the danger of moving through the gate. "If I had known that there was such a condition I would have tried to keep you away, but I can''t stop you now that you''re here."

    Yao Hua could do nothing but sigh a sigh full of sorrow and regret.

    Hearing the two puppet''s words caused some sort of reaction from the loose cultivators at the back. Some of them rushed forward trying to bypass the guards but were instantly halted by a barrier that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

    It was surrounding the gate and the puppets inside it, the barrier extended enough to separate me, Zhang Tian and Dao Shen from the rest of our group. Keeping us in, while the rest were out.

    "What? But we''re going with them, why are you stopping us?!" one of the people that were waiting for the opportunity to leave through the beyond said.

    The puppet didn''t care to exin and ced his hand inside the portal, grabbing a whip of the darkness that was swirling inside the gate and pulled it out.

    It looked like a hair wroth of dark material that made the gate and then he presented it to the cultivators.

    "If you can support this, then I shall allow you in," the puppet said.

    The wisp hovered in space calmly, it didn''t look like it would do anything, and one ''brave'' cultivator went up to it and grabbed it, "See, I can¡­"

    He didn''t get to finish his words before his entire arm turned to ash.

    There was no pain in his eyes, no suffering and no reaction as he perished almost instantly.

    "It is not out of discrimination that we stop you, it is only for your own survival and safety, crossing such a vast distance needs a powerful body or a great cultivation, and you have neither. The Wisest Sun ordered us to only allow those who can and have the ability to cross. If you do not satisfy the condition to move forward, do not even bothering here, we shall guard this gate until the end of times," said the puppet and went back to the gate.

    Many cultivators debated between moving despite the warning, but the wisp remained there as a testament to the dangers of the Beyond.

 Chapter 568 Lost In Space

    Chapter 568 Lost In Space

    "So, what now? We''re just to watch again, as you go¡­" Yuyu said, her words were full of sorrow.

    I couldn''t say anything.

    "Let him go, head out first, we''ll catch up to you soon," Liang Yu said and turned back.

    The Thunder Bull made some sad noises as he approached the barrier, but it seems that he wasn''t allowed in.

    "You have yet to fully awaken your bloodline, only then can you cross," said one of the giants, it then looked at me, no at the folds between my robes, "That''s a strange bloodline¡­ it seems unaffected by the barrier, it may go too." He said.

    And I understood the giant, he was talking about Kyuu.

    Several cultivators approached. Many of which had hoods on their heads, covered so no one could see them, or know where theye from. But the energy they were releasing was obvious.

    ''Emperors¡­ so many¡­''

    "This is surprising, I believed that the number of emperors in the Vast Expanse didn''t even exceed ten, but I guess many decided to hide their ability and power¡­"

    "They probably didn''t want to be dragged into the political confusion and fight in the Vast Expanse. An emperor cultivator is powerful enough to sway the direction of a war, look how close the fight was with the fire lord, now imagine if he had more emperor on his side¡­" Dao Shen exined.

    The stone puppets judged and began giving ess to each and every cultivator.

    One of the hooded emperor-level cultivators approached the gate and then stepped in.

    lights¦­¦Ïvel Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then soon, a bone-chilling scream echoed from within the gate.

    Then the body of the same cultivator was spat back out, disintegrating to bits.

    "That is what you get for being a fake emperor," snorted one of the cultivators.

    "Fake emperor?" I questioned

    "Pseudo emperor, he forcefully raised his cultivation from king to emperor without fully confirming his understanding of either himself or the world. It''s a state that can allow you to ess the emperor rank if only temporarily¡­" Zhang Tian exined.

    I didn''t even know this was possible.

    More emperor cultivators entered and nothing seemed to happen.

    "Let''s go," said Dao Shen.

    I looked back at Liang Yu and Yuyu. They looked sad but they didn''t want to stop me from going.

    "Godspeed!" said Liang Yu.

    "Good luck, we''ll make it to the Beyond, just wait for us," she said.

    I then took a step forward.

    The swirling ckness seemed to move around my body and started to dig into my skin.

    Just as the pain began increasing, the blood within me, began reacting.

    Every dark fiber of the ck swirling mass began moving away from me, revealing a tunnel-like passage. Behind me, the swirling darkness fused once again leaving me alone.

    And in front of me, was a spatial tunnel that seemed to extend to all eternity.

    But¡­

    I was alone.

    I waited and waited, and waited some more, but neither Dao Shen nor Zhang Tian appeared.

    And when I tried to backtrack, the ck mass dissipated.

    "Huh¡­"

    The tunnel I was in only had one direction and it was for me to choose it and to move forward.

    I tried to use spatialws to understand what''s going on around me, but nothing seemed to work, Spatial Law ispletely messed up here.

    Trying anything would probably rend this spatial tunnel. So, I might as well not mess it up.

    I began moving forward. But after a couple of hours of doing so, I got extremely bored.

    "Might as well use that," I muttered as I pulled up my hoverboard, it''s been ages since Ist used this thing.

    Looking at it now, it''s still in great shape and the reactor is also pretty healthy. I only needed to rece the Saint Qi crystal in the reactor with an improved one. And vo!

    Once reced, I sat on the hoverboard and made it move in a straight line.

    The Lord of Lords pagoda seemed inessible. Which was a bit sad, as I couldn''t enter it and have the hoverboard move while I waited inside the pagodafortably.

    But I can''t do anything but suck it up I guess. there is only one way forward, and I guess I''ll just walk forward.

    ***

    "DID YOU FIND HIM?!!" the Lord of Lords spoke panic struck his face for probably the first time in eons.

    "No! I''m still looking! What is going on?! I''m sure the passageway was perfect," the Wisest Sun replied as he weaved his hands through the air. He was pulling lines of what seemed to bew.

    And if one were to understand theplexities of thews that the Wisest Sun was drafting and pulling they''d know it was thew of irvoyance.

    irvoyance or the ability to see the future, is aplex art that not many could even fathom or even begin to understand.

    It is a derivativew that takes ''Everything'' into consideration. From the movement of the stars to the very action of every cell in the universe itself. It deduces and calctes based on past experience and happenings to anything that ever had urred and begins to try and deduce a future based on it.

    It tells the future based on the past.

    The basis of thisw is very simple. Take a person, with every memory he ever had, every action he ever took, every letter and word, every move and step he ever done, and take his memory of all of it, then nt it into a new person''s mind. Granted they will think exactly the same, do exactly the same, and act exactly the same.

    Because experience and memories make character and methodological thinking, if you clone a person''s mind and overwrite another, you''ll have the same resulting action.

    Only what the wisest sun is doing, is deducing the entirety of the world, to understand what went wrong and why they can''t find Shen Bao.

    "I''ll have to go and check for myself," the Lord of Lords said.

    "You cannot move there, you''ll destroy the Vast Expanse in its entirety!"

    "I won''t go to the Vast Expanse, I''ll traverse the tunnel, perhaps I''ll find him there straggling, because I''m sure he crossed, but I can''t find him anywhere around theyout of the tunnel."

    "Then go, and keep me informed, I''ll keep deducing, that perhaps it wasn''t something on our end¡­"

    The Lord of Lords then moved away and headed toward the entrance of the gate.

    The gate that the wisest sun made was sourced at one of his cultivation caves. The doorway that led to the Beyond, was a shortcut in a sense, because the distance alone from the Beyond to the Vast Expanse was extraordinarily long it would take longer than the time it would take for the creation and destruction of a gxy just to be crossed.

    The Lord of Lords arrived at the gate and it was opened but no one arrived yet. The cultivators who are crossing would take a couple of years of walking at least to arrive here, which is an incredibly short time period. And that is because they''re merely emperor-level cultivators, if they were above it would take an even shorter time.

    The Lord of Lords then stepped into the tunnel and moved forward, crossing extreme distances in the blink of an eye.

    After some time, the Lord of Lords managed to meet the first few cultivators, he could see them, but they couldn''t see him.

    They looked exhausted and seemed to have barely started moving through the tunnel while, the Lord of Lords was already at the other side.

    He looked and looked and there was no sign of Shen Bao.

    The people who were with him, the two young men with a very good foundation and talent were moving forward, already having understood that they were separated from Shen Bao and didn''t need to stay there waiting, they proceeded forward, as for Shen Bao he was still nowhere to be found.

    The Lord of Lords resumed his voyage and arrived at the door.

    The ck smoke that made the gate was stable, there didn''t seem to be any disturbance in its essence. Nothing affecting it. So where is Shen Bao?

    He was definitely not in the Vast Expanse, and he surely wasn''t in the tunnel, so where is he?

 Chapter 569 Danger

    Chapter 569 Danger

    "How long am I going to keep going," I sighed as I was bored beyond belief with the same scenery. This spatiotemporal tunnel was just¡­ redundant. It was the same thing from the start to now, the same damn thing.

    At points, I honestly thought I was in the same spot, but I threw some objects away and realized I was moving away from them, meaning I was constantly moving ahead.

    Realizing distance and directional awareness in space is a very hard thing to do. Especially since there are no points of reference.

    And so I kept on moving, and moving and moving until I had enough. After all, being boredes in handy in making new things. What else was I going to do? But I couldn''t help it, so as I was moving I decided to work on some random things in my spare time.

    Mainly the Keys.

    Though it''s not going to be easy to replicate, I literally need nothing but understanding.

    I had already jotted down every letter of thew that the creator of the keys had made. I then began trying to replicate the creation process of the earth key.

    Starting with basic inscriptions such as replication and duplication, conversion, and enhancements. Though these inscriptions might sound abstract and far away from what one would consider ''Law'' they are needed for someone like me.

    Whoever made the keys had the ability to go beyond the limitation of mental ability and used the world itself to create the foundation for his keys.

    As for me, I don''t evene close to such understanding so, instead of me doing it, I''ll just make an artificial intelligence using inscriptions.

    This might sound arrogant, but the Artificial Intelligence I''m trying to make has a very limited function, it is only to calcte and deduce then align whateverws I implement into it.

    It is basically a sewing machine that I''ll feed raw Law and it will trante it into physical Law.

    The idea is probably innovative enough and I''m probably the only one who thought of doing something like this, so I don''t think I can trust my chances of sess. But it''s a good start to replicate one of the keys.

    The process of making the artificial intelligence wasn''t that hard. After all, I already have a basic one, it''s Y''s brain.

    That''s something Master Rain did, although Y has an advanced mental prow it is very ''broad'', what I need is something morepact and focused instead of broad like Y.

    I don''t need the AI to talk, move, fight, analyze offensive gestures, and deduce defensive gestures and vice versa.

    So, I began jotting down the new AI I wanted to create by writing down Y''s brain circuit of inscriptions removing all the unnecessary inscriptions, and recing them with overwhelming processing andputing powers.

    This way this AI can only focus on building thews instead of frying my brain and not even being able to make even one.

    With this done, I began creating the AI. The inscriptions to make the AI aren''t something hard to make, but I need to make them flexible, and instead of adding more inscriptions I thought of something pretty neat to make.

    I grabbed a steel ball I had on me. This was one of the many cannon balls I owned, and this one is made from neutron steel, I don''t have much of this material left, but it''s pretty sturdy and I needed the base material to be sturdy.

    I then began cutting it into bits and parts until I fully separated the ball into Lego-like pieces. Once attached together they''ll make the ball whole again. The reason for this was to allow the ball to rotate sections of itself to allow for different creation processes.

    I then began inscribingw on each and every bit of the pieces, and then slowly linked them together, bit by bit, slowly but surely, I added more and more inscriptions to the mix.

    After several months of travel and work time, I was finally done with creating thepleted version.

    The metal bits lookedpletely different now, since they were carved and had writing all over them.

    I then began linking them together, until I recreated the ball from before. The ball seemed to have an innumerable amount of inscriptions that were intertwined with greatplexity.

    If I were to try and make this when I was below the emperor rank, I would have probably fried my brain before I was done, but now it''s easier since my mental and soul power gained a greater boost. Especially with Du Shen''s full memories and his own understanding and ''DOPING''

    I was able to use poison itself to boost my mental prows and negate exhaustion. It was at the cost of my own health at the point I even had to stop and chug down several rejuvenating pills before continuing the work.

    Now that I was done, it was time to activate the ball.

    I only needed to fuel it with some Qi, and there was a Qi absorption function within the ball, and the moment I jumpstarted the ball, it hovered up forward and began shaking, slowly but surely it began acting.

    Pieces of the ball began sliding inwardly and then outwardly, moving up and down, sliding across, each linked together to create new inscriptions and formations, and with each move and rotation, the orb began ''understanding'' its purpose.

    As soon as the ball finished its full spin rotation, it hovered calmly in front of me.

    "Now I just need to add the Earth Law and it should start weaving thews from the key that the creator of the keys made," I grinned as I was about to touch the ball and suddenly my mind seemed to reel as I heard a voice echoing within it.

    "Help me!"

    I immediately pocketed the ball and looked around, there was nothing.

    "HELP ME!" the voice, this time far closer to me than my own soul.

    I stopped the hoverboard and looked around.

    There was nothing here. The tunnel seemed to extend further forward and there was no exit in sight, but where was this voiceing from? Aren''t I in a spatiotemporal passageway? How can someone be here? And if they''re this close, where are they?

    Whoever''s calling me doesn''t seem to be harboring any ill will. Otherwise, I''d be in danger right now.

    But the most dangerous are these kinds of people, I can''t trust anyone and I sure as hell have no will or urge to assist someone I don''t know especially since I myself am in a precarious position.

    I decided to ignore whoever was asking to help and booted up my hoverboard once again, but just as I wanted to head out. The tunnel began destabilizing. Crumbling even, on all sides.

    "What the fuck!"

    I cursed as I desperately maneuvered the board to avoid the copsing spatial tunnel. The sides of the tunnel began tearing apart revealing rifts in space that seemed to suck into them whatever air, qi, or substance was in space.

    The force of the pull was strong enough to tear a loose rectangr armor piece from my board.

    The board itself was made from neutron steel, which meant it was one of the most powerful metals I''ve used.

    But the moment the piece entered the rift, it crumpled like a piece of paper and turned to specks of dust instantly.

    There was no way in hell or heaven that I would survive something like that.

    So I pushed harder on the board to move as fast as it could and avoid the copse of the tunnel, only for the whole damn thing to tighten in front of me like a caved in mountain.

    With no way to progress forward, and the copse of the tunneling at me from behind, I wholeheartedly believed that I was a goner.

    "This way!"

    I heard once again.

    And right underneath me, the tunnel opened up, a new passage that wasn''t there before, an exit from this trap.

    An exit from a trap to another obvious trap.

    After all, only a fool would think that they were saved. But although I knew it was a trap, I had no choice but to fall for it, or else I was going to perish here.

    One would rather face danger they don''t know than face certain death.

    So begrudgingly I dove into the newly opened passageway and went in.

 Chapter 570 Golden City

    Chapter 570 Golden City

    The passage led me to a new tunnel, this one looked far less stable than the one I was in before, but the good thing was it wasn''t crumbling.

    There were several fractures you could see as you would be moving through it.

    I dove down and continued moving, the copse from the main tunnel wasn''t limited to it, it actually began affecting this makeshift spatiotemporal tunnel and was chasing me.

    I pressed the board to move as fast as it could and it answered with a roar as its engine began overloading, using up every ounce of the Qi that was within it propelling me forward faster and faster.

    Before the tunnel wouldpletely copse, I was able to leave into a vast open area.

    The area in question was¡­ well space I guess.

    However, it wasn''t just empty space.

    The tunnel behind me crumbled upon itself, and closed down, leaving me all alone here.

    Well, alone is a far-fetched statement, since I was pulled here by that voice, and now it''s time to find where that person is.

    Looking around I saw what filled this empty space.

    There were no stars, none to begin with, it was eerie, it looked like an endless void that didn''t seem to belong to existence itself.

    There were no suns or moons, nos nor faraway gxies. It was pitch ck. The stuff of nightmares.

    A person takes their position depending on the positions of stars. You get to know distance, and how far you are from something, but without the stars, there is no point of reference to distance or location. So I''m lost in emptiness or would have been if not for this thing in front of me.

    Ahead of me, were tens of thousands of pieces of stone, rocks, and boulders. Parts of a whole.

    These pieces ofnd were familiar to me, they were the same pieces ofnd that were in the lost Celestial City where Zhang Tian was trapped.

    The rocks looked like brown gold, and there were enough of them, to make several dozen cities worth ofnd.

    They floatedpacted to each other, finding nothing else in this gigantic empty space to pull them aside, their own weight, created a gravitational force that kept them together never to be separated.

    It was the only thing here and didn''t seem to be anything else besides it.

    I had no reason not to go, unless if I wanted to stay in this darkness.

    "Come! Hurry! Or they''ll get you!"

    Once again the owner of the voice spoke to me, deep within my own mind.

    What is it talking about? I thought.

    And the answer came too damn fast for me to react.

    A bone-chilling screech echoed behind me. Like the critters of crawling bugs but cranked up to eleven. The voice sounded behind me and seemed to be getting closer and closer, it sounded awfully simr to bones being grated and ground, coupled with the sound of nails dragged across a ckboard.

    Teeth rattling and back shrilling sounds echoed and echoed, louder and louder, ''harbinging'' the approach of something I had no power to fight against.

    I focused my eyes on the floating rocks and moved toward them as fast as I could.

    The faster I approached the louder the voices sounded behind me, as if they were catching up to me faster than I could escape.

    Just as Inded on the first piece of massive rock, a loud crash happened behind me, I turned to look at it, it was darkness itself, shaped to that of a man on all fours, it had red eyes all over its shadow like body, and all the eyes seemed to focus on me.

    The eyes wiggled and shuddered, then jawsparable to those of a shark appeared all over this humanoid shadow and began grating against each other, drooling in wee to a meal long overdue.

    I couldn''t estimate this creature''s level, it had no Qi signature nor did it seem powerful. But I knew for a fact that if anything looked like that, and you were to underestimate it, you''d be the first to die.

    So I turned and legged it.

    The stone formations looked different and there were a couple of things I noticed.

    The moment the creaturended on the rock I was on, its ''arms'' and feet seemed to sizzle as if the rock was rejecting it. Burning it, however, it wasn''t enough for the creature to back offpletely and it still chased after me even through the pain.

    More of this creature seemed to m on the rocks,

    It scurried forward on all four like a crab, approaching far faster than it should, but I wasn''t about to let myself be eaten or worse here.

    In front of me were many more pieces of this golden-brownnd, it was brighter, as if it had more energy to it than the one at the periphery of this formation.

    The brighternds didn''t seem to have any of these creatures on them so I figured that these creatures cannot live on brighternd or at least the damage they''ll incur will be far more than what they can support.

    Or at least I hypothesized.

    So I hurried toward the brighter areas of thends, while hordes and hordes of these creatures seemed toe in droves after me.

    I pulled up Creeping Demise and began slicing away at them, only to find out that the sword would pass harmlessly through them.

    I cursed inwardly as I dodged as much as I could using the board before one of the fuckersnded its ws on it.

    I tried to kick him away only for my feet to sink into its body. The teeth seemed to focus on my foot wanting to rip it out, but thankfully I still had enough calmness in me to pull my foot out before the teeth would lock onto it.

    ''How are they able to be physical and none physical at will! This is annoying!'' I cursed as I tried my best to shake off the bastard from the board. But he wasn''t letting go anytime soon.

    "Go into the light!" said the voice.

    And with that, I moved the board toward the brighter-lit pieces ofnd, and just as I arrived at a slightly brighter one I pushed down on the board making the creature skid against the ground, burning its body in the process. The pain was enough for the creature to let go and fall to the ground further burning.

    The hundreds of monsters that were chasing me stopped before touching the brighternd, and I thought that I would be slightly safer with them off my back but an even bigger fucking one showed up behind the bunch of creatures that stopped.

    What he did was pretty smart, but very unfortunate for me. Ha clumped up the creatures like a ball, against their squirming and crying and threw them forward. Many of them fell on the ground and he used their bodies to step on them and run toward me, faster than my board could maneuver or outrun.

    I pulled my revolver and began shooting every type of bullet I had on me, poison, explosive, Qi, anti-Qi, and incendiary, not a damn bullet worked as they easily passed through him.

    But I wasn''t going to be done in like that.

    While the creature was still jumping on top of the sprawled-up and crying bodies of itsrades, I pulled up an explosive canister. Instead of throwing it at him however, I threw it on the ground.

    The explosion came at a surprise to the creature, of course, it wouldn''t harm him, but my goal wasn''t him, but the ground itself.

    The explosion shattered the ground and caused debris to spray all over the ce. This debris was enough to act as bullets, piercing into the body of the creature, and causing it to stumble, and wail as it fell on the ground, its body and ''flesh?'' melting rapidly in the process.

    The beast decided against chasing after me and scurried back to the darkness.

    I breathed a sigh of relief as I managed to escape the horde and soon was able to enter the centermost area of the whole of this wreckage.

    lights¦­¦Ïvel There was an entire city built here¡­

    A city that looked awfully like the one that trapped Zhang Tian. And that wasn''t the most impressive thing about this whole area¡­

    The whole city was surrounded by these creatures, so many of them it was absurd. They were like a moat around a fortress, grasping desperately at the walls of the city trying to get inside and the only source of light seemed to be from this very city itself¡­ and it looked to be a dying light, like a candle on itsst breath.

    "Come! Inside before they see you!" I heard.

    I couldn''t help but curst since they already did notice me, and the distance between me and the city wasn''t small.

    Shit¡­

 Chapter 571 Open The Door

    Chapter 571 Open The Door

    The city itself glowed in gold, but all around it, were moats of darkness and what seemed to be those creatures.

    Hidden within the cracks of the earth, or under the shade of stone away from the brightness of the city.

    These creatures looked like ck stains, as they threw themselves against the walls of the city, burning their bodies against the golden glow of the stones making the walls, and thus ever so slightly, dimming the stones down a bit.

    Death after death, these creatures constantly crashed their bodies, burning themselves without regard to their safety or survivability, with only one goal, keep crashing against the walls like an endless tide that never yielded, tiered or stopped.

    A good portion of these creatures turned their heads, as if my presence alerted them to my existence. They screeched as they gazed at me with all the eyes on their bodies. Scraping their nails and grinding their teeth as they looked at me then soon a few of them came at me running and scurrying across the ground, even when their bodies burnt and turned to sludge on the ground they kepting at me.

    My eyes scanned the surrounding. There was a single long bridge that led from the edge I''m on to the gate of the city. The moat that the creatures were in was basically like a cliff that surrounded the city, and they filled it with their bodies. However, they couldn''t break through the walls nor climb on top of the bridge.

    So, instead of waiting to be surrounded and my only path forward blocked, I would just go ahead before they reached me.

    I pressed the pedal and let the board go full burst, shooting forward above the heads of the creeping creatures, dodging away at them and avoiding any that tried to lunge at me or intercept me.

    Just as I arrived to the bridge, many of the creatures seemed to climb atop themselves, the things of nightmares. Rising from the moat on both sides of the bridge like a tower made of monsters and then crashed against the bridge. The first bodies thatnded on the bridge were turned asunder burning up in mes as they came in contact with the stone that made the bridge.

    As for the creatures that managed to stand atop the bodies of theirrades, those came lunging at me.

    As my board was moving, I noticed a loose piece of stone that was about to fall off the bridge. It was right in front of me and the distance between the stone and the monsters wasn''t that big.

    I pressed the pedal further increasing the speed as I extended my hand toward the stone. Just as I grabbed it, I mmed both palms against it, instantly turning the stone to dust in my hand

    The monsters were lunging at my face, not even a few dozen meters away, and in that time, I turned to the monsters, my open palm holding a mound of the golden dust, and my mouth blew against the dust infusing the breath with poison and the specks and kes of the golden dust.

    The poison probably wouldn''t work, but since it''s something I can control, I only needed the poison to stick to the dust particles so I can move the dust however I like.

    With the poison cloud mixed with the dust moving forward, I was able to create a cloud that forced the creatures to remain physical.

    How did I know this was going to work? Simple, the explosion I caused earlier with the cannister created a dust cloud along with the rocks flying and harming that beast. I noticed that the dust cloud that was created in the process had the same effect on the monsters, although limited by time and area, it was still enough to stop a few creatures from moving as it forced them to materialize.

    The poison cloud moved the dust particles how I wished against the bridge and right before the first creature was going to rip my face off, I had already pulled creeping demise and was mid swing.

    As if time froze, I could see many things. The eyes of the creature, since he had many, some were focused on me, and some on the swording at it.

    In that moment, the creature''s body, the part that was ''looking'' at the sword began morphing and sending signal to the rest of his body, as a wave, requesting the body to transform from physical to nonphysical following the direction of the sword swing, since in doing that it''ll be able to phase through the sword, ande out unharmed and then continue on its goal of ripping my face off.

    However, what the monster didn''t ount for was the dust that seemed to stick ever so lightly against its body, forcing it to momentarily freeze. In that moment the monster realized, it fucked up.

    The sword cut through it from right to left ripping it in half and in that single swing two more monsters were killed.

    I moved my sword back pointed it forward at the iing monsters, "EAT YOUR FILL!"

    Creeping Demise''s tip erged shaping itself into that of a steel made serpent, its mouth opened and gobbled up the whole lot of frozen monsters. The steel serpent crunched them inside it then spat them back as liquid mixed in with poison. Then it snapped its jaws shut, creating a spark that set the sprayed poison ame.

    ''Damn, that was pretty cool¡­''

    I pulled the serpent back and creeping demise returned to its needle like form, having the bridge cleared I rushed forward to the gate.

    lights¦­¦Ïvel More monsters began rising as they climbed atop each other like a tower, they then fell again on top of the bridge and began running toward me.

    The gate was closed and I was thinking of ways to get through it, flying above the gate was not possible, the formation seemed too powerful and breaking it would just allow the fuckers to get inside.

    Just as I was thinking of how I would enter, the gate suddenly rose up weing me in¡­

 Chapter 572 Questions and Answer?

    Chapter 572 Questions and Answer?

    I dashed inside as fast as I could while making sure I wasn''t followed, I turned and prepared to fight back, but the gate closed shut, allowing me inside the city that was surrounded by imprable walls.

    I looked around, making sure that nothing was awry. I''m in a new area, I have no idea what''s going on, or what those things are.

    I was nervous, that was certain, I was in a strangend. Without a friend orrade, alone and not sure where to go or what to do.

    Yet something kept bothering me¡­

    lights¦­¦Ïvel Why am I acting like this, I looked at my hand and noticed that I was trembling.

    ''Fear? Why? Tension and stress? I didn''t have that when I was fighting the Fire Lord¡­''

    I thought some more then realized that something was very wrong right now.

    I should under no circumstance feel fear, that''s not in the books for me. I''m Shen Bao, not some random scared cultivator. But why can''t I shake away this dumb feeling of helplessness?

    Also, why did I trust the voice? Why did Ie here?

    I was pushed to do it¡­ like a thought, guided and forced by circumstance and context.

    I was first in danger in the tunnel, then I was offered a way out, and right before I thought of what was happening and the reason why I was called in, I was pushed to run away, distracted by the creatures.

    Fearsome? Fuck no, I''ve seen far deadlier and more dangerous creatures in the Vast Expanse. But why did my mind race with the thought of me dying?

    I was not given a chance to think, because the voice once again asked me to ''run'' putting me in a more vulnerable mental position where I needed to focus more on running away than realizing what was happening. Then the moment Inded I was once again chased away, then given a lead where it was ''safe,''

    And now I''m in this safe ce, but my mind is currently reeling with confusion and fear.

    Which shouldn''t be possible¡­

    I wouldn''t fear death if it stared me in the eyes, why would I fear this?

    "Come,e," spoke the voice, this time far subtler and more weing, like the wee of a grandfather who hadn''t seen his grandchildren in ages.

    What impable timing and voice. Just as I was feeling worried and confused, someone with a gentle voice came in to invite me.

    One would think they have no choice but to seek the safety of this voice.

    The voice this time didn''t sound inside my head but sounded from within the city''s main pce.

    This whole city looked like the one that Zhang Tian was trapped in, the only difference is this one was a dozen times bigger.

    So finding my way to the pce was going to take some time, and the voice seemed to quiet down no longer calling for me.

    Before I headed to the main pce I needed to figure shit out. I wasn''t just going to agree with whatever this guy or thing asks, I need answers to the many questions I''ve asked.

    Looking around, the ground, stone, and bricks of the entire city were the same as the material that was making the very earth of this crumbling celestial city.

    The skies above, well I call them skies, when in fact it''s just random pieces of brown goldennds floating about.

    Some had mountains upon them, some had dead and withered trees and dried rivers. Some had viges and cities in their entirety only they were destroyed and ravaged. But the majority of these floating pieces ofnd were dead, and lit off, with the asional sight of some of those creatures moving about.

    This seemed to be the only ce that had this ''light'' on it, that prevented the monsters from corrupting it.

    Howe it survived when nothing else did? Perhaps it''s the material making the city, it look stronger and more refined. While everything else looked far lower quality.

    The pce was built atop an elevated hill. The pce crowned the hill and at the foot of the hill was another set of walls that spread all around it protecting the pce some more.

    The city was a buffer and the pce seemed to be the main building of this entire city.

    There was not a single soul in here, no one alive as it appeared. Not even bones were left, perhaps due to the incredible passage of time that happened even if people lived here, they''d be dead and their bones turned to dust by now.

    However, the owner of the voice lives still, how?

    More questions¡­

    I continued moving forward and decided to enter some of the abandoned houses.

    The houses were empty, there was not even dust on the floor or tables or any of the wears inside the house. Even the air itself was dead and stale.

    As I was moving through the house I happened to nudge a shelf. The whole thing began crumbling down as if it were made of ash.

    Testament of the ancientness of this ce.

    I walked out since there didn''t seem to be anything useful here and moved forward toward the pce.

    The gears inside my brain were working overtime, for what reason would the person here ask me to help them? They lived long enough to survive the passage of time, so what am I even going to help them with?

    The wall around the hill''s base had a gate in it which was opened wide. I crossed through it and went up the hill, atop the stairs that seemed in perfect shape no matter how long time had passed.

    I continued moving up until I arrived at the pce, this one also had its gate opened wide.

    The pce was pretty much a gigantic hall in the middle with four spiral staircases leading up, each staircase was in one of the corners.

    Perhaps it led to the upper rooms of the pce. But that wasn''t what caught my attention.

    No, what caught my attention was the old man lying on a stone bed right in the middle of the hall.

    "Closer child, closer!" it spoke

    And I heard that voice this timeing from the old man''s direction.

    Warry and careful I approached, my eyes looking all over the ce before finally resting on the old man''s body.

    "You''re the one who called me?" I asked.

    "Indeed," it said.

    "And why is that?" I asked.

    "Because I wish to die¡­"

 Chapter 573 Ghost In The Shell

    Chapter 573 Ghost In The Shell

    "That''s an interesting thing to say," I mumbled, "And why is that?" I asked as I approached prudently.

    "I lived too long, more like survived too long, I wish to let go, but this ce is holding me from ending myself. Could release me from this prison?" he said.

    "And what do I gain in return?" I asked.

    "¡­ There are many things here, you may take whatever you wish," he said.

    "That''s not a fair trade you know," I replied.

    "How so?" he asked.

    "Because you''re clearly immobile, I could already do that without your permission," I said.

    I was basically testing the waters, since I honestly could look through the pce for anything of value and just take it.

    "Indeed, then what do you wish?" he asked.

    "A way out," I said.

    "That''s not hard. I''ve been sentenced to imprisonment here and after I''m dead, the dome will copse, unlocking this prison and opening it for you to leave," he said.

    ''That''s very convenient¡­''

    "Is that so," I said.

    I approached the body and noticed that it had a holding bag on him.

    My hand went closer to the holding bag but a small protective barrier manifested around the body.

    my fingers were electrocuted as I was pushed back a bit.

    "There is a formation around my body, preventing anything to approach or harm me. It''s one of the reasons why I''m still unable to perish¡­"

    "A formation you say¡­"

    "¡­ do you understand formations?" the man asked.

    This was however strange, the tone he asked wasn''t that of a person who''s genuinely asking, but more like a person who was warry.

    "Not really, I''m pretty bad with formations, why? Will you teach me?" I asked.

    "Yes, I have some understanding of formations, and if you follow my teachings you''ll be able to unlock this formation," he said.

    "Okay, good, that''s something that''s worth learning," I said.

    "Good, but before we start, what is your name?" he asked.

    "I''m called Shen Mo," I said.

    "Good, I''m Fu Tian," he said.

    "Nice to meet you Fu Tian, tell me howe you''re imprisoned?"

    "It''s honestly been so long, I can''t remember¡­"

    "No matter," I replied¡­ this was also too convenient.

    "So how does this formation work?" I asked.

    "if you infuse some of your Qi into the formation it will open up to you, you''ll first need to understand the letters and how a formation functions and work, so let''s start by teaching you the first steps;" he said.

    I sat down and began listening to the old man, he spoke lengthily about formations and inscriptions and how they work.

    I''ve noticed several mistakes in his reasoning and way he exined things, but made sure not to speak of them only for the most tant ones, and that was because I knew he was testing me.

    "You said that this formation works this way, but before the inscriptions that acted upon it should contradict, how am I to realize which is real?" I scratched my head.

    "Good, this means you''re paying attention, I only needed to see if you fully understood the meaning behind these and tested you, I will refrain from doing so from now on," he said.

    "Okay," I nodded and continued listening.

    More upon more mistakes the man spoke of, enough that if one was truly a beginner in formation making and they were to follow his teachings they''ll end up following apletely wrong path.

    I already began realizing what this person wanted.

    Day after day, the old man continued feeding me wrong information. I made sure to memorize his ''teachings'' and replicate formation making using them. I even created a small formation using his teachings, granted it was faulty and full of mistakes and barely stable, but he sounded pleased with my advancement in the path of formation.

    "Good, good, this should be enough, with this knowledge you should have a good base to further your learning of formation, now can you use the knowledge I imparted you to break open this formation around my body.

    "Sure, I said as I stood up and infused my Qi into the formation."

    If I were to follow the teachings of the old man, my eyes would see this formation as a barrier that disallowed harm upon the body, and would constantly inject nightmares and painful trials to the body. Making them suffer endlessly.

    But if I were to follow my very own understanding I''d be able to see the truth.

    This formation was a self-preserving formation, not only is it stopping external interference it also allows one to rest and replenish their powers tobat the powers of time. This formation was safe and not a prison and the person inside it isn''t trapped no, they could leave at will.

    So this concludes my suspicions.

    Whoever''s talking to me, wants this person dead. And the person talking to me is definitely not the person on the stone bed, but close enough to speak and make it sound that it came from this very person.

    "Yes, slowly infuse your Qi, now dismantle it like I showed you," he said.

    ''I wasn''t going to do that.''

    The way he showed me was utter suicide, it was basically asking me to open my divine sense and allow the formation to ess my mental. That''s the best way to get possessed.

    I take good pride in my mental fortitude, but I''m not about to allow a random person to ess it freely.

    So instead of doing like the voice said, I infused more inscriptions into the formation.

    "What are you doing?!"

    I didn''t reply as I pulled my brush.

    "You liar!" shouted the voice and the entire pce began shaking.

    I smirked as I added more inscriptions further increasing the potency of the formation surrounding the old man.

    "STOP, STOP!"

    In then pped my palm atop the formation, infusing it with my Soul Shackling imprint.

    Several lines of the Soul Shackling Seal began spreading around the formation causing the owner of the voice to wail in utter agony as its soul seemed to burn.

    A dark shadow instantly emerged from underneath the stone bed and scurried away as fast as it could toward the exit.

    I chased after it, palm extended and pped on the ground.

    But the shadow split itself dodging my palm and continued escaping all the way to the gate where it left the pce.

    "Damn¡­ I couldn''t even catch it, I wonder what that was¡­"

    "Most importantly, who are you?"

    The words spoken literally had my heart almost drop. I slowly turned to see the old man sitting down on the stone bed looking at me in a wonder.

    "What, you look like you just saw a ghost¡­"

 Chapter 574 Memory Loss

    <h4>Chapter 574 Memory Loss</h4>

    "Says the guy who was dead¡­" I replied being awfully cautious.

    "Dead? Don''t go on cursing people like that, who are you?" asked the old man.

    "I''m¡­ Shen Mo," I replied.

    "LIAR!" the old man, shouted his voice was loud enough that I was physically pushed to my knees, bleeding from my nose and mouth.

    "Bloody hell!" I cursed back.

    "Don''t lie to me! You must be a spy! Yes! That damn bastard sent you! He must have. Of course, you''re not going to get anything from me!" the old man said, his anger boiling up.

    ''Shit, he''s strong, absurdly so.''

    "No one sent me old man!" I replied as I stood back up.

    "Old? I''m not old, why do you keep speaking nonsense, I''m barely a hundred years old!" he snorted.

    ''Huh? Did you take a look at yourself in the mirror? Even your clothes are rotting.''

    "What is this?" the old man mumbled as he noticed the wrinkles on his hand, "Why do I look like this?" he said.

    He then looked at me and said, "Did you do this to me?"

    "I just got here," I replied as I was trying to figure out a way to leave this ce, being with this deranged-looking guy was not a good idea.

    "You dare think of leaving this one and running away!"

    ''You read fucking minds now?!''

    "Wait¡­ what''s my name," he asked rhetorically.

    "Who am I? Something isn''t right," the old man seemed physically and mentally perturbed as he tried to remember his origin.

    I could understand, that being asleep oratose like him for a long period of time is bound to cause some mental issues.

    Soon the old man began groaning, and then it turned to a full-on blown-out wail of agony and pain, with every howl he made trying to remember, the whole pce shuddered and shook.

    "WHO AM I!" the old man shouted more and more, his voice gaining more sonorous octaves that the very fabric of space began tearing, me included.

    "Calm down!" I shouted as my body began tearing up from his shouts.

    My flesh and muscles were actually resonating with his shouts, causing internal damage.

    "CALM THE FUCK DOWN OLD MAN YOU''RE KILLING ME!"

    The old man soon quieted down.

    He looked at me and said, "Junior brother,"

    ''huh?''

    "What happened to you? Why do you look like that?" he said.

    "¡­"

    "You must be shocked, I remember you, you''re thest brother to join our abode. Although we didn''t get to meet more, I can still recognize you. All our brothers had died, only you remained junior brother.

    "¡­"

    "Master had a lot of praise for you, he told us that you were a once-in-a-million-year talent so you must practice harder, but here look at you, you''ve fallen below the Void Stage. How did that happen? Oh, I see you''re injured," he said.

    ''That''s because of you!''

    "You must have been hurt badly, who was it? Did the Darkest Sun send his goons again? Does he not know that we''re not bowing down to him?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Junior brother, you can''t go on in the world like this," he said as he tapped my shoulder, that simple tap almost ripped my shoulder apart.

    "Hmm, my apologies, I tend to forget that your cultivation dropped, but even though your cultivation is weak, your body is still sturdy, and good, keep practicing. I need to handle the forces of the Darkest Sun, wait for me junior brother I''ll be back soon!" he said and went out of the pce.

    "COME AT ME YOU VILE FIENDS!" he called out. And instantly waves upon waves of those ck shadows came at him.

    The old man flexed his body and almost doubled in size as he charged forward.

    He struck down and with each blow, hundreds of those shadows perished and dissipated. He swung again and again, killing them in droves not missing a beat as he swung his fists left and right.

    "COME YOU VILE THINGS! I Protected the Heavenly Abode for all my life! Darkest Sun! you will not get what you want from us!"

    The old man went on an extensive rampage, wreaking apart every creature he found, dismantling them as a child do to a castle of cards.

    Nothing remained after the old man went through it and he continued doing so until every piece of those shadows turned to sludge that could do nothing but bubble on the ground.

    The lucky ones ran away in utter terrorized fear. The rest fell down the ground to whimpering wailing sludge as they were mmed against the ground or torn across it, shredded and devastated.

    And this was all physical prows, the old man didn''t even use any spell or technique, it was all pure brutality.

    An hour is all it took for him to turn the innumerable hoards of those ck shadows to a pool of stagnant ck substance that couldn''t dare to move.

    He came back inside and stood up next to me, both his hands on my shoulders, and said, "This is how we should treat them! The fiends of the Darkest Sun shouldn''t be allowed to live! He oppressed our family for too long, we must fight back! Once we''re back to the Beyond we''ll be able to reim our prestige and honor!"

    ''¡­''

    "What''s going on Junior brother, you seem at a loss, do you think that our master had given up on us?" he asked.

    "No, I''m confused about how are we going to go back to the beyond," I had to y along, because I had no idea if this deranged man was friend or foe, might as well not piss off or aggravate the crazy guy, especially if he''s far fucking stronger than you are.

    "I do, but we need to clean up this ce first, the leader of these fiends, I''ve yet to capture him. Once I''ve done so our mission will beplete and we can then go back! I''ll open up the path myself."

    ''he must be talking about the shadow that ran away.''

    "Well that should be simple, I know where it went," I said.

    "You do!" he replied his grip tightening harder on my shoulders to the point I felt them about to break.

    "Ah I keep forgetting, you''re too weak!" he said.

    ''What a joke, how am I too weak?! Wellpared to this monster it must be true¡­''

    "Here have this!" the old man said as he pulled up a pill bottle from his holding bag.

    The pill bottle looked simple enough, and I didn''t smell any scent from any pillsing from inside it, I deduced that since such a long time had passed whatever pill was inside that bottle must have already turned to ash.

    Just as I opened the bottle something shot out of it. But the old man''s hand was faster as he grabbed it in mid-air.

    A whiff of the scent from whatever was in his hand passed by my nose, and almost instantly I felt my whole cultivation base roiling as if it was advancing.

    And that was just its scent, he then showed me the pill and the little bugger was actually trying to escape from between his fingers. It wasn''t glistening, shiny, or looked any more different than a small ball of dirt, but the energy within it was astonishingly high.

    "Hmm, I guess a long time indeed had passed, it already gained sentience, good, good this should help you recover your cultivation base. You dropped all the way to the Emperor rank, but I fear if you consume this pill you''ll blow up. Sit down, I''ll help you digest this pill, this is what a senior brother should do!" he said.

    I didn''t have a choice as he forcefully sat me down.

    "I think that pill is too strong for my body."

    "Don''t worry, if the energy is too much I''ll help in expunging it. You just need to consume the energy¡­ huh, what is this? Why are all your meridians destroyed? I didn''t think that the damage to your meridians was this much, I see your Dantian is still functioning¡­ what is this? Why do you have so much poison in you? No, you''re basically poison at this rate¡­"

    ''he''ll probably realize I''m not the junior brother he''s thinking of, I need a way to run away¡­''

    "No wonder master said you''re a talent that is rare toe by. You recreated your own meridians, these look intricate¡­ but I could deduce and understand how they function, your body consumes Qi, transforms it to Poison Qi, and then uses it to cultivate. You must need an absurd amount of cultivation materials to go up in cultivation rank¡­ I see, no wonder even when you fell from the Void Stage, you were unable to climb back, because there aren''t many cultivation resources here, but worry not, with this senior brother here, you shallck nothing! Eat this pill!" he said.

    "I can''t, It''ll destroy me," I said.

    "You have nothing to worry about, I''ll assist you in transforming it to Poison Qi, he said and pressed his palm on my back. A surge of bountiful and surprisingly gentle Qi rushed through my meridians, it felt far more optimal than my own personal method of Qi cirction.

    "Ingest the Pill!" he said

    Just as I did, I felt like I had opened my mouth to a floodgate. But the old man instantly used his qi to stop the flood from bursting me open.

    "Follow my lead, this is how you can further optimize this path of cultivation, watch closely!"

    and so I watched as an ancient cultivator began showing me how to use my own cultivation better than even I could...

 Chapter 575 Heart Demon

    Chapter 575 Heart Demon

    The energy flow went into my body far smoother than anything I''ve ever tried before. The whole experience was incredible. I could sense and understand the flow of Qi and how it ''should'' move through my body.

    And what surprised me was the fact that this old man, not only did he have no knowledge of my Poison Path cultivation method and meridian pathing, he immediately understood and deduced them, then came up with a far more flexible and more optimal pathing method.

    This way, if I wanted to use my Poison Qi to cultivate, I would have far less wasted rotations and will have my overall cultivation speed increase by at least a third.

    That''s an absurdly high amount of efficiency, and ites at no costs.

    Not only that, I''m even gaining benefits. The pill I''m currently consuming, not only is it repairing my damaged body, since even after hundreds of years in the white pagoda was not enough to fully cure my internal wounds from fighting the Fire Lord, but now, it''s as if those wounds never existed. And my body''s overall functionality seems to be improving.

    My muscle and fiber structure which I thought had already reached the peak seemed to be evolving once more.

    "Hmm, I can''t push anymore," he said.

    "Your muscles are incredibly well developed even for someone at the Void Stage, I suppose you''re able to take a hit or two from someone at the Void Stage, but the problem is you''re stuck a step behind, it''s as if not only did your cultivation level dropped but even your understanding ofw¡­ wait, no that shouldn''t be possible," said the old man.

    "What do you mean?" I said.

    "I can sense that you dabbed inw, not the low tier stuff, but thews of creation and elements, look at your fingertips¡­"

    I looked at my fingertips but didn''t see anything different.

    "I can see thews of the world moving whenever you''re moving your fingers. It''s as if you came in contact with something so far advanced that the lowerws wish to be ''controlled'' by you. You only see this when you reach my level¡­ which is impressive. Our teacher really did find a great talent. But I''m sorry I couldn''t protect you back then, when our home was invaded," the old man sighed.

    ''He sounds like a good guy, thinking of his n members this way. I feel bad for tricking him¡­''

    "But don''t worry," he said as he stopped with his guidance of Qi.

    "I sealed the remaining energy of the pill within your Dantian, I''m sure that you already picked up on how to use your Qi pathing better, once you''re capable you should slowly dissolve the pill and use it to regain your cultivation base," he said.

    "I''ll keep that in mind," I replied.

    He stood up and said, "Now tell me, where is that bugger? You said you can locate him."

    "Ah yes, really simple," I said as I pulled out my brush.

    "Oh, Ohhhh!! Where did you get that?" asked the old man surprise clear on his face.

    "This brush? I was given it by a merchant in ck," I replied.

    "Seems that our teacher''s grace extends far, do you know what that is?" he asked.

    "It''s a good brush?" I said.

    The old man smiled, "That''s a Divine Dragon Whisker Brush, you can only make one if the dragon willingly gives you one of his whiskers. It''s an incredible item that is sought out all over the beyond. Make sure to keep it safe and hide, but still it''s only good at making formations, how are you going to use it to locate the shadow?"

    "Well, simply put, that shadow had the ability to enter this ce," I said, "So it was able to tamper with the formation to do so, I talked to it a bit, and he revealed his knowledge about formations, it was¡­ let''s say,cking. And so," I said as I began moving my brush.

    "He never seemed to fully understand the purpose of the protective formation around the pce. It was never meant to stop the shadows from going inside¡­ that was never its purpose¡­ it was meant to prevent the pce and city from losing to Time. And in his attempt to understand the formation to enter it the first time, he caused issues with it, and it branded him, and anything rted to him to not enter."

    My arm was still moving around revealing more of the formation above us until it showed a special section that only the maker of the formation knew about.

    "This is a log of all the modifications that happened to the formation since its creation, and today marks the¡­ holy shit this thing is old¡­"

    The old man frowned, "How old? I''m sure it shouldn''t be a hundred years old at most," he said as he looked up.

    "¡­It''s more than that," I said.

    "How much more¡­"

    "Close to a million years of age¡­" I said.

    "That¡­ that''s not possible!" he said and soon his eyes began losing focus.

    He grabbed his head in pain and was about to go on another rampage.

    I think reminding him of the time he spent here, and how long its been since he was separated from his nmates will probably cause his mental to crumble again. I''d rather deal with this semi-sane elder than the crazed version of him.

    "Hold on, we''re in a separate space. Time may not move the same as outside, even if a million years pass here, it could be nothing more than a few hours in the Beyond. Let''s not jump to conclusions," I said.

    The old man calmed down, "True, you yourself don''t feel that old to me. So it must be true, the time just runs differently here¡­ anyway keep exining¡­" the old man said.

    "Well, the log here says that the shadow¡­" damn I guess this is not something that I can tell him either.

    What I see in front of me is absurd.

    The shadow¡­ not only it, but every other shadow here, all of them, they''re one being. Only the one that was living underneath the old man''s corpse has an Ego. The rest are all pieces and bits of one¡­

    They''re all the same person and they''re all the same thing, they''re the old man himself. And at the same time not¡­ there is one thing that can fulfil that condition.

    A heart demon.

    A heart demon given manifestation and ego, due to the passage of time.

    "So, tell me, what is does the formation say about the shadow?" the old man asked.

    ''This is gonna be hard to exin¡­''

 Chapter 576 Heart Demon II

    Chapter 576 Heart Demon II

    If I tell him that the reason, he''s stuck here is basically himself. He''ll probably lose it. But this is a heart demon, and if he doesn''t acknowledge it and solve it, he''ll stay here forever, me included¡­

    "Why are you stalling?" asked the old man.

    ''Bro, I''m trying to think of an answer that won''t get me killed!''

    "It''s not that I''m stalling¡­ it''s just strange, it doesn''t really exin how this happened¡­"

    "You''re still stalling¡­ and now I''m even more curious, tell me, stop hiding information from me¡­ I dislike that¡­"

    ''Shit, shit, shit¡­''

    I can''t tell him the truth, but I can''t lie to him either he''ll instantly figure me out¡­ But I can mix truths and lies.

    "Do you remember how we ended up here?" I asked.

    "Of course, it was the work of the Darkest Sun, he banished us due to his fear of us overtaking his seat. Although we never even thought of doing such, he''s a paranoid person with incredible jealousy and fear for his seat¡­"

    ''Reminds me of someone¡­ huh, a power-hungry warmonger exists everywhere, I guess.''

    "Then what," I asked.

    "The attack came too sudden; it was when our teacher was outside the n. The whole territory was extracted and banished to this void. Not many survived the banishment, and the few who did, passed away within those hundred years. I''m surprised to see you among the living, especially since I''m sure I saw you dying due to the transfer¡­"

    The old man''s brows rose up, and he began frowning.

    ''Well, I guess he''s remembering more than he should.''

    "Howe you lived? Hold on a minute¡­" the old man seemed to be on the brink of losing his sanity again since what he remembers and what he''s seeing started colliding.

    "You didn''t see me dead; you saw me dying, I had issues recovering my cultivation base because of that you see¡­ that''s why I''m like this, I''ve lost a lot of my memories in that ident also¡­"

    "Oh¡­" the old man sighed and said, "It must be true then, right, right. It indeed was a cataclysmic event."

    ''One thing''s for sure, the old man subconsciously knows I''m not the same person from however million years ago. But he''s actively stopping himself from seeing the truth, he is denying it, and epting whatever lies I tell him. Why? Simple, because he''s been alone for so long. And if he were to find out I''m not his ''junior brother,'' he''ll lose his mind again. His own subconscious is actively trying to fix itself. So no matter what I tell him, as long as it falls within reason, he should believe it, no, he must believe it. If not, his mind will fall.''

    "So, the Darkest Sun seemed to have used a method to force a heart demon to manifest into the form of those shadows¡­"

    "A heart demon? Who''s?" he asked.

    "The strongest person here," I replied as I pointed at him, "You,"

    "So¡­ you''re saying that those are heart demons? And it''s because of me that they came to exist? And I''ve been fighting myself this whole time? Absurd! I can''t believe that!"

    The old man''s hand gripped his head, as pain was obviously creeping up his expressions.

    "Yes and no¡­" I said before he began losing his sanity. Damn this is rough.

    "How so," he said as he let go of his head and meekly looked at me.

    "It must be because the Darkest Sun made it so that you cannot figure it out. He trapped you within an illusion¡­ I was only able to wake up recently and saw it, otherwise you would still be trapped in this illusion that you''re fighting an unknow foe forever, while it was nothing but a heart demon¡­"

    "If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t have realized this¡­" the old man said as he looked outside.

    "So many, only for them to be a part of my own mind¡­ but how do I clear this, Heart Demon?"

    ''Bro, why are you asking the junior¡­ aren''t you like a million and something year old, you should know how to do that¡­''

    "Hmm, so far we identified the cause, figuring out how to solve it shouldn''t be that hard. We need to know the reason it became your heart demon. My first guess is that it was formed due to ''our'' inability to protect the n¡­"

    "I would also assume such¡­ but even then, I''m not foolish enough to sumb to a heart demon due to the action of someone far more powerful than I am¡­ if the Darkest Sun decided to attack out n, then I''ll have to fight tooth and nail to protect the n. And if I were to lose, I would have no regrets or reasons to make a heart demon. A heart demon is only made when one goes against their own nature¡­so it cannot be an external factor, although an external factor can be a contributor to the creation of a heart demon¡­"

    "Hmm, so we can assume that the Darkest Sun wasn''t the reason for this thinging to existence¡­" I said as I kept scrolling through the seemingly infinitely long logs of the formation.

    "The only thing that could answer this riddle¡­ is the heart demon itself," I said.

    "Huh? How so?"

    "Oh, you probably don''t know, the main one, has an ego, it was created and established due to the passage of time. And if we catch it, we probably can figure out the reason why it came to exist in the first ce¡­ the problem is¡­"

    "It''s not going to tell us," he said.

    "Yeah, that''s not going to be easy, because the moment we know why it came to be, It''s basically halfway through answering how to get rid of it¡­"

    "It''s okay, I know how to make it talk if we catch it," he said.

    "How so?" I asked.

    "With violence¡­" he replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

    "And what if violence doesn''t work?" I asked.

    "Then we just use more," he said grinning.

    I''m not gonna lie¡­ I like this old guy¡­

 Chapter 577 Trap

    Chapter 577 Trap

    "You mentioned you could track it?" asked the old man.

    "Yes, I can locate the main shadow," I replied. "And where is it now, I guess it''s hiding among its many brethren outside¡­"

    "No, it''s with us in the pce," I replied. The old man frowned.

    "It was only able to enter after altering the formation around the city and the pce. And since the rest of the shadows are senseless beasts they couldn''t replicate it. But now, it can''t leave since it needs to re-alter the formation again, and the moment it touches the formation it will be caught."

    "Then we''ll just have to wait until it touches the formation¡­"

    "I don''t have time for that. That thing had waited for millions of years, if it wanted to hide and wait, we have no guarantee we''ll even catch it," I said.

    "So, junior brother, what do you suppose we should do? Do we split up and look for it separately?" he asked.

    "That''s the worst idea I''ve heard in a while," I said.

    The old man looked perplexed and slightly embarrassed, "I don''t understand how is my idea that bad¡­"

    "The first time I met it, it was trying to kill you. And if we split up we''ll just be two targets," I said.

    "Well, I can probably take care of myself, I''m pretty strong," the old man smiled.

    I sighed, "I know you''re strong, but I''m not. Remember, it''s your Heart Demon, poor ol me will just be a snack for it. Not to mention you wereatose when I found you, meaning he had already beaten you once," I replied.

    "I never thought that my junior brother''s mouth can be this sharp, but you''re right, let''s stay together, the only issue will be that it will take us longer to capture that thing," he said.

    "Valid argument, but that''s not an issue. I told you, he''s trapped here, he can''t leave," I said.

    "That only stops him from leaving, this pce is gigantic," he said.

    "Not when I''m here, look up, what do you see," I said as I pointed.

    "The formation?"

    "Exactly, it''s a cage, a trap, but it can also be a. I''m capable of controlling it, and adjusting its radius. You only have to do one thing," I said.

    "What do you need me to do?" he asked.

    "Once I start retracting the, the monsters outside will assault the pce, I''m sure the golden stones will stop the bulk of them, but the formation was doing most of the work, you''ll have to take down the bigger monsters, as for that shadow, once the tightens enough on him, I''ll be able to cage him like a bird," I said¡­ however, that wasn''t all that I said, I made sure to send him a divine sense message with a bit more information.

    I needed the shadow to hear half our n. And only half our n.

    The old man nodded and said, "Good, I like that idea."

    ***

    "These fools think they can catch me, good, we''ll see how you can do that¡­"

    The shadow moved around the pce''s roof surveying the surrounding. Many of its clones spread all over the area had perished to the old man, but it will take only time for them toe back.

    After all the only thing they have here is time.

    The shadow was enraged, enraged at the fact that his n didn''t work. As nothing but a mere Heart Demon, it cannot kill its creator directly. It needs to borrow other hands to do it.

    The Heart Demon tried many times in creating situations for the old man to die, but nothing ever happened.

    After all the only way for this heart demon to live is to possess the dead body of the original owner of that body.

    And he almost got things to work. All because of that new guy who seemed to be trapped in this banished world. Although the Shadow couldn''t use the tunnels to leave this banished world, he was able to pull in people to this ce who crossed nearby.

    This guy seemed like a fool, he didn''t have any Qi in him. With that knowledge, the shadow judged that it could control the boy and use him. After all the shadow was bored for the many years it lived and managed to understand some inscriptions, thus he formted a n and wanted to use the child.

    The n was simple, to use a faulty understanding of formation to kill the host, and once the old man dies, the shadow will take over and will be able to leave this damned ce.

    But now, that child ended up being far greater in formation-making than the shadow assumed, causing many years of waiting to go to waste.

    But nothing is too ruined to cry over for now. The child mentioned using the formation to trap the shadow, it was a foolish idea because the shadow knew the formation left and right and could easily skip through the so-called.

    Not to mention, it would be a great idea to take over the child''s body instead of the old man. After all that old man would be really hard to kill, and the mere fact that his cultivation level is so absurdly high makes his body almost impervious to possession. But the child, from their conversation, seems to be the junior brother of the old man.

    And once the shadow possesses the junior brother, he''ll have better chances and opportunities to kill the old man.

    A good n and all he needed to do was to apply it.

    The child in the middle of the hall began moving his hands, and soon as he had mentioned, the whole formation began changing and moving, closing in like an actual.

    The shadow was impressed at first, after all, it''s not easy to control such a formation, it took ages for the shadow just to gain ess once inside it.

    But now the child is moving it after just a few looks he took at it.

    Good, the shadow would be happy with such a body and its knowledge.

    Just as the was closing in, the brethren began moving. Having the formation move away from the walls of the pce allowed them ess to it and thus the old man had to split with the child and start a massacre.

    The old man continued on fighting disregarding the child, and that gave the shadow a great opportunity to attack.

    The child had mentioned that the shadow could only enter the formation and never leave. But in the many years the shadow had spent here, he had already managed to understand some of the formations and easily left the, and now took a roundabout path as he fused with the ground and rushed toward the focused child.

    The child''s hands were raised up along with a brush that he used to control the formation, unaware of the shadowing at him from the bottom.

    But just as the shadow approached and was under the child''s feet, where he was about to ponce, he noticed something that shouldn''t be there.

    The child''s lips were curled up, and the child''s eyes were already looking at him.

    "Gotcha!"

 Chapter 578 Within The Soul

    Chapter 578 Within The Soul

    My hands instantly went down toward the shadow, glowing and glistening in a golden glow.

    The shadow didn''t understand what was happening as my hands sped upon his neck.

    It tried to wiggle and wriggle out of my grasp, but from within the glow around my hand like inscriptions spread out and surrounded the shadow, enclosing it within a golden cage.

    "You got him?" asked the old man.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Then I cane back," he said as he retreated away from beating up the shadows.

    The formation above us began spreading once again growing back to its original form, and at the same time culling and killing any of the dark creatures that were far too deep into the pce perimeters.

    The monsters died in droves, evaporated to nothingness as the formation crossed them and destroyed them, leaving the shadow lookingpletely stupefied and confused.

    "What have you done!?" it shouted.

    "Why are youining, you tried to kill me and now you feel wronged when I try and defend myself?" I smiled.

    "You''re a devil!" it said.

    "Wow, calm down, I haven''t even done anything yet to be called a Devil. Anyway, what do you want to do with this?" I asked as I handed the old man the captured shadow.

    "I''ll destroy it," he said

    The old ma held a fist and was about to obliterate the shadow.

    For a split second, I saw the shadow''s malformed mouth quiver, as if he forced down a smile.

    "Hold on," I said before the old man swung down.

    "What is it?" asked the old man.

    "I find it strange," I said, "Actually it''s very strange, this thing should have struggled more, why is it ying so meekly? Once captured it gave up, and when you threatened to destroy it, it didn''t try and protect itself, as if it had wanted to be destroyed¡­"

    "Perhaps it had given up and realized it had no way to survive?" said the old man.

    "No creature would ever give up struggling to live and survive, unless they knew they either weren''t dying¡­ or their goal is to die," I said.

    "Do you consider a heart demon a living creature then?" asked the old man.

    "Its goal is to possess and control a body, then be a living being, so it''s not far fetched¡­ but then again the word heart demon isn''t that simple, what caused this to manifest is something we don''t know, and simply destroying it will not solve the issue of it being created in the first ce. Yes, it''s a heart demon after all, if we don''t find a way or if we don''t understand how it came to be, then it can just manifest again the same way it did the first time..."

    "I have a way to find that out," he said as he reached out for the shadow.

    The shadow began squirming and tried desperately to avoid the extended palm of the old man but at the final second, the shadow jumped into the palm.

    "Sit down!" I said as I pulled the shadow back.

    "I wouldn''t trust the shadow that much, did you want to do a soul search?" I asked.

    "Indeed, it was the only way to understand this Heart Demon''s purpose and reason,"

    "Since you''re the progenitor and creator of this Heart Demon if you allow it into your consciousness it will devour it and consume you," especially since you''re half sane¡­ but that part I wasn''t going to say loudly.

    The old man thought for a moment and said, "Then are you going to be the one to do it?" he asked.

    "No, this is too powerful and too dark for me¡­" I said

    "Then we have no choice," the old man interjected.

    "I didn''t say that, I meant that I won''t be able to, but my avatar sure as hell can," I said.

    "Avatar? i never knew you had one¡­"

    "Everyone has their secrets," and I''m not your junior brother, yet once again I won''t say that out loud.

    I summoned Shen Mo''s body from within my Poison God''s book. I had thankfully organized myself to have the most important and crucial items on my possession to be within my Poison God''s heritage, as for the rest of the random stuff they can either be in a fake side bag, or inside the pagoda. The Lord of Lords pagoda is unfortunately inessible right now due to spatial interference. But the rest is easily essible since it''s a part of me.

    Shen Mo''s body appeared in front of me and I switched between the two consciousness.

    "This body is even weaker than the one you''re using¡­ it''s barely at the ascendant stage, what do you n to do with this?" asked the old man.

    "It may be weak physically and in terms of cultivation, but when ites to soul cultivation I doubt it has a match," I replied proudly.

    "I admire my junior brother''s pride in his ability, but too much of it is arrogance and arrogance will only lead you to ruin," he said.

    I didn''t want to argue with the old man and said, "Give me your hand," I said.

    "What do you need me for?" he asked.

    "I''ll take you both into my sea of consciousness," I replied.

    "Are you insane, you''ll give him two meals instead of one this way," he said.

    "How about you trust me for a second? I promise even you will be surprised after this," I said.

    The old man thought for a moment, then steeled himself, he probably was thinking that no matter what as the senior brother he''ll have to fix his junior''s mistake anyway and he was going to soul search the shadow inside my sea of consciousness at the same time.

    Once the old man gave me his hand, I sped it and pulled all of us inside my sea of consciousness.

    It didn''t take long before we were within my world. Unlike Shen Bao''s mind which was an endless sea and a fortress that protected the mind. Shen Mo based his mental sea upon the Dark Forest of the Poison.

    I located the old man instantly, he manifested right next to a shabby looking shack at the top of a hill that overlooked the entirety of the forest.

    As for the shadow, it manifested in a random area in the forest a bit away from the hill.

    "¡­" the old man was looking around, slightly dissatisfied.

    "You seem displeased," I said behind the old man.

    "Ah yes, a bit, I thought it would be a bit entric or different, but this isn''t that bad," he said.

    "But who said this was normal?" I muttered.

    "Strange, why do I hear you from high above?" the old man said and turned to finally look at me.

    But his eyes seemed to widen in utter shock as he realized what he was looking at.

    A manifestation that looked nothing like a human, person or a being that should exist.My appearance was molded after the corrupt soul of Shen Mo, and that soul was tortured and punished and had be a dump to all vile and evil thoughts and feelings for me. A perfected demonic soul that could wish to have nothing but to share in its agony and misery with the world itself.

    This was far more brutal and dangerous than a Heart Demon, a demonic soul that sought to destroy and consume, not to mention it was the size of a moving mountain.

 Chapter 579 Justifiable Madness

    Chapter 579 Justifiable Madness

    "What in heaven''s name is that?!" the old man questioned.

    He was by no means weak, his whole body exuded a godly and powerful glow that made him extremely noticeable within my own Sea of Consciousness. However,pared to my darker and gigantic figure he looked like a firefly.

    "Consider it me having a bad day, now look over there," I pointed.

    The shadow was running away like a rabbit from iing prey, leaping up and under hurdles trying to get as far away from us as possible.

    Even with the gigantic distance between us, I could still feel its fear and panic as it realized that it hade to a very dangerous ce.

    "So now what?" he asked.

    "Now, we hunt," I said.

    The two of us hurried forward, me moving about in a casual stroll, while the old man was flying forward.

    With a move of my hand, a gigantic fissure appeared right in front of the shadow, forcing it to stop and change location.

    And just as he turned to the side and ran a bit, a mountain rose up in front of him to block him, then more trees sprouted creating a blockade.

    The shadow noticed using and tried to dive through the trees, to breakthrough and run away, only to find barbed veins growing around the trees that changed its mind.

    It ran and ran, but couldn''t hide or escape and soon was trapped in a basin. Rising high on all sides and with only us three in it.

    The shadow tried to fight back, only to no avail, as I grasped at it and locked it within my hand.

    "There you go, now you can''t run away anymore,"

    The shadow struggled and wiggled and then screeched loud enough to burst a man''s drums, however, it had no effects here.

    "Howe your soul power is this strong?" asked the old man.

    "This isn''t half of it," I said. And it was true, this was nothing but the damaged part of my main soul, the defective part that was moved over to Shen Mo''s body.

    "So, now that he''s captured, what do we do?" he asked.

    "simple, Soul Search!" I said and the fumes making my body entered through the shadow''s mouth, nostrils, eye sockets and ears prating deep into his mind then began disying its memories.

    Years upon years of endless waiting were portrayed through the shadow''s memories, its time spent in the pce thinking up a n to kill the old man and take his body.

    However, we didn''t need any of that, so I skipped forward.

    This caused the creature to scream in agonized misery. And I know how this feels, it''s like having a hand inside one''s brain scrambling, through it like one would do an egg.

    Looking for a specific memory, and I found it.

    The memories that the old man wascking were within this thing.

    "I guess I was right, it''s your own heart demon, are you sure you want to see this?" I asked him.

    "Yes, show me," he said.

    "Then so be it," I said as I projected the memory of the shadow.

    The vision and memory was from, the eyes of a person who we didn''t know at first. The eyes looked down and we could see the exact same robes as the old man was wearing.

    "That''s our pce within the beyond, this is before the banishment¡­ what''s happening?" questioned the old man.

    The vision continued and we saw what happened next.

    The pce was set ame, the city around it was burning and there were armies of enemies surrounding the whole area.

    High above was a man atop a pnquin that was being driven by dragons. And around him were a dozen female cultivators that seemed to have a cultivation base that was so deep and steep that I don''t think I could even recognize how strong and far they are from me.

    Another person came forward and in his hand was a scroll made of golden paper that he pulled apart revealing its content.

    "The benevolent Darkest Sun, in his wisdom, has issued a decree reprimanding the side branch of the Celestial n for their rebellious behavior. Their attempt to revolt against his majesty has not gone unnoticed. Consequently, all members of the subsidiary branch now face the severe consequence of exile. Stripped of their esteemed status as royalists, they are henceforth denied the very right to exist as humans. In the eyes of the celestial realm, they stand condemned and found guilty, reduced to a state considered lower than beasts. May their souls seek sce in the purgatorial mes, for only through such fiery tribtion can the Darkest Sun''s ire be appeased."

    The man wearing schr clothing then nodded to the side.

    And from that, the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounding the city let loose a volley of arrows upon the Celestial n''s branch.

    The eyes that were looking at the situation shook and then the owner flew forward in a rage toward the rider of the dragon pnquin.

    He was then intercepted by the female cultivators around the pnquin, fighting for life and death as they used fabric as a weapon while he sliced and cut away at the iing cultivators culling lives left and right.

    "Do not interfere with his lordship''s rule!" spoke the schr.

    "WHAT RULE?! WHAT PROOF DO YOU HAVE THAT OUR CLAN BETRAYED YOU? WE LIVED IN HARMONY AND ADHERED TO THE MAIN CLAN''S LAWS WITHOUT COMPLAINT! YET YOU FIND US IN INJUSTICE! I DENY IT! I DENY IT!" the old man shouted with all he had as spears and swords cut through him.

    But he didn''t back down and fought back, culling and killing the cultivatorsing at him.

    He looked down and noticed that the formation protecting the royal pce was about to break and all the people inside would soon die.

    He was stuck between needing to force his way forward to get his revenge on the Darkest Sun or to go back and protect his fellow disciples and n members.

    Torn between two options, the man inside the pnquin appeared. His face was fully covered in darkness, and his body exuded¡­ light?

    It was all I could exin it as the light the man''s body exuded was actually ck. He didn''t seem to have an ounce of energy within him as if he was not even part of this world. An ethereal being that seemed to have no feelings or an existential imprint. It was as if he existed and didn''t at the same time.

    The man then took a step forward and pressed his finger on the old man''s forehead.

    "What have you done to me?! I can''t control my body?!"

    It didn''t take a second for the man''s eyes to turn bloodshot red and then he turned and went right back into the formation.

    The numerous wounds on his body instantly healed as the energy of the Darkest Sun was coursing through him. But that wasn''t to help him but to cause even more sorrow.

    "STOP!" the man shouted trying to stop himself as he realized what was going to happen soon.

    "PLEASE STOP!"

    He begged and begged but he couldn''t do anything.

    The sword that was used to defend the celestial city was then turned against his own fellow cultivators.

    "NO!" the man howled and cried, "RUN AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted and begged as his sword cut left and right.

    He cut right through the face of surprised cultivators who thought of him as an ally.

    He bore through the hearts of children who couldn''t even outrun him.

    The man''s tears flooded his face, and when he couldn''t cry anymore, the tears were changed to tears of blood as his hand kept swinging, and his body kept healing whenever his brethren tried to stop him.

    He couldn''t stop killing and culling friends and ally, brother and sister, family members and even those unrted.

    The man who was tasked to protect the celestial city was the very person destroying it.

    And at the same time, the man who caused him to do so only snorted, then pped his hands, once, twice then thrice and with that, the entirety of the celestial city was surrounded in a magnificent sized formation.

    Not a secondter, the entirety of the formation was teleported out into a space between spaces. In a fold that seemed unknown and unnoticeable. To never be found or sought, banished to all eternity, leaving the old man hunting down any and every single person that lived still as the city was still floating through unknown space.

    The old man continued his unbridled killing as the city tore and broke, as bits of it were separated from the main. As some were turned to dust and some were sent far into space.

    The man killed and killed, until the streets of the city turned blood red. Until there was no one left but himself.

    Only then

    Was he abele to let go of the sword, only then was he able to regain control of his body. And only then was he to look upon the results of his own actions and the blood on his hands.

    Only then was he allowed to actually weep.

    ''Damn¡­'' I said inwardly as I turned to the old man.

    His eyes were no longer focused¡­ and I had a feeling that he was about to lose his sanity again.

    ''Well, I can''t even me him if he goes mad now¡­''

 Chapter 580 Psychological Warefare

    Chapter 580 Psychological Warefare

    From previous experience, I was familiar with people going insane, mainly personal experience.

    The time I was stuck with Servant Mao taught me how a human''s soul can be corrupt slowly and surely it will turn darker and darker until it is fully consumed or until the main soul suffers a mutation of sorts, and that mutation causes the soul to separate itself from the corrupted part.

    This isn''t good at all though, although it''s basically cutting the toe to save the foot, it doesn''t mean that it is harmless to a person, because cutting away a part of one''s soul doesn''te without consequences.

    Here the consequence was obvious, it was the creation of the heart demon, and in that creation, there was separation.

    The old man separated his soul in two, but with that lost or gave up his memories of the past, the memories were then put in this severed soul and created the heart demon that is haunting him.

    That was done to save the main soul, however, now that he was able to remember the past, it''s as if that part that was cut away is being fused back.

    And I could see that visibly happening.

    The shadow in my hand beganughing as it slowly dissipated and the golden glowing soul of the old man began losing its brightness gaining a darker shade over time.

    Soul corruption¡­

    "Old man¡­" I said

    But he didn''t hear me. Or he couldn''t hear me. He was troubled with all the memories he had forgotten and that were nowing back.

    He then locked eyes with mine, bloodshot eyes, and spoke, "You¡­ you''re not my junior brother¡­"

    "I never said I was," I replied.

    The old man, as calmly as he could speak said, "Get me¡­ out of here¡­"

    "I can''t do that," I replied.

    "Let¡­ me¡­out!" he said and with every word, I felt my sea of consciousness vibrating.

    "You''re currently destabilized, if I were to let you out, that thing that fused back into you will consume you once again, guilt and me will eat you up and you will fall into a destructive behavior for many more years¡­"

    "I¡­ can manage," he said.

    "You can barely control yourself inside my Sea of Consciousness and I''m already depriving that Heart Demon of a lot of its power, once there is just you and him within your mind, it will consume you¡­"

    "WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he said.

    "In case you didn''t notice, your body is barely darkening, look at mine," I said as I pointed out at the pitch-ckness of the soul that was controlling Shen Mo.

    "So am I to be trapped here forever?" he asked.

    "No, I needed that thing to get back to you for a second," I said.

    "Why?" he asked, his eyes looked dubious.

    "Because only then can I consume it without you losing your sanity and memories," I said as my hand grasped the old man.

    "What are you doing?" the old man questioned, he clearly didn''t seem to be enjoying my gripping him like a small chick.

    "Don''t fight back, I''m trying to purify your soul," I said.

    "How are you nning on doing that?" he asked.

    "This soul of mine is pretty appetizing for that kind of heart demon, look," I said.

    The old man noticed that the moment my hand was around him, some of the darkness that was contaminating his soul began seeping out.

    It seeped out andtched onto mine, further increasing the size of my dark soul.

    "What are you doing? If you were to remove the Heart Demon I''ll forget this once again," he said.

    "No, I won''t fully remove it," I said as I continued absorbing.

    "I''ll remove the self-loathing, the hate, the guilt, the despair, the loneliness, and the anguish, but will leave you with the Rage, and the will of revenge. Thetter two will contain your memories, and the former will contain all the vileness toward yourself. This way, you won''t lose your purpose." I said.

    By the way, I was talking out of my ass, I can''t do that. I''m not a god. Treating trauma requires professional help, but I said I''ll do that, to focus and focalize his mindset. I can draw away the Heart Demon, but I cannot selectively remove feelings. Because, really, who the fuck is even able to do something like that.

    Yet, words wield a unique potency. The old man before me resembled a drowning soul, desperately seeking a lifeline. Recognizing the potential for him to retain his memories while relieving his guilt, I envisioned for him a process where his subconscious would ept the ''altered'' reality.

    If the Heart Demon attempted to resurface as feelings of remorse and self-loathing, he would recall my intervention, believing those emotions had been expunged. In turn, he''d attribute any negative sentiment to the overwhelming desire to have revenge against the Darkest Sun.

    It was a seed nted in the depth of his mind, he will think that that seed was his own and his own only and whenever something bad happens he will always attribute it to his rage against the Darkest Sun.

    It''s psychological warfare between him and himself. Only now I had given him a target where he can dump all the bad memories.

    The old man seemed to have calmed down a bit, and soon his eyes were no longer bloodshot and seemed to have regained some sort of life to them.

    "Let me out child¡­" he said.

    I nodded to him and the two of us were back in the real world.

    He looked around, sighed, and soon tears began dropping from his eyes.

    I was worried that all my hard work would go down the drain, but soon the old man took a deep breath and exhaled.

    "Who might you be?" he asked.

    "I''m a cultivator from the Vast Expanse," I said.

    He looked at me, up and down, and said, "No wonder I thought you were incredibly weak. It seems that you, with scarce and rare resources already reached the ceiling imposed upon the Vast Expanse. Looking at your bone age, you lived no longer than half a century¡­"

    "I''m in my fourth century," I replied.

    "Good, you''re still young," he said as he looked up.

    "I can still feel it," he said.

    "What?" I asked.

    "The cries and fear, of the people I killed with my own hands¡­" he said.

    ''¡­''

    "Don''t worry, I won''t go on a killing spree again, though I haven''t made my peace with myself, wallowing in sorrow and agony helps not in the slightest, now I have a goal in mind, and only when I achieve it must I allow myself to weep for the passing of my brethren¡­" he said.

    "What is your name?" he asked as if switching subject.

    "Shen Mo," I said¡­

    "I can tell when someone lies, but if you''re not willing to share your real name, I have no qualms with it. One must not give their name lightly."

    "Names have power," I replied.

    "Indeed, they''re what defines you from one another, and if you give it to someone it is to give them a bit of your essence, for mortals it means nothing, but for those of greater ability revealing their true name can be dangerous," he said.

    "Is that why they''re named Suns?" I asked.

    "Indeed, those of the name Sun are all using their titles instead of their names. They wield so much power that they agreed to never intervene with the mundane and the mortal. They hold reign and lordship over thends of the Beyond but they cannot directly wage wars. Just one of them can eradicate entire continents so they made a pact to never interfere directly with any beings below their cultivation levels. And if one were to break the treaty, they would be hunted down by the remaining suns." He said.

    "I guess the treaty was not respected when the Darkest Sun intervened¡­" I said.

    "No, it was within reason, after all, our Celestial n was a part of the Darkest Sun''s Celestial n. And if he wanted to punish us, none could stop him, since we belonged to him since birth¡­"

    "You want revenge?" I asked.

    "I do," he said.

    "We need to get out of here first¡­"

    "I know the way out," he said.

    "Then what are we waiting for?" I asked.

    He looked up and said, "Once we go to the beyond¡­ we''re going to have some problems¡­" he said.

    "Howe?" I asked.

    "I''m a banished celestial, if I''m revealed, I''ll be hunted down and chased," he said then he turned and said to me, "And you¡­ well, I have no idea how you got here, but no matter how you did it''s not good¡­" he said

    "Howe?" I asked

    "Because there are only a couple of main pathways that lead to the Beyond, and the moment the people who crossed from the Vast Expanse to the Beyond arrive, they will be received by powerful sects who''ll take them and¡­ well, brand them. As for you, you''ll be unbranded," he said.

    "Branded? You mean as a ve?" I asked.

    "More like protection, meaning that you belong to a certain n or sect¡­ and if you don''t have one¡­"

    "Let me guess, then I can be hunted? Free for all?" I asked.

    He didn''t need to agree, his look was enough.

    He''s an exiled person, and I''m apparently ve material.

    This trip to the beyond hadn''t even started and I''m already in the shitter¡­

    Great¡­

 Chapter 581 Light at The End

    Chapter 581 Light at The End

    "But no matter. Once we arrive at the Beyond we''ll manage, my old master was a friend of the Wisest Sun, if we were to meet with them or at the very least, the people who worship the Wisest Sun, we''d be able to get refuge and asylum," he said.

    "Who is the Wisest sun?" I asked.

    "The very person who made the keys that created the vast expanse. I have little knowledge about it, but the thing around your fingers, that vast understanding of Law and elements, that was the lifelong work of the Wisest Sun. I''m pretty sure that at the very, very least, he''d be interested in someone like you, who was born in the lesser world and was able to grasp his teachings," said the old man.

    "Then we have a goal and a destination, what are we waiting for?" I asked.

    "Let me burn some incense for my people, then we can leave," he said.

    I nodded to the man and waited by the door of the pce.

    The old man opened his holding bag and pulled up an incense stick. One would think it too little for the mass of people that died here, however, the incense stick the old man pulled was the size of a pir.

    He lit it up and ced it in the main throne room, allowing the scent to primate the whole of the area we were in.

    Soon the old man knelt down and then bowed until his head touched the ground toward the incense stick.

    He remained there for a bit then stood up, wiped his eyes, and said, "Let''s go."

    The old man flew up, and I followed suit, there was no destination in mind as it seemed we were just flying through this void. But soon the old man stopped, "Here, it should be enough," he said and then pulled up a rusty old sword.

    All he did with the sword was swing once then ce it back in his holding bag.

    I didn''t seem to understand what happened, but thews of space which I''m a bit familiar with seemed to have been affected.

    The tunnel that had copsed on me earlier was now opened once again.

    "Let''s get in," he said. And the two of us entered the tunnel.

    "Howe you were able to do that? I thought since you were exiled you wouldn''t be able to leave," I asked.

    "Exiled and imprisoned are two different things. Being Exiled here means that I wasn''t allowed back into my mothend, but being imprisoned would have meant that I couldn''t go back anywhere. As long as I avoid thends of the Darkest Sun for now, we should be free to move about in the beyond. Not even the Darkest Sun would dare barge into another Sun''snds just to kill someone like me. Although he can send a lot of people to do that job, we''re better off dealing with that kind of people for now," he said.

    I nodded to the old man.

    I was going to a newnd, and thankfully I had a guide. Otherwise, with what happened I would have probably fallen into the territory of a hostile poption and would have been in massive trouble.

    I don''t know why I was separated from the rest of the group, or if everyone had suffered the same fate as I did, all I can do is wish for their safety and once I have more information and knowledge I''ll go looking for my friends.

    "You never once asked me about my name," the old man said as he moved forward through the tunnel.

    "There never was an opportune moment," I said.

    "It''s Fu Tian," he said.

    "Same name that the Shadow told me¡­" I said.

    "Indeed, it was after all a part of me, so it also carried my name, but that isn''t the case anymore, I''m no longer a part of the Tian n."

    "You''re discarding your family?" I asked.

    "No, my family is dead, what I''m discarding is the association with the Darkest Sun. He had brought us nothing but misery. Thus, I''m changing myst name to Shen," he said smiling.

    I frowned for a second, but shrugged, "You can do whatever you want," I said as the two of us continued forward.

    Time kept passing, or the semnce of it. Time isn''t really a thing where there are no spatial focal points to take for reference. However, the feeling of time trickling down was constant within me.

    And after a while Fu Shen asked me, "You know of me, but I have not the slightest knowledge of you, tell me of your life, Shen Mo,"

    Since there was nothing else to do and pass up the time, I began telling him my story.

    Without mentioning the fact that I came from apletely different world, I began telling him the story of starting Lucid Spring Vige.

    How I had not been able to cultivate, with broken meridians, how I had grown old looking for a cure, and how I found salvation within death after being captured.

    How I turned from an old man to an abomination of disease and sickness due to the poison that permeated my body.

    And how I tried and struggled through life carrying nothing but the will to move forward. Immortality was never my goal, but it was a tool for me to satisfy my endless curiosity about this world.

    That pursuit helped me meet with Yuyu and with the treatment of her illness, then the fight against the Three-legged Raven sect. My meeting with Zhang Tian in the Celestial city which was apparently a fragmented part of the very ce we were in.

    The understanding of formation from Master Rain''s intricate work and the development of my own way of creating inscriptions. Then the assault on my home, its destruction and then me heading to the heavenly academy.

    I couldn''t speak of many things as I kept their secrets, but the old man was attentive and kept listening.

    I continued on with my story, about how I sought the Dao and ascended. How I met the Golden Titan back in the past of the Heavenly Academy and learned more from him than I ever thought possible. How I helped him get his final peace in the Under-Void.

    I then told about my journey to a new world where I fought against a King ss corpse and won, and how I was captured and trapped, by the hands of vile people, then to be released in the presence of Zhang Tian, my sworn brother.

    Then I exined more and more about the Poison God''s Heritage and its trial, and how we had to fight tooth and nail against impossible odds, fighting only for the purpose of losing at the end, but instead how by struggling we conquered the trial and I left it a winner only to fall prey to the Primordial Serpent God.

    Then a new venture started within the stomach of a-consuming beast that I ended up consuming instead.

    The old man didn''t interrupt me not even once as he continued listening more and more and soon we reached the point of fighting the Fire Lord and how somehow he escaped, only then did the old man ask.

    "Did the hand look like this?" he asked as he pulled his palm forward and it projected the picture of a decrypt-looking hand with a golden ring that carried a red symbol on it.

    "Yes¡­"

    "That''s the Darkest Sun¡­ he intervened," said the old man.

    "¡­"

    "It matters not anymore, you ventured through seas of fire and mountains of des yet came out victorious, that is not something that any random person can do. Climbing all the way to where you are from the Vast Expanse is proof enough of your ability, and now, you''ll have the chance to do so in the Beyond," said Fu Shen. "Especially since we arrived," he said.

    And right at the end of the tunnel, there seemed to be a light¡­

    "Here Ie I guess."

 Chapter 582 Arrival

    Chapter 582 Arrival

    "Nothing so far?" the whitest sun asked his friend.

    "Nothing¡­ and it''s been more than enough time for anyone to have crossed¡­" the Lord of Lords replied with worry in his eyes.

    The Whitest Sun sighed and said, "I''ll go and check myself," he said.

    "You believe I''d have missed something?" said the Lord of Lords.

    "Not to lower your perceptive ability, but I have a slightly better understanding of thew of space. I have a feeling that the tunnel didn''t work as intended."

    "Then what do you suppose we do with these people then?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    The Whitest Sun looked down. On the exit of the tunnel was a massive white square tform where hundreds of cultivators arrived.

    ***

    The people from the Vast Expanse all looked confused as they saw the world they were in now.

    It didn''t have anything topare with their former world.

    Mountains flew high up in the skies, and cities were built around them.

    The clouds in the sky were thick and thin, high and low creating a divine canvas that looked like nothing they''d seen before.

    Flood dragons flew around and so did Suzaku birds and some tamed Rocs.

    The newly arrived cultivators were shocked not because of just that but the density of the Qi in the world. There was so much of it they felt suffocated and some were outright about to burst.

    Around the cultivators were several hundred other men. These people were separated into eight portions. Each portion was fronted by one man holding a massive banner.

    Each banner had the symbol of a sun on it, and each sun belonged to one of the Eight Suns ruling over the Beyond.

    The people of the Beyond ''weed'' the people of the vast expanse. However, the wee wasn''t what the cultivators of the Vast Expanse expected.

    "What do you mean brand me?! I won''t be a ve to anyone!" one of the newly arrived cultivators said.

    "Foolish ones, this brand will protect you and give you allegiance to one of the eight Suns. You must choose, or else you''re to be hunted. This is thew of the beyond. Choose, or die," said one of the people of the Beyond who seemed to be leading a banner of a hundred men.

    The cultivators were worried, they realized that in terms of power, they had absolutely no chance to ever escape this encirclement. They realized that the people here, some of them were actually even mightier than the two stone puppets that were guarding the door of the Vast Expanse.

    And those people were nothing but guards around the banner holders.

    In terms of power and ability, the people of the vast expanse, even with their Emperor cultivation level seemed nothing more than a toddler in front of a full-grown man.

    They had no chance to escape or run away and had to adhere to thews and rules.

    "How will we ever choose?" spoke one of the men. It was Zhang Tian.

    "Pick a banner to be under, and you shall receive their brand. That is thew," spoke a man who was holding a banner that had a Red Sun.

    Zhang Tian took a look at the banner and felt his heart plummet.

    There was so much power from that symbol, so much mighte out of it, it would make a man''s hair turn white.

    "ughter¡­" Zhang Tian said.

    "Oh, you seem to have the ability to see through the banner''s guise. Good, join us!" the man with the Red Sun banner spoke.

    "I follow the Dao of Knowledge, I can''t see myself following your banner Zhang Tian said with words struggling toe out of his mouth from under the banner''s pressure."

    Suddenly a man appeared in front of Zhang Tian, he was wearing full white and had a beard that reached his knees, his eyes held the glow of a starry night sky as he looked up and down at Zhang Tian.

    The moment the man arrived one of the banner holders immediately knelt down, and soon everyone behind them followed suit kneeling on the ground.

    The old man raised a hand to stop them from speaking or announcing him. But from the reaction of the other banner holders, the terror in their eyes none dared utter a word and they all took a few steps back.

    The old man grinned and approached Zhang Tian, he looked him up and down and said, "You''re Shen Bao''s sworn brother." The man said right into Zhang Tian''s mind, there didn''t even seem to be a ripple of Qi moving when he spoke those words.

    "Who are you?" Zhang Tian asked, quite surprised that someone from the Beyond knew Shen Bao.

    As for the people around Zhang Tian and the cultivator from the vast expanse their eyes widened as they didn''t understand how can some foolish barbarian even speak such direct words to someone as great as the person in front of Zhang Tian.

    "Let''s say I''m someone who knows your Junior brother," he said

    "Then do you know where he is? We were separated as we were journeying through the tunnel, and we can''t find him here," said Zhang Tian.

    "I have no knowledge of his whereabouts, we actually came here to find out if you guys know¡­" "We?" muttered Zhang Tian.

    "Oh, yes, behind you," said the old man as he nodded up for Zhang Tian to turn and look.

    Zhang Tian turned and saw another old man in front of his otherpanion. Not only him even the rest of the banner holders noticed him and took further steps back. All but another group all knelt down leaving only the banner flying high.

    Dao Shen was not able to move a muscle when the old man was staring at him, it felt as if the old man was peering into his soul.

    "Good Seed," the second old man said.

    "You found someone you like?" asked the first old man.

    "Yes, He has good talent and a stable foundation, pretty impressive for someone from the Vast Expanse. I''ll take this one," the old man said.

    "Good, then I''m taking this one," the first old man said as he pointed at Zhang Tian.

    No one from the banner holders dared speak a word as these two men picked and chose.

    And this caused Zhang Tian to further increase his impression of the two people here.

    Their cultivation was absurdly steep enough that these two people gave off the feeling of mortals instead of cultivators. They seemed to not even be part of this world even though he could see them with his own eyes.

    Zhang Tian instantly sent a divine sense message to Dao Shen. "No matter what, don''t anger these two people, their rtionship seems friendly, so even if we''re taken and separated we can meet again. I have a feeling that they''re highly ranked within whatever n or sect theye from. Just keep a low profile for now¡­"

    "I know, there is no need to tell me that, for now, let''s follow what they''re saying¡­" Dao Shen said.

    "Oh, we''re not part of any sect," spoke the first old man.

    This gave Zhang Tian a shock.

    How was he able to intercept his divine sense message?

    "When you grow old you''ll be able to understand the reverberation of Qi and trante something as simple as a divine sense, it sounded awfully loud in my ears, as I said I''m not part of any sect, I''m that thing fluttering in the wind," the man with the starry night sky eyes spoke.

    Zhang Tian followed the pointing finger and noticed it was pointing at the kneeling people holding a banner with a bright White Sun on it.

    Zhang Tian then looked at the other man and moved his head. There was another Banner.

    This banner had a Crowned Sun in the middle of it.

    "I suppose that no one here has any objection to us taking these two?" the owner of the White Sun banner muttered.

    None spoke in disagreement, nor would they have dared.

    "Good, you two follow the banner holders, Lord of Lords, we should move out."

    "Lead the Way Wisest Sun, I''ll follow after."

    The two of them left the area and went into the tunnel this time together hopefully they''ll be able to locate Shen Bao.

 Chapter 583 Chased

    <h4>Chapter 583 Chased</h4>

    We prated through the white light and found ourselves in a new world.

    The skies seemed ethereal with a massive sun high up in the sky that radiated heat and life everywhere. Mountains rose above the clouds and floated in the distance, creating cascading rivers that fell down to water the ground down below.

    Rainbows formed, and underneath these divine arches flew some of the most majestic beings I''ve had the pleasure of seeing. Flood Dragons of all colors, Suzaku mythical birds, and even divine winged tigers moved about pouncing from on top of a cloud to another.

    If one were to call this a celestial heaven, no one would disagree.

    But from the might these beasts exude one can easily understand and realize that nothing is as it seems. Even from so far away one could feel the might behind these creatures, and if things like this exist, it means one of two things.

    These beasts are mighty and strong enough to live unbridled and free, or that the people around them are so far stronger than these beasts that they treat them as pets.

    Both cases mean one thing for me¡­ I have no power or ability to deal with these things right now.

    Just as I was about to start taking in the remaining scenery a powerful sense of distortion hit me.

    I was falling, unable to keep afloat or high when Fu Shen rushed toward me and grabbed me by the arm.

    "Strange¡­" I muttered. "It''s as if thews are different here¡­" I muttered.

    "Not different, they''replete," he said.

    That took me a while to understand but I had to agree, in a sense this is the ''real'' world. And the Vast Expanse was a copy.

    The Vast Expanse came to be due to the Keys, but this world was originated using far moreplexws. This isn''t to say that thews I learned back in the Vast Expanse were wrong, they were just iplete.

    Soon the two of us came down all the way to the ground.

    I could barely breath, Qi was stuffy and suffocating, I couldn''t even use it but it was actively trying to prate into my body. And that was causing me issues.

    "Sit down and stabilize yourself, I''ll keep watch," he said.

    I did as request and sat down, slowly rotating my cultivation base to synchronize myself with this new world and these newws.

    I felt like a fish trying to leave water and go intond. It wasn''t easy, and it felt as if I was being rejected, but I had to grind my teeth and tide through this to get full eptance from this world.

    "The Beyond holds far more secrets than one can count or encounter in a lifetime. And some of these secrets could be as mundane as the grass one stands on or the very air one breaths. For you whoe from the Vast Expanse, this might look mystical and mysterious, but for us it is simple and obvious, take in what you can and if you have any questions I''ll reply you as best I can," he said.

    "Yes¡­" I huffed as I took a strained breath after another, it felt suffocating and exhausting to even breath but I had no option but to do it.

    "When you said you''ll keep guard," I said through grit teeth, "I suppose you meant from cultivators right?" I said.

    "Yes, indeed," he replied.

    "Then you better get ready, one of them ising over," I said as I nodded forward.

    It wasn''t something strange, since we literally went right through a spatial tunnel that crossed unimaginable distances, the opening of such a tunnel is bound to cause some alertness in the eyes of the people nearby.

    And this one was one of them. Perhaps he thought it was a treasure revealing itself to the world, or maybe just curiosity, but since I have no brand on me, this man if he were to take a closer look he might think of me as prey to hunt.

    "Fellow cultivators," the man said as he approached both of us. "What brings you here?" he asked.

    Shen Fu looking him up and down and said, "leave if you wish to keep your life."

    The cultivator didn''t even dare argue, after all, he didn''t notice Shen Fu''s cultivator until Shen Fu spoke and released some of it. Only then did the man realize that he was way out of his league.

    He turned and left instantly afterwards.

    "You should have killed him," I said.

    "Why?" Shen Fu replied.

    "Two strange men appeared in a ce where a spatial rift opened, one of them is mighty and strong enough to be a force to be reckoned with, the other is barely at the emperor stage. And they''re both wearing different type of clothes, What would people think when they are informed of something like this?"

    "¡­"

    "Loose cultivators. We''re not bound to a n, not to mention if that man recognize you, wouldn''t the that ''guy''e looking for us?" the guy in question was the Darkest Sun, but I know far too damn well not to speak the name of a powerful person. After all, names have power, and once his name is spoken, I won''t be surprised that that person could feel it and sense us.

    "You''re too paranoid Shen Mo, that man was probably also looking for an opportunity, everyone knows the price of curiosity, if one doesn''t have the strength to back up their curiosity they will just die. That man had probably withdrawn and went back, and in case they informed anyone of my presence, they''d have to mention my cultivation level. Although I''m not the strongest, not many could juste and confront me."

    "Even more reasons to kill that man," I said as I started feeling my cultivation stabilizing further and my body synchronizing more and more with the world.

    "It''s because you''re too strong it''s suspicious enough to have people question why you are here. Strength brings curiosity and too much of it brings suspicion. Once that man reports a powerful cultivator is now here, other powerful cultivators will take not of it and wille flocking, after all our arrival wasn''t that secretive and that rift opening is bound to attract some questions, we need to leave soon," I said as I stood up.

    Shen Fu clearly didn''t have full faith in my words, but I''m not nning on risking my neck in a strange world where I have no friends orpanions to watch my back. I need to fully understand the situation first before I move forward, and getting suspicion from people isn''t the best way to proceed with that.

    "Have you stabilized enough?" he asked.

    "Enough to move about, let''s go," I said.

    "Okay follow me," he said as he flew up and I followed after.

    It only took some adjustment to be able to fly and I soon followed after Shen Fu.

    Yet not before long, I felt several powerful Divine Sense crossing and scanning us.

    "Well¡­ shit," I cursed.

    I had a feeling something like this was going to happen, just not this fast¡­

 Chapter 584 Slave

    <h4>Chapter 584 ve</h4>

    Suddenly one of the cultivators wasing from up ahead, he then soon stopped in front of us blocking the way, a shrewd smile on his face, "Fellow cultivators, why not stay for a bit, you seem in an awful hurry to leave," he said.

    This man was wearing a set of red robes and was hunched over, his face was uglier than mine when I was dipped into the Bone and Body Grinding poison.

    Obviously, he was a poison cultivator from all the paleness on his body and the dark fingernails indicating he handles poisons on the daily.

    "If you know we''re in a hurry then you better step aside," said Fu Shen.

    "Ah it would be a bit of a shame to let you guys go this fast," another cultivator spoke as he appeared behind us. Then soon two more came after.

    "I guess I really should have killed that bastard," Fu Shen said sighing.

    "It doesn''t matter anymore, I guess these guys think we have some sort of treasure," I said.

    "Don''t act smart, child, we know you have a treasure on you, that power to break open a rift isn''t something anyone can do, the energy from it is bound to be that of a treasure," the hunchback said.

    "I suppose you can get rid of them," I said.

    "I can," Fu Shen replied, but its slightly risky, he added.

    "You lot think highly of yourselves, brothers, how about we clean up this mess and then we can figure out what to do with the treasure on them?" the hunchback said.

    The three other cultivators tacitly agreed as they approached us.

    Old man Fu Shen sighed and then pulled out a rusted old sword, "This is going to bring a lot of unwanted attention¡­" he said.

    "Well we can deal with thatter," I said as I began channeling my Qi.

    "HAH!" one of the cultivatorsughed as he looked at me gathering my qi, "A little Emperor cultivator is trying to fight with us who are at the Void Stage! How cute!" he said as he charged at me with a?spear in hand.

    "Lay off! I want this child!" he said as he rushed me only for me to blow a gout of green smoke into his face.

    The cultivator twirled his spear to try and blow away the smoke, but it was too thick to be blown away, especially when I snapped my jaws together, the snap sounded like the booming of thunder as it created a spark that ignited the smoke.

    The smoke instantly red up in the face of the cultivator who backed away after being singed a bit.

    "HAHAH! Look at you, actually suffering at the hands of an Emperor cultivator, I''d be too ashamed to show myself," one of thepanionsughed at him, while the hunchback man frowned as his gaze was focused on me.

    "You know the art of poison well,e under me, I''ll teach you many things," he said.

    I looked at the man and said, "I wouldn''t trust your teachings, after all you look far worse than I, and I believe I have far greater knowledge of the Dao of Poison than you do," I replied.

    "Child who''s still wet behind the ears dares! Then let me show you the true art of poison!" he said as he pped the side of his bag and pulled a ck pill that seemed to barely hold any Qi inside it.

    He consumed the pill and then blew out a smokescreen that had five colors inside it.

    "Have a taste of the forbidden Poisons! Multi Colored Death Cloud!" he said.

    Yet¡­

    The moment the cloud came in contact with me, it felt as if I was being nketed by a cozy nket while it was raining outside.

    The poisons came in contact with me and I felt as if they begged me to be a part of myself.

    And so I obliged. I opened my mouth wide and consumed the five colored poisons.

    A couple of these were poisons I knew, but the others were something new to me.

    My body began shuddering as the old hunchbackughed. "That''s what you get for disrespecting the Multi Colored Death Cloud!"

    I then burped a puff of colored poison as I replied to him, "You really couldn''t think of any other name for that?" I said as I walked forward, "This poison, pretty good stuff, you got anything else?" I asked.

    "Are you going to toy with them some more?" Fu Shen asked.

    Just as I turned to look at him, three of the five people already lost their lives to the rusty sword in his hand. And he, like any self-respecting cultivator actually grabbed their holding bags.

    "Just a little bit," I replied to him, we need one alive after all," I said.

    "Why do we need one alive?" asked Shen Fu as he immediately appeared behind the spear wielder and sliced him in half while at the same time ripping out his soul and cing it in his own personal holding bag.

    The old hunch back realized that they were fighting someone far above their league it was absurd that they even thought of stealing from them. After thousands of years of cultivation, one easily knows when they''re in deep shit, and right now the hunchback realized it all toote.

    He had three options, Escape, which was not the worst idea, but seeing the speed the old man moved with, unless he burnt every ounce of his blood essence he won''t be able to get away from him, and if he did so, he''ll just perish and lose all his cultivation base anyway.

    Second was to fight back and that idea was crossed off his mind the moment it came to exist. That''s utterly absurd to even think of defeating such a monster.

    Andstly, he thought and thought and came to a good solution.

    As the child said, they needed one alive and he was thest one, perhaps if he appeases them he may get away with his skin intact.

    "Please! Great lords! Please let me live! I''ll cooperate!" the old man begged on his knees and his head on the ground.

    I approached and replied to Fu Shen''s earlier question, "The reason we need one alive is because we have no idea where we are currently, who''s territory is this, and where I can get a good shower. This guy seems to know a bit of this area, and I''m sure they''ll be very helpful, won''t you," I said as I ced my hand on the shoulder of the hunchback.

    "Y-yes! I''ll be your ve for a hundred years! Just please spare my measly life!" he said.

    "Good, now speak up, where are we?" I asked.

 Chapter 585 Ant Cave

    <h4>Chapter 585 Ant Cave</h4>

    "Well, great lords I don''t understand what you mean by that question, we''re obviously in thends of the great Lord of ughter," he said.

    "Lord of ughter?" I replied questioningly.

    Shen Fu sighed as he said, "We need to leave here fast¡­" he said.

    "Problems?" I asked.

    "Yes. A lot of it, most people here are pretty bloodthirsty, it''s the Law of ughter. This wholend is almostwless, it''s almostparable to the Sea of Demons."

    "Now you''re speaking in words I don''t understand," I replied this time in Divine Sense so I don''t expose my origin.

    "What''s this Sea of Demons, and what does thisnd beingwless mean?" I asked.

    "The whole area here is basically a dog eat dog world," he said.

    "When was anywhere in the cultivation world not a dog eat dog world?"

    "¡­ You''re right, but this is a bit exceptional, there are some rules andws one must follow here though," he said.

    I nodded and then asked the poison cultivator, "Tell us about thews of thesends," I said.

    Shen Fu understood the meaning behind my question. Since if the old man here were to give us any false information Shen Fu who is a bit acquainted with thews of thisnd would instantly see through the lies.

    "Oh, there aren''t muchws, basically one must never spheme against the ughter Lord within his territory, one must never go against the ughter Sect, and finally if you''re strong enough, do whatever you want," he said.

    Shen Fu nodded.

    "That simple?" I said.

    "It''s a pretty free country¡­" the poison cultivator said.

    "So you''re telling me, being a poison cultivator doesn''t make people look at you weirdly?" I said.

    The hunchback frowned, "Why would they? I''m pretty strong¡­" he said then looked at our expressions.

    "I mean I''m strong within the norms. I have very few enemies since I killed most who went against me, and if you''re powerful enough in thend of the ughter Lord, you can do whatever you want, even Devil Cultivators aren''t being hunted here, since they''re strong enough to stand by themselves no one bothers them, and they at the same time don''t bother anyone from the ughter Sect." he said.

    "Tell me more about the ughter Sect," I asked.

    "I can''t," he said.

    I frowned.

    "It''s not that I don''t want to, it''s one of the ughter Sect''s established rules, and remember one must not go against the ughter Sect. As a person who''s not a member of the ughter Sect I can''t in good conscience tell you anything about it. If you want information you either have to go to the ughter Sect, or ask someone from the ughter Sect," the hunchback said.

    "Is the ughter Sect that dangerous?" I asked.

    "More like very powerful, most people here want to belong to the ughter Sect, it provides incredible opportunities and protection to its members. I''ve been waiting to join it for thest hundred years, I still can''t." he said.

    "I don''t know much about that, but he doesn''t seem like he''s telling any lies¡­" Fu Shen said.

    "Please lords! Believe me, wait we can go to the Ant Cave, there you can get more information, thedy of the Ant Cave is a member of the ughter Sect, she can tell you more," he said.

    "Ant Cave?" I asked.

    "Its basically a mountain with tens of thousands of caves inside it that are formed like a maze, the cave allows cultivators to hide in there from pursuit at a cost. After all if one decides to hide there no one can find them. And the Queen of the cave there is a member of the ughter Sect, she guarantees the safety of the people there by merely being there." He said.

    "I suppose no one would juste in and crumble the mountain on top of everyone since it will inadvertently harm the ''Queen''."

    "Exactly, I''ve had many encounters with people who I almost lost my life to, and used the cave to hide away until I gained my current strength," he proimed proudly.

    We weren''t impressed.

    "Ok¡­" he said, feeling slightly dejected. "Anyway, the cave is pretty close, it''s just a hundred thousand miles to the west, I''ll lead the way," he said.

    ''I can''t believe I''m hearing the words, pretty close and a hundred thousand miles in the same sentence¡­ the size of thisnd must be gargantuanly massive.''

    "Lead the way," said Shen Fu as the two of us followed after.

    The distance was not small by any means, but thanks to our cultivation level it wouldn''t take us more than a couple hours to reach. However, one thing bothered me.

    I questioned Shen Fu through Divine Sense, "Is there no day and night rotation? The sun is barely moving¡­"

    "As it should, its barely in its fiftieth year, there is another fifty more years before the sun falls down and the nightes up," he said.

    This made my brows rise, a hundred years, before the sun goes down? How do they even count time? So they''re basing their time on something other than the sun above them? So many questions began wracking my brain that I decided to just turn it off. Trying to find an answer to this is bound to get me more and more confused.

    "Right there, the Ant Cave!" the hunchback said.

    Right ahead of us was a mountain, and just as described, it indeed looked like an ant cave. As hundreds of thousands of cultivators moved in and out in droves. Just like ants going in and out of their fortress.

    There were buildings around the Ant Cave and several markets and shops opened all around the mountain.

    Shen Fu suddenly reached and grabbed the hunchback by the shoulder, "Don''t think of running inside, we need information first," he said.

    "O-of course," he said.

    But I could clearly hear the disappointment in his tone, he obviously thought of ditching us once he goes into the caves.

    "The Queen is at the top of the mountain," the hunchback said as all three of us came down and stood within the market area.

    "Don''t use your divine sense," Shen Fu said.

    "I know," I replied. After all, with this many cultivator, none of them even used their Divine Sense to scan the rest, it must be a tacit agreement between a cultivator to not use it, or aw of this area. When in Rome, do what the romans do I guess.

    But just as we were about to head to the main Ant Cave, several dozen cultivators seemed to have surrounded us.

    The hunchback rushed toward them and said, "That one! He''s the one without a brand!" he said as he pointed at me.

    "Just like I thought," I sighed.

    "You expected him to betray us?" asked Shen Fu.

    "From the very first words he spoke I did, after all," I said as I held a holding bag in my hand, "I had no intentions of sparing him in the first ce."

    The hunchback''s eyes widened as he realized that his holding bag was in my hand now. And right before he could utter a word, his body suddenly began growing ck veins as he started spasming right there and then.

    "Poison cultivator dying by poison, quite ironic," said Shen Fu as he began ramping his Qi up preparing for a fight.

    Well, I guess we''ll have to fight¡­

 Chapter 586 Ant Queen

    <h4>Chapter 586 Ant Queen</h4>

    "Wait!" I heard and suddenly ady in pink robes came flying down. Her hair was a bright red and she had freckles all over her face. Strange enough some people consider them a blemish on one''s face. But for this woman, it only added beauty on it, it was the imperfection that enhanced the perfection.

    Her body was slender and her bust was abundant enough that with just one wrong move those two melons might juste spilling out. But since she''s a cultivator, that will never happen, and the jiggling they do are all part of her persona.

    Perhaps to distract, perhaps to entice, or perhaps just because she wants to. But one thing''s for sure, after all the second most noticeable thing besides her chest was the symbol on the robe.

    A red bloodied sun was proudly stered on her robes indicating who she was for all to see.

    "What''s going on in here?" she said as she saw the Hunchback''s corpse on the ground.

    She looked and frowned, "Old wang¡­How did he die from poisons?" she said as her head began scanning the crowd and then finallynded on us, since obviously we were strangers to her.

    "Are they the ones causing trouble?" She asked.

    "So far we haven''t seen any signs of trouble from them, but they killed Old Wang¡­" one of the cultivators surrounding us said.

    "Misters, why are you killing people in my territory?" she asked.

    "We didn''t," I replied.

    She frowned. "Everyone here saw you kill him," she said.

    "Did they?" I asked.

    She turned to the rest of the cultivators but everyone looked away.

    "So you''re telling me, he just died? Just like that?" she asked as she approached us fearlessly.

    "No, he died to poison," I replied.

    "Then you must know who poisoned him if you''re so sure he died to poison," she said.

    "Yes I do know," I replied.

    ''What are you doing Shen Mo?" Shen Fu asked me through divine sense.

    ''Testing the waters, just hold,'' I replied as she got close enough that her chest was all up in front of me.

    "Young man, are you going to tell me who poisoned old Wang," she asked.

    "Is he anyway rted to you?" I asked.

    "No, but he is one under my property, if he dies under my property then that means someone is interfering with my domain," she said.

    "I poisoned him," I replied.

    Shen Fu''s eyes opened wide. Probably thinking something along the lines, ''what the fuck are you thinking!''

    "Then you''re going against my domain and rule." She said.

    "I didn''t," I replied.

    She frowned "You just admitted that you killed a man in my territory," she said.

    "I didn''t admit to that," I said.

    "Are you fooling around with me young man, do know I have patience but not enough to tolerate being mocked and fooled with," she said.

    "No, for real though, I did poison him, but it wasn''t within your territory, it was a hundred thousand miles away when he attacked me and my older brother here, the poison only worked when we got here," I said "So technically, I killed him, but he was dead the moment he was poisoned a hundred thousand miles away, and if he didn''t pull this stunt, I would have given him this," I said as I pulled up a red pill.

    Thedy squinted her eyes on the pill, and slowly went to grab it when she noticed the pill veins all over it.

    I clenched the pill inside my fist and said, "Are you trying to take what is not yours?" I asked.

    "The audacity on this guy! Queen! Let me handle him!" one of the gruffer looking guys around spoke, like a ssic side character.

    She raised her hand up and said, "Was that a Yang Blood Clotting Pill?" she asked.

    "You know your alchemy," I replied.

    "That pill isn''t an antidot to any poison, it just clots blood when someone is suffering from heavy bleeding¡­" said someone from the crowd.

    Thedy looked at the corpse and noticed the signs on it then back at me and said, "That is indeed not an antidot¡­"

    The people in the crowd nodded, "But that''s only for normal poisons¡­ this was a Yang Blood Clotting Pill that had Pill Veins, meaning it reached the state of quasi perfection¡­ and that can be used to treat only one type of poison, in fact if that poison goes into one''s body unless they have a Yang Blood Clotting Pill with pill veins there is no way they would survive¡­ she said."

    I smirked as I added, "You know your poisons."

    "No¡­ she said as she took a step back, horror clear in her eyes, you can use the Blood Stippling Poison¡­"

    Everyone around us immediately began stepping back.

    "Little brother, what are you hiding from me," spoke Shen Fu.

    Soon the body of the hunchback began shuddering.

    "Oh, time''s almost up," I said.

    "Burn it! HURRY!" she shouted.

    One guy instantly noticed the skin on the body of the corpse beginning to change, small droplets of blood began appearing all over the body and soon it was about to burst.

    The man instantly used Yang Qi and burnt the entire corpse as fast as they could.

    The woman looked back at me with horror in her eyes, "How are you fine after using that poison? It''s ranked among the top ten in the Heaven''s List¡­"

    "Don''t you think it''s a bit rude to ask a cultivator about their secrets¡­"

    After thinking for a second she said, "You''re right¡­ I suppose he met his end at your hands, everyone disperse." She said.

    "But your highness, he killed a person inside our neutral zone¡­" one of the people around us reminded her.

    "He didn''t," she said.

    I smiled as she finally realized my meaning.

    "Old Wang was dead the moment he went against this young man. He was living on a leased life, and by betraying them here the grim reaper came to collect. Old Wang was a dead man the moment his body came in contact with the Blood Stippling Poison. And I doubt anyone here has the antidote for it besides this young man. Old Wang crossed them and paid for it. Now everyone drop the matter¡­" she then looked at me and said, "You two, follow me." She said and flew up.

    I looked at Shen Fu and he shrugged at me, the two of us flew forward after her until we arrived to the top of the Ant Cave mountain.

    Right at the top was a pce, and it seems that it belongs to the woman here that addresses herself as the Queen.

    The pce wasn''t too fancy but at the same time wasn''t destitute. She had a couple female guards at the front gate that allowed her in. But just as we got to them, they stopped us.

    "Let them in, and treat them as esteemed guests, have them meet me at the main hall in an hour," she said.

    The two of us were then let in and followed by several female cultivators that began tending to our needs.

    After all, I hadn''t had time to rest in a while and this was a good opportunity.

    The girls soon led us to a wide room with a massive paper wall on one side. They prepared a table with plenty of food and liquor and several courtesans came over, with music instruments ranging from a wooden zither to a flute and drums ying yful tunes to the dance of other exotic looking cultivators.

    Shen Fu seemed disinterested by what was happening the moment he sat down. All he cared about was that his cup remained full as he gulped one after another.

    As for me, this weak liquor wouldn''t satisfy my thirst. Since after one sip I didn''t sip another.

    The woman to my right questioned, "Sir, is the drink not to your taste? I could get you something else," she said.

    "No, my taste pallet is a bit different," I said, "But since you''re all treating us to such a good disy there will be no harm in drinking my own liquor," I said as I pulled out a ck gourd from my holding back and ced it on the table.

    "Pour me some of this," I said.

    The woman nodded and grabbed the bottle and slowly poured me a purple liquid that seemed almost alive as it bubbled when it touched the ss.

    A purple smoke lightly floated around the ss and fell against the table corroding the wood when it touched it.

    Thedy''s eyes opened wide as she ced the gourd back on the table and moved away.

    "Don''t worry, it''s harmless to humans," I said as I gulped down the first ss.

    "What is that?" asked Shen Fu, he was more interested with the drink I had on me than what he was drinking.

    "Oh, this is a fruit liquor," I said.

    "There is no fruit liquor that looks like that," he said.

    "Yeah, the fermentation process is a bit special," I said.

    "Howe?"

    "It''s fermented in the tear nds of a Primordial Serpent God," I said "I call it Dragon''s Tears. It''s pretty strong stuff," I said.

    The old man slid his ss towards me.

    I smiled as I poured him a drink, and handed him a white marble like pill.

    "What''s this for?" he asked.

    "You''d want to have that after you drink this cup."

    The old man frowned since I was being mysterious and all, and downed the ss in one shot.

    The moment he ced his cup down, his face began turning red and his eyes turned bloodshot. He instantly grabbed the pill and gulped it down, and after a few seconds he took a sigh.

    "That¡­ was an experience¡­ you never told me that it was extremely poisonous I almost died there, didn''t you say it was harmless?" he asked

    "I''m sure you wouldn''t have died just because of that, you could have easily threw it all back, but I guess the taste was too good to throw it away. And yes, it is poisonous but I''m immune to it, that pill can negate the effects, you can have more the pill will remain in effect for days." I said as the old man took another ss and drank it down.

    The hour mark hit and soon the massive paper wall came down revealing the ''Queen'' this time dressed in far fancier clothes which further embellished her beauty and presence, making her look like a diamondpared to the coal of courtesans around her.

    Not that the courtesans were any ugly or bad looking, it was just that this woman was abnormally beautiful.

    "We wee you to the Ant Cave dear cultivators." Thedy then pped her hands and soon everyone but us were left.

    "Tell me, when did you both arrive to the Beyond?" was her first question.

    ¡­

 Chapter 587 Old Acquaintance

    Chapter 587 Old Acquaintance

    Both me Shen Fu and I tensed up for a moment. How did she know?

    "Don''t worry, I''m not nning on selling you off, nor do I think I have the ability," she said as she approached the table.

    She folded the sleeve under her arm as she grabbed the bottle of liquor and poured both me and Shen Fu a cup.

    "This looks like an exotic wine, do you have more of this?" she asked.

    "I suppose you''re buying," I replied.

    "I''ll make sure to give you an adequate price, we have many people looking for¡­ strange tastes if you know what I mean," she said.

    "I do have another bottle but it won''t be cheap," I said.

    "Tell me your price," she asked.

    "Information, I need information." I said.

    "Then let''s start from the basics, where did youe from, and how much do you know," she asked.

    "Ie from the Vast Expanse," I said.

    She thought for a second and said, "I Don''t really know what is the Vast Expanse, but I could assume it''s somewhere outside the Beyond. Then, it means that this is your first time here. Seeing you''re ''unbranded'' means that you didn''te through any of the main channels." She said.

    "No," I replied.

    She then pulled up a stamp from within the folds of her robes, you can guess form where.

    "Use this, it will temporarily stamp allegiance to the Red Sun, allowing you free entry to the realm of the Red Sun," She said.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, why are you this good to us, it feels suspicious," old man Fu said as he looked her up and down.

    Thedy then pulled a chair and sat down in front of us, and muttered, "Would you mind?"

    I handed her a pill and she took it and poured herself a cup then drank it down, making sure to drip a couple of drops that didn''t go unnoticed as they went down her cleavage.

    She mmed the cup on the table, "Ah! That hits the spot!"

    She shook her head and said, "Yes, nothing in this world is for free, and so is my help. I need you two to do me a favor," she said.

    "On what premise?" I asked.

    "I know what you guys are thinking," she said, "The both of you believe that you don''t need my help, which is understandable, after all the gentleman here is mighty powerful¡­"

    "But there are seas below seas and mountains above mountains," Old man Fu said.

    "Exactly," she replied, "The Beyond isn''t as it seems, it''s full of predators all over the ce looking to establish their own regime, people are tired of the system of the suns, they all strive to reach the peak, but the eight suns are stopping them." She said

    "And how is that rted to us?" I asked.

    "I''ll get to that." She said then leaned back, "You two are fresh blood, something that is very rare in the Beyond. In thisnd a man''s fate is sealed the moment they''re born, to follow under one of the eight suns, and once someone gets close enough to the sun¡­"

    "They burn him," said old man Fu, after all he experienced the heat of the Darkest Sun personally.

    "Exactly, and you two are unbound to anyone," she said.

    Well I for sure am not, but I don''t know about old man Fu.

    "Simply put, you have the ability to freely choose the Sun you serve, or, leave to the Sea of Demons and live a life of prosecution and being hunted." She said.

    "Sea of Demons?" I asked.

    "Yes, among all the regions of the Beyond there exist a ce that is far too mysterious and dangerous that not even the eight suns dare go there. In that ce live exiled cultivators, criminals and all sort of lowlifes," she said.

    I frowned at her wording.

    "I know what you''re thinking, why is it so different than the Ant Cave?" she stated. "It''s because here, people still respect the rule of the Red Sun and they all uphold their brands and their allegiance to it. As for the people in the Sea of Demons, they relinquished their suns, and rule themselves by themselves."

    "Alright I see, but so far you haven''t told us what you want from us," I asked.

    "I need something from the Sea of Demons, and I want you guys to bring it to me," she said.

    "You just stated that the Sea of Demons is a nasty ce full of dangers," I said.

    "And the reward will be appropriate enough," she said.

    The old man then interjected, "Why us, why not send someone else, you have plenty of power here, I''m sure you could find someone to do this job for you," he said.

    "Indeed, but their allegiance to the suns is making it difficult, only the people who have renounced their Suns are allowed entry to the Sea of Demons, they have a way to find out if you''re loyal to any of the suns, and if they do find one loyal or following one of the suns they kill them instantly. It is a dangerous ce for anyone with an ounce of loyalty to the Suns but the two of you are fresh blood, and you were not tainted by the Suns yet, so you can freely walk into the Sea of Demons," she said.

    ''This is awfully suspicious,'' said Shen Fu.

    ''I know," I replied to him through Divine Sense.

    "So this got to be something really important for you to get if it''s in the Sea of Demons," I said.

    "Indeed, the Sea of Demons is vast, incredibly so, but we do know some parts of it. And within those parts are cities, and in one of the cities an auction is going to be held. I want you to bring me something from that auction," she said.

    "If you have this much information, couldn''t you just buy the item from whoever gets it afterward?" elder Fu asked.

    She shook her head, "What I want is something too precious for my Red Sun sect to waste, I would assume that other people from different Sun regions would be sent to grab the item, and we can''t allow it to fall into their hands," she said.

    "Right, so, what''s in it for us?" I asked.

    "Official admission to the Red Sun sect," she said.

    I frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the condition. And before I could refuse she added

    "And the ability to walk under the protection of the Red Sun without being branded," she said.

    "¡­"

    "Not really tempting to be honest," I said as I was about to stand up and leave. "The risks outweigh the benefits, we never had any intention of joining the red Sun, and if we keep our heads low like we''ve been doing no one will bother us. I''ll have to decline your offer," I said.

    "HEAR YE HEAR YE!"

    That shout came out of nowhere as it reverberated through the entire Ant Cave.

    "Trouble!" Old Fu spoke as he stood up looking to the north. As if his gaze would pierce through the walls.

    "The Red Sun herald!" she said and instantly knelt down towards the direction of the voice.

    I went up close to the window and peered through it to see what was going on.

    A man standing on top of a four winged horse, with a massive banner on his shoulder carrying the g of the Red Sun.

    "HEAR YE! HEAR YE!" he shouted once again, and instantly all function stopped in the city. His voice carried great power as it prated through buildings and reverberated through my very bones.

    "His greatness The Lord of Blood, The Laughing ughterer, the Red Sun has a decree for you all! HEAR YE HEAR YE Prostrate yourself and Listen!!"

    Suddenly shivers ran down my spine¡­ Did he just say¡­ the Laughing ughterer?

 Chapter 588 Through The Caves

    Chapter 588 Through The Caves

    The man on top of the winged horse once again shouted, "Hear Ye Hear ye! And listen to his decree!" he said.

    From where we were, we could see many cultivators prostrating themselves to the man holding a golden scroll that seemed to exude a powerful bloodthirsty aura from it, capable of forcing anyone to their knees if they dare look at it.

    Mental coercion from what I could feel, but it had little to no effect on me, nor did it affect Shen Fu.

    "His lordship the Red Sun has decreed that They have sensed the intrusion of foreign powers within theirnds, they ordered us to seek and hunt them down. Anyone who gives us clues about their whereabouts shall be rewarded with an outer discipleship at the Red Sun Sect. Anyone who catches or assists in catching the intruders shall be rewarded with an inner Sect discipleship at the Red Sun Sect. The intruders are said to be¡­"

    And the herald proceeded in giving a detailed description of me and old man Fu.

    The both of us looked at each other and turned to the Queen of the Ant Cave.

    "I guess I''ll be taking you up on your offer," I replied.

    She frowned, "Didn''t you say that you didn''t have enough reasons to go to the Sea of Demons?"

    "Yeah, but in case you didn''t notice, we''re now wanted by the Red Sun. I''d rather get whatever you want from that auction house for now, and obtain the protection you promised," I replied shrugging.

    "Fair enough, do you need escorts?" she asked.

    I shook my head, "No, me and brother Fu are enough, escorts will slow us down and like you just saw, might even betray us for that discipleship."

    "Hold," spoke Shen Fu. "I sense eyes on us."

    "I assume the people from the market earlier had identified the both of you, you need to leave now," she said as she pulled a map from inside her chest.

    "How many things do you have hidden there," I mumbled.

    "More than you would like to know," she replied in a sly grin.

    The map was warm to the touch, but that wasn''t something I should be thinking of right now. I looked at it memorized its content then nodded at her, "We''ll need to head inside the Ant Cave I suppose," I said.

    "That''s the only way for you to avoid the eyes of the herald and the people here. If you follow the directions of the map you''ll find yourselves outside the territory of the Red Sun. You''ll need to proceed further north to enter the Sea of Demons, it''s not a short journey by the way," she said.

    The two of us then hurried out just as we heard the sound of the main pce door being broken down. A mob of people seemed to have entered the pce wanting to capture us, but thanks to the map and a couple secret tunnels inside the pce we were easily able to go into the Ant Cave.

    The Ant Cave, like its name says, was a bunch of cave systems with almost infinite number of holes, entering one without a map would probably get you lost nine out of ten times. The Map was thankfully detailed enough allowing the both of us to find the path we need to go through.

    Several powerful Divine Senses began spreading through the cave. And only then did I realize why this whole Ant Cave area was a ce where not many cultivators used Divine Sense.

    Something within the caves, maybe it''s the formation itself or the structure was greatly disturbing Divine Sense, making it bounce and reflect against every wall. Receiving information back from one''s Divine Sense was like trying to decipher a programming code without any tools. It was straight up confusion.

    No wonder this ce was a hub for the low lives of the region, anyone coulde here and find a tunnel to hide in. And no matter how hard people try, unless they physicallye and search every nook and cranny of this Ant Cave they won''t be able to find them.

    "Keep going forward, two hundred more miles we take the tenth tunnel from the left," I said

    The two hundred miles was nothing to cultivators our level, it was barely two breath worth of time before we crossed it, and in that distance, we passed hundreds of thousand more tunnels. Making it even more difficult for our pursuers to find us.

    Once we entered a new set of tunnels, we couldn''t even perceive Divine Sense from anyone following us so we managed to escape as it appears.

    "Why did you ept her request?" asked Shen Fu, "I thought for sure you would just take the request and ignore it after we''re escaping, but you''re following the map to a tee." He said.

    "Because I think I know the Laughing ughterer," I said.

    Shen Fu frowned, "You mean, you, a person from the Vast Expanse, know one of the Eight Suns of the Beyond? How?" he said.

    "I also am familiar with the Lord of Lords, and have a tool from the Wisest Sun," I grinned as we moved forward. "But to be honest, I never expected the Laughing ughterer to be one of the Eight Suns, the Red Sun nevertheless," I said.

    "I find it hard for me to take that information in, not one, not two, but familiar with three of the Eight Suns¡­ And you mentioned that you saw the arm of the Darkest Sun, that is not something the majority of the people in the Beyond could say they had achieved," he said as he entered the next cavern I pointed to.

    The two of us continued zing through the caves as fast as possible while discussing. "The Laughing ughterer had left an item of his in my home, I have no idea how it came to exist there, but it was there and I found it, call it fate. And now it''s back to the Beyond," I said.

    "Then if you have an item of his, why not just present it to him directly or to someone of power who''ll do it for you?" he asked.

    I shook my head, "The moment we show our faces, the people of power, someone like the Herald will either have our heads, or will take our belongings, we''re currently ''spies'' in the Beyond, and unless we finish the Ant Queen''s request and obtain the temporary immunity of the Red Sun, we can''t approach the Laughing ughterer."

    "Then what are we going to do when we reach the Sea of Demons, she never told us what she wanted from the auction house or anything," he said.

    "She already shared what she wanted, it was a painting of sorts, the details are within the map, for now we''ll need to leave the Ant Caves first, once we''re out of the Red Sun territory we''ll think up of ways to finish up this request." I replied

    Right now we''re in unfamiliarnds, so we need to be very careful right now, we have little knowledge about the Beyond, and what''s a better ce to get information from than a cesspool of degenerate people who have nothing to lose.

 Chapter 589 Inquiry

    Chapter 589 Inquiry

    Now what should I call this? Fate? Destiny? Or a divinely ironic joke.

    The fact that I was able to encounter the Laughing ughterer''s tool, the Tower back in Xi Son, my home was at first luck, but then to find out it belonged to a person from the Beyond was an absurd coincidence, but not only a random person, but one of the Suns of the Beyond, a cultivator so powerful that only eight other cultivators in this entire vastly great dominion canpete and bepared with.

    Yes, an item that belonged to him is in my possession, and I''ve crossed distances greater than one could even think of, and am now holding what is his.

    Interesting to say the least.

    The both of us, me and old man Fu, headed out of the cave system after traveling through it for a couple of days, we made sure to stay one day inside the caves in case we were followed, but theplexity of the cave was too much for anyone to peruse us unless they were to eradicate the entire thing.

    "Something is off," said Old man Fu as the two of us were resting.

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Think about it for a second, why didn''t the herald for example just topple the entire cave upside down when they were looking for us? I would presume that the Herald has higher power and control than a mere inner disciple like the ant queen,"

    "Valid point, but you''re missing something important from that deduction," I said as I showed him what came along with the map.

    He opened it and said, "I still don''t get it, what does this painting have to do with anything?"

    "This is just a copy of the painting we need to bring and it already has a sliver of the Dao of ughter in it. I''m not proficient in the Dao of ughter, but I can see it. If this is a copy, I wonder what the original has, also this is clearly a gift, the value of it isn''t something too great, which is obvious, but it has sentimental value," I said.

    Old man Fu looked at the painting''s depiction, there was a woman painted there with hair that looked as red as blood, standing upon a river of blood as a vige burnt, however, even through all that devastation, there was serenity and peace within the painting. Twopletely antagonistic ideologies in one picture, it''s not something anyone can make.

    "This is probably a gift for the Red Sun, and the Herald probably knows the value of such an item, or, maybe since the woman who''s able to control a gigantic hub like the ant cave isn''t so simple," I said.

    "Meaning?"

    "She could be rted to the Red Sun, perhaps a concubine, or an estranged daughter, I wouldn''t know," I said, "But she was given power more than her status or ability, so her background isn''t simple," I said.

    "I see," he said, "No wonder the herald couldn''t destroy the ant cave, in fear they might offend the Queen," he said.

    "Right then, we''ll need to move," I said.

    "We''ll be instantly recognized," he said.

    "You might," I smiled at him, "Automaton, are u here?"

    "Yes Master," it spoke, and suddenly a portal opened up in front of us.

    "What the hell is that?" asked Old Fu

    "Don''t worry about it, it''s a helper. Anywayyou never called me Master Before, what changed your mind?" I asked it.

    "Yes, since now I''m in thend of my creator, I must call you master, and my creator My Lord, Only he deserves the name of Lord," he said.

    I tilted my head, I didn''t know what to think of this but I just shrugged, "Fine do what you want, anyway I need my original body," I said and he revealed my main Body for me.

    I had switched from Shen Bao to Shen Mo before I entered the Celestial exile of old man Fu, and now I can go back to my original appearance.

    I ced Shen Mo''s body back and was finally back to my original body.

    I took a deep breath and looked back at old man Fu who was astonished. "That''s way too many secrets you''ve been holding on to me, what is that thing? where did ite from and where did it go? Also is that an Avatar? At your level? How?" he said.

    "To answer your questions it''ll take too much time, but for the avatar, it''s nothing butpatibility, I mean, it''s not that hard, I''ve seen many cultivators with avatars," I said shrugging.

    old Fu looked at me like I was an idiot speaking utter nonsense, he shook his head then firmly replied "No, having an Avatar isn''t something that simple,patibility wise it needs to be perfectly attuned to you, meaning that the both of you need to have the same soul, most just use possession and call it an avatar, but that body didn''t seem like it was possessed," he said.

    "Yes, because that body was gifted to me and wasn''t snatched or taken, it was willingly given," I said as I shrugged.

    "Did you clear a grudge for it or something?" he asked. "Because I can''t see any other way a person will willingly give up their body..."

    "Yes," I replied.

    "Even so, how did you manage to make it cultivate just like your main body? You both have ruined meridians," he said.

    "They''re not ruined, only you see them that way, otherwise how would I reach my current level," I replied.

    "That''s such an interesting cultivation method, indeed, the world is truly vast and great," He sighed. "But I can''t do like you, I can''t change my body," he said.

    "I can change it for you," I replied.

    "How? Anything like a human mask will be seen. Unless you have a mystical ability that will surpass the eyes of a Void level cultivator, I doubt you can do anything, you might have to proceed on your own," he said.

    "Just trust me," I said as I pulled a small box that was full of golden acupuncture needles.

    "What is that?" he asked.

    "I''m not just a poison cultivator, I do dabble in medicine, allow me," I said as I approached the old man with the needles.

    The old man was a bit skeptical at first but then allowed me to use the needles on him.

    I slowly began embedding the needles across his face, then soon over the rest of his body, slowly picking and selecting specific points on his body.

    "What are you doing? Most of the acupoint spots you''re using are secondary ones and only improve blood flow and healing," he said.

    "Yes, because you''ll need it soon," I said as I gave him a pill to swallow.

    The moment he swallowed the pill, I ced thest needle on his forehead, and finished the connection.

    "This will hurt, like¡­ a lot," I said.

    "I can take it, don''t worry," he said.

    Suddenly, the old man''s body began contorting, his face seemed to crumble and reconstruct and his bone structure began changing, giving him a slightly bulkier build and taller frame, while his old and slightly rigid and wrinkled skin became more taught and stic.

    His whole body received a major change without affecting his cultivation, even the white hair on his head turnedpletely ck as he regained more than thousands of years of youth.

    He however still bled out from all orifices but didn''t utter a single grunt of pain. I waved my hand channeling my Qi and washed all of the grim and filth from his body while removing the needles and cing them back in the box.

    "Here," I said as I handed the old man¡­ -well, you can''t call him old anymore- a mirror.

    He looked at himself and his eyes widened, "Is this a magic mirror?" he said as he was touching his skin, only when he realized that it was actually smooth and no longer wrinkled, and his own fingers looked sleek and lean instead of rugged and as if they had osteoarthritis.

    "What sort of magic is this? This feels¡­ natural which in itself is unnatural," he said.

    "I just rejuvenated your body by reconstructing your bones and allowing a better blood flow, the rest is all done by your body, a cultivator''s body is one of the easiest to assist in retaining a healthy and young look. Most cultivators who look old choose to do so unconsciously, they can all look as young as they wish to be honest. Anyway, this should help us stay undercover," I said.

    "No it won''t," he said.

    I frowned,

    "We''re too damn handsome!" he said that as if it was an insult.

    ¡­

    I was about to p the guy in the face, but had to hold back since he''s way stronger than me...

 Chapter 590 Power

    Chapter 590 Power

    Both the Lord of Lords and the Wisest Sun were inspecting the Spatiotemporal tunnel, unable to understand what happened or how they failed to transport Shen Bao safely to the Beyond.

    "Nothing," said the Wisest Sun.

    "What do you mean," the Lord of Lords replied as he too was scanning the tunnel hundreds of times in the span of seconds.

    "There isn''t even an issue in the tunnel," he said.

    "Then how did we miss him?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "No, not having an issue is an issue in itself," he said.

    The Lord of Lords frowned, "I''m not the best when ites to Spatial Laws, but even I am failing to understand how that makes any semnce of sense."

    "This is a dimensional tunnel that was made millions of years ago, do you think it is capable of remaining intact without any disturbance just by being left alone? It''s carved and made using human understanding ofw, and it cannot be perfect, yet, here look at it, not a single issue all throughout the tunnel," he said.

    The Lord of Lords thought for a moment but failed toe up with a reasonable exnation to the words of his friend.

    "You''re right, then that means that someone was actually taking care of the tunnel when we weren''t looking," he said.

    "Indeed, someone tampered with it, to the point that it''s functioning perfectly all from the start to the end. But, if it''s perfectly fine, where is Shen Bao?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "I think I know," the Wisest Sun said, "It''s actually stupidly simple," he said as he rubbed his chin.

    "You have an idea?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "Yes, but we''ll need to leave the tunnel first, we can investigate from the Vast Expanse," he said.

    "The two of us will cause the Vast Expanse to copse if we stay too long," said the Lord of Lords.

    "I wouldn''t have cared, but since Shen Bao''spanions are still in the Vast Expanse, we''ll have to proceed carefully, we''ll have little time to investigate, about ten breaths of time before the Vast Expanse starts fracturing, we''ll need to be fast," he said.

    The Lord of Lords nodded and the two of them then proceeded and left the tunnel toward the Vast Expanse.

    The moment they were out, they felt their energy rippling as if resonating with the Vast Expanse. The two massive puppets immediately knelt down toward the two.

    "Hurry, we don''t have much time," said the Lord of Lords as he began waving his hands, creating a gigantic barrier around them and the gate.

    The Wisest Sun then spread his divine sense all over the gate, his eyes shing from left to right top to bottom in incredible speeds enough that his irises made it look like he had no whites left in his eyes from how fast they moved.

    Three breaths worth of time is all it took, "Got it! Let''s leave!" he said and the two instantly left back into the tunnel.

    For the two of them it was nothing but three breaths of time, but for the people of the Vast Expanse, the moment the two Suns appeared, the entirety of Qi in the vast expanse began shaking and shuddering resonating with them as if a child had found its parent, the Qi was about to start moving toward the two but thanks to the barrier that the Lord of Lords created, the Qi failed to locate them.

    Spatial rifts were on the cusp of forming but they soon died down, and the people of the Vast Expanse, for three breaths of time felt the very end of the world and the revival of it at the same time.

    The physical appearance of the two suns had galvanized the Qi of the Vast expanse to such a degree that more of it started congrating and rejuvenating itself. Just their presence allowed the quality of Qi of the Vast Expanse to experience a massive growth and evolution.

    And that evolution will undoubtedly allow many people to understand more about the world itself, enough that it shortened the duration for the people who wanted to reach the emperor realm from thousands of years to mere hundreds.

    That was just by the two''s appearance for three breaths worth of time.

    Once inside the tunnel the Wises Sun sighed, "We''ve been duped," he said.

    "What do you mean?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    Remember our appearance thest time when we were checking up on Shen Bao, someone had managed to notice it, and realized we were after something. They probably figured out that we were after Shen Bao and they kidnapped him form us," he said.

    The Lord of Lords brows raised, "It''s been a long time since someone coveted something I wanted," he said.

    "You must hate that feeling," said the Wisest Sun.

    "No, I actually like it, since too many people had given me a wide breath due to my old temperament, someone daring enough to cause me anger, anger¡­ something I haven''t felt in a very long time¡­"

    "Don''t go on destroying dimension on me, we still need to find Shen Bao, anyway whoever tried to kidnap him actually failed," said the Wisest Sun.

    "Oh really?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "Yes, they seemed to have gotten interfered with. The gate had two tunnel passages instead of one, follow me," the Wisest Sun said as he moved his hand and a portion of the tunnel copsed opening into a new region that the two of them never saw before.

    It was a dark area, with nothing in it. Absolutely nothing but a golden speck of light so far away.

    The two of them flew forward toward the speck of golden light that began growing bigger and bigger the closer they got.

    Arriving they finally found the celestial city that Shen Bao had spent some time in.

    The city looked like a wreck, but there was not a single living soul in it.

    "Hmm, remains of a Heart Demon, a powerful one¡­" the Wisest Sun said as he came down and touched the ck sludge on the ground. "It looks like it died recently, damn I can''t probe its memories for information," he said.

    "This is in my expertise," said the Lord of Lords as he pped both hands together in a prayer motion. A wave of bright purple energy shot out all around the Lord of Lords and instantly scanned through the entirety of the celestial city.

    "Gather!" he ordered, and the sludge as if pulled by maic force was extracted from all over the celestial city morphing and shaping itself into tens of thousands of faces that portrayed many of the human emotions.

    Anger, sorrow, despair and more. There was not a single happy face in the mix.

    "Refine!" he ordered and the globe was pressed upon by the purple energy, fusing into itself. Shrinking and shrinking until it was not bigger than a pill.

    "Tell of your secrets foul soul," spoke the Lord of Lords.

    The pull then manifested a jaw and began speaking. Exining its origin, the reason of its existence, and what killed it.

    And in the process, the Lord of Lords and the Wisest Sun could do nothing but sigh.

    "The Darkest Sun had such a secret¡­ I always wondered why they outright destroyed an entire branch of their sect, it seems he was threatened." The Wisest Sun said.

    "It''s all because my friendship with the side branch''s patriarch. At least that boy Tian Fu is still alive, I thought he had perished alongside their whole branch." The Lord of Lords said.

    "Sadly the memories of this corrupted Heart Demon ends right as it was expunged by Shen Bao we have no knowledge of their whereabouts now," said the Wisest Sun.

    "Indeed," replied the Lord of Lords before his head snapped in a certain direction, a wide grin appeared on his face.

    "What? Did you find them?" the Wisest Sun was about to spread his divine sense in the direction that the Lord of Lords was looking at.

    "Yes, they''re in the Beyond already, HAH!"

    "How would you know?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "My pagoda, it opened in the Beyond, now it''s able to use the Origin Qi of the Beyond it''s able to send me signals now. He lives¡­ wait¡­ this is not good," the Lord of Lords said.

    "We need to hurry, or there will be a bloodbath," he added.

    "What''s wrong?" asked the Wisest Sun as he rapidly opened a portal.

    "Those fools! They opened my pagoda in thends of the Laughing ughterer!"

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes opened wide "They''re not even branded! Hurry! We must go!"

    ***

    After sighing and ignoring hisment. I stood up, "We need to head out now, we''re disguised and out of the chase but you can never know what could happen after," I said.

    And just as I finished my words, the skies above us rumbled and trembled. Power, so much incredulous and unproportionable destructive power echoed above us.

    It was so much that the very will to exist seemed to seep out of me.

    For the first time in my entire life had I seen such grave and grand despair. It was enough to make a man''s hair grow white due to the sheer terror and power behind this power. And that power wasing toward us, at an incredible speed.

    "What in heaven''s name is that," Shen Fu muttered.

    all I could say was "... we''re fucked."

 Chapter 591 Standoff

    <h4>Chapter 591 Standoff</h4>

    "Run!" said Shen Fu

    "To where," I replied. "Whatever''sing for us, will catch up to us in a blink, might as well wait and see," I replied as the blinding red glow was surging toward us. The power was getting closer and closer, and the more close it got the drearier and scarier it became.

    I was honestly feeling that death''s looming scythe was already around my neck.

    Yet before the scythe would tear my neck out, I had a way out, simply I''d jump along with Shen Fu into the Lord of Lords pagoda once shit gets ugly.

    But just as the life ending power of the personing toward us was about to fully grasp us into itself, a burst of golden and white aura washed over us and the entirend we were in, deflecting the red glow and instantly easing our breathing.

    The sense of certain doom and end was suddenly washed away by a glow of hope and prosperity. This light could only be described with one word¡­ Holy.

    It was so pure and powerful that it easily pushed aside the domineering red glow and pushed it aside. The power of this glow was so gracious that the very dry and crackednd we were standing on waspletely renovated. The ground turned moist then grass grew, seed opened up and trees rose up from the dead ground revitalizing itpletely.

    Far above us, and at the same level of the iing red glow, two people moved forward to intercept, and only then did the red glow stop.

    Far away, three men stood in the high skies, a standstill between the three. And just there and then, one of the three, a man wearing a full set of robes turned his heard towards us, and I could see it from far away, him winking at us and saying the words, "Keep going forward Shen Bao, we''ll handle this."

    The man was thousands of miles away, and only thanks to my high cultivation level was I able to see his face, but the fact that I heard his whisper, not even through a divine sense, from that far away, as if he was standing just next to me was testament to this man''s power and might.

    "Let''s go¡­" I told Shen Fu as the two of us headed forward leaving the three of them there.

    ***

    "Lord of Lords¡­ and The Wisest Sun," the man in red spoke.

    "ughterer," the wisest sun lightly nodded his head, acknowledging the person in front of him.

    The Lord of Lords turned his head back to the Red Sun and said, "You seemed to be in a hurry," he said.

    "I''m sure I wasn''t the one in a hurry, having the two of you move here so close to my territory, are you nning on waging a war?" the Red Sunughed taunting the two.

    "Only you would benefit from the spilling of blood, no, we''re not here to fight," said the Wisest Sun.

    "Then step aside, I found something interesting!" the Laughing ughterer replied as he was eyeing the two people running away towards the direction of the Sea of Demons.

    "Those children belong to us, Laughing ughterer, I''m sure you''re not going to bully juniors to satisfy your curiosity," said the Lord of Lords as he lightly began galvanizing his Qi. Doing so caused even more of this deadnd to grow trees and weed, grass and spiritual herbs all over the ce.

    The Red Sun sighed as he looked at the two and said, "Why did youe? How did you even allow people who belong to you to delve so deep into territory not belonging to yourselves?"

    "Stuff happened," the Lord of Lord shrugged.

    "Stuff happened? Huh, interesting. I had received information that a couple of spies ended up within mynd so I had toe and check," the Red Sun said.

    "Surely you don''t mean the great Red Sun would personally move for the sake of a mere two presumed spies, I can promise you they mean no harm to you or your reign, you can leave them be," said the Wisest Sun.

    "You old crook, don''t give me that holy and sagacious behavior, I know you''re more bloody than most, as for them they crossed mynd they have to pay a tax," the Red Sun said.

    "Are you sure you''re not hunting after them just because that child has something that belongs to me," said the Lord of Lords.

    The Red Sun frowned, having been seen through he just shrugged.

    "I suppose you wanted to capture the child and see his rtionship with this old fool, but don''t worry, today marks the first time I ever told him a word. So he isn''t of great value to consider threatening or hostage material to me," said the Lord of Lords.

    "I always thought you''re a man who tell no lies," said the Red Sun.

    "And I do tell no lies," said the Lord of Lords.

    "No, it''s not that you don''t lie, you tell half-truths, indeed, this must be the first time you spoke to the child, but that doesn''t mean he isn''t of value to you. Since if he was of no value, why must you cross so far into my realm to protect him," the Laughing ughterer''s smile grew wider.

    "Fine, you win, Red Sun. What do you want," asked the Lord of Lords.

    "I''m a curious man, I haven''t had a thrill in a very long time, so tell me, why is he that interesting to you? Why must youe all the way here to protect him if he was of no value," asked the Laughing ughterer.

    The Wisest Sun and the Lord of Lords looked at each other and then back to the Red Sun, "It''s going to take a while to exin, how about a drink?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    The Red Sun smiled then said, "There is a good inn nearby, let''s go there," he said.

    "Which inn do you think could amodate three Suns?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "An inn there," the Red Sun said as he pointed where Shen Bao and Shen Fu were running to.

    The two Suns beside the Laughing ughterer realized what he wanted to do.

    He wanted to intercept Shen Bao and Shen Fu, although they can prevent the Red Sun from harming Shen Bao, it would be unwise to get on the Red Sun''s bad side. So they couldn''t help but sigh as they nodded, "Let''s go to the Sea of Demons then. We''ll exin then," said the Wisest Sun as the three of them headed forward, while the Laughing ughterer¡­ well,ughed.

    ***

    "Bloody hell, what was that," cursed Shen Bao.

    "That, was three Suns!" said Shen Fu as his entire body was still shivering from that encounter.

    "You mean all the Suns in this Beyond are like that?" I replied as I nced back, we were so far away I couldn''t even see the three of them. But was sure as hell they could see us as we ran forward as fast as possible.

    "Yeah, and trust me, they were controlling their power so much just to not affect the world itself. The Suns are not named Suns just like that, it''s because their power is so incredible that they''re able to dictate life and death over the world. They''re as close to deities as you can believe," said Shen Fu.

    "And you n on fighting one of them?" I asked him, hinting at the Darkest Sun.

    "Yes, if there is a will there is a way, though we''re weak right now, we can reach that realm. It''s not easy, but for me, I have to reach it¡­ I must reach it."

    I could see the desperation in his face sh for a moment, yet it was washed away as it was reced with vengeance and hope.

    "It''s strange though," I said as we were on the run crossing mountains and rivers with each step. "How did that person know of my name?" I muttered.

    "Who?" asked Shen Fu.

    "The old one, wearing full white," I said.

    But the reply didn''te from Shen Fu, but actually the automaton from the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    "That was the Lord of Lords, my creator, and my lord, the maker of the Pagoda that you dwell in. It is his most prized possession and it was gifted to you Master Shen Bao," he said.

    "I see¡­" I replied. "And the one who was next to him," I asked.

    "That was my Master''s Only remaining true friend, the Wisest Sun, he was the one who made the Five Keys that created the Vast Expanse," he said.

    "And I suppose the other one was the Red Sun," I said.

    "Yeah, anyone could guess that, that was the Dao of ughter, and it wasn''t even unleashed. The power behind those old crows is too much for us, let''s keep heading forward. I have no idea why they came to assist us, but we have to count our blessings," he added.

    "How far?" I asked.

    "At our speed, we can make it in a month. The Sea of Demons isn''t far, but it is vast in itself," he said.

    "Right, but I''m not a fan of this speed, Get up," I said as I pulled out my Hoverboard. It was damaged from all the shit that it went through in the exiled celestial city, but it was still far faster than the both of us right now and we wouldn''t have to exhaust any energy.

    "Interesting tool you got there, I suppose it''s fast," he said.

    "It''ll show you the meaning of haste! I used to cross space using this," I replied proudly.

    "You should still have taken slightly better care of it than this though," he said as he pointed out at the state of the board.

    "It was your heart demons that did a number on it, but don''t worry, it can still carry us both to our destination," I said. "Now hop on and let''s go."

 Chapter 592 Dunes

    Chapter 592 Dunes

    The hoverboard flew over the prairies with incredible speed. Our destination was the Sea of Demons and we didn''t have much distance left before we got there. It would have taken us a month of travel just to get there by running but now we can cut that time tens of times over.

    It took only half a day before we realized we entered the Sea of Demons. And it was not the prettiest sight to see after leaving a fullnd of green.

    "What''s wrong with thend here," I frowned as looked around.

    The massive grasnds seemed to disappear and were reced by desertednds that extended as far as the eye could see, and in the extreme far distance was a cloud, a cloud so dark and big that it seemed to cover the entirety of the horizon.

    "We entered the Sea of Demons. This is the rim of the region, the closer we get to the center of it the more you''ll realize why it was called the Sea of Demons," said old Fu.

    And he was right, because the further forward we went the more I began to realize, that it wasn''t just a name, a sea used to be here before.

    The giveaway was pretty obvious.

    In front of me were massive white arches that extended high above us as we walked between the arches. At first, I thought they were some random rock formation, but the further we went through the arches, and I realized how ''sculpted'' these things were, I came to understand that these weren''t mountains or man-made arches, but the remains of a gigantic creature.

    Only when we reached the other side of the creature did we get to see that it had the face of an angler fish.

    Yes, a deep-sea creature that seemed to have died ages upon ages ago, but its bones wererge enough for me to mistake them for the peaks of mountains.

    And this was just one of many toe.

    More and more of these carcasses appeared on the horizon as we kept moving forward. Some were as big as literal mountains and some looked long and sleek like endlessly long serpents.

    "I wonder what life was like here before the sea dried out," said Shen Fu.

    "Dried out? An entire sea that could host things this big?" I questioned.

    "Well, youe from a lesser world, youe from somewhere where what you consider ''normal'' has a different definition to what we call normal, look," he said as he pointed up.

    High above us was a massive mountain that seemed to be flying along with its mass ofnd surrounding it like an ind.

    "What about that?" I asked.

    "Why is it flying there?" he asked.

    "I mean, it could be powered by some form of formation. Like the Heavenly Academy I told you about before," I replied.

    He shook his head, "No, it is naturally flying, and it has been flying for a long time, and there are many like it. For you, the closest thing to that mountain isn''t a flying ind, but a hovering around an orbit. The beyond does not fall under the samews of physics that you considerw and fact. It is different, so if you encounter a sea in the sky, don''t be warned, it is natural, and if you encounter a flying mountain it is but the simple work of nature." He said.

    Trying to grasp this information and understand it was bound to cause my brain some sort of aneurysm. Because he''s telling me to forget everything I''ve ever known.

    "I know that look on your face and what it means, but don''t overthink stuff, what I want you to realize is that thews of your world aren''t omnipotent, but are malleable and flexible. They''re not wrong, they''re iplete. What you know isn''t the full truth."

    I took his words to heart because if I were to try and ''rationalize'' what I''m seeing I''ll only end up harming myself.

    This is in a sense like seeking Dao, one cannot understand it even if one sees it and knows of it. One can only ept it and seek to further enhance theirprehension.

    In a sense, it''s like seeking perfection.

    What a simple yet incrediblyplicated word.

    Perfection means the final state of anything or form, it cannot be quantified or numericized, it cannot be measured or realized, it is a concept that can only be sought after never achieved. Because if one were to reach perfection it is imperfection in itself. Perfection means that you cannot improve or add upon it as it has reached its optimal state, but if you cannot improve upon something isn''t that imperfection in itself?

    I lightly pped my cheeks twice to wake myself out of this spiral of thoughts that I was falling in.

    There was no point in going down that rabbit hole as I''de out with more confusion and questions than I ever went in with and to no avail.

    "We''re almost there, this thing is really fast," said Shen Fu. He probably said that just to remove my attention from what I was thinking of and he was right.

    We''re close as we entered into the clouded area.

    "Get us closer to the ground, the atmosphere isn''t friendly high above the Sea of Demons," he said.

    I lowered the hoverboard and the two of us proceeded to fly over mounds of cold sand that seemed listless at points and immovable at times.

    Something in the sand moved, and I realized that this Sea of Demons wasn''t as dead as I first assumed. There was life in it, as even in a scalding hot desert, critters of thend do manage to live and survive.

    Far up ahead in front of us was the first sign of life. Human life, sentient one. And it was the base of what seemed to be a mountain or a dead volcano.

    Buildings were heavily packed all over the base of the volcano, and the sheer size of the city was incredible. Calling it a megapolis would be a severe understatement due to its sheer size and length, and even from all the way here you could see the people moving in and out of the city.

    Around the city was a massive wall made by liking the bones of dead fish and old sea dwellers together, creating a barricade that seemed as high as a skyscraper all around the city.

    I wondered if someone was building something this high and magnificent as protection, what were they protecting themselves from? After all, cultivators can easily fly over that wall¡­ and the sea is dead.

    Perhaps from whatever it was that moved under the sand before? But I didn''t make any assumptions I would have to understand further once we''re inside the city.

    But my line of thinking was suddenly stopped as Shen Fu stood up and had both arms crossed as he looked not toward the city but right before it on the dunes.

    "We''re being ambushed," he said as he released his divine sense. Spreading it domineeringly and powerfully forward like a tidal wave.

    If one had ever heard the roar of a lion, old Fu''s divine sense closely resembled that. It was so boastingly powerful that it created a roaring sound as it pushed the sand aside in a shockwave.

    This caused the people who were hiding in the sand to dive further down, hiding away and terrified from the owner of this Divine Sense.

    This served as a warning to the people around us to not mess with us, and many a cultivator who lived long enough and was willing toy in ambush clearly could realize that fighting someone like old Fu was nothing shorter thanmitting suicide.

    The cultivators didn''t dare show up as we passed them and I couldn''t help but ask, "Was it wise to reveal your cultivation level?" I asked.

    "Here, in thesewlessnds, one''s life can end in a blink. And the shrewdest and smartest of cultivators lived long not by challenging the impossible but by weighing the worth of their lives against the possible oue and reward. For them, though we look like delicious prey, the moment they noticed the power difference we turned from prey to a rabid predator that they couldn''t even risk offending," he said.

    "I would understand that," I said, "But that wasn''t the reason why I asked you that," I added as I slowed down the hoverboard.

    Old Fu was confused about why I stopped the hoverboard.

    After all, I''m not that dumb to have someone exining to me why one should always show how mighty they are in the cultivation world, in case people forgot, I''m also a cultivator and I live and die by that rule.

    "The reason I asked that was, we''re going to an auction," I said.

    Old Fu''s confusion grew bigger but he didn''t stop me from further exining.

    "I mean, we''re broke, and they looked like they had money, so I didn''t tell you that because I was afraid of them robbing us, but it''s because if we scare them, we won''t be able to rob from them¡­"

    Old man Fu''s brows rose, he looked at the sand and then said "Oh¡­"

    "Yeah¡­"

    "Well, it''s not toote, let''s head back to meet our friendly patrons shall we!"

    "I like how you''re thinking," I replied to him in a grind and drove the hoverboard back.

    We do need some money after all.

 Chapter 593 Medicine King

    Chapter 593 Medicine King

    "Come out!" Old Fu spoke as he dug his hand into the sand and pulled out a cultivator by the clothes on the back of his neck.

    The man he pulled out couldn''t help but let out an awkwardugh full of terror and fear as he said, "Why you good sir, what can I do for you?" he said as he hastily put away the small dagger he held behind his back.

    "What were you nning by hiding in the sand?" asked Old Fu.

    "Oh why good sir, we were just resting a bit, I hope we didn''t disturb you on your way," he said.

    "Resting¡­ I see," he said, "Then since the two of us are heading to the city mind telling us a bit about it?" old Fu said as he ced the man back on his feet.

    The man nodded replying, "Yes good sir, that'' city is called Demon Gorge City, since it is one of the few cities that''s built atop what we think to be hell''s gates," he said "And it''s one of the trade hubs of the Sea of Demons."

    "Where do you think you''re going?" Old Fu muttered.

    "I, I''m not going anywhere good sir!" he said.

    "I wasn''t talking to you, but to the other four who''re still under the sand, get out or die!" Old Fu said.

    And almost instantly four cultivators emerged from the sand, with sheepish looks on their face. It was aic scene to be honest, it''s like a bunch of rabbits having entered a tiger''s den and now the tiger is back. They couldn''t run away even if they had ten lives. So they realized they had to obey and stand like children waiting to be disciplined.

    "Say, we heard that there is an auction going on," said old man Fu.

    "Yes, it''s happening soon in a month it should start," the cultivator said.

    "And I would assume that you''re here to inconvenience people who n on joining," said Old man Fu.

    "No sir¡­"

    "Don''t interrupt me!"

    That quited the crook all too fast.

    "Petty thieves, anyway, the two of us, me and mypanion wereing to this auction but we seem to becking some¡­ funds. I would appreciate if the few of you guys were to donate to a good cause," said the old man.

    A wide grin on his face.

    The five cultivators couldn''t understand what was happening as they looked at each other.

    "You idiots, you''re being robbed, better give him what he wants or you''ll lose your lives," I helped exining.

    "Calling it robbery is a bit too cruel don''t you think? It''s a donation!" he said.

    "Whatever, these five thieves look too dumb to understand. Might as well be direct, anyway. Hurry up, your treasures or your life and treasures," I said as I tapped one of the other cultivators on the shoulder making sure to stick a small inscription on his back without him noticing.

    The five cultivators didn''t hesitate a moment as they threw their pouches forward. I swiped my hand and had the five pouches in hand, I took a look and was disappointed but I expected as much.

    "Go now, hurry," I shooed them away with my hand and the five were about to leave but I made sure to grab the first one, "You stay," I said.

    "But sir!"

    "No buts, are you meaning to let two strangers wander around a new city by themselves, we need a guide," I said.

    "Yes sir," he replied in a whimper.

    The four other cultivators looked at each other and instantly flew forward toward the city.

    "Anyway," I said as I had my arm around the cultivator that was left behind, "Tell me, who''s the strongest here," I said as I pointed at the city up ahead.

    "Strongest? I wouldn''t know, there are a lot," he said.

    I shrugged at Old Fu who asked an even more direct question, "Who here is above the Void stage," he asked.

    "From what I know, the four region generals are all above the void stage, then the chancellor, and the imperial guards."

    "Imperial?" I questioned.

    "What do you mean by imperial? All I know is this is awlessnd, howe it has an emperor?" old Fu asked.

    "Well, although it''swless, it does have a regime that''s ruling it. Lawless is outside the city, but inside everyone must adhere to thews of the imperial family that''s currently ruling."

    "Currently? You mean it changes?" I asked.

    "Yes, it changes based on might and power, if you''re stronger than the emperor," this he said in divine sense, "You can even abdicate him, but don''t try. The power struggle around the current throne is far too vicious for cultivators to join. I''ve seen many a cultivator¡­" he then looked at old man Fu, "Who could rival good sir''s power, but they were all consumed and ovee the moment they eyed the throne. I would advise that you do whatever you''re nning on doing here, and just leave. Seeking the throne is nothing but trouble and will let too much blood. We''ve had enough of that already," thest part he said was in a sigh of pain and sorrow.

    I didn''t trust the man, not a single word he said, though I took the words with a grain of salt.

    There is a ruling regime and people here follow it, outside the city iswless, good to know.

    "Lead the way, we want to have a few drinks first," said old Fu.

    The cultivator nodded as he led us forward.

    "I feel like a d¨¦j¨¤ vu," I said.

    "You mean this fool will lead us to hisrades and them try and steal from us?" the words were spoken loudly and on purpose because that''s the same that happened when we entered the ant cave.

    The cultivator yelped and said, "I promise you, I''ll lead you to the best inn in the city, I won''t fool around," he said.

    "Just keep going," I replied.

    The three of us soon arrived to the city gate and I noticed that no one was flying above the walls while many were lined up in front of the gate waiting to get inside.

    We patiently waited until our turn before we heard people crying out.

    "MOVE THE FUCK AWAY!" I heard as I turned to see a carriage sttered with blood all over it rushing forward with six legged horses.

    People moved aside as fast as they could while guards hastily rushed to open the gate for the carriage.

    "CALL THE MEDICIN KING! HURRY!" the couch driver shouted once again as he rushed inside the city as fast as he could.

    The man with us frowned "That''s the general of the West''s banner¡­ did they get ambushed?"

    "You know who''s in the carriage?" asked old Fu.

    "That''s an escort carriage, and from the blood on it, it seems that It''s the only thing that survived. The banner belongs to the general of the west, it could be a rtive of his or a guest, I don''t know much, we live in the slums of the city and rarely interact with one of the bigshots," he said.

    The gate that was opened soon closed and the guards returned to their duty of inspecting everyone.

    But because the carriage the line was messed up again and a few cultivators tried to overtake us in the line.

    That didn''t sit well with old Fu as he instantly released his pressure, causing everyone to shudder and look at him in absolute terror.

    "Senior, please let loose of your pressure, we didn''t know we had someone of your caliber in line, please proceed forward!" one of the guards hastily said trying to appease old Fu.

    "If you insist," old Fu replied and the three of us moved forward to the gate and were allowed in without even inspection.

    The city was imposing, massively so. However, it was surprisingly clean, besides the first part right after the gate. As you can see thousands of huts and houses where cultivators went in and out. This is what the thief called the slums. However, the path ahead seemed clean and paved with hard stone

    The three of us continued forward led by the small-time thief, and surprisingly I was able to notice the bloody tracks of the carriage that passed before on the path we were taking.

    We somehow kept following the tracks until we saw the carriage once again standing right in front of a simple inn.

    "You''re telling me this is the best inn in the city? This shabby looking thing," said old Fu.

    "I''d believe him, after all, the carriage stopped right in front of it¡­"

    My nose suddenly twitched, what''s that familiar smell¡­

    The two of us went inside the inn which seemed to have several bloodied footsteps going to the second level.

    A few servants were hastily wiping the blood away while many other cultivators were simply sitting in the tables enjoying their food.

    "WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" I hearding from the top floor. It''s the same voice of the driver from before.

    An old man suddenly walked into the inn, his clothes were unkempt and looked like he hastily put them on, he had the smell of alcohol and a stench of woman perfume. The same cheap perfume you''d smell in brothels.

    I guess the Medicine King was being treated elsewhere¡­ before he''s here to treat someone else¡­

    I couldn''t help but scuff at him.

 Chapter 594 The Doctor And The Quack

    Chapter 594 The Doctor And The Quack

    The old man hurried up inside the inn and was struggling to fix his attire as he was going upstairs. You could even hear themotion from the first level once he got up.

    "Hurry! We''ve been waiting," said the driver, stress and worry clear in his voice.

    A servant came toward us interrupting my ''spying''

    "A table for two?" he asked as he seemed to be trying to distract us from what was going on.

    "Sure," I said as my eyes scanned the entire inn. Whatever was happening wasn''t any of my business so I let it go.

    The servant then led us to a table at the center but I stopped him, "I''d like to sit there," I replied as I pointed at an empty corner."

    The servant looked at the corner and me and said, "Sir¡­ but there is nothing there," he said.

    "¡­ are you sure?" I frowned.

    "Yes¡­ that''s a wall sir, do you need me to call you a medic?" he said.

    I shook my head, then approached what he called a wall and said, "How did you manage to put something like this here? It''s like a formation¡­ but it hasws in it, a formation ofws, not inscriptions," I said.

    Old Fu looked at me strangely for a moment but he didn''t interrupt.

    Suddenly the entire world seemed to quiet down. I looked around and could see people around us having frozen in time, even the spige of wine was frozen in the air unable to move.

    A heartyugh echoed from behind the ''wall'' and soon it fell off revealing three men, but I couldn''t even see their faces it was as if something was covering their faces, it wasn''t darkness but it was something that absorbed light to an incredible extent.

    "Didn''t I tell you he''s a bit special, but it''s too soon for you to meet us, child." The one of the three men said. "I would advise you to go up, it is ordained," the man spoke.

    These three were¡­ strange, they didn''t give off a feeling of domination, and they seemed like mortals, but no mortal could ever survive in the Sea of Demons...but I had an inkling about who they were. And since everyone seemed frozen, it is what they chose and they didn''t want to be disturbed.

    I nodded and turned just as ''time'' seemed to resume, "I must have been mistaken, set up a table wherever," I told the servant.

    "Are you okay?" asked old Fu.

    "Yeah, I''m fine. But whoever is upstairs isn''t going to be so in a second,"

    "Are you nning on going up? It is not our business," he said.

    "Let''s say I have a feeling that it may be our business," I said as I headed towards the stairs.

    And once again, I could smell it, that whiff, a smell that was too familiar to me to mistake it.

    The higher up I go the more powerful that scent bes. It wasn''t a nice smell by any means, no it was disgusting, stinky, and filthy, it reminded me of my first days of cultivation.

    It reminded me of pain and agony and was the very reason I became who I am.

    And just as I stepped up and was on the second floor I saw a room with its door opened. Servants were rushing in with basins of water and out, while the old man from before seemed to be pulling out needles and trying to do acupuncture on a patient.

    The patient''s robes were corroded, they looked like they were made of golden silk threads. A woman, all I could see was a part of her skin and it immediately confirmed my suspicion.

    There was the couch driver on the doorstep pacing forward and back. Anxious and terrified waiting for the medic to help.

    I approached and was instantly noticed.

    "FUCK OFF!" the driver said as he began releasing his cultivation level.

    He was strong¡­ probably the Void Stage.

    "I can leave, but if I do, she will die¡­"

    "Please kick him out, I''m losing my concentration!" the old man said.

    The carriage driver pulled out a sword and came toward me threateningly, but old Fu instantly appeared in front of us and ced a hand on the driver''s shoulder.

    "You should listen to the child," old Fu said.

    "Senior, I don''t know who you are or who you''re affiliated with, but this is the daughter of the general of the West, if anything happens to her, are you prepared to shoulder the consequences," he said.

    "If you keep letting that fool treat her, a lot will happen to her, and surviving isn''t one of them," I said.

    And suddenly the woman screamed as if she was a banshee in a past life. The entire floor shook.

    "KILL ME!" she shouted. "KILL ME! IT HURTS TOO MUCH TO BEAR!"

    The words caused the entire hall to shudder as you could hear the pain of the woman.

    The old man who called himself the medicine king stood up, then approached the driver and said, "She won''t make it, it''s toote, the poison is too strong, it seeped into her bones. Trying to save her will only cause her more agony and pain," he said.

    "Are you telling me to let her die?!" the driver shouted.

    "No, I''m telling you to make her death merciful," the medic said.

    "I can treat her," I said.

    "Fool, you think you can treat this?! It''s the Bone and Body Grinding Poison! Not even gods can save her now!"

    "That''s what a quack doctor would say, move!" I said as I moved forward.

    The driver was about to stop me when old Fu grabbed him even tighter. "Let him do his thing, I trust the child to be of great service to you. After all, she''ll die anyway, let him try," he said and that didn''t sound like a request but an order.

    "Fools who think they know, there are always seas below seas and mountains above mountains, today you''ll learn the price of hubris!" said the doctor.

    "Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said as I got to the patient.

    Her entire skin was corroded, her body was full of pustules and her bones seemed to be in the process of being ground.

    The Bone and Body Grinding Poison was doing its job of destroying a body as slowly and as mercilessly as possible. She still had a few hours of agony in her before she would perish.

    Every part of her body was affected, her hair had already fallen, her face was now looking like the victim of a third-degree burn, and the rest of her body was slowly being crushed to mush.

    "The moment you touch her, you''ll also be afflicted, and you''ll have to pay an arm for your arrogance," said the Medic.

    "There are seas below seas!" I said as I pressed both my hands on the woman''s abdomen.

    "And mountains above mountains!" I added as I galvanized my Qi.

    Instantly the poison seemed to respond to me.

    "And today you''ll learn the price of hubris!" I added as I opened my mouth wide and sucked the air in calling upon every iota and ounce of poison to a ''better'' host.

    The poison as ecstatic as if it had finally seen heaven eternal jumped with joy as it left the woman to jump towards me, like two lovers that have been separated and finally met, and to that, I opened my maw.

    It instantly surged out of her body and into me as I consumed it whole.

    I closed my mouth and opened my eyes and then sighed as I stood up.

    "Her life is no longer in danger," I said as the woman seemed to finally fall asleep.

    The driver couldn''t help but be astonished.

    "That was the bone and body Grinding Poison!" he said.

    "So?" I replied shrugging, "It''s nothing for an actual healer. Unlike a quack who would rather kill a patient than try and help them. You disgust me," these words were spoken to the shaken medic who snorted and stomped his way out.

    The driver instantly knelt on the ground, "I have eyes but failed to see Mount Tai! Please punish this foolish servant! Thank you! Thank you for saving our youngdy!" he said.

    "We''re not done saving yet," I said.

    "What do you mean?" he asked.

    "Do you think that once she wakes up and looks at herself in the mirror she will still want to keep living? You know not the heart of a woman." I said.

    "Pardon myck of knowledge, but I heard that the Bone and Body Grinding Poison cannot only damage the body but the structure of it, no divine treasure or even recing the body itself can help with the scars, as even a new body will generate the same scars and wounds the old one had. That''s why it''s such a vicious poison," he said.

    "Your knowledge is good but it iscking, after all, why do I have jade-like skin? You never questioned that?" I asked.

    The driver then seemed to realize that I did consume all the poison and seemed to be proficient at it, meaning I encountered it before at least. And still have a smooth jade-like skin far fairer than mostdies would even have even if they wanted to.

    "Just rest and rx and let me do my magic," I said as I began pulling my needles, the same needles I used to fix old Fu''s appearance.

    I guess the men at the table were speaking the truth, it is indeed fate for me to meet this poison, even here in the beyond.

 Chapter 595 Discussion

    Chapter 595 Discussion

    "Indeed, what a marvelous child and you two have been hiding him away from me?" smiled the Red Sun as he drank from his mug.

    "We weren''t hiding anything, it was us who brought him here, and it is us who shall guide him to his destiny, but we''re mere guides we cannot interfere with his fate. That''s why we stopped you," said the Lord of Lords.

    "But you stopped me, and I was about to make contact with him, was it not his fate? I understand that you may have feared for the boy, after all, I''m the Laughing ughterer, but I wouldn''t just kill things that intrigue me," the Red Sun said.

    "That was because of my mistake, my belonging which I had given the child when he was but a core cultivator not even a couple hundred years ago has signaled you have it not?"

    "Yes, it was your pagoda, I felt its presence in my territory and came to investigate. So you were willing to part with that treasure for this child, impressive," the Red Sun said.

    "It was worth it from what I see," said the Wisest Sun. "He even deciphered my Elemental Keys," he grinned.

    The Red Sun frowned, "That¡­ is something I might find hard to believe, even your best students were unable to even understand how they work. Did you by chance take him as a secret disciple?" asked the Red Sun.

    The Wisest Sun shook his head, "No, as a matter of fact, the keys he understood aren''t even the keys I have spread for these foolish people who call themselves my disciples. The keys I have given them are nothing but a replica of the originals, and he understood the originals."

    "Now I know you two are lying, aren''t the original keys used to create The Vast Expanse, HAH! You''re telling me not only did a child who''s not even at the Void Stage, go to the Vast Expanse, understand the keys in their entirety ande back with knowledge," the Red Sun snorted.

    "Go? He is FROM the Vast Expanse, he was the one that solved they keys, not only did he solve them, He fixed them, as two had broken down he rebuilt them from scratch and opened the gate that led him here," said the Wisest Sun.

    The Red Sun put down his mug, "I humored you enough, what you''re saying is against all logic andmon sense. If that child is from the Vast Expanse, he would have had almost no resources to cultivate and how would he evene up with a diagram to understand and solve the Keys, it is impossible!" the Red Sun said.

    "But it did happen," said the Lord of Lords, "Otherwise do you think we''d be moved to assist and aid him, though we have a lot of free time, we''re not that free," he added.

    The Red Sun leaned back on his chair and smiled, "I see. And interesting child, so you don''t mind if I were to apany you?" he said.

    "As long as we don''t interfere with the child we can simply watch," said the Wisest Sun.

    ***

    "Damn this is going to be a bit difficult," I said as I continued embedding more and more needles into her body.

    "Do you need anything?" asked old Fu.

    "Yes, I need some spiritual herbs I''m missing some," I said as I sighed. "Her treatment will take a while. But to offset the damage to her skin and body I need several high tier spiritual herbs that can help with the damages," I said.

    "What do you need, give me a list and if I had to go through a sea of fire and a mountain of des I''d do it for our youngdy!" the driver said.

    "I don''t know if you can find them, but do your best. I''ll need two stalks of Celestial Dreamroot, a bottle of Tranquil Lotus Essence, an Ethereal Serenity Blossom. A Divine Whisper leaf and an Eternal Embergrass," I said to the driver.

    But instead of rushing to get them, "Are you not making a mistake?" he asked.

    I frowned, "What do you mean? We don''t have time for you to question me, if they''re rare just find recements although they won''t work perfectly I can give you a list of things you can use to rece those with."

    "No, but you said you needed rare spiritual herbs, most the ones you mentioned are some of the mostmon grass you can find anywhere, they''re not even worth picking up¡­ I thought you''d need something far more borate and difficult to obtain," he said.

    I looked at old Fu and saw him nodding.

    "¡­"

    "Do I still need to go and get them? do you not need anything more¡­ powerful? The family of the General of the West is really rich so you can order whatever you need," he said.

    "No, I only need those," I said and the driver nodded and went out the inn in a hurry.

    I continued working while grumbling several profanities under my breath.

    "What''s wrong?" old Fu asked.

    "The fact that some of these treasures back where Ie from, you could barely find one if you search through an entire, and the man here says that they''re somon they''re not even worth picking up, that''s what I''m pissed about," I said.

    "Well, the difference in age of the Beyond and your world is far too great. What is rare for you might be verymon here and the opposite is also true, for example you can find some simple grass in the Vast Expanse that you''d have to scour the entire Beyond to find a stalk of it. Granted that grass is utterly andpletely useless but it is rare never the less." He said.

    I sighed as I continued working and soon thedy looked like a pincushion from the sheer number of needles in her.

    Not before long I heard a loud crash downstairs and someone seemed to be rushing up the stairs.

    Behind me was a man of a massive size, he barely fit the door frame. He reminded me of Old Beast the Earth Lord due to the sheer size of his bulky body. Only this man was fully armored up unlike Old Beast who only wore pelts for clothes.

    The man''s armor was that of a high-ranking soldier, as it was adorned in gold and red embroideries. He had a helmet under his armpit that he held on to tightly as he was holding back an insane amount of rage as he looked at me.

    "Speak! WHO DID THIS!" he shouted with enough power that I was about to mess up on the treatment.

    "Old Fu, can you calm that person down?" I asked.

    "I could, but it''ll probably destroy half the city trying to, I can take a wild guess, are you the General of the West?" old Fu asked as he faced the man.

    "It is indeed I, who are you? Are you responsible for what happened to my daughter? Or rted any way sort or form?" he asked.

    "I understand your concern and anger, but choose your words carefully, if we meant this person harm, all we had to do was to not interfere, Brother Shen, I told you we shouldn''t have helped," he said.

    "I know, but if we didn''t, she would have died," I replied.

    "And look at what helping her is causing us. Nothing but issues, instead of gratitude," old Fu spoke those words with grit teeth making sure to reveal his cultivation to calm the general down.

    The general sighed and peaked over old Fu''s shoulder, his whole body seemed to shudder as he staggered forward.

    "Jia''er" he said as he tried to get to her.

    "Don''t get any closer, you''ll be afflicted," I said to the man as I continued my treatment.

    The general stopped in his tracks. No longer was he a general of a powerful army or region, no longer was he a mighty cultivator, and no longer was he a man of influence or power, he was nothing but a father scared for the safety of his daughter.

    "Just rx, she''ll be fine, and I''ll make sure to get her to look as or better than before, you won''t have to worry about how she''ll look," I said as I ced the final needle in.

    "Thank you¡­" said the general. "But why are you helping me?" he asked.

    I looked up, then at the old man and said, "I don''t know, call it providence, fate or divine intervention, but the smell of this poison led me here, and I don''t want to see another suffer the same fate I did," I stood up from my spot.

    "Now, we''ll have to wait for the driver, once he brings in the herbs it''ll be fine," I said.

    And just as I finished my words, the man rushed in with all the materials I asked him, and in several batches, not missing a thing.

    I spat on the ground, cursing inwardly some more. As I snatched the materials and began working while constantly grumbling profanities under my breath.

    I couldn''t help but hear the general leaning toward old Fu and asking, "Is something bothering him?"

    "Don''t worry about it, he''s just a bit¡­ annoyed,"

    Immediately I mmed both hands together and pulled them apart, manifesting the Emerald me. My very own Veridian Heart me.

    "What''s he going to do with that weak me, surely you''re not going to do Rceptarism with a Veridian Heart me?" said the general.

    "What do you mean weak?" I asked the general as this stopped me from working. "A Veridian Heart me is the best me to make poison pills and medicine," I said.

    The general frowned but didn''t dare correct me, until general Fu sent me a divine sense message. "You''re exposing your background, here a Veridian Heart me is something that kids can y with¡­ it''s nothing more than a fire starter¡­"

    I almost threw up blood before old Fu smirked at me, "I''m just kidding, it is indeed powerful, but there are other Soul mes that are far stronger than a Heart me, you just didn''t reach the Void Stage yet to be able to use a Soul me, even your Veridian Heart me can be upgraded. You might want to ask the general for that me after you''re done."

    I sighed and continued my work as I fused all the herbs together working on creating not only a pill but also a liquid solution from the remain that I can use as a balm over the wounds of thedy.

    Once she wakes up, we''ll deal with the general at hands. We can get more information on the auction house too and might be able to use this favor so I can grab whatever the Queen at the ant cave wants from that ce.

 Chapter 596 Really? Zombies? Really...

    <h4>Chapter 596 Really? Zombies? Really...</h4>

    Once I was done preparing the mix, I separated half of it into a consumable pill and the rest I bottled to the side.

    I then put the pill inside the woman''s mouth and began using my Qi to help her absorb it since she was unconscious. Once the pill settled in and began melting inside her stomach I then began applying the balm on her body, slowly covering all the wounds that the Bone and Body Grinding Poison had left on her.

    Soon, her face returned to normal, but she was still bald due to the potency of the poison and it''s erosive properties.

    That can easily be solved with a pill though so I didn''t bother.

    "Please leave the room," I said to the three behind me.

    "Is there a problem?" asked the general.

    "No, but I''ll have to apply this all over the youngdy''s body, and if you''re in the room¡­"

    "Ah, right, excuse us then," said the general as he left along with the driver and old Fu.

    I could hear them discuss among themselves afterward. The general asked about the origin of both me and old Fu and what we were doing here. But since old Fu decided that he would leave the talking to me, the General didn''t press any further.

    The general then began asking the driver about how all of this happened.

    "We were attacked by masked individuals as we were returning from our expedition. The youngdy managed to find one of the Walkersirs but just as we tried to report the matter they appeared. It seemed as if these individuals were actively trying to increase the reproduction of these Walkers and were trying to control them¡­"

    Most of their conversation didn''t make sense to me since I wasn''t a part of this world or culture, so since I had no knowledge or understanding of what was going on I decided to ignore it for now and focus on healing the young woman.

    I began applying the balm all over her body, making sure to not leave a scar or injury unhealed. The needles served in extracting whatever miniscule amount of poison or impurities that the poison had left along with all the dead tissue and fractured bone.

    While the balm healed her body and the pill supplemented it with all the nutrition''s it needed to recreate the destroyed parts.

    After a couple hours of treatment, I removed all the needles and covered thedy up.

    "Alright," I said as I stood up and left the room, "Get someone to pick her up and send her home. Make sure it''s done carefully, she''ll need a month to recover and will be good as new if not better," I said to the general as I walked out.

    "Really? Can I see her?" he asked.

    "Go on ahead I replied as I moved out of his way.

    "Old Fu let''s go," I said to the old man as the two of us left.

    The Driver tried to stop us but heard the general say, "Get a couple of guards with a pnquin and take her home," he then rushed toward us, "Benefactor, please! Don''t go, what can I do for your help, if it wasn''t for you, I''d have lost my only daughter!" he said.

    "I don''t really need anything, consider it pro-bono," I said.

    "Pro what? I don''t understand, but I must reward you handsomely, Dwei told me that the man calling himself the Medicine King almost gave up and was about to mercy kill my daughter, but you on the other hand healed her and clearly retained her former beauty. If I don''t reward you I''d forever regret it, what would the people say if I as the general of the West doesn''t reward my benefactor? At least stay as a guest of honor in my manor," he said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "Alright, since we have nowhere to stay for now, I''ll take you up on that offer."

    "Then please follow me, a caravan that will take us home should be waiting for us outside."

    I nodded to the general and the three of us went out. Not before long a full a bunch of guards came rushing in with four of them holding a covered pnquin.

    Two guards rushed inside, and carried thedy then ced her on the pnquin while the three of us rode behind on a carriage that was led by four six-legged horses.

    The ride to the general''s pce wasn''t long and we arrived in minutes. He had a pce of his own on the west side of the city next to one of the walls. The pce was not as grandiose as one would assume from what a general would own. It was big don''t get me wrong, butpared to many of the other buildings in the city, it wasn''t as¡­ pertinent.

    The whole building was barely three floors of height and had more than a hundred barracks surrounding it.

    "Wee to my humble abode," said the general as he left the carriage first and led the way.

    You could hear soldiers training far in the distance and many servants running around taking care of their needs.

    "Are they preparing for a war or something," I mumbled under my breath. But that didn''t escape the general''s ears.

    "I had my assumptions at first, you two are not form around here," he said.

    I shook my head, "Wee from a far away ce." I replied.

    "From the brand on your arm, you two must belong to the Red Sun faction, they''re pretty close to the Red Sea¡­ I suppose something wrong went out and you fell out of grace. But worry not, here in the Sea of Demons everyone is like that, and since you have done me a great favor and earned great merit, you may join my camp for however long you want," he said.

    "No need, we''ll only be staying for a while in the Sea of Demons," I replied.

    "Then good. All I can advise you is to stay near my camp, for whoever harmed my daughter fears not the power under me, and they may find you an eyesore for helping. I''ll make sure to get to the bottom of this, also, do not wander outside the city at night," he said.

    I turned to Old Fu, then back at the old man and said, "Night? Isn''t that a few years away?" I asked.

    "Oh¡­" the general said as he looked up to the skies, "It''s different here, nightes and goes in thisnd due to that," he pointed at the cloud. "It''s a strange phenomenon that exists only here in the Sea of Demons. The cloud sea thickness and instead of raining, it bes a bulwark that stops the rays of light from prating it creating the illusion of night. It happens on a twenty-four-hour cycle andsts for twenty-four hours each time. And it''s about to get dark soon," he said.

    "Is there any danger in going out at night?" I asked.

    "Inside the city, nothing more than the crooks and petty thieves, but outside the city¡­ the Walkers start roaming."

    "I heard you mention the Walkers before what are those?" I asked.

    "Let''s talk about that once we''re inside," he said.

    The general then led us all the way to the inside of his pce, and just like outside, it wasn''t decorated as would a king would do, it had a minimalistic design. With nothing but the essentials in it, no overly expensive and useless decors in sight.

    There was a big table however in the middle and several bottles of wine on it. Empty mugs were neatly ced on the table waiting for us.

    The general then took a seat and gestured for us to sit.

    "About the walkers," he said as he poured us both some wine.

    "We don''t know where theye from, or their origin, but they''ve been here for as long as the Sea of Demon existed. And the walls around this city is what''s holding them at bay, for now," he said.

    "I assume they can''t fly?" I said.

    "Thankfully no, but they are mighty strong. The weakest of them is at the Ascendant Stage, and some can go beyond the Void Stage. But those are rare. And the ones we''re fighting are but a small fraction of the overall poption of these Walkers. Theye in at night and begin hunting, and if they were to capture someone¡­"

    "Let me guess, they turn him into one of them?" I asked.

    "Indeed, how did you know that?" he asked.

    "Well, since they''re still here for such a long time I could assume that they have this sort of ability since you mentioned that they''ve been here for a while. Also I would assume that they''re weak to the sunlight," I said.

    "Indeed that is true, we did capture a few to send them outside the Sea of Demons for testing, but the moment theye in contact with the sun they immediately perish into ash. They can only survive under this massive fog sea, and they be stronger when it thickens. And in a few dozen years the Beyond will turn dark and these creatures will crawl out in massive numbers, far beyond what anyone could see to wreak havoc over all of the Beyond," he said.

    "None of the other Suns intervene in this?" I asked.

    The general shook his head, "This event is too far below the interest of any of the Suns to take note of, and most sects use it to train their disciples. It isn''t much of an issue for most of the people outside the Sea of Demons. But for us, we always suffer incredible damage and destruction due to them and being in the center of this whole ordeal makes it far worse for us."

    I sighed.

    "What''s wrong?" asked old Fu.

    "I never expected that I''d see Zombies here¡­ cultivation Zombies, you gotta be kidding me man¡­"

 Chapter 597 Library

    597 Library

    "You must have businessing here to the Sea of Demons, and I''m sure it has nothing to do with the Walkers," said the general.

    "No, we''re here to partake in the uing auction, we have something that we need to obtain from it," he said.

    "I see. Dwei,e here," said the general, and soon the man who drove the carriage arrived to the hall and stood in front of us.

    "Once the auction stars, you shall support our guests with the full power of the Western General, if they even want to buy out the entire auction, help them do so, the treasure room is all at their disposal," he said.

    "As youmand," said Dwei.

    "There won''t be a need for that. We just need the painting that''s going to be auctioned there," I said.

    "If it''s just one item, I''ll feel it too cheap for the life of my daughter, then, I''ll tell you what, Dwei go to the general of the east, and get one of their Soul mes, the Emerald Soul me, it shouldn''t ount for all the favor you have graced us with, but it is the least I can offer you."

    Old Fu nodded to me, and I epted.

    "If that''s what the General of the west wishes for, then I shall kindly ept," I replied.

    "Good. As for you, Master Fu. I believe that you''re at the peak of the Void Shattering Stage," he said.

    "Something like that," old Fu replied.

    "Good, then would you be willing to help us?" he asked.

    "To do what?" old Fu replied.

    "After investigating what had urred, we conclude that someone is elerating the growth rate of the Walkers. We have a feeling that whoever is doing so wishes to harm our city. Or do something nefarious under the vestige of the assault from the Walkers. None of us four generals can leave the city unless expressed directly but the reigning emperor, otherwise I would have personally went and investigated." Said the general.

    "And you want me to do this for you?" asked Old Fu.

    "I won''t hide it, as though it''s shameful to ask for another favor from the people who helped my daughter, my hands are tied and I don''t want to be caught off-guard when the Night falls." He said.

    Old Fu thought for a moment and said, "I find no reasonpelling me to help."

    ''Good one Fu, you''re learning.'' I nodded inwardly.

    "Oh that''s the reason I asked for your cultivation level. He then pulled a small golden box and ced it in front of old Fu.

    Once Old Fu opened the box, a beautiful jade colored root was sittingfortably in the box.

    Old Fu frowned, "Bodhi roots¡­ where did you get something like this," old Fu extended his hand to the box but the general lightly closed it.

    "It will be yours once you help us, what do you think?" he asked.

    Old Fu ced his hand under his chin weighing his options. But before he coulde to a decision I asked, "What is that and why do you need it?"

    "The Bodhi Roots, especially of this pure quality is undoubtedly the best catalyst to help someone at the Void Shattering Stage to breakthrough and reach the next stage. Cultivation resources are not as rare as in where youe from but something like this is not easy toe by. Through my life, I''ve seen only two of this. And I never was able to obtain them at any point in time. Something like this will give me an easy ess to the Origin realm."

    "Then let''s go, what are we waiting for?" I asked.

    "It''s a difficult mission, I believe that old Fu is capable of handling himself, but I fear for my benefactor''s life, after all, I sent three Void Stage cultivators with my daughter and only Dwei returned."

    ''What a sly old man, even after all I''ve done to him, he''s trying to keep me here as a hostage until Old Fues back. But I don''t me him, if the Bodhi roots are this priceless, they may as well try and keep me hostage here to guarantee that old Fu wouldplete his mission ande back.''

    "I refuse," said Old Fu.

    "May I know the reason? Is the reward not enough?" the general asked.

    "No, the reward is plenty, but I don''t go anywhere where my Junior Brother isn''t. After all, I don''t trust you."

    The general thought for a moment and said, "Then at least allow me to send some escorts with you, Dwei knows the path and region and a few other of my elite soldiers will apany you to safety, we only need to investigate the reason behind this sudden sprout of Walkers. So don''t risk your lives for anything," he said.

    "Fair enough," I replied, "When are we departing?" I asked.

    "You may leave whenever you wish, but I would advise you to wait this night out. You must first see the Walkers before you walk into their den, right?" he asked.

    "Indeed, so in the mean time I need to go somewhere," I said.

    "Where is that?" asked the General.

    "A library, the biggest one you have here."

    The general looked at us awkwardly and said, "This is a city of ruffians, muggers, thieves and fools. Finding someone who keeps a couple books would be a miracle. But¡­ I know someone who can help you if you want arge collection to read from," the general''s expressions were a bit too grim.

    "I suppose that the person you''re talking about is not on friendly rtionship with you," I said.

    "Not at all, on the contrary. We''re actually good friends, it''s just that meeting them is going to be difficult for someone like you," he said.

    "Let me guess, it''s the emperor and since I have no achievements I have no right to request seeing his collection," I said.

    "Right on the nose, I like smart people," said the General.

    I sighed as I was about to give up until I received a Divine Sense message from the Automaton.

    "Master, why must you seek lesser knowledge when you have the Lord of Lords Pagoda?" he said.

    "What do you mean? I already finished reading all the books in the Pagoda, and none of them had anything to do with the Beyond."

    "But that was before we reached the Beyond. My Lord had made sure to only allow you a fraction of the Lord of Lords pagoda''s treasureof knowledge, since if you were to delve into the higher form of knowledge you''d have lost your mind. But now that you reached your current stage, you''re able to ess more floors. Including the upper Library with a vast array of books and scrolls over the Beyond''s culture, resources, cultivation materials and many more," he said.

    "Why didn''t you mention this before¡­"

    "Because master never asked¡­"

    "Touch¨¦"

    "We''ll excuse ourselves for now," said old Fu.

    beautifully carved wood. And the whole room seemed to have an extravagance to it 11:16

    that would put a king to shame.

    "Dwei, take them to the honored guest residence, and go and procure the Soul me," he said.

    "As youmand," Dwei saluted and led the way for us to follow him.

    He took us to a vast room where we were allowed in.

    "Please enjoy your stay, if you need anything just ring that bell and servants will immediately arrive to amodate all your needs," he said and then left after closing the door to the room.

    Of anything I''ve seen in the pce, this room seemed to have the most decorative items in it, it actually felt like it belonged to a proper pce.

    The carpet alone seemed to be intricately weaved. The walls and ceiling were made of beautifully carved wood. And the whole room seemed to have an extravagance to it that would put a king to shame.

    "I guess they treat their guests better than they treat themselves," said old Fu.

    "They''re soldiers, they don''t need all that fancy stuff, not that we need it. Old Fu, I''ll need you to keep an eye out on me, I''ll return shortly," I said.

    "Are you leaving the perimeter of the pce?" he asked.

    "No, I''ll be here, just not here," I said.

    He didn''t understand much but the Automaton appeared and opened a portal for me to the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Once I stepped inside, I found myself in the same massive library of the Lord of Lords. I''ve spent years here and know every nook and cranny of this ce, I have already read every book here.

    "Follow me, master," said the automaton until we arrived to an inconspicuous corner of the library.

    "Wave the Lord of Lords token here," he said.

    And just as I did, the whole shelf fell down revealing a tunnel like entrance that led forward. Luminescent orbs were imbedded on the ceiling of this square walled tunnel that lit the way and on the other side of the tunnel there was light.

    Just as I arrived to the other side, my eyes widened as I saw the real library of the Lord of Lords.

    "Shit¡­"

 Chapter 598 Undead

    598 Undead

    I couldn''t begin to fathom the sheer size of knowledge that was hidden in in sight. Right behind that inconspicuous looking shelve was a whole other world with an incredible amount of knowledge that I never knew about.

    The library behind me was vast and grand, but it wasn''tparable to a drop in the bucket if you pit it against this sea of information.

    From the right were books and manuals about cultivation methods, some that were surprisingly familiar and simr to ones I''ve seen in the Vast Expanse, and some that were incredibly mysterious and mystical.

    Then alchemy books, exining and details sets and assets of the Beyond, herbs and nts and heavenly treasures that I''ve never seen before or even knew existed. New poisons, new antidots, new forms and new alchemy methods.

    Then on the far end were manuals aboutw and inscription, and manuals about the territory of the beyond, its beasts and monsters, the humans that lived in it. The mortal life, the cultivation life, and even the life of the mundane and the mythic from the smallest of worms, to the mightiest of phoenixes and dragons.

    There was so much knowledge packed here that I felt at aplete loss at first unable to even start.

    I shook my head andughed and decided that I didn''t need to be greedy. I began looking for the section that had the maps of the beyond, and I found it rather easily. The whole of the beyond was mapped in here as there were hundreds upon hundreds of scrolls and books that detailed maps of the entire beyond.

    And among all the regions, the portion which had the Demon Sea was categorized under, "Forbidden Region."

    At first I didn''t understand what forbidden region meant, but from seeing that there were other regions under the same category and after a quick skim through the content, I realized what it means.

    A forbidden region is a region that is fraught with danger and hadn''t been fully explored.

    Though it surprised me that something as old as the Beyond hasn''t been fully explored especially when they have people like the eight Suns who are the peak lifeform of the beyond, if they themselves didn''t dare and explore this region then there must be a valid reason for it.

    And I came to realize it rather fast.

    In one of the maps, the one that detailed more about the Sea of Demons especially was one of the reasons why this area isn''t fully explored.

    After all, we''re in a city at the peripheries of the Sea of Demons, this city we''re in is just one of many that are sprinkled around the edge of the Sea of Demons as not even a tenth of it had been explored. And the reason is the following.

    Whoever recorded this, made detailed records of the inner region of the Sea of Demons. Which is frankly strange, as if they had done so, shouldn''t the exploration rate of the forbidden Region be far higher than it is?

    But reading up ahead I noticed that whoever recorded this was mentioning ancient text and the origin of the Sea of Demons, they didn''t actually fully explore but rather noted down rumors and myths from old.

    And from these rumors there is apparently has a hole in the centermost area of the Sea of Demons. And it seems that the hole leads somewhere but no one had ever returned from exploring it.

    ''Interesting, this is Something to note then¡­''

    And one of the reasons why the people don''t go on exploring the deeper region of the Sea of Demons has nothing to do with the incredible number of Walkers moving through it. Nor the demonic beasts that currently live in it. No, it''s much worse than that. Because the further one goes into the Sea of Demons the less Qi they encounter, and it bes scarcer and scarcer the more one gets to its core. At one-point cultivator be as useless as mortals and once they deplete their inner Qi they are bound to die. After all a mortal can''t deal with a Walker. But that wasn''t all, there are rumors of something other than Walkers in the Sea of Demons as it seems that the Walkers which are making a headache for the four generals of this city are nothing but the bottom feeders of this ecosystem. They''re the prey¡­

    The Sea of Demons hold many secrets, interesting ones too. I''ve seen the corpses of sea monsters that were the size of mountainsying at the edge of this sea. So, I wonder what the center of the region holds. Maybe finding a kraken won''t be that impossible.

    However, that wasn''t something for me to care about for now. From the general''s words, we''ll be delving just a bit into the Sea of Demons, not enough for us to start suffering from the Qi depletion, not that I personally care but just at the start of it.

    I took note of more of what the schrs had written about the Sea of Demons and made note of anything worthy, like the ecosystem and the creatures that have been spotted although not confirmed.

    I then went and began reading more and more about the nts and herbs that exist within the Beyond before the Automaton notified me.

    "Sir, you have spent close to a week here, the night had fallen outside. And the general is requesting your presence, the man with you is stalling them until youe out."

    "Oh, time sure does fly," I said as I left the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Once I was outside Old Fu was pacing back and forward, "Oh, you''re back, I was almost out of excuses. The general wants us to go out and see ''the night'' of the Sea of Demons."

    I nodded to old Fu and followed after him, and indeed, like he said, the entire area outside the pce was darker than ck. The Sun which lit the entirety of the beyond was barely visible it was like a small candle light that was trying to prate a thick dark fog and that sunlight was so weak that it looked like a small moon trying its best to light the dark but failing miserably.

    Dwei was waiting for us outside the pce gate. He was with thepany of a couple soldiers that had the banner of the general of the west and they were our escorts. We moved up through the streets and noticed that

    The city in its entirety was as empty as a ghost town. No one wandered its streets, and the homes were closed and locked. No cultivator moved about, and no marketce was open. Not even the brothels and red light district was functioning at night.

    "It''s rather dreary," I muttered to Dwei.

    "Ah, yes, once the night falls, martialw is in order. No one is to move about the city or outside their homes.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "Because of the Walkers, we''ve had many incidents where walkers were found roaming the city. And thus, to reduce the risk of infection and death we ordered martialw during the night. Only the soldiers of the generals are allowed to survey and patrol during the night. Anyone who is found wandering out will be immediately arrested," Dwei said.

    I shrugged they were overly cautious but it''s clear that if they found walkers with walls this thick and high, it''s obvious that they''ve gotten smuggled in. One of the generals was probably in on it, but I wasn''t about to use one of the generals of treason, after all it''s just an assumption.

    Soon we arrived to the western wall, and it was there that I saw the general standing up high on top of the wall.

    Dwei then flew up and gestured to us to follow.

    All of us stood atop the bone wall and only then was I able to witness what the general was talking about.

    Across the entirety of this dimly lit, gray looking and dreary sand desert were sprinkles of people.

    Or as close to people as one might think, no. They had skin as e as ash, and their skin was tightly sticking to their bones. Their ribs the parts that weren''t exposed from being eroded and corroded were visible under their skin. Their faces had no eyes and they had no lips or hair. Their teeth were not that of humans but more like those of a shark. Nothing but razor sharp looking fangs decorated their mouths.

    Some of them were huge in size, almost ten feet tall, and some were not even the size of a man''s arm.

    They wandered the desert, without any target or goal in sight. They just moved about, bumping in each other and moving about rather erratically.

    Every once in a while, you could hear one of them groan and that would alert the closest batch of walkers to it. But none of the walkers acted up on it or tried to explore the source of this sound after hearing it the first time.

    "What do you think?" asked the general.

    "ssic Zombie case," I said.

    "What is that?" he asked, curious of the word I used.

    "A corpse¡­ made with reviving the body of a dead man. It has no mind of its own but that of the one controlling andmanding, it follows orders and is loyal to boot. It knows no fear for death hunger or exhaustion. That''s an Undead." I said.

 Chapter 599 Experiments

    <h4>Chapter 599 Experiments</h4>

    "An undead¡­ we''ve been calling them walkers for a while, they don''t look like Jiangshi. Since they look¡­natural, in their extraordinariness."

    "Indeed, Jiangshis are usually made by hand, but these look untampered with, and Jiangshis don''t infect others, as you mentioned before. Zombies do¡­" thest part I kept to myself.

    "Why the walls?" I asked.

    "They can''t climb them, the walls are too smooth and too tough for their ws to pierce through. They''ll just slide down if they were to try and climb them. And they can''t use Qi to fly no matter their cultivation level. They''re all grounded. So we decided to erect these walls to stop them form entering the city," the general added.

    "Interesting," I replied. "And they just do this? Roam about until the ''morning?''"

    "Yes, once it''s closer to morning hours, they burrow back deep into the sand and then just disappear," he said.

    "Disappear? How can they just disappear?"

    "We don''t actually know, I even personally went to chase after some of them, but after they burrow deep enough you just can''t locate them anymore, it''s as if they were never there," he said.

    ''Frankly speaking, this is getting interesting by the second. So many secrets and so many mysteries.''

    "I fail to see the danger to our lives, these may be numerous, but they''re all at the ascendant stage, none of them should pose a threat to me as you had made it seem before, general," I said.

    "These, yes, they may not be of any note worth mentioning to you, but these are at the border of the Sea of Demons, the stronger walkers are deep, right where my daughter was attacked¡­ that''s when the nightmare starts," he said.

    "I see," I turned my head to old Fu and said, "I need to capture a couple of these guys," I said.

    "We tried, but the moment dayes up, they just turn to ash, even under the shade and hidden in dungeons, they won''tst." Said the General.

    "I have my way," I replied.

    "Then knock yourself out," the general said, "But make sure to not pull any aggressiveness toward the city. I hope you could take a few of my soldiers with you," he said.

    "No need to risk injuring or harming other soldiers. I believe me and old Fu are enough for this," I said.

    The general looked at old Fu with a worried look and thetter replied, "We won''t move far, we''ll be hunting within sight," he said.

    "Good then, I''ll allow you leave, but like I said, try and keep the aggression away from the city. We don''t want to cause unnecessarymotion with the people living here," he said.

    The two of us then jumped down from the walls and dashed above the closest walkers who all turned their heads toward us and began moving in swarms following us.

    "That group," I pointed, and old Fu nodded.

    We came down upon a group of three walkers. One of them was a female almost my size, and the other two were pretty much giantspared to me, but all three were sluggish and didn''t seem to have a high cultivation base.

    Yet that didn''t mean that they were weak. The female walker sniffed the air at us, even without eyes it seems that their sense of smell is what''s driving them. That was something to note.

    The female walker then screeched as loud as a banshee. The sonic boom was enough to alert almost every other walker in the vicinity all the way to the gate of the city.

    With that, even the walkers that didn''t notice us now were swarming their way toward us.

    Old Fu had a rxed expression on his face, after all, these were barely ascendant level while his power is at least two major cultivation realms above mine and I''m in the emperor level.

    The female zombie then lunged itself at me.

    "Hmm, they have no ability to discern danger, or realize how strong their foe is," I said as I dodged the ws of the female walker.

    In then grabbed her wrists, and took a closer look at her fingernails. They were coated with a dark liquid that oozed out of her body and wounds.

    "Poison? Or disease¡­''

    I lightly twisted her arm, and it snapped instantly, she didn''t even register the pain as she iled around trying to get away from me, not out of fear, but just to have a better position to attack.

    "They don''t feel pain, interesting," I muttered.

    "Automaton, can you take her inside," I said.

    "Yes, master," he said and instantly a teleportation gate opened up.

    Old Fu pulled the two hulking walkers which were already broken of bones and joints when old Fu decided to roughen them up a bit and make them meeker. It didn''t work, they still tried to desperately struggle forward and eat him. Not that it was going to happen, but their drive is admirable.

    He then unceremoniously chucked the two of them like a sac of potato into the gate.

    Soon, the rest of the walkers arrived toward us. Killing them all will take a long time, so we just rose high up, flying above the undead.

    They couldn''t fly.

    But even if they couldn''t fly, what happened next was a sight to behold.

    Many of the walkers crouched down, the muscles on their thighs flexed and flushed. Then they inted in size. It all happened in a fraction of a second, as they then jumped up. Hundreds of meters up at once with ws barred at us.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki," I muttered, "Golden Titan''s Palm!" I pressed my palm forward, and with it, an invigorating and powerful wave of pressure and Qi pushed down against the jumping walkers, mming them all back and creating a gigantic fissure on the sand shaped like a palm.

    Soon, the sand began falling to fill the gape my palm had made, and covered the crushed bodies of the walkers in its wake.

    "Let''s go," I said as the two of us went back into the city and stood at the wall''s edge."

    "So, did you capture anything?" he asked.

    "Yeah, I ced them into my holding bag, but they were instantly destroyed the moment they got in," I said.

    The general shrugged, "I''ve already mentioned that, anyway, do you still wish to hunt," he said.

    I looked back at the sand and said, "There is no point, they already lost track of us when we flew up, so they won''te to the city. Anyway, I''ll retreat for the night, I have some things to take care of," I said.

    "If you need anything, just call for Dwei, also I have asked the General of the East for the Soul me, they''re preparing it. It should be ready for you once youe back from tomorrow''s expedition," he said.

    I nodded to the old man and gestured for old Fu to leave.

    Old Fu then sent me a Divine Sense message, "Why did you lie to them?" he asked.

    "He already knows I lied to them, but they''re not going to expose or try and butt in. To them, whatever we try, they already tried before. So he is probably not caring much of what we do, he thinks that even if I had captured the Walker it will die the moment the ''morning''es up."

    "Your words mean that it won''t die." Old Fu said.

    "Of course they won''t, who do you think I am. Anyway, can I ask you to keep guard while I dissect and investigate these things?" I asked.

    "Sure, I also need to meditate some, I''ll take the chance to guard you while you''re doing your investigation," he said "But how can I call you out if theye looking for us?"

    "Just mention my name, I''lle out," I said.

    Soon we were back to our guest room and I entered the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    All three walkers were strapped on top of a white table that the automaton had prepared. They were chained and muzzled so they don''t move and try to bite.

    The female seemed the least ''damaged'' not because of old Fu, but she was the least deteriorated. They were corpse after all. The other two were severely malformed. Their bones had already be brittle and their flesh had rotted away.

    So I''ll leave her forst.

    I headed toward the one of the two male corpses, and began taking note of his body''s size, his frame and even the number of his bones.

    They were perfect match to a male human. Nothing different, so it''s not a different race, the only difference is the sheer size of this guy, he was easily twice my height.

    I opened its lids, and noticed that his eyes were¡­ extracted rather brutally. It was the same for every other one of these walkers. They were basically pulled out as there is damage around the eyes.

    So they didn''t just lose them or had their eyes lose function and deteriorate. They were forcibly removed.

    I kept note of that too and continued my investigation to understand more about these corpses.

    And it was then that I noticed the drip on the table from the corpse''s fingers.

    I took a sample from the liquid and dropped a drop of my blood onto the substance. To note, the color of my blood had long changed form crimson red to that of a golden red thanks to the Primordial Serpent''s blood that I had consumed.

    My blood visibly bubbled and instantly ovee the ck substance within this foreign liquid instantly turned red like that of blood then soon turned a dark purple.

    "Hmm, it is alive, and it was just purified before it was poisoned¡­ I need more samples to experiment with," I muttered to the corpse and smirked, "Sorry, this will hurt. Not that you''ll feel pain.

 Chapter 600 Across The Sand

    600 Across The Sand

    Several days went by in the time-elerated area of the Lord of Lords. And in that time I understood many things.

    First thing first, this isn''t a poison as I had suspected. It is a disease. Which is frankly surprising. Is it a type of virus? -And I''m going on a limb calling it a virus- That only works on a dead body. I used a small chicken to test it out, the chicken died immediately after being injected with a small dose of the poison but after a small while it stood back up.

    However, it kept mming its head against the ground until it ''died'' again.

    Which was frankly disturbing.

    I then continued on testing on the virus. But couldn''te up with anything of value. I''m not a scientist and I''m not nning on bing one. But I still needed to understand some of the basics of the virus. After all, I''ll be venturing into a den of these things.

    The only good thing I learned was that it cannot by any means affect me. Since the moment that viruses in contact with my flesh, it immediately melts and dies out. The toxins and poison in my blood are vastly superior and extremely potent that not even that zombie-making virus could survive.

    Another thing was that these creatures are sensitive to the death of their partners. After some rigorous testing of poison on one of them, it finally died and that caused the other two who were trying to wiggle out of their restraint to go on a rampage.

    After noting all of that, the automaton arrived.

    "Master, it is time," he said.

    I nodded to him and left the Lord of Lords pagoda. When I was outside, Dwei was already waiting for us behind the door of the guest room.

    "We''reing out," Old Fu said as he noticed my arrival.

    "Shen Mo," he said to me, "What did you find out," he asked.

    I didn''t want to correct him about my name, but I feel that I should do that soon. He had proved to be a loyal and goodpanion and made sure to have my back no matter the situation. So, I owe him at least that. But not now.

    "To be honest, nothing of good use, though they''re weak to some of my poisons, anything else is really hard to figure out. The thing that makes them into what they are is a living microorganism that lives in blood and only prospers when it''s inside a dead host. Not to mention that it actively kills the host first."

    "So it''s like a disease," he said.

    I shook my head, "Most diseases want their host to live as long as possible as they''re reproducing inside it. This one does the opposite, it kills its host for it to prosper and natural or man-made. We need more information on it to have a better understanding of these walkers," I exined.

    Dwei then shouted, "Dragon Squad!" and suddenly a group of ten people arrived in our presence, they were fully decked out in the general of the east''s premium armor. The quality of their Qi and their overall cultivation level was incredible, to say the least.

    Three of them were at least a stage above me, which I could deduce from the Qi they were releasing. As for the rest, they were all at the highest stages of the Emperor stage if not at the peak.

    "Quite a force," I replied.

    "This is the least we can afford to send on this recon mission, we can''t weaken our city''s defenses as we like," said Dwei.

    I nodded to the man and said, "We''ll be heading out then,"

    Some of the guards seemed dissatisfied and old Fu instantly intervened, "If any of you think that my junior brother is unable to lead you due to his cultivation level, or dares disrespect his authority, then I''ll personally twist your necks."

    That was enough to put every one of the soldiers in line. I guess hearing those wordsing from a man in the Void Shattering Stage was enough for them to all lower their heads and follow along with whatever I have to say.

    "In case we are dyed," I said to Dwei, "Can you obtain this item for me, from the auction house," I said as I gave him the slip that the ant Queen handed me before.

    Dwei took a look at the picture of the painting and nodded to me.

    ''Good, his expressions didn''t change, that means that the painting is only of value to the people who know it.''

    "There will be a carriage outside that will lead you to the area where the walkers attacked us and where we got ambushed. I wanted toe with you guys, but the General has many tasks for me." Dwei said.

    "Don''t worry about it," I waved him off as we headed outside the pce to the waiting carriage.

    There were two carriages there, one of them was for us to ride in and the other for the squadron that would follow us.

    One of the squad members took the driver position in the leading carriage and headed out.

    "Don''t you find it interesting, that although a lot of the people here are powerful cultivators, they still take carriages when they move through the desert instead of just flying," said old Fu.

    "Not at all," I replied.

    "Howe?"

    "Because of the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons. At points in time sand storms happen and if you''re unlucky while flying you might just get swept away, the sandstorm originate from the center area of the Beyond and theye with the same nasty disability of the centermost region," I said.

    "What is that?" he asked.

    "It''s the fog." I said as I pointed out, "The fog at the edges of the Sea of Demons is very thin and doesn''t affect people at least not visibly so. But the one deeper is far more cruel, and once ites in contact with a desert storm and is mixed with it, it gives it the ability to seal a person''s Qi inside their body.

    The sandstorms also happen unnaturally fast and are unpredictable. So if someone was just moving about flying and a sandstorm happened, their qi would be sealed and they would instantly turn into an immortal dying in the process.

    The closer you are to the ground or sand the safer you are from the fog," I said.

    "How do you know so much about the Sea of Demons? We got here not a couple of days ago," he said.

    "I have read a few books about it," I replied to him, there was no need to lie to old Fu, and since the only time I was away from him was when I entered the Lord of Lords pagoda, it was certain that he''d understand that it was a secret of mine and he had no business asking further.

    "I see, then good to know, if we''re in trouble I''d rather fly out than walk out," he said.

    "Ipletely agree with you," I said. "If shit gets ugly I''d rather bolt out and risk encountering a sandstorm than just run on foot," I said as I gazed through the window at the mounds of sand we were on.

    The carriage we had had no wheels, but it had sleds. The horses we were using had a strange-shaped hove that allowed them to run on the sand and thanks to them having six legs their weight was distributed perfectly for them to not just straight out sink.

    The time trickled by as we passed through hundreds of mounds as we moved closer and closer to a mountain range in the distance. From the looks of it, it seems to be our destination.

    "Interesting, It seems, that they were prepared for this," I muttered.

    "You saw them too," he said. "That''s impressive, even with my cultivation I had a hard time seeing them, My divine Sense is pretty strong but once it''s affected by the atmosphere of the Beyond I''m almost blind how did you see them," he said.

    "Our divine senses work on a different wavelength," I said as I shouted, "Ambush up ahead!"

    The guards immediately jumped on top of their and our carriage readying for a fight, swords drawn and eyes peeled out.

    The tension in their body was visible, but their eyes couldn''t locate any signs of danger.

    "There is nothing here," one of the guards atop our carriage said.

    And just as he finished his words, my arm pierced into the ceiling of the carriage and I dragged him by the foot down. A fraction of a secondter, a powerful sword Qi went right where his head was supposed to be.

    "They''re hiding in the sand," I said to the stunned soldier, "Better get ready, this fight is going to be ugly."

 Chapter 601 Interrogation

    601 Interrogation

    Several cultivators popped up from under the sand, they were hooded. With nothing but their eyes showing as they wore thick scarves that hid their mouths. Their clothes reminded me of desert dwellers. Their pants were wide-legged allowing for mobility and worked perfectly in reducing body heat. Not that cultivators would need it, but they were perfect for this area to wear.

    Their robes were also wide and had the same color as the sand allowing them to camouge themselves easily. And due to the disruption of Qi in the desert, they would easily be able to hide from Divine Sense and normal eyesight.

    They each carried two curved crescent-shaped long swords. One in each hand as they dashed toward us, both swords drawn and ready to ughter.

    The general''s guards instantly jumped forward making a perfect line, their weapons ready for the fight. But before the group of bandits? Even arrived Old Fu flew forward, smashing the closest head into the sand sttering his brain matter all over the ground.

    The closest two cultivators struck at old Fu''s body, but their des couldn''t help but shatter against his body. While the two were still stunned from having their weapons break against flesh, Fu grabbed both of them and smashed them together ending them in an instant.

    "Keep some alive," I said.

    My nonchnt attitude gave them a clear warning, that we weren''t prey they could handle. So the remaining four instantly dove into the sand.

    Old Fu cursed inwardly because he knew the moment they dive too deep in the sand they''d disappear from his divine sense range.

    So he mmed his palm into the ground and sent a devastating shockwave downwards. The power behind his palm bore open the sand and exploded it away from us in tidal sand waves.

    Three of the bandits instantly died, while one of them who only had all of his bones shatter was left in shock.

    Old Fu then dug the man out by the leg, pulling himpletely out from the sand, leaving a trail of blood as he was dragging him to the carriage.

    The soldiers that were apanying us let old Fu the way to the carriage, after what they saw, they probably all had the same thought, what was the point of joining someone as strong as old Fu, they will only be a distraction.

    They were right.

    Old Fu threw the man into the carriage, the white of his eyes was visible, he waspletely unconscious. But nothing a whiff of awfully smelling salts couldn''t fix.

    The man woke up instantly and his mind just began realizing how much pain his body was in. And thus he began spasming and shouting in agonizing pain.

    I shoved a pill into his mouth and that made him instantly calm down. It wasn''t a healing pill, but more like a nerve soothing pill. It stopped the man from feeling pain although it will onlyst for a bit.

    "So, who are you?" I asked.

    The man''s eyes quickly went from me to old Fu and I saw him move his jaw, not to talk but I could immediately guess what he was trying to do.

    Old Fu realized it too and instantly grabbed the man''s jaw. "Poison!"

    But it was toote as the man was already frothing at the mouth.

    "Unluckily for you," I said as I grabbed the man''s mouth, "You can''t die due to poison in my presence," I said as I ingested the man with my own poison Qi.

    My Qi was able to immediately locate the poison coursing through his body and stopped it in its tracks from destroying or stopping his heart.

    Whatever poison he used, it seemed to be of very low quality. As it took too long to take effect. And thus the man was brought back to life. His eyes widened as he didn''t understand how he was still alive, and my lips curved upward.

    "Didn''t see that oneing did you, now how about you tell us what were you doing there?" I asked.

    "He isn''t going to talk if you just ask him," Old Fu said.

    "He is our only lead, you killed everyone else," I said.

    "I can just soul search him," Old Fu said.

    "Hmm, I don''t like Soul Searching because unless you''re looking for something specific you really lose out a lot of memory. It''s not urate," I said.

    "Then what do you want to do?" asked old Fu.

    "Simple, good old-fashioned torture," I said.

    Me and Old Fu''s talk wasn''t just talking for the sake of talking. He was right Soul search would do great but the thing is, we don''t know what we are looking for, and randomly searching through hundreds of years worth of memories isn''t really simple, not to mention his mind will not survive the soul search and most just die due to it.

    "This person is probably trained in resisting torture," old Fu said.

    "He may," I said, "But did you ever see someone using Poison Torture?" I asked.

    "What is that?" old Fu asked me.

    "Are you going to tell us who you are, who do you work for, and why you ambushed us?" I asked the man in front of me.

    He didn''t speak.

    I pricked my finger and dropped a small golden blood drop on the man''s forehead.

    The blood drop fused instantly into his forehead, and soon, the bones that were broken immediately began healing back up going back to their ce and fixing themselves due to the poison in my blood.

    My blood had a myriad of poisons in it, and by my will I can enable and disable some. Of the poisons I have one of them is capable of elerating the natural healing processes of the body to an absurd degree, it could repair injuries and restore vitality, however the drawback is that it consumes lifeforce to do so. A single drop can shave off a hundred years worth of a man''s life.

    It''s notpletely useless as it can help in a critical situation but for me this works perfectly as I''m not using it on myself.

    The man''s body immediately was restored to perfect condition. The aging won''t begin now, nor would it seriously affect a cultivator at the Saint Qi stage such as this guy. But it serves a purpose.

    "Now that you''re hale and hearty, let us begin," I said as I moved my hand enabling the other mixes of poison within that drop of blood.

    "This one is Serenity''s Lament," I said.

    The man''s eyes seemed to close on their own as he entered a dreamlike state.

    "I don''t understand you, you captured him, healed him, and now you put him to bed?" asked old Fu.

    "Well, if you think so," I smiled.

    And soon the man opened his eyes, his face paler than a ghost and he began screaming at the top of his lungs.

    All he saw was my face before I waved my hand again and his eyes closed.

    He entered the dream state once again and soon woke up, this time third degree burn marks appeared all over his body. As he woke up screaming once again.

    "Once more," I said as I moved my hand.

    This time his face turned blue and he seemed to struggle breathing, and once he opened his eyes he struggled to take breath, then he screamed, "STOP! PLEASE!"

    I smirked, "I don''t need you to tell me to stop, go again!" I said and waved my hand and the man once again fell to sleep.

    "What is going on?" asked old Fu.

    "Oh, this is a project I was working on on the side. When I was young¡­ well basically when I had only one eye, I had made something called the Sky Eye Pearl. It was a treasure that I used instead of one of my eyes, since I didn''t have both eyes at the time. The pearl''s ability was to trap Divine Sense, and send back the most abhorring and horrific scenes of torture a person could imagine right back at whoever tried to use Divine Sense on me. It would attack their mind and make them live in terror for a few seconds. I grew out of that treasure once I reached the soul formation stage, and I missed it ever since. Now I made a poison that has the same effects."

    "That is¡­ an interesting idea," he said.

    "It worked greatly in shutting down people who were too noisy," I said.

    "He''s freezing," said old Fu.

    "Oh, I forgot about him," I snapped my fingers "Wake up," I said and the man woke up, frost had already covered all of his body.

    "P-please¡­ I''ll tell you everything¡­" he said.

    "See, how easy was that, you wouldn''t have had to suffer all of that if you talked first now would you," I said.

    "But you didn''t let him speak even¡­" old Fu mumbled but I acted as if I didn''t hear him.

    "Now, speak up, who are you working for,"

 Chapter 602 The Pass

    <h4>Chapter 602 The Pass</h4>

    Far away from the Sea of Demons, and several continents away, Zhang Tian was following behind the group that came to intercept him. He would asionally look at his wrist and the brand of the crowned sun on it.

    He is now a part of the Lord of Lords faction.

    From the bits he learned while he walked behind the banner holder and the group of cultivators following them, the Vast Expanse was divided into several portions.

    Eight of these massive portions belonged to each of the known Suns. Zhang Tian only knew of four of them from what he heard: The White Sun or Wisest Sun, as he is called, The Lord of Lords, the Red Sun, or Laughing ughterer, and the Darkest Sun. These are the suns he had knowledge of. As for the remaining Four, there never came a topic discussing them, so he didn''t pry.

    The people leading them talked about the journey they took to reach this ce and how the whole of the Vast Expanse was nothing but an experiment the Wisest Sun had made to recreate life.

    His experiment was a failure since it couldn''t create life. And only because a part of the Beyond had fallen into thend of the Vast Expanse did lifee to exist.

    The exiled people of the beyond had fallen and made the Imperial Family. And from the Imperial family defectors appeared and split among thes of the Vast Expanse, creating life as Zhang Tian knew it.

    It was a strange phenomenon because the way the topic was talked about, it didn''t sound like it was millions of years ago since it happened but barely a few thousand years.

    This meant that the time passage in the Vast Expanse is extremely faster than here in the Beyond.

    Perhaps they wouldn''t have to wait too long before their friends show up here, is what Zhang Tian thought about. And now they were being led to a teleportation gate that can cross a massive distance in a second. The distance was described in a way that gave Zhang Tian the shivers.

    Because one of the people was jokingly saying that he would rather fly back to the Lord of Lords sect than go with these ''cavemen'' from the Beyond. And another said that they would take two hundred years to arrive at the Lord of Lords sect in flight.

    The two people speaking were both at the Emperor level.

    This just exins how vast and incredibly gigantic the Beyond truly is. No wonder the day never seemed to arrive since it meant that the sun would take years to even make a full cycle just due to the incredible distance of the Beyond.

    Soon they arrived at a massive stone gate that was at the top of a stand-alone mountain, and the g bearers led the group towards it.

    Several of the disciples were clearly displeased with Zhang Tian, but none of them could act on it. They could hint at it, say it even, but they didn''t dare touch or harm him in any way even if a few of them were a stage above him in cultivation.

    Just because of one thing.

    The Lord of Lords knows his junior brother.

    It doesn''t matter what type of rtionship between them is, as long as the Lord of Lords had clearly stated that it exists. That just made Zhang Tian into an untouchable.

    That must also be the same for Dao Shen who''s among the disciples of the Wisest Sun.

    These two people were not to be messed with; they have a strong backing, literally the strongest backing in the Beyond just by having their names mentioned by the Lord of Lords. It meantplete and absolute immunity from all forces under the Lord of Lords.

    The g Bearer was the smartest of the bunch, "Young Master Zhang Tian, please follow behind me. Everyone else, make sure our guests are attended to," he said.

    The g Bearer walked forward into the gate, ushering Zhang Tian to follow after him. And just as he did so, his vision swam, and his mind seemed to reel as a powerful spatialw was applied to him.

    His entire body felt as if it was being disintegrated then rposed. Among the many cultivators that took this super distance teleportation gate, most would be throwing up their insides and food they ate a hundred years ago. But Zhang Tian was basically built different as all it took from him was a single deep breath before his nausea was gone.

    Soon his vision returned to normal as he opened his eyes back into and that seemed to be carved from myths.

    Mountains flew above mountains, and fountains and cascading waterfalls fell from high above, creating a scenery that could only be described as divine.

    It looked like a heavenly natural ce to be at, where Suzaku birds seemed to nestle at the top of the waterfalls and within the caves. And many flood dragons flew or swam into the rivers andkes surrounding the ce.

    The Qi that wasing out of this ce was so thick that Zhang Tian needed several breaths of time to ustom himself to it.

    And this wasn''t even the sect.

    The g bearer smirked as he saw the reaction on Zhang Tian''s face. It''s not every time that peoplee here without having massive nausea and migraines but someone from the Vast Expanse did so with ease; that''s enough to put most disciples of the Lord of Lords faction to shame.

    More cultivators arrived, and soon every single one of them, besides the disciples of the Lord of Lord faction, began throwing up.

    Some even went unconscious, but it wasn''t something new or strange to the disciples of the Lord of Lords faction; they were used to this.

    Zhang Tian looked at the scenery and couldn''t help but smile and mutter, "This is a great ce for a sect."

    The g Bearerughed.

    "This isn''t the sect; this is just the front yard¡­" he then pointed "from here onward, flight ispletely prohibited, please follow these rules. We will pass under the main waterfall; the Lord of Lords sect and abode are behind it."

    *****

    "We don''t know!" he said.

    I was about to send him back to nightmarend, but old Fu asked me to wait. "Exin," he said.

    "It''s a man in ck; he alwayses right before the darkness falls and gives us orders. We were ordered to stop anyone from approaching the Walker''s cave."

    "Cave?" I questioned.

    "It''s right there, right between those mountains. There is a wide pass that leads to a cave," the man said, gasping for breath and pointing.

    "Are there more people guarding the pass?" I asked.

    "No, it''s only us," he added.

    "Fu? What do you think."

    "We''ll just have to go and check. But something isn''t right, you know," he said.

    "I know, these people are not strong enough to kill off all the escorts that Dwei had."

    "Then could the man in question be the one who caused the attack?" he asked.

    "That''s a probability, but let''s keep our eyes peeled just out of caution," I said as I descended from the carriage.

    "What about that guy?" old Fu asked as we left the captured cultivator alone.

    He realized that he wasn''t cuffed or tied and was pretty free to run away, and he didn''t hesitate to jump right into the sand. He dived deeper and deeper as much and as fast as he possibly could.

    I shrugged, "He''s a dead man, but don''t worry, my blood is still inside his system," I said as I gazed at the soldiers apanying us, "What are you waiting for? March forward! We''re going to the mountains," I said.

    I led the group forward to the mountains. Making sure I kept my eyes and divine sense peeled for any and all potential threats.

    Whoever managed to send Dwei back in that miserable of a state where he could do nothing but run away with an almost half dead young mistress and a had all of hispanions killed in action means that they were not simple.

    My Divine Sense is able to prate deep into the sand without it being affected by the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons. After all it only affects Heavenly Qi and Saint Qi. The normal types of Qi, as for mine, I don''t have that issue. I can use my Divine Sense however I wish since it isn''t fueled by the natural Qi that cultivators have.

    "Hurry up," Old Fu said to the soldiersgging behind us.

    One of them spoke up, "We can''t rush it, there might be bandits up ahead!"

    "There are no more bandits ahead," I said.

    "How would you know that?" one of the bolder soldiers said.

    "Because underneath our feet is full of walkers, the entire area here is full of walkers," I replied.

    ***

 Chapter 603 Secret Letters

    <h4>Chapter 603 Secret Letters </h4>

    ?"Keep moving," I called as I speared the group.

    The walkers were all packed underneath the sand far down below. Their numbers were incredible. At least a few million of them packed tightly like a can of sardines.

    What were they doing here?

    A question I can''t answer right now. Something we''ll only be able to find out once we find the source and reason of this amalgamation of walkers.

    "That''s the pass," I said as I continued moving across the sand.

    In front of us was a giant rift between two mountains that seemed to lead in between them. The pass was incredibly vast, but still felt very tinypared to the size of the mountains that were creating it.

    Our group went into the pass with our eyes peeled for anything that mighte at us.

    "The ground here is hard rocks, there are no walkers underneath us, but don''t drop your guard regardless," I said.

    "Shen Mo, the mountains, they''re not¡­ natural," said old Fu.

    "What do you mean," I said as I spread my divine sense to investigate.

    Shivers ran down my spine as I noticed what old Fu ment.

    These mountains were nothing but a giant husk. Like a massive hive of walkers that dwelled within them packed atop each other like stockpiled grains of rice.

    "Cave entrance!" one of the guards said.

    Looking at where the guard was pointing our group headed toward it.

    "My divine sense is getting more and more disrupted," said old Fu.

    "Indeed, even my divine sense is suffering right now, and I think I understand why. Inside the mountain there is some sort of waterway. It must be some of the remains of the Sea of Demons, or maybe the concentrated essence of the cloud above us. It''s condensed and made into waterways that affect Divine Sense."

    "That is not natural," said old Fu.

    "I would guess so, it must be manmade. And it must be what we''re here for, let''s go inside, everyone keep close," I said and headed inside the cave.

    We soon entered the cave and were immediately met with an impasse.

    Inside the cave was basically nothing. I could still ''see'' through my divine sense that there was more to this mountain and behind the cave. But we can''t go in any further because there is no passage leading in.

    "Should I destroy it?" asked old Fu.

    As I was about to agree to his proposition, I felt my blood reacting.

    "No need," I said as I pointed, "Everyone stand there," I said.

    The soldiers didn''t understand but a single grunt from old Fu was enough to have them all run and stand against a wall.

    I moved my hands and created several formations and seals then nted them around the group and on the ground then moved myself next to the soldiers.

    "What are we doing here?" asked old Fu.

    "This is an invisibility formation, as long as no one here makes a loud sound, no one will notice us," I said.

    "And why are we hiding here?" asked Old Fu.

    "Because the guy that thought he ran away from our clutch ising this way, he probably is on his way to warn whoever is here about our presence in the desert."

    "We should have soul searched him anyway," said Old Fu.

    "If we did and missed this pivotal information we wouldn''t have had any other choice but to break our way inside, and believe me, this whole mountain might juste crumbling down on us if we do so."

    "We''re not afraid of mere rocks," one of the soldiers said.

    "It''s not the rocks that I''m worried about, it''s the millions of walkers that are making this mountain, so I would rather not have to deal with millions of emperor and king ss walkers."

    That made the soldier shut up far too quickly.

    Although I exaggerated the number of Emperor level cultivators, the King ss were truly innumerable and abundant, and even an elephant can die if there are enough ants fighting it.

    Soon the bandit that we intercepted entered the cave. His body looked ragged and his skin was drying up. He had several wrinkles all over his body and several liver patches over his skin.

    He was dying due to having his vital energy forcefully pushed to the limit using my poisons.

    But he was loyal and that was good for us, after all he''s back.

    The bandit looked around carefully then got to the deepest part of the cave.

    I thought he would pull up a key or some sort of formation to open up the pathway, but he just stood on an inconspicuous batch of sand and suddenly was sucked inside it.

    My divine sense couldn''t track him after that.

    "Are we going to follow him?" said one of the soldiers.

    "Not right now," I replied and pulled out Z.

    The small spider was apparently happy that he got out as he skittered around my hand and all the way to my shoulder, nuzzling itself against my neck.

    "I''ll y with youter," I said, "Can you go there and keep track of the guy that went ahead."

    The spider jumped and rushed toward the quicksand and dove inside it.

    Several breaths of timeter, the spider popped back out and came up to me then began writing on the ground.

    "Clear passage ahead."

    "Good, you''ll be our guide, go ahead of us and scout the pathway forward."

    The spider then jumped back into the sand and disappeared.

    "Let''s go," I said and headed toward the sand pit.

    Once I stepped on it, I was suddenly sucked inside it. It felt like I went into a waterslide as I kept going down and down in spirals even until I was ejected out.

    Inded on my ass inside a new tunnelway within this cave, it was lit with luminescent orbs that were everywhere making a path forward.

    Old Fu and the rest of the soldiers came afterward, dropping behind us one after another, on their feet obviously. Because why not¡­

    I coughed as I moved forward, Z''s footsteps might have been inconspicuous to anyone who doesn''t know of its existence. But for me, it was a trail I can use to navigate this area.

    As we were walking I noticed several cage like construction alongside the walls. Most of them were brittle and broken down, rusted over and shattered.

    The beams that made the prison gates were in no shape to be used or to hold anything inside it. And looking within the cages revealed nothing of importance. There was nothing inside these prison cells.

    I continued moving forward, making sure to keep my eyes out for anything that might jump us. After all Divine Sense waspletely restricted here.

    Old Fu was also on high alert, "Can you see up ahead?" he said, vocally because not even a divine sense message can be sent here.

    "Not really, it''s also tough for me too, the water runs deep underneath this cave system, and it''s blocking even my divine sense."

    Soon Z came back, and began writing on the ground using its tiny legs, "Dying man on extreme right pathway. Path is clear."

    I nodded to Old Zu and we all headed toward the location that Z marked.

    At the farthest end of the rightmost path was a well-lit room. This one had the light of candles or torches was emitting from inside it. And once we arrived to the room, I saw the same bandit from before, looking like a mummified corpse now, gasping for breath.

    The room was not that big. But it was big enough to hold a study. A desk with some shelves around it, and several scrolls and documents were ced on the table. I couldn''t make head or tail for most of the documents, and a great pile of ash wasfortably sitting next to a burning kiln at one corner of the room.

    Burnt documents I guess¡­

    I looked at the bandit who was on death''s door and said to old Fu

    "Now you can soul search him."

    Old Fu didn''t hesitate as he grasped the man''s head with one hand and began using soul search.

    The bandit had no will or energy to even scream or resist as the poison inside him had done a great job atpletely exhausting every bit of energy or power the bandit had. Now he was easier to control and to corroborate.

    The soul search yielded good results at the cost of the bandit''s life.

    "This is the study of the person who was ordering these people apparently. This man truly didn''t know much of what''s going on here, but he knew enough. There is a mastermind behind this who is pulling the strings. And from the little information this person knows, this isn''t the only base they have. This is but one out of many, many other mountains all over the Sea of Demons."

    "Someone is preparing something big¡­ the study seems in good condition, can you keep a lookout outside, I''ll check and see what''s going on with these documents."

    As I was reading through the documents I couldn''t make head or tail from what any of this meant. This was probably coded as the sentences and words being spoken here were basically greetings between two friends. It barely made any sense.

    I frowned why would cultivators even use this instead of a jade slip to transport information. But jade slips are easy to intercept, and people''s minds can be probed for information, sending coded messages is the best way for cultivators to transfer information without it being deciphered.

    As I was about to give up and just collect the papers and leave something caught my eyes. the documents themselves were strangely not simr in size. Each bundle had a different size to it. Some were slightly bigger and some were slightly smaller.

    And they were slightly transparent too. I ced two pieces of paper that were simr in size together, and was able to read new words between the two pages.

    ''Oh so I guess that''s how you''re supposed to read them¡­" looking at the ash remaining in front of the kiln, a massive portion of the information must have already been destroyed. So figuring out what''s going on with these leftovers is not going to be easy.

    As I continued reading between the lines I didn''t take me more than a few seconds before my eyes began widening.

    "Motherfucker¡­"

 Chapter 604 Trapped

    <h4>Chapter 604 Trapped </h4>

    ?"What''s going on?" Fu''s furrowed brows reflected his confusion.

    "These bastards, they''re not just doing this here, it''s all over the Sea of Demons!" I eximed, frustration edging my voice.

    "How did you find that out?" Old Fu inquired; he couldn''t have understood without me telling him.

    "These papers, if you pile them atop each other, reveal a secret message. The full content isn''t here, but from what I gathered, this is just one base¡­ What are they nning?" I said as I handed Old Fu the documents.

    He scrutinized the pages to verify my words and nodded, "Indeed, seems like there is something big happening here. But we already have what we came for. Our task was to find out what was going on here. Let''s leave for now," he suggested.

    "Let''s go, everyone, let''s go," I said. There was an urgency to my voice as I felt that something annoying was bound to happen.

    The soldiers outside were about to leave until one of them pulled out a small piece of jade that was shaped into a circle. A dark circle. That''s the symbol of the Darkest Sun.

    My heart sank as realization dawned on me. A traitor was in the mix.

    "For the Holy Dark!" he shouted and broke the jade.

    Suddenly, the entire cave began shaking.

    Old Fu instantly appeared behind the cultivator and grabbed him.

    "What did you JUST SAY!"

    I could understand old Fu''s frustration and rage; after all, the mere mention of the Darkest Sun would bring him unending agony and rage.

    The soldier smiled as he snapped a pill that was between his teeth, "His darkest light shall shine forever!"

    ck liquid sprayed all over the soldier''s mouth and some of itnded on Old Fu''s skin.

    Reacting quickly, I pulled the old man away, "THROW HIM AWAY!" I shouted.

    Without hesitation, Old Fu hurled the soldier away into the nearest wall.

    The man''s face began darkening as ck veins surged up all over his body. His entire body began shaking and shuddering as it tore and twisted in front of us.

    Drawing my sword, I cut at the tip of my finger.

    The liquid that was released from that pill was the same one that was inside the walkers. And it was highly contagious.

    I didn''t know how it would affect Old Fu, but I wasn''t about to risk it.

    "Old Fu, your hand! Hurry!" I said.

    The old man instantly understood what I wanted to do and the urgency of it, as he immediately realized that the ck liquid was coursing through his blood vessels.

    He instantly handed me his palm with a cut across it that he sliced using his fingernail.

    I ced my bloodied finger on top of his scar and had my poison blood seep into his body.

    I hurriedly channeled my poison to hunt down the dark liquid, cleansing the old man in seconds.

    As for the soldier that was turning to a corpse, all we heard was the wails of agony as clear regret was apparent on his face.

    "No matter how loyal one can be, the pain from being forced out of humanity to this¡­ thing is probably not worth that zealousness," Old Fu said.

    "The entire mountain is caving in!" one of the panicked soldiers said.

    "That''s the least of our worries," I replied. "The damned underground waterways are rupturing; once that shit touches you, your cultivation will bepletely sealed. Not to mention the walkers that are trapped inside the walls of this mountain. We''ve been trapped¡­"

    The man that finished transforming stood up; he looked at us with eyes that were no longer eyes. They looked like pure jade as they nced upon us, and soon, the corpse began wailing, screaming as loud as a wronged banshee.

    He then unceremoniously wed his eyes out, ck blood gushed out of his eyes as he threw the two eyeballs to the ground, finally having gained respite.

    It seems that the reason why none of the walker has eyes is that they remove them themselves the moment they turn¡­

    I don''t fully understand the reason behind that; more research needs to be done.

    But that''s the least of our problems.

    Old Fu was done healing up; my poison had finished cleansing him from the ck matter, and all of the filth from the ck blood seeped out of the same cut on his palm. He then gripped the air, causing the very fabric of space to pin the corpse in front of us, then crush it without it spraying a single drop of ck blood on any of us.

    "We need to leave. Now!" I insisted.

    The soldier''s anxiety was rising fast. None of them would have ever thought that an expedition to find out the source of the walkers would turn out like this.

    One of the soldiers panicked and ran away from the room; he didn''t want to be buried here, and I understand that.

    "Let''s head out. The tunnel is copsing," I added.

    Just as our group was going out, more rumbling happened and a piece of gigantic rock fell on the soldier that ran out first, crushing him instantly.

    The fallen debris, although it blocked our path out to the exit, opened a massive hole in the ceiling.

    "We can leave through there!" one of the soldiers said as he rushed forward.

    "Get back in here!" Old Fu shouted.

    But it was toote as several walkers fell down through the hole and piled up on the soldier.

    All you could hear was his agonized screams as he was torn apart in an instant.

    "NO!" one of the soldiers screamed as he pulled a sword and was about to swing an energy wave at the walkers.

    Old Fu grabbed and crushed the man''s sword with one grasp of his palm. "Fools, you''ll weaken the cave further if you use your Qi here; the problem isn''t the walkers; it''s the damn waterways. If you damage any of them, they''ll bleed into us, and we''ll truly be dead then!"

    He was right. "Automaton!" I requested, but no reply came. I cursed inwardly.

    The waterways are too potent if they''re able to affect even the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The walkers wereing toward us, and we had no way out. Behind us was a dead end, and the only ce we can use as a bastion is the study. But with the entire mountain shaking, it won''tst for long.

    "Y,e out!" I said.

    The poison god''s book was thankfully not affected by the interference of the waterways as it too was powered by Poison Qi and not natural heavenly Qi.

    Y came out and almost instantly powered down.

    "Lord¡­" Y said, "My generator¡­ is malfunctioning¡­"

    "Use your mask as a bulwark to block the passage."

    "As the lordmands." Y said and instantly used his massive mask as a shield that blocked the tunnel.

    The walkers had to grind through tempered meteorite steel to even get to us, and they would never be able to.

    But that means that I''m using Y as nothing but a blockade a temporary one because soon, the entire mountain will copse on top of him.

    This should buy us some time.

    I looked around, there was nothing visible around me that I can use to get us out. And the dead end next to the study felt like a massive wall trapping us in this prison.

    I pressed my hand on it, and cursed.

    "There is a waterway going right behind this wall; the other side is empty, but if this thing breaks we''ll all turn to mortals in a second," I said.

    Although it wouldn''t affect me, it''ll make everyone behind us into useless baggage.

    "Tear it down," Old Fu said. "If it''s our only way out, tear it down," he said.

    "I don''t know how long the seal on our cultivation willst once wee in contact with the Sea of Demons'' water.

    Old Fu pointed his thumb behind him, "Regardless, those walkers are no fools, they gave up on wing through your puppet and are now boring through the walls. They''ll eventually hit one of the waterways anyway."

    I cursed inwardly, "Everyone buckle up!" I said. I needed a powerful blow that was precise and not in any way, shape, or form explosive; I needed to lessen the impact as much as I could on the cave''s structure lest itpletely crumble on us.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki!" I channeled through my arm.

    Usually, the Fist of Roaring Ki uses reverberation of Ki to prate through matter to cause deadly impact and damage. I needed it to do the opposite. To send in a single wave of concentrated Ki that will push and not reverberate.

    It needs to be instant, it needs to be powerful, but most of all, it needs to be direct and prative instead of vibrating and destructive.

    There was only one way to do it.

    "ALMIGHTY PUSH!"

 Chapter 605 Sheng Huo Ghost

    <h4>Chapter 605 Sheng Huo Ghost </h4>

    ?The surge of energy bore through the dirt in a single motion, pushing instead of destroying a massive hole into the wall.

    For a second the other side was visible, and after that, water fell from within the walls and began surging outward.

    The water once came in contact with air however, instantly transformed to vapor that began spreading through the tunnel.

    "Y retreat!" I called out.

    But he didn''t reply, he was probably shut down.

    God damn it¡­

    "Old Fu," I said as I turned my head. The old man''s eyes seemed disillusioned and distant for a second.

    "WAKE UP!" I called. The old man gasped and said, "This water is too strong!" he said as he turned his head. "None of them is able to move."

    "Just go past the hole! I''ll carry them!" I said.

    Old Fu didn''t argue. He clearly noticed my ability to resist the fog, so he dragged himself forward and into the hole that was constantly releasing the fog of the Sea of Demons.

    I moved up ahead and began piling the unconscious cultivators one after another like a pile of dirtyundry over my shoulders.

    Y''s kneeling stance with his shield mask up front protecting us was ingrained into my memory.

    Y had been there for me since the day I met him, since I was a core cultivator. And now that I far surpassed Y''s power¡­ I thought I wouldn''t need him, but even here, he''s proving capable and sacrificing himself for us.

    He may be a puppet¡­ But he is mine!

    I said as I turned, "I''lle back for you, Y."

    I know the feeling of helplessness, of being useless and being unable to go against the odds. To be in the hand of a higher power, or just outright to be unable to move or act stuck in the same ce forever. I know it far too well, and I promise Y, I''ll make sure that the same that I swore to myself will also apply to you.

    Never to be the ything of another force, never stagnate and be dull. And to never be a ve to a higher power.

    I hurried out, angry at my self mostly. Because I shouldn''t have gotten trapped in here.

    Old Fu had already arrived to the other side of the tunnel, but he was barely moving forward. His entire body must feel like it''s under a mountain of pressure.

    I had eight soldiers carried above me and was about to ask old Fu to jump up.

    "Don''t¡­ even¡­ think about it!" he said through grit teeth. "My pride won''t allow me!" he said.

    I smiled at the old man, indeed, someone who cultivated to his level and his ability wouldn''t ever want to be carried like a bag of rags.

    "The fog will soon reduce in intensity, just keep up," I said to the old man who pulled a foot after the other forward.

    Soon the fog began lessening until it was almost nonexistent, however its effect was still prominent.

    "The mountain''s rumbling had lessened, but can you hear that," said old Fu.

    "Yes, I do."

    He was talking about the sound of crawling and walking. The walkers were still here, and they seem to be tracking and following us.

    "Since you can still use your cultivation; why not tear apart this ce?" asked old Fu.

    "As much as I want to, the moment I do that, the entire mountain will copse on us. I might be able to survive that. But the boulders will crush the rest of you to bits. Not to mention, I''ll still have to deal with the hundreds of thousands of walkers," I said.

    "I''m sure you can find a way out of that," he said.

    "Perhaps, but I don''t want to risk it. After all, the walkers here aren''t only at the king level. Some are at the Emperor level, and there might even be some at the Void stage and above. For now, let''s keep heading down, I have a feeling that this passage is leading us somewhere interesting," I said.

    The two of us continued heading down. Thankfully, like old Fu said, the mountain didn''t tremor or shake anymore, but the creeping sound of the walkers all around us and from behind the walls was getting on my nerves.

    Soon, one of the soldiers woke up, he clearly was surprised due to him being carried by me. But once he made not of his consciousness, he jumped down and asked to carry some of the weight.

    "Just keep following," I said to the man, "You''re too weak to even pull your feet together, follow behind us and keep a lookout," I said as the three of us continued moving.

    Soon, more and more of the soldiers woke up, embarrassment clear on their faces as they were let down on their feet.

    After a couple of hours of going down this endlessly extending tunnel, we finally found the first branching.

    I and mypanions pressed forward through the dark, twisting tunnels beneath the copsing mountain.

    The constant echoes of the stone''s copse still rang in my ears as we moved forward and emerged into a vast cavern.

    An eerie glow emanated from a colossal tree at the cavern''s center, it''s roots reaching deep into the earth.

    Cautiously, we approached. I snapped my fingers releasing a small glow of Qi that acted as our light. Since everyone in my party was practically blind by now due to the inability to ess their cultivation, I had to give them a source of light.

    The light from my finger was suddenly reflected far away, hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of times. It wasn''t bright by any means, it was more like minuscule specks of glistening light that followed my Qi.

    "What in heaven''s name is that?" asked one of the soldiers.

    As we approached, we began to notice the shape of this reflective light. It was a massive tree, not just one. But dozens of them within this cavern. They were assorted orderly, and nted in rows.

    It didn''t seem natural whatsoever, especially since I noticed that these trees had no leaves and only fruit. And this fruit was the thing that was reflecting my light.

    The whole cavern felt like an echo chamber. As with every step we took, it echoed all over the ce. Not to mention the sound of the walkers above us as they skirted their way through the maze-like paths.

    Closer and closer we got, and only then did I see what these fruits were. And my heart almost sank with realization.

    They were pulsating, glowing, and luminescent, they were round and had the color of jade. These were the eyes of the Walkers.

    An uneasy tension hung in the air as everyone exchanged nces together. We didn''t speak, there was no reason to. Someone had been nning this and for a reason. And these trees and these eyes aren''t just here for decoration, they''ve been made and created and they must have a purpose and goal to them.

    Behind us, when no one was expecting, we heard a low growl. It echoed through the chamber, signaling that we were not alone.

    The soldiers immediately took defensive positions, a formation to protect everyone and still have the ability to go on the offensive in a second.

    But that will not serve any purpose besides presenting themselves as a good meal, after all, their cultivation was still heavily affected by the Sea of Demons'' water.

    I pointed my light at the source of the growls and there it was. A beast of sorts that seemed like it was grafted form the nightmares of fear itself. It had several faces all over its body, and whatever space between these frozen in agony faces was, there was scales, dark obsidian scales that barely reflected any light.

    The creature slithered and shifted across the ground, releasing different wails and sounds from all over the faces of its body. The faces themselves looked at us without eyes, you can feel their gaze even though they''re all blind.

    "Sheng Huo ghost!" one of the soldiers said.

    I frowned, how does he know what this is? Even I have never seen something like this. And from the energy it was releasing this thing was on par of old Fu in his prime.

    Old Fu cursed. "We need to leave this ce, now!"

    "Do you know anything about this?"

    "I''ve never seen it before but it awfully looks like it is described. The Sheng Huo ghost was something we told little kids about to scare them into sleeping early. That if ites to them when they''re awake at night, it will pluck out their eyes, so they better close them tight and sleep¡­"

    "Sounds pretty fitting," I said as I pulled out the two jade eyes I got from the traitor who died earlier.

    The moment the jade eyes were in my hand, I felt the instant gaze of the Sheng Huo into my very being.

    Not missing a beat, I threw the jade eyes away, and the creature slithered with grace toward them, grabbing them with one of its many arms. It rapidly climbed one of the trees and began nting its eyes on it.

    "Seems like it''s collecting the eyes for a purpose. What''s the reason for making these though? Those eyes had no Qi in them, no power, and seemed utterly useless¡­ why is it collecting them¡­"

    "Well, whatever it was the reason for it to collect them, we might want to try and figure thatter, it''sing back and I believe it wants more eyes¡­"

 Chapter 606 Into the gorge

    <h4>Chapter 606 Into the gorge </h4>

    ?"Then let''s not stay here and give it what it wants. The beast is carefully wandering around the trees, making sure not to harm or damage any of the eyes," I said. "Let''s use that and get away."

    "I see your point, but get away to where? Behind us are the walkers who I''m pretty sure are finding their way here, and in front of us is a Void Stage beast. Though you''re the only one capable of fighting, you can''t win," Old Fu said.

    He was right. Everyone here had their cultivation sealed. Although they can move and walk, they''re all barely able to fight anything. Old Fu, even as a Void Shattering cultivator, is probably not even stronger than a Qi condensation cultivator right now.

    "We''re not fighting it. I have no idea what this Sheng Huo is capable of, nor do I want to find out right now. Also, there," I pointed between the trees, "there is a breezeing in from there. There must be an exit or at least a path leading away."

    Everyone followed the pointing of my hands. There is hope then.

    "Right, but we need a distraction. Are we to use these soldiers as bait?" Old Fu said.

    "It''s not even noon yet! can we not get to sacrificing civilians already? Besides I have a way," I said as I threw a talisman toward one of the trees.

    The moment the talisman stuck to the tree, the Sheng Huo immediately slithered its way towards its location. It sniffed around the paper with one of its many faces, and once the beast figured out the talisman posed no threat to itself or the tree, it ignored it.

    "Follow me, hurry," I said as I ran up ahead.

    Old Fu and the soldiers instantly followed after me as we navigated through the trees.

    "It''s following us!" one of the soldiers said, panic clear in his voice.

    "I know, just keep moving!" I said as all of us ran forward.

    "What are you nning?" Old Fu asked.

    "Divide and conquer. We need to pull its attention as much as possible before diverting it," I said.

    "And that Talisman has something to do with that?" he asked.

    "Indeed," I said as the Sheng Huo slid in front of us, its ws scraping the ground in sparkling lights as it growled at us.

    I didn''t allow the creature to take another action as I snapped my fingers.

    This caused the talisman from before to ignite and burst outward in a torrent of mes.

    The creature, enraged at what happened, prioritized going back to the tree and trying to snuff out the mes than outright murder us there.

    "RUN!" I said as the beast moved toward the mes.

    "You sessfully made it pissed off at us," said Old Fu.

    "Yep, and that was the only way to pull away its attention. It will take a long while to try and snuff out the me," I said.

    "Special talisman?" asked Fu.

    "Yep, now let''s hurry up; the breeze source is up ahead," I said.

    The trees behind us took on more and more of the mes, and the creature kept howling as it tried to snuff them out. But the more it tried, the harder those mes will burn. My goal was never to burn those trees since I had no idea what they were for. But if I were to at least hamper the Sheng Huo from following us, then I don''t really care if it all turns to cinders, even if those trees had a use or were of value.

    We arrived at a massive wall of the cavern we were in, extending all the way up to the cavern''s ceiling. However, there was a fissure in the wall, big enough to allow a person through.

    "Get in!" I said as I jumped into the fissure and looked outside it. Only to realize that shit wasn''t as safe as I thought.

    A gust of powerful rising wind surged from down deep below. There was not a single ounce of Qi here, and the powerful gust of wind surged from the deep and seemed to go all the way up. Looking up, there was a hole far, far away from us.

    Old Fu came out of the fissure, his hand locked on the wall, his w-like a metal grip dug into it.

    He took a nce down, then up, and cursed.

    "We''re in trouble," he said.

    "THE BEAST IS COMING!" said one of the soldiers still inside the cavern.

    I pulled a long rope out of my holding bag and tied it around my waist and had it dangle with one arm as my other hand was gripping tightly on the walls.

    I wanted to use my four robotic arms, but those are powered by Saint Qi Spirit Stones, and they were also sealed within a spatial fold that I was unable to ess. Otherwise, I would have just used the pagoda. So, this had to be manual.

    "Jump and grab onto the rope," I said.

    The soldiers didn''t hesitate as they jumped out of the fissure and grabbed onto the rope. All eight of them dangled from the rope.

    "The Sheng Huo ising, he''s almost here," said one of them.

    "We''ll need to go up; old Fu, can you keep up?" I said.

    "Yes, I''m recovering slightly. The moment we''re outside, I should have the majority of my power back," he said.

    "Then let''s go!" I said as I wed my way upward as fast as possible.

    Old Fu followed after me, with his fingers stabbing through stone like it was butter as he went up, asionally looking at the rift on the wall under us to make sure the Sheng Huo didn''t follow after us.

    But before any of us could react, a loud explosive echo burst from above all of us, enough of it that my face turned white.

    The damned Sheng Huo actually burst out of the wall above us, and now massive amounts of rock were falling at us.

    "HANG ON TIGHT!" I said as Itched myself as close to the wall as I could while the rocks fell. The dangling and panic of the cultivators stuck to the rope were in many instances about to pull me down with them.

    Thankfully, the majority of the rocks fell harmlessly, and we didn''t lose anyone. But my eye locked onto the many-faced Sheng Huo above me that howled and came down as it was gripping on the wall.

    It came charging down like a stampeding bulldozer with one objective, to crash into us and throw us into this bottomless-

    looking gorge.

    Thanks to the uing and powerful wind pressure, my skills won''t harm the people underneath me. I opened my mouth and spat out my most corrosive poison, the Grizzly Spider''s me Poison.

    The purple smoke surged out in a massive cone, and with a snap of my teeth, the poison ignited.

    The iing Sheng Huo, clearly panic-stricken as it had probably never met someone able to use Qi in its presence, tried to dodge away. But the rising wind and the potent poison were too fast for it to react.

    The ignition of the poison found a host in the beast and burnt bright, but the bastard was keen on not going down alone. Granted, instead of trying to snuff out the me, duck and roll style, it jumped at me, grabbing me by the shoulders.

    Carrying eight cultivators decked out in armor was not the heaviest thing in my book. After all, my strength is capable of more than just that.

    However, being pulled out of the wall by a dozen-ton weighing beast of nightmares. Even if I could also easily carry that, the walls I''m gripping gave out before my strength did. And down we go to thend of the unknown.

    Old Fu, who was the only one that wasn''t pulled down with us, instead of going up and saving himself, he actually let go of the walls and jumped toward the burning body of the falling Sheng Huo.

    Now, that''s the dumbest shit I''ve seen anyone do in a while. But frankly speaking, it was pretty brave and honorable.

    I grinned as I saw the old man trying to save me even when his own Qi reserves were little to nothing.

    The screams of the soldiers were all you could hear as we were going down deeper and deeper into this gorge that was only lit by the rapidly fading poisonous mes from the Sheng Huo''s body.

    The wind blowing and the rapid fall helped it extinguish the mes, but its inability to fly made itpletely useless as it iled around, trying to grip into anything that could keep it from falling to its death.

    Old Fu came towards me, his head pointing first and his whole body shaped like an iing torpedo to further increase his speed.

    "Cut them loose!" he shouted.

    I understood what he wanted to do; he probably realized I could easily save myself if I were to cut them loose.

    "Don''t worry, I got a n!" I shouted back as I threw old Fu another rope.

    He grabbed it and pulled himself toward all of us as we further fell down.

    The iling Sheng Huo managed to m into a nearby wall, and because of that, he was bounced off of it and was now heading toward us. Realizing that this fall might be itsst, it was not nning on going down alone. Quite literally as it bared its fangs and ws at me.

 Chapter 607 Descent And Worship

    <h4>Chapter 607 Descent And Worship </h4>

    ?Dodging was out of the question, there was no space to stand on, and flight was impossible with the spatial distortion of this ce. So as the ws of the beast wereing at me, all I could do was kick at it with both feet to separate ourselves even a few feet apart.

    Thanks to the quick reaction, I was able to push us away from the creature who fell far faster and heavier than us in a crescendo of screams and wails that one could only hear in nightmares.

    "NOW WHAT!" Old Fu shouted.

    I guess he was waiting for my n.

    Thinking of gripping at the walls with a sword and slowing yourself down like you see in hero movies of old would have been the dumbest idea ever. Not only will you be bounced off immediately once you get closer to the wall you will never have enough force or power to even grip at the wall in that fraction of a second. Also, even if by some miracle I was able to do that, the weight of nine people on the ropes will just pull us out of the wall breaking it.

    "We use the uprising wind to slow us down!" I shouted back.

    The soldiers all understood. Basically, we need a parachute, and if we can''t go up, at least we slow our fall.

    My hoverboard''s jet thrusters would have been more than enough to carry us out of here, but the heavy disturbance of Qi inside this gorge was just too much for any Qi object, tool, or spell to function. So we had to do it the good old way. Makeshift parachutes out of our own robes and the spare ones in our possession.

    "Get any spare cloth, robe or anything you have in your holding bag and use it as a parachute. The wind pressure will help reduce our speed!" I shouted at the cultivators.

    "WOULD A TENT WORK?!" one of the cultivators said.

    "That would be even better than a robe!" I shouted back.

    Since they were soldiers, a tent was bound to be in their holding bag. The soldiers then immediately began pulling their tents grabbing them by the for corners and making makeshift parachutes.

    Our speeds were immediately decreased by massive margins as not only were we slowed down thanks to the parachutes. Usually that would still not guarantee our survival from the fall. But due to the sheer power of the uprising wind, the makeshift parachutes'' effectiveness was multiplied several folds and our speed slowed down to the speed of a falling feather.

    "Well, that worked out!" I said loudly as the wind was too loud for us to even talk normally.

    "We''re not out of the trenches yet, we don''t know what may be down underneath us," said Old Fu.

    "The wind is clean, and it isn''t humid, there should be no water or anything dangerous down, or even rotting," I replied. "But you''re right, everyone keeps your eyes peeled for any dangers!"

    The way down was nowhere to be seen and we''re probably going to be in free fall for a very long while.

    ***

    Back on the above world, far to the east of the continent, where thend of the Lord of Lords spreads. There was the Lord of Lords'' region.

    As a mighty person of the Vast Expanse, his territory also seemed to grasp his essence and power. Here lived some of the mightiest beasts of the Beyond.

    From phoenixes and dragons, to three legged golden crows and Kilis that roamed the world. However, these beasts were hidden from the sight of cultivators, as they too didn''t wish to incur the wrath of the Lord of Lords.

    They lived in harmony with nature away from the eyes of cultivators, and many of these mythical beasts would take an unnatural interest in the human world. Enough for them to change their bodies and physics to match that of a human and mingle and mix with them.

    And one of these beasts was now interested in this new Emperor Stage cultivator that just entered the Lord of Lords'' territory.

    The banner carrier arrived to the gate of the Lord of Lords'' sect. The entirety of the sect was built between nine massive mountains with one mountain centered around the other eight.

    The mountains acted as a bastion and natural protective barrier and on the top of each peak was a massive pce.

    But all these mountains failed topare to the one in the middle since the middle mountain dwarfed all of the other eight.

    Zhang Tian couldn''t help but gasp at the sheer size of these mountains. They were of an absurdly grand size that he would almost think of them as the very pirs of the beyond itself carrying the weight of the heavens from falling against the earth itself.

    "There are nine mountains that belong to the Lord of Lords'' sect. The Middle one is private and under no circumstances unless specified by one of the eight grand chambeins that any of you is to even step a foot on it. It is the personal territory of the Lord of Lords and those who try to sneak in will die a brutal death." Said the banner carrier.

    The cultivators behind Zhang Tian gazed upon the mountain and noticed many cultivators and mortals even prostrating in front of this mountain.

    One of them asked, "What do mortals have to do with the Lord of Lords?" he asked.

    "Everyone whoes to the Mountain of Worship and bows their head to the Lord of Lords will have their wishes or issues solved. The Lord of Lords can choose those he wish to aid and assist by his own will and decorum. The more pious and the more one worships the more chances they''ll have in meeting with the Lord of Lords. It matters not if one is a mortal or a world shattering cultivators, all are equal in the eyes of the Lord," said the Banner Holder.

    "Anyone can receive gifts from the Lord of Lords?" asked one cultivator.

    "Yes, but be warned, your wish maye true but not as you may expect," said the Banner Holder.

    Another cultivator asked "What if one wishes to be mighty and power, what if one wishes to have power to grasp the world. Can they alsoe and worship?" he said.

    "They can, we had many of those, look," said the banner holder as he pointed.

    There they were, husks and bodies, corpses even, skeletons of prostrating people that were kneeling and will kneel forevermore.

    "Once you start worshipping, depending on one''s wish, their time will be either long or short. Once on the Worshipping grounds the destinies of seekers unfold, shaped by the nature of their desires.

    For those who approach with humble hearts, seeking sce or healing for their loved ones, time seems to warp as they bow and worship. In their devotion, they traverse what feels like eternal ages before standing in the presence of the Lord of Lords while in fact it isn''t even a breath of time only their patience through that eternal solitude will reward them with a meeting with the Lord of Lords and his blessing.

    While others who harbor illness and evilness in their heart those whose desires are tainted with malice, and insatiable greed. Some audacious enough to be even driven by a wish to rival the might of the Lord of Lords, their prostration bes a harrowing descent into decay. Their bodies wither, and life escapes them, for their entire existence is insufficient to pay the toll of such audacious wishes of theirs. That is the price of hubris, and that is the price one must pay for their sphemy."

    "Anyone can worship? Even the followers?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Yes, even you, neers, you can stand there, not only that it is encouraged to do so. Go and prostrate yourself but don''t try and overtake the people there, worship the lord, meet with them and your questions shall be answered. But as I said, if you harbor ill intentions in your heart it is best that you don''t approach the mountain lest you find yourself among the corpses, not knowing when you died."

    Zhang Tian''s eyes glistened. He was a man of knowledge, and would always seek to understand the iprehensible and the estranged. He would delve into the mundane and into the mystical, and what was in front of him was something that was new and something he had never seen before.

    So, he excused himself among all the other cultivators and went toward the mountain.

    "Crazy, who does he think he is?" one of the neers spoke, "Watch him turn to a corpse the moment he puts his head down. He thinks he is pure, no one here is pure¡­" the cultivator scuffed.

    One nce form the Banner Holder had the man shut up.

    "Among all cultivators, he is the only cultivator who had the courage to go seek the Lord of Lords. He didn''t hide and shy away like you, so don''t discuss his courage, the rest of you, follow me¡­"

 Chapter 608 New World

    <h4>Chapter 608 New World </h4>

    ?Back at the tavern, the three old men were all sipping at their drinks as they gazed upon a small crystal orb.

    These three were some of the most powerful people in the Beyond, and they were pretty much¡­ Bored.

    After all, they all reached the peak of their cultivation and found no way or method to progress further. They stagnated not because of theirck of effort, but because the pathway forward was nowhere to be found.

    And so after trying to figure out how to ovee their stagnation for many generations and years, they decided that it was better to go back to the roots of cultivation. There must be clues for them that they missed, clues to the heavenly path. And so they took interest in the cultivators who had talent and proved to be people who were able to bind fate itself to their wills.

    Cultivators who had heavenly blessings and protection.

    There were many of them throughout the ages. Some called them geniuses some called them a one-in-a-thousand-year talent. Some had such weak upbringings and then their entire lives changed once they found the treasure of an ancient cultivator.

    Some were born in power and grew stronger. Some were born in wealth and then it was taken from them, and they then took vengeance upon their transgressors.

    Those stories were many, and whenever one of the Suns found one, they would follow their stories with interest. After all, these ''heroes'' of a generation, their entire lives and adventures isparable to a blink of time in the eyes of the Eight Suns''s almost eternal lifespan.

    They would invite each other to watch, and sometimes they would make bets on how the life of their ''chosen'' goes. How far they''ll make it in the cultivation path and how they''ll turn out.

    These bets were nothing strange to these cultivators, and they could im great treasures from each other.

    They have done this watching session so much that they''ve all be proficient in noticing and anticipating what would happen thus making the bets more interesting.

    After all when one has an endless life and no goal in sight, things can actually get pretty boring far too quick, and a bit of stimuli for these people is enough for them to invest in treasure that would shake the foundation of the world itself.

    "You think they''ll figure it out?" The Red Sun said.

    "I have faith in Shen Bao," the Lord of Lords said, "He had proven very capable in the Vast Expanse, he should be able to figure out the secret behind the Sea of Demons."

    The Red Sun shrugged, "How long will it take him? And what are you willing to bet?" asked the Red Sun.

    "I say less than a hundred years," the Wisest Sun.

    The Red Sun''s brows rose, "Really? That''s a really short time. I think it will be more, at least three hundred years."

    The Lord of Lordsughed "You two really do underestimate Shen Bao, remember, A year at most!" the Lord of Lords proimed with a firm resolution.

    "You''re mad, there is no way they''ll even be able to travel to the center of that region in that time, not to mention a year, it will take an emperor cultivator able to fully use his cultivation base at least ten years to arrive to the center of that zone. Not to mention all the creatures they''ll encounter there, creatures that have been starved for a while, A year? Hah! You truly grew senile." The Red Sun said.

    "I do believe in the ability of Shen Bao, but a decade is already too much, not to mention a year, are you sure about this Lord?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "Of course," the Lord of Lords replied smugly as he sipped from his mug. "I''m willing to bet the Blood Letting Sword.

    "You wouldn''t sell me the Blood Letting Sword no matter how much I offered, and now you want to bet it on something so absurd¡­ I''ll take you up on it," the Red Sun said, "Then I''m betting the Yellow River Stone. I knew you wanted it from before,"

    "Then I''m betting my Nascent Law Stone," said the Wisest Lord.

    "I ept the betting value, now let''s watch," said the Lord of Lords as a wide grin was stered across his face.

    He was the one who followed Shen Bao''s story from his earliest days. And knew what he was capable of. And as they gazed on the crystal they saw how the group that had fallen into the massive gorge were about to discover a new world underneath the Sea of Demons.

    The source and reason for the desertification of the entirety of the Sea of Demons.

    The three watched with eyes focused as Shen Bao''s group was falling down and how they had made makeshift tents to slow themselves down.

    The Sea of Demons''s atmosphere was heavily diluted with the sea water that causes one to lose all their cultivation once they contact it. But underneath the Sea of Demons, was a different story.

    It was a cavern. But the size of it was so absurdly gigantic that calling it a cavern would be a disservice. The entire region was so absurdly big it wasparable to any of the regions that the eight suns were ruling. However this ce was not habitable. At least for weak cultivators.

    This region not only was it deep underground, it also had its own ecosystem. Massive pirs were supporting the dome covering this region and around these pirs grew a type of glistening moss that was breathing life and light into this world.

    It was like a forest of sorts, an underground forest where light, water and grass grew. And if all those were avable, life must exist. The only issue here was the intensity of the particles of the Sea of Demons in the air.

    There was so much of it that any cultivator would have their cultivation base heavily restricted. And for Shen Bao''spanions, they all felt like they were forced down all the way to the first stage of cultivation, from powerful Emperor stage cultivators, to barely at the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

    Not even Shen Bao was capable of escaping this restriction. Even though he was able to ignore a good majority of it. The particles were affecting the way his own Poison Qi was spreading through his body making him lose about a third of his power.

    But for Shen Bao, Losing a third of his ability was not something to be too worried about. He could still manage with less and with worse, he always did and the Lord of Lords knew that.

    The ecosystem underground was generating atmosphere and it was the reason why that wind pressure existed. The massive gorge was nothing more than a natural venttion system for this world underneath. And the moment they exited the gorge and were falling down toward the underground forest was when their parachutes lost all of its effectiveness since there no longer was a pressurized wind current slowing down their fall.

    Shen Bao unlike anyone who would usually panic in such a situation immediately used his head. The Qi here was disturbed and disrupted but it was far better than being in direct contact with the waterways of the Sea of Demons Here, Qi still works although at a far lesser ability. Thus he immediately pulled out his hoverboard.

    A tool that Shen Bao had made back in the Vast Expanse to traverse vast distances acrosss. Now, this tool might have been far from capable of doing the same task due to the effects of the Sea of Demons particles, however even with the reduced power of this tool. He was still fully capable of carrying the weight of himself and the people hanging on to him with the makeshift ropes he saved them with.

    The tool slowed their descent greatly and allowed them to reach the bottom of the cave unperturbed.

    Only then were they able to grasp in the sight of this new world. Only then were they able to see whatys underneath the ground and what secrets it holds.

    Trees like nothing the overworld ever had grew in all sort of shapes and forms. Critters of thend writhed, squirmed and wriggled underneath the soft and moist dirt under their feet.

    Gigantic mushrooms that want to cover the sun itself spawned all over the ce, and in between here and there were many, many mystical trees and flowers grew all over the ce.

    But this was just the visible part of this deadly garden. Because among the shade of these beautiful and mystical trees,y the terrifying gaze of many beasts never before seen in the overworld.

    And for these cultivators who have their cultivation sealed and in a new environment. Surrounded by beasts that they don''t know. Their chances of surviving are not going to feel that great now would it.

 Chapter 609 The Shadowbane Staler

    <h4>Chapter 609 The Shadowbane Staler </h4>

    ?"Quite interesting," I said as I looked around.

    "There is a whole world in here," said Old Fu as he admired the view, the very eerie, dark, and not-so-natural view.

    The pirs of light were pirs of stone wrapped up in algae, luminescent ones. And in the far end high above, there seemed to be a light source that didn''t dim. I could already guess what that light was. It was a deposit of crystals, refracting and reflecting light from high above into this ginormous cavern. It was feeding the life underground with the light it needed to survive.

    There were nts; there was humidity, so there must be water nearby. And that means there got to be life here, which was confirmed by the sound of growling from around us.

    "Could it be the Sheng Huo?" asked one of the soldiers.

    "No, captain," said another soldier as he backed away, "It can''t be the Sheng Huo," he said, almost backing into me.

    "What makes you sure of that?" I asked.

    "Because the Sheng Huo is in its mouth," he said, pointing.

    Looking in the direction where the soldier was pointing, there were two sets of glistening red eyes staring at us.

    A fearsome beast of nightmares stood on all fours. Its body sleek, obsidian scales shimmered under the glistening light of the algae around us. Its sinewy frame was sturdy with a predatory grace. You could see each muscle defined beneath its ebony hide adorned with thorns for protrusions. Its eyes glowed with an intense crimson that mimicked the color of blood, mirroring a savage instinct that burned within it.

    A crest of sharp, ck thorns adorned its back, further emphasizing its aggressive evolutionary and predatory prowess. The creature''s ws shimmered in an electric red light that surged every now and then. They clicked against the ground as the creature approached us, a chilling sensation of impending danger began creeping up everyone''s back.

    Only then did we see the end of this beast''s tail, a flexible and whip-like club of muscle and bone,shing behind it with a grave menace that promised an untimely, cruel, and brutal end to anyone who is met with it.

    But the most unsettling thing wasn''t the creature or how it towered over all of us, but it was the thing between its jaws. A twisted grin etched on this creature''s face as it revealed double rows of nothing but serrated fangs stained with dark blood. In between these menacing jaws was the clutched lifeless and unmovable Sheng Huo, a limp figure from what it looked like before.

    The Sheng Huo had so many scars on its body; it was actually amazing that we were able to recognize it. That meant that the Sheng Huo didn''t die from the fall damage but was unlucky enough to meet with this beast.

    It hung with its limbs lifelessly in between the creature''s jaws.

    The beast satisfied with its prey threw us a disregarding gaze as it waltzed between us, unworried, unperturbed, and not even caring about our presence.

    "An apex predator¡­" Old Fu muttered between his teeth.

    No one dared utter a sound as the beast moved past us, leaving in its wake nothing but the slimy ck blood of the Sheng Huo.

    "Kyuu!"

    A sound that I was too familiar with emerged from the hood of my coat. The white furball, a descendant of the Dark Beasts of the Vast Expanse, perked up its head from behind my shoulder to gaze upon the retreating figure of this beast.

    And that sound was all it took for this creature of terror to stop, drop its dead prey, and turn its head.

    It sniveled in contempt at us and turned, each step rumbling as it approached us.

    Panic began settling into the hearts of the frozen soldiers. Kyuu caused the beast that was retreating toe back.

    Soon, the beast stood right in front of me. Its eyes had murderous looks, but no murderous intentions. It was the other way; it was interest and curiosity.

    Kyuu, on the other hand, was barely the size of my palm, yet it bravely stared at the snout of the massive ebony creature, a staring contest.

    The creature''s face got closer to me, and it simply sniffed at Kyuu.

    It then tilted its head, licked its front jaws but then simply retreated.

    Kyuu, on the other hand, huddled back inside my hood and disappeared from sight.

    The beast retreated back to its prey, grabbed it, and left the regionpletely.

    "My heart almost stopped¡­" the captain said.

    "I need a change of clothes," another one added.

    "What is that?" Old Fu asked the most relevant question.

    "I wouldn''t know," I replied.

    "Not the ebony beast, even I don''t know what that is, but the small fur ball in your hood. It awfully looks like an adolescent Dark Beast, but I''ve never seen one with white fur," he said.

    The moment Old Fu mentioned the words Dark Beast, everyone around us gasped and backed away from us.

    "The ck Devil! Why do you have that!" asked one of them.

    "I guess Dark Beasts aren''t that rare here," I said.

    "Well, remember, the Beyond has a long cycle of day and night, and once the nightes. The Dark Beasts are the best weapons to use; they''re called the ck Devils on purpose since they''re mighty when it''s dark. However, they''re extremely violent and are almost impossible to tame. Yours is a bit different," he said.

    "I would assume so; it''s thest one from where Ie from," I said.

    "Perhaps the ebony creature found kinship with your pet; that''s why it didn''t attack it. I wouldn''t rely on that, however, beasts will not consider others threats unless they''re real threats. Once your Dark Beast grows, that ebony creature mighte looking for it."

    "Let''s keep exploring¡­" I replied. "There is much more to see here."

    "That was a sight to behold," the Lord of lordsughed.

    The Red Sun had a dissatisfied look on his face.

    "Why are you mad?" asked the Wisest Sun, "There hasn''t been a day past yet. Are you worried about losing the bet or something?"

    "No, did you not see the creature Shen Bao has?!"

    "You mean his Dark Beast?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "That''s not a normal one, how did he find something that good?!" he said.

    "He found it in air of Dark Beasts back in the Vast Expanse, the remnants of the exiled Imperial n had kept them as pets in a spatial fold they called the Under void. They used them to guard some of their final wishes and wills, but they all perished when the remnants of the exiled imperial n died. What was left was a small dark beast egg that was heavily affected by thews of time. It was frozen in time and was unable to hatch, thus it didn''t perish. Shen Bao found it and bounded with it. Now it''s his, a mutated Dark Beast that can survive in light and is powerful in the dark," he said.

    "Did you look at it? It looks so feeble and malnourished; I feel pity for that mighty beast, damn it. It''s like hanging a ne on a swine¡­" said the Red Sun.

    "You''re overthinking stuff. Also, he is in a very good region for his Dark Beast to grow. After all, what better ce for a vicious beast to evolve than in danger and death,"

    "I''m pretty surprised that the Shadowbane Stalker didn''t outright kill them all," said the Wisest Sun.

    "It''s probably because of that mutated Sheng Huo. The Shadowbane Stalker was probably satisfied with that prey, due to how much nutrition it has inside it. Inside the Underworld Garden, there aren''t a lot of creatures that host Qi inside their bodies. The Shadowbane Stalker is a smart creature. It had already decided that due to how heavy and how filling his prey is, the moment he was to eat it, he''d be able to evolve, and thus didn''t want to waste this opportunity with fighting against unknown two-legged creatures." Said the Lord of Lords.

    "Then why did it give that up and go back to check on the Dark Beast?" asked the Red Sun.

    The Lord of Lords shook his head. "Its interest was piqued due to the potential of the Dark Beast. A beast''s mind is simple, as long as it''s able to procure food and live without worrying as it sleeps and mates in its territory, it will never go out of its way to fight or find danger. It sought out the smell of the Dark Beast to see if it would pose a threat to it, finding it not worth killing right now, the Shadowbane Stalker was satisfied with retreating with its prey. Once it feeds, it will slumber, and once it wakes, it wille hunting for the Dark Beast to eliminate all and any dangers," said the Lord of Lords.

    "So they''re on a timer¡­"

    "The slumber of the Shadowbane Stalker will take a long while; in that time Shen Bao and hispanions should already be gone from the Underworld Garden. For now, let''s watch; they''re about to enter the edges of the garden; it''s here when things will get ugly," said the Lord of Lords.

    "It will be interesting to see them react to what''sing next; although the Shadowbane Stalker is one of the apex predators of the Underground Garden, it is only one of many. They were both fortunate and unfortunate to meet it there. There is more toe and much more to anticipate¡­"

 Chapter 610 In A Pinch

    <h4>Chapter 610 In A Pinch </h4>

    ?We were walking around this dark forest, navigating it to try and find a way out. To exit from the same spot, we came from was not possible sadly. The Qi disturbance was too much and everyone here was incapable of leaving due to the power of the Sea of Demons and its restriction.

    Flight was not possible and using the heavily damaged hoverboard was also out of the question.

    I needed metal to fix it, a lot of sturdy metal, and an improved reactor, a reactor that''s able to release Qi without it being affected by the Sea of Demons'' atmosphere.

    It was something for me to think of while we were wandering around this dark forest.

    As I was thinking of how to leave this ce. Something piqued my interest.

    In front of us was a full forest of low-hanging trees, they looked like pine trees that stood tall, and every one of these trees emerged from the center of a boulder.

    It was a new type of tree that I''ve never seen before, unnatural trees which brought to my attention something pretty strange. These trees had no fruits on them or flowers to pollinate.

    "Don''t touch that," I said as one of the soldiers seemed interested in a shining crystal that was unnaturally imbedded into the bark of a low-hanging tree.

    The soldier''s arm froze as he retracted it, "Why? Is it dangerous?" he asked.

    "You having to ask that question proves that you''re incredibly unsuited to be spearing this group, look at your feet," I said.

    The man looked down, and noticed what I meant. There were small bones and dposed biomatter around the tree.

    He backed away confused on why such thing would be there.

    I picked up a small pebble from the ground and said, "Pay attention," as I threw the pebble right into the crystal.

    The contact was all it needed before two massive jaws clutched against the tree bark, leaving just enough space to not damage the tree bark, but if anyone was standing in there they''d be food for these two jaws.

    The jaws were like metallic bear traps and once they locked on each other, they had the external texture of a rock that closed seamlessly around the tree.

    Now everyone just started taking note of the trees around us, all the trees that seemed to be sprouting out of a rock were simply trees that were eating.

    The soldier''s face turned pale, "Trees have teeth¡­" he said

    "I think we''ll have better odds navigating this forest if you were to take the front," said old Fu.

    "But sir, we''re here to guard and protect you," the captain of the soldiers said.

    "Believe me when I tell you, you guys are the ones needing protection, just walk behind me," I said as I took the lead. Scanning everything and anything I can with sight and my Divine Sense.

    Although my divine sense is not even a dozen metersrge as the disturbance is affecting it, it is still better than nothing and walking blindly. Many nts grew all over the ce and many of them were nts I''ve never seen before.

    So, I began picking some of them up and cing them in my holding bag. I needed to find out what these nts could do and if I could ever use them to create more poisonster.

    Although this might slow us down we had nothing else to do really.

    The entire forest is strange to us, and we had little to no objective or goal here but to keep on moving ahead.

    Soon, the sound of beasts could be heard in the distance. There must be a fight going on or something is hunting.

    "Keep low, and pay attention to your surroundings," Old Fu told the soldiers.

    Everyone crouched down as we

    Suddenly I heard an extremely familiar screech. Something that I only heard once, and it was inside the Poison God''s Trial.

    It was the Nargacougar.

    "Danger!" the sudden screech echoed around us and soon a creature came crashing down right in front of us, mming into the man-eating? Trees.

    It screeched harder and harder as it was battling what seemed to be a winged tiger that caught up to it.

    The winged tiger was on the prowl, it had only one eye as the other one had suffered acerating wound that healed up strangely in a clean way.

    The tiger growled once then zigzagged its way toward the Nargacougar that blew several sound waves at it. The tiger easily dodged the exploding echoes and pounced on the half-bat grabbing it tightly with paw and jaw.

    The Nargacougar tried its best to push the ck-winged tiger away but the tiger had it locked between its jaws. Desperately the half-bat screeched to try and stun the tiger away, but a single swing of the tiger''s massive paw was enough to permanently silence the half-bat.

    The Nargacougar, bloodied and terrified kicked away at the tiger to make distance. As it backed away to try and turn invisible, camouging itself within the foliage, the tiger simply sniffed at the air and pounced in a random direction, immediately catching the half-bat once again, forcing him out of stealth and into its final struggle.

    The fight ended in less than a couple of breaths of time, leaving the tiger with its prey. The tiger howled proiming its superiority and then noticed us, it growled lowly at us, threatening anyone that might dare ande after its hard-earned prey.

    "Back off, everyone, slowly, back off¡­"

    Soon everyone followed my advice and we all left the area to head to a different direction.

    "This damn ce is dangerous¡­" the captain said.

    "If only I had my cultivation base¡­" another said.

    "I''m pretty surprised," said Old Fu as he followed next to me.

    "Of what?" I asked.

    "Howe a Nargacougar is here? They should only be able to exist in the territory of that person¡­."

    ''He must be thinking of the Darkest Sun''s territory.''

    "What would make you say that? I mean they''re a creature of dark, this ce is like heaven for them," I said.

    "No, it''s the distance that will take one of them toe here¡­ it''s not small. His territory is the farthest one from here, and for that creature toe all the way here¡­"

    "Perhaps this forest isn''t simple," I said. "It may not only be under the Sea of Demons, but it might extend all the way to thends of the dark one¡­" I said.

    "Things have changed since I was gone. I can''t rely on my past knowledge now. Anyway, let''s just be more careful. Also, did you see the wound on the winged Tiger''s face?" asked old Fu.

    "Yes, that wasn''t a natural wound," I said.

    "What do you mean?" asked the captain who was interested in our conversation.

    "That was a wound from a sword, or a sharp metallic object. That means, that there are people here, or at least sentient beings able to use metal," I said.

    This was news, maybe good, maybe terrible, but it was new. Something we needed to consider.

    The existence of another group might not be the best thing to discover. But at the same time, if we were to encounter them we''d have a better understanding of this whole region.

    We continued moving forward, trying out best to keep a low profile. Without a direction or any map of sorts, we were probably moving in circles, but it was better than stagnating and staying in the same ce.

    I kept marking the area around us with poison that I can detect and used it to navigate the ce.

    Soon however, a small person moved right in front of us, they were humming a tune and was wearing a robe made of leaves.

    "A person?!" eximed one of the soldiers surprised to see other signs of life.

    But his words were loud enough for the small person to turn.

    She was a girl with two horns protruding out of her forehead. She reminded me of the Demon Race back in the Poison.

    The girl was small, perhaps not even ten years old, her eyes were golden of color and had the iris of a cat. And the moment she noticed us, she dropped the straw basket in her hands and legged it.

    "Wait!" I called but she didn''t even bother waiting as she jumped up and down and in between trees.

    "Stay here!" I said as I followed after the girl. She was too fast for any of them to catch up to her, strangely fast since all of the people behind me were extremely powerful cultivators.

    How is she able to run that fast when she clearly has not a single ounce of Qi in her body.

    However, thanks to my unnatural Poison Qi I was easily able to catch up to her, and I was thankful I did so in time.

    Because she had tripped and fell right in front of another Nargacougar¡­ this one was far bigger than the one we just saw dying¡­

    Its mother maybe, and it stared viciously at the little panic-

    stricken girl.

    "CLOSE YOUR EARS!" I shouted as I threw a cannister in front of the Nargacougar.

    These cannisters were my best weapon against a creature that relied on sound, their explosion was enough to stun this half bat creature for us to escape and I used them a lot back in the Poison God''s heritage trial.

    The small girl did as I had told and closed her ears.

    The cannister fell right in front of the Nargacougar.

    However, ¡­ I forgot something. Qi is heavily restricted here so that thing¡­is not going to blow.

    Shit¡­

 Chapter 611 Question

    <h4>Chapter 611 Question </h4>

    ?***

    I hastily grabbed at the small girl''s cloak and pulled her back before the oversized half-bat sttered her against the ground.

    "Run," I said as I tried to pull away at the Nargacougar''s attention. But the bastard took only a couple of sniffs in my direction and snorted.

    "Oi! I can''t be smelling that bad!" I said as I threw a rock at it. But the Nargacougar didn''t even bother with me as it hissed then looked around for the small girl.

    "I hate being ignored," I grumbled inwardly as I jumped on the Nargacougar''s back. The beast didn''t like that. As it hissed and howled at me to let it go. That could have been an option. It would have been the most logical thing anyone in my position should do.

    In a region, anyone would lose ess to their Qi making them weaker than the weakest demonic beasts. And a Nargacougar is powerful enough to contend with Saint Qi cultivators. Not to mention people who have already lost the majority of their cultivation base.

    But I on the other hand still retained a good portion of my cultivation base. The only issue I''m having is exerting external abilities. But if its just muscr prowess and my own poison prowess. Then those remained unaffected.

    I had a metal chain in my holding bag that I pulled out and threw it against the Nargacougar''s neck.

    "Sit down!" I said as I wrenched the chain up, causing the Nargacougar to yelp in pain.

    It hissed at me and I had to show it who was the boss and that was easily done as I jumped down from on top of the Nargacougars back and into the ground, while wrenching the chain down, smashing the half bat''s face.

    The blow was loud enough that it reverberated throughout the forest.

    Yet it wasn''t enough for the Nargacougar to calm down and realize it was in deep shit.

    "Did you ever taste sound?" I said to the beast as I stabbed my finger inside its nose, releasing a jet of none lethal poison, "Did you ever hear smell?" I added as I kicked at the Nargacougar''s face.

    The beast began squirming on the ground, spasming and shaking its legs and wings iling around as it was suffering what many would easily consider animal cruelty.

    After all the poison I had given him was a poison that affects the nervous pathways of the brain. The eyes would send signals to the brain, tranting anything they see into taste, while the ears would trante all sounds into random smells, and the mere act of breathing will make the Nargacougar hear strange acoustic noises.

    Aplete five-sense destabilizer, massive migraines, inability to bnce oneself in any shape or form, and deliberating nausea¡­Back in my old world, we called this a Saturday night.

    The Nargacougar which is a creature that heavily relies on sound and smell just became overwhelmed with all the new sensations it never had before. Making him feel

    The creature kept fumbling and fumbling desperately trying to regain its footing. I needed it to realize that it will not and cannot win.

    "Please, stop¡­ you''re hurting it," I heard.

    Looking to my left, shockingly, the same girl from before who was about to be Nargacougar Guano was on the point of tears. Asking me to stop the pain of Nargacougar.

    "You do know it was going to eat you?"

    "It is the way of nature, what you''re doing is unnatural¡­ please, it is crying," she said.

    I frowned, how could she say that to something that was about to kill her¡­

    I sighed as I pointed forward and neutralized the poison inside the Nargacougar''s nostrils.

    Soon, the creature began sniveling and sneezing out the poisons trying to get it out of its system.

    ''Trust me, buddy, that''s not happening without my consent¡­''

    Realizing that it no longer was affected it stood back up and growled at me, but its ears were drooped clearly admitting defeat, but still too prideful for a beast to start wagging its tail.

    "Shoo, go away," I said as I waved my hand at the Nargacougar.

    The creature backed off a bit then dove into the foliage turning transparent.

    I didn''t worry about it attacking me from stealth since I had my poison inside its body, and from the location and direction of the poison the half-bat was moving away but not too far away. It hid on top of one of the many trees around us and kept watch I guess.

    "So, who are you, and what are you doing here?" I asked.

    "We''re the ones who should be asking that," she said.

    "We?" I tilted my head.

    "Ah, boss¡­"

    I heard

    Turning, my whole group was behind me, tied up, neatly so, and being pushed forward by another group of people¡­people?

    No, they were also demon kin, only these guys had full-on tribal tattoos all over their bodies. With massive hornsing out of their foreheads. Every single one of these soldiers, male or female had an extremely muscr build. Every one of them looked like a sculpted Hercules¡­

    They each had a spear in hand and a curved de strapped to their side. While they wore beast pelts for clothes and beast skulls for helmets?

    "Well¡­"

    ***

    "That is extremely unlucky, for them to find a demon tribe member so soon," said the Red Sun

    "It could be unlucky and it could also be a blessing," said the Lord of Lords.

    "I don''t see how, these barbarians are brutal and murderous, one year, at this rate they won''t make it past the first week Lord of Lords," said the Red Sun.

    "Why do you think that these tribal members are brutal?"

    "In case you forgot we sent many people down there, no one survived an encounter with these tribal members," said the Red Sun shrugging.

    "That is because the people who went down were all¡­ rude, remember Shen Bao''s mind doesn''t work exactly like the people here¡­" Suddenly the Lord of Lords stopped talking and smiled.

    "Give me a minute, I''ll be back soon," he said and closed his eyes.

    "Where did he go now?" asked the Red Sun.

    "I''ve seen him do this once or twice throughout our friendship, this only happens when something interesting is happening back at his house,"

    "I guess he''ll be making one of the cultivators days. It shouldn''t take long, let''s keep watching."

    ***

    Zhang Tian was gazing upon the mountain of worship, trying to figure out how he should join in on the worshipping. He looked around and realized that there were many, many people around the mountain who were waiting upon the Lord of Lords. Yet not many got the chance to go up the mountain and they all had to wait.

    Cultivators were kneeling up ahead at the base of the mountain. There was not a single mortal among them, because most mortals who even managed toe here for their worship were pushed all the way to the end of this vast line of people.

    Anyone would have tried to find a way to ce themselves among the cultivators and wait their turn. However, Zhang Tian began walking down the long line of cultivators that extended greatly and went past them. All the way to thest position a couple of mortals were worshipping at.

    Zhang Tian was currently thest person of the line.

    He looked up the mountain, and then knelt down. Not a secondter however he found himself at the mountain peak.

    Taken by surprise clearly, but he didn''t drop his guard. His eyes surveyed the ce as he tried to figure out what happened.

    "Don''t think too hard, you''ll only get more confused," Zhang Tian heard.

    Turning he saw an old man sitting next to a round table looking at a small pond of water in front of him.

    "Come,e, sit," said the old man as he invited Zhang Tian to sit next to him.

    Tea had already been served and the old man sipped on it, not making a sound. Waiting for Zhang Tian to sit down next to him.

    When the Immortal Schr sat next to the Lord of Lords, theter finally said, "I''ve followed your story, for a long time, Schr," he said.

    "¡­"

    "Good, to remain silent and listen is the trait of schrs and kings. But there are no hearts empty of greed, tell me, what brought you to worship a lord you don''t believe in?"

    Zhang Tian looked at the old man for a bit and said, "I didn''te to worship you," he said.

    This sentence would have probably toppled the entire vast expanse form head to toe if spoken outside this ce. But for this old man who had seen many lives and worlds crumble up and down, it was normal.

    "Then what brings you to me if you need not to worship me?"

    "I worship knowledge," replied Zhang Tian. "And I came looking for questions," said Zhang Tian.

    "Looking for Question?" frowned the old man. "Yes, a simple man seeks an answer to his question, a schr seeks a question to answer. I am without answers if I have no questions, thus I need to see with my eyes, question with my mind and only believe with my heart once I see the truth. It is the path of a schr¡­"

    "I see¡­ then let me give you a question," said the old man as he waved his hand on the pond. Revealing the same view that the three Suns were looking at before.

    "Shen Bao? What is he doing there?" muttered Zhang Tian.

    "That is your question to answer¡­" the old man smiled.

 Chapter 612 Captured

    <h4>Chapter 612 Captured</h4>

    ?"That was interesting," Old Fu said as he was wrapped tightly with rope around his body.

    It was the same for every one of us, me included. Though to be honest I could easily rip these ropes out, but I wasn''t keen on doing it right now.

    After all, we need to learn more about this pce, and we meet with people who know of it. We might as well peacefully just go with them and see where they''ll lead us.

    "What do you mean by interesting I replied to Old Fu.

    "These people, they''re strong," he said.

    I took another look at them, not an ounce of Qi in their bodies, but to have bodies like this, Qi must be involved. Body cultivators?

    "Shut up humans¡­" one of the taller demon kin poked at me with the wooden side of his spear.

    I gave him a dirty look to which he replied, "What? Soft skin, you want to fight?" he said with a grin.

    I was tempted to take him on but the small girl intervened.

    "Don''t fight him, he''s a sorcerer," she said warning the half-demon.

    The rest of them gasped, their eyes turned worried and wary of me however one of them spoke

    "Sorcerers can''t use their magic well here, princess are you sure?" one of the female half-demons said.

    "Normal ones, like those they can''t," she said pointing at the soldiers, "but these two are different."

    The two were me and Old Fu.

    I could use some of my Poison Qi normally, but what did she mean by old Fu can also use his ''sorcery'' which I presume to be his cultivation.

    "Then, princess, why are we taking them home? Wouldn''t it be better to execute them or let them be here to fend for themselves, not like they''ll survive the Dark Garden anyway," the bigger half-demon said.

    "Because they saved my life, one of the night terrors found me¡­ it was able to see through my invisibility kelp¡­"

    "That''s not possible," another demon said, "That cloak was made by the shaman himself, there is no way it won''t function," said the female half-demon. "Also where is the Night Terror, I can''t believe that this soft skin can beat it without a single wound on his body," she added.

    "If you''re asking about the Nargacougar, it''s right above us," I said.

    The guardsughed at me as they looked up and didn''t see anything.

    I nced up and muttered, "Don''t make a fool out of me, reveal yourself."

    Suddenly, the Nargacougar from before growled as it lessened its stealth and revealed itself for all to see. Everyone seemed disturbed by the fact that a massive Nargacougar was above them without anyone noticing.

    "It''s been following us for a while, I don''t know why, it seems to be interested in the small girl, she saved its life after all," I said.

    "Saved its life? You mean you could have killed it? A night terror is a challenging opponent for even the mightiest of our warriors to fight alone," said the female cultivator.

    The smaller girl then replied, "It is true if this man didn''t stop, that Dark terror would have died. She was pregnant too, it would have been a huge loss," she said.

    "They''re both fine," I said "I can see them both," and I did.

    Since my poison was still coursing through her body I was able to get a clear inner visual of her body and the life it was holding within it.

    "We''re near the vige," said the young girl.

    "Leave," I said to the Nargacougar, "Your curiosity will kill you and your unborn child, leave," I repeated.

    The Nargacougar seemed to realize that it was about to enter a territory full of other people and didn''t dare risk her child or herself here so she withdrew once again into stealth.

    Soon our group was standing in front of a massive wooden gate.

    The gate had wooden walls made of the same trees we saw earlier the trap trees, tightly erected next to each other creating a barricade that extended all around the vige.

    And this vige, not a single building was built on the ground, all of the houses and huts were built around the trunks of gigantic trees, that were linked together with hanging wooden bridges.

    All of the trees of the vige were erected in circr formation and in the center of the vige was a massive open circr space that seemed to host many of these tribal people. Two were currently wrestling in the middle of the arena, a woman that''s slightly taller than me, and a male that was at least double her size.

    The two wrestled or were wrestling, because the moment we showed up at the gate. The female demon kin looked at us, then back at her opponent, and simply grabbed and chucked him outside the arena as if he didn''t weigh anything.

    The rest of the demon kind cheered as they watched and were witness to the tribeswoman''s victory.

    She then wiped her hands and approached us while our captors stayed standing.

    The small girl rushed toward the woman and jumped at her, thetter grabbed her and said, "Where did you find these soft skins?"

    "They found me," she said.

    ''I suppose it is her mother,''

    "I also found you a mate," the small girl said. "That one," she pointed at me, "He is strong."

    "Damn, must be your lucky day," said old Fu grinning.

    "Believe me when I tell you, herdyship remained single for more than three hundred years, don''t count your blessings yet, you''ll die before you get to court her," said another half-demon while grinning.

    "I''m not interested," I shrugged.

    "It isn''t your choice," the biggest of the people leading us said.

    The woman approached me, she had red blood color hair and golden eyes just like the younger girl. She had a beautiful tanned body with muscles that weren''t as absurd as the rest of the female cultivators around her.

    But from the disy before, these muscles although toned and not too oversized were the real deal.

    Her thighs were wrapped with rope and her red hair was braided. Her physic was perfectly fit. A dream body for any woman. However, her gaze was nd and bored, "Are you sure?" she said to the girl in her hand.

    "Yes, older sister, he really is strong, he took down a Night Terror with two fingers," she said.

    "That''s not strength, he used sorcery," said the tall half-demon.

    "Sorcery¡­" the woman spat next to my feet, "That won''t help you here, take them to prison, we''ll deal with themter."

    Our group was soon led to the back end of the vige.

    Here, the loud sound of water rushing down could be heard from a distance away.

    There was a river that passed behind the vige and ended in a gigantic waterfall. Looking down from where we stood, the waterfall had stgmites that seemed to point up in the pond that this torrent of a river flooded in.

    At the top of the waterfall was a massive tree that had an extended branch and from that branch a rope extended downward which held a pretty big wooden cage.

    You could already see the bones of former captured people there, dead people of course.

    One of the half-demons grabbed a long wooden nk and pinned one of its ends with one foot, "Give," said the soldier.

    "Give you what?" I asked.

    "The sorcery pouch, don''t try anything funny," he said.

    "He means the holding bag," said Old Fu. "They captured other people before," he said as he pointed with his head to his side, "Here it''s hanging on my side." Old Fu said.

    I shrugged and gave him mine too, there was nothing important in it anyway, just a few pills, explosives, and poison, and some weapons, the major items I needed were all in the Poison God''s Heritage next to my heart.

    "This is thievery!" the captain of the soldiers with us said.

    "You''re being captured man, also you do realize that this ce is so heavily impacted with the Sea of Demons water that you won''t be able to open that bag anyway," I said.

    The captain grumbled before he gave up his bag, and so did the rest.

    "Move," added the half-demon.

    I sighed as I followed their orders and walked up the nk to the opened cage. There was no need to fight back or be feisty, this might look like a deadly trap to anyone without the ability to use Qi, but for me, it was simply a resting area.

    Once all of us were inside the cage the nk was pulled back. And one guard was left standing waiting at the top of the waterfall.

    The atmosphere was nice here, the weather was fine, the air was clean and the sky was¡­ well not bright I guess since we''re in a cavern, almost a perfect spot to rest in.

    Down below you could see the majority of what these half-

    demon kin called the Dark Garden. From here I could see many things that we couldn''t see before since we were inside a forest.

    And from here you could see beasts, yes beasts so far away that even through this darkness and distance can still be seen.

    These colossal things were roaming this ce¡­ as if it were their backyard.

    And people like this tribe are still able to live in peace with things like that roaming about.

    There is much to learn from these people, and I should take it into consideration. Since we''re new to this ce we need information. So for now, I do not need to break free from this cage, it''s good to get more intel.

    I closed my eyes and rested them. A Long night awaits us.

 Chapter 613 Duel

    Chapter 613 Duel

    ??"Please, could you tell me where they are?" Zhang Tian asked of the old man.

    The Lord of Lords tilted his head, "And what will you do with that information?" he asked.

    "He is my friend, I need to help him, they look like they are in trouble," Zhang Tian said.

    The Lord of Lords smiled as would a father smile upon his child, "I understand your worry and your fear for your junior brother, however, the distance between here and where he is, is grand and great. It would take you hundreds of years to reach it at your current level. Not to mention, you will not be of aid."

    "I might not be as mighty as you, Lord of Lords, but I still take pride in my thousands of years of cultivation," Zhang Tian replied, clearly dissatisfied with being looked down upon.

    The old man let out a smallugh, "I am not looking down on you, in fact you clearly are leagues above many cultivators the same level as you. I can see the wayw is attaching itself to you, as if Law itself want to be part of your knowledge and power. However, the Sea of Demons is treacherous. In there, the moment you go under to the Sea of Demons and into the Dark Garden is where you will meet your mortality. Any cultivator would find themselvespletely helpless and weak, nothing more than a slightly powerful mortal, which is not really anything here in the Beyond."

    "¡­"

    "Don''t be too discouraged, I am not stopping you to help your junior brother, but I am stopping you from bing a burden to him. Shen Bao is strong and resourceful, I''ve seen very few people capable of a fraction of what he had done with so little resources and those people are pirs of their own worlds. Not to mention I''m betting big on Shen Bao to discover the secrets of the Dark Garden and realize the truth of the Sea of Demons," he added.

    "I see¡­"

    "Then back to our topic, why worship what you do not believe in?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "I worship the heavens and the parents that had given me birth, as for you, I respect your power and effort that had given birth to the Lord of Lords,"

    "I see," the Lord of Lords replied, "However, you gained favor and piqued my interest, so speak your mind what do you want?"

    "My wish is far too grand and arrogant to be given by another," said Zhang Tian.

    "The words you speak, if others were to hear it, they''ll think you are looking down on me, but I think I know what you want," said the Lord of Lords.

    "¡­"

    "You want knowledge, understanding and the world''s wisdom as your goal. I cannot give you that, for even if I had lived what most would think an endless life, I too know not everything under the machinations of heavens. Thus I cannot grant you your wish. However, I can help guide you in the proper path to seek it. Go down, train with the ways of the Lording Sun and earn your way into the grand library. Then some of your curiosity might be satisfied, but trust me you wille out with far more questions that you entered with," the Lord of Lords said.

    "What about my junior brother?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Who do you think I am?" the Lord of Lords grinned.

    "The Lord of Lords, the Lording Sun, and one of the mightiest of the Beyond.

    "Then by my will, no grave harm shall befall Shen Bao as long as I am watching over him," he said.

    Zhang Tian nodded and soon found himself back at the base of the mountain.

    He stood up and went back to the group of cultivators he was with earlier since they didn''t even move far away.

    "You''re back already?" asked the Banner Carrier.

    "Yes," replied Zhang Tian.

    "Have you met the Lord?" asked the Banner Carrier.

    "I have," Zhang Tian replied.

    "Lies," someone muttered from within the crowd, "If you had met the lord why are you the same as before, not to mention you didn''t worship for more than a breath of time, stop trying to act all mysterious and important, neer," the man added with spite between his teeth.

    The Banner Carrier was about to burst out at the man who just spoke, but Zhang Tian shook his head.

    The Banner Carrier sighed and said, "This is thend of the Lord of Lords, And if Zhang Tian were to lie about meeting the Lord of Lords, he would have been smitten by thunder and lightning where he stood, because the Lord of Lords hates discord. Meaning he had met the Lord of Lords indeed and is back. Stop creating unnecessary problems."

    The people next to Zhang Tian were still dissatisfied with the favors he was earning. Jealously and envy was clear in their eyes, and Zhang Tian couldn''t help but sigh.

    No matter how one cultivates and elevates themselves, they cannot leave their human nature.

    Human is born of greed and lives in greed. Shen Bao''s words still ring true from the day they first met.

    ***

    our group was sitting inside the hanging wooden cage. Everyone was resting waiting for these tribal people toe and ''judge'' us.

    We didn''t have much to do anyway.

    "We''re not nning an escape?" Old Fu asked.

    "Not really, there is no need," I said.

    "Senior, you''re speaking as if we can leave whenever you wish," said the captain.

    "Of course, you think I''d be trapped here?"

    The soldiers looked at each other and one ''brave'' one said. "Then why are we still here? Can''t we escape then?"

    "And then what?" I replied to his question with a question, "You see that shit over there," I pointed.

    The soldiers squinted his eyes and was able to seerge shades in the distance.

    "Yeah, those are beasts that live here, believe me, that obsidian creature we saw first was probably not the only dangerous thing in this forest¡­ isn''t that so," I said as I lifted my head up.

    Two golden glowing eyes were looking at us from behind the leaves of the tree.

    "How did you see me?" she asked. It was the same small girl from before, the one they called princess.

    "You did well covering your scent and positioned yourself against the wind, you did well not moving and remained still, however, you were too still. Unlike the leaves around you that move thanks to this breeze, only the leaves wrapped around you remained fixed. Stealth isn''t about being invisible, it''s more like being one with nature," I said.

    "My older sister told me the same thing before¡­ sorcerer, what is your name?" she asked.

    "You can call me Shen," I said, "So what brings you here to watch over us ''sorcerers''?" I asked.

    She didn''t reply.

    "Well, you better hide, your sister ising over," I said.

    Everyone looked at the waterfall''s top waiting to see the older sister who I presumed to be the leader of this tribe, but she wasn''t there.

    "Liar, she isn''t here," said the little girl.

    I smirked, "That''s because she is behind you," I said.

    The little girl frowned then looked behind her, and only then did the appearance of the Tribal leader appear to all.

    She wasn''t wearing any camouge or leaves of any sort, but was able to reduce her presence so much that she was one with nature, or as close to it as possible.

    "How did you see through me?" said the Leader.

    "I''ve met with someone who has far better camouge stealth than you''d ever dream of, they were the ones who were truly one with nature, but you''re on the right path," I said.

    The leader thought for a second and said, "Follow me," then she disappeared.

    "Go," old Fu said, "We''ll wait here."

    "I''ll see you guys in a bit," I said as I stood up and simply pushed the cage''s gate open.

    The distance between the cage and the waterfall was about a dozen or so meters. It was nothing a mortal could ever dream of jumping. Since everyone was affected by the Sea of Demons''s atmosphere everyone besides those who have inhuman strength could cross it.

    As for me, it wasn''t anything more than a single step forward and I was already at the other side of the waterfall.

    A man carrying a nk wasing over and when he saw me already out of the cage he couldn''t help but grumble under his breath.

    "Let the others out, and guide them to the arena," the voice of the tribal leader sounded.

    "You, meet me in the arena," she said.

    I walked up between the high trees where many of the demon tribe were watching, some were also booing.

    Clearly, we weren''t very popr right now.

    The woman was standing in the middle of the arena, holding a massive spiked mallet over her shoulder as if it didn''t weigh anything.

    "What is the meaning of this?" I asked.

    "My sister said that you were strong, prove it and we will let you go, fight with all you got!" she said.

    "That''s not fair," I said shrugging.

    "I told you, chieftain, these soft skins are nothing but cowards, we should have killed them," said a man whom I saw for the first time. He approached menacingly and stood at the rim of the arena.

    Around his neck were dozens of small skulls of rodents. And in his hand was a staff that had the bones and fangs of beasts adorning it. He was fully painted in white and had red tattoo marks all over his body.

    This must be the shaman of this vige.

    "If you find it unfair, I can use only one arm and not the weapon," she said.

    "Chief!" the shaman said, he didn''t seem to be too keen on giving me an advantage.

    "Shut up! I need to see with my own eyes, my sister never lies," said the chieftain.

    I smiled, "No, what I meant by unfair, I wasn''t talking about myself," I said, "It is you who will perish if I were to be serious," I said.

    The booing continued from everyone around us, and it looked like I hurt the pride of the chieftain.

    She was angered, "Then don''t me me if you get ttened!" she said as she swung the mallet with enough force a gale wind blew outward of her swing.

    "I''ll let you have the first move!" she said.

    And just as she finished her words, I took a step forward.

    ¡­

    Everyone in the crowd was too stunned to continue booing.

    I was already behind her, with Creeping Demise next to her neck.

    "You just died."

 Chapter 614 Duel II

    Chapter 614 Duel II

    ??"SORCERY!" the shaman said as he pointed his staff at me.

    "How are you able to use sorcery here?" the chieftain said, still shocked at the fact that she lost before the match began.

    "I''m different."

    "I told you he was strong, sister," said the small girl from the side.

    Clearly displeased, the woman sighed, "I admit my defeat," she said.

    "We cannot ept it chief! He used sorcery!" the shaman said. And that was supported by the many, many other tribesmen. As they booed and shouted.

    "Cheater!" they said, "Fraud!" they said and many other words.

    My brows rose up, as I smiled and backed away.

    "You all seem displeased," I said.

    Then I looked at the chieftain, "You wouldn''t refuse a match of strength," I said.

    "I already admitted defeat, there is no point in fighting," she said.

    "But they seem displeased," I said.

    "He used sorcery! It is not fair!" more of the tribesmen said.

    "SILENCE!" the chieftain roared and everyone quieted down. "I have asked him to fight with all he got, and he did, thus the victory is his, do not disgrace his victory with your whining and whinging."

    The tribesmen were clearly dissatisfied, and not happy with the situation.

    "I don''t mind fighting using strength," I said.

    The chieftain saw the reignited spark of hope in the eyes of her tribesmen and asked me, "Are you sure about that?" she asked.

    "Yes."

    "Then so be it, don''t me me if you lose, I might not be powerful against sorcery but we pride ourselves in our strength!" she said.

    I went back to my starting ce and nodded for her to start.

    "I have my eyes on you! If you use sorcery you will lose the match!" said the shaman.

    I ignored the ignorant and focused on the chieftain.

    She swung her mallet a couple times and readied up. Waiting for me to make the first move which I wasn''t about to make.

    A few more breaths of constant vignce and staring before she charged forward.

    For a person only using physical prowess she was fast. Fast enough that she reached me in less than moment. And her swing was wide and powerful enough to rip a boulder in two before shattering it to bits with that mallet of hers.

    However, in my eyes, she was still slow enough to dodge, and I did so with a single step back.

    Her swing passed harmlessly in front of me and she was in an overextended state. Normally a person would immediately punish this overextension by countering instantly, however, this was an obvious trap.

    I however, wanted to see how she would react.

    I took a step forward and saw a grin appear on her face, "Got you!" she said as her rib muscles flexed up, and the swung mallet was swung back toward me.

    I dodged by bending myself back and rose back up with an extended grasp at her neck. But she backed away.

    "How did you know?" she asked a smile creeping up her face as she probably was extended in fighting someone who has some fighting ability.

    "As a chieftain of a vige, and someone with enough strength and power to subdue it all, there is no way you''d swing like an amateur against an unknown person who clearly outsses you," I said.

    "You may be strong! But it''s too early to say that you outss me! RIFT MAKER!" she shouted and mmed the mallet on the ground, causing a seismic burst to flow forward.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki," I muttered with an extended palm in front of me "Almighty Push!"

    And I pressed my hand an inch forward.

    An explosion of force surged forward and the two of them shed, the winner clearly my force against hers as it razed her seismic blow and the ground underneath it in a concaving palm explosion.

    "HE IS USING HIS SORCERY!" shouted the shaman.

    "SHUT UP!" replied the chieftain! "If you are blind don''t speak as if you can see! It is nothing but pure force! The next time anyone intervenes, they shall be beheaded!" she added.

    Everyone calmed down then and had to watch.

    "I guess I''ll be using nothing but muscle strength from now on," I said "Here Ie."

    I instantly dashed forward, my palm obvious and extended forward for her to block. Which was my intention.

    She tried to parry it with her mallet but the blow from my palm was strong enough that her entire body was forced back sliding across the ground.

    I wasn''t keen on giving her an opportunity to take a breath as I followed after throwing a kick and a direct punch that she desperately tried to parry, blocking it was not possible since she will get pushed out of the ring.

    Desperately, she pulled her mallet and tried to redirect my kick which she managed to an extent but on the cost of blood spraying from her mallet holding palms.

    The punch however, went right into her abdomen, causing the white of her eyes to appear for a second and her kneeling on the ground.

    She then took a desperate gasp and jumped back away, taking struggled breath after another.

    I slowly walked forward. Everyone already realized it by now, they were no match for me. And she too seemed to know it, however, desperation or hopelessness never appeared on her face. In a matter of fact, it was more like anticipation and excitement.

    She mmed the head of her mallet on the ground letting go of her weapon, and pped her chest twice and roared once more.

    The tattoos on her body shimmered in a red glistening glow, and the horns on her forehead grew bigger andrger. She shot me a sly grin as she shed forward almost disappearing from sight, the mallet no longer on the ground but in her hand.

    It was less than the time it would take a person to blink, that''s how much it took for her to move from the edge of the arena and appear right in front of me with the mallet about to crush me to bits.

    However.

    The mallet stopped in the air thanks to my finger stopping it.

    A single finger to block that massive hammer is all it took and that left her lookingpletely stunned and petrified. Unable to understand the disparity in strength.

    My other hand pointed at her neck, in a chop like motion. "You died again," I said.

    She smiled and sighed, "I should have taken the cue the first time, you''re strong," she said.

    Her body returned to normal as her horns returned to their normal size and her tattoos no longer glowed.

    The shaman spat on the ground and left the area along with many other tribesmen. Some remained to watch the aftermath and the rest were clearly dissatisfied with what went on.

    "You have proven yourself victorious, you and yourpanion may safely cross the vige into the dark garden," she said.

    "But I advise you to be cautious and wary, thend out from here isn''t safe, not even for us who have lived here for ages. It is full of beasts of all kinds and terrors that would make nightmares feel like lucid dreams," she said as she pointed out.

    "That is the exit, but you are wee to stay here," she said.

    "We didn''te here to try and barge in on your livelihood, we are trapped here in the Dark Garden and wish to leave, however we have no sense of direction or a map," I said.

    She thought for a moment and said, "Mei, bring them a map from the chief''s lodge," she said.

    "Chief''s lodge? Shouldn''t that be your lodge?" I asked.

    "No more, I have lost in a formal challenge, no one is chief here but you, and once you leave, there will be anotherpetition to elect a new chief," she said.

    "I guess we caused some troubles, I apologize," I said.

    "It is the way of our people, we are elected by strength and power, and if one fails to prove power to lead, then they should at least have power to follow, I have failed my people and will have to climb back up," she said. "But don''t worry about me, I''m strong enough to get back to the top," she smiled.

    "I trust that," I said as I nodded to mypanions.

    "Before you go," she asked, "How did you do that?"

    "Do what?" I questioned.

    "How did you appear behind me, they all said it was sorcery, but it was not, I saw you simply dissipate and fully harmonize yourself with nature and then appear behind me, it was stealth, the same one I tried on you before but you saw through me," she said.

    "That''s called the Traceless Step," I said, "It is pretty Qi reliant, but I''ve learned it from a tiger." I said.

    "A tiger¡­"

    "Yes a Dark Winged Tiger,"

    "You survived an encounter with one of them?" she frowned.

    "I saw one of its kind here, it had a scar on its eye," I said.

    "That was myte father''s doing, to save our vige he traded his life for that scar," she said.

    "I see¡­ do you wish to learn the Traceless Step?" I asked.

    "I would be in your debt," she said.

    I approached her and said, "Rx and let me share it with you," I said as I held her head between my hands and began sending her imagery of the Traceless Steps and how I learned it.

    I soon removed my hands from her and she opened her eyes, "That''s beautiful," she said.

    "It''s such a simple yet ingenious way of moving¡­" she then looked at her vige and said, "Do you mind if I were to share this with them?"

    "It is yours now, do with it as you please, you were on the cusp of achieving it anyway, I only helped a litter," I said.

    "Thank you, benefactor,! This will help us greatly in hunting and escaping danger¡­"

    Soon the small child appeared with a rolled-up skin of a beast and handed it to me.

    "This is the map you''re looking for, and no matter what you do¡­ don''t go into the highlighted areas of the map," she said.

    Just as I opened the map, I frowned, almost ny percent of the map I was given was highlighted.

    She threw me a sly grin when I looked back at her.

    Well¡­this should be interesting.

 Chapter 615 Execution

    615 Execution

    Our group moved out of the vige, with some supplies and our belongings given back to us. The tribesmen had no need to inconvenience us after having proven our strength. Since I''m able to win against their former leader, and was not using my Cultivation, fighting or making trouble with me will not be of any use or help to them.

    The road ahead was perilous, seeing from the map and the details on it, many dangers awaited us. We took a path that crossed behind the vige''s waterfall and went deeper into the Dark Garden.

    As we are now, we haven''t explored a fraction of this vast biome that seemed to extend to an incredible distance underneath the ground. The life that had lived here struggled and managed to find sess wasn''t a gentle caring life. Everything here was nothing but vicious and murderous, from the smallest critters and bugs to man-eating trees and gargantuan beasts and monsters of nightmares that roamed the ce. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Here, everything is a hunter, and everything is prey. It was an awkward ecosystem where the pyramid of predation was not as it should be.

    Once we arrived to the base of the waterfall, right next to its basin, was where the first highlighted area of the map given to us was to start.

    "It says this is the hope of a steel jaw ant colony. They use this waterfall for water and drinking and have a burrow that they use as a base nearby. Make sure to steer away from anything strange, including that," I pointed.

    There was a green sludge on a broken piece of tree bark on the ground.

    "What is that?" asked the captain.

    "It smells, and that''s all you need to know, this is a marker, and if this is the territory of ants, and that thing is still here, then it means that they ced it. It''s a lure of type if I were to take a guess, touch it, and you will be marked for every ant in the vicinity," I added.

    The cultivators around me realized that we were just starting in the Dark Garden, and shit was going to get uglier and uglier the more we travel through this ce. But we had no choice or option but to keep moving forward.

    "I''m surprised," said old Fu.

    "Of?" I asked.

    "You never asked the tribe to show you how they managed to live here. As in how they obtained their strength, so far they are far stronger than us, excluding you of course. We lost most of our cultivation base. While these tribesmen were able to exert a profound level of strength without even using Qi," old Fu said.

    "They were using Qi," I said.

    "Now that''s even more surprising," said old Fu.

    This is what I liked most about this old man, he didn''t disagree with me like would a person without any understanding. But he said that it was surprising instead of saying they have no Qi just like themselves.

    "The Qi they have is different, it''s like humans breathe air and fish breathe water. The Qi they obtain from this underworld area is transformed into strength and power that can help them survive in this vicious ce. Their muscles are saturated with it to an incredible level but it only helps in making them use internal force rather than external. We as cultivators use our bodies to store Qi to exert it, and somebody cultivators use it to empower their muscles. Yet for these people, they cannot release the consumed Qi outward since it will always be dissipated by the water of the Sea of Demons. So their bodies subconsciously convert it to power and inhuman strength."

    "Hmm, but aren''t they still weak?" said the captain.

    I turned to him and asked him, "Why do you think that?"

    "The power they''re releasing although it looks great here, any of us here can easily dismantle them when we''re outside this world. Even the weakest of us can easily take on the entire tribe if we had our cultivation back," he said.

    "And that''s where you''re mistaken, the shackles of the Dark Garden is not applied to you alone, it is also applied to them. Only they lived in it longer than you ever spent here, if the both of us were outside, their overall strength would multiply several folds to an incredible degree due to theck of restraint from the Sea of Demons. Any of these people here can easily handle the entire squad you''re in, you included," I said.

    I let that sink into their heads, after all, these tribesmen were born in peril and danger and had to adapt, if you were to throw them in the overworld they''d dominate great swats ofnd with ease.

    "As for the reason I didn''t ask them to show us how they did it, it was simple, because even if we know it is useless to us. To gain their strength one needs to stay here for as long as they did, eat of what they ate and train as they do, hunt beasts, and be one with nature. It takes a lifetime of effort and time to be like them and it is not worth it. It is a natural growth and self-empowerment that we cannot earn in a short time, so no it is not worth me asking how they did it," I said.

    The group continued moving forward and soon we managed to meet the first ant. It was the size of a cow, and it looked like the ant was struggling to move. The creature hissed at us as it tried to stand on all six legs but it was incapable of.

    It had a glistening red color in most of her body but its head was jet ck yet slightly transparent.

    And thanks to that transparency I stopped and told the group, "Slowly back off, we''re in deep shit," I said.

    "When weren''t we," said old Fu as he backed away.

    "What''s going on this time?" asked the captain as he looked at the struggling ant.

    Soon they came to realize what I was looking at, not just the ant but its head and what was inside it.

    Due to the light transparency of its head, you could see some of what was inside it, and there it was a nt-like object that squirmed within the ant''s brain forcing its way into its mind.

    "Zombie Fungus!" I said.

    This probably didn''t ring any bells for the people around me but for me, this was the worst possible situation right now.

    Soon, the reason for my worry showed up.

    All around us, and up above, more and more ants showed up. They were looking at the ant on the ground that was struggling.

    And soon the struggling ant''s head began splitting open, releasing a long thorn line vein from its skull.

    The ants around us began rushing towards it. Completely ignoring us as they rushed at the ant. They then began mping on the unfortunate ant''s limbs and began tearing her apart, bit by bit piece by piece, and only left its skull that had the vine propping out of.

    Every ant holding a piece of the ant limb was then seen moving away from the rest of the group, while the remaining group of ants began piling up pieces of wood and bark from all around the forest and cing them on top of the solitary ant head. cing more and more as time goes by.

    Our group had already moved back and away from this ritual but I was interested in seeing this through.

    "Why are we waiting? Didn''t you say it was dangerous?" old Fu said.

    "Believe me if I tell you, no matter how far we go, the ants know where we are," I said "So I might as well use the time to see what they''re doing. And the danger I was talking about wasn''t the ants themselves, indeed they are strong and act like an army, but that is the most dangerous part," I said as I pointed at the ant with nothing but a head on it that had wood piled atop it.

    From the shade and darkness of thepiled wooden debris, there was a small glistening glow that wasing out from underneath the wooden pieces.

    "That''s¡­ the same color as the eyes of the people who turned to Walkers," said Old Fu.

    "Yes, that''s another piece of information we didn''t have¡­"

    "Also take note of that," I said as I pointed at a new ant that arrived at the scene. This one was farrger than the group here, it was almost the size of an elephant and had sharp mandibles that were holding a giant piece of¡­ flint.

    The massive ant soon arrived and began dragging the piece of flint across the ground, sparking hundreds of sparks all over the dry wood that was piled up over the zombified head. Not long after, mes and smoke caught up, and the wood burnt up soon roasting the ant''s head and destroying it.

    "Very interesting," I said. "The ants know that this type of disease is dangerous to their colony and they adapted a strategy tobat it. This means that they''re smart enough to do other things," I said.

    "Other things? Like what?" asked old Fu.

    "Likeying traps, look behind us," I said.

    And behind us were a couple of dozen ants that crept up on us without us seeing or hearing them.

 Chapter 616 Safety?

    <h4>Chapter 616 Safety?</h4>

    ?"Follow me!" I said as I rushed forward.

    The soldiers had worry in their eyes from the number of ants behind us. Yet they had full confidence in my ability to get us out of this mess. After all, not only was I the only one with the majority of my cultivation base intact, I was also the one propping and guiding them throughout our ordeal in this venture of the Dark Garden.

    The map in my hand indicates a safe location further up north, however to get there we''ll need to cross close to the ant colony.

    "Up ahead!" old Fu said.

    Two gigantic ants wereing at us. They had their mandibles mping and opening fast creating a loud metallic ng of sounds, enough to inform other ants toe over and to send fear into the heart of its prey.

    "Stay close!" I shouted to the group as the two ants were rushing at us. I noticed a boulder in our path to which I rushed to and pulled up with one arm and sent flying using the same motion.

    The first ant intercepted the projectile biting at it and splitting it in half while the other ant reared up, raising its bottom like a scorpion''s tail.

    A torrent of transparent liquid was shot out of her rear end at us. I didn''t want to risk touching that, because it will be one of their three things. Either acid, poison, or a paralyzing substance. All of them will be problematic to us. Mainly to the rest of my group.

    I pulled out creeping demise.

    I have learned from my former failure. All of my weapons, tools, trinkets, puppets and guns that I have made arepletely useless and irrelevant here. Since they inherently use basic Qi and Saint Qi, they''re empowered with natural heavenly Qi and functioned based on the Qi stones to power them up.

    Yet in a region where the heavenly Qi is heavily interfered with, they are nothing but scraps of useless metal.

    However, Creeping Demise was a weapon made form a meteorite forged in time. And was a natural heavenly metal that the former me used and imbued with Poison Qi.

    "Grow!" I said.

    Creeping Demise''s tip erged manifesting a massive metallic serpent that twirled forward like a cyclone. Its mouth open agape eating up the iing liquid and in the same move, tearing the frontal ant in half.

    I pulled my hand back dragging the entire snake head to me, then I sent it once again forward. Tearing into the second ant in a single swing.

    "That''s an interesting weapon," said Old Fu.

    I smiled at the old man, "It''s the only weapon I own that I didn''t technically make myself."

    "How is it working in a ce where heavenly Qi is restricted," Old Fu asked.

    "It functions like I do, it doesn''t need heavenly Qi," I replied as I swung the weapon a couple times again, culling the ants that had crept behind our backs.

    "Hurry forward!" I said and our group continued moving ahead.

    The further we got to the north, the more resistance we were met with. From a couple ants, to dozens, to hundreds of massive sized ones.

    "We''re getting deeper and deeper into enemy territory," said Old Fu.

    I replied gasping for breath, "I know, that''s our only way out though," I added, "The map indicates a safe area a bit further ahead, look over there," I said as I pointed to our right.

    Far between the tree lines and a bit up above them was a massive mountain like structure that reminded me of the Ant Cave where we first came to meet humans in the Beyond.

    It was a natural ant hill, with holes and pathways leading hundreds upon hundreds of giant ants outward and toward us.

    "That''s the colony," I said as I pulled a bunch of pills from my holding bag and chugged them down.

    I then pointed the jaws of the snake toward the ant colony and made it spit out using my own Qi a potent poison, and one of my favorite ones.

    The grizzly spider''s poison.

    A massive blob of purple poison surged out of the mouth of the serpent and shot against the ant colony''s base.

    The poison then took mes and rose up in level igniting in the process. This event caused every ant that was following us, or trying to intercept us to halt and stop. Then retreat rapidly as their home began to burn.

    "No¡­run!" I said.

    My exhaustion was an obvious result to the exertion of Qi I was funneling. The Qi suppression was affecting me although not the same as everyone else it was still debilitating. And using Creeping Demise to protect everyone and scour our way forward was exhausting not to mention using high level poison.

    So I hurried forward with the rest of the group until we found ourselves in front of a powerful river.

    Normally this won''t be a problem to cross, as it would take nothing but a powerful jump forward to move across it. However, the rest of the people with me can''t do it.

    I once again used Creeping Demise, extending the serpent all across the river.

    I didn''t need to exin anything, as Old Fu instantly jumped atop the metallic snake and ran ahead.

    The rest of the soldiers did the same and all I needed to do was to rapidly shrink the sword. The jaws of the serpent had been dug deep into the opposite river side and the force pulled me all the way to where everyone else was.

    Looking behind us, no more ants were following us, and the river was a good protection. But that didn''t mean we were safe.

    "This marks the beginning of the safe area in the map, but don''t let your guard down even if," I said.

    ***

    "I didn''t miss anything important, did I?" said the Lord of Lords as he opened his eyes.

    He was now back with the Red Sun and Wisest Sun.

    "No, they just moved past the Dark Ants area and are proceeding north," said the Wisest Sun.

    "Good good," replied the Lord of Lords.

    "You''ve been away for a bit though, anything interesting happening back home?" asked the Wisest Sun.

    "Oh, yes, the new kid, Shen Bao''s friend. He had some interesting things to say," the Lord of Lords smiled.

    "Like what?" the Red Sun asked.

    "Like the fact that he said he does not worship the Lording Sun even though he bows to it," the Lord of Lords smiled.

    "I bet his end was gruesome," said the Red Sun.

    "End? No, not at all, I''m not that vicious Laughing ughterer, I actually found it interesting and humorous," said the Lord of Lords.

    "You truly grew senile, to allow someone to speak of you like that when they are far below you," the Red Sun shrugged.

    "But it is only temporary, that man''s temperament is that of a pious schr that worships nothing but knowledge itself," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Then why did you take him, I would have wanted that man toe under my teachings," said the Wisest Sun.

    "You already got the kid with the most destructive and most vicious past, you should be d," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Wait, wait, what are you guys talking about?" said the Red Sun.

    "The new recruits that came to the Beyond." Said the Lord of Lords.

    "You guys personally went and recruited them, that''s unfair," he said.

    "Finders keepers, not to mention we''re the ones who took them in," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Then what about these kids that interested you so? Why would a man that seeks power and domination like you take a schr, and why would one that seeks knowledge and wisdom and the secrets of the world take a destroyer, shouldn''t it be the other way around," asked the Red Sun. "At least you should have given me the kid that you said was vicious and enough to pique your interest¡­ Suns,"

    "It wouldn''t have benefited either of us or the children. The schr is at a point in time where his thoughts are his and his alone, any powerful influence will lead him astray of his own path. If he had went under the Wisest Sun he would probably lose his way. As for Dao Shen, he is born in might and was raised in might, grew up to destroy and conquer, then soon found his path of devouring and domination, if he were toe under me, he would be influence too and lose his path. We took these kids to supplement theirck, not to enforce their already blooming power."

    "I feel like I have been left out," said the Red Sun.

    "There is a child, that will soone to the Beyond. You can take him," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Is he better then Shen Bao? Because I''m being greedy," said the Red Sun.

    "Hmm, I wouldn''t say better. But I will definitely not say worse, it is a child that has a path that is driven by fate. And his fate will eventually lead him here," said the Lord of Lords.

    "We have many of those here, they soone to achieve their fate or die trying, it is nothing new," the Red Sun shrugged.

    "Indeed, but this child was with Shen Bao throughout their journey, they met in the same sect, grew to help each other, and then were able to seed in defeating the tyrant of the Vast Expanse together, even Shen Bao gave him a nickname," said the Lord of Lords.

    "And what is this nickname that Shen Bao had given to this child?"

    "He called him the Main Character, the Main Character Meng Hao."

 Chapter 617 Agenda

    Chapter 617 Agenda

    ??Our group rested under the ''shade'' of a low-hanging tree. Although there was barely any shade here since everything was abysmally dark. It still provided a darker cover for us.

    This small shade is enough to help us cover our presence from the predators roaming about in the Dark Garden.

    Kyuu suddenly came out from my cloak and peeked out, looking around.

    The soldiers were stressed as they saw the Dark Beast emerging once again. In this region that is darker than anywhere, the Dark Beasts usually can grow powerful, and Kyuu seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere.

    His body has very little need for Qi and seems like it is enjoying the atmosphere here.

    It then jumped down, looked at me, and at the distance.

    "You want to hunt?" I asked it.

    Kyu nodded.

    "Then go ahead, but make sure you stay close, if you feel that you''re in danger, call out to us ore towards me," I said.

    The Dark Beast then instantly dashed toward the thickets and brushes nearby. Disappearing.

    "You just leave it? Aren''t you afraid that it might be in danger?" asked Old Fu.

    "Kyu is a feral beast, it needs to live and struggle in danger. This isn''t the first time I allowed it to travel to dangerous regions. If I were to coddle it and care for it like a pet cat, then it would lose the sharpness of its fangs and ws. She needs to hunt and prey upon beasts weaker than her to grow stronger, struggle against beasts stronger than her, and survive toe out to her full potential. So far the most dangerous of beasts of this region had already gone to feast and will soon go into slumber. Allowing her a great opportunity to grow while an apex predator is asleep," I said.

    "You think that that Obsidian beast wille back for us?" asked old Fu.

    I shook my head, "I don''t think, I know it will. And that''s good, it will give us a good purpose and reason to keep growing stronger and moving forward, none of us can take that thing on, not even my current self, I''m too weak to fight against that," I said.

    "Even with that sword?" asked the captain.

    I looked at creeping demise and said, "This sword exhausts too much of my internal Qi, without me constantly supplementing myself with pills, I''ll eventually fall to exhaustion, I don''t want to go through my pill reserves too early, since we have no idea how long it will take for us to explore and leave this region," I said.

    "Anyway, I''m still wondering, howe these ants can detect that¡­ symptom," said old Fu.

    "Simple," I said as I pointed forward, "Look over there," I said.

    They followed my finger and were unable to see due to the darkness of the region. But with a snap of my finger, a small wisp of Qi illuminated the ce like a beacon, showcasing my worry and fear.

    At the end of where my finger was pointing was a massivelyrge pir. One of the earth stgmites that were carrying this entire dome-like garden and protecting it from the ceiling and its copse.

    Around this stgmite were ants. Hundreds upon hundreds of ants. All stuck to the massive pir, with their mandibles biting hard on the rock and their whole bodies petrified and dead.

    From the base of their heads, and right above the nap of their necks was a massive root that sprouted out and this root had a busted-out globule. Or the skin of it.

    "What in god''s name is that?" asked the captain.

    "That''s the zombified ants, the ones that weren''t discovered in time. Back in¡­ where Ie from, this is a natural urrence. That parasitic funginds on an ant, and will slowly corrode its mind and control it, until one day, the ant will start following the fungi''s orders. Moving its body like a zombie, away from the colony at first, and toward the perfect ce for the fungi to breed.

    If you notice, all of the ants are positioned on the same level, to absorb the same level of light and have ess to the same level of humidity. This way, the fungi grow faster inside the ant''s body, and once it consumes its insidepletely, leaving nothing but a husk, it will grow that sac that you can see atop the extruding vein out of their head. That sac usually holds more of the fungi spores that will be driven by wind and water, to other creatures that will feast on it and will also join in the fungi poption." I said

    "That sounds like stories of nightmares¡­ how did you guys back in your ce deal with stuff like this then?" asked the captain.

    "Well, the level of this zombification was on an abysmally smaller level, the ants that were affected were small ants, nothing like these monstrosities. And the fungi and spore itself didn''t affect humans. But this one here is probably more than capable enough to do so, after all, you saw the level and number of walkers outside."

    The soldiers began thinking of the repercussions of this.

    "You guys remember the updraft?" I asked.

    "Yes, it was powerful enough," said Old Fu.

    "Now think of it this way, what if these spores, which are heavily Qi restricted here were to go out andnd on top of a mortal or a cultivator? After all, there is atmosphere here, and that means there is wind. What if these spores were to move about, slowly and go all the way to the updraft, and start spreading out all over the Beyond?" I asked.

    The thought alone was terrifying. That will mean that billions of walkers could be created in no time.

    "I have no idea why this is happening¡­" Old Fu said, "It didn''t use to be like this you know, the Sea of Demons I mean."

    "I guess not. The giant skeletons of sea beasts were proof that the area above this ce was a vast sea. But since the skeletons themselves hadn''t fully disappeared or perished into dust, that means that not enough time had passed before the Sea of Demons dried out," I said.

    Old Fu seemed to understand what I was about to say but one of the soldiers still asked. "What does that mean? The Sea of Demons had dried more than ten thousand years ago."

    "Do you think that ten thousand years is enough for life to emerge here?" I asked him.

    He opened his mouth and closed it.

    "That means that this ce was here while the Sea of Demons was still filled with water¡­ but how?" the soldier asked. "Also the walkers only appeared after the Sea of Demons dried out, doesn''t that mean that there should have been walkers when the Sea of Demons didn''t dry yet?" he asked.

    "Where is the literal sea of demons?" I asked

    "Myths say that it is the very clouds above the sea¡­ it had vaporized and went up to make that evesting cloud," he said.

    "That is indeed a theory. Although I can''t confirm or deny it, the density and amount of water in those clouds are abnormal. Yet the real question remains, when the sea of demons was still in its former position and was full of fish and sea monsters? Howe the dark garden didn''t get swamped or drowned in water?" I asked.

    "Perhaps¡­ the water never made it here, the sea of demons was probably above this cave, but never funneled into it," Old FU said.

    "I came to the same conclusion," I said.

    "But¡­ is that even possible?" asked the captain.

    "There is no reason for it not to be, after all, we went through one of the ''chimneys'' of the dark garden. And remember there is a powerful out draft that is pumping air out of those chimneys. So even if it were to rain, the constant air will keep the pipes from funneling water inside.

    This whole garden was along with the Sea of Demons, and perhaps these spores were also here. And even when these fungi were to fly through the pipes and chimneys of the Dark Garden outside, there was no ''cloud'' to stop the sun rays from burning the spores.

    And there was nothing but endless water for the spores tond on and then die. Only when the Sea of Demons dried out did the walkers start emerging. Because the drying of the sea of demons created the perfect environment for the fungi.

    Which are, darkness, humidity from the atmosphere, and people instead of ants¡­"

    "Then why were tens of thousands of walkers stockpiled inside this cave, you think the fungi made them do that? Controlled them like the ants?" asked Old Fu.

    I shook my head, "No, that was man-made. Remember the cultists we met before? And the trees. Someone is using this ''natural'' behavior to their purpose and agenda, we need to figure out who and why, but right now, we''re still missing more information on the matter, mainly the reason¡­ why would someone want to plunge the Beyond in despair¡­ and who would gain from doing so?"

 Chapter 618 Stinger

    <h4>Chapter 618 Stinger</h4>

    ?***

    the Red Sun mmed his mug on the table, "Damn they really do work fast," he said.

    "I told you, he is a brilliant guy," said the Lord of Lords.

    "It''s still far though, the source of the gue," said the Red Sun.

    "Yes, but they''re on the right path, you already saw how he figured out how the Walkers were made," the Lord of lords said.

    "But that means nothing, he must find the source of the corruption for our bet to be valid," said the Red Sun.

    "At the rate they''re going, I''m feeling like the bet is in still in my favor," said the Lord of Lords.

    ***

    "This makes our job here clearer. Let''s find a way out first, with this information we can get the general to act up on it and find out who is artificially creating the walkers or at least hosting them within the mountains," said Old Fu.

    "You''re right, trying to figure out answers for these questions here is like a blind cat trying to catch mice. It won''t work. We rested enough, let''s keep following the map, we should be able to discover and explore more terrain," I said as I stood up.

    "What about your pet?" the captain said.

    "Don''t worry about her, she''ll be following close by," I said.

    I nced at the map for a final time and said, "We''ll keep heading north, from what I see here, it will take us a few days to enter the deeper parts of the Dark Garden." I said

    "We''ll be beyond the map''s pathing," old Fu said.

    "That''s the idea, since the map has no way to show us how we can leave," I said.

    "What about we take the same path we came in from?" he asked.

    "That is also an option, but it will be our final method, we''re here already, and we have no information regarding this Dark Garden, if anyone isn''t willing to follow me, you''re free to go back to the vige," I said.

    No one seemed willing to leave our group. I don''t know if it''s due to my strength or the fact that they''re not too trusting of the tribesmen.

    So we headed forward.

    The garden''s atmosphere was dreary at best. Especially this region that was full of the dead bodies of these ants.

    Suddenly as our group was moving, I heard a thud sound behind us.

    Looking back, one of the soldiers had fallen on the ground and was heaving. His breath and respiration was irregr.

    I approached the man, and opened his eyes, his eyes were bloodshot and he had something throbbing under his right arm.

    I tore his sleeve away and it revealed arge pustule that was growing on his arm.

    "Everyone, back away," I said.

    "What''s going on?" asked old Fu.

    "He was stung," I said.

    There was a small needle like object at the base of the tumor sized pustule and it was still pumping in toxin form what I saw.

    "How did he not feel the sting, and what was the sting from to cause an emperor level cultivator to fall to his knees," said the captain.

    "Remember, as long as we''re here, we''re not at our peak cultivation base, also this thing is strange, the reaction this sting caused should have killed him, but he is still hanging on," I said as I pulled a small scalpel from my holding bag.

    I made a small incision to empty out the blob, and let out a disgusting amount of pus and ck blood out.

    The man''splexion immediate turned for the better, but it was not a treatment.

    "Eat this," I said as I gave the man a pill of mine. The group around me didn''t know what sort of pill it was but none of them stopped me.

    I continued extracting the entire thing out of his arm using the scalpel, and soon fresh blood began seeping out from the wound.

    After that I ced a balm on his arm to cover newly exposed and fresh flesh, and handed the man another blood pill to increase his blood production.

    "Carry him," I ordered one of the soldiers who did so with haste.

    "This isn''t going to work," I said as I looked around, "We''re in a dangerous area and have no idea what sort or type of creatures are around us. One wrong move and we won''t even know how we died," I said.

    "Are you sure you don''t want to return?" I asked the group.

    They hesitated this time.

    Just as the captain opened his mouth to speak, my sword went flying by next to his ear. This was enough for the man''s mouth to instantly close.

    "That was close," said old Fu as he went to retrieve the sword.

    "I apologize if I had offended you in any way or form!" said the captain.

    "What are you talking about? Look behind you," I pointed.

    The captain followed my finger and noticed that the sword I chucked had something imbedded in its end.

    Old Fu retrieved the sword and the creature that was stabbed with it.

    It was a wasp of sorts. That thing was the size of a cat. And had powerful glistening wings that even though the bug was pping them with enough speed that a small breeze was blowing out, they didn''t make a single sound.

    This bug was dark in color and looked vile. Sharp looking and malformed jaws adorned its mouth, along with an oversized belly that ended in a protruding stinger that was dripping green liquid.

    The stinger looked simr to what I extracted from the soldier before.

    "We''re in a new region I suppose," I said as I nced at the bug. I then snapped my finger and incinerated the bug.

    "I thought you''d keep this for further investigation," said old Fu.

    I shook my head, "I can''t risk that with bugs, they can release pheromones that will call morepanions, we don''t want a full hive of this thing following us. This isn''t a safe region for us to remain in," I said.

    "We need to leave the area then," the captain said, "If they''re able to get that close to us without us realizing we''ll be in trouble if we stay here," he added.

    "You''re right, but we need some precautions," I said as I sat down on the ground and pulled several empty talisman papers.

    I began writing inscriptions using Poison Qi. These will not be disabled by the atmosphere and will act as a good method to notify us when something enters the perimeter of the holder.

    After I was done, I gave each person one of these talismans, "Keep them close to your skin, they''ll turn hot if something that isn''t among us enters within a five-meter radius of any of you," I said.

    Just as they ced them on their bodies.

    Suddenly one of the soldiers shouted, "Ouch!"

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "I didn''t think that it would be hot from the start. is it supposed to get hotter or something, it almost burnt my skin off,"

    Both I and Old Fu looked at each other for a second, and I instantly pulled out my sword.

    "We havepany!"

 Chapter 619 Night Terror

    Chapter 619 Night Terror

    ??I moved fast and pulled the man who felt the burn on his skin back, only for a gigantic wind cutter swung right in front of us.

    The wind blow was merely the aftermath of a gigantic w that swung from the shadows. Looking at the owner of the dark-wed arm, a vile and creepy snickering sound echoed from between the shades of the trees.

    The arm slowly and creepily retreated, after having fully exposed itself, it just casually withdrew.

    I snapped my fingers summoning a small me and threw it forward, only to reveal the face of a beast of nightmares looking at us.

    It looked like a rat at first, with the snout of one too. Yet it had ears that looked like that of a rabbit, loosely drooping around its patchy fur head. Blood and viscera were leaking from between the creature''s jaws as it snickered and giggled like a kid would.

    Was it mimicking sound?

    "Help me!" it said as it rattled its throat. Then it began giggling as it hid behind the shade of a tree only to disappear and divine sense.

    "Help me! Daddy!" we heard around us.

    Then a sound of giggles echoed after that.

    "Daddy, it hurts! Where are you?" once again.

    "What the fuck is going on?" one of the soldiers said, "What the hell was that thing?"

    No one had an answer for him since it was our first time seeing something like that anyway.

    "I''ming, darling! Just hold on tight!" the beast spoke once again.

    "I see¡­" I muttered.

    Old Fu seemed to have realized that I understood what was going on to an extent.

    "Dead?" he questioned.

    "Their bones are probably what was stuck between that rat-like thing''s teeth¡­"

    "Here! Come follow me!" a voice echoed in the distance.

    "That sounded like master Shen Mo''s voice¡­" one of the soldiers said.

    "It seems that he understands some of the words and their meaning, but it cannot understand thempletely. It was probably trying to lure one of us away. Keep close and follow Shen Mo."

    "It burns!" said one of the cultivators.

    He immediately realized that the beast was close to him, and instantly dove forward, and rolled on the ground.

    Gigantic ws extended by an elongated arm crushed the position he was in. Another wave of eerie giggles andughter followed after as the arm slowly withdrew.

    The soldier gasped as he stood up and backed away into a tree, panic-stricken but thankful he survived.

    I gulped air, and spat forward a blob of poison that sshed against the creature''s ws.

    "Lethal poison?" asked Old Fu.

    "For the most part, it is lethal, but I noticed that the beast has some sort of scales on his hands. Perhaps the poison won''t prate deep enough, but still, it''s enough for me to track it."

    "Why does it keeping for me!" said the same person from before who felt the heat on him due to the talisman as he lunged once again.

    Another w ripped right through the tree he was leaning on a second ago.

    "What the hell is going on?" I said.

    "I thought you marked it," said Old Fu.

    "I did, the mark is pointing that way! And it''s moving still¡­"

    "Decoy?" asked Old Fu.

    "No, it''s a different one, there isn''t just one of these things here," I said.

    "How are you sure?" asked the captain.

    "Because both the arms that were swung at him were left arms¡­ we''re surrounded. By at least two of these things if not more¡­"

    Suddenly the entire area seemed to rattle as more and more giggles and snickering sounds echoed around us.

    The eyes of these creatures were all you could see from under the shadowy canopy of the trees. Several dozens of them emerged from around us and they allughed and giggled.

    The atmosphere was enough to send one''s back into a frenzied shiver. Especially as the loud sound ofughter was getting closer and closer.

    "Throw the talismans around us in a circle!" I shouted.

    It took the soldiers a few seconds to register mymand. And only when they saw the captain and old Fu do so, did they throw the rest of the talismans around us.

    I pped my palms together and sent a surging wave of Poison Qi into the talismans. The ten talismans created a small barrier that erected itself around us.

    This barrier was powered by nothing but my own Poison Qi, I had to constantly upkeep the funneling of Qi to the barrier and thankfully I acted fast.

    One of the creatures swung their w into the barrier, which was immediately reflected away, however, to repair the damage I needed to replenish the barrier with a good bit of my poison Qi.

    Everyone around me understood the gravity of the situation and soon came to realize that we''re not safe in this Dark Garden.

    One''s cultivation is irrelevant as long as they''re afflicted by the atmosphere of the Dark Garden.

    "How long can you stay like this?" asked old Fu.

    "With the pills I have on me¡­ a couple of years," I grinned.

    Several more rats mmed their ws into the barrier and I had to draw more Qi to reinforce the barrier.

    "But with them attacking like this, I won''t make it past the week even if I go through every pill I own."

    Old Fu''s jaws were clenched, and he realized that we weren''t in the best spot. Most of the trouble was piled on me, and the responsibility to take care of everyone in this group also fell on me since I was the only one with ess to Qi.

    "Huh?" one of the soldiers audibly muttered.

    Seeing that his talking was distracting me he put his hand on his mouth as if to close it and not to speak again.

    "Speak your mind, why did you exim like that?" old Fu said.

    "Uh¡­ I was born with a high sensitivity to Qi¡­"

    "And?" replied old Fu.

    "I believe that some of my Qi had returned albite minuscule, but I''m sure of it," he said.

    Old Fu looked at me and then closed his eyes. He then smiled.

    "A blessing in disguise," old Fu said.

    "What''s going on?" I asked since I couldn''t afford to use my focus on anything but upkeeping the barrier due to how many of these fuckers were taking swings at it.

    "The barrier you made, it somehow disallowed the atmosphere or whatever that was preventing us from generating Qi to continue doing so. What this soldier felt wasn''t his Qi returning, but more like a small bit of it releasing itself from the seal of the Sea of Demons."

    "Will that help us in any way?" asked the captain, "because whatever amount he recovered it is minuscule, and wouldn''t it dissipate the moment the barrier goes out," he added.

    "Not really, that''s good news," I said.

    "Any of you have spirit stones?" I asked "Or Saint Stones?"

    "I have some in my holding bag," said one of the soldiers.

    "Pull it out, I need to verify something," I said.

    The soldier pulled one of his Saint Qi stones and it instantly radiated a powerful Qi wave that felt like a refreshing breeze in the heart of the desert¡­ but not for me.

    Every soldier seemed to want to grasp at the stone to absorb some of the Qi and release their cultivation.

    "Don''t waste it," I said.

    "But shouldn''t we use it to regain our Qi?" said a soldier.

    "Then what, the moment the barrier goes down, the Qi you absorbed from the stone will also be sealed."

    "Then what do you suppose we should do?" asked Old Fu.

    "I just needed to verify that Qi works inside this makeshift barrier. I then pulled out my holding bag, "X! Come out!"

    Instantly the white knight showed up, guns ready, guns that weren''t affected by the sealing atmosphere.

    It''s gonna be lit.

 Chapter 620 Crafting In The Dark

    Chapter 620 Crafting In The Dark

    ??"¡­"

    "What''s wrong, Red Sun, you seem interested in the puppet he just called out," said the Lord of Lords.

    "A bit¡­ but¡­ never mind, it''s not possible," the Red Sun said as he leaned back on his chair and he drank another sip from his drink.

    "Now I''m more interested in your thoughts," said the Wisest Sun.

    "The puppet¡­ he is controlling, it''s simr to something I made in my younger years when we werepeting for the creation of a tower."

    "Oh, the Tower Creationpetition, that brings back some old memories¡­" the Lord of Lords smiled.

    "Yeah, since you won," the Red sun snorted, "Not good memories for me though," he said.

    "It''s okay, that was a long time ago, we didn''t know much back then," said the Lord of Lords.

    "Indeed, sadly I couldn''t join in on the fun back then," the Wisest Sun smiled.

    "Well, thankfully you didn''t, otherwise even I wouldn''t be able to win it then," the Lord of Lords replied casually.

    "Back to our topic, what do you mean that the puppet is familiar?"

    The Red Sun closed his eyes and then said, "Back then, I wanted to make a tower for a sub-first-step challenger to climb and gain rewards. It was honestly hastily made since I had a lot of other more important things to do," said the Red Sun.

    "You''re not speaking of the extinction of the Sea Dwellers in the northern region?"

    "Let''s not talk about that, it was a foolish mistake of a young person who didn''t know any better," the red sun turned his head away, still feeling ''shame'' from what he had done in his younger days.

    "Anyways, the puppet, it seems that it has an addition to it, the white armor on top of it, yet the inside, is made of the same material I made my puppets from. However, from what I could see from here, the size is slightly different, perhaps he just created something and it coincidentally was simr to what I had made," the Red Sun said.

    As they looked at the puppet some more, the Red Sun added, "Yes, it must be just a coincidence, since I didn''t implement any of those¡­ trinkets that they''re using," he added.

    "It''s interesting to see them do this," the Wisest Sun said, "They found out a way to stop the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons from affecting them. But I doubt that they''ll be able to use it well sadly," he added.

    "What do you mean?" said the Lord of Lords.

    "Inside the zone that Shen Bao had made for them, they can gather their Qi if they were to use Saint Qi stones, however, as Shen Bao exined to them, the moment they leave the zone, the Qi they generated will get sealed. So, they might stay inside the Zone for safety but that''s limited safety, they cannot stay there forever, and their resources are finite," the Wisest Sun exined.

    "That would be the norm for any other casual cultivator, however, have some faith in Shen Bao, I believe he''ll find a way out of this mess," the Lord of Lords fully trusting Shen Bao exined with joy.

    ***

    "LIGHT THEM UP!" I shouted.

    X didn''t hesitate as he pulled up the two miniguns under his arms and started sting.

    Theughing rats began screaming as the bullets bore through their flesh, ripping their bodies apart.

    They soon came to realize the power of gunpowder, although in this case, it was Saint Qi-based bullets.

    In almost no time the forest that was lit up in the sound of bullets and creepy snickering of rats calmed down. As the beasts chose to retreat in front of the unknown weapon.

    X withdrew his weapons back and waited for orders.

    "How do you feel?" I asked the puppets.

    "I do not feel, my Lord, but if you''re speaking of the Qi restriction, it is interfering with my sensors, I cannot see past the dome you created," He said.

    "I see¡­"

    I thought for a moment then took a decision, "We''ll need to move, we can''t stay here forever," I said.

    "But, if we leave the area, we''ll be back to square one," old Fu said.

    "That would be true, if we leave, the dome region. But, what if we can take the area with us?" I smiled at him.

    "That would be interesting to see, however, Ick the knowledge to make that true¡­"

    "But I know how to," I said as I used one of my hands to write more inscriptions on a talisman.

    After I was done, I pped the talisman onto a saint Qi stone that will keep the barrier up while exhausting itself instead of me using my own Qi.

    "This should buy us a few hours as I work. X, if anything gets close shoot it, we can''t afford to get our protection damaged."

    "As youmand, my Lord," he said.

    "You''re making a smoke screen?" asked Old Fu.

    "Yes, I can''t both upkeep the barrier and protect us and work on what I need to work on to leave this area. Also, this is a blessing in disguise," I said.

    "You mean the fact that we''re trapped here?"

    "The fact that we realized that we canbat the Qi seal. Anyway, I''ll need to work now, give me some space," I said as I began pulling all sorts of tools and materials from my holding bag.

    The first item I pulled was my damaged hoverboard. I have yet to fix this thing, and seeing that I''m unable to use the Lord of Lords pagoda even in this area, fixing itpletely will be a nightmare.

    Forcing the hoverboard to slow our fall from the massive hole caused the reactor to fry itself and the Saint Qi crystal inside the reactor to bepletely exhausted.

    I''ll need to rece it, and then repair the damage.

    With many beams of steel pulled out andrge sheets of reinforced metal all around me, I began repairing and recing the hoverboard''s missing bits and pieces and created a new frame around the hoverboard.

    I installed a new Saint Qi crystal repaired the fried wiring and had to redo almost all of the inscriptions from scratch since they were also affected.

    That took me the majority of the day to fix.

    and during that time, no attack on our barrier happened, but theughter of those creepy rat like creatures returned.

    X shot a few warning shots that calmed them down, however, they were clearly getting more courageous.

    The barrier since I wasn''t personally keeping it was nothing more than a piece of ss protecting us, it was just for show. The real threat was X. And I needed him to remain a threat to the beasts.

    I began by cutting and piecing the beams and sheets of reinforced metal around the hoverboard to make arge tform that could carry all of us.

    Once I was done with the primary shape of a massive square tform that had railings on the side, I installed several of the miniguns I had in my inventory on the tform.

    These weapons are irrelevant andpletely useless to use against cultivators, yet against beasts that can''t use Qi to protect themselves, they will hurt or at least make the beasts to back away due to their loudness.

    Once I was done, I ced several other minor Qi generators underneath the tform, this will help offset the effort that the central hoverboard will need to carry the entire tform with the people above it.

    Several hours went by before one of the rats was brave enough to walk up to the barrier and take a swing at it.

    X made sure to empty two chains of bullets into the creature''s face to prove a point.

    And this made the rest of the rats back off. However, the rat had already swung at the barrier and exposed how weak it became.

    I had one of two options now, to either stop and protect the barrier or continue my work.

    If I were to continue and one of these creatures decided to attack again, it would break the barrier and the entire inscriptions and work I had done would all go up in smoke as it would be once again affected by the atmosphere.

    And that almost happened, as a couple of rats came charging in, yet a white shadow shed before us andnded on one of the rat''s head.

    It looked like a cat, with beautifully white fur, eyes as red as blood, and jaws that seemed developed to devour and eat.

    The feline creature simply tightened its small paws together, and the giant rat''s entire head burst open and sprayed against the barrier.

    I grinned as I saw the other rat immediately screech and run away while the white feline chased after it.

    "Kids do grow fast don''t they," I muttered.

    "What the hell was that?" asked the captain.

    "That was the Dark Beast, it seemed that it is enjoying itself here," said old Fu.

    "Yeah, I guess Kyu is happily feasting in the Dark Garden. Good, she would buy us time. Alright let me finish this up,"

 Chapter 621 Flight

    <h4>Chapter 621 Flight</h4>

    ?Several hours went by, as I was finishing up the vehicle that was going to move us through the Dark Garden.

    And soon, I was done and had both hands behind my back as I was looking at this makeshift creation.

    It was the size of a small room, with four walls and several windows. Basically, a flying square.

    However, the windows had several slots where the miniguns are nted and solidified on.

    "I suppose you''re done," said Old Fu.

    "Yes, I''m done," I said.

    "Then can you exin to me what is this?" he asked.

    "Oh, this is a flying fortress. Although we''ll only be moving just above ground level, I don''t want to fly in the dark and basically blind since we can''t use Divine Sense." I said

    "You mean, this thing can fly? Not even us cultivators can," One of the soldiers said.

    The captain immediately gave him an aggressively stern look to shut him down.

    "Don''t worry," I said to the captain, "Not only will the fortress fly, but you all can use your Qi to an extent once we takeoff," I said.

    Everyone looked at each other, unable to understand what I meant.

    Instead of exining, I was better off showing them.

    On each of the eight corners of the cube was a bunch of inscribed talismans that were powered by a Saint Qi generator I had on me.

    This generator was of the older generation unlike the ones inside X and Y, this one was what the hundred or so puppets I own use. They''re mainly used to supplement Qi with as much efficiency as possible, and don''t have the ability to store more Saint Qi crystals inside them. So, we''ll have to supplement it regrly.

    This small generator will continuously flood the talismans with Qi that they''ll use to create a constant and powerful barrier around us. Able to stop the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons from affecting us or the inner workings of the flying cube/hoverboard.

    But the barrier itself is not enough topletely protect us. In case we''re attacked by the beasts of the Sea of Demons, the barrier itself won''t be enough protection. That''s why I had to implement weapons and tools that will allow us to defend ourselves.

    I also improved upon the many grenades and explosive cannisters I own. Since that awkward attempt against the Nargacougar which failed miserably to detonates. I now stuck a talisman of protection against each of my explosive devices. This will allow the cannisters ample time to detonate before the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons ruin their innerworkings.

    Although the talisman will be taking a bit of Qi from inside the cannister itself, thus reducing its effect. It is still far better than outright wasting it.

    "Get on," I said to the cultivators. And they all hopped in. It was by no means spacious, but it was enough for all of us to stand inside together with space between us.

    "Strap those belts around your waists, in case this cube is attacked by a heavy blow, it won''t cause us to m against each other," I told the bunch.

    And they all did, while I remained without a belt.

    "I can use my own Qi to cement my foot on the ground," I exined before any of them tried to ask me.

    After all, even inside this cube, none of them can use their Qi yet.

    "If you have some Saint Qi crystals, use enough of it to protect your bodies with a protective Qi coating. Don''t over use Crystals, we need them to feed that generator," I said as I pointed at the ''ceiling'' where the generator was actively fueling Qi through Divine Brass to the corners of the cube.

    "As for those rotatory tools in front of you, you already saw how they work, so I trust that you know how to aim, and click the trigger," I said.

    The Soldiers nodded, "We have repeating ballistae you know," said one of the Soldiers, as if a mini gun and a ballista is the same."

    "Kyu, X, it''s time to move," I said.

    X hopped on top of the cube and struck against it twice, signaling that he was ready for departure.

    And Kyu jumped right through one of the windows and rested itself on my head.

    He was able to shrink his size thankfully, since his feline form was decentlyrge.

    "Alright, then," I said as I pressed on the central pedal of the hoverboard.

    The inner Generator of the Hoverboard activated, and Qi began flooding from inside of the generator to the thrusters of the hoverboard.

    The entire box slowly rose up, steadily too. And around us a green barrier manifested itself around the cube. And we began moving.

    I was a bit annoyed at the fact that we''ll be losing a pretty big piece of Saint Qi crystal that was the source of our primary barrier on the ground however, X threw one of his hooks at the saint Qi crystal that was behind us and yanked it toward him. He then threw it to me from one of the windows.

    "Good job X," I smiled as I continued navigating the cube.

    At first, we were moving at a steady and slow speed. And soon, I began elerating, making sure to avoid trees and any obstacles in our way.

    The path in front of us didn''t seem any safe, especially with many screeches and howls of beasts all over the Dark Garden, and the many shadows moving about. However, we were still protected enough with the barrier to tide through any dangers.

    I also used a couple of shlights to help us navigate through the darkness, though their utility was very limited it was better than going in full darkness.

    And so we moved.

    ***

    "What an interesting fe," said the Wisest Sun.

    "Indeed, did you see how he managed to contract the Sea of Demon''s atmosphere? Not only that, he even used that protection to create that machine of his. Wonderful," said the Lord of Lords.

    The Red Sun grumbled however as he drank some more.

    "Are you upset that they''ll find out the secret?" the Wisest Sun grinned.

    "I suppose a hundred years bet was too much. However, I''m sure that at least you won''t win the bet," the Red Sun said to the Lord of Lords.

    "Ho, ho, ho, we''ll have to wait and see," he replied as he rubbed his beard.

    "I mean although they have means to move faster, they''re still in the outeryer of the Dark Garden. The moment they enter the secondaryyer, they''ll be in aplete mess. Not to mention the centralyer, that tool of theirs will probably not make it," the Red Sun sneered.

    "I don''t know about that, you already saw that weapon, it was able to wound the Snickering Rats. It should do some decent damage, especially with how many they have on board," said the Lord of Lords.

    "But once they enter the secondyer, most beasts there have evolved to be predators, their entire bodies are designed to destroy and dismantle. The rats are the lowest of the food chain, not to mention, even more Zombified beasts will show up, sentient ones of course," said the Red Sun.

    The Lord of Lords couldn''t retort, after all, he too knew of the dangers that waited ahead.

    All he could do was wish the best of luck to the group.

 Chapter 622 Size Doesnt Matter

    Chapter 622 Size Doesn''t Matter

    ??Our group continued flying forward, and while doing so, we met with many foes and enemies in our path. The weakest of the bunch were the dumb rats.

    From what I could gather, we have finally entered the inner region of the Dark Garden.

    No longer were there man-trapping trees, and no longer were there small trees and a few tall ones in between.

    It was theplete opposite now. The trees at this point were gigantic, some could easily be seen reaching to the height of the very pirs and stgmites that were carrying this entire world.

    Giant trees kept the wind at bay, and under their darkened shade were more treespeting and growing to gain a glimpse of light from the massive crystal that was barely brightening this darkened world.

    The whole area from here onward was eerily silent and for a reason.

    The moment we entered the region we were already sting several of the rats away, with guns and bullets and explosives all over.

    This caused many deaths in the incessantly aggressive rats. However, the death of many of theirpanions was not a deterrent to their hunt for us. And the moment we reached past the first line and barrier of massive trees, was when the rats began slowing down.

    The look of madness and the asional snickering andughter was no more, it was exchanged by aplete silence as they made sure that even as they chased after us to not make any noise.

    Seeing that, I immediately ordered everyone to stop shooting.

    "What''s going on?" asked Old Fu.

    "Everyone, don''t talk don''t even breath loud," I said as I slowed the hoverboard and had itnd on the ground, thankfully the board was moving via saint Qi and had no gears or material that caused it to make any sound or noise in flight.

    "Why are we stopping-"

    I didn''t allow him to finish as I mmed my hand on his mouth, making it clear that no one should even speak.

    The rats kept approaching, and you could hear the sound of the soldier''s heartbeat increase.

    Old Fu tightened his hand on the sword on his belt, clearly waiting for ast-second struggle.

    But I knew for sure, something bad was going to happen very soon.

    Just as the leading rat came close to us, with all the stealth its massive figure can allow it to, it unfortunately for itself, stepped on a branch.

    The snapping of the branch in this incredibly quiet area resounded like a thunderp in the middle ofplete silence.

    Before the rat could even register what happened. A shadow as dark as night itself came down and split the rat in half. The remaining rodents didn''t even dare continue moving as they turned tail and headed into the tree line disappearing.

    The soldiers next to me had their eyes open wide as they realized that the massive shadow was nothing more than the tip of the creature''s w.

    Following along the line of this massive saber-like w, you could see the rest of the creature''s body.

    A mix of a praying mantis for the upper body part, and the rest, that of an arachnid that would make the Grizzly Spider look like a cute finger-sized jumping spider.

    The entirety of this massive creature''s body was covered in a midnight-ck exoskeletal te. These parts were reflecting the ever-so-dim light of the ceiling in a rather disorienting manner.

    The creature then pulled up its saber-like arm, and two more, slender far thinner but equally as long pincers came out from its chest. These pincers grabbed each part of the rat''s body and slowly pulled them to the creature''s mouth where it feasted on the rat rather slowly and torturously as one could hear the crunching sound of bones and slurping of viscera and liquids from the remains of the rat.

    The creature then moved forward, with an incredibly graceful gait, iparable to its massive size. Usually, something this big and this size would make the entire ground tremble as it walked. However, not even a single de of grass moved as the creature was moving.

    It then revealed the entirety of its body to us as it was retreating away from our box.

    Its multiple pairs of legs moved through the foliage and between the trees, sometimes even pushing against the trees to move itself like a spider would. Over its head, antenna-like appendages extended and moved around, constantly probing the environment for any sound or trace of prey.

    And on its back, which looked like the stomach of a spider, two massive beetles-like exoskeletal wings opened up, revealing two pairs of glistening and transparent wings that fluttered for a small moment and then retracted themselves back underneath the carapace.

    The creature continued moving between the trees and disappeared in the distance.

    Only then did I realize that I was holding my breath the entire time and finally took a breath.

    I still gestured with my finger against my mouth for everyone to keep quiet.

    I sat down and began writing several inscriptions that I threw around the cube and only then did I say.

    "Now you can speak, still make sure not to scream¡­ the vibrations might attract unwanted attention," I said.

    Yet no one talked, they were too terrified to even speak. A creature like that was something they could take on in their normal cultivation. After all, an emperor-level cultivator can easily level an entire by themselves. However, in thisnd, there was no such thing as a cultivation level. And if these beasts were to exist and leave for the overworld, they would gain equivalent power to their current ability.

    They won''t be affected by the Sea of Demons'' sealing power, and they too will gain ess to the worldly Qi. Giving them an equivalent power to what they have here¡­

    "It is mighty strange, that the world had lived without realizing how much danger exists in thesends. How did these creatures live here, and why did they never leave this region is beyond me¡­" Old Fu stated.

    "I guess there is something, or someone stopping them from leaving. Since I honestly don''t see how they''re stuck here, or why they would rather remain here instead of leaving¡­" the Captain said.

    "What I find strange, is the fact that they''re not sentient," I said.

    "It''s not easy to gain sentience as a beast in the first ce," Old Fu said, "But you''re right, for creatures this strong, and this mighty, not having sentience is strange, they are equal in strength to some of the Emperor Cultivators, but they cannot form their thought. The rats for example were able and capable of deception and mimicry, but it''s a far cry from full sentience," Old Fu said.

    "I guess it''s theck of Qi. The heavenly Qi grants the owner ess to heavenly ascension, to surpass one''s limit and evolve their understanding of the world. Beasts that cultivate can reach a high enough level of understanding that they gain a ''mind'' of their own. As for these creatures void and devoid of the blessing of Qi, they''ll never be able to form sentience," I said.

    "Thank god for that though," said one of the soldiers, "If those things had sentience, they''ll probably end up wiping all life as we know it once they leave this ce¡­ they''re too strong and too big for even the walls of our city to stop them¡­" he said.

    "Even an elephant can die to an ant in the proper conditions," I replied to the man.

    They didn''t fully understand the meaning of my words, but after I pointed, they traced my finger and noticed that another one of those massive mantis spider-like creatures was right next to us.

    The eyes of the soldiers opened up for a second before they frowned and realized that this one was rather¡­ unmoving.

    "It''s already dead¡­" I said, "Look at its head," I said.

    Their eyes then went up to see the creature''s head only to notice a massive thorn emerging from it, with an already emptied-out spore sphere.

    "The weakest of the Dark Forest, a fungus smaller than a mustard seed, is capable of taking down this pce-sized creature. It isn''t the might of the strong and mighty we should be careful of, it''s that of the small and unnoticeable¡­"

 Chapter 623 Three Eyed Raven

    623 Three Eyed Raven

    "It seems we''ll have to cancel our bet¡­" the Lord of Lords said.

    "Why so?" asked the Red Sun, who seemed the one that will profit the most form voiding this bet.

    "Because I feel like he began to move, or at least¡­ his ''little'' pet is."

    The Wisest Sun closed his eyes for a second them opened them, "Indeed, the world itself is moving, they are waking up¡­"

    "I might need to go," the Lord of Lords said.

    "Didn''t we agree to not interfere?" said the Red Sun.

    "I did, only if one of us do not interfere, but now as you see, ''he'' is moving and I don''t like that.

    "I know how you feel, even I never liked him, but still. To act now will cause a lot of strife," said the Red Sun.

    "Then strife be it, I will not allow them to harm Shen Bao¡­"

    "You do know that he is stronger than you," said the Red Sun, "Especially there, in the darkness¡­"

    "I do, but even he will not dare be arrogant enough to contest against me, especially in his ownnd and home¡­ lest it perishes and be destroyed¡­"

    "I''lle with you," said the Wisest Sun.

    The Red Sun sighed and said, "Then I too, wille, but promise me this, move only when you see them about to be harmed, we must not interfere too much with those below us in rank. It will ruin the bnce that we barely hold," said the Red Sun.

    "It is a first, to see you be more level headed than any of us," said the Lord of Lords.

    "I was always level headed, only you never took the chance to see it, let''s go for now¡­"

    Suddenly all three of them disappeared from the inn, never to be noticed at all.

    ***

    The deeper we went, the creepier it got. The silence was uncanny and fictively terrorizing. One could barely see in front of them, and all we could hear was the asional whimper or growl that would not take a second toe and go.

    Granted, even hunters here, in this second area dare not to cause sound.

    And that was proven by sight as we saw when a wolf like beast jumped against a giant tree bark, and came down with prey in his mouth, a nocturnal bird of prey.

    The wolf made the mistake of not silencing his prey instantly by killing it as soon as it grabbed it. Thus the bird screamed in pain as the wolf''s jaws were piercing right through its fragile chest.

    Though the bird was definitely dying from the injuries. With that single scream before it died, it managed to notify more predators to the location. Mainly one of those very same gigantic mantis spiders, which split the wolf in half.

    None of us even noticed the mantis this time as it camouged itself by hanging from a tree. The murdered wolf was then slowly pulled up into the mouth of the mantis that slurped its insides, viscera, blood and flesh. Not leaving anything but an empty hide tond like a rag on the muddy ground.

    Our cube continued moving forward as we saw many of such urrences.

    No hunter or prey dared makes sound. The prey was silent as they would instantly die the moment they make noise, and the hunters knew there were other hunters that could prey on them thus they hunted in silence.

    Forest of Silence is what this is. And the merest echo would cause unwanted bloodshed.

    Yet what caused me worry wasn''t the hunters or the prey, but the fact that a great number of creatures were dead and hanging on trees. Pinned by their own jaws or membranes into trees and thick branches.

    And that death wasn''t limited to exoskeletal creatures like bugs and ants, but also mammals and rodents. Many of which were hanging, nothing but skeletons and dead rotting husks hanging all over us.

    Kyu suddenly perched up from my hood, growling at the far distance. There seems to be an issue ahead.

    "Everyone, ready up," I said.

    Yet my words didn''t even finish before three gigantic orbs came flying at us.

    For a second I thought these orbs were a spell or some form of an assault by someone, yet it severelycked any killing intent.

    The three orbs then soon peered at us from between the trees, thinking that one of the giant mantises were about to attack it, none of that happened.

    The opposite in fact happened. The mantis that was hiding and camouging itself as a part of a giant tree fell down, and immediately rushed away from the three giant orbs.

    The orbs then moved and I could see a giant slit in their middle.

    "Eyes?" I muttered. And soon a bird''s foot with three gigantic ws gripped at our cube, with enough strength to carry it, but not break it or destroy the formation around it.

    It was subtle and harmlessly caring that it didn''t even perturb or disturb the sphere that I created around the cube.

    One of the soldiers pointed the minigun at one of the ws and was about to shoot it but I stopped him right in time.

    "Don''t anger it, if it wanted us dead, we''d be dead already," I said as I gazed back from the small window at the creature''s eyes.

    You could barely see anything of this beast.

    Its feet and the rest of its body was pitch ck nothing of this creature was visible but the pointy predator bird mouth of his that reflected a small portion of the light in this caver, and the red eerie eyes of his that seemed to promise death to anything that would dare stand in its way.

    A powerful surge of wind blew underneath and around us and only then did I realize that it was its wings. And soon, we were hundreds of meters above the highest tree.

    The bird then moved through the cavern with incredible speed, allowing us to see what was below as an endless forest that extended as long as the eyes could see.

    Ye theke waters were all¡­ dead.

    "Yeah, the owner is also another Sun¡­"

    "Don''t tell me¡­"

    "Oh, no, not that guy, thankfully not¡­ it''s another Sun, a Sun that disappeared a long time ago¡­ the Dusking Sun¡­"

    "Well, that doesn''t sound too well now does it," I muttered.

    Beasts of all sizes were running away, long were the times where everything was silent and calm. As every beast and creature in the vicinity was whimpering in utter fright and fear from the creature that was flying above them.

    Because for them they knew, that prey or hunter, nothing mattered when what seemed to be the absolute apex predator of this region appeared.

    The creature continued moving through the entire cavern with a speed that was absolutely mind boggling yet at the same time didn''t affect any of us.

    And I could see it, how thews of the world were bending themselves to not affect it. And only then did I realize that this creature was at the same level of the Primordial Serpent God. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yet at the same time it was afflicted with the same issue.

    The Primordial Serpent God was unable to harness the higher level of Qi, origin Qi from the Vast Expanse. And this bird seems to also be affected by the suppression of this region''s Qi.

    "Three Eyed Raven¡­ it actually does exist," said old Fu.

    "You know what this is?" I asked.

    "Yes, and I don''t think this is good news," he said.

    "We''re going to be eaten aren''t we¡­" one of the soldiers said desperately.

    "No, you''d wish," replied old Fu, "for something like this, we''re not even at the level of appetizers. And it''s not the bird that I''m worried of, but the owner¡­"

    "You know the owner of this bird?" I asked.

    "Yes¡­ and he is a bit¡­ peculiar¡­" he added.

    "Care to exin, because it seems our speed is dropping a bit," I said as I noticed that there was a massivend that was separated by a trench of water. It looked like an ind in the middle of ake.

    Ye theke waters were all¡­ dead.

    B¨¬nhlu?n

    1

    Xem t?t c?

    "Yeah, the owner is also another Sun¡­"

    "Don''t tell me¡­"

    ?? l?i b¨¬nh lu?n ??u ti¨ºn cho ch??ng n¨¤y.

    "Oh, no, not that guy, thankfully not¡­ it''s another Sun, a Sun that disappeared a long time ago¡­ the Dusking Sun¡­"

    15

    "Well, that doesn''t sound too well now does it," I muttered.

 Chapter 624 Not Even A Sun Is Safe

    624 Not Even A Sun Is Safe

    Sooner thanter, the bird came to a stop at the edge of the ind. cing our cube with care and then hopped off, standing like a massive mountain. It hadpletely ignored our presence the moment we arrived. And its face resumed looking around the whole area, as if expecting danger or preparing to fend it off.

    As for us, all we could see was a coffin in the middle of the ind.

    "Is that the Dusking Sun?" a soldier asked. "Look there is an arm peering from outside the coffin," the soldier added.

    "Is he dead?" another soldier said.

    "If he is dead¡­ do you know how much his corpse will be worth? We can live off the rest of our lives like emperors!"

    "Shut up," I replied. "If you value your lives, you''d not speak such offense in the presence of someone far mightier than your worst nightmares. That man is not dead¡­ not even close to it," I said as I was able to see signs of life that others couldn''t.

    A dead man''s fingernails usually keep growing, however, this person''s nails were still clean and short, thus he subconsciously kept them from growing further.

    The soldiers realized their mistake, speaking ill of a powerful man alwayses back to bite the person in the ass, yet who they talked ill about was nothing but a Sun, one of eight entities that in the beyond are regarded as deities.

    "I think the Primordial Three Eyed Raven brought us here for a reason, and I doubt it''s to have us as his next meal, too much effort was spent in doing that," I said as I tried to study everything around us.

    "Then should we get to the coffin," the captain asked.

    "If you wish for a quick death, then be my guest," said Old Fu.

    The captain was taken aback, he didn''t understand fully. But when Old Fu looked at me I replied, "There is nothing living on this small ind. No birds, bugs, grass or anything. Everything is dead. And the cause is obvious," I said as I pointed at the hand that was drooping from the coffin to the ground.

    "Poison?" asked a cultivator.

    "No," I shook my head, "Sickness."

    And I stepped forward outside the cube.

    "Don''t follow me, the moment you leave the cube''s protection you''ll lose your Qi, the effects of Qi suppression are at their peak here," I said.

    And just as I took a couple steps back I stopped and looked up.

    "I hate the feeling of being watched¡­" I muttered.

    It was the same feeling I had back in the Vast Expanse when I was working on thew stones.

    16:17

    Something was looking at me, and this time it was powerful enough to warrant my attention. Yet at the same time, I didn''t feel any animosity or hostility from it. It was more like a look of interest than that of ill intention.

    I sighed. If whoever is it that''s spying were strong enough to gaze upon me from this Qi oppression then they''re in all their right to outright do so. Someone capable of surpassing the Sea of Demons suppression is not someone I want as an enemy.

    The first step I took on the ground had a powerful visible effect.

    What looked like dirt before began moving, small liquid like material, resembling light mud after rain. Began moving up towards me as if to consume me.

    However, the moment it touched my body, the substance immediately retreated as would a drop of alcohol do to a bunch of bacteria. I slowly approached the coffin, while the entirety of the mud like substance avoided me, leaving me a path on an old wet and dirty path to the coffin.

    The coffin itself was ck as the night, yet it was half open allowing the hand to emerge out.

    As I stood in front of the hand, it jerked, moved then pointed at me, then the coffin''s cover.

    I understood what I needed to do, and pushed the cover away. Revealing the corpse? Or extremely old looking person in the coffin. It looked like a mummified body of a person, where the only healthy part was the hand itself that was outside the coffin, as for the rest of the body, it felt as if thousands of years had gone past for it.

    And for the first time in a while, I heard a divine sense capable of rupturings themselves echoing into my mind.

    "This is the weakest I can currently use my Divine Sense as in my current condition, speak, follower of the Dao of poison, do you happen to have Primordial Gold Blood in you?" he asked.

    I knew the owner of the voice was no one but this mummified corpse.

    "I do have it," I replied.

    "Then give me some of it, I''ll reward you handsomely once I awaken," he said.

    This was not a request, it was a tant threat. And not only did I feel the hair on the back of my head stand, I even felt the gaze that was on me grow more dangerous, however, it wasn''t aimed at me.

    I raised my hand forward, signaling whoever was looking to calm down. "I could give it to you, but even as one of the Eight Suns, it will cause you nothing but pain and will not help you in any way shape or form," I said.

    "You speak as if you know more about the body of one of the Suns than even a proper Sun would," replied the old man, and soon the uninterested bird pointed his beak and three eyes at me. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I sighed, "I follow the Dao of Poison, but not any Dao you know of," I said.

    "So? You''re nothing but an emperor level cultivator, what sort of poison do you think you have that could affect a Sun, give the blood and worship," he said.

    "You didn''t let me finish," I said as I felt the growing anger and impatience of the man in front of me.

    "What you speak of is a Follower of the Dao of Poison, cultivators that use the Dao of Poison to grow in cultivation level, I am not one of them. I am Poison itself," I said as I snapped my finger summoning a small drop of golden blood, "This blood which you seek, has more poison in it than the entirety of this very Garden, and it is based on the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. If you were to take it within you, not only will you not be able to disassemble it from poison, it will harm your body more than help," I said.

    Yet the old man didn''t listen, and his hand swiped the blood drop from my fingers, it seeped into his arm and soon you could see the glisten of gold coursing through his mummified body.

    "That hits the spot! Give some more¡­" he said

    Yet soon, his body began shuddering.

    "¡­What is the meaning of this?!" he asked.

    "You were warned of drinking poison, yet you drank it still, don''t me me for what you have done yourself!" I replied not backing out or backing off.

    Though he is a sun, he would not be stupid enough to me me for his own mistake.

    "Give back the drop of blood before it starts doing actual damage to your body, and if you want to heal this condition of yours, you only had to ask," I said.

    "Heal?! You, heal me?! HAH!" the corpseughed and soon the corpse that looked like it was dead a second ago was instantly rejuvenated regaining the health of youth and the vitality of the young.

    The man in front of me was pale of skin, and blue of eyes, his hair was the color of silver that extended to his waist and his clothes were of dark leather. His ears were pointed like that of a demon kin and his body was several feet taller than me.

    He towered over me as he said, "What sickness do you think you can heal?" he said this time in his voice.

    I pointed to my head and tapped it with my finger twice, "The thing that''s currently eating up your very mind. Not even a Sun can survive that which consumes the verynd itself, you''re sick, and you''re slowly losing the fight against a fungus not even bigger than an ant''s eye," I replied.

    The dusking sun''s nostril rose up, as his anger began ring up, "You speak as if you know all about that which even I know little of!" he said as he shed me a vile smile. He had nothing but fangs for teeth as if his mouth was that of a shark.

    "Then it is your choice to believe or reject, and remember, now that you consumed my blood," I said.

    "And what if I were to consume some more?!" he said as he took a step towards me.

    "Then I''ll take it personally," I said as I looked at the man who instantly fell to his knees gripping his heart.

    "W¡­what have you done to me!"

    "That''s the wrong question," I said, "The right question is is, why did I eat something I knew nothing of, and act as if I did?" I replied.

 Chapter 625 Rude Patient

    625 Rude Patient

    "Do you seek death! Because if you do! Then I shall grant it!" the old man said.

    "Then you will die, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but you will die, far sooner than you think, and far crueler than you can ever believe," I replied.

    The man tried to grab me by the throat as he extended his hand. At the same time, Old Fu pulled out his sword, and everyone inside the cube was ready to risk losing their Qi once again toe help.

    That brought a smile to my face, but I knew for a fact that this man could never act upon his current anger.

    Or so I thought as he moved his hand away and roared like a beast, causing the entirety of the cave to shake and shudder.

    The Dusking Sun took a long sigh, and said, "What is happening to me? That thing which was dormant is now squirming inside my head¡­"

    "Because it''s dying," I replied.

    "How so?" the Dusking Sun replied, "If it''s dying shouldn''t it be a good thing," he said.

    "Not all things die peacefully, some die while struggling in their death throes you know, and living creatures are no exception. In your attempt to take my blood, which is poison by itself, though it would cause you nothing but mild difort, it is a lethal dose for the small thing inside your head."

    I exined as I backed away. Disying how the slime on the earth was avoiding me as much as possible.

    I gripped against a small bit of the slime and ced it on my palm. It shuddered and shook then soon died out, not moving one bit.

    "Living beings all have coping mechanism, especially against death, even a chicken will run around when its head is cut off. As for a fungi that''s suffering from a terminal and lethal dose of poison, it will do all in its power to struggle and survive, including releasing more of its pathogens into your head."

    "Patho¡­what?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    "It''s what causes you pain currently, never mind the terminology. What''s happening right now is that a type of poison is being released into your head and you need to stop it, or you won''t survive," I said.

    "Poison should have no effect on me, I''m a Sun! A SUN!"

    "And even suns and stars die out, you''re not special," I said to him in the calmest way possible, "Eternity is nothing but a thought, inessible and impossible, you can live long, but you''ll never outlive time itself, not it''s beginning, and not its end."

    The man had veins bulging on his forehead but he couldn''t help but to suck it up because I wasn''t saying anything wrong. Nor could he act upon it because only I can help him. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    16:21

    "Then how can I fix this?!"

    "I don''t know," I said.

    I could feel the rage in his eyes surging up once again.

    "But you should start by giving me back what''s mine," I said.

    The man flexed his arm and a drop of pure golden blood manifested on top of his palm. I swiped it back the same way he did to me the first time. And reimed it.

    "Good, with that done, how about you let me treat your illness? Having one of the suns owing me a favor would be pretty interesting," I said.

    "Did you not say you don''t know how to fix it?" he asked.

    "I don''t know, but that doesn''t mean I can''t know. You''ll be my test subject. Follow me," I said.

    "Test subject? If the world were to hear of this, then I''ll be the mockery of a lifetime!" he said.

    "But if you die here, no one will ever know that the Dusking Sun had lived or died. Forever forgotten, would you rather that?" I questioned.

    A forgotten man is worse than a dead one.

    The Dusking Sun followed after me until we arrived at the cube and we entered. The moment he stepped inside, his eyes squinted and his brows furrowed tightly.

    "Qi? This ce canbat the natural seal of the Sea of Demons¡­ interesting design? This is nothing short of the work of one of the Wisest Sun''s direct disciples¡­ Which genius made this masterpiece?"

    I didn''t reply, but everyone inside the cube pointed at me.

    "¡­"

    "Not all things are as they seem, and no book must be judged by its covers. Everyone, leave the cube for a second," I said. "Just make sure you don''t leave the barrier''s range, you''ll lose your Qi if you do."

    The soldiers all went outside the cube and stood within the limits. Not to walk a single step outside.

    I pressed on a specialpartment outside the cube, and every small window, every minigun, and every hole or hatch instantly closed. Sealing the cube instantly but for a small hole.

    I snapped my finger summoned my Veridian Heart me, and then threw it inside the cube. The me surged and incinerated everything inside.

    The goal wasn''t to damage theponents of the cube but to cleanse and purify it. And after the whole thing was purged, I opened it once more, "Only the Dusking Sun might get inside, everyone else, you''ll have to wait here for a bit."

    The Dusking Sun entered, he didn''t even have an ounce of worry or care in the world because as a Sun he did not need to worry about ''lesser'' beings harming him. Why would an elephant care if an ant wants to harm it? It is but an ant.

    I pulled a table from my holding bag and ced it inside the cube. "Get on," I said.

    "Don''t order me around!" he shouted back.

    I gave him a stern look.

    "A request would suffice¡­" he said.

    "Then, please get on the table," I said as I swallowed a sigh.

    He went on the table and leaned back, resting his back against the table while waiting for me.

    "Why did you set up the cube on fire first?" asked the Dusking Sun.

    "Because nothing purifies better than fire. This ce had many people in it, breathing, farting and touching things with their hands, it would be an annoyance to try and cure a patient with all that around us. Cleansing the ce first helps."

    "That shouldn''t affect a Sun," he said.

    "It wouldn''t, but you can''t be too sure, remember, your current condition is caused by a very tiny organism that could easily be dealt with before it enters the body, but now that its inside things be more annoying, anyway, let me take a closer look at you," I said as I pressed on hand on top of the man''s forehead.

    I sent several waves of Divine Sense into his mind to have a better read of what was going on. And I was surprised the moment I received the images in my head. The organism that was as small as an ant''s head has now grown and spread all over the man''s brain, against the crust of it, filing its membranes into the brain matter of the Dusking Sun''s mind.

    "You know how far this had progressed, didn''t you?" I asked.

    "I do," replied the Dusking Sun, "It''s my brain, I know what it is suffering from," he said.

    "Why didn''t you discard your body, and look for a new body," I asked him.

    "And give up a body that reached the stage of a Sun, to decrease my cultivation level and grind back up, not a chance, I''d rather die than do all of that again¡­"

    "Fair enough," I said.

    "You speak with certainty and confidence that would convince a man that there is a cure," said the Dusking Sun.

    "Because there is," I said.

    "And what is the cure?" he asked.

    "To kill the pathogen and all its spores inside your body, without it ever knowing," I said.

    "I tried that, I tried many things, but it can read my intentions, the moment I try and do something against it, I either fall to slumber or an incredible pain wracks my body."

    "That''s because it is attached to your mind, and can trante when you''re being suicidal, if the host is threatened the parasite will try its best to keep it alive, even if it means to harm the host in the process. Because if the host dies, the parasite dies with it. However, if the parasite does not know when it happened, it cannot do anything," I said.

    "How so?" he asked.

    "Simple," I replied, "I just need to put you in deep sleep," I said.

    "Hah!" the manughed, "I haven''t slept in more than tens of thousands of years, what makes¡­you¡­think I''ll¡­" The man couldn''t finish his words as his eyes closed and he went into deep sleep.

    "Yep," I said as I pulled my hand off his head. "Nighty night, now let''s get working,"

 Chapter 626 Treatment and Favor

    626 Treatment and Favor

    "Did he just put a Sun to sleep?" one of the soldiers spoke.

    "Hush now, you might wake them up," said the captain.

    "I doubt it," replied old Fu as he was looking at what was happening with hands crossed. "He ispletely out of it," said old Fu.

    "Such a strange phenomenon, to see one of the Suns, asleep and this vulnerable," said the same soldier.

    "I wouldn''t say vulnerable, after all, although he is asleep, the Qi around his body is still fully ready up for battle. No sane man would give their body willingly to another, and especially no Sun would dare to do so. Those who wish to harm a sun and take what is theirs are plenty, but none of them would seed, not because theck of opportunity, but because the impossibility of the task itself," said Old Fu.

    His words were true, since he was talking out of experience.

    "But, he''s out cold, what if Shen Mo decides to kill the Sun right there and then, he already managed to make him go to sleep, and I''ve seen how Shen Mo can control poison, wouldn''t it be as simple as turning his hand?" asked the soldier.

    "That''s where the difference between a man that had fought many battles and one who knows not the reality of the world. You might not be sensitive to murderous intent, though you can manifest it, see it, but you don''t truly know it.

    To be a sun is to kill billions of lives and destroy plenty other more, you cannot be a sun unless your arms are wet with blood. And the mere twisting and changing in one''s heart can be read by a Sun as if it was a man drawing a sword in your face. Although asleep, if Shen Mo were to make the mistake, of getting greedy, or wanting to take the body of a sun for himself or harm him in any way shape or form, I can promise you that none of us would live to even see the reaction from it. We''d long be dead before Shen Mo''s arm even twitches to act upon a malicious thought," old Fu continued.

    "Also," he pointed with his thumb, "That''s one hell of a guarantee that none of us would live to tell the tale if we even dare do such a thing."

    His finger was pointed at the massive Primordial Three Eyed Crow.

    The soldiers realized that if they were to act upon their greed, since it was obvious from how they were almost salivating at the fact that they could obtain the "corps?" of a Sun if they were to kill him. However, they even by a god''s given miracle manage to kill and obtain the Sun''s body, they won''t be able to escape the wrath of his pet.

    A rustle echoed behind the cube and Kyu came back after I had sent it earlier with prey, a living prey. It was an ape like creature with a gigantic nose that covered almost all of its face. The ape was unconscious.

    "Good job, this will make this easier," I replied to Kyu.

    My hands were upied with removing the hair on the Sun''s head. I needed to open up his skull to work on his brain. Quit literally I needed to open up his head.

    With tools I had on me, things like this weren''t difficult, and with the regenerative ability of a Sun, cracking open their skull won''t kill them. I used one of my scalpels, one made of pure Neutron Steel, which is able to easily sever bone and flesh, especially since the old man is currently not resisting nor is willing to resist. As long as I don''t pose a threat to his life by doing such a thing, the thing inside his head won''t react.

    But as a precaution I made sure to inject him with a small dose of poison, not to harm him, but to distract the thing inside his mind. It was a sleep-inducing poison thatpletely numbs the body. And as long as the parasite does not realize that the brain is being opened up, it will act as if all and everything is fine and that the body is simply sleeping.

    Blood seeped out of the man''s head, but more blood thickening poison injected into the body caused it to slow the bleeding down. And soon I managed to pull apart a piece of his skull, revealing the interior of his head. White matter mixed in with a lot of darker wriggling matter was all I could see.

    The creature was already visible, but I couldn''t touch it or harm it right now, it might violently react.

    But now it was time for me to use the Ape.

    The difference between an ape''s brain and a human''s brain is pretty small. And that would work wonderfully for what''sing up next.

    I dripped another drop of golden poison directly into the brain matter of the unconscious sun and this created a violent reaction. The man began shuddering as the parasitic creature began suffering from the poison, unable to understand why it was being harmed since it was not feeling that the body that it was preying on didn''t have any damages or was harmed.

    The poison I injected gave of the feeling of dposition and death, and the parasite didn''t like it one bit. It must have thought that the body it is hosted by is dying.

    I then ced the ape on the table and cut through his head the same way I did to the old man, opening a small ''window'' and allowed the membranes of the confused parasite to wander away from the skull it was presiding over until it contacted the bare brain of the unconscious ape.

    Realizing that the other brain, or maybe it thought that this part of the same host''s brain is still clean and isn''t as ufortable as the main body, the parasite began to wiggle out of the first host, slowly moving into the second. The ape began shuddering and shaking as a centipede like creature the size of a man''s forearm was crawling up into its brain. Yet it was dosed up in so much nerve rxing poison the ape couldn''t do nothing but wiggle and shudder as its most violet reaction.

    Soon, the entire creature left the body of the Sun and managed to settle down into the ape''s. With that, I returned the old man''s piece of bone back, and was about to ce a pill into his mouth, only for the fractured part to instantly heal back up and the man to sit up, and look at me.

    16:22

    "Very interesting¡­" he said.

    I squinted my eyes at him, "You were awake?" I asked.

    "My body indeed slept, but I didn''t," he said.

    Trying to rationalize that is a bit too much for me.

    The Dusking Sun pointed a hand on the ape, and the entire thing was squished into a small droplet of blood in a matter of seconds. It then turned into smoldering mes and smokepletely eliminating every trace of the ape and the parasite inside it.

    "You''re notpletely healed," I said.

    "I know, the parasite''s remains are still inside my body, but nothing a short session of meditation can''t take care of, also that poison of yours managed to cleanse and chase away what you called, pathogens? Away from my brain, and now that they''re in my blood streams," the Man took a deep breath and instantly set himself on fire.

    "What the hell are you doing?!" I said as I backed away, the mes were too powerful even for me as I had to jump back as far as possible.

    Soon the mes died down, and the man stood up buck-naked in front of me.

    "Are you an exhibitionist now?" I muttered.

    The man smiled, "Didn''t you say that fire is the best way to solve this? I burnt every cell in my body and reced them at the same time with new ones.

    "That''s not possible¡­"

    "It is, if you are a Sun," he smiled.

    My doubt didn''t subside, and before I could ask him to let me check, he handed me his palm, and on top of it, the same drop of golden blood I had used on him.

    "Take it back, it is yours after all, and I no longer have any need for it," he said.

    I reimed my blood, and was still tempted to check his body''s condition, but if I were to do something wrong I might end up regretting it. Currently he is amicable, but these old fossils are easily triggered and I''d rather not have to deal with that.

    "Anyway, now we''ll be leaving, we came to investigate the reason why the Walkers were moving about, and it seems that the reason is this small thing here." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "And how do you suppose you''ll leave?" said the Dusking Sun.

    I pointed at the cube, "I''ll use the cube to leave. There was a giant tunnel like gorge that brought us here, and we can use the cube to leave." I replied.

    "The moment you reach a certain height, the mist from the Sea of Demons be strong enough that it will easily pierce through your makeshift barrier."

    "I''ll figure out a way to make a better one then," I said.

    "And what if that doesn''t work?" he said.

    "Then I''ll just have to ask the person spying on us for help," I shrugged.

    The Dusking Sun''s eyes perked upward, he grinned and replied, "It wouldn''t kill you to ask me for a favor you know," he said.

    "I wouldn''t take the favor of saving your life and exchange it with something as easy as leaving the Dark Garden," I replied.

    "Indeed, a smart man, however, my life weighs a lot, and taking you out of this ce is not worth mentioning, consider it payment for visiting an old man who has very few friends."

 Chapter 627 Return

    627 Return

    "Get on the cube, I''ll carry you all out," The Dusking Sun said.

    "I''ll take you up on the offer then," I replied.

    Once the entire group went inside the cube, the Sun flew ahead of us, and his bird grabbed the cage as we all went flying out of the Dark Garden.

    As we were moving, I noticed a gigantic ditch in the far distance, that seemed to lead even further down.

    Somehow, the Sun realized that I was intrigued with that ditch.

    "I wouldn''t think of going there, not at your level right now, it''s a death sentence," he said, the words spoken into my mind directly.

    I replied back, with difficulty of course since my Divine Sense could barely reach out of the barrier protecting our limited Qi.

    "How so? I thought you were sitting in the centermost area of the Dark Garden," I said.

    "I was, but that''s only the top level, there are multiple levels below this region, with beasts and monsters far more fearsome than what lives above. Sometimes these monsterse out to hunt and go up, and whenever that happens, many lives are lost," He added.

    "I see," I replied.

    "Just so you would know, the parasite that entered my body, came from there. I was roaming about and exploring the depths of the Dark Garden, and was met with a pretty annoying foe. One of those ck lizards managed to scratch my skin, which by itself is close to a miracle. And his ws were doused with the parasitic agent¡­ annoying little pests," he said.

    "Wait, when you say ck lizard, does it have obsidian scales, with thorns on the back, double sets of ws, and a nasty sparking looking mouth that sometimes shoot lightning?" I asked.

    "Seems that you met one of its kind before¡­ which is strange, since there shouldn''t be any of them here in the upper floor of the Dark Garden¡­"

    "We did meet one," I said.

    "And you lived to tell the tale? Nothing but my Crow should be able to survive an encounter with one of those things in the upper level," he added.

    "It was not¡­ aggressive to say the least," I replied.

    "Interesting, they are usually hard to subdue, in fact I have tried everything to subdue one of them, they would rather die than submit. Not to mention, they''re extremely aggressive. For one of them to be here, and not cause half the poption to go extinct, it is either a mutated one, or perhaps, it had found enough food for it not to bother with you," he replied.

    "I couldn''t tell, all we knew was, that if we tried to fight it, or anger it in any way, none of us would be here talking to you," I said. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Good choice, I would have still been stuck in my coffin unable to get rid of that damn creature, or perhaps forced out of my body. Things happen for a reason I suppose¡­ Oh, we''re almost out," he added.

    Soon, there was another massive gorge that had a powerful wind current going upward, the Sun went up first and the bird carrying us followed after.

    "This ce, you haven''t seen even a fraction of it, it spreads far and wide, and even downward. There are many things that even some of the Suns refuse to go down and visit. Don''t waste your life away to try and see through mysteries that were here before even the sun above the Beyond was bright. And if you ever feel courageous enough to venture down, at leaste when you have the ability to survive the Sea of Demons'' atmosphere by yourself, or have something capable of staving it off."

    The moment his words were over, we were back in a rtively brighter atmosphere, it was still dark due to the high density of the Sea of Demon''s clouds high above, but it was incredibly brighter than the Dark Garden.

    Back in the desert, the Sun looked around, and said, "The closest city is a few leagues to the north, I have no need to remain here anymore, I trust you can find your way back," he said.

    "We should be able to do so," I replied.

    "Then keep low, don''t fly too high, a sandstorm will being in a few hours, if you don''t make it to the city walls first, you''re better off burrowing in the ground, for now I shall leave, as for repaying your favor," he threw me a piece of jade.

    "If you ever find yourself in a pinch, break that. A sliver of my divine sense is in there, it should ward off anyone that could harm you, or break away anything that might trap you. Not even a Sun would dare face it."

    The old man then hopped on the back of his three eyed crow and they just sted away from the desert disappearing into the horizon faster than a man can blink.

    "Lord, finally I have contact back with you. Have you been well?" the automaton finally had the ability to contact me when we''re away from the Dark Garden.

    I replied back using Divine sense. "Good to see you back. Nothing happened though, just keep a watch on me from now on," I replied.

    Not long after, you could feel the clouds high above us churning. The Dusking Sun was right, it feels like an iing sandstorm, and from the looks of things, it''s going to be ugly.

    "We need to move fast buckle up," I said and pressed the pedestal on the cube, forcing it to shoot forward like a shooting star.

    The soldiers sloped down on the ground, and some even beganughing.

    "What''s wrong with them?" I asked Old Fu as I was trying to drive this piece of junk.

    "They finally managed to get away from one of the Suns. The fear in their heart was probably too great for them to control for so long." Old Fu said.

    "What''s wrong with being next to a Sun, he is only human," I replied.

    Old Fu smiled, "Indeed, he is but a human, but he is a scary and powerful human, not to mention some of these guys joked around taking his body and selling it. Anyway, now that pressure is gone, they are feeling rxed, although most of that pressure was mainly due to you," he said.

    "Howe, what did I do?" I asked looking a bit annoyed at the group that was smirking like idiots.

    "You''re probably the only sane? Maybe insane man who''d talk so casually to a Sun as if they were your peer. Hell you even opened a hole in his head and poked around with it. They''re going back home with a lot of stories to tell, that I can assure you of," he said.

    "Well, good to hear that, but looking at what''s behind us, going back is not going to be as easy as we might think," I said.

    Old Fu''s eyes turned to see the entire horizon¡­ upside down.

    A gigantic, tidal wave of sand pushed by immensely powerful winds was rushing towards us. The sand wave was big enough that it reached the rims of the skies themselves¡­

    "Well, I hope you can increase some speed¡­"

 Chapter 628 Within The Storm

    628 Within The Storm

    "Don''t worry," I said as I pressed on another secretpartment on the cube. This instantly disengaged the walls and the ceiling from the cube. And immediately reduced our wind friction by a huge margin. Increasing our overall speed several folds as we flew forward like a flying bullet. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The sandstorm wasing at incredible speed, however, we weren''t going to be caught in it anytime soon, and so our trip continued on forward.

    The soldiers were all surprised at the speed that the hoverboard was expressing, however, they don''t even realize or know that this hoverboard is extremely damaged and is far beyond help.

    It had helped me cross gctic distances, and now, its current speed isn''t even a fraction of its former glory. Not to mention I haven''t had the time to fix many of my puppets and weapons.

    Speaking of puppets, I have a promise to keep. And in the far distance, the mountains that we came from were visible.

    I took a turn toward the mountains, and one of the soldiers spoke, "That''s the wrong way to the city," he mentioned.

    "I left Y there, I''m not going back without getting him home," I said.

    "The puppet? It''s not worth our lives," the soldier said.

    "If you don''t like it, you''re free to jump off and go to the city on foot," I replied to him, the first time they probably ever had seen me agitated.

    The soldiers didn''t talk, and it was visible from their expressions that they didn''t even dare disagree or voice their concerns. They may be right; a mere puppet isn''t worth any man''s life. However, without Y, I wouldn''t have been here. He saved me from many an ordeal, and it was thanks to his sacrifice that we got away from the hoard of walkers.

    "Old Fu, would you please take the reins?" I asked.

    "There doesn''t seem to be any reins on this flying treasure," he said. But he understood what I meant and took my spot, he had seen me guide and navigate the hoverboard throughout our adventures and he knows how to drive it so I didn''t need to worry.

    Soon, we went above the two mountains, and I could see two entry holes to the Dark Garden from up here. Every mountain seemed to be a tunnel that led to the Dark Garden.

    "I''ll meet you up back at the city," I said.

    Old Fu nodded and I jumped down.

    Arriving back to the cave entrance that led to the underground underneath the mountain took me less than a minute. And I had to rush inside to grab Y.

    I pped several talismans around my body to suppress and prevent the water of the Sea of Demons from affecting me, and the moment I went through the quicksand tunnel, I arrived in a fully submerged area underwater. The talismans did a great job at pushing away the water from my body, but they were rapidly burning my Qi to suppress the condensed seawater from affecting me.

    I pushed myself forward through the tunnels, bypassing the drowning and stuck walkers as fast as I could until I arrived at the kneeling form of Y,pletely having shut down upon itself.

    Using a holding bag to take Y inside was not possible, the whole area was heavily affected by this Qi-sealing sea water. So, there was only one way to do this.

    I popped a couple of pills inside my mouth and galvanized my Qi. I boosted my body''s growth and began gigantifying myself. My body easily pushed against the base of the mountain, and with a single hand I grabbed around Y and propped my head out of the side of the mountain, another step forward and I fully emerged, breaking the entire mountain in the process.

    The funny thing was, that immense and great pieces of the mountain fell inside the hole, and were instantly spat back due to the powerful wind pressure. No wonder that even when it would rain against the hole of these mountains, no water would fall into them, and even if the tide itself was high enough to reach above the mountain, it would only be pushed back out.

    That was the reason why the Dark Garden was never submerged in seawater.

    I walked out of the mountain only to realize that I took a bit longer than I should have, and the sandstorm was already on my ass.

    I jumped forward away from the sand storm and began sprinting.

    I couldn''t reduce my size to take flight since I won''t be able to carry Y''s heavy frame so I had to stay in my giant form as I was running forward.

    And while doing so, I managed to have a closer look at the sandstorm, and finally got to understand that it was not a natural phenomenon.

    As I was moving forward, I saw them, tens of thousands of beasts were running forward like an endless horde stampeding their way forward. Running as if hell itself was behind them, and sure enough there it was.

    Beasts that looked like sharks were diving into the sand rushing forward, and next to them six-legged horses, none attacked the other, and even when hunter was next to the prey, they all ran forward.

    Flying beasts were flying up ahead of the storm, but they too barely were able to escape what was behind them. And since I was on the ground running, I managed to feel it.

    The ground was shaking and shuddering, as if something was running on it, never mind the small vibrations of the beasts running forward, this vibration was more expressive, you could feel it in your bones.

    And for a fraction of a second, the wind that was pushing this massive sand storm split up, revealing eight sets of blood-colored eyes and a fully armored up golden-scaled exoskeleton that shined brightly against the dim rays of the sun.

    The creature moved with wicked grace, as two of its massive pincers were culling lives left and right, and for those that chose flight, a single swipe of a vicious angr and curved tail took care of them, skewering many of these beasts in the process and instantly moving the skewered prey into the creature''s mouth.

    The beast was basically a scorpion, only this thing was gigantic, and gave off the same pressure as the Primordial Serpent God and the Three-Eyed Raven gave off.

    A Primordial Hunter and this was its hunting frenzy.

    The beast didn''t spare anything as it was moving, culling lives and eating them as it was moving forward without ever giving anything the chance to escape its hunt. Covered by the massive screen of sand, it was a predator that couldn''t be detected until one was close enough to it.

    I didn''t have the will or power to even think of facing off against something like that, nor was I stupid enough to risk my life for it.

    For something like this to exist for so long, there gotta be a reason why the city remains unperturbed. So, this was another reason for me to not let out and further increase my speed toward the city.

    I hurried up as fast as I could, sprinting forward, and stomping on any unfortunate creature that was hiding inside the sand from the iing sandstorm.

    The city was visible in the distance, and from where I was, I could see the city gates closing up.

    My massive size was unnatural and from the look of the guards that were readying their ballistae, they weren''t going to let me through with this size.

    However, as I was moving, I saw amotion happening above the city walls, the ballistae were disabled immediately and disarmed.

    Old Fu was already at the top of the gate and I could hear him shout from all the way there, "Hurry! They''re about to set the city walls ame!" he said.

    I immediately understood what he meant, "Catch!" I said as I heaved then threw Y forward with immense strength. I then instantly removed my gigantic form and sted forward, burning Qi like no tomorrow to reach the city.

    Old Fu jumped up and roused his Qi, with two of his hands, space itself seemed to distort as Y''s frame slowed down rapidly then he grabbed it and went down back to the city gate.

    A soldier in the far distance raised his torch up and soon the whole wall began heating up.

    The iing hoard wasn''t that far away from me, and I didn''t have much time. So I further burnt more of My Qi, closing the remaining distance in the blink of an eye, and thankfully I made it as the moment I reached beyond the walls, the entire thing turned into a massive pyre.

    The bleached bones that made the entire walls of the city rose in burning mes that felt hotter than the heart of a burning star.

    The effect and heat around the city was a pretty obvious threat to the iing storm, and the creature within it.

    Scorpions, no matter how big or small, would never dare throw themselves into mes. So the entire sandstorm or the bulk of it seemed to pivot away from the city as the scorpion was more interested in hunting prey that wouldn''t cause it to roast itself over.

    "That was a close call," said Old Fu.

    "I guess it was," I replied as I was heaving to regain my Qi.

    "Anyway, good that you''re back, the general seemed to be interested in what we went through and asked you to meet him in his pce," old Fu said.

    "I''ll do that after I catch my breath," I replied as I slumped back on the ground.

 Chapter 629 Report

    629 Report

    "Thank you for catching him," I said to old Fu as I was stillying on the ground, gasping for breath.

    Y''s frame was dirtied, and had a few bends in the wrong areas, I guess I gripped him too hard with my fist in my giant form. However, nothing that an hour or two of hammering can''t fix.

    But the problem remains, Y''s ability to protect me has incredibly reduced. Even X is in the same boat, they both need upgrades.

    Something I''ll need to get to fast enough.

    "The hoverboard is also there," he added.

    I stood back up and imed both the board and Y into my holding bag then I headed to the General''s pce. With many soldiers still mystified and stupefied at the giant who just turned back to man size. Still, with all the zing mes surrounding the city, my small gesture was soon forgotten, as the threat of the desert storm had passed but the wake of it had yet to subside.

    The scorpion must have been the most lethal and deadly thing about this storm, it was highly probable that the scorpion was the reason and source of the storm, however, even after it had gone by, the sandstorm was still aze. Blowing around the city and against the bleached bones that made its walls like an endless tide.

    The dome itself was a formation that shined brightly against the sandstorm. I could even see the entricity of this formation. Beautifully done to be honest, however, it stillcks and leaves much to be desired in term of efficiency.

    From where I stand I could already see leaks and points where the formation could be improved and revamped. The whole thing was using more saint Qi than needed to protect an entire in the Vast Expanse, but at the same time, it was exhausting and using a greater deal of Saint Qi stones than needed for no viable reason.

    "Master Shen," one of the soldiers that followed us shouted to me, "The general is waiting for you, we''ll excuse ourselves, we need to get back to our barracks," he added.

    I soon arrived to the pce gate alongside old Fu. And in front, was the general, with both arms behind his back looking at us, "Amazing disy of strength Master Shen, please follow me," he said

    Soon, we got back inside the pce and he served us more wine.

    "I would like a detailed report on what happened while you were journeying, but first a few things," he said as he slid forward two boxes, one for Old Fu, and the other for me.

    "These are the rewards I promised you before," he said.

    Old Fu opened the box in front of him, and from it came the turquoise colored bodhi roots. The Qi they were emanating was invigorating and slightly increased my cultivation base by just being next to it. Which was frankly interesting, since this never happened before.

    I cannot consume or absorb natural Qi, so something is different about these Bodhi Roots.

    As for the box in front of me, it was a small capped vial that had an emerald colored liquid inside it. I didn''t even need to verify the quality of this thing as the moment my hand reached for it, I felt my own Veridian Heart me reacting to it.

    I closed the box soon and ced it inside my holding bag.

    "That was for having finished your missing, and this is from me," he said as he slid two more items my way.

    One of them was a tube that seemed to hold a scroll inside it. I didn''t need to open it to understand what it was. This was the item that drove us here from thends of the Red Sun.

    The painting he was looking for.

    We didn''t even need to go to the auction house to receive this. The general must have used his own funds to vie for this piece. Which is pretty damn convenient for us.

    As for the other item, it was a small holding bag. Which seemed to be full of materials. The moment I touched it to see what was inside it, my eyes opened up wide.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of tons of various metals and minerals, alongside with an enormous number of spiritual herbs and poisons.

    "What is this for?" I asked.

    "For saving my daughter, I have seen what you''re capable of, and a few of the soldiers that apanied you have informed me of your cultivation method. Poison Cultivation is one of the hardest to achieve sess in, mainly due to theck of resources. And the difficulty of it. So as a reward for helping my daughter survive a death sentence, and helping her regain her former appearance. I paid using my own savings for you to obtain these." He said.

    "This is a bit too much though¡­"

    "It isn''t, I only have one daughter, and believe me when I tell you, this is a cheap price to pay for me to see her smile again. As for the metals, this was my own deduction, I''ve seen your puppet, and I''ve seen the tool you used to carry the soldiers. This means that not only are you proficient in Alchemy and Rceptarism, but also in metalwork and craftsmanship. The quality of the puppet you have is far too low for the intricate formation that is operating it. So use these tools to upgrade it." He said.

    I nodded at the man and said, "You must be eager to hear what happened within the Sea of Demons," I said.

    "Indeed, I''ve gotten the gist of things from the soldiers, but they were still in shock as they seem to be saying that they met with one of the Suns, which is absurd," said the Generalughing thest part out.

    However, when he saw my and old Fu''s unmoving reaction.

    "Really? You met with a Sun, and they allowed you to open their skull up?"

    I nodded.

    "I need more wine¡­"

    The General ced another jug and poured himself and for us as he said, "Please, tell me in details what happened."

    I took a sip from the wine presented and then began telling the story. Starting from how we left to the moment we were attacked in the desert, and all the way to the area where the trees underneath the mountain were built. The general cut me off several times to ask what we saw in details, and how does a tree have eyes for fruit. I exined to him to the best of my ability on what I presumed was happening.

    Whoever those people were, they were using the parasite that turned people into walkers, efficiently at it too, and then creating those trees. I still have no idea the reason why they were making those trees.

    Soon, I exined to him what was underneath the area and how we entered the Dark Garden.

    This made the general more interested in the tale, as he began interjecting and asking questions on the area, the biome, the habitat and the people that lived there.

    All came to a halt when I added that the usage of Qi was limited and restricted there.

    "How did you survive if you couldn''t even use Qi?" asked the old man.

    "The atmosphere of the Sea of Demons seals Qi and immediately shuts down its generation. This was probably the case before it even evaporated. And it is still the case to this day. I don''t know the reason why, but it seems that the Dark Garden underneath the Sea of Demons is also a part of this biome and not only the sea water. There were no walkers at the Dark Garden, but the creatures inside the Dark Garden however were infected with a parasitic creature that would turn them to the same state that the walkers are in. The only difference is, the Dark Garden seem to have no Qi in it, and the infected creatures usually die, but once the same parasite came in contact with mankind here, it morphed and took full control of their bodies." I exined.

    "So this parasite, can it be stopped?" he asked.

    "As far as I know it managed to infect one of the Suns, so, stopping it might be an issue that I have no answer to right now. However, that doesn''t mean it isn''t possible tobat. It couldn''t survive some of my poisons," I said.

    I continued exining about the Dark Garden and gave more info, but at the end I had to ask.

    "You''re not nning on going there, or sending people there I hope," I said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "The idea did cross my mind, it is and and territory we don''t know much about," he said.

    "You might want to give up," I said. "Cultivators have no business going there, and even if you do find a way to get there and use your Qi, the creatures in it are far too monstrous and powerful for anyone to try and stop," I said.

    "What my junior brother is saying is true, not even I was able to do much in there, and I was the one with the highest cultivation level there, I was rendered to the state of a Mortal. And for the beast and creatures there, some of them, even if I had full control over my cultivation, I doubt I would have survived the encounter," he added.

    The general didn''t ask how we survived even when we didn''t have any Qi, there must have been a reason, and instead of offending us and asking us directly he would rather ask the soldiers.

    "I see. I still have to give a detailed report to his majesty regarding the Dark Garden. Anyway, I have to go now, you may act as if you are at home, the servants here are ordered to adhere to yourmands."

    The general then stood up and hurriedly left the room.

    "You want to bet that we''ll somehow end up asked to go on another trip with them to the Dark Garden?" asked old Fu.

    "That''s a bet I could take, since I''ll just leave next morning, we already got what we needed, and staying here is only a waste of time. I would rather head back to the Ant Cave and give that woman her painting to get people off our ass," I said.

    "Then we''re better off doing that fast, I have a very bad feeling about kings and new unimednds¡­ especially kings who don''t quite value or understand the worth of a human''s life," he said.

    I couldn''t agree more, greed is a nefarious thing.

 Chapter 630 Delivery

    630 Delivery

    Once morning came, I had already set up to leave the Sea of Demons. Staying here would bring us nothing but trouble, and we had already managed to obtain a few good things from the general.

    If they needed anything from us, they''d have to ask the soldiers and the captain that went with us. They followed us all the way so they all saw and know what we did and how we navigated the Dark Garden.

    "Are you ready?" I asked old Fu.

    "I got nothing to ready for, let''s leave," he said.

    I nodded to the old man and the two of us headed out of the city toward the gate.

    A few soldiers noticed us leaving and they probably went to inform the general. And once we reached the gate, they were closed.

    "What''s the meaning of this?" old Fu asked, his tone didn''t seem to be a tolerant one or one that can handle any bullshit that the guards would spout to keep us here.

    his Qi was already rotating preparing for a fight.

    Another guard who seemed to be wearing a fancier tier of clothes shouted, "We can''t let you leave! The general ordered martialw, please return to the pce!"

    "Is that so?" I muttered.

    "Yes!" the man replied with sweat drippling down his forehead.

    "Then tell your general, if he wants to stop me, he''ll be dealing with one of the Suns, after all, I''m on an important errand, you don''t want to anger one of them now do you?" this message was sent directly into the man''s head via Divine Sense.

    The man opened and closed his mouth.

    Rumors do spread fast, and they spread in a nasty way, almost always inting. And soldiers with nothing to do must have spread the rumors of us having met with one of the Suns, the Dusking Sun. And now that I mentioned one of them, a mere guard would not even dare cause any issues with an entity that can raze this entire area with something as simple as a fart.

    The guard looked perplexed and terrified at the same time, he hesitated between giving the order to open the gate and save his city, or ignore it and risk ruining the entire Sea of Demons.

    The small gears in his mind spun for a bit until he shouted, "Open the gate!"

    We didn''t hesitate to leave as we took the flying board and rode on it, sting away from the city that seemed to have turned the heat down from its walls.

    The walls were not harmed by the incinerating heat that was used to drive off the scorpion, they were still clean as the day I first saw them.

    As for the surrounding sands, most of it was caved in in a massive crater that was the trail for the scorpion. The sheer size of that thing was enough topletely bulldoze though the city if it wanted to, although it was nowhere as close to the size of the Primordial Serpent God. This one was big enough to be a cause for worry and powerful enough that it caused sandstorms.

    Our path was to head back to the western regions, where the Ant Cave was and meet with the ant queen again.

    And we didn''t hesitate in pressing the elerator and leaving the area. As far as we could see, in the great distance beyond the city were several carriages and horse riders rushing toward the city.

    They had small flood dragons too that carried a flying pnquin. Which clearly meant royal business.

    "We made it in time I suppose," said old Fu.

    "We indeed did, but I think it won''t be that easy, they''ll definitelye looking for us if we dally too long here. I''m pressing the elerator, buckle up," I said and charged forward.

    Allowing the board to use the maximum of its capacity, although dangerous and will probably cause it to blow up. It was good enough for us to make as much distance with the convoy that reached the city behind us.

    Several hourster, we were far too deep and away in the desert, and I made sure to take a different rout from the one we took to get here, although it will take time to get to the ant cave, as long as we make it there, we can easily hide in the tunnel system.

    "We''re being followed," said Old Fu.

    "Damn, they really are fast," I replied as I looked behind us.

    An old man wearing nothing but brown robes was flying toward us with incredible speed.

    "Juniors, please remain where you are," said the old man via Divine Sense.

    "I apologize, but I don''t know who you are, and have no intention of stopping," I replied using my own Divine Sense.

    This caused the old man to have a look of surprise on his face. After all, the distance was still too great for someone at my cultivation level to cover with mere divine sense. Especially here in a location that hampers Qi so much.

    "I have been ordered by his majesty to take you back, he has many a thing to ask. Please refrain from making my task any more difficult, I still wish to solve this peacefully."

    "That is not my problem," I replied to the old man and pressed the pedal once more. The thrusters seemed to be struggling and were about to start throttling and if that happens we''ll be sitting ducks. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I''ll try and stop him," said Old Fu.

    "No need," I said as I threw a couple cannisters behind us.

    "Please do not do anything foolish, whatever you''re doing your cultivation level is far too low to cause me any damage, you will only incur my wrath, junior."

    11:19

    "You can''t be calling me a junior and still bully me like this, now can you, also that''s not to harm you," I smirked as the cannister blew up right next to the old man.

    The man created a protective barrier to stop the spray of the matter inside the cannister only for his entire body to instantly drop and dig itself into the sand.

    "Sea water?" asked old Fu.

    "Yep, I made that yesterday when I was fooling around, it''s in very small dose, so it would only seal his cultivation for an hour, but that''s more than enough for us to escape, look, you can already see the shore," I said as in the distance the ground was lusher and had dirt and rocks instead of sand.

    An hourter, we both felt the surge of Qi behind us, the old man probably regained his cultivation and was using all of it to chase after us. However, we were already inside the cave system. Both me and old Fu continued on foot running through the caves and following the map that the Ant Queen gave us.

    "We''re pretty safe here, the farther we go forward, the harder it''ll get for him to keep tracking us," I said.

    Old Fu nodded as the two of us continued heading forward.

    More time went by and you could feel tremors echoing in the far distance, I smiled as I realized what was happening.

    "He must be pissed."

    "I feel like he is expressing his anger by destroying the entire area behind us," said old Fu.

    "Well, he can try, but I doubt he''ll be able to locate us. Also, we''re already there," I said as we went through the final set of tunnels and arrived at a vast underground area where hundreds of people were moving about.

    The area was dimly lit with torches and some crystalline stones on the walls. Merchants that sold all sort of things on carpets in the grounds, and other hagglers and passengers buying and selling goods.

    Our arrival didn''t pique anyone''s interest as we moved about the market ce and headed to the upper area.

    Soon, we arrived at the exit and were right in front of the very same exit we usedst time to escape the Red Sun''s herald.

    The door was opened as if expecting us. And as soon as we walked through the ant queen was already seated in front of the exit.

    "Waiting for us," I said.

    "I caught wind of your return," she said.

    I immediately pulled out the scroll, "This was not easy to get," I replied.

    She jumped up from her chair giddily like a kid having obtained a well sought out toy and said, "You actually did get it!"

    I sighed as I looked around, "Who''s that?" I asked.

    "Oh that''s the herald fromst time, he¡­ was adamant on waiting on you two."

    "What is the meaning of this?" I said as I felt like I was caught in a trap.

    "Don''t take it the wrong way, apparently another messenger arrived soon requiring the former holy verdict to be dropped. The Herald however wishes to see you for their own reasons," she said as she opened the scroll and instantly closed it.

    Within that moment a powerful surge of blood lust seemed to emanate from that scroll.

    "It really is the real deal!" she said.

    "Why you expected me to cheat you or something, now give me what we talked about," I demanded.

    "That will no longer be needed," said the Herald as he approached us. "Please, follow me," he said and headed to the hall where many dancers were preparing for a show.

    "We need to talk," the herald stated as he took a chair. Waiting for us to join him.

 Chapter 631 No Rest For The Wicked

    631 No Rest For The Wicked N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Can we at least have time to rest," Iined as I walked up to the chair and sat there slumping, "We just got away from an old foggy who didn''t seem too keen on letting us leave. I''ve yet to take a break man¡­"

    "No need to worry, thends of the Red Sun are protected by his might, no one would dare take a step further. And the man that was hunting you¡­ he was driven away, although he didn''t seem too keen on the method," said the Herald.

    "Anyway, what do you want?" I asked.

    "Who might you be?" asked the Herald.

    "Does that really matter? Who I am and where Ie from?"

    "In fact it matters not, but we of the ughter Sect want to have you join us, officially that is." Said the herald.

    "I''ll have to think about that," I replied.

    "The offer stands, his lordship requested it," said the herald.

    "You mean the Red Sun?" I asked.

    "Indeed, it seems that you piqued their interest, they won''t force you however, it is by your will and choice that you may join us," said the herald.

    "I''m not ready to settle down, I still have much to do," I replied shrugging.

    The herald sighed and handed me a token, "This is a valued guest token, you can bring it to the ughter Sect, and you will be treated as a valued guest of the sect. Come and see how we do things back at our sect, you might like it. As for the painting, I believedy Hwei Ye will tell you all about it."

    The herald then excused himself as he left, leaving me and old Fu with the ant Queen, who now I know what her name is.

    "So¡­"

    "Yes, yes, please, sit let''s talk business," she said.

    As I sat down, "I guess the paining has a meaning?" I asked.

    "Indeed, it portrays thews of ughter. This painting¡­ as much as I would like to show you, by opening it, the entirety of the ant cave might shatter. This was painted by Du Jhin, one of the greatest painters of the beyond. A man that would epass thews of the world itself by the tip of his brush," she said and her eyes almost sparkled.

    She looked and sounded like a fangirl.

    "And?" I questioned.

    "And??! Do you know what this means? The paintings that Du Jhin had made and are public can be counter on one hand. Also, this one wasn''t that of a natural scene, but that of a single strike by the Red Sun himself, a painting that epasses all that can be learned and taught by the Dao of ughter one of the deadliest Daos, and it can be learned without needed to physically be in a battlefield," she said.

    "What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

    Hwei Ye sighed but old Fu exined in her stead.

    "The Dao of ughter is one of the hardest and most difficult Daos to master. It requires a bloody life, where one kills and kills some more. And thates with great challenges and difficulties. Mainly, one may lose their lives in perusing that Dao, or themselves. The idea is, if one were to have this painting, they could learn the Dao of ughter without having to tide through a bloodletting life. They could see it and seek the knowledge of ughter without risking themselves in the process, granted it is not without risk, if someone weak were to stare and look at the painting, they could lose themselves to the bloodlust, but this is the perfect learning tool for disciples and geniuses," he said.

    "So¡­ basically a shortcut," I said.

    "Calling it a shortcut is disrespectful," she said.

    "But it is still true, one who learns and seeks the Dao must pay an equivalent price for their greed. Anyway, enough of that, what''s the point of all of this then?" I asked.

    "Tournament," she replied. "The Eight Sun tournament, will be upheld soon. In it all, the eight sects will send in their disciples to vie for the strongest under the Sun title. And this is one of the rewards," she said.

    "¡­"

    "What? I thought you''d be more interested," she said.

    "There are too many people who are far stronger than me in the beyond, going in there and risking my life is utterly pointless," I shrugged.

    "Thews of the tournament allow anyone capable to join, however, everyone will be limited to the void stage cultivation level." She said.

    I shrugged, "It doesn''t mean anything to me, perhaps you''d want to enter Old Fu," I said.

    "I might consider joining, however, I''m still not strong enough, especially if all Eight suns will be there."

    I immediately understood what he meant by that. Because the Darkest Sun will probably realize who Old Fu is the moment he shows his face in the tournament. Although I did a good job at changing his facial structure. For a cultivator at the level of a Sun, they can easily remember and deduce from a person''s breathing, heartbeat, walking and even the general air about them, no matter how many years had went by, they''d still be able to pick up on old fu''s change of appearance.

    "Well, it is fine if you only wish to watch. I thought you''d be interested in one of the rewards," she said.

    I looked at her waiting for her exnation.

    "The ability to take pointers directly from any of the eight suns," she said with an air as if she was waiting for apuses or me to react in a way shape or form.

    However, myck of reaction was even more muffled. I couldn''t even care less at this point in time.

    She sighed, "You''re no fun. Anyway, that is no longer needed, the token given to you by the herald supersedes the fake stamp. You can freely move about in thends of the Red Sun. Also I would rmend you go to the ughter Sect." she said.

    "Why so?" I asked.

    "Because as much as you think you''re safe here, the guy who was chasing after you has no issues with sending people to find you. I have no idea what sort of troubles you caused in the Sea of Demons to have one at the early stage of the Origin Stage toe hunt you down. You''ll be safer at the ughter Sect, especially since you have the valued guest token," she said.

    "We''ll need to move then," I said as I stood up.

    "That was fast, I thought you''d be more of a macho guy and say that you''d take on whatever they send your way," she said.

    "Do I look like an idiot? I already told you I need some rest. And if the ughter Sect is willing to take us as valued guests, then I''ll take them up on the offer, I''d rather rest there than here in the borders of the Red Sun''s territory."

    "Then so be it, the Herald already anticipated this, he is waiting for you two at the secret teleportation gate leading to the ughter sect." she said.

    "Teleportation gate? I didn''t see that when I got here," I said.

    "Because it''s a secret teleportation gate," she grinned.

    "Then why did he have toe riding out, instead of using the gate?" I asked as I was surprised that the Herald had arrived with a ride the first time.

    "Because it is a one way gate¡­"

    "Suspicious¡­"

    She sighed, "It''s a Very very very important person gate, and can only be used as an escape method to the main sect," she said.

    "I see¡­ so you''re saying that the Red sun is your dad?"

    She looked at me with eyes wide open, "How did youe to that¡­ realization," she asked.

    "Am I wrong?" I asked.

    "Yes, and¡­ no," she said.

    "Huh, bastard child?" I asked.

    "No, nothing like that, he''s my adoptive father¡­" she said.

    "I see. No wonder the entire Ant cave has that formation," I said.

    "Formation?"

    "In case you didn''t notice, the map you''ve given me, the tunnels, the way they''re carved and how they worm their way underground. Those are formations, protective ones that epass the entierety of the Ant Cave. However, I don''t know what the trigger for them is," I shrugged.

 Chapter 632 Slaughter Sect

    632 ughter Sect

    "What an annoyance," the Red Sun said.

    "You don''t like the fact that Shen Bao refused to partake in the tournament?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "In a sense, but mostly the fact that he was chummy with my daughter!" the Red Sun snorted in derision.

    "I don''t see any chumminess happening, you''re old senile and getting a bit too emotional," the Wisest Sun smiled replying.

    "What would you know! I know that type of men! They act as if they''re not interested while he''s definitely scheming!"

    "I can promise you one thing, Shen Bao is pretty much oblivious or rather a bit dense when ites to matters of the heart, so you have nothing to worry about, anyway, how are we going to get him to partake in the tournament?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "Hmm, for him risking his life for no apparent benefit or visible goal is out of the question. To get him to partake in the tournament a few things must be established," said the Wisest Sun. "What would you suggest?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "First thing first, abolish the idea of being taught by one of the Suns, after all that basically a hassle for all of us. We''ll need to dumb down anything we already know for people who want to learn it, and as Shen Bao had said it will be taken as a decree and holy words for the person who''d be taking that as a prize, driving them away from their own path and into our own,"

    "I see, but what do you think would be appropriate to change that reward?" "Giving statue and power is fine for anyone else, but I doubt Shen Bao would be interested, then how about something with more value?" the Lord of Lords smiled.

    "What would be more valuable than the chance to learn from one of the eight suns?" the Red Sun shrugged.

    "The possibility to be one of the Suns," the Lord of Lords smiled.

    "And you''re calling me senile and delusional, are you insane? Do you know how difficult it is to be one of the suns?!"

    "I know it all too well, ughterer, I am after all one of them. But I''ve seen it, I''ve seen the potential, I''ve seen the possibility and I''ve seen the ninth sun, an emerald colored sun, that shone bright in the high skies, small at first, but domineering and powerful still. However, that is not possible anytime soon, still we must help him reach that stage, must we not?"

    "I see no gain to do so¡­" the Red Sun said.

    "Well, think about it, among any of us, who here ventured into the Dark Garden and returned without a headache of sorts, even the Dusking Sun suffered there, and he returned without much to say. Yet, Shen Bao immediately adapted and managed to venture through thosends."

    "That still isn''t enough, to be a sun one must have power and territory, poweres with time and learning, but whichnd would Shen Bao could even, rule over that won''t be taken away from him the moment he ims it his? He isn''t strong enough to protect it, and we as Suns have no say and are forbidden from assisting and helping him keep hisnd. Also I''m not giving him a single inch, he''s too malicious!" said the Red Sun.

    "No need to act based on emotion, ughterer, he won''t take your daughter that''s for sure, as fornd, well, he can take the Sea of Demons. None of us want it anyway," the Wisest Sun shrugged.

    "That''s not and worth even considering, otherwise the other suns would have imed it. It''s a forbidden area, void of life, and has nothing but trouble in it. Not to mention, someone already is acting as an Emperor there, I''m not dealing with matters of people below our level so even if you promised him thatnd, he would need the power to take over," the Red Sun replied.

    "That is in fact a hurdle that he''ll have to manage himself, but if we say that thatnd is the reward who in their right mind will disagree?"

    "That is just oppressive and in a sense interfering with people below the Sun level¡­ don''t you fear that one of our more powerful followers would juste out and take it from him?"

    "Not if we make a rule stating that thend must not be touched or attacked for a certain amount of time. How does a hundred years sound?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "¡­"

    "That''s not even worth a blink of time," replied the Red Sun.

    "Do you honestly believe so? You have seen Shen Bao''s ability."

    "The Emperor there will not give up his reign for free," said the Red Sun.

    "As I have said, that will be the winner''s problem," the Lord of Lords answered.

    "I don''t think that''s enough for Shen Bao, he would rather not get into trouble," the Wisest Sun replied.

    "That is why I''ll add another condition. The ability for the Sea of Demons to self govern. Once someone decides to join the Sea of Demons, they won''t need to have any of the eight suns''s stamp. They can freely and without any repercussion join the Sea of Demons," the Lord of Lords said.

    "A lot of people will not like that, giving away one''s force is dreadful, also I don''t see how that is helpful to Shen Bao," the Red Sun said.

    "I periodically peak to the Vast Expanse, and I''ve noticed that many of his friends are at the cusp of reaching the Emperor stage. Shen Bao''s journey to the Beyond had pushed his friends past their limits and they''re almost at the level of joining the Beyond. Shen Bao would rather have his friends join him than be ves and hostages at another nation, don''t you think?"

    "That¡­ might actually be a good idea, let''s see, what if we add more treasures and rewards. I do have a garden I''ve been tending to, he''d enjoy the herbs¡­"

    "You''re all speaking as if Shen Bao would win the tournament uncontested, there are many monsters in the Beyond that outrank Shen Bao¡­" The Red Sun said.

    "Indeed there are, but the limitation to the Void Stage should be enough for him to take on most of them."

    "You do know the limit to Cultivation isn''t enough to subvert the difference in age and experience," the Red Sun said.

    "That''s what I''m actually hoping for. Since Shen Bao would have an interesting advantage over many of his peers, after all, what many think of as nothing but tools for Shen Bao woulde to haunt them when they realize the deadliness of these tools. Especially since the Dusking Sun had given him a very generous gift."

    "Well, I''ll inform my underlings. If he epts the terms, we''ll setup the tournament at thest week before the Endless Night starts."

    "Indeed, there isn''t much time left. It would be helpful if Shen Bao would intervene in the matters of the Sea of Demons before the Endless Night starts. Many lives would be lost once that happens, I always hate that period of time," the Lord of Lords sighed.

    And for a second you could sense it, an incredible bloodlust was being projected from this sword giving off a deadly feeling for anyone who dares harbor any ill intentions toward the sect.

    11:21

    "It is but a part of our lives, many of those nights had went by, if only we could find the reason for the Sea of Demons to vaporize¡­ but none of us could even go to the third level of the Dark Garden, the suppression is stronger even, for us," sighed the Wisest Sun. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Did your Law and Domain study bear any fruits?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    "Nothing much, the interference is too powerful to get a proper read on it. But with time I could probably figure out the reason for this¡­"

    "Anyway what''s going on with Shen Bao right now?" asked the Lord of Lords.

    The Red Sun closed his eyes for a second and opened them, "They just arrived to my Sect, it should be interesting to say the least to see their reaction," he said as he ced a spherical object that began projecting what was going on in the sect of the Red Sun.

    ***

    "Well, that''s something I guess," I said as I was peering over the ughter Sect.

    We had arrived at the top of a cliff that peered over a massive open field. The field itself was barricaded by massive mountains that acted as a natural wall. As for the field in between these mountains, it was an open in that spread from one base to the mountains to another, with one single river crossing in the middle of it.

    The mountains themselves had hundreds of thousands of caves carved into them, where you could see cultivators wearing full red robes moving about. Massive arenas and training grounds spread all over the sect, and in the middle of all of that was a stone sword that stood tall against the wind and breeze. It didn''t even have a single scratch on it, albite being probably the oldest thing here.

    At the hilt of this sword the words written on it said, ughter.

    And for a second you could sense it, an incredible bloodlust was being projected from this sword giving off a deadly feeling for anyone who dares harbor any ill intentions toward the sect.

    "Wee to the ughter Sect," said the herald. "I hope you''d enjoy your stay." He said.

    "It looks simple enough," said old Fu.

    "It is because we don''t seek the fragilities of life. We seek to understand the Dao of ughter, and it needs nothing but the will and perseverance to seek this Dao unperturbed by the rules of the world," he added. "Please follow me, I''ll take you to the guest house, a few elders have already been informed of your presence and some servants will be supplied to you to make your stay more enjoyable," he said.

 Chapter 633 Replenishment

    633 Replenishment

    "What''s this?" I asked as we arrived to the entrance of the sect. From afar all I saw was simple houses and caves far away, but the moment I took a step beyond the gates of the main sect, it was as if I had entered an entirely different world.

    "It is our protective formation. Though not many would daree here to seek trouble with the ughter Sect, we still have to keep up appearances. The Red Sun himself had made this," he said.

    This was not something I had seen before. The entire sky above the real sect was pitch ck with several smaller stars lighting this dreary dark night. As for the realm here, it was like a massive piece ofnd that was floating by itself in this darkness.

    "A spatial fold¡­ in the beyond, you built your sect inside a spatial fold?!" I said.

    The herald had a proud smile on his face. "Yes, this was done by the Red Sun himself. Though it isn''t much of a secret, this is our bastion. The outer sect that you have seen earlier is what the people of the beyond think that is the ughter Sect. but the reality of things is that the sect itself exists here in this fold. This is the inner sect," he exined.

    "I see¡­"

    The entire area was at least a hundred times bigger than the outside outer sect. And the number of people roaming about felt like I was going through a bustling city.

    Several disciples were interested in the arrival of new visitors.

    And you could even hear many of the young female cultivators shouting like fangirls from behind the crowd admiring the two new ''hot'' looking guys.

    Some of the disciples even asked the herald directly, "Are they new inner students? We haven''t seen them before."

    "Have some decorum of respect! These are his lordship''s guests! Treat them as you would treat a guest, now move out of the way," the herald said as he cut through the crowd.

    We followed after the herald until we arrived to thergest building in the inner sect area. A massive pce like building where cultivators that had unfathomable level of strength moved about.

    Old Fu''s expression turned serious as he noticed the people guarding the entrance of the pce.

    "Even the guards are at the void shattering stage¡­" he said.

    "I see," I replied.

    The Void Shattering stage is one stage above the Void Stage, and that means that they''re the same major realm as old Fu.

    And these were nothing but guards. Granted, Old Fu lost a huge portion of his cultivation and had dropped all the way to the Void Shattering Stage, but this meant one thing. That if the owner of this sect, if they wanted malice to befall us, we can''t do anything to stop it.

    However, we weren''t stopped or halted at the gate. The herald seemed to be pretty well known, and the guards allowed us in.

    "I can''t follow you from here onward. Please ce the token I had given you on your chest," he said.

    I did as asked and soon a couple young female disciples who''s beauty wasparable to Yuyu showed up in front of me.

    "Please dearest guest, follow us," they said.

    Their voices brimming with youth and had a hint of charm to them. ''Charm cultivation, a nasty thing,'' I shook my head as I increased the generation of a blood thickening poison in my body.

    This slowed my heart rate and by doing that instantly removed the charm effect. Old Fu on the other hand coughed once to voice his annoyance and immediately the charm effect was dropped.

    "Do that one more time and I''ll take that as an offense," he said. Stating clear boundaries and immediately got the two girls to apologize.

    "Dear guest please forgive us, we just wanted to make your stay morefortable," they said in unison. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They practiced this I''m sure.

    "Guide us to our room please," he said, his tone was stillmanding even after asking nicely.

    The two guilds headed forward to the nearest staircase and led us to a nearby room. "This is one of our best rooms, I hope you enjoy the view," they said.

    They weren''t wrong when it came to the view. The entire room had beautiful decoration all over it. Expensive decoration that would utterly blow the general of the Sea of Demon''s room out ofpetition.

    The wood making the floor itself seemed to be ancient dragon wood. And the furniture was made of gold jade and precious ancient wood. Along with a mesmerizing view over a massiveke.

    Theke hosted several massive carps that asionally leapt over the waters. And from the depth of the water you could feel a powerful yet sharp Qi emanating from inside it.

    "There is a sword at the depth of theke¡­ seems to be a special treasure," said old Fu.

    Yet I wasn''t too interested in something like that, what I wanted was some piece of mind and a rest that I haven''t had for a while.

    I turned to the two girls, "I need some time to rest. Only call me if it is urgent," I said.

    "As you wish," they said and calmly closed the door to the room.

    I began by looking around the room for any listening mechanism or spying devices, and was surprised to not find anything.

    "It is one of the eight sun''s sect, there can''t be any misshapes."

    "I suppose, the shame would be unbearable if one finds out that their conversations and secrets are being spied on in one of the eight sun''s homes. Good," I said as I muttered, "Automaton,"

    Soon, the automaton showed up, "Would like to enter, my lord."

    "Yes, I need to make some things, Old Yu, do you wish toe?" I asked.

    "It would be my pleasure, I wish to explore this realm you open and enter at will," he said.

    The two of us entered the pagoda. The automaton arrived to wee us.

    "Take care of Old Fu," I said to the automaton.

    He nodded to me in agreement and I turned to the old man, "I''ve yet to tell you my full name," I said.

    "I guess I earned enough trust by now," he said.

    "Indeed you have, you''re a dependablerad. My real name isn''t Shen Mo, that''s my avatar''s name. Mine is Shen Bao," I said.

    The old man nodded to me in acknowledgement. "You can move about the whole of the pagoda. The automaton can take you anywhere you want, and I feel you might be interested in the fifth floor, but do well to explore all over first."

    "I shall take your advice to heart," he said. "But what about you?" he asked.

    "I''ve gotten a really good reward from the Dusking Sun. Most of the metals inside that holding bag are things I''ve never used before, and many of the herbs and nts are stuff I only read about. I need to do some testing and crafting. Also reinforce and replenish many of my exhausted ammunition and troops," I said.

    "I belive that would take a long time," he said.

    "Not really, the time difference inside the pagoda is pretty powerful. Still, if you need me just ask the automaton he''ll inform me."

    "Then please go on ahead, I also would need to consume the bodhi roots that I received, hopefully I''ll climb back to the Origin Realm," he said.

    "I wish you luck then," I said.

    The old man nodded to me and followed the automaton, while I went to the white space of the pagoda.

    "Now then," I said as I began pouring the content of the holding bag on the ground. "How about we make some magic!"

 Chapter 634 Shen Baos Monster

    634 Shen Bao''s Monster

    The materials I gained from the general were pretty generous. Most of them are metals I haven''t seen before, but after a quick run to the new part of the Lord of Lords pagoda''s library, I was able to identify and know more about these new metals.

    There were mainly three new metals that I haven''t seen before.

    First one was a massive boulder sized metal that asionally sparkled and if one would listen carefully you could hear the sound of thunder itselfing from it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Thundersteel. Something like this wasn''t very rare, but that didn''t mean it wasn''t precious. Most Thundersteel is made when a thunderstormsts at least a hundred years. And within one of the far regions of the Beyond, the Thunder Domain which is apparently one of the three forbidden regions of the beyond, thunderstorms have started andsted for almost as long as the beyond has existed.

    Not many would dare venture too much into the Thunder Domain. As the storms within it are far deadlier than even the lightning tribtions that happens to cultivators and that''s just the rims of the domain.

    Thundersteel is usually found around the rims of this domain, stone and metals that have been afflicted with endless thunder would transform and be Thundersteel. Making this metal one of the best to create sharp and deadly weapons Able to easily transfer and transfuse spiritual energy.

    Yet the metal remains precious not because of how peculiar it is, since it is easy to obtain, but because it is extremely difficult to forge. Without proper equipment and an adequate and experienced master to forge, it is nothing but a chunk of sparkling metal.

    The second metal is a type of copper. Gendingzhi Tong. A metal that is revered for its grounding properties, and connection to the earth element and earthenw. A metal that is prized with its durability and extreme resilience. Its ability to anchor on the earthw is impressive enough that it isparable to the Wisest Sun''s earth key. However, the difference is, that it is a natural element of the beyond unlike the Wisest Sun''s earth key.

    This copper based metal is able to conduct Qi currents with impressive speed. Making it a far better conductor than the Dragon Brass I was using since my days in the Vast Expanse.

    The durability of such a metal and its ability to supply high levelmunications will help me in upgrading most of my puppets to the next level, including Y.

    Finally the third metal. Blood steel.

    A red alloy that has the durability of neutron steel and mellowness of blood depending on how one infuses it. It might sound contradictive at first, however this type of alloy is extremely efficient in use. The applications of it are endless. Depending on the Qi charge sent to it, it can harden or soften, and can even change its shape however one likes. And this one is my favorite.

    I always had issues with different types of formations and inscriptions that are needed on the fly. I had to sit down and create several formations at times. However, with the BloodSteel''s mellowness and ability for it to change shape depending on the Qi charge sent to it, I can create something that will allow me to bypass that step.

    Aputer of sorts. Aputer in a cultivation world, the mere thought of it is making me grin.

    Though it isn''t as fancy as it sounds. The idea is simple, I already have the five elemental qi orb that I created based on the wisest sun''s five keys. The orb that I made due to my boredom back in the spatial tunnel. It was able to easily generatew liens and modify thews of the nearby world bymanding it. Now if I were to add an outer spherical system that is full of basic imperial inscriptions I should be able to make a structure that can input inscriptions.

    With the idea in mind I began carving more pieces using Gedingzhi Tong. Its copper base and sturdiness would help greatly in protecting the inner core that is able to modifyws.

    I pulled out my carving tools and began slicing and cutting parts and pieces of the copper base metal. Most pieces were thankfully already transformed into pure ingots, so I only needed to cut away the parts I needed. And like a Rubik'' cube I began adding bits and pieces to it.

    I thought about this a bit ago. And how to even manage to implement something as daunting as this in practical life. And I came up with an idea that might sound childish but at the same time impably perfect for this task.

    The middle core of this ''toy'' will be the elemental mind, the neutronw core and then it will be linked with Thundersteel to the outer walls which will be a square of a ten by ten square cube.

    Yes, a rubik cube that canmutate. The innerws will affect the outeryers to change and transform, and each and every transformation and change will show a different face and a different action. As for the 10x10 faces each piece and bit will have an inscription written on them. When the inner core applies amand for the outeryer, the outeryer will change to showcase a new face. The face will then apply the inscription that is drawn on it creating an inscription that I want.

    It all looks easy in exining but the application itself will be a daunting task.

    I calmed my mind for a bit took out my old pipe and took a long puff of mind clearing weed. Once my head was in the right spot, I began generating doping poison inside my mind. I needed to increase my concentration level to the maximum to undergo this task. It wasn''t going to be easy by any means.

    First things first. For a cube of ten faces each I''ll need six hundred pieces to make the faces. Which was a simple thing to do as I easily cut the copper metal into equal bits, polished them and shaped them into equal pieces.

    Then I began printing basic inscription alphabet on one of the six sides. The alphabet in the inscription lexicon is about fifty thousand letters. Which is frankly impossible to put in a rubik''s cube, especially one with only six hundred pieces. Yet the beauty of this thing is, I don''t need to write every character in every square. All I need is for the cube to change and form itself to make that symbol or letter by itself.

    And for a ten by ten, the possibilities are practically endless. I did the math, it''s basically six hundred by the power of six hundred. Oh, to give a point of reference, the number of atoms, and I say, atoms, in the visible universe is ten to the power of eighty¡­

    So, in theory, I am able to have this cube literally make any and every inscription possible by the blink of an eye. All I need is to have a powerful enough current and ability to sustain such aputing power.

    And thanks to the Thundersteel, I''m more than capable of doing so.

    I looked to the gigantic hunk of disabled metal that is Y right next to me and said, "Rejoice, once I''m done with this, you''ll be the first puppet in the world that can cultivate by itself¡­ maybe even better than cultivators themselves."

 Chapter 635 IT LIVES!

    Chapter 635 IT LIVES!

    Ten months¡­ Ten whole damn months of full focus and concentration to finalize this project. At first I thought it won''t take much time since I would just need to put in letters and adjust the cube settings via Qi to change. However, the BloodSteel''s mellowness was too frustrating to work with and adjust for the pieces.

    However, thankfully by using earthws I was able to anchor the BloodSteel''s frolic behavior when exposed to Qi to a more toned down and stable transformation. Basically, I created a closed circuit that uses earthw to supply the outeryer which is the cube with ''electricity'' which is Qi.

    The inner core was now fully linked to the outeryer with rods of Thundersteel. Every movement of the inner core generates energy that is subsequently tranted into Qi signals, allowing the blood steel to morph fractionally and change the outer structure of the cube, changing its form and shape and thus creating a fully functioning inscription system.

    And that was just one small part of its whole purpose. The formation creation was not the only thing this beauty can make. The seals and inscription it writes on the six faces of the cube can also be used to tracew. And the inner core can also push these seals to create powerful spells and is also able to transfer massive amounts of Qi. Far beyond what even I could ever dream of achieving. This is the same job as would a meridian would do. Only a few billions of times better. And how am I to use this piece? Well, that''s my next objective.

    Y has been sitting there for a while now. Unmoving. The seawater from the sea of demons damaged his circuits hard. Itpletely damaged his reactor. But his mind circuit was still untouched. Thanks to my paranoia when master rain first took Y from me. I swore to never let that happen, and had reced his mind circuit and changed it and added a shit ton of protectiveyers. Which happened topletely preserve his mind.

    Now before I reposition his mind I''ll need to give him upgrades.

    Y used to own powerful swords that he was missing back in the Vast Expanse. I never had the chance or time to go and hunt for them. However, it is no longer needed. Since I can make far better things now.

    I also need to upgrade his entire build. He''s made from rtively powerful materials. Yet the durability of the metals I received is far superior to what Y is made of. However, I wasn''t too keen on fully recing Y''s parts or changing his appearance. What Y will obtain are upgrades. A lot of them.

    I began by disassembling Y''s parts. Starting from the limbs. The four arms and two legs. And the massive mask.

    I left his chest and head alone for now since they''ll have the majority of upgrades done to them soon.

    Y''s four sword style is pretty powerful, yet without the demon hunting swords, and using my old chainsaw swords seemed to lessen the potency of his attacks although he still remained destructive. But it was power at the cost of uracy and I can''t have that anymore.

    At the current level I''m at, I need Y to be of help to me, not a liability as much as I don''t think of him as such.

    An emperor level cultivator can easily destroy Y, just like what happened in the fight against the Fire Lord.

    I began by removing the outeryer of Y''s arms,pletely disassembling it, and cing the pieces on the table. Each arm wasposed of at least a hundred piece of metal that were well fused together. And to upgrade them, I''ll need simr pieces and bits.

    The furnace at the third level of the Lord of Lords pagoda was enough to handle the job of melting the newly acquired metals. And the hundred puppets I used as fodder were perfect workers to smelt the pieces I needed.

    I had ten of those puppets work the bellows and the heat, and another dozen workers to work the metal into the needed parts. As for the rest of the workers they were to transport the ready pieces to me to use.

    It only took a day for me to have a new arm I can use that is based on the former model. Only this arm was made using far superior metals. And after a week, all the limbs were already finished and fit together. The chest piece and the head piece though took far more time. A week for the chest piece and a fortnight for the head piece since it was made of more than a thousand pieces by itself.

    After finalizing the whole structure I began wiring it using the new copper base metal I obtained. The Gedingzhi Tong was perfect to conduct and transfer Qi. All forms of it, including Saint Qi, and what seems to be the next tier, Origin Qi, but I don''t have ess to that right now. However, once I obtain a condensed piece of Origin Qi I''ll be able to use it to power the new reactor I made.

    I opened Y''s chest and ced the newly made reactor, a far superior version to the one he used to have. This one was made to not only transform Qi into energy that the puppet can use, but can also store any excess energy within it.

    An artificial Dantian of sorts.

    With the new reactor being the Dantian, the Rubik cube being the meridian, and thest piece in my hand where I stored Y'' mind being the Mind. Y can effectively cultivate. Since he can absorb the energy of the world using his reactor, and transfer it all over his body using the cube''s instantaneous transition and trantion tow, Y can now understandw and apply it. Or so I hope.

    I ced the circr mind circuit in its position inside Y''s head piece and linked all the pieces together.

    Soon, Y booted up and looked around. His current colors are a mix of chrome and copper. Which gave him an eye pleasing color scheme a contrast like silver and gold of sorts.

    Y opened and closed his arms and the immediately reported to me.

    "My Lord, was my former body destroyed in the caves?"

    "Not really, you just got an upgrade," I said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "The energy consumption to move this body is far greater than before¡­"

    "Because it is a heavier metal and far sturdier at the same time," I said.

    "I see¡­ However, there is a strange moving thing inside my chest¡­"

    "That is your meridian," I said.

    "A meridian?" he asked.

    "Point your palm forward," I said to Y and he executed themand instantly.

    "Now, try and seal the space around me," I said.

    "I have no knowledge of spatialws," he said, however his words contradicted his action as the moment Y ''thought'' of sealing me. Sigils and signs appeared in front of his palm and instantly applied a spatial lock around me.

    "Perfect!" I smiled, "Now release it," I said.

    "It is something new to me¡­ the ability to controlw¡­ it should be against heavenlyw, I am not a being that worships the heaven, I was made by man, but now I can contort and control thews of heaven themselves¡­" Y didn''t argue this time and only needed to will the disappearance of the seals for them to dissipatepletely.

    "I see¡­"

    "What do you think," I asked.

    "It is something new to me¡­ the ability to controlw¡­ it should be against heavenlyw, I am not a being that worships the heaven, I was made by man, but now I can contort and control thews of heaven themselves¡­" "That''s science, anyway." I said "You''ll need to fully explore the level and power that you can release from your ''meridian'' it isn''t perfect. And it needs to be supplied constantly with Qi. Once I figure out how to make you innately absorb the heavenly Qi into your body, you will no longer need a reactor, and I''ll create an even better Dantian for you. By then, you''ll be able to upgrade yourself." I said.

    "How?"

    "Us cultivators upgrade our bodies by absorbing the Qi of the world, well, I''m different, but that''s the reason how I came up with this. You''re made of metal. And metal is too, something that was birthed by heaven itself. And I''ve seen metal, like normal steel, that was struck with endless thunder and became Thundersteel. And for you, once you''re able to absorb the heavenly Qi in your body, wouldn''t that make you able to upgrade the quality of your body? The Thundersteel you''re currently using, can it not be Divine Thundersteel after it is exposed to massive amounts of heavenly Qi? In theory that should be possible," I said.

    "It is indeed a usible theory¡­"

    "Then, you''ll be able to cultivate, you''ll be able to grow, and you''ll be able to harness the energy of the world into you. The meridian I created for you is made of the worldlyws. And the heavenly Qi of the world is alsoposed ofws. The meridian will allow you to understand the heavenlyws and apply them to your metallic body and upgrade it. It is aplete circle¡­ I can only hope it''ll work," I said

    Y turned and looked at the remains of his body.

    "I''ll make good use of that, don''t worry, I also need to upgrade X, he''s been working for me the longest and he needs a full upgrade. I''ll be using your former body as a blueprint to create another version of you, where X will reside. The difference is that X will be using a different method of warfare unlike you."

    "Gunpowder?"

    "Yeehaw,"

    "¡­"

    "Never mind, you won''t get it"

 Chapter 636 Master of Puppets

    Chapter 636 Master of Puppets

    "So this is the design for the demon ying swords?" I aske Y.

    "Yes, it is. This is what Master Rain created me for. The swords themselves were artifacts that were used by giants that lived a long time ago in the Vast Expanse, that''s why they were obscenelyrge. And no man could wield them, so he created me to control all four of them. However, it is far below my current ability to use them right now."

    "I see, however, your design itself matches the four sword style. So I''ll make new swords for you. My version of demon ying swords was a bit brutish," I said.

    "I enjoyed the chainsaw swords, my lord."

    I smiled at Y''s statement. Although it was basically just ttery. The swords I made for him were not of a great quality. And they only worked due to them absorbing the excess heat that Y generated when he moved and acted. But now using new material, that side effect is gone. And I''ll need actual weapons.

    Studying about weapon making isn''t something that would take small amounts of time. For a normal person that is. Using my own poisons, Doping, I was able to absorb knowledge like never before, fully integrating it with my own experience and allowing it to be a part of me.

    Although it came at a great cost of mental fatigue, nothing a short one day rest couldn''t fix.

    I''m not a person who likes to brag. Still, I''m pretty confident in my ability to craft things that I''ve seen once. And if I had the tools and methods to replicate a smelting technique then that makes crafting even easier.

    With the vast sea of knowledge that is the Lord of Lord''s library, I was able to learn of many forging techniques. However, most of these techniques required an incredible control over fire. Though my own Veridian Heart me is powerful. It is nowhere near enough to act as a source of forge fire.

    But the bottle of Veridian Soul me that I obtained from the general is enough for the job. The only issue is, that he said that I needed to be at least at the Void stage to be able to consume it.

    Yet, I''ve read records of smiths that had this level of me at the Emperor level and even at the King level.

    Reading through the books of the Lord of Lords, I understood many things about Soul mes. First off, all the people who have this me and that are below the Void level are all prodigies or the core disciples of a sect or an heir to one of the renowned ns of the beyond, past or present that is.

    The record states that the ns and sects who cultivated these disciples would give them insane amounts of soul nourishing pills so that they can obtain the blessing of the Soul me before they even reach the Void Stage.

    Another thing about this specific me is that they are basically an upgraded version of Heart mes. They possess the same abilities as their lower counterpart with an additional boon to them.

    For example, the Veridian Heart me is the best for alchemy and poison making. The heat level it reaches is enough to process any spiritual herb. However, it is not intense enough to be used in forging weapons. You would need a more specialized heart me for that.

    Yet, the Veridian Soul me does not have that problem. Since at the void level, there exist some herbs that have properties that areparable to the sturdiest metals, and without enough heat, one cannot process them.

    The Soul mes, unlike the Heart mes are powered by one''s own soul energy. And if there is anything I''m proud of, it''s the obscenely powerful soul I have.

    So, if someone at the Emperor level had absorbed and tamed the Veridian Heart me due to the power of their souls, why can''t I? They were powered by powerful ns and mighty sects. Yet I had this potently powerful soul since I could ever remember.

    I pulled up the bottle that contained the Soul me and spoke addressing the automaton, "I''ll be leaving to absorb this. If Old Fu requests my presence, inform him if what I''m doing."

    "What if someonees looking for you in the guest room you''re in?"

    "Ignore them, unless it''s urgent no one shoulde looking for us," I replied.

    "As youmand," the Automaton replied.

    I then teleported out of the white zone of the pagoda, and headed up, to one of the newly opened spaces.

    The whole pagoda had nine floors. And so far, I only have ess to five of them. The fifth being where the Primordial Dragon Serpent''s body is stored at. I wanted to head to the furnace area since it is the only ce that can withstand heat without damaging anything else. However, I couldn''t since the puppets I ordered to make X''s body were still using it.

    I had given them the temte that they need to work on, so by the time I''m done absorbing this me they should be done with making X''s body.

    I headed to the open fields, and directly to the volcano area where mes and ruin was all one could see for endless miles ahead. Once I found a rtively remote and isted ind in the middle of a movingva current. I sat cross legged in it and began absorbing the Soul me.

    The method was simple. Basically, one needs to opened their mouth, drink the liquid me essence, and subdued it using their own energy.

    But the moment I drank the liquid, it felt as if I had opened my mouth to the gates of hell itself. The liquid came down in like molten lead down my throat, but I could resist nor should I have done so in the first ce.

    My Dantian felt as if it was being burnt as a massive wave of green energy was washing over it. Burning the entire sea of Qi into smoke as it was moving toward my mental fortress.

    My own Veridian Heart me came in tobat the Soul me, however it was as if a candle me was trying to fight against the burning sun. The oue was obvious as my own Veridian Heart me was instantly absorbed into the powerful iing wave of Soul me.

    Yet I didn''t feel any anxiety or worry at the iing tidal wave of burning death. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The existence which was my condensed dragon like soul shot forward into the iing wave. And soon, a powerful soul energy was released from within the wave.

    Instantly subduing it and forcing it to merge with the endless seawater.

    The whole thing took less than few seconds. And the Soul me was mine.

    Having already subdued the me I opened my eyes to see how powerful this me was.

    Yet something felt wrong. The entire area I was in had froze over. The majority of it, and it was slowly melting back into magma once again.

    Unable to understand what happened, I called the automaton.

    Soon, he appeared in front of me.

    "What happened here?" I asked.

    "You finally woke up, Master," he said.

    I frowned unable to understand what he meant.

    "You''ve been meditating for a year my lord, that''s how long it took you to absorb the Soul me. The fire energy that you absorbed allowed your body to take in more from the Yang Qi that is in this fire region. You almost exhausted all the Yang Qi that the Lord of Lords had ced here."

    "What do you mean almost?" I questioned.

    "You already consumed the equivalent power of a Heart by yourself just to stabilize the Soul me. Which is impressive in its own way."

    I stood up, frowning at how I lost an entire year here, which is pretty damn long¡­ well kind of. But something caught my eyes.

    "There is a mountain missing¡­" I said. "I didn''t destroy that while I was meditating, right?" I asked quite worried that I might have.

    "Oh, no, that was the work of the puppets... well, the new line of them that is¡­"

    "Why the hell would puppets destroy a mountain, and I''m sure that even with all the weapons they have they should be able to¡­"

    "Oh, no, they didn''t destroy it with weapons, they actually dug through the entire thing¡­ it would be better if you see for yourself."

    I flew up to see what was going on and was awestruck to see thousands of puppets that looked like a miniature version of Y holding pickaxes and carving mountains. They were digging for mineral reserves within the mountain.

    "What the hell happened in a year?!"

    "When you left you forgot to give them themand to stop after finishing up X''s body¡­ And I didn''t stop them since they were pretty proficient at creating other puppets. When the materials that were needed to make X''s body were done, they began digging minerals through thendscape, they processed them, and repurposed them. Although the version of puppets they made is of a lesser quality than Y and X, they are still all at the emperor level¡­"

    "¡­"

    "They also have the same Reactor that Y and X have¡­"

    "Don''t tell me¡­"

    "No, they couldn''t make the Law Core and the inscription cube. Those required understanding ofw. Even Y tried to replicate it and failed,"

    "Thank god¡­" I said.

    "I thought you''d be happier with the result¡­" he said.

    "Frankly speaking, this is a good thing, however I''ve seen too many movies where stuff like this went really, really wrong. Anyway, I suppose they''re going to keep working on creating other puppets¡­"

    "They will unlessmanded otherwise." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "What''s the total number of produced puppets?"

    "Forty-two thousand and sixty-nine puppet,"

    "Nice¡­How many of them are capable ofbat?" I asked.

    "Not many, about a thousand at most, they''recking Saint Qi crystals. As for the rest, they''re using spiritual stones to supply themselves with power. Although the reserves are diminishing greatly. We''ll need more Saint Qi to supply the whole army¡­"

    "Army¡­ I suppose," I sighed as I didn''t expect this.

    "Where is Old Fu?" I asked.

    He left a while ago, he already sessfully reached the Origin Realm. He''s also outside taking care of the elders that had insistently requested your presence."

    "Give the order for the puppets to stand down. If they keep this up they''ll probably raze the entire pagoda to the ground. I''ll be backter¡­"

    I shook my head as I left the area¡­ an actual army of Y¡­ that''s a lot of power¡­ I should keep this on the low end. Having too much power at my current level will only get more eyes on me¡­ although it is impressive in its own right, it''s not something I should expose right now¡­

 Chapter 637 Entertainment

    Chapter 637 Entertainment

    I went out of the Lord of lords pagoda and found old Fu sitting in the lotus position outside. His entire demeanor seemed to exude a powerful hue of might. There was a different air about him. It was as if something was added to his existence itself that gave him a different vibe.

    A more dependable feeling.

    "Congrattions," I said to Old Fu.

    "You can see it?" he asked as he opened his eyes from meditation.

    "No, but I can feel the difference, is that Origin Qi?" I asked.

    "Yes, it is a far higher realm than Saint Qi," he said.

    "What''s the difference?"

    "Thews inside the Origin Qi are far moreplicated. And the energy itself feels as if a living thing is within you," he said.

    "I won''t understand unless I experience it I guess," I replied.

    "In due time, so, what''s with the dy? I thought you would get out faster than I did," old Fu asked.

    "Well, I didn''t really think I''ll lose myself cultivating," I replied.

    "I see, you managed to consume so much Yang energy I had to leave lest you think of me as food. It''s my first time ever seeing someone absorb and condense a Soul me in such a short time," he said.

    "Short time? That shit took me an entire year," I cussed out.

    "Hah!" Old Fuughed, "I honestly think you''re a monster. Not even the Dawning Sun himself took as little as you did. He took twenty years. To absorb the Soul me, and that is, until this day, a record that has never been broken before¡­" Old Fu said.

    "Oh¡­ I didn''t think it was that hard," I replied.

    "Well, it was good that you woke up that early, otherwise in twenty years of you meditating, your puppets might have carved the entire area for minerals," he said.

    "Oh, you saw that," I said.

    "I did, and didn''t want to stop them, as much as it might damage the inner world in your pagoda, it is still a powerful army that they created by replicating themselves. You know, I''ve been thinking about this, why not go to the Thunder Domain?" he asked.

    "Why so?" I asked.

    "Your puppets, if they''re able to mine in that area, you''ll probably have an unlimited supply of them. The Thunder Domain has thergest concentration of minerals in the entirety of the known beyond. If they could reproduce there, in a few years, you''ll have enough power to challenge the mightiest of forces¡­ well, it''s a thought," he said.

    "¡­ I see, I''ll think about it, although I have no intention of starting a war, but it''s not too bad of an idea. One should always make use of the powers they have."

    "For what matters now, the elders requested your presence, I believe they have something they want to share with you," Old Fu said.

    Not a momentter, we heard a knock on the door. Two men soon waltzed in, not caring one bit or had a decorum of respect to our privacy or the fact that we''re guests.

    "You two took long enough! We can''t be dying this anymore!" one of the two, the younger looking man spoke up.

    The other man held his hand to stop him, "Elder Wong, there is no need to raise your blood pressure," he said, "all is well now, please follow us they said.

    ''Good elder Bad Elder I guess¡­''

    "Who the fuck are these two?" I asked Old Fu,pletely disregarding the two.

    Old Fu shrugged, "They''ve been nagging at the door for a while now, I guess they''re some low tier elders from how they spoke," Old Fu followed in on my insults without batting an eye.

    The first elder named Wang looked to be fuming, "YOU DARE!" he said as he began rotating his cultivation base. He seems to be at the Origin Realm¡­ pretty strong.

    "A mere Emperor level cultivator dares!"

    "And I would," I replied, "If you see, this says Honored guest," I pointed at the badge. "So finish what you were saying, fuck around and you will definitely find out," I replied.

    The badge didn''t seem to have much sway in this matter as the elder moved forward in an attempt to intimidate me. However, the older elder soon stopped him, "Elder Wong, they are indeed guests of our sect, for now please refrain from doing anything that will cause harm to the reputation of our sect,"

    The man named Wong swallowed hard and scuffed saying, "Not after hearing insults from a junior, listen here you who is unnamed, take one hit from me, if you survive then I''ll let this matter go."

    "Are the people here brain damaged?" I questioned Old Fu.

    Old Fu shrugged, "I think this one is a bit special," he said as he made the ''crazy'' guy gesture with his hand.

    Fuming and enraged the man was about to go into an explosive mood. Which was something I wanted after all.

    "I mean, who''s stupid enough to try and take a hit from an Origin Level cultivator," I said.

    "That means you''re a coward!" he said.

    "No, that means that you''re a bully, you like bullying juniors don''t you? You probably take pleasure from doing so, that''s a pervert''s behavior. I always thought that when people grow in age they gained wisdom, I must have been wrong, because this pervert here seems to enjoy doing these perverted acts¡­"

    ''101 gaslighting''

    The man seemed stupefied at the wordsing out of my mouth.

    Old Fu began clicking his tongue, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you really do put a bad image for Origin Level Cultivators, I wouldn''t have the face to show if I was as perverted as you, bullying someone three major realms below you, what a shame¡­ is this the level of elders in this sect?" Old Fu asked the other Elder who seemed even more confused.

    "I¡­I¡­"

    "Old Fu, we should probably just leave, we''ve been harassed and insulted by perverts, I guess this is how the Red Sun treats his guests, I shouldn''t have taken her suggestion. What a shame," I replied.

    "Don''t you dare speak his name! You have no right!" said Elder Wong.

    "I don''t? I believe I do, unlike you me and him are acquaintances."

    "Stop the lies! I''d give my right arm if you had even seen a glimpse of our Lord''s esteemed face. None of us here even met him, while you a junior from unknownnds, a castaway regurgitated scum dares speak as if you know our lord!"

    "Well, I guess," I said as I pulled an item I didn''t think I''ll ever use.

    It was the Laughing ughterer''s tower. "Do you know what this is?" I asked.

    "What kind of garbage is that," Wong said as he pped the tower away from my hand.

    The old man next to him instantly froze in a panic. "W¡­where did you get that!"

    I sighed at the fallen object and said, "I guess this ce really is hopeless," N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!" the elder shouted once again.

    "Seems like you recognize that," I replied.

    "How can I not, it was our Lord''s most prized possession, a tower he made when he first reached the Origin stage¡­ it''s a tower that was used to train low level cultivators of the sect. But it was lost a very long time ago¡­ howe you possess such a thing," the old man asked.

    "Now that''s a good question, how about you realize the consequences of your own actions by yourself¡­ well I guess that realization is already here, what''s up," I said.

    The two of them looked at each other and then behind them but there was no one.

    "What the hell are you talking about?"

    "They really can''t see you can they?"

    "I''m more surprised at how you can even sense me¡­" a man suddenly appeared right between the two of them.

    The two instantly recognized the red robes and went down prostrating in front of the man.

    "I guess I should return this," I said as I handed him the small tower.

    The old man had a sh of a smile as he grabbed the tower from my hand.

    "It really is, my tower¡­" he said.

    "Where was this?"

    "Outside," I replied, I didn''t want to expose where I came, but the Red Sun will probably understand.

    "Hmm, it has been damaged," said the Red Sun.

    "Don''t look at me, I took care of that thing since the moment I received it. That dumbass over there was the one who broke it," I said.

    The red sun turned his head to see a petrified looking Wong on the floor.

    "I see¡­"

    "Regardless, Ie for something more¡­ important, the two of you leave us. As for you¡­you have three breaths of time to leave my sect." the red sun said.

    The man instantly stood up and flew out of the window.

    "I guess three breaths of time is too long," he said as he pointed his hand forward, "Die."

    It was as sudden as the word was spoken.

    The man who was flying as if his entire being depended on it, the man who used blood escape arts, and most of his cultivation to fly and run away just simply perished in mid air the moment the word was spoken.

    He then turned to the other elder¡­ "How about I give you four breaths,"

    "No need," I intercepted, "Of the two, he was the more sensible also it would be rude that two elders of your sect would die on our first day here."

    "I do have many other elders¡­ but you''re right, go and repent for your actions against my guest. A thousand years of imprisonment should be enough of a punishment for your transgression," he said.

    "Thank you for your evesting mercy great lord! Thank you!" the old man said and left the room rather happy looking which was surprising.

    I guess not many survive an encounter with the Red Sun.

    "So¡­"

    "I need you to participate¡­" he said.

    "The tournament again?"

    "Yes, I won''t take no for an answer," he said as he looked in the distance where the spray of particles and blood was still flowing down from the disintegrated corpse of elder Wong.

    "That''s persuasive¡­ but I don''t have the minimum level required to partake, it says Void stage right," I said.

    "That won''t be a problem, if you require materials to reach that stage our sect will deliver them to you."

    "Why are you being this generous, I don''t think that the tower is enough for all this generosity."

    "The tower does hold a good emotional recollection to me but you are right, it is not enough. It is a bet between me and the others¡­ but we need you to be in thispetition or our bet is void and null."

    "I became an entertainment for old Suns now¡­ great,"

 Chapter 638 Strongest Under The Sun

    Chapter 638 Strongest Under The Sun

    "But still, it is really not something I want to do, I''d probably just give up on the first round if you just want to save some face by having me join, you didn''t specify that your bet needs me to win, not that I think I can," I said.

    "I would also gain a lot if you were to win, however, the idea behind the tournament isn''t just to see who is the Strongest Under the Sun. The bragging rights and the rewards are things to make a man salivate for," he said.

    I doubt anything would be worth one''s life to be honest.

    "Ah, one thing, I forgot to mention, the winner will own the Sea of Demonsnd¡­"

    "Isn''t that already owned by that emperor guy?" I asked.

    "No, he is just a self-proimed ruler. Thend itself is ownerless. Once you get the title for it from the tournament you can im it as yours."

    "With my current ability, that''s just asking people to take it away," I said.

    "Not if you use that army you''ve been building," the Red Sun grinned at me.

    "¡­"

    "Anyway, though it is not enough to ''entice'' you. The fact that you can ownnd in the Beyond is a special perk not many have. In fact besides us eight Suns, very few other people own nd'' here. And if you ownnd you can allow your people to live in it without being branded by another sect."

    That made the gears in my head spin. And the Red Sun spoke those words knowing full well what they meant.

    This will allow me to host the people form the beyond without them having to go under a sun''s banner.

    That by itself is a reward worth fighting for. Which got me more interested in the tournament.

    "So is it going to be a full on battle tournament?" I asked.

    "Why would you need to know that?" asked the Red Sun.

    "To prepare, even batman needs prep-time¡­"

    "Batman?"

    "Never mind, anyway, what''s the concept of the tournament?"

    "It''s a multi stage tournament. Due to the size of the beyond, which is iparable to your former small world. The number of people that can participate can easily reach hundreds of millions. Sorting all of them is a logistical nightmare. This will be the weeding stage. As you can guess, there are many ways where that can be done. The main tournament after the weeding stage is over will be where the heavy hitters will appear, after that is the finals where everyone who remains will be gathered in an arena. A ssic tournament format to show who is the Strongest Under the Sun."

    "I see¡­ the minimum required is the Void stage¡­ as for the tournament date?"

    "In less than a month¡­ everyone knows it, as for how long it willst it all depends on the participants, we do wish that it ends before the Endless Night begins¡­ But the tournament itself hadsted many times longer than usual. Even once itsted throughout the Endless Night,"

    "This gives me a good framework to work on¡­"

    "By the way, you''re not allowed to use your pagoda." He said.

    "Really?"

    "Yes, nothing above the Origin Shattering Realm is allowed and your treasure there is a grade above that."

    "Origin Shattering, I guess that''s a stage above the Origin realm¡­ then what''s next after that?" Old Fu was the one who answered, "That''s the Heaven Realms¡­ It was where my cultivation level was before¡­"

    Old Fu didn''t need to finish his words. I could understand.

    The Red Sun took another look at old Fu and said, "You''re that kid, the one who stood up to the Darkest Sun¡­"

    Once the words Darkest Sun were spoken, Old Fu''s face turned somber.

    "Calm down, if I speak his name, even he wouldn''t dare peak. Anyway, I see that you managed toe back¡­ and with Shen Bao too, I guess you lived. Interesting, however, I''d rmend you don''t participate, if I had remember your face, surely the Darkest Sun will know you the moment you appear in the tournament."

    "I wasn''t keen on partaking in the tournament anyway," I said.

    "Good, then I have something for you to do then. Shen Bao, do whatever you want for your ''Prep-Time'' but you must be out of the pagoda by the next month," the Red Sun shed me a vile grin as he walked away from the room.

    "Hold up, before you go," I said as I pulled my hand forward.

    "What?" asked the Red Sun.

    "Payment, I need materials¡­ you want me to participate, and investor needs to invest."

    "I''ll have some of the elders send something to your room¡­As for the elders of the sect''s behavior, I''ll handle them to not bother any of you," he said and soon disappeared from sight.

    I thought for a second and walked right back into the Lord of Lords pagoda. I have thirty months to prepare for the tournament once I crank up the pagoda''s time dtion to the max.

    With that I''d be able to make a lot of trinkets that I''ll need.

    Since I can''t use the pagoda''s facilities or its ability to move, I''ll need to start preparing for an all-terrain battlefield.

    "Shen Bao," Old Fu said. "Are you leaving?"

    "I''ll be in the pagoda, you cane in whenever, the Automaton will keep an eye on you. Also I guess the Red Sun needs you for something."

    "Right, I''ll head back once I''m done."

    "Godspeed," I said.

    "To you too," he said.

    I soon got inside the pagoda and headed to the white room.

    I understood many things from the Red Sun''s words. First thing''s first. Cultivating to the Void Stage is the least of my worries. It would really not matter if I make it to the void stage or not if I were to lose the first round which is pretty obvious.

    He said it will be a mass weeding of participants. So that makes the situation pretty obvious. It will not be a fight against a random beast or anything of sorts, he mentioned that millions of participants might take the trial so doing something like that would be moot since they can easily overpower whatever is thrown at them by the sheer number of the people.

    It will be an endurance test. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I don''t know which kind, but since he said that ess to the pagoda is forbidden, it means that it would be something that the pagoda can easily ovee.

    The pagoda itself isn''t an offensive treasure, it is defensive. And it can hide between spatial folds and has a gigantic space inside it. So, it will probably be a test that is easy to pass with these condition.

    "A test where cover is needed¡­ perhaps we''ll get thrown in an active volcano or the depth of an icy field. Maybe even both¡­ also he mentioned that it might take a lot of time¡­ perhaps we''ll even need to cross distance¡­"

    With all that info I already have an idea in mind on what I need to make that will allow me to bypass all of those trials. And it isn''t even that hard.

    I began jotting down a primary idea of what I wanted to make and the finalized sketch looked pretty decent.

    A four-thruster boat that can act as a submarine and has wheels on the side and jet thrusters from the back. Basically, a space ship¡­

    "I guess I''m getting a bit out of theme with this thing, but that''s the only thing that can allow me to survive any biome. The boat part to travel across seas. Or even dive through them as a submarine. The jet thrusters if I need it to fly. And the wheels for a worst-case scenario where the possibility of flight is prohibited."

    With the sketch done. I began working on the core and reactor part of the ship. This is basically an upgraded version of the hovering cube I made in the Dark Garden, and hopefully I won''t need to use all of its functionalities. Especially since I''m prepared to load it up with a shit tone of weapons.

    After all the best way to get through random troubles and problems is to simply shoot them into nothingness...

    I love the smell of freedom

 Chapter 639 Time to cultivate

    639 Time to cultivate

    Six months inside the Lord of Lords Pagoda.

    I sighed as I looked at the materials in the holding bag that seemed to be rapidly decreasing.

    Being a rich person in the Beyond is a difficult task. The majority of the newly acquired materials I got from the Red Sun were things I never ever saw before and the few ones I knew were all things that were far too precious to be using on this project.

    There was a very robust metal that I obtained from the Red Sun. It was pretty sturdy and yet not brittle. It wouldn''t bend nor break under pressure, and even if it get deformed, it will revert back to its former form once you apply Qi on it. A pretty good metal to make armor of, or even des.

    And because of that metal I wasted a lot of time toe up with these four des for Y. and recreated his mask.

    Since after upgrading Y, I never gotten the chance to remake his swords or the mask since he was using the lesser version.

    Now Y owns a massive ck Samurai Oni mask that hovered behind his back. Forever watching and looking. The mask retained his ability to remain split in two and fly behind Y. The inscription behind that was pretty easy. Only I added a few things to the mask now. Even Y will enjoy them.

    As for X, I didn''t want to leave him without something of his own. Since X is fully focused onbat and is basically a SOF unit. I loaded him with a dozen flying Drones that carried explosives and had their own gunner system. They can maneuver around him or fly separated of him. They all have their own type of warfare systems built in them. Some have chemical weapons, some have explosives some have high caliber and long range assault ess and so on. Yet all twelve of these things can act as a setup for a formation that can trap enemies inside it. Creating hallucinating formations.

    Anyone trapped inside the formation of these drones will fall under the hypnosis and will suffer attacks that they can''t defend from.

    Not only that I even upgraded X''s defensive and offensive weaponry.

    The new ''mind'' that I made using the synthetic meridian allows X to harness the power of Law itself to create his own type of attacks. From lightning bolts to a me thrower, both his arms can be a cannon of X''s own choosing. Not only that he still has full ess to the weaponry he used to carry before including the railgun and the twelve-gauge rocketunchers and grenadeunchers.

    I never got the chance to upgrade Z on the other hand, I''ll need something more specific for him which I''ll be consideringter.

    The rest of the puppets though were not easy to gear. Having forty two thousand and some puppets by itself is a nightmare not to mention needing to make weapons for each and every one of them. The materials I own are not nearly enough, and the material the Red Sun had given me are too difficult to process for immediate use. And if I allow the puppets to carve more of the mountains to make their weapons I''ll end up with nothing but rubble inside the pagoda. So I''ll have to dy gearing them for now. On the other hand I do have a thousand ready and fully geared up puppets.

    With that done, I turned to the second most important part of this ''rest'' period Which was finishing up the ship I was working on first.

    Half of the job was already done.

    The hull part and the inner cabin were all jotted down, designed to host four separate thrusters that will help push the entire structure above ground. Their job is to carry the weight of the entire vehicle with ease.

    I then built five more thrusters at the back end of the boat, which was shaped like a square. Each thruster was on one of the four corners and then a central thruster that was several times more powerful than any of the others.

    The entire thing in the back was powered by two reactors that can shift and change power to each of the thrusters.

    I then began building a gear system that will allow for more power per gear switched and installed it alongside the reactor that will allow the entire thing to transfer energy from the reactor to the thrusters.

    Just to be clear, I''m not too keen on building a system that only functions on Qi. I''ve been in many situations where Qi itself was denied to me. So I made sure to build a backup system. Although I would have loved to build a gas engine, the power and trust it will generate is nowhere near enough to pull the entire thing. Especially since I don''t have an adequate gas. I can''t purify oil into jet fuel for example. I don''t have the knowledge nor time to do that.

    So, I went with a heat conversion backup system that I wish I won''t have to ever use. This one will probably only function in high heat regions, or if I personally supply it with mes from the newly acquired Soul me.

    The main skeleton of the entire vehicle was finalized. The rest was basically the walls and rest of the frame which I didn''t have time to take care of. The building of this thing already cost me six months by itself which was a pretty fast timeframe.

    As for the rest, I jotted down the entire structure in parchment paper and handed it to the puppets in the forging room.

    This was work that I didn''t need to be present for it to be ready. The puppets themselves could work it, also they''re far more precise and urate. So with everything ready, X and Y fully prepped up and a thousand other puppet at the level of Emperor ready and on standby, I went to cultivate with a clear and steady mind and a calm heart.

    The Red Sun was pretty generous. He had handed me several pills and heavenly fruits to cultivate. And a crap ton of Saint Qi and even somerge chunks of Origin Qi crystals. Thetter I couldn''t use, hell they looked nothing more than shiny rocks to me at first before I realized that they hold a veryplicated Dao inside them. I guess only when I reach the Origin Realm could I even begin understanding them, but at the same time I''m still cut from the Heavenly Law due to my cultivation. I can''t absorb them, but I can definitely use them for my puppets and to power the pagoda.

    I first began by studying some of the pills in front of me. Some seemed pretty strange to me, as I had no idea what they held in them but thanks to the note apanying each pill I understood what they did.

    These are high end cultivation pills that can supplement Qi to a person. Pretty useless to me since I need to convert Qi into Poison Qi to use it. But I can keep them for other people to use. Like Old Fu he can probably use some of these.

    As for the rest of the materials, there were some poisonous nts that I consumed immediately and some other pills that were poisonous in nature and held extreme amounts of energy inside them. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    By consuming them, the Qi within me began rotating and galvanizing, pushing my cultivation forward.

    Well then. It''s time to cultivate.

 Chapter 640 Movement In the Beyond

    640 Movement In the Beyond

    Within the mountain range that held the Lord of Lords sect was a group of cultivators that were grouped up and waiting in the centermost za of the sect.

    Simr to what Shen Bao was used to in the Heavenly Academy, this area hosted tens of thousands of disciples and cultivators. Their ranks ranged from Emperor ss all the way to Origin Realm.

    And in the middle of the arena was the same man that Zhang Tian was used to, the Banner Carrier of the Lord of Lords sect, the Lording Sun.

    The banner holder was looking around the entire arena as he began exining.

    "In less than a month, all the major teleportation nodes will be opened. We will then transport those who wish to partake in the biggest tournament of the Beyond, the Strongest Under the Sun,"

    You could hear the shouts of the cultivators all over the arena. Not only will they get to interact with other cultivators and prove their might they will also be able to fight and show their powers and stand out among their peers for the higherups. They all had high hopes of seeding in this venture. And they all were brimming with confidence.

    The Banner Carrier raised on arm that quieted the crowd.

    "You all know that the uingpetition will be fierce. And a lot of other cultivators with entric and vicious methods will show up. Death is no stranger for these types ofpetitions so only those who are confident in their ability to survive should joining." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The atmosphere immediately turned somber, the path of cultivators had always been fraught with dangers.

    "Still, you must all know that thesepetitions alwayse with various rewards and opportunities. But don''t be toocent. There is a minimum required to join, and several limitations. Lest thepetitors ruin the entirety of the uing and rising generation. The minimum required to join is the Void Stage," the Banner Carrier said.

    This caused a lot of people to feel down, since the majority of the cultivators were at the emperor stage.

    "And the highest one can join is the peak of the Origin Realm."

    "The disparity in cultivation rank is far too high," one of the people closer to the Banner Carrier muttered. It was ament that he didn''t think would be picked up or heard. However, the Banner Carrier had sharp ears.

    "Indeed, it is as you said," he replied to the man, "The range is far too vast. Since it includes Void Stage, and Void Shattering stage cultivators and even Origin Stage cultivators. However, the reason why anything above the Origin Shattering Stage is excluded, is due to the fact that they can no longer use Saint Qi efficiently. As you all know, once you break the Void you''ll be able to sense the Origin Qi, and once you reach the Origin Stage you''ll be able to use it. But if you shatter the Origin Stage, you can no longer use the lesser Saint Qi and that is crippling for someone who will need to lower their cultivation base," said the Banner Carrier.

    Seeing no reaction the Banner Carrier added.

    "Unlike before, this time thepetition is very limiting to the usage of one''s cultivation, and by proxy that means a lot more cultivators can join. Unlike before where the few Origin Realm cultivators ran rampant, this time anyone who uses Origin Qi will be immediately disqualified. Though this might be unfair to the cultivators who have reached the Origin Realm, they all are far older and more experienced than cultivators who can only use Saint Qi and haven''t stepped in the Origin Realm. So the odds are now in everyone''s favor."

    This brought a lot more hope to the cultivators at the Void stage who had previously thought that it was pointless to partake in thispetition.

    "So, who is joining?" the Banner Holder grinned and immediately the entirety of the crowd burst up with cheers.

    Within the crowd, Zhang Tian was sitting cross legged, he wasn''t interested in thepetiton at all, however, a divine sense message was sent to him immediately after the Banner Carrier saw his expressions.

    "My Lord had told me that a friend of yours will be joining the tournament. He said that it will be motivational for you to do the same if you wish to meet them."

    Zhang Tian''s face lit up as he nodded in the direction of the Banner Carrier. He stood up and left. Unlike the people who were at the emperor stage and believed that thirty days isn''t enough for them to be at the Void Stage, Zhang Tian was of the other opinion. Thirty days was more than enough for him, especially with such motivation.

    ***

    throughout the Beyond. And all over the face of this massivend, tens of thousands of heavenly tribtions were happening simultaneously. They were all the testament and challenges that these people who had broken through the limits of the second step, reached beyond ascension and are challenging the final realms of the second step.

    For thispetition, cultivators were pushing themselves to break the limits of emperors, and reach beyond the void. Only when they reach the Origin Realm will they finally have achieved the third step, but that is not an easy thing to do.

    The resources required, the knowledge of Dao, and adversity is nothing like they had done before. And this is all to prove that they were not like everyone else. Apetition that will reveal some of the hidden dragons and crouching tigers of the Beyond.

    Of all the Eight Region and three forbiddennds. Many havee to partake in this event. And with some luck a few names will definitely send waves through the beyond revealing the might hidden within.

    But for now, Shen Bao is inside his Pagoda, furiously breaking through stage after stage to reach the Void realm.

    Unlike the other cultivators who can stuff themselves with powerful treasures and cultivate in perfectly harmonious and efficientnds where Saint Qi was abundant, he had to consume deadly poisons and pills to power through his stages.

    To Shen Bao whenever he consumed a new poison, he would need to suffer its effects first, making his cultivation not only the most unique, but also the most painful. But he still didn''t back away, since he had a goal to achieve by iming victory in an event that will be entered by millions of cultivators.

    If he were to be a victor, he''ll have a ce for his people, and that by itself was motivation enough for Shen Bao to push past his own limits, and finally rip through the fog that was hiding the Void Stage from him¡­

 Chapter 641 Colosseum

    641 Colosseum

    "Hmm, I thought it would be different" I said as I flexed my fingers, looking at my hands as if something was going to change.

    The world itself still looks the same. Although my Dantian lookspletely different than before alongside my sea of consciousness, nothing else changed much¡­

    My former sea of consciousness when I was in the Emperor Realm was still the same as I had since the day I opened it. A massive sea world with a floating fortress in the middle. But now, it is more like a globe that I''m looking at. As if I was a deity looking down a.

    The globe itself was nothing but water, with a small speck that when I zoomed in on it, I saw the fortress once again.

    Many of my treasures however were now visible. Mainly the Poison God, and the Lord of Lords pagoda. They both floated around this globe.

    The globe, or water rotated slowly giving off a mesmerizing feeling and slowly releasing and at the same time taking back generous amounts of Poison Qi.

    Inner World Manifestation.

    This is proof that I had reached the Void Stage. Which is basically an upgrade in overall ability. The real poweres from the Shattering of the Void stage, then I''ll be allowed to use even though miniscule, but still a potent amount of Origin Qi.

    Origin Qi is a step above Saint Qi, and it is the manifestation of the Dao into the world. Only when one understand their own Dao will they be able to project it. It is not an improvement of bodily prowess but rather mental and cultivation prowess. I don''t have that knowledge yet, and have yet to understand my own Dao. Mine is Poison, it had always been, but Poison is a vague term, and I have yet to finalize and realize it for it to manifest itself.

    That question, if I were to begin pondering it now, I''ll find myself dead before I arrive to an answer. Since I stillck the source of all Dao, which is the Origin Qi itself.

    A conundrum, to understand Origin Qi, one must understand their Dao, but to understand their Dao one must have Origin Qi.

    I immediately removed the thought from my mind since it will confuse me more.

    Looking at the puppets working the metals which were almost depleted, I ordered them to stop.

    The ship looked ready to deploy, and was pretty neat looking.

    It was powered by the same core and meridian inside Y and X, and was fully loaded in weapons. It had room for several puppets to man the guns and weapons. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The interior was far bigger than the exterior all thanx to Spatial Law which I learned how to make from replicating the same formations inside the horse carriage that took us to through the desert of the Sea of Demons.

    I still wonder how I lived without this formation. Which was able to convert small space into massive ones. I mean, it was practically right in front of me, in the Lord of Lords pagoda. But I never had the thought to research it and apply it until now.

    But to be honest, I hadn''t had a moment''s rest in a long time where I could improve and upgrade my stuff. I was always on the run or doing missions. This time I spent proved very helpful to apply the many things I learned.

    The time remaining before the tournament start wasn''t much. And I had to leave by now.

    Just as I got out, Old Fu was already standing waiting for me. He was however wearing the attire of one of the elders of the Red Sun sect.

    "How much longer?" I asked him.

    "Not much, I was asked by the Red Sun toe pick you up," he said.

    "What''s up with the clothes?" I asked him

    "I got a promotion," he said shrugging.

    "I guess the Red Sun is treating you well," I said.

    "He isn''t keen on picking a fight with the other suns, but he assured me that if I wore these robes, no one from the other factions would dare inspect my appearance. After all the Suns would rather ignore than confront," he said.

    Those old fossils know that if a fight breaks out between them something like a natural disaster would look too tame of aparison. They would rather ignore problems than face them in case their rage ends up destroying the world itself.

    "There is a teleportation gate in the center of the sect, it is primed and ready, many cultivators had already took it and left for the tournament we''re one of the very few left," he said.

    "I guess we need to head out then," I said.

    "The Red Sun also asked me to remind you to not use the pagoda unless in extreme situation,"

    I could understand what he means, the ''extreme'' situation doesn''t mean that I''m allowed to use it to escape death by a peer, but only if someone were to use for example origin Qi against me.

    Breaking the rules of the tournament will have severe consequences, and I''d rather not try the boundaries of one of the Suns.

    We walked out of the main building of the ughter sect and arrived to the gate in no time. It was still packed full of cultivators waiting for their turn, however, the moment the people responsible over the gate noticed Old Fu''s robes, they made way for us to move forward.

    Some tried to voice their annoyance due to being cut in line but a single look from old Fu cut those words in half.

    The gate wasn''t anything fancy a simple formation on the ground that looked like a pond of still water. Once we stepped inside it, we got sucked into a wormhole.

    We crossed distances that couldn''t be calcted in moments and suddenly appeared in a vast opened area right outside a walled city at the peak of a mountain.

    The air felt a bit light so our altitude was far higher than sea level and a single look at the sky that seemed to surround us gave me the needed information to understand where we were.

    We were currently in one of the inds that floated high above the ground. And it seems that this is the area of the event.

    The city itself was pretty far away, however that didn''t mean muchpared to the number of people moving toward it.

    There were eight gates surrounding the city in a octagonal shape. Each gate was about a dozen kilometer away from the city''s nearest gate that faced it and each gate had the banner of one of the suns.

    Ours was the one facing the red sun''s gate.

    "What about the people who don''t belong to any of the suns?" I asked Old Fu.

    "They can still use any of the gates they want, this is a neutral zone, fighting is forbidden and one of the people under the Eight Suns is currently acting as an arbiter. No one is allowed to harm any other before the trials begin. However, if an argument that cannot be solved with words will be held in a death match arena inside the city."

    "I see," I replied as we walked forward.

    There was a massive line in front of us, and it felt as if the city was like a sleeping beast that had its mouth open, consuming the cultivators one after another inside it yet it never seemed to be filled no matter how many it took in.

    And the most impressive thing that stood out for me wasn''t the walls or the gates. But the massive colosseum like structure in the middle. That''s probably where the tournament will be taking ce.

 Chapter 642 An Old Acquaintance

    642 An Old Acquaintance

    Several hourster, we finally arrived to the gate. And the thick line behind us had no intention on thinning down anytime soon.

    Hundreds of millions of participants isn''t something that can be easily amodated. However, the city itself even beyond the walls seemedfortably taking all those people in.

    As we arrived to the gate there was a desk where a man was sittingfortably scanning people up and down, along with him four origin realm cultivators acted as guards.

    Once we arrived to the desk he looked up at us and asked Old Fu first.

    "Participating, or watching?" he asked.

    "I''ll be watching," Old Fu replied.

    The old man then gestured for Old Fu to hand him his arm over. Once old Fu did so, the old man ced a silver bracelet on it and infused it with Qi. "You''ll find all you need in the bracelet including the city map and all avable ins. Next," he said and it was my turn.

    "Participating or watching?"

    "Participating," I replied.

    The old man looked me up and down then sighed, "What is your affiliation?"

    "Loose cultivator," I replied.

    He sighed once more, "The tournament will not guarantee your survival, are you sure you wish to partake?" he asked.

    "I do," I replied.

    He then handed me a golden bracelet.

    "You''ll find all you need inside the bracelet. There is a summoning function in it, do not resist it once it starts. Next!" he said.

    We then moved away from the desk and entered the city.

    At first I thought the entire thing will be packed full like how it is outside. But it was a far cry from what I had believed.

    Instead of a fully bloated up city, what I saw was gigantic empty streets with a minimum traffic and people out and about. And the colosseum structure that you could see from outside the city seemed to be hundreds of kilometers away.

    "Spatial Discement, the whole city is under spatialw¡­" I said.

    "This is incredible," Old Fu clearly surprised stated. "For the whole city to be under spatialw, so it is bigger on the inside than the outside, this requires an immense amount of Qi to make. But, without something like this, I doubt the city could have taken in that many people," he said.

    I nodded to his assessment, and he was right. To enable a formation of this size would require an incredible mind.

    "Do you smell that?" I asked.

    Old Fu shrugged.

    "This smells like good food," I turned my head and realized the smell wasing from a nearby three-story inn.

    "Shadows of the Phoenix, what a grandiose name," Old Fu said.

    "Let''s give it a shot, they say never judge an inn by its name, but for it to be open in this city must mean that it serves good food," I said.

    "I''ve long since lost appetite for food. But at least I hope they serve some good wine," he said.

    I moved forward, "If you wanted wine we could always drink my special brew," I said reminding him of the Dragon Tears wine I had given himst time.

    "That one should be reserved for special asions," Old Fu said as he pushed the inn''s door open.

    The moment the door was opened a sweet smell of incense and food tickled our noses. The area inside was softly lit with low hangingnterns, giving the inn afortable and cozy mood. Music yed lightly over the voices of cultivators sharing stories and eating from well disyed tes.

    People had already taken many spots in the lower floor, and it seems that we''ll need to go up to find a spot.

    One of the busboys came rushing in, "Do you wish to rent a room or have some food or both?" he asked.

    "Both, what''s the ce''s specialty?" I asked.

    "Well, we do have a variety of meals we pride ourselves¡­"

    However, the kid couldn''t finish his words when a burly looking man pushed him on the ground. The man was bald from the top of his head and had barely any hair on the side. He disyed his chest muscles proudly under a ragged looking robe and carried behind him an axe that could easily weigh more than a few dozen tons of weight.

    The man spat next to the busboy and said, "Why the fuck is it taking so long to make a meal!"

    "I''m sorry sir! I''ll go and check with the kitchen staff!" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "No, I''m already annoyed, how are you going topensate for my time!" he said.

    I looked at old Fu and he looked back at me.

    The ambiance in the inn soon died down. The people who were eating stopped, and the people from the upper floor leaned in and checked the situation below.

    "What the fuck are you looking at greenhorn! You want me to bash your skull in?!"

    "Why is there always someone like this in an inn?" I muttered.

    "It''s a given that the smell of food attract stray dogs," replied Old Fu.

    "This time it attracted a rabid and disgusting looking one," I said.

    The man in question, feeling belittled in front of the whole crowd grabbed his axe and said, "I dare you to say that again. Because I thought like I heard you calling me a dog!"

    "Damn, ad to rabid and unclean, this dog is also deaf," I replied.

    The man roared in rage as he was about to swing his axe but it was immediately stopped by a man''s two fingers who shed in between us.

    I couldn''t even notice him until he was standing right there, even old fu was slow to react. However, the man wearing a full set of ck clothes and a mask said, "Fighting inside the city is strictly forbidden, this is your first offense," He said and the man with the axe clearely annoyed disregarded the clear difference in ability as he said, "FUCK YOU!" and then readied for another swing.

    He never realized that the moment the words had finished leaving his mouth that his head was already separate from his body.

    The busboy sighed as he casually walked behind the counter and grabbed a bucket and an already bloody mop forward, "Please excuse me dear clients for this ugly sight, I''ll clean this up first and tend to your needs, for now there is an empty table in the second floor you can both upy," he said.

    The dead man was rapidly removed and the floor was cleaned in seconds, while the man wearing ck had already left the area.

    The people who were sitting earlier resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened and the music continued.

    "I guess this is normal here," I said.

    "It would be, since we''re in a nonaffiliated area," Old Fu said.

    "How would you know that?"

    Everyone including the guy that died have a different brand. These are all loose cultivators or people who had left their sects. Not to mention the city wasrgely empty, if this was an area that belonged to one of the eight suns you''d see arger concentration of the same type of robes that belong to the eight sects. But here, no one is wearing any of the Suns''s clothes, and the few that do are probably spectators and not participants."

    "I see, thatpletely skipped my mind. Good observation skills old fu," I said.

    "I''m honored, let''s go up now, this actually opened up my appetite a bit."

    "Hearing you say that really makes me think that your clothes fit you well," I said.

    "Well, unlike many others, only the people of the ughter Sect would find joy in seeing death, and you''re more fitting for this sect than most," I smiled as I walked up the stairs to our table.

    Soon the server came and began presenting us with the many dishes that the restaurant prides itself of.

    And just as we ordered anothermotion started once again, only this one was less physical and more verbal.

    "I''m telling you! The Demon Sword has the highest chances of taking the title, he managed to reach the fourth position thest time and this time he is even stronger!"

    "Just because he made it to the fourth position doesn''t give him an automatic win!"

    "The Fairy Queen and the deless Monk have already died, and the victor of thest tournament is nowhere to be seen since many years now. If there is an anticipated champion it gotta be the Demon Sword."

    "Well, I heard the Demon Sword received an internal injury a few years ago, so he''d be lucky if he even makes it through the preliminary rounds¡­"

    The two groups continued talking and many others joined in, voicing their opinion on who might be the most likely to win.

    "You''re all mistaken," said one of the guys who was wearing a full set of ck robes with a dark sun symbol on it.

    The man smiled as he said, "There is one guy who the Darkest Sun himself had handpicked, he grabbed him from a far awaynd and trained him himself. That man is a real monster that you all never seen the like of before," he said.

    I frowned at the specific wording of that guy, because the moment he started talking it gave me an awful feeling.

    "That man had reached the Void Shattering Stage in less than a year from being an Emperor rank," he added.

    "Who is he? Does he have a name? for someone to do something like that and be handpicked by the Darkest Sun they must have a title," said one of the people below.

    "Well, he has no title here, but back in his former world he was known as the Fire King¡­"

    ''would you look at that¡­I guess my premonition was right¡­ that fucker is still alive¡­''

 Chapter 643 It begins

    643 It begins

    "Seems like fate has something in store for you too, Shen Bao," Old Fu replied.

    "I guess so, but not to fret or anything, it''s a several million-person tournaments. I''d be more surprise if we get to meet him, but I''m not too keen on tempting fate."

    The people downstairs continued debating between who of the new generation is going to take the title of Strongest Under the sun.

    Though for me, that title is rather vain. It gives nothing but a big old target on one''s back especially since there are cultivators far stronger than whoever would win this title.

    An ironic title it is. Even the one who obtains it will have to bow down not even to the Suns, but to those far below them as they are still several realms stronger.

    We soon finished eating, and even moremotion happened in the inn. The busboy spent more time cleaning up blood than he did serving clients. But the mood didn''t get sour in the slightest.

    "Even still, it''s rather sad that there are very few cultivators from the vagrant and loose cultivator section. The chances of one of them achieving anything is rather slim," a cultivator next to us said.

    Looking at him, he was wearing a set of blue robes and a schr''s hat. He drank tea as if he was carrying a ceremony, a hand below the cup and the other holding it as if he was carrying a priceless treasure.

    His words sounded rather simple but they were directed at me and Old Fu.

    He had a group of female cultivators next to him who all had veils on covering their faces, and they all had the symbol of an eclipse.

    "Followers of the Cryptic Sun¡­ annoying bunch," Old Fu sent me a divine sense message exining the situation.

    I looked at the schr and said, "Even the smallest spark can ignite the greatest inferno, and even the humblest of seeds can grow into the mightiest tree. Defying the odds and reaching the heaven is the path of a cultivator, and for you to deny one who is weak such a chance is to act as the emissary of heavens, I would watch my words," I replied to the schr.

    The man'' brows rose and he stood up.

    Old Fu''s fist clenched, but against all odds, the schr bowed toward me. "I apologize, I have been proven wrong. You are right. Who am I to deny a man''s chance at reaching the heavens¡­even the smallest spark can ignite the greatest inferno¡­and even the humblest seeds can grow into the mightiest trees. I shall take your words to heart," the schr said as he raised his cup toward me as if taking a toast.

    I nodded to the man.

    At least he wasn''t butthurt or got offended, unlike what many other cultivators would react. He is rather logical.

    "Please, could you join our table. It is the least we can do," the schr said.

    There was no malice in his request so we joined in.

    "I apologize for speaking out of turn, you seem like a man well versed in Dao," he said.

    I shook my head, "I know of the Dao what a frog inside a well would perceive his world to be. We''re all nothing but frogs in a well," I said.

    "It takes a man but words to say they know, but it takes a schr an eternity to know they know nothing," said the schr.

    "Though we strive to grasp the wisdom of the heavens, in the end, we depart this world having gleaned no more than a needle''s worth from the vast sea of knowledge."

    "Your words spill of wisdom as if I was next to my master. What is your name fellow cultivator," he asked.

    "Call me Shen Mo," I said.

    The schr turned to Old Fu.

    "I go by the name Fu, my brother here calls me Old Fu, do the same if it pleases you," he said.

    "Brother Shen, and Brother Fu, I go by the name Xuan Zhiwei. it is but fate that we met today, I have learned many things and wish to join you in the uing event," he said.

    "From the silver bracelet on your arm, you''ll be a spectator," I said.

    "Indeed, I do not take too fondly of spilling blood, and would only watch among the spectators, as for brother Shen, seeing your golden bracelet I would assume you''ll bepeting despite the dangers."

    "For what is life if it is not fraught with dangers of death and possibilities. Though I join not for the thrill of battle but for a goal of my own," I said.

    "A man with a goal is a man with a n, may you find sess to achieving your goal," he said as he raised his cup once more and drank in toast.

    "However," he added, "Many lives were spilled needlessly here, it soured my mood and made the liquor more nd. We shall be taking our leave soon, and we hope to meet you soon. Brother Shen, I shall be rooting for you in the podium. As for brother Fu I hope we can be seated next to each other, I have many things to discuss," he said.

    "If fate permits it then, however, I don''t think you''ll need to leave right now," I said. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Why so?" he asked.

    I held my arm up, "It already started." I said.

    The schr looked at my bracelet for a second frowning, and before he could even exim the bracelet began reacting and shining.

    I smirked at him and funneled my Qi into it starting the teleportation process.

    Everyone then realized and all began activating their bracelets.

    The tournament had begun and it seems that we''ll all be leaving at the same time.

    Soon my whole body was teleported into a massive sized arena. Looking around, it seems that we are inside the colosseum itself. And far in the distance the massive walls of the amphitheater rose high above with eight pirs that overlooked the entire arena.

    Each of the pirs carried a gigantic g, belonging to one of the eight factions.

    and high above us was a floating holographic image of the arena showing the people inside it.

    More people were materializing and it was obvious that the arena will not be able to take in the massive number of participants. Yet before things got too crowded, another formation appeared underneath us where cultivators began sinking inside it.

    I too was dragged down yet was rather prepared.

    After all, the arena itself was definitely not where we''ll start, but definitely where we''ll all finish.

    "Well, let''s see how this goes then."

 Chapter 644 Elemental Convergence. Trial of Fire

    644 Elemental Convergence. Trial of Fire

    My senses were slightly disoriented as I was diving through this awkward tunnel that had way too much spatialws mixed in it. Unlike a stable spatial tunnel this one felt like it was forcefully torn and made like a hole dug in the middle of a quicksand pit.

    But without control over my own body right now, I couldn''t help but watch as I was dragged through space itself to god only knows where.

    Soon however, my speed began slowing down and I could feel the spatial tension lessen. The exit is near.

    Suddenly I found myself standing in a pentagonal tform in the middle of an ever so extending open ne.

    The tform I was on was the only thing that was different from where I was, as the blistering heat from all over this ce could easily cook an emperor stage cultivator. I honestly think that if I were toe in here with my Emperor Stage cultivation that I''d have an extremely hard time surviving this heat.

    After all, the entire area felt like I was walking on the surface of a burning star.

    me pirs rose all around me, infinitely exploding from the earth below. Stone and boulder turned tova, and was then spat back out by the pirs only to melt once again. Adding to an endless series of explosive mes that seemed to have been burning for all eternity.

    Soon, the bracelet on my arm began shining and projected an image in front of me.

    "WELCOME CHALLENGERS!"

    The sound of an announcer echoed through the bracelet. Even though the infinite explosions around me were loud his sound was crisp and clear.

    "We have convened you here for an opportunity at greatness. Gathered under the sun''s radiant gaze, it is your chance to demonstrate to the world the respect you rightfully deserve. Efforts, valor, power, and valiance alone are not the sole keys to ascending to the heavens. Shrewdness and wisdom, too, are virtues to be honored. Let your actions, not mere words, proim to the world that none but you are worthy of this title! THE STRONGEST UNDER THE SUN!"

    You could hear the sound of the hollering crowd through the bracelet as thementator finished his words.

    "Now, to exin what is going on. This year we have had a great deal of neers and participants. Not to deny anyone the right to be here and reach the final stage, the Lords of the Beyond itself The Eight Suns hade up with the challenges that you will all have to face in order to have the needed resolve and worthiness to be in their presence! To have the Eight Suns watch your matches you must prove yourself capable of at least doing these trials!"

    The crowd once again chimed in at the mention of the eight suns.

    "Now,st tournament the man titled the Moonlight Swordsman had gone against odds and fate itself to im first rank and earn himself the title of strongest under the heavens. But since they are not here, that title remains unimed! And you all have a shot at it! Your task is rather simple for start! We need to thin down the numbers, and a full-on battle royal is rather boring. So, you will be facing the challenge of Elemental Convergence! Your goal is simple, every challenger has been summoned to a different location in the Blistering Lands. One of the high level danger zones of the beyond, although it isn''t a forbidden Danger Zone, it is not any less dangerous. You must reach the highest peak of this region before the timer on your bracelet ends."

    ''Sounds simple enough.''

    "However, that sounds a little bit boring, right?!"

    The crowd felt the same as they were nodding and agreeing.

    "Indeed, reaching the highest peak alone is not enough to secure victory," the announcer dered, their voice echoing through the eager crowd. "In addition to scaling the treacherous terrain of the Blistering Lands and retrieving the sacred artifact, each participant will be assigned a specific target among their fellow challengers. Your task is twofold: eliminate your designated target or retrieve their bracelet from their possession, and then proceed to im the artifact atop the summit."

    A murmur of excitement rippled through the gathered cultivators as they absorbed the new condition.

    "But," the announcer continued, a sly grin ying across their lips, "here''s the twist: if your assigned target perishes before you reach them, whether by the mes of the mountain or by the hand of another, you will be issued a new target. This ensures that thepetition remains fierce and unpredictable until the very end. Remember, only the cunning and resourceful will emerge victorious in the race for glory and power!"

    "... that''s a nasty condition, not only do I need to make sure I reach the target in time, I also need to retrieve their bracelet. If they die before I reach them I might have to find another target that could be thousands of miles away¡­"

    The announcer coughed and added, "BUT THAT IS NOT ALL!" N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Fuck, there is more?!''

    "This will happen FIVE TIMES! Reaching the summit and presenting the correct bracelet will send you to the second region, and then you will have to hunt another person there!"

    ''I guess this is the only way to thin the numbers down¡­"

    "SO TELL ME! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!"

    The crowd shouted in unison as they seemed to be rejoicing in the contents of this tournament.

    "Now! I hope you''re all ready! Your target will show up under your bracelet the moment you make it to a tenth of the way to the mountain, good luck!" he said.

    14:14

    "Now! I hope you''re all ready! Your target will show up under your bracelet the moment you make it to a tenth of the way to the mountain, good luck!" he said.

    The holographic image disappeared and a timer of a hundred hours appeared on the bracelet on my arm and it began ticking down.

    I guess I''ll need to move up¡­

    I approached the exterior of the tform and touched the ground. The heating out of it was nasty hot, but it wasn''t to the level that it could affect my boat.

    Yes, seems like I''ll be using it right now.

    After all, this is a simple race that I''ve done many of before. The only difference is the type. This is a clear test for one''s endurance. Most cultivators will be racing through this area using their Qi to protect them from the outer elements.

    And with the explosions urring all around us, they''ll have to use more Qi as divine sense to keep themselves safe. Not to mention that they''ll need to preserve some Qi for battle to secure the bracelets.

    However, I don''t really care much about that, there are no rules that state you can''t use tools.

    So, I summoned the hover-ship and rode inside it then sted its engines. Flying through the area with a rtively rapid pace.

    Time flew by and the mountain in the distance didn''t seem to be growing any bit. The distance was absurdly far as it seems. Although I was flying at a constant pace, simr to my former flying speed as an Emperor cultivator, I still felt that I wasn''t covering much distance.

    Several pirs of molten mes exploded in front of me, but I just flew through them, boring through the magmatic exertion and flying forward. A testament to the metals used in the making of this boat, not a single dent appeared on my hover-ship as it flew through molten rocks.

    The protective formations and the already superior metal making it felt as if I was riding a tank through grass. Veryfortable.

    Several puppets were manning the guns and were keeping an eye out through the windows of the ship.

    "Looks like this ride will be pretty smooth", but I shouldn''t be saying that, now should I? Because the moment I said that something emerged from the massiveva pool up ahead of me.

    A hundred-meter-tallva golem.

 Chapter 645: Trial of Fire II

    For most cultivators, this would be an annoying obstacle. The sheer size is enough to make them either divert their path and go around the whole pool, or outright be forced to fight with it. Both choices will result in the loss of time.

    And since I''ve been traveling for hours and have yet to have a target designated, it means I''ve yet to even make it past a tenth of the distance and I''m already facing the first hurdle.

    This creature had its legs nted deep within the pool and still was huge enough to emerge fully out of the pool. On its forehead was a red jewel. Maybe that was its core, but it is too obvious of a location.

    The conditions of the test didn''t mention anything about collecting anything from these trials. But seeing how that jewel is standing out, it gives it a feeling of importance.

    However, I''m not bothering. The test clearly mentioned that I only needed to reach my destination in time, and this could also be nothing but a bait to stall people.

    The Hover-Ship flew forward while the golem raised its arms high up. Lava poured out of its body as it was about to send both fists crashing down on us.

    "Break its legs," I ordered.

    The puppets at the front of the ship aimed one of my new inventions at the legs of the creature.

    I had ced two of them one on each side of the ship.

    It was a simple weapon that was reminiscing of my improved super sniper. However, it didn''t use explosive Qi. But a far more stable resource and a resource that I can easily manipte the output of.

    Two sets of rails, each ced on one side of the ship, shaped in a U shape. And their base was a holster for a spatial fold where I can constantly feed the rails the ammo needed. The rails themselves were powered directly to the Synthetic Meridian at the base of the ship.

    The Core I made is able to convertw into power, and thew I''m using to fuel these rails is Lightning Law.

    Basically, it is a railgun a pretty damn powerful one at that too.

    The idea is simple, to make a railgun I''d need to charge each rod of the railgun''s rails differently. And I found out how I can do that by sheer luck.

    It was all thanks to the Thundersteel which is making the rails. The Thundersteel is apparently a super conductive of negative lightning. As for the power that ising out from the Synthetic Meridian, it is all positive lightning. Combining these two create a super electro maic current that canunch a projectile at stupidly high speeds.

    A normal Neutron Steel projectile had managed to reach a hundred times the speed of sound. And that was using nothing but a rtively weak metal.

    Though that speed is pretty damn fast, it is still not enough to contend with some of the high-level cultivators as they can easily achieve these speeds by merely moving.

    But for the most part, against beasts and monsters, this speed is far more than enough topletely eradicate them.

    The problem is the projectile itself. The stronger the metal the more kic energy it can generate, the heavier the impact. However, I don''t have enough rare metal to create more powerful projectiles.

    So, for now, I''m using all the remaining Neutron Steel I have left as projectiles. I''ll need to get to the Thunder Domain to get more minerals for myself.

    The charge of this weapon takes less than the blink of an eye. And it takes even less for the projectile to shoot and reach its target.

    Before the giant golem''s arms even reached halfway to their zenith, the shot had already been sent, the creature''s legs already blew up and then the sound of the explosion echoed.

    The creature, unable to understand what happened fell down while my ship flew forward.

    "X, just for the sake of caution, grab the jewel," I ordered.

    X hopped out of the ship and flew toward the falling creature, ripped out the jewel and flew away and toward the ship in less than a few seconds.

    Once he arrived he handed me the small piece to which I simply shrugged.

    It was nothing more than a Saint Qi crystal that had been mutated by baleful energy of thesends. Utterly useless.

    If it had been another cultivator they''d have spent so much time fighting this guy for a worthless reward.

    I unceremoniously threw the jewel to a random corner of the ship and continued looking up ahead as the ship flew across theva pool into the distance.

    ***

    "WHAT A MARVELOUS DISPLAY OF SKILL! DID YOU SEE THAT DEAR AUDIENCE!"

    The announcer was happily reying several scenes from what was currently going on in the tournament.

    But only a select few got the honor of appearing on the massive screen.

    Most cultivators that had the honor of appearing were all core disciples of the big eight sects.

    One of these cultivators who was one of the more favored to win was on the main screen. The Demon sword who tore down the massive golem that appeared in front of him in less than a second, retrieved the jewel and continued forward.

    "This is the level of skill required to be one of the contestants! Great disy of discipline and skill to have taken down a fire golem in less than a single breath even though the Demon Sword was using nothing but Void Stage level cultivation! BUT HE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE!" the announcer said.

    The crowd was all hyped as they saw what was going on, "We have the disciple of the northern sea! The Frozen Heart! Although the terrain was highly ipatible with her, she managed to freeze the golem in two breaths of time! Another amazing showcase!"

    "The disciple of the de God is also among the first to clear the first hurdle! With a staggering disy of brute force! And then lets not forget the Bow God''s own disciple to have achieved such mastery of the bow at the age of only one thousand! A true genius!"

    The announcer continued speaking and exining what was going on, however, soon he saw someone that wasn''t of the great eight. A person carrying no banner or robes behind him, he wasn''t even running on his feet but sitting on a small throne like chair inside a rtively big room.

    The announcer himself was confused on how this man who seemed to be doing nothing but sitting appeared on the screen, however, the screen soon zoomed out to reveal the massive boat like structure he was inside.

    Puppets were driving the vehicle and he was sittingfortable inside it.

    The announcer tried his hardest to exin what was going on as he saw the boat arrive to the golem.

    "It seems that we have an entric appearance of a challenger! The name of this person¡­" the announcer didn''t get the name as Shen Bao had apparently didn''t write his real name and wrote something else.

    Du Shen which trantes to Poison God.

    Finding it awkward to speak this name, as there was another cultivator that had the Name Poison God and was very well known in the Beyond the Announcer was in a pickle, however a Divine Sense message immediately had him speak the name.

    "We have a rather interesting entry that was promoted by one of the suns themselves! Du Shen!"

    The audience was confused, and the man who was titled the Poison God stood up from his seat, anger clear in his eyes. But they couldn''t speak a word of protest regardless. Since this guy was after all promoted on the screen by one of the suns, although no one know which of the eight suns did so.

    "This person is named Du Shen, please do not confuse him with the esteemed Poison God here with you in the audience, apparently from the information I''ve gotten this person is also a follower of the Poison Path, although I haven''t seen anything to showcase it yet besides their strange treasure."

    "Isn''t that cheating?! Why is he riding instead of using his own power like everyone else?" one of the people in the audience spoke.

    And many more nodded to his statement. After all, everyone else were moving using their own prowess but this man wasfortably riding.

    "Dear audience! We have confirmed that the treasure the man named Du Shen is using is actually made by himself, it is not an Origin Shattering level treasure so it is permitted."

    "But it is still unfair for the rest!" some of the cultivators spectating were clearly dissatisfied.

    "The treasure that this person had created are a part of his own intellect and resource, it is simr to the bow of the Shin Ryu, the disciple of the Bow God, it is a part of them and we cannot deny him that. He must be a master puppeteer. Taking it away is the same as taking away the corpses of a corpse puppeteer it is unfair.

    Also, if anyone else wanted they could also use their own flying treasures, but there is a reason why no one else is doing that but this man," said the announcer.

    The audience waited for the exnation.

    "To use a flying treasure would require double the Qi expenditure and mental control than what you can exert by just relying on yourself. Not to mention, it is very hard to dodge or maneuver using something that big. We''ll see right here after he faces the golem how this cultivator will react against great power!"

    The moment the announcer finished his words, the golem had already raised his hands up.

    The man on the screen had been leaning on one of his arms which was resting on the hand rest of the throne he was on.

    He only spoke one word, and the two feet of the golem were blown up. Most people in the audience didn''t even understand what happened, and the few that did had a serious look on their faces.

    He then gave another order and a puppet went to retrieve the jewel from the golem. The entire thing felt like it was not an ordeal, but a hassle the man had to go through as he threw his find away as if it was less worth than the very dirt under a man''s feet.

    He then continued moving forward leaving the entire crowd and the announcer in a state of shock.

    The only thing that could be heard was the heartyugh of a man that was sitting alone on one of the eight massive towers that were reserved for the eight suns.

    The people who looked up noticed that theughter wasing from the Dusking Sun''s own chamber. And only he was there.

    "That bastard actually improved upon that board, good. Show me what you''re made of child!"

    That was a clearpliment, apliment from one of the suns which the majority of the people in the beyond would spend their entire lives without ever seeing, not to mention getting a heartypliment from.

    This event immediately pushed Shen Bao''s screen from being one of the many screens on the disy to appear on the main screen for all to see.

 Chapter 646: Eccentric Longs Lucky Day

    The whole arena had their eyes focused on the man who was casually moving through the numerous obstacles in his path.

    If it was a beast of mes, he would destroy it, if it was a pir of fire, he would go through it, and if it was a mountain he would obliterate it. All while simply muttering words to his puppets, never having used his own power or actively moved by himself.

    He just sat there, like a sovereign, ordering his underlings to do what he desires and expecting nothing but perfection.

    A disy of cold aloof and absolute boredom on his face meant that everything that was happening, was happening because he expected the oue.

    Unlike the many other cultivators who were dirtied and sweating profusely due to the immense heat, this man was still calmly sitting inside hisrge spatial hall within the hovering ship. Not caring one bit about what was going on.

    The spectators expected to see gruesome fights and deadly battles from all cultivators partaking in this challenge.

    And one would think that seeing a person nonchntly breaking through obstacle after another would get them bored, however, it was the exact opposite. They would actually judge the other cultivators for how pitiful and how much effort they spent in dealing with the same problems that Shen Bao was dealing with oh so easily.

    "This is rather disturbing¡­" spoke one of the cultivators on the stadium.

    Thementator looked at him and smiled, "Oh, if it isn''t the entric Long, The Dragon Lord!"

    "Don''t call me that¡­ I hate it, it makes me sound like a brute," the man called the entric Long snorted.

    "I apologize, and you are right, of the many people here, rare are those who canpete with your understanding ofw, and even fewer can outsmart you, but please would you exin why you think it disturbing?"

    "You really want to overwork me. Just because you couldn''t figure out how he managed to fuel that machine isn''t it?"

    "Haha¡­ I was caught I guess, I am indeed verycking, and would like you to join me in exining what is happening right now, this is clearly not an Origin Shattering treasure, otherwise the Sun Lords would have destroyed it."

    "Sigh, then let me share some of the understandings I have. From what I have deduced, that whole thing, from bolt to screw, from metal to wire, was all made by the same hands¡­ I suppose it was he who made it since he understand itpletely," said entric Long.

    "You mean that not only he is a Poison go- I mean poison cultivator, he also is a craftsman?" asked thementator.

    The old man shook his head, "That''s not even the tip of the iceberg. The weapons that are on the ship are also made by him and they don''t just function on mechanical power and engineering, they have inscriptions that allows and facilitates their function¡­"

    "So he is also an inscription master! What a spending talent¡­"

    "That''s not all though¡­"

    Thementator was annoyed, "Could you tell me everything at once next time then! You''re stressing me and the audience! HA!"

    "That''s because you keep interrupting me, anyway, the thing is, inscriptions are fine, a lot of cultivators ate the void level should be able to understand some form of formation. However, once you reach a high enough level you''d be able to understand more form just seeing formation side effects.

    For that man, almost everything he had written has no side effects, not a single formation that I have seen is leaking, misced or mispositioned, everything is in the realm of utmost optimization. It is so absurdly optimized that one would think it is perfect.

    Not only that there is Law in those formation, I could feel thew being constantly tranted and transformed every second at absurdly high levels of speed inside the core of that ship¡­ He has something there that is allowing for the entire ship to move and act and also absorb Qi and use it at the same time¡­ it is like he had created a living meridian¡­ which is absurd."

    Just as the man finished his words, something from the tower of the Wisest Sun came flying at the man.

    It had no evil intentions and floated right in front of him. It was a small pentagonal token that had the white sun symbol on it.

    The man''s eyes opened wide as he saw the token and instantly prostrated himself toward the Wisest Sun.

    "Thank you for your gracious gift!" he said as he snatched the token and ced it in his holding bag. The entric Long''s face was red in excitement as he had obtained something he never would have dreamt of.

    Thementator''s mouth was opened wide.

    "Oh what generosity! WHAT GRACE! Thank you, lord of the Wisest Sun, for such benevolence! As you have all seen his lordship the Wisest Sun had gifted a one time entry token to his own treasury to entric Long! Meaning that every word that entric Long had spoken was nothing but the truth! What MONSTEROUS TALENT!

    What great intellect and infallible mind of the person named Du Shen! You must have all guessed it, for the Lord of the Wisest Sun to gift a man who merely exined what Du Shen had made, His lordship the Wisest Sun must have an even greater admiration to the man named Du Shen!"

    entric Long coughed as he stood up, "Anyway, thank you your greatness for such a reward. Now to finish, although it is forbidden to use an Origin Shattering level treasure or Origin Qi, Du Shen had made something that touches on the rims of these levels. For example the puppet that took the Red Saint Qi stone jewel had moved with incredible grace and speed.

    And throughout my life, I have never seen metal and puppets move with such grace. The best I have seen were at the Ascendant level, nothing above the Ascendant level could even function at such fluidity unless one were to use inhuman levels of resources thus why cultivators rather use corpses than puppets.

    But here Du Shen''s puppet is clearly above the Emperor Stage and is well within the level of Void cultivation. Not only that¡­"

    entric Long held for a second as he gathered his breath, the entire audience was fully focused on him.

    "The puppets he has¡­ they can cultivate."

    Thementator was about to berate entric Long, how could puppets cultivate? Maybe he got a bit too greedy with the reward before and went overboard with praising Du Shen.

    And just as thementator was about to correct entric Long, another pentagonal token flew from the tower of the Lording Sun, the Lord of Lords and appeared in front of entric Long.

    Thementator''s face opened and closed, unable to figure out what was going on, another token? Another one?! From another Sun! at the span of a minute just for praising Du Shen? He should probably do the same!

    entric Long once again went on his knees bowing to the Lord of lords with the exact same gusto that he did for the Wisest Sun. To have two rewards from both of the Suns is a blessing he''ll pass down to his entire generation.

    "You mean?! That he is defying the heavenlyw? And had made what has no soul into something that seeks the Dao of heavens?"

    After collecting himself, entric Long took a long breath and said. "It is not my right to speak of the heavenlyws, but from what I see, the Puppet itself had gained a sliver of ability and sturdiness the moment it had absorbed that discarded jewel. Although miniscule it was imbued within it and became a part of it. It also feels like the core of that ship, only far more advanced.

    He treats his puppets well."

    "I see, even after I had cultivated for thousands of years, this is the first time I see something like this. It is incredible indeed. A man with so many talents is someone rare toe by, we''re bound to see something incredible, I only hope that Du Shen''s personal ability is as great as his talent in creating puppets," said the Commentator.

    "I wouldn''t doubt that, in fact I think it''s the other way around," said entric Long.

    "How so?" asked the Commentator.

    "Take a look at his physic, that lean body, and that light greenish tint, do you know what that is?" entric Long asked.

    "I wouldn''t know,"

    "I''ve spent a long time of my life wandering the Beyond and came across many things, among them was a cultivator that had ruined himself for the sole purpose of obtaining a true poison body," entric Long looked at one of the people the crowd.

    The man titled the Poison God had an ugly scowl on his face.

    "It was the exiled disciple of the Poison God. Who stole a forbidden text from the theories of the Poison God to attempt and obtain a True Poison body. The attempt needed them to consume various types of poison mainly the Bone and Body Grinding Poison. Which is, regardless of one''s cultivation level is one of the deadliest and most annoying Poisons to Deal with.

    Although many of us here can easily break it, the theory required a man to have his entire body remodified with this poison, and that can only be done in mortal form¡­ as in, one must have not a shred of cultivation in their bodies to even have hope of rebuilding the body into that of a True Poison body."

    "You mean that man seeded while even the Disciple of the Poison God failed?"

    "That isn''t exhaustive enough," the man titled as Poison God said.

    "I apologize, all I have spoken of is of my own experience, you would definitely know more," said entric Long as he sped his hands at the man titled Poison God.

    "I envy that man," the Poison God said.

    "How so?" the Commentator asked

    "Seeded? That''s an understatement, my wretched disciple caused endless death due to the folly of his action and ended up looking like a monster. As for this man he is so perfectly fused with poison you would think it is a part of him and he is a part of poison itself.

    Not to mention the Soul me he has as you can see it through the reflection of his emerald eyes¡­ it is yet to fully stabilize meaning that he only consumed the me not even a month ago. Not only that, his cultivation is obscure even to me¡­"

    "Obscure cultivation?" asked thementator.

    "Yes, it is obscure.

    While every cultivator who reaches a high level is able to hide a part of their cultivation for a much more powerful cultivator they can still notice or realize the level of cultivation one has, however, even though I''m in the Origin Shattering realm, I''m unable to perfectly pinpoint his cultivation, I do know it is in the void stage just from the pressure he is passively releasing, but have no idea at which stage."

    "That is indeed a great deduction. However, that still does not exin how you assumed that his martial prowess is far better than his workmanship!"

    "The eyes," said entric Long.

    "Those bored eyes, eyes full of forlorn to existence itself. Unlike many cultivators who are taking this trial to prove themselves, who are full of vigor and spirit of challenge. This man''s eyes are the same eyes as a woodcutter''s, going on about his day, to fell another tree to heat his house. He sees nothing worthy of him acting personally.

    A boredom caused not by theck of entertainment around him, but by the mere fact that he knows well that no matter what you throw at him, he''ll find a way to solve it. They''re the eyes of someone who not only had ughtered his way through entire mountains of people, but had done so without feeling an ounce of worry or regret.

    An embodiment of carnage that isn''t willing to act because it sees no reason for it to act right now¡­"

    The words ended and once again, another token was thrown into the man''s hands, this one had the symbol of a Red Sun.

 Chapter 647: Trial of Fire III

    After spending some time in the moltennd, going through this hot ass field. Mind you I do have a temperature regtor inside the ship, but still¡­ it feels utterly boring to keep moving.

    Not to mention, this pesky little thing that''s been following and watching me. A few of them managed to infiltrate into the ship somehow.

    They were small eyeballs, which were obvious to see and didn''t seem to want to hide themselves, they had no evil intentions and form looking through the bracelet that I was given by the tournamentmittee, I was able to understand that these small things were like cameras that disyed all that is happening.

    I guess I need to give them a good show.

    Several moreva beasts appeared in front of us, a few of them were fish like beasts that jumped up and down into the pools. But a few well aimed shots were all I needed to get rid of them.

    After a while though, the bracelet in my hand shone bright.

    "You have progressed pass the first tenth of the distance, your target to take down is Dongpil Yul."

    A picture of the man I needed to eliminate from thepetition appeared in front of me.

    A small arrow appeared on my bracelet indicating the man''s position.

    "Stop." I said.

    The ship then stopped for a second and I climbed to the hull. I held my hand up and took a look at the arrow.

    It was moving fractionally, meaning that my opponent was still proceeding forward. Thankfully, the arrow didn''t only move sideways but also moved up and down.

    "Advance," I ordered.

    The arrow''s speed decreased by a bit, and I continued increasing the speed of the ship until the arrow remained still in its ce.

    Taking note of the speed the ship I was moving I was able to calcte the speed of my target. He was moving at a fixed pace forward not going up or down.

    "Stop," I ordered the ship.

    Having calcted the speed of my target means that I had already won this part of thepetition.

    I pulled up one of my newly personalized rifles. This one was quiterger than the rifles I used back in the Vast Expanse. It was more like a cannon than a rifle, and it worked with the same principle of the rail guns on the ship. Only this one was slightly more¡­ destructive.

    The speed it goes as is about ten times the speed of sound. Pretty damn fast.

    The size of this thing was about four meters, and had a gigantic chamber at the back where most of the machination were hidden.

    The core of the rifle was a simple construct of shock absorption inscription, lightening generation pseudo-key. Made using my understanding of the Water and Wind key. And a shock absorption inscription.

    The bullet was a small one foot long slug. It is made using Thundersteel. The Thundersteel itself without being modified has extensive loads of negative lighting which is extremely destructive. And the lightningw formation has positive lightning in it.

    Combining the two of them would give the slug an incredible charge that will allow it to fly along the long tube of the rifle.

    I used all four of my robotic arms to hold tight to the ship''s roof while I was aiming a few hundred thousands kilometers away not from just me but from my target too.

    I did some quick math and began readjusting the rifle based on the movement of thepass''s arrow.

    After taking aim to a what would be considered empty space in the far distance, I lightly squeezed the trigger imitating the sequence.

    A small spark of electricity went down to the butt of the rifle enabling the machination. Positive and negative lighting were instantly agitated with that spark, causing an instantaneous reaction that supercharged the slug.

    The slug then, due to the extreme electromaic force was galvanized and shot forward, spiraling along the numerous friction reducing inscription and affected by a spin inducing inscription at the inside of the rifle''s barrel.

    The entire sequence took less than a fraction of a second to shoot an explosively loud and fast bullet that broke the speed of sound instantaneously and disappeared from sight.

    "Continue forward," I said as I collected the rifle and went back to my chair.

    I sat down back in my chair as the ship continued moving. And about forty secondster, my bracelet shone bright as a notification of my target being eliminated appeared on it.

    I simply shrugged at the expected oue and continued moving forward.

    ***

    "What is Du Shen doing now?" thementator asked.

    "I wouldn''t know, that is an interesting instrument he has," said entric Long. "You can see that it has incredible inscriptions on it and the Qi from within this tool seem to indicate that it is also inscribed from the inside.

    The whole thing is a strange concept yet I could assume that it is a tool that would eject an object at high velocity," said entric Long exining to the best of his ability.

    "Indeed, it does feel like it, but why would Du Shen bring that thing out? I mean even though his opponent is indicated by thepass, the distance between them is far too great for any weapon or spell to reach unless he is of the Origin Shattering Realm? Do you think that Du Shen will be breaking thews of the tournament?"

    "No," entric Long instantly shook his head, "You mustn''t have noticed, but did you notice what Du Shen was doing before he pulled out that object?"

    "The fact that he stopped and moved his ship multiple times?"

    "Yes, that wasn''t simply him doing things on a whim, every move was calcted, at first he stopped the ship to see how fast the arrow was moving, then he moved the ship until it the arrow no longer move to know the exact speed of his target. And by doing that, I would assume that he would be able to calcte the exact location his target will be at a given time," he said.

    "But, those calctions are absurdly high level, not only does he need to fully understand the distance between him and his target, he also has to make sure that his target moves at the same speed, and also that his target must remain moving in a straight line? Not to mention hitting a moving target at such great distance is nothing but a pipedream," said the Commentator.

    "I would assume so for other people, but there is a reason why he did so, how far do you think one''s killing intent could reach?" asked entric Long.

    "It depends on the person, some can flood an entire city and some can have a very thin killing intent," said thementator.

    "For Du Shen, looking at his current expression, he carries not a single ounce of killing intent, so the target will never realize the danger he is in," said entric Long.

    "Well, speaking of his target, we have him on a second scree," he thementator said.

    Just as the target showed up on the second screen, Shen Bao pressed on the trigger releasing a projectile so fast not even the small scrying bugs were able to see it.

    He then calmly went back down.

    "That was rather¡­ surprisingly anticlimactic," thementator said.

    entric long shook his dead, "Dongpil is already dead, unless a miracle happens and he notices, he will not be able to avoid what''sing next¡­"

    "You seem sure about it," said thementator. "The projectile seemed to have missed, it shot far further ahead. Du Shen aimed at the wrong direction."

    "It isn''t that he aimed at the wrong direction, he aimed at the direction where the projectile and the target will meet, and from the look he had on his face as he went back to his seat. It was as if he had already fulfilled his goal, that is the look of someone sure of sess."

    "We will have to wait and see then, I could even bet¡­"

    However, thementator''s words didn''t even finish as the man named Dongpil''s eyebrow rose as he finally noticed the iing projectile.

    There was no time to dodge, no time to react no time to even understand what was going on.

    The impact was sudden, the kic discharge was even faster, and the explosive payload of the Thundersteel bullet upon impact with a moving body created a shockwave that demolished the ground caving it in and all the follow up charge exploded outward. Creating a gigantic mushroom cloud in its wake.

    The impact followed after for several hundreds of miles as theva currents that were barely holding on began rioting and rumbling as more of this volcanic area began reacting. A domino effect ensued and the entirety of the Fire Lands began reacting to this explosive discharge.

    Thementator''s mouth remained opened as he saw the aftermath of the impact, doubting what his eyes were seeing.

 Chapter 648: Trial of Fire III

    Trial of fire III

    "This¡­" thementator was speechless and couldn''t find words to exin what just happened.

    "You seem surprised," entric Long replied to thementator.

    "How can I not? That destructiveness! That''s enough to destroy an entire city!"

    "I believe that is not the full power of that thing, Du Shen didn''t even fully charge it. The load could definitely do more damage, I guess he thought about preserving the lives of other cultivators that could be caught in the aftermath," entric Long replied.

    "Impressive, by the way, this means that Du Shen was the first one to clear his objective. He''ll only need to reach the mountain range and he will be the first to finish this part of the race."

    "Indeed, but that won''t be as simple as you say. After all, the Eight Suns had created this trial, I doubt that it would be that easy, even for Du Shen," entric Long replied.

    "Indeed, for our viewers, there are many more things toe! Please keep watching!"

    ***

    "That was almost off course¡­ hmm, I guess it''s fine, since it took down the target. But I''ll need to calibrate the rifle a bit more, for ten percent power to only do that much damage¡­ it''s a bit underwhelming¡­" I mumbled to myself.

    The mountain at the far distance had a bright pir shining from its peak. That is my goal to end this trial.

    "At this rate, it will take me a whole day just to get to the mountain¡­ hmm, X, increase the speed. I want to finish this part of the race in one hour."

    "As youmand," X replied and went to the engine room.

    The ship had five thrusters on the back. And so far, we have been using only one.

    Soon, the ship''s other thrusters began operating, sparking at first then exhausting Qi, picking up our speed marginally then subsequently elerating.

    The ship''s speed increased to absurd levels, where it began breaking and tearing apart the ground itself as it passed by it. Theva pools were assaulted by the pressure and tore apart creating gigantic waves. While the floor itself which was made of moltenva and hard rock were cracked and shattered by our mere passing.

    Beasts of all types and creatures didn''t dare to stand in our way. Though they would usually protect their territory from any invader, when the beasts saw the gigantic wave of destructioning their way, they didn''t think about stopping it. No, it was as if a natural disaster was moving at them. And when a beast sees a natural disaster, their instincts urges them to run away instead of facing it.

    Lava giants, gargantuanva fish or even fire hounds, all ran away as they saw the iing destructing ripping the very ground apart.

    The massive mountain was getting ever so slightly closer as I moved ahead.

    In the distance, I was able to see cultivators. Which was expected. This was a several million cultivator tournament. A lot of us are participating, and seeing a couple of them at this distance is only natural. More of them are going to show up, but I won''t be seeing any of them.

    My speed is absurdly fastpared to anyone who is racing right now. Since they will all want to preserve their stamina, they''ll be far slower than me. Which is fine. The only problem is, if I make it to the second part of this race, would I need to wait for other cultivators if we have to go through the same trial of hunting one another?

    There is no point in thinking about that¡­

    Let''s just keep moving for now.

    ***

    Far away from Shen Bao''s location, and in one of the screens of currently on disy was a man who was wielding nine swords at the same time. Two in both hands, six flying behind his back and one under both his feet that he was using to fly.

    His expression was grim.

    "Damn whoever blew that thing next to me, if I hadn''t dodged in time I would have been a goner¡­ once I find them, I''ll destroy ten of their family''s generation! You better not show your face!"

    The man was clearly enraged.

    He had just escaped what could be described as inescapable death.

    This man was a bit famous, he was a man who scored fourth rank in thest tournament of the Strongest Under the Sun. And was one of the favored to win thepetition this year.

    However, he was slightly injured by what urred a few moments ago.

    The man had made sure to be one of the fastest to reach the first tenth of the race and find his target. His objective was simple, to immediately go and hunt his target and hurry to the peak and rest.

    Exhausting as much energy at the start might sound like a foolish attempt for many as this is a long race and one should preserve their Qi, but this man was of the idea that if he creates a vast enough distance between him and everyone else at the start, he will always be ahead.

    The problem was that his kill target was a bit far away from him so he had to use more Qi just to reach them. And just as he was about to reach his target, an explosion that would destroy and cave in a gigantic portion of thend urred right ahead of him.

    Killing god knows how many cultivators and that wasn''t all, the aftermath of the explosion was a shockwave that destroyed and flipped the very earth upside down.

    Causing a chain reaction of explosive volcanic torrents that would fry anyone foolish enough to try and move near them.

    This explosion killed his own target and he was assigned him another target at the other side of the mountain. Meaning that he had only one chance to catch his next target and that is to reach the mountain peak and wait for his target to arrive.

    An annoying and very disruptive ident that ruined his n.

    Before the explosion happened, he managed to see what caused it, although it was brief. It was a type of metallic object that wasn''t even longer than his arm. It flew at a disturbingly fast speed and seemed to have struck against something.

    The object was clearly not natural, so it inferred to him that another cultivator had done so perhaps to ruin his advantage.

    "By my name! I shall find you and kill you!"

    The man shouted, and for those watching, they all knew him as the Demon Sword.

    ***

    In another corner of this firends a man with a hair that was mboyant like the heart of mes themselves looked around.

    "This feels like home¡­ what a waste¡­"

    His hair was something rarely seen in the world. He looked at the world with a disgruntled yet forlorn look. As if reminiscing of a world long gone.

    In the man''s hand was the burnt corpse of another cultivator. A man so charred in mes that nothing but his ck burnt skeleton remained along with a bracelet.

    The man with the mboyant hair grabbed the bracelet and was about to move forward.

    But in the distance, something caught his eyes. A gigantic cloud that resembled a mushroom rose in the distance.

    "¡­ could it be?"

    He didn''t finish his words. The man shook his head, "There is no way he would have made it to the Beyond." He then looked at the mountain peak and began walking toward it. Each step crossing endless distance as he fused with the mes around him, walking from one pool ofva to another as if he was a wisp of me itself.

    ***

    Somewhere else and not very far from the location of the man of the mboyant hair. Another person wearing a full set of white robes with a schr''s hat was smiling in front of a man that was heaving in front of him.

    The heaving and clearly defeated man looked at his broken sword and up at the standing schr.

    "Monster¡­"

    "That is a bit hurtful," the schr said as he smiled behind a fan covering half of his face.

    "But would you please give up, I would rather not spill unnecessary blood. And as you see, I don''t like to waste time."

    The mand debated for a second, thinking of a way to trick this fiendish schr. But he just sighed and removed his bracelet, "I give up," he said.

    "It is good when one knows when to give up. As the saying goes, retreat today to fight tomorrow. May your path be blessed and your eyes opened to enlightenment." The schr said as he grabbed the bracelet and began stepping through air itself moving away.

    The defeated man grinned as the schr had withdrew. He then pulled up another sword and was about to sneak attack the schr.

    "However, my junior brother had taught me to never let any loose ends, lest the weakling of todayes chasing tomorrow." He then snapped his fan and in that instant. As if the very wind of the Beyond heeded his call,ing down upon the treacherous man with wanton fury that ripped him shred to shred, leaving nothing but pieces of meat that instantly burnt from the heat of the world around him.

    "A wise man, my junior brother, a very wise man," he said as he smiled and continued stepping through the air and moving forward.

    ¡­

 Chapter 649: Trial of Frost I

    The mountain base was right up ahead, and thanks to my speed it would take me less than an hour to get there.

    As I was looking around, I had to admit, that I thought I''d be the fastest of the bunch. But it seems obvious that the difference in cultivation is pretty obvious. Cultivators who should be at the Void Shattering and Origin realm are already climbing the mountain. I was far from the first. But it wasn''t something to be worried about. This wasn''t a race to see who reaches the peak first.

    My ship went up the mountain with ease, bypassing many cultivators who were stunned at the sight.

    And the reason why I wasn''t the first soon became obvious. Many of the cultivators who were ahead of me were all cultivators who cultivated Yang Qi, and throwing them in an environment full of suck qi would only help them more to gain an advantage.

    As for cultivators who used Yin Qi, they were thest of the bunch. Since the environment was hostile to them and their cultivation, they would have to use more of their personal Qi to preserve themselves and then fly forward.

    However, as all things, this is but a race, and those who came first here, might not have the same advantage in the next part.

    The trip to the top of the mountain was not without trouble. Many cultivates tried to sabotage the others. And I stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone wanted to take down the flying ship and take it for themselves.

    After all, who would want to use their own power when they can use tools.

    Sadly for them, even if by some miracle they managed to take the ship. No one would be able to drive it. After all, I''m not using a flying treasure, but a flying vehicle.

    A cultivator stood in front of the ship''s path, waiting for me to stop for them.

    "Get down, and hand over that shi-"

    His words were left stuck in his throat as two shots from my railguns devastated the rest of his body.

    Why should I care about someone trying to rob me?

    I continued forward. And with that disy the other cultivators on the mountain decided that it would be a good idea to leave the man with the deadly ship alone.

    The hour mark ended and I was at the peak of the mountain.

    There was a small teleportation tform on it. And a dais that needed a man to insert their arm in to allow them ess to the second part of this race.

    I saw a couple cultivators using the dais so I figured out that much.

    I climbed out of the ship and pulled it inside my Poison God''s book storage. Then went up to scan my bracelet. Once my bracelet was confirmed to have finished my mandatory quest of eliminating my target, the teleportation gate opened up for me.

    As I stood in and was being teleported a man jumped into the mountain peak area.

    Our eyes met for a second. And a look of surprise was painted on both our faces.

    The man''s hair was broiling with an eternal me and his eyes were redder than rubies He looked at me as if he had seen a ghost.

    And just as he was about to speak, the teleportation sequence ended and I was pulled out of the gate into the new region.

    Looking around me, I could see nothing but a vast and empty terrain, ever extending white, and blood biting frost.

    A frost region,pletely different from the hotnds we were in.

    The ground around me was once again a pentagonal tform that had a barrier surrounding it. Stopping the frost from prating through it.

    "Please hold for now, take this time to rest. The second part of the race will start when everyone arrives."

    The message from my bracelet stated.

    I guess one would think it unfair that we have to wait for everyone. But I think it''s the other way around for most cultivators. This gives cultivators more time to rest and recover, as for those who were slower they''ll have to push themselves even harder without rest through this terrain.

    The problem is, that would be the case if I was a normal cultivator. After all, I have yet to even exhaust myself.

    I sighed as I sat down waiting for the other participants to finish up.

    ***

    "Many cultivators have already made it to the second part, entric Long, what do you think of this area?"

    "After a Yang filled region a Yin filled region. A very interesting choice of biomes. This will help see who are the true and mighty cultivators. Especially since everyone is forced to wait.

    This will give those who have earned first ce time to recuperate, but will still pressure those who havee inst. Yet, cultivators who are proficient in ice and Yin Qi will be more advantageous in this area and will be able to gain even more ground recouping on their dy of the first region."

    "I do think so as well, however, from the look on the cultivator Du Shen''s face, he seems to be annoyed by this oue."

    "He muse have expected it. Especially since he didn''t even exhaust himself yet, he is being forced to wait even though he was one of the first to arrive to the finish line. However, life is not fair, and he although is annoyed isn''t reallyining about it like the others," entric Long said as he pointed at the more ''vigorous'' looking cultivators who were also stuck waiting.

    "Do you think that this area will prove difficult for cultivator Du Shen? He is currently one of the favorites for the crowd."

    "We have seen the machinery he is using. And I would assume that if he created that, he already has enough ability to make it an all-terrain machine. So I doubt the frost will be an issue. Although frost and baleful Yin Qi is harmful to metal as it makes it brittle and easier to break. Du Shen''s extensive craftsmanship must have aided him ining up with measures against this.

    We will just have to wait and see."

    After a while the announcer picked up his voice and said, "GOOD! It seems that the final participant had arrived and now we can proceed to the next part!" he said.

    "In front of you, and as you can all see, is an ever so extending field of ice. There is no designated goal to reach, but to proceed to the next area, you must clear an objective.

    Your objective is very simple, there are five gs of different colors spread all over this tundra. Your goal is simple you will need to obtain a specific number of gs to proceed forward. In front of you, you will have an option of choosing which g to collect.

    The first option, is a hundred white gs. These can be easily obtained by either defeating some of the weak demonic beasts living in the tundra. Which is simple enough but takes a long time since the presence of beasts is rare and also there are just too many of you."

    Thementator stated. Seemingly trying to dismay people from doing this.

    "The Second color is Red. This one is even more simple. You can only obtain a red g by killing other participants. And you need ten of them," thementator said with a grin up his face.

    "Third color! You can obtain this by retrieving one of the few relics hidden inside the caverns. Once you choose this selection, you will be given a map to three locations where you can retrieve these artifacts. Using the three artifacts will help you escape this region and go to the next part."

    "Fourth Color! Purple g. This one, you can only obtain by going to the designated spot in the map. Cultivators must demonstrate their mastery over thew of frost. You will be guided by thepass to a location where thew of ice is at its peak. Do be warned.

    To challenge the Purple g is something that only those who have absolute certainty of their mastery of thew of frost. The chances of survival are less than thousands of a percent!"

    "As for the final color..." Thementator paused, holding the crowd in suspense. "It is a secret," he announced with a knowing smile, sending a thrill of anticipation through the audience.

    The crowd fell silent, their hearts pounding with excitement. Thementator understood that the intrigue surrounding the fifth g would drive cultivators to seek out the challenge for themselves.

    "HOWEVER!"

    Thementator added. "As a way of making the challenges slightly more¡­ survivable. The Eight Suns have concluded that if the cultivators were to go on about choosing gs randomly a huge massacre will ur and it will ruin the vibe of the tournament. Although the option of giving random gs to each participant was suggested. It may be unfair to some cultivators.

    So, you have the right to choose one g, and change it once, and only once!"

    "SO CHALLENGERS! PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH FLAG WILL IT BE!"

    Thementator''s words finished and in front of each cultivator participating five small holographic gs appeared in front of them with a summarized mission of what they had to do.

    All eyes were focused however on one person. A man wearing purple robes embroidered with gold. A young man of pale skin and emerald eyes that seemed to peer into the solemnity of the world itself.

    His hand didn''t hesitate one bit before it grabbed the ck g.

    A look of surprise appeared on the cultivator''s face as he read the content of the g''s secret mission. But then, a very mischievous smirk appeared on his face soon after. A devilish grin of a person who seemed to have hit the jackpot instead of what should have been a man looking at doom itself.

 Chapter 650: Trial of Frost II

    In front of me was the ck g. And it was an utterly simple yet at the same time cruel trial.

    Once I epted it, I knew that the majority of the cultivators in this area who also epted it will immediately switch their g.

    Since thementator had mentioned that you can change your g once. Most cultivators will definitely not ept such a trial.

    And it was honestly an absurd one at that too.

    "After choosing the ck g and fully epting the quest. The bracelet on your arm will seal away your Qi. Then, you must proceed to a pce that can only be essed by mortals in the depth of the Icey region. Then you will receive the second part of this trial."

    I grinned at the content and epted the task.

    For anyone else, this is nothing but immediate death. After all, this area, without Qi, no mortal can survive for more than a couple moments where their bodies will be shocked and stunned with the sheer coldness.

    I slightly understand the reason behind this trial. It isn''t designed to be friendly. It has a clear objective. To test one''s understanding of thew of yin and ice.

    Only those who have good mastery in thesews can forsake their Qi, and use nothing but their understanding ofw to fend off the cold.

    As for me¡­

    The bracelet locked on my wrist and I smiled as what I expected to happen happened.

    Which was basically nothing.

    I immediately called out the ship from my holding bag and jumped inside.

    "Head north," I said to X who was navigating the ship and we moved up ahead.

    ***

    "What? What is going on in here?!" thementator stated as he stood up.

    "What sort of trickery is this? Could he be cheating?" he added loudly.

    The spectators began booing and were clearly dissatisfied with what was going on. After all they too were able to see the content of the ck g trial when Shen Bao opened it and it clearly stated that no Qi shall be used.

    entric Long had his brows furrowed and then said, "I don''t think he is cheating." He said.

    "How did youe up with that conclusion Elder Long? We clearly saw him use Qi to summon his ship and jumped on it. How is that not cheating?"

    "My humble knowledge failed me in deducing how he did so, however, I can assure you, it is not cheating."

    "How can you be so sure then?" asked thementator.

    "Not even I would dare pull any tricks with one of the suns is watching. Not to mention eight, and if they all didn''t oppose it or sent down a reckoning upon Du Shen, then he has not cheated. We only don''t know what he did that is all."

    Thementator looked up at the towers and back at entric Long. He couldn''t refute his words but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

    "He did not cheat, he is fully respecting the rules of the ck g."

    This time the words came from one of the towers that had a waning sun appearing on its g.

    The Dusking Sun. The man who had a gigantic parasite living inside his mind. One of the Eight Suns had spoken so all listened.

    "The rules say that one is not allowed to use Qi. But he never used Qi to begin with, never had he used it to move or cultivate. That man has been deprived from the heavenly Qi since the very beginning of his cultivation journey," Said the Dusking Sun.

    He then turned his head to the man who was titled the Poison God. "You there, could youe up with a poison that can kill me?" asked the Dusking Sun.

    "I wouldn''t dare!" replied the man titled as the Poison God.

    "Then renounce your title, because that man had done so. And I almost died to his hands. That man is poison itself, and although you are stronger than him in cultivation. A mere drop of that man''s poison was enough to send me to the wheel of reincarnation,"

    The man titled as the Poison God then stood up, "If the Dusking Sun praised that man so. Then I hereby renounce my title as Du Shen. I shall look up ways to build my reputation again. But, may I know¡­ I apologize, it would be too rude."

    "You wanted to ask what poison he used to almost kill me?"

    "I wouldn''t dare ask of its name, it would be nothing but sphemy to try and make a poison to kill a deity."

    "That only worked due to me personally ingesting it. As for the poison, it was his own blood. Unlike you who cultivate poison, he lives and breaths poison. His blood, his muscles and his veins. Even the process of which he thinks he applies doses of poison to his mind to elerate his perception. By doing that he can do many more tasks than a normal man could.

    And yet he is deprived of the Heavenly Qi¡­"

    "Then how could he cultivate to the realm he is in? I fail to understand¡­ And although it is utter rudeness of my part to ask how, as one who seeks the Dao of Poison I would rather be rude and learn than polit and ignorant¡­" the man bowed.

    "It is because he has not a single proper meridian. The path your disciple was going on was the same as this child. The only difference is, your dead disciple didn''t dare to get rid of his cultivationpletely and forge himself a new path that has never been crossed before, as for this man. He discarded all of what would make a mortal a cultivator and began anew.

    The Bracelet that seals Qi would work on all cultivators since they harness the heavenly Qi, however, for him it does not. since he has created his own Qi¡­ I have said enough, more than this and I will be revealing much of that man''s secrets. If you wish to learn, you either ask him yourself, or forge yourself a new path," the Dusking Sun then spoke no more.

    "If the great lord had said so, then we shall respect it. The Dusking Sun himself has vouched for Du Shen. Then who are we to judge. Now let us keep watching. As you all can see, not only he had chosen the ck g let''s see what other cultivators are doing."

    Looking through the screen, there were not more than a dozen or so cultivators who decided to take on the ck g. None of them of any particrly renowned origin. A couple had already frozen to death the moment they were out of the tform.

    And the rest were struggling to move forward. Holding their bodies, and wrapping their arms around themselves as they struggled forward.

    A disappointing sight to see, however, there was one man who was moving forward rather cumbered with the cold more than freezing.

    He rubbed his hands together cursing up a storm as he moved forward. He seemed to be able to control the Icew and was someone who seemed to be in control of his icew.

    However, the man who stood like a sore thumb was non-other than Shen Bao who was cruisingfortably through the ice on his ship. Eating what seemed to be some fruit as he enjoyed his time in a well heated environment.

    ***

    "How long am I going to follow thispass, damn I feel bored¡­" I muttered to myself as there was nothing but white in front and around me.

    "Lord, there seem to be something in the distance."

    "Really?" I said as I approached and looked through the window.

    Indeed, it was like X said. There was a massive ice pce in the distance that was hidden behind the fog.

    And there seems to be a massive barrier around it.

    "Slow down," I said to X, "Try and stop right in front of the barrier. I have a bad feeling about it."

    Soon we arrived at the barrier''s entrance and I tried to touch it.

    My hand simply went through.

    Frowning at first, I decided to get inside.

    Then I heard a loud bonk sound.

    Turning, X seemed to be banging on the barrier.

    "I cannot proceed forward, it is rejecting me¡­" he said.

    "I see, I suppose it stops anything with Qi in it from going in¡­ and since your circuits are powered by Qi¡­"

    I turned to look at the pce once again¡­

    I really don''t like it here¡­ it feels wrong for some reason.

    "I''ll continue on ahead. If something or someone tries to harass you, you have all authority to use any weapons or tools that we possess. Defend yourself but don''t seek trouble."

    "We shall do as the lordmands."

    I turned to the pce and began walking forward. The bad feeling continued the closer I got the pce''s massive gate.

 Chapter 651: Trial of Frost III

    The gates themselves were made of pure sculpted ice. Portraying statues of dragons and phoenixes and demonic figures. All reaching to the center of the gate where there was a kiln that had a burning me in it.

    The entire gate looked like a piece of sculpted art that held a story behind it. And just as I got close enough the gate opened up allowing me to enter into the pce.

    The inside of the pce was mostly made of pure ice. With the exception of some pieces of furniture that had frozen over.

    Rotten carpets and broken chairs and stoolsy all over the ce.

    The main hall leading forward had several dozen ice statues lined up perfectly. And taking a closer look you could see that the statues were the only thing that seemed to not be affected by the passage of time.

    I didn''t try and move forward as this is the most obvious of traps.

    "Hello!"

    I heard, which frankly almost freaked me out. How did someone sneak up behind me without me even realizing.

    I slowly turned to see a young man standing a safe distance from me.

    "I thought I''d be the first to get here. You must be the owner of that thing outside," He said.

    "And what if I was?" I asked.

    "Oh, nothing really, just that it was my first time seeing something like that. What was that, a ship? One that can fly?"

    "What would that information gain you?"

    "Ah, I see, I was rude then. My name is Law Tang, you can call me Law,"

    "Call me Shen," I replied and turned to the hallway.

    "You seem to be in a pickle, after all, not being allowed to use your own Qi is annoying," he said as he tried to move through the hall.

    Just as he was about to take a step forward I grabbed him by the scruff of his clothes and pulled him back.

    Several spears shot right through the ce he was in a moment ago. If I hadn''t pulled him back, he would have died there and then.

    The look on his face was that of surprise at first then he turned and said, "You knew about that trap?"

    "That does not look like the reaction of someone who just escaped death¡­" I said.

    "Ah, it''s because something like that wouldn''t have killed me, but thank you for the assistance. Still, I''m surprised that there is a trap like that here."

    "Why would you think that, this is a ck g mission, and unless my understanding is skewed I believe it is the hardest of the bunch," I said.

    "Yes, but I thought that we''ll get some sort of trial or difficult challenge at the end of this pce not at the start¡­ and without using Qi I''d feel bad for other cultivators. They''ll probably all die at this step," he said.

    "You speak as if traps are of no consequence or bother to you," I said.

    "That''s because I''m different!" he said. shing me a grin that almost had me gag.

    I frowned at the man, "If I didn''t pull you back a second ago, you would have died, is that what you call luck?"

    "It is indeed. But I''m a rather lucky man! The whole world seems to not want me to die for some reason, so no matter how difficult a situation or how tough, always something came up and solved it. Even when I was young."

    ''Seems like he is infected with the Main Character syndrome.''

    "If you don''t believe me, you can try, grab a sword and try to cut my neck, the sword would either break, or you might fall on the ground before you swing it," he said rather proudly.

    "I''d rather not tempt fate," I said. And I wasn''t talking about myself. "Every action has a reaction, and no matter a man''s fortune and luck it will end one day. So don''t overly rely on something as fickle as luck," I said.

    "I heard that a lot during my youth, and I have yet to have any issues so far," he said.

    "Do you know what is a Death g?" I asked.

    "I wouldn''t know," he replied shaking his head.

    "¡­ never mind then," I said. "We have more important things to take care of," I said as I nudged my head forward.

    The statues of soldiers were still standing upright with weapons in hand. "I have a feeling that the moment we take a step forward, those things wille at us with weapons in hand."

    "Why would you think that? This isn''t a trial where we''re allowed to use our Qi," he said, "So it''s rather impossible to fight back," he added.

    "That''s the tricky part, if you take a closer look, the entire area here is ruined. The walls are cracked and the ground is frosted over, there is damage all over the pce. But the statues themselves are clear and clean, there is not even a speck of dust on them¡­"

    Law looked around and went to grab a chair that was on the ground. The chair broke in his hand leaving him with one of its wooden legs.

    Heughed it off and then decided to throw the leg into the middle of the hall.

    None of the statues moved.

    "I guess they''re not alive?" he said.

    I almost facepalmed. How did this man even survive so far?

    I held my palm forward and began channeling my Poison Qi.

    "Wait what? How? How are you able to use Qi? Here?" Law lookedpletely stunned.

    "Because I''m different," I smirked back at him.

    ''I haven''t used this in a really, really, long while.''

    The poison dded my hand, making an armored coating that ended with vicious looking ws.

    "Poison Tiger w!" I chanted and swung my hand horizontally.

    The moment the spell left my hand, the statues all jumped at me. Yet, even for me, the power that came out of my arm was far too great than the Poison Tiger w I remembered.

    After all, this was nothing but the most basic spell of the Poison God Arts I devised, yet the power it shot right now was far more brutal than any spell I''ve used before.

    The walls, the statues and the a great part of the pce was torn apart as three w marks tore through the vast and long hall destroying everything in the process. Including some hidden traps and every ice statue in the vicinity.

    "Ah¡­" I said slightly embarrassed, "I guess I didn''t control my strength there¡­"

    Law looked at me with wide eyes, "Holy shit, how are you this strong?" he said. "Are you sure you''re just a void level cultivator? That''s not the power of a Void Stage cultivator!"

    I looked at my palm and said, "It''s just a basic spell. Anyway, this took care of the immediate problems, I''ll be heading forward." I said.

    "Wait for me!" he said.

    "I''m not nning on sharing the reward if its something only one person can have," I said.

    "I don''t really care, the mission says to clear the ice pce," he said as he held his bracelet forward. "So as long as we''re both here and clear whatever hurdle, I''ll be able to pass this test."

    "Remember your words then," I said as I headed first.

    I wasn''t really worried about being backstabbed. It is indeed risky to leave a man who I can''t even sense behind my back, however, as long as my Qi is still operating and protecting my body, I can''t be affected by whatever he tries since he is in a ''mortal'' state right now.

    "Your ability to understand icew is impressive," I said as I moved forward.

    "What makes you say so?" he asked.

    "The fact that your entire presence feels like a piece of ice. And that you''re not currently freezing over."

    "Oh, yeah, well, I can also attribute that to luck," he said.

    "I see."

    Soon we arrived to a wide opening inside the pce. It was a circr room that immediately closed on us the moment we were inside.

    "I don''t like this," I said as I looked around. There was nowhere to go or move. And in the center of the room was arge mirror made of ice.

    Our reflections on it seemed a bit distorted as they didn''t have any faces.

    "You see that?" he said.

    "I do have eyes," I replied. But something was different from our reflection.

    I looked at Law, who was pointing forward at the mirror, but his reflection wasn''t. No, his reflection began moving then was mming against the other side of the mirror until it got out.

    "I guess it''s obvious what we should do," he said as his reflection charged at him.

    The two of them began battling while I waited for my own reflection toe out.

    "That''s cheating!" he said as his reflection began using Qi based skills while he was dodging.

    "That''s one of my skills! Why are you using it!" he said as he ducked under an ice sword swing.

    I frowned, if the reflections have our abilities¡­

    I turned to see my reflectione out of the mirror. But just as it took a few steps forward. The reflection began shuddering and shaking, then suddenly it just melted over in a pool of dripping poison.

    My bracelet immediately shined, "You have seeded in clearing the second part of the trial, please proceed forward."

    This was obvious. My Body''sposition isn''t simple. And it is being held by my own Soul. A body like mine without a powerful soul will definitely sumb to the poisons inside it.

    The Poison God''s Arts aren''t arts for the body alone, they also help improve one''s soul and make it a part of the art itself. One cannot function without the other. It is why I''m able to easily possess my second Avatar that also had destroyed meridians, since I''m using my own soul to supplement it.

    If a clone of my body were to exist it also needs to have its meridian shattered and its whole cultivation started from scratch and needs a Poison Soul like mine to work. Recreating the body without the soul is nothing but a recipe for disaster.

    Law looked at me surprised at what just happened. And just as he was about to speak, his reflection went for a wide sword stab. That second of hesitation was all it took for a man to lose his life.

    But not in this case.

    By some randomness, by some weird and strange stroke of fate, while the reflection was swinging the sword, it managed to trip itself. And not only did it trip itself it managed tond on the tip of the sword, piercing its own skull.

    "Oh, I was wondering when my luck was going to kick in," he smirked at me as he showed me his bracelet also revealing that he passed this part.

 Chapter 652: Trial of Frost IV

    "What just happened?" thementator was watching with a stunned expression as he failed to realize the thing that happened on screen.

    He looked at entric Long waiting for an exnation. Thetter only shrugged.

    However, a heartyugh from the other side of the audience echoed. The man that had given up his title as the Poison God spoke.

    "I see, only now can I fully and wholeheartedly ept my inferiority," he said.

    "Po.. I mean Master Xiao Du, could you please help exin what is going on," thementator asked.

    "I''ll do so once I join both your tables," Master Du grinned.

    "You are more than wee!" thementator replied and the three of them gathered around in a table overseeing the arena.

    "Now, for Du Shen, he had proven the path of poison he is following. The poisons in his body, they are not normal. The density and toxicity is something far beyond whatever I would dare try on myself. However, he is fully integrated with them. He is truly¡­" Xiao Du looked up at the tower of the Dusking Sun, "Deserving of the title Poison God, he is poison itself," said Xiao Du.

    "We all admire a well ced praise andpliment, but many of us here have no understood the underlying meaning of your wise words!" said thementator, clearly hinting that he himself had no idea what was going on.

    "The Frostbound mirror, it replicates a man''s entire build, muscle and Qi level included. The trial was simple, it was to test one''s knowledge of the Icew, since a clone cannot use Law it is the only way to defeat it, especially since whoever is taking that trial is denied the use of Qi.

    The trial is very simple, only those who are capable and have learned during their travel time across the frigid area will be able to learn a new icew, and the icew that they should learn in theory will be how they can clear that part. However, that does not apply to Du Shen, who by some miracle is still able to use Qi."

    "So, you''re saying that he used Qi to defeat the clone?"

    "Not at all, he didn''t even need to move a muscle and that is exactly what happened. Du Shen''s art and cultivation allows him to cultivate his body to be poison, it was the poison itself that killed the clone," said Master Xiao Du.

    Thementator scratched his head and said, "but howe Du Shen is still alive, the replica is exactly the same, so he too should have melted due to the poisons on his body."

    "I could probably answer that," said entric Long. "The clone was missing something," he said.

    "And what is that? The artifact has been created by one of the eight suns, I doubt they would make such a mistake that it didn''t copy a person''s body exactly."

    "I''m not saying that the artifact had an error, the artifact functioned to its full ability and intent and it indeed copied Du Shen perfectly, however, it only copied his flesh and cultivation. It didn''t copy his soul. And I have a feeling that Du Shen''s art requires both his soul and body to function. Like Yin and Yang, never one without the other.

    And the mirror only copied the body leaving the soul thus the body melted."

    "I see, so to say, his soul is like an antidote for all the poison in his body and without the antidote the body will die. A very interesting analogy! Now, that is well and exined. But what in god''s name happened for the other challenger?"

    "Well. As we could hear, it seems that he is indeed, just lucky¡­" said entric Long.

    "Luck? That can''t really be an exnation now?" thementator said.

    "As I have said, I have seen many things through my lowly life. And among them were cultivators with absurd amounts of luck that the world itself will bend and fold for their sake, and others who were of the most wretched luck kept alive by divine cynical mockery itself. Unable to even end their own lives as they had to grind through life with an incredible malice and bad fortune.

    This man seems to be of the former type."

    "Luck can also be a power I suppose," said thementator.

    "It is indeed a part of one''s power, however, as Du Shen had said, luck is a fickle mistress. She may dote on you, and give you the riches of the world, and one day might drag you to the depths of despair without any warning or notice. One shouldn''t live their lives relying on something like luck," entric Long said.

    "I see, my eyes have opened wider now! Still this isn''t all we have for the ck g challenge otherwise it wouldn''t be deserving of the color. Thest and final part is now in front of them! Will they clear it?!"

    ***

    The mirror in front of us suddenly reshaped itself into a door that opened in the middle allowing us entry into a sub spatial room.

    As I walked inside, I had a feeling that the weather turned colder. The room we were now in had nothing. It was a small circr room with a small pond in the middle. And four small carpets for meditation around it.

    The pond water however was frozen solid. There were some rings inside the ice block. However, above the ice was arge bowl that held a white raging me inside it.

    "Oh, a true frost shard¡­ Why is this here?" Law exined.

    "And what is that?" I asked.

    "It''s a really cold me that''s all I know about it. But it''s not practical or usable for anything besides understanding Law. It can''t be harnessed or used. And it will destroy a person''s body if anyone dares to touch it."

    Our bracelets then shined at the same time.

    "Using your understanding of the Ice Law, retrieve one of the rings inside the pond. The deeper the ring in the pond the more rewards are inside it. Do note, that the ring is the only way for you to proceed to the next trial. You must retrieve it without damaging it."

    The mission was simple, however, Law was muttering to himself about it being unfair.

    "What''s wrong now?" I asked.

    "I think we''ll need to use our icew to suppress the me, and if we do that, some of the water will melt and we''ll be able to retrieve the ring, the problem is, that my understanding of Law isn''t enough to suppress a True Frost shard¡­" he said as he sat down and immediately jerked up.

    "Ouch!"

    He took a look at the ce where he sat, there was something underneath the carpet. He pulled the carpet up and found a ring that looked simr to the ones inside the pond.

    "Oh, I guess I pass¡­" he said and before I could even interject, he was teleported outside the room.

    "Bruh¡­"

    I shook my head, let''s not talk about that.

    I also sat down and began analyzing the pond. The coldnessing out of this thing was absurd. Without Qi, I should have frozen over. But I''m protecting myself well using my Soul me.

    Yet it is not enough to suppress this True Ice Shard. Well, maybe to an extent enough to melt a smallyer of ice. But using fire might damage the rings. And using force might break them. So is there no way but to use icew? However, I''m really terrible at Icew.

    Water Law is different since it is one of the basic ones. But ice is different although close.

    ''Hold on a second¡­'' I looked around, this whole room is in a subspace. Meaning the me could exist in a subspace. So, it must have been moved here. And if it was moved¡­''

    I stood up and began studying the me some more. The material holding it was nothing out of the ordinary, it was basically pottery and it was simple it could resist the cold. So it isn''t something special that can carry the me.

    It must have been ced there by someone.

    I refrained from pulling my personal brush since Old Fu told me that it was a very rare and sought out item. With people watching every move I do, it would be nothing but a foolish risk to show more of my cards.

    I pulled a normal quill and brush and began writing inscriptions on talismans I had with me.

    The inscriptions were simple and the idea was even simpler. I didn''t need to suppress the me. I just need to remove the me entirely. Also, a forever cold me isn''t useless. I can use this in my Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The problem is where to keep it for now and that''s why I''m using these talismans.

    I continued writing and inscribing on several dozen talismans and spread them around the pond, focusing the bulk of them to float around the me. Thankfully they didn''t outright freeze over and were able to function once I added my own Qi.

    The makers of this test had already thought that someone might try and remove the me entirely that''s why they removed the ability to use Qi, however, that does not apply to my Poison Qi, so¡­

    I pped both my hands together enabling the formation and suddenly the whole me disappeared along with the bowl carrying it.

    "Nice!" I said as the ice that was underneath the me instantly turned to water causing all the rings to simply sink down.

    I grabbed the shiniest of the rings which I remembered was at the bottom of the pond from the start and soon the teleportation happened to me too.

 Chapter 653: Mirror Mirror On The Wall

    "I don''t want to talk about this¡­" thementator said.

    entric Long beganughing as the entire audience was also chiming in on the irony of what was going on.

    "A man must use all that is around them to pass their trials, I approve of Du Shen''s ability and intellect. He had found a way around the challenge andpleted it perfectly within the rules. Honestly, I would have been more disappointed if he were to try and use icew to solve that problem while he still had the ability to use his own Qi," Xiao Du nodded at Shen Bao''s actions.

    "I have a feeling that we will be seeing more of Du Shen''s trickery and tools soon. Now, let''s take a look at the rest of the contenders," thementator said.

    At the top of the race there were several cultivators that appeared in the first area too.

    Among them the man with nine swords as he had finished gathering all of his red gs.

    "It seems that the Demon Sword is using his power and experience to his advantage. He hunted down the first cultivators he found and killed them, gaining all the gs he needed to proceed forward. A lot of cultivators had chosen this g since it is technically the easiest if they have confidence in their skill," thementator said.

    "It may be the easiest at first, but the more cultivators that die, the harder it will be to obtain the red gs. Theck of cultivators and also those who survived mean that they are strong enough to fight back. What I''m most interested in, is the purple g, we do have a few cultivators doing that," entric Long said.

    The screen turned to a schrly looking man who was calmly sitting atop what looked like a nimbus cloud. He was smiling as he was channeling thews of ice as if they were second nature.

    The purple g challenge was not simple. As it was located at the peak of a frigid mountain, several obelisks were erected all over this mountain. These obelisks had the foundation making thew of cold and ice written on them. They affected the entire area above the mountain and created a powerful torrent of coldness.

    Several cultivators were seated next to the obelisks, their goal was written on their bracelet and showed up on the screen.

    Protect your obelisk for one hour, while filling the obelisk with Ice Law.

    A very simple objective, however, it wasn''t simple when there waspetition. Other cultivators tried to sabotage those who were already seated since the slots were finite. And they had a timer ticking down on them.

    "Not only do they have to remain near the obelisks they also have to fend off every attack from every cultivator that want to take their spot. The obelisk itself isn''t easy to subdue as they need to funnel a lot of their own understanding of Law to finish their task. It is a hard and arduous task that will challenge a person''s knowledge and understanding of Dao," entric Long exined.

    "What a fine young man," said the Xiao Du, "Not only is he fully controlling thews of ice so he does not freeze over, he is also fending off against all of the other contenders. His understanding of Law is so great that he is almost done filling the obelisk''s inscriptions with Law while fending off everyone attacking him."

    "Although the nail that stands out gets hammered first, this young man, even when everyone is attacking him is still easily fending himself. He is carrying the stigma of the Lord of lords too. That camp has amazing cultivators as we can all see," entric Long praised the young man.

    "We do have other cultivators that already cleared many objectives. Mainly hunting wild beasts and finding relics, but it seems that those tasks fall a bit under the excitement that our fine crowd wish to see. We will be resuming broadcast once the event of the Frost Region is over, for now we''ll be leaving you with a few prominent cultivators showing their prowess in battle!"

    Thementator removed himself and began resting up.

    "Quite an interesting tournament," said entric Long.

    "Indeed,st time, it was pretty boring. The only good stuff came at the end, most of the neers were not even worthmenting over." Thementator replied.

    "I hope that child makes it," said Xiao Du.

    "You''re interested in Du Shen?" asked entric Long.

    "I harbor no ill intent, although I did at first, but a person with his type of knowledge is to be respected. I could learn a thing or two from him and even share some of my experience with him if I were to sit in the same table with him," he said.

    "The tournament just started, we''re far from the end. Hopefully the next part will be as interesting as the first bits," the Commentator said.

    "The entire tournament was made by the eight suns, it should be fun to watch, I''m really sad that I''m unable to join this round. I never regretted being in the Origin Shattering realm until today, hah!" Xiao Duughed.

    ***

    The teleportation was a bit annoying as it left me slightly groggy. I had no idea why, I should be used to things like this.

    Looking around though, I found myself in a dark lit area. It was a bit stuffy and smelled a bit moldy too.

    Underground maybe?

    The roof was nowhere to be seen and it was pretty dark besides the area I was on. It was the same pentagonal tform from before.

    I released my Divine Sense to check and see where I was. But the divine sense itself was reflected all over and all around me. Reminding me of the ant caves I was in before alongside Old Fu.

    There was nothing on my bracelet to indicated where I should go or what I should do. So I had to wait until the mission appears on it.

    I then remembered the ring I had on me. It was the reward from thest trial, once it teleported me here, it got disabled. But it still held a storage room inside it. And when I opened the ring I found a piece of a map inside it.

    The map looked like a maze. And I suppose this is nothing but one part of the whole map. Perhaps I''ll need to find the rest of the pieces to figure out how to leave this area¡­

    Well, that sounds simple enough. Now, we''ll just have to wait for the bracelet to shine.

 Chapter 654: Among Us

    Time went by as I waited, trying to scan the area yielded no results. The whole thing was reflecting everything I threw on it. Nothing but light could prate through the dome around the small pentagonal tform I was sitting on. And when it did, it reflected and refracted so many times it would make a mortal go blind. I''m in a massive mirror chamber that is constantly reflecting anything in it.

    I guess it''s the location of this next trial. But since I couldn''t get out I had to wait. Other cultivators would usually just recuperate as they were waiting for the time to tick down. However, I didn''t use my energy at all during the entirety of thepetition so I was still at peak form.

    But instead of just wasting time just waiting aimlessly, I pulled out several crystals and ss shards from my holding bag. Then began working on something that I will be needing soon.

    The tool I was making would be very helpful, after all I used something like this back on earth when I went fishing.

    Prized sunsses. Well, these are different actually.

    The original use for prized sunsses was to reduce sun re and eyestrain. Here, in this cave with these many reflections, it will be a pain in the ass to use light and move. And since I can''t even use divine sense because that is also being reflected, relying on eyesight bes imperative.

    Now, using normal sight will definitely bite me in the ass, especially since my eyes are far more improved and evolved than a normal mortal''s eyes, the damage they''ll take is more significant. So, I''m making these sses with a few inscriptions on them.

    Once I shaped the shards with my carving tool and ced them in a metallic frame.

    The ss part was doubled up, one, crystal clear for sight and the other a dark brown. I inscribed the edge of the brown ss with a few inscriptions that would help refract the light and reduce it without hindering visibility.

    I also began adding more inscriptions on the frame. The goal of these inscription was simple, to aid in funneling Qi from a piece of heavenly Qi that will be powering the inscriptions on the sses and also to power a small light at the side of the sunsses.

    This was nothing more than a small project that I was making to pass the time.

    Not long after I finished and tried the sunsses the bracelet in my arm began shining.

    "CHALLENGERS! Congrattion on passing the second trial of Ice. Many have failed and perished and several had given up and were taken out of thepetition. However, we still have a lot of cultivators who manages to clear the trials and are still strong and steady! Now then! Your next task isn''t as oppressive as the former, but it is not easier either.

    Your goal in this maze is simply to find the exit!"

    You could hear the audience cheering from the bracelet as they saw the next stage.

    "Now, this trial is a bit different as you may have guessed. The Maze you''re in isn''t simple enough that you can navigate it by following the left path! No, this one is multidimensional! It has as many exits as there are cultivators! But that is also part of this trial! All those who had cleared the former trial have obtained a piece of a map.

    The piece you obtained is where the exit that you need to go to, however, to reach the exit, you will need the rest of the map to navigate yourself there! Your goal in this trial is simple. Find teammates who can help you finish your and their map! And make sure that you all help each other in leaving this maze!" he said.

    Sounds rather simple, but I doubt it will be this simple.

    A wide grin on thementator''s face suddenly shed as he said, "HOWEVER!" he shouted.

    "That would be far too easy now, wouldn''t it?!" thementator added. "There gotta be a twist now! Shouldn''t it!"

    The audience waited patiently for the twist as thementator added.

    "There isn''t one maze though, it would be a little too absurd to have you all in the same maze. There are multiple ones. Meaning that the entire group that is participating is split over hundreds of thousands of mazes with a capacity of a hundred cultivator each," thementator said.

    No one understood the reason why this division happened, but thementator soon addressed it, "Now, usually, this would make this part rather easy, as the cultivators can just group up and find their exits. But not here, since there will be an impostor among you. A few among you will have a different role. Their goal is to sabotage your progress and they will have the tools for it.

    And that is not all, you will be facing dwellers of the maze that you will have to deal with too, it isn''t a walk in the park and you must prove yourself and your intuition!"

    The audience seemed to like the premise of this ''game'' as they all began cheering and talking among themselves on how we can solve this issue.

    "Now, to make this simple, each cultivator will receive a message at the start of this trial. You will either be assigned the role of Pathfinder or Betrayer! You will have a list of goals to achieve. And do know, that Betrayers can locate each other, while Pathfinders have no clue on who is who!"

    ***

    The feedback from the bracelet soon ended and a message appeared on my bracelet.

    "You have been designed as a Pathfinder."

    "¡­ I see, no wonder he said there was a twist¡­ and I''m a pathfinder¡­ I guess I''ll have to be more careful about people around me." I said as I stood up and looked around. It was dark as shit.

    The only light was the lighting from the small dome and it began reflecting all over making the path almost invisible.

    The dome soon came down, and I wore the sses and immediately the pathway through the hall was far clearer than using regr sight. I began moving forward through the corridors, paying close attention to see if I could meet anyone, friend or foe.

 Chapter 655: Mirror Mirror On The Wall II

    "What an interesting event. What do you think is the objective of such a trial, entric Long?" thementator asked.

    "What I think¡­ hmm, what I can say is, this is a very interesting and ingenious trial. It is done in a way to test one''s intuition, ability to recognize friend from foe. And to see lies from truth. It should be something worth watching,"

    "Du Shen had been using his ship for the most part, but in this maze the ability to move it and maneuver with it is very limited. So, do you think he will be forced to use more of his personal prowess, than rely on his devices and gadgets?"

    "I doubt it," entric Long said, "That man had worked hard to make those things, I doubt you''ll make him give them up, HAH! Look at what he is wearing and how he is moving, he already gave up on using his own legs!" entric Longughed.

    Thementator looked up at the screen and was awestruck at what he saw.

    Shen Bao wasfortably sitting on top of a pnquin and four metal puppets were carrying it. He wasn''t even paying attention to the path ahead as he was working on some sort of device, using the sses that he made to focus his sight on the more intricate part of this small device he was creating.

    The puppets that were carrying him weren''t the only ones though, there were several more behind and in front of him, and four others that were actually hanging on the ceiling above.

    "I guess¡­ he really likes hisfort," said thementator.

    "It''s not justfort, he had positioned his puppets in a way that they would protect all sides, if you see the puppets at the front, they''re scanning every step of the way as they''re moving, not missing a single spot, making sure to check the corners first, as for the ones in the back they''re not even facing forward, they''re moving backwards to make sure that they don''t get ambushed, as for the ones in the ceiling, either they''re there to make sure that nothinges down to attack them from above or act as a surprise ambushing tool.

    While he himself hadn''t lifted his head even once, the orders he had given to his puppets are all one needs in this type of maze to move carefree," Xiao Du exined the situation.

    "A man who would prefer to be rxed even in a ce where danger might lurk. I like this type of people!" thementator said.

    "I didn''t know you swung that way," entric Long cracked a joke.

    Thementator with a red face replied, "It''s not like that! Anyway! It seems that Du Shen will be meeting his first friend or foe! Let''s see how this encounter goes!" said thementator.

    ***

    As I was moving around the maze, aimlessly mind you, one of the puppets up ahead noticed something.

    X immediately spoke, "We havepany. Someone ising up, they''re moving steadily and seem to not be hostile."

    I raised one arm up, to stop the group from moving, and soon Law showed up with a worried look on his face.

    He didn''t notice the two massive puppets that were standing in front of him until I coughed.

    Surprise on his face he turned to look at me, "Oh! You''re here, what a lucky encounter!" he said.

    "How in god''s name did we end up in the same ce again?" I asked.

    Law simply shrugged, "I wouldn''t know, I guess it''s my lucky day today isn''t it!" he said.

    "You''re expecting a free ride?" I said.

    "I wouldn''t say no to that," he replied sheepishly.

    I shook my head and said, "follow along."

    As the two of us were moving he said, "I''m curious about something."

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "Aren''t you being too friendly with me? What if I am an imposter?" he said.

    "That wouldn''t be possible, or at least very unlikely," I said.

    "How did youe to that deduction?" he asked.

    "Simply put, you''re luck is way too overpowered," I said.

    "I fail to understand."

    "Let me humbly brag. I really don''t see myself losing in this round, it''s a simple maze with a simple goal, no matter how hard others thing this ce is, I could easily clear it and proceed forward. And if you were one of the imposters, then you will fail in stopping me, meaning you will lose.

    Your luck acted in a way that you''re not an imposter and you''re a path finder since if you were the other way around you will have to meet me and survive me, which, even with your luck, will be a very tall task," I said.

    "That is a rather far fetched analysis," he said. "But, among all that I have met, you''re the first one to think like this, and you are right. I believe that if I hadn''t met you, I wouldn''t have been able to clear the former trial, or at least would have had a harder time. And perhaps my luck is what allowed me to be in the same maze as you, and meet you first," he said.

    "Frankly speaking, I hate the fact that you can easily go through life without worrying about anything, but at the same time, relying on luck is something I''ll never consider." I said.

    "Luck is a part of a man''s fate," he said.

    "But we''re cultivators, our existence itself is defying fate. If I were to reach a goal and there is a mountain in front of me. I wouldn''t hop that luck will break the mountain down and have it crumble, I would personally carve the mountain itself to reach my goal. We''re different," I said.

    "I see¡­" Law''s eyes drooped down.

    "I''m not antagonizing you," I exined. "It''s nothing but advice. Luck is a finite resource that cannot be constantly used. One day it will run out, and in that day you''ll need the ability topensate for your luck with your own strength, seek power and if you got lucky then good, but seek it with effort still."

    "I know what you''re trying to say, but aren''t you the guy who''s not even using his feet to walk? Talking about effort¡­ in this case is rather ironic," he said.

    "There is a difference, I made everything here, they are a part of me, a part of my power, why walk when I can ride? It would be foolish to exhaust myself," I shrugged.

    "Oh yeah, how did you end up leaving the room of the Frost Shard?"

    "I just sealed the entire thing and left," I shrugged.

    "I see, you also got a piece of a map form the ring?" he asked.

    "Yes, indeed I did."

    "Is itparable to this one?" he said as he showed me his.

    Looking at the map piece on him it was rtively smaller inparison to mine, it only had a couple pathways drawn on it and a small circle to mark the exit.

    When I showed him my map.

    "Oh yours is bigger," he said.

    I smirked at his wording and said, "That''s what they always say, anyway, I guess these two pieces are ipatible, mine is a corner piece of the map, yours seem to be a more centralized piece. SO this is like a jigsaw we need toplete," I said.

    "True, we''ll need more pieces of the map to figure out the entireyout of this maze so we can leave¡­"

 Chapter 656: Between an Imposter And a Beast

    Our conversation continued as we moved around thebyrinth. It wasn''t easy for a normal person to navigate this dark ce. But sooner than expected we heard the heaving of another man, breathing roughly right around the corner. I gestured to the puppets to keep moving forward until we ended up finding another person along the way.

    He looked rather panic stricken, fear clear in his eyes as he backed away from the both of us.

    "Looks like you''ve seen a ghost," I said to the man.

    "I-I apologize, I''ll be going the other way!" he said as he tried to back away. I guess seeing two cultivators and more than a dozen Emperor Level Puppet is enough to scare anyone witless.

    "Hold," I said to the man, "Why are your sleeves bloodied?" I asked.

    "Oh this, I met with an imposter earlier, I barely got out of it," he said. He didn''t seem anxious or worried as he said those words, as if they were a given as if they were the truth.

    However, the blood stter was strange, it was not a defensive blood stter¡­ and the man didn''t seem to have any wounds on him.

    "How did you escape?" I asked.

    "Why are you asking so many questions? Are you perhaps the imposter?!" he said with clear fear on his face. Of course, it was fake.

    Nice try to divert my attention, shifting the me. But gaslighting is my specialty.

    "If I was, do you think you''d still be alive?" I replied coldly as my puppets all seemed to lock their eyes on the man.

    Growing more anxious he sighed and said, "I found a small tunnel as I was running away from him, when I entered the tunnel it closed behind me and I found myself here. Then you two came out," he said.

    "That sounds awfully convenient," Law said. "How about you show us your piece of the map?" Law asked.

    "What for?" the man tried to dodge the question.

    "Topare, after all if you really are not an imposter you should have the map on you," Law added.

    Sighing once again, "Here, happy?" he said as he showed us his piece of the map.

    I nodded at the man and said, "What are you nning on doing now?" I asked him.

    "I really don''t know, I''ll probably wander around, unless you want to take me with you," thest part was followed by an awkwardugh.

    "Sure thing, if you want, you cane with us," I said.

    "Really?" he said, his eyes sparking.

    "Of course, but you''ll be leading the way forward, next to my puppets, after all, I don''t fully trust you yet," I said.

    "Sure thing, no worries!" he said.

    Law frowned at me and said through divine sense message, "Why are you allowing him toe with us, he is very suspicious."

    "I know, not only is he suspicious, he is definitely an imposter," I said.

    "How did youe to that conclusion?" Law asked.

    "Because he never asked us to show him our piece of the map, if he really was a pathfinder he would request to see our map so he can try and find the exit for himself, as for the map he had on him, it was definitely picked up from the corpse of whoever was unfortunate enough to meet them."

    "Then, why did you allow him to apany us?"

    "Because I''d rather have and enemy where I can see, instead of an enemy I can''t see. The unseen de is the deadliest," I exined.

    Law nodded as we moved along. Navigating through the corridors and trying to find a point of reference or something we can use to recognize our location. However, it was harder than finding a needle in a sea of needles. The entire maze was hard to navigate, mirrors upon mirrors making progression a nightmare and the path could lead up or down at different intersections.

    Suddenly as we were moving, we heard a low growling from a distance.

    "Seems we have even morepany," I said.

    Law, a bit tensed, "That''s an unnatural growl¡­"

    "Indeed it is, not only do we need to be worried about imposters but these things are a menace too."

    The sound of wed paws striking against the hard floor reverberated through the hallway we were in. And soon something emerged from the darkness.

    The creature emerged from the shadows like a nightmare given form, its massive frame towering over us. The creature bears a striking resemnce to a wolf, but with a twisted and corrupted form that sets it apart from any ordinary beast.

    Its size dwarfs that of a normal wolf, standing at least twice as tall at the shoulder, with muscles rippling beneath its fur like coiled springs ready to unleash devastation.

    Its fur, once a majestic coat of sleek ck, now appears dull and disheveled, tainted by an icy chill of unknown origin. Jagged spikes protrude from its spine, resembling shards of ice frozen in mid-air, adding to its fearsome appearance. Its eyes, a piercing shade of icy blue, seem to glow with an otherworldly light, betraying the intelligence lurking behind its bestial facade.

    Despite its wolf-like features, there''s an unsettling aura of darkness and corruption that surrounds the creature, as if it has been twisted and warped by malevolent energies of unknown sources.

    As it bares its fangs in a menacing snarl, droplets of icy saliva drip from its jaws, freezing upon contact with the ground below. Every movement is calcted and deliberate, betraying a cunning intelligence lurking behind its bestial exterior.

    "What in god''s name is that?!" the man up ahead said, fear clear in his eyes, this time true fear without any lies or fakery.

    The beast then growled once more andunched itself forward, ws and jaws both aimed not at the closest man, not at the one in front but at me who was far back and sitting in a pnquin.

    I smiled as this very act fully proved my doubts about the man up front.

 Chapter 657: Mirror Mirror On The Wall III

    "What a strange turn of events! Among the beasts that dwell in the maze, the one they''re facing is one of the deadliest! A frost Cursed Wolf King. These Frost Wolves by themselves are a fearsome creature that can easily destroy an unaware Emperor Level Cultivator. However, now that it had mutated into a Cursed type, it is far deadlier and more deranged.

    What do you think the chances of survival for a cultivator at the Void Realm against these creatures?" thementator asked entric Long.

    "Even I don''t like these things, after all, one of the scars on my body is because of an encounter with one of these things. Back in my days, I had to travel across the Frigid Region of the north and almost ended up losing my life to one of them. I didn''t remove the scar to remind myself that even the strong need to keep cautious at all times," entric Long said.

    "From your story, these things are very fearsome to meet and encounter for a normal cultivator. Perhaps Du Shen will finally be forced to act! We''ll probably be able to see more of his personal power!" thementator began hyping up the uing battle.

    "I wouldn''t be too sure about that," Xiao Du said.

    "Why is that, is there something we''re missing?" thementator questioned.

    "It is that smirk on his face that never disappeared even against something that would make any Void Cultivator turn serious, it didn''t even faze him. On the opposite, he seemed to be more interested in the man that just joined them than the wolf that is currently fighting."

    "I see what you mean, after all, that man is one of the imposters of the maze, perhaps Du Shen already figured him out?" thementator said.

    "He noticed the inconsistency of his words the moment they talked. Now, after the wolf jumped straight for the pathfinders and ''ignored'' his ally the Imposter, it just confirmed it," Xiao Du said.

    "Good, let''s keep watching then. And hope to see more of Du Shen''s ability and judgement!"

    ***

    "Get him," I said.

    The wolf didn''t stand a chance as two of my puppets immediately intercepted him. Stoping his jaws from ever getting close as one of them locked itself around the wolf''s neck, and the other used his arms to keep the wolf''s jaws closed.

    The creature tried to back away but two more puppets immediately rushed to his hind legs lifting them up, forcing the wolf in a most awkward situation. Unable to back away due to only having two of his paws on the ground and unable to bite due to the puppets locking his neck and mouth.

    I walked down the pnquin and looked the wolf in the eyes. It was confused and terrified, instead of the deadly appearance of a menacing predator, it looked like a trapped and confused beast.

    "Quite an interesting creature, I would have liked to add you to my collection. But sadly the lord of lords pagoda is rather forbidden here¡­" I walked around the confused and struggling wolf as I took a closer look at his body.

    The ice around him was being constantly released from the wolf''s own understanding of naturalw. As for the creepy aura around him, it seemed to be some form of mutation or alteration that happened to it. The beast itself had a few unnatural patches of missing fur around him, as if they were pulled and a couple scars that seemed to be self inflicted.

    "Seems like you''re in pain, enough that you sliced through your own flesh¡­" I said as I pressed my arm against the fresh wound on its underbelly.

    Inactive poison coursed its way through the now panicking wolf and gave me a full analysis of the innerworkings of the wolf''s body.

    "What are you doing? Shouldn''t you be killing it now," the neer said, as if urging me and egging me on.

    "If you don''t kill it, it will attack us instead! Let me do it!" he said as he rushed with a bloodied sword to try and kill the wolf.

    But he couldn''t move more than a couple steps before his head flew and rolled next to me.

    "Oh, I thought you''d need him for a while longer," Law said.

    "I would, but we have a better guide," I said. "My goal was to use that guy to lure us to more imposters. But for some reason, he wanted to get rid of the wolf, perhaps he realized that the wolf won''t attack an imposter and wanted to kill it so it doesn''t expose him. But for us, that is a very good tool to locate and find imposters on our way.

    After all the wolf doesn''t attack them from what I could notice," I said.

    "I see, I would also rather trust in a beast than a human," Law replied.

    "Indeed, beasts are simple, and they don''t lie, usually that is. Now here little pup, you have two options," I said as I gazed into the wolf''s eyes.

    "Inside you right now, is a dose of very lethal, very painful poison," I said as I lightly squeezed my hands.

    The wolf''s entire body began shaking and shuddering as stters of blood began appearing on its skin and from its nose and eyes.

    "Defy me, and you will die a most cruel and miserable death," I said. "But y along," I said as I released my hand, and instantly all the wounds on the beast began healing, the fur that was missing and the damage it self inflicted began closing in.

    "You''ll receive something very helpful to you, I can even remove that thing guing you right now, whatever it is that made you who you are, I sense it premating inside your body, now which will you choose?" I asked.

    "You think it can understand you?" asked Law.

    "Beasts that lived long enough tend to have a general understanding of things, especially with a show of power such as this. Even if they didn''t gain full sentience, they must respect the strong and thankfully this is a wolf. Wolves respect the strong and follow them after all," I said.

    "What if it tries to rebel," Law asked.

    "It knows very well its fate if it tries to go against me. Release it," I said.

    The puppets released the wolf and backed away right next to me.

    The creature hesitated at first, it looked behind it for a second, assessing the situation if it wants or if it can flee. However, after taking another look at my unwavering eyes, it drooped its eyes and its tail slowly fell tucked between its legs.

    Its head dropped all the way to the ground, showingplete subservience.

    "Good boy," I said as I threw a small pill in front of the wolf.

    It licked at the pill for a second, then gobbled it up. The ze on its eyes was partially lifted and it then stood tall, as if waiting for order.

    "Lead the way, you know about this maze more than any of us," I said.

    The wolf turned and began moving through the halls.

    "Pretty impressive," Law said.

    I hunched down and picked up the dead man''s bracelet and holding bag. He had a few interesting things in his bag, including some rare metals and a few life saving treasures that he never got the chance to use. And among the things he had was the map piece that he showed us earlier.

    I tried to see if the piece of map would fit with both my and Law''s pieces but to no avail, it was ipatible.

    "We''ll need to look some more. Right then, let''s keep going."

    ***

    "I¡­" thementator rubbed his eyes as he looked at the screen.

    "Cat got your tongue?" entric Lawughed.

    "Are you seeing what I''m seeing? How did he do that?" thementator eximed unbelieving what he was seeing.

    "Well, I saw it, and witnessed it, so I can only believe it," Xiao Du shrugged.

    "But that doesn''t make any sense? This is not some random dog or cat that you can just tame? It''s a Frost Wolf King a Cursed one at that too! They''re the most vicious and most selfish creatures at their level, they''ll never bow down to power, some would rather die and perish than be ruled andmanded by man!"

    "You said it yourself ¨C by man. But did you notice something different in the eyes of Du Shen? What emanated from him was a ferocity reminiscent of the wild, a confidence and pride seldom witnessed among humans. Humans often perceive themselves as superior, expecting beasts to bow before them.

    Yet, Du Shen defied this norm; he didn''t demand subservience, but rather demonstrated he was deserving of respect. Offering the wolf a choice ¨C between death or freedom ¨C he acknowledged the worth of the creature.

    In such a scenario, any beast would opt for freedom, especially when the alternative is a cruel, emotionless demise akin to what they might encounter in the wild." entric Long exined.

    "So, Du Shen is part beast?" thementator asked.

    "No¡­ far worse, for the wolf Du Shen was a monster¡­"

 Chapter 658: Main Characters

    "Among all of the mazes, the ones that made the most progress are only three. One of them is the one that all of us have been watching the most, where Du Shen and hispany of puppets are progressing decently fast, and the second and third respectfully is the maze where the Demon Sword and the Schr of the Lord of Lords faction, named Zhang Tian.

    Quite a fast pace I may say," said thementator.

    However, before entric Long or Xiao Du replied, a small cough was heard from one of the eight towers.

    Everyone in the audience looked at the source of the cough, it was the Wisest Sun''s tower. A g of a bright white sun fluttered above his tower room.

    "You should pay more attention, someone already cleared their maze''s goal," the Wisest Sun said.

    Thementator scanned all of the screens and said, "I must have been blind to see this!" he then moved his hand and a small screen grew to showcase the man who seemed to be the only one remaining in his respective maze.

    A young man was sitting down with his jaws opened up.

    The man''s existence itself exuded a power beyond anyone at his current level. And around him were the souls of a hundred cultivators that soon went right inside his mouth, consumed and devoured.

    He then stood up. He was a handsome young man, who shared something with Du Shen. The pale greenish tint of his skin, and emerald eyes that cannot be mistaken for anyone who knew of the poison god''s heritage.

    "With this, I should be done with this stage," he muttered to himself as a red portal suddenly appeared in front of him. He simply walked inside it not bothered with anything or anyone.

    "What an incredible man, I suppose he was given the Imposter role, but I have no idea how he managed to kill everyone inside the maze," Thementator said.

    "That''s the Dao of Devouring, a vicious glutenous Dao that isn''t easy to cultivate. Seems that the young man absorbed everything in that maze and was done with the challenge in a record time," entric Long exined.

    "It''s not just the Dao of Devouring, he also has something simr to Du Shen," said Xiao Du.

    "Maybe, since that man''s registered name is Dao Shen, perhaps they''re acquainted?" thementator said.

    "Maybe they''re from the same n, regardless, he was very lucky to have obtained the role of an imposter, his ability is far too destructive to be used near allies," Xiao Du said.

    "Not only that," entric long said, "I think that he had some decent luck that no Origin level cultivators or powerful Void Shattering cultivators were with him, they would have been able to sustain the Dao of absorption he used and he would have had to chase after them. But in the Void Realm I suppose he is not someone that can easily lose," entric Long replied.

    "Between him and Du Shen, who do you think can win?" asked thementator.

    "I cannot give an urate assessment," entric Long said, "I have yet to see the full extent of Dao Shen''s ability, and I have yet to see the ''real'' ability of Du Shen, they both have yet to use their full power.

    But right now, I''m leaning more on Du Shen, after all four of the Suns are actively paying attention to him, and that is enough to prove one''s value and worth, not to discredit anyone else, but Du Shen had shown a lot of power while showing nothing at the same time," entric Long exined.

    "It is indeed the case. Let us see the rest of the cultivators now, the Schr Zhang Tian for example," thementator said as he widened the screen showing Zhang Tian sitting on his nimbus cloud and floating ahead of a massive group of cultivators.

    "He had took the reign of the entire maze, gathering the people and making them follow after him, he already found the exit he needs to leave, but decided against leaving by himself, and wanted to gather everyone first," thementator said.

    "Why do you think he bothered doing this?" asked Xiao Du.

    "I wouldn''t know, to bepletely honest, I could have just left," thementator shrugged.

    "It is to identify, and recognize friend from foe," said entric Long.

    "How so?" thementator asked. *

    "Byw of elimination. Every cultivator there has a piece of map, and once he gathered everyone who has a map, the few who don''t will be revealed as imposters, and going in a group will guarantee the survival of everyone because no one would dare backstab anyone else in a full group of people," entric Long said.

    "How did youe up with that conclusion?" thementator asked.

    "The people alive in that maze are still a hundred, a death has yet to happen, and so far he has about eighty people with him, once he gathers the remaining people he will then be able to locate the imposters as they won''t have a map," entric Long said.

    "The imposters need to act fast, if they manage to kill someone they''ll be able to obtain their map and blend in with the others," said thementator.

    "Indeed, it is the only way that the imposters could blend in, but with such a high level of alerted cultivators it will be very difficult to take them on. However, we can only watch and see how the schr can clear this stage."

    "The other two mazes, one where the Demon Sword is moving is also a bit simr," said thementator. They''re all following the Demon Sword," he said.

    "Not quite," said entric Long and Xiao Du at the exact same time.

    "How so? You both seem sure of your words, would care to exin to our audience?"

    "Go ahead master Du," entric Long ceded the word.

    "Thank you," Du Xiao nodded and said, "The difference is in the way of leadership, where the Schr was leading by example, the Demon Sword is leading by power. The schr Zhang Tian exined how they can all survive and clear the path forward, but for the Demon Sword, he killed anyone who didn''t align with his judgement and words.

    Threatening them and forcing them to act as his limbs in the maze, if you take a closer look, several cultivators are spreading around and back to the Demon Lord informing him of what''s going on up ahead."

    "I see, oh there is another interesting person in the mix too," thementator said as he showed another screen.

    It was of a man with a burning bright red hair, a me for hair and red eyes that didn''t look like those of a human.

    An excessive amount of mes and heat constantly exuded out of his body, melting some of the maze''s walls and floor as he steadily moved forward.

    "Quite the impressive disy," said entric Long.

    "How so?" asked thementator.

    "That man, he belongs to the Darkest Sun faction, and with all respect to the Darkest Sun, the way he is acting is very fitting for his faction. He is a lone wolf, destroying anything in his path, it is a clear challenge to anyone in the dungeon to not even think of confronting him.

    Friend or foe, anyone who would dare approach will be roasted alive, not only that he is proving himself and disying clear hostility to everyone. It is the very definition of the sovereignty of the Darkest Sun. To back away is a concept that they do not adhere to, there is no surrender, no giving up, it''s either do, or die.

    And showing oneself like a beacon of me in this scenario clearly means that it is a challenge to everyone around him. Only a foolish imposter would dare approach that man," entric long nodded.

    Just as he finished his words, something came flying toward entric Long and he grabbed it mid air.

    Looking at it, it was also another token, a token of the Darkest Sun.

    entric Long didn''t believe his eyes, of the eight suns he has five tokens already, he bowed in prostration thanking the Darkest Sun for his grace.

    "Congrattions brother Long, at this point I''m not even surprised, hopefully by the end you''ll manage to obtain all eight," thementatorughed.

    "It would be a tale I tell for generations toe; however, I speak not out of cheap praise, but actual and factual event. To follow the Dark Sun one must have a cruel heart." entric Long said.

    Thementator thought that the word ''cruel'' would not be taken lightly by the Darkest Sun but nothing like that happened.

    "Do not misunderstand, being cruel isn''t a sign of vileness, but one must be cruel to their enemies as they are cruel to themselves. And showing power and courage in such situations is the definition of the Darkest Sun, since the dark hold many dangers one must be as dangerous a the dark to walk underneath that sun," he finished his words as he looked up.

    "And as you see, no one would even daree across the follower of the Darkest Sun, the cultivators that see him from far away or sense him, even the beasts of the maze are all actively avoiding him."

    "Indeed, they seem to be close to their end goal, and will be leaving soon, but what about our crowd favorite Du Shen It''s been a moment since we saw his progress," thementator said.

    "If I were you I''d brace myself¡­" Xiao Du said as he had been watching Shen Bao''s progress by himself.

    "What is that supposed to mean?" said thementator as he disyed Shen Bao''s screen only for him to say, "What in god''s name is happening?!"

 Chapter 659: Hells Paradise

    The look of surprise was painted on everyone who was watching.

    "Is this even allowed?" the Commentator asked looking around.

    entric Long couldn''t help butugh while Xiao Du simply shrugged, "It is technically his power and ability, so I don''t see why it wouldn''t be allowed."

    "¡­ As you all can see, it seems that Du Shen will be able to clear the maze in almost no time¡­ let''s keep watching, after all there isn''t much to exin about this absurdity¡­"

    ***

    A few moments earlier.

    The wolf was guiding us and found a few more cultivators that he seemed rather aggressive toward, meaning that they were also just pathfinders.

    "This is going to take a really long while, though the wolf is leading us to other cultivators¡­ he isn''t really doing much else to help," Law noted.

    "Even the pieces of map we received from the other cultivators were pretty much useless," I replied.

    "If only we could get everyone''s map, we''d have the whole thing avable for us," Law sighed.

    "Hmm, you might be on to something," I replied.

    "Is that so? But how are we going to do that, it''s not like there is a dozen of us that can go around and find cultivators, also most of them will probably not give us their map piece¡­" Law said.

    "Well, we don''t really need theirs," I said as I opened my poison god''s heritage storage space.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of puppets began flooding out of the book, rushing forward as I had given them amand ahead of time.

    They began moving in files, spreading every time they reach an intersection through the maze.

    They kept on moving and splitting all over the maze as if they were a flood of water that made sure to fill every hole and cavity of the maze.

    Cultivators were surprised to see the puppets, but since the puppets didn''t attack anyone they didn''t dare attack first, so they just watched as the puppets moved around them.

    "What are you doing?" asked Law.

    "I''m cheating a bit," I replied.

    Law was confused, "How so? By splitting your forces?" He asked.

    "Divide and conquer. Though I can''t contact my puppets due to the divine sense blocking effect of the maze, they can still see and record what they see. And after a while," I said as several of the puppets began reaching dead ends and started withdrawing back.

    Every puppet that returned to me began carving on the ground the path it took, and soon, more puppets came and added their own parts and more so on.

    After a couple hours, all of my puppets had returned to me, some had sprays of blood on them, from either fighting beasts of the maze or some stupid cultivator that wanted to test their luck against one of my puppets.

    Though my puppets aren''t strong enough to take on the strongest of the maze, but since they''re all linked together, once one of them is attacked, the rest will soone to help. Spelling doom for any unfortunate soul that attacked first.

    And now, that they all returned, the map was fully drawn by the puppets, and I only needed to match my piece of map with the maze that the puppets had drawn.

    "Got it, I found the exit I need to take," I said as I showed Law how to do it.

    Surprise on his face, he also matched his piece of the map and nodded to me, "Same here, it''s actually pretty close too," he said.

    "Then let''s meet again in the next trial," I said.

    "Of course, good luck brother Shen," he said as he rushed forward to his exit.

    "Move forward," I said to the puppets carrying me. Our exit is a bit of a long way up ahead, but I doubt anyone would dare attack me with these many puppets around me. So, I simply rxed as I was moving forward.

    ***

    "As you all see, Du Shen, once again seemed to be bending the rules a bit to his favor! Not that there is anything wrong with it. He still achieved the final goal of clearing the maze with his own ability despite the restrains of Divine Sense and the illusions of the mirrors.

    Although I doubt he even realized that the mirrors around them create illusions since he created those sses that protected his sight and mind¡­ as for the man who was next to him, I suppose he was just lucky enough to always end up avoiding the spot where the illusion will start," thementator sighed.

    "HOWEVER!" he said as he tried to hype up the crowd once again, "That is it for luck and random trinkets and tools! The next trial is a trial of power! A trial of the mind and the soul! Where no one can simply avoid doing their best!" thementator said as he disyed the next trial.

    A scene like nothing anyone had saw before, high in the skies lies a tapestry of ethereal beauty woven by the hand of nature itself. Here, amidst the boundless expanse of cerulean skies, float the enchanting wonders known as the Floating Inds.

    Each ind is a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship, suspended in the air like jewels adorning the crown of creation. Verdant forests nket the undtingndscapes, their emerald canopies swaying gently in the whispering breeze. Cascading waterfalls cascade down sheer cliffsides, their crystalline waters shimmering in the golden light of the sun.

    Vibrant blooms adorn every corner of the floating inds, their petals unfurling like delicate works of art in a botanical symphony of colors. Butterflies flit gracefully from flower to flower, their iridescent wings catching the sunlight in a dazzling disy of natural splendor.

    Crystal-clear streams meander through the verdant valleys, their babbling waters tracing intricate patterns across thendscape. Beneath the surface, schools of shimmering fish dart and weave through the azure depths, their graceful movements a testament to the harmony of this celestial realm.

    However, all that shines is not gold.

 Chapter 660: Hells Paradise II

    The audience gasped at the beauty of his heaven like divine creation on earth. However, thementator broke that moment of admiration.

    "The Floating Inds, once thought to be the heavenly respite of souls, where man would wander eternally in eternal bliss andfort¡­ this is where the next trial will happen. Something strange might strike the viewer as they see this scene of beauty. If this is heaven''s likeness, where is man?" thementator guided the audience to the next part as they all seemed uneasy with his statement.

    "Amidst the breathtaking beauty of the Floating Inds, there lies a palpable sense of unease, like a shadow lurking just beyond the edges of perception¡­ I believe entric Long had once stepped foot in the Floating Inds."

    "I''m not going to lie, I still have shivers from the time I spent there. And frankly speaking, I still wonder why this isn''t considered a forbidden zone to this day," he said.

    "It is because of the time of respite," Xiao Du said, "The Floating Inds are safe only during a period of time¡­ but once the darkness settles, it is a nightmarishnd."

    "Indeed, the darkness, above the Floating Inds is a gigantic floating piece ofnd, thates and goes, dropping a shade above the inds for several hours.

    During that period of time, the serene Floating Ind wouldpletely transform, and it is then and there, where our contestants will be tried and trialed!" thementator shouted as he disyed Shen Bao''s screen and how he took a step into the garden.

    ***

    "¡­"

    A pretty sight. One might think.

    The beauty of this ce is really indescribable, flowers and spiritual herbs and energy like nothing before. Blooming trees and birds of all kinds nestled among them. Beast and prey moved alongside each other not caring one bit of the presence of one another.

    Though I was standing inside another pentagonal tform, I received a message saying that I could freely go and explore the area.

    I took a step forward and was wary of my surrounding, because only a fool will think that this ce is safe.

    To bepletely honest, it''s far too safe for a trial and that''s enough to make one worry and wary.

    The grass itself underneath me is not something that should be growing during this season, nor should some of the fruits on the trees. The types of birds are all different from what you can find in a specific biome.

    Something is awfully strange about this ce.

    I approached the closest tree to me and began inspecting it. It was a peach tree. It was already blossoming however the weather and temperature waspletely off. It was slightly colder than it should be for the tree to blossom, however, the smell of peach blossom was wafting and strong.

    Not only that, some of the branches was actually carrying fruits. Fully grown and ripe fruits. Which was not only strange butpletely unnatural.

    Peach, especially one that isn''t taken care of usually harbors an absurd amount of diseases, it''s not something that can naturally grow without it being either ridden with maggots or have flies all around it.

    Yet this one, was growing all too healthily and without any disturbance, not only this tree but many other trees were all too healthy, too healthy for it to be natural, but too natural for it to have been cared for.

    I was about to take a peach and inspect it, but noticed that there was not a single peach missing from the tree.

    With the many animals around, especially squirrels, and random dears here and there, not a single peach tree was missing one of its fruit.

    So I withdrew my hands and used my divine sense to check up on the tree.

    I was immediately met with a mind-boggling sight.

    Something was actually growing inside the tree, it looked like a form of dark slime that had taken over the tree itself and had spread all over its branches. Giving the fruit the nutrition, it needs and protecting it from pests.

    It spread from inside the tree, to its branches and all the way to its roots. Like a parasitic creature that was holed up inside. But that wasn''t the only thing, in fact, everything that my divine sense touched had been inflicted and infected with this thing.

    The birds, and the animals, the fruits and the flowers, everything was bound to this creature.

    I backed away as I realized that I was on top of a massive trap.

    What are they nning on doing to us in this trial?

    Whatever it is, this thing is making sure that nothing consumes another, no bird eats any seeds, and no dear eats any grass and no wolf eat any dear. They''re all harmlessly moving about not doing what they should naturally be doing.

    I returned back to the tform and sat down, thinking hard of what the trial up ahead will be holding for us. And so far, I was not liking it or enjoying it one bit¡­

    ***

    "What a great self control," said the Commentator, a smile on his face.

    "I did the mistake of taking one of the fruits," entric Long said, a grim look on his face.

    "Indeed, this whole ind is a massive trap, that will destroy anyone who dares break its most holy of rules, do not kill!" he said.

    "Indeed, killing anything there will immediately make the whole ind hunt you down, however, it won''t happen now, one will be marked and will be taken out during the darkness¡­" the Commentator said.

    "I''m quite eager to see what sort of trial will be ongoing here," Xiao Du said.

    "Well, of course, the trial will be something that will make this whole thing blow out of proportion," he said.

    "You don''t mean¡­" entric Long took a long pause, after now he probably realized what''s about to happen to the contestants.

    "Indeed! The trial is nothing else but a hunt, but not any hunt, a hunt during the dark. Where not only is one not allowed to kill, but they''re also not allowed to speak or make a sound! NOW LET US SHOW YOU THE NEXT CHALLENGE!"

 Chapter 661: Floating Islands III

    I sat down thinking of what''s the purpose of this challenge going to be. The whole ind looks like a serene beautiful ce without anything worthy of note but the strangeness of the nts and behavior of the animals. But on a deeper nce you could see that this is nothing but a massive trap that is waiting patiently to close down on its prey.

    I continued sitting down as I didn''t feel like doing anything. This is the only stage we were let out of earlier than expected, and it feels like a bait.

    So, I sat down, waiting patiently to see what''s going on.

    And sooner thanter, the bracelet shined in my hand as it began disying the purpose of this trial.

    "To clear the Trial of the Floating Ind you simply have to achieve two objectives. The first, to survive the night on the Floating Ind. And the second, to y a three eyed ape. But things are not as they seem, be wary and most of all be careful."

    I turned the bracelet off and began thinking about the purpose of the quest. It''s not pitting us against each other, but to hunt a specific type of apes. Three eyed apes, I don''t know what that is, but it seems that it is pivotal for this request.

    I began by heading out and looking around, making sure not to disturb anything that had that dark matter inside it. I didn''t know what the reason for it to exist, but since nothing here is trying to eat or consume one another, I should probably do the same.

    The mission that requires us to kill an ape is probably something that will trigger this darkness. So, I''ll need to wait out and analyze the ape first once I find it.

    However, I have a feeling that if I were to go on a killing spree, things will go awfully bad for me. So, I did what any sane person should do in my case. I began moving via Traceless Step.

    Making sure that my whole presence is hidden. From beast and prey. Walking up and between creatures that were unaware of my presence, not seeking to hunt or y anything, but to look for other cultivators.

    It didn''t take long before I arrived at a location where a man was wandering around through the bushes, he was slicing and cutting them apart as he was moving. I on the other hand stood atop a tree branch looking at what he was doing.

    From the direction he wasing from I saw a few peach trees that had been cut in half. The man seemed rather unaware of the darkness hidden beneath the ind.

    But, nothing seemed to retaliate against him, or so I thought at first before I noticed something stuck to the sole of his foot.

    It was small and almost inconspicuous. A piece of the darkness of the ind itself was embedded on the soles of his feet. Whenever he took a step it would attach a smidgen more.

    Finding nothing else to do I kept following the man.

    High above us, a shade began covering the ind. Looking up, it was the arrival of what would make the ''night'' in this region.

    A gigantic floating ind, almost as big as a from the Vast Expanse, slowly moved above the ind, covering it in its entirety in a shade that kept getting darker and darker.

    "Damn it, this is annoying!" the man cursed as he continued cutting apart veins and brushes around him. An unaware deer seemed to get too close to the man and ended up being split in half. "Fuck off!" the man cursed.

    Slowly even without his own notice, he began scratching his neck. Small rash like protrusions were growing on his skin.

    By the time he noticed them, something shed next to him which took his eyes off the disease like protrusions.

    It was the size of a small human, dark brown fur and three glowing eyes, it stared at him for a second then screeched so loud that even I who was so far back was affected.

    I immediately used my Qi to shut down my ears not to go deaf right there and then. However, the man who took the full burnt of the scream had blooding out of his ears. Enraged, he chased after the ape with fury in his voice and action, using Qi to sh away at the ape who simply dodged and screeched once more. The reverberations were enough to make the man keel over, barely holding himself.

    As signs of dizziness and nausea were clear on his face.

    The man didn''t give up yet, as he spouted profanities that would make a sailor blush.

    He then went after the ape that kept mocking the man. The ape climbed up a high tree and began pping its own ass in an attempt to taunt the man.

    What the man didn''t notice in his fury of needing to chase after the ape, that the disease that had been guing him started acting up, hardening his body enough that when he moved, pieces of his skin and flesh began falling off.

    Unable to understand what was going on, and especially with incredulous pain wracking his body the man tried to shout in pain, however no sound came out as his mouth was suddenly covered by a ck slime that rose from the ground itself.

    The slimy darkness went right inside the man''s mouth, wriggling visibly through his hardened skin, cracking it like would a seismic catastrophe do to t ground. It began bulging out pieces and bits of his body, from the head to his torso then shot out everywhere,pletely eradicating him from existence itself.

    The apeughed at the man and moved further ahead.

    I followed after the ape, taking my time not to be spotted and walking via Traceless steps to see where it was going.

    Soon, I arrived at another spot where a cultivator was carefully scanning the surrounding. The ape then picked a peach and threw it against the cultivator to let him know where it is. Then another chase began.

    The cultivator also seemed to have the same rash on his skin, and the same smudge of slime on the sole of his feet that they never seem to notice.

    The same events happened almost exactly as earlier, with the ape running around, screeching and taunting the cultivators, making them exert themselves then the slime woulde out and kill them afterward.

    This happened several times through the course of the next couple hours.

    I began taking note of what was going on and realized something important. The ape always found the people with the rash. And whenever it drew a cultivator''s attention, it always started with the sound attack, then the taunting and running around.

    As if programed to do so, the ape continued ''hunting'' cultivators.

    I needed to figure out how this came to happen. First things first, it seems that the cultivators that died had all one thing inmon, which was the rash, and that seemed to appear after theye in contact with the slime under their feet. How that came to happen to them can only be linked to the fact that they all harmed the natural -which was clearly unnatural- order of the floating inds.

    I constantly checked under my foot to see if I too had such a slime underneath me. But so far nothing happened.

    I had the thought of picking one of the fruits or damaging one of the trees to try and capture and analyze this slime, but I shook the thought away. I had no idea how this disease functions or if I can rid myself of it in time.

    The ape soon stopped and began looking around as if searching for his next prey. At that time I had already approached the ape enough that I was right behind it without the creature ever noticing me.

    I simply grabbed it by the neck, locking my arm tight at the now freaked out and distraught creature. His voice didn''te out as I slowly squeezed my hand until I heard a snap. The creature''s neck had broken now and it immediately slumped down.

    My bracelet shined as having seeded inpleting half of the objective and goal of this task.

    I immediately began scanning myself, to see if I was also inflicted with the same ck sludge. However, there was nothing on my foot, and my body didn''t give me any reaction to any disease or sickness that I thought would be inflicted upon me once I harmed one of the habitants of this ind.

    Considering it strange, I inspected the body of the ape, and realized something different.

    The ape didn''t have an ounce of that slimy darkness inside it, it was a rather normal ape. Which by itself was strange, after all every creature in this area was inflicted with that darkness but this ape.

    I need to further study this. But for now, I had alreadypleted half the task.

 Chapter 662: Floating Island IV

    "Were you expecting this?" thementator asked.

    "Nope, I never thought that would even be possible, those things are absurdly sensitive to killing intent," entric Long replied.

    "I once happened to have had my hands on one of those apes, they''re very vicious. Not only are they quite crafty and cunning, they''re also powerful beyond belief. Their simple looking bodies hide a cruel internal power that would probably kill any Void Stage cultivator that isn''t paying attention.

    Their sound attack is enough to rupture one''s drums and internal organs, and their eyes are very strong and acute, they can see in the dark and are not easy to trap or confuse in illusions," he exined.

    "Then, how the hell did Du Shen manage to capture and snap one''s neck, even I have no way of doing both things at the same time!" thementator said.

    "Well, I guess it''s just luck," entric Long said.

    "How so? How is luck even rted to what just transpired?" thementator replied as if aggravated.

    "Luck as in, Du Shen never intended to technically kill the ape, and if he had no ill intentions to kill the ape, there is no reason for him to develop killing intent against it," entric Long said.

    "You mean, that Du Shen considers the ape so far below its notice that the thought of ''killing'' it didn''t even cross his mind?

    That means that he didn''t even deem the ape as a living organism but barely an existence that he needed to observe and take note of, nothing more nothing less, like a subject of an experiment." Thementator exaggerated his exnation, but at the same time painted a clear picture for everyone in the audience.

    "That is the making of a monarch, those who see with an eye empty of prejudice and empathy, a rather pragmatic view of the world. And that isn''t easy to achieve," entric Long said and took a pause, "There was a hidden factor in this simple looking trial," he added.

    "Is that so?" thementator grinned as he realized where entric Long was going.

    "Seeing your reply, you must have also been aware of it. The idea that the contestants need to ''Kill'' the Three Eyed Ape is in itself a seed that you nted in the heart of every cultivator that is taking this trail.

    By giving them all the urge to hunt and kill, they all developed a small killing intent toward the ape, and no matter how small, it is still killing intent, and the three eyed ape is amazing at detecting any trace or amount of killing intent. So, by saying that, it will get everyone to think of killing the ape, however Du Shen from the start thought differently," he said.

    "Care to further exin for the audience!" thementator waved at the people keenly listening.

    "Of course. Du Shen, from the start, the first thing he did was to analyze and take note of his surroundings. Something many would do, however, he took it one step further. He grasped the essence of the ind and realized that it was hiding a secret. From then on, he made sure to take everything he sees from an analyzing perspective lest he falls to the trap of the ind.

    By doing that, he withdrew all thought of haste and hostility and took an approach of careful analysis and understanding. Not to mention his strange ability to move without ever making a single de of grass bend, or even harm an ant if he were to step on it.

    A strange and yetpletely nature attuned movement art he had shown that could make him blend inpletely with nature, if it was not for the advanced scrying eyes, even we could have lost sight of him."

    "You gave Du Shen a lot of praise," thementator said.

    "He deserves more. And I''m rather understating it. The fact that he was fully capable of approaching something that could sense killing intent and even snap its neck, which by the way is incredibly difficult. The ape itself has a strong resistance to physical damage and is very powerful.

    To snap its neck, one''s physical prowess need to beparable to a peak body cultivator of the Void Shattering realm. But Du Shen did that with only his early stage Void Stage cultivation," entric Long said.

    "How would you know that?" asked the Commentator.

    "Because I had to wrestle my way out of the Floating Inds and as you know I do cultivate my body," entric Long said. "And even I barely was able to kill the ape before my internal organs were damaged, also speaking of internal organ damage, for anyone who is in the radius of the screech they should start bleeding from all orifices after taking that st.

    But Du Shen kept following the ape, and resisted all of those screeches through hours without showing much than a wince at the first encounter then nothing but mild unnoticeable difort afterward," entric Long added.

    "I am still intrigued by Du Shen''s cultivation. He obviously looks like a normal cultivator that cultivates the spirit, but from what we saw he also cultivates the body. And his mind is sharp enough that he is able to make all those entric weapons and tools. A cultivator that cultivates mind body and spirit is very rare toe by." Xiao Du said.

    "Indeed, now let us see the rest of thepetitors, we do have a few that also managed to y the ape, although with some difficulties."

    ***

    "I''m bored¡­" I said as I was calmly sitting atop a tree. The body of the ape was of no relevant use. And I''m still wondering why the ape was intent on baiting cultivators to chase after it.

    After a while of not doing much, I decided to keep moving about and see what other cultivators were doing.

    I moved through the trees and ended up seeing several cultivators being done in by the apes. However, a few had managed to defeat it and chase it down. And among them, was a face I didn''t expect yet expected at the same time.

    I hopped down from the tree and approached the man who was relentlessly scratching his neck.

    "Stop that, you''ll rip through your skin," I said.

    Turning, Law''s eyes brightened, "I knew my luck was good, but didn''t expect it to be this good!"

    "You caught your ape?" I asked.

    "More like it tripped and fell, and I managed to take it down, but yea, I did clear the first half now I just need to wait till morning¡­ But I''m not going to lie, this damn itch is killing me!"

    I sighed at his absurd luck.

    "Anyway, let me take a look," I said.

    "Why are you helping me this much?" he asked.

    "Not many would let me take a look at this thing, also you''re luck is probably working in your favor as I don''t have any ill will toward you, nor is the stage making us fight among each other. Anyway, let me see," I said.

    Law handed me his hand and said, "Feels like something is wriggling inside me, I don''t know what though."

    I lightly grabbed Law''s hand and sent my divine sense through it, to scan and analyze the source of the rash, and noticed one thing.

    It was a type of fungal rash.

    "Fungus," I said.

    "What, where?"

    "I mean the rash you have, it''s a skin rash. Doesn''t seem serious, but I''ve seen how it caused cultivators stronger than you to break down to pieces. I guess it''s only at the early stage of activation, but once you receive the soundwave of the ape, it will enable the dormant attribute of the rash, which is strange, how is your rash not activated?" I asked.

    "I don''t know, but what do you mean soundwave?" he asked.

    "The ape that you caught, did it not scream at you?" I asked.

    "No, I came form behind it and as it tried to run away it tripped and fell in a pile of poo or something¡­"

    I almost facepalmed at the absurdity of his luck and said, "This thing is enabled by the ape''s screems, let me see if I can remove it," I said as I pulled out a small knife and cut through Law''s palm.

    I then connected a drip of my blood into his bloodstream and began attacking the rash.

    Surprisingly it was very weak to a myriad of poisons. Almost like a normal fungal infection.

    I applied a sulfuric based toxin from my poison on his blood stream.

    "This will make you feel ufortable, you''ll probably feel like you''re choking and drowning at the same time, but bear with it for a moment," I said.

    Law nodded and I began funneling the poison through his body. His reaction was as expected as his body tried to pull itself away from me, his nose and eyes began bleeding and he started coughing and trying to gasp at the same time.

    But it didn''tst long before his body was rattled with toxin, and soon began convulsing.

    After a while, the rashes on his body began disappearing and soon his skin returned to normal. Once that was done, I withdrew the toxins back not to identally kill him.

    "How you feeling?" I asked.

    "Like I was about to die, that didn''t happen before¡­ I guess there is a first time for everything," he said.

    "Take this," I said as I threw him a pill.

    "What''s this?"

    "It''ll help you fend off growing any more of those rashes. But at the same time you''ll need to prepare," I said.

    "For what?" I asked.

    "I think the ind didn''t like it when I removed the rash¡­ and now it''s angry," I said as I pointed ahead.

    In front of us, were several dozen slimes that began shaping themselves to the shape of people.

    And one of them was a bit familiar, he was the first person I was spying on.

    I guess this is the next part of the trial.

 Chapter 663: Floating Islands V

    "Indeed, as you all have guessed, it would have been far too simple if the trial of the floating ind revolved around killing a single ape. The second part, which is to survive is the most pivotal and most important! Now the challengers will have to fight against the ghosts of those who have already lost! Do you think they can make it?!" Thementator shouted to hype up the crowd.

    "I see, the whole gimmick, the ape, the ind and the slime were all a setup for this. The death of so many cultivators is nothing but the starting point of the real trial," entric Long nodded his head.

    "As you have just said, it is indeed but the start, so tell me what are the odds for ourpetitors?" thementator asked.

    Xiao Du replied, "They don''t look too good. Running is the only option after all, anyone who thinks otherwise is in for a very rude and mortal awakening," he said.

    "How so? Could you please exin?" thementator grinned.

    "Because to try and hide anywhere on this ind is putting a target on your back. The entire ind is a living organism, that can sense, feel, know, and locate a person anywhere and everywhere. If one tries to hide, they''ll be sitting ducks for the monsters of the ind," Xiao Du said.

    "IT IS INDEED AS SPOKEN! The whole ind knows at every second where everyone is, and if anyone tries to outsmart it by hiding, they''ll just end up in the stomach of one of the creatures. Granted, not everyone will be foolish enough not to realize this simple truth, but those who do not realize it will soone to understand how deadly this ind truly is!"

    ***

    "So what are we going to do?" Law asked as he was following behind me.

    "What do you think? Just keep running," I said as I lunged past arge boulder and Law did the same afterward.

    Just as we went past it by moments, the boulder was shattered to thousands of pieces as one of the slime cultivators crashed through it.

    About ten or so cultivators were chasing after us. Others would have probably tried and fight them off, but I wasn''t sure that fighting them was the best option. We don''t know how many of them the ind can throw at us, or how many of them can it make at the same time. Fighting them will most likely cause us to lose our stamina and exhaust us more than simply running away.

    "They''re catching up," Law said.

    And he was right, the more they followed after us, it seems that the more they assimted with the memories of their bodies. Some even began throwing sword waves, and although weak, the strength of these sword waves began increasing bit by bit as if they were learning.

    "We should probably go up!" Law said.

    "I wouldn''t if I were you," I replied to him as I pointed up.

    A cultivator had already thought of doing that, but more than a hundred slime cultivators had flown up toward him.

    "Flying is making yourself look like a beacon for the eyes of these things, you''ll just get killed faster. Well, I would, I don''t know about your luck though," I said.

    "I have a feeling that I should keep following you," he said.

    "Then good, that means I could probably siphon a bit of your luck,e we''re moving right," I said.

    Law followed after me instantly as several other slime cultivators had been waiting in ambush for us if we had kept moving up forward.

    "How did you see them?" he asked.

    "I didn''t. But I figured out how this thing works," I said.

    "Then tell me, I could be of assistance," Law said.

    "The whole ind is like a living organism, the slime matter isn''t an infinite resource. For it to create these slime cultivators, it needs to output a surge of the said slime, it''s like cutting a piece of itself. And in the area up ahead, the presence of the slime in the ground was very thin, so it must have produced them and they were nowhere to be seen so it was probably an ambush," I said.

    "How did you even figure out that the slime density was thin?" Law asked.

    "Because I''ve been focusing my Divine Sense on the ground since the moment we started running away, to the left now!" I shouted, and immediately the both of us turned avoiding another ambush from two more cultivators that were still forming.

    "Can''t we use your ship thing?" Law asked.

    "We could, but that''s going to be bothersome, we''ll be moving targets, also it''s not really something I want right now, it''ll actually make what I''m trying to do a bit harder," I exined.

    "Which is?" he asked.

    I sighed, "You ask a lot of questions, just watch," I said as I continued running.

    What Law didn''t see was that on one of my arms was a piece of the slime that was a part of this ind. I was actually introducing various poisons to it. However, most of my poisons provedpletely harmless to the slime with the exception of one poison which was something that I used a lot back in the Vast Expanse.

    It was something I enjoyed smoking a lot and this poison didn''t really harm the slime but made it lose functionality almost immediately after intake.

    "Good, close your nose, and don''t breathe in," I said.

    Law took a deep breath and gave me the thumbs up.

    I opened my mouth wide and then spat out a gout of powerful poison that spread all around us.

    The poison in question wasn''t something lethal, but a very dense concentration of the Joyful Weed poison.

    The smoke spread out like a cloud around us and caused every tree, bit of grass, animal, and even slime cultivator to stop and instantly turn to melted incoherent slime.

    The slime tried its best to regain its former form but failed constantly at recreating its shape inside the cloud of the joyful weed poison.

    Basically, I got the slime high.

    I threw a cleansing pill to Law, which he consumed instantly.

    He then let go of his breath.

    "Oh, what''s this, Joyful Weed?" he asked.

    "You know your stuff," I said.

    "My master used to smoke this a lot, he really enjoyed it," he said, "But what just happened?" he asked.

    "The slime underneath the ind is also a living being, it seems that it never tried drugs before (Don''t do drugs!). The Joyful Weed causes one''s senses to numb and in high dosages, it can cause a disharmony in one''s brain signals. The slime being a creature that heavily relies on mentalmands was easily affected by it.

    We should be safe as long as we don''t leave this area, or before the slime gains the ability to resist the poison," I said.

    "Why did you have to curse us like that!" Law said. "Don''t you know that whenever someone says stuff like that the worst always happens."

    "I didn''t curse us," I said, "If it was you who said thatst line then we would definitely be fighting against a more powerful slime. Also, I''m constantly analyzing the slime so if it gains resistance against the Joyful Weed, I have a lot more psychedelic substances I can use.

    By the time I go through all of my poisons, the day should already be up upon us," I said as I pulled a chair from my holding bag and sat down.

    "For now, let''s just rest up, the slime underneath us in the ground has already began retreating from this area, it probably is thinking that we''re not worth the effort," I said.

    Law nodded and sat down to meditate while I kept fueling the cloud with more poison every now and then to not let it dissipate.

    ***

    "Well, that was very interesting," Thementator said.

    "I guess that is to be expected, we have seen a bit more of Du Shen''s ability, which is a plus," entric Long said.

    "Not really, if you remember what he said, that he has more psychedelic poisons, it means that he only showed us a fraction of the poisons he is harboring. That in itself is an amazing feat. Regardless, what I find interesting is that he managed to analyze the Dark Being and noticed how it functions. Even I would have taken a few days to realize it is weak to psychedelic and hallucinogens.

    Quite the sharp mind he has," Xiao Du said.

    "It is as Du Shen said, the Dark Being is also a living organism, and it is also easily affected by what other living creatures could suffer from. The fact that hallucinogenic poisons are potent enough to cause it confusion is something that isn''t well known. But props to him to have figured that out by himself, as for the rest of thepetitors¡­"

    Thementator couldn''t help but sigh as he saw the miserable state of the other participants.

 Chapter 664: Tower Trial

    "Looking at the state of the cultivators, I can say, that a lot of them weren''t expecting something like this to happen," thementator said.

    "Indeed, there seems to be a lot of confusion and death, which is very normal yet quite unfortunate," entric Long stated.

    "How so?" thementator asked.

    "Because most of these younglings are sheltered babies in my eyes, they''re nothing but moving elixir bottles that have eaten and enjoyed the richness of their families. Stuffed with god only knows how many good elixirs to bolster their cultivation.

    And just because they made it to such a high level of cultivation shouldn''t excuse theirck of problem-solving ability," entric Long said as another screen was turned off as the person on it just died.

    "They''re too sheltered, and it shows," Xiao Du said. "Among the cultivators that just died, some had even reached the Void Shattering stage, and even with that level of cultivation, they couldn''t figure out such a simple thing and tried to fight against hoards of other opponents, the ones that are resourceful and more careful had already backed away.

    And those who are truly strong are fighting tooth and nail against incredible odds yet they''re very confident in their ability to ovee the dangers, however, those with inted egos from the grooming of their families and the endless resources that they consumed, we all can see how they''ll end up."

    "That is the price of challenging the Strongest Under the Sun trials. It isn''t for the faint of hearts or those with weak stomachs. This is a trial that will try one''s ability fully, from mind to body, from power to resourcefulness, because if anyone were to just simply stuff themselves with heavenly treasure and obtain this title, then the title itself will be meaningless, Regardless!

    With this trial done, and the shadow of the massive ind gone, we can finally say that the first portion of the trial had finally finished!" thementator said and as soon as he finished, the great shade above the Floating Inds began dissipating.

    The slimes on the ind began merging back into the ind itself disappearing from view, and cultivators who were in the middle of battle had finally gained a moment to breath.

    Some had been running for hours, and some had been fighting for hours. All had taken a respite from this endless stress. Except two people who were still sitting calmly amidst the chaos.

    Shen Bao and hispanion were enjoying a jug of wine as the sun rose above them, chasing the shade away.

    "It''s time to call them back!" thementator said as he pped both hands.

    Soon, the bracelets on every cultivator that was still alive shined once more, teleporting them back to the arena.

    Unlike before, when even this massive arena couldn''t take in everyone at once, now with so many trials, a lot of challengers have lost their lives, and the number dwindled by a great deal.

    With barely a bit above a million cultivators, the arena still felt packed to the brim, but it was a far cry from before.

    "Congrattions on making it this far in this tournament!" thementator stated for all.

    Many of the cultivators weren''t feeling as cheerful as the audience was.

    A far contrast from the jubnt and very enthusiastic audience, the cultivators were a literal mess. Covered in dirt, bloodied and wounded, and clear signs of exhaustion all over them.

    "For now, this makes the first part of thepetition concluded, you may return to your lodging and rest up for now!" thementator said, however, a faint smile was still stered on his face. "Or so you would think! NEXT TRIAL LETS GO!"

    The cultivators that took a moment of relief were back to stressing out immediately after.

    "Did you think you get to rest and rx? No enemy will wait for you to regain your strength! Struggle and wriggle out of your misery! The strong can only be tested with challenges and difficulties as would a sword be tested by the mes of a forge!" thementator then waved his hand up, manifesting a massive tower that slowly came down and made contact with the ground.

    "This tower is brought to you by the Wisest Sun! This was something he had personally made in his younger days, and it has been in his sect for many years. A tower that he used to try and challenge his own disciples to solve many a mystery and many troubles! Now you all get a chance to take a glimpse at the genius of the Wisest Sun! Climb and challenge the tower!

    For not only might is required from a cultivator, but a mind that can also drive and guide that strength! Though you might think it unfair¡­"

    Thementator trailed as he exined his next point. Since this tower had been in the presence of the Wisest Sun''s sect, many of them already knew all the ins and outs and would have an advantage over you. However, don''t worry, this isn''t a test where you muste out first, but a test where you just need to clear at least four floors.

    Anyone who fails to do so will immediately be excluded from proceeding further! Do note, that this test is not lethal," he said.

    Which made many cultivators sigh in rxation as they realized that they didn''t have to fight for their lives.

    "But that doesn''t mean that when you''re eliminated you won''t wish you were dead!" thementator added.

    "That is rather cruel," entric Long said.

    "Do you think so, dear Long? You have been co-casting with me for a while, but why do you believe me cruel?"

    "You really did give them hope where it would be far better for some to give up than even try this trial. I''ve seen this tower in the sect of the Wisest Sun, and even the best of their disciples don''t dare to go up to the higher floors, I''ve even seen cultivators who have lost their minds and mental ability by simply visiting the first floor." entric Long said.

    "It is as you said, the Wisest Sun''s Tower isn''t something strange to many of the people here, but that doesn''t mean it is simple or easy! Go at your own risk. Though you can also simply just give up here, if you don''t feel up to the task!" thementator shouted thest part.

    Many cultivators didn''t hesitate to take this opportunity, folding immediately as they needed to simply break their bracelets.

    With a god portion of cultivators instantly leaving, about two-thirds remained. None seemed to be too worried about the uing challenge. However, that was soon about to change.

    "Hurry, what are you waiting for? Oh just so you know, time goes differently inside the tower, so everyone''s turn wille rather fast. The tower can take in a hundred cultivators at the same time so start from the closest to the tower!"

    The people around the tower soon walked inside, some of them had the banner of the white sun and almost instantly the first-floor light lit up, a screen showcasing the cultivator who broke the first floor appeared up above everyone''s head. However, it wasn''t tracking his progress in real-time as the secrecy of the trial was needed to not allow anyone an advantage.

    Just as the second light lit up, the third-floor light lit up but immediately the man was ejected from the third tower floor, looking nothing more than a pile of shriveled-up and old bones. As if tens of thousands of years had gone by for that man where it wasn''t more than a few seconds.

    This was a realization for everyone around the tower, it wasn''t going to be an easy task.

    Several more cultivators walked up and soon more and more were ejected from the first couple of floors, looking like decrypt corpses that spoke in unhinged and iprehensible tones.

    However, a few had made it to the fourth floor and weren''t ejected out but transported somewhere else.

    "Good, we already have a few contenders who are able to clear the trial. The rest of you should really get your bearings together. Since the fewer cultivators that clear this stage would only mean that the title of Strongest Under the Sun will be easier to obtain!" thementator didn''t hesitate to throw jabs at the cultivators who were hesitating.

    Yet his eyes were still locked on one person in particr, Du Shen, the man who had barely shown any of his skills or abilities.

    Even for him, something like the Tower of the Wisest Sun should pose a great deal of trial and challenge. Perhaps he''ll make it to the fourth stage. No, maybe even the fifth, since not many cultivators dared push past their limit and stopped at the fourth, Du Shen could be the one to go one step above and go beyond what is needed.

    While thementator''s mind was still racing with the thoughts of how Shen Bao was going to proceed, thetter locked eyes with him and smiled. He then began walking up ahead to the tower.

    "I guess we''re about to see something interesting!" entric Long stated.

    "Indeed, I hope to see him achieve something good. Not many are even able to reach the fourth stage, and the few that do are nothing but true monsters," Xiao Du said.

    "Indeed, however, Du Shen had proven that he too is a monster. I hope that we can see something good," thementator said.

    And just as Shen Bao took the first step into the tower and disappeared inside.

    The Commentator''s eyes and everyone in the audience had their mouth opened agape and eyes wider than a deer in front of a strong light¡­

 Chapter 665: The Wisest Tower

    "What''s this supposed to mean?" I muttered to myself as I entered the first floor of the tower.

    The number one was written on the floor of the room suggesting this was the first floor.

    But the room itself struck me as something that is a bit simple.

    No, Simple is an understatement. It was nothing more than a small wooden room that had a table in the middle with a piece of paper and a pen.

    "Really? Aw Quiz?" I sighed as I took a look at the paper.

    There were three questions on the paper, and all three of them were pretty much beginner level.

    How to enhance a certain type of formation.

    Figure out the mistake in this inscription.

    And correct the Qi flux of this inscription.

    Three simple questions that wouldn''t take a cultivator who knows even a bit of inscription a few seconds to answer.

    However, before I answered them, I noticed a small shelve with several books in it.

    I went toward it and began reading the books. They were a few books describing inscriptions and how to solve and make them. Perhaps assistance for those who have weak knowledge of the inscription.

    But then it hit me, this can''t be right. This is what probably everyone would think. I mean, everyone here is at the Void Stage at least, and they had enough time to read up and study some formation. I''d find it even harder to find someone with no knowledge of inscription at the void stage.

    So, what''s the point of these tutorial books?

    I kept reading until I finished all the books. Though I didn''t find anything out of the ordinary, something piqued my interest with the books themselves.

    They were not in the correct order, so I reced them in their right order and suddenly a door opened up behind the bookshelves.

    Behind the door was arger room that had many more papers with even more questions on them. Questions that delved into the deeper part of the inscription. Stuff that would take a cultivator an entire lifetime of studying to evene up with the question, not to mention the answer to such difficult and delicate topics.

    I began answering some of the forms and questions that seemed to hide the secrets of thews of the very world itself.

    As I was answering these dilemmas I came to understand a bit more about the creator of this tower the Wisest Sun.

    He isn''t a person who tackles an endeavor directly, but rather takes his time and tries to realize the entire aspect of such a problem. Why did ite to exist and what would happen once solved?

    He took his time in answering, and so did I.

    I didn''t really care about the time dtion between here and the outside world as I was fully immersed in solving some of these problems.

    Sooner than I thought, I was almost done with the majority of the questions. A good portion of this stuff was things I had already realized a long time ago, and the rest were things I understood from solving the five elemental keys and creating the Synthetic Meridian.

    However, I was stuck with one final question that seemed to not have a single attempt at solving.

    Perhaps other cultivators were also stuck here.

    The question was simple. Why is it that if you use the same primordialws as the heavens, your attempt would result in failure to create life, while the heavens could easily create life?

    The answer is rather simple. And at the same timeplex.

    I then jotted down a simple sentence.

    "One shouldn''t seek to mimic the heavens in creation, for they shall fail to understand its greatness. We live to seek a Dao that is already preordained and made, to try and recreate it one must be at the level of the heavens, and if one is already at that level, creating it would be moot and pointless.

    Seeking knowledge and Dao is the path of a cultivator, yet trying to wrest the very notion of Dao as if to own it is something that isn''t allowed to man, it is only allowed to those of divinity."

    It was rather simple. To recreate the same atmosphere and space to make life is easy, but to breath something intangible such as life into a being is in the realm of creating something out of nothing.

    Which does in fact heavily shes with the heavenlyw of the world. All matter exists only to transform and change. One cannot make something out of thin air. And to create life, one must give something of equal value.

    Without noticing I had finished everything in this room, so I tried to find a way out but could do nothing but return to the former room.

    I then realized that a small portal had already opened up for me in there.

    I took a step inside it and found myself in another room.

    Yet, the number on the floor was not two, but instead, Nine.

    Which should have been the final floor of the tower.

    I frowned at what just urred and was about to check on my bracelet to see if there was a mistake.

    "Don''t bother, you don''t need to clear the tower anymore," I heard.

    Looking up ahead, it was the Wisest Sun himself. Or an apparition that looked like him.

    "I had left that room there specifically for cultivators who can see through simplicity. So far, very few have managed to find it, and those who did, didn''t even solve a fraction of the problems in that room," he said.

    "What was that? It feels a bit low levelpared to your knowledge, I''ve seen the keys¡­" I said.

    "It is indeed a bit less than what I can currently do, I have far surpassed my former self. However, those questions did gue me a lot when I was younger. To see someone capable of answering them like that made me reminisce on my journey as a cultivator," the Wisest Sun said.

    "So, it was your study¡­ I see, what about the rest of the floors?" I asked.

    "They would have been nothing but a waste of time for you. Most of the floors are nothing but inscriptions and formations that require one to solve. You already far surpass the level where stuff like that can even entertain you. Anyway, tell me, I was very intrigued by your answer on thest paper," he said.

    "Oh, you mean abut the Heavenly Law. It is what I have written, one shouldn''t seek to rece the Heavens unless they''re ready to be the Heavens themselves, and I don''t think that you actually think you can rece the heavens," I said.

    "You don''t? a lot of other cultivators think otherwise," he said

    "Indeed, they may think you''re their heaven, but do you honestly believe that you can take on that role? Let''s not talk about how you should be the very providence and religious and spiritual belief of the entire world itself. But do you think that you can see and guide existence itself? For better or worse," I said.

    The wisest sun shook his head as he smiled, "No, I don''t dare to say I can. It is indeed a responsibility that is too great for man to take on."

    "That''s why we''re not given the right to birth life out of nothing. One cannot create what is not there. Even though your attempt at creating life in the Vast Expanse was a partial sess, you still failed to produce life in that domain. Everything came to exist from the fragmented piece of the exiled pce of the Darkest One. And some other pieces that fell along the way.

    So without them, the Vast Expanse would still be as dark as the depth of abyss itself."

    "I havee to realize thatter down in my life. I admit that I had no will or ability to make life or create it. After all, all I did was recreate already existingws, and throw them there to try and create life. Even if life did exist, it wouldn''t be me who made it, but the Heavenly Providence that created thews themselves," he said.

    "Indeed, however, I do admire the fact that you still attempted it. Not many would think of something like that," I said.

    "That is the reason why I am called a Sun, though now I can see why the Lord of Lords had said that he sees hope in you too. You see not with your eyes, but with your mind, and I admire that. Now, tell me the answer to this question and you will be considered to have passed." He said.

    "Ask away," I said.

    The Wisest Sun smiled and said, "What came first, the egg or the chicken?"

    "¡­" I didn''t answer.

    "Do you not know the answer?"

    "I do, technically speaking the egg came first due to evolution and all that crap, but your question isn''t something that I should answer like that, in fact, I refuse to answer that question."

    The wisest Sun smiled and said, "You may proceed forward."

 Chapter 666: Disappointment

    "Ahhh, my head hurts, I can''t take this anymore," thementator said as he was looking at the tower.

    entric long couldn''t help but let out augh as he saw what was going on.

    Since it didn''t take more than a few moments before every floor all the way to the ninth got lit up, all due to one person.

    "How? Just how?" thementator asked.

    "Don''t ask me. The fact that he cleared all of it is a miracle in itself. Not to mention the time. Although the time difference is pretty huge between outside and inside of the tower, it is still impressive to have cleared it in less than the time it takes to blink," entric Long said.

    "How do you think he managed?" The Commentator asked.

    "There is no need to ask one who knows not of the secrets of the tower, I can easily exin what happened," the voice came from the tower of the Wisest Sun.

    Thementator bowed as he asked, "Please grace us with your wisdom."

    "Right, then. First of all, seeing as there are a lot of people failing in clearing such simple tasks, we''ll probably end up with less than a hundredth of a percent of the overall cultivators, I don''t wish to go down as the one with the most difficult and deadly challenge of the bunch, so the rules will be changed.

    Those who clear up to the third floor instead of the fourth will be able to proceed forward," he said.

    The cultivators who still have yet to attempt the tower all cheered in joy as the challenge became easier.

    The reaction of the Wisest Sun wasn''t that of joy though.

    "I''m disappointed, those before you had challenged themselves to clear more floors, yet you enjoyed the ease of the decreased difficulty? A true cultivator dares and defy heavens themselves.

    Yet you feel rxed when I who isn''t even at the level of the heavens reduced your trial, what absurdity, such pathetic behavior," the Wisest Sun clicked his tongue in disapproval and instantly dropped the moral of everyone in the arena.

    "Regardless of your unfortunate action, I will still keep my word of reducing the difficulty, as for why. It is because of the man who just cleared all the way to the ninth level in one go. He had actually achieved something that the likes of you will only be able to dream of. He solved questions that gued even me back in my days.

    What he solved was far harder than the hardest challenge in the ninth floor, and that is why he cleared everything instantly." The wisest sun said.

    "For now, it is pointless to keep this tower standing for long, since I already served its purpose of being cleared. Those of you who can clear the first three stages in the next hour will proceed forward. Anyone else will be considered to have forfeited. Including those who were too slow to enter the tower," the Wisest Sun said.

    He then retreated back to his tower, clearly dissatisfied.

    Thementator understood what just happened right now, the Wisest Sun was actually in a good mood when Shen Bao cleared the tower, however the reaction of the cultivators flipped that joy to that of disappointment, instead of them being a bit dissatisfied with theck of floors needed to challenge themselves and to sharpen their minds, they were happy with the opportunity to be morex and more slothful.

    Which in fact caused the trial that had no time limit to be something that must be done in an hour at most.

    This was basically an announcement for war.

    Cultivators rushed forward, fighting among each other on who''s entering through the gates of the tower first. Some stepped on others, and some stabbed others, while some were fighting among each other as more cultivators funneled inside the tower to try and clear it.

    With the panic ensuing, more cultivators lost their lives and more entered the tower without being fully ready, resulting in them getting immediately disqualified.

    Quite a dilemma¡­

    Thementator couldn''t help but sigh and scratch his head in confusion. He had nothing to say to exin what was going on, nor did he think he had the right to speak to dissolve this situation. Since the wisest Sun created this anarchy, he meant for it to remain.

    So, thementator had no right to speak. As he turned to entric Long, theter shook his head, signaling that they shouldn''t interfere or talk. The situation must proceed as the Wisest Sun had nned it. After all, he was clearly dissatisfied. What many seem to forget that to obtain the title of a Sun, one must have had his hands died in red from all the blood and death on them.

    A small massacre of a few million cultivators is probably nothing in the eyes of someone that is as old as the very mountains that support the Beyond.

    ***

    I soon found myself in a new area. It seems that this is the next trial zone. And all around me was nothing butrge trees spread around as if someone sprinkled them haphazardly all over the ce.

    The tform under me still didn''t allow me to leave the area before the bracelet would shine. So, I waited a while to see what the purpose of the trial was.

    The atmosphere of thend we''re in was slightly worrisome. Unlike the bright clear skies of the Beyond, this seemed a bit darker and dimmer with red muddy clouds all over the ce.

    There was no sun in the horizon and what lit the world seemed toe from the skies themselves, although it failed at fully brightening it and only seeded in creating shades and shadows that felt as if they were about to pounce on you if you were to get too close.

    The entire area felt rather dreadful and eerie.

    "Looks like the next trial is going to be slightly more interesting," I muttered. And that wasn''t because of the eerie atmosphere, but the massive creature that was walking between the trees.

    It was a giant, a very dreadful looking giant.

 Chapter 667: Clash of Titans

    Thementator looked at the arena that had its numbers culled and reduced by a great deal. The cultivators have killed more than what the tower itself had ruined in terms of mind. Yet, the massacre continued. But that wasn''t all, a great deal of cultivators that made it into the tower were strong enough to beat down the others that were contending against them.

    And in doing that, they managed to reach and clear the needed three floors of the tower allowing them entry to the next stage.

    Soon, the Wisest Sun coughed. This was a clear signal for all, that the trial had ended.

    With a simple wave of his hand, the entire tower rattled and pulled itself up from the ground, removing itself from those who were still unable to enter and clear it.

    It left the remaining cultivator unable to do anything as their bracelets shined and instantly began teleporting them away. Even amidst the protest and outcries no one really bothered with the losers.

    Once everyone unrted to the next event was dragged out of the arena, thementator then proceeded to announce the next part.

    "Good, Good, GOOD! Now with the tower event done, which was brought to you by the Wisest Sun himself,es the next event, this one belongs to the Darkest Sun faction! An event that will pull one''s true character out for all to see! We all know that in many situations, strength is king! It is not that everyone who is strong can rule! But only the strong are rulers, an adage as old as time!

    And here it lords true. In thesends, a trial of great difficulty is presented to all the challengers. Here, one should learn that there are always skies above skies and seas beyond seas."

    The screen turned to show the world of the next trial. A dark looking area with scarce ntation and several giant figures moving about randomly around the area.

    "The cultivator''s goal is simple, you''re to reach the heart of this forest without dying. A simple goal to achieve one might think, but do not trust what your eyes tell you. Also, for all contesters, let me tell you one thing, your only enemy in this forest is the giants that you see, do with this information what you see fit."

    "NOW LET THE ROUND BEGIN!" he added.

    ***

    "I see," I muttered as I was looking around me.

    The dome slowly dropped down and I hurriedly used the Traceless Steps to walk to the nearest shade.

    Our goal is simple, to reach the center of the zone, however, why did thementator say all that shtick about power and strength, he never said anything that wasn''t relevant before.

    Should I perhaps watch first?

    However, my train of thought was immediately interrupted as shivers ran down my spine.

    I rolled forward as fast as I could, and a secondter, the tree, the ground and a nearby hill were all eradicated by a blow from one of the giants.

    How did it see me?

    No, the mere act of thinking about that will slow me down, for now, let''s run!

    I didn''t hesitate into using Traceless Steps again and flew away, hiding under the shade of trees and the shadow of its branches. Yet, another bone chilling sensation crept up my back, I immediately stopped and jumped back before the a row of trees ahead of me was eradicated.

    Two giants roared as they stomped their way towards me, behemoths of a creation, that shook the ground with every step.

    Their bodies were riddled with scars and muscle, their veins bulged and throbbed as they swung their axe and swords at me. Blowing away dust and dirt, destroying rocks and boulders into dust with every attack.

    I spat a cloud of purple smoke to which I snapped my teeth and ignited it, creating an incinerating congration in front of me.

    A purple cloud of mes surged forward andtched itself into the nearest giant, to which he screamed and squealed like a pig in front of a butcher.

    The giant''s skin began melting and I almost took a sigh of relief, thankfully I didn''t.

    Because the bone chilling sensation of imminent death never disappeared. The same giant that I thought was done for pointed his palm at me, and a shockwave of epic proportions blew forward, threatening to eradicate me and whatever that was in its way.

    The reason why I thought, no, more like knew for a fact, that if this shit were to hit me, then I was a goner, because I fully knew this art.

    This was the same art that the Golden Titan used. Fist of Roaring Ki!

    I immediately flung myself aside as I began to understand what was going on. After all, this is a trial of the Darkest Sun, and the Golden Titan belonged to the n of Imperials that ruled the Vast Expanse.

    Two of the giants began approaching me, the one that was poisoned seemed to have immediately recovered his strength, there is probably something in this domain that''s keeping them alive and capable of fighting even after being mortally wounded. They weren''t alive, they''re more like corpses.

    This art is however iplete. It''s messy, more like a mimicry of what the Golden Titan was capable of.

    "Don''t you dare!" I cursed as I felt utter rage and contempt at these creatures trying to imitate one of the very few people I held respect for.

    "That is not how you use that art!" I shouted, "Gigantify!"

    Suddenly the muscles all over my body began rupturing with strength and power as the robes I wore spread all over to assort themselves to my newfound size.

    I then began showing the world the true art of Fist of Roaring Ki.

    The energy that I gathered withing my fists was enough to cause the very air around me to spiral out of control, creating a vacuum of energy that funneled itself into my fists.

    The energy became visible as it created gloves of pure energy that shaped themselves like jet thrusters at the elbow and jeweled spiked gauntlets at the fists.

    "If you want to use that art! Use it properly! FIST OF ROARING KI! FIST OF ETERNAL GOLD!"

 Chapter 668: Plans For The Future

    A few moments earlier in the arena, thementator seemed excited to exin to everyone how this trial would unfold.

    "Now dear spectators. As I have told you all before, power begets power. And here in this trial, the Darkest Sun himself had prepared these giants. These creatures are of extreme might and power and serve as the guards to the dominion of the Darkest Sun. They have been alive for ages and are immune to even death itself as long as they''re inside that domain.

    Under the Power of the Darkest Sun, they''re able to bring themselves back from death itself, and they are strong, mighty so," thementator coughed to let entric Long take over.

    "I have heard a few things about these giants. It is said that some of them had been able to achieve great feats in the forgotten age. iming themselves as deities for those who knew little, they ruled over mankind with an iron fist. That is of course until the age of revtion where cultivation had be the path to transcendence.

    When mankind began to cultivate and enlighten themselves, they achieved power to overthrow those fake deities. Now as we see, they''re nothing but ves to power far greater than theirs," entric Long exined.

    "Indeed, that lore is correct, these giants, or titans as they called themselves truly did rule the Beyond as we know it. But now, they''re nothing but guards. That isn''t because they are weak, but because they stagnated, they didn''t improve themselves and stuck to the level of Origin Shattering Realm.

    Though in this case their full power is sealed, they still can produce enough power to contend with a first stage Origin Shattering Realm cultivator, so technically no one can beat them in this stage." Thementator exined.

    "Why so? Why use these guards?" asked entric Long.

    "For a very simple objective. To force the hand of the cultivators, to fight against them is death, unquestioned death. No cultivator can defeat them unless they break the rule of no Origin Qi, and if they do so, they will perish to the rule set by the Eight Suns." Thementator exined.

    "Then why have them face such insurmountable odds?" entric Long asked.

    "No, their goal is rather simple, it is not to fight, but to run away and escape. When facing incredible odds, one must know when to retreat, and those who think too proudly of themselves will find out how futile their attempts are.

    Because not only are the Titans able to survive death itself, they have mastered their own unique art that isn''t something that can be seen among cultivators," thementator said.

    "Oh, is that the Titan Art of Battle? I always wanted to see it," entric Long said.

    Thementator shook his head, "So did I, but I doubt anyone can force these giants to show that art, after all, the mere physical prowess they possess is enough for them to break any cultivator. So there is no way¡ª"

    "FIST OF ROARING KI! FIST OF ETERNAL GOLD!"

    The words were so loud as they were spoken from the mouth of a giant. entric Long''s face froze in a strange mix of shock and incredulous disbelief as he was gazing at the screen.

    After all, he didn''t see how Shen Bao had turned into a giant as he was vehemently describing the rareness of the Titan Art of Battle. But now, a human, a cultivator that wasn''t a giant became one and is using that very mystic art of battle against the Titans themselves.

    This alone wouldn''t have been enough to stop thementator in his track, but the fact that the Darkest Sun himself had stood up inplete shock as he was gazing at what was happening.

    Not a secondter, the Darkest Sun disappeared from sight, which caused three of the other Suns to follow suit.

    On the screen, the Darkest Sun who had disappeared appeared once more, right above the massive-sized Shen Bao who was wrestling the Titans.

    ***

    "Stop whatever you''re doing oh Darkest Night!" the Lord of Lords spoke first as he appeared right behind the Darkest Sun high above thepetition ground of the event.

    Underneath them, Shen Bao''s fist tore the head of the closest titan from its shoulders and he immediately swung a kick at the ribs of the second, folding the titan itself in two.

    "I''m not going to interfere," the Darkest Sun said.

    "You know we can''t trust you with that," The Red Sun said as his bloodlust began spilling.

    It was still controlled, however, it spilled like coagted blood around him, enough of it that one single drop fell on the ground and caused everything in a radius of a hundred miles to wither and Die, and that was nothing but a fraction of his bloodlust.

    "Calm down, ughterer, he does indeed look like he''s just watching," the Wisest Sun said.

    "Don''t start without me!" another one of the Suns appeared right next to them. "Oh, this brat actually got you riled up!"

    "Dusking Sun, why have youe here?" the Darkest Sun asked.

    "Why not? It is interesting, after all that kid rummaged through this great one''s brains, and lived to tell the tale! I''m more interested in him than any of you all, though I have a feeling that the three of you know him before me," he said.

    "Your guess is right on the money, old Dusk, but we''re trying to be fair, we''re not interfering in his fate, but at the same time, we''re not allowing anyone else to do so."

    "I am not interfering! Now LEAVE!" the Darkest Sun''s words were filled with rage, however, it wasn''t deadly or harmful to any of the four. After all, a fight between them would probably end all life, that is why they''re making sure to keep themselves calm around each other.

    "Scary, scary!" the Dusking Sun held both hands up. "But, Old Night, you do know, that this brat isn''t from here. So, he didn''t ''Steal,'' your belonging, it is his own."

    "I have already figured that out, however. The art, the talent, and the method he is using is abnormally simr to the art of the titans of old. I fought them and enved every one of them, and knew their style all too well. But, howe, someone from a world beyond our world is able to use it? what sort of absurd dumb luck could cause such a thing to happen? Unless¡­"

    The Darkest Sun gazed at Shen Bao with hostility that was only saved for his most mortal foes.

 Chapter 669: Plan

    "Don''t go overthinking there, Oldest Night, no one had smuggled a titan to the Vast Expanse," the Wisest Sun shrugged, although it was a partial lie.

    After all, there was a Titan''s descendant in the Vast Expanse. The Golden Titan, and Shen Bao''s master of the Golden Titan''s arts. Yet, the arts of the Golden Titan were too different than the Titan''s Art of Battle. After all, these titans here were too strong and refused to grow and evolve.

    But the Golden Titan who was at his peak an Emperor Stage cultivator, who had lived with humans all his life had learned to discard the proud nature of the titans, and evolved his stagnant art and morphed it into the Fist of Roaring Ki.

    With this, Shen Bao was able to learn that mystic art and grow far stronger. And now the Darkest Sun is doubting his own eyes.

    "This is too far to be a coincidence, he even has the ability to be a giant," the Darkest Sun said.

    "You''re not about to kidnap apetitor and do some tests and experiments on him now are you," the Lord of Lords said.

    The Darkest Sun sighed and said, "As much as I want to¡­ I guess none of you will be letting me do it. However, if he were to die, I''m taking his body, I have full im over it!"

    "Hell no!" the Red Sun''s hidden bloodlust began exuding even further, but the Lord of Lords held his palm up, "As long as you abide by the rule of neutrality, and not interfere in the challenges toe, then all is well, you may do whatever you wish if Shen Bao were to die."

    "Shen Bao¡­ that is his name, I see," the Darkest Sun said as he turned. "Then it is spoken and it shall be abided by. I will not seek harm upon the man named Shen Bao directly or by underhanded methods, this I vow it as the lording Darkest Sun!" the Darkest Sun said.

    This vow was heavy, and it made every other one of the suns to fully withdraw their aversion and hostility form the Darkest Sun''s actions.

    "It really isn''t sitting well with me, that a child that hasn''t even lived past his fourth century is already at this level of ability. Given a few more hundred years, this man can probably reach the Origin Realm, no maybe even the Origin Shattering Realm¡­" the Darkest Sun said.

    "You know of him, I suppose," the Dusking Sun said.

    "I took nothing more than a glimpse of this man in the Vast Expanse, it was when I took that other child as my prot¨¦g¨¦, however, had I known, had I paid more attention, I would have dly took the penalty to grab even this one. You are in great luck, Lord of Lords¡­"

    "Oh, don''t misunderstand, I''m not grooming him or training him," the Lord of Lords said.

    This caused both the Darkest Sun and the Dusking Sun to raise their brow, after all both of them didn''t know of the agreement between the Wisest, Red, and Lording Sun.

    "Then what are you nning on doing with Shen Bao?" the Darkest Sun asked.

    The lord of lords smiled as he replied, "I''m nning on making him the Ninth Sun." the smile on the Lord of Lords seemed too vicious and too cynical to believe, however deep down, they all knew that if the Lord of Lords were to set his goal on something¡­ it was very rare for him to fail.

    ***

    I really don''t have time for this, but for some god only know reason, my ear is itching way too damn much.

    Also, what kind of monster created this thing. Not only are they resistant to most of my poisons, they''re able to return back to life even after having their heads bashed in and their spine broken and shattered.

    It doesn''t matter though.

    I was slightly misunderstanding something.

    It seems that these guys can use the Fist of Roaring Ki, but to an extremely limited ability. Though their bodies are absurdly sturdy, and they get stronger with each ''death'', their application of the Fist of Roaring Ki stagnates.

    I already killed these two giants about three times each, and they are growing stronger and harder to kill each time.

    I suppose they''ll grow to a level that I can''t take them on, and I''m also losing a lot of stamina by killing them. I believe that by the fifth death, I will be pushed back, and by the seventh, I''ll start losing limbs. If it reaches the tenth death, then I won''t be able to survive.

    So, there is one thing I can do right now. And that is to run away.

    I immediately turned and ran toward what I believed to be the center of this domain.

    The Titans can locate and detect life forms, even the Traceless Step is useless. So, I cannot afford to hide and waste time doing so, all I can and should do is to keep running.

    The two titans behind me began recovering and started chasing after me, breaking every tree in the process that stood in front of them. I kept moving up ahead until I reached an area that seemed void of life. As if something had fallen here and sucked all life away.

    There was a feeling that was familiar in this ce though, it was a bloodlust that I felt before.

    The Red Sun''s own bloodlust.

    Just as I was thinking of switching direction, I noticed the giant behind me cowering in fear as they felt the powerful bloodlust. They stopped right at the edge of this zone.

    For me, this was a good ce to take a break as the giants refused to go through, though I didn''t know how this bloodlust came to exist here. It was a blessing for me. So I''m taking full use of it for now. After all, I need to think of a way to take on these giants or at least escape them.

 Chapter 670: Pillar of Light

    "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Thementator said.

    "Oh, I''ve seen enough strange things, but all five of them together without any blood being spilled is enough a reason to celebrate. Regardless, Du Shen''s ability seems really strange, don''t you think," entric Long said.

    "Ah, yes, the Titan Art of Battle, it seems that even though the Darkest Sun had tried for many eons to recreate it, or at least inherit it to his people, he had failed to do so. But this young man is capable of using the Titan Art of Battle, and the gigantification. Could he perhaps be a descendant of the Titans?" thementator said.

    "No," Xiao Du replied, "His meridian structure is that of a normal human. He has nothing that could indicate that he is a descendant of titans in his physical build. The current transformation he is undergoing right now however is slightly different. It isn''t a pure transformation," Xiao Du added.

    "You mean this is a fake gigantification," Thementator said.

    "No, in a sense, this is different than the race of giant''s transformation, because it isn''t solely relying on their blood heritage. It actually is a fusion between his inner Qi and the blood of a titan. He somehow managed to create a body modification process that is powered by the blood of a giant that he had probably ingested.

    And this caused his current appearance, it looks like that of a titan, but isn''t following the same principles. Because it is able to use the Titan Art of Combat to a far more efficient and optimal degree," Xiao Du said.

    "How so? I don''t see much difference," Thementator said, "They both look like giants to me."

    "That is the outer shell, however, the Qi exertion is night and day''s difference. What would takes Du Shen to do in term of energy is ten times more efficient, he can use the same punch for example for a tenth of the output to release the same amount of power that a normal titan can do. The energy required is vastly different.

    Also, he is able to immediately switch between modes ofbat as you saw, his agility and dexterity is far higher than other giants who outrank him in cultivation," Xiao Du said.

    "I guess he improved upon the art greatly for you to praise it so much," thementator said.

    "No wonder even the Darkest Sun was interested, something like this is revolutionary. But, at the same time, he should be toocent, the fact that these giants are nigh immortal is soon to be known for everyone fighting them. And also that they grow stronger with each time they die.

    Du Shen will have no option but to run away, and luckily he ended up in the area where the Red Sun''s bloodlust had spilled. Something as potent as the Red Sun''s bloodlust is enough to engrave untold horror in the heart of anyone who even dares and approach it," Xiao Du said.

    "Howe Du Shen isn''t affected though?" the Commentator asked.

    "Because he has no reason to, that bloodlust wasn''t aimed at him," entric Long said.

    "How so? If it wasn''t aimed at him then it definitely wasn''t aimed at the titans but they''re scared of it," thementator questioned.

    "I wouldn''t really know, but I have a guess. Perhaps since it was directed at the Darkest Sun, the titans who were modified by him were affected, or perhaps since the titans have no true will of their own, they''re unable to rationalize and were terrified of the undted bloodlust," entric Long shrugged.

    "I see, then let''s keep watching and see how this is going to proceed, it seems that Du Shen is releasing his gigantification. And is about to leave the area,"

    The screen soon turned to Shen Bao who was at the other side of the dead zone.

    ***

    "Curses, I hate going into that form, it''s he exhausting," I said as I swallowed a couple pills to replenish my muscles with energy and my stamina.

    Looking around, the giants behind me were still fearing the aura from the Red Sun''s Bloodlust. So taking advantage of that, I was able to make some distance with them, but once they wake up from their terror, they''ll hunt me down again.

    I gazed in the distance and didn''t see any other titan in the area, and my eyes caught something interesting. A massive pir of light, acting like a beacon for all.

    You could see several ant-like figures in the distance, they were all cultivators rushing toward the pir. However, massive explosions of energy blew up. It was from the titans. They were stockpiled around the pir, I guess the bulk of the giants are there to stop anyone unqualified from getting out.

    I now have a goal, so I moved forward with that in mind, but at the same time I kept my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

    The titans are sneaky, despite their size, it''s hard to anticipate them. I had the misfortune of finding that out earlier.

    So, my best shot is to bypass them while they''re distracted, preferably by someone else.

    So I pulled out my hoverboard, this one I created in case I needed mobility instead of safety andfort.

    I flew through the forest, zooming past hundreds of massive trees in the blink of an eye, but the distance to the pir of light was still ways to go.

    Up ahead in the distance, the ant like figures began growing and I could see several cultivators attempting to bypass the ''wall'' of giants. But failed miserably. They got swatted down like flies when they tried to go up and above the giants, as it seems there was a ''ceiling'' to this domain and it was well within the reach of the giants once they extended their arms fully with their weapons on hand.

    Many cultivators died, or received brutal injuries for failing to bypass the giants. But the only good thing was that the giants around the pir of light didn''t move from their position. They covered enough space that they were able to attack at their leisure without interrupting or getting in each other''s way.

 Chapter 671: Attack On Titans

    Once I arrived near the pir I saw a massive gathering of cultivators. Most of them hesitated in going and were nning on how they''d go beyond the wall of giants.

    You could see many of them squabble and argue against each other, incoherently so, unable toe up with a way to go past them.

    Among the many faces, I saw one I was familiar with, and didn''t really think it a coincidence anymore.

    "Shen!" Law shouted as he waved his hand.

    The cultivators near him all looked up as I came down towards them.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "We''re trying to find a way, but it seems no one is being reasonable," he said.

    "I suppose you''re at an impasse, it seems that you have a n already," I said as I noticed the scribbles on the ground.

    "Yeah, but no one wants to be a part of the attacking force," Law said.

    "Who''s this?" one of the cultivators said, he had the same robes as Law. Probably the same sect.

    "This man helped me solve many of the trials, he''s very reliable," Law said.

    "If he is reliable, he can join the attacking force," the man said in a sneer. "You''re just a void stage cultivator, useless," he spat next to my foot.

    On any other day, that man would be dead. But since he''s wearing the same robes as Law, I refrained from killing him. But just because I''m not killing him, that doesn''t mean I''ll be a pushover.

    "You want to go past the giants?" I asked Law.

    "Of course," he said.

    "Follow me then, I can get you past them," I said as I was about to head out.

    "Talking out of your ass, void stage, you don''t seem to know much about the world.

    Seeing that you''re not affiliated to any of the Eight Sects, you must be one of those spoiled nobles, I have no idea how you got as far as you did, but just because you''ve been eating heavenly treasures and sacred elixirs throughout your life, doesn''t mean you get to have the world to bend back for you, fuck off!" the man said.

    Law''s face turned ugly as his sect member began talking shit, but he took a calm deep breath then a sh of a scheming and vicious grin appeared on his face.

    "Brother Shen, in your n, how many can you take with you?" he asked me.

    "Emm, depends, I can probably take about a couple thousand if everything works out, not that it''s hard," I said.

    "A thousand," he said as he rubbed his chin. He then shouted toward the other cultivators, "My brother here has a way to take a thousand cultivator with him to the next stage! Firste first serve! But you must bring something of value so you''re epted! FIRST COME FIRST SERVED!" he shouted.

    The people took note of his words but then ignored it immediately, for them taking one or two would already be a stretch, but a thousand? That''s nothing but the rambling of a fool.

    "Stop fooling around, you''ll bring our sect''s name down to the mud!" his sect member said.

    But Law didn''t care and added, "In case of failure, by my master''s name the Illusive Bow, I willpensate everyone ten times the value of what they''d present to my brother Shen!"

    This however made everyone reconsider.

    "What are you doing?! Are you stupid! Do you think that Master will allow such a thing!"

    "I have a feeling he will, also if it''s brother Shen, then I have nothing to fear, now, who here wants to join in! it''s a thousand spot!"

    With the name of his master invoked, many cultivators approached, some began presenting some mediocre pills, but were immediately refused.

    "If you think your life is only worth this much, then leave your spot for someone more worthy," Law said.

    "What guarantees that your brother won''t just run away after taking our things?" one of the cultivators that wanted to join and was skeptical asked.

    "And go where?" Law said, "We''re all stuck here, and he said he''ll take all of us, in case you''re worried or the n fails just break your bracelet and you''ll be teleported out, then you can go im yourpensation from my master,"

    "You''re really pushing your luck!" his sect member said, "Stop dragging our Master''s Name through the mud, what could this guy even do, even an Origin realm cultivator failed to break through the titans!"

    "That''s because they''re not my brother," Law said.

    "Even if, by some ungodly miracle he is capable of such things, what guarantees that he can achieve what even origin realm cultivators couldn''t? you''re just talking out of your ass, and making our master appear in a bad image!"

    "That''s not something you should be bothered with, aren''t you capable of solving things by yourself, now move, people behind you are interested," Law said.

    His fellow sect mate scuffed and stormed away, shouting profanities and how foolish everything was.

    Getting a thousand people to join in took a bit of time, but the reward from it was pretty damn good.

    I received a load of materials I could use, mainly some herbs and metals, and a lot of pills that I didn''t know of and some that I wanted. Not to mention a load of Saint Qi crystal and some Origin Qi shards as well.

    It seems that they believed in Law, or at least believed in his word that his master will reward them ten times their investment.

    Regardless I can easily bypass this encirclement.

    Looking at the giants, I figured what happened. And the reason why they''re not able to clear it. The giants died about nine times each. So they''re pretty damn strong, for the first cultivators that got here, they already killed their way through and made it harder for the rest. And now everyone here is stuck, if they went to fight they''ll get decimated.

    But I can still manage against these guys, since I still have a few trump cards under my sleeve. Mainly, explosive trump cards.

 Chapter 672: Bypass

    What Law did was pretty smart, believing in me was pretty nice of him, but at the same time he managed to assist me in obtaining a good deal of materials I can use to arm more of my puppets.

    "So, what''s the n, is he going to be the attack force?" on of the cultivators behind me asked loudly, probably for me to hear.

    "There will be no attack force," I said.

    "Then how are you going to allow a thousand of us to move past the giants, they sure as hell won''t let us go just because you tell them to," another replied.

    More and more cultivators started getting agitated, but it wasn''t much to affect my current mood.

    What I was paying attention to was the snorting and disdainful look on Law''s sect member. He seemed pretty confident that we won''t make it.

    I waved my hand and summoned the ship.

    It took a lot of the cultivators by surprise as they saw the massive sized ship appear out of nowhere.

    Several puppets emerged from the ship''s side door and stood next to the door like guards.

    "Get on," I said as I pointed to the ship''s door.

    "Who? How many? The ship is decently sized, but it can''t take more than a few dozen cultivators at most," one of the people said.

    And you could see Law''s sect memberughing in the distance. "Fools, the lots of you, you really thought he could take you all, with that small sized ship? Not to mention many tried using fast flying treasures only to end up swatted against the ground. I guess you''re all better off breaking those bracelets, because you have been scammed! HAH!"

    I sighed, "Just get on, it''s bigger on the inside," I said.

    The first few, although skeptical still got inside. More then began entering. A couple at first, then half a dozen, ten, then twenty and the ship kept amodating more and more.

    This caused the mocking guy to quiet down for a moment, however, his expression was still that of derision, probably thinking that the ship couldn''t even take that many people anyway.

    However, after the first few hundred people inside, his doubts became truths and he realized that the ship still had space to put people inside it.

    Of course, it should, I designed it to carry more than a couple thousand ready for battle puppets, though I only use one chamber to navigate the ship, the spatialw I used to design the rooms and space inside the ship is enormous.

    "Even if, how are you going to bypass those giants, this ship is slow, and is no better than a moving target. The moment you move near the giants you''ll be blow to bits, killing everyone inside!" he said.

    I didn''t really care about what he was saying, after all I had a simple n to go beyond the giants that wouldn''t require killing anyone. Although I had nned on using a massive load of explosives, that one wouldn''t be used for now.

    Once everyone hopped on, Law was thest to get on and I jumped inside the ship closing the hatch.

    Inside, the ship was a pretty long hallway that had several doors alongside both sides of the hallway. Cultivators were teleported into each room and were able to see the outside world through a screen in their rooms. The rooms were simple, with beds and chairs and a work desk.

    This was made during my spare time just in case I had to harbor people inside the ship for any random reason, and I guess it came in handy.

    I moved to the main room where I was able to navigate the ship, and it was only a few presses of buttons and the ship was in the air, moving rather slowly toward the giants.

    Looking at them swatting away cultivators that tried to sneak past them by using us brought a smile to my face.

    They thought that because the ship was big enough, the giants would be too preupied with it to take note of them, but I already realized the range of these giants.

    If you''re far enough, they won''t waste their energy on bringing you down, and only when you reach their striking range will they act.

    Once the ship was about to get into the striking range of the titan I closed my eyes and used my Domain.

    Something I haven''t used in a while.

    "Domain of Delusions, Fake and Real!"

    My Qi spread out in a massive dark sphere than engulphed everything in its path. The darkness created form my domain was a giant blob ofw that only adhered to mymand.

    With this, once anything is inside it, it has to follow the rule set up for it. And here I am lord and simply activated the basic ability of the Domain of Delusions. Word Reversal.

    Which simply pivoted the perception of direction to the opposite axis. Up bes down and left bes right, with affecting the diagonal axis too.

    So we simply drove forward, once the domain was in y.

    The giant swung his club only to realize that it was swinging the other way around, instead of striking us, it smashed it behind him, confused and unable to understand what was going on, the giant swung again and again,pletely missing the ship.

    Even the giants next to him were confused on why their fellow giant was throwing a random tantrum where his foe was in front of him.

    This continued on until we safely and very much slowly made it behind the giant.

    The funny thing was the cultivators caught on to this and tried to use my domain to their advantage, they tried to get inside and see if they could also make use of the giant''s confusion to get away from him. But they all came to a very frustrating reality. My domain affects everyone, including them, so those who tried to rush forward ended up pushing themselves out of my domain.

    Confusion clear in their eyes as they attempted going in again and again.

    Just as I noticed Law''s sect member dashing forward to make use of the domain, I retracted it. Giving the giant which, we went past its freedom and ability to control its body however it wanted.

    The giant in his rage at being unable to stop our ship began wreaking havoc all around him with even more vigor than before.

    "What are you doing the man shouted! Why did you stop your domain! Let us through!" the cultivators who didn''t believe in me all began shouting and asking for help.

    "We''ll pay you! Just help us out!" more of the cultivators shouted.

    I smiled as I moved out of the ship and stood on top of it. Looking at the scene from the safety beyond the giants.

    "None of you believed me earlier, so why should I help you now?" I questioned.

    The look of difort was clear on their faces and they couldn''t do anything to help about it.

    "I''ll tell you what, I''ll help you for free, but you''ll only have one moment so make good use of it," I said as I pulled several cannisters from my holding bag.

    "Don''t waste it," I smiled as I threw the cannister toward the closest giant.

    The cannisters flew and stuck themselves to the giant and instantly blew up with a force so devastating that it sted everything around it.

    However, this wouldn''t be enough to kill the titan, of course it wouldn''t, but the poison mixed in with the cannister. Usually most poisons don''t work on these giants. But there is one that can. A simple dose of Bone and Body grinding poison.

    This one could probably bring down a giant with ease if left unattended, however, someone at their level could easily offset the poison, or at least take a long time for it to fully affect them.

    That would be the case if the situation and the poison were normal. Right now these giants have their cultivation limited and fixed. Although it grows at a constant pace whenever they die, it won''t allow them to use their Qi, all they''re using is their basic physical force. Which is incredible by itself.

    The second factor is, the dose I''m using right now, is extremely concentrated and potent. So the moment it came in contact with the giant, it immediately acted up and began grinding his body inside out.

    Seeing the damage, the giant was taking the cultivators began rushing forward, however, the thickness of the poison slowed them down as they desperately used their Qi to stop it from harming them.

    All in all, it slowed them down, and in that moment, they were forced to stop and use their Qi to protect themselves, the giant that had its skull melt and crumple down had ''died.''

    With that happening, the giant immediately returned back to life as his body was fully resuscitated. Then it let out a loud howl that blew the poison away in every direction.

    The cultivators who had almost escaped were assaulted by the powerful roar and had their Qi destabilized for a moment, allowing the giant to regain the upper hand. His club yearning for blood came down like a reckoning from an enraged heavens.

    All I could do was cringe out at the pain and pig like squeals that the cultivators were making when they realized that I tricked them into moving right into their own deaths.

    Law''s sect member couldn''t help but curse out in agony as the giant decimated him not even allowing him a moment to break his bracelet.

 Chapter 673: Last Trial

    Back in the arena everyone seemed surprised by She Bao''s actions, unable to understand how he managed to make it past the giants they all waited on thementator to exin for them.

    "Quite vicious, but at the same time, understandable," thementator said as he was looking at the screen showing Shen Bao''s advent.

    "It is a very interesting Domain, I didn''t think it would work though," entric Long said.

    "Neither do I, to trap a being at the Origin Shattering Realm requires an immense soul power. Although the Giant race is still mostly a race that can only use their physical prowess here, they are still too hard to trap within a Domain. So, how did he manage to trap them?" Xiao Du said.

    "I can take a wild guess, regardless of the strength of Du Shen''s soul, he didn''t confront the giants, but rather disrupted them," he said.

    "I fail to see your reasoning," thementator said.

    "In other terms, usually a Domain gives one absolute control over a space. Making them im it their own from the heavenly Dao, the heavens themselves fight back against it, that is why most Domains could onlyst for a short while. Not to mention if there was a foe trapped inside it, they too can disrupt it and cause it to copse.

    Say my domain for example, I could summon endless swords to attack my enemies inside my domain, and they could do nothing but fend them off, however, if the enemy is strong enough they can fight back and thwart my control.

    Since I''m attacking them and they can defend or retaliate, especially the giant race that have immense power, they can simply destroy it with a single swing of their fists, but it wasn''t the case here," entric Long said.

    He then took a breather as if remembering what happened and said, "The giant was swinging his fists and weapon awkwardly, instead of striking forward, he struck back, instead of moving forward he moved back. Any directional input he tried to use was reverted and reversed.

    And that didn''t happen to just him, even the few cultivators that managed to get into the dome of Du Shen''s domain were immediately pulled back out, not rejected, but by their own feet as they tried to move forward, they moved back and exited the domain. Du Shen''s domain isn''t physical, but rather metaphysical.

    It is a domain that fools the mind and senses instead of assaulting them, confusing all four directional and causing the one trapped inside it to bepletely bewildered, so if they wanted to go forward, they would for example need to move backward."

    "I see," thementator nodded.

    "And that''s not all, it seems that it is also affecting Qi cirction, usually to use a skill or spell one needs to move Qi in a specific order through their meridian for the proper rotation, however, inside Du Shen''s domain even that is reversed causing one to have bacsh.

    The titan could easily destroy the dome, however, it is unable to since it needs to first adjust itself to the new directional and reversal first, then apply their force, which gave Du Shen ample time to bypass them and leave," entric Long said.

    "Quite an interesting Domain, if it were to work against even stronger cultivators, wouldn''t that mean that Du Shen is unkible?" entric Long said.

    "It would, but it seems that Du Shen is rather restricted in his domain, the application takes time, and it takes a while for it to deploy. Meaning that it can be escaped, also it requires immense mental power to manifest and keep it functional, which is not easy. So ites with its risks and advantages," entric Long exined.

    "That has been educational. Still, why did Du Shen kill the giant there? He had no reason to." Xiao Du asked.

    "I can answer that," thementator said, "It is how a cultivator should act simply put. Yao Xu had been harboring ill intent and spoke badly against Du Shen without ever ascertaining his ability. And after that, he was discarded as one should when they go against the strong. Du Shen''s act of killing the giant was just so they could approach the kill zone when ites back alive.

    He showed that he had more than enough firepower to kill the giants to everyone present, and also showed that he treated good will with good will, by saving the thousand cultivators that paid him and trusted him. And the ill will of Yao Xu was repaid with a level ten giant that would need an Origin Shattering Realm cultivator to bypass. Thus, killing multiple birds with one stone."

    Thementator continued exining more about the fights going on in other parts of the arena until he received a notice.

    "Alright! It seems that the time is up and all cultivators that have failed to finish the trial will be disqualified!" thementator said.

    But there weren''t many who had been disqualified, since most of those that have failed had already died to the giants. And the few hundred cultivators that were too scared or unable to go beyond the line had just been forced out and pulled away form the trail.

    "With this done, we''re one trial away from finishing one of the major parts of the Strongest Under the Sun trials. What do you think of the trials so far?" thementator asked entric Long.

    "What I think? Hmm, I could say that the first two trials of Frost and Fire were very interesting to measure the cultivator''s stamina and prowess, though one cultivator was ratherzily moving about. The maze trial was a good attempt to showcase one''s resourcefulness and ability to assess situations in unknownnds and find their way and path.

    While the trial of the Floating Inds was to see who has an acute sense of discovery and ability to notice danger from the inconsistencies of the ind. A lot of cultivators had failed in that trial that is for sure.

    The Tower Trial was to reveal those who have intellect and ability to solve problems and the Trial of the Darkest Sun was to showcase those who can, regardless of situations find a way to survive even when pitted against powerful enemies that cannot be taken down," entric Long resumed it.

    "Then could you take a guess on what the final trial could be?"

    entric Long thought for a moment and said, "I suppose there is only one aspect that hasn''t been tested yet," he said.

 Chapter 674: Tower Defense

    "Could you enlighten us?" Thementator smiled.

    "We tested one''s stamina, then their assessment ability, their mental ability and their survival skills. All that is left, is their strategic ability. I could take a wild guess and say that the next trial will rely on the cultivator''s ability to use either tools or maybe some minions to achieve a strategic goal. But it''s just a guess," entric Long Shrugged.

    Just as he finished his words, another object was thrown toward entric Long, he grabbed it and found that it was once again, another treasury token, this one had the symbol of a Sun during an eclipse.

    Thementator smiled as he said, "I guess you were right on the money, for even the Cryptic Sun to reward you with his token! Praise to be for the Cryptic Sun!" Thementator gave his regards and so did entric Long with a long bow.

    "I thank you for your reward, this humble one can barely contain his joy from such generosity," he said.

    "And let us reveal the next trial!"

    Suddenly the screen changed to that of a simple open terrain that spanned a very long distance.

    On one side of this terrain was a simple-looking shack with hundreds upon hundreds of piled-up bricks and pieces of metal of all types and shapes.

    There were a dozen or so people there who wore shabby clothes and had tools in their hands.

    Around the shack were several plots ofnd with various types of foods nted on them. Then there were ore veins and a nearby forest.

    On the other side of the terrain was a massive gate that had a swirling portal inside it.

    "As you all can see, this is a simple shack where the cultivators will need to protect against waves of iing enemies. However, there is a small condition that needs to be respected. All cultivators who will join this endeavor are not allowed to use their Qi or their powers. You must make use of the people given to you to build or defend against the iing wave of enemies.

    The cultivator partaking can though use their abilities to build and help making the base stronger. There will also be a merchant that you can exchange materials and points with to receive objects you can use to help you make a better fortress.

    The waves will continue increasing in difficulty until the tenth wave, if the base copses before the tenth wave, the cultivator will be considered to have lost and will be teleported out. Simple right?" Thementator said.

    However, most people in the audience were confused as this was more info dump than they couldprehend. (Sorry about that)

    ***

    After listening to thementator, I began looking around to see how I could handle this trial.

    It''s simple enough, but at the same time requires a lot of effort. And I something is missing. For example, when is the wave starting?

    But as if my mind was being read, a timer appeared on my bracelet. It said 72 hours.

    It seems that I have about three days to work on these things before the first wave starts.

    It''s not enough time, but it is at least enough to get familiar with everything around me.

    I tried to use my holding bag, but it was locked, even my Poison God''s heritage was sealed. Though I could break the seal, if it was sealed it definitely means that I shouldn''t be tampering with it.

    I approached the people gathered on one side of the shack, and realize that they were simple puppets without a face or any organs.

    "Interesting," I said.

    Next to them was a well clothed man who was sittingfortable on a carpet smoking from a pipe.

    "You there," he said. "If you need any questions answered you cane to me," he said.

    "I suppose you''re the merchant," I said.

    "Indeed," he replied.

    "What is your name?" I asked.

    He smiled and said, "Just call me the merchant, anyway if you need anything take a look at my wears," he said.

    "Before I do that, tell me, can I tamper with the puppets over there?" I asked.

    "Of course, you can work them to death if you wish or destroy them, there is no penalty for that. You just cannot use anything that isn''t given to you by me personally."

    "What about my personal Qi?" I asked.

    "As long as you''re not using it to directly kill or hamper with the advance of the iing troops from the gate, you''re free to use your Qi in the preparation time as much as you want."

    "I noticed that my holding bag is sealed," I said.

    "And it should remain so until the end of the trial, using external materials and treasures will get you disqualified," he said.

    "Okay, then can I see your wears?" I asked.

    He held a holding bag forward and inside it was an incredible amount of loot and materials that couldn''t be described.

    From simple gardening tools, to towers and turrets, to talismans and even herbs and spiritual pills.

    "I guess each piece has its own price," I said.

    "Indeed, you must pay a price in points. And the creatures you''ll be defeating will reward you with points that you can use to upgrade your fort." He answered.

    "Do I get a starting allowance?" I asked.

    "You do, it is about a thousand points," he said.

    "Show me all the things I can buy with the thousand points," I said.

    The merchant then began rummaging through his holding bag and showed only the materials that were cheap and would probably be looked down upon by other cultivators.

    I took a quick nce at some of the materials and then picked a few that I could use.

    Anyone else would probably start buying and building fortifications to protect his fort. But that is rather inefficient. For me, with the presence of ore veins and a saint Qi vein in this area, all I need to do, is recreate my own power and my own force.

    This game¡­ I mean trial, will be fun.

 Chapter 675: First Wave

    "How do you think the challengers will manage in this trial?" thementator asked.

    "I can make a bold assessment and say that Du Shen will probably have the easiest time out of everyone here," entric Long said.

    Xiao Du nodded as well, feelingfortable with this assessment.

    "That is indeed probable, but do remember, they have no ess to their holding bag, they cannot use their treasures or tools. Though Du Shenes with a lot of puppets and a myriad of weaponry, to fully trust him in clearing this trial, isn''t that a bit too far-fetched?" thementator asked.

    "Not at all, I have seen him, although not a lot, but seeing him find ways to solve issues in the most ingenious methods. Even without his tools, he could probably make something up. It is the otherpetitors that I''m worried about," entric Long asked.

    "How so?"

    "Most otherpetitorse from backgrounds that worship power, they all rely on their own strength and ability to solve problems, but Du Shen had always been seen using and relying on tools and puppets to do his bidding, it is as if this stage is designed especially for him," entric Long said.

    "Wouldn''t that be a bit of a disrespect to the cultivators of the Cryptic Sun, they alsoe from a great lineage of strategists and schrs. They harbor a great myriad of prowess including an advanced technological understanding. They should also be a good match against Du Shen," thementator rebuked.

    "Though you are right that the cultivators of the Cryptic Sun are also geniuses of the path of knowledge and scientific exploitation, I''ve yet to see any of them make something as close to theplexity of Du Shen''s machinery, but you are right, one cannot be too certain of anything.

    As for the rest of the cultivators, they will suffer greatly as they''re unable to use their ability, they''ll have to manage with minimal resources to create a defensive line against the wave of enemies, I just hope they wouldst long enough for us to have a real match," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, we cannot be too hasty in judging anyone¡­ emm, what is Du Shen doing?"

    Everyone looked up at the screen and were all wondering what was going on.

    After all, one is supposed to use the puppets to build a barricade, or at least farm and sell the products to the merchant for points. But Shen Bao one the other hand was actually dismantling the very puppets he was supposed to use.

    ***

    I wiped a bit of figurative sweat from my forehead as I was looking at this atrocious mess of puppets.

    No matter who thought this was ''optimal'', had a screw loose in his brain.

    "Who made these puppets," I asked the merchant.

    "Why do you ask?"

    "Because the quality of this work is rather atrocious. I need to give them a couple of lessons," I sighed.

    The merchant coughed in embarrassment and said, "Those are mere workers to help with basic things, but why are you dismantling them?" he asked.

    "Because they''re awfully optimized, there is so much Qi leak and a lot of wasted space that could be used for better optimization.

    "Are you going to rebuild the puppets? Wouldn''t that take too long before the wave starts?" the merchant asked.

    "I guess that for the first wave, these fifteen puppets are all one needs to defend against it. Perhaps some will be destroyed in the process," I said as I removed another limb.

    "I can''t answer that, but if that is true, aren''t you further reducing your chances by destroying these puppets," he asked.

    "Not destroy," I said as I removed another foot and began working on it, "Upgrades people, upgrades!" I said as I unscrewed more bolts and began adding inscriptions inside them.

    The puppets were at the level of Soul Formation. They were weak and were at the level of X after his first round of upgrades. So, if I were to do some proper math, I''d need to make one of them at least at the level of ascendant so they can take on whatever first wave mighte at me. And that can easily be done in one day.

    What I''m doing right now is creating a buffer.

    "Let me ask you something," I said.

    "Go ahead," he replied.

    "When the attack starts, should I remain sit and not do anything?" I asked.

    "As long as you''re not actively using your own power or Qi to assist in the defense of the base, then you can do whatever you want. Including reinforcing the buildings by purchasing upgrades or repairing damaged materials." He said.

    "So all I need to avoid is attacking or hampering the enemies," I said.

    "Or physically building blocks and barriers, you can only buy upgrades and I''ll ce them for you," he said.

    "Right," I replied as I pulled out the puppet''s head.

    I then began carving out its chest area, emptying it out, and started creating a reactor.

    It took me several days before to make one, but now with my newfound prowess, I can do that in less than a day''s worth of time. So I started creating a reactor simr to the one that used to be on X. A basic reactor that can use Saint Qi. Nothing too fancy as I didn''t have the time nor all the machines to make a proper reactor.

    With several hours of work, I had finally finished making one and inscribed it with several inscriptions of protection and heat control and also some vibration reduction inscriptions. With that done, I ced the reactor inside and began modifying the inscription that acted as the brain for the puppets.

    I couldn''t make a synthetic meridian for my puppet because the material I need to make that is in my holding bag and isn''t avable for cheap at the merchant, which will take a lot of points to obtain.

    So instead of worrying about that for now, I''ll just use this as a basicbat puppet.

    I then took some of the metallic beams and melted them using my own Soul me, refuging them into makeshift swords that can be used for battle.

    Overall it took me about a day to finish one puppet.

    I should be able to create three puppets before the timer is done.

    "Usually other cultivators would have already built an entire fortress to protect the base, using the metal and wood all over the ce.

    "That''s a waste of material," I said as I pointed at a few puppets that I sent mining for some materials.

    "Also, with how slow those guys are working, I''d doubt they''ll be of any use. I don''t need to protect the shack with walls right now, all I need is to destroy the first, wave," I said as I ced the puppet''s head back and it rose up.

    I had already inscribed a martial art in its mental inscription, giving the puppet a mean to fight against the iing foes regardless of their cultivation level.

    For now, this puppet alone can easily take down a hundred of the base puppets I was given, but if I were to make two more, I''d be able to rx and use the time that these three puppets give me to make more stuff.

    Two days went by in the blink of an eye, and I didn''t rest even once, I actually had to chug several pills to keep myself at peak focus and concentration for the uing fight.

    And soon, I had three functioning battle puppets ready. They weren''t something worth writing home about, but they were good enough to hold off whatever woulde from the gate up ahead.

    I also had time to make some simple long-range weapons, you never know if there could be some areal creatures. After all, when I looked through the turrets that the merchant had, some of them were areal turrets that didn''t have the ability to aim down. Meaning that there could be creatures that could fly.

    So, for now, the three puppets were ready, and the rest were put on the upgrade block in front of me.

    They already mined sufficient Saint Qi crystals for me, which I used to supplement the three improved puppets'' reactors.

    And just as I was about to start on the fourth puppet, the merchant spoke, "You better ready up, they''reing," he said.

    I gazed into the distance and saw the gate opening up, swirling into a pitch ck vortex that let out a wave of rabid looking wolves that charged forward with frenzied res in their eyes.

    There were about ten wolves that charged toward the base as if a fire was set up behind their backs.

    I smiled as I realized that this would be rather easy. "Take them out," I said.

    The three puppets sted forward, with weapons at the ready, slicing and shing at the wolves without missing a beat.

    Three seconds, is all it took to fully decimate the first wave of wolves. Sounding thepletion alert immediately afterward.

    "Well, that was rather fast¡­" said the merchant, "You can rest now, the next wave will start in another twenty-four hours."

    "Hmm, good enough for me," I said as I was already working on the fourth puppet."

    Now that I know that three of these puppets are overkill for the first waves, I''ll need to upgrade the rest of them. Also I received some points on my bracelet which I can use to buy more stuff.

    I guess it''s time to do some shopping.

 Chapter 676: Tower Defense II

    "Is that even allowed?" thementator asked.

    entric Long shrugged, "The merchant there acts as an arbiter, as long as he didn''t say no, then it is all within the rules of thepetition."

    Thementator sighed and said, "I guess, although it feels like cheating, Du Shen didn''t break any rules. He didn''t use any of his personal power or actively stop or hamper the wave from attacking his base. All he did was make puppets go beyond their determined level. I guess that your earlier assumption that Du Shen will be unstoppable in this trial aren''t wrong."

    "I won''t lie, I did believe that Du Shen will have the upper hand here, due to his familiarity with creation and craft. But not to this overbearing extent. Not only did he upgrade low tier puppets to be destructive and powerful enough to clear an entire wave in three seconds. But also, he didn''t waste a single point so far upgrading his base. I wonder what the reward will be?"

    "I also wonder," thementator said, "Because there actually is a factor that improves the received rewards per wave. From what I could see in the secret rules of this event. If one were to defeat a wave, the pointing system rewards speed and efficiency not only survival. How much the base takes in damage and how many of the operable tools, puppets and turrets included are damaged and functional.

    With Du Shen having cleared the wave in absurd record time, I suppose he will be awarded with the maximum points for this trial." Thementator said.

    "That should put him up ahead of everyone in the tower defense fight. What about the rest, from what I see a few had already taken a lot of damage," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, from what we see, many cultivators are at a loss, the fifteen puppets given to them by the merchant can indeed defend the base against the first wave. However, they are technically at the level ofmoners being sent to fight against dire wolves, casualties are guaranteed but not defeat.

    The game was designed to make cultivators realize that they''ll need to sacrifice some of their forces for a measly amount of points at the start, then they''ll use those points to minmax their base." Thementator said.

    "Indeed, there are other cultivators who are more cautious, for example, Zhang Tian, the schr, he actually taught his puppets the art of formations, and applied it to fight against the iing wave. There were almost no casualties but one, and a few injured puppets that can be easily repaired at the merchant for a small price in points," Xiao Du interjected.

    "Yes, also the Demon de, who although is powerful in person, had also used a wave tactic to make his puppets fight in waves, sending five puppets supported by five more, and the remaining five were there to support any injured puppet and take their spot. Although slow it was effective in clearing the waves with no losses but a bit of injuries," entric Long exined.

    "With the first wave almost done, what do you think the cultivators will be purchasing from the merchant?" thementator asked.

    "I could take a guess and say, that most cultivators will opt in improving their puppets and repairing them, then use the remaining points to upgrade their base, some might even have enough points to recruit more puppets," entric Long said.

    "That is indeed the normal course of action, however, we have an abnormal person with an abnormal amount of points, do you dare guess what he''ll use them for?" Thementator asked.

    entric Long raised both arms in surrender, "I wouldn''t dare, I have little knowledge when ites to puppeteering not to mention Du Shen had shown great flexibility and an unorthodox methodological thinking process,"

    "A lot of fancy words to say that you don''t know," Xiao Du snorted inughter.

    Thementator and entric long both couldn''t help butugh, and focus their eyes on Du Shen''s screen.

    ***

    "This is strange," I said.

    "What is?" the merchant asked.

    "The points, why does it say 9,970 it''s such an odd number," I asked.

    "Oh, it is because you managed to achieve a hidden achievement. Damage that puppets take is usually subtracted from the overall possible point reward. Not only that, even time is deducted, so the longer you take the less points you can get. Damage to structures is also subtracted.

    And the more materials and tools you have in your base the higher the point gain and at the same time point loss," the merchant said.

    "What is the maximum score?" I asked.

    "For the first round¡­ it''s ten thousand," he said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "So basically, each second wasted in the wave is ten points loss, and since no puppet was damaged, and no structure was damage and I only took three seconds I almost got full score. Wait, you said that the more material I have the more points I''m bound to lose if they''re damaged. Does that mean the more I improve my points the more overall points I could gain?"

    "In essence yes, not only that, starting from the next wave, beasts'' worth points will start appearing, killing them will award you bonus points that you can use on the fly to build or even save forter," he said.

    "I see, so I technically need to waste points building stuff, so I could earn even more due to the overall value of my fortress. Good to know, anyway show me your wears," I said.

    "Since you have a bit more than ten thousand points, I''ll only show avable materials that can be bought at that price range." He said.

    He then began showing me a list of all materials I can use. Some were walls that would be erected around the base the moment I buy them, and others included furnaces and smelting facilities costing about 5,000 points each. The price was too much for their immediate value so I declined those.

    I then focused on the military tools that can be bought. Mainly the turrets that would act as assault force to reduce the number of iing beasts.

 Chapter 677: Tower Defense III

    "Can I position these turrets however I want?" I asked.

    "You may, there is no condition on where you can ce these," he said.

    The price of each turret is about a thousand points, I could buy at most ten, but that is too expensive. I can also buy towers that can be used to carry these turrets, I''ll feel safer with the towers acting as a barrier to protect the turrets.

    "Then I would like to buy a few turrets, two of each, me ice and lightning turrets. I would also like to buy six stone watch towers for five hundred each."

    "Thates at a total of nine thousand points. Where do you want them ced," he asked.

    "There," I pointed, at the gate and then gave him clear instructions on how I wanted them positioned.

    The merchant snorted as if he expected this and didn''t argue, but that was enough for me to understand a lot of things.

    Basically, the freedom of putting the turrets anywherees with a cost. I mean, whoever created this trial knows well that cultivators would pack loads of these turrets near the gate''s exit, spawn killing any monster that would appear. So, this means that the beasts have a way around this, perhaps they''ll have some creatures that can destroy the towers as soon as they manifest.

    But that isn''t an issue for me. After all, the merchant clearly stated that as long as I buy something I''m free to modify it however I want.

    So I immediately flew to the six towers, they each had one turret ced on top of them. The watch towers weren''t in the best condition to take on a heavy blow, but I wasn''t going to allow that.

    With the eleven remaining unmodified puppets, I had them help me build around the towers a big metallic wall that would force anythinging out of the gate to only move forward in a packed manner. Funneling them forward like pigs in a ughterhouse.

    The turrets then will start raining down hell from above, while my improved puppets will hold the only exit.

    But that wasn''t all, as I began adjusting the turrets themselves.

    Since the turrets were inscribed. The formation allowing them to function was easy to modify, so I began by adjusting the output of each turret and included several missing features.

    First of all, I improved the destructiveness of the turrets by adding more Saint Qi crystals that they can use to fire. And then added an improved aiming system and increased the rate of fire. I also adjusted one of the ice turrets to not only shoot, but asionally act as a cooling system in case the other turrets begin overheating.

    The work I was doing didn''t take me more than a day and I was done before the merchant would even mention that I needed to prepare for the next wave.

    And just as the gate opened up, the six turrets began reacting, as three wolves rushed forward only to find themselves in a steel-walled cage that they had no way to jump on top of due to its height, nor destroy it due to theck of power. There was one path forward and it had four puppets standing there waiting for them.

    As soon as the first wolf took a step, the turrets above began firing their spells, eradicating everything that moved. Destroying in the process all enemies that wereing out of the gate.

    More and more creatures emerged only to die immediately afterward, and not even a dozen secondster, the wave had all died down and the merchant announced that I was done with the second wave.

    I smiled at him saying, "That was pretty easy," I said.

    "It sure as hell would be, after all, I can upgrade your turrets but you did that yourself, no, you even upgraded them far more than what I could even do with so few avable points at the start of the trial. Sigh,"

    "What''s my point at?" I asked.

    "You gained 19880 points," he said.

    "And when is the next wave starting?" I asked.

    "In one day," he replied seemingly a bit frustrated.

    "I see, show me more materials, I said. And then began buying more stuff, mainly even more towers and turrets and bought one smelting facility which I''ll be needing.

    Now with ten towers standing in total, I didn''t have to worry about any iing waves for a moment, so I''ll need to start building something while I still have time. Something that will help in the uing waves.

    Using the smelting area, I began creating fire arms. Since Saint Qi stones were readily avable from the mines that the puppets were working on, I''ll need to create a small force that can be relied upon to defend the base in case a breach were to happen.

    So, instead of making smaller handguns, which are too intricate and will take too much effort, I opted into creating cannons and artillery. They were far easier to make and manufacture, especially since the puppets given to me have the ability to follow orders and mimic what I do.

    By making cannons and having the puppets man them, I can be sure that my second line of defense can easily stop anything that could bypass the main line up front. I also had enough points to upgrade the base itself, transforming it from a small shack to a fortified pagoda.

    And that came with a surprise, as five more puppets appeared as soon as I upgraded the base.

    "Oh, I didn''t know that you get more puppets by upgrading the base," I said to the merchant.

    "A bigger base needs more workers," he said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "Good enough for me, I think I''ll need to upgrade more puppets, once I''m done with making more cannons though," I said and began working on forging cannons using the smithy and teaching the puppets how to use it and make their own weapons.

 Chapter 678: Tower Defense IV

    "Can he do that?" thementator asked as he looked at the confused entric Long and Xiao Du.

    They bothughed out as they couldn''te up with a proper answer.

    "Since he didn''t get stopped by the merchant I guess it is fine, also I''m surprised that he coulde up with something that ingenious. Not only did he avoid spending his points to upgrade his turrets, since he could upgrade them himself, he also made a killing trap at the gate. Most cultivators would take a long time to evene up with something like that," Xiao Du said.

    entric Long interjected, "Indeed, not only that, but to be able to do that is not easy. Since theck of points will make it harder to nt those towers so early on, you''ll also need a force capable of stopping any beast from leaving the encirclement. And that would require even more upgrades to the puppets.

    This game is supposed to reveal how cultivators could manage with minimal resources, but for Du Shen, the fact that he could use something so little and make it this powerful is proof of his resourcefulness," entric Long said.

    "I see, however, that the uing rounds will be longer and harder. Even his small trap won''t work, since the beasts that will starting out will require more power to kill, do you think he is prepared for that?" thementator said.

    "By the looks of what he is doing, I can honestly say that he is already thinking several rounds ahead. He already realized that the current trap he had set up is enough for him to survive the uing rounds, and he is now delegating more work to the puppets he earned from this upgraded base.

    Not only did he not focus on defensive barricades, but more offensive weaponry is a dead giveaway to his determination that he will only use offense to defend himself, after all, the best defense is a powerful offense," entric Long said.

    "As you can see, Du Shen is currently inscribing the tubes he just made. Though they look crude, I believe these are some type of projectile shooting weaponry, something like what he had at the side of his ship," thementator said.

    "Oh, something like that would require far more advanced metals and materials than what he is currently given. I believe he is making a primitive form of the same projectile shooting weaponry," entric Long said.

    "I see, oh, he is doing something different now¡­ wait, what the hell is he doing?!"

    ***

    After scribbling for almost an hour on the ground while surrounded by more than a dozen puppets that were patiently looking at the drawings on the ground I looked up and asked.

    "Do you understand?"

    Seeing them all nod, I pped and had them start working.

    I already used all of my remaining points to buy a lot of steel beams and building stones.

    My goal was simple, instead of buying and upgrading the base more and using a lot of money in the process, I''ll be making my own fortress in the halfway point from the base.

    I could already tell that the turrets and trap I made at the gate would probably notst me more than a few more rounds before stronger creatures came out. Creatures that could easily shatter the walls or be strong enough to prate through them.

    And seeing the materials in the merchant''s shop gave me an idea of what sort of creatures coulde out. After all, there were several ready-made protective formations and offensive formations that could be bought and even powerful saint Qi weaponry that could decimate anything below the Void Stage.

    So I''ll need to have an even more powerful base. Thankfully, the beasts could only move in a straight line toward the main base, so if I were to create a blockade in the middle they''d have no choice but to destroy it first and then proceed instead of turning around.

    With that idea in mind, I gave the puppets several orders, to dig a trench and build traps, while I''ll be responsible for building a fortress in the middle.

    Since I''m fully allowed to use my Qi in the preparation phase, I personally began digging the ground to build a strong base to support the fortress. Stone and cement were very cheap to purchase, and I used the points I had to do so.

    Digging the entire area alone would take a stupid amount of time. But I wasn''t alone, and I was not talking about the puppets.

    I had a spell I haven''t used in a while that would serve great in this situation.

    Golden Scripture Clone.

    With this, I was able to create about a dozen copies of myself, any more than that and my head will start killing me.

    With a dozen copies, I was easily able to rip the dirt out of the ground and ce stone, then pour cement on it. I then applied heat to solidify the cement and began cing the supporting beams around the base.

    Several hourster, with the help of the clones, I was already done with two stories for the fortress.

    It was square in shape, and had two massive doors. The first door was right on the path from the warp gate, and once the beasts woulde inside the base they''ll be met with an incredible number of traps and killing machinery and inscriptions. They''ll have no option but to go through the fortress as the path toward the main base is visible from the other door.

    Not only that, since the walls were high, I was able to ce multiple cannons on the walls of the fortress. Time had flown by faster than I realized, and the merchant announced that the third wave wasing.

    I had to stop, and summon my clones back, because it will be considered a breach of the rules of the round.

    Soon, loud explosive sounds echoed from the direction of the gate, with almost no casualties visible. Time went by as the sound of ughter continued. I frowned since it already took more than twenty seconds and the explosions and killing hadn''t stopped.

    But after the thirty second mark, everything died down.

    I went to check the damage and realized that the walls were slightly worn out, and one of the puppets had a missing limb.

    It seems that this trap at the front of the gate will notst a long time.

 Chapter 679: Tower Defense V

    The merchant came over saying, "You earned 39,150 points this round, would you like to purchase anything?" he asked.

    "Can I buy more puppets?" I asked

    "You can, but you''ll need to upgrade your base first, there is a limit for each base on how many puppets it can hold."

    I had no choice but to upgrade the base once more and obtain ten more puppets.

    With that, I had enough puppets to man the cannons around the fortress. And more to finish up the trenches.

    I began by making themy down traps, spears inside holes, and all of that. As for the moat, all I had to do was ask the merchant for a frosted crystal that I can use.

    After making a tower and adjusting it so it could constantly shoot out massive pieces of ice into the moat, I had another tower constantly warming the ice, creating water that began filling up the moat rapidly.

    With that done, I added another lightning tower that will be zapping the water around the moat constantly creating an electric trap that can fry any creature that tries to go through the moat.

    More time went by as I was improving the quality of the weaponry. Another wave started and ended, only this one took longer than before and I lost a fully functioning puppet.

    I guess it''s time to increase my troops.

    With one puppet down for maintenance, I repaired it and began working on a new one. I also repaired the damaged walls and towers around the gate and added even more basic turrets along the road.

    By now the entire thing looking like a deadly trap.

    I also added several barricades along the path and ced a couple more puppets with cannons aimed at the gate.

    Since my puppets that held the Killzone in front of the gate were taking a lot of damage. It was time to remove them from there and allow the beasts to leave the area.

    "Another wave is happening, be ready," the Merchant said,.

    His tone of voice was slightly different as if something was going to change from the usual raids.

    ***

    "Comparing the state of the bases, it would feel rather unproportionable. Du Shen''s base is far more advanced than any of hispetitors, not only that, the damage he had taken was so minimal it''s rather worrying," thementator said.

    "Indeed, but if we remove Du Shen from the equation, everything looks rather normal, besides the few bases that have already fallen due to theck of strategic thinking, the rest look rather normal for their level," Xiao Du said.

    "I would agree, for example, Zhang Tian, who is the second in terms of collected points has yet to lose any of his troops, his strategic formation cement of his troops and tower positions allowed him to whittle down the enemy wave without taking much damage. As of now, his base has only been damaged once, and it was pretty negligible," entric Long praised.

    "The forerunner of the Darkest Sun''s faction is also in really good shape. We have some information regarding him, as noted, he had been ruling somewhere far away and was able to lead and guide billions of lives, something like this stage is well within his realm of ability, as of now, he only lost a couple of puppets that he already replenished by upgrading his base.

    Most of his turrets were built around the fire element. Devastating any creature that was trying to go forward," Xiao Du also noted.

    "Everyone seems capable of surviving the first few waves as it seems, and they''re also able to acquire points to upgrade their overall ability and base.

    But still, like I said, they all pale inparison to Du Shen''s ability, as a matter of fact, no one thought of creating a blockade in the middle path to block the waves, only Du Shen hade up with something like that, not only that, it is also a massive trap that can host and harbor a great deal of enemies then instantlyunch endless death upon them. Quite frightening," the Commentator said.

    "I don''t like to repeat my words, but Du Shen has already proved that he is a master of strategic nning, I''m also very interested in what he is making right now, what do you think the use of the barricades along the main path, others would have made walls to funnel the creatures forward, but he made barricades on the sides of the main road," the Commentator said.

    "Simple, it is to slow the beasts down, the creatures once they see a blockade in front of them, they would usually jump over it if they are agile enough like we have seen in other stages and bases, or would outright destroy them if they had the ability. But Du Shen made sure to create barricades that were open.

    When beasts find that there is no need to jump over them or destroy them, and they can simply maneuver themselves around the barricades to move forward, they''ll choose that option, in essence, that will make the beasts take a longer time getting to the base, and that will give Du Shen''s towers and puppet ample time to take them down," entric Long said.

    "What about the moat? Isn''t that something that is considered a blockade?" thementator asked.

    "Not really," entric Long shook his head, "Most beasts would consider the moat as nothing more than a small obstacle that they can swim across to get into the middle fortress, and by going through the moat, the lightning turret will shock any and all that crosses it, further weakening them for therger Killzone inside the fortress.

    Remember, he also had several puppets manning those projectile shooting tubes, and there were even more of those on the walls of the fortress alongside more turrets that will protect the fortress itself. I doubt anything would cause him to worry for now." entric Long added.

    "Indeed, while most cultivators will be scraping by to use their points to upgrade their turrets, Du Shen manually upgraded them to a different function. And while they''re trying to improve their main base, all Du Shen needs to do is continue upgrading everything besides the weaponry to garner more points and further improve his position, a very clever man," Xiao DU said.

    "I guess so, well, hopefully all of this will be true, since the next wave, we''ll have something special," thementator said.

    Looking up the screen, this time,ing out of the gate wasn''t a wave of beasts, but a single man with a gigantic cleaver that he carried on his shoulder, the man''s face was hidden in a mask and his body had grayish tone of skin, he was wrapped up in bandages and exuded a powerful aura as he stepped forward.

    "There was a hidden condition inside this event, that randomly, on one stage, a creature wille out that has equivalent power to the total points spent in creating a base. And it seems that it showed up on the fifth wave, let''s see how Du Shen will deal with this man," thementator smirked as he widened the screen for all to see.

 Chapter 680: Tower Defense VI

    entric Long''s eyes scanned the screens and frowned then asked.

    "Hmm, why is Du Shen''s enemy different?"

    His question piqued everyone''s interest and they all looked up. The screens though showing different stages all had one thing that was simr, it was the personing out of the gate.

    But for Du Shen, the person who came out looked far more hostile and way more deadly.

    Everyone else''s foe had a small cleaver, which was rather rusted, and the man that was carrying it was barely skin on bones, he did exude a powerful aura, but it was like a me sparkpared to the one in Du Shen''s trial.

    "That is because of the stage value," thementator said.

    "They''re all on the fifth stage, so why is only his at the King Level while the rest had their invader at the ascendant level? Isn''t that rather unfair?" Xiao Du asked.

    "I wouldn''t call it unfair, it was the result of Du Shen''s ability. After all, the stage rewards one due to their struggles and how well they do, the better they triumph and seed, the harder the next phase will be to give a challenge to the participant. For everyone besides Du Shen, they took some damage and upgraded their base with rtively a small amount of points.

    While Du Shen had used about ten times the point of the person in second ce to upgrade his base, that is why something this powerful came out," thementator said.

    "I suppose this will keep happening in the following rounds?" asked entric Long.

    "Indeed, the stronger the base, the more fearsome the wave, the higher the reward, a circle in a sense," thementator said.

    "Then, we can only watch and see how Du Shen will deal with this trial." entric Long sped his hands and watched intently as the monster of a man approached through the gate.

    ***

    "Bloody hell is that," I cursed as I was using my divine sense to scan the new entity entering the portal.

    It exuded the power of a King Stage cultivator, and that wasn''t something the primary barricade could stop. I doubt the entirety of the force I have here could stop it.

    The merchant snickered as he watched me fall into despair. Or so he thought.

    "Back off!" I ushered the puppets at the gate to back away, they would be nothing but scraps if they were to fight against that guy now.

    The turrets began raining down sts of fire, ice, and lighting upon the invader. But the man just used his massive cleaver to block the first wave, holding on as the iing blows increased in intensity then soon shed away at the first turret, sending a de wave forward that cut one of the towers from the middle.

    The tower slid down and crashed against the walls breaking another turret in the process.

    Stopping two weapons from functionality at the same time.

    He then proceeded forward, tanking the iing assault without exerting any effort.

    Not long after, he sliced at the remaining turrets bringing them down bar one was a lightning turret that was too far away from him.

    He shed an evil grin through the bandages covering his face as he dragged his cleaver behind him. Moved steadily as if he were an iing disaster ready to eat and destroy anything in its path.

    "Load!" I shouted and instantly several puppets alongside the main path loaded the cannons with shells that I made. They aimed the cannons toward the iing man and were ready for order.

    "Fire!"

    The cannon''s base allowed Qi to traverse through the entire length of the barrel, activating a dozen or so specialized inscriptions that would allow the shell to st through them with minimal friction and incredible rotatory power.

    The loud st of the cannons shooting the shells would deafen a man, as it thundered across the meadow and right into the iing man with incredible uracy.

    The being had prepared for the attack though and used his cleaver to block the impact, however, the explosive aftermath was enough to sear some of the skin on its body and burn most of the bandages on him.

    It revealed a body riddled with scars and sewing signs. Some form of revived corpse. No wonder, it wouldn''t feel pain or damage and would keep moving forward regardless of the injuries it would take.

    "Fire at will!" I ordered and watched as the juggernaut like being began actively dodging and slicing away at shells that he couldn''t avoid.

    More and more explosions echoed in the distance, but the damage dealt was too little for myfort.

    The four improved puppets were also on standby but I couldn''t send them just yet. It wasn''t their time.

    "Can I buy anything while the round is in progress?" I asked the merchant.

    "Yes, as long as you don''t actively assist in stopping the wave, you can buy and upgrade turrets for example, and repair barricades." He said.

    "I see, show me your wear," I said as I took a rapid look at the merchant''s wear.

    I then began picking several materials, including some herbs.

    "ce some turrets along the path," I said to the merchant as I specified that the turrets need to be ice turrets.

    The goal wasn''t to kill it, because these turrets wouldn''t have enough firepower.

    "You''ll need a level eight turret to kill it, you don''t have enough points for that," he said.

    "I''m not nning on killing it, just ce four ice turrets along the path, near the cannons,"

    The merchant ced them where I asked while I hurriedly began refining the herbs I bought.

    "What are you doing? You do know that you cannot interfere," he said.

    "I''m not, I''m only making an explosive bomb," I said.

    "But that is interfering," he said.

    "Not if I use materials bought from you, all I''m doing is refining the materials, which falls under the no interference rule. I''m not the one who''ll be using this explosive bomb, but one of my puppets," I said.

    "You''re really dancing on the line of disqualification, however, you are right, as long as you don''t directly toss it, or make it blow up manually or via range, it can be epted," he said.

    "Good to hear, I said as I rapidly increased my Soul me power, to extract as much essence from the herbs as I could.

    As much as I wanted to use my own personal poison, it was against the rules, all I could do was make poison from the wear that he was selling. So I rapidly assembled a cannister that had this liquid form of poison and added several inscriptions around it. I then ced a small Saint Qi crystal on top of the cannister which will act as a detonator for it.

    This is a weak explosive, but at the same time, I don''t want to st the corpse, since I don''t have enough materials or strong enough substances for that. But I don''t need to blow it up, not because I don''t want to, but because there are better ways, sadly it will take me some time to finish this thing up.

    The creep continued creeping forward, slicing away at the barricades and making my heart wrench at the cost of everything he was destroying.

    Everything I built was built with effort and a lot of nning, but then they throw this shit at my face. I''m not taking it lying down.

    But it''s good, now I know that whoever made this trial can ''cheat'' like this. So the next time I won''t be unprepared.

    The cannons kept rocking the man but they didn''t seem to be slowing him down anyway.

    I couldn''t allow it to reach the middle fortress. There is a lot of formations in there that would be ruined once that guy starts swinging his cleaver.

    Soon, the man-beast began blowing the cannons along the way, reducing the damage he was taking by a lot. Although the ice turrets were slowing it down, he didn''t seem too bothered by them, as every time he moved, he would break the ice around his body, and his foot stomped hard enough to rupture the ice on the road and stamp a massive footprint on the floor.

    Moving steadily step by step.

    He then arrived at the second Killzone, this was where the cannons and turrets on top of the front wall of the fortress were in range. They then began shooting shells at the creature, further slowing it down.

    With that much damage he is taking, I would probably need about an hour of grinding it down for it to die. But by the pace he is moving, he''ll reach the main base way before that timer hits.

    So, it was time for me to apply the second part of my n.

    "Come here," I said to one of the puppets, and one of them rushed to my side.

    "Run toward him, and press this button once you''re close enough," I said.

    The puppet grabbed the cannister tightly against its chest and sprinted toward the invader.

    The moment the puppet got close enough, the creature swung its cleaver, splitting the puppet in half, however, the puppet had already pressed the button enabling the mechanic inside it to activate.

    Suddenly an explosion sted in front of the beast, and in that time I raised my hand to stop the artillery from attacking it further.

    From the explosion, a powerful smoke curtain blew outward and covered the creature. Who slowly emerged from it seemingly unscathed. It walked for a bit, then began coughing lightly, then walked some more, and began throwing up ck blood.

    Not long after, the invader soon fell to the ground, and the merchant clicked his tongue.

    "Congrattions, you cleared this stage too¡­"

 Chapter 681: Analysis

    "That was rather impressive, what sort of bomb did he create that could do that much damage?" thementator asked.

    "I would forward that question to Brother Du, he is more proficient in poisons than I am," entric Long said.

    "Right, from what I could see, the herbs he bought were Tri Petaled Death Flower, Crimson Yang Seed pant, and Mourning Petals, the three of them each have a different poison effect, the Tri Petaled Death Flower is capable of corroding necrotic material, and is very efficient against corpses and corpse masters as it would deteriorate the blood vessels and internal organs that have no live blood running through them, it ispletely harmless to living begins.

    The Yang Seed on the other hand has the property of galvanizing Yang Type poisons which the Tri-Petaled Death Flower is, while the Mourning Petal has the ability to neutralize Qi, thebination of the three poisons caused the corpse to have its internal organs melt in seconds and disabled the corpse''s Qi for the same amount of time, disallowing it from using its Qi to protect itself.

    I would dare say that this is a poison that even I wouldn''t dare make," Xiao Du said.

    "Why not?" asked entric Long, "The poison seems simple enough with only three main poison herbs in it, why do you think it is difficult?" Thementator asked.

    "Because, although the Tri Petaled Death Flower cannot harm living beings, once it is galvanized using the Crimson Yang Seed, it bes extremely vtile and could even erode living flesh, the fact that he was able to calmly and most impressively rapidly extract the essence from the seed without the entire concoction blowing up in his face is a sign of great mastery, if I were to try and do something like that, I''d need to be very cautious and take my time making such poison, he made it in seconds¡­"

    "I see," Thementator said, "Though we had doubts about this being an indirect interference, the merchant himself said that it was allowed, so Du Shen is hereby deemed qualified to continue the trial, what about the rest of the contenders?" entric Long asked.

    "I''m not really sure, a lot of them are still fighting, hell, some even had their base destroyed already, and what they were facing wasn''t even as strong as Du Shen''s invading corpse," entric Long shrugged.

    "Indeed, though they also have invaders that have barely enough power to win against their base, they should have been in a far easier situation," Thementator said.

    "Each one of thepetitors is dealing with the corpse their own way, some constantly threw puppets at it, and some used all their points to make turrets to take it down, but the corpse itself is more than capable of blocking the turrets, although to a limited extent unlike the corpse Du Shen fought against, still, I see some that are already about to defeat the corpse," Xiao Du said.

    Looking at the screen, he was right, some of the corpses were already falling, though dangerously close to the base of thepetitors, making it a very frustrating and nerve wrecking experience. No one expected something this strong toe out.

    So now, not only are they going to need to further upgrade and repair their base, but they''ll also need to prepare for a harsher wave due to the degraded base they all have right now.

    "This surprise attack is very interesting," entric Long said.

    "How so?" thementator smiled knowing the answer already.

    "Because, not only is it a warning, it is also a hint," entric Long took a pause, "It is very imperative for a strategist to know how to use the full extent of his force. For example, here in this case, all the cultivators that are suffering are cultivators that used the majority if not all their points to upgrade their base.

    And once they were done, they were met with an opponent that has an equivalent power to their base. Meaning that victory is already a coinflip and not guaranteed, but if they didn''t have a strong base and didn''t upgrade it, the enemy they''ll be fighting will be weaker. And they''ll still have points to use on the fly to further power up their base and survive easily," entric Long exined.

    "That is indeed the hidden meaning, one shouldn''t always throw his entire force in the fray. But at the same time, if they knew of this, and deliberately weakened their base, they might have not even survived the former waves," Thementator asked.

    "Knowing it before wouldn''t have mattered, what matters is that they know this fact now, and it is even more dangerous, since it is a risk that they shouldn''t take lightly." entric Long said.

    "Care to exin, my head is hurting trying to figure out the meaning behind your words," Xiao Du said, though he already understood what entric Long means, he said those words for the audience that seemed confused.

    "It is simply a threat, and the threat of a sheathed sword is as deadly as a drawn sword.

    Now they know they could end up facing another corpse sooner orter, but at the same time if they upgrade their base enough the corpse wille for them to destroy it, but if they decide to keep it weak, they might lose to a random wave, this knowledge is going to be like a heart demon for the majority of thesepetitors, always gnawing at the back of their head, should they power up, or should they remain weak." entric Long said.

    "What about Du Shen? Do you think he''ll weaken his base?"

    "Oh, him? No, not at all, from what I saw, I think he is rather pissed that his work was destroyed, I say he''ll further improve his base enough that the next corpse if it decides to show up will have a terrible day. Look, he is already requesting more herbs from the merchant, I guess he''ll be making more of those bombs¡­" entric Long said.

    And as he mentioned Shen Bao was really pissed.

 Chapter 682: Tower Defense VII

    "Son of a bitch!" I cursed as I kicked at the corpse''s face.

    Annoyed beyond reason to how much damage this fucker had caused, but still couldn''t help but sigh. If something like this were to show up more and more, I''ll end up losing this round. I wonder how everyone else had made it through.

    The merchant gave me a hefty amount of points, to which I was slightly thankful. After all, the look of annoyance on his face was rewarding enough.

    He was not a friend nor foe, but a business man. And I wasn''t buying what I ''should'' from him. As I was personally upgrading my turrets.

    "Can you repair the damaged turrets?" I asked.

    "You want them repaired to the state they were in?" the merchant asked.

    "Yes," I replied.

    "But you modified them¡­"

    "Does that mean that you can''t repair them?" I asked.

    The merchant opened and closed his mouth then said, "Your turrets have the ability of a level seven turret, it should cost ten thousand points to repair a level seven turret," he said.

    I caught on to something in his words and smiled.

    "But they are not a level seven turret, they are only a level one turret, so the cost of fixing them should only be the cost of a level one, right?" I said.

    The merchant turned his head away and said in a very quiet almost inaudible voice, "yes¡­"

    "I didn''t hear that," I said.

    "I SAID YES god damn it, yes, the total cost of repairing all of this is about three thousand points, god damn it." He cursed.

    "Right, please fix everything that this fucker broke, also I saw something interesting in your wares," I said.

    "What do you want¡­" he said.

    "Give me the Corpse controlling token," I said.

    "What are you going to use that for, you basically melted most of the corpse''s organs," he said.

    "Yea, but you can fix the corpse can you not," I smiled.

    The merchant once again opened his mouth and closed it once again. "Yes¡­ I can, the cost is ten thousand points though, no discounts," he said.

    "Fine, fine, fix it, and give me the token to control it," I said.

    Soon the merchant began waving his hands and allowed me control of the corpse, it now stood at the front of the gate alongside the four improved puppets I made.

    I then continued spending points on upgrading the base, since I''ll need more puppets in case stuff like this happened again.

    Once the base was upgraded, I received ten more puppets to which I sent immediately to work.

    I had half of them work on creating more shells and cannons, and the other half on creating cannisters where I can make even more explosive poisons.

    With the tasks delegated I began inscribing the new cannons and created more poison. Filled as many cannisters with it, and even createdndmines that would trigger once a beast were to step on the cannister.

    Since thest time one of my puppets died to deliver that explosive, I''d rather have the enemy step on it and detonate it itself.

    Lastly, I began working on a new weapon, this one will be ced on the peak of the fortress in the middle.

    With my ability to clone myself, creating a minigun wasn''t that difficult.

    A dozen of myself are fully capable of bending and forging steel out of ingots by simply using the furnace. I had two clones make the bullets, and the rest were specialized in making the rest of the device, from the barrels to the machinery that will allow the minigun to rotate and shoot.

    With so much effort put into making this weapon, it took me about six hours to finalize it.

    I also had several belts of bullets made, with different types of bullets. Some explosive, some with embedded poison inside them, and some with incendiary rounds.

    Once I was done, I ced the turret on top of the tower and ced a couple of puppets to man it. One to guide and aim the minigun and the other to feed it rounds depending on the situation. Thus with my preparations done, I waited for the next trial.

    With the first kill zone repaired, and a new ally added to the bulk of my force, all I needed to do was watch.

    Soon, the sixth stage started, and a massacre at the front of the gate happened.

    As it seems, the newly added corpse was so strong that it was decimating the enemies exiting the gate as soon as they set foot out. With so much speed that even the turrets couldn''t activate.

    Thissted for a bit until the corpse was suddenly thrown away by what seemed to be an armored rhino.

    A massive one-horned rhinoceros shot out of the gate, rushing forward in an attempt to get all the way to the main base.

    However, a couple of shells from the cannon waiting outside the gate made it think twice.

    Then the corpse in question was probably only surprised by the sudden charge as it didn''t take much damage. However, seemingly with an bruised ego, the corpse ran forward at the wounded beast and struck down with its massive cleaver into the creature''s face.

    The blow was deafening and loud enough that it caused a shockwave, and the creature who received the blow had his skull both shattered and cut in half at the same time.

    The round wasn''t over though, as with the charge of the rhino, more beasts managed to find way around the puppets and the shooting turrets leaving in drove toward the base.

    But all was for naught, as the turrets along the way slowed them down with constant ice shots. And the cannons sted their numbers and shattered their organs all across the field with endless shells.

    None of them even made it to thendmine line before the merchant sounded the end of the sixth wave.

    Complete victory I suppose.

 Chapter 683: Difficulty Increase

    "To actually think so far ahead, what an incredible mindset. How many of thepetitors have thought of buying the corpse controlling token?" Xiao Du said.

    "Of what I see, no one did," thementator shrugged.

    "And that is rather normal, the price of that thing is far higher than anything they''ll have left after the corpse had attacked their base. Only Du Shen had enough points from clearing that wave to actually buy the item. Not to mention, it would take a good foresight to even notice something like that in the seemingly infinite wares of the merchant.

    Du Shen already noticed it and figured out that he could take control of a powerful corpse," thementator said.

    "Surely this won''te and bite him back in the ass," Thementator said.

    "You mean that the presence of that corpse is further increasing the value of his base," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, with the corpse as an ally though he''ll find it easy to go through the rest of the stages, it will still be annoying if he gets to face another invader wave, what would you do if you were forced to face against¡­ let''s say, at least three more of those corpses?"

    "I would probably panic, but for Du Shen, he had already made ns, you can see it yourself, he has andmine full of those explosions that rendered the first corpse useless, but still, we can only watch and see," entric Long exined.

    "Right, then tell me, do you notice anything different in the bases of cultivators?" thementator asked.

    entric Long looked and then his eyes widened, "That is very sneaky¡­ that would be catastrophic for Du Shen if he doesn''t notice soon," entric Long said.

    "Exactly, since he is the only one with thatyout, he will definitely be overwhelmed in no time, as for the rest of the cultivators, even if they didn''t notice, they should still be fine since most of their defenses are around their base," thementator said.

    "Oh, I guess he took note, look at him panicking," Xiao Du said as he smiled.

    ***

    "Bloody fucking hell! Are you kidding me?!" I cursed as I noticed the absurdity of the situation I''m in.

    This was too sudden, too sneaky in fact, this wouldn''t have caught my eyes if I were focused on building shit. But thankfully, I looked away when I wanted to rest my eyes and noticed this absurd change to the terrain.

    The entire terrain I was in, spread wider and longer.

    This wouldn''t have been an issue for everyone who was building around their main base. But for me, this might actually be the end.

    I had presumed that the waves will only emerge from the portal up ahead. However, now with the field growing to the shape of a massive square instead of a rectangle with the base in the center. This is the most obvious tell that more gates will start appearing and spawning monsters.

    With only one fortress in the path of the first gate, my base which has practically no defenses is weak to invasion.

    "Oi, this wasn''t in the rules!" I told the merchant, who simply shrugged, "I''m merely a merchant."

    "Bullshit, I already know that you''re the Cryptic Sun," I said.

    The merchant''s eyes rose up, then a wide smile appeared on his face, "How did you find out?" he asked.

    "The hell you mean how did I find you, you''re literally exuding no Qi whatsoever, not a smidgen of Qi in your breath, way of talking or even when you were making upgrades and creating the turrets, all of it was without any effort. Hell, not even my poison affected you when it is heavily premating the atmosphere,"

    "That''s still not enough to prove that I''m the Cryptic Sun," he said.

    "Well, your attitude does that in your stead, all those oldies have the same air about them, believe me, I know, I met five of the already, Also, there is no way anyone can split himself hundreds of millions of times over every area of the trial without at least being at your level," I said.

    "Well, you''re the first to figure that out, everyone else is treating my incarnations as a ve. Anyway, why do you think I''m being unfair?" he said.

    "I never said you were being unfair, just this is bullshit, how much time do I have left?" I asked.

    "Twenty three hours and some change," he replied.

    I grit my teeth, there was no way for me to rebuild three more fortresses in that time. Since I''ll need one in each of the four cardinal directions.

    "What is the total cost of everything I have built right now?"

    The Cryptic Sun answered, "a hundred and seventy-nine thousand points," he said.

    "Damn¡­" I cursed.

    The Cryptic Sun smiled as he said, "I know what you''re thinking, but I''m not going to copy and paste your buildings for you, a part of the challenge is to build it yourself, all I can do is repair them and ce materials," he said.

    "It''s fine I don''t even have the cost to make three fortresses anyway¡­" I thought for a moment then decided on something a bit drastic.

    Since I can''t rebuild the fortresses in time, I''ll have to at least put some defenses in case more gates were to show up.

    I flew above the main base and began looking around it. With a bird view, I was able to make an estimate of where the gates will appear, and where the monsters wille. So I began by nting turrets along the presumed path.

    After setting up a dozen or so turrets and upgraded my main base, I had to reluctantly upgrade the turrets using points and not my own hands.

    This made the merchant smile as I had finally chosen the upgrade ability which was incredibly costly to upgrade about thirty six turrets.

    My points tanked down like an anvil in water. But I still had enough to buy more materials to create more cannons and upgrade the base once more.

 Chapter 684: Tower Defense VIII

    With another base upgrade, the facilities inside them also got upgraded, yielding more ore and Saint Qi crystals.

    But what I needed were the puppets.

    I split myself using the Golden Scripture and began creating more miniguns. I needed to have at least three miniguns done and ready before the next wave started, and it took me six hours to make thest one.

    I called the corpse back and split the four enhanced puppets. Leaving one of them in each of the four areas where the gate will probably spawn.

    While the corpse had withdrawn to the main base to act as thest bastion.

    If I had built all of this at the start around the base I would have been far more secure, but there was no time for regret.

    My clones began working and creating bullets and pieces to create the miniguns which after long arduous hours, I ced right in the middle of every one of the four paths.

    A dangerous location that could be threatened at any point in time, but at the same time, a position that''s fully capable of attacking and defending the main base.

    I didn''t bother with the main portal path, since it had a shit ton ofndmines and cannons aimed to protect it, the worry was for the other three areas which are rtively far weaker.

    "Your time is up, get ready," said the Cryptic Sun.

    And just as I expected, three more portals appeared and beasts began emerging out.

    A pack of wolves shot forward from every portal. The first gate was easily capable of eliminating them due to the barrier and the kill zone which didn''t let a single wolf out.

    But for the other three, the wolves were unhindered in running forward.

    The turrets began shooting lightning bolts and infernal sts, a far more advanced explosive yield than basic turrets, killing the wolves in droves. Thankfully the points I used in upgrading those turrets were worth it as they held them off nicely.

    A couple of wolves did manage to survive the onught, but thanks to having at least an upgraded puppet in each direction standing there, they made quick work of the wolves.

    But the wave didn''t end there, as a type of flying harpies began emerging.

    The turrets tried their best to take them down, but the prep time and speed of this bird-like creature were too fast for the turrets to react, failing to hit most of these bird creatures was not unexpected. However, thanks to the turret in the middle, and the already prepared puppets manning them, lead rained down from above like hail.

    Breaking the half-birds and shooting explosive rounds through them, far faster than they could even react to.

    The half-birds fell down from the sky littering it with blood and burnt viscera.

    All around the area, it seemed that this hastily made defense was all I needed to hold two of these waves.

    But I wasn''t about to be conceited. I was already making constant and consecutive requests out of the Merchant. Having him ce walls and recreate the same kill zone in the first gate all over the other gates. Further limiting the range and tightening the exit point of the beasts in every gate.

    He seemed annoyed at how fast I was giving him orders, but as long as he was fast enough to apply my requests, I wasn''t going to bother with his grimaces.

    Soon enough, a loud roar echoed from one of the gates. It was the same rhino-like creature that threatened the integrity of my Killzone, thankfully, it only emerged from one of the gates.

    "Kill it!" I gave the corpse the order and it sprinted forward toward the rhino, making quick work out of it. As the corpse was far stronger and agile enough to kill the rhino and go back to the main base.

    More and more random beasts emerged but with enough firepower, I managed to hold on.

    Barely any creature made it out of the new Killzones and everyone that did died to the miniguns.

    And soon, the Merchant announced the end of the seventh round.

    "The next round will start in 72 hours," the merchant said.

    "Wait, 72 hours?" I asked.

    "Yes, take your time you''ll need it," he added.

    That was a dead giveaway that the next wave will not be easy.

    Looking at the state of my base. And what I need to do, I began preparing. Three days, that''s more than enough for me to adjust and improve, I could easily build three more fortresses in that time the only issue is theck of manpower to manage the fortresses.

    So I first began by building another fortress with the help of my clones.

    Due to having one already made, it was rather easy to rebuild something simr so it took me less time to build another. Making the base materials to build it was also easier, the steel beams, the cement and all thates in hand to build the said fortress was all essible and easy to obtain from the merchant.

    Two days, it only took me that much time to finish up the rest of the fortresses. Including the formations, the moats, and the turrets on top of them.

    I also used my clones to upgrade more puppets with a total of twelve fully upgraded puppets. I ced three in each of the directions in front of the gates to slow down the iing waves.

    All that was left was making more explosives to nt underneath the ground and paths leading to the main base and I was done before the third day was over.

    Looking at the overall structure, four fortresses protecting a base, with fully loaded and ready cannons and turrets all aiming at the gates.

    There was however some distance in the diagonal between all the fortresses which though I didn''t really think that the wave woulde from, I still nted some explosives just in case.

    The merchant soon came over and told me that the wave will be starting, so I flew up and began watching the entirety of the field from bird view.

    The gates spiraled and opened up, and the eight-wave started.

 Chapter 685: Tower Defense IX

    "Seventy-two hours of prep time, what do you think that would mean?" thementator addressed the two next to him.

    "Well, I would suppose it means that the next phase will be difficult. I have to admit, for Du Shen to have managed to use his time this efficiently, and manually build more fortresses to match his first one was something out of this world. His efficiency and use of limited resources to their most optimal level is praiseworthy," entric Longplimented.

    "I also have to agree with that, where most others would have just tried to build around the base, he kept his integrity and decided to go above and beyond normal and build three more simr forts to keep his base secure. With this much defense, I would find it hard that anyone could break through," Xiao Du said.

    "Indeed, he also made a very fun-looking weapon, the turret that he handmade was able to defeat the flying mobs. After all several cultivators had already lost due to their inability to take down the flying creatures already," thementator said.

    "Bar a few who already took note of the possibility that a flying monster could appear, the majority didn''t have enough time or power to retaliate or at least build defenses fast enough, their base took a great hit for it and it cost them the trial. Now, however, it is an entirely new ordeal, with the time being three times longer, we can expect a far rougher wave," entric Long added.

    "The wave is about to begin, let''s see how this goes then," thementator said as he disyed several screens at the same time with Shen Bao''s screen being the biggest.

    Not more than ten seconds, the audience began gasping, not at the massive beasts and almost infinite-looking number of them. But the bases were destroyed in less than ten seconds from the wave starting.

    Not even ten seconds had gone by before more than a dozen base was destroyed, the loose barricades and weak protection around them were the prime reason for the loss, not to mention the awful positioning of turrets and troops.

    However, in the main monitor, Du Shen''s screen had a different experience.

    ***

    Explosions, nothing but explosions, and the sound of lightning and bullets blowing up in the distance.

    At this rate, I might notst the entire day before all of my ammunition is exhausted. But it''s fine, I''m not staying still as I''m still using my clones to rapidly craft and make more ammunition and explosives that puppetse over and collect.

    The majority of the puppets are manning the cannons all around the base and along the main paths.

    The turrets ricked with unstoppable fury at every beast that emerged, cindering, burning, freezing and electrifying any that dared step too close.

    While the endless cannon fire set the fields aze. Explosive shells bore through the monsters, raising endless curtains of dust and debris.

    Blood and body parts spread all over the battlefield, but that wasn''t it.

    The number of creatures emerging from the gate was absurdly high, enough that even I had doubts if I could clear it.

    They were so many of them that they just tanked the shots of the turrets, or even died crossing, they were so many of them that missing a cannon shot would actually be a miracle.

    But I was not about to give up on all of this. I made it with a lot of effort and wasn''t going to just watch it all burn and crumble.

    "Build me more turrets and barricades, I also need a few more traps, pits with spikes and hurdles, anything I can afford right now," I said to the merchant.

    "With how fast you''re killing them, it would be even harder to spend all of your points, take your pick of my wares," he said.

    And I began choosing anything that could stop these iing beasts.

    From talismans to improved warring puppets, even some allied beasts of our own that could act like guardians.

    I even bought a cloud, yes a literal cloud that moved around the territory and rained down with lightning upon the enemies.

    It was an interesting thing to see, enough that I wanted to analyze how it worked, but I didn''t have time.

    Thankfully, with puppets protecting the minigun turret in the middle of each path, the beasts always decided to avoid toppling them down. And the miniguns did the bulk of the work taking down the enemies. With a lot of them gathered up, the bullets couldn''t miss, and I didn''t even need the gun to fully kill anything, breaking their bones and their paws and legs was enough for me to slow them down.

    Soon, they reached thendmine area. Which was thest thing they could reach before the moat around the fortress.

    The first creature that stepped on andmine had its entire body evaporated, and that wasn''t all, the poison spread and began moving across the battlefield. Increasing in density with each and every beast that detonated more of thendmines.

    All around the field, you could see green explosions rupturing the ground itself, lifting bodies and half-mangled corpses dozens of feet in the air. Theck of wind helped the poison from thendmines to thicken and stay in ce, where more beasts walked into the cloud with madness in their eyes.

    Steel Jaw Wolves, winged tigers, armored manticores, and many demonic beasts would move through the cloud, infusing themselves with devastating poison then crumbling a few steps away from the moat.

    The very few that were either lucky enough to not take in too much poison, or were by some chance or miracle resistant to this type of poison managed to reach the moat.

    Without any other path forward but to swim, they dove into the moat, burning their bodies due to the electrifying current running through the moat and then boiling over because even the moat itself was heavily poisoned.

    More of the beasts moved to their death and fell inside the moat dying in droves, however, that wasn''t all good.

 Chapter 686: Anger Management

    The endless bodies of these creatures began creating a small hill underwater, where more and more beasts sacrificed their bodies to make it grow bigger.

    With that, after some point in time, the moat was filled enough for the beasts to walk on top of their brethren''s bodies.

    Just as they sat foot on the other side of the moat, the turret above the fortress began rotating. Lead rained down killing any beast that didn''t move too fast.

    While other cannons aimed at the pile of corpses blowing them up and relieving the pressure, destroying the bridge made of corpses that soon was filled.

    Faster creatures managed to bypass all the dangers from the exit of the portal, across the turrets that hadn''t stopped firing their abilities, and even past the middle minigun turret, through the long row of manned cannon lines, and even across the poison field dodging everyndmine in sight. They jumped over the corpse bridge and dodged the minigun.

    Creatures that looked like foxes with horns on their heads, were blindingly fast. However, that speed that helped them bypass all of those dangers couldn''t help them the moment they sat foot inside the fortress.

    A formation of slowness acted up, and then an illusion formation followed immediately after, creating a deadlybination of dizziness and slowness. The beasts which pride themselves on speed couldn''t help but feel like rats stuck on glue. As the inner fort turrets began shooting at them taking them out leisurely.

    The wave pushed up against me more and more, but I wasn''t keen on giving them any chance to ovee the hurdles I ced.

    I abused the fact that I was earning more and more points rapidly to spam build more and more buildings. I needed to have as much firepower to force these things away.

    However, one thing kept gnawing at me. The fact is that the stronger the base I make, the worse the next wave will be. So I had to be careful about making myself not too strong not to regret itter.

    ***

    "This is¡­ quite brutal I might say," thementator stated.

    "Indeed, though for some reason, it feels that the wave Du Shen is facing is far more deadly than the waves the rest of the cultivators are fighting against," entric Long said.

    "It''s not just a feeling, it actually is true. The number of enemies is at least ten times higher, is it because the overall power of Du Shen''s base is high enough to sustain this many enemies?" Xiao Du said.

    "Something like that, I honestly don''t know. It does feel a bit¡­ too overwhelming," Thementator said.

    Suddenly thementator''s face snapped up, as he saw the Lord of Lords standing up with a look that could spill murder.

    The Wisest Sun immediately rushed to his side, "Calm down old man¡­"

    "You know well that this is not just!" the Lord of Lords said.

    "I do, and we''ll have a word with him once he is out, but for now, if you interfere it will give him a chance to disqualify Shen Bao," the Wisest Sun said.

    "You expect me to stand down!" The Lord of Lords roared.

    "I do! Actually, I really much do, because I can''t stop that guy by myself!" the Wisest Sun pointed his finger toward the Red Sun''s tower.

    Murderous aura like never before, even far greater than the one he disyed against the Darkest Sun was pouring out of the tower of the Red Sun. It was so potent that the Dusking Sun had to interfere and stop it from spilling into the audience, which would have eradicated them to thest man.

    The Lord of Lords took a long breath and said, "I''ll make him pay for this, no matter how, when or where! sted half brain!" the Lord of Lords calmed down a bit and headed toward the Red Sun.

    "I haven''t been this pissed in a while," the red sun said.

    "We know, don''t make it a habbit," the Lord of Lords said. "So far, the audience doesn''t know that Shen Bao is being oppressed by that bastard. We can''t make it look like the Suns are ying favorites¡­"

    "But I really want to show those assholes what it means to harass and touch what is not theirs!"

    "Even the Darkest Sun is having a hard time epting this," the Lord of Lords nudged with his head.

    When the Red Sun saw the disgusted look on the Darkest Sun''s face he knew that even that man, though interested in Shen Bao didn''t harbor ill intention, but this obvious and ridiculous disy of unfairness was something that couldn''t be washed with a chug of wine.

    "Seeing that so many of us are against this, should we stop this trial?" asked the Dusking Sun as he joined them.

    "We can''t. At least not during this wave, however, I''ll make sure that he answers for this behavior. Whatpels him to do something like this is vague for me, but I cannot allow something this tant to go without speaking my mind at lease," the Lord of Lords said.

    "What the hell is going on now¡­" the Wisest Sun said as he was looking at the screen up ahead.

    Thanks to Shen Bao''s incredibleyout of fortresses and buildings, not a single one of the beasts managed to bypass them. And soon the whole wave seemed to start dying down, almost signaling the end of the trial.

    The stragglers and the weaker mobs began dying due to the poison spread along the field. But something that made the eyes of every one of the suns including the ones that didn''t speak yet frown was that the four portals didn''t actually close.

    But released one more enemy from each side.

    Something that looked like the corpse that Shen Bao killed earlier, only a bit different, it carried two cleavers one in each hands, and towered over the other corpse two heads over at least. They all released an aura far greater than anything that showed up on the field, and it was for Shen Bao to survive this.

 Chapter 687: Last Stand

    "You gotta be fucking shitting me¡­" I cursed as I saw the new corpses moving forward.

    If the first corpse I fought at stage five doesn''t evene close to one of these guys''s destructive powers.

    Looking at the merchant''s smug face, I couldn''t help but feel that I was being yed.

    If otherpetitors were to face stuff like this, I''d be even more surprised that they could ever defeat them.

    But, since I defeated the first corpse using poison, surely these guys will also suffer from it?

    No, I''m not foolish enough to think that would ever happen. Especially when this guy was still smirking clearly expecting me to rely on the poison then see my face darkening as I realize that the poison wasn''t going to work.

    "Yo," I said to the merchant, my voice cold, and my expressions even colder.

    "What? If looks could kill I''d be dead by now." The merchant grinned.

    "Show me your wears," I said.

    The merchant shrugged and said, "Sure thing," he opened his bag and I took a quick nce at everything he had in it.

    Most materials he had were utterly andpletely useless. Especially now, since it took those guys about ten seconds to have everything around the gatepletely eradicated.

    They blew the turrets, the towers, the walls, and the barriers.

    The turret shots were unable to even scratch their skins, as they had some sort of powerful aura around them that kept them from being harmed by the turrets.

    As for the poison that was fully premating the area, they werepletely and utterly invulnerable to is. With their Qi barriers constantly erected, the poison couldn''t even prate through them.

    So, they''re almost invulnerable to poison, which is a bit annoying. I suppose they can still be taken down using it but only via an indirect rout. If they were to ingest it or for the poison to directly enter their bodies, both options are not possible for me right now.

    But I would rather bite the dust than let this guy get away with this tant unfairness. I personally had little to no drive to get this stupid title.

    It wasn''t worth it for me to strive for it or obtain it, it is a vain title. Although the rewards were good, no reward is worth my life.

    However, one should always remember, spite is one nasty ass motivator.

    "Give me these," I said as I began choosing a bunch of pricy but very useful herbs and pills.

    My current points are enough for me to buy the priciest of tools in his shop, but even some of these turrets and weapons in this shop look like they wouldn''t even cause a dent in the corpses.

    So I wasn''t about to be baited into grabbing them, especially when I noticed the absence of many other weapons in his merchandise.

    "I remember seeing a spear that costs a hundred thousand points, howe it''s gone?" I asked.

    "That spear is only avable until the fifth stage, it disappears afterward," he said.

    Bullshit, that thing was a godly weapon under the Void Stage, it could have easily pierced through these corpses skin. But he removed it on purpose so I don''t buy it. Also, there is no way anyone would have the points to buy it at the fifth stage.

    But since he is the owner of the stage, he can make up any stupid excuse and no one can object.

    "I see," I replied and purchased the rest of the poisons and pills I needed.

    "What are you nning on doing? Making more poisons?" the Merchant asked when he saw me use my Soul me.

    "You''ll have to watch and see," I replied.

    After all, I wasn''t about to tell him what I''ll be doing, in case he makes up a stupid rule to stop me from doing it.

    I continued concocting a great deal of poisons and extracting materials, slightly distracted by the incessant explosions around me. The turrets were constantly shooting out their projectiles to little to no avail. However, it was enough to slow down the corpses although for a little bit of time.

    The goal was not to kill them, though I would have hoped that my miniguns had the ability to do so, but the bullets simply bounced off the barriers.

    Havingpleted the first batch of poisons I called the corpse over.

    "You cannot directly interfere in the fight, you know that," the merchant said.

    "I''m not, I''m just going to do something to this corpse, same as I did to the puppets, it shouldn''t be considered interfering." I said.

    "It shouldn''t, but you''re not allowed to use your Qi to improve the corpse or modify it," he said.

    "I wasn''t, but these should be allowed?" I asked as I showed him several pills in my hand.

    The pills in my hand were all exuding a vile aura, they were very nasty pills that have an effect of boosting one''s physical ability to an extent.

    "Poison pills? Are you trying to kill the corpsepletely?"

    "Well, they would kill off any living being, but it shouldn''t be the case for a corpse," I said as I handed the pill to the corpse.

    Thetter swallowed them, and suddenly its veins began bulging and a dose of powerful energy began spiraling inside the corpse''s body.

    The cryptic sun squinted his eyes trying to figure out what was going on, but once he saw the vtile damage the pills were doing inside the corpse''s body he snorted and nced away.

    After all, these pillse with a very nasty side effect. Although they would give a powerful boost to physical ability, they would exhaust one''s inner Qi in the process, and destroy their organs even cultivators would rather not touch something like this.

    But since it was a corpse, it could sustain damage of this extent, however this wasn''t all. If only an improvement in physical prowess was all I needed I wouldn''t be in this predicament.

 Chapter 688: Last Stand II

    I pulled out even more pills and had the corpse ingest them, further increasing the destructiveness inside its body but again, since it was a corpse, it wasn''t about to keel over and die.

    Finally, thest pill, this one was devised from studying the walkers in the Sea of Demons. This poison had an uncanny ability which was greatly simr to the Sea of Demons''s atmosphere.

    It was able to immediately seal Qi upon contact with it, the only difference was that the Sea of Demons was a natural urrence, while this poison needed to be concocted by mixing a lot of herbs.

    To create it, I would need about five minutes, which was about enough for the corpses to reach the forts in the middle. But, I needed more time than just that.

    I ordered the puppets which I had improved to go on a suicidal mission. Their goal was to reach the corpses and do as much damage to them as they could, though hapless, they still carried inside them a very powerful engine.

    The Saint Qi reactor inside them could overclock itself and go into overdrive. Once itsts more than five seconds in overdrive, it would crack and then blow up.

    With themand given, all twelve improved puppets rushed toward the corpses.

    Three to one would look like I''m ganging up on them, but due to their absurd strength, it''s not even close to being enough.

    The puppets rushed forward, going through the field of corpses as fast as they could to intercept the corpses. Once the corpse had an enemy in its sight, it decided to slice down at it with its cleaver, only for the two other corpses to jump at it and hug it tightly.

    Confused, but still fully protected by the barrier of Qi the corpse wanted to shake them away. But the puppets had already been in overdrive and once all three of themtched onto the corpses, an ear-deafening explosion sounded.

    As a shockwave of Qi sted outward cratering the field four times in all directions, all puppets managed to achieve their goal.

    Three of the corpses were caught off guard, and with the explosion being so close, their bodies were shocked and sent flying hundreds of meters away.

    Yet the damage on them was almost negligible as their barriers were still up and running. Besides a few burns and singes on their bandages that they used for clothes, nothing much happened to them and I lost twelve puppets.

    As for one of the luckier corpses, it managed to stab one of its cleavers in the ground deep enough for it to only be sted a few dozen meters away.

    It did however take more damage than the rest as it focused more on standing its ground than protecting its body.

    "Stall it," I ordered the corpse and focused on finishing the poison in my hands.

    My main body was busy creating the pills, but my clones were tasked with another mission. I had no hope for the corpse I doped to kill the other corpses, but it was more than capable now of slowing at least one of them down for at least a few moments.

    with my main body creating the Qi-sealing poison, the other avatars had a more important job to do.

    It was to create the rifles I used against the Fire Lord, and inside the Poison God''s Heritage trial.

    The long-distance rifles were not hard to make, but they were limited in terms of rate of fire. Needing at least a minute to cool down after each shot.

    With eleven copies making the parts of the rifle. Assembling it and fully inscribing it was going to take a good chunk of my time, time that I don''t really have right now.

    Both my and the enemy invading corpse began fighting.

    And off the bat, my corpse was already on the receiving end, losing in terms of power and speed. Taking many hits while delivering almost nothing. The corpse''s cleaver on my side had poison on it, but it still failed to prate the barrier.

    I would have liked it if it did manage to prate the barrier but with the enemy corpse fully focused on defending itself from poison that was pretty much a hopeless attempt.

    My only hope was to finish this rifle in time. Because regardless of how strong those guys are, with a bullet that can cross gctic distances in mere moments, there is no way they would be able to survive them. The only issue was time.

    I needed time, and a lot of it, the corpse though was taking a beating, was still able to slow down the corpses, but the other three were still creeping up toward the base.

    Seeing that my corpse was about to lose miserably, I ordered it to retreat. I still had one more bastion to slow them down and it was the fort, and once the puppet retreated, it began to gush out ck blood from the many scares it received in thest battle.

    The effectiveness of the poison pills began slowing down due to the many injuries and the corpse was basically standing on itsst breath.

    The closest enemy corpse then made it to the fort and was affected immediately with the formation inside it. However, that onlysted for a bit, since the corpse seemed to somehow know and understand the formation on the ground, it stomped its foot down hard, and ruptured the ground, breaking the formation ced inside it.

    The puppets and turrets around the inner walls of the fortress never stopped shooting, but it only served to reduce the size of the barrier around the enemy corpse and not break it.

    The corrosive poison spread inside the fort, but that too was not effective against the barrier as it was reflected the moment it touched it.

    Annoyed but still thankful that the corpse was somehow more interested in wreaking havoc inside the fort than proceeding forward. It had a goal of destroying everything in its path first before moving it seemed. That was a good breather that I needed as I was done building the rifle.

    This rifle, was not as stable, as the ones I usually make inside the Lord of Lords pagoda. It was hastily made, and though I tried my best to make everything perfect, I didn''t have the exact materials so I had to use substitutes. But it should still in theory fire¡­ I hope.

    I had four bullets in my hand, all of them inscribed and had a pill inside them, the pill had the same Qi suppression poison that I extracted earlier.

    With the bullets chambered, I handed the rifle to the closest puppet and ordered it to mimic my movement since it had no idea how to use the rifle.

    I took an aiming stance, locked my sight on the iing corpse, and squeezed my finger.

    The puppet followed suite. The inscriptions on the rifle''s stock began lighting up, and the whole barrel began illuminating the inscription inside them.

    The inner Qi chamber also ignited, and the bullet shot forward¡­

 Chapter 689: Atmoic!

    "Incredible," thementator said. Obvious signs of surprise were painted on his face, he couldn''t begin to fathom how someone could remain fully focused and not panicking when faced with these four corpses.

    "Not only is Du Shen quite calm in the face of adversary, he is ruthless," Xiao Du said.

    "Indeed, to give up some of his finest puppets just to merely push back the corpses is something not even I would have thought about, but it is very awkward. These guys are far stronger than what Du Shen''s base should be able to take down¡­ I''m afraid to say it, but I suppose this is intentional," entric Long said.

    The words were a direct stab at the authority and faith that people put into the Cryptic Sun. Seen as one of the Eight Suns that hold ultimate authority over Beyond, these guys have always been deemed to be just and fair.

    But the truth is as far as the distance from heaven and earth. Even the most benevolent of these Suns have enough blood on their hands to fill a sea. And that cannote with being merciful or fair.

    The Suns have their own failings too, but their power and superiority dictate that they are not only without fault, but also are far above being judged.

    If one of the Suns decides to kill someone, nothing should stop him, even other Suns as they don''t want to start a blood feud.

    Their power is too much for the world to take, and it is always far more worthy to just ignore the unlucky soul than interfere.

    However, not in this case, a case where many of the Suns are interested in one person, to have him lose here, by being unfair is not something that will go down without repercussions.

    The Cryptic Sun had always had a mind of his own when ites to worldly matters. He isn''t a simple person and his actions had always had a reason. But for the majority of people, they would always fair to see the forest for the trees.

    Still, in this case, even the other suns were at a rough edge, unable to understand why the Cryptic Sun was being so unfair to Shen Bao.

    "I cannot fathom the thoughts of the Cryptic Sun, and all can see right now is the surface level of his machinations, he may have a goal in mind for Du Shen, but at this rate, not even Du Shen should be able to clear this stage," entric Long said.

    "He is still making something though, he never gave up," Xiao Du said.

    "Indeed, it does look like he is making a morepact form of those projectile shooting objects. Even though my understanding of Inscriptions is far too littlepared to the elites here, I could see that he is creating inscriptions that eliminates friction and increase rotation and speed. Perhaps he wants to make a powerful projectile?" entric Long said.

    "Not only that, he imbued the projectiles with a pill of poison, I have no idea what the concoction he made would serve as. I never thought ofbining those herbs as they are highly ipatible with each other, they would instantly eliminate each other''s properties," Xiao Du said.

    "We''ll have to wait and see, after all with the speed of his clones, he should be done in matter of minutes. Oh, the corpse he has is already fighting," entric Long pointed out the fight next to the fort.

    Looking at the battle, the hopes of the people in Du Shen''s victory soon began waning even more. The corpse that was heavily doses up with body enhancing poisons was on the receiving end from the first blow. Taking more damage than it could deliver, and already bleeding heavily.

    The enemy corpse was far mightier and stronger, and even faster and sturdier. Du Shen''s corpse on the other hand was several realms weaker, and could only fight back because of the enormous amount of enhancing yet destructive poison that it has inside it.

    Du Shen then ordered his corpse to retreat before it would be fully destroyed and allowed the enemy corpse to march forward.

    The fort proved little to no hindrance to the corpse, as it immediately went inside and started to break every formation in it.

    The candle light like hope that the audience had for Du Shen seemed at the verge of being snuffed out.

    However, in that time, Du Shen''s clones had finalized the weapon. A magical weapon that seemed too frail and too small to be of any use against such a gigantic foe.

    He handed it over to one of his puppets and gave it the order to mimic Du Shen''s actions.

    To aim, lock and then unleash the power within the bullet.

    Qi, so much of it gathered at the chamber at the bottom of the barrel, it was so pure and concentrated that you could see the cultivators in the arena have a wide look of shock in their eyes from the sight.

    And almost a fraction of a secondter, the world turned blinding white.

    A ray of light shot from the mouth of the rifle, and went at a speed so far higher than the speed of sound that it already reached, its target before the explosion of the bullet was even heard.

    The screen turned white and the audience had to cover their eyes, the loud explosion was forcefully shut down by thementator in case it would harm low level cultivators.

    The mere kickback of the rifle had dislocated the entire shoulder of the puppet and threw the weapon away from it, if it wasn''t for Du Shen who anticipated such and intercepted the weapon, it would have probably flown all the way to the other side of the map.

    As for the point of impact, it had ripped into the barrier of the corpse so fast that it went through it and into the head of the corpse in less than a fraction of a fraction of a second.

    The bullet dug itself deeply into the corpse and suddenly, a muffled explosion happened.It was small at first, enough to bloat the head of the corpse for several arduous moment, then an explosion of epic proportions echoed afterward. As the corpse, inside its own barrier was unable to move from being force out of its own bones and flesh.

    The explosion was so mighty that it ripped apart every inch of the corpse turning it into sludge inside its own barrier, before thetter shattered creating a powerful shockwave that spread all around the area.

    Half burnt and half mangled pieces of the corpse flew all over the ce, leaving nothing but the soles of the corpse''s feet on the ground where the rest of it all dematerialized or burnt to a crisp.

    Looking at the sight, even thementator was at a loss of words.

    Something this powerful cane out of such a small piece of metal?

    "What in god''s name is that thing? And he made it in less than a few minutes¡­ if someone were to try and replicate such a weapon¡­" thementator didn''t even want to finish that line of thought.

    If an army or if a force were to get their hands on something like that, it would spill doom to anyone unaware of its power.

    The absurdity of such a powerful weapon couldn''t be exined in words. Especially how simple it was to make it.

    "That won''t be possible," said entric Long.

    "Why not?"

    "Because he never showed how he made it. Most of the crafting was done by his clones and they made sure to hide some of the more intricate links of the inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions there, were things that even I have never seen before. He had probably made his own inscription style, and unless taught by him, no one should be able to learn how to craft something like that.

    Also, that wasn''t the most interesting part of that weapon, it never was the weapon. But the slug itself, that thing¡­ that was a work of art," entric Long said.

    "Care to exin, I probably missed something," Thementator said.

    "That projectile, it had two separate pieces in it. The first, which was the head, it was like a probe, it had the poison that Du Shen had created. That poison was what tore through the corpse''s barrier. I think Xiao Du would have better time exining that part. As for the second part, the bottom size of the bullet, that''s where the devastation hade.

    It also had a piece of Saint Qi inside it, it was like one of his explosives he made, the ones he nted underground, only on a far more detailed level. Able to instantly trigger its entire firepower and detonate it upon impact, creating such a tight and devastating explosion."

    Thementator turned to Xiao Du who seemed to be nodding.

    "The poison he made, it only took a fraction of a second to contact the barrier before it broke it. No, more like it denied Qi in that point of impact, allowing the rest of the bullet to follow through. With both ends inside, the explosion urred in a tight space which was the barrier further enhancing its destructive ability.

    That is indeed a work of a genius, and he only took minutes to make something like that¡­ quite terrifying," Xiao Du said.

    "It seems that he is moving toward another corpse''s location, we''ll be seeing another explosion I suppose," thementator said as he pointed at Shen Bao who was rapidly moving toward another puppet to use.

 Chapter 690: Qualified

    "And just like that¡­ he managed to clear the entire wave¡­" Thementator said as the puppet shot and killed the final of the four corpses clearing the stage and leaving Du Shen looking at a great scene of devastation.

    Soon, on the tower of the Cryptic Sun, a surge of energy gathered as he materialized back in his seat, clicking his tongue.

    Thementator, entric Long, nor Xiao Du could speak or reprimand the Cryptic Sun, but the other suns were well in their right, and in their ability to do so.

    "Old fool, why did you pull something like that? Do you want to be called most unfair?" the Wisest Sun said as he addressed the Cryptic Sun.

    "Humph, I thought you at least could see through it, regardless," the Cryptic Sun said as he waved his hand and a small portal appeared in the center of the Arena.

    From the portal, a person came out.

    It was Du Shen.

    He lifted his head up and looked all around him, finding no one else but himself he spoke.

    "I still need to clear two more stages, why was I pulled out?" he asked.

    Not giving any regard to anyone in the arena.

    Though full of people who were far stronger, and more influential, he still asked not giving anyone face for all it mattered.

    "You, join my banner," the Cryptic Sun spoke, "There is no need for you to continue ying with these kids. I''ll give you enough resources and materials to make you reach the stage of Heaven Grasping. Strongest under the heavens, I''ll make you one in a thousand years," he said.

    Du Shen looked at him for a second and tly said, "No."

    The whole arena felt shivers running down their spine, only for a few who actually beganughing. The Lord of Lords and the Wisest Sun included. The Red Sun too had a smirk on his face, but the most notable was the Dusking Sun who was pping his thigh as heughed heartily.

    "Old fool, you really thought that none of us thought of pulling him towards us. It is not in his best interest to actually follow you, Cryptic Sun, you''re too vicious, even to your own allies," the Dusking Sun said. "But still." The Cryptic Sun''s humorous behavior turned immediately sour.

    An aura of evilness and wretchedness began exuding out of him, a barbaric aura that could make anyone''s heart stop for a second.

    "Why did you force upon him a trial far more difficult than anyone else?" the Cryptic Sun asked.

    "He cleared it, did he not, I didn''t give him anything more than he could handle," the Cryptic Sun shrugged.

    "Stop the lies, I could already tell what you wanted to do," the Wisest Sun said.

    The Lord of Lords also nodded, for the rest of the people it was probably ambiguous. But for these old fogies it was as obvious as the sun brightening the world.

    "By forcing Shen B- I mean Du Shen to lose, you wanted to take him to your side, draw him away from us and thepetition then make him join you without any of us knowing. You wanted him to lose because you saw his potential, but worry not, we have seen his potential far earlier than you, and you''ll not have your ws around his fate as long as we still draw breath," the Wisest Sun said.

    "If you all know of it, then why didn''t anyone make a move?! You must have all only realized his potential after seeing him go through the trails, why must you lie!" The Cryptic Sun angrily responded.

    "It is because we saw his potential that we decided to not interfere. Stand down Cryptic One."

    The Cryptic Sun''s face was livid, but he couldn''t argue with the rest of the Suns, he''ll be on the losing end regardless.

    "You''re protecting this man, even if it means being on bad terms with me," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "It is the other way around, Cryptic Sun," the Red Sun said. "For you, and anyone else above Du Shen''s rank in cultivation, I swear it, by my name as the Red Sun, if youe at him with the intention of harming him-"

    "Stop!" Du Shen shouted stopping the Red Sun''s oath.

    "I appreciate your offer and protection, but I have been doing fine by myself. Though I can''t handle one of the suns, or probably cultivators at the Origin Realm. I''d like to still be able to face adversaries and hone myself if I''m protected by your oath I''ll find no will or reason to keep pushing forward," Shen Bao said.

    The Red Sun, instead of getting angry at being told to stop by a person far weaker than him beganughing.

    "Do you see why cryptic sun?! DO YOU SEE! If it was anyone else, they would have walked the earth wantonly and imed all their hearts desire by simply using my name, but he, decided to still take on the adversities of life by the reins! This is why we didn''t wish to interfere with his fate, a man who deems even the protection of one of the Suns worthless.

    Take the words to heart cultivators, that is how one''s mindset should be. Still, Du Shen," the Red Sun said.

    "Your potential had brought a great deal of cultivator''s attention toward you. They would still want to im you or make you their ves, I know so, because even I am tempted to do it.

    The world of cultivation isn''t fair, and many of us here would always want to use more cultivators and im them as part of our force, since we ourselves cannot fight, we use cultivators underneath our rank to do that and settle our feuds, you''re a perfect cultivator with almost infinite potential, and that very potential is like a heavenly treasure that everyone would want."

    "Then what must I do, because I''m not going to lower my personal ability to make people not look my way, I''ll still strive to learn more and reach higher."

 Chapter 691: Bet

    "Do not stop striving Du Shen," the Lord of Lords said. "I''ve seen it before. You have great potential, but you must still be under protection lest someone try and wrest your potential away, especially someone who is far stronger, someone who shouldn''t interfere in the matters of the younger generation," the Lord of Lords said.

    "What are you trying to do! Interfering in the matter of cultivators lower than us is forbidden!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Indeed, that is why I''ll be offering this decree," The Dusking Sun said, "I''ve always been known as the Mad Sun, the one that eats man''s flesh.

    And the one with the most vicious temper. So, if anyone at the above the Origin Realm dares and try to hunt Du Shen, or harm him directly or indirectly, I shall eradicate their entire ancestry and linage, even if I had to bring their souls back from the wheel of reincarnation, I''ll eat them all.

    If you wish to hunt him, I won''t stop you, as long as you are at least two major realms above his cultivation level." The Dusking Sun said.

    "Isn''t that foolish, that just means that anyone at the Origin Realm could enve him!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    Yet the Suns that Know of Shen Bao all smiled, they knew something that he didn''t.

    Shen Bao''s expression hadn''t changed in the slightest. As he looked around, he said,

    "As long as they''re not in the Origin Shattering realm¡­" he rubbed the stub under his chin and said, "I can ept that, two major realms is enough a challenge for me not to call it suicide, anything above that might be too much even for me, good I''ll take that. However, I still have beef to settle with that man!" Shen Bao said as he pointed his hand at the Cryptic Sun.

    "Beef? As in food? Did he take away your lunch?" the Dusking Sun said, looking scornfully and in an awkward disgusting way at the Cryptic Sun. Making him feel like an adult taking candy from a young kid.

    "No, not that, but I have to settle a debt with him. After all, I made the calctions required, and the power level of the four corpses was far higher than the total of my base, so it was an unfair trial, I need to bepensated," I said.

    "But you cleared it," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "I only cleared it because of this," Shen Bao said as he pointed at his head. "I bet you, that if you give the exact sitting for my base to everyone participating, no one would be able to clear the stage if attacked by the four corpses, are you willing to take my bet? Or are you going to act like a coward and keep denying that you cheated," Shen Bao said.

    The word Coward, and Sun do not mix well, which was enough a reason for the Cryptic Sun''s rage to re out.

    "Calm down!" the words came from an unexpected tower, even Shen Bao didn''t expect it.

    The Darkest Sun who was not much of a fan of Shen Bao spoke up on his behalf. "He is right, are you willing to take the bet?"

    "What if someone does clear it?!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Then I''ll willingly follow you," Shen Bao said in a wide smirk.

    This sentence made everyone in the arena gasp.

    To wager one''s own fate in a trial where millions of cultivators are currently participating? That was nothing but a suicide.

    However, the Cryptic Sun had to calcte and think for a while. Before he smiled and said, "I agree!" he then stopped the entirety of the trials.

    "By the way, since it would most definitely fail everyone and stop thepetition half way, it would be unfair for everyone to be disqualified," Shen Bao said.

    "What do you mean?" the Cryptic Sun asked.

    "I''m confident enough that they won''t clear, so even if they lose, you must allow them to go beyond that stage and participate in the next trial. After all, it would really be too sad for me to win the entire thing at this stage no? there are still many more trials from our dear Suns that they put a lot of effort into making."

    "I agree with Du Shen''s words, even if they lose, they can still move forward to the next trial, the next one isn''t easy regardless," the Lord of Lords said.

    "I also agree," the Red Sun said.

    The Wisest Sun nodded, and the Darkest Sun said he doesn''t mind.

    With the majority of the suns agreeing, the Cryptic Sun had no choice but to ept.

    "Remember, exactly as I had setup my base, not a single thing missing," Shen Bao added.

    "Fine, I won''t change a thing, and they could vouch for it," the Cryptic Sun said.

    Suddenly, in front of all thepetitors arge screen manifested exining what was going on.

    The stage has been cut short, and they will all be transported to a new stage where they''ll have a base already fully operable and they''ll only need to defend it.

    The bases were then showcased to every cultivator and they all were surprised at how entric and amazingly built the base was.

    "I have to give them time to figure out how the base works, I suppose you don''t mind that?" the Cryptic Sun said.

    Shen Bao simply shrugged, "Do whatever you want, you can even double their points for all I care. But you must show them only the wares and purchasable that you showed me. Don''t cheat!" he added mockingly.

    The Cryptic Sun clicked his tongue. Due to Shen Bao having realized what he was scheming. After all, only Shen Bao was able to see what was in the merchant''s inventory, so he could have easily swapped things. But with those words spoken the Cryptic Sun couldn''t give the cultivators anything they could use to fight against the corpses.

    Unless they would create the same rifle that Shen Bao had made, they would have no chance of winning.

 Chapter 692: Casual Flex

    The screen showed multiple participants of which the base that Shen Bao had offered was exactly the same as he used.

    To thest detail. Including the cannons, the traps, the puppets with reactors, and even the formations.

    The cultivators who looked at the artwork were all astounded. They didn''t even think of building something like this, not to mention the cost it would need to build this. Their base was not even a quarter of the cost of this thing.

    Not to mention the weaponry, the improved turrets, and the puppets were things they didn''t even expect.

    Not only that, they all realized that they could fully control the corpse on their side, which for them was pretty powerful as they all faced the lowest-tier corpse on stage five.

    With three days of time, they had all the time they needed to fully explore and understand how everything works.

    Some of the cultivators were smart enough to use the extra points they had to further improve the buildings and make even more turrets. As for the majority, they strongly believed that with a base this strong, it is utterly foolish to even make it stronger, and decided to save their points to use in case the wave that is toe is harder.

    On the main screen, three cultivators who had the highest amount of gathered points showed up.

    The one with the highest points after Shen Bao was Zhang Tian, followed closely by the Fire King. They both had an incredible understanding of leadership and ruling so they were able to umte a lot of points as they positioned their forces and upgraded their troops to the best of their abilities.

    With four massive forts around their base, they both decided on the same thing. To reinforce the middle base which was the main one to the best of their ability, with massive walls and turrets all around it.

    And upgraded the base as much as they could.

    As for the rest, they decided to improve the traps and the weaponry around the gates, only to be surprised that the weaponry that Shen Bao had made was not upgradable.

    "Du Shen," thementator spoke, addressing Shen Bao. Shen Bao took a second to realize that the majority of people here didn''t know his real name, so he went with it.

    "Yes?"

    "Would you care to join us here," thementator said.

    "For what purpose?" Shen Bao asked.

    "We would like to hear your insight on this stage, and since you already cleared, you can also share what you think about the cultivators participating in this challenge," thementator said.

    Shen Bao thought for a second and then shrugged, "Sure," he said and took one step forward.

    Instantly appearing next to the Commentator.

    Thetter was surprised, "That is¡­ a unique type of teleportation, impressive." He praised.

    "Thank you," Shen Bao sped his hands at thementator.

    "I''m here together with entric Long, an Origin Shattering Cultivator, same with the former Poison God, Xiao Du, another Origin Shattering Cultivator."

    "Poison God?" Shen Bao questioned.

    Xiao Duughed and said, "After seeing your poisons, I discarded that title. I would feel too burdened with a title I don''t deserve, it is also witnessed by all of the eight suns. The title''s goes back to you, Du Shen," he said.

    "I see," Shen Bao said and pulled up a book from his holding bag.

    He then handed it to Xiao Du.

    "What could this be?" Xiao Du asked.

    "Take a look at it, it might be helpful," Shen Bao said.

    Xiao Du nced through the book for a second, though his sense of superiority was still hidden deep inside him. Since he had lived far longer and experienced far more than Shen Bao, he didn''t fully andpletely agree that Shen Bao was fully deserving of the title.

    After all, his pride was too much, and it was only due to the interest of the Suns in Shen Bao that he had to discard his title.

    He saw that the book was titled, "Rudimentary Understanding of Poison." And it seemed to be written by hand.

    He was about tough off the gift, since it looked like an insult to anyone who stepped on the path of poison. To be given a book that teaches the basics of poison is basically calling someone a newbie in their own domain.

    However, Xiao Du had been alive for a long time, and it was ingrained in him to never ever judge a book by its cover. It was technically one of the reasons why he lived so far. Never underestimate simple things nor look at them with a disdainful view.

    "Thank you for this gift," Xiao Du said as he was about to pocket the book in his holding bag. However his interest was piqued when he noticed that the book itself was made using a very unique type of paper.

    He opened the book and immediately, his eyes were locked on the intricate and most detailed pathways of meridians.

    Instead of the book focusing on poison itself, it was actually focused on how to manipte one''s own Heavenly Qi through their Meridian Pathways to optimize poison casting and lower the poison''s own effects on the body.

    "Oh, good heavens! This is¡­ I cannot ept this!" Xiao Du said as he closed his eyes immediately and wanted to give the book back.

    "What''s wrong?" Shen Bao asked.

    "This book, this would revolutionize the Poison Path, those pathways, that style, it''s too much of a gift."

    "Don''t worry about it, it''s just something I wrote in my spare time," Shen Bao said.

    Xiao Du didn''t find an author''s name on the book, so it fits with his words. "But, this is too much, it''s a cultivation secret that shouldn''t be given to no one but a direct disciple or descendant, this is far too valuable. Wouldn''t this expose your cultivation, it is like giving people your weakness," Xiao Du said.

    "Oh, no I don''t use that, I don''t have the proper meridians to use it after all. This is what I devised in case I had to change cultivation paths. But so far, I never got to use it, you can have it, since you''re a Poison Cultivator. All I ask is you send me a report on how it goes, if that''s okay with you," Shen Bao shrugged.

    "To give a treasure like this¡­ and only ask for a report¡­ I would feel too bad to take it, here please have this," Xiao Du said as he pulled a small pill.

    Shen Bao''s eyes lit up as he saw the pill. "What is this, it smells¡­ heavenly," he said.

    Xiao Du felt awkward about the wording but said, "This is a Ten Thousand Poison Pill. It is my life''s greatest creation. I refined ten thousand poisons to make this and it finally ripened after a thousand years of waiting. It isn''t enough to repay this book''s value, but I hope you can ept it," Xiao Du said as he handed the pill using both hands "In case of danger, it could save-"

    However, Shen Bao simply popped it inside his mouth.

    This caused everyone around Xiao Du to have their mouth opened wide in shock.

    "THAT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EATEN!" thementator shouted.

    However, nothing more than a burp came from Shen Bao''s mouth when he said, "Good stuff¡­ actually it''s really good. Sadly I can''t fully digest it, because it will propel my cultivation a lot. Thank you," Shen Bao said as he sped his hands to Xiao Du.

    Utterly andpletely stunned Xiao Du couldn''t help butugh. After all, seeing how he consumed a Ten Thousand Poison Pill without even uttering a groan or feeling at least queasy. This actpletely removed the wisp of superiority he had inside him. He had fully acknowledged Du Shen as the true Poison God.

    "Though it''s a bit rough on the throat," Shen Bao said as he pulled arge jug of wine. "Share this with me," he said as he poured a purple liquor in a cup.

    The liquor''s fumes seeped down from the ss, corroding anything it touched. It looked like a deadly poison, however, Shen Bao drank from the cup first. And this made Xiao Du nod towards Shen Bao.

    No matter what was in that cup, it smelled heavenly. It smelled so good that Xiao Du ignored how corrosive it was to the table and chugged down the cup instantly.

    The wine went down Xiao Du''s throat like molten lead, but the feeling of his cultivation being stimted and rising was enough to give him a shock.

    "To actually make this old man''s cultivation go up¡­ what''s in this drink?" Xiao Du asked.

    But Shen Bao didn''t answer as he handed him a pill, "You should take this, or you might lose your life. It''s not a simple drink," Shen Bao smiled.

    The pill he handed Xiao Du was the Poison Cleansing Pill, which had several refinedw lines all around it. That pill by itself could buy an entire city in the beyond due to how rare a Poison Cleansing Pill is, especially of that quality. That pill could easily be used as a life-saving treasure, and Shen Bao had a bunch of them in his hand.

    "Oi," someone spoke, and was right behind Shen Bao, it was the Dusking Sun.

    Looking at his wide grin, Shen Bao raised his brow.

    "If you have something that good, why aren''t you sharing? I smell Primordial Energy in that," he said and sat down on the ground, at the same level as all four cultivators, bringing his own cup for Shen Bao to pour for him.

    Shen Baoughed and said, "I knew you''d recognize it. It''s my personal Brew." As he poured him a drink.

    The Dusking Sun then downed the cup and closed his eyes. A smile crept up his face as he said.

    "Heavenly Peach, Underworld Plumes, and Grapes¡­ simple mortal grapes¡­ But, they have been brewed in something¡­ it tastes salty, like tears¡­ Oh I see, they have been fermented in the tear nds of a Primordial Being, but all eight of them are here in the beyond. Hmm, and none of them have poison in their bodies, besides one which has been lost.

    Well more like sent to a lower world¡­ ah I see, you''re not from the Beyond." The Dusking Sun said.

    Shen Bao didn''t react.

    "Wouldn''t have mattered anyway, I guess most of the Suns already know and it would be a known fact sooner orter. It doesn''t matter. However, the only ce that the Primordial Serpent had went to was the Vast Expanse, a ce that has barely any Qi in it. How did you manage to y that being? After all, it would be a difficult task even for an Origin Realm cultivator.

    Not to mention that for you, at most you should be an Emperor Stage cultivator to survive the transfer to the Beyond. Are you saying that you defeated the Primordial Serpent God at the Emperor Stage?"

    "No," Shen Bao replied.

    "Oh, good that would have given me a heart attack¡­ So how did you-"

    "I killed it at the king stage¡­"

 Chapter 693: Discussion

    The Dusking sun almost spilled some of his drink and asked me, "That must be a story worth telling, mind sharing?" he asked.

    "I would, but it will take some good time, also, the match is about to start," I replied as I nudged my head toward the screen.

    Looking up, the merchant, which from what I understood is an avatar, one of many clones of the Cryptic Sun, was in every instance of this trial. And now he was telling the participants that the game was starting.

    "Who would you enjoy watching the most, fellow Daoist," Xiao Du said.

    The words, Fellow Daoist are not simple. Especially if spoken in such a grand audience.

    In the world of cultivation, hierarchy, seniority, and nobility is greatly respected. An older person, especially if they have lived longer and have a higher cultivation base would never address another person as a fellow Daoist, since it would mean equality.

    In most cases, they would address another person, if theye from a nobler lineage, as Young Master. To both preserve one''s own respectful status and the person''s lineage.

    However, to address another as a Fellow Daoist means topletely disregard the hierarchy. However, those words are rarely spoken and are only spoken when one fully andpletely respects another person although younger and in a lesser cultivation realm because of a single factor.

    Their incredible insight into the world of cultivation and the knowledge of Dao.

    Since Xiao Du had said those words it would mean that he fully respected my status. And for that I am grateful.

    "I would love to watch my sworn Brother''s match, Zhang Tian," I replied.

    "Oh, the White Schr. He had indeede up with the greatest strategies after you of course," thementator said as he waved a hand and showed the screen of Zhang Tian.

    "The cultivator from the Darkest Sun''s region is also doing great," said entric Long.

    "The Fire King," I muttered.

    "The Fire King? A title?" asked entric Long.

    "I never knew his real name. He was pretty strong," I said.

    "The way you speak, you must have fought him before," the Cryptic Sun asked.

    "I did, and I lost. Miserably so, actually none of us would have been alive if it wasn''t for him making a mistake," I replied.

    "A grudge, this is getting more interesting," said the Cryptic Sun.

    "More like difference in vision. But I''m not surprised to see him there," I said.

    "Care to share your opinion about that matter with us, we here do not know much of the forces thate from outside this vastnd," thementator said.

    I see, this guy is pretty slick, he wants to show the entire audience who the members of the Vast Expanse are, and if they would ever pose a risk to the Beyond.

    "You have nothing to worry about, the Vast Expanse is limited in its cultivation resources, it cannot withstand cultivators above the Emperor realm and will actively try and kick them out once they reach it. Regardless, the reason why I''m not surprised why the Fire King is so high up in points, it is because he ruled half of the Vast Expanse by himself.

    Considering the size of the beyond, the Vast Expanse is pretty damn big. Though considered a small cultivation world, it still is probably about the size of the visible Beyond. And to rule half of it means that one need the brain and the brawn to takemand. And the Fire King had both," I said.

    "You speak as if that was in the past," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, because here, even he, and I are nothing but frogs in the well, take a look at this audience. In term of cultivation levels, the weakest of the bunch here could be a powerhouse in the Vast Expanse." I said.

    The audience hearing this felt arrogant and superior, but I had to tone them down, "But in an fight of equals, no one from the Vast Expanse would lose to a fighter of the Beyond," I added.

    The audience immediately turned grimmer.

    Thementatorughed awkwardly as he said, "Are you trying to make the audience hate you or something Du Shen."

    I shrugged, "It isn''t a stab at anyone''s pride and power, there could be some freaks here, but you must take in consideration the resource allocation. The beyond, is vast, and old as time itself. I can''t fathom how long the Beyond hadsted or was here for. Butparing the age of both worlds, the Beyond is a fully developed ancient dragon, while the vast expanse is a small wriggling worm.

    That''s reason enough to understand that in the Vast Expanse, the rarity of resources is absurd. For you here, the mere grass you use to furnish yourwns and houses, is considered a heavenly treasure in the Vast Expanse. What you discard is of great value. It not only proves the saying that a man''s trash is another man''s treasure.

    But also it means that thepetitiveness for these resources was at an all time high." I exined.

    "So, not only were the resources scarce, to obtain them one must fight tooth and nail for them. I see where youe from, the ferociousness of the Vast Expanse must have been at an all time high.

    Where here, a lot of prestigious families would simply just hand over resources that they umted through generation over generation of hoarding to their descendants, to propel their cultivation forward and make them reach higher cultivation stages," entric Long said.

    "As you must have noticed," thementator said, "Most of those sheltered cultivators have already either lost their lives in the Strongest Under the Sun trials or had given up. Only those who have ferocity in their path can climb forward. Still, the White Schr seems ratherckluster in terms of ferocity, but he is still ranked first," the Commentator said.

    "I don''t doubt that," I replied, "After all, he never was a fighter, but a man of Law. His understanding of Law is to be apuded over, and I admire it. He has a humble mind though hees from a higher status. He was one who could listen and share a table with a Core Stage cultivator though he himself was in the King Stage," I said.

    "Oh, that also sounds like a story to tell," the Cryptic Sun said as he pushed his cup towards me asking for another pour.

    After I obliged, I said, "He is indeed not a man of battle, but neither am I," I replied.

    The four in front of me all frowned.

    "What?" I questioned.

    "With all those abilities, not even the Darkest Sun was interested in your ability to use the Titan Art of Battle. And you say you''re not a man of ferociousness," thementator said.

    "The Titan Art of Battle? You mean the Golden Titan Arts. Well, seeing the giants here I was able to deduce that one of my masters was actually a great fighter. But it wasn''t due to that I am who I am. After all, I am a man of poison, and poison requires wits and intellect to make and use.

    But the Golden Titan arts are something that helped me a lot, but they aren''t my main way of battle, I use this," is aid as I pointed at my head. "And thanks to that, I have my puppets and weaponry."

    "Speaking of weaponry, what is that projectile shooting tool you created, do you think that thepetitors can defeat the Corpses without it?" thementator asked.

    I shook my head, "The corpse level is absurdly high, it''s borderline cheating. And without the cultivator''s own interference, that will happen," I pointed.

    The group around me followed my finger and noticed several screens there with the bases already fully destroyed.

    The battle had just started, but a great deal of bases had already crumbled.

 Chapter 694: There Is Always A Plan B

    From the general look of things no one was doing too well in their trials.

    Even the higher ranking cultivators in terms of points were struggling to keep up the defenses.

    The turrets were utterly useless in even making a dent into the barriers around the corpses, and the fortresses crumbled the moment the corpses stepped inside them.

    Base after base fell down, leaving nothing but ruin and desperate looking cultivators.

    Many of themined on the unfairness of the situation, even those who spent every points to try and further improve the base. They all received humiliating defeats.

    The Fire King himself couldn''t help but sigh as he saw the fortresses fall down, not even the puppets and the turrets were able to halt or stop the advance of the corpses as he shrugged and simply let the base fall down.

    Zhang Tian was thest one to fall, as his base had managed to actually take down one of the corpse. He had used the majority of his points to fortify the base and focus fire one of them, he also had repositioned the minigun turrets closer, but it still wasn''t enough.

    The Trial ended in a nd and very anticlimactic matter. Leaving the cultivators and spectators feeling a sense of defeat and helplessness.

    I on the other hand simply drank from my cup and grinned at the snorting figure of the Cryptic Sun.

    "It seems that the trial had ended the way Du Shen expected. Apparently the corpses were far stronger than the ability of the base. What do you have to say about that, Du Shen?" thementator asked.

    "Like I said before, it didn''t sit right with me. If indeed it was another person, they would also fall victim to this onught. Unless they''re able to make something like what I did, I had almost no hope in anyone winning, now," I said as I turned my head to the Cryptic Sun.

    "This should prove that he cheated, right?" I said.

    "It wasn''t cheating." The Cryptic Sun coughed, "I merely gave everyone a trial that they coulde out victorious of. In fact, everyone could have won but no one saw the easy mode answer," said the Cryptic Sun.

    "You mean using the Merchant as a warrior?" I asked.

    The Cryptic Sun''s eyes widened.

    Thementator, entric Long and Even Xiao Du all gasped at my words.

    "If you knew¡­"

    "Why didn''t I use the merchant?" I replied in an question.

    "Indeed, you must have only figured it out now," he said.

    "No, it was obvious from the first line, anything in the base is at the disposal of the user. And the merchant is also a part of the base. But that would have been far too easy. After all, you threw in a lot of random stuff like the puppets and the towers, and subconsciously pushed everyone to focus on the obvious things forgetting that the merchant can also be used.

    But, I saw through it and didn''t want to use it. After all, using a high level merchant would be worthless."

    "How so? Isn''t it a part of your force?" asked the Cryptic Sun.

    "I already deduced the reason and purpose of every trial. The first is to test one''s stamina and endurance, the second is to test one''s intellect and ability, the third is to test their shrewdness against impossible odds and so on. And this one was to test one''s strategic thinking," I said.

    "Then more reasons for you to use the merchant as a weapon," said the Cryptic Sun.

    "It would be so in a perfect world. But, in reality, sometimes you''re faced with impossible odds and don''t have a trump card like the ''Merchant'' then what will you do? Would you me fate for its inability to provide? No. That shouldn''t be how a cultivator thing. One must strive to struggle and wriggle even through impossible odds, nay, even die trying.

    For that heavens never put a man under more weight than they could hold. So I didn''t rely on the merchant, because frankly, that trial, was far from impossible to achieve, so I used my own thinking and created the weapon I used to destroy those corpses."

    The Cryptic Sun didn''t seem too keen on believing me, so he said, "That is only you specifically, others would have needed the mind to create that rifle if you didn''t know how to do it, you too would have died." The Cryptic Sun said.

    "Would I now?" I smiled and turned to the Commentator, "Can you still show my base?" I asked.

    "I still can, why are you asking?"

    "Show my base from an eagle point of view." I said.

    And he did, revealing the screen of my almost destroyed base. "There is one puppet that I haven''t ordered to do anything, and it''s in the center of the base. Give it the order to ce a saint Qi stone right under its foot." I said.

    The Commentator thankfully had the ability to do as I said. And the moment the puppet did so, a disgusting amount of Saint Qi began flowing through the whole base. Making all of the four fortresses shine bright.

    A massive formation showed up all around the base with the four fortresses being the four major points of connections, creating a formation that immediately red up in an incredible surge of mes.

    The whole area around the base was red and then blew up outward, devastating everything in its path and creating a crater in the ground so deep and so wide that nothing would ever live to tell the tale about it.

    The Cryptic Sun''s eyes opened wide as he noticed what happened.

    "When¡­ when did you nt something like that?" he asked.

    "From the first moment I sat foot in thatnd, I thought that there mighte a day where I''ll be forced to either fight against my own base or even have to destroy it in case something bad happens. Also, this system if you copied my base exactly, should also be present in every other base.

    But no one noticed it, I made this system bit by bit, subtly whenever I moved or used my clone one of them would randomly inscribe something and implement it. So, not only was I more than capable of destroying my base and never used it, I even gave it to everyone else and they didn''t use it.

    So, like I said, I was never worried about losing," I smiled "And I also gave everyone the opportunity to clear the stage but they didn''t see it," I shrugged.

    The Dusking Sunughed as he saw and realized what went on. Never had I been worried, because I had nothing to worry about.

    "This is indeed the mind of a genius, even I didn''t see it," the Wisest Sun said. "I thought you were simply making some form of formation that you would useter on, but never thought it was fully connected. Even I learned something new." The wisest Sunughed.

    The Cryptic Sun sighed and said, "Then so be it, anyone who went through the trail using your base will hereby pass to the next stage. I don''t know why you would want this, because you could have easily imed the Title of Strongest Under the Sun right now."

    "Because that would be too boring now, also I really want to see the rest of the trials," I said.

    "Then there isn''t much time to waste. Let the second part of the event start!" the Lord of lords proimed.

 Chapter 695: Flamboyant

    The rest of thepetitors all showed up in the arena.

    Their numbers had been reduced to a fraction of the former amount. From millions of cultivators to barely about a hundred thousand and some change.

    The majority of the cultivators all lost at the early stages of this trial and only a few remained.

    With this eventpleted, the harder parts of the trial will now begin.

    The Lord of Lords then said, "This next trial is made by the mboyant Sun. Known for his joy for endless battle¡­" but the Lording Sun couldn''t finish his words as the man spoke up.

    A bright light emitted from his seat as he stood forward, a young man in looks, with a wide smile on his face. "I SHOULD TAKE IT FROM HERE!" he proimed with a wide smile and a puffed chest.

    "Good children!" he said, "You made this old heart of mine throb for a second! I have seen how you all fought so valiantly and FLAMBOYANTLY! You are the good seed that we left behind that will surely lead the future!"

    ''¡­''

    I couldn''t even express how I was feeling right now. It seems that his presence itself is making me want to fight.

    I shook my head and removed this absurd feeling. But looking at the stage, everyone seemed to be entranced by the words of the mboyant Sun.

    I see, it''s a type of charm that makes one yearn for battle.

    I could already tell what is the next trial.

    "You have all proven what you are capable of, power, wits, and dedication, and for that, you are all heroes! But there can only be one who deserves the title of the Strongest Under the Sun!" he said as he opened his arms wide.

    "Now, sadly, your numbers are a bit too much for my liking. So, for those who are able to stand still under my pressure without crumbling, you will be allowed to move forward. Now let it begin! SHINE FLAMBOYANTLY!" he said and suddenly the aura around him began pouring down on all of us.

    Meaning, that the participants, it seem topletely disregard the people in the audience.

    I''m pretty surprised that he is able to fully exert his force over more than a hundred thousand participants so precisely. It isn''t easy to be one of the suns after all.

    "Oh, what a great test of one''s courage!" thementator said and then turned to me to see me simply sipping from my drink.

    "Euh, is the pressure not affecting you?" asked thementator as the first few cultivators began crumbling down.

    "Not really¡­" I said as I continued drinking.

    "Good, you really do have a strong soul," said the Dusking Sun who was still sitting next to us. "But I wouldn''t be too arrogant, because that guy is a little bit¡­" he didn''t finish his words and only gestured with his hand.

    A gesture that everyone could understand.

    The man was whack.

    "Good! The majority of you can easily pass this level of pressure since it is but the first stage of Origin Qi, now it will be harder! Stand strong!" he said and then the pressure increased.

    Not for me though.

    Because, still, once again, stuff like mental soul pressure seems to be highly ipatible with me and never posed a threat or danger to me.

    I guess having a soul that transmigrated multiple times isn''t simple. I was Du Shen and became a man who lived in a normal modern urban world, then came back to a world of cultivation again.

    My soul had gone through a lot of tribtion and became stronger than ever.

    However, for many other cultivators, they continued falling down like flies.

    Tens, then hundreds of them.

    "Good! Thest level now!" he added.

    And suddenly the pressure was so strong it was visible, even I actually winced a bit.

    Not because it affected me, but because the very ground around me was slightly dented downward.

    Yet, for the cultivators, some began bleeding from their mouths and noses, even eyes.

    They fell unconscious and were unable to support themselves.

    The eyes of the mboyant Sunnded on me, and his smile which was wide, became even wider.

    "Hoo! There are some interesting kids here, but this is enough," he said.

    He seemed to have reached his desired number of cultivators.

    A quick divine sense scan gave me the exact number.

    A hundred thousand and two thousand and four hundred cultivators.

    "Good, for you all, you will be participating in a battle. A battle against each other. Each of you is required to win at least ten matches, you may lose one and only one match, by ten rounds. Only a hundred cultivators will remain," he said.

    "However! I see that many of you have yet to fully exhibit your strength, if you wish to continue this pressure test, I will award thest one standing something from my personal storage. Who here wishes to continue?"

    Before I could even process this.

    I received four divine sense messages at the same time, all with the same content.

    "ACCEPT IT!"

    It was from the Lord of Lords, the Wisest Sun, the Red Sun and the man next to me the Dusking Sun.

    "Do note, that if you are injured, you will have only yourself to me if you''re faced with a stronger opponent," he said.

    Many cultivators felt unwilling to risk it. Since thest burst of pressure was strong enough to crumble many cultivators, this one will be far stronger and might cause them irreversible damage.

    "You can ept or refuse via your bracelet," he said.

    I didn''t hesitate to ept as it was suggested by four suns.

    And seeing the rest of the cultivators a good portion of them withdrew, but there was still many who wanted to push themselves further.

    "Good! I enjoy seeing the fighting spirit in the younger generation! Now ready up! Here ites!" he said and immediately the pressure released from him became several folds stronger.

    Strong enough that even I felt slightly agitated, my cup became several times heavier and the floor underneath me began rattling.

    As for the audience, those who weren''t fully prepared immediately fell to the ground, as if crushed by a heavy boulder.

    Many immediately were disqualified and looked in terrible shape.

    The damage done to these cultivators was obvious to everyone who was barely able to support this. Not only did they realize that the next level would immediately crush them, they also realized that it would harm their cultivation base and make them weaker in the battle stage.

    So many began folding.

    As of now, only a few hundred cultivators remained, most of them were cultivators in the Origin Shattering Realm.

    Though these guys couldn''t use their full cultivators, their souls had evolved enough to sustain this much pressure.

    And a few among them surprised me, mainly the Fire King who seemed to stand strong against this pressure, though his ears were bleeding he still stood with crossed arms.

    Zhang Tian also seemed to be in a slightly miserable shape but he was also standing. Andstly, Dao Shen who even I didn''t notice until now, he was grinning from ear to ear, though blood was seeping through his nostrils and ears, he seemed to enjoy the challenge.

    However, the mboyant sun was not fully impressed, "Next level! Yourst chance to leave!" he said.

    And immediately the majority of cultivators opted out, even Zhang Tian and Dao Shen opted out.

    The Fire King and a few Origin Shattering Realm cultivators decided to stay.

    "This one will be an incremental increase! You may quit at any time!" he said and more pressure poured on us.

    It was heavy, and liquid-like even as you could visibly see the grass itself stick to the ground and the entire arena felt as if it was sinking.

    It was pretty strong to be fair, enough that even I began feeling it.

    As for the Fire King, he spat out a burst of blood and sighed as he quit.

    More and more Origin Shattering Realm cultivators began falling down.

    And among the very few that remained was a man with several swords strapped to his side.

    "I see that the Demon Sword is more than capable of sustaining this much pressure! As expected of the third rank of thestpetition¡­" thementator then stared at me, "How in heaven''s name are you still not affected?" he asked.

    I simply shrugged, "Skill Diff, I guess."

    Thementator didn''t understand what I meant and simply looked at the remaining cultivator beside me, the Demon Sword who seemed to be under an awful lot of pressure.

    Suddenly a divine sense message reached my ears.

    "Give up right now, or you''ll make an enemy out of me!" it was obvious who it was.

    The Demon Sword.

    I smiled and looked at the mboyant Sun, "So when is this pressure trial going to start? I''ve been feeling rather bored."

 Chapter 696: Round 1 FIGHT!

    The mboyant Sun was taken aback, to dare and say stuff like that would be the stuff of nightmares for any cultivator.

    However, with how The mboyant Sun''s personality is.

    He couldn''t help but let out a soul-rendingugh.

    It was loud enough that the very tower under him began rattling. If it wasn''t for another one of the Suns stopping the vibrations, some of the audience members could have lost their cultivation or their lives.

    And that was nothing but a passiveugh.

    "Good! That is how one should address the world! With pride and a burning passion! GOOD DU SHEN! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" the mboyant Sun''s entire being began radiating an oppressive energy. Enough that the space around him began morphing from the sheer heat and power.

    Mirage-like apparitions began manifesting themselves, like one on a high dose of psychedelics. Visual disturbance and spatial ruptures began manifesting. But Shen Bao resisted all and all almost casually, slowly drinking from his cup as the pressure weighed on him.

    For the Demon Sword, the pressure was like a mountain was ced atop his shoulder, it was so heavy that he was forced into the ground.

    But Du Shen didn''t seem to care enough to show anything more than a smirk as he continued to drink from his cup.

    "Enough!" the Demon Sword said, "I give," he added.

    And suddenly the aura stopped and everything returned to normal.

    Another Divine Sense message was sent to Shen Bao.

    "You better pray that we don''t meet in these rounds, for I will make it my goal to end you!"

    Shen Bao''s expression didn''t change as he simply replied, "Your words would have had more weight if you weren''t groveling on the ground under me," he said.

    For cultivators, one''s position and status mean a lot. Shen Bao was sitting on a high tform, and the Demon Sword was down below on the arena floor. It was as if he was groveling for Shen Bao.

    And that made the Demon Sword feel more enraged, but he still managed to calm himself.

    For Shen Bao, who usually never provokes people first, he had to speak these words since he noticed something.

    The man called the Demon Sword had an internal injury that he was suppressing, and although Shen Bao had no idea what caused it, he immediately realized that the Demon Sword was injured when he tried to block the pressure from the mboyant Sun, and he knew what caused it.

    It was a poison-induced injury.

    The pressure from the mboyant Sun caused it to re up, but the Demon Sword was fast in acting to give up and resume suppressing the poison. But that didn''t miss Shen Bao''s eyes.

    The reason for this simple provocation was to further make the Demon Sword enraged. Since he was a peak Origin Realm cultivator, Shen Bao knew he would have a difficult time fighting him. But with an injury that is poison-rted, Shen Bao basically became the bane of the Demon Sword''s existence.

    ***

    "Good! With this, Du Shen, I shall allow you to take one item from my treasury after this tournament is over," the mboyant Sun said.

    I smiled at how sneaky and cunning this guy was. After all, he just changed the condition of the reward.

    By saying that I can only receive it after the matches are over means that I have one of two choices. Either I have to give up right now and wait for the tournament to finish, or win it all the way. Since losing would probably mean death in the uing matches.

    Regardless, I came here to clear the entire thing. Waiting a bit wouldn''t matter anyway.

    "That is a bit unjust to our little one, don''t you think?" the Lord of Lords said, "You did say you''ll gift them a reward why hold it until the end?"

    "But I never said I''ll gift it right now, also it would be utterly useless, my gifts are all of the highest levels, and the lowest one of them far exceeds thepetition''s limitations on treasures that can be brought in here," the mboyant Sun said.

    "Not to mention if he got to use something it would make everything rather simple and easy, I want to see cultivators struggle and fight to show their Brilliance! Not use cheap tools and weapons to win"

    The Lord of Lords sighed and said, "It''s fine. Then should we proceed with the next stage?"

    "Indeed! Commentator, we''ll need the arenas ready. The next round will start now," he said.

    "Sure thing your lordship," he said and pped his hands.

    The entire arena which was massive in size began changing, separating itself into ten square tforms where cultivators could stand around or inside.

    "Now as you all know, you will be entering a tournament format. The cultivator that wins ten rounds will be qualified. And seeing your numbers, the winners will be a hundred cultivators in the end. Anyone who loses a match will be sent to the loser bracket where they''ll fight other losers. The finals will be held between the winner of the winner bracket and the winner of the loser bracket.

    In case where the winner of the winner bracket was to win all of their matches, they will have two chances to fight the winner of the loser bracket."

    The format was simple. It also gives an additional chance to anyone so no one gets toin that it was unfair for them to have lost.

    "And finally, the battle rules. Ring Outs are an instant elimination. As for the fights, if one were to admit defeat or is deemed unable to continue fighting one should show mercy and not go for the killing move. But killing isn''t forbidden.

    And if anyone were to use Origin Qi, no matter how meager the amount is they will¡­ be dealt with, not by me, but by the Eight Suns, so I implore you, don''t make any of the Eight Suns your enemies. Not even your ancestors would rest well if that happens," he said.

    "Let the first Round begin! If you feel confident ess the arena stage everyone!" thementator added.

    "Are you not going?" entric Long said to me.

    "I will," I said as I stood up and walked forward appearing right next to the closest tform.

    There was a man already standing there. But seeing no one going up, I couldn''t help but wonder why.

    "That''s the Bloody Fang, he''s one of the western tribe''s most infamous killers. It seems that not a lot of people want to avoid fighting him. What terrible luck, I probably need to find another tform to challenge."

    One random cultivator spoke up.

    Apparently, this guy is some bigshot, but it doesn''t really matter. I walked up the stairs under the gaze of other cultivators, who were mumbling the words madman, or crazy, some even recognized me and thought it was going to be a good show.

    "Oh, you''re that guy," the Bloody Fang said.

    "This should be a good match! I''ve seen what you''re capable off, but that weapon of yours takes too long to fire," he grinned as he pulled up a double axe from behind his back.

    He licked the edge of one of the axes and said, "It would give me a lot of recognition if I were to take your life right here!"

    I didn''t reply.

    A man wearing white robes with the symbol of a fiery sun on it was standing on the side of the arena. Probably one of the people of the mboyant Sun.

    "Please begin whenever you wish to," he said as he stood still to watch.

    "Then here I-"

    His words didn''t finish as a hole as big as a fist was visible for all to see in his stomach.

    He spat out blood, and gasped as he said, "How?" while falling down.

    The muzzle of a handgun was releasing smoke. The handgun was in my hand.

    The rifle I used to take down the corpse was made from scrap materials that I could barely use from the trial store. This handgun was something I made using the best metals that I could find on the beyond provided by one of the suns personally. It was a railgun but a gun at the same time.

    Though far less destructive than the ones on my ship, but they were more than enough to handle an unaware and unprepared void stage cultivator.

    I threw a pill towards the dying man and said, "Eat that, you might live," I said then turned to the audience, "Next?"

 Chapter 697: Well, That Was Easy...

    The people around the arena where I stood were all shocked and stupefied. Unable to understand what was going on at first. But then another man stood out saying, "Nice tricks you got there, mind if I take you on?!"

    His words finished with him jumping on the arena and challenging me. The man had a ragged appearance. And stank of alcohol, you could smell it from a mile away.

    He also carried a polearm that was the only thing that was ''clean'' on his body.

    Most of his clothes were torn in many ces and patched in others and he seemed to not have taken a shower in thest decade.

    But, that wasn''t enough to fool me. His cultivation base was at the Origin Realm. He wasn''t someone weak or to be trifled with.

    "Are you both ready?" asked the referee.

    To which I nodded and the man expressed his agreement by twirling his polearm and pping it tight under his armpit, pointing one of its ends towards me while his other hand was in fist form tucked under his chest.

    "Are you not going to use your weapon?" he asked as the two of us kept staring at each other.

    "Why should I? Only a fool would fall for such a thing after seeing it," I said.

    "I guess you''re smarter than you look," he said.

    "I should be the one saying that," I replied, "But sadly, you''re not."

    The man immediately jumped backwards and began spinning his polearm in front of him, creating a cyclone like wind that pushed the air aside.

    "That was close!" he added.

    "I''m surprised you noticed," I said.

    The people around us were all confused.

    They had no idea what just transpired, but for an acute eye, or someone with good foundation in cultivation they would have noticed the poison on the arena floor.

    I had released it from my body when the match started, slowly and invisibly a powerful and potent poison that would knock anyone down. But this guy saw through it right before it touched him.

    "Seeing as you''re a poison master, fighting you at range is nothing but suicide!" he said and charged forward.

    I immediately pulled Creeping Demise, the needle-like sword with an arrow-like tip. A weapon that would look to the unaware as nothing more than a tool used to prick people. However, for a man of higher understanding, that thing was devastating.

    The polearm user thrust ded part of his weapon towards me, releasing a powerful Qi de that shaped itself into mightier, bigger, and far more threatening energy. A gigantic de made of Qi.

    For the people looking my puny sword wouldn''t be able to block or parry the iing swing. However, one shouldn''t judge things by size, especially if my sword is a grower, not a shower.

    With a single swing of Creeping Demise, the sword''s small stature instantly erged itself, manifesting itself into the shape of a gigantic horned serpent made of pure metal.

    The serpent''s maw opened and closed instantly against the iing sword wave, crushing it and crunching it inside it. In another case, in another situation, this wouldn''t have happened.

    The difference between my and his cultivation is like heaven and earth. While I''m far weaker, he is far stronger. But since he can''t use Origin Qi, he had to lower the power of his attack to the Void Shattering Stage.

    And only because of that was I able to destroy his attack. Though for him, this isn''t more than a simple attack, for the onlookers to see a Void Stage cultivator defeat an Origin Stage cultivator was something out of this world.

    I say defeat not because of me simply beating one of his moves, but because my sword was just about to start.

    The jaws of the serpent opened up and sted a powerful dose of poison cloud forward.

    The polearm user folded back twirling his weapon once again to st away the poison.

    Seeing the poison about to seep out of the stage I was about to withdraw it not to cause unnecessary damage to the spectators. However, the man who was managing the stage simply pulled a small disk and pressed on a couple of formations on it. A massive cube-like formation appeared all around the stage fully closing us inside.

    "Oh¡­ this is rather unlucky for you," I mentioned.

    "Quite unfortunate!" the polearm user said. "With me closed in here, your poison should have better odds of trapping me, but sadly you don''t have enough poison to do so!" he said and simply used more power to funnel the poison aside pushing it all towards me and behind me, leaving himself safe.

    "Well, I guess one serpent isn''t enough to fully trap you here," I said.

    "Indeed!" he said as he was preparing to charge at me again.

    "Then how about eight more!" I said and injected Creeping Demise with more of my Poison Qi.

    The base of the sword erected eight more serpents of the same size as the first one, creating what looked like the heads of a nine-headed hydra. They opened their jaws and spat out incredible loads of poison all around me. Of all types and forms and colors. Liquid, gaseous and eve incendiary poison, all spread out and covered the whole inside of the cube.

    The poison was thick and dense enough that no matter how much the opponent tried to push it away, it kept creeping up on him.

    "Fuck!" he cursed as he was backing away from the iing and incessant wave of poison.

    And once he reached the wall of the arena he sighed, "I give up!" he firmly stated.

    I frowned, he wasn''t even harmed or touched by the poison yet, but he still gave up¡­

    "You didn''t even try?" I asked as I willed the poison to stop and consumed it back via the nine serpent''s mouths.

    "Ah, yeah, among those poisons were a couple that I don''t want to deal with, especially since I still have nine more matches, man it''s unfortunate that I''m badly matched against you, regardless good luck with the rest of the matches!" he said.

    The referee opened a small spot for him to leave the stage while the poison inside it was all withdrew by me back into the serpents.

    "Next one," the referee this time spoke up.

    Seeing no one moving forward, the referee sighed and said, "If no one goes up the stage in the next ten breaths of time, a random cultivator will be forced onto the stage," he said.

    I guess it is understandable, no one would actively want to fight a poison cultivator. Since they''re hard to deal with, and even victory is fraught with danger. Since they can still cause irreparable damage with poison.

    After ten breaths of time, the referee randomly chose one person. But thetter began protesting!

    "That is unfair! I still want to watch and see, I need toe up with strategies! You must choose someone else!"

    "Refusing toply with the rules will be an immediate disqualification, you either go up on stage, or give up right there. If you choose neither, you will be fully disqualified from thepetition," the referee said.

    The man opened his mouth and closed it, then said, "I''d rather give up and fight others who have already lost, you guys can fight him for all I care," he said.

    The referee snorted in disdain and said, "Next one, you!" he said as he pointed at an unaware man who also shrugged and said, "I''d also refuse, fighting a poison cultivator in an enclosed space is suicide."

    More and more cultivators simply gave up and I was left stunned looking at the situation unfolding. Not long before I was fully given a by. Ten matches, I fought only two of them and was asked to leave the stage as everyone who was picked decided to give up rather than fight.

    "Congrattions brother Du Shen, you''re hereby the first to qualify to the top one hundred cultivators that should pass this trial. You may go and take a rest and wait until the rounds are done," the referee said.

    "HAH!" thementatorughed out loud enough for all to hear, "Good, you cane back and share a seat with us Brother Du Shen, your spot is still warm!" he added.

    I smiled as I walked forward teleporting back into the spot next to the announcer.

    "Congrattions on your victory," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, that was a beautiful disy of poison prowess, I would have also done the same," said Xiao Du.

    "Didn''t you lose when you tried this thest time you partook in the Strongest Under the Sun trial?" asked entric Long.

    "Well, unlike brother Du Shen, I cannot fully protect myself from my own poisons. Especially the stronger ones, because not only are you trapping your opponent with you, you also trap yourself.

    And in myst fight I had to use a stronger poison which harmed even me and I had to give up, that is one of the reasons why I started making the Ten Thousand Poison Pill¡­ which I''ve seen some of its poisons used in that fight," Xiao Du said.

    "Yeah, as long as I consume a poison, my body bes capable of recreating it. It is one of my cultivation secrets," I said.

    "What a powerful cultivation method," Xiao Du said.

    "If you follow the book I gave you, you''ll also be able to suppress poisons that you release," I said.

    Xiao Du sped his hands toward me and said, "I''ll take your words to heart."

    "Of the people on stage, who do you think will win?" the Dusking Sun who stayed with the group on thementing area asked.

    I took a quick nce at the stage and didn''t see anyone worthy of note who was currently fighting. "There are a lot of hidden monsters, for now I can''t say any of these people are able to win ten matches."

    "I see." Replied the Dusking Sun.

    "And who do you wish to see fight?" asked the Commentator.

    "Brother Dao, Brother Zhang Tian, and that man," I said as I pointed at the man standing out the most on the arena floor.

    The Fire King.

 Chapter 698: Light and Darkness

    "That child is the one you said was called the Fire King. He seems pretty strong. After all he stood still under the mboyant Sun almost as much as the Demon Sword did. And all that while he was still at the early Void Shattering Stage," entric Longmented.

    "It seems like we''ll have some very strong fighters in these uing rounds, oh, among the cultivators, it seems that the one named Zhang Tian is going up stage," the Commentator said as he disyed a screen that showed everyone the fight.

    Zhang Tian, in his schrly conduct simply stood in the arena, with his closed fan. Slightly tapping his bottom lip with the fan as he waited.

    A man of very short stature showed up. He didn''t seem to have any weapons on his person. But he still gave off a creepy and eerie feeling.

    Death energy was creeping up around his body.

    His skin was slightly on the darker side. And both his eyes were darker than night itself as the white of his eye was mixed with his irises.

    His hair was short and unkempt and his entire body exuded a foul odor.

    "Half Corpse¡­ what a wicked art," Xiao Du said.

    "What is that?" I asked.

    "Well, it''s a type of Necromancy¡­ But it is only against one''s own body. They would give up their bodies in exchange for increasing their internal Qi. However the cultivation method relies on a lot of killing. To have reached the level of a Void stage means that this man had killed countless people," Xiao Du said.

    "I know of arts that also require killing, but I''ve never seen something like this. In fact, losing the ability to use one''s body and one''s own external arts means that they''ll fall short in case they were to face a body cultivator," I said.

    "Not exactly," said Xiao Du, "This art makes the user as resilient as an undead. Pain bes a forgone notion, and they can only kill and absorb the life force of their prey to grow in cultivation. The problem is that it requires the killing of pure¡­souls," he said.

    "Pure souls¡­ children?" I asked.

    Xiao Du nodded, "It''s one of the arts that''s highly frowned upon, and seeing that the Sun mark on him was removed, it''s possible that he was emunicated or has left one of the eight Suns''s sects," Xiao Du said.

    Looking at the stage, I was fully capable of listening in on the conversation between the two cultivators.

    "My name is Zhang Tian, pleased to make your acquaintance," Zhang Tian said as he sped his hands.

    The Half Corpse spat next to him and said, "Tul, that''s my name, not that it matters to you anyway since you''ll die here," he added with all the arrogance a cultivator could muster.

    "You seem rather disappointed, Tul," said Zhang Tian.

    It did seem like, the man named Tul had yet to even take a look at Zhang Tian, his eyes were forever looking at the crowd. As if he was looking for something.

    "Damn, no one brought any snacks¡­ I''ve been starving," Tul said as he licked some of his drool.

    "By snack¡­" I mumbled.

    "He probably means young ones, not that he would have been allowed to do so anyway," thementator said. "The whole event is hosted by the Eight Suns, no one would dare harm any of the audience, even the suns themselves take keenly into protecting the people that came to watch their tournament. Well, the young Schr is poorly matched against a devious man such as this Half-Corpse."

    "I don''t really think so," I replied.

    "You trust in your sworn brother enough to say these words," the Dusking Sun said.

    "Of course, well the fight is about to start¡­"

    ***

    Zhang Tian was a man of many talents and enjoyed learning the most. And in case of something new and entric, he would always try and figure out the reason for its existence or purpose. And in front of him, this short-statured man was an interesting being.

    He had seen his fair share of deaths, and had understood that life is fickle and vtile. And due to that, he hade in contact with thew of Life and Death.

    Of the manyws in his Wisdom of the Ages, many of them handled the Dao of Death.

    And this man seemed to harbor a great understanding of this Dao, but at the same time, he harbored the Dao of Life itself.

    An interesting existence that was between life and death, never crossing to one side. And always staying in the middle.

    However, this man was rather rude and brutish and quite uncourteous. Still, it didn''t bother him much when this person ignored him. But the words he spoketer were enough to make anyone feel at least angry.

    "Oh!!!" Tul said. "How? How did you manage to remain pure? A man such as yourself? Not even a child, but rather a Void Stage cultivator, and still full of pureness? What delicacy is this?!" he said as the darkness of Tul''s eyes focused on Zhang Tian.

    Tul had been looking through the arena to see if he could consume another young soul to replenish his energy. But there were none for him to eat. And through the world of cultivation, the older one gets, the more their heart bes tainted.

    Some would break their True Yin or True Yang in dual cultivation, which is an act of intimacy but at the same time for cultivators, it breaks their purity.

    Or, they kill unjustly and draw in bad karma. Some would steal, some would harbor ill intentions and some grow to be arrogant and vile.

    Those are all normal and natural human emotions and behaviors. But for this man, he was as pure as jade in the dark eyes of Tul. He didn''t see any darkness mixed in with such a bright-looking heart. A man who had elevated himself from all of the world''s earthly desires. Not even the Arhats of the Buddhist teachings are this pure.

    They too would asionally harbor either sentiments of superiority or traces of darkness in their hearts.

    Only when they fully remove them can they reach the stage of Nirvana.

    But this man seems untainted by the world itself.

    For Tul, the consumption of Pure souls is imperative to his cultivation. The only problem is that their cultivation level and the power of their souls have always been weak and small since they were young. But for a man like this, he was at the Void Stage, and with a heart this pure, not only will his soul propel Tul''s cultivation to the next stage.

    Greed and lust over this soul filled Tul''s heart as he didn''t wait for the referee to announce the start of the match before he pounced on Zhang Tian.

    Zhang Tian didn''t fully understand the rashness behind Tul''s action and simply waved his fan.

    From the tip of the fan tens of thousands of butterflies flew forward.

    Each with its own small formation ofws inside it. Expressing Zhang Tian''s vast and endless understanding of Law.

    While Tul''s hands became covered in a ghostly aura that shaped itself into sharp ws ready to burst and rip apart steel and stone.

 Chapter 699: Life and Death

    Zhang Tian''s butterflies exploded upon contact with Tul''s ws.

    The small statured man swiped and sliced at the iing butterflies while his eyes never let out their focus away from Zhang Tian.

    Unbridled greed and will to kill and consume Zhang Tian''s soul painted itself obviously in Tul''s perverted expressions.

    Thetter, however, simply weaved around the arena, dodging the iing ws as would a feather move in a powerful wind gale.

    The footwork of Zhang Tian stemmed from his understanding of the Wind Law that he was born in it. The Prince of the Northern Domain of the Vast Expanse had lived his entire life protected by the Northern Wind.

    Able to freely move about in extreme and entric ways never before seen, as if he danced across a flurry of iing des, certain and full of confidence that not even the hem of his robes would be damaged.

    After making some distance between the two, Zhang Tian waved his fan up, creating a powerful gust of wind that lifted his opponent and then pped at the air in front of him, sending several wind des toward Tul''s seemingly awkward airborne posture.

    Yet the half-corpse was unwilling to take the des head-on as he twisted his body in inhuman ways. Enough that the bones cracked and snapped as he changed himself to look like a mangled corpse.

    That sudden transformation allowed him to slip between the wind des and gave him enough time tond down and reform himself how he was before.

    As soon as Tul''s feet touched the ground, he charged forward at Zhang Tian, with one arm extended into a w form, he sped his fingers rapidly, creating a dark wed arm from underneath Zhang Tian that suddenly copsed on itself as soon as it manifested.

    Zhang Tian had safely moved away from the sudden bursting w and realized that he wasn''t as safe as he thought he would be.

    A piece of his robes was ripped in the process.

    "Seems that I won''t be able to defeat you easily," Zhang Tian said and then opened his fan. "Wisdom of The Ages."

    Shen Bao was immediately reminded of this Domain and how powerful it was. After all, he personally experienced this when he was Du Shen, and then when he was a Golden Core cultivator.

    A domain so vast and so grand that it would send shivers down one''s spine.

    Rows upon rows of books inside shelves next to shelves. They extended from the depth of an invisible abyss to the height of the unbreachable heavens.

    Laws and knowledge of worlds that were born and broken. Of ages long before time itself and older than any existing soul. Understanding of the essence of the world, a budding projection of the world''s oldest truths.

    Enough to cause even the Wisest Sun to stand up and look at this Domain.

    It was by no means a domain meant to kill, but a domain that was meant to enlighten. It would be harmless to a kind and friendly soul, but for an enemy, it is a mortal enemy.

    Zhang Tian''s appearance changed, as he was elevated among the bookshelves floating high above Tul''s worried expression. Zhang Tian''s seat was a great lotus. While Tul''s stood on top of a massive mountain of corpses.

    "You dare trap me in a domain? I far out-skill you in terms of cultivation! BREAK FOR ME!" Tul shouted only for him to realize that he had no ability to break this domain.

    He shouted once again! "BREAK!"

    But nothing happened.

    "You can shout all you want, it won''t release you from its grasp."

    "This must be fake," Tul said, "There is no way this is your domain," he added as he kicked the skull of one skeleton under his foot.

    "Why do you think so?" Zhang Tian simply asked.

    "Because your karma is too pure for you to have killed a person," Tul shrugged, "So it must be fake, after all, these eyes of mine can see the true essence of a person. And yours is as bright as light itself," Tul said.

    "But I did y my share, I have killed countless people, and their remains are what you are standing atop," Zhang Tian then moved his hand forward and a book moved from behind Tul and flew all the way to Zhang Tian''s hands.

    "These are theirws," he added.

    Tul''s mind was racing, "That must be a lie¡­ but lies are the darkness that appears in one''s soul, how can you lie yet still remain clean?" he questioned.

    "Because it is not a lie, have you ever thought that you might be wrong?" Zhang Tian grinned at Tul who was unable to ept the reality of his situation.

    "I cannot be wrong!" Tul spoke.

    "Then let these Domains prove your err! Seventh Book, Hell Eternal!"

    Suddenly the shelves were pushed to the side and a gigantic area where nothing but Tul was present atop was left.

    From the ground, thend split apart, and from the skies, the world turned dark. mes of hell itself surged forward with unrelenting fury, melting stone and steel and turning what was once hard rock to moltenva, the skies wept as they spilled ming pebbles that tore through the air with relentless rage. While torrents of liquid fire burst from everywhere.

    The heat around Tul increased to match the surface of a burning sun, and he couldn''t do anything but create a Qi barrier to protect himself from harm''s way.

    Tul''s eyes squinted as he realized that Zhang Tian used not only one but two domains at the same time. Something unheard of, but in the vast world of the Beyond, anything is possible.

    Still, it was not a true domain, though it was still painful to suffer, Tul''s experience told him that he could still thwart this position ande out on top.

    With more Qi released the hot mes of this enraged volcano were suppressed, and more dark Qi cooled them off to look like an arctic cier.

    "Yin beasts Yang if you have enough!"

    "I see," Zhang Tian smiled as he pulled another book with a blue cover.

    "Sixteenth Book, Submerged World¡­"

    His words were as calm as the sea before a storm. And almost instantly, waves as tall as mountains manifested themselves all around Tul''s stunned self. Crashing down with unrelenting ferocity as they broke and tore apart the ice-made bedrock.

    Tul''s body was at the mercy of the unstoppable tides and currents as he was pushed down, with water forcing itself into his mouth and nose. The sudden rush of the new domain had caused Tul to be dumbfounded and unable to react in time, almost enough for him to have lost hisposure there and then. But a man who cultivated through brutality and murder wasn''t a man with little experience.

    He fought back, pushing more Qi outward to stop the flow of water, but before he could even react, Zhang Tian''s hand carried another book, a green one where he simply threw a small seed, smaller than a mustard seed into the waters.

    "From the Depths of the scorched earth, where life takes root, to the boundless seas, the source of all existence, ignited by the burning passion of the earth''s core, I call upon thee, the Earth Tree to grow!"

    Suddenly the small seed cracked, and from it roots emerged, and began absorbing the endless waters. Growing rapidly as the sapling bore its roots into the ground. Manifesting a trunk as sturdy as the mountain itself.

    The tree rose to endless heights, reaching far above the clouds almost touching the very heavens themselves. While its roots tore into the ground and dug deep.

    The tree''s branches extended themselves as would a dragon dancing within the clouds, and its leaves fluttered when caressed by the wind.

    The World Tree manifested fromw, oppressed upon Tul''s very source of cultivation.

    "While you cultivate through death''s embrace, I find sce in life''s cradle, for those who have witnessed the cold grip of death, life bes the most precious of gifts. But for you, a deadly poison, LAW!"

    Suddenly Tul''s entire being was suppressed. Forced into the ground prostrating in front of the existence he fought against his entire life. Where he sapped the lives of others, making himself a half alive half-dead man, the Tree of Life began banishing the ''death''w in him.

    Unable to even utter a word, Tul''s very being began fragmenting, shattering and slowly dissipating into ash.

    A rather unceremonious, anticlimactic, and boring end to a man who seemed to find too great of a joy in ending a life that had just begun.

 Chapter 700: Top 100

    For everyone watching, this might have looked like a merciful kill. But, the moment Zhang Tian''s domain dissipated, the arena returned to normal, and the man once considered dead was back in his ce lookingpletely different than before.

    Unlike his corpse-like appearance, he was fully back to his human shape. No longer short of height but an above-average tall man. Instead of a skin riddled with scars and patches of death and necrosis. He had a hale and healthy skin color and tone. However, his cultivation level waspletely demolished.

    "Mortality is your penance, for the lives of those you have taken. They were weak and unable to defend themselves from you, but now you''ll meet their punishment," Zhang Tian said.

    Suddenly from above the arena, the skies tore open. Something that even I had never thought I would see.

    Countless apparitions of souls spiraling endlessly above us manifested.

    The scene wasn''t something you could see every day, especially since even the Dusking Sun tensed up for a second.

    "The Cycle of Life and Death¡­ I guess it has given those who have lost their lives a chance at revenge, that man will die a horrible death," the words of the Dusking Sun were heavy.

    The man named Tul realized his impending doom and shouted, "I give up! I lost this round! Let me out!" he said as he began backing away from the iing wave of souls.

    I stood up from my seat and leaned on the rails of the arena walls. This was something that even the Dusking Sun was interested in.

    Seeing Zhang Tian''s unbothered expression meant that he knew something about this. I should ask himter.

    While the man named Tul backed away trying to run as fast as possible from the iing souls, at one point in his panic his eyes met mine.

    I could see, even from this distance, that although his entire appearance reverted back to humanity, his eyes remained as dark as the night.

    At that moment, the man named Tul stopped, his face turned pale blue, and immediately began throwing up, unable to stop himself as he released bile and probably anything he had eaten in thest decade.

    A disgusting sight to see.

    "Quite rude to throw up at the sight of someone, I can''t be that ugly," I grumbled.

    "Y-you! Who the hell are you!" Tul said before the souls began encroaching on him, ripping him bit by bit.

    Now fully turned mortal he couldn''t defend against the souls attacking him. But for some reason, what should have been a deadly and incredibly painful tearing of limbs for a mortal didn''t even register in Tul''s eyes as he was still looking at me with terror far beyond what one would dare to express.

    "Dark Soul!" he said as one of the souls around him tore through his face. Ripping his cheek from side to side.

    The whole experience was utterly unnerving as the man was fully eradicated from existence itself as he was pulled into the whirling pool of souls. Dragged to only god knows where never to be seen again.

    Zhang Tian then pointed his open hand forward towards the blood sttered on the ground. His gesture manifested hundreds upon hundreds of smallw lines, reshaping them and morphing them into a book with a wed arm symbol on top.

    Once the book reached his grasping hand, it disappeared, only I knew where it went.

    It now joined itspanions in the library ofw inside Zhang Tian''s Domain. Now his Wisdom of The Ages is hosting an additional book and an additional corpse.

    Only then did he look up, seeing me with both hands on the railing peering over the arena with a wide grin on my face.

    He smiled wide and shouted, "Brother, we must have another drink soon."

    I sped my hands towards him, "Of course! The wine always tastes better with brothers around a table!"

    "Young cultivator," the referee spoke, "Are you ready for the next battle?" he asked.

    Zhang Tian nodded and soon was faced against another cultivator.

    Battle after convincing battle, no one was able to defeat Zhang Tian''s ability to manifestws and domains fully capable of defeating his enemies.

    Zhang Tian''s ability to manifest the very Dao and understanding of Law of his defeated foes was a power to be reckoned with. Since he can always counter whoever he is fighting. If a man relies on speed, then he can drown them in an endless swamp, or if a man uses fire, he can summon a domain of frigid cold. Completely sapping away an opponent''s ability to battle.

    Unlike me, Zhang Tian''s fightssted longer but were more convincing and far more elegant as he found ways upon ways of beating his opponents.

    "It seems that your brother is fully capable of obtaining a seat among the hundred strongest. Who do you think will win if the both of you were to fight against one another?" entric Long asked.

    I smiled as I replied, "Of course, I''ll be victorious."

    "Oh, quite confident, when even cultivators at the Origin Realm are racking their brains trying to figure out a way to stop him from using his infinite Domain," thementator asked.

    Just as Zhang Tian finished hisst battle and won, I replied, "That is because they think they would lose the moment they step into his domain, regardless, you''ll see it with your own eyes once we battle," I smiled at Zhang Tian who retreated back to the area of the Lording Sun.

    Among the many cultivators of the Lording Sun, all of them praised Zhang Tian for his victory. Though I could see a few dissatisfied eyes, the majority were happy that he made it to the top hundred.

    Looking to the side, the Fire King suddenly walked up the stage. He stood in the center of the stage. Both arms folded on top of each other and waited. His hair which was a brimming burning me that never seemed to stop swayed calmly in the light breeze that was blowing.

    A contender popped up. A young looking man, with a long sword strapped to his back sped in the direction of the fire king out of respect.

    Theter didn''t care as he waited for the sword master to ready up.

    Displeased with theck of respect from his opponent, the swordsman was ready to end the fight as soon as the referee would start the match.

    And just as the referee announced the start of the match, the swordsman charged forward, amassing as much Qi as he could to swing at the Fire Lord and take him out in a single hit.

    All to end for him the moment the Fire Lord uttered a single word.

    "Burn."

 Chapter 701: Turnaround

    Complete and utter oppression and domination. That was how all of the Fire Lord''s matches went.

    Though I didn''t see him meeting any truly powerful cultivators, most of the people he fought were still at the least in the Void Stage realm. These cultivators had ground and fought, climbed through and on top of many corpses to be who they are today. Yet they all failed in crossing the final barrier.

    A wall as tall as a mountain, burning with endless rage and incredible mes.

    The Fire Lord was the end of all those who tried to fight against him. Stay tuned to M|VL|EM|PY|R

    Ten rounds, ten perfect victories, and he proceeded to the final phase without any hitch or worry.

    "Indeed, the man you called the Fire Lord is truly powerful. How did you even survive fighting him?" the Dusking Sun said

    "Like I said, we never won against him, he only lost to himself. And it took the effort of the strongest beings in the Vast Expanse to force him back a single step. Though he could have perished if not for the Darkest Sun," I replied.

    "I see, I guess he needed the intervention of the Darkest Sun himself to escape, but I wonder why that man would interfere," the Dusking Sun said.

    I shrugged, "from the knowledge I have, the Fire Lordes from a family that served the Darkest Sun. One of the branches of the Darkest Sun''s sect was exiled and banished. The entire territory broke apart into several pieces, and one of the pieces of that territory ended up in the Vast Expanse, his ancestors were probably the people that imed themselves Emperors over the Vast Expanse." I said

    "What I know of the Vast Expanse is that it was a dead world created by the Wisest Sun, it failed to make life. So in a sense isn''t everyone that was born in the Vast Expanse, to a slightly exaggerated degree a member of the Darkest Sun''s family?" entric Long asked.

    The Dusking Sun shook his head, "No, not really. Since it wasn''t the only family that was exiled. Many cultivators have been banished to the Vast Expanse. Since not everyone wanted to be part of the Eight Sects, a lot were prosecuted, and some chose to leave by their own means.

    Creating methods that would propel them through space into the Vast Expanse, and somemitted atrocious deeds that forced many of the sects to expel them from here. There are still records of many evil beings being sent there. And among them were monsters and cultivators alike.

    Until the creation of the free zone, the Sea of Demons, a lot of cultivators were sent down to the Vast Expanse," the Dusking Sun exined.

    This would exin the diversity of races in the Vast Expanse, after all the Golden Titan for example was not human. And there was the Demon race in the Poison Sect and many other beings in the Vast Expanse. I suppose this makes everything clear in regard to the poption and origin of the Vast Expanse.

    "Seems like we still have many interesting fighters," the Commentator said.

    "Oh the Demon Sword is going up on stage," Xiao Du said.

    "Hmm, I guess we''ll get to see an even more impressive battle!" the Commentator said.

    "Somehow, I doubt that," I said as I continued sipping off my drink.

    "Oh, why do you think so?" thementator asked. "Though he does have some enmity with you, I doubt that he is one to be scorned this way," thementator said.

    "I misspoke, what I meant is, it is because of his strength that we won''t be seeing anything too interesting," I added.

    Thementator frowned but soon came to realize what I meant.

    Once the Demon Sword was up, no one dared go up and challenge them.

    It was like asking a dog to go up and fight a wounded tiger, no one would want to risk their lives against the Demon Sword, someone who had already made it to the top three of thestpetition.

    And after a while, the Referee began choosing randomly, and everyone he chose decided that they would withdraw.

    After all, for them, it was better to take a proper chance in the loser bracket and fight others, than fight against a powerful enemy. Winning or losing wouldn''t have meant much. Since even if they were to win, they would definitely fight tooth and nail for that victory and would be too exhausted or too weak to continue streaking.

    If they lose, they risk their lives since the Demon Sword is pretty brutal.

    After ten consecutive withdraws, the Demon Sword was allowed to go into the next round.

    "Oh, already, I guess you were indeed right, seems like the chances of watching good matches have dropped by a lot then," thementator said.

    "There is actually someone else from the Vast Expanse who''s about to participate," I said.

    "Oh, another one from your world, where?" thementator asked.

    "The man with the nonchnt attitude, the one who''s currently sprawled on the ground sleeping. That guy is strong," I said.

    I was referring to Dao Shen who was indeed just chilling on the ground, waiting for god knows what.

    But as if he was listening to our conversation, he yawned and stood up, then walked up the empty stage.

    His opponent on stage was a man who had already fought nine rounds. And he only needed one more win to qualify for the top hundred.

    But with Dao Shen on stage, those chances are looking rather grim.

    Because unlike everyone else in thispetition, for Dao Shen, the difference in cultivation level is pretty much irrelevant unless it is an absurd difference.

    And his opponent was actually an Origin realm cultivator.

    In a normal situation, Dao Shen should lose this fight, but since Origin Qi itself is forbidden of use, the cultivator fighting Dao Shen is in a difficult position.

    The two of them looked at each other, Dao Shen still looking rather sleepy and bored, while the Origin Stage cultivator was slightly wary and a bit exhausted. Although he was at the Origin Stage fighting many cultivators sapped some of his power, but for a normal Void Stage cultivator, he still had plenty of energy to defeat them.

    "You should give up, Void Stage," the Origin Stage cultivator said.

    "Stop yapping and just fight," Dao Shen Replied.

    The opponent snorted, "To refuse to drink a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, the younger generation truly is ignorant!"

    The referee didn''t really care much for what the opponent said to each other before the match started. Only when he reminded them of the rules and announced the start of the fight did the two of them charge at each other.

    The Origin Stage cultivator immediately threw his hand forward in a grasping motion.

    "And you still dare disrespect me by not using a weapon! Fine! I''ll beat you in your own game!" he said as he went for a grab.

    However, Dao Shen didn''t avoid it, in fact, he offered his own hand forward both of them.

    The two hands grasped each other and a show of force started.

    "Hah! A Void Stage is trying topete against me in power! Even if you are a body cultivator you''re still too weak for this!"

    "Did anyone ever tell you that you speak too much?" Dao Shen said as he didn''t seem to be moving or forced out of his standing position.

    Confused about how the Origin Stage cultivator was unable to even move Dao Shen''s body, he exerted more force.

    "Ah, that''s game over," I said.

    "Indeed, it seems that the power of an Origin Stage cultivator is too strong for a void stage, at least he''ll learn from defeat," the Commentator said.

    "Not, it''s not for Dao Shen, but for the Origin Stage, he already lost since he tried to fight against him using Qi," I said.

    "What do you mean? The quality and quantity of Qi in an Origin Stage cultivator is far superior to a Void Stage, are you sure you saw right?" thementator asked.

    "I think Du Shen is right, look, Dao Shen isn''t even sweating while his opponent looks like he had seen a ghost," entric Long said.

    Suddenly they all realized what was going on.

    Dao Shen had already begun absorbing the Origin Stage cultivator''s Qi.

    "Dao of Absorption!" the Commentator said as he stood up,pletely shocked.

 Chapter 702: Heaven Swapping

    "Yes, it is the Dao of Absorption, I never thought I''d see this again," entric Long said.

    "Howe? Is it rare?" I asked.

    "More like¡­ it always drags its owner to the path of anhtion and self-destruction. One cannot simply cultivate that Dao without falling into the depraved path of gluttony and consumption. They would find it hard tobat the will to constantly consume and absorb until nothing is left.

    That''s why they always end up bringing destruction upon themselves when they bite more than they can chew¡­ however¡­"

    entric Long didn''t seem too willing to continue his train of thought.

    "However, this one is special," Xiao Du finished the sentence. "He is fully capable of though, and isn''t affected by the Dao of Absorption. He is sane, no more like more sane than even normal people. He doesn''t have any vileness in him or wickedness. But simply seeks to learn more of the Path of Absorption," Xiao Du added. "He''ll definitely be a big figure in the future if he keeps this mental.

    To have ess to incredible power yet still show some restraint, the mental one needs to do this is simply incredible."

    ''I guess Dao Shen is rather talented. Well, since he is technically one of my descendants, that''s a given," I grinned as I watched him taking down one cultivator after another.

    This part of the tournament was ratherckluster. Because it was basically just a bunch of fights. Most people were hyped up at the start, then soon it all became rather boring to watch.

    With the exception of a few cultivators that showed up here and there.

    Dao Shen had already managed to qualify and after him, I was rather uninterested in who to watch.

    Besides one man.

    Law Tang. An extremely lucky guy.

    Who seemed to have also managed to make it to the top ten by the most absurd of methods.

    Not only did his opponents either have their cultivation base spiral out of control, fall on their face on the first move. One even managed to rupture a vein in his brain and fell unconscious. Whoever fought against him seemed to be fighting against fate itself. And everyone who faced Law ended up losing miserably before they evenunched a single attack.

    The strangeness of this event caught the attention of a couple Suns, but they didn''t deem it worth speaking of. Not even the Dusking Sun next to me uttered a word as he saw what was going on.

    After a long time, the final battle started. With this, the hundred winners of this tournament will be finalized.

    It was sadly ackluster fight where one of the two cultivators was too injured from the other fights and gave up immediately.

    "Congrattions! You have all managed to rank in the top hundred in this tournament! Proving your quality and ability among your fellow cultivators! Though there can only be one Under the Sun, that doesn''t mean that any of you should feel encumbered or dishonored to not have made it far. There mere fact of joining this tournament requires a lot of guts! And you all have proven it!

    Still with this tournament done, I will withdraw back and allow thest Sun to finalize the event! They will start the event when everyone is deemed healthy enough to take on her challenge. Good luck to all!" the mboyant sun said.

    I guess we''ll have a small break.

    Everyone from the hundred contestants breathed a sigh of relief after all the majority were injured.

    "Oh, you''re not thinking of forgetting about me?" I said, though I spoke softly, for one of the Suns my words were loud and clear.

    "What do you mean?" the mboyant Sun replied.

    "You promised me a reward after the tournament is over, and it is over," I said.

    "¡­"

    "Don''t go on saying you meant the whole event, you specifically said the tournament. And you mentioned that it is now done. I suppose thest part will be something that isn''t tournament-rted," I said.

    The mboyant Sun then beganughing, "Good, I guess it is my fault for not specifying. Still I cannot give you anything that is at the Origin Shattering level¡­ Well, oh, I have something," he said as he pulled a small cauldron from one of his rings and threw it towards me.

    I grabbed the cauldron and instantly realized how stupidly absurd this thing is.

    The energy it was releasing was out of this world, and it seemed to be made of some form of metal that even I have yet to see. But that wasn''t all, the cauldron itself was cracked but it had a formation inside it.

    "That''s called the Heaven Swapping Cauldron. You''ll enjoy its ability, sadly it can only be used a few more times before the cauldron breaks. The cauldron itself is actually at the Heaven Stage. But sadly since it is now fractured and cannot be fixed. It dropped its quality by a great margin." The mboyant Sun said.

    "You''re an alchemist and I''ve seen how you enjoy using Spatial Law, you''ll probably learn a thing or two from that cauldron," he said and soon withdrew back to his tower.

    "What a great gift," said entric Long, "I''ve heard about this cauldron," he added.

    "Really?" I said as I looked inside the cauldron and was able to see the inscription inside it. Well, most of it. Since a big portion of the inscription was missing.

    "They say that this cauldron does not belong to this world," entric Long said.

    I looked at entric Long worriedly. Surely this doesn''t mean that the Beyond itself is nothing but another small world where another even bigger one exists. After all, this is a cultivation world but clich¨¦ like this are very disheartening.

    "It''s just hearsay," he said as he shrugged, "After all, there have been no signs of the presence of another world or civilization besides us and the few minor worlds like the Vast Expanse which are far below the Beyond''s ability. Still, what I heard is that the cauldron, with its inscriptions, is something that hasn''t been seen before. No one was able to understand them or replicate them.

    That''s why the cauldron itself was never fixed, the metal that makes the cauldron itself is not present in the Beyond. So we guessed it was an extraterritorial item. But we have nothing to prove if that is true." He added.

    "I''ve seen the Wisest Sun ying around with this item for a bit after he asked the mboyant Sun to lend it to him for a bit. Even he couldn''t figure out the Inscriptions making that thing, so he also gave up on fixing it," the Dusking Sun said.

    "He gave up¡­ I muttered, but this looks rather simple to fix," I added.

    The Wisest Sun immediately appeared in front of me after I finished saying these words.

    "You mean¡­ you can understand these inscriptions?" he asked.

    "Oh, understand no. But you don''t need to understand something to fix it. Same as you don''t need to understand why fire is hot but you still don''t put your hand in it," I said.

    The Wisest Sun frowned at me.

    But I replied, "Everything works systematically, all you need to understand is the system itself. For example, these inscriptions¡­"

    And I began exining how they''re interlinked together and how they are repeated all over the cauldron.

    It took a few hours for me to exin everything I could see and then I said.

    "Well, the mboyant Sun said that he figured out an ability of the cauldron," I said.

    "Yes, it is able to swap position between anything one can see via their divine sense. However, it costs tremendous amounts of Qi to do so. And it also further reduces the cauldron''s durability, that thing probably has one or two more uses, it could be a very useful life-saving tool," the Wisest Sun said.

    "Then this should be another ability," I said as I infused Qi in a different part of the cauldron.

    Immediately the cauldron magnified in size, enough that I had to push it away from me.

    The cauldron became hundreds of meters long and wide. And as heavy as it looked.

    "Oh, convenient," I muttered.

    "Hoo, that''s something even I didn''t know was possible¡­" the mboyant Sun said.

    "You''re not thinking of taking it back are you?" the Wisest Sun snorted.

    "No," the mboyant Sun shrugged. "One shouldn''t take back gifts they offered. Also, it matters not that it can grow and shrink, after all, it still is useless.

    ''Well, maybe for you it is, but no one seemed to notice that when the cauldron grew in size, a new formation had been revealed.

    I reversed the cauldron''s size increase by reversing the Qi flow via the size formation and it returned back to its smaller size able to standfortably on top of my palm. I then ced it in my holding back to study itter.

 Chapter 703: Blue Sun

    Hourster, the Commentator stood up, "It appears that every one of our hundred top cultivators is now fully hale and healthy to undertake thest trial held by the final Sun."

    Everyone in the audience seemed hyped about this, after all, they''ve been here for a long time. But to watch fights and see who''ll end up earning the title Strongest Under the Sun, it was worth it.

    It''s not every day that you get to watch a lot of cultivators fight and disy their prowess for one to understand and learn from it.

    And now the final Sun is appearing.

    In the middle of the arena floor, a re of blue mes lit up spontaneously.

    From within it a woman emerged. Her face was covered in a veil. Her eyes shined bright blue revealing an incredible depth to them.

    She stood tall and regal, exuding an aura of bottomless strength and exquisite beauty. Her slender yet graceful figure d in robes of flowing azure fabric cascading around her form like a gentle wave of a tranquil ocean.

    Though her face remained concealed in a lightly transparent veil, her eyes were vibrating with an unnatural intelligence. Gleaming with resolve and power, a testament to her endless years of cultivation.

    Her long hair was the color of the deep sea. Cascading like a waterfall of darkness adding more to her enigmatic allure.

    I couldn''t help but be drawn to her eyes and entire figure, but forcefully pulled myself back. It seems that her presence itself was like a charm spell that would pull anyone to harbor goodwill and even eternal love and worship for her existence.

    A mighty ability that she exuded passively.

    And from the look of everyone in the audience, they seemed as if they were in a trance as she appeared.

    Our eyes met for a second, it was the moment I forced my mind out of this illusive dream-like state, and then her eyes slightly widened as if surprise was painted on her face.

    A smallugh escaped her lips as the entire audience seemed to resume their natural and normal state.

    No one seemed to realize that for a few moments, they had all been charmed. No one but me.

    Thementator then spoke, "Her honor, The Blue Sun will now present you with the final trail! To all hundredpetitors, please step down to the arena." Thementator said.

    "Time for me to go," I said as I stood up.

    "Good luck, also word to the wise," the Dusking Sun said, "Don''t get on her bad side."

    "You make it look like I get on everyone''s bad side," I replied.

    "You do," he replied, "I mean who in their right mind would talk back to one of the Suns but you¡­ to be honest, do whatever you want, one never knows what could their entrics could get them."

    "I see," I said as I hopped down to the arena.

    The hundred cultivators were all around the Blue Sun who then said, "This test has two steps. The first one is to simply be approved by me. Those who are excluded are not to question nor defy my judgment," she said.

    Quite odd but okay¡­

    "The second trial will be hosted in thends of the Thunder Domain, your goal will be to bring back a handkerchief I happened to have lost there. The one who brings it back will be the one titled the Strongest Under the Sun."

    Quite simple.

    "Now,e forward," she said

    One of the cultivators headed toward the Blue Sun and she asked them, "Your hand," she said.

    The man opened his hand towards her, where she simply ced her finger on.

    The man''s expression immediately turned pale before his hand burst apart. The surprising part wasn''t his hand exploding, but not a single drop of blood seemed to touch the woman.

    "You failed," she said.

    The man in his rage seemed to have forgotten one of the rules she had set up, to not Question or Defy her judgment.

    "What does that even mean? HOW AM I NOT QUALIFIED I AM-"

    The end for that man came before his words were over and he instantly turned to a bloodless corpse as he fell to the ground.

    His entire being seemed to have been crushed by an incredible amount of pressure far surpassing the deepest sea.

    Still, not a single blood drop touched the woman''s robes.

    The second one was actually Dao Shen, who walked up to her and presented his hand. He didn''t seem to have any expression regarding the remains of the dead person in front of him as he simply stepped into the man''s pooling blood and gave her his hand.

    She then ced her finger on his palm, and soon a small circle appeared on his palm.

    "You pass," she said. "Go to that side." She said.

    Dao Shen didn''t speak and did as ordered and waited on the Blue Sun''s right.

    Soon, more cultivators showed up, many of which instantly failed and some struggled to thest second before their bodies crumbled.

    But a good portion still managed to move forward. The Fire King seemed to pass with flying colors so did Zhang Tian and the Demon Blood.

    And for some reason, when it was Law''s turn, the Blue Sun didn''t even look at him as she said, "You Fail."

    "Don''t talk," I sent him a divine sense message, "Even your endless luck will not save you in the presence of one of the Suns."

    Law Tang sighed and moved away, seemingly about to leave the arena.

    "Don''t leave yet," I told him.

    To which he nodded and sat down right next to me.

    Since I was thest one to join the arena I was thest one to be tested.

    And so far, fifty cultivators have been chosen, and forty-nine have failed.

    I don''t know if she was looking for exactly just fifty but it seems rather ominous for me.

    I approached her as it was my turn, she looked at me and said, "Your hand."

    I gave her my hand and she used the same thing on me trying to nt a circle on my hand. However, nothing seemed to happen.

    A frown appeared on her brows as she tried again. And again.

    Then she looked at me and said, "No heavenly Qi¡­ you fail,"

    The Lord of Lords stood up and was about to interject but I spoke up.

    "I have a question," I said.

 Chapter 704: Loophole

    Her eyes fixated on me as she replied, "Are you questioning my judgment."

    "Nope," I shook my head.

    "Then what reason is there for me to reply to your question?" she asked.

    "Well, just in case that someone who failed managed to bring you back your handkerchief, how would you deal with that?" I asked.

    Since this question didn''t actually question her judgment and was nothing more than a simple question, it didn''t breach her rule.

    She thought for a moment and said, "Those circles, do you know what they are?" she asked.

    "I was able to see it up close, so I have a guess," I said.

    She frowned once again, "I do not like people who speak of things that they do not know," she said and I felt her Qi gathering up.

    "Hold your horses Deep One!"the Lord of Lords shouted, "Before you do anything to him, wait for him to reply to you first!"

    "It seems that that old man thinks highly of you, then speak, and let it be known that if you speak false then you will die."

    Wow, anger issues, must be that time of the month¡­ oh wait she''s probably tens of thousands of years old¡­ do cultivators enter menopause? Wait why am I thinking of that?

    I shook my head and replied, "Thunder Protection, from what I could see. That circle has a lot of positive dischargedws. Probably to protect a cultivator from lightning."

    The Qi that was gathered around her seemed to dissipate before she said, "Just because you figured out a part of it, does not mean that you will be passed. After all, without this protection you can''t survive in the Thunder Domain," she said.

    "But just because I failed does not mean I can''t retrieve it, after all, I have my own ways to protect myself from thunder and lightning," I replied.

    She looked at me for a time and said, "Do whatever you want, but know that you shan''t receive help from any of the suns. If you were to retrieve it, then you''ll be the victor. Fail, and you will probably just perish in thends of endless thunder."

    She then threw a small disk on the ground.

    The disk immediately shined and opened up a teleportation gate. And from within the gate one could hear the endless booming of thunder in the distance.

    "Go through the portal and retrieve my belongings," she said.

    The group of fifty immediately jumped inside the portal leaving Zhang Tian and Dao Shen forst.

    "Just go, I''ll join you both soon," I said to them through divine sense.

    As I was walking toward the portal the gate seemed to refuse me entry¡­

    The Lord of Lords immediately flew towards the arena and said.

    "You''re not taking him?" he asked.

    "He said he had his own ways, why should I take him," she said "Also without my mark he can''t use the gate," she said.

    "Then I should help take him,e with me," the Lord of lords said.

    "No," she replied. "No sun is allowed to help him."

    "You''re making this difficult!" the Lord of Lords said.

    "Gramps," I said to the Lord of Lords who seemed rather disturbed yet not too annoyed by the notion.

    He smiled at me and said, "What is it, child?"

    "No need to worry yourself about me. Also, just because I don''t have the mark doesn''t mean I can''t use this teleportation gate."

    "You mean you can understand it?" he asked.

    "Of course, not only that, I hope you don''t mind me changing some things?" I asked the Blue Sun.

    "Change? I admire your ambition but that''s a Heaven-grade treasure you don''t have the ability to understand it, not at your level." She said.

    I smiled and replied, "Seems that I''m being underestimated a lot," I said and pulled up my brush.

    The moment the Blue Sun saw my brush was the moment that the Lord of Lords facepalmed.

    He sent me a Divine Sense message saying, "Why did you reveal you have that?!"

    "Well, with me calling you gramps, you think anyone would dare take it away from me?" I smiled and began modifying some of the disk''s formation.

    "Ah you fool¡­ if only you knew," he said sighing.

    It didn''t take more than a few seconds for me to be done and said, "Good as new. Now it should allow me in, also can I bring that guy over, he looks too pitiful to be left all by himself," I said addressing the slumping Law.

    The Blue Sun sighed and said, "Do whatever you want, also Lording Sun, you said that you never saw where my brush went¡­ it seems that we have some things to talk about¡­"

    ''Ah, that''s why he didn''t want me to show it¡­ I guess it was hers¡­''

    Well, I should probably go soon in case I end up in an ugly situation.

    I hinted to Law to follow me.

    For some reason, she failed him from obtaining the mark but I have an inkling of why.

    Seeing his absurd luck level, I guess she thought he would manage to obtain the handkerchief by some unnatural means foiling the purpose of thepetition. But with me using a loophole in her "Rules" I''m able to use Law to my advantage.

    Law hurried to my side and followed after me as we both entered the gate.

    We immediately found ourselves in a massive open in and far ahead of us were dozens of cultivators flying forward as fast as possible towards the high peaks of the mountain range in front of us.

    "Why did you take me with you?" Law asked.

    "Well, you looked really sad there when you failed for no reason," I said.

    "And you just took pity on me?" he asked.

    "A bit, also I need your luck to find the handkerchief," I said.

    "What if I don''t want to give it back once I find it?" he asked.

    "We''ll cross that bridge once we get there," I replied with a shrug.

    Law couldn''t help butugh and said, "Well, we need to hurry up then, because we''re veryte," he said pointing at the fact that we''re actually thest in this race.

    "Don''t worry about that, I said as I summoned my ship.

    Law''s eyes opened wide.

    "Oh it''s the ship! I always wanted to see what''s inside it!"

    "Be my guest then, let''s get in," I said.

 Chapter 705: Entering The Thunder

    Law looked like a fat kid in a candy store.

    His eyes were wide and his questions never stopped. I had moved Law into the main navigation room where I and three more puppets were handling the ship.

    I wouldn''t say or mention from which I got the design of the navigation room since it''s pretty much copyright property, but all I can say is, that I strongly disagree with their member''s dress code. Wearing blue red and yellow is pretty jarring to the eyes.

    Still, I sat on the main chair overseeing the entire room. Law was looking around at every lever and button, trying to figure out what each of them did.

    Question after Question he asked, and I replied to each and every one of his questions. Because I need this guy''s ''Luck'' I can''t simply ignore him for now.

    "What does this do?!" he asked as he pointed at the big button that says don''t press.

    "Do you want to try and press it?" I asked.

    "For some reason, even while it says don''t press, the big red button is drawing me in¡­ I can''t resist it," he said.

    I smiled as I said, "Then take a seat and you try pressing it," I asked.

    On the control deck in front of me, I pulled a small lever that propped a seat to emerge right behind Law. He sat down and mmed the bottom of his fist into the button.

    Instantly, the ship''s full thrust function activated. Enabling all motors and thrusters to operate at full capacity.

    The ship which was standing still broke the sound barrier in less than the time it took for one''s eyes to blink.

    Law''s entire body was mmed back against the chair behind him as his eyes widened in shock from the surprise and adrenalin rush.

    The ship which was the slowest of the group of cultivators was elerating at such an absurd rate that we already reached and went past thest cultivator and kept going.

    Dust and smoke blew up from behind us as we weaved through the terrain at maximum speed.

    "This¡­" Law shouted "IS SO COOL!"

    I grinned as I heard the statement and replied, "It is indeed cool. But you haven''t seen everything yet," I smiled at him.

    I then pressed another lever and a small holographic image of the terrain ahead of us appeared in front of Law. The button he pressed turned upside down revealing a new instrument for Law. A yoke appeared right in front of him, with two red buttons on each end.

    Then the entire seat with the yoke dropped down. From underneath the Ship, a spherical booth appeared that Law was seated inside, and to his right and left two smaller sized railguns propped up.

    "Whoaaaa!" Law shouted as he was able to see the scenery from underneath the moving ship shing by.

    "The Yoke in your hands allows you to move the railguns. The middle switch changes the fire type from charged to burst. And the buttons are the trigger to shoot the projectiles. There is a small pir of stone in front of us, try shooting it," I said.

    Law fiddled with the yoke a bit and immediately understood how it moves and pivots. The entire Yoke can not only move the guns but can also change the booth''s direction. Allowing Law to shoot anything that he could see with his eyes. Even if it was behind us as he can simply rotate the booth and the weapons will rotate with him.

    Law aimed the yoke gently and pressed both the fire buttons.

    The charge and release were almost instant. Although these aren''t the main railguns for the ship, these guys are pretty destructive as well.

    The entire pir of rock burst apart in dust and fragmented stone particles leaving Law mouth agape at the sight.

    I could hear Law shouting in excitement at how cool this was and I couldn''t agree more.

    It did take me a pretty long time toe up with that booth system and I needed someone to try it. I guess he is the lucky one to get to use it first.

    We passed by several other cultivators, of which one of them tried to intercept us.

    From up ahead, he stood in the path of the Ship with his palm pointing forward.

    "Leave that flying treasure here and scram!" the man shouted.

    "Should I shoot him?" Law asked.

    "No need," I replied as I kept heading forward.

    "I SAID LEAVE IT AND SCRAM LEST YOU WANT TO HAVE NO CORPSE FOR A FUNERAL!"

    But his words met deaf ears as I continued moving forward.

    "You leave me no choice!" he said as he pulled a word and was about to strike down. But sadly for him, he didn''t fully math out the speed at which we wereing at.

    Not a secondter the ship had already smashed right into him and continued moving.

    I "Ugh, it''s like a giant bug sttering on the windshield."

    Which was something I expected to happen sooner orter.

    Though the man wasn''t dead, he seemed to have had the wind forced out of him as he was unable to even utter a word.

    I pressed another button which simply pulled a windshield swiper and pushed the man to the side away from the main crystal window.

    He was pushed aside and was flown like a rag in the wind while we continued moving forward.

    "Brother Shen! The thunder domain is up ahead!"

    "I can see that," I replied.

    "Well, I don''t know if you know this, but we''re inside a massive tin can, with all due respect to the effort you put into this. We''ll get fried the moment we step inside the Thunder Domain!" he shouted.

    "I already took that into ount, as a matter of fact," I smiled, "That''s the very reason why I''m here with the ship," I said as I pulled another lever on the board.

    On top of the ship, Several Rods emerged out. And the moment we went past the mountain range surrounding the Thunder Domain.

    Lightning bolts the size of a tree''s trunk went down toward the ship.

 Chapter 706: Thunder Domain

    The rods took in the lightning bolt with extreme ease. Channeling their powers through the ship and to the core at the back.

    The Artificial Meridian and the massiveputing cube were relishing in the energy given by the lightning. The Cube immediately began spiraling and twisting taking in lightning and transforming it into Qi.

    The Qi was then pushed through a small spatial portal right into the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Though I''m not allowed to use the Pagoda in the entirety of the race, no one said that I can''t charge it up.

    After all, it needs core energy to function and with so much free energy I can pretty much charge up the pagoda freely.

    The Ship continued moving forward. While the booming sound of thunder never stopped.

    The Thunder Domain loomed before us, a realm of untamed wilderness and primal energy. Dark clouds swirled overhead, illuminated by the constant barrage of lightning that danced across the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, echoing off the towering mountains that surrounded the domain like silent sentinels.

    Thendscape below was a patchwork of rugged terrain and dense vegetation, shrouded in mist and shadow. At first sight, I was amazed at how flora could even survive such a constant and endless barrage.

    Towering trees loomed overhead, their branches twisted and gnarled as if reaching out to grasp the heavens. Vines snaked their way through the undergrowth, their vibrant green leaves shimmering with a faint luminescence in the dim light.

    The green scenery was something I didn''t expect.

    After all, in an area full of thunder and lightning, nothing but charred trees and burnt leaves should ever remain.

    However, this was not the case here. Which brought my attention to something interesting. Besides our ship which seemed to beckon more lightning than anything else in this domain. The lightning still fell down against the ground. Only it hit the exact same spots, over, and over, and over again.

    Constantly, incessantly, and most of all repeatedly.

    I pulled the ship down right into the dense foliage, which caused Law to question why.

    "We''re looking for a handkerchief, the chances of finding it at the center of the forest or at the edge is the exact same. So let''s go down and start the search from there," I said as I moved the ship as close to the spots being stricken as possible.

    Once wended, Law was about to leave, only for me to stop him. "You''ll get fried the moment you leave the ship, let''s understand our surrounding first." I said

    Law looked at me weirdly then said, "Remember something about being lucky?"

    "Oh¡­ I keep forgetting that, regardless there is no reason to be struck by lightning. Let me understand something first." I said and began using my Divine Sense to see what was going on around us.

    Amidst the dense foliage, strange and exotic creatures prowled thend, their forms blending seamlessly with their surroundings. Serpentine creatures slithered through the shadows, their scales shimmering with an iridescent sheen. Hunting for small game. While thunder frogs croaked with the sound of thunder itself all around us.

    Lightning beetles flew all over the ce and some smaller scaly lizards were also crackling with kic energy.

    Above, flocks of thunderbirds soared through the stormy skies, their wings beating in perfect harmony with the rumble of thunder. Their cries echoed through the air, a haunting melody that spoke of untold mysteries and ancient secrets.

    But amidst the chaos and danger, there was a strange beauty to the Thunder Domain. The air was alive with the scent of ozone and rain, a heady mixture that invigorated the senses and filled the soul with a sense of awe and wonder. And as lightning illuminated thendscape in brilliant shes of light, it cast the world in a surreal glow, painting the world in shades of silver and blue.

    My Divine Sense caught everything around me including the cultivators who were aimlessly moving around, turning rocks and trees upside down to find the handkerchief.

    But I wasn''t interested in that. If the handkerchief was just randomly thrown around here, it would probably take years for anyone to find it. So, I wasn''t in a rush.

    What was interesting for me was the massive metallic rod that looked like a crystal formation next to us.

    This thing was taking in the lightning strikes constantly. It was the only thing that''s being struck over and over again in this area.

    "Seems that this is what''s discharging lightning to the ground," I said as I opened the gate.

    "Didn''t you say to not go out?" Law asked.

    "Not here, it''s safe. After all, that massive metallic structure is eating up all the lightning, not even my ship''s rods are being struck by lighting since this thing is taking all of it."

    "That is indeed interesting," Law said as he hopped off the ship.

    "That is not something I''ve seen before," he added.

    "Neither had I, I could probably use something like this. It''s conductivity must be through the roof. Still," I said as I looked around, "This is far too ''safe'' for it to be called the Thunder Domain," I said.

    "Because we''re still at the edge," Law said. "My master had told me about his venture here once."

    "Tell me all you know," I said.

    "Well, it goes something like this¡­"

    ***

    "Seems that our contestants are having a rough time in the Thunder Domain," Thementator said as several cultivators were desperately running around from beasts and dodging thunderbolts.

    "Without the Blue Sun''s protection, I doubt any of them would have survived there," entric Long said.

    "What do you mean?" thementator asked.

    "The protection itself works as a barrier that stops the more dangerous of lightning bolts froming down at them. It hides their presence from the lightning and from the beasts around them. It is a very powerful blessing of sort, but it requires a sturdy body to host it," entric Long said.

    "Then howe they are fine?" thementator said as he pointed at Shen Bao and Law who were casually moving about around the massive metallic formation.

    "Well, fine is something very¡­ temporary. What they''re in front of is not something that will protect them, since the real bolts have yet to starting down. Right now, they''re at the waning phase of the Thunder Domain. It''s like the sea''s tide, it goes up and down. For now, the ferocity of the bolts is very minor.

    And once the atmosphere changes, the real danger of the thunder domain will reveal itself. Not to mention they''re barely at the edge," he added.

 Chapter 707: First Region

    Discover hidden tales at m vl-em-py-r

    "entric Long had mentioned that he traveled across many ces of the Beyond, especially you found great interest in the three forbidden zones," thementator said.

    "Yes, it was always an excitement-inducing venture of mine. Going to the Sea of Demons and visiting the underground cave system there was something that I didn''t want to repeat. Especially since I discovered that that was just the first level. As for the Thunder Domain, even I struggled to get to the third area and had to back away," he said.

    "Where do you think the Blue Sun''s handkerchief will be?" thementator asked.

    "Emm, this isn''t a trial that is meant to kill the cultivators. But at the same time it is meant to fully explore their potential, to be called Strongest Under the Sun one needs to have a will like no other. So, of the five regions of the Thunder Domain, it will not be in the first second or third. Because with enough grit and luck one can still venture through them.

    And it will definitely not be in the fifth because not even a lightning god can live to tell the tale of what is inside there. So I would guess around the peripheries'' of the fourth Zone," entric Long said.

    "A smart man deserves a reward," the Blue Sun said and threw a token toward entric Long who grasped it as fast as lightning. With this he almost obtained all the tokens from all of the suns here.

    "Thank you, yourdyship for this great generosity," he said.

    "Why do you believe that no one of them can set foot in the fifth domain?" she asked.

    "Simply put¡­" entric Long took his time before adding, "Because they haven''t earned the Title Yet. To be even able to witness the thunder and lightning inside the fifth zone is a miracle by itself, since it is from what I could guess the pure culmination of thunderw. Not to mention resisting it.

    They''ll also have to navigate the entire area as they''re looking for the handkerchief turning stones upside down and still protecting themselves from the thunder, it is not a possible thing to do for anyone below the Heaven Realm. And even the Heaven Realm cultivators would have to pay dearly to trespass onto thatnd."

    "As we''re speaking, the thunder in the thunder domain is booming louder. I suppose that the waning phase is over and now it is starting it''s aggravation phase. Let''s see how they''ll deal with this then," thementator added as the screen began disying the various cultivators struggling under the booming thunder.

    ***

    "So, not only did my master almost lose his life in the fifth region, he''s still unable to use his right arm to this day," Law finished his words.

    "For a bow user, to lose the function of an arm¡­ it must be painful," I said.

    "Well, he still is one of the strongest at the Heaven Stage so it''s not that bad. Oh, I guess I talked too much and wasted time, the thunderclouds are thickening," Law said as he looked up.

    I took note of something interesting. The hair on my body began rising, and Law''s head hair also started slowly going up.

    The massive metallic construct next to us began to lose its sheen for some reason.

    "RUN INTO THE SHIP NOW!" I shouted as loudly as I could as I flew forward.

    Law didn''t hesitate to follow me and the both of us immediately went inside the ship.

    Not a secondter, light strong enough to blind a man for a second sted from all directions, and a heavy lightning bolt struck into the rods above the ship.

    Then came the booming sound of an explosive thunderbolt that almost ripped my eardrums.

    "What the hell was that?!" asked Law.

    "The metallic structure¡­ it switched its electrical charge from positive to negative¡­" I said.

    "Euh what?" Law said as he didn''t understand a thing.

    Exining positive and negative charges to someone who doesn''t understand the basics of physics will take a long time so I went with this.

    "Basically, it transformed from a piece of metal to a piece of stone. And since we were the only thing in its presence, we were the lightning''s main target. A source for the lightning to discharge through us¡­"

    Strangely though, why did this piece of metal turn to a nonconductive material¡­ I need a few samples.

    Sadly, I can''t ask the automaton for help to pull inside it the entirety of this metal, since it will vite the rules of thepetition. As the pagoda is a heaven-grade treasure. But I can''t just give up on such interesting material.

    More lightning bolts kepting down, one after the other against the ship. But thankfully nothing seemed to endanger or damage the rods.

    Since I had a few hundred puppets already stationed inside the rooms of the ship, I ordered a dozen of them to go out.

    They also have lightning instors built inside them and even though they might be struck with lightning they can simply discharge it directly into the ground. They won''t get fried since they''re not built using electrical circuits but rather formations.

    And since they also have a synthetic meridian they can also transform some of the lightning energy into internal energy they can use instead of the Saint Qi Stones inside them.

    "I need you guys to mine that piece of rock formation, pull it out for me," I said.

    The puppets immediately began working on the formation, digging it out by hand while the lightning strikes were constantly raining down upon them without stopping.

    Surprisingly the rock formation wasn''t that deep, and they managed to extract it in about a few hours'' worth of work.

    I then ced it inside my holding bag when the lightning bolt seemed to slow down in intensity.

    "What are you nning on using this for?" Law asked.

    "I need to study this thing. But for now, since the ship can withstand this lightning we should probably keep moving forward." I said.

    "Forward? Why? Didn''t you tell me that the chances of the handkerchief being at the edge of the map or the center are about the same," Law asked.

    "Yes, that was before I knew of the five regions of the Thunder Domain, the story of your master exined something that I didn''t know of, and now I have more information to work with."

    "So, where are we going?" Law asked.

    "Hmm, I have a strong hunch that the item will be in the fourth region. The three first regions are probably too easy for any random cultivator to venture through, and it seems that the fourth which is the hardest is where the handkerchief will be.

    Excluding the fifth where even your master lost the use of his arm, if he is in the heaven realm and was damaged to that extent then we''re probably going to get obliterated if we go in there," I said.

    "Right, that makes sense. Then let''s keep moving forward," Law said.

    I then started the ship and flew up, although we were constantly bombarded with lightning it was still not to the extent of causing any visible damage to the ship. The first region is rtively safe as it seems.

    I just hope these lightning rods can survive the higher-intensity bolts.

 Chapter 708: Thunderstruck

    The ship flew forward at a rtively fast pace. We still had to take in a few bolts of lightning here and there but nothing too dangerous to affect the ship''s inner workings.

    "Are we going straight to the fourth region?" Law asked.

    "That''s the goal, but we''ll need to figure out the intensity of the lightning in every region. We can''t risk getting obliterated if we underestimate the power of these bolts," I said. Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr

    Law agreed and continued ying around in the booth underneath the ship.

    Soon, he shouted, "Iing!"

    My divine sense was spread but I didn''t notice anything until it was almost toote.

    A javelin was heading toward us at an incredible speed, but Law''s immacte aim using the two small railgun turrets underneath the ship saved us.

    The bullets shot right into the javelin, fully spiraling the thing out of control and away from its direction, missing the shippletely.

    "I can see them," Law said.

    "Blow them up," I said as he shot several dozen shots at the cultivator who tired to take us down.

    The cultivator managed to run through the thick forest and avoid all of the shots that blew up against the floor.

    The damage from the bullets was significant but it wasn''t noticeable due to the endless bombardment of lightning.

    "I can''t see them anymore," Law said.

    "The weather is affecting my Divine Sense, I should have sensed them. Still, keep your eyes peeled, if they attacked us once they''ll attack us again," I said.

    "Why would anyone do that," Law sighed, "The goal is to find the handkerchief not to fight."

    "If there are nopetitors then finding the handkerchief bes much easier. Regardless, just keep a lookout."

    "I will, also you could have used the big guns," Law said.

    "I could, but I don''t need to. In fact I rather not," I replied.

    Law didn''t question why, and I didn''t feel like exining now. In case my theory is wrong.

    Several hourster, we barely made it halfway through the first region, and apparently it is the smallest region of the five.

    Before we could even notice this time, the entire ship rattled as another spear shot right into the hull of the ship.

    "Damage report!" I called.

    "Euh, I don''t know!" Law shouted back.

    "Not you," I said.

    The Ship''s vocalwork lit up.

    "My Lord, the damage is insignificant. Noting but a dent."

    "Y, you and X, go down and hunt that man down. Make sure you bring me his right arm," I said.

    "As the lordmands," I said.

    "Who are those? Y and X?" Law asked.

    "They''re my first two puppets. Very loyal," I said.

    "Oh, the first puppets you refined, I see." He said.

    "I never refined them. They are loyal by choice, not force." I said.

    "You make it seem as if they have an Ego," he said.

    I smiled at Law''s statement and said, "Just watch."

    Some timeter, a loud explosion sounded in the forest. Trees and boulders flew up all around the area.

    "Dock us here," I said.

    "I don''t know how to do that," Law said.

    "Not you, there are other puppets that work in this ship man, anyway we''ll need to wait for Y and X toe back."

    "Shouldn''t we help them? They were barely at the Void Stage, I don''t see how puppets of the Void Stage can defeat that guy who seemed to be in the Origin Realm."

    "Stages and Realms are irrelevant against me," I said.

    Law''s confusion kept increasing. Especially with the constant bombardment all around us.

    The man who was throwing javelins at us soon flew up, his entire body riddled with burns and scars. And his left arm was barely hanging on with a tendon.

    He looked to have seen a ghost as he flew above us. His direction was away from the thunder domain.

    However, soon a st of power energy shot right next to him, separating his armpletely from the rest of his body.

    The cultivator roared in pain as his arm fell off, but sooner than expected, a lightning bolt the size of a tree trunk fell down on him. Electrifying him in the process and sending him mming into the ground.

    He luckily -for me- fell a bit ahead of the ship. So I headed to the Ship''s exit to take a look. I made sure to not leave the range of the ship lest the bolts of lightning would strike at me. Instead the lightning continued raining down against the cultivator nonstop.

    He couldn''t even ask for help as the endless lightning bolts continueding down at him as if he was their mortal enemy. To the point where I wondered why the bolts stopped striking my ship and all continueding down against that man.

    But soon enough the man decided that he was better off discarding his body. Using his own Soul to escape.

    The man clearly thinking that the only way to survive was to possess another body, and seeing two ''weak'' looking cultivators at the realms of mere Void Stage, he decided toe at us.

    Law understood what was going on and jumped in front of me as if to protect me from the iing soul.

    I simply swept Law''s feet from under him and allowed the soul to jump into my body.

    Confused and unable to understand what went on, Law looked at me with eyes full of worry.

    "GET OUT OF HIM!" Law Shouted.

    "Calm down, he''s dead," I said. "X, Y, where''s the arm?" I said.

    Soon, X approached me with the man''s arm which I took.

    "Y, can you pick up his holding bag?" I said and went inside the ship.

    Law was still confused before Y spoke up, "The Lord is immune to Soul theft and possession, in fact he wees it since a Soul is nothing but food for him."

    This cleared up the confusion in Law''s head, but probably made him think of even more questions.

 Chapter 709: Tattoo

    "Those are some interesting puppets," entric Long said.

    "Indeed, rather they''re too interesting, for them to have defeated an Origin Realm cultivator which is two whole realms above them, is something I can''t understand, give me a second," the Commentator said as he began conversing via divine sense with one of the Eight Suns.

    Soon, he returned to his colleagues and said, "It seems that nothing is wrong with what happened. And they are indeed just Void Stage puppets, which begs the question, how did Du Shen make them? Since he himself said that he made them himself. And howe they can also fight against higher stage cultivators same as him," thementator asked.

    "The answer to that question is as obvious as the sun," the Dusking Sun who was right next to thementator said. "Because the man who attacked Du Shen was poisoned," the Dusking Sun said.

    "Poisoned? He was never attacked directly before the puppets reached him though," thementator said.

    "But he was attacked indirectly, remember when the cultivator first threw a javelin, the retaliatory strike caused several explosions. And in those explosions although your cultivation level is too low to sense it, I was able to see it. There was poison in those explosions.

    Du Shen never intended to strike at the cultivator directly in case they''d notice the poison and try and purge it, but made sure to strike next to him, giving him a sense of safety after he escaped. During that time the poison acted slowly in his system causing him to lose control over his cultivation base."

    "I see, no wonder the puppets easily subdued an Origin Level cultivator. Quite the schemer," thementator said.

    "I don''t know if it''s scheming or just being fully prepared for all scenarios. But indeed, it was a very good ploy," the Dusking Sun said as he continued sipping on the remaining of his drink offered by Shen Bao.

    "What begs the question is," Xiao Du said, "I don''t even want to delve into how he survived a soul attack since that is his own secret, but Why did he specifically asked the puppets to retrieve the arm of the killed cultivator?"

    "I guess we''re about to find out, Du Shen allowed our recorder to enter his ship, so we can see what''s going on."

    The screen began showing what was happening inside Shen Bao''s ship.

    Surprise painted the eyes of many viewers as they didn''t understand how the rtively small ship was so gigantic on the inside.

    It had thousands of rooms and a main deck, not to mention several otherpartment where one can move about. The armory and weapon area was fully locked which was understandable but the rest was allowed for the viewers.

    The small scrying orb followed behind Shen Bao until he arrived at arge room that had the words Lab written on it.

    "What strange words," entric Long said.

    "I never seen that word before, could it be an inscription symbol?" thementator asked.

    "I feel no spirituality from it, it could be anguage that we''re not aware of, regardless that area looks like aboratory, after all the gurney in the middle of it could exin it alongside the many other tools."

    Shen Bao then ced the hand on the gurney and began inspecting it. First by using Divine Sense, then using a strange ss lens made of ss to look through the arm, specifically the symbol that the Blue Sun had made.

    This caught the attention of the Blue Sun who looked intensely at Shen Bao''s actions.

    "Emm, is it just me, or is he studying the symbol?" asked thementator.

    entric Long beganughing, "From all I''ve seen Du Shen do, it wouldn''t be far outstretched for him to actually try andprehend it."

    "Comprehend it? We''re talking about something the Blue Sun had made, I doubt that he could even understand it," the Commentator said.

    "I wouldn''t be too sure," the Dusking Sun said as he continued drinking, "After all, those puppets, they smell of the work of the Wisest Sun. And I''m sure that the Wisest Sun never gave anything to him directly, especially those puppets."

    "I never did, at least not directly," the Wisest Sun spoke up, his words were heard through the arena. "Those Puppets are made before he understood some of my¡­ discarded experimental tools. If you think he cheated, then be appeased he had not," the Wisest Sun cut off all probable doubts from the root by vouching for Shen Bao.

    Shrugging the Commentator said, "Then let''s see if he couldprehend them, after all he isn''t stopping us from watching."

    ***

    "Very interesting," I said as I zoomed in using the lenses on my eye.

    "What do find interesting?" asked Law.

    "This symbol, it it''s like a tattoo," I replied.

    "A tattoo? Howe?"

    "It has a metallic base. But this metal¡­ for some reason feels dormant, I''ve seen this before, in fact it''s the same metal that made those rock formation. But, it''s dormant for now," I replied.

    "Perhapse it''s not working because the body is dead?"

    "Oh¡­ you''re right, a human''s body is basically a gigantic circuit, it uses electric charges to send and receive information through the brain. Then¡­"

    Though my understanding of Lightning is pretty limited, I still am capable of harnessing it from the ship itself.

    Using an extension cord, I plugged it into a socket inside theb and tasered the arm.

    The circle immediately lit up, changing its color from the pale silver to an almost glowing white. But thatsted only for a few seconds before it dimmed after I removed the cable.

    "I see," I mumbled.

    "What do you see? I don''t understand what''s going on," Law said."

    "Basically, this tattoo acts as a trap for electric discharges. Whenever a current goes through one''s body this tattoo consumes it."

    "How did you figure that out?" Law asked.

    "Because there is more than a million volt of electricity going through this cord,"

    "Volt?"

    "This cord channels about the same power of a lightning bolt. That means that if this arm didn''t have the tattoo on it, it should have turned to cinder and ash. Pretty amazing instor. I need this type of technology," I said and then began dissecting the arm.

    This tattoo hides many secrets, and I''ll need to unravel them. Perhaps I''ll learn something new.

 Chapter 710: Heaven Swapping Cauldron

    My Divine Sense was working overtime as it was analyzing the pattern.

    The entire tattoo was made of minuscule almost cell-sized metallic cubes that were positioned in the pattern to look like a circle.

    Although it looks like a circle from the outside, the tattoo''s material itself goes far deeper into the skin. It had depth to it.

    "That''s very interesting," I said.

    Law decided to quiet down for a second. He understood that no matter how I exined it to him he wouldn''t figure out how this tattoo works so he just kept watching.

    "I''ll be back," I said to Law and headed into one of the chambers of the Ship where I stored something I needed.

    I brought back a fist-sized cube with a lens on top of it. This was something I created when I had spare time.

    A holographicputer of sorts, though this is far too unconventional to call it aputer.

    This was a holographic projector based on the guiding system I made for my tungsten bullet.

    I lit up the projector and it disyed a three-dimensional cube in the air. Which will be the basis of my work.

    Exclusive content from m,v lem|p,yr

    I then began by recreating the same tattoo on the arm, by making cube after cube, cing them exactly how I saw them.

    Thanks to my enhanced processing power due to doping on brain-enhancing poisons I was easily able to recreate the schematic on the tattoo. It only took a few hours to rebuild the millions upon millions of cubes making the tattoo.

    "Whoa, it looks like a small city," Law said.

    Indeed, it does, it looks like a city made of high risers of different levels.

    But now that it''s holographically made and visible to the naked eye I was able to understand how this works.

    Taking in consideration the material that absorbs lightning, this structure looks like a formation that aims to absorb and store lightning inside it. The height of the blocks and ''buildings'' allowed it to transform the energy and disperse the unneeded excess.

    But to what purpose? The user cannot use this energy¡­ could the Blue Sun be using this symbol to harness Thunder Law? But why is she using a cultivator for that? Couldn''t she juste here and do it herself?

    Perhaps there is a constraint on why she cannot. Or maybe this is just something she made as a pastime.

    Still, I couldn''t figure out the reason why she made this. Nor do I think it serves me any good to pry on another''s secrets.

    "X, take this cube, get the worker puppets to break down the pir we dug out, and make something like this."

    "As youmand my Lord," X replied and took the holographic cube to another chamber.

    "What are you nning on doing?" Law asked.

    "An experiment," I replied.

    "Then what are we going to do now? We''re kinda wasting our time."

    "We''re not, I actually had the ship move to the second region, we should be in the second region in a few minutes," I said.

    "Oh, I didn''t even feel that we moved."

    "Space istion. Otherwise, it would be dumb to have ab that''s affected by vibrations. Let''s move back to the main room." I said.

    Once we were back in the main room, we found something rather interesting.

    The deep gray clouds of the first region were no more, and now the clouds were pitch ck. The thunder that wasing down was also purple in color and looked far too destructive.

    "Shen, Look," Law said as he pointed his finger forward.

    Arge pir that was simr in structure to the one we dug out was there, only this one was slightly different in color.

    Instead of the metallic pale gray. This one was purple.

    And lightning never stopped striking at it.

    While behind us, a pale gray pir was unbothered by lightning.

    "I see, the prity is different in the second region."

    "Look there," Law said.

    My eyes tracked his direction and I saw a cultivator being chased by lightning that was as big as a skyscraper.

    The man was obliterated in an instant. Nothing but his hand was left on his body.

    I stopped the ship right before we entered the second region.

    "Why did we stop?" asked Law.

    "Because I have a feeling that if we set foot in the second region unprepared, we''ll die a dog''s death," I said. "But I really want that hand," I said.

    "It seems strange that only the hand remained after being struck by lightning," Law said.

    "I need that arm to further study it," I said.

    "How are we going to do that, from that lightning''s power and what you said¡­ I doubt it will be safe to take a step inside the second region," Law said.

    "Hmm, then there is only one thing to do," I said.

    "What is?"

    "To get the hand without ever stepping inside the second zone, I''ll go back to theb," I said.

    "How are you going to do that?!" Law asked.

    "I''ll figure something out," I replied as I hurried toward theb.

    Once I got there, the small orb that kept projecting whatever I did to the audience tried to follow me inside.

    "Sorry, this is a bit private, I''ll show the results not the method," I said and the orb flew back and away.

    Seems that thementator is respectful of my privacy, after all one shouldn''t show all their cards.

    Once I got to theb I pulled out the reward I''d gotten from the mboyant Sun.

    The small-sized cauldron was what I needed for this operation. But due to the heavy damage it had received, it isn''t something that can be used multiple times.

    However, that isn''t going to stop me from using it.

    First things first is to understand how it is made.

    Thews and inscription on this thing are very different from what I''m used to. After all, not even inside the Library of the Lord of Lords pagoda did I find any hint about these words ornguage. But, allnguage has a way of deducing it.

    I just need to create a cipher and keep deducing the words and letters until I find a proper meaning. I did that with the Imperial Language from back home in the Vast Expanse, so there shouldn''t be any issue stopping me from doing it here.

    I propped up the cauldron on top of the table and began jotting down the letters.

 Chapter 711: Symbio Metal

    Astonishingly, the metal that made the cauldron was something that I had thought to not exist in the beyond. But taking a closer look, it was in fact not.

    It was made of a very simr material to the rock formation pirs. But it was a bit different. If the rock formation was iron, the cauldron itself was like steel.

    The base is the same, but something was added to it. And I need to figure out what that something is.

    But that was not my worry for now, since I needed to understand what the full inscription inside the cauldron even meant.

    Setting up a cipher for the strange letters was easy. Since it''s all systematic, it only took me about half a day to figure out what each letter meant. Using basic mathematical and arithmetic theory I was able to deduce every letter and how it is used.

    Though I only had a small sample to work with in this cauldron, the fact that the letters themselves were used multiple times all over it allowed me to understand them.

    I then began applying the forms and was able to finallye up with a working inscription that allowed spatial extension and contraction.

    Meaning, I managed to figure out how to erge a space and contract it. Which was the only fully functional formation on the cauldron. The second formation which was spatial discement was missing a few key letters that''s why it would cost an insane amount of Qi to operate.

    So, I wasn''t going to tamper with that for the time being. Only after I fully understood the functionality of this newnguage.

    I then began applying the formation on a piece of Neutron Steel which was one of the toughest metals I own. However, the entire thing immediately copsed upon itself the moment the inscription was finished.

    The power of the inscription was more than capable of fully copsing even Neutron Steel which was already extremely durable.

    "It seems that the inscription is too powerful to be applied to something like this¡­"

    I called one of the puppets who were working on carving the metallic rock formation and asked it to bring me several kilos of the material to work with.

    Once I ced them in front of me, I began by applying the formation on a piece of this metal. The moment I was done with inscribing it, I activated it by using a bit of my Qi, only to notice that some of my mental power, although minuscule was also sucked out of me.

    The metallic bar however immediately shrunk while keeping its structure. It still looked like a steel bar, but it was just a dozen times tinier.

    However, the metal bar soon fractured and broke apart, and the pieces which were linked by the metallic formation soon grew back to their original size.

    "This is very interesting," I muttered to myself.

    I propped out the cauldron to further inspect it. And the more I look at it the more confusing it became.

    the entire thing was actually not made of a single piece of metal.

    Using my divine sense, I was able to look far deeper into the cauldron, far past the inscription and into the seams of the cauldron itself. At almost a microscopic level I was able to see tens of millions of small cubes, the same as the ones the Blue Sun had printed on all of the cultivators here.

    These small metallic cubes were what created this cauldron, set next to each other like a¡­ tissue. Like an organic tissue, only made of cubes. And once I applied a small bit of Qi on them, they absorbed it inside them.

    However, due to the crack in the cauldron, the energy that was absorbed dispersed immediately.

    This begs the question, if the energy one needs to use the cauldron''s ability to change ces is exhausted, where does the energy needed to erge or shrink the cauldrone from?

    Upon further inspection, I noticed a small group of cubes in the center of the cauldron''s bottom, it was different from the rest of the cubes. These were darker in color, and by applying Qi on them, they absorbed it and didn''t transfer it anywhere else.

    I kept my eyes on that group of cubes and pressed the erged function of the cauldron. The small group of dark-colored cubes instantly released energy from within themselves to the rest of the cubes. And soon, the small cell-sized cubes began growing and growing until the entire cauldron almost broke myboratory. I stopped the cauldron and shrunk it back.

    I took notes of all that happened.

    The cauldron itself was made of cubes that are affected by Qi.

    Each cube has an inscription on it which altered its size and its position.

    The energy inside the cauldron is too vtile due to therge crack and the missing cubes.

    And the formation to do spatial discement is missing a few key pieces to fully function.

    Thanks to the cypher, I could easily deduce the missing formation.

    Since I didn''t have the materials needed to repair the cube, I thought of something else.

    Why not recreate the same spatial discement formation?

    Seeing as how this metal is able to absorb not only Qi but mental power to function, means that it''s pretty special. Almost as if it is alive.

    "I wonder how making a puppet made of this metal would look like¡­" but I immediately removed the thought from my mind. The number of cubes I''ll need to make something like that will be astronomical.

    I''d need to have at least a few hundred of those metallic rock formationposites dug out. Which isn''t the worst idea in the world.

    For now, I began by cutting the metal into thumb sized cubes.

    Which was surprisingly easy, the metal was as mellow as gold. But once exposed to Qi, it bes harder than diamond.

    So cutting it was the easy part.

    And after I was done cutting a few thousand pieces of equal size, I began inscribing them with the size changing formation.

 Chapter 712: Symbio Metal II

    Once I was done, I attached the cubes to look like a horse carriage wheel. Although it was pretty thick.

    Now all I needed was to use a bit of my energy. And the moment I used my Qi on the wheel it snapped together as if it was welded together. I couldn''t even separate it not even by force.

    "Very sturdy," I noted.

    Since these cubes were hardened thanks to Qi, I couldn''t inscribe anything on them, since I needed to carve the inscription using my tools. So I waited until the Qi inside the ring was fully exhausted and the link between the cubes rxed and they detached themselves but still remained in wheel shape.

    With the basic framework done, and the wheel rxed, I began copying the spatial discement formation from the cauldron onto the inside of the wheel.

    It took me a few hours to get everything written down, and since the formation was missing a small bit from the crack and caused leakage, I improvised. Adding a few more inscriptions which I deduced were capable of transferring Qi from one side to another.

    Basically, I stemmed the bleeding where the Qi was leaking from the missing part.

    Although I don''t know if this stem will work or not, all I can guarantee is that it won''t cause me to use an insane amount of Qi to activate the formation.

    With everything finalized. I added my Qi to the wheel, and then enabled the shrinking formation, half expecting the entire thing to blow up in my face, so I backed away and used my Qi as a protective barrier.

    However, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the entire wheel-sized metallic object shrunk until it was the size of a ring. It was pretty sturdy too and didn''t bend.

    But it can''t stay like this forever, I didn''t give it enough energy to remain in this form forever. So it will soon grow back to its former size.

    I continued testing how long the ring would remain in its form and how much Qi it would take for it to exhaust itself and came up with an estimate. The ring needs about the same energy as a fingertip''s worth of heavenly Qi, not saint Qi, to change its form. Which was an incredibly low amount.

    Once it exhausts it, it returns to its basic form.

    No wonder the cauldron is always in its smaller size, since it was probably used by a Sun, it absorbed more energy than it needs to remain in its shape for an eternity.

    As for the discement function. I had to wear the ring for it to be in direct contact with my body.

    Then ring, as if alive dug deep into my finger. I could feel it too. The several parts of the ring-shaped themselves into needles that dug into my flesh and connected themselves to my blood vessels.

    I didn''t expect this and just as I was about to force the ring out, it lit up with Qi. I felt a bit lightheaded, not enough to cause one to worry but I noticed that I lost a sliver of my mental strength.

    My eyes fell on the cauldron which was wobbling for some reason. And almost immediately I found myself on top of the table. Confused at first, I looked back, and the cauldron which was on top of the table was actually back on the ground where I was standing a second earlier.

    Surprised by the function of the ring, I tried it again and again and realized that I could use this about ten times before the strain became too much for my head and I needed to rest. Not take pills but to actually rest.

    Sadly the position exchange only applied to myself, and I couldn''t swap two different things in the distance for example, and the limitation was not that far which isn''t pretty good, since I might need to use this to change position with something far away in a pinch.

    I went to grab the cauldron, and the moment my hand touched the cauldron as if the metallic pot was alive, it melted, changing into a viscous substance.

    Soon the entire cauldron began fusing itself into the ring. An interesting phenomenon. Something I didn''t expect, and something that could be dangerous.

    I even half expected that I''d have to cut my hand off, but there was no malicious or dangerous feeling as the entire cauldron fully fused into the ring, growing the ring''s size by a decent margin.

    "Seems that the cauldron had the ability to repair itself¡­ Quite interesting."

    And thanks to the fusion of the cauldron and the ring, I felt the strain that I needed to use the ring drop by an incredible margin.

    However, I couldn''t fully test out the extent of this discovery here in theb.

    I walked back out of theb and asked Law to follow me.

    "Where are we going?" Law asked.

    "To do something fun," I said as the both of us got out of the ship.

    Far in the distance, the arm of the dead cultivator was still there. But there was no way for any of us to get there without getting absolutely fried by the constant lightning.

    "Check this out," I said to Law and instantly I disappeared from right next to him while a small stalk of herbs appeared in the air where I was.

    I appeared right next to the hand on the ground, and the moment I did so, I felt the hair on my back rise up, I was apparently the new target of the iing lightning bolt.

    I quickly grabbed the arm from the ground and used the ring once again, changing my position back using the very same stalk I used the first time.

    The lightning bolt which wasing down at me however failedpletely to hit me and struck the ground pointlessly.

    "What the hell was that!" Law shouted as he couldn''t understand how I disappeared and appeared at the same time from so far away.

    I smiled at Law''s shocked face. Well, I never thought the cost of using this thing would be so minimal after the cauldron fused into the ring. Now, I can probably use this to exchange position with anything within my divine sense range. The smaller the distance the more insignificant the cost. Though even at maximum distance I can use it about a dozen or so times before I begin feeling the strain.

    This is pretty amazing.

 Chapter 713: More Secrets

    The most impressive discovery isn''t just the fact that I can swap position with whatevernds within my Divine Sense. But the fact that this metal can be bound together with Qi and mental prowess.

    If I were to think of something simr, it would be nanobots. Though it''s nothing but theory, the fact that these cubes can follow the guidance of Qi can probably allow them to operate in that way.

    What the Blue Sun had made was a tattoo that simply absorbed the power of lightning using this metal and dispersed it. But it would be utterly useless once the power of the lightning bes stronger.

    As much as I admire the thought, that''s out of the question. I don''t have the theoretical knowledge to make something like that. But, I can still make protective gear made of that material. The only issue is, I''ll need all types of this metal.

    From what I saw, the cauldron itself had at least two different types of metal although they were of the same source.

    I was only able to harvest one from the basic metal rock formation, and the few dark-colored cubes I currently have around my ring are from the Heaven Swapping Cauldron itself.

    So I''ll need to obtain more of this metal to know all of its properties.

    The Gray one can solidify once it absorbs Qi, and the Dark one is able to save up Qi and discharge it when needed.

    Then what about the purple one? What properties does it have? Visit m,v le,mpyr today

    Seeing that the lightning was constantly striking it, made it feel like it had no special trait. But, the more I look at this purple formation, the more peculiar it gets.

    The rock formation itself was ever so steadily darkening in color, but it still remained purple. However no other visible change urred besides that.

    "What are we going to do now?" Law asked.

    "The Palm of that cultivator gave me no obvious clues on how to proceed, the inscription is basically the same as the one in the arm we got. But still, the fact that the palm itself is still safe means that there is a way to survive the lightning," I said.

    "How so?" Law asked.

    "We''ll have to wait for a bit," I replied.

    Not longer than a few hours one of the puppets came out of the ship and told me that the project I tasked them with had beenpleted.

    I went inside to inspect it and was amazed at their work.

    They had fully recreated the tattoo, using the cubes from the strange metal. By now I should give it a name.

    "Soulsteel, since it absorbs mental energy which is a type of soul energy, and uses it to function. Nice, catchy name too," I nodded to myself.

    The tattoo was far smaller than what I have here and could only protect the arm of the cultivator. While this thing here isrge enough for me to ce it on top of the entire ship and have it stop the lightning from falling down upon us.

    That was the basic idea. Since it was made using the same Soulsteel I can have it deflect or hide our presence from the lightinging down at us.

    "Why are you doing all this?" Law asked as he followed behind me.

    "What do you mean?" I replied.

    "This thing, I mean, if you just wanted it to stop the lightning from striking us, couldn''t we just carry the entire boulder above the ship?"

    Exining conductivity to him will be a pain in the ass.

    "The Soulsteel is not a simple metal," I said.

    "Soulsteel?"

    "Yeah, I decided to name it that. Regardless, the material itself is not simple. When it''s gray, it takes in more lightning than even the lightning rods I have. It beckons it even. And only when it bes paler does it start repelling and refusing lightning."

    "So, what does that have to do with this construct you made?" Law asked, confusion still painted on his face.

    "The Blue Sun''s construct or Tattoo, was built in a way that it will always keep rejecting the lightning. So, in replicating her work on a massive scale I can theorize that it should stop the bolts from striking us, but like all things, we need to test this out first," I said.

    I ordered several puppets to grab the entire rig and ce it on top of the ship. Once it was set up, I infused it with a bit of my own Qi, solidifying the structure.

    "This should be enough, we''ll just hope it will work," I said as I hopped out of the ship.

    "Wait, are we not riding?" Law asked.

    "Euh, I''m not nning on making myself a test subject, also I can control the ship just fine from the outside."

    Well, technically X will be driving it.

    Soon, the ship lifted off and began moving toward the rim of the second region.

    Slowly but surely the entire thing went past the border and was well within the second region. A thick lightning bolt formed instantly above the ship and fell down at incredible speed, however, just before it made contact it swerved and struck the ground beneath the ship.

    "Sess!"

    We soon joined back into the ship guiding it this time not to delve deeper into the Thunder Domain, but to roam about.

    "I would suppose you''re looking for more of that Soulsteel," Law said.

    "Yea, it''s a pretty unique metal, and I want to see how far I can push it, and how where I can apply and use it. Perhaps craftsmanship, alchemy, or even steelwork. I need samples, and thisnd has plenty of it."

    The ship resumed moving through the second region, where lightning constantly fell down, but avoided us at all costs. The bolts struck right into the Purple Soulsteel embedded into the ground.

    We closed in on the boulder and I had the puppets begin excavation.

    Thanks to the ship hovering on top of the Soulsteel, the lighting bolts that constantly struck it no longer did so. So we managed to pull it out in no time.

    After doing the same thing for a few more times, I was finally satisfied with the haul and decided to move in deeper.

    "Please!" I heard.

    The voice was rather weak, and the owner seemed to be in distress.

    "Fellow cultivator!" a man said as he propped up from behind the brushes all around us.

    He sped his hand, and yes, hand since his other hand was severed entirely. While his body was scarred and almost turned to ash. Not only did he have a prettyrge sword gash on his side, an obvious sign of a fight.

    The man slowly approached us.

    "Could I please take shelter with you, I have been running away for some time now," he said.

    "He looks like he had seen hell," Law said as he hopped off the ship and went towards the man.

    The stranger approached Law slowly, showing that he wasn''t dangerous and almost tripped forward.

    Law''s ''nice'' gesture almost caused him to die as he tried to hurriedly grab the falling man.

    But the sound of my handgun blowing through the area was as loud as the sound of the booming thunder as the man''s head cracked open like a watermelon struck with a sledgehammer.

    Law was stunned, confused and unable to understand what went on.

    "Why did you do that for?" he asked.

    "Look at his other hand," I said.

    What Law didn''t notice that when the man was falling forward he pulled a small dagger and was about to attack him.

    "Everyone here is an enemy, you should keep that in mind," I said.

    Law nodded as he realized that he could have lost his life right here and then.

    Not a secondter another man showed up, this one was looking all around as if searching for someone. Peculiarly, his hand which should have one single circle as a tattoo had two circles in it.

    The moment he stood in front of us, he noticed the body on the ground and then us.

    "You''re the two guys that didn''t get the stigma¡­ did you kill this man?" he asked.

    Neither me nor Law replied.

    "From the trace of blood, I guess he walked all the way here, hmm, his arm has been cut a while ago, damn, what a wasted opportunity," the man spat right next to the corpse and flew forward ignoring the both of us.

    Surprisingly the lightning never struck him, nor did he even vie or show jealousy for my ship.

    "What was that about?" Law asked.

    I thought for a moment and said, "I think I have a guess¡­ but I''ll need to confirm it first," I said and went inside the ship.

    Law followed after me until we reached theb and found me grabbing both of the arms of the two cultivators from earlier.

    "What are you nning on doing with those?" he asked.

    "A theory," I said as I pressed both hands together.

    Soon one of the tattoos peeled itself away from one arm and stuck itself into the second hand. Creating an even smaller circle in the center, and seemingly reinforced the entire structure.

    "I see," I mumbled.

    Law waited patiently until I exined to him.

    "The Blue Sun is pretty meticulous. Not only did she figure out how the Soulsteel works, she also implemented it as a multiyer formation. You need to have the tattoos of other cultivators imprinted on your own to proceed into the next stage. I guess without a level two tattoo one wouldn''t be able to move forward. And that was the same tattoo the man earlier hand¡­

 Chapter 714: Encounter

    "I finally understand," I said.

    Law nodded, he seemed to have figured out the purpose of this trial.

    This wasn''t a simple race to who gets the object first. But also a test of survival against very strong opponents and a disadvantageous environment.

    The Blue Sun''s trial was by far the most difficult. It also epasses every aspect of every other one of the Sun''s trials.

    The race part portrays the ability to hunt and be hunted under pressure. And the intellectual part is to understand the hidden secrets of the Thunder Domain and utilize the tattoo to survive the Thunder.

    Cultivators not only have to survive against impossible environmental dangers, such as this constant lightning that could easily obliterate any cultivator under the Origin Shattering Realm. They also need to understand the purpose of the tattoo.

    The first stage is to protect you from the first region''s lightning, and if you kill another cultivator you can upgrade your tattoo to enter the second stage area. And so on.

    "What are we going to do now?" Law asked.

    "I''ll upgrade the lightning-repelling wheel above the ship to the second stage," I said.

    "Why? Wasn''t it working just fine?" Law asked.

    "Although it is working fine, I don''t know if it will survive the further we go inside, there is no harm in upgrading it, especially since we have a diagram to follow up on," I said as I pointed at the hand with two circles.

    "Oh, look at that," Law said as he pointed at the inner circle. "The inner circle is different."

    I took a closer look and realized what he meant.

    The outer circle was made from the pale Soul Steel, the inner one had a bit of Purple coloration on it and a mix of the Pale Soul Steel.

    With the formation in hand, quite literally, I gave orders to the puppet to carve and shape the purple Soulsteel. This way I can create the secondyer of the tattoo.

    After a few hours, the puppets were done. No cultivators came our way though, so we were pretty much fine for the time being.

    With the second set of the formation finished I ced it on the inner part of the lightning repelling wheel and began adjusting it to perfectly fit the diagram of the Blue Sun.

    Once I was done, we drove the ship further ahead.

    The journey was not without dangers. The skies had many beasts roaming about. Mainly a flock of lightning hawks.

    The hawks were massive to say the least. With blue feathers covering their bodies and a long golden horn on their head.

    Lightningpletely ignored their presence. And never struck at them as they roamed freely, and when they noticed our ship they approached us.

    The flock itself had about half a dozen hawks in it that were charging forward. There was no malice in their approach, and they only flew around the moving ship. Taking note of the metallic flying object without harming us or threatening to destroy the ship.

    On the ground however, several other beasts were moving about, one of them was actually an elephant-sized hedgehog, with lightning sparking all over its spikes. It was sittingfortably and eating some fruit from a nearby tree.

    "The animals here are rather calm and collected. It''s strange, I don''t see a single demonic beast here," Law said.

    "Lightning is a form of divinew. It destroys evil and demons alike. Finding no demonic creatures in and where lightning constantly strikes is normal," I said.

    "I see," Law replied as he kept watching the hawks following us.

    One of them actually moved about andnded on the front of the ship. Seemingly interested in the metallic substance the ship was made off, it poked around for a bit but didn''t have any intentions on destroying or harming the ship.

    "Should I shoo it away?" Law asked.

    "No, leave it, as long as it''s not harming the ship we''re fine, also it''s acting as a protective measure," I replied.

    "How so?"

    "The lightning isn''t striking at any of the hawks although they''re flying all over the ce. They must have adapted in a way to avoid it," I said.

    In the distance, I saw a couple of cultivators flying ahead.

    One of the cultivators struck down a flying hawk, and immediately the flock following us went into a frenzied rampage. They screeched loud enough that you could confuse their screams with thunder itself and instantly shed forward with the power of lightning.

    They arrived at the cultivator''s position in a heartbeat and began diving on him.

    The cultivator annoyed with the ''measly'' birds tried to swat one of them aside using their sword. But the closest hawk lifted its head up, and the golden horn on its head changed color to pure silver.

    A lightning bolt immediately fell down against the hawk''s horn, and the beast swung its head down as if flicking the very bolt that it was struck with at the cultivator.

    The motion was fast, seamless, and natural to a scary degree.

    The bolt which should have avoided the cultivator with two circles didn''t seem to have the rule applied to it.

    As the bolt was somehow modified, it instantly went through the cultivator, boring a massive hole in his chest.

    The other cultivator seeing his panion?'' being struck down, panicked and tried to defend himself. Which was an awful idea.

    The other hawks didn''t like that, and immediately went on the offensive. Channeling the lightning from the heavens themselves and striking them down against the second cultivator.

    Secondster, the man turned to ash, with the exception of his palm.

    The hawks continued hovering around the area where the two had died, and soon after they were certain that the cultivators no longer drew breath, the flock dispersed.

    "Nature is scary," Law said.

    "Nature is fair, they attacked the hawks first, unprovoked and that was the end for them. Also, it''s a good opportunity for the both of us," I said as I guided the ship to the corpses.

    I left the ship in hover mode above the corpse''s area and went down to collect the arms. Once I had them in hand I went back into the ship and began fusing the arms again.

    Only this time, one arm wasn''t enough.

    The tattoo on the newly acquired arm created a half circle on the original tattoo. And by adding the other arm was I able to have a threeyer tattoo.

    "I guess it''s incremental," Law said.

    "It is, we''ll need four more arms I would suppose to have four symbols. Also," I said as I pointed at the third circle, "This one is red."

    "We''ll need to find red Soulsteel then."

    "Yeah, it should be in the third region. We''re not that far off," I said as I headed back to themand room on the ship.

    I resumed the ship''s voyage forward, we still had a lot of distance to cover.

    ***

    "What an impressive man," the Commentator said.

    "Not only did he understand the formation made by the Blue Sun, he also recreated it, and is using it to protect his ship from thunder," entric Longmented.

    "That''s not the only thing, the fact that he''s still moving through the Thunder Domain without the Blue Sun''s blessing in itself is an amazing feat. He seems to understand a lot about Thunder Law." Xiao Du added.

    "What about the rest of the contestants?" thementator asked, "Do you think any of them is capable of overthrowing thepetition? They do have a lot of potential to have made it this far."

    "No one is guaranteed to win, only those who make it to the fourth region and back. But, I do believe that if it was not Du Shen, then at least the Fire Lord or Zhang Tian would be one of the winners," entric Long said.

    "How so?" Xiao Du asked. "Because although Zhang Tian and the Fire Lord have shown great ability and flexibility through thepetition, the Demon Sword is still one of the favored to win it. After all, he made it to the top three thest time."

    Everyone seemed to agree with Xiao Du''s opinion, after all the Demon Sword is pretty powerful and has proven himself time and time again.

    "Because that fool is going toward his doom as we speak," entric Long said shrugging. "We''re in for a really good show. Buckle up," he added as a wide smirk showed up on his face.

    It took a few seconds for everyone to realize what entric Long meant with his words. And only when the monitor showing Shen Bao shuddered. Did everyone finally understand what entric Long meant.

    Up on the screen, the Demon Sword was flying high up, with four of his swords flying behind him, with an ugly and angry scowl on his face.

    "DU SHEN! COME OUT!" he shouted.

 Chapter 715: Secret of The Thunder Domain

    "Who the hell is yapping this loud," I said as I came out of the ship. "Damn, even the thunder is quieter than you, what the hell do you want?" I asked the man.

    "YOUR LIFE!" he said with the most third rate viin tone you could imagine.

    The Demon Sword rushed forward toward the ship. One of his palms was pointing forward while his sword was behind him and many more flew following him.

    "Taste the might of the Demon Sword!" he shouted with all his might.

    He was fast, and incredibly so, however there was still a distance between us.

    "Shen!" Law shouted, worried for the fact that the man called the Demon Sword was attacking. After all he was a peak Origin Realm cultivator. But there was one thing that only I am aware of.

    And before the Demon Sword made it half way, I slowly raised my hand and snapped a finger.

    Instantly after that, a loud sound of something crashing against the ship echoed from underneath my foot. And the body of the Demon Sword slowly slumped against the bloodied steel until he fell to the ground below.

    His swords followed suit as they fell right next to him.

    While he gasped for breath after breath, then a final breath before he died clutching his heart.

    "¡­"

    "What?" I shrugged at Law who had the ''what the fuck just happened'' look on his face.

    "Is that the Demon Sword or someone impersonating him," Law asked.

    "That is the Demon Sword," I said as I jumped down.

    Looking at his arm, he had three circles. He had already gained enough to proceed to the next region but decided toe back for me. Well, sucks to be him I guess.

    Although I never understood why he had such an enmity between us¡­ Well, it doesn''t matter anyway.

    I grabbed his holding bag and threw it inside my own. I''ll need to check this thingter. With nothing else left I just simply cutoff his arm and added it to the one back in my ship. The symbol increased by half again and is now showing three circles and a half.

    "The third circle is cyan colored," Lawmented.

    "Yes, there must be more metals deep inside," I replied.

    "So, how did this guy, turn to that?" Law asked as he pointed at the corpse of the Demon Sword.

    Law''s face was the same as one would have if you squeeze a sour lemon in it. Ugly and scowling from the sight.

    After all, the Demon Sword''s body turned to a ck goo with some semnce of human remains in there. Also, it was still bubbling.

    Law approached the swords next to the corpse and pocketed them. I had no use for that since they''re pretty useless to me.

    "Oh, yeah, he was poisoned before, I just enabled it," I said as I hopped back on the ship.

    Law followed me asking, "When did that happen? You never attacked him, and the only time you two had an encounter was in the presence of other Suns, although I respect your strength, but I find it hard to believe that you could pull one up the eight suns and poison anotherpetitor," Law said.

    "Your reasoning is sound, I did not poison him," I said. "He was already poisoned like I said. I don''t know when that happened, but the injury is old, and the poison had festered inside his Dantian for a long time. He probably wanted to get cured by winning thepetition," I said.

    "If only he had asked you to help him cure his illness," Law said.

    "I would have charged him a lot just for him being an ass, anyway, let''s keep going," I said as we headed forward.

    ***

    "I don''t know what I was expecting," entric Long said, "But it definitely was nothing like that," he added.

    "I thought something to that extent might happen," Xiao Du said.

    "Really?" thementator said, "Howe?"

    "He came to me a few years ago, asking to get his Dantian cleansed from a vile poison that he was attacked with. It was called the Dragon Blight Poison, a nefarious poison that can remain dormant inside one''s body, and the moment they use Origin Qi, it will re up and eat it all, it was a parasitic poison that almost seals a man''s Qi entirely.

    And cause them to die a horrible death in case the poison was triggered," Xiao Du said.

    "But, Du Shen isn''t an Origin Realm cultivator, he shouldn''t have any origin Qi to enable that poison," the Commentator said, "Also if he used Origin Qi, the Suns would have intervened," he added.

    "That would only be the case if the one afflicted with the poison were to use Origin Qi themselves. But what Du Shen had done, defies logic and what I have learned. He took control of the Dragon Blight and activated it remotely, which is absurd to even think about," Xiao Du said.

    "That''s pretty interesting, because, not only is that poison extremely powerful. It is very hard to find, so how did Du Shen even find the Dragon Blight," Thementator asked. "That poison was extremely rare, and it needs a thousand years to ferment before it gains its toxicity."

    "Indeed, Du Shen hasn''t been in the beyond for enough time to mature the poison, and he should not have met it in his home world. Not to mention, the only way to find that poison is to obtain it from one of the forbidden regions. Not even a Heaven stage cultivator can survive that area, not to mention the poison.

    You have seen how Du Shen was able to control poisons, so one could say he might have gone there and grabbed it. The issue is, the creatures that live there can make snacks out of Origin Shattering cultivator. So, that''s impossible even for him," these words were spoken by the one who knows most about beasts in the Beyond, the Dusking Sun.

    Xiao Du sped his hands at the Dusking Sun and said, "I think I might be the reason for this misunderstanding."

    "How so?" thementator asked.

    "Because the Ten Thousand Poison Pill I had given him had the Dragon Blight in it. And since he could control it, it was no wonder he managed to defeat the Demon Sword." Xiao Du said.

    "Oh, I see, then that exins it. I guess it was his good fortune that he had obtained the poison before the fight," thementator said.

    The Dusking Sunughed as he rxed and took another chug from his jug. "You''re all underestimating that kid a lot. Just because the difference of cultivation exists doesn''t mean that a lower realm cultivator has to lose to a higher realm one. Especially when ites to poison and craftiness.

    After all, he even made that cold hearted woman anxious," the Dusking Sun said as he was looking at the Blue Sun.

    She, unlike the many other Suns seemed to be worried. But for what reason, not many would be able to find out.

    The chair she was sitting on had it''s arm rest crushed, and she didn''t even notice it.

    Via a divine sense message, all the other suns heard a messageing from the Blue Sun.

    "I wish to withdraw that man from thispetition," she said.

    "What? Why?!" the red sun red, replying to the rest of the suns.

    It was as if they were all having a meeting.

    "Calm down ughterer," the Wisest Sun said, "But for what reason do you wish to withdraw him? He broke no rules."

    "It''s not for the rules, if he dies¡­ I have a feeling that we''ll lose a very important piece that won''te again for the next ten thousand years. I have underestimated his mind a lot, and I don''t want to see him perish this soon," she added.

    "That is not up to any of us," the Lord of Lords said, "Because if you were to just draw him, it will only cause strife and bad blood to form between us. After all the efforts he had put in, to simply pull him out would be a humiliation to all of his hard work."

    "I''llpensate him enough that he wouldn''t think the rewards for this tournament is even worth looking at," she said.

    "I don''t agree to this," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Neither do I, one of my sect members wishes to sh swords with him, and I don''t want to deprive him of that opportunity." The Darkest Sun replied.

    The Wisest Sun said, "I also don''t want to pull him, after all, I feel that he has the ability toe out of this on top."

    "Same here, it is his fortune and his trial to climb over. I cannot deprive him of that," the Lord of Lords added.

    The cryptic sun also declined and the mboyant Sun didn''t even deem the question worth answering.

    With that, the Blue Sun bit on her lips and opened a teleportation gate.

    "Where are you going?" the Lord of Lords said.

    "I cannot permit him to die, if he is injured enough to not be able to continue, then I''ll take him with me.

    "I cannot allow that!" the Lord of Lords said.

    "You want to cause bad blood to form between us!" the Blue Sun said.

    "You''re the one pushing it! You cannot shelter him, none of us here tried to directly interfere with his fate. It will lead him astray of his own path. Not to mention, you have not told us why you want to break the rules of thispetition."

    "Because¡­ He might be able to figure out why did that metallic object fell and be the Thunder Domain. But if he gets to the fourth region¡­ he will die¡­"

 Chapter 716: Thunderclouds

    "I can see it," Law shouted. "The Red Soulsteel, it''s over there on top of that mountain," he added.

    Far in the distance, where Law pointed out. A red-colored Soulsteel was sittingfortably on top of a mountain peak. Unlike the other pieces, this one was not being struck by lightning. It was shooting it.

    The red Soulsteel was surrounded by several lightning orbs that slowly moved around it like moons would do to a.

    Soon, one of these orbs would randomly spew out a string of lightning at the base of the mountain.

    The area around the mountain was scorched ck with the lightning that had been shooting out of this Soulsteel for god knows how long.

    "That looks a bit dangerous," Lawmented.

    "Not at all," I replied as I guided the ship toward the Soulstone. Once we were close enough, the bolts no longer targeted the ground randomly to discharge, but they shot toward us.

    However, thanks to the rods on top of the ship, they were instantly absorbed into them and harmlessly charged the ship.

    "I thought you said they won''t work once we''re deeper into the Thunder Domain," Law said.

    "They wouldn''t work against the thunder that falls from the sky, but this one is less dangerous and less powerful so the ship can easily absorb them," I said as I docked the ship near the red stone.

    I had a few puppetse out and pull out the stone then immediately ce it inside a holding space. Since this stone was constantly shooting out lightning, I feared it might damage the ship from inside.

    "That''s pretty interesting," Law said.

    "What is," I asked.

    "That," he pointed forward.

    Surprisingly, the third region was not as big as I expected, but it was pretty interesting nevertheless.

    From what I saw, we were standing on a mountain range that extended in a circle around the fourth region. The reasoning for that was that the red Soulsteel was nted only on the peaks of the mountain range, and far below us was a piece of the cyan stone. However, that was the only thing we could see.

    From the peaks of the mountain, all the way to the base of it was nothing but pitch ck thunderclouds. Strangely, there was not a single streak of lightning nor a boom of thunder in the fourth region. Which, to be honest, was pretty strange for the Thunder domain.

    "Let''s collect the red stones first, then we can go down and check the other one," I said.

    We took the ship and slowly drove to the top of the mountain range, collecting as many red stones as we could.

    A cultivator hopped on top of the mountain range, he was surprised clearly by seeing our ship in the distance, but once he realized it was the fourth region just in front of him, he dove down into it.

    He disappeared in the clouds without making a sound. But no longer than a few seconds, the thunder which seemed calm, began exploding out like a volcano that had been woken from slumber.

    Lightning began streaking under the belly of the storm, and thunder boomed with relentless wrath. And no longer than a few more seconds, everything quieted down.

    "I have a bad feeling about this area," Law said.

    "Same here bud, same here," I said.

    The two of us finished up looting, I mean excavating the Soulsteel and soon approached the base of the mountain on the fourth region''s side.

    We approached from the cyan stone area to inspect it, and before I did anything I spread my divine sense outward.

    However, my Divine Sense couldn''t even prate the clouds.

    "These clouds stop divine sense. I guess they''re too charged for that, look it''s even reacting," I said as the clouds seemed bothered by the use of Divine Sense.

    "Can we even go there?" Law asked.

    "I somewhat doubt that, seems that this area is not as simple as it appears. Give me a second," I said as I pulled a few small metallic pyramids from my holding bag.

    I had about a dozen or so of them in hand which I simply threw into the clouds.

    The small metallic pyramids are what I use to geo-position for my tungsten rods. And they can disy a graphic visual via sound echo.

    However, not a second after the small pyramidsnded, they were all destroyed. Not a single one of them survived as thunder struck down at them.

    I sighed as I realized that entry to this area was not going to be possible for us.

    "Perhaps if we have the full tattoo, we''ll be able to enter," Law said.

    "Even if we had it, only one of us can enter, not to mention that we''re missing half of thest tattoo we need."

    "The man that entered before us should have a tattoo, so we can take his arm, and you can go in. I honestly wouldn''t have made it this far without you, I''m just baggage at this point," he said.

    I smiled at him and said, "Don''t worry about it, also I thought about getting his arm and improving our own ship''s glyph. But the issue is, I have no idea where the guy is, if he is alive or not, and how we can even get there." I said.

    "I can try and get inside," Law said.

    "And rely on something like luck? Hell no, you''ll end up dead. Not to mention, your luck might be the thing that allowed you toe with me so I can stop you from doing something this stupid. Give me some time to think about this, I''ll figure something out," I said as I sat in front of the massive cloud curtain.

    I began thinking of how to approach this massive cloud. First things first, I called out a random worker puppet and asked it to walk inside. But doing so, in case it would get destroyed without me being able to retrieve it would be a waste. So I wrapped it with a sturdy nonconductive rope and sent it forward.

    The puppet slowly walked into the cloud, nothing happened at first and after a few seconds, hell broke loose as thunder and lightning boomed constantly.

    I hastily dragged the rope back, which was not easy, and found a scorched and burnt puppet at the end of the rope.

    "That''s what you call well done," I muttered as I saw the devastating state of the puppet.

    The lightning''s strength was so powerful it bore through its metallic body and scarred it deeply burning and melting many of its parts. However, the ''mind'' circuit was still functional thankfully.

    I pulled out the mind formation and ted it in another puppet.

    "What did you see inside?" I asked.

    "Dark. No living creatures, not even the soil were alive. No nts or trees. Only darkness." The puppet said.

    I sighed as I took the puppet back inside the holding bag.

    Law threw in a piece of wood that he got from his holding bag. And although I expected a reaction from the storm, everything remained quiet.

    "Could it be that the storm reacts to metal only?" Law asked.

    "It''s a possibility," I said, but this was good. This was progress.

    "How about we put a puppet inside a wooden cage, maybe it won''t be noticed?" Law said.

    As much as I doubt that, I can''te up with a better n for now, so I agree with Law''s idea. And he immediately began building a log cab.

    ***

    "You''re underestimating Shen Bao," the Lord of Lords said. "He isn''t a man who would recklessly throw his life away. As you know, he didn''te all the way to the beyond by being strong-headed or willful. He thinks before he acts and isn''t someone who will simply just die in the fourth region."

    "You don''t understand it''s not that he isn''t brilliant, but his own brilliance might cost him his life. The fourth region requires one to have the four circles of the lightning prohibition to enter it. And right now, he does not have it on him but on the ship, and it isn''t evenplete," she said.

    "So what?" the Red Sun said, "So what, he will figure something out, like he always does, look," he said as he pointed at the screen where Shen Bao was sitting in front of the clouds pondering what to do instead of diving right inside it.

    "That''s the one you think is going to die? Hah! You really underestimated him. Give him time to think and he''ll definitelye on top, also, you saw how he used the ability of the Thunder Swapping cauldron without using Origin Qi, and how he understood your own Thunder Prohibition without even having it imprinted on him."

    The Blue Sun couldn''t reply and sighed as she watched stressfully as Shen Bao was still trying to solve the mystery of the clouds.

 Chapter 717: Entry

    Law''s idea of sending a puppet covered inside a wooden cab inside was sound. Since it should stop the lightning from striking it directly as the wood element is not conductive.

    But, that didn''t go as nned. The small cab couldn''tst longer than ten breaths of time before it was bombarded with lightning all over it.

    "Sigh," Law''s sigh was loud and deep, revealing the frustration within him.

    However, I on the other hand was smiling.

    "Why are you sighing?" I asked him.

    "I thought that my idea might work, but I guess I''m far from your level of intellect, hah," heughed ruefully as he was pulling back the scorched cab via a rope.

    The devastation was clear and obvious as the cab was still ame. After putting out the fire, I was left with a cruel sight of the puppet''s remains.

    Law was feeling a bit down from having his idea ''fail''.

    "Nah, this is actually good," I said to Law.

    "What do you mean? Look not even the puppet was unscathed," he said.

    "Yes, but there is a difference," I told Law.

    He contemted a bit and said, "Time!"

    "Exactly, time. It took longer for the thunder to p and destroy the wooden cab than when I sent the puppet immediately. So, the wood did something, it hid the puppet although for a short extent from the thunder and lightning."

    "So, we can assume that the lightning reacts to metal but is having a harder time to notice it due to the wood around it?" Law said.

    "Something like that. Instion is key, perhaps if I make it so the thunder is unable to detect the puppet?"

    I mumbled to myself as I was thinking of using some of the Soulsteel as a barrier to stop lightning.

    But before I could get to work, I noticed the divine sense of two people.

    "We havepany," Law said as he prepared to fight.

    "Rx, they''re friendly," I said.

    Soon, a man wearing a set of pure white robes and a shcr''s hat along with a white fan in his hand slowly arrivednding gently right in front of us.

    The other man with a ck set of robes followed immediately after and stood next to him.

    "Junior Brother," Zhang Tian smiled.

    I sped my hands at Zhang Tian, "Senior brother, it''s good to see you well."

    Then turned to Dao Shen, "You too, good to see you doing well for yourself."

    "Same here," Dao Shen said as he looked all around us.

    "The ship, it''s able to stop the lightning," Dao Shenmented.

    "Not really," I replied, "I''m missing thest half of the formation to enter this area." I pointed behind me.

    "Same here," Zhang Tian said, as he raised his right arm.

    "Here too," Dao Shen said. He also had three circles and a half.

    "Only one of us can get in then," Law said.

    "Not really," I replied. "This actually makes things far easier and simpler, we can all get in." I said.

    "Howe?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "Because if you two fuse the circles, we''ll be able to see the fourth circle and I can replicate it on the ship, then we can all go inside," I said.

    Zhang Tian took note of the formation on top of the ship and nodded. "You can always keep this senior brother surprised. Very well, you may take this then," he said as he presented me his palm.

    "No need, I can print it on your arm," I said as I pulled out the cutoff arm that I was using as a reference and gave it to Zhang Tian.

    With the arm in his hand, he absorbed the rest of the circle and empowered his own tattoo. And soon the fourth tattoo was printed on it.

    With this, his hand had four circles. "Cyan, so I need cyan stone. There is some at the edge, give me a second."

    The cyan Soulsteel was right next to us, so all I needed to do was dig it out, but more than half of it was buried inside the clouds and only a small portion was visible to us.

    "Brother Zhang, I''ll need you to uproot this Soulsteel for me," I said.

    "Soulsteel?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "An arbitrary name I gave it to this metal, after all, I have no idea what this is. Anyway, with the four circles you should be able to walk into the clouds however be very careful and in case you feel threatened immediately withdraw."

    "I''ll do as junior brother says," he said and slowly pressed his hand into the dark clouds.

    Seeing no reaction, Zhang Tian stepped inside and soon disappeared.

    Breath after breath of time, anxiety and worry began growing within me. After all, this domain is deadly to the mightiest of cultivators. And I just asked my sworn brother to walk inside it.

    But thankfully, nothing seemed to happen, and soon the cyan boulder shook.

    Zhang Tian seemed to have extracted itpletely from the base and pushed it outside the dark cloud curtain.

    He then walked back out.

    He took a few strained breaths and said, "That ce is very dangerous," he said.

    "You''ve only been there for a few seconds, what do you mean?" Law asked.

    "The Qi, you can''t use more than a tenth of your Qi in there. This," he said as he pointed at his palm, "It stops you from using your Qi."

    I thought for a second and said, "I now understand."

    "What is it?" Law asked.

    "This thing here, it was actually reacting not to metal, but to Qi, if something goes inside it, the Qi within them causes the atmosphere to destabilize. The entire thing is like the surface of a calmke. And the presence of Qi disturbs it as would a pebble do to saidke. The formation in your hand isplete and it stops your Qi from going beyond a certain threshold." I exined.

    "I guess if all of us keep our Qi at ten percent we shouldn''t be assaulted by the formation," Law said.

    "I wouldn''t really risk that," I said.

    "Howe?" Dao Shen then interjected.

    "Because, if Zhang Tian was allowed to use ten percent and he was the only one inside, and another person goes in, then Zhang Tian''s permitted level would drop to half. And the same person would also need to use half. The total that the formation could ever allow is a fixed amount of Qi, so the more people who go inside, the less that total bes."

    Law slumped down on the ground and said, "It would probably be better for me to remain here. I don''t want to ruin it for everyone," he said.

    "No need for that," I said as I began carving the cyan stone.

    "What are you doing?" Law asked.

    "I''m finishing what I started, I already memorized the pattern on Zhang Tian''s hand, so I''ll continue making the fourth circle on top of the ship," I said.

    "Will the ship be alright? Wouldn''t it be affected by the disturbance?" Law asked.

    "Unlike us cultivators, the ship is a machine, and the amount of Qi it generates and uses can be easily regted. So ten percent of Zhang Tian''s Qi is more than enough for the ship to move about with us inside it," I said.

    "But if we all go in, the formation will be destabilized," Law said.

    "As long as all of us remain inside the ship, the total Qi that the cloud could sense will be nothing but the ship''s. Since I built spatial rooms inside it that are technically insted and separate from the space we''re in right now," I said.

    "That''s a risky theory," Dao Shen said.

    "But it is all we have, not to mention I can put the ship on mode that will allow it to use external Qi to function. Meaning that it will not produce more Qi than it is consuming, which will also keep the bnce of Qi fixed." I added.

    "How can I help?" Zhang Tian asked.

    I threw him a small cube of the cyan Soulsteel, "help me carve cubes with that exact size and shape. Not a single blemish can be allowed," I said.

    Zhang Tian nodded and began working, and so did Law and Dao Shen.

    With the three of us carving the Soulsteel we soon managed to finish up the parts for the cyan circle.

    I then began cing them in order and shape to match the formation the Blue Sun had made.

    It''s pretty impressive how she managed to understand and deduce the use of the Soulsteel and shaped it into a tattoo. I need to ask her how she came up with that idea.

    Once I was done cing the cubes, I carved the exact formation on Zhang Tian''s fourth circle on the cubes then I infused them with Qi for them to weld together.

    The fourth circle locked in ce and the four-circle lightning expelling formation was done.

    Not going to lie, it looked ugly as hell. Since it had protruding parts all over it looked like a melting crown on top of the ship. But after all, since it works it is fine. Function Over Form.

    "Let''s get inside, and just for safety measures, try to stop your Qi from overflowing. Even though we''re inside the ship," I said.

    Our group soon got inside the ship and I began guiding it slowly into the clouds.

    Hopefully it all works out¡­ otherwise¡­ I don''t even want to think about it.

 Chapter 718: Truce

    The ship moved slowly into the clouds, the lights at the front of the ship barely revealed a few meters up ahead of us.

    The ground was pitch ck. Dirt and ash were sprawled all over the ce. Perhaps the result of the constant lightning that scorched everything here.

    There were no signs of life anywhere to be seen. No creatures, beasts, or animals of any sort or type. Not even the ground itself had life in it as not even worms moved within the field.

    "The handkerchief should be somewhere here, but with our speed, we''ll probably need to search for years to find it, not to mention we have no idea what it looks like," Law said.

    "If it''s something that the Blue Sun left herself, then it would be special. Anyway, so far, the ship isn''t being affected nor is it affecting the storm around us. And the formation above us is protecting us from the storm, let''s keep our eyes out," I said.

    "Should I go into the booth under the ship?" Law asked.

    "Sure, more eyes the better, but under no circumstance should you use the weapons. We don''t know if they''ll cause instability in the storm," I advised Law.

    He nodded and entered the booth which slowly descended down. He kept turning it around using its own light to see around the ship covering the areas we missed.

    Hours went by as we moved through the fourth region with nothing worthy of note.

    But not long, I heard Law talking.

    "I see someone in the distance."

    This caught all of us by surprise, if there is another person, and if they are an enemy it will cause us problems. In case they decide to use their Qi, the storm might activate and everyone might suffer for it.

    "He seems to be wounded," Law said.

    I piloted the ship closer to the person who was sitting in a lotus position and once I got closer I couldn''t help butugh.

    "Man proposes and heaven disposes, what a turn of events," I said as I opened the door of the ship.

    "Brother, Shen, it''s dangerous," Zhang Tian said.

    "Worry not, the ship is protected under the formation as long as no one uses Qi," I said and hopped down toward the man who was sitting in front of us.

    He opened one of his eyes, and though blood was seeping down his lips he couldn''t help butugh as he said, "I guess even I didn''t expect this turn of events."

    "Fate is a cruel thing isn''t it, Fire King," I said.

    "Indeed, but don''t be too arrogant, remember, this ce is highly vtile, I could easily take you down with me if you decide to be too willful," he said. Stay tuned with m,v le,mpyr

    "I guess you already figured out what this ce is," I said.

    "¡­"

    "Brother Shen, why are you even talking to him," Zhang Tian said. He among many dwellers of the Vast Expanse had a great enmity with the Fire King.

    As for me, my grievances with him were deep, but right now, they seem rather pointless. What drove me to push myself to what I am today was undoubtedly the plotting of the Fire King. And before, I couldn''t even hold a candle to him. Not even with the assistance of many other cultivators. But now, he can''t even protect himself.

    After all, even his current cultivation speed cannot exceed a certain threshold lest it would trigger the storm.

    "It is fine, Brother Tian. Although I could easily end you right now, it will serve me no goal or purpose," I said.

    Also since he was chosen by the Darkest Sun, it will be even more of a hassle.

    "Are you suggesting we leave him here and go," Zhang Tian said.

    "Leave him here? Nah, we''ll take him with us," I smiled.

    Zhang Tian frowned at me, he clearly didn''t like that.

    "Brother Shen, think clearly about your words, this man is vile and has killed more lives than you have probably ever witnessed. It is a golden opportunity, a gift from the heavens that he is this weak right now, it will only take one attempt at ending his life." Zhang Tian spoke through divine sense in an urgent tone.

    "That isn''t as easy as it sounds brother Tian," I said back via divine sense. "Since he is under the protection of the Darkest Sun, he definitely has a few treasures to save his life. Not to mention, if I were to attack him, the moment he notices he could simply galvanize his Qi, and all of us will be under the assault of the storm.

    "You think I''ll happily follow you? I''d rather die than be a hostage," he said.

    "Nothing of the sort," I replied to the Fire King, "After all, I''m not the one who is destined to kill you. Your life belongs to a brother of mine and I will not take it from him."

    "Hah!" the Fire Kingughed, "That child the one with the Phoenix Fire. So you think he can defeat me?"

    "In time, after all, he is the MC," I said. Fully knowing that no one would understand what the MC is.

    "Then if you''re that confident that he can defeat me, what reason do you have to take me with you? Leaving me here is a far better option for you, this way I can''t vie for the first ce and im the object of the Blue Sun for myself," he said.

    "If it was any other area but here, I would have left you and moved on. But in case something bad happens to you here, you might die and my junior brother will be without a revenge target. Not to mention, as you said before the mere fact that one could bypass the Qi threshold could erupt this entire ce in lightning. I can''t leave a ticking time bomb like you here, soe with us," I said.

    "A temporary truce," The Fire Lord said.

    "Indeed, a temporary truce but that doesn''t mean you should trust me, nor that I should trust you," I said to him.

    "Indeed that is the way it should be," he replied and stood up.

    Frankly, I was amazed at how he still remained alive.

 Chapter 719: Secrets of the Thunder Domain

    His entire body was rattled with lightning burns. Not only that, even the tattoo on his palm was notplete. He had managed to understand that he needed to lower his Qi output without any hint and under the constant bombardment of lightning.

    Which was frankly surprising. If someone were to find themselves in their ce, assaulted by lightning they would usually use a treasure or their own Qi to protect themselves, meaning that they''ll release even more Qi causing more destabilization in the atmosphere. But he somehow realized that and dropped his guard, taking in the lightning bolts with his bare body and subdued his own Qi to not die.

    Tenacious bastard¡­

    But, if he wasn''t at least capable of this much, he wouldn''t be Meng Hao''s ultimate goal and life enemy.

    ***

    The Darkest Sun was gazing at the screen with a rather annoyed look on his face.

    "HAH!"

    A loud heartyugh echoed through the arena. It was the Dusking Sun who seemed too amused by what was going on.

    "Your chosen has rotten luck, Darkest One."

    "Keep yourments to yourself," the Darkest Sun said. He was clearly not happy with the fact that the Fire King had no hope of winning the tournament anymore, especially when the ship of Shen Bao stopped right in front of him.

    With wounds thatrge, he would be unable to escape death unless he used one of the lifesaving treasures that the Darkest Sun had handed him.

    But against all odds, the Fire King''s mortal enemy didn''t attack but offered the Fire King to ride with them.

    This caused worry to appear in the eyes of the Red Sun who was all about killing one''s enemies. However, when he heard Shen Bao mentioning that someone else with far more hatred toward the Fire King was waiting for the opportunity to defeat the Fire King, he couldn''t argue and sighed.

    The Darkest Sun pulled up something from his holding bag and threw it toward the Lord of Lords.

    "What is this for," the Lord of Lords asked.

    "That child showed mercy when he could have ignored him, so give it to him when the timees," the Darkest Sun said.

    The Lord of Lords smiled and said, "I''ll see to that then."

    From the other side of the arena, the Blue Sun sighed.

    "This child¡­" The Blue Sun muttered as she saw the ship moving through the area with ease.

    "You want him even more don''t you," the Red Sunughed.

    The Blue Sun refrained from replying as she was already read like an open book.

    "So, tell me, Ancient Blue, what did you find in that ce, to cause you this much worry?" the Wisest Sun asked.

    "I have yet to confirm it, but it I have a strong belief that the entire thunder domain is actually not a part of our Beyond." She said.

    These words were only shared between the Suns.

    But non of them refuted her words.

    "I see," the Wisest Sun said, "I have gone there myself a couple of times, but didn''t dare push too hard, as my Qi is far stronger than what that domain can tolerate and feared that it might blow up entirely, I suppose the rest of us here all had the same experience."

    The rest of the Suns nodded in agreement, after all, they lived for tens of thousands of years, and had explored a lot of the parts of the Beyond.

    "So, the reason you adamantly pushed for thest part of this trial to be in this area, is because you want someone that is below a certain rank to go there and explore it further?" the Wisest Sun said.

    "Yes, my current power is far too much for the Thunder Domain to support it. I had created several incarnations of myself through the Beyond, grew them and guided them toward the Thunder Domain, but many of them fell and died through their cultivation journey, and the few that lived couldn''t make it past the fourth zone.

    Only one of my incarnations was able to reach the deeper part of the fourth Zone, and there¡­ it found a door."

    "Quite themitment to your goal Ancient Blue," the Wisest Sun said.

    "But¡­ I couldn''t go past the door with my incarnation. The handkerchief I want to retrieve has written notes about the door that my incarnation had written. But I couldn''t recuperate it due to the atmosphere¡­"

    "Quite annoying that you used the entire event to retrieve a piece of cloth with some notes. But still, now I''m interested in what''s beyond this door you''re talking about," the Lord of Lords said.

    "I''m willing to share anything thates out from beyond that door," she said.

    The wisest sun smiled, "To share what is beyond that door requires you to obtain it first. I''m sure that you''re not going to vie for what the children could discover there," The wisest Sun hid a threat in his words.

    The Blue Sun shook her head, "That won''t be possible. From my incarnation''sst breath, the door requires the power of someone at least at the Heaven realm to open. And if any of those children were to use more Qi than an ascendant can host, they would die to the storm."

    "So the reason you want the notes is for you toe up with a way that allows you ess to that door. I see, but, there is one thing you didn''t ount for when you were nning all of this," the wisest Suns smiled.

    "What is it?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "The fact that Shen Bao is there, I have a feeling that he will be able to open that door," a smile crept up on the Wisest Sun''s face. "Then when he does that, you better not think of taking things from a junior, am I right?"

    The Blue sun couldn''t refute and only stared at the screen. Turmoil is clear in her eyes.

 Chapter 720: The Door Is Shut

    "So¡­" Zhang Tian muttered as the Fire Lord walked past him and into the ship.

    "You''re just letting him get on?" he added.

    "What else can you do, we''re all in the same boat," I shrugged.

    "You''re too carefree aren''t you?" he added.

    "A bit, but there is no point in getting hostile right now, it''ll only cause us more problems," I said as I walked inside.

    "I agree with Shen Bao, leaving him out there is like leaving a ticking time bomb. The moment he decides to give up on life, he could destabilize the entire area and blow us up with him."

    "From what you''re all saying it''s like inviting a wolf to a sheep''s cage," Law said.

    "No, more like a wolf to a wolf pack, after all none of us here is afraid of him. But we rather not cause any issues," I replied.

    "Shouldn''t you at least give him a prohibition pill or a poison pill so he doesn''t stab us in the back?" Law asked.

    "It won''t work," I said as I was the most familiar with the Fire Lord''s body.

    "His entire body is fire. He can''t be poisoned; he could simply burn it all to nothing. Even some of my strongest fire and soul poison were ineffective against him, so we might as well just take him with us," I said.

    "What if he tries to vie for the handkerchief once we find it?" Law asked.

    "A good question, but how will he ever take it back?"

    "You''re all talking as if I don''t exist," the Fire Lord replied as he was standing at the end of the hall.

    "Not like it would have mattered if you were here or not, make yourself at someone else''s home," I said.

    "I see that I''m not wee," the Fire Lord said.

    "If you were me, you''d probably think the same," I said to him.

    "You have a point, we do have our grievances, but it''s not the time or ce to solve them. As for the handkerchief. I''ll be forfeiting the race. I''ve yet to fully recover, and have no intention of risking my life further," he said.

    "There is a room to your left, you can go inside it and recover. There will be a couple of puppets that will be guarding the door exit. Don''t do anything I wouldn''t," I said and took mypanions to the main control room.

    Zhang Tian sighed once more but I couldn''t help solve his anxiety. It was understandable after all. The Fire Lord was a mortal enemy of the Vast Expanse. But we''re no longer there. And if anyone has more grievances with him they''ll have to solve them themselves.

    I had already resolved my issue with that man since the death of YuYu and her revival, and the destruction of the Purple Cloud sect. They were my benefactors when I first set foot in the path of cultivation. So, I solved their karma. By rebuilding the sect and thanks to my karma with Zhang Tian and YuYu came back to life in a new body.

    Though I''m still pissed at the fact that he destroyed my home. After regaining Du Shen''s memories, I had to give up the thought of revenge for the. Since it became something insignificant.

    Sometimes one has to tolerate one''s enemy, not to bow down to them, but to tolerate them. I have all the power to destroy the Fire Lord right now. But the problem is, by doing so, I''ll deprive Meng Hao of his opportunity to take his own personal revenge against him which will deviate from his own path.

    So, we''ll suck it up for now.

    "How is the situation looking?" I asked Law who was already in the boot below.

    "Nothing so far, but the ground is steadily getting darker and the ash thicker the more we proceed forward," Law said.

    With nothing to guide us forward, we kept heading toward the same path. Nothing in sight. No protruding boulder or rotten piece of grass, not even a tree or bush. Everything was ashen and dark.

    Hours after hours we moved with nothing guiding us to a proper destination. I started worrying that we might actually be lost, but soon one of the puppets entered the control room.

    Turning to face it, it said, "The guest had said that we need to move our course forty degrees to the west, he is sensing some sort of me power. And said that it might be what the lord is looking for."

    "Are you going to believe him?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "There is no danger to us believing him or not, so we''ll head there and see what''s up that me he is sensing."

    After all, he is called the Fire Lord, and his attunement to the fire element is second to none of the people I know.

    We continued moving after adjusting the ship''s direction. An hour or soter, we arrived at the location the Fire Lord had spoken of.

    "I never thought something like this could exist here¡­" Law said as he was looking at what was in front of us.

    Two massive towers rose up ahead of us, and between them was a metallic door that seemed to be shut tight. On the pirs supporting the door were two small braziers that hosted a barely kindled me.

    The fire was meager and couldn''t light anything but the small area around the gate.

    And right in front of the metallic gate was the corpse of someone, more like the bones. With their palm pressed on the gate in a final effort to get inside.

    I went down the ship and everyone followed me.

    "What about that guy?" Law asked.

    "leave him there, he can''t get out by himself unless he wants to get electrocuted. For the rest of us, keep yourselves close to me. I ced the ship close enough to the gate that the formation on top of it could protect us, but still don''t use Qi.

    Once we got down, I headed ahead of the group to check up on the corpse and found the object we needed to retrieve.

    The handkerchief was held tightly in the hand of the skeleton.

    "Is that the handkerchief we need to bring back?" Law asked.

    "Seeing that brother Shen had brought us all here, I''m not going to vie for it," Zhang Tian said.

    Dao Shen shrugged, he also didn''t want to take it.

    Lawughed, "I also am not feeling like taking it then. Well, congrattions brother Shen, I guess you''re the winner of the title."

    I looked at the corpse another time and up at the gate. This gate seemed to be leading downward. And the body of this person¡­ a female.

    "Excuse me," I said as I pried the handkerchief from the corpse''s hand.

    Looking at it, it was a cloth weaved using dragon skin. This is too rough to be a handkerchief, but it''s fine since it has the symbol of the Blue Sun it should be what we''re looking for.

    However, my eyes caught something on the inside of the fabric. I dusted it off and noticed writings on it.

    Then looked at the door and realized that the person was trying to copy the symbols on the door itself.

    The person had no injuries on their bones. Nor was the corpse affected by any poison, the bones themselves were also pretty healthy, so they couldn''t have died of old age nor were they burnt so they didn''t die from the storm.

    How did this person perish?

    I approached the door, it was full of many mystical symbols that I couldn''t understand. I tried to push the gate, but it didn''t budge. I couldn''t use my Qi though, in case the storm reacts.

    Law approached the gate and began inspecting it. Perhaps he''ll figure something out, if knowledge can''t solve something maybe luck can.

    When I tried topare the symbols of the handkerchief and the gate, something seemed missing.

    The person who was drawing these hadn''t finished.

    I pocketed the handkerchief and began analyzing the gate.

    "Brother Shen, are we not returning?" Zhang Tian asked.

    "There is something here, and it piqued my interest," I said.

    Zhang Tian looked at the gate and didn''t seem to figure anything out.

    "The symbols on this gate, they''re carved with blood." I heard.

    Looking behind us, it was the Fire Lord. He was looking at the gate as if it was something mortifying.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    "The mes are asking you to back away, if that door is opened we''ll die." The Fire Lord said.

    Although I''m not someone who would back away easily, I still had to give up on the thought of entering this ce. Not to mention, I have no idea how we could even ess this gate.

    As I was thinking of retreating and iming the reward for first ce. The small orb that kept following and recording us appeared in front of us.

    "Come back!" it was the voice of the Blue Sun, she seemed rather pressured. "You have to bring back the handkerchief," she added.

    "The symbols on it are iplete," I said.

    "What do you mean?" she questioned me.

    "You want a copy of the symbols on the door, but they''re missing in many areas, the handkerchief is iplete," I said.

    "Can youplete it?" she asked.

    Looking at the gate I replied, "I already memorized it."

    "Then good,e back and take your rewards," she said.

    "Oh, brother Shen¡­" Law said.

    As I turned to Law I noticed him having the "I think I fucked up" look on his face.

    His finger was nicked and it was bleeding and the blood had been absorbed into the gate.

    My entire body seemed to shiver as if something terrible was going to happen.

    But before I could even shout for the group to run away, the gates in front of us spread open inwardly. It was so fast that none of us could even react in time. The mere pressure from inside the gate caused us to be sucked in.

    The doors then mmed shut.

 Chapter 721 : Into The Dark

    "No!" the Blue Sun shouted out, her aura was flowing out of her restlessly.

    "Calm down!" the Lord of Lords said. "They shouldn''t be in any trouble. Trust in Shen Bao," he added.

    "I can''t have them die, they''re the only ones who made it that far into the Lightning Domain. I need to go and drag them out if I had to," she replied.

    "If you do that, you''ll copse the entire thing on them, your mere presence might blow up the entire thing. Trust in them, also Shen has my treasure, and it''s linked with my own soul, as long as he has that, he should not perish easily," the Lord of Lords added trying to calm down the Blue Sun.

    The people in the arena were confused, no one knew what was going on. They were here after all for thepetition. And now with this unexpected development, everyone was confused on what would happen next.

    Thementator rose up to save the day, "It seems that something unexpected happened, sadly we can''t follow after thepetitors, we lost signal for now. Please stay tuned before we send some people over to check the situation."

    The words of thementator were pleasing to the ear, but they weren''t anywhere near reality.

    Thends of the Thunder Domain are forbidden for a reason. Because not anyone can easily ess them. The people above a certain realm could not enter them since they''ll destabilize the Qi structure. And those at the lower realms say, the Origin Realm could enter, but most of the capable ones are already in thepetition.

    The Dusking Sun rose up for an urgent meeting with the rest of the Suns.

    "We can''t just stand still, any ideas on how we should handle this?" the Dusking Sun said.

    "Shen Bao has my pagoda, he should be safe if they enter it. But I don''t know how we can get them out," the lord of lord said.

    "I can send another avatar there," the Blue Sun said.

    "And have it die, like most of your other avatars, you''ll just lose a lot of your essence doing that. We need another way," the Lord of Lords said.

    "There is no need for that," the Darkest Sun said.

    "How so?" the mboyant Sun interjected, "As much as I would like to go there and bring them back, even I cannot change thews of that ce, what makes you think you can?" the mboyant Sun said.

    "Because I am the Darkest One," the Darkest Sun smirked. Then one of his eyes rolled back for a second and came back down. It was different than his other eye.

    The right eye of the darkest sun had a brimming red color to it, akin to that of a ming eye. He then pointed his finger forward and a projection above the enter arena showed up.

    The projection showed the point of view of a person who was in the depth of a dark tunnel.

    ***

    "ARGHHHH!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!"

    A painful and soul wrenching yell woke me up from my stunned status. Looking at the source of the yell it was the Fire King.

    "What''s going on?" I asked. Worried that something happened to him and it might happen to us.

    But I couldn''t see anything, it was dark, and my divine sense was not able to go beyond a foot in front of me.

    I pulled a small orb from my holding bag which lit up the area around us.

    The first thing I noticed was the pained expression on the fire king, his entire being looked as if it was possessed.

    And one of his eyes was suddenly flipped over and changed.

    Suddenly he calmed down, breathing difficulty and gasping for air.

    "Are you good?" Law asked.

    "I''m¡­ fine," he said through grit teeth. "But I''m blind in one eye." He said

    I got closer to him and said, "Let me take a look," I said.

    He wasn''t trusting of my words, as he should, but seeing I was the only one with medical knowledge he couldn''t help but allow me to.

    "Oh¡­ it''s not that you''re blind, but this isn''t your eye at all," I said.

    "What? Not his eye?" Law freaked out as he backed away, "Was he possessed?"

    I shook my head, "No, this eye, I''ve seen it before. I think I understand what happened," I said.

    "Then tell us, I hate suspense especially in this dark damp ce. It''s freaking me out man," Law said.

    "That pitch-ck eye belongs to the Darkest Sun. He''s using your eye to see what we''re seeing."

    "But I guess he can''tmunicate with us, he can only see," Zhang Tian said.

    "Hmm, is that so," I said as I looked into the Fire King''s eye and said. "Blink twice for yes, and once for no, can you hear us?"

    Suddenly the Fire King''s eye nk twice.

    "Good, it''s rudimentary but it is a form ofmunication," I said.

    As much as I would like to teach him morose code tomunicate with us better, it''ll be a big hassle and I don''t want to receive orders from other people.

    "Anyway, we''re inside an unknown ce, the walls are high and steep, and they''re full of those strange symbols." I said exining to the group and the Darkest Sun too. "Let''s head back to the entrance first and see if we can open the door again," I said to the party.

    The area around us seemed to extend forward. Thankfully the Ship was also with us and it was not damaged in the least.

    "I don''t think we can use the exit," Zhang Tian said.

    "Why not?"

    "Flight is forbidden here, and the exit is up there," he said as he pointed up.

    He was right, the door was up there. Far high up from where the light could shine the door that took us in was there.

    What kind of dumb engineer would make a door lead to a massive fall¡­

    I called one of the puppets toe out of the ship, I own and ordered it, "Fly up, see if you can get to the door."

    "I mentioned that flight is forbidden here, even I can''t fly." Zhang Tian said.

    "Cultivator flight is different from a puppet that uses jet thrusters," I said as the puppet simply flew up using the thrusters on the sole of its feet.

    But before it could even reach halfway, the puppet was smashed against the wall in less than the time it takes to blink. Turning to a metallic painting squashed as thinly as a sheet of paper.

    The preparator was a square tform that emerged from one of the sides of the tunnel path we were on. The tform slowly went back and seamlessly joint back into the wall. One couldn''t even tell it wasn''t a part of it anymore.

    I gulped hard.

    "I guess we''ll have to not fly then¡­" I said.

    There are traps here, and deadly unnoticeable to traps.

    "This is pretty dangerous," Law said.

    "My divine sense is limited, I can barely sense beyond my skin. But I can still smell death here. Something is lurking in this darkness, and I don''t like it. It feels¡­like a predator," Dao Shen said.

    Law was clearly scared out of his wits, but he still put up a brave front, "I''ll go up ahead then, I shouldn''t trigger any traps," Law said.

    I grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "Remember, your luck was the very thing that got us into this mess, please stay behind me. Also why are you going to sacrifice yourself when I have my puppets?"

    "Oh true¡­you''re right," Law said.

    "I''m always right, now," I said as I pocketed the ship inside my Poison God''s book.

    I then began summoning puppets, one after the other. Until I had about twenty puppets. They were all geared up and armed to the brim with shields and swords and fire arms under their belts.

    I then threw several ck metal balls that opened up into the shape of a ck beetle.

    "Go forward, map the ce," I ordered and the hundred or so critters shot forward as fast as possible.

    "We''ll need to wait for them toe back and give us a detailed map, for now I''ll be studying these symbols and figure out what the hell is going on here," I said.

    No one seemed to disagree with me, after all, I was the only one with any semnce of reason here. Dao Shen and Zhang Tian would follow anything I suggest, while Law will not say no to any of my requests. But The Fire King is different, he isn''t an ally.

    And right now he has the Darkest Sun spying on us. Stay updated with m-v le-mpyr

    The help of one of the Suns would have been appreciated, but since the storm outside is so vtile, it could end up blowing the entire ce. So I''d rather them not directly interfere. But we could still use some help if they''re willing to give it.

    "Shen Bao," the Fire Lord said. "The Darkest Sun wishes to speak with you," he said.

    I was surprised that he would want to talk to me, but how is he going to do so.

    Suddenly another pained groan emerged from the Fire Lord''s mouth and soon his lips curled up, "That was slightly difficult," he said and coughed.

    The voice was definitely not the Fire Lord''s.

    "Darkest One, how may I be of help?" I said.

    "Stop with the ttery, I know you don''t like me. And I also know about your rtionship with Fu Tian.

    That caught me off guard¡­ since Old Fu wanted to keep himself hidden from the Darkest Sun. It was now toote for that.

    "Worry not about that for now. Anyway, the Blue Sun wishes to inform you that she wants you to record everything you see there. As for me, just bring back my disciple out. We''ll both reward you handsomely," he said.

    "Sure thing," I said. I was nning on leaving this ce alive anyway. Also this stuff here is worth noting anyway. After all, the entire thing is made from Soulsteel. Every single piece of it.

 Chapter 722 : Last Signal

    I examined the floor and walls as much as I could without touching anything. I didn''t even dare use Divine Sense even though it wouldn''t have prated anywhere far enough for me to figure out the content of this building or structure we''re in.

    After all, one bad fuckup and we can be squashed meat. My puppet sacrificed itself for us after all.

    "I cannot keep this contact for long, I''ll keep an eye out however," the Darkest Sun said and soon withdrew from controlling the Fire Lord''s mouth.

    "Ugh, disgusting," the Fire Lord said.

    Everyone including me felt a bit weirded out that the Fire Lord said that about his master. But I wasn''t one to correct other people or delve too deep into their rtionships.

    Regardless, I kept checking out the area close around us but failed toe up with anything worth noting besides the symbols that kept repeating all over the ce. They weren''t random, they were all drawn line underlined, like old Egyptian hieroglyphics from my former world.

    "Heritage," I said.

    "What?" Law asked.

    "This, all around us, feels like the heritage of a people. Although I didn''t understand it, I could tell. But something this size. This big¡­"

    I didn''t need to finish my words, because leaving a heritage this big means one thing. This was thest hope of the people.

    This was getting a bit scarier by the second. For something this massive to exist, it means that it took an ungodly amount of effort and workforce to build. Not to mention, nothing was mentioned about it in the library of the Lord of Lords.

    The farthest it goes in time was when the thunder domain was here. So, could it be that a race of people was here before the current race of the people in the beyond? Did they perish?

    No, that doesn''t make sense. The beyond is far toorge and big for an entire race to perish without leaving any trace.

    The questions keep bringing more questions. I decided not to think about it for now, since it''ll only strain my head for no obvious oue.

    Soon though, one of the ck beetles I sent came back.

    It then handed me a small piece of metal that was as big as a finger. On the metal piece were hundreds and thousands of minuscule carvings.

    I pulled out my holographic projector, the same one I used to create the thunderbane formation on top of my ship, and slotted in the metallic piece inside.

    Light went through the piece of metal and projected a map of the area ahead of us.

    The corridor was long, and extended until a three-way split. Two of the ways were locked shut from what the projection showed, and the middle one had its door opened.

    The map stopped there for some reason, although the door was opened, the ck beetles couldn''t move past this point for some reason.

    "Let''s head forward," I said to my group.

    With the hundred or so puppets ahead of us, moving in unison and somewhat clearing the path for us, we were able to proceed rather smoothly. As long as they didn''t trigger any traps, we shouldn''t either.

    We kept moving at a steady pace, while I took note of every piece of this lost heritage. Memorizing it as I moved forward. After all, the moment I was able to recognize the pattern and how these things are written would be the moment I could create a cypher and start understanding thenguage.

    It took us an hour of walking slowly until we reached the split passage. And through that long time and many words in that heritage I was able to understand one thing. If this is anguage, thisnguage has millions of words. Because it was that rare to find the same words duplicated. And it felt as if every symbol represented something.

    I''ll need a longer time to deduce and understand what they mean. Or if I had a book from this civilization, it would be even better.

    Once we arrived at the split section, I took a nce at the three doors. Two of them were locked shut, and they seemed to have the same symbols on the door outside the structure.

    The middle one however was fully opened. And it peered over another room. The room itself didn''t look any different than the corridor we were in, but it was circr and had another door at the other side.

    But the more interesting part was the fact that it had several rotten and decayed chairs facing the walls.

    While the ground was full of dust and what seemed to be¡­ human remains.

    With the open room in front of us, I didn''t bother thinking of what was inside the other. And these remains could probably tell us of what happened here. However wat surprised me was not the people, but the small ck beetles stuck unable to go beyond the door.

    Law was the first to proceed forward, and just as I was about to berate him for doing things without consideration, he took a step into the room.

    the moment he walked in, he faced the floor as if he got a mountain mmed against him.

    "Heavy!" he gasped.

    I dragged him back, and said, "You should stop doing things without thinking, if the beetles couldn''t get inside, then at least think why first before you take action."

    "It wasn''t weight," Law said as he gasped once more, "I was caught off guard. That room,pletely seals off one''s Qi." He said.

    I frowned, why would something like that be here¡­

    Also that exins why the beetles didn''t move forward.

    I ordered one of the puppets to take a step forward, and the moment it did, the puppet went out of order. It got disabled.

    I dragged the puppet back, and it soon returned to function.

    At least the circuits didn''t get fried. So it only bans the usage of Qi. I see¡­

    I then took a step forward.

    "What are you doing?" Law said as I was inside the room. "Also, howe you''re not affected?"

    "Because I don''t use normal Qi, this is rather¡­fortable," I said. After all, the presence if heavenly Qi constantly swamps my senses. I got used to it as a side effect of my cultivation. I knew that the Heavenly Qi is there, always there, but I couldn''t grasp it or use it. But here¡­ I was like a fish in the sea. Completely unfettered and free.

    I took a long gasp of air and sighed, I could use something like this. Replicating it and making it into a room where I could sleep and meditate in.

    I shook my head, thinking random thoughts in such a situation will lower my alertness. People had died here.

    "Give me a second, I''ll need to figure out the mechanic that''s incapacitating Qi and disable it."

    I took several steps inside and approached the first human remains.

    The bones were white but all had purple spots on them, and with a mere touch, they turned to dust.

    They didn''t have an ounce of Qi in them. I went to check another corpse, and then another, and they were all the same. So old that mere air would turn them to dust.

    However, there was one thing inmon with these corpses.

    "They all died due to the same thing," I said.

    "And what is that?" Dao Shen asked.

    "Poison, they were all affected by a poison called the Mourning Burial Poison," I said.

    "That''s a weak poison, howe they all died to that?" Law asked.

    "It would be weak to cultivators like you, but can you say the same if you take a step inside and consume that poison?" I asked.

    "Oh, the removal of Qi¡­ but why that poison?" Law asked.

    "I think, they weren''t poisoned, rather¡­ theymitted mass suicide," I said.

    "How did you figure that out?" the Fire King then asked.

    Zhang Tian, for the first time spoke in reply to the Fire King, "Because they wanted to go without any pain. The Mourning Burial poison causes the body to go numb and drowsy, they wouldn''t even sense death."

    "They were all facing away from each other," Dao Shen added, "Perhaps they didn''t want to see their brethren die?"

    "We can''t judge anything for now, also there is something near the wall there, I''ll go check it out," I said.

    On the wall where a few of the chairs were facing, there was a cube that was protruding outward.

    It felt like it was something that you can press, like a button of sorts.

    Although I have no idea what the repercussions of doing something like this would entail. Perhaps it is a trap or simply a random mechanism of this structure. I still pressed it.

    The moment I did, the room slightly trembled and light lit up from around us.

    On the opposite wall of me, the Soulsteel began changing and disyed an image at first.

    A man showed up on it. And he looked terrified and fearful.

    He spoke in anguage I didn''t understand but was pointing forward and to his ear several times.

    Looking at the direction where he was pointing, I noticed that the cube I pressed had opened up revealing a pair of crystals.

    Once I grabbed one of them, I felt as if my mind was shocked and suddenly I was able to understand what the man was saying.

    "I hope you can use the crystal. This is the final transmission¡­ we are all going to die. And if you were hearing this, no matter what you do¡­ do not proceed forward."

    His voice was suddenly disrupted by the most unholy, most wretched and most soul rending scream I had ever head through my life.

    My entire being felt as if it was being assaulted by a myriad of terrifying thoughts and feelings. Enough that I almost fell to my knees and started sobbing.

    The man''s face grimaced for a second before he took another breath and said. "We''re carrying the Fallen God With us. And it already destroyed our world¡­"

 Chapter 723: Death of a World

    "What the hell is he talking about?" Law asked.

    I held my finger up and said, "One moment let me hear."

    The man in the projection was terrified. But he still exined, "That which you hear, is the sound of its offspring. The real thing is far deadlier. We on our home, have lived for ages. A utopia is what we created, where all life''s most desirable things are avable for all. From cultivation materials to knowledge of Dao, to the path of ascension.

    We have climbed through the ranks of cultivation so much that some of us dared think of ourselves as gods¡­"

    The man''s words continued, speaking of terrors that we haven''t seen yet, but terrors that lived in his eyes still.

    "Our path toward the peak of cultivation was smooth, and we have engineered ways to assist everyone to climb. We disdained riches and the material. And did our best to help those who wish to take the steps to cultivate from the day they were born. But, one of us¡­ a man who''s forever cursed for his greed knew no bounds. He tampered with the Laws of life itself.

    He stole the Heavenly Dao and incorporated it into a living organism. Which became alive, a creature that first looked like a man, who soon showed that it was nothing short of a devil spawn. It began by killing, ughtering, murdering, and soon by consuming the flesh and souls of our people."

    The man had tears dripping down his face as he recounted these events. "It was far toote. When we figured it out, he had already ughtered millions of lives to achieve a stage that even his creator couldn''t reach. He then consumed his own creator, taking the knowledge of the stolen Heavenly Dao.

    By doing so, he was able to split himself into innumerable parts which wouldtch onto a living organism, grow inside them then once they were done growing, they would explode from within their bodies, creating a new life form that was disdained by the heavens themselves."

    Another soul-wrenching scream echoed and the door behind the man shook. The creature which these people were running away from was apparently on this vessel. And it was hunting them.

    "Our which was once prosperous and advanced, fell in less than a full rotation around its sun. the spawn of the Fallen God had grown to an extent that they couldn''t be stopped or controlled. If they were to meet a river, they''d drink it all, if they were to see crops they''d eat it all, and if they were to see cultivators, they''d consume them and breed more of themselves.

    They would eat and grow stronger by the day, evolving into the most atrocious forms. Until there was nothing left in our world."

    "This vessel," he said with a long sigh, "We gathered around, those of us who dabbled in alchemy and craftsmanship to make this material," he said as he showed a small cube in his hand."

    Soulsteel¡­

    "We used it to build this vessel. It is an unholy creation, but it came at the cost of desperation. This metal takes in soul power to create. And it helped us block and fend off these fiends since they cannot break through it no matter how long or how much they try. It was our only bastion, and many lives were sacrificed creating and perfecting it.

    It is easy to shape and transform, it only needs one to inject their soul into it and it will morph to the will of the user. And since these creatures have no souls, they couldn''t affect it or break it. It is weaker and softer than gold, but against the soulless, it is stronger than the chains of hell itself.

    Ourst bastion, our bastion of hope was hidden away from these creatures, we tried our best to survive there, and wait them out until they died since they had consumed everything in our world. We thought that they would die out from hunger and starvation, only for us to realize our mistake.

    They ousted us.

    They had evolved in a way that allowed them to start harvesting the heavenly Qi. Thus were able to sustain themselves with just Qi. Then, the terror began when they learned how they could break through our walls, they didn''t need to go against it, they merely used humans they caught, mind-controlled them, and made them open the walls to our bastion.

    We fought desperately, ourst stand until we managed to enclose a group of the ones that invaded our bastion and separated ourselves from them."

    The man then disyed another projection.

    Looking at it, I was given a glimpse of what they had suffered through. From a bird''s viewpoint, I was able to see a massive shelled dome. The dome itself was gold in color and seemed to be alive. It moved and spiraled around itself. The dome was at the peak of a gigantic mountain far bigger than anything I had seen before.

    The mountain itself was high, and around it were vast swaths ofnd that were constantly on fire. Forests had burnt and turned to ash, and even the ash itself seemed to smolder once more. The atmosphere had broken, and the world itself from just what we could see felt like it was dying.

    Tens of millions of white creatures were climbing the mountains, and around them, billions more, enough that they would cover the entirend beside the enmed areas.

    They were all moving toward that peak, where thest people of that world lived.

    These creatures¡­ even I have a hard time describing them. It was a form of exquisite terror. Jagged spikes jutted out from its body like frozen stctites. Its skin was icy white, shimmering against all sources of light and reflecting against them. Their organs could be seen as the only coloration inside them was the fading red of consumed prey.

    After all, they were transparent if not for the light that reflected against them.

    Their eyes were blue, the color of the frigid death. And their movement was that of an eerie predatorial grace. Each step left behind a mark of ice, they were quadrupedal, and on each foot, they had three toes up front and one at the back for bnce, they were quite taller than a man. At least twice in height, as for the length they were more than four times that the length of a man.

    They were all in a hunched position as they prowled the prairies and thend.

    They stood on four legs and used them to march forward, while their arms were tucked under their chests like that of a praying mantis. As for its back, it had one protruding tail that seemed to extend and shorten subconsciously as it swayed around for bnce.

    The head of these creatures reminded me of xenomorphs, a long sleek skull that extended in a cone behind it. It had several holes on the side where the air would constantly vibrate creating a steam-like vapor and at the same time a soul-wrenching screech.

    As for its mouth¡­ it had a jaw that could dislocate itself from the mouth. Which I saw as they were carrying half-dead people, who were struggling to get out of their grips.

    These hostages had one role, and it was to be used to open the dome.

    Once they opened the dome, they''d be nothing but appetizers for the horde outside.

    But the dome remained shut as more cultivators desperately used their own souls to stop the dome from opening.

    The creatures tried desperately to bring the caught humans to the dome, only for the dome to st the humans to bits. Since if they got them close enough, they''ll open it. And if they were to die, they''d both rest in peace and keep the safety of the dome and itsst upants. However, these creatures were cunning.

    Proven with what they did next.

    A long screech echoed through the frozenndscape. I wouldn''t give it justice by saying it was terrorizing. It was far, far worse. It builds up in intensity until it crescendos into a high-pitched shriek that cuts ripples across the very fabric of space itself.

    That was one shout, far louder than thebined screech of the entire species. And it was all it took for all of them to suddenly stop. They didn''t move when they were sted to pieces, didn''t move when they were ughtered or killed, they just stood still like statues.

    Then another screech echoed, sharp and discordant like the grinding of rocks together filled the field. And everywhere, the skulls of these beings began vibrating, shooting outwards torrents of frigid smoke that covered the entire mountain.

    Hiding them from sight and view. They moved through the veil of the frigid smoke and nted a man next to the dome. Opening it wide for them to enter.

 Chapter 724: Death of a World II

    The breach in the dome should have spelled doom for everyone inside. But the cultivators matched the enemy''s energy. Swarm against swarm they fought, desperately, throwing their lives away not to kill the enemy but to buy time, just a little bit of time for what was going to happen next.

    The mountain''s peak soon became red in blood as tens of thousands of cultivators fought desperately to stop the breach.

    And soon for a small window of time, the creatures were surrounded and were encased in a massive cube of Soulsteel. The breach was stopped and reformed by the sacrifice of other cultivators who used their own soul energy to morph it back and seal it once more.

    The number of trapped creatures inside the dome was incredible. And among them I saw it, a smaller version of the bigger creatures, unlike the paler ones, this one was pitch ck. A creature of nightmare that would even make a xenomorph look like a cute home pet.

    This was the source of the unholy screech from before. The leader itself hade inside the dome and was now trapped.

    Feeling at a loss, no one knew what to do next. The portion that trapped the creatures was massive, and no one could move it outside, even if they could, they''d have to open a path through the endless hordes swarming and now climbing even on top of the dome.

    Suddenly a man in full golden armor appeared in the air. He slowly hovered and descended down. An aura of immense power surrounded him. Dare I say that he was way stronger than even the eight Suns of the Beyond?

    I couldn''t tell, but I knew that everyone seemed to respect this man.

    He then, moved until he reached the locked cube and sighed.

    "My people¡­ we have lost our world. And can no longer live here. These fiends would kill all and any life form they would meet. But I cannot leave us without a path of survival. I''ll use thest of my powers to take us away from here."

    "Father, to move the Bastion, it will require all of your soul energy," a woman who wore the same type of armor said to him.

    "If I were to die, then you should lead them. My only wish is for our people to survive."

    "What are we going to do about this cage?" she asked.

    "I only have enough power to move us away from this.As for the cage, as long as it is locked and sealed, they wouldn''t be able to exit. They have no souls and cannot use them to break out, eventually, they will die out. So leave them trapped inside. The only grace we had was that their queen was trapped inside.

    Maybe in a few thousand years, when youe back to our, they would all be long since dead," he said.

    "What do you meane back?"

    The man smiled and selflessly exhausted every ounce of his Qi, body, energy, and soul into the dome. Morphing the dome into a massive tube-like object. It looked like a submarine from where I could see, and with his will, he extracted it from the mountain and into a spatial rift.

    Inside the spatial rift, there were endlessly blowing rift winds. They were so powerful that not even a mighty cultivator could survive inside it. And especially the creeps who hung into the vessel. They were torn to bits the moment they came in contact with the spatial rift winds. Only the vessel survived the blowing endless winds.

    Moving through spatial rifts is nothing short of suicide. Because not only are the winds powerful enough to tear through even, neutron steel, the rift itself is an unstable space. Where it could lead anyone anywhere. Unknown destination and trajectory. Where not only space, but even time itself gets distorted.

    The leader was nothing but bones in seconds for powering the entirety of the dome. But he did so without regard to his own life.

    Thankfully, the vessel survived the winds and aimlessly drifted across the empty spatial rift.

    The scene soon was cut off. And the man at the projection resumed his speech.

    "Our emperor had feared that these creatures could follow us through space and used the Rift Winds to kill anything thattched itself onto the dome from outside. That was just in case these things would stick to the ship and follow us to wherever our fate takes us."

    "That is the story of my people, and on the walls of these buildings is our culture and heritage. It may take time to understand it, but please do know that we were once here."

    The banging on the door continued. And several other cultivators approached the man, their cores shattered, as they had broken their own Dantian crippling themselves.

    They then handed him a small vial that each of them had.

    He drank it and said. "In our escape, we had thought that all of those fiends had been left back on our. As for the few that we trapped inside, they were sealed withyers uponyers of soul metal. They could never go past it. Since only a person with the emperor''s bloodline could open it."

    "We thought we were safe¡­ we thought wrong."

    The man on the point of tears added, "It seemed that one of them didn''t enter through the main breach. When all of us were busy watching out for the main breach, another of these creatures had infiltrated through the fog and used the soul of a captured cultivator to open a smaller passage for itself. A passage we never realized had opened. It was among us. We never noticed it, as it began hunting.

    We never realized it although it was obvious. Since the leader of these creatures, of these devil spawns, had been constantly screeching. We never noticed, that its screeches were not that of a trapped animal wanting to exit. No, they were orders, orders for its kin inside our base that we never noticed. Orders to hunt, kill, and subdue all and everyone in the base.

    One by unfortunately one, our people dwindled down, dying where we could find nothing but their blood.

    The hunter was prowling the passages of the vessel, under even the most scrutinized guard and watch, it still hunted with ease.

    It hunted, and it converted. It was breeding its offspring through our own cultivators. And we only noticed when many of us were missing. We only realized it when the queen no longer screeched for orders but began screaming a guttural sound akin to augh. Augh against our own miserable and unfortunate future.

    It had seeded in taking over the vessel, making it its own hunting ground. They grew smarter and no longer killed everything in sight, they captured the humans and enved their minds. They then pushed them to open passages for them so they can kill more."

    My head began hurting as I thought of the terror they must have all felt. Even in this enclosed ce, they were nothing but prey.

    "Once we realized that they captured hostages, we all began consuming poison. We would rather die than be the reason why more of our brothers and sisters die. But that was a solution that didn''tst for long. Since we were outnumbered they could simply use cultivators who didn''t have the time to poison or sacrifice themselves to open more passageways.

    Until our Queen decided to make thest stand behind that door. All of the remaining cultivators had been ordered to move to where we are right now. And only eight of us were left.As for our Queen, she fought at the doorway, stopping them from moving forward. But the queen''s voice¡­ we can hear it no more. The queen is probably dead is what we wholeheartedly wish.

    Because if she was captured¡­ then the leader of these fiends could be liberated¡­ here we drink, to ourst breath, and for you who is watching this. No matter what, do not open that door¡­"

    I swallowed hard as the realization hit me.

    The first thing I did was look back.

    There were no words that needed to be said. It was obvious even through the inability to understand thenguage.

    Everyone behind me was in a state of utter shock. They had seen what these creatures were capable of, and they understood what this whole thing was.

    If this thing were to open to the outer world, then what happened to that would happen to the Beyond.

    "You should retreat, find a way to leave the ship, ande back," I heard. This was the voice of the Darkest Sun. Also, Shen Bao, the Blue Sun is requesting that you take one of those ear pieces with you for her to study and all of your notes so far."

    "Are you nning on investigating this ce?" I asked.

    "I have no intentions of doing so, but the Blue Sun wants to," he said.

    "That''s absurd, you all saw what happened¡­" Only a fool would do something like that, but for some reason¡­ why am I feeling as if I''m being watched right now?

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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 725: Boo

    My train of thought was cut when the Darkest Sun said, "The Blue Suns say that it has been millions of years since the Thunder Domain was here on the Beyond, if this entire area is that old, then those creatures would long be dead, nothing can live beyond the passage of time. Not even immortals."

    I find that sentence very hard to believe. Especially here, but I can''t do shit about it anyway.

    "We''ll need to figure a way out," I said as I looked at the closed door ahead of us. Scenes from what we just watched shed in front of me and I couldn''t do anything but sigh.

    "let''s go back, we can''t move forward," I said to them.

    "Euh¡­ as much as I would like that," Law said as he pointed back, "It seems like that''s not going to be possible¡­"

    The door we came from had closed off.

    "What the fuck?" I cursed "Also weren''t you all outside the room just a second ago?" I questioned.

    They all looked at each other. And as if they just realized it.

    "How did we walk inside?" Dao Shen asked.

    "We never did," Zhang Tian replied, "The room itself moved past us and enclosed us in¡­ also," he said as he pointed forward. I''m pretty sure that that door was closed a second ago."

    Turning, it was the same door that the man in the recording said to not go through no matter what.

    Fuck.

    "Shen Bao," Zhang Tian spoke, "Could you exin everything that the man said? We didn''t get the chance to understand some of what he had said. We can help if we pool our thoughts together."

    I thought for a moment and said, "Sure, so it goes like this¡­"

    Several minutester, after exining everything that happened on that man''s and how they escaped to ultimatelynd here Zhang Tian sighed.

    "I can''t seem to fathom the despair they were in, but I can understand their actions. So, if they used Soul Power to control this metal, or what you call Soulsteel, would that mean that if we inject it with our own Soul Power it will morph? Can we not do that to open a pathway outside?"

    I shook my head, "Though everyone in their world was able to do so, that doesn''t mean we can. It would require a specific sequence, a frequency of sorts¡­ better yet, it would probably require a cultivation method that only they know.

    Perhaps it is the most basic of cultivation methods for them to control their soul energy, but for us who have no idea how to do so, it could spill doom for us if we act without thinking of the consequences."

    "Shen Bao is right," Dao Shen said, "If we were to randomly inject the facility with soul energy, it might reject it, or worse it might consider us hostile. You have seen how vtile this vessel is. It isn''t simply a bastion to protect it is also a deadly weapon. I guess we''ll have no better choice but to proceed forward. Since we can''t even retreat to the exit," he said.

    "Just use your puppets to clear the path ahead, I believe in the words of the Blue Sun, nothing should remain alive after so long," the Darkest Sun who was borrowing the Fire Lord''s mouth said.

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    I shook my head, "The puppets themselves have no souls in them. They could trigger traps or be mistaken for those creatures," I replied.

    The Darkest Sun remained quiet for a second and said, "I guess you will have to walk in that darkness by yourselves. However, the moment I feel that you are in mortal danger. I''ll exile the entire forbiddennd to the Vast Expanse."

    I frowned, "What do you mean by that?!"

    "You think I''ll allow those things to wander into the Beyond free? Hah, you saw it yourself. I''ll protect my domain no matter the cost I have to pay, even if it''s a disciple or forbidden knowledge."

    "So you would rather doom the entire Vast Expanse?"

    "What choice do I have? No one here will disagree with me. The Beyond is far more ancient and powerful, those things cannot be permitted to live and dwell here. Exiling them is the best I can do to protect the people."

    I could reply to that because I knew that I had sense from his point of view. Why risk the safety of his people when he can throw away the risk somewhere else?

    "If you''re that afraid of these things then you''ll have noints if I were to im the entire vessel once I secure it," I said.

    "Hah, the man who controlled this entire vessel appeared to be in a realm even higher than us. If you can control it, who am I to take it from you," the Darkest Sun said, "But remember, even if, by some ungodly miracle you were able to control it, you still need the power to protect it. Regardless, let''s not think of the improbable and figure out a way to get you out alive," he said.

    I sighed, I hate this passive-aggressive attitude, but I can''t do shit about it. We''re trapped here like mice, and they''re outside with their hands on a nuclear option.

    "No matter," I waved my hand behind me, "I''ll move forward on my own, guys, if you don''t feel like following me, stay here with these hundred puppets. They should buy you time acting as a meat shield, just in case some of those things are still alive." I said

    "Nah, we''ll go with you," Zhang Tian said as he looked at the nodding Dao Shen.

    "My gut tells me to stick to your side," Law said.

    The fire king coughed and said "Fucking disgusting that man should stop doing this. Anyway, I''m also following you."

    "Suite yourselves then. I cannot guarantee anyone''s safety, but at least make sure to stay close. We''re in strange territory, so if you notice anything out of the ordinary even more than where we are, make sure to notify everyone. Now, let''s move forward."

    ¡­

    We moved past the opened gate and into an even longer corridor. It extended forward to god knows where. My Divine Sense was severely limited so I couldn''t even explore ahead of me. Visibility was low, and that onlysted for a second as light began shining from above us.

    The ceiling was at least six to seven hundred meters above us. And the light came from several glowing globes of light. The walls around us were filled with the symbols and writing of the civilization that lived here before.

    I took note of everything around me and continued moving forward. The history of these people is deep and rich, and it would help to learn a thing or two.

    "The Qi is getting staler;" Law said.

    "Indeed, it''s getting more turbid. I guess we''ll have to save our own energy."

    I pulled up several of my personal weapons and handed them to the group. "Do you know how to use these?" I asked.

    "We''ve seen you use them, replication shouldn''t be that hard," Zhang Tian said.

    "Only use them in desperate situations, we''ll conserve as much of our Qi as possible, since we don''t know if we''re alone or not," I said.

    Strangely, there was no signs on the ground under us. The man in thest transmission had said that their Queen fought behind the door.

    But there are no signs of battle. Well, as far as I can see, there is a lot of dust on the floor. And blood from tens of thousands of years ago should have already dried and disappeared.

    But unlike the entrance where there were bones. There was nothing here. No human remains of cultivators who fought, no bodies, no clothes, or even remnants of them. Nothing.

    We continued heading deeper and deeper into the passage until we arrived at a conjunction.

    Three pathways plus the one we came from.

    "Should we split up?" Law asked.

    I turned to him with the, "Are you stupid?" look and said, "That''s the best way to get yourself killed. Also, that''s how people start dying in Sci-Fi movies," I said.

    "Sky what?" Law questioned.

    "Don''t mind it, also, splitting up is pointless, we have no way tomunicate with each other nor do we know the map. We have to choose one path and clear it, then go back and choose another, it is long, it is slow, but it is meticulous and safe."

    "Then which path are we choosing?" The Fire King said.

    "Law, which path would you like to go to?" I asked him.

    "Hmm, I''d go right, I always like right passages in mazes," he said.

    "Then right we go," I said.

    The group was confused, and Dao Shen asked, "Why right? What''s so special about it?" he asked.

    "This guy, is like a Fortune Rat, very lucky, so If I have no way to find my path forward, I''d rather rely on his luck."

    Dao Shen didn''t seem too convinced but he didn''t disagree after all no one really had any good reason to choose any other path.

    "Since I chose right!" Law said, "Let me go in first. Hopefully we''ll find some treasures," while he was speaking he seemed to have crashed into something and fell back.

    He rubbed his nose saying, "Why the hell is there a damn wall here." He looked up and frowned, "Huh, there is nothing¡­ what did I crash into¡­"

    Before I could fully grasp what happened. The "Wall" began materializing and reformed into one of those creatures.

    It was standing right in front of us.

 Chapter 726: Worst Case Scenario

    All five of us immediately jumped back, everyone ready and alert, weapons in hand and Qi circting to the maximum.

    However, the creature didn''t move. It couldn''t move.

    It remained still, and soon, began crumbling into bits and pieces until nothing but dust remained.

    "What the fuck was that?" Law asked.

    "It''s one of those creatures¡­ But, I guess it was dead," I replied as I approached its remains and began inspecting them.

    The dust it left on the floor was finer than flour, and it smelled like sulfur.

    I grabbed a bunch of it and kept it inside my holding bag.

    Among the remains was a small crystal, I took it and realized that it had energy flowing through it. It felt murky, and unclean for some reason.

    "Corrupted Saint Qi," Zhang Tian said.

    I handed the crystal to him where he inspected it some more and he said, "This is like our spirit stones. But, unlike the ones that were made by the condensation of heavenlyw, this one is made by usurping the world''s Qi, it didn''t go through the proper crystallization method and lost some of its essence.

    The Saint Qi it has inside it is far stronger than a normal Saint Qi stone but it feels turbid and vile. I wouldn''t use this to cultivate, I don''t know what the repercussions of doing so could entail," he said.

    I noted his remarks and said, "Keep it in your holding bag. Anyway, we seem to have forgotten something, thankfully this creature was dead. But we don''t know if the rest of them are also dead."

    "We need to give them a name because calling them creatures is pretty jarring," Dao Shen suggested.

    "Let''s just call them Rakshasa, it''s fitting. They eat the flesh of man and have no souls of their own. And from what we saw in that disy they are pretty vicious." Law said.

    "I agree, Rakshasa is very fitting, anyway, for now, I want everyone to keep an eye out, we don''t know if there are more of these things, or even if we passed by some of them without us even noticing," I said.

    "I don''t even want to think of that, the mere thought of us having gone past a couple of these Rakshasa without us noticing is enough to keep me sleepless for years," Law shivered as he spoke.

    "Don''t worry, so far, if any of them had been alive and we went past them I''d doubt they wouldn''t have let us know. After all, we''re few, and they''re many."

    But even though I said that I still didn''t hesitate to take a big chunk of air in my lungs and then spat out a torrent of poison inside the room.

    "What are you doing?" Law asked me.

    I handed him, Zhang Tian and Dao Shen an antidote pill each, and then one to the Fire Lord.

    "I don''t need it," he said.

    "You''ll need it, although you can burn the poison inside you, that requires the use of Qi, if you get exhausted early, you might be a liability," I said.

    He begrudgingly took the pill, since he realized what I said was true. We''re in a strange and foreignnd. Where we don''t know when we''ll leave or how long we''ll stay. Keeping our energy consumption to the smallest possible is the bare minimum we should do.

    "What about you?" Law asked, "You''re using poison, that''s energy consumption, also why did you do that? Seeing no one questioning you but me, am I missing something?" he asked.

    "One question at a time," I sighed then began replying. "For me, I use Qi differently than everyone else. So, I''m not in any immediate or long-term worry for ack of Qi. I can replenish myself whenever I need to. As for your second question, we can''t use Divine Sense here.

    Since this entire structure is built with Soul Steel and Divine Sense is heavily influenced by soul power we are restrained and restricted. In fact, if we use it, I fear that the ship might just steal our Soul Power to recharge itself. So that leaves poison, as it is the only way for me to scan ahead and also a good way to find any invisible Rakshasa."

    Law nodded as he understood my actions and then followed after me.

    Once we entered the room, the first thing I noticed was a fading red glow in a dark corner.

    Not a secondter, the room lit up, revealing a massive tower in the middle of a domed room. The dome from here looked like a miniature version of the dome that was on top of the mountain, the origin of this ship.

    As for the tower, it had several entrances on the ground floor where we were, and on each floor of the tower were several bridges leading to other rooms. The size of this entire thing was massive enough to epass an entire city inside with room to spare.

    As for the tower, it looked like a hub to transport and move around the base.

    Lastly for the thing that was glowing red, it was a cube on the floor with a small glowing gemstone on top of it. It looked out of ce and it had what looked like limbsing out of its side like a tentacle. It was sprawled on the ground motionless. Slowly radiating bits of energy from the crystal on top of its head.

    Before I could approach it, it suddenly moved, its glistening crystal slightly shining brighter. And then focused on me. It then stood up, wobbling and shuddering. Then began moving toward us.

    Dao Shen took a step forward, sword drawn and ready to cut the thing into pieces.

    But I held my arm in front of him and said, "It doesn''t look hostile," I said and waited for the cube to approach.

    It then moved its arm forward and grabbed me by the foot. Its grip was light, like a feeble child trying to get someone''s attention by lightly pulling on their robes.

    However, the bastard suddenly stabbed something sharp in my foot. I hastily withdrew my foot and noticed a small injury there.

    "You should have destroyed it," Dao Shen said.

    "Hold on," I said, "It took some of my soul energy¡­" I said

    Dao Shen frowned saying, "That''s quite rude don''t you think," he said.

    "Indeed, but look," I said as the light on top of the small cube began shining brighter and brighter.

    "Apologies for my rude actions, it was the only way for me to recharge. Regardless, you sir have a lot of soul energy, would you please give me some more?" he said.

    "It depends," I said replying.

    "Wait, it''s talking? I thought it was just saying random sounds," Law said.

    "Oh, it''s because of this," I said as I pointed at the earpiece.

    "If it''s for the trantor, we do have plenty of them. Our creator had expected that a different species could one daye and discover this ship. So he made them in advance. I would give you enough for your party if you hand me some soul energy, what I currently have is barely enough for speech and some movement," he said.

    I thought for a second and said, "Sure."

    "Then could you please present me your finger," he said.

    After doing so, he pulled another needle and lightly tapped my finger. The energy around him increased rapidly and soon its entire body seemed full of vigor and energy.

    "Thank you, benefactor," He said, "Please give me a moment."

    The small puppet then crouched, transformed its legs into wheels, and just zoomed past us into a nearby door.

    A minute or soter, it came back with a small steel box ced in front of me.

    "Here you can find the trantors for yourpanions," it said.

    I opened the box, and sure enough, there were three more. I handed Law the spare one I had on me and split the other tree between Dao Shen Zhang Tian and the Fire Lord.

    After they all wore the pieces, the puppet spoke. "Do you understand me now?"

    "I do¡­ quite interesting," Law said.

    "Good to hear, now, could you please tell me, what is the purpose of your visit to our Bastion? Not to mention, how did you enter in the first ce?"

    "We got pulled inside due to a mistake, and now we''re trapped here, and we''re looking for a way out," I said.

    "I see. I''m afraid that will not be possible," the puppet said.

    I frowned, "Howe?"

    "The Bastion is in a state ofplete lockdown, nothing should get in or out, in case any of the Fallen God race were to escape," it said.

    If it was total lockdown, then why did the door even open for us? I don''t seem to understand what''s going on. But since it was Law who opened the door¡­ then it could be that it was a minor error. I don''t know.

    "That shouldn''t be relevant anymore," Law said. "didn''t we get in? Also, it''s been thousands of years since this Bastion arrived in the Beyond, I doubt any of them are still alive."

    For some reason¡­ I wanted to smack Law on the head because these are the exact kind of lines that you should never say in this situation.

    "It''s been twenty-two thousand years since we arrived in thesends. As for the Fallen God race, they are still alive. And they are still here¡­" the puppet added. Continue reading on m|v-l''e-NovelBin

    I facepalmed as hard as I could, "I fucking knew it¡­you and your damned mouth¡­"

 Chapter 727: Trap

    "The number of the Fallen God''s race had dropped severely," the small puppet said. "But they still exist." He said.

    "Do you have the location? Or can you track them?" I asked.

    "We don''t have sufficient energy to track them, the Bastion has been running on low resource allocation for tens of thousands of years," he said.

    "Damn, I would have wanted to at least have a surveince system on, at least we can see them and prepare," I said.

    "There is no reason not to, after all, I have seen one of your puppets," he said.

    "I can''t, the puppets I own have no souls, I fear that the internal system would not recognize them or destroy them," I said.

    "As long as I allow the frequency that belongs to your puppets, they should be able to move around the base. However, there is an issue," he said.

    With the ability to freely move about I''d be able to have the full map of the base in no time. A great boon to our current predicament I say.

    "What''s the issue?" Dao Shen asked.

    "The Fallen God''s race might notice the new puppets, so you''ll have to act prudently. If they realize that a change has happened to the Bastion, they might start investigating. And if they find you¡­ I would advise you terminate yourselves lest they break the gates down using your souls."

    "If they can break the gate, why not use our own soul power to open a passage?" Law asked.

    "The Soul power you all carry within you is not enough to do so." The puppet said.

    I frowned, "Then what allows the Rakshasa able to use ours to open the door while we can''t do the same?"

    "The Rakshasa? I see, that is what you call them. Fair, let''s name them that. As for your soul power, it is not enough, however, if they were to feed it to our Queen and then use her to open the path then it would override the protective system. The facility cannot use any random soul to morph, it needs the direct interference of the royal bloodline."

    "Hold on, you''re saying that the woman I saw in that video is still alive?" I asked.

    "I wouldn''t call that living, nor would I call it being dead. The rakshasas are cruel, but at the same time, they do have intelligence. They had realized that if they were to kill every life form on the Bastion, then they would never be able to exit. Follow me, I can show you what I''m talking about," the small puppet said.

    I nodded to our group and we followed him into the tower. Explore more at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    Once we arrived at the door, the puppet used one of its tentacle limbs and connected it to a circuit, it lit up and a small tform manifested beyond the door. It rolled forward and waited for us to get on.

    Once we did so, the tform rose up to a certain level of the tower and another door opened for us leading to a bridge.

    The bridge extended from the tower to another room.

    As we were walking on the bridge we were able to see the entire dome. Underneath us were more bridges each leading to a different section, and even above us were more bridges. The height was enough to cause a serious injury if one were to fall, especially with the flight ban inside the Bastion.

    Once we arrived at the other room the puppet once again opened the door for us using its tentacle. Inside this room was one small prop in the middle of the room with a crystal half sphere on top of it.

    There was a small keyhole on the side of the prop where the puppet inserted its tentacle and soon the orb began lighting up. A projection appeared on top of it and soon began ying another video.

    The video was the continuation from where the first one stopped. The fight where the Queen of these people was fighting beyond the door.

    She had a long broadsword on her, and a set of golden armor. Her face was not visible as half of it was covered by a golden owl helmet. With a small thin veil covering the rest of her face.

    The veil was torn and bloodied, and her sword was chipped in many ces.

    She was holding her rib with one hand, and gasping desperately while her other sword was tearing apart the iing beasts. Hundreds of Rakshasas were charging her. Each one of them seemed to be the bottom barrel of the bunch.

    The white Rakshasa were numerous and were moving all over the hallway where the queen was fighting, some ever were upside down on the ceiling and others were running across the walls. Hundreds of them charged at her and she kept them at bay for the few people behind the door.

    As for the other side of the hallway, you could see more Rakshasas who are different than the white ones.

    The first was a bunch of gray-colored Rakshasa, they were far bulkier, and heavy-looking ones. Their bodies were towering over any of the white Rakshasas with two tails behind them instead of one. As for their front limbs, unlike the white Rakshasas'' mantis limbs these ones had fully developed arms and hands. Six fingers and a thumb on each hand.

    And each finger which by the way was easily the size of a grown man''s arm ended in a long sharp w.

    The gray rakshasas looked like guards to the third type of these creatures.

    Unlike the massive-sized guards, this one was small in stature, close to that of a human, although it was quadrupedal like its brethren, it had a more "Human" physique. As its front arms looked simr to that of mankind, while its four legs were thinner and leaner. Its body was quite skinny, but its head waspletely different. The size of its head was massive to say the least.

    Unlike the xenomorph skull on every other rakshasa, this one''s head was a skull that was attached to a saucer.

    It was sending several grunts, one after another, and low screeches. And you could notice that whenever it made a different sound, the creatures attacking the Queen would either retreat hastily or attack in bulk. Each different sound had a different reaction. They were organized and were following orders.

    The Queen seemed to have noticed that and pulled a spear from her side. She didn''t hesitate in throwing the most powerful spear throw I have seen to date. With enough strength, it tore through any of the white Rakshasas in the way that tried to block it.

    Torpedoing through their bodies as if they were made of butter and continued on until it was about to pierce into the dark Rakshasa.

    Thetter didn''t even move, as the guard threw themselves forward, grabbing the spear with all their might. The first few had their arms torn, thetter desperately held on, and thest fewpletely stopped the spear.

    With that much power exerted, the Queen''s wounds red up and more blood ruptured out of them and even from her mouth. Seeing that she was about to be overwhelmed. She held a knife to her neck and was about to end her own life.

    But before she could even act, something stabbed into the back of her neck, the screen was fuzzed up a bit and soon another type of rakshasas showed up. This one had only two legs and stood taller than the Queen by at least two heads. It had a skull that extended all the way to its lower back and its entire body was silver.

    In its open palm was a long thorn that it used to stab the queen and stop her from moving.

    A paralyzing agent. They didn''t kill her there. As the white rakshasas moved out of the way, two of the gray brutes came forward and dragged the Queen with them.

    The white rakshasas then began collecting the bodies of their deadrades until everything was cleared away. The only one remaining was the silver rakshasa who turned to face the camera angle and pointed its arm toward it. The thorn on its arm shot up and the screen ckened.

    "That is all we know of the fight, as for our Queen, we managed to locate her," He said.

    He then twisted his arm a bit and another screen showed up.

    "We can only use this for a short period of time lest we are noticed," the puppet said.

    The screen showed a room with nothing but skeletons on the ground, skeletons that belonged to long-since-dead humans. And in the middle of the room was the woman who was caught, it was obvious from the color of her golden hair.

    She was trapped inside ice with several gray brute rakshasas in a dormant position next to her.

    "They really are still alive¡­" Law said.

    "Howe? How did they survive the passage of time?"

    "Why wouldn''t they?" the robot said, "They have no souls, they require no sustenance, and they don''t age. They can remain in that form like a gargoyle for as long as time exists without any care or worry."

    "We found a dead one though," I said.

    "A dead one? That is impossible, if one of their kin dies they will sense it, and will always drag its body or its remains back to their base. They''ll consume it rather than let it rot."

    "We really did find a dead one, it turned to dust the moment we touched it¡­"Law said.

    The puppet snapped back to Law and said, "You said it turned to dust? Did you take the crystal with you?" he asked. His tone was rather ominous.

    "I did¡­ why is that a problem?"

    "A problem? It''s a huge one! That was bait, it was meant to trap those who don''t know how these things act. The moment the crystal is moved, they can sense it and can track its position¡­"

    The puppet didn''t even have time to finish its words before we heard the soul-rending screech of the rakshasas echoing through the ship.

 Chapter 728: Mission Impossible

    "We don''t have much time," the puppet said. "They are tracking the crystal that you have. Discard it somehow to slow down their search."

    "You said that you can allow one of my puppets to move about in the base without it being destroyed by the base''s defensive mechanism," I said.

    The puppet replied, "Indeed, are you nning on using your puppet as bait?"

    "Yep, that''s the only way to get rid of a bait, is to use it as another bait," I said as I asked Zhang Tian for the crystal back.

    I called one of my small beetles and ced the crystal on its back. "Go, run as fast as you can," I gave it the order and it flew out of the room with the crystal. It soon reached the bridge''s other end and began roaming about in the base.

    "This should buy you some time, but since it is a disturbance to the peace of the base that remained for thousands of years, don''t expect them to stop searching simply, they''ll stay on some levels of alert," the puppet said.

    "Administrator," I said.

    "Me?" the puppet questioned.

    "Since you''re the only one with the ability and is awake now, that should be what I call you, no?"

    "It does sound rather good, yes, how may I help then?" it said.

    "We don''t know theyout of the base. Also, I think we can save that woman from her prison,"

    The puppet immediately refused, "No, not with your current cultivation. You will all die before you reach halfway, worse, you might even get captured." He said.

    "Well, we can''t just stay here, she is our only way out," I said.

    "I don''t think it is a wise thing to do. The frozen effect she has on her, not only is it stopping and halting all vital activities, but it is also put in to stop her from dying. She had received so many injuries that she was barely between alive and dead.

    If you were to destabilize the frost she would perish and you''d die due to that, that is on the premise that you somehow manage to save her from her predicament which is nigh impossible," he said.

    "Impossible is my middle name, if it''s about saving her, I can figure something out, as long as they have one breath in them, I think I can help her out. Regardless, I need theyout, the entire map to this ce, and any information regarding the positioning of the Rakshasas," I said.

    The puppet moved back and forth for a few seconds before it said, "I can give you the map to the entire area. But, you must promise one thing," it said.

    "What is it?"

    "Don''t be our enemy, don''t give your lives only for them to be used against the Bastion. She is thest of our race, do not waste the small hope that she has to survive by doing something foolish, and if you are caught, swear on your own Dao that you will not give them your Soul¡­"

    He means to terminate myself if caught.

    "Your words are rather specific you only speak to Shen Bao when you''re saying that he needs to terminate himself," Dao Shen noticed something none of us did.

    "Indeed," the puppet replied, "Because, although you''re not of royal blood. Your soul power is strong enough to charge even me. I can see that."

    "Then doesn''t that mean I can alsomand the base?" I asked.

    "No, you have the quantity, not the quality, I fear that if caught, the rakshasas might use your soul to empower the Queen''s waning soul. With both mixed together, they canmand and open the ship onto your world and that tragedy might happen again."

    I doubt that will happen, the suns are more than ready to exile the entire area into the void¡­ but I''m not telling him that.

    "I see, but don''t worry, that''s never happening," I said.

    "How are we going to proceed?" the Fire King spoke. I guess he was getting urged by the Darkest Sun, I can see from how his eye is jittering.

    "For now, we''ll need the map," I said

    The Administrator inserted its arm again into the prop and a multiyered projection appeared on top. It disyed five levels of the base. The structure of this base is incrediblyrge. No wonder, after all the bastion itself is as big as the Thunder Domain. If not the Thunder Domain was created due to the aftereffects of the base being buried under the ground.

    Five levels, and we were in the middle one. There were two more levels above us and two down below us.

    There were tens of thousands of red dots, some grouped up and clumped together in massive chambers, some of them were moving though and were spreading all over the base as we were watching.

    A few other dots were gray in color, and there were five dark-colored dots each of them in a different level stationed surrounded by the gray dots.

    "I guess these are the Rakshasas, each color represents a different type," I said.

    "The ones we saw before?" asked Law.

    "Yes, I can assume from the numbers, that the red dots are the white rakshasas, they''re all at the Void Stage, and the gray and dark ones are at the Void Shattering Stage. While the silver ones¡­ where are the silver ones?" I asked.

    "They''re not possible to locate, they have some sort of ability to hide from the base''s detection,"

    "Well, seeing that they managed to sneak up on the Queen, I could suppose that they were at the Origin Realm at least. The infantry are numerous, so if we''re moving to locate the Queen, we''ll need to always be on guard not to get swamped. We can beat a group of five or ten on our own with ease, but more than that we''ll get overrun.

    The brutes which are the gray ones we have to avoid at all times unless necessary. Fighting them will be difficult. The dark ones I can assume have the general rank since they''re the ones who give out orders. Those are a priority for the termination in case we encounter them¡­"

    "What about the silver ones?"w asked again.

    "If we encounter them, we run."

    There is more though," Dao Shen pointed looking there.

    At our floor, the middle one, and on the other side of the map, there was a massive group of dots moving barely a few inches but never leaving a certain area. They grouped up in a square.

    "These are the ones that got trapped, isn''t that so?" I asked the puppet.

    "Yes, they remain trapped there since the first day," he said.

    "Their Queen is there¡­ if I remember correctly," I said.

    "No," the puppet denied, "That is not a Queen, that is however one of its first offspring. The Queen never left our home. That is basically a royal trapped inside the cube. The purpose of all of these Rakshasas is to release that Royalist from the trap set by our former lord. And the only way to do so is to use the royal blood of our own queen''s soul."

    "I see¡­" I mumbled.

    "So, how are we nning the mission?" Zhang Tian said, "As you can see, the Queen is frozen in the deepest floor of this base. We''ll need to go down two floors, and from the looks of it, the closest passage leading down is packed full of Rakshasas¡­"

    "Not all paths," Dao Shen said, "look there is a small tunnel here leading down to the fourth floor, what''s that?" Dao Shen asked the puppet.

    "That''s the waste disposal passage. It is locked from the outside, so if you''re nning on using it, I''lle with you, also I imported the map into my mind so we can have updated information," the Administrator said.

    That was veryforting, to be honest. We can use him as he has a master key to all facilities and a live map.

    "We can use that passage then," I said though to get there, we''ll have to cross several sections, if we''re ever met with one of the Silver Rakshasas we''ll be in trouble," I said as I was looking at the map.

    "I''d rather fight one of the Silver Rakshasas than go down a waste tunnel," Law grimaced in disgust.

    "It''s been twenty thousand years since that thing was used Law, trust me, if anything is left there it''d be a miracle, anyways it looks like a good n so far to get to the fourth level, and seeing that the majority of the Rakshasas are moving about in apletely different direction, -Probably Chasing the beetle holding the crystal- we should probably head out right now."

    With the n in action and everyone agreeing, we moved out.

    We have no idea when the Rakshasas will figure out that they''re following a ghost trail, and I have no intention of staying here until they realize it. They''re intelligent and they could easily put one and one together.

    "Law," I said.

    "What is it boss," he said.

    "You''ll be leading the way, although I hate to rely on dumb luck, it''s better that you move ahead of all of us, in case we encounter something stupid, you might be able to offset the danger."

    "On it boss," he said and moved ahead.

    "Everyone, good luck," I said and the five of us rushed out of the room, with the administrator behind us.

 Chapter 729: Enemy At The Gate

    Law began running forward. While we followed several steps behind. Eyes peeled and weapons drawn. Our only thought is, we don''t want to meet any of those fuckers.

    The moment a fight breaks, we won''t know how it could devolve. We''re outnumbered, by a lot, we''re in a strange and foreign ce. And are in all honesty way neck deep in shit.

    The problem wasn''t that we were simply outnumbered, but some of these things have a far higher cultivation base than us. Meeting with one of those silver fuckers would probably take us all out.

    Our path ahead so far is clear, if any of the Rakshasas were to start heading toward us, the Administrator would notify us. But still, that doesn''t mean that the Silver Rakshasas are also absent. They could be lurking within the halls anyway.

    So far though, Law''s been moving forward unbothered, which was a good sign.

    "We need to take a left turn," the puppet said.

    I frowned, I still had the map fully memorized in my head and we should still continue going forward, taking a left would make the trip even longer to the Waste Disposal hatch.

    But I didn''t argue and ushered to Law to take a left.

    the new passage was tighter than the older one, and it had several blocks of Soulsteel all over it making it harder to navigate. However, it was thankfully a lot darker than the open path we were on. We headed through a dark alley and weaved between the boxes. Suddenly the Administrator asked us to stop moving and hide behind the boxes.

    We did as asked and soon, behind us, on the more lit path we took before not even a second had passed, we heard the rushing and ground trembling sound of a stampede on the way.

    We hid well behind the metallic boxes, barely peaking our heads outside. The Fire Lord somehow managed to change the color of his hair from red mes to a darker tone that was almost invisible if one didn''t examine it thoroughly.

    A couple dozen or so Rakshasas were running up the path we hid from, They ran forward as if they didn''t walk but fly. Their speed was so incredible that you could barely see their four legs touching the ground. And their screeching was constant and the cool breeze of the icy wind followed after them, the release of the frigidness of their soulless bodies remained in their wake.

    It was but for a few seconds, but they felt like ages. If we were to get caught here, they''d call the rest of their members in an instant, and we''re already far too deep into their territory, with nowhere to hide, and nowhere to retreat back to.

    "We''re in the clear, these were probably randomly searching, seeing that your small creation had stopped moving, it was probably caught. For now, we should keep moving," the Administrator said.

    But the sound of footsteps didn''t go too far away, at least for one of them.

    One of theter arrivals of these fiends had been running behind the group a distance away, and soon arrived at the junction where we were hiding. It didn''t follow its brethren but rather stopped and began sniffing the air.

    The sound of its nostrils taking in the air was like that of a heavy snorer, it was disturbing and hair-raising.

    It may have caught on to something and was making sure that no stone was left unturned.

    The alley was dark and looked like an impasse from the amount of boxes it had in it. But the creature still slowly stepped forward, sniffing and grating its feet on the ground, dragging them like one would drag steel across the rugged stone.

    It hissed and snapped right and left, as if it was seeing ghosts, and hissed and grumbled all together.

    Though we hid behind the boxes, we weren''t too deep in the dark alley. But we were closer to the Rakshasa and the entrance and behind the closest boxes to the entrance.

    If the fiend were to get closer and check, we''d be caught immediately. Then we''ll be put in a tough choice, kill or run away, and both are not a good option.

    Once noticed, the creature would undoubtedly call for help, and we''ll all be at the mercy of these merciless beings. And on off chance we manage to kill it silently and rapidly, we''ll still draw the attention of these things because they''re all like a hive. One death would call the others.

    Still, it would be better to terminate it first and then figure out where to go afterward.

    One of the Rakshasa''s mantis-like arms grabbed onto the nearest box, it''s limb tightly gripping the box then it pulled the box toward it, and slowly and jarringly it moved.

    It sniffed at the ground and its interest was piqued. It must have smelled us.

    My hand was tightly gripping the hilt of Creeping Demise, already preparing to stab it as fast as I could and inject it with the most deadly poisons I have on me.

    The group had the same thought, and they all were thinking of killing it if it were to move a bit closer.

    The fiend moved another box, and there was only one box between it, and I.

    My weapon was ready, and my aim was its head.

    The Rakshasa''s hand grabbed the third box and as it started dragging it, A loud screech echoed from far away, the fiend lifted its head up and screeched back in reply, then turned and began slowly stomping away from the alley. Once it went back to the more lit area it began running, elerating with each step until we could no longer hear it.

    I slumped down, taking in breath after deep breath.

    I have no idea what happened, but for some reason, the Rakshasa got called back and we survived thanks to that.

    "I hate this ce," Law said.

    I casually replied, "Tell me about it¡­ Anyway, how far are we?" I asked the administrator who lit up its small gem on top of its head.

    The small thing had put itself in sleep mode to not attract the attention of the rakshasa. Quite smart.

    "We''re about an hour away,"

    "Wait only an hour?" I was certain that it would take at least three to four hours to even reach the duct.

    "If situation remains status quo, we should get there in shortly under an hour, it seemed that the Royalist inside the cube had called out its species, it probably is interested in what''s going on outside its cage. This also cleared all of the paths forward," The administrator said as it was checking the movement of the dots on the map. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin

    "I see, it did us a good favor, anyway we need to keep moving. Guys, we won''t have a better opportunity than now, let''s push ourselves a bit."

    The group agreed and Law rushed forward, dodging the boxes and moving above and beyond them.

    "What are these things for?" I asked the Administrator.

    "If you look up, you''ll notice the ceiling is missing these fallen cubes. It''s parts that were deemed unnecessary by the Bastion to fuel in energy and were discarded, a lot of these had fallen from many ces. These are but a few," he said.

    "They did save us, even if they were nothing but blocks," I said.

    "The first people used them to barricade the passages and paths inside the Bastion from the Rakshasas, but it only served as a temporary barricade, otherwise they would still live to this day," the Administrator said.

    Our pace increased to a full sprint. We could make it to the shaft leading down in far less time than an hour at this speed. Law was still moving up ahead while every one of us was looking around making sure that nothing crept up on us. The administrator was small enough for Dao Shen to pick up and run with it since it was far slower than us.

    As time went by, the administrator was giving us instructions on where to go, which turns to pick, and where to stop and halt. But it still didn''t slow us down the least.

    And soon, at the other end of the hall was the hatch where we were supposed to go down through.

    The hatch was closed and would require the administrator to open it from the lock next to it.

    But before Law could even make it to the hatch, he stumbled and fell on the ground tumbling a few times forward.

    Anyone in our situation would think that, although it is strange for a cultivator to stumble, it is not unheard of. After all, idents do happen, however, I disagreed.

    "EVERYONE DUCK!" I shouted, my words were loud enough to wake the dead, but I had to shout here.

    No one asked a question, no one tried to figure out why, and no one evenined, they all ducked down as fast as possible.

    The blowing of a cool wind flew past us and suddenly the air right next to the fallen Law began wiggling, from it the Silver-Colored Rakshasa suddenly showed up.

 Chapter 730: An Impossible Foe

    *** Please Read the Author''s Note at the end***

    There are times when bravery is rewarded. There are times when cowardice is also understood. And there are times when you have no option but to run if you wish to save your life. And then there are times when even running cannot guarantee your survival.

    Against any other foe in this Base, we would have had a semnce of hope, although they are powerful, the Rakshasa of the white and ck and even gray color are all within the scope of what we can handle.

    But once the level gets cranked up to the silver one, only death awaits.

    A person might think that, since the group with me had already defeated many Origin Realm cultivators and came up on top, all four of us who were only at the Void Stage, and still managed to secure better spots than those at the Void Shattering and even the Origin Stage cultivators, we have still managed to be the finalists of this tournament.

    But one must not forget one simple factor that allowed us to win.

    The Eight Suns forbade the use of Origin Qi, lest the other cultivators at the Origin Realm could simply sweep the entirepetition in a matter of hours.

    It was simply to give a chance to the rest of us by tying the Origin Realm cultivator''s hands.

    What a sad thing to believe that one is actually capable of contending with others who have the ability to use a Qi that is on apletely different spectrum. It is the same asparing a cultivator at the Saint Qi stage, and one at the Ascendant Stage.

    Immeasurable difference in ability foretells a death that awaits those who are arrogant.

    And right in front of us was the presence of death itself. Manifesting in the shape of a two-legged almost humanoid formed Rakshasa. Its skull which elongated all the way to its back was shimmering in and out of visibility, as if it was forcing itself to remain visible.

    A primal predator of incredible prowess, able to easily eliminate all of us without it even having to break a sweat.

    There was not much to discuss, not much to speak of, and not much to talk about. My hand went directly to my pistol, and immediately let loose the entire chamber.

    The echoes of the explosions were loud enough that it warned every creature in the vicinity of our presence.

    Loud and soul-wrenching screeches echoed through the hallways as the Rakshasas who were running all over the ce without a clear goal purpose or prey to hunt seemed to all switch their direction.

    We were in a position where the entire base was on to us.

    The smoke cleared up from the bullets I shot, only for me to realize that the creature didn''t even try and block them, it took them head-on.

    Several bullets embedded themselves deep into its skin, and soon, were slowly and steadily pushed out, leaving no mark, scar, or even protrusion.

    This was an obvious sign of our ipetence against it.

    The Scythe of Death was dangerously close to our necks.

    It would only take little effort for the Grim Reaper to harvest all our souls.

    But I was never a man who''d die without going all out.

    "We''re no match, Everyone, run for the hatch, I''ll stall him," I said.

    I knew all of them and all of their abilities, they could not stop it, they couldn''t even make it budge. Because although they are all strong, theyck flexibility.

    Their power is all in their own cultivation base, Zhang Tian''sws are not applicable to this being as the mere fact that it can use Origin Qi can override anyw that Zhang Tian can use.

    The bullets I shot had incredible incendiary power, but they didn''t even singe his skin so the Fire Lord''s mes are useless.

    Dao Shen''s devouring arts are of no value, as he cannot devour a Qi that he himself is unable to use.

    As for Law, his luck is great, but it isn''t infinite. And there is nothing that can crush luck better than overwhelming power.

    The four didn''t even hesitate in running away.

    Aughable sight from the perspective of the Silver Rakshasa. After all, though they were sprinting at full speed, it was confident it could easily catch up to them.

    I shot several more rounds at the Rakshasa to keep its attention on me.

    It didn''t really care for the bunch as it could easily catch up to them, and from the point of view of the Rakshasa, they were going to a dead end.

    It didn''t understand what a hatch is and didn''t know that there was a path leading downward.

    The Administrator was in the hands of Law who was doing his best to run ahead of the group.

    As for me, I needed to buy time.

    Now, if I was, anywhere else, other than this stupid bastion, I wouldn''t have had any issues with this fight.

    Because, although I''m far too weak to defeat this thing, I could easily trap it and cause its mind to go haywire.

    Simply put my Domain of Delusions. If I use that, not only will I buy time, but I will also confuse the beast. And no matter how insanely smart it is, to have your entire perception flipped upside down is bound to cause you to hesitate at the least.

    To not be able to move where you wish, to not be able to act as you wish, to have up and down, back and forward reversed is bound to make even the smartest most acute, and intelligent being suffer for at least a small time.

    But¡­

    I cannot use it.

    Here in the Bastion, My Divine Sense, which is by the way incredibly potent and powerful is heavily limited.

    It is because of this Soulsteel all around us. It saps away at one''s soul energy the moment one tries to use Divine Sense since it is also a part of one''s soul.

    And the range of my Domain extends to barely beyond the skin around me.

    Which is frankly nothing.

    So, this means I cannot use my domain dome to trap the Rakshasa.

    That option is now unavable.

    A second possible way for me to win is to use the Heaven Swapping Ring. After all, I could simply swap my position with the Rakshasa and run toward my friends.

    But once again, it only extends to the range that my Divine Sense extends to.

    That means even if I can see him, even if I can use the Ring, I cannot activate it due to this dumb fucking condition inside this base.

    The third option is to fight it head-on. Which honestly is, the dumbest idea I''ve had in a good while.

    But when one is trapped, a man''s options be limited. Fight or Flight, and since the ''Flight'' option is also banned.

    "Golden Titan''s Madness!"

    My entire body was overcharged with incredulous amounts of Qi. Once I go "big mad", there is no stopping me.

    The Golden Titan''s Madness muffles sanity and pain which are natural inhibitors of the body from tapping on its full potential.

    With the limiters removed and muffled, the body can exert its full potential but there is only one caveat. You lose the ability to distinguish between friend and Foe.

    Since the four of them are far away, I wouldn''t have any issue with that, the Golden Titan''s madness thankfully onlysts for one minute, and in that one minute, I can only watch, not act.

    My body, charged with immense amounts of Poison Qi lunged toward the Rakshasa, I couldn''t use a sword or a weapon, and could only use the body''s own tools, fists, teeth, and my feet to battle.

    However, my grip which was aimed at the Rakshasa''s neck was easily parried away, while the Rakshasa simply swung its tail at my chest, mming me right into the nearest wall.

    The blow looked simple, slow, and not that powerful, however, every bone in my body felt the impact, my ribcage felt as if it was struck with a sledgehammer, and my back had lightning run through it from the sudden shock.

    The Golden Titan''s Madness muffled pain, it didn''t stop it.

    It was only the first exchange and I almost died. But I can''t stop myself now, I have to keep going.

    The fiend was still not moving from his spot, he only casually nced at me and at my allies. It was toying with us since it knew well that we''re unable to run away.

    I lunged back at him, but was once again stopped in my tracks, toyed with, beaten and utterly and mercilessly mmed into the ground continuously.

    The fiend knew not to kill me and was doing just enough damage that it was painful enough one would want to die, but not beyond the threshold of killing a person.

    Every exchange cost me at least two to three bones, though they broke and shattered, they easily mend back thanks to the regenerative ability of the Golden Titan''s Madness.

    My sanity was slowly slipping away, and I couldn''t allow it to fully dissipate since I wouldn''t know how I died if I did so.

    This entire exchange didn''tst more than thirty seconds, in it I probably broke most if not every bone in my body and repaired them. In it I saw death multiple times, but still I could gamble like that due to one reason.

    Twenty-two thousand years they waited, and now the opportunity to get new blood, and use it to release themselves hade. They will not kill us. They need to capture us.

    My Golden Titan''s Madness ended, without achieving any noteworthy results. But one, looking all the way to the end of the path, they had already made it to the hatch.

    While although I was still stuck here with the Silver Rakshasa, they can escape on their own.

    Having fully regained my sanity, I felt the pain of going into that mode racking my body and felt like it was being torn apart.

    My hands gripped tightly on the floor from the agonizing pain. Enough that my nails scraped and bled on the ground.

    But in that second of agony, I felt as if a door had opened inside my head.

    I had my eyes closed, but I was still able to see. An impossible thing without Divine Sense, so how could it be?

    Then I noticed something, my hand which was on the ground. Therge ring which was made of Soulsteel was connected to the ground, and allowed me to feel the Bastion itself.

    "Help Me," I heard.

    The Bastion was speaking¡­ and I could hear it.

 Chapter 731: Escape

    My mind was hijacked for a second and I was in arge space where there was absolutely nothing but me.

    "Who are you? I don''t have time for this," I asked as I looked around trying to figure out the source of this voice.

    My mind was here, but my body was still fighting the Silver Rakshasa.

    "Do not worry, time passes far slower outside while you''re here," the voice said. It had a feminine tone to it.

    "That''s not very helpful, I''m still in a tough spot right now, I need to get back out there," I replied in urgency.

    "If you go back as is, you will die," the voice said.

    "You speak as if you can help me out of this predicament," I said.

    "I can, but you must promise to help me in return," the voice said.

    I thought for a moment and said, "If it is within my ability I''ll help you, but what are you going to do to help me right now, I need to be alive to be of any use," I said.

    "I can allow you to control the Bastion," the voice said.

    "Are you not the bastion yourself?" I asked.

    "No, I''m Yao Tong, thest of my people¡­" it said.

    I found that a strange notion, after all, it''s been so long since she was captured.

    "Did you assimte your soul with the Bastion?" I asked.

    "You''re right, when I was captured, I knew that I wasn''t going to survive. So I injected my soul into the Bastion. The Fallen God''s Race couldn''t use my body to open the Bastion since I could able stop them. But I can''t remain in this form forever, I have barely a fraction of my Soul power left. And I''ll soon perish," she said.

    "You want me to save you from the ice prison," I asked

    "I know it sounds like an impossible feat, but I would reward you greatly if you can," she said. There was a hint of despair in her voice.

    "I was nning on doing that in the first ce, after all, you''re our only way out. The administrator had mentioned that only you can get us out," I said.

    "Then our goals align," she said. "I''ll allow you to take control of the Bastion, thanks to the ring you possess, you could easily assimte your will into the Bastion. But do remember, it will cost you a great deal of Soul Power to modify its terrain. I''ll guide you in escaping the hunt of the Silver Fallen," she said.

    Just as her words ended, I was back in the real world, where the Rakshasa was approaching me slowly, from the palm of its hand a long sharp rod emerged, it was the same thing they used to stab and incapacitate the Queen.

    But unlike before, where my Divine Sense was fully suppressed, now I was able to see through the entire corridor we were in. And as if the whole corridor was a part of me, I could easily control it.

    I tightened my fist, and five fingers emerged from underneath the Silver Rakshasa''s foot.

    The fingers were simr in shape to me, these fingers were made of Soulsteel, and they sped tightly on its foot. The Rakshasa unable to understand what happened tried to break the metallic object to no avail.

    The draw on my Soul Power was negligible as I didn''t use anything too strenuous.

    The Rakshasa realized what I just did. And a wide smile appeared on its ugly face.

    Through a guttural, soul-shivering voice, it then said, "You¡­ soul¡­ release us!"

    When you hear a creature like this speaking¡­ it''s never a good sign.

    Several white Rakshasas appeared from the corridor. Running down the hall and on the walls and even the ceiling, they were rushing me.

    The Silver Rakshasa screeched as it pointed at me. I didn''t need to understand his screech to know what it wanted. It didn''t want to kill me but rather capture me.

    Though it was unable to move, it could still order the others to do its job for it. And I doubt I have the knowledge and proficiency to capture all of the iing white rakshasa with the help of the bastion.

    But, there was one thing the Silver Rakshasa didn''t ount for. I regained my Divine Sense because the base no longer is suppressing me.

    I immediately pulled several canisters from my holding bag, these were all explosive and poisonous canisters. And threw them all around me.

    Then I stomped the ground with my foot. On the ground next to Zhang Tian who was next to the hatch, a footprint rose up. Then like a droplet of water it disengaged from the ground shaping into a small ball of Soulsteel that rose up and soon reached its zenith and was about toe down.

    I lightly gripped my hand, enabling the Heaven Swapping ability of the ring. Changing ces with the metallic orb.

    In a second I was already next to Zhang Tian and thepany while the ball was back in front of the silver rakshasa.

    The ball then shaped itself like the end of a morning star, then every spike on it elongated in an incredible speed piercing through the rakshasa and imbedding itself into the nearest walls.

    The silver rakshasa was more than capable of sustaining injuries as light as those, but the idea behind the spikes was to stop him from moving.

    Angry and confused, it still could think, it ordered the iing rakshasa to run after us.

    But the Rakshasa never realized why I swapped positions in the first ce while leaving all those canisters there.

    Suddenly, the canisters began blowing up, one after the other, creating an enormous fire explosion that continuously spread out.

    The Silver Rakshasa was the first toe in contact with the explosion, and with all the spikes going through it, the fiend couldn''t even protect itself.

    The mes of the canisters were a mix of purple fire, green fire, and red fire, all exploding in all directions. With hundreds of different poisons following the wake of the explosion.

    The hundreds of rakshasas were caught up in the mes, burning and melting due to the heat of the fire.

    Readtest stories on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin

    The only thing I didn''t ount for, was the speed of the explosion, although it was far away, due to the dense space it wasing at an incredible speed. Enough to cause even me to have my eyes widen.

    "Can you stop those mes," I asked the Fire Lord.

    "No, they''re too impure, they''re mixed in with a lot of poison," he said his brow was knit together.

    The Administrator was desperately struggling to open the hatch, as it seemed to have had a malfunction.

    "Please hurry¡­" Law said as he saw the iing mes.

    "I''m trying, but this thing is not allowing me to open it, it needs a level five ess card, I''m trying to bypass it¡­" the Administrator said as he inserted more of its tentacles in the hatch''s key slot.

    "Move," I said as I mmed my hand into the hatch itself, and the entire thing just opened up like the shutter of a camera.

    Everyone jumped inside and I followedst, I mmed my hand against the side of the hatch and locked it before the mes could get inside and follow us.

    We were all falling before Law shouted, "WE SEEMED TO HAVE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING!" he said.

    "WHAT?" Dao Shen replied.

    "FLIGHT IS BANNED HERE!"

    "Oh shit¡­"

    "AHHHHHH!!!" Law began screaming loudly as we all realized a bit toote that we only jumped from the me to the pan.

    I kicked against the wall and torpedoed myself down. Overtaking all of the group and was at the head of the drop.

    "What are you doing?" Zhang Tian asked as he was the only one falling down while still sitting in the lotus position.

    "Hang On tight!" I said as I pped the side of my belt. Four white robotic arms emerged and instantly spread themselves to the walls.

    Grating against them and creating incredible friction.

    Zhang Tian was the first to catch on and grabbed my shoulder. Dao Shen grabbed onto my other shoulder, and Law fell on my back. While the Fire King used his legs to stand on Law''s back.

    "What the fuck!" Law cursed at the Fire Lord who didn''t seem to care the least bit as he had his arms crossed and his feet on Law''s back.

    "There is no other space, it''s only temporary," the Fire King Said.

    I was annoyed, but it wasn''t something worth fighting over.

    My arms thankfully slowed us down enough, although it was scraping rapidly creating huge columns of sparks all around us, itsted long enough for us until we reached the bottom of the hatch.

    Dust filled the bottom of the hatch, probably whatever waste was here had already disintegrated after rotting for more than two thousand years turning to nothing but dust.

    The Fire Lord jumped down first and re-ignited his hair to its original color. The bottom of the hatch revealed itself to us.

    The room itself didn''t have any organic waste but did have several pieces of metal that survived the passing of time.

    "Shen Bao, look," Law said with a very quiet tone as he pointed, there was another hatch door. This one probably leading outside. The only issue is, it was wide open.

    And a Gray Rakshasa was sleeping right next to it.

 Chapter 732: Minecraft

    I immediately sent a divine sense message to everyone.

    "Don''t move."

    It was two words, and they were heavy.

    "I liked our divine sense together, you can speak through me but do not move or act for the moment, I think we''re heading into a trap," I said.

    "I guessed as much," Dao Shen said.

    "Yes, it''s too obvious of a trap, I couldn''t tell you guys since I''m unable to use my divine sense," Zhang Tian said.

    The Fire Lord nodded in agreement suggesting he also realized what was going on.

    Law on the other hand¡­

    "Wait, trap? What trap? I can''t see anything, there is a Brute right there asleep, where is the trap?" he asked.

    We all looked at him, pitifully so, and I said, "Notice when the first Rakshasa screamed. When we were with the puppet at the monitoring room, every one of these things had woken up from its slumber.

    I have a feeling that this Brute in front of us is not asleep, but only acting. So we lower our guard," I said.

    "Then what are we going to do? The Silver Rakshasa will probablye down to hunt us," Zhang Tian said.

    "How? They can''t do so, we already locked the door behind us," Law said.

    Dao Shen replied to him, "The Rakshasas have been living here for tens of thousands of years, they probably know this ce by heart. So, it knows we''re here, and these Brutes will not allow us to leave. Fighting them is a losing battle on all fronts, since there are more of them on the lower level and we don''t know if there are more Silver Rakshasa moving about in the base."

    "What about poisoning them?" Law asked.

    It was a fine idea, but not the brightest.

    I shook my head, "I don''t understand their biological structure. What works for humans could be utterly harmless to them. So using random poisons can have all sorts of effects, and the worst part is if it could alert them to our presence."

    "If we can''t stay here, and we can''t go outside, then what are we going to do?" Law asked.

    I thought for a moment and then pressed my hand against the ground.

    The base allowed me to control it albite slightly, allowing me to open up a small cube-like structure in the floor where we all fell into.

    I then locked the ceiling above us with a fineryer of Soulsteel.

    "Whoa, you can control the base, then shouldn''t you be able to get us out?" Law asked.

    "I talked to the owner of the base, I''m only getting ess to the base''s control as long as I''m still nning on saving the owner. If I were to try and escape, I have no idea what she might do. She could even trap us and lead them to us, or just revoke my ability to control the Bastion."

    "What an evil person," Law said.

    "They''re not," I replied, "Even I would have done the same. Survival is not something you canpromise on, and they''ve been trapped here for thousands of years. Our goals align so it is fine," I said as I pressed my hand into the wall in front of me.

    It slowly opened up like a doorway, the base was slowly adjusting itself, moving and separating pieces and parts of itself to allow us to move into a tunnel-like structure that was made in real-time.

    The Rakshasa was above us, as indicated by the map that the administrator was showing us. And I was moving our group right under their feet, not even a few feet of distance separated us.

    However, with every step we took toward the Queen, my mind was getting duller and duller.

    Although the soul power consumption wasn''t that high, it was still significant in regard to the distance we need to travel.

    And once we made it halfway, I fell to my knees. Golden Blood was dripping down my nose which I wiped.

    "We should rest," Zhang Tian said as he noticed my predicament.

    I took several gasps of air as I tried to recover, Dao Shen even handed me a Soul Rejuvenating pill which I took from him. Even though I had many on me of far higher quality, one shouldn''t return a gift willingly given.

    "We''re making decent progress, but I don''t like the fact that we''re relying on junior brother to open up the underground pathways. It''s taking too much of his soul power to do so, and that''s not easy to recover," Zhang Tian said.

    "I could try and help out," Law said, "I''m confident in my soul power," he added.

    "Don''t bother," I said, "The required soul power to morph a single block is more than the total of what you currently possess, my soul is a mutated one and has a capacity pretty muchparable to one of the suns," I said. After all it was hinted at when I was talking to the Wisest Sun some time ago.

    "Also, I should be good to go in an hour or so," I said.

    That wasn''t true. The exhaustion thates with moving so much Soulsteel is not something anyone can take. It feels like you''re being drained of your blood every time you use it to move the blocks.

    But it is our only way out of this ce. Not to mention, I can''t keep doing this indefinitely. Because I''m feeling that every block I move now requires a bit more soul power than the previous one. Although it is negligible, that is a change in itself.

    "I don''t have much time," the Queen spoke into my head. And since I had linked my divine sense to everyone, they all heard her.

    "Who''s that?" Law asked.

    "The owner of the Bastion, anyway what do you mean you don''t have much time, we''re making good progress here," I said.

    "I only have a small wisp of my soul left, it is barely enough for me to speak with you and allow you to control the base if I were to fall unconscious, you''d be crushed under the weight of the base because I can no longer stop it from doing so," she said.

    I knew it was too easy-going this far.

    "Give me a time frame," I asked.

    "Two hours, I can hold on for two hours max," she said.

    I looked at the Administrator and said "Give me detailed information on the movement of the rakshasa in the base. I''ll take one hour to recover, and we''ll have to go back up."

    Everyone understood that we can''t stay here for long. If the Queen falls unconscious or her soul is fully exhausted, she will truly die. Once that happens, we''ll be trapped here like mice. Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelBin

    I chugged in more Soul Rejuvenating pills and began meditating.

    Time trickled by and the one-hour marker ended.

    "The path up above us is clear, but a few rakshasas are still roaming the area. The brutes protecting the Queen however are fully alerted and are patrolling the ice prison." The administrator gave me a detailed exnation of what was happening above us.

    I raised my arm up and opened a hole above us, we all climbed out as fast as we could and hid in the shade.

    "We need to cross the entire corridor ahead of us before we reach the Queen''s room. Once we get there, I''ll ry a new set of orders. The third and fifth junctions up ahead have Rakshasas roaming them. We only have one shot to do this, don''t make any sound, and follow me closely," I said and began sprinting forward as lightly as possible not to make any sound.

    The four of them followed suit as we zed through the path ahead.

    We went past the first and second junctions without many issues as they were empty, and once we got closer to the third one I stopped.

    A lot of Rakshasas were on the path leading right, and a few were on the path leading left. Some were resting and some were hanging upside down from the ceiling, some were even patrolling up and down.

    If we tried to run past them, they''d definitely see us and would alert the base. So how were we going to cross unseen?

    I pressed my fingers on the ground, causing several small pieces of Soulsteel shaped like my finger to rise up across from the junction.

    The pieces then dislodged themselves from the ground and became separate.

    I then used the ring''s ability to swap position with one of the fingers. Once I did, the finger took my position. So now I was next to the four fingers, and my allies were next to the one finger. And I kept swapping our positions one by one until all four fingers were on the other side and all four of us were across the junction unnoticed and unspotted. It only took a few seconds too.

    We then continued moving forward until we reached the fifth junction. Just as I was about to do the same thing I rapidly mmed the ground forced everyone to fall under, and closed us in a cube.

    The action was sudden and fast and it surprised my allies, but they didn''t speak up and waited for my exnation.

    "When I''m in contact with the base. Not only am I able to use Divine Sense, but I can also feel and sense what the base is sensing," I said.

    "And what does that have to do with us being forced down here," Law said as he seemed to have fallen face first.

    "That means as long as it is close, I can locate anything around me, and I was able to sense two entitiesing from the junction next to us¡­ they both had two feet each," I said.

    That was enough indication, especially since the Administrator couldn''t notice them. The only humans in the base were us and the Queen, and the only other thing that could walk on two feet was the Silver Rakshasa, and now there are two of them.

 Chapter 733: Under Their Noses

    Surprise was clear on everyone''s face, but they didn''t speak.

    "Two Silver Rakshasa wereing from the next junction. If we continued on, we would have gotten caught." Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin

    "Then what are we going to do? Are we waiting for them to move past us?" the Fire Lord asked.

    "It''s not like we can take them on, also I''m feeling that the Queen''s consciousness is fading. It''s getting harder to control these blocks. We need to think up a n," I said.

    "We need a distraction," Law said.

    "Like what?" Dao Shen asked, "None of us can act as bait, if we run, we''ll be outran and outnumbered."

    He was right, none of us can act as bait for the Rakshasa to chase after, we''re not fast enough, or strong enough. Not to mention¡­

    "Even If we can make a bait, it''s going to be difficult to draw their attention, it might even cause them to be more alert," I said.

    Seeing that they didn''t fully understand what I was saying I had to continue exining.

    "Say we use one of us as bait and they manage to outrun the Rakshasa. Not all of them will chase after the bait, and the Rakshasa around the trapped Queen will be far more alerted to us entering. The moment we enter, they''ll block us on both sides."

    "It seems that we''re in a pretty shitty position," Law sighed.

    Zhang Tian sighed and said, "If only we had an army to stop them¡­ the only way to keep them from surrounding us by numbers, is to fight them with numbers too¡­" he sighed.

    I smiled as he proposed something I didn''t truly want to use from the get-go.

    "Administrator, are you certain that the base will not destroy my own puppets?" I asked.

    "No, the queen, when she woke up, had already assigned the signal of all the Rakshasa present as enemies, anything else is considered an ally. The unfortunate part is, that she does not have enough energy to stop the base from constantly reverting to its current sitting. The Bastion will always try to retain its current shape. So, we can''t stay here for long, or the walls will crush us."

    "I see, well that works in our favor. Automaton," I said.

    "Yes Master," the automaton''s voice sounded from right next to me through divine sense.

    "Can you open a portal in this Bastion?" I asked.

    "I can, but I cannot move the Lord of Lords pagoda, the Spatial suppression is stopping me from moving it. But I can open and close the gate with ease." He said.

    "Okay, good, that''s pretty good. Right, I have a n," I said.

    I then began exining the n to everyone. It wasn''t too difficult, but it needed a few things to set up.

    Not more than a few minutester, the Rakshasa seemed to have moved down the hallway and were far away for us to act.

    "Alright, we''ll begin, everyone we can''t mess this up, we only have one chance," I said as I opened the ceiling above us.

    We all hopped out and began rushing toward the main door where the frozen queen was trapped.

    The moment we crossed the first junction, I threw four canisters, two on my right and another two on my left. They both went into the alleyways and blew up, creating a loud, deafening, eye-blinding explosion.

    Several Rakshasas had noticed us then and began screeching, alerting the rest.

    Using the Golden Scripture, several copies of myself had emerged out after us from the hole we were in a few moments ago.

    The clones began running all over the base spreading in all directions, sprinting at full speed.

    The confused Rakshasas had several targets to follow, causing them to split their focus.

    The Brutes inside the inner base realized that the five of us wereing in. They rushed out, massive in size, and burly of muscle, they shook the ground with each step they took.

    The moment we went past the doorway, "Automaton, LET THEM OUT!" I called as I pulled out my minigun and began spraying and praying.

    The four of mypanions also began shooting the firearms I had given them. The reason was so they could save as much Qi as they could. We never know when we''ll need to use our own QI.

    The explosions and firearms shooting everywhere alerted the majority of the Rakshasas in the vicinity and they came running toward the base.

    However, row after row of puppets jumped down from the gate the Automaton had made. They all walked steadily in unison, their stomping on the ground loud enough to wake the dead.

    They had no fear, no emotion, and no will or intention to surrender or fall back. The true perfect soldier.

    The first line of my puppets arrived at the door leading to the prison space and instantly crouched down, their feet nted tightly on the ground, and since I designed them based on Y''s form. They all had their own version of the hovering Shield Mask, which they mmed it in front of them like a tower shield.

    One shield next to the other, enough to block the rakshasaing from outside. Not only that, since the door wasrge enough, more of the puppets had acted as a stepping stone for more to jump on top of them, and more shields rose up.

    From the small openings between the shields, my puppets pulled out their own weapons, ced them in between the small openings, and let hell loose on the aliens.

    Explosions and the rattling of bullets spraying from behind us sent shivers running down my spine.

    The true taste and smell of freedom my friends.

    That was behind us, as for the front, puppets came out in droves and began spreading out, ying and killing the white rakshasas that were rushing us from inside the prison area.

    The Brutes charged us, there were more than a dozen of them, and I knew if allowed to rampage, they''d destroy the entire structure of the puppets holding the gate.

    That would have been the case if I wasn''t here. "Close your eyes, seal your ears!" I shouted and threw as many explosive canisters as I could. They had poison in them too, and it spread wild into thepact area.

    Sound ripping explosions and bright shes caused every rakshasa that was too used to the dark to screech in agonizing pain.

    After all, they never had to deal with sound and light to this extent.

    In the meantime, while they were all distraught from all the strangeness of the iing blows and attacks the automaton was still funneling more and more puppets into the field.

    This will equalize the ying field since we were outnumbered earlier, and now the situation has reversed.

    The only issue was the quality. The Brutes were already strong enough to fight against a dozen or more puppets with ease. So the only way to even win that fight was by constantly pumping in more puppets as the fight was going on.

    The battle raged on, and the Rakshasas were being pushed back.

    My own army was able to spread out forward and fight the rakshasas, climbing up on the brutes and stabbing them with anything they carried on them, or even outright go for strangtion or self-detonation all for the purpose of clearing up a path.

    The ice crystal where the Queen was trapped was in the center of the area. While more brutes desperately tried to fight and protect it, and also retake control of the situation.

    Thankfully, the more than one thousand puppets released were able to hold them off.

    Several Rakshasas however didn''t move from next to the crystal, these brutes were seemingly ordered to not act.

    Behind us, the puppets holding the door were being slightly pushed back, it was an obvious oue. Since they had two silver Rakshasas who had recently joined the fight.

    Each blow of these Silver Rakshasas was able to push the entire wall and rip through the tower shields. But the hole was immediately upied by another puppet and the bleeding was stemmed.

    "We need to get closer to the crystal to take it with us," Law said.

    "That won''t be necessary," I said.

    Since it was protected, the moment we get closer they''d probably rather die trying to protect it, after all it was their only way to leave this prison they''re in.

    "Get a bit away from me," I said as I pointed my hand toward the Crystal.

    "Hurry, I''m almost losing my consciousness," the Queen said as she was also trying desperately using her will to halt the Brutes from moving, she was blocking and trapping them into the ground and using the Soulsteel to bind any that she could.

    I threw a cooked cannister right on top of me, and while the cannister reached the zenith, I aimed my arm at the crystal, enabled the ring, and immediately swapped position with the crystal.

    Now the crystal was back next to my group, feeling rather confused at first they soon realized what I did. And so did the Brutes that were protecting the cannister.

    They immediately jumped me, and before they could even grab me I already swapped positions with the cannister I threw earlier.

    A point-nk explosion echoed in the center of the area, leaving a wide smile on my face.

    "Automaton, Take us inside!" I said and immediately the portal leading to the Lord of Lords pagoda''s prairies opened up.

    Law, Zhang Tian, the Fire Lord, and Dao Shen immediately jumped inside, while I hurled the frozen crystal into the gate.

    "Retreat!" I signaled themand to the puppets near the crystal and they all began folding back.

    Mission sess.

 Chapter 734: Revitalize

    The n was a sess, in a sense we managed to extract the Queen''s body out of the situation she was in. However, that was only half of my n.

    After all, we''re still stuck here, unable to get out, and we need a way to leave the Bastion.

    With the Queen''s body inside the Lord of Lords pagoda, we had already won half the battle, and now it''s time to execute the second part.

    Since we teleported into the prairies of the Lord of Lords pagoda, which was something I already nned, that means that I have already set up a few traps in waiting.

    The portal which I had opened to lead everyone inside has yet to close. And that was on purpose.

    I wasn''t going to give up my more than a thousand puppets outside, so I ordered them all to withdraw slowly back into the portal.

    Around the portal leading to the prairies, tens of thousands of other puppets were waiting with weapons at the ready.

    They had already been ordered to stand on high alert and ready up for iing enemies.

    The allied puppets that secured our escape route had begun withdrawing, by the dozen they dropped into the portal.

    Hundreds of them hade out before their numbers began dwindling. I didn''t need to have eyes outside to understand what was going on.

    The Rakshasas began to have the upper hand, especially with the reduction in number of puppets holding the escape route.

    And soon, the first Rakshasa entered the portal.

    It didn''t live to touch the ground as it was falling down. When aimed at by tens of thousands of puppets, its body turned into a sieve from the number of bullets that went through it.

    More white Rakshasas went in and they all suffered the same.

    Then came a brute that seemed to have a missing limb.

    "Capture that one," I ordered.

    The puppets led by Y immediately jumped on the brute, overwhelming it with sheer numbers they tore and broke every limb it had and stabbed rods of Tungsten into its limbs. They then wrapped it with chains and dragged its bleeding body across the prairies.

    Y had remained standing waiting for more prey to capture. And more Brutes came down that suffered the same. They got pulverized, limbs torn and broken, then captured soon and sent to the White Room.

    Sadly, I couldn''t retrieve all of the puppets outside, so I sent in the order for them to be deactivated. Without Qi, they''re nothing but metallic tools that the Rakshasas can''t use or care to fight against.

    The portal closed down when one of the Silver Rakshasas entered it.

    "We invited the wolf into the house," the Fire Lord said.

    "Nah," I said. "I alreadyid traps for the wolf."

    The moment the Silver Rakshasa sat foot on the ground. A golden formation lit up underneath its feet. It was one of the simpler formations to make. A gravitational formation that increases the gravity in a certain area by a few times.

    The moment the formation lit up, the Silver Rakshasa''s body was instantly forced into the ground. Unable to move a single finger from the sheer pressure that forced it to its face. It tried desperately to stand up, but it couldn''t muster any power against the oppressive force befalling it.

    "So are we just going to keep it like that?" Law asked.

    "In due time, it will fully exhaust itself, once that happens I''ll capture it," I said "For now, my primary goal is done. I need to help the Queen regain her body now," I said.

    "Wait, wait. I sure as hell do believe in ghosts, so isn''t she¡­ dead?" Law said thest word was hushed in case someone would hear him.

    "She isn''t," I replied, "But she looks like she doesn''t have much time. X, keep an eye on the Silver Rakshasa, adjust the pressure enough that it doesn''t kill it, but make sure it isn''t able to move. In case it tries to do anything strange, take it down without hesitation," I said.

    "As the lordmands," X said. His towering figure was intimidating, but the grace and servitude of his attitude were exemry for the rest of the puppets to see.

    "I''ll have to go now," I said to the rest of the group.

    "Take me with you," the Fire Lord spoke, however, it wasn''t his words. It was the words of the Darkest Sun.

    "I apologize, but I cannot, I''m going into a high-concentration area. I can''t afford to have any distractions, and since you know my history with the Fire Lord, I really don''t want to risk someone who has been a mortal enemy to be next to me while I''m focused on attempting to heal the Queen." I said.

    "You cannot simply do so, she is a force that isparable to one of us, reviving her will destabilize the forces of the Beyond," the Darkest Sun said.

    I understood what he meant. He wants his hands on the Queen, after all, she brings an immense amount of knowledge and could be the way for the Suns to reach a stage beyond what they''re in.

    They have been stuck in their current stage for as long as time could remember. Unable to progress forward, the Queen was the daughter of someone who had already gone past their stage. They want that knowledge, no matter the price, and no matter the method.

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    However, he can''t make me.

    "Like I said, once she wakes up, if she wakes up, I''ll notify you, for now, I''ll go and try to treat her. And don''t forget, we can''t get out if she is dead, so I have to do my best," I said.

    He couldn''t argue, after all, what''s the point of arguing?

    But I didn''t allow him to have thest word and simply got the Automaton to take me to the white space of the Pagoda.

    It was clean and clear, as it should be. Since hundreds of puppets would alwayse here and either train, test weapons or create other puppets. But they always clean up after them leaving the space clean and spotless.

    The ice crystal where the Queen was trapped was in the middle of the room, right on top of the work table I always use.

    I approached it and said, "Are you going to remain quiet the entire time," I said.

    "I wanted to see what you were going to do," she said.

    "I''m not only a poison practitioner, I also dabble in the art of healing. However, your condition is difficult," I said.

    "The time that my body spent inside the ice is far beyond what a body should tolerate without Qi," she said.

    "Indeed, every cell has frozen over, and the ice itself prated and ruptured the cells, destroying them. If I were to remove the ice, your body would instantly turn to mush." I said.

    "I guess there is no hope," she said.

    "Not necessarily," I said. "It is difficult but not impossible."

    "What do you mean?" she asked.

    "Restoring your body, I can do it, the problem is, recovering your soul will be far more difficult," I said.

    "I have a sutra that can help me recover my soul energy, but I need a proper body to use it," she said.

    "Hmm, this makes things easier," I said as I ced my palm on the ice.

    Slowly my Qi began prating into the ice, like a needle through dough, until it touched the skinyer of her body.

    I can''t remove the ice, doing so will destroy the cells that are being held up by the ice. So, I need to fix the cells and revive them while at the same time protecting them from the ice.

    So, I began, cell by bloody cell. Injecting the first one with my own poison Qi, and allowing it to nourish itself.

    The cell''s core was damaged some waspletely destroyed, but with the Qi supplemented by me, the first cell began recovering. It regained its outer film, and the sma inside it began budging, the core which was shattered by the ice particles was slowly fused with the nourishment of my own Qi.

    And the first cell returned to life. That was a good step forward, as it would allow the cell to resume function.

    My own Qi was full of poison, and some of the poisons I own have an effect that can elerate cell mitosis.

    I can''t revive the cells that are fully destroyed, but I can easily force the ones that have hope to split and duplicate themselves. Though the process usually would cost an immense amount of energy, life energy which the body of the queen currently does not possess, I can easily bypass that by supplementing my own in doses of Qi.

    The process was absurdly long and tedious, enough to make you wonder how creation had begun and how such an intricate and fundamental process for life hade to be.

    Slowly, bit by bit, cell by cell, I aided in duplication. As for the ones that were hopeless, I melted their content and used it to supplement other cells.

    Months went by inside the white room, and though the time difference was thirty to one, it was still a long time.

    In these months I worked tirelessly, to aid in the rejuvenation process of the corpse. As for the wisp of the soul of the Queen, it already fell unconscious to save as much energy as possible while I was working on this process.

    In the ninth month, I had already fully revitalized the entirety of the Queen''s body. From a corpse-like frozen body to something that was actually worth using. The Body was now ready for possession.

    Though it was skinny and almost bone on skin due to having removed a great deal of cells, it was still usable. As long as the soul is able to retake its ce in this body, she should be able to take a new breath of life.

 Chapter 735: Bio-Warfare

    Soon enough, her eyes flickered. A deep bottle of green color gazed into mine. Though skinny, barely skin on bone, she still flicked a wide smile.

    "You did a great job," she said as she tried to stand up.

    "Don''t try and move, start by circting your cultivation base," I said as I pulled a few pills.

    "These are nourishing pills, their quality is high, but their potency is heavily limited. Your body cannot handle higher-level pills right now. Take these for now," I said.

    She tried to move her arm, but the muscles on her arm were almost nonexistent. So I fed her the pills myself.

    She swallowed the pills and they began nurturing her body slowly. The paleness of her skin slowly began fading and a blush of redness appeared on her face.

    Her body was in apletely weakened state, and her soul was so tiny right now a mere sneeze could probably make her copse.

    I continued feeding her the pills, and slowly her cells began healing up. Water and pills, and more water and pills.

    In a couple of hours, she could move her hands, andter she could stand.

    Her body has gained more weight but she was far from safe.

    "This is much better," she said. "You, a man of poison and medicine, I owe you my life. Speak your wish and I''ll do what I can to help you achieve it." She said.

    "For now, I don''t need anything. Let''s get you healthier first, your body needs nutrition, and your soul is heavily damaged. The first pills were for your body, and these are for your soul." I said as I handed her a new set of pills.

    She grabbed them and took a look at them, then back at me. Her eyes clearing up more and more every moment.

    I coughed as I was caught staring and said, "The damage to the soul is the most difficult to heal, due to your soul being separated for a long time. You''re currently not ''alive,'' but you''re possessing your own body.

    You need some time for the soul to fully fuse with the body then you can regain some of your cultivation base," I said.

    The queen nodded and said, "That will take some time," she flexed her fist and said, "About three months¡­ I should be able to fully fuse my soul with my body. As for my cultivation base¡­ that needs more work, I''m almost a mortal right now," she said.

    I was surprise, three months is pretty fast. I thought it would take her years.

    "Are you ounting the time based on the quality of these soul rejuvenating pills?" I asked.

    "Indeed, I cannot use my Heavenly Sutra to rejuvenate my soul, I have spoken of this before," she said.

    "I see, well, I guess we can shorten the time then. These are pills that should help you reinforce your Soul slowly, and these¡­" I said, as I gave her even better soul rejuvenating pills that I ced next to her.

    "Oh, this changes things greatly, I should be able to recover to a greater extent in less than a month, at least to abat efficient state," she said.

    "Good, I''ll leave you here for the remainder of the month to recover on your own pace. If you have any questions, ask the automaton, he''ll refer to me everything you''ll need," I said.

    "Thank you for your kindness," she said.

    I teleported back to the open ins where Law was ying with the Purple Armored Lion.

    Zhang Tian was meditating by himself and Dao Shen was moving about roaming the area.

    "Where''s the Fire King?" I asked.

    "Oh, that guy, he went to the volcano area," Law said as he was rubbing the Purple Armored Lion''s belly. "Cute guy," Law said.

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    "Yeah, hees from my home, one of the very few things that are still alive," I said as I rubbed the lion''s mane.

    He seemed to have evolved a few times here, after all, he had all the Qi he would ever need to cultivate and no pressure to do so.

    "Anyway, the Queen is recovering, and she should be good enough to help us out of this mess in some time," I said.

    "Oh, that''s pretty nice. Good news I guess, also, isn''t that too fast? It hasn''t been more than three days, since you went to heal her," Law said.

    "Time difference. Anyway, I need to work on something now," I said as I looked at the almost dead Silver Rakshasa.

    "How is it looking?" I asked Y.

    "It is weakened enough to be safely transported to the autopsy area," Y said.

    "Good get some puppets to take it there, I need to start working on these guys soon," I said.

    Not long after, the Silver Rakshasa which was on the doorsteps of death was dragged away to the White Floor of the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Although the Queen was recovering there, the White Floor itself could be separated into multiple section. I always have aboratory area by itself which is where the Rakshasas were sent to.

    I went back to the White Floor and saw the three Rakshasas all strapped and wrapped on working tables.

    I began by heading to the White Rakshasa, since they''re the most numerous, I''ll need to work the hardest on these.

    This creature was something that went against the Heavenly Dao. A soulless fiend of death and devour. It lives only to kill andy waste to thends. Without purpose or goal other than destruction.

    I''m surprised it didn''t get struck to death by Heavenly Tribtion.

    The moment I thought of that, it was like, -excuse the pun- I was struck by lightning.

    The entire Thunder Domain is nothing but constant unstoppable lightning. A Lightning that would strike endlessly against the entire area. But it wasn''t without goal. Maybe it was because these things existed, that the heavens wanted them destroyed.

    However, since they were hidden and protected by the Bastion, they were never killed.

    Though I doubt that''s the case, it is a very probable situation. These things that goes against the heavenly Dao are bringing cmity upon themselves by simply existing.

    Though I don''t understand why they weren''t struck by lightning back on their own¡­

    I couldn''t give a proper answer to this question so I just stopped thinking about it. The Bastion itself was feeding off the Lightning strikes, no wonder it retained its functionality for so long even without Soul Power.

    As for the White Rakshasa, it''s skin was hard, but not harder than my Neutron Steel needles.

    I extracted some of its blood, which instantly froze the moment it went in contact with air. I used my own Soul me to heat it up, only for it to immediately turn into vapor.

    Quite an interesting.

    I did a few tests and realized that the blood needed to stay at supercool temperatures for it to retain its liquid state.

    This mere fact was enough to eliminate almost half of my poisons. Because most of them require a ''warm blood'' for them to work and function at.

    I began by adding several types of Yin based Poisons into the blood samples extracted from the Rakshasas and waited to see if they would work.

    One might ask, why am I doing this?

    The answer is simple.

    In war, all is fair.

    Although Biochemical warfare is pretty fucked up, that only applies to humans. As for these things, they''re gonna get what they fucking deserve.

    After several attempts, I finally found a poison that reacted to the blood. It was a simple poison actually, made from the leaves of an Underworld Morning Flower. A very essible nt that is found in abundance near mass cemeteries and ces where a lot of death happened.

    It is a flower that feeds off the negative energies of death, filling itself with Yin. But it''s highly poisonous due to the fact that not only does it proliferates rapidly in coldness, it also consumes it to grow itself.

    The affected blood sample immediately turned into a mass of ck crystal shaped flowers that bloomed instantly.

    I looked at the White Rakshasa which was almost drainedpletely out of its blood and threw in a small drop of the extract of the Underworld Morning Flower.

    The moment the poison came in contact with its body, the creature began screeching and soon its body began rippling then cracked like hardened and dried paint. From the cracks hundreds of ice flowers emerged out of its body.

    A vile being as this Rakshasa was easily turned into a beautiful artistic sculpture of monstrosity and the beauty of roses.

    Now this poison is pretty damn effective. However, it has one issue, it is not able to spread from one to another, although it is extremely potent and fast acting, it will be useless unless it can spread.

    So now I''ll need to figure out a way to make it airborne.

 Chapter 736: On The Chopping Block

    I continued working using the other White Rakshasas I captured. Since I had plenty of them, I could do more testing.

    Cruel? Inhumane? Even outright evil, one might think. But to not do so against these things without a soul in them is true evil.

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    They rob the world of its riches by simply existing, they consume and destroy. And they do not wish to see anything exist but themselves. A mass of heartless murderers that only seek the destruction of everything else but themselves.

    Quite a nasty tempered existence if I may say. And if their goal is to destroy all life, then all life''s goal must be to kill them.

    The testing continued with far better results than I expected.

    I needed to make the Underworld Morning Flower poison vtile and airborne, and I was able to do so by mixing it with another Yin-based poison.

    But to get there, about ten more white Rakshasas had to be fully drained out of their blood.

    I tested all sorts of poisons first, and I could summarize the entire testing in a few words.

    Tedious and annoying, but rewarding never less.

    Since I not only needed a Poison that was able to interact with the Underworld Morning Flower Poison, I also needed a poison that could assist and aid it in spreading.

    Poison and medicine are two faces of the same coin. The dose is what makes the difference. Some poisons are highly ipatible with one another and tend to destroy each other, and that can be medicine in a sense. Some poisons can enhance one another to create an even more potent and deadly poison which was my goal.

    The secondary poison I mixed was extracted from the horn of a Crystal Lizard, amon low-toxicity creature that lives in cold regions. The extract from its horn is able to amplify and cause the Underworld Morning Flower Poison to fly in the air and increase its longevity. Allowing it to be spread upon contact to an incredible degree, and for it to stay in the air for a very long time.

    With the poison constructed, I consumed it and memorized it within my own soul. Since my Poison Qi is able to replicate any poisons I consumed and recreate them, I''m now able to produce it at any given time.

    Once I was done with the consumption of the poison, I brought in arge vat and blew out a frigid, cold, and thick breath into it.

    The poison condensed rapidly into liquid form and began filling the vat. After exhausting a bit of my personal poison Qi, the vat was almost full.

    I sent it down for the worker puppets at the workshop area of the Pagoda and instructed them to use the poison in the vat to create several bullets and explosive canisters.

    They should be able to create a good amount of ammunition for instant use.

    The Rakshasas were all belonging to the same race, however, they weren''t all going to be affected by the same poison.

    The white Rakshasas are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of power, but they are the most numerous. Taking them out using the poison mixture is the safest and surest way to deal with them.

    As for these¡­ I said as I turned to the brute that was captured.

    It was still impaled with several tungsten rods, unable to move a muscle and stuck on the metallic sheet.

    I noticed that its wounds had healed up rapidly and were almost fused back into the rods.

    The blood that poured out of the brute was¡­ warmer, it was still cold, but not as cold as the White Rakshasa''s blood.

    I extracted a bit and used the same poison on it, but the effect was incredibly minor, which was not a good sign.

    The temperature required for the Underworld Morning Flower poison needs to be incredibly low almost absolute zero temperature. But this brute actually has warmer blood. So it makes the poison effects low to nonexistent.

    But that didn''t mean I couldn''t deal with it, I''ll just have to make another type of poison, not to mention Brutes are a rarer breed.

    I began by concocting another poison that works in rtively warmer temperatures. This poison is a sinister one.

    Calling it poison is slightly misleading because it is more like a toxin. This one is not extracted from a biological source but rather exists in nature. A Toxin extracted from Azure Frosted Ore. A metal-based material that is highly toxic and can form in the depths of cold mountains.

    The toxin extracted from the melted substance is able to sap the Yin qi and reduce the body''s internal pressure by an incredible margin. Allowing for the blood to boil instantly.

    Sadly I cannot mix it with other poisons as it is very aggressive to bio poisons and ispletely neutral with all of the non-bio poisons I have consumed so far.

    The poison itself is able to destroy the inside of a brute Rakshasa in seconds, making them bleed out from all orifices and have their bodies turn to sludge.

    So after recreating anotherrge portion of this poison from my own blood, I send it down to theb for it to be applied to bullets and explosive canisters.

    Just as I was about to start working on the Silver Rakshasa, Yao Tong, the Queen spoke to me through Divine Sense.

    "An interesting creation you have made," she said.

    "I thought you''d be cultivating," I said.

    "I already recovered enough to be able to move, I cannot push myself further for now," she said.

    I understand, since healing the soul and fusing back to her own body would need adjustment time. Rushing this process can cause instability.

    The wall leading from her section of the white space where she was recovering and where I''m working on the Rakshasa opened up.

    Although it wasn''t a long time since she started recovering, right now she was already looking like a hale and healthy person.

    She slowly approached the working area and nced at the mutted corpses of the Rakshasa all over theb.

    She didn''t show any signs of difort or unease despite the ''Brutal'' sight in front of her.

    "How did you manage to capture that?" she asked her eyes locked on the Silver Rakshasa which was fully strapped to the table by dozens of metallic locks and hundreds of weight inscriptions all over its body.

    "Gravity, all is equal against thews of the world. Even the mightiest will be crushed if enough weight is ced upon them," I said.

    "Such simplicity¡­"

    "Simple is the way of the world, it is us who make things look difficult," I replied as I finalized the process of ''treating'' the brute.

    I approached the Silver Rakshasa, who unlike the others was screeching and growling, and even speaking a few words here and there. I don''t know if it even understood what it said but it was rambling on.

    "I still cannot believe I had lost to this thing," she said.

    "Numbers beat courage," I said.

    "How did you know?" she asked.

    "I saw it, how you stood facing them while protecting thest few members of your home," I said.

    "Did they go in peace?" she asked.

    "They did," I repliedforting her.

    "Isn''t it funny, that no matter how you cultivate, work hard, and struggle only for one foolish man''s greed to doom an entire civilization, isn''t it funny how fickle life can be?" she said.

    "I wouldn''t say funny, but I understand," I said. "Man is born by greed, after all, lives by it, and will die by it. It is our own nature and will be our own demise, it is ordained for us. And all we can do is live while believing that we can be a better version of ourselves every time we open our eyes," I said.

    She smiled saying, "My father would have enjoyed yourpany, he enjoyed deep conversation such as these. Anyway, what are you doing here?" she asked.

    "I''m making poison, mass producing it, it should be our only way out of this mess," I said.

    "I see, as much as I would like to open a path like what you did when you reached my frozen body¡­"

    "I understand, you don''t have enough soul power and it is already damaged enough that trying to use the Bastion to open a path will just kill you. I''ve seen how your father used his entire life to just move it. That''s why I''m doing this. Because I''m not nning on just leaving the bastion, I''m nning on leaving it and not allowing any of these things to follow after us," I said.

    She nodded understanding what I meant. These creatures will ruin thend, they must be terminated here before they could evere in contact with the outside world.

    Now that I have two poisons to deal with the Brutes and the White Rakshasa all I''m left with is this fucker¡­ and from the eyes of the Queen, I can understand the hatred she harbors for this one. Although far weaker than her in cultivation, it was still able to take her down at a moment of weakness.

    So, let''s open it up and see what''s inside.

 Chapter 737: Prepped Up

    The creature was exhausted and heavily wounded. Mainly from having all of its body pressed down by millions of tons worth of weight. A heavy load such as that is bound to exhaust anyone.

    Still, it didn''t appreciate me stabbing it with a sharp knife to get some blood out of it.

    The blood density of this guy was thicker than mercury, it was heavy and cold to the touch, but not so cold that it would cause freezing.

    "Seems like the higher tier you go¡­ the warmer their blood bes¡­" I mumbled.

    "Not only that," Tao Yang said, "They also gain a semnce of humanity¡­"

    "Wait, what? What do you mean a semnce of humanity?" I asked.

    "These aren''t the only ones from the Fallen God race, or what you call the Rakshasa, there exist many more types of these things back in my old world. The one that invaded us could mutate my people and it only seeded in creating these four types."

    "I see¡­ what difference is there between them?" I asked.

    "The White Rakshasas are considered failures. They can only follow order, eat and propagate their own failed gene into other cultivators. As for the Brutes they managed to prosper the given gene to an extent. And were given an increase in strength and power.

    The ck Rakshasa have also found sess in the mutation, allowing them to gain an increase in mental prowess at the cost of their rtively weak body. As for the Silver Ones, they have obtained all three." She said.

    "You mean they''re the Apex Predator?" I asked.

    "Not quite, there exist even deadlier forms, but for now, in the base it is considered the second mightiest. The Silver Rakshasa had gained mental prowess, physical prowess, and the viciousness of the White Rakshasa alongside it.

    They operate separately, and don''t follow the orders of the ck Rakshasa since they canmunicate directly with the Royalist that''s trapped in the center of the Bastion," she said.

    "I see, the Administrator did say that one of the Royals is trapped in the base¡­"

    "My father had given up everything to trap them andunch us into space. The problem was that we couldn''t separate and eject the prison. We didn''t have anyone capable of doing so. Not to mention, we never realized that other Rakshasa were roaming about¡­" she said.

    "I see, so there exist two more types I haven''t seen here," I said.

    "Only one, as far as I know, the one that causes mutations has already been terminated, by me," She said.

    "What a sphemous existence," I said.

    "Indeed, they seek nothing but destruction, thankfully they are trapped back home. Though I would want to do all in my ability to force them out¡­ it''s far toote now. Only I am left alive from my home."

    "I understand, after all, I''m also one of the few survivors of my own," I said.

    She looked a bit embarrassed but she still said, "I apologize for bringing up bad memories. Regarding the Silver Rakshasa, I''ll leave you to your work, you wouldn''t mind if I were to watch?"

    "No, be my guest," I said as I pointed her to a chair.

    After extracting some blood samples from the Silver Rakshasa, I began experimenting on them.

    It took a few hours before I found a working agent. A poison that not only instantly corroded the blood of the Silver Rakshasa upon contact, it also caused its ability to camouge itself useless. As it would increase the tint of the blood color inside its body and make it visible.

    The Poison would also cause an unstoppable spasm in the nervous system, and it would look like fireworks from the outside. Granted I only tested the poison on the Silver Rakshasa after I made sure that it was also airborne and fast-acting.

    Of the three Rakshasa, although the Silver Rakshasa was the deadliest, he was the one easier to find a poison that could act against it. Since it had rtively warmer blood, it was closer to a human body than the rest.

    "I guess I''m done," I said as I sent another vat toward theb for weapon making. The puppets should have their hands full for the next few days making weapons that are able to harm the Rakshasa. And once that''s done, our counterattack will start.

    "Once you''re finished, I suppose you''ll immediately leave," she asked.

    "We have to, but I can''t take you with me," I said.

    "I see¡­" she sighed.

    "Don''t get me wrong, it''s not that I''ll leave you here in this case, I''ll take you outside, but the others must not know that you''re alive," I said.

    She frowned wondering, "Why so?"

    "Because we''re not from the same world. You lived in a utopic world, where everyone was equal, and all had the same opportunity and were treated with respect. The perfectness of your world is a far cry from the one Ie from. Where the strong eats the weak, and tramples on them.

    If you were to leave the base on foot, the Suns will capture you and will do all in their power to understand the secrets of how you or your father had managed to go one step above them in cultivation. Greed which killed your world exists here as well," I said.

    "I suppose this ce is hidden from these so-called Suns, "she said.

    "At least only one of them knows of it, though I have yet to see any signs to cause distrust between us. I''m still not nning on letting him see that you''re here," I said as I pointed at the goo on a certain table.

    "By removing the majority of the bad and dead cells in your body, I was able to extract that," I said. "That''s mostly dead skin and cells that had no chance to be repaired. I can use that to fake your death, and at the same time give you a new lease on life," I said.

    "Why go through all that trouble for me? If your world is as vile as you say, by surrendering me to one of the suns you should be able to reap endless benefits," she said.

    "That''s not who I am. Everyone''s path in life is different. And I refuse to hand over thest of one''s kind as a test subject for the cruelty of one who seeks to only empower themselves. You also deserve to live," I said.

    "Then what are we going to do?" she asked.

    "I''ll tell everyone that you didn''t make it, my friends included," I said.

    She frowned, "I was looking at everything from the outside, they seemed like trustworthy people."

    "Most of them are, and even the one called the Fire King would probably not say anything if asked. But, his eyes don''t belong to him, and if he sees you, one of the suns will know. So might as well just say that you perished while trying to revive."

    She thought for a moment and said, "If I''m here, I cannot interfere with the Base, I won''t be able to open up safe pathways underground for you to escape."

    "That''s the reason I''m making these," I said as I pointed at the samples of poisoned blood. "Because I already figured out that we''ll end up in this situation."

    "I''ll have to teach you something then," she said.

    "What is?" I asked.

    "The way to mold the Soulsteel is what you call it. It requires Royal Blood to fully control it, but there is a mantra that if memorized will allow you to use some of the superficial functions of the bastion. Mainly the scanning and the ability to unlock and lock doors. This is shared between all of the people who have been a part of the escape from Srous," she said.

    "Srous¡­ that''s the name of your?" I asked.

    "Indeed, it is the name of my ruined," She sighed.

    I had no words offort to say, so I remained quiet.

    "You should not worry about things of the past. For now, I should leave you to finish your matters, I''ll resume my recovery," she said.

    I nodded to her and left her by herself.

    I went down to the workshop area to check on the creation of the new ammunition and explosives.

    It was hot, due to the forge being on. The mes and fumes were on max, but the puppets didn''t care. They have no need for air or care enough for the air. So they can still work under these conditions.

    On the side of the working line, a massive stockpile of ammo was sittingfortably next to the working line to which I just grabbed into my holding bag.

    More of the ammo was still being created which will serve as main and reserve for puppets I''m nning on taking with us.

    Unlike before where only the four of us were sneaking in to get the Queen, this time we have no choice but toe out sting.

    And as someone who loves the taste of freedom, I''m he down for that.

 Chapter 738: Going Dark

    As I was finalizing the production line, the Automaton, keeper of the Lord of Lords pagoda came to me with a small jade in hand.

    "Thedy had said that you''ll need this."

    I grabbed the jade and ced it against my forehead. Knowledge of a world that has sadly perished flooded my mind. It wasn''t pervasive nor offensive, it was gentle and calm. Echoing through my mind telling me how to shape and morph the way of the soul.

    And in it, the technique tomand and learn what the Soulsteel is. Sadly, the portion of how to modify the Soulsteel using one''s soul was not something I could learn. It was there, within the knowledge given, but it was unusable for me.

    If I were to give it an example, it was as if I was a jigsaw board, and the piece in front of me had no ce to fit in nor shape to fit in.

    No wonder only the royal family could control this metal. Since only they are attuned to it.

    Disys of mastery and ability to control the Soulsteel appeared in my mind.

    For anyone else, they''d think that this is some form of mystical and unattainable art that is derived from the royal family alone. But for me¡­ these disys are as obvious as the sun.

    "Wavelengths¡­ it''s just simple wavelengths. I see¡­ so to move and affect the Soulsteel one''s soul needs to be at a certain wavelength, the royal family are already born with a specific wavelength of their soul which makes the ability to control the Soulsteel unique to them. As for everyone else¡­ they shouldn''t be able to due to the wavelength difference of their souls¡­"

    Sadly, I cannot do that. I can''t change my wavelength since I have no idea what it should be and what frequency I need to be at to be able to tamper or modify the Soulsteel, not to mention even if I did know the exact specifics, I wouldn''t dare do it. Modifying one''s soul even by a bit will cause irreversible damage.

    But that doesn''t mean that all hope is lost. I can probably figure something outter, as for right now, I don''t have the time or ability to understand something like that.

    I put the thought away for now and continued learning the mantra.

    It was rather simple as this mantra was easily essible to all who had a soul and sentience. It would allow one to open a good portion of the essible rooms and paths and allow them to sense whoever is nearby if their soul is strong enough. Within the Bastion of course.

    After learning it, I left the area and headed down to the prairies. Zhang Tian and Dao Shen were both still meditating, while Law was pretty much exploring around.

    I sent all of them along with the Fire King a divine sense message. "The Queen didn''t make it." I said

    Zhang Tian was the first to answer, "What a sad thing. Although she had some hope, but to go against thew of the world is a futile thing to do. May she rest in peace."

    The Fire King flew out of the volcano area andnded right in front of me.

    His expressions were strained, and he looked ufortable, "Where is her body?" he said.

    It wasn''t his voice, but the Darkest Sun''s own voice.

    "What do you need it for?" I asked.

    "It''s the body of a person from and far away, they reached great heights in cultivation their body is useful," he said.

    "Sadly, that''s not the case, the body you speak of would need to have its Qi preserved, the ice prison she was in was not preserving her Qi. Her Qi had fully dissipated, her body is nothing but slime right now," I said.

    The Darkest Sun snorted, "You have no use for a body such as that, just hand it over when youe out," he said.

    I sighed and threw the Fire Lord a small urn.

    He grabbed it and asked, "What is this?"

    "Her remains," I said.

    The Fire Lord frowned and opened the lid on the urn. And before he could even act, his arm shuddered and he lost control over it. He dipped his finger into the sludge inside the urn and tasted it.

    I would have thrown up if I hadn''t been dissecting the Rakshasas or have had a weaker stomach.

    Law on the other hand, seemed to be throwing upst week''s dinner.

    Even Zhang Tian who rarely expressed anything looked extremely ufortable.

    The Fire Lord on the other hand was probably the most disgusted of all of us, after all the Darkest Sun was using the fire lord''s body to taste some human remains.

    "Damn, she really did die¡­ curses," the Darkest Sun said and withdrew his control over the Fire Lord''s hand and mouth.

    The Fire Lord didn''t hesitate a second before he galvanized his Qi and opened his mouth, shooting out a st of mes in the air.

    "Fucking disgusting bastard¡­" he kept on cursing, and the cursed increased in color, tone, and intensity, they were so colorful and passionate that I had no doubt that they would make even a sailor blush.

    The Fire Lord handed me back the urn and went away to probably throw up ore up with more ingenious curses.

    The sludge was the residue of the cells from the Queen''s body. It was all dead cells mushed into goo.

    So that should get the Darkest Sun off my back.

    "Here, everyone take these," I said as I handed everyone a bunch of ammunition and showed them how to use it.

    "What are these?" Law asked.

    "These are ammunitions that are designed to destroy the Rakshasa. The white magazines are for the white rakshasa, the Gray are for the brutes, and the silver ones for the silver Rakshasas, I guess that''s obvious enough." I said.

    "Oh, silver magazines are limited," Law said.

    "Because there aren''t many of them, also we''re not he ones who''ll be doing the bulk of the shooting, these are to protect yourselves. Use your Qi as you see fit. We''ll exit the pagoda in twenty-four hours," I said.

    That should be enough time for the puppets to finalize creating the bullets we''ll need.

    Time trickled by as I was preparing the puppets that were going in for the fight. Hundreds of puppets were standing in the prairies waiting for orders.

    Behind them even more were loading up more ammo and weapons.

    At this point in time I had the idea of needing to make tanks, but I had to give up the thought, after all, tanks are far slower than most of these monsters, and they''ll be too slow to aim and shoot.

    I continued giving orders for the puppets who were going to act as our shield and get us out of this mess. We are probably not capable of killing everything but we can definitely push them back with sheer fire power.

    The time quickly reached the ready point, and everyone was fully prepared. The Fire Lord, Dao Shen, Zhang Tian and Law were all checking the weapons I had given them.

    "Remember, point the weapon''s end at the enemies, and squeeze the trigger. Careful not to crush it. Anyway, I''m opening the path out let''s go."

    "Lord, the room is clear, the fiends are roaming the entire Bastion trying to find the lost crystal. They have yet to realize that it is not in the same spatial fold."

    "Good, then open the gate for us," I said.

    The portal opened for us and the puppets jumped down in a row of tens.

    One row after another they jumped into the portal and started moving forward, weapons ready to intercept any opponent.

    A few dozen puppets were already out, broken and shattered. But many of them simply disabled themselves and were spared the destruction. The rakshasa probably thought that they were destroyed or unfunctional and left them alone.

    Good, at least they''re not wasted.

    A bunch of puppets hade down to collect the scraps and destroyed puppets while more and more puppets came down to fight.

    The path forward was long and wide, and should allow the row of ten puppets to move forward with ease.

    The first row had Shield bearing puppets who will be tanking most of the damage, while the second row had puppets with long range weapons.

    This continued on, row after row, of puppets with weapons and others with shields to protect them.

    The goal was to stall and suppress, not to conquer. We needed to leave the base so our goal was rather simple.

    On the other side of the hallway, a white rakshasa screeched loud as it had noticed the hundreds of iing puppets.

    Its loud soul rending screech was enough of an alert to call every other rakshasa nearby.

    And they came sprinting.

 Chapter 739: War

    The Fire Lord was channeling his Qi, clearly going in for an explosive attack at the start.

    "No need to use your Qi," I said as the iing rakshasa charged at the frontline.

    "Light them up!" I called.

    Immediately, the frontline mmed their shields down, and the line behind them aimed their weapons in between the small openings of the shield row.

    A single salvo, a hundred corpses.

    Not only that, the real pain was about to start. The moment the first rakshasa was hit, the bullet that pierced its body left a trail of the Underworld Morning Flower poison inside it.

    The Cold Yin Qi in the bloodstreams of the Rakshasa was immediately agitated. Acting with severe hostility yet foretold defeat. The blood couldn''t defeat the poison. The fast-acting poison spread through every bloodstream causing it to crystalize, then rupture, where tens of thousands of small crystal flowers began rupturing and emerging from the cracks happening on their bodies.

    The Rakshasa froze over, as they transformed into a statue of flowery ice.

    More Rakshasa came forward, crashing into the corpse of theirrade, the ssh and stter of the shattered ice released a cold fume that spread out, instantly interacting with more Rakshasas and turning those too into ice.

    More and more deaths on the Rakshasa''s lines happened as they couldn''t help but dive into their deaths.

    Their objective was to capture us; ours was to leave this ce. Yet right now, their goal was looking rather grim.

    Although the wide hall could barely fit a couple dozen or so rakshasa side by side, it was long enough for them toe at us like an endless flood.

    And they weren''t limited to the ground. They ran across the walls and the high ceiling to drop at us.

    All for a vain effort to capture us.

    "Up," Law said, a look of worry painted on his face as he didn''t realize that the Rakshasas were capable of doing even that...

    Six or so Rakshasa were using their ws to grab onto the ceiling, and they were able to sprint on it upside down.

    Their creepy figures would bring nightmares to the vilest of men as they screeched in a soul-shivering shrike.

    Their goal was simple since the floor was too packed and was impossible to prate, for now, they''ll go up and fall on our backline.

    "Don''t worry," I replied to Law. I already figured something like this would happen.

    My small army was positioned in a specific way to maximize our numbers and our firepower.

    The first four rows were an armored corps, able to withstand the iing rakshasa and rain down lead upon them. While swapping between shield holder and weapon bearer as needed.

    The three rows behind them were all reinforcement and recement. If a puppet were to fall, one of the reinforcements would immediately take their position.

    Me and my group were in the third position acting as themand of the army.

    To my left and right respectfully were Y and X.

    Behind me was the final line of defense. Or what I call, the heavy artillery. They''re fully packed up with explosives, and javelin rocketunchers that had poison substance inside them. And heavy sniper rifles for priority target neutralization.

    There were also many other puppets next to them, armored with shields and swords. And others with miniguns ready for any random threat.

    The sniper squad was all carried by other puppets to have a better vantage point. This would allow them to take down targets while avoiding allies.

    This was how I was nning on leaving the Bastion. Guns sting. And nothing was going to stop me. Not to mention, this was not the entirety of the forces I had prepared for this. After all, the puppets inside the Lord of Lords pagoda went insane with creating more of their members and I had more than twenty thousand puppets of which more than six thousand were fully decked out and ready for battle.

    And that was the way we''re leaving, with their help. If they wanted toe at me with numbers, then they''re more than wee. Because behind us were a thousand more puppets slowly pouring in from the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The iing rakshasa had believed that bying at me from above they''d easilynd into the backline and disrupt the order of operation. Little did they know that I was more than ready for them.

    The row right behind me aimed their weapons up and sent several salvos of gunfire, sting through the rakshasas who had a difficult time dodging due to being upside down.

    Of the six, four were instantly pulverized, turning to ice sculptures. While one of them managed to jump and wasing at us with an incredible speed.

    But due to it being airborne, it had no ability to dodge. One of the snipers being carried by other puppets had the Rakshasa in sight. A single trigger press and the rakshasa''s entire body was ruptured and turned to shattering ice.

    As for thest rakshasa it didn''t dive at us but tried to fall into the front rows.

    The Third row of the frontline immediately held their shields up, creating a protective barrier from the iing rakshasa which fell against the shield face first.

    It tried to bash the shield with its ws, but since it was unable to dive into the rows, it was an easy sitting duck for the gunners at the frontline who made a sieve out of its body.

    The puppet carrying the weight of the rakshasa that just died and turned to ice simply angled the shield causing the sculpture to fall to the ground and shatter.

    To which our advancement and the heavy steps of the puppets slowly moving forward crushed the remains of the rakshasa.

    Simple, effective, and deadly. The entire army was working their way forward neutralizing every threat and moving forward without a hitch.

    More Rakshasa tried to go up on the ceiling and even more came at us from the walls. But since they could never make it to our troops, they were all eradicated halfway.

    The lucky ones were the ones that died due to the poison from afar, but the ones that were trying to charge into the frontline had it the worst.

    They were under the constant firepower of the puppets, and they couldn''t prate the shielded frontline.

    The poison released from all the bullets began lingering in the air and its density increased.Just when it reached a high enough density I pressed my hand forward.

    Willed andmanded by my own poison Qi, the lingering Qi in the air moved forward like a wave that ate up everything in its wake.

    The rakshasa had no way to deal with the poison wave and were too packed together to avoid it. Like themand of a frost god, the entire hallway turned into a frozen hell where no enemy moved.

    "What devastating power¡­" Law said.

    "Indeed, I never thought that a systematic method of war could even be applied here," Zhang Tian said.

    "I don''t think we''re even useful here," Dao Shen said.

    "Let''s hope that the case remains like that," I said.

    "Why are you saying that, aren''t you the one who always tells me my mouth is a jinx," Law said.

    "That''s because I know that this situation won''tst for long. We only have an advantage because this is a long hallway, once we start reaching the crossroads, things will get more dangerous," I said.

    Not to mention, we haven''t met any of the brutes. Those guys can easily break our frontline if they make it there. So, I have to keep an eye out for them. Also, these rakshasas that have been killed are nothing but the stragglers that are near us. The bulk of the forces are still on the upper floors. And we have a long way to go before we reach the door.

    We soon arrived to the first crossroad. As I mentioned earlier, the front line isposed of six separate rows. Three of which are shield and sword carriers the vanguard, and three had firearms to support them the gunners.

    One squad of vanguards and gunners each moved forward, while the other four squads split up, each of them standing guard at the entrance of the crossroads. This allowed our army to move forward while it was protected from the sides.

    This was just an immediate intervention to help facilitate the army moving, and since our frontline was the most important, several puppets sprinted forward from the reserves following us to replenish the frontline that gave up their members to protect the sides.

    Thankfully the crossroads were empty thanks to the poisonous wave I sent earlier, there were no silver rakshasas in sight. But that is not to say that we should rx, so I kept my eyes peeled for anything abnormal.

    The army continued moving forward, and once the entirety of the army went past the crossroad the four squads that were protecting the side joined the reserve forces and continued following the army upward.

    So far, the coast is clear, but up ahead there was a massive staircase that lead up to the fourth floor. And from where I can see, there were Rakshasas standing there menacingly. While a pack of brutes were at the top of the staircase apanied with a ck Rakshasa.

    They''re holding a powerful chokehold position which will make prating it difficult. This is where the real fight begins.

 Chapter 740: Meeting

    *** Some time ago ***

    Back in the arena, the eight lords had decided to postpone the coronation of Shen Bao as the clear winner of the trial. Since the objective was to retrieve the handkerchief was not possible toplete due to them being stuck in the fifth zone.

    That is what the people were led to believe. After all, what the Eight Suns knew was something that could threaten the safety of the Beyond as a whole.

    The Eight Suns were all doing a meeting with each other, trying to figure out a way out of this mess.

    "Like I said, let''s just blow the entire thing up, how tough can it even be?" the Cryptic Sun was the first to speak.

    "Besides the loss of the knowledge from another race that have had a person who reached far higher than even us, the mere fact that we can risk releasing those things in the beyond in case they somehow survive is enough a threat not to do it," the Blue Sun said.

    She was far too invested into the heritage of that race to agree to the destruction of the Bastion.

    "The Blue Sun is right," the Lord of Lords said. "The risk is too high, also believe in those children. They can get out, I''m sure of it," he added.

    "There are far too many factors that are against them, the mere fact that those fiends, the Rakshasa as Shen Bao named them are at the Origin Shattering realm is enough to put anyone in despair," the Red Sun said, "But I''m of the same opinion as the Lording Sun, believe in them. If I know anyone below the Origin Shattering realm that has a shot at leaving that ce, it is definitely Shen Bao."

    "You two are only saying that because you''re invested in Shen Bao, you''re overlooking the safety of the people in the beyond!" the cryptic sun shouted.

    "Calm down now," the mboyant Sun, against his own charismatic and overly loud and colorful personality was the one that looked calmest.

    His eyes were wide and didn''t seem to focus on anyone, yet at the same time you''d think that he was looking right at you when he talked.

    "There has been no indicator so far that they would fail, not to mention they can also use the woman who talked to them, she opened up the paths for them to save her body, she can definitely let them out," the mboyant Sun said.

    "I know that kid," the Dusking Sun said, "You better not try and ruin his fun. He''ll definitely get out, just don''t bring down the entire building on top of him while he''s doing so. Also, you''ve seen how many puppets he used just to save her body, he definitely has more."

    "He''s out," the Darkest Sun said.

    Immediately the Darkest Sun resumed disying what his disciple was seeing.

    Since he had the ability to look through his own disciple''s eyes and control bits of his body even though the distance was great, this allowed the suns to see and hear what the Darkest Sun was able to witness.

    Shen Bao who had went to help cure the Queen''s body returned alone.

    This made the Darkest Sun interject and control his disciple''s mouth, "Where is her body?" the Darkest Sun asked.

    To which Shen Bao asked what use he has for a dead body.

    Of course, everyone was interested. The body of a person close to their cultivation level if not slightly higher was of great value. And it would be wasted if it remained in the hands of Shen Bao.

    "It''s the body of a person from and far away, they reached great heights in cultivation their body is useful," he said.

    Shen Bao''s expressions were that of disappointment and disgust, thetter showing more on his face.

    He gave an argument that was sound, due to her body beingpletely deprived of Qi, it rotted beyond help. Even a Sun Stage cultivator would have his entire body eroded if it didn''t have ess to heavenly Qi.

    Though the corpse of a cultivator can survive the weather and natural dposition phenomenon for a long time. That is only the case in situation where the body is perfectly preserved. Or out in nature, where the Qi from their dead bodies would slowly nurture thend around them.

    In this nurturing, thend itself would stop the factors of dposition to further preserve the body so thend can gain even more Qi from the corpse.

    But in the Bastion, where the Heavenly Qi was heavily restricted to stop the Rakshasa from acting at full power. And due to the queen''s frozen body, the factors of dpositions were slowed by the ice and the body didn''t rot, but the Qi was allpletely depleted due to the passage of time.

    And since the body lost its internal Qi, it became nothing but the corpse of a normal body.

    Shen Bao handed the Fire King a small urn, in which the Darkest Sun forced the Fire King to taste the remains. A Revolting taste of death spread through his mouth. The culmination of body fluids in the jar were more than enough proof of the death of the body.

    It had lost all of its Qi but still kept some fracturedws of great knowledge that the body earns when they reach the Sun stage of cultivation.

    She was truly dead.

    The Darkest Sun withdrew his control over his disciple and only used one of his eyes to see what they were seeing.

    The meeting continued.

    "I guess it''s a hopeless cause then, let''s just exile the whole thing if you''re all too scared to blow it up," the Cryptic Sun added.

    "Exile it where?" the Wisest Sun said. "You''re not nning on sending this to the Vast Expanse right?"

    "And where else? The Vast Expanse is nothing but a dumpster. The Qi in that ce is barely enough to make an Emperor stage cultivator once every tens of thousands of years," the Dusking Sun said.

    "If even one of these things were to get to the Vast Expanse it wouldpletely ruin it. Not to mention, the pressure from so many of them will destroy the Heavenly Dao that''s keeping that ce running. Life isn''t easy to create don''t think of it too fickle no matter how weak or feeble it is," the Wisest Sun''s anger seemed to show in his words.

    After all he had an imperative role in the creation of the Vast Expanse.

    "There will be no exiling of anything," the Lord of Lords said, "They''re not dead yet, also unless you''re blind, you can see that he has enough forces to fight back."

    What the Darkest Sun was seeing was the incredible number of fully armored up puppets stationed in the open prairies. That is an army capable of eradicating an entire country by itself. The weakest of the puppets is at the Emperor Stage which isparable to the Rakshasa.

    Although they have a numerical disadvantage against the Rakshasa, if Shen Bao uses the terrain well and his wits, there could be hope.

    The Cryptic Sun who was more than willing topletely obliterate the Bastion had to take a step back andpromise.

    "If they look like they''re failing, I''m going in there personally to exile the entire region. And if you''re too worried about your useless little trash world, then I''ll hold the entire region within a spatial fold in my territory, I would assume no one will have any issues with that," the Cryptic Sun said.

    Though cryptic, his intentions were as obvious as the sun he was.

    "From the beginning, you were leading the conversation to this point," the Dusking Sun said. "You never change do you." He smirked.

    The Cryptic Sun snorted.

    "I cannot agree to this!" the Blue Sun''s eyes red. All her heard work was going to go down the drain if the Cryptic Sun ends up taking the Bastion.

    "You cant keep good things to yourself, also you didn''t offer any valuable or helpful ideas. I''ll be sheltering all the responsibility when they fail, and I''ll have to seal and control the entire thing by myself." The Cryptic Sun said.

    "What gives you the right to do so?!" she shouted, her Qi was ring.

    "My ability does!" the Cryptic Sun red back, "Only I can seal that thing, no one her can dare say that they''re better than me in the art of seals and formation making!"

    The wisest sun inwardly snorted, as although his art of sealing and inscription was top notch, Shen Bao still managed to one up him back in the trial of the Tower Defense.

    "ENOUGH!" the mboyant Sun who acted as mediator shouted, "The Safety of the Beyond is our first priority! In the case where they fail, the Cryptic Sun will take all responsibility over the sealing of the Thundering Domain. In case they manage to leave, you will not touch the domain and allow the Blue Sun to finish her study."

    The Blue Sun was about to interject on the unfair judgement. Since the risk of them dying was far greater than survival.

    But the Lord of Lords sent her a divine sense message in time, "Calm down, we set up the mboyant Sun as our Arbiter due to his neutrality, if you disagree against his judgement you''ll cause strife we have no business with, also trust in Shen Bao, he won''t disappoint you."

    The blue sun swallowed her words and sat back down, while the Cryptic Sun smirked down at her.

    Rage was willing inside her, but she decided to trust the Lording Sun, after all, he was the oldest Sun of the eight.

    So, they watched as Shen Bao''s army came down and their fight begun.

 Chapter 741: Warfare

    The Suns kept watching as the hallway was revealed to them. On one side, an iing wave of messy ranks of rakshasa. They were slobbering and charging without lead or organization. Their goal was the destruction of their enemy and they were ready to throw the entire weight of their army at it to achieve that goal.

    As for the other side, Shen Bao was in the middle of an army that advanced forward like immovable walls of lead. Unstopping, unrelenting and devastating. Their enemies charged them but were cleanly halted in their spots.

    The white rakshasa would die in droves the moment they got closer to the front wall. Lead and bullets shot through them, causing the least of their devastating injuries as poison began spreading and destroying them in droves.

    The Rakshasa quickly realized that a frontal confrontation would undoubtedly lead to their deaths. So they tried many things of using the walls and ceiling, only to perish as those were too easy to figure out for Shen Bao.

    The fightsted no longer than half an incense stick worth of time. In that time, not a single puppet on Shen Bao''s side was destroyed, but the entire army of the Rakshasa that charged them had perished.

    Seeing that The Blue sun''s eyes lit up, there was hope, they could actually leave.

    "Didn''t I tell you, trust thed a bit? He still gives this old man a few surprises every now and then."

    "Thank you, Lording Sun. I''ll keep your words to heart," she replied to him back in Divine Sense.

    The rest of the suns all had neutral looks on them, such as the mboyant Sun and the Darkest Sun. Or were outright rooting for Shen Bao, the most notable was the Dusking Sun who wasughing heartily whenever Shen Bao''s puppets performed well.

    As for the Cryptic Sun, even though he cultivated for many millennia, he couldn''t help but show a sour expression on his face.

    Because if Shen Bao were to seed in leaving, he''d lose his bet on owning the Bastion.

    However, he didn''t voice his opinion, after all winning a battle is not like winning the war. And so far he has yet to see any puppet from Shen Bao''s side capable of handling one of the Silver Rakshasa.

    Soon, however, Shen Bao''s army was put in a precarious position. In front of them, was a massive staircase that led to the upper floor. Since they all moved inrge numbers, they couldn''t use the elevator and had to use the stairs as a way to proceed to the fourth floor.

    However, the enemy was already waiting, this time with several brutes on its side, the smartest of the Rakshasa was hunched up screeching at the front of the army. Giving them orders to follow and not to proceed past a certain point on the stairs.

    The powerful rakshasa army was now even stronger with a brain leading it.

    Shen Bao raised his right arm in a fist. This made the entire puppet army stop in its tracks.

    For the Suns who were watching that was quite the discipline. Tomand an entire army to halt without even uttering a word was something they had never seen before.

    Shen Bao then lifted two fingers up, then pointed them forward.

    Several puppets in the backline were immediately lifted up by theirrades. They aimed their rifles at the ck Rakshasa and shot a full salvo of bullets towards it.

    The Brutes jumped to protect the ck Rakshasa, and the ck Rakshasa realizing the iing danger jumped up to dodge it.

    However, things didn''t go as expected for the Rakshasas.

    The Rakshasa didn''t understand what happened, and it was almost instantaneous. The ck rakshasa''s body in air was riddled with holes. As for the brutes that were supposed to protect it, they had their own problems, as they were also shot with a powerful poison that turned their bodies into bloodied sludge in less than a couple breaths of time. They couldn''t even react, no one noticed what happened.

    This sequence of events made the Suns confused. Although the weapon that Shen Bao has on his puppets is rtively powerful for a void stage cultivator, it shouldn''t have ever been a threat to the Brutes or the ck Rakshasa. After all, they''re in the Void Shattering Realm and Origin Realm respectfully.

    They should have been more than capable of blocking or at least dodging the bullets, why did they all get shot?

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    "A second," the Darkest Sun said and took control of the Fire Lord''s mouth again.

    "How did you do that?" the Darkest Sun asked, intrigued.

    "Do what?" Shen Bao asked. "How did you manage tond the shots? They were careful and ready, you shouldn''t have been able to hit them, they even dodged¡­"

    "Oh, it''s because you''re not using your own eyes to see things. You missed the forest for the trees," Shen Bao replied.

    Which was not a reply for the Darkest Sun and more like an insult calling him blind.

    The Darkest Sun had lived for many years, and would never be angered by words spoken by someone far below his status so he ignored it and waited for Shen Bao to exin.

    Shen Bao sighed and said, "The Fire Lord is unable to see it, so are you. Since you''re using his eyes. His cultivation is Yang-based so he is unable to see the small film of Yin Poison Qi in front of us. It''s like a curtain that''s refracting light, giving false information to whoever is on the other side. They see us but see us a fraction of a secondter." Shen Bao said.

    This was difficult even for the Darkest Sun to understand, but he didn''t need to look at the film of poison to know it existed, he only needed to use the Fire Lord''s eyes to look into Shen Bao. Indeed, there was a constant outpour of Qi that wasing out of Shen Bao and stopped in front of his army.

    The Darkest Sun withdrew his control from the Fire Lord and looked at the Wisest Sun.

    "It is indeed an ingenious idea. Sadly, that can''t work everywhere. What he is doing is creating a mirror using the properties of Yin. The mirror is reversed from the point of view of his enemies. So those that are on the right side are on the left. This is like his domain of True and False¡­ which flips cardinal directions.

    As for this mirror film, it has a small dy in showing what''s happening behind it to what''s in front of it. Although the dy is unnoticeable by a normal cultivator below the Void Stage. For those higher, that is reason enough why they were wasted¡­"

    The Dusking Sunughed praising Shen Bao, "Quite the shrewd mind¡­ he is using his foe''s cultivator against them. The fact that the brutes and the ck rakshasa moved out of harm''s way was the very reason that they were killed. They tried to dodge but ended up dodging right where the projectiles were going tond anyway¡­"

    However, things weren''t that simple right now. The wounded ck Rakshasa was hit with multiple poison bullets, some that were designed to kill the Brutes, and some that could kill the white Rakshasa, but no sign of poisoning appeared on it.

    Shen Bao already expected that since he didn''t have the body of a ck Rakshasa to test things on it.

    The ck Rakshasa screeched once again, making two brutese to stand in front of it. The wounds on its body began healing right there and then as it shouted more and more giving orders for the White Rakshasa to initiatebat.

    A wave of white Rakshasa charged forward down the stairs, to which the unstoppable hair of bullets rendered thempletely useless. They died and turned into pieces of ice that shattered due to more bullets that shot through them and into their iing allies.

    The ck Rakshasa seemed as if it was going insane as it kept on sending more waves of white Rakshasa to their deaths.

    Shen Bao on the other hand had a worried expression on his face as hisrades were happy with the destruction in front of them.

    "What''s wrong?" Law asked.

    "This is too easy¡­" Shen Bao said.

    "Isn''t that good?" Law said.

    "No, if it''s too unbelievable to be true, then it must not be true. They can''t use their Qi but they can use their mind. Something isn''t right here¡­ why is it throwing away the lives of so many¡­" Shen Bao''s question was a proper one.

    For many others seeing something like the enemy general sending waves of allies toward their death would usually mean that the general is demented. However, those with a higher intellectual level, they''d realize that something was awry.

    And soon, Shen Bao''s face turned pale, "Shit! The ice!" as soon as he finished his words. Several massive blocks of Soulsteel were pushed down the stairs.

    The ck Rakshasa wasn''t throwing away the lives of its race for free. It was using the fact that they turned to ice when they shattered to facilitate the sliding of these heavy objects.

    Massive cubes of fallen Soulsteel were pushed by more brutes down the stair that was further lubricated by the ice shards and the frozen blood of the white rakshasa.

    And from Shen Bao''s eyes, the spinning cubes were the bowling balls and he and his army were the pins.

 Chapter 742: Warfare II

    It felt as if time had stopped for me. This isn''t good. Not good at all. The iing blocks will devastate the ranks, not only are they too heavy to try and block, they''ll shatter anything in their way doing so. These blocks are made of Soulsteel a material that is used to build space-crossing ships. Too heavy to easily stop in its wake, and too sturdy to destroy.

    "Don''t forget, you have us with you," Dao Shen said as he jumped up toward the iing cubes.

    He didn''t try and confront it with strength and power. He swung a steady palm into the iing cube, sounding like the beating of a bronze bell.

    He used softness against hardness. Soft Palm technique, a simple act of redirection, whichpletely inverted the cube''s rotation. Causing it to fly up and above our entire army.

    The cube only fell when it went past thest puppet.

    And that was the first cube.

    Dao Shen was constantly dashing from cube to cube, delivering strikes of incredible precision that made the cubes flypletely harmlessly above us, not missing a single beat.

    Every strike resounded through the corridor like the tolling of bells in a morning mass.

    The ck Rakshasa was angered beyond belief because his small trick didn''t work, and sending in more cubes would only exhaust his brutes and would serve no purpose.

    It screeched once more and the entire wave of white rakshasa withdrew away from the staircase.

    "Quite the decisive creature," Zhang Tian said.

    "Indeed, many would find it hard in them to give up such an advantageous position. They didn''t. It knew it had no hope of stopping us in this chokehold."

    The small administrator puppet popped up next to us and said, "They are gathered on the third floor''s tower area, all of them."

    "The domed area," I asked.

    "Yes, it seems that they realized that they cannot beat you in a straight line such as this one, and they''re betting on their numbers to win," the administrator said.

    Indeed, it''s quite the thought too. The domed area with the tower leads outside. And it is vast enough that it can easily host the majority of their numbers.

    We''ll have to cross the dome and get to the tower to leave outside. Which will be difficult while having to protect ourselves from all sides.

    "It''s fine," I said. Although it is a good position for the enemy, I already have nned for something like that.

    Our army continued marching forward, we got up the stairs and moved on unperturbed or disturbed. The hallways were empty of all life. No Rakshasa moved about besides one or two that you could see scouting us up.

    Though they were taken down immediately they still managed to give live feed signals of our progress to the main dome by screeching a high-pitched note.

    The small administrator gave us a projectile of the location of the rakshasa in the dome. They had huddled up together in front of the door leading inside it, and many more Rakshasa were hanging on the walls and on the bridges.

    They were waiting patiently for us to arrive.

    ***

    "From what the small puppet said, they''ll struggle against the Rakshasas in the dome. I don''t see how his small group of puppets can win against the more than twenty times the force waiting for him," The Cryptic Sun snorted.

    "If anyone heard you speak, they''d think you want them dead," The Blue Sun said.

    The Cryptic Sun smiled, "Of course I do want them dead, after all, if they die I''ll have the bastion."

    "You really don''t care for decorum or face!" the Blue Sun''s eyes red up.

    "Why would I? We all reached the peak of our lives, we have no one to adhere to nor to walk on the tips of our toes around. I say what''s on my mind because I have no one to keep me in check for, or are you thinking you''re capable of such a feat?"

    "Cryptic¡­ Old Azure¡­ calm down. Regardless of the oue we all want the safety of the Beyond. For now, let''s keep the hostilities to a minimum because I am growing impatient," the mboyant Sun spoke with a radiating wide smile.

    Though he was smiling, he was not happy. It was a clear sign for them to quiet down.

    The scene from the projection of the Darkest Sun continued.

    The fact that Dao Shen used a simple palm technique to thwart the iing massive cubes from destroying Shen Bao''s army was something to rejoice over.

    But these old crows were too jaded to be interested in such mundane things. Though impressive no one would have batted an eye if Dao Shen had seeded or failed. They were all here for the endgame.

    Regardless of the sess or failure of the group they all wanted to keep the doors of the Bastion Close in the worst case scenario. These creatures are elusive and numerous, if they were to exit the thundering domain, it would cause unnecessary havoc in the realm.

    Shen Bao''s army continued until they reached the entrance of the Dome.

    Hundreds of Rakshasa were waiting at the gate, but the puppet army made quick work out of them, killing anything that moved in quick and merciless session.

    The inside of the dome was packed full of rakshasa. Four ck Rakshasa including the one that they just fought earlier were peering at the entrance. They were all overlooking the battlefields on the bridges linking the middle tower to the rest of the rooms of the dome.

    The floor of the dome was teeming with white rakshasa waiting for orders and more than a thousand brutes all waiting for the chance to jump at the iing puppet army.

    Shen Bao and his friend''s ess to the dome was easy and fast. Since they only needed to kill a small number of white Rakshasas holding the entrance, that was merely the start.

    The rakshasa held a great position of strength and power allowing them to fight Shen Bao''s small army from all fronts the moment they walked too deep inside.

    Shen Bao knew this and didn''t hastily move forward.

    He began pushing against the Rakshasas at the entrance and slowly made his way into the dome but only spread around the entrance.

    Several brutes charged them only to fall at the mercy of the bullets that continued falling down against the rakshasa.

    Though numerous in numbers, they all fell like flies to pesticides.

    Soon more than ten puppets knelt down at the frontline, holding a rectangr rocketuncher that had twelve holes in it over their shoulders.

    res of mes and smoke shot out from the butt of the rocketunchers and twelve rockets shot out into the dome.

    Their target wasn''t aimed at any of the Rakshasas in the dome but they were shot in all directions and blew up against the dome''s walls.

    A bit over a hundred explosions in an enclosed space echoed instantaneously. Reverberating the entire dome but causing no visible damage to the heavily fortified walls of the dome.

    Shen Bao never aimed to destroy the bastion, but to spread the effect of what wasing up next.

    The explosions soon calmed down, and from the mes,rge clouds of smoke began falling down on the dome. Filling the entire thing with endless smoke that spread everywhere.

    The Rakshasa noticed the falling smoke and many of the ck Rakshasa present began screeching out orders.

    The poison fell, and white rakshasa began shivering and cracking up, dying in droves.

    Shen Bao''s n was simple, and the fact that all the Rakshasas were grouped up in one ce made it easy for him to take the majority of them out. Truly like shooting fish in a barrel.

    However, although the rakshasa''s deaths increased at incredible rate, something was off.

    The orders from the ck rakshasa never stoppeding and in one second, a soul wrenching screech echoed from the depth of the Bastion. It was loud enough that even the Darkest Sun winced.

    Shen Bao and his friends felt as if they had been struck with a soul attack and buckled under the sudden scream. And in that second, every rakshasa in the room stopped moving. Listening to the Noble Rakshasa''s scream.

    Suddenly, their temperance changed, they began vibrating and cold Yin smoke jetted out of the small holes around their skulls.

    Cold Qi spread all over the room and began neutralizing the iing poison. The real fight was about to start. With no visibility of their target, the Rakshasa were about to get the upper hand.

    "Fucking hell, that was loud!" Shen Bao shouted, the weight of that shout was almost enough to destroy one''s organs.

    He then pulled something out of his holding bag and ced on his eyes. It was a strange instrument from the eyes of the eight Suns. It was made of ss, blue in color, and had two small pieces of metal that lightly sat on one''s ears.

    When the Fire King who couldn''t see anything beyond the smoke ced the strange item on his eyes thatfortably sat supported by the ridge of his nose and ears he was able to see through the smoke as if it didn''t even exist.

    Not only did it reveal the rakshasa in the distance, but it also showed a towering figure right next to him about to stab a rod that came out of its hand into the head of Shen Bao.

    A Silver Rakshasa had already infiltrated their ranks, and Shen Bao was none the wiser about it.

 Chapter 743: Routing

    For all it mattered, this fight was practically over.

    The loud screech came from the depth of the base, it was the noble rakshasa, one of the royals who gave the order to blind us. Apparently after the failure of the ck general Rakshasa to take us down, the big boss joined the fray.

    But, even with ordering his members to use the smokescreen to blind us and use it as a cover for themselves to operate, it isn''t enough to fully suppress the growing poison percentage inside the dome.

    All I needed to do was to hold on until the poison density is enough for me to move it as I wished. When that happens, I''ll be able tomand the battlefield as I see fit.

    All we need to do now is to hold the lines against the weakening Rakshasa.

    With the sses on, I was able to see everything around us. However, I didn''t need them much since I was linked to the bastion thanks to the Queen''s Mantra. In this chaos, having the ability to notice and sense everything around you is imperative to survival and victory in this fight.

    The bastion gave me a direct feed into my mind on the position of everything around me. Each Rakshasa for example has a certain weight and footprint that is directly transmitted to my mind. And since they had no footing to step on but the Bastion floors, I never had no problem locating the enemies far or close.

    I could see the charging Rakshasa from the walls even and give directmands to snipe them down, or the brutesing in droves to which Imanded the backline to shoot the javelin rocketunchers at them continuously. Though they dodged the direct hit, they were still affected by the st containing poison.

    They melted as they ran forward, from mid-sprint to a pool of ck goo on the ground.

    It was even able to tell me the location of my allies and where assistance is needed most. And even able to notice two distinct footprints that were close to me.

    The most interesting thing about these feet was their size, they were abnormallyrge to belong to any of my allies. Nor did they belong to any of my puppets.

    Without a moment''s hesitation, I instantly ducked down. I didn''t even have time for shivers to run down my spine as arge sharp rod was now where my head was a second ago.

    "True and False!" I immediately spread my Domain.

    Thanks to the assistance of the Queen, this was possible as now I had ess to my cultivation base inside the Bastion.

    A dark spherical dome manifested itself around me and began spreading to epass the entirety of the dome.

    The Silver Rakshasa that stabbed at me waspletely confused on what happened and how I managed to escape the killing blow. It tried to swing again, only for it to misspletely as it struck backward and shed open one of my puppets.

    "Spread out! Although its senses are confused it is still dangerous if it swings randomly!" I shouted and everyone near the Silver Rakshasa jumped back.

    "How the hell did we not see him!" Law shouted as he fixed the sses on his eyes.

    "That doesn''t matter, be careful it isn''t the only one!" I said as more Silver Rakshasa appeared around us. Five in total one for each of us.

    "This could havee in handy if you used it earlier," the Fire Lord said as he swung his me sword at the Silver Rakshasa. Thetter suffered nothing more than a superficial burn wound that healed immediately and took his revenge on the fire lord by shouting in a guttural body-shivering squeal.

    "I can''t keep it up for long! Too many enemies!" I said to the fire lord.

    "Fucking loud mouth!" the Fire Lord cursed as he shoved his entire fist into the Rakshasa''s open mouth and sted it from the inside with a fireparable to the eruption of a rumbling volcano.

    I didn''t know the loudmouth he was talking about was me or the rakshasa but I wouldn''t disqualify any of the two options. After all, we''re not friends.

    Regardless, the Fire Lord was impressive here. The Silver Rakshasa''s outer body was that of an Origin Realm cultivator. Outside the bastion, none of us could have been its match and our best bet against it would be to simply spread around and run away and hope that he wouldn''te chasing after us.

    But here with its cultivation basepletely sealed up, it couldn''t use any of its powers and was only capable of using its innate ability.

    Of which was invisibility and its incredible regeneration and powerful Origin Realm body cultivation.

    Damaging its skin with a void level stage cultivation is already a great achievement. But what the fire lord did right now was to roast the damn thingpletely from the inside out. After all no matter how strong a turtle''s shell is, it still has soft flesh inside.

    "I can''t be outdone here," Dao Shen said as he jumped at the closest Silver Rakshasa, the creature seeing Dao Shen''s approach as a threat tried to stab him with an extended arm only for his arm to swing backward revealing a most exposed opening.

    Dao Shen struck with an open palm, "Dao of Absorption, Isted Absorption!"

    His palm struck right into the heart area of the Silver Rakshasa, and a spiraling vortex appeared around his palm. It twisted the skin of the Rakshasa like a twister, causing the fiend to scream in agonized pain.

    Once Dao Shen deemed his ability had prated enough, he pulled his palm away with such force that a milky white liquid substance was ripped out from the creature''s chest. It gathered around Dao Shen''s hand into a small liquid globe. He saved arge portion of it in his holding bag and simply consumed the rest leaving a suspicious-looking smudge of white stuff on his mouth.

    Everyone around us looked away, coughing and acting as if we didn''t see what just happened.

    "What?" Dao Shen shouted, "It''s just blood, it''s his essence blood, look it''s dead now!" he tried to justify his actions but none of us seemed to have given him any attention. Especially Law who had an awful time trying to suppress hisughter.

    "Disgusting," Dao Shen said, annoyance clear on his face.

    But in all honesty that was a pretty interesting application of Dao Shen''s Dao of Devouring. If he had tried to fully consume the Rakshasa''s entire essence, he would have perished doing so. The difference between an Origin Realm Cultivator''s Qi and the Void stage Qi is too much for Dao Shen to bear.

    But to extract only the blood essence would kill the Silver Rakshasa and allow Dao Shen to slowly digest the blood to further grow.

    Zhang Tian''s method was simple, since he had already seen me suppressing the Rakshasa using gravitationalw and weight, he just simply did the same and increased the gravitational pull all around the Rakshasa who was unable to avoid it.

    Slowly and painfully the Rakshasa''s entire body was squashed into a bloody paste.

    Lawww

    Do I even need to mention how he managed to somehow duck under the swing of the Rakshasa and struck at his elbow at the same time causing the silver Rakshasa to stab itself in the head?

    Somehow, he managed to strike a most vital organ as the Silver Rakshasa was trying desperately to regenerate but was failing to do so with the rod inside its skull. It kept trying to pull the sword but it only dug it deeper into its skull slowly killing itself.

    I sighed at his absurd way of living but we take all we can get now.

    The battle continued on, with more Rakshasas falling down to the poison and failing to get any progress on us. Though several of my puppets died in the process, the Rakshasas were getting beaten up more and more.

    And at one point I sensed the density of the poison having reached the peak needed for me to actively start moving it.

    And just as I began controlling it, another soul-wrenching screech echoed from the depth of the bastion.

    This one was far more guttural and surreal that it almost had me buckle under my feet. This shattered my domain as I had lost focus and feared for the worst.

    "Shit, I really need something against that¡­" I cursed.

    My nose began bleeding and I was about to recreate the Domain of True and False once again despite the strain.

    But before I could realize the intent behind that noble order, the rakshasa who stopped moving to listen began withdrawing. In droves upon droves, they simply backed away.

    They ran up the ceiling, into the chambers all over the ce, and across the dome. Explore hidden tales at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    In less than a couple of breaths, all that was left in the dome was me, my puppets, and my allies.

    Not a single corpse remained, even the ones that didn''t turn to ice or the ones that didn''t turn to sludge.

    Even the corpses of the silver rakshasa next to us were pulled aside by other silver rakshasas.

    "What just happened?" Law asked.

    "Beats me, but from what I can see, they all withdrew," I turned to the administrator puppet and asked it. "Administrator, do you know where they are right now?"

    "They''re spreading away, this is a full routing of the enemy¡­ the path to the exit ispletely open and empty¡­ not a single rakshasa is waiting there for an ambush," he said.

    This was awfully convenient¡­

    "Did they realize that they''re no match and just give up?" Law asked.

    I winced at his wordings and he realized it too as he ced his hands over his mouth.

    But seeing nothing happening made me take a breather. Although he is a jinx, surely¡­ I mean surely this bodes well¡­ I hope.

 Chapter 744: Noble

    "They¡­ retreated?" the Cryptic Sun said, he couldn''t believe his eyes. After all, though they weren''t actually winning the skirmish they had the numbers. A little push and they could have even won.

    But unfortunately for him, the Rakshasa retreated. Whatever ordered the Rakshasa to retreat ruined his ns.

    The Blue Sun on the other hand was happy almost jubnt. But she had to keep some forms of decorum and not gloat.

    The Darkest Sun kept disying what he was seeing and hearing.

    "Let''s leave now that they withdrew," Dao Shen spoke. "We don''t know what happened but I don''t think we should be wasting more time."

    "Dao Shen''s right, let''s go," Shen Bao said as he ordered his puppets, "We''re marching at full sprint."

    Suddenly, the first wave of puppets charged up ahead, then soon the other followed after it. And not long the entire army was sprinting forward at incredible speed. Each puppet step was fully synchronized with the others, and the loud stomping of steel soles reverberated through the Bastion like the sound of a giant made of steel. Heavy, precise and loud.

    The speed they were going at was rtively slow and would take them several hours just to reach the exit. But that was the best option they could take right now. After all, if they discarded the protection of the puppets around them they''ll risk being trapped or lured into an ambush. Find your next read on m_v l|e-NovelBin

    Time went by, and a few random rakshasas had the unfortunate event of ending up on the path the group was taking to the exit. But that was it, a few random rakshasas at best. The huge numbers of these things were no more as they spread through the entire bastion hiding in darkness.

    "They''re almost at the exit," the Darkest Sun said.

    And they were, they just arrived to the room where thest few survivors of the bastion ended their lives at. It was rather dreary to look at. The door behind them slowly locked itself and closed it off the rest of the bastion.

    Only then could they take a breather.

    The small administrator then said, "I can no longer follow you beyond that door," it said as it slowly skittered to the side and ced one of its tentacles on the wall.

    A loud morphing of steel echoed from the direction of the exit area.

    "I enabled the stairs, this should help you reach the exit, if you had tried to fly up or run up, the entire bastion would try and crush you. Thank you for all your help," the administrator said.

    "No worries," Shen Bao said, "Sadly I couldn''t save your Queen. If I ever get the opportunity, I''lle back and get rid of these thingster," Shen Bao added.

    "I hope to see you well by then. The exit door you came from will automatically open up for you when you reach it, it will only remain open for one minute, please be hasty in your departure," the administrator said and the small red light on top of its head turned off.

    Law sighed saying "Wish if we could have taken him with us, he was interesting."

    "He isn''t a pet, also he belongs to his bastion. He was born from it, and should stay with it. Alright let''s pack our shit up," Shen Bao said as they resumed moving out toward the exit.

    They soon walked up to the long corridor and instead of it being empty, this time it had arge set of stairs leading all the way to the red door at the top where we came from.

    As they were climbing the stairs, they felt like a small tremor happened.

    No one thought much of it, after all, they''re in thend of the Thunder Domain and such tremors are normal with the amount of thunder happening all day long.

    But then another one happened, and this one was slightly more impactful.

    This made everyone look at each other, something didn''t feel right. More and more tremors began urring and they sounded louder and louder in frequency that it was getting disturbing.

    The administrator that had been turned off suddenly lit up.

    "THE NOBLE ONE HAD ESCAPED! RUN!"

    There was no point in hesitating or thinking of how and why it got out, right now, they had to leave.

    The Darkest Sun stood up from his seat.

    "That creature¡­ it needs to die right now," he said.

    The Blue Sun who was adamant on retrieving the knowledge of the Bastion didn''t speak up this time, but rather confirmed and agreed immediately, "Destroy the whole thing if needs be," She said.

    No one was surprised hearing her speak like that, though she wasted ages of her life creating clones that could prate into the bastion to study it, and although they failed, and the cost was heavy, it never crossed her mind that she would feel hesitant to safeguard that knowledge if ites at the expense of the livelihood of the beyond.

    None of the Suns of thisnd would want it ruined, especially by foreign forces. They suppress their own strength not to harm the Beyond. And in case of bickering or when issues ur, they arbiter one of the suns to solve it.

    And now, it risks being invaded the same way the world that originated these creatures did, there was no need to even entertain the idea.

    The eight suns immediately nodded, though the Lord of Lords did say one thing, "At least we''ll wait until the children are out," he said.

    "I don''t think that''s possible old man," the Cryptic Sun said, "After all, we can''t save them if we''re going to exile the entire thing. They too will be exiled with them.

    The Lord of Lords was hesitant and felt rather conflicted. He didn''t want Shen Bao and his friends to perish alongside the entire Thunder Domain. If that happens it will result in a huge blow to the Beyond.

    The Eight Suns used the time it would take to blink twice to reach the rims of the Thundering Domain.

    "Spread Out!" the mboyant Sun said as the eight of them each took a corner of the Thunder Domain and were about to begin exiling it bypletely removing and uprooting the entire thing from space itself.

    "For the sake of old friendship, I should as the eight of us to hold for a bit, seeing that the creature in question isn''t out yet and these few kids are almost at the door, let''s give them an opportunity to leave first," the mboyant Sun said, "After all, they''re all at the void stage and managed to survive in the enemy''s den.

    "I agree," the Red Sun said.

    "Of course I agree," the Lord of Lords replied and more of them came to the agreement of allowing Shen Bao and his friends the chance to leave.

    "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but that doesn''t look that easy," the Darkest Sun said as he projected the view of the Fire Lord into their minds.

    Looking at where Shen Bao and his friends were a few of the Suns had an ominous look on their faces.

    From their point of view, Shen Bao and his friends were almost at the door, no the door had already opened up wide and they got out, the problem was that the door wasn''t closing down fast enough.

    Far down on the staircases were several shards of another door, the very door that was stopping the rakshasa from going past thest room. It had been turned to brittle pieces of metal. And the preparator was a massive rakshasa that easily towered over the group by at least fifty times.

    It had six arms, two of which were humanoid with six fingers each, and the other two were that of a praying mantis.

    It''s head was a mixture between that of the ck Rakshasa''srge parabolic head, and the long sleek skull of the Silver Rakshasa that extended all the way to its back.

    Though this one was quadrupedal, it had three tails swaying behind it, and vibrating at such high intensity that they would carve into anything they merely touched.

    The creature was slithering and running up the staircase at incredibly fast pace.

    Was it waiting for the door to open? Did it wait all that time knowing full well that it could escape whenever it wanted, the thoughts kept crossing the minds of the eight suns unable to figure out what kept this thing from going out for so long.

    The skies high above the Thunder Domain turned darker and darker. The Heavenly Law was fully aggravated due to the presence of these creatures and was about to rain down endless thunder upon them.

    "Let us begin!" the mboyant Sun said. There was no hope anymore, that thing was clearly at the power level of the suns themselves.

    If it could have been reasoned with, it would have been much better, but a fight against one of the suns would undoubtedly cause an irreversible damage to the structure of the beyond. The best solution was always a full exile.

    Even though Shen Bao and his friends were still there¡­ they had no choice.

 Chapter 745: Thirty Seconds

    "What the fuck is that?!" was the first question that popped into my head when I saw that sixty-meter-tall creature sting through the door as if it was made of paper foil.

    This thing''s size wasn''t the only thing scary about it, it was the fact that it had multiple characteristics of all the rakshasa we have seen before. The arms of a Brute and the cleavers of a White. The mixed skull structure of both a ck and a Silver rakshasa.

    Why is it out? Wasn''t this thing trapped inside the cube made by the former King? How did it manage to leave its prison?

    All of these questions needn''t be answered now, for the moment we have to get the hell out.

    "RUN! HURRY!" I shouted. Everyone legged it as if hell itself was on their heels while my puppets immediately began jumping at the iing fiend.

    They climbed up its frame stabbing at it with sword and w, and shot at it with everything in their arsenal.

    The creature shrugged off the bullets as if they were made of beans while the swords bent or shattered against its hard skin.

    Void stage-level puppets were getting crushed and smashed around as the creature moved up the stairs.

    The creature wasn''t nning on stopping anytime soon, it made it halfway through the stairs when we barely made it to the door. But the door was on a timer and we needed thirty seconds before it could close.

    If this thing gets out, shit will get ugly. It''s strong enough to break out of the Thunder Domain and begin hosting and assimting even more of its kind into the beyond. An outbreak of these things would recreate what happened to Sris the home of Tong Yao the current Queen.

    "It mustn''t leave! " I heard through my divine sense, it was Tong Yao''s worried voice. Though these things had already destroyed her home, she wouldn''t want the same to happen to other worlds.

    "How the hell did it even get out in the first ce?!" I questioned.

    "I don''t know! My father had sealed it first, it should have several binding chains all over its body preventing it from moving even inside the cube."

    I didn''t have time to deduce what happened. So I snapped my neck toward Dao Shen and the rest.

    "Go out first!" I called out, "And don''t use your Qi when you''re outside! The thunder is still unstable!"

    My head turned back to the iing Rakshasa. Rage was disyed in my expression as I pped both hands together in a powerful prayer motion. The band holding my hair snapped as it fluttered along my clothes all over me in a shockwave.

    "True and False! Domain of Delusions!" was spoken as if it was the decree of a deity upon thend.

    Immediately, a wave of darkness flew out all around me, creating a giant dome where only I rule. Thews of physics were reversed and all that Imand within my domain can only be true.

    The iing creature was trapped inside the domain and began walking back, but it didn''t even take it a fraction of a second before it started moving forward again.

    My nose began bleeding as I realized that this fucker understood the base of my Domain in less than a second and is now reversing all of its actions.

    It came at me with an open w aiming to rip my existence itself out of the world.

    "Illusion within Illusion!"

    Immediately my body morphed into a mirage and the already reversed world became out of control. Gravity, pressure, and even air and friction were messed up.

    The creature''s body was now in a strange state, gravity was messed up around its feet, some had a higher gravitational pull, while others had no gravity applied to them whatsoever.

    The notion of friction was removed, making it slip immediately as it tried to take a step, and due to the low pressure and void of where we were right now, even its sound attack was rendered useless.

    As I could see from how the beast opened its mouth wide, and its gullet was rippling, it must have wanted to st me out with a powerful sound wave but no sound coulde out in a vacuum.

    Seeing the weird domain that trapped it was not allowing it to move or act as it should was thest straw for the Noble Rakshasa.

    Its exoskeletal body began shaking and two massive wings ripped out of its back. The wings had bones for frame and the thin fabric between them was a blue fluorescent color that shimmered powerfully in the dark.

    What looked like cracks but were simply the small spaces between its exoskeleton parts shined bright in the darkness and a powerful wave of¡­ soul energy? Ruptured out.

    Wait? Soul energy? How? How is that even possible?

    More questions began filling my mind but I didn''t have the time to process them. Because the absurd amount of Soul Energy soon became a divine sense and started shattering my domain. It felt as if it was made of eggshells as it broke and crumbled right in front of my eyes.

    Blood shot out of my nose and mouth like a torrent as a mortifying wave of nausea assaulted me.

    Usually cultivators would bite on their tongues to wake themselves up from this situation, but I''m not a fan of body muttion.

    For this case I always carry a small pack of smelling salts, that shit is so strong it can make even a Sun Stage cultivator wince.

    My mind was shocked into waking up immediately after as the fiend flew up forward, not sparing me a single ce as it went past me and toward the door.

    "Look Its arms! It is still sealed but only partially!" the queen said.

    "Why does that even matter?" I asked.

    "The seal is only temporarily halted, it somehow managed to stop it for a moment. Once it is enabled it should manifest chains that will wrap and pull it back to the depth of the bastion. We need more time."

    Thunder boomed outside as the skies turned darker and darker and thick lightning bolts began spiraling and coiling under the belly of the storm.

    All I bought were a few precious seconds but I couldn''t stop the Noble Rakshasa, it was going to leave the area soon and all hell would break out outside. And now I need even more time. How am I going to do that, I couldn''t even halt it for more than a few seconds nor was I able to tamper with its time perception inside the Domain of Delusions.

    Time¡­ time¡­ how to buy time?!

    The gears in my head began spinning at incredible speed as I saw the rakshasa almost at the exit.

    An idea suddenly popped up in my mind.

    I pulled my revolver and shot a bullet deeper into the bastion floor right at the foot of the staircase.

    I held my hand up then twisted it, enabling the Heaven Swapping Ring by changing position between myself and the bullet that bounced.

    I then pped my holding bag pulling out tons of explosive canisters that I threw above me.

    In my vision the Noble Rakshasa was at the exit, it stood there and began screeching loud, enough that his voice increased to the extent that it could no longer be heard but now it was visible.

    Its loud screech rippled and ripped the very fabric of space itself. It didn''t leave the bastion yet but merely screech out loud at the doorway. Perhaps it was presenting itself to the outside world. That it had returned.

    Though creepy and terrifying I was thankful for that, after all, it was arrogant enough to waste a few seconds at the exit of the Bastion.

    Did it want to leave in style? Like hell if I''m going to allow that.

    I raised my hand up and twisted it once more.

    Before one would use their Qi, you can almost sense how much you''ll be using. For example, my poison breath would make me feel as if I breathed out until nothing was left in my lungs, a small tug of exhaustion that can easily be recovered.

    The stronger the Qi usage the more powerful the initial perception would be. And here I was trying to force an entity that is far higher level than me in cultivation to change position between myself and it. Forcing it out of the grasps and clutches of spatialw and bending them to my own will.

    Let me just say, that the cost made me feel as if every blood cell in my body was wrenched out of my body at the same time.

    But it had to be done. My hand fully twisted and the creature''s entire body was transported into where I was when I appeared on the door. Thest thing I saw was the confusion of the Noble Rakshasa as its body had been forced back into the bastion.

    But that was it. Confusion only, no range or madness or even anger or a will to fight back. It was only a small bit of confusion, then a wide grin appeared on its freaky jaw.

    As if saying¡­ that it no longer mattered.

    The seal on the Noble Rakshasa began manifesting in bright gold color before the cannisters that I had thrown a second earlier started exploding.

    I was bucking over, almost falling back into the staircase when unexpectedly it was the Fire King who grabbed my by the robes and dragged me out in one swing.

    In that moment the massive door in front of me suddenly shut down.

    The door is shut¡­ finally.

    My mind couldn''t keep up with the exhaustion and it soon began fading.

    It''s been a long time since I lost consciousness¡­ damn.

 Chapter 746: The Humble Dragon

    "Ao!"

    "En¡­ao"

    "Shen Bao!"

    My eye fluttered open as I looked up. Law''s mug was up too close to mine.

    I pushed him off and got up, "God that was awful," I said as I fought an urge to throw up.

    "Sorry to help I guess," Law had a hurt expression on his face.

    "Not you," I said as I popped a pill in my mouth to help against the nausea. "Using the Heaven Swapping Ring on that thing sucked me dry of all Qi, I haven''t been this exhausted in years," I said as I slowly circted some of my Qi making sure that the thunder high above wouldn''t just kill me.

    "No need to worry about the thunder and lightning anymore," Law said as he channeled his Qi in his hand manifesting it in an orb.

    My heart almost dropped when I saw him do that for a second, but thankfully nothing happened.

    "Seems like the Heavenly Dao has agreed to our stay here, perhaps it had seen how we fought against those fiends."

    ''Quite interesting, how did this even happen?''

    Thinking about the Heavenly Dao having sentience will cause me more headaches than answers. To have something that is considered thews and rules of the world be able to understand and reason is something that bogs the mind. But, it''s a cultivation world and this is how things are here.

    "We need to leave," I said as I looked around. "It feels like something might happen soon." The second sentence I said in a lower voice.

    Sadly I lost a good portion of my puppets back into the Bastion. They''re all disabled for now so the Rakshasas will ignore them. But that doesn''t mean I''m not going to try and get them back.

    Since the Tao Yang is now in recovery mode and hidden away from sight, she should be able to return to peak condition soon. Only then can we retake and reposes the Bastion.

    "Shen Bao, return soon," I heard. It was a divine sense message from the Lord of Lords. I can even sense that he isn''t that far, and probably just outside the Thunder Domain.

    "Shen Bao," I received another Divine Sense message, this one was from Tao Yang. "He saw me, and knows I''m here, the one who just spoke to you," she said.

    "I see, but worry not, he isn''t a bad person. If asked nicely I''m pretty sure he''ll even help hide your identity for now," I said.

    I got up and called my ship out. Then hopped inside with everyone alongside us. Flying out of the Thunder Domain shouldn''t take us a long time anymore, especially with the permission of the Heavenly Dao. So I sted the engines and had the ship fly out of the area in less than three hours.

    Once we were outside, several of the cultivators that had came in with us were already waiting by the portal. They had failed to achieve the final goal. As for the portal, it only opened when we got there.

    We got off the ship and I collected it before entering the gate.

    And as soon as we did so, loud and ear-ringing cheers echoed from everywhere.

    "CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CHAMPION!"

    The sound of thementator resounded through the arena. "Du Shen, by the power granted to my by the Eight Suns Imend you for all of your efforts and officially announce you, Strongest Under The Sun!"

    Even louder cheers -can you believe it- echoed all around us.

    Brother Zhang Tian pped in joy saying, "Though we really did not do much here, you deserve all the recognition you need. Next time I won''t be so useless!" he congratted me.

    "I had fun fighting the Silver Rakshasa with you, Shen Bao," Dao Shen said as he patted me on the shoulder.

    The Fire Lord simply snorted and flew up to sit under the Darkest Sun''s seating area.

    While Law was basking in the cheers, though they weren''t aimed at him I can honestly say that without his absurd luck, we could have been in a terrible pinch sooner orter.

    Several congrattory messages and promises of rewards and gifts came at me via divine sense from all over the audience. After all people want to make connections with someone who earns the title of Strongest Under The Sun.

    The audience was pretty persistent. Although our time was packed full of action and adventure. They had to watch a lot of long and boring scenes. In Earth time, it took many months for this entirepetition to finish. And that''s a lot of sitting and patience from the audience.

    I sped my hand to everyone in the audience and coughed once.

    Everyone knew that I wanted to say something.

    "Thank you all for your patience and tolerance to our struggle and adventure. I''m sure we could have done better in many areas and we''ll try and improve some more. After all although this is a title sought by many cultivators, I know full well that there are far stronger people than me in the Beyond. I have no intention of growing arrogant beyond what my abilities allow me just because of the title.

    Although it is grand in essence it is vain and empty without the strength of character and integrity to back it up, so I will continue to improve myself further to stay at your best intentions."

    Lip service was easy, and ttery can get you very far.

    "HOW HUMBLE! Though Du Shen had proven himself capable of many things and had shown us talent he still remained humble, although hees from a lower world like the Vast Expanse where the Emperor Stage is enough to thwart the entire realm over, he still struggled and imed victory over many other cultivators of higher stages! Du Shen, the humble!"

    "Du Shen The Humble Dragon!"

    "Du Shen The Humble Dragon!"

    The crowd continued cheering as they seemed to enjoy the title.

    It roughly trante to the Humble Poison Dragon God¡­ quite interesting¡­ but this is just to prop and hype up the crowd.

    "With the title of the Strongest Under the Sun given, it is now time for the best part! THE REWARDS!"

    "Now due to the events that happened beyond our sight, only the Suns are capable of rewarding the cultivators due to what the Suns had seen. I already have been given a list of rewards to gift and the order of participants.

    For Fifth ce, The Fire Lord. Although he had proven extremely capable through thepetition, and in the Thunder Domain, he had fallen injured at thest stage and needed assistance, it dropped his ranking from second to fifth. Do not worry it isn''t to say that you are any weaker than the rest, but one cannot control fairness in life or opportunity.

    For the Fire Lord, the giftes from the mboyant Sun, an Extreme Yang Cultivation technique. The heavenly Golden Three-Legged Crow Manual. And an Extreme Yang Jade that amassed Yang Energy for millions of years from the depth of the beyond the hottest volcano."

    The crowd was all in awe and cheers as they realized the generosity of the fifth-position reward. Pretty interesting.

    "Fourth ce belongs to Zhang Tian, his ability tomandeerw allowed him great ease in ess to all repositories of the Thundering Domain and aided him in understanding how to move through the terrain, not to mention the ability to fight against higher-level enemies and stille out victorious and clean of robe since the very start of the tournament!

    For Zhang Tian, the Reward has been provided by the Wisest Sun. The culmination of the Wisest Sun''s pure work. Untouched and unbiased by his own opinion, raww matters in fact. And a Sentient Law Stone that aids in understanding the heavenly Law."

    Zhang Tian''s eyes opened wide as he seemed to understand the value in these gifts far better than I do.

    "For third ce! Dao Shen. He showed ferocity like no other, and through his entire venture in the tournament, he had yet to shed a single drop of blood. Overwhelmed many of his foes with his sheer ferocity and savagery, the Laughing ughterer himself has chosen to give this reward. The Blood Letting de.

    A fearsome Heaven Stage weapon that''s capable of eradicating all life if one has the power to wield it.

    Since the Laughing ughterer had deemed the weapon too powerful, a few sets of seals have been imnted on it that will unseal themselves if the wearer is in danger, or when the wearer reaches higher stages of cultivation. Oh by the way, the weapones with a warning, if anyone above Dao Shen''s stage of cultivation by even one major real tries and steal it, the weapon itself will kill them.

    If the attacker is two major realms higher, the Red Sun will kill the attacker. If you want his weapon, then fight him fair and square for it, only the worthy is allowed to wield it."

    The warning was for everyone who showed greed to that weapon, and to go against one of the suns¡­ I highly doubt anyone would want that.

    "As for our fourth participant Law Tang. Who albite having fought few enemies¡­ well, many enemies¡­ Brother how the hell did you manage to get second ce?! I literally cannot remember you doing anything worthy of note! But even the suns said you''re second! This must be the heavens being generous to you.

    I guess it is luck in a sense," thementator sighed for your rewards¡­Huh, what''s this¡­" thementator was panicking. "There is a reward like this?!!"

 Chapter 747: Reward and Warning

    The audience was excited as they waited for the reveal of Law''s reward.

    "A heavenly Rebirth Peach! An actual Heavenly Rebirth Peach!" (Refer to chapter 295 also holy hell finally I get to exin about this¡­)

    I frowned¡­ was that really that valuable for people in the Beyond to even be interested in? After all I already ate one before.

    Myck of interest in the reward caught the eyes of thementator.

    "Oh, it seems like our champion isn''t as interested in the fruit as everyone else is," thementator said.

    "Yeah? It has no value to me, I already ate one of these before," I shrugged.

    The moment my words ended everyone seemed to quiet down.

    "You did?" he asked.

    "Yes," I replied looking around, "I ate it when I was back in the Vast Expanse. It was a reward for achieving ascension from the gate-," I said.

    "Stop, don''t finish your sentence!" I heard through divine sense. It was the Lord of Lords himself speaking to me.

    I immediately quieted down. My words seemed to have been cut short due to the interference of the Lord of Lords himself locking the ears of everyone present besides the Eight Suns.

    Thementator coughed, "Ah I see. Then, let me exin to the audience. As some might not know, the Heavenly Rebirth Peach is a heavenly gift that is very hard toe by. This is very hard to maintain as it took a lot of effort for the Blue Sun herself to preserve it.

    It can bring back one from death if they had consumed it, or heal all their wounds including a full restoration of the body if the person is wounded. There is one caveat though," he said as he looked at Law.

    "It willpletely neutralize one''s cultivation base, turning them into a mortal for one year. The person will have to suffer the same pain of what killed them before or what wounded them for the entire year before the pain subsides."

    ''I see, no wonder Master Gin said that this is a reward that is too dangerous to obtain or preserve. And since I ate it when I was hale and healthy and thankfully have yet to ''Die'' it didn''t activate yet.''

    With the peach present in my body, I get a new lease on life. But that just means that if I were to fall somewhere dangerous, reviving anding back would not be that helpful. Say one who had consumed this thing falls in an endless burning hell, no matter what they do, once they return with their cultivation sealed, all they''ll be is dead.

    And even by some chance they somehow escape that ce, they''ll suffer the pain of burning alive for an entire year. That''s enough to bring anyone to their knees¡­

    Well, I did suffer as much at the hands of Servant Mao. So all pain is tolerable for me to an extent of course, I''m not a masochist.

    "Thank you," Law said as he was too happy with the gift. After all, bringing back someone from the dead is not a gift easy to achieve. Although the Queen of the Vast Expanse did something simr, it wasn''t to the extent of reviving the dead. She only facilitated Yuyu''s already preserved and very alive soul to possess a new body after her former one was destroyed.

    "NOW COMES THE FINAL REWARD!" thementator said.

    The audience was all in an expectant mode and waited patiently as thementator shouted.

    "The Eight Suns had agreed to gift an entire region to the winner of this year''s reward. And now Du Shen is the proud owner of the Sea of Demons!"

    "Wait what? The Sea of Demons? Isn''t that a free region?" asked entric Long.

    "Indeed it is, but now that it has been deemed as property of the Suns who would dare say otherwise, regardless, With this title in effect, Du Shen will be the owner of the Sea of Demons, and it will remain free.

    No one needs to follow any of the suns if they wish to live there, and the fact that cultivators must join a force to belong to the Sea of Demons will be up to Du Shen to decide," thementator said.

    "It''s a great reward, but it carries a heavy weight and responsibility," entric Longmented.

    "The Sea of Demons is already under the rule of a person there calling himself the Emperor," I said. "So is he going to be removed by the sun?" I asked.

    Thementator shook his head, "The deed is yours, but you''ll have to chase away the squatters yourself. Although this might sound more like a hassle than a gift, you know well how precious that gift is," he said.

    It is in fact nothing but problems. It is and that someone has lived in for a long time. And to chase them away or make them submit is nothing but a pain in the ass. But it is worth it if I were to set a foothold for the Vast Expanse toe here. Instead of them being forced to worship another Sun, they can live freely here.

    "That''s not all," thementator said. "Due to the gift''s nature, it isn''t physical for now and the ability of a Void Stage cultivator to obtain it is a bit difficult of a challenge. The Deed itself will remain in Du Shen''s name for a hundred years before it bes a free for all to grab. The Eight Suns decreed that no cultivator at the Heaven''s Realm is allowed to enter the Sea of Demons.

    Sadly we cannot impose any prohibitions on lower than Heaven''s Realm because they might find opportunities to their growth in the Sea of Demons. That is the extent of the protection provided by the Suns since they cannot interfere in worldly matters.

    The second gift, it is a Garden gifted by the Wisest Sun to Du Shen, an opportunity to do a Research Study on the Soulsteel by the Blue Sun. And a right to obtain one item from the Beyond regardless of the price or value. Please be warned, once you obtain such item protecting it will be your responsibility and yours alone.

    The only promise is that the Suns themselves will not interfere with your obtainment of said item. Would you like to name what one thing you''d want?"

    The rewards were great, pretty good not gonna lie. The promised garden is a good boon to my poison collection especially if ites from the wisest sun who has a good impression of me.

    The research study with the Blue Sun could also help me further my understanding of that material and seeing that she is a Knowledge and science seeker such as myself we''ll get along well.

    As for thest thing, that''s dangerous. I could easily demand the most powerful weapon for example but the moment I step outside this arena I''ll lose it. And since he said item, Land is definitely not something I can obtain, since the only ''free''nd that is habitable is the Sea of Demons and I already have that.

    So what good item can I obtain? Something that''sparable to the Lord of Lords pagoda I guess¡­ but even then, for what reason.

    However, I already know what I want. And it was further confirmed by the divine sense message of Yang Tao. "Take the Bastion! They had given yound, I can show you how you can move it from where it is to your newly obtainednd.

    "I want the Bastion," I said.

    "What?"

    "The Bastion, in the Thunder Domain, I want it." I said.

    "Ah I see," thementator scratched his head as he received Divine Sense messages from the Suns.

    "You can''t have that!" the Cryptic Sun shouted form his seat, "You already obtainednd, and as the forbiddennd of the beyond isn''t an item but a part of the Blue Sun''s territory it doesn''t fall under the conditions stated!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "That''s where you''re wrong", I said. "I don''t want the Thunder Domain, I want what''s underneath it, the Bastion itself."

    "Technically, it does fall under the condition of one item. The only issue is, no one can take it from where it is right now. So we cannot hand it over to you¡­" the Commentator said.

    "I''ll handle that myself," I replied. "For now there is no need for it to move from where it is."

    After all, it still has a shit ton of rakshasa living inside it, and if I were to try and move it to the Sea of Demons It''ll just bring the lightning and thunder to that ce instead.

    "I refuse!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "On what grounds," this time it was the mboyant Sun. "On what ground are you refusing his trophy? You''re one of the Suns, why bicker with the younger generation. Du Shen, or Shen Bao whatever your name is, by the power invested in me in the council of the Suns you are allowed to obtain the Bastion. But make sure that it remains closed¡­" he said.

    "Oh, about that, it''s already toote for that," I said.

    "What do you mean?" the mboyant Sun said.

    "You might want to hear this via Divine Sense," I said to him and he immediately linked my Divine Sense to all other suns.

    "The Noble Rakshasa, I have a guess that it has called out to its friends. They''ll being to the beyond very soon," I said.

 Chapter 748: Invasion

    "Are you sure about that?" the Wisest Sun spoke first.

    "Yes," I replied calmly.

    The Suns didn''t spend too much time dawdling, "Everyone please follow me, Shen Bao, you too," the mboyant Sun said as he flew out of the arena and into the massive pce on the edge of the city.

    Everyone did follow as asked and I was thest to arrive.

    The pce was¡­ well, mboyant I guess. It wasn''t extravagant but was full of color and shy statues all over the ce. Carvings of dragons and phoenixes that one might think they''re alive¡­

    Even the statues had an aura to them giving off the feeling of life. The grass at the entrance itself was all but normal, it was full of spiritual grass as for the guards and the people who maintain the pce they were all at least at the Void Realm.

    The pce door was open for me to enter, and once I arrived I was led forward in a hurry.

    Several cultivators besides the suns were there. And I knew one of them, the Ant Queen.

    She waved my way, and I nodded at her.

    The Darkest Sun was sitting and behind him, standing was the Fire Lord. While the Red Sun had his daughter the Ant Queen behind him. Every Sun had a person following them and waiting on their orders. And they all looked like big shots.

    There was one empty seat in the table, and seeing no one else taking it, I simply pulled it and sat down.

    Immediately, the man behind the Cryptic Sun shouted, "How dare you sit with the Suns! Stand up!"

    I threw him the "I don''t give a fuck" look and ignored him immediately. This caused his blood pressure to rise. As he was about to walk up to me, the mboyant Sun spoke up, "Enough! Seating has no value or worth. Regardless Shen Bao is my guest, Cryptic One rein in your dog or I''ll handle it myself!"

    The Cryptic Sun sighed and said, "Get back here, and stop losing me face," to the man behind him.

    The man seemed pissed and this is how my dears is how you can make enemies and grudges in a cultivation world. By simply sitting.

    I sighed inwardly, we have more shit to worry about than who gets to sit or stand.

    "Now, Shen Bao, tell us, what do you mean when you said that it was calling its friends?" the mboyant Sun said.

    "It''s just a guess on my part but I strongly believe that it is true," I said.

    "Mere guesses aren''t enough for us to gather, if you speak only to cause chaos it''ll cost you dearly!" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "If I wanted to cause havoc I would have said those words out loud." I replied to him.

    "Newborn Calves have no fear of tigers, you speak rather rudely," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Regardless of age or cultivation difference, if one speaks to me rudely I wouldn''t kiss their hands and say thank you lord, I treat those as I am treated. And it has been the case since I took my first step cultivating," I said.

    "I said enough!" the mboyant Sun''s voice rose an extra octave enough to cause anyone to wince, but thankfully I kept up appearances and didn''t even shake.

    I sighed saying, "If I''m permitted to speak," I said looking at everyone around the table "Without being interrupted, then I''ll say what''s on my mind and you can be the judges of what''s going on," I said.

    The Blue Sun spoke first taking the initiative from the mboyant Sun, "I promise you that you won''t be cut as you talk," she said.

    "Good, then. First things first, before getting to the ugly part I need to exin one thing, automaton, please bring in a couple well preserved corpses out."

    The automaton immediately emerged from the Lord of lords'' pagoda dragging three corpses of Rakshasa withplete ease.

    Silver, Brute and a White Rakshasa.

    The Blue Sun was the first to stand up, pushing the retainer next to her lightly as she moved to check on the corpses.

    She pressed a hand on the Silver Rakshasas first and immediate snapped her hand away as if a child had touched fire for the first time in their lives.

    "What sort of vileness is this?!" she muttered.

    "Those are what we''re dealing with, you must have seen them through the sight of the Darkest Sun. And that feeling of vilenesses from theirck of soul. Although a person is born from flesh, they are given their soul by the heavens. But these things, they weren''t given that, they are something that goes outside the scope of heavenly order.

    They obtained life without having a Soul a malfunction in the system I guess. And the reason why you feel a sting if you touch them is that, even when dead, their bodies always seek and search for soul power. They feed on it, consume it and grow through it. But they can never make it their own¡­ until now," I said.

    Thest words had everyone look at me at the same time. "The story from the man in the Bastion said that someone had created these Rakshasa, or what they call them the Fallen God''s race. They are born by stealing the heavenly Dao and modifying it, a level that even you all cannot achieve yet," I said.

    And even worlds with the power of people stronger than the suns had fallen to these things¡­ so what guarantees that we''d survive them?"

    "Regardless, we have seen and heard what the projection had said in the Bastion, but we are still not sure if your guess is right or not, that they have actually contacted their brethren," the mboyant Sun said.

    "This brings me back to my point, like I said, they have no souls, but not all of them. The Noble one, had it, a nascent soul, a pretty powerful one at that too, and I felt it echoing through space. Far faster than anything I''ve seen before."

    "We didn''t sense it, we were right there," the Cryptic Sun said, "You''re full of lies, what a waste of time," he said as he was about to stand up.

    "That''s pretty normal for you not to sense, because it isn''t a Soul that you''re used to," I said.

    "I''ve lived far longer than you can ever think, believe me I''ve seen more things than you could even imagine. So, don''t tell me that. Everyone, it''s nothing but a waste of time, I''ll be leaving." The Cryptic Sun said.

    "Although I hate to admit it Shen Bao, he is right," the Red Sun said. "If he had released a Soul Wave we would have felt it first. And it didn''t look like it from our point of view. All we saw was the creature shrieking, and no matter how loud one gets, once the sound reaches space, it bes void and null unable to move through space no matter what power it holds behind it."

    ''Yeah, that''s physics 101, sound goes through matter like metal and water far faster and stronger than through air, and would not even be audible in open space.''

    I sighed and said, "Look behind you, all of you," I said.

    They turned and saw a small wisp ck as the night behind them. it was there floating behind them since they all sat down and no one noticed it.

    "What is that," the Blue Sun''s eyes focused on the wisp, it was interesting for her to see something so new, and she poked it slightly. It morphed around her finger and soon gave her a chill that ran down her spine.

    She then looked at me with eyes full of pity. Discover hidden tales at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    I held my hand up, "I don''t need anyone''s pity. What happened has happened, but say, Cryptic Sun, do you understand what I mean?"

    "Parlor tricks, no man can survive pain excruciating enough that their soul bes like this. This feels more like a smudge of ck paint than a Soul too," he said further ignoring and refusing to admit to what was happening right in front of him.

    "Shen Bao," asked the Dusking Sun, the pressure around him was rising exponentially and was fracturing the table and the chair he was on, "When did this happen?"

    "Back in the vast expanse, it modified my soul and turned it like that," I replied

    "Those who did this¡­ do they draw breath still?" he asked.

    "No,"

    "Good good¡­" he said as his aura slowly calmed down.

    Seems like I do have some good allies.

    "This is a modification of soul that happened from a very specific event in my life, it changes the print of the soul and if you''re not looking for it, you''ll not see it. The Noble One had a soul very simr to this, and it sent a piece of it flying out the bastion and into the unknown. It had a specific frequency to it. And that''s how I know that it called for help.

    Heavens forbid it actually does reach their brethren''s ears and theye hunting for us."

    "Do you think we''re scared of them?" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Oh, you might not, but I sure as hell don''t want to deal with them when they''re allowed to use Qi. The Bastion itself had prevented them from tapping into their Qi, allowing them only the physical abilities that their bodies give them. Once they''re able to use Qi, even the small weakling White Rakshasa can easily tear down Void Stage cultivators with utter ease.

    And no matter how big the Beyond is remember that they reproduce by infecting cultivators. The more numbers we have, sooner orter, the more numbers they''ll have."

 Chapter 749: Sun Auction

    The Eight Suns seemed confused, and their retainers were even more so. We were fighting an unknown enemy, in unknown numbers and without much knowledge. Everyone is bound to be a little bit stressed out.

    "Seems like what Shen Bao said holds some truths," the Lord of Lords said.

    Looking at him, he had his middle finger and thumb locked together.

    "Oh, you''re actually using that, from the words of a mere child," the Cryptic Sun sighed.

    The Dusking Sun noticed the confused look on my face and said, "You might not know, Shen Bao, but the reason why the Lording Sun is the oldest and most annoying to deal with in terms of fighting is that what he is doing right now.

    "I don''t get it," I said.

    "You wouldn''t, at least for now until you see it applied against you. That''s his own method of foresight, he can calcte the probabilities of the world itself and realize hidden truth."

    "Premonition? Interesting¡­" I said as I locked my eyes on the Lording Sun''s hand gesture.

    It was thin, far thinner than a spider''s thread, and there were many of them. Laws of space and time were rapidly spiraling around his fingers giving him the ability to calcte all that is toe in the near future or far.

    "The Beyond is bound to enter one of its most turbulent phases, and sadly it will be during the Endless Night. Darkest One, you''ll be the one to handle things once the Endless Nights starts I would presume," the Lord of Lords said.

    "I have no problem with that, once the Endless Night starts, I lose most of my powers. I would then hand over the token of Elder Sun to the Darkest Sun."

    "I have no issues with that, but if they were to attack during the Endless Night, I would assume that I''ll have free ess to all of your territories," the Darkest Sun said.

    "No problem here," the Dusking Sun said.

    "No one asked your opinion, you live in a damn swamp void of people," the Cryptic Sun snorted, "I, on the other hand, have many things to keep away from prying eyes, it will be under scrutiny and heavy watch if you''re going to send in some of your forces over."

    "No matter, just don''t disrupt my own troops if things devolve to that extent," the Darkest Sun said.

    "Just don''t bring in the damned Titans, they ruined a fifth of my domain thest Endless Night, I haven''t even been repaid for that."

    The group continued allocating troops and coordinating with each other before the mboyant Sun looked at me and said, "Shen Bao. It would help if you imed the Sea of Demons hastily. We have given you the title of thend, but not the heart of its people. And if the Rakshasa were toe, yournd would be the weakest link.

    Not to mention it''s crawling with the Walkers who already grow incredibly stronger during the Endless Nights."

    That''s a problem I''ll need to handle soon.

    "The man who imed himself Emperor is the peak Origin Shattering Realm cultivator, I don''t think Shen Bao can usurp his reign with ease," the Blue Sun said.

    "Are you suggesting to help him?" the Red Sun asked.

    "Helping him directly goes against the noninterference policy. But I can lend assistance if provided with enough contribution," the Blue Sun said.

    "I guess the handkerchief alone isn''t enough," I said.

    She shook her head, "After seeing what''s inside the Bastion, I doubt that the words on the door mean much, the problem is, the Darkest Sun''s disciple didn''t even look at all of the symbols inside the Bastion and I''m left with an incredibleck of understanding. What a scatter head," she sighed.

    "So, you want to probe my head for all the information regarding what''s inside the Bastion so you can help me with iming the Sea of Demons," I said.

    "Your words are a bit harsh, it sounds like I''m extorting you," she said.

    "Well, you are doing so," the Dusking Sun said. "Shen Bao, I''ll lend you my owl for showing me such a good show, it should be enough to protect you against the Self Proimed Emperor of the Sea of Demons. As for killing him, that''s on you."

    "Why are you interfering Dusking Sun!" the Blue Sun''s face turned red as he ruined her n for getting information for a cheap price. And it was obvious to all.

    "You''ll just be wasting your time regardless, most of what was written on those walls were just scribbles and random charts. They mean nothing, even I couldn''t figure them out," the Cryptic Sun said, "Not to mention, he wouldn''t have been able to memorize them even if he did see everything. They''re tooplex for no reason."

    "What makes you say so?" I asked the Cryptic Sun.

    I sounded rude right there, and I knew it. But he kept throwing dirty water my way so I had to reply.

    The Cryptic Sun was about to say some bullshit but The mboyant Sun coughed as to calm him down.

    After calming down the Cryptic Sun said, "The designs of the symbols were too erratic, they held no depth to them even by crossing them with each other, there were more than millions of different characters. No sypher can ever deduce them, I say they are merely scribbles meant to bring a sense of mystery but everything about them is just for show. No real substance," he said.

    Thanks to the soul link I have with the Lord of Lords pagoda I was able to hear the Tao Yang''s very colorful words she had to say about the Cryptic Sun. But she couldn''t express them too loudly in fear of her being noticed.

    The Lord of Lords threw me a sly grin, he definitely knows that I smuggled her out but he isn''t exposing me. But he seemed to worry that she might try and use Divine Sense to converse with me and that will be instantly picked up by the suns.

    "Well, the reason why you''re saying that is because you''re too blind to see the truth," I said.

    This was an insult, and he knew it instantly. I would have probably died right here and then if not for the rest of the suns moving their energy in order to stop the Cryptic Sun from vaporizing my existence.

    I had to finish my words before shit gets too ugly though, it''s enough insults his way¡­ for now that is.

    "Because you were using a proxy to see the symbols, you were unable to see their depth. The symbols look different because they aren''t written in a one dimensional way. But are three dimensional. They have inner length and width that gives the same character a different meaning if rotated or pushed or even morphed. It''s basically a different type of writing.

    Instead of using letters, they use¡­well pictures that depicts a hidden meaning. Without the use of Divine Sense one could only see the outeryer of the symbols on the Bastion. And only when one dives in deeper with their Divine Sense can they see the meaning of each symbol," I said.

    "You mean you were able to use your Divine Sense?" the Wisest Sun said, "Because if you did it would actually mean that you could see not just the tip of the iceberg but the entirety of it."

    "Indeed, I was able to see inside the symbols and was able to read them," I said.

    "This is quite the discovery, name your price, I''ll buy that knowledge from you!" the Blue Sun said.

    "Hold, even I am interested now, but what guarantees that what you''re saying isn''t just lies," the Cryptic Sun immediately changed attitude. But a snake could shed its skin but never change its color.

    I''m being tested. They''re Sun level cultivators. If I were to fuck up and actually show them an example of a symbol, they''d be able to immediately infer and understand the rest of the symbols that they already seen in an instant.

    Although the chances of that happening aren''t high, that doesn''t mean they''re not possible.

    "I''d rather not," I said simply, "That knowledge is pretty important and I don''t want to disy even a bit of it to anyone. Unless amply rewarded me, at least enough that I see worth the knowledge from another world. After all, not anyone can get to the level where they can be one of the suns, and they made it even further," I said.

    "I''m not the brightest in the room, knowledge of other worlds would only cloud my mind, I''ll withhold on this bidding war," the Dusking Sun said out loud.

    It might sound like he isn''t interested, but what he did was a great favor for me. He immediately turned this into a bidding situation although he withdrew forcing the rest of the suns topromise and bid among each other for this knowledge.

    The Cryptic Sun realized that and was throwing both of us vicious looks.

    "Hey, if looks could kill we''d both be dead by now," the Dusking Sun sent me a divine sense message. "Also, if you can help me out with anything worth while I''ll help you out as much as I can in the uing Endless Night just don''t expose us."

    I couldn''t help but admire how he acts. Although he withdraws from situations he still has a finger in the cake.

    "Now then, since I''m interested, Shen Bao how about sharing that knowledge for this¡­" the Red Sun said as he handed over a small storage ring.

 Chapter 750: Sun Auction II

    I picked up the ring and looked through the content, surprise was clear on my face. This was a massive buttload of materials for crafting puppets. He already had given me a huge chunk before when I was back at his sect, but this is a mountainpared to what he gave mest time.

    Not to mention there were even more metals that I have yet to use but could only read about from the Lord of Lord''s pagoda.

    I nodded to the Red Sun and ced the ring in front of me.

    "I''ll withdraw from this bidding, I have more important matters to handle," the Darkest Sun said.

    "I''ll also withdraw, but don''t worry they''ll give you a good price for that information," Shen Bao.

    So, three were out, that leaves five. The Red sun already had given me a good starting Price that I can use to gauge the value of what others could give me in return for the information.

    The Cryptic Sun looked around and threw his retained a ring. The retainer who still doesn''t like me from earlier, ced the ring rather roughly on the table next to me.

    I didn''t even take a look at it as I waited for the others.

    This didn''t slip the retainer''s eyes, hostile as he may be to me, he still wants to look like the loyalpdog to his master.

    "Are you not satisfied with what the lord had given you?" his tone was rather loud and rude.

    "No one here cares about your existence, go back to your ce and shut up, and if you keep interrupting me, then I''ll consider returning this ring and refraining from trading with your master," I mocked.

    "You dare!"

    "Shut up!" the Cryptic Sun said, "Do you not see that you''re being led by the nose. Kid, hurry up and look through the rest of their rings, I bet they won''t hold a candle to what I have to offer," the Cryptic Sun said.

    I didn''t reply to him or answer and waited for the rest.

    The mboyant Sun refrained from trading, "Although intriguing, I have no interest in such knowledge, it would be good to learn a thing or two from but nothing pushes me to acquire it."

    I respected his view. Now this leaves the Lord of Lords, the Wisest Sun, the Blue Sun, and the Red Sun in the betting pool, while the Cryptic Sun is left with worry in his eyes in case I refuse to ept what he has to offer.

    The Wisest Sun offered a set of Laws and understanding of them and offered me an improved version of the Keys of the Vast Expanse to study. Which was pretty interesting in its own right but sadly he already knew I didn''t need any of this. Though the value of these things is absurdly high, it wasn''t for me.

    And he knew it, it was only so that he pumps up the price of the knowledge I have.

    The Lord of Lords smiled as he understood his friend''s intentions and said, "I have already given you ownership of the Pagoda. Which was one of my most precious belongings, I doubt I could offer anything higher value than that," the Lord of Lords reminded me of his ownership of the Pagoda.

    He was right, I still have yet to fully repay him for the pagoda, but he then cut me off before I was going to give up the entire bet and hand him over the bulk of the knowledge.

    "But, it would be a shame to ask to be paid for something that you won fair and square. I''ll help you unlock theter floors of the Pagoda and transfer the ownershippletely, don''t forget, I refined it myself so it was always mine. But after I transfer the ownership I won''t have any hold or control over it even if you try and use it to against me," he smiled.

    "I would never," I replied.

    "Don''t worry, as for the Knowledge, I''d rather pay whoever wins the bet to take a glimpse of it, since it would be unfair to take it from a junior with so much potential. Burning bridges with great talent such as yourself is nothing short of foolish," his words were aimed at the Cryptic Sun who felt the stab but couldn''t argue lest it would further implicate him.

    The Blue Sun looked at me and sent me a Divine Sense message, "My price for that knowledge, regardless of whatever any of them had offered you, I''m willing to double it. No, triple it," she said.

    That was interesting. If she were able to triple the value of materials given to me by the Red Sun, then that will be pretty damn amazing for me. I could make even more puppets enough to fully recover the loss inside the Bastion.

    "Not only that, I''m willing to enter the Bastion again with you if you still want to ess it," she said. Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin

    "I don''t think that''s a wise idea," I said.

    "I know, but we''re not using our real bodies. I have many methods to ess the Bastion now that you are the rightful owner and were able to enter it with ease. With both of us inside, we can study it and learn more from the world that has long been gone without it ever affecting our real bodies.

    I can give you a body that you can possess, while I''ll use one of my many clones, then we can both study the interior of the Bastion with ease. Not to mention we wouldn''t be affected whatsoever in case of death."

    "Sounds interesting," I said. I didn''t want to mention to her that I could already use my other avatar, Shen Mo''s body to do what she is talking about. But, Shen Mo''s body needs my Dark Soul, it is the only thing it can use. And if he were to be lost inside the Bastion, I''d lose a huge chunk of my Soul to the Rakshasas I wouldn''t want that.

    "I''ll consider it seriously once I see what preparations you have ready for us. And since you''re the one who needs this knowledge more, I''m more inclined on giving it to you, but I have to see what the Cryptic Sun has to offer lest we end up in a death feud rtionship with him."

    I grabbed the ring from the Cryptic Sun and took a look at it.

    I was expecting something disappointing to be honest, just enough for it not to be worth the value of the knowledge and enough for him to get a reason to be angry at me and cause a problem. But no, there were tons of Saint Qi stones and Origin Qi stones to fill a small hill. Not to mention arge load of cultivation manuals that had no real value to me but are worth a lot for other cultivators.

    Basically nothing but mary value items that I can exchange for whatever I want.

 Chapter 751: Preparing For The Inevitable

    I pushed the ring back and said.

    "I have decided to hand over the knowledge to the Blue Sun, if anyone wants to exchange it they''ll do it with her directly," I said.

    "Oi, think again," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Why? Are you trying to intimidate me into giving it to you?" I asked provokingly.

    "No such thing," the Cryptic Sun said, "As a matter of fact you should rather offer it willingly for your elders as a sign of respect," he said.

    "Sorry, but I believe in hard cold cash, favors are worthless to me especially if I don''t see myself cashing them out anytime soon," I shrugged. "Also, as much as being in your favor is worth it to others, I already am in the good books of many other Suns, so it really has little merit to me to offend all of them for you."

    The Cryptic Sun had an ugly scowl on his face, and the mboyant Sun noticed that and stopped the entire thing.

    "Now that the transaction isplete, we''ll have to start managing political and warfare matters, Shen Bao, you are free to leave if you want to. But I would advise you to remain with us for the time being and learn a thing or two about how we''re going to protect our territory from potential invaders," he said.

    That was good advice. Since I am an owner of a territory now, I''ll need to see how they do things. Also, I''m considered the weakest Link, not just because the Sea of Demons is vast and has almost no Qi in it, but because I''m not one of the Suns.

    They''re more than capable of defending theirnd and protecting everyone in them, I on the other hand will have a lot of trouble doing so. Not to mention that I might be a target for others who would like toe and offer a helping hand in exchange for some benefits. I know that far too well to allow it to happen to me.

    "I would like that then, I''ll listen in to your strategies,"" I said as I remained seated.

    Soon, they began discussing how they''d be defending their territories, and the mboyant Sun started by reinforcing the statement, "Remember, since it will be during the Endless Nights, the Darkest Sun will be the leader of the Sun Council. He became the strongest of us all during that time, and we would rather have a powerful figure leading the people.

    Now, how are we going to delegate the protection of the Beyond outside personal territories?"

    "I suggest we create a force that can move about the territories and allow portals that cross vast distances for all. In case of emergency evacuation and troop dispatch, we need to have an elite force capable of handling all sorts of situations on the spot," the Wisest Sun said.

    The Lord of Lords pitched in simr ideas of how they need to have more power roaming about, and how they need to set up an informationwork, which in all was warfare 101. You can''t go in a war blind.

    The Cryptic Sun added some of his own portable formation deploying discs that can protect cultivators in a pinch and allowed some of his easier formations to be spread among the suns territories to help them against the invasions.

    The Red Sun has decided to send in his elite for the task of roaming the Beyond and hunting any Rakshasa that decides to invade. More and more ideas were pitched in and all I could do was listen in.

    None of their ideas were bad, but at the same time, none of them were bold.

    "You don''t seem satisfied with our nning," the Cryptic Sun said as he looked at me.

    "Oh, not really, it''s fine as is, but, why are we all deciding to be on the defensive from the start?" I asked.

    Your next read is at m v|l-e''-NovelBin

    The mboyant Sun frowned, "What do you mean?"

    "Well, from all I heard, you all are nning on allowing the rakshasa to invade your territory then defend it. Why not stop them from doing so in the first ce?" I asked.

    They looked at each other and back to me. The Dusking Sun then asked, "You want to intercept them?"

    "That''s what one should do, in my opinion. I mean, stop them from space itself, not here, and only think about what to do when theynd if theynd in the Beyond¡­"

    They then looked at each other and the Lording Sun beganughing, "Hah, indeed, why did we all assume that we''ll be on the defensive, ah perhaps because since we saw a cultivator higher than our cultivation level crumble and fall to the Rakshasa that we thought we had to be on the defensive, but Shen Bao is right, we should actually stop them in their tracks¡­ so how are you nning that?" he asked me.

    "Well, since the space of the beyond is pretty vast and we can''t have cultivators at the level of a Sun roam about outer space for forces that we don''t know when and from where they''lle, I think we should send in probes to detect and send information to us," I said.

    "Probes?" he asked.

    I moved my arm and a tungsten pir emerged from a spatial fold. "Something like this, when sent outside space, it could remain around the Beyond, orbiting it even though through vast distances. It can stay there and act as a watch tower, and once it detects an anomaly it will return to the Beyond and alert us.

    All I need to do is modify its inscriptions a bit and send in a few hundred thousand of these separate in all directions. And then just wait," I said.

    "That''s your idea of interception?" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Well, unless you realize where your enemy ising from you really can''t intercept it can you, so what do you all think?"

 Chapter 752: Steam City

    The Suns kept thinking about it for a while and then the Dusking Sun Jumped in. "This, thing of yours, how many do you have?" he asked.

    "About a hundred thousand give or take," I said.

    He scratched his chin and said, "Not enough, not nearly enough to cover a good spatial foothold, we need more¡­ How many can you produce within one month time?" he asked.

    "If fully focused on it, about three million," I said.

    "That can barely cut it, within a month it should be when the Endless Night arrives," the Dusking Sun said.

    "Then get to work and start making them," the Cryptic Sun interjected.

    When he said that I understood what the Dusking Sun wanted, he baited the Cryptic Sun into saying those words and trapped him for me. Good man.

    "Why?" I replied, "Am I getting paid for it?" I frowned.

    "What do you mean? It''s the safety of the Beyond, we need all the help, or are you trying to rebel and be a traitor?" his words were on the offense because he knew he was trapped.

    "You''re not expecting me to do work that I''m not getting paid for? Nor are you expecting me to fund it out of my own pockets. If you want the Tungsten Rods, you''ll have to pay for the material and manpower," I shrugged.

    "Pay? Me? HAH!" heughed as he used his divine sense to prove through the Tungsten Rod next to me.

    "Now I know how it was made, I''ll just make them myself," heughed.

    My lips quivered, showing a bit of anger, and I stood up, "I''ll excuse myself from this meeting. As you all said I have a territory to protect," and walked away.

    "Shen Bao, hold up," the Wisest Sun said as I was moving away and stood up to follow me.

    The Lord of Lords also stood up and threw the Cryptic Sun a snide eye, "You dared and coveted the property of a junior, shame on you."

    "What! He can''t protect his things, it''s his fault," the Cryptic Sun said shamelessly.

    The Blue Sun also stood up, and followed us, "In a seat of Suns you dared covet what was not yours from those who can''t defend themselves, I pity those who serve under you."

    The meeting was adjourned just like that due to the Cryptic Sun''s behavior.

    Indeed it was a world where the story prayed on the weak, and if one can''t protect their things, they don''t deserve it.

    "Tell me, Shen Bao," the Red Sun followed immediately after us. To my surprise, he was the only one who wasn''t fuming in rage inwardly.

    "Can you really only make Three Million a month?" he asked through divine sense.

    He caught on, smart man.

    "No, I can make more, much more," I said.

    "Good, do you want me to go and beat the ever-living shit out of that guy? I really only need a good enough reason, and this is slightly just under a good reason,"

    I knew he only tried tofort me, a fight between two suns is never a good idea as it can cause too much damage to the surrounding. "Nah, it''s fine," I said.

    "Hmm, knowing you, you probably meant to show him the rod anyway," the Red Sun squinted his eyes at me.

    I grinned replying, "Now I can''t confirm that for you, can I?"

    Heughed and said, "I knew you always keep something under your belt, good I won''t pray anymore, I''ll just wait and enjoy the show. For now, here," he said as he handed me a ring full of the materials he promised me before. And I handed him a small jade of all the symbols and inscriptions inside the Bastion with a sypher for him to deduce the words and knowledge in there.

    "The knowledge isn''tplete just so you know, because we only went through one pathway. Some many other rooms and halls are yet to be explored and I''ll share that with you the moment I get them," I said.

    "Good, I''ll keep on waiting for that, for now, I''ll see what I can figure out myself from this, as for your crusade in the Sea of Demons, I can send one or two of my heralds to help you," he said.

    I shook my head, "If that happens it will cause even more problems. It will show to others that I can only rely on a Sun to obtain the territory, don''t worry I already have many ways to im that throne andnd," I said.

    The red sun nodded and said to the rest, "My business here is done, if there is anything else needed of me, just tell me. Old foxes, it''s been a good tournament and a good few days, let''s hope that the iing threat is not as frightening as we expect, and good luck to all.

    The Suns began disappearing into the distance as they went back to their territories to help protect it while the Blue Sun remained with me.

    "Would you like toe visit mynd?" she asked.

    I nodded, "Of course,"

    She waved her arm and opened a simr portal to the one that led to the bastion. Only this time it was leading to a vast canyon valley.

    Once I took a step in I arrived into a quite windy area with nothing but red rocks, some were flying and floating and some were anchoring the earth to the heavens. Long spiraling rock formations rose up to an incredible height and canyons that seemed to have an endless depth spread all around us.

    And not far from where we stood was a vast blue. The sea spread all over the horizon and seemed endless. And just between the sea and the canyon was an incredible amount of ck smoke rising up.

    You can smell it from all the way over here.

    We flew up toward the smoky area and found a massive city waiting for us. It was sorge it would put some of the metropolises I remember to shame.

    People looked like ants from where we stood and it was bustling with loud noises and hasty steps. Cultivators moved all over the ce via flight or walking as they got from one area to another to do business or their¡­ jobs.

    "Wait, you have people working here? Like, actual blue-cor workers?"

    "Blue Cor?"

    "I mean manual workers industry, you even have factories here¡­ hold up something isn''t right," I''m sure the setting hasn''t changed, why am I seeing a modernized city?

    "That''s my city, mynd, and the people I wish to protect, as for thisyout it is the result of innovative thinking and processing."

    ''I''ll be damned, an industrial revolution in a cultivation world¡­ what next, Steampunk Civilization?''

    And before I could even swallow my words as being sarcastic, my eyesnded on a man who was moving heavy objects from one ce to another. He was fully decked out in metal and tubes, all over his body, and heavy murky goggles to protect his eyes from the smoke.

    The man had lost an arm and a leg and they were reced with visible quite rusty but functional hydraulic prosthetic limbs.

    I looked dumbly at her, "I thought I was the only crazy one who used metal and steel like this."

    "You''re not the only one, I was also once called a madwoman for believing that hard cold steel can ever amount to anything against a cultivator. But look at where I am," she smiled.

    Iughed as I asked "I''d like to go down and see for myself."

    "Go on ahead, I''ll apany you," she said.

    And the two of usnded. Unbeknownst to me, she changed her appearance in an instant and blended in with the crowd with me.

    You could hear the loud noises of engines running all over the city and several cars? Or cart cart-like vehicle moving about on a paved roadway.

    Hustlers and muggers, even beggars were all over the ce. And a lot of drunk people and busy people all moving about the city.

    It''s been a very long time since I''ve had to breathe in the stinky air of fuel, and smelling it here brought back some good old memories.

    "You processed oil?"

    "It wasn''t that hard to do so once we discovered its mmability, although it''s far less powerful than many other resources, it can be used for a variety of things," she said and began exining what I already knew about it.

    I couldn''t help butugh because I almost felt like home. Almost being the keyword here, because this was no longer my home.

    I moved along the city looking through many things, from shops to salons to workstations where builders were erecting more buildings inside the city and creating skyscrapers.

    Safety measures are almost nonexistent here, after all, everyone here is at least an ascendant-level cultivator and even if a wall-sized brick were to fall on them it would feel like they were hit with a feather.

    "I can see why you desperately need the knowledge from the Bastion," I said.

    "You do?" she asked.

    "You don''t really want to realize the step beyond a Sun, but you''re interested in the method of making Soulsteel."

    "Right on the dot, no wonder many of the Suns were praising your mind. Indeed I need to figure out a way to make it my own and create it here. The possibilities are endless. A malleable metal that can turn harder than even a Heavenly Treasure, and can be softer than cotton when needed, morphed and changed to whatever shape and form and has the ability to harness and exert electrical discharges.

    That is a gift from heaven." She said.

    "Don''t forget, the cost of using such a thing isn''t that easy," I said.

    "I feared so at first," she said as she pulled a small cube in her hand of Soulsteel, "It uses too much Soul Power for little effect, it''s far too inefficient, I would have given up hope if I didn''t have a critical and crucial piece of information that you yourself had provided me," she said as she looked into my eyes with her azure almost shining eyes.

    "And what''s that information?" I asked.

    "The fact that this is nothing but a prototype," she said.

    Indeed she wasn''t wrong. The people of the fallen world made this in haste by culminating all of their knowledge and had yet to fully explore its potential. Given enough time, one would uncover even more secrets and could probably discover the full potential of Soulsteel.

    I guess the knowledge I hold isn''t that simple for her after all. And now I get to work alongside her to discover the true strength of Soulsteel.

 Chapter 753: Trade

    Soon, she led me to her own abode. Whereas many other suns use pces and magnificent buildings to dwell in. Showcasing their power and their unlimited wealth. While for her she had an enormous smithy where she worked in.

    Massive bellows that continued to blow constantly were churning out smoke. The sound of hammers striking steel and workers shouting over each other was constantly heard all over the ce.

    me and soot covered the ce, and instead of her sitting down to watch all this, she waved her hand to change her robes to dirty and greasy ones.

    "Let me show you how we do things here," she said in a wide smile as she walked up to one of the currently operating furnaces.

    There was a great-sized piece of metal being processed and extracted from the furnace where a line of more than a hundred workers were striking it.

    "Boss! Wee back!" one of the workers said.

    "We saw the tournament from here, it was fun watching it," another added.

    "You didn''t ck off while I was away did you?" she said teasingly.

    "No boss, we already finished our quota and some more, we''re only missing this keel to finalize the hull, and all that''s left is welding things together for the frame to be done," he said.

    Apparently, this single piece of giant metal is the keel that will support a massive ship.

    "This doesn''t look like a normal ship''s keel," I said.

    "Because it isn''t," she replied, "This is actually inspired by your small ship, I''m nning on making something bigger made from Soulsteel, however, I don''t have enough materials, so I''m only making the major and most important parts from it," she said as she mmed the hammer down.

    Now, this is where true expertise is shown. You need strength to do metalwork, but not too much of it. A smith is always a strong person, but not every strong person can be a smith. Due to the preciseness of the strength needed for each blow to bend the metal. If too much of it is used, it will break something or bend it out of form rendering it useless.

    But too little strength used and no change would happen and might even ruin the material because it will need reheating constantly.

    For her, although she was at the level of a sun, she matched the hundred worker''s pace and power, as they all struck down with exact power on the keel morphing it into a slightly curved but powerful bow shape.

    It took several hours of working before she was done and said, "I have a guest to entertain, continue working."

    She turned to me in all smiles and said, "It''s good to break a sweat," though soot covered some of her face her blue eyes were still shining bright despite the grim on her face.

    A cultivator can easily not get affected by such things, but since she didn''t care or worry about it affecting her or her image with workers far below her cultivation stage and simply did ''dirty'' work. She grew on me.

    I''m fond of people who are hard-working despite their status.

    "I''m quite envious of you," she said.

    "Of what?" I asked.

    "Because you always manage to make and create quite entric and amazing things with your mind. Though you''re far below us in the cultivation stage, I cannot see it in me to think less of you when ites to your mind, it is quite¡­ beautiful, a beautiful mind," she smiled.

    "Ah, well I cannot take credit for everything I''ve done, I used the knowledge of others and transformed it into my own," I replied.

    She wiped her hands with a handkerchief as she said, "That is the beauty of innovation, one takes ideas from others and adds onto them, creating an endless stream and constant flow of ideologies that would one day bore something incredible," she said. "We all seek perfection in our craft," she finalized.

    "Indeed, we seek perfection but dread to ever achieve it," I said.

    Her head snapped at me saying, "You too?"

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "If you were offered perfection, would you take it?" she asked her eyes vibrating.

    "I guess your wording is slightly off, but I understand what you mean. No, I would never take it, perfection is the death of innovation, it is what goes against anything we try to get. We as craftsmen and innovators would rather forever chase after perfection than ever achieve it, because once you achieve perfection then there is nothing else to change nothing else to add nothing else to modify.

    It is a full stop to the flow, a dead end where one cannot recover from, that is what I think perfection is, the same as the road to cultivation, one can always chase the peak knowing that it is far, knowing that is not attainable."

    "So you believe that cultivation itself has no end?" she asked.

    "It may have it, I wouldn''t know if it did. But what I know for sure is, that no matter how high one gets, there will always be deeper seas, and higher mountains, always and forever¡­until the end of time itself," I said.

    "Like I said," she grinned, "a beautiful mind,"

    She moved forward first inside the smithy and said, "Follow me, I have stuff to show you," she said.

    I followed her into a small room at the end of the smithy. Once we got there, somehow, she already changed back into her azure and blue cultivation robes and was waiting for me next to arge table that took the majority of the space of the small room. Discover more content at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    On the table were more than a hundred or so tightly packed diagrams and ns for all sort of machinery she was working on, and the most impressive andrgest one of them all took almost the entire table size.

    I took a quick nce at it and frowned.

    "You don''t seem to like this," she said.

    "More like, is this the ship you''re working on?"

    "Yes, that is indeed the vessel I''m working on, you just saw its keel, as for the rest of its parts they have already been built separately, all we need now is assembly."

    "Hmm, and these are the weapons you''ll be using to protect it?" I asked as I pointed at the many weapons on the ship''s sides and attached to what seemed to be a deck.

    "Yes, they have a full range of motion, I was even inspired by your bottom cab and installed these," she said as she pointed at upside-down cannons under the ship or where they should be.

    "What if you were being chased?" I asked.

    "We''ll use cultivators to protect the ship from behind," she said.

    "That could work, so what is needed of me? You seem to be on top of things here."

    "I need your puppet knowledge," she said.

    "The inner reactor?" I asked.

    She nodded raising her head up and down.

    "That''s a difficult request, you know full well that I cannot give you that, you''re putting me in a tight spot." I said.

    "I don''t want to take them or buy them, I want to hire them," she said.

    This was interesting, "So you want a working force? What will guarantee that you won''t just simply do the same as what the Cryptic Sun did. Because you can just simply copy their inner circuts and recreate them," I said.

    "That''s not possible, not for me at least. Perhaps the Wisest Sun he can do that, but I cannot. I''m good with my hands, recreating the exact same puppet with the same specs is easy for me. But to remake the inner meridian as you called it. That will require a lifetime of Law study. Not even the brightest disciple of the Wisest Sun is able to make a semi functional Key.

    And you have five different attributed ones inside the puppets you own. The time and effort it would take me to decipher thews and understand them, then recreate them and learn advanced levels of inscriptions is not short, it would take me a thousand years and that is an overestimation of my ability, and we don''t have that much time," she said.

    This type of praise was extremely honorable to hear from one of the suns.

    She then raised her hand up, "I swear to the heavens that I won''t cheat you out of this deal and all will be open between us. And let heaven be my witness."

    The skies above us rumbled as they epted the vow. With that done I had no excuses to refuse a good deal.

    "Done," I said as I gave my hand for a handshake.

    She was confused for a moment, "Your hand," I said and then I grabbed it and shook it twice, "This is how we confirm a deal and seal it."

    She smiled saying that I was weird, but it didn''t feel bad hearing it.

    "Alright, how many puppets do you need?" I asked.

 Chapter 754: Invasion Plan

    "As much as you can give me, but I can''t say that now, can I," she said.

    "Yes, I need a lot for what''sing up soon. Not to mention, I need to im the entire Sea of Demons. My puppets can''t properly function within the Sea of Demons'' sand, but the cities are an exception."

    "A couple thousand would be enough for me. I''ll need them to man the weapons and do all sorts of heavy lifting."

    "You don''t need a fighting force?" I asked.

    She shook her head, "If puppets take over my own fighters'' roles, they''ll ck off and bezy. I need them sharp and ready at all times."

    "I see. Then what about their ''Food''?" I asked.

    "I''ve seen how they use their Saint Qi crystals to power up, which brings me to ask¡­"

    "No, not the reactor," I shook my head, "I can give you a simplified version that you can work on. As for the massive ship, you''ll have to buy one from me," I said.

    She smiled, "I was about to ask the same thing. I wouldn''t take the blueprint for the reactor but would buy a readymade one for the ship. I already have the entire dimensions ready," she said as she handed me a small piece of jade.

    I quickly scanned it and nodded, "You want it to use Origin Stones?"

    "Yes."

    "That will be difficult for me. I cannot handle Origin Qi right now," I said.

    "Then I''ll build it for you, under your guidance," she said.

    "That could work then," I said.

    "Then let''s get to work," she said.

    "You mean here?" I asked.

    "Of course, unless you have a better forge," she smiled. After all, she is the Blue Sun owner of thergest city of production and metalwork.

    I sheepishly grinned and said, "I might. But sadly, I can''t take you right now," I sighed.

    "If you''re worried about the Queen''s secret being exposed, you don''t have to be concerned. The Lording Sun already predicted this and notified me. I won''t say a thing," she made the zip-on-mouth gesture and smiled wide.

    Not gonna lie, I almost fell in love right there, but the worry from having a Sun knowing about the Queen kept me in check. Against the Sun, keeping a secret is almost impossible.

    "Sure then, if you say so," I said as I asked the Automaton to open a portal for us.

    We moved inside the Lord of Lords pagoda and arrived immediately in the smithy area.

    The Queen took a gasp, "Oh my, all of these¡­" she muttered.

    "I suppose you''re interested in the bellows and st furnaces," I grinned.

    "These are top-notch, all of them. Even I only have a dozen or so sets of this smithy, but what''s that? These modifications." She asked as she moved her head left and right.

    "Oh, you mean the inscriptions on them. I added them to increase efficiency. Look here for example," I said as I opened a small panel next to the st furnace where hundreds of thousands of inscriptions showed up.

    "Due to the need to reheat metal to mold it better into proper form, it usually loses its durability and efficiency the more you heat and reheat it," I said.

    "Yes, I do understand that," she said.

    "So what if there is an inscription that coats the metal itself in the same constant heat outpour, allowing you to only heat it once and work it until it''s done without it cooling off or losing heat," I said.

    "I thought about that before but never was able to achieve it. So you''re saying you''re using inscriptions to keep the metal hot and ready?" she asked.

    I went on a tangent exining the entire process and every bit and part of how the inscription works, how it funnels and channels the heat and Qi, and keeps the metal as hot as it was from inside the me. I also exined why I added more inscriptions on my metal wares, my hammers, and tools I use, and continued exining everything I have in my small smithy.

    "What are those?" she asked as she pointed at a pair of goggles I had lying around.

    "Wear them and you''ll see," I said.

    Once she did so, she took a second to realize what they were.

    "These red lines¡­"

    "What you see through the goggles are the fracture lines. Even after hammering a piece of metal, there will always be micro fractions in it. Those goggles can spot them, allowing you to judge if you should work around the micro fractions or work them into the metal.

    This takes far longer to work the metal due to the need to bepletely thorough and efficient, but the result is always like this," I said as I showed her a normal sheet of metal.

    She took a nce at it, and the signs of surprise were apparent on her face.

    "This is¡­ perfect¡­" she said.

    "God, I hope not," I smiled as the two of us hate the word perfect. Sheughed along and said, "This is indeed a great piece of work. I suppose you work everything like this?"

    "Yes, everything. Though it would have taken a long time for me to build all I own this way, that''s why I have puppets," I pped my hands twice and the Automaton allowed a hundred puppets into the smithy which hosted themfortably with a lot of space left.

    I then ced the small jade that had the original Qi reactor on a holographic disy.

    "This is your n. Now the puppets will analyze and begin working the entire smithy to make it," I said as the puppets began working the mes and prepping the tools.

    Fast, efficient, no wasted movement or need to rest. They poured molten metal from giant crucibles into molds and began working the st furnaces to create more delicate parts for the engine.

    "Aren''t you being too hasty?" she said.

    "Why so?" I questioned.

    "You have yet to receive the metal I need for the reactor I want you to build. I wanted it made from pure Soulsteel."

    I shook my head, "Conductivity is a huge issue with this reactor. Soulsteel has one bad thing about it, and that''s why I would never call it a perfect metal."

    "What is that?" she asked.

    "It''s too reliant on Soul energy and has extreme conductivity. Most of the delicate parts that go into the reactor need to be instors to stop both heat and electric conductivity. And if you get attacked by a powerful soul wave, the entire structure of a Soulsteel reactor will bepromised. It needs to be sealed and stable."

    "I see¡­" she said, "Then I''ll pay you the cost of making the frame," she said.

    "Once the frame is done, I''ll have to guide you into etching Origin Stage inscriptions into the frame."

    "How long will it take for the frame to beplete?" she asked.

    "If we stay here, about a month. It''s pretty beefy work," I said.

    "That''s a lot of time," she sighed. "Can we assist in helping? It should reduce the workload a bit," she said.

    "We''ll only get in the way. Don''t worry about it. There is a time differential in this room. If we go to another floor, we''ll only need one day''s wait. Come," I said as I left the room through a portal opened by the automaton.

    She followed me into the open ins where the Purple Armored lion came charging at me, licking and purring for pets.

    "I know you''re a bit lonely but please understand, I have yet to own and of my own," I smiled at the lion.

    Immediately, Kyu jumped out from my hood andnded on top of the purple lion''s head. It kept licking at its ws and wiping its eyes.

    "Cute pets," the Blue Sun said.

    "They indeed are," I said.

    "So, Shen Bao, what are your ns for the Sea of Demons?" she asked.

    "Let''s talk under that," I said as I led her to the small gazebo in the open ins.

    Once we sat down, the automaton brought us hot tea that I poured for her and myself and sat down.

    "Thank you," she said as she held the cup with both hands and slowly drank from it.

    "Good tea," she said.

    I nodded and did the same.

    "As for the Sea of Demons, I do n on taking over but it needs to be a hostile takeover without the need of spilling blood," I said.

    "How are you nning on doing that? The self-proimed emperor is pretty powerful," she said.

    "I would assume so. Even the mighty oak believes it is strong until a manes along with an ax to chop it down," I said.

    She took another sip and said, "You don''t have time to grow as strong as he is, and once the Endless Night drops, it will be impossible to shake the stability of the Sea of Demons."

    She wasn''t wrong. Once that happens, the entire army will be on high alert.

    "I understand that, and that''s why I''m going in for a quick and hostile takeover," I said.

    "What do you mean?"

    I immediately snapped my head to the left, grinning.

    "Well, I guess this makes my job easier now."

    "I''m really confused. Are you dodging the question?" she said as she tried to see what I was seeing.

    "Not at all," I sipped my drink, "My goal is to instantly take over every city of the Sea of Demons at once. And that can only be achieved by immense, devastating, and destructive firepower."

    "And where are you going to get that? Terrorizing the people will get you hated," she said.

    "I''m not nning on killing people. We''ll need them for the times toe, but the Snobby Sun is now helping me make more of the rods. Hell, he''s even improving them," I said.

    She frowned, "He already started construction?"

    "Yes, I''m sensing them. Due to his understanding of inscriptions, he thought he could replicate the same weapon. But he never noticed a small trap I haveid in the rods. After they''re done being replicated, the entirety of the structure will shape itself into a hidden formation that will only be apparent once the rod isplete."

    "An inscription within an inscription?"

    "Yes," I smiled.

    "And what does that inscription entail?" she asked.

    "It hands me control over the rod. So basically, he''s using his own resources to make weapons for me. Quite the profitable partner, right?" I grinned.

    "You''re a scary man," she smiled back.

    "Well, I''m just a man who hates having what''s his stolen by others, so I always have some form of protection and fallback mechanic on my stuff. Anyway, let me exin my n on how to obtain the Sea of Demons."

 Chapter 755: Future Plans

    After a good time exining the "n" the Blue Sun''s eyes were wide open.

    "Quite bold," she said, "And risky," she added.

    "At some points, one has to be that bold and risky," I smiled.

    "Hmm, I won''t lie, I see a lot of issues with your n, but if it all works out, it would honestly bring you a great deal of rewards."

    "We can hope," I said.

    "Also, the person with you here, she is awfully snoopy," the Blue Sun said.

    She probably caught Tao Yang using Divine Sense.

    "You maye out, she already knows," I said.

    Soon, Tao Yang showed up from a portal that the Automaton had opened and she arrived forward.

    "Oh poor thing, you look very fragile," the Blue Sun said as she stood up.

    And indeed, Tao Yang had been in frozen state for an awful lot of time and her entire body was recreated from scratch. She has yet to fully integrate and fuse her soul to her body and would need time for that to happen.

    Explore more at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    The Blue Sun then looked at me saying, "You didn''t even give her a proper set of clothes," she said.

    "Don''t me me for that, I really didn''t have the time, also I don''t have a lot of women clothes on me," I said shrugging.

    "Hmm, give us a moment," she said and I was lightly taken from my seat on the gazebo and ced on the ground like a misbehaving cat.

    My brows rose up in question, while the Blue Sun threw me a wicked smile.

    She then stood up and waved her hand creating a curtain of Qi around the gazebo that showed nothing but shades.

    I saw the Blue Sun pulling fabric from her side and handed it over to Yao Tang and after a while the curtain dropped.

    Revealing two beautiful woman fully dressed up in new sets of clothes, yes apparently even the Blue Sun felt like she wanted to changed her robes.

    They were now both wearing a long Qipao cut at the thigh, the Blue Sun''s clothes were still matching her eye color of azure blue and contrasted well with the deep blue color of her hair. While Tao Yang''s Qipao was made from golden threads embroidered in a silver dragon that looked as if it was alive.

    Fully matching her golden hair and hazel green eyes.

    "Thank you for the beautiful dress," Tao Yang said.

    As a man, one must alwayspliment a woman for her dress especially if they took the effort and time to change up and pretty up. Believe me, apliment on a woman''s dress can go a long way. Also, don''t forget to take note of their hair and nails and makeup. Though you might not care enough they do.

    They spent time and effort prettying up for another and it would only do you good topliment that effort.

    "Quite beautiful," I smiled. "It''s like looking at Yin and Yang, contrasting but harmonious, beautiful and aloof. Blue and cold like a piece of beautiful Eternal Ice," I said to the blue sun, then turned my head to Tao Yang, "While this is warm and fiery like the core of a burning sun. I am in awe of such beauty and might of presence!" I said as I gave a half bow.

    The two of them startedughing while the Blue Sun desperately held a snortingugh, saying, "Is that supposed to be apliment?"

    "Is it not?" Iughed.

    "People praise me with endless words and long worthless paragraphs for days on end, that hold absolutely no meaning or any weight, though they look beautiful to hear they are in the end nothing but words they want to use to approach me and earn some of my grace and benefits, while I see no greed in your corny line, or will to achieve anything nefarious or sinister," she said, "I frankly like it." Her face beamed with a radiant smile that seemed contagious.

    "I have yet to fully thank you for what you did, Shen Bao," Tao Yang said. "You have helped me leave a most nefarious and nasty ce."

    "It goes without saying." I said.

    "I couldn''t help but hear you talking about taking a hold of a country, if you need my help¡­"

    I held my hand stopping her, "No, I''m good, also I can''t risk exposing your existence to the outside world. If the rest of the Suns know you live still, they''lle at you with the intention of investigation and interrogation." I said.

    "You''re not afraid that might do the same too?" the Blue Sun said.

    "You''ve been vouched for by the Lord of Lords, he is a person who I have yet to repay for what he had done for me so far. So I''ll trust him with my life and if he vouched for you, I''ll be betraying to his trust," I said.

    "Quite the loyal one, and yes, I have no intention of investigating nor interrogating anyone. Though I''m incredibly interested in your knowledge and understandings from so far away, I''d rather search and obtain information due to my own hard work and effort than it be handed to me easily and fed by force."

    "You wanted to learn more about Soulsteel," Tao Yang said.

    The blue sun nodded.

    "Sadly, I don''t have the ability to teach you anything about it. All I know is that it was made from the literal blood and soul of my people. Each block harbors a lot of my people''s own essence. They hold no resentment or hatred. They weren''t forced to be the Bastion, but willingly gave their lives away for it to save their family." She said.

    "No wonder it didn''t feel as horrid as I was expecting when the man exined that it was made from the sacrifice of the Sris People," I said.

    "I was nning on replicating it," the Blue Sun said, "But if that is the only way to make it, then it would be a huge detriment I wouldn''t want to use the lives of my people or anyone in this matter."

    "There is no need to use human lives," Tao Yang said.

    This pulled the Blue Sun''s attention right away, "Is there not?" the Blue Sun asked in intrigue.

    "Yes, we only did so because the Rakshasa had consumed everything on our leaving nothing but humans who managed to escape and run away. They left no animal or creature or demonic beast alive.

    We had already nned on using the lives of animals and beasts for the making of the Bastion, although the quality will be slightly lower since it isn''t a fully consented creature, but it would still have the same properties," she said.

    "Oh, this is good news then," the Bleu Sun said. "This means I can get the Sect to post moremissions of hunt and capture of feral and wild demonic beasts. They can capture them for us and I''ll use their lives to make a new version of the bastion," she said.

    "How about the production method?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "That¡­ it exists inside the bastion however¡­" Tao Yang said.

    "Good," the Blue Sun said.

    "Good? I thought no one would want to take a step inside that ce if given the choice," Tao Yangmented.

    "It would be the case if I were to use my own body, I had already discussed this with Shen Bao, we''ll be using a proxy to scan and understand what goes inside the Bastion and learn from it, discardable proxy that can be terminated at will," she said.

    "I guess, I don''t know if the Bastion would allow it since it would need a body with a piece of your Soul and that''s like presenting a hungry wolf a piece of meat, the Rakshasa would hunt it down like if it''s thest thing they do. Are you nning on using the puppets likest time to protect the proxy?" Tao Yang asked.

    "There is no need to use a live proxy," I said.

    "Howe?" the Blue sun asked me.

    "I mean, I already have a few hundred puppets left inside the bastion, in case some of them are notpletely wrecked, we can use them as our eyes and ears," I said.

    "You mean to control them remotely? I never seen a puppet that can be controlled like that by sight and hearing," the Blue Sun said.

    "And I never made a puppet that does not have those options," I said, "The only issue is the distance and disruption of the Thunder Domain. If the lightning is still constantly pouring down, it will be hard to have a proper signal," I said.

    "I''ll see what I can do about the lightning then," the Blue Sun said.

    "Good, then we have a n." I said

    "Now that you mentioned a n, I''ve only seen a few thousand puppets of yours, didn''t you tell me that you''ll need at least a hundred thousand puppets for your n to invade the Sea of Demons?"

    "Yes, I did," I replied.

    "And where are they? Shouldn''t you be making them right now," she asked me.

    "They''re already being made, thanks to the Red Sun''s contribution of materials. I already reached fifty percent of what I need, in a couple more days I should have a full army of a hundred thousand," I said.

    The Blue Sun frowned, "I guess this pagoda has more than just two spaces," she said. "Mind showing me the rest?"

    "Of course, both of you follow me," I said. Time to give guests a home visit.

 Chapter 756: Unexpected Twist

    The three of us headed to the upper floors, going by them individually.

    From the lowest, the open in and the four biomes around it, to the second where all the knowledge that the Lording Sun had collected through his life.

    The Blue Sun was interested in the library as it held some tomes even though she didn''t read, but she only requested to study in here if allowed, which was quite respectful even to someone far lower in cultivation level to her.

    Tao Yang also was interested in knowledge of other worlds than her and asked me via Divine Sense to study here when she had the time. To which I simply agreed, there is no point or value to hoarding knowledge, it must be shared freely among everyone.

    Reluctantly, they left the library and went into the third floor, the st furnace that the Blue Sun had seen before and the smithy was only the smaller part of a whole. As this entire space was hosting hundreds upon hundreds of working benches and furnaces powered by the core of a star.

    The natural heat generated from such cores is enough to help smelt and create materials for thousands of years.

    "Quite an enormous workshop," the Blue Sun said, "This is on par if not bigger than my own station.

    "I guess the Lord of Lords put a lot of effort and resource into this pagoda if it isparable to yours," I said.

    "Oh, it''s not because he is a savant in the art of craftsmanship," the Blue Sun said as she was gazing at the entire workshop.

    "But because he is filthy rich, he is the oldest of us all after all," she said.

    ''That makes sense, if he is the oldest he used his age and ability to hoard and obtain many things and then stuffed them into this pagoda. Well, it''s all great I guess. After all, It''s all mine now,"

    The next floor was the White Space. Where I usually test out my weapons and do all sorts of alchemy and surgeries I need.

    But there was one thing I didn''t finalize yet.

    Once I entered the White Space with the two of them, they both had a shocked realization.

    The Blue Sun''s energy began rippling so did Tao Yang.

    "Hold the heck on!" I said. "This is not what it looks like!" I said.

    "What do you mean? It''s a Silver Rakshasa! I thought you already killed it!" Tao Yang said.

    "Well¡­ there were two of them, I only captured one in front of you all, the second had been immediately transported here after it was captured," I said.

    And like they said, yes it was a Silver Rakshasa, fully sealed up and chained up.

    "What did you do to it?" Tao Yang asked, "For it to be this¡­ calm," she added.

    "Oh, yeah, well, you see the chains all over its body?" I asked.

    "Yes, I do," she said.

    "Those are made from condensed Neutron Star Dust," I said.

    "And what is that?" she asked.

    "That is what remains after a sun fully burns out and then shrinks, a teaspoon of that stuff can weigh several tons. I got it and condensed it into a bracelet that it is wearing. Then added weight-increasing inscriptions. Not only that, I also ced a different bracelet on its neck that will always tamper with its own internal abilities, disabling its stealth and invisibility.

    Now it is barely fast enough topare itself to a void stage cultivator."

    "And why are you doing all this instead of just killing this risk?" the Blue Sun said.

    She was right, this was a risky thing to have here, but, "Training," I said.

    "Are you thinking of taking it head-on? Using it as a punching bag? The cultivation difference is too vast," the Blue Sun said.

    "Once and when they get here, that won''t be a luxury that we will all have. If I familiarize myself with how they move, how they attack and defend, and how they retreat, I''ll have at least the ability to escape, if not to win against them."

    Tao Yang frowned but didn''t argue anymore and only said, "Are you fully capable of containing it?" she asked.

    "I have the Automaton keep an eye on it, if something goes wrong, he can immediately transport it to the heart of the Burning Star Core, it won''t survive a second in it," I said.

    "Well, tread carefully is all I can say, and if you want to fight it and train against it, at least let me know so nothing can go wrong," Tao Yang said, "It would be horrible to have you die here after all the work you did to help me out."

    "Don''t worry, I''ll notify you," I said, "Now let''s go to the next floor," I said.

    "There is more?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Oh yes, a few more floors that aren''t yet opened but this one is the most important floor of them all, I said as I went to the floor where the Primordial Serpent God''s corpse was stored.

    The door to this floor was pretty normal, not longer than two meters by two, but it peered into an incredibly vast space.

    From where we stood, we looked no bigger than specs of dustparable to the vastness of space itself.

    And in front of us, a few million miles away you could see the massive creature that hung motionless in space. Continue your adventure at m|v-l''e -NovelBin

    "Oh¡­ this is what the Dusking Sun was talking about," the Blue Sun said.

    "What is that? That looks frightening¡­" Tao Yang said.

    "You probably don''t know what that is, it is a creature of the Beyond," the Blue Sun exined. "There are a dozen or so of them, they lived here in the beyond for only heavens know, even the Lording Sun who is the oldest of us all, came after them. We assume that they are all the first of their kin."

    "It''s quite impressive that they lived that long," I said.

    "Why do you say that, it''s only normal, they''re blessed with immortality," the Blue Sun said.

    "Emm, what?"

    "What? You didn''t know?" she said frowning.

    "That thing is clearly dead, how is it blessed with immortality?" I asked.

    "Ah, I see, you consumed its blood and stopped its heart, did it never ur to you why these things although at the stage of Void Shattering Stage are still alive and roaming about and a lot of cultivators know about them? It is because even if they are killed, they will alwayse back. Either reincarnate or from their own corpse, look," she said as she pointed a finger forward.

    A small bit of origin Qi shot forward andnded right between the Primordial Serpent God''s brows.

    "It only failed to resurrect due to the extremeck of Origin Qi inside the Pagoda. Which by the way is a great blessing to you. The Lording Sun must have realized that and allowed you to store it here so it wouldn''te back and break anything inside the pagoda.

    Soon, the corpse of the Primordial Serpent god began shrinking and shrinking until I could no longer see it.

    But the soul-shaking and shivering pressure of the Primordial Serpent God slowly began creeping up on me. I could feel the shivers and hair all over my body slowly rise up, from the soles of my feet to the back of my neck.

    It actually was resurrecting.

    And not only that, it wasing at us at incredible speed.

    The Blue Sun stood up in front of me and grabbed something in her hand. It was the Primordial Serpent God, only this time it was as small as a young grass snake. It had a feisty behavior as it tried to bite at the Blue Sun''s smooth skin.

    However, its fangs couldn''t even bend the Blue Sun''s skin and struggled against it.

    "Quite an interesting change," I said. The Serpent noticed me and tried to take a bite at me, but the Blue Sun stopped it immediately."

    "This small thing, don''t underestimate it," she said. "The bite force in this Serpent is enough to rip through your body. It would rip through it like a hot knife through butter, also she is mad at you," the Blue Sun said.

    "I can see that, and I''m not ming it, after all, I killed it," I said.

    "Not for that, she knows the circle of life and death," the Blue Sun said.

    "Then why is she pissed?" I asked.

    "Well, apparently from how you killed the poor thing. You actually sucked every bit of golden blood in her body and now you''re using it as recement of your blood. You pierced into her heart and she couldn''t shake you off, it was quite an unpleasant experience," she said.

    I didn''t really want toment how the Blue Sun was able to speak ''snake'' but I guess that really does fit what I did.

    "I mean¡­"

    "No need to exin much, I can mediate between you two," the Blue Sun said, "Also this might be both your fortune," she said as she grabbed the snake in a more gentle manner on top of her palm and said.

    "Vow to serve and protect, and he''ll give you some of your blood back, if both of you cultivate together you may be able to reach your next stage of cultivation level," the Blue Sun said.

    The serpent hissed at me.

    It was still pissed, I couldn''t me it¡­

    After it flicked its tongue at the Blue Sun for a few more time, the Blue Sun smiled and said, "She''ll agree under one condition," the Blue Sun said.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "You must marry the serpent¡­" the Blue Sun said.

    "Huh?"

 Chapter 757: Ceremony

    "What the? That came out of nowhere, also¡­ it is a sna-"

    Before I could finish myst word, the Blue Sun immediately ced her hand on my mouth stopping me from finishing it.

    "Never say that she is a snake, ever again," she told me through Divine Sense. "For this type of Serpent, if she ever hears that she is a snake from you, it will halt her cultivation progress. It is like an Imugi she will go insane. For now, she is barely at the early stage of Void Stage. If she ever reaches the Heavenly Realm, she will transform to a pure fully fledged dragon." She said.

    "I see," I replied, but that didn''t answer my question¡­"

    "Right, well, it was just a small y on words, it isn''t a marriage, but almost simr. It is a contract between you two, if you were to share your blood with her, she would be a part of you. The two of you will be able to harness the Qi of the world, and that which you have lost will be returned to you," the Blue Sun said.

    "I''m really confused, can you like¡­ you know use words I can understand?"

    "Sometimes I wonder if you are extremely smart or just ying dumb, but regardless. What you''re missing in your body, is meridians that can harness the Qi of the world," the Blue Sun said.

    "I don''t really want to throw away my current Poison Meridians, they are what makes me who I am," I replied, "So if making a contract with her forces me to give them up, I''ll just pass on it," I said.

    "That''s the good part, you don''t have to lose out on anything," she said. "The serpant itself will be lending you her Heavenly Qi meridians, while you''ll be loaning it your own meridians, you''ll both be getting double the results with half the effort in cultivation.

    You will no longer be stagnant and unable to proceed in cultivation due to theck of Qi from pills and herbs and have to wait ages to obtain a resource that can boost your cultivation, you can now just simply absorb the heavenly Qi like everyone else thanks to her, and she can use poisons and pills to grow the parts she is missing," the Queen said.

    "That''s why you called it a marriage because it willplement one another?"

    The Blue Sun hesitated for a second and said, "Eh, yeah, yes I suppose," she had a small smile on her face.

    Somehow, I don''t like her wording, but she doesn''t harbor any ill intentions.

    I thought for a second and realized that I wouldn''t be losing out on anything if I were to agree.

    "Sure, why not," I said.

    "Good, now hand over a drop of your own blood essence to the Primordial Serpent God, and she will imitate the contract between you two."

    Usually, cultivators would bite the tip of their tongue to do that, but I''m not into self-muttion. I just pulled a small needle and drew some blood from my forearm, channeling my own Essence blood into any part of my body was not that hard and a drop is a rtively small amount.

    The Serpent was calmly waiting for the drop of blood on the hand of the Blue Sun and as soon as I dripped it on top of its head, the creature began shining in a bright golden sheen. The scales on her body shivered from head to tail before she rapidly jumped up my arm and coiled around it, burning itself and itching itself into my body.

    A searing painful sensation began surging up my arm all the way to my shoulder, then around my torso and down the other arm until it reached my other hand.

    The pain only subsided then, and using Divine Sense, I saw a massive golden tattoo on my body, it was the depiction of the Primordial Serpent God onto my body.

    "Sit down, and release the bits of Soul you have safeguarded in your Dantian, the bit that you obtained when you slew the Primordial Serpent God," the Blue Sun said.

    I sat down and did as asked. The Soul of the Primordial Serpent God that I obtained back in the Vast Expanse was being safeguarded by my own Dragon Soul, and immediately as if linked and wanting to be together, the Dragon Soul dove into the massive ball of soul in my Dantian and made itself part of it.

    The entire globe looked like a scaly egg that soon went up from my Dantian and out of my mouth.

    The tattoo on my body shivered and soon the head of the Primordial Serpent God emerged from my left arm and gobbled up the egg, taking back what once belonged to it. The golden scales shivered once more and suddenly a swath of sensations began invading my mind.

    The energy of the world, I was sensing it once again. The same way I felt when I was using Shen Mo''s body, only this one was far more condensed and concentrated, enough that I felt extremely nauseous and began retching.

    Throwing up bile and fluids nonstop. Cold shivers ran down my spine as I was assaulted with a swath of sensations that I had never felt using this body before.

    The entirety of my cultivation was being washed and bathed by the Qi of the world affecting my senses.

    I couldn''t even utter a word, it wasn''t painful but most extreme difort. My skin was shivering and shaking as it was being affected by the Qi of the world, and my eyes were zooming in and out, as they saw particles they shouldn''t have seen before. My nose began smelling a new type of smell and my tongue felt like it was tasting air itself and it tasted disgusting.

    My ears whistled and my mind reeled.

    "You must be patient, you are like a newborn feeling its body for the first time. Only a million times more condensed and far worse, it is most nauseating and suppressive but you should remain calm and be patient, the longer you resist the better the effects you''ll have.

    And remember, you''re not the only one sensing this, even the Primordial Serpent God is suffering the same thing," the Blue Sun said.

    This was quite the agonizingly annoying feeling I was having.

    But since I should resist and suffer through it, all I have to do is grit my teeth.

    I could hear through muffled and overly loud noises the words of Tao Yang, "Is he going to stay like this for long? This feels rather ufortable."

    "It is actually a miracle that this worked, to be honest. A body that never felt the Heavenly Qi of the world since it first began cultivating¡­ it should have been impossible, but I guess the Bone and Body Grinding Poison isn''t a simple thing. It had taken away all of his senses and gave him new ones. And now that his old senses are back, it is contradicting with them.

    Trying to remove them, but his already powerful and rapidly regenerative body isbating that. Once this is done, he''ll be able to cultivate like everyone else and still be able to use his older method of poison consumption," she said.

    "Will it help him in cultivating to newer heights?" Tao Yang asked.

    "Help him? Once this seeds, even I fail to see where he can go. He has been limited by the world itself since he took his first step in cultivation. Now that he was allowed to be like everyone else, I dare not even say what his speed of cultivation would be like. Regardless, what is interesting is that the Lording Sun knew about this, and never did anything to enable it.

    He had Shen Bao hide the Primordial Serpent God and never showed him how tobine both their forces¡­"

    "You said it was for his own safety," Tao Yang asked.

    "It was, but the Lording Sun should have been able to do what I just did, perhaps the Lording Sun knows something I don''t, I''ll have to ask himter."

    Soon though, I stopped feeling incumbered and was able to slowly breath in and out. The feelings of disgust were soon removed and my body began recovering rapidly.

    My regenerative abilities were able to soon takeover and remove all the difort from the newly acquired ''senses''.

    I took a deep breath and looked at the Blue Sun saying, "This actually feels like shit," I said.

    She smiled, "Congrattions on your sess. Try and rotate your cultivation base," she asked.

    I was already sitting in a lotus position so I only needed to close my eyes and do the same as I was doing when I was in Shen Mo''s body.

    Use the pores on my body as a suction mechanism to absorb the small Qi particles in the air.

    And it was easy to do so, so easy that when I opened my eyes, I saw a reaction of absolute horror on the face of the Blue Sun.

    "What?" I asked.

    She didn''t reply but pointed down.

    Looking around me, where there used to be a vast open n and field of green spiritual herbs fully fed by the Lord of Lords pagoda''s almost endless Qi, there was nothing but a gigantic patch of dry grass that extended as far as the eye can see.

    The Qi absorption level of my body was so astonishingly high that it dried out everything in the vicinity.

 Chapter 758: Remote Control

    The Qi I umted inside me was pretty much enough to bloat a man to the point of exploding. Still, it was rapidly and hastily circted and organized, not into my meridians and Dantian, but all around and between the tattoos on my body.

    The Primordial Serpent God has taken the initiative in harnessing the Qi and spread it all over my body transforming a majority of it into my own Qi and aiding me in my own cultivation.

    My stagnant Void Stage level of cultivation that couldn''t go up no matter how many how many pills and herbs I ate and consumed has already broken through the firstyer and is already almost at the peak of the Void Stage secondyer.

    However, I cannot do this here, I''llpletely destabilize the Lord of Lord''s pagoda''s inner Qi workings.

    "Congrattions on reaching Void Stage secondyer. This means that the small experiment had worked," the Blue Sun said.

    "What is this supposed to do?" I asked.

    "You cultivation I''ve never seen something like this before, you recreated your own meridians and built a new set of them that allowed you to ignore the heavenly order. Though it indeed did help you reach where you are, man makes it and no the heavens, it is iplete," she said.

    "Then, how does the Primordial Serpent Godplete it?" I asked.

    "She does not," the Blue Sun said, "If she did it would revert everything you did. But she adds to it. She covers where you''recking. Though you still can consume spiritual poisons and herbs to go up in rank, you can now use the body of the Primordial Serpent God to harness the worldly Qi like every other cultivator.

    Both your abilities will nowplement each other as she can use your own cultivation further to improve her understanding of her own poison Dao. Not only that, she will also grant you one of her abilities, try and focus your Qi into your eyes," the Blue Sun said.

    The moment I did so, the Blue Sun''s figure became more¡­ visible. I mean the robes on her were suddenly no longer there.

    The Blue Sun realized it immediately and a slightly angry expression appeared on her face as she turned my head away, "Not at me you fool. If it was anyone else their head would have rolled!" she said.

    "I apologize, I really didn''t mean any harm," I said.

    She sighed and said, "This is the Primordial Serpent Sight. She can use it to see through all illusions and fakery, into one''s own body. You can use it to not only diagnose one''s body but also figure out their next move, based on how their muscles and how their Qi would move. Here, she said as she showed me only her arm, what do you see?"

    My eyes shivered as they focused on her arm, Qi was moving slowly at first enough for no one to realize anything, her muscles slightly contracted and I had a feeling that her fingers were about to move. And they did immediately after.

    "Do you understand?" she asked.

    "I can see how blood is being pumped and how Qi is being controlled to recognize the next path or next move of anyone¡­" I said.

    "Indeed, this is basically the first stage, once you improve it further, it will almost go into the range of future sight, although not as powerful, it will make anyone who tries to fight against you feel like they''re moving in slow motion. This is but one of the many secrets that the Primordial Serpent God has.

    If you want to learn more, you''ll need to talk to the expert in the Primordial Beings," she said.

    "The Dusking Sun?" I asked.

    The Blue Sun nodded, "And since he thinks favorably of you, you''ll really learn a lot. I''ll even notify him. For now, we''ll need to continue our research. You said that you can enter the bastion?" she asked.

    "I can," I said as I summoned Shen Mo''s body.

    Which caught the Blue Sun''s attention immediately.

    "Interesting Avatar, but it is far too low leveled for us to use, it is barely at the level where it can sustain the Qi at the first area of the Thunder Domain," she said.

    "Oh, this isn''t for that. As I have said before, we won''t even be taking a step into the Bastion. It''ll be too tough to exin, let me just show you." I said as I sat the Avatar down and split my focus in two.

    Difficult but manageable.

    Once both I and Shen Mo''s bodies were operating separately, I sat him down and moved my main body back at the white training space.

    Back in Shen Mo''s body I said, "Now, that the Min Body is out training, we''ll start with entering the Bastion, can you please wear these on your heads? I said as I handed Tao Yang and the Blue Sun a helmet each.

    We all wore the helmets and I said, "Please don''t fight back, rx and let the helmet take your consciousness to the Bastion. It will allow us to control the Puppets I left inside the bastion. And we can use them to navigate the Bastion without worry or harm.

    "Really?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Yes, I have been trying to finalize this project for the longest time. Although it is iplete, it is still a great way to control and organize all sorts of troops under one''s control directly if need be." I said.

    The Blue Sun smiled, "I suppose this is how you''ll invade the Sea of Demons?"

    "Something along those lines, now rx please," I said as I pressed a button on the side of the helmet.

    My vision immediately swam and morphed and I was back in a darkened ce.

    Looking around us, there was nothing but destruction and debris everywhere. The visual was slightly below optimal. But it was enough to see all around us.

    I looked around and there were more than a thousand puppets standing still. Some of them had a lot of damage on them, but the majority were in perfect operating condition.

    I had a sword and shield, so I was currently controlling a vanguard puppet. They are slightly slow but they have a high durability and are able to fight against brutes on equal terms if controlled properly.

    "What is this?" one of the puppets asked. It was a Gunner puppet. With several fire arms strapped to its side. It also had arge twelve-chamber rocketuncher on its back. This was the Tao Yang from the voice.

    "I suppose you already know, you''re a gunner puppet, you can use all the weapons you''re carrying however you see fit. But remember, your ammunition is limited so try not to waste more than you need," I said.

    "Impressive," the Blue Sun said who was right next to us. It was the lightest form of puppets, the Sniper. It was fast and agile and held incredible firepower with the sniper it had. The only issue was its durability, even a white Rakshasa would be able to rip it apart if it caught it.

    I exined how both their ss works and how I''ll be their shield. They agreed, and Tao Yang was the one who would be guiding us through the bastion as she was our scout.

    "We''ll need to collect some ammo, grab as many as you need, and ce them in the puppet''s side bag. The other puppets will remain here as our reserve lives," I said.

    "What do you mean?" Tao Yang asked.

    "We''re going to do an undercover operation, there is a high risk of discovery and death, and if one of our puppets is terminated, instead of us returning back to the pagoda, it will transfer our consciousness back into another puppet of these ones. So, we can resume discovery."

    "What are the risks?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Risks? Nothing more than bent and broken steel, it poses zero risk to us what so ever. Also all the damage taken will only be suffered by the puppets. As for our souls and mind they''re well protected and saved from this," I said.

    "This is an incredible invention¡­ I can see how this can renovate cultivation in its entirety," the Blue Sun said.

    "I know, I already thought on how to mize this, to make puppets fight against each other to solve issues instead of cultivators using their own lives to solve grudges, not to mention tournaments and many more, but we''ll think of that once we''re done with our mission," I said as I took a step forward.

    "I suppose I don''t need to teach you how to use your weapons?" I asked.

    "I already saw it used once, that is all I need," The Blue Sun said as she moved her puppet alongside me with incredible grace.

    Tao Yang wasn''t any slower as she was moving with us looking back and forward.

    "This is¡­ fun," she said.

    "You haven''t seen the fun part yet," I smiled.

    "There is more?" The Blue Sun asked.

    "Yes, say, Status Screen," (hehe I couldn''t help it)

    The Blue Sun and Tao Yang both did so. And a blue screen appeared in front of their eyes.

    [Status Screen]

    Vanguard Puppet.

    Current Health: 100%

    Current Shield: 100%

    Right Arm weapon Durability 96%

    Left Arm Shield Durability 99%

    Current Energy: 94%

    "Whoa, what is this?" asked the Blue Sun.

    "That will help you keep track of the damage that urred on your puppet and how your weapons are faring, the reasonI asked you to stockpile on weapons from the nonfunctional puppets is so that you can use whatever is damaged as either spare parts, ammunition or as material to recover energy. Now, let''s keep going! For the Legion!"

    "What Legion?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Hah, don''t worry about it, I just felt like saying that, let''s go now!"

 Chapter 759: Beast Flow

    *** As some of my old readers remember, I usually take inspiration from some of the games I y and enjoy and use some of the beasts or bosses (of course I change a lot) that I enjoy ying against and add them to my story. Today''s Chapter is Sponsored by Thundering Mephis from Wuwa. I hope you enjoy the first part of this fight.***

    While half of my focus was dedicated to going alongside the Blue Sun and Tao Yang into the bastion, the other half was preupied with more important matters.

    When and once the Rakshasaes into the beyond, things will be ugly.

    The Rakshasa themselves are already powerful enough inside the bastion to be deadly to Void Stage and Void Shattering Stage Cultivators. As for the Brutes and Silver ones, they''re deadly unless one is in the Origin Realm and Shattering Realm.

    I on the other hand am incredibly ipatible and weak against the Rakshasa on open terrain. Because they''ll have ess to their Qi when they''re outside and no amount of poison I can spit out will be enough to stop or halt their movement.

    It is very simple actually, since they can coat themselves with loads of Origin Qi and just spit out or exhaust out the poison, I be irrelevant. Unless I have enough firepower to prate their hide and poison them from the inside, all my abilities are useless.

    So, I thought and thought, and came to the realization that there is only one way out of this.

    Basicbat. Learn, improve, and adapt.

    Having fighting experience against powerful foes is the best way to learn how they move and fight, and only by knowing one''s foe can you improve yourself.

    I was standing in the white space where the Silver Rakshasa was sealed up. The fact that the Lord of Lords pagoda is able to sustain with ease the powering from an Origin Shattering Cultivator is a good boon to protect it from inner destruction.

    The Silver Rakshasa though sealed to the point of being at the Void Stage was still dangerous, but it is iparably easier than when it has its full power.

    Just as I was about to unlock its first locks and seals so I could begin my fighting practice, the Automaton appeared next to me saying, "Master, you have a guest."

    "A guest?" I frowned.

    "He is a friend of the Lord, he has asked for permission to enter the pagoda," the Automaton said as he showed me a visual representation of the person he was talking about.

    It was a man wearing a full set of ck robes and a conical straw hat.

    He smiled wide as he noticed the ''spying'' device and said, "You can''t keep me out waiting, Shen Bao."

    "Oh, the Dusking Sun, get him inside," I said.

    After all, if he truly did want to get inside no one could stop him.

    A portal opened up and the Dusking Sun showed up inside the white space next to me.

    He took a good look around the space as he removed his hat and sat down by calling out a chair from his own holding bag.

    "The Blue Sun called me saying that you need my help with your small serpent," he said. "But, what the hell is that?" he said as his eyes were locked on the Silver Rakshasa."

    "Oh, I thought I showed you this before," I said.

    "You did, you showed me a dead one. You never said anything about you having one that is alive," he smiled.

    "Well, I need it¡­" I said.

    "I can see you''re trying to use it for practice, but what you''re doing is futile," he said.

    "How so?" I asked.

    "Because it has no urge or need to fight you as you want, it is trapped, sealed, and captured, with no hope of escaping. It will never fight you to the best of its ability it will probably act meek and weak and will not give you the excitement of a real fight."

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    "Then what do you suggest? I drug it with rage-inducing poison?" I asked.

    "That will make things even worse, it will no longer act with rationality as it fights you andpletely throws you off when you fight the real thing. Learning bad habits will get you killed."

    He wasn''t keen on giving me the answer, he wanted me to figure it out for myself.

    It took me a second before I said, "I need to promise it release if it wins," I mumbled.

    "Right on the money, if not given a goal or an objective it will never give you what you want, but getting it to understand you is the harder part."

    "Not really, they are semi-sentient," I said as I turned to the massive four-meter-sized creature.

    "You there," I said as it growled at me, "I can set you free," I said.

    It clearly didn''t believe me as it was still jerking in its ce, but the weights on it and the Qi disturbing formations were stopping it in its ce.

    I pulled up the Lord of Lords pagoda token and waved it next to me. It opened a small portal where it showed the Silver Rakshasa the outside world and it tried to rip the chains on it to escape.

    But it couldn''t budge or move.

    I ced the token around my neck and said, "If you want to get out, you have to beat me."

    "That is incentive enough, you can see intelligence in its eyes, it understood you," the Dusking Suns aid.

    "I guess I should set it at a one-hundredth of its ability and test the waters," I said as I released the seals.

    Not one secondter, the Silver Rakshasa lunged at me, it was fast, incredibly so.

    I moved back as I dodged its half-meter-long ws. The wind des from them were enough to rip a man apart but I had thankfully moved aside from them.

    Creeping Demise was already in my hand. It was a weapon that would grow alongside the user, so for now it was at the stage of Void Stage cultivation and should be enough to handle the weakened Silver Rakshasa.

    The creature then jumped forward, momentarily flickering in and out of existence. It was probably trying to enable its stealth, but failing because of the inscription and Qi inhibitors I injected and ced in it.

    However, one would almost wish that the creature was able to go into stealth and invisibility instead of this flickering.

    Due to its already incredible speed, it was feeling as if he was teleporting and it never moved in a straight line.

    It moved from side to side, using the power and bnce of its body to trick the eye into following nothing but an afterimage. It dashed to the right, and flickered out of existence, making you look for it on the right, but it had already used that small flickering time to dodge and appear on my left.

    If it wasn''t for the hair on the back of my head rising, I wouldn''t have seen the iing frontal flip that was above me.

    I threw myself aside as I watched the spiked and barbed tail of the Silver Rakshasa strike down on the ground. Creating a powerful shockwave that ruffled both my and the Dusking Sun''s robes.

    The Silver Rakshasa for some idiotic reason took note of the Dusking Sun and stepped toward him. The Dusking Sun''s eyes looked like a fading sun in the distance, they were still however bright and threatening. Though the Sun may dusk, it still is as hot as it is in its zenith if one gets close enough.

    The Rakshasa stopped, he realized the danger in front of him in an instant and decided to calmly back away, it never turned or allowed its back to be pointing in the direction of the Dusking Sun, it always kept its distance and attention on the Dusking Sun.

    It then lunged at me, its ws aimed to take away the token hung as a pendant, but I swatted it away, roughly and difficulty so with Creeping Demise.

    The sword grip dug into my palms and blood sttered out of them, the shockwave was enough to send my entire body into a shivering vibrating shock.

    The weight of that simple looking blow felt like I was struck by the base of a mountain. And this was just one percent.

    "You''ll break your sword if you try that again," the Dusking Sun said.

    I knew that, and he was right, the sword was already chipped and cracked. Another frontal block will definitely destroy it.

    This is just one percent of the Silver Rakshasa''s power when it has its Qi. The Bastion was severely limiting their ability,pletely sealing them and stopping them from showcasing a fraction of their true might.

    No wonder they devastated an entire.

    I needed to switch my strategy, going into a frontalbat mode against this creature will humble me real quick.

    The Rakshasa was not going to give up the moment it bought itself, as it crossed both ws forward and swung at me in an X-like move. Blocking would mean instant death. And dodging back will have me suffer through the following wind des.

    An idea popped into my head and I took a forceful step, pushing myself back from the ws.

    Without missing a beat, I gripped my fist and instantly used the Heaven Swapping Ring''s ability changing my and the Silver Rakshasa''s position where he was now the one about to receive his own ws.

    The Silver Rakshasa was struck and blown away by his own wind des.

    I took a deep breath and noticed the disappointed look on the Dusking Sun.

    "I know, it is cheating, but I really didn''t know what to do then," I said.

    "You shouldn''t keep relying on your tools to save you. Use them only in desperate situations. Though it was a decent application and use, now it learned that you can do that so it will be more tame with its abilities. Shen Bao, try and limit your use of your tools. To gain experience fighting beasts you must always think like a beast," he said.

    "How can I do that?" I asked.

    "Didn''t the Blue Sun teach you how to use the Primordial Serpent God''s eyes? Use those, they are now a part of you. Watch how it breathes, its muscles, and how they move. If you always y on the defensive you will sooner orter be exhausted, you must take initiative in fights. Flow, beat, and tempo.

    A fight of beasts is like a y with different elements together that end up harmonizing into a tune. You must find your tune and then y it until one of you loses."

 Chapter 760: Legendary Super Sai...Cultivator

    My eyes shook, then my pupils dted then shrunk shaping themselves to match those of a viper. My vision dimmed for a second, but the contrast and quality of everything around me rose incredibly. I could see not only the physical but also the moving Qi all over the ce as if it had always been there.

    I felt nauseous for a second, but by generating a poison capable of nullifying nausea and increasing focus in my brain I was able to easily get over the ufortable feeling.

    The Silver Rakshasa had a purple aura around it, it looked like a hologram that was almost linked and attached to his skin, and that holographic image was always one step faster.

    Before the Rakshasa would move, it would take the move first. The hologram would peel itself from the Silver Rakshasa and take a step, only for the Rakshasa to take the exact same step a momentter.

    It was like watching an after image only this one was always ahead of the move.

    The Hologram immediately jumped up and the rakshasa followed him, and then the two began spinning horizontally in the air and dove at me like a torpedo.

    The rakshasa''s ws were pointed forward and as he spun they looked like the head of a drill about to rip the heavens themselves from the sheer force he was generating.

    Blocking that was not possible, parrying it is even worse.

    The hologram shot out first and prated through my upper torso, while flung my upper body back, dodging the true Rakshasa that came immediately after it.

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    The Silver Rakshasa had missed, but it never skipped a beat as it wed at the ground and then spun around its body vertically then mmed both feet on the ground. In the same breath, I saw the holographic image shoot toward me like a bullet.

    I jumped up, only for the real Rakshasa''s body to zoom right under me. It had tightened the muscles on its thighs and boosted itself forward like a loose cannon but thanks to the sight from the Primordial Serpent God I already saw what was going to happen.

    While in the air I crossed both of my hands into the Poison Tiger w and struck down, mming the confused Rakshasa right against the ground with light wounds but a weighty and heavy blow.

    The creature rolled on the ground and began flickering in and out of sight. His holographic image however didn''t as I saw it move and zigzag sliding across the field as it jumped with an extended w aiming to take my entire head and rip it out of my torso.

    I lightly hunched myself before the real w came. In a fraction of a second grabbed his elongated arm with both my arms, spun my body around, and using the rakshasa''s own body weight, strength, and velocity, I simply Judo threw it right on the ground in front of me.

    The blow was strong enough to elicit a pained screech from the rakshasa that had its body mmed against explosive resistant floor of the lord of Lords pagoda, and since the blow was so strong and had no way to release itself it bounced the body of the Rakshasa forward into a spiraling tumble that only stopped when he crashed into a nearby white wall.

    "Nice throw, keep your focus up though," the Dusking Sun said.

    And he was right, although the rakshasa''s body was so far away, his holographic image was already halfway across the distanceing in a beeline.

    It jumped up and spun forward with its tail wrapped around it. The creature looked like an iing cogwheel of deadly spikes and swords as the protrusions on its tail had elongated.

    Stopping that thing would be ill-advised but I can''t let it just spin and saw through me.

    The holographic image went right through me while the real one was almost halfway toward me mimicking the older holographic image.

    Just as the spinning Silver Rakshasa was about to hit me. My Qi pumped up with reckless vigor as I took a semi-side step and spun my entire body, from the hips all the way to the shoulders while mming my right foot firmly into the ground.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! FIST OF ETERNAL GOLD!"

    My entire right arm shone in a bright golden light as the Qi in my body was spiraling almost out of control, shivers and excitement ran down my spine as the Qi itself was pumping endless energy into every cell, muscle fiber, and vein in my right arm.

    A torrent of ejecting Qi shot out down my elbow further increasing the damage of the fist and it struck right into the side of the Spinning Raksahsa while his des missed me by the skin of my teeth.

    The blow connected beautifully, and it immediately blew the rakshasa away from his spinning form and sent it flying and once again tumbling on the ground.

    Looking at my right arm, it was mangled and broken in several ces, not a single finger was intact from that blow. But I didn''t feel the pain, the adrenaline pumping in my veins and the increased heartbeat made me feel alive.

    I flexed my right arm to the side and all the broken bones were re-aligned and immediately fused back together. The Book of Body from my Poison God''s Heritage was working wonders in repairing internal damage.

    Looking at the downed creature that was standing up barely I had a wide grin rising up my face.

    You know what¡­ fuck it.

    I pumped up my body in poison and enabled the gigantification process. The size and reach difference are too vast for what I''m nning so I''m going to match the and level the field.

    I didn''t go through the full gigantification process and only increased my size to match that of the four-meter-tall rakshasa.

    I then mmed both my feet into the ground, my arms lightly tucked to my side, and roared with as much power and Qi in my body as I could use.

    A green vigorous and powerful aura of dispersing and honestlypletely wasted Qi was shooting out of my body. It made my hair rise up and il alongside my robes.

    The Dusking Sun had a confused look on his face, he clearly noticed the wasted Qi I was exerting but I didn''t really care much.

    If we''re doing this, we''re doing it the right way.

    With a bit of hair pigment change thanks to a few harmless poisons in my hair I was able to change it from pure ck to bright green.

    And suddenly the Silver Rakshasa was almost up against me but I was already done.

    I took a step forward and flew right into its face, the Fist of Roaring Qi fighting style was all I''m going to use, even if every bone in me broke.

    Qi spun and spiraled around me with extreme vigor as I struck at the iing w of the Silver Rakshasa.

    Going against it head to head would immediately break my bones, however, striking the iing w from the wrist would parry it. And since I was able to see his next blow¡­ an exchange of a hundred or more fists to w happened in a second.

    Blow after iing blow I struck and parried where booming explosions echoed all around us at the speed of sound.

    With a final, deafening roar, I summoned all the remaining Qi within me, channeling it through my entire body into both my arms. Enormous torrents of Qi were jetting out of my body, and my stack of internal Qi was depleting rapidly to the point of making me feel weakened. The sheer power of it made my vision blur, but I held on, every fiber of my being focused on this onest strike.

    The Silver Rakshasa''s ws shed at me with relentless fury, but my fists moved faster, parrying each strike with pinpoint precision.

    "Fist of Roaring Qi! Palms of The Eternal God!" I bellowed, the sound of my voice barely audible over the cacophony of our battle. The energy swirled around me, a vortex of golden and green light that seemed to bend reality itself.

    The Rakshasa''s eyes widened in a mix of rage and confusion.

    Why would a creature as weak as I dare and use up all its reserved energy to fight it?

    For the Rakshasa even if it stood still and I piled on it everything I had in me I wouldn''t even be able to break through its outer exoskeleton not to mention deal damage.

    However, palms and fists are different. The parrying of the ws had never stopped but every once in a long while one of my palms wouldnd on the chest of the Silver Rakshasa. While more than just once its ws would dig into bits and pieces of my flesh that would rapidly be mended thanks to the Book of Body''s regenerative ability.

    The damage on me would heal, but the damage on the Rakshasa wouldpile. And soon it noticed and realized what I was nning. Though its exoskeleton is hard, it still connected shock right into its internal organs, showcased immediately by the blue blood that sttered out of some of its orifices as both our arms were shing.

    It lunged forward, ws poised to tear through my defenses, but I was already in motion. My feet dug into the ground, my muscles coiled like springs ready to unleash one final, devastating attack.

    I found a single moment where the Rakshasa would usually take a step back and then m down with its tail at me, he had done it multiple times before and I always dodged it to the side.

    This time, however, the holographic image showed that it was actually going to strike at where I would usually dodge.

    A perfect opportunity. I immediately moved forward, both hands cupped to my side as all of my energy was poured right into them. And then in a single motion, right where the Rakshasa had struck next to me thinking I would dodge and miss, my cupped hands moved forward opening into two connected palms one above the other and right into the Silver Rakshasa''s chest.

    ¡­ -For copyright reasons we won''t be mentioning the name of the skill used-

    "K¡­.HA!"

    A blow of destructive and fully concentrated Qi shot right into the Rakshasa''s chest. It harbored every bit of Qi I had in me, fully rippling and rumbling right into its body.

    The bright green light echoed outward of my palms and shot the Silver Rakshasa away from me into more tumbling and dirt-eating spirals across the entire Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The explosion itself had caused me severe burns on my palms that took longer than usual to heal due to the exhausted state I was in. But¡­ I did it.

    I mean, who in my position and ability wouldn''t at least try and perform that skill even once?

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 Chapter 761: Going Dark

    The Dusking sun stood up from his seat, both hands behind his back as he approached me.

    I was heaving and desperately taking in breath after breath from the exertion. Both of my arms were numb and had massive ck and purple spots all over them from the bruising of merely parrying most of the Rakshasa''s blows.

    My hair reverted to its original color and so did my body as the half-gigantification had ended.

    My body pumped up blood like never before as it tried to desperately heal up the bruising and mild damage all over my body andbat the fatigue from going into Titan Mode.

    "Em, what was that?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    For me, this was a childhood dream, for him, I must have looked like an idiot with a lot of power using them for the first time.

    "I just wanted to let everything out," I said.

    "I mean¡­ I''m not saying that what you did was wrong," he said. "In fact¡­ it was absurdly urate to what I asked you to do, to let go and go into the flow. But you did it a little bit too¡­ let''s just say perfectly."

    "You mean you don''t think what I did was wrong?" I asked.

    "Yes and no, the first thing is, you entered the flow ofbatting a beast pretty rapidly and epted your ferocious nature to a great extent, you never lost your sanity and always had a goal in mind, the only issue was, you wasted more than two-thirds of your Qi doing random stuff, what was that outpour of Qi you did at the start? What was the point of that?" he asked.

    "Emm¡­" I scratched my head, I can''t say that I wanted to be a Super Saiyan, that''s just incredulous.

    "I would suppose that you wanted to frighten your opponent with how much Qi you have as you disyed a good margin of it as expendable aura, which frankly could work against other sentient cultivators," he said.

    "I see," I replied to him as I took in his words.

    "But, that won''t work against that," he said as he pointed at the now-standing and quite healthy-looking Silver Raksahsa.

    I sighed, "I knew it wouldn''t have worked, the cultivation difference is too huge. I usually make up for it by using poisons. To disturb and disable one''s own Qi, it would instantly lower their body''s physical resistance and allow me to take them out. But since this is training I can''t do that¡­"

    "Not only that part, it is higher level than you in cultivation, and it already knows the extent of your Qi. What you did by massively releasing your Qi was simply¡­ foolish as it didn''t understand why would an ant exhaust itself even further before it fought it, not like it would have ever won in the first ce."

    The Silver Rakshasa didn''t approach us, I would suppose it was because the Dusking Sun was right next to me.

    "I see," I replied.

    "However," he interjected. "What was it, euh, like this?" he said as he took "The Stance" and immediately began exerting his own aura.

    My eyes widened, if a Sun stage cultivator was to release his aura like I did, it would ruin the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    But, that never happened, as although an incredible and massive jet of power was constantly outpouring out of the Dusking Sun, it didn''t feel¡­ tangible.

    It was still frightening enough to make one think several times over then approach him, clearly disyed as the Silver Rakshasa jumped back andnded on all fours, it hissed and screeched low, as its tail was standing on end and the spikes on his entire body were vibrating and shaking from both fear and readiness to fight for its life.

    "Oh, this feels rather nice," he said as he stood up, with the aura around him still vibrating and letting out not just visual disy but also electric discharges and sound.

    "How did you do that, I don''t even see Qi being exerted," I asked.

    "It is because I''m not letting my Qi out randomly, but burning my Qi to disy the aura itself. Unlike what you did you simply opened the box that hosted your Qi and let it out, but I used it and ignited it. For someone so smart, you actually never thought of doing this," he said.

    "Well, I never used heavenly Qi before using this body, so it''s a first. And I think I understand too, but I''m too exhausted to do this right now. I''ll need to go out and absorb more heavenly Qi before I can do this," I said.

    "Why? Didn''t you receive massive amounts of Saint Qi crystals from many of the suns?" the Dusking Sun said.

    I almost facepalmed as I forgot about that.

    "I honestly forgot that you can absorb Qi from crystals, as I only used crystals to power my machines, right, I''ll go and cultivate for a bit to recover," I said.

    "Good, once you''re done, you''ll need to release a couple more seals of the Silver Raksahsa, and then I''ll guide you on how to properly fight it," he said.

    "I appreciate the help, although I didn''t do much to repay you for it," I said.

    "You seem to have forgotten that you removed a parasite from inside my brain," the Dusking Sun said. "That is something I''m still repaying to this day, don''t worry about it," he said.

    I nodded to him and headed to another sealed room inside the white space where I dumped a massive pile of Saint Qi crystals and began absorbing them one by one.

    ***

    While my main body was cultivating, I was still using half my focus on the puppet alongside the Blue Sun and To Yang.

    The three of us approached the broken gate that the giant Noble Rakshasa had destroyed. It was in tatters and had no hope of being reconstructed. There were thankfully no Rakshasas nearby and from what we could see, the entire area was empty and void of life.

    "You already went through this door, I suggest you go to the research area if you want knowledge about Soulsteel," Tao Yang said.

    "And where is that?" I asked.

    "Here, through this door," she said as she pointed at the smaller-sized door next to the broken main one.

    We approached it and found it locked.

    "I don''t have my body with me, otherwise I would have used my soul energy to open it, it will take a long time to break this down," she said.

    I noticed the small keyhole where the administrator had always used its tentacles to ess all sorts of facilities in the Bastion.

    Looking around, the small body of the Administrator was actually pinned under a pile of rubble.

    "The Administrator, it should still be functional," I said.

    I went toward the debris and pried up the wall-sized chunk of wreckage above the administrator''s cube-like body.

    A small red light appeared on top of its head before it took note and notice of us.

    "New visitors?" he asked.

    "No, same ones from before, only different bodies," I said.

    "I see," the Administrator said.

    "I suppose you still have some Soul Energy within you to function," I asked.

    "I do, I was about to flush it out, in fear that the Rakshasa might consume it, but the pile of rocks fell on me and pinned me down, so I entered hibernation mode. But it seems that I was good fortune that didn''t happen," he said.

    "Indeed, it is, we''re back with your Queen, she''s hosting this body," I pointed at the Gunner puppet.

    "What sad fate, that my Queen had lost her body and been turned to a puppet," the Administrator said.

    "That didn''t happen," I said, "She is hale and healthy, and is guiding us through the Bastion. Her body is safely guarded outside the bastion and she is very much alive," I said.

    "Is that true?" the Administrator asked Tao Yang.

    "Pretty much, as yourmanding officer, first rank, Queen of Srous, you''remanded to follow and guide us to where we require. ess code is¡­"

    I couldn''t hear it as she started speaking in a very strange and random way, her tone and way of speech was¡­ well, cryptic is all I can say.

    "Orders received, and hierarchy has been established. Please follow me," the Administrator said.

    It then approached the locked door and used one of its tentacle limbs to ess it.

    Once the limb entered the keyhole the door, simply folded on itself and disappeared opening a long path for us to move through.

    "Please remain on guard," the Administrator asked.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "Because Rakshasa might still be inside this area of the Bastion."

    "Wasn''t it locked?" I asked.

    "It is only locked from here; the Bastion had already lost too much energy to keep up every facility functional. As for this area, although the entrance is sealed, it has several breaches alongside it, and some Rakshasa could be inside it."

    Well, if it had a breach we could have entered from the breaches, but I guess it wouldn''t be smart since we''ll have to enter through the main door and halls where we had to fight thousands of Rakshasas thest time.

    I simply followed the administrator as he moved and made sure that I was looking right and left with my shield held firmly in front of me.

    The tunnel itself was dark, but that didn''t affect us, as I did have night and thermal vision installed on all the puppets just in case I had to use them to fight in the dark or against enemies that use stealth.

    And so we walked in the dark.

 Chapter 762: Infiltration

    The pathway we were on was enough for about five people to walk side by side without any of them feeling difort, which was in fact a good enough length for me to move and fight with space to spare and just about enough for the two more agile units to maneuver without being too affected by the terrain.

    The Darkness of the tunnel made it difficult to see, but thanks to several visual aiding mechanisms like infra-red sight, and echolocation that is installed as inscriptions in the puppet''s mind, I was able to see and even hear everything around me.

    Including the slow breath of a white rakshasa far back in the tunnel.

    Due to the inability to use Divine Sense, I could only use radiomunication between the puppets, but that would undoubtedly alert the White Rakshasa sleeping in the tunnel.

    I held my hand up, closed my fist, then pointed two fingers forward.

    The two behind me didn''t understand what I meant but knew that since I didn''t use words, that there was a reason not to.

    They scanned the area up ahead using infrared and noticed the sleeping rakshasa.

    Tao Yang dropped to one knee and carried her sniper rifle in the shooting position, but I stopped her by shaking my hand lightly.

    I then ced my palm on the ground, and a small metallic sphere fell down from a hole in the puppet''s wrist.

    The small sphere opened up into a spider that resembled Z. I then pulled a small poison pellet and ced it on the back of the spider. The spider''s back opened up and took in the pellet, it then began skirting around and moving rapidly until it reached the sleeping Rakshasa.

    Soon, a growl of annoyance echoed in the distance and we could see through the puppet sight how the white rakshasa smacked the spider into bits and pieces.

    But not a secondter, the Rakshasa began shivering and shuddering, then without a sound it simply froze over and turned to brittle ice.

    "let''s keep moving," I said.

    The tunnel felt long and dreary, especially after we reached the area where the Rakshasa was sleeping in. The entire area was covered in slime and secretions. It was probably defecating and relieving itself right next to where it slept. Nasty.

    I shook my head and moved up ahead, there was more to this tunnel to uncover than this.

    Soon we were asked to stop, "Here," Tao Yang said, in a quite low and barely audible voice.

    Next to us was¡­ well, a wall, a very inconspicuous wall. And all she did was point at the wall and the administrator that followed after us used its tentacle to prate through a hidden keyhole.

    A doorway opened up to a massive library that held and hosted massive amounts of square blocks of different colors and engravings on them.

    "These are memory cards. They host our knowledge, understanding of the world, heritage, and our cultivation methods," Tao Yang said as she pointed at the stacked blocks of bs.

    They are like books I guess, or hard drives.

    "This is the knowledge of your world?" I asked.

    "Yes, in its entirety. It is all here. Even what the Blue Sun is looking for is here," Tao Yang said as she pointed at one small dais that held a red memory card that wasrger than most.

    The Blue sun approached the b and was about to grab it when Tao Yang held her hand, "Please," Tao Yang said.

    "What is it?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Promise me, that you''ll not use this as we did¡­"

    "You mean¡­ the souls?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Yes, it needs the soul of a willing person to create Soulsteel or the soul of a thousand unwilling. And finding someone willing to die is far harder than killing a thousand innocent soul." Tao Yang said.

    "We already discussed how we''ll be using the souls of beasts," the Blue Sun said.

    Reluctantly, Tao Yang released her hand.

    The Blue Sun pulled up the b and tried to understand its content, but without viable use of Divine Sense, it was impossible to even analyze and scan the b.

    "We''ll have to take this with us¡­ oh wait, I''m too foolish, how the hell are we going to leave?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Em, remember what I said, we don''t need to leave," I replied.

    "Howe?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Automaton, can you hear me," I said.

    It took a few seconds before I received a reply.

    "Yes my lord,"

    "Can you open a teleportation gate?" I asked.

    It took another second or two before the reply came.

    "I cannot, you are in a heavily distorted area since your real body isn''t present in the bastion. I need you to stabilize or at least neutralize the effect of spatial tampering for me to open a gate," he said.

    Hmm, I guess he used my original body as a beacon to stabilize the gate when I was here before.

    "Damn, I thought we could just use a gate to ce the knowledge from here¡­" I sighed.

    "We still can," Tao Yang said.

    "How so?" I asked.

    "We''ll need to head to a more dangerous ce, but we can actually get space stable enough for extraction there," Tao Yang said.

    "And where is that?" I asked.

    "Right next to where the Noble Rakshasa was sealed. There are several engines that are deeply buried under the entire area that are affecting the flight and discement of the Bastion. Due to the critical failure of several of them, we crashed into the beyond, but some of them are still functional and they are affecting spacew.

    They''re the reason why no one can fly inside the bastion and why the Bastion is still¡­ alive."

    Oh, a new type of engine¡­ if I could recreate an engine powerful enough to operate the Bastion¡­ and use it to generate energy for my own production and creation¡­ the things I could make would be amazing, to say the least.

    "Good, then we can go there," I said.

    "But there is one problem," she said.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "If you hamper spatial interference, it will also allow the Raksahsas to use Qi, they will obliterate us in an instant. Not to mention they might even be able to leave the Bastion," she said.

    It''s basically turning off the firewall when you have a bunch of viruses waiting to enter. Risky¡­ but worth the shot.

    "Automaton, can you notify The Dusking Sun of what just urred," I said.

    A second or soter, "Roger. He has been notified and is saying that he will be ready in case of any emergency."

    "Good, the Dusking Sun will be helping us," I said.

    "How long will it take me to leave the puppet''s consciousness and be back in my real body?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "About half a breath''s worth of time," I replied.

    "Good, I''ll also extract first, and wait with the Dusking Sun in case of any emergency. So, this sounds like a good n, do we move to the engine area?" she asked.

    "We''ll do so in a second, but I''ll have to grab these things now," I said as I opened the Puppet''s own storage bag and began absorbing every single b in the area.

    There were about two to three million pieces of these things, and they were quite weighty, thankfully they managed to fit inside the storage bag of the puppet.

    After checking and double-checking if anything was missing we decided to head out of the library room.

    "Do we have to go back from where we came from?" I asked.

    "No need, there is a nearby breach in this tunnel that will lead us all the way to the fifth level," The Administrator said.

    I nodded and we followed the small administrator as he navigated the tunnel.

    There was thankfully no more rakshasa in the area we were going through, but that wouldn''t be the case once we reached the breach.

    The path ahead began brightening up a bit and there was a massive crack on the side of the tunnel. Sludge and old crusted slime were stered all over the area. I''m sure if I was in my real body this area would have smelled worse than sewers.

    We approached the breech and I peeked from the side, scanning the new room. There was nothing out of order, and the ce looked empty without any rakshasa or creatures moving about.

    "Looks clear," I said as I moved forward into arge open area with nothing but pirs and a high roof.

    There were several hatches for waste disposal on the other side of the room. They were simr to the hatch we used to drop to the fifth area thest time.

    "You can use these waste disposal hatches to leave the third floor and enter the fifth floor directly. It will put you near the engine floor," the Administrator said.

    "How is the area down there?" I asked.

    "You mean in terms of Raksahsa?" the Administrator asked.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Well, it is at least far better than here," he said.

    "Howe?"

    "What I mean is, there is about a fifth of the number of Rakshasa on the fifth-floor engine room than there is in this room," it exined.

    I frowned, was he bugging out? There was not a single rakshasa in sight. Maybe there were a couple Silver ones hidden, but my infrared and heat vision didn''t show anything.

    I heard a metallic tap on my shoulder and turned to see Tao Yang''s puppet looking up.

    I followed her direction and saw something that was enough to make one''s body shiver.

    Tens of thousands of rakshasas werefortably hanging upside down above us. They were like bats sleeping and resting¡­

    And we had to cross the entire room using metallic puppets that creaked and nked every step of the way.

    What a nice way to start the day¡­

 Chapter 763: Communication Is Key

    Well, this makes things awkward.

    I suppose since they had already run and chased after us, and realized they were still trapped, they went back to their hibernation. Since we didn''t trigger anything this time to wake them up, they remained asleep.

    ¡­

    Wait, that doesn''t sound right.

    We killed one of them, shouldn''t they have realized it and woken up?

    I couldn''t ry the thought to Tao Yang and the Blue Sun in fear of waking up some of the rakshasa.

    So I had to theorize it myself.

    Thinking about it, the way we killed the Raksahsa was different. It wasn''t direct, and I used poison. Since there was still some poison hanging in the air from thest time we came here¡­ the rakshasa probably deduced that one of them died to that.

    Not to mention the kill was stealthy and didn''t bring much noise nor caught anything''s attention.

    Before I could even finish the though, something heavy took a step in front of me.

    I didn''t move.

    But I realized what it was from the fact that it only had two feet. It was a roaming Silver Rakshasa. They didn''t sleep like the rest I guess.

    Tao Yang and the Blue Sun noticed it too, but they too didn''t act, thankfully.

    The Silver Raksahsa leaned forward, its ugly mouth was right up my face, and I was sure that if I was using my real body, I''d both be sliced in half and be disgusted to death from the stench of his breath.

    The rakshasa took a could strong sniffs through his nose-less nostrils against the hard cold steel of the puppet I was controlling.

    Finding nothing worth of note, it just rose back up to its standing position, and walked away into the darker area of the dome and then disappeared from sight.

    I tried taking a breath to express the pressure easing, but was once again reminded that I was inside a puppet.

    I stepped back inside the breach and into the tunnel to discuss what was going on with my teammates.

    "The Rakshasa do not see you," the small administrator said.

    "Howe?" I asked.

    "Because you are not alive, to them you are no different than a b of metal. Useless and if you block their path they''ll simply push you or destroy you to move forward. They do not see the person moving the machine, they only see the steel. They can also see and sense motion, so it is always advised to remainpletely still if a group of them walk by you." the Administrator exined.

    After all, it remained alive here for twenty thousand years alongside these rakshasas if anyone had any idea of what they can see and cannot and their behaviors it would be the Administrator.

    This also makes it a good thing. Since this means that as long as we''re not spotted moving, we can go anywhere in the base, slow and steady. Still I''ll need a way tomunicate.

    I ushered the group to follow me back to the library area and we closed it behind us. I then sat down, wiping a nonexistent cold sweat.

    "What''s going on Shen Bao?" Tao Yang asked.

    "Well, as you must have noticed, conversation is almost impossible between us. So I''ll need to fix that first," I said.

    "How are you going to do that?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "A simple set of inscriptions, I can add it to the internal circuit of our puppets. That will allow us to converse using letters, though it isn''t as fast or as reliable as talking, it is the best option we have," I said.

    "And how are we going to do that?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "I''ll show you," I said as I pulled up a spare gunner arm I had collected as recement material in case we need itter.

    I pried open the tip of the Vanguard''s index finger, revealing a small tube that I can channel Qi from the reactor inside the Vanguard, and shape it into whatever form I want. Thanks to it having an artificial Meridian, it was easily able to control and handle simplews and apply them.

    So, I began carving into the forearm of the spare gunner arm, a simple set of letters to make words and sentences. Basically, a keyboard.

    As for wiring, I had to rip apart several other spare pieces to extract metallic and brass connectors that I soon carved and attached into the arm.

    After half an hour or so, I managed to finalize the keyboardyout on the forearm.

    "Give me your arm," I said to the Blue Sun.

    And she did as asked. I twisted and turned a few bits and the entire arm from the shoulder popped off cleanly. I then reced it with the newly modified arm.

    "What is this?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Try and press some of the carved letters."

    She did and writing began appearing on both her visual disy and ours.

    "Do you also see what I''m doing?" she asked.

    "Yes, we''ll use this slightly primitive method to converse and ry information, because we''ll need that as we''re crossing the area up ahead." I exined.

    "Impressive," she said. "Quite the quick thinker and innovator, this can actually be used to send immediate and direct messages across vast distances if properly used. This will be even faster than flying jades¡­" she began thinking of how to create inte¡­

    I couldn''t even stop her, so I had to work on both mine and Tao Yang''s arms.

    Two hourster, I had exhausted about ten percent of my puppet''s internal Qi due to how delicate and focused the work I did was. But, it was worth it, now we have a way tomunicate.

    I should have created a radiomunication¡­ wireless and soundless, or at least something that can be expressed directly into one''s mind instead of it being projected as sound. Because they could easily hear us.

 Chapter 764: Let Him Cook

    Thankfully, the typing is soundless as the tip of the puppet''s fingers isyered in a small film that is very simr to rubber to have a better weapon grip. Tapping on the puppet arms will not make any sound, however, the footsteps are too heavy and they will start echoing once all three of us walk inside.

    "Help me pry some of the rubber on these puppet parts off, we''ll need it to cover the soles of our feet, it is making too much noise," I said.

    Tao Yang and the Blue Sun immediately understood what I meant as I pulled apart the rubber parts of a few of the spare parts.

    They did so from the parts they had in their own storage bag and wrapped them tightly against the soles of their feet. Soon, all of us were ready to march out.

    "Final check, can you read this?" I typed.

    "Yes."

    "YES."

    "Oh, your caps lock is on, disable it, it sounds like you''re shouting," I replied.

    "Oh, apologies, I didn''t know what that lock does, I guess it makes the words bigger¡­" Tao Yang said sheepishly.

    I shook my head and said, "Now that we''re ready, I''ll make sure to inform you of the n from now on," I said.

    "Please do tell," the Blue Sun said.

    "I''m nning on liberating the entire Bastion, though we don''t have nearly enough weapons, but we do have enough poison. These Rakshasa are all huddled up together here and it would be a huge waste to leave them be now wouldn''t it?" I said.

    "Taking them all out is almost impossible. The bastion is gigantic, far bigger than you may have realized. And it has many ces where they can hide," Tao Yang.

    "The only way to kill a pest is to smoke it up with as much pesticide as you can. And if it doesn''t die, use more, and more and more¡­" I replied.

    "I don''t understand how that is going to work," the Blue Sun said. "You''ll need so much poison to cover this entire space you''re better off drowning it in poison, but that will ruin too many things here¡­"

    "I won''t be using liquid poison. You''ll see," I said.

    Our group moved up, and the administrator kept close behind us. Once we reached the breach, I ced my hand on the puppet''s side bag, pulling out a small cannister.

    My canisters had three detonation options.

    The first is to explode upon contact with anything after the trigger has been armed.

    The second is, to detonate upon any change of state. Basically, a super jitteryndmine option. When it is affected by vibration, light, heat, or coldness. It is a pretty nifty little inscription that will safeguard the current state of the cannister, and upon any change, it will blow it up.

    And the final one, is the slow-cook grenade. Which had two options, the first was to simply blow up, and the second is to transform the pellets and pills or liquid poison inside it into gas.

    Continue reading at mvl

    I chose the third detonation option of Slow Cook.

    I slowly twisted a timer trigger on the top of the cannister and pushed it in pushing in is what switches the mode from detonation to gas release.

    This thing will slowly tick down and when it reaches the six-hour mark it will start releasing the poison inside it.

    I then typed on the forearm, "3:29," and then moved forward.

    After several steps I ced another cannister, twisted and pushed in the trigger, and typed again, "3:30."

    "What are you doing?" Tao Yang asked.

    "I''m making sure that all the canisters will release exactly at the same time." I typed back, "Let''s keep conversation to a minimum," I added.

    "I apologize," she said.

    I just sighed as even the fact she typed that was not keeping conversation to a minimum.

    As we were moving forward, we were making sure that our steps weren''t too heavy, although the rubber helped muffle our steps, sometimes the metal itself would squeak and screech. But nothing too loud thankfully to wake these things from being asleep.

    However, it was unreliable. The frames of these puppets were too heavy for the thin rubber that every step would lightly break and tear at it. It would barely help us reach the other side at this rate if we''re lucky that is.

    After making it halfway to the room and as I was making sure that the timer was still orderly, a new Silver Rakshasa emerged from the distance, it was walking casually across the room and looked up at the ceiling. It didn''t even hesitate to climb up the ceiling and grab one of the white rakshasa by the neck, twisting it and breaking the creature''s neck without making any sound.

    The Silver Rakshasa slowly came back down and began munching and ripping the flesh and drinking the oozing blue blood of the White Rakshasa right in front of us.

    I didn''t even have to type Don''t Move since they knew that merely trying to type that would alert the Silver Rakshasa.

    The Silver Rakshasa took his time eating, and after half an incense stick''s worth of time, it was done and dragged the remains of the body away from the room.

    Apparently, if the Rakshasa themselves killed each other, it wouldn''t alert the hive.

    I see, this could be useful.

    "Let''s keep going," I said and continued on.

    The two of them caught on thankfully to what I was doing, and lightly spread apart, they also began mimicking what I did, since they too had several canisters in their holding bags, that they armed based on the time.

    It took us a long time before we even reached the other side of the room, but behind us was a long row of armed canisters that we hoped toe in handy real soon.

    The path ahead was open, it was the same way that the Silver Raksahsa had arrived from and now we''ll need to go in from there and reach the Noble one''sir.

    Hopefully, it won''t notice us.

    Hopefully¡­

 Chapter 765: Perpetual Energy

    "We''re not going through here," I received a typed message on my puppet monitor.

    "Howe?" I asked.

    "That leads deeper into the bastion, we''ll use the hatches over there," Tao Yang reminded me.

    I was so focused on the Silver Rakshasa that I missed that.

    "Right, let''s head there then," I typed back and we slowly moved forward.

    Thankfully, the rubber on our feetsted just enough to reach the hatches before they ripened.

    The hatches though weren''t easy to open and were squeaking as they were being turned and twisted.

    Some of the Rakshasa above us began moving, but seeing nothing but three metallic puppets next to a hatch was not worth their nap time so they just returned back to sleep.

    The hatch thankfully opened up after a while.

    I grabbed the administrator and ced him on my shoulders, it understood what I wanted to do and grabbed at my head to secure itself.

    After a few nods, we jumped into the hatch as it closed down. Though we made a lot of noise afterward, no White Rakshasa came down to check.

    We slowly slid down the hatch by spreading our arms and using the friction to slow our fall down as sparks red out from our hands.

    Three loud thuds echoed as wended on the ground, destroying the rubber solespletely.

    The bottom of the hatch was full of dust and fully deteriorated matter. While the exit of the hatch was locked.

    The Administrator slid down and approached the closed door, it used its master key and opened the path forward which led to the same room where we found the body of Tao Yang thest time.

    The entire area was ruined, a lot of my puppets were on the ground, destroyed, and out of order. But there were no other Rakshasa here anymore. But on the other hand, the entire area where Tao Yang''s frozen body was eviscerated. A massive hole quite simr to the size of the Noble Rakshasa was on the ground.

    We slowly approached the hole and found the box where the Noble Rakshasa had been trapped before.

    A massive square that was ruptured in half was at the bottom of this floor. Old bleached bones were piled up like a mountain inside the broken and torn box.

    These were probably the bodies of the people who lived in the bastion before.

    Even as a puppet, you could easily see Tao Yang''s body shudder. She must feel great sadness for the loss and inhumane death of her people.

    She was the first to type, "Let''s keep moving."

    I nodded and we began moving down after making sure that the entire area was clear.

    Apparently, the Noble Rakshasa had moved away from here, and though we don''t currently know where it is, as long as it is not near us, we should be fine.

    Once we got down to the prison area, I was surprised to notice how massive this floor was.

    "Sixth floor?" I asked through messages.

    "No, this is the nonliving area, it''s where we have all vital operatives and machinery to move the bastion, everything is buried underground, and by pressing a few specific cubes you can make the engines rise up and work on them. The entire area may look t, but everything is under the surface."

    "I see," I replied as I continued scanning using every sight option I had on me.

    From mere normal sight to infra red, ck light, heat scan, and even a shlight.

    Nothing appeared on my visuals.

    "Should be safe for now, let''s get a move on," I said as I waited for Tao Yang to open up the machine we needed to work on.

    Tao Yang and the administrator moved to a specific area on the t floor and both pressed on a hidden pedestal in specific order.

    The Soulsteel recognized the pattern and opened a hatch on the ground. A tubr object moved up from the hatch and rose up all the way to the puppet''s height.

    "This is one of the engines, it looks like it had a shortcut," she typed back.

    The Blue Sun moved first and began scanning the engine, and due to the interest I had in this type of technology I did the same.

    I couldn''t honestly be more d about how I had actually spent a lot of time working on the ''eyes'' of the puppets.

    The ability to zoom, scan, and even useser technology was all implemented into these eyes. This was only possible because I had lost one of my eyes as I first began cultivating and reced it with the Sky Pearl.

    As I had implemented many inscriptions with my ratherckluster understanding of formation and inscriptions back then. It still worked in my favor by then, now with more knowledge and ability, I had decided to improve and created these eyes for all my puppets. And now they came in handy.

    I began probing the engine, to understand how it works. And found it quite difficult at first. It had so many small intricate little operatives that allowed it to function. Mainly something I never thought possible.

    "How is this even possible?" if I had brows they''d be fully risen right now. I didn''t even type that as I blurted it out and had to ce my metallic hand on my metallic mouth causing even more noise

    "What is it?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "This¡­ this is Qi fusion," I said.

    The Blue Sun looked as confused as a deer in a headlight.

    "This is something I theorized, but it''s incredibly hard to achieve. This is the same type of reactions that happen inside a star. But instead of hydrogen being squeezed under the immense pressure and heat of a star to create helium and thus creating energy it is using Saint Qi,pressing it hard enough to create¡­ Origin Qi, it is happening right in front of my eyes."

    "I really have no idea what hydrogen or helium is¡­ but I seem to understand what you mean. I also tried topress and condense Qi into a higher form, but never achieved it," the Blue Sun said.

    We both looked at Tao Yang like impressed little children after seeing a hat trick and waiting for the magician to exin.

    She shook her head, "I only have supervised the military operation of our people, I have no idea what the two of you are talking about. The reason why I mentioned that this thing had short-cutted is because this is how it usually looks when it is out of energy.

    It should be bright white and hot to the touch, not to mention it has an immense gravitational pull that it would try and pull us and crush us into it if we get too close." She said.

    Your next chapter is on mvl

    "Gravity," I said, "That''s it¡­ gravitational power," I said.

    "How?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "The size of a star is big enough that it creates a massive gravitational pull around it, leadings in an orbit to move. It is the very same thing that is happening here in the Beyond, although I have no idea why the Beyond is a massive tnd, it is still affected by the sun of the Beyond and its gravitational pull taking it alongside it in the vast open space."

    "But what does that have to do with anything," she asked.

    "The gravitational pull of a star is so high that it should in theory make it copse upon itself, but, since the hydrogen, which are small tiny atoms that make up the majority of the star,press due to this gravity, they fuse together and change to a different element. Which is helium.

    The reaction that makes this happen is Nuclear Fusion and the power of these atoms fusing together creates both heat which we feel and light which we seeing from the sun. The heat itself would stop the star from copsing even under the massive pressure." I said.

    "I see," the blue sun said as she began, "So this small thing makes the same reaction?" she asked.

    "Yes and now, a star would usually run out eventually from fuel. Roughly and this is not a 100% exact, but Hydrogen turns to helium. Once the hydrogen is depleted the helium will cause the star to expand, and those are red stars that burn hot and bright.

    Helium will also undergo several reactions as it is being depleted and turns to carbon in the star''s core and this keeps going until all helium is depleted turning to silicon, this is the shortest part of a star''s life as the first few canst from trillions to billions of years, but once the star has nothing but silicon in it, it will transform to iron as the star fully dies in mere days.

    The iron that is so highly condensed due to the pressure and weight of the start would start rebounding on itself as it copses creating one of two things. Either a neutron star where even a spoonful of the matter can be heavier than ten tons of steel. Or a ck hole."

    "Thank you for the lesson in astronomy but I really don''t see how this even fits what we''re seeing," the Blue Sun said.

    "They are using the same method here, this engine takes up heavenly Qi, condenses it into Saint Qi, and then this reaction will keep going until it bes Origin Qi.

    This creates a shit ton of energy for the Bastion, and finally, it is transformed into¡­ well, I have no idea what goes beyond Origin Qi but this thing is trying to do it, and in doing so it helps itself from copsing under the pressure.

    Not only is it using the Qi in the vicinity to power itself, it amplifies it¡­ it is the closest thing to perpetual energy through fusion something I have never thought possible."

 Chapter 766: Study

    "Can you repair it?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "I don''t really know, I don''t fully understand how this works. I''ll need to do some research on this, Tao Yang, the memory cards, what do I need to do to study them?" I asked.

    "You need to use Soul Energy to prate through theiryers and then you''ll be able to understand the secrets of the bs. But as we are right now¡­"

    True, we''re currently puppets, I cannot funnel my soul energy through steel and metal.

    "There is a way," the Administrator said.

    All three of us turned to the Administrator.

    "There is a b reader in the Bastion. I once was tasked to move it to a storage area since it was no longer useful and was basically just gathering dust. But it can read the bs and disy their content without the use of soul energy."

    "Where is the storage area?" The Blue Sun asked.

    "Third floor, second section B wing. On the thirty-second shelf." The Administrator said.

    "Then what are we waiting for, let''s go get it," I said

    "That won''t be possible, the three of you are too visible and make too much noise. I''ll go grab it, the time it should take me to go to the storage area and back is about two hours, if do note back, you may then go and find it," the Administrator answered.

    He is right, the Administrator is far nimbler than the puppets and it knows the way, not to mention it has lived here for a long time and knows how to move around the Rakshasa without getting destroyed.

    "I''ll bring the Reader back, please remain hidden or at least do not make a lot of noise, one may never know when the Noble Rakshasa might want toe back here," the Administrator said.

    I nodded to the administrator who turned and zoomed forward to a far away wall where he simply prated through it and disappeared from view.

    "What are we going to do now?" asked Tao Yang.

    Her words were still halfway through as both me and the Blue Sun were already moving bits and pieces of the Fusion Reactor.

    "Ah, I guess the scientists already have their mind where it should be, I''ll go keep a watch in case of any dangers," she said.

    she then used the full ability of the sniper puppet and began jumping from wall to wall all the way to the edge and made a frontal flip tond on the top level where the Noble Rakshasa was sealed.

    The two of us nodded as we continued inspecting the reactor.

    "I wish if we could prop open an already functional reactor," the Blue Sun said.

    "I don''t think these puppets are strong enough to sustain the gravitational pull of these things, it will crush us in seconds," I sighed.

    "Look here," she said as she approached me, "This small inscription, I understand it, it is an energy transfer and magnifying inscription. This is almost simr to what you have in these puppets we''re using," she said.

    "True," I said as I took note of the inscriptions and began analyzing the rest, and couldn''t help butugh as I said, "I was actually on the right track."

    "Howe?" she asked.

    "I had already thought of how to use nuclear reaction to power up my puppets, but Qi reaction is far more stable and easier to harness, however, it was never enough to satisfy me. I had a feeling that there was something more, so I used up my understanding ofw and Qi to try andpress it, but always ended up failing or blowing something up.

    But here, what they did was simple but so genius at the same time," I said.

    "Exin," she said.

    "The inscription they''re using, they aren''t made topress Qi as a whole. But to slowly apply gravitational weight on them, making a single speck of Qi heavier than a ball of lead due to how much Gravitational Law it is exposed to. Then this inscription right here, will apply the same force, to another saint Qi particle, then they shoot these two particles at each other.

    The power of the impact would generate force, and this would continue happening over and over and over again."

    "They''re using the force of sh and contact to create heat and energy," she said.

    "Yes, only they''re using something that is almost intangible, atoms are what makes the world, but Heavenly Qi is something that is like¡­well, nothing it is ordained by the heavens to exist though it cannot be touched and can only be harnessed. These inscriptions allow you to ''trap'' them into the tangible world and make them solidify thenpress and fuse them for power."

    "This is almost at the realm of making something out of nothing," she said.

    "Close enough but not there yet, I wish I could see what''s inside deeper in these reactors, this looks amazing," I said as we continued studying the tubr engine.

    We discovered more and more mechanisms, like small almost nanometer-sized pistons that in theory should rapidly pump up the energy that is generated from the contact of materialized Qi as it shed together and would transfer that energy to the ship like¡­ well for theck of a proper word, a Dynamo. Only this one was so advanced it is absurd.

    The energy that the pistons would create would make the entire engine create so much force and power that it was able to help it run for tens of thousands of years all of that from a small bit of Qi.

    Sadly, this one is inoperable, and since I cannot use Divine Sense, I have no idea where the issue us. My puppet eyes are mostly designed for battle and survival not for mechanical engineering. If only I had my real body with me, I sighed. Discover stories with mvl

    "I know what you''re thinking," the Blue Sun said.

    "Really?" I said.

    "Yes, this thing is far tooplex and intricate to simply scan using puppet eyes no matter how advanced," she said as she continued scanning the outeryer of the engine.

    "Look here, there is a small seam here, perhaps this is the way to open up the engine," The Blue Sun added.

    "I wouldn''t touch it," I replied.

    "Why so?"

    "we don''t know if this reactor is actually in short cut, or if it simply stalled and might operate the moment we touch something we shouldn''t. It''s a technology that we have too little understanding of, and remember you are not in your real body where you can easily sustain any type of damage or reaction, we''re puppets right now," I said.

    "Indeed, I keep forgetting that I''m not using my body," she sighed inwardly and we continued inspecting the entirety of the tube. Nothing out of the ordinary was discovered besides what we already saw so we just sat down trying to figure out the inner shipyout.

    Without the administrator and the b reader, we really can''t do much right now, so we''ll just have to wait for him toe back.

    ***

    Somewhere far, far away.

    Two massive stone puppets were hovering high up in the emptiness of space. And behind them was a massive warp portal that seemed to lead to an unknown universe.

    Six people were standing tall in front of these puppets, after all they had finally achieved what they had promised though it took them many years.

    Meng Hao, his wife Yan Song,Leng Yuyu sect master of the Purple Cloud Sect,Liang YuHairess of the Crimson Suzaku sect, Master Rain the entric, andstly a man wearing a full set of red robes and had a dragon mask on that no one knew who he was.

    The six people were standing in front of the stone puppets, and one of the stone puppets spoke.

    "You have returned stronger, there is no need to test your current prowess, you may all proceed," the puppet said as it waved his arm and the portal to the beyond opened up.

    Everyone had been hard cultivating in the Vast Expanse to improve themselves and visit the Beyond, and now they had the ability to do so, and they now have the confidence to no longer be considered mere followers but actualpanions.

    With confidence in their newfound power, they took a step into the dark vortex and began the long journey to the beyond through the tunnel.

 Chapter 767: Advanced Engineering

    More than two hours went by, and it was about time we started worrying. The administrator had promised toe back in two hours and it should be precise and now it''s been a bit more than that.

    Something must have happened to dy him this much.

    "We should go and check up on him," the Blue Sun said as she took her eyes away from the reactor.

    "I was thinking the same thing," I replied.

    "No need, he''sing over," I heard from above us. Tao Yang was peering over us and apparently, the Administrator wasing over from above us.

    "Although¡­ he looks to be in a bit of a hurry," she added.

    The Administrator zoomed past Tao Yang and left a small box next to her and then said "Don''t move! None of you move!" as he flew past the massive hole.

    Discover stories at mvl

    A secondter loud echoes of steel and metal being bent and torn rumbled above us, and right next to Tao Yang, two massive ws gripped at the side of the hole above us. The ws then tightened and the body of the Noble Rakshasa flew above the hole and followed the administrator in a screeching and rumbling rampage. Breaking any gate too weak and too thin to contain it in the process.

    It didn''t notice any of us thankfully. All because the administrator was using itself as bait to lure the Noble Rakshasa away.

    Secondster, we could no longer hear the Noble Rakshasa, it apparently either caught the Administrator or it is too far away for us to hear them.

    Tao Yang grabbed the box and jumped down towards us, "This is the reader. It is quite old and I have no idea if it still works, but we don''t have much time," she said.

    "I know," I replied as I began rummaging through the puppet''s holding bag.

    I needed to find the b that had information about these reactors to understand them and try and fix them.

    There was one purple b that fit the description. Since it had the reactor''s image on it, this was the reactor''s blueprint.

    I took the purple b and ced it into the only seam on the box that it could fit it.

    Secondster, the box began lighting up and the b began disying what was inside it. It was like a projection of the innerponent of the b that painted the walls in a bright purple color of words and symbols.

    Looking at the symbols, I first found it hard to fully understand them since I haven''t sat down to study the symbols and literacy of the Srous people fully.

    If I was a normal cultivator I would be boggled down and unable to proceed forward since I didn''t have ess to my real body and its abilities. However, my mind is still here. So I''m able to memorize. Though I cannot currently understand.

    There were simply too many jargons to fully and rapidly understand at a nce so I had to take my time in reading and understanding this. However, that was not needed thanks to my photographic memory. I took a rapid and quick nce at everything in the walls, and then pulled any other b that had a rtion to the reactor and engineering area.

    "What are you doing?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Memorizing," I said.

    "That fast?" she asked. "I barely remembered a third.

    A third is already a great portion due to how deep these inscriptions are. But sadly I cannot wait here for her to fully memorize anything, we don''t have enough time.

    "I''ll have to keep swapping bs," I said as I ced another one.

    "Why?" she asked.

    Thanks to my mind I could easily multitask, as I replied to her while my eyes were going from left to right to read and memorize the new set of symbols.

    "Because I''ll go back to the Pagoda and then study this, for now, I''m just cramming information and symbols in my mind. Only when I''m fully capable of understanding thisnguage and how it functions and its nuance can I touch that thing? Making a mistake might cost us dearly so I''d rather be prudent and careful than rash."

    "I see," she said as she refrained from memorizing anymore since it would only hurt her head also I was doing it better anyway.

    Twelve more bster, the engineering part was done. And I was able to add more tomes on the history,nguage, and mathematics of the Srous people which thankfully was not different than ours only they used different symbols for numbers which were easy to pick up on.

    After I was done with that, I pulled out the red b, but sadly it was too big to fit into the box.

    "That cannot be read by that, it can only be read via Soul Energy.

    ''Damn, if only it could be read, we wouldn''t even need to open a gate.''

    "Okay we''re done for now," I said, "Let''s go back for now," I said.

    "What about the gate?" the Blue Sun said.

    "Not right now, as I said, I''ll need to study and understand this, once I''m done we''lle back here and solve the reactor''s issue then figure out how to disable the bastion''s ban on Qi. And spatial interference."

    "How do we leave then?" Tao Yang asked.

    "Simply say, log out," I said.

    For a brief second, a thought crossed my mind, what if they cannot log out?

    But thankfully the moment they said the words, the puppet''s blue eyes turned off.

    "Logout," I said and found myself back in the Lord of Lords pagoda sitting right next to both Tao Yang and The Blue Sun.

    "You failed?" I heard behind us, it was the Dusking Sun.

    "No, on the contrary, we had good results," I said as I asked everyone to go to a different section in the white space where there was nothing but massive white walls where I could draw and write.

    I began by pulling a pen and a piece of paper and started writing the entire dictionary of the people of Srous.

    It took me about an hour to finish writing about three thousand pages worth of words.

    "Damn, that is a gigantic lexicon," The Dusking Sun said.

    "It may look gigantic but it''s fine. It''s barely enough to fill a fraction of the storage space of one of my Synthetic Meridians. now I have all the words and inscription symbols organized by order I can now analyze them. Automaton," I said.

    "Yes lord," he replied as he appeared next to us.

    "Please import this in one of our unused Synthetic Meridians," I said.

    "The size of this book is rather small; would it be fine to use it in an empty Synthetic Meridian?"

    "Yes, don''t worry about it. I''ll only use that one for analytic purposes. Please ce the Meridian here and bring me twelve high-precision arms," I said.

    "As the Mastermands," he said and disappeared for a few moments before he came back with twelve robotic arms and a massive steel box that had one face made of ss and a blue liquid.

    This was a screen that I''d be using to disy the reactor''s inner workings.

    I pulled a new piece of paper and began jetting and writing and even drawing on it.

    Once I was done, I handed this to the Automaton, "Get the puppets to make this for me, I don''t even need to ask you that everything needs to be precise," I said.

    "As the Mastermands," the Automaton said.

    "What are you doing?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "I''m in need of aputer," I said.

    "Well, I canpute very well," she said.

    "Oh, not that. Although I highly respect your intellect, aputer''s ability topute is billions if not trillions of times faster than us. It will help us see and analyze the properties of the Reactor in the blink of an eye and divulge all of its secrets, just watch," I said.

    "I''ll have to see this then," she said as she sat down.

    I then began by attaching the twelve precision arms to the side of the massive box and once I was done with linking them there was arge empty space inside the box.

    I sat down waiting for the Automaton toe back.

    "Is this the Computer?"

    "Not yet, but yes, it should be when I''m done," I said.

    "Do you have others?" she asked.

    "About three to four hundred of them," I said, "Each one has a different purpose. Why?" I asked.

    "Nothing," she said, but the interest in her eyes betrayed her.

    The automaton soon arrived with a spherical ball in hand.

    "The dictionary has been imprinted on it," he said.

    "Good," I replied as I grabbed the ball and ced it inside the box. It simply floated inside the box and the arms that were once attached began moving and analyzing themselves for defects.

    After they moved in all possible directions and showed all the tools in them, they went back to their idle state.

    Not longer than an hour, three puppets came over with a half circle keyboard. It was both a table and a keyboard as you can sit and it will surround you from almost all sides.

    "Good, we''re now done," I said as I sat down.

    "So, how does this work?" she asked.

    "I''ll show you", I said as I asked the puppets to ce several pieces of metal and materials behind the box once I attached the keyboard to the box, it turned on, turning the blue liquid into a screen that began disying the words inserted inside the Synthetic Meridian.

    Four robotic arms appeared from behind my back and to add that to my two arms I had six now.

    And thus the typing began.

 Chapter 768: Evolution

    The purpose of this entire build was simple. To trante, deduce, and create.

    It would trante the words the Srous people use, including the inscriptions to their counterpart of the Beyond system. And then will deduce what the inscription entails thanks to the five keys inside the Meridian which are able to Qi to producews. And then will use the fine and high precision arms to build for me whatever I wish for.

    And since I already had the entire schematic of the Reactor memorized by heart I only needed to retype every word that I had memorized, and the meridian will deduce them, trante them, and apply them.

    For the first hour and a half, all I did was type and type and type, inserting more and more information into the meridian as it was analyzing them at an incredibly rapid pace.

    This must have been boring for the watchers because nothing was happening. The more I typed out of memory the faster I became as I was able to also understand what I was doing the longer I thought about it.

    And soon, before anyone could express either their boredom or how this wasn''t working, or if I was simply wasting their time.

    The first robotic arm began moving, it propped up slowly, then turned back to one of the nearest pieces of metal, a piece of cubed Soulsteel.

    The three watching me looked interested, as the arm began slowly cutting apart and a bit of the metallic piece.

    Then it stopped for a second.

    "All of that effort, only for that to happen? Wouldn''t you have had a far better time doing that yourself?" the Dusking Sun asked sighing.

    However, the Blue Sun''s eyes were wide open.

    "This¡­ is this even possible?"

    "Is something wrong?" Tao yang said.

    "Eternal Dusk, watch your words, what you''re seeing is close to a miracle," she said.

    "Why? It''s a simple cut," he said.

    "Then Look closer," she said.

    The Dusking Sun''s eyes focused on the small cut and noticed that it had not been a sharp one, but a cut with minuscule almost seamless-looking grooves.

    And that was only the first move. The second arm moved, and cut another part, the third arm moved and grabbed another, and so on until all twelve arms were moving at the same time, chipping and cutting at a piece of metal in high precision that normal eyes wouldn''t be able to see.

    This kept going while I was still writing more and more on the keyboard.

    The arms continued moving rapidly enough that one''s eyes could no longer follow and all you could see was the massive pile of metal behind the box was slowly being drained.

    Several long but thin saws were being discarded one after the other as the arms would immediately remove any saw needle or plier that had been damaged in the process and rece them as they continued working.

    In front of the box, there was now a circr piece of metal, exactly the same size and width of the one we were analyzing a bit earlier.

    And this circr piece was growing bit by bit, just like a 3D printer. It was printing a reactor only a nanometer at a time. It was built it piston by small piston and energy harnesser and a transistor at a time.

    It was growing, bit by bit, and soon will beplete.

    After an hour or so of typing, I was done, but the creation process wasn''t even a third way finished.

    I stood up from my seat and let the machine finish the work, it should only be supplied with saws and needles for it to solder and repair itself as it was working. The overload of work is simply too much for one or two pieces of saws for example to finish, and they need to be reced constantly to keep the quality of the work to the maximum.

    You really don''t want to skimp on materials to create something this delicate and small and also this powerful.

    Even back in my world, making a simpleputer processor would take billions of operations andponents to beplete, not even mere dust should interfere with the process.

    Not to mention here, where I have to create something that harnesses Qi and then amplify it by the Fusion process.

    "Are you done?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    "Yes, I am, but the machine will be working for a bit more. I inserted all the needed information that it requires and now it will be using it to build the same reactor in the Bastion."

    "Then is there really a need to go back to the bastion?" he said.

    I think I know what he is trying to say. There is no need to risk opening the Bastion and for the Noble Rakshasa to have a chance at escaping.

    "I see your point," I replied, "But I only took a small fraction of the knowledge we need, not to mention that the Red b containing the knowledge of making Soulsteel is still in the Bastion," I said.

    "I see, then when are you going back?" the Dusking Sun said.

    "We should head back now, why?" I asked.

    "Because the Silver Rakshasa your main body is currently fighting is winning, I just wanted you to know before you go," he said.

    Stay tuned for updates on mvl

    "Oh, I know, I''m using half my focus here and there, don''t worry about it, the Automaton is keeping an eye out."

    "Not that, what I mean is¡­well it''s better you look at it," he said.

    This made me frown, although half my focus was in this body, that didn''t mean I cannot perceive everything my main body is doing.

    I moved toward the area where the Silver Rakshasas and my main body were fighting and didn''t see much change. Although it was weird seeing me getting flung around while I was standing all the way here, there was nothing too¡­ wait.

    "What the hell is that?" The Blue Sun asked.

    There were long ck stipes on the back of the Silver Raksahsa that began manifesting and growing as it was fighting my main body. The suppression of the inscriptions all over it was slowing him down and making him unable to move as it wanted, but at the same time¡­

    "He''s being tempered, this is bad, we must kill it now," Tao Yang said.

    "Tempered?" I asked.

    "Yes, the Rakshasa alle from the theft of a Heavenly Order and its modification to create a life that isn''t a life. They are all connected to the Progenitor, the Queen of the Swarm back in my world. And it had given fragments and fractions of the faulty Heavenly Order to every one of its direct spawns." She said.

    "Like the Noble Rakshasa inside the Bastion?" the Blue Sun said.

    Tao Yang shook her head, "No, it wasn''t like that at first. The Noble Rakshasa inside the bastion was actually a ck Rakshasa that had evolved into that form. It gained increased intellect, far more than its lower ck Rakshasa counterpart. And also gained bits of the powers of the rest of its race."

    "Then we really need to take it down before it finishes its evolution," the Dusking Sun said.

    "I can''t allow that," I said.

    "Why not? Are you willing to risk having to fight something that even I don''t know what sorts of abilities it might have?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    "I thought you were the Lord of All Beasts, I never thought you''d worry about a creature with mediocre intelligence," I teased the man.

    He smiled at my provocation, "HAH! I could easily obliterate it, but it will cost you your Pagoda. Nevertheless, it is very dangerous," he said.

    "You know what''s more dangerous," I replied, "It is the fact that if we kill it now without understanding what it might turn to. Imagine if we get invaded and there is a swarm of evolved Silver Rakshasas, then what? We would have already killed one that we could have studied. Risk entails fortune.

    As one wise man said before Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will need not fear the result of a hundred battles."

    "I see your point," he said, "But if things get serious don''t me me for being ruthless on your pagoda."

    "I should probably reduce the weights it has on it," I said as I noticed the stripes on its back growing less and less.

    "No, as a matter of fact, increase the weight," the Blue Sun said.

    "To further aid its tempering?" I asked.

    "Yes, it needs more impediments and danger for it to go all out in its evolution," the Blue Sun said.

    "I see," I said and my main body only needed to will the chains and inscriptions on the Silver Rakshasas for it to get mmed into the ground due to how much weight it was currently under.

    Tao Yang sighed, "All of you are a bunch of insane people. You really are ying with fire," she said.

    "We need to get burnt to know how to handle fire. If we don''t do this, we might lose before we could even know it.

    And it was almost immediate as you could see the Rakshasa that was on the ground begin roaring and screeching, as if it was in incredible pain. But from what we can see, the pain wasn''t from the weights, but it was from the increase in the size of the dark stripes and what appeared to be cracks on its exoskeleton.

    This Silver Rakshasa was about to enter into its evolved form and we were all both anticipating and on alert.

 Chapter 769: Noble Silver

    The stripes and strange symbols grew more and more on the Rakshasa''s body. Enough of them appeared that no more silver was apparent on the Silver Rakshasa''s body. Then soon a small crown of silver appeared on its long xenomorph head.

    Its long arms became more robust and leaner, and he looked like a lot less like a silver rakshasa and more like the Noble Rakshasa at the bastion.

    It roared and screeched as it became more and more powerful, enough that several inscriptions began snapping and breaking apart no longer weighing on it.

    Soon it was able to stand up but only barely as it struggled to keep its bnce.

    "Soft¡­skinned ones¡­" it muttered through grit teeth.

    "Hmm, it is capable of speech," the Dusking Sun said.

    "We''ll consume you as we did to those before you, struggle is futile¡­ Die¡­die¡­die for us, die¡­" it said as it was trying to move toward us.

    "Lot of hatred in this one," I said.

    "It is normal," the Dusking Sun said as he approached the violet creature.

    Thetter tried to swipe at him, which backfired badly for the beast.

    The Dusking Sun had simply grabbed and twisted the arm of the Noble Silver and pinned it down with far more strength and weight than the entirety of the inscriptions I had on it. And he made it look easy.

    "Looking here, he stopped his metamorphosis, I guess he achieved the Noble Status the same as the other one in the bastion. It also seemed to have gained about three times its base strength, which is quite an incredible power up. Are you sure you still want to fight it?" he asked me.

    "I don''t think I would learn anything if I were to fight him now, the power difference is too huge for me right now," I sighed.

    "Well, I can rmend a spot that you can use to cultivate," the Blue Sun said.

    "What do you mean?" I asked.

    "Since you are now able to harness heavenly and saint Qi, you should go out and absorb it directly from nature, your current absorption rate will deplete your stockpile of Saint Qi crystals in less than a month''s worth of time," she said.

    I nodded agreeing, she was right. Thanks to the Primordial Serpent God''s meridians, I''m now easily capable of absorbing so much Qi that it would make a man vomit. But doing so will make me go broke and exhaust all my saved-up resources.

    "The spot is easily essible from where we are. Once you leave the Pagoda with your main body, you can ask any of the workers that had seen you with me to take you to The Tempering Mountain," she said.

    "Right, then, I''ll send my Original Body there then," I said as I took control of my other body and left the pagoda allowing it to roam into the world.

    As for Shen Mo''s body which I was currently putting more focus on, it was here paying attention to what the Dusking Sun was doing.

    "Its exoskeleton is far sturdier than before, also seems like he has a bit more ability to control¡­ well, soul power, look," he said as he pulled a small strand of his own soul power, and it was being drawn toward the Noble Silver.

    The Dusking Sun immediately absorbed it back.

    "Your theory in them being now able to use and send soul signals is correct," he told me as he stood up and left the Noble Silver on the ground.

    But for some reason, it never moved from its spot.

    "Howe it remained pinned?" Tao Yang asked.

    "Because it is under the pressure of the strong," the Blue Sun said.

    Indeed, there was a different look in the Noble Silver''s eyes, it was¡­ fear.

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    Seems like it being handled like a small child was enough of a deterrent for it to get calmed down. A Sun is still a Sun.

    "Master," I heard. Turning, I saw the Automaton behind us.

    "Yes?"

    "The engine isplete, it awaits your inspection," he said.

    "Right, let''s go check it out," I replied as I led the group.

    Once we arrived there was slight amount of steaming out of the twelve arms of the printer. And behind it was the six foot tall engineplete and ready to activate.

    "Iste the engine for trial, we have no idea how much power it is able to generate so we''ll start by being safe.

    "As the mastermands," the Automaton said and simply rebuilt the white space by teleporting and transporting everything unrted to the engine away.

    The Dusking Sun and Blue Sun were next to me while Tao Yang backed away a bit.

    "Are you scared it might blow up?" I asked.

    "No, I just don''t want to get sucked into its gravitational pull once it begins working, it really has a strong kicks," she said.

    The two Suns understood immediately and ced their palms on my back. I felt a powerful surge of spatialw surround me. It was a safety precaution.

    And now, thanks to the ability to use Divine Sense we can all see how this thing functions.

    All of us had our Divine Sense focused on the reactor as I began pressing several sections on the engine. Then it soon began operating. Several small clicks and ticks echoed from inside the engine, and soon it began increasing in volume and power.

    Enough that all our robes began fluttering then soon you could feel the engine applying a lot of weight on all of us and dragging us albite slightly towards it.

    "It really does have a good gravitational pull," the Dusking Sun said.

    "It hadn''t even started yet," Tao Yang said, "It''s just testing and warming up its parts, once you introduce a decent amount of Qi to it, it will probably copse the entire area around it, be careful," she shouted over the increasingly louder noise.

    And it was true, as I pulled a small saint Qi crystal next to the engine, and before I could even break it to make its content spill out, it turned to dust into my hand. And all the energy inside it went right into the reactor, causing it to ramp up in power. Enough that the Automaton spoke, "Lord, what she said is true, if it keeps ramping up, it will copse the pagoda.

    The gravitational pull is too much, also it is generating energy without any source to expel it, it might bloat up and blow up," he said.

    He was right, I only booted it up to see how it worksbut without an outlet for the energy it might just blow up.

    "Can you channel the excess energy into the Star Heart room?" I asked the Automaton.

    "As the mastermands," he said as several wires appeared at the bottom of the engine and tubes and simply attached themselves to it.

    The reactor continued pumping enhanced Qi into the tubes until it slowed down after having exhausted the Qi I had given it.

    "It really did use the Qi I had given it and increased its quality. From Saint Qi to Origin Qi¡­ this is quite amazing," I said.

    Tao Yang sighed, "It would have been dangerous if we didn''t have a way to release that energy. Though it wouldn''t explode since it isn''t designed to blow up, it will definitely implode and ruin the entire floor here."

    I agree, but thankfully we were prepared. Also¡­

    "I know what''s wrong with the small engine back at the bastion, we can now repair it, if all of them are suffering from the same issue, it should be simple to fix," I said.

    "Really?" Tao Yang asked.

    "I guess I also figured it out," the Blue Sun said.

    I had to admit, the issue was pretty annoying to find out without Divine Sense, and she noticed it in the same time it took me even though I had built the entire engine and fully understand how it functions while she only saw a fraction of the build being made and only inspected it afterward.

    "What do you think the problem is?" Tao Yang asked.

    "A jumpstart, it had stalled due to being inactive for so long, though that''s only one engine, you said that you had a critical failure which caused you to crash here, right?" I asked.

    "Indeed, we were flying fine, but due to theck of personnel maintaining the engines it failed. We couldn''t approach that area, as you know there was a Noble Rakshasa there," she said.

    I understand, after all, the big bad monster was waiting for anyone right next to the engine, no sane man would dare risk go there. Because not only is it dangerous, it also would risk the Rakshasa gaining more soul energy if they kill them, and gain a new host to procreate from.

    "Let''s head back to the bastion for now, once we repair all the engines we''ll probably be able to control the bastion to a better extent," I said.

    Tao Yang and the Blue Sun nodded, and apparently the Dusking Sun felt a bit slighted.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "Nothing¡­" he said turning his head away.

    The Blue Sun approached me and whispered in my ears, a smile visible on her face "He also wants to use one of the puppets."

    She could have clearly said that to me via divine sense but she wanted him to hear it.

    "Hmm, that can be done," I said.

    "Really?" he replied.

    "Yes, it''s not much of an issue," I shrugged.

    "Didn''t you say that we can only possess the puppets at the entrance of the bastion," the Blue Sun questioned.

    "Well, that is true, but we have enough spare parts on us I can rebuild a new one that he can use, it''ll take some time but it is possible. So he won''t have to walk all the way up from the bastion''s gate. Not to mention it is less risky this way, we don''t want to alert any of the Rakshasa to our presence." I said.

    "Thank you Shen Bao, I''ll repay this favor," he said.

    "Don''t worry about it, this isn''t enough to be called a favor," I said.

    Although I know what goes into his mind. After all he is a sun, and finding something interesting to do is very rare for someone that lived that long.

    Once we used the helmets and entered back into the bastion I was about to speak only to notice the frozen eyes and frozen body of the two puppets in front of me, not looking at me but above me.

    They didn''t speak, nor even wrote anything, and I knew full well that they were fully operational just from the eyes of the puppets.

    And what made my worriese true was the sound of breath behind us, heaving low and hard, like a wind gale blowing around us.

    A Rakshasa was behind me, and from the power of that breath, I could easily figure out which one.

    It was the damn Noble Rakshasa¡­

 Chapter 770: Preparation Complete

    Now, when facing certain death, one has very few things they can do. And here especially, our options are pretty much nonexistent. Fighting against this thing is probably the second dumbest thing one can do, the first dumbest thing being to move.

    Yes. Our only way out is to not move an inch. Think of this damned thing as a very hungry T-rex, it follows motion. Hah, why am I even thinking of the weirdest shit right now? If I lose this puppet, the simple act of getting back here is enough to cause me a headache.

    However, thankfully, I had one thing going on for me which will buy us some time. And it was going to happen in the next three, two, one... one... One!

    Suddenly, the breathing behind me stopped and a loud screech, enough to rattle the very gears making the puppet I''m using, echoed through the chamber. The Noble ck screeched more and more, then jumped up with one hand grabbing onto the hole above us. It front-flipped itself and dashed away into the distance, all you could hear was the loud sound of its footsteps growing fainter.

    "What happened?" Tao Yang asked, her eyes wide with surprise as she clutched her weapon tighter.

    "It was right on time. The things we ced under the White Rakshasa''s hives, they started working, didn''t they?" the Blue Sun asked me, wiping sweat from his brow.

    I nodded, "Yes, this should buy us a good deal of time while the Rakshasas are investigating. Let''s hurry up," I said, urging everyone towards the risen-up engine.

    "What was the issue?" the Blue Sun asked me, his voice filled with curiosity.

    "Like I said, it needed a jumpstart. It never broke, it only stalled because of the crash. The main issue for the crash was simply ack of maintenance," I exined as I pressed several options on the engine, my fingers flying over the controls.

    Soon, the tubr engine opened up in the middle. There was some gunk inside it which I simply removed by wiping it with some cloth. Several of the pistons were slightly out of order, but the majority were working perfectly. By removing some of the calcified gunk on them, the pistons began working and broke the crustedyer out.

    The vibrations of the engine did the rest as it began absorbing the Qi from all around it.

    I broke a piece of Saint Qi crystal that was instantly absorbed into the engine, then pressed on the pedestal to drag the engine back into the heart of the ship once we closed it.

    "This one is operational," I said, and as soon as I finished my words, several sources of light around us began lighting up.

    "Let''s go to the next ones," I said, leading the way with renewed urgency.

    The next two engines also needed only a slight cleanup and repair. However, theter ones were in terrible shape. They were missing several chunks of the engine. The crash must have caused them severe damage, and they fractured.

    "These don''t look to be fixable," the Blue Sun said, his voice tinged with doubt.

    "Not really, they actually can be fixed," I said, "But we''ll need a helping hand," I added, pulling several puppet parts and attaching them together from my holding bag. I asked for more pieces until I finally had a fully functional puppet put together

    "We''ll fix them the same as I did to this puppet, but we''ll have to sacrifice a few more engines to do this. Give me a second," I said as I logged out and went back to the Lord of Lords Pagoda.

    "Old Dusk," I said to the Dusking Sun, who was sulking in the corner of the room.

    "You forgot about me?" he said, his voice carrying a hint of bitterness.

    "No, your puppet is ready. We just had someplications with the Noble ck. Anyway, put this helmet on. The Blue Sun and Tao Yang will exin things for you once you meet them," I said.

    He had a wide smile on his face after hearing that he could now use the puppet, and sat down, cing the helmet on his head. I, on the other hand, hurried toward the printer and ordered it to make a dozen more engines. They''de in handy soon.

    Once the order was ced, the puppets responsible for making them began supplying the printer with materials, and it began creating more engines. I went back to the Bastion once themand was given to find the Blue Sun, Tao Yang, and the Dusking Sun all prying open the engines in the room.

    Led by the Blue Sun, they cleaned up the ones that needed cleaning and simple fixes and ced them back on, not touching any of the ones that were already operational, while the ones that had the most damage remained on top, exposed.

    "Alright, I''ll start fixing these. Please watch over me," I said as I began dismantling the more damaged engines and taking them apart, using pieces and parts from the wrecked engines to repair the ones that had non-critical damage.

    In total, there were tenpletely destroyed engines beyond hope of repair, twenty-one with massive fractures that could be fixed, fifty enginesplete but stalled due tock of maintenance, and more than a hundred fully operational engines that only needed Qi to increase their output.

    The tenpletely destroyed engines were sacrificed for parts to fix the fractured ones. With the help of the Blue Sun, who knew by heart how the engine was made, we began fixing the fractured ones using the parts we now had. It took us about half an hour to fix each one of them. Thankfully, since they were made of Soulsteel, we didn''t need to weld or fuse anything together.

    The Soulsteel itself is capable of mending itself if the appropriate part is presented. In about six or so hours, more than half of the fractured engines were fixed.

    Cleaning up the stalled engines was work done by Tao Yang and the Dusking Sun, who took their time making sure every engine was properly operated. Before any fixed engine was ced back, it was supplied with a couple of Saint Qi crystals to help it pump and power up the Qi inside it.

    Find more to read at §Þ??

    "Why are we doing all this?" the Dusking Sun sighed, clearly fatigued from the grueling work.

    "We need to fix the engines so that when we open the gate to the Lord of Lords Pagoda, nothing terrible like the entire Bastion losing power happens. After all, we''ll be dropping the Qi seal mechanism to do this and enable spatial travel," I exined patiently, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

    "I see. I thought we could, you know, just shut the whole thing down first," he said, scratching his head.

    "You already saw how strong the Noble ck is without Qi. I''m afraid that if we shut down the Qi seal, they''ll break the gate and exit. We don''t want that," I said as I broke the final piece of Saint Qi crystal and pushed the engine down.

    Everything seemed to be working fine for now. The entire area was properly operational. Sadly, the Administrator was nowhere to be seen as he could tell us how our progress was going.

    "Now what?" the Dusking Sun asked as we finished, his eyes showing signs of exhaustion.

    "We need to shut down the spatial interference," I said, turning my head to Tao Yang.

    "Follow me," she said as she moved us to a nearby wall. After pressing on several parts of the metallic wall, it opened up, revealing a small chamber with several monitors and a round circr holographic disy.

    She pressed several buttons and spoke in her mother tongue, enabling more features and disabling some sort of lock and seal. The disy showcased the Bastion in its entirety in a holographic form.

    Several unknown letters and symbols appeared all around the Bastion, showing the damage it had taken from the crash, the current status of the incredibly massive ship, and where the most critical failures were. Not only that, but we could also see where the mass of Rakshasa was.

    From how Tao Yang was zooming in on several rooms, we could see the majority of these fiends dead andying on the ground.

    These were the ones that were huddled up on the ceiling before the poison canisters blew up. The Noble ck seemed to be still there, inspecting the cause of the mass death that had befallen its kin

    "I can disable the spatial interference from here. Are we ready?" Tao Yang asked, her fingers hovering over the controls.

    I turned to the Dusking Sun and said, "Can you wait at the Pagoda just in case?"

    "I''ll also join him," the Blue Sun replied, stepping back from the console.

    "Alright. Once Tao Yang disables the interference, we''ll send in all the bs and what we need from here. Good luck to all," I said, feeling a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

    Soon, the puppet eyes of the Dusking Sun and the Blue Sun turned off. They should be back at the Pagoda. Tao Yang then pressed several buttons, and the whole Bastion began shaking.

    It alles down to this now...

    hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thriving websites I hope yall burn in hell :)

    anyway, if you wish to support me directly if you cannot afford the fees, this is my Paypal,

    thx for the support and to hell with thieves.

 Chapter 771: What Makes a Sun

    Tao Yang disabled the spatial interference, and the change was immediately noticeable. The Qi in the bastion, which had been stagnant and chaotic, began to flow more smoothly. The entire area became more stable, an observable shift to us and the Rakshasas who were still alive. They roared in frustration and anticipation as the new stability in the bastion disrupted their sense of purpose.

    Loud and rumbling echoes of mad, excited rage reverberated through the Bastion as a storm of anger unleashed. The sound was almost deafening, a cacophony of fury that seemed to shake the very walls. The Rakshasas began to surge forward, their feral instincts driving them closer to us.

    "Automaton, open up the pathway!" I called out, trying to keep my voice steady despite the tension. My eyes darted around, trying to gauge how much time we had before the Rakshasas would overwhelm us.

    "I need some time," the Automaton replied, its usually calm voice now tinged with urgency. "The spatial interference inside the bastion is low, but the storm above you has increased massively, making the transfer risky."

    Shit. As the Qi and spatial interference dropped, the clouds above the Thunder Domain seemed more aware of the Rakshasa''s presence. The storm was gathering its strength as if preparing to strike down any who dared to break free.

    Amidst the chaos, Tao Yang didn''t stop moving her hands, her fingers flying across the control panel. The switches clicked and the levers pulled, her face set in a determined expression. The engines beneath us roared to life, their hum reverberating through the floor as various mechanisms engaged.

    Lights in the bastion red to life, casting eerie, flickering shadows on the walls and making the bastion seem almost alive.

    "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the approaching sounds of the Rakshasa''s ws scraping against the metal floor.

    "I''m pulling up some of the defense mechanisms," Tao Yang said, her eyes flicking between the holographic disy and the control panel. "The Noble Rakshasa is getting closer." Her hands moved with practiced precision, pressing more buttons and triggering various levers.

    On the holographic disy, walls began to rise from the floor, creating abyrinthinework of barriers designed to slow down and separate the iing Rakshasa. The walls were made of shimmering Soulsteel, their surfaces reflecting the lights from the control room.

    They were being herded into different rooms and areas, and I could see the Rakshasa being funneled into traps and dead ends as she manipted the defenses with thest reserves of the Bastion''s Qi.

    "Damn," she cursed under her breath, her brow furrowing in concentration.

    "What''s up?" I asked, my anxiety growing as the sounds of the Rakshasa drew nearer, their growls and roars blending into a threatening symphony.

    "I managed to iste all the Rakshasas from the Noble ck," she said, her voiceced with frustration. "But he''s too strong to be contained by hastily built walls of Soulsteel. He''sing, and I have no way to stop him."

    "Don''t worry, trust in the Automaton," I said, trying to mask my own fear with a facade of confidence.

    I wasn''t disappointed. As soon as I finished my words, a swirling vortex of energy began to materialize in front of us. The portal''s edges crackled with raw power, casting eerie, shifting shadows on the walls around us. I grabbed everything we needed from the Bastion, my movements hurried but deliberate. We needed to get out, and fast.

    Without a moment to lose, I leaped into the portal, but I wasn''t fast enough; only half of my body made it through before the portal began to copse behind me.

    The Noble ck lunged forward, its massive ws reaching out in a final attempt to seize me. It caught my puppet in its grasp, tearing it apart with a single, savage swipe. The destruction of the puppet jolted my consciousness out of the Bastion and back into the Pagoda.

    My heart pounded in my chest as I looked around, relieved to see that the half of my body that had made it into the Pagoda still held the precious holding bag containing all the bs.

    The only problem was that the holding bagy precariously close to the ck Noble''s w, which was now thrust through the portal and reaching into the Pagoda.

    "Close the damned thing!" I cursed, the desperation in my voice evident.

    "I cannot! The ck Noble is able to forcefully keep the portal open!" the Automaton replied, its normally calm tone now edged with worry.

    "Don''t worry about it," the Dusking Sun said with unwavering resolve as he dashed forward. "That''s why we''re here." With a powerful stride, he grabbed the ck Noble by the shoulder and yanked itpletely into the Pagoda. The sheer force of his action hurled the massive creature through the portal, sending it crashing into the room with the impact of a meteor.

    The ck Noble was tossed like a ragdoll, its colossal body smashing into the Blue Sun. Without missing a beat, she pulled up her right sleeve, revealing a slim, delicate-looking arm. For a moment, her veins bulged and her hair seemed to stand on end, an aura of raw, untamed energy swirling around her. The power she radiated was immense, a stark contrast to her seemingly fragile appearance.

    "Sit! DOWN!" shemanded with a fierce authority, her voice ringing out like thunder. She swung her arm forward, delivering a punch so powerful it shattered the sound barrier. The force of the blow struck the ck Noble squarely on the head, sending it crashing into the ground with a resounding thud.

    The massive head of the ck Noble bounced off the floor, and the creature was knocked unconscious in a single, earth-shaking blow.

    The sudden silence that followed was almost eerie. I stood there, awestruck, unable to find the words to express my astonishment.

    The Noble Rakshasas were beings of immense power, capable of defeating even the strongest Heaven Stage cultivators with ease. For me, the idea of surviving a confrontation with one of them was not just improbable¡ªit was inconceivable. Yet here were two of the Suns, who had dispatched the ck Noble as though it were a mere annoyance.

    The other Silver Noble, observing the instantaneous dismantling of itspanion, was visibly shaken. Its eyes widened with terror, and it seemed to shrink in on itself, desperately hoping to avoid the attention of the two formidable Suns.

    "Um¡­ well, that was rather easy," I said, trying to break the heavy silence with a weak attempt at humor.

    "What did you expect?" The Blue Sun shed me a bright, confident smile. "I''m the strongest Body Cultivator among the eight Suns," she said with a grin that exuded pride. Stay updated via §Þ??

    "Wait, body cultivator?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

    "What? You don''t think a woman can be strong?" she teased, raising an eyebrow yfully.

    "Not at all! In fact, being one of the eight Suns is more than enough to prove your strength. But your muscles¡­ they don''t look like they''ve been tempered," I said, examining her arms with genuine interest.

    "That''s because I don''t want to look like an ogre. After all, I''m a woman. No one wants to see bulging muscles on a woman, even I wouldn''t want to be seen like that. As for the muscle mass, I can teach you a little something to help you manage muscle growth," she said with a wink and a hint of mischief in her eyes.

    I was eager to learn, especially from someone of her caliber. "That would be amazing. I''d love to learn from you."

    "Thinking about this, Tao Yang, aren''t you at a higher stage of cultivation than the Suns?" I asked, shifting my gaze to Tao Yang.

    "My original body was, yes. Why do you ask?" she inquired, her tone curious.

    "It''s just that the way she dismantled that Rakshasa so easily, I find it hard to believe that all of you Srous lost despite being stronger than the Suns," I said, trying to understand the situation.

    "Technically speaking, only my father was at the next realm. I''m one step above the Suns'' stage but not beyond it," she exined. "My father could have exterminated the majority of the Rakshasa, but it wouldn''t have changed much."

    I waited for her to continue, noticing the sadness that briefly clouded her eyes as she recalled the past.

    "The problem was the world we lived in. It had lost its Heavenly Dao, and our cultivation became unstable. Our Qi was limited, and we couldn''t harness more of it. We got exhausted rapidly, relying solely on our internal Qi to fight. We waged a war of attrition against a race that could infinitely multiply. They didn''t know exhaustion, while we couldn''t rebuild our strength.

    My father decided to abandon the dead world and find us a chance to live somewhere else. That''s why he offered all of his Soul Energy to the bastion to operate it and move it away. Meanwhile, I had been fighting on the front lines for a very long time and was too exhausted to clear the bastion."

    Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her voice trembling slightly. "Not only I, but several other cultivators who had reached the Sun stage also failed due to exhaustion. We didn''t lose because we were weaker; we lost because we didn''t act fast enough. We slowly sent members to their deaths, only to realize far toote the danger the Rakshasa posed.

    By then, most of our forces were depleted," she said, her voice heavy with regret.

    "That is a very dumb way to fight a war," the Dusking Sun said bluntly, his candor cutting through the somber atmosphere. But he was right.

    "I can''t me them," I said, raising a hand to forestall any immediate arguments. The Dusking Sun looked at me like I was out of my mind. "I''m not saying it wasn''t foolish. It definitely was. But think about how they lived in a utopia, where they had no wars or fights for resources. They developed an incredibleck of awareness and lost their edge in battle.

    Like fire is used to smelt and forge weapons, war also sheds blood and makes warriors. They had been at peace for far too long. When danger came, they couldn''t handle it."

    Tao Yang nodded slowly, her expression pensive. "You''re right. We werecent, lulled into a false sense of security by our peaceful existence. We underestimated the Rakshasa and overestimated our own strength. When the Heavenly Dao abandoned our world, we were left vulnerable and unprepared."

    The Blue Sun crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "So, you were essentially fighting on borrowed time, with no way to replenish your strength. That''s a harsh lesson to learn."

    "It was," Tao Yang agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. "And it''s one I hope no one else has to experience."

    There was a moment of silence, each of us lost in our thoughts. The reality of Tao Yang''s past, her people''s downfall, and the relentless nature of the Rakshasa weighed heavily on us all.

    "Well, we''re not them," I said finally, breaking the silence. "We know the threats we face, and we''re prepared to deal with them. We won''t make the same mistakes."

    "You''re right," the Dusking Sun said, his voice filled with renewed determination. "We have the knowledge and the power to fight back. And we''ll make sure we use it wisely."

    The Blue Sun uncrossed her arms and ced a reassuring hand on Tao Yang''s shoulder. "You''re with us now, Tao Yang. We''ll face whateveres together."

    Tao Yang smiled faintly, the gratitude in her eyes unmistakable. "Thank you. I''ve spent so long fighting alone. It''s good to know I have allies."

    [Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thriving websites I hope yall burn in hell :)

    anyway, if you wish to support me directly if you cannot afford the fees, this is my Paypal,

    thx for the support and to hell with thieves. ]

 Chapter 772: Mega-Mind

    "Right, now, what are we going to do with this thing over here?" the Dusking Sun asked, pointing at the unconscious Noble ck sprawled across the floor. His eyes narrowed with a mix of curiosity and caution, the flickering light casting shadows across his stern features.

    "Same as before¡ªcapture, analyze, and experiment on it. I''ll need to figure out all of its weaknesses and strengths to better understand its nature and how to defeat them," I replied, my mind already racing with ns. My fingers itched to start the process, to unravel the mysteries this formidable creature held.

    "You really need multiple bodies," the Blue Sun sighed, shaking her head with a mix of exasperation and admiration. Her eyes sparkled with a blend of respect and concern.

    "Why?" I asked, genuinely curious about her line of thought.

    "Honestly, I''m very impressed with the way you do things. Not only are you cultivating with your main body, but you''re also training against the Rakshasa, preparing to wage a war against the Sea of Demons to im thatnd, and now getting ready for an uing invasion. All of that while still being at the Void Stage.

    If you were at the Sun Stage, I would feel much more confident about the uing trials," she said, her voice full of genuine respect.

    I grinned, feeling a surge of pride. "Don''t worry about me. I''ll do all I can for what''sing next. I''ve faced grimmer odds in my life, and this is but a step in the path of cultivation. As for the Sea of Demons, the n has already begun."

    One of the Dusking Sun''s eyebrows shot up. "Really? You''ve already started?" he asked, intrigued.

    "Indeed. Once I''m done sealing this guy, I''ll show you," I said, gesturing to the Noble ck. Imanded several puppets toe forward andpletely seal it, chaining it down with numerous inscribed chains. The Noble Silver was also pinned down as Imanded the seals to lock its movements. No matter how it struggled, it couldn''t even budge or use its Qi properly.

    Turning to the Blue Sun, I said, "The Red b is here." I pointed at the half-puppet on the floor. The holding bag flew to my hand, and I handed it to her. "I suppose Tao Yang can assist you in reading and studying it to make more Soulsteel."

    "Automaton," I called out.

    "Yes, master," it replied promptly. Discover hidden tales at §Þ??

    "How many puppets do we have in operational status?" I asked, needing a clear picture of our resources.

    "We have sent twenty thousand of our forces, led by X and Y, to the Sea of Demons. As for what remains inside the Pagoda, we have a little over twenty thousand armed, and ten thousand that have yet to receive their weapons," the Automaton reported.

    So, about fifty thousand puppets. Sadly, that''s not nearly enough to match the forces of the Sea of Demons¡ªnot by a long shot. This number isn''t even enough to upy a single city. But I wasn''t nning on waging a frontal war anyway. Most wars are won by fear.

    "Can you still open the gate to the Bastion?" I asked the Automaton.

    "Now that it is stable and slowly generating its own energy, I can only open it if allowed by Tao Yang, as she can control its protective barrier."

    "Good. Tao Yang, can I ask you to assist the Automaton in sending a few of my puppets to several sections of the Bastion?" I requested, turning to her.

    "What are you nning?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.

    "I''m nning on cleaning up the Bastion of Rakshasa. Since we captured their current leader, the rest can easily be destroyed by dumping poison onto them. Especially with the death of the majority of the White Rakshasa thanks to the Poison Gas, the rest don''t have any meat shields," I exined.

    "I see. But how are you going to deal with the Silver Rakshasa? We can''t even see or sense them," she pointed out, her concern evident.

    "I''ll handle those personallyter. For now, we need to kill all the Brutes and cks, and any random White stragglers," I said, my mind already formting strategies.

    She nodded and began coordinating with the Automaton on how and where to open the gates to send in my forces.

    "And what about your main body?" the Blue Sun asked, her tone thoughtful.

    "I''ll be swapping focus back to it and leaving Shen Mo here to climb up in cultivation. This avatar is falling behind a lot," I said, feeling the weight of my responsibilities.

    Just as I was about to switch Shen Mo to automated cultivation mode, I turned to the Automaton. "Onest thing¡ªget the puppets to study and rece these reactors inside my ship with these engines. Also, create arger Y-Build. You remember the Titans back at the trial of the Darkest Sun? I want at least ten puppets that size," I said, my mind whirring with possibilities.

    "The metal we''ll need to create something that size is enough to build about a thousand puppets. Is it wise?" the Automaton asked, its voice tinged with caution.

    He was right, but my goal wasn''t to waste material. I needed shock and awe¡ªit was the best way to deal with mobs of people.

    "Don''t worry about the cost. Don''t we still have enough metal reserves?" I asked.

    "If we continue building at this rate, we''ll exhaust the entire reserves," the Automaton warned.

    "If you want, I can send in some Soulsteel that has been broken off or is not in use from the Bastion to this ce," Tao Yang offered.

    "You can do that?" I asked, surprised and hopeful.

    "Yes, the Bastion itself has a massive storage of unused Soulsteel. I can give the Automaton the coordinates, and we can extract it. I would have mentioned it before, but it was too risky to get there due to the Noble ck," she exined.

    "You''ll need to be careful," I cautioned. "There could be Silver Rakshasa hiding, and they might enter the Pagoda."

    "I''ll remain here just in case," the Dusking Sun interjected. "Just do your thing and rest easy," he said, settling himself in front of where the gate usually opened.

    "Thank you. I''ll repay these favors one day," I said, gratitude coloring my voice.

    He nodded, and I nodded back before making Shen Mo sit down to cultivate while I swapped my focus back to my main body, Shen Bao.

    I sat at the peak of the Tempering Mountain, arge, steep, and incredibly tall mountain with its peak far above the clouds. The view was breathtaking¡ªan endless canopy of white clouds spread as far as the eye could see, with the bright rays of sunlight shimmering on top of them like a sea of cotton.

    The peak wasn''t vast, about a dozen or so meters in diameter. Twenty-four pirs surrounded the peak, arranged in a circr formation to harness the world''s Qi. It was an amazing ce for any cultivator, the amount of Saint Qi swirling around so dense it was visible to the naked eye.

    But that wasn''t the only remarkable thing. The entire peak hid a Saint Qi dragon vein that spread from the mountain''s base, coiling through the rock and all the way to the peak. This dragon vein was a source of immense power, and I could feel its energy pulsing beneath me.

    Despite the awe-inspiring surroundings, I felt extreme nausea from the surge of Qi. The most bizarre thing was that my left arm was not¡­ my arm. It had fused and extended into the shape of the Primordial Serpent God. The massive serpent coiled around the mountain peak, its fangs deeply embedded into the dragon vein, absorbing Qi like drinking water through arge straw.

    The Qi it absorbed was being pumped into my veins at an rming rate, causing various parts of my body to bulge and dete rapidly.

    "S-stop!" I cursed, but the serpent showed no intention of stopping. It was greedily drawing Qi, intent on restoring its cultivation base at my expense.

    The only way out of this mess was to use the Qi the serpent was absorbing to upgrade and increase my cultivation rank.

    I closed my eyes, focusing on my breathing, trying to calm the storm within. The Qi surged through me, overwhelming and invigorating at the same time. I could feel my body straining to contain the influx, muscles twitching and bones creaking under the pressure.

    "Damn it, I have to control this," I muttered through gritted teeth. I directed the Qi flow, channeling it through my meridians, guiding it towards my Dantian. The process was excruciating, like trying to tame a wild beast within my own body. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, dripping down my face as I fought to maintain control.

    The Serpent''s presence was a constant pressure, a relentless force pushing me towards my limits. I could feel its hunger, its desperation to regain its strength, and I had to match that with my own willpower. There was no room for error; a single misstep could mean the end.

    I was rxed and though stressed back in the pagoda, I never expected toe back here to this stupid mess. I had to keep my focus up for now or else¡­

    As the minutes dragged on, I could sense the change. The Qi was beginning to stabilize, the chaotic energy gradually aligning with my own. My body was adjusting, adapting to the increased flow. The pain started to subside, reced by a sense of growing power. I was evolving, my cultivation advancing at an unprecedented rate.

    It was my first time experiencing something like this. Since I always cultivated by chugging and eating up pills to power through my cultivation stages, feeling the natural heavenly Qi in my body was a brand new experience and you can tell¡­

    "Almost there," I whispered to myself, focusing on the final steps. I could feel the breakthrough approaching, the barrier to the next stage weakening with each passing second. The Serpent''s energy intertwined with mine, forging a new path, a stronger foundation.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 773: Balance

    To be the void is to transcend the physical and tangible, venturing beyond existence into the realm of nonexistence. Yet, within this state, existence persists. You remain aware of your presence where nothing else exists, and you remain tangible where everything else is not.

    This is a state of mind where one seeks to iste one''s own essence from the world, striving to understand one''s true identity.

    However, to shatter the void is to fully embrace and acknowledge who you are, then move beyond it, casting it aside. This is done for one purpose only: to find yourself after the void has been shattered. A very convoluted way to say that you basically evolved beyond your current limits. And it is that very state I''m trying to achieve.

    The path of cultivation is divided into many paths. However, the beginning and the end are all one point. It all begins with the Dao of Creation, from which stems every other Dao known and unknown to man. In the end, they will all spread and twist, intertwining, linking, or simply moving along one another, all for a determined and well-known Dao¡ªthe Dao of Destruction.

    It all begins and ends, forming a vicious circle that has no beginning or end. Creation begins, only to beckon destruction, and in destruction, creation will once again rise.

    Our goal as cultivators is to study the Dao, grow alongside it, and achieve an understanding of it. Some might die not merely a step past the Creation process, as one knows, cultivators have an arduous and harsh path in front of them, full of greed and incredible ambition.

    They cultivate and struggle for resources, all to seek the end of the long path of Dao, which everyone knows is endless yet still they wish to see its end.

    In other words, a cultivator is like a man of arithmetic, trying to count from one to infinity. That counting would only stop when the man reaches the end of his lifetime. Achieving the Infinite is beyond impossible and in the realms of the Unattainable. But why do cultivators cultivate when they don''t even see the peak? Because it is what cultivators do. As simple as that.

    They would count and count, struggle, suffer, and die¡ªdie and die again, too many times to count¡ªall in the endless struggle topete against each other to reach an unattainable peak. Yet they still try and achieve it. A vain effort one might think, a hapless endeavor one might believe, but a cultivator thinks not like that.

    In his journey, he sees the wonders of the world, the cruelty of man, the greatness and evesting wisdom of time, and the cold embrace of the ordained grasp of death. Yet, they cultivate. Yet they struggle.

    Because the goal is to reach the peak, even if unattainable. In this path and in this journey, one will achieveplete istion from the worldly and im dominion over the divine. From a mere child who soiled their underwear to a man able to break apart mountains and flip the sea. It is those who try andpete and vie over the very Heavens'' order and power.

    iming even a fraction of the endless heaven''s might as their own. That is their Dao, that is their path and their unattainable peak. Their incredibly steep and endless peak has something sittingfortably at it.

    An existence that cannot be called an existence, an assortment of Dao that had been here before Creation itself, and will remain after Destruction. The very existence that rules over the order of the world itself¡ªthe Heavenly Law.

    The Heavens, or what is considered the true and honest epitome of power and endless might that cannot be counted or calcted, cannot bepeted against nor can it be truly won against.

    It is powerful enough that it allows and opens the path to cultivation for the people. It gives them trials and challenges, and gives them what they need to climb this steep path. At the same time, it brings down untold pain and misery for those who try to steal what they didn''t earn from it and kindly rewards those who follow its teachings to achieve a seat for themselves under it.

    A true cultivator has three options to walk through. The Cultivator path, where they follow the teachings of the Heavens and learn from its secrets. Usually, their challenges are not difficult and their Heavenly Tribtions are simple. Those who seek to understand natural Daos, like the elemental Daos, the Dao of space and time, and the like.

    Then there is the Demonic Cultivator, which I am a part of. These are cultivators who do not abide by the Heavenly Order, yet at the same time respect it. They climb the path of cultivation in a very difficult manner as they challenge it head-on, never lowering their heads to the difficulty of their trials. We seek not to understand the Dao of Heavens, but to wrest it away and make it our own.

    We seek not only to learn from the Heavenly Order but to understand the very origin and reason why and where these teachings and Lawse from. We seek not to learn the Dao, but to manipte it and morph it into our own. Or we seek the path of carnage, the path of ughter, and the path of destruction and death. These paths are deemed vile and vicious.

    We seek not to be under the Heavenly Order, but topete against it. Not to earn a seat under it, but to wrest away the very crown of the heavens.

    The Heavens are jealous and mighty, yet they would not smite down a Demonic Cultivator for wanting to attain their seat. After all, who is here to say that the Heavens themselves weren''t a cultivator once? A hard question to even think about or process, but not for the current me.

    And finally, the Devil Cultivators. These are the vilest of cultivators. They seek not to achieve heavenly ascension by their own power. They would rather have others suffer for their own personal gain. They would steal souls and bodies, and kill others, even bathe in their blood, to gain more power.

    They use others as either cultivation furnaces or simple offerings, taking away another''s fortune for themselves. An easy road, fraught with almost no trouble. A Devil Cultivator can rapidly climb the steps of cultivation as they take away the effort of others. But why are they so rare, one might think?

    It is because the Heavens have divided fortune among all and given everyone their chance and right to live and exist. When someone constantly breaks this Heavenly Order, their luck will start diminishing. Their personal fortune will crumble down to almost nonexistence, and they know this.

    A Devil Cultivator will always have a hard time cultivating by themselves and will always need others for him to go up the path of cultivation. One day, they''ll meet prey that they cannot consume. Or the Heavens themselves will strike them down with untold difficulties and trials.

    All is bnced. Those who bow will have an easy time going up thedder but will be limited. Those who stand their ground and question the world will have a harder time climbing but will be unlimited in how far they can go. And those who steal and usurp will meet unfortunate ends too soon for them to even get a chance to fully use the loot they took. All is bnced, as all things should be.

    And here, I opened my eyes to a massive golden gate that seemed to pierce the very clouds. The stormy skies above gathered pitch-ck clouds, a testament to the uing trial where I have to fully shatter the void and achieve the next path and step of cultivation. The winds howled around me, carrying with them a sense of foreboding and anticipation.

    Lightning crackled in the distance, illuminating the dark clouds with fleeting bursts of blinding light.

    The Primordial Serpent God simply retracted back into my body, not willing to face the iing storm yet without a single ounce of shame for being the reason why it happened in the first ce. Its presence, usually a source of overwhelming power and confidence, now retreated into the depths of my being, leaving me alone to confront the tempest ahead.

    I sighed and smiled at the same time. Then pped my knee, "Come, I''ve been waiting for a long time."

    I stood before the gate, feeling the immense pressure bearing down on me. The weight of the heavens themselves seemed to press against my very soul, challenging me to prove my worth. The golden gate shimmered with an ethereal light, its surface adorned with intricate carvings that depicted the eternal struggle between creation and destruction.

    The gate began to open, its massive doors creaking with the weight of untold eons. Beyond the thresholdy the unknown, a realm where the boundaries between existence and nonexistence blurred, where the very fabric of reality was shaped by the will of those who dared to enter.

    ...

    [Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thriving websites I hope yall burn in hell :)

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    thx for the support and to hell with thieves. ]

 Chapter 774: Visions I

    The gate of heavens stood as a testament to one''s arduous path of cultivation. From what I know, it would only appear to those who wish not to serve but to defy¡ªnot in sphemy, but with a willingness topete and challenge. The heavens see one''s heart and will and present them with a fitting challenge each and every time. Right now, I''m waiting for my own trial.

    But there are rules to this.

    One shouldn''t try to peek into the heavenly secrets and see what lies beyond the gate. One should only await their trials. However, this isn''t the case for me this time. Since I have time and time again been challenged by this very same gate and always ended up winning, this time it was actually inviting me in.

    In my own words, and in my own voice, as if possessed, I spoke unwillingly and unconsciously, only for my ears to hear and my mouth to say, "Enter, and climb, see whaty ahead, and what could have been but didn''t. Choose, and choose well," I said to myself.

    And the moment I took the first step, my entire mind went nk. I found myself in a small dark room, surrounded by a six-by-six cubicle. The loud sound of fax machines and printers working in the background at the darkest hour of the night filled the room.

    In front of me was an endless stack of files that needed reviews and an immense project that I needed to supervise. Several machines were working and causing too much noise for anyone to be able to concentrate.

    Now, this, right here, is the most clich¨¦ and dumbest thing you could ever experience in a cultivation novel. I mean, seriously, a cultivator like me who had spent hundreds of years struggling, fighting, suffering, and enduring endless pain, and had wracked my head over incredible and hard problems and suffered the endless and unfortunate torture of a lifetime.

    You would think I would fall to such an illusion?

    I spent hundreds of years in a cultivation world and not more than fifty in my original world. If I were to fall to this fake illusion, I might as well shoot myself in the head.

    Before I could even think of how to leave this illusion, it simply shattered as if it never existed.

    Like, seriously, who falls for this shit anyway?

    My entire body instantly shook, like a loud beating of a dragon skin drum had just been struck. I felt every ounce of my body shuddering. It was painful, but¡ªwell, this is awkward to say since it might make me sound like a masochist¡ªit was painful in a good way.

    My muscles felt as if they had been tense and now they rxed. Even my blood flow felt stronger and faster, and my heartbeat steadied though it increased in rate slightly. My body began sweating, a slightly yellowish sweat that smelled quite strong and sickly sweet.

    My mouth spoke, as if it was being borrowed by the heavens again, "You have seen what has been and refused to live it once more. Now see what could have been."

    This time, I wasn''t personified in my own visions, but took a third-person view over my own self in a different verse.

    I was back in Lucid Spring, an old man who had just been pushed by his children down the cliff, unable to even stand back up. With broken feet, desperately grasping for twigs and tree branches, using them to aid myself to walk. Old and frail, and lonely.

    Here hees, that man wearing red, the red that I still remember to this day. The man who threw me into that Poisoned pit which carved my very existence, the Shen Bao of now. However, he never took a second nce at me like thest time. He never went down to grab me; he simply snorted and flew away.

    And in that act, I was saved, but at the same time, reality struck.

    They say in misfortune there exists fortune. And due to me not having been captured, I was never given the chance to enter the pond of Bone and Body Grinding Poison. I never took a step in cultivation, and I was too deep into a forest that no mortal should ever step into.

    Not longer than a few hourster, a few hungry beasts caught the scent of me. And what could an old man do in that case? The beasts hounded me, breaking bone and flesh, hounds of hell they were, as they tore through my frail old body while I lived still, crunching and munching on every bit and piece until the embrace of death finally caught me in my desperate soiled and bloodied self.

    Quite an unfortunate ending.

    But that was just the start. My vision was turned once more to a past far beyond my conscious, to the life of Du Shen, where I first existed. Where I strived to rule the very world by a fist of steel and poison. Yet, in this world, though I struggled as Du Shen against forces beyond my abilities, I ended up failing to teach my disciples. They tore the world apart and usurped my teachings.

    I never was able to discard my soul into another world to escape the wheel of time.

    Another vision came, a vision where trying to douse myself in Bone and Body Grinding Poison had failed and I ended up turning into a boiling smudge.

    Another vision appeared, where I as Du Shen never escaped the Fire Lord''s first encounter, never managed to take the golden book.

    Another vision where I as Shen Bao had seeded in achieving the Poison Body but failed on the golden path and in meeting Zhang Tian. This allowed the entire of Si Xue to never receive the attention of the Fire Lord, yet at the same time, I could never be faced with any challenge to cause me to escape and explore the Vast Expanse. I died in that timeline without having achieved much.

    More versions of myself appeared, where most of them ended in miserable and desperate endings. I have been lucky a great deal of times; I cannot argue the point. I should have been dead more than a thousand times over, but always ended up on top. Regardless of the oue and means, I always managed to remain on top.

    The visions stopped, and I was back right at the front of the gate. This was a question that wasn''t asked and needed a reply that shouldn''t be uttered. I only smiled. And that was my reply¡ªto answer the question of heavens is an utter mockery of their vast wisdom. One needs not answer a question that hasn''t been stated. Though the question is obvious, the reply shouldn''t be muttered.

    If it was luck that aided me in my journey, so be it. If it was my own will that aided me in my survival, so be it. But for sure, I alone wouldn''t have been who I am today if not for the intricate and intertwined heavenly fate that has been woven for me.

    I believe in fate''s concrete and well-knitted path for everyone. Destiny exists, and it aids one in achieving their best future, but one shouldn''t just sit down and wait for things to happen. As I have been shown the many futures and many pasts that could have been if I hadn''t acted in a part of them, and if the heavens hadn''t been merciful in most of them, I as Shen Bao would have ceased to exist.

    A question has been asked wordlessly, and a reply must be given wordlessly, so I smiled and took the next step forward.

    The second sounding of the drum happened, and this time the pain was far more severe as it rattled through every fiber of my being. Jolting through my body like an endless thunder and lightning strike that shook both my organs into an ecstatic state and caused every pore in my body to open up.

    Sweat and rancid ck grime poured out of my body. This was the impurities that weren''t in my body, but were in the blood of the Primordial Serpent God. After all, my body cannot have impurities in it as I cultivate the Path of the Poison God. But since I reced my blood with the blood of the Primordial Serpent God, things have slightly changed, and now I''m receiving a heavenly baptism.

    The third step¡ªthis time, it was something I didn''t expect. I was in this world once again, back in Lucid Spring, but seeing things differently. I was never interested in the path of cultivation in this lifetime. As I got here in this world, I never sought to heal myself as I had given up after buying several fake elixirs. I aided my sons with my wealth and sent them over to the Purple Cloud Sect.

    They struggled in it, but made a name for themselves. One became a hero of the sect as he fought bravely to defend it from the Three-legged Crow Sect''s attack, while the other became an honorary elder after he died bravely in the same war. Meanwhile, I slowly passed away after having lived aplete and fulfilling mortal life.

    Yet this vision changed. Once again back in Lucid Spring, my two sons never achieved anything, nor had I done much. They med me for their bad ''genes'' for their inability to cultivate, which was caused by myself. I, who had not lived an arduous path of cultivation, kowtowed to my sons, asking for forgiveness for having deprived them of their path of cultivation.

    I scowled at the sight of this weak version of myself

    Pathetic...

 Chapter 775: Shatter

    My lips scowled in disgust at my kowtowing self. What do I owe them? They are nothing but self-centric bastards who deserve not a single coin. They were provided everything since their birth. I worked hard for them to live a good life, and this is how they treat me.

    Before my thoughts got any further, I shook my head and smiled. So, this is what they call a heart demon? I see.

    The reality of my life, the choices I made, and the paths I did not take all converged in this moment. The heavens were showing me the what-ifs, the could-have-beens, and the alternate fates thaty just out of reach. They were testing my resolve, my understanding of my journey, and my eptance of the life I had carved out for myself.

    I took another step forward, feeling the weight of countless lifetimes pressing down on me. The golden gate loomed closer, its intricate carvings shimmering with an otherworldly light. Each step was a battle, each vision a reminder of the fragility of existence and the strength of the Soul.

    The fourth step brought with it a new vision, one that struck at the very core of my being. I was in the same world, but this time, I was not a cultivator. I was a simple farmer, toiling thend, living a life of quiet simplicity. My family was with me, my children growing up strong and healthy, my wife smiling at me from the doorway of our humble home.

    It was a life of peace, free from the struggles and conflicts of the path of cultivation.

    But with this peace came a different kind of struggle¡ªa struggle to provide, to protect, and to endure the hardships of a mortal life. The vision showed me the beauty of a simple existence, but also its limitations. It was a life without the power to change the world, without the means to defend against the injustice of a cruel and merciless world.

    It was a reminder that every path has its own challenges, and that even the simplest life is fraught with difficulties.

    As the vision faded, I found myself back before the gate, my heart heavy with the weight of what I had seen. The heavens were relentless in their testing, pushing me to confront every facet of my being, every possible path my life could have taken. But with each step, my resolve grew stronger.

    I was not just a man of cultivation, but a man who had faced countless trials and emerged stronger each time.

    I took another step, feeling the power of the heavens coursing through me. The fifth vision was one of pure power, a glimpse of what I could be if I fully embraced the path of the Devil cultivator. I saw myself standing atop a mountain of corpses, my power unmatched, my will unbreakable. The world trembled before me, and the heavens themselves seemed to crumble to my usurping might.

    It was a vision of absolute dominance and devastation, of cruelty and destruction but also of loneliness and istion. In this vision, I was feared and revered in my presence, but abhorred and hated in my absence. I was also alone, cut off from the bonds that make life meaningful.

    The vision was a stark reminder of the price of power, and as it faded, I felt a deep sense of rity. Power without purpose, without connection, is a hollow victory. The true strength lies not just in oveing others, but in understanding oneself and the world around us.

    Even the Demonic Path shares simrities with the Devil Path, both seek power. Only the first achieves it with his own will and struggles, while thetter takes it from those around him.

    With renewed determination, I took the final step toward the gate. The heavens thundered in response, their approval echoing in the depths of my soul. The gate began to open, revealing a path bathed in golden light. This was the path of the Demonic cultivator, a path thatbined strength with wisdom, power withpassion, and ambition with humility.

    All my dreams were within the palm of my hand, just for me to grasp them. With thepany of long and old friends, the future though unknown is still lit well and brightly enough to traverse and cross. Power withoutpany is meaningless, might without a loved one serves no purpose. And being an immortal by yourself is far crueler than the worst death.

    As I stepped through the gate, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. The trials had tested me in ways I could never have imagined, but they had also revealed the depth of my character and the strength of my spirit.

    The final booming of the Drum had been struck¡­

    My entire body felt as if it was being hammered down by the hand of a mighty existence. Reshaped and rebuilt to extract me from my cocoon. The drums that had stopped began beating once more, reverberating through my body. Echoing right into my lungs with enough force that blood sttered out of my mouth.

    Then a wave of nausea hit me as I wanted to throw up but I held in. There was a thin transparent wall in front of me. And I had a feeling that I needed to step right through it.

    And the moment I touched it, it broke and shattered like extremely fragile ss. And in that moment I had a feeling that I achieved something.

    I didn''t know what it was, but I knew it was important, especially since everything around me began crumbling and breaking apart as if space itself could no longer withstand my own existence.

    Reverberation after reverberation, thunderous booms in the high heavens echoed following one another. And finally, the gate itself which looked material blew apart in an explosive silence as it disappeared.

    A powerful aura of might began surging from around me and underneath me. It felt as if thews of the world were not able to sustain themselves as they made contact with me, breaking and shattering upon contact. As if the world itself had no hold over my existence.

    "Shattering the Void¡­ I finally achieved it," I said as I clenched a fist which caused booming thunders to echo from around it.

    Energy like no other bathed my body, it was the long overdue rewards of the heavens that I have never received.

    After all, I made it all the way to the Void Stage as a mutant type of cultivator without ever having received heavenly Qi, and now that I am able to absorb it. The heavens has rewarded me for all my trouble and some more.

    There is a quite unique difference between the energy a cultivator absorbs from nature around him and what is given by the heavens.

    A cultivator can only absorb a finite amount of Qi from nature, or spirit stones before they''ll feel like they''re bloating up or about to explode. However, the gift from the heavens was not under the same rule.

    If given, take, as you will never feel bloated from it, and took I did.

    Absorbing the massive and copious amounts of heavenly Qi that was dousing me from head to toe filling me up without me feeling full.

    It prated through my skin, into my blood flesh and nerves. Every bit and part of my body was receiving a heavenly baptism to fuel my body further.

    I couldn''t understand how, but my already absurdly powerful body had be leagues stronger. My muscles grew and even my size to amodate the new increase in Qi capacity.

    My Dantian which hosted my Sea of Consciousness no longer was a barrennd. But now was a massive globe of water with several pieces ofnd in it. And my fortress which floated on water was now on the peak of the highest mountain.

    I had an inner world in my Dantian, and in it was a, and¡­ people.

    Small, people, barely wearing anything and desperately praying and worshipping.

    The Qi I was receiving from the heavenly gift was being transferred not only to feed my Dantian but also washed over these people, elevating their dirty and feeble status to that of strong men and women who began creating, carving, building, and living their own lives.

    My small globe flew in a vast empty void, without any life but them.

    This was the space that was holding my Dantian, my own universe where I could host and hold life. And now that I have shattered the void, I''m able to harness inner Qi from the worshipping of the creatures in it.

    I opened my eyes, and found myself covered in a disgusting ck sludge, with a snap, a powerful wind blew away all the grim and filth, and revealed my new self.

    Not a huge change in physical appearance, but a great change in spiritual aptitude. My Qi was flowing better, and was of a higher quality, enough that I was probably able to understand Origin Qi, but not to the point of using it.

    Still, with this amount of strength, I''m far from capable of doing a frontal assault on the Sea of Demons. But, it is just what I need for the sake of my n.

    I stood up, took a long breath and exhaled, then turned my head to the direction of the Sea of Demons.

    By now, thanks to the time deferential, the Automaton should be done making the massive-sized puppets.

    All parts of the n are now getting together. All I have to do is execute.

 Chapter 776: Attack

    About ten dayster, inside thergest fortified city of the Sea of Demons, the Imperial City. Where the self-proimed emperor resides, amotion was happening.

    The thought was that Shen Bao, the victor of the Tournament woulde to try and im the area for himself, but he was a mere Void Stage cultivator.

    Though Strongest Under the Sun, he was not at the level of taking over the territory of the Sea of Demons. No matter how powerful he was in the tournament, it was a rigged one. After all, the cultivators there could not use their Origin Qi, so if he tried and darede to im thisnd, he would end up dead.

    The Emperor was not a fan of the decisions that the Suns had taken, after all, he had reached the peak of the Origin Shattering Stage, only a bit away from the Heaven Stage. Which was a very powerful level of cultivation.

    They all saw how Shen Bao was powerful and smart, but that is only if he is able to use his tools and puppets. Here, so far out of the world, in an area where even normal usage of Qi is restricted, his trinkets wouldn''t pose a threat if he darede here.

    Not to mention, there were plenty of Void Shattering Stage cultivators, and a few Origin Realm Cultivators, and a couple who are the guards of the Emperor at the Origin Shattering Realm.

    The area couldn''t be more fortified even if one wanted to.

    The agreement he had with the Suns to keep thisnd is to stop the Walkers from moving outside the Sea of Demons and to keep them at bay here until the Endless Nights starts. Only then will they no longer have any obligation toward the Beyond and will have to fight to protect themselves only?

    Which was an agreement that has been going on for hundreds of years.

    But now, the Suns reneged on that agreement and gifted the territory that the current Emperor Spent ages to develop to some no-name guy who won a riggedpetition.

    A man hurriedly rushed inside the imperial hall, where several councilors and generals were bowing in prostration to the imperial seat.

    The man was wearing the robes of an eunuch, he was basically a ve for the imperial family and only served the imperial family. He would prostrate himself there, and present a jade with both hands over his bowed head.

    "A message arrived, Your Imperial Majesty!" the eunuch said with all the air in his lungs.

    The nearest general who was the man who had his daughter saved by Shen Bao went and grabbed the jade.

    He read through it and frowned.

    "What is it?" the Emperor asked.

    The words had found difficulty leaving his mouth when he said "It is a threat."

    "Someone dares threaten his majesty?!" one of the other three generals rose up as he mmed the butt of his ive on the ground in an uproar.

    "Who and what do they want?" the Emperor Asked.

    "It is Shen Bao, the victor of the-"

    "SKIP THE USELESS DETAILS!" the Emperor roared.

    "Y-yes your majesty. Shen Bao is demanding you hand over the key and throne to the Empire. And is iming dominion all over thend as the rightful ruler and inheritor of thend. We have¡­ as he said about a day''s worth of time toe with a decision, or else¡­"

    "Or Else? Or ELSE?! Who does he think he is?!"

    "Also, he said he is right outside the Imperial City if you wish to confront him."

    "Bring me his damn head!" the Emperor said as he grabbed a jug of wine from the nearest table and drank from it.

    "As the Lordmands!" the General of the West twirled his ive, a wide grin on his face appeared as he shot out of the pce in the direction of the main gate.

    "Fools, they think just because the Suns gifted them something that they''re allowed to¡­" his words were cut short as a world-shaking explosion echoed. It was so loud that it shook the very pce''s foundations.

    "Bloody Fool!" the Emperor said, "Why use so much force in capturing a damn Void Stage cultivator! Is he trying to kill me! THIS IS TREASON!" the Emperor shouted in a loud smiling face.

    He was clearly enjoying the pain and misery that must have befell Shen Bao at the hand of one of the Origin Realm Cultivators who are acting generals of the Sea of Demons.

    Soon, the explosion and vibration died down. And not longer than a few breaths worth of time something came flying right through the main gate of the Imperial Pce.

    It was a scorched, barely recognizable head, with a fractured skull that caved in so much the whites of the brain inside were oozing out.

    "Get this filthy thing out of my hall," the Emperor said. "Also, where is Ya Zu? I told him to kill and bring me the Head of the so-called Shen Bao why did he only bring the head and not himself? Is he nning on fooling around in the city like usual?"

    One of the other generals smiled. He was the youngest and most handsome-looking one in the room, sitting with on knee up on a chair and had a spear hanging on top of his shoulder as he used one of his arms to hang over it,"He probably found another good-looking woman to ruin. Does he not know he should bring her to the Emperor First," the man shook his head.

    "Like you would do that," the Emperor Said, "At least he kills them after he is done, you let them live in utter misery," the Emperor Joked as he drank more of the wine.

    Another eunuch soon arrived at the pce gate, only this one was shaken and pale as a sheet of paper.

    "What is it?" the General of the West Spoke trying to keep his neutrality and his allegiance in check. Although Shen Bao had saved his daughter, the General was a man and a soldier of the Sea of Demons he couldn''t simply switch sides. And he definitely mustn''t show any pity or mercy to Shen Bao or else nothing can save him from certain death.

    "The- the life Jade of General Ya Zu¡­ it broke¡­"

    The information fell like a thunderbolt in a clear sky, unexpected and unwarranted and clearly impossible to even digest or consider true.

    The Emperor stood up from his seat and slowly went all the way down to the head on the ground, he picked it up and his eyes widened as he recognized a familiar tattoo that hadn''tpletely burnt.

    A small piece of jade was imbedded into the dead general''s ear which the Emperor yed.

    "You now have one hour toe up with a decision." It said.

    He dropped his head and shouted with all his might, "BRING HIM TO ME! RIGHT NOW! ALIVE!"

    The there generals immediately shot out of the pce, hurrying toward the gate as they noticed something they didn''t ever expect.

    It wasn''t due to theirck of ability to sense something from far away after all, they were all at the Origin Realm and were more than capable of sensing stuff at the gate. But due to the nature of the Sea of Demons'' Qi sealing and limitation, their Qi could only extend to a few miles around them. While Shen Bao was so far away standing with both hands crossed in front of him.

    The wind blew and ruffled his hair lightly and his robes, while his eyes were shining bright green.

    However, his stalwart and courageous appearance wasn''t what brought the attention of the royal guard. But the fact that he was standing on the shoulder of a puppet so gigantic that it easier towered over the walls of the city.

    The cries and fear of people intensified as they noticed the looming titan peering over them as if they were ants.

    And around the gigantic puppet were tens of thousands of other smaller puppets. A majority of them were on one knee holding a tube-like object that was aimed straight forward. While the rest stood like resolute soldiers that have undergone a thousand battles.

    The three generals spread out and simply decided to surround ande at Shen Bao from three different directions to spread his focus.

    But he didn''t even take a second nce at any of them.

    He pointed up, then down at the royal pce.

    This made the three generals stop in their tracks. That mere motion was so full of confidence and certainty that it made them hesitate. Especially since he aimed at the Royal Pce. Where their Emperor was.

    Thinking that it was simply a ruse from Shen Bao after nothing happened two of the generals rushed forward, the General of the West holding a saber, and the General of the North with his golden spear. While the general of the Shield remained back waiting for whatever thing could threaten the Royal pce.

    And he was right in waiting, after all, a massive pir-sized spear wasing down from the high heavens at a speed so fast that it bore through the clouds of the Sea of Demons tearing them apart and blowing them away to reveal the bright sun.

    The projectile wasing down at such an incredible pace that he was forced to use Blood Escape, sacrificing a good chunk of his blood essence to increase his speed a hundredfold to intercept.

    The General of the Shield raised a massive circr shield up to block the iing pir of pure tungsten metal.

    All the two other generals heard when they were about to reach Shen Bao was.

    "If only you learned the Law of Kic Energy¡­ you wouldn''t have tried to do that," he grinned.

 Chapter 777: Monster

    The General of the Shield raised a massive circr shield to block the iing pir of pure tungsten metal. The shield gleamed under the harsh sun, its surface reflecting a brilliant light. From the rims of the shield, a gigantic barrier manifested, surrounding the entirety of the imperial city. The barrier shimmered with energy, an imprable wall of protection.

    Upon contact, an explosion erupted. It was so hot, ring, and blinding that it sent a shockwave massive enough to blow the sand around the entire city into gigantic waves. These waves flew so fast and so far that they even turned to crystallized ss from the sheer heat of the explosion. The air crackled with residual energy, and the ground shook violently, sending tremors through the city.

    Shen Bao''s army was well within the range of the explosion. Yet, the massive puppet simply pressed both hands forward, creating a massive mask that appeared behind him. This mask shielded the entire puppet army as the sand blew in all directions and the waves of fused and molten ss broke and sshed everywhere, sending shards flying like deadly missiles.

    The damage caused by the tungsten pir was catastrophic. It not only shattered the shield of the General of the Shield but also tore his entire arm and shoulder, which carried the shield, and scorched him as if he were a well-roasted piece of steak. His skin ckened and cracked under the intense heat, and his cries of pain echoed through the chaos.

    Shen Bao''s expression wasckluster, a mask of cold indifference. The two generals, desperately struggling against the winds of the explosion, could only stare in absolute horror at the sight of their city. The shield had protected the city, but the surroundings had cooled, revealing crystalized ss so huge and so intricate that it looked like a work of art spread all around the city.

    Waves of sand had turned to pure ss from the sheer heat of the explosion.

    The General of the Shield, despite his grievous injuries, desperately recovered himself after gobbling up several lifesaving elixirs. His face twisted in agony and determination as the healing energy took effect, closing his wounds and restoring some strength.

    "Quite the tenacity," Shen Bao said, his voice cold and mocking. "But that was only one. How are you going to handle the rest?" He pointed skyward, and only then did the two other generals look up to see more than a hundred tungsten pirs descending toward the city, darkening the sky with their menacing presence.

    The look on everyone''s face was one of sheer utter despair and horror. One of those pirs was capable of devastating the General of the Shield and his supreme defense. But now, a hundred more wereing down on the imperial city. The damage to the structure of the city would be immense, not to mention the casualties.

    "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" the general wielding a spear shouted, realization dawning on him like a dark cloud. Killing Shen Bao would be irrelevant because the pirs woulde regardless.

    "I have been given thisnd by the Suns," Shen Bao spoke, his voice calm and measured. "Leave it, or no one shall have it."

    His words were few, but they held a terrifying meaning behind them. It was clear he didn''t care about the lives of the people in thisnd and was ready topletely eradicate it.

    The General of the Shield sent the General of the Spear a divine sense message, his mental voice urgent and desperate. "You have to kill him. I cannot stop these things!"

    Sadly, for the General of the Shield, he didn''t realize that the pirs were in free fall from who knows how high, and stopping so much elerated energy would be impossible for any of them. And killing Shen Bao would have no effect on the situation.

    "Shen Bao! I have treated you right! Why are you doing this to us?" the General of the West had to speak up, even if it cost him his lifeter to be associated with Shen Bao. For now, he needed to find a way to stop him.

    Shen Bao looked at the man and snorted, "It is the other way around, old fool. It was I who offered you help and aided your mortally poisoned daughter, and what did you do? You sent someone after me. I don''t forget those who tried to backstab me."

    The General of the West closed his open mouth, unable to refute the truth in Shen Bao''s words. It was partially true. After all, he had sent one of his retainers after Shen Bao to capture him, realizing how valuable of a man he was. And now, it backfired all too damn fast. Greed is the bane of all mankind.

    The pirs wereing down, and they couldn''t find a way to stop them.

    "FIND A WAY TO BUY US TIME!" the General of the Spear sent a loud divine sense message to the General of the West. "I sent a jade to the Guardian. He''s nearby in Lulong City. He shoulde here in less than half an incense stick worth of time." But his words were cut short as the man he sent for help did not arrive. Instead, it was a jade that came flying toward the General of the Spear.

    There was a grin on Shen Bao''s face, as if he had already noticed when the General of the Spear had sent the request for help and seemed to know the very contents of the jade that just arrived. The General of the Spear rapidly read through it, and his already pale face became even paler.

    He immediately ryed the information inside the jade to everyone around him. From the information on the jade, what was happening in the Imperial City was not unique. And it was the very reason why no assistance arrived so fast.

    Everywhere around the Sea of Demons, where all the major cities¡ªtwelve of them¡ªwere, there was an exact replica of what was going on here. A Shen Bao standing on top of a gigantic puppet, followed by tens of thousands of other smaller puppets, and hundreds of tungsten pirs about to fall down on them.

    All it would take him is a simple thought topletely eradicate the entire structure of the Sea of Demons and not leave a single thing alive.

    "You''re a monster," the General of the Spear said, horror settling inside his heart.

    "Indeed, I am," Shen Bao replied with a twisted grin, "but I have yet to begin the ughter. Now how about you all give up on this regime?"

    The General of the Spear shouted, "Never! We will not ever sumb to terrorist attacks! As long as the Emperor is here! We will forever fight!"

    "Oh, what a poor choice of words," Shen Bao said, his grin widening. "If your emperor is the only thing that is stopping you from surrendering, then let me make it easy for you all," he said as he snapped his fingers.

    It was a simple and quite normal snap, without any visible Qi or effects. But not a secondter, a powerful surge of baleful Qi began shaking the pce behind the generals. It looked sordid and horrid, as if the most vile of things had been summoned to this world. A powerful aura of death and decay permeated the entire pce, and soon wails and the loud banging of a bell echoed through the city.

    The General of the Shield was still holding on, waiting for the seemingly unmoving pirs to drop, so he couldn''t go and check. Meanwhile, the General of the Spear held his pointed end toward Shen Bao.

    "Go!" the General of the Spear shouted, ordering the General of the West to go and check. "I''ll hold him here!" he said.

    The General of the West rushed toward the pce while Shen Bao smiled. "You? Hold me?" he said, his tone dripping with mockery. "Do I look that weak to you just because I''m a Void Shattering Cultivator and you''re a peak Origin Cultivator that you think you can hold me here? You and what army?" Shen Bao sneered.

    The General of the Spear smiled defiantly. "Aren''t you the one using a poor choice of words now? LEGION OF THE EMPEROR! COME FORTH!"

    However, nothing happened. He shouted again, but still, nothing happened.

    If a pin could drop, it would resound loudly all over the area. A long, awkward silence was finally broken by Shen Bao''s maniacal cackling andughter.

    Heughed andughed, tears streaming down his face. "LIKE I FUCKING SAID! YOU AND WHAT ARMY?! THEY ARE ALL DEAD!" he red out.

    The General of the Spear sent almost all of his Qi through the city. Despite the limitations of the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons, if he used the majority of his Qi, he could extend his detection range to cover the city, albeit for a few seconds. And in doing so, he couldn''t help but notice that not a single soldier was alive. None, not a single one was standing.

    Even the guards were on the ground, blue of face and pale of skin. Poisoned to an incredible degree by something no one seemed even to realize, and it only affected the soldiers.

    The rest of the people were well and crying at the sudden death of their husbands and fathers.

    "When you''re trying to deliver a line," Shen Bao said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "you have to be certain that it will have an effect. Now, say, why not simply give up? Your nation has fallen in a single hour, by a single man. Don''t tell me you still think you cane out victorious?" Shen Bao taunted.

    The General of the Spear opened and closed his mouth, panic and surprise clear on his face. He was unable to even realize what had just happened. Everything had been perfectly

    fine not an hour ago, and now, all the soldiers of the imperial city were lying on the ground, dead and void of life. Meanwhile, the emperor himself had a fate unknown.

    The General of the West rapidly arrived, his eyes wide open as if he hadn''t blinked a single time.

    "What''s going on in the city?" the General of the Spear demanded to know.

    "They''re all dead¡­ everyone, every person of military force is dead. Not even the dogs and cats are alive. And the emperor¡­ he too has perished¡­" The moment the General of the West''s words came out of his mouth, was the same moment that the General of the Spear looked up as he dropped his spear to the ground.

    It was aplete and utterly surprising victory for Shen Bao. An entire nation that had stood for thousands of years was taken down not only in a single hour but by a single man, less than an Origin Realm cultivator.

    What sort of monster did the heavens send to them? What kind of creation is this being that is simply cackling at the killing of more than millions of soldiers? The thought was overwhelming, and the reality of their situation finally began to sink in.

 Chapter 778: Crownless

    Thinking about what just urred would only cken my heart further. Saying it was for the greater good is nothing but hypocritical bullshit. I killed millions of lives, and it''s something I''m fully capable and willing to live with. All those who perished would have died regardless if I were to im the city today orter.

    The only difference is that they died without any pain today, instead of being blown apart with explosives, gunfire, and hails of poison and toxic, painful death.

    The head of the Sea of Demons, the one called the emperor, was easily eliminated. My n had started several weeks ago, after all. I had already infiltrated the Imperial City and identified the entire structure of the city¡ªfrom the people who worked at the imperial pce, the cooks and chefs, the guards, and even the soldiers and eunuchs.

    I had made several adjustments to my physical appearance thanks to poison, copying the appearance of a eunuch who had ess to the emperor''s food tray. Poisoning his wine was simple and easy, especially since I had done it over several days. By mixing several undetectable poisons into his everyday wine, which would only trigger once I allowed them to, I ensured his demise.

    That was all I needed to do to eliminate an Origin Shattering Realm cultivator.

    Fighting him head-on would only result in my death. Cowardly? One could easily say so, but efficient? No one could argue the point. I didn''t have the power to fight him directly and would need years upon years before I could even match his cultivation level. But we didn''t have that much time.

    I had asked them to give up, but they refused. They declined a toast only to drink a forfeit.

    As for the soldiers, they all rested in their barracks and trained and practiced every day in the same area. Poisoning their drink was easy as I could simply camouge myself each day, either as a soldier or as a random cook. The n went on for days into weeks until it bore fruition. Sadly for the generals, none of them mixed with the normal soldiers, and they all had their own things to do.

    But I was prepared for them, as proven by theplete surrender of the Sea of Demons.

    I had made sure to send twelve copies of my body, each one with its own army. As for my real body, it was all the way inside the city. As I walked forward to the pce gate, death surrounded me. Soldiersy on the ground, surrounded by grieving parents and family. The empire had fallen.

    I walked up the stairs, among terrified cultivators who noticed and fully recognized me from afar. I looked like a monster to them as I walked forward with an aura so incredible, mixed with the haunted souls of the soldiers who had just died unwillingly. I walked up until I reached the gate of the pce and simply pushed the golden gates forward.

    They spread apart, allowing me to enter, as the serfs and ves ran away in terror.

    I walked up until I reached the dead emperor. I picked up his body and threw it aside after I grabbed his holding bag and the crown he wore on his head. I squeezed the crown until it turned to mush and sat on the throne. My clone, which was right next to the three generals, spoke, "Go to the pce," my clone said and then simply dissipated.

    The three generals realized they were in the presence of a clone and rushed toward the pce, only to find me sitting on the throne. The smarter of the three was the spear general, who immediately groveled on his knees. "All hail the new emperor! SHEN BAO THE HUMBLE DRAGON!"

    The other two immediately understood and groveled down, repeating the same line.

    I looked at the three and said, "Your allegiance means nothing to me, and words and promises are easy to break."

    "We swear by the heavenly Dao that as long as you live, we shall serve!" the spear general said, his voice filled with desperation.

    I smiled at his wording and said, "You really need to work on how you say things. What you just mean is that if I were to die, you''ll serve me no more," I replied, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

    Which sounded utterly idiotic¡ªI mean, who would keep serving a dead man?

    The look on their faces was priceless. Their eyes widened in realization, and beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.

    I approached them and said, "Eat this. I don''t believe in words, only actions." I held out my palm, revealing three pills.

    The three of them looked at each other, confused and hesitant.

    "You can inspect it all you want. It''s basically poison, and if you don''t receive the antidote from me every ten years, you''ll die a terrible death. You can only get out of this poison by either bing a Heavenly Stage cultivator or if I free you by giving you the antidote," I exined, my voice calm and unwavering.

    They understood immediately that loyalty cannot be bought but it can be enforced. They had no choice¡ªthe man in front of them was powerful. Although not as strong as them, they could simply kill him if they worked together. However, none of them were thinking straight at the moment, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to have them swallow this pill.

    The first to grab the pill was the General of the West, whose daughter I had treated.

    "Good," I said, watching as the other two followed suit, grabbing the remaining pills.

    The effects were immediate. The General of the Shield''s body healed, recovering from having blocked one of the tungsten pirs. As for the other two, they felt revitalizing Qi surge through them.

    "Is this really a poison pill?" the General of the Spear frowned, skepticism in his eyes.

    I simply looked at him and smiled. A secondter, purple veins showed up all over his body, and his entire body began hardening. He felt utter andplete terror at the soul-wracking pain caused by simply enabling the poison with a thought.

    I released my mental hold on the poison he just ingested as he frothed at the mouth. "You still think it''s not poison?" I asked, my voiceced with menace.

    "I-I apologize, your majesty!" he stammered, his voice trembling with fear.

    "Don''t ''majesty'' me. Call me by my name. I didn''te here to live and rule like a king or emperor. I''m here to save everyone''s lives," I said.

    The sentence was quite bizarre, since if I hade to save lives, why did so many have to die? But I wasn''t in the mood to exin things.

    "Now, where is the imperial councilor?" I asked.

    "I''ll call him," the General of the Spear said.

    Not a secondter, an old man arrived, bowing deeply. I stopped him. "I don''t need your allegiance either. Speak, old man. What''s your name?" I asked.

    "I go by the name Tsun Zhu," he replied, his voice steady.

    "Good, Old Man Zhu. I need you to give me a detailed report on the empire''s current ability, the treasury, the tax that is currently being imposed on people, and the avable military force¡­ wait, strike that, I think I killed everyone¡­" I said, my tone nonchnt.

    "Not everyone, your majesty," the councilor said.

    "Oh, is that so? Enlighten me."

    "We do have a lot of reserves spread around. They have received reports of the revolt and are now rushing to the city."

    "More pain in the ass," I muttered as I turned to the three generals. "Go, meet them, stop them or kill them. I don''t need more pain in the ass to deal with," I ordered.

    The three generals immediately stood up and left the area, leaving me with the councilor.

    "Tell me, Old Man Zhu, how is the mining ability of the Sea of Demons?" I asked.

    "You mean raw materials?" he rified.

    "Yes, in regard to the materials that are currently being mined. What does the Sea of Demons have the most, and what is our reserve of such materials?" I asked, my interest piqued.

    The councilor pulled out arge book and began exining. There was a great deal of untapped potential in the Sea of Demons. The only issue was the monsters that roamed about and the walkers, which made mining the majority of these treasure troves impossible. As for the wealth of the entire region, it was astronomical but extremely difficult to tap into.

    Though thend was mostly desert, there are a lot of materials that can be extracted from here and a lot of medicinal herbs that only grow in rough terrain like this one.

    I listened patiently to everything the old man had to say, nodding as I figured out what to do with all the information. "Good. Send an imperial edict detailing what just urred and how the old emperor died. Cut the taxes by two-thirds. That shit is way too expensive for the people. Pay every soldier''s family their severance pay from the treasury of thete emperor¡­"

    "That will put us in deficit," the councilor said, concern etched on his face.

    "How many soldiers died?" I asked.

    "About a million and two hundred thousand," he said, his voice somber.

    Damn, he is fast at calcting deaths.

    "What does the total amount of their death gratuity amount to?" I asked.

    "Three billion and six hundred million Saint Qi crystals," he said.

    "And how much do we have in our treasury?" I asked.

    "A bit less than two billion in raw crystals and more than twice that amount in value in treasures," he said.

    "Hmm, give me a second," I said, sending a divine sense message to the automaton.

    Nota secondter, the portal from the pagoda opened and two of the Suns immediately emerged. The councilor was stunned to see both of them in my presence and bowed down. "Glory to the Suns!" he eximed.

    They didn''t pay him any attention and were just smiling. "You don''t like crowns," the Dusking Sun said, noticing the crumpled golden crown on the ground.

    "Nothing but a pointless vestige of life. It is only worth the gold it weighs and the trust of the people. For me right now, it''s valueless," I said, dismissing the crown with a wave of my hand.

    "You must need us if you asked for both of us," the Dusking Sun said.

    "I need money," I stated bluntly.

    "How much?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Three billion Saint Qi crystals," I replied.

    The Blue Sun frowned. "That isn''t a simple amount. Are you nning on paying the gratuity this early?" she asked.

    "Yes, with some benefits too," I replied.

    "You won''t receive the loyalty of the people if you simply pay the death gratuity, you know," she said.

    "I''m not in need of that. Loyalty without purpose is meaningless. All I trust is my puppets. These people, however, lost their family and needpensation."

    "I see. I can arrange that amount, but¡­"

    "I''ll pay you interest and facilitate trade between my region and yours. No tax," I offered.

    "Oh, that''s a generous offer. I''ll take you up on it," she said.

    "Hey, what about me?" the Dusking Sun interjected.

    "I''ll need your beasts," I said. "I''ll hire them," I added, detailing the need and goal for the beasts.

    The three of them¡ªcouncilor included¡ªstood with mouths agape as I exined what I was going to do with all that money and the resources I was going to obtain. Their shock was palpable, but I remained calm andposed, my mind already nning the next steps in my conquest and consolidation of power.

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 Chapter 779: Dusk

    "So, how are you going to proceed from now on regarding the region you just obtained?" the Blue Sun asked, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.

    "Oh, about that, my n is already in motion," I replied, a confident smile ying on my lips.

    "Is that so? Care to exin?" the Dusking Sun inquired, his attention piqued despite the seemingly mundane nature of the topic to someone of his stature.

    "To better advance a country, one needs to ensure three things are in order," I began, my tone measured and deliberate. As I spoke, the councilor diligently took notes, capturing every detail of my n.

    "First and foremost, the safety of the people and the strength to protect one''s property," I said, emphasizing the importance of security.

    "And how are you nning on achieving that?" the Dusking Sun asked, leaning forward slightly.

    "I already spread sixty thousand troops I brought with me, five thousand in each of the major cities, to stand guard at the roads and gates, recing the guards and soldiers who died. Though the number isn''t sufficient for now, in a few days'' time it will be more than enough to keep the entire city in check.

    Flight remains prohibited, and I''ll construct towers in each city that will serve as deployment points for puppets to guard, protect, and also punish," I exined, my voice unwavering.

    "I see. What about the other two factors you mentioned?" he pressed.

    "The second one is economic wealth. Thisnd has an abundance of natural treasures that haven''t been mined or essed due to the difficulty and Qi seal limitations. I already have puppets with the ability to greatly reduce the Qi seal on them. They''ll be tirelessly mining and extracting any of the resources to develop a wealth base.

    I''ll also create safe roads between the cities, protected by puppets, where cultivators can travel safely. The Red Sun shouldn''t have too much trouble managing this affair," I said confidently.

    "Sounds about right, but what is the third thing?" he asked, his interest clearly piqued.

    "Earned loyalty," I said, pausing for effect. "No one right now is faithful to the crown. I have mingled among the people for the past few days and realized a few things. They never liked the dead emperor, but no one could say anything. They were oppressed and ruled with an iron fist."

    "And how are you going to change that? I doubt going out to the public and saying ''I''ll be a different emperor'' will change much. Not to mention, when is your coronation happening?" he asked, skepticism clear in his tone.

    "That would be a pointless waste of money and resources. For now, the people need to find safety and stability. They''re unsure of their future and have no idea how the new taxes will be imposed. Like I said, send a decree to reduce taxes by two-thirds and make sure that outer trade is tax-free. This will help the people develop and enhance trade."

    The councilor noted everything down, ensuring that each directive was followed to the letter. Meanwhile, my mind was divided into several portions, each one focused on my copies that existed in each of the cities I just obtained.

    ***

    Shen Bao wasn''t all just talk. As of the moment, all of his copies were doing the exact same thing. He managed to arrive at the center of each of the twelve cities with his copies, unknown to everyone in the area by face as he had his camouged behind a mask. Twelve different masks, all portraying the zodiac¡ªfrom snake, monkey, rat, rooster, dragon, and so on.

    He haggled his way into buying property, however, the cost of it in the center of the city was less than expected as the owners took whatever was offered. Several of them even thought Shen Bao was a madman for buying property during such times. One should only purchasend or property after the political acquisition wasplete.

    Otherwise, one might stand to lose everything if the emperor imed that property.

    Two puppets stood at the gate of the properties Shen Bao had bought, ranging from restaurants to simple huts, to even massive pagodas or inns. In those properties, a wooden nk was hung: "Mystic Apothecary."

    It was simple, yet grand at the same time. Finding an apothecary wasn''t hard nowadays, especially with so many cultivators able to cultivate and practice alchemy. However, not everyone was able to do that, and a lot of cultivators had illnesses and diseases that they couldn''t cure or were unable to even identify.

    Shen Bao sat at the gate in each of the twelve cities, waiting patiently for someone to show up. Several people walked by the newly opened apothecary, mocking it as being shady. After all, who would open an apothecary in such times? Not to mention inside inns and in random sheds or even pagodas that had nothing to do with healing a person.

    However, Shen Bao waited. And soon, a woman arrived carrying a small child. "Please! Help me!" she said, dropping to her knees.

    Shen Bao''s clone took a look at her, grabbed the child, and said, "Wait here."

    The child''s skin was paler than death, and the cause was poison from something he ate. It didn''t look too serious for Shen Bao, but he still carried the child inside and treated him with simple medication and a few pills to nourish the boy.

    Less than an incense stick''s worth of timeter, he came out with the child and handed him over to his mother. "Give him something warm to drink. He should be good as new. Also, are you married?" he asked.

    The woman was flustered by the sudden and strange question. "Yes..." she replied hesitantly.

    "What''s your husband''s job?" Shen Bao asked.

    "He makes mirrors and ss," she said.

    "I see. Ask your husband to use gloves while he works. He is spreading mercury poisoning to you and your child. You managed to survive it because you''re older and have a better constitution, but your child would have died if you were a dayte. Take these; they should lower the headaches and joint pain," Shen Bao said, handing her a few pills wrapped in a piece of paper.

    She didn''t understand how Shen Bao even knew she had headaches or pain in her joints, but she realized he was the real deal. She had her worries at first that this ce was shady, but now she confirmed it was a real Mystical Apothecary. "Thank you! How much do I owe you?" she asked.

    "It''s free. Just go," he said, motioning with his hand for her to leave. Then he sat back down, waiting for another client.

    This story, or something of the sort, repeated itself in each city. People in need, unable to find anyone open or asking for too high a price, would find Shen Bao''s apothecary and enter it. Not only would they receive an immediate cure, but they wouldn''t be asked to pay a single spirit stone.

    This news spread like wildfire, and people soon realized there wasn''t just one of these apothecaries, but twelve¡ªone in each city.

    Shen Bao''s goal was known only to him. The Blue Sun and Dusking Sun were at a loss trying to figure out why he was wasting so many of his resources to cure people. But the answer to that question wouldn''t be revealed soon.

    Shen Bao wasn''t only focusing on this task. He was also ensuring that puppet production didn''t stop and was pumping out thousands of puppets a day for a dark day toe. He would immediately send a batch of puppets to spread alongside the cities and inside them. Several puppets began building towers in the center of each of the twelve cities, right above his own apothecary.

    The Blue Sun had sent the needed money for the death gratuity, and it began circting in the cities. The money given by the state was now in the hands of the people. Seeing the new emperor lowering the taxes also helped increase the financial productivity of the city. People moved about, and although saddened by the massive death toll, they still were alive and had to survive regardless.

    They bought and spent and purchased materials and housing.

    In a mere three weeks, the entire area began thriving. The towers werepleted, and Shen Bao''s puppet army was firmly stationed around and inside the city. The people knew well that the new emperor was Shen Bao. It wasn''t too hard to figure out. They knew that the puppets all belonged to him. Although they had their doubts about him withdrawing the tax reduction, he never did.

    They skeptically began believing in him as a decent ruler¡ªnot a good one, as he hadn''t done anything worthy of note to proim him as such, but a decent one because he had yet to cause any real issues for the people.

    The puppets never intervened in any matters of the people. Simple fights were, however, broken up by the puppets, and anyone who tried tomit any sort of crime was immediately dealt with. The puppets would either incarcerate or eliminate anyone who disturbed the order of the city. There were a ton of them.

    There was no bribing the puppets to do illicit deals, which caused several merchants who jumped on the opportunity of low taxes toe and invest in the Sea of Demons. Yet finding no official to bribe forced them to do trade the right and proper way. The crime rate dropped to an unprecedented level.

    Fights between cultivators were immediately answered, either by the intervention of the puppets to stop them or by leading them to a Death and Life arena where they needed to solve a death grudge.

    By the third week, the sun high in the sky seemed to dim. The Dusking Sun appeared to one of Shen Bao''s clones and said, "We don''t have much time left. The Endless

    Night is soon to start."

    Shen Bao had yet to fully explore thends of the Sea of Demons. All the materials and puppets he was making were not ready for the invasion of the Rakshasa. They didn''t know when they woulde, but they did know that they woulde during the Endless Night. A new sense of urgency began pressing down on Shen Bao''s neck. The cities still needed more time to finish.

    The roads were not fully safe due to the incredible number of walkers.

    But as they say, the wind does not blow as the ship desires.

    #######

    Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thieving websites I hope y''all burn in hell :)

    anyway, if you wish to support me directly if you cannot afford the fees, this is my Paypal,

    thx for the support and to hell with thieves.

 Chapter 780: Endless Night

    The workload that I have in front of me is massive. And time is pretty tight. The worst part is that the undertaking I''m doing is pretty impossible for almost anyone else. Fortifying the cities and the Sea of Demons was the least of my worries as I could simply have puppets make more puppets and so on. I just needed time and materials. The work was mostly done automatically.

    The issue was obtaining the materials needed to do this. And the bandits, holy shit, there are a lot of them.

    Sending workers to procure materials is out of the question. Not only has the Endless Night begun, making the walkers active, but sending cultivators to mine is impossible. So, I sent in my puppets, which got robbed on multiple asions.

    The strange part is, whoever was able to attack and survive my small squad of puppets that went to mine was far higher in cultivation level than them and had little need for the materials they had. It wasn''t simply to rob but to sabotage, and that pisses me off.

    However, there was a simple way to handle this. I ced a few poisons known only to me in the ammunition of the puppets I''m now sending to harvest more natural resources. Since the Zodiac Mystic Apothecary is open and known to all, one of the assants, if affected by the poisons, is bound toe to my own clinic. Only then will I figure out who the fucker messing with me is.

    The Blue Sun had sent me a jade detailing her progress in the creation of Soulsteel, and how little sess she found in using the souls of beasts. She must be wracking her brain trying to figure out a new way to solve that issue, but I can''t help her nor am I expected to. For someone of her caliber, helping her is akin to pping her in the face.

    She would rather struggle and brainstorm for a thousand years than ask for help.

    For my growth and expansion project, I needed to make roads. Not in the literal sense, because cultivators can simply do low flight to move along the Sea of Demons. Maintaining a road in a wandering dune area is a waste of resources as the entire road could get covered in a single night if a powerful sandstorm happens.

    But figurative roads, protected and organized by puppets alongside them standing as guards to help both navigate cultivators and protect any caravans or merchants moving through the darkness of the night. Which had just begun¡­

    The winds howled ominously as the sun slowly but surely darkened, dipping below the horizon and casting long shadows over the Sea of Demons. The anticipation in the air was palpable, a thick nket of tension that clung to every breath.

    I stood at the highest tower of the imperial pce, overlooking the bustling city below. The preparation for the Endless Night was in full swing, but there was still much to do.

    "We need to expedite the fortifications," I muttered to myself, my eyes scanning the horizon. The walkers were bing more frequent, their numbers swelling as if sensing the impending doom.

    A sudden gust of wind brought Old Man Fu, who I had finally gotten the chance to meet after the tournament.

    "Yo," I said.

    The old man snickered. "You ditched me back there."

    "I mean, you saw with your own eyes what happened. So, what brought you here?" I asked.

    "The Red Sun agreed to your suggestion of open trade between the two regions. He also asked you to seek shelter in his territory if things get ugly."

    "You''ll go back?" I asked.

    "Nah, all the fun is here," Old Man Fu said.

    "Good, I can use a helping hand. Also, congrattions on reaching the Origin Shattering Realm."

    "I actually was about toe and help you fight against the emperor, but I received news that you already cleared up the entire area in a single hour. Quite impressive, enough to almost have a certain sun receive a stroke," Old Fuughed.

    He probably meant the Cryptic Sun. Though I have no idea why he''s being such a dick to me, but screw him regardless.

    "So, what are your ns?" he asked.

    "ns... well, right now, the entire cities are undergoing a shitload of maintenance and fortifications. I''ll show you," I said as I jumped down and Old Fu followed me.

    The moment we got down, he saw with his own eyes the absurd number of puppets moving about, carrying heavy materials and frameworks all over the city.

    "What is this?" Old Fu asked, astonished.

    "We need to create awork of barriers and fortifications around the major cities," I exined. "These barriers will need to be manned by my puppets and reinforced with powerful talismans and inscriptions to hold off the Rakshasa, albeit for a little bit of time. Although I''ll need to mobilize cultivators, no one will willingly follow a newly appointed emperor when the real threat begins.

    After all, no one knows that the Rakshasa areing."

    "I see. Then we can ask the Red Sun for a few of his troops," Old Fu suggested.

    "Not now. I need to see how much of this mess I can handle. Also, remember, more troops don''t mean a better chance at victory. These fuckers can simply consume them and make new members of their own race from the extracted souls of the dead cultivators. We need to tread carefully."

    "What about those, uh, towers? Remember the tower defense towers you built back in the Cryptic Sun''s game?" Old Fu asked.

    I smiled. "Look at the walls," I said, directing Old Fu''s gaze.

    The long bleached walls of the city were tall, and right above them were several octagonal pirs that rose high up.

    "What are those?" Old Fu asked.

    "Those are the defense towers. There is heavy artillery inside those pirs that will only open up when the real threat of the Rakshasa arrives. As for the walls, there are puppets acting as guards and will help subdue anything that approaches. I need to familiarize the people with the sound of explosives too, so I''ll be doing a test round tonight," I said.

    I then turned to the automaton who was following me and asked it to ry mymands.

    The automaton nodded, immediately sending out a flurry ofmands to the puppet army. The mechanical beings moved with precision and efficiency, their singr purpose driving them forward. They began installing several cannons and lined up along the high walls of the city, preparing for the uing danger.

    When the people see the emperor sending reinforcement orders, they tend to panic. Some, who are foolish, would rather tread the dark Endless Night that just begun and run away from what seems to be a danger zone. Others, who cannot leave, will do their own thing¡ªa way of survival, fortification.

    People hurried about, gathering supplies, reinforcing their homes, and preparing for the unknown. Fear mingled in their eyes, casting endless shades of doubt and uncertainty. Yet the weakness of their selves, unable to leave, forced them to take a resolute stance, staying in their own homes.

    This was happening all over the twelve cities. Everyone felt the urge, panic, and fear of the Endless Night. So far, I''m thankful that the real horror hasn''t been revealed yet. Because if they were to know how terrifying the Rakshasa are, riots would ensue and break out everywhere.

    The walkers were roaming about, groggy and unable to move at first. During this time, the sun should be high up in the skies. But it had already darkened to the point that everything turned ck.

    Lights lit up along the walls of the city, and bonfires were slowly being erected all over the city. Though far away, you could still see a few lights here and there, from cultivators who got trapped during the darkening of the night, or from faraway cities of the Sea of Demons. Visibility was thankfully clear.

    The only issue is, the rapid cooling of the atmosphere due to the absence of the sun was bound to create fog sooner orter, which will make things more annoying. Not only will it be dark, but it will also have monsters in it. Quite the horror scene, if I may say so.

    "Automaton," I said.

    The automaton immediately appeared at my side. "Yes, master."

    "How is the situation outside?" I asked.

    "From the reports, nothing but walkers. They''re too confused to realize that a city is near them. Should we begin the elimination process?" it asked.

    "No, leave them be. They may have their own use," I said.

    "As youmand," the automaton replied.

    "What about the scouts?" I asked.

    "Deployed and are sending in information every now and then. As for the workers and miners, nothing to report so far. Everything is working fine right now."

    "Good, good..." I said to myself. It looks like it''s going to be a quiet night for now.

    But I knew better than to trust a fleeting calm. The Endless Night had just begun, and the real challenges were yet toe.

    #####

    Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thieving websites I hope y''all burn in hell :)

    anyway, if you wish to support me directly if you cannot afford the fees, this is my Paypal,

    thx for the support and to hell with thieves. Have some shame

 Chapter 781: First Contact

    As I gazed from above the walls of the imperial city into the cold, dark night, waiting for something to happen, a green jade flew my way. I grabbed it and read its contents.

    "Your friends are about to arrive, quite an awkward timing if I may say. I''ll be hosting them in my territory for now, so you don''t have to worry about their safety and well-being."

    The message came from the Wisest Sun. It detailed how Master Rain, Yuyu, Meng Hao, and his wife Yang Song had arrived to the Beyond. I wanted to go and meet them, but it was too early, and if they were with the Wisest Sun, they''d be safe for now. I had pressing matters to tend to, and reconnecting with old friends would have to be dyed for a bit.

    The puppets were still pumping up bigger numbers, mining for Saint Qi Spirit Stones to fuel them. Then mining for metal and materials to recreate more of their members, who would then go and mine, continuing the cycle. This increased the puppet army by a great number, which constantly spread all over the twelve cities, further increasing their defenses.

    I would have liked to have a bit over a million or so puppets, just to have a strong base to fall back to, but for now, I had about three hundred thousand, which barely covered the needs to protect the city from inside and hold any riots or anarchy.

    I needed about a month worth of time for production to achieve satisfying numbers. But I doubted we had a month. That''s because I sensed several of the rods that the Cryptic Sun had created based on my own prototype moving. He had several millions of them already deployed, which I thanked him greatly for since he perfectly copied them, including the mechanism that allowed me to remote control them.

    Now, about a couple thousand of them were moving in outer space, going far up, which is not the way to use them. They''ll do no real damage in outer space and would be as useful as throwing a broomstick at a Rakshasa. The tungsten pirs need eleration and gravity to have maximum impact.

    Otherwise, they''re just fast projectiles that might kill one or two Rakshasa if they literally bore through them.

    I didn''t try to wrest away any of the tungsten pirs from the Cryptic Sun right now. Let him use some and find no use for them. Meanwhile, my own tungsten pirs, about eight hundred thousand, flew above the Sea of Demons.

    The air grew colder, and it felt as if the end of time had arrived as the skies began brightening up. The cloudy skies were extremely reflective once the Endless Night dropped. No longer did the Sea of Demons'' vaporized seawater block the view of the empty-looking sky; it was now extremely visible to all of us as the first explosion echoed.

    The Automaton arrived rapidly to notify me of something. "What''s up?" I asked.

    "The Noble Ones, they''re screeching in rejoice. The enemy has arrived," the Automaton said. Chapter Find:

    "I can see that," I said, observing a huge arc of me and light blowing high up in the starless sky.

    More and more explosions urred as the Suns began acting. They were the first andst line of defense, prioritizing taking down the bulk of the Rakshasa¡ªthe strongest and most vicious of the bunch, the nobles¡ªwhile the lower-ranked ones would be handled by other lower-grade cultivators. This was a fight I was not allowed to join.

    Not only were we incapable of flight from inside the Sea of Demons, but it was also simply impossible for us to pitch in anything of use.

    "Where is the probe?" I asked the Automaton.

    "Two of them are about to arrive at the scene," the Automaton said.

    The Dusking Sun immediately arrived at my side. "I''ll have to go," he said.

    "I understand, you need to hold off the frontline," I nodded to him.

    "No, not that. The Red Sun and the Darkest Sun are doing that. I need to go and inform the rest. Damn, I wish I was able to join the battle," the Dusking Sun sighed.

    "You mean you''ll be acting as the information rying person? The scout?" I said, almost not believing it. A Sun delegated to do scout work? How the hell did that happen?

    "Yes, and I hate it. The Heaven Stage cultivators are too slow to ry the information¡­"

    "I guess you''re in luck then. I just sent two probes to the fight above us," I said.

    "I don''t understand," the Dusking Sun said, haste clear in his tone as he wanted to leave.

    "Take this to the Suns that are gathered, and you won''t need to ry any information. These probes are currently filming and live feeding visual and audio imagery, and you''ll be able to see everything happening in real-time."

    "Oh," he said as he grabbed the bracelet I handed to him. "This is actually genius! Thank you," he said and simply flew away, disappearing from sight in less than a few seconds.

    The probes flew all over the areas of the Beyond, well, areas I was able tounch them from, giving a feed of what was happening. All because this damn area I''m in doesn''t allow flight due to the Qi seal. I only thought of making them because I needed to know what might drop in my territory. But now they''reing in handy to transfer knowledge and information all over the Beyond.

    The people of the city began emerging from their homes to watch the ''fireworks.'' It was something they hadn''t seen in all the years they spent in the Beyond. Many of them had survived several Endless Nights and knew how dangerous it could be due to the walkers. But now, with the addition of the Rakshasa, it was going to be a new level of difficulty never before seen.

    From the projection on my other bracelet, I was able to see some of what was happening.

    ***

    Several cultivators of the Origin Realm were moving at incredibly high speed in the darkness of space. They had already been informed of the iing dangers and wanted to be the first to intercept and gain a good deal of contribution from the uing war.

    The Beyond was barely visible, as only a few of itsndmarks, volcanic or cities where people lived, were visible due to the dim lights. The cultivators were tasked with intercepting the iing threat. And right above them, several hundred tungsten pirs shot up and bypassed them with incredible ease to intercept.

    Explosions of epic proportions echoed in the darkness of space, lighting up a bit of what wasing. From the second or so that the brightness of the explosion showed, a swarm of monsters so incredibly great that the cultivators rushing forward instantly felt terror grip their hearts.

    The Rakshasa''s numbers were simply in the billions, moving through the empty space with incredible speed, following what heavens only know as their leader.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of millions of white Rakshasas led the pack as they flew forward. The intercepting force immediately began shooting as much Qi forward as possible. There was literally no need to aim, as anything they threw would simply hit something.

    More of the rods arrived and made impact, quite irrelevant to the bulk of the iing creatures. The squad of cultivators that went in to get some contribution was immediately disposed of, not surviving longer than several seconds. All they were able to send out was a jade that flew toward the nearest battalion stationed high up in the skies of the Beyond. It had one sentence:

    "They''re too many¡­"

    The Darkest Sun received the news of the squad''s death and simply said, "If anyone else decides to act against our will, then death awaits them. Anyone that acts out of self-interest will be deemed a traitor. Await your orders or die."

    It was a simple threat, nothing more, nothing less. But those who had lived long on the battlefield knew well that an unorganized army is of no value, especially if the cultivators try to gain benefits without knowing what''sing their way.

    The screams of the Rakshasa, although far away, spread all the way to the army waiting for them. These screams didn''t travel through hearing but echoed through one''s soul. The endless hunger of these Rakshasas for what theyck, for what they want¡ªa human''s soul to feast on¡ªwould make souls feel utter terror in their presence.

    tension grew to incredible proportions as the enemy was rapidly approaching. From what they could estimate, they should arrive within the hour to above the Beyond. And from then on, it''ll be a great battle to protect the Beyond.

    The primary goal of the cultivators is to stop the enemy from breaching them and bypassing them to enter the beyond, because once that happens, we''ll be fighting in a territory where the Suns will have little power to do much. The Suns are extremely powerful, but too powerful for the Beyond to sustain their power as they might simply break it.

    However the Rakshasas do not care about that, all they want is to feast, kill and destroy.

    And they wereing.

    #####

    Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been giarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you''re not on Webnovel tform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I''m not receiving anything on, especially if you''re being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other tform. For those thieving websites I hope y''all burn in hell :)

    anyway, if you wish to support me directly if you cannot afford the fees, this is my Paypal,

    thx for the support and to hell with thieves. Have some shame

 Chapter 782: Battle Over The Horizon

    Like the files, the Rakshasa began dropping. The Darkest Sun had made the initial move and began weaving the very darkness of space itself into solidified weapons. With small gestures, swords, spears, javelins, and arrows made of pitch-ck darkness shot forward, almost invisible to the eye and hidden within the void of space.

    The onught of materialized weapons tore through the lower-ranked Rakshasa as if they were made of tinfoil. Breaking them apart and shattering their bodies, they immediately went for the next target, not stopping or waiting. Like hungry piranhas in bloodied waters, the swords found their target and immediately went to the next.

    Seeing the impable disy of power from the Darkest Sun''s mere gesture gave an incredible boon of confidence to the cultivators around him. They were shaking in ecstasy as they wanted to join in, however, the order for first contact hadn''t been made yet. Chapter Continue:

    "Send in the forces," the Darkest Sun spoke. Immediately, one of the Heaven Stage cultivators next to the Darkest Sun sent out a mass divine sense message.

    "Void Shattering, Origin Realm. Hold positions. Origin Shattering Realm, follow me!" he ordered and flew forward like a bullet into an endless wall of enemies.

    The man given the general rank in this fight flew without a single shred of hesitation into the forces of the enemy as he twirled his ive around him, unbridled madness clear in his eyes as he spun around himself with the ive swinging. Manifesting a pure jade dragon that shaped itself along the aura of the ive.

    The dragon opened its mouth and began breaking and slicing through the Rakshasa it met.

    Every scale of the jade dragon was like a ded weapon as it sliced through the enemy, and the dragon''s endless number of ws and arms tore them apart.

    The general danced a dance of life and death on the frontline, swinging his ive tirelessly as it tore through the enemies and dropped their shattered bodies into the atmosphere of the massive Beyond.

    The bodies of the Rakshasa were pulled by the gravity of the Beyond and burnt as they wereing down, turning to cinders in the process and at the same time, creating an incredible sight for the people below. All they could see was the movement of a massive dragon, followed by meteoric showers of the burnt bodies of the Rakshasa.

    The Origin Shattering Realm cultivators immediately followed suit and began ravaging through the enemies. They fought head to head against the iing brutes and simply toyed with the Silver Rakshasas, they didn''t find any difficulty in reaching the ck Rakshasa that hid among the army.

    From first nce, the army of the Beyond was well prepared for the interception, which caused massive disorder in the ranks of the Rakshasa.

    However, that soon was resolved as a loud soul-wrenching echo red all over the battlefield. It sounded like the whistle of death itself as it sent shivers down every cultivator''s soul. It made the Silver Rakshasa stop moving for but a second, the holes on their skulls began shivering and then blew a long powerful cold air that began camouging them.

    This was the main tactic of camouge that the Rakshasa used every time they were faced with a difficult situation. They would switch the battlefield to their advantage and rob the enemy of a vital sense¡ªsight. And since this fog was not simply ice fog, it hampered the soul and simply disabled Divine Sense.

    The cultivators were at a loss, as this change was almost instantaneous. What should have happened was the immediate confusion of cultivators and the loss of coordination.

    However, thanks to the visual report from Shen Bao''s adventure inside the Bastion, the Beyond and the Suns already knew well what the Rakshasa were capable of and their tactics. They didn''t need Divine Sense to understand what they should do; they already were ordered to immediately retreat once the Rakshasa let out the white fog.

    The retreat was almost instantaneous. As the general remained thest while everyone pulled back, however, it wasn''t without casualties. As the cultivators that flew away noticed several of theirpanions¡ªthe very ones that were next to them¡ªsimply have a massive wed arm appear right in front of their faces and then pull their muffled screams into the thickness of the fog.

    Several explosions immediately echoed into the thick fog, of cultivators detonating themselves and their bodies, choosing sacrifice over being turned to one of the Rakshasa''s breeding corpses.

    As the Rakshasa not only consumes the soul, they use the body to create more of their members. Cultivators, proud ones, would rather terminate and destroy their bodies and souls than allow the vileness of the Rakshasa to take over them.

    They would rather take another chance at reincarnation than have their souls consumed and turned into food by creatures abhorred by the heavens themselves.

    The general held the line for the majority of the cultivators to withdraw before he himself backed away blocking as many of the iing Rakshasa as he could.

    Suddenly, just a few miles away from the rim of the fog, he felt a shiver run down his spine. As if death itself had gripped his neck and was about to twist it out of ce.

    By sheer instinct, he flicked his ive to the side, only for it to break apart in three ces, shattering and turning to nothing but scraps as it came in contact with a golden-headed Rakshasa. Something never before seen in the army of the Rakshasa, it was simr to the Noble Rakshasa, only this one looked slightly different.

    Its size was a bit smaller than the ones they saw at the Bastion, which screamed for help and caused all of this mess to appear.

    However, it gave a pressure a hundred times stronger than the one back at the Bastion.

    The Rakshasa itself was still pretty massive in size and had two wings on its back, with a forked tail that swayed from left to right in order to confuse prey. It opened its slobbering mouth, as its drool simply floated in space, and began encircling the general.

    The general knew that he had to back away because he didn''t make enough distance from the iing army in the fog, but with this thing blocking his path, he was not happy with his chances of survival.

    Suddenly, without any warning, something like a pir flew right between him and the creature, to which the creature simply grabbed in the air and snapped in two.

    A liquid content emerged out of the broken pir, and immediately all the nearby coldness and fog was rapidly dissolved, and visibility grew higher.

    The golden-caped Rakshasa was surprised at the loss of the veil of fog covering it and turned its head to realize that millions upon millions of cultivators had seen it.

    It screamed and flew into the nearby fog curtain that was not touched by the liquid and not dissolved and immediately hid out of sight.

    The fog was slowly approaching, however, and inside it were tens of billions of Rakshasa.

    The cultivators who had had a good fighting round were now worried about what the fog might entail.

    Worry and concern grew. Since the danger was in front of them, and they didn''t know what was in it yet.

    ***

    Back in the Beyond, and in the tower of the Wisest Sun, all the Suns that weren''t directly fighting on the frontlines were gathered waiting for the Dusking Sun to return.

    "He''s taking a bit longer than he should," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "He shoulde back soon," the Lord of Lords replied.

    Immediately, the Dusking Sun arrived at the tower and entered it with a wide grin on his face.

    "You look like you have some good news," the Blue Sun said.

    "Yes, I just came over from Shen Bao''s territory, quite an impressived he is!" the Dusking Sun praised.

    "What would a damn rookie even do. Impressive? What''s impressive, taking over a weak corrupt country in one hour, back in my days¡ª"

    Before he could finish his words, the mboyant Sun coughed and intercepted. "What is that?"

    He was looking at the bracelet on the arm of the Dusking Sun.

    "Shen Bao gave me this. He said something about probe or satellite¡ª"

    "We sent you to check up on the situation above, and you went to waste time with a child! I should have gone myself!" the Cryptic Sun snorted once again, seemingly hating on Shen Bao and anything rted to him for no clear reason.

    The rest of the Suns gave him a cold eye but no one said a thing, because, in a sense, he was right. The Dusking Sun''s job was to check up on the situation and inform them. He was technically the fastest of them all during this time of the Endless Night.

    The Dusking Sun began pressing a few spots on the bracelet until it lit up, and revealed a holographic image of space. A disy of the current state of war was revealed in real time and it left the Cryptic Sun''s mouth agape.

    Unable to understand what was going on, while the Dusking Sun was snickering evilly.

    The holographic disy showed the chaotic battle above, with the Origin Shattering Realm cultivators fighting valiantly against the endless waves of Rakshasa. The sheer scale of the battle was overwhelming, and the Suns could now see every detail, every movement, and every strategy employed.

    "This is incredible," the Blue Sun whispered, her eyes wide with awe.

    "Yes, it is," the Dusking Sun replied, his grin widening. "And it''s all thanks to Shen Bao. With these probes, we can coordinate our efforts more effectively and make informed decisions."

    The Lord of Lords nodded approvingly. "This changes

    everything. We now have a real-time view of the battlefield. We can anticipate the enemy''s moves and deploy our forces more strategically."

    The Cryptic Sun only nced sideways, he was impressed with the technology but was too proud and too foolish to ever admit it.

    The Wisest Sun stepped forward, his expression thoughtful. "Shen Bao''s ingenuity has given us a significant advantage. We must use it wisely."

    As the Suns continued to watch the unfolding battle, the tension in the room began to ease. The holographic disy showed the cultivators holding their ground, despite the overwhelming odds. The Darkest Sun''s weapons of darkness continued to wreak havoc among the Rakshasa, while the general and his jade dragon fought bravely on the frontline.

    The Rakshasa''s numbers were staggering, but thebined efforts of the Suns and the cultivators gave them hope. The Endless Night had just begun, and the true test of their strength and resolve was yet toe. With Shen Bao''s technology and the unwavering determination of the Suns, they were ready to face whatever horrors the night would bring.

 Chapter 783: Helldivers

    The meeting of the Suns was still ongoing as they watched from the disy what was going on. They didn''t get to join the fight since two of the more specialized Suns in massbat are already there. The Darkest Sun was acting as the protector of the Beyond, while the Red Sun was nowhere to be seen.

    However, none of the Suns were concerned with the Red Sun and what he does as they all know how vicious he can be when a massive battle starts.

    They watched and noticed the change in the battlefield, when the Rakshasas switched the battle altogether as they applied their fog tactics to hinder divine sense.

    The allied army retreated in difficulty with several losses, and the general was about to be taken down as a new enemy appeared.

    "What in heaven''s name is that?" the Dusking Sun spoke as he saw the golden capped Rakshasas.

    No one had an answer to his question, but they all figured out one thing. That creature, was a step stronger than the Noble Rakshasa.

    "In the time it took for the people of Srous to perish, and the time it took for these things to grow and evolve, it appears that they had several new mutations in their species. If something like that is at the frontline, this would mean that something stronger is hidden within the enemy ranks¡­ the Darkest One will lose his general if he doesn''t act," the Lording Sun exined.

    But before the Darkest Sun even moved, something was sent flying toward the two of them.

    The Cryptic Sun''s eyes narrowed as he noticed the pir moving without him ever giving the order for them to act. It was just one, but it was one too many. Who the hell made that move?

    After all, the loss of an enemy general would indirectly mean the empowerment of his troops. But he tried his best not to show any expressions as he kept an eye on the tungsten pir that was shooting forward until it was destroyed by the golden cap rakshasa.

    Immediately a powerful liquid spread out and began eating away the fog like if it was its most natural enemy. The reveal of the golden cap rakshasa to the far away army made it hesitate into continuing the fight against the general and was forced to retreat.

    The general had no idea who saved him, but they thanked him regardless.

    Suddenly, Shen Bao''s holographic image appeared from the bracelet of the Dusking Sun.

    "Things aren''t looking too good," Shen Bao said.

    "What is going on?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    "Several of my probes are being destroyed, the Raksahsa already realized what''s going on. This is frustrating, I don''t have many of them up in the sky," he said.

    "We can''t lose a pivotal and important aspect of the battlefield such as sight. I''ll send in several of my people to protect the probes, send over the locations, and how many you have left," the mboyant Sun said.

    "I have about a hundred more probes," Shen Bao said. Although he sounded quite apologetic, a hundred birdview stations were more than enough for having a great understanding of the battlefield. It almost sounded like he was flexing.

    And that made the Cryptic Sun speak up, "Then why are you crying us a river, we have more important matters to take care of. If you have a hundred it''s enough to feed us several images from different ces, what if one or two get destroyed."

    "Because they came out of my own pocket," Shen Bao said, "And if you want to use them the least you can do is protect them. Shit, why am I even helping?"

    "Hold on," the Blue Sun said. "I''ll also send in my forces, we don''t know how long the battle willst and we can use any resource or tool to our disposal Cryptic One, we''re really not in the mood to be bickering with each other. Shen Bao has already offered great contribution to this battle while all you do is whine andin like an unpaid whore."

    "W-what?!" the Cryptic Sun was about to go up in a rage while the Lording Sun snorted once, "She is right, regardless of what issue you have with Shen Bao, you offered not a single thing out of your own volition if it didn''t serve your need. You''re not fit to judge him or speak to him lowly.

    If you can''t help keep your mouth shut, and this will be thest time I''ll tolerate your behavior," the Lording Sun''s words sounded like an ultimatum and even the Cryptic Sun couldn''t say much against him.

    Of the Suns, each of them had a different ability and power level.

    For example, although the Blue Sun is the youngest, and technically weakest of the bunch, in a frontal fight, she is probably as strong as the mboyant Sun when the Sun is at its zenith.

    However, herck of experience is pretty detrimental to her ranking. The Cryptic Sun on the other hand is far weaker physically and in terms of cultivation, but he is making up for it in his understanding of restrictions, inscriptions and formations. Which allows him to huddle up in his territory for however long he wishes unbothered and unharmed. Basically, a turtle.

    As for the Lording Sun, he is the oldest, and most mysterious of the eight Suns. His power level was never revealed and he constantly says that he isn''t the mightiest of the bunch, however, not a single one of the Suns can ever think that they can honestly beat him in a match nor should they defy him.

    Although he never made anything difficult for any of the seven other suns, he was never a pushover and they knew well that there is a reason why he lived so long but no one wants to figure out the reason itself lest they lose their lives.

    The Cryptic Sun had to back off after the stern warning, and kept his mouth shut. Unable to interfere with Shen Bao anymore.

    "Anyway, there is another issue," Shen Bao said.

    "What is it?" the Wisest Sun asked.

    "There is another wave of Rakshasaing in, I guess you already know about it," he said.

    "Wait, what? Where?!" the Dusking Sun asked.

    Shen Bao hesitated for a moment, "Seriously? Are you unaware?" he asked.

    "No, for heaven''s sake tell us!" the Dusking Sun asked once more.

    "From the western side, right atop my territory," Shen Bao said. "There are about a ten million or so rakshasaing in hot. The army up above is too upied with the bulk of the enemy horde that I doubt anyone cane in and help. I''m also not asking for help, but if you don''t hear from me in the next few hours, then the Sea of Demons is probably done for.

    Ask the Red Sun to get some of his units stationed on the borders. It''ll be a huge mess if these fuckers were to spread¡­"

    Shen Bao''s holographic figure looked up, as he said, "BUCKLE UP! FOR THE SEA OF DEMONS!"

    ***

    A few moments ago.

    The Sea of Demons was far from fully ready to face against the iing Raksahsa. Shen Bao''s preparations were at best about thirty percent of what he wanted. No matter how much and how many metals and puppets he made, it was far from enough to have a ready army for the uing fight. But he definitely had enough to protect the city walls at least.

    Although the twelve cities were a bit far away from each other, they all had an exact number of puppets in them along with the massive tower that Shen Bao built.

    Just a few moments before he would contact the Suns. He noticed movement in the Sea of Demons''s clouds.

    The Rakshasas wereing and they wereing in hot.

    The twelve towers all began ring a loud rming sound and each one of Shen Bao''s twelve copies all shouted in unison. "People of the Sea of Demons! THE BEYOND IS BEING INVADED! HIDE IN YOUR HOMES! STAY WITH YOUR LOVED ONES! AND FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO FIGHT!

    JOIN ME ON THE WALLS!"

    The moment he finished his words, a massive green protective barrier manifested around the cities creating a perfect dome that had hundreds of thousands of formations. It was as bright as day as it lit up the skies and their light was visible through the darkness of the Sea of Demons.

    On the walls, where Shen Bao had erected the few hundred smaller towers, puppets began jumping andnding from inside the city onto the wall.

    They all began taking a unified stance on one knee, with a massive minigun in their arms pointed upward.

    Another group of puppets also stood behind them, carrying even heavier weapons, such as railgun rifles and twelve cylinder rocketunchers.

    The hundred or so pirs on the walls hen opened up, revealing severalpartments that had automated gunners that all turned and locked up to the sky.

    Chapter Your:

    This happened instantaneously in all of the cities. And it was aplete surprise for the people of the Sea of Demons. They had absolutely no idea what was going on since the entire event of the invasion of the Rakshasa was cked out for the majority of the people to prevent anarchy and chaos.

    The people were only thinking that the New Emperor was wasting too much money and resources from his own pocket to protect hisnd from the Walkers, but this was just too much.

    The people that went out of their homes to check up on what was going on all saw a dark cloud, far darker than what normally appears in the Sea of Demons, a cloud wasing their way from high up through the darkness of the night. The mere sight of this cloud was terrifying and soul nerving. And it kepting forward.

    The puppets were fully focused and not a single sound but that of the people wondering what was going on could be heard in the city.

    Suddenly, they all heard a lout resounding shout.

    "BUCKLE UP!"

    "FOR THE SEA OF DEMONS!"

    Then night turned to day.

 Chapter 784: Retaliation

    High up in the skies, a few tens of thousands of miles away from the Sea of Demons, several cultivators wearing red were flying forward. All of these cultivators had their faces hidden by a red cowl. The robes on them were slightly bigger than their size, giving the illusion of red ghosts moving forward.

    This group of cultivators was numbered in the hundreds, a specialized unit tasked with one thing. Sabotage and gueri warfare. Hundreds of these units were spread all over the skies of the Beyond, awaiting deployment orders from the higher-ups.

    These cultivators were all in the Origin Shattering Realm, led by a Heaven Stage cultivator or a peak stage Origin Shattering Realm cultivator.

    Chapter Stay:

    As for the group nearest to the Sea of Demons, they received an immediate order to deploy and assist. Although they weren''t too numerous, they can still offer desperately needed help to the Sea of Demons since it was the weakest link of the beyond.

    "We''re tasked with protecting a damned child, while everyone else is bathing in the glory of death and carnage up above!" one of the Origin Shattering cultivatorsined, and since he was up ahead of the group everyone heard him, but no one retorted, they were all annoyed at being dispatched from the main battle to help a newborn calf, barely at the Void Shattering Stage.

    But the orders arrived and they couldn''t go against it.

    Seeing no one disagreeing, he got more courageous and added one more of hisins to the group, "Also why the hell are we babysitting that one? You there, Void Stage, pick up the damn pace!" he shouted.

    The one he was addressing was Dao Shen, the Devourer.

    Theter didn''t say much and simply used more of his energy to follow the group. Although it was bullying since they could fly far faster than a Void Stage, Dao Shen neverined and simply followed them.

    The Sea of Demons was visible to them, along with the millions of rakshasa swarming down and moving at incredible pace into the vaporized sea that is acting as clouds.

    "What a waste of time, with this many raksahsasing, all we''re going to do is simply die. Boss," he said addressing the Heaven Stage leading the group. "If shit gets ugly, I will probably be deserting," he said.

    Saying those words in a time of war is akin to ask for one''s neck to be chopped off. But for the group rushing to the Sea of Demons, that statement was far from being stupid. It was true, they were only a few hundred, while in front of them was a literal sea of monsters.

    "If you want to leave, at least kill a thousand rakshasa, then we can fuck off. This area has only four Origin Shattering cultivators. And one of them already died before the whole fight even began.

    He was talking about the generals and the dead emperor.

    "Damn child should have just left the Sea of Demons as is. The former emperor was pretty smart when it came to giving out tributes¡­" the cultivator whined some more.

    "Alright, let''s focus up, the rakshasa are about to enter the fog. Everyone ready up, I need you to kill at least a thousand rakshasa each!"

    Just as he finished his words. Twelve domes lit up in a bright green light. Revealing the twelve cities of the Sea of Demons.

    "What sort of idiot would erect such a bright formation in a time of war!" the same cultivator sighed as he facepalmed.

    He basically is giving the rakshasa a live target to go to!

    But what happened next made him swallow his words almost instantly.

    From far away, they could hear the echo of a Void Shattering Stage cultivator, hollering against the wind and darkness of the night in preparation for contact.

    And suddenly, tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of projectiles faster than the speed of thought were sent up flying through the skies. Echoing a canopy of musical destruction, flying at a pace far faster than anything they''ve seen before.

    There were just too many of these projectiles and many more followed after them. And they flew right into the endless wave of rakshasa that wasing down.

    In fractions of a second, the projectiles arrived to their targets, blowing through them a horizon of death explosion, and destruction.

    And that was just the first dome.

    The sound of constant explosions that would make one go deaf was resounding none stop from each and every one of the domes exploding the skies.

    Body parts of rakshasa began falling down as the silver rakshasa were unable to avoid the massive and countless number of ammo that was being shot their way.

    By the hundreds the rakshasa were falling every second, torn apart, broken apart, destroyed and pulverized, turned to ice and asphyxiated beyond what can be humanly described with the most potent of poisons.

    The rakshasa that hade to invade were met with an iron sledgehammer to the dome. They didn''t understand what was going on as they were being dropped like the flies. They knew they were being attacked by the domes, but the mere thought of approaching the domes felt like suicide.

    Lines upon lines upon lines of red mes wereing their way, the bullets in the darkness of the night looked likeser beams thousands of them in fact were being moved and pivoted to take down the enemy.

    There was no ce safe, and no ce to hide in the sky. The rakshasa that tried to dodge ended up bumping into each other, making an even bigger target for more bullets to embed themselves into them and tear through them.

    The sea of demons was no longer as dark as it was before but looked bright enough to see clearly just from the number of explosions and projectiles constantly being pumped out.

    The group of cultivators that had arrived were mind-boggler as they were looking at the situation unable to understand what was going on. In less than a minute, more than a tenth of the enemy had already been eliminated and they didn''t evennd on the ground yet.

    Not only did the rays of ming metal shoot up and forward, but they moved shooting everything in their path. The bulk of the shots were focused and followed the thickest part of the enemy swarm and many other heavier and more explosive yet slower projectiles reached for the thinner parts to hit the most numbers.

    Several rakshasa fell down to the ground dying from grievous wounds, yet many lived to fight as they fell to the ground.

    And as if the heavens were further encouraging the show, dark clouds began gathering above the Sea of Demons. They rain down thunderous punishment upon the rakshasas that invaded and they shouldn''t have.

    Thick bolts of ck thunder began falling down on the White Rakshasa killing them in massive droves as they spread along their army.

    The Rakshasa which were an abomination upon the Heavenly Dao, an imitation of a fake creation, born to destroy and consume never to give anything in return was a sphemous existence to the bnced heavens.

    The thunder lit up the skies of the sea of demons as it began raining down constantly with tree trunk sized thunderbolts that always found a target.

    Blow after heavenly blow, and bullets to follow, the rakshasa fell down and died in the tens of thousands.

    Yet, even if that was the case, their numbers seemed endless as they began overcrowding the bullets and using the bodies of their deadrades to take the blows while they were rushing down toward the domes and fell down into the sand near them.

    Suddenly, something big was falling from the sky. The cultivators could only see a pir barely the size of to men falling down. However it fell down at an incredible pace and made contact with the ground where the rakshasa that were slightly far away from the city hadnded.

    An explosion so powerful echoed afterward, so blisteringly hot that it turned the sand into a molten ss with the ashes of rakshasa trapped forever in it.

    More of these pirs fell down as explosion after explosion red out, eliminating the enemy in an instant.

    The bullets hampered their advance, the railguns destroyed their ability to nk, the thunder from the heavens made sure that they would not escape and the tungsten rods were there to eradicate and eliminate all that lived and survived.

    A massacre. Aplete massacre without a single cultivator moving. After all, everything was fully operated by tens of thousands of puppets.

    In merely moments, Shen Bao, the one who was thought to be nothing but a young child barely knowledgeable of the affairs of the Beyond he turned out to be the highest contributor to this battle by a disgusting margin.

    The death toll of the rakshasa was already in the millions and he just started.

    However, this wasn''t all for the Rakshasa, as they had several other types and evolutions, and the killing of White Rakshasa although extremely beneficial to the overall situation, they weren''t the most dangerous as it was shown by the great massive rakshasa that just came down andnded right on top of the dome. Cracking the entire thing by the sheer weight and might of its blow.

    The massive rakshasa was an evolution of the Brute Rakshasa into nobility, a titan o sorts that was now on top of the dome. It held all of its four arms high up in the skies, made them into fists and was about to smash down with all its might on the protective dome.

    The arms came down¡­

 Chapter 785: Rain

    "Fucking gori¡­" I muttered as the brute was about to destroy the barrier. However, it wasn¡¯t time for that yet.

    Two bullets of extreme velocity prated right through the massive brute¡¯s shoulders, ripping both its arms off in an instant and eliciting a wail that shook the very souls of everyone in the city. At least, those who were still conscious.

    The people inside the cities had been panicking and fear-stricken, so I had to lower their ¡¯hype¡¯ a bit by adding a sleeping poison into the air. I also sent several puppets to check on the people in case any incidents urred. Sleeping in the open isn¡¯t really safe, you know.

    For the cultivators that remained conscious and understood my intentions, they all jumped up to the walls, simply observing. They weren¡¯t allowed to join the fight yet, by my orders. They were to remain within the city and protect themselves.

    The puppets would handle the bulk of the work, while the cultivators were tasked with saving the civilians and each other in case any buildings fell from the damage. Additionally, I asked some of them to help stockpile and carry ammunition where it was needed.

    Speaking of ammunition, holy fuck, I was burning through it so fast. At this rate, I¡¯ll have no ammo left before the enemy is defeated. I need to figure things out. Thankfully, the poison from the former explosions was constantly dropping the rakshasas dead like pesticide does to mosquitoes.

    The King-Kong-sized brute was brutally¡ªpun intended¡ªdestroyed as more railguns manifested from the outside area of the city, which I had purposefully hidden in the sand a few days ago. These railguns were the same ones I had on my personal ship, heavy and powerful, but they needed a bit of time to activate and could only shoot two projectiles at once.

    That¡¯s why I had four of these dual railguns installed around each city, protecting them from each of the four cardinal directions.

    My worry was never the big monsters; it was the smaller ones, the silver rakshasa, which I was constantly on the lookout for. These guys could easily camouge themselves and prate the city¡¯s defenses in case of a breach. So far, the barrier has remained strong and would only need a bit of patching to restore full functionality. A few puppets were already taking care of that.

    "X, what¡¯s the situation on the sand?" I asked.

    "None of our traps have been activated besides a few that were detonated because some of the corpsesnded directly on them. The enemy has yet to fullynd; they¡¯re still in flight all over the twelve cities."

    "I see. Keep me updated. Also, which of the cities is losing the most ammo and which is using the least?" I began asking more specific questions to better formte a strategy on how to use the bullets we had left. But I was rudely interrupted by the explosive titanfall of another brute, not onto the dome, but right outside the gate.

    The brute screeched loudly as it mmed all four of its arms into the dirt, picking up a massive, hill-sized boulder that it wanted to throw at us.

    "Aim for the arms," was all I needed to say before more than a dozen puppets locked their snipers onto the brute¡¯s arms. The bullets shot forward like blistering light rays, piercing and destroying the arms, causing the entire boulder to fall directly onto the brute¡¯s head, pinning its body to the ground.

    I pulled a small pill from my holding bag and flicked it toward the rakshasa. A powerful poison derived from the Grizzly Spidernded on the rakshasa and immediately lit him up in mes that could not be snuffed out until they consumed everything.

    "Keep a lookout for the Silver Rakshasa; they¡¯re the worst of the bunch," I sighed. These brutes were too big and easily noticeable, but because of that, they made good targets and even better distractions.

    And I was right. Right behind us, several explosions echoed in the sand as a Silver Rakshasa tried to sneak up behind us and was lit up in mes.

    "Enable all the killer formations of the city. Start with the illusion-killing restriction," I ordered, and the entire dome above us changed from green to crimson red.

    The current formation was something from Master Rain¡¯s arsenal. It would confuse the senses, making the enemy see illusions and think everything was an enemy, including other rakshasa. The best way to kill your enemy is to have it fight among itself. Not only does that create chaos among them, but it also allows you to save your resources.

    The fight continued on, and this was barely the start. The skies were dark with the number of rakshasa still trying desperately to avoid the artillery, but at the same time, they refused topletelynd. They flew down and were shot down, but they nevernded.

    Then came the infamousmanding screech. The rakshasa all stopped, hovering in the air before they began vibrating the holes in their skulls, creating fog. However, they never expected¡ªnor did I¡ªwhat was going to happen next.

    Almost immediately after the fog manifested, it began dissipating and floating up to join with the water of the Sea of Demons. This was something even I didn¡¯t ount for, as I was ready to fight in the dark. But it seemed that even the Sea of Demons was trying to help us. The clouds then began churning as they were introduced to a new element, and rain began falling.

    Wait, rain? This isn¡¯t right. I looked up and noticed that the moment the rain began falling on the dome, it bounced away, but at the same time, it was like a small pebble hitting a piece of ss. It was eating up the formation above the domes.

    This wasn¡¯t an issue, because the dome itself had an option that would push out the fog of the Sea of Demons and could easily fend off the rainwater with a few changes. The issue was that some of the traps might get disabled if the rain kept falling.

    And it fell, and fell some more, and it began falling like a deluge. The entire Sea of Demons was going to be drowned at this rate. The water was just constantly falling, making visibility difficult. Not only that, but it seemed like it was about to flood the Sea of Demons back to how it was before. God, I hope not.

    Although the cities are well-built and protected, they weren¡¯t here when the Sea of Demons first came to exist. The cities were built after the entire thing dried out. But now, if it¡¯s going toe down and flood the cities again, it¡¯ll be a pain in the ass to deal with.

    But not everything was bad. As a matter of fact, this rain had begun affecting the rakshasas. They were drenched in Qi-sealing seawater, which slowed their movement incredibly and made their flight almost impossible, forcing them down. They began falling to the ground and creating more and more explosions upon impact.

    And that wasn¡¯t all. The heavenly thunder had yet to stop, and as it fell down, it made contact with the water and spread all over the ce. Where before it was electrifying a few dozen rakshasas at a time per bolt, now it spread to hundreds.

    The situation was bing extremely favorable for us, and I wasn¡¯t about to waste this opportunity when the enemy was confused and unable to act properly. I called down more pirs that fell like a meteor shower, exploding all over the Sea of Demons, creating crystallized explosions that cooled off instantly, forming massive spreads of rapidly cooling ss.

    Statues and even what one might call artistic sculptures of crystallized rakshasa were forever encased in bits and pieces of these fiends, trapped in hard, impure ss.

    The rain kept falling, the thunder followed, and the rakshasa begannding in droves, rushing toward the city walls. The puppets on the walls aimed their weapons and began the fight to protect the city against the iing rakshasa. Confused by the effects of the formation, the rakshasa couldn¡¯t get into the city and were stalled, fighting among themselves as they mistook each other for enemies.

    Meanwhile, my puppets rained down hell from above. Endless bullets prated them, and finally, the cultivators began joining in.

    "Don¡¯t physically engage in the fight!" I shouted as loud as I could. "Keep them at a distance! If you are captured, you¡¯ll be brutally murdered, and your soul will be stolen! Keep them at bay, and use all of your long-ranged abilities!"

    This order was given to every cultivator who wanted to fight. All over the Sea of Demons, the cultivators had noticed and understood that while the puppets were powerful and the protection was great, it wasn¡¯t invincible. They couldn¡¯t just hide away and wait for someone to save them; they had to act.

    Anyone who reached their level of cultivation knows well the price of life and the cost of death, and they diligently joined in.

    Unbothered by loyalty to the new emperor or the crown, but for the sole purpose of survival. And that goal was enough to make anyone give more than they already had.

    The fight was rising in intensity, like a crescendo about to reach its climax. Until a sudden turn of events happened.

    Tens of thousands of arms emerged from under the wet sands in an instant. These arms belonged to former humans turned walkers. Without missing a beat, the armstched onto rakshasas far stronger than them in both cultivation and power. But by sheer numbers, the arms overwhelmed and pulled the rakshasas down into the sands without another sound ever echoing from them again.

    The walkers had finally awoken.

 Chapter 786: Laughter

    The strength difference was too much. As the rakshasa simply obliterated the weak walkers that came crawling out of the ground. But that didn¡¯t mean that the Walkers were useless.

    In a matter of fact, they wouldtch onto a Rakshasa so hard, that they wouldn¡¯t let go even if their limbs are torn or their bodies are shredded.

    They¡¯d bite and break their teeth against the hard skin of the rakshasa, but they¡¯d still use their entire power totch on like a leech.

    You can even see it, as one White Rakshasa was rushing forward, a couple hands came out of the ground and grabbed at its ankles, causing the rakshasa to trip a bit only tond into an area with even more hands.

    The arms grabbed tight and drew the rakshasa deep into the ground into a spree of roaring and screaming. Never to be seen again.

    The walkers began hunting for moving prey, considering anything that¡¯s moving other than other Walkers as a prey was their sole driving factor.

    They would go up in enormous numbers and start wrestling with the Rakshasas, while thetter never actively sought to kill the walkers.

    As if they didn¡¯t see them until they made contact with them¡­

    Why? What was the reason for that the Rakshasa would simply run past the walkers toward the city walls and get obliterated. But they never attacked the Walkers until attacked first.

    Something was different¡­

    Soul, yes, the Walkers have no souls they¡¯re dead, and if they have no souls they¡¯re no different than puppets.

    The assault on the twelve cities continued on, and my burning of ammo never stopped. I¡¯ll probably have about three hours before I¡¯mpletely tapped out, and this fight looks like it¡¯llst for a very damn long time.

    "Shen Bao!" I received via the bracelet. It was the Blue Sun who grabbed the wrist of the Dusking Sun to contact me.

    "What is it?" I asked acting as if I was not concerned with the pile of shit hitting the fan right up my face.

    "Do you require assistance? Seems like a massive force of Raksahsas decided tond at the Sea of Demons for theck of a Sun stage cultivator protecting it," she said.

    "Yeah, I can see that," I said as I disyed to them what was going on in the twelve cities of the mass shooting of monsters and constant explosions, "So what¡¯s up?" I asked.

    The look of surprise and absolute shock was obvious on the Blue Sun¡¯s face.

    "When the hell did you have time to build all this?" she question.

    "I wish I had time to finish preparing, this is all rushed work. Regardless what do you need?" I asked.

    "It¡¯s the other way around! The red sun sent in a force of cultivators, did they arrive yet?" she asked.

    "Oh, I see them they¡¯re far in the distance, I don¡¯t know they¡¯re not helping at all they¡¯re just watching what¡¯s going on."

    A wrathful exasperation emerged out of her mouth and then she sighed, "I¡¯ll send in proper forces. I¡¯ll also notify the red sun of theck of discipline of his own forces. For them to not provide assistance and only watch is akin to treason!"

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s not like I was going to allow strange force into my cities. If they want to help have them help outside the cities, I¡¯ve fully locked down the twelve cities of the Sea of Demons. I¡¯ll only open them in case of severe emergency," I replied.

    "Good choice, regardless, I¡¯ll send in ten thousand soldiers, is that enough?"

    "That¡¯s pretty helpful if I may say so, the people here helping are doing a good job but most of them are at the Void Stage," I said.

    "I¡¯ll send in relief forces as soon as possible, the Darkest Sun has already driven out a good portion of the enemy forces away from the skies of the Beyond. And the main forces of the Red Sun are about to engage in pursuit." She said.

    "Oh, that¡¯ll be great," I said.

    "How long can your cities hold up?" the Dusking Sun asked as he joined the conversation.

    "About three hours if the status remain the same, but after that I¡¯ll be out of ammo and I don¡¯t think I can handle these numbers."

    "Three hours, we¡¯ll try and figure out a solution before then. Please hold on, the forces of the Rakshasa didn¡¯t expect the hard resistance so they¡¯re retreating and gathering their forces. We¡¯re worried that they might all switch their focus to the Sea of Demons tond in it."

    "I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll do that," I said.

    "Why not?" the Blue Sun asked.

    "Because it¡¯s raining here," I said as I looked at the constant rain.

    "At the Sea of Demons? Impossible," she shook her head.

    "Well, you better believe it, I guess the rakshasa fog had affected the trapped clouds in the sky and now they¡¯re condensing. So I think the Sea of Demons might get filled again which is a pain in the ass for me, I don¡¯t think fighting under water is possible for me. Too much friction, and poison isn¡¯t good under the dilution of the sea waters." I sighed.

    You could see the tension in the Blue Sun¡¯s eyes as she realized the problems I was having but she simply said, "hold on tight, reinforcements will be with you soon."

    "Good luck in your battles," I replied and hung up.

    ***

    Back in the meeting room, the rest of the suns were all thinking of how to assist and help Shen Bao. Unlike the territory where they lived, the fortifications of the Suns and the aura they let out there made the Rakshasa think twice before invading them.

    Shen Bao was simply a Void Shattering Cultivator and not any threat to them to use hisnd as a foothold.

    If they allowed the Rakshasa to have a base of operation not only will it endanger the entire Sea of Demons it would also likely create the same catastrophe that happened in Srous.

    "I¡¯ll personally go," the Dusking Sun said.

    "You can¡¯t, you¡¯re too powerful, and you¡¯ll end up destroying the entire region," the mboyant Sun said.

    "I¡¯ll hold back as much as possible," he said.

    "I know you want to help Shen Bao," the Wisest Sun said, "But this is a trial for him, let him figure it out, we can send in forces but not too many for us to weaken our ownnds and the safety of our people. I¡¯ve known Shen Bao longer, and I know what he is capable of. The three hours deadline he gave wasn¡¯t for the destruction of his cities, it was simply for his firepower to lower.

    He can well survive for days if he has to. For now, let¡¯s think of a way to assist the Darkest Sun in chasing the bulk of the Raksahsa away, and once that¡¯s done we¡¯ll go in and eradicate the rakshasa that are in the Sea of Demons."

    "Then Who¡¯s going up?" the Dusking Sun asked.

    "No need," the Lording Sun who had his thumb and middle finger interlinked said as he opened his eyes.

    "The Red Sun is rising," he said.

    And it was just then, that a red glow so powerful and so bright emerged that it lit up the entierety of the beyond for a fraction of a second.

    Looking through the screen that Shen Bao had provided to the Dusking Sun they saw what was going on.

    The disy showed the Red Sun moving forward, and behind him was a massive asura projection a god with three heads and ten hands, each carrying a massive city sized de or weapon.

    Ten chains were linked to the tips of the Red Sun¡¯s fingers and each one was linked to one of the massive Assura¡¯s arms.

    The Red Sun mmed both hands together with so much force that the space itself rippeled and a wave of energy was transmitted through the chains and into the Asura¡¯s arms.

    The arms then began moving whenever the Red Sun moved any of his fingers.

    Each of the weapons would strike down, the des woulde down creating a massive wave of blood and destruction that would cull and destroy the rakshasa, from white to noble with the same power and force.

    The spears would pierce in a spiral blow, creating a vortex of force that would suck in the countless rakshasa and crush them to bloodied drops.

    While the arrows shot endlessly and drums would beat creating rageful storms of red clouds and thunder.

    The Red Sunughed

    Andughed andughed some more

    With eachugh the rakshasa were culled and eliminated

    His eyes grew red and shined brighter as he appeared to the rakshasa as a god of ughter incarnate.

    It¡¯s been so long since any of the Suns had the opportunity to use their full power simply because it would have destroyed the beyond. And so far away from it, they can unleash all the spells they had learned. And now the Red Sun is regaining his former sense of battle.

    The Raksahsa who feared nothing and attacked everything werepletely stupefied with the appearance of something like the Red Sun. He not only charged right into their forces but he also had a mad and hysterical air to him, giving the creeps to the nightmares that came to attack.

    The Rakshasa who had no fear were now learning the notion as they saw themselves being ughtered and destroyed by the droves without any of them ever being able to get an inch closer to the man in red.

    The Red Sun is now showing the world the might of the Laughing ughterer.

 Chapter 787: Strategic Retreat

    Looking through the screen, I was mildly depressed. Not because of anything serious really, it was simply the fact that the firepower that a Sun is showcasing is so absurdly enormous that all the preparations I had readied up looked like child y against that.

    I mean, the dude is literally summoning a personified god and using it to destroy droves upon droves of enemies. Not to mention the Darkest Sun''s endless materialization of weapons and arms that were constantly eradicating the enemy.

    I mean, for fuck sake how did Srous even lose if they had a Sun stage cultivator?

    "I know what you''re thinking," Tao Yang said.

    I looked at her and didn''t say anything waiting for her to reply.

    "Strength is good to have, it provides certainty and surety to everyone around you. We had strength, but didn''t have the ability to properly use it. Our world was too used to peace that when danger came we couldn''t handle it. We were too indecisive with our actions and the loss of our cultivators was the cost for it," she said.

    "How did sun stage cultivators even fail? Look, only two of them are fighting and they''re already a quarter of the work done," I said.

    "That''s because the real enemy monsters have yet to show themselves. The Queen for example, is almost impervious to damage from Qi, so killing her is not a possibility. It was the reason why our cultivators used up all their power and still failed to make a dent in her body, and she ended up consuming them in the end.

    The Nobles you see are merely the leaders of these packs of rakshasa, the swarm Queen is the real danger but I don''t see her anywhere," she said.

    "I see," I said as I was looking up, figuring a way to deal with this bullshit will take some time.

    "You want me to guide the bastion here?" she asked.

    "Guide? What do you mean guide?" I asked.

    "Now that the Noble Rakshasa that was roaming the Bastion has been captured, eliminating the rest of the rakshasa inside the Bastion is easy. We can simply reshape it so it will change and crush everything inside it. All rakshasa included. We couldn''t do that before because we would have also perished.

    But now since there is no life inside it we can have it transform and reposition it all the way here into the Sea of Demons." She said.

    "How much energy will that cost?" I asked.

    "It''ll cost a great deal of Soul energy that''s for sure," she said.

    "Enough to kill a cultivator above the Sun stage," I replied. No one can do that, and no one will try and move something that big using their soul.

    "No, that was only needed to initiate the first takeoff, but it will still be a huge amount of Soul energy regardless. It''ll only be needed to give it a jumpstart, once it awakens, the engines and reactors you repaired will do the rest of the work, I''ve already given themand for the bastion to listen to your words.

    You now have the same privileges to modify and change the bastion structure as your ability allows you and as you see fit like my father did."

    "I see¡­ but the Bastion is too far away, I''ll need to go all the way to the Thunder Domain," I replied.

    "You''ll have your opportunity soon, the Rakshasas will soon fully withdraw," she said.

    "How do you know that?" I asked.

    "Because this isn''t their full force, I''m sure you saw their number back at our, that was only a small bit. There are many of them, and this is but a scouting force,"

    The words out of her mouth were more sobering than a dip in ice cold water. If this is but the tip of the iceberg¡­I fear for the safety of the Beyond.

    The fight continued on for two more hours however, where my ammo was rapidly being drained. The weapons were malfunctioning and were in need of rapid recements and the piles and corpses of frozen and shattered rakshasa were constantly growing.

    The sea level began rising to above the ankle level as the rain had yet to stop.

    As for the Red Sun, he had killed so many of the Rakshasa in this two hours that he overtook me with an army by a long shot.

    The enemy forces became thinner and thinner and began grouping to gathered even the ones around my cities have failed to breach any of them and decided to withdraw.

    The Rakshasa that were heavily wounded were immediately killed off by their own kin, and those that had light injuries were carried away as the entire enemy force began flying away.

    The problem was that though the Rakshasa began withdrawing, the damn walkers were still there so there was no rest for us.

    From afar, several energy waves began rippling and a meteor fire appeared out of nowhere,nding right into the retreating rakshasa forces and pulverizing them forcing their retreat to be even hastier.

    The Blue Sun''s forces finally arrived and immediately joined the fight, only to be disappointed as the enemy was doing a full retreat. I managed to rout the enemy and there is no way these guys will be taking the credit for it.

    I contacted the Blue Sun immediately.

    "Did they arrive yet?" she asked.

    "Yeah, but a bit toote," I said.

    "Did something wrong happen? Worry was clear in her voice, I''ll personallye over and save you," she said.

    "I appreciate the thought and worry for my safety, but no, it''s just that I already forced the enemy to retreat and then your people came, hah, funny thing is even the Red Sun forces are now joining in¡­" I shook my head acting disappointed.

    "Don''t worry Shen Bao, no one will be stealing your achievements," the Wisest Sun smiled, "I sent in a few trusted people with the Blue Sun''s forces that they''ll report what exactly happened there," he added.

    "I appreciate the gesture, though I have documented and filmed everything that happened for study purposes, regardless this isn''t the full force of the Raksahsa so notify everyone to not celebrate too early, it came to my understanding that this was nothing but a scouting force," I said.

    "We also thought the same, something of this magnitude isn''t enough to take down an entire with Suns Stage cultivators," he said.

    "Good, we''re on the same ge, also Blue Sun, I''ll need to head back to the bastion to retrieve it," I said.

    "What do you mean retrieve?" the Cryptic Sun jumped in.

    "I wasn''t talking to you," I replied sternly, he was about to open, his mouth but the Lord of Lords gave him a stern look reminding him with the not so subtle and very overt threat he had given him earlier.

    The Cryptic Sun leaned back on his chair grumbling god knows what.

    "You need me to take you there?" she asked.

    "If possible, I''ll also need a lot of materials, I''ve used up an incredible amount of ammunition and I''m almost tapped out," I sighed.

    "If you''re willing to exchange your contribution points for them, I can offer you the materials you need," the Cryptic Sun said.

    It wasn''t a fair offer.

    Iughed, "So, basically what you''re saying, is that I have to work this hard, and protect that region, and then instead of being rewarded I''ll need to pay hard earned contribution points from my own pockets to keep protecting it? Are you mentally unstable?"

    "Shen Bao is right, he''s doing a great job protecting the Sea of Demons, we as the Suns aren''t being attacked due to the Aura we have built up in ournds, while Shen Bao is still too young to have something like that, he can''t be asked to give what he earned to only work harder again.

    I''ll personally send in some of the materials you require," the mboyant Sun said and then added, "Shen Bao, I appreciate your hard work, you didn''t give up the Sea of Demons despite the difficulties you faced in obtaining it and in keeping it protected. Stay shining bright, you''re a role model for the younger generation to follow," he nodded toward me.

    I felt a great deal of respect for the mboyant Sun right there, a good-heartedpliment without any malice or bad thought behind it is bound to make a man''s day go well even if an entire race of aliens is attacking you.

    "I''ll also send in some materials and workers to help you rebuild," the Blue Sun said.

    Although nothing was destroyed I''m pretty happy with the freebor I''ll be getting.

    And it went on from Sun to Sun promising to send in some of their people to assist.

    All the way to the Cryptic Sun.

    "Fine I''ll help too," he said.

    I grinned, good, with this many people helping I might be able topletely revolutionize the Sea of Demons.

 Chapter 788: Dont Cross The Dragon

    The rakshasa began withdrawing in mass. They knew fully that this scouting force was not enough to cause any real harm to the already prepared Beyond. The waves of enemies that hadnded in the Sea of Demons began flying up while my forces didn''t stop taking them down as they flew.

    Shooting the stragglers and the unlucky ones down back to their doom at the hands of more explosives or Walkers.

    The problem for me remains the same, I''ve gotten rid of the Rakshasa for now, but the walkers are still a pain in the ass to deal with, and my ammo reserves aren''t enough to do so.

    "Automaton, give me a quick count of our losses and our current ammo reserves and what can be immediately used."

    "For loss, we have lost no soldiers so far, the enemy rakshasa had barely made any damage to the strcture of the dome due to being unable to analyze and understand confusion inscriptions, they were simply lost within the formation attacking each other.

    As for the ammunition from the start of the battle, we lost two hundred billion bullet, six thousand Tungsten Pir, fifty thousand and three hundredndmine and about a hundred thousand javelin. We''re left with about ten percent of the used materials."

    "Damn, how long will it take to fully replenish the stock?" I asked.

    "About one month," he said.

    I don''t know if we have one month¡­

    "A month inside the pagoda, so a single day to replenish. We''ll be back at the same level in one day in the Beyond, and we''ll be able to have far more firepower if we fully focus on the creation of puppets and ammo, but we don''t have enough materials."

    "I already have the material part handled, order the construction of more puppets and more ammo, use everything we have, I''ll go and get my payment from the suns after I''m done with this," I said as several cultivators came flying toward the main city of the Sea of Demons.

    One of the cultivators was a Heaven Stage cultivator and approached the city first. He gave off a terrifying aura that would make everyone shiver in their boots if they were to stare at him.

    Several other cultivators were behind him and were waiting for him to speak. You could see their eyes darting from left to right as they were watching the city and the extreme number of puppets manning almost everything. From the walls to the streets, from repairs to carrying the unconscious people to even brooming the dust and grim on the ground and handling all sort of menial matters.

    "Hmm," the Heaven Stage cultivator coughed and said, "You''re not letting us in?" his question seemed more like an order with a hidden hint of both derision and threat.

    I looked at him and said, "Who are you? And why would I let you in?" I asked."

    "This is Bang Juyi, one of the three Heaven Stage cultivators that are directly working under the Red Sun, he needs no introduction due to his wide known name. Behave yourself and open the formation," one of theckies spoke like a true side character.

    "Is that so¡­ I never heard of him," I shrugged.

    This made the side character puff up in rage shouting, "Listen here! It is your great fortune that Lord Bang Juyi even wanted to set foot here! If he wanted he can take the entire Sea of Demons for himself and you have nothing to say or can do to stop him, you better open this damn formation or I''ll break it myself!"

    "Break it? You can try, but I''m not opening my city to anyone whoes with hostile intentions, you better leave or you''ll have to face the consequences."

    "Shen Bao!" the Heaven Stage cultivator said, "Enough, we''re only here to rest after the battle, we''ll be departing soon, host us well and I''ll leave a good word for you to the Red Sun. and you, stop escting the matter," the Heaven Stage said, he was still clearly giving orders as if he ruled and owned the ce.

    "Sure, you should have said so earlier, that you''re all in need of a shelter, finee in," I said as anger was boiling inside me.

    They dare say that they needed rest? From fucking what, they didn''t even move a muscle. Fine, Red Sun, don''t me me for what I''m about to do.

    I almost felt watched the moment the thought crossed my mind, but not in a bad sense. As if someone was intrigued.

    I opened the formation for them, and several of the cultivators began snorting as they moved past me.

    "Should have done that earlier,"

    "Hah! He got scared!"

    "What a spineless man, even I would have done better at ruling this god forsakennd."

    All of them let out some of these remarks or simr but I didn''t say much.

    "Shen Bao, it isn''t like you to act like a sacredly cat," I heard.

    Turning, it was Dao Shen.

    I smiled at him, "Indeed, when was it ever like me to act like a wuss in front of stronger cultivators."

    He immediately understood what I meant.

    I have yet to ever bow my head to strength, and if I were to act like I was doing so, it is only because I had other ns.

    "To my pce, you''ll be hosted well there," I said as they didn''t even care to turn and immediately went to the royal pce. They entered it as if they owned the ce andined about dust and theck of decore and the most random bullshit ever.

    But I held it in as I followed behind them.

    The audacity of the Heaven Stage cultivators knew no bounds as he took the imperial seat and sat down then said, "Offer us a drink, we''re parched!"

    Tao Yang immediately arrived to my side and said, "Who are these people?" through divine sense

    "Oh, these, they''re dead men that don''t know it yet," I replied.

    "What a beauty,e here, serve me a drink!" the Heaven Stage said.

    Tao Yang frowned. Currently she wasn''t as strong as she used to be, but she can well and easily fold a Heaven Stage cultivator into a pretzel.

    "That''s my wife, you can''t be covoting another man''s wife, what would people say," I said as I brought a jug of wine to him.

    "Who cares, I''ll have her satisfy me for the night and you can have her back tomorrow, we as men should enjoy the good things in life! HAH!" heughed and the rest of the cultivatorsughed with him.

    Tao Yang was at the point of blowing up but I simply calmed her down with a few words.

    "We''ll talk about thatter," I said, "How about that drink," I said as I offered a mediocre drink to them from a jug in my holding bag.

    The Heaven Stage cultivator took a single sniff at it and immediately threw it away, "What disgusting shit is this? Are you trying to poison me! Not that it''ll work but fuck that stinks," he said.

    "Well I don''t know your pallet, all I have for normal people is that drink and the one that I offered for the Dusking Sun, but I doubt you can drink that, I mean, it''s too strong."

    "I was of the intention of drinking that specific drink for if a sun says it''s decent it must be decent! Present it to us!" he said as he mmed his hand on the hand-rest of the throne.

    I then presented him with the jug and offered him a cup, him and the rest of the cultivators all the way to Dao Shen.

    They all drank from the wine and were having their throats burn in ecstasy and deliciousness.

    Enjoy it, it will be thest thing you ever drink.

    "WHAT FINE WINE!" he said as he mmed the jug in his hand on the hand-rest and broke them both.

    "Give me more!" he said "And you! Come serve it!" he said addressing Tao Yang.

    "You won''t be needing more," I said.

    He tilted his head, a smirk appeared on his face, "You''re not about to defy me are you? I SAID MORE!" he said but the energy ripple that came out of his body was barely able to ruffle a bit of his hair.

    "Like I said, you won''t be needing it," I said and the rest of the cultivators around us all had their hands on their weapons.

    "Nor will you," I said as I pointed at the first guy that spoke.

    He opened his moth to reply only for ck as tar blood toe out.

    He looked panicked at hisrades only for them to suffer the same thing.

    "You dare enter a home you''re not invited to, and drink and eat food you''re not allowed, then you try and force a man to hand over his wife to you, who under the heavens do you think yourself as?"

    My words were aimed at everyone in the hall, anger clear in them but the coldness of the words were more chilling to their bones than the effects of the Poison in the wine.

    "The only reason the Dusking Sun was able to drink that was because of his special constitution, as for the rest of the cultivators that drank it, they all were given this," I said as I showed them a small pill.

    "Now, you''ll lose all your cultivation for but a moment, but that is all one needs to handle you," I said as I whipped my right arm next to me. A long ck rod appeared out of it. And the moment it showed the Heaven Stage cultivator''s eyes were opened wide.

    "The Darkest One''s Nail!"

    "Well, I guess you recognized this," I said as I stabbed it right into his forehead "Suffer for all endless eternity, see the world a thousand times slower, and your death ever so approaching but never yet reaching, live in death, and die without living. For that is the cost of crossing Du Shen!"

 Chapter 789: Punishment and Reward

    After I finished nting a Soul Shackling Rod into the heaven stage cultivator''s head, several intricate tattoos appeared all over his body. These tattoos spread rapidly, weaving across his skin, applying the sealing effects of the rod and rendering him unable to move or use his cultivation.

    Now, all he has is his almost infinite life, watching in horror as the world passes by ever so slowly, never ending. His eyes, once filled with pride and arrogance, now reflected pure dread and despair.

    The same fate befell the others who apanied him, with the sole exception of Dao Shen.

    "Are you nning on killing them?" Tao Yang asked, her voice filled with curiosity, yet tinged with an undertone of dark excitement.

    "No, that would be too easy of a way out for them," I replied, my voice cold and unwavering. "Automaton."

    The automaton immediately arrived at my side, its mechanical form gleaming in the dim light. "Get some puppets to strip them and hang them at the gates of the imperial city for all to see. Even though a heaven stage cultivator is strong, they should not defy thews of the heavenly order. One''s presence in another''s home should be by volition, not vition."

    "As the mastermands!" the automaton responded, its voice metallic and emotionless. Swiftly, itmunicated the order to a few guard puppets. They hauled the cultivators away, cleaning up their belongings, of course, before taking them to the gates.

    They will hang there, not living but not dying, for all to watch. Birds will nest in their bodies or even carve out their eyes. They will remain alive, scorched by the relentless sun and frozen by the bitter cold of the night, suffering every day, slowly wishing for death but never achieving it.

    This is the price of crossing Du Shen.

    Though Shen Bao had been lenient, Du Shen had always ruled with an iron fist. He would burn an entire to cinders for simply having one of his women ndered. Imagine what he would do to a man who dared to do worse.

    Tao Yang smiled, realizing that I wasn''t as lenient as she thought, nor as easygoing as I appeared. "You struck me as a pushover the first time I saw you," she said, her eyes glinting with newfound respect.

    "Just because someone is nice doesn''t mean he won''t be ruthless. Though I don''t actively seek to harm anyone, if harmed, I''ll push back a hundred times worse. Let the whole world know the brutality of one who is nothing but poison. Not even the Red Sun is allowed to set them free, nor do I think he would ever do so," I said, my voice carrying the weight of my resolve.

    Sooner than I expected, the explosions had massively reduced, and the sounds of gunfire were almost inaudible as they died down to a lull. The acrid smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, mixing with the metallic scent of blood, creating a nauseating atmosphere.

    The night had just started, and the first fight had ended with us being victorious. But winning a battle is far from enough to win the entire war. The Rakshasa will soone with more forces, and their fury will be unrelenting.

    About a hundred or so cultivators soon arrived at the gate of the imperial city, fending off the walkers as they waited for me or someone of importance to arrive. Their faces were a mix of determination and fear, knowing that the real battle was yet toe.

    Old Man Fu immediately came to my side to notify me of their presence, although I had already noticed them thanks to my undisturbed divine sense.

    "They say theye by order of the blue sun to provide assistance and aid. Use them as you see fit, and they also brought some gifts," Old Fu said, his voice calm but urgent.

    "Gifts? I have no use for any of that. I need metal, a lot of it," I replied, my mind already racing with ns and strategies.

    "That is the gift," Old Fu rified, a rare smile ying on his lips.

    "Let them in, and have the rest remain on top of the walls. They are not to enter the city without explicit orders," I instructed.

    Old Fu immediately left to ry the order, his movements swift and precise. Although I felt a bit embarrassed about asking an older man to do these chores, it was better than sending a puppet. It would ry a bad image. Old Fu was the strongest character in this city after Tao Yang, whose existence was known to only a few people.

    "Shen Bao," Dao Shen spoke, breaking my train of thought. "What are your ns for the future? The whole Beyond is now aware of the Rakshasa, and they know that the only ce attacked directly is yours."

    "That will definitely ruin trade for a moment, but I can''t help it. The problem I have is this damn rain that isn''t stopping."

    If the Sea of Demons were to return to its original flow, it would create chaos, disrupting trade routes. Wait, not really. I can make boats that navigate the sea water if it keeps pushing. Since there will be no way for normal cultivators to fly or swim in the Sea of Demons, I can easily monopolize sea routes with my specialized ships.

    One should always find opportunity in the face of distress.

    ***

    Not far from the imperial city was an open-mouth volcano, simr to the one Shen Bao had encountered that led him to the underworld of the Beyond, where monsters of all kinds live and even worse nightmares hide deep within.

    In this almost endlesslyrge cavey more secrets than anyone could recognize, and this is but the first level. On the second level, in the deepest part, was arge cave leading down to an open pce-like structure. Tens of thousands of human skulls littered the ground and adorned the external walls of the structure.

    All these skulls had one thing inmon: jade-green jewel-like crystals that refracted light from all over, giving the eerie impression that they were watching anyone who got closer.

    These are the extracted eyes of the walkers. They serve a purpose known only to their master and creator.

    The pce doors were wide open, and three peak Origin Shattering Cultivators rushed forward. They were bloodied and wounded, but their eyes gleamed with zealous excitement as they approached the main throne, where a man sat.

    The man wore old, dpidated ck drabs, revealing only his pale, almost fleshless body. He resembled a mummified corpse that still moved, without a single hair on his body and not an ounce of blood running through his veins.

    Yet his heart beat loudly as he saw the three disciples approach.

    "Come, my disciples," he said, presenting his almost rotten arm to them.

    They each kissed the man''s arm and knelt, bowing so deeply that their heads touched the ground and their palms presented a ring each.

    With a wave, the man collected all three rings and smiled as he examined their contents.

    "You have worked hard," he said. "A hundred White Rakshasa corpses, a hundred Brutes, a hundred Silver Rakshasa, and a noble ss of each type. Quite the effort you put into this ordeal."

    "We have not been caught or noticed, your lordship," one of the disciples spoke, revealing her gender through her voice.

    "Good, good. This will aid us greatly in what is toe," he replied.

    "This isn''t all, Master," the shortest of the three disciples spoke up. "I have this too," he said, producing a beast-holding bag.

    This bag was extremely special, capable of holding living beings. It moved as whatever was inside tried to escape.

    "Good," the corpse-like man said, standing up and grabbing the bag. He then pierced his own index finger with one of his long nails, forcing a small ck droplet of blood to form, which he presented to his disciple, who sucked on it.

    The aura of death and decay immediately engulfed the rewarded short man, empowering him beyond belief, enough to loosen the shackles and bottleneck of the Origin Shattering Realm.

    "In less than a couple of years, you''ll be able to walk under the sun as a heaven stage cultivator. Keep up the good work, my disciples," he said.

    The other two felt slightly jealous but did not reveal it.

    The leader then walked up to the nearest wall, which opened to reveal a massive, almost endless corridor with millions upon millions of walkers strapped tightly and sealed against the walls.

    "Now that I have a sample of a creature that defies the heavens, I''ll surely be able to unlock the third floor of this underworld. I''ll prove to the Suns that even though I had fallen, I never died. They''ll weep when they know there is another level of strength far greater than being a measly sun."

    "For the Dead Sun!" the three disciples shouted in unison, "For our Death Lord Shi Situ!"

 Chapter 790: Dead Sun

    Shi Situ, a man who once was revered as the Dead Sun a long time ago, but has fallen andpletely disappeared only to be reced by the Darkest Sun.

    The origin of the story is known only to a select few among them the Wisest and Lording Suns. Even the rest of the Suns only know him by title and the Blue Sun has no idea of his existence at all due to her being the youngest.

    He once ruled with the same power as the current suns owning a massive territory that has beenpletely uplifted once his pursuit of strength went a tad too far.

    He was obsessed with immortality to the point that he would try and use any method or means to achieve it. He feared death so much that he experimented on himself and his closest to the point of diving into the wheel of reincarnation and back.

    Hisnd was once prosperous and greatly fortuitous. The people that followed his Sun had little to worry about since not only was hisnd bountiful and had many treasures, he too had a keen interest in the lives of the people as he mingled with them and changed their lives for the better, and sometimes for the worse.

    Until the point he hit the ceiling of the Sun Stage, unable to continue anymore, stuck on a treadmill, grinding through cultivation levels yet never ever being able to take a single step forward, the looming threat of death soon began creeping up on him.

    Although he wasn''t nearly as old as the Lording Sun, he was pretty much the closest to death due to his Dao.

    To seek to understand death is to dance and court it, and it is his Dao and what it dictates.

    And due to his fear of death, he began mass experimenting, on his own followers first, then his people, and finally his closest disciples and even himself.

    Hisnd soon became as dry and as dpidated as his own deteriorating skin. Where Qi was once bountiful it now became as think as a spider''s silk almost impossible to cultivate. Where he used to rule over the masses, he no longer had anyone to rule over.

    Bound by death from his own Dao, extorted and extracted out of their own vitality, his people were all turned to a furnace of life energy to support his deteriorating life.

    His region which was in the far northern side of the Beyond was no longer habitable and was so dry and emptied out of Qi that natural disasters were amon thing.

    And a part of thosends was where the race of the Strongest Under The Sun had happened.

    A section of pure baleful Qi, turbid and not usable for cultivation created and so vast and so great that no grass could ever live nor survive in. The scorching heat of thosends burnt the ground to molten movingva, and turned the air to a blistering hot atmosphere.

    And on the other side was an area so void of life and Qi that it froze in ce, turning to a frozen endlessnd that extended all over to the horizon, without a ce for anything to live but the most fearsome of beasts.

    Life was no more, and only death remained. And even he wasn''t safe as he was affected by the consequences of defying the natural order of the heavens. Unlike demonic cultivators do who defy but respect, he tried to defy and revolt against the heavens to steal away and hide from the eternalw of evesting silence.

    The cost of such transgression was his cultivation. The heavens took what it had given but he somehow managed to although lose his cultivation to hide from the scythe of death.

    He had begun transporting the dead of his dominion, all of the people that died to his experiments from mortals that knew nothing about cultivators, to the highest of levels of cultivation had all suffered due to his experiments and were now forever cursed to walk the earth not knowing rest.

    The destruction and devastation that he had created had turned the entire Beyond Upside down, the disappearance of a massive number of people caused the intervention of the Suns but it was far toote to save anyone, especially since when they arrived, they didn''t find a single living soul nor anyone to uphold the transgressions.

    The Dead Sun had picked up the corpses and fled the area, knowing well that by having been degraded to a pseudo-Sun he''ll be emunicated at best, or killed at worst for he had crossed a few of the current Suns way too many times.

    Obtaining his corpse would allow them a great deal of benefits, not to mention what he carried in his pouch. He fled the entire regionpletely removing himself from the seat of the Suns and ran to the Sea of Demons'' second floor where even the Suns dare not venture.

    In his escape, he hade to the discovery of something left behind by people that lived in the beyond a very long time ago.

    It looked like a teleportation gate that led somewhere, but it waspletely destroyed, an exit. Or an entrance. He didn''t know, but one thing he did know was that the knowledge and the power to operate such a machine never existed in the beyond in the first ce.

    He theorized that the beyond was not the final destination, but was merely a stopping point or even a starting point for cultivators where there is a bigger world even, somewhere evenrger, greater, and vaster than the beyond, with more resources and a better path towards the heavens.

    However, he knew well that he didn''t have the ability to open this path, and even if he did, he didn''t have the power to do so.

    The required energy to light up a single formation was more than what a Sun could even output. And it needed nine nodes for it to operate. It was quite a hefty investment of Qi that he couldn''t afford.

    But it was hope that he couldn''t give up.

    Yet this hope needed time, which he severelycked.

    So he split his already decaying soul into multiple avatars of a far lesser cultivation ability than he currently has. And then he sent them all over the beyond and anywhere possible for them to learn and absorb knowledge.

    Some died, some cultivated well and some simply were failures.

    But among the failures, one of them was experiencing something greatly interesting, at a ce so far away that he needed to send a piece of his soul to possess and incarnate into the body of a stillborn.

    His stillborn body never had the chance to create meridians, so he was about to give up on it but left it to its own devices. After all, even if it was without meridians it could live a mortal life and die a mortal life, what is a hundred years to a man who lived tens of thousands?

    When born, the baby had consumed the life force of his mortal parents and began growing, an abomination of a creature that grew feasting on weak souls of mortals and began using the Death Dao, knowledge given by the main body of the Dead Sun.

    It didn''t perish even when hounded by other vigers, it didn''t die when it was left all by itself in a forest full of beasts.

    It didn''t die even when it was forcefully plunged into a pool of Bone and Body Grinding Poison. And it was only then that the Darkest Sun even remembered that he had a mortal avatar.

    Since the Bone and Body Grinding Poison causes pain that can reach the soul, he was notified. And when he began watching, he discovered something interesting.

    The people who threw the baby into the poison were immediately consumed by a soul that was quite powerful for them. And the baby didn''t die, and his dead meridians were reced by new ones. A new type of body was created, a body of pure poison, yet since he was heavily affected by the Dead Sun''s Dao, the Poison Meridians had a slightly different mutation.

    Which allowed him to use the Dao of Death, even though he was poisoned.

    The baby now with a book written by a wise person began learning by himself, powered by the focused knowledge of the Dead Sun, he began to read and understand.

    And finally, the book revealed its true name.

    The Poison God''s Heritage, Book of Death.

    A book that was so fitting to the child that it was a miracle to have stumbled upon it. It needed a body that has died before it lived, and it needed a body that had killed before it fed. And it also needed a body that had no meridians. The baby that was a failure ended up teaching the Dead Sun about the Book of Death authored by Du Shen.

    He read through his contents and scoffed at many of the ideologies in it. Even for the Death Sun some of these methods were too extreme, but he still made the baby do them all.

    And it grew, killing and killing and killing some more.

    Until the first day he met Shen Bao.

    A man who also carried the Book of the Poison God. Thinking of him as nothing but another weak cultivator made Shi Situ lose one of his avatars'' lives.

    It was annoying, so annoying that Shen Bao became a pest to the ns of the Death Sun. He felt that the Book of Death was iplete and needed to have all of the other tomes, but this Shen Bao was an incredibly hard pest to get rid of¡­

    And so Shi Situ cultivated.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 791: Experiment

    The followers of the death god obtained great knowledge, knowledge that even the Fallen Dead Sun never had ess to it. Since the creations of people of a lower region were always discarded as primitive he never had any hopes for the Book of Death to ever amount to much.

    However, he waspletely bbergasted when his clone was not only capable of rapidly climbing through the cultivation ranks, he also achieved an incredible understanding of the Dao of Death.

    Shi Situ''s first encounter with Shen Bao ended miserably for him, even though he had him in a well and firm trap he managed to overturn the entire thing against him and beat him at his own game.

    Later on they had met once more in the Poison God''s Trial, and ended up dying to the n of Shen Bao which he orchestrated while Dao Shen was used to devour the body of the failure.

    Shi Situ didn''t despair or feel any anger, after all, he had already understood what Du Shen the author of the book wanted to ry via the Book of Death, and he had already taken several steps before towards the Dao of Death, so by simply application he was more than capable of understanding that Dao and applied it to further increase his own synchronization with the Death Dao.

    Sadly, it was toote for him and it could only help him improve his cultivation slightly and increase his lifespan. If he had discovered the Book of Death earlier he would have definitely seeded in his experiments and wouldn''t have been degraded to his current status.

    Yet, as a Sun stage cultivator, he didn''t despair. And slowly continued his research on Death. His endless army of walkers born from the corpses of his own people were already roaming thend, but now thanks to the knowledge of the book of death they have a better chance at bing something better, but they weren''t his main goal of action anymore.

    Shi Situ approached hisb and pulled out the corpses of the Raksahsa, he then began reanimating the weaker ones using his own Death Dao which turned those that died to walkers.

    The Rakshasa were easily animated, and it was no surprise to Shi Situ since they never harbored a Soul and walkers needed no souls to move.

    The corpses began standing up, their feral instincts still active and their aggressiveness became ten times the norm.

    However, the same problem applied to them the same as it did the normal walkers.

    The effects of being turned to a walker were that they were robbed of their sight, and the Rakshasa that regained life began ripping their own eyes out, throwing the crystalized green marbles to the ground. And finally felt freedom from the curse of sight.

    They however didn''t feel the loss of a vital sense as they could still track the hand gestures of the Dead Sun and were able to do simple orders whenmanded.

    The Dead Sun found them amusing as they were merely beasts but they were still powerful and very obedient beasts.

    He continued with his application of the Death Curse to awaken the Rakshasa and managed to awaken all of the four hundred Rakshasa that were presented to him.

    A small number, but a powerful elite force at the same time. A hundred Silver Rakshasa are enough to cause infinite havoc if smuggled correctly into a territory, since they still had their invisibility and stealth ability, while the brutes could easily bring down any fortification since after death they had no limiters to the amount of power they can express.

    Shi Situ then continued by reviving the nobles that his disciples had brought and began finding difficulty.

    The first noble he tried to revive was amanding Noble, a ck Noble, and he was the most annoying as it desperately tried to scream for help. But the screams of help were not going to be heard simply because the area he was in was so far deep down in the ground, and sealed with so many seals that not even a Soul Scream would prate them.

    The Dead Sun continued his work, applying more of his Dao of Death andw, brainwashing the Rakshasa topulsion, and it took him several days to finally be able to fully brainwash and clear the Commanding Rakshasa of any thoughts of joining the former swarm and hive.

    The ck Noble was a powerful minion to have, not only would it force all the Walker Rakshasa to obey orders and follow them, it was also discovered that it could control normal walkers.

    Making the chain ofmand incredibly easy for the Dead Sun.

    The experiments continued on as he converted all of the corpses of the Noble Rakshasa to his order and then began calling out the live Rakshasas from the Beast Bag.

    "Ji Tao," Shi Situ called. The shorter of his three disciples immediately appeared next to him kneeling.

    "Yes master," the disciples spoke.

    "I''ll be showing you how to use the Noble ck tomand the rest of the Rakshasas, learn well," he said and began moving his hands creating gestures and speaking in an unrecognizable tone.

    The words that came out of his mouth were only understood by the disciple and what appears to be the ck Noble as it lifted its head up sniffing at the air and then began growling lowly and then peaking its voice.

    The disciple watched as the live rakshasa was rapidly affected by themand of the Noble ck and arrived to the feet of the Death Sun, it knelt down and waved its tail like a yful dog.

    "Do you see?" the Dead Sun asked.

    "This¡­ this is incredible, master, you''re able to control the alien race?"

    "Not only that, I''m able to control the live ones, if I were to obtain the corpse of their ruler, their queen or king, I''d be able to control the entire hive. With that many rakshasa at our disposal, I''ll be able to take over the beyond and force the other eight to open this damn door."

    The eyes of the Dead Sun were once again ncing at the massive door on the other side of the cave, it was a powerful passage that needed a key, and that key would never be willingly given as it would cost more than the energy a sun can provide unless on death''s door.

    "Then we need more corpses, how about I send in more walkers above us, the child named Shen Bao, had killed many of them, and the corpses littered the ground for a long time before the rakshasa withdrew taking them with them."

    "No need for now, we''ll have to do that when the rakshasae again," the Dead Sun said..

    "Are we sure they''ll attack the Sea of Demons?" the disciple asked

    "Of course, since he is the weakest and this is thend with the least concentration of powerful cultivators, the Rakshasa wille in with the bulk of their forces to liberate it and make it a foothold. For now we cannot reveal our presence, and we''ll only steal the corpses for our own useter on."

    "As the mastermands, For the Dead Sun," the Disciple said as he backed away.

    Shi Situ was left with more live rakshasa that approached, they looked at his scrawny corpse but never thought of him as weak, for even the rakshasa knew what death looked like, and this man, was almost an exact copy of it.

 Chapter 792: Deployement

    "Hurry up," I said as I ordered the puppets to finish up the construction work.

    Right now, it''s been three days since the invasion. And the army of the Beyond is just finalizing the straggler issues and what''s happening above the skies of the beyond. So far the Rakshasas have disappeared to god knows where, but the armies of the cultivators are still flying up doing massivebing of the areas to check for any threats.

    During these three days, the Lord of Lords pagoda was active for about ny days, with a maximum time difference. Not only did I fully replenish all my ammo, I even increased the size of the puppet army to two hundred thousand.

    Right now, it was about enough to do scouting around the cities and have a dedicated small army for each of the twelve cities and some troops for spare and emergency deployment.

    The issue was that even though I have a good number of puppets, it wasn''t enough due to how many enemies we''re facing.

    The rakshasa can easily deploy hundreds of millions of their members at will, and I''ll have no way to stop them if they decide to go on a zerg rush.

    I''ll get overrun in no time, thankfully I have the protective formations but even those won''tst for long if the assault of the rakshasa keeps getting stronger.

    Andstly, this stupid rain, good god it''s endless.

    So far the sea level, yes sea, because this shit is now salty as fuck and sucks out everyone''s Qi if they touch it, is at the ten-meter height. It might not be much to actually call a sea, but it now has waves and currents.

    As for the cities, they should have been underwater because technically the sea level is higher than most houses, but with a pretty genius work of art, provided by the assistance of the Blue Sun, I was capable of building floating cities.

    Yes, inds that float like boats on the sea level, all thanks to a massive tform that I had the puppets build under each of the cities.

    Most of the houses were destroyed in the process and were rebuilt the next day, firmer stronger and with more ability to sustain damage.

    Not only that, I also had the puppets position the houses in specific order to allow for a massive city-wide formation to be created thanks to the shape of the new houses.

    The entire city began rising above the sea water on the third day and it was fixed with anchors so it wouldn''t just randomly drift away.

    This was done to all twelve cities and some had to be deconstructed even as one of them was built around the base of a mountain. That one had to bepletely rebuilt and everyone reallocated. Leaving the original city as a ghost town that was bound to drown.

    The hundreds of thousands of puppets knew no rest or inefficiency so making the floating cities was rapid and easy, especially when cultivators were more than willing to help create and build them. Since they''ll be granted a house that is better and sturdier than their former one, they will also get a chance to participate and join the battle that willeter.

    "Shen Bao," I heard via my bracelet. It was the Blue Sun.

    "Yes? Any updates?" I asked.

    "So far everything is well, I''m also free to move to the Bastion. And the Red Sun wishes to speak to you by the way, he just returned."

    The vision changed and the Red Sun appeared in the holographic disy.

    "Shen Bao, did you kill them?" he asked.

    Clearly inquiring about the cultivators that he sent.

    "No, none of them is dead, but you can see for yourself," I said as I showed him their fate. Hung and crucified with a Soul Sealing Rod in each of their foreheads.

    "Good," the Red Sun said.

    ''Good? I thought he''d be mad or at least annoyed or ask for them back if Ipensate him a bit,''

    "You actually are merciful," the Red Sun said.

    "Merciful? I don''t know about that, after all, it''s not that fun to have one of those Rods in your forehead," I said.

    "Oh, I know, I was once on the receiving end of one of those, quite a nasty thing the Darkest One had created."

    Well that''s some lore I''d like to hear aboutter.

    "But what I meant by merciful, is that in times of war, when someone acts out like they did, not only are they executed by separation of five dragons, they usually receive the five senses punishment along with their entire n or family that they belong to up to the thirteen generation." The Red Sun said.

    The Five Senses punishment is pretty nasty, especially if it is applied to mortals.

    They''d remove one''s eyes, pierce their ears, and burn the inside of their mouth and nose, then rip away the skin and pour salt on their body all while keeping them alive, they also remove their anus so that they''ll be unable to stop themselves from defecating and if they''re male they''ll remove their gentiles and force them to swallow them. Forever live in pain and humiliation.

    Damn, thinking about that along is enough to make one feel nauseous.

    "I mean, he''s the one who acted out of line and against orders, what does his family suffering fix?" I asked.

    "Discipline," the Red Sun said. "When someone betrays their country or their people, he isn''t the only one punished but the environment that raised him so that would never happen again, believe me, to take down an entire n is far less painful than having a traitor that could cause the fall of an entire kingdom." The Red Sun stated.

    "I see, regardless, he''s here, if you want him back, you know what to do," I asked.

    "Worry not, I''ll have a few of my more loyal peoplee in and collect them, I''ll then gift you something you''ll appreciate I hope. I apologize for what one of my men had done to you," the Red Sun was about to bow when I shouted.

    "Don''t you dare bow!"

    The words were loud and audible to everyone, "I don''t ept bows from those I consider friends. Raise your head, you did nothing wrong nor do I think I can afford your bow, ughterer."

    The Red Sun smiled saying, "Then as a friend, I''ll ept your request."

    The Blue Sun took back the holographic disy and said, "We don''t know how much time we have left, so how about we leave soon?"

    "I''m always ready to leave," I replied.

    "Alright, bring all rted personnel we''ll need," she said.

    "What about the Thunder? It''s too much Qi," I said.

    "Apparently since the disappearance of the Noble that was inside the Bastion the entire Thunder Domain had been tame and dormant, even the clouds had risen considerably revealing a great majority of the area."

    "What are you nning on doing in the Bastion?" the Cryptic Sun asked.

    "Business," the Blue Sun replied and didn''t expand any further, snubbing any intentions of him trying to get a finger in the cake.

    "Good then, I''ll get everyone to move then,"

    "We''ll be heading out in twenty hours, be prepared. I''ll also get a few of my people to apany us in case we face some issues," she said.

    I nodded and the conversation ended. The Blue Sun means somethingpletely different when she said the next twenty hours.

    As immediately after the conversation had ended, one of the leaders of the Blue Sun troops that came to my city approached the pce and said, "The Blue Sun had created a gate for you at the edge of the Red Sun''s Anti Nest.

    "I figured as much, I''ll be moving right now," I said.

    Tao Yang, who was next to me said, "Didn''t she say in the next twenty hours?"

    I shook my head, "That was just to fake out the other Suns, especially the Cryptic Sun who''ll probably do his best to either stall us or make sure that we''re facing some sort of trouble. He isn''t a Sun for nothing and he''ll try to get something out of the Bastion no matter the cost," I said.

    "Right, then who''s going?" she asked.

    "You, me, some of my puppets Dao Shen and Old Fu, if you''re willing," I said.

    "Of course, I''d like to go back," Dao Shen said.

    Old Fu nodded, "It''s good to have some practice," he said as she flexed some of his muscles.

    "I also want to fight more of those things, thanks to those idiots I was sent with I never got the chance to throw some hands against the Rakshasa," Dao Shen eximed, "I''ll be too weak once we get to meet our friends from the Vast Expanse.

    that brought a smile to my face after all our friends are already here, and we still haven''t seen them yet.

    I shook my head from reminiscing and said

    "Right, then, let''s head to the Bastion, it''s time to acquire it,"

 Chapter 793: Bet

    Our group left the area and was immediately followed by a thousand or so cultivators of the Blue Sun, leaving the majority split between the twelve cities, not to enter but simply to guard on top of the walls.

    I informed them to not mingle with the people of the Sea of Demons as soldiers, and to not cause any trouble. If they wish to procure or purchase anything then they''re more than wee, but no one is allowed to use their authority given by the blue sun in her region and try and apply it here. They''re in a foreignnd, so act as such.

    They didn''t grumble or refuse and were more than weing to the idea. Quite the sensible people.

    I rode inside my ship and flew forward while carrying the entire group of cultivators inside the chambers of the ship. This way we won''t be dyed or lose any time getting to the Red Sun''s borders.

    And it was frankly quite faster since a lot of Origin Shattering Cultivators were tasked with providing protection against the rain to the rest of the lower rank cultivators or else they''d lose their ability to fly if affected.

    The Ship itself was fortified with my own creation, a formation that I applied some time ago to protect against the atmosphere of the Sea of Demons and it was working great in fending off the rain.

    We arrived to the border of the Red Sun in less than a couple hours after having floored the ''gas'' pedal.

    Once we arrived, the Blue Sun was already waiting for us, she wasn''t wearing her normal blue dress but rather an armored version of it and a gigantic hammer behind her that was easily three times her own size and more than a thousand times her weight. However she didn''t even look like she was carrying a feather.

    "You''re early," she said as I jumped off the ship.

    "I guess not early enough to have had you waiting for me," I replied jokingly.

    "Flirting already?" Tao Yang gave me the eye as she walked down the ship dressed in her golden armored attire that she had almost lost her life in at the Bastion.

    The Blue Sun smiled at her saying, "Graceful as always," she said praising Tao Yang.

    "Likewise, you''re as elegant in formal attire as you are in war attire."

    The two of them gave each otherpliments and continued talking while I got nudged by Dao She. "I wonder what YuYu and Liang Yu might say if they see this," he smirked at me.

    "Nothing is going on," I shrugged "Anyway, Old Fu are you ready?"

    "I was born ready, I guess that''s the term young people nowadays say," he shed me a wide smile.

    "Then let''s go," the Blue Sun said as she waved her arm, breaking the very fabric of space and linking two sections of it, from the rim of the Red Sun''s borders, all the way to the Thunder Domain.

    A distance that would require me years to reach if I were to try and fly there. But a Sun would only need to bend thews of space to make both points of space present at the same area.

    "Let''s use the Ship, it''s morefortable," I said as I hopped inside and the Blue Sun followed us along with a few more cultivators that came with her.

    Once we were all inside I took over and flew the ship forward, while The Blue Sun didn''t even sit as she was interested in the technical parts of the ship asking question after question on how everything works, and how I managed to fit everything inside the small sized ship.

    Though I''m sure she could produce the same results if she tried hard enough, but I guess she wanted to ask these questions to stroke my ego and make me feel aplished. Not that I needed her words, but it was nice hearingpliments anyways.

    The ship went through the portal and we soon arrived to the rim of the Thundering Domain. And she was right, the fog had cleared up and the clouds had risen considerably allowing perfect visibility.

    Massive amounts of broken Soulsteel of all colors were spread all over the area.

    "These are parts of the outer barrier of the Bastion, it was a massive ring that rotated around the bastion protecting it from external dangers and what dwells in space. Once we crashed the ring broke apart into these shards I would assume," Tao Yang said as she recognized the pieces.

    We continued moving until we arrived to the entrance of the Bastion andnded the ship there.

    "By the way," Tao Yang asked, "How did you guys even manage to open it in the first ce?"

    "Oh, good question," I said, "We didn''t, but a guy that apanied me managed to press something on the door and the entire thing opened up, I don''t know how he did that," I replied.

    "Strange, because this door should only open if touched by a royal, do you remember how he opened it?" she asked.

    "I guess he pressed somewhere here," I said as I pointed at a certain part of the door. Looking at the inscription and a small droplet of dried blood that definitely came out of Law''s finger, I recognized the pattern.

    "Hah," Tao Yangughed, "I thought he might actually be someone from my people that managed to survive and arrive here, but I guess not," she shook her head.

    "I don''t understand, what do you mean?" The Blue Sun asked.

    "This pattern" I said as I just finished making the full picture in my head, "It''s basically what allows the recognition of a Srous person, and Law somehow managed to perfectly drop just enough blood for it to get blocked, he basically cut the circuit that identifies the blood and managed to brute force the entire structure with sheer absurd luck, the moment that the blood had touched it, it opened the door and the pressure difference sucked us in, then the door recognized the error and shut back down¡­"

    "So, dumb luck?"

    "Absolute dumb luck," I replied.

    Tao Yang smiled and began pressing on several parts of the door then bit her thumb and sprayed some blood on the door''s central section. The entire thing slowly opened up revealing the entrance.

    "There''s Qi inside," I said.

    "That''s good, the reactors must be working great," she said.

    "By the way, how are we going to retrieve the Bastion I asked."

    Though it was a bitte asking this question right now¡­ it was still betterte than never.

    "Well, the Bastion still is ''alive'' thanks to my father''s sacrifice, all we need now is to give it energy.

    The reactors we fixed are now able to activate the bastion to about twenty percent of its ability, if we can fix the entire thing it''ll be able to fly. And we can take it all the way to the Sea of Demons to act as a proper bastion. After all, it is pretty powerful."

    "I never saw any weapons," I said.

    "That''s because it has no weapons, but it is a great trap once it has enough energy, you can lure in enemies then use the Soulsteel to crush them."

    "I don''t think that''s a good idea, remember what happened thest time you tried that," I said.

    There was an awkward silence, after all if it was such a great trap why would the entire Srous race die.

    "It was because we didn''t know we had intruders among us until it was toote", she justified.

    I wasn''t convinced.

    "Well, let''s clear it out first, then once we fix the reactors we''ll see what we can do with the bastion."

    "I agree," the Blue Sun said, "So, how about we do a littlepetition," she asked.

    "What sort?" I replied in question.

    "Let''s see who kills the most enemies," she did as she ced the gigantic hammer next to her in a loud thud.

    "That''s quite the unfair offer," I said, "After all, you''re a sun stage," I shrugged.

    "I''ll limit my cultivation level to Void Shattering realm, now you have no excuse to say no," she grinned.

    "What does the winner get if they win?" I questioned.

    "Hmm, one request from the lose, whatever they want," she said.

    "That is a very dangerous gamble," Tao Yang said, "But I''ll also join in," she said.

    "You hear that!" the Blue Sun said to the rest of the cultivators that joined us inside the ship. "If any of you manages to kill more rakshasa than I, then I''ll satisfy any of their requests. I''ll be limiting my cultivation to Void Shattering, you can use your cultivation base as you see fit!" she shouted.

    "Also, she said at me, "You''re not allowed to use your toys. Your cultivation base and your base only, cold weapons are not an issue," she said.

    "Tough condition, what if I encounter a Silver Rakshasa?" I asked.

    "Then you''re on your own, I saw you fight against one head to head before you reached Void Shattering so I trust you can manage," she said.

    "Right, then I truly have no excuse then," I said as I pulled out Creeping Demise.

    "I also want to join in, cultivation base only," Dao Shen said.

    "Same here, these old muscles have grown toozy, they need to work for their keep."

    "Good, good, Now let''s get killing!" The Blue Sun said as she rushed forward.

 Chapter 794: Massacre

    The Blue Sun asked a couple of Heaven Stage cultivators to follow us close and assist us in case of need. They''ll act as arbiters and will also be joining the smallpetition. And in case something like a Noble Appears, they''ll be responsible for fending it off.

    Our approach to the entire situation was pretty simple, get in, beat the ever-living shit out of every rakshasa on the way, and get everyone to meet at the engine room.

    I moved forward, rushing through the corridors of the Bastion while spreading my Divine Sense all over the ce. Thanks to the Bastion''s energy recovery and the Qi limitation removed I was able to apply My Divine Sense however I wanted. But it was a double-edged sword. The moment my senses began spreading and detecting the remaining Raksahsa, they noticed me too.

    The entire Bastion began howling as the remaining Rakshasa began moving. However, there was barely a fraction of the former number due to the massive poison breakout I caused thest time.

    The poison had killed almost if not all every white rakshasa in the bastion, as for the ck, Brute, and Silver Rakshasa they were still roaming about and they were the first to notice me.

    A brute arrived first, with four of its arms propelling him forward like a mutated gori, it charged at me jumping up in the air.

    "Grow!" I shouted as I pointed Creeping Demise at the massive brute. The Qi from my body was rapidly absorbed as it fueled the sword, making the tip of the sword change form. Turned to a massive serpent head that shot forward to the brute locking it in its jaws then mming it into the bastion''s floor.

    The serpent head immediately spat out a poisonous cloud right into the Brute''s chest, making its chest change to a piece of brittle ice, and with a tightening of my grip on the sword''s grip, the jaws of the steel serpent immediately snapped shut, breaking the brute in two.

    A couple more brutes arrived but they were taken care of by Dao Shen and Old Fu. Thetter simply pulled back his sleeve and mmed down with a mighty fist right into the Brute''s head, ripping the entire head out of the Brute''s body, spine included, and finished off by a roundhouse kick to the torso of the dead body.

    The entire torso flew forward like a bullet mming into other rakshasa in the distance.

    Old Fu smiled at me saying, "You''re Too Slow kid!" the muscles on his feet simply bulged as he sted away from his position, spinning like a top while flying at a speed that would make a bullet look like a slug moving on sticky ground.

    Dao Shen on the other hand was more acrobatic. The Brute he was facing tried to hug Dao Shen in a bear hug, but thetter flew up in a summersault over the hug. while he was right above the Brute whopletely missed Dao Shen he grabbed the Brute''s head with both arms and twisted his entire body.

    The Dao of Absorption was immediately applied as he sucked the vitality of the brute and tore his head out. He also shed me a wide smile as he toyed with the brute''s head as if it was a tennis ball with one hand. "You''ll need to be faster," he said and flew after Dao Shen.

    I was actually pumped, and realized one thing, Dao Shen although had a lesser cultivation than I do, has a far better martial art and fighting experience.

    Not wanting to lose, I closed my eyes for a second and opened them. Everything changed. my vision became far more enhanced as I was now using the Primordial Serpent God''s sight.

    The Brutes in the far distance looked slower as they were moving toward us, you can see each and everyone of them rushing and jumping up and down with incredible slowness.

    I moved forward, dashing between Dao Shen and Old Fu who were on their third kill each. I flew forward into a slow moving brute and pped my open palm right into its chest while all four of its arms were closing in on me. My other hand had already pumped energy into creeping demise to change to a whip like form that caught onto another brute.

    The palm I used was the Palm of White gue that applied an incredible dose of life absorbing poison and vitality draining poison. The Brute turned to a husk of its former self in less than a fraction of a second, even before its arms closed up on me, they turned to twigs that shattered the moment I tightened my grip on my sword as it dragged me away from its bear hug and into the next Brute.

    I kicked into the other brute using both feet while ripping with as much strength as I had onto the sword that turned to a leaner and sharper line around the neck of the brute.

    It tried to remove the wire like sword from its neck but its big fingers were unable to dig through its skin to find the wire.

    It struggled to breath as the fine line was easily cutting through its head but I knew I would get overpowered if it tried to jerk itself so I extended the wire a bit and whipped the end in my hand around another brute''s arm that was about to rip my head off.

    Theter brute that got the sword wrapped around his extended fist applied enough pressure to tear away the strangled brute''s neck.

    And so I continued on, devastating the Brutes using nothing but martial arts, switching from poison skills to Fist of Roaring Ki martial arts.

    The Primordial Serpent Sight was nothing short of a cheat ability as it allowed me to see half a second into the future. Making me see and immediatelye up with a countermeasure to whatever would happen.

    Suddenly the tattoo of the Primordial Serpent God on my arm red out as the serpent immediately manifested out of the flesh of my body ripping through it without letting any blood and biting right at the air, it snapped its jaws and twisted its neck making a blue spray of blood ssh all over me and the rakshasa present.

    It was a Silver Rakshasa.

    "The Silvers are here!" I said as I backed away, my eyes scanning from left to right in extremely rapid session. There were ten of them, and they were all hidden in stealth among the masses of Brutes.

    Dao Shen pped both arms together and manifested a wave of soul weakening energy that rippled across every brute and made them shudder. He identified every Rakshasa''s position in that move, while Old Fu mmed his right feet, spreading them apart while both arms tucked against his chest.

    With a single roar the entire bastion echoed to his scream revealing the enemies hidden or visible by echolocation.

    Two Silvers approached me first as they noticed that I was the biggest threat currently for having eliminated a Silver in an instance. Their ws ready to dig at my face. But thanks to theirck of teamwork, I dodged to the right and always kept one rakshas in front of me while the second desperately tried to get to my other side.

    Trading blows was not possible, these things have a tough hide and thest time I fought them head on I broke several of my fingers. The Primordial Serpent God is able to kill them while I''m only capable of fending for my life.

    I didn''t even need tomunicate those words to her as she instantly snapped forward toward the closest silver, making it duck, but as if she already expected that she didn''t go for the jugr but twisted and grabbed it by the ankle, pulling it out of bnce and on its back.

    I didn''t waste a second as I grabbed Creeping Demise in an overhand grip and mmed it down right through the silver rakshasa''s neck.

    The second Rakshasa immediately went for me but Old Fu arrived to my side, shoulder bashing it into the nearest wall and stomped the head of the rakshasa that was pinned by the neck.

    "That''s mine!" I said.

    "But I killed it," he snickered.

    "Oi, that''s KS! KS!" I shouted as I chased another rakshasa.

    The fight continued on while the rakshasa were being torn left and right.

    And that was just the three of us, as behind us and around us, the heaven stage and the Origin Shattering Stage had already joined the fight, making it aplete ughter for the Rakshasa.

    Not a single cultivator was harmed as they each got each other''s back, the heaven stage had taken priority in neutralizing the Silver Raksahsa, each with their ownws and Daos and abilities to notice and discover hidden enemies.

    After all, to arrive at that stage and not be able to recognize stealthy enemies would be an impossibility.

    The fight went on until the Blue Sun''s voice echoed from the other corridor, all I saw was a nce at her jumping high up with a hammer, blue blood sprayed all over her body as she came down swinging on an unfortunate brute turning it to sludge in an instant.

    She turned and looked at me shing a bloodied smile, "If you keep staring, you''ll end up losing this bet!" she said and jumped forward to kill some more.

    She was right, and I wasn''t stopping anytime soon. Now where''s my next unfortunate prey?

 Chapter 795: Flow

    The massacre had been going on for a while now, and I wasn¡¯t winning this one.

    The Blue Sun had been taking down these guys like they were nothing, smashing their heads in and their innards with her hammer, spraying blue blood and viscera everywhere. However, the white of her teeth still showed as she was smiling ear to ear.

    Our entire group was creating endless havoc inside the bastion, enough that all the ck Rakshasa were ordering the rest of the fiends to back away but they were too terrified and too overwhelmed to even act or react.

    The Blue Sun¡¯s Cultivators were mighty and strong and would kill anything that moved without holding back anything. And thanks to the sturdiness of the Bastion they could go all out without damaging it in the least.

    I was being overtaken, and I wasn¡¯t going to allow that.

    "Poison Tiger w!" I shouted as I sliced both hands in a w shape forward. Ten green energy des shot out of the tip of my fingers, cutting and wounding any rakshasa in the way clearing up the path forward.

    "I¡¯ll go on ahead!" I shouted as I flew forward, destroying any Rakshasa in the way.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Fist of Eternal Gold!" I shouted out as my fist pumped with enough energy matching that of a bright golden sun.

    A torrent of pure energy and poison shot forward as it pulverized any white Rakshasa and sted away all brutes and Silvers that were in the way, scorching them or at least breaking some of their bones.

    I hastily hurried forward and forced my meridians to go into overdrive. "Madness of the Golden Titan," my heart pumped and I could hear it resounding from my ears, as my pale skin turned bright red, and my eyes turnedpletely white. Veins like greenva appeared on my body and every muscle on me shuddered and inted.

    However, there was one thing that was different from all the times I used Golden Titan¡¯s Madness.

    I didn¡¯t lose my sanity. In fact, my mind was clear as day and my vision which had already turned capable of seeing half a second in the future was now able to see twice the time.

    The rakshasa that appeared next to me had their chests caved in with a single palm strike as the Book of Body manifested its full potential when it came to using one¡¯s strength.

    I tore through the first few brutes and went toward the nearest ck Rakshasa, mming both palms together right against its temples, popping it like a balloon.

    A silver rakshasa tried to slice at me to which I simply parried and sent an upper palm blow right into its chin, then leg seeped it and let the Primordial Serpent God devour its head.

    I was still not physically capable of destroying the armored body of a silver rakshasa, but the primordial Serpent God was more than capable of doing so with her sharp teeth.

    I flew forward, wreaking havoc among the retreating forces of the rakshasa, slicing using Creeping demise or crushing them if I extended and erged the sword¡¯s head. Or outright consuming them via the world-eating Primordial Serpent God.

    My flow increased, and I followed the advice of the Dusking Sun, to fight in a flow and rhythm, as if it was a dance, never stopping as I continued the onught. And somehow, instead of losing my Qi as I was fighting, I was actually gaining some of it back.

    Every attack which used to cost me a lot of Qi to use now was using about a quarter of it, the flow of motion and attacks was like a rhythmic pace that kept on growing.

    Bones and bodies flew as I went into a trance-like state, fighting dodging, and ducking in a single fluid motion as I moved from one enemy to break another and back to the first and so on.

    The bodies continued piling around me and whenever I felt like I was in a pinch, a single tightening of my hand would make the Heaven Swapping Ring activate and swap my position against another rakshasa making the two of them trade blows which often resulted in a fatality or a severe injury.

    "I told you to not use any of your toys!" the Blue Sun said through divine sense.

    "This isn¡¯t one of my tools I was given this by the mboyant sun!" I shouted as I ducked another blow and leg-swept another silver rakshasa only for the Serpent God tounch itself from my arm and gobble up the Silver and a couple more rakshasa that were behind it.

    "Consider it the same as your hammer!" I shouted back as I did a backflip andnded on a Brute¡¯s shoulders, I twisted my body and its neck along causing its entire body to spiral in the air before I followed with a roundhouse kick that shot the torso into more enemies.

    The battle continued as we went into a flurry of killing and I felt like I had finally discovered the joy of battle.

    ***

    "Quite impressive," the blue sun thought. After all, it wasn¡¯tmon to see someone in a battle trance. And Shen Bao had just entered one. Not only did he manage to fight against enemies a bit higher than his cultivation base, he was killing them with the same ease as she was. And she was far more experienced than him in terms of physical and hand-to-handbat.

    Yet he was using the Primordial Serpent God¡¯s eyes to their maximum efficiency, although he needed a bit more work on his footwork, for his battle sense it was as good as any veteran and battle-hardened pugilist.

    His motions were fluid as water and his blows were heavy as a hammer. Every hit was precise and with just the perfect amount of strength behind it to achieve his goal, either to kill or disce and disorient.

    She thought that if she didn¡¯t increase the pace of her own killing she might end up being overtaken although she outsses Shen Bao in terms of battle, if he remains in his trance a bit longer, he¡¯ll definitely keep on picking up the pace and increase his kill count.

    She wanted to make him owe her a favor once she won, and it was always good to have young geniuses and good talent like him owe a favor. But now, it would be the other way around if she were to simply sit back and watch.

    And he wasn¡¯t the only one she needed to be worried of. The woman Tao Yang who had lost her body and is using a newly formed one that is still not perfectly linked to her soul is already crushing the numbers of every other cultivator that the Blue Sun had brought.

    Not even the heaven stage cultivators are at her level when ites to killing rakshasa.

    She was efficient, fast and furious, able to rapidly identify the weak points and exposed joints of the enemy and stick them perfectly for a killing blow. One hit one kill. Find more to read at NovelBin.C?m

    She too was as fluid as the wind, moving from one to the second, without uttering a single word nor showing any signs of exhaustion or tiredness. She had to give her the acknowledgment she needed as she was the final warrior of an entire race, left to fend against hordes of enemies by herself for god knows how many days.

    And with her experience even if her body had a hard time following hermands to it, she was still outranking everyone including Shen Bao who was fast approaching.

    Not to exclude Shen Bao¡¯s friends, the old man named Fu was a close third, as he was pulverizing the rakshasas with pure martial force and savagery, every strike of his would not only always find its target, he was the epitome of a berserker who would trade blows, giving flesh but breaking bones.

    Though wounded he never stopped, though old and seemingly rusty he still took down the enemies in rapid session without a single weapon in hand, all via his fists.

    Shen Bao was the fourth in the ranking and close to overtaking the old man, but he wasn¡¯t the one that she needed to be worried of. It was actually Dao Shen, who was showing an incredible methodology of killing. He was sucking the very life out of every rakshasa and using their own energy to empower himself.

    He was elerating perpetually almost as he grew faster and stronger the more he feasted on the enemy.

    If these guys were to grow a bit more, at least reach the Heaven Stage then they¡¯d be a terrifying force to be reckoned with and it was bound to happen if nothing terrible were to happen.

    The moment the thought had crossed her mind, something echoed in the far end of the corridor.

    A loud soulless shrike of death and doom, and endless hunger. A soul-wrenching screech that would make a mortal die from sheer terror and even a cultivator below the Ascendant stage have their hair turn white.

    It was worse than the soundless echo of death, it was the sound ofplete annihtion a sound that causes the soul to feel terror. It was a fear of extinction from existence if they were to die to the owner of that screech.

    Looking at it from afar, it was a ck Rakshasa with a golden cap for a head. One of the ck rakshasas had turned to a noble and it was too fast for any of them to react to. The ck Rakshasa were cunning and smart and would always be there to guide and lead the rest of the enemy, and if left alone they¡¯d be more than capable of reorganizing these troops into a proper fighting force.

    She had to act and take it down, even if she had to use more of her cultivation losing thispetition.

    But before she could even move.

    "MINE MINE MINE MINE!"

    She heard as Shen Bao jumped forward into the fray.

 Chapter 796: Herculian

    I came down like a wrecking ball.

    And it wasn¡¯t just a metaphor; I actually changed form mid-air. As I pumped up my body with as much poison qi as I could, inting cell production to ¡¯gigantify¡¯ my body, I felt the surge of power course through me. My muscles bulged and my skin stretched tight, transforming me into a massive, unstoppable force.

    Both my fistsnded squarely on the shoulders of the Noble ck that tried its best to shake itself away from me, but the pummeling was too much for it, along with the massive weight behind my fists. The impact reverberated through the air, sending shockwaves that made the ground tremble.

    The creature fell down to the ground, its face mmed down and cracked, all it could do was screech in pain from the sudden impact.

    I tried to end it right there by stomping on its head, but it reacted rapidly by pulling on my foot, tripping me and causing me to fall on the other rakshasa, crushing a few. The ground around us was littered with the bodies of fallen rakshasa, their blue blood staining the floor. The air was thick with the smell of blood and poison qi, a heady mixture that fueled my rage. Explore more adventures at NovelBin.C?m

    It immediately jumped on me for a mount, but I had more power than I could save and immediately flipped it away from me, then reversed our positions. I pinned the Noble ck¡¯s arms using my knees and firmly mounted its chest, exposing its head. My weight bore down on it, making it impossible for the creature to escape.

    Then the pummeling began, each punchnded squarely on the Noble ck¡¯s head, resounding in explosive fury and echoes of devastation. Each punch went straight to its face, mming it against the hard Soulsteel floor. The floor cracked under the force of my blows, sending shards of Soulsteel flying.

    Punch after punch, in an elerating rhythm, it felt like the bones in my fingers were breaking with each punch. But thanks to the extreme and very taxing regeneration of the Titan form, along with the pain numbness of the Golden Titan¡¯s Madness, I couldn¡¯t even feel the pain.

    The blows continued as the rakshasa around us were sent flying from the shockwaves of each blow. Whenever the ck Noble tried to raise its head, another fist would m it back to the ground. The ground shook with each impact, creating a crater around us.

    Blow after consecutive blow, my bones broke and regenerated, while the hard skull of the rakshasa barely suffered any damage, yet the constant concussive blows were making its reactions duller.

    The constant explosive outburst of power from each blow sounded like the endless rumble of a furious storm thundering endlessly as if beckoning the end of a world. But that wasn¡¯t enough to put this damn thing to rest.

    Since it was a Noble ck, it came with an additional option: two massive bone wings that emerged out of its back. The wings were jagged and covered in a dark, glistening substance, making them look even more menacing. It instantly used them to stab me in the shoulder des. It was sudden and felt like serrated des being shoved into my back.

    That only served to piss me off some more as I mmed my open hands into the wings of the ck Noble and headbutted it into the ground, making a final shockwave that sted any nearby rakshasa.

    Myrades arrived immediately to our perimeter, seeing my clear advantage over the ck Noble. No one dared fight me for it, and they handled the few rakshasa that were annoying me like little pests. The battlefield was a chaotic mess ofbat and carnage, with bodies and weapons scattered everywhere.

    The Blue Sun hadpletely stopped fighting the Rakshasa as she watched what was going on with wide-open eyes along with a strange smile on her face.

    The ck Noble wasn¡¯t going down nor falling unconscious, and I felt my head spin as I probably fractured my skull by headbutting its golden-capped head. If I can¡¯t break it, then I¡¯ll tear it apart. My grip tightened on the creature¡¯s right-wing, pulling tight enough that the veins on my arm bulged out.

    The entire wing dislocated, extending disgustingly far from its back while the ck Noble went in a flurry of screeches as the pain was too much for it. With a pop and a forceful pull, blue blood sprayed all over the corridor.

    The right-wing was gone, and while the ck Noble was screaming in agonized pain, I shoved the butt of its wing right into its open mouth, trying to tear away at its neck. But the fucker was just too damn sturdy. Suddenly its eyes turned bright red, glowing with a malevolent light.

    My entire body shivered as I felt something wrong was happening. The world stopped, and I found myself in my sea of consciousness. The once open, endless sea had now turned into a massive floating orb, an inner world invaded by this creature. He wanted to take down my soul so it could defeat me. I guess this is how they consume their prey.

    As I tried to expel it from my sea of consciousness, something strange happened. The Noble ck was trying to run away from my sea of consciousness as if it had seen its worst nightmare. Perhaps the draconic soul had a hand in this, but after extending my mind to the Draconic Soul, it was still sitting on its throne at the high mountain, while the ck Noble was being chased by my Dark Soul.

    The Dark Soul, which feasted on negativity and all that is unwell, was not the food for a creature abhorred by the heavens. No, my Dark Soul was the hunter of the dark, and the Rakshasa was its prey. Before my Dark Soul could even reach it, the Noble ck immediately eliminated a portion of its existence to escape my Sea of Consciousness, forcefully weakening itself. This was¡­ interesting.

    Back in the real world, the ck Rakshasa furiously twisted its body trying to escape the pin and mount, but it only exposed its back for me as it began pulling at the ground, breaking its ws against the hard floor to try and escape from under my knees. It was screaming like a child having seen a clown for the first time, terrified and utterly mortified by what it had just seen.

    It was as if its worst nightmares had been manifested in reality, and it was trying to run away from it. It didn¡¯t care that it was being pummeled, nor did it care that I grabbed its second wing and tore it away.

    All it wanted to do was run away as it screeched in horror, causing every other nearby rakshasa to flee in terror. If theirmander was that terrified of what they saw, then there was no need for them to remain near it. But I wasn¡¯t about to allow it to escape. Both my fingers dug deep under the jawline of the fiend, and I bent my body back along with the entire creature.

    My heart pumped, and I made it pump some more by inducing an unhealthy and almost fatal dose of Adrenaline by poison maniption, forcefully removing every limiting factor of my body. With a roar enough to wake the dead, every vein in my body pumped with furious vigor. My fingers dug deep into the jaw of the ck Noble, as my back arched and its muscles pumped some more.

    Unbridled, unrestrained, uncontrolled, unchecked, and unleashed¡ªa power that I never thought I had in me.

    The rakshasa was vomiting blood as it desperately tried to get away from me, scratching and tearing at the flesh of my arm that immediately repaired itself. But it knew well that I wasn¡¯t going to let go. I roared as my eyes red in extreme green light while my entire body was engulfed in a zing fury of my Soul me, burning the ck Noble that tried to resist, causing it more pain.

    "HEAVENS! BEAR WITNESS TO THE STRENGTH OF YOUR CREATION!" I roared, and as if encouraged by the heavens themselves, my entire body was suddenly invigorated ten times more. Every fiber of my being felt an incredulous amount of power coursing through it.

    A sound so disgusting and so mortifying echoed immediately after as the neck bones of the ck Noble snapped and shattered, while the skin on its neck began ripping and tearing. Then suddenly the entire head, along with its entire spinal cord, was ripped out of its body, gushing a wave of blue blood that exploded outward.

    I stood there, victorious, my hands raised with fingers digging deep into the skull of the Rakshasa¡¯s still-gaping mouth. The battlefield around me fell silent, the surviving rakshasa fleeing in terror, leaving me standing in the midst of carnage and triumph.

 Chapter 797: Savage Divinity

    Beauty in carnage and death. Cruel andvish brutality, with a hint of divinity in execution. The Blue Sun''s brain kept spinning as she watched Shen Bao''s massive form ripping the head of a creature several stages above it in cultivation by sheer savage force.

    "Savage Divinity."

    Those were the only words that coulde out of her mouth as the blood spray reached all the way to her robes. She didn''t even flinch when she was sprayed with it.

    Shen Bao remained standing with blood dripping down the torn head of the Noble ck all over his forearm, further defining his burning pumping muscles. While his entire robe was a mix of dark purple and blue blood.

    The rakshasa around him were terrorized as they ran away in every direction, the terror was so much that they even ran right into the range of the Blue Sun where they were eliminated without her even moving her eyes away from Shen Bao as she swatted them away like they were flies.

    One of the Heaven Stage cultivators that were close to the Blue Sun, a woman too, nudged her by the elbow, "You''re drooling," she teased.

    The Blue Sun was finally woken from her stupor and shook her head, she gave a cold re to her follower but smiled afterward turning her head away in embarrassment. As if a young teenage girl had been caught watching her crush.

    The Blue Sun coughed, "I guess there is no point in this smallpetition," she said.

    Shen Bao huffed and puffed as his body began returning to normal, while he said, "W-why, huff, there are still¡ªa lot of rakshasa¡­ left," he said gasping as he tried to regte his breath and the unbnced flow of his qi.

    Once he removed the Golden Titan''s madness, he slumped down on the ground, barely able to stand, he gasped a few times, "Shit, that was taxing¡­" he said as his heartbeat could be heard from far away, droplets of golden blood slowly seeped out of his nose.

    "You overtaxed your body, you''re going to have serious internal injuries if you continue on, we''ll rest here," she said.

    Shen Bao seemed a bit disappointed but the Blue Sun exined to him.

    "What you did just now, was impressive, also," this part she said via Divine Sense for his ears only, "What happened for the Raksahsa to have to give up half of its consciousness just to escape your sea of consciousness?"

    "I don''t know, he was terrified of the second half of my soul," Shen Bao replied.

    The Blue Sun didn''t understand fully what he meant and wanted to pick his brain for an exnationter.

    "Whatever you did, it caused another rakshasa that was about to evolve to immediately cancel out and lose his opportunity to go to the next evolution level. Your soul''s second half must have something to do with it.

    It was as if it knew that the moment it evolved, it''ll be your primary prey and was terrified of the thought, that''s only possible if one is at the Sun Stage to cause such terror into the hearts of the Rakshasa, we''ll study that partter," she said.

    "I don''t mind," Shen Bao said as he pulled several pills and began chugging them. He was so exhausted that he couldn''t move, and you could see his muscles cringing by themselves,

    "I''m switching bodies," Shen Bao said. "It''s too much pain and I really can''t control this one well, it''ll need to be down for maintenance for a few days," he said and soon, a small portal appeared next to him, where the automaton appeared and manifested a seated Shen Mo.

    Shen Mo''s body woke up, and with it, the original avatar went down to self cultivate. The Automaton grabbed Shen Bao''s body and took it back to the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    Opening his eyes in Shen Mo''s body he looked around and said, "What?"

    "You have bodies for spare?" the Blue Sun said.

    "Oh, it''s not easy to do this though, well it''s apatibility issue." He said.

    "I never thought you''re someone who possesses bodies," she said. Her tone and expression portrayed some disappointment.

    "Oh, I didn''t steal this body, it was willingly given, in exchange for a grudge to be satisfied I was given this body. I never coerced the owner, he willingly gave it and you can feel thepatibility yourself."

    The Blue Sun scanned the body with her divine sense and said, "Oh, Demonic Energy, and quite weighty too, although barely at the King Stage."

    "Yes, I got this body ratherte and never focused on its cultivation. But it is better than nothing for now, my original is suffering from muscle damage, now let''s get to work."

    And he was right, the original purpose of this venture was to clear the bastion and to repossess it.

    The cultivators waited a bit as they rested from the aftermath of thebat. The Rakshasa had already dipped and ran away their tails tucked behind their legs.

    After a while of resting, the entire group continued marching forward, hunting any stragglers and chasing them down closed corners to eliminate them.

    Tao Yang was about to drop a tear but hastily wiped it off, but that didn''t skip Shen Bao''s notice.

    He approached her and said, "There is no shame in defeat, your people did their best with what they had, the difference is that these guys are forged in battle and wouldn''t be as caught up as what happened with the Srous people, it''s alright, all is part of life," he said.

    She nodded and added, "If only I had a hundred capable warriors, only a hundred¡­ we would have survived," she said.

    Shen Bao couldn''t find anyfort words for a person who lost their identity and people. So he could only keep herpany in silence.

    The group continued on for several hours, eliminating any futile attempts at ambushing them all thanks to the constant detections from the Blue Sun''s eyes. She wouldn''t miss a single Silver Rakshasa in hiding and would instantly give orders for elimination.

    After a while they made it to the engine room where several reactors had been fully revived but many more were in need of aplete overhaul and recement, which Shen Bao had already prepared for.

    His puppets in the forge of the Lord of Lords pagoda had been constantly pumping materials for his printer which created several smaller fusion reactors that were ready to rece the damaged ones.

    Once they arrived, the Automaton opened up another portal inside the Bastion and began pushing hundreds of reactors forward, Shen Bao with the help of the Blue Sun and several other cultivators knowledgeable in the art of craftsmanship began installing the reactors and fusing them together with the bastion.

    The reactors fit in like a glove in their respective slots and all began revving as they went into action charging up the bastion with the energy it desperately needed.

    Several sections of the bastion that were inessible began opening up, and fallen Soulsteel cubes floated back and fit in their respective slots.

    The entire bastion felt as if it was taking a second breath of life as it vibrated loudly and roared as it dered its resurrection.

    The energy that the Bastion needed was massive, but with so many reactors, it was more than easy to generate.

    "With this much energy¡­ " Tao Yang said and her eyes firmly focused on a small projectile dais.

    "Allow me," she said as she ced both arms on the side of the raised dais manifesting the entire ship''s holographic design in front of her.

    "I''ll be reshaping the Bastion, please everyone remain where you are," she said.

    The cultivators looked at each other, since most of them didn''t know the true identity of Tao Yang, but no one seemed to be able to say anything since the Blue Sun didn''t disagree or say anything to stop her.

    Soon, the entire bastion rocked and shook, as it began moving by itself internally, massive cubes began moving and discing themselves, moving like a Rubik''s Cube, detaching and re-attaching themselves in several parts, moving like a sliding puzzle game. Reshaping the entire thing, and that wasn''t without a purpose.

    Tao Yang had a goal in mind and she was using the energy given by the engines to do so.

    The entire bastion from the outside was being reconstructed. From a massive long submarine-like shape to a pyramid-like structure. Not only that, Shen Bao noticed something. She was pushing several walls in a specific direction, and each time she would stop and reallocate the same walls, pushing them sideways down or up for a reason only she knew of.

    Seeing his confusion, Tao Yang said, "I''m hearding them," she said and that''s all he needed to know.

    After several hours of shaking and moving, the entire bastion had stopped moving and it finally seemed to have taken its final shape. A floating bipyramid.

    "Where are the Rakshasa?" Shen Bao asked. "They''re all in the central area, they cannot escape nor move, and we can now take them all down," she said.

    She herded every enemy inside the bastion, slowly, pushing them with the bastion''s walls for one massive closed area where they couldn''t escape or run away, in a small chamber where they can''t do anything but wait for the cultivators toe to them. Basically, they''re fish in a barrel.

    Just as everyone understood that there is only one final battle left, the Blue Sun''s eyes widened, "EVERYONE GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!"

    The entire bastion was rattled from the air as if struck by a meteor.

 Chapter 798: Confrontation

    "Bloody hell," I said as I was rocked to the side the hardest among everyone else. After all I was using an even weaker body. Tao Yang thankfully caught me but I was not a fan of what just happened.

    "Was there an engine failure?" I asked as I was ncing everywhere, the whole engine area was perfectly functional.

    "No, some fool is trying to bring us down," Tao Yang said, and for the first time, I saw rage like nothing before in her eyes.

    "It''s the Cryptic One, what sort of foolishness is he trying this time?" the Blue Sun''s rage was also increasing with each passing second.

    "Another one ising," Tao Yang said as she disyed what was going on. It was the Cryptic Sun, and he has a nasty smile on his face as he sent a gigantic energy wave right into the bastion.

    The whole bastion rattled and I was once again supported by Tao Yang.

    "Blue Sun," Tao Yang said, "You should rein in your friend or he''ll suffer a worse fate than death."

    Her words were a clear threat, and even the Blue Sun didn''t like them.

    "First off, he isn''t my friend, and he''s a Sun, to kill him would mean to destroy a massive portion of the Beyond. I cannot allow that," she said.

    "Then find a way to stop him, because the bastion will break if he continues on like this."

    "Can he hear us from here," the Blue Sun asked.

    "Yes, I can ry your face and your voice if you wish," Tao Yang said.

    "Then do it," she said and soon the Blue Sun''s projection appeared outside the Bastion.

    "Cryptic One! What is the meaning of this?!"

    "Oh, so you were inside," the Cryptic Sun shrugged, "I''m here because I think the bastion is a threat, I''ll be eliminating it, it is hosting too many enemies. The safety of the beyond might be jeopardized because of it," he said as he sent another shockwave.

    "CRYPTIC!" the Blue Sun''s wrath was exerted through her Qi as the third shockwave hit the bastion.

    The entire thing was shuddering.

    His goal was pretty obvious as he only wanted to destroy something he wasn''t allowed to obtain. A jealous and envious person who is only satisfied with self-service and selfishness.

    The impact caused not only me but even more cultivators to be shaken and fall to the ground.

    "Alright," Tao Yang said as she began modifying several sections of the Bastion. "I''ll be copying one of your toys Shen Bao," she told me. And while I was watching, the top of the bipyramid opened up and several cubes aligned themselves into the shape of a railgun. It only took a few seconds for it to finish up and it pointed at the Cryptic Sun.

    Tao Yang''s face appeared right in front of the Cryptic Sun as she said, "You have ten seconds to leave the perimeter, don''t me me for what might happen to you," Tao Yang said.

    "Who''s this bitch?" the Cryptic Sun scorned, "Do you know who I am?" he said taking pride in his status as a sun.

    "Time''s up," Tao Yang said and almost immediately, the entire bastion charged up the rod that was aiming at the Cryptic Sun with so much Origin Qi that even the Cryptic Sun''s brow rose up.

    "This¡­" he said.

    "Tao Yang! If you attack him it''ll cause a war!"

    "I''m not going to sit down and be bullied! MY RACE HAS HAD ENOUGH!" she said and mmed on the pedestal.

    A powerful energy beam shot out of the top of the bipyramid toward the Cryptic Sun''s wide-opened eyes, he immediately held his hand forward breaking a jewel on one of the rings on his hand. Tens of thousands of formations manifested right in front of him creating an instantaneous protective field.

    The light from all sorts of formations looked like a light show, but the formations couldn''t stand a chance against the empowered railgun that was powered by more than a thousand reactors which generated Origin Energy.

    The Origin Qi tore through the formation as if it were a piece of paper and sted right next to the Cryptic Sun''s face and into the distance.

    The energy shot up all the way to the high heavens enough that it looked like a meteor going from the center of the beyond into the endless space.

    The Cryptic Sun''s face was pale for a second as he realized that if he had been hit directly things would have ended badly for him.

    "This is your only warning!" Tao Yang shouted.

    The Cryptic Sun not recognizing who the pesky woman who almost burnt his head off was in rage, and was channeling more of his Qi, enough Qi to cause a problem in the beyond actually as revenge.

    "CRYPTIC! IF YOU USE YOUR ORIGIN QI YOU''LL BREAK THE PEACE AGREEMENT!" the Blue Sun shouted.

    "I don''t care! If this vile thing dares to hit me and I stay still then who will respect me as a Sun!" he said as he raised his hand up with even more formations shaping themselves into the shape of a spinning circr saw.

    Tao Yang wasn''t one to back away as she manifested three more railguns from the upper part of the bipyramid and they were all charging up.

    A catastrophe was about to happen¡­

    "Shen Bao Everyone escapes!" she shouted.

    "Automaton! GET US OUT!" I said and just as the automaton began manifesting a portal, it began scrambling and destabilizing.

    "The person outside had set up a teleportation block!" the automaton replied.

    "For fuck sake¡­" I cursed inwardly. there was nothing much I could do, if this hit is able to destroy the bastion then a lot of people were going to die, and it might even break it enough for the trapped rakshasa to escape.

    Yet before anything could happen, three cultivators appeared right next to the Cryptic Sun, with two of them grabbing him by the shoulder and one of them standing right in front of the four rods aiming at the cryptic sun.

    "What is going on here?" the mboyant Sun said as he stood right in front of the bastion.

    The Dusking Sun had his arm on the Cryptic Sun''s shoulder and said, "I can easily guess what''s happening here," he said as he gave the Cryptic Sun a snide look.

    The man next to the cryptic Sun was the Red Sun who had both eyes shining red, "You really think that the Lording Sun''s words were nothing but empty threats?" the Red Sun said.

    What does any of this get to do with you?" the Cryptic Sun said. "I''m here to protect the beyond, the bastion has rakshasa inside it, and I''m here to terminate it."

    "Bullshit excuse," the Red Sun said, "Your nasty personality would never allow you to think of the people of the beyond as anything but cattle, you, saving them? What a load of crap," he added.

    "What do you know?" the Cryptic Sun said "Go back to your ughter sect, that''s the only ce where your madness is respected," the Cryptic Sun tried to antagonize and aggravate the Red Sun and he was seeding.

    "And for you," he told the Dusking Sun, "You have nond or people to even understand what I''m doing, piss off, I''ll be handling this my way."

    "ENOUGH!" the mboyant Sun spoke, "You''re causing strife in times of war, not only did you refuse to listen to the words of the Lording Sun, you even tried and attacked another Sun!"

    "She wasn''t going to die," the Cryptic Sun shrugged, "The rest though, I don''t really care. They''re in cahoots with the rakshasa for all I care, after all, they brought this thing and caused all of these issues¡­" his words didn''t continue as two other people slowly descended into the field.

    The Wisest Sun sighed as he looked at what was happening and simply figured everything out in an instant.

    The Lording Sun was on the other handpletely pissed.

    "So you think you''re better than everyone else?" the Lording Sun said.

    "Of course I am, I''m a sun, the only Sun to have made it to my seat in such a short time," he said.

    "Indeed, you reached the stage of a sun the shortest among us all, but did you ever think to yourself, why it took us longer than you did?" the Lording Sun said.

    The man shrugged not caring for the words of the old man. "It is because we forged the path to the Sun stage, while you only followed after us. We made the path easier while you only walked behind us. Even our youngest," he said addressing the Blue Sun, "She made her own path, taking her longer but still arrived to the stage of a sun by breaking open a path of her own.

    You on the other hand have no specific Dao, and only use formations to make up for your cultivation." The Lording Sun exined.

    "So? I''m still a sun!" he said as he tried to wrest away the two who held him firmly by the shoulders.

    "No, There have always been eight Suns in the Beyond. And you were never one of them," the Lording Sun said.

    This made the Cryptic Sun frown.

    "What is he talking about?" I asked as the Blue Sun next to me

    "I have no idea," the Blue Sun was also clueless.

    The Cryptic Sun''s nose curled up saying, "He forfeited his right as a sun and was fully removed from history!"

    "We are history, We remember," the Wisest Sun said, "And like what happened to the Death Sun, if you keep on acting out, it might happen to you too."

    "Are you threatening me?"

    "A clear and wide threat, back off from Shen Bao and hispanions or you''ll end up dead." The mboyant Sun was the one who spoke this time.

    "I was only clearing the hidden threats, don''te and start lecturing me on what is right or wrong," the Cryptic Sun said.

    The Red Sun''s brows scowled, "Seems like you really don''t want to know your ce. Then how about a Death Match?!"

 Chapter 799: Origin

    "Death Sun? Who is that? Or what is that?" I said.

    The Blue Sun was as confused as I was but said, "Perhaps someone that existed before me. The suns keep more secrets than one could ever hope to uncover, I''ll ask about thatter, but for now, I think we should calm down Tao Yang, she''s being affected by the demeanor of the people of the Beyond, and she can''t control her wrath," she said.

    That was obvious, for someone to have lived their entire lives in a utopic world, having to deal with ''lowly'' feelings like anger and wrath must be difficult.

    I approached Tao Yang and saw her fighting her own demons while her hand was shaking trying to send more waves of energy into the face of The Cryptic Sun, but since she was fighting her urges, I didn''t intervene.

    She noticed my approach and my reaction to her and soon calmed down. "Thank you," she said as she took a deep breath.

    "I didn''t do much," I replied.

    "You did enough, caring is enough," she said as she took another breath and exhaled slowly.

    The rest of the Suns were in a standstill, waiting for the next words of the Cryptic Sun.

    Theter had an ugly scowl on his face as he said, "You''ll have to deal with this shit yourself, I''m out, I''ll be protecting my territory how I see fit from now on."

    "Don''t you dare try and run away!" the Red Sun said roaring in rage.

    "Bloody One," the Lording Sun said, "There is no reason to get angry, if he thinks he can handle the invasion by himself then he is more than wee to do so. However, you''ll receive no assistance or aid from any of us in case anything happens to you, and you''re still under the agreement," the Lording Sun added.

    "Hah, this agreement of yours, you''re waving it as you see fit I see," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "It is to protect those who cannot protect themselves, be warned, you''re only allowed to act within yournd during times of war, you can withdraw your forces, and if any of them are discovered in other territories, then it will be considered and act of war. If you still consider yourself a Sun, then respect the agreement, if you don''t think of yourself as a Sun then step down."

    "Fine, don''te crying to me when shit hits the fan then," he said as he left the area.

    "Fool," the Wisest Sun said sighing.

    The Lording Sun shook his head in disappointment, "Young ones believe that having a bit of strength makes them kings of the world. Where they''re nothing but frogs in a deep well."

    The mboyant Sun then spoke, "Old Azure,"

    "Don''t call me that! I''m not that old yet," the Blue Sun said.

    "My apologies," the mboyant Sun said, "But, what are you all doing here? I thought you''d only moveter," he said.

    "Well, we moved earlier than schedule to avoid that asshole, but I guess he figured it out and came to be a pain in the ass," she said.

    "I see, regardless, it is very risky to modify and change this structure, we do not fully understand it yet, and it can spill the creatures inside it," he said.

    "There aren''t many left, we took care of about ny percent of them, and herded the rest to the central area, once we kill them off the bastion will be free," she said.

    "Are you nning on taking it to yournd?" the mboyant Sun asked.

    "No, I''ll take it to the Sea of Demons, it belongs to Shen Bao, and he promised me to study it," she said.

    "I see, would you require any assistance in moving it?" the mboyant Sun asked.

    "No need," the reply came from Tao Yang, "The Bastion is capable of flight, once we eliminate the rest of the Rakshasa, I''ll manually guide it to the Sea of Demons," she said.

    "Then good luck to you all," he said as he was about to leave, "Ah, I forgot to mention, the Dusking Sun had noticed something while he was away."

    "Open up, I''d like to visit the bastion," he said.

    I looked at Tao Yang and she nodded, after all the Dusking Sun was the only one who she had a direct contact with besides the Blue Sun.

    Tao Yang opened up a wide gate for the Dusking Sun where he immediately went inside. While the rest of the suns conveyed their apologies for the actions of the Cryptic Sun and retreated back to theirnds.

    It took the Dusking Sun less than ten seconds to arrive to our side, he was simply that fast.

    "This is a pretty big construction, now that I see it with my own eyes," he said as he arrived to our side.

    He looked left and right and noticed that all the reactors have been repaired and are in functional order.

    "Well, I guess you''re all done here," he said.

    "What was that about?" I asked.

    "What?" the Dusking Sun said.

    "What did the Lording Sun mean when he said, that there have always been Eight Suns and the Cryptic was never one of them," I asked.

    "Oh you heard that," the Dusking Sun said awkwardly.

    "I believe it was intentional for us to hear that, you guys are nning something aren''t you?" I asked.

    "I really don''t know what you''re talking about," he said.

    Bullshit.

    I kept my eyes locked onto the Dusking Sun until he caved in.

    "Sigh. It''s really not that fun of a story," he said.

    "For some reason I feel like I need to hear it," I said.

    Sighing, the Dusking Sun exined, "Well, each one of the Suns have a specific name, and the names aren''t just random but they mean something." He said.

    "The Lording Sun and the Cryptic Sun are the only exception," he said.

    "Exin how," asked.

    "The Lording Sun, or Lord of Lords, is the first Sun in the beyond and probably the oldest living being here yet. And when he reached the Sun Stage he was the first to give it a name and we all followed after it, he named each and every one of us." The Dusking Sun said.

 Chapter 800: Antagonist (Also YAAY 800!!!)

    "The Second Sun was the Wisest Sun, or the White Sun, which is the general color of a sun. Simple and wise, without any specific attributes. However, one shouldn''t underestimate a White Sun it is still mighty and ancient," he said.

    "He received the name of White Sun because he had earned it by studying Law, a schr of a white heart and pure mind."

    "I see,"

    "The mboyant Sun was the third, he received his title for the state of a Sun in its zenith, because like a lion he always gives his best. A powerful person he is, especially when he has a target he must eliminate, he grows stronger the more heated he gets, a really difficult person to handle when he has something in his mind."

    "The fourth was the Red Sun, as you know, he''s like a Giant Red Sun, his might knows no bounds, and is only limited by his own mind. He delved to the deepest parts of the Dao of ughter and earned his name by steel and blood. A mighty existence,"

    "The fifth was the Darkest Sun, he was someone who came from an ancient n of the Beyond, probably the second oldest n after the Lording Sun''s n, and is a depiction of the darkness of the night. Though a Sun does not appear at night, it does not mean it will not show up again."

    "I''m the sixth Sun, and as you can guess, my namees from the Sun when it goes into its dusk since I only achieved the Sun Stage at the final day of my life earning me a bit more lifespan." He said smiling and trying his best to say as little about himself as possible.

    I guess he also has something to hide but I''m not going to pry.

    "The Seventh was the Dead Sun,"

    "The Dead Sun?" I asked.

    "Yes, we''ll leave that guy forst, the Eight however was the Cryptic Sun, but that only happened after the Dead Sun had been removed. The Cryptic Sun wasn''t a man of his own Dao, and it was a name given to him by the Lording Sun since he had no path of his own, he cultivated without an idea in mind and followed after each of the suns.

    He studied the dao of swords and battle to mimic the red sun, but neverpleted it, and then switched to studying the art of Law from the Wisest Sun and then continued on, he even tried to learn my art of beast control but failed short. He continued piling knowledge from all over the Beyond, a jack of all trades but master of none," the Dusking Sun said.

    "The full quote is a jack of all trades, is a mas a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one," I replied.

    "Indeed, but not in this case, after all, you beat him in the art of Inscriptions where he thought he was the strongest," the Dusking Sun said.

    "I guess that''s why he''s pissed at me," I said.

    "Oh he''s more than pissed, because you took away the only thing that he prided himself in, and now he isn''t even recognized for, you''re a threat to his position he believes, and wants to eliminate you as fast as possible," the Dusking Sun said.

    "Thiszy ass, instead of learning and improving himself he''d rather eliminate those who are better than him," I shook my head.

    "Thest Sun is right next to you, and she can tell you about herself more than I can, also her name was because of her extreme strength and power, she''s the only one who explored almost all that is currently known about the Dao of Body, and is able to exert immense might even though her arms look like a fraildy''s," the Dusking Sun said.

    "I see, so what about this Dead Sun?" I asked.

    "Well, he''s an issue," the Dusking Sun said, finding words difficult to say to exin the situation.

    "Basically, he delved into forbidden arts, but since we in the beyond only respect strength, no one dared oppose his ideology of researching the Dao of Death. The only issue was the aftermath of his research often resulted in millions of deaths, which became an issue.

    We spoke to him about it several times, even more sternly than we currently do to the Cryptic Sun, but he was always someone with a skewed moralpass, his research came first above all else, even his own body¡­"

    "The Lording Sun named him the Dead Sun for his sess in achieving a quasi-immortal state and reaching the Sun Stage by cheating death itself. However, his insanity knew no bounds as he tried to go beyond his physical limits," the Dusking Sun said.

    He was feeling a bit remorseful from what I could see, "He was a friend?"

    "He was, before he wentpletely bat-shit insane, that was, damn Shi Situ, if only he didn''t ruin the entire region he ruled over, he could have still been one of us,"

    My brows furled up. "You said, Shi Situ?" I asked.

    "Yes, why it''s not like you know him, he''s been dead¡­ well I guess dead, for a bit more than twenty thousand years, even before the Thunder Domain came to be."

    "Oh¡­ I see," I said having a bit of a worried expression on my face.

    "What''s with the long face?"

    "It''s just that his name is very familiar, I used to have a pesky guy who almost killed me several times back in the Vast Expanse, he also carried the same name. It''s probably just a coincidence," I said.

    "Oh, yeah, it must be after all that name although not umon, he can''t be in the Vast Expanse, he''s a sun, his mere presence would have broken it apart."

    "Yeah, it''s probably just the name, coincidences do happen, especially since the Shi Situ I know also uses the Dao of Death," I said.

    This made the Dusking Sun''s head immediately snap to me, "You said what?"

    "Like I said, the Shi Situ I know also used the Dao of Death."

    I could see sweat manifesting on the Dusking Sun''s head. Something was wrong, and it probably had to do with the Shi Situ I killed¡­ twice¡­ well a bit more than just two times actually¡­

    No¡­

    Nah, there is no way¡­

    ¡­

    "Fuck."

 Chapter 801: Deal with Death

    "You look extremely confused," the Blue Sun remarked, a knowing smirk ying on her lips, her eyes glinting with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

    "That''s because if they''re the same person, then I''m really in deep trouble," I confessed, my mind racing with the implications. "Even against the Cryptic Sun, I always maintained a careful bnce in our interactions. But the Death Sun, if he is Shi Situ, then it''s a death grudge between us¡­ fuck," I cursed inwardly, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me.

    It wasn''t fear, for no real cultivator should ever bow down to power. It was the realization that my life would be a living nightmare if he recognized me and decided to act on old grudges.

    "The chances of them being the same person are abysmally small. It could be just a coincidence, someone with the same name. Don''t worry about it," the Dusking Sun reassured, though I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. His attempt tofort was sincere, but it did little to ease my growing anxiety.

    I sighed deeply, feeling the tension in my shoulders. There was no point in worrying about the uncertainties of the future.

    "Regardless," I said, trying to refocus my thoughts on the immediate problem, "What''s the n now?" I directed my question towards Tao Yang, hoping for a clear strategy.

    "The bastion suffered minor damage, but it can repair itself in a few hours. The issue remains that there are some Rakshasa in the central area of the bastion. Once they''re dealt with, we can safely move the entire structure to the Sea of Demons," she exined with a determined expression, her eyes reflecting her resolve.

    "Let me handle that," the Dusking Sun volunteered, his voice steady and confident. "Open a straight path to the central area of the bastion, and I''ll take care of the rest."

    Tao Yang nodded, manipting the controls with practiced ease to create a direct passage through the ceiling of the Bastion leading upward. The mechanism hummed softly as it obeyed hermand.

    The Dusking Sun flew up and disappeared from sight. Momentster, the entire bastion began to vibrate subtly, a faint tremor that hinted at the immense power being unleashed.

    Tao Yang''s eyes widened as she watched the projection in front of her. "What''s going on?" I asked, sensing her shock and curiosity.

    "The dots, the red dots that mark the Rakshasa, they''re disappearing rapidly¡­ this is¡­ absurdly fast," she said, her voice tinged with amazement and disbelief.

    "That''s the power of a Sun," the Blue Sunmented, smiling smugly. It was a reminder that she, too, possessed such power and had merely been toying with us earlier. Her confidence was almost palpable, a silent testament to her strength.

    I gave her a sour look, to which she replied, "Don''t worry. Everyone here agrees that you gave us the best show. I''ll reward you ordingly once we''re done with everything here."

    After about ten minutes, the Dusking Sun returned, a wide smile on his face. "I haven''t had such a good stretch in a long while," he said, his voice filled with satisfaction. Only the tips of his fingers were stained with blood, while the rest of his body remained impably clean, without a single droplet of blue blood anywhere.

    "Since they''re all dead, let''s move," Tao Yang said as she used the Bastion''s controls to initiate movement. The entire structure shuddered as it levitated off the ground, slowly gaining speed as it headed east. The sensation of motion was almost hypnotic, the gentle hum of the machinery blending with the distant sounds of the world outside.

    As we were moving, the Dusking Sun spoke up, "Oh yeah, I forgot something," he said, his tone suddenly serious, breaking the calm atmosphere.

    Turning to him, my expression was one of questioning curiosity.

    "Well, I went out to scout and found that the Rakshasa are gathering a few million miles away from us. They''re amassing their forces, the ones that haven''t had a chance to join the first attack. They''ll being at us once their numbers are sufficient, so we don''t have much time."

    I nodded, anticipating this. The real concern was that my territory would be a primary target without a Sun''s protection. I expected some assistance from the Suns if the pressure became too much, but I knew I''d need to pull my own weight. The reality of the situation weighed heavily on my mind.

    The Puppets were still being produced, creating more workforce, but I was clearly outnumbered. I needed to develop something more potent to handle the masses of enemies¡ªa more powerful poison that could spread widely and affect as many Rakshasa as possible. Since I still had some Rakshasa corpses, I would be doing a lot of testing. The thought of the work ahead was both daunting and exhrating.

    "You look a bit overwhelmed," Tao Yang said, her voice gentle, eyes filled with concern.

    "Well, I am. The uing trials are going to be difficult," I admitted, feeling the weight of the impending challenges pressing down on me.

    "I''ll do my best to help. Although I don''t have the status of a Sun, I''m close to it. Once my Soul finalizes its fusion, I''ll be able to regain a portion of my former power. It should be enough to stop the enemies, if not scare them away," sheforted, her words a balm to my troubled mind.

    "Thank you. Hopefully, you''ll recover in time," I said, then looked inward. Shen Mo was very weak, incredibly so, while Shen Bao was not up to par. I needed to cultivate. And since the enemy had yet to attack, it was time to go into secluded cultivation. The urgency of the situation called for immediate action.

    It had been a while since Ist went into full seclusion, and now was the time for it. I steeled myself for the task ahead, knowing it was the only way to prepare for what wasing.

    ***

    Somewhere beyond, high up in the skies where the Cryptic Sun was moving at full speed, his face etched with annoyance as he retreated to his territory, three figures appeared before him. Their sudden appearance was both unexpected and unwee.

    He halted, one brow arching upward. "Are you nning on doing something foolish?" he questioned, his voice carrying a dangerous edge, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation.

    "No, your greatness. We''re mere ves ordered to ask you to escort us. Our lord wishes to speak with you," the only female among them spoke up, her voice trembling slightly, the fear evident in her eyes.

    The Cryptic Sun wasn''t in the mood for this. "I''ll only forgive this once. Leave or suffer my wrath! Who do you think you are to dare stand in my way?" His threat was tant, and the three figures visibly hesitated, unsure of what to do.

    "You shouldn''t be too harsh on the younger generation, Junfei," a voice echoed in the Cryptic Sun''s mind, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. The voice was familiar, yet unexpected.

    "Who is this?" he demanded, raising several protective formations around him, his senses heightened, ready for any threat.

    "I mean you no harm, Junfei," the voice continued, a note of calm in its tone.

    "How do you know that name? I discarded it a long time ago," he snapped, his anger barely contained, the name bringing back unwanted memories.

    "What a sad thing to say to the very man who gave you that name¡­ Junfei," the voice replied, a hint of mncholy in its tone, a reminder of past connections.

    The Cryptic Sun''s face turned sour as he began to understand. "You should be dead," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief, the reality of the situation sinking in.

    "I should be," the voice acknowledged, the calm eptance in its tone unsettling.

    "If they know you''re still alive, they''ll flip the heavens and earth looking for you," the Cryptic Sun warned, the implications of this revtion enormous.

    "I know," the voice replied calmly, the inevitability of the situation clear.

    "Then what makes you think I won''t simply tell on you, old man?" the Cryptic Sun challenged, his mind racing with the potential consequences, the desire for leverage evident.

    "Because you''re not someone like that. I know you, Junfei, and I know you''ve been wronged just now¡­" the voice soothed, the familiarity of the words striking a chord.

    "They wouldn''t dare! It was because I weighed my options, and it was less troublesome to fight the Red Sun," he said defensively, the justification for his actions spilling out.

    "Junfei,e meet me. It strains me to speak over such a distance, especially while keeping my presence hidden," the voice urged, the strain in its tone bing apparent.

    The Cryptic Sun was about to ignore the plea when the voice added, "I can make you a true Sun, the same as I was before. No one would ever question your ability or your might again."

    "You cannot give what you don''t have, Death Sun," the Cryptic Sun retorted, skepticism in his voice.

    "That is what you are led to believe. If I were truly not a Sun, why would I be followed by Heaven Stage cultivators?" the voice asked, a challenge in its tone.

    The Cryptic Sun nced at the three figures again, noticing that two were on the verge of reaching the Heaven Stage, while one was already there. Only a Sun Stage cultivator couldmand Heaven Stage ves, and here were three almost at that level.

    He weighed his options carefully. He had enough formations to cause significant destruction if needed and could call for help from the other Suns. Despite their feuds, the other Suns wouldn''t abandon him for someone who nearly destroyed the Beyond.

    "Fine, lead the way," the Cryptic Sun said. "Let''s see where this leads us."

 Chapter 802: Plans

    The Cryptic Sun was led all the way to a decrypt temple where the three ves waited outside and gestured for him to walk inside.

    He scanned the area several times before he walked in, making sure that nothing skips his sight, however, the moment his footnded on a specific tile, his vision suddenly shuddered and he recognized he was teleported to a different ce.

    His attention went up to an all-time high as he was no longer in familiar territory, however, the deadly calm voice of the Death Sun came like a soothing whisper to his ears.

    "Do not worry, this is a teleportation gate that leads directly to where I am, it can only be used twice. And you may use it to leave after," he said.

    Looking around, the Cryptic Sun didn''t see the Death Sun anywhere, nor did he recognize where he was. As the ce, he was in looked like the inside of a gigantic pce made of bones and skulls of dead cultivators.

    He walked forward trying to reach the source of the voice from earlier. As he was inside a massive long hall he had nowhere to go but forward since the door behind him was shut down, not that he couldn''t break it down, but he had no intentions of being a difficult guest when the host had yet to show any vile tendencies.

    The Cryptic Sun walked forward, taking everything around him and looking at the energy of death covering the entire area. There was nothing here that lived, and seemingly quite fitting for the Death Sun''s abode.

    Soon, he arrived to the end of the hall where there was a circr door that opened by rotating to the right, revealing an even longer pathway forward that would make anyone''s hair rise.

    Hundreds of thousands of Walkers were standing their backs against the walls, in rows one above the other all the way to a very far ceiling.

    These walkers looked like an endless stream of cultivators that had been killed or died to the curse of the Death Sun. And he saved their bodies here that''s for sure.

    The Cryptic Sun continued moving forward until something changed, the Walkers were no more, and instead of them were Rakshasas. They were held against the walls too, standing there dead, untilmanded otherwise.

    All types of Rakshasas actually, from white to ck, to silver and Brutes. They were all pinned to the walls, without eyes, suffering from the same curse as the normal walkers. And even worse, Nobles of these same breeds, were pinned against the walls, and some of them were still breathing.

    The Cryptic Sun didn''t speak a word until the Death Sun broke the sound of silence.

    "What do you think?" he said calmly through Divine Sense.

    "I need to understand what I''m looking at first to speak my mind," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "As collected as I remember, Junfei, then let me exin," he said and suddenly the Cryptic Sun felt a light hand touch his shoulder.

    Turning, he saw a man, or what should have been standing next to him.

    It was in fact no different than a corpse, where the flesh hadpletely disappeared, and changed to a thin brittle gray skin right on top of bone.

    The man next to him had no flesh to call his own and was nothing but skin on bones, yet his eyes were still bright, the same color as the lost eyes of the Walkers.

    "These, are my creations," he said as he made a gesture with his fingers, the mere contact between the fingers made a sonorous echo that allowed the entire army of walkers to screech in one single voice.

    The power of that screech would undoubtedly cause a void stage cultivator to fall unconscious. It was soul ravaging and prating and that was merely a scream.

    "What''s your n?" the Cryptic Sun said.

    "I need to show you something first," the Death Sun said as he moved forward, hinting for the Cryptic Sun to follow after him.

    The two walked forward in silence until they arrived at another circr door, here, the Death Sun didn''t even have to say a word before the Cryptic Sun''s eyes glued themselves to the door.

    He rushed forward, cing his hands on the jewels on the door, and looking all over it, shooting tens of thousands of minuscule rays of Divine Sense from his mind into the door, trying to scan and understand what it meant and if truly was what he believed it was from the first look.

    After what felt like an eternity, the Cryptic Sun backed away and looked at the Death Sun with awe in his eyes, "Where did you find this?"

    "It has been here for a long time," the Death Sun said.

    "I see¡­ this¡­ this changes everything," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "I can see that," the Death Sun said. "But I don''t have the required energy to do this," the Death Sun said.

    "It''s pretty rigid in terms of required energy, at least eight, no seven Suns without some modification," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Seven?" the Death Sun asked, "I believed I needed nine," he said.

    "Is that why you''re gathering these corpses?" the Cryptic Sun wanted to pull some information.

    Thetter noticed but smiled, "Something like that, but they''re too weak, I would need their Spawn Mother, they might be the strongest, but it isn''t enough," the Death Sun said.

    "I can modify it to need only three Suns, it''ll take some effort," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Are you certain?" the Death Sun asked some hope returning to his eyes.

    "Yes, with some time I can modify the energy structure of these formations, they waste too much, and we can then use the power of three suns to power it up."

    "If it is just three Suns, then this makes things far easier," the Death Sun said.

    "How so? Who do you think you can force into this? They''ll try and eliminate you the moment your existence is known, not to mention that they''ll not willingly help you, and if they find this out, they''ll make sure that it bes theirs," the Cryptic Sun said.

    He then looked at the Death Sun with a vile look, "No to mention, this requires the life energy of a Sun, meaning that they need to die. You''re not thinking something foolish are you?"

    "Junfei, you grew too cautious and too paranoid, if I had wanted to harm you I wouldn''t have aided you in reaching your current stage would I now?"

    The Death Sun was making a good point.

    "Then who do you have in mind?" The Cryptic Sun asked.

    "Since you can make it use only three Suns, then I''ll be focusing on capturing the youngest," the Death Sun said. "She is the one with the least experience of the bunch,"

    "That brute of a woman? You''d probably have a better chance at capturing the Blood Sun," the Cryptic Sun snorted.

    "Young Junfei, you underestimate the heart of a woman too much, fear not, for I can easily capture her and the alien woman, they care too much for one with little value," the Death Sun said.

    "Ah, I guess you''ll grab Shen Bao first, if you do, hand him over to me, my hands are tide when ites to that prick."

    "Worry not, I already had one of my ves hunt him down, when the timees the n wille to fruition."

    "About the Alien woman, we don''t know what she''s capable of, but she can control that gigantic structure, I also want that¡­ but that''ll make me too greedy."

    "I treated you as my son before," the Death Sun said as he caressed the cheek of the Cryptic Sun, although he felt disgusted he made sure not to show it, "Nothing you ask for is too much. So if you want the Bastion, it shall be yours," the Death Sun added.

    "As for the alien woman, her soul is unstable, we need to first help her stabilize it, to and I have an idea on how to do so. And after she does, we can easily capture her when she is weakened and use her life force as the second battery."

    "Then what about the third sun?" the Cryptic Sun asked.

    "That''s where things be difficult," the Death Sun said as he looked up as if mncholic but at the same time resolute. "I had the thought of either using the Spawn Mother of the Rakshasa if she qualifies to the level of a Sun, otherwise I''ll have to use the life of a good old friend of mine."

    "The Fading Dusk?"

    "Yes, he is the only one who I can converse with before swords get drawn, he might have an ear for an old friend. Who knows, he might even join us," the Death Sun said.

    "I really don''t think that''s possible, that man is acting like a child and is doing whatever Shen Bao is asking him of," the Cryptic Sun added.

    "That is because Shen Bao is a breath of fresh air in the life of a man who is overly bored, what would happen if you present the bored man with an entire new world that can exist behind this gate. He wouldn''t care about a small fry Like Shen Bao since there are more important and more things to see."

    "You know him too well I guess," the Cryptic Sun said.

    "Why wouldn''t I, he is technically my brother."

 Chapter 803: Jealousy

    Somewhere at the rim of the Wisest Sun''s sect, right at one of his main sect entrances two women were facing off against two others.

    "Let us go!" A woman in blue demanded as she tried to go past the other couple of female cultivators wearing pure white robes.

    The first of the two snorted as she looked at her and said, "You aren''t leaving the sect. Not only do you not know the way to the Sea of Demons, you''ll die ten times on the way, I don''t want to deal with your bullshit."

    "We were given the permission to leave," the second woman in red spoke up as she showed the ones stopping them a jade. "And you''re not even guards, you''re just disciples, so why are you stopping us?"

    The two cultivators from the Wisest Sun sect didn''t reply, no, one of them grabbed the jade from the woman in red''s hands and crushed it. "Now you don''t have a permission, go back inside. You''re not leaving."

    This was a clear disregard for the two women''s dignity. Not only that the two wearing white beganughing, "You really think you can just leave and meet with him, over my dead body," one of the woman wearing white said, "After all the two of you aren''t even worthy of the Humble Dragon, you just made up lies and the sect hosted you only because the Vast Expanse belongs to our sect master.

    You are nothing but ves, while the Humble Dragon is a ruler, go dream about your little romance somewhere else, you''ll never leave the sect."

    The two women, wearing blue and red were YuYu and Liang Yu respectively. They were confused about who this Humble Dragon was, as they didn''t know what these two were talking about, and seeing them being held against their will here while they had a clear clearance to leave the sect was nothing short of disrespectful.

    The issue was, that the two ''guarding'' the exit to the sect were at the Void Stage, while both Liang Yu and YuYu were only at the Emperor Stage, they weren''t a match for one of them not to mention two.

    Liang Yu''s personality was hot and impulsive, while YuYu was colder and more collected, but right now, the two of them as if their personalities had switched.

    Liang Yu spoke through Divine Sense, "Let''s head back and get someone of a higher status to allow us to exit,"

    "I''m not going anywhere but outside," YuYu spoke using her voice, "Even if these two whores are trying to stop me."

    The two at the door were looking and waiting for this, they wanted a reason to cause strife with the two women and now YuYu had given them that by insulting them.

    They immediately jumped at her, who hastily raised her Qi to create an ice protective barrier.

    Liang Yu didn''t hesitate in joining as she called for hundreds of butterflies to manifest and shoot forward hoping to stall the two Void Stage. But thetter easily swatted the ming butterflies away and broke the ice barrier for YuYu, one of the two grabbed YuYu by the neck and was about to snap her neck in two, only for her sight to go ck almost immediately.

    YuYu used all the strength in her feet to back off while the woman in white screamed as she had lost her sight.

    Her friend immediately rushed to YuYu and managed tond a clear p to her face, causing her to m against the ground and tumble several times across the ground only to be stopped by a nearby small house''s wall.

    It didn''t take long for themotion to reach the ears of the rest of the cultivators who came to watch and see what was going on.

    Two elders hastily arrived to see what was causing problems, after all, in the sect of the Wisest Sun, it was rare to even see a fight inside it since everyone was sensible. But seeing a girl screaming by herself for having lost her sight, and another with a bruised cheek that would make anyone wince from just the look of it.

    YuYu stood up from the rubble, dazed and barely collected, staggered and desperately trying to focus, the impact was rough and powerful enough that it caused her a severe concussion.

    Liang Yu arrived to her side to help her stand up, while the two other cultivators were enraged at the reaction of the ''younger'' cultivators and theirck of respect.

    "What is going on here?" one of the two elders that just arrived asked.

    "They attacked us," the white wearing girls spoke at the same time, "They robbed my sister of her sight, look," one of them said as she pointed at her friend''s eyes that turnedpletely white.

    The elder took a look at the two younger generation girls, just having stepped into the Emperor Stage and recognized them.

    These were people to not mess with, they''re people that the Wisest Sun himself brought to the sect and asked all the elders to take care of them and all their needs, while these two disciples even if they acted in self defense they went too far.

    "What is the reason for them to attack you?" the elder asked as he took note of everything in the area.

    "W-we don''t know, they just did, we were only asking them why they wanted to run away from the sect and they jumped us."

    "Whatck of shame," the Elder said, "Two Void Stage losing to two Emperor Stage, you really are the shame of the Wisest Sect, not only were you unable to stop them via your strength you even took a severe injury," the Elder Spoke.

    He then turned to YuYu and Liang Yu, "And what is your side of the story?" the elder asked.

    This was a first for both YuYu and Liang Yu because it shouldn''t be like this, the elders usually would only listen to the disciples of their sect and ignore the pleas or truths from the wronged party, and this even made both the girls wear white panic.

    "Don''t listen to them elder, they''ll speak nothing but lies!"

    "QUIET!" the Elder shouted with enough force that both the girls in white were forced to their knees. After all, elders of the great sects are all at the Origin Stage or higher.

    YuYu was still too dazed to speak, but Liang Yu was not, "We were given permission to use to the Blue Sun''s gate, and head to the Ant''s nest where we''ll travel all the way to meet up with Shen Bao."

    "Shen Bao¡­ Du Shen, I would suppose?"

    "Yes" YuYu Said

    "What is your rtionship with him?" The Elder asked.

    "He is my husband." YuYu boldly imed.

    The two women looked at her and one of themughed. "What a bunch of crap, elder surely you won''t believe their lies?"

    The Elder Gave them a stern look and said, "I don''t need your opinion to figure out who is right and who is wrong I have my own eyes that can see. Not to mention look under your feet the remains of the Jade given to them by the Grand Elder is still there making their story true and yours false."

    The two girls couldn''te up with an excuse so they remained silent.

    "And bullying the younger generation, for what exactly? To prove what?" the Elder added. "The punishment hall elder is waiting for you, report exactly what happened here I''lle after you to verify the words you speak to him. As for the two of you the elder said as he looked at both YuYu and Liang Yu.

    "The Elder had given you a pass to head to the Sea Of Demons, but did you know that it is a danger zone right now?

    "We know," Liang Yu said. "But we have to go, it may not be long for you here to have seen and met Shen Bao, but for us, it has been hundreds of years."

    The elder sighed, he couldn''t do much about the feelings of a woman in love.

    "Then at least allow a few disciples to apany you, it is a dangerousnd you''ll be walking to," he said.

    The two looked at each other and immediately said, "We would rather face uncertainty and difficulties by ourselves."

    "Good mindset," the Elder Said "A cultivator needs to face some trials. Still, here, these are two escape talismans they would give you the speed of an Origin Shattering Cultivator, it should allow you to escape any danger you may face at least once."

    The two girls looked at each other and they thanked the elder with a light nod.

    "I don''t need to say anything do I?" the elder said via divine sense.

    YuYu immediately picked up on his words and replied "I''ll tell Shen Bao of your assistance the only issue is I doubt his rage will be snuffed with just this," she said.

    "I''ll see that the Wisest Sun hears of this he''ll assist in calming him down no matter what it takes." The Elder said.

    The two gave another nod and headed out of the sect direction, the Sea of Demons.

 Chapter 804: Respite

    Amidst all the chaos and turmoil that surrounded him, Shen Bao had been diligently cultivating, his mind focused on the immense task ahead. The looming threat of the Rakshasa hung like a dark cloud over him, constantly reminding him of the fragility of his stability.

    Gaining enough strength to both protect and preserve his territory had be his primary goal, a goal that felt increasingly urgent with each passing day. With his rtively low cultivation base, Shen Bao knew he was bound to hit a wall if he ever faced a truly powerful opponent. The thought of being unprepared gnawed at him, pushing him to train harder, to push his limits further.

    He understood all too well that his enemies weren''t just the Rakshasa themselves, but also the dangers that coulde from other cultivators¡ªespecially the Cryptic Sun. The Cryptic Sun had been a thorn in Shen Bao''s side from the very first time they had met. A man with a jealous heart, the Cryptic Sun couldn''t stand to see others surpass him, and he would go to any lengths to stop those who tried.

    This made him a dangerous and unpredictable adversary, one who could not be underestimated.

    Shen Bao, however, was a genius in his own right. Not necessarily a cultivation genius, although his progress was far faster than any of his peers due to his unique cultivation technique. But his true geniusy in his analytical mind and deep understanding of the world around him. He was a master at weighing his options before making any decisions, careful but prideful.

    Shen Bao would allow someone to cross him if he knew he couldn''t handle them at the moment, but he would never forget nor forgive. His revenge was cold and calcted, and it knew no limits once he was crossed. Thisbination of patience and ruthlessness made him a formidable figure in the Beyond.

    The mind of Shen Bao was aplex fusion of two distinct personalities. There was the calm, collected, and thoughtful side of Shen Bao¡ªthe man who had transmigrated from another world. And then there was the ruthless killer, Du Shen, the originator of the special cultivation manual known as the Poison God''s Heritage.

    These two personalitiesplemented each other, creating the man who was now making waves throughout the Beyond, a man feared and respected in equal measure.

    At this moment, however, this powerful man had no idea what had just befallen two of his closest allies, YuYu and Liang Yu, who were currently heading to the Sea of Demons. Shen Bao was deep in cultivation within the territory of the Blue Sun,pletely unaware of the events unfolding elsewhere.

    The problem that had always gued him¡ªthe inability to harness and feel the heavenly Qi¡ªhad finally been solved. Thanks to the Primordial Serpent God bing one with him, they could now benefit from each other''s unique prowess.

    Shen Bao''s uniqueness in harnessing Qi from all sorts of heavenly poisons and the natural ability of the Primordial Serpent God to draw in the heavenly Qi had created a synergy that was unprecedented.

    The two of them were now cultivating as one, their energies intertwining and amplifying each other''s power. Shen Bao consumed the pills he had painstakingly crafted over thest few days, while the Primordial Serpent God greedily gobbled up the natural Saint Qi that filled the atmosphere around them.

    They were high above a great mountain, secluded and unbothered, surrounded by the serene beauty of nature that contrasted sharply with the chaos below.

    But Shen Bao knew that this wasn''t enough. He was well aware that his avatar, Shen Mo, needed to ascend in cultivation as well. He had been so preupied with the endless crises and battles that he had neglected Shen Mo''s growth for far too long. Shen Mo was a demonic type cultivator, one who controlled demonic Qi, unlike Shen Bao''s specialized Poison Qi.

    In many ways, Shen Mo was an essential part of his power, and Shen Bao realized that if both he and Shen Mo had been at the same cultivation level, the fight against the Noble ck in the Bastion a few days ago would have ended very differently.

    Shen Mo''s body was more attuned to demonic energy, giving him a far greater output of physical prowess. If Shen Mo had been fully developed, he would have easily dismantled the Noble ck, turning the tide of the battle. This realization pushed Shen Bao to further focus on and invest in Shen Mo, who was bing weaker inparison to the Dark Soul he usually hosted.

    The imbnce needed to be corrected, and Shen Bao was determined to do so.

    Meanwhile, the Sea of Demons was undergoing a dramatic transformation. The relentless rain showed no signs of stopping, and the once barrenndscape was being swallowed by water. Rivers andkes began to manifest where there had once been drynd, and several hills were washed away, submerged beneath the rising tide.

    The Sea of Demons had truly be a sea, its water level rising to cover what had once been a desert, transforming it into a vast, endless expanse of water.

    The entire area''s topography had changed dramatically, making travel increasingly difficult without the proper vessels. The sea water, still infused with a dangerous power, was capable of sealing a cultivator''s Qi, even if only for a moment. This made it treacherous for anyone who tried to cross it without the right precautions.

    Shen Bao had anticipated this and ensured that his cities were perfectly protected from the effects of this treacherous sea water. Even his puppets had been equipped with several protective charms and inscriptions to offset the water''s ability to tamper with their internal Qi circuits. But Shen Bao didn''t stop there.

    He had also begun constructing several vessels capable of floating atop the water¡ªtransport ships and battleships, all manned by his tireless puppets.

    These transport ships quickly became the primary method of moving between the eight cities, as no other normal ship could survive the treacherous waters of the Sea of Demons without having its Qi circuits fried and destroyed. Shen Bao''s ships, however, were specifically designed to withstand the sea''s unique challenges, and they became one of his primary sources of ie.

    These vessels could harbor more than a thousand cultivators at a time, transporting them safely and efficiently across the vast sea.

    Some cultivators, too proud or too stubborn to use the ships, had tried to fly through the rain. They met terrible ends, drowning as their Qi was stripped away by the cursed water, their bodies falling lifelessly into the depths. The danger posed by the Sea of Demons was undeniable, and eventually, everyone agreed to use Shen Bao''s ships, recognizing the necessity of his services.

    Ironically, the problem of the endless rain became a source of protection for the dwellers of the Sea of Demons. The dreaded Walkers, undead creatures that terrorized thend, could not swim. Without Qi or breath, they found it incredibly difficult to move against the currents of the sea, providing a rare respite for the people of the Beyond.

    For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the inhabitants of the Sea of Demons experienced an Endless Night where they could sleep soundly, without the fear of Walkers scaling the walls to ughter their loved ones.

    Shen Bao had managed to turn a seemingly insurmountable problem into an opportunity, transforming the Sea of Demons into a stronghold of rtive safety. With this newfound security, he focused all his energy on increasing production. More puppets, more weapons, all to protect and defend his territory. The production levels skyrocketed, increasing a hundredfold.

    The rapid pace was exhausting, and keeping up with the material demands became a constant challenge, but Shen Bao knew it was necessary. He couldn''t afford to slow down, not with the threats that loomed on the horizon.

    Several days passed in this frantic state of preparation before YuYu and Liang Yu finally arrived at the Sea of Demons, apanied by the imposing Ant Queen. Because the Red Sun''s territory had dealings with Shen Bao, there was a ship already prepared to transport the Ant Queen to the main city of the Sea of Demons.

    The three of them boarded the vessel and set off across the high sea waves, the darkness of the night swallowing them as they journeyed through the newly formed sea.

    The night was pitch ck, the sky devoid of stars. The Beyond was a strange ce, seemingly existing outside the scope of gxies, in what Shen Bao had theorized to be a stable void rift. It was a theory that had upied his thoughts for some time, though he had yet to find any evidence to support it. The very nature of the world around him was baffling. How could a world be t?

    How did it manage to exist outside a gctic ensemble, and how did it have its own sun?

    He had scoured the library of the Lord of Lords, seeking answers, but even the most ancient texts offered no proper exnation. The Wisest Sun had made contact with the Vast Expanse, but even then, the Wisest Sun was the one who had created the Vast Expanse in the first ce. So, who or what had created the Beyond?

    The question lingered in Shen Bao''s mind, a puzzle that refused to be solved, a mystery that perhaps would never be unraveled.

    While all of this was happening, one of the ves of the Death Sun had managed to board one of Shen Bao''s ships. She had been tasked with gathering more information on the man who took over the sea of demons in one day. And she was determined to get recognition from her master, regardless of the cost.

 Chapter 805: Arrival

    The trip through the Sea of Demons was far from a leisurely journey; in fact, it was anything but fun and games. For cultivators at the Emperor Stage, simply being present in the Sea of Demons was enough to have nearly all their energy drained, leaving them vulnerable and weakened.

    This was painfully evident in the pale faces of both YuYu and Liang Yu as they boarded the ship, their usually vibrantplexions now ghostly and drawn, reflecting the toll this treacherous sea was taking on them.

    The two women wore expressions of deep difort, their brows furrowed, and their eyes betraying a sense of unease. The Ant Queen, however, merely frowned, her reaction much more subdued, almost indifferent to the harsh conditions.

    "What''s the matter?" Liang Yu snapped, her voice tinged with irritation as she scowled at the Ant Queen, who had been watching them closely.

    "Nothing," the Ant Queen replied, her tone dripping with casual disdain. "I just never thought that Shen Bao''s wives would be so¡­ weak," she added with a teasing smirk, her words deliberately provocative.

    "We''re not weak," YuYu retorted, a hint of defensiveness in her voice. "Something is wrong with this sea. It feels¡­ off, like it''s sapping our strength," she exined, trying to pinpoint the strange sensation that had been guing them since they entered the sea.

    "Oh, you must not know," the Ant Queen said, her expression softening into one of mild amusement. "This wasn''t a sea a few weeks ago. It only started raining recently, transforming thendscape entirely. Also, it''s the water spray that''s making you so exhausted.

    The whole sea has a unique ability¡ªit can seal a cultivator''s inner Qi," she exined, her voice carrying a note of authority as she shared her knowledge.

    "Then why aren''t you affected?" Liang Yu asked, her tone sharp with suspicion as she eyed the Ant Queen, noting the contrast between her own weakened state and the Ant Queen''s rtive calm.

    "Because I''m stronger than you," the Ant Queen replied with a grin, her teeth shing in a predatory smile. "The Sea of Demons'' water does affect me, but my cultivation is high enough that I can disregard a portion of the difort. You two, on the other hand, are still at the Emperor Stage¡ªquite powerful in the Vast Expanse, but merely at the starting point here in the Beyond.

    So, you''ll have to endure this until your cultivation grows," she said, her tone carrying a mix of condescension and practicality.

    "This sea water is strange," Liang Yu mused, her brow furrowing as she considered the implications. "I wonder if no one ever tried using it as a weapon. If it can seal a portion of one''s Qi, then throwing a bucket of this stuff at an enemy could render them helpless," she spected, her mind already working through potential strategies.

    "It has been tried before, but it''s ineffective," the Ant Queen responded, her voice tinged with mild exasperation. "The water''s ability to seal Qi is linked to its current location within the Sea of Demons. The moment you remove it from this environment, it bespletely inert¡ªjust ordinary salted water," she rified, crushing Liang Yu''s theory with a matter-of-fact exnation.

    "I see¡­," Liang Yu murmured, her disappointment evident in her tone. She shifted her focus, squinting into the distance. "How long until we reach the cities?" she asked, eager to escape the oppressive environment of the sea.

    "It should be soon," the Ant Queen replied, her gaze following Liang Yu''s. "Do you see those lights?" she pointed toward the horizon, where several glowing orbs pierced the darkness, floating just above the water''s surface.

    In the distance, the lights became more distinct, revealing themselves as part of the grand central city they were heading toward. The city, built atop a massive standing tform, was a beacon of light in the otherwise dark and foreboding sea. From outside, it looked nothing short of spectacr, a dazzling contrast to the ominous waters surrounding it.

    The city''s lights reflected off the water, creating an almost surreal image, as if the city were floating in the void between worlds.

    The ship moved steadily closer, and soon they were near enough to dock. The process was managed efficiently by the puppets, who controlled everything from the ships to the port and every vessel entering and exiting the city. There was no wasted effort, no hesitation¡ªevery movement was calcted and precise.

    The puppets operated like a well-oiled machine, their tireless nature ensuring that everything ran smoothly, a testament to Shen Bao''s meticulous nning and design.

    Once the ship was securely docked, the three women disembarked, stepping onto the solid ground of the port. They made their way to the entrance, where they were each asked to provide their names. The port was bustling with activity, with several cultivators waiting in line to receive their tokens and gain ess to the city.

    Unlike the puppets, who were perfectly organized, the people were anything but. The atmosphere was chaotic, with a lot of pushing, shoving, and the exchange of heated words¡ªmany of which would make even the most hardened sailors blush.

    "Move out of the way!" a burly cultivator demanded, trying to push past the Ant Queen''s group with little regard for their presence.

    "Damn, why are Emperor Stage cultivators here? Don''t you know the Sea of Demons isn''t a ce for weaklings like you?" someone else jeered, attempting to bully them out of their spot in line.

    Another cultivator, a gruff-looking man with a lecherous grin, added, "They''re probably here to work as mistresses. I heard a new brothel just opened up. So, how much for a night pleasing this old man?" He licked his lips in the most disgusting manner imaginable, his gaze lingering on YuYu.

    Before YuYu could react, the Ant Queen intervened, her handshing out to grab the man''s arm as it extended toward YuYu. "You''d better watch your words and actions," she warned, her voice cold as ice. "Unless you want to die without ever knowing how," she added, her grip tightening just enough to make her point clear.

    Recognizing her, the man''s bravado evaporated, and he quickly backed away, fear evident in his eyes. Everyone in the Sea of Demons knew of the Ant Queen¡ªshe was practically a legend, the one who had facilitated their escape into these wildnds, away from the control of the eight sects. Her reputation alone was enough to silence any further dissent.

    Ignoring the murmurs andints that followed, the Ant Queen led the group up the line, bypassing the grumbling cultivators who wisely chose to hold their tongues. However, their actions did not go unnoticed by a female cultivator perched atop one of the massive white walls of the imperial city.

    She observed the entire interaction with keen, attentive eyes, taking mental notes of the group''s arrival.

    At the city entrance, the Ant Queen, having already been here before, presented a metallic token to one of the puppets guarding the gate. "These two are new," she said, gesturing to YuYu and Liang Yu. "They''ll need their own tokens."

    The puppet, acknowledging her request, instructed the two women to follow another puppet, who led them to a small desk set up for neers.

    "X?" YuYu eximed in surprise as she recognized the puppet standing before the booth.

    The puppet looked up at her, its eyes glowing faintly. "My design is based on X, yes, but I am nameless," it replied in a monotone voice. "Do you know of X?" the puppet asked, its tone shifting slightly to one of curiosity.

    "Yes, he''s Shen Bao''s first puppet," YuYu exined, her voice tinged with nostalgia.

    "That information is correct," the puppet acknowledged. Its eyes lit up briefly as it processed the information. "YuYu, our master''spanion and the Sect Master of the Purple Cloud Sect. Please excuse ourck of attention," the puppet added, its tone now respectful. It then retrieved a purple token and handed it to YuYu.

    "This token will grant you ess to every facility within Master Shen Bao''s territory. It was crafted by his own hands," the puppet exined, the importance of the token evident in its voice. It then turned to Liang Yu, "Mistress Liang Yu, this one is for you," it said, handing her a simr token.

    "Oh, a purple token hand-made by Shen Bao himself? Even I don''t have one of those. I''m really jealous," the Ant Queen teased, though there was a hint of admiration in her voice.

    "What''s this token for?" Liang Yu asked, examining the intricately crafted item in her hand.

    "That token allows you to act with the authority of Shen Bao himself," the Ant Queen replied, her eyes widening slightly. "Well, I guess our escort has arrived already."

    At that moment, arge puppet, gleaming in the color of pure silver, descended gracefully at the city''s entrance. Its movements were fluid and precise, a perfect blend of elegance and power.

    "My Ladies," the puppet greeted them with a bow. "I''ll be escorting you inside."

    "Oh, Y, you''ve got a new upgrade," Liang Yu remarked, her eyes scanning the puppet''s sleek form with appreciation.

    "I am X, mydy," the puppet corrected her gently. "I have been upgraded to match Y''s appearance."

    "You''re quite strong now," YuYu observed, noting the aura of power emanating from the puppet. "Void Stage, I suppose?"

    "Yes, mydy. This body possesses the prowess of a Void Stage cultivator," X confirmed,

    its tone humble yet proud.

    "Good," YuYu said, a glint of determination in her eyes. "I want you to handle something for me," she added, turning to where the two men who had insulted her earlier had been standing.

    But they were no longer there. In their ce were two massive holes where their heads should have been, their bodies slumped lifelessly on the ground.

    "What problem, mistress?" X inquired, its voice devoid of emotion as it noticed the smoke still curling from its fingers.

    "I guess there''s no problem now," YuYu replied, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Let''s go. I''d like to meet Shen Bao. We have much to discuss."

 Chapter 806: Death Widow

    "I''m afraid I''ll have to disappoint you,dies," said X, his voice carrying a tone of mild regret as he flew towards the pce. He effortlessly carried Liang Yu and the Ant Queen in his hands, while YuYu stood perched on his broad shoulder, her bnce unwavering despite their rapid movement through the sky.

    "Why is that?" YuYu asked, her curiosity piqued, though a sense of foreboding began to settle in her stomach.

    "Lord Shen Bao is currently in secluded cultivation," X exined, his voice devoid of emotion but filled with the weight of the information. "Even his avatar, Shen Mo, is deep in practice, preparing for the uing battle."

    Disappointment washed over YuYu''s face, her expression reflecting the sting of unmet expectations. She had spent years waiting for this moment, yearning to finally meet him face to face, only to find him unavable, locked away in istion. The situation felt like a cruel twist of fate, a depressing irony that left her feeling hollow.

    As X continued his flight towards the pce, he suddenly halted mid-air, his movements so abrupt that it caused the wind around them to shift dramatically.

    "You noticed it too?" the Ant Queen asked, her voice calm butced with a readiness for action.

    "It didn''t escape my attention the first time," X replied, his tone sharp and vignt. "They''re dangerous," he added, his eyes scanning the area as he slowly turned, his sensors on high alert.

    "Reveal yourself and your identity, woman," X demanded, his voice taking on amanding tone as he addressed the unseen presence.

    "Oh?" A yful voice responded from the thin air, dripping with mockery and amusement. Suddenly, the air shimmered, and before them materialized a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. Her beauty was striking, almost otherworldly, but her aura betrayed her true age¡ªshe was older than ten thousand years, her cultivation far beyond that of the ordinary.

    The woman moved with an incredible, seductive grace, every gesture exuding a charm potent enough to enchant any man¡ªor even woman¡ªif she so desired. Her presence was maic, drawing the attention of several nearby cultivators who were flying through the centermost area of the capital city of the Sea of Demons.

    "I would like to have a talk with the two of you," the woman said, her voice as smooth as silk but with an underlying hint of menace.

    The Ant Queen''s eyes narrowed, her instincts screaming that this woman harbored ill intentions. She had been spying on them, of that much the Ant Queen was certain. And now, she was intervening, likely because of their connection to Shen Bao.

    "I will not ask again. Identify yourself," X repeated, his voice colder this time, his eyes glowing as they shifted from their usual blue to an ominous red.

    "Oh, how frightening," the woman mocked, her lips curving into a sly smile. "But even if I were to tell you my name, you wouldn''t know who I am. So, what''s the point?" she added, covering her lips with a small, ornate fan, the action dismissive.

    X didn''t bother with further words; instead, he acted instantly. His shoulders opened up with a mechanical hiss, revealing two tubes that fired pellets with blinding speed toward the woman.

    With a casual flick of her fan, the woman swatted the pellets away, the impact causing a tremendous shockwave that rippled through the air, alerting all nearby cultivators. It was a clear signal¡ªthis was no ordinary confrontation, a fight was about to erupt.

    "Quite the kick in those tiny things," the woman remarked, a hint of genuine admiration in her voice. "Let me guess, they were made by Shen Bao? He''s quite the interesting fellow," she added, taking a step forward, her interest in the situation clearly piqued.

    "HALT!" A voice shouted from afar. A young-looking man wielding a spear rushed forward, his face set in determination.

    The woman''s lips curled into a sneer. "General of the Spear," she addressed him with a mocking tone. "How lowly has your status be that you now serve those weaker than you?" she taunted.

    "Death Widow," the General of the Spear said, his voice trembling slightly as recognition dawned. His fear was palpable, even as he tried to maintain hisposure.

    The Ant Queen''s face drained of color. "This is bad," she whispered, her voice tinged with dread. "This woman¡­ she''s far too strong for us," she admitted, the reality of the situation crashing down on her as she finally recognized who they were dealing with.

    "Your cult should have long been eradicated. What is your purpose ining here?" the General of the Spear demanded, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him.

    "Just because you dislike our Sun, youbel him a cult leader," the Death Widow sneered, her tone filled with disdain. "How arrogant of you to undermine the prowess of the Death Sun."

    "You speak of him as if he still lives," the General of the Spear probed, trying to extract more information, but the Death Widow wasn''t interested in ying along with his weak attempt.

    "Now, hand over those twodies," the Death Widow demanded, her gaze fixed on YuYu and Liang Yu. "I failed to find Shen Bao, so I might as well make hime to me," she said, her voice dripping with malice as she addressed X.

    X''s eyes shed with urgency as he responded, "Code Red, Code Red. Unidentified Target, cultivation level estimated to be at high Origin Shattering Realm, or Low Heaven Stage. Code Red, Code Red. Initiate retaliatory defensive mechanisms. Y''s presence is demanded."

    As soon as X finished speaking, the entire city began to transform. The very structure of the city shifted¡ªwalls rose from the ground, buildings sank into the earth, and the entire city was realigned, morphing into the shape of a giant arena. The formations above the city changed from their usual green to a deep, threatening red.

    Dozens of turrets appeared atop the city walls, all aiming directly at the Death Widow.

    "Cute," the Death Widow said, her voice filled with mock amusement as she surveyed the defensive measures. "You think these toys can stop me?" she smiled, utterly unphased.

    "Maybe not for long," X admitted, his voice calm despite the escting situation. "But they should stall you long enough," he added as thousands of puppets emerged from within the walls, their weapons drawn and ready.

    The entire area began to fill with a potent, noxious poison, the air bing thick with the deadly fumes. YuYu and Liang Yu exchanged confused nces, uncertain of what was happening, but they soon felt something strange. The tokens they carried began to vibrate before opening up, revealing a purple pill nestled inside.

    The Ant Queen''s golden token also revealed the same pill. She recognized its purpose immediately and swallowed it without hesitation. Seeing her do so, YuYu and Liang Yu followed suit, trusting in her actions.

    The Death Widow noticed the pills and quickly deduced their purpose. "A pill to counteract the poison, how quaint," she murmured, clearly unimpressed. She waited for her token to open as well, but it never did. X had already taken control of the token''s mechanisms, preventing it from releasing the antidote.

    "Hah, how foolish," the Death Widow sneered. "If there''s a pill inside these tokens, all I need to do is break it open," she said confidently.

    But the moment she attempted to forcefully open the token, the pill inside exploded, spraying her with a vile liquid that immediately began to burn her skin.

    "What the hell is this?!" she screamed, her voice filled with pain and rage as she tried to use her Qi to purge the liquid from her body.

    "In case you forgot, you''re in the territory of the Poison God," X said, his voice cold and unyielding. "Did you really think you could outsmart him?"

    "What just happened?" Liang Yu asked, her voice trembling as she tried to process the events unfolding before her.

    "Oh, it''s a secret," the Ant Queen said with a smirk. "Shen Bao has turned all his cities into borate traps. In case of an emergency like this, a powerful sleeping and Qi-neutralizing poison is released into the city, rendering everyone unconscious. The only antidote is in the pills within the tokens given to everyone who enters.

    The puppets can disable someone''s token if they''re deemed a threat, and if anyone tries to forcefully break the token open, the pill inside it will explode, transforming the antidote into a deadly poison."

    YuYu''s mind raced as she absorbed this information. Shen Bao had predicted things to this extent? The depth of his nning was staggering.

    The Death Widow, now furious, began to galvanize her Qi with even more intensity, purging the poison from her system and healing the damaged skin. For a brief moment, her true appearance was revealed¡ªan old, decrepit woman, her body ravaged by time, with one foot in the grave.

    Realizing she had been exposed, she snapped, "DID YOU SEE?!"

    "You mean your ugly old mug? Yeah, it''s enough to give anyone nightmares for years," the Ant Queen taunted, her voice dripping with contempt.

    The Death Widow''s rage exploded, her fury knowing no bounds. She roared, charging forward with inhuman speed, her fingernails elongating into deadly ws. Her mouth opened wide, like a beast about to devour its prey.

    The General of the Spear rushed forward, trying to intercept her attack, but he was no match for her strength. With a single blow, she struck him

    down, his right arm and spear ripped apart as if they were nothing.

    This was an instant wake-up call for the three women. They knew they were hopelessly outmatched.

    Not a secondter, hundreds of bullets rained down upon the Death Widow, targeting her chest and face. The sheer force caused her to stagger back, though the bullets couldn''t prate her toughened skin.

    "We need to leave, now," X said urgently. He realized that the poison would take too long to fill the upper part of the city and affect her. They would be destroyed before she sumbed to it.

    The Death Widow roared again, swatting down with her elongated ws. The fingers sliced through the metal bodies of the puppets as if they were made of paper.

    "You''ll all die today!" she screeched. "I''ll bathe in your blood and drink it to regain my beauty!" Her voice was filled with venomous promise.

    Just as she lunged toward YuYu, her ws were stopped mid-air, shing against a golden sword that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

    A woman with entric, foreign beauty, her hair golden as the sun and wearing a shining golden helmet, stood before the Death Widow. Her expression was one of calm disdain.

    "For a moment, I thought you were a Rakshasa," the neer said, her voice cool andposed. "But even they aren''t as ugly as you."

 Chapter 807: Showdown

    The woman, upon hearing Tao Yang''s words, was instantly consumed by a frenzy of rage. Her nails grew tougher and thicker, transforming into deadly weapons as sheunched a relentless flurry of swings and shes at Tao Yang. But Tao Yang, with her unmatched agility and grace, parried each blow with a fluidity that seemed almost effortless.

    Not only did she deflect the attacks, but she also managed to counterstrike with precision, her movements a dance of lethal efficiency.

    In this brutal exchange, it became clear that the two were mismatched in terms of close-quarterbat. Tao Yang had a significant advantage, her skill and speed far surpassing that of the Death Widow. Blow after blow, Tao Yang struck, breaking several of the Death Widow''s hardened nails and delivering devastating impacts across her opponent''s body.

    The Death Widow, feelingpletely overwhelmed and outmatched, began to panic. Her mind, once clouded with rage, cleared just enough for her to realize she was in grave danger. Desperate, she leaped back, trying to put some distance between herself and Tao Yang, but the Queen of the Sris, thest warrior of her race, wasn''t about to let her advantage slip away.

    Tao Yang pursued her relentlessly, closing the gap with speed that defied logic. The puppets aiding in the battle intensified their assault, unleashing a hail of bullets and attacks that harried the Death Widow from all sides. Feeling like a trapped animal, the Death Widow frantically attempted to break apart the protective formation hovering above the city, hoping to escape.

    But her efforts were in vain; the formation was too strong, rebuffing her attempts and forcing her back toward Tao Yang.

    Seizing the opportunity, Tao Yang closed in and drove her sword deep into the Death Widow''s chest. The impact was catastrophic. The Death Widow''s body began to wither, shriveling up and turning to dust in an instant. All that remained was a soul-shuddering wail that echoed through the city, sending chills down the spine of everyone who heard it.

    Tao Yang stood still for a moment, surprise overtaking her features. She hadn''t expected to win this easily, and a part of her remained on high alert, her senses heightened, scanning for any signs of danger. Then, through Divine Sense, a strained and weak voice reached her.

    "She isn''t dead, but she isn''t here anymore¡­" The voice belonged to the General of the Spear. Tao Yang turned her gaze toward him, her heart sinking as she saw his condition.

    The General of the Spear was in a dire state. His arm had beenpletely torn away from his body, and he was barely conscious, teetering on the edge of copse. Tao Yang quickly descended to his side, her hand reaching out to help him.

    "Throw that away," the General rasped, referring to his severed arm, "it''s nothing but poison now." He gritted his teeth as he forced the bleeding stub to close, using what little energy he had left to stem the flow of blood.

    "It''s carrying the Death Sun''s Death Curse," he continued, his voiceced with pain. "If I were to reattach it, my entire body would sumb to necrosis, and I''d be one of his ves," he exined, gasping for breath as he struggled to stay upright.

    "You know them?" Tao Yang asked, her voice soft yet urgent.

    "There are three of them," the General of the Spear replied, his words slow and deliberate as he fought against the encroaching darkness. "They escaped the hunt of the Suns and came to hide here in the Sea of Demons. I have no idea why they risked exposing themselves to Shen Bao and the other Suns, but it can''t be anything good," he added, his voice growing weaker.

    At that moment, Y arrived on the scene, but it was toote. He had already received all the information from X and immediately began expressing his apologies. "I have failed to arrive in time. My deepest apologies to everyone who was harmed," Y said, his voice filled with regret.

    "It''s fine," the Spear General replied, though his exhaustion was evident as he sat down to calm his Qi. "Shen Bao needs to know about this, but we can''t wake him from his cultivation," he added, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on him.

    Liang Yu sighed deeply, rubbing her temples as if trying to soothe a growing headache. "My head is hurting¡ªI really have no idea what''s going on here. Thest time I saw Shen Bao, he was an Emperor Stage cultivator. I know he''s a genius, but what is this? How is he able tomand an entire country? Is he as strong as all of you now?

    Even X and Y are stronger than me! And that''s¡­ depressing," she admitted, a hint of frustration creeping into her voice as she gestured toward the puppets.

    "None taken, mydy," X replied, his tone polite and understanding. "For now, the threat of that woman is no longer present, but we cannot fully disregard it. I will revert the city''s structure to normal while increasing the scrutiny and inspection of all who enter the cities," he said, already initiating the process.

    As X had promised, the poison in the air began to dissipate, slowly being sucked out of the dome that covered the city. The tforms and buildings reverted to their original shapes, and the city returned to its normal state. The puppets immediately got to work, moving through the city to ensure that everyone had their tokens and verifying that they were the same people who had entered.

    This search would continue through the rest of what was considered a ''day'' in the Sea of Demons.

    "Let''s head back to the pce," Tao Yang suggested, addressing the Ant Queen with a nod.

    X followed behind them as they made their way to the pce, finally arriving at its grand entrance. Once inside, they were greeted by a small automaton, who approached them with a weing smile. "Mistress YuYu, Mistress Liang Yu, it has been a while," the automaton said, his voice filled with a warmth that belied his mechanical nature.

    Liang Yu''s face lit up with a bright smile as she hugged the small, child-sized automaton. "It has been! How have you been? And where''s my Shen? Is he cultivating in the pagoda?" she asked, her voice brimming with excitement and anticipation.

    Tao Yang, watching Liang Yu''s bold behavior, was taken aback but chose not toment on it. Instead, she observed quietly, her expression a mix of curiosity and amusement.

    "The main avatar is cultivating at the Blue Sun''s territory," the automaton exined. "She has allowed him ess to the best cultivation spot so he can grow stronger."

    "She?" YuYu muttered, a slight frown creasing her brow.

    "Oh, yes," the automaton replied innocently. "The Blue Sun is indeed a ''she.'' Why do you ask?" His tone was pure curiosity, devoid of any understanding of the implications of his words. "She has been treating him well too¡ªshe might even have an interest in Shen¡ª"

    Before the automaton could finish his sentence, the General of the Spear, despite his grievous injuries, immediately mped his hand over the young automaton''s mouth. "Let''s get inside first," he suggested hastily. "How about we leave those matters for another day?

    I''m also feeling a bit dizzy¡ªI think it''s the effects of the curse!" he added, desperately trying to change the subject, silently cursing Shen Bao for the situation he now found himself in.

    YuYu''s frown deepened, her thoughts a whirlwind of emotions as she followed the group forward.

    The automaton led them through the pce, but as they neared the throne room, YuYu spoke up. "Take me to the pagoda," she said, her voice firm. "This ce feels too fake. I doubt even Shen Bao stays here."

    "You do know Shen Bao well," Tao Yang remarked, a hint of admiration in her voice as she removed her helmet, revealing her appearance.

    Both Liang Yu and YuYu were momentarily stunned. "It''s only been a hundred years! No, for him, it should be less than ten. How did he manage to get even more women?!" Liang Yu eximed, her voice filled with exasperation.

    "Oh, we''re not like that," Tao Yang quickly rified, feeling slightly embarrassed. "We''re justpanions."

    "Believe me," Liang Yu retorted, her tone dripping with skepticism, "it always starts with beingpanions. I''ll pull his ear out once I meet him!"

    Sensing the tension rising, the automaton, although not fully understanding the situation, quickly activated a portal to diffuse the atmosphere. "Please, follow me," he urged, leading them through.

    As they stepped through the portal, Liang Yu and YuYu werepletely taken aback by what they saw inside the pagoda. It was no longer the vast open ins filled with natural beauty that they remembered. Instead, they were met with the sight of a sprawling megalopolis, teeming with life and industry.

    Massive buildings rose to unimaginable heights, piercing the sky like giants of steel and stone. The mountains had been carved into intricateworks of tunnels and structures, while the seas had been challenged by enormous docks and shipyards. Even the ground had been excavated, revealing deep mines where puppets tirelessly extracted resources.

    Hundreds of thousands of puppets moved about, their movements synchronized like a well-choreographed dance, all working to produce more materials and even more puppets. The air was thick with smoke and steam, the sounds of industry echoing all around.

    "Oh, yeah," the automaton said nonchntly, "the pagoda''s under renovation."

    "I did not expect

    this¡­" Liang Yu whispered, her voice filled with awe and disbelief.

    Suddenly, a massive figure came thundering toward them, stopping right in front of the group with a powerful presence. It nudged YuYu gently, its immense size and strength carefully restrained.

    YuYu smiled warmly as she recognized the creature. "You''ve grown a lot," she said, addressing the giant purple-armored lion.

    The lion, now towering at ten meters in height, was an imposing sight. Its mane crackled with purple lightning, and its armored body had transformed, bing more metallic and knightly in appearance. Perched atop the lion''s head was a small creature that quickly jumped into YuYu''s arms, its size shrinking to that of a cat.

    The little furball mewled softly, demanding attention and pets, its power unmistakable even in its diminutive form.

    "We''ll be moving to another level," the automaton informed them. "This isn''t a ce we can rest in," he added, opening the library for them and leading them to a small, serene garden inside it.

    The garden was a stark contrast to the bustling city outside. It was a peaceful sanctuary, filled with lush greenery and the soothing sound of a trickling stream. The group was offered seats around a table, where a warm pot of tea awaited them.

    As for the General of the Spear, a couple of puppets escorted him to a nearby facility where he could receive proper care.

    "So," Liang Yu began, breaking the silence as she looked around at the group, "fill me in on what the hell is happening?" Her voice was filled with a mix of confusion and frustration, desperate for answers in this increasingly bewildering situation.

 Chapter 808: Training

    The Automaton carefully poured tea into delicate porcin cups as he began to exin the situation in a calm, measured tone.

    "Lord Shen Bao haspeted against a great many cultivators, ultimately earning himself the revered title of *Strongest Under the Heavens.* This title, while prestigious, came with both a significant reward and an immense burden of responsibility, a responsibility that Lord Shen Bao chose to undertake willingly."

    Liang Yu, her eyes narrowing with curiosity, asked, "This territory¡ªis it part of that reward?" her expression betrayed her words, she knew fully that this entire area is nothing but problems and a heap ton of issues packed in a gift paper. Nothing about the sea of demons spelled ''Reward'' all of it was nothing but a pain in the ass.

    The Automaton nodded solemnly. "Indeed, it is a part of the reward. However, Lord Shen Bao never anticipated that such an assault would ur here. Now that he has earned and conquered this territory, it is his duty to protect it."

    Liang Yu''s expression shifted to one of frustration. "Why? Aren''t there eight Suns who are more than capable of handling such a responsibility? Why dump all of it onto Shen Bao''s shoulders?"

    The room fell silent; no one had a definitive answer for her. The tension in the air thickened, and Liang Yu groaned in exasperation. "He''s been tasked with protecting and as vast as any of the territoriesmanded by the eight Suns, but without adequate forces. Themanders and generals here are weak¡ªbarelypetent.

    We have only three Heaven Stage cultivators, one of whom just lost an arm, and his puppets. It''s like asking him to walk into certain death," sheined, her voice tinged with despair.

    "And that''s not even the worst part," she continued, her frustration growing. "The territory he was given is aplete wastnd! Who could possibly cultivate here? The ce is gued by Qi-sapping seawater, barren of vegetation as far as I can see, and now it''s submerged under endless waves. It''s as if this entirend is cursed to fail."

    Tao Yang, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke, her tone carrying a weight of seriousness. "Abandoning this territory would condemn the entire Beyond."

    Liang Yu''s eyes sharpened as something more personal crossed her mind. "And who are you to Shen Bao?" she demanded, her voice stern. "No lies," she added, a fierce protectiveness shing in her eyes. For Liang Yu, cultivation levels didn''t matter¡ªanyone wanting a piece of Shen Bao would have to go through her first.

    Tao Yang smiled softly, her demeanor calm. "Shen Bao is my benefactor. He saved my life, and I owe him a great debt. That is all there is to it."

    YuYu sighed, her mind racing as she tried to grasp the situation. "We need to find ways to help him. I didn''t expect to be thrown into the fire right after surviving the pan. The Vast Expanse hasn''t been peaceful, but this¡­ this is a whole different kind of mess."

    "What can we do?" Liang Yu interjected, her frustration evident. "Cultivating here is nearly impossible. The best spot I''ve seen is the pagoda, but using it would drain Shen Bao''s resources, resources he needs to build an army to protect thisnd."

    "I recognize that," YuYu agreed. "Then we''ll need to find somewhere else to cultivate."

    "Out of the question!" Tao Yang dered boldly, her sudden assertiveness surprising Liang Yu.

    "Why?" Liang Yu asked, her voice tinged with both surprise and suspicion.

    "You saw what just happened. I don''t know exactly who this Death Widow is, but from what the General of the Spear said, she''s still alive and actively seeking to harm Shen Bao. No offense, but you two are the easiest and most effective way to get to him. If you selfishly decide to leave the safety of this city, you''ll only end up causing more problems for Shen Bao," Tao Yang warned, her voice firm.

    "You honestly don''t expect me to stay here like some sheltered maiden, waiting for Shen Bao to clear the world of all evil before I step outside?" Liang Yu shot back, her frustration boiling over.

    "I didn''t say that," Tao Yang replied calmly. "Even I wouldn''t go that far. But it is too dangerous for you two. I have a strong feeling that if the Death Widow were to return in her true form, even I wouldn''t be able to hold her off. And remember, she''s part of a cult¡ªshe isn''t alone."

    Liang Yu, realizing the gravity of the situation, reluctantly held back the words she had been about to say. The danger was real, and without a means to contact Shen Bao, she felt a deep sense of helplessness and frustration, forced into a position of waiting.

    "There is a way for you to cultivate," the Automaton said suddenly, breaking the tense silence.

    "How?" YuYu and Liang Yu both asked in unison, their curiosity piqued.

    "Follow me, please," the Automaton said, leading them through a portal to the White Testing Space.

    The space they entered was vast and pristine, an open white ne segmented by several walls, each section serving a different purpose. Some parts were designed asboratories where Shen Bao tested and developed his poisons and practiced alchemy. Other sections were designated for testing new weapons and explosives that he asionally crafted.

    One area, however, stood out¡ªwhere he kept live-captured Rakshasa, including two Nobles who werepletely incapacitated by the constant pumping of neutralizing poison.

    The Automaton guided them to theboratory area, where a reactor based on the ones inside the Bastion hummed with energy. "Lord Shen Bao has fine-tuned these reactors to perfection. They''re used to fuel the twelve cities and their defensive formations. This one here is a spare.

    It can amplify the quality of Qi stones inserted into it, refining them into a purer form that you can use to cultivate and increase your cultivation level. Unfortunately, Lord Shen Bao cannot use it himself because of his dual cultivation method."

    "Dual cultivation?!" The words burst out of Liang Yu''s mouth, more of a shocked exmation than a question.

    "Oh, pardon me," the Automaton quickly rified. "What I meant is that he practices two different cultivation methods simultaneously¡ªhis unique Poison Qi and the Heavenly Qi, which is only absorbed by the Primordial Serpent God. Shen Bao himself cannot absorb the Qi from this reactor, and the Serpent God refuses to absorb it because it''s too pure for her."

    "I sure missed a lot¡­ Did you just say the Primordial Serpent God?" Liang Yu asked, still trying to wrap her head around the situation.

    The Automaton realized that they were unaware of much of Shen Bao''s recent progress, so he patiently exined as much as he could.

    "I see¡­" Liang Yu finally said, her mind racing with the new information. "So, this Serpent can''t use this Qi? Does that mean it''s dangerous for us if a heavenly creature refuses it?"

    "Not at all," the Automaton reassured her. "The Primordial Serpent God cannot absorb it because it would interfere with Shen Bao''s Poison Qi. She requires a lower quality Qi so that it doesn''tpete with Shen Bao''s cultivation."

    Nodding as they processed the information, YuYu asked, "So, how does this work?"

    The Automaton carefully ced a Saint Qi crystal the size of a fist inside the reactor. "Try absorbing the Qi that the reactor will generate," he instructed.

    Soon, a powerful wave of Qi erupted from the reactor, engulfing YuYu in its pure energy. To her surprise, she didn''t even need to consciously rotate her cultivation base¡ªthe Qi flowed into her as naturally as breathing or drinking water. It felt effortless,forting, and invigorating.

    YuYu''s cultivation base, which had been stagnant at the lower levels of the Emperor Stage, began to rise, albeit slowly at first. The reactor continued to generate Qi, which YuYu eagerly absorbed. After several seconds, the flow of Qi ceased.

    Waking from her stupor, YuYu asked, "That''s it?"

    "Check your cultivation base," the Automaton advised. "Remember, it was only a small piece of Saint Qi crystal, and the concentration wasn''t fully focused on you."

    YuYu closed her eyes and checked inwardly. To her amazement, the Automaton was right. With just that small amount of Qi, her cultivation base had increased by about one-hundredth of its total. A hundred of those crystals would elevate her to the next stage¡­ and that was only with a hundred Saint Stones.

    She had used far more than that just to reach the Emperor Stage, scouring the Vast Expanse for any trace of Saint Qi she could find.

    This method could potentially allow her to reach the Void Stage¡ªor maybe, with enough luck, even surpass it. She entertained the thought of surprising Shen Bao, perhaps even surpassing him and being the one to protect and help him for a change. The idea brought a small, fleeting smile to her usually cold demeanor, a rare glimpse of her inward thoughts.A

 Chapter 809: The Hunt

    In the dimly lit depths of the Dark Garden, far beneath the first level where light still clung faintly to the crystals that reflected it, the second level was a realm ofplete and utter darkness. Here, no creature possessed the gift of sight.

    Every beast that roamed thesends was born blind or without eyes entirely, relying solely on their heightened senses¡ªkeen ears or powerful Divine Sense¡ªto navigate their treacherous surroundings. It was not a ce where any ordinary cultivator could simply wander, for even the strongest could meet their end here without ever knowing how it happened.

    The dark was not just a shroud, but a predator itself, hiding countless dangers within its inky folds.

    Unlike the first level, this region was conspicuously void of the corrupted creatures that infested the uppernds. The deadly fungus that spawned the Walkers couldn''t survive here, leaving the second level to flourish with far more dangerous and untainted beasts.

    The absence of corruption allowed these creatures to grow in both power and ferocity, creating a nightmarish ecosystem where only the strongest survived. The air itself felt heavier,den with an ancient, primal energy that seemed to pulse in sync with the heartbeats of the predators that called this ce home.

    Among these apex predators was the infamous Obsidian Prowler, a beast capable of bringing down a Sheng Huo with little effort and one that even Shen Bao''s Dark Beast would be cautious of. It was said that no creature in the Dark Garden moved with the same ease and fearlessness as the Obsidian Prowler, for it had little to fear from anything or anyone.

    With each silent step, itmanded the respect of all other beings, and they, in turn, slunk away into the shadows, terrified of drawing its lethal attention. It was the undisputed ruler of thesends, and other creatures tread carefully whenever its presence was near, for to encounter it was to invite death.

    One such creature now stalked through the shadowy terrain, its every movement a study in deadly grace, and the emaciated figure of a woman¡ªonce beautiful but now drained of her vitality¡ªhid within a rotting tree trunk. The battle against the golden-haired alien had cost her dearly, her once youthful appearance now withered as though she had aged a hundred years overnight.

    Her once radiant skin now sagged, and her hands trembled with the effort of maintaining even the smallest amount of Qi. Desperately, she tried to use her Qi to restore some of her former beauty, to regain just a fraction of her lost power, but the more she exerted, the weaker she became.

    Now, in this unforgivingnd, she was nothing more than easy prey, a fragile shell of her former self, hiding from a predator she had no hope of escaping.

    The Obsidian Prowler''s powerful sense of smell allowed it to hunt without ever relying on Divine Sense. It caught the scent of weak prey nearby, and its predatory instincts red to life, a primal hunger awakening in its belly. A guttural growl rumbled from its throat as it began to click, the sound reverberating through the dense air, using the echoes to map its surroundings.

    The moment the echoes returned, the Prowler''s focus zeroed in on the tree trunk where the Death Widow was hiding. There was no mercy in its crimson eyes, only the cold calction of a predator who had found its next meal.

    Without any attempt at stealth, the Prowler barreled forward, its whip-like tail smashing aside trees with brutal efficiency. The sound of splintering wood echoed through the stillness as anything that stood in its path was either sent flying or shattered into pieces. The sheer force behind each movement was a testament to its immense strength, and the ground trembled under its weight.

    The creature finally stopped at the fallen trunk, cing one massive paw atop it. With a sickening ease, its second set of ws extended, gripping the trunk tightly as it tore through the rotting wood like it was paper, revealing the terrified woman within.

    The Death Widow''s eyes widened in terror, her breath catching in her throat as the beast loomed over her. The realization that she was too weak to escape this nightmare of a creature filled her with a cold, paralyzing dread. Her thoughts raced, but there was no escape, nost-minute salvation¡ªonly the inevitable end that awaited her in the jaws of this monster.

    The Obsidian Prowler paused for a moment, assessing its prey. Its crimson eyes flickered with annoyance. The woman looked frail, almost too old and worn to be of any interest. The hunt had been too easy, too dull. There was no thrill, no challenge¡ªjust a tired, aging creature that had no fight left in her.

    A snarl of frustration escaped the Prowler''s mouth, ck electric smoke seeping from the sides of its jaws as it growled in displeasure. Its muscles tensed, ready to end the pitiful creature''s life, but before it could strike, a short-statured man appeared seemingly out of nowhere, swiftly cing his hands on the woman''s side and leaping away with her in his arms.

    For a moment, the Obsidian Prowler seemed to register what had happened, and then, almost humorously, its devilish grin widened. It had been denied its prey, and now the hunt was truly on.

    With a low, menacing growl, the Prowlerunched itself after them, its powerful legs propelling it forward with terrifying speed. The short man, carrying the woman in a princess carry, leaped from tree to tree, narrowly evading the beast. But the Prowler was relentless, each of its massive paws crashing into the ground with explosive force, sending debris flying with every step.

    The ground quaked with each impact, as though even the earth itself feared the beast''s fury. Its jaws snapped in the air, echoing like thunder, missing its target by mere inches as the short man pushed himself harder to evade the monster''s ferocious onught.

    The noise of the hunt, the crashing trees, and the Prowler''s thundering roars echoed through the surrounding territory. Themotion drew the attention of other Obsidian Prowlers lurking nearby. These creatures were not known to hunt in packs, but when two or more appeared in the same area, it could only mean one of two things: either one would die, or a new Prowler would be born.

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 Chapter 810 Challenge

    Suddenly, the first Prowler was joined by tworger ones, each moving with terrifying grace. Their obsidian scales shimmered in the darkness, reflecting the faintest glimmers of light that managed to prate this forsaken ce. However, the sleeker, smaller Prowler was noticeably faster, its movements more agile and deliberate.

    The fact that the others didn''t challenge its presence in their territory signaled one clear fact: the smaller Prowler was the alpha male, and the tworger beasts were his mates. The alpha''s eyes gleamed with a feral hunger, and what had begun as a simple hunt for one had now turned into a full pursuit with three apex predators. Find adventures on empire

    The thrill of the chase invigorated them, their bodies pulsing with adrenaline as they synchronized their movements, a deadly dance of death.

    Sweat poured down the short man''s forehead as he realized the gravity of the situation. Three Obsidian Prowlers were chasing him now. He knew that even a single one of these monsters was capable of inflicting serious harm, and three of them would undoubtedly kill him if he made even the slightest mistake.

    His heart pounded in his chest, the fear gnawing at the edges of his mind, threatening to consume him. But he forced himself to stay focused, to push past the terror and keep moving.

    These creatures were like a force of nature, gods of gluttony and carnage. If one of them were to somehow escape into the Vast Expanse, it would devour everything in its path, leaving a devoid of life in less than a decade. That''s how much they relished in feasting and destruction. They were not just predators; they were harbingers of doom, a living embodiment of the end.

    Despite his speed and determination, the short man knew he would be caught. The Obsidian Prowlers knew thesends intimately, having lived here for thousands of years. They understood every nook, every cranny, and every shortcut. They could anticipate his every move, sensing the direction he would take even before he knew it himself.

    The man, however, only knew that he needed to reach the pce as fast as possible. It was his only hope, the only ce where he might stand a chance against the beasts that pursued him.

    Not far from the pce, their plight had not gone unnoticed.

    "Junfei," the Death Sun''s voice echoed through the pce, he sounded slightly exhausted yetpassionate for some reason, "Would you mind giving them a helping hand?"

    Annoyed at being pulled away from the gate he was working on, the Cryptic Sun sighed, his concentration momentarily broken. "Your ves really couldn''t have picked a worse time? I was just getting into focus!" the Cryptic Sun spoke in rage.

    the Death Sun''s tone of voice was that of understanding and apology as he sighed saying "That''s precisely why I''m asking you to help," the Death Sun replied. "Your nose is bleeding. You are overworking yourself.

    The Cryptic Sun wiped at his face and realized the Death Sun was right. He had been concentrating so intensely that he hadn''t noticed his own overexertion. If he continued, he might have damaged his mind, leaving him a broken fool. He couldn''t disagree nor retort as the Death Sun was right. So he stood up from his working area and closed his eyes for a second.

    Taking a breath, the Cryptic Sun reluctantly left the pce, moving at a slow pace that was still impossibly fast for any mortal toprehend. His movements were almost leisurely, as if the urgency of the situation was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. But despite his casual demeanor, he reached the pack of Obsidian Prowlers in no

    time, standing in their path with a calm, almost dismissive air.

    The short man darted past him, his voice a quick "Thank you!" before disappearing into the shadows.

    The Cryptic Sun looked at the three Prowlers with disdain. "Weaklings," he muttered under his breath. To him, these creatures were insignificant, mere insects that didn''t warrant his attention. He hadn''t needed to help, but it gave him an excuse to calm his mind after the overexertion.

    "Stand down," hemanded, his voice carrying an authority that few could ignore.

    But the Prowlers, driven by their bloodlust and the thrill of the hunt, ignored the warning. Their eyes glinted with a savage light, their bodies tense with anticipation. They leapt toward him, their powerful limbs propelling them forward with lethal intent, determined to im their prey.

    "Fools," the Cryptic Sun spat as he extended his hand. In an instant, death formations materialized, each one designed to destroy anything in its path. The air around him crackled with dark energy, the formations pulsing with a deadly power that could annihte even the most formidable of enemies.

    What happened next was unexpected. Instead of crumbling into dust as they collided with the formation, the Prowlers simply bounced off, crashing into trees and boulders nearby. The ground shook with the impact, and the force of the collision sent shockwaves through the forest. The tworger females whimpered in pain, the impact too much for them to bear.

    But the smaller alpha male, enraged by the interference, let out a terrifying roar that reverberated through the darkened sky.

    With a sound that could freeze the heart of any creature, the Prowler unleashed a torrent of electrified ck smoke from its mouth. The air crackled with energy as the beast''s body began to change, its obsidian scales shimmering with a dark purple light as it grew in size. Its already fearsome form expanded to ten times its original size, the very ground quivering beneath its weight.

    The spikes on its back crackled with wild electricity, arcs of lightning dancing along its spine, and its fangs elongated, glistening with lethal intent. The Obsidian Prowler was furious, its primal rage transforming it into a creature of unimaginable power. It didn''t care if the Cryptic Sun was a cultivator or a Sun itself¡ªnothing would stand between it and its prey.

    If it had to, it would take down a Sun, and in its blind rage, it believed it could.

 Chapter 811 Preparation For War

    Some timeter, the Cryptic Sun returned to the pce, his clothes smeared with ck blood and bits of viscera clinging to the fabric. The once pristine robes were now a testament to the brutal skirmish he had just endured, though his demeanor suggested it was nothing more than a casual exercise.

    "You have returned, Junfei," a voice echoed through the grand hall, calm yet carrying an undertone of curiosity.

    "Yeah, it was a good way to pass the time and rx a bit," the Cryptic Sun responded nonchntly, as if battling one of the meanest, baddest, and strongest creatures in the Beyond was merely a trivial diversion for him. His casual tone did little to mask the underlying power he wielded, a power that few couldprehend.

    The Death Sun, observing him from a distance, noted, "You seem to be injured."

    The Cryptic Sun nced down at his forearm, where a faint scratch marred his skin, the wound already beginning to heal but still visible against his pale flesh. He snorted, his pride stung more than his flesh. "That bastard actually managed to scratch my forearm. I should have tortured it some more... regardless, where are those two fools?"

    "They are resting in the upper room. You should rest as well, Junfei," the Death Sun advised in a tone that bordered on caring, a rare softness that was seldom heard from one as powerful as him.

    "No need, I''ve rested enough," the Cryptic Sun replied, waving off the suggestion with a dismissive hand. The skirmish, while a good distraction, had done little to truly tire him.

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    The two ves, hearing the conversation, understood that they were being summoned. Without hesitation, they immediately appeared before the Cryptic Sun, both dropping to their knees in deference. The shorter of the two, head bowed, spoke first. "Thank you, gracious Sun, for saving us. We would have died otherwise," he said, his voice filled with genuine gratitude and a hint of fear.

    The Cryptic Sun''s gaze swept over them with thinly veiled contempt. "You call yourselves Heaven Stage? What kind of Heaven Stage can''t even beat a Mutated Obsidian Prowler?" His words were sharp, cutting through the air like a de, leaving the two kneeling figures trembling.

    "It is due to our ownck of effort that we needed your help. We''ll do better next time," the Death Widow said, her voice steady despite the clear disdain in the Cryptic Sun''s eyes. Her body, however, betrayed her weakened state, still recovering from the ordeal she had barely survived.

    The Cryptic Sun didn''t bother to hide the disgust that curled his lip as he looked at her. Her once alluring features were now marred by the toll of battle, her appearance haggard and aged. "Regardless, what put you in this state?" he asked, his finger pointing at her, moving up and down as if to emphasize the sorry condition she was in.

    "It was a woman," the Death Widow began, her voice tinged with a mixture of fear and confusion. "I''ve never seen her before. She was stronger than the Heaven Stage, but at the same time, she didn''t have the aura of a Sun. She was like¡­ like my brother here¡ªnot a true Heaven Stage, but above the Origin Shattering Stage."

    The Cryptic Sun''s expression shifted slightly, intrigue flickering in his eyes. "Oh, I guess it''s her¡ªthe alien woman. Where did you find her?" he asked, his tone betraying a growing interest in this mysterious figure.

    "She''s in the capital city of the Sea of Demons. Not only that, there are other women there who are of importance to Shen Bao, women I encountered," she revealed, her voice carrying a hint of satisfaction at providing valuable information.

    "Good news, at least you''re not apletely useless liability," the Cryptic Sun said, his tone less harsh but still far from kind. "Give me their appearance from your memory, I want it on a jade. I''ll take care of the rest," he instructed.

    The Death Widow nodded and did as she was asked, transferring the images of the women to a jade slip and handing it over. With this in hand, the Cryptic Sun now had targets he could use to control Shen Bao, whenever the need arose.

    "Junfei, let''s not focus too much on a child. For now, rest well. We need to finish working on the gate," the Death Sun said, steering the conversation back to their original task.

    ***

    Far above, in the vast emptiness of the Beyond, patrols continued to roam tirelessly. The troops had been on high alert ever since they received word from the Dusking Sun that the Rakshasa were on the move. The tension was palpable, a sense of unease permeating the ranks as they prepared for the inevitable confrontation.

    Several Heaven Stage generals were stationed across the empty expanse, their Divine Senses scanning the void for any sign of the approaching enemy. The vastness of the Beyond was eerie, a deste stretch of space with only the distant, strange sun providing any semnce of light. The Rakshasa''s sudden appearance in this part of the universe had left everyone baffled.

    They seemed to have emerged from nowhere, defying all logic and understanding.

    Yet these cultivators were not paid to ponder such mysteries, nor were they paid at all. They had been recruited to defend their home from an invader, and that required no mary incentive. Duty and survival were all the motivation they needed. The fate of the Beyond hung in the bnce, and each soldier knew that they were all that stood between their world and utter destruction.

    The majority of the forces were gathered in anticipation of the impending battle, while Shen Bao''s probes continuously scoured the empty void, searching for any sign of the enemy. The terms of the uing fight were slightly better than before; they now had a clearer visual of the empty space around them. However, this also meant they understood the true scale of the threat they faced.

    The first wave, which had managed to breach the defenses andnd on the Beyond, had been nothing more than a scouting force. The real army was still on its way, and the next battle would be the deciding factor¡ªwho would live and who would die in the Beyond.

    The issue remained the same, however. No matter how many billions of cultivators were stationed high above, it was still not enough to fully cover the vast expanse of the Beyond. The enemy needed only one good foothold to fully invade and wreak havoc.

    The territories of the Suns were well-protected, bathed in the protective aura that the Sun Stages emitted. But Shen Bao''snd was not as fortunate. Without a Sun to guard it, his territory was vulnerable, even with Tao Yang by his side. Her soul had not yet fully fused with her newly created body, leaving her significantly weakened.

    She was a formidable force, but she was not yet at her full strength, and the burden of defending Shen Bao''snd weighed heavily on her.

    Orders were being issued constantly, and the Blue Sun was at the center of it all. After obtaining the technology and method to build Soulsteel, she mobilized tens of millions of cultivators on a bounty hunt to capture as many demonic beasts as possible for refinement.

    Production had begun on a massive scale, creating armor and weapons made of Soulsteel, which could bend and shape themselves to the will of their wielder. The armor was self-repairing, offering unparalleled protection, while the weapons were versatile, able to change form to suit the needs of their user.

    Although the Blue Sun had considered building massive bulwarks and bastions simr to those from the Sris, she had refrained. The cost in terms of sacrificed creatures would be too great, and she needed to prioritize the lives of her people. The army at the front was now almost entirely equipped with Soulsteel, and the soldiers felt a renewed sense of security within their new gear.

    As for Shen Bao, he was still deep in cultivation within thends of the Blue Sun, absorbing Qi like a tireless vortex. His focus was unwavering as he worked to strengthen himself for the battle toe. Meanwhile, his avatar, Shen Mo, had moved to the Red Sun''s territory to train in the ughter Arts, further honing his demonic abilities.

    Back at Shen Bao''s pagoda, the women who had remained were diligently absorbing the Qi generated from the reactor, pushing themselves to enhance their cultivation bases. They had nearly reached the Void Stage, each step bringing them closer to bing a true force to be reckoned with.

    Though they still had a long way to go before they could fully assist in theing battles, they knew that if they could at least reach the Void Stage, they would have a chance to survive¡ªand perhaps even protect Shen Bao if the need arose.

    As the forces of the Beyond prepared for the inevitable sh, the stakes had never been higher. The future of their world hung in the bnce, and every soul knew that the decisions and actions they took in theing days would determine the fate of the Beyond. The tension was thick, the air heavy with anticipation, and the shadow of war loomed ever closer.

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 Chapter 812 Attack

    "Set the formation up! Hurry, we''re being overrun!" one of the Heaven Stage cultivators shouted urgently at the backline, his voice carrying the weight of impending doom.

    The space of the Beyond had instantaneously transformed into a hellish nightmare. What was once an empty void, a silent expanse of nothingness, was now swarming with hordes upon hordes of Rakshasas, moving forward at incredulous speeds.

    They surged in relentless waves, shaping themselves into multiple swarms, each led by five formidable Noble Brutes that tore through anything in their path with brutal efficiency.

    At the forefront of the battle were the forces of the Darkest Sun, with the captured and enved Titan race fighting under hismand. These towering beings, known for their immense strength and resilience, shed head-on with the Rakshasas, their massive forms creating a formidable first line of defense.

    Tens of millions of cultivators moved in coordinated groups, prepared tobat the iing horde, but they were met with a force ten times their number at every turn.

    Each swarm of Rakshasas easily broke through the Titans'' defenses, as the Noble Brutes proved to be even more resilient and powerful in a head-to-head sh. The five Noble Brutes led the charge, their sheer momentum and brute strength overpowering the Titans with terrifying ease.

    The Rakshasa hordes followed in their wake, descending upon the Titans like ravenous locusts, devouring them with such ferocity that within moments, all that remained were skulls and bones, stripped clean of flesh.

    The cultivators fought back fiercely, unleashing the full might of their cultivation. The power of Qi manifested in a dazzling array of techniques, each showcasing the knowledge, dedication, and mastery that the cultivators of the Beyond had honed over countless years. This was their art, their way of life¡ªa testament to their unyielding pursuit of power and survival.

    Their Daos and beliefs shone brightly in the darkened void, like beacons of hope amidst the chaos.

    Daos of various schools were disyed in all their glory as the cultivators used every ounce of their power to fend off the onught. From the fundamental and widely-practiced Daos like Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, to the more esoteric Daos of formation, alchemy, life, death, and even time itself, the battlefield became a tapestry of diverse and potent energies.

    Some cultivators exhibited unparalleled skill in the art of the sword, fighting at the frontline, their des slicing through the white Rakshasas with deadly precision. Others rained down tens of thousands of energy arrows that bored through the Rakshasa ranks, sending them plummeting to the Beyond where the gravitational pull of the gigantd melted their bodies into nothingness.

    Talismans were activated, and charms unleashed, summoning beasts of incredible power to fight alongside their masters.

    The Rakshasas, despite their overwhelming numbers and ferocity, were unprepared for this level of resistance. They had easily consumed and destroyed the world of the Srous, where the inhabitants knew little of true battle. The Srous people had struggled, but it was a futile struggle, akin to the wriggling of arva in the dirt¡ªa desperate fight with no real hope of survival.

    But the cultivators of the Beyond were different; they were battle-hardened, forged in the crucible of endless conflict. From the moment they stepped onto the path of cultivation, they had known nothing but struggle, fighting against both external enemies and internal strife.

    For the Rakshasas, this was a battle to determine their fate and im a new home. For the cultivators, it was the same, but with a crucial difference: to them, this was just another day in their ceaseless struggle for survival, another chapter in their endless pursuit of the Dao.

    It was a day like any other for a true cultivator, where life and death hung in the bnce, and the only certainty was the fight itself.

    While the frontal assault raged on, the leaders of each group of ten million cultivators¡ªeach a Heaven Stage cultivator¡ªmicromanaged their forces with expert precision. Their strategicmands were vital in holding the line, ensuring that the chaos did not descend into an irreparable rout.

    However, on the eastern side of the Beyond, the defenses were far less robust. This region, unlike the others, did not belong to any of the Suns who had sent their main forces to support the Darkest Sun. The eastern side had only a few Heaven Stage cultivators, one from each of the other territories, but none from the Dusking Sun or the Cryptic Sun.

    The Dusking Sun, being a solitary cultivator who only managed his own beasts, had no vested interest in protecting thisnd. Meanwhile, the Cryptic Sun had made it clear he had no intention of safeguarding the east, as ity directly above Shen Bao''s territory.

    The Blue Sun had contributed two of her Heaven Stage cultivators to this defense, while the rest of her forces were dispatched to aid the Darkest Sun. The Red Sun had sent one of his Heaven Stage cultivators to the east and another as a gift for Shen Bao, who had yet to return to the Sea of Demons.

    The remaining Suns had also sent a Heaven Stage cultivator each, but their contributions were minimal at best. None of them had fullymitted to defending the Beyond, and they certainly did not feel obliged to protect Shen Bao''s territory, which they did not recognize as truly legitimate.

    Shen Bao was not a Sun, his cultivation level was far below theirs, and as far as they were concerned, if he had imed and of his own, he should be prepared to defend it himself.

    The Heaven Stage cultivators, though powerful, were pragmatic. They saw no reason to risk the lives of their soldiers to protect someone who had yet to earn their respect. Even if the Rakshasa were to overrun the Sea of Demons, so what? Thend was barren, sapped of Qi, and home to fugitives, turncoats, and traitors¡ªhardly worth the effort of defending.

    If the Rakshasa did manage tond there, they would be nothing more than trapped mice, struggling to harness the Qi and battling the relentless hordes of Walkers that emerged during the endless nights. The Sea of Demons was a deste, unforgiving ce, and its fate was of little concern to them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The protection over the eastern side was mediocre at best, and the Rakshasa quickly noticed this ring weakness. To their eyes, the territories beyond the massive army of cultivators were each protected by a nearly invisible aura of different colors, marking the presence of a Sun''s power. The areas without this protective aura, however, presented different challenges.

    The Thundering Domain, for example, still held the presence of the Heavenly Dao, and the endless lightning Qi within it was enough to terrify the Rakshasa. The Cold Domain and the Fire Domain were equally inhospitable, each one sapping the Rakshasa''s energy and threatening to annihte them before they could even secure a foothold.

    But the Sea of Demons was different. It was a vast, unprotectednd, devoid of Sun protection, and its sheer size made it an ideal target for the Rakshasa to establish a foothold before any significant retaliation could be mounted.

    Although thend was perilous, with its Qi-depleted environment and the ever-present threat of the Walkers, it was still a more viable option than the heavily fortified and protected territories of the Suns.

    A ck Noble, one of the Rakshasa leaders, quickly assessed the situation, noticing the disparity between the territories. Its many eyes clicked and whirred, sending orders through the air like a ripple of malevolent intent.

    The Rakshasa, upon receiving themand, began to move with calcted precision. Their overwhelming numbers allowed them to push through the ranks of the cultivators, despite the heavy resistance. The cultivators fought valiantly, but they were outnumbered, and the Rakshasa''s sheer determination allowed them to break through the defenses.

    Although the Rakshasa paid a heavy price, losing countless warriors in the process, they still managed to push through,nding more than twenty million of their numbers in the Sea of Demons. With a few dozen million more holding back the cultivators, the Rakshasa had sessfully breached the eastern side.

    From the Sea of Demons, one could look up and see the reflective, bright domes of the twelve cities casting their light into the dark night sky. These lights illuminated the iing Rakshasa, revealing their immense numbers as they descended like a gue upon thend.

    In mere seconds, the sound of horns red through the twelve cities, their warning cries echoing across the destendscape. The domes, once glowing a serene green, shifted to a deep, ominous crimson. The transformation was swift; turrets surrounding the cities and atop the walls rotated and aimed skyward, their barrels glowing with pent-up energy.

    The cities themselves began to change, their structures morphing into protective metallic domes, from which hundreds of thousands of puppets emerged, each one armed and ready for battle.

    Beneath the sea, massive formations began to light up, casting an eerie glow that spread throughout the depths. The Sea of Demons was about to enter into a fierce battle, one that would determine the fate of all who dwelled there.

    Meanwhile, far away in thends of the Blue Sun, a lone cultivator sat atop the highest mountain peak, deep in meditation. His eyes were closed, his breath steady as he focused on breaking through the bottleneck in his cultivation. However, despite his efforts, frustration began to gnaw at him.

    He opened his eyes, a sour expression on his face. "I guess this bottleneck can''t be solved by just shoving more Qi into

    my stomach," he muttered, stretching his neck with a series of audible cracks. His gaze shifted to his wrist, where a holographic image of the iing Rakshasa was disyed, showing their descent upon the Sea of Demons with rming rity.

    "When it rains, it indeed pours," he sighed, pping his knees as he stood up. "Well, time to get some workout in, isn''t that right?" he said, addressing the massive, coiling Serpent that slithered around him, its scales shimmering in the light. His eyes locked onto a nearby teleportation gate, his resolve hardening as he prepared to join the fray.

 Chapter 813 Prep Time Shen Bao

    The wave of Rakshasa descended upon the Sea of Demons with terrifying numbers and overwhelming force, spreading like a gue across thend. Hundreds of millions of these fiends surged forward, their sheer presence threatening to bring about total annihtion. The way they spread through the Sea of Demons resembled a river splitting into twelve streams, each led by a pair of Noble Brutes.

    These hulking monsters, followed closely by hundreds of thousands of Brutes, acted as the vanguard, their raw power and relentless drive making them an unstoppable force against any cultivator below the Heaven Stage.

    Shen Bao''s protective measures had activated in response to the invasion, and the dark sea suddenly zed with light in twelve distinct locations. The defenses that had been carefully crafted and meticulously maintained now unleashed their full fury. Millions of bullets shot skyward in an instant, forming a constant, unyielding barrage.

    From afar, the tightly packed streams of bullets appeared like glowing red lines cutting through the night sky, a relentless storm of death aimed at the Rakshasa.

    The bullets tore through the advancing Rakshasa, ripping apart those who were unprepared and piercing the defenses of those who attempted to shield their vitals with their arms. The sky above the Sea of Demons became a lethal arena as more and more bullets shot upward, their impact amplified by poisonous clouds that spread across the high skies.

    The Rakshasa that dared to enter these toxic clouds were instantly frozen, their bodies turned into grotesque ice sculptures. Those fortunate enough to evade the poison were swiftly struck down by the thunder turrets lining the walls, their bodies convulsing as arcs of lightning coursed through them.

    The Heavenly Dao of the Beyond showed no mercy to these invaders, who had dared to steal another Heavenly Dao toe into existence. It was as if the very fabric of the world itself rejected their presence. The skies darkened as thick clouds gathered, their ominous weight pressing down on the battlefield.

    The storm that formed above was more than just a natural phenomenon; it was an embodiment of the Heavenly Dao''s wrath. Thunderbolts, each as thick as a tree trunk, began to swim beneath the belly of the storm like dragons made of pure lightning, diving in and out of the swirling darkness.

    The storm unleashed its fury with terrifying speed and power. Bolts of lightning, each one a harbinger of death, rained down on the Rakshasa. The booming thunder that apanied each strike was so intense that it shook the very sea itself, sending ripples of fear through even the bravest of hearts.

    The physical manifestation of the Heavenly Thunder was devastating, tearing through the Rakshasa as they desperately tried to flee its path. But who can outrun lightning? The answer was clear¡ªno one. The Rakshasa, despite their best efforts, were obliterated by the storm''s relentless assault.

    Yet, even in the face of such overwhelming power, the Rakshasa did not falter. They continued to pour in more and more of their numbers, sacrificing themselves to create a path for their brethren. Their resolve was terrifying, a testament to their single-minded determination to im the Beyond as their new home.

    The first wave of Rakshasa collided with the barrier surrounding the capital city with the force of a tidal wave. The sheer weight and pressure of hundreds of thousands of Rakshasa mming against the barrier caused the sea around the city to churn violently, pushing the entire structure deeper into the water.

    The barrier, however, held firm, its strength a testament to Shen Bao''s foresight and preparation.

    The puppets stationed along the walls had firmly nted their feet into the ground, unaffected by the powerful impact. However, the rest of the city''s inhabitants were less fortunate. The sudden, violent shaking caused widespread injuries and destruction in the lower, hidden half of the city. The upper half, protected by thick metallic Soulsteel sheets, remained unscathed.

    These sheets were imprable, designed to withstand even the relentless rage of a Noble Brute, who would need days of furious assault to make a dent.

    The waters of the Sea of Demons, normally a bane to cultivators, now proved to be a powerful ally. The moment the Rakshasa touched the water, their Qi was instantly sealed, depriving them of the majority of their power. Unable to draw upon the Qi in their surroundings, the Rakshasa were forced to rely solely on the Qi stored within their bodies.

    This sudden weakness had a paralyzing effect on the White Rakshasa, the weakest of their kind, rendering them easy targets for the puppets manning the walls.

    As the city began to rise back to the surface, only two Noble Brutes managed to maintain their grip on the dome, while the rest were swept away into the water, thrashing helplessly as they gasped for breath they didn''t need. The two remaining brutes raised their massive arms and brought them down against the barrier with all their might, but the barrier held strong, its integrity unshaken.

    Suddenly, a cultivator shot up from within the city. His appearance was striking, with only one organic arm grasping the middle of a strange-looking spear, while the other was fully metallic, holding the weapon''s butt. The cultivator soared upward until he was directly beneath the Noble Brute that was attempting to breach the barrier.

    The brute, seeing the cultivator through the barrier, dismissed him as a non-threat. But its instincts kicked in, albeit toote.

    The cultivator, an Origin Shattering Stage warrior, knew he couldn''t match the brute in a direct confrontation. But with the aid of his new mechanical arm, he had a powerful trump card. A small reactor, modeled after those in the Bastion, was embedded in the arm, and it fired up with a surge of energy.

    The reactor functioned like a one-time-use slug, generating energyparable to that of a Heaven Stage cultivator. This energy shot out from the spear''s tip like a concentratedser beam, piercing through the one-way barrier and striking the Rakshasa in the chest.

    The brute had only a moment to realize what had happened as it watched its upper body slide away from its lower half, severed cleanly in two. The cultivator, now exhausted and drained of energy, fell back to the metallic tform below, a triumphant smile on his face as he witnessed the death of a Noble Brute.

    Simr scenes yed out in the other cities, where cultivators used this one-use reactor to deliver fatal blows to the Noble Rakshasa. The cost of using this device was highplete exhaustion and a significant risk of death. The reactor drained not only the Qi in its surroundings but also all the Qi within the wielder, often leading to the cultivator''s demise.

    Out of all the twelve cities, only three cultivators survived the use of this powerful weapon, but each of them had seeded in killing a Noble Rakshasa.

    This sudden and unexpected turn of events caused the Rakshasa army to hesitate. The death of so many Nobles in such a short time was a shock to their system. A golden-capped Noble, the second evolution of a ck Rakshasa, let out a powerful echoingmand that reverberated through the battlefield.

    The Rakshasa that had breached the cities immediately retreated into the sea waters. Though the water weakened them, they no longer needed to im the cities¡ªthey needed to establish a base, a foothold from which to continue their assault. The orders to retreat came just as a new figure arrived on the battlefield, one who would change the course of the battle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ***

    "I guess they started without me," I muttered, hovering above the Sea of Demons. Below me, the twelve cities were locked in battle, their defenses holding firm, but barely. The puppets were out in full force, but there was no sign of any additional help, no reinforcements from the other territories.

    Not that I expected any. I knew better than to rely on others, but it still stung a bit that no one had bothered to send even a few cultivators to assist in this mess. It was just another reminder that in this world, you''re on your own.

    "Regardless," I sighed, cracking my fingers in preparation. "Time to get cooking," I said, and with a burst of speed, I shot forward, my body moving as fast as my almost Origin Realm cultivation would allow.

    In the time since I had begun absorbing Qi in the Blue Sun''s territory, I had reached the peak of the Void Shattering Realm. But the Origin Realm remained elusive, just out of reach. The barrier to that realm wasn''t physical or even purely spiritual¡ªit was a matter of understanding, a mental and philosophical breakthrough that I hadn''t yet achieved.

    To be the Void is to transcend the physical and tangible, to step beyond existence into the realm of nonexistence. Yet even in that state, you remain aware of yourself, your presence, and your essence. It''s a state of mind where you seek to iste your being from the world, to understand your true self in istion.

    I had done that; I had embraced both sides of who I am¡ªthe humble Dragon Shen Bao and the murderous tyrant Du Shen. But to reach the Origin state was to go beyond that, to understand not just who I am, but why I am, the origin of my existence, my purpose, and my ce in the grand scheme of things.

    And to be honest, I hadn''t the faintest clue what that meant. So, I decided to wing it. It wasn''t like I had a choice, anyway, because the Rakshasa wereing, and a few thousand of them were headed straight for me.

 Chapter 814 Unleashed

    The wind howled through the darkness, carrying with it the stench of blood and death. The Sea of Demons, with its ominous waters that sapped the strength of any who dared touch it, was now a battlefield. The faint glow of the twelve cities illuminated the inky ckness, revealing the monstrous forms of the Rakshasa as they surged forward in endless waves.

    Their numbers were overwhelming, a tide of grotesque creatures that seemed to blend into the very fabric of the night. All I could see was an unending wave above the Sea of Demons, moving toward me with an ominous inevitability. Every breed of Rakshasa was present, each one intent on tearing me apart.

    I stepped above the churning waters, talismans buzzing with energy, holding me aloft, keeping the cursed sea from draining my Qi. Before me, the White Rakshasa¡ªa seething mass of them¡ªcrawled across the water''s surface like maggots feasting on a rotting corpse. They were the weakest of their kind, but what theycked in power, they made up for in sheer numbers.

    Their pale, featureless faces turned upward, and I could feel the malevolent hunger in their eyeless gaze.

    They were incredibly numerous, making up about eighty percent of the entire Rakshasa forces. A mindless horde, driven by an insatiable need to consume.

    But it wasn''t the Whites I was worried about. No, the real threat loomed just behind them. The Brutes. Massive, hulking beasts that lumbered forward with deliberate steps, each movement a promise of death. Stomping through the waters, they broke the surface with each thunderous step, sending waves crashing high into the air.

    Their muscr forms rippled under the dim light, their arms as thick as tree trunks, and their teeth bared in savage anticipation. The water didn''t slow them¡ªthey crushed forward with a force that shook the very air around them.

    Readtest stories on empire

    Then there were the Silvers, the silent killers. They moved like shadows, their lithe bodies nearly invisible as they darted from one point to another. I had fought them before, and I knew better than to underestimate their speed. They were the assassins of their kind, and one wrong move could mean my head on a pike.

    The ground trembled¡ªno, the sea itself trembled beneath me as the first of the Noble Brutes reached the edge of the city''s barrier. The impact was thunderous, sending shockwaves through the water, but the barrier held. I could see the frustration in the Noble Brute''s eyes, the desire to break through and tear apart everything in its path.

    It didn''t join the iing party but instead sought revenge for its fallen brother, who I had split in half moments ago.

    "Let''s see how you like this," I muttered, gripping my sword tightly. Creeping Demise had been with me for the longest. It was a part of the Vast Expanse, born from the earliest of creation. What began as a meteorite had regained sentience and, over time, evolved into the weapon I now wielded. It had allowed me to surpass any other weapon I had encountered in both the Vast Expanse and the Beyond.

    Creeping Demise had been a part of me since I was Du Shen and had now returned to me as Shen Bao. It knew me well, understood my thoughts before I even voiced them.

    "Feast!" Imanded, allowing it to absorb as much Poison Qi as it wanted.

    My Poisonous Qi red to life, swirling around the de like a living entity, eager to strike. The Qi morphed along the edge of the needle-like de, inting it until it took the shape of a spear-sized serpent, frighteningly reminiscent of the Primordial Serpent God.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I dove toward the first Brute, my body a blur as I closed the distance. It swung its massive fist toward me, the air whistling with the force of its attack, but I twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blow. My swordshed out, embedding itself in the Brute''s side, and I released a surge of Poisonous Qi. The Brute roared in agony, its flesh melting away where my Qi touched it.

    But there was no time to celebrate. The second Brute was already upon me, its hand reaching out to crush me like an insect. I could feel the pressure building, the weight of its presence bearing down on me. With a burst of energy, I propelled myself backward, just in time to avoid being ttened.

    "Damn it!" I hissed, frustration creeping into my voice. These things were relentless, and I could feel my energy draining with every second I stayed in this cursed ce. The talismans were holding, but I could sense their weakening pulse.

    The Silvers made their move next. They appeared out of nowhere, their bodies moving so fast they were almost a blur. I barely had time to react before one of them was on me, its ws shing toward my throat. I twisted, bringing my spear up to block the strike, but the force of the impact sent me reeling. These bastards were fast¡ªtoo fast.

    I didn''t have the luxury of a prolonged fight. I needed something more¡ªa technique that could turn the tide. As the Silver Rakshasa circled me, their ws glinting in the faint light, I thought of what all the main characters would do in situations like this. They''d discover some hidden technique, some secret power that would turn the battle in their favor.

    But no, I''m not a main character. That role is for Meng Hao. As for me, if I don''t use my head properly, I''d die here.

    I tightened my grip on my sword, not to strengthen my next blow, but to activate the Heaven Swapping Ring. Instantly, my position swapped with another nearby Silver Rakshasa. The move was faster than lightning, and as the first Rakshasa swung its diamond-strong ws, it ripped through its kin. More Rakshasa lunged at me, but I continued swapping positions, without pause, without dy.

    In a matter of three seconds, I had swapped positions more than three hundred times, and each time, a Silver fell to the ws of another.

    This was the best way to rid myself of the most ruthless and fastest of the bunch. The Silvers weren''t just fast and stealthy; their hides were stronger than even the muscr Brutes, and they were notoriously hard to kill.

    Without the Primordial Serpent God''s interferencest time, I would have died to the Silver Rakshasa. This time, I didn''t rely on her and instead used their own sharp ws against them. Fight the Rakshasa with the Rakshasa¡ªthat was the only way.

 Chapter 815 Titans

    But there was no time to gloat. The Brutes were stilling, and I could feel the presence of something more¡ªsomething darker and far more dangerous. My eyes darted toward the horizon, where the massive form of a ck Rakshasa loomed. It wasrger than the others, its body crackling with energy, and I knew it was the leader¡ªthe mastermind behind this assault. Read thetest on empire

    And not just any leader¡ªit was a Golden-Capped ck Noble.

    From what I understood of the battle raging in the skies above, Nobles could evolve once more, and this creature was the second evolution of a ck Rakshasa. The one I had killed with my own hands, the one I had ripped its head and spine out of at the cost of almost dooming myself, was nothing but a normal Noble.

    This one, however, was in a league of its own, a higher status, and clearly far more powerful.

    "Of course," I muttered, tightening my grip on the spear. "It wouldn''t be a real fight without a proper challenge."

    The Golden Noble ck Rakshasa raised its arms, and I felt the air shift around me. This was no ordinary brute¡ªit was a Golden Noble, its power amplified to terrifying levels. The sky darkened as if in response to its presence, and the sea below began to churn violently.

    "Let''s do this!" I whispered to myself, more for my own reassurance than anything else. I had faced death before, countless times, but this¡ªthis was different. The weight of the battle, the odds stacked against me, the knowledge that one mistake could mean the end of everything¡ªit was all pressing down on me.

    But I wasn''t going to back down. I''m no main character, but I sure as hell am not a side character!

    With a roar, I entered the Golden Titan''s Madness, gigantifying myself to match his size. Iunched myself toward the ck Rakshasa, my spear-shaped Creeping Demise morphing to match my size¡ªa gigantic serpent several dozen meters long and equally wide, zing with Poisonous Qi. The Golden-Capped Noble met me halfway, its own energy surging forward in a sh of wills.

    Our energies collided, creating a shockwave that rippled through the battlefield.

    The fight was on.

    Every move was calcted, every strike met with a counter. The Golden-Capped ck Noble''s strength was overwhelming, its power almost suffocating, but I fought back with everything I had. My spear danced through the air, striking at every opening, every weakness. But the Noble was cunning, its eyes tracking my every move, anticipating my attacks.

    It was apletely different fight from thest one. Where I had waited for an opportunity to strike back, I now found myself being baited by the Golden-Capped ck Noble.

    It wasn''t just a battle of strength¡ªit was a battle of wits, of endurance, of who could oust the other. The talismans on my body burned with effort, keeping me afloat as the sea tried to drag me down. I could feel my energy waning, my body screaming for relief, but I pushed on.

    I had to win. I had to.

    With a final surge of power, I gathered every ounce of Poisonous Qi I had left and channeled it into my spear. The de glowed with a sickly green light, pulsing with lethal energy¡ªa mix of my own Poison Qi, the Primordial Serpent God''s Heavenly Qi, and Shen Mo''s pseudo-demonic Qi, despite not being in his body.

    The Noble in front of me hesitated, worry clear in its eyes. The mixture of energies swirling around me didn''t backfire or harm me, even though it should have. This unstable fusion of elements was dangerously potent, and by sheer instinct, I called out, "BURN!" as I coated the entire de with my Soul me.

    Like alchemy, all the elements fused in unison¡ªDemonic, Heavenly, Poisonous Yin Qi, and Yang Soul mes. The mixture was further enhanced by the Golden Titan''s Roaring Ki.

    For a split second, I felt as if my mind had expanded, as if I could see more, think more, feel more. The world slowed down as my eyes took on the shape of a serpentine god. The Primordial Serpent God''s eyes allowed me to see a split second into the future. I saw the twitch in the Golden-Capped Noble''s right shoulder¡ªa swing wasing, faster than mine.

    In that instant, my eyes turned toward the Noble Brute barraging the city''s barrier, and my fist tightened, enabling the Heaven Swapping Ring.

    With so much Qi and energy channeled into my weapon, the instant transposition between myself and the Noble at the city drained me to the core. But from afar, the explosion that tore through the Noble who had reced me was unmistakable. The surprise was still painted on the face of the Golden-Capped ck Noble as it found itself staring at the position of the now-dead Noble Brute.

    With its arm still fully extended upward from the killing blow it had intended for me, I seized the opening and transposed myself against a piece of the grime and slime, the remains of the dead Noble ck, and sliced upward with Creeping Demise.

    A single line crossed from the upper thigh all the way to the shoulder. A smoldering white me ignited along the wound, and the entire beast shuddered. It gurgled a torrent of internal blood and liquids as it slid apart, split in half. The energy that had kept it aloft dissipated, and half of its body plunged into the deep sea, disbelieving of what had just urred.

    For a moment, everything was still.

    I hovered above the battlefield, breathing heavily, my body trembling from the exertion. The sea was calm once more, the Golden-Capped ck Noble defeated, and the rest of the Rakshasa scattered across the water like broken toys. This was just the aftermath of its own strike against its ally,pounded by the impact of my own.

    The oue was clear to all. Many who had been inside the city had watched from afar, and while I waspletely drained, barely holding myself afloat, with talismans bursting one by one from depletion, I saw hundreds of torrents of bullets shooting toward my location as the puppets began clearing the remaining Rakshasa.

    Amidst the chaos, I saw three familiar faces. Tao Yang led the charge, her sword burning in hand as she sliced through the enemy, with Liang Yu and YuYu following close behind, their eyes locked onto me, tears of relief and joy shining in their eyes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I missed them more than words could convey.

 Chapter 816 Secret

    As the three of them arrived at my side, their eyes full of relief and worry, something dark and profound invaded my mind. It wasn''t a mere thought but a realization¡ªa revtion that had been buried deep within me since the moment I had fused those strange elements, those disparate techniques.

    The destructiveness of Demonic Qi, the roaring life energy of the Golden Titan, the duality of Poison Yin and the raging inferno of the Soul me of Yang¡ªall of them had harmonized in a way that defied logic, creating something far beyond myprehension.

    In that moment, I glimpsed something I had long sought without even understanding it: the Source, the First, the Beginning... the Origin.

    It struck me like a bolt of lightning. The Origin wasn''t just some abstract concept; it was the chaotic mixture of all that exists, the primal force that gave birth to everything we know. The Origin was everything and nothing, the chaotic energy from which all things emerged. Heavenly Qi, Saint Energy¡ªthey were mere byproducts, tertiary forms of this primordial force.

    They were refined, purified, but they were not the Source.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Origin was chaos itself. The Origin was the raw, unrefined energy that gave birth to existence. And what am I, if not a testament to such chaos? A creation that emerged from this primordial stew, molded by the whims of the universe, altered by the desires of those around me.

    A cultivator''s journey begins with the absorption of Heavenly Qi, but that is only a step¡ªa step far removed from the true Source.

    So what is the Origin? The question resounded and bounced through my mind desperate to be answered.

    The thought consumed me. The Origin was the fuel that moved thes, that gave life to the worlds. It was the force the Wisest Sun had been searching for¡ªa force that could create life, not just stone and earth. The Origin was the primordial soup from which all things sprang, the chaotic energy that birthed thunder and lightning, that struck water and created life.

    From that chaos came the fish that swam in the sea, the lizards that crawled on thend, and eventually, people¡ªbeings blessed with the highest form of Origin energy: Soul. Stay tuned for updates on empire

    The realization was overwhelming, a tidal wave of understanding that threatened to drown me. I sank to the ground, surrounded by the three women who hade to my aid, their faces etched with confusion. They had expected me to embrace them, to express relief at their arrival, but instead, I sat down and closed my eyes, lost in the enormity of what I had just discovered.

    I had yet to truly enter a state of enlightenment. I had guided others to it, but for myself, it had always been just out of reach. Now, it felt as though I had been plunged into it, force-fed the secrets of the universe that were never meant for mortal understanding.

    My mind went nk, and I felt myself slipping out of existence. I was no longer Shen Bao, no longer Du Shen, no longer a cultivator or a man. I was a point of consciousness drifting in an endless, dark void, a void so vast that it defied allprehension. For a moment, there was nothing¡ªonly silence, only darkness.

    Then, from that void, something began to emerge, something came to exist, before¡­no, after¡­ maybe, never and maybe forever, it was there, beyond time, beyond space beyond all that is material. Beyond dimensional and above.

    It was a sphere, a morphing orb of chaos, copsing upon itself and reconstructing in an endless cycle of creation and destruction. It was the beginning and the end, existence and nothingness, all wrapped into one. It was the Origin, the Source of all that is and all that will ever be. Words failed to describe it. It was beyond reason, beyond understanding.

    Yet there it was, constantly churning and rumbling, a cauldron of raw potential.

    Suddenly, from its depths, a white light shot forth, piercing the darkness, shattering reality itself. The light spread out, breaking the void into countless pieces, each fragment bing its own universe, its own world. Some becames, others strange floating tforms in space, while others existed in dimensions that defied all logic.

    Some worlds were lush and vibrant, teeming with life, while others were barren, void of all things, empty and deste.

    From this chaos, life was born. The Origin''s energy¡ªfar more refined than Heavenly Qi, far denser than Saint Qi¡ªflowed into these new worlds, giving them form, giving them purpose.

    Morphed and changed and became existences within their own world. From water-dwelling fish, tond-crawling lizards, then came the People who were blessed with the highest form of Origin energy.

    Soul.

    Origin Energy is just Soul energy? As if struck by a thousand lightning bolts I was struck awoken.

    My eyes snapped open, and I was back in the real world, but the understanding I had gained lingered. A blinding white light shot out from my eyes, so intense that it felt as though my entire being was unraveling. Agony like I had never known ripped through me, a pain so profound that my body instinctively sought to evaporate, to escape the suffering in any way possible.

    A taboo. A taboo against the heavens is what I had justmitted. I had uncovered a secret the Heavens had kept hidden, a truth they had decided no mortal or cultivator should ever know.

    The skies above, which had been battling the Rakshasa, turned their full fury upon me.

    "R-run! RUN AWAY!" I screamed, my voice ragged with fear and pain.

    This wasn''t the time for reminscing old memories and drinking tea with old loved ones. Today the heavens have sought me as a target, and had dered me their enemy. I have seen what shouldn''t be seen, and I have understood what should always remain vague. Today might be thest day for me to exist. Because that thing up there looks like a pissed off grim reaper.

 Chapter 817 Wrath of the Heavens

    I could feel it¡ªI was on the brink of ascension, about to step into the Origin Realm. But the knowledge I had gained had marked me for death. The Heavens were not going to allow me to live. The clouds above darkened, turning a deep, malevolent red mixed with streaks of ck.

    Then, through the gloom, a single, seven-colored cloud appeared, innocuous and small, yet radiating a power that made even the Rakshasa flee in terror. Read exclusive chapters at empire

    This cloud was the bane of all existence, the ultimate enforcer of the Heavens'' will. It moved through the dark clouds, absorbing them, growing in size, bing more and more ominous. Lightning crackled within it, not the thick, booming bolts that had struck the Rakshasa, but something far more dangerous¡ªsmall, soundless bolts that carried the concentrated wrath of the Heavens.

    Each strike released a thick vapor of Origin Energy, a vapor that seemed to corrode reality itself.

    "What''s going on?" YuYu asked, her voice trembling with fear.

    "It''s... it''s the Heavenly Dao''s Death Decree," Tao Yang whispered, her words barely escaping her lips.

    I tried to move, to flee, but it was toote. Out of nowhere, ten thousand seven-colored chains materialized, ripping through the fabric of reality to bind me. They pierced my flesh, locking me in ce, holding me fast. I couldn''t move, couldn''t escape. I was trapped,pletely at the mercy of the Heavens.

    "RUN AWAY!" I screamed again, desperation wing at my throat.

    Yu Yu leaped toward me, trying to rip the chains from my body, but the moment she touched them, her entire body convulsed, and the whites of her eyes rolled back. She was struck with what felt like a billion volts of lightning, her body trembling uncontrobly before she copsed.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Liang Yu tried to use her fan, but it disintegrated into ash the moment it touched the chains. She too was struck, her body seizing up as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

    "Tao Yang! Take them away!" I shouted, my voice breaking. I knew what wasing. I knew what the Heavens were about to do. I was going to die. I had no delusions about that.

    I wasn''t a main character, the kind who could defy the odds and escape certain death. My story was going to end here, in this cursed ce, under the wrath of the Heavens.

    Tao Yang grabbed the two women, her eyes filled with tears as she hesitated for a moment, looking back at me. But there was nothing she could do. She turned and fled, carrying them away from the impending disaster.

    "Automaton, hear my will," I said, my voice a mere whisper now. "Everything I own is now the shared property of YuYu and Liang Yu."

    "As the Lordmands," the Automaton replied, its voice solemn.

    I struggled to stand, the chains tightening around me, digging deeper into my flesh. But I refused to go down sitting. I wasn''t going to die on my knees. If I was going to face the wrath of the Heavens, I would do it standing tall, defiant to the end.

    The chains seemed to recognize my intent, loosening just enough to allow me to rise to my feet. I looked up at the stormy sky, my heart pounding in my chest.

    "HEAVENS!" I roared, my voice echoing across the Sea of Demons. The entire world seemed to hold its breath, the only sound the howling wind and the distant rumble of thunder.

    "IT ISN''T OUT OF MY VOLITION THAT I SAW YOUR SECRETS! IT IS YOUR OWN ERR TO HAVE ALLOWED IT SO! IT IS NOT OUT OF MY OWN EFFORT TO HAVE DISCOVERED IT! IT IS YOUR OWN MISTAKE FOR NOT HIDING IT WELL! FOR I AM A CULTIVATOR! FOR I AM A DEMONIC CULTIVATOR!

    I BOW NOT MY HEAD IN FEAR OR FRIGHT! ONLY IN RESPECT! AND TODAY I AM WRONGED! BUT I SHALL NEVER FOLD!"

    The skies rumbled once more, the clouds darkening even further, as if enraged by my words. But I didn''t care. If this was the end, then I would face it with a smile, with defiance burning in my heart.

    "THIS I PROMISE NOT AS SHEN BAO! BUT AS THE TYRANT DU SHEN! KILL ME TODAY OR SUFFER MY IRE!"

    Suddenly, the clouds above began to coalesce, forming a massive hand that stretched down toward me. At the tip of the hand, something was written, a single word that radiated a power so overwhelming that my entire body trembled in its presence.

    My eyes locked onto the word, but before I could evenprehend it, I saw several figures streaking through the sky, their speed tearing rifts in space itself. They were the Suns¡ªthe Blue Sun, the Dusking Sun, the Lord of Lords, the Red Sun, the mboyant Sun, and the Wisest Sun¡ªall of them racing toward me, their faces pale with fear.

    "Don''t read it!" they shouted, their voices merging into a single, desperate plea.

    But it was toote. The word had already burned itself into my mind, searing its meaning into my very soul.

    "Perish."

    Time seemed to stop as the weight of that word settled in my mind. I could feel it¡ªa darkness closing in, a force so immense that it dwarfed everything I had ever known. The sky above seemed to copse in on itself, the hand descending with unstoppable force.

    The world around me dimmed, the edges of my vision growing dark as the full weight of the Heavens'' wrath descended upon me. I had defied the natural order, and uncovered secrets not meant for mortal minds, and now, the price was to be paid in full.

    But as the darkness closed in, I couldn''t help but smile, a defiant grin that split my face even as tears welled up in my eyes.

    I had lived as a tyrant, a mortal, and a cultivator. I had walked the path of destruction and creation, and now, at the end of it all, I would meet my fate head-on.

    As the hand of the Heavens closed around me, thest thing I saw was the terrified faces of the Suns, reaching out toward me. but they would never make it, the hand was too fast. I appreciate their effort, I truly do.

    Now looking at death in the face another thought popped into my mind.

    Shit, did I forget the st furnace on? Well... that sounds very irrelevant now, does it?

    And then... darkness.

 Chapter 818 Wrathful Grief

    Three days had passed in thends of the Beyond, and the devastation left in the wake of the Suns'' fury was nothing short of apocalyptic. The Rakshasa, once an overwhelming force, had been reduced to little more than broken bodies and scattered remnants.

    Their blood, an unnatural blue, seeped into the earth, staining it like an eternal reminder of their foolishness in challenging the might of the Suns.

    The battlefield was a sight to behold¡ªif one could stomach the carnage. The space above the beyond was littered with the torn and mangled corpses of the Rakshasa, their once terrifying forms now nothing more than grotesque reminders of a battle they never stood a chance of winning.

    The skies above the Beyond had darkened, as if mourning the thousands of souls that had been obliterated in the Suns'' onught. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burnt flesh and the metallic tang of spilled blood, creating an atmosphere so oppressive it felt like the world itself was on the brink of copse.

    Yet the Rakshasa weren''t the only ones to feel the brunt of the Suns'' wrath. The Darkest Sun found himself utterly powerless in the face of the chaos his fellow Suns had unleashed. His carefullyid ns had been trampled underfoot, and his battlefield turned into a ughterhouse.

    The precision and order he had instilled in his forces were now nothing but a distant memory, reced by the reckless abandon with which the Suns tore through the Rakshasa.

    The Blue Sun, a figure typically associated with calm and collected wisdom, had be something else entirely¡ªa storm of unrelenting fury. She plunged into the thick of the Rakshasa hordes, her attacks unyielding, her movements fueled by a deep, simmering rage that no one had ever seen in her before. Her elegant, almost serene demeanor had been reced by a cold, calcted brutality.

    Each strike she made was precise, designed not just to kill but to cause as much suffering as possible. The skies above the battlefield wept blue blood for three days straight, a gruesome testament to her unending vengeance. It was as if the very heavens were mourning alongside her, their tears mingling with the blood of the fallen.

    Shen Bao''s death had awakened something in the Blue Sun that she herself hadn''t anticipated. He wasn''t just another cultivator; he had been her intellectual equal, a rare mind that had sparked in her a sense of camaraderie and kinship she hadn''t felt in eons. They had been partners in discovery, explorers of the unknown, crafting wonders that defied the veryws of the universe.

    The thought of losing such apanion, of never again engaging in the exhrating exchange of ideas and theories, filled her with a grief so profound that it threatened to consume her entirely. And so, she channeled that grief into her strikes, each one more vicious than thest, as if punishing the Rakshasa for the crime of existing in a world that no longer contained Shen Bao.

    The Red Sun, known for his fiery temper and unstoppable power, had be a living embodiment of rage. His avatar, a colossal figure that seemed to blot out the very sun with its presence, descended upon the Rakshasa like a vengeful god. His many arms moved with such speed and ferocity that they became blurs of destruction, tearing through the fabric of space itself with every swing.

    The void around him crackled with energy, distorting reality as if the universe itself couldn''t contain his wrath. The Rakshasa, for all their numbers and strength, were nothing more than fodder for his rage, their bodies torn apart in a relentless storm of violence.

    The Red Sun''s fury wasn''t just born of a need for revenge¡ªit was a reflection of the deep respect he had developed for Shen Bao. The young cultivator had shown a spirit that refused to break, a will that stood strong even in the face of overwhelming power, even against him.

    In Shen Bao, the Red Sun had seen a reflection of his own indomitable nature, a kindred spirit who shared his refusal to bow to fate. And now that spirit had been extinguished, snuffed out by the cruel hand of the heavens. The Red Sun''s avatar became an instrument of his grief, each of his arms a scythe of retribution, reaping a bloody harvest among the Rakshasa hordes.

    The Wisest Sun, ever the thinker, had responded to Shen Bao''s death in a manner befitting his nature¡ªby creating something entirely new, something terrifying. His rage was cold and calcted, a stark contrast to the overt disys of fury by the other Suns.

    He channeled his grief into the creation of a new Key, a construct of purew and mysticism, an artifact he had only ever theorized about before. This Key had no elemental alignment; it was a mystical tool inspired by Shen Bao''s Sky Pearl, the artifact that had once served as his eye, allowing him to see the world in ways others could not.

    The Key floated above the battlefield like an ethereal wraith, a silent sentinel that inspired terror in the hearts of the Rakshasa. Whenever a Rakshasaid eyes upon it, the Key activated, boring into their consciousness and forcing them to relive the most agonizing deaths of their brethren.

    It was a living record of pain and suffering, an ever-growing archive of death that fed on the misery of its victims. The more the Rakshasa suffered, the stronger the Key became, its power amplifying with each new death it witnessed.

    It was a weapon of unimaginable cruelty, a reflection of the Wisest Sun''s own internal torment, a manifestation of the pain he felt at the loss of a cultivator who had shown him a new way of seeing the world.

    The mboyant Sun, never one to shy away from spectacle, turned his grief into a disy of divine retribution. Though his rtionship with Shen Bao had been brief, it had left asting impression. Shen Bao had been a man who defied the expectations of those around him, who stood tall even in the face of overwhelming odds.

    The mboyant Sun, who had always lived life on his own terms, saw in Shen Bao a reflection of his own refusal to conform, his own desire to ze his own path through life.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In his grief, the mboyant Sun unleashed his full power, creating a colossal apparition of death and mes that soared through the heavens. His wings, spanning thousands of miles, were a kaleidoscope of color¡ªyellow, gold, red, and white mes interwoven in a tapestry of destruction. He became a divine avenger, an angel of death whose very presence incinerated the Rakshasa.

    His mes were not merely an attack; they were a purification, a cleansing fire that burned away the taint of the Rakshasa, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake. His rage was so intense that it scorched the sky itself, turning it into a burning canvas of death and destruction.

    Yet, despite the immense power disyed by the Suns, there was one among them whose fury was so great that it had to be contained¡ªthe Lording Sun. The eldest of the Suns, a being so ancient and powerful that his very presencemanded awe, had been forced to seal himself away.

    He had asked the other Suns to bind him with chains crafted in the likeness of the Seven Colored Cloud that had struck down Shen Bao. These chains, replicas of the ones that had ended Shen Bao''s life, were the only things capable of holding the Lording Sun in check.

    The Lording Sun''s rage was a force of nature, a tempest so intense that it threatened to tear apart the very fabric of reality. His existence shuddered and vibrated with the power of his grief, a barely contained storm that could break free at any moment.

    The other Suns knew that if the Lording Sun were to unleash his full power, it wouldn''t just be the Rakshasa who suffered¡ªthe entire Beyond would be at risk of annihtion. And so, the Dusking Sun had taken on the unenviable task of keeping the Lording Sun contained, using all his power to suppress the vibrations and shaking that emanated from the eldest Sun''s bound form.

    The Lording Sun had always been a figure of immense power, but this was different. This was a man who had lost something irreceable, something that had stirred feelings long buried beneath centuries of stoicism. Shen Bao had been like a son to him, the son he never had. He had watched over Shen Bao since his earliest days of cultivation, guiding him from afar, nurturing his potential.

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    The ck Merchant, his most trusted retainer, had delivered the Lording Sun''s favorite brush, made from the whiskers of a mighty dragon, to Shen Bao¡ªa gift of immense significance. The Lording Sun had even prophesied the arrival of an Emerald Sun, a Sun who would bring harmony andpassion, yet possess the venomous devastation of a vengeful god.

    He had believed Shen Bao to be that Sun, but the Heavens had cruelly denied him.

    The Dusking Sun, though known for his speed and agility, had never faced a challenge as great as this. To suppress the rage of the Lording Sun was to fight against the very essence of the universe''s fury. Every ounce of his energy was spent in holding the Lording Sun''s power in check, preventing it from spilling out and consuming everything in its path.

    The Dusking Sun had to put aside his own grief, his own rage, to focus on the task at hand, knowing that if he failed, the consequences would be catastrophic.

 Chapter 819 Funeral

    On the other side of the Beyond, at the Sea of Demons

    The carnage was no less severe. The moment the Heaven''s Hand had descended upon Shen Bao, the Suns had converged on the Sea of Demons. What followed was nothing short of a massacre. The Rakshasa, once a formidable force, were obliterated by thebined might of the Suns.

    The waters of the Sea of Demons had been stained blue with the blood of the fallen Rakshasa, their bodies torn apart and scattered like debris on the wind. For days, the sea had churned with the remnants of the battle, a grisly testament to the Suns'' unrestrained wrath.

    In the capital city of the Sea of Demons, a funeral was being held¡ªa solemn affair for a man who had touched the lives of many, yet left a void that could never be filled. Shen Bao''s body had been ced in a golden coffin, a symbol of the respect and honor he had earned in life. The coffin was carried through the streets by X and Y, the two automatons who had served him faithfully until the end.

    The citizens of the city watched the procession in silence, their faces a mixture of sadness and resignation.

    Shen Bao had been a figure of hope, a leader who had brought stability to the chaotic Sea of Demons. He had touched the lives of many, offering them a chance at a better life, free from the corruption and decay that had gued the region for so long. Yet, despite his efforts, he was still just one man, and now he was gone.

    For most of the citizens, his death was just another reminder of the harsh realities of life in the Beyond¡ªa world where even the greatest among them could be struck down without warning.

    The puppets, ever faithful to their master, continued their duties as if nothing had changed. They guarded the gates, manned the walls, and continued their work in the forges, producing more of their kind to defend the city. But even they could not hide the grief that had settled over the city like a shroud.

    They moved with a mechanical precision, their expressions nk, but there was a heaviness in their movements, a silent acknowledgment of the loss they had suffered.

    YuYu and Liang Yu, Shen Bao''s wives, walked behind the coffin, their faces pale and drawn. Their grief was palpable, a raw wound that had yet to heal. They had loved Shen Bao deeply, each in their own way, and now that he was gone, they were left with a void that could never be filled. Their tears fell silently, mingling with the rain that began to fall from the darkened skies.

    The citizens watched them with a mixture of pity and respect, understanding that their pain was something that words could never fully express.

    The coffin was lowered into the ground, the final resting ce of a man who had lived and died in a world that demanded everything and gave nothing in return. Creeping Demise, the sword that had been Shen Bao''s faithfulpanion, wasid across his chest, a symbol of the life he had lived as a warrior and protector.

    His ring and the Poison God''s Heritage, artifacts of immense power, were ced beside him, their glow dimming as they were buried with their master. The ground was sealed, and the finality of death settled over the city.

    Shen Mo, Shen Bao''s avatar, had beenid to rest in the Hall of ughter within the Red Sun''s sect. His body was entombed beneath the Tower of ughter, a structure that Shen Bao had returned to the Red Sun as a symbol of his respect and loyalty.

    The Red Sun''s Heaven Stage cultivators had performed the rites, ensuring that Shen Mo would rest in peace, his sacrifice honored by those who had known him.

    Master Rain, upon hearing the news of Shen Bao''s death, was struck silent. For three days, he sat in the Wisest Sun''s elder hall, unmoving, his retainer by his side. He refused food and drink, his mind consumed by the loss of a disciple who had meant more to him than words could express.

    Shen Bao had been a beacon of hope, a man who had defied the odds and proven that even in the harshest of worlds, one could rise above and achieve greatness. His loss was a blow that Master Rain could not easily recover from.

    Meng Hao, upon hearing the final words of Shen Bao, had erupted in a rage unlike any other. His fury was directed at the heavens themselves, the very forces that had taken his friend from him. For an entire day and night, Meng Hao roared his defiance, daring the heavens to strike him down for their injustice.

    His rage was so intense, so all-consuming, that it burned through his phoenix blood essence, pushing him beyond his limits. In his fury, Meng Hao unknowingly broke through to the void stage, his cultivation surging to new heights even as his heart broke.

    If Shen Bao were still alive, he would have marveled at the irony. Meng Hao, the main character of this story, had once again proven his resilience, his ability to rise above even the most devastating of losses. But for those who had known and loved Shen Bao, this victory was bittersweet, a reminder that life goes on, even in the face of unimaginable grief.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ***

    Death is supposed to be the end. It''s a concept we''re all familiar with¡ªthe cessation of life, the final chapter in the story of our existence. Your body fails, your consciousness fades, and you''re gone. That''s the way of things. Some people believe in an afterlife, a ce where souls go after they leave this world.

    Others believe in reincarnation, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, where your soul cycles through existence until you achieve enlightenment. Stay updated via empire

    But me? I''m not sure what to believe anymore. All I know is that I''m supposed to be dead. The Heavens themselves saw to that, and when the Heavens make a decision, there''s noing back from it. Their decree is final, their judgment absolute. So why am I still here?

    Why can I still think, still feel, still question?

    "Where the fuck am I?"

 Chapter 820 The MiniBoss

    My voice echoed in the void, a soundless scream that reverberated through the emptiness. But there was no answer, only a suffocating silence that pressed in from all sides, an overwhelming void that seemed to consume everything¡ªsound, light, thought. I was alone, suspended in this abyss, and the vastness of it was terrifying.

    Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of me, blinding in its intensity. Instinctively, I raised my hands to shield my eyes, but the moment I did, a chilling realization struck¡ªI had no hands. No arms, no body, no eyes. Yet, I could see, perceive the light and its overwhelming brightness. How was that possible?

    Questions raced through my mind, a torrent of confusion and fear. But before I could dwell on them, something far more urgent demanded my attention. The light before me began to change, shifting into a deep crimson hue, as a gigantic red carpet unfurled beneath me, rolling out into the void as far as I could see.

    From the edges of this carpet, towering walls rose up, reaching heights that seemed to scrape the heavens themselves.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The walls were intricately carved with scenes of battle¡ªthousands of men charging against a single being. It was a macabre disy, with countless bodies lying broken and lifeless on the ground, weapons of every kind embedded in them. And at the far end of the scene, the lone figure sat upon a massive throne, imposing and indifferent.

    This being, carved into the very stone, held a single finger pointed forward¡ªa finger that was disturbingly reminiscent of the one that had descended from the heavens and ended my life.

    I took in the scene, trying to understand its meaning, but an unsettling sensation crept over me. Whenever I looked away, I could feel the carved figures watching me, their stone eyes following my every move. It was a sensation that sent chills down my nonexistent spine, a creeping dread that made the hairs on the back of my neck¡ªif I had one¡ªstand on end.

    But I was dead. What more was there to fear? Death is the end of all, for nothing is scarier than the unknown, and death forever remains the greatest unknown. We know not where it truly leads, we know not what exists beyond it, we can only hope and specte and wait to meet it, for all shall one day meet the endless silence.

    As if in answer to my thoughts, the carved being on the throne began to move. Slowly, it peeled itself away from the wall, the stone morphing into flesh as it stepped onto the red carpet. The chair it sat upon also shifted, transforming from cold stone to a majestic throne adorned with jewels that glowed with an eerie light.

    I couldn''t see the being''s face, nor discern its race or gender. Its skin was the color of smoldering embers, a deep red that seemed to pulse with inner heat. A golden cowl obscured its features, casting shadows that hid its identity from me. It didn''t speak, didn''t move beyond its initial action of stepping onto the carpet. It just sat there, waiting for me to approach.

    Despite the fear gnawing at my insides, I moved forward, drawn by an inexplicablepulsion. With each step, I felt my body begin to materialize. First, my feet took form, then my legs, arms, and finally, I was whole again, standing before this colossal figure that towered over me like a god. I barely reached its knees.

    "Where am I?" I asked, my voice small and uncertain in the vastness of this ce.

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    The being didn''t reply.

    "Who might you be?" I ventured again, hoping for some kind of response.

    Silence.

    I nced around, searching for clues, anything that might exin this surreal situation. The walls, the carvings, the red carpet stretching endlessly into the void¡ªit all felt like a grand stage, a ce of judgment and reckoning.

    "What is this ce?" I finally asked, trying a different approach.

    "That is the right question," the being said, but the words didn''t seem toe from it. There was no movement, no indication that it had spoken, and yet I heard the voice clearly.

    I waited for an exnation, but none came. The silence stretched on, heavy and oppressive, as if it wanted me to piece together the truth myself.

    I looked around again, taking in the surroundings more carefully. The oppressive silence weighed on me, urging me to speak, to ask the right questions, but the answers eluded me. "Limbo? Purgatory? Or¡­ in between?"

    "Thrice questioned, and thrice right," the voice replied, a tone of approval coloring the words. "Your question is your answer, and your answer is your fate. Speak, man who has many names. Why must you defy the heavens so? Why must you seek what should not be sought?"

    The gravity of the situation sank in. I was facing something far beyond my understanding, perhaps a heaven''s enforcer or even the heavens themselves. But they didn''t seem as overwhelmingly powerful as I''d imagined. That thought alone sent a dangerous surge of confidence through me¡ªone that was immediately punished.

    Without warning, a sensation of unbearable terror gripped me. My entire being, my very soul, quaked with fear. It was as if I had glimpsed something so horrifying, so utterly beyondprehension, that my mind had erased it from memory to protect itself. I didn''t remember what I saw or felt, but I knew that I had just barely survived something that no mortal¡ªor immortal¡ªshould ever encounter.

    When I regained awareness, I found myself trembling uncontrobly. The being still sat there, unmoved and unperturbed, as if it hadn''t noticed my moment of sheer panic. But I knew better. It had allowed me to feel that terror, to understand that I was in the presence of something far beyond myprehension.

    The realization hit hard, and I fought to calm myself, forcing my shivering body to still. "You''re¡­ an enforcer of the heavens?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

 Chapter 821 The Heavenly Gulag

    "That may also be an answer," the being said, its tone neither confirming nor denying.

    "Then¡­ am I to be judged?" I asked, dreading the answer.

    "Yes," it replied, the single word hanging in the air like a death sentence.

    "I find it¡­ quite unfair," I said, gathering thest shreds of my courage. "The heavens¡­ they''re never unfair?"

    "The heavens are never unfair," the being stated, as if it were an immutable fact.

    "I beg to differ," I countered, my mind racing to form an argument that might save me. "I had no intention of learning any secrets. They were simply deductions. If the heavens truly wanted to keep the knowledge of Soul energy and Origin Energy hidden, why did they embed the thought in my mind?"

    "It wasn''t a thought that anyone should venture and think of, reincarnator," the being replied, its voice cold and unyielding.

    The title hit me like a bolt of lightning. Reincarnator. So they knew. Of course, they knew.

    I paused, letting the weight of the situation settle. "Say, would you consider the consciousness of a man a gift from the heavens?" I asked, trying a different angle.

    "It is indeed so," the being replied. "It was given to man to elevate him from the beasts."

    "Then his thinking, his thoughts, and his beliefs are all guided by the heavens, yes?" I pressed.

    Find your next read on empire

    "That is incorrect," the being said, its tone final. "All have free will. All are free to do as they desire. We only judge what is done after the fact."

    "May I tell you a story?" I asked, a sudden idea forming in my mind.

    "A story?" the being repeated, sounding intrigued. "That is a first. I have seen all the stories, though. But speak."

    "There was a man in a vige who loved his gold dearly," I began. "He would always hide it in his safe, never spend it, but always add to it. A secret that no one else in the vige ever knew. Afraid that if the vigers found out about his gold, he''d be robbed. One day, an old friend of the man came to visit.

    In his rush, the man forgot to close the safe where his gold was hidden as he weed his friend in. The friend noticed the gold, and upon seeing it, the man immediately brought an axe down upon his friend''s head. Now tell me, was the old man right in killing his guest? Or was the guest in the wrong for discovering the old man''s secret?"

    The enforcerughed, a deep, resonant sound that echoed through the vast space. "Quite a weak story, but I understand your intentions. Indeed, the old man is in the wrong. For if he truly wished to keep his gold hidden, he should have done a better job of it. His friend wouldn''t have died for it. Regardless, our concern is bigger than mere gold, would you say so?"

    "Indeed," I agreed.

    "You, of many names," the enforcer continued, "have not only seen the gold but grabbed it. Intentionally or unintentionally, you took it away from the old man''s home."

    "More like a piece fell into my pocket," I admitted, "but you''re right."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The being''s expression remained inscrutable, but there was a sense of grim amusement in its voice. "For that, you have been eliminated. Regardless, why do you still think? Why do you still reason? And why haven''t you been either eliminated or taken to the wheel of reincarnation?"

    "I''m afraid I don''t know why," I replied honestly. "My knowledge about death is pretty limited. This is my first¡­ wait," I paused, counting on my fingers. "Third time?"

    "It is your fifty-eighth time," the enforcer corrected.

    "Oh¡­" The revtion was staggering. Fifty-eight times? How many lives had I lived before bing Du Shen, before I even became aware of myself?

    "You have received

    something from us," the enforcer said, drawing my attention back. "Something that contradicts our decree of death. Look at your right hand."

    I nced down and saw, to my astonishment, that I was holding a peach. A simple, unassuming fruit that glowed with a soft, golden light.

    "The Fruit of Rebirth," I murmured, recognizing it immediately. I hadpletely forgotten about it in the chaos of everything that had happened.

    "Now here lies our issue," the enforcer said. "We have promised you life, and we have promised you death. The two contradict each other. We need to find a way for you to either die or return to the world of the living. Since the heavens cannot break a promise, we cannot let you live, as we promised you death. And we cannot let you die, as we promised you life."

    "Quite the conundrum," I remarked, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me.

    "Indeed, it is so," the enforcer agreed.

    "Then what is the solution to this issue?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

    "Simple," the being said, rising from its throne and beginning to shrink in size. "Life is not an easy thing to create, but it is an easy thing to take away. For you, who is between life and death, you must prove to us why you deserve to live. Ready yourself, for you shall only live if you survive, and forever perish if you die."

    A cold shiver ran down my spine as the reality of the situation sank in. I was being given a chance, a slim, perilous chance to reim my life. But it woulde at a cost¡ªa battle against the heavens themselves, or at least, their enforcer.

    "Fantastic," I muttered to myself, steeling my resolve. "I get to fight the heavens'' enforcer if I want to keep my life. What a freaking nice day!"

    The enforcer stood before me, no longer towering, but still radiating an aura of overwhelming power. I could feel the weight of the heavens in every breath, every step, every thought. This was a fight I couldn''t afford to lose.

    The battle was about to begin.

 Chapter 822 Domain and Dominion

    First things first, I ced my hand on my side and found something pretty annoying.

    "Where are my things?" I muttered.

    "You have died. No dead man can bring anything from the mortal world here, or have you forgotten?" the being said, its voice echoing like a distant thunderp in a cavernous void.

    I sighed and switched instantly to a fighting stance. The cold, eerie floor beneath me seemed to pulse with a dark energy, and the shadows along the jagged walls flickered like restless phantoms.

    "One without names, you have a flexible mindset. Many unlike you would be conscious about theirck of weapons; however, you seem more malleable to such a loss," the being remarked, its words slithering around me like a creeping fog.

    "To be honest, I have a pretty good feeling that none of those weapons I had with me would serve me any good here. And I never needed them. I made them because they make striding through life easier; they''re not crutches for me to rely on," I said, my voice steady but my mind sharp, calcting.

    The being''s lips curled into a grin, revealing jagged teeth that glistened like freshly drawn des. "Indeed, they would have served you little to no good, the same as they did to those that hade before you¡ªmen who begged for their prized possessions, only to die shortly after."

    I nced around, the flickering torches along the walls casting distorted shadows that seemed to move with a will of their own. The walls themselves depicted gruesome scenes: warriors impaled on their own weapons, bodies broken and twisted in final moments of despair. Each painted face seemed to scream silently, their wide eyes a testament to the horrors they faced.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I''d rather not have my own weapon be the thing that kills me.

    I shifted my stance, lowering my center of gravity, and entered the Fist of Roaring Ki''s initial stance. One arm tucked under my chest, the other pointed forward in a tiger w. My legs spread shoulder-width apart with a slight squat, ready to spring.

    "Good," the being hissed, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through the bones in my body as it dashed forward with a speed that defied logic.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Fist of Eternal Gold!"

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Fist of Eternal Gold!" the being immediately incanted, mirroring my words and movements. Both our fists mmed together, the collision sending a shockwave through the room that rattled my teeth.

    I felt my shock seep into my bones. He was using a skill that was personally crafted for myself and my body, a technique honed through years of pain and perseverance. Yet he wielded it with a fluid ease and far lesser use of Qi and power. Which meant one thing.

    I was sent hurtling through the chamber like a ragdoll. Painnced through my back as I skidded across the rough stone floor. Without a moment''s rest, the being had already flown next to my tumbling body, twisting his entire form like a coiled spring, and raised one of his feet high above his head.

    Fuck!

    "Roaring Ki! Golden Titan''s Axe!" he roared.

    I barely had time to cross my arms in front of me as his heel crashed down. The impact sent a bone-jarring shock through my forearms, and the force of the blow was enough to drive me from mid-air into the ground. The stone beneath me cracked as my body bounced off it like a broken puppet.

    My bones shattered like ss; my chest caved in, and the air in my lungs was forced out in a painful whoosh.

    The bounce against the unforgiving ground lifted me just enough for him to already have switched stance, his elbow now ring with a cyclone of Qi so potent it seemed to distort reality itself. I saw death in his iing strike¡ªcold, certain, and unyielding.

    "Fist of Roaring Ki! Golden Fist of the Eternal God!" the creature roared. The spiraling Qi around his fist twisted with such ferocity, so forcefully and so powerfully, that I felt my soul tremble under the sheer weight of his presence.

    A wave of regret washed over me. I had realized something new from the ferocity of his Golden Titan style, but I wasn''t going to get the chance to try it. This will kill me.

    "Domain of Delusions! Fake and Real!"

    The world around me turned ck in an instant. I was no longer in the air; I was standing. The being was now above, suspended mid-air, confusion rippling through its expression as our positions swapped.

    "FIST OF ROARING KI! GOLDEN FIST OF THE ETERNAL GOD!" I roared back, applying the exact same move the enforcer used. I spiraled the Qi around my fist, not sting it out but instead creating a powerful pulling force that made my fist reach its target faster, mightier, and stronger.

    The fistnded right into the chest of the enforcer and sent him plunging into the dark domain. I watched as he stood up from the shadows, muttering under his breath.

    "I had expected you to use this, but it was an interesting thing to see. Even I was momentarily confused. What a strange domain," he said as he slowly approached me.

    And to be honest, that scared the ever-living shit out of me. No one should be able to move properly here. My domain isn''t something difficult to understand, but it is extremely difficult to adjust to.

    Not only do I, by the power of my own Delusions, switch the notion of space¡ªturning up to down, left to right, and so on¡ªbut I can also manipte whatever happens inside it by the sheer force of my will and soul, changing spells and skills as if modifying a scene in a dream.

    Yet, this thing, this monster, was not affected¡ªnot at all. All I could switch was our positions, not his conscious mind, which allowed him freedom in my own terrain.

 Chapter 823 Power Up (Definitly not plot armor!)

    "Your domain is powerful, but that''s not how you should use it. You have much to learn. Domain of Delusions! FAKE AND REAL! TRUE AND FALSE!" the being dered, and instantly, the dark domain I had created shattered like ss. The shock from such destruction echoed deep into my soul, forcing me to bleed through my nose and vomit a gush of blood from my mouth.

    The space turnedpletely white, and I was now trapped within his version of my domain.

    I gasped for breath, my vision blurring as my body fought against the suffocating weight of his realm. Raising my right arm caused my left arm to jerk down awkwardly. Everything was inverted, twisted. I had to think backwards, but I had prepared for this. I had practiced in case I was trapped in my own domain.

    I staggered to my feet, each movement deliberate, cautious. I waited for him toe closer. He smiled, realizing I was not fully affected by his domain either.

    "In this domain, you should bepletely unparalleled, unlike those who seek to grow a domain befitting their own understanding of the outer world¡ªwhere they create a domain of mes or ice, a domain of darkness or light and gravitational prowess. Their domains are all derived from thews and rules of the world the heavens have created.

    To use it against the heavens is foolish, thus why many have died trying. You, on the other hand, your domain is in your mind. You do not take from the heavens to apply onto others but delude your own mind withws that the heavens never created. And in your delusion, you apply it onto others in and that is your own.

    We apud your insight of the mind, yet we warn you, to think that you maymand and rule as the heavens is sphemy against us!"

    "That''s why¡­" I coughed, blood sttering from my lips, "I never dered myself as a god. That''s why I only use my domain in case of emergency."

    "We see," the being said as he raised his hand slightly, and a sword manifested within it. A familiar sword. Creeping Demise.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The de didn''te from an inventory, nor a holding bag. No, I could see the very fabric of the domain warping and bending, creating an exact replica of my sword. I even felt the bond it had with me forcibly severed and contained, its loyalty redirected to its new master.

    "You applied Delusions not only onto your opponent," I said, gasping through ragged breaths, "but even yourself... You deluded yourself into thinking that the sword is in your hand, so it became in your hand," I added, my eyes narrowing.

    "Quite the fast thinker," he replied, his voice like a cold whisper against my ear. "Then, what about this?" he said as he sliced through his own arm.

    Yet no blood spilled. Instead, a searing pain erupted from my shoulder, and I looked down to see my own arm lying on the ground, severed cleanly.

    The pain was indescribable. My mind reeled, struggling toprehend the agony. My focus blurred as I felt the pain from the first blows hended, amplified tenfold. The enforcer rushed me as I desperately tried to dodge, the inverted perception of space making each move a nightmare. I could barely react, taking three hits for every hit I blocked or dodged.

    And when I tried to retreat to safety, he would stab his own legs, causing mine to buckle and send me sprawling to the ground.

    I attempted to release a Poison Breath, but he immediately dragged his de, Creeping Demise, across his own throat. A hot gush of blood erupted from my own neck, and I could feel my life force draining away with every heartbeat.

    The battle, well more like beating continued on like that, where I tried anything I could think of, and it was immediately canceled out by something simple the creature would do. A light self-stab would immediately impact the way I controlled my Qi, or a sudden switch in position, or sometimes he would charge me and strike me down with a fist, rattling my mind away.

    It was so oppressive to the point of madness, not only was I heavily affected by his version of Domain of Delusions, making every move I needed to take a mental chore to consider, he was already absurdly and immensely stronger than me that he didn''t need to.

    Why am I suffering this? Why am I being tortured for the mistake of the heavens themselves? Pain and agony to no real purpose nor real reason, only for me to bleed out, and be discarded like a rotten pig''s corpse. Useless for anything even feed.

    The presence of death dawned on me, and my future seemed bleak and hopeless. Fighting this thing was meaningless because I''m unable to do anything against him.

    Still, have I not suffered something like this before, have I Du Shen not been denied the ess to the emperor stage due to the Heavens''s jealousy? Have I Shen Bao not been tortured for years for simply picking up a book? Have I, the Humble Dragon not fought against all odds to only stand once more on my feet. I have, and I did, and I shall do it once more.

    For there is no hope for a defeated spirit but death. Struggle, writhe and fight back.

    Battered, bruised, and on the brink of defeat, I struggled to stand. My body was working overtime to regenerate, but the missing arm and the constant loss of blood were pushing me to the brink. I knew I couldn''tst much longer.

    Stand up! I screamed to my wounded body.

    Stand up! I Shouted once more!

    And it did, my body, which seemed to have the same will as my mind was refusing to cower down against power. Man choose not how they are brought to life. But they sure as hell can choose how they Die!

    Desperately my feet nted themselves on the ground, vision hazy and unfocused, head spinning and my mind in aplete state of chaos.

    "You struggle well, struggler," the enforcer taunted, his eyes glinting with an eerie amusement.

    "That''s what we are... strugglers. Worms andrvae with no option but to wriggle and fight. We live through life, through sadness and joy, and we struggle through it to make the best out of our lives... we''re human. Nay, we''re cultivators!" I roared, forcing my trembling arm forward.

    "POISON TIGER CLAW!"

    Our positions swapped again, and I was suddenly faced with my own technique. His Poison Tiger w tore through me, the venom searing into my veins, sending me flying backward. My vision swam with stars, my body a mess of pain and broken bones. Iughed, the sound hollow and wild, as I realized the terrible truth¡ªhe was toying with me. This wasn''t a fight I was meant to survive; it was an execution.

    I coughed, blood spraying across the floor, and looked up. I could see it now in his eyes¡ªa weariness, a disgust. He had seen this before.

    The madness of the damned, the broken.

    "Madness has consumed you¡­" the enforcer sighed, as if mourning a soul lost to the void.

    "Madness? No!" I barked, my voice raw and defiant as I dragged myself up, leaning on my one good arm. "I figured it out!"

    A flicker of surprise crossed the enforcer''s face. I grit my teeth, ignoring the stabbing pain, and closed my eyes. I let out a breath, slow and controlled, and when I opened my eyes again, I broke the connection between myself and his domain. This was my true power, the core of my Domain of Delusions. It was a simple, profound realization: I don''t exist in a domain. My mind refused it DENIED IT.

    Even before I had developed my domain, I had been using it unconsciously. A small,pact realm within my mind that was more resilient than any divinew or heavenly decree.

    "I am not in a domain! I am Free!"

    The very fabric of his domain trembled and shuddered. His golden glow dimmed slightly, and I saw his form stagger, if only for a moment.

    "What sphemous skill you possess," the enforcer said, his voice tight with what I could only guess was irritation. He reeled back slightly. He did not bleed, nor did he crumble, but I could see a subtle shift¡ªthe faintest flicker of uncertainty. He weakened even if ever so slightly.

    My severed arm stilly on the ground, twitching slightly. I reached down, grabbed it, and pressed it back to the open wound.

    "Book of Body, Forceful Rejuvenation."

    My cells exploded into overdrive, knitting flesh, bone, and sinew back together with rapid precision. My arm flexed back to life, the skin knitting seamlessly, while the remaining injuries on my body healed with a speed that was both grotesque and wondrous. My neck, previously shed, sealed itself, and I took a deep, clear breath for the first time since the battle began.

    "You could have left the domain whenever you wanted. Why endure such a beating first?" the enforcer asked, his voiceced with both curiosity and a grudging respect.

    "Because I wanted to see what else you could do inside that domain," I replied, rolling my newly regenerated shoulder. "Now, let''s go for a second round!"

    I mmed my hands together in a praying motion, the energy of my mind roaring out like a beast uncaged. "Domain of Delusions! Fake and Real! True and False!" The space around us began to warp and twist as if reality itself was trembling at the force of my will.

    This was a perfect replica, of not my, but His Domain of Delusions. However, there was a twist.

    And then, with a final breath, I whispered a single word that sent ripples through the air, causing the entire hall to quake:

    "MONOCHROME!"

 Chapter 824 Monochrome

    The entire space around me turned a muted, lifeless gray¡ªa fusion of ck and white where nothing had color except my eyes, which glowed a vivid green. It felt as if the world had died, everything frozen in time, as though all life had lost its essence, and all presence had lost meaning. It was as if I had been plunged into a delusion where not even life itself was truly alive.

    The scene exuded a suffocating ndness that would bring nothing but despair, an overwhelming sense of sloth and exhaustion, a crushing weight that pressed down on the soul, threatening to snuff out the will to live.

    In this world, this domain that was a chaotic blend of mine and the Enforcer''s, only my will remained steadfast. For a moment, I thought I had gained the upper hand, but the Enforcer''s reaction was immediate. He faltered, his once radiant clothes dimming to a dull gray, their glow snuffed out by the overwhelming dreariness of my domain. However, it didn''tst long.

    With a single step, the Enforcer began to reverse the tide. The colors around him gradually returned, his skin resuming its ember-red hue, and his golden cowl reigniting to its former brilliance.

    The control I had over the domain began to falter, and with it, my strength waned. I could feel the Enforcer''s presence growing stronger, his power overwhelming the fragile bnce I had tried to maintain.

    "You possess many secrets and many formidable abilities," the Enforcer''s voice echoed, reverberating through the emptiness like a judgmental decree. "Yet, I cannot allow you to wield this one here. Not because I am unjust, but because if you continue to use it against me, you will perish."

    As if to punctuate his words, the domain shattered like fragile ss, crumbling into nothingness. I fell to my knees, gasping for breath as I coughed up endless streams of blood, each drop vaporizing into thin air almost instantly. My body trembled with the effort of simply staying conscious.

    The Enforcer, watching me with a mix of pity and admiration, spoke again, his tone softer yet stillmanding. "You are strong, Shen Bao. Mightier than most who have stood where you are now. This ability of yours, if used wisely, could bring down foes far greater than yourself. Those bound by thews of the heavens would be powerless against your domain. But against me, it is futile.

    It would have only ended in your demise."

    He paused, observing me as I struggled to regain myposure. The chair that had appeared from nowhere slid back under him as he sat down, his movements deliberate and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.

    I managed to smile, a weak and shaky gesture, but a smile nheless. "I guess this is where my story ends, then."

    "Far from it," the Enforcer responded, his voice carrying an air of finality. He looked at me with something akin to respect. "Here, in this ce, our purpose is to judge and determine if you truly sought to defy the heavens. You have shown us your indomitable will, your refusal to bow, your relentless struggle.

    The heavens allow this, for it is the very essence of cultivation¡ªto forever defy, to strive for freedom. You harbor no malice against the heavens, no ill intentions. Your desire to explore and discover is pure. It was likely for this reason that the heavens revealed to you the source of the Origin. However, you shall remember nothing of this. Now, speak your final words."

    Final words? The thought made me chuckle, despite the circumstances. "Final words, huh? I don''t have much to say, really. It was a good fight."

    The Enforcer nodded, a faint smile ying on his lips. "Then go back to where you belong, Shen Bao," he said, naming me for the first time as he waved his hand, dismissing me as if I were nothing more than a passing breeze.

    Before I couldprehend what was happening, I found myself in darkness¡ªan enclosed space that felt both familiar and foreign. Wait, didn''t the Enforcer say I wouldn''t remember anything? Yet here I was, remembering everything. Perhaps it was a dyed memory wipe? That seemed usible, but even after a while, my memory remained intact.

    My thoughts were interrupted by a heavy pressure on my chest. I could sense the presence of several people around me, but I couldn''t move. There was sobbing, soft whispers, and a solemn atmosphere that weighed down on my very soul. Words formed in my mind, but my mouth refused to utter them.

    Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted within me, spiraling out of control. My body responded instinctively, and before I knew it, I had punched upward, shattering the confines of a coffin and blowing a massive hole through six feet of dirt. I stood up, disoriented, and looked around. Faces stared back at me, wide-eyed and filled with disbelief.

    "Boo!" I said, grinning like a fool. The absurdity of the situation wasn''t lost on me.

    Before I could react, I was tackled to the ground by YuYu and Liang Yu, both of them sobbing uncontrobly, their faces buried in my chest. Their tears soaked through my clothes as they clung to me, refusing to let go. I wrapped my arms around them, my heart swelling with relief and warmth as I patted their heads. The stunned silence that surrounded us was almost palpable.

    I had no exnation for what had just happened. I had died¡ªthat much was certain. Yet here I was, alive and breathing, cradling the two women who had been by my side through thick and thin. The Peach of Rebirth must have done its job, especially after proving myself to the Enforcer. But this was a secret I would take to the grave, never to be shared with anyone.

    Tao Yang approached cautiously, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You live still, Shen Bao? Is that truly you, and not some Walker?"

    I smirked, shaking my head. "I sure as hell know it''s me. Still," I nced around, "nothing bad happened while I was gone, I hope?"

    "The Rakshasas? Oh, the Blue Sun went into a frenzy. Like, a really big one¡­" Tao Yang''s voice trailed off, the understatement evident.

    I sighed, realizing the implications. "They must have been really pissed. Give me a second," I said, gently extricating myself from YuYu and Liang Yu''s embrace, though they were still reluctant to let go.

    With a deep breath, I activated my bracelet and projected my image to all the Suns who had a copy of the device. I cleared my throat to draw their attention, noticing the Blue Sun and the Red Sun in the midst of a mind-boggling ughter.

    The Blue Sun''s bloodshot eyes turned toward my projection, her rage palpable. She let out a heavy sigh, "I guess he left a final memory message."

    "Eh, not really¡­"

    "Oh, it has an artificial intelligence feature¡­ I should have asked him how he worked that one."

    "No, I mean, this is not AI¡­"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her confusion deepened as I continued to speak directly to her. Your adventure continues at empire

    "Oh, watch out, behind you! A Silver is sneaking up!" I called out. She didn''t even nce back as she flicked her hand, her hammer smashing through the skull of the Silver Rakshasa with terrifying precision.

    "Are you really Shen Bao?"

    "Who else would it be? Anyway, as you can see," I gestured around me, "I literally just got out of the grave. Also, Eternal Dusk, you might want to let go of that old man. He''ll calm down in a second," I added, noticing the Dusking Sun struggling to contain the vibrations emanating from the Lord of Lords.

    Immediately, the Darkest Sun''s face appeared on my bracelet, his voice booming, "You''re alive? LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID! THESE FOOLS ARE RUNNING RAMPANT IN MY GODDAMN BATTLEGROUND! GET THEM TO CALM THE HELL DOWN!"

    I winced at the volume, my ears ringing from his outburst. The situation was more chaotic than I had anticipated, but the fact that the Suns had all joined the fight wasn''t a sign of things going south. It was a testament to their rage at my supposed death. They had used the Rakshasa as their personal punching bags¡ªsomething that, oddly enough, warmed my heart.

    I quicklyposed myself, addressing the Darkest Sun. "I apologize for the trouble, truly. I had no intentions of causing this chaos. I am alive, and I believe I have a clue as to what happened. I''ll share everything I know, so if any of the Suns can hear me, please calm down, and I''ll exin."

    It didn''t take long for the Dusking Sun to chime in, his voice filled with relief. "Thank you, Shen Bao. I was really on the verge of dying here, man. This scary old man is going to be the end of me. But as you can see, he''s still not in the right state of mind. He''s calming down, but it''ll take a while."

    Gradually, the Red Sun''s aura dimmed, and the wings of the mboyant Sun retracted. The Suns began to withdraw from the battle, allowing the Darkest Sun to regain control.

    With the immediate crisis averted, I received a final call from the Blue Sun. "I''ll head to your territory in a few hours, and some of the other Suns will join me. Coming back from the dead isn''t unheard of, but not in the way you did. We need to

    hear the details¡­ all the details."

    I sighed, realizing that the conversation ahead would be both awkward and challenging, especially with YuYu and Liang Yu still clinging to me. But I was alive, and that was all that mattered. For now, the rest could wait.

 Chapter 825 Meeting

    "You idiot!" The first words out of Liang Yu''s mouth after she had finally calmed down were sharp, almost as if they were meant to cut through the tension in the air. Her eyes were red and puffy, still glistening with tears that hadn''t quite dried. "Do you know how long it''s been? How worried we were?

    And then the moment we see you again, you just go and die!" Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke, the frustration and sorrow evident in every syble.

    YuYu, her expression equally anguished, added her voice to the mix. "You really are heartless, Shen Bao. Do you even realize how difficult it was for us to reach the Emperor stage? Resources for normal cultivators were so scarce, and we took great risks just to stay by your side. And yet, you keep throwing your life away like it''s nothing.

    Didn''t you once tell me that all you wanted was to live like a normal cultivator?" Her words wereced with a mixture of disappointment and pain, her usually calm demeanorpletely undone by the emotional turmoil of the past days.

    I couldn''t help but feel a deep pang of guilt as I listened to them. They were right, of course. I had been reckless, and they had paid the price for it in their own ways. But I knew I had to reassure them, even if I wasn''t entirely sure how to atone for the pain I had caused. So, I reached out and gently pulled them closer, linking our heads together in an intimate,forting gesture.

    "I understand your concerns, I really do," I began softly, my voice carrying the weight of sincerity. "But you both know my rotten luck¡ªtrouble just seems to find me no matter where I go. All I want is to pursue knowledge, to learn more about this vast world we live in.

    But the more I uncover, the more problems arise, as if the universe itself conspires against me." I paused, letting out a small, rueful chuckle. "Still, let''s head to the pce. Thanks to the Suns, the Rakshasa have had to hold back on a full offensive. It seems like they''re no longer so determined to take over directly."

    "For now," I added, ncing around the city. "Let''s get back to the pce first. I could use a drink¡­ After all, it''s not every day you get to die ande back."

    As we made our way through the city, I couldn''t help but notice the muted reactions of the citizens. They were mildly interested in what was happening, but their concern seemed half-hearted at best. Some offered congrattions on my miraculous revival, praising it as a sign of divine favor. Others were more skeptical, calling the entire thing a theatrical performance designed to awe and impress.

    And then there were those who simply didn''t care, their apathy as evident as the sky above us.

    We moved through the bustling streets toward the pce, listening to the murmurs of the people around us.

    "They really dock loyalty, Shen Bao," YuYu noted, her tone tinged with disapproval. "Rare are those who mourned your passing, and even rarer are those who came to pay their respects. If this had been the Purple Cloud Sect, the entire sect would have been in mourning for forty days."

    "It''s fine," I replied with a dismissive wave. "Unlike your sect, these people have no loyalty to me personally. They''re loyal to what I can provide for them. You can''t me them¡ªI came in and took the mantle of ruler without earning their trust first. That kind of loyalty takes time, and I haven''t exactly given them a reason to pledge their hearts to me."

    Soon, we arrived at the pce, where X and Y stood at the entrance, waiting for us.

    "Scared you a bit, didn''t I?" I asked, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.

    "We know not of fear, Master," Y responded with a slight bow. "We always trust in your return. Wee back, Master Shen Bao."

    The two opened the pce gates, and as I stepped inside, I was greeted by a sight that made me pause. There, in the grand hall, was the councilor,pletely naked and in the midst of some rather unsavory activities with no fewer than five women. He was wearing the old, wrinkled crown, sitting on the throne as if he were the king himself.

    Half of the women were unconscious, sprawled out in a grotesque disy of excess and depravity.

    Gotta give the old man some credit¡ªhe was certainly living it up. But his actions were disrespectful, especially in such a sacred space. In any other situation, his head would have rolled for this.

    "Clean this shit up," Imanded, my voice cold as I forced back the urge to burn everything to ashes right then and there. "And prepare a meeting room for us."

    The councilor''s eyes widened in terror as he hastily wrapped something around himself, gathering up the women with his Qi and zooming out of the room with an embarrassingck of dignity.

    I snapped my fingers, and a small me ignited at the base of the throne. It was a soul me¡ªone that should have been a mere spark, but it red up far mightier than I had intended. The fire was bright, beautiful even, and it consumed the throne and everything around it in an instant, leaving not even a single speck of ash.

    "My Liege, the room is ready," a servant announced, arriving just in time to see the aftermath of the me''s fury.

    We walked into the prepared room, and as I pulled out some wine, YuYu leaned in, her curiosity piqued. "So, what exactly happened?" she asked.

    "Well, I''d like to tell you," I replied, swirling the wine in my ss, "but we''ll need to wait until everyone''s here."

    No sooner had the words left my mouth than the Blue Sun appeared at my side, her robes immacte, her appearance wless. She had taken the time to wash up and reapply her makeup, and she looked stunning¡ªfar more polished than YuYu and Liang Yu, who still had runny mascara and tear-streaked faces.

    The contrast was impossible to ignore, and the two women quickly excused themselves, rushing off to freshen up.

    "Wait for me!" The Red Sun burst into the room, his presence burning with a crimson rage that seemed to radiate from his very core. His aura was so vivid, so thick, that it felt like a living, breathing entity swirling around him.

    "Hoo, you can see it now," the Red Sun remarked, noticing my reaction to his aura.

    "See what?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

    "The Aura of Carnage," he exined, a hint of pride in his voice. "It''s my special thing, the reason I''m called the Laughing ughterer. Achieving an understanding in the Dao of ughter isn''t something just anyone can do. But enough about that¡ªtell us, how did you live after death?"

    "You''re too hasty," the mboyant Sun interjected, appearing out of nowhere as he often did. "We''re still missing the Dusking Sun."

    "No need to worry about him," the Blue Sun replied, holding up her bracelet. "He''s still taking care of the old man. The Lording Sun''s not fully calm yet."

    "I see," I said, settling into a chair as I began to recount the events that had transpired. Liang Yu and YuYu returned, sitting on either side of me as I spoke. I had to be careful with my words¡ªthere were things I couldn''t reveal, not even to them.

    I started by exining how I obtained the Peach of Rebirth, a rare and precious item that had once been presented at the Tournament of the Strongest Under the Sun.

    I mentioned the strange journey I took into limbo, where I faced trials that I couldn''t fully remember¡ªtrials that left me feeling as though I had spent ten thousand years battling a god, dying over and over again until the heavens had had enough.

    "It seems that the heavens are indeed mighty," I continued, choosing my words carefully. "I can''t recall all of what happened, and maybe I was hallucinating. But it felt real¡ªterrifyingly real. The heavens seemed conflicted by something I had done, something rted to my soul. It was a taboo, something I shouldn''t have touched."

    "There are very few taboos that would provoke the heavenly order to strike someone down," the mboyant Sun mused. "And you don''t strike me as a Devil Cultivator who''s gone too far. Not even the Death Sun was struck down, and he''s killed more lives than you''ve seen in your lifetime."

    Find your next read on empire

    "Perhaps," I replied, allowing a small pause to draw out the tension. "But the thing is, the memory of the taboo was erased from my mind." This, of course, was a lie, but one I had to tell.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "That''s to be expected," the mboyant Sun said with a knowing nod. "The heavens are jealous and wouldn''t want their secrets to be revealed. Just in case¡­" He waved his hand, and a shimmering bubble of energy surrounded us. "This barrier won''t do much against a heavenly decree, but it will distort your words enough to keep you from identally revealing something you shouldn''t."

    I nodded in understanding and continued. "The trial I faced¡­ I can''t remember much, but I know it was brutal. When I woke up, it felt like I had spent an eternity being torn apart and put back together. The Fruit of Rebirth must have brought me back, but the Death Decree was what killed me in the first ce."

    "Those are two promises from

    the heavens that contradict each other," the Red Sun said thoughtfully. "No wonder they gave you an out. The heavens can''t be called liars¡ªthey promised you death and life, and the only way to resolve that paradox was through a trial. It''s fair, in a way."

    As we discussed the events, a sudden shift in the atmosphere caught my attention. The entire area around us felt as though it was beingpressed, condensed by a force far greater than anything I had ever experienced.

    "You felt that?" I asked, my senses on high alert.

    "We did," the Red Sun responded, his expression turning grim. "But how did you? What just happened was the movement of Origin Qi. You''re not an Origin Qi cultivator yet, are you?"

    I frowned, extending my hand and manifesting a small, condensed orb of Qi. It was different¡ªmore potent, more refined than anything I had ever wielded before. It had a primordial feel to it, a power that was both exhrating and terrifying.

    "You''ve really reached the Origin Stage," the Red Sun said, his voice tinged with awe as he studied the orb of Qi in my hand.

    "That''s all well and good," the Blue Sun interjected, her tone urgent. "But we have a problem. We''ve been sealed in here¡­ and that can only be the work of one man."

    I spread my Divine Sense, and sure enough, the entire dome of the imperial city was locked down by an evenrger, more powerful barrier. The source of this was unmistakable¡ªthe Cryptic Sun, standing alongside three other cultivators. My gaze zeroed in on one of them, and my blood ran cold.

    "That woman¡­" Tao Yang hissed, her eyes narrowing with recognition. "That''s the Death Widow!"

    "The Death Sun''s ves," the Red Sun growled, his rage reigniting. "What are they doing here?"

    It was clear that trouble was brewing¡ªtrouble that I hadn''t asked for but had found me all the same. Problems, it seemed, were drawn to me like moths to a me.

    "Well, here we go again¡­" I muttered to myself, bracing for the inevitable chaos that was about to unfold.

 Chapter 826 Trapped

    The air grew thicker with tension, a suffocating nket that pressed down on everyone within the pce. The space was charged with a sinister energy, a foreboding sense that something terrible was about to unfold. The silence that followed Cryptic''s deration was more terrifying than the loudest roar.

    It was the quiet before a storm, a moment where even the bravest souls felt the creeping fingers of dread.

    "What is the meaning of this! CRYPTIC!" The mboyant Sun''s voice exploded in the stillness, slicing through the air like a crack of thunder. It was a voice that had alwaysmanded attention, vibrant and filled with the power of a thousand suns. But now, it was different¡ªnow, it wasced with raw, unfiltered fury.

    His words reverberated against the walls of the barrier that held them, each echo a reminder of the impossible situation they were in. His fury was a force of nature, ready to unleash itself on anyone who dared stand in its way.

    Outside the massive barrier, the true extent of their predicament became horrifyingly clear. The sky above was filled with intricate inscriptions, glowing with a malevolent light that spoke of ancient, forbidden magic.

    These weren''t just simple runes; they were a symphony of malevolence, meticulously crafted over centuries, each one a note in a grand, dark opus that had finally reached its crescendo. Millions¡ªno, hundreds of millions¡ªof these inscriptions had formed a colossal web of sealing, a cage designed to trap even the mightiest beings.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was a prison, vast and unyielding, locking the Suns within its invisible walls.

    The Cryptic Sun''s voice oozed through the air, filled with a deep-seated malice that had festered for far too long. "I''ve had enough of being underestimated by all of you," he spat, his words like venomous darts aimed at the pride of the Suns. "It''s time for me to exact my long-overdue revenge."

    The Red Sun, never one to back down from a fight, felt his blood boil. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the air around him seemed to shimmer with the heat of his fury. His teeth were bared in a feral snarl, his eyes burning with the fire of a thousand battles fought and won. "You think this barrier will hold us long enough for you to escape?

    What in the heavens are you even nning?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl, the sound of a predator cornered but not defeated. The ground beneath him cracked and splintered under the weight of his rage.

    The energy around him crackled and surged, a violent storm barely contained within the confines of his body. Glimpses of his Asura avatar began to materialize around him, a terrifying specter of carnage and destruction that waited for themand to unleash hell. The Red Sun''s fury was a tangible force, threatening to tear apart the very fabric of reality.

    But the Cryptic Sun remained unperturbed. He simply smiled, a cold, calcting smile that sent a chill through the room. It was the smile of someone who had nned every move in this deadly game of chess, who held all the cards and knew it. "It should," he said calmly, "after all, I''ve spent over two hundred years preparing it."

    Provoked beyond reason, the Red Sun shot up from the pce floor, a blur of red light tearing through the ceiling like a zinget. His speed was blinding, his power undeniable. He mmed into the barrier with all the force of a dying star, the impact resonating through the air like a thunderp.

    The shockwave of his strike shook the ground beneath them, but to his shock and mounting frustration, the barrier held firm, repelling him with a force that sent him crashing back down. His face was bloodied, and his wrist had fractured under the strain.

    "Once I get out, I''ll split your body in half and feast on your spleen while you watch!" The Red Sun roared, his voice a primal scream of hatred and fury. He struck the barrier again and again, each blow more powerful than thest, but the barrier remained unyielding, its defiance a mockery of his strength.

    "That is, if you can find me," the Cryptic Sun taunted, his voice dripping with condescension. His tone was one of absolute superiority, a man who had finally outwitted those who had dismissed him for so long. It was a voice that enjoyed the suffering of others, that reveled in the power it held over those it had trapped.

    The situation was growing more dire by the second. Shen Bao, seeing no other option, raised his wrist and activated his bracelet, hoping to find some way out of this nightmare. What appeared on the bracelet''s disy was a scene that made his blood run cold: a figure with a face like a skeletal demon, d in decaying ck robes, with his arm buried deep in the chest of the Dusking Sun.

    The sight was enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most battle-hardened warrior.

    "Oh, this little trinket shows what''s happening. Quite an innovative gadget," the skeletal figure mused, his voice calm, almost casual. Yet there was an undercurrent of menace in his tone, a chilling quality that could make the bravest of men tremble. His words were like the rasping breath of Death itself. "Is that Shen Bao on the other side?"

    The sight of this man¡ªno, this monster¡ªand the realization of who he was, sent shockwaves through the Suns. This was a being they had all believed to be dead, a belief that was now shattered beyond repair.

    "DEATH SUN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" The mboyant Sun''s fury knew no bounds, his voice shaking the very air around them. He was the one who had administered the sacred agreement among the Suns, and now that pact had been desecrated in the most heinous way possible. The betrayal was a knife in his heart, a wound that bled fury and outrage.

    The Cryptic Sun continued to taunt the Red Sun, his every word a dagger aimed at the pride of the Suns. The rest of them, their faces twisted with rage, were powerless to act against the barrier that held them captive. Their power, once thought to be unchallengeable, now felt like a cruel joke.

    "Why are you doing this?" The Blue Sun''s voice rang out, filled with a mix of disbelief and anger. But her question was met with cold, indifferent silence. The Death Sun, however, seemed uninterested in exnations. He was a man acting on whims, and his whims had brought them to the brink of disaster.

    "The opportunity to act presented itself much sooner than I had anticipated," the Death Sun mused, his tone eerily calm amidst the chaos. "Shen Bao, I must thank you for dying so spectacrly. It caught my attention and piqued my curiosity. Now, with the Lording Sun fully sealed and the Dusking Sun gravely wounded, you''ve handed me two Suns on a silver tter."

    "Darkest Sun!" Shen Bao shouted through the bracelet, desperation creeping into his voice. "We need help! We''re being attacked!"

    "My hands are tied!" The Darkest Sun''s voice came through, strained and filled with frustration. His words caught everyone by surprise, their eyes widening in disbelief. "I saw what happened, but I cannot act¡­ they couldn''t have chosen a better time¡­"

    The Darkest Sun''s bracelet projected an image of what he was facing: an overwhelming horde of Rakshasa, their numbers seemingly endless. Among them was a gargantuan Rakshasa, its sizeparable to a moon, leading the charge with terrifying determination. It was a sight that filled them all with dread, a nightmare made flesh.

    "They noticed the state of the Lording Sun and decided to strike. I can''t allow them to advance any further! You''ll have to figure it out on your own! The Wisest Sun is still at hisnd¡ªI''ve already sent him amand for help, but it''ll take time for him to arrive," the Darkest Sun said, his voice tight with urgency.

    The Cryptic Sun interjected with a sneer, "An interesting n, but it''s one I won''t allow to seed."

    "I''m trapped," the Wisest Sun''s voice came through, his tone unusually tense. His hands moved rapidly, trying to dispel the millions of formations that had appeared out of nowhere, imprisoning him in his ownnd. The Cryptic Sun had meticulously nted these traps across each of the Suns'' domains, ensuring that no help would arrive in time.

    "This will take me at least a day to break through. It''s less restrictive than what you''re dealing with, but it''s still a significant obstacle," the Wisest Sun''s voice crackled through the bracelet, adding yet anotheryer of dread to their already dire situation.

    The atmosphere grew darker as the Cryptic Sun beganughing like a mad hesterical maniac. Today all of you will finally see how helpless you all are! Calling me a Fake Sun! Who is the fake one now!"

 Chapter 827 Extortion

    "Now," the Death Sun said, his tone dark and ominous, "I''ve humored you all long enough. I''m willing to let you leave if you hand over the alien woman. She''s of no use to any of you. If you refuse, I''ll satisfy myself with these two." His cold, dead eyes glinted with malicious intent as he nced at the unconscious Dusking Sun and the barely lucid Lording Sun.

    Shen Bao''s mind raced, his thoughts a whirlwind of desperation and determination. The situation was dire, but he refused to let despair take hold. "Red Sun, is your teleportation gate still active?" Shen Bao asked, his voice steady despite the chaos around them.

    "It is, but what''s the point? We can''t even leave to use it!" The Red

    Sun snapped, frustration evident in his voice.

    "You can''t," Shen Bao said, his eyes narrowing with focus. "But I can." Without wasting another moment, he sat down in a lotus position, his mind retreating from his body as his consciousness delved deep within.

    Shen Bao''s consciousness disappeared from the pce, reappearing in the depths of the Hall of Elders at the Red Sun''s graveyard. Shen Mo''s body, buried deep within the earth, was free. With a surge of power, Shen Mo tore through the soil, breaking free from the grave that had held him.

    His body moved with incredible speed, a blur of motion that left the surrounding cultivators stunned and speechless.

    In no time, Shen Mo had reached the edge of the Red Sun''s territory, where the teleportation gate awaited. His speed was breathtaking, far beyond anything his former level would have allowed. The Void Stage had granted him power beyond his wildest dreams, and he intended to use every ounce of it to save his allies.

    "Who are you?" the guards at the gate demanded, their voices filled with suspicion.

    Shen Mo didn''t waste time with exnations. He simply held up his wrist, showing the bracelet with the furious face of the Red Sun disyed on it. "LET HIM THROUGH!" the Red Sun''s voice bellowed through the bracelet, sending the guards into a panicked frenzy.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The guards nearly tripped over themselves in their haste toply. They had never encountered the Red Sun in person, but his wrathful voice was more than enough to convince them.

    The Death Sun, watching these events unfold, couldn''t help but chuckle. "What foolishness," he muttered. "Do you really believe that a mere Void Stage cultivator can change the oue of this battle?" His voice dripped with condescension, his words a scornful dismissal of Shen Bao''s efforts.

    But Shen Bao wasn''t aiming to confront the Death Sun directly¡ªhe knew better than to throw himself into a battle he couldn''t win. His goal was something else entirely.

    "This way!" one of the guards shouted, leading Shen Mo to the teleportation gate. "Where do you need to go?"

    "White Sect! Hurry! We don''t have time to waste! And send reinforcements to the Sea of Demons! The Death Sun is back, and he''s mortally wounded the Dusking Sun!"

    The Death Sun''s frown deepened. "It seems I''ll have to stop you now if you''re trying to break the Wisest Sun''s prison."

    "You can''t," the Cryptic Sun interjected, his voice filled with certainty. "I''ve put too much effort into that formation. It''s unbreakable."

    The Death Sun''s expression remained impassive. "We''ll see," he muttered, his eyes narrowing as he watched Shen Mo''s progress.

    "Junfei, I have no doubts about your abilities, but we can''t afford to take any risks. And as for the rest of you Suns¡ªsince you refused to give up one alien woman, you''ll now lose two of your own." The Death Sun''s voice wasced with finality as he turned his gaze to the unconscious Suns in his grasp. "Farewell, for now. We shall meet again if fate allows it."

    With those chilling words, he and his captives began to sink into the ground. As they vanished, the Death Sun left them with one final, cryptic warning: "You all spend so much time watching the skies, worried about distant threats, that you failed to notice the dangers lurking at your feet. Your arrogance will be your downfall."

    As the Death Sun and his captives disappeared, the rest of the Suns were left in stunned silence, their minds racing to process the gravity of the situation. The barrier still held strong, an unbreakable prison that kept them from aiding theirrades.

    But the nightmare was far from over.

    A deep, ominous rumbling shook the ground beneath the Sea of Demons. The earth itself seemed to split apart as if reacting to the immense pressure of the horrors thaty beneath. Cracks spread like a disease, carving through thendscape and releasing a wave of foul energy that made the air thick with malevolence.

    From those cracks, an army of Walkers began to emerge, wing their way out of the darkness. These weren''t just any Walkers¡ªthey were Rakshasa, twisted and reanimated into monstrous undead abominations. Their bodies were grotesque, their eyes glowing with an eerie light as they swarmed the walls of the twelve cities.

    Their ws scraped against the stone, and their guttural growls filled the air with an otherworldly menace. They moved with a single-minded purpose, a relentless drive to consume and destroy everything in their path. The sight of these abominations, once mighty Rakshasa now reduced to mindless puppets, sent a wave of dread through the defenders.

    The cities trembled under the weight of the assault, their walls shuddering as the Walkers threw themselves against them with suicidal abandon. The very ground beneath the Sea of Demons was breaking, shattering bit by bit as more and more Walkers emerged, their numbers swelling into an unstoppable tide.

    Two Suns had been captured. The enemy forces had mounted a full-scale assault, pressing in on all sides. Walkers had emerged right under their noses, and the most powerful force in the Beyond was trapped, unable to act. The atmosphere was thick with despair, the taste of defeat lingering in the air.

    The Beyond''s future had never looked bleaker. It was as if the universe itself was conspiring against them, determined to snuff out thest vestiges of hope. And yet, even in the face of such overwhelming odds, a spark of defiance remained. Shen Bao''s mind raced, calcting, nning¡ªthere had to be a way out, a way to turn the tide.

    But with every second that passed, the shadows deepened, and the world seemed to edge closer to a darkness from which there would be no return.

 Chapter 828 Dismantlement

    The entire world seemed to blur around me as I tore through the skies, my speed unparalleled. The wind whipped against my face, though I barely felt it. My current body was incredible, and even more so considering this was Shen Mo¡ªwho was merely at the peak of the Void Stage, on the cusp of breaking into the Void Shattering Stage any second now.

    The sheer velocity at which I moved left everything else in my wake, transforming the world into a streak of colors. My senses were heightened, alert to every detail despite the breakneck speed. I could feel the air pressure change with each meter I covered, the pull of gravity trying¡ªand failing¡ªto slow me down.

    This wasn''t even the stronger version of myself. My true body, if it could be unleashed here, would turn this race into a thunderous storm. But I couldn''t afford to think about that now. My focus was singr: I needed to reach the White Sect and free the Wisest Sun. Without him, there was no hope of breaking the barriers that were suffocating the other Suns, trapping them like caged beasts.

    The entire situation was teetering on the edge of disaster, and every second that passed brought us closer to an irreversible fate.

    Above me, the sky was stained with the blue blood of the countless creatures that the Darkest Sun''s army was ughtering. The heavens wept a rain of blood as beasts fell like rain, their lifeless bodies crashing into the ground far below. But the chaos above didn''t matter¡ªwhat mattered was freeing the Wisest Sun. I had no time to dwell on the why''s and how''s of this catastrophe.

    Why had the Death Sun betrayed his own kind? What could possibly drive him to such madness, to risk the ruin of everything? My mind raced with questions, but there were no answers, only the driving need to act.

    Nothing I could think of would help me understand what he was nning. The same went for the Cryptic Sun¡ªhis inferiorityplex had driven him to madness, pushing him to risk everything, including his ownfortable position as a Sun. The sheer insanity of their actions baffled me. Nothing woulde from this but the devastation of the Beyond.

    The Suns in my territory could likely break free from the barrier, but doing so would unleash such destructive force that it might threaten the very existence of the Beyond. They were holding back, but for how long? The longer they were trapped, the angrier they would be, and I couldn''t promise that the Sea of Demons would survive their wrath.

    As the White Sect came into view, I could see the colorful lights that adorned it from a distance, shimmering like a beacon in the night. But those lights weren''t a sign of wee¡ªthey were the markings of the Cryptic Sun''s massive sealing formation. The closer I got, the more I realized the magnitude of what I was up against.

    This wasn''t just a barrier; it was a fortress of intricate inscriptions,yered with defenses designed to repel even the most powerful of beings. Readtest stories on empire

    The moment I reached the barrier, several cultivators emerged from the shadows, their faces hard with resolve. The situation was dire, and I could understand their caution. They were ready to fight, to protect their sect from any threat, no matter how small.

    "Who are you?!" one of them shouted, his voice edged with suspicion. "Identify yourself!"

    The demand was sharp, filled with the tension of the moment. They had every right to be wary. After all, a stranger at their doorstep during a time of crisis was not something to be taken lightly.

    "I''m here to help," I replied, trying to keep my tone calm, though I knew they wouldn''t be easily convinced.

    "You haven''t identified yourself yet! Who are you?!" the cultivator insisted, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized me. They were on high alert, and I couldn''t me them. In this body, they wouldn''t recognize me as Shen Bao. To them, I was just another stranger, a potential enemy.

    Before I could respond, the familiar voice of the Wisest Sun echoed through the sect, filled with the wisdom and authority that only he couldmand. "Child, what are you doing here?" His voice was calm, but there was an undertone of urgency. He knew that time was running out.

    "I''m here to help, old man," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips despite the gravity of the situation. The disciples around me were visibly confused, their expressions shifting from suspicion to bewilderment. Who else would dare to address the Wisest Sun as ''old man'' unless it was another Sun?

    "Right then," the Wisest Sun responded, not missing a beat. "Assist me in solving some of these inscriptions. Don''t use brute force; they''re too delicate for that."

    "No," I replied firmly, causing the disciples to bristle. They exchanged looks of disbelief and outrage, as if my refusal was a p in the face. But I wasn''t here to follow orders blindly¡ªI had my own methods, ones that would be far more effective in this situation.

    "What do you mean, ''no''?" one of the disciples snapped, his hand inching toward his weapon. "You said you were here to help!"

    "I am," I said, holding up a small cube, its surface gleaming with a soft, ethereal light. "But it''ll be the other way around. I''ll handle this differently."

    The Wisest Sun''s curiosity was piqued. "What is that device?" he asked, watching as I tossed the cube into the air. It hovered above us, humming with energy, its many faces rotating and shifting as if it was alive.

    "The thing about the Cryptic Sun''s formations is that they rely heavily on quantity rather than quality," I exined, my voice steady as I kept my eyes on the cube. "He overuses inscriptions to createyers uponyers of defenses, much like I do, but without the finesse. He''s buried this ce under a mountain of formations, but there''s a weakness in that approach."

    The Wisest Sun nodded thoughtfully. "I''ve managed to solve three hundred thousand of his formations so far, but there are just too many of them. It''ll take time¡ªmore time than we have."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Exactly," I said. "That''s why we''re going to turn his own strategy against him. You see that cube?" I gestured to the floating device. "It''s one of my Artificial Meridians. Its job is to learn, adapt, and replicate. Once you teach it how you''ve been dismantling those formations, it''ll apply that knowledge to every simr formation in this entire dome.

    We''ll neutralize them in seconds."

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes lit up with understanding. "I see. You want me to teach the cube the method I''ve been using to break down the formations."

    "Precisely," I confirmed. "You''ve already identified six unique formations within the barrier. Show the cube how you''re dismantling them, and it''ll do the rest."

    Without hesitation, the Wisest Sun stepped closer to the cube, his hands moving deftly as he plucked a small formation from the barrier. He began to dismantle it with expert precision, his fingers dancing over the inscriptions. The cube mirrored his actions, its many faces rotating and shifting as it absorbed the knowledge.

    It was like watching a master teach his pupil, the two working in perfect harmony.

    "That''s the first," the Wisest Sun announced, his voice tinged with satisfaction.

    "Good," I replied, "Show him the rest!" I said while throwing ten more cubes into the air. They immediately connected with each other, forming awork of glowing nodes that spread out across the sky. The cubes began to change, their speed increasing to a blur as they processed the information they had been given.

    Faces shifted and twisted rapidly, each one showing a different part of the formations they were dismantling.

    The entire dome''s light began to dim, the once-bright inscriptions fading as the cubes neutralized them by the millions each second. It was like watching a towering structure crumble from within, eachyer of defense copsing in on itself. The base of the barrier was being eroded away, bit by bit, until the whole thing copsed in a matter of moments.

    The massive dome that had once been an imprable fortress nowy in ruins, its power broken. The air around us felt lighter, the oppressive weight of the barrier lifted.

    "Good enough," the Wisest Sun said as he stepped back, his eyes scanning the now-faded inscriptions. He turned to me, his expression serious. "We need to hurry."

    I collected the cubes, their work done, and nodded. "You''re right. But I''m too slowpared to you. You should go ahead¡ªI''ll only slow you down."

    The Wisest Sun considered my words for a moment, then took one of the cubes from my hand. "This has learned most of the formations, correct?"

    I nodded. "Yes. If you run into the Cryptic Sun again, use it to break free."

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes darkened with determination. "Then it''s settled. But you''reing with me. We''re going back to the Sea of Demons."

    I blinked in surprise. "Why? Wouldn''t it be better for me to head back there and release the others?"

    The Wisest Sun shook his head, his expression grim. "Because the Death Sun''s trueir lies beneath the Sea of Demons. And we''ll need every bit of help we can get."

    The gravity of his words hit me like a cold wave. The enemy was living under my own home... that was something I didn''t seeing. Well, shit.

 Chapter 829 The Hunt

    The Wisest Sun surged ahead, his form a blur of ancient power and speed, while I¡ªwell, I was being dragged along in his wake. We hurtled through the skies, leaving behind the remnants of the battle we''d just escaped. In mere seconds, we reached the teleportation gate within his sect, a sh of light engulfing us as we reappeared in the Red Sun''s territory.

    As soon as we materialized, the oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily upon us. Even the air seemed thicker, burdened with the tension of the ongoing war. The Wisest Sun tried to lighten the mood, though his grim expression betrayed his true feelings. "After all this is done," he said, his voice echoing with both weariness and resolve, "I''ll ask the Blue Sun to set up a gate in your territory.

    It''s really far from any civilized region, and you could use the connection."

    "I''d appreciate that," I replied, my gaze fixed on the sky, where the storm clouds seemed to swirl with malevolent intent.

    The Wisest Sun''s attempt at normal conversation was half-hearted at best, and we both knew it. How could either of us pretend that the world wasn''t teetering on the edge of oblivion? His oldest friend, the Lord of Lords, was now a prisoner of a deranged madman. The very fabric of the Beyond was unraveling, and we were powerless to stop it¡ªat least for now.

    "Don''t worry about the Darkest Sun," the Wisest Sun continued, his toneced with a mixture of reassurance and uncertainty. "He''ll handle the Rakshasa. You''ll never see him ask for help. And if things get ugly, he''ll call upon the Titans."

    "The Titans¡­ so that''s what those giant spheres are?" I asked, my eyes narrowing as I examined the distant horizon, where faint glimmers of red light pulsed ominously.

    The Wisest Sun frowned, his gaze following mine, though he saw nothing but the empty sky. "Your bracelet is linked to the probes in the sky. You can see what I''m talking about then."

    He nced down at my bracelet, and his frown deepened into a scowl. The massive spheres I had mentioned were the Red Titans, colossal beings enved by the Darkest Sun. Now, they had been unleashed upon the battlefield, uncoiling their monstrous forms to reveal the weapons they wielded¡ªdes and hammers forged to carve mountains and crush entire armies.

    Their mere presence sent shivers down my spine.

    "Things are getting desperate on his side," the Wisest Sun muttered, more to himself than to me. "We really don''t have much time¡­"

    The urgency in his voice was palpable, a stark contrast to his earlier attempt at casual conversation. It was obvious now¡ªthe Darkest Sun was struggling. Theck of coordination and timely assistance from the other Suns had pushed him to his limits. He was holding the line, but for how long?

    "Let''s pick up the pace," the Wisest Sun said, and this time, he wasn''t trying to lighten the mood. He shot forward with renewed speed, and I struggled to keep up. My main body would have been able to match his pace, but in this form, I was barely able to stay on his tail. We covered the distance to the central city of the Sea of Demons in less than ten minutes, though it felt like an eternity.

    As soon as we arrived, I wasted no time. I dropped down and flew toward the barrier surrounding the city, flinging several of my cubes into the air. My main body awoke, the connection between us pulsing with shared purpose. I appeared beside the Red Sun, who was still simmering with barely contained rage, ready to tear apart anything in his path.

    "I''m breaking the gate down," I said, my voice steady as I threw even more cubes into the air. These cubes began to mimic and learn from each other, rapidly deducing the structure of the formation and dismantling it piece by piece. It was a race against time, every second crucial. The cubes worked in unison, their faces rotating and shifting as they neutralized the inscriptions one by one.

    The Red Sun, never one for patience, watched with growing frustration as the barrier began to crumble. Finally, when the structure was fragile enough, he could hold back no longer. With a roar of fury, he shattered the remains of the barrier and shot out like a bolt of crimson lightning, hell-bent on hunting down the Cryptic Sun.

    "HALT!"

    Themand was more than just a word¡ªit was a decree. The Wisest Sun''s voice carried the weight of Law itself, freezing the Red Sun in mid-air. It was as if time itself had paused, the world holding its breath.

    "Why stop me, Wisest One?!" the Red Sun snarled, his voice a low growl that promised violence. His eyes zed with the fury of a caged beast. "It is unwise to stand between a lion and his prey!"

    The Wisest Sun remained calm, his gaze steady. "That''s precisely why I''m stopping you. You are a lion, and in your madness, you''ll cause more damage than we can handle. Not to mention, the Darkest Sun needs you."

    The Red Sun''s rage simmered, but the wisdom in the elder Sun''s words couldn''t be ignored. He clenched his fists, his muscles quivering with the effort it took to restrain himself. "Promise me one thing," he said through gritted teeth, his voice barely a whisper. "When you capture the Cryptic Sun, you''ll hand him over to me."

    "I promise," the Wisest Sun replied, his tone solemn. There was no hesitation in his voice, only the certainty of a vow made between warriors. The Red Sun gave a curt nod, then shot into the heavens like a meteor, leaving a trail of fiery light in his wake.

    "Blue Sun, you''lle with me," the Wisest Sunmanded, his voice brooking no argument.

    "I''m tagging along," Tao Yang interjected, her voice firm.

    The Wisest Sun turned to her, his expression stern. "This isn''t a ce you should be in. The entire area is designed to sap one''s Qi, and you''re not fully at the Sun Stage yet. Remember, they want to capture you for a reason. I cannot allow you to walk into the enemy''s den."

    Tao Yang opened her mouth to protest, but the Wisest Sun''s re silenced her. He wasn''t merely speaking as a leader¡ªhe was speaking as someone who had seen the horrors that awaited beyond the barrier.

    "mboyant, I''ll need you to assist the Red Sun," the Wisest Sun continued.

    The mboyant Sun nodded, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "My pleasure. But I also want a few words with the Death Sun, if he still lives, that is," he said, his tone carrying a dangerous edge. With that, he too soared into the sky, following the Red Sun''s path of destruction.

    "I''ming too," I said, stepping forward.

    "No!" The word came in unison, a chorus of voices from the Wisest Sun, the Blue Sun, Tao Yang, Liang Yu, and YuYu. The force of their collective refusal was almost enough to knock me back.

    "Damn, easy on me," I muttered, raising my hands in surrender. "I know you all think I''m weak, but I''m not stupid. I''ll be taking the Lord of Lords'' pagoda with me. If things get ugly, I can just dip. Besides, you need me."

    The Wisest Sun arched an eyebrow. "And why would we need you?" he asked, skepticism dripping from his words.

    "I know the Cryptic Sun''s methods," I replied confidently. "I can solve his formations faster than anyone else. Unless you think you can protect me while I do that? Also, I''ve been to the Dark Garden¡ªI know my way around, and I''m not affected by the Qi-sealingw there."

    The Blue Sun crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. "Shen Bao brings up a good point¡­ If he''s with us, we can be more certain that we won''t end up trapped in one of the Cryptic Sun''s tricks. I''ll guard him with my life if I have to."

    "Hopefully it won''te to that," I said, trying to sound optimistic. "But we don''t have much time left. The Dusking Sun is mortally wounded, but I think he can hold on long enough for us to reach him."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Liang Yu and YuYu stepped forward, their faces etched with worry. "Shen Bao! You just came back! Now you''re leaving again? Do you even care about us?" Liang Yu''s voice cracked with emotion, and YuYu''s eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

    I sighed, my heart heavy, "You two know me better than anyone here. I owe the Lord of Lords a debt heavier than the heavens. Without him, his grace, his pagoda, none of us would be alive today. And now, when he''s in trouble, you want me to stay here? Is that fair to him? To us?"

    They had no response, their shoulders slumping in defeat. They knew I was right, but it didn''t make it any easier to ept.

    "I promise, I won''t do anything reckless. I''lle back to you¡ªsoon," I said, my voice gentle as I pulled them into aforting embrace.

    The Blue Sun broke the silence, her voice firm. "Let''s head out then."

    "I''ll need to scan the entire Dark Garden to find them," the Wisest Sun said, his voice filled

    with urgency.

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    "No need," I said, as I stowed Shen Mo''s body inside the pagoda. I shot into the northern skies, the others following close behind. "I know where they are. Follow me."

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes narrowed in curiosity. "How?"

    "I left a tracking device on all the bracelets," I exined. "They all have a way for me to locate them, depending on how long it takes for the signal to arrive. I know exactly where they''re hiding. Just trust me and follow my lead."

 Chapter 830 Face To Snout

    The three of us hurtled through the air, propelled by the sheer force of the Wisest Sun''s mastery over thews of the universe. He didn''t just bend the rules of space to his will¡ªhe shattered them. The very fabric of reality seemed to warp around him, folding in on itself to create a path that defied the natural order.

    The world became a blur of distorted colors and shapes, all of which melded into the infinite void of his power. His Law wasn''t merely about flight; it was about removing anything that dared slow him down.

    We weren''t just flying; we were cutting through reality itself.

    I felt it too. The overwhelming sensation of matter tearing past us at speeds no mortal should experience. It wasn''t just air we moved through¡ªit was the ground, stone, and earth. We sank into thend, blending with it as we passed through, feeling it slip through every cell and atom of our existence. It was as if we''d be one with the dirt, with the world.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    And while the experience was impressive, it was highly nauseating. The sensation of having the ground itself rush through your being was enough to make any man''s stomach churn.

    The Wisest Sun didn''t seem to notice. He continued to pull us deeper, further into the bowels of the Sea of Demons, through the very crust of the realm. We weren''t just moving downward¡ªwe were diving into the depths of the Dark Garden, the forbidden and near-mythical expanse thaty beneath everything. An underworld that thrived on danger, mystery, and death.

    "The Dark Garden..." the Blue Sun whispered, more to herself than anyone else, as the oppressive atmosphere of this hidden realm settled around us.

    The Wisest Sun''s voice broke through the eerie silence. "Where to from here?"

    I quickly checked my bracelet. The signal was weak, but it was still there, guiding me like a beacon. "It''s still pointing down. Looks like there might be another level to this ce."

    "There are three levels beneath us," the Wisest Sun said grimly. "Let''s move down to the second one." Without hesitation, he pulled us deeper still, plunging us through the ground as if it were no more than water.

    I had expected the usual difort from the Qi-sealing properties of the Sea of Demons, especially in the infamous Dark Garden. But, to my surprise, nothing. My Qi flowed smoothly, unrestrained by the oppressive force of this ce.

    "You''ve really reached the Origin Stage," the Blue Sun observed, ncing at me with a hint of admiration.

    "Noticed that, did you?" I said, smirking.

    "Yes. Even with your unusual Qi, you should have struggled a bit. But the Dark Garden has no effect on Origin Qi. What''s strange is that most cultivators¡ªeven those on the cusp of reaching the peak of the Origin Stage¡ªare still affected by the Qi sealing properties here. Their bodies haven''t fully shed the remnants of Saint Qi. But you...

    you''re different."

    She was right. The Origin Poison Qi inside me flowed effortlessly, unperturbed by thews that shackled lesser cultivators. It was a strange but wee realization. I wasn''t bound by the limitations of this realm.

    We continued our descent, diving through more earth and stone. My senses were on high alert, heightened by the nauseating experience of being torn apart and reconstructed at a molecr level as we moved through solid matter. My Divine Sense reached out instinctively, revealing more than I could have imagined.

    Beneath the surface of the Dark Garden, life thrived. Massive, nightmarish creatures lurked within the bowels of the earth. Colossal worms, each onerge enough to swallow entire cities, wriggled through the dark soil. Their movements sent tremors through the ground. These beasts reminded me of the juvenile Primordial Serpent God I had once battled. They were immense, powerful, and utterly terrifying.

    Yet, they weren''t the only creatures down here. Giant ants, each the size of a small hill, moved in perfect unison, carrying stones the size of mountains as if they were nothing. These monstrous ants tore through the earth with an ease that defied reason, dragging prey ten times their size into the depths of theirirs.

    The Dark Garden was an ecosystem of its own¡ªa world of predators and prey. It was a ce where survival was not just a struggle, but an eternal battle. Even the smallest organisms here could end a man''s life in an instant. It was no wonder the walkers and other abominations thrived here. This ce was a breeding ground for nightmares.

    And we were heading right into the heart of it.

    After what felt like an eternity of moving through the earth, we finally reached a void¡ªa space that existed outside the physical constraints of the world above. The second level of the Dark Garden was a ce of endless darkness. There was no light, no sound, only the oppressive weight of the unknown pressing down on us.

    The Wisest Sun enveloped us in a protective shield of Qi. "Keep your Divine Sense close," he warned, his voice barely more than a whisper. "This is where things get dangerous."

    I obeyed, though it was hard to focus. The lingering nausea from our journey still clouded my senses. We descended slowly, cautiously. The very air seemed to hum with malevolent intent. I spread my Divine Sense a few feet around me, scanning for threats. What I found sent a shiver down my spine.

    We hadnded on the back of something alive. Something massive.

    I looked down and saw that we were standing on a scaled surface. The scales were asrge as ships, shimmering in the faintest hint of light. The creature''s back stretched out into the horizon, an endless expanse of living, breathing flesh. Trees and rocks, even hills, had grown atop it, making it look like part of thendscape.

    The creature stirred, sensing our presence. A low rumble reverberated through its body, shaking the ground beneath our feet.

    The Wisest Sun acted quickly, cing a hand on the creature''s back. "Old reptile, sleep. Unless you wish to provoke a wrath greater than the one you fear." Read thetest on empire

    His words were quiet, but they carried the weight of authority. The massive beast settled, its rumblings ceasing as it sank back into its slumber.

    "This creature," the Wisest Sun said softly, "is a world-eater. It''s on the verge of bing a Primordial, but it''s too old, too weak. It waits here for death, though death seems unwilling to im it."

    I couldn''t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the ancient beast. Trapped in a limbo between life and death, it was a creature of unimaginable power, reduced to waiting for an end that would nevere.

    The Blue Sun pointed ahead, her voice tense. "There''s a trace of Qiing from that direction. It''s faint, but I can sense it."

    "I sense it too," the Wisest Sun said. "Let''s move."

    We flew through the darkened expanse, our Divine Senses tightly controlled to avoid detection. The darkness here was suffocating, oppressive. Every shadow seemed to hide an unseen threat. The second level of the Dark Garden was a ce of constant danger, and we were deep in its heart.

    After a few moments, my bracelet pinged with a signal. "Here!" I said, halting our flight. "The Dusking Sun''s signal ising from below."

    Wended cautiously, our eyes scanning the area. I found the source of the signal¡ªa shattered bracelet lying in the dirt. The Dusking Sun''s bracelet.

    "It''s broken," I muttered, holding it up for the others to see. "Looks like they realized we were tracking them and destroyed it."

    The Wisest Sun sighed. "We''ll have to split up."

    The Blue Sun nodded. "I''ll go with Shen Bao."

    "I was thinking the same¡ª"

    Before they could finish, I felt something wet beneath my feet. I crouched down, touching the liquid and bringing it to my nose. The metallic scent was unmistakable. "Blood..." I said, grimacing at the stench.

    The Blue Sun''s face tensed. "Could it be the Dusking Sun''s blood?"

    I tasted it and shook my head. "No. It''s monster blood. Fresh, too."

    The Wisest Sun''s gaze sharpened. "A fight happened here."

    I followed the blood trail, leading us to a fallen tree trunk that had been recently ripped from its roots. The damage was fresh, the ground still disturbed from the struggle.

    Then, I heard it¡ªa low, guttural growl that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

    "Careful," the Blue Sun warned, her voice tense. "The beasts here can end your life before you even realize what happened."

    Before I could retreat, Kyu leaped out from my hood, causing me to stumble forward. Inded face-first in the dirt, and when I looked up, I was staring directly into the jaws of a massive Obsidian Prowler. Its ck fur rippled with muscles, its eyes glowing with predatory intent.

    "Well... hello there," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper.

    This wasn''t just any beast. It was an apex predator¡ªthe kind of monster that could take down a Sun-stage cultivator if it wanted to.

    And it was very, very pissed.

 Chapter 831 Kyu Vs Predator

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    Kyu approached cautiously, its small form weaving through the dense foliage like a shadow. The Obsidian Prowler, a creature that towered over both of us with rippling muscles and pitch-ck fur, radiated malice. Its eyes gleamed with fury, an unrelenting intent to kill, yet somehow, it hadn''t attacked. Not yet.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Kyu, unperturbed by the massive predator, gently rubbed against the prowler''s leg, as though soothing it, while the beast''s gaze remained locked onto me. Its golden eyes were full of rage¡ªrage that seemed focused, controlled, as though it were waiting for something. Perhaps it wasn''t me it wanted to kill, or at least not immediately.

    Kyu bit lightly on the prowler''s front leg, tugging at it, but the prowler didn''t react to the small cat-like creature. Its eyes remained fixed on me, its growls resonating deep within its chest. The air around us was tense, suffocating, and every muscle in my body screamed at me to retreat, to run, but Kyu kept pulling me toward the trunk of a massive, gnarled tree nearby.

    "You''re gonna get me killed," I muttered under my breath, but Kyu clearly had its reasons. Despite the imminent danger, Kyu''s instincts were sharp. It seemed to know that although the Obsidian Prowler was enraged, it wasn''t necessarily directed at me. At least, that''s what I hoped.

    As I moved closer, inch by inch, the prowler''s growls intensified. Its lips curled back, revealing teeth as sharp as des, gleaming ominously in the dim light. I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening with every step. Just as the Wisest Sun moved forward, perhaps to intervene, the prowler let out a terrifying snarl, its massive body trembling with restrained fury.

    "Hold back," the Wisest Sun said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "It doesn''t want us to approach. Unlike Shen Bao, we are perceived as threats. It needs him for something. We''ll stay here."

    His calm demeanor somehow added to the tension. If even the Wisest Sun, a cultivator of unimaginable power, hesitated to advance, it only served to amplify the danger I faced. His words carried the weight of understanding, though he didn''t voice what he seemed to know. Perhaps he sensed something beyond the obvious, something unspoken.

    The Blue Sun''s eyes narrowed with concern. "Aren''t you worried it might tear Shen Bao apart?" she asked, her hand subtly gripping her weapon, ready to intervene.

    "No," the Wisest Sun responded, his gaze never leaving the prowler. "If it wanted to kill him, it would have done so already. These creatures don''t expose themselves to cultivators unless they have a purpose. If it''s showing itself, it''s because it wants something. And it''s not Shen Bao''s life."

    The closer I got to the massive tree trunk, the heavier the air seemed to be. The tension was palpable, like an invisible weight pressing down on my chest. Every breath I took felt forced, shallow, as if the very air had turned against me. The prowler''s eyes, still glowing with menace, followed my every movement.

    As I reached the base of the tree, a low, guttural sound echoed from behind the fallen trunk. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable¡ªthe sound ofbored breathing. It wasn''t just the male prowler in front of me. There were others.

    Slowly, cautiously, I peered over the edge of the massive trunk. Two more Obsidian Prowlersy in the shadows, their massive forms heaving with shallow breaths. They were slightlyrger than the one in front of me, but they were far less muscr. Their bodies were ravaged with deep wounds, blood staining the dark ground beneath them.

    My stomach twisted as I realized what had happened. These creatures had been in a brutal fight, and it wasn''t with other beasts. Their wounds were too precise, too deliberate. They had been attacked¡ªby cultivators.

    The male prowler in front of me growled low, its head lowering as it gazed at its fallen mates. The anger in its eyes was no longer directed at me, but at something else. I could feel the desperation radiating from it.

    "You want me to help them?" I asked, ncing at Kyu, who nodded slightly.

    The male prowler growled in response, but it was no longer the guttural threat it had been before. It was a sound of helplessness, of a creature that had no other choice.

    I knelt slowly, my hands reaching into my holding bag, careful not to make any sudden movements. "Alright, big guy," I said softly, meeting the prowler''s eyes. "You must be the male. You''ve taken the worst of it, haven''t you?"

    The prowler let out a deep, pained growl, as if acknowledging my words. Its abdomen was shed open, and even now, its intestines were barely held in ce. Its hind leg was twisted, broken, and yet it still stood, refusing to back down.

    "You''ll die in less than half an hour if I don''t treat you," I said, pulling out several pills from my bag. "So, how about you tone down the aggression and let me help you first?"

    The prowler bared its teeth at me, its eyes narrowing as if it were contemting whether to trust me or not. It nced back at its mates, and I followed its gaze. The two other prowlers were in better shape than the male, but not by much. Their wounds, while severe, weren''t life-threatening¡ªat least, not immediately. The male, however, was on the brink of copse.

    "They''re strong enough to survive a little longer," I said, my voice steady but firm. "But you? You''re barely standing. If you go down, they won''t have a chance."

    For a brief moment, the prowler''s eyes flickered, the intensity of its gaze wavering. It took a step back, its massive body swaying as if it had finally reached its limit.

    "Are you really going to treat them?" the Blue Sun asked, her tone incredulous.

    "I have to," I replied without looking back. "These creatures are old and intelligent. They can hold a grudge, and I''m willing to bet they weren''t attacked by other beasts. They were attacked by cultivators. If we help them, they can guide us to whoever did this."

    "It''s a waste of time," the Blue Sun countered. "We need to focus on finding the Dusking Sun."

    "We have no idea where they went," I said, my voice firm. "But these prowlers might. You go ahead if you want, but I''m staying."

    I pulled a handful of healing pills from my bag and held one out to the male prowler. "Take this," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. "It''ll close your wounds and replenish your blood."

    The prowler hesitated, its eyes narrowing as it nced between me and the pill. For a moment, I thought it might refuse, but then, with a low grunt, it extended its long tongue and snatched the pill from my hand.

    The effects were almost immediate. The deep gashes along the prowler''s body began to close, the torn flesh knitting itself back together. Even the long gash across its abdomen began to heal, the intestines retracting back into its body.

    "See?" I said, tossing another pill its way. "I''m not here to hurt you."

    The prowler, though still wary, swallowed the second pill without protest. Its breathing began to steady, and the tension in its muscles rxed slightly. For the first time, the rage in its eyes seemed to dissipate.

    I turned my attention to the other two prowlers, whoy motionless beneath the tree trunk. As I approached the first female, I noticed something¡ªa faint, secondary heartbeat.

    "Looks like you''re going to be a dad," I said softly, ncing at the male. "But it''s going to be a tough delivery."

    The male prowler growled again, its eyes narrowing as it took a step closer.

    "She''s too weak to deliver the pup on her own," I exined. "If I don''t perform a C-section, you''ll lose them both."

    I drew my knife, and the moment the de caught the light, the male lunged. It was a blur of ck fur and muscle, and before I could react, I was pinned to the ground, its massive paw pressing down on my chest, its jaws inches from my face.

    "Shen Bao!" the Blue Sun shouted, her voice filled with panic. She moved to intervene, but the Wisest Sun held her back.

    "Wait," he said, his voice calm and measured. "Let him handle this."

    I stared up into the prowler''s glowing eyes, its breath hot and rancid against my skin. My heart pounded in my chest, every instinct screaming at me to fight, to run, but I forced myself to remain still.

    "Kyu," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

    Kyu, who had been watching from the side, suddenly leapt into action. Its small, cat-like form began to grow, shifting into something monstrous. In an instant, Kyu had transformed into a hulking, two-legged creature of fur and fangs, standing between me and the prowler.

    The prowler hesitated, its eyes flicking to Kyu''s massive hulking form. Kyu''s presence was now anything but the yful, curious creature it had been moments ago. In its ce stood a terrifying, towering figure, its muscles bulging, ws gleaming, and eyes glowing with an intensity that even gave the Obsidian Prowler pause.

    It wasn''t just a disy of size; Kyu was asserting dominance in a way that only an apex predator could.

 Chapter 832 At The Gate.

    The Obsidian Prowler froze, a low growl vibrating from its chest. The pressure of its paw on my chest lessened, its gaze shifting cautiously between me and Kyu. It recognized that, despite its rage, it was outmatched by the strange beast now standing guard between us.

    "If I don''t do this, you''re going to lose them both," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I could feel my heartbeat hammering in my ears, but I refused to break eye contact with the prowler. It had to understand¡ªthis was its only chance.

    Kyu, standing protectively between us, let out a low, rumbling growl of its own, a sound that resonated with authority. The prowler''s jaws, still dangerously close to my throat, finally snapped shut as it let out a reluctant snarl and stepped back, giving me room to breathe. Its eyes, still filled with a mix of rage and desperation, locked onto me as if warning me to make no mistake.

    "Good," I whispered, pushing myself back up slowly. My heart was still racing, but the tension had eased¡ªif only slightly. I wiped the sweat from my brow and focused on the task at hand.

    "Kyu, keep an eye on him," I instructed, and Kyu''s massive form remained between me and the prowler, its stance protective and alert.

    I turned my attention to the female prowler, her breathing shallow andbored. Her wounds had mostly closed thanks to the healing pills, but she was too weak for a natural birth. Time was running out, and if I didn''t act soon, both mother and pup would be lost.

    I carefully ced the knife against the female''s abdomen, preparing for the delicate incision. The male prowler growled low, its body tense, but it didn''t move. It was a calcted risk, trusting the creature to hold back while I performed the procedure. Every second felt like an eternity, the weight of the prowler''s gaze pressing down on me as I worked.

    The de slid through the fur and skin with practiced precision. Blood welled up, but I was quick, my hands steady as I reached inside. My fingers found the pup, nestled deep within, and I gently guided it out. It was small, fragile, andpletely covered in slick, dark fur, its tiny limbs iling as it took its first breaths.

    The moment the pup emerged, the male prowler let out a low, guttural sound that could only be described as a mix of relief and desperation. The female, though unconscious, stirred slightly, her body responding to the life that had been saved.

    I quickly cleaned the pup and handed it to the second female, who had been watching anxiously from the shadows. She immediately began licking the newborn, her rough tongue cleaning the blood and amniotic fluid from its fur. The pup let out a tiny whimper, its eyes still closed, but its heart beating strong.

    I exhaled a long, relieved breath and turned back to the mother. The wound I''d made needed to be closed quickly. I grabbed a few more healing pills from my bag, crushing them into a fine powder and applying it directly to the incision. The flesh began to knit itself back together, the regenerative properties of the pills working rapidly.

    "She''ll be fine," I said, my voice hoarse from the tension. "She just needs to rest and recover. Give her this when she wakes up," I added, handing the male prowler a bowl of medicine from my storage ring. It was a strong concoction meant to replenish strength and vitality.

    The male prowler, no longer growling, nudged the bowl with his snout, acknowledging the gesture. For the first time since we''d encountered each other, its eyes weren''t filled with murderous intent. There was a grudging eptance, a mutual understanding.

    I stepped back, giving the family space. The pup, now fully cleaned, was nursing at its mother''s side, and the second female prowler watched over them protectively. The male prowler, though still battered and exhausted, stood tall, its gaze finally softening.

    "They''ll make it," I said, turning to the Blue Sun and the Wisest Sun, who had been watching the entire ordeal unfold in silence.

    The Blue Sun exhaled in relief, her earlier frustration reced with a hint of respect. "You''ve got more patience than I gave you credit for, Shen Bao," she admitted.

    "I just didn''t want them to die unnecessarily," I replied, wiping my hands clean. "Besides, I have a feeling these creatures will repay the favor."

    As if on cue, the male prowler disappeared into the shadows of the forest, only to return momentster with several items clutched in its jaws. It approached cautiously, dropping them at my feet before stepping back.

    I knelt down, picking up the objects one by one. The first two were jewels¡ªsmooth, translucent stones about the size of my arm. They seemed ordinary at first nce, but something about them felt¡­ off. I couldn''t sense any Qi from them, nor did they radiate any sort of energy.

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    "What the hell are these?" I muttered, turning one of the jewels over in my hand.

    The Wisest Sun approached, his eyes narrowing as he examined the stone. "This¡­ this is an immaterial object," he said slowly, his voice tinged with disbelief. "It shouldn''t exist. At least, not in this form."

    I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

    The Wisest Sun''s expression remained serious as he continued to study the jewel. "It''s made entirely ofw, but not in the way you''re familiar with. This is spacew, an intangible concept made physical. It''s like¡­"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "It''s like another dimension," I finished, the realization dawning on me. "These jewels¡­ they''re keys."

    "Keys?" The Blue Sun asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

    "To another dimension," I confirmed, my mind racing with possibilities. "But if these are the keys, where''s the door?"

    The third item provided the answer¡ªa piece of cloth, torn and frayed at the edges. It was a robe, but not just any robe. It was too clean, too pristine to have been lying here for long.

    The Blue Sun''s eyes widened as she recognized it. "This belongs to the Death Widow," she said, her voice low. "Her avatar was wearing the same thing. This must mean¡­"

    "She fought here," I finished for her. "And judging by the damage these prowlers took, it wasn''t just her."

    "The Cryptic Sun must have been involved," the Wisest Sun mused. "If it were the Death Sun, they wouldn''t have survived."

    The male prowler, now seemingly satisfied that we had epted its offering, turned and began walking deeper into the forest. It nced back at us, as if beckoning us to follow.

    "Looks like we''ve got ourselves a guide," I said, a small grin tugging at the corners of my lips.

    Kyu, now back in its smaller form, hopped onto the prowler''s head and settled infortably, as though it had done this a thousand times before. I couldn''t help but feel a pang of envy at how effortlessly Kyumanded respect from these beasts.

    The Wisest Sun nodded. "Let''s follow it. If anyone knows where the Death Widow and the Cryptic Sun are hiding, it''s this creature."

    The three of us followed the prowler into the depths of the Dark Garden, the tension lingering in the air as we moved forward. Every step we took felt heavier, the weight of the unknown pressing down on us.

    With each step, you could see the Obsidian Prowler''s pace get faster and better, he was a stubborn fool, but he cared deeply for hispanions, and even now, although still not fully recovered he repaid the favor by working tirelessly guiding us through the foliage and the thick dark forest to the unknown.

    It took us a few hours before we finally arrived to a seemingly empty space that didn''t have much to describe. The area seemed void of all life, no trees grew near it and no rocks or pebbles were visible. It was a simple clearing without much to it. And that was skeptical by itself, the was too clean, too unnaturally clean.

    The Obsidian Prowler let out a low growl and his tail lowered, it was switching to his fight mode.

    "You can go back," I said as I hunched down on the dirt, checking it with my hands.

    The Obsidian Prowler slowly withdrew, and jumped into the brushes disappearing from sight almost immediately.

    "What do you see?" The Blue Sun asked.

    "Formations, a lot of them," I said as I backed away, "They are waiting for us," I said.

    "Well, they aught to, after all, they know well that I was arriving," the Wisest Sun raised on arm up and then proceed to m it down on the ground.

    Now, I''ve seen some of what the Suns could do, granted, they''re mighty powerful individuals, and have incredible power. Power that can make a person question what true divinity might look like if this is merely a stage.

    But what I saw right now, was something far different. It was the Power of Law.

 Chapter 833 ITS TIME FOR D-D-DDD-DUEL

    The ground trembled violently as the Wisest Sun''s hand made contact with it, sending ripples of energy coursing through the very earth beneath us. It wasn''t just a mere quake; this was the embodiment of a primordial force that shook the foundation of everything around. Rocks began to rise, floating like weightless inds in the air, while others sank into the abyss, swallowed by the depths below.

    The cryptic formation the Cryptic Sun had spent so much time weaving was being dismantled in mere moments, unraveling like a threadbare tapestry caught in a storm.

    Chunks ofnd cracked and shattered, their once rigid structures reduced to drifting debris. It was as if the world itself was being torn apart by invisible hands, and amidst this chaos, the truth of the Cryptic Sun''sir was revealed.

    A few hundred meters below, buried deep in the shifting terrain, was the entrance to the Death Sun''s hideout¡ªa gigantic skull, with its gaping maw acting as the door to a forgotten hell. The skull''s jawbones were open wide, an ominous wee, and there, guarding its entrance, were three figures.

    A short, hunched-over man stood at the front, his posture betraying the savagery in his eyes. To his right, the Cryptic Sun himself hovered with an air of superiority, his body pulsing withplex formations that danced like electric arcs across his skin. And then there was a third figure, younger and leaner, with a serpent coiled around his back, its beady red eyes locking onto me like prey.

    The serpent hissed, and instantly, my eyes turned a deep, glowing green¡ªthe mark of my connection with the Primordial Serpent God stirring within me.

    The Wisest Sun''s calm, measured voice echoed in my mind as I stepped forward. "Shen Bao, that one is your trial," he said, indicating the serpent-bearing cultivator. "Though he is a pseudo-Heaven Stage, he has yet to fully ascend, but he is far stronger than your average Origin Shattering cultivator. I do not ask you to defeat him¡ªonly that you survive. That will be enough."

    I nodded, not in the mood for drawn-out pleasantries. "Sure," I said with a calmness I didn''t fully feel. My mind was already calcting, already figuring how long I could drag this out while the others dealt with bigger problems.

    The serpent-cultivator sneered, his eyes narrowing with contempt. "They speak as if a mere child of the Origin Stage canst against me. Come, face me!" His voice was a twisted invitation as he floated to the side, beckoning me into a duel.

    I didn''t budge.

    Confusion flickered in his eyes as he halted mid-flight. "What''s the matter?" he barked. "Are you too scared to fight me one-on-one?"

    "Are you stupid?" I responded, my voiceced with irritation. The cultivator blinked, unsure of what to make of my words.

    "I didn''te here to duel you," I continued. "I''m here to save a friend, not stroke your pathetic ego. If your goal is to stall me, then you''re better off standing at that door like the guard dog you are."

    The Blue Sun, standing beside me, couldn''t suppress herugh. She hefted her massive titan-ying hammer, resting it casually on her shoulder, though the weight of it was enough to crush mountains. The hammer was absurdly oversized, its dense metal glistening with raw power, and yet she held it as if it were no heavier than a twig.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "You''re right, Shen Bao," the Blue Sun said, her voice thick with amusement. "We''re not here for duels. We''re here to kill." Then she turned her cold gaze toward the enemy. "Now LEAVE."

    Her shout reverberated across the area, a boomingmand that shook even the air itself. The pressure of her voice caused the very ground to crack, and the aura she emitted would have sent lesser men fleeing for their lives. But the three at the skull''s entrance remained unfazed, their smirks growing wider.

    "They''re adamant about breaking in," the Cryptic Sun mused, his voice slick with arrogance. "But unfortunately for them, it''s toote. Both Suns are already dead!" His fingers moved in an intricate dance, summoning a web of formations that spiraled into existence around him.

    The sky above darkened as if the heavens themselves had been torn open, and fire, thick and molten, poured forth in a deluge aimed straight at us.

    The Wisest Sun moved his fingers in reply, plucking invisible strings ofw. At hismand, the mes died out instantly, snuffed like a candle in the wind. What had once been a roaring inferno was now nothing but cold, lifeless air.

    It was a game of strategy, a contest of wills. The Cryptic Sun''s formations¡ªdesigned to incinerate us where we stood¡ªwere countered with ease by the Wisest Sun''s mastery over the fabric of reality itself. One crafted chaos; the other brought bnce.

    But the Blue Sun had no patience for such finesse. She charged forward, her hammer raised high, its immense weight causing the air around it to ripple. Her goal was clear: she intended to crush the entrance to their beneath the full might of her weapon.

    The short-statured man appeared beside her in an instant, his hands moving faster than the eye could follow. "Transfer!" he yelled,ying a hand on her hammer just before it struck.

    In a heartbeat, the Blue Sun''s face twisted in agony as her own weapon''s force was reflected back at her. It was as if she had been struck by the very hammer she wielded, and the impact sent bothbatants flying miles apart. The short-statured man lost his arm in the process, the limbpletely obliterated by the transfer of energy, yet he smirked through the pain.

    I barely had time to register this before the serpent-wielding cultivator lunged at me. His ws, dripping with a venom so potent it practically hissed in the air, sank into my ribs. I felt the sharp pain as his talons pierced through my flesh, but I smiled through it, staring him directly in the eyes.

    He met my gaze, confusion flickering behind his confident facade. "What a weak man," he sneered, ripping his ws free from my side. Blood sprayed from the wound, and the venom began to spread rapidly, blue and purple veins crawling across my skin like dark lightning.

    "Now die," he hissed, "a most painful death. There is no cure for this poison!"

    I dipped a finger into the wound, smearing the venom across it, and then raised it to my lips. "Doesn''t taste that lethal, honestly," I said, licking the poison casually as though it were nothing more than an exotic spice.

    The cultivator''s eyes widened in disbelief. "What¡­ What are you?"

    Iughed softly. "You think you''re the only one who knows poison?"

    He took a step back, his confidence shattering. "But¡­ Not even Du Shen could survive this!"

    Seems no one gave him the memo. The Du Shen of the Beyond is not the Du Shen of the Vast Expanse. The well known Du Shen of the Beyond had to give up that title to me. Only I am Du Shen!

    "FOOL!" came the Cryptic Sun''s furious shout as he continued his duel with the Wisest Sun. "He is impervious to poison!"

    Fear consumed the serpent cultivator''s face as the realization sank in. With a wide grin, I blew a thick, dark cloud of the venom back into his face¡ªhis own poison, distilled and amplified a hundredfold. The toxintched onto his skin, searing through his flesh like molten acid. He screamed, his voice a ragged cry of pure agony, his body convulsing as the venom did its work.

    Panicked, he activated a talisman, vanishing from sight and reappearing several feet away. He downed a handful of pills, desperately stabilizing himself as he fought off the poison''s effects. Discover exclusive content at empire

    "See," I said, calmly strolling toward him, "there''s always a cure if you look hard enough."

    The cultivator backed away, trembling in disbelief. How could a mere Origin Stage cultivator¡ªbarely scraping into power¡ªhave done this to him, a pseudo-Heaven Stage warrior? Shame burned in his eyes, and desperation clouded his mind.

    The serpent that had been coiled around his backshed out at me in ast-ditch effort to protect its master. It hissed and bared its fangs, but before it could strike, my right arm morphed into the form of the Primordial Serpent God. A blur of motion, too fast to follow, and the red serpent was devoured whole in a single, fluid movement.

    "You! THAT SNA¡ª" the cultivator''s voice cut off as I stepped forward.

    "Fake and Real," I interjected, cutting him off before he could finish the insult. Thest thing I needed was the Primordial Serpent God flying into a rage and destroying the entire Dark Garden. She cannot be called a Snake, if she ever hears that, especially from my mouth, she''ll once again lose her sanity, and grow to the grotesque devouring primordial.

    No one wants that, it''s like summoning a into a prison cell while we''re all inside it.

    With a simple thought, I expanded my domain, swallowing the man within it. His voice was silenced instantly, his mouth erased from existence as I willed it so.

    "You see," I said, as I loomed over him, "I was hoping to test my improved domain on a stronger foe. But you''re not worth it."

    The man''s eyes widened in panic as he realized he couldn''t escape, his limbs moving as if trapped in slow motion, every attempt to retreat only bringing him closer to me. My Soul Sealing Stake manifested in my hand, a twisted weapon made from the dark tortures of the Darkest Sun''s cruelest arts.

    I then swung my stake against his surprised form.

 Chapter 834 Triple Kill

    The man''s panic deepened, his hands iling in the air as if trying to cast some sort of defensive technique. Yet in my domain, everything he attempted was futile. Every movement, every desperate reach for his Qi backfired, sending blood spraying from his nostrils and eyes. His face, now a mask of pure horror, contorted as he struggled against the inevitable.

    "Quite an interesting domain, don''t you think?" I asked casually, holding the Soul Sealing Stake, the dark energy pulsing through it in rhythm with my heartbeat. "This stake has seen countless souls suffer under its influence. And now, it will mark your end."

    I raised my arm, and just as I was about to bring down the Soul Sealing Stake into his chest, something unexpected happened. The man''s body shuddered, then twisted unnaturally. In a moment, his entire form warped into something else¡ªa wooden doll. Life had already been drained from it, and he was no longer human.

    "What the¡ª" I muttered as the whole domain copsed around me, vanishing into thin air without a fight. The target had perished, but not in the way I had anticipated.

    As the strange transformation took ce, I stepped back, my eyes quickly scanning the battlefield for answers. Just as I exited my domain, I saw her¡ªa bloodied, gasping figure in the distance, her face familiar but distorted by agony.

    It was the Death Widow, and next to her was the same person I had trapped earlier.

    She was barely clinging to life, her body trembling, her blood-soaked clothes clinging to her as she leaned heavily on the one I had left incapacitated.

    "What sort of domain¡­ can make a pseudo-Heaven Stage¡­ suffer such a bacsh?" she choked, her voice barely audible, her breathbored as if every word drained her.

    I approached slowly, my focus split between her and the others battling in the distance. The Cryptic Sun and the Wisest Sun were still engaged in their lethal dance, each maneuver and counter too intricate for the untrained eye to follow. They were ying a game of life and death, and the Cryptic Sun was beginning to crack under the pressure.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His formations were unraveling, faltering against the sheer mastery of the Wisest Sun, whose fingers moved with unfathomable speed¡ªflicking, pulling, and plucking at the fabric of reality.

    asionally, the Wisest Sun would toss one of my cubes into the fray, disrupting the Cryptic Sun''s ns, each cube dismantling portions of the enemy''s formation. The Cryptic Sun was forced to retreat further and further, his advantage slipping away like sand through his fingers. The cubes didn''t break the entirety of his structures, but they unraveled enough to weaken the base.

    And without a solid foundation, everything crumbled.

    Meanwhile, the Blue Sun was flying like aet, her body still humming with the force of her own hammer strike. Her expression was a mix of fury and satisfaction. She had endured the full brunt of her own attack, and now, that rage was being funneled directly into her next target¡ªthe short-statured cultivator who had dared to challenge her.

    My mind raced, a n forming. I locked eyes with the Blue Sun, her hammer glowing with untapped energy as she approached her opponent.

    "Don''t stop swinging your hammer, no matter what happens!" I sent her a message through my divine sense.

    She didn''t question it. Trusting me implicitly, she surged forward, her hammer already mid-swing.

    I reached into my holding bag, pulling out a small, spherical cannister. I bit down on its valve, releasing a cloud of poison into the interior, filling it with a concentrated version of the same venom that the bastard had used on me earlier. I twisted the canister''s timer, setting it to blow just half a secondter.

    The Blue Sun appeared in front of the short-statured cultivator, her hammer moving faster than light. In a panicked shout, the man yelled, "Transfer!"

    But I was faster.

    With a sh of thought, I activated the Heaven Swapping Ring, swapping ces with him in the blink of an eye. One second, I stood several yards away¡ªnow I was directly in front of the Blue Sun''s hammer.

    She didn''t hesitate. Trusting mepletely, she swung her hammer true. The shockwave of her blow rattled my bones, but I was already gone.

    In that same fraction of a second, I swapped ces again¡ªthis time, with the man standing next to the Death Widow.

    The man, who had barely begun to understand what was happening, found himself standing directly in the path of the Blue Sun''s unstoppable hammer. His eyes widened in shock, his mouth opening to scream¡ªbut there wasn''t time. The hammer struck with the force of a mountain, obliterating him instantly. Read new chapters at empire

    Blood and viscera sprayed across the battlefield, his body torn apart before he even realized what had happened.

    The shockwave from the blow was so powerful, it lit up the entire second level of the Dark Garden, a resounding explosion that shook the very core of the earth.

    As for me, I was already standing next to the Death Widow, my hand still gripping the Soul Sealing Stake. Her eyes, full of terror and disbelief, met mine as I brought the stake down into her temple.

    If it had been a normal sword or weapon, it wouldn''t have even scratched her skin. But the Soul Sealing Stake was something else entirely. Forged from the darkest depths of the Darkest Sun''s own techniques, it carried the weight of his most horrendous tortures and envement arts.

    The stake sank into her head easily, turning her mind to mush in a matter of seconds. She didn''t even have time to scream, her thoughts copsing into a ck void of endless torment.

    And then, as if in response to my actions, the Primordial Serpent God stirred within me. Without needing to speak, it understood my intent. Slowly, deliberately, it unfurled itself from my arm, growingrger andrger until its colossal form loomed over the broken body of the Death Widow.

    The serpent''s jaws opened wide, revealing the endless void within its mouth¡ªa maw that seemed to stretch into infinity. It consumed her whole, swallowing her into its stomach, where she would suffer for eternity, trapped in an endless cycle of torment, never to escape.

    The Primordial Serpent God''s hunger sated, it slithered back into my body, leaving no trace of the Death Widow behind.

    Meanwhile, the man who had used his transfer ability was still reeling from the explosion. The poison had covered him head to toe, seeping into his skin and bones. He tried desperately to transfer the damage back to me, but I wasn''t in contact with him anymore. His talisman had failed, and the poison was already spreading through his veins like wildfire.

    The irony wasn''t lost on him as his body convulsed, his skin melting from his bones. He had used the same poison that had no antidote, and now he was the one paying the price.

    As he fell to the ground, his eyes locked onto mine onest time, filled with disbelief and horror. And then, just like that, he was gone.

    Three pseudo-Heaven Stage cultivators. All eliminated.

    The battlefield grew eerily silent for a moment as the dust settled. The Blue Sun, her hammer still humming with energy, nced at me with a smirk.

    "That was¡­ satisfying," she said, her voice echoing through the now-quiet space.

    I let out a long breath, and my muscles finally rxed after the chaos. "Yeah. That was something."

    But there was no time to celebrate. I turned my attention back to the Cryptic Sun, who was still engaged in his desperate battle against the Wisest Sun.

    The Cryptic Sun''s face was a mask of frustration. His formations, no matter howplex or intricate, were being dismantled one after another. The cubes continued their work, learning and adapting with each passing moment, breaking apart his strategies at their core.

    "You can''t keep up," the Wisest Sun said calmly, his fingers moving in a blur as he manipted the Laws of the world with practiced ease. "You were never going to win this."

    The Cryptic Sun''s eyes flickered with desperation, but even he knew it was over. With a final, defeated sigh, he stopped. His formations fizzled out, leaving him standing there, vulnerable and exposed.

    "Do you yield?" the Wisest Sun asked, his tone gentle but firm.

    For a moment, it looked as though the Cryptic Sun might fight on. His hands twitched, ready to summon onest formation, but then he saw the look in the Wisest Sun''s eyes. It wasn''t just power¡ªit was inevitability.

    There was no escape.

    The Cryptic Sun lowered his hands. "I yield."

    Yield? Nah, that''s never happening. Not with that guy.

    Especially after that creepy ass smile that popped up the moment a ringing sound echoed through the Dark Garden. The whole area began vibrating anew as I felt an energy far too disturbing echoing through the entire area.

    Something big was happening... and I didn''t like it what so ever.

 Chapter 835 Standoff

    The Cryptic Sun didn''t yield, nor did anyone ever trust him to do so. His reputation was not one of honor or straightforward battles. It was always shadowed in deceit, plotting, and twisted motives, and today was no different. As we stood in the suffocating atmosphere of the Dark Garden, every breath felt weighted, as if even the air was trying to warn us of the dangers ahead.

    The moment the three pseudo-Heaven Stage ves had been eliminated, I knew something was wrong. A sinking, nauseating feeling crept up my spine, and an ominous ringing filled my ears. It wasn''t just fear¡ªit was a sensation that made my very soul quiver, as though the world itself was groaning under the strain of something horrible, something monstrous, that was brewing deep within.

    The ground trembled, faint at first, then more violently as the minutes passed. A subtle vibration at first, it grew into a cacophony of seismic waves that made the very bones beneath the earth creak. The the Dark Garden seemed to rattle, as though they were whispering secrets only to themselves.

    Every beast, creature, and lurking horror hidden in the shadows of the Dark Garden began screeching, roaring, and howling. Their frenzied cries melded into an unnerving chorus that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

    Creatures that could fly¡ªmassive, predatory beasts with wings as wide as valleys¡ªtook to the skies in panic, their enormous wings beating the air with such force that even from where we stood, we could feel gusts of wind.

    Those who couldn''t fly¡ªthe beasts that burrowed in the depths of the earth¡ªwere even more unsettling, as they began tearing their way upwards, breaking the very ground apart in an attempt to flee. Massive fissures opened, and the structure of the Dark Garden, once so stable, was crumbling as if the world itself was falling apart at the seams.

    Everywhere I looked, chaos reigned.

    Even the third level of the Dark Garden, a ce shrouded in myth and whispers of untold horrors, seemed to be reacting to whatever had just been triggered.

    "Even the Third Level is affected!" the Wisest Sun''s voice was sharp, his usual calm demeanor shattered by the overwhelming presence of impending doom. His eyes gleamed with a mixture of fury and panic, the realization settling in that whatever the Cryptic Sun had just unleashed was beyond what any of us had anticipated.

    "What have you done?" His voice carried both an usation and a demand, the weight of millennia of wisdom sharpening his tone.

    The Cryptic Sun, ever the serpent, took a step back, his face twisting into a smug, mocking smile. "Nothing much," he said, his voice dripping with condescension, his wordsced with venom. The casual tone in which he spoke made the situation even more unnerving. His eyes glittered with mischief, or perhaps madness¡ªit was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

    "But if you''re so curious, feel free to follow me. You''ll see soon enough." With that, his figure faded, disappearing into the mouth of the titan''s skull, leaving behind a foreboding silence.

    "That''s a trap," the Blue Sun said, her grip tightening on her titan-ying hammer. Her eyes, usually burning with fiery resolve, flickered with a rare moment of doubt.

    "As obvious as the sun," I muttered, my gaze fixed on the skull''s gaping maw, a dark abyss leading to God knows what horrors.

    "But we have no choice," the Wisest Sun finished, his voice now resigned. It was true. Despite knowing the danger, there was no path left but forward.

    Without another word, the three of us charged, plunging into the tunnel that led deeper into their of the Death Sun. The oppressive darkness within the tunnel was suffocating. The temperature plummeted with every second we flew forward, and the walls seemed to close in, as though the very ground itself was hungry for our souls.

    Tens of thousands¡ªno, hundreds of thousands of skulls lined the walls. They were ancient, yellowed with age, some cracked, others still pristine as if their owners had only just died. Each skull seemed to carry a story of its own¡ªa life snuffed out in this ce of eternal darkness.

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    The atmosphere grew more morbid with each step we took, the thick, overwhelming scent of decay and death filling the air.

    But this was not the natural smell of death. No, this was something far worse. It was the stench of something that had lingered, a death that had refused to die, something vile and malevolent that had turned the very air poisonous. The corrosive fog that lingered near the ground seemed to seep into the walls themselves, a visual manifestation of despair and life drained away.

    For a mortal¡ªor even a cultivator beneath the Ascendant Stage¡ªthis ce would have been fatal. One touch of this deathden mist, and they would have turned to a rotting corpse within seconds, their soul ripped from their body and imed by the Death Sun.

    The tunnel stretched on forever, it seemed, until the screeches of the beasts in the Dark Garden were drowned out by something far more sinister.

    Walkers.

    They came at us in waves¡ªdroves of mindless, twisted figures, their bodies long dead but animated by some vile force. Their hollow eyes glowed with malice, their rotting limbs jerking unnaturally as they charged toward us. They were too many to count, and more kepting, the sound of their snarls and gnashing teeth growing louder with each passing moment.

    The Blue Sun, ever fierce, swung her titan-ying hammer with devastating force, each blow disintegrating dozens of Walkers into dust. Her movements were fluid and precise, as though the hammer was an extension of her body. But despite her efforts, the sheer number of Walkers was overwhelming. For every wave she destroyed, two more took its ce.

    The Wisest Sun remained calm, his eyes focused, though even he was aware of the overwhelming numbers.

    "They''re stalling us," the Wisest Sun said, his voice carrying a deep concern.

    "Can''t you do that thing you did before?" I asked, my mind racing for solutions. "Transport us through the dirt, like before?"

    "Too risky," he replied quickly. "Especially in the Death Sun''s domain. If I make us that vulnerable, he''ll capture us with ease."

    I gritted my teeth, knowing he was right. We were dealing with the Death Sun.

    "Then there''s only one way left," I muttered under my breath. My arm transformed, stretching and morphing, bing the massive serpent that could devour worlds.

    "Blue Sun, care to move a bit, please?" I said with a smirk.

    Understanding, she stepped aside, and I unleashed the Primordial Serpent God. The beast roared as it tore through the tunnel, its endless jaws devouring everything in its path. Walkers, formations¡ªnone of it mattered. The serpent swallowed it all. The gaping maw of the Primordial Serpent God seemed to open into a void where nothing could escape, an endless abyss that consumed all.

    The formations the Cryptic Sun had left behind shattered as they were swallowed whole by the serpent. No anchor, no power¡ªjust nothing. The serpent had devoured everyst one of them, leaving behind only silence and a clear path.

    With the Walkers and traps gone, we moved quickly, flying through the tunnel until it opened into a massive chamber.

    There, in the main hall, they were waiting. The Lording Sun was strapped to arge stone, his body emaciated, his skin tight against his bones. Several hundred seals and chains, each glowing with seven-colored energy, wrapped around his body, burrowing deep into his skin. His eyes were nk, his mind clearly shattered by whatever torment he had been subjected to.

    The Dusking Sun, meanwhile, was strapped to a circr stone that seemed to pulse with malevolent energy. Blood dripped from his body, pooling beneath him, his once vibrant aura now reduced to a faint flicker. He barely clung to life, his face pale, lips trembling in agony.

    Standing between them was the Death Sun, a grotesque figure of withered flesh and bone. His skeletal body was draped in tattered ck rags that seemed to float around him like a cloud of death. His sunken eyes, devoid of any warmth or mercy, gleamed with a twisted pleasure. He smiled, a ghastly, toothless grin that only added to the horror of his appearance.

    His presence alone felt like it was draining the life out of the room, as if death had taken physical form and was now mocking us.

    He pointed a bony finger at me, and his voice crawled out of his throat like a disease. "You, the man who cheated death, wee," he hissed, his voice like the rustle of dry bones. His eyes flicked toward the Wisest Sun and Blue Sun with indifference. "As for the rest of you, you may leave¡­ unless you''d like to see your fellow Suns perish before your eyes."

    The temperature dropped instantly, the air growing thick with the scent of rot. His voice carried an authority that defied all reason¡ªit felt like he could summon death itself at will.

    "I didn''t like how he worded that," I muttered to myself, every instinct in my body screaming at me to be on guard. His invitation felt more like a trap¡ªa predator toying with its prey. This wasn''t an offer for dialogue orpromise. No, the Death Sun wanted a spectacle.

    "Death Sun, you''ve gone too far!" The Wisest Sun''s voice thundered through the hall, his rage unmistakable. His usual calm demeanor had shattered; the sight of his friend, the Lording Sun, reduced to a broken shell was enough to ignite a fury that made the very air tremble. His fingers twitched, ready to summon the very Laws of Heaven to bend to his will.

    "Too far?" The Death Sunughed, his bony frame shaking with a hollow, sickly sound. "No, you''ve been the ones living in delusion, content to exist within this prison of life, waiting for death like sheep awaiting the ughter. I, on the other hand¡ªI have transcended. You have no idea what it means to live beyond death."

    With a single wave of his hand, a massive amount of Qi surged from the Dusking Sun, forcibly extracted by the Death Sun. The Dusking Sun screamed, the sound of it so wretched and filled with pain that it pierced through my chest like a de. His face twisted in sheer torment as his very life force was drained away.

    "STOP!" the Wisest Sun shouted, and the force of hismand seemed to halt everything for a split second. Time itself bent to his will, as thews of the universe obeyed his words.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But even the Law of Time was not enough. The gate¡ªthat cursed, circr stone¡ªcontinued to rotate, its insidious power siphoning thest remnants of the Dusking Sun''s strength.

 Chapter 836 Overdrive

    The Death Sun lunged at the Wisest Sun with a terrifying, skeletal grace. His body moved like a shadow, flickering in and out of existence. The Wisest Sun reacted immediately, his hands flowing in a blur of movements as the two of them vanished into a fold of space, leaving no trace behind. A deafening silence followed their departure, the residual energy crackling in the air like a lingering threat.

    "What the hell just happened?" I spat, the tension snapping my voice.

    Suddenly, the Blue Sun appeared in front of me, her titan-ying hammer materializing in her hands as she blocked an invisible strike. The force of the blow sent a shockwave rippling through the cavern, shaking the ground beneath us as her hammer whistled through the empty air, repelling an unseen force.

    "Watch out!" she sent a Divine Sense message to me, her voice carrying a grim urgency. "You''re facing a Sun here, Shen Bao!" Her eyes gleamed with a focused intensity. "The two of them are fighting in a different spatial fold. They''re doing that to avoid affecting the surroundings, but I''d bet my life on the fact that the Death Sun doesn''t want to destroy something here."

    I followed her gaze, my eyesnding on the massive gate pulsating with ominous energy at the far end of the hall. Its dark, swirling patterns whispered with malevolent intent.

    "I''d guess it''s the gate over there," I muttered, my mouth dry.

    "Right. I''ll hold down the Cryptic Sun. You need to figure out how to help the other two out. They''ve been drained of their Qi, but there''s still time to save them." The Blue Sun''s voice was sharp, but there was a hiddenyer of desperation. She didn''t want to admit it, but she was feeling the strain too.

    "I''m on it," I responded, clenching my fists, my mind racing for a solution. Yet, as soon as I tightened my grip, I felt something off. Nothing happened.

    "You think I''d let you use that Heaven Stage treasure?" the Cryptic Sun sneered, stepping out from the shadows. He raised his hand, and a ring glowed ominously on his finger. From it, I could see projections of spatialws, intricate andplex, woven together in an imprable web.

    Thews of space itself were being manipted and frozen around us, locking me out from essing my own spatial abilities.

    My jaw clenched in frustration. His mastery over space was terrifying. It wasn''t just brute force; it was a level of maniption that even restricted me from using my treasures, but somehow, it didn''t seem to affect the Wisest Sun and Death Sun, still locked in their unseen battle. Why? The answer was simple. He didn''t want to destroy whatever was anchoring the gate''s power.

    The Cryptic Sun moved his hands in rapid, fluid motions, summoning tens of thousands of seals out of thin air, each one crackling with energy. The formations materialized with frightening speed, hurtling toward the Blue Sun.

    She let out a thunderous roar, her muscles coiling like a spring as she charged forward. Her hammer swung in wide arcs, smashing into the iing formations with devastating force, but the sheer volume of them was staggering. Every time she destroyed one, another two took its ce.

    The Blue Sun was a brawler, built for close-quartersbat, a force of raw power. The Cryptic Sun, however, was a mid-range tactician, a master of maniption and control. His formations allowed him to keep her at bay, forcing her to fight on his terms. No matter how fiercely she advanced, she was pushed back¡ªtwo steps for every one she took.

    I needed to find a way past the Cryptic Sun''s relentless offensive. His formations were like an endless flood, each one more intricate than thest, and the Blue Sun couldn''t dodge all of them. I could see her taking blows that she would have otherwise avoided, forced to shield me from the lightning bolts that came too fast for me to dodge.

    Every hit she took on my behalf sent a fresh wave of guilt crashing over me. I hated myself for being weak. For being a burden.

    pping my hands against my sides, I summoned ten cubes¡ªthe very same ones I had used earlier to dismantle his formations. Your next read awaits at empire

    But the moment they appeared, the Cryptic Sun''s twisted grin widened. "I was waiting for those," he mocked, his voiceced with smugness.

    He pointed a single finger toward the cubes, and they exploded into shards of light before they had the chance to activate, fragments scattering across the chamber like glittering confetti.

    "Now what?" His voice was a venomous taunt, and he increased the speed of his formation-crafting. Hundreds of seals appeared with each flick of his hand, spiraling through the air, weaving an imprable wall of power. Each formation was deadlier than thest, abination of lightning, me, ice, and soul-rending power, their energies swirling in a chaotic symphony of destruction.

    I threw an explosive cannister in desperation, but he swatted it away with a casual flick of his wrist. It exploded near the Blue Sun, and the resulting poison cloud was about to engulf her. My heart skipped a beat.

    Without thinking, I opened my mouth wide, sucking in the poison before it could touch her. The acrid fumes burned my throat and lungs, but I didn''t care. Better me than her.

    In this fight between giants, I was nothing but an ant. An ant crushed beneath the feet of titans.

    No matter what I did, it wasn''t working. Every move I made was countered. Every attempt to help was swatted down before it even began. My domain, Fake and Real, flickered into existence around the Cryptic Sun, but it shattered almost instantly as he sent a tidal wave of formations crashing into it.

    I wasn''t even close to being his main opponent, yet he yed with me like a cat batting around a half-dead mouse. asionally, he''d send a formation directly at me, forcing the Blue Sun to take yet another hit on my behalf. Her movements were slowing, and blood was starting to pool at the corners of her mouth.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "What can I do?" The thought echoed in my mind like a drumbeat, a growing panic gnawing at my insides.

    Weak. Pitiful. The Cryptic Sun''s taunts cut deep, each word a serrated de twisting in my gut. He conjured more and more formations, until the very air seemed to crack under the weight of them. Tens of thousands of intricate symbols, all crafted with one purpose¡ªto overwhelm us.

    The Blue Sun, mighty as she was, could only do so much. The formations came at her like a tidal wave, each one more devastating than thest. Her hammer was a blur, swinging with bone-crunching power, but even she couldn''t keep up with the sheer volume.

    "Shen Bao, you need to leave," the Blue Sun said, her voice strained. Blood dripped from the corner of her lips, her once-immovable form starting to tremble from the sustained assault. I could see it in her eyes¡ªshe was holding back. Not because she couldn''t obliterate him, but because she was protecting me and the others. If she went all out, the coteral damage would be catastrophic.

    She was forced to fight with her hands tied.

    Meanwhile, the Cryptic Sun was ramping up the pressure, bombarding us with an unrelenting onught of formations. The numbers were mind-numbing. Millions, prepared and ready, each one tailored specifically for this battle.

    I was nothing but a burden. A dead weight hanging around her neck.

    And I hated it.

    "It''s been a while," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper, my hands trembling. "It''s been a while since I''ve been nothing but baggage." My heart pounded against my ribs, fury building up inside me like a storm. I could feel the surge of power wing at my mind, begging to be unleashed.

    "But you know what I hate the most?" My voice grew louder, the anger boiling over. My eyes turned green, the familiar power of the Primordial Serpent God awakening within me. "I hate having others protect me."

    My blood burned in my veins, and without hesitation, I raised both hands to my neck. My nails elongated, growing sharper as they began to leak with poisons of various hues. I stabbed them deep into my own throat, injecting a lethal concoction of neurotoxins and elerants directly into my bloodstream.

    "Fuck it!" I roared, my mind igniting like wildfire as the poisons took hold, my brain going into overdrive.

    Everything around me slowed to a crawl. My vision blurred as my pupils transformed into slits, and the world around me seemed to lose all sense of time. My body shuddered violently as the poisons worked their magic, pushing my mental faculties to their absolute limits. It felt like my brain was on fire each thought racing faster than the one before it, each moment stretching out into an eternity.

    I could feel every single nerve in my body, like they were burning wires, every inch of me screaming in agony. The world pulsed and shifted, yet it was more vivid than ever before.

    Ten minutes. That''s all I had.

 Chapter 837 Du Shens Madness

    My eyes began to bleed, dark red trails of blood dripping down my face in rivulets, mingling with the sweat and grime that clung to my skin. Each drop that fell felt like a warning, a signal that my body was nearing its limits. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, the coppery tang overwhelming my senses, but I barely registered it. Discover exclusive content at empire

    My vision blurred, the world narrowing to pinpricks of light and shadow.

    Yet, none of that mattered. Sure, Shen Ban cannot win this, he''s too calm, too preserved and too stable in his mind. What I need to be right now isn''t Shen Bao, But Du Shen. Only Du Shen can be insane enough to ovee the difference in level of cultivation. Only Du Shen can be crazy enough and mad enough to risk his life and cultivation to achieve his goals.

    Only Du Shen has enough madness to forsake all reason and go for the jugr.

    The pain was exquisite. Exquisite because it was real. Because it reminded me of one crucial fact¡ªI wasn''t dead yet. No, far from it. I could feel the throbs of my increasing heartbeat through my bloodied veins. And I could feel the power of my mind skyrocketing at the same time.

    I pped my side, a violent, instinctual motion, and the familiar sound of mechanical whirring filled the air. Four metallic arms shot out of my back, steel vines unfurling like deadly tendrils, each one bristling withtent power, ready to help me tear the very fabric of reality apart if needed. They hissed and nked, their joints glowing faintly as if responding to the heat of the battle.

    Each arm felt like an extension of my will, forged in the fires of desperation and chaos, designed to break everything that stood in my path.

    "How... how did he do it?" I muttered, calm and collected but eyes full of madness like never before. My voice was almost lost amidst the chaos. My mind was racing, trying to remember the Wisest Sun''s technique, the effortless way he bent the world to his will. My thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm, each one flickering for a moment before slipping through my fingers.

    Then it clicked. I could see it now¡ªthe strings of reality, faint threads that shimmered in the air, crisscrossing the world like an invisible web. They pulsed with energy, the veryws of the universeid bare before me. They were there for the taking, but they were fragile, delicate. The smallest misstep, the wrong pull, and everything could copse. But that was a risk I was willing to take.

    I reached out with one of my metallic arms, its razor-sharp ws glinting in the dim light. Slowly, deliberately, I plucked one of the spatialw lines.

    The universe shuddered.

    A ripple coursed through reality itself, distorting the air and causing the ground beneath us to tremble. The Cryptic Sun''s face twisted in an expression I hadn''t seen before¡ªfear.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "You wouldn''t dare!" he screamed, his voice edged with desperation. His hands moved faster than the eye could follow, weaving new formations, conjuring triple the number of seals as he unleashed an onught of power toward me. Lightning bolts, mes, and frost exploded from his fingertips, hurtling toward me with deadly intent.

    The air crackled with energy, but I didn''t flinch. I was caught up with enough madness that my body although in a world of pain couldn''t help but express it in the most unholyughter known to man as I was mimicking a sun!

    With a casual swipe of my metallic arm, I plucked anotherw line. BOOM! A spatial rift tore open before me, the impact destabilizing the iing formations. The ground split, cracks spiderwebbing beneath my feet as the force of the st hit me full-on. My head snapped back, and blood spurted from my nose in a fountain of red.

    The pain was blinding¡ªsharp and unrelenting, like a thousand knives stabbing into my skull all at once. My brain felt like it was on the verge of exploding, the pressure inside my head unbearable. But through the haze of agony, a grin spread across my bloodied lips.

    "I get it now!" I roared, the madness in my voice unmistakable.

    With newfound rity, I reached out again, plucking a second, third, then fourthw line, my hands moving with frenzied precision. Each pluck sent ripples through the fabric of reality, tearing through the Cryptic Sun''s formations like they were paper. One by one, his carefully constructed defenses shattered, disintegrating into nothingness.

    He was losing control.

    "LET''S FUCKING GO!" I bellowed, my voice raw with the intensity of it all. My body shook, barely able to contain the surge of adrenaline and power coursing through me. Thews of the world bent and warped around me, distorting space and time.

    The air itself seemed to catch fire, mes licking at the edges of reality. Rocks materialized out of nowhere, crashing to the ground like meteors. The temperature around me fluctuated wildly¡ªone moment blistering hot, the next freezing cold.

    The Cryptic Sun''s cold formations were incinerated by invisible mes, while his fire-based attacks were smothered by waves of frost that materialized from thin air.

    The metallic arms behind me moved in perfect unison, each one plucking at the strings of reality with terrifying precision. The world around me became a maelstrom of destruction¡ªa hurricane of raw, untamed power.

    Elements collided in chaotic fury¡ªfire shing with ice, lightning striking stone, air battling thunder. It was as if I had unleashed the very forces of nature, bending them to my will. The chamber trembled, the ground beneath us threatening to give way under the sheer magnitude of the energies at y.

    "You fool!" the Cryptic Sun screamed, his voice cracking with panic. His once-calm demeanor was gone, reced with genuine fear. "You''ll bring the entire cave down!"

    His desperation was palpable now. For the first time, he wasn''t in control. He wasn''t mocking me. He was afraid.

    And I fed off that fear.

    The Blue Sun, seeing the chaos I was wreaking, pushed forward, her eyes locking onto mine for a brief moment. There was no hesitation, no doubt. She didn''t tell me to stop. She didn''t hold back. Instead, she charged, her hammer a blur of motion as she shattered the remaining formations in her path.

    With every step she took, the Cryptic Sun''s panic grew. He conjured more and more formations, his hands a blur of movement, but it wasn''t enough. The chaos I had unleashed was too much. Thews of reality were unravelling before his eyes, and his defenses were crumbling.

    My head felt like it was about to burst, the pressure mounting to unbearable levels. I could feel my consciousness slipping, my vision narrowing to a pinprick of light. But I couldn''t stop. Not now.

    I opened my mouth, blood dripping from my lips, my teeth bared in a feral grin.

    "GOLDEN SCRIPTURE!" I roared, the words tearing from my throat like a war cry.

    Twelve clones of myself materialized around me, each one a perfect replica, their faces twisted in the same madness that burned in my soul. They moved as I did, their hands reaching out to pluck at thews of the universe, disrupting reality itself. My mind was a furnace, every thought, every neuron firing at once in a symphony of pain and power.

    The pain was unimaginable. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out. My brain boiled, every nerve in my body screamed in agony.

    But I didn''t stop.

    Couldn''t stop.

    The world around me trembled, the ground beneath us shook violently, and the very air seemed to twist and shudder as if it was caught in a storm of conflicting realities. Even the Death Sun and Wisest Sun, locked in their spatial battle, flickered into view for a brief moment, their forms hazy and distorted.

    Their eyes widened in surprise as they saw what I was doing¡ªwhat I was bing.

    For a brief second, the Wisest Sun''s gaze met mine. He understood. I was mimicking him. I wasn''t as fast, I wasn''t as skilled, but with twelve clones, I couldpensate. I could push past the limits of what I thought possible.

    And with the Blue Sun charging forward, bloodied but unbroken, I knew we had a chance.

    "Let''s go!" I roared, my body trembling with exhaustion, my vision flickering. But I pushed through the pain, the madness swirling in my mind.

    The Blue Sun finally reached the Cryptic Sun, her hammer swinging with the weight of a.

    His eyes widened in pure, unadulterated terror.

    He tried to retreat, summoning more formations, but it was toote. The chaos I had unleashed had already torn apart his defenses. His robes fluttered, his hands moved desperately, but he couldn''t stop what wasing. The Blue Sun was faster.

    She grabbed him by the robes, her eyes burning with righteous fury. Her grip was like iron, unrelenting, and the Cryptic Sun''s face contorted in disbelief.

    "Got you!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

 Chapter 838 Stalemate

    They say that hell hath no fury as a woman scorned. But what if the woman in question was a Sun stage, I think even hell itself would want to run away.

    The Cryptic Sun''s surprised expressionsted only a fleeting second after the Blue Sun''s whispered "Got you," before his body violently met the ground. The sound of his skull smashing into the earth was deafening, shaking the entire cave with its force. Dust and debris exploded into the air, swirling like a tempest around us, and the ground beneath us trembled from the impact.

    The moment he tried to rise, dazed and confused, the Blue Sun was already in motion. Her foot connected with the side of his head with such terrifying speed that she broke the sound barrier before her heel even struck him. The force of the blow sent him hurtling across the cavern, crashing into the walls like a ragdoll, cracking stone and leaving deep grooves in his wake.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Anyone else¡ªanyone less than a Sun-stage cultivator¡ªwould''ve had their headpletely obliterated, torn off from their shoulders, turned to nothing but a bloody mist in the air. Even a Sun-stage being like the Cryptic Sun barely survived. His life was spared only by the endlesswork of protective formations etched into his skin, tiny sigils shimmering faintly around him.

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    But even those were barely enough. Half of them had been disintegrated on impact, the other half struggling to function, flickering like thest embers of a dying me.

    The Blue Sun didn''t hesitate. She stalked forward, hammer in hand, her face a mask of cold fury. The cavern seemed to darken as her presence grew, each step resonating with the promise of unrelenting violence. She was intent on showing him a world of pain, and the mere thought made me wince in sympathy.

    The Cryptic Sun, still trying to collect himself from the savage beating, could do nothing but brace for the onught.

    Meanwhile, I was tapped outpletely drained. My body felt like it was held together by nothing but sheer willpower. My brain felt like liquid mush, pulsing painfully with every heartbeat. Blood trickled from my eyes, nose, and ears, staining my skin in grotesque streaks.

    I was pushing my mind beyond its limits, trying to keep everything together, but every second felt like I was teetering on the edge of oblivion.

    I forced myself to move, stumbling forward on legs that barely responded. My vision swam as I made my way toward the Dusking Sun. His massive formy unconscious, bound and trapped by unnatural roots that burrowed into his back, siphoning his Qi like parasites. Eachbored breath from him seemed toe with a pained groan, his entire body convulsing from the relentless energy drain.

    "Sorry, old man... Just bear with me," I muttered under my breath, knowing he couldn''t hear me. I ripped the roots from his back, one by one, each pull causing him to shudder in agony even though he remained unconscious. Thick, ck liquid oozed from the wounds, the remnants of the sinister formations that had kept him trapped.

    His body was a shell of its former self, but he was still alive, if only barely.

    I dragged the Dusking Sun closer to the Lording Sun, who was also in a dire state. His physical injuries weren''t apparent, but his mind... his mind was fractured. His Qi had been drained to dangerous levels, and he teetered on the brink of madness. His eyes were vacant, lost in some unfathomable abyss. It was as if the essence of who he was had been siphoned away along with his energy.

    I reached into my holding bag and pulled out a handful of rejuvenating pills, carefully cing them into the Dusking Sun''s mouth. Slowly, they melted on his tongue, their restorative properties working to close some of his wounds, though it was obvious it wouldn''t be enough to heal him fully.

    I turned my attention to the Lording Sun, slipping mind-soothing pills between his lips. His reaction was instant¡ªhe snapped at my fingers like a feral beast, nearly biting them off in the process. I yanked my hand back just in time.

    "Easy, old man," I muttered, wiping the blood from my hand on my already stained robes. It was clear that Junfei''s betrayal and the energy drain had taken a more severe toll on him than I had realized.

    Suddenly, a cold, bone-chilling voice echoed through the cavern.

    "Seems like Junfei wasn''t enough to keep the two of you at bay."

    A shudder ran through my entire body, goosebumps breaking out across my skin as I turned to face the source of the voice. The Death Sun hovered above the ground, his skeletal hand wrapped around the Wisest Sun''s neck like a vice grip.

    Panic seized my heart.

    The Wisest Sun looked utterly spent, his usually regal andposed figure now resembling that of a mummified corpse. His once vibrant arm was now shriveled, withered like dead wood, hanging limp by his side. Yet, even in this state, the Wisest Sun managed to sh me a grin, his eyes gleaming with defiance.

    Then, in an instant, his body dissolved into shimmeringw scripts, disintegrating like a mirage in the desert heat.

    The Death Sun''s hand clenched around nothing. His hollow eyes narrowed in frustration, realizing toote that he had been holding a mere illusion.

    "Seems like I grew too old. I really can''t fight him with so much restraint," the Wisest Sun reappeared beside me, his form solidifying out of thin air, whole once again. He flexed his hand, and the once-shriveled arm regained its strength, the skin bing hale and healthy, returning to its natural state.

    A sigh of relief escaped my lips. I had thought he was done for.

    "None of us can truly win if we go all out," he continued, shaking his head. "I''ll either destroy the entire region¡ªwhich is something I don''t want¡ªor the Death Sun will destroy the gate, which is something he doesn''t want."

    "A stalemate, then?" I asked, wiping the blood from my face. It was clear to me now that this wasn''t a battle of might but one of control. Both of these titans were holding back, neither willing to be the one who plunged the world into even greater chaos.

    "Quite so," the Wisest Sun nodded grimly.

    Another boom echoed through the cave as the Cryptic Sun''s battered body was sent skidding across the ground, his body bouncing like a ragdoll. He left a trail of blood and broken stones in his wake. His face was a mask of agony, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. His body was a broken husk, a testament to the Blue Sun''s wrath.

    She strode forward, her hammer slung over her shoulder, her blue eyes zing with righteous fury. Every step she took echoed through the cavern, her presence as imposing as a storm on the horizon. The Cryptic Suny before her, his chest heaving, blood pooling beneath him.

    There was no sympathy in her gaze. Only cold, brutal satisfaction.

    "I guess there''s no point in continuing this fight," the Death Sun said with a smirk as he nced at the ruined form of his ally.

    "So you''re giving up?" the Wisest Sun asked, though there was a note of disbelief in his voice. He knew as well as I did that the Death Sun was not one to surrender.

    The Death Sun let out a low, hollowugh. "Give up? No. I haven''t lost. Not yet." He nced at the Wisest Sun, then at me. His expression was one of sick amusement, as if we were all pieces on a chessboard that he had been carefully manipting from the start.

    "Do you honestly think the other Suns will allow you to roam free? After all the destruction you''ve caused?" the Wisest Sun snapped, his voice filled with disgust. "The lives you''ve taken... the blood on your hands... It''s enough to turn my stomach."

    "Oh, you and your righteous indignation," the Death Sun chuckled. "You still fail to see therger picture. My actions have always been for a goal far beyond your limitedprehension, oh Wisest of Suns."

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on his staff. "I know what you''re nning, Death. I''ve seen the Rakshasa and the Walkers. But that''s not all you''ve got, is it?"

    His words sent a chill down my spine. What was he talking about? More Walkers? More monsters lurking in the shadows?

    The Death Sun''s grin widened, his rotting lips curling into a twisted smile. "Wise indeed. Yes, they''re already waiting. And while your forces are distracted with the real threat high above, I have an army ready to rise. Do you honestly think your pitiful defenses can stop them? Billions of Walkers, ready to swarm the Beyond at mymand.

    They will devour everything in their path. You won''t be able to save them all."

    My stomach churned at his words. Billions of Walkers? How the hell could we possibly stop something like that? I clenched my fists, my mind racing, trying to think of a way out of this. The weight of his threat was crushing, a dark cloud that hung over us, threatening to smother every glimmer of hope.

    The Wisest Sun''s eyes narrowed, a glint of calction in them. "What do you want, Death Sun?"

    The Death Sun''s gaze shifted to me. His bony finger pointed directly at my chest, his sunken eyes gleaming with malice. "I want the crystal you carry."

 Chapter 839 Betrayal

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    The Blue Sun''s muscles tensed, her knuckles white as they gripped the haft of her hammer. Her eyes zed with fury, like molten steel ready to strike. She was a wall between us and the Death Sun, an unyielding force of defiance. Blood matted her hair and smeared across her face, but her spirit was undeterred.

    "Why should he give it to you?" The Blue Sun stepped in front of me, her hammer still in hand, her body bloodied but unbroken. She was a fortress of resolve, standing between me and the abyss. I could see that the fight she had against the Cryptic Sun was as taxing to her as much as it was ''rightfully'' painful for the bloodied and broken Cryptic Sun.

    The Death Sun''s smile twisted further, a slow, deliberate motion that seemed to stretch his rotted skin impossibly. His eyes, two empty voids, seemed to drink in the fear and uncertainty around him. "Because if he doesn''t," he rasped "I''ll release everything I have. You can''t stop me. And even if you manage to by some ungodly luck hold me, you won''t be able to contain the chaos.

    Do you honestly think you can fight off billions of Walkers? They''re ready to flood the world, to infect every corner of the Beyond."

    He raised a hand, and from the shadows of the cavern, came a distant, resonating thrum. The air grew thick with the promise of devastation. It was the heartbeat of the abyss, the Walkers, and the Rakshasa he had threatened to unleash upon the world. Their energy was palpable, like a storm pressing against the thin walls of reality.

    Even without seeing them, I could feel their presence, a sea of malice teeming beneath the surface, and far above us, ready to spill over and drown the world in chaos. It was like standing on the edge of a precipice, knowing that one wrong move would send us all into an endless chasm of despair.

    The Wisest Sun''s face tightened in concentration. His brows furrowed as he closed his eyes and sent out his divine sense. It swept through the caverns, and far beyond through the Sea of Demons and further, spreading outward like a tsunami of energy. In a fraction of a second, his eyes snapped open, wild with realization. "You madman!" he spat, his voice trembling with rage and disbelief.

    The Death Sun''s smirk deepened, revealing jagged teeth, ckened and cracked. "You saw them, right? All beneath the surface, like an endless horde just waiting for themand to unleash them. No ce in the Beyond will be safe." His words echoed, each one a nail driving into the coffin of our hope.

    My mind whirled with fear and a desperate urge to act. He had us cornered, and he knew it. The weight of his threat pressed on my shoulders like an anvil. Billions of Walkers, a tsunami of death poised to crash against every corner of the Beyond.

    If he unleashed them, there would be no defense, no safe haven. It would be an apocalypse, a world turned into a nightmare where nothing but death and corruption reigned.

    I took a shaky breath, my chest tight with the enormity of the decision I was about to make. "Sure," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. "I''ll give it to you."

    His skeletal grin widened, eyes glittering with a cruel satisfaction. "Spoken like a true cultivator, Shen Bao. But, of course, you''ll want something in return." There was a mocking tone to his words, but beneath it, a sliver of respect¡ªas if he recognized the game we were ying, the grim dance of power and submission.

    "Exactly," I replied, stepping forward despite the weight pressing down on me. My heart was thundering, but I couldn''t let it show. "If I give you the crystal, what guarantee do we have that you''ll leave? You still need more power, don''t you?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His hollow eyes gleamed with amusement, the promise of some terrible trick. "You have a sharp eye, Shen Bao." He turned his gaze toward the Cryptic Sun''s crumpled, bloodied form, a sneer curling his lip. "But don''t worry, I''ve already found my solution."

    Before any of us could react, and with unnatural speed the Death Sun''s arm shot forward. His hand plunged into the Cryptic Sun''s chest, a sickening squelch filling the air. The Cryptic Sun''s eyes bulged, a gurgling gasp escaping his lips as the Death Sun''s fingers wrapped around his heart, squeezing with a relentless grip.

    "Why?" The Cryptic Sun''s voice was a broken whisper, full of confusion and betrayal.

    "Why?" The Death Sun echoed mockingly, twisting his hand, and a wet crack sounded as the Cryptic Sun''s ribcage gave way. "After all this time, you still don''t understand? You are not a real Sun, never have been, I have given you that power for a reason after all, your only redeeming feature is that you now possess their power. You were only ever a tool, a means to an end."

    With a vicious jerk, he crushed the Cryptic Sun''s heart, detonating it within his chest. A pulse of energy exploded outward, rattling the cavern as the Cryptic Sun''s body withered and shriveled, copsing in on itself like a crumpled rag. His once formidable presence was reduced to nothing more than dust, scattering into the air.

    The Death Sun immediately collected all the energy and with a deep satisfied sigh, he threw it at the gate.

    I felt a wave of revulsion wash over me. The Cryptic Sun, for all his schemes and treachery, had been nothing more than a pawn in the Death Sun''s grand game. His death was swift, merciless, and in the end, utterly meaningless.

    "Honor among betrayers, huh?" I muttered, the words dripping with bitter irony. My stomach churned at the sight of the Death Sun''s smug triumph. He had turned the Cryptic Sun into nothing more than fuel for his dark ambition, a stepping stone to some grand, twisted end.

    The Wisest Sun''s face was set in a mask of grim eptance, his eyes locked on the Death Sun. "It was always going to end this way," he said quietly, a heavy sadness in his voice. "He''s never been one to honor his promises."

 Chapter 840 Betrayal II

    The Death Sun floated back, his eyes now brimming with a dark energy. He was like a shadow given form, a void that swallowed light. He turned to me, his expression a grotesque mixture of mockery and triumph. "Now, Shen Bao," he said, his voice dripping with venomous glee. "The crystal. It is all I need to open the gate."

    I hesitated for the briefest of moments, every instinct in me screaming not to give it to him. But we were cornered, and the Walkers were a threat we couldn''t ignore. "Giving you the crystal while you just betrayed your ally, trusting you into keeping a promise is pretty dumb now, isn''t it?" My voice held an edge of defiance, but inside, fear gnawed at my resolve.

    "Fool," the Death Sun hissed. "All I need is to leave. I want to see a different world that lies right behind this gate. I''ve worked hard to achieve it; don''t test my already waning patience, Shen Bao."

    "Fine," I said, pulling the crystal from my holding bag. It felt heavy in my hand, as if it knew the weight of the decision I was making. Without further hesitation, I threw it toward him.

    "Shen Bao!" the Blue Sun yelled, her voice cutting through the air like a de.

    "Calm down, Old Azure," the Wisest Sun said, though his tone held an undercurrent of tension. "Trust thed, has he ever proven to be unworthy of trust?" he added as he waited to see what I was nning.

    Her eyes burned with a fury that could have reduced the world to ashes, but she held back. There was no time to argue, no time to act on her instincts. If we survived this, she would surely give me hell for this gamble. But for now, she watched, every muscle taut, ready to strike.

    The Death Sun''s fingers curled around the crystal, his decayed lips curling into a smile. "Good," he muttered, his voice slithering out like a snake''s hiss. He turned his back on us,pletely unconcerned about any attack we might make. He was daring us to try, confident in his control over the situation.

    He moved to the gate, the crystal glowing faintly in his grasp. The grooves of the gate seemed to hunger for it, an ancient, insatiable thirst that had waited eons to be sated. As the crystal clicked into ce, a pulse of energy reverberated through the air, making the ground beneath us tremble.

    With deliberate precision, the Death Sun slit his wrist with one of his long, talon-like fingers. A spray of ck blood arced through the air, sshing onto the crystal and the gate''s surface. It sizzled and hissed upon contact, spreading like ink in water, darkening the surrounding sigils.

    The sigils glowed brighter, thrumming with power. They twisted and writhed, forming new patterns, shifting and interlocking as if they were alive. The entire gate seemed to breathe, a beast awakening from a long slumber, its hunger vast and unfathomable. Light soon began morphing from the center of the gate, and what was once material, became immaterial.

    Thews of Space began furling and curling, affected by the ancient scriptures of the gate to open a path to somewhere new.

    "With this, the path to somewhere else will be open," the Death Sun said, his eyes fixed on the growing light emerging from the gate. "A ce full of opportunities, don''t you think, old friends?"

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    His words were met with cold silence. He turned to the Wisest Sun and the Blue Sun, his eyes alight with a mad gleam. "You expect us to leave with you?" the Wisest Sun asked, his voice low and dangerous.

    "It is an offer I make once," the Death Sun replied. "After all, what do you have here that is truly precious and worth staying for?"

    "My people," the Wisest Sun answered, his voice firm and unwavering. His gaze held a fierce resolve, one that could not be swayed by the promise of power or escape. His words echoed with a deep, unshakable belief, as if they were the very essence of his being.

    The Death Sun''s lips twisted into a sneer. "Hah! Nothing but serfs and ves. You can make more in this new ce, mold them as you see fit. Why be bound to this decaying world when we can conquer another?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "You don''t even know where that gate leads," the Blue Sun said, her voice a hiss of contempt. She stepped closer, hammer still ready to strike. The muscles in her arms tensed, and her eyes gleamed with the promise of violence.

    "Oh, I don''t," the Death Sun admitted, his tone casual, almost bored. "But what I do know," he said, as more light began to pour out from the gate, "is that the Qi in that ce is one stage higher than the Origin Qi of the Beyond." His eyes glinted with greed and anticipation as he took a few steps back, away from the gate''s expanding light.

    "One more thing," he added, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

    "Shen Bao, this is my revenge for killing my clone back in the Vast Expanse!" His voice was a sudden, sharp crack that filled the chamber, followed by the sound of his fingers snapping. It was a sound that sent a jolt of terror racing through my spine.

    Now, let''s take a break here.

    I''ve spent several centuries as a cultivator, and in all that time, I''vee to know human nature better than most. It''s a beast of Greed and Malevolence, a creature that thrives in the dark recesses of the soul. There''s no such thing as a pure human, no one truly worthy of absolute trust.

    Especially not a being like the Death Sun¡ªa monster cloaked in flesh, a predator who would tear the world apart for his own ends.

    And trusting him? The dumbest thing anyone could do.

    Before the sound of his finger snap even finished echoing through the cavern, I had already moved. My hands pped together in a praying motion, the symbols of power and will manifesting between my palms. "True and False! Monochrome!"

 Chapter 841 Sakashima Yokoshima Happo Fusagari

    Two thoughts, two motions, two actions, two ideas.

    Both, are extremely simple, feasible, and at the same time, incredibly genius. Even I, a man who would never think to call himself a genius, honestly and truly thought that I outdid myself here. The sheer audacity of my n made my heart pound against my ribcage like a war drum. There was no room for error, not when the Death Sun stood before me, an avatar of annihtion waiting to strike.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Fighting the Death Sun is suicide. I''m not a match, not nearly by any means; it''s the same as attempting to fight the Enforcer, a death sentence that I''ll sign with my own hands if I dare to be so arrogant and think I can tank a hit or two from him

    Even the Cryptic Sun¡ªagainst him, all I could ever do was fractionally counter some of his attacks. The only value I had was to make a bit more of his brain cells think about me rather than how to handle the Blue Sun, which allowed her to finish the job.

    I was not strong;pared to the Suns, I''m no stronger than a newborn chick. But I have impact, and it is that which allowed me to ruin the Death Sun''s n. Well, ruin is a powerful word¡ªit was more like skewing it awry, a slight deflection of a de aimed at our throats. The cavern around us seemed to hold its breath, the air vibrating with the tension of a thousand unspoken words.

    The universe itself seemed to teeter on the brink of an abyss, waiting to see which way it would fall.

    The Death Sun''s disappearing figure noticed my eyes, which were all that remained lit in the gray world of Monochrome. His eyes widened, a flicker of something that might have been fear or disbelief crossing his features before the shadows consumed them. The Monochrome was an all-consuming void, a realm where light and darkness merged into one, stripping away the illusions of reality.

    Here, the Death Sun''s aura of invincibility meant nothing. His power, his malice, his very essence¡ªstripped bare, reduced to nothing more than a hollow silhouette.

    True and False, Domain of Delusion my own domain, which allowed me to revert and control thews of causality to a certain point, to make what is unthinkable feasible at the expense of my own mental prowess and Qi. My mind strained under the weight of it, each thought like a shard of ss piercing through my skull. But it was a necessary sacrifice.

    The Enforcer had shattered this domain with ease, exposing its ws, its limitations. But that defeat had been a lesson, a brutal education in the nature of reality itself.

    The Enforcer''s White True and False domain was a step above my own ck True and False, where in my Domain, I was able to control the realism and create fake truths that would hamper one''s mind. It was a cruel joke, a twisted reflection of reality that left my enemies stumbling in the dark. But it wasn''t enough. Not against foes like the Death Sun. I needed more.

    I needed to upend the very fabric of existence.

    The main ability was to switch one''s sense of direction. The ability to changews and elements. To turn ice into mes and wind into earth and so on¡ªa very destabilizing Domain. The world became a chaotic swirl of contradictions. The air hummed with an unnatural energy, the very atoms vibrating with uncertainty.

    The rules of existence themselves twisted and writhed, fighting against the alien reality I was imposing upon them.

    And to switch all the cardinal directions.

    One step further, the White True and False of the Enforcer was a Domain that would upturn logic. It would make the one who casts the Domain be the foe. And the FOE STILL REMAIN THE FOE. The logic behind this Domain is an incredible thwarting of all logical processes. The mind rebels against such paradoxes, struggling to maintain a grip on sanity as reality is rewritten before its eyes.

    Where the one using the White Domain can simply take on any blow from their counterpart only for the assaulter to take the same damage. Further on, one could also simply stab themselves and see their opponent with wounds gushing down their bodies. An extremely powerful and almost all-too-powerful domain. Yet, there was a huge setback to that use of Delusion.

    The image of the Enforcer''s smile, that maddening grin, shed before my eyes¡ªa reminder of what it took to wield such power. Madness, pure and unfiltered.

    You simply need to be a madman to use it. Not only do you have topletely and fully delude yourself into thinking that you are your opponent, you also have to not lose sight of your own self, lest you lose your mind and think that you are, for example, the Death Sun himself if I were to use that domain.

    The sheer terror of that thought, the possibility of losing myself in the abyss, was enough to keep me from treading that path. But it was always there, lurking at the edge of my consciousness, a whispering temptation to abandon reason and embrace the chaos.

    In a sense, it''s more dangerous than Monochrome. The Enforcer was easily capable of using it due to the power difference between us and the fact that the Enforcer would never lose sight of who he is. His madness was a weapon, honed to a fine edge that cut through the fabric of reality itself.

    If I were to try it on the Death Sun, I might actually just lose my sanity since I''m not nearly as powerful, so I saved that Domain to use on either simrly strong foes or weaker ones.

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    While Monochrome is a thought, a simple thought that is able to delude not myself, not my enemy, but the world itself. Inside this Domain of Fakery, I''m able to switch the world''s perception. To an extent, of course, and this is what I''m going to do. The p of my hands resounded through the cavern, a thunderous boom that echoed off the stone walls and shook the very foundation of reality.

    It was a sound that transcended the physical, a deration of intent that rippled through the fabric of existence.

 Chapter 842 Disruption

    My p resounded powerfully through the cavern, extending the domain of True and False as far as the sound of the p could reach and simply locked it down. The Death Sun''s finger snap immediately dissipated as it was trapped in my domain. His eyes widened in shock, the smirk wiped clean off his face as he felt the shift in the air.

    The Monochrome wrapped around us like a suffocating shroud, a world devoid of color and warmth.

    It is a world of everything yet has nothing, almost a replica of what once was, a simtion in my eyes, a nasty one at that too.

    Monochrome is a non-colored world where everything would lose all to be one thing. Colors would be stale andparable. Sound would lose its frequency and be a single note. The energy in the air grew thicker, more oppressive, like a weight pressing down on every cell of my body. My heart pounded against my ribcage as if trying to break free from the prison of my own flesh.

    The Death Sun''s finger snap, which was the release for the Raksahsa to go out onto the world and devour it had lost its tone and note and simply dissipated before it reached outside of my Monochrome domain.

    Not even a bright red me would harm me if it lost its color, for losing its color denies it a part of its definition. And if a me loses, let''s say, the part where it is ''Hot,'' then it is nothing but a moving picture of fire. It is the essence of a thing that gives it power, its purpose, its danger. And without that essence, it is nothing.

    My body trembled with the strain of maintaining the domain, every fiber of my being screaming in protest. I was pushing myself beyond my limits, past the point of sanity and into a realm where only madness and genius resided.

    All that can be defined will lose its color, and all that has no color cannot manifest. And this is applied not onto the Death Sun for his own self-recognition and self-presence would still allow him to express himself as an entity. He simply has too much Qi for me to apply Monochrome on him. Proven by the fact that his robes and body soon regained their colors.

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    But not the gate, or less, not the formations that make the gate. My focus shifted to the gate, the intricate web of formations and sigils that held the key to his escape. They pulsed with a sickly energy, a twisted mockery of life that resonated with the Death Sun''s own malignant aura.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    If you want to leave and leave us with trouble, you can leave, but I''ll be the one to decide your destination. My thoughts raced, each one a flicker of lightning in the darkness. I couldn''t affect the entire formation; it was too mighty and too advanced and ancient. The energy coursing through it was like a raging river, threatening to sweep away any attempt to alter its flow.

    If I were to try and disable the entire formation, we''d still be in a heap of trouble as it would force the Death Sun to remain with us, and that by itself is too much pain in the ass.

    All I needed to do was to simply affect one single part of the gate''s formation. My hands moved with a will of their own, the sigils and runes swirling around me in a chaotic dance. I could feel the Death Sun''s eyes on me, burning with a hatred that threatened to pierce through the veil of Monochrome. But he was toote, too slow to stop what was already in motion.

    I applied Monochrome onto an intricate part of the formation which didn''t affect the creation or the disruption of the gate. But rather the coordinates. The energy shifted, twisted in on itself as reality bent to my will. The formation wasn''t touched, it only lost its color, and by losing its color, it was no longer there.

    It was the same as removing a small gear from a great machine, in most cases, the machine wouldn''t break down immediately, it would still function for even a few moments or seconds before it would crash.

    And that was all I needed as the Death Sun simply dissipated inside the gate. Only for the gate to finally realize that the coordinates had been tampered with and sent the Death Sun to only god knows where. His roar of rage echoed through the cavern, a primal scream that shook the foundations of reality itself. And then he was gone, swallowed by the void he so desperately sought to escape into.

    The whole gate immediately sputtered and shut down, the sigils and runes copsing in on themselves with a finality that left no room for argument. My legs buckled beneath me, the strength drained from my body like water from a shattered vessel.

    My brain, which was already incredibly taxed when I went into a poison overdrive, was now suffering from massive migraines that would make a man want to smash their heads against the wall to calm it down even by a little.

    All that, all of that thinking and processing took probably no longer than half a second. But for me who was using Monochrome and the Primordial Serpent God''s sight. It was a lengthy period of time.

    My head throbbed with so much pain that I couldn''t help but spasm and shudder. Every heartbeat sent a spike of agony through my skull, each breath a struggle against the darkness that threatened to consume me. The domain fell immediately as the two Suns rushed to my side.

    Their voices were distant, muffled by the pounding in my ears, the rushing sound of blood and the ringing silence of Monochrome fading away.

    "Shen Bao!" The concern in their voices was palpable, a lifeline that I clung to even as the world around me dissolved into darkness. My vision tunneled, the edges of my sight curling inward until all that remained was a pinprick of light. And then that too was gone, swallowed by the abyss.

    Thest thing I felt was the cold stone of the cavern floor against my cheek, the sensation grounding me even as I slipped into the void. There was no fear, no pain, just a hollow emptiness that stretched on into infinity. And somewhere, in the distance, the echo of my own heartbeat, a faint reminder that I was still alive, for now.

 Chapter 843 Resistance

    High up above the Sea of Demons, the battle raged on, a cacophony of violence and fury that shook the very fabric of the heavens. The sky was a tapestry of chaos, a sprawling war zone where countless souls shed in a desperate struggle for survival. Screams and roars intermingled, the air itself vibrating with the intensity of it all.

    Yet, amid this whirlwind of death and destruction, a grim realization settled over the battlefield: it was thankfully at its final moments.

    It had been a close victory, a brutal and bloody contest that left the heavens themselves stained with the essence of life and death. The rush from the Rakshasa had been deadly, a torrent of malevolence that swept through the defenders like a gue. The Darkest Sun himself had been forced to join the fray, breaking down the onught in a desperate bid to protect the Beyond.

    The betrayal by the Death Sun and Cryptic Sun had been a treacherous blow, a knife in the back at the worst possible moment. The Rakshasa seized the opportunity, unleashing the full weight of their forces upon the world below.

    The fight was grim and gruesome, a maelstrom of agony that consumed hundreds of millions of cultivators. They had stood as the first line of defense, their lives given in a desperate attempt to stave off the impending doom. The air was thick with the scent of blood and ash, the cries of the dying mingling with the sh of steel and the crackle of arcane energies.

    Even the Darkest Sun''s titan ves, towering behemoths of power and fury, had fallen in droves, their mighty forms shattered and broken by the relentless tide of Rakshasa.

    Time and again, the enemy breached the lines, their vile forms breaking through the defenses like a knife through flesh. Whenever a Golden Cap Brute Rakshasa joined the vanguard, there was no cultivator that could stop it but a Sun Stage. Not even the titans were enough to hold them at bay; they could only slow them down, sacrificing themselves in a futile attempt to halt the inevitable.

    At a few instances, the enemy surged forward, diving into the heart of the Beyond like a spear aimed at its core. Cultivators waiting below had been ready, their bodies tense with the knowledge that they might not survive theing storm.

    They threw themselves into the fray, sacrificing themselves in the worst way possible by detonating their Qi, causing explosions that rent the very fabric of space. The detonation was blinding, an all-consuming ze that took with it several dozens of Rakshasa alongside their own lives.

    The ground shook with each self-sacrifice, the air filled with the acrid stench of burning flesh and charred bone.

    Through it all, Shen Bao, who was preupied with the assistance of the Wisest Sun, had not been idle. He had already given severalmands to his puppets, which now flew up to assist in the war. They moved like a swarm of locusts, each one a harbinger of destruction aimed at the heart of the Rakshasa horde.

    Not only that, Tao Yang, themander of the army that Shen Bao had left behind, used the Bastion to great effect. It was a fortress of power, a behemoth that flew up into the sky with an almost endless reserve of Qi.

    The Bastion became a beacon of hope amid the darkness, its glowing form a rallying point for the weary and the wounded. The Darkest Sun himself was grateful for the timely assistance, using the Bastion as a bulwark against the enemy onught.

    Its walls became a sanctuary, a ce where the wounded could be taken to heal, where the defenders could regroup and gather their strength for the next assault. Tao Yang allowed all to ess the Bastion for healing, the fortress bing a haven amid the storm of war.

    Meanwhile, the rest of the cultivators, just below the Heaven Stage, gathered around the Bastion, forming a protective ring around it. They stood ready to intercept any Rakshasa that managed to slip through the defensive line, their weapons gleaming in the dim light of the battlefield.

    The air was filled with the crackle of energy as they unleashed their powers upon the enemy, bolts of lightning and fire tearing through the darkness.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Though the assistance was great in pushing the enemy back, their numbers didn''t seem to dwindle one bit. They came on and on, an unending tide of horror that threatened to overwhelm the defenders. The fight looked almost hopeless as the cultivators were losing their ground bit by bit due to the incredible number difference.

    Each step back felt like a step closer to oblivion, each fallenrade a nail in the coffin of their resistance.

    However, thanks to Shen Bao and the Wisest Sun liberating the rest of the Suns, a new hope emerged from the depths of despair. The Suns managed to join the fray before everything went to hell. The entrance of the Suns was like the arrival of gods descending from the heavens. They brought with them a storm of power and fury that tore through the enemy ranks with relentless ferocity.

    The Red Sun roared out as he manifested his giant Asura avatar, a monstrous form that towered over the battlefield like a colossus. It wielded swords the size of moons ands, des that came down upon the endless hordes of Rakshasa like the wrath of a vengeful deity. With each swing, lives were culled, their screams swallowed by the cacophony of battle.

    Weapons of endless might tore through and eradicated any unfortunate Rakshasa that dared to stand in its path. The sky was awash with the crimson glow of the Red Sun''s fury, a blood-red tide that swept away all in its wake.

    The mboyant Sun, not to be outdone, showcased his eye-opening mes of fury. A kaleidoscope of mboyant colors erupted from his form, wings of fire that spread out across the battlefield in a dazzling disy of power. He flew all over the battlefield, a zinget that burned with the intensity of a thousand stars.

    His mes were a purifying force, incinerating any and all that was deemed an enemy. Cultivators cheered as his colorful mes lit up the sky, a bright gctic explosion that painted the heavens in hues of red, orange, and gold. He gave power and energy to his fellow exhausted and wounded cultivators, his presence a beacon of hope amid the darkness.

 Chapter 844 Incoming Doom

    For now, three Suns were fighting the good fight. The battlefield was a maelstrom of energy and fury, a swirling vortex of power that threatened to consume all who were caught in its path. Tao Yang, who seemed to be healing considerably fast and fusing more and more with her own soul, was gaining strength with each passing moment.

    She was a force of nature, a whirlwind of destruction that tore through the enemy lines with reckless abandon.

    She never remained inside the protective walls of the Bastion but joined the battle alongside the cultivators that were retreating wounded soldiers and guarded them. Her golden Srous helmet concealed her identity, but her actions spoke louder than any name. She wielded a sword of bright white mes, a de that cut through the Rakshasa with ease.

    Each swing was a symphony of violence, a dance of death that left nothing but ash in its wake. She was the protector and the guardian, and she disyed enough might and power that many realized she was far above the Heaven Stage. She took on a Golden Capped Brute with minimal injuries, a feat that few could im.

    "The Golden Sun!" she was named, a title given to her not by the Suns, but by the people she saved. Her presence was a rallying point, a symbol of hope that spurred the defenders to fight on even in the face of overwhelming odds. Her golden aura shone like a beacon in the darkness, a light that drove back the shadows.

    Shen Bao''s assistance didn''t go unnoticed, either. Hundreds of thousands of his puppets had taken to the skies inside the Bastion, setting themselves all over the fortress and taking down faraway targets using their long-range weapons. They were a relentless force, a swarm of mechanical death that harried the enemy at every turn.

    At first, their assistance didn''t look that incredible or helpful, since each puppet could barely take out one or two Rakshasa at a time. But as time went on, the cultivators noticed something.

    Whenever the puppets would shoot the round, flying metallic projectiles at a Rakshasa, it would turn them to ice. But at the same time, a bit of ''smoke'' would emerge from their bodies. This smoke was slowly building up, creating a massive screen that no Rakshasa dared to walk into unless forced.

    It was a death trap, a wall of icy doom that turned any who entered into brittle ice in seconds, their bodies fracturing and shattering into a thousand pieces. It was Shen Bao''s poison, devised to eliminate Rakshasa and Rakshasa only. It didn''t harm any cultivator that walked inside it and was a great tool to protect the area around the Bastion from any sudden rushes of the enemy.

    With the arrival of the Suns, the battle waspletely turned upside down. The cultivators had taken the initiative and gone on the offensive, driving back the Rakshasa with a newfound ferocity. The tides of war had shifted, and the enemy was finally being pushed back. The sky was alight with the fury of the Suns, their power a zing beacon that banished the darkness.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Just as they werefortable with their advancement and control of the situation, a soul-rending screech echoed in the vast space above the Beyond. It was a sound that chilled the blood, a cry of rage and malice that resonated through the battlefield like a death knell. Far away, something of incredible size was approaching.

    It moved with terrible speed, aet of doom hurtling toward the battlefield.

    It was a creature of unimaginable size, a behemoth that dwarfed even the mightiest of the Rakshasa. It wasparable to the Primordial Serpent God, a world-eater type creature. Althoughpared to the Beyond, it was still rtively small, not bigger than one hundred thousandth the size, but it was still enough of a threat topletely upturn the battle.

    "That''s the First Born¡­" Tao Yang''s voice trembled as she spoke, her words instantly transmitted to the rest of the Suns. There was a note of dread in her voice, a realization that sent a shiver down the spines of all who heard it.

    "Why is it here? This creature should still be stuck in Srous¡­" she added, her voice barely above a whisper. It was a question that hung in the air, a terrible possibility that none wanted to consider.

    "You know this thing?" the Darkest Sun asked, his voice gruff with tension. His eyes were locked on the approaching behemoth, his hands tightening around his weapons.

    "Yes, this is the first spawn of the Rakshasa Broodmother¡­" Tao Yang''s tone was grim, her eyes narrowing as she watched the creature approach. Her words carried the weight of a terrible truth, a realization that struck at the very heart of their defenses.

    "This isn''t even the big bad," the Red Sun said, his voice a low growl of frustration and anger. There was a sense of futility in his words, a knowledge that they were facing an enemy beyond theirprehension.

    "It shares one thing with its spawn mother, so be careful," Tao Yang warned, her voice carrying a note of urgency. She eliminated several other foes with swift, precise strikes, her eyes never leaving the advancing behemoth.

    "And what is that?" asked the mboyant Sun as he retreated slowly after clearing the majority of the enemy frontline. There was a flicker of fear in his eyes, a dawning realization that sent a chill through his soul.

    "It''spletely impervious to Qi¡­" she said, her words a death sentence that hung in the air like a specter of doom.

    Her words sounded like an absurdity no one should utter. Qi was the essence of life, the very foundation of their power. To be impervious to Qi was to be untouchable, invincible. But the truth of her words was undeniable, as several of the Darkest Sun''s materialized weapons simply puffed into smoke, their power nullified by the mere presence of the creature.

    A hush fell over the battlefield, a moment of stunned silence that stretched into eternity. The defenders looked on in horror as the First Born approached.. It was a nightmare given flesh, a harbinger of doom that threatened to swallow the world whole.

    The battle had only just begun.

 Chapter 845 The Fiend Approaches

    The fiend was enormous, its sheer presence a looming shadow that threatened to swallow the battlefield whole. As it approached, its silhouette grew darker, blotting out what little light remained in the war-torn skies. When it finally rose to its full height, it would blot out the sun itself, casting a darkness so profound it would smother hope.

    The cultivators, once roaring with defiance and bravery, now stood in silent awe and creeping defeat, their eyes locked onto the monstrosity that eclipsed their very will to fight.

    Victory was a delusion they had tricked themselves into believing. The Rakshasas had never truly been the enemy, merely distractions, buying time for this abomination''s arrival. There was no winning, not against this¡ªthere was only survival. Its power was a palpable force, a wave of malevolence rolling over the defenders, making the air heavy and their hearts sink.

    This creature was a Sun Stage being, a world destroyer, and unlike the allied Suns who fought with restraint to protect the Beyond, this entity would hold back nothing. It would revel in their annihtion.

    The three Suns and Tao Yang gathered, their gazes locked on the iing terror. Each was a paragon of power, but even they felt the crushing weight of the fiend''s presence. It was an ancient evil given flesh, a cmity that defied all logic.

    "Immune to all Qi," the mboyant Sun murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of despair. "That is extremely difficult to handle¡­" His usual mboyance was tempered by the grim reality of their situation. Yet, there was no desperation in his eyes, only a fierce determination. For him, difficulties were merely puzzles to be solved, not walls to surrender to.

    "The fact that it was born out of a stolen Heavenly Law is enough to make the heavens strike it down with endless fury," Tao Yang said, her voice cold and analytical, yet tinged with a trace of fear. "Yet, it has something that is hiding it away from the high heavens¡­"

    "There is a way," the Red Sun spoke, his voice a rumble of barely contained rage. His aura was a storm held at bay, a torrent of power waiting to be unleashed. He had calmed it, reigned it in for this moment. "Sealing it. If it is impervious to Qi, we just have to lock it down to make it unable to escape¡­ but there is only one problem."

    "The Cryptic Sun is the only one who can do that¡­" The mboyant Sun finished the thought, his face darkening at the implication.

    A silence followed, the only sound being the fiend''s distant roars, a cacophony of doom that rattled their very bones.

    The Blue Sun''s voice cut through the tension, echoing from the bracelet of the Suns. "What''s the situation up there?" she asked, her tone strained but still holding a fierce edge.

    "Old Azure!" the Red Sun responded, a flicker of hope lighting his voice. But it was quickly smothered.

    "I told you to not call me old! I''m only eight thousand years old!" she spat back, her irritation momentarily breaking the somber atmosphere. But the relief was fleeting.

    Wind howled through her transmission, a sign of her speeding through the air even as she spoke.

    "I apologize!" the Red Sun said quickly. "Seeing that you''re able tomunicate, how is the situation?"

    "Not that great," she replied grimly, her voice crackling through the transmission. An unsettling silence followed, the weight of her words hanging in the air. Soon, her hologram flickered to life, revealing her bruised and bloodied state. Her hair was disheveled, streaked with blood and dirt, a stark testament to the ferocity of the battle she had endured.

    On her shoulders, she carried arge wooden nk, and as she lowered it, the sight of what was on it made everyone''s hearts sink. "Eternal Dusk and the Lording Sun are grievously wounded; their situation doesn''t look good. And the Cryptic Sun is dead."

    Shock rippled through the group, the news hitting them like a physical blow. The Cryptic Sun was dead, and not by their hands.

    "Was it you? Or the Wisest Sun?" the Darkest Sun demanded, his voice a low growl of anger.

    "Neither," the Blue Sun replied, her voice tight with barely contained rage. "It was the Death Sun who killed him."

    "Seeing that you are still talking and still alive, I suppose you managed to kill the Death Sun also," the Red Sun said, though there was no hope in his voice.

    "Negative," she said, her tone bitter. "He escaped. He used a strange gate to teleport away."

    "Damn," the Red Sun cursed. "We need to find him and take him out."

    "No need," she said, shaking her head. "Shen Bao made sure that the Death Sun would lose his way. I''ll tell you all about itter. For now, the Wisest Sun said that he noticed something biging your way." Enjoy exclusive content from empire

    "It''sing alright," the Red Sun said, his voice heavy with dread as he nced back at the fiend, still approaching towards them with constant speeds.

    "The Wisest Sun ising your way," the Blue Sun continued. "I''ll head to Shen Bao''s territory for now. I cannot assist you."

    "Why not?" the Darkest Sun asked, frustration boiling over in his voice. "Ask Shen Bao to take care of the Dusking Sun and Lording Sun''s wounds; he''s pretty good when ites to healing."

    "That''s the problem," she said, lowering the nk to reveal the full extent of the situation. Shen Baoy unconscious, his face paler than a ghost. "Shen Bao took on both the Cryptic Sun and the Death Sun. Do you think anyone can do that without suffering?"

    "What do you mean?!" Tao Yang demanded, her voice breaking with concern. "What happened to Shen Bao?!"

    "He is out cold. I don''t know what he did, but¡­ he made something that is¡­ strange, even the Wisest Sun was confused, because it was something that wasn''t a Domain¡­ it was something more¡­ Whatever he did, it should have killed him, but he lives still¡ªbarely. I''ll be carrying them back to his territory. He has several puppets trained in the art of medicine; hopefully, they''ll help him."

    "I''ll have to withdraw¡­" Tao Yang began, but was cut off.

    "No!" The Blue Sun''s voice was firm, unyielding. "Trust in Shen Bao. Even unconscious, he has backup ns for backup ns. Once I ce them for healing, I''ll be joining you soon. If whatever the Wisest Sun said is even a fraction of the strength he felt, we''ll need every one of us there to stop it. I''ll arrive soon," she promised before cutting the contact.

    The Blue Sun arrived at Shen Bao''s imperial city, which was already in full alert. Rakshasa and Walkers had managed to infiltrate, somending from the skies while others swam up from the sands of the Sea of Demons. They moved like a swarm of locusts, a gue seeking to consume all in its path.

    The Blue Sun snorted, her disdain manifesting as a wave of power that exploded outward. The creatures blew up from the inside out, their blood and guts painting the sand in a grotesque disy. She wasn''t keen on using her hammer, fearing it would harm the already gravely wounded cultivators she carried. Her aura alone was enough to obliterate the lesser beings.

    Upon arrival, both YuYu and Liang Yu rushed toward her. "What happened to Shen Bao?!" YuYu screamed, her voice cracking with fear, while Liang Yu''s eyes widened in terror at the sight of his unconscious form.

    "Hurry, get me the medical puppet team!" The Blue Sun ordered. Her voice was amand that brooked no argument. The two women didn''t waste time; they knew there was no room for questions, no time for panic. He was alive, for now, and that was all that mattered.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They sprinted back to the pce, where the Automaton awaited them, its mechanical eyes whirring as it assessed the situation. "It seems the Master and the Lord are heavily wounded. Pleasee in," it said, opening a portal to the Lord of Lords pagoda.

    The three were immediately intercepted by dozens of puppets, their movements precise and efficient. They rushed the injured parties to the white space of the pagoda, ab and operation room where Shen Bao had tested and dissected his captured subjects. Now, it was being used as an emergency operation room.

    "Please tell us what happened," one of the twelve puppets asked, stepping forward to question the Blue Sun.

    "The two of them, Dusking Sun and Lording Sun, both suffered from Qi deficiency. Their Qi was stolen," she said quickly. "The Dusking Sun had grave internal injuries, he lost a lot of blood, and his soul is destabilized. As for Shen Bao¡ª"

    The Puppet raised its hand. "No need. Lord Shen Bao had already installed a monitor for his health. Comparing the current and old charts, we already knew what happened to him the moment he arrived."

    The Puppets then began working.

 Chapter 846 World Eater

    The fiend grewrger and more monstrous as it drew nearer, its sheer size eclipsing the heavens and casting a pall over the battlefield. A grotesque behemoth, it was covered in slick, sickly flesh that seemed to pulse and writhe with a life of its own.

    The cultivators, already battered and bloodied from the relentless assault of the Rakshasa, stared up at the oing horror with a mixture of awe and despair.

    Victory felt like a distant dream now, a cruel illusion that had been dangled before them only to be snatched away. Every ounce of blood and sweat they had poured into this fight had been in vain. The Rakshasa had yed them, their entire force acting as a mere distraction while this abomination made its way to them. They hadn''t been fighting to win; they had been fighting to survive until now.

    The creature''s power was unlike anything they had encountered. Even from this distance, the aura it exuded was suffocating, a dark, oily pressure that seemed to squeeze the very life out of the air. The fact that it was on par with a Sun Stage cultivator only added to the overwhelming sense of dread. It had no sense of mercy, no hesitation.

    This was not a sentient being that could be reasoned with or appeased. It was a force of nature, a cmity given form.

    Its form was an abomination to behold¡ªan enormous maggot-like entity with a gaping, circr maw filled with endless rows of teeth, each the size of a mountain. Those teeth gleamed like razors, gnashing hungrily in anticipation of the ughter toe. It had no eyes, no face, nothing that could be identified as a point of weakness.

    Instead, its body bristled with countless appendages¡ªarms that ended in long, wed toes equipped with suction cups, each one oozing a sickening slime that glistened under the dim light.

    Worst of all were the massive pores lining its bloated body, each one spewing a constant stream of the toxic fog that the Rakshasa thrived in. This fog was its lifeblood, its gift to the legions of monsters itmanded. It spread out like a miasma, corrupting the very air and lending strength to every Rakshasa it touched.

    The Darkest Sun unleashed an onught of shadow-forged weapons upon it, a rain of ethereal des and spears that filled the sky like a storm. Each strike, each weapon simply dissipated upon contact with the fiend''s flesh, absorbed into its grotesque mass as if they were nothing more than whispers in the wind.

    The Red Sun''s Asura avatar, a being of raw, condensed Qi, swung massive, ethereal swords down upon the creature, blows that could have cleaved mountains in two. Yet every swing passed through the fiend as if it were smoke, leaving no mark, no wound. The Asura''s attacks, powerful as they were, amounted to nothing.

    The Wisest Sun attempted to twist thews of space around the creature, bending reality itself in an attempt to contain or distort it. Yet even these ancient and powerfulws ceased to function as they approached the fiend. Space around it returned to its natural state, utterly unyielding to the Wisest Sun''s will.

    The mboyant Sun seemed to fare the best, his kaleidoscopic mes wrapping around the fiend in a dazzling disy of colors. He sought to raise the temperature around the beast, to incinerate it from within the inferno. But he had to maintain his distance, wary of the moment when his wings of me would touch the creature and be snuffed out like a candle in the wind.

    "What''s the situation?" the Blue Sun''s voice cut through the chaos as she appeared, her hammer already in hand, eyes zing with determination.

    "We''re in a pinch," the mboyant Sun replied, retreating as the fiend moved closer. "Nothing is working."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Let me have a go at it," she dered, her voice a fierce promise. "If it''s impervious to Qi, then I''m its best match."

    She surged forward, pouring her Qi into her hammer, making it grow until it was the size of a small moon. Her aura red around her, a brilliant azure light that zed like aet''s tail as she shot towards the fiend. She was a meteor, a force of nature in her own right.

    "EAT THIS!" she roared, swinging her hammer with all her might. The impact shook the very fabric of space, sending out a shockwave that rippled outward, distorting the void around them. It struck with the force of a''s collision, a cataclysmic blow that resonated with the raw power of a Sun Stage.

    For the first time, the fiend screamed. A ghastly wail echoed through the void as tens of thousands of its mountainous teeth shattered and blew away, scattered like debris in a cosmic wind. The creature recoiled, its grotesque form writhing in agony.

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    The Blue Sun did not relent. She swung her hammer again, this time bringing it down with a force that made space shudder. Another deafening wail escaped the fiend as more of its body cracked and broke under the onught.

    "She''s doing it," the Wisest Sun said, his eyes wide with disbelief. "We need to keep them away from her." He began weavingws of infernal storms, channeling his power to create barriers and gusts that tore through the ranks of the Rakshasa, scattering them before they could reach the Blue Sun.

    The other Suns rallied behind her, casting aside their egos. The Darkest Sun switched his focus back to the hordes of Rakshasa, unleashing waves of shadow-forged weapons to mow them down. The Red Sun''s Asura avatar reengaged the enemy, its swords cleaving through the ranks. The mboyant Sun continued his dance of mes, incinerating any foe that dared to approach.

    The cultivators, though weary and battered, took heart at the sight. They fought with renewed vigor, pushing back against the tide of darkness that sought to engulf them. Those who still had strength left hurled themselves into the fray, fending off the Rakshasa that tried to break through and reach the Blue Sun.

    For a moment, it seemed as if they had turned the tide. The fiend was halted in its advance, its monstrous form cracking under the relentless assault. The Suns were a zing beacon of hope in the void, holding the line against the overwhelming darkness.

    But the battle was far from over. Even as the Blue Sun hammered away at the fiend, the remaining Rakshasa shifted their focus. A frenzy took hold of them, a mindless rage that drove them towards her in a frenzied wave. They came like a storm, a flood of ws and fangs and madness.

 Chapter 847 Deja Vu

    Groggily waking up, I found myself in an all-too-familiar ce. The cold, lifeless air bit at my skin, and the void around me seemed to press in from all directions. The oppressive stillness was unnerving, as if the very concept of sound had been eradicated. "For crying out loud, not again," I muttered, rubbing my temples as the stark emptiness of this realm confirmed where I was.

    The sensation was unmistakable.

    I was back in front of the Enforcer.

    The throne room remained exactly as I remembered it¡ªif you could even call this ce a room. It was more like a distortion of reality, a pocket of existence where the rules of the universe had been rewritten or discarded entirely. the massive walls with an endless depiction of cultivators, murdered by their own weapons. And therge red carpeted floor that is mixed with the space itself.

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    The Enforcer''s throne stood at the center, an imposing structure that seemed to be carved from a single piece of obsidian, reflecting nothing of the lightless void that surrounded it. The dais on which it stood was adorned with intricate patterns that glowed with an eerie, otherworldly light, pulsating rhythmically like the heartbeat of some ancient, unfathomable being.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Seated upon this throne was the Enforcer, draped in the same flowing red and ck robes that shimmered like the night sky, embroidered with golden stars that seemed to shift and move of their own ord. His face, thoughrgely obscured by the gold and ck hood of his cloak, was still visible enough to make out that unsettling smile.

    It was a smile that spoke of knowledge too vast toprehend, of secrets buried in the fabric of the cosmos itself. His eyes, twin orbs of burning intensity, peered out from the shadows of his hood, locked onto me with an amusement that sent a chill down my spine.

    "Hello..." I said, waving a hand awkwardly. A sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu washed over me, making the entire encounter feel even more surreal. The first time I had stood here, I had been paralyzed by fear, trembling before this entity that held power beyond imagination. Now, despite the fear still coiling in the pit of my stomach, there was an odd sense of familiarity.

    It was like meeting an old acquaintance, albeit one you hoped you''d never see again.

    "You don''t seem as terrified as I believed you would be," the Enforcer remarked, his voice a deep, echoing timbre that resonated through the void, each syble carrying the weight of the cosmos.

    "Should I be?" I questioned, trying to hide the undercurrent of fear that ran through me. The coldness of this ce, the utter absence of life, it was all too much like the embodiment of death itself. I couldn''t help but wonder¡ªwas I dead again? Had I somehow failed in the battle? My thoughts raced, each one more frantic than thest.

    The Enforcer tilted his head slightly, an eerie motion that suggested curiosity, or perhaps amusement at my predicament. His movements were fluid, almost inhuman, like a marite pulled by invisible strings. "Since you''re the first one to have met me twice, even I am surprised.

    But I suppose you have some semnce of knowledge as to why I brought you here?" His voice held a mocking lilt, as if he was toying with me.

    "Not really," I admitted, my voice wavering despite my efforts to stay calm. "I mean, I hardly broke any rules... I never told anyone about what happened here." The words felt hollow as they left my mouth, my confidence wavering in the face of this otherworldly judge.

    "Think twice about what you just said," the Enforcer said, his eyes narrowing slightly. The gleam in his eyes grew sharper, as if he were dissecting me with his gaze alone.

    I paused, wracking my brain. And then it hit me, the realization crashing down like a ton of bricks. "Ah, I was supposed to have my memory wiped of this ce..." I muttered, smacking my forehead in frustration. How could I have been so careless? The intensity of the fight must have rattled my brain more than I thought. Or perhaps it was the poison overdose scrambling my thoughts.

    "Worry not," the Enforcer said, amusement coloring his tone. "It seems that the heavens themselves allowed you to retain your memories. But I would not be so arrogant as to share what you saw here. The first or second time," he added pointedly, a warning clear in his voice.

    The room around us seemed to warp and shift with his words, the swirling patterns on the floor intensifying in their glow. It was as if the very fabric of this space responded to his emotions, bending and twisting in ordance with his will. The thought made me shiver. Here, he was not just an entity; he was the environment, the essence, the very air I breathed.

    "You mean I''m not dead?" I guessed, a flicker of hope stirring within me. If he was mentioning a second time, then maybe this wasn''t the end. Maybe I was being given another chance.

    "Indeed," he confirmed, his voice calm, almost reassuring. "You may return whenever you wish, but I''m here to discuss that... Domain of yours." His tone shifted, taking on an edge of curiosity, or perhaps it was caution.

    "Ah, yes... Monochrome..." I said, swallowing hard. The weight of what I had done, what I had conjured, settled over me like a leaden cloak.

    "Indeed. It is something... even I would not use," he admitted, which surprised me. For an entity of his power to say such a thing¡ªit was both apliment and a warning.

    Not use because it was risky, I thought to myself, still grappling with the implications. "Not exactly," the Enforcer said, as if plucking the thought from my mind, his gaze piercing straight through to the core of my being.

    "Then what is?" I asked, confusion knitting my brow as I tried to make sense of his words.

    "It is because it''s too powerful," he replied, his voice dropping to a whisper that echoed through the void, resonating with a power that seemed to shake the very foundation of this space. "The Delusion you put yourself into, and the Delusion you apply onto the world, it is mighty indeed, and it touches upon the realm of heavenly control to a certain point."

    "Ah..." I stammered, not quite understanding. Was this one of those moments where I was supposed to nod and pretend I understood?

    "That I can do," the Enforcer confirmed, his eyes glinting with something akin to amusement. "As for what that means, you, as a mortal, seek immortality by pursuing your Dao. But your delusion is something that in theory can bypass the entire pursuit of Dao all the way to achieving immortality and evestinghood, to be among the Heavens if you so crazily deluded yourself and the world of it."

    "Isn''t that a bit too absurd?" I asked, the concept too grand, too impossible to wrap my head around. The very idea of transcending the Dao through sheer will alone¡ªit was beyond sphemous.

    "It should be, no, it has to be," the Enforcer replied, his voice carrying a gravity that made the air around us feel thick and heavy. "But what if your delusion is mighty enough that you truly believe that you are the Heavens? What if your Delusion is powerful enough that you truly believe you reached immortality?

    Though you would need the power to literally recreate the entire existence as you know it, with its universes and dimensions all the way to its smallest atom to achieve this Delusion, wouldn''t that be as if you be the new heavens?"

    "Trust me," I said, shaking my head. "I may be crazy enough to pump enough poison in my brain to kill a billion mortals, but I''m not crazy enough to be a deity."

    "Do you believe that the Heavens is foolish or crazy?" it asked, a strange light in its eyes, like the gleam of stars just before they copse into ck holes.

    "No," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. "It''s me who isn''t that capable. After all, I really don''t think I can be so selfless to watch over, protect, and punish all living things. You know... it''s too much work," I replied with a shrug.

    The Enforcerughed¡ªa deep, boomingugh that echoed through the void. It was a sound so rich and full that it seemed to reverberate in my very bones. It was unsettling, hearing such a human expression from a being so far removed from humanity. Heughed on and on, as if I had told the greatest joke in the universe, as if he hadn''tughed in eons and was savoring the sensation.

    "Indeed!" he roared, wiping a tear from his eye. "It''s simply too much work. I apologize," he said, the mirth fading as he regained hisposure. "I truly misjudged you. You can go back, Shen Bao. And thanks to having humored me, I can allow you toe here whenever you breakthrough your cultivation instead of suffering at the hands of a Heavenly Tribtion," he offered.

    For some reason, the prospect felt terrifying, a shiver running down my spine. But there was also a strangefort in it, knowing that this... entity had granted me a kind of passage. The Enforcer was not just some cosmic executioner, but a being withyers, with... humor?

    "Thank you," I said, bowing my head slightly, still not fullyprehending the magnitude of what had just transpired.

    "Return," itmanded, and the world around me faded to ck. The throne room, the Enforcer, and his inscrutable gaze all vanished as if they had never been, leaving me to wonder if any of it was even real.

 Chapter 848 Waking Up

    "Argh..." I groaned, waking up to the all-too-familiar sight of the White Space inside the Lord of Lords pagoda. Its stark, clinical brightness was a jarring contrast to the darkness I''d just been engulfed in. Around me were several of my medical puppets, their mechanical eyes glowing with a soft, pale light as they monitored my vitals.

    Liang Yu and YuYu were standing close by, their faces a mixture of relief and reprimand as they watched me stir.

    "You''re back!" Liang Yu eximed, her voice trembling with a mix of relief and anger.

    "You big fool!" YuYu added, her voice breaking as she reached out to pinch my arm lightly. It was an act both gentle and scolding, a gesture to remind me of the worry I''d put them through.

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    "Sorry for making you guys worry," I mumbled, pushing myself up on the cold, smooth surface of the white b bed. Every muscle in my body ached, as if I had been trampled by a herd of angry elephants.

    "We were worried sick," Liang Yu interjected, her eyes shing with a mix of concern and frustration. "Why do you keep throwing yourself into huge messes?" Her voice wavered, betraying the emotions she was trying to keep in check.

    "It''s because I have to," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "It''s not like I have much of a choice." I took a deep breath, trying to center myself amidst the throbbing in my skull. "What happened though? Thest I remember I was back in the second level of the Dark Garden."

    "The Blue Sun carried you and those two here," YuYu said, pointing next to me. Following her gesture, I saw the other two Suns, the Dusking Sun and the Lording Sun, lying on beds of their own. My medical puppets were busy treating them, their precise, mechanical hands working diligently to heal the damage done.

    "Excuse me for a bit," I said, forcing myself off the bed. My legs felt like lead, my movements sluggish, but I needed to check on the Dusking Sun. Something about his condition felt off, a nagging sense of unease that I couldn''t shake.

    Moving closer, I could see the Dusking Sun''s body up close. He looked terrible. His skin was ashen, his once vibrant aura now reduced to a faint flicker of light. I scanned him with my Divine Sense, probing his internal state. It was worse than I thought¡ªmuch worse. His Qi channels were destroyed, twisted into a mangled mess, and his meridians were crumpled up like old parchment.

    The few that were still intact were struggling to absorb the Qi from the reactor, but it was like trying to fill a broken vessel; most of it was leaking out, wasted.

    "This is bad," I muttered to myself, my mind racing. If left untreated, he would take centuries to recover, and that was if he survived at all. I reached into my holding bag and pulled out a few healing pills, noticing that my stash was running dangerously low. I had been using a lot of themtely. Too many.

    I ced the pills into his mouth, using my own Qi to guide them down his throat and into his system. They began working immediately, the healing properties seeping into his damaged tissues. But it wasn''t enough. I needed something stronger, something to elerate his regeneration.

    I pulled out a vial of my own concocted poison, a form designed to stimte rapid cell reproduction. A small dose would be beneficial, encouraging his body to heal itself, but too much would cause grotesque mutations, growths of flesh that could turn cancerous. Carefully, I injected just the right amount into his bloodstream, watching as the potion took effect.

    The change was almost immediate. His wounds began to close, the flesh knitting together at an elerated rate. Satisfied with the progress, I moved on to the next task¡ªrepairing his Qi pathways. Channeling my own Qi, I began to reconstruct the broken channels, forging new paths for his energy to flow through. It was meticulous work, each motion requiring precision and care.

    I couldn''t afford to make a mistake here.

    Hours seemed to pass as I worked, sweat beading on my forehead. Finally, I managed to connect a few healthy meridians to his Dantian. The Dusking Sun''s Dantian, however, was in bad shape. Cracked but not destroyed, it was leaking Qi at an rming rate. Without a functional Dantian, he wouldn''t be able to regte his energy, and all this effort would be for nothing.

    "How can I fix this..." I muttered under my breath, racking my brain for a solution. The Dusking Sun''s condition was beyond anything I''d ever dealt with before.

    "What''s wrong?" YuYu asked, concern lining her voice as she moved to my side.

    "Check yourself," I said, stepping back so she could use her Divine Sense. Her eyes widened in shock as she assessed his state.

    "How is he even alive?" she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

    "He''s a Sun Stage cultivator. They''re pretty tough," I said, though my voicecked conviction. His survival was more a testament to his sheer willpower than anything else.

    Liang Yu joined us, cing her hand on the Dusking Sun''s chest. Her reaction mirrored YuYu''s, eyes widening in disbelief. "The damage to his Dantian is too severe," she said, her voice trembling. "But there is a way," she added after a moment of thought.

    "Please, do tell," I urged, desperate for any possible solution.

    "Master Gin showed me this technique once," she exined. "It''s like a tourniquet for the Dantian, to stop it from leaking Qi." She manifested her butterflies, ethereal creatures of energy that floated around her like a living aura.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She pressed her hand against the Dusking Sun''s abdomen, and the butterflies began to fly down toward her palm, then into his body. They moved with a grace and purpose that was almost hypnotic, fusing into the Dusking Sun''s internal structure. His body, sensing the foreign Qi, tensed for a moment. Even in his weakened state, the inherent danger of a Sun Stage''s reflexes was palpable.

    We would have been obliterated if he perceived this as a threat. But, fortunately, he seemed to recognize the intent behind the intrusion and allowed the butterflies to proceed.

    Theytched onto his Dantian, covering it with a shimmeringyer of energy. The process was slow, each butterfly a small patch on the gaping wound of his Dantian. Liang Yu''s face grew pale as she continued to manifest more and more butterflies, her own Qi rapidly depleting. "His Dantian... it''s too big..." she gasped, struggling to keep up with the demands of the technique.

    "Hold on," I said, cing my palms on her back and channeling my Qi into her. It was like pouring water into a sieve, but it gave her the boost she needed to continue.

    YuYu joined in, adding her own Qi to the effort. Together, we managed to create a dense enoughyer to cover the surface of the Dantian. Slowly, the Dusking Sun''s face began to regain color as the bleeding of his Qi was staunched, forced back into the Dantian. It wasn''t a permanent fix, but it would buy him time, allowing his body to begin the process of healing itself.

    Next was the Lording Sun. His condition, however, was something else entirely. Hey still, almost peaceful in his slumber, but I could sense an ominous presence surrounding him. His Qi, unlike the Dusking Sun''s, wasn''t just leaking¡ªit was being siphoned, bound by something unseen.

    I moved closer, my eyes narrowing as I reached out with my Divine Sense. There they were¡ªethereal chains, dozens of them,tched onto his very soul. They were invisible to the naked eye, but under the probing of my Divine Sense, they manifested as ghostly, writhing serpents, each one a conduit that drained his life force away.

    "ck Merchant," I muttered under my breath.

    "Yes?" came a voice from behind me, smooth and dark as a shadow unfurling in the light.

    "Who the hell are you!" Liang Yu and YuYu spun around, their Qi ring in response to the sudden intrusion.

    "Don''t mind him," I said, my gaze still fixed on the Lording Sun. "Though I''m quite curious, why didn''t you help us back at the cave?" I asked without turning around.

    "Because the Lord had asked me not to intervene," he replied coolly, his voice as calm as ever, like the whisper of death itself.

    "I see..." I murmured, my attention returning to the chains. "Regardless, I can''t touch these things."

    "I believe that you cannot, and you should not. They will dissipate by themselves in time," the ck Merchant said, his tone matter-of-fact, as if discussing the weather.

    "That isn''t true," I countered, my voice tinged with frustration. "They were designed to dissipate once the Lording Sun''s Qi is stable. And stable for them means the normal Qi that he usually has in his everyday life. Now that he is almost out of Qi, they''re not recognizing this state as ''Normal,'' so they''ll remain like this until he dies."

    "That is an oversight on my part," the ck Merchant admitted. "But I cannot do anything either. Those chains¡­ they need the power of a Sun Stage to break them."

    I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I guess we''ll need to call the other Suns to help then."

    "That is also not possible

    ," he stated.

    "Howe? I don''t think that the few Rakshasa up there should pose much of a problem now that five Suns are beating them up," I said, ncing up at the ceiling as if I could see the battle raging far above.

    "You have been unconscious for a while," the Merchant said, his voice carrying an undertone of warning. "The battle situation has changed greatly."

    My frown deepened as I activated my bracelet, connecting to the feed from one of my probes stationed in space. The image that appeared made my stomach churn.

    "What in tarnation is that?!" I eximed, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me.

 Chapter 849 The Might of the First Born

    The writhing, grotesque mass of the Rakshasa abomination slithered toward the Beyond, its sickening body undting like a nightmaree to life. Its shape was an affront to nature itself¡ªan endless maw of gnashing teeth ringed by grotesque, pulsating limbs that terminated in fleshy suction cups.

    As it moved, the air around it grew thick with the sickly fog the Rakshasa fed on, darkening the skies with the palpable weight of destruction.

    The creature was an enormous, star-eating entity of living flesh that dwarfed evens. Each pore on its foul body exhaled the poisonous Rakshasa fog, a gas that thickened the very air of the battlefield, infecting all who were unfortunate enough to breathe it. For the cultivators below, each breath felt like swallowing molten lead.

    And yet, despite its monstrous size and terrifying presence, it was still advancing. Every strike from the Suns was dissipating upon impact, barely slowing its relentless march.

    The Blue Sun was the only one whose efforts bore fruit. She fought like a demon, swinging her hammer with the strength of a thousand storms. Her azure Qi zed through the darkness, turning her weapon into a moon-sized battering ram. With every swing, she left massive, gaping wounds in the Rakshasa''s flesh, but even then, the creature kept regenerating.

    But she was weakening.

    Her once-mighty swings had begun to slow. Her breaths were ragged, her body trembling from the sheer exertion. The battle with the Cryptic Sun had drained her reserves to dangerous levels, and now, she fought on sheer will alone. Her Qi was depleting fast, and there was no time to recover. Every swing drained what little energy she had left, and she was starting to stagger after each blow.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was clear she couldn''t keep it up for much longer.

    I could see it in her eyes¡ªthe fatigue, the weight of the endless battle. And though she was still giving it her all, her strength was waning. Her mighty hammer, once a symbol of invincible power, now felt heavier in her hands.

    The other Suns were faring no better. Their attacks, no matter how carefully crafted or devastating, had nosting effect on the Rakshasa. The Red Sun''s Asura avatar, a monstrous construct of pure Qi, swung swords the size of continents, yet every strike passed through the creature without leaving a mark.

    The Darkest Sun''s materialized weapons were little more than shadows dissipating upon contact with the fiend''s impervious hide. Even the Wisest Sun''s mastery over spatialws¡ªcapable of bending reality¡ªwas rendered ineffective. Space itself seemed to bend to the creature''s will, returning to normal the instant it distorted.

    I muttered under my breath, "Physical blows are the only thing that works." Then, I activated themunicator on my bracelet. "Everyone," I called out, my voice cutting through the din of battle.

    For a brief, tense moment, the battlefield seemed to pause. I heard the Blue Sun''s voice first, strained but relieved. "Shen Bao... you''re awake. Good." A flicker of relief passed through her words, though it wasced with exhaustion.

    "How are the other two?" the Wisest Sun asked. His voice was calm but weighed with concern. The battle was one thing, but the potential loss of fellow Suns was a catastrophe in itself.

    "They''re stable for now. But the Lording Sun''s condition is critical¡ªI need the power of a Sun Stage to break the chains binding him," I responded quickly.

    "We really can''t afford to exhaust ourselves further," the Red Sun cut in, frustration evident in his voice. "This thing is draining us dry."

    I took a breath, knowing I had to act fast. "I know. But I need you all to back off for a few seconds¡ªBlue Sun included."

    "I can''t!" the Blue Sun''s voice cracked through the line. "The second I stop, that thing will rush toward the Beyond. We can''t afford that."

    "I know," I replied, urgency filling my voice, "but trust me on this one."

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    Silence hung in the air for a moment. The others exchanged nces, and then the Darkest Sun spoke. "When do you need us to back off?"

    "Now," I said, the n already forming in my mind. "And get the lower-ranked cultivators out of the way. The blow is going to be... significant."

    Though my instructions were vague, the Suns knew what was about to unfold. Far off in the distance, in the farthest reaches of the Beyond, hundreds of millions of tungsten rods began to stir. These rods, crafted by the Cryptic Sun himself before his betrayal, were a weapon ofst resort¡ªa project he had funded and built without fully understanding its true potential.

    His deceit had caused us immeasurable suffering, but his twisted genius had left us a weapon.

    Slowly, at first, the tungsten rods began to move. Their initial speed was negligible¡ªbarely a crawl¡ªbut within seconds, they elerated exponentially. The rods cut through the void, moving faster than sound itself, each one a deadly spear aimed straight for the heart of the abomination.

    From the Beyond, the scene must have looked like a meteor shower, with hundreds of thousands of rods glowing brightly as they zed toward their target.

    The Suns retreated, giving the creature space. It surged forward eagerly, sensing the momentary reprieve. The Rakshasa horde swarmed around it, emboldened by the gap left by the retreating Suns.

    "Everyone," I called out again, my voice filled with urgency. "This attack will either kill it or buy us some time, but the force it generates... even I don''t know how strong it will be. Make sure you''re prepared for what''sing."

    The armies of the Beyond scrambled, retreating as far from the target as they could. Eyes turned skyward as the rods¡ªgleaming, silver spears of destruction¡ªrocketed toward the enemy. The first few rods mmed into the Golden-Capped Rakshasa Brutes, who stood defiant in the face of death.

    But defiance was meaningless.

    The moment the tungsten rods struck, the kic energy they had gathered along their rapid eleration erupted with devastating power. The impact was so intense that the brutes were torn apart instantly, reduced to nothing more than a fine mist of ash and bone. The shockwave from the impact radiated outward, obliterating anything in its path.

    And that was only the first rod.

    More wereing.

    The Suns realized the impending devastation and pooled their Qi, raising massive barriers to shield the armies of the Beyond. The Bastion itself retreated under themand of Tao Yang, encased inyer uponyer of protective Qi.

    Then the first full volley struck.

    The sky was consumed by light, so bright it seemed like a sun had exploded in the void of space. The impact was immense, a supernova of raw, unfathomable power. For a moment, it felt as though the very fabric of the universe had been torn apart. The shockwaves rippled through the battlefield, tearing apart Rakshasa and disintegrating anything in their path.

    But the worst was yet toe.

    The second volley hit, followed by a third, and the devastation grew. The light became blinding, the shockwaves more violent. From the ground, it must have looked like the world was ending, as if a god had unleashed their fury upon the Rakshasa. And in a way, it was true.

    "SHEN BAO!" the Darkest Sun''s voice roared through themunicator, panic and rm evident. "This is too much! It''s going to tear the Beyond apart!"

    And he wasn''t wrong.

    The shockwaves were so powerful that the Sea of Demons had be a churning, violent mass, its once-calm waters now forming towering tsunamis. The ground beneath the Beyond was quaking, cracking open as earthquakes rocked thend. Volcanoes erupted in a violent cascade, spewing molten rock and ash into the sky. Cities crumbled, their foundations no match for the seismic force unleashed by the rods.

    But it was toote to stop.

    "I can''t stop it!" I yelled back, trying to reassure him. "But don''t worry. The Beyond will hold. It''s strong enough."

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the final volley struck, and the battlefield fell silent.

    When the gctic dust settled, all that remained of the Rakshasa horde was ash. The space was littered with the shattered remains of their forces, the air thick with the stench of death. But the abomination, the First Born of the Rakshasa, was still alive.

    Barely.

    The creature was a mangled ruin, its body torn and burned beyond recognition.-sized wounds gushed its vile blue blood, and its once-imposing form was now a twisted, disfigured mass of flesh. It could barely move, but it was still alive.

    The Suns, exhausted but relieved, regrouped. The immediate threat had been dealt with, but the abomination was still a danger.

    "It worked," the Wisest Sun said, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "But it''s still immune to Qi."

    "I''ll have to exile it," the Darkest Sun growled, watching the creature''s wounds begin to slowly regenerate.

    "No!" I shouted, my heart pounding in my chest. "You can''t send it to the Vast Expanse!"

 Chapter 850 Crazy Plan

    The Darkest Sun turned toward my projection, fury and disbelief shing in his eyes. "Who are you to tell me what to do, Shen Bao?" His voice thundered through themunicator like a storm breaking the heavens. His anger was palpable, scorching like the sr res of a star about to erupt.

    My heart pounded, but I stood firm. This wasn''t the time to mince words. "You damn fool!" I snapped, my own frustration bubbling over. Even as the words left my mouth, I knew the audacity it took to talk back to a Sun Stage cultivator like that, but the stakes were too high to be polite. "If you exile that thing into the Vast Expanse, do you know what will happen?!

    It will turn everything¡ªeveryone¡ªinto Rakshasa!"

    For a split second, the battlefield fell eerily silent, like the pause before a guillotine dropped. The tension was thick enough to cut through. The other Suns nced at the Darkest Sun, waiting for his response, and the air buzzed with the weight of my usation.

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    The Darkest Sun''s re softened ever so slightly, though his brow was still furrowed in confusion. "Exin yourself," he demanded. His voice no longer had the thunderous edge, but there was still a simmering anger beneath the surface.

    Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down. "The Vast Expanse might not be as powerful as the Beyond, but its poption is... astronomical. If this thing gets there, it won''t take long before it consumes every single living thing. It''ll spread like a gue, converting people into Rakshasa and growing stronger with each soul it devours.

    And when it''s finished with the Vast Expanse, it will return here¡ªwith an army millions of timesrger than what we faced today."

    The enormity of what I was saying hung in the air like a dark cloud. Even the Darkest Sun, who rarely second-guessed his actions, faltered at the weight of the potential consequences.

    "Do you think we can stop it then?" the Red Sun asked, his voice tense but more pragmatic.

    The Darkest Sun''s silence was answer enough. There was no telling how many lives would be lost if this abomination was unleashed upon the Vast Expanse. It wasn''t just about protecting the Beyond anymore. It was about stopping a threat that could destroy multiple universes.

    "Then what do you propose?" the Darkest Sun finally asked, his voice begrudgingly calm.

    "Imprison it," I said firmly. "We can''t defeat it yet, not while it''s immune to Qi. But we can contain it. We''ll trap it here, study it, and figure out a way to destroy itter."

    The Red Sun scoffed. "We couldn''t even seal it with Qi. How do you expect to imprison something like that?" He gestured at the twisted, mangled mass of flesh still writhing in space. Even in its battered state, the creature was terrifying¡ªa living weapon of destruction.

    "Because you tried to seal it using Qi," I exined. "We''re not going to use Qi this time. We''re going to imprison it physically, until we can figure out how to deal with it properly. Think about it: we know that while it''s immune to the direct effects of Qi, it''s still vulnerable to physical forces. The mboyant Sun''s mes still caused heat damage, and the tungsten rods tore through it.

    We can build something to trap it, but it''ll have to be something it can''t touch or destroy."

    There was a murmur of consideration among the Suns. Even the mboyant Sun chimed in with agreement.

    "And how exactly are we going to do that?" the Red Sun asked, his skepticism clear. "There''s no material strong enough in the Beyond to cage something like that."

    "We won''t use ordinary materials," I said, my mind racing as the n formed. "I''ve been thinking about it, and it''s thanks to the Bastion''s Reactor and the way the mboyant Sun applied heat that I came up with this. The key is gravity."

    "Gravity?" The Wisest Sun''s curiosity was piqued, though there was still a tinge of confusion in his voice. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

    "The strongest natural force in existence is a ck hole," I said, meeting their gazes one by one. "A ck hole''s gravitational force is so strong that not even light can escape it. We''ll create an artificial one¡ªsmall enough to trap the creature, but notrge enough to destroy the Beyond."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A stunned silence followed my words.

    The Darkest Sun''s expression darkened as he processed what I was suggesting. "A ck hole?" he repeated. "Shen Bao, do you realize the consequences of creating even a small one? It would be uncontroble. We''d risk the destruction of the Beyond, and everything in it."

    I shook my head, determined. "That''s why it has to be artificial, and precisely controlled. The Bastion''s Reactors generate an immense amount of Qi, but more importantly, they also generate gravitational force. If we could amplify that gravitational pull, we could create miniature ck holes¡ªjust strong enough to imprison the creature without pulling the entire Beyond into it."

    The Suns exchanged nces, the weight of what I was proposing slowly sinking in. It was a gamble, no doubt about it. But it was a calcted one.

    "It''s madness," the Red Sun muttered, shaking his head.

    "It''s brilliant," the Wisest Sun countered, his eyes gleaming with a newfound respect. "What you''re proposing is essentially a suspension seal. The creature wouldn''t be able to touch the cage itself because the gravity would constantly pull it back to the center. Its wounds would never heal because it would constantly be torn apart by the forces. It would be trapped in perpetual suspension."

    "But how do we create these ck holes without destroying everything in the process?" Tao Yang asked, her voice filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

    I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "That''s... the tricky part," I admitted. "The Bastion''s Reactors are powerful, but they''re not powerful enough to create ck holes on their own. We''ll need to modify them, amplify their output."

    "And how do we do that?" the mboyant Sun asked, his wings of kaleidoscopic mes flickering with interest.

    I looked at the mboyant Sun, then at the other Suns. "We''ll need the help of all of you," I said, my voice steady despite the enormity of what I was asking. "Yourbined Qi, channeled into the Bastion''s Reactors, should be enough to increase their gravitational output. It''ll take every ounce of strength we have left, but it''s our only shot."

    The Darkest Sun crossed his arms, his expression still skeptical. "You''re asking us to channel all of our remaining Qi into a machine, and hope it doesn''t blow up in our faces?"

    "Pretty much," I said with a wry smile. "But it''s better than letting that thing loose in the Vast Expanse, isn''t it?"

    The Darkest Sun sighed, the weight of the decision pressing down on him like a physical burden. He nced at the other Suns, then back at me. "Alright, Shen Bao," he said slowly. "We''ll do it your way. But if this fails..."

    "It won''t fail," I said firmly, though a small part of me was terrified it might.

    The n was set. There was no time for hesitation. We had to move quickly before the creature fully regenerated and made another push toward the Beyond. The Suns gathered around the Bastion, their auras zing with raw power as they prepared for the monumental task ahead.

    I could feel the tension in the air, the weight of what we were about to attempt. It was a n born out of desperation, but it was the only one we had.

    "Tao Yang, can you pull out a few reactors from the bastion?" I asked her.

    "How many?"

    "A hundred," I said.

    "That''s enough to almost make the bastion inoperable," she said.

    "I''ll resupply it with my own reactorster, for new let''s just use them," I said, "As for the rest of the suns, I hope you can dy the First Born''s regeneration as much as possible¡­ while I need the red sun back here," I said.

    "Why?" he snapped back, after all he wanted to battle it out with the rakshasa.

    "The Lording Sun needs you, I cannot cut apart these chains by myself, he''ll die soon, not to mention he can probably have an idea or two on how to deal with this clusterfuck," I said.

    "Red One," the Wisest Sun said to the Red Sun and theter turned, only to see the Wisest Sun nodding apologetically to him.

    "Fine! I''ming down," he said and flew down toward the Sea of Demons.

    "The reactors have been expelled out of the bastion," Tao Yang said.

    "Please ce them at least ten thousand miles apart, shaping them into the shape of a ball around the entity," I said.

    "I got that part," the Darkest Sun said as he created ethereal arms of shadow that grabbed the reactors and flew them all over the healing rakshasa.

    After some time, the reactors were fully setup.

    "Nowes the difficult part, we need to pour Qi onto the reactors to the point they all apply an equivalent amount of force to pull at the rakshasa at the same time and at the same power, since the creature isn''t small or ball shaped, some reactors will need to apply more power while others need to apply less, I''m sure you understand what I mean," I said.

    "Let me handle the logistical part," the Wisest Sun said as he began channeling his own Qi to the reactors.

    They soon began to hum and vibrate as the Qi from the Wisest Sun began fueling them.

    The power they generated at first was barely visible, but after the Wisest Sun was more confident in the reactors not simply blowing up as he gave them his Qi they began rumbling as they hungrily consumed more and more power.

    The entire space around the massive rakshasa seemed to vibrate as the hundred reactors all manifested a powerful forcefield that distorted space itself.

    After some time, the entire formation of reactors began working as one, forcing the maggot like creature topress against itself, changing form from a longrva to an almost squished ball of rakshasa flesh.

    The reactor contracted on itself, pushing it further and further into itself, forcing it topress itself further.

    The fiend screeched as it was being pressed upon itself more and more. Until it could no longer move.

    The reactors couldn''t kill it, there was no way that would happen, since the entire thing was just too big, but it could easily seal off its movement and make it unable to even budge form its ce.

    For anyone in the Beyond, it looked like a new moon had risen. And so far, no issues urred.

 Chapter 851 First Aid

    Is it stable?" I asked, my voice a whisper, as though speaking any louder might shatter the delicate bnce of the moment.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The battlefield around us, now eerily quiet, felt like the eye of a storm that had passed but could easily return. The looming presence of the imprisoned abomination, suspended and slowly rotating in the space beyond the pagoda''s shields, still radiated a nauseating sense of wrongness.

    It was no longer thrashing, no longer tearing at the fabric of reality itself, but we all knew it was far from defeated.

    "So far, yes," the Wisest Sun replied, his palms still stretched out, glowing with a faint aura of golden Qi that shimmered like liquid light. His breathing was steady, but his forehead gleamed with sweat, betraying the immense effort it took to maintain the suspension cage. "It''s not even using much of my Qi...

    But never had I thought that something this mighty, something that perplexed all of us, would be handled this way¡ªso simply." His voice held awe, almost disbelief.

    I slumped down against the nearest support pir, feeling the tension drain from my body, reced by sheer exhaustion. "We fucking did it," I breathed, more to myself than anyone else.

    "We indeed fucking did it," the Wisest Sun echoed, and for the first time in what felt like millennia, the ancient being let a smile crack his stoic face. There was something almost childlike in his expression¡ªrelief, wonder, a flicker of youthful joy in an entity so old that time itself seemed an afterthought.

    It was strange seeing him that way, and yet it felt right, like for once, he was shedding the burden of wisdom that had weighed on him for ages.

    "Shen Bao..." The voice was deep, rumbling like the very core of a dying star. It belonged to the Darkest Sun, and as soon as I heard it, a cold shiver raced down my spine, the remnants of adrenaline shooting through me like ast burst of warning. I braced myself instinctively, remembering my slip of the tongue earlier when I had called him a dumbass in the heat of the moment.

    I forced myself to stand, the exhaustion from the fight against the Cryptic Sun and the Death Sun wasing back in full force. but I met The Darkest Sun''s gaze through the holographic image without flinching.

    He was still terrifying¡ªevery inch of him radiated raw, untamable dark power, and though I had seen him in the midst of battle, there was something even more daunting about the quiet rage that simmered beneath his surface now.

    Was he still pissed off? Was this the moment where he vaporized me out of sheer irritation? At least there are a few suns between us, and a whole lot of space...

    He stared at my projection for a long moment, his dark eyes unreadable, before speaking again. "Good job," he said, the words almost begrudging, but there was no mistaking the sincerity. "Thanks to you, a lot of lives have been spared."

    I blinked in surprise. The tension in my shoulders loosened a fraction as I processed his words. "d I could be of assistance," I managed, wiping the sweat from my brow. My voice sounded calmer than I felt. Inwardly, my brain was screaming, telling me to get cut off the connection immediately. I''m not nning on pushing my luck, I already had one funeral today.

    The silence was filled with the distant sounds of space¡ªdistant thunderous roars as the aftershocks of the earlier battle rippled through the emptiness. It was a haunting sound, a reminder of the sheer scale of destruction we had just survived.

    "I really need to take a bath," the Blue Sun muttered, half to herself as she floated near the perimeter of the battleground, her body still radiant from the effort of hammering the abomination over and over with her Qi-enhanced weapon. There was a slight tremble in her arms now, the strain of the battle showing, and her azure hair clung to her face, damp with sweat.

    "Not so fast!" the mboyant Sun called out, his voice somehow still energetic, despite the utter chaos we had all endured. He levitated above us, his wings of bright, mboyant mes still spread wide. "FELLOW CULTIVATORS!" he shouted into the void, his voice booming like the crack of thunder. "The main enemy has been defeated, and there are but stragglers left.

    Some of them have fled into the endless void surrounding our Beyond, while others have dared prate our sacrednd! HUNT THEM DOWN! FOR I SHALL REWARD THOSE WHO RETURN WITH THEIR HEADS!"

    The roar that followed his words was deafening. It was a collective war cry from the remaining cultivators who hovered in the sky and along the shattered ground below. The resolve of the warriors reignited with those words, and I could see their eyes gleaming with renewed determination. They had fought for so long, so hard, and now they had been given a direction¡ªa purpose.

    The atmosphere shifted, and in a flurry of energy, the cultivators¡ªthose who could still fight¡ªshot off in all directions, zing like falling stars. Their silhouettes cut through the darkness of space, bright streaks of light against the ck void as they spread out to chase down the remaining Rakshasa forces.

    As the battle frenzy took over, I found myself taking a slow breath, the adrenaline fading and leaving behind a gnawing ache in every part of my body. My limbs felt like they were weighed down by lead, and the dull throb in my skull reminded me that I had just narrowly avoided meeting the Enforcer again.

    Speaking of which¡­

    "Shen Bao," a familiar, booming voice called out again. The Red Sun. I turned and saw him approaching the Lord of Lords pagoda. His energy, raw and primal, was barely restrained after the battle. Even his presence felt like a storm about to break.

    "Where are those two idiots?" he asked, his tone clipped, but there was no malice¡ªonly impatience, as if he had expected more from the wounded Suns.

    I felt an immediate shiver crawl down my spine when he entered the pagoda. His aura was overwhelming, even in its subdued state. It was as though a mountain had just stepped into the room, casting an invisible shadow that pressed on everyone present.

    "Oh, sorry. Battle mode," he apologized suddenly, and with a flicker of his Qi, the oppressive aura lifted, as though he had flipped a switch. The difference was stark, and I found myself exhaling slowly, the tension easing from my muscles.

    "I keep forgetting I''m not around the other Suns," he added with a chuckle, stepping toward the bed where the Lording Sun and Dusking Sun rested. "How are they doing?"

    The retainer nearby gave him a solemn nod, but I interjected. "The Dusking Sun should recover on his own, but the Lord of Lords¡­ He''s in trouble. The chains." I gestured toward the faint remnants of the cursed chains, still binding the Lording Sun in a twisted, ethereal grip.

    The Red Sun''s eyes narrowed as he stared at the invisible chains for a long moment. "Ah, those nasty things," he muttered under his breath. "I told him not to keep them around. Stubborn fool."

    I couldn''t help but frown. "Can you help him?"

    He shook his head, chuckling again, though this time it wasced with dark humor. "Me? Not a chance. I''m not touching those things."

    The sheer casualness of his words frustrated me. "Then why the hell did you agree to help?" I snapped, the weariness and frustration of the day finally catching up to me.

    "Because you''re going to remove them," the Red Sun said, grinning. "If those chains even touch me, you''ll have three more patients to deal with. Those things love to devour Sun Stage Qi."

    I opened my mouth, only to close it again. The logic was maddening. How was I, someone far from the Sun Stage, supposed to handle this? "I''m not at the Sun Stage!" I protested.

    "Exactly why you can do it," he replied, eyes gleaming with mischief. "The rod. The Soul Shackling Stake. The technique you learned¡ªor stole¡ªfrom the Darkest Sun. That will work. You just need an ungodly amount of Qi and time¡­ Lots of time."

    My heart sank. "How much time?"

    "With your current Qi capacity?" He scratched his chin in thought. "About three hundred thousand years. But with my help? Three years."

    I nearly choked. "Three years?!" My voice came out incredulous. "You mean we''re going to sit here, channeling Qi for three years just to break those chains?"

    The Red Sun''s grin widened. "That''s right."

    "There has to be another way," I muttered, my brain already scrambling for solutions.

    "What are you thinking?" he asked, intrigued.

    "The pagoda''s time distortion. What if we elerate time here? Thirty times faster?"

    The Red Sun raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. "It could work, but for us, it will still feel like three years."

    I bit my lip. "What if I could make it faster?"

    The Red Sun''s curiosity was piqued. "Go on."

    "Show me what I need to do," I said firmly, my mind spinning with possibilities.

    "Alright," he agreed, stepping forward. "Here''s the n..."

 Chapter 852 Survived

    "Alright," he agreed, stepping forward. "Here''s the n. I''ll funnel my Qi into you, amplifying the Soul Shackling Stakes. But be warned, Shen Bao¡ªit''ll feel like you''re dying. The pressure from my Qi alone will feel like it''s crushing your very bones. You''ll need to channel it into the stakes without losing control.

    Once the stakes start siphoning years from the chains, you''ll corrode them faster than you''ve ever imagined."

    I swallowed hard. "How much faster?"

    "With my Qi? Instead of a thousand years per second, it''ll be hundreds of thousands. But it''s going to hurt."

    I stared at the glowing chains binding the Lording Sun, shimmering with malignant intent. They seemed alive, pulsing faintly with every breath the Lording Sun took, a constant reminder of his imprisonment. I had no choice. I had to do this.

    I turned to the Automaton. "Create a portal here," I ordered, pointing to the space directly next to the Lording Sun''s bed. The air shimmered as the Automaton obeyed, opening a glowing rift that led to where the Lording Suny, motionless beneath the chains that bound him.

    "What are you nning, Shen Bao?" Liang Yu asked, her eyes narrowing with concern.

    "You''ll see soon enough," I replied, my voice steady though my insides twisted with anxiety.

    The rest of the room cleared out quickly, leaving me alone with the Red Sun, the Lording Sun''s unconscious form, and the ominous chains that bound him. We walked out of the portal but I remained right in front of it.

    I flexed my fingers, feeling the weight of what was toe, and then plunged both my arms through the portal, leaving only my body outside with the Red Sun behind me and everyone else watching from a distance.

    The stakes materialized in my hands, cold and heavy, their weight familiar but far more foreboding now.

    "Give me a view of what''s happening inside the room," I said to the Automaton whoplied by creating a floating imagery of my arms inside the portal, with the stakes in hands.

    My mind raced as I positioned them against the spectral chains. "Automaton," Imanded, my voice firm despite the pounding in my chest, "Crank up the time differential to the max in five seconds."

    "Understood," the Automaton''s disembodied voice replied.

    "This still won''t reduce the actual time we experience, Shen Bao," the Red Sun reminded me. "You''re about to feel every second of this."

    "I know," I grunted, beads of sweat already gathering on my brow. I had a n. "But I''ve got another trick up my sleeve." Taking a deep breath, I focused inward, calling upon my inner strength, the one skill that had saved me countless times before.

    "True and False," I muttered. "Domain of Delusion: ck!"

    A concentrated dome of energy enveloped the portal and the stakes, bending reality itself. The Red Sun''s eyes widened in surprise as the ck tendrils of my domain slithered into existence, coating the entire chamber in an otherworldly shade darkness. The world turned ck around us, and the bubble of my domain speed through the portal and around the table.

    "What the hell is this?" the Red Sun eximed, his voice tinged with both awe and concern. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, trying to understand what I was doing.

    "This," I whispered through clenched teeth, "is how we cheat time."

    But I wasn''t done yet. The first domain wasn''t enough.

    "Domain within a Domain," I gasped, feeling my vision blur as I forced myself further. "Domain of Delusion: White!"

    This was the Enforcer''s Improved Domain, a far deadlier and more offensive portion of it. If the ck Domain of Delusion was defensive and relied on confusing the enemy, the White one allowed me to surpass all injuries and convert them to my enemy.

    Another wave of energy pulsed outward, oveid with the first. The ck-and-white world around us became even more distorted, reality itself twisting under the pressure of two contradictory forces. Time, space, perception¡ªall of it became malleable, bending to my will, my insanity¡­ my Delusion.

    The Red Sun looked at me like I''d gone mad. Maybe I had. "You''re insane," he muttered, his voice barely audible through the strain.

    "Monochrome!" I shouted, forcing the final piece into ce. The domain solidified, reality itself wavering at the edges as the monochrome field expanded. My mind reeled from the strain, the sheer impossibility of what I was doing threatening to overwhelm me. But I held on. I had to.

    The monochrome part is where I steal perception.

    The Enforcer had told me something, that if I can confuse my mind to delude it into thinking what I belive bes true in my domain, I might be capable of upturning the heavens.

    Though I''d never do that since it''s too much of a hassle. I can take control of this small portion of my domain, and take away the chromatic color of time. Remove it and bend it, elerate it or slow it down as my Monochrome Domain decrees. But, without enough Qi it''s all just a dream. Enjoy new stories from empire

    The Red Sun blinked, shaking his head. "Now," I said, my voice trembling, "Your Qi."

    Without hesitation, the Red Sun unleashed his power, an eruption of raw, burning energy that shot through me like a tidal wave of molten fire. It felt like a star had exploded inside me. Every nerve, every fiber of my being screamed in agony as his Qi coursed through me, threatening to tear me apart from the inside.

    "KILL!" The thought was not mine¡ªit was the Qi itself, a living, breathing force that wanted only destruction.

    "KILL!" the power seemed to have thoughts of its own, as it wanted me to do nothing but Kill.

    Eradicate, Terminate, Decimate, Obliterate! SLAUGHTER! SLAUGHTER! SLAUGHTER!!!

    My eyes bled red and turned red. The Qi wanted me to stab the Lording Sun and pounce on the Red Sun and destroy all and any around me.

    "I told you, it''s too much for you to handle Shen Bao!" the Red Sun said.

    "Don''t Stop!" I shouted as veins began rippling under my skin.

    The Red Sun''s power was like a sentient me, raging and violent, screaming for blood. I fought to control it, my body convulsing under the strain.

    "Shen Bao, stop! You can''t handle this!" the Red Sun shouted, his voice barely prating the haze of pain that clouded my mind.

    But I wasn''t listening. I couldn''t stop. If I stopped, we''d lose the Lording Sun. My mind danced on the edge of madness as I funneled the Red Sun''s Qi into the stakes. The chains glowed brighter, their colors warping and shifting as the stakes began to absorb time, devouring the centuries like a starving beast.

    Time warped around us, elerating at an unimaginable rate. I felt every second stretch into infinity, the weight of thousands of years crashing down on me, even as I forced the stakes deeper into the chains.

    The act of suspending and elerating time as I see fit could be considered the domain of the Heavens. I fear I might once again be called into the Enforcer''s presence, but this is the only way I know to save the Lord of Lords.

    "Just¡­ one more second¡­" I gritted my teeth, feeling my body burning from the inside out, my bones cracking under the pressure.

    It would have taken thirty six days of this pain to get the chains corroded and corrupted enough. Yet with the power of the Red Sun, the immense Qi, the ability for me to delude Time itself within my domain, and the fact that my Monochrome slightly muted the colors of the Seven Colored chains.

    The chains¡ªthose wretched, cursed chains¡ªshimmered, then hardened to a bronze hue, rusting over, their once vibrant colors dimming and darkening. Slowly, impossibly slowly, they began to crumble. A small crack appeared, then another, until finally, with a sound like breaking ss, they shattered.

    "STOP!" I screamed, and the world snapped back into focus.

    The sudden silence was deafening. The monochrome world vanished, the Red Sun''s Qi receded, and I copsed to the ground, gasping for breath. My entire body felt like it had been scorched from the inside out. My vision swam with spots of ck and white as the room returned to its normal colors.

    It was over.

    The chains were gone, nothing more than a pile of dust on the floor. The Lording Suny motionless, but I could already see his body stabilizing, his breathing evening out as the strain of the chains vanished.

    The Red Sun knelt beside me, his massive frame casting a shadow over my prone form. He was grinning. "Never thought I''d say this, Shen Bao, you''re a crazy bastard, but you did it. Again."

    I tried tough, but it came out as a strangled cough. "Never¡­ again¡­" I rasped, my head pounding with the mother of all headaches. I could feel my body shutting down, my muscles seizing from the overexertion. But at least this time, I wasn''t meeting the Enforcer. At least, I hoped not.

    The Red Sun stood, surveying the scene. "You''ve got guts, I''ll give you that. It''s not everyday that someone can take on my Qi into their body and not fall into a maddened frenzy of ughter,"

    As Iy there, barely clinging to consciousness, I couldn''t help but reflect on the insanity of it all. We had fought creatures that defied understanding, survived impossible odds, and now¡­ now we had saved the Lording Sun.

    For a moment, I allowed myself to rest, the tension in my body slowly melting away. A victory, though we had a lot of deaths on our side, we still saved the beyond. A pricey victory, but a victory nheless.

    But deep down, I knew that this was only a temporary reprieve. Something far worse was looming on the horizon. After all, the question that hadn''t left my mind surfaced once more. Where did these Rakshasae from? The beyond is nothing but an endless void with a single b of dirt where cultivators live in. hell, even its one and only Sunpletely disappeared once the Endless Night happened.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I have no idea whatys beyond this void, but it is where these things havee from. And we''ll soon have to deal with that. But for now, I need to sleep.

 Chapter 853 Dance of Ice and Fire

    "Oh god I''m done," I said as I groaned, the headache was just unbearable. But I couldn''t do anything about it, my brain was already fried from having overdosed it not long ago with so much poison, then used Monochrome twice in the same day.

    I had to just suck it up for now.

    The Red Sun stood up saying, "I guess I''m no longer needed here, I need to withdraw to my sect, also the ve gift should have arrived by now," he said.

    "What ve?" I asked.

    "Oh, you must have forgotten, the Heaven Stage that came here and disrespected you, I bound his will and mind, he will forever be loyal to you and you only, hell you can even order it to try and kill me and it will not refuse, that''s what he gets for trying to oppress a friend of the Red Sun," the Red Sun smiled a shark like smile as he slowly levitated.

    "The two of them are already gathering energy and Qi in their Dantian, at this rate they''ll be back to their old selves in a short while, for now, I''ll leave you here, we need to organize a big event," he said.

    "What event?" I asked.

    "What event? HAH! We just defeated an entire hostile race, there will be festivities! And you''re more than just invited Shen Bao, you''re the guest of honor," he said as he flew away.

    Experience new stories on empire

    "Ha, I see," I grumbled.

    "What now?" I heard. Turning it was Liang Yu and YuYu, "You''re not about to find another mess to throw yourself into?" YuYu asked.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "No, for now, I''m free, the logistics needs not my attention," I said as I shouted, "Councilor!"

    The old man hastily arrived to my presence, shame still visible on his face from thest incident. But he prostrated himself immediately, "Yes great lord!"

    "Don''t do that," I said pointing at him, "I don''t like people who bow a lot, anyway, take care of the logistical issues we''re having right now.

    The Sea of Demons is full of Rakshasa remains and corpses, send in the cleanup crew, handle all the damages that urred all over the twelve cities, and give me a detailed report on all that urred during the war in the Sea of Demons and outside of it," I said.

    "As the Emperor Commands!" he said bowing lightly once more.

    "Emperor," Liang Yu smiled, "I like the sound of that Emperor!" she grinned as she hugged my arm revealing her chest.

    The action was pretty clear for YuYu who seemed to have had a spark of jealously andpetitiveness lit within her. She did the same to my other arm, saying, "You need to take some rest, you probably are exhausted," she said, "Come with me, I''ll tend to you," she said.

    "No, I''ll tend to him,"

    "Hey, hey!" I said, "No need to fight amongst each other, we just met after a long time, we can''t be fighting like this now," I said.

    The two of them looked at each other and a knowing smile appeared on both their lips.

    ''Something feels quite¡­ strange¡­"

    "True, no need to fight amongst us, after all there is a lot to share," Liang Yu said¡­

    Before I knew it, they were pulling me toward the pce''s main bedroom. Despite being the new Lord of the territory, I hadn''t even stepped foot in this part of the pce. It was an opulent spacevish and ancient, filled with golden beams, ornate vases, and decorations that told of an era long forgotten. But my attention wasn''t on the room.

    The bed, the centerpiece, was enormous¡ªeasily big enough for ten people, maybe more. The covers looked as soft as clouds, but as they led me closer, I could only think of the former emperor who must have used every inch of that oversized mattress.

    "Rest for now," Liang Yu said, though her tone betrayed her words.

    I sighed, allowing my tired body to sink into the cushions of the oversized bed. The weight of the day''s battles and schemes pressed down on me, and the headache from overusing Monochrome still lingered like a ghost I couldn''t shake.

    As the dull pain throbbed behind my temples, I considered retreating into a meditative state, just to clear my mind, but before I could, I felt the soft touch of fingers trailing along my arm.

    "Shen Bao," came Liang Yu''s voice, her tone carrying that mix of teasing and possession she always held in reserve just for me. I turned my head to face her, but her eyes told me everything¡ªthere was no rest in sight.

    Her hands traveled over my chest, light but firm, like she knew exactly what she wanted and wasn''t going to wait for permission. "You''ve been pushing yourself too hard again," she whispered, lips curving into a sly smile. She leaned in closer, her breath hot against my neck, while her chest pressed against me, the thin material of her robe doing little to hide the softness underneath.

    From the other side, I felt a second, cooler presence. YuYu''s hands, delicate but insistent, traced the muscles of my forearm, her touch soothing in contrast to Liang Yu''s heat. "You can''t keep doing this to yourself," YuYu said, her voice calm but edged with concern. "Let us take care of you for once."

    I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could say a word, Liang Yu shifted, swinging one leg over myp, straddling me with a fluid grace that spoke volumes of her confidence. Her robe slipped further open as she moved, exposing more of her pale skin. "Enough with the noble act," she murmured. "You''ve carried the weight of too many battles. Let us ease some of that burden."

    My breath hitched as her hands roamed lower, exploring the hard lines of my body. Liang Yu''s lips found my corbone, her kisses hot and quick, each one sending sparks of heat down my spine. I could feel the intensity in her, the way her body reacted to every shudder of mine, as if she was feeding off my desire. My body responded almost involuntarily, and it didn''t go unnoticed.

    Liang Yu''s smirk widened as she felt my reaction beneath her.

    YuYu, never one to be outdone, slid in closer from behind, her hands gliding up to my shoulders and around my neck, her fingers cool and soft, leaving trails of shivering calm in their wake. Her lips brushed my ear as she whispered, "Don''t fight it, Shen Bao. You''ve been avoiding this for too long."

    The feeling of YuYu''s cool lips contrasted perfectly with the heat of Liang Yu''s body on top of me, and together, they overwhelmed my senses. Their presence, so different yet soplementary, enveloped me entirely, pulling me into a fog of desire that I had no strength left to resist.

    Their hands, lips, and bodies worked together in tandem, creating a storm of sensation that swept through me like a tidal wave.

    Liang Yu moved against me, grinding her hips with slow, deliberate movements. She leaned in, biting down gently on my lower lip, her breath heavy as she spoke. "You''re mine tonight," she whispered, her voice thick with possessiveness. "I''ve waited long enough."

    But YuYu wasn''t about to let Liang Yu take all the spoils. With a quick, practiced motion, she slid her hands down my chest, tracing the outlines of my muscles, her fingers cool and tantalizing against my heated skin. "We''ll see about that," she said, her voice steady, but there was a glint of yful challenge in her eyes.

    She leaned forward, her lips hovering dangerously close to mine, her breath cool and calming, and in that moment, the tension between the two women simmered beneath the surface.

    Liang Yu''s grip on me tightened, and I could feel her pulse quicken as she pushed against me harder, trying to draw all of my attention to her. Her lips found my throat, her teeth grazing my skin as she breathed out, "Let''s see how long you can hold out."

    I groaned, my mind spinning in the haze of it all. The contrast between the two of them¡ªLiang Yu''s fiery dominance and YuYu''s cold, calcted seduction¡ªpulled me in two different directions, leaving me lost in the space between pleasure and submission.

    My hands moved instinctively, one gripping Liang Yu''s thigh, feeling the warmth radiating from her skin, while the other found YuYu''s waist, cool and smooth beneath her thin robes.

    Together, they were relentless, their rivalry momentarily forgotten as they worked in unison, coaxing everyst ounce of resistance out of me until I waspletely at their mercy. Liang Yu''s lips traveled down, each kiss leaving a burning trail across my skin, while YuYu''s cool fingers wrapped around my neck, gently pulling me toward her, her lips capturing mine in a slow, deliberate kiss.

    It was intoxicating, the way they both moved, the way they yed off each other''s strengths and weaknesses, driving me to the brink of madness.

    The heat of Liang Yu''s body, pressed so firmly against mine, and the chilling touch of YuYu''s cool hands, sliding down my back, sent jolts of pleasure through me, one after the other, until my vision blurred and all that was left was the sensation of their bodies entwined with mine.

    At some point, the sounds of the room changed¡ªthe quiet sighs turned into breathy moans, the tension in the air thickened, and the pace quickened.

    Liang Yu''s movements grew more frantic, her body arching and pressing against me with a desperate intensity, while YuYu remained calm, her hands guiding and controlling the flow, like a masterful conductor orchestrating the symphony of our shared passion.

    Time seemed to slip away, and I found myself lost in the storm of sensation, the weight of everything I had been holding onto¡ªevery battle, every hardship, every burden¡ªmelting away under their touch. I was free, if only for a moment, in their embrace.

    And when it was over, when the storm had passed and the room fell into quiet stillness, the three of usy there, tangled together in the aftermath, our breaths slowly returning to normal. Liang Yu was the first to speak, her voice low and satisfied. "You''re not as tough as you think, Shen Bao."

    YuYu smirked, resting her head on my chest. "Next time, we won''t go so easy on you."

    I chuckled, my body still humming from the intensity of it all. "I might need a few days to recover," I said, though the grin on my face said otherwise.

    For now, though, I allowed myself to sink into the warmth of their embrace, my body spent but my mind finally at peace, if only for a little while.

 Chapter 854 Afterward

    I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the soft light filtering into the room. My body felt heavy, the kind of weariness thates after an intense fight and even more intense recovery. My limbs ached, a dull reminder of the poison overload, the countless uses of Monochrome, and the mental strain that had nearly torn me apart. Yet, despite all of that, my body felt¡­ well-rested.

    For a moment, I forgot where I was, the blissful silence after the chaos of battle allowing me to forget.

    I had slept. Actually slept. As a cultivator, that was something we rarely did¡ªusually opting for meditation to restore energy and bnce¡ªbut somehow, I had sumbed to real sleep. A deep, satisfying sleep that had carried me away from the burdens of war. And yet, I knew it wouldn''tst.

    I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and pushed myself upright. The bed beneath me was absurdlyfortable, the cushions so soft it felt like I was sinking into a cloud. It was, without a doubt, the finest bed I had ever slept in¡ªa far cry from the modest amodations I had be ustomed to on the battlefield or through my ventures in both the Vast Expanse and the Beyond.

    I looked around the room, realizing I was still alone. Liang Yu and YuYu were nowhere to be seen.

    Strange. The two of them should have lingered after a night like the one we shared. They probably went out carrying some duties to attend to, I reasoned. After all, the councilor would need a lot of help managing the logistics after the orders I had given the previous day. And since the whole war is now over, they probably felt the need to assist no matter how little.

    Still, I found it odd that they hadn''t woken me before they left. I shrugged it off for now, knowing they had their own ways of handling things.

    I rose from the bed, wincing as my body protested the movement. My muscles ached from overuse, and the ever-present headache throbbed behind my temples. Too much poison in my system, too much strain on my Qi, and definitely too much Monochrome. I''d have to take it easy for a while if I didn''t want to copse from sheer exhaustion.

    As I dressed in my robes, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked like I had been through hell and back. My hair was disheveled, my eyes a little bloodshot, and the faint shadows under my eyes spoke of sleepless nights filled with battle and well¡­ dying once. But there was also something else in my reflection¡ªa strange sense of relief. We had won, at least for now, and I was still alive.

    I had made it through the storm, and though the headache reminded me of how close I hade to the brink, I was still standing.

    I stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind me, only to find Tao Yang waiting for me in the hallway. She stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes gleaming with amusement. A wide grin stretched across her face as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.

    "What?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously.

    "Seems like you had a good night," she teased, her grin widening.

    "Ah¡­" I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling a twinge of embarrassment creep in. I wasn''t the type to get embarrassed easily, but there was something about Tao Yang''s smirk that made me feel like a schoolboy caught in the act.

    "You guys were pretty loud," she continued, her voice dripping with amusement. "And two at the same time? Quite the stamina you have there, Shen Bao."

    "Believe me," I groaned, shaking my head, "I got bullied. Hard. They ganged up on me."

    Tao Yangughed, the sound echoing through the corridor. "I never thought I''d hear youin about something like that."

    I rolled my eyes and shifted the conversation away fromst night''s activities. "What''s the situation with the First Born?"

    At the mention of business, Tao Yang''s teasing smile faded, and she returned to her serious demeanor. "The Wisest Sun finally took some much-needed rest after maintaining the reactors. The bastion''s reactors are functioning on their own now, though they''ll need maintenance and a steady supply of Origin Qi crystals to keep the pressure on the First Born."

    "Good," I said, walking down the hallway with her at my side. "But that doesn''t solve the bigger problem. That thing is still up there, like a damn sword hanging over our heads. We''re not out of the woods yet."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "What do you n to do about it?" she asked, her voiceced with curiosity.

    "Testing," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "A lot of it. I need a piece of that creature to study. We should have plenty of fragments left over from when we bombarded it with the tungsten rods¡­ though thinking about how many of those rods were wasted still hurts."

    I sighed as I remembered the huge loss, though most of them came from the pockets of the Cryptic Sun, it still hurts.

    Tao Yang nodded. "Yes, the Suns managed to iste several pieces, but since we don''t know exactly what they''re capable of, they destroyed a good portion and sealed off the rest in containment. The freaky part is, the fragments¡­ well, they''re still alive. Or at least, they act like they are."

    "That''s troubling," I said, frowning as I absorbed the information. "I''ll handle it. But we have another problem, don''t we?"

    "What kind of problem?" Tao Yang asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

    "The Bastion is running low on Qi. I''ll need to build more reactors for it. I''ll order the puppets at the Lord of Lords pagoda to start building some more."

    "Actually," Tao Yang interjected, "the Blue Sun has already started working on that."

    "She''s already got the knowledge?" I asked, surprised by her quick action.

    "Yes. After we thought you had¡­ well, died, I sent her copies of the bastion''s schematics. She''s using them to reinforce the Sea of Demons and bolster our defenses there. And is currently making more reactors for the Bastion."

    I sighed, a mix of relief and frustration bubbling up, "You did that in good faith, but you should ask for a better price for your people''s culture if you''re in need of exchanging it.

    I''m not saying that what you did was wrong, in fact I''m thankful that you would do that for the Sea of Demons, but think of yourself more the next time," I said, "Also the Blue Sun would have just given you whatever you asked for regardless of the price," I said.

    Tao Yang smiled softly, a flicker of gratitude in her eyes. "I know. She even offered, but it didn''t feel right to take anything in return. It was the least I could do."

    "You''re a good woman, Tao Yang," I said, patting her shoulder. "But don''t undervalue what you bring to the table."

    As we entered the main pce hall, I couldn''t help but feel a surge of frustration. The entire space was cluttered with piles of paperwork, and the councilor was running around like a headless chicken, trying to manage the chaos. Papers stacked higher than I could ever imagine, and the constant stream of messengers and aides made it impossible for anyone to focus on one task.

    My head started throbbing again just from the sight of it.

 Chapter 855 Recovery

    "Golden Scripture," I muttered, and two clones of myself manifested immediately. Without missing a beat, they moved to tackle the mountain of documents. Having clones handle the paperwork was like sending smaller parts of my mind to deal with the minutiae, freeing me to focus on more pressing matters.

    "The Darkest Sun has sent an invitation, Emperor Shen Bao," the councilor said, his tone hesitant as he approached.

    I groaned. "What does he want now? I''m already up to my neck in responsibilities."

    The councilor shuffled nervously. "It seems he wishes to smooth over a misunderstanding between you and one of his disciples¡­"

    I raised an eyebrow. "You mean the Fire King? There''s no issue between us. It''s Meng Hao he needs to worry about. I''ll visit the Darkest Sun when I have time, but not now."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Oh, and one more thing," the councilor added, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You have other guests¡­ I didn''t want to allow them in, but your puppets made the decision for me."

    "Let them in," I said, waving a hand dismissively. Whatever it was, I would deal with it.

    The doors to the pce mmed open with a deafening crash, and in marched a familiar figure in blue robes, with Y trailing behind him. Master Rain stormed in like a tempest, his usual mboyance on full disy.

    "Damn this ce! Who the hell do you all think you are, stopping me? And you!" He jabbed a finger at Y, who looked surprisingly exasperated for a puppet. "Ungrateful brat! You dare disobey your creator!"

    Behind him, several of my generals, including the General of the Spear and General of the Shield, were frantically trying to rein him in. But their efforts were in vain. The formations around Master Rain were soplex that they stumbled over themselves just trying to get close to him. It was a hrious sight, considering they were far stronger than him in terms of cultivation.

    I couldn''t help but grin as Master Rain stomped up to me, his white-robed retainer following closely behind with an apologetic expression.

    "You bastard," Master Rain spat, his eyes narrowing at me. The councilor looked like he was about to throw himself between us, but I waved him off.

    "Master Rain," I said, still grinning. "It''s good to see you."

    "I''m no master to such an ungrateful brat!" he snapped. "Who the hell do you think you are, going off and dying like that, only toe back? You should have stayed dead! My damn tears went to waste!"

    "You cried for me?" I teased, a smirk pulling at my lips.

    "Who the hell would cry for you?" he growled. "It''s a figure of speech, you idiot! Figure of speech!"

    His retainer, however, sent me a quick Divine Sense message: He did cry. For three days straight. But don''t tell him that.

    I couldn''t help it¡ªI burst intoughter and pulled Master Rain into a bear hug. He wriggled and cursed, but after a few moments, he relented with a sigh.

    "d to see you''re well," he muttered, begrudgingly patting me on the back.

    "Same here," I said, releasing him. "How was your trip to the Beyond?"

    "Annoyingly long," he grumbled. His eyes scanned the room, and I could see him searching for someone. "Where are Liang Yu and YuYu? They nearly tore down the White Sect when they thought you were dead."

    "They''re around," I said, though a part of me was curious about what Master Rain had said. Had they really caused that much trouble in their search for me?

    Before I could say more, Master Rain continued. "Oh, and Meng Hao¡ªdespite all my warnings, that kid went off to fight the Rakshasa. He''s hunting down stragglers now. Said he can''te meet you until the job''s done."

    "He''s grown," I said, nodding thoughtfully. Meng Hao was always headstrong, but I knew the sight of me would stir something deep in him.

    "Bring us a table!" I called out, and within moments, two servants arrived with arge table and set it down in the center of the hall. "Come, sit with me, Master Rain."

    Master Rain nced at the throne, then at me sitting cross-legged on the cold floor, and with a resigned sigh, he followed suit, plopping down across from me. The councilor and generals looked scandalized, but I paid them no mind.

    "Seems like power hasn''t changed you at all," Master Rain said, shaking his head in disbelief.

    "Power''s just a tool," I replied, pulling out the Dragon Tears jug and mming it onto the table. "Friendship and loyalty are what really matter."

    "For immortality," Master Rain toasted once more, raising his cup as I poured.

    "For immortality," I echoed, downing my cup. The wine burned like fire on the way down, but I weed the sensation¡ªit made me feel alive.

    Just as I handed him a pill to counteract the effects of the wine, Tao Yang took a seat beside us, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. But before we could start talking, another figure approached the table.

    "The smell of that wine is enough to wake a man from the dead," the man said, his deep voice cutting through the moment.

    I turned, surprised to see thest person I expected standing next to us. His presence was like a shadow falling over the group. His aura, though restrained, still carried the unmistakable weight of a Sun Stage cultivator.

    Master Rain''s face turned slightly pale, the jovial light in his eyes dimming as he realized who had joined us. After all, standing before us was not just any cultivator but one of the great Suns.

    "Dusking Sun," I greeted, a touch of surprise in my voice. "Seems like you''ve recovered faster than expected."

    "I wish," Dusking Sun replied with a weary sigh. He tapped the table beside the nearest cup, his fingers heavy and slow, betraying just how drained he truly was. "I feel like shit," he admitted, grimacing. "My energy reserves are depleted, my body''s like a dry husk, and it''ll take years for my Qi to fully replenish."

    He sighed again, his normally vibrant energy reced with a kind of exhaustion that I hadn''t seen in him before. The once-imposing presence of the Dusking Sun was reduced to a weary shadow of its former glory.

 Chapter 856 Achievements

    "Do you?" I questioned, a knowing smirk tugging at my lips. "Do you really need years?"

    Dusking Sun looked up at me, eyes gleaming with a mix of humor and acknowledgment. "Nothing escapes you now does it," he smiled once more, "To be honest, a few more days and I should be fine," He leaned back, his gaze growing distant. "But the Lording Sun¡­ he''s another story altogether."

    At the mention of the Lording Sun, the atmosphere around us darkened. Dusking Sun''s grin faded into a somber expression, and I could tell he didn''t want to dive deeper into that particr subject. It weighed on him heavily, the burden of knowing that one of his peers, one of the mighty Suns, might not recover at all.

    The chains that had bound the Lording Sun were no ordinary shackles; they had torn at his very essence, leaving more than just physical scars.

    Not to mention, it was done by another Sun.

    Dusking Sun downed his drink in one swift motion and wordlessly gestured for more. I obliged, pouring him another generous serving of Dragon Tears, the potent liquid glowing faintly in the cup.

    "The Death Sun," he trailed. "Was once a friend, for all of us, and actually took care of me for a while," he said.

    I listened patiently as he sipped through his drink, "In fact, if it wasn''t for him holding my Soul from going to the wheel of reincarnation, I would have never made it to the Sun Stage."

    More sighs escaped his mouth as he drank some more, "The Cryptic Sun, we considered a true sun, and treated him with the Same respect, though he never amounted to the level of a sun. In fact," he said as he turned to me, "You''re more of a Sun than he ever was," he said.

    "I appreciate the ttery, but he could have mopped the floor with me left and right," I said

    The Dusking Sun shook his head, "He was a Sun only because no one more capable was able to take the spot, not that he allowed any to do so. He tried to steal and use the powers of other suns and call them his own.

    He tried to mimic the Red Sun''s avatar, and almost lost his life to the power of the Carnage and ughter Daos, while you suffered the full burnt of it under the hands of the most proficient one in the beyond in those Daos and lived to prove the tale. He tried to learn the Laws of the Wisest Sun and almost lost his mind, while you created the very Keys that the Wisest Sun spent a lifetime making.

    You even inspired him to make the Illusion Killing Key. While you proved valor simr to the mboyant Sun fighting two Sun stages and defeating both, and proved strength beyond any at your level by tearing a Golden capped Raksahsa''s head off with your bear hands, making the Blue Sun respect your physical strength.

    You tamed a Primordial Being, something only I can do, and you made the Darkest Sun the most arrogant and most aloof of us all verbally thank you in front of everyone, and believe me that is the hardest of your achievements."

    "Anyone could have done that in my ce," I replied feeling slightly embarrassed from all thepliments.

    "No," the Dusking Sun said shaking his head lightly, "You have truly no idea how great of deeds those are. Don''t sell yourself short, also, your Domain, a domain that binds the world, that is a sign of a true Sun, the Sun council would soon give you a title so you can be among us, I can feel it.

    But right now, you''re far too weak in terms of cultivation only," he said as he downed thest of his drink.

    We all remained quiet listening to him.

    "So," Dusking Sun began, his voice low and steady as he swirled the wine in his cup. "What are your ns, Shen Bao?"

    I let out a heavy sigh, my mind already racing through the logistics of whaty ahead. "I need to exterminate the First Born. It''s not going to be easy, though. It''s going to take a lot of trial and error to figure out a way to neutralize itpletely. Testing. A lot of it.

    The damn creature is massive, and whatever we try is going to need to ount for that size."

    Dusking Sun frowned, his sharp eyes narrowing. "And you still seek to find more ways to help the Beyond, truly a Sun stage''s temperament," he smiled.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Master Rain, who had been quietly sipping his drink, chimed in, "You took down the Primordial Serpent God, didn''t you? Why not do the same here?" His voice was probing, as if searching for an easy solution.

    Before I could respond, Dusking Sun raised a hand, cutting the conversation short. "I wouldn''t say any more if I were you," he muttered, a hint of warning in his tone toward Master Rain.

    Thetter didn''t fully understand what the Dusking Sun meant, thinking that he had somewhat offended the Dusking Sun.

    It was only then that I realized the familiar sensation spreading across my arm. Without even noticing, the Primordial Serpent God had emerged from the tattoo etched into my skin, coiling its ethereal body around me and extending itself outward.

    Its golden scales shimmered with a faint light as it wrapped around Master Rain, its head poised mere inches from his face, its golden eyes locking onto his with an unblinking, predatory focus.

    "Oh¡­ cute, you''re still here¡­" Master Rain managed to say, though the nervous edge in his voice betrayed his unease. He didn''t dare move, and his normally cocky demeanor faltered in the presence of the creature.

    "Calm down," I said gently, cing a hand on the serpent''s body. "He didn''t mean anything by it." At my touch, the serpent''s posture softened, and with a reluctant hiss, it slithered back into the tattoo, disappearing as swiftly as it had appeared.

    Master Rain let out a breath he hadn''t realized he was holding, and I couldn''t help but chuckle at his reaction. "She''s just a bit protective," I exined, though Master Rain still seemed on edge.

    "Quite the change from her former form¡­ quite smaller too but she feels as powerful if not more than thest I saw her¡­" Master Rain said.

    "She''s a friend now," I continued, tapping my arm where the tattoo resided. "the method I used with her, was quite cruel, but as for the First Born¡­ it''s not the same. The Primordial Serpent God was different. That thing, the First Born¡­ it''s filthy, an abomination upon nature itself, it is born out of the corruption of the Heavenly Dao. Trying to absorb its Qi would be suicide."

    Dusking Sun leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "It''s impervious to Qi, too. Whatever you try to throw at it, it just shrugs off. No one¡ªno one¡ªcan do what you did to the Serpent God with that thing. You''d be dead before you even tried."

    I was slightly surprised with how much the Dusking Sun knew of the events that urred during the entire time he was out cold. But I guess for a Sun Stage he managed to somehow perceive all the information once he woke up.

    I nodded in agreement. "Exactly. There''s a huge difference between the Serpent God and this creature. The Serpent was a primordial force, an ancient being tied to the natural order, created by the Heavenly Law of the Beyond and sent to the Vast Expanse by a mistake. But the First Born? It''s an abomination, a thing that shouldn''t even exist.

    I''ll need to find a way topletely eliminate it. And I''m not taking any chances."

    "From the point of view of a Beast Master," Dusking Sun added, "it''s idiotic to even think about going inside that thing. We don''t know its internal structure, and if it''s anything like the Rakshasa, it''s more than capable of infecting and taking control of anything it touches. Trying to reverse that process on them would be like feeding yourself to the enemy."

    A grim silence settled over us, each of us lost in thought about the colossal challenge thaty ahead. The First Born wasn''t just a creature¡ªit was a living nightmare, something that defied the natural order and threatened everything we had worked so hard to protect. We had trapped it, for now, but that was only a temporary solution.

    "I''ll figure it out," I said finally, breaking the silence. My voice was steady, though I felt the weight of the task pressing down on me. "I don''t know how yet, but I''ll find a way to destroy it."

    Dusking Sun nodded, his gaze intense but supportive. "You''ve always had a knack for the impossible, Shen Bao. I just hope this time, you don''t bite off more than you can chew."

    Master Rain, ever the optimist, raised his cup in a mock toast. "Here''s to doing the impossible. Again."

    We all clinked our cups together, the sound of ss ringing out like a fleeting moment of respite amid the storm that was brewing. The challenge ahead was monumental, but I knew we couldn''t afford to fail. Not with the First Born still looming over us like a shadow, waiting for its chance to break free.

    (Sorry for posting this here, but most readers skip author''s thoughts. I begun a new book, Necromancy Style. Lot of undead and skeletons check it out, Deus Necros!)

 Chapter 857 Dissection

    A couple of dayster, Shen Bao walked in on YuYu and Liang Yu, who were busy handling some of the puppets manning the walls of the Sea of Demons. The walls stretched far into the horizon, fortified withyers of intricate formations, the air crackling with defensive energies. The puppets worked with precision, their mechanical movements reflecting the diligentmands of their operators.

    From this vantage, the Sea of Demons appeared deceptively calm, with the asional wave crashing against the dark, jagged rocks that lined the shore.

    "What''s up?" he said once he stood behind them, approaching the two women who seemed engrossed in their tasks.

    "Nothing really," Liang Yu replied, not turning, as her sharp gaze was still scanning the horizon. "The walkers are still trying hard to climb, but they''re being eradicated as we speak. I heard from the Ant Queen that there were sightings of walkers moving toward the Red Sun''s territory, but they were minimal and eliminated as soon as they were spotted."

    "Good," Shen Bao nodded, satisfaction creeping into his voice. "The rest of the walkers in the Sea of Demons seem rather weak to our artillery and army of puppets. We should be able to clean them up within a few months."

    Liang Yu crossed her arms and looked toward the horizon, where the faint movements of walkers still stirred among the waves. "Indeed, their numbers are decreasing rapidly, and their attacks are bing less and less frequent. With the disappearance of their creator, the Death Sun, they''re all just rotting away, dying off like pests without a master to guide them."

    Shen Bao allowed himself a brief smile. "Yes, we should be able to put an end to these things during the Endless Night. It would be a relief for the Beyond to finally rid itself of the threat of the Walkers once and for all."

    As the conversation continued, the tension that had gripped them all for weeks began to loosen, if only slightly. For the first time in what felt like ages, there was light at the end of the tunnel, and with it, the faintest glimmer of hope.

    "You look like you''re about to leave somewhere?" Liang Yu asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she observed his posture, his readiness to depart.

    "How did you know?" Shen Bao asked, a slight frown creasing his brow.

    Liang Yu''s lips curled into a small smile. "A woman''s intuition," she said. Then, her tone became more serious, "Still, where are you headed?"

    "I''m going up to check on that gross thing," he replied, gesturing toward the sky where the First Born, grotesque and looming, hung like a malignant presence. Its twisted form was visible from miles away, an ever-present reminder of the danger still threatening them. The creature looked like a small moon from where they stood.

    Since the almost endless rain had been falling for weeks, the clouds over the Sea of Demons had nearly vanished, revealing the night sky fully. Though the Beyond was a void without stars, the sight of a clear sky was still a wee change from the oppressive clouds.

    "I see," Liang Yu said, her voice carrying a note of concern. "Just¡­ don''t do anything stupid, Shen Bao."

    "Don''t worry," Shen Bao replied, though he could see the worry in her eyes. Before he could say anything more, YuYu, who was usually calm and reserved, reached up and pulled his cor down, stealing a quick, tender kiss. The act was uncharacteristic of her, a rare disy of open affection.

    "Stay safe," she added, her voice soft butmanding.

    Shen Bao smiled at the two of them, feeling a warmth spread through him, and without further dy, heunched himself into the sky, calling out his trusty ship. The ship appeared from the void, materializing like a phantom from the unseen folds of space. Once aboard, Shen Bao set course for the massive entity that loomed above them all.

    After a brief flight, he arrived next to the First Born, where he found the Blue Sun, tirelessly feeding the reactors with her own Qi. The massive reactors hummed, their energies swirling around them as they worked to maintain the seal on the monstrous entity.

    Shen Bao stepped off the ship and approached the Blue Sun, whose back was turned as she concentrated on the task at hand. "Hello, Shen Bao," she greeted without turning around, her voice calm but edged with fatigue. "How are you faring?"

    "Not bad," Shen Bao replied, rubbing his temples as if the memory of his recent headaches still lingered. "The headaches are gone. How are things on your end?"

    "Stable so far," she said, her hands still glowing as they directed Qi into the reactors. "The entity is perfectly sealed. Your idea is working just as nned. We''re taking turns to keep it in perpetual levitation and under constant pressure."

    "Good," Shen Bao muttered, eyes locked on the grotesque figure of the First Born. Its monstrous form remained eerily still, suspended in the void but always watching, always waiting. "I''ve been thinking¡­ Do we have any random pieces or parts of this entity''s body lying around? I want to experiment, see if there''s a way to neutralize it."

    The Blue Sun nodded, her focus not wavering. "We should have some. I personally collected a few samples," she said, reaching into a small holding bag that hung at her waist. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the bag to Shen Bao. "Here, take these. They''re all from the First Born''s body."

    Shen Bao caught the bag and opened it, peering inside to see several bs of flesh, grotesque and pulsing with a faint, sickly light. "Thanks," he said, feeling a mix of curiosity and revulsion as he stared at the wriggling pieces of the creature. "I''ll work on them right next to you inside the ship."

    The Blue Sun finally turned, wiping sweat from her brow. "I''ll join you," she said. "The reactors are stable enough to work on their own for a while, and the Red Sun will take over soon. Besides, I''d like to see what youe up with."

    Together, they entered the ship and made their way down its sleek corridors to thebpartment. The Blue Sun looked around, admiring thepact but efficientyout of the space. "You really did wonders with such a small ce," shemented, impressed by the ship''s interior.

    "It''s bigger on the inside," Shen Bao replied with a grin, proud of the modifications he had made to the vessel. He pulled the holding bag out and retrieved a piece of the First Born''s flesh, cing it on the metal table in the center of theb.

    The moment the flesh touched the table, it began to writhe and twist, sprouting tendrils of its own that slithered across the surface, seeking something totch onto like a grotesque, wriggling octopus. Shen Bao quickly mped it down with some apparatus, holding it in ce as he prepared his tools for the analysis.

    He reached for his scalpel and, with a swift motion, tried to slice off a piece of the flesh¡ªonly for the de to snap in half the moment it made contact with the resilient tissue.

    "What the fuck?" Shen Bao muttered, staring at the broken scalpel in disbelief.

    The Blue Sun leaned in, examining the unscathed piece of flesh. "It''s incredibly tough. Let me help. What do you need?"

    "I need a small part, something thin enough to test some of my poisons on," Shen Bao replied, tossing the broken scalpel aside. "But it looks like I''ll need a better tool."

    Nodding, the Blue Sun focused her Qi, forming a de of pure energy at her fingertip. She approached the wriggling piece of flesh and attempted to slice off a section. The moment her Qi made contact, however, it fizzled out, dissipating as if it had never existed.

    "Oh¡­" she said, frowning as she pulled her hand back. "We seem to have forgotten about that."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Right," Shen Bao sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Itpletely negates Qi. We''re stuck at the first step."

    Before they could puzzle over their next move, Shen Bao received a message through Divine Sense. It was Tao Yang, who had been nearby in the Bastion.

    "Come on in," Shen Bao called, opening the gate for Tao Yang as she entered the ship''sb.

    "Working on that thing, huh?" Tao Yang asked, walking over to the table where the writhing flesh still squirmed beneath the mps. "How''s it going so far?"

    "Not great," Shen Bao admitted, gesturing to the broken scalpel and the dissipated Qi de. "We can''t cut it open, and I need smaller samples to test some of my poisons."

    Tao Yang''s brow furrowed in thought. "You''ve been using normal tools and Qi, I take it?"

    "Yeah, and neither of them are doing anything," Shen Bao replied, rubbing his temples in frustration.

    "Well, have you tried using Soulsteel?" Tao Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. "It was made specifically to deal with entities like these."

    Shen Bao blinked, realization dawning on him. "Oh¡­ yeah, Soulsteel. Of course. I''ll need to head back to the pagoda to grab some."

    "No need," Tao Yang said with a smile, pulling a small cube of Soulsteel from her own holding bag. She infused the cube with her own Qi, shaping it into a knife with smooth, practiced motions. "Here. Just channel your Soul Energy into it, and you''ll be able to cut through the flesh."

    Grateful, Shen Bao epted the knife and focused his Soul Energy into the de, shaping it into a sharp scalpel. When he pressed it against the flesh, the de cut through with ease¡ªthough the deeper he went, the more resistance the flesh provided. It was as though the First Born''s body was instinctively trying to repel the intrusion.

    "It works, but it''s draining the Soulsteel," Shen Bao noted as he finished cutting off a small piece.

    "Yeah," Tao Yang nodded. "The more contact the de has with the First Born''s flesh, the faster it depletes the Soul Energy. If we had more Soulsteel, we could tear it apart¡­ but not before it exhausted the materialpletely."

    Shen Bao ced the small piece of flesh under the microscope, peering at its intricate, unnatural structure. "This thing¡­ it''s more than just flesh. It''s like the Rakshasa themselves¡ªevery cell is alive, fighting for survival."

    The three of them stared at the wriggling piece of the First Born, knowing that despite the progress they''d made, the real challenge had only just begun.

    (Sorry for posting this here, but most readers skip author''s thoughts. I begun a new book, Necromancy Style. Lot of undead and skeletons check it out, Deus Necros!)

 Chapter 858 Theory

    Seems like the structure of this thing isn''t purely biological," I muttered, eyes narrowing as they remained glued to the sample beneath the microscope''s lens.

    The Blue Sun, standing nearby with her usualposed demeanor, cocked her head slightly, unimpressed. "What does that even mean? You always use words only you understand." Her voice carried that hint of impatience I''d grown ustomed to.

    "My apologies," I said, straightening my posture, the soft glow of theb''s overhead lighting casting elongated shadows across the sterile surface of the table. "The First Born''s body, as you can see, isn''t entirely natural." I motioned toward the digital disy where a three-dimensional rendering of the First Born''s cellr structure slowly rotated.

    Tao Yang, who had been silently observing from across theb, chimed in, her tone matter-of-fact. "Didn''t I already tell you? It''s born from the theft of the Heavenly Law. It''s far from natural."

    I raised a hand to forestall any further interruptions. "I understand that," I said, my voice calm but insistent. "But I''m talking about its parent¡ªthe queen. She gave birth to it, didn''t she?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Tao Yang hesitated, and in that pause, a flicker of uncertainty passed over her usually stoic face. "That''s what we deduced," she finally said. "But we didn''t witness it."

    I let out a slow, exasperated sigh. "Well, regardless of whether it came from a natural birth or some other process, my poison won''t work on it."

    "None of them?" the Blue Sun asked, her eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise.

    "Not a single one," I confirmed, extending my hand. A drop of concentrated poison formed at the tip of my finger, glistening with the deadly promise it usually held. I let it fall onto the skin sample we''d excised from the creature''s hide. The drop disappeared into the surface without so much as a ripple, as if the skin had simply absorbed it, leaving no trace behind.

    There was no reaction. No sizzling, no discoloration, no damage. The poison, potent enough to fell a Void Stage beast, had been neutralized as if it were nothing more than water.

    The Blue Sun''s eyes widened, disbelief etched into the lines of her usually calm face. "How is that even possible?" she whispered, taking a step closer. "A drop like that would give even me trouble purging it."

    I shook my head, returning my gaze to the inert sample. "Qi is bound to everything we touch, breathe, and consume. It''s the spiritual force that weaves through all life, a binding agent of sorts. But this entity," I pointed to the sample, "it breaks that bond the moment ites into contact with Qi. It''s as if it unravels the structure before the poison can even take effect."

    My exnation hung in the air like a lead weight, the implications of what I was saying sinking in for both of them.

    The Blue Sun folded her arms, her face a mask of contemtive seriousness. "So, how do we kill it?" Tao Yang''s question cut through the growing tension like a de.

    "We can''t," I replied tly, my voice devoid of the hope they were likely expecting.

    The silence that followed was thick, almost suffocating. The Blue Sun opened her mouth, probably to object, but no words came. Even she, for all her bravado, seemed at a loss.

    "We''re facing something that denies thews of our world," I continued, my tone grim. "Everything we know about life, about death, about the very nature of existence¡ªit all breaks down in the face of this creature. Its biology, if you can call it that, is an aberration."

    The Blue Sun, ever the optimist, tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe I''ll just ask the Wisest Sun to open a portal to the Vast Expanse and drop it into a star," she quipped, though her attempt at humor rang hollow.

    "Don''t even think about it," I warned. "The suns in the Vast Expanse areposed of pure Qi. It would only trap the creature for a few days, at best. Then, it''ll consume the star from the inside out ande back stronger."

    "So, what''s the n then?" Tao Yang pressed, her voice steady, though the tension around her eyes betrayed her concern.

    "There is a way¡­" I began, my words trailing off as I hesitated.

    The Blue Sun''s eyes narrowed. "Something tells me this ''way'' isn''t going to be easy."

    "Correct," I admitted, leaning back against theb counter. "It''s not. In fact, it''s risky¡ªpossibly even suicidal. We''ll have to go to Tao Yang''s home."

    Tao Yang stiffened, her eyes widening slightly. "Is that even possible? And what purpose would that serve?"

    I took a deep breath, steadying my thoughts. "The Rakshasa didn''t just appear out of nowhere. If we trace their origin, we might find something. And as for the purpose¡ªit''s because of something called the Progenitor Reversion Theory."

    The Blue Sun groaned audibly, rolling her eyes. "Another one of your fancy terms. Care to exin it in words normal people understand?"

    I couldn''t help but smile at her exasperation. "In biological terms, it''s simr to how we study viruses. A virus replicates inside its host, often evolving into stronger forms, but also asionally carrying dormant weaknesses from its progenitor. The same principle applies here."

    "Over time, gic degradation urs," I continued. "Certain weaknesses or traits be recessive or masked in offspring. We can''t uncover those weaknesses unless we have the original gic material¡ªthe progenitor. The queen, the mother of the First Born, may hold the key. Her gic code could reveal something vital¡ªa w that the First Born inherited but masked."

    "But even if we kill the mother," the Blue Sun interjected, "how does that help us with the spawn?"

    "It won''t kill it outright," I acknowledged. "But look at the sample." I gestured to the microscope. "The First Born is already a diluted form of its parent. It''s not as ''pure.'' If we have the mother''s gic source, we might discover a hidden vulnerability in its offspring. Something we can exploit."

    Tao Yang rubbed her temples, clearly overwhelmed. "You lost me at ''gic source.''"

    I couldn''t help but chuckle, after all she was right, things weren''t looking too good.

 Chapter 859 expedition

    I chuckled softly. "In simpler terms, the First Born might seem unkible now, but its parent¡ªthe one who originally stole the Heavenly Law¡ªis the key. We''re missing part of the gic puzzle. If we trace its lineage back to the source, we might find what we need to defeat it. The answer is buried in its past, not its present."

    The Blue Sun frowned, skepticism creasing her brow. "That''s a lot of ''ifs.''"

    "I know," I admitted. "It''s not a sure thing. But it''s all we''ve got right now. And trust me, we don''t have much time. The First Born''s cells are reproducing at an rming rate, even under the gravitational suppression. I give it ten years, max, before it breaks free.

    Then, we''re back at square one."

    "So, we''re essentially about to embark on a journey to a we don''t know how to reach, tracing back a lineage that leads to who-knows-where, in search of a creature that''s likely far more powerful than the First Born, hoping to find a way to kill it¡ªwhich may or may not even exist.

    Do I have that right?" the Blue Sun asked, crossing her arms as a slight smirk pulled at the corner of her lips, though it was clear she wasn''t amused.

    The Blue Sun let out a long sigh, the weight of the situation pressing down on her as it was on all of us. "It''s the dumbest idea I''ve ever heard from you so far, but I can''t disagree. The First Born is too much of a threat. We need to take every possible solution seriously."

    "Agreed," I said, nodding. "We''ll need an expedition force."

    "Who do you have in mind?" the Blue Sun asked, her expression shifting from skepticism to pragmatism as she began thinking like the strategist she was.

    "I''m going," I replied without hesitation. "Tao Yang will have toe as well. She''s thest of the Srous and knows her home better than anyone." I nced over at Tao Yang, who had remained unusually quiet during our exchange.

    She met my gaze and gave a small nod. "Yes," she said, her voice firm. "I''d go. I want to see my old again, even if it''s onest time."

    "Right," the Blue Sun said, rubbing her chin in thought. "I''ll go too. You''ll need a Sun Stage to protect you."

    I inclined my head. "We''ll definitely need your strength."

    "But who else?" she pressed, her brow furrowing as she thought about the logistics.

    "I''ll need more than just us," I said. "We''ll require a team that can handle the unknown¡ªand we''re going to be facing a lot of it."

    The Blue Sun pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me contact the rest of the Suns first." She reached for themunication bracelet on her wrist, the same device we used to maintain contact across vast distances. Her fingers danced over the embedded runes, and soon, several holographic screens flickered to life, disying the faces of the other Suns.

    The Darkest Sun was the first to speak, his deep voice reverberating through the space like a distant thunderstorm. "What''s the reason for this sudden meeting?" he asked, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.

    The Blue Sun didn''t miss a beat. "Shen Bao has something to share with all of you," she said, pushing the responsibility onto me with a nonchnt gesture.

    I sighed inwardly but stepped forward. "We''ve determined that the First Born won''t remain in perpetual suspension forever. It''s growing stronger every minute, and we''re running out of time. I have a theory that might help us deal with it, but it''s risky."

    "Theory?" the mboyant Sun interrupted, his voice dripping with skepticism. "I don''t like theories, especially when theye from people who tend to think farther than he can actually achieve, though you are the exception. But go on, speak."

    I quicklyid out the details of the situation, exining the potential significance of the queen''s gic code and how it could hold the key to defeating the First Born. As I spoke, I could see the expressions on the Suns'' faces shift from indifference to unease. No one liked what I was suggesting, but they also knew it might be our only option.

    "I''ll be joining the expedition," the Blue Sun announced as soon as I finished. "Shen Bao will need support, and I''m not letting him go alone."

    "I''ll join as well," said the Dusking Sun, his voice weak but resolute.

    "Are you still weakened from yourst battle?" the Red Sun asked, his toneced with concern. "I don''t think it''s wise for you to take such a risk."

    "I may be weakened, but I''m still capable," the Dusking Sun replied,. "Besides, I need to stretch my muscles."

    "I shoulde too," the Wisest Sun muttered as he rubbed his beared thoughtfully.

    "No, you can''t." Tao Yang''s voice cut through the discussion like a de, sharp and final. She turned to the Wisest Sun, her expression as serious as I had ever seen it. "As much as I respect your strength, my world is the opposite of everything you understand. Thews there have been twisted, corrupted by the Heavenly Law''s theft. If you go, the very fabric of reality will attack your mind.

    You might lose yourself the moment youy eyes on the corruption."

    "That''s exactly why I should go," the Wisest Sun argued, his brow furrowing in defiance.

    I quickly intervened, trying to keep the situation from escting. "Tao Yang is right. Thew corruption on her isn''t something to take lightly. Your understanding of thews is too profound, and it would be dangerous for you to be exposed to such chaos. We need you here to stabilize the reactors. Your Qi is the most stable of all the Suns, and we''ll need that stability more than ever."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Wisest Sun clicked his tongue, clearly displeased. "It feels like you''re trying to kick me out," he grumbled.

 Chapter 860 THE S TEAM

    I smiled, though the weight of the situation was hard to hide behind the gesture. "I really am not trying to exclude anyone. Believe me, I wish I could have all of you there. But let''s face it¡ªthere''s no telling if the First Born might wake up tomorrow and decide to wreak havoc again, forcing us to shift ns."

    The Red Sun, never one to mince words, leaned forward, his eyes hard as molten embers. "Regardless," he began, his voice edged with stern practicality, "two Suns and a pseudo-Sun stage, plus you¡ªthat''s not enough firepower to venture into a world where this thing''s mother exists. It''s reckless."

    Tao Yang, who had been quietly watching the exchange, finally spoke up, her tone grim. "And that''s not even the worst of it," she said, her voice steady, though the tension in her jaw was unmistakable. "This First Born¡­ it''s one of three. There should be two more back on my home world." She paused, letting the gravity of her words settle over the room. "So it''s worse than you think."

    I felt an immediate pang of frustration, though I kept myposure. Should have told us that before! I cursed inwardly, biting back the urge to call her out. This whole expedition was starting to feel more impossible with each revtion.

    "Regardless," I interjected quickly, my voice more forceful than I intended. "I''ll ask a few of mypanions to join us. We''ll need all the help we can get, and Master Rain¡ªespecially his proficiency in inscriptions¡ªhis skills are far superior to mine," I exined, hoping to calm the growing tension with practical solutions.

    The Red Sun, never one to let an opportunity for pragmatism slip by, nodded. "Right, and take the ve Heaven Stage with you. He''ll serve you well, especially in situations where brute strength is required." His words were more of an order than a suggestion, a reminder of the gift he had bestowed upon me¡ªa powerful servant bound by oath.

    "Sure," I replied, already running through the mental checklist of who to bring. "I''ll be taking Zhang Tian and Dao Shen with me too."

    A low grumble escaped the Red Sun''s throat as he shook his head in disapproval. "They''re too young. Too inexperienced, and too weak for something of this scale."

    I knew he had a point, but I stood my ground. "They need the opportunity to prove themselves, Red Sun. They won''t stay weak forever, and this will push them to grow. We''re not just preparing for this fight¡ªwe''re preparing for all the ones toe."

    His eyes flickered with frustration, but before he could argue further, I added, "I''ll also have to ask Meng Hao to apany me. His strength¡ª"

    "The Lording Sun won''t like that," the Red Sun cut me off, his voice low and warning. "Meng Hao''s involvement always brings friction, and you know how the Lording Sun feels about him."

    "I know," I admitted, pressing my lips together in thought. "But Meng Hao is indispensable in situations like this. His strength is... unique."

    Before the Red Sun couldunch into another rebuttal, I continued, "I''m also taking both Liang Yu and YuYu."

    "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING, YOU DAMN BRAT?!" the Red Sun roared, his voice reverberating through the room like the crack of a thunderp. His sudden outburst took me slightly by surprise, but I''d grown used to his temper by now. "You''re piling too many responsibilities onto yourself! They can''t just ''power up'' on a suicide mission, Shen Bao!"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I raised my hands in a cating gesture, meeting his fiery gaze. "I know, but they need the chance to evolve. They can''t grow into their potential by sitting idle, and this is the kind of trial that will either make them or break them. If we''re going to survive this world and the challenges toe, everyone needs to be stronger than they are now."

    "They can do that here, in the safety of controlled environments. Hell, even you¡ªyou''re far too weak to handle what''s waiting for you on that. We only agreed to let you go because the Blue Sun is watching your back. But she can''t be responsible for all of you at once!" The Red Sun''s frustration was palpable, the intensity of his concern pushing through his harsh exterior.

    The Dusking Sun, having stayed quiet through most of the debate, finally chimed in. "I''m also there!" she said with a yful smirk, though the seriousness of her tone betrayed any sense of levity.

    "Shut up," the Red Sun shot back with exasperation. "You yourself need a damn babysitter. How do you n to keep everyone alive and handle the mess that is going to throw at you?"

    Tao Yang, who had remained silent, now spoke up again, her voice calm but firm. "I''m almost healed. My soul is nearly fused, and once we return to my world, I''ll regain my full strength. I''ll be fine."

    The Red Sun could only shake his head in defeat, letting out a heavy sigh. "Just...e back safely. If things get too difficult, abandon the mission. I''d rather none of you die than risk it all on a gamble." His voice softened, a rare moment of genuine concern breaking through the usual wall of gruffness. "We''re Sun stages, for heaven''s sake.

    We''ll figure something out with that slimy blob of a creature hovering over the Beyond, goddammit!"

    A rare warmth spread through the room, softening the tension. For all his bluster, the Red Sun did care¡ªhe just showed it in his own brusque way.

    "Good then," I said, my tone resolute, though I couldn''t shake the gnawing sense of dread building in my chest. "We''ll be off as soon as I notify the rest of thepanions."

    The Wisest Sun, who had been silently watching the debate from his own position in the corner, gave me a nod, his expression thoughtful. "Godspeed, Shen Bao," he said, his words measured and sincere. I thanked him quietly.

    Just as the conversation seemed to be winding down, the Darkest Sun, who had remained silent throughout most of the exchange, suddenly spoke up, his voice a deep rumble that cut through the rtive calm. "Take the Fire King with you."

    I opened my mouth, then promptly closed it, unsure how to respond. The Fire King? On the same mission as Meng Hao? That was like throwing a match into a barrel of gunpowder. "If they both go with me on the same trip, I can guarantee you one thing¡ªone of them will lose their life."

    The Darkest Sun''s piercing gaze bore into me. "And it is your job to make sure that doesn''t happen."

    He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before continuing. "I asked you toe to meet me for a reason. The friction between Meng Hao and the Fire King needs to be resolved. Whether you like it or not, you''re the one to make that happen."

    I stared at him, trying to process the added burden. Managing Meng Hao''s temper was one thing, but the Fire King? That was another level of chaos. "I have no idea what you''re nning, but if they meet, Meng Hao will jump the Fire King the moment heys eyes on him," I said, feeling the headache forming behind my eyes.

    "Then make sure he doesn''t," the Darkest Sun replied simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

    My thoughts spiraled in frustration. Should I ask Meng Hao not toe? But no, that wasn''t an option. I needed him for this. Both of them, despite their hostility toward one another. "Goddammit, why does everything have to be thisplicated?" I muttered under my breath.

    The Red Sun chuckled darkly. "Wee to the world of responsibility, Shen Bao. Enjoy your stay."

 Chapter 861 Bound by Responsibility

    The meeting ended abruptly, leaving an unsettling silence that clung to the room like thest remnants of a storm. I let out a deep, tired sigh, slumping back into my chair, feeling the weight of responsibilities pressing down on me. My fingers idly drummed against the armrest, but the motion did little to distract me from the ever-growing concerns that lingered in my mind.

    It wasn''t just the meeting. The room itself seemed to echo with the unspoken tension, the way unresolved matters always do. My thoughts spun in circles, trying to grasp some semnce of control over the chaos we had just discussed.

    Blue Sun, who had been standing silently in the corner for most of the meeting, stepped forward. Her ethereal glow flickered, casting soft shadows along the walls. She looked at me, her expression a mix of curiosity and concern. There was always something about her presence, a certain warmth that apanied her light.

    Yet, today, even that warmth couldn''t pierce through the growing weight of uncertainty I felt.

    "You don''t seem too happy about how things went," she said, her voice gentle but probing. There was a knowing glint in her eye, as though she already understood what troubled me.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temples as if the motion could chase away the headache that had begun forming. "Who would be?" I muttered, almost more to myself than to her. "I''ve got a mess of problems to deal with¡ªhalf of which I don''t even know how to solve. And now, on top of that, I''ve got to babysit the Darkest Sun''s golden boy. He''s still pissed because I called him a fool."

    Blue Sun chuckled softly, the sound carrying a hint of amusement. "Oh, he''s definitely still mad," she said, a yful smirk forming on her lips. "Bute on, handling a couple of brats? That''s why you''ve got me, right? You know I can keep them in line."

    There was a mischievous spark in her eyes, one that might''ve made me smile under different circumstances. But today, the weight of the world¡ªor rather, several worlds¡ªhung over my shoulders.

    I gave her a tired smile, though it felt more like a grimace. "True. And honestly, I wouldn''t mind if Meng Hao gave the Fire King a good thrashing. Hell, if I wasn''t so swamped with work, I might even help him." The thought of it almost brought a genuine smile to my face, but reality reasserted itself, and the grim situation pressed down harder. "But we can''t afford distractions this time.

    There''s too much at stake, and there''s an entire world¡ªno, multiple worlds¡ªdepending on us. We can''t let this expedition fail."

    Blue Sun''s expression softened, and she nodded in understanding. "I get it. This isn''t just another battle or mission. If we fail, the consequences will be far worse than anything we''ve faced before. But don''t worry¡ªI''ll keep them apart. They won''t be tearing each other apart while you''re dealing with the bigger problems."

    Her words brought a small measure offort, but I still felt the weight of it all pressing down. "Good. Keep them in check. Thest thing I need is another diplomatic disaster on my hands."

    The silence that followed was thick, filled with the unsaid. My mind kept racing back to the Rakshasa. Every decision we made, every step we took, was a calcted risk. And with the firstborn still there recovering, any mistake could be fatal.

    "When do we leave?" Tao Yang''s voice broke through the tension, sharp and direct. She had been standing near the edge of the room, watching everything unfold with her usual calcting gaze. Her sharp intellect always impressed me, and I knew she had already considered every possible angle of our situation.

    "As soon as possible," I replied, standing up from my chair, feeling the stiffness in my back and shoulders. The urgency of our situation couldn''t be overstated. e. "We don''t have time to waste."

    Tao Yang raised an eyebrow. "We''re taking the Bastion, right?"

    I shook my head. "No. The Bastion''s too big. It''ll draw too much attention,. We''ll use this ship, but we need to make some upgrades first."

    "The reactors," she said, already knowing where my thoughts were headed.

    I nodded. "Exactly. The ship''s functional, but it could be better. Faster, stronger. I''m going to modify the reactors based on the Bastion''s design. It should give us the power we need without drawing too much attention."

    Tao Yang frowned slightly, her brow furrowing in thought. "You''ll need to coat the ship in Soulsteel," she said, her voice calm and matter-of-fact.

    I grimaced at the mention of Soulsteel. "That''s the problem. Soulsteel isn''t exactly easy toe by."

    "It''s not as bad as you think," she countered. "We can take some from the Bastion. It''s modr, right? You don''t need to break the whole ship down¡ªjust enough to coat this one."

    I hesitated. The Bastion was more than just a ship; it was a symbol of the Srous , a fortress that had seen a battle for a race with non but Tao Yang left. The idea of stripping it for parts, even just a few, didn''t sit well with me. "I don''t like the idea of taking pieces from the Bastion. It''s¡­ significant. I don''t want to weaken it."

    Tao Yang waved her hand dismissively. "You''re not weakening it. You''re repurposing it. Ten room cubes of Soulsteel should be enough to reinforce this ship, and it won''t affect the Bastion''s overall integrity."

    I considered her words for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. Ten cubes. No more. I''ll make the necessary upgrades for the reactor as soon as we have the Soulsteel."

    "Right, I''ll harvest it myself, and I''ll coat the ship with it. It should survive well in the Void of the Beyond and the trip toward my world."

    "Thanks," I said, genuinely relieved to have the weight of that task off my shoulders. "In the meantime, I''ll notify Liang Yu and YuYu. We need to move quickly."

    "I''ll need to return to mynds for a short while," Blue Sun said suddenly, her tone shifting to something more serious. "There are matters I need to tend to before we leave. Give me two days. We''ll meet again then, and I''ll have everything ready."

    I nodded. "Two days, then."

    As I made my way toward the Sea of Demons, the enormity of whaty ahead settled over me like a lead cloak. This expedition wasn''t just another mission¡ªit was survival. For us, for the people who depended on us, for the Beyond that stood on the brink of annihtion. there is no room for error...

 Chapter 862 Recruitement

    Far from the safety of familiar stars, in the deste expanse of the Beyond, the remnants of the Rakshasa horde were gathering. They were broken, scattered, and leaderless, yet still driven by the primal instinct that had guided them for eons. An instinct to return¡ªto the ce from which they hade, to their origin.

    They didn''t know where it was. They didn''t know why they were drawn there. But something deep within them, something woven into the very fabric of their beings, pulled them forward, guiding them through the endless void.

    For days¡ªmaybe weeks¡ªthey had been drifting through the darkness, evading the relentless cultivators who hunted them. They had once been a mighty force, a scourge that tore through worlds with merciless efficiency. But now? Now they were little more than prey, running from the very beings they once terrorized.

    And then they came upon it. A swirling vortex, a tear in the fabric of reality that pulsed with dark, chaotic energy. The Rakshasa hesitated at the edge of the anomaly, their instincts screaming danger even as the pull to enter grew stronger.

    One by one, they approached. The weakest among them¡ªthe White Rakshasa¡ªwere the first to fall. As soon as they touched the edge of the vortex, their bodies disintegrated, vanishing into nothingness in an instant.

    The ck Rakshasa, their minds sharper and their bodies more resilient, fared slightly better. Theysted a few seconds longer, but in the end, they too were consumed by the vortex, their forms torn apart by the raw power that swirled at its center.

    The Silver Rakshasa pushed further, their regenerative abilities allowing them to survive for longer. Their bodies withstood the vortex''s pull for several seconds before finally sumbing, their remains scattered like ash in the wind.

    And then came the Brutes. Massive, towering Rakshasa whose sheer physical strength allowed them to endure the vortex''s fury for far longer than the others. They were able to push their entire bodies through the vortex, disappearing into the unknown. But even they didn''t make it far before their forms were torn apart.

    Amid the chaos, one figure stood apart. A Golden-Capped Brute, its body scarred and broken from the battle, managed to force its way through the vortex. It was wounded, barely holding on, but its immense strength allowed it to survive. It vanished into the vortex, the first of its kind to cross the threshold.

    The others, seeing their brethren make it through, became desperate. They hurled themselves into the vortex, hoping to follow, but their efforts were in vain. Only those of noble rank or higher could survive the passage. The rest¡ªthe weaker Rakshasa¡ªwere doomed to die.

    And then, the cultivators arrived.

    Their auras burned like beacons in the darkness, their presence a death sentence for the remaining Rakshasa. The monsters had no choice but to fight, but without their leaders, without their noblemanders, they were little more than beasts. The cultivators cut through them with brutal efficiency, their des and spells tearing the Rakshasa apart as if they were nothing.

    The battle was over in moments, thest of the Rakshasa falling in a pool of blood and dust. Silence settled over the void, broken only by the distant hum of the vortex, still swirling, still waiting.

    The cultivators stood at the edge of the battlefield, their eyes fixed on the vortex. None of them knew what it was or where it led, but they all understood one thing: it was a gateway. A gateway to something far more dangerous than they had ever imagined.

    And whatever was on the other side, it was waiting.

    Meng Hao was among these cultivators, gasping for breath in an empty void. He was fully spent and exhausted but the ember like eyes of his were still focused wanting more action.

    "Meng Hao," someone called.

    Turning, it was the man titled the Jade Dragon, a Heaven Stage cultivator, of the Grand General Rank under the Darkest Sun''s forces.

    He earned the respect of everyone in the battlefield since he was at the front of every major skirmish or blown out assault, he led the troops not by words and orders, but with nothing but pure might.

    The green jade spear never left his hand since he took on the battle, he proved to all that he was not appointed just because of his stage as a Heaven Stage but also due to the incredible prowess he possessed. A Rakshasa Killing machine who probably has the highest number of kills in this entire war after the Sun stages and Shen Bao.

    After all, Shen Bao although he was a lower rank cultivator, his tools and weapons and incredibly versatile arsenal allowed him to rack incredible numbers of killed Raksahsa, but if we''re talking about direct kills, then none under the Sun stage came even close to the man titled the Jade Dragon.

    Meng Hao wasn''t a fan of the Darkest Sun simply because he was too protective of the Fire King who Meng Hao has a death grudge against, although the Jade Dragon was working under the Darkest Sun, he proved his value and earned his respect with pure martial mental. An honorable man that Meng Hao would always want to fight next to whenever the times call for it.

    "Yes Grand General," Meng Hao cupping his hands. He was never one to address anyone with more respect than they need, made only this man and Shen Bao an exception.

    "The Darkest Lord had asked you to preserve your energy, you will be tasked with a mission soon," he said.

    Meng Hao was about to refuse, since he didn''t deal with the Darkest Sun at all nor did he ever want to be associated with someone who protected his mortal enemy.

    Yet the Jade Dragon raised his palm to stop Meng Hao, "The requestes from your own friend, Shen Bao, they will being over to pick you up, so refrain from exhausting yourself anymore."

    Meng Hao didn''t have any words to say anymore, the request came from his friend and role model Shen Bao, so he reluctantly agreed.

    He wanted to show Shen Bao how much he had improved, especially with how long it has been since theyst met.

    And Meng Hao now truly believes that he did improve and soon the opportunity to show it will present itself.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 863 The Emperors Return.

    Shen Bao flew steadily toward the imperial pce of the Sea of Demons, his figure slicing through the air with practiced ease. Yet, as he approached the city, a sense of unfamiliarity began to creep in. The Sea of Demons, a ce once defined by chaos, ruin, and fear, now pulsed with a vibrancy that was almost alien to him. It was as though the very soul of the ce had shifted in his absence.

    As he drew closer, he noticed the streets below teeming with activity. Crowds moved with purpose, decorating their homes, stringing up colorfulnterns, and hanging banners that fluttered in the breeze. The entire city had been transformed into a hub of celebration, and Shen Bao''s frown deepened.

    The Sea of Demons had once been a ce whereughter and joy were scarcemodities, buried beneath the weight of suffering. Yet here, now, there was something different¡ªsomething festive in the air.

    He descended onto a side street, pulling his cloak tighter around him as hended. There was no need for grand entrances today. As hended, Shen Bao tapped into his skill with poisons, allowing the subtle shift in his facial features to go unnoticed.

    He altered the lines of his face, softening his angr features and dulling his piercing gaze, using poison in a way that few could¡ªblending with the crowd, his presence entirely hidden beneath the veil of ordinary.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As he walked among the townspeople, Shen Bao couldn''t help but observe their excitement. What in the world is going on here? He thought to himself as he passed group after group, all immersed in the preparations for what seemed to be a grand event.

    Eventually, he made his way toward the heart of the city, where a man stood on adder, hanging a row of bright rednterns across an archway. His movements were quick and practiced, but the lines of sweat on his brow revealed the intensity of the day''s work.

    "Excuse me," Shen Bao said as he approached, his voice neutral and unassuming. "What''s all this? Some kind of festival?"

    The man paused, ncing down at Shen Bao from his perch on thedder. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand before responding, his tone lighthearted. "New around here, huh?" he asked with a chuckle, his voice carrying the ease of someone content with their work.

    Shen Bao nodded, keeping his expression neutral. "Yeah, something like that. So, what''s going on?"

    The man grinned, a gleam of pride in his eyes. "We''re celebrating the Victory Festival, of course! The Lord of the Sea of Demons crushed the Rakshasa, didn''t you hear? It''s a city-wide celebration!" He gestured grandly to the decorated streets as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

    Shen Bao blinked. A festival? He hadn''t expected his victory over the Rakshasa to stir such a public disy of celebration. For so long, the people of the Sea of Demons had lived in fear, and he had expected their loyalty toe slowly, reluctantly even. But this? This was something else entirely.

    "And the lord knows about all this?" Shen Bao asked, still maintaining his neutral tone.

    The manughed heartily, climbing down thedder with ease. "Knows about it? His two wives funded the whole thing! They were the ones who set this all up." The man beamed proudly as if he had personally overseen the arrangements.

    Shen Bao nearly lost hisposure. Wives? His mind immediately jumped to YuYu and Liang Yu, the only two women who could''ve been behind such a scheme. Of course they would take the opportunity to stir up the city with something like this. Shen Bao chuckled internally. The thought of them spreading rumors about their status as his wives was amusing, if not entirely unexpected.

    "I see," Shen Bao said slowly, nodding thoughtfully. He eyed the man up and down, noticing the faint lines of fatigue on his face and the strain in his posture. There was something more going on here. Shen Bao''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he spoke again, his voice lowering. "You''ve been working in the mines, haven''t you?"

    The man''s smile faltered, and he nced nervously at Shen Bao. "Yeah, what of it?"

    "Your Qi flow is off," Shen Bao said matter-of-factly. "The fumes from the mines affect cirction. It''s not umon for people who''ve been overexposed to struggle with health issues."

    The man frowned, his expression darkening with uncertainty. "How would you know about that?" His voice was more guarded now, cautious.

    Shen Bao smirked beneath his hood. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small, shining pill, its golden glow radiating a faint warmth. The pill''s herbal scent drifted upward, sweet and potent.

    "This will cleanse your system," Shen Bao said, tossing the pill to the man with a casual flick of his wrist. "It will restore your body''s vitality. Take it."

    The man caught the pill instinctively, staring at it with wide eyes. "How do I know this isn''t some trick?" he asked, his voice still tinged with suspicion.

    Shen Bao chuckled. With a quick motion, he tapped the side of his face, allowing his disguise to melt away, revealing his true form. The man''s eyes widened in shock as realization dawned.

    "Does this help you trust me more?" Shen Bao asked, his voiceced with amusement.

    The man''s mouth hung open, his body rigid with surprise. "Lord Shen Bao..." he whispered, barely able to speak.

    Shen Bao gave him a reassuring nod. "Don''t worry. Keep up the good work, and I''ll see to it that the conditions in the mines are improved. No one should suffer for theirbor. Tell the others¡ªchange ising."

    The man stood frozen, pill in hand, as Shen Bao turned away, ascending into the air once more. He flew toward the pce, his mind racing with thoughts.

    As Shen Bao soared over the city, he couldn''t help but marvel at the transformation. It wasn''t just the buildings or the decorations¡ªit was the people. They were no longer prisoners of their fear or suffering. Under his reign, the Sea of Demons had changed in ways he hadn''t anticipated. And now, they were celebrating him. It was surreal, almost unnerving.

    Yet, there was a quiet sense of pride blooming within him.

 Chapter 864 : Change and Purpose

    After all, he thought, I took this throne through bloodshed. I killed their former emperor, a tyrant, but even so, loyalty isn''t something thates easily after a coup. Yet here they were, celebrating. Maybe¡­ maybe things have changed more than I realized.

    Arriving at the pce gates, Shen Bao was immediately struck by how different the pce appeared. What had once been a cold, austere structure was now vibrant, adorned with banners and decorations that shimmered in the sunlight. Even the guards stationed at the entrance seemed more rxed, their postures less rigid than usual.

    Shen Bao entered the grand hall, expecting a familiar scene of stoic councilors and quiet discussions. Instead, he was greeted by a flurry of activity. The pce staff rushed about, arranging flowers, hanging silken banners, and ensuring that every corner of the hall was perfect. At the center of it all stood the pce councilor, his normallyposed demeanor reced with a flustered expression.

    His robes were far more borate than usual, featuring intricate embroidery and patterns that spoke of celebration.

    "What is the meaning of this?" Shen Bao asked, his voice cutting through the noise like a de.

    The councilor spun around, nearly dropping the stack of papers in his hands. "Oh! Lord Shen Bao! I wasn''t expecting your return so soon!" His voice was shaky as he hastily bowed.

    Shen Bao crossed his arms, his gaze sweeping over the extravagant decorations. "What is all this?" he asked, his tone sharp. "This pce looks more like a festival ground than a seat of governance."

    The councilor straightened, wringing his hands nervously. "It''s the Victory Festival, my lord. We''re celebrating the defeat of the Rakshasa, and your pivotal role in securing peace for the Sea of Demons."

    Shen Bao sighed, rubbing his temples. "And whose idea was it to turn this into a week-long celebration?"

    The councilor hesitated, his eyes darting toward the staircase. "Your esteemed wives, my lord. They organized the entire event, and the people have embraced it wholeheartedly. They''re calling it the Victory Festival in your honor."

    Shen Bao groaned softly. "I should have known. Those two..." He shook his head, though a small smile tugged at his lips. "How long is this supposed tost?"

    "A full week, my lord," the councilor replied, his voice tinged with pride. "The people are overjoyed, and they want to celebrate your victory for as long as possible."

    Shen Bao sighed again, this time more deeply. "We don''t have time for that. Shorten the festivities to three days. There are more important matters that require our attention."

    The councilor blinked in surprise, his expression faltering. "Three days, my lord? The people¡ª"

    "I don''t care," Shen Bao interrupted, his voice firm. "We leave in three days. Have everything ready by then."

    The councilor swallowed nervously but nodded. "As youmand, my lord. Shall I summon Lady YuYu and Lady Liang Yu?"

    "No need," Shen Bao said, waving his hand dismissively. "They''re busy managing the logistics, aren''t they?"

    The councilor nodded again. "Yes, my lord. They''ve been overseeing the finances and ensuring that everything runs smoothly."

    "Good. Let them continue. But make sure they know we''re departing soon. I''ve discussed it with Tao Yang¡ªwe''ll be heading beyond the realm of the Beyond, to the world of Srous."

    The councilor''s eyes widened slightly, but he nodded once more. "Understood, my lord. I''ll ry the message at once."

    Shen Bao dismissed the councilor with a curt nod, already feeling the weight of his responsibilities pressing down on him again. There was so much more to be done. The Rakshasa had been defeated, yes, but the threats beyond the Sea of Demons were far from vanquished.

    He summoned his Golden Scripture Clone, watching as the ethereal duplicate of himself materialized before him. The clone was a perfect replica, down to thest detail, and Shen Bao trusted it implicitly.

    "Take my ce at the festivities," Shen Bao instructed the clone. "I need to focus on more urgent matters."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The clone nodded silently before turning and heading toward the grand hall, where the councilor and pce staff were preparing for the next round of celebrations. Shen Bao watched it go for a moment before turning his attention to more pressing concerns.

    "Gate, please," hemanded, his voice echoing in the now-empty hall.

    A shimmering portal opened before him, revealing the familiar pathway to the Lord of Lords Pagoda. Stepping through, Shen Bao found himself once again in the heart of his domain. The creation room hummed with arcane energy, the reactors pulsing in rhythm with the heartbeat of the ship.

    Shen Bao''s fingers traced the outline of the ship''s schematics, his mind already racing with ns. The ship needed upgrades¡ªmore powerful reactors, enhanced shields, and weaponry capable of facing the unknown dangers beyond the Sea of Demons.

    The victory over the Rakshasa had been hard-won, but there were still greater battles toe especially with having to go somewhere new, somewhere unknown, and somewhere where the Rakshasa had thrived untroubled for a long period of time.

    As Shen Bao set to work, the thought of the festival lingered in his mind. The people were rejoicing, and for now, they were safe. But peace was a fragile thing, and victory could be fleeting. He knew better than anyone that the greatest threats ofteny just beyond the horizon, waiting for the right moment to strike.

    But for now, at least, the Sea of Demons thrived. And that was something worth celebrating.

    For now, he had to crank up the time difference to the max, and work his way around the upgrades, his goal was to have a finalized reactor designed solely for his ship, and wait for the rest of the people he called to arrive.

    Once Zhang Tian and Dao Shen arrive, he''ll have all the needed members to move to the unknown. With all of them together he thought, it will be like the good old days, although this time the Fire King will be on their side. Which also brought another unpleasant memory of Shen Bao.

    after all, he''ll have to deal with those two, the Fire King and Meng Hao''s hot tempers and manage them so no issues arise during the venture.

 Chapter 865 : Departure

    Two days had passed for the people of the Sea of Demons, but for me, those two days stretched into two months. While the city celebrated, my time was spent in the Lord of Lords Pagoda, focused entirely on the creation of new reactors and the forging of new weapons. The constant hum of machinery and the glow of Soulsteel filled my days and nights.

    In those two months, I had built several reactors and integrated them into aplexwork of artificial meridians that I couldter attach to the ship. The process was meticulous¡ªeach connection needed to be perfect to ensure the ship would perform as expected in the vastness of the Beyond.

    The Soulsteel I had acquired¡ªmassive cubes harvested from the Bastion¡ªhad also been put to good use. With it, I could reinforce the ship''s structure, armoring it against the unknown threats that awaited us. The Soulsteel''s unique properties meant that the ship''s hull would now be imprable by ordinary means.

    The people of the Sea of Demons, meanwhile, continued their festivities. I shared some of my consciousness with the clone I had left with the councilor, allowing me to stay informed about the celebrations. As I worked tirelessly in the pagoda, I could see, through the eyes of my clone, the city''s revelry¡ªa stark contrast to the solitary world I inhabited in those months.

    The three days of feasting had turned the entire city into a carnival of lights, music, andughter. The twelve cities of the Sea of Demons, which once floated independently on the vast sea, had converged, attaching themselves together to form a metropolis that dwarfed anything seen before in this realm.

    People danced in the streets, drank their fill, and celebrated the victory over the Rakshasa, a victory that had saved their world. The metropolis felt wild, alive with a vibrancy that had been absent for far too long.

    This was what they needed¡ªa reprieve, a moment of joy after the darkness that had gued their lives for so long. And I had given it to them, knowing full well that these fleeting moments of happiness were essential for their survival, both mentally and spiritually.

    Yet, even in the midst of their celebrations, the puppets I had deployed maintained order. These mechanical guardians, loyal only to me, roamed the streets, ensuring that any threats¡ªlike the asional Walker¡ªwere neutralized before they could harm the people. The Walker poption, once an ever-present threat, had diminished greatly.

    Seeing one now was a rare urrence, a testament to the effectiveness of the puppet army I had created.

    While the city rejoiced, I continued my preparations. The finalponents of the ship''s weapons were nearingpletion when I received a message through my divine sense.

    "Shen Bao, are you ready?" The voice of the Blue Sun resonated in my mind, carrying with it her usual calm and collected demeanor.

    "Right on time," I replied, wiping my hands clean of the residue from thest weapon I had forged. "I''ve just finished building the final set of weapons."

    "Two months for just that?" she asked, her tone teasing but with a hint of genuine curiosity.

    "No," I said, smiling despite myself. "In addition to the ship''s upgrades, I''ve had to replenish my stock of pills and upgrade my personal weaponry. There''s more to prepare than just the ship."

    "Fair enough," Blue Sun replied. "But now that you''re done, we''re ready to leave. Everyone else is already aboard the ship. You''re the only one left."

    "I''ll be there shortly," I said, my mind already shifting to the next steps. I began gathering the materials I would need for the journey, along with several of my trusted puppets. They would prove invaluable if we encountered trouble along the way. I made sure to pack the essentials¡ªmaterials, tools, and weapons. This wasn''t just any journey; it was an expedition into the unknown.

    After sealing the pagoda''s inner chambers, and pocketing the token with me, I stepped out into the open air, the fresh breeze of the Sea of Demons filling my lungs. For a moment, I looked back at the city¡ªnow a glittering jewel on the horizon, its twelve cities joined in unity. There was a sense of pride in what I had helped create, but there was no time for sentimentality. Our missiony beyond.

    I took off, flying high into the sky, toward the ship that awaited me in the Beyond. It was docked next to the Bastion, floating ominously above the clouds, its newly reinforced hull glinting in the faint light of distant stars.

    The journey took about an hour, but as I neared the ship, I marveled at how much it had changed. The once sleek vessel had be bulky, its appearance far more aggressive than before.The exterior of the ship gleamed, an imposing contrast to the darkness of the Beyond. It was a vessel of war, an instrument of survival. But the true challengey not in building it, but in facing what was toe.

    The reinforced walls of Soulsteel gave it an almost imprable look. The sleek lines had been reced with rugged, angr armor, making it look like a ship ready for war. Despite its size, I knew the interior was far more spacious, thanks to dimensional expansions I had made within.

    As I entered the ship, I was greeted by familiar faces. In the main captain''s room, the atmosphere was tense, but not unweing.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Shen Bao! It''s been a while!" Zhang Tian was the first to greet me, his warm smile easing some of the tension in the air. He extended his hand, and I grasped it firmly in return.

    "Good to see you again, senior brother," I replied, nodding in acknowledgment to the others in the room¡ªDao Shen, Master Rain, YuYu, Liang Yu, Yao Tang and of course, Blue Sun, who stood off to the side, observing the exchange with her usual calm demeanor.

    My eyes scanned the room, noticing one key figure missing. "Where''s the Fire King?" I asked, half-expecting him to appear with some boastful remark.

    "He chose to remain in a secluded room," Blue Sun answered with a slight smirk, her knowing smile indicating that she might have had a hand in his decision.

    I gave her a nce, sensing her involvement, but didn''t press further. Keeping the Fire King out of Meng Hao''s way was for the best, and if she had managed to do that without issue, then so be it.

    "So," Master Rain began, his voice cutting through the air with its usual directness. "What''s this world we''re headed to? The Srous, was it?"

    I nodded, but turned to Tao Yang, who had been standing quietly to the side. "That''s for Tao Yang to exin," I said, gesturing for her to take the lead.

    Tao Yang stepped forward confidently, her presencemanding as she began speaking. "We received detailed information about the path leading to my home world from the hunting parties that went after the remnants of the Rakshasa. The path is treacherous, but it''s the same one we''ll be taking. And once we''re there, we''ll rendezvous with Meng Hao."

    I nodded. "Good,"

    The Blue Sun then interjected, "That''s not all We''ll also be taking another Heaven Stage cultivator, ording to the Red Sun''s report."

    My eyes widened slightly. "Another Heaven Stage cultivator?"

    "Yes," Blue Sun replied. "The Red Sun had gifted you a ve, a Heaven Stage cultivator who''s already on board. I brought him aboard some time ago."

    I raised an eyebrow, trying to recall the specifics. "Right, I almost forgot about that. He''ll be a valuable asset. but who is the second?"

    "We''ll meet him once we reach the vortex," the Blue Sun said. "He is incredibly powerful too,"

    Good strong allies are always a good addition.

    As the group began preparing for departure, my eyesnded on an unexpected figure¡ªLaw, standing awkwardly in the corner. His presence was thest thing I had anticipated.

    "What are you doing here?" I asked, frowning at the young cultivator.

    Law shifted nervously, clearly ufortable. "I don''t know why I''m here either... My master asked the Wisest Sun to take me along with you all, but I don''t want to go! Please let me stay behind!" His voice trembled with fear, his usual bravado nowhere to be seen. He looked like a scared kitten.

    I sighed deeply, feeling the tension in my temples. "Law, you''re in way over your head here."

    "Exactly! That''s why I don''t want to go! Please, I''m not suited for this kind of mission," Law pleaded, his face pale with dread.

    Before I could respond, Blue Sun interjected. "He''sing."

    I frowned, sending her a telepathic message through my Divine Sense. "Why? He''s not ready for this."

    Her reply was swift and confident. "His luck is extraordinarily potent. We''ll need it. You never know what might happen."

    "Relying on luck is foolish," I shot back. "It could get us killed."

    "Perhaps," she acknowledged. "But having some luck is better than none at all. You''ll see."

    I couldn''t argue with her logic, but that didn''t mean I liked it. Luck was fickle, and I preferred to rely on skill and preparation. Still, I let out a resigned sigh and nodded.

    "Tao Yang," I said, turning to her. "You''ll act as our captain for this journey. You''re the one who knows the way, after all."

    Tao Yang straightened, her expression firm. "Understood. I''ll guide us to the Srous safely."

    She took her seat in the captain''s chair, and the rest of the crew followed suit, settling into their positions around the control room. I took my ce to the side, leaving the main chair open for Tao Yang to lead. As the ship''s engines hummed to life, a quiet excitement buzzed through the room. The journey was about to begin, and the unknown awaited us.

    With a final nce at Blue Sun, I nodded. "Let''s get moving."

    Tao Yang''s hands moved swiftly over the controls, and with a low rumble, the ship began its ascent, breaking free from the docking bay and into the expanse of the Beyond.

    Our journey had begun.

 Chapter 866 : Recruits

    The ship moved through the void with breathtaking speed, the engines humming with an almost soothing consistency as we drifted deeper into the vast, starless expanse. The Beyond had long disappeared behind us, and the usualndmarks¡ªstars,s, anything recognizable¡ªwere nowhere to be seen. Here, in the deepest reaches of space, it was as though time and space held no sway.

    There was nothing to anchor our position, nothing to give the mind any sense of direction. It was a ce of pure emptiness, where even light seemed reluctant to dwell.

    Yet, despite the disorienting nature of our surroundings, Tao Yang sat confidently at the helm, her hands moving expertly across the controls. She appeared unfazed, her directional awareness steady and assured. It was as if she had an innate connection to the vastness of the void itself, guiding us through the dark unknown with ease.

    Hours passed like moments as we flew deeper, and I couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe at her mastery.

    Finally, after what felt like an eternity of drifting through nothingness, we saw something¡ªmovement ahead. At first, it was just a speck, but as we drew closer, the scene unfolded into something far grander. Thousands of cultivators hovered in the empty space before us, their presence marked by the shimmering glow of their energy.

    They formed a vast perimeter around what could only be described as a gargantuan vortex, swirling ominously in the fabric of space.

    The vortex was immense, farrger than anything I had ever seen. Its swirling energy twisted and churned, warping the very space around it, casting ripples of power that seemed to defy thews of reality. The sight of it stirred something deep within me¡ªa mixture of awe and dread. This was no ordinary gateway.

    It was a portal to another realm, and it radiated danger from every swirling tendril of energy.

    As we approached, the cultivators took notice of us. Their formation shifted like a well-oiled machine, with thousands of them parting to allow us a clear path to dock. It was a disy of discipline and coordination that spoke volumes about the power that stood guard over this ce.

    Even in the far reaches of space, there was order, and it was clear that these warriors had been stationed here with purpose.

    We came to a halt, suspended in the emptiness, our ship resting in the void as the cultivators hovered around us. There was a tense quiet, broken only by the soft hum of our ship''s engines. Then, from the corner of my vision, I noticed Liang Yu stepping forward.

    "I see Meng Hao," she said, her voice carrying a note of recognition. She pointed toward a group of cultivators stationed near the vortex. Among them, one figure stood out¡ªa tall, well-built young man, his presencemanding attention.

    Meng Hao turned toward us, his ember-like eyes catching the light of the vortex. It had been a long time since I''dst seen him, and in that time, he had changed. He was no longer the brash youth I remembered. His once boyish features had sharpened into those of a young warrior, his light bronze skin gleaming with health and vitality.

    The power he exuded was palpable, and there was an unmistakable confidence in the way he carried himself. Meng Hao had grown¡ªnot just in stature, but in spirit.

    Without hesitation, I exited the ship, hovering toward him alongside the Blue Sun. As we approached, I noticed another figure standing beside Meng Hao. The man''s presence was hard to ignore. He was tall and imposing, his robes adorned with a jade dragon pattern that shimmered faintly in the void. A jade spear was strapped to his back, its presence alone speaking of countless battles fought and won.

    This was a man whomanded respect.

    "Lord Blue Sun," the man said, bowing slightly in acknowledgment as we approached.

    I had heard plenty of rumors about this man, and now, seeing him in person, I knew exactly who he was. The Jade Dragon General¡ªa hero of thest great battle, the warrior who had faced more Rakshasa than any other and emerged victorious. His name was spoken with reverence among those who fought in the Beyond.

    The Blue Sun returned his greeting with a nod, while I cupped my hands in respect. "Humble Dragon Shen Bao," I said, introducing myself formally.

    The Jade Dragon General smiled, returning the gesture. "A pleasure, Shen Bao. Your name precedes you."

    I turned to Meng Hao, who was standing slightly behind the general. "Brat, aren''t you going to greet your senior brother?" I called out in a yful tone, though my smile was genuine.

    A wide grin spread across Meng Hao''s face. "I thought you died!" he replied, his tone lighthearted but with a touch of sincerity.

    "Hah! It''ll take a lot more than that to put me under the dirt," Iughed, stepping forward and pulling him into a bear hug. I could feel the strength in his frame, the solidity of someone who had trained hard and earned his power. "You''ve grown strong," I said, releasing him.

    Meng Hao chuckled. "Not as strong as you, Senior Brother Shen Bao."

    I shook my head. "Don''t be so modest. Among all of youte arrivals who ventured into the Beyond, you''re probably the highest in cultivation now. Take pride in that."

    Meng Hao''s smile faded slightly, a shadow passing over his features. "Not really," he said, his voice quieter now.

    I frowned, sensing something more behind his words. "Why do you say that? Who among youte arrivals has reached the Void Stage Eight Realm besides you?"

    Meng Hao hesitated before replying. "There was another man," he said slowly, his gaze drifting toward the vortex. "We don''t know his origin or his allegiance. He wore red robes and a mask, hiding his face. He came from the Vast Expanse, like us, but his cultivation is far beyond mine. He''s already at the Void Shattering Stage."

    My interest piqued at the mention of this mysterious figure. "A Void Shattering Stage cultivator? I''d like to meet this man."

    Meng Hao shook his head. "He''s not here. He left as soon as the main battle was over. No one knows where he went, or why he came here in the first ce."

    "I see," I said, my curiosity only growing. There was always anotheryer to uncover, another mystery waiting in the shadows. "Regardless, you''re thest to join us for the expedition," I added, bringing the conversation back to the present.

    "We''re taking the Jade Dragon General with us as well," Blue Sun chimed in, her tone matter-of-fact.

    I nodded. "You mentioned needing another Heaven Stage General for the mission."

    The Jade Dragon General stepped forward, his expression serious. "I don''t know the full details of the mission, but His Lordship the Darkest Sun instructed me to apany you. I will do my duty."

    I nced toward the swirling vortex, its energy humming ominously in the background. The sight of it alone was enough to send a chill down my spine. "What''s the situation with the vortex?" I asked, noting the tension in the general''s posture.

    The Jade Dragon General''s face darkened. "That''s the problem. I don''t think even I can survive long enough to make it to the other side of that thing," he said grimly, his gaze fixed on the vortex''s swirling mass.

    I smiled, though the vortex''s presence unsettled me as well. "Don''t worry. The ship can handle it," I said confidently. "With the Soulsteel armor we''ve added, it should be able to withstand whatever the vortex throws at us."

    Meng Hao raised an eyebrow but didn''t object. "If you say so, Senior Brother."

    I could tell he wasn''t entirely convinced, but he trusted me enough to go along with the n. I, too, was relying on Tao Yang''s instincts about the ship''s capabilities. She was confident that we could pass through the vortex unharmed, and I had to trust her expertise.

    "Right then," I said, preparing to lead the way back to the ship. "Shall we head out?"

    "Wait," Meng Hao said, his tone shifting slightly. I could tell he had something on his mind, something he was hesitant to bring up. "There''s something I need to know."

    I paused, turning to face him. "What is it?"

    Meng Hao took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing. "The Fire King¡ªhe''sing with us, isn''t he?"

    I exchanged a nce with Blue Sun. She had expected this question. "Yes," she said calmly. "He''s already on the ship."

    Meng Hao''s expression darkened immediately, but to my surprise, he didn''t explode with anger like I had expected. Instead, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, steadying himself.

    "I should have known," he muttered. "No wonder the Jade Dragon General is here. You''re here to keep the peace between us."

    The general didn''t deny it, but Meng Hao''s restraint surprised me. His growth wasn''t just physical¡ªthere was a newfound maturity in him, a self-control that hadn''t been there before.

    I raised an eyebrow. "You''ve changed, Meng Hao."

    He nodded, his face solemn. "I won''t break military protocol, not with the Jade Dragon General here, and not with you or her watching," he said, casting a nce at the Blue Sun. "But that doesn''t mean I''ve forgotten what the Fire King did."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "I wouldn''t expect you to," I said, relieved that at least for now, Meng Hao was holding his anger in check. "We''ll keep him out of your way."

    "Fine," Meng Hao said, his tone clipped. "But this doesn''t mean I forgive him."

    "Fair enough," I replied, turning back toward the ship. "Now that everything is in order, let''s move out."

    As we reboarded the ship, I noticed the main hall was emptier than before. The usual hustle and bustle had died down, reced by an eerie quiet.

    "Where is everyone?" I asked, ncing around.

    Tao Yang, seated at the helm, didn''t look up as she answered. "They''ve all gone to their rooms to meditate. The uing trial will be difficult. Everyone''s preparing."

    Only she and Master Rain remained in the main room, both of them calm andposed, though the tension in the air was palpable.

    "Right," I said, settling into my seat. "Take us to your home, Tao Yang."

    "With pleasure," she replied, her voice steady as she gripped the controls.

    With a low hum, the ship began to move once more, heading straight toward the swirling vortex that loomed ahead. The energy around us crackled with intensity as we approached, the ship''s Soulsteel armor shimmering in response. There was no turning back now. We were headed into the unknown, and whaty beyond the vortex was anyone''s guess.

    But one thing was certain¡ªwe wouldn''t face it unprepared.

 Chapter 867 : The Passage through the Vortex

    Tao Yang pushed the ship forward slowly, her hands steady on the controls as the vessel approached the swirling vortex ahead. The atmosphere in the ship was thick with anticipation, a mixture of tension and quiet determination. Every eye in the control room was focused on the vortex, and though no one said it aloud, there was a collective undercurrent of anxiety that rippled through the air.

    The Jade Dragon General''s words still echoed in my mind: It took nothing but a Noble-level Rakshasa to pass through the vortex. That alone was enough to remind us all of the danger we were about to face. This wasn''t just a journey through space; this was a venture into a realm where even the most powerful cultivators had fallen.

    As the tip of the ship pierced the edge of the vortex, we felt it immediately. It was as if the entire ship had been caught in the grip of some immense, unseen force. The hull trembled violently, and the floor beneath our feet shook with such intensity that it felt like the ship was being torn apart from the inside.

    The sensation was akin to thousands of earthquakes happening all at once. Vibrations coursed through every surface, growing stronger with each passing second. The metal framework groaned in protest, and sparks flew from exposed circuits as the ship fought to maintain its integrity. Chunks of debris ttered to the floor, and for a moment, it seemed like the very fabric of the ship was unraveling.

    The tension in the room reached its peak. Despite the chaos, no one panicked. The eyes of everyone on board were locked forward, focused, resolute. There was confidence in their expressions¡ªa faith in the ship and in my craftsmanship, that it would hold together, that it would carry us through. Seeing that trust brought a small smile to my face, even amidst the violent shaking. They believed in me.

    They believed in this vessel.

    Bit by bit, the ship moved deeper into the vortex, and the trembling intensified, the air around us feeling thick with pressure. I gripped the armrests of my seat, bracing myself as the entire ship began to groan louder, the vibrations growing more violent. But then, as suddenly as the turbulence had begun, it stopped.

    We had made it through.

    The chaotic trembling gave way to a strange, almost surreal calm. Beyond the vortexy an enormous tunnel of distorted space, stretching out into infinity before us. It was like flying through a cosmic river, the currents of space and time flowing in strange, ethereal waves. The tunnel seemed to pulse and shift, its edges warping and bending as the ship glided smoothly forward.

    "Good," Tao Yang said, breaking the silence. "It seems the entrance was the hardest part."

    I exhaled slowly, the tension easing from my shoulders. "Report on the damage," I muttered, my voice steady as I leaned back in my chair.

    A voice crackled through the ship''s internalmunication system. "Minimal damage, sir. The ship''s structural integrity remains intact. No significant issues with any of the primary systems."

    I nodded in satisfaction. "Good enough," I replied, turning my attention back to Tao Yang. "There''s a button under the steering console," I pointed out. "Press it."

    Tao Yang''s fingers deftly pressed the concealed button, and immediately the ship''s engines roared to life with renewed power. The eleration was immediate and intense. Thanks to the upgraded engines I had installed, the ship surged forward with incredible speed, far faster than it had ever moved before.

    The tunnel, which had once seemed endless, now appeared to shrink as we zoomed through it, crossing vast distances in mere moments.

    For a brief time, the journey was peaceful, almost deceptively so. The ship glided through the distorted space with ease, the soft hum of the engines providing a steady rhythm. But deep down, I knew better than to trust this tranquility. Experience had taught me that in moments like these, when things seemed the calmest, disaster was usually just around the corner.

    And sure enough, a sudden, deafening crash echoed through the ship, followed by a second impact that rattled the hull.

    "I knew it," I muttered under my breath, standing up from my seat.

    "What''s going on?" Master Rain asked, his tone more curious than rmed.

    I nced over at the Jade Dragon, who had already risen to his feet, his hand instinctively reaching for the jade spear on his back. "Well, Master Rain," I began, my voice calm but serious, "this pathway leads to the Srous. That means anyone who went through before us is traveling the same route, and now they''ve decided to intercept us."

    Another crash rocked the ship, harder this time, and I could feel the familiar malicious presence of the Rakshasa wing at the hull.

    "Is there a way to get on top of the ship?" the Jade Dragon asked, his gaze sharp as he prepared for battle.

    "Of course," I said, gesturing to a nearby door. "That will take you to the top of the ship."

    I moved toward another door, leading to the underside of the vessel. The ship''syout was designed with flexibility in mind; each room could shift its connections to lead to different parts of the ship, making it easy to ess any location. As we stepped through the doors, we emerged outside the ship, now facing the enemies that hadtched onto the hull.

    Direction was meaningless in the vastness of space, but we still oriented ourselves quickly. Hovering just beyond the edge of the ship, a Silver Noble Rakshasa had its ws embedded in the Soulsteel armor, desperately trying to tear through the protectiveyer.

    "Such annoying pests," I muttered under my breath, taking a step forward against the momentum of the speeding ship. The Silver Noble turned its glowing eyes toward me, its grotesque mouth twisted into a snarl.

    Without hesitation, the Rakshasa leapt at me, ws outstretched.

    "Dumbass," I muttered, sidestepping its attack with ease. As the creature sailed past me, I delivered a powerful kick to its side, sending it flying into the void, spiraling away from the ship and into the darkness beyond.

    On the opposite side of the ship, the Jade Dragon General was already engaged in battle. His jade spear shed through the void, and the ethereal form of a massive jade dragon materialized around him. The dragon''s coiled body surged forward, striking the Rakshasa that had swarmed the ship''s exterior, tossing them aside with ease. Each strike from the general was precise, calcted, and devastating.

    His prowess in battle was as formidable as the stories had imed.

    Though we were handling the situation for the moment, the number of Rakshasa was growing. I could see them in the distance, flying along the spatial tunnel walls, preparing tounch themselves at the ship.

    "Law," I said, speaking through the ship''smunication channel. "Get to the artillery. We''re going to need some firepower."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Though Law couldn''t respond verbally, I knew he had received the message. Momentster, a small half-sphere extruded itself from the side of the ship, revealing a spherical gunner''s room. Inside, I could see Law seated at the controls, his hands already moving over the twin machine guns mounted in front of him.

    "Have fun," I called out, stepping to the side as Law opened fire. The bullets sprayed across the void, the rapid bursts pushing back the Rakshasa as they swarmed toward us. The weapons weren''t enough to kill the creatures outright, but that wasn''t the point. The bullets forced them to retreat, giving us the space we needed to continue through the tunnel.

    I dispatched another Rakshasa with a quick strike, then nced over at the Jade Dragon General. His jade dragon construct continued to wreak havoc on the fiends, tearing through their ranks with terrifying efficiency. The man hadn''t even broken a sweat.

    "You need any help?" I called out, though I already knew the answer.

    "Not at the moment," he replied, his voice calm andposed. "Everything''s proceeding smoothly."

    I smiled at his words. If the general considered this situation smooth, then we were in good hands. With him and Law keeping the Rakshasa at bay, I allowed myself a moment of respite, sitting down on the hull of the ship while they continued to fend off the attackers.

    The battle dragged on for what felt like hours¡ªmaybe even days. Time lost its meaning as we pushed forward through the tunnel. The number of Rakshasa dwindled, and eventually, they disappeared entirely. We had outpaced even the earliest of the Rakshasa who had fled, and the tunnel ahead was now clear.

    "I can see the exit," the Jade Dragon said, his voice breaking the silence.

    Far in the distance, the swirling form of another vortex appeared, much like the one we had entered through. It shimmered ominously, a gateway to whatevery beyond.

    As the ship passed through the vortex, there was a sudden and violent lurch. The ship came to an abrupt halt, our momentumpletely drained in an instant. Though the ship''s systems had protected us from the physical recoil, the disorientation was enough to make me feel nauseous. I clutched the side of the ship, struggling to regain my bnce.

    "What just happened?" I muttered, my vision swimming.

    "Good heavens¡­ what is that?" The Jade Dragon''s voice, usually steady and confident, was now trembling with fear.

    The sight that greeted us on the other side of the vortex was something that defied reason. My eyes followed the general''s gaze, and when I saw what he was looking at, my blood ran cold.

    There, in the distance, two First Borns floated ominously in the void, their massive forms casting long shadows over the battlefield. Their size alone was enough to dwarf even thergest of starships, and their power was palpable, radiating like waves of heat. But it wasn''t just the First Borns that made the scene so terrifying.

    All around them, billions of dead Rakshasa floated through the void, their bodies twisted and broken, littering the space like debris from a long-forgotten war. And beyond them, looming in the background, was a¡ªno, something more than a. It was a colossus, a celestial body so vast that it seemed to defy the veryws of space.

    Its surface was covered in jagged, obsidian-like spires, and in its grasp was something even more terrifying.

    its hand was wrapped around the itself, unwilling to let go.

    The sight of it was beyondprehension. It was as if the was being held by a being so powerful, so unfathomable, that it made even the First Borns look insignificant byparison.

    And then, I understood.

    We were not prepared for whaty ahead.

 Chapter 868 Entry

    "What in heaven''s name is this thing?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The question echoed endlessly in my mind, but no answers came. It felt like I had been thrown into a new reality, one where logic no longer existed. This new ce, with its gleaming stars and far-flungs, was overwhelming, a stark contrast to the cold, deste void of the Beyond.

    The stars seemed more vibrant here, like scattered jewels in the sky, and thes, enormous and glowing, seemed to pulse with life from afar. But nothing could exin the sheer impossibility of what we were seeing now.

    Before us stood a titan¡ªno, colossus¡ªso iprehensiblyrge, it dwarfed the scale of anything I had ever seen, even the Primordial Serpent God. But this thing, this monstrous humanoid figure, was bigger than the mountains of the world, bigger than theary bodies that orbited nearby. It casually held a in its hand, like a child''s toy. How could something like that exist?

    How could it move? Why did it exist?

    Its body appeared to be made entirely of nebulous gas, swirling with the energy of stars long dead, yet it somehow also felt alive, organic. The gaseous form shifted, twisted in ces, like a storm trapped inside the silhouette of a human. No clear features were visible on its face¡ªif it could be called a face¡ªbut two miniature gxies swirled slowly where eyes should have been.

    These twin gxies rotatedzily, glowing with faint light, giving the terrifying impression that the colossus was observing us. Staring us down with the weight of countless eons.

    It didn''t move. It didn''t need to. Just the act of looking at it made me feel small, so small and insignificant that my very presence felt like a meaningless speck in the grand fabric of the universe. This creature exuded an aura of immense age and iprehensible power. I could feel the pressure, not just in my mind but deep in my bones.

    Every atom in my body screamed that this was something beyond our understanding¡ªsomething that should not exist, but did.

    All around it, scattered through space like discarded remnants of a failed invasion, were the dead Rakshasa. Their bodies floated lifelessly, scattered in every direction. And yet¡­ there was no visible damage to them. No signs of battle. It was as though their lives had simply been snuffed out in an instant. What had killed them?

    And what part did this immense creature y in it? Questions without answers piled up in my mind, like storm clouds on the horizon.

    I could feel my thoughts spiraling out of control, unable to focus. It was like I was trying to grasp onto sand with my bare hands¡ªthe harder I tried to understand, the more everything slipped away. My mind reeled as multiple thoughts shed,peting for space. I felt my pulse pounding in my ears, my vision narrowing, as a heavy pressure built behind my eyes, threatening to overwhelm me.

    Suddenly, a voice pierced through the chaos.

    "WAKE UP!"

    The echo of the Blue Sun''s voice was like a lifeline, cutting through the fog that clouded my mind. I blinked, suddenly aware of my surroundings again, and the creature¡ªwhatever it was¡ªwas gone. Vanished, as if it had never existed. But the lingering terror it left behind remained, pulsing in my chest like an aftershock.

    "What the fuck just happened?" I gasped, breathless, still trying to shake the haze from my mind.

    "Formation," Tao Yang answered, gasping for air herself. She gripped the side of the console for support, her eyes wide and wild. "This is the Godly Killing Formation of the Confederation Alliance." She took another deep breath, shaking her head. "They''re still as annoying as ever."

    "The what now?" I replied, still trying to make sense of what I had just experienced.

    "I''ll exinter," Tao Yang said quickly, waving off my question. "For now, don''t focus on it. We need to get into Srous before we attract any more attention."

    "In case you haven''t noticed," I retorted, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "there are two massive First Borns right in front of us!"

    The Jade Dragon, still recovering from the overwhelming pressure we had all felt, spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "They also look¡­ confused," he muttered, his breath still heavy.

    "That formation," Tao Yang exined, "is an incredibly powerful illusion. It''s designed to trap the Rakshasa in this portion of space. If you look closely, you''ll notice that Srous¡ªand all of the space around it¡ªis locked down. We''re in a kind of pocket dimension right now."

    I nced over my shoulder, back toward the rim of this strange, translucent wall. Sure enough, there was a faint glow surrounding the region, almost like the space itself had been sealed off. Beyond it, I could just make out the faint glimmers of Qi signatures moving in the distance, though it was difficult to tell what they were.

    "I''ll dock us before the First Borns notice us," Tao Yang said, her hands moving swiftly over the ship''s controls. Her usually calm demeanor was gone, reced by urgency.

    "Good idea," I muttered, still ncing nervously at the massive figures of the First Borns. They loomed like ancient statues, frozen in time, but their presence was anything but benign.

    As I moved toward the ship''s helm, a thought struck me. "Wait¡ªwhat about those Qi signatures out there?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at the faint movements I had spotted earlier.

    The Blue Sun followed my gaze, peering into the distance where faint traces of movement flickered in the far reaches of space. "Cultivators?" she asked, her voice rising in surprise. "I thought they were all wiped out."

    Tao Yang''s expression darkened. "My people were wiped out, yes. But this universe is vast. There are countless other civilizations, full of cultivators who survived. They trapped us here, in Srous, and did nothing to help. When we faced our cmity, they shut their gates, leaving us to suffer."

    I sighed as I tried to imagine the betrayal they had to face and how lonely they must have felt. In this world, there is no such thing aspassion.

 Chapter 869 Stealth Mission

    Her words wereced with bitterness, her fists tightening at her sides as she stared at the distant signatures. There was a palpable anger beneath the surface, a festering wound that had never healed.

    I could already sense where this was going. "We don''t have time to worry about them," I said, pulling the ship into a lower orbit. "If we linger too long, it''s only a matter of time before things get¡­plicated."

    The Blue Sun gave me a knowing look. "You think they''ve seen us?"

    "Probably," I said with a shrug. "But with so much debris, corpses, and wreckage floating around, they''ll likely think we''re just more of the same. Random space junk."

    "Even if they did see us," Tao Yang added, her voice cold, "they wouldn''t dare to cross into this part of space. The Rakshasa and the First Borns are too great a threat. They wouldn''t risk it."

    "Alright then," I said, turning my attention back to the beneath us. "Let''s get down to the surface before anything changes." I gently eased the ship into a smooth descent, the distant figures of the First Borns still towering like dark sentinels behind us.

    Master Rain, who had remained silent throughout most of the discussion, finally spoke. "I wonder what killed all these Rakshasa," he murmured, his eyes scanning the sea of corpses through the ship''s windows. His voice was calm, but there was a deep curiosity behind his words.

    The scene outside was haunting. The corpses of the Rakshasa, usually so ferocious, floated lifelessly in every direction. They drifted as if in a vast graveyard, their bodies intact, but their life forcepletely extinguished. No signs of struggle. No visible wounds. It was as though they had simply stopped living.

    "Mental damage," the Blue Sun said softly, breaking the eerie silence.

    I turned toward her, confused. "What do you mean?"

    "The Wisest Sun," she began, her eyes distant as she recalled the memory, "during our battles in the Beyond, he developed a new technique. He called it a key, inspired by your Sky Pearl Eye." She paused, as if weighing her words carefully. "It was designed to trap an enemy''s mind in an endless loop of pain and suffering.

    It reflects their worst fears back at them, over and over, until their mind breaks. Once their mind believes they''re dying¡­ the body follows."

    I felt a shiver run down my spine. I knew exactly what she was talking about¡ªthe Sky Pearl Eye had been my creation, a tool to prevent Divine Sense from probing into my mind. But this? This was something far more dangerous. The Wisest Sun had taken my idea and turned it into a weapon of terrifying power.

    "So they were killed by their own minds?" I asked, still processing the idea.

    "That''s my guess," the Blue Sun said. "The Confederation''s formation is designed to force its targets to confront their worst nightmares, manifesting them in their minds until they break."

    I turned my gaze back to the First Borns, still eerily untouched by the carnage around them. "It''s not affecting them, though," I said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Tao Yang shook her head. "Not in the same way. The First Borns are immune to Qi. When they see themselves burning, or being torn apart by Qi mes, their minds don''t register the threat because they know they''re immune. It''s like watching a shadow. The formation keeps trying, but they''re trapped in a cycle¡ªcaught between reality and illusion."

    As we descended further toward the''s surface, something caught my eye in the distance. A white Rakshasa, smaller than the others, darted between the corpses, using them as cover as it moved toward the vortex at the center of the formation.

    I stopped the ship, watching intently as it moved closer to the vortex, its movements frantic, desperate. But the moment it reached the edge, it froze. Its body seized up, and a terrible, blood-curdling screech filled the air. Then, just as quickly as it hade, its life was snuffed out. Its body floated motionless, another casualty in the vast expanse of death.

    "What just happened?" the Blue Sun asked, her voice filled with unease.

    I stared at the Rakshasa''s body, a pit forming in my stomach. "The fact that it made it that far and still died¡­ it doesn''t make sense."

    "Why?" she pressed.

    "How did the Rakshasa gather an army that attacked us in the Beyond if this formation can kill them regardless of what they do?" I asked, my mind racing.

    Tao Yang let out a long breath before answering. "They overwhelmed the formation," she said simply.

    I resumed our descent, but I needed more answers. "Exin."

    "They used their numbers," she continued, "sacrificing wave after wave of their own to push through. If you notice, most of the corpses are concentrated around the vortex. It seems they received a call¡ªa Soul Call¡ªfrom the Rakshasa in the Beyond, and they followed it. Their bodies acted as shields for one another, like bait fish in the ocean."

    "So they used their own dead to reach the Beyond?" Master Rain asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

    Tao Yang nodded grimly. "Yes. The formation grows stronger the closer they get to its edges. They couldn''t hope to escape that way. The vortex was their only chance."

    I shuddered at the thought of that kind of desperation. "So this entire formation is just¡­ a trap?"

    "A prison," Tao Yang corrected. "A prison for anything that crosses into its boundaries."

    "We''re entering Srous now," I said, gripping the controls tightly as we pierced through the''s atmosphere. "Be ready."

    As we descended, the vast geography of Srous came into view, spreading out before us like an untouched paradise. Thendscape was a breathtaking mix of towering green forests, blue oceans, and rolling hills that stretched from one horizon to the next.

    Massive trees, their leaves a deep shade of emerald, spread out like a canopy over thend, while vibrant blue rivers cut through the forests like veins.

    "What a beautiful," the Blue Sun whispered, her voice filled with awe.

    Her admiration was short-lived. No sooner had the words left her lips than we saw what truly lurked below.

    The nightmares were waiting for us.

 Chapter 870 Touchdown

    From a distance, Srous looked like a pristine, unspoiled world. The kind of ce one might dream of settling on¡ªa paradise. Rolling hills, endless forests, and oceans stretched out beneath us, glimmering like jewels in the soft light of distant stars. But the closer we got, the more everything felt wrong. The beauty was deceptive, a veneer barely covering the rot beneath.

    The silence was the first sign. As our ship slowly descended toward the surface, the usual sounds of life¡ªthe calls of wild animals, the buzz of insects¡ªwere conspicuously absent. Nothing stirred. The only creatures visible were a few lonely birds, soaring high in the sky, their distant silhouettes like ck dots against the endless horizon. No animals roamed the ground below.

    No demonic beasts prowled in the forests. And certainly, no people. The felt unnaturally empty.

    As we touched down, the ship''s hull softly grinding against the soil, the sense of destion only deepened. The earth was dry, cracked in ces, with tufts of dying grass sprouting sporadically, a half-hearted attempt at life. There was no wind, no rustling of leaves, just the oppressive weight of stillness.

    "This spot is rtively safe," Tao Yang said, breaking the eerie silence, her voice sounding far too loud in the dead air.

    I stepped off the ship, my boots crunching against the brittle ground. The entire world seemed frozen in time, devoid of the chaotic energy that usually permeated ces like this. It was unsettling, like walking through the ruins of a forgotten civilization where even the ghosts had given up haunting the ce.

    "You have any idea where the original Rakshasa might be hiding?" I asked, scanning the horizon. My voice, too, sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness.

    Tao Yang''s gaze was distant, her brow furrowed in thought. "I have no idea. The Rakshasa are masters of stealth and deception. We''ll have to investigate carefully. But remember this¡ªonce they know we''re here, they will not stop. They''ll hunt us relentlessly until we''re either dead or converted into one of them."

    Her words hung in the air like a death sentence. We knew the stakes before we arrived, but hearing them spoken aloud sharpened the reality of our situation.

    "Understood," I replied. Reaching into my pocket, I activated the ship''s internalms system. "Everyone, we''ve touched down on Srous. This ce is hostile, so once we step outside, maintain absolute silence and keep a low profile. I''ve leftmunication bracelets in your quarters¡ªthey''re designed to hide your Qi signature when idle. Wear them at all times."

    A series of acknowledgments crackled through thems, and I turned to the others, giving a final nod. "Let''s move out."

    Everyone exited the ship under the shades of incredibly tall trees.

    The ship, still in its translucent mode, blended seamlessly into thendscape, bing one with the cracked earth and vegetation. From a distance, it would appear as nothing more than a shimmer in the air, invisible to any prying eyes. For now, at least, we were safe.

    "What''s the n?" Master Rain asked, stepping up beside me, his gaze calm but his posture tense.

    Before I could answer, the Blue Sun jumped in, her voice crisp with the efficiency of a leader used to giving orders. "We''ll need to split up. It''s the only way we''ll cover enough ground quickly and quietly. We need to locate the Queen, and we can''t afford to waste time sticking together."

    Law, ever cautious, frowned deeply. His unease was palpable. "I don''t like splitting up," he said, his voice low but firm. "It feels like we''re walking into a trap."

    I could understand his hesitation. Splitting up made us more vulnerable, especially in a ce like this where the unknowns far outweighed what little we knew. But there wasn''t much choice. We had to cover as much ground as possible, and there simply wasn''t time to stick together.

    "You''lle with me then," I told him, trying to inject a note of reassurance into my voice. "YuYu and Liang Yu will also join us. And we''ll take the ve." I nced toward the ve, still standing in the shadows, his chains clinking softly as he shifted ufortably.

    The Blue Sun nodded, though her gaze lingered on the ve for a moment. "Alright, I''ll take Master Rain, Dao Shen, and Zhang Tian with me. We''ll scout the northern region and keep ourms open."

    "That leaves Tao Yang with the Fire King and Jade Dragon," I said, looking at Tao Yang for confirmation.

    Her face was unreadable, but her eyes were sharp. "That''ll work," she agreed. Thebination of Tao Yang''s Pseudo Sun stage, the Jade Dragon''s raw power, and the Fire King'' made them a decently good team. But even so, the weight of what we were facing was clear in her voice.

    The Blue Sun tilted her head, her gaze narrowing as she studied me. "Are you sure about your team? You don''t have a Sun stage with you, and this is crawling with Rakshasa. If you''re caught, you won''t have the firepower to hold them off."

    I smirked, though inwardly I was well aware of the risk. "We''ll manage. Law''s luck is unmatched, and with the ve by my side, we''ve got more than enough strength."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just as the words left my mouth, the ve stepped out from the shadows, his heavy chains clinking against the ground. He was a pitiful sight¡ªbald, hunched, his mouth sewn shut by ck threads. His skin was marred with burns and scars, each one marked with the word ve, etched deep into his flesh.

    His wrists and ankles were bound in iron cuffs, and a thick iron cor wrapped around his neck, dragging him down like a weight. He moved with a slow, shuffling gait, each step a reminder of the price he had paid for crossing me. Explore more stories at empire

    "Bang Juyi?" Jade Dragon''s voice was filled with confusion and disbelief. He stared at the ve as if seeing a ghost. "This is the man you spoke of? Him?"

    "Indeed," I said coldly, not bothering to hide my disdain. "Is there a problem?"

    Jade Dragon hesitated, clearly disturbed by the sight before him. "What¡­ what kind of abomination could he havemitted to deserve this fate?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

    Tao Yang stepped forward, her eyes hard. "He barged into Shen Bao''s domain, tried to force him to submit, and even attempted to force himself on his wife."

    Her words hit like a hammer, the shock of them rippling through the group. YuYu and Liang Yu exchanged nces, confusion clear on their faces. They weren''t present during the event, and their minds raced to piece together what had happened.

    It wasn''t either of them. In truth, it had been Tao Yang. She wasn''t really my wife, but I had used that title to protect her when Bang Juyi tried to force her into submission. He had made the mistake of trying to have her serve him, and when he pushed too far... well it''s obvious from how he looks.

    I reached down, grabbed the ve by the cor, and yanked him up roughly until his terrified eyes met mine. "Quite the interesting twist, don''t you think?" I sneered, leaning close enough that he could feel my breath on his skin. "That''s what happens when you cross Du Shen. You''re lucky¡ªyou got off easier than most. Gxies have been wiped from existence for far less.

    I''ve destroyed entire sects for disrespecting those I''ve cared about."

    His eyes were wide with fear, but he couldn''t speak. The threads sewn into his lips prevented any words from escaping.

    I leaned in closer, my voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "You should thank the Red Sun for his mercy. If it wasn''t for him, your fate would have been far worse."

    I shoved him backward, and he stumbled, his legs giving out beneath him as he copsed into the dust, his chains nking loudly as they dragged across the ground. He remained on his knees, his head bowed in submission.

    Jade Dragon shook his head, his face pale. "I don''t fully understand what happened, but those are the ve marks of the ughter Sect. I won''t question it."

    Liang Yu, who had been silent throughout the exchange, finally spoke through Divine Sense. "What do you mean, ''former wife''?"

    I smiled, amused by her curiosity. "It''s an old story," I replied. "Older than you can imagine. Probably before even your master was born."

    "I didn''t think you were capable of such cruelty," she said, her voice carrying a note of surprise.

    "Cruel?" I chuckled darkly. "Perhaps. But you must remember, I am not just Shen Bao. I am also Du Shen. And Du Shen rarely forgets and never forgives."

 Chapter 871 Dead World

    Liang Yu didn''t respond, but I could feel her unease. The weight of my words lingered between us like a shadow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Surprisingly, YuYu remained silent, though her eyes betrayed a deep understanding. She knew there were parts of me that would always remain beyond her reach, dark ces in my soul that only Du Shen inhabited.

    As we prepared to move, Meng Hao stepped up beside me, his usual cocky grin stered on his face. "Good thing I''m with you," he said, his tone light. "I didn''t want to deal with that mess over there." clearly hinting at the Fire Lord if we left those two together, the entire would be on our asses the first minute.

    I smiled back, grateful for his presence. Meng Hao was unpredictable, a walking disaster at times, but there was no one else I''d rather have at my side when things went south. He was like a ma for chaos and all sort of struggle and problems, but his luck¡ªhis infuriating ability to survive anything¡ªmade him invaluable. Law might have incredible luck, but Meng Hao?

    He was the embodiment of survival, no matter how dire the circumstances, he is after all, to me, the Main Character.

    Before we split, I reached into my holding bag and pulled out a series of small objects, scattering them across the ground. As they hit the earth, hundreds of tiny metallic spheres rolled out, skittering in every direction like a swarm of insects. Each one unfurled into a small spider-like form, their legs twitching as they scurried away, vanishing into the surroundingndscape.

    "What are those?" Liang Yu asked, watching them curiously.

    "Scouts," I exined. "They''re too small to be noticed, even by the Rakshasa. They''ll map the area and send data back to our bracelets. We''ll have a real-timeyout of the terrain before we even set foot in it."

    Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

    Master Rain nodded approvingly. "Smart. We''ll need every advantage we can get."

    "Right," Dao Shen chimed in, stepping forward. "But what happens if we run into trouble?"

    I met his gaze, my expression serious. "We avoid fighting at all costs. If you''re forced to engage, eliminate the threat quickly and disappear. We can''t afford to alert the entire to our presence. Not yet."

    Everyone nodded in agreement, their faces set with determination.

    With that, we set out into the wilderness of Srous, each team moving in silence, the weight of the mission pressing down on us with every step.

    ****

    Not far from Srous, in the cold expanse of space, a group of cultivators floated in a loose formation, their cloaks billowing slightly in the stillness. The emptiness around them was filled with an unsettling quiet, broken only by their hushed voices.

    Each cultivator possessed immense power¡ªmost of them at the Origin Shattering Stage, their auras barely contained, while the leader among them stood apart, his Qi denser, more concentrated. He was at the Heaven Stage, his presencemanding respect without the need for words.

    "Get the information to headquarters," the Heaven Stage cultivator said, his voice firm and unyielding. "We can''t afford to waste time."

    One of the Origin Shattering cultivators, a younger man with a hesitant expression, dared to question him. "But¡­ it''s not confirmed yet. We only detected it for a split second. It could have just been debris from the wreckage," he said, ncing nervously at the others, seeking some support.

    The Heaven Stage cultivator''s eyes narrowed. "I don''t care if it''s not confirmed," he snapped. "I''d rather be overly cautious than regretful. If that vessel belongs to an enemy, they could breach the barrier, and once that happens, we''ll have those fiends swarming us. The God Killing Formation might not be enough to hold them back if it gets damaged."

    His tone left no room for argument. The other cultivators remained silent, the weight of his words pressing down on them like the gravity of a copsing star.

    "I''ll go," one of the other Origin Shattering cultivators said, stepping forward with a shrug. "I''ll head back to HQ, but don''t expect them to listen to me. If it''s not a confirmed threat, the Elders won''t waste resources on something they consider minor."

    "Doesn''t matter. We need to inform them. If anything happens and we didn''t report it, we''ll be the ones they me." The Heaven Stage cultivator''s stern gaze swept over the group. "Better to cover all our bases than to risk the consequences of silence."

    The Origin Shattering cultivator sighed, a resigned look crossing his face. "Alright then, I''ll head out. See youter," he said, turning away from the group and propelling himself into the void.

    Moving through space without the constraints of gravity, the cultivator''s speed increased rapidly. The vast distances between stars ands, which would take ordinary beings lifetimes to traverse, were nothing for someone at his level. His body cut through the void, leaving a faint ripple of Qi in his wake as he sped toward his destination.

    Despite his cultivation, the journey took him several days. Days of traveling through the silent vacuum, where only the faint flicker of distant stars apanied him. His destination was a small asteroid far from Srous, a remote outpost that housed one of the Confederation Alliance''s bases.

    As he approached, the asteroid came into view. It was muchrger than it appeared from a distance, with a sprawlingplex built across its surface. The city-like structure was a hive of activity, with cultivators moving about their business in the narrow streets between the buildings.

    White gs adorned with golden writing fluttered above the structures, a symbol of the Confederation Alliance, and at the center of it all stood thergest building¡ªan imposing ten-story tower that loomed over the rest of the outpost.

    The Origin Shattering cultivatornded gracefully on the asteroid''s surface, his arrival drawing the attention of several other cultivators. Two guards, dressed in white robes marked with the same golden writing as the g, quickly intercepted him.

    "Tao Ya," one of them said, recognizing the neer. "What brings you back here? And where''s the rest of your group?"

    "I had to leave first," Tao Ya replied, his expression serious. "I need to speak with one of the alliance leaders. We might have a situation on our hands."

 Chapter 872 HQ Meeting

    The two guards exchanged a concerned nce. "The barrier didn''t fail, did it?" one of them asked, a hint of rm creeping into his voice. After all, Tao Ya was one of the overseers responsible for monitoring the God Killing Formation, the massive array of runes and symbols that kept the Rakshasa and other dangerous entities from escaping Srous.

    "No, the Formation is holding strong," Tao Ya reassured them. "But there''s something else¡ªsomething delicate that needs to be handled quickly."

    "For the sake of our friendship, just tell me this¡ªdo I need to relocate my family?" one of the guards, Jian, asked, his voice tense.

    Tao Ya shook his head. "No. It''s nothing that extreme. Not yet, at least. You''re safe for now."

    Jian let out a relieved breath. "Good enough for me. Follow me; I''ll take you to the warp station."

    The guards led Tao Ya through the streets of the outpost, passing by the bustling activity of the other cultivators. Despite the istion of the asteroid, life here moved with purpose. Merchants hawked their wares, warriors trained in open courtyards, and schrs pored over ancient texts in shaded alcoves.

    The atmosphere was tense but orderly¡ªamunity dedicated to maintaining the fragile bnce between survival and annihtion.

    They arrived at the base of the central tower, and Jian led Tao Ya inside. The interior of the building was cold and clinical, with polished stone floors and walls lined with intricate carvings depicting the history of the Confederation. They moved swiftly through the halls until they reached arge room dominated by a massive warp gate embedded in the floor.

    "Step on," Jian said, gesturing to the glowing tform. "This will take you straight to the main HQ." He handed Tao Ya a small pouch. "And if you can, pass this on to my family for me."

    Tao Ya nodded, epting the pouch without question. He stepped onto the warp gate, feeling the immense energy hum beneath his feet as the machinery whirred to life. Within moments, the gate activated, surrounding him in a vortex of light and sound as he was transported across vast distances in the blink of an eye.

    When the light cleared, Tao Ya found himself in a grand hall, muchrger than the outpost''s warp station. This was the heart of the Confederation Alliance''s operations, located far from Srous, in one of the safest regions of the gxy. The hall was filled with bustling activity¡ªcultivators, schrs, and officials moving about with purpose.

    As Tao Ya stepped off the tform, a man approached him. His robes were adorned with intricate symbols, marking him as one of the warp gate managers. "This isn''t your scheduled time to return," the man said, frowning. "Where''s the rest of your group?"

    "I need to speak with one of the Elders," Tao Ya replied, his voice firm. "There''s an issue near Srous that needs to be addressed."

    Stay updated with empire

    The manager''s eyes widened slightly, and he nodded without further questioning. "Follow me."

    Tao Ya was led through a series of corridors and up a spiraling staircase that seemed to stretch endlessly upward. The building itself was a marvel of architecture, its walls made of valuable marble and adorned with precious stones that glittered in the soft light. The wealth and power of the Confederation were on full disy here.

    They finally reached arge door, intricately carved from ancient wood, its surface depicting scenes of great battles and victories. The manager nodded to Tao Ya. "This is where I leave you. The Elder will call you in shortly."

    Tao Ya didn''t have to wait long. Within minutes, the door opened, and he was ushered inside. The room beyond was a study, meticulously organized with shelves lined with scrolls and parchments. Behind a simple wooden desk sat an old man, his face lined with the wisdom of countless years.

    "Tao Ya," the Elder greeted him without looking up from his work. "It seems you have something urgent to report."

    "Yes, Elder," Tao Ya began, stepping forward. "We''ve had an unconfirmed sighting near Srous. We believe there may be people¡ªcultivators¡ªwho''ve entered the area."

    The Elder didn''t seem particrly concerned. "We''ve had survivors attempting to escape the before. It''s not umon. What''s different this time?"

    Tao Ya hesitated before speaking. "This sighting wasn''t from within the. We think it came from the Vortex."

    The Elder''s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. "The Vortex? Are you saying there''s life beyond it?"

    "We''re not sure," Tao Ya admitted. "It was only for a split second. We detected what seemed to be a vessel, and it emitted a strong Qi signature. There was also a sighting of a silhouette on top of the vessel, but it disappeared as soon as we spotted it."

    The Elder tapped his fingers against the desk, deep in thought. "It''s unconfirmed," he mused. "Sending a team to investigate would be costly, and we''ve had no previous evidence of life beyond the Vortex. Where did the vessel go?"

    Tao Ya sighed. "We didn''t have a clear visual. The wreckage of the Fallen God''s race is still littering the area, making it hard to track. But we believe they entered Srous."

    The Elder''s expression darkened. "Then it doesn''t matter. No one survives Srous for long. If they entered the, they''re as good as dead. That ce consumes everything in the end. They won''tst a month."

    Tao Ya frowned. "But what if they survive? What if they interfere with the barrier?"

    The Elder shook his head. "Tao Ya, you''ve been stationed there long enough to know better. No one survives Srous¡ªnot for long. The only reason anything is still alive there is because the monster that haunts that hasn''t woken up yet. When it does, it will devour everything. Your only job is to maintain the God Killing Formation.

    If, by some miracle, they manage to escape and approach the barrier with hostile intent, you are authorized to use the Alert Token."

    Tao Ya bowed, epting the Elder''s decision. "Understood, Elder. I''ll return to my post."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    With that, Tao Ya turned and left the study, his thoughts heavy as he made his way back to the warp gate. The idea of life beyond the Vortex still lingered in his mind, but he knew better than to question the Elder''s orders.

 Chapter 873 A Small Problem

    "Keep up," I said sternly, addressing the ve, ensuring he maintained a close pace with us. We moved with swift precision, but without using any Qi to boost our speed. It was essential to remain undetected. We had no idea where the enemy might be hiding, and staying low-profile was our only defense in this unfamiliar and hostile territory. Every step had to be measured, every breath quiet.

    The ve, bound in his heavy chains, moved silently. His restraint wasn''t just physical¡ªit was mental, ingrained deeply into his spirit. He knew better than to make a sound. After all, he understood perfectly that his fate was tightly linked to mine. If I were to die, so would he. His survival now depended entirely on keeping me alive. It was a twisted irony, and part of me¡ªthough a very small part¡ªwondered if it was too much, this life of envement I had subjected him to. But only for a fleeting moment. After all, he had coveted what was never his to take.

    I wasn''t one to indulge in needless torture. I wasn''t a mindless killer, and even the Du Shen within me wasn''t entirely insane. But once someone dared to cross that line, to push against the boundaries of my patience, then retribution was swift and absolute. This ve was a living example of the fate that awaited those who dared to challenge me.

    Our pace through the dying forest remained unbroken for hours. The air was stale, thendscape a wastnd of decaying trees and barren soil. Aside from a few birds glimpsed in the distance and the asional insect crawling among the roots, there was no life here. It was unsettling. No rodents scurried through the underbrush, no demonic beasts lurked in the shadows. Just an eerie emptiness, the kind that made your skin crawl.

    "This is awfully quiet," Lawmented, his voice low but sharp. He was running beside me, keeping pace effortlessly. His eyes darted around, constantly on alert.

    "What did you expect?" I replied. "Thest known survivor left this twenty thousand years ago. The Rakshasa must have cleansed the ce, consuming everything in their path."

    It was confirmed by Tao Yang and thest fight between the Srous and the Rakshasa, they had to leave the entire on the Bastion, and it was a death sentence for anyone left behind.

    Law furrowed his brow, scanning the destendscape. "I guess¡­ but where are they now? You''d think we''d have seen some sign of them by now."

    I couldn''t help but smile. "You really

    want

    to find out where they are?"

    Law grunted, half amused, half tense. "Not particrly. I was just hoping if we do run into them, it''ll be on

    our

    terms."

    "As long as we''re cautious, we won''t have to deal with them¡­ unless we want to."

    We continued forward, the forest thinning ahead. The air grew colder, and the feeling of lifelessness deepened with every step. The thick foliage we had been weaving through began to part, revealing a vast, open in ahead. It stretched out into the distance, an endless field of tall, yellowing grass swaying gently in the breeze, extending as far as the eye could see.

    "Halt," Imanded, raising my hand. Everyone stopped immediately, their senses heightened.

    "What''s wrong?" Liang Yu asked, her gaze darting from the forest behind us to the open in in front.

    I gestured toward the small spiders¡ªour scouts¡ªthat scurried across the ground ahead of us. "We''re catching up to the majority of the scouts. They''ll need to spread out further to scout ahead. We don''t want to walk into anything blindly."

    The spiders continued to sprint forward, their small metallic bodies disappearing into the tall grass, vanishing into the vast expanse ahead.

    "This is going to take a while," YuYu remarked, crossing her arms. "We''ll be stuck here for hours at this rate."

    "I know," I replied, my voice tinged with frustration. "But we can''t afford any mistakes. The scouts need to clear a path ahead, and the area up there is too exposed. That open field is a perfect ce for an ambush. We''ll be sitting ducks if we charge in."

    The group fell silent as we watched the spiders disappear into the horizon. The wind rustled the tall grass, creating a soft whisper that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something about the ce felt wrong¡ª

    too

    quiet,

    too

    open.

    "So," Liang Yu broke the silence, her tone curious, "since we have nothing to do but wait¡­ what''s the deal with this ''old wife'' of yours?" She smirked, clearly enjoying the chance to poke at me.

    I sighed. "Why does that matter now?" I asked, but I knew she wouldn''t let it drop.

    "Because I''m curious," she replied, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "You always seem to be hiding things when ites to your past."

    I nced at her, then at the others. YuYu was listening quietly, but her curiosity was just as obvious. Law, on the other hand, was silent, though his expression hinted at mild interest.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Well, who am I?" I asked, tilting my head.

    "Shen Bao?" she ventured, though she didn''t soundpletely confident.

    "That''s part of who I am," I exined. "But there''s more to me than just Shen Bao. I''ve reimed memories of a life I had long forgotten. In the distant past, I was someone who challenged the heavens themselves in the Vast Expanse¡­ and I failed I was Du Shen. When I returned, I became Shen Bao."

    "No wonder you got so powerful so fast," YuYu muttered, recalling how we first met, back when I was a broken old man, riddled with disease and misfortune. A man with a missing eye, a twisted foot, and a death sentence hanging over him.

    "The first time I saw you, I thought you were halfway in the grave," YuYu continued, a small smile tugging at her lips. "And now look at you¡ªone of the strongest cultivators I''ve ever seen. It''s hard to believe, but I suppose it makes sense now."

    "It wasn''t easy," I admitted. "When I first met you, I had no memory of who I truly was. Every ounce of strength I gained was through sheer effort. As for Du Shen, well, I''m sure you''ve heard of the Poison God''s achievements¡­"

    Liang Yu scoffed yfully. "I''m sure most of those tales were exaggerated. They say the Poison God fought the Wind King and destroyed entires for a woman." She looked at me knowingly. "But now that I think about it, that doesn''t seem far-fetched when ites to you. You''d probably do the same."

    I smiled, though it was tinged with bitterness. "She was someone who helped me when I was at my weakest. But I didn''t make it in time to save her. I ended up ughtering an entire sect for her sake, but none of it mattered in the end."

    "Things of the past," I mumbled, my voice barely a whisper. The weight of those memories pressed down on me, but I shook them off. Dwelling on them wouldn''t help us now.

    "Shen Bao," Law''s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see him crouched over a bush, examining something.

    "What is it?" I asked, moving toward him.

    "You said this was uninhabited, right?"

    I frowned. "As far as we know, it is. Why?"

    Law held up something in his hand¡ªa fragile, half-dposed flower bracelet. "Then what is this?"

    I took the bracelet from him, inspecting it closely. It was old, dried out, but still recognizable. It hadn''t been made too long ago. "This is interesting¡­" I murmured, scanning the area around us.

    "This means people might still live here," Meng Hao said, stepping closer. "Judging by the dposition, I''d say it was made a few weeks ago."

    Law nodded. "Two weeks, maybe less. Whoever made this is long gone, but they were here recently."

    I let out a frustrated sigh. "We can''t even use Divine Sense to track them. It would alert the Rakshasa."

    But then an idea came to me. I tapped themunication bracelet on my wrist. "Tao Yang," I called through the device.

    "Yes?" she responded immediately. From the background noise, I could tell she was still running.

    "You might want to adjust your course ande to our location. We''ve found signs of life here," I said.

    There was a brief pause. "Same here," Tao Yang replied. "It seems some of my people might still be alive on this."

    "Then we should meet up and investigate," I suggested.

    Before she could respond, a loud explosion echoed through my bracelet, followed by another.

    "It hasn''t even been a day¡­" I muttered under my breath, my irritation growing.

    "What''s going on over there?" I asked.

    "Nothing major," Tao Yang replied, her voice strained. Another explosion boomed in the background, even louder this time. "Just a small problem."

    "You do realize we''re on a

    stealth

    mission, right?" I said, gritting my teeth.

    "Yes, I''m aware of that," she replied, though her voice was cutting in and out as more explosions rocked the air around her.

    "Then why are things blowing up?"

    Tao Yang''s next words sent a chill down my spine. "Because the Queen is awake."

    The explosions in the distance grew louder, so loud that we could hear them even without the bracelet. I clenched my fists, a surge of adrenaline rushing through me.

    "I''m on my way," I said, already preparing to move.

    "I''d appreciate that!" Tao Yang''s voice crackled through the bracelet, followed by another barrage of explosions.

 Chapter 874 Tall Grass

    I took a nce at my bracelet and pinpointed the position of Tao Yang''s group, "Let''s go, we''re going south," I said as I flew forward.

    The problem was that we had to move through the open fields to meet with them.

    "Keep low, stay within the grass fields," I said as I sted through them as fast as possible.

    Everyone followed close behind, while I made sure to throw several pills and cannisters every now and then.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "What are you doing?" Liang Yu asked.

    "Creating backup and diversion, those are rakshasa bombs," I said.

    "You think we''re being followed?" Meng Hao asked.

    "No, but better be safe than sorry, those should stop any rakshasa from following us once they get close," I said.

    "What''s the situation though?" Law asked.

    "I don''t have full knowledge, but seems like the worst-case scenario is happening, Tao Yang said that the queen had awoken," I grimaced through the words.

    While we flew, the grass felt more and more ominous, especially with the silence that permeated the due to theck of life, something was not feeling too right here.

    "Shen Bao!" Law shouted "DODGE!"

    For a second my mind seemed to instantly calm the gears running inside it. Because it was Law who spoke.

    Now, there are a few issues here¡­

    First things first, we brought Law for a reason, his incredible luck would always help us in times we need it. But the problem was the way he worded his warning. To dodge, but dodge where?

    I have no idea what''s going on nor what''s happening so I cannot simply just ''dodge''

    Primordial Serpent Sight, the pupils of my eyes turned to serpentine slits and everything slowed down.

    Motion, weak and subtle was mixed within the grass from underneath us, something was hiding in the grass, and the moment I took note of it using the Primordial Serpent Sight, it lunged at me. Almost as fast as the Cryptic Sun''s motions when Ist fought against him, a tentacle like arm shot out toward me trying to grab me, but thanks to the slowed time and my ability to react fast enough, I twisted my body mid air while drawing Creeping Demise.

    The twist and swing came at a single breath, ripping the tentacle in half and eliciting a maddened screech of pain and agony form under the grass.

    Another tentacle immediately rose up from behind me. I can''t dodge this one, I''m too slow.

    Yet, a scar reddened arm grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me to the side, escaping the tentaclepletely.

    It was the ve. Who looked terrified of the situation we''re in.

    I wasn''t going to thank him for doing his job, but the feeling that we''re in deep shit didn''t leave the back of my mind.

    A hundred or so more tentacles immediately emerged out, "SPREAD OUT!" I shouted, "Grow!" and then immediately called out as I pointed Creeping demise up.

    Nine metallic serpent heads emerged out of the hilt of the sword, massive serpents of pure metal came to intercept the tentacles gobbling some of them up and burning the rest with pure brute poison.

    mes erupted from the giant metallic snakes of my sword, a hydra of pure metal and mes shot sprays of burning incineration all over the field that pushed whatever creature tried to ambush us to screech in agony.

    My crew immediately gathered up front while I followed behind, "We need to leave the grasnd, this is a new type of Rakshasa we don''t know about!" I shouted as I hurriedly followed behind them.

    "Law take the lead!" I added.

    "Ahh why me!" heined but still took the lead regardless.

    Thanks to his luck, the tentacles seemed topletely miss him when he went past them, and allowed the rest to easily dodge around the already extended tentacles.

    Far from us, you could feel the dead world turning to life, but in the worst case possible.

    Echoes and loud screeches of monstrous rakshasa began reverberating through the entire area.

    "What the hell is going on!" I heard through my bracelet. It was the Blue Sun. "Problems, Tao Yang''s group has been exposed to the Queen, and it seems like we''re also being hunted."

    "I''ming to help," she said.

    "No, hide away, I can fool them, but you guys would cause even more ruckus, I''ll contact you once I meet up with Tao Yang, this n of spreading out isn''t working," thest part I said to myself.

    Several more of these tentacr creatures shot more and more of their membranes at us, but now that we''re used to them, we easily dodged them.

    They had the advantage of stealth and ambush but they seem rather stuck in ce, perhaps monsters that cannot move or hunt. No wonder we didn''t see them back at the battle against the Rakshasa in the Beyond, they perhaps need soil or a way to hide form sight to be of any use.

    "Keep moving!" I called as I heard the sound of more and more Rakshasa echoing through the nes.

    Far in the distance my eyes caught a silver rakshasa rushing down a hill and enter the open field. I cursed inwardly, the moment that damn thing gets close enough, it''ll call its friends over, and now that we''re on their turf, we''ll pay dearly.

    Yet my eyes couldn''t believe what I was seeing.

    The moment the Silver Rakshasa sat foot on the grass field, and entered stealth, several tentacle arms shot up from the ground, prating the Silver''s body and tearing it apart then squeezing its blood for a massive jaw made of nothing but disturbing flesh and fangs to consume it all.

    "STOP!" I shouted instantly, and everyone did.

    "Why are we stopping," YuYu asked.

    "Don''t move, for now, just don''t move," I said.

    The echoes of the rakshasas continued all around us, and soon, it began to die down, slowly but surely.

    "Stand down, don''t touch the ground hover a bit above it," I said through divine sense, "And look at the north," I said.

    More and more rakshasa however approached the field from the far north, there was a small hill that rose slightly above the field and seemed to be extending back far away, the entire hill and its extension didn''t have any of the tall grass, but we could see the rakshasa while they couldn''t.

    A silver rakshasa that came to inspect what was going on hesitated approaching the fields, but when a massive brute rakshasa came in and pushed it forward, the poor bastard had no choice but to move forward. And the moment it moved too far, more tentacles rose up to rip it to shreds.

    "I thought they''re allies¡­" Meng Hao said.

    "They are, until one of them is hungry. I''ve seen Silver Rakshasa kill their kin for food, so it''s nothing too strange when this happens."

    "But what now?" Liang Yu asked. "Why are we not moving, the grass ends there," she said as she looked at the south.

    Indeed, the grass ends there, but the concentrating of those monsters is far greater at the rims of the grass field than inside it.

    Just as I was thinking of what I was supposed to do, the grass next to me moved a bit, I sliced through the grass with Creeping Demise cutting it apart revealing the terrified face of a young child.

 Chapter 875 Grassland (New Editor)

    The child''s eyes widened in a mix of terror and confusion before he spun on his heels and bolted, his small frame vanishing into the thick, swaying grass without a second thought.

    "Survivor!" I called out, my heart pounding in my chest as adrenaline surged through my veins. Without hesitation, Iunched forward, breaking into a sprint. The tall des of grass swayed around me like waves, parting momentarily before snapping back in ce, obscuring the boy''s path as if the verynd was trying to swallow him.

    He was fast¡ªunnaturally so. His small body moved with an agility that defied human limits, darting between patches of dense foliage like a frightened animal. I marveled at the fluidity of his movements, his legs propelling him with a speed that seemed impossible for someone his age. Every twist and turn was calcted, as if he was familiar with the terrain, weaving through it with the grace of a predator¡ªor prey.

    I couldn''t help but feel an eerie sensation crawling up my spine as I followed him. The child moved as though something far worse than me was hunting him, his erratic zigzagging more reminiscent of a hare fleeing a predator than a simple escape. My breath hitched as I pushed harder, my feet pounding the ground, the grass brushing against my face and shoulders. Even without tapping into my Qi reserves, I could keep easily keep up, after all he was a mortal. I wanted to see what was going on.

    Though I can simply use Qi or my internal force to stop him in an instant, I wanted to see how this Mortal run so fast. And the reason I''m not using any Qi is the lurking beasts below, the ones whoy dormant in the soil, would sense even the slightest ripple of energy. One careless mistake, one sh of Qi, and we would be at the mercy of the unseen horrors lurking beneath the surface.

    "Stop!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the rustling grass like a de. but the boy barely acknowledged me, driven by a primal fear that left no room for reason. He seemed to vanish and reappear between the tall, golden stalks, his small, desperate feet making barely a sound, yet the tension in the air was palpable. It was as if the very earth was listening, waiting, alive.

    Finally, annoyed with a small burst of speed, I intercepted him mid-sprint. I cut across his path in a wide arc, skidding to a stop right in front of him. The child''s eyes widened in panic, his small chest heaving as he stumbled back, trying to pivot away, but I blocked him with a swift motion.

    "Why are you running?" I demanded. My voice was calm, though every fiber of my being was on edge. I couldn''t shake the feeling that something far worse than this child''s fear was waiting for us out here in the depths of this strange, foreignnd.

    The boy came to a jarring halt, panting heavily, his tiny body trembling with exertion. His eyes¡ªwide, glossy, filled with sheer terror¡ªmet mine, and for a moment, we stood there, locked in silence. He backed away instinctively, shaking his head, his lips quivering as he tried to form words, but nothing came out. His fear was so tangible it seemed to cling to the very air between us.

    I opened my mouth to speak again when he finally stammered something¡ªwords that didn''t immediately register, unfamiliar and foreign, but there was something about the cadence. It wasn''t anguage I had heard in the Beyond, but there was a rhythm, a tone that I recognized, eerily simr to the dialect spoken in the Bastion.

    Switching to the dialect I hoped would resonate, I tried again. "Why are you running?" I repeated, softer this time, trying to convey that I wasn''t a threat.

    The boy''s gaze flickered with suspicion, his breaths still ragged. His small fists clenched tightly by his sides, and he took a cautious step back, as if bracing himself for a confrontation. "Intruders...! Bad people¡ªyou are!" he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. There was defiance in his tone, but fear far outweighed it. He took another step back, clutching his fists to his chest as though they were the only defense he had.

    Before I could respond, the grass behind him stirred. The tall, golden stalks swayed, but not with the wind. No, this was different. The ground itself seemed to ripple¡ªa dark shadow slithering just beneath the surface. My eyes widened, and my muscles tensed as I recognized the movement.

    "Get down!" I yelled, lunging forward with everything I had. Creeping Demise was already in my hand, drawn instinctively.

    The boy flinched in terror, his body freezing in ce. I grabbed his shoulder, yanking him backward just as the earth beneath him erupted. A grotesque tentacle, thick and pulsating, shot up from the soil, slicing through the air with deadly speed. It would have impaled the boy where he stood if I had been even a second slower.

    With a swift, practiced motion, I swung

    Creeping Demise

    , my de cutting through the air with a sharp hiss. The tentacle never stood a chance. A wet, sickening schlick echoed in the still air as the severed limb fell to the ground with a heavy thud. ck ichor oozed from the stump, its foul stench filling the air.

    The ground trembled beneath us, and a deafening screech tore through the earth. It was an otherworldly sound, a cry of pain and fury that resonated deep within the soil, vibrating through my bones.

    Suddenly, the entire field came alive.

    Dozens of tentacles burst forth from the ground, writhing and snapping with vicious precision. They moved with terrifying speed, seeking us out, hunting with a mindless hunger. The creature lurking beneath the surface was farrger than I had anticipated¡ªits reach extending far beyond what I could see, its tendrils stretching out in all directions, as if the earth itself had turned against us.

    The boy''s scream barely registered as I pushed him behind me, my focus locked on the thrashing tendrils. "Stay behind me!" Imanded, my voice steady despite the chaos unfolding around us.

    I can''t have him die on me. I need him forter.

    Before I could react further, the veunched himself into the fray with an almost primal fury. He moved like a force of nature, his body a blur of motion as he tore through the oing tentacles with brutal efficiency. His hands, massive and powerful, snapped the tendrils like twigs, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs.

    I took a step back, cutting down any tendrils that dared slip past him.

    Creeping Demise

    gleamed under the dim light, its edge slicing through the monster''s limbs with ease. But no matter how many we cut down, more appeared, sprouting from the earth with relentless determination.

    Just when it seemed like the assault would never end, Liang Yu and the others joined the battle, moving with a precision born of countless fights together. They spread out, surrounding the creature, each of them taking down the oing tentacles with practiced ease.

    The ve, unyielding and unstoppable, drove his fists into the ground, his raw strength shaking the very earth beneath us. With a guttural roar, he wrenched the beast from its hiding ce, lifting it out of the soil by its own thrashing limbs.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The creature¡ªan abomination of writhing tendrils and grotesque, pulsating flesh¡ªlet out a high-pitched wail, its body twisting in agony as the ve ripped it free from the earth. But the ve''s fury was unstoppable. With a bone-crunching sound, he tore the beast in half with his bare hands, ck ichor spraying across the grass as the creature''s scream died in the wind.

    The battlefield fell silent.

 Chapter 876 Dread Princess

    The creature''s final, pitiful scream echoed briefly, then faded into the eerie quiet that followed. The air, once thick with tension and danger, now felt oddly still. ckened ichor dripped from the remnants of the tentacles, staining the grass beneath our feet with dark, viscous pools that smelled of decay and corruption.

    "Got the kid?" Liang Yu asked, her voice calm as she wiped a stter of the foul substance from her robes, the pungent scent lingering in the air. She moved with the ease of someone used to cleaning up after battles, her demeanorposed, almost too casual given the chaos we had just fought through.

    "Yeah, but..." I nced down at the boy in my arms. His small frame had gonepletely limp, his head lolling against my chest as if he''d copsed from the sheer intensity of it all. "Looks like he passed out," I muttered, shifting him slightly to get a better look.

    "Again with the kids," Law said, approaching with his arms folded, a faint smirk on his lips. "You really suck at this." He gave the boy a gentle nudge with his foot, as if trying to gauge whether the kid was truly unconscious or simply ying possum.

    The boy stirred faintly, his eyelids fluttering as he hovered between consciousness and whatever terrifying nightmare the encounter had sent him into. But almost as soon as his eyes opened, they squeezed shut again, tight with fear, his body tensing as if expecting more danger.

    "I know you''re awake," I said softly, my tone as calm and reassuring as I could manage. I crouched down, gently lowering him onto the soft grass, hoping to ease his panic. His breathing quickened, his small chest rising and falling rapidly. "We''re not here to hurt you," I added, though I could see that words alone wouldn''t be enough to break through his terror.

    The boy''s eyes remained squeezed shut, his tiny fists clenched tightly. His lips trembled, and though no sound escaped him, the fear radiating from him was unmistakable. His whole body seemed locked in a silent scream, paralyzed by the horrors he''d witnessed.

    Law arched an eyebrow, casting a sideways nce in my direction. "Srousnguage, huh? Guess we should have brushed up on it beforending here."

    I nodded in agreement, reaching into my pack and pulling out the small trantor device we had acquired back at the Bastion. It hade in handy more times than I cared to admit. Without a word, I passed out earpieces to the others, the subtle hum of the device activating as we each slid the tiny buds into our ears.

    The boy''s eyes opened cautiously, darting between us as if trying to gauge whether we were still a threat. His small body trembled with fear, but there was a flicker of understanding now, a glimmer of hope that perhaps, just perhaps, we weren''t the monsters he had feared.

    "You''re... not bad people?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the quiet rustle of the grass around us.

    I raised an eyebrow, offering him a small, reassuring smile. "Do we look like bad people?" I asked, keeping my voice light and friendly, though my mind raced with a dozen different questions. This boy, whoever he was, clearly had some kind of understanding of the threats in thisnd¡ªand I needed to know more.

    The boy frowned, confusion knitting his small brow. He seemed torn between his fear and the desire to believe me, but the wariness in his gaze remained.

    "How are you still alive?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. He scanned our clothes, noting the unfamiliar style and theck of any tribal markings or symbols. "You don''t... wear the clothes of any tribe I know."

    His words were like pieces of a puzzle falling into ce. There were settlements here¡ªpeople living in this hostile, monster-infestednd. This wasn''t just an empty world, crawling with creatures waiting to devour anything that wandered too far from safety. There were tribes,munities¡ªperhaps entire cities¡ªhidden away, surviving in spite of everything.

    I tapped my bracelet, opening amunication channel to Tao Yang. "Tao, what''s your status?" I asked, my voice low as I kept my eyes on the boy, watching for any signs of further panic.

    The bracelet crackled to life, Tao Yang''s voiceing through in short bursts. "We made it out," she replied, the sound of distant battle still echoing faintly in the background. "That Fire King guy? Impressive. He scorched half the battlefield before they even knew what hit them."

    I nced up, my eyes catching sight of the towering columns of fire in the distance. They spiraled into the sky like the furious breath of a dragon, leaving no doubt as to the Fire King''s destructive prowess.

    "I found a survivor," I said, my gaze drifting back to the boy, who stilly trembling on the ground.

    "Really?" Tao Yang''s voice crackled with curiosity. "Switch to visual¡ªI want to see."

    I activated the visual projection from my bracelet, the small hologram shimmering to life in the air above us. The moment the boy''s eyes fell on the image of Tao Yang, his reaction was immediate¡ªand violent.

    He let out a shriek, a scream so filled with terror that it sent a shiver down my spine.

    "AHHHHH!!" the kid immediately screamed as he desperately tried to run away wing at me to let him go.

    "LIARS! LIARS! You are bad people!" he screamed.

    "Calm down kid," I said. The boy couldn''t get out of my grip if I wanted to, but seeing how desperately he was struggling to run away I was tempted to let him go and follow him after.

    "Let him out," Liang Yu said and the moment I did she grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "There are no bad guys here child, why must you fear us so?" she said in aforting voice.

    Having been hugged by a gentle voiced woman seemed to calm him down a bit.

    "If- if you''re not bad guys, why are you talking to her! ! Why is she appearing there on your wrist!"

    "Calm down," I said but he was anything but calm. he wasn''t listening. His eyes were wild with fear, darting frantically between me and the projection of Tao Yang. "Why is the Dread Princess talking to you?!" he screamed, his voice cracking with the intensity of his fear.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I froze, the boy''s words striking like a bolt of lightning. Dread Princess? What was he talking about? My eyes darted back to Tao Yang''s image, confusion flooding my mind.

    "Dread Princess?" I muttered under my breath. "What the hell is he talking about?"

    "I''ming over, I need to see this," Tao Yang said.

    The boy after hearing those words increased the pitch of his screams, his cries grew louder, more frantic. His voice pierced the quiet grasnds like a siren, carrying far beyond where we stood. "LET ME GO! FATHER! HELP ME!" His desperate pleas echoed across the field, carried by the wind like a cry for help sent to the heavens themselves.

    I barely had time to react when I heard movement¡ªa rustling in the grass that wasn''t caused by the wind. Figures began to emerge from the tall stalks, stepping forward one by one, their silhouettes dark against the fading light of the day. They moved cautiously, but with purpose, their weapons at the ready.

    A dozen or so people¡ªmen and women, armed with crude weapons¡ªformed a loose semicircle around us. Some carried bows, others held spears tipped with Soulsteel, the sharp edges glinting ominously in the dimming light. Their faces were hardened, their eyes cold and distrustful, like a pack of wolves ready to defend their territory.

    Thergest of the group, a towering man with muscles that bulged beneath his leather armor, stepped forward. He held a long spear in one hand, the other clutching a slingshot, both weapons aimed at me with deadly precision. His gaze shifted briefly to the boy, who immediately ran to him, hiding behind his legs as if he had found the only safe ce in the world.

    "What''s this?" Meng Hao said, and you could feel the annoyance appearing in his eyes.

    After all, these weapons, even if they shot at us for a thousand years without stop, they wouldn''t even cause us any harm.

    I sent a message via divine sense, "Don''t harm or hurt any of them, act like them, act as if you were mortals," I said as I raised my hands up.

    The rest of the crew understood my intentions immediately. Liang Yu immediately released the boy who ran up to the most muscr of the people, and hid behind him.

    "The Dread Princess!" the boy said, and almost in unison everyone gasped, "They''re friends with her! And she ising this way!"

    The man''s voice was rough, tinged with suspicion as he spoke. "Are you friends with the Dread Princess?" His question was less of an inquiry and more of an usation, the implication clear in the way his eyes narrowed, his stance tightening with readiness.

    "Misunderstanding," I muttered, raising my hands slowly in a gesture of peace. Thest thing we needed was another fight, especially not with a tribe of hostile survivors who clearly had their own agenda. "We don''t mean you any harm."

    The boy peeked out from behind therge man, his wide, tear-streaked eyes locked on mine. He whispered something under his breath, too quiet for me to hear, but the tremble in his voice betrayed the fear still gripping him.

 Chapter 877 Prisoners

    The tension between us and the group of survivors was so thick, it seemed to hang in the air like a palpable force. Every second dragged on, stretched to the breaking point, as we stood locked in a silent standoff. The slightest movement felt like it could shatter the fragile equilibrium between us and ignite chaos.

    The towering man standing before me was still, his grip tightening on his spear as his eyes roamed over each of us in turn. His gaze was calcting, as though he were silently weighing his options¡ªdetermining whether we were worth the fight or too dangerous to challenge directly. His spear tip hovered near my face, far closer than I wasfortable with, and I could feel the heat of the day radiating off the crude weapon.

    At his side, the child clung tightly to his leg, his small hands clutching the rough fabric of the man''s clothing with a white-knuckled grip. The boy''s eyes were wide, filled with fear, but there was something more¡ªsomething beyond the terror. A flicker of recognition, maybe even understanding. The mention of the "Dread Princess" had clearly shaken him, and that fear was rippling through the rest of the group like wildfire, spreading without a word.

    The older man stepped closer, his body tense, every movement deliberate as he pointed his spear directly at my face. "Are you friends with the Dread Princess?" he demanded, his voice gruff, filled with suspicion and anger.

    I stared back at him, trying to remain calm despite the threat he posed. "There''s been a misunderstanding," I began, my voice measured, but before I could exin further, another voice cut through the air.

    "Will they even understand you?" a younger man asked, his eyes narrowing as he studied us. "They look like they''re from some faraway tribe."

    "SPEAK!" the older man barked, his patience clearly wearing thin. His grip on the spear tightened, and I could see the muscles in his arm tensing, ready to strike if I didn''t give him the answers he wanted.

    "It seems there is a misunderstanding," I repeated, keeping my voice steady. I needed to de-escte the situation before things spiraled out of control.

    The man''s face twisted into a frown, his brow furrowed with distrust. "My boy lies not!" he spat, his voice rising in anger. "There is no misunderstanding! Are you friends with the Dread Princess or not?!"

    The spear came even closer, the sharp edge dangerously near my skin. I could feel the hostility radiating from him, and his people mirrored that tension. They were all poised for action, ready to take us down at a moment''s notice.

    Before I could respond, another man, this one holding a bow and arrow, chimed in from the side. "Why are we even asking?" he sneered. "Let''s just take them as prisoners. They''ll speak proper once they meet our holy lord!"

    "Move!" one of them shouted, and with the butt of his spear, he nudged Law harshly in the side.

    Law looked like he was about to respond, irritation shing in his eyes, but I shot him a quick look, hinting for him to stay calm. "Just follow their orders," I said to him through divine sense, sending a message that only he and the others could hear. We couldn''t afford to escte this into a fight¡ªnot with mortals who seemed terrified out of their wits. More importantly, they had information we needed.

    "Keep your hands up!" another shouted as one of them approached, making a move to disarm us. The man reached for

    Creeping Demise

    , but I quickly gave the weapon a mentalmand through divine sense:

    Don''t kill him.

    Creeping Demise

    was a sentient weapon, one that could easily have taken the man''s life if it perceived him as a threat. But I didn''t want any bloodshed, especially not here, not now.

    As soon as the man grabbed the sword, however, it fell to the ground with a dull thud, too heavy for him to lift. His face twisted in confusion, and he grunted, trying to heave the weapon from the earth.

    "Lighten your weight!" I cursed inwardly,manding the sword to ease up. Thest thing I needed was for them to realize just how powerful we were and how weak they were inparison. That would only make things worse.

    The man frowned as he reached down again, this time lifting the sword with ease. He shot a wary nce in my direction before continuing to remove our other visible weapons. After thoroughly disarming us, they turned their attention to our holding bags. But despite their best efforts, they couldn''t open the spatial sections¡ªthose were beyond their understanding. They rummaged through the non-spatial parts, only finding a few basic items.

    "Empty sacks," one of the men muttered, clearly dissatisfied.

    "They must have already been robbed. Leave them their belongings. Just take the weapons," the leader said, his voice gruff and authoritative. He seemed more focused on controlling the situation than on looting us, which was a small mercy.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    One of the other men nced at the ve, his eyes lingering on the markings that marred his body. "That man," he muttered, his tone grim, "he must''ve done something truly vile to deserve such a cruel fate. Only a viin would be marked like that."

    The group encircled us, forcing us to move forward along the path. The boy, still clutching his father''s leg, peeked timidly at Liang Yu, his wide eyes filled with a mix of fear and curiosity.

    "You like her?" the father asked, ncing down at his son. The boy didn''t answer, but the father grinned, clearly amused. "I''ll make her your wife once you''re old enough," he said with a chuckle. "She seems capable of bearing many children."

    Liang Yu smiled, catching my eye as she walked beside me. Her amusement was clear, though there was a hint of mischief in her expression. "Jealous of a kid now, are we?" she teased through divine sense, her voice yful.

    I grumbled inwardly, refusing to take the bait. If I responded, she''d just twist my words around, and I had no intention of getting dragged into her games. So, I stayed silent, keeping my focus on the path ahead.

    Surprisingly, as we continued through the dense grasnds, I noticed something odd. The tentacle rakshasas that had been a constant threat earlier were nowhere to be seen. The entire area felt strangely calm, as if these people knew the exact route to avoid danger.

    "They must know the safest path," I said to mypanions through divine sense. It was the only exnation that made sense. They had likely been navigating these ins for years, learning how to avoid the creatures that lurked beneath the surface.

    After what felt like half an incense stick''s worth of time, we arrived at a small, cleared area in the grasnds. There, a trapdoor in the ground suddenly creaked open, revealing a man with tribal paint on his face and a small spear in his hand. He looked around cautiously before beckoning us to follow him down.

    "Get in," he ordered, his voice gruff andmanding.

    We descended one by one, climbing down adder that led into the dark underground. The moment we stepped inside, I was hit by the sight of a massive underground cavern. The ce was enormous, stretching far and wide, with dim lights from torches and braziers casting flickering shadows on the stone walls.

    People lived here, hidden beneath the surface, far from the dangers of the sun and the ever-present threat of the rakshasas. As we walked deeper into the cavern, I saw the tribespeople going about their daily lives. Some were weaving rough fabrics, others cooking simple meals over open mes, while a few men sharpened weapons made of bone and metal. The atmosphere was oppressive, filled with the weight of survival¡ªthese people were clearly trapped in an unending cycle of fear and hardship.

    "Move," the leader grunted, jabbing me lightly with the butt of his spear as we continued further into the settlement.

 Chapter 878 The Ancient One

    Law, walking beside me, grinned. "You''re gonna take that?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

    "Don''t harm them," I replied through divine sense. "They''re just afraid. Let''s see what they''re nning before we make any moves."

    We were led to arge, enclosed area, guarded by several tribesmen with weapons in hand. Without a word, they tied our hands with thick ropes, likely hoping to prevent us from escaping, and shoved us inside what looked like a makeshift prison. The guards posted themselves at the entrance, watching us closely as we were left alone in the dimly lit room.

    "Well, this is cozy," I muttered, ncing around the empty space.

    "Inside!" one of the guards barked, his voice harsh and unyielding.

    "Sure, sure," I said, raising my hands in mock surrender as I stepped inside. The others followed, settling down as we waited for what would happen next.

    The locals were curious, of course. Several tribespeople wandered near, peering at us from a distance. They studied our clothes, our strange appearance, clearly intrigued by how different we looked from them. One man even approached the guards, handing them a few worn teeth from some long-dead beast.

    "If that man dies," he said, pointing at me, "I want his drabs."

    I chuckled, shaking my head. "I guess no matter where you go, style catches attention," I mused, amused by the oddity of it all. Even in this backward society, where survival was everything, there was still an appreciation for the unusual.

    It didn''t take long before the children started throwing small rocks at us, giggling as they tried to provoke a reaction. The guards made no move to stop them, but neither did we care much. A few pebbles and stones couldn''t harm us.

    Meng Hao, however, was visibly fuming, his frustration growing with each small impact. He red at the children, his eyes zing with irritation.

    "Meng Hao," I said through divine sense, addressing him and the others, "remember, we''re cultivators. A few rocks from kids aren''t worth your anger. These people have suffered enough under the rakshasa. Don''t add to their misery."

    Meng Hao took a deep breath, visibly calming himself as he nodded. "True," he admitted, his voice tinged with regret. "It''s a mercy from the heavens that we''ve lived so differently. I could have been like them¡ªtrapped in a well, unaware of the world beyond, thinking this was all there is to the universe."

    A few momentster, the leader returned, apanied by several others. They noticed the children''s antics and quickly disciplined them with a few light smacks, ensuring they wouldn''t be so discourteous to prisoners again.

    As they turned to leave, an elderly man approached us, his movements slow and deliberate. I could sense the faint traces of Qi within him¡ªbarely at the first stage of Qi condensation. His energy was weak, fragile, and it was clear he wouldn''tst another winter.

    "These are the people of the Dread Princess?" the old man asked, his voice rasping with age.

    "Yes, Ancient One," the tribe leader confirmed, his tone respectful.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The old man studied us for a long moment, his eyes filled with a wisdom that came from years of hardship. "The old texts speak of men with power capable of breaking mountains and turning the heavens. Even they weren''t worthy of beingpanions to the Dread Princess or the Wrathful King. If these truly were their allies, we''d already be dead. Release them."

    "But¡ª"

    "Release them!" the old manmanded, coughing as his frail body struggled to keep up with his will. "And give them proper food."

    I smiled as I stood, stretching my body as I effortlessly snapped the ropes that bound me, as though they were made of paper. The guards stared at me in shock, their hands instinctively going to their weapons.

    "STOP!" the old man wheezed, waving them off as another coughing fit overtook him. "You¡­ you are one of them," he said, his voice trembling as he looked at me with wide eyes.

    "One of who?" I asked, curious about what he meant.

    "The true ancients," he replied, his gaze filled with reverence. "A cultivator, aren''t you?"

    "You''re not wrong," I said, watching him closely. "Why are you asking?"

    The old man''s face softened, a look of longing crossing his features. "It''s been so long since one who can harness the heavenly Qi has walked among us. You must be from beyond the northern hill, yes?"

    I raised an eyebrow. "A bit further than that," I replied dryly. The "northern hill" must be a localndmark, while in reality, we hade from an entirely different realm.

    "I see," the old man murmured, nodding slowly. "Is it safe there? Beyond the hill?"

    "In a sense, yes," I answered cautiously.

    The old man''s eyes gleamed with a flicker of hope. "Would you¡­ would you take us there? Away from this ce?"

    The looks on the faces of hispanions were priceless¡ªpure shock, disbelief that the elder would even suggest such a thing. But before anyone could protest, the old man continued.

    "But Ancient One!" one of the guards eximed, his voice filled with panic. "He''s a friend of the Dread Princess!"

    I shook my head, growing tired of the constant usations. "You''ve mentioned her enough times," I said, my patience wearing thin. "Who is this ''Dread Princess'' that you''re all so afraid of?"

    A murmur rippled through the crowd, the tension rising again. The old man raised his hand to silence them, his voice low but firm. "She''s thest of the royals," he exined. "Her and her father ruled thesends long ago, and they brought terror with them. They created those abominations¡ªthe rakshasa¡ªbefore fleeing into the darkness. They gathered their forces and left us to suffer, leaving nothing behind but monsters and death."

    My frown deepened. "The Dread Princess and her father created the rakshasa?"

    The old man nodded, his expression grim. "Yes. And if it weren''t for the Liberator, we''d have all perished long ago."

    I exchanged a nce with mypanions, intrigued by this new piece of information. "The Liberator?" I asked, leaning in slightly.

    The old man smiled faintly, his frail body shaking with another cough. "The holy man who created this sanctuary¡ªthis safe haven. He gave me the power I have, weak as it is. Every year, hees to collect the sacrifices needed to keep the rakshasa at bay. And it''s almost time for him to return."

    I raised an eyebrow, feeling a sudden surge of curiosity. The situation had just be far moreplicated¡ªand far more interesting.

 Chapter 879 The False Hospitality

    "This ''Liberator''¡ªdo you know exactly when he''ll arrive?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

    The elder hesitated, his eyes drifting away for a moment before answering, "He''s already a few weekste, but he should arrive soon enough."

    His voice was steady, but I sensed the underlying worry. This so-called Liberator clearly held significant power over them, but the fact that he waste could mean many things¡ªnone of them particrly good.

    The elder turned toward his tribesmen, his frail hand rising in a gesture ofmand. "Prepare them a ce to stay. Our guestse from far away. Let us ensure they are properly hosted."

    The tribe leader, still visibly shaken from earlier, nodded and stepped forward. "Please, follow me," he said, his tone more respectful than before. "I''ll take you to my own ce."

    "Let''s follow them," I said through Divine Sense to mypanions. "And remember¡ªy it cool. Like mortals."

    As we followed the leader through the underground town, I couldn''t help but admire the ingenuity behind the way these people had adapted to their harsh environment. The town carved into the cavern walls was both practical and impressive. Lanterns hung from posts, illuminating the paths and walkways that connected the various homes and huts. Some houses were simple, built from wood and stone, while others were carved directly into the rock, creating small, enclosed spaces where families could live in rtive safety.

    The leader guided us up a long stone staircase that hugged the edge of the cavern wall, offering us a panoramic view of the settlement below. From this vantage point, I could see most of the lights that dotted the town, each flickering like a distant star. People moved about, tending to their daily chores¡ªsharpening weapons, weaving cloth, or preparing meals. There was a quiet determination in their movements, a resignation that life here, underground, was the only way to survive the horrors that roamed the surface.

    We soon arrived at the leader''s home, arge dwelling carved deep into the wall of the cavern. It was simple but sturdy, with several rooms inside. The space was modest, with roughly hewn walls and floors of smooth stone, but it was more than adequate to host us. We were shown into a smallmon room with three adjoining chambers, where we settled onto wooden stools. A low, knee-high table was brought out, and shortly after, the leader''s wife entered with tes of dried meat and cups of wine.

    Mortal food.

    "Thank you for your generosity," I said, inclining my head toward the woman. She didn''t meet my gaze, keeping her eyes lowered as she backed away quickly, her hands trembling slightly as she ced thest dish on the table.

    I watched her retreat with narrowed eyes, my senses heightened. Something wasn''t right.

    "The drink is poisoned," I said quietly as I took a sip, swirling the liquid in the cup. "But it won''t affect any of you."

    Meng Hao, sitting beside me, frowned. "Then why are we drinking it?" he asked through Divine Sense, his tone exasperated.

    "It''s a mortal poison," I exined, taking another sip and tasting the subtle bitterness beneath the wine''s surface. "Inrge quantities, it would cause the victim to bleed from all seven orifices and shut down their nervous system entirely. But this batch is light¡ªit''s meant to rx the muscles and induce drowsiness. Nothing that could harm a cultivator."

    Meng Hao raised an eyebrow. "Seems like an odd way to wee guests."

    Before we could dwell on it further, the tribe leader re-entered the room, his expression nervous but polite. "I hope you can excuse our earlier behavior," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "We didn''t mean to trap people as great as you."

    I smiled faintly, leaning back in my chair as I feigned the effects of the drug. My eyes fluttered shut for a moment before I forced them open again, my voice slurring ever so slightly. "No worries," I said, pretending to struggle with the weight of my own eyelids. "But tell me¡­ what exactly did you put in our drink?"

    The leader hesitated, his face paling as he watched me. "I¡­ I apologize," he stammered. "We had to ensure our safety. The Holy Man¡ªhe warned us that if strangers as powerful as you came, we couldn''t take any risks. The drink will make you sleep¡­ It''s the only way we could be sure."

    My eyes drooped shut again, and I nodded slowly. Around me, mypanions followed suit, pretending to sumb to the effects of the poison. It was convincing¡ªenough to fool any mortal watching us closely.

    The leader quickly excused himself, backing out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I sent a message through Divine Sense. "Sorry for making you all y along with this foolish game of mine."

    Liang Yu''s softugh echoed in my mind. "No worries," she replied, amusement evident in her tone. "It''s been a while since Ist yed the role of a helpless mortal. This is actually fun."

    I could feel a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth, but I suppressed it, waiting for what woulde next.

    After a short time, the leader returned, apanied by another man¡ªa stranger whose presence instantly set off rms in my mind. His voice was oily, slick with arrogance.

    "Oh, they''re not from here," the stranger said, his voice filled with smug satisfaction. "Their clothes alone are proof of that. Good work, Jhon Go. You''ll be rewarded by the master. Now, get a few men to carry them to the sacrificial grounds. These ones should sate the hunger of the Fallen God for a few years, at least."

    Sacrificial grounds? I stayed still, keeping up the act as best I could, though my mind raced with possibilities.

    As the leader turned to leave, the stranger''s voice stopped him. "Oh, and leave the women here. It''d be a waste to sacrifice them so soon¡­"

    I heard the disgusting sound of him licking his lips, and that was it.

    "Okay, I''m done ying," I said, standing up from my seat. I could feel my patience snap like a thread, the cold fury settling in my chest. "I really wanted to have some fun ying mortal, but your greed knows no bounds."

    The stranger''s eyes widened in shock, his face going pale as I stepped forward. "Y-You didn''t put them to sleep, you fool!" he shouted, rounding on the leader.

    "But I did!" the leader stammered, dropping to his knees. "I swear, I gave them the drug you gave me!"

    The stranger snarled and stepped forward, grabbing

    Creeping Demise

    ¡ªmy own sword¡ªand pointing it at me. "No matter. It would have been easier if you were asleep, but I''ll handle you all the same. I''m a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I''ll¡ª"

    He never finished his sentence.

    Creeping Demise

    came to life in his hands, its de splitting into nine serpent-like heads, each coiling around his arms and legs with terrifying speed. The rest of the sword snaked along his body, the serpentine heads hissing menacingly as they tightened their grip on him.

    "You said you''d do what?" I asked calmly, stepping closer. "And a Nascent Soul cultivator? That''s the extent of your power?"

    His terror was clear now, his eyes wide with disbelief. He struggled against the weapon, but it was futile¡ª

    Creeping Demise

    was a weapon far beyond hisprehension, capable of killing beings far stronger than him.

    I took another step forward, my voice cold. "Tell me," I said, my eyes locking onto his. "Who is this master of yours?"

    The stranger''s lips pressed tightly together, defiance flickering in his eyes. He tried to struggle again, but the serpents only tightened their grip, their sharp fangs hovering dangerously close to his skin.

    He bit down on something inside his mouth¡ªa suicide pill, no doubt¡ªbut I was faster. In an instant, I shoved my hand into his mouth, crushing his teeth in the process. He gagged, choking as I pulled the remains of the pill from his throat.

    "You don''t get to die yet," I said coldly, releasing a drop of poison into his system to paralyze him further. His terror deepened, his body frozen in ce as the poison took hold.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Now speak," I demanded, leaning in close. "Who sent you?"

    This world has many secrets, and it''s about time we start exposing some of them.

 Chapter 880 Change in History

    "Let me go!" the man shouted, his voice cracking with desperation as he struggled, his limbs thrashing wildly in a futile attempt to free himself from

    Creeping Demise''s

    coiled grip.

    I nced at him, my expression cold and unfeeling.

    Cry me a river,

    I thought. A cowardly fool who wanted to ambush us while we were poisoned had no right to plead for mercy. Without hesitation, I mmed my hand against his face, my fingers gripping his skull tightly.

    "It doesn''t matter if you don''t speak," I said icily, watching as his eyes bulged in terror. "Soul Search!"

    The moment the words left my lips, the man''s wails grew louder, his cries of agony echoing off the cavern walls. My fingers dug deeper into his skull, pressing into his temples as the blood began to seep from his eyes and nose. The power of my Soul Search ripped through his mind like a hurricane, sifting through his memories with brutal efficiency.

    His screams became more ragged, his body convulsing violently as the search continued. Within seconds, his entire skull caved in under the pressure of my grip, cracking and shattering into fragments of bone and brain matter. The remnants of his head exploded outward in a spray of blood, sttering the walls and ground around us¡ªthough none of it touched me.

    The room fell into a moment of stunned silence, broken only by the quiet drip of blood pooling on the ground.

    I nced down at the remains of the so-called Nascent Soul cultivator. He had fancied himself great enough to kill Void Stage cultivators and beyond.

    Foolishness truly knows no bounds.

    "Was that Shen Bao or Du Shen?" Yu Yu asked, her tone neutral but curious as she approached me. Her usually cold and aloof demeanor was still intact, though I could tell she sensed the shift in my aura. I wasn''t quite the usual ''me''¡ªI was more of my true self in that moment, unfiltered by the masks I usually wore.

    "That was definitely both," I replied, turning to face the group. My hand was still covered in blood and bits of brain matter, which I flicked off effortlessly. I summoned my Veridian Soul me and burned away the rest, the greenish fire consuming the mess with a soft hiss.

    "So, what''s the situation?" Meng Hao asked, his eyes sharp as ever, though his expression remained casual.

    "They''re basically sheep," I said, my gaze turning toward the man who was now groveling on the floor, trembling in fear. He had seen the fate of hispanion and was clearly aware of the hopelessness of his situation.

    Law approached the quivering man and nudged him roughly, forcing him to look up. "What do you mean, sheep?" he asked, his tone harsh as he towered over the pathetic figure.

    "They''re being used as fodder for the rakshasa that roam these ins," I exined, watching the man flinch under Law''s gaze. "There''s a group of cultivators behind it. They send these people down a deep hole as sacrifices."

    "To what end?" Law asked, his brow furrowed.

    I shrugged, still piecing together the fragmented memories I had extracted. "I don''t know the full story. This man was just a transporter¡ªa pawn. He ferried the victims to another group of cultivators, who were the ones actually responsible for feeding the rakshasa. He never investigated what was inside the hole himself, but from the screams he heard, it sounded a lot like a First Born down there."

    Meng Hao crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Tao Yang told us there are only three First Borns. We''ve already captured one, and the other two are much higher up."

    I nodded. "I know. But that''s all I could get from the Soul Search. If there''s another First Born down there, then something doesn''t add up. We''ll have to go deeper to find the rest of the answers."

    "Are we waiting for Tao Yang?" Liang Yu asked, her eyes scanning the cavern for signs of movement.

    "She''s already here," I replied, just as the ground beneath us trembled violently.

    A deafening crash filled the air as a man in emerald jade armor came flying through the cavern ceiling, the impact of his arrival sending rocks and debris tumbling down. The emerald gleam of his armor reflected the dim light from the torches, casting an eerie glow across the cave.

    "The general''s here," Meng Hao said, ncing up at the armored figure.

    The Jade Dragon hovered in midair, his presencemanding as always, surveying the area with a sharp gaze. He didn''t speak as hended gracefully in the center of the cavern, but the weight of his power was enough to make everyone present take a step back in awe.

    Tao Yang descended shortly after, fully armored and looking as formidable as ever. Hernding was softer, but the moment her feet touched the ground, the entire cavern erupted in screams of pure terror. The people¡ªalready fearful¡ªwere now scrambling to flee, their panic reaching a fever pitch.

    "Wow," Tao Yang said, her eyes wide with surprise as she watched the chaos unfold around her. "What''s going on here?" She turned to me, clearly bewildered. "Srous people? They''ve actually managed to survive and build settlements here?" She began to descend toward one of the people, trying to make contact.

    But the instant she reached out, the person she touched let out an ear-piercing scream and copsed, their body going limp as death took them in seconds.

    Tao Yang froze, staring in horror at the lifeless body at her feet. "What... what just happened?" she asked, her voice shaken.

    She looked around, watching the people scatter in all directions, their screams echoing through the cavern. They were fleeing from her, hiding in their homes as if she were the embodiment of death itself.

    "Tao Yang," I called out, stepping forward. "These aren''t your people."

    She turned to me, her face pale, her eyes wide with confusion. "What''s happening, Shen Bao? Why are they running from me?"

    I sighed, walking over to her side. The fear emanating from the people was palpable, but it wasn''t directed at us as cultivators¡ªit was focused solely on her. "They fear you more than they fear the rakshasa," I said softly, watching as more vigers scrambled for cover, their terrified eyes peeking out from behind doors and windows.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "But... why?" Tao Yang''s voice trembled, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "What did I do to be hated this much by my own people?"

    "You did nothing wrong," I said gently, cing a hand on her head. "But history has been changed. You''ve been gone for twenty thousand years, Tao Yang. In that time, someone manipted the story. They twisted the truth, made you into a monster in their eyes. Those who survived after the battle with the rakshasa... they were few. They built these underground settlements, and over time, the story of the Dread Princess was warped into something unrecognizable."

    Tao Yang''s lips trembled, and she lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "So, they see me as a monster..."

    I nodded. "Yes. And not just you. Those who could cultivate were killed off in the battle, leaving only a handful of survivors. Those who couldn''t defend themselves became ves to their fear, living under the rule of a man they call the Liberator."

    Meng Hao stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "Who is this Liberator, exactly?"

    I exhaled slowly, recalling the fragmented memories I had pulled from the Nascent Soul cultivator. "He''s powerful¡ªstrong enough to drive the First Borns off this. He may even be a Sun Stage cultivator."

    Tao Yang''s eyes widened. "A Sun Stage?"

    "Perhaps," I said. "But I''m not certain. The man I interrogated didn''t have all the details. However, what I do know is that the Liberator has established himself as a godlike figure to these people. He''s built a doctrine around very and sacrifice, and anyone who dares oppose him is crushed. The strong were eliminated, and the weak were left to serve."

    Tao Yang clenched her fists, anger shing in her eyes. "And he''s the one who''s responsible for turning my people against me?"

    I nodded. "Yes. And he''s been collecting sacrifices to feed to the First Borns¡ªor worse, something even more sinister. That''s why we need to go deeper into this cavern. There''s a group of cultivators waiting on the other side, preparing for the next round of sacrifices."

    Tao Yang straightened, her expression hardening. "Then we''ll make them pay."

 Chapter 881 Farm

    Tao Yang headed forward without a second nce, her posture rigid with purpose. The Jade Dragon, everposed, moved alongside her, while the Fire King, who had just arrived, descended in a burst of mes. He shot Meng Hao a mocking smirk, the mes dancing in his eyes as though daring him to react.

    "Calm down," I said quietly, sensing the familiar rise of tension.

    Meng Hao''s reply was steady, devoid of the usual anger that used to grip him so easily. "I am calm," he said, his voice controlled. "There are times to fight, and this isn''t one of them."

    It was a surprising disy of self-restraint.

    Progress,

    I thought, noting how different he seemed from the man I first knew. He was growing, learning when to pick his battles.

    I followed along with my group as we joined the others. Liang Yu and Yu Yu nked me on either side, while the ve, always silent and imposing, trailed behind Law and Meng Hao. As we walked through the dimly lit underground passageways, I couldn''t help but notice the scurrying figures of the townspeople. They ran in fear, ducking into shadowy doorways and hiding from Tao Yang as though she were a specter of death.

    We pressed on toward the far end of the cavern, where a tunnel dug even deeper into the ground, its entrance yawning before us like the mouth of some ancient beast. The moss that clung to the stone walls emitted a faint, ghostly glow, illuminating our path, but only just enough to guide us forward. Each footstep echoed, the sound bouncing off the stone walls, creating an eerie sense of how deep underground we truly were.

    As we descended deeper, the temperature dropped, and the air grew stale, heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay. Almost an hour passed, and we finally emerged into a vast circr chamber. The space was domed, its ceiling rising high above, disappearing into the shadows. In the center of the chamber stood a lone figure, his back turned to us.

    "You''ve brought more this time," the man said without turning, his voice calm and unconcerned. "The Liberator will be pleased, and the beast will be satisfied."

    Silence followed. The man, expecting an answer, finally turned around to face us. His eyes widened in shock as realization dawned on him¡ªthis was no ordinary delivery. His face paled, and without hesitation, he bolted toward the far side of the cave, his movements frantic and uncoordinated.

    I sighed. "For an Ascendant cultivator, you''re pretty slow," I muttered before taking a single step forward. In the blink of an eye, I caught up to him, grabbing him by the scruff of his robes. His eyes bulged in panic as I threw him back into the room with a single motion.

    The man tumbled across the floor,ing to a painful halt at the Jade Dragon''s feet.

    Tao Yang wasted no time. She reached down, her hand wrapping around the man''s neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. Her eyes were like shards of ice as she stared into his panicked face. "Tell me," she said, her voice as cold as the arctic winds, "what did you do to my people?"

    "D-Dread Princess!" the man stammered, his face twisting in terror as he recognized her. He tried to speak further, but before he could, Tao Yang''s fist smashed into his mouth, silencing him with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed as she yanked several of his mrs out with a single movement, preventing him from biting down on the suicide pill hidden in his teeth.

    Quick learner,

    I thought, impressed by her efficiency. She wasn''t about to let this one escape through death.

    Tao Yang followed up with a brutal punch to the man''s abdomen, and the sound of his cultivation base shattering echoed in the chamber. The man wailed in agony as the force of the blow severed his Qi flow, rendering him powerless. breaking his cultivation base served to stop him from reversing his Qi andmitting suicide. Now, he was totally andpletely a mortal, all the effort he had made in reaching the ascendant stage was wasted in a single moment.

    "Do we need to interrogate him?" Tao Yang asked, her voice calm despite the vicious disy.

    "No need," I replied, stepping forward. "It''ll take too long. I''ll Soul Search him instead."

    "No! Please!" the man shrieked, desperation thick in his voice. "I''ll tell you anything you want to know! Just don''t¡ª"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I didn''t bother to listen to his pleas. My hand mmed down onto his face, and I unleashed my soul energy with brutal efficiency. The man''s screams echoed through the chamber as his mind was torn apart, his memoriesid bare before me. The pain of a Soul Search was indescribable, a torment that no mortal could ever hope to withstand. His body convulsed violently, his eyes rolling back in his head as I rifled through his thoughts.

    To exin Soul Search, it was as if you used your own hands to scramble one''s brain while they watched, the horror and terror of the pains induced upon those who went under Soul Search echoes forever in their desperate screams.

    When I was done, the man was nothing more than a drooling husk. His mind had been shattered, leaving him a rambling, incoherent shell of a person.

    I stepped back, flicking my fingers as if brushing away dust. "He was nothing more than another link in the chain. But I''ve got more information."

    Tao Yang''s expression darkened. "What did you learn?"

    "There are multiple hubs like this one," I exined. "They''re spread all over Srous. These underground settlements are all part of awork designed by the Liberator. The people are bred like cattle, kept alive only to be fed to the rakshasa."

    "Fed to the rakshasa?" Tao Yang''s eyes widened in horror.

    I nodded grimly. "Yes. The Liberator designed the system to sustain the rakshasa poption. The humans are bred for food, sacrificed in small numbers to keep the beasts fed. The rakshasa have no way to spread beyond this due to the lockdown, so they''ve had to manage their resources carefully."

    Tao Yang''s fists clenched, the air around her growing tense. "How could anyone allow this to happen? The Liberator is keeping these people alive just to feed them to monsters?"

    "It''s worse than that," I continued. "The Liberator is a Sun Stage cultivator, powerful enough to hold the rakshasa in check. He''s created this system to control both the people and the beasts, preventing the total annihtion of the human race while allowing the rakshasa to thrive. It''s a delicate bnce¡ªone that''s been maintained for centuries."

    "How far away is this Liberator?" Tao Yang asked, her voice trembling with barely restrained anger.

    "I don''t know," I admitted. "The man I Soul Searched had only seen him once. But from what I gathered, the next chamber from here is the feeding ground for the rakshasa. If we cause enough of a disturbance, a stronger cultivator wille to investigate. Once we capture and interrogate that one, we''ll have more information."

    Tao Yang''s gaze followed mine toward the dark tunnel leading to the next chamber. Her jaw tightened, her eyes zing with fury. "By all means, amotion it is."

 Chapter 882 The Feeding Grounds

    Our group pressed onward, moving faster this time. What started as a steady walk quickly turned into flight as we plunged deeper into the tunnels. Tao Yang led the way, and though her speed could have easily left us all in the dust, she held herself back, controlling her pace with great effort. I could sense the tension in her¡ªan emotional storm she was keeping buried beneath her cold, determined exterior.

    No one was truly prepared for the weight of what had urred. Tao Yang, once the ruler of Srous, had returned to a twisted legacy. Those who had survived and failed to make it to the Bastion had woven a story that turned her into the Dread Princess¡ªa dark figure they hade to despise. What I had gleaned from the memories of the Ascendant cultivator was even uglier than I had told her. There were details too grotesque to mention, whispers of her beingbeled the very cause of the rakshasa scourge.

    ording to these twisted tales, Tao Yang had been used ofmitting incest with her father, a sin that had supposedly invoked the wrath of the Heavenly Dao. It was said that this curse had led to the creation of the abominations known as rakshasa. The Broodmother, who birthed the three First Borns, was said to be the result of this heinous union, and from those First Borns, the rest of the rakshasa were born. It was a vile, horrific story, one that was easy for desperate survivors to believe.

    As we moved, I mulled over what I had learned. The so-called Liberator, who had crafted this tale, was likely the true architect behind what these people called the Fallen God. The rakshasa revered him, obeying him without question, even the Broodmother. The Liberator had organized the creatures, spread them across Srous, and assigned settlements where humans were bred like cattle, raised only to be devoured.

    And why? Because without such a system, the rakshasa would have consumed everything. Thend was barren, and its ecosystems were destroyed. The rakshasa had devoured every living thing in their path, leaving behind nothing but deste wastnds. The world was silent now because the creatures had eaten all the beasts, both onnd and in the sea. Only small critters and insects remained, hardly worth the effort to hunt.

    "Up ahead," Tao Yang''s voice echoed in the tunnel. Her words were clipped, the underlying fury barely restrained as she flew faster, propelling herself toward whatever awaited us.

    We followed, emerging from the dark tunnel into a vast, circr chamber. The moment we entered, a sickening stench hit us¡ªworse than anything I had encountered. The air was thick with the scent of rotting flesh and death. The chamber was filled with piles of bones and decaying human remains. Skulls littered the floor, some shattered, others still intact, but all of them marked by the unmistakable signs of a brutal death.

    At the center of it all was a massive hole that plunged deep into the earth, so deep that it seemed to stretch all the way to the gates of hell itself. From its depths came the constant growls and roars of rakshasa, their guttural sounds echoing up from the abyss.

    "The feeding grounds," Tao Yang said, her voice cold as she stepped on a pile of bones.

    The sight was horrific, the energy in the chamber even worse. Without even tapping into Qi, I could feel the dense death energy that hung in the air, so thick that it was almost visible. It clung to everything, saturating the walls, the ground, and the very atmosphere around us. This ce was far worse than the Death Sun''s cave, where millions of lives had been sacrificed for cruel experiments.

    "What do we do now?" Law asked, peering over the edge of the hole.

    I took a moment to scan the area, my gaze lingering on the multiple tunnels that branched out from the chamber. "Look over there," I said, pointing toward the numerous entrances that led into the feeding grounds.

    Liang Yu and the others followed my gaze, their eyes narrowing as they noticed the same thing I had. "There are more tunnels," I exined. "This means other groups are likely heading this way soon. We''ll need to wait for them to arrive so we can gather more information about what''s going on here and who''s behind it."

    "You want us to hide?" Law asked, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

    "Yes," I replied. "We''re all at the Void Stage or higher. If we suppress our presence, no one below our level will be able to sense us. And from what I''ve gathered, the strongest cultivators working for the Liberator are at the Emperor Realm. The Liberator himself is a Sun Stage cultivator, and he''s paranoid enough to kill anyone whoes close to surpassing the Emperor Stage. If we lie in wait, we''ll have the upper hand."

    "Sounds like a decent n," the Jade Dragon said with a nod. "Let''s hide our presence and wait for them."

    Without further discussion, we all concealed ourselves, our presence fading into the shadows of the chamber. Soon enough, the sound of footsteps echoed from the tunnels, the heavy tter of boots growing louder.

    "Hurry up!" a voice barked from the depths of one of the tunnels,manding and impatient.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A man emerged first, leading a group of captured people¡ªaround a dozen or so, all of them dressed in ragged leather clothes. Their faces were pale and gaunt, their bodies bruised and battered, as if they had been dragged through hell before arriving here. The rope that bound them was rough, cutting into their skin as they stumbled forward, forced to march toward their doom.

    Their despair was palpable. The moment they entered the feeding grounds, they began to wail, their cries filled with the raw, primal fear of those who knew their deaths were imminent. They had no strength to fight, no hope left. They were nothing more than cattle being led to the ughter.

    I watched them in silence, my emotions a mixture of disgust and rage. The scene before me brought back memories I had long buried¡ªmemories of my own helplessness, trapped in a cave, thrown into a pool of poison without my consent or will. I had been nothing more than a tool, stripped of my humanity and used for someone else''s goals.

    The fury in my chest surged, my hands clenching into tight fists. The injustice of it all, the cruelty of those who wielded power over the weak¡ªit was enough to set my blood boiling.

    Yu Yu, ever perceptive, sensed my inner turmoil. She stepped closer, her voice soft and steady as she spoke through Divine Sense. "All life is equal," she said, her words carrying a quiet wisdom. "But it is those with power who decide the value of that life, who give or take it as they please."

    I nodded, my voice low with barely suppressed anger. "Yes. Those in power choose the fates of the weak."

    More footsteps echoed from the tunnels as additional groups arrived, none of them noticing our presence. As I suspected, they were all Ascendant cultivators, far below the level needed to even perceive us.

    "Looks like everyone is here," one of the men said, his voice casual as he surveyed the captives.

    "No, Lu Sheng isn''t here yet," another of the Ascendants replied.

    "Should we wait for him?"

    The group fell into conversation, their tones light and uncaring. One of them, an obese man with a sickening grin, spoke up, "No need to wait. He''s the farthest from the center, and his group will take longer to arrive. Let''s just throw these ones in and be done with it. I''ve got matters to attend to back at the settlement."

    I watched as the obese man, who had brought only males with him, smirked arrogantly. "Disgusting bastard," another Ascendant muttered with a chuckle. "You really enjoy tormenting mortals, don''t you?"

    The fat man shrugged, his grin widening. "Yes, but they break too easily. That''s part of the fun, though¡ªfiguring out just how far they can go before they snap. the wails and cries of those mortal women is a most pleasing tone my ears can hear, you should try it, well you must have didn''t you?"

    That was enough.

    "Tao Yang," I said, my voice tight with barely contained fury.

    "Right, right," she replied, understanding what needed to be done.

    I stepped forward, breaking away from our hidden position, my presence no longer concealed. The moment I moved, the eleven Ascendant cultivators turned toward me, their faces twisted in shock and confusion.

    "What''s with those expressions?" I asked, tilting my head, my tone icy as I released a fraction of my pressure. The sheer force of my aura washed over them like a tidal wave, and I could see the terror bloom in their eyes. "It almost looks like you''ve seen a ghost¡­"

 Chapter 883 Truth and Terror

    The instant I released my pressure, the cultivators didn''t even try to understand what was happening. Fear drove them; they turned and attempted to flee as if their lives depended on it¡ªbecause they did.

    "SIT. DOWN!" I bellowed, unleashing a considerable portion of my cultivation energy, letting it wash over them like a tidal wave. The force was inescapable, crushing them to the ground and forcing them onto their knees. Trembling and powerless, they shuddered as the weight of my power kept them pinned.

    One of the more desperate ones fumbled at his holding bag, fingers trembling as he pulled out a jade token. Before I could even move, the Jade Dragon was already there. In a sh of movement, the cultivator''s arm was severed cleanly, the jade slipping from his grip. The man screamed in agony as his arm hit the ground, blood spilling freely.

    The Jade Dragon held up the severed limb, his expression calm andposed. "It''s a rescue jade," he said, tossing the arm aside. "He was trying to summon reinforcements."

    I nodded to him in approval. He''d acted swiftly¡ªthere would be no calls for help.

    Before I could begin questioning them, my bracelet buzzed. I tapped it, and the familiar voice of the Blue Sun came through, her tone as cold and efficient as ever.

    "Shen Bao, what''s your situation?"

    "We''ve captured a few cultivators. They''ve been bringing settlers to these feeding grounds," I replied, keeping my voice neutral, even though the stench of death and decay around us was enough to turn the stomach of any ordinary person.

    A pause followed. "I assume you''re investigating the Liberator, aren''t you?" she asked.

    I blinked.

    Quick as ever,

    I thought. "Yes," I admitted, "we''re gathering more information now."

    The Blue Sun''s voice was steady, but I could hear something darker behind her words. "I''ve just reached a feeding ground myself. Rakshasa everywhere, though not anymore¡ªthey''re all dead."

    "Impressive," I muttered, exchanging a nce with Tao Yang. "We''ve only just gathered the captors."

    Her next words sent a cold shiver down my spine. "Captors?" she repeated. "We didn''t find any living settlers¡ªonly corpses. Dead viges. No signs of life, just... remains."

    My frown deepened. "How did you find out about the Liberator then?"

    There was a brief pause, and when she spoke again, I could feel the weight of her words. "Dao Shen... he used his soul ability. He caught the final moments of a settler''s lingering soul who had recently died. In theirst moments, they prayed to the Liberator."

    I narrowed my eyes. "So, the Liberator''s influence reaches that far..." I began to connect the pieces, the puzzle bing clearer but no less horrifying.

    "Something isn''t adding up. You need to regroup with us," I said, already starting to piece together what might have happened.

    "Send me your location," she said, and I quickly transmitted it through themunication device. "We''ll be there shortly."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    I closed themunication link and turned to my group. "We''ll be regrouping with the Blue Sun sooner than we thought."

    "What''s wrong?" Tao Yang asked, her expression tense, as if bracing herself for something worse.

    I sighed. "She found another feeding ground, but all the cultivators and settlers are dead. It seems the rakshasa at her location killed the cultivators and swarmed out of the feeding ground."

    "LIES!" one of the captured cultivators suddenly shouted, his voice hoarse with panic. He seemed emboldened, though I could sense the desperation behind his words.

    The Fire King, who had been standing silently nearby, barely reacted. With one swift motion, he delivered a brutal kick to the man''s chest, sending him skidding across the floor. He tumbled toward the edge of the massive pit, where he wed at the ground, desperately trying to keep himself from falling into the abyss.

    Meng Hao started to move, likely to intercede, but I held up a hand. "Let''s see what the Fire King does."

    The Fire King walked slowly toward the terrified man, mes already dancing along his fingers. His expression was cold, detached. He wasn''t interested in this man''s words¡ªonly in breaking him.

    He crouched by the man''s side, grabbing his arms with hands now burning with intense fire. The smell of sizzling flesh filled the air as the man screamed, writhing in pain.

    "Speak," the Fire King said, his voice disturbingly calm.

    The man sobbed, his voice cracking under the pain. "Please! Please! I''ll speak! Just stop!"

    The Fire King pulled him back from the edge and pinned him to the ground with his foot, the mes searing the ground around them. "Go on then," he said, pressing down harder.

    "The Fallen Ones," the man gasped. "They never leave the hole! They can''t! They''re under strict orders from the Liberator¡ªthey wouldn''t go against him! The stories you''ve heard... they''re lies!"

    The Fire King nced at me. "His heartbeat hasn''t changed, and his body temperature is stable. He''s telling the truth."

    I frowned. "Then something''s not adding up. The Blue Sun isn''t the type to get details like this wrong."

    The Fire King said nothing, instead mming his hand into the man''s forehead, mes erupting as he forcefully extracted the man''s soul from his body. The glowing, writhing spirit appeared above him, shrouded in me. Unlike my Soul Search, which was more methodical, the Fire King''s approach was violent and destructive. The man''s soul twisted in agony, his memories burning as they were disyed for us all to see.

    Images began to form in the flickering mes: scenes of settlers being led to their deaths, fed to the rakshasa in the pit below. But it was more than that. We saw how the settlers were herded, how their lives were dictated by the whims of the Liberator and his cult-like following of cultivators. The stories about Tao Yang¡ªthe lies that had been spread about her being the Dread Princess¡ªbecame all too clear.

    The memoriesid bare the maniption, the deception. The Liberator had woven a tale of Tao Yang being responsible for the creation of the rakshasa, of her incestuous rtionship with her father that had supposedly birthed the abominations. It was all lies¡ªlies that had poisoned the minds of these people for generations.

    I nced at Tao Yang as the memories unfolded. Her eyes were dark, filled with a growing storm of rage. The lies had cut deep, and the full extent of the nder against her and heroic father was now painfully clear.

    But the memories didn''t stop there. They revealed something even more disturbing. This settlement wasn''t unique. There were hundreds¡ªthousands¡ªjust like it, scattered all over Srous. Each one followed the same sickening pattern: humans bred as cattle, fed to the rakshasa to keep them sated.

    At the center of it all was the Liberator''s stronghold, the nerve center from which he controlled this horrific system of very and death.

    I clenched my fists as thest of the man''s soul burned away, his essence disintegrating into ash. There would be no reincarnation for him¡ªnot after this.

    "Well," the Fire King said casually, brushing off his hands. "That''s one less annoyance to deal with."

    I nodded, my mind racing. "We now know where the Liberator is operating from."

    Tao Yang''s rage was palpable, her eyes locked on the spot where the man''s soul had been destroyed. "This Liberator... he has to answer for this," she muttered, her voice trembling with fury.

    "And he will," I said, my voice firm. "We know where he is, it''s time to have a talk."

 Chapter 884 The Lies

    "What are we going to do with these people?" Law asked, pointing to the group of trembling ascendant cultivators.

    I looked toward Tao Yang, her expression unreadable but her eyes stormy. Before I could respond, she spoke up. "Let me handle them."

    The ascendants flinched as she approached, their eyes widening with fear. They knew the stories, knew her name¡ªthe Dread Princess. Their trembling gazes were locked on her as if she were death incarnate,e to im them.

    "You," Tao Yang said, her voice cold and authoritative. "You took the words of the man you call Liberator and epted them as truth. Never once did you stop to question who he was, or why any of this happened." Her words were sharp as knives, cutting through the air with a bitter edge.

    One of the ascendants, his voice trembling, managed to speak. "We can''t go against a god!"

    Tao Yang''s eyes shed with fury. "A god?" she repeated, her tone mocking. She tapped her temple with a finger. "Think. If he were truly godlike, why hasn''t he saved you? My nation¡ªn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    my people

    ¡ªwe had history!" Her voice rose, and with each word, the force of her emotions grew. "We had culture! We lived in harmony with each other and with the world! FOR THE PEOPLE AND WITH THE PEOPLE!"

    She lunged forward, grabbing one of the men by the neck and lifting him off the ground effortlessly. "We lived in peace! We shared resources! We grew together as one people!" Her voice had reached a fever pitch, and as her rage intensified, I felt it reverberating through the cavern. Even the rakshasa below us, their growls growing louder, seemed to sense the tension building above them.

    Tao Yang''s grip tightened around the man''s throat, her voice bing almost a roar. "We didn''t let the weak suffer! We didn''t let the sick rot in pain! We abolished inequality, abolished territories! We were united! We were as close to perfection as any civilization could be! And yet a man¡ªone man¡ªcame and enved you, decreed his lies, and

    you believed him

    !" Her voice cracked, raw with grief and anger. "You epted limitations on your power, allowed yourselves to be herded like animals, and you call

    him

    a god?!"

    The man in her grip could barely breathe, much less respond. His eyes bulged, his face red from the strain as he gasped for air.

    Tao Yang released him with a disgusted snarl, letting him copse to the ground. Her eyes locked onto another ascendant, one whose gaze remained defiant. "You," she said, pointing at him. "You think I''m wrong, don''t you?"

    The man, though shaking, held his ground. "None of us were even born during that time!" he spat. "I was just a settler! I was chosen, and that''s how I gained enough resources to reach this level! You talk about your glorious past, but where were you when we woke up to this nightmare? If you cared so much about your people, why did you

    run away

    ?"

    Tao Yang froze, her fury momentarily reced by something deeper¡ªsomething that looked like pain. "Run away?" she repeated, her voice trembling. "You think we simply... ran away?"

    She spread her divine sense, and suddenly, the memories she held began to flood the minds of everyone present. It was like watching a grand tapestry unfold, the threads of history weaving themselves before us. The images were raw and vivid¡ªmemories of her kingdom, Srous, standing proud and united. But soon, those memories gave way to chaos. The rakshasa came, a tide of corruption sweeping over thend, turning utopia into a warzone.

    The ascendants watched, their expressions shifting from disbelief to horror as they saw the struggle that had ensued. Tao Yang''s father, the king of Srous, fighting valiantly against the rakshasa, giving his life in a final desperate act to protect what little hope remained. It wasn''t a story of cowardice, of rulers fleeing in the night. It was a story of sacrifice¡ªa kingdom''sst stand against an unstoppable evil.

    The cultivators'' defiant gazes crumbled, reced by wide-eyed shock. The truth they had never known crashed into them like a wave. There was no Dread Princess. No abominable act that birthed the rakshasa. It was all lies¡ªa perverted narrative crafted to manipte them.

    Tao Yang''s divine sense receded, leaving the ascendants standing in stunned silence. The weight of the truth settled heavily on their shoulders.

    I stepped forward, something gnawing at me as I pieced together what I had seen in her memories. "Hold on," I said, catching Tao Yang''s attention¡ªespecially the reaction of these captured descendants when a certain man appeared from her disy of memories.

    She turned to me, her golden eyes glistening with the tears she fought to hold back. "What is it, Shen Bao?"

    "That man," I said slowly, "the one who stood beside your father when he gave the final order... who is he?"

    Tao Yang hesitated, reying the memory, showing the image of the man who had stood with her father during thosest moments. His face was regal, noble¡ªlike her father''s, but younger. The ascendants'' reaction was immediate. The moment his image appeared, they all dropped to their knees, bowing toward him instinctively, as if conditioned to do so.

    "What is the meaning of this?" Tao Yang demanded, her voice trembling with barely contained rage.

    I felt a sickening sensation in my gut as I stared at the kneeling cultivators. "Who is he to you?" I asked softly, already dreading the answer.

    "That''s my uncle," she said, her voice quiet. "He was one of the first to fight against the rakshasa. He died protecting Srous. Why are you asking?"

    I clenched my fists. The truth was as vile as I had feared. "That''s their Liberator," I said quietly.

    "What? No! That can''t be!" Tao Yang cried out, stepping back as if the words had physically struck her. "My uncle was a hero! He died fighting that abomination!"

    Her voice shook with emotion. and as callous as ever, the Fire King spoke nothing but facts, " When I was Soul Searching those men, anything rted to the Liberator was erased from their memories¡ªlikely through powerful means. But their instinct to bow to him, to worship him, is ingrained. They see your uncle as their savior."

    "LIES!" she screamed, her golden eyes zing with fury. She turned to the Fire King, her fists clenched. "I will not permit this disrespect!" she was about to lunge at the Fire King for stating what I thought was nothing but facts.

 Chapter 885 : The Hunt

    "Calm down," I said, cing a firm but gentle hand on Tao Yang''s trembling shoulder. Her body was rigid with anger, her golden eyes swirling with a mix of disbelief and fury. I could feel the storm raging within her¡ªpain, betrayal, confusion¡ªbut I needed her to hold it together. The truth had cut deep, and she was teetering on the edge.

    "I wish it were a lie," I continued softly, my voice carrying a weight that even I hadn''t intended. "But it''s the truth. Even I felt it when I was Soul Searching, something was missing."

    Her gaze met mine, and for a moment, the fierceness in her eyes flickered. She wasn''t just angry¡ªshe was devastated. The weight of history, the lies that had been twisted around her family''s legacy, hung heavily on her, but there was no time for grief, no time for reflection. Not now.

    Before she could speak, Law''s voice broke through the tension, sharp and urgent. "We''ve got a problem," he called out, his hand already gripping his weapon as he stepped toward the edge of the pit.

    I turned just in time to see three white rakshasa leap from the darkness below. Their grotesque forms were twisted mockeries of life¡ªspindly limbs, pale, veiny skin stretched tight over bones, these quadrupedal entities with praying mantis-like arms and eyes that burned with savage hunger and teeth that slobbered in a viscous slime. Theynded heavily near the group of ascendants, their snarls and clicking sounds sending waves of fear through the mortals nearby.

    Panic erupted immediately. Screams filled the air as the weaker humans, those not used to the presence of such creatures, tried to scramble away, tripping over each other in their desperation to escape. The noise reverberated through the cavern, their terror a palpable thing.

    "That''s what you get!" one of the ascendants shouted, his voice filled with crazed devotion. His eyes were wild with a manic faith as the rakshasa stalked toward him. "This is the power of our true lord! The Liberator has sent us deliverance! You''ll finally know the true pow¡ª"

    His words were abruptly cut short. One of the rakshasa lunged, its arms wrapping around the man''s head with terrifying speed like scissors. With a sickening crunch, the creature ripped his head clean off, blood spraying in a wide arc as the beast began gnawing on the skull like a piece of fresh meat. The sound of bones crunching echoed ominously.

    The remaining ascendants stood frozen in shock, their defiance turning to horror as they realized that the very creatures they worshipped as emissaries of their so-called Liberator had no sense of loyalty. Their promises of deliverance were empty. The rakshasa knew nothing of alliances¡ªonly hunger.

    "There is no deliverance for you," I said, my voice cold and unforgiving as I stepped forward. My gaze swept over them, a mix of pity and contempt. "You''re dealing with abominations that know nothing but hunger and death."

    Before the creatures could advance further, Meng Hao exploded into action. Heunched himself at the nearest rakshasa with terrifying force, moving faster than any of the creatures could react. His handstched onto the creature''s head, and with a brutal headbutt, he smashed his forehead into its skull. The impact was like a thunderp, sending the rakshasa flying back into the pit, its body broken and limp.

    The Jade Dragon was just as swift. In a sh of movement, his spear was drawn, and the rakshasa closest to him was sliced into three clean pieces. The precision was perfect; the creature didn''t even have time to snarl before it was reduced to a pile of twitching body parts on the floor.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But it was Tao Yang who stole the moment. Her fury had reached a boiling point, and the third rakshasa, which had moved dangerously close to the remaining ascendants, was obliterated by a single, devastating punch. Her fist connected with the beast''s skull, and in a blinding explosion of bone and flesh, the creature was annihted. Nothing remained but a mangled heap of remains, barely recognizable as once being alive.

    Her golden eyes burned with a fury that hadn''t yet subsided, and the air around her crackled with the remnants of her power.

    Before any of us could catch our breath, a loud explosion echoed from above. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling, and with a thunderous crash, a gaping hole appeared. The Blue Sun''s group descended through it, their arrival as dramatic as ever.

    "What''s the situation?" Blue Sun asked, her sharp gaze taking in the carnage and the trembling ascendants. She didn''t flinch at the sight of blood or the mangled remains of the rakshasa. It was clear she had seen worse.

    I didn''t waste time. Through divine sense, I quickly exined what had transpired¡ªthe rakshasa''s attack, the lies of the Liberator, the truth Tao Yang had uncovered. As I ryed the information, her expression grew grim, her lips thinning as she processed the gravity of the situation.

    "So, where do you think this Liberator is?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the massive hole in the ground.

    I pointed toward the abyss. "Down there. Far below us, but that''s the quickest path to him."

    Law, ever the pessimist, spoke up, disbelief in his voice. "You''re saying we should go down there, into the heart of where these rakshasa are concentrated? Fight our way through Heaven knows how many of them just to reach a Sun Stage cultivator who controls an entire of monsters?"

    "Yep," I said with a smirk. "That''s the n."

    Law nced around, as if hoping for someone to protest. But none of us did. Every face was resolute, ready. We hade too far to turn back now. There was no other choice.

    "And what about these guys?" Law asked, gesturing toward the captured ascendants and the settlers huddled together in fear.

    I waved my hand, opening a portal to the Lord of Lords Pagoda. A stream of puppets emerged, their movements swift and efficient as they encircled the ascendants and began helping the settlers. They moved with mechanical precision, already securing the situation before any further chaos could erupt.

    "They''ll handle it," I said simply, watching as the puppets ensured the safety of those who remained. And guarded those who would be our prisoners. There was no mercy for those who wronged the weak.

    Law still seemed skeptical. "You sure we should all go down there?"

    "Of course," I replied, stepping closer to the edge of the pit. "Why else would I have gathered all of us?"

    I looked back at the group, already seeing their resolve. "So, who''s ready to meet this Liberator?"

    Meng Hao grinned, his usual cocky smile shing. "I''ll go first," he said, and without waiting for an answer, he leaped into the darkness below, disappearing into the abyss.

    "I can''t let the juniors take the lead," the Jade Dragon said with a smirk, arms crossed as he jumped down, cutting a heroic figure even in free fall.

    I chuckled.

    Show-off.

    "Well then," I muttered, giving onest look to the scene around me before leaning over the edge and diving headfirst into the ckness. The wind rushed past me, but there was no fear¡ªonly anticipation of what was toe.

    The others followed without hesitation, their forms vanishing into the pit one by one. Tao Yang lingered at the edge, her golden eyes filled with determination, her heart heavy with the revtions she had uncovered. But there was no hesitation in her movements as she jumped, her resolve unshaken.

 Chapter 886 : Into the Deep

    Meng Hao was the first to descend, zing a trail through the rakshasa swarming below. From a distance, you could see him lighting up his palms, each glowing with deadly intent. He sent precise, shattering palm strikes left and right, every movement perfectly timed and devastatingly effective. Each blownded squarely on a rakshasa''s chest, and the moment his palm made contact, a fiery incineration erupted from within the creature. A hand-shaped me seared their bodies, burning through their orifices and joints until the creatures exploded into smoke and ash, turning to nothing more than cinders.

    Following Meng Hao was the Jade Dragon, his spear dancing through the air like a living thing. Each swing echoed with the roar of an ancient dragon, the sound reverberating through the cavern as his spear cut apart the rakshasa with deadly precision. Where his spear struck, the rakshasa were reduced to brittle shards of crystallized jade, their bodies shattering as they fell.

    I descended next, Creeping Demise in hand, the sentient de ever eager for destruction. Each swing of the weapon extended its reach, cleaving through the white rakshasa with ruthless efficiency. At times, the de would split into nine serpentine heads, each moving independently. Some heads belched searing mes, others spewed corrosive poison that melted through rakshasa flesh, while others bit down and injected venom that caused the creatures to explode in a canopy of death and devastation. None survived the de''s fury.

    Just the three of us were enough to obliterate the majority of the rakshasa that dared to crawl out of their pit, leaving only a few stragglers for the rest of the group.

    Dao Shen, in his usual eerie silence, moved through the fray like a shadow. He jumped from one rakshasa to the next, opening his mouth and devouring what could only be described as a corrupt form of soul¡ªthough we had long confirmed that the rakshasa had no souls. What Dao Shen consumed was the twisted fragment of a stolen Heavenly Dao, the same power that created the first rakshasa. He was a master of devouring this corrupted essence, and the creatures crumbled in his wake.

    Master Rain was a sight to behold, descending in a lotus position, hundreds of small intricate formations swirling around him. These formations were reminiscent of the Cryptic Sun''s formation, but far more powerful. Where the Cryptic Sun relied on brute cultivation power, Master Rain''s formations were the result of genius-level mastery and dedication to the art. Lightning bolts rained down from the formations, each one striking with thunderous force, disintegrating any rakshasa caught in their path.

    Zhang Tian and Law and the Fire King descended with less fanfare, mostly because there were no rakshasa left to reach them. The ve kept a vignt guard, fending off the asional stray rakshasa with brutal efficiency, ensuring no creature could threaten the two.

    The rest of the group¡ªBlue Sun, Tao Yang, YuYu, and Liang Yu¡ªfollowed from the rear, conserving their energy. The battle was already in hand, and they were wisely keeping themselves fresh for what was still toe.

    The flight downward took far longer than we had anticipated. The cave seemed endless, and the oppressive darkness made it feel as though time itself had slowed. After what must have been a full day or more, we finally reached the bottom of the massive chasm.

    The sight that greeted us was both awe-inspiring and unnerving. We found ourselves in an enormous cavern, its size so vast it seemed to stretch into infinity. The walls and floor were dotted with towering crystals, each one glowing faintly from the dim light of the moss we had seen earlier. It was as though we had entered a forest of ss, where the crystals refracted light in all directions, casting ghostly shadows and creating an almost otherworldly atmosphere.

    The air was thick and humid, clinging to our skin, and the stench was unbearable. A mix of ammonia and sulfur filled the cavern, making it feel like we had walked into a giant public toilet. It was sickening, but with a simple tweak to our cultivation, we blocked out the smell.

    "What''s the n?" Law asked, his voice echoing off the cavern walls in a way that seemed unnaturally loud.

    He immediately pped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide with regret. "I didn''t think it would echo that much!" he said, switching to divine sense.

    I shook my head, suppressing a smile. "We''re not exactly on a stealth mission, but let''s try not to draw more attention than we need to. The pce is still far ahead. Let''s pick up the pace."

    Without another word, I took to the air again, flying above the crystalline ground. The others followed suit, silently moving through the dimly lit forest of crystal.

    As we moved, we passed several sleeping rakshasa. Their grotesque formsy scattered throughout the cavern, some curled up near the crystals, others sprawled across the mossy floor. We had no desire to wake them; engaging them now would only slow us down. If we could avoid a confrontation, it would be better for us in the long run.

    But fate rarely bends to one''s will. Despite our best efforts, some of the rakshasa stirred. Their eyes snapped open, and they let out low, guttural growls. From ahead, more appeared, charging toward us with reckless abandon. Two massive brutes¡ªrakshasa farrger and more vicious than the others¡ªsmashed through the crystal forest, their speed and strength terrifying.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In their charge, the brutes crushed several of the slower-moving white rakshasa underfoot, caring little for their own kind as they barreled toward us.

    The Jade Dragon was the first to respond. With two swift swings of his spear, he decapitated both brutes in one fluid motion. Their blood sprayed into the air, mixing with the already foul stench of the cavern. Unfortunately, the sight of their fallen kin only stirred the other rakshasa into a frenzy. More and more began to awaken, their growls and roars growing louder by the second.

    "Let''s move faster," I said, urging the group forward as I threw several cannisters and pills into the air. The devices exploded into clouds of green and purple smoke, filling the cavern with noxious fumes. Any rakshasa that touched the smoke instantly froze, their bodies turning to brittle ice before shattering. It wasn''t enough to kill all of them, but it slowed our pursuers considerably.

    The Jade Dragon and the ve led the charge, tearing through any rakshasa that darede close. Their Heaven Stage cultivation allowed them to clear the path ahead with ease, ensuring that the rest of us could move unhindered. Blue Sun stayed close to me, her presence a reminder that she was our trump card. She was the only Sun Stage cultivator among us, and we needed her strength conserved for the inevitable confrontation with the Liberator.

    Our advance was steady, but something had been nagging at me since we started our descent. Something... wrong.

    "Tao Yang," I called out through divine sense, my eyes scanning the dark cavern ahead.

    "Yes?" she replied, her voice cutting through the rising cacophony of rakshasa growls.

    "When you mentioned earlier that the Queen had woken up... what exactly did you mean?"

    She hesitated, her divine sense carrying a tinge of unease. "When we were investigating the deaths in one of the settlements, Dao Shen devoured thest remnants of a soul. It triggered something¡ªa disturbance in the cave. A massive protrusion shot up from the ground, something simr to the appendages of the First Borns, but... different."

    My frown deepened. "Another First Born?"

    "No," Tao Yang replied firmly. "We''ve seen the First Borns before. This was different. The First Borns have flesh that resembles humans¡ªjust grotesquely inted. But this... this was scaly, pitch ck, and far sharper. There was a foulness to it, something that made my skin crawl. It''s hard to describe, but it felt like all the worst things in the world manifested into a single entity."

    Her words sent a shiver down my spine. "No wonder that thinging toward us is making me feel like I want to throw up."

    From the depths of the cavern, a massive, writhing tentacle-like entity began to emerge, its grotesque form illuminated by the dim light of the crystals. The ground trembled beneath it as it slithered forward, and the foul stench intensified, bing almost unbearable.

    It was the Queen. And she wasing.

 Chapter 887 : Queens Wrath

    The tentacle moved with a relentless, crushing brutality, tearing through the crystalline structures of the cave as if they were nothing more than ss. Every swing sent chunks of crystal flying, shattering into glimmering dust. Rakshasa unlucky enough to be caught in its path were obliterated, their bodies mangled and smeared into the mud and grime that coated the monstrous appendage. Each movement left gouges in the earth, and the cavern floor shook under the force of its approach.

    It barreled forward, streaked with mud, grime, and remnants of crushed stone, heading directly for the Jade Dragon at the forefront of our group.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Jade Dragon, a seasoned warrior and a master of Qi arts, met it without hesitation. In one swift motion, he summoned a colossal dragon aura from the tip of his spear. The spectral dragon, glimmering with jade light, surged forward with a fearsome roar, coiling as it flew to strike the tentacle. But the moment the dragon''s energy made contact, the aura disintegrated, shattering like brittle ss.

    The shards of jade essence didn''t merely dissipate¡ªthey fragmented into particles and vaporized, leaving no trace.

    Not missing a beat, the Jade Dragon turned on his heel, his expression calm and calcting, and retreated toward us. "Qi aversion!" he shouted as he flew back, his voice carrying over the roaring chaos.

    I hadn''t doubted for a second. If the First Borns were impervious to Qi, this creature¡ªtheir progenitor¡ªwould be just as imprable. Any Qi-based attack would only dissolve on contact.

    "Back away!" I called to the group, flinging several poison canisters toward the oing appendage. Each one detonated, releasing a thick, acrid cloud of corrosive poison. But the mist barely slowed the tentacle; my poisons, too, were based on Qi, and they were as ineffective as the Jade Dragon''s strike. But as I''d nned, the sts struck the base of the towering crystals nearby, causing them to copse in front of the tentacle, blocking its advance¡ªif only for a moment.

    Seizing the opportunity, the Blue Sun darted forward, gripping her massive war hammer with both hands. She let out a battle cry and swung the hammer in a powerful arc. As she swung, the hammer expanded, its head growing sorge that it carved craters into the ground and ceiling. She brought it down on the tentacle with bone-shattering force, the impact sending shockwaves through the cave and rattling the ground beneath us. The tentacle was swatted aside, but not deeply damaged; the sheer mass of the appendage absorbed much of the blow.

    "Too close of a space¡ªwe need to drag it out," Blue Sun said, breathing heavily as she regained her stance.

    She was right. In the narrow confines of the cave, we couldn''t utilize our full power. We needed to bring it to an open area if we stood any chance of dealing a decisive blow.

    "n''s changed," I said, scanning the cavern for a way out. "The pce infiltration''s a bust¡ªfocus on getting it topside. Move!"

    Master Rain was already preparing a formation, his fingers shing as he traced symbols into the air. "I can bind it, like I did the Primordial Serpent God!" he shouted, his focus unwavering.

    But I ced a hand on his shoulder, stopping him mid-gesture. "Qi will do nothing against this thing," I said firmly. "Any formations would be useless."

    He nodded reluctantly, his hands falling to his sides.

    "What about Laws?" Zhang Tian suggested, his gaze fixed on the still-recovering tentacle. His mastery over Law and Domain control had been recognized by the Suns themselves.

    "Same effect," I said, eyeing the writhing mass of the tentacle. "No matter the strength, it won''t prate. Let''s head for the surface."

    As we turned to leave, Meng Hao flew alongside me, his expression thoughtful. "There''s something that doesn''t add up," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos around us.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, throwing another canister behind us. It detonated, copsing more of the cave walls in an attempt to slow the monstrous appendage.

    He nced back at the creature, his brow furrowed. "If this thing is impervious to Qi¡ªcan''t be held, contained, or harmed by it¡ªthen how is it still trapped here? Theary formation surrounding this ce is made of Qi. It should have broken through long ago."

    He was right. The realization hit me with a sickening rity. The entireary barrier was Qi-based, meant to contain the rakshasa. So why hadn''t this creature simply shattered it?

    "Illusion," the Fire King spoke up, his voice sharp as the thought connected.

    "Yes," I agreed, piecing it together. "If theary barrier is a massive illusion, it could trap them, regardless of their immunity to Qi. Even the First Borns outside would be stuck, unable to escape something they perceive as real."

    The Fire King nodded, his expression dark. "A barrier of perception, rather than force."

    Tao Yang, her eyes zing with fury, drew close to us. "So, you''re saying there''s no way to kill this thing?" Her voice trembled with barely restrained rage. This creature had ravaged her world, ughtered her people, and led to the envement of the survivors. Her anger was fierce, raw¡ªa deep-rooted need for vengeance.

    "We''re here to find a way," I replied, my tone steady. "But we''re not throwing our lives away without understanding what we''re up against."

    The tentacle continued to advance, screeching as it battered its way toward us, each crash and m growing louder. It was relentless.

    "Let''s move," I called as we reached the open shaft. I began to ascend, leading the group out of the cavernous depths, the others following close behind.

    The creature pursued, mming against the walls as it rose, sending tremors through the stone. Several times, it nearly overtook us, its relentless pace daunting. I tossed more explosive canisters at the cavern walls, and each st copsed parts of the stone around us, buying us precious seconds as the tunnel walls caved in, slowing the creature''s ascent.

    As we broke through to the surface, the first tentacle burst out from the opening, crashing against the ground in a cloud of dust and stone. It tore through the earth, demolishing an entire nearby mountain as it reared up. A second tentacle followed, heaving itself out with terrifying force. The ground shook violently under their weight, massive fissures forming as the monstrous appendages loomed over us.

    "It''s trying toe out," Law muttered, his voice barely audible as he took a flying step back, eyes wide.

    "We can see that," I replied, as the group instinctively spread out to avoid being caught by the towering monstrosities.

    The two tentacles rose higher, twisting and writhing in the air. Even at a distance, their sheer size was overwhelming¡ªeach one towering over thendscape, dwarfing mountains.

    "Oi, oi, oi," Law stammered, his voiceced with disbelief as he took in their enormity. "Isn''t this a bit too damn big? How the hell are we supposed to deal with this without Qi?"

    I exhaled sharply. "I don''t know. We could run, of course. It''s slow, and it wouldn''t be able to keep up if we went airborne. But if we flee now,ing here would''ve been pointless."

    We stood our ground, watching as the tentacles continued to unfurl. The creature''s resilience and Qi-immunity presented a formidable challenge, but this was the Queen¡ªdefeating it would mean breaking the back of the rakshasa. And we hadn''te this far to simply turn back.

 Chapter 888 Brutality

    The Queen''s tentacle was a massive, seemingly indestructible force, covered in thick, scale-like armor that glistened with a dark, otherworldly sheen. The texture was unlike any flesh I''d encountered, hardened as though it had been tempered in the fires of some ancient abyss. "It took an entire arsenal of tungsten rods to pierce the First Born''s flesh," I said, my gaze fixed on the monstrous appendage. "But this thing¡­ it''s far more resilient than any First Born."

    Tao Yang stepped forward, unflinching as she drew the scimitar gifted to her by the Blue Sun. The de was pure Soulsteel, radiant with a subtle glow that seemed to drink in the darkness around it. There was a quiet, deadly resolve in her stance, and though her Qi was almost imperceptible, the power radiating from her was unmistakable.

    "Have you recovered your cultivation?" I asked, a hint of surprise in my voice.

    "Yes," she said, her gaze never leaving the tentacle. "I''m back to where I was¡ªa true Sun Stage." Her voice was calm, but the edge in her tone hinted at a determination hardened by countless battles. She raised the scimitar, and the light in her eyes red, emboldened.

    "Blue Sun, could you deflect the tentacle''s tip for me?" Tao Yang called out, her voice ringing clear across the battlefield.

    "Sure," Blue Sun replied, a spark of excitement glinting in her eyes. "What are you nning?"

    "I''ll sever the tip¡ªabout an arm''s length. That should be enough," Tao Yang replied, ncing at me. "Will that suffice?"

    "Yes, that''ll be more than enough," I said, the possibilities of what we could learn from the sample already racing through my mind.

    "Then give me space," she said firmly. We needed no further prompting and quickly backed away. A Sun Stage cultivator at full power was a force of nature, capable of leveling a if they wish to. Here, in the open, Tao Yang and Blue Sun could unleash their full might without fear of coteral damage. After all, we''re not in the beyond where they need to care and limit their power in fear of destroying the poption.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Stay tuned with empire

    From our vantage point, I could feel the ground tremble with each pulse of power they emanated. The of Srous itself seemed toe alive, resonating with their power. But this time, the world''s vibrations were not those of a thriving civilization; they were a dark, twisted symphony of awakened rakshasa, who stirred and rumbled in response to the sudden surge of energy.

    As the tentacle rose to its full, terrifying height, it began its descent, aiming to smash Blue Sun in one crushing blow. Unfazed, she took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her mallet, one hand firmly sped around the base of the handle. "This is going to be a big one," she muttered, and with a fierce roar, she began to spin, her body transforming into a whirlwind of power.

    She spun up, creating a massive gust of wind that created a tornado of raw Qi and force of inertia, going up to the tip of the tentacle like a spinning bullet. Right as she was at the zenith of her force, she charged her mallet with a giant portion of her Qi, increasing the mallet''s size to match that of a small mountain, the force of her spin added to the mallet struck true.

    It met the tentacle''s side with a force that shook the entirendscape. The sound was deafening, and the shockwave sent debris flying in every direction. Blood sttered from her hands, her fingers nearly pulverized under the strain, and the sound of cracking bones echoed from her grip. But she held steady.

    The tentacle itself buckled, forced to the side with such force that it mmed into a second tentacle, driving both appendages into the ground. The impact shattered the earth, sending colossal chunks of rock and dirt hurtling into the air, carving a massive crater and creating a new valley as thend buckled and split. Yet the sheer force of Blue Sun''s attack didn''t just throw the tentacles into the ground; it rebounded, forcing the appendage to whip back, vulnerable and unguarded.

    That was the opening Tao Yang had waited for. The tentacle, now bruised and battered, had softened just enough. With a battle cry that resonated like a war drum, she poured her own Qi and soul energy into the Soulsteel scimitar, which ignited with a brilliant, furious me. Sheunched herself forward, and as she swung, the de connected with the tenderized flesh of the tentacle tip.

    The tentacle which should be made of organic, though unnatural manner actually sparked incinerating andrge mes the moment the sword struck at it, and with a forceful heave Tao Yang screamed further enhancing her power and tore about an arm''s length out of the tentacle''s tip.

    The severed piece, wreathed in the scimitar''s energy, sparked and smoked as it burned. Tao Yang wasted no time. She snatched the severed chunk, its scaly surface still bubbling, and threw it toward me.

    "Let''s leave!" she shouted, but her voice barely carried over the sound of the tentacle writhing in pain.

    I caught the piece, but before I could even begin to examine it, the severed flesh in front of Tao Yang began to twist and writhe. Boiling and bubbling, the scaly chunk pulsed as it transformed. Within seconds, a ghastly figure began to emerge from the severed flesh, taking on the torso and features of a human. Its skin, a patchwork of scales and wounds, contorted as it molded into a twisted, mockery of a face¡ªa face that bore an uncanny resemnce to Tao Yang''s uncle.

    The creature, an amalgamation of filth and darkness, looked at her with cold, lifeless eyes. Its mouth twisted into a sinister smile as it whispered with a voice that sounded like gravel scraping against steel.

    "Tao''er¡­" it rasped, each syble dripping with malice.

    For a moment, the battlefield was silent, the sheer shock of the scene freezing us all. The grotesque, twisted visage leered, its gaze locked onto Tao Yang.

    "RUUUUUN!!!"

 Chapter 889 Impossible Opponent

    Everyone hesitated, bracing to face the monstrous form of the Liberator as it emerged, but there was no sense in standing our ground here. "TAO YANG!" I shouted, and my voice jolted her out of her stunned silence. Seeing her uncle, her supposed protector, morphed into the grotesque creature before us had shaken her to the core, her thoughts unraveling in turmoil. But my shout snapped her back, and without a word, she turned and shot toward me.

    "Why are we running?" Blue Sun asked as she flexed her fingers, thest fractures in her bones knitting back together. Her regenerative powers were remarkable, nearly as fast as mine, and her hand was already back to fighting form.

    "We got what we needed. Staying here is pointless. This isn''t a battle we can win." I reminded her, casting a quick nce at the rest of the group, who caught on immediately. We veered away, fleeing from the monstrosity at our backs.

    "TAO''ER!" The Liberator wailed, his voice haunting as it echoed through the copsing cavern and from the tentacles themselves. The way he screamed her name was like the pained cries of a lost soul. Grief, longing, and something darker tainted his words, each syble twisted with malice. He sounded like a wounded beast, a creature abandoned by itsst tie to humanity. But the moment that pitiful wail faded, his voice changed. A dark edge crept in, and his next words were more than enough to freeze the blood in our veins. "JOIN ME!" he squealed.

    The ground itself began to quake. From hundreds of miles around, the earth split open with terrifying force. Hundreds of tentacles erupted from the ground, bursting through rock and dirt with devastating power. Mountains crumbled, valleys split open, and the very foundation of the seemed to heave as if alive. The tentacles didn''t just rise¡ªthey towered, reaching toward the sky like towering pirs of twisted flesh, and with one synchronized movement, they started their descent.

    In that instant, it felt like we were trapped in a massive copsing cage.

    "Follow me!" I shouted, guiding the group toward one of the iing appendages. We weaved through the falling limbs, each one crashing into the ground with enough force to pulverize anything beneath it. As the tentacles struck, the impact sent fissures tearing across the ground, magma bubbling up from the newly opened chasms, turning the earth around us into a river of molten rock. The cacophony was overwhelming, a sound that could have deafened any mortal.

    This was the Broodmother fused with the Liberator, the creature that birthed the rakshasa, a being of unimaginable size and strength, with a presence that loomed like death itself. And from the size of this thing, it was almost big enough that you couldpare it to the Primordial Serpent God.

    Though the Serpent God wasrge and massive enough that it could consumes, the size difference betweens in the Vast Expanse and the one we''re in - Srous- is immensely different. We can''t fight this thing, it won''t even feel us, and trying to prate into its internal organs to exhaust it from the inside is impossible, it is impervious to Qi, so I''ll die if I try that.

    Even in the Beyond, I had only encountered a handful of creatures capable of this level of devastation. It was an embodiment of destruction, toorge for us to defeat, too impervious to Qi for us to honestly fight, If we lingered, it would crush us without ever truly noticing we were there.

    With incredible skill, the group split apart to avoid the falling limbs, each one the size of a small mountain. We dodged left and right, barely keeping ahead of the crashing tentacles as they tore apart thend around us.

    "We can''t stay here!" I shouted over the deafening roars of the tentacles colliding with the earth.

    "Let''s take the ship and get off this rock," Blue Sun yelled, her voice straining over the relentless rumble. "If we stay, this thing will rip the entire apart!"

    "I agree!" I shouted back. "Keep moving! I''ve already called for the ship!" I sent a message to X, who had been stationed on the vessel. He was guiding it toward us, but we still had a ways to go.

    "TAO''ER!" The Liberator''s voice rang out again, echoing with twisted devotion as it pursued us. The tentacles writhed and slithered across the broken terrain, as if he were swimming through the molten, broken ground itself. "JOIN US! EMBRACE THE TRUE DAO!" His voice was a manic blend of invitation andmand, his words crackling with heretical fervor as he denounced the Heavenly Dao. "ABOLISH THE HEAVENS! AND BECOME ONE WITH ME!"

    Every word made Tao Yang''s face contort with rage and disgust. His defiance of the heavens, his promise of power, his twisted sense of family¡ªthey were sphemous. Each shout that reverberated from his corrupted form gnawed at her, fueling her fury.

    But as I watched the sky, an unsettling question twisted in my mind. The Heavens themselves had once struck me down for a mere glimpse into a heavenly secret, and yet here was this creature, mocking and scorning the Heavenly Dao without even the faintest sign of divine retribution. Where was the heavenly lightning? Where was the divine fury?

    Then, almost as if in response, the sky above us shifted. Thunderheads began to form, thick clouds gathering in ominousyers. But instead of roaring to life, they wavered, seeming to lose coherence and scatter in wisps, as if the very force that once drove them had faded.

    "The heavens¡­ the Heavenly Law is broken?" the Jade Dragon said, looking up in disbelief as we continued to fly.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, straining to make sense of what was unfolding.

    He nced at me with a grim look. "Can''t you feel it? The Qi in this world¡­ it''s fractured, missing something. It''s as though it''s tainted, twisted into something iplete. I can''t absorb it; instead, my body rejects it. We''re growing weaker the longer we stay here."

    I was spared from this effect, though I can now use the Heavenly Qi, through the Primordial Serpent God, I''m still using Poison QI which I could easily replenish with my poison pills. But as I nced at the others, I saw their faces contorted in exhaustion, their Qi reserves diminishing with every passing moment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "He''s right," Blue Sun added, her face tense as she flew beside me. "Even I can''t absorb it. We''ll burn through our reserves in no time if we stay here. Let''s leave the area. We''re leaving the for now! at least to work a new strategy, this frontal assault isn''t working!"

    "That was my n all along, the ship is close," I said, ncing ahead and spotting it on the horizon, heading our way. The ship glinted against the fieryndscape, a beacon in the storm of chaos around us. Experience tales with empire

    "He who fights and runs today," I shouted, my voice ringing out in defiance against the Liberator''s mocking wails, "may live to fight another day. But he who is battle in, can never rise to fight again! We retreat!"

 Chapter 890 Alarm

    X pivoted the ship around, angling the rear hatch toward us, and we scrambled onboard, his hands already a blur on the controls as he powered the engines. The Liberator''s tentacles shot up from the molten ground, stretching desperately toward us, their grotesque forms coiling and writhing like serpents hunting prey.

    "Tao''er! Don''t leave meee!" The Liberator''s anguished scream echoed across the''s surface, a sound twisted with equal parts malice and desperation, as if he couldn''t bear the thought of letting her go. His voice carried a depraved sense of possessiveness, mingled with grief, each cry thick with a longing that bordered on madness.

    X guided the ship into a tight evasive maneuver, banking around theshing tentacles as he pushed the ship higher. We spiraled upward, breaking free of the monstrous reach of the appendages as they wed upward in vain. When we finally breached the atmosphere, we flew past the graveyard of rakshasa corpses, littered across the''s orbit like a grisly cemetery, floating in the ck expanse of space.

    "That was awfully close," I muttered, a sentiment the rest of the crew silently echoed with nods and weary nces. The raw power of the Broodmother was staggering, a creature we had no hope of defeating¡ªat least not here, not like this.

    Blue Sun turned to me, a fierce resolve in her gaze. "Blowing up the might not even kill that thing."

    "I don''t want to test it, either," I replied, scanning the dark void outside. "For some reason, it can''t leave the, which is fortunate for the rest of the universe. But it''s still able to spawn rakshasa and send them wherever it chooses." I left the crew to settle themselves, moving up toward the control room, where X was monitoring our surroundings.

    "Take us there," I instructed, pointing toward a spot between the two First Borns drifting ominously in the darkness. X nodded, guiding the ship toward the region I''d indicated, and activated the cloaking protocol, rendering us invisible against the backdrop of space.

    Law immediately broke the silence, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Are you insane? This is the worst ce we could hide! We''re between two nightmares!"

    "No," I countered, gesturing toward the disy showing the behind us. "That thing is sending reinforcements after us." Sure enough, dozens of rakshasa wereunching from the, each one promptly ensnared by the formation surrounding Srous.

    As expected, the regr rakshasa were unable to pass through theary barrier, but the threat remained. If Noble rakshasa, or worse, arrived, we''d be cornered. Our best chance was hiding right here, between the hulking forms of the First Borns. Their vast, bulky forms, resembling small moons, were intimidating, but they provided us a ce to camouge. Even the Nobles would think twice about approaching these titanic creatures, and besides, we needed to be close for further testing on the piece of the Queen.

    The crew nodded in reluctant agreement.

    Explore more adventures at empire

    "I''ll need a private room,"the jade dragon said, feeling the strain of his depleted Qi reserves. "The Heavenly Dao seems broken on the, but not here, so I need to recover while I can." he added.

    "I''ll do the same," Master Rain added, nodding to the others. One by one, they agreed, sensing the importance of regaining their strength. We couldn''t afford to face another confrontation unprepared.

    Blue Sun approached, eyeing my holding bag. "Need help with that?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

    I looked at her, weighing the offer. "Appreciate it. But don''t you need to recover?"

    She shook her head. "I didn''t use much Qi, so I''m good. And besides," she added, her gaze hardening, "I want to understand that thing better."

    "Then let''s head to theb," I replied, gesturing for her to follow. "This time, we''ll use the Lord of Lords Pagoda. It has a more advanced setup, and we''ll have better equipment to work with."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I''ll join you too," Tao Yang said, in a firm tone.

    I nodded at her. She was valuable. This thing is close enough to her that she has the right to understand it and see our progress, not to mention that she, too, is quite capable when ites to dissection.

    I instructed the automaton to open a portal to the pagoda, watching as the shimmer of energy spread to create a gateway.

    ***

    (To remove confusion, Tao Ya -Not the Princess-) name will be changed from now on to Yan Ya.

    Meanwhile, in the vast Headquarters of the Confederation Alliance, Yan Ya was making preparations to return to his outpost near Srous. He was back in the grand hall, a massive chamber with floors of polished marble. It bustled with travelers from across the alliance''s domain, each passing through the teleportation gates to destinations far and wide.

    Despite his earlier report to the elder, he had received no significant orders and was left to return to his post. The news felt anticlimactic. After delivering the update, he''d had time to run a few errands, including handing over a holding bag to a courier who would deliver it to his friend Jian''s family on another.

    Just as he was about to activate the teleportation gate and make the long journey back, he heard his name called across the crowded hall.

    "Yan Ya!" A familiar voice cut through the noise, and Yan Ya turned to see Jian hurrying toward him, urgency evident in his expression.

    Yan Ya frowned. "Jian, what brings you here? Is there trouble at the outpost?" head tilted and confusion clear on Yan Ya''s face, he wasn''t expecting to see him here at all.

    "Not there," Jian replied, his tone low and tense. "It''s Srous. One of your squad members burned blood essence to rush back to the outpost with urgent news. He copsed right after, but I extracted the information."

    The hall, usually oblivious to themotion, fell quiet as a few heads turned. The mention of Srous and the act of burning one''s blood essence suggested something dire.

    "Follow me," Yan Ya instructed, leading Jian up the stairs to the elder''s chambers.

    "Speak through Divine Sense," Yan Ya cautioned as they climbed. "Thest thing we need is to start a panic."

    Before Jian could respond, an imposing figure jumped from the upper floors and appeared on the stairs right behind them, grasping both Yan Ya and Jian by the cors and flying them up effortlessly back to where he came from. It was the elder Yan Ya had met earlier, and he looked livid.

    "You fools!" the elder bellowed. "Do you understand the trouble you''re stirring? News rted to Srous is sensitive¡ªyou don''t broadcast it to the world!"

    Jian spoke quickly, his tone respectful. "I ept any punishment, Elder, but this isn''t something we can keep hidden." His words only seemed to inme the elder''s frustration.

    The elder took a deep breath, his voice simmering with restrained fury. "Fine. Exin. What''s so important that one of ours had to risk burning his own blood essence?"

    Jian''s face turned grave as he delivered the words that would strike fear into any who understood their significance: "The Queen is moving."

    The elder''s face paled, his anger instantly reced with rm.

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